GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS : OK GLIMPSES OF THE C0uiriti0it, P^anmr^, Cljarixrter^, irnir ©trtritbs OF THE CITY, DURING THE PAST AND PRESENT CENTURIES. BV JOHN STRANG, LL.D. AuTHOK OK "Germany in 1831," " Social and Economic Statistics of Glasgow," LAI{GE1>. LONDON AND GLASGOW: RICHARD GRIFFIN AND COMPANY, rUBLIeHKRS To THE UNIVER.sITV OF GLASGOW. 1857. ^^ Cliaque age a scs jilaisirs, son espiit et ses mocurs." — Boilcaii. S. & T. LUNN, FlUKlfiKS, ULASOiOW. 'is preface to ^econti lEtittion. The flattering manner with which the First Edition of this Work was received, has induced its Author to put a Second to press. In doing so, he has attempted not only to correct any errors which had, unfortunately, been committed ; but he has likewise been enabled to make many additions, arising out of the hints and suggestions sent him since the publication of the Volume. To Mr Gabriel Neil of this City, in particular, he is under great obligations for many antiquarian memoranda, which either have formed new Notes, or been interwoven with the old. To the Metropolitan and Provincial Press, for the manner in which the Work has been noticed, the Author cannot but feel deeply grateful — and he only trusts that his renewed attempt to render it a vehicle for depicting the ever -changing Manners, Habits, and Feelings of Glasgow Society, and the West of Scotland, during the past and present Centuries, will be received with the same indulgence which has characterised the criticisms already so numerously passed on " Glasgow and its Clubs." 22 WooDsiDE Place, Glasgow, SQth October, 1866. Preface to j?irst lEuitton. It is not without considerable hesitation that the following pages are submitted to the pubUc; for the Writer cannot conceal from himself the fact that the lighter matters they contain are very foreign to his ordmary pursuits and avocations. Although nearly tliirty years have passed since the idea was first entertained of snatching from oblivion the sahent characteristics of a few of the more remarkable Clubs connected with a City which has always been famous for the number and variety of its social fraternities, — and although, too, even at that early period, an attempt was made to sketch some of the more notable of these, it was not till accident, about eighteen months ago, brought again one or two of the long lost and very imperfect pencillings under the Author's notice, that the thought occurred to him of entirely reuiodelUng them, so as to render those social Clubs the vehicle through wiiich the ever-changmg manners and habits of Glasgow society might be properly portrayed and chronicled. The Writer then began to collect his materials, from various public documents, and from the information of private individuals whose memories still preserved such fast-fading subjects : and he has, durmg the intervals of his leisure hours, arranged these floating facts and traditions in the form in which they are now presented, — if not with that spirit and playfulness which a more practised penman might have displayed, yet, it is to be hoped, with that truthfulness which may at least render the following pages not altogether unworthy expo- nents of the social history of Glasgow during the past and present Centuries. To these l)rief preliminary remarks, the Author has only to add his sincere apology for the imperfect manner in which he has performed his somewhat difficult task; trusting that, while his deficiencies cannot be wholly overlooked, the multifarious duties and anxieties incident to an important public office wall, in some degree, extenuate any inaccuracies he has committed, and induce his readers to treat with hidulgence that which an otherwise exacting criticism might condemn. 22 Woodside-Place, Glasgow 1.';/ Xovei/ihcr, 1855. CONTENTS. PAOE Glasgow about 1750 — ^Axdekston Club, ...... 1 The Glasgow Tobacco Aristocracy — Hodge-Podge Club, ... 30 Glasgow from 1750 to 1780 — My Lord Ross's Club, ..... 56 Glasgow from 1777 to 1783 — ^Morning and Evening Club, .... 96 Highland tonGRATioN and Highland Hospitality — G^lic Club, . . 10(] GiiASGOW FROM 1780 TO 1795 — Accidental Club, ..... 124 Glasgow's Prandiai. Favourite about 1795 — Face Club, .... 187 Glasgow Loyalty — Grog Club, . . . . . . . . 192 Glasgow Toryism rx 1797 — CAJiPEROOAATi Club, ..... 197 Banking Habits during last Century — Meridian Club. .... 205 The Sugar Aristocracy — Pig Club, ....... 212 Stockwell-Street and its Characteristics — Beefsteak or Tinkler's Club, . 220 Glasgow Mediciners and Chirurgeons — Medical Club, .... 238 Glasgow Theatricals — What-you-please Club, ..... 252 Glasgow from 1795 to 1815 — Coul Club, ...... 280 Quondam State of the Glasgow Police — Gegg Club, .... 329 Youthfu-l Frolics of Glasgow — Banditti Club, ..... 343 Music and Masonry in Glasgow — Packers' and Every-Night Club, . . 352 Mercantile Emergencies from 1812 to 1816 — Post-Office Club, . . . 361 Glasgow Habits before and after the Peace of Waterloo — French Club, . 370 Patriotism and Poetry from 1812 to 1816 — Anderston Social Club, . 381 Partick and its Gastronomes — Duck Club, .... . 395 The Radicai, War — Watkhloo Ci.rn— tiir Wet Kahu ai. M'kdnesday oi nri'. West, 407 Vlll CONTENTS. KVI.B The Glasgow Charities — Shuna Club, ....... 422 Progress of Liberal Opinion in Glasgow — Sma' Weft Ci.tui, . . 431 Glasgoav Politics in 1832 — Crow Club, ...... 447 Concluding Sketches of Past and Pkesent Clubs, ..... 46.3 APPENDIX. The Battle of Garscube, prom Reminiscences of a Member of the Grog Club, . 473 The Glasgow Hosier, tolept Blind Alick, by a Member of the Camperdown Club, 484 Early Honorary Burgesses of Glasgow, ...... 490 INDEX, 491 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. ANDERSTON CLUB. Courteous Reader ! if thou canst forset for a moment the lame and noisy City, known by the appellation of Glasgow, which now contains within its still extending boundaries upwards of one hundred miles of streets, and nearly four hundred thousand living beings, busied with all the arts, trades, and handicrafts which commerce and manufactures have created ; and, casting thy mind back rather more than a century, picture to thyself a small quiet town, with a few leading thoroughfares, and counting scarcely five-and-twenty thousand souls, — then wilt thou be able to comprehend somewhat of the aspect and character of the place which could at that period boast of even more than exist at present of those knots of social and congenial spirits who, linked together by a cabalistic name or a common cordiality, met for politics, pastime, or pleasure, under the roof of some well-known hostelry — the only equiva- lent then known for the modern Club, Athenaeum, or News-room.* In 1750, and for many years previous, it was the custom for persons of all ranks and conditions to meet regularly in " change-houses," as they were then called, and there to transact business, and hold their different clubs. The evening assemblies were passed in free and easy conversa- * The population of Glasgow in 1755 was the Citj'. The population had doubled from only 23,51(!; and these figures included per- the period of the Union with England, sons living in houses beyond the bounds of B 2 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. tion, and without nmcli expense — persons of the first fashion rarely spending more than from fourpence to eiohtpence each, including their pipes and tobacco, which were then in general use. In some of those clubs the members played at backgammon, or " catch the ten," the stake exceeding but rarel}^ one penny a game. In the forenoon all business v/as transacted or finished in the tavern. The lawyers were there con- sulted, and the bill was paid by the client. The liquor in common use was sherry, presented in mutchkin stoups, every mutchkin got being chalked on the head of the stoup or measure. The quantity swallowed was, on such occasions, almost incredible. It was the custom, also, in those days, for every one to dine in private ; and when occasionally a few friends met for this repast, it was always at some club, of which, among the many in Glasgow that, between the years 1750 and 1760, nightly or weekly congregated in the fashionable taverns then situated in Iligh- street, Gallowgate, and Saltmarket, perhaps the most distinguished was the one which, while all its members belonged to the City, yet had its place of meeting, not in the City itself, but in one of its suburbs. The suburb we allude to had not then attained as it has since lost, the dignity of a burgh of barony, but was known, as it now is, by the name of " the village of Anderston /" and, as villages then went, was a place of some importance. One proof of this may be gathered from the fact that it possessed at least one excellent hostelry, which at that time was kept by " ane God-fearing host," yclept John Sharpe, whose courteousness and cookery attracted thither many lovers of " creature comforts," Among those who patronised this long-forgotten establishment, there were none more regular in their attendance than the members of the "Anderston Club," a brotherhood which, a few years after the Rebellion of Forty- five, was founded by Dr Robert Simson, of mathematical memory,* who, * Dr Iiobert Simson was born in 1G87, at prelections till 1758, when he was assisted by Kirtonhill, Ajnshire ; was educated at the Dr Williamson, who was, in 1761, appointed University of Glasgow, and was elected to his assistant and successor. Dr Simson died ils chair of mathematics in 1711, in which in 1768, in the 81st year of his age, and was chair he continued tr> give his most learned buried in the Blackfriars' Churchj^ard. His GLASGOW ABOUT 1750. 3 living, as all the learned professors then did, within the walls of the venerable University, most reliiriously and hebdomadallj exchanged, with certain other of his companions in literature and science, the dull atmos- phere of the cloistered College for the smokeless sky of the yet coitonless village.* What a wondrous change has taken place in all things appertaining to the appearance of the City, and to the manners of the citizens, since the first meeting of the Anderston Club ! At that period the scenes whicb met the eyes of Professor Simson and his college companions, as they journeyed on to their Saturday rendezvous in the w^est, may be better imagined than described. The University, whose now venerable walls were so lately threatened with demolition under the all-prevailing spirit of utilitarianism, was then, comparatively speaking, as it came from the brain of its original architect, instinct with the style of Louis XIII. and Louis XlV.t As yet no modern masonry had defaced its regularity. The building was in perfect harmony, calm and classical, with its cloistered arcade and unsullied quadrangles ; while its lofty spire, then apparently fearless of the thunder-bolt, stretched up boldly into the sky without a liorhtnins-rod, exhibiting on its base the still sharp effimes of old Zachary Boyd, one of its oddest, yet best benefactors. | The High-street and Trongate were then free from the factory-built and chief works are — "A Treatise on Conie Sec- f Tlie present College huildings Avere coni- tions," "The Loci Plani of Appolloniiis Re- pletcd in KJoU. For subscriptions of contri- stored," " Euclid's Elements," &c. &c. On hutors, and the accounts of the expense, "Euclid's Elements" Dr Simson bestowed no see " Mimimentd Alme Ui/ivt!-sit((ti;i," lately less than nine years' lal)our. Dr Simson left published l)y the MaithiTul Club. In this his mathematical books to the University of curious work we find tliat "Trincipal Fall Glasgow. The collection is considered to be records, with some pride, tliat in his time the most complete in the kingdom, and is (HJSXi) the rail of stone liallusters was put up kept separate from the rest of the University on the great stair which comes up to the Fore library. Lord Bi-ougham has given a delight- Common Hall, with a lion and a unicorn u])ou ful sketch of the Life oi' iJr Simson in liis the lirst turn." Lives of the Philosophers of George IIL J 'Sir Zacharias Boyd was born in Ayrshire, • The village was fonned by :^rr. .Vndcrsou and studied at tlie colleges of St Andrews from one of his farms of Stobcross in 171*."). and Glasgnw. About the year 1585 lie was For a further account of the progress of An- minister of the Barony Clinrch of Glasgow, derston, sec '' Aiuhmton Soc'inl CM)." He left twenty thousand pounds Scots to the GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. square-formed mansions of the present day, but were generally flanked with picturesque Flemish-looking tenements, with their crow-stepped gables, and here and there a thatched house to eke out the variety. The shops, now so large and lofty, and replete with all the gorgeousness Universitj- of Glasgow, for Avliich gift the College placed his marble bust, -with a bible in his hand, in a niche in the lower part of the spire. Boj-d Mas an avowed Noncon- formist, and published a poem on the defeat of the Royal army at Newburn. The follow- ing lines will best illustrate his singular style and peculiar sentiments : — " In this conflict, wliicli was both sowre and surily. Bones, blood, and brains went in a hurly-burley; AU was made liodge-podg-e, some began to croole, Who fights for prelats is a beastly foole." On Cromwell coming to Glasgow on 11th October, IGoO, the magistrates and ministers fled, but Zachary Boyd remained at his post; and, from a letter by George Downing, dated 18th October, 1650, it appears that in his pulpit addresses he had used no very courteous language to the conquerors. " There was," says the writer, " one Scotch minister who stayed and preacht on the Lord's day, and we gave him the hearing morning and afternoon, with all his poor stufife and i-ailings of cotn-se. I doe believe the man's ambition was to have been a suf- ferer by us, but we Avould not honour him so farre." It is stated by several historians, that when Cromwell went in state to the Cathe- dral Church, it so happened that Mr Boyd preached in the forenoon, when he took occa- sion severely to inveigh against Cromwell, and that his secretary, Thurloe, whispered him to pistol the scoirndrel. " No, no !" says the general, "we will manage him in another way." He therefore asked him to dine with him, and concluded the entertainment with prayer, which lasted for three hours, even until three in the morning. Boyd was both a prose writer and a poet. In the fonner walk he will stand a comparison with the wi-iters of the period in wliicli he lived, Init in the latter he was poor and cold, and some- what ludicrous both in his conceits and his rhymes. " The Four Evangels" in English verse, "The Songs of the Old and New Testa- ment," "The Songs of Moses" in six parts, and the " Psalms, with Scripture Songs," are the best knovra of his rhyming productions. Of his prose works, which are very nume- rous, perhaps the most notable is, " The Last Battell of the Soul in Death," originally pub- lished in 1629, and republished under the editorship of Mr Gal)riel Neil in 18.31. The same gentleman edited and published four poems from "Zion's Flowers" in 1855, with some interesting notes. The catalogue of his whole works extends to forty-live different productions. The following strange letter, addressed as a watchword to the General Assembly, appears after the preface to "Gar- den of Zion :" — "Right Reverend, — Our Schooles and Countrey are stained, yea pestered with idle bookes ; your children are fed on fables, love songs, baudry ballads, heathen husks, youth's poyson. It much concerneth j'ou to see to this, and carefully to banish out of the land all the names of the pagan gods and godesses, which (as God has expresslie told us) should not bee taken into our lips. These words of God in Exodus are verie 'In all things I have said to you bee circumspect, and make no mention of the names of other gods, neither let it be heard out of your mouth.' Seeing this by God himself is required, it lyeth upon you to ordaine by the visitors of schooles that all these monuments of idola- trie be removed, and that only such bookes have place that may help childi-en to know God and Christ his Son, which is life eternal. Your humble Seiwant, Mr Zach^uiy Boyd. "From GlasgOM-, the 28th of May, 1644." GLASGOW ABOUT 1750. 5 which gold and mirror can produce, were at tliat time small, low-roofed, and dismal, each with its half-door usually shut, over which, but too frequently, the shopkeeper leaned, as if looking out for a customer. Few of these sliops, or rather booths, stretched much beyond a few hundred yards on each side of the ISIarket Cross, and of these the majority were placed under the Doric colonnades, or piazzas, which extended along the basement floors that skirted both sides* of each of the four streets whose centre formed the Cross — colonnades which, although to modern eyes they might appear mean and paltry, nevertheless called forth the wonder of Morer in 1689, f and the praises of the better known Defoe in 1726-1 Looking southward alona; the street, whose north-west corner contained * There is only one of these real old school of sliops "below the pillars" now remaining (1856). It is on the west side of High-street, No. 27. f " Glasgow is a place of great extent and good situation, and has the repiitation of the finest toini in Scotland, not excepting Edin- burgh, the' the royal city. The two main streets are made crosswise, well paved, and bounded witli stately buildings, especially about the centre, where they are most new, with piazzas under 'em. It is a Metropolitan See, and at the upper end of the great street stands the archbishop's palace, foiTnerl}', without dou1)t, a very magnificent structiu-e, but now in 7'uins, and has no more left in repair than what was the ancient prison, and is at this time a mean dwelling." — Mover's Account of HcotliiHi!, 1G89. X " Glasgow is the emporium of the West of Scotland, being, for its commerce and riches, the second in the Nortliern part of Great Britain. It is a large, stately, and well-built city, standing on a plain in a manner four-square, and the five principal streets are the fairest for breadth, and the finest built that I have ever seen in one city together. The houses are all of stone, and generally uniform in height as well as in front. The lower stories, for the most part, stand on vast square Doric columns with arches, wliicli ni)cn into the shops, adding to the strength as well as beauty of the build- ing. In a word, 'tis one of the cleanliest, most beautiful, and best bxiilt cities in Great Britain. Where the four principal streets meet, the crossing makes a very spacious market-place, as may be easily imagined, since the streets are so large. As we come down the hill from the North-gate to this place, the Tolbooth and Guildhall make the north-west angle or right hand corner of the street, which was rebuilt in a very magni- ficent manner. Here the Town Council sit ; and the Magistrates try such causes as come within their cognizance, and do all their other public business ; so that it will be easily con- ceived the Tolbooth stands in the very centre of the city. It is a noble structure, of hewn stone, with a very lofty tower and melodious hourly chimes." — Defoe's Tour in 1727. From the following entry in the City Records, it appears plain that the authorities were endeavouring to extend the piazzas in 1751: — "As Messrs Williamsons have taken down their land on the east side of John Ar- mour's tenement in Trongatc, in order to re- build, the Council remit to the said Magis- trates, Dean of Guild, and Deacon-Convener, to agree with them for a part of the front of their ground, for making jjiazzas and arched pillars in a line with those of the Town's- house, and the walk betwixt the shops and these piazzas to be the same breadth as in b GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. tlie Old Coffee-house Land* and in wliicli street Bailie Nicol Jarvie is said to have been domiciliated, and beyond the point where the piazzas then terminated, was a long succession of cutre wooden-faced houses, conveying a clear idea of the cause of the many devastating conflagra- tions that in former times brought so much ruin on the City, and occa- sioned so much loss and misery to the occupants of those combustible tenements, t The most salient objects, on proceeding at that period along the Trongate, were, first, the Old Tolbooth, with its crown-like spire, carved the To^vn's land, and the ijillars and the piazzas to he upon the Town's charge." 2-tth June, 1751. * This land took its name from being used as a sort of exchange, or place of meeting, for the merchants, before the erection of tlie Tuntine. It will be remembered for its pro- jecting architectural lantem-storey (about two stories up), which was reported to be mirch in request in later days by the higher classes of Glasgow for witnessing the '■^hangings" at the Cross. In 1766-9 it was occupied by Eo- b3rt and Andrew Foulis, the celebrated print- ers, for the book-auction department of their business. f In the Records of the Corporation vre find the following entry regarding the great fire that took place in Glasgow on 17th June, 1652: — " 22(7 June. — The same day, forasmeikle as it hes pleased God to i-aise on Thrusday last was the 17th of this instant, ane suddent fj-re, in the hous of Jlr James Hammiltoime, above the Cross, quhilk hes consumed that close — the haill close — on both sydes, belonging to Wm. Stewart, Thomas Norvell, and ithers; with the haill landis nixt adjacent therto, quhilk beloiigit to umqll. Peter Jonstoiui ancl Patrik jMaxwell, baitli bak and foire; and tlie haill tenement, bak and foire, on the south syde of the said umqll. Patrik Maxwellis tenement, betwixt that and the lands occupyet be Jon IJryssonne and siklyk; the haill houssis, bak and foire, upon bothe sydis of the Saltmercat ; with the houssis on the west syd of Wni. Lawsounis close in Gallow- gait; and the lioussis on the west syd of Gil- bert Merchellis close ; with divers housses on the north syd of the Briggait,— Whereby, efter compt, it is fund that there will be neir fourscoir closses all burnt, estimat to about ane thousand families, so that, unless spidie remidie be vseit, and help soglit out fra such as hes power, and whois harte God sail move, it is likelie the tonne sail come to oixter ruein ; and, therfore, they have concludit and ap- poynted that the Proveist, with John Bell, to ryde to Air to the Inglisch officers there, qulia hes bein heir, and seen the townis lamentable conditione such as Collonell Overton, and others, and to obteine from them lettres of recommendatioun to suche officers or judges who sits in Edinburghe, to the effect that the same may be recommendit be them to the Par- liament of Ingland, that all helpe and supplie may be gotten therby that may be for supplie of such as hes their landis and guids burnt. " 2oth June. — Persons appointed to visit or survey the haill landis burnt, and tak the names of the heretors and occupyers therof, &c. " Smie Day. — Regulations for the paj-er of workmenis wages, ' seeing the work is lyklie to be great anent the building up and re- paireing againe of the decayit pairts of the toune, and that the work is of such a neces- sitie that it might be presentlie gone about.' " 2Htk June. — The said day appoyntis those who formerlie teuk up the number of the brimt houssis to tak up now the value of them also, and of other losses sustenit be the laite suddent fyre. "The same day order takin for cleiring of the calsay of red, and for opening the kirk dooris, as may benetit people now want chalmberis, and other places, to reteir to for making of their devotioune." There was a general collection throughout the kingdom made for the sufferers from this fii-e, and the Session empower a Committee of Council to distribute all such money. From these Records, we also find the follow- GLASGOW ABOUT 1750. front, grated windows, and outside staircase,* flanked by the equestrian statue, cast in Holland, of the hero of the Boyne, but lately presented ta ing order, made by the Magistrates and Coun- cil on the 4th December, 1677, consequent on another great fire that took place on the 2d November of that year, and which no doubt tended to improve tlie City architecture. There wei'e above 130 liouses and sliops de- stroyed; and as the Tolbooth at the Cross was at that time crowded with persons who would not conform to Episcopacj*, it was broken open under pretence of saving the persons from the tire : — "4<7t Dec. — The said day, the said Magis- trate and Counsell, taking to their serious consideratioune the great impoverishment this burgh is reduced to, throw the sad and lamentable wo occasioned by fyre, on the secund of No^T. last, that God, in his justice, hath suffered this burgh to fall under, and lykwayes the most pairt of the said burgh being eye-witnessis twyse to this just punish- ment for our iniquities, b}' this rod, which we pray him to mak us sensible of, that we may turn from the evill of our wayes to himselfe, that so his wraith may be averted, and we preserved from the lyk in tjnne to come : And becaus such things ar mor incident to burghs and incoi-poratiounes, by reasone of their joyning houss to houssis, and, on being in- flamed, is reddie to inflame ane uthir, espe- ciallie being contiguouslie joyned and reared wp of timber and deall boards, witliout so much as the windskew of stone; Therfor, tliey, out of their dewtie to sie to the pre- servatioune of their burgh and citie, doe sta- tute and ordain, that, quhen it sail please God to put any of their nighbors in ane capacitie and resolutioune to build de novo, or repair their ruinous houss, not only for their probal)le seciiritie, but also for decoring of the said l)urgli, That each person l>uilding (h novo on the Hie-streit, or repairing, sail be obleiged, and is heirby obleist, to do it by stone-work from held to foot, bacli and foil", witliout ony timlier or daili, excei>t in the insett thereof, quhilk is vnderstood to be par- titions, doors, windows, pi-esses, and such lyk; atul this to be done, or engadgcd to, before they ])e suffered to enter to building; And seeing that several! heritors at present are not in a capacitie to l)uild, and nniny vthirs hnving wilder Ixxitlies, and no iiitrest in tlie lioiiss covering tlieni, they being at present uitiier not fitting to Imild, or unwilling,, or may be liclonging to minors, by whicli tliey have tlieir choiis uncovered, repairing to the Magistrats for libertic of covering them- selves the best way they can for pi'esent. till it sail pleas God to capacitat the owners to doe the same, wliicli desyre the said^Magis- trats and Coimsell thougiit but just, Ther- for, they thought fitt to licence the same to be done be the grund heritors. They alwayes enacting themselves to uncover the same againe quhen it sail pleas the super heritor to build, and not to com no farder out witli the vpper structor nor the foir face of the vnder chops, and to build the same with stone, except the Tonne Counsell' licence them, quhilk they will tak into their con- sideratioune how far they may, without spoji- ing the broadnes of the streit, they always repairing it -with stone in the foir wark, by arched pillars, and how many as the Toune Counsell, by the advice of architectors, sail think most covenient, &c. &c. " The said day recommends to Provest Bell, the Baillies, Deane of Gild, and Deacon-Con- veiner, to lay doune some fitt way for getting the red of the brunt houssis taken aft' the streit." On 25th September, 1725, the Cpiporatiou paid £50 sterling for a fire-engine got in Lon- don. On 22d Januaiy, 1726, the following IMinute shows the anxiety felt by the Corpora- tion regarding fires : — "Which day, &c., the Magistrats represent- ed that, in pursuance of a former act, &c., they had mett with the proprietors of the sugar houses, and had received in from them some proposals, viz. ; That, upon the town's exeeining their servants from keeping of the town guard, in respect their labour and work in the sugar house necessarily reqiiyres their working in the night time as well as throw the day, they, in lieu thereof, aggree and condescend that the suggar boyler of each of theu" sugar houses, with their servants, which will be ten, at least, from each sugar house, shall be ready at all tymes Avhen fire happens in the city, on their being advertised by the drum, or bell, or first allanu tlici'eof, to at- tend the Magistrats, and give their best help and assistance. The toun i)rovydiiig each sug- gar house with four slinjis, and stands and buckets. So that, upon tlie first occasion of fyre, they shall come to the plnce with them filled with water, and thereafter observe the orders and directions of the Magistrats, and others w lioni they shall appoynt." * There was another Jail or Tolbooth at the Cross before this. It is mentioned in the Session records of IGOO. This buiUling had a clock, for in 1610 we find "George Smyth. 8 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. the City by Governor Macrae ; * and next, the Town Hall, with its elegant arcade and Corinthian pilasters, fresh from the hands of its builder. Deacon Corse, and expressing, in the grotesque faces which formed the ksy-stones of the arches, the coming fame of his afterwards more celebrated foreman, Mungo Naismith,t who carved the caricature countenances which so long excited wonder and laughter among crowds of gaping gossippers4 Proceeding westward, and abutting on the street, the Tron Steeple was encountered, in which was the ancient Tron, and which marked the proximate site of the then unburned Collegiate Church of St Mary and St Anne. Next came the Old Guard-house, with its colonnaded front projecting into the street, in which the honest burghers were wont to meet when acting as the sole night-guardians of the City; then Hutcheson^s Hospital, with its quaint architecture, rustic gateway, and short square steeple ;§ and last, not least, " The Shawfield Mansion," separated from the street by a high stone parapet, surmounted by an iron railing. This last building was then on the very western verge of the City, but, although a private residence, was remarkable from being rewler of the Tollnxitli Knock." The town had booths or shops when the pilloiy was taken down in 1626. "15 3Iai/, 16-26.— The said day the grund stane of the Tollniith of Glasgow was laid." — Council Records. "8 Aprile, 1626.— The said day Gabriel Smythie undertuick to scherp the haill masons' ii-ones during the tyme of the build- ing of the Tolbuith and Stipell thereof qll the ■work be ended, for fortie poundes money." — Council Records. * James Macrae, Esq., late Governor of Fort St George, died at his seat of Orange- field, in the shire of Ayr, on 21st July, 1744. f Of Mungo Naismith several anecdotes are related. He was a hard drinkei", but an expert mason. In the building of the portico of St Andrew's Church, with its flat or plain arch, it was thought he would never succeed. On the night of the day it was finished, he retired to a neighbouring public-house, and, after a copious libation, returned alone and slackened the wedges of all the coomis which supported the arch. To his satisfaction lie found all would stand the test. The work- men on coming next morning were utterly amazed. X The foundation-stone of the Town Hall and first Assembly-rooms was laid by Pro- vost Coulter in 1736, and the Hall was opened in 1740. "WTien the spire of the Cathedi'al was struck by lightning in 1756, Mungo Naismith showed great genius in the erection of a scaffold for its repair. As a historical fact connected with this accident, it may be mentioned that a party of recruits being at drill in the nave, a seijeant and one recruit met their death from the fall of some stones. § The first building was originally intended for only eleven decayed merchants. The steeple and statues were to the garden front, where the accommodations for the boys was liiult. Mr Laurence Hill mentions that " in Hutcheson's own house and in his business room, situated most likely on the opposite side of the close from the dining-room, there GLASGOW ABOUT 1750. 9 associated, as it then was, in the minds of many living citizens, witli the baneful effects of mob-law and mob-spoliation,* or, what was still more memorable, with the fact that Charles Edward Stuart, the Pre- tender, had taken up his abode in it when he and his Highland host passed the Christmas week of 1745-46 in Glasgow, on his flight from Derby .t A few years before this period, the West Port or Gate had here formed a real barrier between town and country. This ancient structure, stood a long fixed oak table with his papers at one end, and at the other a large silver drinking tankard, always replenished with wine or ale for the necessary refreshment, without the ceremony or the show of parti- cular invitation of clients, whose horses came into the close and had their drink au discretion. These closes or entrances for horse as well as foot were at that time in- dispensable from the many booths or cranes for merchandise which then encumbered the street." * Mr Campbell, the proprietor of the house, having voted for the extension of the malt- tax to Scotland, a number of his constituents took offence, and on the 23d June, 1725, this fine mansion was attempted to be demolished. After damage had been done (for which Parliament paid to the extent of £6,080 sterling), and the siher plate which his lady had brought from West Shields had been can-ied off, the militarj' interfered, and nine men were killed and seventeen wounded. As it Mas but too justly believed that the Magistrates sympathised with the mob on the occasion, the Lord-Advocate, accom- panied by General Wade, who commanded a considerable force, proceeded to Glasgow, and committed the Jlagistrates to their own prison, and afterwards carried them to Edinburgh. The following curious song, entitled " The Glasgow Campair/n," appeared at the period : — "To Glasgow, to Glasg^ow, to Glasgow -ne'Il pop, With our cannon and mortars we'll make a fine show, With 3,000 stout men, 80 gallantly Icil. By our 'Advocate Gcnerall and his AJiiocami) Wailc. " There's 2Daniel the traitor and sjohn of Goud sleeves. And ■'Campbell of Carrick and his Highland theeves, With loyall ssii- Duncan and his Diamond so bright, Which he got for abjuring the Hanover right. " To chastise these rebells for appearing so keen For the House of Hanover in the danm'd year "fifteen ; Long live the 7grate Walpole, may he wisely thus reign, But if George gets his eyesight he may happen to string." 1 Mr Duncan Forbes. Lord- Advocate. 2 Daniel Campbell of Shawfield, M.P. for Glasgow district of burghs. .3 Frovost Campbell, the only Provost who used broad sleeves on his coat. 4 Commander of the Independent Highland Companies. 5 Sir Diuican of Lochiel, Captain of an Independent Company, who went up witli an address from the Toiy Clans, in the last year of Queen Anne, and had a mark of Her ^Majesty's favour. 6 Glasgow maintained some companies of vohmteers at Stirling camp in 1715. 7 Sir Robert, Prime Minister to King George IT., who introduced much In-ibery and corruption by packing Parliament. f This mansion, with its garden, passed through several hands. Soon after 1725 it was sold to Colonel Macdowall of Castlcsem- ])]e, and thereafter in 17G0 to ^IrGlassford of Dugaldston. In 1792, it was disposed of forX9,850 to jMr Horn, who opened up Glass- ford-street. The extent of the ground was about 15,000 square yards. Connected witli the history of this mansion wo find the fol- lowing- curious Minute of the Corporation on 10 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. however, like the old wall, and several other portals of the Citj^ set up for defence or for dues, had been already swept away.* But still, although the girdle was broken, from the increasing pressure of the population from within, little more than a few thatched cottages, malt-barns, and villas were yet to be seen beyond the site of that western gateway, until the successive little villages of Grahamston, Brownfield, and Anderston were rcached.f On either hand, along the road leading to Dumbarton, there were a double row of umbrageous elm trees and a tliick hedge-row, ■\^•ith merely a few cottages, surrounded by corn-fields and gardens, resoundino- in spring with the sweet carol of birds, and in summer with the hoarse yet not unpleasant cry of the landrail. If this be something like a rude sketch of the outward aspect of the centre of Glasgow, at the period when we would introduce thee, kind reader, to the Anderston Club, how can we convey to thee any distinct 6th May, 1746:— "Which day, Johu Cochran, Mr of AVork, represented that, by advice of the Magistrates, he had sent to London to sell the broken necklace of diamonds, which se- veral years ago were found among the nibbish of Daniel Campbell of Shawfield's house, when mobbed by the crowd in the year 1725, and exposed by some of the mobb to sale, with a piece of gold coin, and that the same had been offered back to the Lady Shaw field, who refused to take it, in regaird Shawfield was satisfied by the Parliament as to his dam- ages, and the town fj-ned upon that account, and that, accordingly, the said necklace was sold at £30 sterling, and the piece of gold at £2 10s. (Ordain him to pay the same over to tlie Treasurer)." With the compensation money which Shawfield received from the Government, amounting to £9,000, he was en- abled aftenvards to purchase the island of Islay, which after a generation or two, has passed into other hands at about £4.50,000. What a satire on Aristocracy I The father of the individual who built this celebrated man- sion was a notary who lived in the "Goose- dubbs." It was built in 1711. For a most interesting account of this mansion, and of its successive proprietors, see "Glasgow, Past and Present," vol. ii. page 176. * The ancient Ports of Glasgow, which were in existence in 1574, were as follows: 1. Stabilgrene Port. 2. Gallowgate Port. 3. Troyngate Port (West Port.) 4. The Southe Port (Water Port.) 5. The Rottenrowe Port, 6. The Greyfrier Port, 7. The Drygate Port, ) 8. The Port besyde the Castel-gett. ) Ports to be maid sureandlockit. f A little to the west of this Port, about that period, stood a small hostelry, with the sign of a goodly black bull, with the usual gilt appendages, stuck up in front; and near it was held the cattle market. To its proximity to this ancient hostelry, the new Black Bull Hotel, since converted into warehouses, owed its appellation. The first hostelry belonged to .James Graham, and was on the south side of Argyle Street, on the site of the second tenement to the west of Stockwell; and the second was first tenanted by the same indi- vidual. MEN AND MANNERS IN 1750. 11 idea of the peculiar appearance and bearing of the living beings who so sparsely perambulated the streets tliat are now crowded by jostling thou- sands — streets, it may be remarked en passant, which were then but roughly causewayed, replete with dust or mud, and altogether destitute, save at the Cross, of side pavements or crossings ? Men and manners have so much changed during a century, that it would require Ovid's pen to paint the metamorphoses. Let us turn, however, to the neighbourhood of the Cross, which was at that period the only portion of the City that could be said to be much frequented, and where we shall find objects for contrast. There, if anywhere, could be seen a specimen of all grades and classes of the inhabitants, from the Hioihlandman skulkino; in his tartan kilt and jacket,* ready to perform the most servile office, up to the scarlet- cloaked merchant or physician who, with gold-headed cane, and cocked hat perched on powdered hair or wig with dangling club-tie or pig-tail, strutted about in peacock luagnificence, as if he alone of all had the right to pace the Plainstanes.'\ On each side of the streets, at a respectable distance from the aristocratic atmosphere around the front of the public offices, might be observed a few tradesmen or shopkeepers — donned in blue or brown coats with clear buttons, breeches of cloth or cordurov, rig-and-fur stockings, and all sporting knee and shoe buckles— watching to catch the eye of their princely patrons, and waiting a signal to make an approach to their acknowledged superior, which they but too frequently did with all the subserviency of a Sir Archy M'Sycophant. Beyond the precincts adorned by the statue of King "William, there were few persons seen either loitering within the wooden posts, which in certain parts of the Trongate kept vehicles off the shops, or pacing the "crown of the causeway," which was rarely trod by plebeian foot. Classes in Glasgou", in those days, were as distinct as the castes in Hindostan. Trade and commerce could not happily, as now, transfer in a few short years the * "Last week a Highland lad was taken f ''■ Tlw Pliiiinttumx" the only part of (ilas- up, and coniiuitted to the Guard, fur weal inj; gow that was then paved, extended merely troxise, contrare to a late Act of I'ai lianient." in front of the puhlic otflecs and Tcjwn Hall — Glasgou- Ctmrnnt, ^fay, 171!). to the Cross. 12 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. industrious mechanic from a stool in the workshop to a seat in the House of Commons ; or transmute, even in less time, a knight of the shuttle into a knight of the shire. Society was then altogether differently constituted, for, ahhough the great majority of those who prided themselves on their lineage, or what in Glasgow is still so ill applied, on their " gentility," only dwelt in fiats, entering from a common stair, and for the most part received visitors in their bed-rooms;* still it would have been as impos- sible for one belonging to the then shopkeeping class to entei', at two o'clock, the dining-rooms of the scarlet-cloaked aristocracy, as it was for a craftsman's daughter to thread the mazy dance, at seven, under the vaulted roof of the then new Assembly-room at the Cross. f It never has been the habit of the better class of ladies in Glasffow to parade much on the street at any recent period, far less a century ago. * In the ancient Biirglial houses of Glas- go-w of the A-eiy first class, " the chamber of dais was often kept or used as a sort of state bedroom, or in the leddy's own chalmour or bedroom," where the hostess, seated by her own fire, received lier friends and visitors; and when tea came to be offered as a rare and parting refreshment to the ladies, or perhaps when punch, from the increase of the West India trade, began to detain the gentlemen somewhat long at the board, the females retired to the lady's room or fireside, where they sipped a little cup of tea while their sedans or chairs were being got ready. J The Assemblies, previous to this, were held first in a small Assembly-room, built by subscription, to the west of the To^^•n Hall in Trongate ; and thereafter in the Merchants' House, Bridgegate, whither many a fair dame was bonie in a sedan chair, the only mode of transport then patronised. Although dancing was considerably in vogue among the higher classes, who were of course veiy limited in number, especially at the time when the Duchess of Douglas used to patronise them, it seems pretty obvious that dancing was not \try generallj- encouraged by tlie ma.sses, since Mr David Runel, wlio alone had for two and twenty years previous to 1750 taught this accomplishment, required tlie aid of the Coi-poration, in the shape of an annual salary of j£20, to enable him to continue his profession. His terms appear to have been reasonable, each pupil being called on to pay only 2os for seven months, witli 5*- for a ball, and Is for a practising, when attended. About forty years ago (1816), the old ''Sedan Chair'' was to be seen, but then fast dropping out of existence. If we look back 60 or 70 yeai's we find these conveyances to have been extensively kept by one William Moses, who was a character. He was accustomed to join his servants in being the bearer of a lady in one of his Sedans to an Assembly, dressing himself in tlie first style of fashion. If the lady had no partner, he introduced her to one, or danced with her himself. He acquired some fortune, and became proprietor of about 100 acres of land and a mansion house, (near the present village of Springbum on the Kirkintilloch Eoad,) naming the property after himself, Mosesfeld. In 1793, we find him styled " William Moses, of Mosesfield." His ^idow was living in 1826, she retaining a life rent on the property, excepting wliich, all had passed out of her hands. THE GLASGOW LADIES. 1 3 With the exception of Sundaj^s and other holidays, when every house has been accustomed to pour forth its best-dressed inmates, to grace either church, chapel, or conventicle, it has always been difficult to catch, on the pave, the precise character and cut of the prevailing fashion. About the time of which we are speaking, a lady or two during a week-day, or Avhat has been more curiously designated a laioful day, might occasionally be encountered w^ending her way — in a towering head-dress, long-waisted gown, and powdered hair — to the public market,* tripping on pattens if the day was wet, or pacing on high-heeled and toe-pointed shoes, under the shadow of a goodly-sized fan, if the sun was shining ; or, as the old song says f — " Little was stown tlien, and less gaed to waste — Barely a millen for mice or for rattens ; The thrifty housewife to the flesh market paced, Her equipage a'— just a guid pair o' pattens. " Folk were as glide then, and friends were as leal, Though coaches were scant, with their cattle a-canterin', Right air, we were tell't, by the housemaid or cliiel, ' Sic, an' ye please, here's your lass and a lantern.' " A few servant-girls — either encased in close-titting, short-sleeved short- gowns, and plain white caps or mutches, or enveloped in scarlet duffles, and guiltless of shoes and stockings — might be observed, each carrying, probably, a basket, in the wake of her mistress, or bearing a couple of wooden stoups or pitchers for water, to be drawn from the few public wells which here and there abutted on the roadway ; and towards the most favoured of these — that situated near the West Port — the majority of these female drudges were wending their joyous way, unconscious of * The Flesh-'Markcts in King-street were salmond taken in Clyde this week than has opened in May, 1755. For many }'ears about been known for many years past ; it was this time fresh butcher-meat could be got currently sold in our market for about one finly on market-daj-s, except, perhaps, lamb penny a pound." during the summer months. Sea-fish, ex- f Perhaps the last public specimen of a cepting hen-ings, was rarely seen; but salmon lady in the antiquated dress referred to, was was both plentiful and cheap; in proof of Miss Inglis, who kept her brother's silk and which, the following extract from the Gins- ribbon shop (^Ir John Inglis), near the Trou fjow Journal, of 18th July, 1748, may be quot- steeple, and who was himself a triy sample of cd: — "There has been a larger quantity of the ancient costume. li GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. the still niitliscovered luxury of water-pipes, or the tliousaud aud one advantages which have arisen from the modern appliances of hydraulic science.* A few rude carts or cars might be seen moving along at a snail's pace during the day, and were by their masters — having no fear * During the fifty years previous to 1750, the manners thronghout Scotland partook much of the old fendal system. According to the Kecollections of JNIiss Elizaheth Mure, printed in the Caldwell Papers, and presented to the members of the Maithand Club, we find that "eveiy master was revered by his family, honored by his tenants, and aweful to his domestics. His hours of eating, sleeping, and amusement were carefully attended to by all his family and by all his guests. Even his hours of devotion Avere marked, that nothing might inteiTupt them. He kept his owm sete by the fire or at table, with his hat on his head; and often particular dishes were served up for himself that nobody else shared otF. Their children approached them with awe, and never spoke with any degree of freedom before them. The consequence of this was, that, except at meals, they were never together, tho' the reverence they had for their parents taught them obedience, mo- desty, temperance. Nobody helped them- selves at table, nor was it the fashion to eat up what was put on their plate, so that the mistress of the family might give you a full meal or not, as she pleased ; from whence came in the fashion of pressing the guests to eat so far as to be disagreeable. Every woman made her web of wove linnen, and bleached it herself. It never rose higher than two shil- lings the yard; and with this cloth was eveiy- body cloathed. The young gentlemen, who at this time (1727) were growing moi-e delicate, got their cloth from Holland for shirts; but the old was satisfied with necks and sleeves of the fine, which were put on loose above the countrj' cloth." At that time " hoops were worn constantly four yards and a half wide, which required much silk to cover them, and gold and silver was much used for trimming, never less than three rows round the petti- cot. 'J'lie heads were all dressed in laces from Flanders: no blonds or coarse edging used. The price of those was high, but two sute would serve for life. Thej' Avere not renewed but at marriage or some great event. Their tables were full, though very ill dressed, and as ill served up. They eat out of pewder, often ill cleaned. The ser- vants eat ill, having a set fonn for the week, of three days broth and salt meat, the rest megare, with plenty of bread and small bear." Yotmg ladies were indifferently educated, and were " allowed to run about and amuse them- selves in the way they choosed, even to the age of women ; at which time thej' were gene- rally sent to Edinburgh for a winter or two to lairn to dress themselves, and to dance, and to see a little of the world. The world was only to be seen at church, at marriages, burials and baptisms. These were the only places where the ladies went in full dress; and as they walked the street they were seen by every body; but it was the fashion, when in undress, alhvise to be masked. They never eat a full meal at table; this was thought very indelicate. But they took care to have something before dinner, that they might behave with propriety in company." The education of the young gentlemen, except those intended for the learned professions, appears to have been as little attended to as that of the ladies. The following pictures of a marriage, a baptism, and burial, we extract from the same interesting volume. "The bride's favours were all sewed on her gown, from tope to bottom, and round the neck and sleeves. The moment the ceremony was performed, the whole company ran to her and pulled off the favours; in an instant she was stripped of all of them. The next ceremony was the garter, A^'hich the bridegroom's man attempted to pull from her leg; but she dropt it throw her petticot on the floor. This was a white and silver ribbon, which was cut in DOMESTIC MANNERS ABOUT 1750. 15 of any police before their eyes — left quietly on the street during the niglit. The roads throughout all Scotland were at this period so narrow and so bad, as to resemble more the course of a rivulet than a highway, and consequently even few carts could go beyond the great highways. To small movsals to every one in the company. Tlie bride's mother came in then with a basket of favours belonging to the bridegroom ; tlio^e and the bride's were the same, with the livery's of their families, hers pink and white, his blue and gold colour. All the company dined and supped together, and had a ball in the evening." Of the baptism, it is stated that " on the forth week after the lady's deliver}' she is sett on her bed on a low footstool ; the ])ed covered with some neat piece of sewed work or white satin, with three pillows at her back covered with the same, she in full dress, with a lapped head-dress, and a fan in her hand. Having infonned her acquaintance what day she is to see compan j-, they all come and pay their repects to her, standing or walking a little throw the room (for there is no chairs). Tliey drink a glass of wine and cat a bit of cake, and then give place to others. Towards the end of the week all the friends were asked to the Cummers feast. This was a supper, Mhere eveiy gentleman brought a jiint of wine, to be drunk by him and his wife. The supper was a ham at the head, and a pirimid of fowl at the bottom. This dish consisted of four or five ducks at bottom, hens above, parti"ages at tope. There was an eating posset in the middle of the table, with dried fruits and sweetmeats at the sides. When they had finished their supper, the meat was removed, and in a moment eveiybody flew to the sweetmeats to pocket them; upon which a scramble insued, chairs overturned, and everytliing on the table, wars- nlJing, and pulling at one another with the utmost noise. A\'hcn all was quiet they went to the stoups (for there was no bottles), of wliich the women had a good share. For, though it was a disgrace to be seen drunk, yet it was none to be a little intf)xicate in good company. A few days after this the same company was asked to the christcninj;, wliicli was alhvise in the church, all in high dress, a nmnber of them 3'ouiig ladys, who wei'e called maiden cummers. One of them presented the child to the father. After the ceremony they dined and supped together, and tlie night often concluded with a ball." Of the burials, it is mentioned that the Ma- gistrates and Town Council were invited to the funeral of every person of distinction, 1500 burial letters being sometimes despatched. It had, some years preA-ious to 1727 been the custom " for ladys to walk behind the corps in high dress, with coloured cloaths. " But at that time the chesting, or coffining, was at the same time, when all the females invited to that ceremonial took part in the proces- sion. So much for the manners of Scotland in general! Of Glasgow in particular!" The late Mr D. Bannatyne states that, during the greater part of the first half of the last centmy, the habits and style of living of her citizens were of a moderate and frugal cast. "The dwelling-houses of the highest class in general contained only one public room, a dinning-room, and even that was used only when they had company; the family at other times usually eating in a bed-room. The great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers of many of the present luxurious aristocracy of Glasgow, lived in this manner. They had occasionally their relatives dining with them, and gave them a few plain dishes, all put on the table at once; holding in derision the at- tention which they said their neighbours, the English, bestowed on what they ate. After dinner the husband went to his place of busi- ness, and in the evening to a club in a pub- lic-house, where, with little expense, he enjoyed himself till nine o'clock, at wliich hour the party uniformly liroke nji, and the husbands went home to tlieir families. Up to the years 1750 and 1760 very few single houses had been built, the greater part of 16 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. country towns and villages, goods were almost invariably carried in sacks on horseback ; and the carriers from Glasgow to Edinburgh had baskets or creels on each side of the horses, and the cadger placed between them. With respect to anything like coach communication between distant parts of the country, that may be said to have been almost imknown. Journeys then, even between the most important cities, were both difficult and tedious.* For, even so late as the year 1763, there was only one stage- coach in all broad Scotland in communication with London, and that " set out " from Edinburgh only once every month, its journey thither occupying no less than from fifteen to eighteen days ! At this period there was very rarely the rattle of a four-wheeled carriage heard in any quarter of the town, for the plain reason that there was only one gentle- man's chariot kept in the City ; and the only other vehicle that could be encountered, was either some nobleman or gentleman's coach from the country — when it was certain to arouse the curiosity of the passing citizen, and excite the astonishment of the youthful urchin — or else the "Edinburgh Heavy," which, after ardently pursuing its course from morning's dawn, reached " Auld Eeekie," " God willing," long after "setofsun!"t the more wealthy inhabitants continuing, to 1678 :— " The said day, ordains Frederick a much later period, to occupy floors, in very Harailtone to have ane warrand for the swme many cases containing only one public room." of four hundred merks, payed to Wm. Hoome, Perhaps nothing can mark the mode of living merchant in Edinburgh, for twa yeares sal- more clearly than the fact, that the City cler- lerie, advanced to him in hand, for setting up gj' were paid, in 1750, only £111 2s 2d for and keeping the Stadge Coach betwixt this stipend and communion elements. and Edinburgh, confonn to the agreement * Every mercantile house in Glasgow doing made thereanent, quhilk agreement was pro- a " coimtry business," kept what is called duced and red to the Proveist and Baillies their ^^)-id€7;" who made periodical journeys commissionat to subsciyve the same in name throughout Scotland on horseback. This of the toune." Sixty-five years after, it ap- practice arose from the general badness of pears that the difficulty of making a regular the roads and the want of public communica- communication between the two cities was tion between towns; and from this circum- equally felt; for, by a Minute of Council stance it is said riding became not only dated 15th October, 1743, we find that "there fashionable but useful. was a proposal produced, signed by John t The establishment of the first regular Walker, merchant in Edinburgh, for erecting stage-coach between Edinburgh and Glasgow a stage-coach betwixt Edinburgh and Glas- may be gathered from the following Minute gow; and to set out twice a- week from Edin- of the Council of Glasgow, dated 29th July, burgh to Glasgow, and twice a-week from ANDERSTON CLUB. 17 Such were a few of the most interesting objects which, at the period we allude to, must have occasionally attracted the eyes of the aristocratic set of worthies who every Saturday paced, with solemn step, towards the comfortable hostehy of Anderston, beneath whose roof all were wont to expect one afternoon of fun and frolic out of the seven ; and where, so soon as the clock struck two,* there was sure to appear the erect figure of the president entering the door of the club-room ; immediately after whose arrival there was placed on the white-covered board a dish which both Dods and Kitchener have failed to register. This strange and now long-forgotten plat, which has been sacrificed to the Julienne and Mulli- gatawny of modern days, was denominated " hen-broth," and was nothing more nor less than a simple decoction of two or three Jwivtoivdies (An- glice, fowls) thickened — to use Mrs Hannah Glass's phraseology — with black beans, and seasoned with black pepper. To the devotees of our modern apopletic cookery, it will perhaps appear apocryphal how so coarse and so simple a condiment could have provoked an inhabitant of Glaso-ow to undertake what was then considered a Sabbath day's journey; yet true it is, and of verity, that the said hen-broth proved the Glasgow to Edinburgh ; and the coach or from Edinburgh at 3 afternoon, and back to lando to contain six passengei-s, with six Livingston at night, and at Glasgow Wednes- sufflcient horses, for twenty weelcs in the day night; sets out again Thursday, from summer; and the rest of the year once a- Glasgow, at 9 o'clock, and to Livingston at week; and each passenger to pay ten shil- night and to Edinburgh." "This, the Edin- lings sterling, and to be entitled to fourteen burgh stage-coach, being now to come to pounds weight of baggage ; and that as long Glasgow by the Falkirk road, it will be at the as he continues the stage-coach, that the town house of James Young (the George Inn), should insure to him that two hundred of his above the College, on Tuesday next, from tickets shall be sold here each year." The whence it sets out for Edinburgh, by the proposal was remitted to a committee, but it same road, on Wednesday at G o'clo(;k in the does not appear that it was entertained. morning. — October, 1749." What a singular insight this gives us into the * The common dinner hour among the citi- condition of Scotland not quite a hundred zens was one o'clock, husbands returning to years ago! The following advertisements business in the afternoon ; while their wives appear in the Glasfjoio Courant of 1749 ;— " That gave tea at four to their female friends. For the Glasgow and Edinburgh caravan sets out a long period this meal was vulgarly called this day at nine o'clock, and goes to Living- ''four-hours,'' even after it was postponed to ston this night, and is to be in Edinburgh on six. Shopkeepers usually locked their shops Tuesday about nine in the morning; sets out during breakfast and dinner hours. 18 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. acknowledged attraction, and the material link of union, as has already been hinted, to some of the wisest and most notable of Glasgow citizens.* As a key to the particular set who planted their legs under John Sliarpe's plane-tree^ we have to recall the name of the founder of the club. Professor Simson, the celebrated mathematician. Every Saturday, for years, did this gifted personage sally forth from his comfortable bachelor manege in the University, as the College clock struck one, and turned his face in the direction of Anderston. The Professor, like all individuals who have devoted their energies to the study of tlie exact * Although, previous to 1750, the general characteristic of the inhabitants of Glasgow had heen an attentive industiy, comhiued with a frugality bordering upon parsimony, it appears that they, notwithstanding, paid Eome little attention to cookery, which taste may perhaps be traced in some degree to their original connection with France. The following singular entry, in the Council Min- utes of the 8th May, 1740, shows that the northern Corporation of Glasgow were, like many others in the south, not insensible to the benefits to be derived from a knowledge of the culinary art : — " Which day, anent the petition given in by James Lochead, Teacher of Cookery, mentioning that he being regu- larly educated by his Majesty's cooks, under whom he served in the art of cookery, pastry, confectioning, candying, preserving and pick- ling, and of maldng milks, creams, syllabubs, gellies, soups and broaths, of all sorts ; and also taught to dress and order a table, and to make Bills of fare for entertainments of all kinds ; and that of late he has successfully taught severall young ladies, to their o\^ti and their parents' satisfaction; and that for in- struction of his scholars he is obliged to provide, on his o^\^l charge, flesh, fowls, fish, spiceries, and severall other ingredients, but v/hen drest, lye on his hand for want of sale, by which he is a loser, and will be obliged to lay aside his teaching unless he be assisted in canying it on ; and, therefore, craving a yearly allowance, &c., remit to the Magis- trates to agree with him as to teaching, and allow him £10 Sterling yearly during their pleasui'e." The following advertisement is taken from the Glasgow Courant of 1749, rela- tive to the foregoing individual: — "That James Lochead, at his house, opposite to Bell's-wjoid in Glasgow, begins, upon the 10th inst., to teach, as fonnerly, in a plain and easy manner, how to dress, with very small expense, all sorts of Flesh, Fowl, and Fish ; also Pastr}^ and Pickling, preserving any kind of meat in summer, from spoiling ; dressing Roots and Her])s ; likewise he teaches many useful things fit for families of all ranks, too tedious to mention. Any person who designs to be taught to dress meat, &c. as above, will be attended upon in his school, at any hour of the day, and will agree ■with them by the month, at a very easy rate. He hopes great satisfaction will be given to the ladies who are desirous of learning the art of Cookery, &c., by Avhicli in a short time, they will be able to direct their seiwants to dress any dish of meat to their own mind. And if any per- sons have occasion to make publick Enter- tainments, he is ready to attend them, to their satisfaction, as he has had the oppor- tunity to be frequently employed on such occasions, both in Scotland and England." In more modem times, young ladies, as a branch of education, were accustomed to at- tend the cooking department in such Hotels as the Tontine, and to see the laying out of a public dinner and sometimes even to sei've the guests, for all which a certain fee was paid to the landlord. PROFESSOR SIMSOX. 19 sciences, was in everything precise to a fault. It was his rule to assert or believe nothing without a Q. E. D.; and hence his life might be said to have been the very beau ideal of ratiocination. Upon no occasion whatever, when absent from the walls of alma mater, was the Professor of trigonometry ever at a loss to tell the exact number of paces that would bring him back to his own snug elbow-chair. Invariably in his prome- nades did he note each step he took from home ; and, although accosted by an acquaintance, was never put out of his reckoning, from the habit he had acquired of repeating, during the pauses of conversation, the precise number of paces he had journeyed. To his friends this love of mensuration often proved singular enough — to strangers it was sometimes absolutely ridiculous. As an instance of the latter kind, the following anecdote may be taken as an illustration. One Saturday, while proceed- ing towards Anderston, counting his steps as he was wont, the Professor was accosted by a person who, we may suppose, was unacquainted with his singular peculiarity. At this moment the worthy geometrician knew that he was just five hundred and seventy-three paces from the college towards the snug parlour which was anon to prove the rallying point of the hen-broth amateurs ; and when arrested in his progress, kept repeat- ing the mystic number at stated intervals, as the only species of Mnemo- nics then known. " I beg your pardon," said the personage, accosting the Professor ; " one word with you, if you please." " Most happy — 573 !" was the response. "Nay," rejoined the gentleman, "merely one ques- tion." " Well," added the Professor—" 573 !" " You are really too polite," interrupted the stranger ; " but from your known acquaintance with the late Dr B , and for the purpose of deciding a bet, I have taken the liberty of inquiring whether I am right in saying that that individual left five hundred pounds to each of his nieces?" "Precisely!" replied the Professor — " 573 !" " And there were only four nieces, were there not?" rej oh led the querist. "Exactly!" said the mathematician — " 573 !" The stranger, at the last repetition of the mystic sound, stared at the Professor, as if he were mad, Jtnd muttering sarcastically " 573 !" 20 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. made a hasty obeisance and passed on. The Professor, seeing the stranger's mistake, hastily advanced another step, and cried after him, "No, sir, /our to be sure — 574!" The gentleman was still further con- vinced of the mathematician's madness, and hurried forward, while the Professor paced on leisurely towards the west, and at length, happy in not being baulked in his calculation, sat down delighted amid the circle of the Anderston Club. Here the mathematician ever made it a rule to throw algebra and arithmetic " to the dogs," save in so far as to discover the just quadratic equation and simple division of a bowl of punch. One thing alone in the Club he brought his mathematics to bear upon, and that was his glass. This had been constructed upon the truest principles of geometry for emptying itself easily, the stalk requiring to form but a very acute angle with the open lips ere its whole contents had dropped into the oeso- phagus. One fatal day, however, Girzy, the black-eyed and dimple- cheeked servant of the hostelry, in making arrangements for the meeting of the Club, allowed this favourite piece of crystal, as many black and blue-eyed girls have done before and since, to slip from her fingers and be broken. She knew the Professor's partiality for his favourite beaker, and thought of getting another ; but the day was too far spent, and the Gallowgate, then the receptacle of such luxuries, was too far distant to procure one for that day's meeting of the fraternity. Had Verreville, the city of glass, been then where it has since stood, the mathematician's placid temper might not have been ruffled, nor might Girzy have found herself in so disagreeable a dilemma.* The Club met — the hen-broth smoked in every platter — the few standard dishes disappeared, the Medoc was sipped, and was then succeeded, as usual, by a goodly-sized punch-bowl.f • The manufacture of flint-glass or crystal f Little wine was then drank at the tables was first introduced into Glasgow, at Verre- of the middle class of the people ; and a ville, Anderston, in the year 1777. A bottle- dinner given to any beyond the family circle, house, for the manufacture of green bottles, which was alwa}'s of the most ordinary kind, had been established at the foot of Jamaica- was even a rarity, •street so early as 1730. THE LITERARY SOCIETY. 21 The enticing and delicious compound was mixed, tasted, and pro- nounced nectar — the Professor, dreaming for a moment of some loga- rithm of Napier or Problem of Euclid, pushed forward to the fount, unconsciously, the glass which stood before him, drew it back a brimmer, and carried it to his lips ; but lo ! the increased angle at which the Pro- fessor was obliged to raise his arm, roused him from his momentary reverie, and, pulling the drinking-cup from his lips, as if it contained the deadliest henbane, exclaimed, " What is this, Girzy, you have given me ? I cannot drink out of this glass. Give me my own, you little minx. You might now well know that this is not mine," holding up the crystal with a look of contempt. " Weel a wat it is a' I hae for't, Maister Sirason," answered Girzy, blushing. " Hush, hush," rejoined the mathe- matician, " say not so ; I know it is not my glass, for the outer edge of this touches my nose, and mine never did so." The girl confessed the accident, and the Professor, though for some moments sadly out of humour, was at length appeased, and swallowed his sherbet even at the risk of injuring his proboscis.* Of the other members of the Club, it might be reasonably supposed we should next say a little, but alas ! the scanty muniments of the fraternity that remain make the task somewhat difficult. It may be sufficient, however, to state, that of the many highly-gifted individuals who ori- ginated and then formed the famous "Literary Society," f which met * Dr Simson was exceedingly absent. As Mr James Moor, Professor of Greek. a proof of this, Lord Brougliam mentions Dr Robert Hamilton, Professor of Anatomy, that "one of the college porters, being dressed Dr Leechman, Professor of Divinity, up for the purpose, came to ask charity, and, Mr James Clow, Professor of Logic, in answer to the Professor's questions, gave Mr Hercules Lindsay, Professor of Law. an account of himself closely resembling his Dr E. Dick, Professor of Natural Philosophy, own history. When he found so great a Rev. Jlr Craig, Minister of Glasgow, resemblance, he cried out, ' What's your Mr George Ross, Professor of Humanity, name?' and on the answer being given, Dr Wm. Cullen, Professor of Medicine. 'Robert Simson,' he exclaimed, with great Mr Adam Smith, Professor of Moral Philo- animation, ' Why, it must be myself,' when sophy. he awoke from his trance." ^Ir Kichard Betham. t The following is a list of the members of Dr John Brisl)ane. the Literary Society of Glasgow during the Mr A\'m. Euat, Professor of Church History, years 1752 and 1763 :— Mr Robt. Bogle, Merchant, Glasgow. 22 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. every Friday evening in tlie University dui'ing the session, there were not a few present every Saturday in the Club-room of Anderston. Among these we may merely notice Dr James Moor, the accomplished Professor of Greek; Dr Cullen* and Mr Thomas Hamilton,! the great advancers of medical science; Professor Ross, a very Cicero in Roman literature ; Adam Smith, the now world-renowned political economist ; and, though last not least, the brothers Foulis, the never-to-be-forgotten Elzevirs of the Scottish press. With a few such men at every meeting, eked out with several of the more literary and intelhgent of the mercantile aristocracy, it may well be conceived that the conversation with which the dinner was wound up was of no ordinary kind, or such as now rarely falls to the lot of any diner-out to listen to. Would that stenography had been then as generally practised as it is in the present day, and that some cunning reporter could have been so placed as to have given us but a single "night with Simson and the Club!" What a couple of hours' delectable disquisition we should now possess on philosophy and science, Mr Alexander Graham. Dr Joseph Black, Professor of Medicine. Mr William Crawfurd, Merchant, Glasgow. Mr Andrews. Mr George Maxwell. - Dr Alexander Stevenson, afterwards Profes- Dr Robert Simson, Professor of Mathematics. sor of Medicine. Sir John Dahymple, Advocate. Rev. Mr M'Kay. William Mure of Caldwell. Mr Thomas Hamilton, Professor of Anatomy. The Rev. and Hon. P. Boyle. Mr James Buchanan, Professor of Hebrew. Walter Stewart, Advocate. Kev. Mr James Crombie. Mr Thomas Melville. John Grahame of Dougalstown. * ^r Cullen was elected to the Lectureship John Callender of Craigforth. of Chemistry in the University of Glasgow in Mr David Hume. '^'iA^^ ^ud afterwards to the Professorship of Mr George Muirhead. Medicine in 1751, which he held till 1756, Sir Robt. Foulis, University Printer. ^'^en he was elected Professor of Chemistry Mr John Anderson, afterwards Professor of ^^ the University of Edinburgh, after which Natural Philosophy. ^® obtained the Professorship of Medicine. Mr Ferguson. After a life of professional reputation to Mr Wait ' which few attain, he died in 1790, in the 80th year of his age. The additions from 1753 to 1760 were : Mr Andrew Foulis, Printer. t ^Ii' Thomas Hamilton was Professor of Mr William Campbell. Anatomy and Botany in the University, and Mr Alexander Wilson, Professor of Astro- father of the more celebrated Dr William nomy. Hamilton. A CLUE-SITTING. 23 on art and literature, — on all the world then knew, and all that it was predicted it would become! When it is recollected, too, that in the present times the blatant blusterings of every muddle-headed charlatan who has the impudence to place himself on a public platform must neces- sarily be pencilled and typefied^ before the lapse of a few hours, to meet the eager eyes of modern quidnuncs, may we not keenly regret that there was no Club Hansard to catch and retain for posterity the thoughts and sayings of those gifted men, many of whom have left elsewhere splendid proofs of their wisdom and philanthropy? If, however, we cannot now give the ipsissima verba of a Club-sitting at Anderston, we may safely assume, from the characters who composed it, that the president, in spite of occasional abstractions, generally indulged in a succession of humorous anecdotes connected with the various correspondents with whom he was in daily communication, and was, moreover, ever ready to troll out a Greek ode to notes of modern music, with the view of adding to tlie hilarity of the afternoon. Only imagine how a Sapphic or Anacreontic stanza, in all its original purity, would now be understood or rehshed by the most erudite of our present club-going citizens! Even Latin, we fear, in these unscholastic and utilitarian days, might be found at a serious dis- count, when it is well known that several commonplace quotations lately made use of by a classical Bailie were absolutely received with gaping wonderment and ignorant astonishment by those who were not at but of the Bar ! That the Hellenic poesy of Professor Simson should have been, as it certainly was, highly relished in the Anderston Club, will not appear stranfre, however, when it is remembered that there were at least two listeners in the company, in the persons of Dr Moor and Mr Eoss, whose classical acumen had done much to render the typography of yet another listener, Robert Foulis, so justly celebrated for its correctness.* * In addition to Dr Moor and Mr Koss, whole of those gentlemen having? been the Mr L. Muirhead contrihutcd much to the readers of his finest works, and particularly correctness of Kohert Foulis's printing, the of his folio edition of Homer. 24 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. At that period, too, the practice, with few exceptions, was, that all pro- fessors in Scottish colleges gave their prelections in the Latin tongue ; and hence, not only were professors themselves better versed than they now are in the dead languages, but students also were obliged to grind assiduously before they could with any hope of profit enter a class-room. We must recollect, also, that Dr CuUen, although he was the first in the Glasgow University who broke through Latin trammels, and gave his lectures in English, was nevertheless a first-rate scholar; and also that Adam Smith had been a respectable exhibitioner at Baliol. In a congre- gation of such men as wagged their bag-wigs or pig-tails round the Anderston board, it can readily be imagined that there was never any lack of instructive and agreeable converse. The gentlemen unconnected with the college had always some tale or adventure to tell in relation to Prince Charlie and his bare-legged followers during his late fatal expedi- tion* — of his peculiarly princely aspect but dejected expressionf — of his fondness for Miss Catherine Walkinshawi}: — of Provost Buchanan's perti- nent reply to the demand for £500, § and of the evils arising from the * Prince Charles's forces, on entering Glas- not, however, appear to have softened their gow, did not exceed 3600 foot and 500 horse, political prejudices, or gained a smile from To conceal their weakness, the Prince caused any fair lips but those of his favourite and his men, after passing from the Trongate into admired Catherine Walkinshaw. the gate of Mr Glassford's house, to return t Catherine Walkinshaw was the third by Ingram-street and Queen-street to the daughter of John Walkinshaw, of Barrow- front, and again march in, as if they were field. Her beauty attracted the notice of the fresh troops. Prince. Whether the liaison, which at a later f According to a writer in the Attic Stories, period existed between Charles and Miss who had the information from an eye-wit- Walkinshaw commenced in Scotland, is not nes, Charles Edward's appearance was indeed perfectly known ; but it is certain that from princely, " and its interest was much deepened 1751 she lived with him, sometimes in Switzer- by the dejection which appeared on his pale land and sometimes in Flanders, as his mis- countenance and downcast eye. He evidently tress. By her he had a daughter, who was wanted confidence in his cause, and seemed legitimised in July, 1784, whom he created to have a melancholy foreboding of that Duchess of Albany. She died in 1789, having disastrous issue which ruined the hopes of suiwived her father twenty months. his family for ever." Gib, who acted as stew- § Provost Buchanan, of Drumpeller, when ard of the Prince's household, mentions that required by the rebels to contribute £500 for he dressed more elegantly when in Glasgow their immediate use, coolly replied, " They than he did " in any other place whatsom- might plunder his house, if they pleased, for ever." This compliment to the ladies does he would not pay one farthing." CITY FINANCING. 25 cruel contribution which the Prince had levied on the City, leading almost to its bankruptcy* — of the successful mission of Provost Cochrane and Bailie Murdoch to London,! whereby they obtained no less than ten thousand pounds indemnity for the loss sustained by the City — of the disapprobation shown by the populace to those who patronised the first theatre, which was then erected against the wall of the Episcopal palace nearthe Cathedral (when such matters were looked upon by the mass of the inhabitants as a sin),— and, in fine, of a thousand other ruling topics of the day. * The demand made on Glasgow for broad- cloth, tartan, linen, bonnets, and shoes, amounted to nearly £10,000 sterling, besides which the rebels got a sum of money. At that time the whole annual revenue of the City was only £3,000, and its expenditure £3,081. t From the following Mimite, extracted from the Council Records, we are presented with the details of Provost Cochrane and Bailie Murdoch's expenses to and from Lon- don. The minute is dated 28th Jan., 1760 :— "The which day Andrew Cochrane, Pro- vost, and George Murdoch, late Bailie, gave in an account of their charge and expenses in relation to their late journey to and from London about the town's affairs, which is as follows: — To a chaise and maker's servant, £28 2s 6d. To John Stewart, the servant, at several times on the road, £6 7s 2d. To ditto at London to account, £5 Ss. To the servant, to carry him with two horses, £1 10s. To charges at Whitbuni, and four days at Edin- burgh, £8 10s. To charges on road to London, 11 days, £28 10s. To lodging at London, and house account for coals, candle, tea, sugar, breakfasts, &c., £61 los 9(/. To Wm. AUoe, the servant, for wages, boarding, and inci- dentals at London, and for turnpikes and ex- penses on road down, £17 13s 3(/. To shaving and dressing, £2 7s. To Mr Burden for li(}uors to quarters, £4 r2s. To cliaise- mcnding 10s. To post hire from London to Edinburgh £21. To hostlers, riders, horses, &c., £2 2s. To charges on road from London, £.5 V2s Gd. To charges at Edin- burgh and Wliithurn, £2 13s Gd. To charges from Ediiil>urgh lioinc and the driver, £2. To extraordinary entertainments in London, £30. To writing copies petition and memo- rial, &,c., £7 lis. To expenses and incidentals, ordinary and extraordinary, at Loudon, viz., By Andrew Cochrane, £125 12s. By George Murdoch, £105 4s |c?. To a writing-master to come down [no doubt to improve the character of the City penmanship], £5 5s. To charge of advertisements, 6s— extending the said sums to £472 lis S^d sterling." Considering the then value of money, it seems pretty plain that the civic authorities of that day undei'stood deputation expenses as well, if not better, than their successoi's in office. The vast difference between the Cor- poration transactions a century ago, and those of the present day, may be briefly illustrated by the following entiy in the Minutes of the Magistrates and Council of the 26th Septem- ber, 1754: — "Resolve, that a cash account be opened with the Xew Bank Company [Glasgow Arms], upon the Town's account. To draw by a cash account from thence what sums the Town shall stand in need of, and that the Provost for the time being be their operator and drawer of those sums. The sums to be drawn by the said cash account not exceed- ing One Thousand Founds Sterling, and to be drawn for as the Town shall have occasion for the same." The Glasgow Arms Bank was commenced about the latter end of the j'ear 1750. The firm was " Cochrane, Murdoch, & Co.," the two celebrated Provosts. The office was built in the Bridgegate, and thereafter mov- ed, in 1778, to the south end of :Millcr-street, and continued there till it stopped payment in 1793, along with the Merchants' Bank and the Thomsons' Bank. It is satisfactory to state that all the three Banks paid their debts in fuU. 2Q GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. But there was certainly no topic, of a local kind, on which the Chib were more cordially agreed than this, that never was there a period in the history of the nation in which greater feebleness and misconduct, on the part of a Government, was more strikingly manifested than during the risino- of 1745; a;nd that no community had so much reason as Glasgow to complain of its interests being compromised and neglected. Well might Provost Cochrane complain, as he did, of the craven withholding of assis- tance on the part of the Minister for Scotland, the Justice-Clerk, and the deliberate abandonment of the community to the harsh measures of a retreating and undisciplined army. At this time of day, the conduct of the authorities in Edinburgh is indeed scarcely credible. Occasionally Dr Moor detailed the hairbreadth escapes he had made, and the difficulties he had encountered in his journey to London, in those days when men made their wills before undertaking such a dangerous pilgrimage; and when he, though a leal and devoted Protestant, hurried, at all risks, to the English metropolis, to do what he could to save the life of his kind but unfortunate patron, Lord Kilmarnock, whose misguided zeal in the Stuart cause brought him to the scaffold.* Next came Professor Ross, who, forgetful for a moment of the higher walk of Greek and Latin criticism, at once leapt into a disquisition on the more immediate litera- ture of the day, and particularly on the then just published works of * Dr Moor was Professor of Greek in the famous Homer in i vols, folio. Eveiy proof- University. After finishing his college edu- sheet of this celebrated work was read over cation he became tutor to the son of the six times. David Allan, the well-known unfortunate Lord Kilmarnock. He after- Scottish Painter, was bound an apprentice to wards became tutor to Lord Selkirk, and with Messrs Foulis in 1755, and it is mentioned, both he travelled on the Continent, and was in a late biography of that artist, that there introduced into the first society in Europe. is a sketch l)y him in Newhall house, repre- On returning to Glasgow, Mr Moor was senting the inside of this academy, with an appointed Librarian to the University, and exact portrait of Robert Foulis in the act of was afterwards, through tlie kindness of Lord criticising a large picture, and giving instruc- Selkirk, elected to the Chair of Greek, on the tions to his principal painter about it. In payment of £G00 to the occupant to retire. the latter years of Dr Jloor's life, he had an Dr Moor took the deepest interest in the ii-reconcilable quarrel with Robert Foulis, his classical publications of his brother-in-law, brother-in-law. In 1853, Mr Gabriel Neil Robert Foulis. Along with Professor Muir- published a series of curious papers, respecting head he superintended the printing of the this quarrel, in the "7?e/b?'nier's (Jo^efte." ART AND LITERATURE. 27 Tobias Smollett, viz., "Roderick Random" and "Peregrine Pickle." We think we hear the laughter yet of the merry group, over such extracted scenes as those where Bowling chastises the cruel-hearted schoolmaster : where Commodore Trunnion and Lieutenant Hatchway are found journeying to the marriage of the former ; where the exploits of Strap, whose type was then living in the City, are recorded ; or where are given the unfortunate contretemps of Pipes and Pallet ! Thereafter, too, might be heard Robert Foulis expatiating on all he had seen in France and Italy — descanting on the chefs cCauvre of art at Rome, Florence, Parma, and Bologna — and telling all he had himself done to bring art to Glasgow, and all he still proposed to do for its encouragement and extension. And, when these subjects were not his theme, which was rarely the case, he would doubtless portray the rise and progress of the Glasgow press — not forgetting his predecessor Urie, and his contem- porary, Andrew Stalker — that editor of the Glasgow Journal who, curious to state, was only remarkable for what editors of the present day cannot certainly be accused of, shameful timidity.* And then, to crown all, the author of the " Wealth of Nations" might be there heard telling, as he was often wont, of his experiences at Oxford, where he was deterred * In 1744, Mr Robert Fotilis brought out explain the rise and fall of this unfortunate what has been called his " immaculate" edition institution : — of Horace. The work was so carefully exe- u^^^^,^^.^ Foulis ha.dng previously sent cutod, that each sheet, previous to its being \iomQ his brother with a painter, an engraver, worked off, was hung up in the College, and and a copperplate printer, whom he had a reward offered to all who could discover an ^^SJlged in his seiwice, returned to Scotland ,. ,1 ,, . . ,, in 1/53, and soon after instituted nisAcademv inaccuracy. Notwithstanding all this trouble f^^. Painting, Engraving, Moulding, and and care, Dr Dibdin points out six typograph- Drawing. The University allowed him the ical errors. Mr Gabriel Neil, who has a copy use of what is now the Faculty Hall, as an ^xi- 1 11 1 ™ ^*..*„„ i,„,„„,.^.. fi,„f exhibition-room for his pictures, and of of this valuable volume, states, however, that ^^^^^ other rooms for his students; and there are only Jive. In the year 1751, Mr R. three Glasgow merchants, with a liberality Foulis went abroad for the fourth time; but which reflected the highest credit on thcm- before this journey was undertaken, the selves afterwards became partners in tlic . . . . , „' , undertaking. Tliese were Mr Cami)l)cll ot scheme for instituting an Academy for the Cathie, Mr Glassford of Dougalstone, and Fine Arts in Glasgow had been pretty well Mr Archil)al(l Ingram— the last a man digested, and often formed the subject of certainly of no literary i)retensions, nor even 1 t. * ■ • * „ «„of:^^ Tv,„ <-^n^„r liberally educated, but possessed of intel- debate in private conversation. The follow- ij^^^^^g^ ^nd public spirit. The students, ing extract from Mr Richard Duncan's con- jiccordiiig to the i>ropc)scd plan, after having tribution to the Maitland Club, will best given proofs of genius at home, were to be 28 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. from adopting the clerical profession, in consequence of the unceremoni- ous manner in wliich he was treated by the superiors of Baliol, when they discovered him studying one of the early lucubrations of Hume. While, what was still better, he might be heard pouring forth his inci- pient ideas of the advantages of Free Trade, which, strange to say, many of the merchants who then listened to him, although monopolists in heart and practice, did not even deny; and whicli, after many party conflicts, are now acknowledged by all who lay claim to the character of states- men.* sent abroad at the expense of the Academy. The whole scheme seems generally to have been considered romantic, and we have Foulis's own testimony that 'there seemed to be a pretty general emulation who should run it most down.' This opposition, how- ever, only increased his determination, and the Academy was continued long after he might have known that it would ultimately ruin him if persevered in." The Academy was broken up on the death of Mr Ingi-am in 1770, and the collection of pictures was sent to London, whither Robert Foulis also repaired. The pictures were aftenvards sold at a minous loss, and Fonlis's mortification was most acute. He returned back to Scotland, and expired in Edinburgh, on 2d June, 1776, on his way to Glasgow. His brother Andrew died of apoplexy, September 18, 1775. The printing-house of Messrs Robei"t & Andi-ew Foulis, in Shuttle- street, was advertised for sale on 31st October, 1782. From a careful analysis made by Mr Neil, of the 2 vol. catalogue of Mr Foulis, there were, infer alia, in the Academy 553 pictures, which comprehended 4548 square feet of painting on cloth, wood, and copper, &c., the average size of each picture, 8-224 square feet. * Adam Smith was born at Kirkaldy on the 5th June, 1723, and entered the Univer- sity of Glasgow in 1737. Chosen an exhibi- tioner on Snell's Foundation, he was sent to Baliol College, Oxford, in 1740, whence he returned to Kirkaldy in 1747. In the end of the year 1748, he removed to Edinburgh, where, under the patronage bestowed on him by Lord Kames, he delivered lectures during three years on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres. His literary reputation being now well established, he was elected in 1751 Professor of Logic in the University of Glasgow, and in the following year he was removed to the Chair of Moral Philosophy. In this situation he remained for thirteen years, which he used to consider the happiest of his life. In 1759 he published his "Theory of Moral Sentiments," a work which greatly contri- buted to extend his fame and reputation as an author. Towards the end of 1763, he was induced to leave the University Chair of Glasgow, to accompany the then young Duke of Buccleuch during his tour of the Conti- nent. In 1766, Dr Smith returned with his pupil to London, and soon after took up his residence with his mother at Kirkaldy, where, with the exception of a few occasional visits to Edinburgh and London, he resided con- stantly during the next ten years, engaged habitually in intense study. In 1776, he published his " Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations ; " after which he resided for two years in London, where his society was courted by the most distinguished persons in the Metropolis. He was thereafter appointed, imsolicited, to a Commissionership of Customs in Scotland, and he removed to Edinbui'gh, where he spent the remainder of his days. In 1787 he was elected Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow. He died in 1790. In the "Bee" elders' hours. 29 In such society, it may well be conceived that time passed more quickly than usual ; but however happy the members always were, still the arithmetical precision of Professor Simson never permitted even the most interesting discussion to prevent him calling the bill at an early hour, and of dissolving the meeting so as to enable all to reach their homes in the City within elders^ hours ;* a matter then perhaps more necessary than in these days of gas and watchmen, when it is remembered that even an oil-lamp was a rarity on the Trongate, and when the only light to guide the footsteps of the members through the streets in winter, was a farthing candle stuck in a shop window, or a brace of " muttons " blazing from the street-openings of some joyous dining-room, whose occupants would probably not part till a portion of them, at least, lay under the table ! Notwithstanding, however, the absence of all those municipal blessings which improved manners and increased taxation have brought about, we have never heard of any accident befalling any member of the Anderston Club, on their homeward course to the City, during the many long years they met in John Sharpe's hostelry. With the death of Professor Simson the Club was finally closed, and like liim, all its members have since finished their earthly course ; but it may be truly affirmed of this fraternity, what can rarely be said of any other club-going brotherhood of the City, that although the greedy grave has long ago swallowed up the mortal coil of each and all of its members, their spirit still lives to enlighten, to guide, and to instruct the genera- tions which have already succeeded and may yet succeed them. Peace to the manes of the Anderston Club ! for 1791, will he found many interesting and * The phrase " elders' hours" was synony- curious anecdotes of Dr Adam Smith, evi- mous with all belonging to the family being dently furnished by college contemporaries. in the house in time for evening prayers, There is also a portrait of the Doctor with which were offered up immediately before his wig and pig-tail tied up in ribbons. In supper, then a common family meal. At this the Town Hall of Glasgow there is a fine period almost all ranks adhered more or less bust of Smith, by the late Mr Patric Park. to the habits of the Covenanters, and hence family worship was almost universal. HODGE-PODGE CLUB. If the world has had its ages of iron, silver, and gold, Glasgow also assuredly had, during even the last century and a half, its peculiar and distinctive mercantile ages. It had, for example, its salmon and herring, its tobacco, its sugar, its cotton, its iron, and its steam-boat building ages in regular progressive succession, — one peculiar business or handicraft generally holding for a season its paramount sway, and then calmly yielding the supremacy to another. Previous to the union of Scotland and England, the fish trade with foreign countries, carried on as it was particularly by Walter Gibson, who at one time was Provost of Glasgow, must be regarded as one of first- rate importance, when we consider the size and situation of the town — bringing the City, as it then did, into active commercial intercourse with France and Holland, and exchanging thereby the products of the Clyde for the luxuries of the Continent.* After the happy compact — or * The curing and export of salmon and her- and other two large ships, and traded to ring, hy Glasgow merchants, commenced as France, Spain, Nonvay, Sweden, and Vir- early as 1420, and was the chief foreign trade ginia." In 1G81 the exports from Glasgow connectedwith the City till the Union. M'Ure to Bordeaux consisted of herrings, salmon, states that " Walter Gibson packed and cured grind-stones and coals. It does not appear 300 lasts of herrings in one year ; and having that any of the coarse woollen manufactures freighted a Dutch ship, called the St Agatha, of this district were then sent to France, of 450 tons, the ship, with the great cargo The "Accompt Current between Scotland arrived safely at St Martin's, in France, where and England, 1705, written by John Spreul, he got for each barrel of herring a barrel of merchant and citizen of Glasgow," gives some brandy and a crown ; and the ship, at her very curious particulars of the trade of Scot- return, was loaded with salt and brand}'. land at that period. Mr Spreul relates that The product came to a prodigious sum, in he had sold his herrings in several parts of consequence of which he bought this vessel the world at sixpence each. The articles EISE OF THE TOBACCO TRADE. 31 unhappy as it was regarded by many in Scotland at the time —was signed and sealed, which certainly linked more closely tw^o otherwise rival commercial communities of the same isle, an immediate impetus was given to the commerce of Glasgow. The American Colonies, hitherto the exclusive field for English enterprise, were opened to the merchants of the West of Scotland ; and partnerships were at once formed, and vessels chartered and thereafter built, for carrying on at first an extensive barter trade, and at length a regular commercial intercourse with Virginia, Maryland, and Carolina.* Perhaps among the changeful peculiarities connected with the com- mercial chronology of Glasgow, there is none more extraordinary than the rise, progress, and decay of the Tobacco Trade, or of the lofty position in the social scale which the limited class of citizens engaged in that lucrative traffic so speedily attained and so soon lost. This trade seems to have originated about the year 1707, and was conducted on principles ^Yhich could not fail to prove lucrative. The method for a considerable time of carrying on this business was to despatch with every vessel a supercargo, who, on arrival, bartered his goods for tobacco, and remained until he had either sold all his goods, or at least got sufficient tobacco with which to load his vessel, when he returned home with his cargo and any goods tliat were unsold. Each adventure in this way w^as at once closed, and the profit on the transaction was known and realised. The first vessel belonging to Glasfjow which crossed the Atlantic was in 1718; and soon after the imports of tobacco became so considerable in the Clyde, as seriously to diminish the imports of the same article at the ports of Bristol, Liverpool, and Whitehaven. Frugality on the part of those who which he proposed to exchange for gold dust Ghisgow, that the first adventure to America and elephants' teeth, on the coast of Guinea, was placed under the charge of tlie captain were — "linnen and woollen manufactures, of the vessel, who acted also as supercargo, knives, scissors, small looking-glasses, and Being asked on his retm-n for a statement of other toyes, strong water, tobacco and heeds, his management, he said he had none to and peuther dislies; Glasgow plaids and blue give, "but there were the proceeds," pruduc- I'onnets may do for their kinrjs and qiieens!" ing, at the same time, a large hoygar or stock- * It is stated by most of the historians of ing filled with coin. 32 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. were early engaged in this traffic has been assigned for the success of the Glasgow tobacco merchants ; while, on the part of others, it has also been insinuated that not a little was due to the fact of the whole trade being cunningly conducted in pai^tnersJiip with the Crown, by which more was to be gained than can now possibly be done, in these days of stringent Excise and Customhouse surveillance. Be this as it may, it is at least certain that the English, when they found themselves smarting under the competition, brought forward this allegation of fraud on the part of the Glasgow importers of tobacco, to crush the trade in the West of Scotland; for we find that in the year 1721 the whole individuals engaged in this trade throughout England banded themselves together to effect this object, through the Government of the day ; but, for the honour of Glasgow, it is consolatory to know that all their evil endeavours proved ineffectual, and instead of being able to put down, as they hoped they would, the commerce so energetically maintained between America and Glasgow, their envious efforts only tended to increase and enlarge its power. In the year 1735 the Virginia merchants in Glasgow could boast of having fifteen large vessels, belonging to the ports of the Clyde, engaged in the tobacco trade, besides many others which they had chartered from other ports; and, by the year 1750, they had a still greater number.* The twenty following years may indeed be considered as the very hey- day or culminatimg point of the tobacco trade in Glasgow. During that period an unexampled extent of business in the intoxicating Aveed passed through the Glasgow merchants' books ; and having there paid toll in the shape of profit, it was sent to all parts of the Continent of Europe, and to not a few of the leading ports of England and Ireland.f The fact is, that between the year 1760 and 1775, Glasgow became the great * From the year 1729 to 1749 the duties f In 1772 the following quantities of to- paid on tobacco at Port-Glasgow, whereof no bacco were imported into the Clyde : — part was repaid, amounted to £80,850 8s 5(^. From Virginia . . . 33,986,403 lbs. The duty paid in 1749 was alone £7,175 12s North Carolina. 755,458 „ 4(7. Jlaiyland . . 11,313,278 „ 45,055,139 „ THE TOBACCO TKADE. 33 emporium for tobacco in the empire ;* for, while the whole import into Great Britain in 1772 was 90,000 hogsheads, Glasgow alone imported 49,000! t From the large extent to which this particular branch of business was carried on in Glasgow, it seems almost miraculous how a sufficient capital could at that period be found for it, either in the east or west of Scotland. In those days, however, the Virginia merchants, in making their export * Besides considerable quantities shipped to Nonvayand Dunkirk, the exports from Glasgow to the Continent were in 1772 as under : — To France .... 20,744,9-13 His. Holland .... 14,932,543 " Italy 311,707 " Germany .... 3,868,027 " f The history of tobacco itself is extremelj' curious. Compared with most luxuries, it is of very recent use in Europe. It is supposed to have been iirst introduced into England by Sir Walter Kaleigh in 1586, and so rapidly did the taste for this soothing weed spread, that we find, about thirty years after, from the " Counterblast," by James VI., that such sums were expended on it by the people as to awaken serious fears in the mind of that pedantic monarch. In his astovindiug in- vective against the use of tobacco, he says — "Have you not reason, then, to be ashamed, and to forbeare this filthie noveltie, so basely grounded, so foolishly received, and so grossly mistaken in the right use thereof.' In your abuse thereof, sinning against God, harming yourselves both in persons and goods, and raking also thereby the markes and rites of vanity upon you by the custome thereof, making yourselves to be wondei'cd at by all forrein civill nations, and by all strangers that come among you, to be scorned and con- tenmed. A custome loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmfuU to the braine, (liingerous to the lungs, and in the black stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horril)le Stygian smoake of the pit that is bottomlesse." Tlie plant was at first cultivated in England, but was prohibited by James, and afterwards by Charles I. It ap- pears, however, that its cultivation was not finally arrested till the da3-s of Cromwell ; since which time we have depended on fo- reign countries for the supply of what has seiwed successive governments with the most eflfectual means of raising a large revenue. Althorxgh Great Britain is i^erhaps the smallest consumer of tobacco of any nation in Europe, yet the use of it has increased much during the last thirty years. From a table given by Mr John Crawford in the " Statistical Jour- nal" of 1852, we find that while in 1821 the consumption per head was 11-71 ounces, it increased in 1851 to 10-86 ounces. The amount of tobacco consumed in the United Kingdom in 1851 was 28,062,908 lbs., and the revenue derived from it was £4,485,768. In Denmark the consumpt per head, in 1848, was nearly 70 ounces ! Mr Crawford also reckons the consumption of the whole world to be little short of two millions of tons ; and, he justly adds, that " certainly no inven- tion ever made by man has been so univer- sally pervading as the seemingly trivial one of the use of tobacco." " Next to salt," says that able and accurate writer, "tobacco is the article most universally consumed by man. In one form or another, but most generally in the form of fume or smoke, there is no climate in which it is not con- sumed, and no nationality that has not adopted it. To put down its use has equally baffled legislators and moralists ; and, in the words of Pope on a higher subject, it may be said to be partaken of ' by saint, by savage, and by sage' " I) 34 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. purchases, did not go, as foreign traders now do, with cash in hand, or with an acceptance to pay for them at a certain limited date ; the only understanding between buyer and seller being, that on the return of the vessel which carried out the goods, payment would be made ; and if any poor manufacturer or tradesman had the hardihood to ask for payment before the tobacco lord offered it, he could never again expect to be favoured with the great man's custom. By adopting this very knowing plan of purchase and payment, it is quite plain that these tobacco-mer- chants traded chiefly on the capital of those from whom they bought their goods ; but, as the sellers were numerous and the purchasers few, the disadvantages to the one class from such a system were less felt than were the advantages to the other.* For the goods purchased in the English market such facilities could not be asked, nor, if they had been, would they have been granted. But to meet any want of capital then, the new banks, established in the City by several of the leading tobacco lords themselves, were found ready to do the needful.f During the period when this trade was in the ascendant, it is perhaps * Dr Smollett states, that in conversing astonished to see about thirty persons in with Mr Glassford, he discovered that mer- waiting all sitting on forms in the room ' , . .. ■ T^ where the Provosts clerks were writing. chant to he one of the greatest in Europe. rpj^g Provost himself was in an adjoining During the French war, which immediately room, the door of which Avas ajar, and the preceded the war of American Indepen- gentleman said that ever and anon he beheld J ,. --lii T,ii j.j™„ « „ the Provost keeki?)q through an opening to dence, he is said to have had at one time five- ^^^ .^ ^j^^ ^^.j^^j^ parties summoned had and-twenty ships, with their cargoes, his own arrived. At last, after a considerable delay, property, and to have traded for above half the Provost (who was an excessively pompous a million steriing a-year. ^^^ consequential man) threw open the door ° •' of his private room, and after talking a glance t The following graphic picture of tlie way of the parties waiting for payment of their persons conducted business about the tobac- accounts (but without deigning to speak to «^ v>«,.;^,i .e r'i,o.^^,.r ^.i^t,.^r „.r> ov.t,-o^f any of them), called out to his clerk with a CO period oi Glasgow history, we extract , •', . {\ ^ i ^ nonnr\ i ^ '^ •" loud voice, 'John, draw for £3000 and pay from "Glasgow, Past AXD Present":— ti^ accounts.' His lordship then, with a "A gentleman in the City had sold Provost most dignified strut, re-entered his own French some trifling articles for shipment, apartment. This farce was concocted in amounting to aiiout £37; and upon the order to astonisli the natives at the magnitude arrival of the ship from \'irginia, and after of tlie sum drawn from the Ijank ; but most the return cargo had l)een sold, he received unfortunately for the Provost, it had quite a circular from the Provost, requesting his the contrary efl'ect, for it afterwards became attendance at the counting-house, on a certain a standing joke among those very sellers, day and at a fixed hour, when payment would when any one was calling upon them for be made to him of his account. The gentle- payment of a small account, to bawl out to man was accordingly punctual at the ap- the j'oungsters, 'John, draw for £3000 and pointed place and hour, when he was pay this account.'" THE TOBACCO "LORDS." 35 scarcely necessary to repeat what all the old historians of the City have told us, that the persons engaged in it ruled with a very high hand. With a hauteur and bearing, indeed, since altogether unparalleled, they kept themselves separate from the other classes of the town ; assuming the air and deportment of persons immeasurably superior to all around them, and treating those upon whom they looked down, but on whom they depended, with no little superciliousness. For one of the shopoc7xicy or corkocracy to speak to a tobacco-aristocrat on the street, without some sign of recognition from the great man, would have been regarded as an insult. They were princes on the Plainstanes, and strutted abovit there every day as the rulers of the destinies of Glasgow. Like the princely merchants, too, who formerly paced the Piazetta in Venice, or occupied the gorgeous palaces in the Strada Balbi of Genoa, the tobacco lords dis- tinguished themselves by a particular garb, being attired, like their Venetian and Genovese predecessors, in scarlet cloaks, curled wigs, cocked hats, and bearing gold-headed canes.* How long this state of matters would have continued, had not the outbreak of the American war interposed to arrest this tobacco traffic, and to compel the traders to seek for employment and wealth in other channels, it is impossible to say. All we know is, that very soon after that event, the tobacco aristocracy ceased to lead, and the scarlet cloaks gradually disappeared from the pavement, t * The following is a list of the chief im- Alexander M'Caiil. porters of tobacco in the city of Glasgow in S?.?J^^ Buchanan, jun. f^_ William Ciinninghamc & Co. ^ '****="" John Campbell, sen. & Co. Colin Dunlop & Sons. Thomas Donald & Co. Cunningham Corbet. Archibald Govan. Christie & Smith. Robert Drcghorn. George Oswald & Co. John Kiddcl. James Hopkirk. Archibald Henderson & Co. John Glassf'ord & Co. Henry Kiddcl 1 & Co. Speirs, French, & Co. Murdoch, Hamilton, & Co. Robert Findlav & Co. . t,, ^ „ • i ^ i- » ^ ^i French, Crawford, & Co. t The following anecdote of one of these Robert Scott. dons, who, among their other peculiarities, David Crosse. appeared to have made use of the foreign Thomas Crawfurd & Co. j^j^^jj, ^j- f;aiutation, we extract from a paper Henry Ritchie. . ,,^, , , ^ ' ,„ ^ ,„., ,,. Patrick Colquhouu. • ^" "Chambers Journal of 18.51. >\ e are (icorge Buchanan. there told tliat "a certain tobacco lord, who 36 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Although the period during which this trade flourished in Glasgow was by no means long, yet how many monuments of its success and greatness have been left, either in the pi'incely estates purchased from its gains, or in the magnificent city mansions reared for the accommodation and comfort of the merchant princes who then conducted it ! * Of the few of the latter which still stand intact within the precincts of tlie City, there are enough remaining to illustrate the wealth of the parties who could rear such structures, and who could maintain within their walls, as their possessors were wont to do, the style and hospitality of princes ; while with those still mightier mansions which the wants of recent times have either sadly altered or entirely swept away, there were associated, but a few years ago, even more palpable evidences of bygone wealth and was- was familiarly known under the appellation of Provost Cheeks, besides having the pecu- liarity of visage which had gained him this sobriquet, was gifted with an uncommon capacity of mouth, extending from ear to ear. He was complaining one day of some d — d fellow (swearing was then in greater repute than it is now) who had come up to him on the Plainsianes, and, Avill he nil he, bussed him on both sides of the face, slaver- ing him with his filthy saliva. ' If I had been you,' said his friend, looking significantly at his mouth, ' I would have bitten off his headf" Another anecdote is told of one of those proud pacers of the Plainsfanes, who in early life had been in the army, who, on being accosted one day by a poor Avoman, he turned round disdainfully to her, saying, " Don't speak to me on the street. I give no charity here." " It was na charity. Sir Baillie, I was going to ask, but only to thank you for a great ser- vice done by you to my son." Somewhat mollified by the expected praise, the scarlet- cloaked aristocrat stopped and said, "And what did I do for him, good woman ?" " Oh, sir, when you were fechting at the head of your company at the Battle of Dettingen, and ran away, my son, who was next you, ran after you, and so saved his life ! " * Sir John Dalr3Tnple, in the Appendix to his "Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland," published in 1788, says:— "I once asked the late Provost Cochrane, of Glasgow, who was eminently wise, and who has been a mer- chant there for seventy years, to what causes he imputed the sudden rise of Glasgow. He snid it was all owing to four young men of talents and spirit who started at one time in business, and whose success gave example to the rest. The four had not ten thousand poimds amongst them when they began." The following were the four young men alluded to by Provost Cochrane :— Mr Cunninghame, afterwards of Lainshaw. Mr Speirs, " of Elderslie. Mr Glassford, " of Dougaldston. Mr Ritchie, " ofBusbie. The large and elegant mansion, built by Mr Cunninghame, in Queen-street, was offered for sale in August, 1789; it was afterwards re-exposed, and purchased by Mr Stirling; it next became the property of the Eoyal Bank; and finally was converted into the present Royal Exchange. When in possession of Mr Cunninghame, of Lainshaw, his nephew, George Cranstoun, afterwards Lord Cran- stoun, lived alone in the house for a whole year, when attending the University. THE HODGE-PODGE CLUB. 37 sail.* The wealth realised during the existence of the tobacco trade in GlastTQw, must have been very great ; and what is more, it gave a stimulus to the future commerce of the City which has materially aided in bringing it to its present condition. Supercilious though the pos- sessors of such wealth as a class certainly were towards their less opulent fellow-citizens, they were nevertheless individually a gay and joyous set, on the most familiar and friendly footing with each other, and with those also who, in other walks of life, were justly looked upon as the notables of the City. No doubt, the circle in which these tobacco lords moved was more narrow and limited than any that has since succeeded it ; but, at the same time, the parties of which it was composed were men pos- sessed of that education, activity, energy, and talent, that almost justified them in assuming the position which they did. The pride of the tobacco prince, like the tobacco palace, has, however, long passed away, leaving, we suspect, to us, in these latter days, but an indistinct idea of the height to which, in point of extravagance, it was actually carried. It was when the society of Glasgow was thus constituted that there arose and flourished a Club, whose members — although some consisted of what miofht be denominated the " fruqes consumere nati," and others leaders of the tobacco aristocracy — comprised not a few bright stars, w^ell calculated to pour an ethereal light over its early meetings. Among the latter was the celebrated Dr John Moore — the author of " Zeluco," and other well-known works— who for many j^ears had made Glasgow his home, and where he long and ably practised the therapeutic art.f The * Among the early mansions of the tobacco t Dr John Moore was born in Stirling in aristocracy which still stand entire are — the 1729; being the eldest son of the Rev. Charles Buck's Head Hotel, formerly the residence of Jloore, one of the ministers of that towni, and Provost ^Murdoch, and the adjoining man- of Marion Anderson, daughter of John An- sion, belonging to the late Mr Rae Wilson, derson, of Dovehill, Glasgow. Upon the and formerly the residence of Provost Dun- death of his father, which took place in 1737, l(ip. These were erected about the year 1753; he accompanied his mother to Glasgow, be- aud among those removed was the handsome ing her birth-placa and the residence of her residence at the bead of Virginia-street, Ijc- relatives. After the usual course of instruc- longing to Mr Buchanan, on the site of which tion in the rudiments of classical learning, at now stands the Union Bank of Scotland. the grammar-school, he was matriculated at 38 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Club to which we refer was denominated " The Hodge-Podge," and originated in an association of gentlemen who, in the year 1750, agreed to meet in a tavern, kept by one Cruikshanks, once each fortnight, at seven o'clock in the evening;. The names of the orio;inators of this after- the University, and attended tlie several classes of languages and philosophy with diligence and success. By the advice of his relatives, and his own predilection for tlic medical profession, he was appi'enticed to Jlr John Gordon, a surgeon of extensive practice ; and, while under his tuition, he attended the lectures of Dr Hamilton, then Anatomical Demonstrator, and those of the celebrated Dr CuUen, at that time Professor of Medicine at Glasgow. In the year 1747 he was i-ecommended by his relatives to a situation in the army, and, under the pro- tection of the Duke of Argyle, whose i-egi- ment was then about to embark for Flanders, he aiTived at Maestricht, where, in the capa- city of a mate, he attended the military hos- pitals, then full of wounded soldiers, after the irnfortunate battle of Leffeldt. Having obtained the approbation of the Director- General of Hospitals, he was removed to Flushing, to assist the surgeon of the Cold- stream Guards. He accompanied this regi- ment from Flushing to Breda, where he spent the winter of 17i8 in garrison ; and, on the conclusion of peace, he accompanied General Braddock to England. After remaining some time in London, where he attended the lec- tures of his countryman, Dr Hunter, he pro- ceeded to Paris, which at that time had, deservedly, the reputation of being the best school of medicine and surgery in Europe. The Earl of Albemarle, who, when colonel of the Coldstreams, had been his early patron, was at this time ambassador at the Court of France, and, soon after his arrival in that city, appointed him surgeon to his household. After residing nearly two years in the French capital, Mr Moore was invited by Mr Gordon to return to Glasgow, and to enter with him into partnership; he complied with this invitation, and soon after left Paris. In this partnership he continued for two years, when Mr Gordon, having obtained a diploma, be- came a consulting physician. Mr Moore having continued to act as a surgeon, and enjoying almost immediately an extensive practice, found it convenient to assume a partner, and he chose Mr Hamilton, Pro- fessor of Anatomy, as his assistant. For many years after this his life was chiefly devoted to his professional labours ; and, when his reputation was established, he mar- ried a daughter of the Eev. Mr Simson, Pro- fessor of Divinity in the University. At this period of his life he was a favourite with the best society of the City and neighbourhood. His ready wit and vein of playful irony made his conversation be courted by a numerous and respectable circle of acquaintance. In 1769 a circumstance occurred which totally altered Dr Moore's prospects in life. In that year he was called by the Duchess of Hamil- ton, M'ith his friend Dr CuUen, to attend her son George .James, Duke of Hamilton, whose illness, ending in consumption, baffled all the efforts of medicine, and after a lingering illness he died. Dr Moore's assiduity, al- though unavailing, however, led to a close connection with the noble family of his late patient; and, when the Duchess afterwards determined that his brother Douglas, Duke of Hamilton, who was also delicate, should travel, Dr Moore was chosen to be his travel- ling companion, for his knowledge of medi- cine and his acquaintance with the Conti- nent. The young Duke and his companion remained abroad for five years, during which they visited France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. On returning from the Continent, which took place in 1777, Dr Moore removed with his family from Glasgow to London, and in the year 1779 published his celebrated work, entitled "A View of Society and Manners in France, Switzerland, and Germany." In less than ten years this work passed through THE HODGE-PODGE CLUB. m wards famous brotherhood were — Messrs James Luke, James Simson, Robert Maltman, Peter Blackburn, Dr Thomas Hamilton, John Dunlop, and Dr Moore, wlio were soon after joined by Messrs Thomas Wright and William Anderson. These nine gentlemen, with the exception of Mr Maltman, were in the full vigour of youth, and found their convivial meetings so pleasant, as soon to determine them to form themselves into a Club, and to subject themselves to certain rules and regulations. The records of the brothei-hood commence on the 5th ISIay, 1752, when the Club was baptized with its happy name ; and although at that time the resolution seemed to have been formed that the number of the members should be always limited to that of the Muses, still this law was soon broken, and a considerable addition was thereupon made to the joyous circle. In its original plan the Club partook of the nature of a literary society; seven editions, besides having been trans- lated into French, German, and Italian. Two years later he published a continuation of the same work, entitled "A View of Society and Manners in Italy." In 1785 he published his " Medical Sketches." His next work was his celebrated novel "Zeluco," wliich was printed in 1786. Neither the extraordinary success of this singular picture of human nature, his long i-esidence abroad, nor his accession to the enlightened society of Lon- don, could wean him from the cordial love he bore to his native countrj-, to his relations, and particularly to the early friends of his choice; and in the summer of 1786 he under- took a journey to Scotland, and passed some time at Glasgow, where he i-eceived the re- spect and attention of his fellow-citizens, and the congratulations of the companions of his youth, with peculiar satisfaction. In 1787 he commenced his remarkable and interesting correspondence with Robert Burns, which is to be found in the collected works of that poet. In 1792 he, in company with Lord Lauderdale, visited Paris, and had an oppor- tunity of surveying the theatre of the revolu- tion, and estimating the characters of its- founders. He was present at the attack on the Tuileries, and was a witness to manj^ other sanguinary deeds ; and, soon after his return to England, he began to arrange the materials which he had collected during his visit, and in 1795 published "A View of the Causes and Progress of the French Revolu- tion." In 1797 he became the biographer of Dr Tobias Smollet. This work was followed bj' his novel of "Edward;" and this again, in 1798, by " Mordaunt," at which period Dr Moore had attained his 70th j'car. This was the last publication Dr Moore gave to the world. His life, so houourablj' and usefully spent, was rapidl}' drawing to a close. Anti- cipating advantage from a change of air, he removed from London to Richmond, where he gradually sunk, and expired on the 21st of January, 1802, in the 73d year of his age. His wife, who cherished his memory with the warmest affection, died in London on the 2oth March, 1820, in her 86th year. Dr ISIoore had three sons — Sir John Moore, Admiral Moore, and James Carrick Moore. 40 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. the meetings being ostensibly held for the purpose of improvement in public speaking, or at least in political and literary composition ; it being the dut}^ of each member, in rotation, to propose a question for discussion, some of which were certainly as odd as they were original. This practice, however, became, ere long, somewhat irksome, and sixpenny whist was resorted to as a succedaneum. The hour of meeting, at the commence- ment of the Club, as we have hinted, was seven ; but, after whist was introduced, it was changed to five — the dinner hour among the better classes being at that period two. With whist and conversation the even- ing passed till nine o'clock arrived, when a hot supper was placed on the table, and the cream of the night's jollity and fun followed.* In process of time dinners alternated with suppers, till at length the latter were totally given up ; and the Hodge-Podge Club endeavoured, at least in their summer meetings, to have always the material badge of their union, smoking, on the table. Before the lapse of many years, after the first inauguration of the Club, we find that at least five-and-twenty choice spirits united to encircle the fortnightly board, ready at once to greet a smoking surloin and to drain an oft-replenished bowl ; and it may easily be imagined that there was neither lack of sense to season the one, nor wit to give — what, perhaps, it did not so much require in those drinking days — spii^it to the other ! It was in the circle of these powdered pig-tails that the author of " Zeluco," " Edward," and " ^lordaunt," first displayed the sprightliness of his wit, and the playful vein of his irony, and where not a few of those well- known stories which help to eke out his amusing " Tour through France, * The following Minute of the Cluh, dated charge six shillings at least for each meeting; 18th Febniarj-, 1768, shows the great differ- and, when the members present exceed the ence which existed between the price of a number of nine, he shall charge 8c? per head fashionable siipper at that period, and that for the number present; and, as a fund for of the present day: — '-The Club having ob- this purpose, it is agi-eed that each member served that Sir M 'Donald has been a sufferer shall pay 2s M in advance (being for five on the article of supper, by several thin meetings), the sm-plus to be put into the meetings of the Club, have unanimously re- poor's-box." solved that, for the future, he shall always DR JOHN MOORE. 41 Germany and Italy," were first narrated. Long, long before the worthy Doctor had paced with Douglas, Duke of Hamilton, the picture gallery of the Palais Royal, or gazed with rapture on the untroubled bosom of Lake Albano, did the members of the Hodge-Podgc roar a laughing chorus to the story of the would-be connoisseur, and at the characteristic sentiments of the Scotch and English scene-hunter ; and it was to char- acterise and register the various menibers of this noble fraternity that he indited, in the spirit of Goldsmith's " Retaliation," the following unambi- tious but graphic stanzas : — " A club of choice fello^ys, each fortnight, employ An evening in laughter, good humoiir, and joy; Like the national council, they often debate. And settle the army, the navy, and state, "In this club there's a jumble of nonsense and sense, And the name of Hoclge-Podge they have taken from thence: If, in jumbling verses, this dittj' I frame. Pray be not sui-prised if a Hodge-Podger I am. " If you choose to know more of this merry class. Like the kings in Macbeth, they shall one by one pass : The man that can't bear with a good-humour'd rub, I am sure is not worthy a place in this club. " He who leads up the van is stout Thomas the tall, Who can make us all laugh, though he laughs at us all ; But entre nous, Tom, yovx and I, if you please. Must take care not to laugh ourselves out of our fees, (a) " Rough Peter's the next who is about to appear, Witli his weather-beat phiz, and his heatherj- hair; His humour is blunt, and his sayings are snell, An excellent heart in a villanous shell, (b) "Honest David slinks in with a slovenly air, Beloved by his friends, though o'erlook'd by the fair ; About women or dress he ne'er troubles his head. But pulls out his pigtail and takes to the quid, (c) " What whistling and singing now grateth our ears ? By the music, 'tis Campbell of Clathic, appears: To do good he in will nor ability fails — I wish he'd leave whistling and mumping his nails. (cZ) (a) Dr Thomas Hamilton— (6) Peter Black- (c) David Cross, Esq.— (R JOHN MOORE. 4 " Squire Dougall, your servant, -with all yoiir good luck, You cannot well be both a beau and a buck : Leave the bowl or the ladles, — ' Done,' cries the good soul, 'Then hang up the women, and till up the bowl.' (/>) "He's follow'd by Simson, so lean and so lank; You'd know, by his looks, there's a run on the bank : Ah ! why thy bag- wig dost thou shake at me so, Thou canst say I did it, ghostly Banco ? (q) " He who slounges in next, so composed in his mien. Slips quietly through life, as he slips through this scene ; Esteemed by the Club, he abhoiTcth a throng. And wieldeth a poker, and nods to the song. (?■) " A hogshead rolls forward, the woithiest among ; Wliat gi-umbling and gi'owling it makes at the bung. 'Tis as jolly a cask as ere loaded the ground — 'Tis plump John Dunlop, with his belly so round. " Great Bacchus himself, our meeting to grace, Displays his wide belly and jolly round face. 'Who? Bacchus, sir?' No, faith, you must guess again, Honest Hugh is no god, though the greatest of men. (s) " Oh ! how shall I hit oflf thy character, Graham ? Thy picture's a Proteous, not two hours the same. Shall I paint thee impetuous, volatile, mad ? Whip, presto, begone ! he's staid, sullen, and sad. (?) "Montgomerie has pass'd, and will still pass his days, Unwounded by malice, regardless of praise ; Untainted by party, unruffled by strife, Unharass'd by children, and sacred from vrife. («) " Despising all airs, detesting all art. The thought bursts spontaneous from Douglas's heart. Of the dregs of his vigour the best let us make. He may do for a leech, though he's done for a rake, (a;) " The surly companion, who brings up the rear. Who looks so morose, and still speaks with a sneer, Would fain have you think he's a poet and v.it,— But, indeed, Mr Moore, you're confoundedly bit. (y) " At length we have finished our motley review ; Let a bumper be fiU'd to the health of the crew ; In that flowing bowl let our son-ows be drown'd, And may jollity, happiness, and friendship go round!" (/)) J. Dougall of Easter House— (-7) Jlr (s) Plugh Blackburn, Esq.— (0 Graham of Simson, of Baird and Simson— (r) Mr Wil- Dugaldston— (m) James Montgomerie, Esq — Ham Anderson. (x) Dr Colin Douglas— (y) Dr Moore. o 44 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Although there is no record to tell the precise date of these verses, there is enough of circumstantial evidence left to convince us that they could not well have been penned before 1766 ; but as one or two of the parties portrayed in the song had been admitted some years afterwards, it is likely that additions were subsequently made to it. Be that as it may, it may easily be imagined with what gusto the Doctor sped down the staircase of the house which he so long occupied, on the north side of the Trongate, opposite the Laigh Kirk Steeple,* to attend the anniversary meetins of the Hodn-e-Podfre, with the consciousness that he would there successfully characterise his boon and jolly companions, and that, ere a few hours had passed, his literary effort would be rewarded with the approbation of even those whose amour propre might suffer from his faithful limning. Whatever may have been the effect produced in those wdio first heard the effusion, it is at least certain that it soon came to be regarded as a just and clever sketch of the Hodge-Podge worthies of the period ; and so much has it been valued by the members of the past and present day, that no anniversary ever passes without its being sung in all its entirety. Notwithstanding the retirement of Dr Moore from Glasgow, which took place in the year 1772,t in order to accompany the Duke of Hamilton on the grand tour of Europe, at that time deemed so necessary a branch of every young nobleman's education, the Hodge-Podge continued its monthly meetings, and recruited its time-diminishing ranks with some of the best of Glaso;ow citizens, and of the most remarkable notabilities in the neighbourhood.! • It was in this house that his son, Sir John Robert MaUman, one of the Masters of the Moore, was bom. Grammar-school. Peter Blackburn, merchant, f Dr Moore appears in the sederunt of the Thomas Hamilton, surgeon. Club in March, 1772. Jo}i» Diinlop, merchant. John Moore, surgeon. X The following is a coiTcct list of the Thomas Wright, merchant in Edinburgh. members of the Hodo-e-Podee from 1752 to ^^''"- Anderson, merchant, Glasgow. memoers oi uie iLoa^e rouge, iiom uo^ lo ^yjujajn Coats. merchant. 1802 : — William Anderson, College. James Luke, merchant. Dr Robert Dick, Professor of Natiu'al Philo- James Simson, merchant. sophy. MEMBERS OF THE HODGE-PODGE CLUB. 45 Amonff those whom death cut ofF from the convivialities of the Hoclse- Podge Club at a rather early period, were Dr Colin Douglas and Dr Alexander Stevenson, two veiy eminent physicians, and who, by the elegiac poet of the fraternity, Mr John Dunlop,* were honoured with the James Montgomeiy, merchant. John Campbell of Clathic, merchant. David Crosse, merchant. James Dougall, merchant. Dr Alexander Stevenson. Hugh Blackburn, merchant. Peter Murdoch, merchant. John Baird, merchant. Henry Ritchie, merchant. John Graham of Dougaldston. Colin Douglas, physician. James Dunlop, merchant. Archibald Henderson, mei'chant. John Orr of BaiTOwfield. Matthew Orr of Stobcross. ■William Craig, advocate, afterwards Lord Craig. Robert Scot, merchant. John Dunlop, merchant. Thomas Donald, merchant. James M'Dowall, merchant. W^illiam Mure of Caldwell. James ^Murdoch, merchant. Roljert Houston Rae. William M'Dowal of Garthland. Andw. Buchanan of !Mount Vernon. James Maxwell of Williamwood. Archibald Campbell of Blythswood. Henry Glassford of Dougaldston. John Hamilton, merchant. George IMunro of Calderbank. Charles Stirling of Kcnmure. Sir John Maxwell of PoUok, Bart. James Dunlop of Househill. John Blackburn, merchant. Campbell Douglas, merchant. General Peter. From the records it appears that Dr Moore was pi'csent at a Club dinner on 4th February, 1777. * Mr John Dunlop was the younger brother of Mr Dunlop of Garnkirk. He was origi- nally a merchant in Glasgow, and attained the dignity of Lord Provost of the City. He was aftenvards appointed Collector at Borrowstounness, and ultimately Collector of Customs at Port-Glasgow, where he died. He was a man of sound sense, considerable wit and humour, sang beautifully, and possessed in fact every qualification calcu- lated to render him a delightful social companion. He had a considerable talent for versification, and contributed many gems to what may be called the theatre of mortality. Among these are two given in the " Coltness Collections," printed by the Maitland Club ; the first intended for a tablet, designed by Lady Frances Stewart for that connubial arbour at Coltness, which was the favourite retreat of her husband and herself in the bright days of their early love, and again in the mellow calm of their declining years; and the second the appropriate and feeling tribute to the memorj' of Lady Frances herself; the last of which appeared in a privately-circulated collection of similar effusions, by the same author. As a fair specimen of his elegiac powers, we give the latter : — " For beauty and for youth let others weep, Laid by the hand of death in life"s last sleep; Their fate lament, their merits blazon o'er, Lost to the world that ne'er shall see them niore. Tho' neither youth nor beauty slumbers here, Yet age and virtue claim the parting tear: A tear to grace the spot where wisdom lies, Wit without malice, truth without disguise. Here rests religion, void of vain pretence, Founded on reason and matured by sense, With everj- Christian attribute adorn'd, By all who knew, who felt its influence, mourn'd; Blest be the heart that heaves the generous sigh, Sacred the drop that springs from sorrow's eye ; Yet reason shall our selfish grief restrain, And check the tear that now must flow in vain. Far, far removed from sorrow's sighs and tears. Thy holy spirit dwells in heavenly spheres, Welcomed by angels to their high abode. Pure as themselves, and reconciled to God." Mr Dunlop did not confine himself altogether to epitaphs, but at times indulged in the gayer music of the lyre. Among the many lyrics which he penned, we may merely mention the well-known songs of " Here's a health to the year that's awa', " and "O 46 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. following epitaphs, which are regularly placed on the records of the Club, in token of respect to their memory. The first is Ox Dr Colin Douglas. " The plain good man Avho lies beneath this stone Detested flatteiy: let us give him none. Endow'd with probity and manly sense, With genuine knowledge, void of vain pretence, No sneaking caution, nor low venal art Check'd or disguised the dictates of his heart ; Free from his lips his sentiments did flow, Unawed by wealth or power, by friend or foe. Reader ! if thou canst boast as firm a friend. As tme, sincere, and void of private end, With thy best care endeavour to retain What kings can't give nor Eastern treasures gain." The next is On Dr Alexander Stevenson. " Let hireling bards on splendid marbles tell, How kiirgs and heroes lived, and how they fell ; To private worth this hiimble stone we raise. Inscribed by Friendship with no venal praise. The man whose hallow'd dust lies here enshrined, W^as bountiful, beneficent, and kind ; From honour's path he never did depart. Mild were his manners, tender was his heart, Joy and good humour fiU'd his honest soul. When mirth and fancj^ sparkled round the bowl ; And when dull care sat brooding on the brim. The recreant fled his memment and whim. Friendship shall mourn and Medicine deplore The heart that glows, the hand that heals no more ; While every reader joins the general tear. For gentle, generous Stevenson lies here." At the anniversary dinner of 1806, the Club, in consideration of the dinna ask me gin I lo'e ye ? " both of which Glasgow, on the right hand of the Chairman, still keep their place among the most popular Dr PorteovTS, and showed himself well worthy songs of the day. On talking lately to my of holding that distinguised office. It maj' venerable friend. Principal Macfarlan, re- be stated that Mr Dunlop was father of the specting Mr Dunlop, with whom he was well-known Sheriff' of Renfrewshire, whose acquainted, he mentioned that at the first work on "The Histoiy of Fiction" justly meeting of the Sons of the Clergy which the gained for its author the highest credit and Principal attended, which was in 1795, Mr reputation. Dunlop sat, as being then the Provost of SIR JOHN MOOKE. 47 respect they felt towards the memory of its founder, Dr Moore, and for the military ability and great gallantry of his son, unanimously elected Sir John Moore an Honorary Member; and the Secretary, Mr Peter Murdoch, was instructed to intimate the same to the then Lieutenant-Gen- eral. The rapid rise of this distinguished officer to the lofty position which he had already attained, was justly deemed a high honour to the City of his birth, and was peculiarly grateful to the group of patriotic men whom his father had so early and so cordially linked together by the tie of a friendly brotherhood. The compliment thus paid to Sir John Moore was considered no empty one by him who w^as the object of it, for we find the gallant officer lost no time in replying to the notice of his election, in the following words : — " London, 21st Maj', 1806. " My dear Murdoch, " I am very sensible of the distinction sho^vn me by the Hodge-Podge Club ; and am much flattered by it, both as a compliment to myself, and to the memoxy of my father. I beg you will request the Club to accept my best thanks. When times are quiet, I hope to avail myself of the seat thej^ have given me amongst them ; in the meantime, I must pursue the career I have been engaged in for these last thirty years. I am preparing to go to Sicily, where I hope to do nothing to render me unworthy of being a member of the Hodge-Podge. " Yours sincerely, "John Moore." From this period forward "the times" to Sir John Moore never became "quiet."* During the three succeeding years of his life he was kept in * Sir John Moore was bom, as already 17th February, 1795. Soon after he displayed mentioned, in Donald's land, on the 13th equal gallantry at Calvi, where, although November, 1761, and in Glasgow he received severely wounded in the head, he entered the rudiments of his education, which was the enemy's works in company with the completed on the Continent, whither, in Grenadiers whom he led. In 1795 he was 1773, he had accompanied his father, then promoted to the rank of Colonel in the army, in the Duke of Hamilton's suite as medical and was then sent with the 51st Regiment o' attendant. He entered the army in 1776, to the West Indies; where, after the capture and, after passing through all the intemie- of the Dutch Colony, he Avas employed in diate gradations in due order, became the reduction of St Lucie. In 1798 he assisted Lieutenant-Colonel of the 40th. In 1786 he in suppressing the Irish Rebellion; the represented the Lanark district of burghs in victory gained at Wexford being mainly Parliament. As a soldier, Moore first dis- attributed to his skill and coumge. Early tinguished himself in the Mediterranean, by in 1800 he was sent, under the orders of Sir an attack on the fortified town of Fomelli, R. Abcrcromby, to Egypt; and, as Major- in Corsica, \shich he carried by assault on General, was chosen to head the first landing 48 GLASGOW AND ITS CI-UBS. constant occupation and anxiety, and hence never had an opportunity of taking his seat at the Hodge-Podge board. On 1st February, 1809, at the first meeting of the Club immediately succeeding the victory of Cor- unna, and the melancholy death of the hero who there sleeps "with his martial cloak around him," the whole members present appeared in party, whicTi he did with such intrepidity as to render even the most courageous resist- ance A-ain. The French retired to Alexan- dria; and Moore next day received the thanks of the Commander-in-Chief. In the subsequent action of the 21st March, during ■nhich the British troops were attacked with great impetuosity, and in which General Abercromby was killed, Moore was again wounded when leading on the reserve, against which the principal attack of the enemy was directed ; he recovered, however, in time to assist at the siege of Cairo; and, after the reduction of Alexandria, he was appointed to escort the capitulating army to the place of embarkation. General Moore thereafter returned to England, where he received the honour of knighthood, with the order of the Bath, and where he also remained till 1805. Plaving attained the rank of Lieutenant- General, and obtained the Colonelcy of the 52d, he was once more despatched, in 180G, under General Fox, to the Mediterranean, whence he returned early in 1808. In that year he was sent to the Baltic with an arma- ment of 10,000 men to assist the King of Sweden, whence he almost immediately re- turned to England. After spending a few days there, he was sent with a body of troops to Portugal, to act under Generals Dalrymple and Burrard. He reached the head-quarters of the British army soon after the important convention of Cintra. The superiors in com- mand having been successively recalled, Sir John Moore at length assumed the chief command, to which he ought to have been at first nominated. Amid many difficulties — caused by the ignoraiace of the Govern- ment at home, and of their agents at Madrid, ns well as by the imbecility of the Spanish Junta, and the treaclicry of the Spanish nobles, — Sir John Moore commenced his ad- vance to Sahagun, and thereafter his retreat to Corunna. It is unnecessary here to enter upon the able manner in whicli that gallant soldier conducted a difficult march, in the face of a very superior French force, flushed with unbroken victories over every Spanish army, and ultimately led by Napoleon him- self. Under his guidance the British army reached the port of embarkation in sufficient time to have got on board without trouble. But the transports had not arrived, and be- fore the embarkation could be safely accom- plished, the French, on the 16th January 1809, attacked the British position; j^et, in spite of all their efforts, they were defeated, and our troops remained masters of the field. It was ^vhen in the act of ordering up the Guards to support the brave Highlanders that Sir John Moore received his death- wound, by a cannon-ball, on the shoulder, and was conveyed from the field in a blanket, by six soldiers of the 42d. Captain Hardinge, observing that his sword incommoded him, attempted to unbuckle it. " It is as well as it is," said Moore, calmly; " I had rather that it should go out of the field with me." He was so sensible of his approaching dissolu- tion that he said to the surgeons, who offered him their assistance, " You can be of no service to me; go to the soldiers, to whom j'ou may be useful." "You know," said he to his friend Colonel Anderson, " that I have always wished to die this way. I hope the people of England will be satisfied." His last moments were consecrated to tender remembrances, and inquiries about the fate of his friends. He was buried in his uniform, upon the ramparts of Coiamna. A monument to his memory has since been raised Ij}- the Marquis Komana, at the village of Elvina, SIR JOHN MOORE. 49 mourning, thereby paying a tribute of affectionate respect to tlie memory of a brother, called forth by the solemn and striking events connected with his death.* It is gratifying to remember that the feelings then evoked by the brilliant talents and untimely death of the gallant soldier, who had been born and bred within the precincts of the City, did not fruitlessly evaporate, but soon thereafter took a tangible shape, in a subscription for the erection of Flaxman's famous statue of the Hero of Corunna, which has now been long a leading ornament of Glasgow.f We cannot even allude to the thousand and one joyous meetings which have taken place during the more than one hundred years' existence of the Hodge-Podge Club, whose onward life has survived every change of sentiment, and every alteration of manners ; but, of these happy assem- blies, we may be pardoned for selecting two. First, the dinner, given on the 16th November, 1807, to the then father of the Club, Mr Peter J\Iur- doch, who on that day had been a member of the Hodge-Podge for half where lie fell, and whither the remains of this lamented hero were afterwards removed. The following inscription is placed on the monument : — "A la Gloria Del General Ingles Moore, Y sus valientes Compatriotas, La Espana agradecida." General Hope, on whom the chief command devolved, took advantage of the success which had been obtained to embark the army before it should be overwhelmed by the increasing numbers of the enemy; and this was happily accomplished during the night. Although the British lost upwards of 5000 men in this retreat, it has always been regarded as a great military achievement. By a rare union of natural sagacity, military skill, finnncss of mind, vigilance and circum- spection, decision, and promptitude of action, Sir -John Moore extricated the British anny with great gloiy, and with far less loss than was to be expected from a situation in which the improvidence of both the Bri- tish and Spanish Governments, the puerile and frantic interference of individuals, and the treachery of others, had involved it. * The sederunt of the club on this occasion consisted of the following members : —W^il- liam Mure of Caldwell, Preses; Messrs Peter Murdoch, William M'Dowall, George Munro, William Dunlop, James Murdoch, Kirkmau Finlay, Samuel Hunter, and a stranger, Mr A. Dunlop. t In the course of a few days upwards of i:4,000was subscribed by the citizens of Glas- gow; and a monument was ordered to be erected to the memory of their fellow-towns- man, Sir John Moore. On the IGth August, 1819, a bronze pedestrian statue of the hero, by Flaxman, was erected on a granite pedes- tal in George-square. The City Corporation subscribed £100 towards this statue. On the 17th July, 1809, a grand oratorio was per- formed in tlie Cathedral in memory of the hero ; the principal singers being Mrs Dick- ons, Miss Shepley, and Messrs Bellamy and Trueman ; IMr Hindmarsh, leader ; and Mr Donaldson, organist. 50 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. a century ;* and, secondly, we would mention tlie centenary anniversary of the Club, wlncli took place on the 5th May, 1852 — on which occasion the Earl of Glasgow acted as chairman, and fourteen members of the Western Club were present, it being now a rule that only gentlemen be- longing to this latter Club can be admitted into the more narrow circle of the Hodge-Podge. On both occasions the Club sustained its character for joviality and good fellowship — forgetting, in their hearty libations, neither their fathers nor the fair ; while each member cordially joined in the choral couplet of Dr Moore, " In the deep flowing bowl, let our sorrows be drown'd, And may jollity, happiness, and friendship go round."f Among the early members of the Hodge-Podge there were not a few * The following members were present in honour of Mr Murdoch : — John Dunlop, Preses. Peter Murdoch.' William Mure of Caldwell. John Blackburn of Killeam. Provost John Hamilton. Henry Ritchie of Busbie. James Farie of Fanne. Archd. Campbell of Blythswood. George Munro of Calderbank. William Dunlop. Charles M'Intosh of Dunchattan. Sir John Maxwell of Pollok, Bart. James Dunlop of Househill. Strangers. Sir David Hunter Blair. William Stirling. John Ferguson. Robert Wallace of Kelly. ' Mr Peter Murdoch died on 11th May, 1817; and at the meeting which followed the members appeared in deep mourmng. t On the 50th anniversaiy of the club, which took place on the 5th May, 1802, Mr John Dunlop wrote and sang the following song, and which we verily believe he repeated at the dinner given to Mr Murdoch, at which he acted as chairman : — " Once more we meet in social glee, Though fifty years are o'er, And press around the flowing bowl, To drain its juice encore ; While Friendship, hovering round the board. Applauds the jovial vein, And whispers every honest soul— 'Come, fill your glass again.' "Though Time, with dread resistless step. Hath raarch'd our phalanx through. And claim'd from those we loved so well. The debt by nature due; Why, therefore, should we fret or fume? Or why perplex our brain ? For hark! those guardian spirits cry — 'Come, fill yoiu- glass agahi.' "To you, ye friends and brethren dear, The glass surcharged behold. You've gone the way we all must take. The timid and the bold; But ere the slippery path we tread, Let none that's here disdain To seize the courage wine can give, And drink his glass again. "Long may we quaff the social cup, In merry mood below. And may we meet, whene'er we part, Sucli friends where'er we go ; In youth, in manhood, and in age. Whose hearts unchanged remain. Who wisely prize the present joy, And fill their glass again." EARLY 3IEMBERS OF THE HODGE-PODGE CLUB. 51 whose sayings miglit have contributed to eke out the pages of any modern "Laird of Logan;" and among these we may mention ISIr Baird of Craigton, who, besides being a man of old family, was, from his wit and pleasantry, courted by the best society in the City and County. This gentleman lived in Trongate, near the bottom of Brunswick-street, and carried on business with the West Indies, where he had some property. Among the many floating anecdotes which oral tradition have handed down, the following may be mentioned. One day, while he and Mr Orr of Barrow- field were riding in the country, they observed a carriage pass them at a furious rate — the horses having ran off, — in which was ensconsed Mr G. M , a very unpopular and qidsquis character. The danger appeared imminent ; and had it not been for a bold individual who, at great risk to himself, rushed forward and stopped the horses, there was every likelihood of the carriage being dashed to pieces, and its occupant killed on the spot. By the time that the horsemen got up, the carriage had moved onward, when Mr Orr inquired of the courageous individual whether he had got anything for the great risk he had run? "Oh, yes!" said the man; "I've got a shilling!" upon which Mr Orr broke out into a towering passion at the idea of a gentleman only giving a shilling for saving his life, when Mr Baird coolly remarked, "Come away, sir, it is quite enough ; every man best knows the value of his own life !" On another occasion, on going out in winter to Williamwood, he told Mr Maxwell, on arrival, that he had ridden a considerable way with a ^Ir Haddow, but as it was snowing, he thought he would soon be a toJnting. Mr Maxwell, brimful of the equivoque, repeated the saying at the first meeting of the Club ; but finding no one enjoying the joke, he cried out, " Why do jom not all laugh? Is it not a capital story? — at least, it was so when Baird told it to me." Upon which Mr Baird calmly said, " True, James, but you have forgotten the snowT Before closing this rather hasty sketch of a fraternity that has so long flourished in Glasgow, we must be allowed to record a practice Avhich was early begun, and has since been most religiously followed ; we allude to 52 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. the practice of selecting, or rather electing, at each anniversary, a list of reicrnincr belles or beauties to be the standing toasts for the twelvemonth.* What a galaxy of departed loveliness is stereotyped in those imchanging records of Club taste ! What a succession of forms and faces worthy of the pencil of the tasteful limner of Nell Gwynne, or of la belle Hamilton; ay, even of the budding and bursting beauties of Sir Joshua Reynolds himself! Sure are we, that had the countenances of those to wliose health so many flowing bumpers were quaffed by the Ilodge-Podge Club been transferred to canvas, by such artists as our own Graham or M'Nee, the world would have found some difficulty in determining whether the beauties of the Second Charles or those of the Hodge-Podge Club were most worthy of admiration ! While the lists of elected beauties, which are so regularly and so long recorded in the annals of the Hodge-Podge Club, have necessarily been subjected to continued change, either tlu'ough mortality or matrimony, there is happily one relic connected with tlie history of the brotherhood which has survived all the mutations of time and accident, and that relic is the Club snuff-box. Although it has now for many years been the receptacle of that " diverting powder," so necessary to titillate the noses of the members, it still looks as young as on the day that it came from the turning-lathe of " Simson the Pastor." In form and ornament it is redo- lent of the style and taste of the middle of the last century, and speaks, * Among tlie himdred annual lists of toasts naively replied, " There are five of us !" The res^ilarlv entered in the minute-book of the following is the toast-list of 1809 : — club, that of 1809 contains a perfect galaxy ^^ of beauty, all of whom we remember to have seen in our own boyhood. It was of one of those lovely young ladies belonging to that period the following anecdote was told : — Being one day talking with a stranger gentle- man from a distance about Glasgow and its gaieties, the conversation turned upon balls, and those who attended them, when the stranger laughingly asked this fair toast of the Hodge-Podge, " Have you many beauties in Glasgow?" on which the young belle ss Farquhar Gray. ' jNIargaret Bogle. ' Susan Maxwell of Monreith. ' Charlotte Eitchie. ' Mary Campbell, Garscube. ' Betsy Maxwell of PoUoc. ' Margaret Lindsay. ' Rebecca Gillies. ' Anna Stirling. ' Margaret Logan. THE HODGE-PODGE V. THE LONDON BEEFSTEAK CLUB. 53 to all who rnay have the good fortune to gaze upon it, in the following words : — " Simson the Pastor* turn'cl my frame With his own holy hands ; Simson tlie merchant f lionnd the same In these fair silver bands : But, what delights me more than all, Great Hugo X did me dub To be the Snufi-mill General Unto the Hodge-Podge Club." One sentence more and we have done. Of all the Clubs which club- creating Glasgow has produced, the Hodge-Podge, perhaps, is the only one which can hold a comparison with the well-known London "Beef- steaks" in having had a poet-laureate in a Moore instead of a Morris ; and although, since the demise of the literary Doctor, there has certainly arisen no equally caustic singer who could pluck the long silent harp from the willow, to characterise the successive members of this necessarily changing brotherhood during its more than one hundred years' existence, § * The Professor of Divinity, and father of Dr Moore's wife. t Mr Simson, a partner of the Ship Bank. I Hugh Blackburn, Esq. § Mr James :Murdoch, the son of Mr Peter Murdoch, attempted to follow in the wake of Dr :Moore, by endeavouring, at a later period of the club's existence, to characterise cer- tain of the then members. We shall select a few verses from this lyric, which was sung to the air of "Derrydown." Mr Murdoch pub- lished a thin volume of poetical effusions for private circulation : — "Father Murdoch comes first, with manners paternal, So easy ami niiUl, may his reiirn prove eternal; Long may lie live with us. fortrettiiis ills past, Endear'cl to the club, and estceined to tlic last, (a) "What versatile talents in Dnnlop prevail! Tliou genius of Ilodge-Podge : friend of nii.\turc, all hail! A merchant, a sportsman, a mayor, a collector, Squire, captain, and poet, politician and factor. (6) (a) Peter Murdoch— (6) Jlr John Dunlop— (c) Mr James Macdowall of Castlesemple — (' '^'"""^^ ^'^ s° "" <""«• _ , . , ^ 1, i iT He'll put tlieni out at vour desii-e." blems. For example, in tlie Gall owgate there was painted in goodly letters, '■ Jlcssages nm Ai= a guide to a comfortable eating-house in down this close;" "New laid eggs every a sunk flat, were the following lines : — mornins bv me, Janet Stol)ie;" while four or .,_, , , . . . » , " .. , , " stop and read, to prevent mistakes,— five rhyming couplets were regularly in- Joseph llowcrs beefsteaks ; scribed under the sweep's representation of Good meat and drink make men to prow, a manorial residence. The following is one And you will find them here below," of these : — 72 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. as a guide to the purchaser, or as a token of the shopman's calling ; and as a proof to what length this rage for shop and tavern insignia had gone in 1772, Ave find that the Magistrates and Council, on the 2d November of that year, totally ignorant of the value of these historical emblems, came to the ]andal resolution of " recommending to the Dean of Guild to cause take down and remove all the signs which hung over the high streets of the City, as they interrupt the views along the streets, and darken the light of the lamps in the night time." * This darkening of the lamps was certainly a poor reason for depriving either the lieges of the pleasure of gazing on these decorative insignia, or the country people of a quick re- cognition of the place to which eacli emblem was wont to lead them for their purchases. While the Corporation were thus showing themselves somewhat litigious, yet by no means inattentive to what they honestly, though sometimes absurdly, considered advantageous to the comfort and convenience of the citizens in general, they appear to have been not altogether forgetful of their own personal glorification. The black attire and cocked hats which the Magistrates daily donned, being found at that period to be no distinc- tive mark of superiority — seeing that every one who was mourning the loss either of a friend or relative always wore the one, while the cocked covering of the caput was common to all save the lowest of the citizens, — * I recollect, when fii'st in Paris, in the year 1817, to have been much struck with the highly-finished paintings that served as signs to several shops and warehouses. I was, in fact, so much astonished with the execution of Les deux Odalisque du Serail in the Rue Vivienne, Monsieur Pigeon in the Rue de Seine, Les trois Graces, and various others, — that I asked a French gentleman why such paintings, whose match was often not to he met with in the drawing-i'oom, should have no better fate than being hung up as sign- boards? lie replied, that I need not be at all surprised at this, as several of the best artists had employed their pencils on this species of painting; and that in this way men otherwise unknown had been brought into notice, and had thereafter made no small figure in the higher branches of art. I ob- served, however, that although those signs a^jpeared to be often a sine qtui non for every splendid shop, they rarely gave any very perfect idea of the profession of those over whose doors they were suspended; for ex- ample, I have seen a confectioner with the sign of la petite Allemande — a bootmaker, au Soleil — a haberdasher, a la petite Ecossaise — a mercer, a la Balayeuse — and a grocer at Y Grec. There possibly might be discovered some sar- castic connection between une marchande des modes and une petite Vestale; or a lottery-office and la ptetite Candida I MAGISTERIAL INSIGNIA. 73 it was thought necessary to have some really uncommon mark to dis- tinguish those who were at once " a terror to evil doers, and a praise and protection to those who do well ;" and with this view, it was resolved that the aid of some cunning goldsmitli should be asked for, and not deeming those then resident in the City sufficiently cunning for their purpose, they employed one in London, who in due time despatched the necessary numher of magisterial gold chains and medals, which, by a minute of Council, we find to have reached Glasgow on the 15th January, 17G7, and " were thereupon delivered to the Magistrates, to be worn by them as badges of honour."* How many an ambitious sigh has the sight of these emblems of official dignity excited, since the golden effigies of Justice with her scales was first thrown around the neck of Provost Murdoch and his worthy colleagues! How many griefs and glories have been evolved and have passed away, since these insignia of office have successively ornamented or left the breast of the Ions; cataloo;ue of our civic rulers ! To how many plots and counter-plots has the chance of possessing one of these badges — or the pleasure of disappointing a competitor from receiving one — from time to time given rise! What a mortifying sermon, in short, do these ever-changing medals preach on the instability of magisterial power and popular gratitude ! The history of a magisterial chain, in the hands of an able novelist, would surpass in interest the famed " Adven- tures of a Guinea." It might, in fact, in the hands of some of our modern peripatetic philosophers, be made the medium for the most profound of psychological lectures If The period of Glasgow history which we are now attempting to sketch, was characterised by a singular pi'opensity on the part of the better educated to indulge in rhyming epistles, and the repositories of many of * Provost Murdoch, Bailies Buchanan, Ban- f A few years ago the old chains were sold, natyne, and Clark, Dean of Guild Campbell, and new ones got to meet the demands of and Convener Jamieson, were the first per- the increased Magistracy. "We believe the sons who wore the chains. Tlie Convener's ancient chain of the Provost was purchased chain was made by Napier and Bell, and cost by Sir James Campbell, who had formerly £40 lO.f \fl. worn it for three years when in the honour- able office of Chief Magistrate. 74 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. our oldest families contain many happy specimens of these curious and often clever lucubrations. As a specimen of the style and humour of the period, the following poem, written by Miss Mary Bogle, at Edinburgh, to her friend, Miss Lavinia Leitch, in Glasgow, may be given. It contains a clever criticism on !Mrs Siddons' appearance when in Edinburgh in 1784: — I hear, with deep sorrow, my benutiful Leitch, In vain to come here, yon your father beseech, I say in all places, and I say it most tnily, His heait is as hard as the heart of Prinli ; 'Tis composed of black flint, or of Aberdeen granite — But smother your rage — 'twould be folly to fan it. Each evening the playhouse exhibits a mob, And the right of admission's turned into a job. By five the whole pit ns"d to fill ^^ith subscribers, And those who had money enough to be bribers ; But the public took fire, and began a loud jar. And I thought we'd have had a Siddonian war ; The committees met, and the lawyers, hot mettled. Began very soon both to cool and to settle ; Of pi\blic resentment to blunt the keen edge. In a coop they consented that sixty they'd wedge ; And the coop's now so cramm'd it will scarce hold a mouse, And the rest of the pit's turned a true public house. AVith porter and pathos, with whisky and whining. They quickly all look as if long they'd been dining. Their shrub and their sighs court our noses and ears, And their twopenny blends in libation with tears. The god of good liquor with fervoui- they woo. And before the fifth act they are a' greeting fou ; And still, as a maxim, they keep in their ej^e This excellent adage, "That sorrow is dry." Though my muse to ■\\Tite satire's reluctant and loath, This custom, I think, savours strong of the Goth. As for Siddons herself, her features so tragic. Have caught the whole to^^•n with the force of her magic ; Her action is varied— her voice is extensive — The eye very fine, but somewhat too pensive. In the terrible trials of Beverlj-"s wife. She rose not above the dull level of life ; She was gi'eatly too simple to strike veiy deep. And I thought more than once to have fallen asleep. Her son-ows in Shore, were so soft and so still. That my heart lay as snug as a mouse in a mill ; I never as yet have been much overcome, AA'ith distress that's so gentle, with grief that's so dumb. RHYMING EPISTLES. 75 And, to tell the plain tnith, I have not seen any Thing yet, like the tumble of Yates in Mandane : For acting slionld certainly rise above nature. And, indeed, now and then, she's a wonderful creature. When Zai-a's revenge burst in storms from her tongue, With rage and reproof all the ample roof rung ; Isabella rose, too, all superior to sadness, And our heart was well harrow'd with horror and madness. From all sides the house, hark the cry how it swells ! While the boxes are torn with most heart-piercing yells ; The misses all faint — it becomes them so vastly — And their cheeks are so red that they never look ghastly. Even ladies, advanced to their good climacterics. Are often led out in a fit of hj'sterics ; Their screams are wide wafted— east, west, south, and north, Loud echo pi'olongs them on both sides the Forth. You ask me what beauties most touchingly strike — They are beauteous all, and all beauteous alike; With lovely complexions that Time ne'er can tarnish, So thick they're laid o'er with a delicate varnish, Their bosoms and necks have a gloss and a burnish. And their cheeks with fresh roses from Raeliurn they furnish. I quickly return, and am just on the wing. And something you'll like, I am sure, I will bring. The sweet Siddons' cap, the latest dear ogle — Farewell till we meet, Your true friend, Mary Bogle.* If, as we have already seen, from the years 1750 till 1780 the higher dignitaries of the Municipality of Glasgow have, through their individual talents, rendered themselves but little known to posterity, it is but fair to state, that this was not at least the case with respect to one of the very subordinate functionaries of the Corporation, who also figured during that period. While of the Provosts and Bailies, therefore, little is known even to the name, still all literary antiquaries know that to the Bellman, Dougal Graham, the woild owes a correct, though coarse rhyming chronicle of the Stuart Eebellion of 1745, and the largest of that racy catalogue of chap literature which so long enjoyed the patronage of the working- • The fair poetess was the daughter of an known by the title of Lady Mary and Lady individual who claimed the Earldom of Jlon- Betty Bogle. Many interesting particulars teith through his mother, and was related to about the father will be found in Craik's Bogle, the miniature painter. She had a '' Romance of the Pferage." sister, and both were milliners. They were 76 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. classes in town, and of the whole rural population throughout the length and breadth of Scotland. Of the birth and parentage of this rather celebrated official, who gained fully more notoriety by the broad humour of his printed lucubrations, than by the witty accompaniments of his skellet bell^ nothing is known.* Of his early life we can gather only, from what he says himself, that he left Glasgow to follow the contending armies, from the time " the rebels first crossed the ford of Frew till the fatal battle of Culloden " — not, however, in the dangerous capacity of a combatant, but in the more peaceful and safe position of a pedlar or suttler. In this neutral situation he could act on either side, and it is credibly believed he did so ; for, while his after circumstances in life forced him to declare himself boldly on the side of the high Protestant party of Glasgow, it is more than hinted that he had, in the outset of his career, exhibited a strong desire for Prince Charlie's success. No sooner did Dougal, however, return to Glasgow, after the battle of Culloden, than he sat down to pen his metrical account of the Eebellion ; and, as a proof of his diligence and his facility in composition, it may be mentioned that in the autumn of 1746 the work was in the hands of the printer, and ere many days was ready for sale.f Of the merits and demerits of this curi- ous metrical chronicle, much has been said. It is perhaps enough here to add, that thousands upon thousands of copies were disposed of through * In Sketches of the Manners, Customs, and printer in Glasgow, in the Saltmercat, the Scenery of Scotland, by E. J. Spence, London, second shop helow Gibson's-wynd, a book 1811, it is said that "on the side of the hill entitled 'A full and particular account of the above the old village of Campsie are to be late Eebellion in the years 1745 and 1746; seen the traces of a turf cottage — the birth- beginning with the Pretender's embarking place and early residence of Dougal Graham, for Scotland, and then an account of every who, about the year 1750, wrote a rhyming battle, siege, and skirmish that has happened history of the Eebellion of 1745. He was in either Scotland or England; to which is lame from his infancy; but having an in- added several addresses and epistles to the herent propensity to wander, he, with many Pope, pagans, poets, and Pretender — all in others of his countrymen, joined the Pre- metre ;' price fourpence. But any booksellers tender on his arrival at Doime." or packmen may have them easier from the f The following advertisement appears in said James Duncan, or the author, D. Gra- the Glasgow Courant of 29th September, 1746: ham. The like has not been done since the — "There is to be sold, by James Duncan, days of Sir David Lindsay." DOUGAL Graham's chronicle. 77 the country, and that new editions succeeded other altered editions in regular order; that also, in 1812, a new edition was called for, published, and sold; while, so late as the year 1830, Sir Walter Scott even "enter- tained the idea of printing a correct copy of the original edition," with the view of presenting it to the Maitland Club as his contribution, stating, as he did in a letter addressed to the writer, that he thought "it really con- tained some traits and circumstances of manners worth preserving." This highly favourable criticism from such a man entitles us to look on the Bellman's rhymes with no ordinary degree of attention. In 1752, Dou- gal Graham styles himself a " merchant" — a term in those days more frequently illustrative of a perambulating packman, than of anything akin to the Colonial and Foreign traders of the present day. It appears, however, that he very soon thereafter unburdened himself of his pack, threw aside his ellwand, and betook himself to an occupation which was perhaps more congenial to his genius as an author, we mean the business of a printer. It was ^^•hile engaged in lifting brevier and primer that Dougal produced so many of those contributions to the vulgar literature of Scotland, upon which his fame chiefly rests ; for of all those who ever indited chap books, or contributed to the Saltmarket press of Glasgow, or to the equally classic presses of Paisley, Stirling, and Falkirk, there was assuredly no one at all equal or comparable to the Bellman of Glasgow. Like a few authors, he was in the habit of at once spinning thought into typography, not through the common medium of the writing-desk, but at the printer's case ; — instead of requiring to fix his thoughts by ink on paper, Dougal at once set lip his ideas in the composing-stick, ready for the chase and printing- press. Of the vulgar literature to which we have referred, and of so much of which Dougal Graham was the author, it is enough to say that it really constituted the chief literary pabulum enjoyed by the bulk of our country- men in the humbler walks of life ; and though the jokes therein promul- gated certainly were broad, and sometimes even grossly indecent, they were not untrue portraitures of Scottish life and Scottish manners. By means of the numerous merchant pedlars who, in those days of bad roads 78 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. and worse conveyances, perambulated the country, these chap stories of Dougal Graham were introduced into every cottage where any of the dealers rested for a night, or were disposed of by them at any country fair which they might chance to visit ; hence the exploits of " George Buchanan," the histories of "John Cheap the Cliapman," "Leper the Tailor," " Lothian Tom," " Paddy from Cork," « The Creelman's Court- ship," " Simple John and his Twelve Misfortunes," and such like, although all saturated with indecency, formed the chief materials of the peasant's library;* and which, notwithstanding all that has been said about the moral and religious character of the country people, proves how much the national humour and peculiarities of the humbler classes of the Scottish population were then, as we believe they still are considerably, imbued with coarseness and indelicacy. When Dougal Graham v»as busy in his vocation, composing and print- ing for the taste and mirth of his humble countrymen, the office of Bellman of the City became vacant, and Dougal became an aspirant to the situation. Although there is no record of his appointment in the * In a manuscript of tlie late Mr M'Yean, 10. Jocky and 'Maggy's Courtship, 5 parts. the antiquarian bibliopole of the High-street, 11. The Follower of Witless Women ; or, the we find the following list of the Opera Dug aldi, History of Haveral Wives, so far as he had met with them, keeping out 12. The Young Creelman's Courtship to a of view his lyrical pi'oduetions, which were Creelwife's Daughter, 2 parts, very numerous. Perhaps no man ever de- 13. Simple John and his Twelve Misfortunes, voted more time to ferret out bibliographical 11. The Grand Solemnity of the Tailor's Fu- curiosities connected with Scotland than Mr neral, who lay nine days in state on his M'Vean. To his industry the antiquarian own Shop-board; together with his last owes much; while the literary man is in- Will. debted to him for an improved edition of 15. The Remarkable Life and Transactions of " M'Ure's History of Glasgow." Alexander Hamwinkle, Heckler, Danc- 1. George Buchanan, 6 parts. ing-master, and Ale-seller in Glasgow, 2. Paddy fi-om Cork, 3 parts. now banished for Coining. 3. Leper the Tailor, 2 parts. 10. The Dying Groans of Sir John Barleycorn, 4. John Falkirk the Meri-y Piper. being his grievous Complaint against 5. Janet Clinker's Oration on the Virtues of the Brewers of bad Ale ; to which is the Old and Pride of Young Women. added, Donald Drouth's Reply, with a 6. John Falkirk's Curiosities, 5 parts. large description of his Drunken Wife. 7. John Cheap tlie Chapman, 3 parts. 17. A Warning to the Methodist Preachers. 8. Lothian Tom, 6 parts. 18. A Second Warning to the Methodist 9. The History of Buckhaven, with cuts. Preachers. DOUGAL GRAHAM THE BELLMAN. 79 books of the Corporation, it is pretty certain that it was not till the year 1770 that he got possession of the civic bell. Whether it was his known literary talents, or his peculiar capabilities for calling his various "Oyes!" that insured his election, it is now impossible to say ; but we know this much, that he did not obtain the office without competition, and that the trial of skill, which at length gained him the day, took place at the back of the old Town's Hospital near the Clyde, in presence of several of the civic authorities of the time. The list of candidates was long, and Dougal was the last on the leet. Each applicant tinkled and tried his best call ; and when it became Dougal's turn to seize the bell, he rattled like a hero, and then roared out at the top of his voice — " Caller heiTing at the Broomielaw, Three a penny — three a pennj'." And then he added, with a sarcastic leer, " Indeed, my friends, But it's a' a bleflum, For the herring's no catch'd, And the boat's no come!" At the period when Dougal was first called to ring the skellet bell, the office was one of no small importance and emolument. For in those days everything of the least importance was best made known to the lieges by the tinkle and call of the public crier, who was constantly employed, from morn till night, in doing what is now almost wholly accomplished by newspaper advertisements and flaring posters.* Of the various important * The bellinen of burghs in early times pundis, to be payit in manner following, viz., were rather imjiortaiit functionaries, and twentiepundis thairof in hand, twentie pimdis what is more, the situation appears to have at Lukisnies, and twentie pundis in complete been rather a lucrative one. That the office payment of the said thrie scoir pundis, at was valuable even in Glasgow may be Beltane thereafter and lies fimd caixtion, &c. gathered from the following Minutes of Item the Provest, Baillies, and Counsall lies Council: — "14 June, 1590. The quhilk day, descernit and ordainit that gif any persone the Provest, Baillies, and Counsall, lies giviu rais ane outcry aganis the said George in tliair twa commoun bells, viz., the mort and using of said offices, to be punishit in tliis skellet bells, togidder with the office of prin- maner to pay for everie fait xvi,s for otheris terschipe, to George Johnstoune for ane yier, and being beggeirs, to be scurdgit tlirou the to cum bund for the soumc of tlirie scoir toun, and otherwayis punishit at the descre- 80 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. duties in which he was daily engaged, we have the best evidence, from an elegy which was published " On the much-lamented death of the witty Poet and Bellman," which took place on the 20th of July, 1779, and from which we make the following extracts : — ■ '* Ye mothers fond ! O be not blate To mourn poor Dougal's hapless fate, Oftimes you know he did you get Yoiir wander'd weans ; To find them out, both soon and late, He spared no pains. " Our footmen now sad tune may sing, For none like him the streets made ring, Nor quick intelligence could bring Of caller fish. Of salmon, herring, cod, or ling, Just to their wish. mm*** " The Bull Inn and the Saracen, Were both well served with him at e'en As oftimes we have heard and seen Him call retour. For Edinburgh, Greenock, and Ii-\'ine, At any hour. " The honest wives he pleased right well, WTien he did cry braw new cheap meal. Cheap butter, barley, cheese, and veal "Was selling fast. They often call'd him ' lucky chiel,' As he went past. m * * * * " Had any rambler in the night. Broken a lamp and then ta'en flight, Dougal would bring the same to light 'Gainst the next day, WTiich made the drunk, mischievous wight Eight dearly pay. " It is well known unto his praise. He well deserved the poet's bays. So sweet was his harmonious lays ; Loud-sounding fame Alone can tell, how all his daj'S He bore that name. tion of the Baillies;" and then, on 27th bell, for the space of half-a-year from the August, 1730, " which day, allow Isobell Mar- date hereof, in respect of her poverty, she shall, relict of James Hepburn, late bellman, furnishing one to cry the bell." to have the benefit of each third week of the DOUGAL GRAHAil THE BELLMAN. SI " Of witt}' jokes he had such store, Johnson could not have pleased you more ; Or with loudjaughter made you roar As he could do : He had still something ne'er before Exposed to view." » » » « » The appearance of this functionary, as seen in a copied effigy taken from one of his own publications, and transferred to the Paisley Magazine of 1828, is certainly more odd than prepossessing. Only fancy a little man scarcely five feet in height, with a Punch-like nose, with a hump on his back, a protuberance on his breast, and a halt in his gait, donned in a long scarlet coat nearly reaching the ground, blue breeches, white stockings, shoes with large buckles, and a cocked hat perched on his head, and you have before you the comic author, the witty bellman, the Eabelais of Scottish ploughmen, herds, and handicraftsmen ! Among all who ever rung, we believe there were few, not excepting even his successor. Bell Geordie, who surpassed him for broad and varied humour ; and, among all who ever wrote for the chapman and flying-stationer, there never was one who equalled Dougal Graham. In the opinion of Mr Caldwell of Paisley, the celebrated bibliopole of bawbee ballads and penny histories, and for whom he wrote much, " Dougal was an unco glib body at the pen, and could screed afF a bit penny history in less than nae time. A' his warks took weel — they were level to the meanest capacity, and liad plenty of coarse jokes to season them." With the opinion, however, of a far better judge, the late Mr William Motherwell, we shall conclude our notice of the Glasgow Bellman of 1770 : — " Had Graham only written the metrical account of the Kebellion, we believe he never would have occupied our thoughts for a moment ; but as one who subsequently contributed largely to the amusement of the lower classes of his countrymen, we have to think of the facetious Bellman. To his rich vein of comic humour, laughable and vulgar description, great shrewdness of observation, and strong though immeasurably coarse sense, every one of us — after getting out of toy-books and fairly tales — has owed much. In truth, it is no exaggeration when Q 82 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. we state tliat he \ylio desires to acquire a thorough knowledge of low Scottish life, vulgar manners, national characteristics, and popular jokes, must devote his davs and his nights to the studv of all the productions of Dougal's fertile brain, and his unwearied application to the cultivation of vulgar literature. To refined taste, Dougal had no pretensions. His in- delicacy is notorious, his coarseness an abomination ; but they are charac- teristic of the class for whom he wrote. He is thoroughly imbued with the national humours and peculiarities of his countrymen of the humblest classes, and his pictures of their manners, modes of thinking, and conver- sation, are always sketched with a strong and faithful pencil. Indeed, the uncommon popularity which the chap books of the Bellman have acquired, entitles them in many a point of view to the regard of the moralist and historian. We meet them on every stall and in every cottage. They are essentially the ' library of entertaining knowledge ' to our peasantry, and have maintained their ground in the affections of the people, notwithstand- ing the attempt of religious, political, or learned associations to displace them, by substituting more elegant and wholesome literature in their stead."* * A history of the vulgar literature of The Turnamspike alone was sufficient to entitle Scotland has been long and is unquestionably him to immortality. I had, in my early life, still a desideratum, for certainly nothing a great collection of these chap books, and could tend to throw so much light on the had six volumes of them bought before I was manners and tastes of the great body of the ten years old, comprehending most of the people as such a work. In 1830 it was hoped more rare and curious of our popular tracts." that Sir Walter Scott — than whom no man AATiat an insight this gives us into Scott's could have so well and so heartily performed early taste for the study of national manners! the task — would have undertaken it as a It was next hoped that Motherwell would preface to Dougal Graham's History of the have taken iip the subject, who, after the Rebellion, which, as we have hinted, he author of Waverley, was perhaps the best proposed giving to the Maitland Club, but fitted for the work in Scotland. But he, alas! unfortunately he abandoned the idea; yet, soon after Scott relinquished the subject, in doing so, Sir Walter, in a letter dated 10th died ; although, from the article from which May, 1830, to the writer of this volume, we have made so long an extract, v.'C find among other things of Dougal, said — that Motherwell really projected a work of " Neither had I the least idea of his being this kind, but abandoned the itndertaking, the atithor of so much of our Bibliotheque from the difficulty of obtaining material and Bleue as you ascribe to him, embracing from the want of sufficient leisure. With a unqutstionably several coarse but exces- view to such a work, he had, however, made sively meritorious pieces of popular humour. a pretty fair collection of Graham's penny THE BOOK TKADE IN THE OLDEN TIMES. 83 While Glasgow, irrespective of such rude rhymesters and chap writers as Dougal Graham, has at all times furnished its fair quota of men to the army of English literature and science, it at the same time has given little encoura£rement to such as remain denizens of the City. The demand for this species of mental labour in a trading and manufacturing town has always been trifling ; while the metropolitan fields, better fitted to employ and recompense literary and scientific talent, have been always ready to welcome every new comer. At the commencement of the last centurj^, and for many years thereafter, the purchase of books in Glasgow must have been restricted to a very few individuals, beyond the students at- tending the University, whose annual wants were very easily supplied ; hence, with the exception of Messrs Dunlop & "Wilson,* and a few others of those who during that period dubbed themselves with the honourable title of booksellers, the general traders in literature depended more on the sale of stationery, merchants' books, Bibles, and chap stories, and on book- binding, than on the disposal of the publications of the day, or of the classics either in the dead or living languages. As a curious fact con- nected with the state of the bookselling trade in Glasgow, even so late as the year 1776, it may be mentioned, that the persons engaged in the sale of typography, and stationery amounted then to sixteen persons only ; and that even these, finding that some land-louping biblioples were seriously interfering with their usual limited sale of books, by pushing off quantities of modern and other publications by auction, presented a long and histories, as printed by John Robertson, in ought to be cut above the breath whenever theSaltmarketof Glasgow, which, he believed, they cross the threshold. They deserve no might well be esteemed first editions ; but he more courtesy than was of old vouchsafed to adds that " Some unprincipled scoundrel has witches iinder bond and indenture to the bereaved us of that treasure. There are a Devil." number of infamous creatures who acquire * The shop of IMessrs Dunlop & Wilson was large libraries of curious things by borrowing next that of Jliller & Ewing at the corner of books they never mean to return ; and some Candleriggs. They were the most fashionable not unfrequontly slide a volume into their bibliopoles in the town. Their windows were pocket at the very moment you are fool ornamented with stucco busts of Adam Smith, enough to busy yourself in showing them David Hume, and other literati. They sup- some nice typographical gem or bibliographic plied the prize books for the College ami raritv. These dishonest and heartless villains the Grammar School, 84 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. anxiously-worded memorial to the Magistrates, as guardians of the rights and privileges of the burghers called upon to pay local taxes, requesting them to interfere and prevent those sales, which they alleged, " if not in- terdicted, would lead to the ruin of themselves and families."* What a curious illustration does this simple fact afford of the mercantile senti- ments of the day, so perfectly at antipodes to those now in the ascen- dant ! t * The following are the names of the parties who signed the memorial : — John Bryce. John Smith. J. & J. Roliertson. William Smith. James Duncan. James Brown. Peter Tait. Dunlop & Wilson. John Gilmour & Co. James Knox & Co. Robert Farie. John Williamson. Archibald Coubrough. John Sutherland. John M'Callum. Mrs Orr. t Towards the close of the century, book auctioneers became to be tolerated, and, since the beginning of the present centmy, they have been very numeroiis. Among these there is none better deserving to be remembered than David Mann, who mounted his rostrum every lawful night during the winter and spring months in a low-roofed room in the first flat of tlie south-west corner of Princes-street, and who attracted thither hosts of College students and others interested in the purchase of cheap and often bulky books. David had an off-hand conversational mode of disposing of his literary wares, mingled with a considerable dose of satirical wit, which was stimulated by frequent liba- tions of something rather stronger than water. His faithful attendant John, who handed him the volumes from the surround- ing shelves, had always a tumbler ready to clear the throat of his loquacious master, when books hung heavy and pence were slow to leave the pocket. His chief recommenda- tions of a work was that it was thick and that it was uncut — qualities which on many occa- sions were not much prized. One night when the sale was particulai-ly dull, and when David's throat was more than usually greedy for grog, the atictioneer, after trying the very best of his books without success, and after takingalong draught, despairingly exclaimed, " Well, gentlemen, what shall I put up next ? " Upon which a voice from this rather thin audience at once replied, "I think, David, you had better imt up your shutters!" Among the host of literary rubbish which Mann offered at the low price of twopence, there was a publication which he always brought forward to fill up a gap, and that was "Melody the Soul of Music," from the pen, it was said, of Mr Mollison, who was also a character in his day. During the first decade of this century, this man might be often encountered in the Trongate, and was easily recognisable from his tall, stout, clumsy figure, and rather rusty dress. He always bore in his hand a thick walking-staff, and had not unfrequently a book under his arm. Towards the close of his career, he issued a prospectus of a Life of "Hannibal the Great," and, after getting certain subscriptions, issued a first number, but there the work closed. At one time he was a bookseller, and kept a circulating library. About the same time there was another author called William Maver, a short, round, plump-looking man, who, however, was a scholar, and a man of considerable talent. He also had been a GLASGOW FKOM 1750 TO 1780. 85 From the year 1750 till 1780, the population of Glasgow had increased from about twenty-five thousand to forty-two thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, and the habitations had not only increased in a greater ratio, but were also larger and more comfortable. The extension, however, was chiefly limited to what is now the centre of the City. Although about the latter period the Westei^gate, amid its irregular thatched houses and malt-barns, then boasted of a few new and really elegant mansions, and Miller-street presented a succession of handsome " self-contained houses," in which some of the leadino; merchants and Viro;inia lords were domi- ciled ; still, considering the limited size of the City, it is surprising how many spacious mansions were actually scattered over the town, markino- a far greater distance between the castes of civic society than exists in the present day. As yet not a single habitation had been erected in Hutche- sontown, Laurieston, Tradeston, or Bridgeton. In these suburban localities, the ploughman was still to be met with in spring urging on his team, and the reapers in harvest were still " kemping" to gather in the fruits of the corn-fields. The only human occupants of the princely estates of Blythswood and Milton were, at that period, the herd or the gardener ; while the present densely-built portion of western Glasgow, which lies between Jamaica-street on the east and Stobcross-street on the west, and south from Anderston-road to the river, was then still lying in patches of common vegetables, with here and there a thatched steading for the habitation of those who either raised or protected them.* bookseller and became ultimately a book present Glasgow was when Lord Ross's Club auctioneer, but in both businesses he had no was meeting, may be found in the following success. He is chiefly to be remembered advertisement, which appeared in the Glasgow from his having edited a new edition of Mercury of May 8, 1783: — '•'■Enoch Bank to be Johnson's English Dictionary, in two vols. Sold. — The mansion-house, offices, and gar- 8vo., which was printed by H. Chapman in den, lying within ten minutes' walk of the 1809, with a large supplement of all the new Cross. The house consists of 13 firc-roonis. words introduced into the language since There is a stable, byre, laundry, gardener's Johnson died, pronunciation, etc., etc. This room, and washing-house, churn -house, is a first class work, and must have then been house for poultry, and a little dove-cot, extremely useful to the Glasgow citizens. stocked. The garden consists of nearly an • A proof of the rural condition in which acre of ground, well enclosed, and has brick one of the most densely-built portions of walls on the west and east sides. The walls 86 GLASGOW AXD ITS CLUBS. The piazzas or arcades, as we have ah'eady hinted, running along each street from the Cross, were still extending ; and there was as yet no foot- pavements save the Plainstanes in front of the public offices, and those just laid on a portion of the north and south sides of the Trongate.* Ilutche- son's Hospital,! with its spire, the old Guard-house, with its open flagged piazza,! ^"^^ the " Shawfield Mansion," still ornamented the principal thoroughfare from the east to the west; but, from the head of Candleriggs to the Cow-loan, or Queen-street, there was nothing except a stone wall. The public Green was limited, to the east, by tlie trees which extended across from the Peat-boo; ; and near the middle of the low Green, on the river side, was a small island, where women washed and bleached clothes and practised Scottish waltzing in a tub ! § The Corporation had been, as we have already seen, wisely looking to the necessity of erecting additional lamps in all the leading thoroughfares, but, withal, they only tended to make darkness in a dark night more visible. |1 The shops, however, which were still chiefly clustered around the Cross, had become much better than they were during the preceding thirty years ; and the wares exhibited in their windows had become more costly and varied. The citizen of 1 780 covered witli fruit-trees of the very best Hutcheson-street. In the Glasgow Mercuiij of kinds, all in flourish, and in the most com- that year, we find that a man was killed at plete order. The garden and walls contain the taking down of the steeple. This occurred 103 fniit-trees, besides a great number of on the 29th May. gean and plum-trees planted in the pleasure- grounds, in which there is a canal well stocked t The Guard-house was taken doAvn in with fish, the banks of which are covered 1^86, and removed to Candleriggs, and there- with an hundred different kinds of shrubs. ^^'^'^'^ ^o the east side of Montrose-street. The park to the north of the house is en- g ^j^^ ^j^ (...^^^ mentioned by M'Ure as closed with double hedging, and verges of ^^^^^^^^ y, o w X 1 1 X laxity of the succeeding generation in this employed, called Bum Baihex to perambulate "^ ^ ° ^ „ ^ ^, ' . , ^, ,1- r. IX respect, vvould that the citizens of 18o5 the streets and the public Green, and to seize , „ , „„„.,,, 1 . xi. • 1 ■ could take a lesson from the consequences of upon all they tound in the open air during , . , . . ^, ^o« j;,.;^« ..^^,.;„„ nr r>i 1 1 xu j which the pharisaical Stringency of 1< 80 was divine service. Mr Blackburn, the grand- . ' o j father of the present laird of Killenrn, having productive . 92 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. The members of this high-styled fraternity may be said to have been, at this Tontine-building* period, among the class of our City Corinthians — a character to which they must have thought themselves not unjustly entitled, from the circumstance of the Club candelabra being a mahogany copy of one of the celebrated columns of the Temple of Jupiter Stator in the Roman Forum, which, as all the world knows, has long been consid- ered the most pefect model of the Corinthian order ! Be that as it may, however, the individuals who composed My Lord Ross's Club were all persons who might fearlessly pace the " Plainstanes," f or, what is more, who could proudly dispute " the crov.n o' the causeway" with any of the then rather paralysed tobacco-aristocrats of the Westergate. They were persons, too, whose life and conversation were not confined, like many of their fellows of the period, to one solitary idea. They soared above such vulgar topics as tobacco and sugar, or the warp and weft of a long lawn or blue and white check ! The beaux esprits of wliom we speak left such subjects to be discussed by the magnates who daily strutted in peacock magnificence around the statue of King William, to the tinkling melody * The Tontine buildings, which were appears that Dr Moor, the Professor of Greek erected immediately to the west of the Town —to whom Ave have alluded as helonging to Hall at the Cross, were commenced in 1781. the Anderston Club — was rather a natty as The Coffee-room or Eeading-room was long well as learned man, that is to saj^, he was considered the most elegant in Britain. "How particular in the cut of his dress, and most par- haA^e the mighty fallen !" There Avere 107 ticular to the curl and poAvdering of his Avig. shares or Ua'cs, at £50 each, at its foundation Strutting about one daj', as he Avas Avont, in 1780, and in 1853 there Avere still 12 alive. apparently pleased Avith his OAvn appearance, li£ was noticed by a young spark of an officer, f The " Plainstanes," as formerly noticed, not long in commission, Avho, thinking to was the only pavement in GlasgoAV at one annoy the Professor, Avhispered in passing to time, and was placed in front of the piazzas his companion, loud enough, however, for the of the present Tontine buildings. It Avas still Doctor to hear — " He smells strongly of pow- the promenade, jmr excellence, of the leading der." Upon which the Doctor at once turned dons of the toAvn, and Avas protected by a row rovmd and said — "Don't be alarmed, my of cannon stuck in the gi-ound, with their young soldier, it is not ^MwpoAvder!" Senex muzzles uppermost, over which the boys mentions, in " Glasgoaa', Past and Present," attempted to play at leap-frog. Many an that "the last personage who continued to odd tale is associated Avith this promenade. Avalk these Plainstanes, decked out with his Among these, one A\'as told me the other day scarlet cloak and cocked hat, Avas Dr Peter which illustrates alike the costume and the Wright." This gentleman Avas a regular characters who at that time met there. It member of My Lord Eoss's Club. MY LORD ROSS'S CLUB. 93 of the music bells, or to be canvassed by the corks (small manufacturers), who might be called to quit their not unusvial posture of leaning over the half shop-door, for the purpose of taking their meridian with a customer. The members of My Lord Eoss's Club flew at higher game ; for they ever seasoned their hours of innocent revelry with discussions on literature or the fine arts. Amid the hopes and fears excited by the closing events of the American war, they could enter upon a criticism of the works of Hume or Ramsay. They knew the merits of Handel, Raphael, and Roubilliac, as well as the burgesses and boatmen knew those of either Dougal Graham or Bell Geordie ; * and could have pointed out each ori- ginal picture of Foulis's exhibition in the College-court, on a king's birth- day, as easily as the president of the then undreamed of, and since for- gotten. Dilettanti Society could once select the sheep from the goats in the Hunterian Museum ! With minds so illuminated, it may be easily supposed that the Club ale required not to be spiced with gossiping detx'action, nor the Club rabbits to be seasoned with scandal ; and on the annual dinner day, when above a score of the social band sat down to the standard dish of " beef and greens," and after " The clang of plates, of knife and fork, That merciless fell like tomahawks to work," was stilled into silence by the cloyed appetite, and when the generous juice was placed upon the board to whet their understandings, it was never found necessary (although some of the members were connected with the City Corporation) that the beverage required such sentimental provocatives as " the Lord Provost and Magistrates," and " the Trade of Clyde;" or that the evening's jocularity needed to be heightened by those "unaccustomed as I am to public speaking" orations, which, at the pre- sent moment, so distressingly mark the mighty march of intellect. In !My Lord Ross's Club, such tiresome, heartless, and pointless pastime was • See i\i& Accidental Clvh for a sketch of this well-known and somewhat notorious functionary. 94 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. not known, and what is more, would not have been tolerated ; for there each member truly " Indulged his genius ; each was glad, Jocund, and free, and swell'd the feast with mirth." As a key to the jovial-hearted brotherhood which, seventy years ago, made the low roof of a High-street parlour often ring Vvith the choral chaunt of " Down the burn, Davie lad," we may mention its last blithe- faced president, Bailie David Hendrie, whose memory is still revered by all who ever heard of him. The facetious pleasantry of this delightful bottle companion, whose very form was the emblem of good humour and jocularity, proved indeed the chief bond of union to the fraternity ; and when he poured out his own manly voice, as he was often wont, to the humerous ballad of " I am a tinker to my trade," he so electrified his audience that there was not a bag-wig present, from the late Dr Peter Wright to that of Professor Cumin of Oriental language memory, which did not dance and shake with laughter.* Although there is not now one of the members of My Lord Ross's Club left to bewail its president's harmless gibes and flashes of merriment, to recall his portly form, or to remember his jovial songs, w^e are happy to think that we, at least, some twenty years ago, were acquainted with the last survivor of this effete fraternity. Sworn antiquarians, as we confess we are, we never once gazed on the gold-headed cane which had borne this respectable gentleman along the Trongate, from the May to the December of life, without recalling the joys of his dancing days — days associated to the last with the pleasures and the friendships of My Lord Ross's Club. While we looked, too, on that happy portrait of a former age — a graphic index of the change of men and manners, by no means flattering to the men of modern times — we often regretted the loss of that race of bag-wigs and pig-tails, which, by the present youthful generation, • We may mention, that among the other land, Mr Robert Morris of Craig, and Mr few members of this Club now known, were John Miller, of Miller & Ewing. the late Provost Black, Dr Marshall of Neils- MY LORD ROSS'S CLUB. 95 are utterly unknown, and by the elder almost forgotten. And now that this worthy and warm-hearted octogenarian has also, like his former com- panions, put off this mortal coil, we have only to add that Glasgow never possessed a better specimen of its ancient citizens, nor My Lord Koss's Club a worthier representative of its former glory, than Mr John Miller, of whom it may verily be said, that " Age sat with decent gi'ace upon his visage, And worthily hecame his silver locks ; He wore the marks of many years Avell spent, Of virtue, truth well tried, and wise experience," 96 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. ^lasrjoto from 1777 to 1783. MOKXIXG AND EVENING CLUB. Previous to the opening of the Glasgow Coffee-room, or News-room, at the Cross — which took place about the year 1782 — there was no regular rendezvous for quidnuncs, — no public place where the citizens could assemble to peruse the English or Scotch newspapers, and discuss their contents. It was then needful for the gobemouche, thirsting for news, to hurry to some well-frequented tavern where, for the accommodation of regular visitors, there was always kept in readiness the necessary political pabulum to satisfy his cravings. The period to which we refer was one of great interest and excitement ; but it was one, also, when locomotion was in its infancy. About that time the communication with the metro- polis, either of Scotland or of England, was most tedious — so much so, that a London newspaper of nearly a week old was looked upon as a novelty. To remedy in some measure this great inconvenience. Provost Buchanan was sent to London, in 1778, to endeavour to obtain a more speedy communication, by post, between the two cities — the intercourse being then only thrice a-week through Edinburgh. But it may be argued, from a subsequent entry which appears in the Council Records, dated 28th September, 1781, that although something, consequent on the chief magistrate's visit, had, in the interval, been done to better matters in this respect, still the Corporation and the citizens seem to have remained far from being satisfied with the Post-office authorities of the day, and to have been loud in their demands for improvement ; nor, con- sidering the eventful times in which these individuals lived, is this to be "no roPERY." 97 wondered at.* It was then that the unfortunate quarrel with America, and its baneful consequences, kept the whole nation on tenter-hooks; while the domestic turmoil occasioned by the Popish bill introduced by the then Government, and ending in Lord George Gordon's riots in the metropolis, awakened the most intense anxiety among the Protestant community.! Both subjects peculiarly interested Glasgow, — the one from the long and successful intercourse which its leading merchants had held with Virginia, and the other from a long-cherished affection for the severest Presbyterianism, and from a deep-rooted hatred of Popery. Perhaps no subjects, therefore, at any one period of Glasgow's history, awakened more anxiety in all classes of the inhabitants than these two, more particularly the Popish bill, by which it was intended to repeal the penal statutes against Eoman Catholics, and put them on the same footing as the other sectarians in the land. Not forgetful of the suffer- ings Avhich many of their fathers had endured at the hands of the Popish party when in the ascendant, or even of the exactions to which the City had been subjected during the last struggle of the Stuarts in Scotland, the citizens of Glasgow almost unanimously declared their hostility to the measure, while, at the same time, they banded themselves together to oppose this attempted attack on their high principles of Pro- testantism. Thus, no fewer than eighty-five separate societies were formed to oppose the bill; while, through the pulpit and the press — powerless though that press comparatively w^as at that time — the minds of the working-classes were so inflamed as to render them capable of any outrage against the abettors of the Catholic faith. Unlike the present dav, Glasgow was totallv destitute of those hordes of Milesian helots * " The Council appoint a Committee to con- f On the 9th September, 1778, the Town sider what steps are proper to he talcen for Council of Glasgow resolved to send twelve bringing the posts from London (via Carlisle, cannon to Greenock, under the belief that Motlat, &c.) to arrive at Glasgow as early as there might be an attempted invasion of the they arrive at Edinburgh; and to have six west coast. This was never carried into cxe- posts from London weeklj', as Carlisle and cution. I >umfries now liavc." — 2?>lh Sq>tember, 1781. II 98 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. which have since so materially added to the population of the western commercial mart, and so seriously altered the creed of many of its breath- ing inhabitants. One obscure mass-house, situated in the High-street, was then the only consecrated temple of Popery within the Covenanting borders of Glasgow ; and book and bell were there used in a manner somewhat stealthily.* While we speak thus of the Presbyterianism which so generally pervaded the people, it must not, at the same time, be denied that there were some whose early habits and education inclined them to the Avorship of the Virgin. It should not be forgotton that a goodly sprinkling of the old Celtic Jacobite race, drawn from the Highlands, then did the work which is now generally assigned to the modern patlanders ; and Popery, therefore, was not altogether unsympathised with by certain persons of the community. Among those, there appears to have been a person named Robert Bagnall, who, being a native of France, still religi- ously and regularly worshipped at least every Sunday within the walls of the High-street mass-house. This personage was a potter by trade, hav- ing his shop in King-street, and his manufactory and house at the east end of the Gallowgate. At that polemical period, the Popish peculiarities of this, we believe, industrious and respectable citizen, unfortunately ex- cited the wrath of the populace, who, not content with destroying, a la John Knox or his abettors, the pictured saints which decorated the high altar of the High-street chapel, of which Mr Bagnall was a notable member — and that, too, during the time of divine service — again, on the evening of the 9th February, 1779, assembled by some as yet occult power, at once at- tacked his house, situated where Tureen-street now stands, and burned it * In 1778 there were only about 30 osten- handsome Gothic structure in Clyde-street sible Roman Catholics in Glasgow. In 1785, was erected. Since that time several very wlien Bishop Hay came from Edinburgh to large and elegant churches connected with celebrate mass, he met the Catholics in a the Roman Catholic worship have been built back room of a house in Blackstock's-close, in various parts of the City. In 1819 the foot of Saltinarkct. In 1792 the Tennis-court number of Roman Catholics in Glasgow was in Mitchcll-strcet was fitted up as a tempo- only 8,245, whereas in 1851 they were esti- rary Catholic chapel. In 1797 a small chapel mated to be about 90,000. was built in Gallowgate; and in 1815 the DUTY ON FRENCH CAMBRICS. 99 and its furniture, before the Magistrates had arrived at the conflagration.* This accomplished, they forthwith proceeded to his shop in King-street, which they gutted of its pottery, in spite of all magisterial and military efforts to save it. It has been stated, as a proof of the almost universal feeling which prevailed against the Catholics and their religion at this time in Glasgow, that although the then great reward of one hundred pounds was offered for the apprehension of any of the ringleaders, no one ever was induced to peach. \ No sooner was this religious ferment somewhat quelled, by the aban- donment of the Popisli bill, than another equally opprobrious measure was introduced into the House of Commons, which again excited much fear and discontent among the inhabitants of Glasgow; we allude to a pro- posal to repeal the duty on French cambrics. At that time the coi^ks, or small manufacturers, of Anderston| had done much to improve the manu- facture of cambrics, not only by their own ingenuity, but also by the importation of a colony of French women. Fearing competition, and utterly regardless of the principles enunciated by Adam Smith, they were strongly excited against the measure ; and a mob of weavers paraded the City with an effigy of the Minister who brought in the measure, holding in one hand a piece of French cambric, and in the other a bill for import- in f that manufacture. The procession, after marching through the town * Bagnall took refuge in the house of the Mr James Monteith, grandfather of Sir R. Rev. Dr. Porteous, of the Wjnid Kirk, wlio Monteith of Carstairs. ■was even alleged to have been in some mea- Mr John Semple. sure instrumental in exciting the populace Mr James Wright, commonly called " Cash against Poperj-. doim." t "The Magistrates and Council, on 16th !!'" tl^'''" "^r^""',' ., ^ „ , ^ 1 * i> ,• . JNIr Alexander Glasgow. April, 1//9, agreed to apply to Parliament ^. . p p ., .. e „ ' ' ' 4.t • 1 1 •* *„ <■ - n „ Messrs Grant & Fraser, the former one of for power to assess the inhabitants for tlie ^^_ ^_^^_^ ^^^ ^^_ ^_^_ ^__^^ ^^^^_ the family of the famous Grants of Man- chester. Mr Gillespie. It was the custom for some of the abovc^ and most of the smaller rwA-.s-, to take their X Among the leading AndcrstoncorAs about "meridian" at Pinkeiioii's, which was tlien in tliis time were the following:— the Trongate, opposite to the Laigh Kirk Messrs James & John M'llwham. Steeple. damage done to Robert Bagnall's property 1)y a mob on the 9th of February last." The bill was prepared, but abandoned from the (jpposition given to it. 100 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. unmolested — as might well have been expected from the universal sym- pathy felt for their case — ultimately arrived at the Cross, where the effigy was hung up at the public place of execution, and thereafter blown to pieces by the firing of some combustible materials placed in the interior of the fio-ure.* It was during the fitful alternations of the American conflict, and the equally oscillating policy of our domestic Legislature — which so deeply interested the citizens of Glasgow, — that a Club of well-known quidnuncs and greedy gossipers began to assemble in a rather celebrated tavern, situated in Currie's close, on the east side of the High-street — not after dinner, but long before even the hour of breakfast. At that period the Edinburgh mail — bringing the newspapers of the Scottish metropolis, and with these the latest intelhgence from London — reached Glasgow about five o'clock in the morning. On the arrival of the postal messenger, whose appearance was then looked for with more than ordinary anxiety, a gun was regularly fired at the Cross, to announce the great fact to the inhabitants ; and in those days, when the City was small, it was easy to do so by such a simple contrivance, as the great majority interested in such matters lived within earshot of the Tolbooth. At this well-known sound the members of the Morning Club started from the blankets, dressed themselves in their morning garb, and hastened to the High-street, where the newspapers, which, by that time, had been got from the Post-office, were found ready dried and laid out on the table, waiting the arrival of the eager quidnuncs.f * The proposed legislative measure was from its start, published thrice a-week. The withdrawn, to the great delight of the Glas- precise period when the Caledonian Mercwy gow manufacturers and weavers. was commenced is also xinknown ; hut it was t The newspapers then published in and long published by the well-known scholar received from Edinburgh were — the Courant, and antiquary, Thomas Ruddiman, M.A., Mr the Caledonian Mercury, and the Advertiser. John Robertson having purchased the copy- It is not precisely known when the Courant right from the Ruddimans in 1772. The Ad- was first begun to be published, but it is cer- vertiser was commenced after 1772 by Mr tain that in 1710 the celebrated Daniel De Alexander Donaldson, wliose son and suc- Foe got liberty from the then all paramount cessor in the property of the newspaper left Town Council tn pu1)lish the same. It was, his fortune to found Donaldson's Hospital. THE MORNING AND EVENING CLUB. 101 But although the news of the daj, stirring as they then were, formed perhaps the chief attraction to those worthies to leave their beds at so early an hour, there were other inducements to enter Currie's close before breakfast. In the comfortable tavern, with its blazing fire, situated in this then fashionable locality, the members were always sure of getting either a tankard of hot herb-ale — whose medicinal qualities were con- sidered no bad antidote to the rather uneasy effects produced by the pre- vious evening's heavy potations — or that beverage which was then well- knoTNni by the designation of a " haurie" and which consisted of a half- mutchkin of rum, with a due proportion of hot water and sugar, poured out and skinked in a quart mug.* With either placed on the board, and with a newspaper in hand, each member felt himself quite in his element. After the perusal of each paragraph, he could take his mouthful of sooth- ing tipple, and was thus fully prepared to meet any intelligence that might too harshly excite his feelings. When the newspapers were duly scanned, which, considering the editorial brevity of that period, took no very long time to accomplish, the members at once encircled the board, and the Club thus constituted commenced discussing, with a gusto peculiarly their own, the various topics of the day. Having thus sat and talked till the Cross clock struck eight, at which hour men in their circumstances breakfasted, the sitting was adjourned — not till the following morning, as mio-ht have been anticipated, but only till seven o'clock in the evening, when the Club again regularly met, to talk over, not the news of the country, but the news of the town. As a sample of the worthies who composed the brotherhood, meeting under the title of the ]\IoiiNiNG AND Evening Club, and who for many long years darkened with their forms one of the eastern closes of the * The practice of drinking hot herb-ale in their Arcadia, — and who, on tlieir return, the moniing existed till ahont the year 1820. about 8 or 9 o'clock, wound up their morn- At that time there was a peripatetic chib, ing's pleasure with a tankard of this hot composed of a number of respectable niann- potation, in a famous herb-ale house, nearly facturers, who took their early walk round opposite the Old Gate, wliicli led into the the Public Green— like the ancient (irceks in Green at the north end of the Saitniarket. 102 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. High Street, we may mention ]\Ir Archibald Givan, writer, whose oriijinal character and convivial habits were ever sure to attract around him a knot of congenial spirits, and whose love for his Club was such that he rarely was known to be absent from a sitting.* It was here, especially, that this celebrated clubbist, who may be said to have been an excellent repi'esentative of the drinking character of the age, most unre- servedly indulged in his own peculiar and favourite species of tipple, but in which, considering the cost of the material whereof it was manufactured, and the quantity which he generally contrived to swallow, he had few followers among the brotherhood. The beverage was no less, for a beginning, than a bottle of good port-wine mulled, flavoured with large slices of lemon, and poured into a quart mug. This rather odd Club drink was nicknamed " maJiogani/,^^ and, ere long, the sobriquet Avas conferred on himself. With his legs below the tavern mahogany, and with his own tankard of mahogany before him, this worthy worshipper of wine and waggery gossiped on till near midnight, and not unfrequently did not quit his chair till he had impounded the mystical number of three bottles in his stomach. At this period of Glasgow's history, tippling at all times of the day, and drinking in the afternoons to excess, were prac- tised both by " gentle and semple." Among the shopkeepers and manu- facturers, a meridian glass was an almost universal habit, while forenoon gilling prevailed through the whole range of the different craftsmen. To transact business of any kind without the bargain being sealed with the stamp of the stoup, would have been looked upon as shabby as it would have been unsafe ; and so far was the practice carried, that even the most sacred matters were settled in a manner befitting " thirsty souls " — that is to say, the clergy and their flocks were in the habit of discussing the weighty matters of the Church over a tankard of twopenny or a glass of Glenlivetlf About this period, too, when a dinner party * In Tait's Directoiy of 1783-84, we find Mr f A story told of tlic Rev. Dr John Hamilton, Givan's name among the Faculty of Procura- and of the celebrated Mungo Naismith, the tors, and that he lived "opposite Post-office, mason, one of his parishioners, which occurred Gibson's Wynd." about this time, will best illustrate this. Hav- DEEP DRINKING. 103 was given — which was, however, a rare occurrence compared wdth the practice of the present day — the guests, after the somewhat heavy repast, invariably set in for serious drinking. The landlord immediately began to ply his bottles and his bowl ; and, in order to prevent any one skulking away before he had drank more than he could well carrj'', the dining-room door was locked, and the key snugly consigned to the host's pocket. A host, in fact, was looked upon as miserable and mean who did not testify his kindness by sending his guests reeling home, without any recollection of what had occurred during the closing part of the evening ; and it was the great glory of many a stalwart diner-out to play, but too frequently, the part assigned to the "Doctor" in the autumn hunt dinner given in "Thomson's Seasons,"' whose "Tremendous paunch, Awful and deep, a black abyss of drink Outlives them all ; and from his buried flock Retiring, full of ruminati sad, Laments the weakness of these latter times. It was, in fact, an age of deep drinking, both in town and country ; but it must be recollected that although the " houts^^ were long, they were rare. The story of the laird of Garscadden and his compeers, who never thought it reasonable to rise from the table on the same day on which they sat down, may be regarded as no indifferent type of the men of the period ! ing both something important to talk over in the vessel empty. " Ring the bell !" cried he, the forenoon, they retired, as customary, to a evidently annoyed either at the supposed pul)lic-house, and called for a gill of spirits neglect or indignity oflered to them; adtling, and a piece of oat -cake. Both were brought "this is really too bad." "Ilooly, hooly!" in and laid on the table; but before attempt- said the parishioner, "it is all right enough, ing to partake of cither Dr Hamilton asked a I am to blame for that. If you liad been le; s blessing, which, closing his eyes, he length- lengtliy in your prayer it would not have encd out with such a copious infusion of happened. But let me give you a hint for Presbyterian doctrine, that long before its the future, that the Scriptures tell us ' to conclusion his friend became tired, and, sip watch as well as pray!'" The Rev. Dr was by sip, drank off the spirits placed before minister of the High Church or Catlicdral, him. On arriving at "Amen," the minister and was father of Provost John, and grand- stretched out his hand to take hold of the father of Provost Wm. Ilamihon. gill stoup, but lo! on raising the lid, he found 104 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. They were, in fact, the very counterpart of a celebrated bailie of a neigh- bouring borough, in more modern times, whose grave-stone declares that " Here lyes — read it witli your liats on — The bones of Bailie William Watson, Who was famous for liis thinldng, And moderation in his drinking." * Of the other regular members of the thirsty fraternity, who spent both their mornings and evenings in the Club-room, it is perhaps unnecessary now to say more than that each and all of them belonged to the then widely disseminated family of the Sit-lates, a family which was slowly but steadily declining in numbers long before Forbes M'Kenzie's effort to extinfTuish it. The Sit-lates of the Morning and Evening Club, however, having no fear of any interference with their prolonged enjoyment of good company, continued to sit and drink till they could do so no longer ; but that was at least not until their chairman, "Mahogany," was prevented by death from placing his limbs under the well-garnished mahogany of the High-street hostelry.f Before we close this sketch, we may mention one of the irregular members of the brotherhood, Mr Matthew Gilmour, writer, who to a strong love of the ludicrous, united a propensity to play tricks on his neighbours.t On his way one morning to the Club, when * Scottish " Galravlches," as these drinking cated he was in no great odour among his bovts were called, are well known to all ac- neighbours : — quainted with the " annals of the bottle," and a Beneath this stane lies auld Garscad, the one in which Garscadden took his last Wha loved a neibour very bad; draught has been often told. The scene OC- Now how he fends and how he fares cuiTcd in the wee clachan of Law, where a The deil ana kens and as few cares." considerable number of Ivilpatrick lairds had ^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ companions of the pre- congregated for the ostensible purpose of gi^ient of the Evening and Morning Club were talking over some parish business. And well _p^. ^^^^^^^^ High-street, Deacon Murray, they talked, and l^etter drank, when one of ^^^ ^^^^^ g^^^^.^^.^^ ^^.^.^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^j^^^.^ them, about the dawn of the morning, fixing ^^ ^j^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ forenoon topers. Meri- his eye on Garscadden, remarked that he was ^.^^ drinking about this time was almost "looking unco gash." Upon which Kilmar- ^^-^.^^^^^ ^^^ng the middle classes of Glas- dinny coolly replied, " Deil mean him, since ^^^^, society, he has been wi' his Maker these twa hours ! " I saw him step awa, but I didua like to dis- J Of this curious individual, who lived in turb good company !" The following epitaph High-street, in 1793-4, many odd pranks have of that celebrated Bacchanalian plainly indi- been told. The following, given on the au- n PRACTICAL JOKES. 105 few were on the street, he discovered a ladder, and ascended the statue of King WiUiam, at the Cross, where he seated himself on the horse, im- mediately behind the hero of the Boyne. The singular position of the member, however, soon attracted the attention of a curious passenger, who at once cried out, '•' What are you doing there ? " " Oh ! " exclaimed Mr Gilmour, " I am looking at a most wonderful sight, such as I never saw in all my life before, and, if you will only come up, you may see it too ! " The stranger, without thought, took advantage of the ladder, and mounted to the top of the pedestal. " Stop there till I come down, and you will get up ;" and so saying the member slipped down, and the stranger ascended to the vacated seat. Mr Gilmour then counselled him to look steadfastly down the Gallowgate ; and while he was thus em- ploj'ed, the ladder was removed and ]\Ir Gilmour with it, leaving the poor man on an elevation from which there was no practicable and safe de- scent ! thority of Mr John Aitcliison, may be relied morning the people \\eve not a little sur- on : — Having obsen-ed a pretty conspicuous prised to find that Robert Carrick, the man- sign in front of a house in the Bell of the ager, had added to that of his many other Brae, on which was painted " R. Carrick, occupations the business of a cobbler ! These shoemaker," Mr Gilmovu' thought it would practical jokes were by no means uncommon be no bad joke to remore it during the night during the last century. and place it on the Ship Bank ; and in the 106 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. 5?is}jlant( 3immisratioit anti fj^igljlanti H^ospitalitu, GAELIC CLUB. It is perhaps strange to say that, while at the present hour so many sons of the Gael are found among the ablest of our merchants and manufac- turers, the period is not far remote when scarcely one of the numerous cadets of the Highland clans would have dreamed of taking up his abode in Lowland Glasgow. To confine a Highland gentleman, a couple of centuries ago, to the drudgery of a shop or a counting-house, or what was worse, to that of a workshop or a manufactory, would have been felt a degradation and a punishment never to be submitted to. The chivalrous spirit of the child of "the mountain and the flood," eschewed disdainfully, at that period, the profitable employment of the shuttle, and everything akin to weaverism and chapmanship. He felt no reluctance to sell his sword to a foreign power, but he could not condescend to enrich by his industry his own country. The sentiments which Sir Walter Scott has put into the mouth of Rob Roy, were tlie opinions formerly entertained and acted upon by many a chieftain of the Highlands ; and although some time before the Rob Roy period, which the great novelist so well illus- trates, the Eldorado blandishments of trade had begun to attract some of the more energetic sons of the mountain to settle on the banks of the Clyde, it was not till some years after the last Rebellion in favour of the Stuarts, that the scions of the Gael were found seated in the high places of Glasgow societv. About the close of the seventh decade of the eighteenth century — when the successful sons of many Highland clansmen had, by their industry, won ESTABLISHMENT OF THE G^LIC CLUB. 107 a prominent position among their lowland competitors for fortune or po\A*er in Glasgow — a knot of rather remarkable men thought of establish- ing a Club, on a peculiarly Celtic basis, which has formed a bond of union among them even till this day, and was thus phrased in their first minute, — " To remind them of Ossian, the melodious and noble prince of poets, as well as to converse as friends in the bold and expressive language of heroes in ages past, the Highland gentlemen of Glasgow have resolved to meet statedly as a society." On the 7th March, 1780, the Gaelic Club was established— its first president being Mr George M'Intosh of Dunchattan, father of the late Mr Charles M'Intosh ; and its first secretary the zealous Mr M'Diarmid, the original Gaelic clergyman of Glasgow.* In addition to the hearty bond of similarity of tastes, which kept together the members of this brother- hood, they procured a charter from the Highland Society of London, which, among other privileges conferred on them by their patent, delegated specially to this fraternity the power of awarding the annual prizes given by the London Society at the Tryst of Falkirk for the encouragement of bagpipe music ; and during many years, it appears, a committee of the Gaelic Club annually proceeded to that great gathering of men and bestial, to adjudge the valuable medal appropriated for the best pibroch.f * In 1779, the Town Council voted £50 for to Major Canipljell of Airds ; the second prize re-building the Grelic chapel. to Archibald M'Gregor, fourth son of old f In tlic ahis/jow Mercury, of 23d October, M'Gregor; and the third to John JI'Gregor, 1783, we find the following paragraph: — "The piper to the City Guard of Edinburgh. As competition for the annual prizes given by soon as thejudges and the company had taken the Highland Society, for the encouragement theirplaces, the bard, Macan Taoir, was intro- of the ancient martial music of Scotland, took duced, and pronounced his annual Gaelic place at Falkirk, on Wednesday, the 15th poem in praise of the martial music and current, under the direction of a committee prowess of the Caledonians ; and the whole deputed by the Glasgow branch of the Society, was concluded with a grand procession to the when, after a trial of skill, which lasted from church-j'ard of Falkirk, where the victors, at nine in the morning till five in the afternoon, the three competitions, marched thrice round beforesclcct judges, and in presence of a veiy the tombs of the immortal heroes. Sir John numerous and respectable company assem- Stuart, Sir John the Graham, and Sir Robert bled on the occasion, the first prize and the Munro, playing the celcliratcd ' M'Crimman's bagpipe were adjudged to Neil M'Lean, piper Lament,' in concert, on tlic prize pipes." 108 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. The original qualification for becoming a member of the Gaelic Club was, that the individual should be a Highlander, either by birth or con- nexion. Another requisite was, that he should be able to speak the Erse, or be the descendant of Highland parents, the possessor of landed pro- perty in the Highlands, or an officer in a Scots or Highland regiment. These conditions were perhaps very necessary, when it is mentioned, that among the standing rules of the fraternity, when first established, it was a law that the Club should meet on the first Tuesday of every month, in !Mrs Scheid's tavern — then a first-rate house in the Trongate — at the hour of seven at night, and that the members were " to converse in Gaelic, according to their abilities, from seven till nine." In the progress of time, it may be easily supposed that those original regulations were departed from, and that, although the claim for membership was restricted to the applicant's ability to count kin with some Highland relative, the chance of his admission into what soon became a most aristocratic brotherhood, would depend more on his position in society, and on his connexion with the leading members who governed it, than on anything peculiarly Celtic in himself. Alas ! how guiltless are the Highland gentlemen of the pre- sent day of the tongue which was at first the chief link of their union and cordiality ! From the very full and interesting Minutes of the Gaalic Club, w^hich narrate the transactions of the brotherhood from 1780 down even to the present day, we find that, during the first ten years of the existence of the fraternity, the meetings were both regular and numerous ; and that to add to the hilarity of their entertainments, they in 1784 appointed Neil M'Lean to be piper to the Club, allowing him five shillings every evening that he touched his chanter for their amusement. But scarcely four years had run their course before a successor appears to have been nomi- nated, named M'Kechern, who, besides the usual fee of five shillings, enjoyed the advantages of a coat, bonnet, and kilt, every two years. Again, with the view of characterising the assembly by some ostensible marks of the Gael, it was agreed that each member should henceforth HOSPITALITY OF THE GAELIC CLUB. 109 appear, at all stated meetings, in a tartan short-coat, under a penalty, for non-compliance, of the usual punishment of the day, viz., the cost of a bottle of rum, which, being translated into coin, sounded something like eight shillings sterling. And further, to encourage those who might love to sport the habiliments of their earlier years, it was enacted, " that those who chose to appear in any additional particulars of the Highland dress, would be considered still more meritorious members of the Society of the descendants of the Clans of Caledonia."* During the ten years above alluded to, the regular meetings of the Club, from November till April, Avere monthly; but it held only two meetings from April till November — summer emigration being then, as now, a characteristic of Glasgow society and a foe to all Club assemblages. Wednesday was then the day on which the Club met, and was chosen as being a blank post-day to London, showing that a letter, at that not very distant date, took three days to perform its journey from Glasgow to the metropolis ! Of all the social fraternities of the City, there never existed one which gave more palpable proofs of a spirit of hospitality than the Gaslic Club. While Glasgow through its private circles was never wanting in attention to strangers, it is only just to say, that in her public capacity she has done absolutely nothing ; and while many of the leading cities of England have, through their several municipalities, given substantial proofs of the known hospitality of Old England, by inviting every remarkable stranger who mio-ht visit their locality, to some tangible expression of their admira- * It is perhaps curious to state, that at a hereby gives and grants to him that olBce, veiy early period there was a regular town as common pypper or minstrell within the piper elected and paid by the Corporation. said burgh, ordaining him heirby to goe The following is a minute ofthc Town Council throw the toune every day, morning and on this sulOcct, dated 3d April, 1G75:—" The evining, or at such tj-mes the Magistrates said day the Magistrates and Counsel being sail appojmt, using his office, for quhilk they convened. In answer to the desyre and sup- arc to pay him yearlic during his service plicationnc given in be John M'Claine, thereintill, the sowme of anebundreth marks pypper, craving to be admitted as the towne's Scots money, at twa termes," &c. minstrell. they have given and granted, anrl 110 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. tion for him as a statesman, scholar, soldier, or philanthropist, it has been the general practice of the members of our municipality to show any little attention they did show — to themselves, and scarcely any to strangers. Perhaps this peculiarity may be attributed more to the poverty of the public purse than to any unwillingness on the part of those who, for the moment, held the purse-strings — in short, to decline to do collectively in the Town Hall what individually they were always ready to perform at home. If the Corporation, even amid Toryism and self-election, was in this respect chary in showing attention to strangers, the Ga3lic Club was most liberal and free, particularly towards the brave defenders of their country ; for, whenever any kilted corps took up their residence in our City, the officers w^ere sure of being invited to the hospitable board of the Gcehc Club, and thereafter, through this very influental brotherhood, were introduced to the best society of Glasgow. The first important entertainment which we find in the records, as given by the Gaelic Club, was on the 2d January, 1788, when Colonel Forbes and his corps were quartered in the City. The next great public dinner of the Club was given to the 42 d High- landers, or Black Watch, in the year 1792 ; on which occasion, no effort on the part of the entertainers was spared to convince their guests that Highland hospitality could be shown even in Lowland Glasgow. Al- though this gallant corps had not yet attained the high pitch of renown to which, by its deeds of bravery, it was soon elevated, it must never be for- gotten that it was then composed of men who felt that their fathers, amid their rocky fastnesses, had always successfully stemmed the inroads of advancing foes ; and that, though other portions of the island had become at times the prey of the conqueror, the glens of the Highlands had never been polluted by the foot of a foreign aggressor. Besides, if the " Old Black Watch" had not yet won their red feather, they had at least shown enough to convince the most sceptical, that if ever the bonnet and the plaid should be called into the field of fight, it would be scarcely possible for any opponent, however brave, to offer an effectual resistance to Clann THE FIRST G^LIC CLUB BALL. Ill nan Gael a gualibh a cheile. (The children of the Gael — shoulder to shoulder.)* While the Gaelic Club was thus, in its early days, peculiarly attentive to the brave defenders of their country, they were, at the same time, by no means blind to the beauty of their fair compatriots. With a spirit of gallantry worthy of imitation by other brotherhoods of the community, the Gaelic Club gave their first ball and supper on the 7th March, 1792, when there appears to have been present twenty-nine members, ten stranger gentlemen, and forty-five ladies — making a party in all of eighty- four individuals. The company were invited to meet at seven o'clock, and were provided with tea, coffee, and cards. Dancing immediately succeeded, to the stirring music of " M'Lachlan and his Bass," the best and only orchestra of the City for such parties. As a regular hot supper was put on the table precisely at ten o'clock, and as this could only be done in the large room devoted to the dance, it was after this ball resolved, in the event of any future entertainment being given of the same kind, "that a collation should be laid out in an adjoining room, M'hither the company might retire in sets, or small parties, in the course of the even- ing, leaving to all the liberty of quitting the ball-room and going decently home at any time one might think fit." The fact was, the formal supper, conducted as it had been on this occasion, was found to have been atten- ded with great delay, and moreover " exposed the company to cold wJtile * The original Reicudan Dim, or "Black regular troops, receiving regular pay, and Watch," was a corps ^of provincial militia, were the origin of the gallant 42d Regiment, whose duty it was to protect the lives and which was known for a long time as the properties of the Scottish people from distant "Highland Watch." At the period of their plunderers. The corps was wholly composed being made regular soldiers, many of them of Highlanders, and was supported by an were of a higher station in society than that impost, which, if not sanctioned by Act of from which soldiers in general are raised, Parliament, Avas at least levied by custom being cadets of gentlemen's families, sons of and local institution. It was, however, ex- gentlemen-farmers and tacksmen; and in torted in a manner no less compulsory than addition to the advantages derived from their tlie more private c'ere given with the usual Highland accompaniments; these finished, the dancing re-com- menced and continued till early dawn. Another ball was given on 9th March, 1812, in the Assembly-rooms, the numbers being increased to 160; and what is more noticeable, the hour of meeting had stretched out to nine o'clock, showing what even six short years could do towards changing the fashionable habits of a city. Of the other splendid balls which have been successively given by the Club, it is only necessaiy to say, that each surpassed its predecessor in numbers BROTHEELY KINDLINESS OF THE GAELIE CLUB. 119 and brilliance ; while the last— which took place on 24th January, 1841, and at which, being a fancy ball, there were consequently displayed the costumes of all nations — has ever been remembered and talked of, as the most splendid that ever took place in the western metropolis.* The only regret expressed by those who really love the joyous hilarity of the dance, is the fear that the Grehc Club may have adopted the too prevalent idea of the present day in GlasgoAv — that the conduct of David, King of Israel, in the eyes of Michal, was a sin ! So much for the hospitality and kindness of the fraternity whose history we have been attempting thus slightly to sketch.f Let us now for a moment allude to the heartfelt interest which the members took in each other's welfare. Nowhere has a brotherhood been united to each other by more friendly ties, or felt greater sorrow when these ties were snapped by death. It is, alas ! too true, that clubs, like communities, are, in the course of years, subject to many changes ; but, although the Celtic brotherhood was established as early as 1780, it does not appear that it lost any one of its members by death till 12tli November, 1800, when the minutes mention that the brethren attended that meeting with a black crape round the left arm, as a mark of respect for the memory of Mr James Campbell and Mr Alexander M'Pherson, who had just paid the debt of nature. On the anniversary dinner, too, of 7th March, 1804', the Club appeared in fidl mourning, as a token of respect towards the memory of Mr M'Gilvra, the father of the Club. On this occasion, the meetino- appears to have been both numerous and highly respectable — the chair being occupied by Mr Kirkman Finlay, wiio, with deep feeling, proposed the memory of their departed brother and friend. After each • The following arc the dates of the balls Club did not restrict itself to mere tokens of which were given by the Club since 1831 : — hospitalitj^, but opened its purse for other 24th April, 1831 IGO persons present. objects; the latest instance of its generous 25th ;March, 1835 250 " benevolence being the gift of one hundred 7th March, 1838 275 " poundsto the Glasgow contribution of £48,000 24th March, 1841 300 " raised for the widows and orphans of our ■f We must not forget to mention, that the brave army now in tlic Crimea. 120 • GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. member had quaffed his glass in solemn silence, and the Club piper had poured out a solemn lament, Mr George M'Intosh, the old and intimate friend of the deceased, rose, and after saying a few words in testimony of the singularly amiable character of his departed companion, concluded his touching oration in the following rather remarkable words: — "The father of the Club — the oldest in years — the gayest in all juvenile and innocent amusements — the first in the dance — the last to part with a social friend. His venerable countenance and grey locks created respect, while his cheerful good humour diffused mirth. In all his dealings and conversation he was strictly just and honourable ; in religion and piety sincere. We have lost one of our best members, and many poor High- landers their best friend." With those concluding sentiments, he proposed the following toast : — " May we all live in health and comfort to the age of Calum ; And when we cease to be members, may we be regretted like Calum." Among many others, whose decease, during the long career of this remarkable Club, called forth tokens of sorrow on the part of the members, we shall only allude to Mr George M'Intosh, one of the originators of the Club. On the Sunday immediately following the demise of that highly-esteemed gentleman and citizen, the Club, as a body, went in deep mourning to St Andrew's church, accompanied by the ISIagistrates and the Directors of the Highland Society, and preceded by the charity boys belonging to the Society, to hear a funeral sermon preached by Dr William Ritchie : who, on that solemn occasion, in the just and tasteful panegyric which he pronounced on the character of the departed Celt, found a sympathetic echo in every listener's breast.* • Mr George M'Intosh, the chief founder to Glasgow, he, as a very young man, waa of the Gtelic Club, was bom at Newmore, in employed as a clerk in a concern known by Ross-shire, in the year 1737. Being the the name of the " Glasgow Tan-work Com- foiirth son of a farmer in that northern pany." In 1773 he separated himself from county, he cannot be supposed to have been, this company, and soon became a formidable in his earlier years, in the possession of rival in one branch of its business, viz. shoe- much wealth or of very brilliant prospects ; making, employing nearly 500 men. About and we accordingly find that, on his removal this time, Mr M'Intosh was engaged in r GEORGE m'INTOSH. 121 Among the many topics of interest which from time to time attracted the attention of the Gaelic Club, peculiarly connected with the native language and mountain manners of Caledonia, there appears to have been none that excited more discussion and more difference of opinion than the Gcelic toast of "Plorn, corn, wool, and yarn." As a means of better clearing up the difficulties which surrounded this rather occult subject, the late Mr Robert Dennistoun — then a zealous member of the brotherhood — drew out a statement which, in a great measure, set the matter at rest, and by which he won for himself not a little fame. In this document, which is given at full length in the minutes of the Club, his accurate acquaintance with the niceties of the Gffilic tongue is at once illustrated and proved ; while there is displayed throughout the paper a highly critical appreciation of the genius of that difficult language. To glass-making concern, and in the West India trade. In 1777 he commenced the manufac- ture of a dye-stuff called " cudbear," which he carried on to a gi-eat extent. In 1785 he. with Mr David Dale, established, under the direction of M. Papillon of Itouen, a Turkey- red dye-work, at Dalmarnock on the Clyde ; and here the first Turkey-red was dyed in Great Britain. The copartnery continued till 1803, when the works were disposed of to other parties. In 1797, when apprehensions were entertained of a French invasion, Mr M'Intosh made an offer to the Magistrates of Glasgow to raise a volunteer corps of High- landers. The Magistrates voted him thanks, hut declined his offer, seemingly under the impression that it might, if accepted, inter- fere with the formation of the 2d Regiment of Glasgow Volunteers, then being raised. In 1791 Mr M'Intosh established a cotton- mill and a weaving-factory on the Frith of Dornoch, in Sutherlandshire. In 1803 these works contained about GOOO spindles; and from 80 to 100 weavers were located in the village. Want of success obliged the con- cern to dispose of the works, which were soon thereafter destroyed by fire. "While Mr M'In- tosh was thus employing his time as an ener- getic merchant and manufacturer, we find that about the year 1794 he embarked with extraordinary zeal and success in raising recruits in Glasgow for the king's service ; and in this respect he was veiy instrumental in filling the ranks of the Gordon High- landers, and of the 133d (then commanded by Colonel Simon Fraser), of the 78th, and of the North Lowland Fencibles. After the peace of Amiens, and when war again broke out with France, Mr M'Intosh was once more at his post, and was speedily successful in raising a battalion, 700 sti-oug, called the " Glasgow Highland Volunteers," but which, from never having been in the aiTiiy, he de- clined to command. In 1801 the Canadian Fencibles, when stationed in Glasgow, having mutinied. General Wemyss made application to Mr M'Intosh to interfere; and he having hastened among the soldiery, and addressed them in their native tongue, the soldiers, electrified by his Gadic address, instantly returned to their quarters and resumed their duty. Mr M'Intosh, about this period, took a deep interest in City affairs, and became the chainnan of the Chamber of Commerce ; but while thus busied in mercantile pursuits and many benevolent objects, he was called 122 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. tlio lovers of Celtic literature, its perusal cannot fail to be both pleasing and instructive. But, in spite of all the enthusiasm displayed by those ■who have attempted, or may still attempt, to perpetuate the tongue of Ossian, it is to be feared that all future exertions on this score are destined to prove a failure. Against the steam-boat, penetrating every Highland loch, and carrying along with it the language and manners of the Sassenach, it is vain for the modern Celt to contend; and although we are far from discountenancing, but would rather encourage national characteristics, as a means of inspiring and keeping alive the spirit of emulation amonc the mixed tribes of wdiich this and many other nations are made up, still, it is to be dreaded that ere the lapse of this daily- changing century, the Scottish Gaslic may have shared the same fate as that of the Cornish or Waldensian ! Patient reader ! we have now attempted to give thee a few of the to make a journey to England, in the summer of 1807, on returning from which he was seized at Moffat with inflammation, and there expired on the 26th July of that year. Among the men to whom Glasgow is indebted for its onward progress, there are few who have surpassed Mr George M'Intosh in activity, public spirit, and beneficence. The acts of his life showed that business, carried on for the acquisition of wealth, is perfectly con- sistent with beneficence ; and that commerce, conducted by a liberal mind, capable of applj-- ing science to the practical purposes of life, opens a field for exhibiting with advantage all that is -sartuous and worthy of praise. He was pious, withoiit ostentation and without fanaticism. In the eloquent words of Dr Ritchie, Ave may add that " the bigotry of prejudice, the gloom of superstition, the con- tempt of those who adopted modes of wor- ship different from him, never disgraced his creed, never soured his temper, never polluted his conversation. In hftn, piety was combined with charity, and the love of God with the love of his neighbour." Mr M'Intosh, at an early age, man'ied Miss Mary Moore, daughter of the Rev. Charles Moore, and si,ster of Dr John Moore, the author of "Zeluco," and consequently the aunt of Sir John Moore. His son, Mr Charles M'Intosh, who was born in Glasgow in 1776 — an equally worthy mem- ber of the Ga-lic Club — did also much for the manufactures of his native City. In 1796 he introduced the making of sugar-of-lead ; and in 1797 established the first alum-work in Scotland at Hurlet, and thereafter at Camp- sie. In 1799 he patented, with Mr Charles Tennant, the chloride of lime, which the latter had discovei'ed, and which they car- ried on, as a manufacture, with great success. He discovered the process for rendering any soi't of fabric Avaterproof, and which has since been caiTied on, particularly at Manchestei', to a great extent ; and, in fine, in 1823, among many other valuable improA^ements, he dis- covered a process for conA'erting iron into steel, by submitting it in a close vessel to tlie action of carbonetted hydrogen gas. For Mr M'Intosh's sei'vices to science, the Roj'al So- ciety of London elected him a Fellow in 1823. His son George, four 5^ears after his father's death, Avhich took place in 1813, printed and priA'ately distributed a limited number of copies of memoirs of his life. CONTINUED SUCCESS TO THE G^LIG CLUB ! 12 r> more striking points in the history of a fraternity, which hias stood the test of a seventy years' existence, with honour to itself and with benefit to the community. For, while the Grelic Club has exhibited in its onward course the evidence of a well-conducted and highly respectable knot of Highland gentlemen, proud of their lineage, of their Alpine country, and of their Highland usages, it, at the same time, has shown a degree of hospitality and kindness towards their brave countrymen and fair friends unexampled by any other of the many social brotherhoods of Glasgow.* Long may the Club continue their sittings, whether in philabeg or trews, either for their own special gratification, or for that of those on whom they bestow so much hearty kindness ! And, while we say this for themselves and their encouragement, we would likewise, in the name of the fair girls of Glasgow, earnestly plead for such another ball as that which, in 1841, displayed so much grace and beauty, and excited such general satisfaction. With these cordial wishes would we now — under fear of encroachins; any longer on thy patience, kind reader, take the advice of our old friend, the author of " Whistlebinkie," as we would also advise the Gtelic Club to do when the Club-room is small — "put the pipes in the pock!" * One of the members was so proud of his Lowland blood in mj' veins I" On hearing Celtic origin, that, on one occasion, he ex- which, Mr Samuel Hunter, who happened to claimed, in the hearing of the fraternity, "I be present, at once rejoined, "You arc cer- tluink God that tliere is not a single drop of tainly thankful for sma' mercies !" 124 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. i^lasfloiM from X780 to X795. ACCIDENTAL CLUB, It may be remembered that, before introducing the reader to the Ander- ston, Hodge Podge, and my Lord Eoss's Clubs, we attempted to make him in some degree acquainted with the more salient points of Glasgow history, and with the more striking peculiarities in the habits and manners of her citizens, at the various periods when these fraternities were first established. And, before commencing to speak of other con- vivial brotherhoods, who began their sittings a few winters previous to the last decade of the eighteenth century, it may be perhaps proper to attempt another brief sketch of the City and its inhabitants, about that transition period, when the commercial metropolis of the west made its first great start in progressive population and importance.* During the forty years that had passed since Professor Simson first met his Club associates in the village of Anderston, and even during the ten years since my Lord Ross's Club first assembled, great changes had been gradually taking place, not only on the outward aspect of the City, but in the manners and tastes of those who dwelt within its borders. A * Mr Smellie took a census, by order of the Magistrates, in 1791, and the following were the results : — Inhabited houses within City Royalty and New Town 10,291 Inhabitants in ditto 41,777 Ditto in Suburbs, including Gorbals, Calton, Grahamston, Anderston, &c 20,076 In whole City and Suburbs 61,853 Countrj' part of Barony Parish 4,330 66,183 GLASGOW FROM 1780 TO 1795. 125 progressive improvement was apparent in everything ; but, withal, there still remained so many of the peculiarities and attributes incident to a comparatively small town, that these, when now viewed, through the spectacles of the present day, will be found to realise a sufficiently striking contrast between the Glasgow of 1795 and that of 1855. Betwixt 1780 and 1795 the City had certainly very much increased in size, and the houses ('bating those of the tobacco lords) had been gradually increased in their dimensions. A manifest improvement, too, had become apparent in the exterior architecture; the streets and thoroughfares were rather better paved, and a commencement was made towards the modern luxury of sewers. A building company, during the course of five years from 1788, had expended no less than £120,000 on new tenements, and the example was soon followed by other wealthy citizens. There were still, however, a few of the houses on each side of the Trongate which had roofs of thatch, while very many of those in Saltmarket and High-street had still fronts of wood.* Along all the leading thoroughfares, proceeding from the Cross, one could still pace under piazzas, secure from rain and from sunshine, although there were already powerful efforts making to have the dingy shops brought out to the front of the street.f In 1795, Hutcheson-street, Wilson-street, John- street, and George-square, were known by the common appellation of " the New Town," as this quarter of tlie City then really was. Many of the most respectable inhabitants then lived in Charlotte-street, Stockwell, Jamaica-street, Saltmarket and Iligh-street. The high and mighty commercial dons generally occupied houses in Virginia-street, Miller- street, Queen-street, and Buchanan-street, and in the three squares, viz., • A number of old houses with wooden fronts denominated "Wee hell," three-fourths of it may yet lie seen in various closes in the hciiig in a state of complete obscurity. High-street and Saltmarket, and which were t On the 14th August, 1793, Sir William at one time possessed by most respectable Miller and Sir Archibald Campbell, advocates, families. Some of these closes, particularly gave an opinion to the Magistrates, that the in the Saltmarket, presented curious appear- proprietors could not bring out their shops ances. One of them, a little south of St An- to the front of the piazzas. This was after- drew's-street, on the east side, was usually wards accomplished by an Act of Parliament. 126 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. St Enocli's, George, and St Andrew's ; but, with the exception of the last, there was not a place of business in any one of those now bustling localities. St Andrew's-square was at that time the great seat of manufacturing establishments, while almost no places of business were found farther west than Glassford-street or farther north than Ingram-street. With respect to retail shops, it may be truly said that not one of any note was situated to the west of ]\Iiller-street.* As yet not a single private house had been built to the west or north-west of George-square ; and between Madeira- court and Anderston, grass fields and gardens were all prevalent. Although the manufacture of articles in silver and gold was practised early in the City — (since, by an Act of Council, Wilham Cockburn, goldsmith in Edinburgh, Avas allowed to exercise his calling in Glasgow in 1660, and in 1716 a sum of £35 Is dd, sterling money, was given to James Luke, goldsmith, by the Town for a silver tankard, &c., to be sent to Colonel William Maxwell of Cardonell, for the good service he had done during "the rebellion and confusion,") — still, in 1790, there were, if w'e omit watchmakers' and those which might be properly designated jewellers' or goldsmiths' shops, only two at all notable in Glasgow, one of which w'as kept by Mr Adam Graham in King-street, and the other by Mr Robert Gray in Trongate ; and, strange to say, the latter silversmith could, in addition to his more valuable wares, always furnish a customer with a cane or an umbrella — the latter luxury, though then a modern invention, being at that time generally made of yellow or green glazed linen. These novelties were also very large, at first with the handle for holding them at top, while the reverse end was pointed with a brass point for touching the ground when walking ; and secondly, with a ring at the top by which to hang them ; and although they are at present found indispensable to the comfort of every Glasgow pedestrian, they were then • Up to about the year 1815, the great been the quarter of which the cross was the mart for banking, muslins, books, hardware, centre Nobody thought that any good thing hosiery, shoes, &c., might be said to have could be got beyond this charmed circle. siiopkp:eping from 1780 to 1795. 127 only to be seen in the hands of a few of the more fashionable of the community.* In addition to the two rather celebrated silversmiths! mentioned, there was at that time a somewhat noted individual, yclept Angus M'Donald, who sold plated goods in great variety, and who besides eked out his business by the sale of tea and quack medicines, more particularly of the famous balm of Gilead.l Of apothecaries' or drug- gists' shops there were, up to the latest time we are attempting to sketch, only two of any great celebrity, and these were kept by Mrs Balmanno § * The late Mr John Jameson, snrgeon, on returning from Paris, in 1782, brought an umbrella with him, which was the first in this city. " Senex " mentions that, about the year 1786 an attempt was made to manufac- ture umbrellas, by Mr John Gardner, father of the optician; Init the article Avas so clumsy that it did not succe<^d. t Previous to 1790, as we have already shown, there was a most respectalile firm as jewellers, called Milne & CamiJbell, in the Trongate. In the Glasgow Mercury of March, 1793, M-e find that their shop had been broken into. % In 1790, among the many advertisements of wares which appear at this time by Angus IM'Donald, we find black tea at 3s 8(/ to Gs Gd per lb. and green tea at 6s to 125. His shop was, at first, at the head of Saltmarket, but, latterly, at the foot of Brunswick-place. His porter, Murdoch M'Donald, according to the advertisements, had been cured of every disease by the nse of the medicaments and electuaries his master sold, and by the abme of the balm of Gilead lie did all in liis power to intoxicate himself and ruin his employer. § Tills celebrated drug establishment was situated at the north end of the Laigh Kirk- close, at the sign of the Golden Galen's Head. It is now nearly a century since it was first cstablishcil, and it still continues to dole out pills, jiotioMs, and electuaries, in spite of ail the opposition it has met with from apothe- caries' halls, plate-glass, and large coloured buttles ! Although its most palmy days were certainly those when the mother of the late Dr John Balmanno surveyed the salves and tinctures from her stuffed arm-chair, it con- tinued to be well patronised even after her death ; and most deservedly so, for while the drugs were perhaps fully as well attended to by two old faithfid servants, the poor and the afllicted had the advantage of obtaining the advice of her benevolent-hearted son Avithoixt fee or reward. In a rather clever satirical work, called "Northern Sketches," in Avhich many of the Glasgow characters of the day are shown up, the Doctor is some- what unjustly handled. The only part of the picture which is really true is his introduction on the scene. " This, ladies and gentlemen," says the authoi', " is Dr Quotem, something like a statue, as Pope says, ' stepped from its pedestal to take the air!'" The stoiy goes that Dr Balmanno's father was a painter of a class now extinct. On Jlondays he pro- ceeded from town into the country with a pot or two of paint and a set of brushes, and inqiured at the country houses if any painting work was needed, returning to Glasgow on Saturday. The Tron steeple having required some painting repair, old B:ilmanno was employed, and when thus occupied he fell off the scaff'old, and was earned into a drug- shop close at hand, kejit by the widow of a druggist. She attended the pr.inter, and by careful nursing soon brought him round. Ilis grateful feelings led him to ask her in marriage, and he became Balmanno the Druggist. He acquired property, and had his physic garden off George-street, where Baliiianno-strect now is. The garden was sold or feued by Dr Balmanno, his son, and the street was called after liiin. The first 128 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. and ^Ir Wright;* for the other half-dozen small vendors of salts and senna, in Trongate, High-street, and Gallowgate, were of no note or character. The cloth shops, for the working classes and country people, were all on the south side of the Trongate, between the Laigh Kirk-close and the Cross, under what was usually called " the pillars," with a few stray ones about the head of the Gallowgate. For broad cloths, for the better classes, there were only three shops of note, and those were kept by ;Mr William Aitken, Mr Patrick Ewing, and Messrs Millar & Ewing. The hardware shops were all on the west side of the saltmarket ; and among these was that of the well-known Mr James Lockhart, who was, perhaps, one of the very best specimens of the good old-fashioned morality of bygone times ; f while on the opposite side of the same street were located all the dealers in ready-made coarse shoes. There was then not a tailor's shop in the whole City"; cutters of garments being confined to the upper flats or garrets of houses, and in their art giving little proof of much taste or acquaintanceship with the mysteries of Bond-street. opponent with which the old Galen's head had to contend was the lai-ge wholesale and retail business set up by Dr James Monteath and Mr William Couper, at the north-east corner of Stockwell-street, which continued to maintain a first-rate position till a few leading medical gentlemen joined together and formed the Apothecaries' Hall Company, in a court on the south side of Argyle-street, near the Buck's Head Hotel, whence it was removed to its present site in Virginia-street. • In 1786, Mr Archibald Wright, or better known as Bauldy Wright, advertises himself as a seedsman and draggist. He was an old Highlander, and the inventor of Wright's powders, "which, if they did no harm, could do nae gude ! " His widow Avas drowned in the Comet steamboat in Gourock Bay. f In proof of this, the following anecdote has been told of Mr Lockhart: — One day a country girl came into his shop to buy a pair of garters. Having asked the price, Mr Lockhart told her they were fourpence. The girl said, "I will not give you a farthing more than threepence for them." "Weel, lassie, you'll not get them," replied the shopkeeper. Shortly afterwards the girl returned, and said, "I'll noo gie you four- pence." "Gang awa, lassie, gang awa," replied Mr Lockhart, "and no tell lies!" We have heard also an anecdote of another worthy man, who kept a shop immediately adjoining, which at once illustrates the high principle and simple manners of one who lived when profane swearing was but too common. One day, a woman came into the shop of this person, whose son has lately filled an office in the City magistracy, and asked the price of his goods ; and on hearing the cost, she cried out at the top of her voice, " Lord, preserve us ! " which was no sooner enunciated, than the good religious man touched her gently on the arm, and with a look of kindness, said to her, "It is very good always to pray." "Was / praying, Sir?" asked the woman. "Indeed you were ; but you might do so more reverently!" PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN 1793. 129 From all that can be gathered on the surface of past society, it appears that trade rather than literature was about this time the peculiar characteristic of the now western metropolis ; and, as an illustration of this, it may be stated that in 1793, as in 1779, there were only two circu- lating libraries in the City, the one belonging, as formerly hinted, to Mr John Smith,* in the Trongate, and the other to Mr John Coubrough, in the High-street — the rather greasy tomes which these well-known bibliopoles kept for the public use and instruction, consisting chiefly of such novels and romances as were afterwards known under the appellation of the " spawn of the Minerva press." No doubt the student had always the College library to resort to, while, from 1791, the public had access to the valuable stock of rare and curious books which Mr Walter Stirlino; had bequeathed for the benefit of his native cityf The quidnuncs of the day, although eager and somewhat violent politicians, had been, nevertheless, for a long period content with three * Mr Smith's library was commenced in 1753, being only eighteen years after the establishment, in Edinburgh, by Allan Ram- say, of the first kno-\\Ti circulating library in Britain. It counted 5000 volumes, and was the first of the kind established in Glas- gow. t Mr 'Walter Stirling, the founder of this now valuable library, was the son of Dr Stir- ling, whose father died in 1C82 in Glasgow, and who was then looked upon as a "Natha- niel." The testator of the lilirary was born 12th December, 1723, and was baptised by the Rev. John Maclaurin, the minister of the North-west Church, and bi'othcr of the cele- brated Colin Maclaurin, on the 15th of the same month. Of his early history little is known. lie commenced life as a merchant, and became a member of tlie Merchant's House in 1768, under the designation of a "Home Trader." He appears to liave been a man of quiet and unobtrusive manners, while his retired habits may perhaps, in some degree, be attributed to his physical defect of frame— being a hunchback. Walter Stirling was one among the many hunchbacks of the city whom " Jemmy Wardrop," a rather witty and eccentric gentleman of his time, invited as a joke to encircle his dinner table ; for an account of which see "Glasgow Past and Present," Vol. I. Mr Stirling's taste as a literary man is shown in his selection of a really scholar's library, abounding, as it does, with some of the choicest and i-arest speci- mens of bibliographical lore. He had, how- ever, one odd peculiarity in his character — a hoiTor of insolvency — which he testified in a remarkable manner in his will ; for there, it is expressly provided, that " in case any Director of the Library shall become insolvent, he sliall, ijtso facto, cease to be a Director; nor shall such Dii'ector, so becom- ing insolvent, be again eligible, unless he shall have paid all liis debts." We have seen a MS. life of AValter Stirling, by Mr J. B. Simpson, the pi'csent Custodier of the Libraiy, from which we have gathered the most of these facts. Mr Walter Stirling lived in Miller-street, and associated with the aristo- cratic portion of the community. K 130 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. local newspapers — the Journal* tlie Mej'curi/,'\ and the Advertiser^ — whose editors generally restricted themselves to the chronicling of local events, leaving the graver matters of the state and country to be can- vassed by the conductors of the metropolitan press. § In those days, the chief food of the people was obtained, not in shops, but in market-places. The butter, egg, and poultry market, for example, was held at the Cross. Butcher-meat could be got nowhere, save in the markets in King-street and Bell-street ; nor could a single green thing be had, except in the vegetable-market in Candleriggs.H The meal and cheese-market was opposite the College ; while the fish-market in King- street (at that time but indifferently supplied), was the only place where the tenants of our seas or our rivers could be shown off, with exception perhaps of fresh herrings, the sale of which, during the season, was carried on at the Broomielaw. In addition to the live poultry market at the Cross, there were two or three small koufs in Prince's-street for the disposal of dead fowls and game, the latter being then looked on as contraband, and sold and purchased in the same way as smuggled whisky. Good housewives always made their own markets, and rarely trusted to servants to obtain the necessary articles for the consumpt of a family. This arose, perhaps, as much from a greater paucity of servants than is * The earliest newspaper published in so long published as a weekly newspaper, Glasgow was the Glasgoio Courcmt, price Id would now be published twice a-week, price to regular customers, and l\d to others. The Ad. first number is dated November 14, 1715. X The Advertiser was begun in 1783, and This paper soon changed its name to the continued till 1801. West Country IntelUgencer, and before many § The first number of the Courier did not months had elapsed disappeared. For at appear till 1st September, 1791. least five-and-twenty years no local paper || There was about this time an additional was printed. The Glasrjnw Journal appeared market built by the Messrs Thomson in Low July 20, 1741, and was followed by the Gte^fow John-street, in which butcher meat was Courant on 14th October, 1745, which, like its sold below, and poultry and eggs up stairs, namesake, had but a short existence. The It did not, however, succeed, and about first Chronicle commenced in 17GG. 1794, it was sold and converted^the lower f The fir.st number of the Mercury appeared floor into a colour warehouse, and the upper on tlie 8th January, 1778; and on the 9th into the Andersonian Lecture room. It was December, 1794, Messrs Duncan & Chapman here that Drs Garnett & Birkbeck, and after- nniiounce that the Mercury, which had been wards Dr Ure, lectured. TRAVELLING IN THE LAST CENTURY. 131 HOW to be found in such establishments, as from a regard to economy. As there was as yet no water in the City, except what was to be had from pubhc and private wells, the servants, also, had more to do than those now-a-days, when everything is brought to their hand without trouble. Going to the well was at least a daily duty ; and on Saturday nights, when the Sunday's water must be also laid in, on which occasions there was always a crowd round the large double-headed pump at the West Port, hours were sometimes consumed before the girl's turn arrived to draw water. But although during this long time each house was deprived of the attendance of a servant, it is certain that she herself was not idle — at least with her tongue. It was, in fact, around this much- frequented fountain that the whole gossip of the town was retailed, and where what w^ere vulgarly known as "clashes" were put into general circulation !* As traveling before 1790 was but in its infancy in Scotland, it could not be expected that, even with all the patronage offered by the English bagmen, when v/aiting on their Glasgow customers, there could be much demand for inn accommodation. The fact is, that up to the year 1755, when the Saracen's Head Inn was erected in the Gallowgate, on the an- cient site of the " auld kirk-yard" of little St Mungo, near the Gallowgate Port, there was really no place for the accommodation of respectable strangers or travellers, save in the hostelries of those stablers where fc) •' " entertainment" was alone offered and obtained, according to the phrase- oloo^y of the period, for "men and horses." The establishment of this once celebrated hotel was indeed an era in the history of Glasgow — asso- ciated as it is with the recollection of the doings of the Lords of Justiciary, who so loncT held their levees, and gave their dinners, redolent of claret — of the whims of the sporting Duke of Hamilton, when waiting on the • The ancient West Port well was a heavy changed Black Dull Inn. Denholm mentiona stone-built fountain, from twelve to fourteen that, in 1803, there were drawn on an average feet high, situated between the south-west 5850 gallons of water daily from this well, corner of Glassford-street and the now 132 GLASGO^Y AND ITS CLUBS. chances of a "main" at the cockpit* — of Dr Samuel Johnson, and his biograplier, Bozzy, when returning wearied with their Hebridian Avan- derings, and thankful to have at length escaped from Highland hospitality and peat smoke ;t and, though last not least, two events which of all others then marked the onward progress of the City — the marshalling of the procession to lay the foundation-stone of the Jamaica Street Bridge, for- merly alluded to, but now swept away — and the first arrival of the London mail-coach with four horses, which took place on the 7th July, 1788, a vehicle now also sent to the tomb of all the Capulets by the introduction of railways 4 About this period which we are attempting to describe (we mean between 1790 and 1795), there were only four hotels of respectability in the City, and these were the « Black Bull,"§ " Buck's Head,"! "Star,"f and "Ton- * In 1783, there was a celeln-ated cockpit at Rutherglen Bridge, kept by a Joseph Payne. In tlie Mercury of 26th June, an advertisement appears, stating that " there will be there, on the lltli July, fought for, a high-hred mare, by sixteen cocks, and by way of Welsh Main. Four pounds twelve the highest in weight." f Boswell says, that on their arrival at the Saracen's Head Inn, Dr Johnson "put his leg upon each side of the grate, and said, with a mock solemnity, by M^ay of soliloquy, but loud enough for me to hear it, ' Here am I, an Englishman, sitting by a coal fire ! ' " On the following day, some of the College Pro- fessors, consisting of Drs Stevenson, Eeid, and Mr Anderson, breakfasted with the great lexicographer. In the iirst edition of this work we unfortimatelj' gave insertion to a note, from Crolver's first edition of "BoswelFs Life of Johnson," respecting Adam Smith, which has fortunately turned out a Myth. X It may be curious to state that, in the year 1763, there was only one coach to Lon- don from Edinlnirgh, which set olf once a month, and was from twelve to sixteen days on the road. In 1783, there were fifteen a- week, and they reached the capital in four da}\s. In 1786, two of these stage-coaches reached London in sixty hours, by the same road that required eleven to eighteen days to complete the journey in 1763! § The Black Bull Inn (in 1851 discontinued as a hotel) was advertised to let in January, 1786. Besides having then a large hall, it had a dining-room, eleven parlours, eighteen bed-rooms, and stables for forty horses. II When the Buck's Head, which was for- merly the mansion-house of Provost Murdoch, and thereafter that of the Hopkirks of Dal- beth, was first established, it appears to have been rather a humble hostelry. The follow- ing advertisement, as given in 1788, at once testifies this :— " C. Macfarlane, Buck's Head Inn, has an ordinary every day at his house, at three o'clock ; charge, %d per head." ^ The Star Inn, which formerly stood on the site of the present Bank of Scotland, was taken by Henry Hemming in 1795. The stables attached could accommodate seventy horses. Mrs Hemming was succeeded in the Star by Mr John Gardner, and he by Mrs Younghusband, whose pretty daughter won the admiration of many a sighing swain, till at length she found one she could love, and was married. STAGE COACHES ABOUT 1790. 133 tine;" but perhaps these four, had it not been for the pubhc dining quah- ties of the citizensj might have been found even more than sufficient for the business, when it is further considered that the London mail-coach arrived before breakfast on the third day after leaving the English capital; that there was only one conveyance every three days to Stirling; and, what is perhaps more astonishing still, that, even so late as 1792, there were only a coujile of diligences and three heavy coaches to Edinburgh, and so slow was their speed that the passengers who took advantage of them were oblio-ed both to dine and drink tea on the road : while one was so accommodating as to ouer, " if taken in full, to set out at any hour the company chooses!"* * One coach started from tlie Black Bull Inn eveiy lawful day at eight morning, and arrived at John Cameron's, Grassmarket, at six o'clock. The other two got over the ground rather quicker, hut to go to Edinburgh was to consume a day. From what Mr Robert Reid has said, who, under the assumed name of "Senex," has preserved so much that is really valuable connected with the social condition of Glasgow, it appears plain that considerable progress had been made, in 1790, in the rapidity of travelling between Edinburgh and Glasgow. In the summer of 1781, Avlien he first visited the Scottish me- tropolis, we find that the " Edinburgh Dili- gence" set off daily from the Saracen's Head Inn, Gallowgate, at seven o'clock in the morning, and arrived in Edinburgh at eight o'clock at niglit. The following is a brief account of his journej': — "As we passed," says Senex, "along the Gallowgate, we came to the quarters of Gabriel Watson, who was then unloading the great Newcastle waggon. This was a ponderous machine, with six broad wheels, and drawn by eight horses. It generally carried a great portion of the Glas- gow linen and cotton manufactures to the London market. It travelled at the rate of twenty-five miles per day, and was three weeks iqxMi the road between GUisgow and London, resting always on Sundays. It was said that the first trip which Mr Juhn M'llquham made to London was in this con- veyance. After passing Gabriel "Watson's quarters, we soon arrived in sight of the noted sign of the Saracen's Head, and truly a frightful fellow he was, with his truculent countenance, glaring eyes, his hooked scy- mitar, and crimson Eastern dress. The horses being now harnessed, and our luggage strap- ped and secured on the top of the diligence, we fairly set off for the great town of Edin- 1)urgh. Coachie, however, did not show much diligence in the use of his whip, for we tra- velled very slowly — not more, pei'haps, than six miles in the hour; and whenever any little eminence occurred, the horses were allowed to take a comfortable walk to its summit. We amved at Cvunbernauld shortly after nine o'clock, where we stopped upwards of an hour and a-half, in order to give us time for breakfast, and allow a little rest and a feed to our horses, they being destined to carry us forward another stage. About two o'clock we arrived at Linlithgow; and after a very comfortable dinner there, we again took our seats, expecting to get a little quicker forward, seeing that the horses were now changed, but in this w'e were disap- pointed, for we just proceeded at the former jug -trot pace for a couple of hours or so, when we stopped at an inn upon the road, where the horses were fed, and got a long rest, to enable them to finish the remaining 134 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUES. While, to the bad roads throughout the country, and to the unosten- tatious habits of the citizens, may be justly attributed the Hmited use of stage-coaches and private carriages, it must, however, be recollected that the same causes gave encouragement to the keeping of riding-horses. The fact is, that at this period of Glasgow history there were more riding- liorses nightly stabled in the City, in proportion to the population, than there are at this moment ; for, without a horse, who could either visit or carry on business beyond the boundaries of the town? Horsemanship was, therefore, practised both by "gentle and semple;" and although, in most instances, the town equestrians gave but sorry tokens of an acquaint- anceship with the precise directions laid down by Gambado, still there were a few who w^ere quite alive to the common rules of the manege, and the joyous excitement and firm seat of the chase. It appears that, so early as 1771 a pack of hounds was kept by certain of the Glasgow worthies, and in a manner, too, that would not have disgraced the master of many of the most crack kennels in England. The pack to which we allude was called " the Roberton Hunt," or " the Glasgow Hounds," and seems to have originated in a meeting which took place on the 8th April, 1771, at which Messrs John Orr, John Baird, and Robert Dunsmore were present ; and on which occasion certain regulations were agreed on, the chief of which were that Captain Roberton was appointed master for the year, and Mr Matthew Orr, treasurer, and that the Hunt should have a uniform, which was fixed to be " a dark brown frock, of hunters' beaver, made without lapelles, and to button at the sleeves, with a waistcoat of the same cloth, with lapelles, and lined with white shag — both to have plain silver buttons." It was also agreed to appoint, as was then wont in other parts of the country, a regular earth-stopper, who, in addition to his wages, was to have " a coat and waistcoat of green cloth, with red stage of oxir journey. In the meantime, while lay. Being again seated, as before, we drove the horses were thus resting and feeding we on, and were finally set down safely in the had our tea, and spent the time in the best GrassmarketofEdiuburgh about eight o'clock manner we could, but rather tired at the de- at night." THE ROBERTON HUNT. 135 cape, and two pairs of plaiding breeches, and a leatlier cap ;" and to this important office Thomas Greer was nominated. A kennel was afterwards erected; and on Thursday, the 17th November, the first meet took place, when a fox was found at Hamilton Moor, and was duly killed " above ground." * Among the first rules of the Hunt we find the following : — That each member shall pay a guinea to defray contingent expenses; that a board shall be made of an oval form, to enlarge the dining-table at Bothwell ; that the treasurer shall bespeak four delf-bowls, to make a bottle of rum each, with The Roherfon Hunt written on them ; that the treasurer shall send up six or eight gallons French brandy, put into a Dutch case, and shall also send up a hogshead of London porter, six dozen strong beer, five dozen port wine, and one dozen sherry ; that the first hunting meet- ing shall begin on the first Glasgow Fast-day ; that all the members be oblio-ed to take off the uniform from Mr James Hamilton, and that no member shall appear in the field without it, under a penalty of one guinea for each offence ; and, in fine, that Alexander Gray shall, each day during the meeting, provide a dinner at thirty shillings, for which each of the gentlemen shall pay two shillings — if the number does not amount to fifteen, the difference to be made up to Gray by the treasurer, and if they exceed that number, the money to be disposed of as the members shall think proper. Connected with the future history of the Glasgow Hunt, it may be mentioned that, on the 1st November, 1779, a fox was found * The following is a list of the Roherton Hunt, taken from the diary of the late ISIr Orr of Barrowfield: — Captain Roberton, Preses. Messrs John Baird. " John Bogle. " Archibald Bogle. " Allan Scott. " Andrew Houston. " Andrew Lcitch. •' Robert Dunsmore. " John Orr. Robert Dreghorn. Mr William Bogle. Captain Stuart. Messrs Mathew Orr. " Thomas Houston. " George Buchanan. Sir Thomas WaHace. Messrs Thomas Dunlop. " John Stuart. " James Dunlop, Carmyle. " Jas. Dunlop, Househill. " Robert Muirhead. " Bruce Campbell. Captain Napiei-. 136 - GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. at Tollcross, at nine o'clock, and was followed till half-past four in tlie afternoon. He crossed the Clyde three times, ran over a great tract of country, and at last got to ground in Hamilton Wood. The chase could not be less tlian fifty miles. This great run recalls an unfortunate occur- rence which took place some time afterwards, when Mr Struthers, in fol- lowing hard after the pack, came to the Clyde, near Both well, which was at that moment swelled with rain, fearlessly leaped into the stream, and urged the huntsman to follow, which he did with hesitation ; the conse- quence was, that Mr Struthers and the huntsman's horse with difficulty reached the opposite bank, but the huntsman and ]\Ir Struthers' horse were drowned. If, from tlie lack of travellers, the Glasgow hotels were limited in number, it is certain that, from the afternoon convivial and club-going propensities of the inhabitants, the taverns, even so far back as 1780, were by no means scarce. The best frequented and most celebrated were situated in the High-street, Saltmarket, and Gibson's-wynd, or Prince's-street. There were, however, also the Black Boy in the Gallowgate, Jane Hunter's in the Trongate, LamonCs at the head of the Stockwell, and tlie BaccJius in the Laigh Ivirk-close.* The leading oyster-house in the town was kept by a Mrs M' Alpine, Iron Ravel-close, north side of Tron- gate ; and as shell-fish were looked upon, no doubt from their scarcity and costliness, as rather an aristocratic indulgence, the house was neces- sarily patronised by not a few of the Corinthian order of Glasgow citizens. The more common supper dishes of tripe and cow-heel could only be obtained from a couple of " gaucy goodwives," who long retained the monopoly of moniepUes in the Bridgegate.f * In 1790, Mrs Lamont has the following and, as an inducement for a good tenant, it advertisement : — " Soups from 12 till 2 daily. is stated that " the close is very soon to be Hams at any time." This tavern was after- widened into a handsome street " — an im- wards kept ]>y one called M'Pherson, other- provement' which, up to this daj^, has not wise denominated "Major M'Pherson," after been carried out. the veiy popular song of the period, " Major f In earlier times tripe and cow-heel were M'Pherson heaved a sigh." In 1800, the hawked through the streets in the evenings ; frequented change-house on the west side of the vendors crying at the top of their voice, the Laigh Kirk-close, is advertised to be let ; " Nouts' feet and cow painches ! " THE GLASGOW GREEN. 137 For a few years previous to 1790, and for many years thereafter, the fashionable lounge v/as on the noi'th side of Trongate, from the Cross as far west as the south end of Queen-street ; and there it was that many a young lady gained the envied notoriety of becoming a town and club toast. The Green, now so deserted by the wealthy, was then much fre- quented as a fashionable promenade, both by ladies and gentlemen. At that time the smoke nuisance did not at all exist, for there was not a single steam-engine nearer than the Govan Colliery, then known by the startline title of " the Fire-work," and which was situated at a consider- able distance beyond the now demolished mansionhouse of Little Govan.* The verdure of the public park, and the foliage of the elm and beech, were then in all their pristine beauty, and pedestrians in summer could at that time enjoy a promenade almost round the \^hole park beneath the canopy of a wide-spreading double row of trees.f The cows there pas- tured were milked chiefly at the south ends of Saltmarket and Charlotte- street; and thither were attracted, in the mornings and evenings, the nursery-maids and children, armed with their tin jugs and bits of bread, to enjoy warm milk from the cow. " Arn's Well" — which then, as it does still, poured out a stream of the purest water, and which was encir- cled with a large clump of fine alder trees, alas ! now no more, — was a favourite trysting-place with the lovers of those who went to draw water. At that time, too, the Green had sufficient hazards for the golfers ; while down the centre of it meandered a small burn or rivulet, fortunately as * The first steam-engine in Glasgow for axe by degrees thinned them, and when moving machinery was made by Mr Robert 3Ionteith-row was opened, they almost all Jliiir, and was put up in Messrs Scott & disappeared. The famous "Bowling-tree" Stevenson's mill at Springfield, exactly ten then stood in all its primeval glory, near the years after Boulton & "Watt obtained their middle of the low Green, but ultimately fell patent. a sacrifice before the uprising of that part of the park. There were also two statclj' thorns f There was at this time a fine row of which reared their heads in King's I'ark, and venerable spreading elms, which extended which were known by the appellation of the from the entrance of the Green, at the south " King and Queen's trees." Many a boy end of the Saltmarket, along the northern clambered to their tops to witness the Kcgi- boundaiy wall to near Craigncstock, some mental Reviews on the birthdays of George of them 3 feet in diameter. Age and thu the Tliinl. 138 GLASGOW AXD ITS CLUBS. yet unpolluted with the thousand and one hupurities which at present poison every stream connected with the City, and which threaten to render even the once peHucid CUitha a pestilential canal. AYhile the Green consequently offered at this time a pleasant and healthful promenade to all classes of the community, it also afforded the onl}' facility which a town without soft water had for washing the clotlies of the inhabitants. If it was necessary, even for proper domestic ablu- tions, to carry water from the Clyde to every house that could afford to employ either their own servants or others for this labour, it was certainly almost the universal practice, in well-regulated families, to have their regular washing-days, on which occasion the servant-maid was despatched early of a morning to the public Washing-house, to perform what is now done in a washing-house attached to every modern domicile. This important public establishment was then situated near the spot where Nelson's Monument now stands, and was amply supplied with all the requisites for cleansing purposes ; and here daily might be seen congre- gated — provided any man had the courage to encounter the tongues or the suds of the washerwomen — some hundred strapping nymphs, many of them well worthy of becoming, in form at least, the worthy attendants of any modern Diana, though it may be doubted if they would have all as religiously stuck to their creed as their mythical predecessors ! In those times, the washing-day was one which was always regarded with dread by every husband who liked the comforts of his own domestic circle, for on such occasions nothing was to be obtained at home, and it was almost the universal practice of such to palm themselves on their friends, with the excuse that " their wives had a washing." * * As a proof of the universal discomfort of been invited to the palace to dine, coolly re- washing-days, it has been told of a vain plied, "On course, I saw the King, and, Paisley bailie, whose cranium doubtless had while he was verj^ happy to see me, added a larger bump of ideality than of conscien- that he was very sorry indeed to say that he tiousness, that having been asked, as a joke, could not ask me that day to my dinner, as on his return from London, whether or not the Queen was thrang wi' a washing !" he had seen George IIL, and whether he had SCOTCH WASHINGS. 139 If the better classes were thus obliged to send their clothes to the public Washing-house to be purified, it was to the lower Green, then covered with thick grass, that the housewife or sister of the labouring man carried her burden of soiled linen or cotton to be washed and bleached. Then, along the side of the river might be seen, in fine weather, the smoke of a hundred black pots, placed in the interstices of a wall that ran along the margin of the Clyde, and from which the hot water was transported by each washer to her own tub. It was Indeed a curious as well as pleasing sight to look upon this large city bleaching-field, particularly when a dozen of tubs were being used for what was designated "tramping clothes," or, in other words, when many couples of well-made happy- looking girls, kilted above the knees, waltzed, if not with the grace, at least with the agility of the best danseuse at the Opera.* In the words of the author of " the Siller Gun," it might be truly said : — • "Whae'er has daiiner'd out at e'en, And seen the sichts that I hae seen, Foi" strappin' hisses tight and clean May proudly tell — That search the country, Glasgow Green Will bear the bell ! " f In 1789, Lackington, speaking of this come into disuse ; but I had not waited half Glaso^ow practice, says : — " Having both read an hour when many of them jumped into the and heard much stated of the manner of tubs, withoiit shoes or stockings, with their washing their linen, which, I must confess, sliift and petticoats drawn up far above the I could not credit without having ocular de- knees, and stamped away, with composure monstration. During my continuance at Glas- on their countenances and with all their gow, curiosity led me to the mead by the strength — no Scotchman taking the least river side. For the poor women here, instead notice or even looking towards them, con- of the water coming to them as in London, stant habit having rendered the scene pei'- are obliged to travel, laden with their linen, fectly familiar. On conversing with some to the water ; where you may daily see great gentlemen of Glasgow on this curious subject, numbers washing in their way, which, if seen they assured me that these curious laundrcs- by some of our London friends, would in- sers were strictly modest women, who only cline them to form very unjust and uncharit- did what others of unblemished reputation able ideas of the modesty of the Scottish had been accustomed to for a long scries of lasses. I had walked to and fro several years, and added, that any other time a purse times, and began to conclude that the ens- of gold would not tempt them to draw the torn of getting up tubs and treading on the curtain so high." linen, either never had been practised, or was 1J:0 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. While the respectable classes of the community took pleasure in a lounge on the Trongato, and a promenade in the public Green, they also patronised the assembly-room, the circus, and the theatre. At the period we are attempting to illustrate, the new temple of Terpsichord, in Ingram-street, was not built, and consequently the reel and country dance of the beau monde were still indulged in at the Tontine.* The circus was then in Jamaica-street, and the theatre stood in Dunlop-street, on the site of the present elegant structure ; and, from the great patron- age bestowed on the arena as well as the stage, it has been alleged, and perhaps with some truth, that the equestrian and histrionic talents of the aj'tistes employed were of a higher order than are now to be found in these days of almost universal progress.f There is certainly nothing more remarkable iri the history of Glasgow, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, than the mental and bodily thraldom in which the Presbyterian Church held the people — a thraldom, be it remembered, however, to which they almost universally submitted, under the belief that they were thereby serving and doing honour to God! From the year 1583 down to the close of the seven- teenth century, the Kirk-Session of Glasgow in fact ruled with an iron hand, and assumed to itself a power for superior to that of the Magis- trates. Their enactments were not limited to ecclesiastical matters, but applied to the every-day concerns of commercial and domestic life. "While they exercised a scrutinising surveillance over the morals of the * The scheme for building the Assembly- Alston-street in 17G2, which was burned on rooms in Ingi-am-street, instituted in 1790, 5th May, 1780; the second was erected in was divided into 2G7 shares at £20 each, Dimlop-street, and was begun on 17tli July, amounting to £5340. For many years these 1781 ; the third, in Queen-street in 1804, rooms were patronised by the Glasgow aris- which was burned iu 1829 ; and the fourth, tocracy, both in dancing and music ; but on the site of a former one in Dunlop-street, within these few years the building has been which is now allowed to be one of the hand- converted into an Athenaeum and reading- somest out of London. In 1793, the cclebra- room. ted Messrs Lewis and Palmer, and Mrs Esten, f In 1752, a temporary theatre was fitted Mrs Bland, and Mrs Billington walked the up against the wall of tlie Bishop's palace, boards of Dunlop-street Theatre. — See which in 1754 was demolished. The first " Theatkicals in Glasgow," in a subsequent regular theatre built in Glasgow was in part of this volume. rOVrER OF THE rRESBYTERIAN CHUIICH. 141 citizens, they likewise interfered with or attempted to change their innocent habits and amusements. In short, they exercised a tyranny — if not physically, certainly mentally — over the people, little inferior to that which the Spanish Inquisition wielded over its deluded votaries. Like that secret conclave, too, they for a long time carried on their sittings in secret, for we find on the 24th October, 1588, the Session enacted, that " to prevent their deeds and acts being publicly known, the whole elders and deacons are sworn with uplifted hands to reveal nothing that shall be voted in the Session nor the voters." The hitter observance of the Sabbath, and the sin of incontinence, afforded this clerical conclave abundant matter for legislation and edicts, and accordingly we find, for the long period of more tlian a century, that their minute-books are crowded with enactments in relation to the one or the other. That the members of the Kirk-Session, however, only carried out to the letter the sentiments of the great bulk of the people who then resided within the precincts of Glasgow, will scarcely be denied ; at the same time it must be conceded, that while each and all of tliis ecclesiastical court and its subjects cried out for liberty of conscience, neither had one particle of toleration for the honest opinions of those who differed from them. Presbyterian dogmatism was the order of the day, and the dicta of the ecclesiastical council of the City of St Kentigern were as submissively obeyed by its inhabitants as were the edicts of the Councils of Nice or Trent by the widely spread abettors of book and bell.* The business of * The following extracts from the Session without a lawful cause admitted l)y the Ses- Records will fully corroborate what has heen sion. No flesher to kill meat in time of the stated : — preaching on week-days." 14th Nov. 1583. The Session enacts " that 2Gth Dec. 1583. Five persons were ad- there should be no superfluous gatherings at judged "to make public repentance because banquets or man-iages ; that the price of the they kept the superstitious day of Yule, or dinner or supper should be 18(/., and persons Christmas, and the baxters were ordered to married should find caution to that effect." be inquired at when they baked Yule bread " 28th Nov. 1583. " That the booth doors of 17th Jan. 1590. The Brethren interpret all merchants and traflickers be steekit on the Sabbath to be from sun to sun ; no work Wednesdays and Fridays in the hour of ser- to be done between light and light in winter, mon, and that masters of bootlis keep the and between sun and sun in siunmcr. On hour of preaching under the penalty of X'-'O, the 18th Aug. 1610, the Brethren change 142 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. kirk-going and the time spent in listening to sermons, appear to have been a most serious matter about the second decade of the seventeenth century, for we find that the General Session on tlie 5th April, 1621, appoints " the new kirk to be opened at five hours in the morning and their views, and declare " the Sabbath to be from 12 on Saturday night to 12 on Sunday night." Which are right ? In 1595, " the Session directed to go through the town that there be no biclieriug nor plays on Sundays either by old or young. All games such as golf, alley, boMls, etc., are prohibited on Sundays, as also no person to go to Euglen to see vain plays on Sunday." In 1599, the Session enacts that whoever shall be chosen Provost or Bailies after this, shall be enrolled as elders of the Kirk for the time to come. In 1600, the Session ordains the Deacons of the Crafts to cause search for absents from the Kirks in their Craft of all the freemen, the one-half of the fine to go to the Kirk and the other to the Craft. The same year " searchers are directed to pass on the Sab- bath into the houses to apprehend absents from the Kirk." In 1601, the Session "discharges all speak- ing ill of the dead, or of casting up the faults of the dead who have suffered for their de- merits to the living, under pain of standing two days at the pillar, and fined at the will of the Session." In IGOi, the Session appoints a wardhouse to be made in the Blackfriars steeple for the confinement of offenders. It appears that one person was steepled about this time for eight days, nothing being allowed to the steepled but " bread and water." In 1634, the ordinary prison for Kirk delinquents was the back gallery of Blackfriars Kirk. In 1640, the Session ordains " that all mas- ters of families shall give account of those in their families who hath not the Ten Com- mandments, Lord's Prayer, Creed, etc., and that every family shall have prayers and psalms morning and evening." Ports to be shut on the Sabl)ath day at 12 o'clock; to observe that no traveller go out or come in the town, and watchers to be set where there are no ports. In 1642, the Session "directs the IMagis- ti'ates aud Ministers to go through the streets on the Sabbath nights, to search for persons who absent themselves from church — the town-officers to go through with the search- ers." In 1643, the Session appoints some of their number to go through the town on the market-day, to take order with '■^Banners and Swearers. Swearers to pay 12d of fine." In 1644, the Session dii'ects " that the Magistrates shall attend the tables at the Communion in the Hie Kirk, and keep order." In 1645, no horse meat nor any other thing be cried through the streets on Sabbath, and that no water be brought in after the first bell to the forenoon sermon. In 1648, all keeping of cattle out of doors on Sabbath, except by the Town herd, for- bidden on pain of censure. In 1652, the Session appoint a clandestine committee to go about searching for persons who sell milk on the Sabbath — the committee to be four elders, and they to get two pence a-week from the treasurer. In 1691, those who wander on the Sabbath, or stand before the door, will be called be- fore the Session. In 1698, the Session recommends to the elders and deacons, two and two, to search the change-houses in their proportions on Saturday nights at 10, and dilate drinkers and houses to the Magistrates. For the sin of incontinence the punish- ments enacted by the Session were very severe towards the poor, and very partial towards the rich. In 1586, the Session enacts "that the punishment for adultery should be to satisfy six Sabbaths at the pillar, barefoot and CHURCH ENACTMENTS AND PUNISHMENTS. 143 closed at nine at night for the summer half-year, and for the winter from seven in the morning to five in the evening." What the worthy "Kettle- drummles" of those days could find to say to their listening flocks during such long diets, it is difficult to conjecture, but that edicts should there- after have been issued against " women sleeping their way in church," may be easily imagined.* Whether the more common practice with many, of lamenting over the obvious degeneracy of the present times when compared with the strict observances of a past age, has or has not anything to recommend it, we shall leave to others to determine. One thing, however, is plain, that whatever may have been the conduct of the people of Glasgow during a period considerably anterior to 1780, the City churches during the fifteen closincp years of the last century, were by no means so well-attended as liarelegged, in sackcloth, also be carted through the toAvn." In 1594, the Session enacts "a cart to be made to cart harlots through the town , ap- points a pnlley to be made on the bridge, whercljy adulterers may be ducked in the Clyde." In 1599, the two midwives in the town are discharged to go to an}' unniamed woman till first they signify the matter to some of the Ministers or Magistrates in the daylight; and if it be in the night time, that they take the oaths of the said woman, before they bear the bairn, who is the father of it, as they will be answerable to God and the Kirk. In 1G05, the Session enacts that all forni- cators should not only pay their fine, but stand one Monday at the Cross with a fast band or iron about their craig, and a paper on their forehead, and without cloak or plaid. In 1G21, the Session pass Dr Ross, trilapser in fornication, having paid 100 mcrks to the poor; also an honest young man, take 40 merks from him for the poor, repentance and all. In 1043, adulterers were imprisoned, and l):inishcd out of town on a cart, with a paper on their face, to stand in the Jugs three hours, and to be thereafter whipped. In 1647, two hair gowns are bought for the use of the Kirk. In 16G5, the AVest Session resolves that so long as the English continue in town, they will put no person upon the pillars, because they mock at them. In 1725, the Session enacts that " the elders and deacons go through their proportions, and take notice of all young women that keep chambers alone, especially them sus- pect of lightness, and warn them that they will be taken notice of, and advise them to get honest men, or take themselves to service." * "The Session enacts that no women, married or unmarried, come within the kirk- doors, to preaching or prayers, with their plaids about their heads, neither lie down in the kirk on their face in time of prayer, with certification, their plaids shall be drawn up, or they rai.seil by the beddal. The Ses- sion, considering that great disorder liath been in the kirk, by women sitting with their heads covei'ed in time of sermon, sleeinng thalr way, ordains intimation to be made that none sit with their heads covered with plaids in time of sermon." 144 GLASGOAV AND ITS CLUBS. they had been or are at present, at least by those who prided themselves on their "gentility."* However indecorous it may be thought by some to say that there is a fashion even in religion, it is certain that the duties of the Sabbath-day were not then so strictly practised as they had been and now are by the better classes, and that Sabbath deseci'ation, as some consider certain practices to be, was then pretty generally indulged in by the young and fashionable portion of the community. In fact, a rather reckless neglect of Sunday observances was about this time the almost universal attribute of a man of fashion ; and it may be easily believed * The religious feelings of the people of Glasgow during the first half of the last centuiy, are well illustrated in many diaries which were kept by certain of the citizens. I particularly allude to two which I have lately seen in MS. ; the one Avi'itten hy an ancestor of Mr John Loudon, insurance- brokei", and the other by Mr George Brown, an ancestor of Mr Young of Blytheswood- squai'e. The latter, born in 1720, and edu- cated at the College of Glasgow, was some years in the Town Council, and was several times Dean of Guild. His diary, which is principally a journal of his jDrogress in religion, is interspersed with notices of pass- ing events; it commences in October, 174.5, and is pretty complete up to 1747. The first extract gives a picture of the manner in which a Sunday was spent in Glasgow in those days. " Sabbath-day, Nov. 10, 1745. — Rose about seven in the morning — called on the Lord by prayer — read the 9th chapter of Job — then attended on family worship, and again prayed to the Lord for his gracious presence to be with me through the whole of the day, and went to church at ten of the clock — joined in the public prayers and praises in the assembly of his saints — heard the 17th chapter of Eevelations lectured upon, and sennon from the 81st Psalm, 13th and 14th verse.s. In the interval of public seiwice I thought on what I had heard, and wrote down some of the lieads of it ; went again to the house of the Lord, and heard sermon from the same text — came home and retired and thought on the sermon. About five at night joined in family worship, and afterwards supped — then retired again and wrote down some things I had been hearing — then read the 0th chapter of Eomans, and prayed; after this I joined in social worship a second time, and went to keep the public guard of the City at ten o'clock at night." Thus it appears that, besides his private devotions, this worthy merchant heard two sermons and a lecture, and attended family worship three times! The second extract gives a curious insight into the character of his religioia : — " For these two or three days," says he, " I have been in much perplexity concerning my duty with respect to the rebellion ; whether I was called to rise up in arms in defence of my religion and liberty, and go on my own charge to Stirling, or elsewhere, as a volunteer for that end or not. The reasons that some- times inclined me to one side, and at other times to the contrary, I design to write down in full, if the Lord will, afterwards." This " afterwards," like most of our more convenient seasons, seems never to have arrived, at least there is no trace of it in the MSS. Mr Brown, however, did go to Falkirk, but in the matter of arms, the only thing he took to, like the rest of his party, was "his heels ! " WITCHES AND WARLOCKS. 145 tliat the example was pretty generally followed by those w^io w^ere desir- ous to follow ill the aristocratic wake. Notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary, the churches, in proportion to the people, were then far fewer in number than they are at present. Dissent* was as yet at a discount, so far as regarded numbers and churches, and the wdiole kirks and chapels connected with the then dominant Establishment in the City and Barony numbered only eleven. f If there was now less sessional interference with the conduct and far less puritanical strictness about the religious observances of the people than in a former age, there was also less superstition. Although some of the more aged yet believed in the existence of w^arlocks, witches, and ghosts, and could almost approve of, or at least remember the approval of their parents, regarding the sentence of the last witch that Avas burned in Renfrewshire, still such things were regarded rather by the manhood of the period as a myth than a reality.l: In the minds of the domestic ser- * The first Secession Church opened in Glasgow was hy the Rev James Fisher, in 1711. There were two pillars within this church, in Shuttle-street, from which an arch sprung that supported the roof, and which were popularly named "Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine." t Contrasted with the religious feeling and practice of even thirty years previous to 1790, it may he truly said, that the attendance in the church was greatly neglected, parti- cularly by the men. Families began to think it uivjeiiteel to take their servants to church Avith them ; the streets were not, as formerly, deserted during the hours of public worship, and even the evenings were frequently loose and riotous. Family worship was little prac- tised. Visiting and catechising were little followed by the clergy ; and church censure, so much in vogue during a ccnturj' before, was disused, and the cutty-stool was fairly kicked out of every fashionable church and chapel. At the census of 1851, there were no less tlian 11:3 places of public worship within tlie boundaries of Glasgow, affording sitting room for 114,278 persons; and it was calculated that, deducting the Catholic inhabitants, there were only about 250,000 Protestants to be provided for. J As a picture of the barbarous infatuation and ignorance of former times in Scotland, with respect to witches, we give the follow- ing extract of the sentence pronounced against five poor women at Borrowstounness, December 19, 1679:— "Forasmeikle as Annabill Thomson, widow, in Borrowstonnes, Margaret Pringle, relict of the deceasit John Campbell ther, Margaret Hamiltown, relict of tlie deceist James Poll- wart ther, William Craw, indwcller ther, Bessie Wicker, relict of the deceist James Pennie ther, and Margaret Hamilton, relict of the deceist Thomas Mitchell ther, prison- ers in the Tolbuith of Borrowstonnes, are found guiltie be ane assj'se, of the abomina- ble crj'me of witchcraft, committed be them in manner mentioned in their dittages, and are decerned and adjudged be us under sub- sciybers, Commissioners of Justiciary, spe- cially appointed to this effect, to be taken to lU GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. rants, however, drawn, as these drudges chiefly were, from the country and from the Highlands, there no doubt still lingered many superstitious prejudices, and many odd customs, and on certain days and under certain circumstances these not unfrequently peeped out. They could not easily forget that, in the distant parishes to which they might belong, it was considered indisputable, when a child fell into a weakly state, and when a covv lacked milk, or when a horse had taken the batts, that the cause was invariably traced to some evil eye, and that some active step was neces- sary to be taken to remove the incantation. The clicking death-watch the west end of Bon-owstonnes, the ordinar place of execution ther, upon Tuesday the twentie-third day of December current, be- twixt two and four a'cloak in the efternoon, and there be wirried at a steack till they be dead, and thereafter to have their bodies burnt to ashes. These therfoir require and command the baylie principal off the regali- tie of Borrowstonnes, and his deputts to see the said sentence put to dew execution in all poynts, as yee will be answerable. Given vmder our hands, at Borrowstonnes, the nynteenth day of December, 1679 years, W. DUNDAS. KiCH. Elphesstone. Wa. Sandilands. J. Cornwall. J. Hamilton." In order that a more distinct idea of trials for witchcraft, as then conducted, may be convej'ed to the reader of the present day, we subjoin the following short account of a trial before the High Court of Justiciary, and an extract of the indictment. Ten wo- men were accused of witchcraft. The facts from which the crime libelled was inferred were pretty much the same. The indictment against one of them is as follows : — " Nevertheless ye are guilty of the said crime, in so far as, about two years since, ye the said Isobell Elliot, being then servant to Helen Laing in Peastown, an witch, j'e at her desire staid at home from the kirk, and was present at a meeting with the devil, the said Helen Laing and Marion Campbell, witches, in the said Helen's house, where the devil kissed you, and oifered to lie with you, and caused you renew your baptism, and baptised you upon the face with an waff of his hand like deicing, calling you Jean; and ye being with child, the devil did forbear to lie with ye ; but after ye were Mrked, the devil had carnal copulation with you: and since that time ye have had several meetings with the devil and several witches, and has many times had carnal copulation Avith him." They were all convicted on their own confessions, condemned to be strangled at a stake, and burned. — Records of Justiciary^ September 13, 1G78. What a contemptible estimate must every one at the present day form of the popular opinions then prevalent, when the Crown Advocate could prosecute, fifteen jurymen convict, and the supreme jxidges of the land condemn to the flames ten women in one day, for having had carnal copulation with the devil! Is it not possible that future generations may look upon our own opinions and conduct, in some things, with equal sur- prise and detestation ? As a farther proof of the ignorance and superstition which prevailed even to a very late period among the educated in Scotland, M-e find that, on the 12th March, 1698, the magistrates of Glasgow granted six pounds eight shillings Scots to the servitors of the jailor, "for maintaining witches and war- locks in the Tolbooth, by order of the Com- missioners of Justiciarie at Paisley." SCOTTISH SUPERSTITIONS. 147 and the "candle-spail" were also regarded with fear, and almost believed as religious truth, while the reading of the fortune-telling tea-cup was but too universally indulged in by almost every maid-servant, and by even many of their better educated mistresses. The mysteries of Halloween, so well portrayed by Burns, were also still patronised by all classes, while all the singular appeals made to some powerful and occult influence were still laughingly, but half-trustingly, made by all those who yet in- dulged in the mystical forms of that once famous Catholic festival. On New Year's Day, few would allow the light of a candle to be carried out of their houses to those of their neighbours ; neither was it thought right to lend any article to persons out of doors, in the belief that, by so doing, all their " good luck " would be given away during that year. If a barefooted person, or a beggar, or one empty-handed, happened to be a '■'' jirst-foot^'' this was considered a bad omen, and certainly prognosticated ill fortune throughout the year. There were also other superstitions which still lingered among the people ; for example, at flittings the salt- hox was always the first article moved and lodged in the new house. It was deemed unlucky to flit on Saturdays : , " Satui'day flit, short while sit." In removing a cradle from one house to another, a pillow was always put into it ; and when a woman was in child-labour, the husband's breeches were sometimes put under the pillow, to bring about a safe and speedy delivery ! The Bible even was put under the pillow, to preserve the woman from skaith. If a child fell or met with anv accident, a table- spoonful of water mixed with salt was partly applied to the brow of the child, and partly poured down its throat. A piece of roioan-tree, sewed in the hem of a child's petticoat, was considered a sure protection from witchcraft ; and if a sucking-child cried without intermission in the dead of the night, those awake were sure to look if the ladle was in the kail-pot, for if it was, then the cause of the child's crying was certain ! About this period, the street dress of the gentlemen was generally more 148 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. showy than elegant. They wore coats, which were of blue, grey, or mixture cloth, invariably unbuttoned, Avhich permitted the wearers to display in full force their rather gaudy buff and striped waistcoats. Their shirts, which were also pretty conspicuous, were ornamented with a broad frill like a mainsail, and around the neck was tied a large white stuffed neckcloth, which generally covered the whole chin. Drab breeches, with white stockings and shoes, were the almost invariable order of the day, except in very wet weather, when a pair of black spats or half-boots were occasionally sported. A few of the more sporting characters patronised buckskins or white cords, with top-boots ; and almost all had a large bunch of gold seals dangling from under their waistcoats. Elderly gentlemen generally carried a ratan under their arm. No individual of any degree wore trousers, except sailors, and as these were rarely encountered at that time on the streets of Glasgow, such an attire was looked upon as an oddity. If tlie forenoon dress was, according to our modern ideas, not quite en regie, the evening costume was both tasteful and elegant ; it consisted of a blue or brown coat, black silk breeches and stockings, and white satin waistcoat, occasionally embroidered, with hair well curled and powdered. The fact is, that hair-powder was universally worn, and was not confined to the mere adornment of the head, but was also spread over the neck and back of the coat.* The hair was gathered • The last person who wore hair-powder gossip, and latterly to the shop of Mr John profusely dusted on the neck of his coat and WaU:er, grocer, where he got all the tittle- on his broad shoulders was the late Richard tattle of the town. He had a sad propensity Dick, Esq., familiarly called "Justice Dick." to run down the fortunes of all men; and, He was one of the most active of the County among other prejudices, would never con- Justices of the Peace, and was more fre- descend to sit down at table with any one quently seen on the bench than any of his who had been a bankrupt. One day, enter- compeers. The last specimen of tied hair, ing the shop of Mr "Walker— better known, or en qmu, was the late singular old rich however, by the nickname of Sugar Jock— carmudgeon, Benjamin Greig, who, with a mi- he, accosting the grocer, said, "Are you no serly disposition towards all his fellow-men, muckle surprised to hear that Mr L has never denied himself any good thing— at left £20,000." "Why," said /S'^<^a^, "I would least in the way of wine, which he regularly have been more surprised to hear that he swallowed every day alone; after which he had taken it wi' him!" Greig gave a grunt, sallied forth, formerly to the coffee-room to and left the shop. MAl^E ATTIKE ABOUT 1790. 149 into a cue, and such was the attention paid to tlie hair and head-gear, that no gentleman salHed forth from his breakfast without having had a visit from his barber. The craft of the puff and curhng-tongs was then in the heyday of prosperity ; and from its members being usually men of fair education, and necessarily regarded as the collectors of the whole gossip of the City, their presence was looked for every morning by their customers with as much anxiety as is now experienced for the runner with the morning newspaper.* Before leaving the subject of male attire, it may perhaps be as well to state that there were then few persons to be seen dressed in black. This costume was restricted to those who might be called to attend a funeral, or to mourn for a relative, and to the Lord Provost and Magistrates, at all times and on all occasions, during the period they exercised the mao-isterial function — the former on state occasions being dressed in a velvet suit, bag-wig, and hand-ruffles, and the latter sporting cocked hats and chains. Notwithstanding the universal love for coloured clothes which then prevailed, few citizens failed to keep a black suit, for performing the last sad offices which the living in Glasgow have always so becomino-ly paid to their departed friends and kinsmen ; and hence at every funeral there appeared coats whose colour and cut illustrated many of the long past successive ages of fashion ! The front of the Tontine and the Coffee-room under the piazzas, were at this time the great daily rendezvous of the leading notables of the community ; and at the upper end of that so celebrated news-room^ to be * In the Advertiser of 1793, we find tliat, at quently drew upon himself niuc-h of the ill- a f,'eneral meeting of the Incorporation of will of liis bretliren of tlic razor and curling- I'.arbers, it was resolved to advance their tongs. He was among the last specimens prices as follows : — Shop-shaving, Ic? sterling, of the old school of Tonsors, and might each time; dressing not less tlian £2 Vis be ranked in the same category with John sterling per annum, each lawj'ul day — the Christie, wlio lived up a long close opposite customer always finding materials. Old Ful- the Tron Steeple, who, I believe made money, comr the barber, in Kirk-street, Calton, who and was also a 15ai)tist preacher; and >\ifli was a character, and did a large business, Vainphc-ll the barber, in Argylc-strect, whose never raised his prices above \d for shav- portly figure occasionally played a part in iug, and Id for hair-cuttiiig. He consc- processions of King Crispin. 150 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. considered a sight for all strangers, were always congregated, from one till three o'clock, those who either were the acknowledged, or else imagined themselves to be, the dons of the City. These daily meetings were not as might be supposed for exchange or business matters, but merely for gossipping, or, what was equally important, for arranging where they should dine, or at what hour the particular Club of which they were members should assemble. At that period, the pacers of the news-room boards were a jolly-looking, well-dressed, red-faced, gentleman-like set of fellows, with a roar and a laugh always at command, and a sort of independent swagger, bespeaking full purses and no backwardness in opening them. Hospitality was their ruling characteristic, and woe betide the head and stomach of the stranger wight, with anything of a social turn, or in the garb of an officer or a gentleman, who once got fairly introduced among this jovial and convivial band ! * The ladies were not so gorgeously attired when out of doors as they are now, nor were their gowns so amply furnislied wdth breadths of silk or muslin as to scavenge the pavements. A long narrow black silk cloak, trimmed with black lace, was the common dress of the married, and a dark or coloured spenser of the young and single. Parasols were almost unknown, but in their stead was used a large green paper fan, nearly two feet long wdien closed, which was suspended from the wrist by a ribbon, forming an immense circle when opened, and which was used as the only protection against sunshine or ogling ! In evening dress, muslins, which were then expensive, were much patronised by those who tripped on the light fantastic toe ; and rich silks and satins, as at the present day, were worn by wives, aunts, and grandmothers. The forms of all were invariably encased in stiff unbending whalebone stays — the business of a staymaker being then in the hands of men, and evidently an extensive • As it may be supposed, there was no lack standing, at noon, M'itli his bade to the fire, of odd characters in the Old Exchange Read- to the interruption of his fellows, having ing-rooms, and it was hence the scene of had a label adroitly pinned to his coat-tail, many odd waggeries. Among these, it is told " Hot joints every day at twelve o'clock!" of one member who was in the habit of daily FEMALE ATTIRE ABOUT 1790, 151 and profitable business.* A very few elderly ladies still adhered to hair-powder and patches, although that peculiarity of an earlier age was fast fading away, and in a few years thereafter was unseen. Fashion at all times is whimsical enough, but never did it show itself to be so more than at the period we are sketching. For we find, that in defiance of aching heads or heated brains, the ladies of the mode wore heavy beaver hats and thick black silk calashes in the dog-days, while, with equal consistency, and in defiance of the rude blasts of winter, they stuck a few paltry feathers in a bit of silk which scarcely covered the top of their heads, and called it a bonnet ! f Dancing in private was then much in vogue among all classes, while public assemblies were also frequent and much patronised. The Lord Provost, in full court dress, always presided at the Queen's assembly, which took place on the 18th January. On that occasion all the young belles of the City and neighbourhood were in the habit of making their first public entree, or, as it was emphatically called, "came out" — a step in life which most of our fair citizens seldom failed to talk of, and few in after life were willing to forget.^ In the garb of the working-classes, and particularly of the servant-girls, a far greater change is discernible than in that of the lady of fashion. It was then the custom, happily now given up, for the generality of tli9 lower class of females to go about without either shoes or stockings, and • During the summer of 1785, no fewer tisement appears: — "Mr Smart [the lessee of than eight parties connected with the City the Tontine] presents his respects to the advertise and offer "constant employment to ladies and gentlemen who honour him with men-staymakers." their company on Thursday evenings; and , ., , ^ , 1 t, . T hcgs leave to inform them that, with the t Almost every respectable burgess wife , . ^ ^. ^ . , , ' ,' . , „ , , , , ^ 1 1 -.1, advice of his friends, the rooms and assem- of the middle class had. a scarlet cloak with , ,. ^ , , ,,' , ,, , . „ „ ,,,.,, T. I.- J 1 t blies are to be held at the ISIcrchants Hall, a hood, which hung behind, and was put up . ^ . , .,, „ , . . ^ T ^ XI 1 1 in Brulgegate, till further notice, owing to on wet davs to cover the head. , , „, . the entry to the Tontine Assembly-rooms X Dancing and card assemblies appear to being under repair; and to begin this even- have been held weekly during the winter of ing at the usual hour." Tlie Tontine assem- 1783, for in the Glasgow Mercury of the 25th bly-rooms had been opened only a year or September of that year, the following adver- two before. 152 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. instead of flaunting, as they now do, in silks and satins, and hats and feathers, they were never known to sport a long gown except on Sundays — and then the gown was limited to one of dark printed calico, with generally a petticoat of the same colour. The fact is, servant-girls in those days had less money to spend on dress than at the present moment ; besides, clothing of all kinds was much more costly, the common wages per half-year being then 20s and an apron. There was, however, always a dark-brown duffle cloak, with a hood to it, belonging to every kitchen in the City, which was indiscriminately used by the servants on rainy days or cold nights. If among all classes during, the early history of Glasgow, there was not 30 much extravagance exhibited in the dress of the living as there is now, it is certain that far more attention was paid, up to the close of the last century, to the adornment of the dead. The persons employed in this mournful and lugubrious occupation seem to have driven, at that period, a most profitable trade ; this branch of industry, and the materials used for the dressing of corpses, were considered so important by the politicians of the day, that Acts of Parliament were regularly passed in favour of woollen or of linen, as the one or other branch of manufacture required support and encouragement.* For a few years previous to the period we are attempting to describe, the City records afford evidence that the Magistrates had become sensible of the necessity of a more effective force than the town officers, for the * The following advertisements will best Leopard- close, High-street, dresses the dead illustrate this subject: — In 1747, "James as usual in the most fashionable manner." Hodge, who lives in the first close above the In 1799, " jMiss Christian Brown, at her shop Cross, on the west side of the High-street, west side of Ilutchesou-street, carries on the continues to sell burying-crapes ready-made; business of making dead flannels, and getting and his wife's niece, who lives with him, up burial crapes, etc. She also carries on the dresses dead corpses at as cheap a rate as mantua-raaking at her house in Duncan- was formerly done by her aunt, having been close, High-street, where a mangle is kept as educated by her and perfected at Edinburgh, formerly." By an Act of Charles II. every from whence she has lately arrived and has curate in England had to report, under a brought with her all the newest and best penalty of £5, all persons being buried in fashions." In 1789, "Miss Christy Dimlop, woollen cloth. CITY OUTRAGES AND TOWN OFFICEKS. 153 suppression of the increasing outrages committed on the lieges and their property. Scarcely a night passed during which madcaps did not break lamps, or blackguards assault and put in bodily fear the unprotected and the timid. To remedy the evil, after tvro unsuccessful attempts to obtain a Police Act, the Magistrates created a small force about the year 1788 ; and for which a sum of ^135 2s was paid to Eichard Marshall, for himself, as superintendent of police, and for his officers, on the 23d July, 1789.* From a subsequent entry in the Town's minute-book, it is plain that this force was armed,t and no doubt assisted the citizens, M-howere then called to watch and ward. Night-work, however, appeared to be their chief vocation ; | for, during the day, the keeping of the peace seemed to be almost altogether left to the town-officers, who were then better known by the appellation of red coat officers, or hornies. Those important function- aries, who were not as now limited to half a dozen, but counted at least twenty, in addition to their legal duties and to marshalling the Lord Provost and Bailies regularly every Sunday to the Wynd Church, save when visiting the other places of worship belonging to the Establishment, were always found at the entrances to, and sometimes even inside of, every dancing-school, ball-room, or regular dancing assembly; and it has been even alleged that they occasionally assisted in ekeing out, as waiters or livery servants, the magnificence of a Provost's civic entertainment. If * A Police Bill was iiitroduced into the aid, £1 is for badges furnished to police- House of Commons by the Magistracy in officers." — Council Records of Glasrjoto. — It is the year 1789, and the Provost and Town- worthy of remark that Edinlmrgh had no clerk were sent to London to carry it police till 1805. through. The measure had the unanimous | On 27th December, 1700, the Magistrates, approbation of the City Corporation and the by an advertisement in the Ght.yoio Mercury, Merchants' House, but was opposed by the "require all the male householders, citizens, Trades' House, and, owing to the shortness of and inhabitants, under the age of 60 and the session, was withdi-awn. above 18, whose yearly rents are £3 sterling, f 23d July, 1789. — "Authorise the Trca- to the number of 30, every night as they surer to pay to Kobcrt Gray, silversmith, shall be warned by an officer, to repair to the £38 17*' for a sword and silver badge to the Laigh Council Chamber at ten o'clock at lieutenant of police, and a gold chain to the night, and to continue on guard and patrole intcndciit of i)olice; also, to James Graham, till next morning, subject to such orders as cutler, £9 9s for sword belts and brass plates shall be given by the Magistrates." The fine for the police-officers; also, to Angus Jl'Oon- for absence was 3.t to dis- may his antagonist. In short, such as you knew him in age he was in youth, allowing for his more matured judgment. Our con- versations, besides the usual subjects with GLASGOW UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS. 157 Procurators, with all the accumulated knowledge of business and law of modern times, is such a galaxy of remarkable names to be found as among the short list of that body given in Jones's Directory of 1787? Where, among the numerous practitioners belonging to the Physicians young men, turned principal!}^ upon literary subjects, religion, morality, belles lettres, etc.; and to those conversations my mind owed its first bias to such subjects, in which tlie}' were all much my superiors, I never having attended a college, and being then a mechanic." — MoreheacPs Life of Watt. John Anderson, F.R.S., was born in the parish of Roseneath, in 1726, and was ap- pointed Professor of Oriental Languages in the University of Glasgow, in 1756, whence he was translated, in 1760, to the Chair of Natural Philosophy, for which his pursuits and talents more eminently fitted him. His " Institutes of Physicks" was printed in 1786, and went through five editions in ten years. As a lecturer he was most popular; and in the experimental course of Natural Philoso- phy which he established for those of the City who thouglit fit to attend, he extended a taste for science even among the working classes. The leading characteristic of Pro- fessor Anderson was a " liberal and diffusive benevolence in regard to the instruction of his race." For this peculiarity of disposition he participated warmly in the efibrts of the French people to free themselves from op- pression, and visited Paris in 1791, carrying thitlier a model of his newly-invented gun, which was hung up in the hall of the National Convention with the following inscription over it — "The gift of Science to Liberty." Professor Anderson died in 1796, and left the whole of his apparatus and property to found an educational institution under the title of " Anderson's University." William Richardson was born at Abcrfoyle, in 1743, and became a student at Glasgow College in 1758. In a few years thereafter he was appointed tutor to the two sons of Lord Cathcart, with wliom he remained at Eton for two years, after which he acconi- pauied his pupils, with their father, to St Petersburgh, to which Court his loixlship was sent as Ambassador Extraordinarj-. There Mr Richardson remained from 1768 till 1772. In the year following he was chosen Pro- fessor of Humanity in the University of Glasgow, and remained in that chair till his death, in 1814. He was a fine scholar and able teacher, a poet and miscellaneous writer. Among his works are "Anecdotes of the Rus- sian Empire;" "Essaj'S on Shakspere's Dra- matic Characters;" " The Indians," a tragedy; and " The Maid of Lochlin," a lyrical drama, with other poems. He was a contributor to "The Mirror" and "Lounger," and to " Stew- art's Edinburgh Magazine." The Professor was methodical in everything. In his dress lie appeared in the morning en disabi/le; but as the day wore on he became more in order, till, in the aftei-noon, he was alwaj's seen en grande tenu, which, in those days, might be designated a powdered wig, lace rufHes, knee breeches, and silk stockings. He was a great favourite, and dined out much ; and, unfor- tunately, fi'om this latter cause, became a mart}'r to gout. Good living was, in fact, his passion. In illustration of this, the fol- lowing anecdote is told of him. Dining out one day where the turtle-soup was splendid, he exclaimed, after reiieated hefpiiif/s, " I know there is gout in every spoonful, but I can't resist it." He was beloved by his pu- Ijils, and from the peculiarly soft and silvery way in which he spoke or even fned, he ob- tained for himself the not very elegant sobri- quet of Cheeper! John Young was one of the most celebrated Greek scholars and critics that ever occupied the Greek Chair of the University. He svic- cecded Dr Moor, of whom we have already spoken. None of his many pniiils can ever forget the enthusiasm witli which he des- canted on a figure of Homer, or on the power of the Greek language in that poem, to pro- 158 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. and Surgeons of the present day, do we find a like per centage of talented and remembered names as occurs among tlie learned twenty-one, who were typefied by honest John Mennons, the editor of the Glasgow Journal ? And where, in fine, when we look to the limited circle of the City Clergy (then no more than fourteen), can we discover, among the more than hundred of the present day, men who will be so well remem- bered, after a thirty years' absence from this forgetful world, as the Christian-minded Dr Balfour,* the able Dr Gillies,t and the literary Dr duce, "bj mere soiind, the meaning wished to be conveyed, oi- the delight with wliich he translated an ode of Anacreon, or a dialogne of Lucian. In 1783 Mr Young published, in imitation of the style of Dr Johnson, his well-known criticism of Gray's " Elegy ;" but it has always been regretted that he did not do something better suited to his talents and learning. He was a great admirer of the stage, and was a devoted supporter of Ed- mund Kean, like many other of the Pro- fessors of 'that period. He was best known by the students under the sobriquet of Cochj Bung, his father having been a cooper. The following epigram on Mr Young was penned by a poetical ex-Provost of Glasgow : — "On Glasfrow's Thespinii boards yestreen, The vei-y Jew I've surely seen, That Shakspere painted, — play'd by Kean, While plaudits loudly rung; But what was all his acting fine. Or Shalcspcre's eoniedy divine. To the diverting pantomime, Display'd by Cocky Bung." * Dr Robei"t Balfour was born and edu- cated in Edinburgh; and, after being licensed as a pi'eacher, was presented to the parish of Lecropt, where he officiated for five years. In 1779 he was removed to the Outer High Church of Glasgow, and continued in that charge till the close of his valuable life. He died in October, 1818, in the 71st year of his age, and the 40th of his pastoral incumbency in Glasgow. In few characters were there ever more excellent qualities associated — qualities of the mind and of the heart, deve- loped in public as well as in private life, and securing to their possessor an equal measure of admiration, of esteem, and of love. One of the principal charms of this character was warmth of heart and cordial kindness of dis- position. In the social circle he opened his heart to all the reciprocations of kindness ; his familiar conversation was characterised by a cheerful and facetious pleasantry. Hav- ing himself experienced the bitterness of domestic afflictions, and the sweetness of the consolations of religion, he excelled as a comforter of the mourner. He especially endeared himself to the young, towards whom he ever displayed an insinuating ten- derness, which never failed to win their hearts, and to draw them with the cords of love to the paths of piety. All his pulpit addresses, Avhether doctrinal or hortatory, bore the impress of the Cross. His was not the icy coldness of speculative orthodoxy, but the M'arm gushings of a heartfelt faith. During the whole period of his ministry he grew every day in the afifectionate admira- tion and esteem of his numerovis congrega- tion ; and when he died, his remains were attended to the nan'ow house by a large assembly of sincere mourners, and amidst an unprecedented concourse of spectators along all the streets through which the cor- tege passed, affording an impressive testi- mony of the universality of the public senti- ment of regard towards this Christian pastor. t Dr John Gillies was born in 1712, and was settled in Glasgow as minister of the College Church, in 1742, and died in 1796, in the 84th year of his age, and the 54th of his ministry. He was animated with the most EMINENT GLASGOW CLERGYMEN. 159 Eankeii — the staid appearance and cocked hat of the last being perhaps better recalled by those who lived at tlie period, than his own valued history of France will ever be by any appertaining to "young Glasgow'! * What a singular insight, likewise, do these tiny repertories give us with respect to the limited correspondence and commerce of the City in 1787, when we find there recorded that the whole Post-office staff consisted of jite^ of Avhom two were letter-carriers; and that the whole complement of the Custom-house was twOf who were located, as might be expected, at the Broomielaw ; wliile the officers of the Excise, in which office almost ardent love to God and to his fellow-men. His care in avoiding sinful conformity to the world and every appeai'ance of evil was adorned by hahitual cheerfulness of temper and with affable manners. Strict in examin- ing his own heart and life, he viewed with candour the character and conduct of others, and saw and approved what was excellent in men whose sentiments greatly differed from his o'ivn. Piety and gentleness of inannei"s were his habitual ornaments; zeal for ad- vancing the kingdom of Christ, and charity for Christians of every denomination, Avere the distinguishing characteristics of this emi- nent divine. These formed his amiable do- mestic character; they animated his public services, and they are recorded in his various works ; among these are " Essay on the Pro- phecies," " Historical Collections on the Suc- cess of the Gospel," and his "Life of White- field." He was sixcceedcd in the College Church by Dr .John Lockart, the father of J. Gibson Lockart, the late eminent Editor of the Quarlerhj Review. * Dr Ranken was a native of Edinburgh, and received his education at the University of that City. Shortly after being licensed, he was presented to Cambusnethan Parish, where he officiated for a short time. In 1785 he became minister of the North-west Parish of Glasgow, in which charge he continued till his death, wliich took place 23d February, 1827. As a pul)lic preacher, his discourses were distinguished for perspicuitj', chaste- ness, and simplicity; conveying to his hearers, not by poetical metaphor or brilliant expres- sion, but by clear, forcible, and simple lan- guage, fitted equally for the learned and the ignorant, in the most affectionate and unob- trusive manner, practical illustrations of the gi-eat moral trutlis of the Bible. Out of the pulpit he was kind, afliible and condescend- ing; modest, yet dignified in his manners; always accessible to the virtuous poor, he warmly interested himself in everything that concerned them. He was the author of seve- ral M'orks, among others the " History of France," and the " Institutes of Theology." Although he was a most laborious compiler, he wanted suflficient genius to be a historian. His " History of France" is a correct but very ponderous production, and, as such, fell still- born from the press. Like most authors, however, the Doctor loved his most rickctty progeny the best; and, being anxious to dis- cover what the world thought of his work, he imagined he could best do so by applying to the librarian of Stirling's Library'. AVith this view he entered the Physicians' and Sur- geons' Hall, St Enoch-square, where the Rev. Mr. Peat sat as librarian — a man of rather a harsh and sarcastic disposition ; and, in order better to conceal his connection with a work of which he was eager to get an opinion, he, on entering, merely put the following query, "Pray, Mr Peat, is Dr Ranken's Histoiy of France in?'' To which the caustic librarian curtlj' replied, " It never was out ! " 1 GO GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. all the great taxes of the country then centred, consisted of only two principals, t^YO superiors, and forty gaugers or examiners, and who, strange to say, were located in the Old-vennel.* If there were many wants connected with Glasgow, which a more than common social progress has since met, it must not be forgotten that a far more independent spirit, in respect to public charity, prevailed during the last twenty years of the eighteenth century than is now exhibited. At that period the direst necessity alone could induce any one to apply for public aid, and hence the poor-rates levied in the City were of the most trifling kind; the whole sum raised in 1790 being only £1,460. Perhaps fully as many beggars might be seen prowUng about as at present; and among these there might also occasionally be observed one or two Blue Goions, now altogether unknown, showing their badges and asking alms; still tlie former were far from exhibiting anything like Hibernian importunity, while the latter were, like the Edie Ochiltree of Sir Walter Scott, always listened to with attention and kindness.f If such be a sketchy outline of some of the outward peculiarities of Glasgow between the years 1780 and 1790, we trust we shall be excused if, like Asmodeus, we attempt to unroof a few of the habitations, and to take a glimpse of their interior economy and their various inmates. As we have already hinted, the houses, with the exception of those occupied by the leading men and merchants of the City, were chiefly in flats ; and the furniture in these, although very inferior either in taste or elegance * The first payment of King's Customs on 1801 the Customs' duties levied at Glasgow goods landed at the Broomielaw was in 1780. only amounted to £469 13s G\d. In 1855 The vessel was the Triton, from Dublin, and they reached the enormous smn of £700,476 discharged 60 tierces of French brandy. In lis 5dl f In 1790, the Poor in hospital amounted to 314 " Children at nurse Ill " Families supplied with meal 205 " Population G2,000 In 1851, Persons receiving in-door and out-door relief 5,671 " Cost of maintaining Poor £45,638 4s 6c? Populution of old Burgh 148,115 SCOTCH PUENITDRE AND TABLE GEAR. 161 to that of the present day, was nevertheless good and comfortable. The chairs in the dining-room were all of excellent mahogany, straight-legged, high-backed, and covered with striped haircloth ; and the dining tables — althouo-h of excellent Jamaica or St Domingo wood — were narrow, and by no means fitted either for a plateau, epergne, and wine-coolers, or for a party of four-and-twenty guests ! Sideboards, which were then novel pieces of furniture, were beginning to be pretty generally patron- ised ; but in all the old dining-rooms there still lingered the former invariable accompaniment of a Scottish salle a manger, viz. a cupboard or buffet, with shelves fancifully shaped out, and their edges painted in different colours, such as green and light blue, and even tipped with gold. On these shelves were displayed any pieces of silver plate that were considered worth showing, and also the most valuable and richest coloured China punch-bowels, jugs, and cups — such in fact as are now frequently seen on the chiffonier of a modern drawing-room. Below these shelves there was a hanging leaf which, during dinner, was upraised, and served as a sideboard, and when dinner was ended, it was again let down, and shut in with doors opening from the centre and reaching nearly to the ceiling. These buffets, nevertheless, were continued in many dining-rooms long after sideboards had become common. AVhere, however, a sideboard was seen, there were invariably two and sometimes three mahogany cases placed on it, the one for the reception of the silver spoons, and the other for the green or white handled knives, these cases being generally left open for display when company was expected. The dinner table on party days was, as at present, invariably covered with a fine white double damask table-cloth, which, however, was removed so soon as the repast was ended ; well kept and showy tables being at that time, as at this day, the peculiar pride of good housevi^ives to exhibit. There were, however, no table napkins, each with its pear-shaped roll enclosed, placed before the guests at dinner, although sometimes these modern comforts were sported at the tea-table ; and such articles, if ever seen, were certainly not fringed with lace, which some upstarts have lately 162 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. been attempting to introduce ; and had any innovators exhibited such effrontery at that less luxurious period, they would certainly have run the risk of being sent either to Coventry or Bedlam ! * There were no silver forks then in use, and forks of steel with more than two prongs were even a rarity. The dinner hour in the best families was three o'clock ; and ■when a party was given, four was generally held to be quite a la mode. During the days of Fielding, only four-and-twenty years prior, the fashionable dinner hour in London was two. Swift speaks of dining witli some of his noble friends, and getting home from his repast at five or six o'clock ! That the metropolitan hour of dining had, after that* time, rapidly advanced towards night, is no doubt certain ; but certainly the Glasgow four o'clock dinner hour of the period we are sketching, had followed fast in the wake of the fashion of London. It may be men- tioned, also, that in the days of Queen Anne it was the common practice among the higher circles, that the dinner should be put on the table, and the ladies placed at the dinner board, before the gentlemen were called or allowed to enter. This was also a practice almost universally followed in Glasgow up to the beginning of the final decade of the last century; and was felt the more necessary when a bed-room was the only reception- room in the house. Most of the small company dinners in Glasgow were at this period placed on the board at once, after which there might be a remove of the upper and lower end dishes, but nothing more. On great occasions, however, there was sometimes a regular second course ; but as to a third, and a dessert, these were altogether reserved for an after age. The wines generally were port and sherry, and occasionally a bottle of Madeira. As to a bottle of French wine — such as claret — which, thirty years before, was so common throughout all Scotland, it may be said to have been, in 1793, in most houses a rara avis in terris. Oat cake and * As a substitute for table-napkins, we spoils of the dinner. Such a fashion was, have seen a small figure of a salmon, in silver, however, subject to the danger of any sudden which was hooked on the button-hole, having alarm, whereby the guests, on starting from a spring by which to catch the table-cloth, their seats, would overturn all the articles on and thereby to preserve the breast from the the table. DINNER TARTY OF THE LAST CENTURY. 1G3 small beer were to be had in every family ; the former was presented even at state parties, and the latter was always placed in two or more China jugs at the corners of the table, for any guest who might wish to quaff such a luxury. Drinking water at an entertainment was altogether un- practised. Cheese was invariably produced at the close of every repast, and was always accompanied with London porter, which was decanted into two silver cups, when the parties had such to display, or into a large crystal goblet or Cliina jug; and, like the love-cups of the University, these were sent circling round the board, and were accordingly mouthed by all inclined to taste the then fashionable English beverage. Ices and jSnger-glasses were still in the womb of fashion ; and each person gene- rally carried in his pocket a small silver dessert-knife, which was unhesi- tatingly brought from its hiding-place if a golden pippin or a moorfowl- egg pear by any chance called for its aid. AVhen dinner was over, and the dessert removed — which was invariably the case after it had stood a short time — the wine bottles made a few circles, and were immediately succeeded by the largest China bowl in the house. In this gorgeous dish, which was of course placed before the landlord, the universal beverage of cold punch was quickly manufactured; and towards its proper concoction many opinions were freely offered ; but to these, the host, if a regular punch-maker, paid little attention. The ceremonial was always gone through with great deliberation, and with an air of self- importance that must have made a stranger smile. The pleasing decoc- tion once made and approved of, it was now the time to sit in for serious drinking — and serious, indeed, it often was ; for, while toast followed toast, and bowl followed bowl, it rarely happened that the party broke up till some of the members at least were not in a condition to retire to their homes without the aid of companions, who, if their heads were more conglomerated, possessed more stable legs. The retiring of a guest to the drawing-room was a rare occurence 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. The fact is, that IGi GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. drinking and swearing were characteristic of the dinner parties of the last century, not only in Glasgow, but everywhere else.* To be found muzzy after dinner was too frequent even with the most respectable ; for we find that Prime Ministers were not ashamed to " move the House" when they were tipsy, nor did some of their leading opponents blush to tell that they went to bed frequently in a state of helpless intoxication. There was a Bacchanalian stamp about the every-day life and conversation, as well as about the literature of the last century; and the man who could talk longest about wines, and who could likewise carry off the most bottles, was looked upon with favour and admiration. It was, in fact, at that time an exception to the general rule for a man to be either willing or capable of joining the ladies after dinner. In those days, however, din- ner parties were certainly not so numerous as at present. The great visiting in Glasgow was limited very much to supper parties; but then those agreeable reunions, although not quite so ceremonious, partook much of the same style as a dinner of the present time. The invitations, although not issued for a month in advance, were often despatched a v/eek or ten days before ; and on such occasions it was the custom for the ladies to continue at the table till a very short time before the general break-up. These, too, were generally very merry meetings, and the evening's pas- time was always enhanced by a glee, a catch, or a song ; or sometimes, where there were young ladies, by a rondo or air on the spinnet or piano. t Tea parties, also, were very common. Ladies frequenting such * Profane swearing had been common in Init he shall have his ears grated with this Glasgow about the tobacco trade period. Dr profanity. Our very children of ten or a Craig, who Avas minister of St AndreAv's dozen of years are such proficients in the church in 1761, says, in one of his sermons, crime as one would think might have re- " I think I can remember, though I am not quired their being previously hardened in a among the oldest men in the assembly, Avhen course of wickedness for many j^ears." this species of wickedness was but a singu- f In 1790 Mr M'Gown kept a music-shop larity amongst us, and when a notorious at the head of Stockwell-street. This was, it swearer would have been marked in the is believed, the earliest wai'ehouge strictly neighbourhood as a monster of impiety ; but devoted to music. Previously, new music now it has become so popidar and common and song-books Avere only to be had from the that one can scarce pass through the sti-eets booksellers. TEA DKINKINGS ABOUT 1790. 1G5 entertainments — which were ever redolent of cookies and shortbreada!: the hour of six, rarely remained beyond eight o'clock, at wdiich time "the lass with the lantern" was formally announced — the constant accompani- ment of every lady (whether protected by a gentleman or not) who might, in those gasless days, be out after nightfall.* The almost total abandon- ment at the present time of the good old custom of tea-drinking, so invariably j^ractised about the period we are sketching, is more to be regretted than perhaps any other that can be mentioned. It was an easy and economical method of assembling many pleasant people, without much previous preparation and without any formality. When twenty or thirty friends lived within a few hundred yards of each other, they were soon invited and as easily collected. It was, in fact, some recompense for a crowded population and common stairs. On such occasions, it was indeed a joyous thing to see — The clieqiier'd chairs, in seeml3' circle placed; The Indian tray, with Indian china graced ; The red stone tea-pot, with its silver spout ; The tea-spoons number'd,f and the tea fill'd out. Eich whigs and cookies smoked upon the board, The best that Boi/d the baxter could afford. Hapless the wight, who, with a lavish sup, Empties too soon the Lilliputian cup ; Though patience fails, and though with thirst he burns, All, all must wait till the last cttp returns. That cup return'd, now see the hostess ply The tea-pot, measuring with equal eye. To all again, at once, she grants the boon. Dispensing her gunpowder by platoon. Thej^ chat of dress (as ladies will), of cards. And fifty friends within three hundred yai'ds ; Or, now they listen, all in meny glee. While 'Naney Dawson,' 'Sandie o'er the lea,' (Than foreign music truly sweeter far) Ring on the jingling spinnet or guitar. The clogs are ready, when the meal is o'er, And many a blazing lantern leaves the door. * Previous to 1795 no lamps were erected f The numbers on the spoons enabled the or lighted in Wilson, Hutcheson, Brunswick, hostess to return to each guest the cup that or John-streets. By a minute of the Council he had before. of 9th September of that year, they were only ordered to be put up. 166 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. When these entertainments occurred in the houses, particularly of the old maiden class in good society, it was not uncommon to find, after the very tedious ceremonial connected with tea-drinking was over, that the lady of the house washed, with her own fair hands, the China cups at table. For this purpose a wooden bowl, kept for this business alone, was usually introduced, and the work was gone through with the most perfect gravity and grace. It is now gravely suspected that the practice served the double purpose of preventing breakage and of assisting the servants, who were neither so numerous nor so neat-handed as they are now-a-days.* If such be a few of the more striking points of the interior economy and exterior aspect of Glasgow during the five or six years immediately preceding, and immediately following 1790, it is perhaps more difficult to convey anything like a perfect or precise idea of the then prevailing political and social opinions of the thinking and better educated portion of the community. Certain it is, however, that they differed almost toto ccelo in everything from those now generally held by the same class of the inliabitants. At that time the spirit of Toryism ruled paramount among all in high places throughout the country ; and nowhere was it more rampant than among the civic authorities of Glasgow, who — amid the deep distress occasioned by the renewed war and the dearth of provi- sions, and which affected particularly the working classes, in 1793, con- sequent on the failure of so many commercial and manufacturing con- cerns, — were always ready to check the cry of the unemployed and the * At an earlier period, the yoixng and gay few books to read which they could under- who encircled tea tables, pulled to pieces the stand. There were no sceptics in those times, manners of those that diifered from them. "Religion was just recovered from the power Everything was matter of conversation — re- of the devil and the fear of hell." At that ligion, morals, friendship, good manners, peilod, those terrors began to wear oflF, and dress. This tended more to our refinement religion appeared in a more amiable light. than anything else. The subjects were all The Christian religion was taught as the new and all entertaining. The booksellers' purest rule of morals, the belief of a parti- shops were not filled as they are now cular providence, and of a future state as a with novels and magazines. A woman's support in every situation. See Caldwell knowledge was gained only by conversing Papers, Part I., page 269. with the men, not by reading, having but POLITICAL OPINIONS OF 1793. 1G7 starving, backed in calmer times by the honestly patriotic, for a more powerful control on the part of the people over the affairs of the State.* While the successful struggle by which America had obtained her free- dom from arbitrary power, coupled with the revolutionary outbreak iu which France was at that moment engaged, had, no doubt, strengthened the belief in the truth of the liberal doctrines held by the few educated abettors of political reformation in Britain ;t still, the discordant discus- sions which as yet characterised the Government of the United States, joined with the cruel and lawless tyranny which the various party-split sections of the Frencli democracy were every day exhibiting, tended not only to confirm the wavering against accepting a like panacea for the evils of the moment, but at the same time strengthened the wary in their belief that it is " better to bear the ills we have, than fly to others that we know not of."| Political progress in such a state of matters was neces- * In July 1793 a vast number of the pri- vate banks throughout England stopped payment, tending almost to a universal bankruptcy. In Glasgow " The Arm's Bank," and "Thomsons' Bank," stopped, although ultimately both paid every one. The Iloj'al Bank, even, was in sad trepidation, so much so, that Gilbert Innes and William Simpson were accustomed to meet with David Dale and Scott Moncrieff at the Half-way House to Edinburgh, to discuss the position of bank matters ; and so terrified were they abovxt the resiilt, that they shortly afterwards increased their capital by half a million. The misery, however, which was ci-eated during that j-ear among all classes was wide-spread and severe, and may be easily conceived, when it is mentioned that almost all kinds of goods fell nearly fifty per cent. t By the following advertisement in the Glasfjow Mercitry of oth July, 1791, we find that there was a small knot of persons who had for at least two years celebrated the anniversary of the Revolution in France: — " The 14th of July being the anniversaiy of the late glorious lievolution in France, by which so many millicnis have been restored to their rights as men and citizens, the Friends of Liberty in Glasgow and neigh- bourhood are invited to celebrate the second anniversaiy of that Revolution, at the Ton- tine Tavern, on Thursday next, in order to certify their joy at an event so important in itself, and which is likely so essentially to promote the general libertj^ and happiness of the world. "Lieutenant-Colonel D^vlryji-"! PLK, of Cleland, Dr Keid, Professor of Moral Philosophy in Glasgow Uni- )■ Stewards." versitj', Mr 'Wakdlaw, Glasgow, Mr Gillespie, Anderston, In consequence of the above announce- ment, a numerous and higlilj- respectable body of gentlemen, belonging to Glasgow and neighbourhood, assembled. Colonel Dal- rymple licing in the chair, and Professor Millar, of Milllicugh, croupier. t The few liberal politicians who existed in 1793 among the higher classes in Glasgow were the objects of many bitter attacks in the Glasgow Courier, which had just been established. The most trenclient of these appeared under a succession of letters signed 1G8 GLASGOAV AND ITS CLUBS. sarily out of the question ; and tlic least desire manifested for political amelioration was at once met, without compunction, by the terrors of an undefined law, at that time unhappily administered by men whose early education and habits of thought led them to interpret it in a manner against which the gorge of every intelligent and honest man of the present day rises with indignant remembrance. Who can read the trials of the kind and benevolent clergyman of Kirkintilloch (Rev. Mr Dunn*), or of the enthusiastic, noble, and able advocate (Mr Thomas Muirf), and not weep Asmodeus, Avhicli were afterwards reprinted in an 8vo shape. Among those attacked, it is not difScult to discover Professors Millar and Young, and ]\Iessrs Alexander Oswald and Dugald Bannatyne. * The charge against the Eev. Mr Dunn was the "having torn from a hook, entitled 'Minutes of the Friends of the People at Kirkintilloch,' three leaves." Mr Dunn ac- knowledged, when arraigned hefore the High Court of Justiciary, that he had torn the leaves fi-om the said Minutes, hut that he had done so from motives of delicacy, as they contained the thanks of the Society to him for the Synod sennon he had preached. He acknowledged that he had done so, and con- fessed the impropriety of this act, hut threw himself on the clemency of the Court. And what was its clemency, think you, towards this amiahle and good minister of the Gos- pel ? T^Tiy, in the first place, the Coiirt told him that if his case had gone to a jury, and he had been found guilty, the Court must have inflicted the highest arbitrary punish- ment; and secondly, they sentenced the clergyman to be imprisoned in the Tolbooth of Edinburgh for three months. The dis- course which brought this divine into trou- ble, is entitled "a sermon, preached at the opening of the SjTiod of Glasgow and Air at Glasgow, 9th October, 1792. From Eev. xxi. 5. 'And he that sat upon the throne gaid, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write : for these words are true and faithful:' By the Eev. William Punn, A.M., minister of Kirkintilloch. Glas- gow, printed and sold by Brash & Reid, 1792." 8vo, 32 pages. In a short advertisement, the author says — "The following discourse was originally spoken from notes — the author, however, is ceitain that as it now stands, it is veiy little different from what it then was. It is now offered to the public, and dedicated to the Friends of the Constitution in Chvrch and State, and of the People, that such as have thought proper to approve of it, may be more satisfied that their approbation was not alto- gether misapplied, and that those of different jirinciples may be convinced that their cen- sures of it were not well founded." The ser- mon is a piece of composition which would do honour to any pulpit, and that its preacher should have been charged with holding seditious and revolutionary doc- trines, could have only proceeded from the almost universal '■'■nervousness'' and bigotry of the times. f Mr Muir was condemned to transporta- tion, and was sent in irons to the hulks, for advocating a reform in Parliament for which others have since obtained the highest hon- ours which the country, could confer. The two following letters speak loudl.v against the political and judicial tyranny of the age :— Extract of a Letter from Mr Muir to a friend at Cambridge, Dec. 3, 1793. "My Dear Friend — I received yours at Edinliurgh with the slncerest pleasure ; your sentiments and mine are equally accordant. The great lesson we have to learn in this THOMAS MUIR OF HUNTEESHILL. 1G9 for their cruel fate, and blush for Scottish justice? In these and other political trials of the period are mirrored the political feelings of the dominant party; while in the many cruel sentences of despotic power which were carried into execution may be found the key to that wide- spread but concealed discontent among the working classes, which terror alone confined to the even then deemed dangerous expression of petition- ins against the war with France !* world is submission and i-esignation to the will of God. This lesson strikes trpon the heart, not by the force of cold and ab- stracted preceiJt, Init by the example of Him who was the object of all sutfering, and the pattern of all perfection. Much need have I to be taught in his school. Hurled, as it were, in a moment, from some of the most polished society in Edinburgh and London, into one of the hulks upon the Thames, where eveiy mouth is open to blaspheme (Jod, and every hand is stretched out to injure a neighbour, — I cannot divest myself of the feelings of nature; 1 cannot but lament my situation; and, were it not for a hope of im- mortality, founded upon common Christian- ity, alas, I might accuse the Father of all justice and of all mercy with severity. But, blessed be God! eveiything in the great system of nature^everything in the little system of individual man corresponds with the great dispensation of the Gospel, and de- monstrates its efficacy. " JMuch consolation does the reflection now afford me, that, in prosperity, I always re- garded this Revelation of Heaven with pro- found reverence. " In solitary exile their is dignity ; there is a conscious pride which, even independent of philosophy, may support the mind ; but I question much if any of the illustrious of ancient ages could have suppoi'ted an exile similar to mine, surrounded by the veriest outcasts of society, without the aid of the religion and of the example of Jesus. " I have been separated from Mr Palmer ; he is in one hulk, I am in a different one. Tlie Sf'pnration was an art of imnerfi/isan/ criielfy. My state of health is poorly; the seeds of consumption, 1 apprehend, are planted in my breast. I suffer no acute pain, but dailj' experience a gradual decay. " Of everything relating to my future des- tination I am utterly ignorant. Honour me b}^ your correspondence; I am sui'e it will ameliorate my heart. Farewell, mj' tnily worthy and respected fiiend. " Thosias Muir." Extract of a Letter from Mr Fyshe Palmer, Dec. 2, 1793. " Last Satm'day we were put on board the Stanislaus hulk; after being treated with every attention and kindness by Captain Ogilvle, we were put in ii-ons, and slept in a room with about 100 cut-throats and thieves. Our companj-, however, was a mutual solace to one another; but last Saturday we were deprived of this by his removal to the Pru- dentia hulk, two miles higher up, by orders of the Under-Secretary of State. His hei-oic spirit rises under every difficnlty." * I have seen in the hands of Mr Gabi'iel Neil, a copy of the "Rules" and "Plan of the Internal Government of the Society of the Friends of the Constitution and of the Peo- ple,"' of which the two lendhig objects wore, 1st., " To procure an equal Representation of the people in Parliament, and a shorter duration of Parliamentary Delegation ;" and, 2d, " To diffuse useful political information." This Society was formed at a meeting held in the Star Inn, Glasgow, on the 3d October, 1792, and was permanently constituted under the name of the "Associated Friends of the Con- stitution, and of the People." Lieutennnt 170 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. If the ideas of Glasgow be clianged, as they certainly have long been changed, with respect to political amelioration, they have also been most happily altered respecting the pmiishment of crime, since the period when Lord Braxfield wore the scarlet toga of the Justiciary Court. In those days there was scarcely a Glasgow Ayre which closed its sittings without two or three unhappy persons being left for public execution, and fre- quently for crimes which, now-a-days,Vould be visited with a few months' imprisonment; while the Bailies of the day, under the advice of their learned Assessor, Mr John Orr of Barrowfield, were ordering many to be drummed out of the City — sentencing others to the pillory — and, what was worse, coudemnino; not a few to the torture and deo;radation of a public whipping through the town, and for misdemeanours, too, almost as trivial as those which our police functionaries of the present day are punishing by a fine, or a few days' confinement in Bridewell. As to the justice of such punishments, however, it is only fair to state that there were very few indeed of the whole community who did not think them fitting and necessary. The fact is, it was the punishment, not the cure of the criminal which was then dreamed of. Aijainst the general crueltv of the law the people had no great horror ; the age, in short, was far more sanguinary than it noAv is. Tlie executioner of the law, Jock Sutherland.^ though a poor silly creature, did not in those bloody days hold a sinecure Colonel Dalrymple of Fordel, was elected rewarded with a government pension. It is President, Thomas Muir, Esq., younger of by Kay of Edinburgh, 1793. The divine, Huntershill, Advocate, Vice President, and Mr under the name of " Pension-hunter," is seen George Crawford, writer in Glasgow, Secre- dressed in black, with top-boots and white tary. There can now be but one opinion, stockings, reading a book, of wliich he was that the proceedings which took place against said to be the author, — " Essay on the Man- this body of pure minded Reformers, were a agement of Bees," — and standing on an open disgrace to the country and to the age. Jlr Bible, inscribed with Rev. chap. 13 — "And Neil has also in his possession a beautiful tlie world wondered after the beast." Singu- line engraving of the bust of Muir, given to lar enough, ha\'ing one day come to Glasgow, the Friends of the People after Muir's expa- he went into the Star Inn, and died there, triation ; and a portrait of the Rev. James He was an able churchman, but generally Lampsie, of Campsie, who acted a traitor- reckoned unprincipled. 0U9 part to Muir; and was subsequently THE HANGMAN AND HIS DUTIES. 171 office ; for, whether from his frequent attendance at the public pillory* — the wieldine of the cat-o'-nine-tails throuiih the streets — or the more fearful duties connected with the scaffold, which, for the execution of criminals, was then erected at the Cross, whither the unhappy victims were brought from the adjoining Tolbooth, or prison, arrayed in a garb of white, to be launched into eternity between the hours of two and four o'clock, amid the gaze of gaping thousands, that came far and near to witness the revolting and debasing spectacle, — the cadaverous and pock- pitted functionary had enough to employ him.f In those days all carts for hire stood in the Trongate, at the south end of Candleriggs ; and it was generally at the tail of one of these waiters for a job that the poor culprit condemned to be flogged was attached. It was, in fact, the cart belonging to a well-known character, called Tam 3I'Cluckie, that was gene- rally chosen for this duty ; and well, indeed, was the selection made, for it would have been difficult to say whether the driver or dragged was the worst in appearance. Tam was a wicked drunken wretch, and his horse was so ill attended to, that it fully realised the line in the old song of Tam d the Liniis grey mare, that "all her banes they did rattle within." It was quite plain that if its owner had spent less money on whisky, and more on oats, the one would have exhibited fewer carbuncles on his countenance, and the other far more flesh on his carcase. The disgusting punishment of a public whipping was in those days but a too frequent * A common mode of punishment was Cathedral, and thence removed to the Tol- "standingon the stairhead," — a wooden plat- booth at the Cross. The last culprit \\\\o form, with a rail placed immediately above, was barbarousty hung in chains was Andrew which was called the " hauf door," on the Marshall, " who was executed at the How- Cross steeple. Here the delinquents stood gate-head of Glasgow, on '2M\ October, 1769, for an hour, between 2 and 3 o'clock on Wed- for the murder and robbery of Allan Kobert nesday, being the market day, with some on the highway." Mr G. Neil is in possession insignia about their necks of what they had of the substance of fourteen letters written feloniously appropriated. by the murderer while under sentence of death in the Tolbooth, with a sketch of his ■f The first place of i)ublic execution Avas life, printed in 1775. Marshall's body was on the GallowTuuir, to the east of the present not allowed to hang long in chains. It was Gallowgate. It was thereafter taken to the stealthilj' removed during night, to the de- Howgate head, and the Castle-yard, near the light of all parties. 172 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUE3. accompaniment of the market-day. On such occasions, the effects of the cat were first tried at the Cross, >Yhere, after a few strokes were applied to the back of the criminal, the procession, preceded by the town-officers, with staves, moved down the Saltmarket, along Bridgegate, np Stock- well, and back by the Trongate to the Cross, and occasionally even up and down the High-street ; the hangman being called to do duty at every crossing of a street, at which point Tarn M'Cluckie halted his horse, and Jock Sutherland brandished his whip.* The windows of the houses lining the streets through which the sad procession moved were filled with curious spectators ; while a crowd of noisy urchins and blackguard women followed, hooting and hallooing in the wake of the disgusting cavalcade, which, happily for the honour and the feelings of the com- munity, has been for many years discontinued, never, it is hoped, to be revived.f During the fifteen years which ran their onward course from 1780 to 1795, eight Lord Provosts occupied the civic chair, of whom three only have won for themselves anything like celebrity. The first and most notable of the three certainly was Mr Patrick Colquhoun, who, through the death of Mr Hugh Wylie, wdiile he held the office of Provost, was fortunately chosen by acclamation to fill the vacant chair.^ To the great aptitude for public business, and to the indomitable energy and good sense of that able administrator, Glasgow owed much. It was while occupying a humble place in the Town Council of the City that Mr Col- * The following portrait of this function- reaching to the knuckles of his skeleton-like ary is given hy Dr Mathie Hamilton: — "Jock fingers, which wielded the cat-o'-nine- tails." f The punishnaent of whipping was not confined to males, but was extended occa- sionally to females ; the last female who suf- fered under this degrading and brutal sen- Sutherland was of ordinary stature, but lank and shrivelled, with a small head, having a white and wizened countenance, spindle-like legs, which, when he was in full dress, were adorned with white stockinffs; he had also ,^1^1. -,^^0 ^ ,, ^ .. , T .^1, 1 TT- tence was Mary Douglas, in 1 / 93. buckles to his shoes and at the knees. His clothes were of blue cloth, including a long % Mr Hugh Wylie is the only instance, for coat, with collar, cuffs, and other facings of nearly two centuries, of a Provost dying scarlet, and cocked hat with white edging, while holding office. Mr Colquhoun was At times he showed frills from his wrists elected on 26ih February, 1782. PROVOST PATRICK COLQUHOUN. 173 qulioiin first broached the idea of estabhshing the Exchange at the Cross, which was afterwards carried out with so much advantage to the com- munity. It was when he was so worthily sporting the double chain of office that he hiid the foundation of our Chamber of Commerce and Manufactures, and thereupon became the first chairman of that important institution. Being a fearful glutton for business, he found no difficulty, even amid the incessant demands on his time as chief magistrate of the City, to act at tlie same time as chairman of the Forth and Clyde Canal, and to take a leading part in the management of all the public institu- tions of the City. While he filled the provostorial chair, his bed was certainly not one of roses, seeing that during the year he entered upon his office, the City was visited with one of those fearful dearths by wdiich Scotland Avas in early times so frequently afflicted, and which too often resulted in riots and disturbances on the part of the populace.* To the experience which Mr Colquhoun must necessarily have acquired during this disastrous period, may be attributed the singular success whicli sub- sequentl}'' attended his exertions, when called to meet similar difficulties in tlie \Aider sphere of the English metropolis, and which gave him con- fidence to propose one of the cheapest and most effective systems of feed- ing a poor and starving population which had yet been tried.f * On 21st December, 1782, £200 was voted beginning of the American war he Avas one by the Corporation for a bounty on grain of the leading contributors to the fund for brought to the City. The Trades' and Mer- raising a regiment in Glasgow, which was chants' Houses voted a similar sum for this oflered to and accepted by the King. From purpose ; and on the 20th March, 1783, £6000 1785 to 1789 he devoted much of his time was borrowed bj'thc magistrates to purchase and talents towards the improvement of the grain. trade and manufactures of tlie country, and t Mr Patrick Cohiuhoun was born at Dum- may be said to have brought the muslins of barton, on the 14th March, 1745, his father Glasgow under the notice of Continental being a relation of Sir James Colquhoun of purchasers. In the latter j-ear he went to Luss. Left an orphan at an early age, he London with his familj% and there he per- proceeded to America to push his fortune, manently resided. There, too, he devoted Having settled in Virginia, he there carried himself to the impi-ovement of the police on a rather extensive business for upwards and magistracy, and was soon after appointed of five years, after which he returned to Glas- to work out his own reforms, which he did gow, when only twenty-one years of age, and with credit to himself and benefit to the commenced business as a merchant. At the country. In 1706, he published liis well- 174 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. The second rather remarkable Provost during these times was Mr James M'Dowall of Castlesemple. It was to his energy and public spirit Glasgow chiefly owes the erection of the Royal Infirmary,* and the establishment of its first industrial Prison or Bridewell, which, at its out- set, was so conducted as almost to cost nothing to the community. During his reign, too, the Trades' Hall was founded, and Physicians' Hall was built in St Enoch Square ; but what perhaps is better to be told, it was during his provostorial sovereignty that the Provost-haugh was purchased from Mr Bell and added to the green,t and that the eastern field, which had been so long leased to Mr John King for grazing cattle, was thrown into the public park, and which, strange to say, still retains the very equivocal designation of " King's Park." The third still remembered Provost M-as Mr Gilbert Hamilton, who, during his active and difficult reign, contrived to rebuild the Tron Church and Session-house, and to repair and reseat the ancient Cathe- dral.^ The difficulty of that gentleman's position may be conceived when the severe commercial calamities of 1793 are remembered, which threatened the country with almost universal bankruptcy; for, at that period, to the failure of merchants and manufacturers was to be added the still more disastrous failure of numerous country banks. § It was to known " Treatise on the Police of London," on the Police of the Metropolis." His whole Mhich gained for its author much honour; works amount to twenty, the last of which and, in consequence of this work, he was ap- appeared in 1814, entitled "A Treatise on the pointed, hy the Government, agent in Great Population, Wealth, Power, and Eesources Britain for the Colony of the Virgin Isles. of the British Empire." He died on 25th In 1800, he published his work on the " Police April, 1820. of the River Thames," which was the origin * The foundation-stone of the Infirmary of the River Police, which has since proved was laid on the 18th Maj-, 1792. so effectual in protecting the shipping from f On the 1st May, 1792, Provost-haugh the pillage to which it had previously been (latterlybetter known by the Flesh ers'-haugh) svibjected. In 1806, he published "A New was purchased tor MOOO.— Council Minutes. System of Education for the Labouring Peo- f The contract for rebuilding the Tron pie," which Avas followed, in 1808, by his Church and Session-houses was £2180. "Treatise on Indigence." The University of § The total number of bankruptcies passing Glasgow conferred on Mr Colquhoun, in 1797, through the London Gazette was as follows : — the degree of LL.D. ; and on the 28th Decem- 1791— 769, of which 1 was a countiy bank, ber, 1797, the Corporation voted thanks to 1792— 934, " 1 " " that gentleman for his most useful " Treatise 1793—1956, of which 26 were country banks. PROVOST GILBERT HAMILTON. 175 the judicious measures adopted by this able administrator that the worhino- population of Glasgow was saved from much of the misery by which it was surrounded ; and it was to the influence which he brought to bear on the Government, that means were adopted to ward off the almost universal ruin which threatened the manufacturers. "While no individual could better save the community from want, none better embodied the idea of starvation than this able but scare-crow Provost, or was physically better fitted to offer, in his own person, as he certainly did, before the Prime Minister, the palpable evidence of a famishing City ! * If M'e except the market-day — when there was a more than ordinary bustle on the leading thoroughfares, and when the sides of the High-street were encumbered with a profusion of wooden dishes, such as churns, tubs, pails, bowls, etc., and when the south side of the Trongate was also crowded with shoe and other stalls — there was on other days little or nothing in the streets to attract particular attention, far less to create any risk of detention or of damage. Indeed, during the last ten years of the past century there was scarcely anything so striking as the stillness of the City, at least when compared with the continued hum and hiirley-burley of the present day. The rattle of a coach or a carriage was then a rare sound ; and as to carts going at the present high-pressure speed, that was altogether unknown, and if tried would certainly have been put down by tlie Magistracy, not only as dangerous to the lieges but as hurtful to animals 1 Time then appeared to be no object, and the day was felt to be always fully sufficient for all its wants. The populace loitered along the streets without the fear of anything to molest them, and stopped in knots, to gossip and to daver, on the busiest thoroughfare, without the risk of at all incommoding the passenger traffic. In short, nothing of the universal turmoil, noise, and jostling wMch now characterise the City was heard ; and consequently when any one either raised his voice to cry * When arrayed in his velvet suit and "looked like Death running awny with tlie court-dress, a wag remarked of him, that he mort-dotli !" 176 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. or to sing, he was at once heard and hstened too. It may be easily supposed that the streets, under the favourable circumstances of little noise and little traffic, became a favourite arena for gaining notoriety, or for awakening the public attention to what was wished to be communi- cated — an annoimcement by the City-crier being then held to be more effective for most things, both moral and physical, than an advertisement in the Mercury or Journal. The City-cries, which were then numerous, and which modern hubbub has almost put hors de combat, were easily heard, and what is more, at once attracted universal attention. The City bell — then rung by George Gibson, better known by the appella- tion of Bell Geordie — always secured a goodly audience, for no sooner was the triple tinkle of his skellat heard, than each house in the neigh- bourhood was sure to despatch a messenger to hear what he had to communicate. Of this well-known functionary — who for so many years filled the public ear, and what is more, who gratified it, not only by the news he had to tell, but by the clever and original manner in which he told his tale — it is perhaps enough to say, that no individual ever paced the Trongate during his time, who was better known or longer remembered ; not cer^'ainly for his taste, sobriety, or virtues, but chiefly for the coarse caustic humour which he displayed, and the fearless sarcasm which he not unfrequently poured out ungratefully on those vrho more immediately presented him to the office ; and for the indulgence of which latter passion — unfortunately for himself, and more so for the community — he was deprived of that bell which had rung him into fame, and which likewise threatened to ring the knell of a then well-known bailie's popularity. When we knew this celebrated bellman, he had been deprived of his scarlet coat of office, and, donned in a thread- bare brown coat, was led by a girl, blind and silent, through the streets on which he had won his laurels. Stone-blind though he was, he still carried about with him the tokens of his former burleyness. His head, though hanging from age and disappointment, bore all the phrenological marks of the physical power, courage, and combativeness which at one STREET ORATORY AND BELL GEORDIE. 177 time so strikingly characterised him ; and although the paucity of his purse, and the opacity of his visual organs had now extracted the rubi- cund colour from his cheeks, a goodly remnant of this tint was still left on his carbuncled nose, as if to mark the rock on which he had ship- wrecked his fortune ! The aged spoke of him, in the recollection of all the happy exhibitions he had made in their manhood, when, surrounded by a gaping and laughing audience, he ran over his long catalogue of proclamations, including the rich bounties then offered for recruits, and winding up the whole with the loud stentorian exclamation of " God save great George our King!" — while the young ever regarded him with pity, and willingly stretched forth their hand to present him with an unasked- for aumus ! * If Bell Geordie w^as ever sure of attracting a willing audience, there were other street orators who, in those comparatively silent days, were likewise certain to have a hearing, and a crowd of at least youthful fol- lowers. Among those who particularly addressed themselves to the taste of the latter, was a hale, powerful-throated, well-dressed female, her head encompassed with a scarlet handkerchief, who solemnly paraded the centre of the causeway, with a small basket hanging on her arm, capable of holding both the receipts and the expenditure of her calling. This busy and strangely excited-looking personage offered to handless house- wives and careless servants the means of restoring their cracked china and broken crystal ; and, in payment for her art, she was content to take, not the copper of the realm, but any old brass of equivalent value that might be offered her. She was also ready to barter the sweets which she carried in her basket with any boy who might have gained a string of buttons during a course of successive struggles with his companions at the then favom'ite game of "hole first" and "hole lag."t The cry of this • In 1789 Bell Geordie petitioned for an f The game of bulls, or buttons, was long a increase or augmentation of fees, but the favourite with the boj'S of Glasgow, and was magistrates refused, on the ground that the absolutely a game for money, arising from situation was sutflcieutly lucrative. the pence which could readily be obtained N 178 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. every-day perambulator of the principal Glasgow thoroughfares, like Bell Geordie's stentorian announcement of " Fresh herrings at the Broomie- law," continued till the beginning of the century; and we yef remember with delight the pleasing sound of "Fine Lannan candy! good for the cough and the cold and the shortness of breath ; come, buy my Lunnaa candy!" which sounded in our ears, and which occasionally extracted a parental penny to purchase the then so highly-prized bonbon ! At that time, too, there was another competitor for street fame and street pence, whose wares were, like the other, chiefly addressed to the young ; his cry was — "Youno; lambs to sell!" and then he sao-elv added, "Had I as much money as I could tell, I'd never go ci-ying young lambs to sell." How many a nursery aumry of the day gave tokens of the power of his persuasive eloquence, in the number of lambs purchased and paraded there for youthful slaughter ! And, as a last specimen of those who then paced the streets for profit, the tall thin figure, hung round with many of the implements of the kitchen, must not be forgotten ; his cry was — "Roasting jacks and toasting forks!" and never did a Parisian badaud rattle the E, with greater hirr than did the vender of jacks and forks pour forth the initial letter of his street call. The roll of the letter was like the distant rattle of thunder, and seldom failed to draw the cook from the broth-pot to the window, even though in the act of wielding the every-day potent sceptre of her calling — the ladle !* At this period, too, from the great quietude of the leading thorough- fares, and also from the absence of all police control and interference for the string of buttons gained, by selling the ahnost daily dinner in every family, them to any of the coppersmiths in the town. Gibson mentions that in 1777 the ordinaiy When the farmers gave up wearing large breakfasts and suppers of mechanics were brass button^ on their coats, and the gentle- oatmeal poiTidge, with a little milk or smalt men took to hora, cloth, or basket buttons, beer, and the dinner barley broth. The the game of hutts lost its chief interest. Gal- poorer classes fed on potatoes and salted braith's shop, the tinsmith, in the Bridgegate, hen-ings — three pounds of potatoes and a was the gi-eat mart for disposing of a string couple of henlngs costing no m.ore than l^d. of buttons ten or twelve inches long. "Apoplexy was almost unknown in those * In these times broth and beef formed days in Glasgow," says this faithful annalist. BOYISH GAMES OF THE LAST CENTURY. 179 thereon, ^Ye find that the somewhat improved streets, and the lately introduced pavements, had become the common play-ground of the young people of all classes and both sexes. In dry days especially, the young misses indulged in scoring the flagstones with their peevors, for the purpose of playing at pa ZZ-aZ/; v/hile their brothers were alike busily engaged in the more energetic and exciting pastimes of smuggling the heg, of robbers and rangers, and of / spr/.* In the long evenings, or in moonlight nights, the streets w^ere likewise peopled with gay and happy boys and girls — the one making the welkin ring with the stirring cry of "Through the needle-e'e boys!" or the other dancing and singing the inspiring roundelay, "About the raerry-ma-tanzie !" vvdiile both might be heard occasionally mixing their happy voices in the famous old choral chaunt of " London bridge is broken do'.Tn, Dance over, my ladye gay ; London bridge is broken down "(A'itli a gay ladye. We'll build it up with stone and lime, Dance over, my lad3'e gay ; "We'll build it up v.-itli stone and lime For a gay ladye." Among the many social peculiarities of Glasgow in these modern days, certainlv none is more striking than the annual miration of families from the City to the coast. With the same certainty that we may count on the swallow leaving in the autumn for a more southern clime, do the denizens of Glasgow quit their snug and comfortable houses in the town, * Among other boyish games practised Wilkes was kept suspended all day near a about this period were the hand-ball, or large fire, while certain of the band of boys house ; the booh, or mav})\QS \ the ^?Vr, or hoop; which surrounded it collected money from the top, and the spinning jjeerie, launched passengers and at the houses. Towards dusk from a string upon the pavement; and at the stock was divided among the juvenile fra- the "preachings" the shinty. Each game teniitj'^, after which the efligy was paraded ; came and went with the season of the year, and having placidly siiffcred all manner of At this time, too, it was customary for the indignities, it underwent the ordeal of being schoolboys, on the anniversary of the Gun- consumed in the fire, amid the shouts and powder Plot, to "burn Wilkes," instead of, huzzas of the spectators, as formerly, Guy Fawkcs. A;i cflSgy of 180 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. and hie away, with bag and baggage, to the various watering-places which chequer the banks of the Clyde estuary, and there remain till the whistling winds of the Equinox urge them to return to enjoy the luxuries of smoke and gas-light. While this passion, though calculated to sever almost every week the husband from his wife, has been nurtured and increased with the growing facilities afforded by the steam-boat and rail, yet true it is, it had its origin and was indulged in long before either the one or the other of these modern luxuries had been dreamed of. In spite of all the difficulties which a by past age offered to family locomotion, and which peculiarly existed about the year 1790, there were found not a few of the better class of citizens, and particularly those who were blessed with large and youthful families, who annually expended their money on what was designated " saut-water quarters," which were then limited to Helensburgh, Gourock, Innerkip, or Largs — the last, however, on the score of distance, being rather beyond the purses of most visitors. To reach any one of these health-giving villages was no easy matter, at least for an honest pair and six small children. The transit of such a family, with the many requisites which coast houses and coast purveyors then demanded, could only be accomplished by taking the fly-boat down the river, or hiring a cart surmounted with hoops covered by a blanket. By the latter conveyance, there was some likelihood of reaching the destined watering-place before midnight of the day on which the party set out ; but by the former, the chance was that the boat required to wait a tide at Bowling, or perhaps might be detained at Dunglass for a day or two from stress of weather. How many a tale has there been told of sea-suffering, after one of these summer excursions, which has served to eke out many a winter's night ! How many strange scenes were then witnessed within the hostelries of Bowling and Dunglass, when the tide-fixed fly-boats vomited forth their starving passengers on an unprovided larder. Think of the effects of a youthful appetite, sea air, and long fasting! Shade of a Gourock skipper, how much hast thou had to answer for! The journey once over, however, the change was always hailed with delight, ORIGIN OF TUE ACCIDENTAL CLUB. 181 particularly by the boys just relieved from the labour of lessons and the taios of the schoolmaster; and although the living at the coast in those times was rather roughish, it was nevertheless relished most greedily. The harbour of the Broomielaw, from which these water diligences sailed and arrived, was then a poor affair. The quay extended no farther down the river on the north side than the bottom of Oswald-street, where stood a solitary crane, the very picture of inactivity. No heavier or handsomer craft than a gahert troubled the pellucid stream, and it was not an unfrequent occurrence to find the harbour without even a masted vessel.* How polluted are thy waters now, O Clutha ! but in return, and as a recompense, how many richly freighted ships from every quarter of the globe are at this moment resting on thy bosom ! f When Glasgow v/as such as we have now endeavoured to sketch, there assembled a squad of honest-hearted, loud-laughing beings, in a W'cll-known domicile in the Gallowgate, occupied by one named John Tait. To become a member of this fraternity, it was not requisite that the applicant for admission should have his name placarded in the Club- room ; the simple affirmation of a member that the gentleman was his friend, and no foe to jocularity, was the only passport requisite to entitle him to a free entrh among the brotherhood. This Club, which held * According to the curious report of Thomas f From 1752 to 1770 the Tonnage-dues of Tucker, one of Cromwell's servants, who was the harbour of Glasgow were only £147, or appointed to arrange the Customs and Excise £8 per annum. In 1780 they amounted to of Scotland in IGoO, we find that Glasgow £1,515 ; in 1800 to £3,319 ; in 1820 to £G,328 ; had then only 12 vessels, and these ranged inl840 to £46,536; and in 1854 they amounted from 12 to 150 tons hurthen each— the whole to £86,580. The following curious notice, tonnage being 957. In 1692 the vessels be- which we extract from the Glascjow Weeklij longing to the port amotmted to 66. In Mitseum of 1773, shows the state of the river Tucker's time, no larger vessels could come and harbour at that period : — up to the Broomielaw than those carrying " It is with pleasure we acquaint our read- from 3 to 6 tons ; the others stopped at Port- ers, that Mr Golborne is still successfully Glasgow. In 1755, there was, according to carrying on his operations in deepening the the report of Smcaton, only 3 feet 8 inches river Clyde, and that three coasting vessels water, at spring-tide, at Tointhousc-ford. arriA'ed lately at the Broomielaw, directly The depth was much the same in 1768, when from Ireland, with oatmeal, without stopping Mr Golborne undertook the deepening of the at Greenock, as formerly, to unload their river. cargoes." 182 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUSS. i'iS meetings previous to and daring the latter years of tlie last century, was called the Accidental, like many others which, since that period, have arisen out of its ashes. Whether this appellation arose from its members being only by some accident present, or never by any accident absent; whetlier from their accidentally becoming gay upon ale, or accidentally keeping sober on toddy ; or whether from their accidentally stealing softly home to bed, or accidentally being carried riotous to tlie Laigh Kirk Session-house — at that period, as we have already hinted, the only civil watchhouse in the City* — it is now of little moment to inquire. As an index to the many members of tliis Club, it is only necessary to mention the name of Mr Jolni Taylor, to whom several of the fraternity, and far more of our grey-headed and yellow-wigged ancestors, were indebted for their first notions of penmanship and arithmetic. Being a man of genius, humour, and strong sense, and moreover a gentleman, it is not difficult to understand how he soon became, and long continued, the nucleus of a happy and clever set of citizens, whose evening meetings were characterised by constant sallies of wit, and by not a few sparks of poetical sarcasm. It was among these social acquaintances that he frequently mounted his Pegasus, and poured out many improvisatore effusions, which occasionally surpassed even those that were more care- fully conned and thereafter printed in the famous collection of " Original and Selected Poetry," published at the close of the century by Messrs Brash & Reid, the well-known bibliopoles of the Trongate. It was in the * The Laigh Kirk Session-house was burned, guard. When the City patrol left the Session- along with the church, on the morning of the house at three o'clocls, all was safe ; from loth Febriiaiy, 1793. By seven o'clock they which, and the fire being so general through- were both completely destroyed. The Ke- out the church, it is conjectured to have been cords of the Presbyteiy and Session of Glas- wilfully done, as the two candlesticks belong- gow, since the year 1582, which were depo- ing to the Session-house v/ere found in the sited in the Session-house, are almost en- grate after the fire was over. The church tirely lost. The cause of the fire is supposed was originally founded in 1484, and had been to have arisen either from the carelessness rebuilt in 1692. or the folly of some of the persons then on JOHN TAYLOR. 183 Accidental Club that Mr Taylor was accustomed to receive that defer- ence to which the possession of the " leaden crown" — which he had so worthily won for his unapproachable poem of "Nonsense," — so justly entitled him ; and it was here where he continued to coic, by his pre- sence, the coarse sallies of his nephew and successor Andrew Taylor* — better known by the name of the Cub, — ay and until he was prevented from meeting his social companions by his last illness.j Connected with this, the following strange but authentic story has been told. Feeling himself near his dissolution, he sent for his nephew, and stated to him that, having a fearful presentiment that something would go wrong at his funei'al, he begged, as a last favour, that he would be particular in seeing his obsequies conducted with propriety. The nephew promised, and the event occurring soon after, he instantly employed the very first undertaker of the City (then a Magistrate, we believe) to carry the last * For some account of ^Ir Anclrev/ Taylor, see Face Club. f Mr John Taylor was a tall man ; and, in common west-country parlance, "came out of the Water of Endrick." It is said that he used to amuse himself by writing amatory ditties for some of his pupils, addressed to their mistinesses, and never failed to mingle with them a little touch of the sarcastic, in which vein he was rather an adept. Old literateurs used to talk, in our own heai'ing, of the famous poetical contest betwixt him and the Kev. Mr Alex. Gillies of Ealmaurs, who was a great wag and poet in his day. The subject chosen was a poem addi'essed to " Nonsense," in which the indispensable con- dition was, that no line should contain an intelligible idea. A leaden crown was the prize proposed to the victor, and to be de- cided by Dr Thomas Hamilton, Professor of Anatomy. On giving judgment on the efforts of the two who had striven for the prize, the learned Professor said, that "it would have been difficult for him to determine the case were it a mere question of ability; but, on comparing the poems, it .seemed to him that there was something like an idea in one of Gillies's lines, but that Mr Taylor's verses were totally free of any such imputation." Mr Taylor, of course, gained the ci'own. Con- siderable extracts of this singular poem were printed in vol. xv. of Chambers' Journal. Mr Taylor was an intimate acquaintance of Pro- fessor Arthur, and it was an every-day habit of these able personages to take their meri- dian glass together. Sir Taylor's school-room was in Buchanan's land, at the head of King- street, on the site of the handsome structui-e lately erected by the Buchanan Societj-. It was up two stairs, and had several desks, each of M-hich boasted its own particular attendants. The first leading desk was what was called " the dawties' desk," as it was sur- rounded by the favourites of the master, and particularly bj' those whose fathers were in the habit of entertaining the master on Saturday — although this was perhaps more the case during the incumbency of his nephew, who generally dined out on the closing day of eveiy week, and ever on such occasions made it his duty to get jolly, and sometimes even to become (/lorion.1. 184 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. and sacred bequest of his uncle into effect. The funeral cards were consequently addressed and circulated by the leading beadle of the City, and the invited acquaintances in due time arrived at the mournful man- sion. The City bells were tolled, as of wont, at doleful intervals. Two worthy divines, with due unction, poured forth each an impressive prayer. A glass of wine was sipped in solemn silence — the grave summons was solemnly pronounced by the leading usher, and the company calmly quitted the appartment. The procession was soon formed, and, preceded by sombre saidies with black hunting caps and sable batons, moved solemnly on towards the High Church or Cathedral burying-ground, greeted, as all such processions were wont to be in those days, by the requiem rattle of the Alms-house bell.* But lo ! when the mighty receptacle of the ashes of Glasgow sires was just about to be entered, it was discovered that the magisterial coffiner, although correct in all the primary preparations, had neglected the last and by far the most impor- tant part of his duty, — ^that of ordering a grave to be dug! In this dilemma, heightened no doubt by the fulfilment of the presentiment of the deceased, it was suggested that the body should be deposited for a little in the south aisle of the Cathedral, and that the company should * The Alms-house, or Trades' Hospital, was latterly, was removed ; boys, in latter days, erected " as a retreat for a certain number of being in the practice of cb-opping bits of reduced members of the fouiteen incorpo- slate into this slit, and of collecting them on rated crafts. In addition to the accommoda- the other s*ide. The funerals of all, except tion requisite for its inmates, this building persons of the highest rank, who were carried contained a diminutive hall — in wliich, prior shoulder high, were borne to the grave on to the erection of the premises in Glassford- what are termed "spokes" by the company street, the foundation-stone of which was attending. Mort-cloth societies were then laid on 9th September, 1791 — the members common, who lent out, according to the of the Trades' House were accustomed to quality of it, this necessary covering for the assemble." At every passing funeral, the coffin, at fixed prices. Mr Lochead, of the little bell, in the turret of a little steeple, Saltmarket, was the most remarkable tj'pe of which projected as far as the curbstone of an old Glasgow undertaker. At one time the pavement, was rang. In front of the this individual had rarely his sable attire off. turi-et was a stone tablet, with the insciption. He made the cofiin, attended the funeral, " Give to the puir, and thou shalt have trea- asked the blessing, and served the company, sure in heaven." In this tablet was a slit. He was an elder in the College Church, with, at one time, a box behind it, but which, JOHN TAYLOR. 185 retire to a neighbouring puLlic-liouse, in Kirk-lane, to await the final preparations for the interment of their friend. Both were accordingly done; and while the grave-digger was executing his thoughtless and callous task, and the mourners were soothing their sorrow by swallowing a comfortable allowance of potent punch, one of the company, the late Mr Alexander Park, writer,* who had often laughed loud and long in the Accidental at the poetical vagaries of his departed acquaintance, pro- duced the following very clever impromptu : — " When the corpse of John Taylor approach'd the church-j^ard, Mother Earth would not open her portal ! Why ? — because she had heard so much said of the Bard That she verily thought him immortal ! " As a fair specimen of the unambitious humour of ^Ir Taylor, and the pleasantry of the Accidental Club, we subjoin the following poetical bill, which was given to the landlord one evening by three of its members, when he, by some accident was unable to change them a pound note. We add also the discharge demanded in consequence of the liquidation of the debt : — "Severall}', or else conjunct, You, or your heirs if you're defunct, Precisely after date a day, To me or to my order pay — Sixteeniience sterling, which must be Sustain'd as value got from me ; To Messrs Kirkpatrick, Taylor, and Scott, Contracted for want of the change of a note." " All mankind by these presents know, That in my house five days ago, WTien James Kirkpatrick, and James Scott, And lang John Taylor, drank a pot * We have seen an original MS. volume ion, and had a happy and joyous deport- of letters written by Mr Alex. Park, ad- ment, and was much liked by his acquaiut- dressed to Mr Thomas Stewart, bookseller, ances. About the close of the century, he Glasgow, which exhibit much wit, humour, became a member of the " Coul Clu))," and original thought. From one who knew where genial humour and convivial qualities Mr Park well, we learn that his manners were fully appreciated, were pleasant, that he was a good compau- 186 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Of porter and a triple gill, ' For Avliicli they gave a conjunct bill ; Wliich bill I've lost — and therefore they The sixteenpence refuse to pay, Unless they get a full discharge, Which, here to them, I give at large ;— Again, I say, know every man, From John o' Groat's house to Japan, That the said bill is paid to me ; And, therefore, I discharge and free Them and their heirs for evermore, Of that and each preceding score. Moreover, to prevent deceit, I here subscribe my name — John Tait." ^lasgolB'g ajrantital jFabourite aliout 1795, FACE CLUB. It was a little after the period, but under tlie same peculiarities incident to the time and to the social condition of Glasgow which characterised the sittings of the Accidental Club, that another most joyous group of citizens were wont to plant their thread-hosed limbs beneath the mahogany of a worthy hostess of the Cross. The name by which this notable fraternity was known, not only to themselves but to the town, was the Face — by no means a bad quality for either a man or a body of men to make way with in the world. Perhaps some may be curious to know why so strange an epithet should have been chosen as the link of its union and congeni- ality. Let it not be imagined, however, by any one deeply versed in the papers of the Toiler and Spectator, that the term indicated that each member was necessarily gifted with the fair features of an Antinous, or the hideous lineaments of a Gorgon — that, in short, the epithet indicated any generalising peculiarity of visage. No, truly ; such a bond of union was never dreamed of by the rising merchants, the blue and white corksj leading shopkeepers, and comfortable craftsmen, who nightly quaffed their limited allowance in Lucky Black's tavern, and drew in their chairs to a weekly dinner, so soon as the music bells had ceased to tinkle, from the Cross steeple, " The flowers of the forest." * The appellation arose simply from the circumstance of each member, on this dinner-day, having con- tinually placed before him a full-fed smoking sheep's head, whose well- * Mrs Black's tavern was do^\•n a long stoiy. She -was famous not only for sheep- dose at the head of the Gallowgate, south heads, but also, and most particularly, for side. It was a thatched house of two stories beef-steaks, black puddings, and " a skirl in or flats; the best rooms were in the upper the pan." 188 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. sized face^ by paying regular toll to every member's mouth through which it passed, was destined to bestow an unwrinkled smoothness to the phizzes of these Glasgow gourmands. * The Face Club, which was holding its sittings during the final decade of the last and first few years of the present century, had rather a nume- rous list of names on its muster roll ; and hence, there were never less than fifteen to twenty sheep-heads seen smoking on the board at every dinner-meeting of the brotherhood. What a glorious study it must have afforded to the physiognomists of the past, and might have opened up to the phrenologists of the present age ! What an insight it might have given to the scientific w'orld anent the sources of ovine meekness! One thing is certain, that all the specimens which were there paraded were such as to give the best idea of that race of animals to the seat of whose intelligence the Club was so devotedly attached. Among the most regular attendants of the Face Club was Mr Andrew Taylor — the nephew of the worthy caligrapher whom we have already attempted to sketch — and who was better known among his companions by the sobriquet of the Cub. To a joyous nature, this rather singular dominie united a most sarcastic disposition; and, when rallied, not unfre- quently, by several members of the fraternity, was discovered to be by no means a simple customer. He was in the habit of letting fly his shafts of ridicule right and left, and alike on friend and foe ; but being a privi- leged individual, much was tolerated from him that would not have been permitted from others. The truth is, his presence gave an agreeable acidity to the conversation of the Club, which perhaps otherwise would have been more commonplace ; and hence his sarcastic countenance was always welcomed, with more than ordinary gusto, at the Face board. His sarcastic style of talking, however, was not confined to the Club, but frequently displayed itself in the school-room ; here he could of course give full scope to his nature, without much dread of giving offence. As * Among some of the early and higher class members were the Messrs Watsons, the bankers, Robert Young, John Berry, «ic. ANDREW TAYLOR. 189 an example of many sallies in which he there indulged, we may mention that, on the afternoon before some coming Christmas, one of the boys, who rather bore the character of the bird from which his pen had been plucked, having said — " I suppose, Mr Taylor, we'll hae the play the morn to eat our goose f The master at once replied, " Ou, ay, man, Robin ; but there has been sic a slaughter o' thae animals, I wonder that you hae escaped ! " It appears it was on this same Eobin that he liked to play off his wit ; for it is also told, that while this boy was one evening mending his pen by candle-light ('no gas then), he happened to singe his hair, when the master, coming up to him from his desk, remarked, " Lord, Bob, that pickle birse of yours has made as meikle smell as if it had been a hale sheep's head !" Of course on these and such like occasions, the laugh from the boys was, like the landlord's laugh, '^ a ready chorus."* When we consider the number of ovine countenances which were re- quired to meet the necessities of one Club sederunt, it will be seen that it was no easy matter at that period for the landlady to fulfil the duties which were weekly laid upon her. But, perhaps with all her anxious wishes and endeavours to do what was hebdomally required, she might have failed, had she not had a worthy deacon of the marrow-bone and cleaver corpo- ration, and an equally worthy deacon of the hammerman, as regular mem- bers of the fraternity. To the former she ever applied in her hour of need, and rarely failed to obtain all which her own heart and his palate desired ; while to the latter, she was sure she could trust her own Jieadj far more * Mr Andrew Taylor, thoiigli a good "refreshed," lie happened to waken up in a teacher, became in after life perhaps rather huny on hearing the clock strike in tlie too fond of social excitement, and conse- morning, and forgetting the day of the week, qnently his classes fell oHF. It was his invari- rung his bell violently, and on his servant able practice to dine out on Saturday, and coming, cried out, "Jenny, Jenny, bring he rai-ely reached home on that day by the shaving water as fast as possible; what will most direct road, and when he did so, it was the boys say and me no at the schulc ? " with some difficiUty that he found his way "Oh! Maister Taylor," said the domestic, into bed. It appears, too, that he had little "it's the Sabbath-day!" "Tlie Sabbath- recollection next day how he had done so, daj'!" quoth the dominie, — "Glorious insti- aml accordingly it is scarcely suiTJrising that, tution the Sabbath!" and fortliwith turned on one occasion, after returning home and himself round for another snooze, going to bed, ou a Saturday night, well 190 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. her sheep-heads, without fear of other damage than was absolutely neces- sary to fit the latter for the broth-pot ! For months and years this Club pursued, under all the landlady's difficulties, the even tenor of its prandial way, until, one fatal Saturday, a circumstance occurred which threw a momentary cloud over the usual hilarity and good humour of the brother- hood. It was in the trying moment, which was never afterwards forgot- ten, when the president discovered that the tongue of the standard dish which stood smoking before him was non est inventics, and when each member caught Avith masonic quickness the president's look of horror, and turned his eye on his own smoking platter. Alas ! the little trouble- some member was found a general absentee, and its absence gave instant mettle to the tongues of the astonished fraternity ! Ernulphus' vocabulary of damning epithets was nothing to'the shower that fell from a score of disappointed lips, upon the butcher, the smith, the hostess, the startled maid — a shower which only fairly ceased when the punch-tied tongues of each Highgote dog became " unable to take up the cumbrous word." The deacon of the cleaver allowed not a moment to pass, after the fatal dis- covery, before he lisped out, as he was wont, " 'Tis these thieves o' smiths !" although it was more than insinuated by the representative of Vulcan, that an unusual demand at that time for these tid-bits, for some great civic feast, pointed out more truly the burglar ! What a glorious sketch the Face Club would have afforded, for the pencil of Phiz or Cruickshank, under the effects of that trying moment ! With the exception of this single mistake, however, it appears pretty certain that, up to the last day on which the fraternity assembled around the sheep-head board, there was never anything seen akin to this ovine Babel or dispersion of tongues. Had it again occurred, the expulsion of both deacons from the Club would have been a certain consequence. The members of the Face belonged, as we have hinted, to that comfort- able and rising; class of citizens who were destined to win the hio-hest places in the City, and were characterised, moreover, as a band of most joyous rogues. It is not too much to say, that their gibes, their jokes, THE FACE CLUB. 191 and their flashes of merriment would have given employment to a dozen of reporters at a sitting, and well repaid them for their trouble, particu- larly if the said reporters could have made themselves invisible ! It was indeed a Club where Momus held each week his laughing carnival. Alas ! how few, if any, are now left to wag the tongue each wagged so glibly for lack of one ! The Face survived only a few years longer than the century which gave it birth. Most of the ruddy countenances which so often had grinned with delight over the stumbling-block of Winifred Jenkins, have now, as Hamlet says, " none to mock their grinning ;" and were it not that we are occasionally reminded of its existence by partaking of the ligament of its union, either on a Sunday at home, or at the annual dinner of the Society of the Sons of the Clergy, in George-square, and thereby recalling the traits and tales of several of the long-departed members of the Club, we should perhaps never have dream.ed of becoming its unworthy annalist.* • At the Sons of the Clergy dinner in Glas- Magistrates and Council, for the purpose of gow, there are always four standard Scotch rendering pecuniary aid to the children of dishes paraded; and which, not strange to clergymen Mho might be reduced to indigent say, attract even more attention than the circumstances. The funds are now consid- more fashionable specimens of French and erable ; and hence, at every March meeting, English cookeiy. The four dishes are — a the jManagers are enabled to distribute much haggis, a sheep's head, tripe, and black pud- substantial relief. At its outset, the society dings. There is perhaps no assembly of a was much indebted to the liberal contribu- convivial kind in Glasgow that has been tions of the Oswald family, and to the busi- more characterised by everything that can ness talent of Dr Porteous; and in latter make man happy, than the meeting of the days, to the kindness of Miss Paisley, and Sons of the Clergy. Filled with the spirit of the unwearied care of the venerable Princi- benevolence and philanthrophy, and replete pal Macfarlan. ilany excellent citizens with the recollections of the innocent and have been members of this benevolent fra- joyous pastimes of the manse, tlie Sons of ternity; and among those who in their day the Chnrch sit down to their annual well- and generation have added their mite of covered board with common sympathies and merriment .«Ml-j est §f jocularity to these common interests, and moreover, Avith the meetings, we cannot ferget the big-hearted conviction tluit their eiTorts have that day Samuel Hunter, the facetious Fredrick Adam- done something to soothe the sorrows of son, the sprightlj' Jack Duncan, the joj'ous their less fortunate brethren and sisters, minded Dr William Gibb, and many others The society was instituted in 1798, and was of u J\Ionius-loving chai'acter. then incorporated by a seal of cause from the CKlasQoltt iLogalt^* GROG CLUB. It is a remarkable fact, that during the whole civil and foreign wars with which we have been afflicted since the Revolution, no City in Scot- land has exhibited stronger proofs of loyalty and more devotion to the Pro- testant cause, or contributed more heartily to our national defences against aggression, than Glasgow. In 1715, when the Stuart's claim to the throne was attempted to be established by the Pretender, Glasgow at once took her side with the House of Hanover, and raised a battalion of six hundred men to aid the Duke of Argyll in quelling the insurrection. In 1745, when his son Charles Edward Stuart attempted to win the crown which his predecessor had forfeited, Glasgow was once more on the side of religious liberty, and on that occasion raised, for the service of the Government, two battalions, of four hundred and fifty men each, which, it is well known, suffered severely at the fight of Falkirk. On the break- ing out of the American war in 1775, we have already seen that Provost Donald hastened to London, and offered to raise a regiment of a thousand men at the expense of the City. His offer was accepted, and the batta- lion was afterwards designated the Glasgow Regiment. Again, when the conflict consequent on the French Revolution commenced, the military spirit of the City was roused in support of the British Constitution and in defence of home.* In April, 1794, a number of the most patriotic citizens * By a minute of the Coiincil, dated 29tli ing the same." This was accordingly done, December, 1777, the Corporation " resolve to and Provost Donald and Convener Niven raise a Battalion of Infantry to aid the Go- were, as we have fonnerly seen, despatched vernment to put down the Rehellion in to London to offer its services to George IIL America, and obtain subscriptions for effect- The King gratefully acknowledged the kind- THE VOLUNTEERS. 193 began to enrol themselves as volunteers, and by the following April the corps was ready for active service, under the command of Colonel Corbet, and then received the colours, under which they doubtless inwardly swore to fiffht to the death. In 1797 this battalion was increased to ten com- panics, amounting in all to seven hundred. A second battalion w^as also raised, and maintained at the cost of the citizens, consisting of five hundred men. A body of older citizens, known by the nickname of " the Ancients," or " Old Foggies," was likewise embodied ; and, to complete the armament, a troop of volunteer cavalry was soon seen in full charge practice on the public Green, to the terror of the cows and the dismay of the town herd.* It was when the shrill note of the trumpet, and the reveille rattle of the drum — those martial sounds which, during the last decade of the eighteenth century, but too frequently wakened the snoozing citizens from their morning slumbers, to summon some of the most handsome and the most active of their number to an early drill — that there arose a Club, all of whose members could boast of belonging to one or other of the volunteer corps who served without pay. The members were chiefly bachelors, and were for the most part in the heyday of manhood. They were found ever ready to throw a quoit against any opponent ; and as to a match round the Green at the noble and manly game of golf — which, alas ! in these degenerate days, is altogether abandoned — there was at least one jicss of Glasgow, and accepted the regiment, pastm-e assembled — the hull in the chair— a which was called "the Glasgow Regiment." petition has been drawn up, unanimously By a minute dated 31st March, 1778, the adopted, and to be presented to Queen Char- Council agreed to pay the Provost and Con- lotte by the town-herd, against the continual vener's expenses, in going to London, on the parading of volunteers on one of the best grass occasion in question, amounting to £162 18s plots in Scotland, that has not been ploughed 6d. Whether or not a "white bait" dinner up since the Revolution— a lapse of time was included in this rather large sum, there during which three million Glasgow people is now no trace ; but considering the then have been born or died, on a moderate corn- value of money, it might have been well putation." The cows were always admitted afforded! into the green on the 5th of June, the day • The following piece of wit, connected after the celebration of the birth-day of with the volunteer mania, appears in the George III. In those times the pasture in Glfixfjow Courier of 1797: — "At a meeting of the l<"leshers'-haugh was very rich, and usu- the cows of the Green of Glasgow, in common ally about kuee deep. O 194 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. among the number wlio had challenged Scotland, and had gained the silver club.* Like the generality of their military contemporaries, al- though they despised Dutch courage when on active service, they were not insensible to the fascination of swallowino; a glass of " somewhat" when idly listening to the gossip of the town, or the more exciting news of the war. To talk or listen without having something before them was poor sport ; and in this spirit the brotherhood were sure to encounter each other in that most comfortable of all taverns of the time, yclept the " Black Boy," near the Gallowgate bridge, there to swig grog, and listen to the kindly hurr and smart repartees of its clever and facetious land- lady.f The Club which we have just introduced to your notice, indulgent reader, was in fact called the Grog — an appellation which arose alto- * The game of golf is one of tlie oldest amusements in Scotland, and is still in great favoiir in Edinburgli and St Andrews. In Glasgow it was long a favoiirite pastime, and continued to be so till the improvemeiits on the public Green took away all the hazards, without which there is no play. At the pe- riod when the Grog Club was meeting, the Golf Club was in its heyday; and some of our first-class citizens were frequently seen with club in hand following the balls that flew on every side over the then undulating park. Among the best players were Messrs James Spreull, Cunningham Corbett, John Craig, Laurence Craigie, David and James Connell, and the then editor of the Courier, James M'Nair, LL.D., who erected a villa on the summit of Woodlands, Avhich, for its odd architecture, was best known Ijy the title of IPNair's Folly, and stood on the apex of the hill on which the square is being built con- nected with the West-end Park. f Among the most regular members may be mentioned Messrs Alexander Dennistoun, Peter MacAdam, John Macleroy, John Strang James Aitken, John Gilchrist (of singing noto- riety), James Ramsay, John Telfer, John Gib- son, John Gardner, Jun., George Buchanan, (better known by the nickname of Stocking Geordie), John MacGilp, and William or rather Billy M'Creicht. The "Black Boy" Tavern was on the north side of Gallow- gate. Among the batch of members men- tioned, perhaps John Macleroy, with his umbrella, lived longer than any of his com- peers. He was latterly styled " Old Glory," and was a thick and thin supporter of Church and State, but withal a kind-hearted man. He was, as the song says, " fond fond o' shut- ing" but was a miserable bad shot. He used to exclaim, that upon the butt end of his fowling-piece the emphatic words of "thou Shalt not kill" were engraven; and from our own experience, we know that its wielder made it too frequently keep its word ! To fire at a " sleeping mawkin," as he called a hare in its seat, was his great delight. Here he sometimes showed that his aim was sufficient to fill his otherwise lank and gaping game-bag. Mr Macleroy lived at Craignestock, always retaining much of the hospitality of the "Old Glasgow Cork" or manufacturer. His usual coffee-room invi- tation to dinner was rather coarse, and calculated to make a stranger stare. " "W^ill you come and tak' a slice of a slot's — ?" but with the beefsteak there was always some- thing else, and which was always followed by ffalores of cold punch or hot rum toddy. THE GROG CLUB. 195 gether from tlie practice of making this well-known beverage of tlie navy in a large guaigh, which was circulated regularly round the table ; and as long as it contained a drop, was successively mouthed by each member of the fraternity. The Club, although it usually met late, sat but rarely to " the witching hour." The members, however, or at least the bachelor portion of them, generally continued to suck in as much grog and good humour, at even their shortest sitting, as to return home with a song on their tongue and a sedative in their stomach. How long this jovial- hearted brotherhood might have continued to assemble, had its Club- room remained under the same kind superintendence which it first en- joyed, it is impossible to say ; but all we positively know is, that no sooner had the bustling hostess of the " Black Bov" doffed her widow's garb, and entered asain into the bonds of matrimonv, than the Club became de- funct. The goodly quaigli, alas ! was lined no more with grog, and, dry and deserted, it was borne away to the " Buck's Head" hotel, where it became as guiltless of its primeval usefulness as did the helmet of that beavi-ideal of chivalry, Don Quixote de la ]\Iancha. Of the many animating topics connected with "the turf," " the sod," and " the ring," all of which peculiarly characterised tlje jovial sittings of the Grog Club, none excited the tongues of the members so easily as the one connected with the deeds of the army, and particularly with the doings of their own volunteers.* How many roars of laughter were produced by the recital of an awkward fall, or an odd collision during the hours of * At this period, fi very general interest to "the noble science of self-defence," as was taken in horse-racing, which was greatly pugilism was denominated, if is ci.rtain, from encouraged by the patronage bestowed on it the many advertisements which appear in the by the Duke of Hamilton, and in the annual newspapers of the period, that this sport was races which toolc place in that nobleman's looked upon with considerable favour. Faw- park. At that time tlie Duke and Mr Baird trcll and Partner frequently sparred with of Newl)yth were leading men on the turf j great encouragement in Hemming's great and in 1791 the famous match betwixt these hall in 1791. In the same year Big Sam two celebrated individuals was run over the twice exhibited his powers in the same hotel, course at Hamilton. Cock-fighting, also, and Daniel Mendoza also wielded the gloves was mucli enco\iragcd by many of the lead- against Fawtrell, while in training for his ing citizens, and numerous mains wqy id fought famous contest with Ward, under most aristocratic patronage. And as 196 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. drill ; how many strange tales about mistaken words of command, and the many mishaps which these necessarily had led to ; how many WTy faces were talked of, that might have appeared more happy, if the evening pota- tions had been but shortened ! But among these and many other mili- tary exploits, the two certainly which created the greatest noise, and called for the greatest circulation of the quaigh, was the expedition connected with bringing up the French prisoners from Greenock,* and the never-to-be- forgotten Battle of Garscube. As the circumstances of the latter conflict were communicated to us many long yeai's ago, by one of the brother- hood, and one, too, who himself was in active service on the occasion, we then imagined it would be a sad misfortune if such a volunteer victory should be for ever lost for want of a chronicler. Impressed with this Idea, and full of the facts furnished by this Grog Club eye witness, we quietly sat down, some five-and-twenty years ago, and presented a sketch, as a humble tribute of respect towards the manes of a Club which had been, even then, so long dissolved, and as a small token of love for the memory of a long departed member who had been our kind informant and quon- dam counsellor.f * The French prisoners, a^bove alluded to, don in 1831. It was aftenvards transferred, were captured off the Irish coast, and were without the author's knowledge, full of er- hrought to Glasgow about the close of the rors, to a collection of " Original and Selected year 179G. An immense number witnessed Papers," published in four volumes at Glas- their entrance and procession through the gow. It again appeared in " The Picnic Pa- City. The officers were lodged in the Ton- pers," under the editorship of Dickens, for tine, and the men in the old correction the benefit of the widow of Mr Macrone, house. bookseller; and, in the Appendix to this vol- f For the Battle of Garscube, see Appendix. ume, it now appears with the last corrections This paper was orginally printed in the of the writer. ti Englishman's Magazine," published in Lon- CAMPEEDOWK CLUB. Any person who can still remember the fearful anxiety which prevailed over the length and breadth of this land, when the fatal news of the mutiny at the Nore struck the boldest hearts with dismay, must also re- collect the universal joy which was felt when the intelligence of Duncan's glorious victory, over tlie Dutch fleet at Camperdown, was celebrated in every city and hamlet of Britain. Amid the fame of our naval triumph, the momentary delusion of our British tars was soon forgotten ; while, in the capture of De Winter and the elevation of Duncan to the peerage, the country exhibited at once its glory and its gratitude. It has been the fate of most heroes to obtain, in addition to the usual higher species of adulation bestowed on them by their countrymen, the lesser kindness of having their effigies made the loadstar to houses of public entertain- ment, and even to those smaller temples of pastime especially dedicated to jollitication and merriment. How many countenances of our naval and military commanders have, in their day and generation, been seen swinging in front of our famous hostelries or most comfortable taverns, even from the modern days of Marlborough to the yesterday of Welling- ton ! And, alas ! how many a time and oft has the scarlet coat of the long-departed soldier been metamorphosed into the bluejacket of the suc- cessively ascendant sailor. In our own day, for example, we have seen the portraiture of Wolfe changed by the pencil of some cunning limner into that of Rodney, and even the countenance of Nelson altered into that of Moore ! Sic transit gloria mundi ! If it be so with signboai'ds, those best emblems of popularity, so is it also with Clubs. The world- acknowledged but passing name, which has formed so many powerful links of companionship, loses in a few short years its chai'm. Tiie flag 108 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. under which the past and passing generation occasionally have fallen, is at length struck, and younger men assemble under another banner. So has it been with many a fraternity, and so it now is with the Camper- DOWN Club. It was amid the rejoicings which followed the victory of the lltli October, 1797,* that a choice band of patriotic citizens first assembled to congratulate each other on the glorious result of British valour, and re- solved that they should henceforth choose — as the symbol of the brother- hood which was that night established — the ever memorable epithet of Camperdown. The first meeting of this famous fraternity was held in a tavern in Trongate, at that time kept by the well-known Jane Hunter ; and so numerous and respectable did the Club soon become, that the landlady saw it her interest to enlarge the Club-room, in order to retain the fast-increasing brotherhood. The members who founded this Club might be regarded as the very embodiment of the now almost forgotten ism — Toryism — in its most palmy days. They were, in fact, in sentiment very much like the great majority of their fellow-citizens who belonged to the higher and middle classes. They detested the French, without knowing much about them, and swore against democrats and democracy as most pestilential to the well-being of the social system. They were hence aristocrats in their own way, and in imitation of their idols, the gVQdit fruges consumere fiati, they held that there was no wisdom to be re- lied on, save the wisdom of their ancestors. Unlike the wavering politi- cians of the present day, their creed was fixed and determined ; and, as a proof of their faith, any man would have been deemed a fool or a foe to his country, who could imagine that any other individual could steer the * On 21st Xovember, 1797, the Corporation tained upon the 11th of October last, with of Glasgow presented Lord Duncan with the the British fleet under his command, over freedom of the City, in a handsome gold box, the navy of Holland, in which the good con- "in testimony of the high sense which the duct and bravery of the gallant admiral, and Magistrates and Coimcil entertain of the the officers and the crew of his fleet, were services performed by him to his country in equally conspicuous, and objects of admira- fiis professional line, and in particular by the tion." brilliant and important victory which he ob- WALIER GRAHAM. 199 bark of the State save " the Pilot who weathered the storm." The points of tlie charter held by the original members of the Camperdown Club were — a firm belief in the divine right of kings, in the glorious and un- divided union of Church and State, in the infallibility of Pitt, and in a sovereign contempt for all new-fangled doctrines about parliamentary re- form or religious liberty. With such men and such sentiments, it is easy to conceive how every victory, whether naval or parliamentary, vras indi- vidually and collectively hailed with satisfaction, and that the capture of every French lugger, or the sinking of every Spanish ship, proved a theme of universal jubilation ; and as such events were not rare, but oc- curring almost every day about the close of last century, it is plain that there was no want either of stimulants to add to their jollification, or of subjects suitable for the Club sederunts. Among the founders of this notable fraternity, whose eight o'clock evening meetings were frequent — tlie four o'clock one being confined to the anniversary dinner — it is perhaps necessary to mention one individual as an index to the others, for in this case it might truly be said that, ex lino disce omnes. The gentleman we allude to, was the late highly re- spected Mr "\'\''alter Graham, better known in the City, or rather in the coffee-room, by the sobriquet of the General. Of this notable personage, it may perhaps be safely affirmed, tliat during a long life, he was never known to change an opinion which he had once fairly adopted, either on religion or politics. He detested changes, and declaimed against every innovation even in that most mutable of mundane tilings — fashion ; for, it is well known, that when all his contemporaries were ready to follow the suggestions of Messrs Millar & Ewing, or any other of the authori- ties on outward habiliments, he showed his contempt for such vagaries, by sticking to breeches and white worsted stockings, long after the oldest man in the City had discarded them. At the origin of the Camperdown Club, Mr Graham may be said to have been in the heyday of manhood, and a very fine specimen of humanity he was. Tall, erect, and with a lordly bearhig, he strutted along the Trongate, cane in hand, with the 200 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. air of the wealthiest of the sugar aristocracy — a class of Glasgow society, which, in those days and for some time after, was in the ascendant, and with which interest he was in some way partially connected. He was the steady advocate of high discriminating duties in favour of Colonial produce, and was ever found to patronise rum rather than the choicest Glenlivet, although the latter belonged to our own native industry. The Club beverage, at the close of the century, and for many years thereafter, was for the most part limited to rum punch and rum toddy ; and when it is recollected that every importer of sugar or molasses usually received, by each ai'rival from the West Indies, his half-dozen barrels of delicious limes, to present to his friends and companions, it is plain that there was no lack of that important ingredient to form the mixture, which, according to Glasgowegian taste at least, was long accounted the nearest approxima- tion to the nectar of the gods. On ordinary Club nights, each member sipped his tumbler of punch or toddy, according to his humour ; but on anniversary occasions, every glass of punch was accompanied by a toast, — not, however, as in the present day, with the accessory of that foe to all hilarity — a regular set speech. The toast was given simply with " Here goes !" — and with " Here goes again !" it was swallowed. After the pre- sident had given the " King and Constitution," and the " Hero of Cam- perdown," each member in succession was left to give his own say ; and although there were frequently above a score at the board, it rarely hap- pened that the brotherhood separated before at least half a dozen rounds of healths and sentiments had been ])roposed by each, and swallowed by the whole.* * At that period of Glasgow history, there and more a crying nuisance, and is calculated ■were veiy few puhlic dinners, and far to banish, ere long, sensible men from scenes fewer persons who could make speeches, redolent of such senseless mouthing and ser- than at the present moment, so particularly vile drivelling. "Would that some of our remarkable for solemn and distressing daver- modern after-dinner speechifiers were pos- inrj — a passion which has, however, neces- sessed of the temperament of the great Lord sarily been on the increase since the passing Nelson, who, it is said, was only once afraid of the RefoiTQ Act, which opened up the public in his life, and that was when he was invited platfonns to all fonvard and wordy politicians. to a Lord Mayor's banquet, and was expected The practice is becoming every day more to make a speech ! THE CAMPEBDOWN CLUB. 201 Although the fame of Camperclown was soon somewhat dimmed by that of the Nile* and Copenhagen, and was almost lost in the blaze of Trafal- gar, still the members did not forget their first love, but continued long to assemble under Duncan's banner. As years moved on, members neces- sarily moved off; and with them, some of the opinions and prejudices of the former age were cast off too. The Club was gradually weeded of its extreme opinions, and, a few years after the beginning of the new centiiry, men were admitted to the brotherhood who could advocate the policy of Charles James Fox without running the risk of being tossed out of the window. When the humble annalist of the Camperdown Club was first permitted to join the circle at the annual dinner table of the 11th October — which was at that period laid out in the house of honest John Neilson, of London porter notoriety, and which, like all tavern dinner tables of the time, groaned under the weight of everything but a French repast — the aspect of the fraternity had much changed. For although rampant Toryism might still be seen represented by the honest " General," there was at least one worthy Crum of Whiggery to maintain the balance of power ! The fact is, the Club was then composed of men of all shades of opinion ; and although, from this circumstance, a sufficiently animated discussion was frequently heard, particularly at the period immediately preceding the Reform agitation, still there was never one word uttered that created more discord than was at once easily modulated into perfect harmony by a bumper or two of punch or toddy. The last anniversary dinner of the Camperdown Club took place in the year 1829. It is associated in our recollection chiefly with the melancholy fact, that scarcely one person who was present that day is now in this vale of tears. The highest and the happiest of those whose tongues that night wagged so glibly are now silent and at rest ; while the spirited ^■erbal passage des armes, between the worthy and warm-hearted Doctor • The Glasgow Courier, of 9th October, 1798, Carluke (eighteen miles off), thought Glas- states that " tlie illuminations in and about gow must have been in flames." There was the City were so brilliant, that the people also an illumination in Glasgow, on the 20th who saw them from Mauldslie Law, near April, 1801, for the victory at Copenhagen. 202 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUES. MacArtlmr and his bosom friend and constant companion, Mr James Crum, which that evening afforded so much fun and merriment to all, is now felt as one of those bright visions or conflicts that can never be repeated. Many happy hours have we spent with these two joyous beings. They quitted the scene of their constant companionship within a few days of each other, and like many others who knew them, the expres- sion of our inmost heart was — " pax vobiscum !" The last Camperdown dinner, also, is associated in our recollection with a less grave, or rather, we should say, with a somewhat curious topic, which for some time occupied the attention of the Club. The subject w^as anent the posthu- mous celebrity which the half-mad and odd characters of a city or parish invariably obtain over their wiser contemporaries. The assertion was a startling one, yet, on thinking over it, every one had successively some- thing to offer in support of its truth. The half-witted natural, who is found strolling through the nettled pathway of the country church-yard, is generally far better remembered than the departed pastor of the parish ; and the fitful fancies of the one are often repeated, when the solemn warnings of the other are altogether forgotten. And so is it with the City oddity ; for, even among the Provosts who sported chains about the middle of last century, who is so memorable as Dougal Graham who rung the skellat belli* or who does not remember more of the traditionary tales about Bell Geordie, and of the wit that gained him his appointment, than of the important Bailie's ire that occasioned the poor bellman's dismissal ? In addition to the stories repeated about those City charac- ters, one told a tale about Dall,] the porter of the Mail Coach-office, * Among the many stories which have bellman at once replied, "It's Bunkerhill. floated down the stream of time connected Do you smell the gunpowder? " with the hump-backed Dougal Graham, the f The following short extract is taken from following little anecdote may be noted: — a long and rather graphic picture of this Walking one morning along the Trongate, singular looking personage, which appeared the bellman was accosted by an officer who in the Reformer'' s Gazette newspaper: — had just returned from the American war, "The curious go to a menagerie, at feed- who, laying his hand on Dougal's hump, ing-time, and pay a shilling extra to see the jeeringly asked what it was that he was wild beasts at siipper. But that was nothing, carrjing on his back? to which the witty compared with Dall's devouring a penny pie, GLASGOW CHARACTERS. 203 whose mouth, for size and capacity, would have shamed any of the h^rgest specimens that ever graced the pannel of a Lad-lane stage-coach. Another hinted at the doings of Wee Johnnie Robertson, alias Cuckoo; another described the dancing talents of Johnnie Hill, the delight of the female frequenters of the public Washing-house; another the oratorical ravin o-s and half-penny gatherings o^ John Aitken, the street preacher;* and, in fine, a fifth praised and repeated the glorious couplets oi Blin' Alick, or a triangular scone. One grand bite, and all was over. Down the Avliole concern went at a bound. The nose shook, the lip soaked in grease, or powdered with scone-flour, paused, while the tremendous cavern under- neath gaped wide for more. Dall's raiment consisted of a queerish coat, corduroy knee'd hreeks, rig-and-fur stockings, quarter-hoots well dozed with tackets, and laced with leather whangs, a red comforter, the whole surmounted by a hat, generally a good tleal bashed, from concussions caught in the course of his profession with trunks and other luggage of the mail-coach travellers. He belonged to the ancient fraternity of carriers, or bearers of burdens, now commonly called porters, but was more particularly a sort of hanger-on at, or attache to, the old Mail Coach- office, which then faced the Tron steeple. The best place to see him, was either there or between King William and the French-hom close. "When the coach was away, and time hung rather heavy on his hands, Dall might be seen with the boys, trying his powers at leap-frog, over the well- knowii row of old 24-pounder cannons that stood on end, along the edge of the ' plain- stanes,' opposite the Tontine, a feat that re- quired considerable agility." * A few humorous sketches, written by Mr G. Niel, of the eccentric characters who had flourished in Glasgow, were published by John Smith, bookseller, near the Post-offlce, Albion Street, about the year 1826; accom- I)anicd each by an engraved figure, and sold by him at a penny each. Among them were Jo/in Altkai the preacher, and '■'■Nosey" a famous Saltraarkct shopkeeper, who gained his nickname from having a large indention or hollow, extending below his brow, occa- sioned by an accident he met with ascending the Cross Steeple stairs to hear the music bells perform more powerfully. He changed the articles of his trade every now' and then, from hats to hardware, &c., and became at last a kind of ^^Paiie a' things" or what is now called a " broker," a term which at that time was scarcely knowTi ; in short, his life well accorded with the couplet which was placed before his comical looldng portrait — All trades he tried, but none could find, To yield a profit to his mind. About the period that these sketches were published, there were also living two rather eccentric poets, who at least gained some- what of a Glasgow reputation. The one w-as William Eiddell, by trade a baker. He Avas a l.iroad, brawny, stout-built man, a good pugilist and wrestler. He composed some rather touching and tender letters, which I believe w^ere printed in a small pamphlet form. These effusions, however, were nothing to what he himself styled his " cursing and swearing epitaphs," composed on Glasgow characters, Avhich he used to recite with in- finite gusto. The other small poet was James M'Indoe, a weaver, who issued a small publi- cation, including a rather clever poem be- tween two weavers, who, after drinking heartily, went to rectify the north-east incli- nation of the Cathedi'al spire. In a prize poem which was issued for the best inscrip- tion to be put upon Nelson's Monument after it was struck with lightning, it was supposed that his verses were the best. The conclud- ing line, the only one remembered, was — " Even gods are envious of a Nelsoii's fame ! " 204 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. alias the Glasgoic Homer — not forgetting the important fact, that this peripatetic minstrel was perhaps the first who circulated, among the street public, the news of that victory which had given the name to the Cam- perdown Club — ^^news which he poured forth in the following never-to-be- forgotten stanza : — " Good ncAVS I hare got, my lads, For country and for town ; We have gain'd a mighty fight, On the sea at Camperdown ! Our cannon they did rattle, lads. And we knock'd their top-masts down — • But the particulars you will hear By the post, in the aftei-noivn J" The conversation of the last meeting of the Camperdown Club sug- gested the idea of our writing the history of the Club laureate ; and so we did, immediately after the wandering minstrel and patriotic improvisatore had bade adieu to this ungrateful and unpoetical world, — his death having occurred on the 9th Februarv, 1830.* * The Life of Blind Alick was printed in modern writers have drawn garbled extracts the Scots Times, on the 6th March, 1830, and without any acknowledgment. In the Ap- afterwards reprinted, to a very limited ex- tesdix to this volume, it is again printed as tent, in a neat 8vo form, and privately it first appeared when it received the ap- circulated among a few hibliomaniacal ac- proval of Sir Walter Scott, Mr John G. Lock- quaintances. Since that period, this hrochure hart, and other literary authorities of the has been the quarry from Avhich several day. Banittng l^abits tjurins last ^tntuxv- MERIDIAN CLUB. Whoever has wandered from the Cross of Glasgow to its Wesfergate, before that portion of the Citj attained the ducal appellation of Argyle- street, which it now bears, cannot fail to remember, on leaving the Tron- gate, to have seen an old dingy square building, two stories in height, with small dirty windows, and having two doors, one in front and one behind. At the back of this gloomy mansion, and within a wall, there was a piece of vacant ground bearing one or two stunted trees, and generally occupied by a large hay-stack.* Within the domain itself, now many years removed, it may be truly said that, during the progress of at least half a century, many a happy or painful moment was experienced in the breasts of the active and bustling individuals who daily frequented it. It was in fact here that the oldest banking establishment connected with Glasgow was located, on its removal, about 1776, from the Bridgegate, where it was first fixed in 1750. In the street floor of the tenement, formerly the western wing of the Shawfield mansion, all its monetary transactions were carried on ; and in the flat above, the head and regula- tor of its weighty affairs lived and died. The banking-house to which we allude, it is perhaps almost unnecessary to state, was that known as " the Ship," and the business was carried on under the firm of Carrick, Brown, & Co. The notes which the Company issued were j^rinted partly in blue and partly in black ink, and sported on their face the figure of a vessel in full sail ; and being partly Guinea notes, were far more greedily taken, * A petition to the Magistrates was pre- clicson-street, and Wilson-street, but was sentcd on the 4th November, 1795, for the rcCnscd.— Council lieconh. removal of all hay-stacks in Trongate, Hut- 206 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. throughout all parts of the West of Scotland, than were even the golden effigies of George III. on the coin of the same value.* As this was the first bank that in boyhood we had entered, the impres- sion which that and hundreds of successive visits made on our memory can never be forgotten. We distinctly see before us the dark passage which led into the principal business room, where the cash for cheques or discounted bills was given — the high wooden partition, with its rail and screen, which separated the banking officials from the public — the old desk, of common wood, covered with dirty leather, in which were placed the various notes — the constant motion to which the hinges of this recep- tacle of money were subjected by the active cashier,t whose head was ever and anon required to support the uplifted lid — the slow and solemn enumeration of names by the tall pig-tailed accountant — the cantankerous- looking countenance of the individual who received payment of the bills, and who, with some others, occupied an equally dingy apartment on the south side of the building. We can never likewise forget the small chamber assigned to the then manager himself, well known by the epithet of the " sweating-room," where, seated on a wooden-legged stool, at a high desk, he received all his customers with the greatest coolness and polite- ness ; and when even declining to discount a bill, he ever did so with a courteous smile, and with the never-to-be-forgotten saying — "It's not convenient," which saying, when once uttered, was never to be recalled. What a striking contrast does such a state of things affiard to the present * The original firm of the Ship Banli was up by the Union Bank of Scotland. During Dunlop, Houston, & Co., the first in the firm the halcyon days of the Ship, Mr Robert being the gi-andfather of the late Mr Colin Carrick ruled paramount over its concerns. Dunlop, M.P. for the City. It was next Mr Carrick, although devoted to the bank, changed to IMoore, CaiTlck, & Co., and after- accepted the ofllce of Bailie of the City in wards to Carrick, Brown, & Co. The part- 1796, and of Dean of Guild in 1802 and 1803. ners in this latter firm were Robert Carrick, f Michael Rowand, Esq. of Linthouse, who Nicol Brown of Langfin, David Buchanan of entered this establishment as a lad, and Dnmipellier, John Buchanan of Ardoch, and who, by assiduous attention and persevering some others. When joint stock banks be- indiistry, raised himself to be at last the came the rage, the Ship, haA'ing first joined director - general of the whole establish- the Glasgow Bank, at length was swallowed ment. RISE OF THE MERIDIAN CLUB. 207 day — to the gorgeous telling-rooms of our modern banks, and the admmis- trative superiority of our modern officials!* We have been more particular than perhaps may be considered necessary in describing this establishment of former days, from the circumstance that it was to the peculiar tastes and habits of certain of its officials that Glasgow owed the rise of her Meridian Club. The fact is, it had been the custom of the Ship Bank, since its first establishment, to shut its doors between the hours of one and two o'clock — that being the then universal time for dinner in the City ; and hence, during that space of time at least, every one connected with it w^as allowed to so where or to do what best I.' CD pleased his fancy. While, therefore, the more youthful and sedate dedicated the idle hour to a walk, or some other sober occupation, it was the daily duty of certain of the older and more singular to join a squad of carbuncle-faced worthies, who regularly met in a back parlour of a house in Stockwell-street, for a long time famous for the excellence of its trade and its tipple. The members of this fraternity were all such sworn friends of John Barleycorn, that although it was held by the majority of mankind, even at that drinking period, to be not altogether en regie to call for him before dinner, they, in spite of the fashion, made it an invariable rule to shake hands with that soother of humanity as nearly at noon as possible. The appellation of the Meridian, which was happily made choice of as the sign of their union, will appear as appropriate as it was descriptive, when it is recollected that some of the brotherhood were even busy in their vocation of taking spiritual comfort ere the sun had attained to "high meridian;" and what is more, many of them had a bottle under their belt, and a bee in their bonnet, long before the hour at which modern exquisites conceive that the day can possibly be sufficiently well aired for sunning themselves on the pav^ ! • A coxintrj'man having applied in Decern- longer date than three months;" upon which l»er to Mr Carrlck to discount a bill which the applicant, scratching his head and look- had three montlis and seventeen daj'S to run, ing sl,vly at Kobin, said '-That may be your the banker, after carefully looking at both usual way, sir, but ye ken the days arc unco sides of it, as was his invariable custom, said short at this time o' the j'car!" The bill that " it was not usual to take bills of a was discounted. 208 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. The sittings of this Club, although daily held, were never known to be on any occasion either long or noisy. The individuals, indeed, who com- posed the Meridian, assembled not to speak but to swallow ; a can, and not conversation, was their object ; the greatest extent of their loquacity being rarely carried beyond a " Here goes !" and a " Here goes again !" The fact was, this whisky-bolting divan, being business men, never dreamed of occupying the club-room for more than an hour, or of spending more time than was absolutely necessary for clearing their throats or soothing the irritated coats of their stomachs. We shall never forget the slender six feet nucleus of this knot of forenoon topers — his prismatic proboscis, planted on a cadaverous countenance, and the leering look of his small twinkling eye when any handsome form or pretty face by hazard crossed his path, when wending his way from the bank to the club-room; neither can we forget the mode which he pursued for concealing his Meridian manners from the olfactory nerves of his staid and sober employers. As the clock struck one, it was quite certain that down from the bank the member ran to join his already assembled cordial companions. And as the sittings of the fraternity were so short, and his business sanctum so near, there was no difficulty in performing all the duties of a member of the Meridian within the limited term of its daily sederunt. The only difficulty, in fact, he experienced, was how he might best kill the flavour of the Ferintosh, which, he well knew, was little less than poison to the populace before one o'clock, although felt to be palatable and medicinal after four. He thought of many modes of sweetening his stomach's tell- tale zephyr, and at last, for that special purpose, hit upon a specific equal to the most potent lozenges which any modern Butler has since invented. Delighted with the discovery, he felt determined one day, on returning from Stockwell, to communicate the valuable secret to another equally Meridian-minded banking-house brother. Armed, therefore, with the required specific in his hand, and a goodly portion of it in his stomach, the copper-nosed member slipped into what was emphatically designated the " other room," and stealing behind a blue-coated character, occupying AN AWKWAED MISTAKE. 209 tlie place of his bottle companion, lie gave liim a hearty slap on the back, and presenting the specific, cried out, with joyful satisfaction, " Plere, my old cock, is one of Robin's deceivers for you !" The hawk-eye which was immediatelj^ upturned from gloating over the fohos of a gold-telling ledger — of one of whom, in verity, it might be said with Spenser, that "His life ■(vas nigh imto death's door yplaste; And thread-ljare cote and cobbled shoes he wore ; He scarce good morsell all his life did taste, But both from backe and belly still did spare To till his bags, and richessc to compare, Yet child ne kinsman living, had he none To leave them to," — and who, that day, most unfortunately had wandered, during the interval, from his sweating chamber, told the would-be deceiving member of the Meridian that he himself was, at least in this instance, the deceived. Ashamed of having thus, by mistake, indorsed the back of his employer for that of his associate, he would have fain protested against his want of attention, as he was wont to do against that of others ;* but the " not convenient" look and bow of his master — for it was really him — stilled him into silence, and caused him to retire with as sorrowful a heart as ever fell to the lot of any hapless needy wight, who was doomed to receive the like hope-blasting answer to a demand for discount. We have fre- quently thought what a striking picture this occurrence would have made in the hands of an Ostade or a Wilkie ! The master's short, round, composed-looking figure, with his keen and scrutinising features, over which flowed a rather thin crop of greyish hair, tied together behind with * Mr Marshall was then in the habit of oat-meal cake against the smell of whisky, protesting all unpaid bills, or what was then he put the question, Avhat was the most ef- ironically designated furnishing them with a fective remedy for this ? upon Avhieh the great-coat. The specific wliich ^Ir IMarshall Doctor readil}' answered, "Oh yes, I can tell adopted to conceal his Meridian manners you;" and tapping Mr Marshall gently on was a mouthful of oat-cake toasted brown. tlie shoulder, said, "Johnnie, my man, if you Senkx tells the following anecdote of this tuk a glass o' aqua, and dinna want ony body worthy : — Meeting witli Dr Towers one day to ken o't, just tak twa glasses o' rum after on the street, and being desirous to obtain it, and the deil a ane will ever suspect o' even some better specific than his bm-ned j'our ha'ing tasted a drap o' whisky!" 210 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. a small black ribbon into a sort of petty pigtail — his coat of dark blue, double-breasted, and hanging down to his heels — his woollen waistcoat, with broad and narrow stripes running up and down, and ornamented with pearl buttons — his nether garments, reaching only to his knee — and his limbs encased in white broad-ribbed stockings, with their extremities planted in a pair of wide high shoes, tied, like his hair, with a similar black silk ribbon ; before him the open ledger, and all the singular still-life adjuncts of the curiously-lighted apartment ; and next, the servant, with his tall, gaunt form, and his flxce redolent of every colour with which a limner might dream to set his pallet, before beginning to idealise the character of John Barleycorn himself — his hoary locks, gathered into a heavy club-tie — his piercing eye and outshot lips when anything excited him, and particularly when the idea of a brimming goblet flitted, either in memory or anticipation, athwart his brain — his odd-cut coat, shaped as with the shears of many a bypast age — his straight but slender legs^ frequently "faithless to the fuddled foot," and protected from cold by worsted hose — his left hand outstretched, filled with the concentrated essence of deceit, while his upraised right was at the instant falling with all the rapture of a successful dodge on the shoulder of his unknown master ; — what a glorious speaking group would such a pair have formed ! A picture like this would have required none of that endless drumming for support, which is now-a-days so pertinaciously practised in behalf even of the most meritorious of modern pictorial efforts. As to the original, we may safely affirm, that while the banker himself might probably have grudged to give so much gold for so little canvas,* sure are we, that each member of the Club of which the Avorthy accountant was the loadstar, would have exerted himself to preserve for posterity so illustrative a record and reminiscence of the Meridian Club. The two individuals of whom * It is told of a ■^vell-kno^^^l manufacturer demanded its price. " It is only twenty and friend of the banker, who, having called guineas," said the painter. " I am afraid," on an artist of some celebrity in the City, said the man of muslin, " it's too dear for me, with the view of pmxhasing some of for I am buying far bigger pictures for less his landscapes, and having admired one, siller!" FINAL MEETING. 211 we have just been speaking, are now long gone to that " undiscovered country," to which the one could not transport his gold, and in which the other will not need to declaim, as was his constant custom, when carrying a glass to his mouth, against the brandy-denying duties of the Excise. The Meridian Club continued to meet for years even after the demise of its original and most regular member ; for verily the mantle of this pig-tailed father of the fraternity most happily fell on the shoulders of an equally worthy pig-tailed character, commonly called the Sherra* whose daily devotion to the cause of forenoon potations tended, in a great measure, to keep together, longer probably than modern usages would have permitted, this most remarkable knot of noontide topers. They have all, however, each in his turn, been doomed to drink the last bottom of the favourite beverage of the brotherhood. The score, in fact, has been made up, and the reckoning settled. But we must in justice add, that, notwithstanding all which temperance societies and restricted licensing have done to restrain the bibulous propensity of Scotsmen, we believe there are yet, at the present hour, many occasional Meridian Clubs held within this great and growing City — that it is, in fact, still the custom for the craftsmen of the town, and the farmer from the country, to imagine that no business can be properly settled except when sealed with the spirit of John Barleycorn. Some of these, we have no doubt, may still be found nestling about the head of Stockwell-street ; — but, as a faithful annalist, before closing for ever the door of the singular and long-frequented Meridian Club-room, we must chronicle the melancholy fact, that even the bustling Boniface who, at the final meeting of the far-famed Meridian, ministered to the members' wants, has likewise reached the goal of all earthly toil and anxiety. From our heart we say of all, Requiescant in pace ! * Mr M'Lcllan, coaclimaker, father of the late Arcliibald M'Lellan, Esq. E\)t ^ugar ^rtstocracg. PIG CLUB. Previous to the breaking out of the unfortunate American war, in 1775, Glasgow may be said to have been almost exclusively a commercial City ; and at that period v/ealth, as we have seen, was confined to but a few notable individuals, who lived apart, and rarely mixed with the other more numerous class of the population, who, comparatively speaking, were in but ordinary circumstances. The style and living of the two classes were totally different, and there was then a status, in point of rank and bearing, far more marked than what exists between the peer and the successful tradesman of the present day. The shock which this fatal war gave to the property of the City was terrible. Some of the Virginia lords ere long retired from the trade, and others of them were ultimately ruined. Business, for a time, was in fact paralysed, and a universal cry of distress was heard throughout the town. At length the exertions of the citizens were thrown into other channels — the West Indies offered its sugar culti- vation to some, and the introduction of the cotton manufacture attracted others. Through these means, many years had not passed over before riches became more widely diffused, and a more general respectability became apparent. The chasm between the merchant and the tradesman was gradually being filled up ; the difference of rank and position became less evident ; and, along with this, a great improvement took place in the habitations and dress of the whole population. By the time that the French Revolution again brought the country into war, the City had increased very considerably ; and, during the few years which preceded that event, foreign commerce was found to be daily increasing, while manufacturing establishments were rising on every hand. The fruits of this industry soon exhibited themselves in the extension of the City. RISK OF THE PIG CLUE. 213 Handsome private mansions were being erected, botli in the east and tlie west; while public edifices, devoted to religion or dedicated to amusement, were rapidlj rising throughout the City. The general character of the people, which, at a more early period, was remarkable for its ascetic severity and apparent sanctity of manners, had somewhat changed ; and the inhabitants of Glasgow had become, in liberality, more in unison with the feelings and conduct of their neighbours. The theatre was not now looked upon as altogether the temple of Satan. Mrs Siddons and Jack Bannister were patronised by most classes without compunction ; while dancing — that enlivening pastime for the young — vras as much en- couraged as it had formerly been denounced. Times had changed, and manners too. Industry had produced wealth, and with it generally came increased comfort, and even luxury and elegance. It was when Glasgow had reached this comparatively comfortable con- dition, that there arose a Club which, from the proud position attained in society by its several members, may well be designated a truly aristocratic fraternity. The Club to which we allude was certainly known by a very odd name ; but the reason why that name was adopted is not now very certain. Under the designation of the Pig, a Club began its sittings in the month of October, 1798, and continued to assemble till the year 1807. It has, however, been suspected, and perhaps with some truth, that the origin of the fraternal symbol might be attributed to the necessary appear- ance of a roasted suckling, of six weeks old, being placed before the president at every Club dinner; but if this be found to be apocryphal, it is at least known for certainty, that the president was bound to wear round his neck, at every meeting, a silver chain, to which was attached the figure of a pig ; and so strictly was this enforced, that on every occasion when the member occupying the chair appeared in the Club-room, either from hurry or neglect, without exhibiting the Club jewel, he was instantly fined in a bottle of rum for the benefit of the Club.* • " May 9th, 1807.— The pveses, Mr Gordon, is fiacd in a bottle of rum for neslcctiag to bring the pig." — Club MiniUV AND ITS CLUBS. following are one or two stanzas taken from tlie prologue, written for the occasion, by Mr "William Anderson, of the Glasgow Courier: — "And now the stage, too long upon tlie v.ane, Here, -where your fathers met, resumes its reign ; Here, Yoimg and Kemble charm'd the admiring age ; Here, Siddons swept, like glory, o'er the stage. Within these walls your fathers felt the mind, That roused to rapture, and entranced mankind." The renewed taste which had gradually sprung up for the public stage, had also excited within the breasts of several of the citizens, at least the younger portion of them, a love for private theatricals. Although during the last century, there were few parents who even permitted their sons and dauo-hters to enact the tragedy of "Douolas," or the Scottish drama of the " Gentle Shepherd ;" still, about the commencement of the present century, we remember several distinct bands of private performers who got up the "Miller of Mansfield" and the "Vintner in the Suds," and even some of the plays of Shakspere, in a very creditable manner, not forgetting all the adjuncts of scenery, foot-lights, and music. With the Balderston^ &c., scarcely a rival on the stage. monument, raised by his indefatigable and As an able theati-ical manager, he has rarely kind-hearted partner and mother of his been equalled anywhere, and for energy, children, marks the spot where his ashes are activity, and resource, never surpassed. In laid, and on v.hich is inscribed the following Glasgow he was, for many years, one of her true and touching epitaph, from the pen, we greatest characters, and, in his own character believe, of Mr James Hedderwick, Editor, of of Allele, none was better kno\NTi or more the Glasgow Citizen: — talked of. The theatiucal profession pre- serve many racy anecdotes of his odd and striking saj-ings ; but, In addition to his wit ^, ,.,,,. , , , , , . Oft lavish plaudits from the crowd he drew, and humour, he had qualities of sterling .1, ,,• ^ ,1.. ,, «..I^^ uLtuAuut, iiv. iiuu. vj^ V n And laua-hing eyes confess d his humour true. worth. Though, in his dealings with others, 3^ i^.^ xhalia here her ^^^U keep, he was by some accounted keen and parsi- And learn with sad Melpomene to weep: monious, he never swerved from the path of Xo mimic woe now claims a fleeting tear- honour and honesty. Amid a difficult and The tragic end of all his toils is here. arduous life, he still preserved a spotless Here fond AffecUon reais this sculptured stone, moral character, redeemed four theatres from ^-^^ ^"i^'°«^ »°^ «"^<="^'l ^""^ ^'^ ?^"»- ,, ^ ,, ^11^1-^-1 A constancy unshaken unto death, bankruptcv, and bequeathed to his familv, , ^ ■' . ^ „....,. , . ,. TT A truth unswerving, and a Christian s faith. as the result of nearly forty years of Hercu- ^^.,_^ „^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ,,^,.^ ^^^,^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ . lean labour, a handsome competency. Mr oh weep the Man more than the Actor lost- Alexander died in December, 1851, and was Full many parts he played ; yet, to the end, buried in the Necropolis, where a handsome His best were those of Husband, F.-itlier, Friend." ' Fallen is the curtain ! the last scene is o'er ! The favourite Actor treads life's sta GLASGOAV AND ITS CLUBS. aiidgallant citizens, there was ever the bestfeehiig maintained; for, ahhough, in the wordy war of wit and humour, evolved by not unfrequent libations, which sometimes led to thoughtless passion, there were many combatants, still, such was the dominant spirit of the society, that there never existed a quarrel more than was easily soldered up by an additional glass of grog, or by a happy joke from the chairman. Perhaps this peculiarly peaceful attribute of the fraternity it owed to its early admixture of military men with civilians, and the necessarily useful control on the tongue, which at that time military etiquette happily enjoined. Even long after the period when Dr Drumgold was called away from Glasgow, to fulfil more impor- tant medical duties elsewhere, was this Club found a favourite rendezvous of the recruiting officers of the district, and also of the bachelor officers in the barracks ; and hence there was always a gentlemanly spirit infused into the whole proceedings of the brotherhood, even up to the latest hour of the sederunt.* Mr W. G. Park. " Charles Todd. " Thomas Hopkirk. " James Haldane. " Thomas Arthur. " James Tassie. " Wm. Eobertson. " JohnM'Nair. " Robert Gray. " John Brown, Yst. " Adam Bald. " AVilliam Shand. " James jNIilligan. " James Graham. " Stewart Smith. " Richard Gillespie, " John Gillies. " William Scott. " John Austin. " T. Hamilton, Jan. " Archibald Lang. " Andrew Ranken. " Charles Foster. " A. W. Shand. " George Lawson. Jlr G. Hamilton, Jim. " Boyd Dunlop. " Robert Taylor. " John Loudon. " John Aitken. " John Wardlaw. " John M'Lean. " Macbeth. " John Melville. " Hugh Hamilton. " Robert Lindsay. " J. Pattison, Jun. " John Hinshaw. " Mathcw Buchanan. " Alexander Gax-den. " Alexander Muirhead. " Archibald Hamilton. " George Buchanan. " Wm. Hamilton. " Boden. " J. L. Reiss. " Edward Gilchrist. &c. &c. &c. * Among the hundreds of colonels, majors, captains, lieutenants, and surgeons of the TORYISM OF THE " WHAT-YOU-PLEASERS."' 273 Of the opinions of the brotherhood, who thus assembled nightly to talk over the affairs of the countrj and city, it is perhaps enough to say, that although the generality were fully imbued with the dominant Tory feel- ings of the times, there were a few among their number who occasionally had the courage to dispute the wondrous " wisdom of our ancestors" — a doctrine at that time much in the ascendant. As a special example of their love for the Scottish Toryism of the day, it may be mentioned, that the Club, on hearing of the acquittal of Lord Melville, at once ordered the illumination of tlieir Club-room, which was done in the most brilliant and effective manner. In this tallow-destroying expression of admiration and satisfaction, the Club appears to have frequently indulged, during the many years they met in Mrs Porteous's in the Saltmarket, in Mrs Elmslie's in King-street, and in Henderson's (opposite the Guard-house) in Candleriggs ; and while, by doing so, they certainly pleased themselves and flattered their own vanity, they at the same time always succeeded in exciting the astonishment of the more juvenile portion of the public. There was one sentiment, however, in which all the members were agreed, and that was, a patriotic love of their country, united to a feeling of gratitude towards any one who had done the country service. Fi'om their minutes, we find that a prett}^ large sum was first subscribed towards the erection of the monument to Lord Nelson on the Green, and thereafter towards the iron railinor which surrounds it. A handsome sum was also contri- buted by the brotherhood towards the statue of Sir John Moore, while army elected honorary membei-s of the Club, pleted their training by carting their field- we find, from the following minute of 7th officers through tlie streets of Glasgow in April, 1809, that the late alile Convener of post-chaises drawn by men. Some of the the County of Banff" was admitted: — "Ko- carriages were stuck round by flambeaux, bert Ma5'ne, Esq., proposed Harry Lumsden of and his Majesty's colours were carried in Auchindoir an honorary member of the Club," front l)y armed men. The Duke of ]\[ontrose who was uniinimonsly admitted on the 10th had the day Ijcfore complimented these corps April. The following historical minute also on their very soldierlike appearance." It is appears on the 31st July of the same year:— recorded also in the Club minutes that, "on "This day the 3d and oth Keginients of the 3Uth May, 1801», the snow on the ground Lanarkshire Local Militia, lately the Ander- was six inches deep, yea, even ou the ston and Trades' Corps of Volunteers, com- streets." 274 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. their generosity was frequently sliown in considerable donations to the Royal Infirm ar3\ In perusing the curious records of the What-you-please Club, while one cannot but be struck with the ever recurring evidence that a playful irony was the characteristic of their nightly meetings, he will, at the same time, find that even the chairman himself was not safe from the geggery to which all were subjected. It was when ISIr Thomas Orr sat for some time as perpetual president — in the handsome chair which, with certain other pieces of furniture, had been specially made by Messrs Cleland &, Jack for the use of the fraternity — that no little disturbance arose on that gentleman discovering that some unknown member had appended to his signature of the former night's minute the title of Kilhuckie. Although this waggish epithet was, so far as his face was concerned, practically applicable to the president, the Club testified their displeasure against the culprit, by fining him, " if ever discovered," in two bowls of punch.* Mr Orr, apparently or willingly blind to the joke, placed on the minutes the following lines : — " Whoe'er wrote Kilbixckie under my name, Does himself litile credit, and I lose little fame; Killmckie's a title I do not well know, Reflects on your wisdom — like mine, 'tis so so. I support a great title, the head of this Club, The members themselves did me President dub ; * The Avaggish addition of the name of your face cost you?" alluding to his port- Kilbuckie to Mr Orr's name, arose from the wine complexion — to which Kilbucko re- similarity which his countenance bore to plied, "Please your majesty, I cannot sa}', that of General Dickson of Kilbucko, who it is not yet finished!" It is mentioned in was a famous man in his day, not more Sir David Stewart of Garth's History of the distinguished for his gallantry in the field. Highland Eegiments, that after returning than for his feats as a Bacchanalian, by from the Egyptian campaign, in which he which, and gambling, he squandered the most liad lieen wounded, Kilbucko happened to be of his estate, originallj' a large one. As he marching through Peebles at the head of the long commanded the 42d, he was well known 42d, on the eve of an election for a member in Glasgow. It has been told of Kilbucko of Parliament, and such was the enthusiasm with truth, that, when on one occasion at the of the electors for the soldier, that they Court of George III., the king said to him, spontaneously elected him M.P. " Dickson, how much did the painting of PROFESSIONAL FRATERXIZIXG. 275 You're a member, 'tis true, but don't me attack, The title you gave me, recoils on your bacli ; On your back, have I said? it sliould have been on your head. For the censui-e you'll never get over till dead ! "* In addition to the excitement of the punch bowl and the tidbits from the kitchen, the Club-roora offered likewise the sole use of two Glaso;ow newspapers, which were got for the special delectation of the members — the papers selected beincy the Courier and the Journal, at that time in the heyday of their popularity. It appears, also, that as a peculiar safe- guard against any ungentlemanliJce conduct, the Club, on the 11th Maj', 1809, purchased a pair of pistols, powder, and ball, which, so far as known, lay long quite ur.disturbed in the armoury, clearly testifying, that although many of the honorary members hailed from the Emerald Isle, none of them, fortunately, seemed to have inherited the ruling passion of Sir Lucius O'Trigger ! Among the many attractions already mentioned, which the What-you- please nightly presented to its numerous members, there was none, as we have hinted, so great as the occasional companionship of the gentlemen of the theatre. Here it was the invariable practice for those gentlemen, who els&wdiere were cliary of their talents, to cast aside all professional etiquette, and throw their mite into the treasury of the evening's hilarity, by at once volunteering some of their best and most racy songs. Many a time and oft, within the circle of this Club, has Jack Bannister raised the loud and uproarious guffaw ; \\ hile Charles Incledon made each member's heart thrill with the music of " Black-eyed Susan," or drew forth a tear with the tender notes of " Poor Tom Bowling." Frequently, too, has John Sinclair here dashed off one or two of the melodies of the " Beg- gar's Opera ;" while ^lathews has made the roof ring with the horn of his famous " Mail Coach ;" and though last, certainly not least, has Irish * Mr Tliomas Orr soon after went to To- you-please-C'lul) in that island, under the bago. Previous to his leaving Glasgow, the annual triliutc of sending a turtle to tlie brotherhood, on the 22d October, 1807, pre- mother Club, sented him with a charter to hold :i What- 276 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Johnston electrified his audience with " I was the boy for bewitchino; 'em." It was on such occasions, tliat the Club-room was ever found full to over- flowinii, and that the members invariably forgot either to look at their watches, or listen to the chimes of the clock. At such moments^ no doubt, all present must have felt how true it is that — "Time, like a pitiless master, Cries, ' onward,' and spurs the gay hours : Ah, never does Time travel faster Than ■when his way lies among flowers !" And, even when the parting bumper was quaffing, all agreed that " The sweetness that pleasure has in it, Is always so slow to come forth. That seldom, alas ! till the minute It dies, do we know half its worth !" • The What-you-please Club may be said to have attained its grand climacteric about the year 1810 or 1812, and continued to be well patron- ised for at least ten or fifteen years thereafter. About this time, Mr William Tait, of newspaper-printing and Lyceum notoriety, and who was better known by the sobriquet of Billy Types, was then looked upon as the load-star of the fraternity. Almost every night, when in Glasgow, did this anecdotical gentleman, about eight o' clock, take his accustomed chair at the board ; and, by his bland and courteous demeanour, he did much to keep the more youthful and spirited members in order. He was a fellow, if not, like Yorick, of " infinite wit, and most excellent fancy," at least of good manners, and bung-full of innocent fun. He was a man replete with fine feelings and the gentlemanly bearing of the good old school of French society, before it had been seethed of its politesse by the Revolution. Mr Tait had, in fact, passed some of his early years in France and Holland ; and, unlike most of his countrymen, had largely benefited by his foreign residence, returning home a more polished and a better • By a minute, we find that Messrs Foote, Carleton, and Trueman, were present ou the 12th January, 1809. THE CHEAP-AND-NASTY CLUB. 277 man than when he left his native City. In consequence of his polite and agreeable manners, he was, in his earlier days, a welcome visitor at many of the best tables of the town ; but, latterly, from the loss of departed friends and accumulating years, he was enabled to devote more evenings to the Club than he was once able to afford. Tlie fact is, that Club habits became more and more congenial to his taste, and he latterly felt it to be almost a sin to allow a nioht to close without visiting the What- you-please. Being a sworn bachelor, though by no means blind to the fascinations of the fair sex, his ambition was limited ; for we have often heard him say, when, like many others more grasping, he was comfortably seated in the "wishing chair," that his highest desire was to have a one pound note placed every morning on his breakfast table ! From the circumstance of Mr Tait being for many years justly regarded a3 the nightly nucleus of the What-you-please, the Club in the course of time ran the risk of losing its original name. In honour of the chairman, some of tlie youthful supporters began to call it the " Tete-a-tete;" and some time afterwards it was dubbed the "Finish," and the " New." Under these various epithets, the Club struggled on for some time, but at length, like many other aliases, its good name became blighted. The older hands gradually became chary of their patronage, and the young ones almost instantly neglected their bantling for something more racy, till the What-you-please, which once boasted more members than any Club within the sound of St Muno-o's bell, at length dwindled down to something less than a score, and after exchanging its nightly for a weekly meeting, finally gave up the ghost; which obliged more than one of its best supporters to seek refuge from ennui amid the fumes of rum toddy and tobacco in the " Cheap-and-Nasty." Startle not, fastidious reader, at the designation of a Club, which first held its sittings in the forsaken kitchen of one who claimed an alliance, at least in name, with the valiant ]\Iontrose ; for, know that the Chcap- and-Nasty, had for its supporters not only burgh dignitaries who had been hatted and unhattecl, but justices and ex-justices, bailies and ex-bailies, 278 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. ay, even clown to the very functionaries employed in drawing and exe- cuting a mittimus. Of sncli a mixed court of Oi^er and Terminer, it might perhaps be deemed treason to say more than this, that, in spite of the name which it bore, there was no lack of wit and humour amid the puffing of cigars and the rattling of spitoons ; and althongh the room was small and the roof low, still the rum wliich filled the crystsl timothies Avas always found to be a part of Wallace of Kelly's double runnings, and the " soothing weed" the best that Cuba could furnish. For such luxuries, however, the landlord being content to accept of a shop, not a tavern price, it was discovered, ere many years had rolled over, that his trade was not a profitable one. Tlie sale of what teetotalers denominate poison was consequently given up; the Club was set adrift; and the worthy Boniface, having asked and obtained from the Corporation the office of a church warden, commenced the lugubrious duty of interring a few of those who may have hastened their journey to the cemetery through such potations as he was wont to deal in, but far more that had been arrested in life's career through that ao;encv which neither the veo;etarian nor the water- tj o •> try drinker can control ! One sentence more on the Cheap-and-Nasty, and we have done. Notwithstanding the opprobrious name, which it is believed was bestowed on this Club, not by its own members, but by those who had no great admiration for certain rather prominent legal individuals belonging to the conclave, it must not be forgotten that it was in the bosom of this fraternity that Heath and Hopkirk* received the first idea of the now scarce volume containing those clever west country caricatures * Jir Heath came to Glasgow, from Lnn- respectable family, with rather a shattered don, to paint two or three large panoramas, fortune. He was endowed with an excellent and while here, amused himself occasionally heart and rare natural talents. He possessed in caricaturing the leading follies of the day, a highly cultivated mind and considerable as he had previously done in the Metropolis. scientific acquirements. lie was extensively At that period, litliography was in its infancy acquainted with natural histoiy, particularly in Gla.«gow— the only press being that be- with botany, and was one of the earliest pro- longing to IMr Hopkirk in George-street, and moters of tlie Glasgow Botanic Gardens. He which was successfully employed in printing spent the latter years of his life in Ireland, the "Northern Looking-Glass." Mr Hopkirk and died there on the 23d of August, 1841. was the representative cf an old and most THE NORTHERN LOOKING-GLASS. 279 ^vllich, under the title of the " Northern Looking-Glass," for many months during tlie year 1825, kept the members of the Police Board in hot water and the citizens in roars of laughter, and contributed not a little by the cutting ridicule of its pictorial illustrations and its literary typography, to arrest the force of the pitiless muck which was at that moment running agiiinst the character of an excellent public functionary, and an old and respectable citizen.* * The late Mr James Hai'die of Lancefield. ^lasrjo^ ^J^om \795 to 1815. COUL CLUB. However much the blessings of peace may advance the substantial interests of a nation, it is nevertheless certain that GLisgow, even during tlie many miserable drawbacks of the long-protracted French war, made unexampled progress, not only in population and wealth, but also in social condition. Daring the twenty years which preceded the victory of Waterloo— that ha])pily closed the murderous strife which had so long existed between France and Britain, never, it is hoped, to be renewed— the first great step was made in the progress of Glasgow. Previous to that period, the trade and commerce of the City were, comparatively speaking, in the hands of a few enterprising individuals, who were reo-arded, bv the mass of the citizens, with a more than ordinary degree of respect and veneration. While the tobacco trade existed, as we have already seen, the class engaged in this lucrative business was limited, and their position in society was special and prominent. But no sooner had the Virginia lords thrown aside their scarlet cloaks, gold-headed canes, cocked hats, and bushy wngs, and left the field open to the ambition and enterprise of the wider circle of merchants engaged in the growing commercial intercourse with the West Indian Colonies and foreign countries, than a new order of things began to be developed. Business of all kinds became diffused among the citizens. The two great classes of society, into which the City had been so long divided, gradually disappeared. The merchant and manufiicturer were now seen amalga- mating ; while the strict social barrier, which so long separated the INCREASING EXTENT OF THE CITi'. 281 tradesman from the foreign trader, was henceforward swept away, amid the daily intercourse of business men, which, after 1781, had been taking place under the canopy of the pjublic News-room at the Cross. Trade, in fact, was now regarded under anew and more universal phase ; and society assumed a more cosmopolitan condition, under a happy amalga- mation of all classes. Bear with us, then, kind reader, while we endea- vour to chronicle a few of the leading events and peculiarities of those twenty years of progress, as a fitting introduction to the various Club circles of congenial spirits which flourished during that eventful and changeful period. As a first pi'oof of this onward march of the City, it may be mentioned that the population, in 1795, might be fairly taken at about 70,000 ; whereas, in 1819, it was 147,000, having more than doubled in four-and- twenty years. With this increase of population, there was consequently a vast increase of building, not only for the accommodation of the increasing inhabitants, but to meet the demands of trade and manufactures. It was now that Glasgow, indeed, first began seriously to break the boundaries of her ancient burgh, and to stretch her streets into a territory free from the incubi of burgh burdens ; rendering it at length necessary, in the further progress of time, to abolish utterly the antiquated obligations on tradesmen, and to extend the municipal limits of the City, under entirely new regulations.* During those twenty years, although the private houses externally were very inelegant, the public buildings erected in the City were both numerous and handsome ; showing that while domestic habitations, in their exterior aspect unfortunately indicated — as it seemed to be the case everywhere • From 1795 to 1815, the following streets Brunswick-place in 1805; South and North were opened: — Barrack-street in 1795; North Albion-streets in 1808; West St Yincent- Virginia-street in 179G; Stirling-street and street in 1809; St George's-place in 1810; Nelson-street in 1797; Cathcart-street in Dimdas-street in 1812; Great Hamilton-street 1798; M'Alplne, Brown, and Carrick-strects in 1813; and JI'Farlane-street in 1815; while in 1800; Bath, Gordon, Portland, Kent, and all tlic other streets and lanes in the City Suffolk-streets in 1812; Richmond and St underwent, particularly in the shop depart- Vincent-streets in 1801 ; Stirling-square and ment, numerous important alterations. 232 GLASGOW AXD ITS CLUBS. during the war — iieitlier great beauty nor much taste, the architects found, in the pubHc buildings of the day, the means of recording some- what of both. Indeed, in spite of all the official Vandalism prevalent, and which throuo;h ignorant interference with the Avell-weiglied plans of educated architects, tended then as it has at all times done, to destroy public edifices placed under corporate or directorial control, it is satis- factory to think that there were at that time many magnificent and memorable monuments erected in the City. We may merely allude to the Assembly and Concert-rooms in Ingram-street, Hutcheson's Hospital, the Queen-street Theatre (since burned), the Hunterian Museum, St George's Church and spire, Nelson's Monument, the Gorbals Church and spire, the old Lunatic Asylum (now the Town's Hospital),* the new Court-houses and Jail at the Green,t and the Roman Catholic Chapel in Clyde-street ; in all of which the peculiar genius of Hamilton, Starke, and Gillespie Graham appear abundantly conspicuous. While these architectural specimens of the taste of the period were being consecutiyely erected, other important works were likewise com- menced or continued, tending to impel the onward progress of Glasgow. Among these were, the increased deepening of the riyer Clyde, and the extension of the harbour of the Broomielaw — the introduction of water into the City, by the Glasgow and Cranstonhill Companies — the formation of the Ardrossan Canal — the great extension of a better system of sewerage and a better paving of the streets — and, above all, the practical applica- tion of steam to the impelling of vessels. These, with other economic matters, such as the establishment of a new bank, and of new agencies of those established elsewhere — the discovery and application of the power- loom, by Mr John Monteith — the establishment of the Bandana printing, by Messrs Heniy Monteith, Bogle, & Co. — the introduction of the manu- facture of cudbear and other chemical products, by Messrs George M'ln- * On the 12tli December, 1809, the Corpo- f The cost of tliese buildings, to the Cor- ration subscribed £500 towards this asylum. poration, was little less than £40,000. SOCIAL PROGRESS OF THE CITT. 283 tosh & Co., and of vitriol, bleaching-powder, &c., by Messrs Charles Tennant & Co. — and the increasing development which the power of steam had not onlv jriven to the coal trade, but towards the first establish- ment of the manufacture of iron, — all tended to accelerate that onward progress which has since rendered Glasgow one of the first mercantile Cities in the world. Increasing wealth and increasing capital necessarily followed in the wake of this mighty advancemejit ; and, in their train, increasing social comfort and luxury. Hence, during the twenty years which ran their course from ] 795 to 1815, there was, perhaps, a greater change observable in the social con- dition of Glasgow, than for any twenty years that ever occurred before or since. The change was one, too, that indicated a vast improvement in the condition of the whole inhabitants, permeating, as it did, all the varied circles into which the growing City was then, as it has since, been divided. As a leading improvement, it may be stated, that every class lived in a better house, and, what is more, had their houses better furnished than formerly. Keceptions in bed-rooms, by any pretending to keep company, were abandoned entirel}' ; Avhile dinner parties, to which ladies were invited, became more frecpient. The drawing-room ceased to be disgraced, as it was wont too frequently to be, with the presence of intoxicated men ; nor were such any longer seen staggering from the dining-room, with "tongues unable to take up the cumbrous word," when called upon by the hostess to declare whether they preferred tea to coffee ! The fact is, that drinking to excess had gradually become less and less fashionable ; and the too common occurrence of finding half a dozen of the guests, at every dinner party, borne away home, by some of their more potent companions, in a state almost approaching to speechlessness and insensibility, became more and more rare, until the abettors of this over-bibulous fashioif entirely disappeared from the scene. If we would indeed contrast the drinking socialities of the close of the last century with those wliich i)re- vailed after the peace purchased by Waterloo, the improvement would appear mcjst striking. Instead of the great mass of tlie shopkeepers and 284 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Other tradesmen of the City, as we have seen, invariably settling their business matters over forenoon potations, the thing became almost un- known, or was at least outwardly unpractised; while the open exhibition of intemperance, on the part of men in respectable stations, and which formerly produced neither a damning effect on their business reputation, nor on their character as gentlemen, was not only abandoned, but, if met with, was looked upon as an offence against good manners, and was in- variably visited by certain banishment from all reputable society. If serious drinking was seen gradually to diminish during the period we are sketching, it is also certain that profane swearing became more and more rare. Oaths which, in the eighteenth century, were wont to be used as a seasoning to the common parlance of every social assembly, and, what is more, distinguished particularly the naval and military vocabulary, were every year less and less heard ; till at length the use of such gross and indecent epithets, as are to be met with in the colloquies of Fielding, Smollett, and other writers of these days, came to be regarded as serious blemishes in the character and manners of a gentleman. With the abandonment of drinkino; and swearing, the dininn;-room became earlier deserted, and the drawing-room more early peopled ; the piano-forte was patronised at the expense of the punch-bowl — the song and the glee displaced the endless round of toasts and proverbs — and the innocent hilarity of the reel and country dance was exchanged for the uproarious excitement which had but too frequently ended in rendering " the pavement faithless to the fuddled foot !" An apparent approval of temperance seemed at that time, also, to have reached even the mem- bers of the Corporation, who, in earlier days, certainly exhibited no great anxiety about limiting there own libations to spring water; for on 12th November, 1812, they agreed to the following very grave, but, at the same time, very necessary minute: "No council-officer, town-officer, water-officer, harbour-master, or officer connected with the Corporation, shall, in future, be allowed to keep a tavern or public-house." While the general community were thus improving in many of the THE CLERGY SHOW A MORE CATHOLIC SPIRIT. 285 socialities of private life, they were not insensible to amusements of a public nature. The stage, dancing and card assemblies, and gentle- men's subscription concerts were all patronised and enjoyed. The result was, the erection of the elegant theatre in Queen-street and the handsome Assembly-rooms in Ingram-street. The public assemblies, during the period we are now attempting to illustrate, were held, during the winter months, once a-week, alternately for dancing and cards ; while there were at least half a dozen first-rate concerts given during the season, to which the company always turned out in full dress. A young lady had thus every opportunity of showing off her face and figure to the best advantage, amid either the enlivening blaze of the ball, or the more sober splendour of the high-class concert ; while those strangers who were permitted to mingle, at these elegant reunions, Avith the fashionable groups who lolled on the sofas or threaded the ranges of stuffed forms, not unfrequently found load-stars there, which did not allow them either to forget or to forsake Glasgow ! Private oyster and dancing parties were also greatly in vogue, and of frequent occurrence, in the Star Inn, Black Bull Ball- room, and the Tontine ; in short, there was a gaiety and life among the young people, and even among the old, of those happy days, altogether at antipodes to the staid and gloomy platform pastimes which take place in City or Merchant Halls at the present moment.* During the first decade of the present century, and for some time thereafter, it is certain that a more Catholic spirit prevailed among the religious community of our City, than at an earlier period or at the present day. Ministers of all denominations readily and cordially held counsel together, for the furtherance of every philanthropic and Christian object, and threw aside for the hour their ecclesiastical differences, for the noble purpose of aiding every good and beneficent cause.f The establish- • In 1798, when the Asseinblj'-rooms (now f It is not to be denied, however, that the converted into an Athena-uni and news- majority of the Clcrfcy of the Kirk of Scot- room) were first opened, tlie company con- land, loolied upon dissenters with a suspi- sisted of 370 hidies and gentlemen. In 17'J0 cious eye, as not only intruding upon their the Queen's assembly was attended by 4G0. province, but as weakening their popular 28G GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. ment and success of the Bible and oilier missionaiy societies in the City, at once showed the value of these united Christian efforts, and tended, besides, to break down tliose social antipathies whicli are so apt to be engendered and upheld through the selfisli. spirit oi competing creeds.* During this period, too, with the increasing population, there was more than the usual increase of dissent. The truth is, a more decided idea of Evangelism, than had been generally preached by the pastors of the Kirk of Scotland, began to take possession of the public mind ; and, consequently, where that peculiarity of faith was most insisted on — as was always the case in the pulpits of the Independent and Burgher Churches — it is not difficult to account for the number of proselytes which these bodies sever- ally obtained.! While dissent was thus extending, and, what is better, authority. Burgliers, Antiburghers, Old Light, &c., also, from a narrow-minded higo- trj^, had frequently severe hickerings among themselves as to Church government and points of faith. This fact may be gathered from the many controversial pamphlets of the period, written too often with much acerbity of temper. The Eev. Mr Watson of the Old Light (Dovehill) used regularly to tell his hearers, when he had no sennon himself, "^o stay at home and read their bibles.'" A rather remarkable brochure was printed in Glasgow in 1798, entitled " an Adherence to the Missionary Society of Glasgow, defended at the Expense of being cut off from the Communion of the Refonned Presbyterj-," from three of the members of that Church, " who had been excluded from the enjoyment of Church privileges, unless they would ac- knowldge that their conduct in attending the sermon delivered to tlie Glasgow IMis- sionary Society in April 1796, (preached by Dr Balfour)" Avas sinful and offensive, and submit to be censured accordingly. In spite of a most harsh minute of Pres1)ytery, dated " Douglas, 17th August, 1796," extracted liy rather an eminent minister, Archibald Mason, the three brethren were intractable, would not yield to be publicly censured, and left the communion. As men far in advance of their age, in freedom of opinion, as well as in general intelligence, they subsequently became Independents — that rising sect hav- ing been recruited from many such persons as the late Mr William MacGavin, author of the "Protestant," &c. &c. * The London Bible Society was instituted in March, 1804, and on the 6th July of that year, Mr David Dale remitted £384 18s Id to the parent Society; while Mr Dale's own family made a present of 500 Arabic Bibles, value £375, exclusive of £50 annually. f To meet the wants of the increasing In- dependents for church accommodation, the circus in Jamaica-street was purchased by Mr Haldane of Edinburgh, and couA-'erted into a chapel. It Avas opened in 1799, for Mr Greville Ewing, Avho had left Lady Glen- orchy Chapel in Edinburgh. It Avas popu- larly termed " the Tabernacle." From some dispute connected Avith the pi'operty of the church and other matters, the congregation erected a church in West Nile-street, and the " Tabernacle" was again converted into a cir- cus. A feAv j^ears after Dr WardlaAv got a small chin'(;h built for him in Albion-street, known bytlie title of the "Temple," which Avas opened in 1803. From the classical taste, great learning and genuine piety Avhich this divine displayed in his Sunday orations, he DR WARDLAAV. 287 its ministers were most handsomely rewarded by their vokmtary flocks, it appears plain, from the Council minutes, that the pastors of the Establish- ment had not much to complain of from the Corporation on the score of stipend. In the course of little more than eighteen years, the stipends of the whole City clergy had been four times augmented, even in the face of a very long and able protest, made by the late Mr Ilobcrt Findlay in 1801, founded on the state of the town's finances.* Amid the increasing comfort which Established church-^oers obtained from the lately improved character of all the places of public worship in the City, and which pastors also enjoyed from advancing incomes, there was one thing connected witli the whole ecclesiastical establishments, except, perhaps, the Episcopalians and Mi.thodist?, which remained a soon became so popular as to require for liis congregation a lai'ger place of worship, and the handsome church in George's-street, (now, however, about to be converted into a Rail- way Station), was, in consequence, erected. Dr Wardlaw was born in Dalkeith in 1779, but came to Glasgow when only six months' old. His pious sire became a merchant, and was afterwards a bailie of the burgh. Dur- ing the course of more than half-a-century, Dr Wardlaw delighted and instructed crowded audiences as the luminous and earnest expo- sitor of the Bible; and, during that long career of usefulness, his constant theme may be said to have been, " For I am determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified!" While inculcating the doctrines of a pure morality, and disiien- sing the consolations which mei'cy and for- giveness hold out to the forlorn penitent, Dr Wardlaw was the ready and able controver- sialist, the defender of Evangelism against Unitarianism, and the champion of Volunta- ryism, in consistency with his own principles . of Independence and the rights of conscience. Dr Alexander, in his " Life of Dr Wardlaw," pul)lislied in l^'JOjgives an intercstingdescrip- tion of his "Home Life," and prints several clever political riddles with which he used to amuse his ehildren at the winter's heartli. There is one among a number of far better ones : — There is a little word contains Every Idnd of sins and pains — Prefix one letter, in a niinnte Gold and silver tinkle in it: — ■ Anotlier — it again sends forth Sins and pains in south and north. The answer Avas — the little word is "ill;" the prefix t, makes it " till ;" and by another pre- fix of s, it is made still Dr Wardiaw died in 1853, aged 7-1. Mr MacNee's portrait of this eminent Divine, gained for the artist a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition. * The first addition was made 12th ]May, 17D6, and was £35; the second on 4th Sep- tember, 1801, was X50; the third on 2-lth May, 1808, was £50; and the fourth on 3d March, 1814, was £100. Mr Findlay"s protest, in 1801, againsttheaugmcntation wasfounded on the following state of the City Funds at that time : — Income. Expenditure. 179G, £8,325 19 2... £13,542 2 2 1797, 8,943 4 8 ... 9,832 4 1798, 8,668 7 7 ... 10,475 15 3 1799, 9,29G 2 ... 10,141 19 3 1800, 9,817 12 3 ... 11,199 4 9 showing a deficiency, during five years, of £10,139 19s M.— Council Minutes. 288 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. crying evil, to all at least ayIio had the bump of Time and Tune developed in their crania, and that was. the state of the psalmody. The "giving out of the line," as it was called — which in earlier days was absolutely necessary from the want of Bibles, and from ignorance, on the part of many hearers, of even the alphabet — was still unnecessarily practised in some of what were called the more ortJiodox kirks, where, especially, there also appeared to be a strong liking for vocal discord.* It is easy to conceive how the immediate followers of John Knox, in their hatred of greasy monks and their detestation of Popery and its mummeries, should consider the Gregorean Chaunt, when sung by a chapter, ^or an accompanied madrigal, when echoed by a choir, to be little less than sacrileize. It can also be understood how the stern Covenanters, in the midst of the determined and fearful conflict which they so nobly maintained with the bloody combatants for Prelacy, should have regarded the organ as an instrument of Satan, and the responses of the Litany as little less than profanation. But when the combat about creeds and essentials had been settled, and when peace had been established, and every man was permitted to worship his Creator according to his own version of the Sacred Volume, it certainly does appear strange that that glorious art, which almost from the beginning of time has been used to aid and to excite devotional feelinfr — that art, which of all others man feels best calculated for pouring forth praises to Him who made men capable of praising him — that art, which in all ages and * There was certainly more decorum now catalogue of intimations which the precentor observed by the people while in church than read out before the tirst forenoon prayer, at a former period. Men did not sit with such as, "Kemember in prayer a man afflicted their hats on in the pew until the minister in body and mind — a young man at sea — a ascended the pulpit stair, nor did they clap family going abroad — a person about to nn- them instantly on their heads when the bless- dergo a dangerous operation— a man under ing was pronounced. Loud coughing and sentence of death," &c. &c. It was said, that constant snuffing were less indulged in, while among many intimations, a pi-ecentor, in one the discordant roaring of the psalmody was of the City Churches, read out, "Please send happily for all with ea/-s not so vmiversally in- more weft for the web, and the balance of dulgcd in. There was one characteristic, cash to J. B. Condorrat," which had been however, of an anterior period, which still written on the back of one of his prayer universally prevailed, and that was the long remembrancers. THE CnURCH IN DANGER. 289 in all churches has been made the vehicle of the penitent's woe and of the Kedeemer's exaltation, should have so long remainedj in this the land of our habitation — the land, too, so famous for its secular music — to be so little cherished, nay, so long and so shamefully neglected. If the Creatorlias given us voices whereby we can approach perfection in the execution of secular music, why should we not strain every nerve to sound with equal perfection the praises of Jehovah ? Why should not the psalmody of our churches be at least equal to the music of our drawing-rooms'? Why, in fine, should not the united voices of Christians be as harmonious in their praises as, it is hoped, they are in their prayers ? Whether it was that some such sentiments as those we have just hazarded were beginning to be entertained by almost all the more enlightened and less bigoted citizens, touching the improvement of the church music of Glasgow, it is at least certain that, in the year 1806 a bold attempt was made by Dr Ritchie, of St Andrew's Church, backed by the whole of his fashionable and intelligent congregation, to obtain the use of an organ, as an accompaniment to the church psalmody. The proposal was brought in regular form before the Heritors, by a memorial addressed to the Magistrates and Council, who — knowing full well the intolerant spirit that has too frequently characterised the West of Scotland, and rendered it ever a prey to over-zealous churchmen — refused to give any deliverance thereon, until a guiding report could be obtained on the matter from their then new and able legal adviser, Mr Reddie. Before, however, the opinion of the cautious Assessor could be got, some bigoted and gossiping coun- cillor noised abroad the sacrilegious project, which immediately roused the intolerant spirit of the Glasgow Presbytery, who at once saw, in this re- form, the most insidious and fatal of all engines to destroy the venerable Kirk of Scotland. The tender conscience of the redoubtable Mr Lapslie of Campsie was at once stung — the unimaginative brain of Dr Rennie of Kilsyth was at once on fire — and the soft and placid tempered Dr M'Lean of Gorbals was absolutely roused to frenzy. The "Church in danger" was now the clerical cry; and the cry was made loud enough to excite not u 290 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. only a commotion throughout the wliole Presbyterian district, but an angry discussion at every tea and dinner table in the City. Every old tabby in the town was heard lamenting the deep degeneracy of modern times, and whistlincT through her false teeth anathemas against the emulators of *^ whistling kirks ;" while good religious men, who knew much better, were unhappily seen pandering to the vulgar prejudices of the moment. At length the First Town-Clerk laid his long and well-concocted opinion on the Council table, in which he stated that, while he personally had no possible objections to, nay, rather approved of the introduction of the organ into church worship, he, at the same time, as the legal adviser of the Cor- poration, must counsel the Magistrates neither to interfere in nor consider the matter in question, ay and until the sanction of the Ecclesiastical Court be obtained for such an innovation in the public worship of the Kirk of Scotland. It may be easily supposed that the advice given was most greedily adopted, by a council who had each totally distinct views on the subject, and the consequence was that Dr Ritchie's memorial lay on the table without any official answer.* In the course of time, however, the lovers * The following is an excerpt from the couragecl by our enlightened Heritors, who, able Memorial of the Minister and Congre- we know, are ambitious of promoting every gation of St Andrew's, to the Magistrates rational improvement — who will obser\^e, and Council of Glasgow, as heritors of the with pleasure, our attempt to advance in the parish: — knowledge and practice of psalmody — and " We are fully persuaded that, in the exe- Avill gladly concur in the endeavour to rescue cution of our plan, we violate no law, either our national character from the reproach of of the Church or of the State. We give no having almost entirely neglected the cele- otfence to the prejudices of our people, for bration of sacred music. Our Heritors, the the congregation are all of one mind. We Magistrates of one of the first commercial bring no new burden on the Heritors, for Cities of Europe, will thus give new evidence the whole of the expense we bind oiirselves to mankind that the genius of Commerce is to defray. We prescribe no rule of conduct not the coirtracted spirit of hostility to the to others ; we only adopt what Ave think and Liberal Arts, but the enlivening sun of Sci- what we feel to be for our own edification. ence, dispelling, in its progress, the gloomy We encroach on no sacred privilege — no fogs of prejudice, that have too long be- civil right of any man or body of men in the numbed the energies and restrained the kingdom. Acting thus within the limits of feelings of our country. Glasgow has the the law of the land, of the laws of the Church, honour of having first made the public pro- and of the obligations of good neighbour- posal of introducing into one of its churches hood, we cannot entertain a doubt that our the most perfect of musical instruments, and scheme shall not only be permitted but eu- of employing it for the generous purpose of END OF THE GREAT ORGAN QUESTION. 291 of harmony showed that they were not to be baulked by the abettors of discord ; and, without further leave beiufr asked from either Council or Presbytery, an organ was placed in St Andrew's Church, and the congre- gation, as fearless of the taunts of heterodoxy as of clerical threats and denunciations, joined the full-toned diapason, in the Old Hundredth Psalm, on the last Sunday of August, 1807. On hearing that overt and unpardonable act had been committed, the Presbytery was roused to madness ; while Provost M'Kenzie, equally in- flamed, summoned the Council to action. The lengthy correspondence which had taken place between the Chief Magistrate and the Minister of St Andrew's Church, relative to playing the organ on the Sunday in question, was read and considered; and, while the Provost loudly protested against so great and grievous an offence, committed by this refractory portion of the Kirk, the Town Council, at the same time, merely agreed not to withdraw the formal intimation which had been made of the fact to the Presbytery. Matters continued in this rather unsatisfactory state till the 8th January, 1808, when Dr Ritchie received an appointment to the High Church of Edinburgh ; and, having no doubt been already sufficiently disgusted with the conduct of certain of his co-presbyters, he at once accepted the call to the capital, and left posterity to fight, at some more favourable epoch, for that which he had so manfully but unsuccess- fully advocated. Before the Doctor, however, could well be loosed from his charge in Glasgow, the Presbytery seemed resolved to give him a parting kick. For this purpose, they took the earliest opportunity of bringing his mu- sical conduct before the reverend Court ; and after several of the most violent and wordy objectors had poured out their venom on their brother and his heterodox flock, they succeeded in getting a majority of the meet- tuning the pul)lic voice for the exercise of tional lustre to their names, and render the praise ; and tlie present Lord Provost [Ilamil- period of their administration tlic opening of ton], Magistrates, and Council will, we doubt a new era in the annals of our national ad- not, eagerly embrace the opportunity of vancement." — Council Records. accomplishing a measure that will give addi- 202 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. ing to agree to the following absurd resolution : — " The Presbytery did and hereby do declare, that the use of organs in the public worship of God is contrary to the law of the land, and to the law and constitution of the Established Church ; and, therefore, the Presbytery did and hereby do pro- hibit the use of organs in all churches and chapels within their bounds." Against which finding. Principal Taylor, Dr Eanken, Dr M'Gill, Mr Davidson, and ^Ir Jack protested. Here the matter may be said to have ended, except that the Presbytery appointed a Committee to answer Dr Eitchie's letter, which they did at great length ; and the answer, being approved of, was placed on their records. On thanks being thereafter moved to the Committee for their labours, the following names were added to the original dissenters, — Dr William Ta^dor, Junior, Dr Lockhart, and Dr liitchie. While the subject thus created, for many months, much discussion and not a little personal feeling among the inhabitants, and no small bickering in the Presbytery, it gave birth, at the same time, to a pungent satirical poem, entitled " Dulness," in which certain of Dr Eitchie's clerical opponents were pretty smartly lashed* — to a printed volume,! ill defence of the majority of the Presbytery — and to a very clever caricature, wherein the honest Doctor is represented on his way to * This poetical squib was published in 1807. The poem commences ■with an accovmt of the goddess Dulness, wandering over the world in search of votaries to own her sway; and at last, coming to Glasgow, she proceeds throiigh an ''arched gate, where multitudes in deep impatience wait." Entering the session- house, she listened, in hope of here finding what she urgently sought for. The first who rose pleaded the cause of Music — " With honest warmth, 'twas much the good man said, At which the goddess trembled — half afraid. ' What 1' cried she, ' must I still an exile be? Oh ! reason's child, thou hast no part in me.' Just as she spoke the great Profundus rose, Broad was his forehead, pointed was his nose ; His swelling cheek and wildly rolling eye, Betolien'd pride, that aim"d at something high; p'at had he grown beneath the royal hand, A fam'd Protector of a sinking laud ; (For much he talk'd, iu troublous times now past. And got a pension for his talk at last.) Man of great words, but man of little sense, Kow rise, and use thy boisterous eloquence; Be thou the mighty bulwark to defeud The Church from nil the dangers that impend ; Rise, and displaj- thy law, thy classic lore — Each innovation of the times deplore — Condemn whate'er thy fathers did not know, And all thy pedantry and dulness show. And much he spoke— the goddess, foe to sense, Listen 'd, with joy, to his frothy eloquence; She inly hail'd her kingdom now begun. And hail'd Profundus an adopted son." t This volume is entitled " A Statement of the proceedings of the Presbytery of Glasgow relative to the use of an Organ in St. An- drew's Church, in the public worship of God — Glasgow, 1809." This is, of course, a very one-sided statement, and is, moreover, writ- ten in a very angry spirit. CORPORATE ACTS. 293 Edinburgh, -with an organ slung over his shoulders, playing, with all his heart and soul, "I'll gang nae mair to yon toun !" The history of the Corporation of Glasgow, during those twenty event- ful years, is just what might have been expected from men who really had no personal object to serve, and who conscientiously attempted, by their conduct, to be the reflex of the enlightened minds of the citizens. From the well-kept record of the proceedings of that body, it is quite plain that, liowever absurd may have been the system of self-election, by which a particular coterie could always keep themselves or their friends in power, yet it is certain that in the management of civic affairs, the persons who then ruled proved themselves as patriotic and honest as any band of cor- porators have since done, even though emanating from the popular will. Independent of the many momentous matters, specially arising out of the war, which called for municipal assistance and control — such as raising money for the defence of the country, for equipping volunteers, for laying on assessments for militia-men's wives, contributing towards the erection of monuments to those who had fallen in battle, or gained fame in the senate, and for conducting the various rejoicings which followed the intelhgence of each new victory — the civic authorities of that day showed themselves, also, to have been actively alive to every plan which was calculated to improve the appearance, health, and wellbeing of the City, or to maintain the credit, advance the prosperity, and increase the comfort of the citizens. Among the beneficial measures adopted for the improvement of the City, may be mentioned the first Act for the establishment of a Police in Glas- gow* — the erection of a new wooden bridge across the Clyde at the south end of Saltmarket-street,t a desideratum after the stone bridge had been carried away— extended improvements of the Clyde and harbour:; — the erection of new Court-houses, public Offices, and Jail, near tlieGreen§ — • This was passed in 1800, and a piece of J In 1809 the Act was passed authorising phite was voted to Provost Craigie for his these improvements. services on that occasion. § The foundation-stone of these buildings ■ T-.. . ., . ,. ,□„„ was laid by Provost Black, on the 18th Sep- t This bridge was erected in 1803. ^ ,„.„ tcmber, 1810. 294 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. and tlie conversion of the ground under the pillars or piazzas, in the neigh- bourhood of the Cross, into shops.* "VYhile the Corporators at the beginning of the century were probably right, as they were certainly instrumental in changing the whole charac- ter of the shop property at the Cross, upon the perhaps sound plea of public necessity and of corporate profit, it appears that their successors, in the year 1814, were on the point of coQimitting an act which would have deprived Glasgow of one not only of its best-known landmarks, but of its most striking monuments. It may, perhaps, be remembered that when the public Offices of the Corporation and the Court of Justiciary were removed from the Cross to the south end of the Saltmarket, the famous old Tolbooth, associated with so many historical reminiscences, was sold ; and it then became a moot point whether or not the beautiful crown-caj)ped spire, with its musical cliime, should also be sacrificed to the argued utilitarianism of a few feet broader roadway, at the neck of the High-street. The Vandal project, to render this ancient monument a quarry, was solemnly brought before the Civic Council, and lay there for- tunately several weeks for consideration, when happily for the honour of Glasgow and the taste of the majority of its municipal managers, the pro- ject — which could only have been instigated by personal interest or igno- rant vulgarity — was thrown overboard ; and the famous Cross Steeple, which our forefathers regarded as one of the chief beacons of our City, was left to speak its ancient tales and souvenirs to coming generations.! * The first encroachment made on the old him to the sale of the areas under the piazzas — which had been so much admired piazzas, from which the Town had derived by Morer and Defoe, and which succeeding so great advantage. — Council Records. generations regarded with so much fondness f On the 4th May, 1814, "the Magistrates and preserved with so much care — was made and Council resolve, by a majority of 15 to 9, on 3d January, 1801, when £5 per square that the old Steeple at the Cross be preserved, yard Avas paid to the Town for the ground supported, and repaired." In those days, the taken. By the sale of this ground, the names of members who were in favour and Corporation procured a large sum of money. against any project were never taken down. On 16th November, 1803, a piece of plate was else we should certainly have paraded the voted to Mr John Morrison, late Deacon- minority, to prevent others following their Convener, for the great attention paid by Gothic example. CORPORATE ACTS. 295 Among the other measures more particularly calculated to Improve the general and individual comfort of the citizens, the following may be alluded to : — Greater attention paid to the paving and cleaning of the streets — the lighting of the leading thoroughfares — the encouragement given to bring- ing a plentiful supply of water into tlie City — the adoption of vaccine innoculation among all classes, as an antidote to that cruel disease which had so long been decimating the young, or marring the beauty of those who survived the scourge — and, above all, the securing food for the great mass of the community, dui'ing the dreadful famine which occurred at the close of the last century, although the loss connected therewith, the citizens, with that "impatience of taxation" which is always most felt by those most able to sustain it, refused to pay, — conduct which may well induce future Corporators to pause ere they advance any money through public clamour, unless, at the same time, it is accompanied by a public assurance of honourable repayment.* When we mention these Corporate acts, we may, perhaps, be pardoned for alluding to the men who may be supposed to have given a particular impetus to each of them — we mean the seven gentlemen who, during those twenty years, wore the double chain of office and sported the velvet coat, bag-wig, and other insigina of the Lord Provost. Of these gentlemen, two rose to be Members of Parliament, while one of them occupied the Civic Chair thrice during twelve years, and another twice during six. The fact is, that the two latter personages seem to have divided between them, for many long years, the various high offices, not only in the Corpor- ation, but likewise in the Merchants' House and Hutcheson's Hospital. * The cost of the grain purchased by the Bill was iutroduced into Parliament, to tax Corporation and committee of citizens dur- the inhabitants for the money expended by ing 1800, amounted to £117,500, upon which . the Corporation in providing corn, &c., during there was a loss of about 15 per cent. ; al- the dearth of 1799-1800 ; but, on accoimt of though the sum subscribed to meet the loss the general opposition ofFercd by the Trades' was X18,600, the ultimate cost to the-Corpor- House and other public bodies, the measure ation connected with supplying food for the was abandoned on 6th May, 1803. — Council lower classes during the dearth, amounted to Minutes. £7,G11 2s bd. On the 7th of February, 1803, a 29G GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. AVhetlier it was that these repeated honours were heaped upon them on account of their pecuhar capacity for public business, or from the want of other first-class men willing to undertake the offices, it is not now easy to determine ; but it is quite certain that they as well as the other gentlemen who filled the Civic Chair for those twenty years, so conducted themselves, as to merit the respect, esteem, and tlianks of their fellow-citizens.* Of the numerous Bailies who were from year to year, under Providence and self-election, selected from the Council "to decree justice" on the bench of the Police-office and in the Council Chaumer, or to judge of the quality of fresh herrings arriving at the Broomielaw — it is perhaps enough to say that, fortunately for them, the public press had not as yet assumed a critical surveillance over magisterial conduct ; and that they were con- sequently permitted to occupy the prominent positions to wdiich they had been elevated, with all the honours which were then willingly paid to men who sported gold chains, black coats, and white neckcloths every lawful day, and wore cocked hats on Sunday .f While the great mass of the citizens were thus wisely paying deference to " the powers that be," it cannot be denied that a wag was occasionally found taking pleasure either in criticising some mao;isterial oration from the Police bench, or attempting to raise a laugh at some judicial prank, when mingling with kindred spirits round the hilarious Club table. Poetical squibs were also pretty common in those days ; and there were not a few peculiarly directed against even some of our ablest Corporators. A well known stanza from one of those satires was levelled against two very worthy Bailies of the * The following is a list of Lord Provosts 1812— Kii-kman Finlay, Esq., M.P. elected from 1796 to 1816 :— 1814— Henry Monteith, Esq., M.P. 1796 — James Macdowall, Esq. 1798 — Laurence Craigie, Esq. f The Bailie of the River, hetter known by 1800 — John Hamilton, Esq. the appellation of the Water Bailie, or still 1802— Laurence Craigie, Esq. better by the sobriquet of Skate, was, in 1804 — John Hamilton, Esq. those halcyon days, at least for him, pre- 1806— James M'Kenzie, Esq. sented with a sample of every boatful of 1808— James Black, Esq. fresh herrings, and of dried ling or cod, that 1810— .Tohn Hamilton, Esq. arrived at the harboiir. COEPORATION OFFICIALS. 297 period, who, however, happily enjoyed the hit as much as its author. It was as follows : — " If, in our Courts a stranger keeks, His eye meets neither squires nor bankers; But Judges who shape leather hreeks. And justices who souther tankars !" As a historical fact, however, it may be mentioned that, in the first year of the century (31st July, 1801), the number of Bailies was increased by two, to meet the increasing demands which the new duties of a Police Act had made on their time ; and what is perhaps equally worthy of remem- brance, that, about nine or ten years after, the Bailie of the Eiver and the Chief Magistrate of Gorbals were each presented with a gold badge of office, like their other brethren of the bench, and which, it may be supposed, they respectively valued more as a mark of public confidence than as a matter of private glorification !* From the beginning of the reign of the first to that of the last seven Provosts to whom we have alluded, a total and complete change had taken place among the whole officials of the Corporation. Of all those who filled the various legal and administrative situations of the City in 1796, there was not a single countenance that was not changed during the succeeding twenty years. The famous Town-Clerks, Messrs Orr and Wilson,f had each, in his turn, parted with his pen and signet ; the respectable Chamberlain, Mr Walter Logan, had for ever closed his cash- book ;| the long-tried Master of Works, Mr Smellie,§ had passed his last quarterly accounts ; honest Joshua Campbell, who daily tinkled the Music Bells, had played his final melody ;I| the whole Grammar-school • A chain was voted to the River Bailie on J Mr James Spreull was elected to this 20th Fehniary, 1810, and to the Bailie of office on 8th May, 1798. Gorbals on 9th June, 1812. „ ,, . -,, , , t On 20th December, 1799, Mr Wilson re- § ^^' J^^™'^' ^^'^''''^ ^""^ ^^""^^'^ ^^P^"'^" signed his office of Town-Clerk; and Mr tendent of Public AVorks on the Gth Septem- Kicliard Henderson, W.S., was elected to that ^^"^"' ^^^'^' office on 13th January, 1800. On the deatii || Mr Jolin "Weir, late luibordasher, was of jNIr Orr, Mr James Reddic, Advocate, was appointed to play the Music Bells on 17th elected, on Ctli Jan., 1804, First Town-Clerk. IMarch, 1801. 298 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Masters, Gutty Wilson among the rest, had for ever laid down their taws ;* poor Bell Geordie had been deprived of his scarlet coat and skellat ; the Jailor, Robert Hamilton, had given up his dreaded keys, and was no longer seen looking over the hduf door for customers, for the porter, ale, and even spirits which were then sold (mirahile dictu !) within the prison ; while the ill-conditioned and boy-hooted Jock Sutherland, the Hangman, had at lena-th got to the end of his own tether 1 Among the many individuals, in addition to those to whom we have alread}' elsewhere alluded, who rendered themselves remarkable by their di'ess, figure, or character, there were none who, for a long time, occupied this peculiar position on the Trongate more conspicuously than Captain Patoun, Mr David Dale, Dr Porteous, and Dr Findlay. Every sunshine day, and sometimes even amid shower and storm, about the close of the past and the commencement of the present century, was the worthy Cap- tain, in the Dutch service, seen parading the Plainstanes, opposite his own residence in the Troncrate, donned in a suit of snuff-coloured brown or " genty drab," his long spare limbs encased in blue striped stockings, with shoes and buckles, and sporting ruffles of the finest cambric at his wrists, while adown his back hung a long cue, and on his head was perched a small three-cocked hat, which, with a politesse tout a fait Frangaise, he invariably took off when saluting a friend. Captain Patoun, while a denizen of the camp, had studied well the noble art of fence, and was looked upon as a most accomplished swordsman, which might be easily discovered from his happy but threatening manner of handling his cane, when sallying from his own domicile towards the Coffee-room, which he usually entered about two o'clock, to study the news of the day in the pages of the Courier. The gallant Captain frequently indulged, like Othello, in speaking " Of moving incidents by flood and field, Of hair-breadth 'scapes i' the imminent deadly breach," and of his own brave doings on the tented field — "at Minden and at * Mr Chrystal was appointed, on 17th September, 1805, to succeed Mr Wilson. JOHN GIBSON LOCKHAET. 299 Dettlngen" — particularly when seated round a bowl of his favourite cold punch, made with limes from his own estate in Trinidad, and with water newly drawn from the Westport well. He was, in fact, a worthy, thouo-h remarkable character, and fully entitled, not only to the epithets bestowed upon him by the late able Editor of the Quarterly Review, Mr Lockhart,* when he calls him " A prince of worthy fellows, and a pretty man also ;" but, likewise, to the touching lament put into the mouth of Dr Scott, the great odontist of the Nodes Ambrosiantv, M^hen he is made to sing — " But at last the Captain sicken'd, and grew worse from day to day, And all miss'd him in the Coffee-room, from which now he stay'd away ; On Sabbaths, too, the wee Kirk made a melancholy show, All for wanting of the presence of our venerable beau. Oh we ne'er shall see the like of Captain Patoun, no mo ! And in spite of all that Cleghorn and Corkindale could do, It was plain, from twenty symptoms, that death was in his view : So the Captain made his test'ment, and submitted to his foe; And we laid him by the Ram's-hom Kirk — 'tis the way we all must go. Oh we ne'er shall see the like of Captain Patoun, no mo ! "f Perhaps among the many philanthropists for whom Glasgow has been » John Gibson Lockhart, was born in the "Adam Blair;" and in 1823, his elegant manse of Cambusnethan, in June, 1794 ; and translations from the Spanish Ballads. These came with his father, the Rev. Dr Lockhart, were followed by the lives of "Napoleon to Glasgow in 1796. After passing his youth Bonaparte" and of "Robert Bums." In in the Grammar School and University, he 1825, he was appointed, as successor of Gifford, obtained one of Snell's bursaries, and entered to the editorship of the Quarterly Review, Baliol College, Oxford, in 1809. After com- and thereupon removed to London till 1853, pleting his studies, and making a tour on the when, from bad health, he was obliged to continent, he proceeded to Edinburgh to resign his important office. Having in vain study Scotch law, and in 1816, passed advo- tried the climate of Italy as a restorative, he Gate. More attached to literature than the returned to Scotland, and after residing a law, he commenced the career of a man of short time with his brother at Milton Lock- letters, and, in 1817, became one of the lead- hart, he was conveyed to Abbotsford to be ing contributors to Blackwood's Magazine. tended by his daughter, and there died on In 1819, he published " Peter's Letters to his the 25th November, 1854. Kinsfolk," which excited general attention. f The Captain was a son of Dr David BecomingacquaintedwithSirWalterScott,he Patoun, a physician in Glasgow, and long in 1820, became liis son-in-law, by marrj'ing resided with his two maiden sisters and an his eldest daughter. In the course of a few old servant, Nelly, in the tenement opposite years, lie wrote successively, " Valerius,"' the old Exchange, at the Cross, which had " Reginald Dalton," " Matthew Wald," and been left him by his parent. 300 GLASGOAV AND ITS CLUBS. celebrated, none held a higher place then David Dale, whose short and corpulent figure formed a perfect contrast on the Trongate to that of Captain Patoun. * During the last years of the century, it may be truly affirmed of tliis able and worthy gentleman, that he was always found ready to forward every scheme calculated to benefit his fellow-men, and particularly his fellow-citizens, whether that scheme might be to advance their mercantile and manufacturing interests, to ameliorate the condition of tlie outcast or orphan, or to reclaimthe vicious and the criminal. Although a native of Stewarton, Mr Dale, from his long residence in Glasgow (having come to it when in his twenty-fourth year, and spent therein forty-three years), may well be looked upon as one of her own sons. He first commenced business in the High-street, in a shop five doors north of the Cross, for which he paid five pounds of rent ; but thinking even tliis too much for him, he sub-let the one-half to a watchmaker for fifty shillings ! In these small premises, however, he contrived to carry on a pretty extensive business in French yarns, which he imported from Flanders, till, being appointed in 1783 agent for the Royal Bank, the watchmaker's shop was converted into the bank-office, and there that establishment remained till its removal in 1798 to St Andrew' s-square.f Impressed with the value of Arkwright's inventions, he set about erecting the cotton-mills at Lanark, which he soon accomplished, and prosecuted cotton-spinning with singular success. He was also instrumental in erecting the mills at Catrine, and at Spinningdale in Sutherlandshire. Mr Dale w^as not, however, content with the spinning of cotton ; he joined other parties in the manufacture of cotton cloth, in the dyeing of Turkey-red, and in an inkle-factory, while he himself continued the import of Flanders yarn. Although f Thei-e is a good effigy of Mr Dcale in not all your breadth," was the apt re- Kwjs Edinhurgh Portraits, and in the " iSIorn- ply. ing W'alk" in Stewart's Glasgow. Among the * Mr Dale built, in 1783, a spacious house at many stories told in illustration of his the south-west corner of Charlotte-street, at short, stout figure, the following is one of a cost of £0000, which, with its large garden, the best: — Having stated to a friend, that has since been let by Mrs Moses M'Culloch, to he had slipped on tlie ice and "fallen the Konian Catholics for a convent, and then all his length"— "Be thankful, sir, it was soIdbyhertothcEyelnfirmarywhichitnowis. DAVID DALE. 301 one or otlier of those businesses, and particularly that of the bank, might be supposed to have been sufficient for the attention of one man, it \A'as not so with Mr Dale ; for, while he conducted successfully all the important enterprises in wdn'ch he embarked, we find him devoting both time and money to various benevolent schemes, and also discharging the onerous duties of a City Bailie, first in 1791, and again in 1794. Mr Dale, though at first a member of the Established Church, and sitting under the ministry of Dr Gillies of the College Church, ere long seceded from it, and joined Mr Archibald Patcrson, Mr Matthew Alexander, and others, in forming a Congrega- tional Church, which first met in a private house, and thereafter in a meeting-house in Greyfriars'-wynd, which was erected by Mr Paterson at his own expense, and wdiich, from the circumstance of that gentleman being a candlemaker, was long know^n by the appellation of the " Candle Kirk." Within the walls of this unpretending church, Mr Dale for many years acted as the Christian pastor, and fairly outlived the popular dislike and clamour wdiich was raised against those wdio dared to preach without having passed through the portals of a university divinity-liall.* But though a decided sectarian, he w^as altogether destitute of that bigotry which too often belongs to such bodies, oifering at all times his purse and his su[)port to every Christi an scheme, by whatsoever clerical party it might have originated. lie was, in short, respected by the wealthy and beloved by the poor; and when he bade a last adieu to a City which his talents and industry had certainly advanced, and wliich his philan- trophy and religious example had improved, he was universally lamented * When Mr Dale began to preach, he was was elected a Bailie, his brother Magistrates, hooted and jostled on tlie streets, and was while they did not deem it proper to press frequently forced to take shelter under some him to accompany them to the Wynd Church, friendly roof. Against the meeting-house could not think of allowing a brother Bailie itself stones and otlier missiles were hurled, to go unescorted to any place of worship; till the roof, windows, and other parts of the and it was at once arranged that a portion of building were injured. This feeling, how- the City officers, with their hall)erts, should ever, soon passed away; and when Sir Dale attend the Dissenter to the "Candle Kiik." 302 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. as one of the ablest merchants, best magistrates, and most benevolent sons. Among the City clergy, about the beginning of the century, there were few more remarkable than Dr Porteous. He was a tall, dark-com- plexioned man, with a commanding appearance. While pacing, witli solemn step, he was at once recognised from the magnificent wig wliich he regularly wore, and which though not always in the most perfect order, was particularly remarkable for its size and symmetry, even in those days when such decorations of the head were commonly exhibited by the senior clergy.j- * A very able sketch of the life of Mr Dale was lately printed in Chambers' Biographical Dictionary, from the pen of the late Mr Andrew Liddell of this City, a gentleman of a kindred spirit, and whose loss was equally bewailed by the worthiest of his fellow- townsmen. Mr Dale had one son, who died in 1789, when in his 7th year, and five daugh- ters, all of whom survived him. Mr Dale was "of a cheerful temperament, of easy access, lively and communicative, and when in the company of friends, he freely relaxed all formal restraints." He had a good musi- cal taste, and occasionally sung some of the old Scotch songs with great effect, particu- larly the " Flowers of the Forest," with such intense feeling as to draw tears from his audience. f Dr William Porteous was the son of the minister of Monzievaird, in Perthshire, and was first ordained at Whitburn. From thence he was translated to the Wynd Church of Glasgow in 1770, where, for a long time and on many occasions, he acted a conspicuous part. During the riots occa- sioned by the proposed relaxation of the penal statutes against Popery, to which we have elsewhere alluded, he came forward zealously on the popular side of the question, and was accused of having encouraged, if not instigated the anti-Catholic violence which ended in the destruction of a place of worship and a considerable amount of pri- vate property belonging to a Papist. Some yeai-s after, Dr Porteous turned his attention to the management of the Town's Hospital, and introduced a system of conducting its affairs, involving a more strict investigation of the claims of paupers to relief, than had been followed previously. The measure was most unpopular with those whom it affected. A common cry in the streets was — "Porteous and the deil Cuff the beggars weel." Even his family were insulted and hooted at, as " Buff the beggar's wife and daughters." His system of inspection, nevertheless, stood its ground, and was acted on, with slight changes, till the recent alteration of the Poor law. Dr Porteous Avas an original member of the Glasgow Society of the Sons of the Clergy, and took an active part in framing its constitution and directing its early pro- ceedings. He was its president in 1792-93, and always retained a warm interest in its success and prosperity. During the keen political excitement which followed the French Revolution, and divided the country at the re-commencement of the war, he, although previously regarded as inclining to Eepublicanism, took a decided part in sup- port of Government. He became chaplain to the first Regiment of Glasgow Volunteers, and preached before them a sermon which was much talked of on account of the strong DR ROBERT FINDLAT. 303 The numerous changes which the first few years of the nineteenth cen- tury had produced on many things, and particularly on the outward habiliments of all classes of the community, failed to alter the costume of the City clergy. The reverend doctors of the Church still religiously adhered to the clerical cut of coat — to breeches, silk stockings, and buckles — and above all to cocked hats ; and among those, there was none more remarkable than Dr Robert Findlay, the Professor of Divinity, who even sported a peculiarity of an anterior age, after all his brethren had discarded it. Dr Findlay may, in fact, be fairly called the last of the storied wigs. Pigtails were still plentiful, but a full-bottomed wig was only to be met with on the caput of the Professor of Divinity. The appearance of this old gentleman, either on the street or in the College Hall, was indeed striking and venerable. A figure never very large, but shrunk and atten- uated by age, was surmounted by a full-bottomed wig and cocked hat, under the weiglit of which it seemed to totter. But his mild eye and benevolent expression of countenance secured the deference of the citi- zens and the affection of his students ; while his learning and liberality, and his courteous and kind demeanour, inspired the latter at once with reverence and gratitude.* While those well known and most respectable persons were, during the language applied by the preacher to the sound divine, a man of considerable talent, Repuldican rulers of France and their abet- and a dexterous politician, tors in this country. Their proceedings were * Robert Findlay, D.D., was the son of Mr compared to Milton's description of Pandre- William Findlay of Waxford, Ayi'shire, who mf)niuin, when Satan gave the signal, and was born in 1686, and after concealment for all hell rose in a mass. On the erection of St some time, was baptised by the Rev. Mr George's Church in 1807, Dr Porteous and Osborne, by the benefit of indulgence. As a his congregation removed to it, from the curious illustration of altered times, it may humble place of worship in the Wynd, which be stated that when this gentleman was has since undergone not a few transmuta- studying logic in Glasgow, under Mr John tions. Dr Porteous was twice married. Loudon, his bed and board to IMrs Finnic, Before settling in Glasgow — first, to Miss near the College-gate, was £25 Scots, per Moore of Stirling, sister to Dr Moore, the quarter. He married in 1715, and the Doc- well-known author, and aunt to General Sir tor was the only child of this marriage, being John Moore, liy wliom he left no fami'y. bom in 1721. Dr Findlay was first ordained liy his second maiTiage he had children, minister at Stevenstou in 1744, and then at His deatli took place at an advanced age; Galston, Ayrshire, in 17-15. lie was trans- and he left behind him the character of a lated to the Low Church, Paisley, and after- 304: GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. close of last century, filling the public eye, and exciting tlie public talk of Glasgow citizens, there was, about the same period, a fair and beautiful boy, with a mild and cheerful disposition, who might every day be met liurrying down the High-street, in a scarlet toga, and turning into the University gateway, as the tinkling bell of that ancient seminary was sum- moning the students to their class-rooms. The youth we allude to was then the obscure Thomas Campbell, now the world-known poet, wdio at that period occupied a small room in a house on the north-west side of High- street, within which the dawning dreams of those " Pleasures of Hope," which he afterwards so well illustrated in his immortal verse, first flitted athwart his poetic fancy. It was in the solitude of this upper floor chamber, that, by dint of indomitable industry and undoubted genius, he fully mastered the difficulties of the Latin and Greek classics, and thereby gained not only every prize for which he contended at the University, but likewise won a bursary, for which he stood in no little need.* It was also within this small apartment that he penned the poetical version of the Greek plays of Aristophanes and ^schylus, and particularly that of " The Clouds," which, at the time, was accounted the very best performance wards to the Ram's-liorn Church, Glasgow, every opportunity of expressing his respect on the 2oth March, 1756. On 6th January, for the author. As professor of Divinity, Dr 1783, he was admitted Professor of Divinity Findlay's lectures were remarkable for their in the College and University of Glasgow; learning and their liberality. But his course and died at a verj^ advanced age in 1814. Dr was so full and extended that, it was said, it Findlay entered Glasgow College as a stu- took seventeen sessions to go over it. One dent in 1735 ; and while there he paid only student, on being asked what he had heard £1 !*■ a-month for board: it is stated that he during the session which had closed, replied paid, in fees, one and a-lialf guineas for the that he had ''heard the illustration of an public classes, one guineafor the private, and attribute and a-half ! " and another remarked two and a-half guineas to MrDick, professor of that, "during his attendance, the Professor natural philosophy. After attending divinity had hung nearly the whole session on one of in Edinburgh, he finished his theological thehornSof thealtar!" During the latter years education as a student at the University of of his life, cither for the greater purity of the Leyden, and was a very learned man. His atmosphere, or for more convenient access to vindication of the sacred works of Josephus, his class-room, Dr Findlay lived chiefly in ths from various misrepresentations of Voltaire, highest floor of his house, published in 1770, is a proof of this. So * Thomas Camjabell in 1792 was nominated highly was this work esteemed by Dr Wat- by the Magistrates to Archbishop Leighton's son, late Bishop of Landaff, that he took bui-sary for six years. — Council Records. THOMAS CAMPBELL. 305 that had ever been presented within the wall of the College.* Little did he imagine when, for seven years, he was pacing the High-street, the unobserved of the crowd which even then thronged that bustling locality, that he should one day return to be " the observed of all observers ;" * Thomas Campbell was bora in Glasgow on 27th July, 1777, his father being a Virginia merchant. The latter, during the last twenty years of his life, was in narrow circumstances, which arose from suffering pecuniary losses, amounting, it is believed, to £20,000, conse- quent on the American war. He, however, honourably fulfilled all his own engage- ments. Thomas was the tenth and youngest child of his parents, and was born in his father's sixty-seventh year — an age, it is somewhat remarkable, at -svliioh he himself died. While at the University, he com- menced writing poetry, being then only thirteen years of age; and having got one of his juvenile poems printed, in order to defray its cost, he sold copies of it to the students at a penny each. It is said that several persons at one time remembered this beauti- ful intelligent boy standing at the College- gate, disposing of this his first printed lucubra- tion. On leaving the College, he soon after became a tutor in a private family residing in Mull, where, amid the magnificent scenery of that island, he planned and wrote a con- siderable portion of the " Pleasures of Hope." Thence he removed to Edinburgh, where he published his celebrated poem in 1799, being then only twenty-two years of age. On the profits of this successful work, which went through four editions in one year, he travelled to Hamburgh, and made a tour through Geniiany; and, when there, witnessed the battle of Hohenlinden, which at once raised his lyre to the well-known spirit-stirring pictui'c of that deadly struggle. On his return from the Continent he proceeded to London, where he was at once admitted into the best literary society, and was introduced by Sir James Mackintosh to the convivial parties of the King of Clubs — a place dedi- cated to the meetings of the reigning wits of the iiKtropdlls. He soon, however, returncil to Edinburgh, where he wrote several of his minor poems and ballads. In 1803 he deter- mined to remove to London, as the best field for literary exertion ; and in the autumn of the same year, he married his cousin, Miss Matilda Sinclair of Greenock, and made choice of the village of Sydenham as his residence, where he remained for eighteen years. Here he published, anonymously, "Annals of Great Britain, from the Accession of George HI. till the Peace of Amiens." Through the interest of Mr Fox, he I'eceived, shortly after that statesman's death, a pension of £300. After this period, Campbell became a working drudge to the booksellers; and his opinion of bibliopoles in general, does not seem to have risen from his connection with them, as it is related of him, that, on being invited to a booksellers' dinner, soon after Pam, one of the trade, had been executed by order of Xapoleon, and being asked for a toast, he, with great gravity, pro- posed to drink the health of Bonaparte! The company were amazed at such a toast, and asked for an explanation of it. "Gentle- men," said Campbell, " I give you Napoleon — he was a fine fellow — he sliot a bookseller!" In 1809 he published the second volume of his poems, containing " Gertrude of Wyom- ing," "Glenara," "Tlie Battle of the Baltic," "Lochiel," and "Lord UUin's Daughter." In 1820 he became editor of the New 3fontMy Mariar.bie; and, in 1821, he published "Theo- dric.'' About this period he busied himself with Lord Brougham, in originating and organising the LondoTi University ; and, in November, 182G, was chosen Lord Hector of his own Alma Mater. In 1834, he published a Life of ]Mrs Siddons ; and having, in the same year, been left a legacy of £500 by his friend Mr Telford the engineer, he found himself, with the produce of his literary labours and his pension, in pretty comforta- 306 GLASGOAV AND ITS CLUBS. and that his progress to take possession of the Rectorial Chair of his own Ahiia Mater should more resemble the greeting of a sovereign than that of a poet !* While these and other equally remarkable characters were seen pacing the leading pavements of the City during the close of the past, and the commencement of the present century, there were not a few equally henspeckle individuals observed trotting on horseback along the causeway. During that period, almost every gentleman kept a horse, either for pleasure or business, and the young sparks of the day were ever and anon seen mounted on prancing steeds, and decked out as if they gloried in being ble circumstances. Having afterwards suf- fered, however, many domestic losses, lie became unwell, and ultimately sought health in Boulogne, where, on the loth June, 1844, he breathed his last. He was buried in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey, since which time, a marble statue has been erected there of the Poet. A full and interesting Life of Campbell Iras' since been published, from the pen of Dr Beattie of London ; and a pleasing sketch of the poet has been like- wise given by William Howitt, in his "Homes and Haunts of Eminent Indivi- duals." * Thomas Campbell was continued in the office of Rector for three years. In 1827 he received a public dinner from the citizens, from which politics — then running high — were wisely excluded. For this supposed crime on the part of the chief Whig leaders, a few of the more rabid politicians seceded from the dinner management. At the head of these was Mr John Douglas, who made use of his many quips and sarcasms to dish the dinner. But in this, as in many other matters, the result Avas, that while he minis- tered to his own vanity and spleen, he utterly failed in accomplishing the object he had in view. The dinner was then given by the citizens of Glasgow to their townsman, as the best of living poets, on the broad basis of genius alone. Principal Macfarlan occupied the chair, and ^Messrs Samuel Hunter and Andrew Mitchell acted as croupiers. Previ- ous to this entertainment taking place, a clever but scurrilous "Anticipation Dinner Report " appeared, which gave great offence to cei'tain individuals who figured therein, and created, from that moment, much per- sonal animosity and ncAvspaper controversy. Glasgow, however, on that occasion solved the problem Avhicli party politicians had proposed to her, — whether it Avas possible to display the banner of freedom save in the ranks of one party alone ? — and she solved it to the dismay of every driA'cller Avho raved about its impracticability. At that famous dinner, every rational, liberal, and enlightened sen- timent Avas cheered Avith enthusiasm. Liberty, in fact, had an altar in ever}- heart ; and the only struggle was, Avho should be most liberal — Avho should be most free. The spectacle Avas one, indeed, of unmingled satisfaction to every patriotic mind ; for Avhether genius, education, the liberty of the press, the reform of the laAvs, or the appreciation of distin- guished knowledge or worth in individuals Avas the theme — the excitement, the union of feeling and of Avish of both speakers and hearers Avas apparent and complete. In short, sound sense and sound feeling tri- Tmiphed over the narroAv-minded knot of Avrong-headed political partisans ; AA-hile the poet of " Hope " experienced, amid the accla- mations of many of the best and most inde- pendent men of Avhora Glasgow could at that time boast, the realisation of all that his ambition could ever have sighed for. HORSEBACK ODDITIES. 307 the pattern cards of their tailors. The Trongate and Argyle-street at that time were the chief promenades of the fair sex, and it will thei'efore appear by no means strange, that the "look and die men" of the period were always found where they conld be best admired. Of the majority of those gay youths who, of course, fluttered their butterfly hour amid the sunny smiles of the ruling toasts of the town, and were thereafter lost amid the cares of matrimony or the selfishness of celibacy, we have nothing to say. There are, however, a few horseback oddities which memory still reverts to, and ^^•hich, for many years, were the observed of all observers. The first of these was Mr Philips of Stobcross, whose large pendulum proboscis called forth as much wonder from every satchel'd schoolboy, as he trotted along Argyle-street, towards Finnieston, as did the nose of Slawkenbergius' strano;er on entering the town of Strasburtih ! AYith every step of iSLr Philip's punchy pegasus did his proboscis swing athwart his face, and was only seen at rest when the horseman pulled up the reins to speak to an acquaintance. Another equally odd-looking horseback character was Mr M'Ewan the writer, who, on proceeding down the Stockvvell every day at four o'clock, was sure to be seen taking refuge in the wake of some loaded cart, and moving on at a snail's pace towards his cottage at Langside, as if dreading that he and his mare should, by any untoward circumstance, be forced to dissolve their partnership. A third singular-looking equestrian might be also daily noticed passing to and fro from Mavisbank to Gallowgate, whose name and surname were James Hamilton, and whose many mutHings showed a determined hos- tility to all cold, and whose hatred of a whip testified a decided determin- ation against hurting his horse by hard w'ork. In later years, this old gentleman became the perfect trotting embodiment of comfortable, yet penurious doziencss ! About the same time that these grave and quaint sexagenarians were slowly ambling through life, a more gay and striking group might be observed emerging from the south end of Miller-street, and wheeling into the great City thoroughfare, between the hours of three and four 308 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. in tlie afternoon. The group consisted of two liandsome well-groomed ponies, mounted by two rather remarkable figures, and attended by a faithful poodle, which gave tongue as if to attract more attention to those it attended. The personages we allude to were Dr James Scott, the famous Odontist of the "Noctes Ambrosianm" of Blackwood, and his ever smiling, attentive, and affectionate sister. The Doctor was the first dentist who had ever made Glasgow his permanent residence; and it was well said of him, that never was there a man who had been more in the mouths of the public. It is quite certain that before the commencement of the present century, dental surgery was but little understood, or, at least, little practised in Scotland. Beauty, from the want of the manipu- lating mysteries of the clever Odontist, was therefore far more short-lived ; while the beau was forced to mumble lono; before his successor of the present day is supposed to have reached his grand climacteric. No sooner, however, had Mr Scott opened his establishment and commenced handling the forceps, than a new dental era commenced in Glasgow — and, from the attention he paid to his profession, and the number of individuals who requested his aid, he soon became, not only eminently important and successful, but a blessing and benefactor to the tooth-ached and the toothless. Like most men who seize upon a novel profession without much literary or scientific education, he was by no means distrustful of his own powers. His nature manifested a strong love of approbation; and being gifted with what the Phrenologists call large organs of self- esteem and wonder, he rarely allowed his candle to remain long hid under a bushel. This peculiar idiosyncracy made him a most valuable addition to the dramatis personoe which John Wilson introduced into his " Noctes." The part, however, assigned to him to play being rather that of a buffoon than a sage, he, although at first flattered at being the sup- posed associate of the clever, but rather, at that time, reckless wits who assembled in Ambrose's, latterly took offence — and, filled with ire, went one day to Edinburgh to pour out the vial of his wrath on the devoted head of " Old Ebony" himself. The sagacious bibliopole, however, knew THE VOLUNTEEIiS. 309 his man, and, bj some well-turned and soothing remarks, accompanied by an invitation to dinner, restored theOdontist to his wonted food humour: and Dr Scott thereafter returned to Glasgow certainly more pleased, and less hurt with his interview than was his friend John Douglas of Bai'loch, when afterwards engaged on a similar errand to Auld Eeekie.* The period from 1795 to 1815, looking at it politically, was one, perhaps, of the greatest excitement and anxiety that ever occurred in the history of Great Britain; and in no portion of the empire were those feelings more universally experienced and more manifestly evinced than in Glasgow. During those twenty years, the country, with the exception of one short year of a feverish peace, was engaged in a terrible and bloody conflict, at one time almost single-handed, against the world, when nothing but our insular position, and our good wooden walls, could have prevented us from sharing the fate of the other European nations which opposed Napoleon. During the first of these wars, the citizens of Glasgow had shown their patriotism by enrolling themselves into regiments of Volun- teers, in defence of their threatened country, and in maintaining those corps free of all cost to the Government purse. They had also taxed themselves to pay upwards of £1,000 for raising tlie City's quota for the army and navy reserve. The Corporation voted £1,000 towards the defence of the kingdom during the emergency of 1798, and presented stands of colours to the then volunteer soldiers out of the funds of the community; while the citizens themselves remitted no less than £12,938; 14s Gd more, as a voluntary contribution for carrying on the war.f Amid these burdens on their time and purses, the citizens of Glasgow • We shall never forget the proud bearing citizens to raise two Regiments of Volun- of Dr Scott when, decked out in all the par- teers, for the purpose of assisting in repelling aphernalia of the Gael, he marched up the any invasion of the enemy." On 10th Au- Canongate in front ofGeorge IV., at the period gust, 1797, "the Magistrates and Council when Walter Scott metamorphosed London resolve to present the 2d Battalion of Volun- Aldermcn, and even the King himself, into teers with a stand of colours, and the Light Ilidandmen. Horse with a standard, and which cost £34 t March 17, 1797.— "The Magistrates and IGo-." The whole sum sent from Glasgow in Council approve of the olTcr made by the 1708 was £12,938 Uj Gc/. 310 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. had, as some small recompense, consecutively rejoiced over the naval vic- tories of Camperdown, the Nile, and Copenhagen, and over the land victory in Egypt, only clouded by the death of Abercromby. They had also gloried over the capture of Seringapatam and the destruction of the power of Tippoo Sultaun. Yet, when rejoicing over these triumphs, the cry of sorrow was but too frequently mingled with the shout of victory ; for, while the bulk of the citizens felt ashamed of their unpatriotic and rebellious countrymen in Ireland, in the hour of the country's direst danger, they were also forced to weep over the destructive results of Vinegar-Hill and Wexford, and over the unfortunate expedition of the Duke of York in Flanders. And though afterwards they could not but take courage and comfort in the fact of the Union with Ireland, and in the mighty force of Regulars, Militia, and Volunteers, then in arms to protect their fondly- cherished homes from threatened insult or destruction, they could not blind themselves to the circumstance that a mighty army lay ready at Boulogne to pass over, if opportunity should offer; so that the war had already assumed somewhat of the character of the struggles that formerly existed between the French and English in the days of the Henries and Edwards.* When this war of weal and woe was thus alternating, and producing in the minds of all the greatest anxiety, a peace was hastily patched up, and at length signed at Amiens. In Glasgow, the Volunteers laid down their arms, and each house in the City exhibited its happiness in the event by an expenditure of tallow candles unprecedented on any former joyful occasion. But ere, alas ! the chandlers had recovered payment from their customers foi* this expression of delight, the treaty of amity was abruptly broken, and the shrill trump of war had again sounded with redoubled fervour throughout the land.f On this occasion, Glasgow again showed * In 1801, exclusive of about 300,000 Volun- Marines, 39,000 teers, the united Millitaiy and Naval Forces Fencibles, 31,415 numbered no fewer than 476,048 men, as . . follows :— 476,648 Regular Army, 193,187 ■ Seamen, 135,000 f The proclamation of peace took place on Militia in Great Britain, 78,046 29th April, 1802, and the declaration of war EEJOICIXGS. 311 that its patriotism was not a whit hlanted ; for, not contented with its former quota of Vokmteers, it now raised nine regiments of able-bodied soldiers, to cope with the renewed danger.* The City Corporation, also, again showed their sympathy with the war, by not only voting five hundred guineas towards equipping the Volunteers of the City, but also presenting stands of colours to at least two of the regiments.f While thus employed in preparing to meet every contingency from a foreign foe, the City was again put into hot water by the renewed efforts of their rebellious Irish neighbours ; but although the moment chosen was, perhaps, as favour- able as any that could have been hit upon, for securing to Irish malcon- tents the succour of France against England, the rising ended in little more than the execution of the enthusiastic Emmet and his coadjutor Russel. The war now went on more energetically every day. The Gazette was weekly filled with captures from the enemy ; and although, in the course of two years, Napoleon had declared himself Emperor of France and King of Italy, and had, moreover, gained the battle of Austerlitz, which at once made Austria sue for peace, Glasgow at the same moment was called upon, like all who then inhabited the sea-girt isle, to join the loud peal of gratu- lation for the glorious victory of Trafalgar, clouded though that triumph was by the death of its immortal hero. Triumph now followed triumph in recfular succession, thouiih ever and anon these victories were mixed on 10th May, 1803. From that psi-iod np to Canal Volunteers, the Armed Association, the battle of Waterloo, City illuminations and the Volunteer Light Horse. In 1808, were frequent, accompanied with the display the Volunteer system gave place to Local of flags from tlie house windows, painted Militia, when the Glasgow corps were all transparencies, ringing of hells, and many disembodied, and six corps of Local ^Militia other species of rejoicings. So frequent were ^vere embodied in their place, public tallow candle displays made, that it was f Tlie ISLigistrates and Council, on IGth the custom of every family to keep a quan- August, 1803, "agree to present a stand of tity of white iron illumination candlesticks colours to first Regiment of Volunteers." as a part of their household goods, ready to Ou -'Ist September, 1803, they "vote 500 bu knocked into the astragals of the window guineas for equipping Volunteers;" and on casements on the shortest notice. 14th September, 1804, they "agree to present • These were the Glasgow Volunteers, the the Grocer corps with a stand of colours." — Trades, the Highlanders, the Sharpshooters, Council Minutes. the Grocers, tho Anderston Volunteers, the 312 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. wiili tears. The \Yortliy citizens at length shouted at the glorious result of Yimiera, and wept over the sad flite of their own townsman at Corunna : they threw up their hats for Salamanca, and lighted tons of coals for Yittoria. They, in fact, rejoiced and mourned over all the successive struggles of the Peninsula and Flanders, till at length they found exultation and repose in the peace which followed the field of Waterloo. And, assuredly, there were few towns, throughout the length and breadth of the land, where a more intense feeling of joy or of grief, resulting from the war, might be expected to be expressed than in Glasgow, as in none did the British army find more recruits than in the Scottish western metropolis. Several, indeed, of the more conspicuous regiments that served under Moore and Wellington were filled almost to a man from Glasfjow ; and in thecase of the celebrated conflict at Fuentesd'Onor,it may be remem- bered that the gallant and lamented Colonel Cadogan, with that per- ceptive quickness so characteristic of his nature, called out, in the enthu- siastic moment of success, "Huzza, boys! chase them down the Gallowgate!" Although, during these eventful years, the minds of Glasgow citizens were, as may well be imagined, chiefly occupied with the engrossing topics of the war, and the every-day changes which it was producing in the mercantile and manufacturing operations of the country, it is pleasing to think that there were some individuals who had both leisure and inclina- tion to attend to matters of a higher and more permanent nature. As examples, it may be mentioned that the Institution to which Professor Anderson left all his property, was fairly started and put in motion, through the instrumentality of Drs Gai'net and Birkbeck* — the latter hav- • In 1799, Dr Birkbeck was appointed contact with the artizans of Glasgow, and in Professor of Natural Philosophy in this his frequent intercourse with them, he had Institution. In his very first lessons, the occasion to remark the eager desire which want of suitable apparatus was felt ; and, as they manifested to initiate themselves into there was no philosophical instrument-maker science ; while no institution furnished them then in Glasgow, he resolved upon applying with the means of so doing. Dr B. expresses to those operators whom he deemed most himself thus : "1 beheld, in these unwashed qualified to make the apparatus of which he artificers, the evident sign of the sacred stood in need. In this manner he came in flame of science. I could not refrain from THILOSOPHICAL AND LITERARY SOCIETIES. 313 ing made here the first successful attempt to lay the foundation of Me- chanics' Institutions in Great Britain. Soon after this valuable seminary had been commenced, a Philosophical Society was established, -which uniting, as it did, the man of science with the working mechanic and che- mist, formed, ere long, a most effective nucleus for mutual encouragement and advancement.* And when these had been successively inaugurated, a Society for promoting Astronomy was formed, which, in due time, erected an Observatory ;t and a Botanical Association was thereafter instituted, which at length purchased and maintained a Garden, where the arrange- ments of Linnaeus and Jussieu could each be most happily seen and studied.^ While Glasgow was thus giving substantial evidence of her taste for, and encouragement of, science and art, she was likewise not altogether inattentive to the cultivation of philosophy and literature. It may be remembered, that so early as the middle of last century, a fraternity, under the name of the "Literary Society," had been formed, and was for many years in vigorous operation within the walls of the University ; and when we recall the names of two of its once celebrated members, Adam Smith and Edmund Burke, it may well be supposed that the discussions would be of a high order. Tradition tells us that at the conclusion of one of the asking myself ' Why should poverty prevent for the six years previous to his death, which these minds from acquiring that knowledge took place on the 27th July, 1827. His of which they are so eagerly in quest? AVhy knowledge of mechanics and mathematics should that poverty close to them the aven- was extensive and practical. His conversa- ucs of science?' I found it impossible not tion was instructive, his manners mild and to resolve to remove the obstacle, and I affectionate, and his address unaffected and determined upon proposing to give them a modest. He enjoyed the respect and esteem gratuitous elementary course of Natural of the Society in life, and his niemoiy is Philosophy." The proposal was looked endeared by the recollection of his intel- upon, by the most learned of the day, as lectual and moral qualities, the dream of a youthful enthusiast; but the f The Observatory was begun in 1808, and project, when carried out, proved eminently was erected on the south side of Gamethill, successful. then in the country. It is now removed to a * The Philosophical Society was instituted rising ground about two miles west of the in 1802. Mr Robert Hastie, father of the City. Member for the City, was twenty-four years + The original Botanic Gardens were laid a member of this Society, and was president ofl" in 181C. 314 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. many eager debates, of which this society was the scene, and when the numbers were much against the author of the "Wealth of Nations," he was heard to exclaim, " Convicted but not convinced !" About the beginning of this century, the Society came forth from the College — increased the number of its members from the ranks of the professional men and merchants of the City, and adopted the title of "The Literary and Commercial Society." The minutes of this body have been preserved, and contain a remarkable list of names, with the titles of several hundred Essays, read to the Society by the members. Unlike other fraternities, the only refreshment on the table was cold water. The entertainment was purely intellectual, and, in the joyous experience of many of its members, there were not a few nodes ccenoeque deorum ! This Society, it appears, first met within the hall of the Glasgow Public Library, next in the Prince of Wales Tavern, thereafter, for many years, in the Black Bull Inn, and latterly in the Religious Listitution Rooms. The most important subjects in philosophy, political science, morals, history and literature, have, from time to time, been ably handled in this Society ; and several of the papers have been published, and, in not a few instances, have been productive of most important legislative measures and mercantile reforms. While the Corn Laws, the East India Charter, the Laws of Bankruptcy, and Reform in Parliament, were all ably debated. Essays were also read by Professor Mylne, on the Formation of Character ; by Dymock, on the Pronunci- ation of Latin ; by Colin Dunlop, on the Improvement of the Iron Manu- facture ; by Dr Wardlaw, on Duelling and Divorce ; and by Dr Chalmers on the Poor Laws. It is, indeed, a noticeable circumstance, that there was scarcely an individual who occupied a high place, either in the City Coun- cil, or connected with it in Parliament, who had not been trained in this celebrated Society to habits of correct thinking, and to the practice of an easy and graceful expression of their opinions. It is, therefore, quite a mistake to suppose that Glasgow has ever wanted among its merchants, as well as professional men, individuals of high classical attainments and classical taste; and, considering that it has not the advantage of being THE LITERARY AND COMMERCIAL SOCIETY. 315 like Edinburgh, the head quarters of the Scottish Law Courts, thereby necessitating the permanent residence of a large body of well-educated advocates and solicitors — it may, nevertheless, be safely affirmed, that Glasgow has always had its fair share of eminent scholars and philosophers among its otherwise mercantile and manufacturing population.* It was during this architectural progress of the City, and amid those eventful times, as well as during the ever-changing period when the dram- atis personce of the civic stage made their several entrances and exits, and the learned and scientific bodies, to which we have just alluded, had com- menced their sittings, that there began and flourished a Club, among many others in those Club-going days, to which all the endless topics we have slightly adverted to, necessarily afforded abundance of daily and nightly gossip and debate. The Club to which we would now call atten- * Among the many who took an active in- terest in this Society during the last thirty years, we may mention James Ewing of Strathleven, M.P., James Oswald, M.P., Alex. Hastie, M.P., Dr Richard Millar, Rev. Mr Yates, John Douglas of Barloch, Dr James Brown, Messrs Walter Buchanan, Alexander Graham, Andrew Bannatyne, Charles Hut- chison, Thomas Davidson, David Smith, Thos. Atkinson, jun., &c. &c. Large meetings of this Society continued to be held till most of the subjects which the members had been in the habit of discussing had been settled by legislative enactment. The Corn Laws were abolished, the East India trade thrown open, the rarliameutary and Burgh Reform Acts were passed, the import duties had been modified, great social improvements were made; and amid the pressure of business, and the advancing age of most of its leading mem- bers, the attendance has greatly diminished of late years. But to those acqiuiinted with the state of Glasgow for the last forty or fifty years, it is well known that the labours (if this Society have been eminently successful in training for public usefulness a large por- tion of tlic men who have taken an active share in political and municipal affairs. The following passage from the late Thomas At- kinson's sketch of the Society will exhibit its beneficial results : — " It is impossible not to be struck with the cheering fact which this list presents, that of those members of the Society who sought to solace the laboxirs of their commercial pur- suits with the occasional enjo3-ment of intel- lectual intercourse, or the pleasures of literaiy composition, the greater number have been strikingly successful in the pursuit of fortune as men of business ; and it is perhaps even yet more exhilarating, as it is more curioiis to find, that among our commercial members, such as at any time became the victims of those great national fluctuations, wliicli, during the present century, have too often baffled calculation and paralysed industiy, liave uniformly recovered tlieir lost ground, and again, in their own persons, nuiintained and demonstrated the truth of that opinion which regards intellectual superiority and cultivation as one of the chief elements of a solid commercial success. A superiority which it is not surely too fanciful to suppose prompted them to join sucli a Society, or was acquired in it, and sustained their energies through depression, and restored their for- tunes after a period of gloom." 316 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. tion, "was long known by the appellation of the CoUL, and was instituted, it appears, on the 12th January, 1796, about eleven months after the fearful fall of snow which caused so much suffering over the north of Scot- land — closing up, for neai'ly a wliole day, every entrance to house and shop in Glasgow — and which, also, from the absence of all police appli- ances, continued in vast monumental mounds on the sides of the streets for many weeks thereafter.* To all antiquarian readers conversant with the dusty records of our primeval history, the name of Old King Coul must be familiar — that famous ancient monarch of Britain, of whom the old ballad thus speaks — " Old King Coul Was a merry old soul, And a merry old soul was lie ! And he called for his pipe, And he called for his bowl, And he called for his fiddlers three !" But whilst antiquaries may be well acquainted with this and similar poeti- cal annals of the past, it is ten to one that they have never seen a far more rare prose chronicle, entitled " the Book of the Coul," which, in point of antiquity and truth, is not inferior either to the once celebrated Chaldee MSS. of Blackwood, or the lately discovered Talmud of the Mormons. From this doubtless moth-eaten writing in the Caledonian tongue, the translation of which must have been recovered through one of the most prying members of the " Trunk-liners' Society," we gather, strange to say, the story of Old King Coul himself, and of the Coul Club, which was instituted in honour of his peculiar virtues and pastimes. " The Book of the Coul" has thus been written at various times and by divers hands. In particular, we gather from its last chapter that, in imitation of the practice of the ancient king and his knights, each member of the brother- hood, at their meetings, was obliged to sport a thick wauked coul or nightcap, just as a bench of barristers are obliged to cover their craniums, • This teiTible stonn of snow occurred on the 10th February, 1795. THE BOOK OF THE COUL. 317 even in the dog days, with large horse-hair wigs, when sitting'or pleading before the judges in Westminster.* * The follo^ving are a few extracts from the Caledonian MSS. above referred to: — THE BOOK OF THE COUL. Chapter I. Verse 1.— Behold, it came to pass in those days, when many kings reigned in the land, that there arose a mighty man ; and lo ! he was a great king in Caledonia, and ruled over a fruitful part thereof. Verse 2. — And he was mighty in battle, and prevailed exceedingly in fight; never- theless, he loved peace, and rejoiced to live in friendship with the other kings and the princes of the land. Verse 3. — Howbeit, the kings and the mighty ones often arose against him and sought to overthrow him, because of his power, yea, of his gi-eat goodness. Verse 4. — But he girded his loins with a sword, even with a broad sword, he and all his people, and he overcame the warriors which stood against the people with exceed- ing great slaughter. Verse 5. — Now the name of this king was Coilus, and, even unto this day, is a part of the province called Ayr named by his name, yea, it is called Coila, which is Kyle; and the king wore a cap of cloth, and drank out of a brown bowl. Verse 6. — And the king loved good cheer, and Inclined to make his heart glad with wine ; moreover, he was exceeding well pleased to sit at table with his warriors and his mighty men, and to rejoice in the feast, and to enjoy the laugh and the song. Verse 7. — Therefore did the king i-esolve within himself to sit at times and seasons with his warriors, and his princes and his mighty men, and to give the heart to glad- ness and to mirth, and to cast from him the cares which light upon kings and rulers of tlic land, even as the engrosser of parchment Jastcth from him the pen to take up the glass in its stead. Verse 8.— So the king spake unto those of his house and to the people who were gathered together, saying: — Go to, let us make unto ourselves an order of knighthood, and let it be called after my name, and let the members thereof sit at times and seasons •with me, and let us sing and be glad, and cheer our hearts Avith drink, and rejoice exceedingly in our mirth. Verse 9.^And lo ! every man who shall be deemed worthy of being admitted to the table shall sit thereat with me, and a cap of cloth, like unto mine, shall be placed on his head for honour. And the same shall be called a "coul," even so shall it be called after my name. Verse 10. — Now this was in the third year of the king's reign, and upon the fifteenth day of the seventh month thereof; and the king's words pleased the people. Verse 11. — So all the people lifted up their voices, and they shouted with a loud shout, and cried "Amen." Verse 12. — Now, therefore, from that day, did Coilus the king sit with his knights which he created, at times and at seasons; and they wore couls on their heads, and they gave themselves up to mirth and good hu- mour, and were exceedingly happy one with another; and they did call each other " Sir." « * » « » The second chapter nan-ates the death of king Coilus, and of the choice of another by the knights; and the third chapter tells of the ultimate dispersion of the knights, but of the memory of the old king being handed down by oral tradition. In chapter fourth we find, however, that "certain wise men in the City of Glasgow flid gather together, and they did agree to meet and to sit at table, in like manner as Coilus and his knights, and they did elect unto themselves a king — and thc.v called him King Coul — and tlicy did even as the great Coilus and his knights had done." Verse 3. — For they made laws unto them- selves — and they wore couls — and they did drink together at table, and were exceeding 318 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. The Colli Club, when first instituted, and for many years thereafter, was composed of a goodly knot of men of *' credit and renown," perhaps rather above the class to which John Gilpin belonged ; and among this knot, there were many who, by their intelligence and steadiness, ultimately raised themselves to the very highest seats in the City.* The Club met happy one with another — and they did call one another " Sir." » • « • * Verse 8. — And behold the king, even King Coul, sits upon a high throne and commands the toast and the song, and he wears a crown upon his head, and into his hand there is put a mallet, and the king has befoi-e him a goodly desk, whose feet are like eagles' claws, and are formed of brass. Verse 9. — And the king sits at the head of the table and the viceroy at the foot thereof, and there is one called a scribe, which sitteth at the left of our lord the king, who noteth down all that is done; and what our lord the king desireth him to do that he doeth. Verse 10. — Moreover, the knights drink rum toddy in Coul hall, and they sing songs, and give toasts and sentiments, and some- times Scots proverbs; and some of them make songs of praise upon the Coul, and are called poets. But these be poor men who are so, as such have been from the first age of poetry even until now. Verse 11. — And behold the knights do sit at meat with each other twice in each year ; upon tlie twelfth day of the first month, and upon the fourth day of the sixth month, do they dine together, and thereafter settle their shot. Verse 12. — ^Now the rest of the acts of the knights, and all the songs and dirges, and odes and melodies which are written by them, are they not recorded in the minute-books or in the Couliana ? * Among these we may mention the name of ex-Provost Lumsden, who was elected a knight, in 1797, by the title of Sir Christopher Copperplate. This eminent and energetic citizen was bom in Argyle-street, Glasgow, in a house nearly opposite Virginia- street, on the 13th Nov., 1778, and died on the 16th May, 1856. Mr Lumsden commenced his public life by becoming a Commissioner of Police, at the period when that board was the only openly elected body in Glasgow. In 1822 he entered the Town Council, then under the system of self-election, but being found rather liberal for that close corpora- tion, he was allowed to drop out. He again became a Police Commissioner, and there and elsewhere did all that lay in his power — and that was not little — to obtain Municipal and Parliamentary Reform. During the agitation of these exciting questions, Mr Lumsden was a most strenuous advocate for the rights of the people, and for the purpose of making their rights more powerfully heard, was the chief originator of the Glas- goio Argus newspaper, which was so long the organ of the whig party in the city. In 1833 he was chosen a member of the Reformed Council, and was at once selected as one of the new Magistrates. In 1843 he succeeded Sir Jas. Campbell as Lord Provost, and, when in this office, he presided at the Free Trade dinner in 1844, given to Cobden and Bright ; at the dinner given to Sir Henry Pottinger on returning from China ; and at the entertain- ment giving to Lord John Russell on receiv- ing the fi'eedom of the City of Glasgow. When holding the office of Lord Provost, he had the honour of dining with King Louis Philippe at the Palace of Neuilly, the account of which he was accustomed to narrate with infinite fii-e and gusto ; and during the clos- ing year of his provostorial reign, he was mainly instrumental in carrying the Bill which placed the various and conflicting suburban districts of Glasgow imder one municipality. For a long course of years, Mr Lumsden's name was associated with every JAMES LUMSDEN. 319 only once a-week, at the goodly hour of eight in tlie ev^ening, and on ordinary occasions never sat late. It was a joyous and gossiping group of worthies, who had no other object in associating, save to add to each other's pleasure and pastime. There Avas no very stringent code of laws as to membership, except that the candidate for admission required to be a respectable and social companion — one who was neither a bore nor a block- head. On his name being proposed by a member and adopted by the public matter, and witli almost every institu- tion of a benevolent or useful kind. He was the parent of the Glasgow Model Lodging- houses — the founder and patron of the Glas- gow Native Benevolent Society, the indefati- gable Treasurer to the Royal Infirmarj^, the active promoter of the Clydesdale Bank, the New Gas Company, and other useful joint- stock undertakings. With the first steam- boat effort his name is linked, and he was one of the last survivors of the party who accompanied Henry Bell on his experimental trip from the Brooniielaw to Helensburgh in the tiny Comet. In 1831 he made a tour through Germany, accompained by the au- thor of this volume ; and in the summer of 1843, he took a hurried run through the United States and Canada, his impressions of which he printed in a short series of letters for private distribution. Mr Lumsden was gifted with great natural quickness of in- tellect, accompanied by a nervous tempera- ment, qualities which produced in him an almost juvenile exuberance of spirits, and an unflagging activity, and rendei-ed liim a general favourite with all who knew him well. We have heard manj' anecdotes tolil illustrative of these his leading character- istics, and even some of those wliich maj- be designated his eccentricities, but we shall close this imperfect sketch of his career, by a short extract from "Gennany in 1831," which will at once exhibit his perceptive readiness and decision of character. "On approaching Wcimow, the single-headed black eagle em- blazoned over the elegant post-house, pro- claimed that we were about to enter the territories of the King of Prussia; while the posse of military dovianiers who stood ready to encircle the Post-war/en on its arrival, bespoke an immediate and narrow inspection of the goods and chattels of every passenger. Considering the great inducements held out to the smuggler, from the high duties which are levied on all English articles in this country, I must confess we were treated with more politeness and lenity than could have been expected; with much more, indeed, than I have experienced from our own counti-ymen on landing at Dover from France. My companion (Mr Lmnsden,) aware that he carried in his trunk two or three bottles of good Scottish mountain dew, as a rarity for his friends in Berlin, became very nervous as the otflcers began to fumble among the articles in his trunk ; and when the portly quarts, all well corked and waxed, were expiscated and hekl up with the sus- picious query was ist das? his anxiety for their fate became not a little apparent. To carry a cordial for so nuiny hundred miles, and to lose it without a struggle, was no characteristic of mj- friend, and with that intuitive quickness which belongs to him, he wliispered to me to say that it was "Medi- cine for the Cholera." The fearful word, wliich at this moment [cholera was for the first time ravaging the east of Europe, and threatening Gennany,"] makes every one in- voluntarily shudder, produced the desired eftect. The officer immediately tossed the supposed specific into the scales, while my companion was allowed to replace his bottles ill his trunk, at the expense of paj'ing nomi- nally, four silver groschen of duty, or aljout S^d Sterling." — iitran ■' ° aiang Clutha's braes, sac bhthe and gay. tables m the City. It appears that this then ^nd if, perchance, we should forgather youthful knight, was one of the many who Far distant frae dear Scotia's strand, occasionally mounted his Pegasus, for the We'll mind the bonny mountain heather delectation of tlic chapter, for we find in the The heath flow'rs o' our native land, records of the Coul not a few of his poetical efl'iisions preserved. Among these is a very ^^^ =*'''! ^c'll mind the emblem tliistle, clever address which was recited by Sir Rod- "* ^"^'"^ ^"^ P''*'=*'' "* ''"'™ '"'"' ""'" = erick on the 26th anniversary of "the Club, ^"•' *'''"'' ''''' ^"'''' ''"= ^^^'^o'^^'^ ^^hi^tle, ».„f If ;„ *^„ 1 ^ . ti- , ,, When blinks in heaven the morning star. but It IS too long for extract. We shall ™, , ,>,„.- , . , . ° Then bonny Clutha s winsome sliore, therefore give the following song as a sam- s,,^,, ,i,^ ;„ „,emory to the view ; pic, which, though not tlie best of the worthy And to that land one bumper moio knight's ctlusions in 1820, is at least tlie We'll pledge, where first our brcatli we drew. 322 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. man owed liis title to a long and familiar acquaintanceship witli long pri- mer and brevier, and to tlie elegant use of these for expressing the thoughts of others. In this resj)ect, he filled up the gap in the printing chronology of Glasgow, from the time when the last of the Foulises ceased to overlook the classical chase, and before either Khull * or Hedderwick had taken up the composing-stick. To those who knew Sir Faustus best, memory cannot fail to retrace the many happy hours which his company created, which developed all the inherent goodness of his honest heart, and awakened in ourselves the first ambitious dream of an embryo litterateur. The bland dignity of his demeanour, and the complacency of his good-hiimoured coun- tenance, when, tired of sipping his toddy — for he was always temperate, either in the knightly or regal chair — he called, as he was often wont, for " something nice ;" and the rueful look of disappointment when the call failed to produce the wing of a chicken, garnished with the thinest slice of Westphalia or Yorkshire, cannot fail to be remembered by every surviving member of the Coul Club.f He was, in sooth, a choice little knight, yet * In 1815, there Avere in Scotland 414 book hawkers, technically termed canvassers, who, on an average of seven years, collected £44,160 per annnm, in sixpences and shil- lings, five-sixteenths of which belonged to Glasgow. Messrs E. Khull & Co. alone, exclusive of compositors, printers, &c., em- ployed eighty-one canvassers and deliverers, who \asited every town of importance in Scotland. Glasgow at the present time (1856), continues to be the head qiiarters of this branch of the book trade. The agents of Messrs Blackie, Griffin, and M'Kenzie, pene- trate into every part of the kingdom, and the quantityof valuable and useful books, theyhave been thus enabled to place into the hands of persons of humble means is almost incredible. t The following address was read on the 5th June, 1815, being the Festival of King Coul, written by Sir Quixote Quarto : — To HIS AiTiusT Majesty Faustus the first, King of the Union Coul. " Great monarch of the cup and song: — 'VMiose joyous reign may God prolung— Permit your poet laureate, In honour of his king, to raise His humble strain of loyal praise, Unbought by sack or claret. Faustus the First ! your splendid reign, On Coul Club annals shall remain A never-djiiig story : When yielding to oblivion's fate, Our Club had sunk to low estate, You brought it back to glory. No selfish faction placed you on A vacant and neglected throne, To subjugate your knights; And blast their laws and constitution, By some unhallowed revolution, Subversive of their rights. ' You rose to your exalted station, To rule the true blue nightcap nation, By virtue of its voice. What foreign foe shall pull you down, Or tear from you a lawful crown, While you remain its choice ? Throned 'neath your canopy of state, Your kniglits, in due attandance, wait Your mandates to obey ; At your dread nod, the sparkling glass Sliall round the circle briskly pass, With toast and merry lay. MR ROBERT CHAPMAN. 323 certainly seen to the greatest advantage, not in the Coul-hall, but in his own snug dining-room, surrounded by the rarest and most valuable en- gravings that the burins of Strange, Wille, Woolett, Sharpe, Morghen, or Houbracken ever produced ; and by the most choice large-paper copies, in costly binding, of books which would have put a modern Maitlander into raptures, and would have certainly made Dr Frognal Dibdin, had he seem them, leap and roar with joy. ]\Iethinks we yet see the little trigly- dressed knight, sitting in his elbow chair— alas! many long years ago — with his silver snufF-box in his left hand, du-ecting thereon with peculiar vigour the fingers of his right, while his eye glistened around the walls, and he broke the silence of admiration by the pithy exclamation, " Show me a sight like that in Glasgow ! and yet these belong to a trades- man !" Crotchets to be sure he had, and who is he of any note who has them not? But, assuredly, among the many who, in this City, have passed through a Club to their grave, few possessed more of the milk of human kindness than did this dapper knight and king of the Coul.* We have thus attempted to characterise, in particular, one of the mem- bers of the Coul, and we have done so, because Sir Faustus Type tended not only to restore life and energy to the Club when it was prematurely threatened with decay, but was more frequently elected than any other to the throne, and contributed also most generously towards the splendour and comfort of the brotherhood. Perhaps it would be wrong, however, In Coul-hall met, each loyal soul Drinks a ' good health to old Kuig Coul ! ' Your kingship nods consent : Then, rising on yonr royal shanks, You graciously return your thanks For this kind compliment. Your majesty now gives this toast — ' Duke Wellington, and all his host. May heaven protect from liarms — And may he, and liis gallant train, Siwu to tlicir homes return again With all their legs and arms ! ' In honour of t';e Stanhope press, This /i//)ographic toast must pass. In manner grave and sulenni — 'Amongst our sublunary sweets May we ne'er want — hot-press'd ui sheets — A little pleasing volume ! ' * * * * Thus merrily your nights are pass'd — Long may sucli liappy moments last — With wit and friendship scason'd I Sir Quixote liercwith grateful sends His love to all liis CoiU Club friends, And thanks them for their present." t * Mr Robert Chapman, the printer, was the Sir Faustus TjTie of the Coul. t Alluding to a diploma sent to the poet. 324 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. to pass over this wide-spread and clever fraternity in this summary manner; so we shall shortly allude to two or three of the most conspicuous. And first among the host of Glasgow minor poets which belonged to the Coul, we may mention Mr William Glen, who, while sitting under the style and title of Sir Will the Wanderer, contributed so many of his earliest and best lyrics to the poetical stock of the Club ;* and secondly, among the equally numerous class of vocalists which made Coul-hall ring with the richest melody, we may allude to Sir Napkin Nightingale,! Sir Malcolm Mahogany,! and Sir Robin Eeply,§ the latter " Banishing all woe, When boldly singing — Yo, heave, ho !" and thirdly, among the wits and speech-makers, who could compare to Sir Sine-qua-non,|l and his friend Sir Patrick Packet 1 1T But among the better known literary knights of the Coul, we must not omit James Sheridan Knowles, the author of many of our most popular dramas, and who, under the title of Sir Jeremy Jingle, so many times and oft delighted the chapter with his speeches, songs, and Irish stories. The author of " Virginius" was then in the heyday of life, full of fun and frolic ; and few would have augured that, while sitting under a Kilmarnock coul, he would one day exchange it for a Methodist cassock !** We must also mention Andrew Picken, author of the " Dominie's Legacy," and the " Traditionary Stories of Old Families," who, with the title of Sir Bertram Balance, before his final departure for London, where he spent his life as a litterateur, occasionally took a part in this hebdomadal Wappenschaio of wit and waggery ; and though last, not least, we feel bound to bring into view the venerable Ryley, who, under the title of Sir Peter Pension, * For a short account of Mr William Glen, J Mr James Waddell. author of the " Battle of Vittoria," and other § Mr Robert Smith. Ij'rics, sec "Anderston Social Club." In a || Mr James Hai-vey, Avriter. MS. volume which we have seen, entitled ^ Mr Patrick M'Naughton. " Couliana, or Effusions of the Union Coul ** Mr Knowles was then engaged in Glas- Clul) Muse," there are numerous lyrics by Mr gow teaching the young idea " how to Glen, which have never been published. spout." f Mr William Martin. OLD RYLEY. 325 always delighted his audience by his vocal and social qualifications. Fre- quently has a large chapter of the knights hung on that old actor's anec- dotal lips, while he detailed the green-room dissensions in old Drury, and prated about George Colman and Peter Moore, of Lords Yarmouth and Byron, and of members of both Houses giving directions to scene- shifters, tailors, and painters, as if the interest of the nation depended on their proper fulfilment ; and anon, he would repeat the facetious repartees of Mathews and Munden ; detail the tricks that were played upon poor Incledon, indulge in halaam about Kean and Kemble, and, in fine, retail the slip-slop of the travellers'- room, the wise saws and modern instances of babbling bagmen, the ignorant effrontery of Cockney tailors in search of /iorders, the slang of co'achraen, the gabble of guards, et hoc genus omne !* It is also right to mention, that durino; the loner life of this Club, there were not a few knights whose shields were quartered with a sock and * All who were accustomed to sun them- selves on the Trongate, during the second decade of this century, cannot fail to remem- toer having there frequently encountered a tall, straight, and slender septuagenarian, faithfully pioneered by a French poodle. He was generally dressed in a full suit of goodly sables, that distinguishing and tell-tale garb of theology and physic, of legal bugbears and new fledged bailies, and might have passed with many, in this Calvinistic cajjital, for some brimstone-dealing Methodist par- son, had not the smart cock of his laughing eyes too plainly intimated that his profession was rather to scatter sunshine than gloom over the pathway of his fellow-ti-avellers through the world. His locks, exposed as they had been to so many winters of strange vicissitude, had attained a silver-whiteness, and his whiskers had assumed so grizzly a hue as to be proof even against the blacken- ing powers of Meek's " real vegetable dye," 80 vciy sen-iceable to our then and present aspirants after baboon fame! His confident step and debonair manner suggested the idea that perhaps he had jiaced another stage besides tliat to which "Old Will" says all the world is doomed ; and that he had " in his time plaj-ed many parts," aj^, more than man's " seven ages." Disappointment and chagrin, the sure attendants on all who are dependent on public fashion or patronage, had worn several deep furrows in his cheek ; but a sort of "dam'me who's afraid" smile, which ever and anon played upon his upper lip, testified that though Despair and Hope had been long fighting there for possession, the "fair-eyed goddess" still claimed her witching superiority in the countenance of the veteran. Such were some of the leading traits of a man Avhom many must have en- countered, upwards of thirty years ago, upon his diurnal beat from Queen-street to the CoflFee-room at the Cross. Such was, in fact, old/Pyc//, the veteran actor who gave lectures inDunlop-street Theatre — the writer of some fairish songs — the concocter of a comedy that was damned at Drurj- — the author of nine gossiping volumes entitled "The Itinerant' — and the Sir Peter Pension of the Coul Club. The following extract from "The It- inerant" will better illustrato the man than anything fiuther we can say. Old Ky'cy tells us that he dined w ith the Fox Club, and had sung several of liis patriotic songs — " mounted sixty-three ste^js to liis lodgings, 326 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. buskin, and that from this corner of the chapter much music and amuse- ment ever emanated.* But, perhaps, among the many knights who, from time to time, sat under King Coul, none better deserves to be recorded than Sir Benjamin Bangup — whose varied talents since, so long devoted to the public service, and whose excellent taste in the fine arts, gained for him a leading position among the denizens of his native City, in whose welfare he ever took the deepest interest, and for whose especial benefit he be- queathed the collected tokens of his artistic taste.f 2 Queen-street" — and gone to Ijed dreaming of the nibbling "rat of poverty," when, on entering the dining-room on the following morning, where a Scotch breakfast was laid out, he says : — "As I approached the table I saw a fat- looking letter addressed to me; and, ere I opened it, said in soliloquy ' where dost thou come from, thou lusty lump of manufactured rags — thou canst not bear good tidings to me — thou comest not from Parkgate (the resi- dence of his wife).' But, on breaking the seal, what was my astonishment to find twelve pounds enclosed, with these friendly lines, ' A few of Mr Ryley's sincere friends beg his acceptance of the enclosed, as a mark of re- spect due to his literary and convivial talents." "Who's afraid ? said I, taking the room at three strides, and placing the notes in my empty pocket-book. Who, after this and many similar instances, will let their noble courage be cast down ? My empty-bellied pocket-book had, for the last fortnight, cut so meagre and lank an appearance that the very sight of it became disgusting to me ; but now, as it lay on the table, sleek, plump, and aldermanic, my former disgust changed to awful respect, nay, even the red leather appeared more beautiful, and seemed to shine with uncommon lustre. man ! man ! what a strange compound art thou ! The rich rascal in robes, red or black, obtains more respect than virtuous merit in rags. An awkward, uncouth INlanchester man, in the travellers' room, coarse as his county in speech, inflated with self-approbation, arro- gant, illiterate, and choked with what is called loyalty, from being almost sent to Coventry, on account of the apparent vacuity of his mind and manners, became on an in- stant the idol of those who had before de- spised him ! ' Mr. Cop's health, with the IManchester magistrates,' was given in the most profound respect. His silly attempts at art were highly applauded ; his obscene stories, in the Lancashire dialect, obtained for him the title of Tim Bobbin the second; in short, he became the Alpha and Omega of the whole company ; and all this arose from a whisper in a corner, ' He's worth not less than fifty thousand pounds ! ' " * Among the theatrical members were Messrs Harry Johnston, Tayleure, Bland, Mason, and two Glasgow men who afterwards espoused the stage, Mr Alexander M'Alpine and Mr Cochrane the jeweller; the former sitting at the Coul under the title of Sir Chris- topher Cobweb, and the latter under that of Sir Bauldy Brooch. Of Sir Bauldy, it may be truly said, that if he did not acquire much fame on the boards, he at least gained the distinction of exhibiting a mouth which, for size, has scarcely ever been surpassed, save on a " Bull-and-Mouth stage coach. For notice of Sandy M'Alpine, see "Anderston Social Club." f The following is the Club minute when Mr Archibald M'Lellan was elected a member of the Coul, Avhich appears to have taken place on the 1st September, 1814: — "Thereafter Mr M'Lellan attended, and a chapter of the knights having been held, and that worthy A VISIT OF THE COUL CLUB. 327 Like Sir Faustns Type, the Coul Club, with its king, viceroy, and chapter, has now long been defunct ; but, ere we consign it for ever to that oblivion to which all Clubs, like their members, are destined ultimately to be cast, let it always be remembered that this fraternity did not limit themselves alone to the pleasures of the table, but occasionally exercised the higher prerogative of ministering to tlie wants of their fellow-citizens by deeds of benevolence and patriotism.* Among the many acts of this esquire having taken upon liiin the duties and obligations essential to the high quality of a knight of the Coul, received from his majesty the honour of knighthood, taking the style and title of Sir Benjamin Bangup." Un- fortunately Mr jNI'Lellan's bequest could not be carried out in consequence of the state of his affairs. The Corporation, however, after his death, purchased his collection of pictures as a nucleus for a City Gallery of Art. " The following rather curious picture of the Coul Club was given us by our friend Dr Mathie Hamilton, and illustrates the pecu- liarities of this fraternity, when the Club was " in its sere and yellow leaf," that is to say, when it had exchanged its staid and prudent characteristics for those vagaries which seem to have actuated sometimes the youthful members, who succeeded to the vacant chairs of the grey-haired knights, and which, no doubt, hastened the fate of the fraternity: — " On the evening of the first Monday of January, 1815, the members of the ' Glasgow Literary Debating Society' supped together in the Tontine tavern. We met at nine o'clock p.m., and about one o'clock a.m., while enjoying a ' feast of reason and flow of soul,' the landlord gave us notice that, if agreeable, the ' Coul Club ' would pay us a visit. We hilariously responded to the intimation, and the Coul Club appeared in our apartment. The members wore masks, one gentleman excepted, whom I recognised as an old ac- quaintance. The Club marched into tiic room with much formality, every one of them making a 'salaam' to our president; and each of them exhibited some musical instru- ment or insignia of office : one beat on a little drum, while another played on a small violin, another on a penny trump or Jew's harp^ which he held in his mouth with one hand, and played on it with his other fingers — one of the gentlemen, who seemed to be a pro- minent member of the Club, thumped on a tambourine, which he flourished on high and twirled about in a most exciting manner. The couled gentlemen were all seated in a row. A short speech was made by our president ; which was most graciously replied to by a couled wag, who closed a laconic and pithy harangue, by intimating that he and his com- panions would now entertain us with a Dutch concert ; but, previous to the music l>cing commenced, it was proposed, and agreed to, nem. con., that all the gentlemen present should wet their whistles, after which, we calmly listened to the queer melody of sounds sent forth by thegrotesque-lookinggroup of bipeds who had so imexpeetedly appeared before us. When the concert ceased, the player on tlie tambourine, with the instrument as a begging hat, went round the table at which our Society wei"e seated, and made a collection for the musicians — but which, of course, was after- wards retiu-ned liy the landlord. The Coul Club retired, as they entered, with all due formality, since whicli time I never saw them again." The Literary Debating Society above al- luded to was dissolved in 1815, and then con- sisted of eleven members; all of whom were present at its last annual supper, when visited l>y the Coul Club. The following curious statistical account of those remanent members was given me by a survivor : — "Five became Benedicts, and six i-cmained 328 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. nature, it may be meutioned, tliat they contributed £50 to the Royal Infirmary, for which they obtained a perpetual right of sending two patients to that noble institution; they subscribed £25 to the Monument to Robert Burns ; and they also gave £25 towards the Monument of the Hero of Trafalgar, which still rears its lightning-struck summit in our public Green. Recollecting these noble deeds, and the many worthy individuals who in this Club once " wore their hearts upon their sleeves," and whose now acheless heads, alas ! require no coul, are we not justified in imagining that the few survivors of this once numerous and happy brotherhood, may be apt to think Tom Moore not far wrong when he says — " When true hearts lie wither'd And fond ones are flown, Oh ! who would inhabit This hleak world alone ?" single. Two of the former, and four of the become insolvent in 1816, went to Columbia, latter went abroad out of Europe ; and all fought under General Bolivar, and shuffled who continued in this country are now dead off his mortal coil in the island of Trinidad. (1856) ; four of the five were in business, and One of the two survivors is a Benedict, and the other, the most eloquent member of the in 1814 was a student in theology ; subse- Society, was intended for the pulpit, but, be- quently he lived for many years in Asiatic coming a votary of Bacchus and Thespis, Russia, near the city of Astrakhan and the finished his career as a strolling player. Of Caspian Sea; the other is still a bachelor, of those who travelled in other lands — one, who whom it may be recorded that, — was married, made his exit in New York; J c ^1, -u X, 1 T T • /-i_i Five times around Cape Horn he sail'd, and one of the bachelors died m Canada, . , ^ . , ^ ; ,, . , ^ . , . And over Danen s Istiimus pass d ; havmg been a member of the Legislative Amid the din of war saw fighting, Assembly; another, who was a teacher and ^^d on tlie Andes tops sheet Ughtning; poet, succumbed in Ncav South Wales ; and T^vice traversed snow-girt Cordilleras, one who was a merchant in Glasgow, having Via Potosi and Chuquisacas. ©uontiam 5tate of tfje ^lasrjobj police. GEGG CLUB. To those who are now living quietly and comfortably under the protec- tion of our well-managed Muncipal Police, it is scarcely possible to convey ^n idea of the irregularities and dangers to which Glasgow was exposed before the first Police Act was obtained, and for even a considerable number of years after this statute had been put in force. Down to the close of the last century, watching and warding was, in accordance with the Burgess Oath, an obligation laid upon all who had obtained municipal privileges ; but the mode practised by the burgesses to evade the duty was, of itself, sufficient to render the whole even worse than a farce. The respectable citizens, instead of proceeding in their turn to the Guard-house themselves, either hired porters, or sent their manufacturing servants to perform the work; while occasionally a set of young madcaps ostensibly undertook the duty, but instead of attempting to allay noise and turbulence, secretly insti- gated commotion for the sake of diversion. In these circumstances, it may easily be conceived that thieves, vagabonds, and blackguards had their full swing, while, beneath the safeguard of an ill-lighted and frequently a lamp-demolished town, offences of the most heinous kind were safely committed. Even so late as the commencement of the present century, outrages of every kind and description were daily committed in the blaze of day, while battles with lethel weapons, and pugilistic encounters on the public streets, were of nightly occurrence.* While this was the case, it • The Glasgow Courier of 1790 and 1800 is and particnlarly in Anderston-walk, where replete with accounts of street robberies and during one night the whole lamps wer« assaults.and lamp-smashing inOeorge-square, nearly demolished. 330 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. must be allowed that many of these irregularities arose more from fun and frolic than from vice and passion, and were created not unfrequentlj by youthful sparks belonging to the better and more educated classes. At that period, to carry off a barber's basin, or to unswing a golden fleece, was a common trick ; and as to the transference of a sign-board from one shop to another, this was looked upon as no crime, but rather as a most excellent joke. The fact is, that for many years after the Police was established, it was anything but a sufficient force. It was invisible in the day-time, and during the night the watching was little better than a mockery. The limited day force, indeed, was chiefly engaged in the detection of grave crimes ; while the night force was rather a dread to themselves than to others. It is but the truth when we say, that the watchmen then were chosen, not so much on account of their fitness to guard the lieges against attack or insult, and to protect the property of the citizens from harm and depredation, as, chiefly and mainly, on account of the low wages at which they condescended to remain out of bed during the night and perform their supposed duties. It is easy to conceive that the men who could be thus cajoled, were poor, frail, worn-out individuals, generally in eai'ly life con- nected with the West Highlands, and, though ranging from sixty to seventy- five years of age, the greater part of which they had spent in the City, had not been able even to conquer the English dialect. The head of the Police — who was then called Master, and who, as police knowledge now goes, knew little or nothing of his business — had, however, the kindness and consideration to envelope the poor old Celts in a kind of domino of grey cloth, and to tie round their waists a coarse cord, from which hung a pair of large wooden clappers. In one hand was placed a useless, un- wieldy rung or stick, and in the other a lumbering lantern, which emitted a miserable glimmering light. On a stormy night, the shaky old watch- man would sometimes draw over his rough-stockinged limbs a pair of coarser hoggers, as an additional safe-guard from the night air; while, over his wig, if he had such a luxury, was usually planted a Kilmarnock night- cap, and, above all, a hat ; the whole head-gear being tied down under HOW THEY SERVED THE POLICE. 331 the cliin by some cast-ofF shawl or handkerchief. In this garb and guise, the police guardian sallied forth, not unfrequently accompanied by his wife, to the post assigned him for the night, who, after seeing him snug in his box, retired home, never forgetting, however, to give him the strictest charges to take good care of himself ! It may be easily imagined, that having just swallowed his supper of porridge and milk, and being somewhat fatigued with his walk, the watchman was not long ensconced in his wooden surtout before he felt himself in a tolerably dozy condition ; and as these boxes were made with the upper half-door to open outwards, in the lock of which the key was always left, it not unfrequently happened that the poor Charley was locked in, and the key thrown away, by some passing wag, and sometimes even the box and all it contained was tumbled flat on its face, by a knot of mischievous dare-devils returning fuddle-patcd from a tavern.* Perhaps the following anecdote will illustrate, better than anything else, the absurdity of the system of Police management which prevailed during * Police affairs had engaged the attention public men in all ages are exposed. It com- of the Magisti-ates and Council for a very nienced as follows : — considerable time, and so early as 1778 an Inspector was appointed, with a salary of "^q'J;"'' '°'"^ ''' '"^^^*-«'"«' ^ '^^^ ^ ^^'^ "f £100 per annum ; but which office was abol- who wldci-d through a stubble field, with nothin,- ished in 1781. In 1788, an Intendant of jjkg PoUce. Police and other subordinate officers were Suig hey the Geese of Glasgow ! shighcythe Glas- appointed, and the Magistrates applied for gow Geese I an Act to assess the inhabitants to defray the 'Twas wonder how they lived so well, and yet luul necessary expenses ; but as the public were °° Police ! not to have a voice in the election of the Ward Commissioners, a powerful and sue- '' g,^,°;""' '" ' ^''''°" "^''''' '° '''''' '""'' ''"'"'" cessful opposition was set on foot, by which Thafuley must yield their hoaided store to a Master the Bill was withdrawn. There appears to ^f pyUce. have been much excitement connected with the matter, particularly among the members O silly Geese of Glasiiow! silly Glasgow Geese! of the Trades' House, and many squibs I think, my lads, you'll cackle low beneath your new and scurrilous publications were sent forth Police. against tlic promoters of the scheme. Among ^''^ l'^'*" ^'"'^ '" ""= C°^^" '""^'"'1 '^>' <"'' »«"ccted fop, ., .._ i. 1 1 • i. ii Who camo from oil' tlie Turkish Dun, and so nick- these was one that made much noise at the ^- , . , ,,,,, ,, ,. ,. named Dunlop — time, entitled the "Glasgow (leese, a few „., , . ..,, . ., , „ » , , „r, ■,, ' " ' W ho struts stdl m the foremost rank dull Councdlors verses of which liave been handed down to us by an octogenarian memory. From this may be gathered, to how many slanders Peacock's song; among, US by an octogenarian memory. From this Because he ape- the Turkey's donco and cko tho 332 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. the first decade of the present century. At that period, it will no doubt be remembered that there stood, at the top of High John-street, a strange- looking building, used as a sugar-house, surrounding which there were ever to be seen some dozens of empty sugar hogsheads. One winter's night, a party of young madcaps, returning from a supper-party in the neighbourhood of this refining establishment, determined on not only playing a trick on the watchmen, but producing what they knew would be the result, — putting them in deadly alarm. Having reached the sugar- house, a little before the witching hour of night, they each set about quietly rolling out a hogshead to the summit of the street, and there having arranged a train extending to at least a dozen, into which they placed as many stones as they could lay hands on, and having cogged the lowest, awaited the moment when the City clocks had tolled out the midnight chime. At the first note of twelve, the yawning and timid guardians of Thrice did he nod liis brainless head, thrice wag his supple tail, Then, with a Goose's arguments, his brethren did assail — ' Gemmen, you know as well as I our (lock are siin« pie Geese, Then wherefore, pray, should we be shy in giving them Police?' ***** ♦ My brother Tom— the Gander fat— shall their Col- lector be ; For why, you know that he must eat as well as you or me: He will not work, he cannot want, and I'll not give liiin grain; Therefore, you see it is but just the Geese should him maintain.' "Argj-11's lame Goose, with clam'rous throat, arose and clapp'd his wings, Just as he does at Duiie's club, when Jackie Turkey sings. He join'd was by a great fiit Goose, of wond'rous bulk and bustle — Who ne'er can listen while you speak, without a song and whistle — Quoth he, ' Unto my office come, I will insure your Bill— I'll whistle Jamie Wardrop dumb, so who can doubt my skill? The Bill shall pass, or I'm an ass, by either truth or fiction ; And every Goose I'll soundly chase that offers con- tradiction.' A lean malt Goose, from the Trades' House, cries out, ' My dear fat brother, I wonder much that you should choose to make so great a pother — I say, I sweai- the Bill shall pass ; yes, on my life it shall— Though every dirty trading ass T 1 a scoundrel calL On a stair-head, fast by the Cross, John Orr stood like a man, Geese to cajole, ne'er at a loss, he hemm'd, and thus began — ' My bonnie Geese of Glasgow ! my bonnie Glasgow Geese! This is a joyful day, I trow, that brings you a Policcl This Master, whom you cannot choose, is every way most fit To lead one party by the nose, and make the rest submit.' happy Geese of Glasgow! happy Glasgow Geese ! 1 wonder how you've lived so long without this grand Police 1 " The first Police Act— which had been long attempted to be obtained by the Civic autho- rities—was passed on the 30th June, 1800; QUONDAM STATE OF THE POLICE. 333 the night cautiously slipped out of their boxes, prepared to gurgle out the hour ; and, at the last note, the happy and fearless youths removed the cogstone, and off went the hogsheads, rumbling and rattling like thunder down the steep incline, startling from their peaceful rest the sleeping popu- lation in the streets and houses along which their progressively noisy course conducted them, and filling with alarm and trepidation the three or four muffled cruardians of the nisht who watched the neio;hbourhood, and who were rendered thereby speechless even in GaBlic. From the extreme dark- ness of the night, the cause of the panic was to all a mystery ; for the noise, althouo'h terrific while it lasted, was neither of long duration nor limited to one spot. The progressive hurley-burley was in fact so extraordinary, that the poor watchmen thought a judgment had fallen on the town ; and being both timid and superstitious, they took to their heels as far from the scene of terror as possible, rattling their clappers and crying out fire and thunder. Whether it was from fear or from darkness, it is certain that the cause of the commotion was not discovered till the risinfr of the sun gave courage to examine the quarter whence the unearthly noise had pro- ceeded ; but although the prank might have produced the most serious consequences both to life and property, still, such was the inefficiency of the Police, that until this day the perpetrators of this wild and dangerous and, in September, of the same year, Mr John if not, to daunt them hj the force of his Stenhouse was appointed Master. He appears, brawny arm. Heaven knows he had then however, not to have liked tlie office, as we but a few to help him, the day officers being find he resigned in January, 1803, and was little beyond a dozen, and the night watch- succeeded by Mr Walter Graham, who like- men, although numbering nearly seventy, wise resigned in 1805 ; the latter again was being never called to act on such emergen- succceded by Mr Mitchell, who— having l)een cies; in fact, tliey were not to be had at such a subaltern in the army — assumed the desig- hours, the exertions of the night- watching nation of Captain of Police, a title which confining them generally to bed till they seems to have vulgarly adhered to the office. sallied forth again to their watch-boxes. Captain Mitchell was a tall, burly, broad- The first Police-office was in a house at the shouldered man, and showed both coolness corner of Candlcriggs and Bell-street, close and courage in the discharge of his difficult to the old Bowling-green. It was then re- duties. We recollect him many times and moved to apartments next to, and above, the oft, standing steady, amid the crowd of rioters, Guard-house, at the west side of Candleriggs- at the foot of Stockwell, on a Whitsun- street; and, after remaining there for ten Monday, like Saul among the people, and years, was ultimately located on the present attempting to cajole them by fair words, and, site in South .Vlbion-strcet. 334 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. trick are unknown. In these days, too, tlie boundaries of the Police juris- diction Avere veiy much restricted, and consequently it was the easiest thing in the world to escape detection. In the east, the trickster had a city of refuge in Calton ; in the south, the Gorbals offered its protection ; and in the west, it was only necessary to step across St Enoch's burn to be safe from the watchman's pursuit. By the Tom and Jerry sort of youths with which the City then abounded, the night police of Highland imbeciles was looked upon, as we have alreay hint ad, as a perfect farce, and was calculated rather to excite their derision and instigate their taste for frolic, than to evoke their fear or control their conduct. It was when the Police was in this disjointed and disorganised condition, and before the Commissioner, Mr James Hamilton, o^ grocer memory, had begun to weigh with himself, as he was wont to repeat, the weighty mat- ters brought before the weekly Board, that there assembled a gifted and sprightly brotherhood of acknowledged wags, who were well known as the Gegg Club. To the raillery and sarcasm of the individual members of this brotherhood, society at large owed much ; and by the pranks which they collectively played, the table was often kept in a roar and the City in laughter. They met often, laughed loud, and generally sat late. They frequently even disdained the tell-tale dawn of daylight, provided daylight was never seen within their glasses ; and, rather than forego an evening's practical joke upon some green and arrogant booby, they were individually ready to take the alternative of turning out, if necessary, with a pair of hair-triggers in the cool of the morning ! Although, to those who have been accustomed to breathe the atmos- phere of Glasgow, it is unnecessary to give any definition of the term which constituted the nominal band of the Gegg Club, it is perhaps incumbent on us to inform those who never paced the Trongate, that the cabalistic term gegg signifies a pratical joke played on some unsuspecting greenhorn, whereby he is made to believe and to act upon what is in reality not founded on fact, and thereby to occasion laughter and merriment to those who are aware of the truth. Accordingly, the members of such a brotherhood MEETINGS OF THE GEGG CLUB. 335 were necessarily men of sharp, acute, and fearless dispositions, who could see farther into a millstone than other people, and could arrive at a con- clusion by means infinitely shorter than the world around them. In phrenological language, each member of the fraternity required to have the bumps of wit, perception, ideality, firmness, combativeness, and love of approbation largely developed ; while those of reverence, conscientious- ness, and caution were small. As it may be supposed, the members of this Club, or College, as it was originally designated, were not numerous ; and, what is perhaps needful to be told, their meetings were limited to no particular club-room, nor peculiar place of rendezvous.* The fraternity as frequently met in a private house as in a tavern ; while certain of their most striking and interesting Seances were held in the hospitable mansion of a gentleman who, with the peculiar gifts which constituted him a worthy member of this brotherhood, united those more amiable qualities which rendered him one of the most beloved members of the community. The ordinary meetings of the Club were ever limited to ordinary mem- bers, and were hence characterised by the most gentlemanlike demeanour and playful raillery. The extraordinary meetings, on the other hand, rarely took place, and when held, it was generally for the purpose of geg-^ ging a greenhorn, or chastising a self-sufficient spoony, and they were always open to the individual or individuals who were to be made, on the occasion, the butt of the brotherhood's practical joke or gegg. It was, for example, from an extraordinary tavern meeting of the fraternity, that the well-known Beau Findlay — who actually lived on the idea that he possessed the most splendid whiskers and most finished head-gear in Glasgow — was borne home, shorn of his darling pigtail and cultivated whiskers, with a face as black as a ^loor, and with the trophies of his shame in his pocket ; a loss and a gain which the now almost forgotton swell did not • The Gegff Club was the successor of the sions of certain well-known gentlemen in the Gcfrg Collefjc, the latter having been insti- city, by confemng on each a professorial tutccl to express the ruling opiniuns or pas- title the very opposite of their characters. 33G GLASGOW AND 1T8 CLUBS. discover till he started at his own strange reflection on the foUowinf; mornino;.* CD It was also from another extraordinary meeting of the Club, that the following ludicrous gegg was played on one who had frequently joined in similar jokes upon others. The circumstances attendant on this gegg were these : — On rather a dark night, during the winter, and before the intro- duction of gas, or the somniferous receptacles of dozy watchmen had been wisely discarded, the Club had assembled in a well known tavern near the Cross, in considerable foi'ce and in the best possible humour. As previ- ously arranged by the chief actors in the practical joke to be that night perpetrated, it was quite certain that the party to be gegged would be present, and in good earnest he was so — entering, as he was wont, into all the fun and frolic of the evening. The peculiar and happy characteristic of this worthy member consisted in his never being known, upon any occa- sion, to be the first to break up a good and sprightly company. He was, in fact, generally found last at every bowl of punch, and had always some- what in his tumbler when the majority were on their feet for departure. He was, in common parlance, a jovial dog ; but, amid the long sitting and the joviality, he occasionally lost somewhat of his recollection, though never the power of his pins. The gegg, therefore, to be played on this * There were few men better known as night when the deed was done, with an action "pacers of the pave'" than Mr Findlay, Avho, of damages before the Court of Session; and no being an idle man, and possessed of fair wonder he did so, when it is mentioned that, means, was generally to be met with, stick in on being conducted home, reft of his whisk- hand, sunning himself on the Trongate every ers and M'ith blackened face, his old trusty forenoon between noon and dinner-time. He maid-servant did not know him, and, on was peculiarly attentive to his dress, and opening the house door to his knock, saluted gained for himself the epithet of Beau. He him with " Get down the stair, you dirty was also particularly proud of his whiskers, blackguard !" As an instance of the Beau's and, it was said, devoted much time and no rather strange doings, it may be stated that, small cost to their cultivation and cut. With in the prospect of rebuilding an old tene- the members of the Gegg Club he was veiy ment belonging to him in the upper High- intimate, and, in spite of many tricks played street, he purchased several old windows of upon him, he could not help associating with different sizes, and formed the openings of the gay and regardless perpetrators of frolic, his new house for their reception ; and there Upon the occasion of losing his pigtail and they still appear, as a curions memento of whiskers he was, however, very wrotli, and his singular eccentricity. threatened those who were present on the PRACTJCAL JOKES OF THE GEGGEKS. 337 member was one which was addressed to his adumbrated memory rather than to anything connected with his physical nature. Be that as it ma}^, the Club, as we have said, met in full divan, and all went " merry as a mar- riage bell" — bowl followed bowl, toast chased toast, and tumbler was tossed over after tumbler ; in short, the whole party, including the geggee, were in the highest spirits, — when lo ! the chime from tlie Cross steeple told it was midnight, and that it was now time to attend to the business on hand. The members quietly rose from the board and took their hats from the hat-pins, and the geggee took down his greatcoat, and, with the most satisfied air possible, buttoned it across his breast. The whole mem- bers laughed, as they were wont, on quitting the Club-room, and the geggee was the loudest among all the company. The street was soon reached, and onward the whole party sallied, till they arrived at the south end of Hutcheson-street, where the geggee had his domicile. Then each of them shook him cordially by the hand, wished him safely home, and a sound sleep when he got to bed ! The geggee thanked them for their good wishes, and unconsciously wended his serpentine career towards his resi- dence. The geggers slipped silently, and on tiptoe, at a respectable dis- tance behind, ready to enjoy the successful issue of the joke they had played on their companion. The geggee, on arrival at the close or entry which led to his house, boldly entered and ascended the first flight of stairs, at the head of which stood the door of his domicile — a door which was wont to open to his knock or his check-key at any hour he might think proper. But, think of his astonishment, when he reached the threshold of his imagined comfortable domain, to find there no doorway and no entrance. He groped, amid the darkness of the unillumined staircase, for some opening, but, alas ! none was to be found ! He at once thought he had mistaken the close — that the Club liquor was more potent than usual; and, in his dilemma, he descended the staircase, and, staggering across to the opposite side of the street, planted his back against the wall, where he staix'd with fixed eyeballs on the opposite tenement, which, even through clouditied brain, looked vastly like his own home. And so it was; but, z 338 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. durincT the time the Club were sitting, a bricklayer had been employed by the chief actors in the plot to build up the doorway! and, considering the very indifferent state of the night police at that period, it was of easy accompllslunent. Easy or difficult, the thing was done, however; and it was not till four in the morning that the poor geggee, having recovered from the effects of the Club orgies, and the mysterious disappearance of his doorway, arrived at the too just conclusion, that his companions had played as palpable a joke upon him as he himself had ever played upon others, when at length he got access, through the instrumentality of another bricklayer, to his hermetically-sealed habitation and unpressed pillow. The geggers, who remained concealed on the shady side of an almost lampless street, enjoyed the plight in which they saw tlieir luckless companion placed, and, careless of the consequences, stealthily retired, leaving the geggee to recover at his leisure. It was likewise at an extraordinary seance^ in the private mansion of a member, to whom we have already alluded, tliat another ludicrous gegg was played on a celebrated and self-sufficient swell, the simple account of which will perhaps better illustrate the feelings and peculiarities of this fra- ternity than anything else we can say. The personage for whose benefit the extraordinary meeting of the Gegg Club was congregated, had made himself conspicuous in the City as one — at least in his own estimation — of its greatest Counts. He was tall, and was always seen in the very pink of fashion. It was rumoured of him, that he used to stand for hours before his cheval mirror, revelling in the beauty of his limbs and the fancied Antinous form of his face and figure ; and that, after fully impressing his mind with the idea of his own matchless symmetry, he sallied forth, fully fraught with the conviction that every woman he encountered was admiring him, and that no one who wore a petticoat could have the heart to resist his manly charms ! He was, in short, a " look and die" man, in so far as regards the fair sex ; but being resolved, as he often said, never to sacrifice himself to any woman without obtaining a handsome douceur as a legitimate recompense, he had not yet met with a shrine valuable enough for his PRACTICAL JOKES OF THE GEGGERS. 339 adoration. It so happened, however, that, at the period to which our story refers, a lady, answering in every respect to his wants, had come to GLasgow ; and that a splendid ball_, to which he and the lady were invited, was to take place. This occurrence the Count took great pleasure in mentionino' — ostentatiously asking all his acquaintances whether he really ought, or ought not, to choose this lady as his victim. The Gegg Club having considered the occasion one of the most fitting opportunities for playing off one of their practial jokes on the self-sufficient Adonis, an extraordinary seance was resolved upon, to take place on the day of the ball, to which the geggee was specially invited. The Adonis made, at first, some objections to attending an entertainment on the day of a dancing-party ; but this being overruled by the soft persuasive tongue of the chief Gegg, the members were summoned, the plan fairly concocted, and the Club met accordingly. The mansion in which the brotherhood on this memorable occasion congregated, was situated in one of the principal streets of the old City — the fact is, that at that time there was no St Vincent-street, far less Woodside and Claremont-crescents — the house which the hospitable mem- ber occupied being the first floor above the shops in Hutcheson-street. At four o'clock, the brethren met, to the number of about a dozen, and half an hour after the period at which he was invited, the Count entered the drawing-room, fully donned for the ball, and making a thousand apologies for keeping the gentlemen from the dinner-table. There was a self-sufficient and forward flippancy about the geggee which contrasted delightfully with the Machiavelian and masked gravity of the geggers — an expression of conscious superiority in point of corporeal qualities on the part of the former, especially when he eyed himself askance in the pier- glass — a look of placid satisfaction, in regard to mental powers, on the part of the latter, when on meeting one another's eyes, they gave each other the fraternal wink ! From the drawing-room, the party, as is customary, proceeded to the dining-room, when the geggee was handed to the seat of honour next the 340 GLASGOW AMD ITS CLUBS. landlord. The entertainment went on — the wine was pushed about — and soon the party set in, as was their wont, for ''serious drinking." Jest and story chased eacli other, the company roared and laughed, and the roof echoed for hours with the notes of mirth and jollity. A huge bowl of Glasgow punch had been manufactured, and brimmer followed brimmer to the health of the west-country beauties. The Count pronounced the name of her with whom he was to meet that evening, and her health was given and received with three times three. A chamber clock, which stood on the mantelpiece, had been purposely set back a full hour, not to alarm the geggee, who, trusting to its correctness, never dreamed of budging till it had struck nine. At the tell-tale sound, however, he made preparations for rising ; when the landlord, in a neat speech, proposed the health of the Count; and, after eulogising his personal appearance and agreeable manners, concluded by wishing him every success in his proposed matri- monial scheme ! The Count, casting his eye at his well-formed limbs, thanked him for his kindness and the company for their good wishes, and vowed it would not be his fault if the scheme was not brought to a happy termination. The Gcgg Club could scarcely conceal a suppressed titter, when the geggee rose, with a self-sufficient damn-me sort of " Good-by," to leave the room. "A fair wind to you, my good fellow!" shouted the whole Club. "Now, see you don't take her heart by actual storm!" The Count walked to tlie lobby, took his hat, and lifted the latch to make his exit ; but lo ! the door would not open ; it was locked, and the key was out ! What was to be done? This could be no trick of the landlord — these things were long out. So he called on the servant ; but no answer cheered his ear. Wearied with trying the lock and bawling on the servant, he at length bolted into the Club-room, with the pitiful note of the prisoner starling, " Well, gentlemen, I can't get out !" "Not get out !" cried the landlord, apparently confused and hurt. " Impossible ! What has become of the servant? l*ray ring the bell; but, in the meantime, my dear sir, be seated. From my heart, 1 regret this exceedingly." The bell was rung ; still no servant appeared. " Well, now, that is really provoking ; PRACTICAL JOKES OF THE GEGGERS. 341 another evil of having pretty servant girls ; they go out at night, and, in order to prevent the liouse from being robbed, lock the door, and put the key in their pocket. My dear fellow," continued the landlord, addressing himself particularly to the geggee, " this is really most unfortunate ; but do sit dovv-n and make yourself easy, she will return immediately," The Count sat down, and took an additional glass or two, but was uncommonly restless. Every look that he cast at his silk stockings, brought the ball and the beauty to his mind. At length, wearied with waiting, and having discovered that the hour was not ten but eleven, he broke into the following ejaculation : — " Good heavens ! what an imprisonment is this ! It is quite intolerable. Is tliere no way of getting out ? for really I can not remain any longer." The whole gist of the gegg was to be here. The acute reader will at once discover that the one servant had been sent out on purpose; and we may tell him that the other was snug in a back apart- ment, waiting the jjarllcular call of her master. The Club looked exceed- ingly thoughtful on the scheme which ought to be adopted to get the Count out of the mansion. One proposed to break open the outer door; another to call out for a ladder. At length, however, after much anxious discussion, it was resolved to let the Count down to the street, through the front window, by the aid of a pair of sheets. The project was thank- fully grasped at by the geggee. The landlord procured the sheets, and the Count having been firmly fixed in their double, the window was raised, the geggee stepped out with his white silk stockings upon the sill, the Club seized hold of the ends of the suspending apparatus, and the lowering immediately took place. The gegg was now about brought to its acme ; it required that the poor Count should be left suspended in middle air, which was instantly done, for no sooner was the geggec's limbs seen dangling over the shop window, than down the geggers rattled the window — and lo ! his legs were permitted, handsome though they were, to waltz in mid air! Here he hunn; ; and there his silk limbs dauiiled like a siijn- post, for some time before he sung out ; but, finding that the party he had left had no intention of allowing him to proceed to the party which was 342 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. expecting liim, he bawled out lustily. The Gegg Club roared with laugliter within, while he roai-ed with rage without. The neighbours were alarmed at seeing a man hanging, like Mahomet's coffin, between heaven and earth ; and, anxious for his iminediate safety, rushed in on all hands for matti'esses, beds, &c., to break his fall. The street was, for a moment, in confusion : when no sooner did the fijecEers see that the fall would be broken, than up they banged the window, allowed one of the ends of the sheets to go, and down fell the poor Count in a fright, and a plight that rendered his visit to the ball-room and his siege of the fiiir fortune for that night utterly hopeless. The story soon got wind ; it became the talk of that most gossiping of all places, the Coffee-room at the Cross ; and though a mighty threat about satisfaction was made by the geggee to all the indi- viduals present, the geggers remained safe and sound ; and the gegg often drew forth abundant merriment, but neither apology nor bloodshed. Such is a sample of the many pranks or whimsies of the Gegg Club, which at one time held so paramount a sway in Glasgow, and whose transactions, were they recorded with a Langbein's pen, and illustrated by a Cruickshank's pencil, would be certain to obtain as honourable a place in the library of Momus as the immortal collectiana of Josephus Millarius, of laughter-loving memory. The meetings of this jovial and sarcastic fraternity have now long ceased, and the very few members who survive its orgies, have now necessarily " ceased their funning." Times, too, have changed, and manners also ; and it is only fair to hope that, among all the young and gay spirits of Glasgow, there is perhaps not one who would be eager to revive so practical a gegg as the one we have just recorded. Peace, therefore, say we, to the rnanes of the Count and the Club I goutjful JFrolics of ffilassoixr. BANDITTI CLUB. About the same period in which tlie Gegg Club was liolding its most famous meetings, and when the night Police of the City was in the forlorn state already described, a Club of young, gay, and adventurous spirits assembled, for amusement to themselves, at the expense of their neitrh- bours, more particularly of the old men and Highlanders who, at that time, were the chosen guardians of the town's rest and property. Being all men of rather a Tom and Jerry disposition, few nights were passed, on which the Club met, that some prank was not perfoi'med which called forth the innate bravery and forwardness of one or other of the brother- hood. Boxing a Charley, or changing a sign-board, was an affair of weekly occurrence ; and so sharp were they of scent, and so rapid of pace, that in spite of all their tricks, it never happened to be the fatal lot of any one of them to appear before the then dreaded bars of either the public Police-office, or the more private "Blackhole of Culcutta" Court-hall, known by the appellation of '' the Chaumer." The Club to which we now refer was called the Banditti. Startle not, however, gentle reader ! We are not going to introduce you to anytliinn- akin to the famous " Forty Thieves," whose cavern in the wood was dis- covered by the eaves-dropping Ali Baba. No, certainly; for althourdi the club of game fellows wliicli we iire about to illustrate, had nicknamed themselves Banditti, they in truth committed no murder save on their own health, and no robbery save on tht-ir own purses. They were a band of ardent spirits, who laughed and quaffed, "sitting late, drinking late," 341 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUES. as Charles Lamb hath it, with " bosom cronies ;" who always felt snug in their own comfortable rendezvous, and wlien they quitted it, paraded the midnight streets of Glasgow quite safely during the reign of the six- feet monarcli Mitchell, while he sat on the throne of the Police-office; and who likewise might have survived even the Banditti-destroying powers of Hardie and Graham, had not tlae goddess Hygeia and her consort Hymen both interfered, ere many years had passed, to simt the lodfT-e for ever! It was about the year 1808 that this Club first commenced its sittings, which were held, like those of many other congenial fraternities of the period, in that street of all streets — then famous for dining and supping, for music and masonry, and fan and frolic — called Gibsons Wt/nd, and now better known by the more aristocratic title of Prince' s-street.* It was, in fact, under the roof-tree of one of the many contrihutors to good cheer in this street, known latterly by the name of Gardner, that this brother- hood sometimes dined, but more frequently supped, and still more often met for geggery and gossip, over repeated libations of rum punch and whisky toddy. What a change has taken place in tavern diimers in Glasgow since the days that Gardner or Haggart were the chief purvej^- ors of Club entertainments! There it was that that the table literally groaned under the weight which was placed upon it. We ourselves have seen turkej-s roasted and turkeys boiled, rounds of beef and roasted sirloin, * Gibson's-wynd was named after Walter Bishop, while several other persons were Gibson, once a Provost of Glasgow, who severely wounded. And on Sunday morning, erected the great tenement at the corner of 16th Feb., 1823, the greater part of the tene- Saltmarliet and this wynd, and which, in the ment fell with a tremendous crash, shattering days of M'Ure, stood "upon eighteen stately a portion of a house on the opposite side of pillars or arclies, and adorned with the several the street. On the preceding day, the inha- ordcrs of architecture, conform to tlie direc- bitants had been warned to quit the house, tlons of that great architect Sir William and only one man was killed ; a woman was Bruce ; the entry consists of four several taken alive out of the ruins. The fall of this arches towards the court thereof." In con- house caused many of the houses in Salt- ssquence of several alterations being made market to be taken down, which altered upon the prop3rty to meet the altered de- altogether the external appearance of the mands of the day, a part of one of the walls street. It was fatal to the old houses with fell on the 3d ]\Iarch, 1814, and killed Mrs wooden fronts. DINING FIFTY YEARS AGO. 345 mutton boiled and mutton roasted, with many other liglit articles of this sort paraded all at once, and filling the low-roofed apartment with a flavour so heavy as to be almost sufficient to " choke off" any one at all troubled with dys[)epsia. In those days, French cookery was altogether unknown, either in the private dining-room or in the tavern club-room of the City of St. Mungo. Heavy dinners, in fact, ruled paramount every- where, save in the houses of the mean and stingy ; and although it was said that a rather celebrated City divine had a peculiar and specific grace for every sort of dinner over which he was called to offer a benediction, it is certain that when called to do this office either at Gardner's or Hag- gart's, he found it ever to be his bounden duty to commence his " grace before meat," according to the formula reserved chiefly for the most hospi- table houses of his flock, with the well known invocation of " Bountiful Jehovah!"* JBut while, as we have already said, these Prince's-street restaurants were long known for good and hunger-appeasing fare, Gardner's in particular, was also peculiarly celebrated as the mystic temple chosen for introducing to the lofty knowledge of Free-Masonry, many of our more curious citizens. It was, in fact, in a portion of this tavern — well adapted, from its being easily shut off from the observation and ken of the " cowan" world, for carrying on the occult ceremonial no doubt fixed on by the builders of Solomon's Temple — that the opening the eyes of the blind to the trans- cendant light of Masonry, and of raising the poor " Apprentice " to the highest degrees of the craft, ever and anon took place ; and where, through the traditions of the apostolic successor of the architect of the first Temple in Jerusalem — at that time represented in Glasgow by a learned cobbler — some of our most notable townsmen were transformed, in one night, from mere " Master ]Masons" to " Knights of the Holy Sepulchre ;" and • The Rev. John M'Lcod of the Chapel of larity, " Wcel, I mind ntysel', when I came Ease. He was rather a droll individual, and first to the Chapel o' Ease, they were payin' had a curious arch look on telling a story. tippeuce a piece for a seat on the poopit Ills remark was, when Dr Chalmers eanie to stairs. Every dog has its day I" Glasgow, and was in the heyday of popu- 34G GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. it may be easily imagined that, after the hot supper and its adjuncts, which the recipients of this honour were accustomed to give to those who had been instrumental in " raisinfj them," each and all of the new-fledcred knights felt equally proud and equal even in rank, with those who, in the days of the Crusades, first won the Holy City from the grasp of the Infidel ! But we are forgetting the Banditti, while we are sketching the com- fortable house in which they met. To return, then, to our Club, which we have already said was composed of youthful sparks, for, while in other fraternities there was always a knot of old stagers which served as a board of control over the more forward, there was not a single Bandit among the whole group that was much beyond the age of majority. They could all boast of having young blood in their veins, and, what is more, felt that that blood was by no means stagnant. Hence the evening meetings were characterised by an exuberance of youthful fun and frolic, by every species of badinage, and by the exhibition of the truly French feeling of " vive la bagatelle!" Several of the truly "merry men" sang well, and some of them possessed histrionic powers of no ordinary description ; and it so happened that when conversation lagged, which, however, was not fre- quently the case, there was no lack of music to prevent the walls wearying for want of sound, while now and then the story of " Alonzo the brave and the fair Imogen " was repeated, in a manner that made the listeners almost imagine the "candles burned blue!" It is easy to conceive that such spirits would try many odd street pranks, particularly at a period when the police jurisdiction was so limited, and when, in particular, the watchmen were so dozy and effete ; and it is but too true that they did so. To the poor imbeciles of night guardians the Banditti exhibited always a decided hostility, considering them most superfluous appendages to the street lamps, then barely sufficient to make darkness visible — the tell-tale glories of gas being as yet in the womb of futurity; and, consequently, on every good opportunity which offered, the members of that Club never failed practically to shew their enmity towards them. The result was, that to those caricatures of watchmen some of the members of the Banditti HOW THEY SERVED THE "CHARLEYS." 347 were particularly obnoxious, from tlie liberties which were frequently taken with the absurd police-boxes at that time awkwardly stuck up on the sides of the streets, whereby box, Charley, and lantern were all rolled over on the pavement. There was one box, among the many elsewhere, which was placed on the kerb-stone at the head of the New-wynd, parti- cularly convenient for receiving a Club compliment, as the midnight members wandered homeward from Prince' s-street ; and many a hitch that said box got into the street, leaving the occupant to find his way out, with his demolished lantern, as he best could. Some time after this, however, a more vigorous set of men began to be infused into the police force ; and even before the renowned John M'Larty took up his station on the north side of the Trongate, an occasional running fight was obliged to be main- tained, by all the wayward sparks, till the police boundary was crossed, which at that time was on the west of St Enoch's burn. When John M'Larty, however, entered on the office of calling the hours and wielding the clappers, such pranks as the Banditti indulged in could not well be carried on. He was, in fact, too strong and burly a fellow to be trifled with, and the consequence was, that the members of the Club were obliged to enter into an armistice with him before he had passed a winter on his beat. It was, however, during the earlier period of Glasgow Police his- tory, when the watchmen were almost all old Highlanders and full of superstitious fears ; when stories about wandering spirits were, from the newspaper controversy on the subject, in everybody's mouth ; and when, in particular, the celebrated " Stamford ghost," played off with so much dexterity, was walking regularly at midnight, inducing, for a length of time, many timid beings to keep closer to their firesides than they other- wise would have done, — that one nio;ht a discussion was raised in the Banditti Club, whether or not it would be practicable to get up such a ghost as would frighten the lieges as much as the one at Stamford, and which would afford, especially to the fraternity, amusement in the way they liked the most. Various schemes which the ardent imaginations of the conclave, sharpened by Gardner's punch, suggested, were started and 348 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. discussed. At length it was determined that something of the Don Juan spectre kind might be attempted. Considering the dangers and difficulties, however, which might follow the undertaking, it was determined that one cavalier would not do ; so it]was at once resolved that the cabalistic nine should be the number of the ghost-like troop, and that an early night should be chosen to carry the hobgoblin freak^into execution. There was no difficulty in getting nine of the boldest of the Banditti to volunteer for this strange duty; the great difficulty consisted in finding nine quiet and steady horses to carry them. The idea that Munn, so long known in Ingram-street as a stabler and horse-setter, would not be unwilling to serve them on this occasion, was started, and a deputation was thereupon named to ask his assistance. Munn was a very useful fellow in many respects — having been a sort of purveyor-general to the Club, in all things appertaining to horse flesh ; and although it was well known that he ever kept a pretty steady eye on his own interest, he at the same time contrived to be on very happy terms with each member of the Banditti. The proposal for the midnight parade was consequently whispered to the horse-setter, who, at first, threw cold water on it, urging as a reason that, if discovered, the whole party engaged in the freak would be sent to Botany Bay, there to cool their heels for their folly. To carry out the proposal without Munn's assistance was impossible. It was needful, there- fore, to support the claim which the individual members of the Club had upon him with every argument they could muster, and particuhirly with the bold assertion, that they defied any one of all the watchmen even to get within reach of tliem. This advocacy, coupled with sundry tumblers of toddy, at length softened the licart of tlie good-natured Munn, and the advocates having promised him their everhisting support —wliich, alas! it was ere long out of the power of many to give — the preliminaries were agreed to, and the necessary ])reparations made for carrying the project into execution. The night was accordingly fixed iqoon, and " the meet,'' as the hunting term goes, was arranged to take pl,;ce at the back of Scarlet- hall, a somewhat retired villa at the eastern extremity of the City, possessed FREAKS OF THE BANDITTI CLUB. 349 at that time by a rather crusty old gentleman of the name of Young, who assuredly would not have hesitated to fire off his fowling-piece at any such in- truders, as he was wont to do at those who but too frequently stole his apj^les. Fortunately, however, there was little at that season of the year, either in the garden or grounds, to jirotect, and the old gentleman, in winter, when he drew on his niglitcap, which was generally at an early hour, could not possibly be disturbed by any such midnight marauders as the Banditti Club. It being feared, as well it might, that the light of the glimmering lam])S which then lined the streets at respectable intervals would be insufficient fur the grand di'-play, the happy thought occurred to one of the members to have the ears of the horses saturated with phosphoric oil, which would no doubt add to the light, and would, besides, heighten the effect of the pantomimic procession, from the lambent smoke which would be thereby emitted. To render the movement of the horses alont; the street as silent as possible, it was resolved to cover their feet with cork. This was no easy matter to eifect without detection, but it was by-and-by got over, together with many other little difficulties ; and lo ! on a dark night, in the month of December, a little before the Cathedral bell had sounded the w^itching hour, the Bandits, with their steeds under the guidance of Munn, had assembled at Scarlet-hall. The muster-roll of the nine who had volunteered to do duty was called. The ominous number, famous for its cabalistic quantity, from the days of Darius to the more modern days of the Freischutz, answered to their names. The horses' feet were soon shod, or rather tied up, in cork soles ; their ears were already glowing with phosphoric light ; a white sheet was next cast over the body of each steed; while the nine riders, equipped in white drawers, shirt, and night- cap, leaped on their backs, ready for a start. The appearance which the Bandits had in the eyes of each other was so horrible and ghastly as at once to bespeak for their project the most complete success ! and having each swallov/ed a bumper of Hollands, no doubt to inspire them with Dutch courage, they wheeled into Indian file, and commenced their march to the City, while Munn bolted off to his stables to await their arrival. 350 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. The mysterious horsemen proceeded onward along the Gallowgate, slow and noiseless, like the hunters amid the floating mists of the Black Forest, in the famous Walpurgis Night, producing in the minds of those who, through the murky gloom, might espy them from the foot pavement, a degree of superstitious awe and fear which may be better imagined than described. Suffice it to say, that the aged guardians of the night, for whose especial benefit the pantomime was got up, were all in the greatest possible agitation and alarm — believing, no doubt, that the sight was supernatural ; and, under this feeling, each took to instant fliglit up the first close wdiich offered shelter. The cavalcade, after producing the neces- sary terrifying effects upon the few who at that late hour were in the Gallowgate, at length reached the Cross, which was passed in silence. Solemn and slow the horsemen moved onwai'd without a word spoken and without suffering the least molestation, until they reached the head of King-street — when lo ! a fellow, inspired with the contents of at least half- a-dozen glasses, which instead of adumbrating his brain, rather opened his eyes to the reality of the cavalcade being not spirits but real flesh and blood, thought fit, under this pretty sound impression, to arrest its progress by falling pell-mell on the second file of the procession. The attack, however, though furious, Avas instantly met by the brawny arm of the Bandit, who, by one fell blow on his caput, left him senseless on the road- way. At this moment an alarm of fire was raised ; and by the time the ghostly procession had reached the head of Jamaica-street, the rattles of the terrified watchmen were in motion, and the sound of the fire-engines was borne along. Satisfied with their exploit, and that it would be danger- ous to lose much more time, the cavalcade crossed the boundary which cut them off" from the power of the police jurisdiction ; and thereafter, mending their pace, they entered a field near Willow-bank, unrobed themselves of their habiliments, and, by different routes, got safe to Ingram- street, where the stabler was ready to house the horses, and to give a deoch-an-doruis to the Bandits. Of the prank itself, few believed that it had been really accomplished ; and the many odd stories that got wind ALL HAIL TO COMMON SENSE ! 351 about the gliostly procession whicli at midnight had passed through the City, were attributed to the effects of the narrators having dipped too deep in their evening potations. Some, however, swore that Old Nick himself led the van of the ghostly cavalcade, and assuredly his represen- tative was by no means a shabby one ; and, also, that the number of his attendants far outstripped the weird company at Alloway Kirk. Such was one of the many, though perhaps the most remarkable, of the freaks in which, during the existence of the Banditti Club, the several members indulged ; and it will convey, better than anything else we can adduce, an idea of the character and spirit of the fraternity, which met, for several years at least twice a-week, within the devil-raising house of Gardner. It may easily be supposed that a Club, which was so depen- dent on the extravaganzas of youth, could not long exist. Before advan- cing years and growing sense, the spirit of the Banditti fell prostrate ; the members, in fact, were soon drawn away by other influences from their joyous den ; and the fraternity, after fulfilling, in many laughable ways, the nominal link of their union, at length " ceased their funning," and returned into the bosom of general society, not much the worse from having assumed for a season the appellation of Bandits ! IHustc anti IHasonrs in CSlasgoto, PACKERS' AND EVERY NIGHT CLUB. In the halcyon days of pure protection and excessive love of native industry, when drawbacks and bounties were indissolubly united with all our manufacturing and commercial policy, and when Commissioners of Excise and Customs, backed by the imperial Parliament, exhibited an astonishing fondness for oaths, there was found in the countino-houses of every foreign merchant what was then called a sioearing clerk — generally a youthful personage — who felt no difficulty, on any occasion, to swear solemnly, when printed calicoes, linen checks, plain linens, or other excis- able goods were being packed, that the whole duties had been paid on the one, and that there was not a thread of cotton in the others.* Although this oath-gulping individual was generally the only representative of the mercantile establishment, to which he formed so necessary and important an adjunct, who was expected, in company with the exciseman, to be present at a packing for foreign shipment, in the warehouse or calender ; still, it was sometimes the practice for one or other of the principals to leave his snug domicile of an evening, to take a look of the iron-bound and government-sealed boxes, before they were fairly consigned to the care of the Greenock carriers, who at that period held the monopoly of " It used to be told of a well known calico man, to family worship. Both the temporals printer in this City, when the presence of and the spirituals were at that time most un- excisemcn was required at works to stamp usually prolonged, and the officers, having goods with his Majesty's seal, that he was in forgotten to take their stamp along with the habit of inviting these functionaries to them, a very profitable use was made of it breakfast, and of course, as he was a religious during their absence. THE packers' club. 353 transporting goods from Glasgow to Greenock and Port-Glasgow, whither all the foreign vessels connected with the trade of Clyde arrived and departed. The business of the Broomielaw, now teeming with the magni- ficent ships of all nations, was then confined to little more than the coasting trade, and even of that trade it had but little. Henry Bell had not yet launched his tiny steamboat, the " Comet," nor had the deepening- machine and diving-bell been employed on the river. The fact is, that all the goods destined for foreign parts were either carried by gaberts or flats down the Clyde, or by carts along the Greenock road and Inchinnan bridge ; and so much was the latter conveyance patronised, for its safety and certainty, that it was by no means an uncommon sight to behold upwards of one hundred loaded carriers' carts crossing in a string the Jamaica-street bridge, after midnight, on their way to the lower ports of the Clyde. When merchants or manufacturers were thus making as much as they possibly could of bounties and drawbacks ; when a partnership with King George III. was looked upon as a paying connexion ; and when the ports of embarkation were so situated as to render an afternoon or night packing of goods an absolute necessity, there arose a Club, which was not inaptly called by others, as well as by themselves, the Packers. The appella- tion of this jovial but drouthy fraternity, originated from many of its members being in the habit of starting off, from their own houses, imme- diately after dinner, upon the ostensible plea of having goods to pack at the calender, when, in reality, the object they had in view was merely to pack punch, and to bolt a provocative to thirst (which. Heaven knows, few of them required) in that well known and well frequented tavern, called the " Three Tuns," kept at that time by one yclept honest John Gregg.* The members of this guffaw-loving and Jiika-hikainfj brotherhood Avere " The principal calenders were those of Glasgow. Mr Ure"s calender had just ono Messrs Buchanan & Paterson in Candleriggs, horse, which turned a gin, to the great delecta- »Ir Urc in St Andrew-square, and Mr Miller tion of the juveniles, who looked upon it as a in Ingram-street; the first being frequently prodigious wonder. shov\Ti to strangers as one of the lions of 2 A 354 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. not numerous ; but, what perhaps was much better, they were all leal and true men, being generally among the first at a feast and the last at a supper table. It was, indeed, a rare occurrence tliat a Packers' Club chair was ever found vacant, or that the principal Packer was ever obliged to punish any skulking member, as he was wont, by ordering him to be "put to the horn." Not, legal reader ! to that fearful horn which some of thy frater- nity were wont to sound occasionally from the pier of Leith, proclaiming every " breaker of the promises" a rebel to the State, and, consequently, escheating his goods and cliattels to the King ; but merely to an additional liom of soul-stirring stingo, to ripen reason and " to bathe the drooping spirits in delight beyond the bliss of dreams." Music in all its moods M'as the peculiar pastime of this brotherhood ; for never was a meeting held when the walls of the apartment did not ring with the notes of a catch or a glee, or that the roof did not echo back the praises of Calcott, Webbe, or Morninffton. The Club of Packers were, in fact, the chief originators of tliat series of gentlemen's " Subscription Concerts," which were got up in a manner so honourable to the taste of our Cit}'-, during the first two decades of the present century; but which, like the Club that gave them birth, or at least renewed their youth, are now, we fear, never again to be revived. Of these concerts, managed as they were by a select committee of sub- scribers, it is not too much to say, that, during their pretty long career, they always gave general satisfaction. The company which patronised them was uniformly select, and there fashionable strangers had an opportunity of seeing our City heau sexe to advantage, donned as they always were in their assembly dresses. The young ladies, by attending these well-con- ducted concerts, acquired a taste for good and classical music ; while professional people of talent were encouraged thereby to remain in the City. The expense for a winter's entertainment to each family was but trifling, while the advantages and the amusement were great. Strange is it to think, that when Glasgow had not a third of the population which it at present possesses, an annual series of concerts was carried on with the SUBSCRIPTION CONCERTS. 355 greatest spirit, while numerous candidates were generally waiting to fill up any vacancy which might occur in the regular list of subscribers. It is also worthy of remark, that, during that period, no orchestral or vocal performer of eminence visited Scotland until he or she had procured an engagement at the Glasgow concerts. In proof of this we may mention, that on the celebrated Mrs Salmon (of London) and Miss Cheese (of Dublin) completing their engagements in Glasgow, and thereafter visiting Edinburgh, the following epigram was written : — " Sure auld Reekie's pride and her puffing will fail, Since she's nothing her taste now to please , Excepting of our Glasgow Salmon the tail, And the pairings of our Glasgow Cheese!" The recollection of the many jovial hours spent in concocting and forwarding the musical meetings above referred to, must still remain fresh in the memory of every surviving member — alas ! now few — of this cremona-loving fraternity. It would, indeed, be a sacrilege committed on fun and good humour for any member to forget the enraptured counte- nance of the principal Packer, when, after the bowl had received its top- dressing of limes and ketchup (a well known kind of old rum), and when glasses were each filled brimmers, he, with a loud knock on the board, exclaimed, in accents of self-satisfied delight, " "Well, what do you think of that ? " or when, raising the galopiious draught to his lips, and ordering each member to be perpendicular, he dedicated the bumper, amid the swelling crescendo of a harmonised hurrah, " To the lovers of music- throughout the globe !" Neither will it be possible to efface from the memory of any brother, the unambitious wit and ceaseless humour of its warm-hearted secretary, " Whose eyes like twinkling stars in evening clearc, Were deckt with smyles that all sad humours chased ; " of him, who, on his favourite four-stringed instrument, was sometimes heard to out-Pan even Pan himself, " in notes most musical, most melan- 356 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. choly;" or who, with his voice, made every listener at once most willingly acknowledge, when singing the bass of the well-known glee, that " Smiths are good fellows, When they hlow the bellows !"* The social-minded individuals w4io composed the fraternity of Packers —of whom, in good troth, it may be said that they sang from the heart "of all the brave birds that ever I see" — who revelled in the mysterious sounds of " one, two, three," — and who, moreover, rarely got home from the Club by the straightest course, — are now, for the most part, torn asunder, either by distance or by death ; and although we know that the very limited number who still remain in our City feel yet a desire to have a small delectable pack, for the purpose of recalling the pleasures of the j)ast, and singing "peace to the souls" of their departed companions, we much doubt if the following choral chaunt of the brotherhood will ever again call forth the enthusiasm which it Avas always wont to produce within the precincts of the "Three Tuns" : — "Saw ye Johnnie coming, Nannie? Saw ye Johnnie coming, Wi' the Packers at his back, And wee Parsons rinning, Nannie ? And wee Parsons rinning. What wad ye do wi' them, Robin ? What wad ye do wi' them ? I'd gie them drink until they blink, And dievil'd farls gie them, Nannie, And dievil'd farls gie them. Haste Rab, my man, as fast's ye can, Get rum and water ready, For here we'll sit, nor doup we'll flit, Till fit we're for our beddy. Till fit we're for our beddy. • The late Mr Archibald Hunter, cloth- which took place in the houses of the merchant, who played the tenore or viola at members. the Hai-monic Society's private concerts. .THE EVERT NIGHT (kNIGHT) CLUP. 357 Chorus. Long live our preses John ! May he ne'er heave a groan. Nor want a crown ! May he have grog in store, And snuff for evermore, That Packers still may roar, Long live John Bro^\Ti ! " * For several long years the Club of Packers continued to assemble regu- larly every lawful night, till at length, strange to say, while there were but few changes among the members, the Club itself changed its name ; and what is less surprising, like too many other aliases, it did not improve in its character, either for sobriety or early home-going. The Packers, during Its reign under that name, was indeed an early Club. For although it frequently met as the six o'clock chime of the music bells was tinkling, from the Cross steeple, " the lass of Patie's mill," it was almost always dispersed before the mighty " Tom" of the Cathedral had sounded ten. The new Club, composed as it was of the old brethren, and which, Phoenix-like, rose instantly out of the ashes of the old, was known by the name of the Every Night, which, from a whimsical member prefixing a K to the monosyllable, gave rise to the idea of conferring a title of knight- hood on each of the brotherhood, and wliich was soon after fairly followed out. Under their own banner and titles, the old Packers met later in the evening and sat later at niglit. They had become, by reason of continued sederunts, rather a pelican-throated set of soakers, who scouted the idea of looking at a watch after dinner, and who took no note of time but by the loss it created in their purses. The titles of the members will hence appear appropriate and descriptive, for there was a Sir David Daidle, a Sir Simon Sitlate, a Sir llodger Risenever, a Sir ISIungo Muz, a • This choral channt arose out of the fol- horn, which was at that time well plaj-ed by lowing circumstance: — One evening it was a nice hoy of tlie name of Robert Parsons, in agreed to have a small concert at the Club, the band of the 42d Regiment, then in tho but it was also fixed that the only instru- gaiTison of Glasgow, meat to accompany the voices was a rreuch 358 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Sir Reginald Round -the -Horologe, cum multis aliis of chair-warming notoriety. While music continued to be a favourite pastime of the Every Night, as it had been of the Packers' Club, it may here be mentioned that Free- Masonry was with each and all of them a passion. The mystic art, it must be remembered, had been, during the great volunteer mania of 1804-5, very much patronised by all the young sparks of the City; and the evening assemblies in the Trades' Hall of the Argyle Lodge, then the most fashionable, on St Andrew's and St John's nights, were hence sure to be crowded to the door with the most ardent devotees of the craft. Dur- ing the military period above alluded to, the gilt mallet was ably wielded by Mr Samuel Hunter, whose honhommie was always certain to gather round him a host of enthusiastic and willing workmen, requiring little persuasion " to go from labour to refreshment, and from refreshment to labour again ;" and who, besides, rarely ceased to call for ammunition till the lodge was closed, as it was w^ont, at " high twelve" — an hour it may be truly affirmed, at which few, few indeed, ever " went away dissatis- fied." At the time, however, when the Every Night Club was in its zenith, the right worshipful master's jewel and sash had been transferred from the neck and shoulders of the volunteer Colonel and quondam Editor of the Glasgoio Herald, to those of Mr John Douglas of Barloch, whose flowing oratory and attic wit proved an attractive loadstar to the mystic members of the Argyle Lodge ; and among the many who were then drawn to the Trades' Hall by the annual summons of the brethren on the 27th of December, there were none so regular in their attendance as the members of the Every Night Club. The fact is, the chief office-bearers of this once celebrated and numerous Lodge of Masons were composed of leading Packers, and consequently it was found that on occasion of great Masonic festivals, the Every Night could never " make a house," at least at the usual hour of seven or eight ; although it frequently happened that the majority of the members were brought together, after the Lodge had been closed, to a hot supper, laid out either in the Prince of Wales ESTABLISHMENT OP FREE MASONRY. 359 Tavern or Major M'Plierson's oyster-house, at that period two of the most noted night-houses in the City.* On such rare occasions the jovial and red-cross knights gave full scope to their musical and masonic propensities. Not satisfied with the " assist- ance" which they afforded, during four hours of the already spent evening, to ihe perpendicular firings of the shut lodge, they had no sooner swallowed their oysters or tripe, than the said lodge was again opened, when the hidden orgies of Free-Masonry were continued with increasing spirit, till the hoarse cry of some Highland Charley screeching "past three o'clock," reluctantly brought the truncheon of the w^arden to a " once, twice, thrice," and the lodge to a close ! It was of the knight par excellence of this truly jovial Club, and of this matchless masonic fraternity, many of whom were in fact knights of Malta and of the Holy Cross, and who in the Every Night made the low-roofed parlour of the " Three Tuns " ring with a " fal, lal, la], lal, la, la" — it was of this knight, who like the Club is now, alas ! defunct, whose vulgar * The establishment of Free-Masonry in ing, tailor in Glasgow, senior steward; and Glasgow was coeval with the building of its Thomas Algie, junior steward; William Wil- Cathedral. By a charter of Malcolm III. son, in Gateside of Camlachie, secretary; about the middle of the eleventh century, it and Peter Wilson, land-labourer in Gartcraig appears that that Scottish monarch granted treasurer. Free-Masonry Avas also much in to the Free Incorporated Masons of Glasgow vogue in Glasgow during the latter portion " to have a lodge for ever in the City," under of the last century. From an advertisement the title of St John's Lodge, charging and in the Glasgow Mercury of 1783, we find that commanding "that none take in hand any the Argyll Lodge then met in Fraser's Hall^ way to disturb the free operative masons King-street, to solemnise the anniversary of from being incorporated freemen, or to have St John, at Jive o'clock ; dinner in Mr Scott's a free lodge ; to take away their good name Shakspei-e Tavern being announced at three or possession, or harass or do any injury to o'clock. At that period, a regular Masons* any free-masons and practitioners, under the sei'mon was annually preached in St An- peril of my highest displeasure." It appears drcw's Church on the 27th December. A- from the Records of the Burgh that the St mong the enthusiastic Free Masons of these John's Lodge, St Mungo's Kirk, Glasgow, and later days, none occupied the chair or held heritable property in Isle Too/hie, on the wielded the gilt mallet with more dignity north side of the Drygate, at an early period, and more mystic knowledge than the kind- as shown by a security granted over it about hearted Dr Rattray, of High -street, the 1750, by James M'Gurdie, then grand master teacher of botany. His jolly contour, and of said lodge; Robert Marshall, writer, senior frank open countenance would have graced guardian; John Kinniburgh, coal-hewer in the board of a prince. Shettleston, junior guardian; Robert Rak- 360 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. name and surname were merely John Brown — a name and surname which many others besides himself bore in our good City — that the following ludicrous but authentic anecdote was told. John, as the story goes, one evening, as if to prove the general rule of his attendance at the Club by one exception, bethought himself of killing the heavy hour within the pre- cincts of the theatre. He chose the pit, and sate himself down on the centre seat. The play went on as well as it was wont, when Glasgow filled the box circle with the fairest of her citizens. The house, which was in reality a bumper, shouted applause ; the actors bowed and made their exits ; and the green cloth fell. John was pleased like all around him ; and although the snug parlour in the " Three Tuns" often swept athwart his brain, he bravely resolved to sit out the afterpiece, which that evening happened to be " Love, Law, and Physic." Every one acquainted with this little drama, must remember the scene where one of the characters, with an anxious countenance, enters and makes the repeated exclamation, " But where is John Brown 1" A wag near the orchestra, aware of John's Every Night Club-going propensity, immediately called out, loud enough to be heard in every corner of the theatre, " He is in the Three Tuns." The words struck like a thunder-bolt on the ear of the Every Night mem- ber, and forgetting for a moment where he was, he bolted up right from his pit seat, and bawled out, " You're a liar, sir ; I'm here !" fHercanttU (BmtxQtntits, from 18X2 to t8X6, POST-OFFICE CLUB. Ir the reader be still one of the few remaining denizens of this ever- changing community, who can throw his memory back to the exciting period of the two concluding years of the great French war, when each post brought an account of some event which seemed to foretell the speedy close of that dreadful European conflict which had plunged so many hearts in woe and so many families in mourning, then will he easily recollect the hundreds of anxious citizens who every morning hurried to wait the coming of the London mail, and to listen to the horn-blast which announced its arrival at the bridge which then spanned the as yet uncovered Molendinar. It may likewise be remembered that at that time, when the news of any important victory was brought by a mail conveyance, the guard, donned in his best scarlet coat and gold-banded hat, announced the circumstance, by firing off his carabine before reaching the Cross, and that the coach itself was always on such occasions decorated with a red flag which floated from the roof. Many times and oft do we remember, during the cold winter mornings of 1812, when the Clyde had been frozen for weeks and the snow lay deep on the streets, leaping from our comfort- able bed and hurrying, with bounding heart, towards the great rendezvous of news at the Cross, there to listen to the bulletins of the Russian cam- paign, so fatal to the French troops, and to get tidings of General Kutosof and his advancing army; to hear tales of the fearful encounters which took place between the Hetman of the Cossacks and the retreating remnants of the once magnificent Gallic host, consequent on the fatal 362 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. passage of the Beresina ; or of the marine-like manoeuvres of Admiral TchitsigofF, through wliose strategy it was expected that Napoleon him- self would never have been permitted to recross the Vistula or the Elbe. It was at this eventful period, particularly when there was not a sufficient number of newspapers received in the Exchange CoflPee-room to satisfy the intense curiosity of the City quidnuncs, that either Mr Walter Graham or Mr James McQueen was called upon to mount one of the tables of the News-room, to read aloud to the assembled throng the stirring and all-absorbing news of the day. It was also at this period that the Club known by the title of the Post-office was in its most palmy state, and could count the most numerous body of members attending its every evening orgies. Although, as has been hinted, the Post-office Club may be said to have been in its zenith about the period which is associated with the remarkable events of the Kussian and German campaigns, its commencem.ent may be dated at least a couple of years previous to that time ; its birth was in fact coeval with the establisjiment of the Glasgow Bank,* the w^orthy and kind-hearted cashier of the one being generally the chairman of the other. Around such an attractive star, as the immediate instrument of the liber- ality so strikingly displayed by that new banking institution as compared with that of the others which then occupied the field of mercantile accom- modation, it is easy to conceive that the merchant satellites who revolved nightly were neither few nor unimportant. Among the elder members of the brotherhood, there were several of the more notable merchants and * The Glasgow Bank was formed in 1809, Ardenconnel. A manufacturer, lately de- under the auspices of the late Mr James ceased, used to tell that he discounted a hill Dennistoun of Golfliill, whose well known in the Glasgow Bank the first day it was liberality and judgment soon gained for it a opened. Although he was unknown to Mr high position among the other monetary Dennistoun, the latter had the kindness to establishments of the City. The bank was say, that if at any time he required money first opened in an old house in North Albion- profitably to extend his business "just to let street, but was soon transferred to the south- him know." This led to an intimacy between west corner of Montrose-street, in a mansion the two, which continued ever afterwards, formerly belonging to Mr Buchanan of and was useful to both parties. THE POST OFFICE. 363 manufacturers of the day, while among the junior associates we may find some who are now in the rank of our merchant princes. The Post-office Club owed its name to the hour of its meeting being eight o'clock at night — an hour at which the London mail was made up, and when all letters for the south required to be lodged in the receiving-box of the central Post-office, which was then a small low-roofed building in Nelson-street, under the superintendence of the late Mr Dugald Banna- tyne — who, with his successors in the office of postmaster, have, up to this moment, been most scurvily treated by the Government in respect to Post-office accommodation.* At that hour, a small bell, whose silvery tinkle many of the older citizens may still remember, and which any of the more juvenile may still hear in the rather uncouth campanile of the Bridgegate Church, was nightly rung in the Laigh Kirk steeple, for a quarter of an hour previous to the letter-box being closed, to warn all who had letters to post; and so soon as this tinkle was heard over the then mercantile neighbourhood, the countinghouse clerks or porters were despatched to the Post-office; while, on hearing the same tinkle, the * The history of the Post-office is perhaps it was taken to St AndreAv-street. Thence one of the very best indices of the progress it was moved in 1803 to a court in Trongate, of Glasgow. So late as 1C94, an application north side, which has ever since been called was made to have three foot posts a-week to Post-office Court. When Mr Bannatyne be- Edinburgh ; and even in 1709, there was an came postmaster, it was removed to Nelson- application by the Magistrates to Lord Go- street, where it continued several years ; and dolphin to have a horse post established was in 1840 moved to Glassford-street, whence between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The cor- it in 1856 was transferred to George-square, respondence at this period must have been At the period of the Union, the whole post- of the most limited Idnd, and continued to age revenue of Scotland, notwithstanding be so till nearly the middle of the last cen- the very high rates charged for letters com- tury. From 1750, the trade and commerce of pared with the present, was £1,194 ; and in Glasgow increased every year, and with it the 1781 the revenue for Glasgow was only number of its mercantile letters. In 1750 it £4,341. In 1853, with a penny postage, it took a day and a half for the stage coach to amounted to £47,063 Is bd. From 1844, the travel from Glasgow to Edinburgh. The. increase had been £20,353 lis llrf; of money first direct mail from London to Glasgow was orders there were, in 1852, 144,787, amounting established 7th July, 1788. Previously the to £267,444 2s 4(/— the increase in eight years correspondence passed through Edinburgh, being in number 73,986, and in money where it was detained twelve hours. One of £133,414 lis 9(/. Letters received and de- its earliest Post-offices was in a small shop in livered in Glasgow, in 1852, 15,597,504; letters Gibson's-wynd, now Prince's-street. At that received and forwarded in Glasgow, in 1852, time Mr Jackson was postmaster. Thereafter 19,496,880. 364 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. members of the Post-office Club stepped out of the Tontine Coffee-room to have their two hours' gossip in their Club-room, which was at that period in a tavern in the as yet respectable Tontine-close, kept by one yclept John Neilson, who, to many of the best qualities of a clever and attractive Boniface, added the unswerving peculiarity of a firmness appertaining to stubbornness, particularly when his London porter was condemned, and which was, moreover, by some who were better acquainted with the flavour of Joe Lambert's tap than he could possibly be, declared to be altogether a misnomer !* The beverage indulged in by the regular members of the Post-office Club, to wash down their mercantile news and towns' gossip, had little to do with malt in its heery state ; it was only patronised when it condescended to become the parent of the best whisky, and even of this spirit-stirring and soothing elixir there was little called for in comparison to old Jamaica rum, which was then the most favourite and fashionable tipple of the day. Of either, however, the whole fraternity took but little ; the evening's swallow being generally limited to two small glasses, mixed either with hot or cold Avater, the latter article having been pretty liberally attended to by the landlord to calm the spirit's potency before it was presented to his guests ! To the men who usually encircled the Post-office board, it required, however, but little stimulus to set their tongues in motion, and far more than they ever got there to make them silent. Each successive night brought forth some new object, either of interest or conjecture ; and when a topic was at any time wanting to eke out the conversation, the President had always a London account to draw upon to fill up the chasm that might be experienced in the colloquial currency. * The oft repeated anecdote of Jolin Neil- he tasted it, and tasted again, and pro- son as to London porter, occurred when he nounced it no doubt London Porter; hut at kept "The Boot" in the Saltmarlcet. On the length yielding to his customers' incredulity, occasion in question, the whole party assem- he said, " it might not he so," and agreed to bled round his Porter Board felt assured that change it. However, on going out at the instead of John giving them the pure double threshold of the door, John, with a curious X of Barclay Perkins & Co., he had mixed it blink in one of his eyes, was heard to say, with some inferior Anderston Brown Stout ; " Ye may think what ye like gentlemen, its and John being called in and taxed for this, London Porter for a' that ! " THE POST OFFICE CLUB. 365 From the very favourable mercantile position in which the regular members of the Post-office Club were placed, it may easily be conceived that there were few, if any, of the many evening fraternities which had the same information connected with the trade and commerce of Glasgow and the world, as those who encircled the board of honest John Neilson. It was here that every new phase in the commercial history of the country was at once looked at and discussed ; where a rise or a fall in the public funds w^as probed and accounted for ; where the Bank of England stock was ever consulted, as a mercantile barometer, to guide to fortune or to save from shipwreck ; and where, especially, the peculiarities of each par- ticular bi'anch of business or manufacture were thoroughly canvassed, and the upward or downward progress of the mercantile or manufacturing firms of the Citv elicited. It was in the circle of the Post-office Club, for example, that the first whisper was given of the failure of a well remembered London private bank, which paralysed for a time one of the leading and afterwards most successful establishments in Glasfjow. It was here that the agitation excited against the renewal of the East India charter in 1812 — a measure condemned by both Whig and Tory — was nightly kept up and encouraged, and where the best aro;uments were adduced for holdin£T a free intercourse with our Eastern possessions ;* and it was here, above all, that the first news oozed out, of the fearful failures which were eventually to take place on the following morning, when stoppages to the extent of at least a million and a-half were declared. Well we do recollect the consternation which ensued, when, on the morning of a day in February, 1816, the news of this catastrophe flew like lightning through the City, and each merchant and manufacturer, when at his desk, " Held his breath for a time." What a rushing to ledgers and bill-books, to discover if possible the mer- • Messrs James Findlay & Co. despatched the first ship from Scotland direct to India in 1816. 366 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. cantile or monetary ramifications tliat might unfortunately bind any debtors to those who were that day commercially defunct ! How many quiet and fox-like queries were put, to fathom, if possible, the ultimate liabilities of those who were in any way connected with the long list of unfortunate bankrupts ! It was, in fact, a moment of intense uneasiness and anxiety ; and when the gloomy day closed, and darkness covered the City, there was an almost universal impulse felt to hasten to the News-room, and from thence to every Club that was open. It may therefore be easily supposed with what heavy hearts and breathless anxiety the regular members of the Post-office hastened, on the evening of that day of ruin, at the very first tinkle of the Post-office bell, towards the Tontine close — there to worm out, if possible, from the on-that-night taciturn president, the secrets of the Bank prison-house, and to obtain hints that might either prepare for threatened ills, or avert evil consequences. But here, as it may well be believed, there was nothing but reserve and caution on the part of the banker ; in short, he was far more zealous to receive than to give any clue to the tangled web of cross bills which linked numerous important firms together, and under the weight of which many, who but a few hours before held their heads so high, fell under the terrible crash 1* But let us no longer rest our recollections on the sad events of that dread twelvemonth, but rather recall the universal joy produced at a sub- sequent meeting of the fraternity, when the first intelligence was announced that the Government had agreed to issue Exchequer bills, and thus to save the immoveable stocks of many of the as yet opulent merchants from utter ruin. While, on the first occasion, each member retired to his home from the Club meeting almost in a state of hopeless despair ; on the second, he bounded gaily to his family with all the happy anticipations which an honest and hopeful industry "with confidence inspired. It was also amid the circle of the Post-office Club that the successful • From 1816 to 1818 the failures were The chains of accommodation bills, or " Kfe^" enormous ; most of the leading mercantile as they were called, were one great source of firms came down or suspended payments, the calamities. HENRY BELL AND THE COMET STEAMEK. 367 attempt made by Henry Bell to reach Helensburgh in his tiny steamer called the Comet, was authoritatively announced and commented on; but, assuredly, without the most distant idea of what that first practical effort has accomplished or may yet accomplish ! The Comet,* which had for some time been in preparation, at length left the Broomielaw, one morning in 1813, guided by its own engineer, accompanied by its builder, Mr John Wood of Port-Glasgow, and cheered on its course by some of the best mechanicians and scientific men then living in the City. We can well conceive the bounding heart of the ill-requited projector, when the revolving wdieels first agitated the bosom of the Clyde, and when by their motion the happy-freighted craft was seen to march forward on its course. The experiment was, to the crowd of onlookers, a very small one ; but the result of it has been to change every thing that can be affected by increased communication, and cheaper and more rapid locomotion. It was the first trial of a new physical power, destined to accomplish the greatest of moral changes, — the first starting of that new agent which was, ere long, to make Glasgow an ocean harbour, and to unite her com- merce with eveiy quarter of the globe, — and to become in short, as it now is, one of the best and mightiest missionaries of intelligence, civilization, and peace. In spite of the sneers of envious skippers, and the doubts of canny capitalists, funds were soon raised to attempt a bolder and more successful experiment ; and ere two or three years had rolled over, the new motive agent of the Clyde had extended itself to the Thames and the Mersey .f Considering the quality and character of the members of the Post-office Club, it is scarcely necessary to say that in the success- • The Comet was a boat of only thirty tons crafts which then came to the Bromielaw, burthen, and boasted an engine of only three looked upon the experiment with dismay and horse-power. ill will. Among the skippers none regarded f When the first Comet began to ply on the the project with more inveterate hostility Clyde, the public showed themselves deeply than the Highland Gabert-men, who recom- interested in its success. In the evenings, mended their craft to the public, as sailing hundreds of onlookers lined the banks as far by the ^^ Almighty's u-un (wind,) that by the down as Govan, to sec her passing up from TeviVsu-un!" Greenock, while the masters of the several 368 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. ful result of Henry Bell's practical experiment they felt the deepest sympathy — wisely accounting it better than all the speculative theories which had hitherto been promulgated; — and, as a token of that sym- pathy, it may be added, that to certain of the members of this mer- cantile fraternity belong the honour of having afterwards aided in the establishment of our first coasting, and thereafter of our ocean steamers. When we think of the many changeful circumstances which attended the mercantile world during the half-dozen years which succeeded the termination of the war, and which were, no doubt, much aided by the Parliamentary tinkering which then took place in the national currency, it will at once be acknowledged that the Post-office Club had abundant subjects for their nightly gossip, and that the conclusions which were arrived at by the various conclaves who sipped their grog or toddy in John Neilson's tavern, were perhaps found to be, when acted on, as great and as beneficial to the community as any of those that were reached by a more quiet and recondite species of ratiocination. One thing is certain, that, during the successive distresses which took place among the working- classes in Glasgow, from 1816 to 1820, there were no individuals who did more for their amelioration than the members of the Post-office Club. When we turn to the glorious records of philanthropy which, during two periods at least, exhibit a subscription-list of nearly twenty thousand pounds, it is but just to state that there is not a name connected with that fraternity which does not figure in these muster-rolls of benevolence; while some of them also, during the prevalence of the typhus scourge of 1818, fearlessly devoted themselves to the philanthropic duty of visiting the haunts of disease and misery, and thereby ameliorated the sad condition of their poorer and neglected fellow-citizens — a duty which, in this instance, gained for them, from a community not always grateful, a halo of respect and admiration.* • In 1816 no less than £9,653 45 2(1 was emploj'ment. In 1819 a sum of £6,624 14s Id distributed among 23,130 persons out of was raised for the cure and eradication of THE POST OFFICE CLUB. 369 Sucli is a brief sketch of the Post-ofSce Club, which, during the years of its existence, was undoubtedly one of the most respectable of our City's social brotherhoods. Its birth, as we have already hinted, took place during a most eventful period. It was cradled, too, amid manufacturing metamoi'phoses, which absolutely altered the whole aspect of Glasgow society, while it pursued its onward career unimpaired either by the mer- cantile clouds or sunshine which successively fell upon the citizens, until at length it gave up the ghost, under the destroying influence of a western emigration fever and the loss of him who had so long acted as its loadstone and guardian. Should any youthful citizen ever chance to listen to the silvery tinkle of the bell before alluded to, he, without much stretch of imagination, may at once realise to himself the first call and the last knell of the Post-office Club. typhus fever; while, in 1819-20, upwards of a thousand persons were employed in public works, to save them from stan^ation, through the liberal eflforts of the citizens and the Corporation. During the prevalence of the fever, no one exerted himself more to alle- viate distress than Mr William Leckie, a regular member of the Post-office Club ; and it is gratifying to think, that when that bene- volent-hearted individual became unfortu- nate in business, he was elected to fill the vacant CoUectorship of Police. 2b ffilasgob HiUhits Move anti after tlje ^mc of SHatcrloo. FRENCH CLUB. There was perhaps no period, as we have ah'eady hinted, in the modern history of Glasgow, more replete with anxiety and excitement among all classes of the citizens than the months and days of 1814, 1815, and 1816. Amid the thousand rumours and the momentous realities connected with the warlike operations then daily agitating every quarter of Europe, there was little time and less inclination for the discussion of any other topic. Every man was on tiptoe to learn what was to fix the condition of nations, and what was to seal the fate of his own beloved land. It was a restless- ness of which any one who has only lived in the placid period of the past forty years can have no idea — an excitement which absorbed and swallowed up all other thoughts and anxieties. The first temporary check to this excitement about public news was, however, felt on the 12th April, 1814, when the intelligence of Napoleon's abdication was announced by the guard of the London mail-coach, on its arrival in front of the Exchange at the Cross. Hopes and fears were now seemingly at an end. The threat of invasion which had kept the whole nation in hot water, although not in fear, and the gigantic power of Bonaparte had both vanished ; and the angel of peace, which had so long abandoned the world, seemed now ready to return with the Emperor's expatriation to Elba. The news to which we have just alluded, fiew like lightning through the City, and the people, with one accord, resolved that night to certify their exultation at the event by publicly illuminating their shops and houses, and by lighting bonfires on each and all of their public thoroughfares. The GLASGOWEGIANS ON THE CONTINENT. 371 regiments forming the garrison turned out at mid-day to fire a feu de joie in the Green, in which they were joined by the 3d battalion of the Lanark- shire Local Militia, commanded by Colonel Geddes, of Verreville celebrity, whose sable steed, as it reared amid the noise and the blaze of the expended gunpowder, did not fail to realise the truth of Blind Alick's immortal stanzas : — " Like the fiery god of war, Colonel Geddes doth advance, On a black horse that belong'd To the murder'd king of France ! " During the lull which followed the reinstatement of the Bourbons on their ancient throne, foreign politics lost for a time their all-engrossing interest ; but no sooner was the intelligence of Bonaparte's landing from Elba received in Glasgow, than the old craving after news became as violent as ever — a craving which was only again soothed and satisfied when the victory of Waterloo once more pacified Europe. Owing to the many years during which the inhabitants of Great Britain had been generally excluded from the Continent, but particularly from France and Italy, it is not surprising that there should have existed, at the close of the war, far greater differences between the habits, fashions, feelings, pastimes, and opinions of ourselves and those of our Continental neighbours than can well be imagined by any one of the present day. No sooner, however, had the peace of 1814 been proclaimed — which threw open the long-closed gates of France to our inquisitive countrymen — than a rapid change took place in our ideas about many things ; and although the migratory spirit of the Englishman was not, perhaps, so strongly and decidedly exhibited at first among the denizens of our northern City as might have been anticipated, still it soon spread, and ere the lapse of many years Glasgow — which in 1814 could scarcely point to above a dozen of her inhabitants who had paced the Palais Royal or gazed on the wonders of the Louvre — numbered thousands who could prate as glibly about the cuisine of Les trois freres Provengaux in the Palais lloyal, and the chefs d^ceuvres of the 372 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Italian and the Flemish masters in the almost endless gallery which borders the right bank of the Seine, as though they had all been born and bred within sound of the great bell of Notre Dame. Among the many changes which a renewed intercourse with the Conti- nent, and especially with Paris, produced, there was perhaps none which became so immediately palpable as the alteration in dress, particularly among the better classes in Glas, from the ma- 3S2 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. turers* — at first cf linen, and soon after of cotton. The names of some of our most able, successful, and notable manufacturers, must ever be associated with Anderston: — Monteith, M'llwham, Gillespie, and the Grants — the three first haviufr won for themselves the very first places in Glasgow society, and the last not a less enviable position in Manchesterf — will at once occur to the local reader. • From the WeeiJy Maffcuzine of 1768. we leam that the manufacrarers of Anderston had bronght over from France upwards of forty women, who settled in that village, to be employed in ?pinning fine yam. Perhaps the connection with France may account for the taste and activity of some of the suc- ceeding inhabitants of the village. f We have already alluded to the Ander- ston corTcfi^ or manufacturers, and among these none played a more conspicuotis part than Mr James Monteith, who has always been considered the first manufacturer who irorked a muslin web, muslins of cotton yam from the mule jenny having been first made in Anderston in ITso. Of this gentleman, to whom Glasgow is so deeply indebted for the first step he took in the cotton manufacture, and who was the father of so many sons who emulated their parent's talents, many cuiions anecdotes have been told. Among these it may be mentioned, that it was to Mr Mon- teith's declining to stand Chnrch censure thai the Anderston Belief Church owes its establishment. The attempt to censtire him arose from the circnmstance of himsplf and his wife, when one day proceeding to their nsnal place of worship (the Dissenting church in Havann ah-street). having turned aside into the Tron Chnrch of the Establishment, on acoonnt of being overtaken in a very heavy shower. For this grievous offence bodi he and his lady were ordered to stand a seseional rebnke, which Mr Monteith would not submit to, and a paper war having cniwied, tbe result was the establisliment of the Belief Quach, of which Mr Monteith continoed to be a manager till within a few years of his death. Althoogh ci late we have seen much sectarian bitterness;, it was at least equalled, during the last centiuy, betwixt Dissenting bodies now happily united. This may be well illustrated by tbe following occurrenee, which took place in the Anderston Relief Church. Mr Stewart, the clergyman, who was said to be a son of the Pretender, after preaching the action sermon, and serving the first table, took his staff in hand and walked into the church- yard to hear the tent-preaching, where he encotmtered two boys riding on one of the grave-stones, and having lifted his stick and pursued one of them, the other cried out, "Weel done — thrash him weel — ^his father's an Antiburgher — ^he has nae richt to be here I" As a farther instance of the prevalence of this antagonistic feeling, it may be stated, that when the Antiburgher Chtirch was undergo- ing some repairs, accommodation was given betwixt the usual diets in the Anderston Belief Church, but the sermons there deliv- ered, although by their own clergymen, were not relished, but described as "grand ser- mons, but out of a foul dish !" In connection with the Anderston Belief Church in the olden time, a circumstance happened one Sunday which caused a deal of laughter. An old lady, before going to church, stepped into her kitchen, which was rather low in the roof, and which was, as usual, hung with the accessories of a "bein house," and hav- ing thereafter entered the church, the elder, on her depositing the accustomed coUection, tapped her on the shoulder, saying, " Ma'am, there's a black pudding on the crown of yoiu' bonnet.'" The fact is, the savoury morsel had slipped over its high crown like a ring. Mr Mllwham or Johnnie, as he was called. THE VILLAGE OP A>»-DEESIOX. 38S In the commencement of tiiis volmne. we f -=: :":::daccri :. t r-iier to the village of Andastcm, and to the Club : :-; — -, ! r the presidency of Profesaw Simson, between tiie years ilJru ana. ildo: but great and growing dianges had taken place in the appearance and cha- racter of that village as we approach the peziod to which we now refer. Anderston as yet had not arrived at tl^ dignity of a bmgh of boiranyy to which it soon afterwards attained; bat it had within its boondaries serioal churches, a market-place, a news-iDom, several exceOeat ^<^)s. and all the otho- adjuncts belonging to a third or fourth class town. The beantifbl and well-built street, which, at the present moment, finks the annihilaled burgh with Glasgow, was then only a public road, with a few villas scat- tered along a not veiy well-k^ feo^ath :* cooseqoently, it still partook was a Ihde tiis man in his dtr. H« v^^ imuried late in life, and £ram a earicanLrc vhich vas pot fonb at the penod, it vocli appear that the eonnesion vas deemed a specie of pfonchase. For manj jeais he vas in the habit of standing on die steps leaifinjg: to his vaicho^ in HliJM !. M« - >i>i e gt Aew- ing tnlMoeo, t31 his cairia^ came mp to eairrlumont to Hvde-pailL. then a sahnhoat Tina, and noiv- pait of the Haibonr QnaTS. ^..^.p^^ ^n^^^^ r^imtmf* m» « * Wlihin mj own lecoDectaon, Andeiston walk comm e n c ed at not tot- far berofod the ThE poem ■a&TuUcn hr Gr-' at one time v^ a tencher c : fied in the prime of Efe. heMl of Jamaiea^tieet-a siaxvl footpaA fc„nr«r,m«notbeconfoc abont fimr to tiT« feet «id& on the souh ifca, the am of the Belief t adebonndedbjahi^thomhed^ Ihere mI, . „««, ««ntric h« dwer scholai; miehtbewithinitasctneicdhonseortmia. ,t,»o .i^o g.^ i» euty Bite, priinte tnitnm with two or three CM»^ in WyAsmxjod- i.fcfefco««a^,«rthsideof theGrfton- holm. The tomination of the walk nns „„, .^ y^ Ctos. It fe befiered that Hr then the CtofcM*«, at the e*a end of ^^11 wns bred for the ministtx. b« daiki.« A-demon TiUa^ In a anaO poetical ,k^ p,„|tesi«. fce .ft«r«nls engagal M penodkal, of which only one nnmber was ^^ Mim«&ctmiiig b«siM9& which also not pabiished. entitled -The Temple of ApolK' p^^^ ««. fce aWmatelT de,x«d himself gotapbTjame* DmcanboofeaOer, aak- tofitenrrpmsmts. In the latter part of ha maikec abou fonr yeais a«o. there b a Kfe he traded near the Claehan of C^mpae, poemof aboaslM lines, desoiptire of Fin- .^ ^fcfle ,fce„ ke Ibr ma^r Tcmrs edited. nie»on«aIfc. The old condition of the walk ,rith ^etr learned ge««taphici and other u thns noticed ?— ^^j,^ . EoQin's Ancieat Hli*c«rr.' Ukewi$e a ■■m!«l wwk which is known as -'BeirsG«««raphyr ipM«L*riiAi««ti»aMcttTf«^»- ^- Asageofrapherhewas] 384 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. of what it lias now altogether lost, the character of a distinct and separate village.* When matters were in this state, there arose a fraternity, which, from the peculiar, light-hearted, and gregarious character of its many members, was most appropriately designated the Anderston Social Club. In imitation of the denizens of the neighbouring City, of which, as we have already said, it w^as accounted at one time a rather distant suburb, there were not a few of the dwellers of Anderston and its well-peopled adjunct Finnieston,t who felt that their evenings might be happily leavened with the news and gossip of the day, but who likewise felt a journey to and from Glasgow for that purpose by no means an agreeable accompaniment, particularly on a cold winter night. With these feelings, and having a worthy host in the person of Mr John Adam, who resided within the village, and who, moreover, was ever ready to open his door to honest men, even although they should be inclined to sit rather late at night, a knot of kindred souls soon collected, and the Club opened on the 13th June, 1813. The first and leading rule of this social brotherhood was, " that there should be a meeting every Monday night at half-past eight, and that a rising should always take place at the latest before the clock struck eleven." The Club was at first limited to thirty members, but was after- complislied; and he used to complain that his England. He died after a short incumhency. ■work were fairly spoiled from the mutilations He was rather an able divine, as a volume of of publishers. He had read much divinity, his sermons testifies. Thei'e is a moumen- and his memory of authors in that department tal tablet erected to his memory in the of learning was so extraordinary, that in the church yard. event of a clergjTnan making a quotation in f This village, now also a part of the the pulpit, he could at once tell where he municipality of Glasgow, was founded after had got it. His conversational powers were the Stobcross estate came into the possession also wonderful; and when he met a literary of Mr Orr, and was named after the Eev. friend or two in the evening, he seemed never Mr Finnic, who was a tutor in the Barrow- to know when to depart. He was married, field family. About the time that the but left no children. Anderston Social Club was in existence, it * The pulpit of the Anderston Relief was more rural than Anderston, and was Church, to which we formerly alluded, was noted for its neat villas, and particularly for first occupied by the Rev. Joseph Neil, from its manufactory of glass named Yerrevilk. THE ANDEESTON SOCIAL CLUB. 385 wards extended to meet the growing demand of candidates for admissionj while in addition to the regularly admitted members, who became so through the protection of the ballot-box, a power was given to each indi- vidual brother to bring a friend or an occasional visitor. In this way the Club was kept well recruited ; and the attentive landlord soon dis- covered, from the bibulous qualities of the fraternity, that it was by no means a losing concern for him to keep his best apartment sacred on Monday evenings, for the special use of the Anderston Social Club. As has been already hinted, the Club was composed chiefly of resi- denters in and about Anderston and Finnieston, although some rather notable and nomadic individuals, who were fond of singing and sociality, occasionally wandered from Glasgow to place their limbs b^low Mr Adam's comfortable mahogany, and to taste the quality of his " rum and water hot with sugar," the common evening beverage of the fraternity. When the all-stirring period of our national history is recalled during which this Club hebdomadally met, it will be easy to conceive, that topics were seldom wanting to keep the tongues of the members in motion, or that the chances arising from the war then raging were insufficient to afford subjects for endless betting; and as the produce of all bets was duly devoted to the purchase of those things deemed best calculated to increase the hilarity and good fellowship of the Club, every license and encourage- ment was given to the raising of funds from this fruitful source of speculation. In addition to the regular weekly meetings, there was also an annual dinner, on which occasion a more than ordinary turn-out took place ; toasts were given bodying forth the very spirit of the times, and speeches made which, even in these soiree and platform days, might have passed muster. From the minute-book of this fraternity, which is regularly and well kept, we find that the first of these great entertainments took place on the 2d August, 1813, when thirty-three gentlemen, including strangers, sat down to dinner — Mr James Grant occupying the chair, and Dr 2 c 38 G GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Alexander James Buclianan acting as croupier. On this occasion the toasts were of the most patriotic kind^ replete with the glories and the hopes of the closing naval and military contest. The great success and happiness experienced at this first dinner-party of the Anderston Social Club very soon created a wish for another, and six months had not passed away before an excellent excuse was afforded for a meeting of a similar kind. As patriots, the members deemed it their duty to celebrate the important victories which had been about that period gained over the French, not only by our armies in Spain and France, but also by our allies in Germany. The Marquis of Wellington had already passed the Pyrennees — the Allies had gained the battle of Leipsic — and Sir Thomas Graham, with his small British army, was now in Holland. The war was at this point, when, on the 1st December, 1813, this second festival took place — Dr Alexander James Buchanan on this occasion act- ing as president, and Mr P. W. Mitchell as croupier. Part of the band of the 92d regiment attended, and played a number of appropriate airs. Each individual present (in all six-and-thirty) sported an orange ribbon at his breast button-hole ; and the chair of the president was surmounted with a superb canopy, covered with orange cloth, fringed with blue, and decorated with laurel. In the centre of the back of the chair, in a conspi- cuous place, was " Orange Boven," in letters of gold, surmounted with gold ornaments. The band and even the waiters M^ore the colour of Holland, in honour of the liberation of the United Provinces and of the restoration of their Sovereign Prince. The meeting altogether appears to have been one of the most joyous and exciting which this very hilarious and patriotic fraternity ever held. With toast was intermingled the rousing music of the military band ; and with the eloquence of the speech- maker was linked the heart-stirring lyric, as well as the occasional ode from the numerous vocalists present, and the no less numerous batch of rhymsters of which the bi'otherhood was composed. Each, in fact, seems to have done his best, by throwing his mite of music or merriment into the general fund of after-dinner enjoyment, to offer up, at this altar of WILLIAM GLEN". 387 patriotic feeling, all the pleasurable powers which wine and Hollands could evoke.* From all that can be gathered from the minutes of the Anderston Social Club, it appears certain that not a few members of this brotherhood were as fond of drinking the waters of Helicon as " the waters of life," we mean aqua vitce ; for, scarcely did a Club meeting take place without some new song being produced by a member, or some poetical and patriotic effusion enunciated in honour of the Club or in illustration of the wai'. If the members were not poets, they were at least most industrious rhyra- sters ; and if their lucubrations did not mayhap reach the standard which might have entitled them to a place in the poet's corner of a newspaper, or in the more fastidious lyrical nook of a magazine, they were always certain of getting a grave on the yet unsullied folios of the Club minute- book. Among those who mounted the Club Pegasus most frequently was Mr William G len,t the son of a rather eminent merchant in Glasgow, and who, it may be remembered, gained some little poetical fame from two well-known lyrics — the one the touching and tender Jacobite ditty of " Oh waes me for Prince Chai'lie ! " and the patriotic song of the " Battle of Vittoria," both of which are even at this day listened to with pleasure. Mr Glen commenced business life as a manufacturer in his native City ; but whether from a greater love for the weaving of metres than of muslins, • For this festival the landlord was called engaged Mr Wilson, the celebrated vocalist, especially to provide Hollands fjin, for those to sing before Her Majesty. A list of the who might wish to avail themselves of the songs Mr Wilson was in the habit of singing spirit as they had done of the colour of was submitted to the Queen, that she might Holland. signify her pleasure as to those which she t Mr Glen was born in Glasgow in 1789, Avould wish to hear, when her Majesty ira- and died in 182fi. In the " Book of Scottish mediately fixed upon the following: — Song," printed by Bhiclvie & Son, we find the " Locliaber no more," " The Flowers of the following anecdote connected with Mr Glen's Forest," " The Lass o' Gowrie," " John Ander- song of "'Waes me for Prince Cliarlie." son myjo," "Cam ye by Athol," and, "The During the late visit of Her Majesty the Laird o' Cockpcn." Mr Glen's song Avas not Queen to the north, this song received a in Mr Wilson's list, but Her Majesty herself mark of royal favour, which would have asked if he could sing " Waes me for Prince sweetened, had he been alive, poor Glen's Charlie," which, fortunately, he was aljle bitter cup of life. While at Taymouth to do. Castle, the Marquis of Brcadalbanc Imd 388 , GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. it is certain that, in liis closing days, he succeeded better in the former than in the latter, and the result was, that while he was looked upon as a passable poet, he had the misfortune to feel the not unusual accompani- ment of that character — poverty. When attending the weekly meetings of the Anderston Social Club he was in the zenith of his poetical glory, and by his presence there frequently threw a halo of happiness around the heads which wagged chorus to his patriotic airs.* Among the poetical effusions which this most Toryfied lyrist wrote for the peculiar delectation of the Club, of which he was a highly convivial member, we find that at an evening meeting on the 18th April, 1814, which was the first that had taken place since the news of the abdication of Bonaparte and the resto- ration of Louis XVIII. to the French throne had reached Glasgow, the following song, written by Mr Glen for the occasion, was sung by Mr Adam Grant. Here it is as it appears in the minutes of the Club : — "Oh stately now will be Moscow ! Green laurels on her banks may grow, For haughty Paris is laid low, Nae sheltering bield she'll have o't. Bourbons' gay lily fair may bloom ; The eagle's got a bloody tomb ; And whar's the stamm'ring king o' Eome, Papa, and a' the lave o't ? France may rejoice from shore to shore, She sees her snaw-Avhite flag once more, Au's dash'd awa the tri-color, Nae mair to be the slave o't. Huzza for Alexander ! now lie's weel performed his fearless vow. May laurels wave round Blucher's brow, Wha'U endless glory have o't ! * Poor Glen in his latter days took severely a broadside for a f&w shillings. Several of to the bottle. He was extremely ready in his these MS. poems are in the possession of a poetical compositions, and would throw off a well known antiquarian citizen, Mr Neil; number of verses in the course of a night, while in the keeping of a friend of his, is a and sell them to a bookseller to be printed as water-coloured poitrait of the Bard. PATRIOTIC EFFUSIONS. 389 Gae wreaths to them wha fame hae won, And the brightest 'twine for Ei'in's son^ Oh noble, glorious Wellington A deathless name shall have o't I Spain weel may bless wi' gratefu' e'e, The conqueror wha set her free ; And France adore, on bended knee, Him wha ilk inch did save o't. Elba's great king, like some crush'd flower, Wha ance rejoiced in godlike power. Kens there's nae sweet but has its sour — Scarce Elba-room he'll have o't ! Bright as a glorious orb of day, Has been our noble Regent's sway ; Then here's to him and Castlereagh, Britain, and a' the brave o't ! " * There were otlier rhymsters, however, belonging to the fraternity who equalled, if they did not surpass, the bard of Vittoria. The following are taken as fair specimens of the rhyming capabilities of certain members of the brotherhood, from the somewhat curious album of the Club. The first appears to have been originally sung by Mr Wallace Gilfillan, and was received with the greatest enthusiasm by a full conclave, on the evening of the 7th March, 1814 :— " One mom, when Apollo arrived in the skies, His check flush'd with pleasure and joy in his eyes. The laughing god Monius made up to the Avight, And ask'd him where he had been spending the night ? Deny down, down, &c. 'Why, in truth,' says Apollo, 'I've been on the earth, And have spent the whole night with good fellows in mirth; You know very well I hate noise and hubbub. And so sat me down in the Anderston Club. Derry down, &c. • What a complete metamorphosis in ruling as Emperor, is visited at St Cloud by popular sentiment lias taken place since the Queen Victoria! While historj' has told the I)cri(jd when this song was composed ! present generation but too much evil of Russia is but lately our foe — France now our George IV. and Castlereagh ever to make firm friend. The Bourbons are again chased their memories respected, from the throne, and Napoleon's nephew, 390 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Believe me, dear Momus, these Club folks are elves, Who live far more social than we do ourselves ; For friendship and love they with Bacchus entwine ; We gods are but ninnies, while they are divine ! ' Derry down, &c. 'By Jove ! then,' cried Momus, 'this corps I must join; Then the song shall be yours, the laugh shall be mine : Propose me then, friend, to the Club so select, That I may be one of the social elect!'' Derry down, &c. Then come, my brave boys, push the toast and the song, Apollo and Momus have both joined the throng; And hence is ovir Club a heaven on earth — We want not good fellowship, music, or mirth. Derry down, &c." The next song we extract was first sung by Mr Crichton, on the 30th May, 1814, and is inserted in the minutes of that evening's proceedings. It is as follows : — "Hey, Boney lad, are ye ready yet? Your beltane's come, mak haste and flit ! Frae Paris, you an' a' your set Maim sneak awa' in the mornin' ! Quoth Nappy, — ' Faith ye are nae blate, But as your friendship's turn'd to hate, It's time for me to tak the gate, For fear o' my skin this mornin'.' Auld Blucher then cried — 'By the Lord! Tent me, I'll be as guid's my word, For we'll hae back our sovereign's sword They steal'd awa' in the mornin'.' Wi' whip an' spur the vet'ran flew, Until he came to Fontainbleau — ' The deil,' quo' Blucher, ' 's got his due, An' I'll hae mine this mornin'.' Up got Nappy in surprise. On Blucher brave he fix'd his eyes — ' mon Dieu ! ' th' Emp'ror cries, ' What is't ye want this mornin' ? ' ' Ye rogue,' quo' Blucher, ' gie me back Great Fred'rick's sword, Avhich you did tak. Or you an' a' your cursed pack I'll send to the deil in the mornin'.' PATRIOTIC EFFUSIONS. 391 Then Bluclier Fred'rick's sword has ta'en, An' Xap awa to Elba's gaen, Wi' bag an' baggage, a' his hine, But biddin' a' guid mornin'.' Now Gallia wears her white cockade ; An' Russia now, that gallant lad, Wi' Austria, has in Paris bade Great Britain a' guid mornin' ! Hey, Boney lad, &c." The last song which we extract from this repertory of anti-Bonaparte minstrelsy we present, not for any merit which it possesses in itself, but from the fact that it was first sung at the Anderston Club by IMr Alexander Macalpine, on the 2d May, 1814, — a gentleman whose social qualifica- tions, and, above all, whose vocal powers, rendered him one of the greatest after-dinner favourites in Glasgow. The song, as it appears on the Club minutes, is entitled — " The White Cocbovde. " Come now my hearties drink away The princely Louis has gain'd the day; Napoleon's eagle low is laid Beneath the lily and the white cockade. Where's the mighty little man Avith his row dow dow? Is he off to Elba now with his row dow dow ? The tricolor and eagle are prostrate laid Beneath the ancient lily and the white cockade ! The Frenchmen now enough have got Of the Age of Reason and Sans Cullote ; Now — Vive le Roi! vive Bourbon! Shall ever be the burden of their song. Where's the mighty little man, &c. France may rejoice that he's dethroned, Beneath Avhose rod so long she groan'd; His bloody flag shall no more wave, — No more shall he spill the blood of the brave. Where's the mighty little man, &c. Hail to the gallant Allied Powers ! Let their paths be strcw'd with fairest flowers ; Glory to Blucher and the brave, Who fought and who conquer'd but to save ! Where's the mighty little man, &c. 392 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. We'll have no longer bloody -wars, And soon see our soldiers and brave jack-tars; We'll then live under onr own fig-tree, The Rose entwining with the Fletir-de-lis. Where's gi-eat Emperor Bonaparte now now now ? ' The great Captain of the age,' with his row dow dow ? His crown Imperiale full low is laid, And his eagle must make way for the white cockade! " Taking into full account the spirit of the period when this song was written and sung, it cannot be doubted that the effect produced on the patriotic conclave assembled round the spirit-stirring board of the Ander- ston Boniface, must have been electrifying. That the vocalist received his due meed of applause was certain ; for when did Mr Alexander Macalpine — or rather Sandie Macalpine (his usual cognomen) — ever open his lips to sing, that his efforts were not followed by thunders of applause ? It would have been better, however, for him, had the applause of his boon companions and friends been less noisy and less flattering. Had it been so, he might have avoided the whirlpool into which the syren current of a too friendly approbation ere long hurried him. When we first knew him, he was a salesman in the great manufacturing house of J. & J. M'llwham & Co,, Glassford-street, and in that capacity he acted from 1809 to 1816. He was much esteemed for convivial qualities, and parti- cularly for his agreeable and winning manners. His comic songs and jokes, and ready quips and quillets, and invariable good humour, rendered him a general favourite and a most acceptable guest at many of the dinner- tables of the citizens. In short, he became unfortunately so much in request, and especially at Clubs and evening parties — where his famous song of "The Mail Coach" never failed to set the table in a roar — that he neglected his business, and in an evil hour for himself was persuaded by Harry Johnston, then manager and lessee of the Theatre Royal, Queen- street, to try his fortune on the stage. He made his first appearance there in the character of Octavian, in the play of '' the Mountaineers." But the talents which rendered him the delight of the social circle were not ade- quate to the demands of the general public on such a conspicuous platform, DECEASE OF THE ANDEESTON SOCIAL CLUB. 393 and after rapidly descending in the histrionic scale, he disappeared from Glasgow, and was lost amid the congenial clouds which envelope the history of the humble stroller. AYe have reason to believe, that after much suffering in this low and saddening sphere, he emerged into greater respectability, and became a teacher of drawing, for which he had a remarkable talent, somewhere in England. Such is a rapid outline of the story of an individual who was at one time a well-known character in Glasgow, and who, moreover, made himself, by a pretty regular attend- ance, one of the attractive loadstars of the Anderston Social Club. To those of that fraternity who may have survived the baneful effects of deep potations, late sittings, and, what perhaps is worse, the scythe strokes of life-destroying time, the mention here of their long-lost Club-mate, should it ever meet their eye, will be received with kindly remembrances; while each and all will acree with the writer in thinkino; how sad the fate of the once made of and idolised Sandie Macalpine must have been, when, in so short a period, he who had frequently played the king of clubs in an elegant and comfortable saloon, was reduced to play the player-king in some cold country barn or booth at a fair ! Heu quantum mutatus ah illo Hectare ! The Anderston Social Club did not long survive the peaceful period which followed the victory of Waterloo. The consequences of that deci- sive struggle had depriAcd the rhymsters of the brotherhood of their chief Club pabulum, and the unrhyming members of the exciting subjects for their weekly gossip. The great continental drama which had so long attracted all eyes and all thoughts to its denouement had ended. The last scene had been performed, the chief hero had fallen, and the curtain had dropped. The chief listeners at the Club, like those at the common theatre, dropped off when the trngedy was over, and left the afterpiece to be gazed at by the few who still persisted in sitting out the remaining pantomime or farce. In plain parlance, the members of the Anderston Social Club, after the entrance of the Allies into Paris, became at each weekly meeting beautifully less; and after "dreeing out" a few months' assemblings, enlivened as one of them was by presenting a kind 394 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUES. remembrancer to the secretary for his long and gratuitous services, the Club gave up the ghost, and was buried with all the honours, under Mr Adam's broad mahogany slab, on which, while much was imprinted in the shape of punch stains and toddy marks, no better tale was told than that which may be the lot of any tavern table to repeat. ^Kxtitk antr its ^astrou0m£0. DUCK CLUB. Among the many rural villages which at one time surrounded Glasgow, perhaps none surpassed Partick in beauty and interest. Situated on the banks of a limpid and gurgling stream, which flowed through its centre ; and beautified, as it was of yore, with many fine and umbrageous trees ; and above all, ornamented with an old hoary castle, with whose history many true and many more fabulous tales were associated ; and when to these were added its dozen or two of comfortable and clean cottages, and its picturesquely-planted mills, historically linked with the generous gift of the successful opponent of the lovely Mary at Lang- side, — all combined to render this locality one of the most favom'ite of suburban retreats.* It was, in fact, the resort of every citizen who enjoyed a lovely landscape, an antiquarian ramble, or a mouthful of fresh air — to which might be superadded, the certainty of getting a mouthful of • The mills at Partick belong to the Cor- old one, which, in conjunction with the poration of Bakers. In the year 1568, the Town's mill, served thcni till the year 1771, forces of the licgent Murray, who success- when they purchased, from the Magistrates fully opposed those of Mary Queen of Scots and Council of Glasgow, the malt and snuff at the battle of Langside, were quarterd in mills at Clayslap, a few hundred yards above Glasgow and its neighbourhood. On this the Partick mills. These the Incorporation occasion the bakers were called upon for an fitted up as a flour mill, which has subse- extraordinary supply of bread for the troops, quently been enlarged, and, since then, they which they implemented so much to the have made large additions to the establish- satisfaction of the Regent, that he gave them ments at Partick and Clayslap. In 1818 the a grant of the Archbishop's mill, which had west wing of the old mill was taken down now become the property of the Crown, and and rebuilt, and in 1828 the remaining part a piece of ground adjoining it. In 1664 the of the old building was taken down and bakers erected a small mill on the site of the reconstmcted. 39G GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. something better, provided the visitor should have ever heard of the good things obtainable within the walls of its ancient " Bun-and-yill-house." Such was Partick during the latter part of the last century ; and even for a few years after the commencement of the one which has produced so many metamorphoses it still retained its rural character and its smoke- less atmosphere. At the latter period, there were still only a straggling house or two on the side of the turnpike from Anderston to the Craw- road. The summit of Gilmorehill had scarcely been two or three years crowned by Mr Bogle's handsome mansion ; and the house at Dowanhill was just being finished, while the trees in front of it, which are now so lofty and leafy, were only being planted, under the boyish eye of him who now pens this notice. The fact is, Partick was then truly in the country. Its comfortable thatched and white-washed cottages, with its ruinous castle, were such as to evoke the admiration of everv tasteful limner; and its river, while it suggested a theme for the poet's lyre, likewise offered an attraction for the angler's rod. For many long years after this, however, Partick may still be said to have maintained its sequestered aspect ; but at length utilitarianism, that foe to beauty and the picturesque, marched westward from the City. The steam-engine became a necessary accessory to the flour and corn mills, and, thereafter, to many other public factories. The few one-storey cottages that spotted the slopes of the Kelvin, or surrounded the ancient Castle, could not meet the requirements of the hundreds of houseless ship-builders and other citizens, drawn from a distance to the extensive establishments which increasing capital and enterprise had there erected. The ground on which these cottages stood soon became too valuable to be occupied by such humble dwellings, which were ere long supplanted by more formidable though less picturesque tenements ; while the once- honoured though ruinous-gabled castle was, some years ago, converted into a quarry.* At this hour, the landscape painter's occupation about * The old castle of Partick, which had the junction of the Clyde with the Kelvin, stood as a landmark for many long years, at was removed almost in a night, by ruthless THE PARTICK BUN-HOUSE. 397 Partick Is gone — the sketching desk may be for ever closed, and the pencil and the pallet thrown aside. The village is now a town, with a provost and bailies, a police force, local taxes, and a lockup-house ; and instead of having only one celebrated " Bun-and-yill-house," it has now many more public-houses than even the greatest enemy to the Maine Liquor Law could well justify. It is stretching out on every side, and for some time has been shaking hands with Glasgow, so far as gas and lamp-posts are concerned. Its future destiny will doubtless be, to be swallowed up like its suburban relatives, Calton, Bridgeton, Gorbals, and Anderston, by its all-absorbing Babylonish parent City. It was about the period when Partick was in its more rural condition, that there existed divers knots of individuals connected with Glasfrow who, inspired by the noble purpose of enjoying ducks and green peas in perfection, with cold punch ad libitum, proceeded hebdomadally to indulge their gastronomic propensities at this picturesque village. Among the many inducements which this locality oflfered to these united bands of kindred spirits were, the agreeable and health-inspiring distance of this common rendezvous from the smoky City — the picturesque appearance of the village itself— the refreshing flow of the limpid Kelvin, broken by successive cascades — the neat and comfortable character of the hostelry; and, above all, the superior quality of ducks reared under all the known advantages that arise from the proximity which large grain-mills naturally afford for good feeding. To these inducements, too, was superadded the hands, to form dykes to the neighbouring Bishop's Castle, and which was certainly fields. It entirely disappeared about the built in the year mentioned by Chalmers, year 1836 or 1837. In a pamplilet giving the was the work not of Bishop Spottiswode, but story of Partick Castle, and in letters ad- built as a dwelling-house for himself, by dressed to David M'Kinlay, Esq., preceptor of George Ilutcheson." Mr Hill adds, "the Hutchcsou's Hospital, by Laurence Hill, LL.B., contract betwixt me and ye masoun in Kil- he says, "I became aware from some private Avyinning, ancnt the bigeing of tlie house of personal papers of the founders, which, on Partick," dated the 9th and 14th Januaiy, the death of Thomas Ilutchcson's widoAV, ICll. So that in future, the ecclesiastical Mrs ]\Iarion Stewart, passed into the hands status of the ruinous house which once so of their ncpliew, Mr Ninian Hill of Lambhill, picturesquely adorned the west bank of the that this house ^.I'artick Castle), known as Kelvin, must be annihilated 398 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. delicious manner in which the ducks were prepared for table, and which never failed to excite an appetite, which was onlj appeased after each guest had finished his bird ! Of these various groups of Glasgow gastronomes, there was one which, par excellence, was truly entitled to the appellation of the Duck Club of Partick, seeing that, during the whole season, when these luxuries were in perfection, and even after they became a little out of date, there seldom was a Saturday permitted to pass on which the several members of this social fraternity were not seen either wending their hungry way towards the well-known " Bun-house" of that village, between the hours of three and four o'clock, or returning therefrom " well refreshed " before " set of sun." Many of the men who composed this rather gustative and gormandising fraternity had long been connected with the management of the Trades' House, and had held deaconships and masterships in several of the Incor- porations of the City, in which capacities they had learned the value of the good old and well-known Hudibrastic apophthegm, and never failed to practise it when they had any object to carry. They felt also, during their long experience in public office, that business might be carried on success- fully, although the members of the sederunt should quaff, during the breathing-time intervals, something rather stronger than the produce of the Westport well. In short, they were men to whom good eating and serious drinking was no novelty — such creature comforts, in fact, forming a peculiar feature in their every-day corporate life. As a key to the Corporation class who were members of the Duck Club, we may merely mention Mr M'Tyre — a gentleman who, after passing through all the gradations of the Cordiners' Corporation, arrived at last at the Convener's chair and a seat at the City Council board. This personage, who may be justly regarded as the president of the social Partick brotherhood, was exceedingly popular, not only among his Council friends at the " Bun- house," but likewise among the members of the Trades' House. He was, in fact, so much esteemed by the latter body, that they expressed a unani- THE TARTICK DUCK CLUB. 399 mous wish to have his portrait taken as a most appropriate ornament to theu" Corporation walls ; and there it now hangs as a stimulant to every ambitious man to do his duty. It was during the period of this popularity that the Convener was most frequently found wending his way, with majestic step, towards Partick ; it was then that the ducks in that village suffered most from his Saturday visits ; and it was on one of these occa- sions that the Club poet, Mr William Eeid — of whom more anon — improvised the following true and touching couplet : " The ducks of Partick quack for fear, Crying, ' Lord preserve us ! there's M'Tear ! ' "* And no wonder. For no sooner was the rubicund beak of the worthy Convener espied by the blue and white swimmers of the mill-dam, than it was certain that the fate of those now disporting would become, ere another Saturday, that of their jolly companions who at that moment were suffering martyrdom at the auto-da-fe in the kitchen of the " Bun-house !" Though the ducks, as may reasonably be supposed, quacked loudly in anticipation of their coming fate, yet the Convener, having no sympathy with any- thing akin to the melting mood, except what was produced by the sun's * "We have been favoured Avith a correct ins. copy of the poem penned by Mr Reid; and although satirical, severe, personal, and perhaps not altogether just towards the individual who is the burden of the song, it is at least characteristic of what Dr Chal- mer's powerful oratory produced soon after his ari'ival in Glasgow. " Ilk body has liis hobby-horsey : John Lawson sings— Brown fechts wi' Dorscy ; There's soutcr Will, used every diiy The Catholic synagogue survey; Since Clialmcrs cam he changed his tune — Some say he'll be an elder soon — His name is never out his mouth, Kvcn when we meet to slocken drouth ; And what has been his curious lot, lie's made a proselyte of Scott! Not only him, but there's the tanner, Of curious, furious, swearing manner, Lvcii he's at kirk the ither Sunday, And swears by G — he'll back on Monday I There's Glbb the souter in a broil. Does every Sunday fecht wi' Croil ; About a scat he'll bite and bark. Argue wi' bailies and their clerk ; Vulcan and Condie, in their turn, Will warsle keen wi' Dr Burn. A' this proceeds frae souter Willie, Wha's now tum'd good and unca holy. The Provost says it's guid to men' — Great need there was, and that some ken; For, when he was in London toun, 'Tis said he was an unca loon ; He made his boots, they said, on Sunday, And then he drank and on Monday ; But now his heart is lioly warm. His Sunday face as lang's my arm; ■We've seen the day he used to revel. And even on Sunday wont to travel ; The fowls at Partick used to ken him. It's even been said they used to name him — The ducks they qunck'd through perfect fear. Crying, 'Lord preserve us', there's M'Tear!" 400 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. summer beams, was deaf to pity. He felt too strongly the truth of Cato's famous saying, that " it is no easy task to preach to the belly, which has no ears." Tlie truth is, that neither the poetry of Reid nor the quacking of the ducks had any power over the alimentative bump of the carnivorous Convener. Its cry never ceased from June to October, when, alas ! the broad sheet of water which, in spring, had been almost covered with the feathered flock of youthful divers, was found, in autumn, altogether unten- anted, save by the lamenting parents of their once happy and noisy families ! The Convener and the Club had, during the summer's cam- paign, made conscripts of all the young, and had sacrificed them to their own gustative propensities, without one tear for the family bereavements they were weekly occasioning, except, perhaps, when that was now and then called forth through the pungency of the spiritual consolation which universally followed the Saturday holocaust ! And, in good troth, when we reflect on those duck feasts, we do not wonder at the weekly turn out of guests who congregated at Partick, or that there should have been, in consequence, a hebdomadal murder of the innocents to meet the cravings of the Club. For we verily believe, that never did even the all-famous " Trois freres Provengeaux" in the Palais Royal at Paris, send up from their celebrated cuisine, un canard roti in better style than did the landlady of the Partick " Bun-house " her roasted ducks, done to a turn and redolent with sage and onion ; — and then the pease, all green and succulent, and altogether free from the mint of England and the sugar of France ! What a glorious sight it was to see the Club met, and what a subject would such a meeting have afforded to the painter of character and manners ! The rosy countenance and bold bearing of the president, seated at the head of a table surrounded by at least a dozen of happy guests almost as rubicund and sleek as himself, each grinning with cormorant eye over his smoking duckling, and only waiting the short interval of a hastily muttered grace to plant his ready knife into its full and virgin bosom; — verily, the spectacle must have been a cheering one ! ELECTIONEERING BICKERING. 401 It may easily be conceived how many changes must have occurred among the members of the Partick Duck Club, during the twenty years in which, from 1810 to 1850, the fraternity met and guzzled; but, per- haps, none was more striking than the change which befell its worthy president. The Trades' House, Police Board, and Council popularity, which Convener M'Tyre had won by his talents for business, by the energy of his character, and by his devotion to the best interests of the City, was all lost during the short and evanescent struggle of a Parlia- mentary election. At the time to which we allude, the Council of Glasgow was nearly equally divided between the claims of two gentle- men, who then offered themselves to represent them in the House of Commons. These worthy individuals were, the well-known Mr Kirkman Finlay and Mr Campbell of Blythswood ; and, although the commercial mart of the West of Scotland was as yet limited to having only a fourth voice in the representation, it so happened that her voice on that occasion settled the Membership. The interest in the result was therefore more than usually keen, and the candidates and their supporters Avere more than usually exacting. It must also be remembered, that although both candidates for the seat may be said to have been hitherto linked with the Tory i)arty, still Mr Finlay, from having given tokens of greater liber- ality in commercial matters, and particularly in having loudly advocated the opening up of the trade with India and China, secured for himself the support of the more liberal portion of the community, and, conse- quently became the popular candidate. Mr M'Tyre, who all along, during his public career, had voted with the latter party, was looked upon at first as a sure card for ^Mr Finlay. But ere long he began to coquet with the supporters of his opponent, and at last went fairly over to his camp. The consequence of this one false step in the eyes of his former admirers was, that he was hurled from his lofty throne of popu- larity, and stigmatised as nothing better than a political recreant and tergiversator. And so high was political feeling then carried, that it was seriously mooted, in order to testify the popular displeasure against 2 D 402 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. such conduct, to urge on the Trades' House to order the full-length portrait of their once beloved and admired Convener to be turned upside down, to deter others from turning their coats and changing their colours in future ! In short, it was gravely proposed to hang the poor Convener by the heels instead of the head, — a degradation which, however, for the honour of all concerned, was, under the reflection of cooler moments, never carried into execution. The instability of popular feeling, com- bined with an increasing love for his birthplace, drew the ex-Convener from Glasgow to Maybole, and, consequently, deprived the Partick Club of one of its chief loadstars and the ducks of their chief enemy. While these rulers of the various Trades may be considered to have been the chief assistants at the weekly demolition of ducks and green peas, which took place in the comfortable hostelry situated near the flour- mills at Partick, there were happily others also present who could throw their mite of merriment into the afternoon's symposium ; and among these was a gentleman to whom we have already slightly alluded — the facetious Mr William Reid, of the well-known firm of Brash & Reid, who, as book- sellers, carried on for so long a period a successful business in the Trongate, and to whose labours the bibliomaniac is indebted for some rather scarce and curious publications. In the then extensive field of Glasgow's social companions, it would have been difficult to find one more courted as a club associate than Mr Keid. To a peculiarly placid temper, he united a strong smack of broad humour, and an endless string of personal anecdotes, which he detailed with a gusto altogether his own. Of all things he loved a joke, and indulged in this vein even at the risk of causing the momentary dis- pleasure either of an acquaintance or a customer. We say momentary — for with all his jesting and jocularity, he never really said, we believe, one word which was meant to offend. To "laugh and grow fat" was his constant motto, and, consequently, he never troubled himself either about his own obesity or about that of any one else who might follow his laughing example. Of the satirical sallies poured out behind the book- seller's counter in the Trongate, we have heard as many repeated as might MR WILLIAM REID. 403 well eke out another supplement to tlie already thousand and one sayings of the "Laird of Logan" — who, most assuredly, had he lived in the panthe- istical days of the early world, would have disputed with Momus the god- like crown of mirth ! Of Mr Reid's every-day ofF-hand rhymes it is perhaps enough to say, that they entitled him to enter the lists as a Scottish improvisator e* But while the witty blibiopole indulged in these playful and innocent vagaries, it must never be forgotten that he has also left behind him " drops of ink" that will go down to posterity — verses linked, as a few of them are, with the never-dying lyrics of Robert Burns — whose earlj' friend and acquaint- ance he was — which will be sung as they now are ; and although but too frequently believed to be altogether the breathings of the bard of Ayrshire, are nevertheless partly the production of the bard of the Duck Club of Partick.f It is only justice to say, that in early and mature hfe ^Mr * One of Mr Reid's standing rhymes behind the counter was, when he noticed a customer preparing to pay, to exclaim — " I'm the man who takes the cash, For myself and partner Brash ! " Another was, when desired to sign a hill, he always used to say, " of all trades " — " The j-ill trade, and the gill trade, The signing of bills, was an ill trade." To any customer who might ask for a religi- ous hook, with which he was not supplied, such as "Erskine's Faith and Hope in the Gospel," he at once bawled out : — " If ye're in want of Faltli and Hope, Gang ye to Ogle's gospel shop." or "If e'er your faith begins to coggle Kun to the shop of Maurice Ogle." The late Mr M'Vean, of the High-street, published a small volume entitled "The Budget of Anecdote and Wit," in which are several humorous stories of Mr Keid, tho Rev. Mr ^Maclaren of the Gaelic Chapel, and other Glasgow characters. f Among the songs of Burns to which Mr Reid made additions, was that of "John Anderson, my joe, John." To Bum's two stanzas, Reid added five, which though, as Dr Currie says, " they are in the spirit of the AjTshire bard, yet eveiy reader of discern- ment will see, are by an inferior hand." The Doctor is indignant that these additions should have been given to the world — as they were by the publishers — as the produc- tion of Bums. Mr Reid's first stanza was — "John Anderson, my joe, John, when Nature first began To try her canny hand, John, her master- work was man; And you among them a', John, sac trig frae top to toe, She proved to be nae joumcy-work, John Anderson, my joe." Mr Reid also added to Burns's song " Of a' the airts." The two first verses of this favourite lyric Avere written by Burns in 1788, during the time that he was over head and ears in love with Jean Armour; the four remaining verses were written — the third and fourth certainly by Mr Reid, and the fifth and sixth either by Mr Reid or M Hamilton, bookseller, Edinburgh. The fol- 404 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Keid could boast of no small share of that peculiar talent which the genius and dazzling career of Burns evoked in the minds of many of his admiring countrymen. He not only shared in the general enthusiasm which the appearance of that " day-star of national poetry" elicited, but he also par- ticipated in the poet's friendship, and sympathised in his excitement. In Scottish song, and in pieces of characteristic humour, Mr Reid approved himself not unworthy of either such intimacy or such inspiration. These lyrics are chiefly preserved in a collection, entitled " Poetry, Original and Select," and which at this moment is rarely to be met with, save in the libraries of the members of the Roxburgh, Bannatyne, and Maitland Clubs, or of the more unobtrusive race of bibliomaniacs scattered over the country, but which, since the demise of poor Dr Thomas Frognall Dibdin, are now sadly getting into the " sere and yellow leaf."* There is another curious publication with which Mr Reid was connected, the " Life of James M'Kean," who was executed for the murder of James Buchanan, the owing version of " Cauld kail" is altogetlier from the pen of Mr Reid : — " There's cauld kail in Aberdeen, And bannocks in Strathbogie, But naething drives awa the spleen Sae weel's a social cogie. That mortal's life nae pleasure shares, Wha broods o'er a' that's fogie ; Whene'er I'm fasht Tvi' wordly cares, I drowu them in a co^e. Thus merrily my time I pass. With spirits brisk and vogie, Bless'd wi' my bulks and my sweet lass, My cronies and my cogie. Then haste and gie's an anld Scots sang, Sic like as 'Catherine Ogie,' A guid auld sang comes never wrang When o'er a social cogie." • The "Poetiy, Original and Select," was printed and published by Brash & Reid during the years 1795-96. The work is in four volumes. The chief original contribu- tions were by Mr Reid, Mr Lochore, the father of the present minister of Di-ymen, and Mr Taylor the writing-master. The song of " Kate of Gowrie," since so much cut down, appeared first there, with many others in a similar strain. The following little lyilc is perhaps one of Mr Eeid's best; if not, it is at least one of his shortest, and that at present is most suitable for our purpose : — " Fair modest flower, of matchless worth I Thou sweet enticing bunnie gem ! Bless'd is the soil that gave thee birth. And bless'd thine honour'd parent stem. But doubly bless'd shall be the youth To whom thy heaving bosom warms, Posscss'd of beauty, love, and truth. Will clasp an angel in his arms. Though storms of life were blowing snell, And on his brow sat brooding care. Thy seraph smile would quick dispel The darkest gloom of black despair. Sure Heaven hath granted thee to us. And chose thee from the dwellers there, And sent thee from celestial bliss To shoiv what all the virtues are." JAMES M'KEAN — THE MURDERER. 405 Lanark carrier, at the Cross of Glasgow, on Wednesday the 25th January, 1797. As a piece of biography, it is certainly neither remarkable for taste nor talent ; but as a statement of what M'Kean, while under sentence of death, actually communicated to the compiler, it is both curious and startling * The work had an extraordinary sale, through the never-ceasin o- existence of that odd craving for everything connected with the horrible. As a conclusion to this imperfect sketch of Mr Eeid, we may mention, that for many years he kept a large vase, or pinnar-pigj into which he * The copy of this "Life" which I have now before me is the fifth edition; it is entitled "genuine copy," which seems to suggest that there had been some spurious editions palmed on the public. On the fly- leaf of this volume, there is a memorandum by a well-known critic, which states that "Mr Reid always spoke with horror of the manner, as given by M'Kean, in which the murder was perpetrated. His friends alleged that M'Kean, in answer to Reid's inquiries as to the mode in which he murdered Bu- chanan, seized the head of Reid, and after drawing it back with one hand, quickly drew the other hand across Reid's throat,— and that Reid fainted!" "I almost," says the writer, "believe this story, for Reid always looked so sad when he referred to the mur- derer's statements, that I durst not inquire into the truth of his friend's story, even in joke. Reid told me that he visited M'Kean daily betwixt his conviction and execution ; that he read portions of his 'Life' to him as he wrote them; that M'Kean altered many statements, qualifying some, and expunging portions of others ; and that, on the whole, the wretched murderer seemed to be most at his ease when confessing his sins, and thereby expressing strong hopes of forgive- ness." From a memorandum written by the late jMr Robert Chapman, printer, which lias been just shown me by a literary friend, I find the following rather curious notice connected with Reid's history of M'Kean : — Mr Chapman, speaking of Lockhart's " Life of Sir Walter Scott," says, — "A long para- graph is inserted respecting a wretched cob- bler, James M'Kean, who murdered Bu- chanan, the Lanark carrier, in 1796. M'Kean then lived in Castlepen's land, High-street. This M'Kean I saw two or three times in the Tolbooth after his condemnation, in com- pany with the late Mr AA'illiam Reid, who was on terms with M'Keau for the history of his life, which he ultimately procured, and I think I printed three or four editions of it, the sale being so great. It turned out a good spec at that time. The description of M'Kean by Sir Walter Scott is, so far as I can recollect, perfectly correct. I saw the miserable man executed. The crowd was immense. As I am of small stature, being five feet two inches, I remember a tall ac- quaintance holding me up in his anns, so that I might get a good view of hiui, knowing that it would probably be the last sight I should ever have of the religious hypocritical villain who disgraced humanity." JI'Keau's house was not in Castlepen's land, but entered from the north side of old Castlepen's close. He was not a poor cobbler, as stated by Lockhart, for he occupied tlie whole tene- ment above the shop or street flat. The house was antiquated, and had only one flat and attics above the shops, -with serrated gables toward High-street. Love of money im- pelled him to perpetrate the murder, for iu jiecuniary matters he was easy, lie employed several workers, and was himself industrious, was of sober habits, and professedly religious. His wife was a person of a good disposition, and seemed I'ather above her station. They had only one daughter, who, witli lier mo- ther, left the town soon after the murder. 406 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. deposited his literary scraps, where, for aught we know, they still remain tinder that ban which he so often made use of when making a deposit or closing a story, and which we would in his case also here repeat — " Down wi' the lid! Quo' Willie Reid."* With the departure of the shadow of the jolly Convener from the "Bun-house," the Duck Club may be said to have closed its regular sittings; and although many knots of social spirits have since met in perpetuation of the Partick Club, still, never have the roasted ducks and green peas been demolished with such gusto, nor the punch goblets been drained with such delight, as when the worthy Convener, with a rattle of the spoon-sceptre, summoned the thirsty duck-destroyers to the punch- bowl, or when the broad humour and telling anecdotes of the Trongate bibliopole made every well-lined paunch shake with laughter. Since the departure of these two worthies from the scene of their gor- mandising glory, the "Bun-house" of Partick has as much ceased to Glasgow gom^meis to be the shrine of Apicius, as the castle of Partick to be the haunt of the antiquarian limner. * Tljere was another Glasgow individual Glasgow, my subscribers," in which he says : often confounded with Mr Reid, bookseller, — " I have only to add, I have taken special viz., one who went under the sobriquet of care that the following book should be in Author Reid, or the Earl of Toothie, the latter every respect, even in spelling, and point- nicliname having been bestowed on him from ing, an exact copy of my manuscript, which having resided in Isle Toothie, near the Cathe- so many of you have seen and admired." dral (see page 359.) The Author, who was a For these peculiarities his book is certainly good-natured, conceited old bachelor, sup- an unique production in Glasgow literature, posed himself a great literary character. He He published an " Essay on Love " — a passion published a pamphlet, of 73 pages, vxnder the which he never showed towards any one save title of " The Philosophical Observations of himself. He was " a good-natured, simple, John Reid, Esq., Manufacturer, embellished open-countenanced old Caelebs of the knee- with a striking likeness of the Author." The breeches school," who subsisted either on au dedication is "to the young gentlemen of annuity, or a small property in Kirk-street. SDfte Eatiical m^x. WATERLOO CLUB AND THE ^TET WEDNESDAY OF THE WEST. Immediately after the victory of "Waterloo had procured the pacification of Europe and sealed the destiny of Napoleon Bonaparte, a set of jovial- hearted fellows, who always preferred punch to water-gruel and Momus to melancholy, united themselves into a Club that met in a house which, though now not so celebrated as at that period, bore the sign of Britain's most memorable conflict. The members of the fraternity were at first limited to five-and-twenty ; but its glory, spreading like the fame of Waterloo, which bad been chosen as the nominal link of the union, pro- duced a large addition to both ordinary and honorary members of the brotherhood. Honours and titles being the fashion of the period, it was not likely that the members of this Club would withstand the infection : the truth was, that all of them did feel an anxiety about distinction ; and, in imitation of the extended Order of the Bath, the Waterloo Club order of knighthood was established. The original twenty-five members assumed the title of " Knights Grand Cross," and added to their signa- tures G.C.W. The ordinary members that of " Knights Commanders," with K.C.W. The honorary members were simply designated " Com- panions." Every night, for some years, did this worthy order meet in deep divan, to swill each his best-loved stomach elixir, and to raise the devil about ten from the kitchen of the Waterloo ; and when his august and Satanic majesty did arrive, in all his hot and mouth-burning honours, the knights, whose appetites and teeth never refused to do their office, were not long in making a devil of him 1 408 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. As a key to tlils once famous knot of congenial spirits, we may mention the following story, told of one of the knights grand cross — a well-known gentleman who, for many years, had been in the habit of raising the devil, not only by the magic of the cook in the Waterloo, but elsewhere by the mysterious Masonic sounds of one, tioo, three, and thereafter laying him pretty deep, not in the Bed Sea of generous Port, but in the muddy ocean of cream-of-tartar punch ! Being at one time called to serve as a jury- man, and being determined, when life and death were at issue, to give a clear opinion, he resolved most judiciously that the conglomatory atmos- phere of the Waterloo should be avoided by him during the continuance of the Circuit Court of Justiciary, to which he had been summoned. Often, as he returned from the close and ill-ventilated court at night, did the Club and its refreshments shoot athwart his recollection ; thirst and incli- nation urged him to a midnight beaker, but prudence and propriety made him keep his resolution. To the valiant knight, a week without a visit to the Waterloo seemed interminable ; but the worst of evils will come to an end, and so did that of the Circuit. Relieved on Saturday evening from his arduous duties, and happy in the approbation of the Court for his attention and services to his country, the ex-juryman hastily bent his steps towards the Club-room, and was there hailed by the joyous acclamations of the brotherhood. What a glorious night ensued ! Story followed story, the roof rang with laughter and merriment ; and not a few talked till the tono-ue refused to do its ofBce. The witchina; hour of midnio;ht — that foe to fun and good company — arrived, bringing along with it the remem- brance of home. The Club closed, and the ex -juryman, "happy and glorious," staggered to his bed-room. Sleep soon sealed his eyelids, and seemed determined to hold the bachelor longer than usual in his leaden grasp. The morning sun arose; the Sabbath bells rattled loud and long ; the din- ner hour passed ; and twilight again began to encompass the City ; — and yet neither of these had the power of breaking the death-like slumber of the member of the Waterloo. Alarmed for her master's health, the servant maid knocked, about six o'clock, at the door of his apartment, opened it, THE WATERLOO CLUB. 409 and demanded, in a trembling tone, if he was unwell? The ex- juryman, who had been dreaming of indictments, judges, and panels, started, at the well-known voice, from his long-pressed pillow ; and, as if still in a trance, and hearing the tinkling of the Laigh Kirk bell for evening service, exclaimed, in the greatest trepidation, " Good God ! are the Lords come back again V * For many years did the knights and knights grand cross of the Waterloo Club meet under the canopy of the well-known tavern which bore the name of Britain's greatest victory ; and many times and oft was the health of the hero of that successful struggle there drank, amid loud and reite- rated hurrahs. The members were chiefly of the good old Tory school, being imbued with sentiments of the most unbounded loyalty to the sove- reign and to all other constituted authorities. It will consequently appear by no means strange, that when the threatened outbreak of Radicalism occurred in 1819, not a few of those knights at once joined the citizen corps of Sharpshooters ; and, from some of them having been connected Avith the previous Rifle regiment, commanded by the brave Colonel Corbet, they at once obtained leading posts in the new body commanded by the equally brave Colonel Samuel Hunter. Never, perhaps, during the exis- tence of the Waterloo Club, were the nightly meetings of this brotherhood better attended than during the winter and spring of 1819-20; and although the sederunis, from the necessity of being present at the early morning drills, rarely went beyond the hour of ten, yet, during the period of their sittings, the members generally contrived to render themselves tolerably comfort- able for the night. It was, in particular, during the eventful April week of 1820, when the fearful incubus of threatened dangers, like many other imagined evils, or rather political nightmares, weighed on the minds of the denizens of Glasgow, that the Club was most crowded ; and it was from the pen of one of those who then attended these nightly orgies, that the following chronicle of that exciting time has been preserved for the pecu- • In those days, as at present, the City bells were rung at the hour when the Circuit Judges came to Glasgow. 410 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. liar delectation of an ever-recurring posterity, and wliich is now presented? under the too true title of Cte asact SSaeiineBtrag of tfit ?lBest. There is no town in Scotland, Greenock always excepted, wliich, right or wrong, has gained for itself the unenvied distinction of being blessed with so much rain as Glasgow ; and, perhaps, on this account, some might think that its titular saint should have been St Swithin rather than St Mungo. Be that as it may, it may at least be safely affirmed, that few cities exist where umbrella-makers and menders have so good a chance of making a fortune, and in which, had it been as in the Catholic times of old, our lamented townsman, Mr Macintosh, would most likely have arrived at canonization. If the rainbow, that sign of comfort and hope to all flood- fearing people, be looked upon with satisfaction in countries often burned up with drought, it can easily be imagined how much more its prismatic colours must be regarded with delight by the denizens of the watery western metropolis. While the citizens of Glasgow have been, from this peculiarity of climate, necessarily deprived but too frequently of the advantages of out- door amusements, and while, also, it may be inferred, that there is not sufficient sunshine to render the streets, like those of Paris, the successful scene of constant turmoil and revolution, they have, on the other hand, experienced the countervailing blessings which heavy outpourings of rain can produce, by dispei'sing monster meetings of malcontents, and putting to the route an inflamed and turbulent mob of the unwashed. On no occasion, perhaps, was this better exemplified than in the spring of 1820, and on the day, too, which has since been happily known by the epithet of " the wet Radical Wednesday of the west." To those who have only entered into this breathing world since the passing of the Reform Bill, it is almost impossible to conceive the under current of dissatisfaction which flowed throughout the social body, not only in England but in Scotland, for at least a year or two before the famous trial of Queen Caroline, and the never-to-be-forgotten non mi GREAT POLITICAL EXCITEMENT. 411 recordo evidence of Majocclii. An immoral Court, a venal Aristocracy, and a rotten borough Parliament had done much to sap the well-known loyalty of the middle classes ; while bad trade, want of employment, and dear food afforded abundant pabulum for noisy demagogues to irritate and excite an idle, ill-requited, and starving populace. And when, in parti- cular, it is recollected that to these causes were superadded the encouraging efforts of the hired spy, it is easy, at least for those who lived during the period in question, to arrive at the result which followed, while it is impos- sible to look back without sorrow and disgust at the consequences. While a spirit of hostility to all constituted authority was fermenting in the minds of the working-classes, and when, through trickery and espionage, men were roused to revenge their supposed oppressions and imagined VvTongs, by displays of physical force and agrarian threatenings, a feeling of fear and of spoliation was necessarily engendered in the minds of the timid who had anything to lose. Class was, in fact, attempted to be set against class, the servant against his master, and the manufacturer against his workman. Society was disorganised and out of joint; and, woe to the memory of those men, then in high places, who, it is feared, did all in their power to encourage and perpetuate this antagonistic game of politics. The people were goaded into a fever, which ended in political madness ; and, what was worse, the result was judicial murder ! As a key to the extraordinary excitement that prevailed in Glasgow about the period to which we allude, it may be mentioned that, in addition to many out-door meetings of the working-classes, called for the ostensible object of ameliorating their condition, and at which the orators showed to starving men, that the only panacea for all their calamities was to be found in Universal Suffrage, Annual Parliaments, and Vote by Ballot, scarcely a night passed, daring the autumn and winter of 1819, on which the streets of Glasgow were not crowded with an idle populace, ready for tumult, or the Magistrates reading the Riot Act, and the King's cavalry clearing the thoroughfares. The feeling reached such a pitch that respect was refused even to the authorities of the City ; and, on one occasion, the 412 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. Chief Magistrate himself was obh'ged, in order to support the dignity of his office, to check the apparent contempt of a Town-hall assemblage, by bawling out "Off hats to the Lord Provost!" — But to our tale. For several mornings during the end of March and beginning of April, 1820, might be seen many hundreds of young men, dressed in dark green uniforms, and armed with rifles, hurrying through the streets at least an hour before the City bells summoned the labourer to his work, in all the eagerness of feverish anxiety, towards George-square — at that moment the central rendezvous of the " Glasgow Sharpshooters." The object of this early hurry-scurry was, to await there the arrival of the London mail, with the view of meeting any emergency which might arise in Glasgow, from any threatened or rumoured rising in the manufacturing districts of England. What wondrous courage was it, in men accustomed to featlier beds and late hours, to leave them so early, and to sally forth amid mist and murkiness, as well as to be subjected to cold and contumely ! In the face of all these difficulties, however, it is a stubborn fact that for many days eight hundred good men and true assembled in front of the statue of Sir John ISIoore, ready to sacrifice the foe or themselves. In the hour of supposed peril, the youthful members of this truly national guard had enrolled themselves ; and, about six months previous to the time we would now illustrate, they had received at the Barracks their implements of war. And although the period for their drill was the depth of winter, they — fearless of catarrh and rheumatism — boldly turned out in grey daylight within the precincts of the College Garden, even when that park was a foot deep with snow, to fit themselves to be a safeguard to their fellow- citizens against the agrarian excitement, which had been in great mea- sure instigated and brought to a head by the hired spy and other paid incendiaries. During the winter, too, a company of these citizen soldiers had met nightly in the Laigh Kirk Session-house as a City guard-house, and there remained, on watch and ward, till the sun's rising gave bright light and renewed confidence to their terrified fellow-citizens. Many times and oft, during this inclement winter, had detachments from tiiis THE FAMOUS WET WEDNESDAY. 413 central body perambulated Calton, Bridgeton, and Gorbals, with loaded rifles and fixed bayonets, to spy out the body of Radicals who bulked so largely in the brain of certain alarmist newspaper editors. But although this military display was rather calculated to cause than to prevent attack, it is only fair to state that, in spite of all the ill-conditioned, irritable, and starving workmen who were nightly afloat, not a single party of malcon- tents were ever hostilely encountered during these nocturnal wanderings. As a sort of recompense for this risking of health and life, from exposure to the winter's cold and the Radical's pike or cleg* the citizen soldiers never failed to be regaled, at their own cost, with pies and porter in the Session-house ; and not unfrequently, on the very table where, in the fore- noon, stern Presbyterian ministers tabled motions against the immoralities of the age, might be seen piles of silver staked to meet the result of a round game at loo, or what was then better known by the title of " the lively" — a pastime which was greedily adopted by those volunteers to while away the watches of the night. For many days previous to the famous wet Wednesday was the town kept in hot water by the most threatening reports of approaching riot and rebellion ; and, from Sunday morning, when the famous or rather in- famous inflammatory placard was posted at the corner of the streets, all the public works and factories were closed, while the miners in and around Glasgow struck work, and wandered through the City in idle crowds, or collected in gloomy groups about the corners of the leading thoroughfares. As a safeguard and protection against lawless aggression, troops were being called in from every quarter to meet the now imagined rising. The Glas- gow garrison, which at the present hour (1855) can scarcely boast of being able to turn out one hundred men, consisted, on the morning of the day which we are about to illustrate, of two regiments of Hussars, with the • The cleg or horsefly was an instniment feathers so as to guide it when thrown. It somewliat of the nature of a shuttlecock, got its name from being intended to be used having a steel point three inches long, loaded principally against cavalry. at the head with lead, and dressed with 414 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. addition of the Dumbartonshire and Ayrshire regiments of Yeomanry Cavalry, and the Glasgow Light Horse ; three regiments of Infantry ; the Sharpshooters ; and two field-pieces ; while the whole was commanded by General Bradford, assisted by an efficient staff. With such a disciplined and well-affected force, at once ready to act on any emergency, there was no fear felt on the part of any one who could coolly reflect. But so un- happily was the public mind imbued with imaginary dangers, and insti- gated by marvellous stories regarding the wide-spread disaffection of the people, that many timid persons left the town or kept themselves steadily within their own habitations. The proclamations of the Magistracy, too, ordering all the shops to be shut at six, and all the inhabitants to be in- doors at seven, instead of tending to inspire courage created fear ; while flying rumours, from the neighbouring manufacturing towns and villages, of mustering hordes of rebels, increased the general alarm. Such was the precise state of matters when, on the morning of the 5th April, 1820, as one of the Glasgow Sharpshooters, I leaped at five o'clock from my bed, at the reveille sound of the bugle, and hastened to the rendezvous of the regiment. When I reached the square, it was evident, from the number of green-coated individuals pouring in from every side, that, as the danger increased, the determination to meet it was more decided. Before six o'clock, raw and murky though the morning was, I found myself among 800 bayonets, drawn up in a column of companies, ready to act at a moment's notice. For the honour of the corps, the muster-roll on being called showed few absentees, while several individuals answered to their names who were rarely seen on other more showy occasions. The gallant Colonel Hunter stood, as he said himself, " on his own Galloway feet," at the head of the column, having for some time dispensed with his Bucephalus, whose amblings under fire were rather calculated to dissolve the copartnery of horse and rider ; and, after having with a stentorian voice called "Attention," commanded an instant examination to be made as to the contents of each soldier's cartouch-box, to discover whether it was that morning filled with the due number of THE FAMOUS WET WEDNESDAY. 4X5 ball-cartridges that had been formerly issued, and whether the flints of the rifles were fitted for producing immediate ignition. This duty over, the command to " Fix bayonets" was next giv^en ; and when " Shoulder arms" Avas added, there were in an instant as many bristling points thrown up as might have wooed down the fiercest thunderbolt from heaven with- out injury to mother earth ! The corps never appeared in greater spirits, nor more ready to rush, if need be, against the whole Radical pikes that might muster ; although it must in justice be added, that there was as yet no semblance of a single hostile pike to put that courage to the test. In silence and suspense the Sharpshooters thus stood, till at length a messenger arrived declaring that the London mail had reached the Cross, and that as yet all was quiet in England. The arms were instantly grounded, the bayonets unfixed and returned to their scabbards, and the order for dis- missal was given, with a caveat, how^ever, that the green continuations of the uniform should not be dofled, as was customary after the morning's parade, but should be worn during the whole day, to meet any sudden emergency that might arise. And Heaven knows that not a few occurred on that eventful Wednesday, before the City clocks had chimed midnight. With an appetite, which the cold sharp air of an April morning certainly did not appease, I hurried home, and sat down to a breakfast, to which, like another Dugald Dalgetty, I did ample justice, not knowing, in those ticklish times, when I might get another. During the breaking of eggs, the bolting of ham, and the swallowing of tea and toast, I was beset with a thousand queries as to the threatened dangers, which no doubt were considered to be imminent, especially when tlie Glasgow Courier was referred to, and which the evening before gravely put forth the following paragraph : — " That a general attack is intended to be made by the Radicals in this City on Wednesday is now beyond doubt. Cathkin braes is the site chosen for the encampment !" Notwithstanding this astounding announcement, I endeavoured to soothe all fears, on tlie ground of the strong military force of regulars in the City, and particuhxrly on the determined attitude which had been taken by the Sharpshooters and 416 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. the Yeomanry Cavalry to assist in maintaining order and suppressing riot. On sallying forth to the streets which, during the forenoon, were filled with crowds of ill-conditioned individuals, it was plain that a crisis was approaching, and if an outbreak had begun, it seemed quite plain, from the inflammable materials which abounded on every hand, that it would not, under the most favourable circumstances, have been suppressed ■without bloodshed. The civic authorities, alarmed for the safety of the City, sat in solemn conclave during the whole day in the Buck's Head Hotel, while the military chiefs held their council of war within the same place. Pickets of dragoons rode out on all the roads leading to and from the town, to bring in every information they could collect, and especially to announce the approach of any body of Radicals that might be marching towards the City. One trooper after another arrived and departed, but still there was no cry heard of any coming combatants. At length, just as the clock struck three, a rumour flew like lightning through the town that thousands were on the road from Paisley, and would ere long enter the City. The very whisper of such intelligence created a universal panic. Shopkeepers at once put on their shutters, locked their shops, and hurried home. The principal streets presented the image of a siege. In a few minutes the Horse Artillery rattled along the causeway, and took up a posi- tion at each end of the bridge across the Clyde ; while strong bodies of both Cavalry and Infantry hurried down at double quick pace to support this important position. The buglers of the Sharpshooters blew the assembly- call, and hundreds of the green-coated soldiers might be seen hastening to George-square. The whole day was gloomy and showery ; but, at this moment, the windows of heaven opened and poured down such a torrent of rain as fairly cleared the streets of all loiterers, and left scarcely a soul thereon save the military, who, if they then encountered neither gun, pike, sabre, nor horse-fly, met with as severe a ducking as ever fell to the lot of any one who ever wore a uniform. The watery Saint had, in fact, taken forcible possession of the skies, and seemed determined to use his powers THE FAMOUS WET WEDNESDAY. 417 as long as he could, and so effectually did he use them, that, by four o'clock, the redoubtable Falstaffian army of Paisley malcontents had dis- persed into thin air, while the miUtary had returned to quarters, aud the Sharpshooters to their homes, without any immediate casualties being gazetted on either side, but, no doubt, with many in futurum from the cold and the rain to which they had been so mercilessly subjected. Thinking that the day which had commenced so early and had been so bustling up to five o'clock might now "cease its funning" — drenched with rain, and not a little wearied — I hastened, like some of my cam- paigning brethren, to the shelter of my own fireside; while othei's, dream- ing also that the day's military duties must now be over, retired to solace themselves with somewhat at John Ilaggarfs, in Prince's-street, at that time the great rendezvous of bachelor Sharpshooters, in se:u'ch cither of a dinner at four or a rabbit at nine. On my arrival at my own house, where I found a group of anxious faces ready to welcome me, I soon doffed my dripping uniform, which I ordered to be placed before a blazing kitchen fire, and having donned my usual attire, sat down to a comfortable repast, in the hope of having nothing afterwards to do but go to bed, of which, from having caught a bad cold and sore throat, I was in some need. Under this comfortable belief, I scarcely allowed the City clocks to strike nine, before I consented to put my feet in hot water, swallow a gruel, and place my wearied limbs under the blankets. Forgetful of the past and of the future, I soon began to slumber, if not to sleep, when, just as I had arrived at a state of seeming unconsciousness, methought I had heard the echo of a bugle call. Was it a dream or was it reality ? It was impossible for some minutes to tell. But, alas ! another fell blast resounded on my ear, and I at once woke to the certainty that I must, in spite of sore throat and all other ills, again leave my comfortable and health- restoring resting-place, and prepare for another threatening conflict. I rang instantly for a light, which was at once brought, and, on its arrival, I espied my dried regimentals gaping to receive the limbs of the already exhausted feather-bed soldier. I at once leaped into my 2 E 418 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUIiS. Lincoln-green attire, buckled on my accoutrements, and seizing my rifle, which always stood by my bedside, sallied forth to the street, where, meeting a knot of those resident in the same locality, we fixed our bayonets, and hurried on, fearless of danger, towards the monument of the hero of Corunna. The night, like the afternoon, was dark and dismal. The wind blew, and the rain rattled on the house-tops. The gutters gushed like rivulets, and scarce a lamp was able to withstand the extinguishing blast. To use the words of Burns — ■ " That night a child might vinderstand, The dell had business on his hand." And so it appeared to some of us, that the deil, if he had nothing worse to do, had at least been amusing himself with the bugle-horn of the Sharp- sliooters. On reaching the square, which we had now done for the third time that day, we were told that, in order to save us from the pitiless pelting of the storm, the quarter-master had got the neighbouring church of St George's open for our reception ; and right glad were we to learn that we had so near a prospect of sacred shelter. The scene which met the eye within this ecclesiastical edifice was per- haps one of the most striking that could well be imagined. Each pew was crowded with men fully equipped and ready for battle, each with his bayoneted rifle in his hand, eager to know and ready to execute his coming duty. A few glimmering candles, which had been hurriedly stuck up and down the church, tended to throw an air of gloomy grandeur over the silent and gaping corps. The whole scene and circumstances recalled Salvator Rosa's patriotic group of heroes assembled Avithin the Torrione del Carmine, on the night when Massaniello sat in council deliberating on the liberty of Naples ! In the midst of this breathless silence. Colonel Hunter ascended the stairs of the pulpit, with certainly a heavier step than he often, no doubt, in boyhood had done when his father ministered to his Galloway flock, and THE FAMOUS WET WEDNESDAY. 419 from that sacred spot delivered perhaps a more laconic and more telling discourse than ever fell from the lips of any one who had as yet toagged his pow therein I He told his patriotic followers that a few minutes before the bugle had last sounded, a rising had actually taken place in the east quarter of the City; that a Radical reveille rattle had been beat ; and that a knot of men had been seen marchino; in arms afjainst the Kino; I In such a state of matters it was necessary that the corps should remain all prepared, in case their services should be required. What varied thoughts swept athwart each listener's mind when these words were uttered must ever remain a secret ; but from the universal cheer which followed, it was plain that the Sharpshooters were ready for every emergency. And long and patiently they waited, listening for the coming foe, but hearing nothing except the pelting storm, which, however, of itself, was sufficient to have put the most enthusiastic Radical liors de combat. And this, indeed, it is believed it accomplished ; for the night passed slowly and silently on, till, at length, the Colonel finding that his corps was not called upon to act, wisely decided upon sending all home, except a company, which, under the command of Captain William Smith, was marched to Queen-street to guard the Royal Bank from Radical spoliation, which they certainly succeeded in doing, without any loss, except that of being deprived of so early a breakfast as was enjoyed by their fellow-soldiers, and of allaying, by their presence at home, the deep anxiety which reigned in the bosoms of mothers, wives, and sisters I Many curious stories have been told of the expedients resorted to by wives, mothers, and sisters, to retain the gallant Sharpshooters within doors on this critical night. One had his rifle hid ; another could not find his uniform ; and another, who had just been married, was urged to remain at home, on the very prudent plea that " on such a night powder would not burn ; " while others were veiy slyly told '* that they might fecht any nicht but thisl" It is believed, however, that in spite of the best efforts used to retain many from the rendezvous, there was scarcely a single indi- vidual who did not answer to his name, and who did not that night parade 420 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. within the hallowed precincts of St George's Church ; and once there, it may easily be conceived that none could well steal away, when it is recol- lected that our redoubted friend, Mr William Black, then of Balgray, acted as sergeant of the door guard, with orders to let no one pass without due leave being granted. Thus commenced and thus ended this famous day in Glasgow history — a day big with the threatenings of riot and rebellion — full of alarm and trepidation to many of her timid inhabitants — replete with the foolish fears of those who ought to have known better things — and marked by a military ardour on the part of the citizen soldiers, worthy of a better cause and a more dangerous enterprise ; a day in which the elements conspired to cool excited imaginations, and to disperse the handful of miserable malcontents which nought but imbecility and madness could have roused to a threatening attitude ; a day far more indebted to the outpourings of St Swithin's bounty than to the grave counsels of the civil and military governors of the City ; in short, a day which proved that rain and Radi- calism cannot co-exist, and that in the event of any similar turmoil being got up, as this certainly was most shamefully done, the fire-engine and a gravitation water-pipe would prove a far better means of quelling it than the six-pounder and the rifle ! May we hope that we shall never again see another wet Radical Wednesday of the west ; nor, what was worse, the shameless and disgusting consequences which followed in its wake?* * We allude to the execution of the weak- son's life might be spared, it is certain that minded poacher of Strathaven,'James Wilson, they were egregiously mistaken in supposing who was hanged and beheaded at Glasgow, that his execution would produce any good on the 30th August, 1820, as a party engaged effect. The public sympathy was all on the in the absurd though treasonable outbreak side of the prisoner — a feeling, that he was which ended in the encounter at Bonnymuir. unnecessarily sacrificed, seemed to pervade Although sentenced to death, little doubt the immense mass of spectators assembled to was entertained that he would be ixltimately witness his execution ; and shouts of " Mur- pardoned. The jury had unanimously re- der," intermingled with cries of "He died commended him to mercy. But, whatever for his country," were incessantly repeated, may have been the reasons which induced Unfortunately for the Ministers, the better ■fais Majesty's Ministers to reject the solicita- classes were very generally imbued with the tions of those who were anxious that Wil- same sentiments. THE FAMOUS WET WEDNESDAY. 421 The Waterloo Club and its order of knighthood are now both defunct ; but, although the Grand Crosses, who are still alive, have all long since laid down their titles, we are certain, that should any of them ever, by accident, meet as nightly bottle companions, they can never forget the well known story of their vermilion-faced juryman brother, nor that of the many hairbreadth escapes from fire and flood which befell so many of the fraternity on the wet Radical Wednesday of the west ! Efje ffilassoiw Cjjaritieg* SHUNA CLUB. There is perhaps no City in the world whose inhabitants generally con- tribute so much time and money towards bettering the condition or soothing the sorrows of their brethren, as those of Glasgow. From the earliest times — either when under the power of book and bell and the influence of lituro;y and surplice, or the more simple attributes of Presbyterianisni ^it has been always famed for its rich and multifarious charities. Of late years it has supported and assisted every reasonable scheme, calculated either to alleviate the miseries of the diseased or unfortunate, or to educate the poor, the ragged, and the neglected. In fact, it may be truly affirmed, that amid all its restless commercial enterprise and its active manufacturing industry, it has never forgotten the great truth of Christianity, that the most blessed of all enterprises and activities is charity. While we say this much of Glasgow benevolence, it is also but just to add, that her philanthropy has never assumed so vainglorious and ostentatious an appearance as that of many other cities and countries, and particularly the metropohs of Scotland. With few exceptions, it may be honestly said, that in Glasgow there are no palaces, ostensibly erected for the retreat of squalid poverty — no large monument of gorgeous masonry, calculated rather to relieve the just obligations incumbent on parents to educate their children than to give instruction to the poor, the neglected, and tlie out- cast; we find no colonnaded fa9ade or florid minaret, reared rather to minister to the vanity of the giver than to the necessities of the recipient. THE YATES BEQUEST. 423 Many, many thousands a-year are annually dispensed in the metropolis of the west through the benevolence of men who leave no traces of their gifts save those which are seen to flow from the ameliorated condition of their wretched fellow-creatures, or the acknowledged intellectual and moral advancement of many who might otherwise have been lost to society. Among the more modern bequests made to the City was the one whereby Mr James Yates, a native of Glasgow, and some time merchant in London, gifted the Island of Shuna to its Lord Provost and Magistrates ; the annual produce of which was to be applied to the furtherance of education in her ancient Alma Matir and the more modern Andersonian University — to increase the benefits to be derived from the Royal Infirmary — and to beautify and improve the City. Although the settlement of the benevolent testator was all regularly executed and duly certified, still considerable difficulties arose in obtaining possession of the property; and, consequently, during several years after Mr Yates's death, which happened in 1829, his bequest occasioned much trouble and many meetings to the municipal trus- tees. Out of these recjular official assemblies on the business of the trust — which, however, it may be mentioned, resulted in possession of the Highland islet — there arose at length a Club — composed in part of certain of the magisterial functionaries with other friends — which at first ostensiblv met for the purpose of talking over the affairs of the rather odd bequest, but latterly settled down into a convivial meeting for discussing public news and town's gossip. Among the chief originators of tlie brotherhood were those Magistrates, who, during the sittings of the Court of Justiciary held in the City, most assiduously encircled the large round table then laid out in the Magisterial refectory attached to the Court Hall, and who there sat and drank, as was wont, Avhile the criminal business was being proceeded witli. In those joyous days, the Circuit dinners at the foot of Saltmarket did not end. as tliey now do, with a glass or two of wine, but were inva- riably followed by one, two, or three bowls of cold punch ; and when a case involving the last punishment of the law was being tried, it not unfre- 424 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. quently happened that the Magisterial party were found pushing in their glasses at midnight.* The fraternity which met under the appellation of the Shuna Club was composed of some of our most respectable citizens; the members, as we have hinted, being either connected with the old Magistracy or Magistrates for the time being. The Club met usually at eight o'clock in the evening ; during winter, at first in the very snug parlour of what was then considered a good tavern, in the old Post-office Court, Trongate, and afterwards in the restaurant and night-house, fitted up with considerable taste and expense, in the sunk flat immediately under the New Royal Exchange in Queen-street, which was soon afterwards better known by the sobriquet of the Crypt. Startle not, timid reader ! when I mention the " Crypt," that I am about to conduct thee into any of those dark and lugubrious receptacles of the dead, such as a quondam Doctor of our City once had in contemplation to establish, under a central and general mart of pigs and poultry.f Imagine not that T purpose carrying thee through the intricate and appal- ling catacombs of Paris or Palermo, to pour forth sentimentality over the cross-boned altar-pieces of the one, or to hold companionship Avith the stalwart but consuming anatomies of the other. No, kind reader ! I have no such melancholy duty to perform. My object is of a far gayer and livelier nature. The Ci'ypt whither I would lead thee, though certainly • The round table, which is still in use for James Menzies. The officer who in the refectory purposes during the Circuit, for- heat of passion committed this outrage merly stood in the Town-Clerk's office in the immediately fled — was pursued — and, in con- Old Tolhooth at the Cross ; and, though now sequence of resistance, was shot in Eenfield long devoted to the pleasures of those who garden. encircle it, is nevertheless associated with f We allude to the scheme, brought for- the murder of an individual who at one time wai'd by Dr Cleland, for converting the sat daily at its side. In 1694, a dispute hav- whole burying-ground of St David's into ing taken place between a citizen and a " one grand vaulted cemetery, similar to the soldier, the Town-Clerk of Glasgow, Mr crypt of that church ; the spandrils or upper Eobert Park, having notified in favour of sides of the gi'and arches to be paved, and the former, was thrust through the body, the area or square thus formed to be used while sitting in his chamber, by Major for market purposes," THE CRYPT. 425 situated, like tliat favoured one of the lamented Doctor, beneath a mighty commercial mart, and replete though it was with many sorts of spirits, was nevertheless such as to inspire courage rather than to awaken fear. The Crypt to which I would now go, tliough illumined, as it was — like that of the matchless subterranean chateau en Espagne of our departed Statist — with all the brilliant appliances of good coal gas, was altogether free from any pestilential vapours, having been filled with living not with dead men's bones. In this Crypt, the only species of interment wliich happily took place within its gay and I'ather flaunting precincts, was that of fresh and well-fed Pandore oysters dropped into the gaping grave of the gourmand's gullet. The Crypt, in fine, to which I would now take thee, and which proved the last rendezvous and resting-place of the Shuna Club, boasted at that time a society as brilliant and many-tinted as the London liainboio — a community with voices as cheering and chanticleering as the Coc^— and a squad of wags and witlings as bright and sparkling as those of the Cider Cellar. The fact is, whether it was on account of the Crypt's vicinity to the News-room, or its facility of access to those who would willingly take a stealthy tumbler before retiring to a rather inquisitive spouse — who must needs be kept ignorant of such an evil practice — the result was, that for some time at least after the opening of the Crypt, it was frequently difficult to find admittance, at least into one of the four snug shrines of Bacchus, known by the sound- ing titles of the " Ship," the " Star," the " Sun," and the « Globe," To the large salle-a-manger which was more particularly dedicated to the worshippers of Heliogabulus, and which boasted at least a dozen brass- rodded and scarlet-curtained temples, each designated after one of the well-known capitals of the world, the access was rarely difficult— not because the small chapels were uncomfortable, but from the feeling that neighbouring eavesdroppers might carry away words intended only for the ears of friends and companions. It was in "the great Globe itself" of this well-known Crypt, that the men of Shuna nightly congregated, and where, for several years, its 426 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. many respectable members too palpably showed the truth of Shakspere's saying — " That men are merriest when they are from home." Although many of the originators of tlie Slmna Club were justly entitled, in their official capacity, to the well-known epithet of sitting Magistrates, the great majority of the brotherhood generally rose at the sound of the ten o'clock bells, except, perhaps, on very rare occasions, when oysters or a Welsh rabbit were summoned from the kitchen to wind up the business of the day. But even when this luxury was indulged in, the Club was never known to extend beyond the " witcliing hour of night." In addition to the nightly meetings, there were, however, during the year, generally one or two dinner-parties of the Club, at which there was always a good gathei-ing, a good dinner, and an endless flow of fun and frolic. When it is mentioned that the late Bailie Stewart Smith and Mr David Pattison took upon themselves the surveillance of the cuisine — that Dr Macarthur and Mr James Crum looked to the quality of the rum and lemons, for the manufacture of the cold punch — and that the conversation, if it ever for a moment flagged, was sure to be filled up with some strange tale about Turkey, which was happily termed a Levanter, from the lips of the late facetious George Douglas, of Smyrna memory, — it will at once appear evident that, among the many convivial brotherhoods of the City, there was not one that surpassed the Slmna Club. It was of one of the steady members of this rather early and sober brotherhood that we have heard the following odd story related, connected with the Crypt, and which, as good luck would have it we are now enabled to give in his own graphic words. " On sallying forth," says he, " one night from a regular blow-out party, redolent with chicken-turtle and old Johannisberger, it was suggested by one of the party, who had retreated along with me, that the day's business ought to be wound up in the Crypt — where, by the way, the whole business of life was ultimately to be completed. To this proposal I at first objected, on account of the A NIGHT AT THE CRYPT. 427 lateness of the hour, and from a secret suspicion that the ill-assorted mar- riage of cold punch and claret in my stomach required no third party to be present. My companions, however, having urged me \y\ih. some anxiety to accompany them, I at length acceded, and ere a few moments had elapsed, found myself in front of that fell bar where so many hoiotowdies are daily condemned to be drawTi and quartered, and where so many ale- bibbers are nightly called up to answer with their coin for the ' deeds done in the body.' " Having cast a longing, nay almost a burking, eye at the subjects laid out for the evening's dissection, I pushed my way into the Bell* salle-a- manger, but lo ! not a single shrine — among the many dedicated to the spiritual comforters of London, Paris, Lisbon, and Washington — could afford us accommodation. The fact is, every brass-rodded and scarlet- curtained temple had each its own ' hole and corner' meeting of worship- pers busy in the orgies of Bacchus or Heliogabulus. We demanded if we could get on board the ' Ship ; ' but we were told, with a sigh, that the berths were at that moment all secured by a batch of old and new bailies, busy taking measures against the approaching cholera. We asked if we might enter the 'Star;' but we were answered that that luminary was already crowded with the sons of her brother Mars, in deep forgetfulness of the proposed reduction of the army. We next inquired if we could gain admittance to the ' Sun ;' but the negative shake of the waiter's head mournfully intimated that Phaiton, Phoebus, or whatever the ancients would have called it, could that evening afford us no hVht nor comfort. We had now but one hope left, and that was to obtain possession of ' the great Globe itself.' The demand was of so ambitious a nature that our tongues faltered as we whispered the magnificent monosyllable to our bust- ling attendant. The ominous grin, however, that played on his lips pro- • The allusion here is to Mr David Bell, tavera. After a short and rather brilliant who was one of the great promoters of the career, it gradually decliued and at length lioyal Exchange, and who took a warm in- was closed, tcrest in the establishment of the Crypt as a 428 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. claimed that the men of Shuna still reigned paramount there. Sulkily we wheeled about and prepared to travel homewards, when, just at the moment we were on the move — which, Heavens knows ! would have been better for us — the door of the huge ball of ' Atlas' slowly opened, and two sexagenarian figures, inspired with at least a couple of double ' Dawnies,' slipped out of the apartment, and bolted past the glass door. ' There is the Globe at last for you, gentlemen,' shouted the waiter, with an air of satisfaction ; and into the comfortable planet we went, thanking Heaven for our good fortune. " Somewhat lazy and dozy, I threw myself at once into the luxurious lounging crib of the president of the snug and sensible fraternity which there held its regular evening assembly, while my companions ensconced themselves in the two elbow-chairs that graced the sides of a blazino; fire- place. The table was instantly cleared of glasses, and almost immediately covered with a snow-white cloth ; while oysters, crabs, and lobsters were successively paraded, till Hunger at length declared a halt, and his brother Thirst seized the reins of government. It would be here altogether impos- sible to go over a tithe of the highly interesting and edifying topics which seasoned each successive tumbler of gin-twist; hours passed, Charlies shouted, and scadding-hnrn (Anglice, hot water) was still the cry. In the midst of the wit and drollery, however, that was sported by my jolly and waggish companions, my eyes eventually began to twinkle — a dozyness came over my spirits — the lights of the gasalier became dimmer and dimmer — the tongues of the speakers, like the sound of a bell in the receiver placed over an exhausting air-pump, became less and less percep- tible. I nodded, winked, and nodded again, till at length I fell into the meshes of Morpheus. " Finding me fairly trapped in a death-like snooze, my companions voted me comfortable and a non-convivialist ; and, as a just and appropriate punishment for the latter high misdemeanor, they proposed that I should be forthwith left where I was for the night. The gegg was a good one, and they now prepared to carry it into execution. Everything was in A NIGHT AT THE CETPT. 429 their favour for accomplisliing this project successfully. The hour had sent every inmate of the establishment, save a sleep-stupijied stripling, to bed, and a stillness now reigned in the Crypt of the Eoyal Exchange as solemn as that in the Crypt of St ^lungo. Extinguishing the gas in the ' Globe,' my companions slipped out of the apartment, paid the bill to the stripling at the bar, and having quietly bolted out, the boy bolted the door. The sleepy stripling, seeing the * Globe' in gloom, passed on to his dormi- tory, and was soon snoring as snugly as a ship in the trade winds. " Unconscious of my situation and solitude, I slumbered on, and then began to dream. The four-course dinner, combined with the three-course supper, summoned up before my mind's eye the most hideous and terrifying phantoms. At one moment I was pursued by an animal more monstrous than the antediluvian mammoth ; at another, I was tossing on a billow, exposed to the jaws of a fish more mighty than that which bore Jonah in his belly. Again, I was galloping on the back of an alligator to the summit of a pyramid ; and anon I was flying, parched by thirst, through a stifling and sulphureous atmosphere, in the car of a gigantic balloon. This illusion was my last, and stuck to me longest. With the rapidity of the tempest, I flew over seas and rivers, over mountains and valleys ; at length methought Mount Etna appeared, blazing forth fire and lava. I called out for mercy, as I saw myself nearing the crater of the moun- tain — I drew nearer, and nearer, and nearer — terror was roused to its utmost pitch — I smelt the sulphur — I felt the heat — I panted for breath, for one drop of cold water — I rallied my sinking energies, and made one vigorous effort to leap out ; but at the very moment that I did so, the flame caught the balloon, and I was tossed headlong, like Empedocles, into the boiling and rumbling volcano ! "I started from the president's chair at my fearfully imagined destiny, and thought myself in eternity. All around was dark, and although my eyes were open, my mind was still insensible to my real situation. In this plight I saw a Avhite-shected figure, dimly illumined by the rays of a waning moon, that insinuated themselves through the half-open door of 430 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. the ' Globe,' standing anxiously gazing at me ; and, still believing that my spirit had quitted its mortal coil, I faltered out, ' Who art thou that awaits my coming to this realm of spirits ? Art thou a restless wanderer on the shores of Styx, or an angel of light come to conduct me to Para- dise ? ' And springing forward, under the impulse that frequently accom- panies fear, clasped the sheeted figure in my extended arms. The warm flesh and blood of the supposed spirit, followed by the immediate exclama- tion of astonishment, and ' O, Mr S., you are bumbazed ! Do you no ken the landlady o' the Crypt?' naturally recalled my reason and my thoughts. " The illusion gone, I made a thousand apologies for my folly. The landlady explained, that, attracted by groans, she had risen from her bed, imagining the noise to proceed from the throat of some sick waiter. The affair was soon cleared up ; and I sallied forth at four in the morning, vowing vengeance against my waggish companions, and resolving never to pass another such night in the Crypt." Prosress of liberal ©pinion in ^lasrjoljj, SMA' WEFT CLUE. Of all the cities in the British empire, no one perhaps ever surpassed Glasgow in its loyalty to the Sovereign, or in its love for the old consti- tution of Church and State. As has already been hinted, Toryism of the purest water, for many long years, and particularly during the protracted war with France, was held in the highest favour. And although there •were occasional manifestations of political displeasure towards certain of the rulers in high places, during the progress of the first French Revo- lution, and in times of commercial distress, still the vast majority continued either the zealous advocates or the passive supporters of tilings as they were. The City may be justly said to have been the very beau ideal of Conservatism, whether the thing to be conserved was in in itself good or bad. When, however, the anxieties and the turmoil which had been created and kept alive by the incessant din of war were ended, and when peace had afforded time to men to turn some attention to their own social and political condition, a new era commenced in respect of the political opinions of Glasgow. Liberalism, as it is now called, during the closing years of the last and the opening years of the present century, was generally scouted, or at least eschewed by the generality of the wealthy classes, and the few respectable advocates of " the rights of the people " were limited to the small knot who annually assembled under the banner of the Fox Club. No sooner, however, had the fears of foreign invasion been dispelled, by the overthrow of Napoleon at Waterloo, than the Whig 432 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. knot was seen to expand, and Whig opinions were more frequently enun- ciated at the tables of the intellectual and the wealthy. The citizens began to show less sympathy with the antiquated doctrines maintained in the old water-gruel newspapers of a foregone age, and yearned for some better exponent of their feelings. To meet this desideratum, the Glasgow Chronicle was established,* the first devoted advocate of liberal opinions in the west of Scotland. From the hour that this reforming organ appeared, it may be said that a powerful political party began to be formed, which State circumstances no doubt promptly tended to increase. The ceaseless efforts made by Lord Archibald Hamilton, then Member for the County of Lanark, in favour of Scottish Burgh Reform, gained many friends to the cause, particularly among the young and unprejudiced, whose sympathies with the Liberal projects then promulgated, had been excited by the powerful and popular pleadings of the Edinburgh Review. The fact is, that men now began to feel that there was some truth in the political degradation of Glasgow, as shown in the fact of a City counting a hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants— and these, too, making unparal- leled progress in commerce and manufactures — being placed as to Parlia- mentary representation in a worse position than the rottenest burgh in Enffland : and this sentiment was not confined to those of the more advanced politicians, but was participated by even many of those who still, in other respects, worshipped the wisdom of their ancestors. The establishment of a popularly-elected Police Board, whose discussions were open to the public press, as seen in juxta-position with the hole-and-corner self-elective system of the Town Council, began also to excite public attention ; and, ere long, many began to regard the procedure of the * The Glasgow Clironlde was cstahlishcd, many others who have conscientiously la- through a joint-stock company, in the year boured for the public weal, was in the end a 1811, and was four-and-twenty years con- hard one. His quondam friends started a ducted by Mr David Prentice, with an ability rival joui'nal, which ultimately led to Mr and political consistency not often surpassed. Prentice losing the editorship of the Chronic His services to the cause of freedom were cle; and soon after this event he died, in unquestionable; but his fate, like that of somev^'hat straitened circumstances. PROGRESS OF LIBERAL OPINIONS. 433 latter as little better than a farce and an absurdity in a free country. The Green Bag, and the spy-administration of Castlereagh and Sidmouth^ threw another petard into the ranks of the old Tory phalanx, and sent over many proselytes to those of their Whig adversaries. The appear- ance of Brougham and Denman at a public dinner, in the Assembly- rooms, given to those great advocates of Reform, soon after Queen Caroline's damaging trial, gave an additional stimulus to the Liberal movement, and fixed many new friends in their new political faith. Emboldened as the Liberal party was by the success of the many public political meetings, which had only commenced a few years before, and at which the Whigs were heartily backed by the working-classes, it was not long before the mighty power of Toryism began to totter. Of all the local deeds, however, which hastened its downfall in Glasgow, was the attempt made by the Corporation to extend the rotten system of self- election over the partially-built district of Blythswood. Against this aggressive power, which was sought under the guise of a mere police extension, a most fearful turmoil was excited among all classes of the citizens, and whicli even entered into the Trades' House — a body, of all others, who had hitherto abetted everything sanctioned by the City Cor- poration. This false step was adroitly taken advantage of by the Liberal party ; and they having now obtained many an additional and willing ear to listen to what was generally felt to be the truth, the movement pro- gressed accordingly, lleformers, strange to say, began to appear even at the Council Board ; attempts were now made by certain members to publish the debates ; and from these it became evident that there were now traitors to Toryism in the Tory camp. While these things were going on, an effort was made by the Whig party to obtain the command of the Merchants' House. This was the very strongest citadel of Toryism in the City, and here it was that the great battle of Reform was fought. No opportunity was lost, however, on the part of the assailants to raise topics fur the attack ; and, after a few rather sharp onsets, the Liberals gained 2 F 434 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. the mastery, and forced that close Corporation to petition in favour of both Parliamentary and Burgh Reform. Some time previous to this event, two new and powerful accessories to the Liberal cause had appeared, in the shape of the Free Press and the Scots Times — a couple of newspapers, from the manner in which they were conducted, that contributed not a little to prepare the way for the further efforts of the Liberal leaders, who were now eager to ascend the political platform in support of progressive reform. In the broad and bold prin- ciples advocated in the Free Press, the more advanced politicians found sufficient pabulum ; while in the sharp and cutting broadsides of the Scots Times, directed chiefly against burgh mismanagement and self-slection, the less advanced quidnuncs found potent matter for invigorating the cause of freedom. It was in the latter print, in particular, where that most powerful of all Aveapons, the shaft of ridicule, Avas most pitilessly wielded, and which, when used in the manner it was there hebdomadally done, proved altogether irresistible.* In the midst of those political changes and municipal agitations, which ultimately resulted in a Municipal and Parliamentary Act that gave to Glasgow a freely elected Town Council and two freely elected Members of Parliament, there assembled a Club, which, from the peculiar prying nature of the individuals who composed it, gained not only considerable notoriety on its ovrn account, but was perhaps made more remarkable from its imaginary sittings furnishing the medium through which an attack could be best made on the political and municipal grievances of the day. * The Free Press was edited by Mr "W. J. generous feeling were conspicuous, and Northouse, and the Scots Times by Mr Robert highly and desei-vedly appreciated ; and Malcolm. Mr Northouse did not long con- hence the Scots Times, of which he was the tinue to edit the Free Press, or to reside in proprietor as well as editor, was often se- Glasgow. Mr Malcolm died here in 1850. lected by writers of eminence, both in Edin- We knew the latter gentleman well. His burgh and Glasgow, as a desirable vehicle information and literaiy acquirements were for the publication of their contributions to most extensive — his taste was correct and the political or general literature of the fastidious to a fault — his judgment and day. THE sma' weft club. 435 Of the flesh-and-blood members who constituted this redoubtable and sharp-nosed fraternity, it is enough to say, that they were men who, in common parlance, knew the world well, and, in particular, the concerns of the whole community of Glasgow somewhat better, at least in their own estimation, than anybody else. It is quite certain that nowhere could a person gain a better insight into the affairs or the feelings of the citizens than at the Sma' Weft Club. The peculiar knack which each indivi- dual member had of drawing aside the countinghouse or the family curtain, and by that means permitting his companions to have a peep at all that was acting behind, was absolutely marvellous. At every meeting of that brotherhood there seemed, in fact, a little Asmodeus imprisoned in every glass, wdiether of ale or whisky, that stood on the table of their sanctum; — and the world knows that never one of these little imps refused to mount his crutches ! The knowing look — the expressive silence — the negative shake of the head, so characteristic of each member of this inquisitive brotherhood, spoke always volumes to the initiated, and often prognosti- cated to the uninitiated, imaginary evils, and which, alas! sometimes turned out fearful realities. What words, indeed, can express the vast and wondrous information which might have been gathered within the circle of this bachelor divan ! There, for instance, was ever to be found the charming inuendo, the delightful satire, the choice irony, the dark foreboding, the gloomy fear, the intimate acquaintanceship with the warp and weft of every manufacturer's web, the accurate knowledge of the debit and credit side of each merchant's ledger, and the precise and minute account of each individual manage in the City. Who, in fact, that wished to become acquainted with a man's credit, would have thought of applying to a banker about such a ticklish and delicate matter, if he could only be introduced into the mysteries of the Sma' Weft? Who that liked to dine abroad and well, but had few days to spare, would have thought of running the risk of swallowing kitchen wines, when at the petty expense of a solitary tbnothi/ in the Sma' Weft Club-room, he could obtain a hinn-hook of every man's cellar, and could calculate for a cer- 436 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. tainty where he might sip Ilock and bolt Burgundy? In truth, amid this notable coterie, was to be found the concentrated gossip of the whole town, soured and seasoned to the taste of the most fastidious quidnunc, and served up with a hilarity and gusto which seemed to bespeak, on the part of the relators and listeners, that the pleasure rather lay amid the misfortunes than the successes of mankind ! The nightly appearance of the Club may be best described in the following doggrel lines : — " With tumbler and with timothy, each member sat Eipe for a toast, a story, or a song; But that whicli came on every ear most pat Was some sly hint of neighbours going wi'ong." Its usual occupation was JisJdng out the faults of the community and of those who were attempting to govern them ; while, at every successive martyrdom of the victims thus laid upon the table, " Each sharp-faced member's nose Seem'd sharper and more keen Than any sharp-faced nose That ever yet was seen ! " A wink from one and a nod from another gave the coup-de-grace; and thus a credit or a reputation died ! It has remained until this hour a moot point whether the banner under which this select band of kindred spirits nightly met to quaiF their nipper- kin of ale, or sip their timothy of todd}^, was one that was bestowed on the fraternity by brother Clubbists, or was made choice of by themselves; all that may be said on this subject is, that the notable brotherhood, whose tastes and peculiarities we have attempted to record, did meet foi* a considerable time, previous to the year 1830, in one of the snuggest parlours of that most comfortable of Salmarket taverns — the Shakspere — in which, through the good cheer of its staid and soft-speaking landlady, and the untiring attentions of her two pretty Anne Pages, various most respectable knots of gentlemen niglitly congregated ; but, while many such applicants were but too frequently refused admittance for want of room, the Sma' Weft Club-room was always kept ready and comfortable THE SCOTS TIMES. 437 for those who had the liberty of access to it.* Notwithstanding the advantage wliich the members of this Club possessed over the other frequenters of the then w(^ll-j)atronised " Shakspere," they nevertheless were not content, for we find that, about the time when reform politics ran high, and when angry discussions, connected therewith, were even found penetrating into the domestic circle, the Sma' Weft exchanged Mrs Kerr's well painted and papered parlour in the Saltmarket for a dark and dingy room at the entrance to Dunlop Street, which, however, was at that period kept by a very respectable and attentive host. It was in this quiet and unseen locality, that the Club assembled for many years, — each member acting either the part of a Paul Pry or a bitter scrutineer of all public and private matters; and here they continued to toss off their iimothies till, like the members of similar fraternities, they were tossed from the crust into the core of this earth, which, however, did not fully come to pass till several years after the passing of the Keform and Muni- cipal Acts. Of the ideal personages who figured as members in the Nodes SmcH Weftlana, which, as Wter ^ry jeux d' esprit, appeared for the first time on the 3d October, 1829, in the Scots Times — a newspaper tiiat, during the Parliamentary and Burgh Reform agitation, exercised no small influence on the opinions of the West of Scotland, — it is, perhaps, enough to say that, while the public thouglit fit to assign to each character therein * Among the many taverns in the Salt- and which was so successfully gained by the market, that kept by Mrs Anderson at the public in the Jury Court, and thereafter in sign of the "Sun" may be mentioned. It the House of Lords. At an earlier period, was situated a little way below the entrance there met in the same close a social Club, to London-street, on the east side of the called the "Pap-in," which arose from the street. The house was a quiet, clean house, common appellation of the tipple used by the in the old style, and was the occasional haunt members. This was composed of whisky, of 'William Motherwell and other literary small beer, and a little oatmeal sprinkled on acquaintances. In one of the apartments, the top, and was drank out of wooden bick- many odd things were concocted, connected ers or quaiqhs. A rather apocraphal story with the City; among these, the proposal to goes, that through the rather copious libations erect a monument to Sir William Wallace was of this droutliy fraternity, an outside stair iu first started in 1818; and subsequently the the close was undermined, famous "Ilarvie's Dyke Case" was commenced. 438 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. portrayed the name of a real and well-known personage belonging to the Sma' Weft fraternity, the writers of these ideal colloquies had really no such beings in their eye. The dramatis personal in i\\Q Nodes were as purely fictitious characters as ever came from the brain of Sir Walter Scott, although, from their well-sustained individuality or idiosyncrasy, they certainly became as well known as if they had been imprisoned in a mortal coil. The fact is that, by those who lived during the Reform Bill agitation, the vulgar but sound sayings of Sir Peter Blueskin, the alkaline acumen of Dr Scantocreesh, the pyroligneous acidity of the Sour Ploom, the vocalization of the little fat fodgel Fozie, the Juvenal satire and attic wit of the Aid e-de- Camp, and the garrulous and egotistical pleasantries of Bailie Peacod, are, we suspect, much better remembered than even many of the living actors in that active and eventful drama ; just in the same way as the sayings of Bailie Nicol Jarvie are now daily repeated, when the astute remarks of the wisest Bailie who ever adorned the Chaumer, during the days of Rob Roy, are as utterly forgotten as himself! As it is now upwards of twenty-five years since the real Club was closed, and since the ideal colloquies were presented to a gaping world ; and as, amid the present happy political calm of Glasgow, it is scarcely possible for those who now enjoy it to comprehend the excitement which then prevailed, and the pleasure with which a successful hit against any of the opposing leaders was enjoyed, we, at the hazard of being stigmatised for personalities, which from our heart we abhor and deprecate, would, not- withstanding, now cull one or two of the less bitter burlesques from the Sma' Weftiana, for the purpose of at once illustrating the Sma' Weft Club itself, and the times in which it assembled. In presenting these, however, we are well aware that time has already done much to deprive many of the allusions of their point, as is ever the case in productions of this nature, nothing being more fleeting and ephemeral than local satire. The first extract is one which will recall the last strufic;le made ao;ainst the Reform Bill in the Merchants' House. It is introduced in the following ludicrous way by Fozie, who, on recounting the fiddling NOCTES sma' WEFTIAN^. 439 facilities and faculties of Paganini, concluded his oration with a perhaps not unjust diatribe on the Italian's well-known cupidity, and his utter guiltlessness of having ever left a trifle to the poor of any people who had poured money into his gaping pockets : — • "They're mair fules that did sae," said Blueskin, sarcastically. "Sic like clanjamphry ■will get nane o' my siller, I warrant ye. Na, na, these are no times to gi'e seven shillings and saxpence to see a gutscraper shaking his elbow and laughing in his sleeve at folk's folly." " But you would have heard him do what never man did before on the violin," said Fozie, evidently nettled ; " an' that, too, for five shillings. The imitation of shrill chanticleer was well worth all the money." " He'll craw gae an' crouse on his Cremona whan he gets a crown frae me for what I'm deaved wi' ilka morning. It's nae great music that^ let me tell ye. A crown to hear a cock- a-leerie-law!" "Why, Sir Peter, that is too severe," said the Aide-de-Camp ; "you like your timothy, and I like my tankard. You know the Latin proverb. Sua cuique voluptas." " Come, come," said the Sour Plum, " I beg you wont remind us of the Grammar-school and the taws. It is well enough for those who have no arguments, to make use of what Gutty Wilson wliipped into them on the dolt form. Leave Latin quotations to the Tory amend- ment-makers in the Merchants' House. If they do not convince, they at least astonish those who have long ago forgotten their Rudiments and Cordery." Blueskin. — Od ! they say the old Tory stagers glow'red as eagerly for a translation as the Whigs did for its application. Od ! I aye recollect the glorious Greek imitation o' Dicky Sheridan in the House of Commons; and I jalouse if some gash chiel had followed his example in a Hawthomden stanza o' his ain in the Town Ha', it would ha'e tauld equally weel on the booted and spurred frae the kintra. " Booted and spurred I " cried Dr Scantocreesh, sarcastically. " Nobody surely parades in that guise to the Merchants' House. I have heard of members wearing masks there, but I never heard of them sporting persuaders." Blueskin.— Od'. to tell ye the truth, it is no that common to see folk booted and spuiTcd, and jauped up to the middle in glaur in the Town Ha'; but there were reasons for't ye ken that day. Scantocreesh (fishingly).— Reasons for it ! what do you mean ? I have been out of town for a week, and have heard not a syllable of news of any kind. Fozie (chuckling).— Od man! have ye no heard of the Toiy rally in the Merchants' House, and how the Whigs were nearly set to the right about wi' their address to the king on their back ? Scantocreesh.— It must have been by a manoeuvre, if that had occurred. I'll bet ten timo- thies to one, that if the whole members were polled to-mon-ow, upon any question touching Reform, that there would appear four to one in favour of "the Bill." Fozie.— To be sure it was a manoeuvi-e, and a very clever one indeed. My sang! had it only ended as it began, I'm thinking some folks would have looked rather queer. Bhifskin.—Od ! they say that the Reformers looked gae an' glum at the outset, and the Tories unco gash. Fozie. — Nae wunder, eighty-eight strange faces anti-ing, were enough to mak folk wary in hrnfjging muckle on Reform. .S'cany, happy Tartar, Elysimn for thcc I'd barter, To lie so near M'Vicar's garter! " Upon which the lady instantly put her hand upon his head, and said, "Arise, and stand up Sir John Carnegie, Knight of the Garter" — which title he retained through life, and often boasted of the way he acquired it. * The landlord of the " George," in George- square. f The leading members, in addition to those alluded to, were — Messrs Andrew Ranken, William Brown, William Euing, John T. Alston, Thomas Hopkirk, Alexander Garden Arthur Barclay, John Brown, Yst., Archibald Hunter, &c. The Club was always open to the leading singers of the " Gentlemen's Subscription Concerts." X There was no wine on the table — the so called white wine being whisky. The woi'- thy host was rather a facetious character, and among a thousand stories we have heard of his readiness. Me may mention, that on a rather mean and narrow lady in the neigh- bourhood saying, " Wcel, Maistcr Dreghorn, how are j'C selling your half salmon just noo?" the host replied, "When we catch ony half salmon, madam, we'll let ye ken!" The "White Wine Club" first met in 1804. § The Town and Country was rather an aristocratic fraternity, although they some- 2 H 466 GLASGOW AND ITS CLUBS. We might likewise have spoken of a host of convivial (not gambling) Card Clubs,* which, at one period more than at present, characterised this City ; and more particularly of the " Jumble," which has so long existed, and which is still patronised by some of our most notable citizens — a Club which sprung up into more than ordinary stature under the life-bestowing influence of the bland and henevolent Breeze ;'\ and which Club could boast, for many long years, of having its own furniture, its own wine, its own plate, and its own coin! | We could scarcely have excluded another brotherhood — the " Rumble- gumpy " — that literary coterie of congenial spirits who were the chief contributors to the once brilliant but now long-departed " Day ; " § and who, during the years 1831 and 1832, regularly assembled in a tavern kept by Mrs Anderson, on the south side of the Trongate, not far from the old mansion — now, alas! no more — where it was said that Prince Charles Edward stabled his horses when he lived in Shawheld House. It was in the snug back parlour of this well-kept hostelry, where rumbled eggs and whisky toddy were to be had in perfection, that the literary " Council of Ten," which regulated the lucubrations of the first daily paper that had ever appeared in Scotland, assisted by one of the most face- times emulated the manners of the Campsie star of the " Jumble," being carried to and lairds, to which category several belonged. from the Club-house, which was at that time As a key to this brotherhood — the names of in Buchanan-street, in a sedan chair, — whicli Mr Gray of Oxgang, the Messrs Davidson of sedan never failed to be noticed by all pass- Colzium, Mr Kincaid of Kincaid, Mr Bu- ing up and down that thoroughfare, about 11 chanan of Carbeth, Mr Moses Steven of or 12 o'clock at night. Polmadie, m Stephen Rowan of Bellahous- j i^ the days when silver was scarce, the ton, and Dr AYilliam Anderson may be ciub created a seven-shilling token of their mentioned. own, M^hich passed current among the mem- • Among the Card Clubs alluded to were bers. the " Board of Green Cloth," the " Stallion," § tj^^ Bay was first published in January, the "Oyster," the "Miss Thomson's Tea," 1832, and lived throughout 112 numbers. It andthe"Driddle." is allowed to have been the best literary f The Breeze was the sobriquet under which peinodical that ever Glasgow sent forth to a the late Mr Buchanan, Tertius, a man of most thankless communitj'. Had the same talent benevolent disposition, was best known. The been devoted to a journal under a Metropo- late Mr John Maxwell of Dargavel, may be litan imprint, its fame would have been more said to have been, for a long time, the load- widely spread, and its career more lasting. DAVID ROBERTSON AND WILLIAM MOTHERWELL. 467 I tious of all bibliopoles, David Robertson,* nightly met; and it was here that the poetic spirit of William Motherwell f flashed amid the eccentricities of Andrew Henderson — that the classical taste of the youthful Craio-ie mingled with the broad humour of J. D. Carrick — that the conversa- Througli its pages Motherwell first presented some of liis beautiful verses, and Carrick some of his hest contributions, tv'hich after- wards appeared in his Whistle- Bbikie. Among its contributors were L. W. Craigie, Dr James M'Conechy, Philip A. Ramsay, W.S., R. W. Jamieson, W.S., Dr John Couper, Walter Buchanan, Alexander Graham, Richard Hall, Captain Fullarton, James Noble, the Orient- alist, Dr Lumsden, Allan Fullarton, Walter Crum, Thomas Davidson, James Dobie of Beith, William Lang, Charles Hutcheson, Thomas Atkinson, C. W. Maxwell, Gabriel Neil, J. H. Maxwell, Robert MaxAvell, J. H. Aitken, J. M. Leighton, and a host of others. * Mr David Robertson was a person well known and highly esteemed, and in our literary and social circles he bore the genial appella- tion of " The Facetious Bibliopole." Though not a person of literary attainments himself, he was a friend to all who could lay claim to such acquirements; and in particular to the lovers and favourites of the Scottish muse he was a warm and hearty patron. His most original publications, and which obtained for him a wide celebrity, were his Nursery Sonr/s and Whktlehinkk, in which many of the waifs and straj's of the less known sons of Scottish song found a congenial home ; and in the Laird of Loullo, in Madrid. But temjiora mutantur et nos mufanmr in Ulis. The use of the barber's basin seems almost a fiction. The pcrambulatory race of Straps is extinct — the morning tale of the suds is no more, and but one or two septuagenarians, who still retain the cnt and the curl of tlie last centuiy, stalk about as the sad remem- brancers of that eventful period. " Good morning, sir," said Ritchie, with a smiling countenance, as he opened my cham- ber-door; "had a good night's rest, I hope?', ♦ Mr Barr wns Hector of the Gr.immar-Sohool — an institution which ranks cqiiiil in nntiiinity « itli tlmt of the UnivtiMty. 474 APPENDIX. " Pretty •well," said I, seating myself in my shaving chair. " Gaudeo te valerc,'' added the barber, " as I always say to Professor Eich- ardsou, when I'm gaun to curl his caput. But alas, there's naething steirin' in the College at the present time — they're a' aAva, frae the •wee'st to the biggest o' them, taking their otium cum dlgnitate; even John M'Lachlan, Bedellus, honest man, is awa to Gourock. He gaed atf yesterday in the fly-boat, and his wife, on account o' the high wind, is between the deil and the deep sea o' anxiety to hear o' his arrival." " You must have then quite a sinecure, Falconer," muttered I, through the thick lather that encompassed my mouth. " Sinecure ! " exclaimed Dick, " and the Deacon's-choosing sae sune ! I hae just been up wi' Deacon Lawbroad, the tailor, wha threeps he maun be shaved sax times a-week at this time, instead o' twice; and, my certie, it is nae sinecure to raise his beard. Od ! his face taks mair time to clear than half-a-dozen — ^but nae wonner, suner or later the Corpora- tion galravages tell on a man's chin and mak it tender." " But I thought the deacon had turned over a new leaf in the prospect of obtaining a magisterial chain." "A chain! Otempora! mores!'''' cried the barber, sneeringly, while he followed it up with a whew-io-10 — like that of my Uncle Toby. " Set him up, indeed ! my sang, they'll be ill aff when they tak the tailor to the Council Chaumer. It does na do for Avould- be bailies to be drinking pap-in at the Black Boy till twa in the morning, and clashing and clavering wi' Peggy Bauldy. Na, na, we maun hae doucer pows than the deacon's to bow in the Wynd Kirk frae the front o' the laft! Doctor Porteous, honest man, could na thole to see so mony marks o' the speerit staring him in the face ilka Sunday! But weel-a-wat there's nae saying wha'll be bailies now-a-days. Audaces fortuna juvat, timidosque repellit. " Why, Kitchie," said I, " it would not at all astonish me, ere many years, to see you your- self following the town officers, and wondered at as one of the wise men of the west." " TMiy, sir, at pulckrum est digito monslrari et dicier hie est" said the barber, evidently de- lighted with the idea ; " after that thoulless, feckless, senseless coof, Macsapless, ane need na lose a' heart. Well, but he's a fine han' for the Provost. I'm sure he'll vote through thick and thin wi' him, and boo like ony white-hannet at an auction. Od ! the folk say he coft his cock'd hat frae Miller & Ewing twa years since syne, and what is mair likely, he slept wi' his chain the first night after he got it. But what do you think the twa-faced body moved in the Council the ither day? Why, naething less than what was proposed in Provost Cheeks's time — him, ye kin, wha lived in the Ian' just aboon the Fleshmarket — naething less than that the City barbers should na be allowed to shave their customers on Sunday. Foul fa' the silly loon ! Had he as muckle brains in his pow as powther on his shoulders, he micht hae seen the folly o' his hypocrisy. I reallj' wonner the Provost, wha is a sensible man, would listen to sic a yam- mering hj^ocritical body. But it's only an- ither proof to me, that when the unco guid get into power, they're aye scadding their tongues in ither folks' kale. The Bailie has long sat under Mr Balfour, honest man, and the Outer Kirk folk, ye ken, a' think themsels far greater saunts than their neebours." "And what are we to do on Sundays, Fal- coner ? The Council cannot lay an embargo on one's beard growing." " Verbum sapienti! " replied Ritchie, taking me by the nose for the finishing touch of his razing operation. "The trade have agreed to cause their apprentices to parade the streets on that morning in white hose, and you have only to raise the window, hand up your wee finger, and, my sang! your chin will sune be as smooth as it is noo, Sunday tho' it be. Are decent Christian folks, do j^ou think, to gang like heathenish Jews at the nod o' a Glasgow Trades' Bailie ? Od ! I ken a black- a-viced chield that maun be shaved twice a-day when he wants to be particular. Do you think it is affording 'a praise and protec- tion to those who'd do well' to keep men frae hearing the word on account o' a lang beard? But let the deacon sleep — Amoio quoBramus seria ludo. I've something mair extraordinary to tell you ; but in the meantime I must get APPENDIX. 475 the curling tongs heated before throwing a little moost (powder) into your hair." On the barher's return with the heated tongs, I immediately begged him to say what he had to communicate. "Od! sir, the news is nane o' the best. Do you ken there's an unco sough aboot rioting and rebellion ? " said Dick, in a cant- ing and Jishmg tone of voice. " Rioting and rebellion ! Pooh, pooh ! That must be all fudge. Meal is abundant and cheap at present, wages are high, and trade is brisk ; the Scottish Convention has been dissolved, the secret societies have given up their sittings, and the real fi'iends of the people are determined to resist French revolutionary principles. But who are they that are to occasion the dread riot or revolu- tion as you call it ? " " I dinna ken," said Ritchie, sarcastically, " whether it will be by the freens o' the peo- ple, or the foes o' the king; but if it happens, it will be by a set o' folk that are no ower weel pleased wi' the government, and really I'm no muckle astonished at their displeasure. Od ! there's no mony decent weel-doing men that would like to be shot at against their will for a puir shilling a day." "Oh, I understand j'ou," said I; "j-ou have heard it hinted that there may be some further disturbances consequent on the extension of the Militia Act to Scotland?" "You have hit it," said the barber. "Do you ken, as I ■\\"as coming here this morning, I heard a clasliing and clavering almaist as noisy as what goes on at the Washing-house in the Green ; something serious o' the Icind is expected to happen in the ncighbourliood." " Why, Falconer, I am exceedingly sorry to hear any rumour of that kind, for, to tell you the tnith, this militia measure is not at all popular, and what is worse, it has been deemed by many altogether contrary to the strict letter of the articles of Union. On this account it has been made a handle of by demagogues ; and I am really alarmed lest the people, goaded on by such individuals, may commit some outrage by which they will ultimately become the unfoi'tunate snfferers." "i?erfe Domine!" cried Ritchie, covering my head and face over with powder. " They hae been egged on to do sae already, and what was the upshot? — broken heads and cauld wames I Oh, it was a sad affair that at Tranent. "VNTiat a black burning shame that sae mony innocent folk should be slain and slaughtered — God forbid we should ever hae sic like doins here! I hope the folk will tak tent; and if decent lads maun leave their wives and bainis, against their Avill, in de- fence o' their kintra, let the kintra pay tliem better, and look kindlier after their sma' families. Had the folks hereaboots mair to say in the makin' o' their laws than they hae, I jalouse they would na get sic scrimp jus- tice. But vir sapit qui pauco loquitur, I'm maj'be speaking treason, and ye ken I would na nice to gang o'er the great dib (sea) like Tarn Muir and the like o' them. We maun keep out o' the clutches of auld Braxy* as lang as we can. My sang ! he's a kittle freen to foregather wi' onywhere; but I can tell you, I would rather meet wi' him in the heart o' a change house than at the bar. But I maun be gone. Forget what I hae been clj^Ding aboot politics, but dinna forget to hand up your wee finger on Sunday at the window to the first pair o' white hose you see, when you want a shave." So saying, while gathering up his various implements of trade, and offering me, as usual, a vale Domine, off flew Ritchie Falconer to Adonise and amuse some other customer. Arraying myself in my morning suit, I sallied forth to take my usual walk to the Pointkouse. The banks of the Clyde at that period were not, as they are now, studded with cotton-mills, weaving-factories, print- fields, and dye-works. The verdant turf was only trodden by a few idle stragglers; while the water was unruflled for hours, save by the salmon fishing-boats, which paddled from Finnieston to Govan. No steam-boat, crowded with fashionables, and pouring out its volumes of heavy smoke, had yet dis- turbed the river's general placidity. No ship • The Lord Justicc-Clcrk Draxficld, remarkable for tlic violence of his politics. 47G APPENDIX. was seen looming in the distance ; a ponder- ous gabert, a lierring wherry, and a Gourock fly-boat, were all the Clyde then bore on her bosom, and these were " like angels' visits, few and far between." "N^Tiile enjoying the beauties of the scencrj-, my thoughts involuntarily turned on the riots apprehended by Ritchie Falconer, and on the probability that the Volunteers, to which I had a pride in belonging, would be called out to quell them. The melancholy affair at Tranent constantly obtruded itself on mj' recollection, and I could not help beseeching Heaven to forfend what might force me, in my militaiy capacity, to fire on, perhaps, the most thoughtless and guiltless of my country- men. On returning to the City, I inquired anxiously about the rumour communicated by the barber, and found that it had already got general wind. In the Coffee-room, too, after breakfast, I discovered it to be the only topic which occupied the various knots of gossips that encircled the tables. Hearing nothing, however, but conjecture, the matter M'as immediately forgotten amid the bustle of business, until I was stopped in the street, a little after one o'clock, by a friend, who, with a face as long as a yard- stick, commu- nicated the fact that a serious disturbance had that day taken place in the parish of New Kilpatrick ; and that the rioters, when the messenger had left the place, were threat- ening to set fire to the house of Lord Presi- dent Campbell at Garscube, his lordship having incurred the displeasure of the popu- lace for canying the Militia Act into opera- tion, in his capacity of Deputy-Lieutenant of the County. While busily conversing upon the subject, and discussing the means that would be resorted to for preventing such outrages, the sound of distant dnims and fifes was heard advancing from the west to the east end of the City; and, on listening, I immediately recognised the well-known as- sembly rattle of the Royal Glasgow Volun- teers. I took instant leave of my friend, and hurried home to don my regimentals and to attend the siunmons. On entering the house I found my worthy old servant in a fearful quandary. She had heard the news of the riot, coloured with a thousand fancied terrors, and the result in her eyes appeared to assume a magnitude little short of a rebellion, as frightful as the one she had some faint recollection of in her girlhood. "Hech sirs! hech sirs!" sighed Girz}^, wringing her hands, as she saw me buckling on my bayonet and jcartouch-box. and examining the flint of my musket — "That I should leeve to see anither bluidy tuilzie amang freens and brithers, and that these een should again look on folk fechting wi' their ain kith an' kin, and murdering ane anither for the sake o' mere ne^er-do-weels. Pedin's prophecy, I'm thinking, will come to pass sooner than sinners jalouse, when a man will travel a simmer's day up the strath o' Clj'de, and neither see a lum reeking nor hear a cock craw ! O maister, ye had better stay at hame, and say ye're no that weel. Heaven will forgie j^e for sic a sma' lee. There Avill nae doubt be plenty there without you. Whawad like to hae innocent bluid on their head ? "Wash your hands, oh wash your hands o't ! Think o' the thoughtless sovils at Tranent that were sent without a moment's warning to their lang hame and their dreed account.* How many cheerless cots and mourning hearts that woefu' day occasioned! Were it a when o' thae cruel-hearted French clanjamphry, that had landed to destroy us, I would na care to see you sae buskit ; but to gang out that way to kill your ain kintrymen — oh it's a black burning shame ! Dinna gang, sir — tak' my advice, sir, and dinna gang the length o' your tae ! " Seeing Girzy's anxiety, and knowing the deep interest she took in my welfare, I thought it my duty to calm her, by saying that the rebellion she believed to have broken out at Garscube was nothing but a squabble between a few fann-servants and the legal authorities, and that the mere appearance of the Volunteers on the ground would restore all things to their wonted quiet. "Weel, weel," replied Girzy, in a sceptical tone, " I wish it may be sae. He that will to Cupar maim to Cupar. But oh, sir, tak' care o' • There were twelve persons killed and tliirty-five womKkd ct Tranent APPENDIX. 747 youi'sel ; and if the habWe should turn out to be mail- thanyou jaloused, justdo as I woukl do — e'en leave it to be settled by them that are paid for being shot at. Tak' tent to your- sel; and oh be shure no to turn the point o' your gun against wives and bairns ! " Talk- ing in this anxious strain, and following me to the door, she pulled an auld shoe oft' her foot, and threw it down the stair after me, as she said, " for guid luck ! " On arriving at George-square, which was the place of I'endezvous, I found an unsually large assembly of the corps, all of whom were in high spirits and eager for the fray. On falling in and counting the files there ap- peared to be the full complement. Three hundred bayonets were in fact present, and it is perhaps not too much to say that there was no member of the corps who would have hesitated to beard the tasteless Might who denied this regiment to be the handsomest in His Majesty's service. Whether this opinion was founded in justice, or was the I'esult of mere self-complacency, it is not for me to de- termine ; but it is certain that this corps of gentlemen at least proved a constant theme of admiration to all the sighing spinsters ai'ound the city tea-tables, and, what was far better for its deathless fame, it attracted the notice of the Glasgow Homer, better known under the every-day cognomen of BIM A/icl; who, in his peripatetic wanderings, blazoned far and wide the gallant character of the corps in the following graphic lines : — " We are gentlemen of honour. And we do receive no pay; Colonel Corbet's our connii.'inder, And with him we'll fight our way'." And so they seemed determined to do on this memorable occasion; for no sooner had the gallant Colonel told us that we were that day assembled to support tlie King and the glorious Constitution, and that every m.-in was expected to do so with his life, tlian the whole regiment simultaneously dotfed their caps, and gave a loud huzza of approbation. The Colonel was a man in whose military tactics everv' member of the corps placed im- plicit confidence. He was none of your pot- bellied, sunshiny, feather-bed soldiers. He was a tall, slender, wiry figure, with an eye that would not have winked in front of a battery, and a heart that would boimded to have led on a forlorn hope. On ob- serving the peculiar manner wliich he had of turning out his toes, one might have sup- posed this officer a complete military marti- net ; but the idea was immediately dispelled when he proceeded to mount his Bucephalus. Unlike many Volunteer commanders, he had smelt gunpowder when it was seasoned with a goodly peppering of bidlets, and in his yoixth had crossed blades with the determined foes of his countiy. He was present in the bloody conflict that took place in the market- place of St Heller's, on the 6th of Januaiy, 1781, and had, on that occasion, gazed upon the dying features of the gallant Major Pier- son.* The Colonel could also boast, in the highest degree, of what was esteemed abso- lutely necessary to one's gentility in those days of Spencean principles, — the character of being a thorough-paced Tory, and a sworn foe to demagogues and democrats. With many useful and amiable qualities of head and heart, which it is here unnecessary to enumerate, this gallant officer had one foible, and it was one which, whenever militaiy movements were occupying his thoughts, or •were the topic of conversation, he displayed. Proud, as well as he might be, of his share in the achievement in Jersey, he had acquired the habit of prefacing eveiy opinion on mili- tary tactics, and eveiy project of military operation, with a full and particular account of the whole transactions of the eventful day at St Helier's. and which at length became to his friends and the corps about as well known and as tiresome as the story of the royal de- func at the castle of Tillietudlem. Upon the present occasion, this Lady Margaret Belknden peculiarity displayed itself strongly, for no sooner were the cartouch-boxcs obsei-ved to * In the beautiful cnfcraving of IloaUi, from a picture by Copley, the Colonel of tlie Glasgow Volunteers occu- ies a conspicuoui situation. lie is there roprcsentod wltli a drawn sword in his hand, gazing on the face of the pie flying soldier 478 APPENDIX. be filled with ammunition, than the Colonel, after telling us that we were about to march to Garscube, and warning us when there to be steady and cool, involuntarily stumbled upon Jersey. " Gentlemen," said he, " well do I recollect when, on the morning of the 6th of January, 1781, the drum summoned us to anus, and when " The Major, well knowing the Colonel's foible — aware also that there was no time for the accustomed yarn of half an hour — no sooner heard the famous 6th of January uttered than, in open defiance of all military rule, he instantly rode up and inti- mated that all was in readiness for the regi- ment to proceed. The thread of the Colonel's discourse being broken, the battle of St Helier's was forgotten, and instant prepara- tions were made for the battle of Garscube. The volunteers being then successively ordered to " prime and load" — "fix bayonets" — " shoulder arms " — and " by sections on the left backwards wheel," — the word " march " was given ; and off we paced boldly to beard the foe, followed by a crowd of idle urchins, whose reiterated shouts rendered the field- oflicers' steeds more restive than their horse- manship warranted to be either safe for them- selves, or seemly for the character of the coi-ps. The day was one of those more in unison with the climate of Italy than of Scotland. There was not a single cloud in the visible horizon, nor a breath of wind to temper the rays of a scorching sun. The soldiers, unac- customed to the tight-lacing of their scarlet jackets, and laden with heavy muskets and well-filled cartouch-boxes, had not proceeded far on their march before every individual felt himself in an unusually "melting mood;" and when at length the corps approached the spot which was to prove the field of its fame, eveiy mouth was as parched as though it had been subjected to the sirocco of the Ai'abian desert, while every eye looked more eagerly for an engagement with a tavern or a rivulet than with a rebel or a rioter. On approach- ing the bridge of Garscube, the Colonel halted the regiment, and sent forward a detachment to reconnoitre. The light company, to which I belonged, having been selected for this im- portant duty, we immediately hurried on at double quick ; and, in due conformity with the established rules of military tactics, took possession, though without opposition, of the bridge, as the key to a position on the right bank of the Kelvin. When the regiment had reached the tete du pont, the colonel looked on every hand for the enemy, but lo ! not even a ghost of a rioter came mthin the range of his visual organs. A few idle women chat- tered in knots, and criticised with apparent delight our dusty and broiling condition; while a band of boys, seemingly just relieved from the ferula of the schoolmaster, hailed us with the reiterated and elegant salutation of " the hrosey weavers.''''* If what was to be done appeared an enigma to the Corporal as well as the Colonel, what ought to be done was to all abundantly evi- dent. The hour, the walk, and the heat of the day, all conspired in making a powerful appeal to the mind and the materialism of every volunteer. Exhausted nature loudly implored the assistance of the commissariat, while the incipient idea of laying the country under a general contribution flitted simultan- eously athwart every brain, and demanded immediate realization. Whether the con- ception of this foraging foray was or was not strictly in accordance with the Colonel's conduct at St Helier's, it is not necessary to inquire ; but no sooner had we grounded arms at the bridge of Garscube, than a coun- cil of war was summoned to consider of ulte- rior proceedings, and particularly of the best means of defeating the annoying attacks of General Hunger, and combating the no less terrific onsets of his fearful auxiliary Thirst. The result of the conference was a resolution, carried nem. con. that while a small party should be left to keep the rallying position of * Brosey weavers, in derision, they might be called ; but most of them had both in their pockets and on their bones the wherewithals that showed significantly how well tliey were enabled at all times to march gallantly to the tunc of Drose and Butter. APPENDIX. 479 the bridge, the remainder of the corps should be permitted to ferret out for themselves what was individually requisite. Three hun- dred soldiers, Avith stomachs like those of the cormorant, and throats as dry as a potsherd, would have required a land more celebrated for milk and honey than that around Gar- scube. As it was, however, each individual seemed determined to cater for himself; and no sooner was the order given for a general forage, than otf flew the whole Volunteers like locusts over the face of the country. To sack a daily and ransack a hen-roost became immediately the genei-al occupation. At least a dozen of red coats were seen hilletlng themselves on every farm-house, draining their chm-ns, and stowing aicay their cheese and bannocks; while the few public-houses scattered along the roadside were relieved on that memoraljle day of all their stale beer, sour porter, and kumplied ham. Never had there been seen in the parish so urgent a demand for everything in the shape of meat or drink, nor more handsome payment known for what could be obtained; for though the Volunteers bore bayonets, they likewise car- ried piu'ses ; and to their honour be it record- ed, they testified a universal desire to make the people feel that they owed their enter- tainment to their silver, and not to their steel. The foraging party to which I belonged consisted of two besides myself. One of these Avas an individual whose round rosy cheeks boi'e indubitable tokens of having taken regular toll of everything that had passed through his mouth ; while the other had jaws so lank and skinny, that they might have served for a lantern. The former, bat- ing an unconquerable propensity for break- ing the third commandment, was an honest hearted Christian, and a universal favourite ; while tlie latter was a French emigre, with all the 2>olite.sse and prejudices of the ancient regime. Besides being a Frenchman, my foraging companion also played the French horn — on account of which accomplishment he had been admitted into the hand. Having remarked some blue smoke curling througli n thicket of trees, and judging wisely that a snug cottage would be there embosomed. we made a steeple - chase for the spot, and soon found ourseh^es in the audience- chamber of a bustling matron, actually engaged in freeing a large churn of its butter. " Gude save us, gudewife I " exclaimed my punchy friend, as we entered the apart- ment ; " I fin' Ave're jist come in the nick o' time! Lord, Avoman, gie us a Avaught o' that sour milk as fast as ye like, for Ave're a' on the point of choking. What a deevil of a het day this has been for marching !" " What brocht ye sae far frae hame on sic a day?" said the matron jestingly; "and Avhan ye left it Avha obleeged ye to bear sic a burden ? We kintra folk are no sae taen up wi' sodgering — Ave would rather bide at hame and mind our Avark. You're no come, I hope, to countenance thae fules that Avould talc our gudemen awa frae their hames, against their ain Avill and the Avill o' the Almighty— that Avould male our bairns faitherless and om-- selves widoAvs. It's a bonny like story, in- deed ; tak mj' Avord for it, nae gude can come o' this militia trade. It's quite coutrair baitli to the laAv and the gospel. If you're cum to talk to the gudeman about that matter, I maun tell ye he's not at hame, nor Avinna be: so ye'U jist tak your drap drink and gang your Avays." '^ Fai-donnez moi, madame,'' Avhispered my companion, Monsieur Collon, advancing to- Avards the alanned matron, kneeling doAvn and kissing her hand; "roas vous trompez assurement; you mak von gran mistake, ma- dame. By gar, Ave come to dis house not like dee voleurs to rob you of any ting, far less of Monsieur votre mari. Oh man Dieu ! de tout, de tout. We do not vant your husband at all. Ah, comme vou^ etes jolie, aimable! — quels beaux yeux ! By gar—" "Tuts man, get up and dinna be fashions," interrupted the matron. "Are ye daft or glaikit? What is't ye're haA-erin about .' I dinna understan' thae blethers at a'. See and lay your lugs in that liicker. You look as tho' you were na that oAvcr often at liamc at meal-time; and since ye tell me that ye hae nacthing to say to the gudcnian, I maun e'en try to bring you something better, as I 480 APPENDIX. jalouse your walk will hae gien ye a drouth like the packman's."* Having offered our best thanks for the dame's kindness, she placed before us a large kebbock, a basketful of oaten cakes, and a bottle of mountain dew, to which my jolly companion and I paid our instant obeisance. The " gudewife, " seeing the Frenchman rather bashful and backward in partaking of the feast, turned towards him, and said, "Come, come, Maister Scantocreesh, just fa' tae, like your friend there, and dinna let your modesty wrang ye." " Ah, madame, vom me Jlattez trop^^ said the musician. "By gar you do me infinite honor. This bottermilk (taking a draught) is beauti- ful — superb, magnifique — pretty well! Dis is your vin dupays, n'est-ce pas? Permit that I drink your got-o-hel ! " " Tuts man, what are you gab-gabbing at .' " said the matron. " Tak your pick and your drap, and keep your palavers for them that understan' them." Monsieur Collon immediately drew in a chair and commenced operations ; and, in the true spirit of Dugald Dalgetty, tncked in what might at least serve him for the next twenty-four hours. Thinking that the repast on the musician's part merited a digester, I pointed to the bottle, and suggested to him the propriety of taking some of the stomach- soothing elixir. '^ Pardo7mez moi, monsieur," said the French- man, shrugging his shoulders. " Dat blue ruin, as de Inglishman call it, do always put my whole head toujours into one flame. I vill rader take von oder drop of de Scottish vin dupays^ So saying, he approached the churn, which at that moment was standing at about an angle of seventy-five degrees, for the more effectually freeing it of its contents. " What ! " said my rosy-cheeked compa- nion ; " more of that stuff yet ? Lord safe us ! That's awfu' ! " "iVe derangez vous pas — I love dis ver moch, and vill now tak von oder gran drink of it," putting his head into the churn. The gude- wife, seeing the Frenchman's powdered wig and jaundiced visage within the precincts of what she, of all things, considered as sacred to cleanliness, and hearing him lapping the buttermilk, ran towards him, exclaiming, "Deil's in the worrie-cow! Is he gaun to pollute my hail kirn o' milk wi' his ill-faured greasy gab and moosty pash ! " while she accompanied the exclamation with a smart blow on the • musician's back. Monsieur Collon, eager at the draught, and about pre- cisely poised on the churn, no sooner re- ceived the blow, than it threw him off his balance, and, to the utter dismay of all pre- sent, he was instantly seen to pop head -fore- most into the gaping vessel. The French- man's heels were, of course, the next moment kicking in the air, while a loud gurgling noise issued from the churn that demanded instant attention. In the twinkling of an eye I dashed forward, and seized the strug- gling musician by the limbs, and with one effort extricated the poor fellow from his wooden surtout. But what words can de- scribe, or what pencil delineate, the absurd and ridiculous appearance of the half-drowned horn-blower ! Gasping for breath, and strug- gling for vision, he stood before us in all the insignia of this new Order of the Bath, Avith a covintenance whose yellow wrinkles poured down streams of buttermilk, while adown his long queue a torrent rushed from the well-soaked fountain of his wig. The matron was in the deepest distress for having been the innocent cause of such a mishap to the poor Frenchman ; and to an infinity of apo- logies added every exertion in her power to restore his garb and his temper to their former propriety. While Monsieur Collon was busily making up matters with the matron and her mirror, the roll of a distant dnim awakened our attention, and warned us of the necessity of an immediate retreat. Having each pulled a piece from our purse, we pressed it on the gudewife ; but it was not till we qualified the gift by telling her to lay it out on something for her daughter, that she would consent to touch our silver. • More given to eat than to drink. APPENDIX. 481 On regaining the bridge, we learned that the troop of Glasgow Volunteer Cavalry had, previous to our arrival, dispersed the whole pitchfork belligerent band of malcontents, who, after burning the parish records of Kil- patrick, had taken up a position on a neigh- bouring hill. There being no further danger apprehended, the idea — a fearful one to those accustomed to feather-beds — of our coi-ps bivouacking that night on the la-wm of Gars- cube was abandoned. The Colonel, after a lengthy harangue, in which he declared that the regiment under his command had that day done immortal honour to itself, and, as usual, mixed up the sermon with what he had himself accomplished on the 6th January, 1781, at last gave the welcome word of "right about, face," and off marched the Volunteers at a smart pace for the City. As Ave trudged along the road, moi'e occu- pied with the freaks of the foray than the feats of our prowess, a furious-looking dog was seen to rush down from a fann-steading a little off the road, whose appearance gave strong and determined symptoms of comba- tiveness. On observing it approaching, I in- stantly halted, and called out to my paunchy companion, " Huzza, Gilchrist, there's an enemy at last for you — will you meet him ? " "By gom! that's an awfu' ill-faured nee- bour," said my friend ; " shall it be blood .' " And, without waiting a reply, up Avent the musket to his shoulder: off went the shot; but, alas, on came the mastiff! The danger was imminent ; the dog looked as bold as a lion. " Charge bayonets ! " cried I ; — " a la victoire!" blew M. Collon ; and in a moment the supposed disseminator of hydrophobia received such a tickling of the steel as sent him to the right-about in a twinkling. My portly friend, however, was not to be satis- fied with mcre\y flanking the enemy. He had determined that no quarter should be given, and bent on signalising himself, he made another fearful thrust at the retreating foe. Happily for the dog, but most unfortunately for the Volunteer, the lunge missed its ob- ject, the steel pierced the earth, and over went my friend head-foremost into the ditch, at the expense, too, of his bayonet, which snapped asunder under the force and pressure of seventeen stone ! After this tuilzie ^ith the mastiff, nothing remarkable happened till Ave arrived Avithin a mile of GlasgOAv. Here, hoAvever, a scene occurred that is yet fresh in my recollection, Avhile it still occasions considerable merri- ment among the small knot of septuagina- rians that gazed upon it then. The rear- guard having telegraphed the approach of cavalry, the Colonel instantly threAv the bat- talion into a position to recelA'e them, and sent out a few skirmishers to reconnoitre. On these falling back, Avith the intelligence that the commander of the advancing corps (Avhich was the GlasgoAv Light Horse) had giA'en the countersign and parole, the Colonel Avheeled us into line, and when the dragoons were in the act of passing, ordered a general salute. The glittering of the firelocks, and the noise of the music created, as might be supposed, a A'ery considerable confusion among individuals aa'Iio Avere almost as igno- rant of a cover as a campaign — a confusion Avhich the Captain, from having his charger burthened Avith a prisoner, aa-Iio most unmili- tarily occupied the front of the saddle, felt some difficulty to calm. But if the majority of this troop of chasseurs felt rather uneasy in their saddles on this saluting occasion, there Avas one in particular in the rear Avhose position and countenance betokened anj-- thing but security and self-possession. The Gallotoay Avliich this aAvkAvard Avight bestrode being as fiery as the probocis of her rider, no sooner fixed her eye on so many ucav faces, than she shoAved an evident disposition to dissolve immediately her present copartnery. The perilous prancings and curious curvet- ings that succeeded having attracted atten- tion, Avhat Avas the astonishment of all to find that the light dragoon Avas no otlier than the Avould-be Bailie Latcbi-oad, Avhose picture the barber had draAAni so graphically in the morning ! It Avas noAV evident that the poor Deacon's desire for notoriety had led him a rather dangerous dance ; since it Avas plain to all that his seat Avould not long remain either secure or a sinecure. Guiltless alike of all the rules of Gambado and of Pembroke, the tailor soon lost command of his steed; 2i 482 ArrENDix. while the persuaderii, from the earl}^ habit which the wearer had acquired of drawing up his legs when in danger, having been brought to bear rather unceremoniously on the flanks of the mare, made her as uncere- moniously throw up her heels, and eject the dragoon from his saddle. The animal, find- ing the rider embracing her rather too kindly round the neck, and feeling the usual re- strainers dangling about her ears, set off at full gallop; and it was now a hundred guineas to a goose that the chasseur would, ere a few minutes, be gazetted & field officer! To the footpads, as the Vohmteers were op- probriously designated by their brethren on horseback, the appearance of a trooper charg- ing in the manner of the Deacon was any- thing but gall and wormwood; and no sooner did the corps recognise the copper nose of the Snip in a John Gilpin attitude, than they, in defiance of all order, simultaneously roared out, " There goes the tailor riding to Brent- ford! " The loud shout, followed by a louder bang of the bass drum, having put more mettle into the Galloioays heels, she soon shot ahead of the troop; and having shied and flung up her heels at an abrupt turn of the road, off" went the tailor over the hedge into a corn-field, and on went the mare over the toll-bar to the corn-chest, which she soon reached, to the utter consternation of the snip's anxious consort, who awaited his ar- rival. The Deacon, though a little alai'med, Avas far more comfortable than he had been for many minutes before, on finding himself, like Commodore Trunnion, tlius safely riding at anchor. The Colonel, fearing, however, that some medical assistance might be requisite, and recollecting that the troop boasted only a farrier, instantly despatched his orderly for the Volunteer surgeon, who rode in the rear of the corps. This son of Esculapius, though at the head of his profession, was a gentle- man of a most somnolent disposition, and what is more singular, his steed partook of the poppy-juice qualities of its master. Yet, there was this happy peculiarity about the horse and the rider, that both were never found in the arms of Morpheus together. On this occasion, the surgeon, having no gim-shot woimds to attend to, had given way to his usual propensity on leaving Garscube, while his horse continued so sharplj' awake, as to have canied his master through the whole manoeuvres which the regiment had performed on the march. The surgeon, being roused from his snooze by the orderly, in- stantly galloped off to the assistance of the trooper, who had, however, previous to hia reaching the ground, got fairly on his legs, and was taking considerable credit for throw- ing himself off so neatly. After putting a finger to the tailor's pulse, and passing his hand over his limbs, the doctor declared him free from blemish, and that there was no necessity for prescribing any other medicine than a walk to the City. Both having then taken their position in the rear of the regi- ment, it pi'oceeded onward, and soon found itself within the precincts of Glasgow. On entering the City the band immediately struck up " Caller herring," the sound of which made every window fly open, and sug- gested to many a cook the necessity of making instant preparation for the approach of her hungiy master. Fearing, however, that the instructive melody might not altogether tell on the deaf ears of my old handmaid, Girzy, my fat friend, who had agreed to take a steak with me, no sooner saw the housekeeper at the window, than he bawled out at the top of his voice, " Girzj'^, my lass, you may put on the taties noo 1 " Scarcely had the pleasing sound reached the ear of old Girzy, than I was accosted by the well-known " Gaudeo ie valere" of Ritchie Falconer, who, after sarcas- tically exclaiming " Fortuna favet fortibvs," breathlessly inquired what had befallen his customer the Deacon, and told us of the con- sternation of his wife. The story of the tailor's mishap satisfied the barber, while the appearance of Lawbroad himself quieted the fearful prognostications of his anxious help- mate. The corps, on reaching its usual place of rendezvous, was immediately dispersed, while the soldiers humed home to calm the fears of their wives, mothers, and sisters. In the evening the Club-rooms of the City rang with unusual mirth and jollity. Each roof echoed back the scenes of the day and of the APPENDIX, 483 foray, but among them all none occasioned more fun and laughter than the tale of the chum, and the promotion of the tailor. Thus began and thus ended the ever-me- morable day of the Battle of Garscube — a day unstained with blood, unsurpassed by heat, alike famous for its foray and for the capture of one prisoner — a day, in short, which proved the brightest gem in the gar- land of Glasgow Volunteer glory, and has afforded as noble a theme of conversation to the pig-tailed soldiers of the Scottish Western Metropolis as that of St Helier's did to their gallant commander. The Glasgow corps of Volunteers, which so eminently distinguished itself on that eventful occasion, scarcely survived the centurj' that gave it birth ; while the generality of happy faces that grinned with delight at the ludicrous plight of Deacon Lawbroad, have now, as Hamlet says, "few left to mock their grin- ning; " and had I not, perhaps, been reminded the other day of the immortal action of this gallant coi-ps, by perusing the equallj' death- less deed of its bount}% on the wall of the Royal Infirmary hall,* I might possibly have never dreamed of becoming the humble an- nalist of its military glory. * The regiment of Royal Glasgow Volunteers was disbanded on the 8th May, 1802, and they gave the whole of the regimental stock-purse, amounting to £1'200, to that valuable institution. THE GLASGOW HOMER, YCLEPT BLIND ALICE. BY A MEMBER OF THE CAMPEKDOWN CLUB. Among the eccentric characters who have from time to time buzzed their little hour in the eye of Glasgow, mayhap there is not one who stands a fairer chance for immor- tality, than the well known peripatetic min- strel and patriotic improvisatore, Alexander Macdonald, better known under the graphic designation of Blind AUck. It is upwards of forty years since this indefatigable troiiha- dour first screwed up the catgut of his Cre- mona in our good City ; and now that that Cremona hangs dusty and unstrung against the wall of his lonely cell, and the hand which waked its discords lies cold and lifeless, it may perhaps be neither unprofitable nor uninteresting to the thousands who have listened to his muse or his music, to be pre- sented with a few authentic particulars of his life, and a few specimens of his verses. The subject of this memoir, though bearing a Celtic cognomen, was born in England. His father in early life emigrated from Bor- rowstounness, and having set himself down as gardener to a gentleman of considerable property in the county of Cumberland, got married, and in due time found numerous sprouts of the Macdonald tree rising around him. Our improvisatore, it appeared, dreAV his first breath and poured forth his first squall in the year 1771, in a neat cottage in the parish of Kirkoswald, near Penrith. Of his early historj', like that of many greater men, nothing is known, and if it were, we suspect it would differ but little from the in- fancy and boyhood of other human beings. There is one peculiarity, however, connected with his infancy, which we doubt not had an influence on his after life — we mean a serious defect in his vision — a defect which led him to study music, and it may be, roused that spirit of song within him, which, under more favoui'able optic circumstances, might have lain dormant for ever. It is not known whe- ther it was an incapacity for active employ- ment — a desire to flee the fascinations of some cruel Mary Duff— a large development of the bump of wandering — a love toAvards his fatherland— or a desire to push his for- tune, that roused him from the comparative inactivity in which he lived for the first nineteen years of his life; certain it is, how- ever, that at that age one or other of those impulses urged him to eschew the comforts of his parents' cot, and determined him to trust for future support to his fiddle and his fancy. From the Homeric state of his visual organs, it cannot be supposed that he en- dured any of those parting pangs which it is said Salvator Rosa experienced, when casting a last lingering look at his fathei-'s cottage, embowered in foliage, and smiling in sun- shine. If AUck felt regret at all on running away from his birthplace, ic sprung not from the thought of bidding adieu to a spot of earth beautified by all his father's floral art, but from the certain conviction that he was at that moment exchanging kindness and comfort for coldness and poverty. He felt the world was all before him. He had deter- mined on no peculiar path whereby to thread its difliculties and its dangers. Half blind though he was, he chose blind Fate to guide him ; and in this instance, as in all attended by similar circumstances, the connection APPENDIX. 485 only showed that the blind were leading the blind. On quitting his father's house, his face turned, in despite of the connection of wealth with the south, "To poortith cauld, and ti.e north countrie;" and fortunately for him, he had not wandered many miles towards the land of his ances- tors, ere the melting tones of his Cremona softened the heart— not of lady fair, but— of a quack doctoi-, who engaged him as a power- ful auxiliary in the disposal of his pills, potions, and electuaries. The name of this peripatetic Faustus, strange to tell, turned out to be Hope — a master to whom the young and inexperienced are never loth to pay an apprentice fee. With old Hope, therefore, as his master, and young hope in his breast, the minstrel crossed the border, and in a few days reached Glasgow. In 1790, the period when Alick first trod the Trongate, the field on which he was afterwards destined to win so many laurels, Glasgow was confined within comparatively narrow limits. Two-thirds of the ground now occupied by streets and buildings were then gardens and green fields, and the splen- did palaces in the west, since reared by the hand of industry, were not even dreamed of by a parsimonious population. Union-place being then a piece of vacant ground, it was made choice of as the most eligible for the quack doctor's operations. At the head of Jamaica-street the stage was erected; and upon that stage, Alick, amid the grimaces of the clown, and the jests of the charlatan, first greeted a Glasgow audience with " God save the King," and " Rule Britannia," two airs which thenceforward were chosen to open and to close all his musical and lyrical exhibitions. Finding the wages of the stage doctor, Hope, like his synonyme, not overly sub'stantial, he exchanged the stage for the street, and the promises of Hope for the pence of the Trongate. Accordingly, from that time forward, he seriously commenced business on his own account as a wandering minstrel. From the peculiar ad captandum vulgtis knack which he had of pulling his bow across the catgut, he soon discovered himself to be a favourite with the public; and although his father employed a respec- table individual to woo him back to the com- forts of a settled home, and the protection of Squire Fetherstone, his father's benevo- lent master, the wayward wight remained deaf to the urgent and kind offer. The fact was, before the friend of his fatlier and the agent of Dr Solomon had ferreted out the prodigal son, a ciicumstance had occuiTed in the minstrel's history which put it out of his power to part very easily with his new resi- dence. The very first night he passed in Glasgow, his heart had been pierced with one of Cupid's sharpest aiTows. At the foot of the quack doctor Hope's stage, he encoun- tered a female form, whom his imagination, doubtless, at once elevated into a Laura or a Beatrice; and although his adorahk, in the eyes of a cold and unsentimental world, could be accounted nothing more than a commonplace girl, yet, seen as she was through the opacity of a crystaline kns and the medium of a poetic temperament, she appeared to Alick little short of a sylph or a Hebe, and as such he bestowed upon her all a minstrel's adoration. He followed her home, and then wiled her to a well-known bower, yclept a changehouse. There, inspired with several timothies of ardent spirits, he screwed his fiddle to the right pitch, and drawing his ecstatic bow, its eftects instantly vibrated to the heart of his lady-love. He vowed his affection — she blushed a retuni — he clasped her to his bosom, and implored her to marry. Enraptured, the maid con- sented ; and ere twenty-four short hours had fled — doubtless four-and-twenty years in love's kalendar— the youthful Alick and his love-sick Laura had handled the connubial ring, and had been made one flesh by the late Rev. Mr Falconer, at the altar of an establishment which was then commonly designated by stern Presbyterians, " the whistling kirk." Thus bound by the ties of matrimony, con- summated under tlic joint influence of music, love, and liquor, Alick determined on making Glasgow his future home ; and from that day forth, with the exception of certain excur- sions he made to visit his friends in England, he may be said to have continued a regular 480 APPENDIX. denizen of tliis City.* During the first year of his perambulating the Trongate, the min- strel depended entirely for support as well as fame on the notes of his fiddle; hut when the threatening attitude of France awakened a military ardour in every British bosom, and summoned her sons to combat and con- quer on the ocean, the spirit of the Glasgow Homer, like that of every other patriot on shore, was roused from its latent and slum- bering lethargy. To his music were then added the effusions of his muse. He at once became the poetic advocate of loj^alty and patriotism — the laureate of national victories and individual glorj', the rhjTnster of phi- lippics against Gaul and Bonaparte ; in fine, the improvisatore of volunteer valour, and the elegiast of departed worth when the ranks were thinned either by hard drinking pr by hard drills. Unskilled as the poet was in the use of those drops of ink which " give to aiiy nothings a local habitation and a name," it is to be regretted that so very few of his lyrics have been preserved from obli- vion. Had they been caught and recorded, they would assuredly have presented not only a chronological epitome of the affairs of the State, and the circumstances of the City, but would have become a curious re- membrancer of the transactions and feelings of that eventful age. As an instance of the value of his lyrical labours, it will perhaps suffice to give a few verses of the descriptive poem emitted on the grand review of the Glasgow Volunteer force by the Earl of Moira. Of the various commanders whom the poet then eulogised, and on whom he has conferred the meed of immortality, the following still happily remain (1830) to at- tract the gaze and the admiration of their fellow-men : — "Like the fiery god of war, Colonel Geddes does advance, On a black horse that belong'd To the murder'd king of France ! Major Hniiter coraeth next ; In a kilt see he goes; Every inch he's a man, From the head to the toes ! Now appears Msgor Paterson ; You will say he's rather slim ; But 'twill be a clever ball For to hit the like of him ! " If this graphic description of a few of the principal figurantes of that well-remembered day served to add to Alick's rhj'thmic cele- brity, it was undoubtedly his unwearied eulo- giums of the old Volunteers and the first Glasgow Sharpshooters, which established his claim to be the Glasgow laureate. One verse relative to the former of those corps paints its character, and so well illustrates the poet's powers, that we shall give it here : — "We are gentlemen of honour, And we do receive no pay ; Colonel Corbet's our commander, And with him we'll fight our way ! " Whether it was from the daily compli- ments bestowed on the bravery of the Glas- gow Volunteers, of whose exploits little is known except the bloodless victory of Gars- cube, certain it is that their gallant Colonel was so taken with Alick's descriptive lyrics, that he offered to transplant the now mater- nised Laura of the minstrel from her se- cluded attic in the Old-wynd to a public- house in some conspicuous part of the City, and to christen it " The Volunteer Tavern." The matron, however, aware of her total unacquaintance with the mysteries of Cocker, and knowing the love which her husband nightly exemplified of getting into the clouds by the magic hoivl of a pint stoup, honourably refused the Colonel's generous offer, and pre- fen-ed continuing to answer the cry of girning bairns rather than the call of thirsty Volun- teers ! The glory which Alick poured on the first Sharpshooters— a corps composed as- • Alick's love of Glasgow was ever and anon shown in his AUxandrines. What better proof of this feeUng can be given than the following stanza of the minstrel:— '• I've travell'd all the world over. And many a place beside ; But I never saw a more beautiful City, Than that on the navigable river the Clyde." ArPENDIX. 487 suredly of the elite of Glasgow gentlemen — procured the poet money enough to enable him to try an operation on his eyes ; but al- though the knife was applied five times to the right and once to the left eye, by the most skilful oculist of the City, the opacity of his visual organs rather increased than diminished. If Alick was not, however, so clear-sighted as many of his brother-citizens, he was fully more alive to public news ; and, from his ready talent at impr-ovisation, was not unfrequently the first to circulate any important piece of intelligence. When, for example, the first indistinct rumour of the battle of Camperdown— a battle which proved the foundation of our naval power, and in Glasgow the union-bond of a first-rate Club — was merely whispered about, the minstrel made his appearance on the Trongate, and announced it publicly to the lieges in the fol- lowing lines : — " Great news I have got, my laJs, For countrj' and for town ; We have gain'd a mighty fight, On the sea, at Camperdown ! Our cannon they did rattle, lads, And we knock'd their top-masts down — But the particulars you will hear By the post, in the afteniown " ! The Peninsular war afforded fruitful mate- rials for the muse of our minstrel. Not a battle, from Vimiera to Toulouse, but affbrded him the theme of a poetical aqiiration ; not even an aff"air of outposts but was con- verted into a ftful fancy. His peculiar fond- ness for such subjects may, perhaps, be ac- counted for, when it is stated, that of the five sons and two daughters presented to him by his cara sposa — the original Laura of his early love — only one boy survived the diseases in- cident to childhood, and that boy had joined the 71st Regiment, and accompanied it to Por- tugal. There the youth fought, and bled, and died. In the moment of the victorious charge at Fuentes d'Onora, when Colonel Cadogan, recollecting its resemblance to Glasgow, hap- pily cried out, "Chase them down the Gal- lowgate," the son of Alick fell, and the poet was left childless. Is it to be wondered at, therefore, that the land on which the hope of his house was fighting, and in which after- wards his ashes lay mouldering, should have proved one of the most inspiring subjects of the minstrel's lyi-e ? * As a fair specimen of his verses relative to the Peninsular war, we may give the following : — " True-hearted loyal citizens, Great news I've got to tell, Of the wars of Spain and Portingal, And how the town of Badajos fell I There was one Alick Pattison. A man of great renown, He was the first who mounted the breach, And the first that did tumble down ! He was a handsome tall young gentleman, As ever my eyes did see ; A captain, colonel, or major, He very soon will be ! " Although the minstrel seemingly loved the Peninsular war, he was not blind to the glo- rious exploits of the Russian campaign. With all the facility which he had of running a train of syllables, chanting-like, into a short line, he occasionally showed, however, that a succession of the break-neck names of Alexander's generals could not keep pace even with the well-known rapidity of his bowing. The admiral, whose unlucky and unseamanlike tack allowed Bonaparte to escape after the passage of the Beresina, proved alwaj's a choking rhyme to Alick The following stanza is the only one remem- • There was no regiment that received so much adulation from the Glasgow Homer as the 42d. From the first day it defeated the French Invincibles Id Egypt, till its deathless deeds performed at Quatre-Bras and Waterloo, the minstrel proved its laureate. Among the thousand and one stanzas he composed on this subject, the following Is the only one remembered : — " The gallant first battalion It never was beat ; And the second liattnllon Wiis like unto it ! " 488 APPENDIX. bered of the many he emitted on the disus- trotts retreat of the French army :— " But the tyrant Bonyparte, He now must cease to rail, Since the brave Kutiisoff Has tied a pan to liis tail ! With a pan at his tail, He flies through Germany, And the Cossacks, like bull dogs, Bark after him lustily ! Bow I wow ! wow ! " The songs -which the poet composed on "Waterloo wei'e numerous ; it was for j'ears his constant and pleasurable theme, as it was that of French regret. The fact is, his poetry on this subject extracted perhaps more pence from the pockets of the benevolent than all the other "Waterloo poets, who printed their lucubrations, received pounds from their booksellers. The following apostrophe to the Scots Greys is well worthy of recollection : — "Then the tyrant Napoleon Bonyparte, And some of the French Imperial Guards, Tliey thought they had no more to do Than to take those gallant Scotch lads ! But very soon, on the contrary. The Royal Greys tliey let them ken They might go and tcU Bonyparte They cared not a for either him or liis men ! " As the state of Europe became more calm, the effusions of the wandering bard at- tracted less attention. Topics of a stirring nature were now more rare, and, besides, the minstrel had become " infirm and old." The fact is, Alick might have hung up his harp on the willows, for all the interest it ex- cited, had not the spirit of Radicalism burst forth, and inspired the hand of the minstrel with renewed vigour. The military ardour exhibited by the youth of Glasgow to defend our glorious Constitution, was indeed a glo- rious theme for the rival of Sgricci.* From tlie first hour which witnessed the Shai-p- shooters marching to the barracks, in the garb of Falstaff's recruits, even till that me- morable day when, with all the pomp and pageantry of war, they assisted at the invest- ment of Anderston, the siege of Calton, and tlie sack of Mile-end, Alick proved their unwea- ried laureate. One stanza will suffice to show the estimation in which, in common with his brother citizens, the bard held this highly distinguished and never-to-be-for- gotten "S'olunteer regiment : — "Now, then, some observations more, I think proper here to make. On the loyal and gallant Glasgow Sharpshooters, Who swords and rifles up did take I Tliose loyal subjects who fought for the Throne, And beat every Radical I've ever seen ! Here's long life to their Colonel and Major Alston, In their trousers of white and jackets of green I" In the improvisation of similar verses, commemorative of martial deeds and patrio- tic individuals, Alick continued to indulge till the commencement of the year 1830. About that period he was seized with a seri- ous illness, and on Tuesday, the ninth of Febrttary, he bade adieu to a world which but few poets have had reason to eulogise. Like many others, Alick found Pegasus a hard roadster, and one who in the race of life rarely gained the plate. The eff'usions of our bard, while they brought him fame, never produced him, even in the war-exciting period, the pay of a common soldier. If the minstrel, however, was doomed to poverty — the too common concomitant of those who tmadvisedly climb Parnassus — he was, also, like many of his rhyming brethren, not wholly content with the waters of Helicon. For the greater part of his life he had qualified tlie poetic draught with a goodly doze of that sto- mach elixir and soother of humanity, aqua vitce; a habit which stuck to him even till within a few moments of his dissolution. The truth of Shakspere's idea of the ruling passion being strong in death, as shown in Mercutio's dying with a pun on his lip, was never better exemplified than in the Glasgow Homer. The last words which poor Alick articulated were a request for whisky, and he actually offered ttp his spirit with the spirit in The famous Italian hnprovisatote. 1 i APPENDIX. 489 his throat ! • In the course of a few days his mortal remains were caiTied to the High Church burying- ground, where they now rest, unmarked by aught but the mound of mould which covers the grave of the poor and destitute ! Thus lived and thus died Alexander Mac- donald, the poet-laureate of Glasgow. From the effusions of his muse which we have already given, it will appear that his claim to be the parent of the Eudibrasiic-bathos school of poetiy will hardly be disputed— a style of composition which too many of his contem- poraries have of late shown themselves eager to imitate, but certainly have not equalled. The peculiarities of this school are — a total contempt for all the rules of prosody and grammar, an utter distaste for the obscurity produced by the mistiness of metaphor, and a most facile accommodation of an octosyl- labic with an Alexandrine rhyme. Although bom in Cumberland, Alick had none of the faults of the Lake school. He imitated the simplicity, no doubt, which Wordsworth shows in Peter Bell; he perhaps occasionally also resembled Coleridge in the pathos of the "three little short howls, not very loud," of the mastiff bitch in Christabel; while he not unfrequently showed a love of attempting, like Southey in his Carmen Triumphale, the power of English hexameter; but with all these points of similarity, he never can be called a laker or a plagiarist. His conception of a subject was truly his own, Mhile the ver- sification was decidedly original. What, in fact, can surpass the Hudibrastic-bathos of the following couplet, and the delicious Alexan- drine flow of the concluding line : — "But although I'm the author, I can't tell with my tongue The honour and the glory of the laying of Lord Nelson's foundatiou-stoue ! " Like his brethren of the genns irritahile, Alick was in temper somewhat irascible — a disposition of mind which was often increased from the fondness he bore for nervous stimu- lants. His anger, however, was neither powerful nor permanent, and rarely went farther than an attempt to punisli a fleece of juvenile hornets, who, in the latter days of his blind peregrinations, hung on his rear, and cruelly poured stones, instead of pence, into his gaping pockets. He stooped not, like many modem minstrels, secretly to puff his own works ; Alick openly and boldly de- clared himself the " the author of every word he sung," and we apprehend that no one who listened to his muse ever refused him the honour which he claimed. The outward ap- pearance of the wandering bard was so Avell known as to preclude description. In spite of the griping hand of poverty, his countenance wore an expression of contentment far be- yond that commonly seen on the faces of many of the more fortunate of his species ; and when the hand of charity dropped a penny into his pocket, the incipient idea of a noggin of whisky, which its tinkle suggested to the recipient's mind, lighted up such a smile of gratitude as well might have induced a more frequent display of benevolence. The minstrel is now, however, beyond the charity of mankind. He has immortalised himself, and has certainly trumpeted the fame of many of his brother citizens ! May we hope, therefore, that those who feel the truth of Peter Pindar's lines, "What had Achilles been without his Homer? A tailor, woollen-draper, or a comber," will drop a tear over their own Homer's grave, and not refuse to throw a mite into the exhausted exchequer of his destitute widow ! • The minstrel's heartfelt affection for John Barleycorn may perhaps be best Illustrated from a verso of a sons' which he improvised on returning from a peregrination to Inverness. On arriving in the City, Alick repaired to Ingrani-street, to announce his re-appearance in Glasgow, and liaving there met with a icarm welcome from Mr Hemming, of the Star Uotel, the poet in gratitude attempted to immortaUse him and his household: — " At first they gave mc brandy. And then they gave me gin ; Here's long life to the worthy waiters Of Mr Ileniming's Hotel ami Inn!" 490 APPENDIX. EARLY HONORARY BURGESSES. When alluding to the gratitude which the City of Glasgow at an early period had shown to those who had done her service, I ought to have mentioned several even more distin- guished individuals than those named in page 59. Connected with the Rebellion of 1745, I find that a gold box and the freedom of the City were pi-esented to the Duke of Cumberland, and that a silver box and the freedom were presented to his Secretary, Sir Everard Falconer. I find also that two boxes of the value of £158 16s. were given, one to the Right Honourable Heniy Pelham, Chan- cellor of the Exchequer,* and the other to James "West, Esq., one of the Secretaries to the Treasury, with two Burgess Tickets, for services rendered connected with the grant of £10,000 to reimburse the town for sums ex- torted by the Rebels ; and connected with the same matter, two silver boxes were also voted to Messrs Campbell and Bruce, bank- ers, likewise admitted Burgesses, for manag- ing the cash matters in London, in relation to the treasury payment of £10,000. * This gentleman was the lineal ancestor of the present Duke of Newcastle, late Secretary for War. INDEX, Page A Abbot of Unreason . . 257 Accidental Club, Origin of 181 Acts Corporate, from 1809 to 1814 . . 293, 294, 295 Aird, Provost, and Aird's Wynd 222 Alexander, John Henry, Sketch of 263 Alick, Blind 204 Allan, David, the painter 26 Alms Hospital or Trades' Hospital 184 Amateur Club .... 464 Amiens, Peace of . . . 310 Anderson, Professor John, Sketch of 157 Anderson, Mrs, Tavern, at the sign of the " Sun," 437 Anderston Club . . 2, 17 Anderston Social Club 384,385 Anderston Corks or Manu- facturers 99 Anderston, Village of, its Origin .... 381, 383 Architecture, Early, Stock- well 221 Armed Association, or Coi-ps of Ancients 242, 245 Assemblies, Dancing . 12 Assemblj' Rooms, Ingram- street, instituted . . 140 Atkinson, Thomas, Satiri- cal Song anent . . . 448 Attire, Female, about 1790 150, 151 Attire, Male, about 1790 149 Auld Reekie and Glasgow Compared 65 B Bagnall, Robert, Riot cimnected Mith him . 98 Bailies, Number increased 297 Page Baird of Craigton, and Orr of Barrowlield, Anec- dotes of 61 Balfour, Dr R., Sketch of 168 Ball, First, Gaelic Club, and other Balls . 110, 119 Balmanno, Mrs, and her celebrated Drug Estab- lishment 127 Banditti Club . . 343-351 Bank, Ship, or Old Bank 206, 206 Banking Habits during last Century .... 205 Bamardon, James, French Teacher 374 Beaton, Archbishop Jas., Flight to France . . 255 Beague', La Guerre d'Ecosse 374 Beefsteak Club .... 236 Bell, Henry, and his first Steamboat .... 367 Bell, George, Poet and Linguist 383 Bell, James, Author of Bell's Geography, &c . 383 Bell of the Brae ... 88 Bellmen of Burghs in early times .... 79 Bellanij', Mrs, lost her wardrobe liv fire in Al- ston-street theatre . 259 Birkbeck, Dr, lays founda- tion of Mechanics' In- stitution 312 Black, :Mrs, Tavern, Gal- lowgate 187 Black Watch, or42d High- landers . . . 110, 111, 116 Bogle, Miss Mary ... 74 Booksellers, List of, 1776 84 Book Trade (in Glasgow) in the Olden Times . 83 Paga Book Trade in Glasgow in 1815 and 1866 ... 322 Botanic Gardens laid oflT 313 Boyd, Zachary ... 3 Bridge, Jamaica -street. Foundation laid ... 88 Bridgegate Club . . . 468 Brown, John, Anecdote of 360 Buchanan, Provost, of Drumpeller .... 24 Buns and Ale taken from Town Officers ... 60 Burghal Houses of Glas- gow 12 Burrel's Hall, Theatricals there in 1760 .... 258 Burial Ground at Rams- horn Church formed . 67 C Calenders, Principal, about 1812 .... 353 Campbell, Alexander, of Hallyards, Sketch of . 113 Campbell, Thos., Author of Pleasures of Hope 304, 305, 306 Camperdown Club 198, 201 Canuongate Theatre, first to which a License was given in Scotland . . 257 Cape Club 463 Card Clubs in Glasgow . 466 Carnegie, John, called Sir John 464, 465 Carrick, Robert, the Banker .... 207, 210 Cheeks, Provost, Anec- dote of 36 Clergy, Society of tlie Sons of 191 Clergy show a more Ca- tholic spirit .... 285 492 INDEX. Page Clergy Stipends increased four times 287 Chapman, BIr Kobert, Printer .... 321, 323 Cliarities, The Glasgow . 422 Clieap and Nasty Club . 277 Christie, Provost, Cheese- paring System ... 60 Chronicle, Glasgow, estab- lished 432 Church Enactments and Punishments .... 143 Church in Danger . . 289 Cliurch, more Decorum observed therein . . 288 Clique, The Members of, &c 452, 462 (^lub Sitting in Anderston 23 Cochrane, Provost Andrew, Sketch of 57 Cochrane, Provost, and Bailie IMurdoch's Jour- ney to London ... 25 Cockfighting and Spar- ring 195 Cockpit at Rutherglen Bridge 132 Coffeehouse-land, Old . 6 College, Glasgow ... 3 Colquhoun, Provost Patk., Sketch of 173 Commercial Failures in 1816 365, 366 Consistory Clvib . . . 464 Cookery in Glasgow in 1750 18 Corporation Officials from 1799 to 1814 .... 297 Coul Club instituted . . 316 Coul, Book of ... . 317 ('oul, Certain Knights of 324 Coul Club Poetry 320, 321, 322 Coulter, Provost ... 8 Crawford, John, Author of work on Eastern Archi- pelago 450 Cries, Sti-eet, and Criers 178 Cross, and Peculiarities of Glasgow in 1750 . . 12 Cross Steeple presei'ved b}^ accident .... 294 Crow Club 451 Crypt, The 425 Crvpt,The,ANlght at 427-430 Cullen, Dr .... 22, 24 Customs, first payment at Broomielaw in']780 . 160 D Dale, David, Esq., Sketch of 300, 301 " Day,"— the chief Contri- butors to this publica- tion 467 Page Dall, the Porter of the Mail Coach Office, Sketch of 202 Dancing and Card Parties in 1783 151 Dancing, Teachers of . 154 Dead, Adornment of, dur- ing last Century . . 152 Deans, Adjutant, Sketch of 243-246 Dearths in 1765, 1782, and 1800 66 Deep Drinking .... 103 Dennistoun, James, Esq. of Golfhill .... 362 Diaries, MS., of Sir John Loudon and Mr George Brown ...... 144 Dick, Richard, a^i'as Justice Dick 148 Dickson, General, of Kil- bucko. Anecdote of . 274 Dinners, Family, in 1777 178 Dining fifty years ago . 345 Dinner party of last Cen- tury 163 Directorv, First Glasgow 155 Dirty Shirt Club ... 464 Donald, Provost, Sketch of 67 Douglas, Dr Colin, Epi- taph 46 Douglas, John, of Barloch 452, 459, 460 Drama reintroduced into Edinburgh and Glasgow 257 Dreghorn, P.obei't, of Euchill, alias Bob Dragon 233, 234 Dress, Antiqvrated, and Miss Inglis 14 Dress, Gentlemen's, Street and Evening Gaities 89, 90, 148 Dress, Servant Girls . . 152 Druggists' Shops . . . 127 Drumgold, Dr, originator of What - you - please Club 267 Duck Club of Partick 398, 399 Dufour, Monsieur, French Teacher 375 Dulness — a Poetical Squib anent the Organ . . 292 Duncan, Jas., Bookseller, Saltmarket .... 383 Dunlop, Colin, M.P. . . 461 Dunlop, Provost John, Sketch of, and Verses by 45,46 Dunn, The Rev. Mr, of Kirkintilloch .... 168 Dunton, John, the London Bookseller 375 Page E Elders' hours .... 29 Evangelism, a more de- cided idea of it . . . 286 Every-(K)Night Club . 357 Ewing, James, of Strath- leven 453 Execution, Publicplacesof 171 F Face Club .... 188-191 Fair, The Glasgow . . 229 Fanaticism triumphant . 259 Fleming, Jlr, of Sawmill- field's plea and charac- ter 68, 69 Flesh Market, King-street 13 Findlay, Dr Robt., Sketch of 303 Finlay, Kirkman, of Castle Toward . . . 116, 117, 119 Finnieston, and the Rev. Mr Finnic 384 Fires, Great, in Glasgow 6 Fires and Fire-engines . 154 Fire-work, or Govan Col- liery 137 Flyboats to Gourock, &c. 180 Foot Pavements, first at- tempt to maintain them bv proprietors ... 65 Foiilis, Mr Robert ... 27 Freemasonry in Prince's- street 345 Freer, Dr, of the Medical Club, and Captain of the Ancients 244, 246, 249, 251 Frenchman, how to serve him 237 French Cambrics, pro- posed repeal of duties opposed 99 French Club and Anec- dotes .... 376, 378-380 French Language not much studied . . . 374 French Prisoners in 1796 196 French, Provost, Anecdote of 34 Friend of the People estab- lished 456 Furniture and Table-gear between 1780 and 1790 161 G Gaelic Club established 107 Gaelic Club, Brotherly kindness of ... . 119 Gaelic Club, First meeting of 113 Gaelic Club, Successive doings of 115 Games, Boyish, of last Century. . . . 177, 179 INDEX. 49: Page Garscaddcn, Laird of, Anecdote and Epitaph 102, 103 Gegg Club, Account of 334 Gegg Club, Practical jokes of ... . 336-342 Gibson, George, alias Bell Geordie, Sketch of 176, 177 Gillies, Dr John, Sketch of 158 Gilmoiir, Matthew, Anec- dote of 105 Givan, Archibald, writer, alias Mahogany . . . 102 Glasgow Arms Bank . 25 Glasgow Bank, when formed 362 Glasgow in 1750 1, 2, 5, 7, 9 Glasgow from 1750 to 1780 56-85 Glasgow from 1780 to 1795 124-126 Glasgow from 1777 to 1783 96 Glasgow from 1795 to 1815 280 Glasgow Geese, a Satirical Poem 331 Glasgow Habits before and after the Peace of Water- loo 370-373 Glasgow Ladies in 1750 . 13 Glasgow Loyalty . . . 192 Glasgow Mediciners and Chirurgeons .... 238 Glasgow Politics in 1832 447 Glasgow's Prandial Fa- vourite about 1795 186, 190 Glen, William, the Poet, Sketch of and Poetry 387, 388 Golf, Game of .... 194 Gordon, John, of Aitken- head. Sketch of . 215, 216 Gotham, Political Creed of 458 Graham, Dougal, the Bell- man's Chronicle, Chap- works, and Character 76-82 Graham, John, the accom- plished Artist ... 225 Graham, Walter, alias The General, Sketch of . . 199 Grain purchased by Cor- poration in 1800 . . 295 Grant, Mrs, of Laggan, Sketch of 224 Green, The Glasgow . 137 Greig, Benjamin, Sketch and Anecdote of . . 148 Grog Club . . . 194, 195 Guardhouse, Old, in Tron- gate 8, 86 H Haixey, M. Christopher, French Teacher and Kcfugce 375 Page Hamilton, David, the Architect 469 Hamilton, Jas., of Mavis- bank, Sketch of . . 307 Hamilton, Provost Gilbert, Sketch and Anecdote of 174, 175 Hamilton, Rev. Dr John, Anecdote of .... 102 Hamilton, Dr Thomas . 22 Harmand, Mons., French Teacher and Constil . 375 Heath and Hopkirk, Sketches of .... 278 Hendrie, Bailie David . 94 Herb Ale, Morning Drink- ing thei-eof .... 101 Highland Immigration and Highland Hospita- lity 106 Highlanders, Drilling of, on Green 115 Highland Society of Glas- gow and of London . 107 Hodge Podge Club, and Members of . . 37, 39, 45 Hodge Podge v. The Lon- don Beefsteak Club . . 53 Hunt, The Roberton 134, 135 Hospitality of the Gaelic Club 169 Hunter, Samuel, Sketch of 54 Hutcheson, David, Esq., Specimen of his Poesy 321 Hutcheson's Hospital . 8, 86 Hunter, Mr Archibald . 356 Idiots perambulating Stock well-street . . 233 Improvements, Glasgow, from 1765 to 1780 . . 64 Increasing Extent of Glas- gow from 1781 ... 281 Inns— Black Bull, Buck's Head, Stai-, and Ton- tine 132 Inn, Sai'acen's Head . . 131 Independents, Increase of, in Glasgow .... 286 Jackson, Mr, the Theatri- cal Manager of Duulop- street 260 Jenner, Dr, fruits of his Discovery in Glasgow 249 Jumble Club .... 496 Keax, Edmond's, first ap- pearance in Glasgow . 262 Page Laird of Barloch, New Election Song . . . 459 Lampsie, Rev. James, of Campsie 170 Leckie, Mr William . . 369 Libraries, Public, in 1793 129 Literary Society in 1752 21 Literary and Commercial Society . . . 313, 314, 315 Literaiy Debating Society, Singular Meeting of . 327 Liberal Opinion, Progress of, in Glasgow . 431-434 Lingham, Mr, Sketch and Anecdotes of . . 269, 270 Litigation, Corporation 67 Lockhart, James, of Saltmarket, Anecdote of 128 Lockhart, John Gibson, Esq., Sketch of . . . 299 Lord Provosts of Glasgow from 1750 to 1760 . . 57 Lord Provosts from 1796 to 1814 296 Low, Dr Peter, Father of the Phj^sicians and Sur- geons of Glasgow . . 239 Lumsden, Provost James, Sketch of 319 Luxury, Increase of, con- sequent on the Peace 373 ]M Magisteblvl Insignia . 73 Mann, David, book-auc- tioneer 84 Manners of Glasgow in 1750 11, 16 Manners in Scotland in 1727 14 Manufacturing Progress of Glasgow .... 283 Market Places in Glasgow in 1793 180 Marshall, John, the Ac- countant of Ship Bank 209, 210 JIavcr, William, the Book- seller and Author . . 84 "Mearns, The Baron of," a Snia' Weft ditty . . 444 Medical Club, and Mem- bers thereof .... 241 Meridian Club, Rise and Characters of . 207, 208 Mercantile Emergencies from 1812 to 1816 . . 361 iftgration to the Coast in 1790 180 Millar, Professor John, Sketch of 156 Millar, Mr John ... 95 494 INDEX. Page Mollison, the Author of Melody the soul of Husky &c 84 Monteath, Henry, house in 1789 ../... 15G Monteath, Mr James, first Manufacturer of Muslins 382 Monteath, Dr Jas., Anec- dotes of ... 382, 383 Moore, Dr John, Autlior of Zeluco 37, 40 Moore, Dr's, Song on Hodge Podge Club . 41 Moor. Dr, Professor of Greek 26, 92 Moore, Sir John, Sketch of 47, 49 Moore, Sir John, Monu- ment of, by Flaxman . 49 Morning and Evening Club 101 Moses, William, of Moses- field 13 Motherwell, "William, 437, 442, 443, 444, 445, 447 Muir, Thos., of Hunters- hill 168, 169 Monroe, Major -General Sir Thomas, Sketch of 226 Murdoch, Mr Jas., Poetical Effusions of ... . 63 Murdoch, Peter, Dinner given to 50 Murrays, The Monkland 226 Music Bells at the Ch-oss 63 Music and Masoniy in Glasgow . . 352, 358, 359 Music Shop, First, in Glas- gow 164 Mysteries, Keligious, of early times . 252, 253, 256 " Mv heart's in mv Cock'd Hat"— a Sma' Weft ditty 445 MC Macalpine, Alexander, Sketch of . . . 391, 392 M'Claine, John, Town Piper in 1675 ... 109 M'CIukie, Tarn, Sketch of 171 M'Donald, Angus, and his porter Murdoch . . . 127 Macdonald, Mr, of Ram- merscales, Translations 223, 224 M'Dowall, Pi'ovost James, of Castlesemple, Sketch of 174 M'Ewan, Mr, writer, Sketch of 30^ Macfarlan Obsenatory . 61 M'Intosh, Charles, F.R.S. 122 M'Intosh, George, of Dun- chattan . . . . 107, 120 Page Macka)^, Angus, the Piper 113, 114 M'Kean, James, the Mur- derer 405 M'Kenzie, Provost . . 291 M'Lellan, Mr Archibald, admission to the Coul 326 Macleroy, John, Sketch of 194 M'Leod, Rev. John, Anec- dote of 345 M'Tyre, Convener , . 401 N Naismith, Mungo ... 8 Newspapers, Earliest pub- lished, in Glasgow . . 130 Niel, Rev. Joseph, of An- derston Relief Church 384 Nielson, John, Anecdote of , . . 364 Nimmo, Dr William, first made use of Vaccine Virus in Glasgow . . 248 Noctes Sma' Weftiante 437-446 Northern Looking Glass — its clever Caricatures . 279 Northern Sketches . . 247 Observatory established 313 Oddities, Horseback, fi'om 1810 to 1817 .... 307 Oddities of Glasgow, John Aitkenthe preacher, and Nosey 203 Old Exchange Charactei-s 150 Oi'gan Question, Presby- tery's declaration on . 292 Organ Question, End of 291 Outrages, City of Glas- gow, in 1788 .... 153 Oyster and Tripe Houses 136 Packers' Club .... 353 Pap-in Club 437 Park, Alexander, Writer, Verses by 185 Park, Robert, Town Clerk, murdered 424 Parliamentary Election, First, under Reform Act 449 Partick Bun - and - Yill- house 397 Partick, Mills of . . . 395 Partick, Old Castle of . 396 I I'artick, Village of 395, 396 Patoun, Captain, Sketch of 298 1 Patriotic Effusions of the Anderston Social Club 389-391 Page Patriotism and Poetry from 1812 to 1816 . . 381 Pauper funerals . . . 232 Pavement, First, in Glas- gow 86 Philips, Mr, of Stobcross, Sketch of 307 Philosophical Society established .... 313 Pig Club, Rise and Mem- bers of 213-215 Piazzas, first encroach- ments made on them 294 Plainstanes, Account of 92 Plays prohibited by the General Assembly . . 254 Poetry, Original and Se- lect, by Brash & Reid 404 Political Betting from 1779 to 1806 .... 217, 218 Politicians, Liberal, in 1793 167 Political Opinions in Glas- gow in 1793 .... 167 Poll, State of, at first Par- liamentary Election . 456 Police Act first obtained 332 Police Bill first attempted 153 Police, Quondam state of 329, 333 Poor Rates in Glasgow in 1790 and 1851 ... 160 Popish Bill, Feeling against, in Glasgow . 97 Population of Glasgow from 1795 to 1819 . . 281 Population in 1791 . . 124 Porteous, Dr, Sketch of . 302 Ports of Glasgow ... 10 Post-office Club . . 362-369 Post-office, Glasgow, His- toiy of 363 Powder Magazine, First, in Glasgow .... 154 Prelacy versus Presbyteri- anism . .... 255 Prentice, David, Editor of Chronicle 458 Presbyterian Church, Power of 141 Prince Chai'les Stuart in Glasgow 24 Professional fraternising 275 Propyness made .by the Town 59 Public Buildings erected from 1795 to 1815 . . 282 Puritanical spirit in Glas- gow about 1780 ... 91 R Raniven, Dr, Sketch and Anecdote of ... . 159 Rattrav, Dr 359 INDEX, 405 ' Page Records of the Coi-pora- tiou 59, 63 Reddie, Mr, Town Clerk 289, 290 Reid, Dr, Sketch of . . 156 Reid, John, commonly called Author Reid . 406 Reid, William, Poetiy and Sketch of 399, 400, 404, 405 Religious Opinions of Glasgow dui-ing last Century 144 Rhj'ming Epistles of last Centuiy 74, 75 Richardson, Professor William, Sketch of . 157 Riddell, William, one of Glasgow's small poets 203 Ritchie, Dr, of St Andrew's Church . . . 289, 290, 291 Rohertson, David, the Bookseller .... 467 Ross's, JMy Lord, Club 91, 93 Round Table used for re- fectory purposes at Cir- cuit 424 Rumblegumpy Club . . 466 Ryley, Old, the Veteran Actor and Author . . 325 S St Rollox Chemical Work 464 Salt Herrings called Glas- gow Magistrates . . 235 Sandford, Sir D. K. . . 455 Scotch Fir Trade ... 68 Scott, Dr James, the Odon- tist 308, 309 Scots Times and Free Press estaldished . . 434, 437 Scruton, James, Writing- master in 1749 ... 60 Secession Church fust opened in Glasgow . 145 Sedan Chairs .... 13 Session - house, Laigh Kirk, burned .... 182 Session Records from 1583 to 1725 141-143 Shawfield :ManKioii . 8, 10 Shawfield Riot ... 9, 10 Shaving and Ilairdressing in 1790 149 Shopkecping from 1780 to 1795 127 Shops of the last Century 87 Shuna Clul) . . . 424, 426 Sign-boards in Paris . . 72 Sign-boards, Remarks on 70-72 Simsnn, Robert ... 2, 19 Snia' Weft <'bil) . . . 435 Smith, Dr Adam . 28, 314 Smith's Library . . . 129 Snuff-box of the Hodge Podge, and Insci-iption 53 Stevenson, Dr Alexander, Epitaph 46 Stirling, Walter, Sketch of 129 Social Progress of Glas- gow . . . . 283, 284 Socialities from 1720 to 1750 1, 2 Stage-coaches about 1790 133 Stage — Leading Perfor- mers on Glasgow Stnge from 1785 till the begin- ning of the Century . 201 Stockwell- street and its Characteristics . 220, 227 Stockwell-street Changes 231 Stockwell Celebrities . 223 Stone Battles .... 230 Streets, New, from 1795 to 1815 281 Subscription Concerts . 355 Sugar Aristocracy . . 212 Sunday Observances about 1795 . . 144, 145 Superstitions, Scottish . 147 Surgeons and Barbers disjoined 240 Sutherland, Jock, the Hangman, and his Du- ties ..... 170, 172 T T.\iT, j\rr William, alias Billy Tj'pes, Sketch of 276, 277 Taverns from 1780 to 1795 136 Taylor, Andrew, Sketch and Anecdote of 188, 189 Tajdor, John, the AVriting- master and Poet, Sketch and Anecdote of . 182-184 Taylor, Dr AVilliam, Jun., of St Enoch's Cliurch 2-25 Tea-drinking about 1790 165 Tcnnant, Charles, of St Rollox .... 454, 461 Theatricals, Glasgow . 252 Theatre, First, erected in Glasgow . . . . . 258 Theatre in Alston-street opened and set fire to 259 Theatre in Dunlop-street erected 260 Theatre in Queen-street built and burnt 261, 262, 203 Theatrical .Management in Glasgow from 1780 . 260 Tlicatrical Members of the Coul Chil) . . . 326 Theatricals, Private . . 265 Tinkler's Club .... 235 Toast -list of Beauties Paffo given at Hodge Podge in 1809 52 Tobacco Aristocracy . . 30 Tobacco Duties from 1729 to 1749 32 Tobacco, History of . . 33 Tobacco imported -into Clyde in 1772 ... 32 Tobacco "Lords" ... 35 Tobacco Trade, Use and Progress of ... . 31 Tolbooth, Old ... . 7 Tonnage Dues of Glasgow, Progressive .... 181 Tontine Buildings built 92 Town and Country Club 465 Town Hall 8 Town Officers or Homies 153 Toryism, Glasgow, in 1797 197 Toryism of the AVhat-you- please Club .... 273 Travelling in the last Cen- tury 131 Tucker, Thomas, Report on Customs in 1692 . 181 Typluis Fever in 1817-18, Sum raised to meet it 368 U Union, The, Club ... 468 V Voi.uNTKERS in 1794 . . 193 Volunteers, Number, in 1801 310 Volunteers, two Regi- ments raised by Corpo- ration, &c. . . 309, 311 Vulgar Literature, His- tory of, a desideratum 82 W AVai.kinshaw, Miss Cathe- rine 24 War, The Radical ... 407 Washing-house and Washing-days . . . 133 Washings, Scotch ... 139 A\'ardlaw, Dr, Sketch of 287 AVaterloo Club . . 407-409 Watson, Rev. Mr, of Dove- hill, Anecdote of . . 286 Watt, James, first Model of Steam-engine 56, 61, 88 AVells, Arn's 137 Wells, West Port . . 19, 131 Western, The, Club . . 468 Wet Wednesday of the West 410-420 What -von -please Club, Origin of 266 What -you -please Club, INIcmbers of .... 271 Whipping, Punishment of 172 '■"I 496 INDEX. ■\Vhisky came do^vii to Low lands after Rebellion White Wine Club . . . Whitsun-Monday Revels Witches and Warlocks . Wormwood, Dr, and "Northern Sketches" Page 216 465 231 145 247 Page Wright, Bauldy, or Druggy 128 Wylie, Provost Hugh, died while holding of- fice 172 Wynd Church, Old and New 62 Page Y Yates' Bequest .... 423 Young, Professor John, Sketch of 157 Youthful Frolics of GIest gow 343 8. & T. DUNN, Printers and Stereotyp* Founders, THE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW. Series 9482 ^^ 000 241318