A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain III

A TOUR THROUGH THE WHOLE ISLAND OF GREAT BRITAIN III

be erected, and gave them abundance of mathematical and astronomical instruments: But it is not now made use of, for what reason I know not.

In the new church in this city lyes the body of the late Archbishop Sharp, who was assassinated upon a moor or heath, as he was coming in his coach home to this city from the Court. There is a fine monument of marble over his grave, with his statue kneeling on the upper part, and the manner of his murther is cut in bass relief below. This murther is matter of history, but is so foolishly, or so partially, or so imperfectly related by all that have yet written of it, that posterity will lose both the fact and the cause of it in a few years more. It would require too large a space in this work to give a fresh and impartial account of it, and for that reason I cannot enter upon it, though I have the most exact account that, I believe, is left in the world, which I had from the mouth of one of the actors, and have since had it confirm’d from several others, thoroughly acquainted with the particulars of it.

I shall only say here, that the archbishop had been a furious and merciless persecutor, and, indeed, murtherer of many of the innocent people, merely for their keeping up their field-meetings, and was charg’d in particular with two actions; which, if true will, though not justify, yet take off much of the black part, which the very murther itself leaves on the memory of the actors.

1. The keeping back the reprieve, which was sent down by King Charles IId’s express order, and which was actually receiv’d for stopping the execution of twelve persons, un-

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der sentence of death; I say keeping it back in his pocket till they were executed. I know Bishop Burnet charges this upon another hand; but these men were assur’d the archbishop was the man, perhaps, the other might be consenting.

2. The shipping 200 poor men on board a vessel, on pretence of transportation to the English colonies in the WestIndies; but ordering the ship to be run on shore and lost. I say it is said to be order’d, and generally so believ’d, because, when the ship was bulg’d upon the rocks, the master and seamen, and the officers, appointed to confine the banish’d people, all got on shore, but lock’d all the rest down under the hatches, and would not suffer one of them to come out, by which means they every one perish’d.

These two things they charg’d directly on the archbishop, besides many other cruelties, which they call’d murthers; and if they were acted, as is related by others as well as they, I must acknowledge they could be no other.

Now ’tis as certain that these men knew nothing of meeting with the archbishop at that time; but being themselves outlaw’d men, whom any man that met might kill, and who (if taken) would have been put to death: They always went arm’d, and were, at that time, looking for another man, when unexpectedly they saw the bishop coming towards them in his coach, when one of them says to the other, we have not found the person we look’d for; but lo, God has deliver’d our enemy, and the murtherer of our brethren into our hands, against whom we cannot obtain justice by the law, which is perverted:

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But remember the words of the text, If ye let him go, thy life shall be required for his life.

In a word, they immediately resolv’d to fall upon him, and cut him in pieces; I say they resolv’d, all but one (viz.) Hackston of Rathellet, who was not willing to have his hand in the blood, though he acknowledg’d he deserv’d to die: So that when they attack’d the bishop, Hackston went off, and stood at a distance: nor did he hold their horses, as one has ignorantly publish’d; for they attack’d him all mounted; nor could they well have stopp’d a coach and six horses, if they had been on foot. I mention this part, because, however providence order’d it, so it was, that none of the murtherers ever fell into the hands of justice, but this Hackston of Rathellet, who was most cruelly tortur’d, and afterwards had his hands cut off, and was then executed at Edinburgh.

I have not time to give the rest of this story, though the particulars are very well worth relating, but it is remote from my purpose, and I must proceed. The city of St. Andrew’s is, notwithstanding its many disasters; such as the ruin of the great church, the demolishing its castle, and the archbishop’s palace, and Oliver Cromwell’s citadel; yet, I say, it is still a handsome city, and well built, the streets straight and large, being three streets parallel to one another, all opening to the sea.

They shew among other remains of antiquity the apartments of the palace where Cardinal Beaton stood, or sat in state to see the martyrdom of Mr. Wishart, who, at the stake, call’d aloud to him, and cited him to appear at the bar of God’s justice within such a certain time, within which time he was murther’d by the famous Norman Lessley, thrown into

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the square of the court, and his body dragged to the very spot where the good man was burn’d at the stake, and also they shew us the window where they threw him out; which particular part of the building seems to have been spar’d, as if on purpose to commemorate the fact, of which, no doubt, divine justice had the principal direction.

The truth is, Cardinal Beaton was another Sharp, and A. B. Sharp was a second Beaton, alike persecutors for religion, alike merciless in their prosperity, and alike miserable in their fall, for they were both murther’d, or kill’d by assassination.

From St. Andrew’s we came to Cowper, the shire town, (as it would be call’d in England) where the publick business of the country is all done. Here are two very agreeable seats belonging to the present Earl of Leven; one is call’d Melvile, and the other Balgony. Melvil is a regular and beautiful building, after the model of Sir William Bruce’s house at Kinross, describ’d before. Balgony is an antient seat, formerly belong’d to the family of Lessly, and if not built, was enlarg’d and repair’d by the great General Lessly, who was so fam’d in Germany, serving under the glorious king of soldiers Gustavus Adolphus.

The River Leven runs just under the walls, as I may say, of the house, and makes the situation very pleasant; the park is large, but not well planted, nor do the avenues that are planted thrive, for the very reason which I have mention’d already.

From hence we went north to Cowper above-nam’d, and where, as I said, the Sheriff keeps his Court. The Earl of Rothess is hereditary sheriff of the shire of Fife, and the Duke of Athol was chancellor of the university of St. Andrew’s, in

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the times of the Episcopal Government; but that dignity seems now to be laid aside.

We now went away to the north east part of the county, to see the ruins of the famous monastery of Balmerinoch, of which Mr. Cambden takes notice; but we saw nothing worth our trouble, the very ruins being almost eaten up by time: the Lord Balmerinoch, of the family of Elphingston, takes his title from the place, the land being also in his possession; the monastery was founded by Queen Ermengred, wife of King William of Scotland.

Hence we came to the bank of another firth or frith, call’d the Firth of Tay, which, opening to a large breadth at its entrance, as the Firth of Edinburgh does, draws in afterwards as that does at the Queens-Ferry, and makes a ferry over at the breadth of two miles to the town of Dundee; and then the firth widening again just as that of the Forth does also, continues its breadth as four to six miles, till it comes almost to Perth, as the other does to Sterling.

This River Tay is, without exception, the greatest river in Scotland, and of the longest course, for its rises out of the mountains, on the edge of Argyle Shire; and running first north into the shire of Bradalbin, there receiving many other rivers, it spreads itself into a large lake, which is call’d Lough Tay, extending for forty miles in length, and traversing the very heart of Scotland, comes into the sea near this place: Now, as I design to keep in this part of my work to the east coast of the country, I must for the present quit the Tay itself, keeping a little on the hither side of it, and go back to that part of the country which lies to the south, and yet east of Dunbarton

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and Lenox shires; so drawing an imaginary line from Sterling Bridge, due north, through the heart of the country to Inverness, which I take to lye almost due north and south.

In this course then I mov’d from the ferry, mention’d above, to Perth, lying upon the same River Tay, but on the hither bank. It was formerly call’d St. Johnston, or St. Johns Town, from an old church, dedicated to the evangelist, St. John, part of which is still remaining, and is yet big enough to make two parochial churches, and serve the whole town for their publick worship.

The chief business of this town is the linnen manufacture; and it is so considerable here, all the neighbouring country being employ’d in it, that it is a wealth to the whole place. The Tay is navigable up to the town for ships of good burthen; and they ship off here so great a quantity of linnen, (all for England) that all the rest of Scotland is said not to ship off so much more.

This town was unhappily for some time, the seat of the late rebellion; but I cannot say it was unhappy for the town: For the townsmen got so much money by both parties, that they are evidently enrich’d by it; and it appears not only by the particular families and persons in the town, but by their publick and private buildings which they have rais’d since that; as particularly a new Tolbooth or Town-hall.

The salmon taken here, and all over the Tay, is extremely good, and the quantity prodigious. They carry it to Edinburgh, and to all the towns where they have no salmon, and they barrel up a great quantity for exportation: The merchants of this town have also a considerable trade to the Baltick, to

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Norway, and especially, since as above, they were enrich’d by the late rebellion.

It seems a little enigmatick to us in the south, how a rebellion should enrich any place; but a few words will explain it. First, I must premise, that the Pretender and his troops lay near, or in this place a considerable time; now the bare consumption of victuals and drink, is a very considerable advantage in Scotland, and therefore ’tis frequent in Scotland for towns to petition the government to have regiments of soldiers quarter’d upon them, which in England would look monstrous, nothing being more terrible and uneasy to our towns in England.

Again, as the Pretender and his troops lay in the neighbourhood, namely at Scone, so a very great confluence of the nobility, clergy, and gentry, however fatally, as to themselves, gather’d about him, and appear’d here also; making their court to him in person, and waiting the issue of his fortunes, till they found the storm gathering from the south, and no probable means to resist it, all relief from abroad being every where disappointed, and then they shifted off as they could.

While they resided here, their expence of money was exceeding great; lodgings in the town of Perth let for such a rate, as was never known in the place before; trade was in a kind of a hurry, provision dear: In a word, the people, not of the town only, but of all the country round, were enrich’d; and had it lasted two or three months longer, it would have made all the towns rich.

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When this cloud was dispers’d, and all the party fled and gone, the victors enter’d, the general officers and the loyal gentlemen succeeded the abdicated and routed party; but here was still the head quarters, and afterwards the Dutch troops continued here most part of the winter; all this while the money flow’d in, and the town made their market on both sides; for they gain’d, by the Royal Army’s being on that side of the country, and by the foreigners being quarter’d there, almost as much, tho’ not in so little time as by the other.

The town was well built before, but now has almost a new face; (for as I said) here are abundance of new houses, and more of old houses new fitted and repair’d, which look like new. The linnen trade too, which is their main business, has mightily increas’d since the late Act of Parliament in England, for the suppressing the use and wearing of printed callicoes; so that the manufacture is greatly increased here, especially of that kind of cloth which they buy here and send to England to be printed, and which is so much us’d in England in the room of the callicoes, that the worsted and silk weavers in London seem to have very little benefit by the Bill, but that the linnen of Scotland and Ireland are, as it were, constituted in the room of the callicoes.

From Perth I went south to that part of the province of Fife, which they call Clackmanan, lying west from Dumfermling, and extending itself towards Sterling and Dumblain, all which part I had not gone over before, and which was antiently accounted to be part of Fife.

From Perth to Sterling there lyes a vale which they call Strathmore, and which is a fine level country, though sur-

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rounded with hills, and is esteem’d the most fruitful in corn of all that part of the country: It lies extended on both sides the Tay, and is said to reach to Brechin north east, and almost to Sterling south west. Here are, as in all such pleasant soils you will find, a great many gentlemen’s seats; though on the north side of the Tay, and here in particular is the noble palace of Glames, the hereditary seat of the family of Lyon, Earls of Strathmore; and as the heir in reversion now enjoys the title and estate, so it very narrowly escap’d being forfeited; for the eider brother, Earl of Strathmore, having entertain’d the Pretender magnificently in this fine palace, and join’d his forces in person, and with all his interest, lost his life in that service, being kill’d at the battle of Sheriff-Moor; by his fall, the estate being entail’d, descended to the second son, or younger brother, who is now Earl of Strathmore.

Glames is, indeed, one of the finest old built palaces in Scotland, and by far the largest; and this makes me speak of it here, because I am naming the Pretender and his affairs, though a little out of place; when you see it at a distance it is so full of turrets and lofty buildings, spires and towers, some plain, others shining with gilded tops, that it looks not like a town, but a city; and the noble appearance seen through the long vistas of the park are so differing, that it does not appear like the same place any two ways together.

The great avenue is a full half mile, planted on either side with several rows of trees; when you come to the outer gate you are surpriz’d with the beauty and the variety of the statues, busts, some of stone, some of brass, some gilded, some plain. The statues in brass are four, one of King James

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VI. one of King Charles I. booted and spurr’d, as if going to take horse at the head of his army; one of Charles II. habited ? la hEro, which the world knows he had nothing of about him; and one of King James VIL after the pattern of that at Whitehall.

When the Pretender lodg’d here, for the Earl of Strathmore entertain’d him in his first passage to Perth with great magnificence: There were told three and forty furnish’d rooms on the first floor of the house; some beds, perhaps, were put up for the occasion, for they made eighty beds for them, and the whole retinue of the Pretender was receiv’d, the house being able to receive the court of a real reigning prince.

It would be endless to go about to describe the magnificent furniture, the family pictures, the gallery, the fine collection of original paintings, and the nobly painted ceilings of the chapel, where is an organ for the service after the manner of the Church of England. In a word, the house is as nobly furnish’d as most palaces in Scotland; but, as I said, it was at the brink of destruction; for had the earl not been kill’d, ’tis odds but it had been gutted by the army, which presently spread all the country; but it was enough, the earl lost his life, and the present earl enjoys it peaceably.

From hence I came away south west, and crossing the Tay below Perth, but above Dundee, came to Dumblain, a name made famous by the late battle fought between the army of King George, under the command of the Duke of Argyle, and the Pretender’s forces under the Earl of Marr, which was fought on Sheriff-Moor, between Sterling and Dumblain: The town is pleasantly situated, and tolerably well built, but

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