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EARLY TRAVELLERS IN SCOTLAND

Printed by JVeill & Company, Edinburgh,
FOE
DAVID DOUGLAS
LONDON . SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT, AND CO., LIM.
CAMBRIDGE MACMILLAN AND BOWES.
GLASGOW . JAMES MACLEHOSE AND SONS.

EAELY TEAVELLEES

IN SCOTLAND

EDITED BY

P. HUME BEOWN

AUTHOR, OF ( THE LIFE OF GEORGE BUCHANAN '

EDINBURGH: DAVID DOUGLAS
1891

[All rights reserved]

PREFACE.

The present volume contains a collection, as complete as I
have been able to make it, of all the accounts of Scotland
published by travellers who visited the country before 1700.
Although I have spared no pains to find them, there are
doubtless other narratives which have eluded my search, and
which would have been an interesting addition to this
collection. I specially regret that in my list there is only
one traveller from Denmark, and that there are none from
Norway or Sweden. It is by the standard of these three
countries that Scotland before the eighteenth century can
alone be fairly judged ; to measure her by the standard of
England and France, as the travellers from these countries
have naturally done, leaves us with impressions which must
to a certain degree be misleading. On inquiry at the best
sources, however, both in Norway and Sweden, I have been
assured that no traveller in Scotland from these countries
before 1700 has left any account of his visit.
I here take the opportunity of thanking Mr David
Patrick, editor of Chambers's Encyclopedia, and Mr F. H.
Groome, editor of the Ordnance, Gazetteer of Scotland, for
their kindness in revising my proofs, and for much valuable
assistance besides. I am also indebted to Mr Hew Morrison
of the Edinburgh Public Library for the solution of certain
topographical difficulties which occurred in the course of my

VI PREFACE.
work. To Sheriff Mackay I owe assistance on special points,
which I have acknowledged in the proper place. The
vignette on the title-page has been copied, by the kind per
mission of Messrs M'Gibbon & Ross, from an oak panel
described in their Castellated and Domestic Architecture
from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century.
As the primary object of this collection is to throw
light on certain aspects of Scotland and its people, which
cannot be presented in ordinary histories, notes have been
freely added wherever the text seemed to need correction or
illustration. I take the liberty of adding that I should
gratefully receive information regarding any narrative which
has escaped my search, and which would deserve a place in
the series here presented.
P. H. B.
September 1891.

CONTENTS.

Introduction,Travellers —

EDWARD i. (1295),
jean froissart (reign of David II.),
john hardyng (reign of James I.),
2ENEAS sylvius (reign of James I.),
JACQUES DE LALAIN (1448),
PEDRO DE AYALA (1498),
ANDREA TREVISANO (1498), .
PEDER SWAVE (1535),
NICANDER NUCIUS (l»45),
JEAN DE BEAUGUlS (l54S),
ESTIENNE PERLIN (l55l),
FYNES MORYSON (1598),
HENRI, DUC DE ROHAN (l600),
SIR ANTHONY WELDON (?) (1617),
TAYLOR THE WATER-POET (1618),
SIR WILLIAM BRERETON (1636),

PAGE
ix-xxvi

1
7
16
24 30 39 5055 59 63
71 80 91 96
104 132

PAGE

viii CONTENTS.
Travellers — continued —
JAMES HOWELL (1639), . . . 159
THOMAS TUCKER (1655), . . .162
RICHARD FRANCK (1656), . . . . . .182
JOREVIN DE ROCHEFORD (1661 ?), . . . . 217
JOHN RAY (1662), ... ... 230
JAMES BROME (l669), . . . .241
THOMAS KIRKE (1679), 251
THOMAS MORER (1689), 266

MAPS.
Map of Scotland of the 13th Century, with Key.
Map of Scotland, by Matthew Paris, with Key.
Map of Scotland from Mercator's Atlas, 1595.
[To follow Introduction.']

INTRODUCTION.

OF the value of the following narratives as a contribution
to Scottish history there can hardly be any question.
They cover four hundred years of the history of Scotland as
an independent kingdom, and these the years when the
national character and the national fortunes took their defini
tive bent and form. The special value of these narratives is
that they supplement the ordinary histories precisely where
these histories must of necessity fall short, bringing before
us with a vividness beyond the genius of any historian what
essentially constitutes a national individuality.
Even to the close of the seventeenth century Scotland was
still a kind of terra incognita, which men thought of as a half-
mythical country, where strange things might exist which
it was irrational to look for in any place nearer home. Till
past the middle of the sixteenth century it was a common
belief on the Continent that Scotland formed a distinct
island, that it was considerably larger than England, and
that it lay not north and south, but east and west, in the
direction of Denmark and Norway.1 The publication of
Mercator's Atlas in 1595 made men more generally acquainted
with the earth on which they lived, and Scotland also came
to be better known as well as the rest of the world. Yet
it still remained a country regarding which travellers' tales
were received with a foregone feeling of their intrinsic
probability.2 The remoteness of Scotland, and the nature of
1 Thus in La Popeliniere, Histoire de France, i. 172 (1581), we have the
expression, " Les Catholiques des deux Isles " — the two islands being England
and Scotland. But the Vague notions even of educated men regarding the
geography of Scotland will sufficiently appear in the sequel. See p. xxvi (note).
2 For an interesting catalogue of the wonders of Scotland, see the elegiac
verses prefixed to " Britannia Magna, sive Anglise, Scotite, HibernisB et ad-
jacentium Insularum Geographico-Historica Descriptio " (Amstelodami, 1661),
by Rntgerus Hermannides.

X INTRODUCTION.
the country itself doubtless in the first place gave rise to
these stories ; but the records of the travellers here collected
prove that it was the Scottish and English chroniclers who
gave them currency. It will be seen that most of the travel
lers show their acquaintance with these chroniclers, from
Geoffrey of Monmouth downwards. To those who came after
1527 * Hector Boece's History of Scotland seems to have been
the guide-book from which they derived their knowledge of
the country. Boece wrote in excellent Latin, then the common
language of Europe, and his extraordinary story of the origins
of the Scottish nation, the marvellous vicissitudes of its kings,
the astounding nature of the country they had ruled for the
space of two millenniums, were admirably fitted to interest a
public whose best minds took More's Utopia for a faithful
description of an actual part of the globe.
In the Itinerary of the diarist who accompanied
Edward I. into Scotland we seem to have the first notes on
the country by one who describes what he actually saw. Of
the many saints who came from Ireland at an earlier epoch
none have left even jottings that might find a place in the
present collection, and none of the English chroniclers who
have occasion to mention Scotland speak from personal
acquaintance with the country. What we have greater cause
to regret, however, is that before 1700 Scotland had many
notable visitors, whose reports of what they saw would have
been more interesting than any we actually possess. A few
remarks on these unrecorded visits will be a fitting supple
ment to the following narratives.
In 1455, in the reign of James IL, Scotland was visited
by a personage who far surpassed Froissart in the extent of
his wanderings, and who may be fairly regarded as an early
specimen of the modern race of tourists. This was a German
knight, Georg von Ehingen, whose travels led him to
Jerusalem, Damascus, Babylon, Rhodes, Cyprus, Sicily, Africa,
France, Navarre, Castille, Granada, Portugal, England, and
Scotland. He wrote an account of his travels, but composi-
1 Boece's history was published in that year. It was afterwards translated
into French by Nicholas d'Arfeville, royal cosmograplier, and presented to
Henry II. Bellenden's translation popularized Boece in Scotland, and Hollin-
shed, making free use of Bellenden's translation, made him known in England.

INTRODUCTION. xi
tion was evidently not such an easy matter for him as for
the garrulous Froissart, since his whole published narrative is
comprised in a few quarto pages. His visit to Scotland is
disposed of in some dozen lines. Both the King and the
Queen (Mary of Gueldres) appear to have done their best to
give him a favourable impression of Scottish liberality and
hospitality. Of the Queen he specially mentions that she
spoke Netherlandish Dutch. The king gave him two zelltcr
(horses), a cloth of black velvet, and to each of his four
servants ten ducats a-piece ; and the Queen presented him
with a very fine jewel, thirty ducats, a horse worth a hundred
gulden, and, morever, made a very fine banquet, and got up
many sports in his honour. To this enumeration of the gifts
and honours he received the much-travelled knight confines
the narrative of his visit to Scotland.
In the next century Scotland had few visitors of note,
though England during the same period has an even shorter
list to show.2 With such narratives as those of the Spaniard
Pedro de Ayala (1498), the Venetian Andrea Trevisano
(1498), and the Dane Peder Swave (1530), we have, indeed,
no good reason to complain. For the reign of James V. we
have the curious tract entitled " The Navigation of King
James V. round Scotland, the Orkney Isles, and the Hebrides
or Western Islands." This tract was drawn up by a French
man, Nicholas d'Arfeville, cosmographer to Henri IL, who
has an additional claim on the memory of Scotsmen as the
translator of Hector Boece into' French. The " Navigation "
is a mere log-book ; , but its jottings have a distinct interest as
the record of a serious attempt to produce an accurate chart
of the coasts of Scotland. As d'Arfeville, however, did not
himself accompany James on his voyage, and merely edited the
papers put into his hand, his compilation has no place here.3
1 Historisclic Beschreibung iceilimd Hem Georgen von Ehingen Raisens nack
der Ritterscliaft vor 150 Jaren in x verscliidlidie K'dnigreich vcrbracht
(Printed from MS. in Fugger's Museum at Augsburg in 1600). Tlie book
is in black letter, and contains portraits of the ten kings whose kingdoms
Ehingen visited, of James II. among the rest. There is a copy in the National
Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh. 2 See Rye, England as seen by Foreigners
(1865). 3. It is perhaps worth noting that the poet Ronsard, then in his
thirteenth year, accompanied James V. on his return from France after his
first marriage (1537). Ronsard remained at the Scottish Court for nearly two
years in the capacity of a page.

xii INTRODUCTION.
In 1543 a Papal legate came to Scotland, whose visit
deserves a passing notice. Curiously enough, though his
visit is referred to by several historians, his name and
identity are still a disputed point, and he is variously known
as Peter Francis Contareno, Mark German, and Marcus
Grymanus, Patriarch of Aquileia.1 Scotland did her very
best to give him an exalted opinion of her resources and
social refinements, and he was so impressed by the attention
shown him, that '' after he had been courteously and
splendidly entertained at Edinburgh, by persons of the
greatest rank, he departed in the beginning of March, and
was so well pleased with the reception he had met with, that
wherever he went afterwai'ds, he spoke of the magnificent
civilities of the Scottish nation." 2 But an incident related
by Bishop Lesley in connection with the Legate's visit so
well illustrates that jealous pride of country which has ever
been the note of the Scottish nation that it deserves to be
quoted in full : "The Earle of Murray makand him the banquet
in his house, although he had great store of all kinds of silver
wark, yet nottheless, for the greater magnificence, he set
forth ane cupboard furnished with all sorts of glasses of the
finest chrystal that could be made ; and to make the said
patriarch understand that there was great abundance thereof
in Scotland, he caused one of his servants, as it had been by
sloth and negligence, pull down the cupboard cloth, so that
all the whole chrystellings suddenly were cast down to the
earth and broken ; wherewith the patriarch was very sorry,
but the Earl suddenly caused bring another cupboard, better
furnished with fine chrystal nor that was ; which the
patriarch praised, as well for the magnificence of the Earl,
as for the fineness of the chrystal, affirming that he never
did see better in Venice, where he himself was born." 3
From the Sire Jean de Beaugud's account of the French
campaigns in Scotland of 1559-60 we are able to glean
some interesting notices of certain of the leading Scottish
towns of the period. Of the battle of Pinkie several years
before (1546) we have also narratives by a Londoner, George
Paton, and by a French Protestant, the Sieur Jean Berteville,
1 Keith, Affairs of Church and State in Scotland, vol. i. p. 96, note (ed.
1845). 3 Ibid. 3 Lesley, History of Scotlaivl, p. 179 (Ban. Club).

INTRODUCTION. Xlll
both of whom were present at the scenes they describe.1 In
neither, however, do we find, as in Beaugu6, any matter of
interest outside the details of the battle which it is their
main object to describe. The Italian, Petruccio Ubaldini, who
was sometime in the service of Edward VI., and who by
his own account also visited Scotland, wrote a book from
whose title we should expect something more valuable than
any foreign account of Scotland we possess. In translation
the title runs as follows : — " Description of the Kingdom of
Scotland, and of its adjacent islands, in which are described
the boundaries of each province, the places in them, and the
things most worthy of memory which are found there, as
well natural as marvellous." 2 Ubaldini, however, was an
impostor, and his book is a barefaced appropriation of Hector
Boece, with scarcely an independent statement which we
may regard as the result of his own observation.
In 1552, Scotland and England both were honoured by
the visit of one of the most extraordinary personages of the
sixteenth century, the half-genius, half-charlatan, Jerome
Cardan.3 Born in 1501, Cardan, by the date of this visit,
was known to all Europe for his profound acquirements in
medicine, astrology, mathematics, and all the science of the
tftte. Among his admirers was William Cassanate, phy
sician to John Hamilton, the notorious Archbishop of St
Andrews. The Archbishop had long been afflicted by a
disease which had defied Cassanate'-s skill; and patient and
physician at length agreed that they could do no better
than put the case before the great Cardan himself. Induced
by the most munificent offers, Cardan proceeded from Italy
to Paris, where by arrangement he was to have met the
Archbishop. On his arrival he was informed that affairs of
state had detained his Grace at home, and still more hand
some offers were made to him that, now he was so far on
the journey, he would continue it to Scotland. Cardan was
not taken with the proposal ; but for various reasons he at
length consented. Crossing to London, where he spent a
1 Berteville's narrative is published by the Bannatyne Club, and Paton's by
the Socllly of Antiquaries. 2 Ubaldini's "Description" was published by
the Bannatyne Club in 1829. 3 For this account of Cardan's visit to Scotland
I am chiefly indebted to Henry Moiley's Tlie Life of Girolamo Cardano, of
Milan, Physician (London, 1854).

xiv INTRODUCTION.
few days, he made his way north to Edinburgh, which he
reached on the 29th June, the journey between the two
capitals having taken him only twenty-three days. Among
other things he had expected to see by the way was the
sky much darkened by crows, and sheep watered on morning
dew, neither of which sights, however, was he fortunate
enough to see.
For the first forty days the Archbishop was treated accord
ing to a regimen prescribed by the physicians of Paris,
whom Cassanate had also consulted regarding the case. His
Grace, however, lost rather than gained by the new treat
ment, and he grew impatient with his physicians. Cardan
then explained that it had only been from considerations of
professional etiquette that he had allowed his Grace to be
treated according to the advice of the Paris physicians. On
this explanation Cardan and Cassanate fell out ; but
Hamilton was only wroth that so much time had been
wasted on methods which Cardan did not approve. Cardan
was therefore ordered to take the responsibility of the case
entirely in his own hands. In his published writings we
have in fullest detail his diagnosis of Hamilton's disease,
and the regimen he prescribed for its mitigation or cure.
Cardan was regarded by his contemporaries as one of the
safest practitioners of this time, and extraordinary as his
pharmacopoeia now seems to us, we can see that he had really
before him the prime conditions of healthy living.1 How
ever this may be, the Archbishop prospered in his hands,
and they parted on the best of terms, greatly, indeed, against
his Grace's will, who would fain have had Cardan's services
1 Cardan's medical and hygienic directions for his Grace will be found in
Mr Henry Morley's Life of Cardan, vol. ii. pp. 114-122. Among other pre
scriptions is the following : — Take of goats' or cows' milk and of water, of each
half a pint, mix and dissolve in them two grains of elaterium ; let this be
drawn through the nostrils when the patient has an empty stomach.
Hamilton's ailment was asthma aggravated by a degree of free living not un
common among the higher clergy of that day. Another rule prescribed for
his lordship's guidance is the following : — De venere. Certe non est bona,
neque utilis ; ubi tamen contingat necessitas debet uti ea inter duos somnos,
scilicet post mediam noctem, ct melius est exercere earn ter in sex diebus, pro
exemplo ita ut singulis duobus diebus semel, quam bis in una die. Sir James
Simpson speaks highly of the hygienic rules prescribed by Cardan for his
patient.

INTRODUCTION. XV
for the winter. Hamilton was reputed the wealthiest man
in Scotland, and the reward he conferred on Cardan fully
confirms the common belief. The fee originally agreed on
had been ten gold crowns a day, and as Cardan's stay lasted
seventy-five days, the final sum should have been 750 crowns.
The Archbishop gave him eighteen hundred gold crowns, a
gold chain worth one hundred and fifty, and an ambling horse
for his journey through England. As in addition to his
Grace's munificence, he also received many gifts from the
Scottish nobles, who in great numbers had availed them
selves of his skill, Cardan had every reason to be satisfied
with his visit. We should have been more grateful to him,
however, if instead of his prescriptions for the Archbishop,
he had left us some account of the country and its people
as a memorial of his sojourn. As it is, only one or two
passing remarks indicate that he ever saw the country at all.
Of the Highland Scots he says that they were ignorant of
fear, that when led to execution they take a piper with them,
and that the piper, who is often one of the condemned, plays
them up dancing to the place of execution. In another place
he incidentally remarks that, continuing to wear the dress
he had bought in Edinburgh, he made himself a gazing-stock
to his countrymen in Italy. We also gather from him that
clocks were unknown in Scotland at the date of his visit.
At least, one of his parting advices to Hamilton was that he
should procure a clock for the proper regulation of his treat
ment, adding that every Italian prince was the owner of
many good ones.
With Queen Mary on her return to Scotland (August
1561)1 came a train of followers, certain of whom were very
brilliant personages in their own day, but who now move
our interest simply as the satellites of her on whom they
attended. Among them was her preacher and confessor,
Rend Benoit, who, in the serenity of his confidence as a
doctor of the Sorbonue, addressed a Latin epistle to " the
1 Thomas Churchyard, an English poet, has left some doggerel verses on the
Siege of Leith (1559-60), at which he was present. Churchyard was an original
character ; but his poem has no passage of general interest. He had formerly
been taken prisoner by the Scots iu the campaign of Sir William Drury
(1548). Part of Churchyard's CMppes was published by George Chalmers in
1817.

XVI INTRODUCTION.
most learned" John Knox, in the strange hope of recalling
to the fold that reformer and his brother ministers. The
courtly Brantome came also, the sugared vice of whose
pages, contrasted with the fierce Hebraism»of Knox's History
of the Reformation, gives us the key to all that was to fol
low in Scotland till the day" of Langside in 1568. In his
life of Mary, Brantome has little, or rather nothing, to say
directly of Scotland and its people ; but his incidental
remarks leave us in no doubt as to his general impression.
Scotland, with its gloomy skies, its poverty and squalor, its
harsh and rugged aspect, was unfit to have produced the par
agon of princesses, and still more unfit to entertain her.
As for its people, they were a race of savages, to whom the
graces of life were incomprehensible, whose language was
" rustic, barbarous, ill-sounding, and uncouth," whose dress
was "the barbarous mode of savages," whose citizens were
" scoundrels from the town," their music that of " vile violins
and little rebecks," their songs " psalms ill-sung and ill-
harmonised," who possessed one " fine building," 1 indeed,
but one little in keeping with all else to be seen in the
country. As a typical figure in the queen's train Chastellard
also should not be forgotten, that "gentle knight," as
Brantome calls him, " excellent at his weapons, and imbued
with good letters," who suffered death, as the same chronicler
informs us with his delicate gense for shades of conduct, " par
son outrecuidance et non pour crime."
A different personage from these was the younger Scaliger,
who in 1566 paid what appears to have been a flying visit to
Scotland in company with his friend and patron, Louis Chas-
taigner.2 A few casual remarks in his reported conversations
are unfortunately the sole record of this visit of the greatest
of scholars. He came by way of England, where the sight that
struck him most was the array of heads on London Bridge,8
During his stay in Scotland the misunderstandings between
1 Holy rood Palace. The phrases in the text are all taken from Brantome's
Discours Troisiesme in his Dames illustres francaises et itrangires. 2 By
an inadvertence, Dr M'Crie, in his Life of Andrew Melville (p. 393, ed.
1856), makes the elder and not the younger Scaliger pay this visit. The father
died in 1558, some six years before the date of his son's visit to Scotland.
3 Scaligerana, sive Exccrpta ex ore Josephi Scaligeri, p. 209 (The Hague,
1668).

INTRODUCTION. xvii
Mary and Darnley appear to have been the talk of the
country.1 Mary he appears to have seen, as he describes her
as une belle creature.2 Of the Scots he says, what was indeed
the common opinion on the Continent, " that they are excellent
philosophers." When he was in England, he tells us there
were hardly any doctors, and when his brother was in Scot
land there was only one in that country, and he the court
physician. At the time of his own visit to Scotland, it was
the joiners (menuisiers), who plied the art of bleeding, while
the barbers were restricted to shaving.3
In 1587 4 there also came to Scotland the most famous poet
of his clay in Europe, Guillaume de Salluste du Bartas,
author of The Divine Weeks and Works, a poem which in
six years had passed through thirty editions, and had been
translated into Latin, Italian, German, and English, and more
than once into each of them. As a maker of verses himself,
King James had been dazzled by the prodigious repute of Du
Bartas, and it was by the special invitation of his Majesty that
the great poet had now come to Scotland. James had
already sought to commend himself to Du Bartas by a trans
lation of his L'Uranie, accompanied by an egotistically
humble preface, in which he expressed his admiration for " the
divine and illuster poete," Salluste du Bartas, through " oft
reading and perusing " of whom he had beeu moved " with a
restless and lofty desire to preas to atlaine to the like virtue."
James, it would appear, made it the special reason of his
invitation that Du Bartas would be able by word of mouth
" to expound his poesie." 5 The only incident connected with
Du Bartas' sojourn in Scotland has been narrated in James
Melville's Diary in a manner that leaves nothing to be desired.
' ' Ibid., p. 215. 2 Ibid. 3 Rid., p. 317. Scaliger was also much interested in
the Scotch ballads. In a note to his edition of Ausonius (ii. 11), he says : —
" Vidimus nos in Scotia nutriculas miras harum nugarum (he is speaking of
nmnia) artifices ad conciliandos pueris somnos, ut eos audire non invenustum
mihi o/rpo'a,ua fuerit." Like other travellers in Scotland, he was also struck by
the use of coal instead of wood in the country. ' For some interesting remarks
on the practice of bleeding in Scotland, see Dr Dickson's Preface to the
Accounts of tlie Lord High Treasurer of Scotland (1473-1498). 4 As Claude
Nau's visit to Scotland (1575) was purely political, it calls for no special
mention here. 5 Despatches of M. Courcelles (Ban. Club, 1827), pp. 71-2. Du
Bartas bore letters from the King of Navarre with proposals for a marriage
between James and the Princess of Navarre. b

xvm INTRODUCTION.
Moreover, besides its bearing on Du Bartas' visit, the passage
throws such a curious light on the characters of the two
leading personages that it deserves to be quoted in full.
" That yeir, in the monethe of May, Guiliaum Salust S.
Du Bartas cam in Scotland to sie the King, of whom he was
receavit according to his worthines, interteined honourablie,
and liberalie propyned and dimissed in the hervest, to his
Maiesties grait praise sa lange as the French toung is vsed
and vnderstuid in the warld.
"About the end of Junie, his Maiestie cam to St Andros,
and brought with him the said Du Bartas, and coming first
without anie warning to the New Collage, he calles for Mr
Andro [Melville], saying he was com with that gentleman
to haiff a Lessone. Mr Andro answeres, ' That he haid
teatched his ordinar that day in the fornoone.' ' That is
all ane,' sayes the King, ' I mon haiff a Lessone, and be heir
within an howre for that effect.' And, indeid, within les
nor an houre, his Maiestie was in the scholl, and the
haill Vniversitie convenit with him, befor whom Mr Andro
ex tempore intreated maist cleirlie and mightelie of the
right government of Chryst, and in effect refuted the haill
Actes of Parliament maid against the discipline thereof, to
the grait instruction and confort of his auditor, except the
King allean, wha was verie angrie all that night.
" Vpon the morn the Bischope haid bathe a prepared
Lessone and feast maid for the King. His Lessone was a
tichted vpe abregment of all he haid fetched the yeir bypast,
namlie anent the corrupt groundes quhilk he haid put in the
Kings head contrarie to the trew discipline. To the
quhilk lessone Mr Andro went contrar to his custome, and
with his awin pen market all his fals grounds and reasones ;
and without farder caussit ring his bell at twa efternoone
the sam day, wharof the King heiring, he send to Mr Andro,
desyring him to be moderat, and haiff regard to his
presence, vtherwayes he wald discharge him. He answered
couragiouslie, that his Maisties ear and tender breist was
pitifullie and dangeruslie filled with errours and vntreuthes
be that wicked man, the quhilk he could nocht suffer to
pas, and bruik a lyff, vtherwayes, except the stopping of the
breathe of Gods mouthe, and preiudging of his treuthe, he

&

INTRODUCTION. XIX
sould behaiff himselff maist moderatlie and reuerentlie to
his Maiestie in all respects. The King send againe to him
and me, desyring it sould be sa, and schawin that he wald
haiff his four hours in the Collage, and drink with Mr
Andro. Sa coming to that Lessone with the Bischope, wha
requysted the King for leiue to mak answer instantlie in
cais anie thing war spoken against his doctrine. Bot ther
Mr Andro, making him as thouche he haid na thing to do
but with the Papist, brings out thair works, and reids out
of tham all the Bischopes grounds and reasones. The
quhilk, when he haid at lainthe and maist cleirlie schawin
to be plean papistrie, then he settes against the sam with
all his mean, and with inmutible force of reasone, from
cleir grounds of Scripture with a mightie parrhesie and
fluide of eloquence, he dinges tham sa down, that the
bischope was dasht and strukken als dum the stok he satt
vpon. Efter the Lessone, the King, in his mother toung,
maid sum distingoes, and diseursit a whyll thereon, and
gaiff certean iniunctiones to the Vniuersitie for reuerencing
and obeying of his Bischope ; wha fra that day furthe,
began to tyre of his teatching, and fall mair and mair in
disgrace and confusion. The King, with Monsieur du
Bartas, cam to the Collage Hall, wher I causit prepear, and
haiff in readines a banquet of wat and dry confectiounes,
with all sortes of wyne, wharat his Maiestie camped verie
merrelie a guid whyll and thereafter went to his hors.
But Mons. du Bartas tarried behind and conferrit with my
Vncle and me a wholl houre, and syne followed efter the
King : wha inquyring of him that night, as ane tauld me,
' What was his iudgment of the twa he haid herd in St
Andros ? ' He answered the King ' that they war bathe
learned men, bot the bischopes were cunned and prepared
maters, and Mr Andro haid a grait reddie store of all kynd of
lerning within him ; and by that, Mr Andro his spreit and
courage was far aboue the other.' The quhilk iudgement
previously the King approved." x
Throughout his stay Du Bartas was treated in princely
fashion, and on his departure we are told that " the king,
1 Mr James Melville's Diary (Ban. Club, 1829), pp. 170, 171.

XX INTRODUCTION.
besides all his costes which he deffraied, gratefyed du Bartas
at his departure with a chain of 1000v and as much in redie
money, made him knight, and accompanyed him to the sea
side, when he made him promise to retourne again." J Du
Bartas died some three years later (1590), and never returned
to Scotland. In requital of James's munificence, however,
he did all that a poet could. He translated James's poem
on the battle of Lepanto into French, and prefaced it with
an introduction, in which he speaks of " the grandeur as well
as the admirable spirit, the grave sweetness, the beautiful
and artistic liaison, the living and speaking description of
the Lepanto," " that plant which the Apollo of our time has
sown with his own hand, and the Graces have watered with
nectar, the most divine which flows from their mouth."
It is a misfortune, not only for Scottish history, but for
English literature, that Ben Jonson left no record of his
memorable northern journey of 1618. If no more than as a
counterpart to his namesake's famous narrative, it would
have been one of those interesting things in literature which
possess a value independent of their intrinsic quality. The
visit of botli has the same piquancy of an act in oddest
contrast with their general habits and tenor of life. In
some respects the earlier traveller would have had the
advantage. He remained longer in the country, and he
came with no prejudices to distort his impression of what he
might hear or see. Moreover, as the picture of a period
remoter from our own and less familiar to us from the
testimonies of others, the advantage would still have been
with the earlier traveller.
As early as June 1617, a month after James had set
out for Scotland, Jonson's projected journey is mentioned
in the State Papers. The traditional opinion that he went
specially to visit Drummond of Hawthorn den will not bear
examination. Drummond was known to Jonson ; but he
was not a sufficiently important person to induce the first
man of letters in England to trudge the length of a kingdom
to see him. We probably do the burly laureate no injustice
in supposing that, swashbuckler as he was, the journey was
as much a matter of bravado as anything else. His well-
1 Despatches of M. Cmircelles, p. 80.

INTRODUCTION. xxi
known habits and his enormous physical bulk gave his
expedition just that character of a wager which brought Ben
the notoriety he liked. At the same time, the new
relations of the two countries had turned the thoughts of the
English more curiously to their enemy of centuries standing.
It would appear also, from what he told Drummond, that
by his father's descent he looked upon himself as half a
Scotsman, so that he had a special interest in seeing the
cquntry with his own eyes.1 Whatever may have been his
motives, towards the end of June or the beginning of July
1618, he set out on his journey, to the general amusement of
the wits of the city. Lord Bacon told him that " he loved
not to see poesy go on other feet than poetical dactyls and
spondaes," and there is good reason to believe that Taylor the
Water-poet was prompted to his Pennylesse Pilgrimage by
way of ironical comment on what was naturally considered
a preposterous adventure for one of Ben's habit of mind and
body.2 Except in the case of one notable episode, we know little
of Jonson's doings during his six months' stay in Scotland.
Like the Water-poet, he had evidently nothing to complain of
Scottish hospitality. In a letter to Drummond after his
return to London he speaks, with an evident recollection of
jovial meetings, of " the beloved Fentons, the Nisbets, the
Scotts, the Livingstones, and all the honest and honoured
names with you." We know also that he visited the district
of the Lennox, and that he was much impressed by Loch-
lomond, whose wonders had been celebrated by the chroniclers
from Gregory of Monmouth downwards. Leith and Edin
burgh, however, would seem to have been his headquarters,
and it was in Leith that Taylor met him,3 and profited by
his generosity. His stay at Hawthornden and Drummond's
report of him belong to literary history. Among the notes
that Drummond took of his conversation there is nothing to
indicate his general impressions of the country and people he
had put himself to so much trouble to visit, but we are
justified in inferring that his impression, like Taylor's, was a
kindly one. While in Scotland he had actually made notes
1 See Professor Masson's Drummond of Hawthornden (pp. 85-111) on
Jonson's visit to Scot d. " Seep. 104 below. 3 See p. 126 below.

XX11 INTRODUCTION.
for future use, and from a letter to Drummond we learn
that, with the view of at once producing some memorial of
his tour, he had asked for further information regarding the
things of which he meant to write. " I am arrived safely,"
he writes, " with a most catholic welcome, and my reports
not unacceptable to His Majesty. He professed, I thank
God, some joy to see me, and is pleased to hear of the
purpose of my book ; to which I most earnestly solicit you
for your promise of the inscriptions at Pinkie, some things
concerning the Loch of Lomond, touching the Government
of Edinburgh to urge Mr James Scott, and what else you
can procure for me, with all speed. Especially I make it
my request that you will enquire for me whether the
students' method at St Andrews be the same with that of
Edinburgh, and so to assure me, or wherein they differ."
From this it would seem that he thought of writing a
narrative that should combine topographical with historical
matter in a fashion that would make it of solid value to
those who really wished to know the true character of the
northern kingdom. It was also part of his purpose to write
a pastoral poem with Loch Lomond for its subject, but this
purpose, like the other, came to nothing. In a poem written
on the fire that burnt his lodgings in 1620, he mentions
among papers that were destroyed,
"  my journey into Scotland
Sung with all the adventures,"
from which it would seem that his memorials of his Scottish
tour had finally taken the form of Horace's account of his
journey to Brundisium. As it is, Jonson's visit to Scotland
remains one of those picturesque incidents in the life of a
man of letters, which owe their interest solely to the
individuality of the person to whom they are attached.
From the date of Jonson's visit till the end of the 17th
century there is no lack of travellers who left both full and
intelligent accounts of Scotland and its people. Brereton,
Jorevin, Tucker, Franck, Morer, and Brome cannot be
neglected by any one who would know the Scotland of the
17th century. With the narratives of these travellers in our
hands, therefore, we have the less reason to regret that the

INTRODUCTION. XX111
voluminous literature regarding Scotland which sprang from
the Cromwellian occupation of the country, contains little or
nothing which comes within the scope of our present
purpose. Absorbed in their political and ecclesiastical
schemes, Cromwell and the other officers of the Parliament
in their letters on Scottish affairs never diverge into matter
which does not directly bear on the object they have in
hand. The same remark holds of one of the most singular
personages who ever made his way into Scotland, George
Fox, the founder of the Quakers. The pages of Fox's
Journal which refer to Scotland have certainly an interest
of their own, but it is an interest exclusively religious and
ecclesiastical. Fox evidently found Scotland no very promis
ing field for his new gospel. The lowland Scots were " a dark,
carnal people ; " x and as for the Highlanders, he says that
they " were so devilish they had like to have spoiled us and
our horses ; for they ran at us with pitchforks ; but through
the Lord's goodness we escaped them, being preserved by
His power." 2 At Edinburgh he was summoned before
" Cromwell's Council ; " from Perth he was bodily ejected by
its citizens ; and everywhere he seems to have been received
with little favour by the bulk of the people, and to have
. met with special opposition from the clergy of all denomina
tions. He thus closes his record of his Scottish mission ;
"When first I set my feet upon the Scottish ground, I
felt the seed of God to sparkle about me like innumerable
sparks of fire. Not but that there is abundance of thick
cloddy earth of hypocrisy and falseness that is a top, and a
briar ly, brambly nature, which is to be burnt up with God's
word, and ploughed up with the spiritual plough, before
God's seed brings forth heavenly and spiritual fruit to his
glory. But the husbandman is to wait in patience." 3
Among foreign visitors to Scotland it was hardly to be
expected that the number of artists would be either very
numerous or very distinguished. Scotland was too poor a
country, and led far too precarious a national existence to
have leisure or disposition to pay any serious heed to the
mere decoration of life. During the period with which we
are concerned, some half-a-dozen completes the list of those
1 Fox's Journal, vol. i. p. 412 (edit. 1827). 2 Ibid., p. 411. 3 Ibid., p. 461.

xxiv INTRODUCTION.
artists who either paid flying visits to the country, or received
so much encouragement as to make it their home. In 1503
" au Inglis payntour," variously known as Mynour, De Mayne,
and Maynard, came to the court of James IV., bringing with
him " ye figures of ye king [Henry VII.], queene, and princes
of England, and our queene."1 It is significant that he was
persuaded to remain for two months, and that the king made
good use of his skill during his stay. It is not till the reign
of James VI., indeed, that we hear of an officially recognised
court-painter ; and when we first hear of the office, it is a
Fleming, Arnold Bronkhorst, who holds it.2 To Bronkhorst's
successor in office, Adrian Vansoum, also a foreigner, we
probably owe the well-known portrait of Bollock, the first
principal of the University of Edinburgh.3 It was a Fleming,
James de Witt, who, by the order of James, Duke of York,
painted that extraordinary series of the " portraits " of the
kings of Scotland which adorn the walls of Holyrood Palace.
According to the contract he was to paint one hundred and
ten portraits in two years, his payment being at the rate of
£120 per annum. De Witt bitterly complained that by this
arrangement he received less for the whole gallery than Sir
Godfrey Kneller did for two full-lengths. But even these
hard terms were not kept, for De Witt was eventually
dismissed without full payment of the sum that had been
pledged to him.4 David le Grange, the co.urt-limner in
Scotland to Charles the Second, seems to have had still
stronger reason than De Witt to regret that he had ever
come so far north in the exercise of his calline. In a
petition he presented to his Majesty he prays for " 76 lib
due for work done in Scotland," and urges the pressing-
necessities of himself and miserable children ; his sight and
labour failing him in his old age, whereby he is forced to
rely on the charity of well-disposed persons.5 Another
foreign artist, however, Sir John de Medina, who came to
Scotland after 1686, found more generous patronage than De
Witt or Le Grange. Having settled in Edinburgh, he
became the favourite portrait-painter of the day, and plied
his art so prosperously that "there are few old Scottish
1 Brydall, Art in Scotland, p. 48. 2 Ibid., p, 69. 3 This was David Laing's
opinion. 4 Art in Scotland, pp. 84, 85. 6 Ibid., p. 100.

INTRODUCTION. XXV
houses without a specimen of his work." Both honour and
riches came to Medina. He was one of the last Scottish
knights made by the Lord High Commissioner before the
Parliamentary Union ; he was courted by all the best society
of the Scottish capital, and he bequeathed to his son and
successor in his art both wealth and an assured position.1
The Maps.
The author of the first map in this volume has not
been ascertained. Attention was first drawn to it by Tom
Martin, who exhibited it to the Society of Antiquaries in
London in 1768. At the sale of Martin's library in 1774 it
was purchased by Gough, the author of British Topography,
with the rest of whose papers it passed to the Bodleian
Library. Writing to George Paton, the antiquary, Gough
says that it was supposed " to be of the time of one of our
Edwards." On the other hand, Cosmo Innes, who reproduced
it in the Nationcd Manuscripts of Scotland (part iii.), is
disposed to place it considerably before 1300.2
Our second map is that which appears in the chronicle of
Matthew Paris, and according to Sir Frederick Madden is by
the chronicler's own hand.3 As Matthew Paris died in 1259,
this map must also be referred to the thirteenth century.
That the one differs so widely from the other need not
surprise us, since, as will abundantly appear throughout this
volume, the most conflicting notions regarding the geography
of Scotland prevailed till at least the end of the sixteenth
century. As the names of the places in both of these maps
have been given in full, it is unnecessary to point out their
respective peculiarities.
The third map is reproduced from an atlas printed at
Dusseldorf in 1595 at the expense of the heirs of Gerard
Mercator. As being less known, it is here given in preference
1 There is an interesting account of Medina in the Scotsman of June
4, 1884, by Colonel Fergusson. 2 This map was also published in reduced
facsimile, with a four-page folio account, by "W. B. Sanders of the Ordnance
Survey (Southampton, 1875). 3 This map appears in the only MS. of M. Paris's
Chronicle that is known to exist. An account of this map will be found in the
National Manuscripts of Scotland, part ii. It is with the kind permission of
Stair Agnew, Esq'., of the Register House, Edinburgh, that both of these maps
are here reproduced from the National MSS. C

XXVI INTRODUCTION.
to the maps of Scotland in Speed, Camden, and in Blaeu's
Atlas. Though inferior to all these, Mercator's map proves
that by the close of the sixteenth century geographers had
arrived at a fairly accurate conception of the country.
According to Gough the earliest printed map of Scotland is
that of Bishop Lesley,1 which on a reduced scale appears in
certain copies of his De Origine, Moribus, et Rebus Gestis
Scotorum, published at Rome in 1578. Lesley's map marks
a vast improvement on the geographical knowledge of
Scotland, which is shown by such visitors to the country as
Ayala and Estienne Perlin,yet it falls considerably short .of that
of Mercator, which appeared only seventeen years afterwards.
In the Atlas of Abraham Ortelius (Plantin, Antwerp, 1592),
we can distinctly trace the advance of geographical science
during the last years of the sixteenth century. While inferior
to that of Mercator, Ortelius's map is in most points clearly
superior to Lesley's. In the map of Scotland given by Speed
(1611) we again mark the improvement made on that of
Mercator, and in Blaeu's map (1662) we have a representa
tion of Scotland which has been improved upon only in
comparatively recent years.2
1 This map is in the copy of Lesley in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.
Im many copies it does not appear. 2 As is well known, in Ptolemy's
map of the British Islands, Scotland is made to trend eastwards towards
Denmark. This error was generally recognised by geographers from at
least early in the sixteenth century. It is pointed out, for example,
in the Isolario of Benedetto Bordone (p. 11, Venice, 1533). Bordone
in his Atlas gives two maps of the British Islands, one according to
Ptolemy, the other according to the moderns. In the latter, however,
the whole of Scotland represented is a narrow strip of land completely
detached by an intersecting channel from England. The famous Servetus,
under the name of Michael Villanovanus, published an atlas in 1535,
in which he simply reproduces the British Islands of Ptolemy. In a
subsequent edition (1541), however, he represents Scotland as stretching
directly northwards from England, but with no approach to correctness of
outline. Even till near the close of the sixteenth century atlases continued
to appear in which Scotland was set down according to Ptolemy.

Map of 15™!?) Century ft-om Bodleian Library. Author unknown.

iEM*'

MAP OF 13th (?) CENT

Insula De Orkeney

Enuernesse

Rosse
Comitatus
de Rosse

Comitatus de Murreif

Aberdene

Kildromy
Murreflf Comitatusde Marr

enderburi [Inve

Monthe colli
hie vnum
passagium

Colly mumtrossi

Elgy[n]

Wyke

ComitatusDe Catnesse

Catnesse

ternewey
Sotherland

Comitatus De
Boghane

Month Capelle
hie vnum pas
sagium

Comitatus de
Sotherland

hie ha-
bundant lupi

Plaga de Baunagd
[District of Badenoch]

abribrothokdata in li
Sancti Thoi
Cant

Colgarth
hie maxima
venacio

Plaga que
dicitur Loren

Les Outisles [The Outer Isles]

URY. Author unknown.

May

erbervie] dundee

basse twede
Sancti Andree dunbarr
dentaloune
kyngorn hadyngton Berwike
"Whense Coldyngham
[f. "Weems] hales Lowthiane mons chiuioth
Edenburgh lawedre mewros [Melrose]

Cas of Comitatus
Goure De Fyf
drighyn
se [Brichen] Couper Lomond mons
Glaumyes
k fun- fforfar Thanis Castell
iionore S. Johannis hie passagium
>me de drippes
Scone fluv. Eran Comitatus de
Menteth Cumbrenald
logh tay pons Aghmore
n isto lacu tria Comitatus dunblane

lithcowe fluv. ledre Rokesburgh ermitage
streuelyn Pebles Jedworth fluv. eske

Byger fluv. teuiot
lanarc croweford hawyk Vada de
locus dictus sulway
polcor anan
fluvius anane

nirabilia, insula
aatans pisces
iine intestinis
'return sine
rento

De Strathere

bothuill

aqua elide

douglas

loghmaban

Dunkeldyn

Glaskowe Ruglyn

Kyle

dromfres
f. loghenawe

Cumnock
fluv. done
fluv. kile
Comitatus de Conyngham fluv. Dee
Leuenax paslay Comitatus
dunbretayne De Carryk
kynwenyn [Kilwinning]
Plaga de Bugodre [Balquhidder] " Irwyn loghdone Candida Casa
Are

Comitatus
De Athels

dull

Insula de bote

^IPi^^P^^p^^^pff^^

^r^lPfS^iS^^

^S-L

K

Map of MaUhew Paris. (^Century)

ssii^^pwiBPffgg Bg

.1 &¦?#-; ~y* ¦.&• pSjl

dentil*' <±^— ""~~^i&! ¦ &;<&,

i dm
M fer'n

!. t

B K

h--4

[hee] pars inter aqui-
[lo]nem et austrum
[tan]tum mare res
[pici]t ubi nil est nisi
[mo]nstrorum habi-
[ta]tio. Verumtamen ibi
[inu]enitur insula
. . etum fortissimo.

This part, from north
to south, looks only to
wards a sea where there
is nought but the abode
of monsters. However,
an island exists there.

MAP OF MATTHEW

Pelagus vastissimum et inuium

patria palustris et inuia pecudi-
bus et pastoribus apta

Regio i
gente
pastoiet hai
Castrum
dinkeual

Insula
columkilli Pars maritima et
gens montana
Tyren insula

Galeweia

Man North Wallia
Snaudun

Dunbritun

SCOCIA hee et

fluv-clud

fluuius faciens Cludesdale
Eegio Scotorum conterm
Murus diuidens scotos et p

Murus diuidens anglos et pi

MAP OF MATTHEW I

A boundless and trackless sea

Island of
Columkille

A mourn procb
A country marshy and impassable, pasta
fit for cattle and shepherds and fi
Castle of
Dingwall
Dunbarton
SCOTLAND
This is al

A maritime district and a
race of mountaineers
Island of Tyree
Galloway

River making Clydesdale
Country of the Scots Boi
Wall dividing the Scots an

Man
North Wales
Snowdon

Riv. Clwyd

Wall separating the Angli

Clydesdale

1 Only the names in the Scottish seel

>ARIS (13th CENTURY).1

nontuosa et nemorosa
m incultam generans et
ralem propter mariscum
rundinetum

MaiKatenes

haberdeen Aberbrothot
Suthernelande

Brachium

Dunde

ciuitas
sancti andree

Orkades Insule

VLTRA MARINA
albania dicta est

fif

Dunfermelin
estriuelin pons

transitus Regine

laodonia

Insula
transitus Insula
comitis edeneburc

Insula
Insula

unorum Lctos olim
Melros
abhatia
ictos olim

Glaseu
Rokesburc

tuedesdale Berewic
Montes chiuieti

PARIS (13th CENTURY).

itainous and woody region,
ucing a people rude and
iral, by reason of marshes
fens

May
Caithness

Aberdeen Abirbrothock
Sutherland

Arm of
the sea
City of
St Andrews

Dundee

BEYOND THE SEA
Iso called Albany Fife
Dunfermline
Stirling Bridge Queensferry
Lothian

rderers d Picts of old
MelroseAbbey and Picts of old

Glasgow

Island
Earlsferry Island
Edinburgh
Tweedale

Orkney
Islands

IslandIsland

Roxburgh

Berwick
Cheviot Hills

hee pars
respioit
Norwegian! a borea

hee pars
respicit Daciam ab
oriente

This part
looks to
wards Nor
way on the
north

This part
looks towardsDacia on
the east.

tion of Matthew Paris's map are given here.

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57
EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND.

EDWARD I.
(1295).
OF all the visits to Scotland recorded in the present collec
tion this " Voyage of Kynge Edwarde " alone was of
national importance. By the conclusion of that "Voyage,"
Scotland had been deprived of her king, and had been made a
dependency of the English crown. As the narrative refers
to one of the best-known periods of Scottish history, little
is needed by way of introduction. By the support of
Edward I., John Baliol had been crowned King of Scots in
1292, under the express condition of the superiority of
England. As the Scottish nation could never be brought
to recognise this superiority, the opportunity of Edward's
troubles with Erance and Wales was promptly seized for
throwing off the English yoke. An alliance (memorable as
the beginning of a foreign policy on the part of Scotland)
was formed with Norway and Erance, and a Scottish army
crossed the border on what proved to be an unsuccessful
invasion of England. This was, in truth, the very occasion
which Edward wanted, as the end of his policy towards
Scotland was that she should have no king to stand between
himself and the country. With an army of 30,000 foot and
4000 heavy-armed horse, therefore, he began his conquering
march through Scotland, and it is of this march, fraught with
such momentous consequences to an entire nation, that the
following narrative is the brief and bald record.
The author of the " Voyage " has not been ascertained ;
A

2 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1295.
but the minuteness of his details proves that he attended
the army throughout its march. His narrative was first
published in 1826, simultaneously and independently, by
Nicolas in the Archceologia (vol. xxi.), and by Tytler in the
Bannatyne Miscellany (vol. i.). The text of Nicolas (which
is followed here as being the more intelligible to the modern
reader) was produced from the collation of three manuscripts
in the British Museum, checked by another written in
Norman-French. Independently, Tytler had come upon two
other manuscripts also in the British Museum, and of earlier
date than those discovered by Nicolas, and from a collation
of these published a text in the Bannatyne Miscellany. In
1834 the Bannatyne Club also published the text of the
Norman -French MS., in which the spelling of the proper
names differs considerably from that of the texts of Tytler
and Nicolas.
As throwing light on one or two points in connection
with this momentous expedition of Edward, the narrative
has a distinct historical value ; but we produce it here for
the topographical and even social interest which it also
undoubtedly possesses. The occasional comments of its
author derive a certain value from the haphazard manner in
which he makes them, and the strange disguise in which
well-known names appear give a piquancy to his record that
make it more than an archaeological relic.

Hebe Followbth the Voyage of Kynge Edwarde into
Scotland, with all his Lodgyngs Bryefly Ex
pressed (Archwologia, vol. xxi. p. 478).
IN the xxiiij yer of the raigne of King Edwarde, Ester daie
was on the daie of the Annunciation of owre Lady, and
on the Wednesdaie in the Ester weke beyng the xxviij day
of Marche passed Kynge Edwarde the forenone the Ryver of
Twede with v thousand horses coverid and xxx*' thousand
fotemen, and laie that nyght in Scotland at the Priori of
Calderstreme ; * and the Thursdaie at Hatton ; 2 and the
Fridaie toke the towne of Barwyk upon Twede by force of
1 Coldstream. " Now Hutton. In Blaeu's map of Scotland it appears as
Hutoun.

1295.] EDWARD I. 3
amies withought tarieng.1 The Castell was geven up the
same daie by the Lorde William Dowglas, whiche was in it
and the Kynge in the said Castell all that nyght and his
hoste in the towne, everi man in the house that he hath
gotten and the Kynge taried ther almoste a monthe. And
on Saint Georges daie the xxiij day of Aprill cam newes to
the Kynge that they of Scotland had besegeid the Castell of
Dunbarre that longed to the Erie Patrik2 the whiche holded
strongly with the Kynge of England. And on the Mundaie,
the Kynge sente his men to areyse the siege but before thei
cam the Castell was geven up the same daie, and the Scottis
wer in it when the Englishmen cam to it and did assige it
with iij hostes on the Wednesdaie that they cam ther; and
the Tuesdaie they that wer within sende owte privyly;
and the Thursdaie and Fridaie cam the hoste of the Scottis
ner (near) them aboute none (noon) to have raysid the siege of
the Englisshmen, and when the Englisshmen se them come
towarde them, then the Englysshmen ran to the Scottis and
discomfitedid them and did overcome them, and the chase
did dure well x myles of waie untill it was evenyng ; and
ther died the Lorde Patrik of Grealnn 3 a great lorde and x
thousand and lv by right accompte. And the same Fridaie
cam the Kyng from Barwyk to goo to Dunbarre and laie
that night at Coldynghm ; 4 the Saturdaie at Dunbarre ; and
the same daie they of the Castell gave over at the Kynges
pleasure, and ther was in it therle of Acelelles," the erle of
Roos,6 therle of Monetet,7 Syr John Comyn of Bedvaasok,s the
son of Syr Richard Suard,9 Syr William Saintler (Sinclair) and
i lij skore men of amies and vij skore fotemen. Ther taried the
Kynge iij daies ; the Wednesdaie Ascencion even the Kynge
went to Hadyngton ; the Sundaie after to Lowedere ; 10 the
1 In the storming of Berwick, the king, mounted on his horse Bayard, was tho
first who won the outer dyke ; and the soldiers, animated by the example and
presence of their king, carried all before them. Eight thousand, or according to
Knighton (p. 2480), seventeen thousand, persons were slain in the sack of
Berwick. " Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, called Patrick with the black beard, wasa
steady partisan of Edward ; but his countess, who hated the English, delivered
the castle to her countrymen. 3 Hemingford (vol. i. p. 96) gives this high
character of Graham, "a valiant knight amongst the wisest in the kingdom,
and noblest among the noble." 4Coldingham. 5Athol. 6 Ross. 7Monteith.
8 Badenoch. This was the Comyn afterwards slain by Bruce in the church of
tho Grey Friars at Dumfries. 9 Siward. 10 Lauder.

4 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1295.
Mundaie to Rokesbrough x at the Graie Freres, the Kynge
lodgeid ther Tuesdaie at the Castell, and the Kynge taried
there viiij daies. And the xvth daie went to Gardeford ; 2
the Thursdaie to Wiel ; 3 the Fridaie to Castelton ; the
Sundaie bak ageyn to Wiell ; the Mundaie to Gaydeford ;4
the Fridaie to Rokesbrough ; the Mondaie after to Lowdere ;
the Tuesdaie to the Abbey of Neubattaill ; the Wednesdaie
to Edenbrough the abbey, and causid ther to be set up iij
engyns castyng into the Castell day and nyght ; and the
v"1 daie thei spake of pees ; the viij1'1 daie the Kynge went to
his bedde to Lunsta,5 the engyns castyng stille before the
castell. The Thursdaie wente to Estrevelyn,6 and they that
were in the castell ran away, and left non but the Porter,
which did render the keyes: and theder cam therle of
Stradern 7 to the pees ; and the Kynge tarried ther v daies.
The Wednesdaie before Saint Johns daie the Kynge passed
the Scottish se s and laid at Entrearde 9 his castell, the
Thursdaie to Saynt Johns, a metely goode towne, and ther
abode Fridaie, Satordaie, and Sundaie, which was Saint
John Baptist daie; the Mundaie went to Kynge Colowen
Castell;10 the Tuesdaie to Clony castell,11 and ther abidde v
daies ; the Munday after to Entrecoit Castell ; 12 the Tuesday to
Forfar castell, a good toune; the Friday after to fernovell ;1S the
Saturdaie to Monorous14 castell and a good toune, and ther
abidde Sundaie, Mondai, and Tuesdaie ; and ther cam to hym
Kynge John of Scotlande to his mercy, and did render quietly
the Realme of Scotlande, as he that had done awys.10 Also ther
cam to merci therle of Marre, therle of Bochan,16 Syr John
Comyn of Badenasshe,17 and many oder. The Wednesdaie
1 Roxburgh Castle was surrendered to Edward by James the Steward of
Scotland, who swore fealty to England, and abjured the French alliance.
2 Jedburgh, generally in old writers called Gedworde. s "Whitekiik, which in
Speed's map of Scotland appears to the south-west of Jedburgh Abbey. It is
in the parish of Castleton. * Jedburgh. 5 Linlithgow; in an earlier manu
script, viz., that printed by Tytler, this name appears as Linnisca. 6 Stirling.
7 Strathearn. 8 The Firth of Forth. 9 In other MSS. Lutreard, Outreart, and
Cutreard. The position indicated, and the spelling Outreart, prove this place
to be Auchterarder. 10 Kinclavin Castle on the Tay. For present condition of
this castle, see M'Gibbon and Ross's Architecture, vol. i. 67. n Cluny.
13 Inverqueich Castle in parish of Alyth. Iu Speed's map it appears as
Interguit. ls Farnell, near Montrose. 14 Montrose. 15 Baliol did penance for
his insubordination in his churchyard of Stracathro. 16 Buchan. 17 Badenoch,

1295.] EDWARD I. 5
went to Kynge Carden 1 a faiour manour ; the Thursdaie to
the mountaigne of Glowberwy;2 the Wedeninesdaie to a
manour in the Dounes 3 amonge the mountaignes ; the Satur-
daie to the cyte of Dabberden,4 a faire castell and a good
towne upon the see, and taried ther v daies ; and thedar was
brought the Kynges enemy Syr Thomas Worhne,5 Sir Hugh
Saint John did take and xij with hyra. The Fridaie after
wente to Kyntorn 6 manner ; the Saturdaie to Fyuin7 Castell;
the Sundaie to Banet Castell;8 the Mundaie to incolan
maner;9 the Tuesdaie in tentis in Lannoy10 upon the ryver
to repenathe u maner in the counte of Morenue ; the Thurs
daie to the cite of Deigni,12 a good Castell and a good towne,
and taried . ther ij daies ; the Sundaie to Posers Maner.13
The Kynge sente the same daie Syr John Cantelow,14 Syr
Hugh Spencer and Syr John Hastynges to serche the countrey
of Badenasshe and sente the Bishopp of Dwreysm 15 with his
people over the mountaynes by another way then he wente
hymselfe ; the Mundaie he wente into Interkeratche,10 wher
ther was no more then iij houses in a rowe between too
mountaignes. The Tuesdaie to Kyndroken17 castell be-
longying to the erle of Marre and ther taried Wednesdaie,
Sainte Peturs daie, the first daie of Auguste; on Thurs
daie to the hospitall of Kyncarden in the Marnes;18
the Saturdaie to the citie of Breghem ;19 the Sundaie
to the Abbey of Burbro-do-chd,20 and it was said that the
abbot of that place made the people [of Scotlande] beleve
that there was but women and no men in Englande ; the
Mundaie to Dunde ; the Tuesdaie to Balygernatthe,21 the
redde Castell ; the Wednesdaie to Saint John of Perte ; 22 the
1 Kincardine. 2 Glenbervie. r' Durris Castle, near Aberdeen ? 4 Aberdeen.
5 Warham. 6 Kintore. 7 Fyvie. 8 Banff. 9 Invercullen, or Cullen. I0 The
district of Enzie (variously spelled Ainie, Ainzia), to the east of the mouth of
the Spey. The I is simply the French article. u This may be Balvenie (in
Speed, Bevany). "Elgin. In Tytler d'Aigin. 13Kothes. " Cantlow.
15 Durham. 16 Innerquharanche in the parish of Calbrach in Aberdeenshire.
In Gordon of Straloch's map Lnerclieraeh. 17 Kildrummy; in Rymer's Foedera
often written Kyndromyn. Speed has a Kindrok, which he places in Mar.
For present condition of this castle, see M'Gibbon and Ross's Architecture,
vol. i. 108. 18 The Mearns. Evidently a blunder for Kincardine ONeil,
where there was a hospital. 19 Brechin. 20 Aberbrothock or Arbroath.
21 Baledgarno in the Carse of Gowrie. 22 St John's Town of Perth. It was at
this time that Edward visited Scone, and gave orders that the " Stone of
Destiny " should be translated to Westminster.

6 EARY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1295.]
Thursdaie to the Abbey of Loundos,1 and taried ther the
Fridaie, Seynt Lawrence daie. Saterdaie to the Cite of
Saint Andrew, a castell and a good towne ; the Sundaie to
Merkynch,2 wher as is but the churche and iij houses.
Mondaie to the abbey of Donffremelyn,3 ther as all the
moste of the Kynges of Scottes lieth. The Tuesdaie to
Strevelyn, and taried ther Wednesdaie owre Lady daie ; the
Thursdaie to Lansen;4 the Fridaie to Edenbrough, and
tber taried Saturdaie ; Sundaie to Hadyngton ; Mundaie to
Pikelton,5 by Dunbarre ; Tuesdaie at Coldyngham ; Wednes
daie at Barwik ; and conquerid and serchid the Kyngdom
of Scotland as ys aforesaid in xxj wekys withought any
more. 1 Lindores in Fife. 2 Markinch in Fife. 3 Dunfermline. 4 In Tytler,
Lunsen, i.e., Linlithgow. 5Pinkerton ; in Blaeu, Fynkerton.

JEAN FROISSART
(Reign of David IL).
TEAN FROISSART, priest, canon, and treasurer of the Col-
*-* legiate Church of Chimay, was born at Valenciennes
about 1337. Although intended for the church, all his natural
tastes would seem to have suggested a secular calling ; for,
by his own account, from his earliest years he " loved to see
dances, jousts, and late vigils, and fair beds for refreshment,
and for my better repose, a night draught of claret or
Rochelle wine, mingled with spice." At the age of twenty,
by the command of his " clear lord and master, Sir Robert of
Namur, Lord of Beaufort," he began his history of the
French wars, basing the earlier part of his narrative on the
chronicles of Jean le Bel, canon of Lieige. With the por
tion of his history he had written he proceeded to England,
and presented it to Philippa of Hainault. the wife of Edward
III. After acting for some time as Clerk to the Queen's
Chamber, he returned to the Continent ; and thenceforth, till
within a few years of his death, his life was spent in travel
ling between France, England, and Italy. His one object
in all his wanderings was to make himself acquainted at
first hand with the actors and events whose history it was
his ambition to chronicle, " to the end that brave men, taking
example from them, may be encouraged in their well-doing."
About 1390 he settled clown in Flanders to the accomplish
ment of his task, which appears to have engaged him to the
close of his life. The exact date of his death is unknown ;
but as in his chronicles he narrates events that happened in
1400, he must have lived into the fifteenth century.
Froissart himself tells us what opportunities he had of
becoming acquainted with the Scots and their country.
" In my younger clays," he says, " I had been in Scotland as
far as the Highlands (la sauvage Eeosse), and as at that time

8 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND.^**"' [

I was at the court of King David, Lwas acquainted with
the greater part of the nobility of that country." Else
where, he tells us that he was altogether six months in
Scotland, that he was for fifteen days the guest of Sir William
Douglas 1 at Dalkeith Castle, and that he travelled on
horseback, with his portmanteau behind him, and accom
panied by a greyhound.
The translation here given is that of Thomas Johnes,
which was made the subject of an article on Froissart
by Sir Walter Scott in the Edinburgh Review (1805). In
literary quality the translation of Johnes is far inferior to
that of Lord Berners ; and in passages of Froissart, which
owe tlieir main interest to the manner of the writer, the older
translation is always to be preferred. In such extracts as
those here given, however, the faithfulness of the trans
lation is the chief point to be considered ; and Scott, who
does not conceal his preference for Berners, admits that
"in a historical point of view there can be no comparison
betwixt the usefulness of Mr Johnes's translation and
Lord Berners's." The Scots on their Military Expeditions
(Froissart, Chronicles, vol. i. chap. 17).
HPHE Scots are bold, hardy, and much inured to war.
-L When they make their invasions into England, they
march from twenty to four-and-twenty leagues without halt
ing,2 as well by night as day ; for they are all on horseback,
except the camp-followers, who are on foot. The knights and
esquires are well mounted on large bay horses, the common
people on little galloways. They bring no carriages with
them, on account of the mountains they have to pass in
Northumberland ; neither do they carry with them any pro
visions of bread or wine ; for their habits of sobriety are
such, in time of war, that they will live ' for a long time on
flesh half sodden, without bread, and drink the river water
without wine. They have, therefore, no occasion for pots or
pans ; for they dress the flesh of their cattle in the skins,
1 Nephew of the good Lord James. 2 By leagues, both according to Berners
and Johnes, we are to understand miles.

bavid ii.] JEAN FROISSART. 9
after they have taken them off; and, being sure to find
plenty of them in the country which they invade, they carry
none with them. Under the flaps of his saddle, each man
carries a broad plate of metal ; behind the saddle, a little
bag of oatmeal : when they have eaten too much of the
sodden flesh, and their stomach appears weak and empty,
they place this plate over the fire, mix with water their oat
meal, and when the plate is heated, they put a little of the
paste upon it, and make a thin cake, like a cracknel or
biscuit, which they eat to warm their stomachs : it is there
fore no wonder, that they perform a longer day's march than
other soldiers.
A French Army in Scotland — the French Opinion of
the Scots (1385) (vol. ii. chaps. 2 and 3).
The French army that was bound for Scotland had very
favourable winds, for it was in the month of May when the
weather is temperate and agreeable. They coasted Flanders,
Holland, Zealand, and Friesland, and advanced until they
approached so near Scotland as to see it; but before they
arrived there, an unfortunate accident befel a knight of
France and an expert man-at-arms, named Sir Aubert
d'Angers. The knight was young and active, and to show
his ability he mounted aloft by the ropes of his ship com
pletely armed ; but, his feet slipping, he fell into the sea,
and the weight of his armour, which sunk him instantly,
deprived him of any assistance, for the ship was soon at a
distance from the place where he had fallen. All the
barons were much vexed at this misfortune, but they were
forced to endure it, as they could not any way remedy it.
They continued their voyage until they arrived at Edin
burgh, the capital of Scotland, where the king chiefly resides
when he is in that part of the country.1 The Earls of
Douglas and Moray, from the information they had received,
were waiting for them in Edinburgh ; and as soon as they
were come, hastened to meet them at the harbour, and
1 John Major, in quoting Froissart's remarks regarding Edinburgh, states
that for a hundred years before his own day it had been almost constantly the
residence of the kings of Scotland {Hist. Maj. Brit., lib. i. cap. vi.). Major's
history was published in 1521.

10 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [david ii.
received them most amicably, bidding them welcome to their
country. The Scots barons instantly recognised Sir Geoffry
de Charny, for he had resided full two months with them
last summer in Scotland. Sir Geoffry made them acquainted,
as he very well knew how, with the admiral and the barons
of France. At that time the king (Robert II.) was not at
Edinburgh, but in the Highlands 1 of Scotland : his sons
received them handsomely, telling them the king would
shortly be there.
They were satisfied with this information, and the lords
and their men lodged themselves as well as they could in
Edinburgh, and those who could not lodge there were
quartered in the different villages thereabout. Edinburgh,
notwithstanding it is the residence of the king, and is the
Paris of Scotland, is not such a town as Tournay or Valen
ciennes ; for there are not in the whole town four thousand
houses. Several of the French lords were therefore obliged
to take up their lodgings in the neighbouring villages, and
at Dunfermline, Kelso, Dunbar, Dalkeith, and in other
villages. News was soon spread through Scotland that a large
body of men-at-arms from France were arrived in the
country. Some began to murmur and say, " What devil has
brought them here ? or who has sent for them ? Cannot
we carry on our wars with England without their assistance ?
We shall never do any effectual good as long as they are
with us. Let them be told to return again, for we are
sufficiently numerous in Scotland to fight our own quarrels,
and do not want their company. We neither understand
their language nor they ours, and we cannot converse
together. They will very soon eat up and destroy all we
have in this country, and will do us more harm, if we allow
them to remain amongst us, than the English could in battle.
If the English do burn our houses, what consequence is it to
us ? We can rebuild them cheap enough, for we only
require three days to do so, provided we have five or six
poles and boughs to cover them." Such was the conversa
tion of the Scots on the arrival of the French : they did not
1 As Tytler suggests, King Robert was probably at his palace of Stirling,
which Froissart would regard as "en la sauvage ]3cosse."

D-^m n.] JEAN FROISSART. 11
esteem them, but hated them in their hearts, and abused
them with their tongues as much as they could, like rude
and worthless people as they are.
I must, however, say that, considering all things, it was
not right for so many of the nobility to have come at this
season to Scotland : it would have been better to have sent
twenty or thirty knights from France, than so large a body
as five hundred or a thousand. The reason is clear. In
Scotland you will never find a man of worth : they are like
savages, who wish not to be acquainted with any one, and
are too envious of the good fortune of others, and sus
picious of losing anything themselves, for their country is very
poor. When the English make inroads thither, as they
have very frequently done, they order their provisions, if
they wish to live, to follow close at their backs ; for nothing
is to be had in that country without great difficulty. There
is neither iron to shoe horses, nor leather to make harness,
saddles, or bridles : all these things come ready made from
Flanders by sea ; and, should these fail, there is none to be
had in the country.
When these barons and knights of France, who had been
used to handsome hotels, ornamented apartments, and castles
with good soft beds to repose on, saw themselves in such
poverty, they began to laugh, and to say before the admiral,
" What could have brought us hither ? We have never
known till now what was meant by poverty and hard living.
We now have found the truth of what our fathers and
mothers were used to tell us, when they said, — ' Go, go,
thou shalt have in thy time, should'st thou live long enough,
hard beds and poor lodgings ; ' all this is now come to pass."
They said also among themselves, — " Let us hasten the object
of our voyage, by advancing towards England : a long stay
in Scotland will be neither honourable nor profitable." The
knights made remonstrances respecting all these circum
stances to Sir John de Vienne, who appeased them as well
as he could, saying, — " My fair sirs, it becomes us to wait
patiently, and to speak fair, since we are got into such diffi
culties. We have a long way yet to go, and we cannot
return through England. Take in good humour whatever
you can get. You cannot always be at Paris, Dijon, Beaune,

12 EARLY TRAVELS IX SCOTLAND. [david ii.
or Chalons : it is necessary for those who wish to live with
honour in this world to endure good and evil.
By such words as these, and others which I do not
remember, did Sir John de Vienne pacify his army in Scot
land. He made as much acquaintance as he could with the
Scottish barons and knights ; but he was visited by so very
few it is not worth speaking of ; for, as I have said before,
there is not much honour there, and they are people difficult
to be acquainted with. The Earls of Douglas and Moray
were the principal visitants to the lords of France. These
two lords paid them more attention than all the rest of
Scotland. But this was not the worst, for the French were
hardly dealt with in their purchases ; and whenever they
wanted to buy horses, they were asked, for what was worth
only ten florins, sixty and a hundred : with difficulty could
they be found at that price. When the horse had been
bought there was no furniture nor any housings to be met
with, unless the respective articles had been brought with
them from Flanders. In this situation were the French ;
besides, whenever their servants went out to forage, they
were indeed permitted to load their horses with as much as
they could pack up and carry, but they were waylaid on
their return, and villainously beaten, robbed, and sometimes
slain, insomuch that no varlet dared go out foraging for fear
of death. In one month the French lost upwards of a hun
dred varlets ; for when three or four went out foraging not
one returned, in such a hideous manner were they treated.
The French and Scots marched back x the way they
had come. When arrived in the lowlands, they found the
whole country ruined ; but the people of the country made
light of it, saying, that witli six or eight stakes they would
soon have new houses, and find cattle enow for provision ;
for the Scots had driven them for security to the forests,
You must however know, that whatever the French wanted
to buy, they were made to pay very dear for; and it was
fortunate the French and Scots did not quarrel with each
other seriously, as there were frequent riots on account of
1 From the invasion of England, for the purpose of which the French had
come to Scotland.

david II.] JEAN FROISSART. 13
provision. The Scots said, the French had done them more
mischief than the English ; and when asked, " In what
manner?" they replied, "By riding through their corn, oats,
and barley, on their march, which they trod under foot, not
condescending to follow the roads, for which damages they
would have a recompense before they left Scotland ; 1 and
they should neither find vessel nor mariner who would
dare to put to sea without their permission." Many knights
and squires complained of the timber they had cut down,
and of the waste they had committed to lodge themselves.2
When the admiral, with his barons, knights, and squires,
were returned to the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, they
suffered from famine, as they could scarcely procure provision
for their money. They had but little wine, beer, barley,
bread, or oats : their horses, therefore, perished from hunger,
or were ruined through fatigue ; and, when they wished to
dispose of them, they could not find a purchaser who would
give them a groat either for their horses or housings. These
lords remonstrated with their commander on the manner in
which they were treated, a circumstance well known to him
self. They said, "they could not longer endure such diffi
culties, for Scotland was not a country to encamp in during
the winter ; and that if they were to remain the ensuing
summer, they should soon die of poverty. If they were to
spread themselves over the country, to better their condi
tion, they were doubtful if the Scots, who had so villainously
treated their foragers, would not murder them in tlieir beds,
when they should be divided."
The admiral, having fully weighed what they said, saw
clearly they were justified in thus remonstrating; notwith
standing, he had intentions of wintering there, and of sending
an account of his situation to the King of France3 and
Duke of Burgundy, who, as the admiral imagined, would
1 This independence of spirit in the Scottish peasantry must have been
forcibly brought home to the French knights by its contrast with the abject
temper of their own jacquerie, whose wrongs issued in the frightful insurrec
tion of 1358. 2 As will afterwards be seen, the scarcity of wood in the Low
lands of Scotland rendered its careful preservation the subject of special
legislation. It is worth noting that the French brought the same charge of
rapacity against the Scots who served in France (Major, Hist. Maj. Brit.,
lib. i. cap. vii.). 3 Charles VI., then a boy, and under guardians.

14 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [david ii.
hasten to him reinforcements of stores, provision, and money,
with which, in the course of summer, he would be enabled
to carry on an advantageous war against the English. But
having considered how ill-intentioned the Scots were, and
the danger his men were in, as well as himself, he gave
permission for all who chose to depart. But how to depart
was the difficulty, for the barons could not obtain any vessels
for themselves and men. The Scots were willing that a
few poor knights who had no great command should leave
the country, that they might the easier govern the rest.
They told the barons of France "that their dependants, when
they pleased might depart, but that they themselves should
not quit the country until they had made satisfaction for
the sums that had been expended for the use of their
army." This declaration was very disagreeable to Sir John Vienne
and the other French barons. The Earls of Douglas and
Moray, who pretended to be exasperated at the harsh con
duct of their countrymen, remonstrated with them, that they
did not act becoming men-at-arms, nor as friends to the
kingdom of France, by this behaviour to its knights ; and
that henceforward no Scots knight would dare to set his
foot in France. These two earls, who were friendly enough
to the French barons, pointed out the probable effect their
conduct would have on their vassals ; but some replied, " Do
dissemble with them, for you have lost as much as we."
They therefore told the admiral, they could not do anything
for him ; and, if they were so anxious about quitting Scot
land, they must consent to make good their damages. The
admiral seeing nothing better could be done, and unwilling
to lose all, for he found himself very uncomfortable, sur
rounded by the sea, and the Scots of a savage disposition,
acceded to their proposals, and had proclaimed through the
realm, that all those whom his people had injured, and who
could show just cause for amends being made them, should
bring them their demands to the admiral of France, when
they would be fully paid. This proclamation softened the
minds of the people ; and the admiral took every debt on
himself, declaring he would never leave the country until
everything was completely paid and satisfied.

david II. j JEAN FROISSART. 15
Upon this many knights and squires obtained a passage
to France, and returned through Flanders, or wherever they
could land, famished, and without arms or horses, cursing
Scotland, and the hour they had set foot there. They said
they had never suffered so much in any expedition, and
wished the King of France would make a truce with the
English for two or three years, and then march to Scotland
and utterly destroy it : for never had they seen such wicked
people, nor such ignorant hypocrites and traitors. The
admiral wrote to the King of France and Duke of Burgundy,
by those who first returned, a full state of his situation,
and how the Scots had acted towards him: that if they
wished to have him back, they must send him the full
amount he had engaged to pay the Scots, and for which
he had bounden himself to the knights and squires of
Scotland : for the Scots had declared, that they had at
this time made war for the King of France and not for
themselves ; and that the damages which the French had
committed must be satisfied before they would be allowed
to return, which he had promised and sworn to perform to
the barons of Scotland.
It was incumbent on the King of France, the Duke of
Burgundy, and their councils, to redeem the admiral, for
they had sent him thither. They had the money instantly
raised, and deposited in the town of Bruges, so that the
whole demand of the Scots was paid to their satisfaction.
The admiral left Scotland when he had thus amicably
settled matters, for otherwise he could not have done it ;
and, taking leave of the king, who was in the highlands,
and of the Earls of Douglas and Moray, was attended by
them to the seashore.

JOHN HARDYNG
(Reign of James I.).
THE following quaint itinerary is taken from The Chronicle
of John Hardyng in Metre from the first Begynnyng of
Englande unto the r eigne of Ediuctrd the Fourth.1 Hardyng
was sent to Scotland by Henry V. and Henry VI. to obtain
certain deeds which were supposed to confirm the superiority
of England. In his chronicle he tells us that after many
toils and dangers, in the course of which he received an
incurable wound, he obtained the documents he was in
search of on the payment of 450 marks. Sir Francis
Palgrave has shown that every one of these instruments is
a forgery ; and as Hardyng was a well-informed antiquary,
he now stands in a somewhat dubious light. But even if
we suppose him to have been guilty of a deliberate forgery,
this does not affect the value of his description of Scotland,
as in this case he had no reason to say anything besides
the simple truth. Indeed, as Hardyng was three years and
a half in Scotland, he speaks with fuller knowledge of the
country than any other traveller in the present collection.
It will be seen that his picture of Scotland during the
fifteenth century is much more favourable than that usually
presented by the historians. By selecting his authorities
in support of a foregone conclusion, Buckle, in his well-
known sketch of Scotland during this period, gives the
impression that the country was little better than a
wilderness. It is remarkable, however, that two observers,
Hardyng, and the Spaniard, Pedro de Ayala, should indepen
dently have left us a picture of Scotland during the fifteenth
1 In Part ii. of the National Manuscripts of Scotland will be found three
maps with topographical notes by Hardyng. These notes seem to have been
the materials which he afterwards wrought into his chronicle in the verses
given above.

[james i.] JOHN HARDYNG. 17
century suggestive at once of settled industry and a fair
amount of comfort, throughout the greater part of the country.
Hardyng thus indicates the object of his report, illustrat
ing with a grim unconsciousness the ceaseless purpose of
England to bring Scotland under her supremacy : " How the
maker of this booke reporteth the distaunce and miles of the
tounes in Scotland, and ye waye how to conveigh an armie
as well by lande as water, into the chiefest partes thereof."
The precise date when Hardyng visited Scotland cannot be
¦determined ; but it must have been early in the reign of
Henry V. His chronicle, written in his advanced age, was
originally intended for the special behoof of Richard, Duke
¦of York. As it was not completed in its final form, how
ever, till York's death, Hardyng presented it to his son,
Edward IV

The Chronicle of John Hahdyng (p. 423, Ellis's
NOWE to 'expresse unto your noble grace
The verie waye bothe by sea and land,
With the distaunce of tounes and every myles space,
Through the chefest parte of all Scotland,
To conveigh an armie that ye maye take in hand,
Herafter shall folowe in as good ordre as I maye,
The true discripcion, and distaunce of the waye.
From Berwike to Dombarre twenty miles 1 it is,
And twelfe miles forward unto Haddyngtoune,
And twelfe miles from these to Edenburgh I wisse,
To Lithko twelfe, and so Northwest to Bowne,2
Twelfe miles it is unto Sterlyng toune
Besouth Foorth, that ryver principal!
Of right faire waye, and plentiful! at all.
Wher y your navy at Leith may rest saufly,
With all your vitayles, a mile from Edenburgh,
And after at the Blacknesse,3 whiles as ye ly,
At Sterlyng toune, whiche is the kynges burgh,
1 The reader will correct Hardyng's measurements for himself. 2 Bo 'ness.
3 A castle on a headland in Linlithgowshire to the west of Queensferry. B

18 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [ JAMES I.
And wynne that shire, all whole out through :
So shall your navy, at your necessitee,
Bee at your hand still, your army to supplie.
From Sterlyng then over the river of Foorth,
Passe alongest the brydge to Camskinelle ]
And if it bee broken toward the North,
Unto the foorde of Tirps 2 under the fell ;
Then spede you westward, thre miles as men tell,
Wher ye maye passe to the downe 3 of Menteth,
Whiche passeth from y* Foorth thre miles unneth.4
Then fro the downe, a waie ye have right faire,
Throughout Monteth, and eke Clakmannam shire,
And so through Fiffe to Falkeland to repaire,
Lx- Thirty long miles, without mosse or myre :
For so it is compted, with horse and carte to hyre,
From Sterlyng eastward, and the highe Oyghylles,6
Whiche some mene call montaignes, and some felles.
From Falkland then to Disert towne, south east,
Twelfe myles it is, of fayre ready waye,
And from Falkland to Saynte Andrewes, east,
But other xii myles, wythouten an ye naye,
Wher the byshoppes see is, and castell as thei say,
And at Knagorne,0 and Disert may ye mete,
You for to uytayle 7 al your Englysh fleete.
Than ride northwest from S. Andrewes towne,
Alongest the South syde of the water of Taye,
Up to the burgh of Saynte Jhons towne,8
Right North from Fyfe, a countrie freshe and gay,
And from saynt Androws xxiiii myles they say,
A pleasant grounde and fruitfull countrey
Of corne and cattel, with prosperitie.
Which countrey of Fyfe along the Scottish sea,9
And from saynt Androws, to the Oyghles, they say,
Is xliiii myles longe of good countrey,
1 Cambuskenneth. In Speed, Clamskenar. - Drip, the lowest ford on the
Forth. 3 Doune, the principal town of Monteith. 4 Hardly. 5 Ochills.
6 Kinghorn. 7 Victual. 8 Perth. 9 Firth of Forth.

James I.] JOHN HARDYNG. 19
And somtyme in bredth vi myles of fayre way,
But from Logh Leven eastward, without nay,
Of ryght good way, briefly to conclude,
Xii myles conteyne it dothe in latitude.
At Ennerkethen 1 and Saynt Margarete,2 I hope
Your navy maye receave uytayle in that countre,
Alongest the Water of Foorth, as I can grope,
Wyth hulke, and barge, of no smal quantite,
You to supporte in your necessytee,
- So that ye maye not in those countryesfayle, i
To have for your armye redye uytayle.
Then to S. Jhons towne, upon the water of Tay,
Within Strathren,3 that standeth fayre and stronge,
Dytched about syxtene foote depe, I saye,
And xx foote on breadthe overwhart to fonge4
Yt is northest xx myles full longe ;
And nere to Scone abbay, within myles thre,
Wher alwayes thei crowne their kinges maieste.
Whyche water of Tay is so navygable,
From the East Sea to Saynt Jhons towne,
,For all suche shippes as bee able
Fortie tunne of wyne to carry up and doune,
For vitallyng and keping of the toune ;
Unto the whych so floweth the water of Taye,
That all the dytches it fylleth nighte and daye.
At the whych toune passe over the brydge ye shall
With all your armye, hostyng through that land;
Wher in Angus, that countree pryncypall,
The Kerse of Gowry doth lye I understand,
A plentifull countree, I you warrande,
Of corne and catell, and all commoditees,
You to supporte in your neeessytees.
Betwyxt the mounthes s and the water of Tay,
Whych some do cal mountaynes in our language,
1 Inverkeithing. 2 St Margaret's Ferry. 3 Strathearn. 4 To measure
across. John Major states that Perth was the only walled town in his day
(Hist. Maj. Brit., lib. i. cap. vi.). Yet in 1450, immediately after the
Battle of Sark, Edinburgh was enclosed by walls (Wilson, Memorials of
Edinburgh, p. 17, ed. 1886). 5 The Grampians.

20 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [james I.
Passe eastwarde with your army daye by daye,
From place to place with small cariage,
For your navy shall you mete in the viage,
At Portincragge,1 shorte waye from DundejT
With vitailes to refreshe your whole armye ;
Beside the stuffe and vitaill of that lande,
Which ye shall fynde in the countre as ye go,
And market made alwayes to your hande,
Of all theyr vytayles, althoughe they bee your fo.
Now from S. Jhons towne, the soothe to say is so,
Xviii myles it is to the towne of Dundye,
The pryncypall burgh, by northe the Scotyshe see.
Than ryde Northeast all alongest the see,
Ryght from Dunde to Arbroith as I mene,
Than to Monrosse, and to Barvye,
And so through the Meernes to Cowy 2 as I wene,
Then xii myles of moore passe to Aberdyne,
Betwyxt Dee and Done a goodly cytee,
A marchaunt towne and universytee.
Of the whych waye xxx myles there is,
Of good corne lande, and xx large extente,-
Full of catell and other goodes I wysse,^.
As to moore lande and heth dothe wele appente,3
From Brichan cytee to the orient,
Where doothe stande upon the see,
f A goodly porte and haven for your navye.
Where that the same may easely you mete,
To vitayle your armye, whersoever ye go,
Over all the mountaynes, drye mosses and wete,
Wher the wild Scottes do dwel, than passe unto,
That is in Mare and Garioth4 also,
In Athill, Rosse, Sutherland, and Chatnesse,5
Mureffe (Moray). Lenox, and out ysles I gesse.
i Tayport, or Ferry Port on Craig. The name Portincray was once applied to
Broughty and its adjacent lands on the opposite side of the Forth (Cosmo
Innes, Sketches of Early Scottish History, p. 146). 2 Cowie, the district imme
diately to the north of Stonehaven. 3 Suit. 4 Garioch. 6 Caithness.

JAHEji I.] JOHN HARDYNG. 21
And when ye have that lande hole conquered,^
Returne agayne unto Strivelyne,
And from thence to Glasco homewarde,
Twenty and foure myles to S. Mongos shrine,
Wherw' your offeryng ye shall from thence decline,
And passe on forthwarde to Dumbertayne,
A castell stronge and harde for to obteine.
In whiche castell S. Patryke was borne,1
That afterwarde in Irelancle dyd wynne,
About the whyche floweth, even and morne,
The westerne seas without noyse or dynne,
When forth of the same the streames dooe rynne,
Twyse in xxiiii houres, without any fayle,
That no man may that stronge castell assayle.
Upon a rocke so hye the same dothe stande,
That yf the walles were beaten to the rocke,
Yet were it full harde to clymbe with foot or hand,
And so to wynne, yf any to them approche,
So strong it is to get without reproche ;
That without honger and cruell famyshemente,
Yt cannot bee taken to my judgemente.
Than from Glasgo to the towne of Ayre,
Are twentie myles and foure wele accompted,
A good countree for your armye everywhere ,
And plenteous also, by many one recounted,
For there I was, and at the same I mounted,
Towarde Lamarke 2 towne xxiiii myles,
Homeward trudging for feare of Scottish giles,"
From the towne of Ayre in Kyle to Galloway,
Through Carryct (Carrick) passe unto Nithysdayle,
Where Dumfryse is. a pretye towne alwaye,
\ And plentifull also of all good vytayle
'' For all your army, wythout any fayle ;
So that kepying this journey, by my instruction,
That realme ye shall bring in subjeccion.
1 Neither the place nor the date of St Patrick's birth is known. Kii
patrick (named from the Saint himself), near Dumbarton, is only one of many
places that have been suggested. 2 Lanark. 3 Guiles.

22 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [james I.
Then from Domfrise to Carlill, ye shall ride
Xxiii miles of veray redy waye ;
So maye ye wynne the lande on every syde,
Within a yere, withoute more delaye :
For castelles there is none, y* withstande you may,
Nor abide your seage against your ordinaunce,
So simple and weake is their purveiaunce.
And yf ye like, good lorde,1 at home to abide,
With litell cost your wardens ye may sende,
Charging theim all, with hostes for to ride,
In proper persone, through wynter to thende,
With morow forraies 2 they may them sore offend,
And burne Jedburgh, Hawike, Melrose, and Lader,
Codingham,3 Donglasse, and the toune of Dombarre.
Then send an hoste of footemen in
At Lammesse next, through all Lawdendayle,4
And Lammermore woddes and mossis over rynne,
And else therwith the Stowe of Weddale,5
Melrose lande, Etoyke forrest, and Tyvydale,
Lyddis-dale, Ewys-dale,c and the Ryngwodfelde,7
To the Creke Crosse,8 that ryden is full selde.
The wardens then of bothe the marches twoo,
To bee tlieir stayle ° and eke their castelles strong,
Them to reskewe from enemies wher ever thei go
With fleying stayles, to folowe theim ay emong,
Lest nor their foes theim suppresse and fong,10
And every night to releve to the hoste,
And lodge together all upon a coast.
And also than at the next Myghelmesse,11
The West warden to Domfryse ryde he maye,
Four and twentie myles from Carelyl as I gesse,
And than passe forthwarde through Galowaye
1 Edward IV. 2 Future forays. 8 Coldingham. 4 Lauderdale. e Wedale,
between the Leader and Gala, called the Vale of Woe by the interpolator of
Nennius. 6 Ewesdale. 7 Within the lands of Rodonnald, Ettrickhead, or Esk-
dalemoor. 8 Appears as Craykcross in a commission to Sir William Scott of
Branxholm by Queen Mary (The Scotls of Buccleuch, ii. p. 196). 9 Stell is used
iu the sense of a strong place (Nare's Glossary, edited by Halliwell and Wright),
and stayle is probably the same word. The meaning of the two lines seems to be
that the wardens were to give efficient support to the invading army. The
wardens would then'be " flying stayles." 10 Make captive. u Michaelmas.

.tames i.] JOHN HARDYNG. 23
To Carricke after, into good araye,
And then from thence to the towne of Ayre
IJji- Kile, that countree, plentifull, and fayre.
Next than from Ayre unto Glasgew go,
\A goodly cytee and universitee,
Where plentifull is the countree also, '
Replenished well with all commoditee ;
There maye the Warden of the East marche bee,
And mete tlie other twayne as I wene,
Within tenne dayes, or at the moost fyftene.
The thyrde army from Barwyke passe it shall,
Through Dumbarre, Edenburgh, and Lytliko,1
And then to Sterlyng, with their power al,
And nexte from that unto Glasgo
Standyng upon Clyde, and where also
iOf corne and cattell is aboundaunce,
Youre armye to vittayle at all suffysaunce.
Thus these thre armies at Glasgew shall mete,
Well arayed in theyr armour clene,
Which homward from thence thei shal returne complete,
Four and twentie myles to Lamarke so shene,2
To Pebles on Twede, is syxtene myles I wene,
To Soltray 3 as muche, then twentie miles w' spede ;
From thence returne they shal to Wark on Twede.
Within a moneth this lande maye bee destroyed, I
All asouth Forth, if wardens wyll assent,
So that our enemies shal bee sore annoied,
And wasted bee, and eke for ever shent ; 4
If wardens thus woorke, after mine intent,
They maye well quenche the cruell enmitee,
This daye by South all the Scottishe see."
Now of this matter I have sayed mine intent,
Like as I could espye and diligently inquire,
Whiche if it may your highnesse well content,
It is the thing that I hartely desire ;
And of your grace no more I dose require,
But that your grace will take in good parte,
Not only my peines, but also my true harte.
1 Linlithgow. 2 Beautiful. 3 Soutra. 4 Destroyed. 5 The Firth of Forth.

AENEAS SYLVIUS
(Reign of James I.).
7|T\NEAS SYLVIUS PICCOLOMINI (Pope Pius IL),
J-A-Li born in 1405, is one of the most curious and interest
ing figures in the long line of the Papacy. "A Gil Bias of the
Middle Ages " — such is the character his easy morals and
equivocal career have gained for him. The child of poor but
noble parents, he was sent at the age of eighteen to study law at
Siena. At twenty-six he accompanied a certain cardinal to the
Council of Basel in the capacity of secretary ; and in the service
of the various masters he successively served, he visited almost
every country of Europe. Keen-witted, insinuating, the most
agreeable of companions, devoid of all nice scruples, iEueas
was an invaluable agent in the tortuous policy that followed
the long schism in the popedom. At the age of forty he took
orders with the sole purpose, as he himself frankly confesses,,
of bettering his worldly condition. He did not miscalculate,
as he was in succession made Bishop of Trieste, Cardinal of
Siena, and finally Pope under the title of Pius II. iEneas
ranks as one of the most distinguished of the Italian
humanists ; and in the bulk, as likewise the grossness of his
writings, he is surpassed by none of them.
Of his visit to Scotland, which took place in the reign of
James I., there are two accounts in his works, which do not
in every point agree. According to the one the object of his
visit was to effect a reconciliation between the king and a
certain bishop ; 1 according to the other his object was to
incite James to war against England.2 By the one account
he landed in England of his own accord, and was refused a
passport to Scotland ; 3 by the other he was driven on the
English coast, and betrayed to the government by spies.4
1 Commentarii Rerum Memorabilium, p. 4 (Frankfort, 1614). 2 OperaOmnia,
Pii II. Pont. Max. per Joan. Antoniuui Camp. Episcopum Aretinum Vita
(Basiles). 3 Commentarii Rerum Memorabilium, p. 4. 4 Opera Omnia. See
Life prefixed.

[james I.] ^ENEAS SYLVIUS. 25
Both accounts agree, however, in stating that he reached
Scotland by sea after a succession of storms which deprived
him of all hope of reaching laud. In his extremity JEneas
registered a vow that in the event of his life being spared he
would make a pilgrimage barefoot to the nearest shrine. No
one could well be less of an enthusiast or ascetic than iEneas,
and on this occasion he had good reason to regret his access
of pious feeling. " In fulfilment of his vow," says one of
his biographers, " he contracted the beginning of that disease,
which left its results in attacks of rheumatism that afflicted
him for the rest of his life. For, having gone all the way
to the shrine, a distance of 10 miles, barefooted on the frozen
ground, it was only by means of a litter that he could return
to the town." 1 His mission, whatever it may have been, was
not wholly successful, though the king treated him generously,
defraying his travelling expenses, and presenting him with two
horses, and a pearl, which iEneas destined for his mother.
Of the two extracts that follow the first is from the
De Europa, a geographical description of the various countries
of Europe ; the second from the Commentarii Rerum Memora
bilium, quae temporibus suis contigerunt.
Scotland : its Climate, its People, and their Habits —
iENEAs's Experiences in the Country (De Europa).
SCOTLAND is the remotest part of that island in which
England is situated. It stretches in a northerly direc
tion, possesses no large rivers, and is separated from England
by a mountain (quodam monte). Here I once lived in the
season of winter, when the sun illuminates the earth little
more than three hours. At that time James (I.) was king,
robust of person, and oppressed by his excessive corpulence.
Formerly made a captive by the English, he had been kept
a prisoner for eleven years ; 2 and on his return (with an ,
English wife) he was eventually slain by his own subjects.
After hjs death had been fully avenged, his son succeeded
him in the kingdom. I had previously heard that there was
a tree in Scotland, that growing on the banks of rivers
produced fruits in the form of geese, which, as they approached
1 Opera Omnia. iEneas calls the church Alba Ecclesia, which has been identi
fied with Whitekirk, near North Berwick. 2 James was eighteen years a captive.

7

26 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [james I.
ripeness dropped off of their own accord, some on the ground
and some into the water ; that those which fell on the ground
rotted, but that those submerged in the water immediately
assumed life, and swam about under the water, and flew into
the air with feathers and wings. When I made enquiries
regarding this story, I learned that the miracle was always
referred to some place further off, and that this famous tree
was to be found not in Scotland but in the Orkney Islands,
though the miracle had been represented to me as taking place
among the Scots.1 In this country I saw the poor, who almost
in a state of nakedness begged at the church doors, depart
with joy in their faces on receiving stones as alms.2 This
stone, whether by reason of sulphurous or some fatter matter
which it contains, is burned instead of wood, of which the
country is destitute.3
(Commentarii Rerum Memorabilium, p. 4.)
iEneas found the following facts relating to Scotland
worthy of mention. Scotland makes part of the same island
as England,4 stretching northwards 200 miles with a breadth
of 50. Its climate being cold, it produces few crops, and is
scantily supplied with wood. A sulphurous stone dug from
the earth is used by the people for fuel. The towns have no
walls^and the houses are for the most part constructed with-
\J out lime. The roofs of the houses in the country are made
of turf, and the doors of the humbler dwellings are made of
1 As will be seen, this story of the barnacles and the geese appears in the
succeeding narratives, down even to the end of the seventeenth century.
2 The earliest mention of the working of coal in Scotland is said to be in a
charter of date 1291 (Cosmo Innes, Sketches of Early Scottish History, p. 235).
The frequent mention of coal by the various travellers who visited Scotland
might suggest that it was widely in use in the Lowlands. The truth is, how
ever, that peat was the common fuel, and that coal was confined to a narrow
area. It will be seen that the descriptions of travellers, when tliey speak of
coal, mainly refer to the Lothians, where it was wrought from very early times.
3 From a misunderstanding of the term forest in ancient charters, Tytler and
others were misled to believe that the Lowlnnds of Scotland abounded in
timber. From Acts of Parliament of the reign of James I. (the period of
JEneas's visit), we gather that wood must have been a scarce commodity in
Scotland (2 James I. cap. 33, 34). All the travellers who visited Scotland
were struck by the general absence of trees. Dr Johnson's remarks on the.
subject are well known. 4 It should .be said that long after the time of
Sylvius, it was believed on the Continent that England and Scotland were
separate islands. This will appear in the sequel.

james i.] ^ENEAS SYLVIUS. 27
the hide of oxenj The common people are poor, and destitute
of all refinement. They eat flesh and fish to repletion, and
bread only as a dainty. The men are small in stature, bold
and forward in temper ; the women, fair in complexion, comely
and pleasing, but not distinguished for their chastity, giving
their kisses more readily than Italian women their hands.1
There is no wine in the country unless what is imported.
All the horses are amblers, and are of small size. A few are
kept for breeding, the rest being gelded. They are never
touched either with an iron brush or a wooden comb, and
they are managed without bit.2 The oysters of the country
are larger than those found in England. Hides, wool, salted
fish, and pearls 3 are exported to Flanders. Nothing pleases
the Scots more than abuse of the English. There are said
to be two distinct countries in Scotland — the one cultivated,
the other covered with forests and possessing no tilled land.
The Scots who live in the wooded region speak a language
of their own, and sometimes use the bark of trees for food.
There are no wolves in Scotland.4 The crow is unusual
in the country, and consequently the tree in which it builds
is the king's property.5 At the winter solstice in Scotland
(the season when iEneas was there) the day is not above four
hours long.6
His business in the country being finished, when he was on
the point of departure, the captain who had brought him to
Scotland came to him with the offer of the berth he had
previously occupied. iEneas, thinking rather of his former
dangers than divining fresh ones, replied : " If he has no right
1 Foreigners were struck by the same freedom of manners in English women
(see Rye, England as seen by Foreigners, pp. 90, 225, 261). Erasmus has an
amusing letter on this custom of kissing among English women (Epistolm, fol.,
Basil. 1558, p. 223). 2 Compare what Major says of the Scotch horses (Hist.
Maj. Brit., lib. i. cap. vi.). 3 In the beginning of the twelfth century the
pearls of Alexander I. excited the envy of an English church dignitary (Cosmo
Innes, Sketches of Early Scottish History, p. 228). 4 iEneas is here contra
dicted by an Act of Parliament (1427), wliich calls on the barons to extirpate
all wolves on their lands. 6 iEneas misunderstood his informant. From 1
James I. cap. 19, we learn that owing to the mischief done to the crops by
rooks, it was ordained that they shonld be prevented from building, and their
young destroyed. If the young birds were allowed to escape, the trees in
which they had built were forfeited to the Crown. 6 This statement, says
Major, "with all respect," must be regarded as a hyperbole. The shortest
day at Edinburgh, he adds, is six hours (Hist. Maj. Brit., lib. i. cap. iii.).

28 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [james i.
to accuse Neptune, who has twice risked his life, what shall
we say of him who should suffer shipwreck thrice ? For my
part I prefer the tender mercies of man to those of the sea."
So saying he dismissed the sailor, and decided to make his
journey homewards through England. As it happened, the
ship, which sailed immediately afterwards, had hardly left
the harbour when she foundered in a storm and went down
in sight of the shore. The master (who was returning to
Flanders to celebrate his second marriage) was lost with all
his crew save four, who escaped to the shore by floating on
boards. On hearing of this disaster iEneas at once concluded
that he owed his life to the special goodness of God.
Disguising himself as a merchant, he now made his way
through Scotland into England. A river, which descends
from a lofty mountain, forms the boundary of the two
countries. Crossing this river in a boat, he turned aside to
a large town, where he alighted at a farm-house.1 Here
with the priest of the place, and the host, he was entertained
to supper. There was abundance of hens, geese, and various
relishes, but no wine or bread. During supper the women
from the surrounding houses flocked to look on as if they
had never seen such a sight before, and stared at iEneas, as
in Italy the people stare at an Ethiopian or an Indian.2
" Of what religion is he," they ask ; " what has brought
him here ; is he acquainted with the Christian religion ? "
Having been cautioned beforehand, iEneas had provided
himself with a number of loaves and a measure of wine at
a certain monastery. When these were laid on the board,
the wonder of the barbarians was greater than ever, since
wine and white bread were sights they had never seen before.
Pregnant women and their husbands approaching the table
handled the bread and smelt the wine, and prayed that a
portion might be given them. As there was no avoiding it,
the whole had to be distributed amongst them.
1 The " large town " must be Berwick. At a very early period there were
bridges over the Tweed at Berwick ; but from 1294 till 1376 there was none.
At the time of iEneas's visit there appears to have been a wooden one (Scott
History of Berwick, p. 411). 2 The Indians or Ethiopians here referred to by
iEneas were in all probability gipsies, a band of whom had' recently appeared
in Italy, and excited the astonishment of the people. I am indebted for this
note to my friend Mr F. H. Groome, author of In Gipsy Tents.

james I.] jENEAS SYLVIUS. 29
At two o'clock in the morning (for the meal was pro
tracted to that hour), the priest and the landlord, rising
hastily, quitted the house, leaving iEneas behind. " They
were going," they said, " to a distant keep 1 for fear of the
Scots, who for purposes of plunder were in the habit of
crossing the river at ebb-tide during the night." iEneas
besought eagerly to accompany them ; but they gave no heed
to his entreaties. They were equally deaf to the prayers of
the women, though there were many handsome ones amongst
them, both married and unmarried. They give out that
strangers are safe at the hands of the Scots ; and as for the
women, they do not regard outrage done to them as any u
great misfortune.
Accordingly, with two male domestics and his guide,
iEneas was left among some hundred women, who, forming
a circle round the fire, spent the night in cleansing hemp,
and in lively conversation carried on through an interpreter.
A great part of the night had thus passed, when an uproar
arose from the barking of clogs and the cackling of geese.
The women at once fled in all directions and the guide along
with them. The confusion was as complete as if the enemy
were at the door. To iEneas the thought occurred that his
best course was to await the event in bed — that is to say,
in the stable ; since, ignorant as he was of the country, any
attempt to escape would have placed him at the mercy of
the first marauder he met. In no long time, however, the
women returned, and announced through the interpreter that
there was no need for alarm, and that the newcomers were
friends and not enemies. At daybreak iEneas continued his
journey, and reached Newcastle, which is said to have been
built by Caesar. Here for the first time it seemed to him
that he once more beheld civilisation, and a country with a
habitable aspect; for Scotland and' that part of England
adjoining it bear no resemblance to Italy, but are nothing
but a rugged wilderness, unvisited by the genial sun.2
i Possibly Norham Castle,' about 6 miles above Berwick on the banks of
the Tweed. 2 In the Piccolomini Library there is a series of frescoes executed
by order of Pius III. in illustration of various incidents in the career of iEneas,
and among them is one by Pinturichhio representing his reception by James I.
It is a purely conventional production, and has no suggestion of reality.

JACQUES DE LALAIN
(1448).
AS a quaint picture of the manners of the time, the
following account of the visit of a Burgundian knight
to Scotland could not well be omitted from the present
collection. Our extract is translated from a curious book
entitled : " Histoire du bon chevalier Messire Jacques de
Lalain frere et compagnon de l'ordre de la Toison d'Or:
Ecrite par Messire George Chastellain Chevalier, Historio-
graphe des Dues de Bourgougne Philippe le Bon et Charles le
Hardi."1 As its author seems to have had his information
from Lalain himself, or some one who accompanied him to
Scotland,2 his account may be regarded as virtually given at
first hand.
Jacques de Lalain, whose exploits are here recorded, was
the eldest son of a Burgundian noble of the court of
Charles the Bold. If we may believe his partial biographer,
Jacques had approved himself the doughtiest knight of his
time in Christendom. He had visited in succession the
courts of France, Spain, and Portugal, and matched himself
against all comers ; but had never once met his equal at
any knightly weapon. It had come to his ears, however,
that James Douglas, brother of William, Earl of Douglas,3
was a champion- with whom it was incumbent that he
should break a lance. With the permission of his liege
lord, the Duke of Burgundy, therefore, he dispatched a
herald to Douglas with a challenge couched in all those
1 The edition I have used is one published at Brussels in 1634, for which
I am indebted to Sheriff Mackay. 2 pp. 2,. 5 . 3 This was the Earl of
Douglas afterwards slain by James II. at Stirling (Hume of Godscroft,
History cf House and Race of Douglas, vol. i. p. 360). The James Douglas
challenged by De Lalain succeeded this William in the earldom (Godscroft,
ibid.). Godscroft, it may be said, makes no mention of the combat at Stirling
described by Chastellain.

[1448.] JACQUES DE LALAIN. 31
terms of high-flown courtesy, which the usages of chivalry
exacted. Douglas, with the consent of his sovereign
(James IL), wrote accepting the challenge in a letter as
graciously circumlocutory as that of the redoubtable Bur
gundian himself. Embarking in a vessel specially equipped
by himself and his companions, Lalain sailed for Scotland in
as gorgeous array as the court of Burgundy could supply.
Of his achievements there we leave his biographer to tell
the tale. As a rendering in modern phrase would effectually
have marred any interest the narrative may possess, the
original is here reproduced with all its circumlocutions and
endless iterations.
The end of Jacques de Lalain was not such as a hero of
chivalry might have desired. He was killed at the age of
thirty-two by a musket ball, thus falling at the same age
and in the same manner as the last and noblest of the
knights, Sir Philip Sidney. Lalain's biographer thus sums
up his character : " As regards his virtues there is no
human tongue, how eloquent soever, that were equal to the
full roll of them. He was a knight, pleasant, meek,
amiable, and courteous, a bounteous giver and full of pity.
Through all his life he was the help of widows and orphans.
He had been endowed by God with five gifts. And, in the
first place, he was the flower of knighthood; he was
beautiful as Paris the Trojan, he was pious as iEneas, he
was wise as Ulysses the Greek; when he found himself in
battle he had the wrath of Hector the Trojan ; but so soon
as he felt or knew that he carried it over his enemies, never
was man more debonnair or humble." 1
1 P. 308. In Sir Walter Scott's Diary (vol. i. p. 129, David Douglas,
Edinburgh, 1890), there is the following interesting reference to Chastellain's
chronicle: " Being troubled with thick-coming fancies, and a slight palpita
tion of the heart, I have been reading the chronicle of the Good Knight
Messire Jacques de Lalain. — Curious, but dull from the constant repetition
of the same species of combats in the same style and phrase. It is like
washing bushels of sand for a grain of gold. It passes the time, how
ever, especially in that listless mood when your mind is half in your book
and half in something else  Still things occur to me. Something
might be made out of the Pass of the Fountain of Tears, a tale of chivalry,
taken from the Passages of Arms, which Jacques de Lalain maintained for the
first day of every month for a twelve month. The first mention, perhaps, of
red-hot balls appears in the siege of Oudenarde by the citizens of Ghent."

32 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1448.
The combat of the Scots and Burgundian champions at
Stirling is thus dryly related in the Auehinleck Chronicle
{p. 40) : " The yer of God mccccxlvhi, the xxv day
of Februar, the master of Douglas, callit James, and twasom
with him, that is to say, James of Douglas, brother to the
larde of Lochlevyne, and the lard of Haukat, focht in the
barres at Strivling aganis twa knychtis and ane squyar of
Burgundy. And ther war thair names, Schir Jakkis de
Lalane, Schir Symond de Lalane, and the larde of Mon-
gavile, that was the squyar. And this was befoir King
James the Secund."

Histoire du bon Chevalier Messire Jacques de Lalain.
"TTTLIEN Messire Jacques and his company had arrived in
V V Scotland 1 the Scots who were with the same Maistre
James de Duglas came before Messire Jacques ; and when they
had come, they expressed a desire to know why he of Lalain
had sent his challenge to Maistre James de Duglas, and in such
wise as to show that they were not well content. Neverthe
less, he replied that it was neither for hatred nor envy nor
any evil wish whatsoever, but to do the greatest honour in
his power to one who came of such high descent, and was
besides of such great renown and courage, that he desired
his acquaintance more than that of any lord in the
.said kingdom of Scotland. So the friends of Maistre James
de Duglas were satisfied. When Messire Jacques de Lalain
and the said James de Duglas had spoken at length with
each other, they agreed that they should each choose two
•companions, men of rank and known in arms ; and so they
did. And for his part, Messire Jacques took his uncle,
Messire Simon de Lalain, lord of Montigny, and Hervd de
Meriadet ; and Maistre James de Duglas took as companions-
in-arms two noble and powerful lords, one of whom was
named the lord of Haguet,2 and the other was also named
1 According to the chronicle of d'Escouchy (SociiU de V Histoire de France,
i. p. 148), this visit of the Burgundian knights to Scotland was connected
with the marriage of James II. and Mary of Gueldres. As the dates cor
respond, this was probably the case, though Chastellain gives no hint of it,
making the visit turn entirely on De Lalain's challenge. 2 The laird of
Hacket.

1448.] JACQUES DE LALAIN. 33
James de Duglas — all of whom were renowned as valiant
knights, powerful in body and limbs.
The affair being thus concluded, the king of Scotland
agreed to be their judge, and appointed time and place, and
had the lists made ready at Stirling. After these arrange
ments had been made and the day fixed, both parties prepared
for the combat, and undertook to be in the lists on the clay
appointed ; and all six that they might with all honour
achieve their deeds of arms, were entertained by the king.
So after the festivities were over, the king ordered the said
Messire Jacques, Messire Simon his uncle, and Herve de
Meriadet, two notable knights, to take counsel with them
selves and act according to their -wont.
When the appointed day came, the king mounted his
throne : Messire Jacques de Lalain, and Messire Simon his
uncle, and Hervd de Meriadet entered the lists unarmed,
Messire Jacques and Messire Simon both being clothed in
long robes of black velvet, furred with martens, and
Meriadet in a short robe of black velvet, furred with
martens, their arms being carried before them in two coffers,
covered with the bearings of Messire Jacques de Lalain,
and very - richly broidered, and they were accompanied by
noblemen who had come with them, and also by those whom
the king had appointed to advise with them. And thus all
three dismounted before their pavilion, which they entered.
Then they went and did reverence to the King of Scotland.
Afterwards they returned to their pavilion where they found
their harness ready and fully adorned. So they armed them
selves at their ease, and had abundant leisure, for they had
come more than three hours before the others. The hour
appointed having come, the said Maistre James de Duglas,
the lord of Haguet, and James de Duglas arrived, and came
to the entrance of the lists, attended by a great company,
the Earl of Duglas and other great lords, knights, and other
people, who, it was said, amounted to fully four or five-
thousand men.1 Then the three champions, all armed, and
clad in their coats of mail, dismounted at their pavilion, and
afterwards all three went to do reverence to the King of
1 This statement is interesting as showing the number of retainers the
Douglas could bring into the field. C

34 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [l448.
Scotland, and all three prayed that he would confer on them
the order of knighthood, which he freely granted to them.
So he descended from his throne, aud made all three knights.
Messire Jacques, his uncle Messire Simon, and Meriadet
saw from tlieir pavilion the three knights above named
return from the presence of the King of Scotland, each clad
in his coat of mail. So they recognised them by their arms,
and they agreed among themselves that Messire Jacques
should fight Messire James de Duglas, and Meriadet the
lord of Haguet, who was renowned as the most powerful of
body, and Messire Simon should give his care to the other
James de Duglas ; and their arms were of this kind — they
were to fight with lances, axe, sword, and dagger a outrance,
or till the king signified his will; but at the request of the
above-named Scots, the throwing of the lance was forbidden,
for they trusted greatly in their lances.
So the uncle, the nephew, and Meriadet agreed among
themselves that they would neither fight with tlieir lances
nor throw them at their opponents, but that when they met
them they would cast their lances behind them, and fight
with their axes. Now, according to the rules of the combat,
each one might carry assistance to his comrade. Wherefore
Messire Jacques de Lalain said to Meriadet: "I believe that
you will be the first to dispose of your man ; nevertheless I
pray you with all the zeal I can that you will neither aid me
nor succour me in any way whatsoever, but permit me to
meet such fortune, be it good or ill, as God may please to
send me." Thus having spoken to each other, they resolved
that so they would act.
When the six champions were apparelled and ready to issue
from their tent, awaiting the proclamations, orders, and pro
hibitions that are wont to be made in the lists, straightway
with sound of trumpet were thrice proclaimed at the four
corners of the lists the conditions appointed by the King of
Scotland. And at the close of this proclamation issued forth
from their pavilion the said De Lalain and Meriadet armed
and adorned with all their blazons, clad in their coats of mail,
Messire Jacques de Lalain being between his uncle Simon
and Meriadet. Then the Scots issued from their pavilion
armed and emblazoned, each clad in his coat of mail ; and

1448.] JACQUES DE LALAIN. 35
Messire James de Duglas was between his companions.
And so, very proudly and with rapid steps they marched
agamst each other, which was a very fair and pleasant sight
to behold. And when they came near each other, because
the lord of Haguet was on the side of Messire Simon de
Lalain, the said Meriadet wished to cross before Messire
Jacques in order that he might have the lord of Haguet for
his foe, when Messire Simon said in a loud voice : " Let each
remain where he is ; " and in this order they went forward to
the combat.
Then the said Des Lalains and Meriadet threw their
lances behind them as they had agreed. Then they seized
their axes, and with much vigour began to fight and strike
at the Scots who defended themselves with their lances.
Messire James de Duglas fought with his lance ; but it did
not remain long in his hand : so he took his axe and fought
for a little time with it, but not for long, for Messire
Jacques soon made him lose it as he had lost his lance.
And this Messire James being very wroth, and disturbed at
seeing himself thus disarmed of his lance and his axe, at once
with great fury seized his dagger and so tried to strike
Messire Jacques in the face as he fought without his vizor
and with his face uncovered.1 But Messire Jacques seeing
him approach, with great force struck him a blow with his
left hand and made him stagger backwards. Notwith
standing this, Messire James sought with all his power to
strike him in the face. Then Messire Jacques threw away
his axe, and with his left hand seized Messire James by the
head-piece, and held him so fast that he could not approach
him, and with the right hand he drew his sword (wliich was
a short blade), holding it near the point to use it as a dagger,
for he had lost his own and did not know how (some say
that he who armed him did not arm him with this). And
thus he sought to make a dagger of the said sword, as has
been said, and sought to strike the said James with the
hand with which he held the beaver; and in trying to
strike him, the said blade fell from his hand and he was
1 From the descriptions of other combats in which De Lalain was engaged,
we gather that this was his habit. It was considered a special proof of his
confidence in his skill and strength.

36 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1448.
without a weapon. And when he saw himself disweaponed,
very swiftly and furiously he seized the said James with
both hands by the hollow of his head-piece, and by the strength
of his arm made hiin move backwards to the throne of the
king, twice lifting him off his feet with the intention of
throwing him on the ground, and so putting him out of
breath ; and in so doing he did rightly, for Messire James
fought in his basinet with closed vizor, while the said De
Lalain was without his vizor and breathed freely, it being
quite the contrary with Messire James, and this soon
appeared, when his vizor was removed after the king had
thrown down his truncheon. — Now let us leave this combat
of these two champions and return to the others.
We have told how Messire Simon de Lalain bore himself
in his rencounter with the lord of Haguet, and how (as was
said before) this lord of Haguet began to fight with his lance,
in which he put great trust. But it did not remain long
with him, for Messire Simon, who was an adroit, strong, and
hardy knight, and very expert in arms, quickly and furiously
made him lose his lance. Then both betook themselves to
their axes, with which they struck great blows at each
other, for they were both very tall and well furnished in
body and limbs ; and to look at them they seemed knights
of high order, and well they showed it that day. The lord
of Haguet was of great strength, and showed it by the great
blows that he rained on Messire de Lalain, which Messire
de Lalain knew well how to receive with his axe, and how
to strike great and terrible blows when he saw his chance
for his blow, and was lucky in delivering it. For beyond
all men he had command of his temper, and knew well how
to chafe his man. Very long, and over a great space of the
lists, and very valiantly they fought. But from the great
haste and ardour of the lord of Haguet to strike and overcome
Messire Simon, the combat did not last so long as it mio-ht,
for he began to weary, and to lose strength and breath.
Messire Simon, who was ready of device 1 and cool tempered,
seeing that time and fortune were telling for him, recom
menced with great liveliness and vigour to strike with thrust
and cut, and to wield with great force the axe which he
1 Imaginatif.

1448.] JACQUES DE LALAIN. 37
held; and so overwhelmed the lord of Haguet with the
blows of his axe that he drove him back along the length
•of the lists. And if the battle of these two had lasted
longer, the lord of Haguet, as all could see and know,
would have had the worst of it, and so it would have
happened, if they had not been parted by the king.
Now it is meet that we should speak of the valiant and
noble knight Breton Herve de Meriadet, who this clay met
and fought Messire James de Duglas, first cousin of the
-count of Duglas, who was a very noble knight of good frame
and skilful in arms. They disposed themselves for the
¦combat and attacked each other. The Scottish knight
lowered his lance, and tried to strike the said Meriadet in
the face with its point ; but he failed, and struck on the
sleeve of his coat of mail on the left arm ; and as he sought to
steady himself after the blow, his lance slipt under Meriadet's
left arm, and Meriadet swiftly entered within his guard, and
with a blow of his axe struck him on the side of his basinet,
•and bore him clown quite stunned, laying bare his face.
Then the said Meriadet, seeing his adversary on the ground
(since by the conditions of the fight each could carry assist
ance to his comrades) looked towards them with the inten
tion of bearing them help, if there was need. He perceived
that Messire James de Duglas, who was quick and agile, was
already on his knees and almost on his feet. Then he
returned upon him, took his axe in both his hands, and with
the shaft of the same at once levelled him with the ground
and stunned him with the blow, and made him fall extended
•all his length ; and it is the truth that if he had hastened
to slay him, he could easily have done so, and without blame
since the fight was a outrance. But neither of the two times
when he saw him on the ground did he wish to touch him,
which was nobly done, and ought to be set down to his
honour. Forthwith the said Meriadet turned his regard to
his comrades, and was making towards them to lend them
aid, which they did not need, when as swiftly as before the
Messire James de Duglas raised himself on his feet, axe in
hand, and the said Meriadet returned upon him, and they then
fought a long time, and like the others above named were laid
hold of (still fighting) by the guards, when the king threw

38 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1448.]
down his truncheon. But you should know that the noble
Squire Meriadet was of as excellent and powerful frame as
one could find. And all the remainder of the combat, after
Messire James de Duglas had regained his feet, was to the
great honour of the said Meriadet, who gave him very great
blows, beating him back, and having him at his will.
After all the feats of arms above narrated had been accom
plished, and when Messire James de Duglas and Messire
Jacques de Lalain were in the position we have described,
and when in the same manner Messire Simon de Lalain and
the lord of Haguet fought valiantly and well with tlieir
axes, the King of Scotland, who was on the throne, without
further delay threw down his truncheon. The guards, who
had been appointed for this purpose, laid hands on the six
champions as they had been ordered to do ; and all were
brought before the King of Scotland, who said that they
had all fought valiantly and well, that he held the combat
at an end, and that he wished that they should be good
friends. The trial of arms over, each returned to his
lodging. And some days after the king feasted them very
grandly, and gave them honourable gifts for which they
thanked him. After all the festivities, Messire Jacques de
Lalain, and his uncle Messire Simon, and the said Meriadet,
and those who had come with them to Scotland, took leave
of the king and departed.1
1 In the Scotichronicon (vol. ii. p. 515, Goodall's edit.) there is also a brief
reference to this combat of the Burgundian and the Scottish knights. The
chronicler assigns the palm to neither party ; but had the Scots come off with
greater honour, his words would have had a less uncertain sound. He thus
sums up the result of the duel: — " Et hi sex milites in uno campo coram rege
dimicaverunt apud Striveling ; cujus belli triumphus pro omni parte stetit
honore, regia disponente prudentia judicis."

DON PEDEO DE AYALA
(1498).
DON PEDEO DE AYALA, the writer of the following
letter, was the ambassador of Ferdinand and Isabella
at the court of James IV. He is described by Mr
Bergenroth (the editor of the Simancas Papers from which
the letter is taken) as "of agreeable manners, genial and
light-hearted," and as one who " made friends wherever he
went." He had, also, "a marked predilection for James,
who on his part was so attached to him that he called him
his father, and did not venture to decide on any great
question of state without asking his advice." The letter, it
should be said, was written by the express command of
Ferdinand and Isabella, who desired a full description of
Scotland and its king. It is dated 25th July 1498.
James IV. and His People
(Bergenroth, Simancas Papers, vol. i. p. 169).
THE king is twenty-five years and some months old. He
is of noble stature, neither tall nor short, and as hand
some in complexion and shape as a man can be. His address
is very agreeable. He speaks the following foreign languages :
Latin, very well ; French, German, Flemish, Italian, and
Spanish ; Spanish as well as the Marquis, but he pronounces
it more distinctly. He likes very much to receive Spanish
letters. His own Scotch language is as different from
English as Aragonese from Castilian. The king speaks,
besides, the language of the savages who live in some parts
of Scotland 1 and on the islands. It is as different from
i Professor Mackinnon informs me. that this is the latest statement with
which he is acquainted regarding a Scottish king's knowledge of Gaelic. At
the same time he suggests that as James V. was in the habit of wandering in
the Highlands, it is not improbable that he also spoke that language.

40 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1498.
Scotch as Biscayan is from Castilian. His knowledge of
languages is wonderful.1 He is well read in the Bible and
in some other devout books. He is a good historian. He
has read many Latin and French histories, and profited by
them, as he has a very good memory. He never cuts his
hair or his beard.2 It becomes him very well.
He fears God, and observes all the precepts of the Church.
He does not eat meat on Wednesdays and Fridays. He
would not ride on Sundays for any consideration, not even
to mass. He says all his prayers. Before transacting any
business he hears two masses. After mass he has a cantata
sung, during which he sometimes despatches very urgent
business. He gives alms liberally, but is a severe judge,
especially in the case of murderers. He has a great pre
dilection for priests, and receives advice from them, espe
cially from the Friars Observant,3 with whom he confesses.
Barely, even in joking, a word escapes him that is not the
truth. He prides himself much upon it, and says it does
not seem to him well for kings to swear their treaties as
they do now. The oath of a king should be his royal
word, as was the case in bygone ages. He is neither
prodigal nor avaricious, but liberal when occasion requires.
He is courageous, even more so than a king should be. I
am a good witness of it. I have seen him often undertake
most dangerous things in the last wars. I sometimes clung
to his skirts and succeeded in keeping him back. On such
occasions he does not take the least care of himself. He is
not a good captain, because he begins to fight before he has
given his orders.4 He said to me that his subjects serve
him with their persons and goods, in just and unjust quarrels,
exactly as he likes, and that, therefore, he does not think it
right to begin any warlike undertaking without being him-
1 Ayala's character of James, though coloured by the partiality of kindly
feeling, is in the main fully borne out by the historians. Buchanan's portrait
is as favourable as that of Ayala, though he denies to James any literary
accomplishment — "vitio tcniporis ab Uteris incultus," he says of him. 3tIn
the account given by Young, the Somerset herald, of the first meeting of
Margaret Tudor and James I V. , the king is described as having "hys Beerde
somthynge long " (Leland, Collectanea, vol. iv. p. 283). 3 A branch of the
Franciscan Order — so-called on account of the stricter rule by which they
bound themselves. Henry VII. also showed special favour to this body.
4 What Ayala here says was to be tragically proved ou the field of Flodden.

1498.] DON PEDRO DE AYALA. 41
self the first in danger. His deeds are as good as his words.
For this reason, and because he is a very humane prince, he
is much loved. He is active, and works hard. When he
is not at war he hunts in the mountains. I tell your
Highnesses the truth when I say that God has worked a
miracle in him, for I have never seen a man so temperate in
¦eating and drinking out of Spain. Indeed, such a thing
seems to be superhuman in these countries. He lends a
willing ear to his counsellors, and decides nothing without
•asking them ; but in great matters he acts according to his
own judgment, and, in my opinion, he generally makes a
right decision. I recognise him perfectly iu the conclusion
of the last peace, which was made against the wishes of the
majority in his kingdom.1
When he was a minor he was instigated by those who
held the government to do some dishonourable things. They
favoured his love intrigues with their relatives, in order to
keep him in their subjection. As soon as he came of age,
and understood his duties, he gave up these intrigues. When
I arrived, he was keeping a lady with great state in a
castle.2 He visited her from time to time. Afterwards he
sent her to the house of her father, who is a knight, and
married her. He did the same with another lady, by whom
he had had a son. It may be about a year since he gave
up, so at least it is believed, his lovemaking, as well from
fear of God as from fear of scandal in this world, which is
thought very much of here. I can say with truth that he
•esteems himself as much as though he were lord of the
world. He loves war so much that I fear, judging by the
provocation he receives, the peace will not last long. War
is profitable to him and to the country.
I will give an account of his revenues. Although I do
not know them to a certainty, I do not think that I shall
be- far wrong. I shall estimate them a little below their
real amount.
He has a revenue from arable and pasture lands, which
1 The seven years' truce with England concluded at Ayton in 1497. De
Ayala acted as James's commissioner on the occasion. 2 About the date of
Ayala's stay in Scotland, Joan or Janet Kennedy became James's mistress.
After he had cast her off, she was married to Archibald Bell-the-Cat (Preface
to Exchequer Rolls, vol. xii. p. xliii).

42 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1498.
are let by leases of three years.1 The farmers pay a fine
upon entry. This rent is said to amount to 50,000 pounds
Scotch, each pound Scotch being worth one Castiliano. I
rather believe that it amounts to 40,000 ducats.
Another revenue is that from the customs. The import
duties are insignificant, but the exports yield a considerable
sum of money, because there are three principal articles of
export, that is to say, wool, hides, and fish. The customs
are worth about 25,000 ducats a year.2 They have much
' increased, and still continue to increase. Another revenue
is that derived from the administration of the law. His
predecessors farmed it to certain persons called justices
(justiciaries), like our corregidores. This king does not like
to farm the administration of the law, because justice is not
well administered in that way. It is said that this revenue
amounts to more than 30,000 ducats, but I will .put it down
at only 25,000 ducats.
He has another revenue from his wards, which is very
considerable, and which offers good opportunities for reward
ing his servants. If lords, or gentlemen of the middle class,
in whatever part of the kingdom they may be, die and
leave children under twenty-two years of age, the king is
the guardian of them. He receives all their revenues till
they come of age. He lets or sells such guardianships.
He even sells the marriages of his wards, male and female.
When the ward comes of age, and the king gives him the
title of his father, or brother, or testator, he pays the
amount of one or two year's rent, or any other sum that is
agreed upon, into the exchequer of the king. I am told
that this is the richest source of revenue, but I will estimate
it at only 20,000 ducats.
He enjoys one year's revenue from the bishoprics and
abbacies for the presentation. He likewise receives all the
revenues of them during the vacancy of the see. The
1 Cf. Major (fits*. Maj. Brit., lib. i. cap. vi. ): — "Preeterea in Scotia rusti-
corum domus parvae tanquam casae sunt, et id rationis est, terras non habent
perpetuas, sed solum conductitias, sen ad firmans pro iv. vel v. annis,
secundum quod domino soli placet." 2 "While the gross revenue from the
customs in the reign of James III. amounted on an average to £3000, their
yield during the five years now in question (1497-1501) was, as has been seen,
only £3106 " (Preface to Exchequer Rolls, vol. xi. p. liii).

1498.] DON PEDRO DE AYALA. 43
same is the case with respect to other livings, for they are
all in his gift. I do not know to how much this amounts.
He has a rent from the fisheries, not in money, but in
kind, for his kitchen, and likewise from meat and poultry,
&c. This is his income, according to what I have been able
to ascertain, and to what I have seen. He is in want of
nothing, judging from the manner in which he lives, but be
is not able to put money into his strong boxes. I shall
speak hereafter of this.
The country is large. Your Highnesses know that these
kingdoms form an island. Judging by what I have read in
books and seen on maps, and also by my own experience, I
should think that both kingdoms are of equal extent. In
the same proportion that England is longer than Scotland,
Scotland is wider than England ; thus the quantity of land
is the same. Neither is the quality very different in the
two countries, but the Scotch are not industrious, and the
people are poor. They spend all their time in wars, and
when there is no war they fight with one another. It must,
however, -be observed, that since the present king succeeded
to the throne they do not dare to quarrel so much with one
another as formerly, especially since he came of age. They
have learnt by experience that he executes the law without
respect to rich or poor. I am told that Scotland has im
proved so much during his reign that it is worth three times
more now than formerly, on account of foreigners having
come to the country, and taught them how to live.1 They
have more meat, in great and small animals, than they want,
and plenty of wool and hides.
Spaniards who live in Flanders tell me that the commerce
of Scotland is much more considerable now than formerly,
and that it is continually increasing.
1 The foreigners here referred to must be the Flemings. " We can trace the
settlement of these industrious citizens," says Tytler, " during the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries, in almost every part of Scotland, — in Berwick,  in
St Andrews, Perth, Dumbarton, Ayr, Peebles, Lanark, Edinburgh ; and in
the districts of Renfrewshire, Clydesdale, and Annandale  in Fife,
in Angus, in Aberdeenshire, and as far north as Inverness and Urquhart
(History of Scotland, vol. i., "Historical Inquiry into the Ancient State and
Manners of Scotland "). Mr Burnett considered that Ayala exaggerated when
he wrote that the land had trebled in value during the reign of James IV.
(Preface to Exchequer Rolls, vol. xi. p. liii).

44 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1498.
It is impossible to describe the immense quantity of fish.
The old proverb says already " piscinata Scotia." Great
quantities of salmon, herring, and a kind of dried fish, which
they call stock fish (stoque fix), are exported.1 The quantity
is so great that it suffices for Jtaly, France, Flanders, and
England. They have so many wild fruits which they eat,
that they do not know what to do with them.2 There are
immense flocks of sheep, especially in the savage portions of
Scotland.3 Hides are employed for many purposes. There
are all kinds of garden fruits to be found which a cold
country can produce. They are very good. Oranges, figs,
and other fruits of the same kind are not to be found there.
The corn is very good, but they do not produce as much as
they might, because they do not cultivate the land. Their
method is the following : they plough the land only once
when it has grass on it, which is as high as a man, then they
sow the corn, and cover it by means of a harrow, which
makes the land even again. Nothing more is done till they
cut the corn. I have seen the straw stand so high after
harvest,4 that it reached to my girdle. Some kind of corn is
sown about the feast of St John,0 and is cut in August.
The people are handsome. They like foreigners so much
that they dispute with one another as to who shall have
and treat a foreigner in his house. They " are vain and
ostentatious by nature. They spend all they have to keep
up appearances. They are as well dressed as it is possible
to be in such a country as that in which they live. They
are courageous, strong, quick, and agile. They are envious
(jealous ?) to excess.
There are four duchies in the kingdom.6 Three of them
1 The chartularies of the great abbeys of Melrose, Newbattle, Arbroath,
and Kelso, give us the most vivid idea of the extent of the fishing industry
in Scotland (see Cosnio Innes, Sketches of Early Scottish Histm-y). 2 Camden
tells us that "in the low grounds the Scots have store of pease and beans,
which for the strength of their feeding are much used by the labouring
people" (Britannia, Gibson's translation, p. 1154). What Ayala can mean by
" wild fruits " it is difficult to say. 3 The chartularies above referred to fully
bear out what Ayalasays of the number of sheep in Scotland (Innes, p. 99).
4 This must refer to the practice of cutting the ears of corn, and leaving the
straw standing. 5 24th June, or according to old style the 13th. 6 Ross,
Albany, Rothesay, and Montrose. The dukedoms of Albany and Rothesay
were created in 1398, those of Ross and Montrose in 1488.

1498.] DON PEDRO DE AYALA. 45
are in the possession of the king ; the fourth is held by
the eldest brother of tlie king, who is Duke of Eoss and
Archbishop of St Andrews. There are fifteen earls, not
counting the younger brother of the king, who holds two
counties. Nine other counties are in possession of the king.1 Some
of the fifteen earls are great men. I saw two of them come
to serve the king in the last war with more than 30,000
men, all picked soldiers and well armed. And yet they did
not bring more than one-half of tlieir men. Many others
came with five or six thousand followers ; some with more,
and some with less. As I have already observed, this army
does not cost the king a penny.2
There are two principalities ; one of them is the prineipatus
insularum? and the other the prineipatus Gallovidiac? Both
are held by the king. There are five and thirty great barons
in the kingdom, without counting the smaller ones.
There are two archbishoprics and eleven bishoprics,'5 sixty-
three monasteries, which they call abbeys, and many other
religious houses, which are endowed with property and rents.
The abbeys are very magnificent, the buildings fine, and
the revenues great. All of them were founded by kings.
There are seventy seaports. The harbours between the islands
are not included in this number, though they are said to be
very secure.
Sixty-four of the islands are inhabited. Some of them
are 60 miles long, and as many miles in width. Besides,
1 The counties or earldoms which, either by forfeiture or ward, were in the
hands of James IV. were Fife, Strathearn, Monteith, Moray, Mar, Ross,
Orkney, aud Sutherland. In addition to these the shires of Stirling and Lin
lithgow were crown lands. It is not clear to what counties Ayala refers. 2 But
while this army was provided by the conditions of feudal tenure, the navy and
artillery had to be maintained at the king's own expense (Preface to Exchequer
Rolls, vol. xii. p. clxxxvi). 3 By the prineipatus insularum, we are prob
ably to understand the lordship 'of the Isles, which were not thoroughly
subject to the Scottish crown till the battle of Harlaw in 1411 — a victory
more important for Scotland than Bannockburn. 4 The lordship of Galloway.
Galloway seems to be loosely used here for all Scotland south of the Forth.
The name formerly designated a much wider district than at present, and
included at least part of Dumfriesshire and all the earldom of Carrick, which
extended much further north than the modern boundary of that name. This
may partly explain Ayala's use of the name. 5 According to Keith (Catalogue
of Scottish Bishops) there were twelve bishops.

46 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1498.
there are the Orcades towards Norway. It is said they are
very numerous.
On the islands there are many flocks, and great quantities
of fish and of barley. The inhabitants are very warlike and
agile. - 1 saw them in the last war. They do not know
what danger is. The present king keeps them in strict
subjection. He is feared by the bad, and loved and revered
by the good like a god. None of the former kings have
succeeded in bringing the people into such subjection as the
present king. He went last summer to many of the islands,
and presided at the courts of law.1
The prelates are very much revered ; they have the
larger share in the government. Spiritual as well as secular
lords, if they have a title or a dignity, belong to the General
Council. It meets four times a year in order to administer
justice.2 It is a very good institution. All causes are
decided after debating them. At the same time the king
receives his revenues derived from the administration of the
law. Both spiritual and secular lords have a certain number
of followers, recorded in the books of the king, who are
entitled to have their meals in the palace when they come to
court. They have no other advantages. The king selects
some of them for his Privy Council, and they always remain
at court. They receive, nevertheless, no salary, except for
other offices, which they may happen to hold. But they
and their servants eat in the palace. The reason why they
do so is, that the king may be always accompanied by them.
It causes great expense.
The kings live little in cities and towns.'3 They pass their
time generally in castles and abbeys, where they find lodgings
for all their officers. They do not remain long in one place.
The reason thereof is twofold. In the first place, they move
often about, in order to visit their kingdom, to administer
1 Yet an Act of Parliament of date 20th March 1503 begins as follows : —
" Because there has baeen gret abuse of justice in the north parts and west
parts of the realm, such as the North Isles and South Isles, for lack and fault
of Justice Ayres, &c." 2 This refers to the ambulatory Sessions Court insti
tuted by James I. (1457, cap. 61). Into the reign of James IV., however,
the Court met only thrice in the year. A Daily Council fixed at Edinburgh
by that king in 1503 seems to have superseded it (Sheriff Mackay, Practice of
tlie Court of Session, vol. i. p. 13). 3 Cf. p. 9 (note).

i^OS.J DON PEDRO DE AYALA. 47
justice, and to establish police where it is wanted. The
second reason is, that they have rents in kind in every
province, and they wish to consume them. While travelling,
neither the king nor any of his officers have any expenses,
nor do they carry provisions with them. They go from
house to house, to lords, bishops, and abbots, where they
receive all that is necessary. The greatest favour the king-
can do to his subjects is to go to their houses.
The women are courteous in the extreme. I mention this
because they are really honest, though very bold. They are
absolute mistresses of tlieir houses, and even of their husbands,
in all things concerning the administration of their property,
income as well as expenditure. They are very graceful and
handsome women. They dress much better than here
(England), and especially as regards the head-dress, which is,
I think, the handsomest in the world.1
The towns and villages are populous. The houses are good,
all built of hewn stone, and provided with excellent doors,
glass windows, and a great number of chimneys. All the
furniture that is used in Italy, Spain, and France, is to be
found in their dwellings. It has not been bought in modern
times only, but inherited from preceding ages.
The queens possess, besides their baronies and castles,
four country seats,2 situated in the best portions of the king
dom, each of which is worth about fifteen thousand ducats.
The king fitted them up anew only three years ago. There
is not more than one fortified town in Scotland, because the
kings do not allow their subjects to fortify them.3 The town
is a very considerable borough and well armed. The whole
soil of Scotland belongs to the king, the landholders being
his vassals, or his tenants for life, or for a term of years.
They are obliged to serve him forty days, at their own
expense, every time he calls them out. They are very good
1 "The head-dress consisted of the kerchief or veil, which was at this period
suspended from a lofty structure in the form of two horns, at first made by
arranging the hair in this manner ; but as the fashion assumed exaggerated
proportions, they were made of false hair, and of hemp and flax " (Dr Dickson,
Preface to Accounts of Lord High Treasurer of Scotland (1473-1498), p. clxxxii).
2 Linlithgow Palace was the jointure house of the Queens of Scotland, though,
of course, they occasionally resided in other royal palaces. 3 Cf. p. 19
(note).

48 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1498.
soldiers. The king can assemble, within thirty days, 120,000
horse. The soldiers from the islands are not counted in this
number. The islands are half a league, one, two, three, or
four leagues distant from the main land. The inhabitants
speak the language, and have the habits of the Irish. But
there is a good deal of French education in Scotland, and
many speak the French language. For all the young gentle
men who have no property go to France, and are well received
there, and therefore the French are liked. Two or three
times I have seen, not the whole army, but one-third of it
assembled, and counted more than twelve thousand great and
small tents. There is much emulation among them as to
who shall be best equipped, and they are very ostentatious,
and pride themselves very much in this respect. They have
old and heavy artillery of iron. Besides this, they possess
modern French guns of metal, which are very good. King
Louis gave them to the father of the present king in pay
ment of what was due to him as co-heir of his sister, the
Queen of Scotland. This is all I am able to tell your High
nesses. Now I shall describe where Scotland is situated, and
by what countries she is surrounded. She borders on
England by land, and by sea on Brittany, France, Flanders,
Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Ireland. She is surrounded
by these countries.1 Scotland is powerful enough to defend
herself against her neighbours should any one of them attack
her without fear of God. No king can do her damage with
out suffering greater damages from her, that is to say, in a
war on land ; for they know that on the sea there are many
kings more powerful than they are, although they possess
many fine vessels. On land they think themselves the most
powerful kingdom that exists ; for they say the King of
Scots has always a hundred thousand men ready to fight, and
they are always paid. Towards the west there is no land
between Scotland and Spain. Scotland is nearer to Spain
than London, and the voyage is not dangerous. Scotland
has succoured most of her neighbours. With respect to
France and Flanders this is notorious. The Dukes of
1 This is one indication among many of the vague notions even of educated
men regarding tho relative position of Scotland. Other instances will appear
in the sequel.

1498.] DON PEDRO DE AYALA. 49
Burgundy wear the " tan of St Andrew," x in memory of the
succour which Scotland sent to Duke [blank]. Saint Andrew
is the patron saint of Scotland. On the other hand, Scotland
has never wanted foreign assistance. There is as great a
¦difference between the Scotland of old time and the Scotland
¦of to-day as there is between bad and good, as I have already
written. Ayala goes on to say that he is afraid his description
of Scotland may appear partial ; his intention, however, is
to tell the truth. Feels himself the more obliged to do so
when he considers what may happen. If the third daughter
•of Ferdinand and Isabella 2 be not yet engaged, it would be a
service to God to marry her to the King of Scots. He would
be always a faithful ally, near at hand, and ready to assist,
without causing any inconvenience to Spain. The kingdom
is very old, and very noble, and the king possesses great
virtues, and no defects worth mentioning.3
1 Tan, so printed in Bergenroth. It must, of course, be tau, a heraldic
term for cross. As it happens, the cross of St Andrew is not shaped like a tau ;
but it is a Spaniard who is writing. 2 Dona Maria, afterwards married to Don
Manuel the Fortunate, King of Portugal (Note by Bergenroth). 3 The account of
Scotland here presented by Ayala is doubtless somewhat highly coloured, yet
in the main it is fully borne out by Dr Dickson, Sheriff Mackay, and the late
Mr Burnett, in their prefaces to the various public records of the period . The
same impression is also gained from the various lights thrown on the period
by Mr Gregory Smith's excellent little book, The Days of James IV.

50 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1498.

A Eelation of Scotland aboot the Year 1500, from the
Italian.
THE writer of the following account of Scotland was
never actually in the country ; but, as he himself tells
us, speaks solely on the authority of direct information from
Pedro de Ayala. What he says, therefore, may be regarded
as a supplement to the foregoing description of Scotland by
Ayala himself. It was first printed by the Camden Society
in 1847 with the following title — " A Eelation or rather a
True Account of the Island of England with sundry par
ticulars of the customs of these people and of the Eoyal
Eevenues under King Henry the Seventh. About the year
1500. Translated from the Italian with notes by Charlotte
Augusta Sneyd." In the introductory notice by Mr Holmes
of the British Museum, the following account is given of the
manuscript edited and translated by Miss Sneyd : — •" The
MS. from which this is translated was formerly in the
library of the Abbate Canonici at Venice, and is now in
the possession of the Eev. Walter Sneyd. Neither the
name of the writer of this history, nor that of the person
to whom it was addressed, is known."
Since this was written, Mr Eawdon Brown has shown
that the author of the " Eelation " was Andrea Trevisano,
the earliest Venetian ambassador at the English Court
(Eawdon Brown, Giustiniani' s Four Years at the Court of
Henry VII., 1854).
A Eelation of the Island of England about 1500.
THE form of the island is triangular, as we have said
before, and it is divided into three parts, thus :
Scotland, Wales, and England.
Scotland lies to the north, and is separated from England
by two arms of the sea, which penetrate very far inland, one
to the east, and the other to the west. These do not, how
ever, meet, for there is about 60 miles of mountainous
country between them ; and there are some who say that
two rivers rise in these mountains, one of which falls into

1498.] ANDREA TREVISANO. 51
the eastern, and the other into the western sea. And as the
tide rises and ebbs every six hours with great vehemence,
and affects these rivers throughout their course, it is the
common opinion that they themselves are the two arms of
the sea. This is the modern opinion. For Bede does not
positively say so.
Wales is in the western part of the island, and wherever
it is not surrounded by the sea, it is bounded by England ;
from which it is separated to the north, by a river called by
these inhabitants Da (the Dee), and to the south by another
named Offa.
All the rest, which comprises the most beautiful, the
best, and the most fertile part of the whole island, is called
England. I should not have ventured to speak of Scotland, had I
not, during my stay in London, fallen in with my very par
ticular friend, the most worshipful Don Peter de Ayala, who
had lived there for above a year, as ambassador from the
Catholic Majesties of Spain to that Crown, and had by his
prudence and dexterity, during the time of the residence of
your Magnificence, contracted a solid peace between the most
sapient Henry the Seventh, King of England, and the mag
nanimous James the Fourth, King of Scotland ; for which
service, as he related to your Lordship, he received at the
end of four or five days from that most serene English king,
300 nobles, neither seen nor counted by him; as, if I
remember right, your Magnificence said. And here I must
mention, that if I should state anything concerning Scotland,
which your Lordship should not believe on my report, I
appeal to the authority of the aforesaid most worshipful Don
Peter, from whom, by means of the friendship I formed with
his Secretary, M. Passamonte, in London, I collected many par
ticulars : and amongst others, that the kingdom of Scotland is
very rainy ; and that the country, wherever there are no moun
tains (which are of the most rugged description, and almost
uninhabitable), is the most fertile of the whole island ; that
the royal family is so ancient, that there is no mention in
history of any but the present race; and that the people
are very handsome, and are divided into two classes, one of
which inhabits the towns, and the other the country.

52 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [l498.
The inhabitants of the country are called the wild or
savage Scots, not however from the rudeness of their manners,
which are extremely courteous. -The nobility reside on their
estates, where they have generally great forests for hunting
game. They have excellent houses, built for the most part,
in the Italian manner, of hewn stone or brick, with magni
ficent rooms, halls, doors, galleries, chimneys, and windows.
These savages are great soldiers, and when they go to war,
the privilege of guarding the king's royal person belongs to
them. The other class is composed of citizens and burgesses, who
are devoted to mercantile pursuits, and to the other useful
and mechanical arts.
Don Peter also says that all the Scotch nation are
extremely partial to foreigners, and very hospitable, and that
they all consider that there is no higher duty in the world
than to love and defend their crown. And that whenever
the king is pleased to go to war, he can raise, without any
prejudice to the country, 50, or 60,000 men, who, being
suddenly called together, with their rich and handsome
equipments, serve at their own expense for the space of 30
days ; and if the war should continue beyond that time,
they are dismissed, having previously been replaced by
another force of equal magnitude; that any who are not
summoned to take part in the war, would consider themselvcs-
to be slighted, and under the displeasure of the king; and
that the population is so great, that, should a larger army
be required, it could at any time be obtained. Don Peter
himself told me that he had seen thern several times in the
field, and that he never saw anything better appointed.
This power, however, is never exercised but against the
English, their natural enemies, as is commonly the case with
near neighbours. Although I have found frequent mention
in the histories of England, of sundry Kings of Scotland
having paid homage to some of the Kings of England, and
notwithstanding that the Scotch do possess a particle of land
(in England), i.e., they have passed the limits of the two arms
of the sea, before named, yet at this present time they do
not think of paying any homage to the King of England ;
and I imagine that when this was the case, it was not

1498.] ANDREA TREVISANO. 53
because that ferocious Scotch nation was ever in subjection
to the English, but because, when all the Danes were
expelled from England in the year of grace 943, by King
Edward, son of King Edward the Elder, excepting from that
part which borders upon Scotland, he, accounting that those
Danes who were already become northern English, were
indomitable, made over the whole of that territory in
commendam to Malcolm, King of Scotland, as though he
would give them into the power of a people still fiercer than
themselves ; and it is probable, that he or his descendants
may have done homage to the King of England for this
portion of land, which was then occupied by the said Danes.1
But however this may be, all the English chroniclers insist
that their king is the supreme Lord of Scotland, and that
they have changed the Kings of Scotland at their pleasure ;
and the Scotch, on the other hand, pride, themselves on having
always repulsed the English, and on having once more
regained possession of their country. But to counterbalance
this, the English possess beyond the eastern arm of the sea,
named Tivida (the Tweed) in the kingdom of Scotland, the
singular fortress of Berwick, which, after having belonged
for a considerable time to each kingdom alternately, and at
length had fallen into the hands of the Scotch, was made
over to King Edward the Fourth, by the Duke of Albany,
"who was at war with his brother, James the Third, King of
Scotland.2 And now King Henry the Seventh has built a
magnificent bridge across the aforesaid arm of the sea,3 and.
as he has the command of all the eastern coast, he can throw
as many troops as he pleases into the town, which is a very
strong place both by nature and art. And as this Berwick
has caused the death of many thousand men in former times,
¦so it might do so again, were it not for the peace consolidated
1 In 924 Constantine II. commended himself and his kingdom to Edward
the Elder, and chose him as " father and lord." On this compact subsequent
English kings based their overlordship of the Scots. 3 Berwick was acquired
by England in 1482. The chronicle of Lanercost describes Berwick (in the
middle of the thirteenth century) as "a city so populous and of such trade,
that it might justly be called another Alexandria, whose riches were the sea,
and the waters its walls." 3 Scott in his History of Berwick makes no mention
of this bridge. He only says that in 1513 there was "a decayed wooden one,"
wliich must have been built about the end of the fifteenth century (p. 411).

54 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1498.]
by means of the wise Don Peter de Ayala.1 Although the
English historians assert that Man, one of the Menanian
isles, as it was before said, belongs to the kingdom of Scot
land, it is nevertheless in the possession of the King of
England. But the King of Scotland is lord of all the
Orcades, several of which have been conquered by the
present king, who derives a great, or rather an incalculable
profit from them ; howbeit, the kingdom of Scotland is very
poor in comparison with England. It has 15 bishopricks,
two of which are arch -bishopricks.
The language of the Scotch is the same as that of the
Irish, and very different from the English ; but many of the
Scotch people speak English extremely well, in consequence
of the intercourse they have with each other on the
borders. 1 See p. 41 (above).

PEDEE SWAVE
(1535).
PEDEE SWAVE visited Scotland in 1535. The object
of his visit was to gain the support of James V.
for Christain II. against the citizens of Lubeck, who had
cast off his authority. The following passage is translated
from the Diary kept by Swave during his stay in the
country. The greater part of the Diary is taken up with
the account of his endeavours to effect the object of his
embassy. The relation of his dealings with James and his
ministers is extremely interesting, but is beside our present
purpose. The Diary is written in Latin, and is contained in
the third volume of State Papers from the archives of
Copenhagen, edited by C. F. Wegener (Copenhagen, 1861-
1865).1 Diary of Peder Swave (p. 232).
ON the fifth day after our departure we sighted
England, and on the seventh we approached the
coasts of Scotland. We saw a fortified place, called , Basth,2
situated on an immense rock. There are found birds which
the Scots call gannets, of white colour, but mixed with
black, and in such multitudes that they could not be easily
estimated. From the feathers and fishes which these birds
carry on to the rock the commander of the fort is said to be
able to collect an annual sum amounting to 400 gold (pieces).
During the night we lay at anchor under a rock3 at no
great distance from it (Basth). On the 3rd of May we
came to the town of Dondie. There we weie forced to
wait for four days, because the captain meant one of his
crew to accompany us with letters of the emperor to the
king. In order that we might remain in company we were
necessarily forced to await him, and he could not depart
1 1 have to thank Sheriff Mackay for drawing my attention to Swave's
Diary. 2 The Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth. 3 Probably the Isle of
May.

56 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1535.
for four days on account of the unloading of the ship. On
the 7th of May we departed and reached the arm of the sea
that divides Edinburgh fromDondii. On Sabbath at midday
we arrived at Edinburgh ; there we hired horses for the follow
ing day, as the king was occupied on the English border.
On the 9 th of May towards evening we came to Treborch.1
On the 10th at midday we came to Jeduart.2 There I met
Master John Campbell, I told him that I was sent by
Christian, duke of Holstein, and had business with the
king's majesty ; I requested that he would inform the
king of my presence, and said that wherever the king-
might wish to give me audience I should be prepared to
place my instructions before him. — On the 11th of May I
met with a hermit, named John Scott, a person of noble
rank, who had quitted a beautiful wife, and children, and
all his household, and determined to live by himself in
solitude.3 He ate nothing but bread, and drank nothing
save water or milk. He is believed to have endured a fast
of forty days and nights in Scotland, England, and Italy.
He also says that, when impelled by a higher power, he
could not perish by fasting, as by the kindness of the Holy
Virgin he has already been able to prove ; if he should wish
to do this by way of wager or bargain that he would fail.
He declares that he has no sensation of hunger when he
fasts, that he loses neither his strength nor his flesh, feels
neither heat nor cold, goes about with head and feet naked
equally in summer and winter, and that his manner of life
does not induce the approaches of age. Asked by me why
he left such a beautiful wife, he replied that he wished to
be a soldier of Heaven, and that whether his wife determined
to serve God or the world was a matter of indifference to
him. By chance there was among us a canon regular who
said that he had been asked by the hermit's wife to reconcile
them, but had taken the task upon him to no purpose. —
I enquired if there were any trees in Scotland from which
birds were produced. All replied that no doubt was
possible on the matter, that it was a fact they were so
1 Dryburgh. 2 Jedburgh. 3 This fasting-man appears in Buchanan,
Pitscottie, and other early Scottish historians. Buchanan devotes nearly a
page to Scott, who seems to have been exploited by the church as a modern
miracle (Rerum Scolicai'um Historia (Edin., 1715), p. 272).

.1535.] PEDER SWAVE. 57
produced, that those which fell into the water became alive,
and that those which fell on the land had no principle of life,
that in the sap of the wood and even in the root the shapes
of birds are found carved out, so that they can be perfectly
distinguished, that the hinder parts are produced first, that
the- young adhere to the tree till they come to maturity,.
that the birds themselves do not bring forth, and that when
full grown they are delicate eating. There is a certain
floating island in Scotland, which deflects from one shore to
the other with the ebb and flow of the tide.1 There is a
district with an area of eight square miles in which cocks
do not croyv, whether born in the place or brought thither ;
when removed both crow in the ordinary fashion. The bird
called the gannet lays no more than one egg, and hatches it
under its foot in a standing position. The wild Scots live
in the manner of the Scythians, they are ignorant of the use
of bread; when they are hungry they outstrip a stag in swiftness
of foot, overtake it and kill it, and so sustain life : they eat the
flesh raw, only squeezing out the blood. Not far from Edin
burgh there is a mountain that constantly smokes like Etna.2'
I saw it myself. In a monastery close by there is a spot
where oil flows out of the ground.8 In Irish Scotland there
is an island where in summer the sun is seen night and day.
On the 12th of May I was conducted to the king who
was then at a , monastery, very richly endowed, by name
Jemoers.4 Its abbot is said to have an annual income of
1500 crowns. When mass was over I paid my respects to
the king whom I found standing not far from the altar. I
presented my letters, and was ordered to defer my business
till the king should be able to summon his councillors. I
requested that he would do this as early as possible, as I
had reason for expedition. I was ordered to give up any
other document I might have besides letters. I replied
that such documents as I had could not be given up unless
at a formal audience. I was told that the council would
-meet in a few days, when I should have an opportunity of
1 The floating island in Loehlomond, as will be seen, regularly appears as one
of the marvels of Scotland. 2 Possibly Swave may have seen the heather on fire
on some neighbouring hill, and some mischievous Scot have suggested the vol
cano. 3 Swave is thinking of the Balm Well of St Katherine de Sienna, famous
for its miraculous virtues in cases of skin disease. 4 Melrose Abbey.

58 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1535.
saying what I wished. I returned to John Campbell to
Jeduart. Near Dondie there is an abbey round which
to a radius of six miles there is found an innumerable multi
tude of serpents of a perfectly innocuous character. When
hurt or wounded, they do no harm ; they have no stings.
Master Campbell told me that in the Abbey of Jemoers,
in which I paid my respects to the king, on the approaching
death of a monk, a few days before his death, the brethren
hear the ringing of a bell in their cells, whereupon they
hasten to confession, uncertain which of their number
insatiate death now makes his prey.1 He showed me three
columns hewn out of jasper taller than myself, and a cubit
or more in thickness. He told me that these columns are
hewn in Scotland, and that jasper is found among the
mountains. He also told me that in England there is a
noble family, of the name of Constable, who once received a
grant of land from the Danes. Every year at Christmas
the eldest of the family is still in the habit of going north
wards to the sea shore, and thrice calling aloud that if there
is any one who bears the name of the king of the Danes,
and desires his dues, that he is prepared to give them ; and
at length fixing a coin on the tip of an arrow he shoots it
with all his force into the sea. Campbell informed me that
when he was in England in Marmaduke Constable's house
on Christmas day, he himself saw this done. Marmaduke
told him that the conditions of his tenure required this
ceremony, and that if his family ceased to observe it they
would be deprived of their land. He also showed him the
deed, which contained the instruction. Dr Marmaduke
Constable told me the same story four years before, with
the variation that a rose and not a coin was shot into the sea,
and it was on John Baptist's Day and not on Christmas.2 In
England a coin is paid for every house from which smoke
issues ; hence the English call the coina " rycks pennynck." 3
1 Major mentions this tradition regarding Melrose Abbey, Hist. Maj. Brit.,
lib. ii. cap. xii. 2This story of the Constables is not noticed in Blount's
Tenures. 3 Smoke-silver or smoke-penny. A tribute paid to the ministers of
various parishes in continuance of Peter's pence. In the churchwarden's
Accounts of Minchinhampton under 1575, there is the following entry : — "To
the sumner for peterpence or smoke fartliinges sometyme due to the Antecriste
of roome, xd " (Archmologia, vol. xxxv. p. 430).

NICANDEE NUCITJS
(1545).
NICANDEE NUCIUS was a native of Corfu, who,
having been exiled for some reason unknown to us,
had settled in Venice.1 Here he attached himself to Gerard
Veltwick, a minister of the Emperor Charles V, in whose
train he visited Constantinople, and other courts of Europe.
In 1545, still as an attendant of Veltwick, he visited
England. It is not known whether he also came to Scotland,
but from certain expressions in his narrative we- are led to
believe that he did. His stay must, at all events, have
been short, as his knowledge of the country is evidently
of the most superficial kind. His remarks are interesting,
indeed, not so much from what he has to communicate, as
from the tone in which, as a Greek, he makes them.
Our extract is from the translation of the Second Book
of the Travels of Nicander Nucius of Corcyra, published
by the Camden Society in 1841. The manuscript from
which it is edited was found in the Bodleian Library, and
appears to have originally belonged to Archbishop Laud.
Travels of Nicander Nucius.
THE island itself is divided into two parts. And that
portion verging towards the continent is named
England, and the cities in it English cities. But the
western portion 2 is called Scotland. And there is a con
siderable river named the Tweed, and it separates England
from Scotland. And England possesses its own king ; and
Scotland itself likewise appoints a king from among its own
people. And ever as it were these kings, being inimical,
perpetually fighting about the limits of their country, cruelly
1 Corfu at this time belonged to Venice. 3 In Ptolemy's map of Britain
Scotland is made to trend in an easterly direction from England.

60 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1545.
destroy each other in a kind of barbarous and savage war
fare. And on the banks of the Tweed certain forts have
been built, for protection of the boundaries. And that
portion of Scotland is somewhat northern, hence also cold ;
yet fruitful in wheat, and abounding in animals common
with us ; they have also cities renowned and large, w here is
the royal residence and government, no way inferior to that
of England. And here also commercial transactions take
place, and ships arrive from the continent. And towards
the French they are friendly disposed ; but they are most
hostilely bent against the English. And being tributary to
the English, they have often stirred up war, to free them
selves from the tribute ; but they have been unsuccessful,
since the English kept them down by superior skill in war
and. force. For the Scotch are a more barbarous people in
their manner of living than the English. But they possess
a soil as favourable to fruit and corn as that of the English ;
since, being continuous, it is only divided by the river
Tweed. ;
And the whole island is diversified with fruitful hills and
plains, and abounds with marshes and well-timbered oak
forests ; it has moreover woods and lakes near the sea. For
the greatest portion of the country of the Britons, laved
continuously by the ebb and flow of the ocean, is marshy ;
from the exhalation and denseness of which the atmosphere
throughout that portion appears for the most part misty.
Whence, as the waters flow and ebb, it accumulates a certain
slimy deposit, in maritime places, from which the exhalations
are drawn. There are also fountains and springs of sweet
water in great abundance. And it breeds in the marshes,
of wild and carnivorous animals, bears and hogs, besides the
wolf and the fox ; and of graminivorous animals, stags and
hares, and others of the same sort, also of such as are tame
and domesticated with us, there are almost too many to be
enumerated ; so many horses, and those of noble breed too,
and so many oxen, and so many flocks of sheep, that wonder
arises in the beholders, on account of the multitude of them.
Nor in truth is there any shepherd placed over the sheep
to tend them, neither indeed a herdsman over the oxen;
but wherever the animals may be whilst feeding, on the

1545.] NICANDER NUCIUS. 61
second perhaps, or even the third day, they return to their
owner's house. Yet no one dares to steal any of them ;
since the extreme punishment of death awaits the per
petrator.1 But that each man may know his own, they
smear some mark on the skin with some native pitch.2
Generally, also, they abound in butter and cheese and milk.
And the horses are naturally swift-footed and very fleet,
and for the more part white. But they are deficient in the
breeds of asses and mules ; for this latter animal is not
produced in colder regions. Hence indeed, also, rarely do
horns grow upon oxen and sheep. And they have generous
hunting and house dogs, so that they frequently send these
against bears and wild boars. Both morasses and oak
forests favourable for hunting, abound throughout the island.
They lack, however, the vine, which produces wine ; also the
olive-tree, and the fig-tree, and other trees indigenous to
warmer climates ; but of other cultured and fruit-bearing
trees they possess an abundant supply. And -marble and
smooth rocks, such as those very solid ones with us, they
have not ; but certain porous and terreous stones- ; where
fore also they are easily obtained, and easily polished. But
the stone used for fire and black, is found in most places.
They are rich in mines of metals, and of metallic substances
of all kinds ; they have not, however, much gold, but very
much silver, and of tin, and of what is called white lead,
called also stagon (stanno) ; and of common lead ; and of
liquid and terreous pitch ; and, moreover, of sulphur and
nitre in vast quantities, and in some districts, other fossils
of the hotter kinds are excavated.
The island being such, lacks nothing of the things that
are necessary and profitable, and useful to men. Nay, even
things apparently scarce, are easily to be procured, and at
little cost. And the length of the day in the summer
season, in England, extends to nineteen hours ; and that of
the night reaches to five. And in Scotland, that of the day
extends to twenty hours, and that of the night to four.
1 The penalties of theft in Scotland were not so severe as in England (Innes,
Sketches of Early Scottish History, p. 190). By an ancient Scottish law a man
was not to be hauged for less than the price of two sheep ; in England he was
hanged for stealing one. 2 This was the regular custom of the monks, who
were extensive sheep-owners. This brand or mark was called the buist.

62 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1545.]
And not only so, but neither is the night itself so dark as
with us ; but the night is of such a kind, as the twilight
produced in the interval betwixt day and night, so that one
often sees even the minutest objects. Such, indeed, is the
case with the regions which are situated towards the west.
And the reason of this is, the privation of the sun's ray
from the northern parts. On this account these regions are
also cold, as the warmth of the sun is present in a very
limited measure ; and from its distance, congelations and
snows almost perpetually succeed each other. But the
rains are not apt to be very impetuous, as the west wind
disperses the watery clouds of the south and opposes their
further progress.

JEAN DE BEAUGUE
(1548-1549).
AFTER the battle of Pinkie, 10th September 1547, most
of the strongholds in the Lowlands of Scotland
remained in the hands of the English; and the invasion of
Lord Grey in the following year seemed likely to complete
the conquest. As it was always the interest of France to
save Scotland from the English, an armed force was despatched
to the help of the Scots by the French king (Henry II.) in
1548, under the command of Andre' de Montalembert, Sieur
d'Esse\ In this expedition d'Esse' was accompanied by his
personal friend Jean de Beaugue\ who afterwards published
an account of the war under the title, Histoire de la Guerre
d'Ecosse pendant les campagnes 1548 et 1549. Besides its
special interest as a painful chapter of Scottish history,
Beaugud's book has considerable value as a picture of the
methods of warfare followed by the three different nations.
In the course of his narrative, also, he occasionally digresses
to describe the places in which he was interested as a member
of the expedition. Unfortunately, it is but seldom he makes
such digressions, and when he does make them, he forgets
his usual garrulity, and thus defrauds us of what would have
been by far the most interesting portions of his history.
Beaugu^'s book was printed at Paris in 1556 ; and in 1707
an English translation was published by Dr Abercromby,
author of the Martial Achievements of the Scots Nation.
Abercromby, however, takes such liberties with his original
that Beaugud's history becomes half his own. In the trans
lation given here the original has been as closely followed as
clearness would permit.1 The edition from which the trans
lation is made is that published by the Maitland Club in
1 It should be said that Beaugue's archaic words and involved turns render
his meaning at times somewhat obscure.

64 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1548-1549.
1830. Of Beaugue himself it should be said that nothing is
known except what we learn from his own book.
The Scottish Mode of Warfare (Histoire de la Guerre
d'Ecosse, par Jean de Beaugu^).
THE Scots never take the field unless great and extreme
necessity drive them to arms. And, as far as I
could see, this is because when at war they are wont to live
at their own expense, and cannot protract the war as is the
habit with almost all the other nations of Europe. They
bring with them as much as they will need for the time they
wish to remain iu camp or be on the march, which is only a
few days. And during this time they seek to meet the
enemy face to face, fighting with invincible obstinacy, —
¦especially the English, by reason of the natural hatred which
comes of neighbourhood, arising in my judgment from their
ambition to be masters and their jealousy of the greatness
of the English. As soon as they. have consumed their pro
visions, they break up tlie camp, or gradually withdraw, even
though their designs are unaccomplished.
The Low Estate of the Scots.
But before I proceed further in my account of the war,
it is necessary that I should state to what extremity the Scots
were reduced, when their enemies, after having burned their
towns, plundered all the low country, and possessed themselves
of the best places along the whole frontier, held them so
closely besieged that they dared not venture abroad except
in very large companies : 1 of which companies the English
made so light (for that false heresy of theirs makes a people
believe that there is no nation equal to themselves) that
about 500 horse, which might be the number of English then
in Scotland, had even the audacity to gallop day and night
to the gates of Edinburgh, thundering along all that tract of
country, and holding in subjection all the adjacent district.
This does not imply that the Scots are less warlike than the
English, or any whit inferior to them ; but by reason of those
1 This is no exaggeration of the state of Scotland after the invasions of the
Earl of Hertford and Lord Grey.

1548-1549.] JEAN DE BEAUGUE\ 65
leagues and bonds (partialitez) which exist among them, and
their mutual distrust, they allowed the English not only to
gain authority over them, but suffered themselves to be
afflicted with a thousand kinds of tyrannies and oppressions.
For, in my judgment, they were abandoned by God, who
sometimes creates as ministers of his justice tyrants, bar
barians, and the Turks themselves ; as he permitted Cam
Zoroast x to afflict the Italians, Nemroth the Babylonians,
Sardanapalus the Persians and Arabs, Pharaoh the pos
terity of Abraham, Attila the French, and in recent
memory, Mahumet Otthoman2 the Greeks and Eastern
Christians. And not without reason I say was God irritated
against the Scots, for if they had known how to appease his
anger, very difficult would it have been for the English to
reduce them to the point at which I saw them. We
must believe, therefore, that the just judgment of God
permits that a people should suffer these misfortunes to
afford them an exercise of faith and to make them
recognise their faults ; since when it comes to the last
extremity, He declares His will to favour and sustain His
own. So has it happened to the Scots : for from the day
when the army of France set foot in Scotland, the good
fortune of the English, which had long been their companion,
began to leave them more and more. Then all at once
she declared herself their enemy and turned her back upon
them, as I shall show in going through the details of my
history. St Andrews. — St Andrews is situated on the sea
shore, and used to be one of the best towns in Scotland.
It has the disadvantage of two drawbacks, however ;
neither its harbour nor its roads are safe, and it
cannot be fortified because it is nearly as large as Thurin.3
Moreover, there is no commodious place for a citadel,
which would not risk much damage to the abbey, the
seat of the archbishop of all the province of Fife, and a
very large and beautiful structure. So true is this, that
the castle, which formerly stood there, and was in great
1 By Cam Zoroast. Beaugue doubtless meant Odoaeer, whose name underwent
extraordinary transformations during the Middle Ages. 2 Mohammed II. , who
took Constantinople from the Greek Christians in 1451. 3 Turin. E

66 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1548-1549.
part destroyed by the late Prior of Capua,1 was commanded
not only by the said abbey, but even by the whole town.
Perth. — As to St Johnston, it is a very pretty place,
pleasant and well fitted to be the site of a good town, which
might be rendered secure for its inhabitants by building a
citadel where is now the church of the Holy Cross.2
Aberdeen. — Aberdeen is a rich and handsome town,
inhabited by an excellent people, and is situated on the sea
shore. It has not a good roadstead, but its harbour is very
safe and easy for ships to make were it not for the entrance,
which is narrow. It is easy to fortify since it is shut in
on two sides by the rivers Don and Dee, both of which
are difficult to ford. On the other side it has an open and
extensive plain, in which bulwarks and defences could be
raised to prevent injury from any battery that might be
built on a hill which rises on the side of the bridge. At
very little expense a citadel could be raised which might
command both the harbour and the whole town. Aberdeen
has an episcopal see and a university sufficiently well ordered
and equipped.
Montrose. — As to Monrosts, it is a beautiful town situated
in the County of Marne,3 where the river Hacs4 enters the
sea. Its roadstead is not safe ; but it has a very good harbour,
easy of entrance and exit in all states of the tide. The town
could be very easily fortified ; but to avoid greater expense,
a fort could be conveniently built which would command all
ships that might enter or leave the river. For, as regards
the fort which at present exists, it has not the commodity of
water, and is so small that it has no space for the stowage
of provisions, or for lodging men-at-arms. And besides the
disadvantage of being built on moving sand and being
1 In 1547 Leo Strozzi, Prior of Capua, with a French fleet, took the Castle of
St Andrews, in wliich a number of persons discontented with the regency of the
Earl of Ari-an (among them being John Knox and Sir David Lyndsay) had
sought refuge after the murder of Cardinal Beaton (Laing's Knox, vol. i. pp.
185-6). 2 This is the Church of St John which still stands on the west side of
John Street. It was formerly known as the Kirk of the Holy Cross of St John
the Baptist. Tradition has it that it was built by the Picts. There is, at all
events, conclusive evidence that it was a building of high pretensions in the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This was the church that was spoiled by the
" rascall multitude " (1559), after a sermon preached by John Knox. 3 The
Mearns, though Montrose is not in that county. 4 The Esk.

1548-1549.] JEAN DE BEAUGUE. 67
constructed of dry turf, it is flanked on none of its sides,
nor indeed can be from the nature of its situation.
Dundee. — Dundee is one of the finest towns in Scotland,
is situated on the river Tay, and capable of being easily
fortified. Dunbar. — Dombarre is situated on the seashore ten
leagues distant from Edinburgh on the side of Lothian (du
coste de Lodient), and in such an excellent tract of country, and
accommodated with so many of the good things which profit
the life of man, that if the town were enclosed with walls
(since a harbour could easily be made and at little cost) we
might reckon it among the most beautiful towns in the
isles of the ocean. And as for its castle, it is a very hand
some and strong place built on a lofty rock on the edge of
the sea, very difficult of approach, and on which so much
art has been displayed, that few places are to be found any
where at the present time, which are by nature more com
modious, less exposed to battery, and all other methods of
storming, than this castle, which, besides, is sufficiently near
Ladres,1 Douglas,2 Edimton,3 Esmons,4 Fauxcastel, and on the
road of Berraic, and Roussebroa,5 in Scotland.
The Bass Bock. — The place where they made their first
attempt was the Isle des Magots,6 so called on account of the
large white birds like swans that make their nests there.
The Scots receive it as a fact that the hundred or hundred
and twenty soldiers who form the ordinary garrison of the
Castle of Bass, which is built on the island, live for the
most part on nothing else than the fish daily carried thither
by these birds ; and burn no other wood than what these
wild geese bring in spring to build their nests with, this
being sufficient to last them for a whole year.7 The position
1 Lauder. 2 Dunglass. 3 Haddington. 4 Eyemouth. 5 Roxburgh. 6 The
Bass. 7 We find this statement of Beaugue in several old Scottish writers ; and
even into the present century the construction of the nests of the solan goose
has been matter of controversy. Some maintain that the use of sticks is
merely accidental and not habitual, and that the usual materials are sea-weed
and grass. In either case, the decomposed materials furnish fuel, but not in
such quantity as the early writers affirmed. In truth, the solan goose and its
habits greatly exercised the imagination of the Scottish people. We shall
find it constantly reappearing in subsequent narratives as one of the marvels
of the country.

68 early travels in Scotland. [1548-1549.
of the castle is as follows : — The island on which the castle
is situated is an impregnable rock, of small extent, fashioned
by nature of an oval shape, with but one approach, and that
on the side of the castle, so very difficult that it can only
be gained by very little boats, each following the other, the
island being surrounded by rocks covered by the sea, which
none except those acquainted with the place can avoid. The
island is so little inviting and so uneven that till you come
to the castle wall itself you cannot plant the foot on level
ground; and this is so much the case that (as I have often
myself seen) "when the captain's servants wished to enter, it
was necessary to throw down a thick rope to help them in
the ascent, and when they have reached the foot of the wall
with the utmost difficulty, a basket is let down in which
they are drawn up, and this is the only means of entering
that castle. There used to be a postern, but it is now
banked up and built in in an incredible manner, and
the rest of the castle is so constructed that it seems
to rise sheer from the sea (" qu'il semble etre dresse a
plomb "1).
The Isle of May.— The Isle de May is of much
greater extent than the Isle Dieu,2 possessing beautiful
fountains, quarries of coal and stone, and very good pasture.
And since it is pertinent to my purpose, I think I ought
not to omit to say that this island has ever been the
retreat of all pirates, who have sought to injure the
fisheries, trade, and armies of the Scots and their friends ;
and that a secure retreat for the whole country could
be prepared here, as a harbour could be constructed
at very little expense, which would easily contain thirty
or forty ships. For the rest, possessing as it does all
the advantages of which I have spoken, and being suitable
besides for gardens and fields, it could be fortified and
1 Hector Boece has a lively description of the Bass, which may be
compared with that of Beaugue. "It is," says he, "ane wounderful
crag, risand within the sea, with so narrow and strait hals (passage) that no
schip nor boit may arrive bot allanerlie at ane part of it. This crag is callit
the Bas ; uuwinnable by ingine of man. In it are caves, als profitable for
defence of man, as (if) they were biggit by crafty industry. Everything that
is in that crag is full of admiratioun and wounder" (Bellenden's Boece vol i
p. 37). 2 Inchkeith.

1548-1549.] JEAN DE BEAUGUE\ 69
inhabited.1 By so doing, the Scots and the strangers
who trade with them could sail wherever and whenever
they wished, without being forced to wait for winds
necessary before they can sail from Petit lict,2 Brutilan,3
or the river Fort, which would be a convenience so profit
able that all Scotland would be the better for it.
Inchkeith. — Isle Dieu was so named by the Queen
Dowager 4 on the day it was recovered from the English : for
the French formerly called it Isle aux Chevaux ; 5 for it had
never been inhabited, as being a place of no account. Never
theless, it has great natural advantages, and is of "sufficient size
to be occupied and fortified, seeing it is well provided with
fresh water, and with ground suitable for gardens and pas
turage, and with spots for salt-pans and harbours. And from
its convenient quarries of coal and stones, which are found in
abundance there, lime could be made and large buildings
erected at little expense, at once as fortifications and
dwelling-houses.6 It is situated in the middle of the river
Fort (sic), which is five leagues wide, and so advantageously,
that it opens or closes the entrance to those who wish to
sail from the best part of Scotland to France. It is so
difficult of access and so strong by nature, that there are
only three places suitable for a descent — namely, where the
sea, which enters the river Fort, is only a foot or a foot
and a half deep. And even these approaches are so diffi
cult by reason of the rocks, which the sea never covers,
that no vessel whatever can reach the shore ; but one is

1 The prevailing rook in the Isle of May is greenstone. Before the middle of
the twelfth century, David I. founded a monastery on the island, and granted
it to the Benedictine Abbey of Reading in Berkshire on condition that they
should maintain twelve priests therein to say mass for himself and his pre
decessors and successors. In 1318 all the rights of the Priory of May were
transferred to the Canons of St Andrews. In 1881 there were three houses
on the island, and twenty-two inhabitants (Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland).
2 Leith. 3 Burntisland. 4 The widow of James V. and mother of Mary
Queen of Scots. 5 So called because the Scots placed their horses there to be
safe from the English. 6 "The geology of Inchkeith is highly interest
ing  Five-sixths or more of the island are great sheets of igneous
rocks, between which are thinner bands of sedimentary deposits ; including
shales, two thin seams of coal, some highly calcareous shales, and at least
one band of limestone" (Ordnance Gazetteer, edited by F. Hindes Groome, a
book of the highest value to the student of Scottish history and topography).

70 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1548-1549.]
forced to descend on the rocks, and by leaping from one to
the other so gain the shore ; unless, indeed, you prefer to
throw yourself into the water, in which case there is the
risk of falling into deep and narrow pools (which are
found among these rocks two or three fathoms' distance
from the island), if the foot should fail to choose these
usually covered by the sea. On all other sides, the rock is
precipitous except on the west, where the rock is cut by
nature into steps of more than twenty fathoms high, by all
of which, descent is impossible. Thus, the island is very
strong and well-situated. For, besides those difficulties
which it offers to an enemy, the roads, which lead to the
shore of the island, are so narrow, tortuous, and painful,
that only with great difficulty could three men go abreast :
all of which roads, moreover, are commanded from the
summit, on which the English constructed a square fortalice,
rendering it capable of defence, in less than fifteen days.1
1 Inchkeith has been noticed by more distinguished persons than Beaugue.
When Dr Johnson was in Scotland, be insisted on being taken to Inchkeith.
The place seems to have taken his fancy. "I'd have this island, " he
exclaimed ; " I 'd build a house, make a good landing-place, have a garden and
vines, and all sorts of trees. A rich man of a hospitable turn here would
have many visitors from Edinburgh." Carlyle and Edward Irving also visited
the island, of which the former has given a vivid account in his "Reminis
cences."

ESTIENNE PEELIN.
(1551-1552).
ALL that we know of Estienne Perlin is that he was
an ecclesiastic, that he wrote the book from which
the following extract is taken, and also another in Latin,
written he says, " d'un hault stille et d'un labeur non pareil,
tractant du corps humain et de plusieurs sortes de maladies
comme des fiebures tierces, quatres, quotidianes, continues,
diares, heetiques, maramosdes, apoplepsies, peripelominies,
letargies, spasmes, sincopes, ptisies, catharres, pestes, jaun
dices, et autres diverses maladies : et des situations des
parties nobles du corps humain, avec plusieurs autres affaires
clessus le faict de medecine." The book with which we are
here concerned is more simply entitled, " Description des
Eoyaulmes d'Angleterre et d'Escosse, compose' par Estienne
Perlin." It was published in Paris in 1558, and dedicated
in a grandiloquent preface 1 to Marguerite, Duchesse de Berri,
the sister of Henry II. A reprint of it was also published
by W. Bower and J. Nichols at London in 1775, and a trans
lation is given in the fourth volume of The Antiquarian
Repertory. As this translation is in every respect a satis
factory one, it has been reproduced here.
From his own narrative we gather that Perlin's visit to
Britain must have been made during the last two years of
the reign of Edward VI. He resided chiefly in England,
and of the thirty-seven pages which comprise his account
of the two countries he has devoted only twelve to Scotland.
In Perlin's narrative we have vivid illustration of that
bitterness of feeling between England and France, which
was the inheritance of the prolonged struggle between the
two countries. As his translator says, " the author seems to
1 It is in this dedication that the above portentous description of his Latin
work appears.

72 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1551-1552.
have imbibed every national prejudice which ought to have
been excluded from the mind of a traveller." A single
sentence will show in what spirit he wrote of England. " One
may say of the English," he writes, " that they are neither
valiant in war nor faithful in peace ! " In view of the relations
between Scotland and France, it was natural that he should
speak more kindly of the Scots ; and this, as will be seen,
he actually does. At the same time, it is rather as the allies
of France than from any merits of their own that they are
honoured by his approval. Altogether, the narrative of this
ecclesiastic, both in style and matter, compares ill with that
of the soldier Jean de Beaugue.
Description des Eoyaulmes d'Angleterre et d'Escosse
(Antiquarian Repertory, vol. iv.).
HAVING before spoken of England, my Sovereign
Princess, with all possible truth and exactness, it
at present remains to touch lightly on the kingdom of
Scotland. Scotland is a kingdom beyond England, and is
very cold and septentrional, that is to say, approaching the
north, and still colder than England, for the farther one goes
beyond the seas, tending towards the kingdom of d'Anemark J
and Suest, otherwise barbarously called Sueden, the colder
it is ; for in those kingdoms the cold would even split a stone.
4 Scotland is one of the parts of the Greater Britain, which
Britain is divided in two parts, that is, into England and
Scotland, insomuch that these two kingdoms were formerly
but one ; but having been divided by war, which was done
by two brothers,2 England, which is the greater part, fell
to one; the lesser and worse part of Greater Britain, which
is Scotland, fell to the other. To estimate the difference
between these two, let us suppose that England is Paris, and
Scotland the suburbs of Saint Marceau; as that city is pre
ferable to the suburbs, so in like manner is England prefer
able to Scotland, to which it bears no comparison. They
are separated from each other only by a small river. It is
1 See page 59 (above). 2 According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, King Brute
divided his dominions among his three sons, assigning Loegria (England) to
Locrine, Albania (Scotland) to Albanact, and Cambria (Wales) to Camber.

1551-1552.] ESTIENNE PERLIN. 73
to be understood, that the kings of England and Scotland
are descended from the same house ; but as the custom is, for
the great to endeavour to devour the small, so the rapacious
kings of England, not content with their own limits, have
endeavoured to invade and conquer the country of their
neighbours and allies, insomuch that they have exerted them
selves to ravage, burn, and ruin the kings of Scotland and
this kingdom.
The Scots speak like the English, or at least there is
not a greater difference than between the speech of the
Normans and that of the Picards. The country is but poor
in gold and silver, but plentiful in provisions, which are as
cheap as in any part of the world; and truly the milors of
that country, and the gentillcmans (that is to say, the gentry),
labourers, and tradesmen, who have any money, may live
very comfortably. The arable lands of that country are but
indifferent, and the greatest part of the country is a desert.
As to the size of the kingdom, you must understand it is of
a great compass ; but with respect to habitable lands, it
may be styled small, that is to say, there is much bad and
wild uncultivated land ; the country is likewise small with
respect to the size of its cities and villages.
The Scots have always been allied to the Crown of France,
and have always been faithful to the noble fleur de lis,
insomuch that they have been hitherto preserved from
their ancient enemy, who is worse than a dragon, serpent,
crocodile, or asp ; and without the assistance of the kings of
France, their country would have been lost, and fallen into
the hands of the English. The kings of France never
abandoned their friends in distress, for once the English
took many of their places and burned much of their country,
but they had succour and assistance from the French, who
with great diligence drove the English out of Scotland like
mutineers and villains, where the said Scots showed them
selves as bold and courageous as lions, at which time there
was a great defeat of the enemy.1 On this point it is to be
1 Perlin must here refer to the campaigns of the Sieur d'Esse, which are
recorded by the Sieur Beaugue in the historical sketch from which the preceding
extract is taken. By the aid of the French on that occasion the English were
forced to evacuate Scotland (April 1550).

74 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1551-1552.
observed, that if thirty thousand French should enter Eng
land through Scotland, they might soon conquer and overrun
the whole country : this is certain ; but the English always
keep up an alliance with the emperor, otherwise both they
and their country would soon be reduced to dust. Since
that time, the noble and valiant King of France has caused
several fortresses to be built in Scotland, and repaired others,1
for the safeguard and defence of that country, which has
cost an immense sum of money, but the said kingdom of
Scotland serves him as a buckler against his enemies, and a
means for conquering England.
It is to be understood, that within these fifty years it is
nearly doubled, and is worth six times its former value ;2 and
since Madame the Dowager of Scotland has been married to
the King of Scotland, she has caused several estates to be
tilled and cultivated, which before were of no great estima
tion, and has rendered the uncultivated part of the country
much better than it was before, insomuch that throughout
the kingdom the lands are rendered tolerable, as I leave the
world to imagine. The style of the queen is thus proclaimed
in Scotch, Marie Stouart of grace lorde god the quinne
Scottellement, that is to say in French, Mary Stouart, by the
grace of God, Queen of Scotland.
They are of person, bold and gallant enough, but are not
so well armed as the French, for they have very little well-
made, clean, and polished armour, but use jackets of mail in
exercising daily with the French, and have the custom of
using little ambling nags and small horses ; their lances are
small and narrow, and they have scarce any large horses, and
few are brought to them, except from France. Their houses
are badly built and proportioned, at least those of the
common people. They have plenty of cows and calves, on
which account their flesh is cheap; and in my time bread
was tolerably cheap. In this place there are no vines, and
wine is very dear ; but the Scots drink beer, godalles and
(dies, with a quantity of milk.
i During the regency of Mary of Lorraine (1554-9). 2 It is, perhaps, needless
to say that this statement is in flat contradiction to all the historians, who tell
us that from Flodden till the Union of the Crowns in 1603 Scotland retro
graded rather than progressed.

1551-1552.] ESTIENNE PERLIN. 75
In this kingdom there are twelve bishoprics, with an
archbishopric called St Andrews, where there is a castle.
Their capital city is called in Scotch, Ennebroc, in French,
Lislebourg,1 which is about the size of Pontoise, and not
bigger, having been formerly burned by the English.2 Here
are some other seaports, as Dumbars, Domberterand,3 and
other little cities and towns. Their regent is named Madame
de Longeville,4 a lady of honour, born of an ancient house,
that is to say, of the house of Gaudefroy de Baillon, King of
Hierusalem and Cicile and Duke of Lorrain, one of the most
valiant families in the world, without depreciating any other.
This country, although it is in a bad neighbourhood, being
near a haughty, treacherous, and proud enemy, has neverthe
less sustained itself in a manly sort by the means and assist
ance of the most noble King of France, who has many times
let the English know what were the consequences of the
anger of so great a monarch and emperor. But, thanks to
God, the affairs of this country have been regulated, and
everything goes on well, and for their benefit and that of
their kingdom." How happy oughtest thou to esteem thy
self, 0 kingdom of Scotland, to be favoured, fed, and main
tained, like an infant, on the breast of the most puissant and
magnanimous King of France, the greatest lord in the whole
world, and future monarch of that round machine, for without
him thou would'st have been laid in ashes, thy country wasted
and ruined by the English, utterly accursed by God ! Thou
knowest well if I lie. He helpeth thee with gold, silver,
and garrisons, and affords thee succour of every sort, and
loves thee like his own.
In this country there is much broom, and the people
do not warm themselves with wood, but with coals. A
merchant in this country is well esteemed who has an annual
1 Lislebourg is the name by which French writers of the sixteenth century
designate Edinburgh. As having lakes both on its north and south sides, the
town was almost literally an island. 2 Edinburgh had been burnt by the Earl
of Hertford in 1544. The burning lasted three days. 3 Dumbarton. 4 When
James V. married Mary of Guise, she was the widow of the Due de Longueville.
5 Till the beginning of 1559 the government of the queen-regent was generally
acceptable to the county. In that year, however, her policy began to be
directly inspired by the interests of her relatives, the Guises, and eventually led
to misunderstandings with the Protestant section of her subjects.

76 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1551-1552.
rent of four hundred livres, and is among the richest men
of the country, which is far from having twelve or fifteen
thousand livres per annum, as is often the case in France,
Flanders, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and England. The
richest man in Scotland, at the time I was there, was the
Archbishop of St Andrews.1
The bishoprics of this country, as I understand, are but
small; one ought however to praise their fidelity. and firm
attachment to the French, by the assistance of which all
England may be undermined and burned. One thing I find
reprehensive among the Scotch, which is that it is difficult
to obtain a lodging from them. If you say to an ordinary
sort of man in Scotch, Guecle guednit goud maistre praie gui
mi longini, which is to say in our language, " Good night, my
master, I pray you to give me a lodging ; " they will answer
you haughtily in their tongue, est est no bet, which is to say,
there is no bed ; and will not vouchsafe to lodge you, unless
they expect a considerable recompense. However, some are
more compassionate and humane, there being here, as in
other countries, both good and bad. There is but one duchy
in this country, which is called the duchy of Hampton ;2 there
are many small counties. They carry bucklers like the
English, and use the bow, and in other respects live like
them, except that they are not so great dealers and trades
men, and have not, as every one knows, such weighty purses ;
in other points they do not differ from the English, either in
dress, conditions, and stature. The then Admiral of France
was called Milor Boduet,3 and the King's Lieutenant,
Monsieur Dozay,4 who was the Governor' of the French, and
a man faithful even to death ; and the Dowager of Scotland
has the government of the Scots. They administer justice
1 John Hamilton, natural son of James, first Earl of Arran. He succeeded
Cardinal Beaton as Primate of Scotland. 2 The Duke of Chatelherault must be
meant. He was the head of the Hamilton family, aud was made duke in 1544.
3 Boduet is undoubtedly a misprint for Boduel, the French form of Bothwell,
The Bothwell meant is the notorious James, Earl of Bothwell, subsequently
husband of Queen Mary. He was High Admiral of Scotland, the office having
been conferred on his ancester Patrick, Earl of Bothwell, by James IV.
4 Dozay is probably d'Oysel, Oysel, or Dosell, as his name variously appears.
He was French ambassador in Scotland during the regency of Mary of Lorraine,
and was one of her chief advisers. Knox describes him as "Lieutenant for
France" (Works, vol. i. p. 255, Laing's edit.).

1551-1552.] ESTIENNE PERLIN. 77
very uprightly, according to their customs, and receive money
from France. s
In this country (as I have seen it practised) a man who
is possessed of an hundred golden, or sun crowns, will lend
them to a merchant, for which the merchant will maintain
him a whole year in his house, and at his own table, and at
the end of the year will return him his money.1 All the
cities and places of this kingdom are small, except St
Andrews, which is pretty large. The Scotch who apply
themselves to letters, become good philosophers and authors.
I knew formerly at Paris two doctors of divinity who were
the most learned that were to be met with, and principally
in philosophy; they had all the books of Aristotle at their
fingers' ends ; one was called Master Simon Saneson,2 living
at the College of Sorbonne, and the other Monsieur Cranston,3
who had been rector : they are both now bishops in Scotland,
and in great reputation and honour, and augment and
amplify the kingdom by their honour and virtue. The arms
of Scotland are a lion, sprinkled with fleurs de lis. The kings
of this country choose to be without guards, and their sub
jects are bound to go to the wars at their own charge and
expense, whenever they are commanded. On the death of
the King Stouart,4 the crown came to his noble daughter,
who is at present married to Monsieur the Dauphin; and
although there are many kings and queens richer than the
Queen of Scotland, she is nevertheless well allied and related,
being not only related to princes,, but also to kings and
queens, particularly to the Queen of England and the King
of d'Annemarc,5 insomuch that in default of heirs, she may
lineally, and of right, succeed to the crowns of both king
doms; and I do not know whether I might not venture to
say that the kingdom of England belongs to her at present,
1 Cf. what Fynes Moryson, our next traveller, says (p. 81). - Simon
Simson, a doctor of the Sorbonne, flourished anno 1585 ; he is mentioned by ,
Dempster and Sir George Mackenzie. 3 David Cranston, a notable Scotsman
in the schools of Paris. He was regent of Arts in Montaigu College, with
which so many Scotsmen were associated, and afterwards Doctor of Theology.
He died in 1526. ' Neither Simson nor Cranston became bishops. At least,
their names do not appear in Keith's Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops.
4 James V. 5 James III., Mary's great grandfather, married Margaret, Princess
of Denmark, in 1409.

78 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1551-1552.
without speaking at random, as knowing a secret from those
who have much frequented England. It is to be noted, that
the house of Scotland is a most noble house and lineage ;
and it ought likewise to be known, that the crown has for
three or four hundred years remained in the family of the
Queen of Scotland,1 bearing her name, by which it may be
understood, that it is one of the most ancient royal houses
in the world. And forasmuch as the kingdom of Scotland
ought to be extremely happy in its alliance with France, so
should we Frenchmen be glad to have the alliance, affinity,
and friendship of the said Scots, for from Scotland we may
repulse the English, and from thence enter easily into their
country, which gives no great odds against them, and thus
enables us to curb and check them. Monsieur de Termes 2
was formerly in Scotland, where he performed many great
acts of prowess and valour, and, with an army of some few
French and Germans, restored peace and tranquility to that
whole kingdom, and drove the English out of Scotland, where
they had taken seven or eight places from the Scots, and but
for this relief would have made themselves masters of all the
kingdom ; and this gallant Seigneur de Termes, for counsel
and judgment another Hannibal and Cato, retook Tinton,3
Quincornes,4 and Lisle aux Chevaux? and other towns and
fortresses, and gave battle to the English, and in a succession
of time quitted the whole kingdom. It is to be remarked,
that in this kingdom of Scotland there are many towns, as
Dombarres, Dombertrant, Thinton, Quincornes, Lisle aux
Chevaux, Lislebourg, otherwise called Ennebroc, Sainct
Andre, and many other little towns and castles.
It is to be noted, that nothing is scarce here but money.
Wine is brought them from Bordeaux and Eochelle ; and it
must be understood, that the Scots do not pay for the wine
they buy from the people of Bordeaux, but in lieu thereof
1 Robert II. was the first of the Stewarts who sat on the throne. His reign
began in 1371. As will be seen from the accounts that follow, the royal
family of Scotland was regarded on the Continent as the oldest in Europe.
This belief is to be attributed to the ingenious audacity of the Scottish his
torians. 2 De Thermes, with a reinforcement of 1000 foot and 300 horse from
France, effectually aided d'Esse in driving the English out of Scotland in the
campaigns 1548-50. 3 Tantallon Castle ? f Kinghorn. 5 Inchkeith (see
p. 69).

1551-1552.] ESTIENNE PERLIN. 79
give them other merchandise. In their country they have
barley, plenty of peas and beans. In my time the poor
people put their dough between two irons to make it into
bread, and then made it what is esteemed good food in that
country. In this place there are many churches highly orna
mented, and plenty of monasteries, in which there are plenty
of religions ; and it is to be noted, that the ecclesiastics are
richer than the housekeepers or nobles. Wherefore my most
esteemed Princess, I shall put an end'^to this little tract of
Scotland, which I have delineated as accurately as I could ;
and no one ought to be offended that I have said that money
is scarce in this kingdom, nor need any one be scandalised
thereat, as it behoves an historian to follow truth, and not Lo
lie in anything, but to describe things as they are, without
change or alteration : in like manner as if a man in describ
ing France should say it was a bad country, would deserve to
be put in a sack and thrown into the water, as was very
properly done by Julius Caesar, who himself described the wars,
and when he could not take a town or castle, declared the
resistance which he had met with, and that exactly, without
addition. This little country is useful and necessary to us,
as much so as the richest. And it is to be noted in conclud
ing, that in this region the gentlemen take codfish and
salmon in their moats. Also it is to be noted, that there
are some savages in some of the counties of Scotland, but
that from day to day the country strengthens and amends,
and is in a daily state of improvement.

FYNES MOEYSON
(1598).
FYNES MOEYSON gives the following account of him
self : — " Being a student of Peter-house in Cambridge,
and entered the eighteenth yeere of my age, I tooke the
degree of Bachelor of Arts, a.nd shortly after was chosen
Fellow of the said Colledge by Queene Elizabeths Mandat.
Three yeers expired from my first degree taken in the
Universitie I commenced Master of Arts, and within a yeere
after, by the favour of the Master and Fellowes, I was chosen
to a vacant place of priviledge to studie the Civill Lawes.
Then, as well for the ornament of this profession, as out of
my innated desire to gaine experience by travelling into
forraigne parts, (to which course my parents had given consent
some few yeers past, upon my first declaring of my inclina
tion to the said profession,) upon the priviledge of our Statutes
permitting two of the Society to travell, I obtained licence
to that purpose of the said Master and Fellowes, in the yeere
1589, being then full 23 yeeres old. And presently leaving
the University, I went to London, there to follow some
studies fit to inable me in this course ; and there better
taught, and these studies, the visiting of my friends in the
country, my going to Oxford to take the same degree I had
in Cambridge, and some oppositions upon new deliberation
made by my father and friends against my journey, detained
me longer in those parts than I purposed."
The title of Moryson's book of travels, published at
London in 1617, will indicate the extent of his journeyings,
and the weight that is due to his remarks on Scotland. It is as
follows : — " An Itinerary written by Fynes Moryson, gent.
First in the Latin tongue and then translated by him into
English : containing his ten yeeres' travell through the twelve
Dominions of Germany, Bohemerland, Sweitzerland, Nether-

[1598.] FYNES MORYSON. 81
land, Denmarke, Poland, Italy, France, England, Scotland
and Ireland."
Moryson thus describes his own book: — "Touching the
work in generall, I wil truly say, that I wrote it swiftly, and
yet slowly. This may seeme a strange riddle, and not to
racke your wit with the interpretation, myselfe will expound
it : I wrote it swiftly, in that my pen was ready and nothing
curious, as may appeare by the matter and style; and I
wrote it slowly, in respect of the long time past since I
viewed these dominions, and since I tooke this worke in
hand. So as the worke may not unfitly be compared to a
nose-gay of flowers, hastily snatched in many gardens, and
with much leasure, yet carelessly and negligently bound
together." Fynes Moryson's Itinerary (Part i. book iii. chap. 5).
MYSELF upon occasion of businesse in the month of
Aprill, and the yeere 1598, tooke a journey to these
said confines, namely, to Barwick, a Towne then very strongly
fortified by the English, to restrain the sudden incursions of
the Scots, and abounding with all things necessary for food,
yea with many dainties, as salmons and all kinds of shell
fish, so plentifully, as they were sold for very small prices.
And here I found that for the lending of sixtie pound, there
wanted not good citizens, who would give the lender a faire
chamber and a good dyet, as long as he would lend them the
mony.1 Being to return from Barwicke, I had an earnest
desire, first, to see the King of Scots Court. So from hence
I rode in one day f ortie 2 miles to Edenborrow the chiefe Citie
of that kingdome. And in this said daies journey after
foure miles riding I came to Aton? a village where the Lord
of Humes dwelles, whose family was powerf ull in those parts.
After sixteene miles more I came to Dunbar, which they
said to have been of old, a Towne of some importance, but
then it lay ruined, and seemed of little moment, as well for
the povertie, as the small number of inhabitants.4 After the
1 Cf. Perlin, p. 77, above. 2 We leave the reader to correct Moryson's measure
ments. 3 Ayton. 4 Macky, who travelled in Scotland rather more than a
century after Moryson, gives a more favourable picture of Dunbar (see his
A Journey through Scotland (London, 1723), p. 26). F

82 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1598.
riding of eight miles more, on the left hand towards the
West, and something out of the highway, the pleasant Village
Hadirington lay, which the English, in the raigne of Queene
Elizabeth, tooke, and kept against the French,1 who drawne
over in the time of faction, kept the Towne of Dunbar, and
fortified the same". When I had ridden five miles further, I
came to the ancient and (according to the building of that
Kingdome) stately Pallace of the L. Seto?i2 beautified with faire
Orchards and Gardens, and for that clime pleasant. Not
farre thence lyes the Village Prestongraung, belonging to the
Family of the Cars powerfull from these parts to the very
borders of England within land. After I had ridden three
miles more, I came to the Village Fisherawe, neere which
beyond a Brooke lyes the Village Musselborrow in a stony
soyle, famous for a great Victorie of the English against the
Scots.3 On the left hand towards the West, and something
out of the highway, the Queene of Scots4 then kept her
Court (in the absence of the King) at the Village Dawkeith,
in a Pallace belonging to the Earle of Murray.6
From the said Village Fishrawe, I rode the rest of the
way, being four miles, and so in one dayes journey (as I said)
came to Edenborrow, seated in Lodoney6 (of old called Pict-
land), the most civill Eegion of Scotland, being hilly and
fruitfull of corne, but having little or no wood. This City
is the seat of the King of Scotland, and the Courts of
Justice are held in the same. Of old, according to the
changeable fortune -of warre, it was sometimes in the
possession of the Scots, sometimes of the English inhabiting
this Easterne part of Scotland, till the English Kingdome
being shaken with the invasions of the Danes, at last about
the yeere 960 it became wholly in the power of the Scots.
This City is high seated, in a fruitfull soyle, and wholesome
1 A full account of the siege of Haddington and the French expedition is
given by the Sire de Beaugue, from whom extracts have been given above.
Moryson should have told that the French forced the English to evacuate
Haddington (1548-50). 2 For a more detailed account of Seton Castle, see
Macky, A Journey through Scotland, pp. 39-40. This palace or castle was
built at different periods, and during the .sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
was regarded as the most magnificent structure of the kind in Scotland. It
was eventually pulled down in 1790 (Ordnance- Gazetteer of Scotland). 3 The
battle of Pinkie (1547). 4 Anne of Denmark. s This should, of course, be
the Earl of Morton. 6 Lothian (Laudouia).

1598.] FYNES MORYSON. 83
aire, and is adorned with many Noblemens Towers lying
about it,1 and aboundeth with many springs of sweet waters.
At the end towards the East, is the Kings Pallace joyning
to the Monastery of the Holy Crosse, which King David the
first built, over which, in a Parke of Hares, Conies, and
Deare, an high mountaine hangs, called the chaire of Arthur
(of Arthur the Prince of the Britanes, whose monuments,
famous among all Ballad-makers, are for the most part to be
found on these borders of England and Scotland). From the
Kings Pallace at the East, the City still riseth higher and
higher towards the West, and consists especially of one broad
and very faire street 2 (which is the greatest part and sole
ornament thereof), the rest of the side streetes and allies
being of poore building and inhabited with very poore people,
and this length from the East to the West is about a mile,
whereas the bredth of the City from the North to the
South is narrow, and cannot be halfe a mile. At the
farthest end towards the West, is a very strong Castle,
which the Scots hold unexpugnable. Camden saith this
Castle was of old called by the Britaines, Castle meyned agned,
by the Scots ; the Castle of the Maids or Virgines (of certaine
Virgines kept there for the Kings of the Picts), and by
Ptolemy the winged Castle.3 And from this Castle towards
the West, is a most steepe Eocke pointed on the highest
top, out of which this Castle is cut : But on the North and
South sides without the wals, lie plaine and fruitfull fields
of Corne. In the midst of the foresaid faire streete, the
Cathedrall Church4 is built, which is large and lightsome, but
little stately for the building, and nothing at all for the beauty
and ornament. In this Church the Kings seate is built some
few staires high of wood, and leaning upon the pillar next to
the Pulpit : And opposite to the same is another seat very
like it, in which the incontinent use to stand and doe
1 The number of noblemen's seats round Edinburgh seems to have struck other
travellers besides Moryson (see p. 93, below). 2 High Street and Canongate.
3 " It is unnecessary," says Sir Daniel Wilson iu his Memorials of Edin
burgh, ' ' to follow the fanciful disquisitions of zealous antiquaries respecting
the origin and etymology of Edinburgh, it has been successively derived both
in origin and name from Saxon, Pict, and Galel ; and in each case, with suffi
cient ingenuity, only to leave the subject more deeply involved than at first "
(p. 1, edit. 1872). 4 The church of St Giles.

84 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1598.
pennance; and some few weekes past, a Gentleman, being a
stranger, and taking it for a place whereir Men of better
quality used to sit, boldly entred the same in Sermon time,
till he was driven away with the profuse laughter of the
common sort, to the disturbance of the whole Congregation.
The houses are built of unpolished stone, and in the faire"
streete good part of them is of freestone, which in that broade
streete would make a faire shew, but that the outsides of
them are faced with wooden galleries, built upon the second
story of the houses; yet these galleries give the owners a
faire and pleasant prospect, into the said faire and broad
street, when they sit or stand in the same. The wals of the
City are built of little and unpolished stones, and seeme
ancient, but are very narrow, and in some places exceeding
low, in other, ruined.1
From Edenborow there is a ditch of waters (yet not
running from the inland, but rising of springs) which is
carried to Lethe, and so to the Sea. Lethe is seated upon a
creek of the Sea, called the Frith, some mile from Edenborow,
and hath a most commodious and large Haven. When
Monsieur Dessy a Frenchman, did fortifie Lethe for the
strength of Edenborow, it began of a bare Village to grow to
a Towne.2 And when the French King Francis the second
1 In 1450 Edinburgh was first enclosed by walls, remains of which still
exist. After the battle of Flodden in 1513 the town, having overleapt the
original wall, was enclosed by another of greater strength and extent. In
1591, seven years before Moryson's visit, the citizens were empowered by
Parliament to collect money for the purpose of raising and strengthening
the walls. It would seem from Moryson's account that this last intention
was not carried out (Wilson, Memorials of Edinburgh). 2 Knox in his History
of the Reformation has the following passage relative to Leith at the period
to which Moryson here refers :—" It is not unknowin to the maist pairt
of this realme, that thair lies bene ane auld haitrent and contentioun
betuix Edinburght and Leith ; Edinburgh seeking continewallie to possess
that liberty, quhilk be donatioun of kyngis they have lang enjoyit ; and
Leith, be the contrary, aspyring to ane libertie and fredome in prejudice of
Edinburgh. The Queene Regent was nott ignorant how to compass hir owin
matter, and thairfoi- secretlie sche gaif adverteisment to sum of Leith, that
sche wald mak their Toun fre, gif that sche mycht do it with any cullour of
justice." " Declaratioun of the Lordis " (Laing's Knox, vol. i. p. 426). The
death of the queen-regent forestalled her erecting Leith into a royal burgh,
and the citizens of Edinburgh afterwards obtained the superiority of the town
for 10,000 marks. Leith never afterwards, however, lost the importance
it had acquired during the siege of 1559-1560.

1598.] FYNES MORYSON. 85
had married Mary Queene of the Scots : againe the French
(who now had in hope devoured the possession of that King-
dome, and in the yeere 1560, began to aime at the conquest
of England) more strongly fortified this Towne of Lethe :
but Elizabeth Queene of England, called to the succour of
the Lords of Scotland against these Frenchmen, called in by
the Queene, soone effected that the French returned into
their Country, and these fortifications were demolished.
From Leih I crossed over the Frith (which ebs and flows
as high as Struelin1) to the Village King-horn, being eight
miles distant, and seated in the Eegion or Country called
Fife, which is a Peninsule, that is, almost an Hand, lying
betweene two creekes of the Sea, called Frith and Taye, and
the Land yeelds corne and pasture and sea coales, as the
Seas no lesse plentifully yeeld (among other fish) store of
oysters and shel fishes, and this Countrey is populous, and
full of Noblemens and Gentlemens dwellings commonly
compassed with little groves, though trees are so rare in
those parts, as I remember not to have seene one wood.
From the said Village King-horn, I rode ten very long
miles to Falkeland then the Kings House for hunting, but
of old belonging to the Earles of Fife, where I did gladly see
James the sixth King of the Scots, at that time lying there
to follow the pastimes of hunting and hawking, for which
this ground is much commended ; but the Pallace was of old
building and almost ready to fall, having nothing in it
remarkeable.2 I thought to have ridden from hence to Saint
Andrewes a City, seated in Fife, and well known as an
University, and the seate of the Archbishop. But this
journey being hindered, I wil onely say, that the Bishop of
Saint Andrewes, at the intercession of the King of Scotland,
James the third, was by the Pope first made Primate of all
Scotland, the same Bishop and all other Bishops of that
Kingdome having formerly to that day beene consecrated
and confirmed by the Archbishop of Yorke in England?
Likewise I purposed to take my journey as farre as Strivelin?
1 Stirling. * It had been built by James V. who died there. 3 St Andrews
was erected into an archbishopric by a bull of Sixtus IV. , obtained by Patrick
Graham, the successor of Bishop Kennedy in the see of St Andrews. The supe
riority of York had always been contested by the Scottish church. 4 Stirling.

86 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1598.
where the King of the Scots hath a strong Castle, built upon
the front of a steepe Eocke, which King James the sixth
since adorned with many buildings, and the same hath for
long time beene committed to the keeping of the Lords
of Eriskin, who likewise use to have the keeping of the
Prince of Scotland, being under yeeres.1 And from thence
I purposed to returne to Edenborow, but some occasions of
unexpected businesse recalled me speedily into England, so
as I returned presently to Edenborow, and thence to Barwicke,
the same way I camey^ Scotland reaching so farre into the
North, must needs be subject to excessive cold, yet the same
is in some sort mitigated by the thicknesse of the cloudy aire
and sea vapours. And as in the Northerne parts of England,
they have small pleasantnes, goodnesse or abundance of
Fruites and Flowers, so in Scotland they have much lesse,
or none at all. And I remember, that coming to Barwick
in the moneth of May, wee had great stormes, and felt
great cold, when for two moneths before, the pleasant Spring
had smiled on us at London.
On the West side of Scotland are many Woodes, Mountaines,
and Lakes. On the East side towards the Sea, I passed
Fife, a pleasant little Territory of open fields. Without
inclosures, fruitfull in Corne (as bee all the partes neare
Barwick, save that they yeeld little wheate, and much Barley
and Oates), and all a plaine Country, but it had no Woodes
at all, onely the Gentlemens dwellings were shaddowed with
some little Groves, pleasant to the view. Scotland abounds
with Fish, and hath plenty of all Cattell, yet not so bigge as
ours, and their Horses are full of spirit, and patient of labour,
but very little, so as the Scots then would give any price
for one of our English Gueldings, which notwithstanding in
Queene Elizabethe time might not upon great penalty be sold
unto them.
The Navy or shipping of Scotland, was of small strength
in the memory of our Age, neither were their Marriners bf
greet experience, but to make them more diligent Merchants,
1 The family of Mar were the hereditary custodiars of the king. John,
fourth Lord Erskine, who had the keeping of James V. during his minority,
was the first who held the office, which carried with it the charge of Stirling
Castle.

1598.] FYNES MORYSON. 87
their 'Kings had formerly laid small or no impositions or
customes on them : And whill the English had warre with the
Spaniards, the Scots as neutrals by carrying of English com
modities into Spaine, and by having their ships for more
security laden by English Merchants, grew somewhat richer
and more experienced in Navigation, and had better and
stronger shippes then in former time. And surely since the
Scots are very daring, I cannot see why their Marriners
should not bee bold and courageous, howsoever they have
not hitherto made any long voyages, rather for want
of riches, then for slothfulnesse or want of courage. The
inhabitants of the Westerne parts of Scotland, carry into
Ireland and Neighbouring places, red and pickeled Herrings,
Sea coales, and Aquavitse, with like commodities, and bring-
out of Ireland Yarne and Cowes hides or Silver. The
Easterne Scots carry into France course cloathes, both linnen
and woollen, which be narrow and shrinkle in the wetting.
They also carry thether Wooll, Skinnes of Goates, Weathers,
and of Conies, and divers kindes of Fishes, taken in the
Scottish Sea, and neere other Northeme Hands, and after-
smoked, or otherwise dried and salted. And they bring from
thence Salt and Wines : but the cheefe trafficke of the Scots
is in foure places, namely, at Camphire in Zetland? whether
they carry Salt, the Skinnes of Weathers, Otters, Badgers,
and Martens, and bring from thence Come. And at
Burdeaux in France, whether they carry cloathes, and the
same skinnes, and bring from thence Wines, Prunes, Walnuts,
and Chessenuts. Thirdly, within the Balticke Sea; whither
they carry the said Clothes and Skinnes, and bring thence
Flaxe, Hempe, Iron, Pitch, and Tarre. And, lastly, in
England, whether they carry Linnen cloathes, Yarne, and
Salt, and bring thence Wheate, Oates, Beanes, and like
things. 1 Campvere (now called Vere), in Zealand, the seat of a Scottish factory for
three centuries and a half. This connection with Scotland originated in the
marriage of Wolfaard van Borssele, Lord of Campvere, with a princess of the
house of Stuart in 1444. A factory of merchants was formed, and by contract
between the royal burghs of Scotland and the United Provinces, Campvere
became the only staple port. The privileges thus gained by Scotland were
not withdrawn till 1795. John Home, the author of Douglas, held the
sinecure post of Conservator of Scots Privileges at Campvere.

88 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1598.
The Scots have no staple in any forraigne City,1 but trade
in France upon the League of the Nations, and in Denmarke
have priviledges by the affinity of the Kings, and flocke in
great numbers into Poland? abounding in all ^things for
foode, and yeelding many commodities. And in these King-
domes they lived at this time in great multitudes, rather for
the poverty of their owne Kingdome, then for any great
trafficke they exercised there, dealing rather for small
fardels, then for great quantities of rich wares.
Touching their diet : They eate much red Colewort and
Cabbage, but little fresh meate, using to salt their Mutton
and Geese, which made me more wonder, that they used to
eate Beefe without salting. The Gentlemen reckon their
revenewes, not by rents of monie, but by chauldrons of
victuals, and keepe many people in their Families, yet living
most on Corne and Eootes, not spending any great quantity
on flesh. My selfe was at a Knights House, who had many
servants to attend him, that brought in his meate with their
heads covered with blew caps, the Table being more then
halfe furnished with great platters of porredge,3 each having
a little peece of sodden meate : And when the Table was
served, the servants did sit downe with us, but the upper
messe in steede of porredge, had a Pullet with some prunes
in the broth. /'And I observed no Art of Cookery, or
furniture of Houshold stuffe, but rather rude neglect of both,\
though my selfe and my companion, sent from the Governour
of Barwicke about bordering affaires, were entertained after
their best manner. The Scots, living then in factions, used
1 Campvere was the staple port of Scotland. 2 As Moryson had himself been
in Poland, he states this fact from personal knowledge. In strong corrobora
tion of his statement may be quoted a passage from the Travels of William
Lithgow, a Scot of the seventeenth century, who travelled through most of
the countries of Europe, and visited Poland among the rest : — "The soil (of
Poland) is wonderful fruitful of corns, so that this country is become the
granary of Western Europe for all sorts of grain, besides honey, wax, flax,
iron, and other commodities. And for auspiciousness, I may rather term it to
be a mother and nurse for the youth and younglings of Scotland than a proper
dame for her own birth, in clothing, feeding, and enriching them with the
fatness of her best things, besides thirty thousand Scots families that live
incorporate in her bowels. And certainly Poland may be termed in this kind
the mother of her commons, and the first commencement of all our best
merchants' wealth, or, at the least, most part of them " (Lithgow's Travels,
p. 400, 11th edit.). 3 That is, pottage, or broth.

1598.] FYNES MORYSON. 89
to keepe many followers, and so consumed their revenew of
victuals, living in some want of money. They vulgarly eate
harth Cakes of Oates, but in Cities have also wheaten bread,
' which for the most part was bought by Courtiers, Gentlemen,
and the best sort of Citizens. When I lived at Barwicke,
the Scots, weekely upon the market day, obtained leave in
writing of the Governour, to buy Pease and Beanes, whereof,
as also of Wheate, their Merchants at this day send great
quantity from London into Scotland.
They drinke pure Wines, not with sugar as the English,
yet at Feasts they put Comfits in the Wine, after the French
manner, but they had not our Vinteners fraud to mixe
their Wines. I did never see nor heare that they have any
publike Innes x with signs hanging out, but the better sort
of citizens brew ale, their usuall drinke (which will distemper
a stranger's bodie), and the same Citizens will enter taine
passengers upon acquaintance or entreaty. Their bedsteads
were then like Cubbards in the wall, with doores to be
opened and shut at pleasure, so as we climbed up to our
beds. They used but one sheete, open at the sides and top,
but close at the feete, and so doubled. Passengers did seeke
a stable for their Horses in some other place, and did there
buy hors-meat, and if perhaps the same house yeelded a
stable, yet the payment for the Horse did not make them
have beds free as in England. I omit to speake of the
Innes and expences therein, having delated the same in the
Itinerary of the first Part, and a Chapter in this Part,
expressely treating thereof. When passengers goe to bed,
1 The Scottish monarchs did their best to establish comfortable inns
throughout the country, as the following extracts from the General Index to
the Acts of the Parliament of Scotland will show : — "All who sell bread and
beer in burghs to receive travellers and supply their wants at current prices "
(anno 1356). "The chamberlains ordered to see that sufficient inns are
provided in the burgh " (1366). " In burghs and thoroughfares hostelries to be
provided with accommodation for man and horse " (1424). " Inns to be
established in all burghs for the reception of travellers and their horses "
(1427). "Barons, magistrates, and others having the direction and rule of
thoroughfares and hostelries to set prices on victuals, bread, ale, and other
necessaries " (1496). " For eschewing exorbitant prices taken from travellers,
the statutes of James I. and other sovereigns to be enforced ; burgh officers to
cause hostelers to have sufficient accommodation and food at the usual rate of
the'neighbourhood ; the rate of charges to be fixed yearly " (1535) "The old
acts anent hostelries to be augmented and put in execution " (1567).

90 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1598.]
their custome was to present them with a sleeping cappe of
wine at parting. The Country people and Merchants used
to drinke largely, the Gentlemen somewhat more sparingly
— yet the very Courtiers, at Feasts, by night meetings, and
entertaining any stranger, used to drinke healths not without
excesse, and (to speake truth without offence), the excesse
of drinking was then farre greater in generall among the
Scots then the English.1 My selfe being at the Court
invited by some Gentlemen to supper, and being fore
warned to feare this excesse, would not promise to sup with
them — but upon condition that my Inviter would be my
protection from large drinking, which I was many times
forced to invoke, being courteously entertained, and much
provoked to garussing,2 and so for that time avoided any
great intemperance. Eemembering this, and having since
observed in my conversation at the English Court with the
Scots of the better sort, that they spend great part of the
night in drinking, not onely wine, but even heere, as my
selfe will not accuse them of great intemperance, so I cannot
altogether free them from the imputation of excesse, where
with the popular voice chargeth them.
1 Foreigners, however, brought the same charge of intemperance against
the English. Thus, Perlin, whose account of Scotland has been given, speaks
of the English as "villanous, drunkards, and reprobates." 2 Carousing
(German, gar cms).

HEN EI, DUC DE EOHAN
(1600).
HENEI, Due de Eohan, came to Scotland in 1600 in the
course of a protracted tour through Italy, Germany,
the Low Countries, and England. Born in 1579, of one of the
most illustrious families of France, he had already distinguished
himself in the wars of the League, and had gained the admira
tion and affection of Henry IV. By the Peace of Vervins
(1598), he himself tells us, his career as a soldier was for the
time closed ; and his youth precluded him from other employ
ments in the state. Not to waste his time in inactivity,
therefore, he set out on his travels, which appear to have
been prolonged to twenty months. Of Huguenot birth and
upbringing, he was received with the greatest cordiality
both in England and Scotland. Elizabeth called him son
chevalier, and James made him godfather to Prince Charles.
By his subsequent conduct as champion of the Huguenots,
Eohan achieved one of the most brilliant careers in the
history of France. It should be said that in his Travels he
does not shine as a writer, and that he often gives us reason
to wish that he would forget himself, and tell us plainly
what he saw and heard.1
Voyage du Due de Eohan, Faict en l'an 1600 (p. 205).
IF the affection one naturally bears to a country, together
with the obligations one has received not from one
individual merely, but from the people in general, should
induce one to say pleasant things, I ought to make Scot
land excel not only all the other countries I have seen, but
1 An elaborate biography of Rohan has lately been published — " Henri de
Rohan ; son r61e politique et militaire sous Louis XIII. (1579-1638). Par
Auguste Langel. Paris: Firmin Didot et Cie. 1891."

92 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1600,
should make her the equal of France herself  If we
consider carefully the Scottish king's (James VI.) mode of
life, both public and private, his manners, his actions, the
excellence of his spirit, his learning and his eloquence, we
shall judge him worthy to govern his own kingdom, and much
more. He seems to have been sent at a remarkable crisis-;
for God is wont to bring forth great men in a country, when
He wishes to change a kingdom from one hand to another,
or to ruin or elevate the nation. At the present moment,
England is in such a crisis, and what leads me to think that
it is the Scottish king and no other whom God wishes to be
the instrument of his purposes is the validity of that king's
claim, his rare virtues, and the advantage he has by his
residence in it of appropriating the whole island. It is not
to ruin the kingdom that God has sent so great a king ; since
in that case he would have sent a scourge of his church and
not its restorer.1 Neither has he been sent to raise the state,
for there is no need to raise that which is not fallen. He
must have been sent, therefore (and God grant I may be a
true prophet !), that the whole of this kingdom might be
placed under one head, that the whole of this beautiful
island of Great Britain (which has never chanced before)
might be brought under the same God, the same faith, the
same law, the same king.
I shall not be at the trouble to give a particular descrip
tion of the towns I saw in Scotland (which, indeed, are few
in number), since they possess neither splendid buildings, nor
remarkable antiquities, nor things worthy of special mention.
Moreover, the origins of such things as it does possess are
related in such conflicting fashion by the historians of the
country, that no profit could be drawn from any account of
them. Accordingly, what I shall say will be prompted by
my desire not to show myself ungrateful to places where I
was so hospitably entertained, and to recall the memory of
the courtesies I received at the hands of strangers.
To come to the town of Edinburgh, which is the capital
of Scotland and the ordinary residence of the king, and was
the first town I saw in the country. It is situated on the
river Forth, at rather less than half a league from the sea,
1 As has been said, De Rohan was a Huguenot.

1600.] HENRI, DUC DE ROHAN. 93
and is built upon two mountains. On one of these, and on
the western side, is a strong castle surnamed The Maidens
(Les Pucelles), and so inaccessible on every side, that its
natural position renders it more impregnable than if
strengthened by all the arts of modern engineers, from which
(be it said) it has profited nothing. As to the size of the
town, it may be a mile long and about half a mile wide. It
has no beauty except that of its great street, which stretches
from one end of the town to the other, and is both wide and
straight as well as of great length. As regards its buildings
they are by no means sumptuous, since almost all are con
structed of wood.1 In compensation, however, they are so
stocked with inmates that there can hardly be another town
so populous for its size. It is by far the busiest commercial
town in the country. Indeed, it would be against all reason,
were not this the case. For, in the first place, it is situated
in the most fertile district of Scotland, as is proved by the
fact that more than a hundred country-seats are to be found
within a radius of two leagues of the town2 — it being the
ordinary residence of the court. The second and better
reason is that one of the best harbours in all Scotland is
within less than half a league. This harbour, with the village
beside it, is called Lits, or as we say in ordinary speech
Petit Lict.3 In this village I may remark in conclusion that
the French sustained a siege, highly honourable to our nation,
and exceedingly profitable to the Scots, inasmuch as they not
only with unsurpassable courage restrained the fury of the
English before this unfortunate spot, but were also the means
of saving the whole kingdom.4 This incident will serve to
testify how the two nations, the French and the Scots, have
stood by each other since the treaty made between Scotland
and Charlemagne — a period of eight hundred and seventy-
1 De Rohan was a careless observer. The houses were built of stone, and
only faced unth wood. As will be seen, other travellers, who visited Edinburgh,
used their ej'es to better purpose. 2 Fynes Moryson was also struck by the
number of country-seats in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh (see p. 83, above).
3 As we have seen, this was the name by which the Sire de Beaugue knew
Leith. 4 Rohan refers to the siege of Leith in 1560, when the Scots, assisted
by the English, beset the town. The issue was not so glorious for France as
Rohan thought, since by the Treaty of Leith (1560) the French were forced to
quit Scotland.

94 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1600.
two years, during which it has ever held firm, never has
been violated, and never even altered.1
Several reasons lead me to speak of certain places that did
not commend themselves to me either by their beauty or
antiquity, and I am induced to do so only by certain trifling
considerations, which make me desirous of preserving some
memory of them. Among these places I reckon three little
towns, namely, Lescow,2 Sterlin, and Domfarmelin (I name
them in order of importance), and feel constrained to
mention them here, if not on account of their history and
their beauties, at least by reason of the notable sights I saw
in each of them. In the first I saw the daughter 3 of the King
of Scotland, who is being brought up there, and who is both
well grown and pretty. In the second I saw his son,4 who
gives such promise of being the heir at once of the virtues
and the kingdom of his father, that this spot where he has
been reared will always have a place in men's memories. In
the last I saw the Queen of Scotland,8 a princess in whom
beauty and virtue meet in such wise that for excellence the
one cannot well yield to the other. This last place also
deserves mention for the fact that the birth of the princes and
princesses of Scotland have usually taken place there.6 These,
then, are the most remarkable spectacles I saw in the places
above named, which certainly are as worthy of commemora
tion as the most beautiful palaces in the world. I shall
conclude, therefore, not by describing the origins of these
three towns and castles, but by praising with judgment what
I saw in them, which, indeed, are things more rare and
exquisite than the most beautiful antiquities, which men
remark in other places — as much more worthy I say, as
the reality transcends the copy. For the ancient statues
we see are only esteemed for what they represent (which
are usually kings, princes, or personages, who, by their
1 This legendary alliance of the Scots and Charlemagne is recorded by
Fordun, Boece, Major, and Buchanan. It even appears in the marriage-contract
of Mary and the dauphin Francis, and is acknowledged by French as well as
Scottishhistorians. 2 Linlithgow. 3 Elizabeth, afterwards Queen of Bohemia.
4 Prince Henry who died in 1612. 5 Anne of Denmark. 6 David II., James I.
of Scotland, and Charles I. were born in Dunfermline. The town, however, is
more noted as the burying-place than the birth-place of Scottish monarchs,
since it contains the tombs of seven kings and three queens.

1600.] HENRI, DUC DE ROHAN. 95
singular virtue, were equals of the greatest), or for the merit
of the artists who made them. Now, finding in these
children (if it be permitted to me to compare bodies with
souls to bodies without them), the occasions which lead us
to observe and prize these antiquities, equally for the lineage
and beauty of themselves and the queen their mother, and
for the rare virtue of the latter, I should deem it an
unpardonable fault, if having curiously sought out such
antiquities as are only representations and lifeless models,
I were to pass over those originals which by the hope
certain of them inspire me with of their future actions, and
the knowledge I have of what the others are already
accomplishing, will be, as I believe, among the most remark
able witnesses our century will bequeath to posterity.1
This, then, is all I have remarked in the kingdom of Scot
land, which if I found niggard in producing what is necessary
to human life, I also found truly generous in the produc
tion of virtuous persons. For, besides the nobility whom I
found full of civility and courtesy, the country possesses a
multitude of learned men, and a people of such courage
and fidelity, that our kings of France chose from among them
the soldiers who formed the special guard of their persons.
1 In the original this sentence is well-nigh hopeless.

SIE ANTHONY WELDON (?)
(1617).
THE authorship of the following pasquinade is uncertain.
In some editions it is assigned to James Howell, the
author of the Familiar Letters. As the tract itself proves,
however, it must have been written by one who accompanied
James VI. on his visit to Scotland in 1617, and Howell had
then but left college to take charge of a glass-house in Lon
don. Moreover, the whole tone of this diatribe, so different
from the genial spirit of the Familiar Letters, puts Howell's
authorship out of the question. With more probabihty the
tract has been assigned to Sir Anthony Weldon, who is
known to have accompanied James on his northern visit.
Anthony a Wood gives the following account of Weldon : —
" His (Weldon's) parents took rise from Queen Elizabeth's
kitchen, and left it a legacy for preferment of this issue.1
Sir Anthony went the same way, and by grace of the Court
got up to the Green Cloth ; in which place attending King-
James into Scotland, he practised there to libel that nation ;
which at his return home was found wrapt up in a record of
that Board ; and by the hand being known to be his, he was
deservedly removed from his place as unworthy to eat his
bread, whose birth-right he had so vilely defamed ; yet by
favour of the king, with a piece of money in his purse, and a
pension to boot to preserve him loyal during his life, though
as a bad creditor he took this course to repay him to the
purpose. In his life-time he discovered part of this piece to
his fellow courtier, who earnestly dissuaded him not to pub
lish so defective and false a scandal  "
The "piece" to which Wood refers is entitled The Court
1 Wood is in error regarding Weldon's family, which belonged to Northum
berland, and was of ancient standing (The Antiquarian Repertory, vol. ii.
pp. 326, 327).

[1617.] SIR ANTHONY WELDON (?). 97
and Character of King James (London, 1650) — a description
which cannot apply to the following tract. The text pro
duced here is that of a small volume with the title, " A
Perfect Description of the People and Country of Scotland ;
reprinted from a very scarce pamphlet, written by James
Howel, gent." (printed at London for J. S. 1649).1
A perfect Description of the People and Country
of Scotland.
FIEST, for the country, I must confess it is good for those
that possess it, and too bad for others, to be at the
charge to conquer it. The air might be wholesome but for the
stinking people that inhabit it ; the ground might be fruitful
had they wit to manure it.
Their beasts be generally small, women only excepted, of
which sort there are none greater in the whole world. There
is great store of fowl too, as foul houses, foul sheets, foul
linen, foul dishes and pots, foul trenchers and napkins, with
which sort we have been forced to say as the children
did with their fowl in the wilderness. They have good
store of fish too, and good for those that can eat it raw;
but if it come once into their hands, it is worse than if it
were three days old : for their butter and cheese, I will not
meddle withal at this time, nor no man else at any time that
loves his life.
They have great store of deer, but they are so far from
the place where I have been, that I rather believe than go to
disprove it: I confess, all the deer I met withal, was dear
lodgings, dear horse-meat, and dear tobacco, and English
beer.2 As for fruit, for their grandsire Adam's sake they never
planted any ; and for other trees, had Christ been betrayed
1 I found in the Bodleian Library what appears to be the original manuscript
of this pamphlet (Tanner's MSS., No. 237). It is in the form of aletter dated
from Leith, near Edinburgh, in Scotland, 1617, and signed J. S. The initials,
which are doubtless a pseudepigraph, throw no light on the authorship of the
letter. 2 The crowd that accompanied James to Edinburgh would, of course,
raise prices ; but at ordinary times, as other testimonies in this collection prove,
English travellers found most commodities cheaper in Scotland than in their
own country. G

98 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1617.
in this country (as doubtless he should, had he come as a
stranger), Judas had sooner .found the grace of repentance,
than a tree to hang himself on.
They have many hills, wherein they say is much treasure,
but they shew none of it ; nature hath only discovered to
them some mines of coal, to shew to what end he created
them. I saw little grass but in their pottage : the thistle is not
given of nought, for it is the fairest flower in their garden.
The word hay is Heathen-Greek unto them ; x neither man
nor beast knows what it means.
Corn is reasonable plenty at this time; for since they
heard of the king's coming, it hath been as unlawful for the
common people to eat wheat,2 as it was in the old time for
any but the priests to eat shew-bread. They prayed much
for his coming, and long fasted fpr his welfare ; 3 but in the
more plain sense, that he might fare the better. All his
followers were welcome but his guard; for those, they say,
are like Pharaoh's lean kine, and threaten death wheresoever
they come : they could persuade the footmen that oaten
cakes would make them long-winded, and the children of the
chapel4 they have brought to eat of them for the maintenance
of their voices.
They say our cooks are too saucy, and for grooms and
coachmen they wish them to give to their horses no worse
than they eat themselves. They commend the brave minds
of the pensioners and the gentlemen of the bed-chamber,
which chuse rather to go to taverns, than to be always eating
of the king's provision ; they likewise do commend the
yeomen of the buttery and cellar, for their readiness and
silence, in that they will hear twenty knocks before they will
1 The Scots had expressed a desire that James should defer his visit till the
grass had grown for cattle (State Papers of Reign of James VI., 22nd Feb.
1617). Cf. what Morer, a later traveller, says regarding hay in Scotland
(p. 266). 2 All the early travellers in Scotland, we have seen, agree in stating
that oatmeal was the chief fare of the lowland Scots. Subsequent travellers
bear the same testimony. There was, therefore, no need for any prohibition
such as Weldon mentions. 3 The State Papers say distinctly that James's
journey was "disliked by both nations as too costly " (15th March 1617).
4 James had lately sent choristers and an organ down from England to the
Royal Chapel at Holyrood. It was the first time such music had been heard
there since the dethronement of Mary (Calderwood, vii. 264).

1617.] SIR ANTHONY WELDON (?). 99
answer one. They persuade the trumpeters that fasting is
good for men of that quality ; for emptiness, they say, causes
wind, and wind causes a trumpet to sound well.
The bringing of heralds they say was a needless charge ;
they all know their pedigrees well enough, and the harbingers
might have beeu spared, seeing they brought so many beds
with them ; and of two evils the least should be chosen.
They wish the beds might remain with them, and the poor
harbingers keep their places and do their office as they return.
His hangings1 they desire might likewise be left as reliques
to put them in mind of his majesty : and they promise to
dispense with the wooden images;2 but for those graven images
in his new beautified chapel, they threaten to pull down soon
after his departure, and to make of them a burnt offering, to
appease the indignation they imagine conceived against them
in the breast of the Almighty, for suffering such idolatry to
enter into their kingdom : the organ I think will find mercy,
because (as they say) there is some affinity between them
and bag-pip'es.
The skipper that brought the singing men with their
papistical vestments, complains that he hath been much
troubled with a strange singing in his head ever since they
came aboard his ship, for remedy whereof, the parson of the
parish hath persuaded him to sell that profane vessel, and to
distribute the money among the faithful brethren.
For his majesty's entertainment, I must needs ingenuously
confess, he was received in the parish of Edinburgh (for a
city I cannot.call it), with great shouts of joy, but no shews
of charge for pageants ;3 they hold them idolatrous things,
and not fit to be used in so reformed a place : from the castle
they gave him some pieces of ordnance, which surely he gave
them since he was king of England ; and at the entrance of
1 It was reported that the German tapestry makers were entreated by the Scots
to make hangings that should look old in order that Scotland might not seem
to have wanted such things (State Papers, 9th May 1617). 2 Following the
organ and choristers, images of the patriarchs and apostles were sent by James
for the adornment of his chapel. So alarming was the tumult on their arrival,
however, that he was forced to forgo his purpose of introducing them. In a
characteristic letter to the bishops, James gave his reason for abandoning his
intention (Original Letters, Bannatyne Club, 466). s According to the State
Papers his court was magnificently entertained in Edinburgh, and the king
and his nobles were much content with their reception (6th May and 9th June).

100 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1617.
the town they presented him. with a golden bason, which was
carried before him on mens shoulders to his palace, I think,
from whence it came. His majesty was conveyed by the
younkers of the town, which were about an hundred halberds
(dearly shall they rue it, in regard of the charge) to the Cross,
and so to the high church, where the only bell they had
stood on tip-toe to behold his sweet face, where I must
intreat you to spare him ; for an hour I lost him.1
In the mean time, to report the speeches of the people
concerning his never-exampled entertainment, were to make
this discourse too tedious unto you, as the sermon was to those
that were constrained to endure it. After the preachment he
was conducted by the same halberds unto his palace, of which
I forbear to speak, because it was a place sanctified by his
divine majesty ; only I wish it had been better walled for
my friends sake that waited on him.
Now I will begin briefly to speak of the people according
to their degrees and qualities : For the lords spiritual, they
may well be termed so indeed, for they are neither fish nor
flesh, but what it shall please tlieir earthly God, the king, to
make them. Obedience is better than sacrifice, and there
fore they make a mock at martyrdom, saying, That Christ
was to die for them, and not they for him. They will rather
subscribe than surrender, and rather dispense with small
things than trouble themselves with great disputation ; they
will rather acknowledge the king to be their head than want
wherewith to pamper their bodies.
They have taken great pains and trouble to compass their
bishopricks, and they will not leave them for a trifle ; for the
deacons, whose defects will not lift them up to dignities, all
their study is to disgrace them that have gotten the least
degree above them ; and because they cannot bishop, they
proclaim they never heard of any. The scriptures, say they,
speak of deacons and elders, but not a word of bishops.
Their discourses are full of detraction, their sermons nothing
but railing, and their conclusions nothing but heresies and
i An interesting memorial of James's visit to Edinburgh is a collection of
congratulatory Latin poems presented to him by the college, contained in a
volume entitled " N02TOAIA. In serenissimi, potentissimi, et inviotissimi
monarchae, Jacobi Magna; Britannia:, Franciae, et Hibernian Regis, fidei defen-
soris, &c, felicem inScotiain reditum, Academic Edinburgensis congratulatio. "

1617.] SIR ANTHONY WELDON (?). 101
treasons. For the religion they have, I confess they hold it
above reach, and, God willing, I will never reach for it.
They christen without the cross, marry without the ring,
receive the sacrament without reverence, die without repent
ance, and bury without divine service : they keep no holy-
days, nor acknowledge any saint but St Andrew, who they
said got that honour by presenting Christ with an oaten cake
after his forty, days fast. They say likewise, that he that
translated the Bible was the son of a maltster, because it
speaks of a miracle done by barley-loaves ; whereas they
swear they were oaten cakes, and that no other bread of that
quantity could have sufficed so many thousands.
They use no prayer at all,1 for they say it is needless ;
God knows their minds without pratling, and what he
doth, he loves to do it freely. Their Sabbath exercise is a
preaching in the forenoon, and a persecuting in the afternoon; 2
they go to church in the forenoon to hear the law, and to
the crags and mountains in the afternoon to louse them
selves. They hold their noses if you talk of bear-baiting, and stop
their ears if you speak of play ; fornication they hold but a
pastime, wherein man's ability is approved, and a woman's
fertility is discovered ; at adultery they shake their heads ;
theft they rail at ; murder they wink at, and blasphemy they
laugh at ; they think it impossible to lose the. way to heaven,
if they can but leave Eome behind them.'.
To be opposite to the pope, is to be presently with God :
To conclude, -I am persuaded, that if God and his angels, at
the last day, should come down in their whitest garments
they would run away and cry, " The children of the chapel
are come again to torment us, let us fly from the abomina
tion of these, boys, and hide ourselves in the mountains."
For the lords temporal and spiritual, temporising gentle
men ! if I were a.pt to speak of any, I could not speak much
of them ; only I must let you know they are not Scottishmen ;
1 It would, of course, be absurd to take Weldon seriously ; but it is worth
mentioning that we have Alexander Henderson's testimony that a set of form
of prayer was in use in the Presbyterian churches at this time (The Order and
Government of the Church of Scotland, " Address to the Reader "). 2 Persons
- were appointed by the church to see that there were no loiterers in the streets
during time of service (see below, p. 144).

102 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1617.
for as soon as they fall from the breast of the beast their
mother, their careful father posts them away for France,1
which as they pass, the sea sucks from them that which they
have sucked from their rude dams ; there they gather new
flesh, new blood, new manners ; and there they learn to put
on their cloaths, and then return into their country to wear
them out : there they learn to stand, speak, discourse and
congee, to court women, and to compliment with men.
They spared for no cost to honour the king, nor for no
complimental curtesy to welcome their countrymen ; their
followers are their fellows, their wives their slaves, their
horses their masters, and their swords their judges ; by reason
whereof, they have but few labourers, and those not very
rich : their parliaments hold but three days, their statutes
are three lines, and their suits are determined in a manner
in three words, or very few more.
The wonders of their kingdom are these ; the Lord Chan
cellor, he is believed,2 the Master of the Eolls well spoken
of,3 and the whole council, who are the judges for all causes,
are free from suspicion of corruption. The country, although
it be mountainous, affords no monsters but women, of which
the greatest sort (as countesses and ladies) are kept like lions
in iron gates ; the merchants wives also prisoners, but not in
so strong a hold ; they have wooden cages,4 like our Boar-
franks, through which sometimes peeping to catch the air,
we are almost choaked with the sight of them. The greatest
madness amongst the men, is jealousie ; in that they fear
what no man that hath but two of his senses will take from
them. The ladies are of opinion, that Susanna could not be chaste,
because she bathed so often. Pride is a thing bred in their
bones, and their flesh naturally abhors cleanliness ; their body
smells of sweat, and their splay feet never offend in socks.
1 There were still many Scotsmen to be found in France at the beginning of
the seventeenth century ; but their numbers had, of course, decreased since
Scotland had become Protestant. 2 The Lord Chancellor of Scotland at this
date was Alexander, Earl of Dunfermline, who died in 1622. 3 By Master
of the Rolls must be meant the Lord Clerk Register, who was, in fact, known
as " clericus rotulorum." The office was at this time held by Sir George Hay,
afterwards Earl of Kinnoul. 4 Weldon is probably thinking of the small
windows and the wooden facings of the houses. See below, p. 232.

1617.] SIR ANTHONY WELDON (?). 103
To be chained in marriage with one of them, were to be tied
to a dead carcass, and cast into a stinking ditch ; formosity
and a dainty face are things they dream not of.
The ointments they most frequently use amongst them are
brimstone and butter for the scab, and oil of bays, and
stavesacre.1 I protest I had rather be the meanest servant
of my two pupils chamber-maids, than to be the master-
minion to the fairest countess I have yet discovered. The
sin of curiosity of ointments is but newly crept into the
kingdom, and I do not think it will long continue.
And therefore, to conclude, the men of old did no more
wonder that the great Messias should be born in so poor a
town as Bethlem in Judea, than I do wonder that so brave
a prince as king James, should be borne in so stinking a
town as Edinburgh in lousy Scotland.2
1 Stavesacre, or larkspur. 2 A contemporary reply by an indignant Scot to
his above pasquinade will be found reprinted in the Abbotsford Miscellany.

TAYLOE, THE WATEE-POET
(1618).
OF the early travellers who visited Scotland, none is
better known than Taylor, the Water-Poet ; and his
account of his travels, if not the most instructive we possess,
is certainly not the least entertaining. In his rollicking
spirits and good-humoured acceptance of everybody and
everything, we have an agreeable contrast to the cankered
spite of Weldon. There were many reasons that disposed
him to speak kindly of the Scots and their country. Its
inferiority to England in the conveniences and refinements
of social life would not thrust itself on a man of Taylor's
birth and upbringing. His narrative proves that he was
everywhere entertained by nobles and gentry in a manner
that would have made it gross ingratitude for him to speak
of their country in any but the most flattering terms. He
knew, also, that King James himself would read his book,
and would not be slow to resent any slight on the country
of his birth.1 But above all there can be no doubt that
Taylor was one of those easy souls, who are not disposed to
haggle with fortune, but take in good part whatever fare she
may please to set before them.
In spite of his own protestations, it seems probable that
Taylor's visit was prompted by the rumoured intention of a
similar visit on the part of Ben Jonson. For some time, it
had been the talk of the town that Jonson purposed making
a pedestrian tour to Scotland.2 As he was now in his forty-
fifth year, and, according, to his own description of himself,
was " of mountain belly " and " prodigious waist," 3 the wits
1 It would seem that James had a high opinion of Taylor's poetical powers.
One of Drammond's notes of Ben Jonson's conversation with him is—" Neither
did he (James) see ever any verses in England [equal] to the Sculler's."
2 Jonson's intended visit to Scotland is referred to in the State Papers of
Reign of James VI. as early as the 4th of June 1617. 3 The first of these
expressions occurs in a poem entitled, " My Picture left in Scotland."

[1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 105
had made merry at his projected expedition. It was Jonson's
belief, therefore, that certain mischievous persons had given
the cue to Taylor by way of caricaturing the absurdity of
his own intention. Jonson, however, was not the man to be
laughed out of any scheme on which he had set his mind ;
and, accordingly, towards the end of- June or the beginning of
July, 1618, he set out on his' travels. A week or two later,
on July 14, Taylor followed in his steps ; and to outdo
Ben, undertook not only to achieve the journey on foot, but
without a coin in his pocket, and under a pledge neither to
beg or borrow — a pledge, as will be seen, which he certainly
did not keep to the letter.
It would seem that such whimsical wagers were not
uncommon at the time. A certain "loving friend" of
Taylor's own, Samuel Eowlands, refers to some of these in
the following lines : —
Ferris gave cause of vulgar wonderment,
When unto Bristom in a boat he went :
Another with his sculler ventured more,
That rowed to Flushing from our English shore :
Another did devise a wooden whale
Which unto Calais did from Dover sail :
Another with his oars and slender ferry
From London unto Antwerp o'er did ferry :
Another, maugre fickle fortunes' teeth,
Eowed hence to Scotland and arrived at Leith.1
According to Southey, Taylor " came into the world at the
right time, and lived in an age when kings and queens
condescended to notice him, nobles and archbishops admitted
him to their table, and mayors and corporations received
him with civic honours." 2 Taylor's experiences in Scotland
fully bear out what Southey says. From his own narrative,
written in no spirit of vain self-laudation, it is clear that
1 Another preposterous undertaking of Taylor's own was to sail from London
to Queenborough in a brown paper boat with two stock-fish tied to two canes
for -oars. Before he and his companion had been half an hour in the water
the paper wentto pieces. Fortunately, the skeleton of the boat was supported by
four large bladders on either side, and after being on the water from Saturday
evening till Monday morning, they reached their destination in safety.
2 Southey, Lives of Uneducated Poets, p. 86.

106 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1618.
the leading Scottish nobles and gentry gave him a friendly
hand, and did their best to make him think well of their
country. Doubtless, their hospitality was the more readily
given that they would have their own laugh at the sculler-
poet's expense. Taylor himself, however, evidently saw
nothing of this, and he was not the man to be made a butt
of with impunity. On the 15th October, after an absence of
precisely three months, he returned to London equally pleased
with himself and with all that he had seen. His friends met
him at Islington at the sign of the Maidenhead, where after an
excellent supper they had a play of the " Life and Death of
Guy of Warwick " performed by the Earl of Derby's men.
As it had been part of Taylor's object to make capital
out of his adventures, he lost no time in putting together
his account of them. By the introduction of hackney-
coaches his business as a waterman had become somewhat
precarious, so that he had been driven to various shifts to
add to his earnings. His method of publication was to
print his books at his own expense, and hawk them about
among such patrons of literature as he found in London or
elsewhere in the course of his travels. This was the method
he followed in the present case, and he seems to have had
no reason to grumble at the result. To set himself right
with Ben Jonson he accompanied his book with the following
dedication : —
" To all my loving adventurers, by what title soever, my
general salutation — Eeader, these Travels of mine into Scot
land were not undertaken neither in imitation, nor emula
tion of any man, but only devised by myself on purpose to
make trial of my friends both in this Kingdom of England,
and that of Scotland, and because I would be an eye-witness
of divers things which I had heard of that country, and
whereas many shallow-brained critics do lay an aspersion
on me that I was set on by others, or that I did undergo this
project, either in malice or mockage of Master Benjamin
Jonson, I vow by the faith of a Christian that their imagina
tions are all wide, for he is a gentleman to whom I am
obliged for so many undeserved courtesies that I have
received from him, and from others by his favour that I
durst never be so impudent or ungrateful as either to suffer

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 107
any man's persuasions, or mine own instigation, to incite me
to make so bad a requital for so much goodness formerly
received." The Pennyless Pilgrimage, or the Moneylesse Perambula
tion of John Taylor, alias, the King's Majesties
Water-Poet : How he travailed on foot from
London to Edenborough in Scotland, not carrying
any Money to or fro, neither Begging, Borrowing,
or asking Meate, Drinke, or Lodging.
MY first night's lodging in Scotland was at a place called
Mophot, which, they say, is thirty miles from Carlile,
but I suppose them to be longer than forty of such miles as
are betwixt London and Saint Albanes (but indeed the Scots
doe allow almost as large measure of their miles, as they
doe of their drinke, for an English gallon, either of ale or
wine, is but their quart, and one Scottish mile, now and
then, may well stand for a mile and a halfe, or two English) ;
but howsoever short or long, I found that dayes journey the
weariest that ever I footed ; and at night being come to the
towne, I found good ordinary countrey entertainment ; my
fare and my lodging was sweet and good, and might have
served a farre better man then my selfe, although my selfe
have had many times better 1 : but this is to be noted, that
though it rained not all the day, yet it was my fortune to be
well wet twise, for I waded over a great river called Eske
in the morning, somewhat more then foure miles distance
from Carlile in England, and at night, within two miles of
my lodging, I was faine to wade over the river of Annan in
Scotland, from which river the county of Annandale hath
its name. And whilst I waded on foot, my man was
mounted on horse-backe, like the George without the dragon.
But the next morning, I arose and left Mophot behind me,
1 The traveller of 1704, already quoted, was not so well pleased with
Moffat, though. after the lapse of nearly a century the village should have
been a more creditable place than in the time of the Water-Poet. "This
(Moffat)," he says, " is a small stragling town, among high hills, and is the
town of their wells, iu sumer time people comeing here to drink waters ; but
what sort of people they are, or where they get lodgings, I can't tell, for I did
not like their lodgings well enough to go to bedd, but got such as I could to
refresh me, and so came away " (p. 60).

108 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1618.
and that day I traveled twenty-one miles to a sory village
called Blithe,1 but I was blithe my selfe to come to any place
of harbour or succour, for since I was borne, I never was so
weary, or so neere being dead with extreme travell; I was
founderd and refounderd of all foure, and for my better
comfort, I came so late, that I must lodge without doores all
night, or else in a poore house where the good- wife lay in
child-bed, her husband being from home, her owne servant
mayde being her nurse. A creature naturally compacted,
and artificially adorned with an incomparable homelines ;
but as things were I must either take or leave, and necessity
made mee enter, where we gat egges and ale by measure and
by tale. At last to bed I went, my man lying on the floore
by mee, where in the night there were pidgeons did very
bountifully mute in his face : the day being no sooner come,
and having but fifteene miles to Edenborough, mounted upon
my ten toes, and began first to hobble, and after to amble,
and so being warme, I fell to pace by degrees ; all the way
passing thorow a fertill countrey for corne and cattle : and
about two of the clocke in the afternoone that Wednesday,
being the thirteenth of August, and the day of Clare the
Virgin (the signe being in Virgo), the moone foure dayes old,
the wind at west, I came to take rest, at the wished, long
expected, ancient, famous city of Edenborough, which I entred
like Pierce, pennilesse,2 altogether monyles, but I thanke
God, not friendlesse ; for being there, for the time of my stay,
I might borrow (if any man would lend), spend if I could
get, begge if I had the impudence, and steal if I durst
adventure the price of a hanging, but my purpose was to
house my horse, and to suffer him and my apparell to lye
in durance, or lavender3 in stead of litter, till such time
as I could meete with some valiant friend, that would
desperately disburse.
Walking thus downe the street (my body being tyred with
travell, and my minde attyred with moody, muddy, Moore-
1 Now Blythe Bridge in the south of Linton parish, Peebleshire. 2 Pierce
Pennilesse, by Thomas Nash (London, 1592). 3 " To lay in lavender" is to
lay by carefully, as clothes with sprigs of lavender among them. " Good
faith, waiter, rather than that thou should' st pawn a rag more I '11 lay my lady
ship in lavender, if I know where" ("Eastward Hoe," 1605, Ogilvie's Im
perial Dictionary).

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 109
ditch melancholy), my contemplation did devoutly pray, that
I might meete one or other to prey upon, being willing to
take any slender acquaintance of any map whatsoever ;
viewing and circumviewing every mans face I met, as if I
meant to draw his picture, but all my acquaintance was
Non est inventus (pardon me, reader, that Latine is none of
mine owne, I swear by priscians paricranion? an oath which
I have ignorantly broken many times). At last I resolv'd,
that the next gentleman that I met withall, should be
acquaintance whether hee would or no : and presently fixing
mine eyes upon a gentleman-like object, I looked on him, as
if I would survay something through him, and make him
my perspective : and hee, much musing at my gazing, and I
much gazing at his musing, at last he crost the way and
made toward me, and then I made downe the street from
him, leaving to encounter with my man, who came after me
leading my horse, whom he thus accosted, My friend (quoth
he), doth yonder gentleman (meaning me) know me, that he
lookes so wistly on me ? Truly Sir, said my man, I thinke
not, but my master is a stranger come from London, and
would gladly meete some acquaintance to direct him where
he may have lodging and horse meate. Presently the
gentleman (being of a generous disposition) over-tooke me
with unexpected and undeserved courtesie, brought me to a
lodging, and caused my horse to bee put into his owne
stable, whilest we discoursing over a pinte of Spanish, I
related as much English to him, as made him lend him tenne
shillings (his. name was Master John Maxwell), which money
I am sure was the first that I handled after I came from out
the walls of London : but having rested two houres and
refreshed myselfe, the gentleman and I walked to see the
city and the castle, which as my poore unable and unworthy
pen can, I will truly describe.
The castle on a loftie rocke is so strongly grounded,
bounded, and founded, that by force of man it can never be
confounded; the foundation and walls are unpenetrable, the
rampiers impregnable, the bulwarkes invincible, no way but
i Cf. the phrase " to break the head of Priscian," that is, to violate grossly
the rules of grammar.

110 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1618.
one to it is or can be possible to be made passable. In a
word, I have seene many straights and fortresses in Germany,
the Netherlands, Spaine, and England, but they must all
give place to this unconquered castle, both for strength and
scituation. Amongst the many memorable things which I was shewed
there, I noted especially a great peece of ordnance of iron ;
it is not for batterie, but it will serve to defend a breach,
or to tosse balles of wilde-fire against any that should assaile
or assault the castle ; it lyes now dismounted ; and it is so
great within, that it was told me that a childe was once
gotten there : but I, to make tryall crept into it, lying on
my backe, and I am sure there was roome enough and spare
for a greater than my selfe.1
So leaving the castle, as it is both defensive against any
opposition, and magnificke for lodging and receite, I descended
lower to the city, wherein I observed the fairest and
goodliest streete that ever mine eyes beheld, for I did never
see or heare of a street of that length (which is halfe an
English mile from the castle to a faire port which they call
the Nether-bow), aud from that port, the streete which they
call the Kenny-hate2 is one quarter of a mile more, downe to
the kings palace, called Holy-rood-house, the buildings on
each side of the way being all of squared stone, five, six, and
seven stories high, and many by-lanes and closes on each
side of the way, wherein are gentlemens houses, much fairer
then the buildings in the high-street, for in the high-street
marchants and tradesmen do dwell, but the gentlemens
mansions and goodliest houses are obscurely founded in the
aforesaid lanes : the walles are eight or tenne foote thicke,
exceeding strong, not built for a day, a weeke, or a moneth,
or a yeere ; 3 but from antiquitie to posteritie, for many
ages ; there I found entertainment beyond my expectation
or merit, and there is fish, flesh, bread and fruit, in such
1 The "piece of ordnance" is, of course, Mons Meg, which was regarded by
the Scots themselves as a national possession, and which, as will be seen,
excited the astonishment of all their visitors. It seems now to be settled that
it was of foreign manufacture (Preface to Exchequer Rolls, vol. xiii. p. clxxi).
2 Canongate. 3 Taylor seems to have been more impressed by the city walls
than Fynes Moryson. As far as we know, they were in the same condition
when both travellers saw them.

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. Ill
variety, that I thinke I may offencelesse call it superfluity,
or saciety. The worst was, that wine and ale' was so scarce,
and the people were such mizers of it, that every night
before I went to bed, if any man had asked me a civill
question, all the wit in my head could not have made him a
sober answer.
I was at his Majesties palace, a stately and princely seate,
wherein I saw a sumptuous chappell, most richly adorned
with all appurtenances belonging to so sacred a place, or so
royall an owner. In the inner court, I saw the kings armes
cunningly carved in stone, and fixed over a doore aloft on
the wall, the red lyon being the crest, over which was written
this inscription in Latine,
Nobis haze invieta miserunt 106 proavi,
I enquired what the English of it was ? It was told me as
followeth, which I thought worthy to be recorded :
106 fore-fathers have left this to us unconquered.
This is a worthy and memorable motto, and I thinke few
kingdomes or none in the world can truly write the like,
that notwithstanding so many inroades, incursions, attempts,
assaults, civill warres, and forraigne hostilities, bloody
battles, and mighty foughten fields, that maugre the strength
and policy of enemies, that royall crowne and scepter hath
from one hundred and seven descents, kept still unconquered,
and by the power of the King of Kings (through the grace
of the Prince of peace), is now left peacefully to our peacefull
king, whom long in blessed peace, the God of peace defend
and governe.1
But once more, a word or two of Edenborough, although
I have scarcely given it that due which belongs unto it,
for their lofty and stately buildings, and for their faire and
spacious streete, yet my minde perswades me that they in
former ages that first founded that citie did not so well, in
that they built it in so discommodious a place ; for the sea,
and all navigable rivers, being the chiefe meanes for the
1 This is the latest description we possess of the Old Palace of Holyrood,
which was destroyed by fire during its occupation by Cromwell's soldiery in
1650 (Wilson, Memorials of Edinburgh, p. 407, ed. 1886).

112 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1618.
enriching of townes and cities, by the reason of traffique
with forraine nations, with exportation, transportation, and
receite of variety of marchandizing ; so this citie had it
beene built but one mile lower on the seaside, I doubt not
but it had long before this beene comparable to many a one
of our greatest townes and cities in Europe, both for
spaciousness of bounds, port, state, and riches. It is said,
that King James the fifth (of famous memory) did graciously
offer to purchase for them, and to bestow upon them freely,
certaine low and pleasant grounds a mile from them on the
sea-shore, with these conditions, that they should pull downe
their citie, and build it in that more commodious place, but
the citizens refused it ; x and so now it is like (for me) to
stand where it doth, for I doubt such another profer of
removall will not be presented to them till two dayes after
the faire.
Now have with you for Leeth, whereto I no sooner came,
but I was well entertained by Master Barnard Lindsay, one
of the groomes of his Majesties bed-chamber, hee knew my
estate was not guilty, because I brought guilt with me (more
then my sins, and they would not passe for current there),
hee therefore did replenish the vaustity of my empty purse,
and discharged a piece at mee with two bullets of gold, each
being in value worth eleven shillings white money : and I
was credibly informed, that within the compass of one yeere,
there was shipped away from that onely port in Leeth, foure
score thousand boles of wheat, oates, and barley into Spaine,
France, and other forraine parts, and every bole containes
the measure of foure English bushels, so that from Leeth
onely hath beene transported three hundred and twenty
thousand bushels of come ; besides, some hath beene shipped
away from Saint Andrewes, from Dundee, Aberdeene, Disert,
Kirkady, Kinghorne, Burnt-iland, Dunbar, and other portable
townes, which makes mee to wonder that a kingdome so
populous as it is, should neverthelesse sell so much bread-
corne beyond the seas, and yet to have more then sufficient
for themselves.
So I having viewed the haven and towne of Leeth, tooke
i I have beeu unable to discover Taylor's authority for this offer of James V.

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 113
a passage boate to see the new wondrous well,1 to which
many a one that is not well, comes farre and neere in hope
to be made well : indeed, I did heare that it had done much
good, and that it hath a rare operation to expell or kill
divers maladies ; as to provoke appetite, to helpe much for
the avoyding of the gravell in the bladder, to cure sore eyes,
and old ulcers, with many other vertues which it hath, but
I (through the mercy of God, having no need of it) did make
no great inquisition what it had done, but for novelty I
dranke of it, and I found the taste to be more pleasant than
any other water, sweet almost as milke, yet as cleare as
cristall ; and I did observe, that though a man did drinke
a quarte, a pottle, or as much as his belly could containe,
yet it never offended or lay heavy upon the stomacke, no
more then if one had dranke but a pint, or a small quantity.
I went two miles from it to a towne called Burnt-iland,
where I found many of my especiall good friends, as Master
Eobert Hay, one of the groomes of his Majesties bed
chamber, Master David Drummond, one of his gentlemen
pentioners, Master James Acmooty [Auchmuchty], one of
the groomes of the privie chamber, Captaine Murray, Sir
Henry Witherington, knight, Captaine Tyrie, and divers
others : and there Master Hay, Master Drummond, and the
good olde Captaine Murray did very bountifully furnish mee
with gold for my expenses, but I being at dinner with those
aforesaid gentlemen, as we were discoursing, there befell a
strange accident, which I thinke worth the relating.
I know not upon what occasion they began to talke of
being at sea in former times, and I (amongst the rest) said,
I was at the taking of Cales : 2 whereto an English gentle
man replyed, that hee was the next good voyage after at the
Hands :3 I answered him that I was there also. He demanded,
in what ship I was ? I tolde him in the Eainebowe of the
Queenes : why (quoth he), doe you not know me ? I was
in the same ship, and my name is Witherington.
Sir, said I, I do remember the name well, but by reason
1 The medicinal spring at Kinghorn was first brought iuto repute by Dr
Patrick Anderson in his " Colde Spring of Kinghorne Craig, his admirable
and newe tryed properties.'' (1618.) The springno longer attracts attention.
s Cales, i.e., Cadiz, which was taken by the Earl of Essex in 1596. 3 The
West Indies. H

114 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1618.
that it is neere two and twenty yeers since I saw you, I may
well forget the knowledge of you. Well, said he, if you
were in that ship, I pray you tell me some remarkable token
that happened in the voyage, whereupon I told him two or
three tokens ; which he did know to be true. Nay then, said
I, I will tell you another, which (perhaps) you have not
forgotten ; as our ship and the rest of the fleet did ride at
anchor at the ile of Flores (one of the iles of the Azores),
there were some fourteene men and boyes of our ship, that
for novelty would goe ashore, and see what fruit the iland
did beare, and what entertainment it would yeeld us : so
being landed, we went up and downe and could finde nothing
but stones, heath and mosse, and wee expected oranges,
limonds, figges, muske-millions,1 and potatoes : in the meane
space, the wind did blow so stiff, and the sea was so extreme
rough, that our ship-boate could not come to the land to fetch
us, for feare she should bee beaten in pieces against the
rockes : this continued five dayes, so that we were almost
famished for want of food ; but at last (I squandring up and
downe) by the providence of God, I hapned into a cave, or
poore habitation, where I found fif teene loaves of bread, each
of the. quantity of a penny loafe in England, I having a
valiant stomacke, of the age of almost a hundred and twenty
houres breeding, fell to, and ate two loaves and never said
grace : and as I was about to make a horse-loafe 2 of the
third loafe, I did put twelve of them into my breeches,3 and
my sleeves, and so went mumbling out of the cave, leaning
my backe against a tree, when upon the sudden a gentleman
came to me, and said, Friend, what are you eating ? Bread
(quoth I). For Gods sake, said he, give me some. With
that, I put my hand into my breech (being my best pantrey),
and I gave him a loafe, which he received with many
thankes, and said, that if ever he could requite it, he would.
I had no sooner told this tale, but Sir Henry Withering
ton did acknowledge himself to be the man that I had given
the loafe unto two and twenty yeeres before ; here I found
1 Musk-melon. 2 A large loaf composed of beans and wheat ground
together, used for feeding horses.
" 0 ! that I were in my oat-tub with a horse loaf-
Something to hearten me." — Beaumont and Fletcher.
3 This was the period of trunk-hose, so that this is no exaggeration.

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 115
the proverbe true, that men have more priviledge then
mountaines in meeting.
In what great measure hee did requite so small a courtesie,
I will relate in this following discourse in my returne through
Northumberland : So leaving my man at the towne of
Burnt-ilande, I tolde him, I would goe to Sterling, and see
the castle there, and withall to see my honourable friends
the Earle of Marr, and Sir William Murray, knight, Lord of
Abercarny, and that I would returne within two dayes at
the most : But it fell out quite contrary ; for it was five and
thirtie dayes before I could get backe againe out of these
noblemen's company. The whole progres of my travell with
them, and the cause of my stay, I cannot with gratefulness
omit ; and thus it was.
A worthy gentleman, named Master John Fenton, did
bring me on my way sixe miles to Dumfermling, where I
was well entertained, and lodged at Master John Gibb his
house, one of the groomes of his majesties bed-chamber, and
I thinke the oldest servant the King hath : withall I was
well entertained there by Master Crighton at his owne house,
who went with me, and shewed me the Queenes palace,
(a delicate and princely mansion), withall I saw the mines
of an ancient and stately built abbey, with faire gardens,
orchards, medows belonging to the palace: all which, with faire
and goodly revenues, by the suppression of the abbey, were
annexed to the crowne. There also I saw a very faire
church, which though it bee now very large and spacious,
yet it hath in former times beene much larger. But I
taking my leave of Dumfermling, would needs goe and see
the truely noble knight Sir George Bruce, at a towne called
Cooras : 1 there hee made mee right welcome, both with
1 Cooras, i.e., Culross, locally pronounced as Taylor wrote it. The pit of
which he speaks was near Culross Abbey Church. It ran out under the Forth
for nearly a mile, and had a sea-shaft that communicated with an insulated
wharf. This mine, reckoned one of the wonders of Scotland, was drowned in
the great storm of March 1625, six years after Taylor's visit. Tradition has
it that James VI. during his visit to Scotland in 1617 was, at his own request,
taken through the pit by Sir George Bruce to the above-mentioned wharf.
Finding himself in the midst of the waves he raised his usual cry of
"Treason," when Sir George pointed to a pinnace at the wharf, and offered
him the choice of going ashore in it, or returning by the way they had come.
His majesty chose the shorter way.

116 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1618.
varietie of fare, and after all, hee commanded three of his
men to direct me to see his most admirable cole-mines,
which (if man can or could worke wonders) is a wonder :
for my selfe neither in any travells that I have beene in,
nor any history that I have read, or any discourse that I
have heard, did never see, read, or heare of any worke of
man that might parallell or bee equivalent with this un-
fellowed and unmatchable worke : and though all I can say
of it cannot describe it according to the worthines of his
vigilant industry, that was both the occasion, inventor, and
maintainer of it ; yet rather then the memory of so rare an
enterprise, and so aecomplisht a profit tp the common-wealth
shall bee raked and smothered in the dust of oblivion, I will
give a little touch at the description of it, although I, amongst
writers, am like he that worst may hold the candle.
The mine hath two wayes into it, the one by sea and the
other by land ; but a man may goe into it by land, and
returne the same way if he please, and so he may enter into
it by sea, and by sea he may come forth of it : but I for
varieties sake went in by sea, and out by land. Now men
may object, how can a man goe into a mine, the entrance of
it being into the sea, but that the sea will follow him and
so drown the mine ? To which objection thus I answer,
That at low water, the sea being ebd away, and a great part
of the sand bare ; upon this same sand (being mixed with
rockes and cragges) did the master of this great worke build
a round circular frame of stone, very thicke, strong, and
joined together with glutinous and bitumous matter, so high
withall, that the sea at the highest flood, or the greatest
rage of storme or tempest, can neither dissolve the stones so
well compacted in the building, or yet overflowe the height of
it. Within this round frame (at all adventures) hee did
set workemen to digge with mattockes, pick-axes, and other
instruments fit for such purposes. They did dig forty foot
downe right, into and through a rocke. At last they found
that which they expected, which was sea-cole, they following
the veine of the mine, did dig forward still : so that in the
space of eight and twenty, or nine and twenty yeeres, they
have digged more then an English mile under the sea, that
when men are at worke belowe, an hundred of the greatest

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 117
shippes in Britaine may saile over their heads. Besides, the
mine is most artificially cut like an arch or a vault, all that
great length, with many nookes and by-wayes ; and it is so
made, that a man may walke upright in the most places, both
in and out. Many poore people are there set on work,
which otherwise through the want of employment would
perish. But when I had seene the mine, and was come
forth of it again, after my thankes given to Sir George Bruce,
I told him, that if the plotters of the Powder Treason in
England had seene this mine, that they (perhaps) would have
attempted to have left the Parliament House, and have
undermined the Thames, and so have blown up the barges
and wherries, wherein the King, and all the estates of our
kingdome were. Moreover, I said, that I could affoord to
turne tapster at London, so that I had but one quarter of a
mile of his mine to make mee a Cellar, to keep Beere and
Bottle-ale in.
The sea at certaine places doth leake, or soake into the
mine, which, by the industry of Sir George Bruce, is all
conveyed to one well neere the land, where he hath a device
like a horse-mill, that with three horses and a great chaine
of iron, going downeward many fadomes, with thirty-sixe
buckets fastened to the chaine ; of the which eighteene
goe downe still to be filled ; and eighteene ascend up
to be emptied, which doe emptie themselves (without
any man's labour) into a trough that conveyes the
water into the sea againe; by which means he saves his
mine, which otherwise' would be destroyed with the sea ;
besides he doth make every weeke ninety or a hundred
tunnes of salt, which doth serve most part of Scotland ; some
he sends into England, and very much into Germany: all
which shewes the painfull industry with Gods blessing to
such worthy endeavours : I must with many thankes re
member his courtesie to me, and lastly how he sent his man
to guide mee tenne miles on the way to Sterling, where by
the way I saw the outside of a faire and stately house called
Allaway,1 belonging to the Earle of Marr, which by reason
that his Honour was not there, I past by and went to
1 Alloa Tower built about 1223. In 1800 a fire destroyed all later additions
to the original building.

118 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1618.
Sterling, where I was entertained and lodged at one Master
John Archibalds, where all my want was that I wanted
roome to containe halfe the good cheere that I might have
had there ; hee had me into the castle, which in few words
I doe compare to Windsor for situation, much more then
Windsor in strength, and somewhat lesse in greatnesse ; yet
I dare affirme, that his Majestie hath not such another hall
to any house that he hath neither in England or Scotland,
except Westminster Hall which is now no dwelling hall for
a prince, being long since metamorphosed into a house for
the law and the profits.1
This goodly hall was built by King James the fourth,
that marryed King Henry the eights sister, and after was
slaine at Flodden field; but it surpasses all the halls for
dwelling houses that ever I saw, for length, breadth, height
and strength of building; the castle is built upon a rocke
very lofty, and much beyond Edenborough castle in state
and magnificence, and not much inferiour to it in strength,
the roomes of it are lofty, with carved workes on the
seelings, the doores of each roome being so high, that a man
may ride upright on horseback into any chamber or lodging.
There is also a goodly faire chappell, with cellers, stables,
and all other necessary offices, all very stately and befitting
the majesty of a King.
From Sterling I rode to Saint Johnston, a fine towne it
is, but it is much decayed, by reason of the want of his
Majesties yeerely comming to lodge there. There I lodged
one night at an inne, the goodman of the house his name
being Petricke Pettearne, where my entertain ement was with
good cheere, good lodging, all too good to a bad weary guest.
Mine host told me that the Earle of Marr, and Sir William
Murray of Abercarny were gone to the great hunting to the
Brea of Marr ; but if I made haste I might perhaps finde
them at a towne called Breekin, or Breechin, two and thirty
miles from Saint Johnstone whereupon I tooke a guide to
1 Stirling Palace was begun by James V. and completed by Mary. Defoe,
who visited Scotland about a century later than the Water-Poet, is even more
eloquent in his praise of Stirling. The hall of which Taylor speaks, Defoe
describes as "the noblest I ever saw in Europe, both Height, Length, and
Breadth."

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 119
Breekin the next day, but before I came, my Lord was gone
from thence foure dayes.
Then I tooke another guide, which brought me such
strange wayes over mountaines and rockes, that I thinke my
horse never went the like ; and I am sure I never saw any
wayes that might fellow them. I did go through a countrey
called Glaneske,1 where passing by the side of a hill, so
steepe as the ridge of a house, where the way was rocky, and
not above a yard broad in some places, so fearfull and horrid
it was to looke downe into the bottome, for if either horse
or man had slipt, he had fallen (without recovery) a good
mile downeright ; but I thanke God, at night I came to a
lodging in the Laird of Eggels land,2 where I lay at an Irish 3
house, the folkes not being able to speake scarce any English,
but I supped and went to bed, where I had not laine long,
but I was enforced to rise; I was so stung with Irish
musketaes, a creature that hath sixe legs, and lives like a
monster altogether upon mans flesh ; they doe inhabite and
breed most upon sluttish houses, and this house was none of
the cleanest: the beast is much like a louse in England,
both in shape and nature ; in a word, they were to me the
A and the Z, the prologue and the epilogue, the first and
the last that I had in all my travels from Edenborough ;
and had not this Highland Irish house helped me at a pinch,
I should have sworn that all Scotland had not been so kind
as to have bestowed a louse upon me ; but with a shift that
I had, I shifted off my canibals, and was never more troubled
with them.
The next day I travelled over an exceeding high nioun-
taine, called mount Skeene,4 where I found the valley very
warme before I went up it ; but when I came to the top of
it, my teeth beganne to dance in my head with cold, like
virginals jacks ; 5 and withall, a most familiar mist embraced
me round, that I could not see thrice my length any way :
withall, it yeelded so friendly a deaw, that it did moysten
thorow all my clothes ; where the old proverbe of a Scottish
1 Glenesk, the basin of the upper reaches of the North Esk, in the parish of
Lochlee, Forfarshire. 2 The Castle of Lochlee, which belonged to Lindsay of
Edzell. Edzell is locally pronounced A iglc. 3 Irish, i.e., Highland. 4 Mount
Keene, in the parish of Lochlee. Its height is 3079 feet. 5 The Virginal was
a kind of small pianoforte, having a quill and jack like those of the spinet.

120 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1618.
miste was verified, in wetting me to the skinne. Up and
downe, I thinke this hill is six miles, the way so uneven,
stony, and full of bogges, quagmires, and long heath, that a
dogge with three legs will out-runne a horse with foure : for
doe what wee could wee were foure hours before we could
passe it.
Thus with extreme travell, ascending and descending,
mounting and alighting, I came at night to the place where
I would be, in the Brea of Marr, which is a large country,
all composed of such mountaines, that Shooter's hill, Gads
hill, Highgate hill, Hampsted hill, Birdlip hill, or Malvernes
hill, are but mole-hills in comparison, or like a liver, or a
gizard under a capons wing, in respect of the altitude of their
tops, or perpendicularitie of their bottomes. There I saw
mount Benawne,1 with a furr'd mist upon his snowie head
instead of a nightcap: for you must understand, that the
oldest man alive never saw but the snow was on the top of
divers of those hills, both in summer, as well as in winter.
There did I finde the truely noble and right honourable
Lords John Erskin Earle of Marr, James Stuart Earle of
Murray, George Gordon Earle of Engye,2 sonne and heire to
the Marquesse of Huntly, James Erskin Earle of Bughan,
and John Lord Erskin, sonne and heire to the Earle of Marr,
and their Countesses, with my much honoured, and my best
assured and approved friend, Sir William Murray knight, of
Abercarny, and hundred of others knights, esquires, and their
followers ; all and every man in generall in one habit, as if
Licurgus had beene there, and made lawes of equality. For
once in the yeere, which is the whole moneth of August,
and sometimes part of September, many of the nobility and
gentry of the kingdome (for their pleasure) doe come into
these high-land countries to hunt, where they doe conforme
themselves to the habite of the High-lancl-men, who for the
most part, speake nothing but Irish ; and in former time
were those people which were called the Eed-shankes.3 Their
1 Benavon in Braemar, Aberdeenshire. Height, 3843 feet. - Engye, i.e.,
Enzie, in Banffshire. Earl of Enzie is, since 1836, a second title of the Marquis
of Huntly. 3 Redshanks was the name applied to the Highlanders and Irish
from their legs being bare to the knee. In his speech from the scaffold,
Raleigh spoke of the Irish as Redshanks.

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 121
habite is shooes with but one sole apiece ; stockings (which
they call short hose) made of a warm stuffe of divers colours,
which they call Tartane : as for breeches, many of them, nor
their forefathers, never wore any, but a jerkin of the same
stuffe that their hose is of, their garters being bands or
wreathes of hay or straw, with a plead about their shoulders,
which is a mantle of divers colours, much finer and lighter
stuffe then their hose, with blue flat caps on their heads, a
handkerchiefe knit with two knots about their necke ; and
thus are they attyred. Now their weapons are long bowes
and forked arrowes, swords and targets, harquebusses,
muskets, durks, and Loquhabor-axes. With these armes I
found many of them armed for the hunting. As for their
attire, any man of what degree soever that comes amongst
them, must not disdaine to weare it : for if they doe, then
they will disdaine to hunt, or willingly to bring in their
dogges : but if men be kind unto them, and be in their
habit ; then are they conquered with kindnesse, and the
sport will be plentifull. This was the reason that I found
so many noblemen and gentlemen in those shapes. But to
proceed to the hunting.
My good Lord of Marr having put me into that shape, I
rode with him from his house, where I saw the ruines of an
old castle, called the castle of Kindroghit.1 It was built by
King Malcolm Canmore (for a hunting-house) who raigned
in Scotland when Edward the Confessor, Harold, and Norman
William raigned in England : I speake of it, because it was
the last house that I saw in those parts ; for I was the spaee
of twelve days after, before I saw either house, corne-field, or
habitation for any creature, but deere, wilde horses, wolves,
and suche like creatures, which made mee doubt that I
should never have seene a house againe.
Thus the first day wee traveled eight miles, where there
were small cottages built on purpose to lodge in, which they
call Lonquhards.2 I thanke my good Lord Erskin, he com
manded that I should alwayes bee lodged in his lodging, the
kitchin being alwayes on the side of a banke, many kettles and
1 In the New Statistical Account of Scotland it is stated that this castle
was built by Malcolm Canmore ; but its name is not given. 2 Forest huts
built of turf.

122 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1618,
pots boyling, and many spits turning and winding, with great
variety of cheere ; as venison bak't, sodden, rost, and steu'de
beefe, mutton, goates, kid, hares, fresh salmon, pidgeons, hens,
capons, chickens, partridge, moorecoots, heathcocks, caper-
kellies, and termagants ; good ale, sacke, white, and claret,
tent, or allegant,1 with most potent Aquavitce.
1 All these, and more then these wee had continually, in
superfluous aboundance, caught by faulconers, fowlers, fishers,
and brought by my Lords tenants and purveyors to victuall
our campe, which consisteth of foureteen or fifteene hundred
men and horses ; the manner of the hunting is this : Five
or sixe hundred men doe rise early in the morning, and they
doe disperse themselves divers wayes, and seven, eight or
tenne miles compasse, they doe bring or chase in the deere
in many heards (two, three, or foure hundred in a heard) to
such or such a place, as the noblemen shall appoint them ;
then when day is come, the Lords and gentlemen of their
companies, doe ride or goe to the said places, sometimes
wading up to the middles through bournes and rivers : and
then they being come to the place, doe lye downe on the
ground, till those foresaid scouts which are called the Tinck-
hell,2 doe bring downe the deere : but as the proverbe sayes
of a bad cooke, so these tinckhell men doe like [lick] their
owne fingers ; for besides their bowes and arrowes which
they carry with them, wee can heare now and then a
harquebusse or a musket goe off, which they doe seldome
discharge in vaine : Then after we had stayed there three
houres or thereabouts, we might perceive the deere appeare
on the hills round about us (their heads making a shew like
a wood), which being followed close by the tinckhell, are
chased downe into the valley where we lay ; then all the
valley on each side being way-laid with a hundred couple
of strong Irish grey-hounds, they are let loose as occasion
serves upon the heard of deere, that with dogges, gunnes,
arrowes, durkes, and daggers, in the space of two houres,
fourescore fat deere were slaine, which after are disposed of
1 The wine of Alicante in Spain is known as vino Unto from its dark colour.
2 "A circle of sportsmen, who by surrounding a great space, and gradually
narrowing, brought immense quantities of deer together, which usually made
desperate efforts to break through the Tinchel " (Scott, note to Lady of the
Lake, Canto v. ).

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 123
some one way, and some another, twenty and thirty miles,
and more than enough left for us to make merry withall at
our rendezvous. x
Being come to our lodgings, there was such baking,
boyling, roasting, and stewing, as if Gooke Euffian J had
beene there to have scalded the Devill in his feathers : and
after supper, a fire of firre-wood as high as an indifferent
may-pole : for I assure you, that the Earle of Marr will
give any man that is his friend, for thankes, as many firre
trees (that are as good as any shippes masts in England) as
are worth (if they were in any place neere the Thames,
or any other portable river) the best Earledome in England
or Scotland either : For I dare affirme, hee hath as many
growing there, as would serve for masts (from this time to
the end of the worlde) for all the shippes, carackes,2 hoyes,
galleyes, boates, drumlers,3 barkes, and water-crafts, that are
now, or can be in the worlde these fourty yeeres.
This sounds like a lye to an unbeleever ; but I and many
thousands doe knowe that I speake within the compasse of
truth : for indeed (the more is the pitty) they doe grow so
farre from any passage of water, and withall in such rockie
mountaines, that no way to convey them is possible to be
passable, either with boate, horse, or cart.
Thus having spent certaine dayes, in hunting in the Brea
of Marr, wee went to the next county called Bagenoch,4
belonging to the Earle of Engie, where having such sport
and enter tainement as wee formerly had after foure or five
dayes pastime, wee tooke leave of hunting for that yeere ; and
tooke our journey toward a strong house of the Earles,
called Euthven in Bagenoch, where my Lord of Engie and
his noble Countesse (being daughter to the Earle of Argile)
did give us most noble welcome three dayes.
From thence we went to a place called Ballo Castle,5 a
faire and stately house, a worthie gentleman being the owner
of it, called the Lard of Grant ; his wife being a gentle
woman honourably descended, being sister to the right
1 "Cook Ruffian who roasted the devil in his feathers. A bad cook."
(Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit, and Pickpocket Eloquence. By
Captain Grose. Lond., 1811.) 2 A large ship of burden. Spanish carraea.
3 "She was immediately assaulted by divers English pinasses, hoys, and
drumblers " (Hakluyt). 4 Badenoch. 5 Now Castle Grant.

124 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [l618.
honourable Earle of Atholl, and to Sir Patricke Murray,
knight ; she being both inwardly and outwardly plentifully
adorned with the gifts of grace and nature : so that our
cheere was more then sufficient ; and yet much lesse then
they could affoord us. There stayed there foure dayes, foure
Earles, one Lord, divers knights and gentlemen, and their
servants, footmen and horses ; and every meale foure longe
tables furnished with all varieties : Our first and second
course being threescore dishes at one boord ; and after that
alwayes a banquet : and there, if I had not forsworne wine
till I came to Edenborough, I thinke I had there dranke my
last. The fiflh day with much adoe we gate from thence to
Tarnaway,1 a goodly house of the Earle of Murrayes, where
that right honourable Lord and his Lady did welcome us
foure dayes more. There was good cheere in all variety,
with somewhat more then plenty for advantage : for indeed
the countie of Murray is the most pleasant, and plentifull
countrey in all Scotland; being plaine land, that a coach
may be driven more then foure and thirtie miles one way in
it, alongst by the sea-coast.
From thence I went to Elgen in Murray, an ancient citie,
where there stood a faire and beautifull church with three
steeples, the walls of it and the steeples all yet standing;
but the roofes, windowes, and many marble monuments and
toombes of honourable and worthie personages all broken
and defaced : 2 this was done in the time when ruine bare
rule, and Knox knock'd downe churches.
From Elgen we went to the Bishop of Murray his house
which is called Spinye, or Spinaye : 3 a reverend gentleman
1 Darnaway Castle, in parish of Dyke and Moy, Elgin. 2 The original
cathedral of Elgin was founded in 1224, but was subsequently destroyed by
fire. The cathedral erected in its place, of which the ruins are still so
impressive, must have been one of the finest Gothic structures in Europe.
The early Scottish historians vie with each other in sounding its praises.
Thus Bowar calls it "the glory of the whole land," and Buchanan "the
most beautiful of all that had been erected in Scotland." An elaborate,
though somewhat fanciful, description is also given by the Scottish humanist,
Florentius Volusenus, a native of Elgin, in his De Animi Tranquillitate.
Taylor's reference to the cathedral is interesting as an indication of the state
of the ruins at the time of his visit. It should be said that the Wolf of
Badenoch is mainly responsible for the ruin of Elgin Cathedral. 3 Spynie.

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 125
he is, of the noble name of Dowglasse, where wee were very
well wel-comed, as befitted the honour of himselfe and his
guests. From thence wee departed to the Lord Marquesse of
Huntleyes, to a sumptuous house of his, named the Bogg of
Geethe,1 where our entertainement was like himselfe, free,
bountifull and honourable. There (after two dayes stay),
with much entreatie and earnest suite, I gate leave of the
Lords to depart towards Edenborough : the noble Marquesse,
the Earle of Marr, Murray, Engie, Bughan, and the Lord
Erskin ; all these, I thanke them, gave me gold to defray
my charges in my journey.
So after five and thirty dayes hunting and travell, I
returning, passed by another stately mansion of the Lord
Marquesses, called Straboggi,2 and so over Carny Mount 3 to
Breekin, where a wench that was borne deafe and dumb
came into my chamber at midnight (I being asleepe), and
shee opening the bed, would faine have lodged with mee :
but had I beene a Sardanapalus, or a Heliogabalus, I thinke
that either the great travell over the mountaines had tamed
me : or if not, her beautie could never have moved me.
The best parts of her were, that her breath was as sweet as
sugar-carrion, being very well shouldered beneath the waest ;
and as my hostesse tolde me the next morning, that shee
had changed her maiden-head for the price of a bastard not
long before. But howsoever, shee made such a hideous
noyse, that I started out of my sleepe, and thought that the
Devill had beene there : but I no sooner knew who it was,
but I arose, and thrust my dumb beast out of my chamber ;
and for want of a locke or a latch, I staked up my doore
with a great chaire.
Thus having escaped one of the seven deadly sinnes as at
Breekin, I departed from thence to a towne called Forfard ;
and from thence to Dundee, and so to Kinghome, Burnt-
iland, and so to Edenborough, where I stayed eight days,
to recover myself of falls and bruises which I received in
1 Bog-of-Gight Castle, now Gordon Castle, the Scottish seat of the Duke
of Richmond and Gordon. 2 Strathbogie. 3 Carnymount=Cairn-o' -Mount,
commonly called the "Cairn," in the parish of Fettercairn. It was the
road over the Mounth or Grampians from Braemar to the Mearns or Low
Country.

126 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1618.
my travell in the High-land mountainous hunting. Great
welcome I had shewed me all my stay at Edenborough, by
many worthy gentlemen, namely, old Master George Todrigg,
Master Henry Levingston, Master James Henderson, Master
John Maxwell, and a number of others, who suffered mee to
want no wine or good cheere, as may be imagined.
Now, the day before I came from Edenborough, I went to
Leeth, where I found my long approved and assured good
friend Master Benjamin Johnson, at one Master John
Stuarts house : I thanke him for his great kindnesse towards
me : for, at my taking leave of him, he gave me a piece of
gold of two and twenty shillings to drink his health in
England. And withall, willed me to remember his kind
commendations to all his friends : So, with a friendly farewell,
I left him as well, as I hope never to see him in a worse
estate : for he is amongst noblemen and gentlemen that
knowe his true worth, where, with much respective love he
is worthily entertained.
So leaving Leeth I return'd to Edenborough, and within the
port or gate, called the Netherbowe, I discharged my pockets
of all the money I had : and as I came pennilesse within in
the walls of that citie at my first comming thither; so now
at my departing from thence, I came monneylesse out of it
againe ; x having in company to convey me out, certaine
gentlemen, amongst the which was Master James Acherson,
laird of Gasford,2 a gentleman that brought mee to his house,
where with great entertainement he and his good wife did
welcome me.
On the morrow he sent one of his men to bring me to a
place called Adam,3 to Master John Acmootye his house, one
of the Groomes of his Majesties Bed-chamber ; where with
him and his two brethren, Master Alexander and Master
James Acmootye, I found both cheere and welcome, not
inferiour to any that I had had in any former place.
Amongst our viands that wee had there, I must not forget
the soleand goose, a most delicate fowle, which breeds in
great aboundance in a little rocke called the Basse, which
stands two miles into the sea. It is very good flesh, but it
1 See introductory account of Taylor. 2 Gosford,' near Aberlady. 3 Adam,
i.e., Aldham, or Auldhame, a decayed village on the coast of Haddingtonshire.

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 127
is eaten in the forme as wee eate oysters, standing at a side-
boord, a little before dinner, unsanctified without grace ; and
after it is eaten, it must be well liquored with two or three
good rowses of sherrie or Canarie sacke. The lord or owner
of the Basse doth profit at the least two hundred pound
yeerely by those geese ; the Basse it selfe being of a great
height, and neere three quarters of a mile in compasse, all
fully replenished with wildfowle, having but one small
entrance into it, with a house, a garden, and a chappell in
it ; x and on the toppe of it a well of pure fresh water.
From Adam, Master John and Master James Acmootye
went to the towne of Dunbarr with me, where ten Scottish
pints of wine were consumed, and brought to nothing for a
farewell : there at Master James Baylies house I tooke leave,
and Master James Acmootye comming for England, said,
that if I would ride with him, that neither I nor my horse
should want betwixt that place and London. Now I having
no money or nieanes for travell, begin at once to examine
my manners and my want ; at last my want persuaded my
manners to accept of this worthy gentlemans undeserved
courtesie. So that night he brought me to a place called
Cober-spath, where we lodged at an inne, the like of which,
I dare say, is not in any of his Majesties dominions. And
for to shewe my thankfulnesse to Master William Arnet and
his wife, the owners thereof, I must explaine their bountif ull
entertainement of guests, which is this :
Suppose ten, fifteene, or twenty men and horses come to
lodge at their house, the men shall have flesh, tame and
wild-fowle, fish, with all varietie of good cheere, good lodg
ing, and welcome ; and the horses shall want neither hay or
provender ; and at the morning at their departure, the
reckoning is just nothing. This is this worthy gentlemans
use, his chiefe delight being only to give strangers enter
tainement gratis : And I am sure, that in Scotland, beyond
Edenborough, I have beene at houses like castles for build
ing ; the master of the house his beaver being his blue
bonnet, one that will weare no other shirts but of the flaxe
that growes on his owne ground, and of his wives, daughters,
1 This chapel was supposed to be built on the site of the cell of St Baldred
on the island.

128 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1618.
or servants spinning ; that hath his stockings, hose, and
jerkin of the wooll of his owne sheepes backes ; that never
(by his pride of apparell) caused mercer, draper, silkeman,
embroyderer, or haberdasher to breake and turne b'ankerupt :
and yet this plaine home-spunne fellow keepes and maintaines
thirty, forty, fifty servants, or perhaps more, every day
releeving three or foure score poore peeple at his gate : and
besides all this, can give noble entertainement for foure or
five dayes together, to five or sixe Earles and Lords, besides
Knights, Gentlemen, and their followers, if they bee three or
foure hundred men and horse of them; where they shall
not onely f eede but feast, and not feast but banket. This is a
man that desires to know nothing so much, as his duty to
God and his King, whose greatest cares are to practise the
workes of piety, charity, and hospitality : he never studies
the consuming art of fashionlesse fashions ; he never tries
his strength to beare foure or five hundred acres on his
backe at once, his legs are alwayes at liberty, not being
fettered with golden garters, and manacled with artificial
roses, whose weight (sometime) is the reliques of some
decayed lordship. Many of these worthy housekeepers there
are in Scotland, amongst some of them I was entertained ;
from whence I did truely gather these aforesaid observations.
So leaving Coberspath, we rode to Barwicke, where the
worthy old soldier and ancient knight, Sir William Bowyer,
made me welcome, but contrary to his will, we lodged at an
inne, where Mr James Acmooty paid all charges : but at
Barwicke there was a grievous chance hapned, which I
thinke not fit the relation to be omitted.
In the river of Tweed, which runnes by Barwicke, are
taken by fishermen that dwell there, infinite numbers of
fresh salmons, so that many housholds and families are
relieved by the profit of that fishing ; but (how long since I
know not) there was an order that no man or boy whatso
ever should fish upon a Sunday : This order continued long
amongst them, till some eight or nine weekes before Michael
mas last, on a Sunday, the salmons plaid in such great
aboundance in the river, that some of the fishermen (con
trary to Gods law and their owne order) tooke boates and
nettes, and fished three hundred salmon ; but from that

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 129
time untiU Michaelmas-day, that I was there, which was
nine weekes, and heard the report of it, and saw the poore
people's lamentations, they had not seene one salmon in the
river ; and some of them were in despaire that they should
never see any more there ; affirming it to be Gods judge
ment upon them for the prophanation of the Sabbath.
The thirtieth of September we rode from Barwicke to
Belford, from Belford to Anwicke, and next day from Anwicke
to Newcastle, where I found the noble knight, Sir Henry
Witherington ; who, because I would have no gold nor silver,
gave mee a bay mare, in requitall of a loafe of bread that I
had given him two and twenty yeeres before, at the iland of
Flores, of the which I have spoken before. I overtooke at
Newcastle a great many of my worthy friends, which were
•all comming for London, namely, Master Eobert Hay, and
Master David Drummond, where I was welcom'd at Master
Nicholas Tempests house. From Newcastle I rode with
those gentlemen to Durham, to Darlington, to Northalerton,
and to Topcliffe in Yorkeshire, where I tooke my leave of
them, and would needs try my pennilesse fortunes by my
selfe, and see the city of Yorke, where I was lodged at my
right worshipfull good friend, Master Doctor Hudson, one of
his Majesties Chaplaines, who went with me, and shewed me
the goodly Minster Church there, and the most admirable,
rare-wrought, unfellowed Chapter-house.
From Yorke I rode to Doncaster, where my horses were
well fed at the Beare, but myselfe found out the honourable
knight, Sir Eobert Anstruther, at his father in lawes, the
truely noble Sir Eobert Swifts house, he being then high
.Sheriffe of Yorkeshire, where with their good ladies, and the
Eight Honourable the Lord Sanquhar, I was stayed two
nights and one day, Sir Eobert Anstruther (I thanke him),
not only paying for my two horses meat, but at my depar
ture, he gave me a letter to Newarke upon Trent, twenty
¦eight miles in my way, where Master George Atkinson mine
host made me as welcome as if I had beene a French Lord,
and what was to be paid, as I call'd for nothing, I paid as
much ; and left the reckoning with many thankes to Sir
Eobert Anstruther.
So leaving Newarke, with another gentleman that over-
i

130 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1618.
tooke me, we came at night to Stamford, to the signe of the
Virginitie (or the Maydenhead) where I delivered a letter
from the Lord Sanquhar ; which caused Mr Bates and his
wife, being the master and mistresse of the house, to make
me and the gentleman that was with me great cheere for
nothing. From Stamford the next day we rode to Huntington,
where we lodged at the post-masters house, at the signe of
the Crowne ; his name is Eiggs. He was informed who I
was, and wherefore I undertooke this my pennilesse pro-
gresse : wherefore he came up to our chamber, and supp'd
with us, and very bountifully called for three quarts of wine
and sugar, and foure jugges of beere. He did drinke and
beginne healths like a horse-leech, and swallowed downe his
cuppes without feeling, as if he had had the dropsie, or nine
pound of spunge in his maw. In a worde, as he is a poste,
he dranke poste, striving and calling by all meanes to make
the reckoning great, or to make us men of great reckoning.
But in his payment he was tyred like a jade, leaving the
gentleman that was with me to discharge the terrible shott,
or else one of my horses must have laine in pawne for his
superfluous calling, and unmannerly intrusion.
But leaving him, I left Huntington, and rode on the
Sunday to Puckeridge, where Master Holland, at the Faulkon
(mine old acquaintance), and my loving and ancient host,
gave mee, my friend, my man, and our horses, excellent
cheere, and welcome, and I paid him with not a penny of
money. The next day I came to London, and obscurely comming
within Moregate, I went to a house and borrowed money :
and so I stole backe againe to Islington, to the signe of the
Maydenhead, staying till Wednesday, that my friends came
to meete me, who knew no other but that Wednesday was
my first comming : where with all love I was entertained
with much goode cheere : and after supper we had a play of
the Life and Death of Guy of Warwicke, played by the
Eight Honourable the Earle of Darbie his men. And so on
the Thursday morning, being the fifteenth of October, I came
home to my house in London.

1618.] TAYLOR, THE WATER-POET. 131

The Epilogue, to all my Adventurers, and Others.
Thus did I neither spend, or begge, or aske,
By any course, direct or indirectly :
But in each tittle I perform'd my taske,
According to my bill most circumspectly.
I vow to God, I have done Scotland wrong,
And, justly, 'gainst me it may bring an action,
I have not given't that right which doth belong,
For which I am halfe guilty of detraction :
Yet had I wrote all things that there I saw,
Misjudging censures would suppose I flatter,
And so my name I would in question draw,
Where asses bray, and prattling pies doe chatter :
Yet (arm'd with truth) I publish with my pen,
That there th' Almighty doth his blessings heape,
In such aboundant food for beasts and men,
That I ne'er saw more plenty or more cheape.
Thus what mine eyes did see, I doe beleeve,
And what I doe beleeve, I know is true :
And what is true unto your hand I give,
That what I give, may be beleev'd of you.
But as for him that sayes I lye or dote,
I doe returne, and turne the lye in's throate,
Thus Gentlemen, amongst you take my ware,
You share my thankes, and I your moneyes share.
Your's in all observance and gratefulnesse,
ever to be commanded,
JO. TAYLOE.

SIE WILLIAM BEEEETON
(1636).
SIE WILLIAM BEEEETON'S account of his travels
was published by the Chetham Society in 1844. With
the exception of certain portions relating to Ireland, it had
lain in manuscript till that date. The manuscript had been
previously placed in the hands of Sir Walter Scott, who
offered to edit it with notes ; but through some objection
to Scott's publisher, his offer was rejected. Though the
original manuscript bears no signature, the handwriting
proves it to have been the work of Sir William Brereton, a
gentleman of Cheshire, who subsequently distinguished him
self as a general in the Parliamentary army. It is the
record of his travels in Holland, the United Provinces,
England, Scotland, and Ireland during the years 1634 and
1635. "This volume," says Mr Hawkins, who edited it for
the Chetham Society, " was not the companion of his travels,
neither was this journal exactly what he wrote down from
day to day. It was, however, probably made up, and in a
great degree transcribed, from notes actually made at the
time ; for there are abrupt changes of construction which
give the appearance to a passage of having been put together
from .two separate memoranda." It should be added that
Brereton had strong Puritan leanings, and that Clarendon
describes him as " most considerable for a known aversion
to the government of the Church."
Travels of Sir William Brereton (p. 94,
Chetham Society).
JUNE 25. — We arrived about five o'clock at Barwicke,
where we passed a very fair, stately bridge over Tweede,
consisting of fifteen arches, which was built by King James,
and, as it is said, cost £17,000.1 This river most infinitely
1 This bridge, begun in 1611 and opened about 1624, still exists (Scott,
History of Berwick, p. 415).

[1636.] SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 133
stored with salmon, one hundred or two hundred salmons at
one draught ; but much more was reported by our host,
which is almost incredible, that there were two thousand
salmons taken since Sunday last. This town seated upon
the main sea, the Northern Ocean, and seems to be almost
environed with the sea.
The haven is a most narrow, shallow, barred haven, the
worst that I have seen ; it might be made good, a brave and
secure haven, whereas now only one little pink of about
forty ton belongs unto it, and some few fishing-boats. There
being, therefore, no trade in this town, it is a very poor
town, many indigent persons and beggars therein. Here
were the strongest fortifications I have met with in England,
double-walled and out-works of earth, and the outer walls
like unto Chester walls, and without the inner walls a deep
and broad moat well watered ; the inner walls of invincible
strength, stone wall within, and without lined with earth
about twenty yards thick, with bulwarks conveniently placed
to guard one another, like unto the Buss [Bois le Due],
Bergen, Antwerpe, or Gravelin : these were begun by Queen
Mary, finished by Queen Elizabeth, but something in decay ;
these walls environ the town.1
A stately, sumptuous, and well-seated house or castle was
here begun by the last Earl of Dunbar 2 where the old
castle stood : but his death put an end to that work. Here
was a most stately platform propounded and begun : a fair
long gallery joiced, not boarded, wherein is the largest
mantle-tree 3 I have seen, near five yards long of one piece ;
this leaded over, which gives the daintiest prospect to the
sea, to the town, to the land, and the river. This, with much
lands hereabout, was bestowed upon him by King James,
who left all to his daughter and heir, who married the now
Earl of Suffolk. This town is seated on the north side of
the Twede, and is placed upon the sloping of a steep hill.
1 A more favourable account of Berwick and its trade is given by a later
traveller, Monsieur Jorevin de Rochefort, who visited the town some twenty
or thirty years after Brereton. See below, p. 229. 2 George Hume attended
King James from Scotland ; he was created Lord Hume of Berwick in England,
and Earl of Dunbar in Scotland.' He died in 1611, leaving only one child,
who married Theophilus, Earl of Suffolk. 3 The lintel of a fire-place when
made of wood.

134 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1636.
They speak of three hundred and sixty salmons taken at
one draught, and ordinarily about eighty, and one hundred,
or one hundred and twenty, at one draught. We lodged at
the Crown, were well used ; 8d. ordinary, and 6d. our
servants, and great entertainment and good lodging, a
respective host and honest reckoning.
Junii 26. — Upon Friday we departed from Berwicke,
which, though it be seated in Scotland, yet it is England,
and is annexed to the crown of England by acts of Parlia
ment, and sends two burgesses to the Parliament-house, and
here the country is not reputed Scottish, until you come to
a town, four miles distant from Barwick, called Aten, which
belongs to Lord Aten, who hath there a pretty castle1 placed
on the side of an hill ; hence you pass (after you leave a few
corn-fields near the town) over the largest and vastest moors
that I have ever seen, which are now dry, and whereupon
(in most parts) is neither sheep, beast, nor horse.2 Here is a
mighty want of fire in these moors ; neither coal, nor wood,
nor turf ; only they cut and flea top-turves with linge 3 upon
them. These moors you travel upon about eight miles, and
then come to a village called Apthomas,4 and not far hence
you leave the castle and town of Dunglass5 on left hand,
which is pleasantly seated, and seemeth to be in good repair,
and not far hence is there an high-built house or castle,
called Anderwick,6 belonging to Mr Maxwell of the bed
chamber. Enquiring the way before, how far to Dunbar, it was
1 Berwick bounds extend only two miles from the town. Ayton is nine
miles distant. The castle of which Brereton speaks has long since disappeared.
2 This same route is thus described by a traveller who visited Scotland in
1704 : — " I passed over severall champaign open grounds, and down severall
steep rocky hills, but commonly over a hard way, except on some moors and
heaths, that are so strangely rotten and barren that they bear only a sort of
moss, and some gorse, ling, or furze, and some places of these even on hills
will swallow up a horse." Nothing is known of the traveller here quoted.
His manuscript, which fell into the hands of Johnes the translator of Froissart
was published by Blackwood in 1818 under the title of North of England and
Scotland in 1704. Coming after 1700 he is excluded from the present collec
tion. As he is little known, however, we shall quote him where he seems to
illustrate some earlier traveller. 3 To flay is to pare turf. Ling or linge is
heather. 4 Old Cambus ? 6 The Castle of Dunglass was a stronghold of the
Earls of Home and afterwards of the Douglases. It was destroyed by the Pro
tector Somerset in 1548, but was afterwards rebuilt and enlarged. 6 Innerwick.

1636.] SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 135
answered, it was three miles. I demanded whether so far ;
he said, " Yes, it was three bonnie mile." About a mile from
Dunbar, we observed this husbandry; the grass, weeds and
wreck, brought by the sea and with the tide, and left upon
the sands, was carried and laid thick upon the ground. This
used for corn.
Here is my Lord Eocksburne's 1 house or castle,2 seated
with[in] six score of the main sea, where groweth and
prospereth many kinds of wood; the highest thorns
that I ever saw ; this I admired, because I have ob
served all the sea-coasts whereby we passed, almost an
hundred miles, and could not find any manner of wood
prospering near the sea-coast. Here, in the village, we
observed the sluttish women washing their clothes in a great
tub with their feet, their coats, smocks and all, tucked up to
their breech.
We came from Barwicke about seven o'clock, and came
to Dunbarr about twelve, which is twenty English miles :
it is not improperly called Dunbarr,3 because it is so environed
with shelfs, bars and sands, as there is no manner of haven,
though the main sea beat upon the town, which indeed is
not seated upon any river, which might furnish it with an
haven or a navigable channel ; only here is an haven made
of great stones piled up, whereinto at a spring-tide a ship of
one hundred ton may enter, but not without much hazard.
Six miles hence in the sea (though it be a far shorter cut by
land) is the island of Bass, which is here very conspicuous ; a
mighty high rock placed in the sea, whereinto there is only
one passage, and that for a single person. This is now
fortified, and inhabited by the lord of the Bass. It is about
one English mile about. Herein are kept sheep, and some
kine and coneys ; abundance of fowl breed here, solem-geese,
storts,4 scoutes,5 and twenty several sorts of fowl, which make
such a noise as that you may hear them and nothing else a
mile before you come to them. These solem-geese (as it is
reported of them), when their eggs are sufficiently sitten,
1 Roxburgh's. * Broxmouth House. The present building is comparatively
modern. It was in the park adjoining this house that Cromwell stood during
the Battle of Dunbar. The mound on which he stood still bears his name.
3 Dunbar is dun barr (Gael.), "fort on the point." 4 Probably the cor-
morant, which is known in Scotland as the scart. 5 Guillemots.

136 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1686.
they stamp upon them with their feet, and break them ; they
breed in the sides of .the rocks, and there is fowl (said to be)
sold here, taken in this island, worth £200 per annum. Here
is excellent fresh water in this isle, a dainty pure spring
which is to be the more admired. The isle of May is not
hence above three leagues, and it is easy to be discerned,,
wherein also abundance of fowl breed.
From Dunbarr to Edenburgh we came this day in the
afternoon ; it is called but twenty miles, but it is twenty-
five or twenty-six miles at least; and by the way we
observed very many stately seats of the nobles. One we
passed near unto, which is the Earl of Winton's, a dainty
seat placed upon the sea,1 Here also are apple-trees, walnut-
trees, sycamore, and other fruit-trees, and other kinds of wood
which prosper well, though it be very near unto, and within
the air of, the sea. In. this house the king lodged three
nights ; and in this earl's chamber at Edenborough, in Mr
William Callis his house in the High-street near the Cross,
I lodged, and paid one shilling and sixpence per noctem for
my lodging.
About six or seven miles from this city I saw and took
notice of divers salt-works in poor houses erected upon the
sea coast.2 I went into one of them, and observed iron pans
eighteen foot long and nine foot broad ; these larger pans
and houses than those at the Sheildes. An infinite, innumer
able number of salt-works here are erected upon this shore ;
all make salt of sea-water. About four miles hence stands
Mussleborrow, touching which they have this proverb :
Mussleborrow was a borrow when Edenborough was none,.
and shall be a burrough when Edenborough shall be
none. About nine o'clock at night we came into Edenborough,
where, by reason of the foot-boy's negligences, we were put
upon great straights, and had our lodging to seek at ten
o'clock, and in conclusion, were constrained to accept of
mean and nasty lodging, for which we paid one shilling and
eight-pence ; and the next morning, Saturday, 87 Junii, we
1 Seaton House, already referred to by Fynes Moryson. George, third Earl
of Winton, entertained both James I. and Charles I. in this house. 2 Pres-
tonpans, formerly known as Salt Preston on account of its salt pans.

1636.] SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 137
went to the Towle-boothe, where are the courts of justice,
which are six : 1. The Court wherein meet the Lords of
the Privy Council, whereof are most of the eminent nobles of
the land. 2. That Court wherein there are fifteen judges sit
attired in purple gowns, turned up with velvet of the same
colour ; hereof the President is Sir Eobert [Spottiswoode].1
As it is here reported, if any of those fifteen be absent
hence any day, they incur the forfeiture of, and pay, one
pound a day for absence.2 The Archbishop of St Andrewe's,
Lord Chancellor of Scotland, is the prime man in this
kingdom. 3. There is another inferior Court near adjoining
hereunto, wherein sits weekly and successively every one
of these fifteen judges alone ; this court takes only cogniz
ance of inferior causes, and of less importance : and, as it
seems unto me, is erected in favour and ease of the rest
fifteen judges ; and if any intricate cause or of greater con
sequence occur, the present judge then propounds unto and
consults with the rest of the fifteen judges. In this court
I observed the greatest rudeness, disorder, ' and confusion,
that ever I saw in any court of justice ; no, not the like
disorder in any of our sessions, for here two or three plead
and speak together, and that with such a forced, strained
voice as the strongest voice only carries it ; yea, sometimes
they speak about two or three several causes at one and
the same time, wliich makes an extraordinary disorder and
confusion, so as no man breathing can hear distinctly or
understand anything so promiscuously spoken. 4. There is
an Exchequer, or court of the king's revenue. 5. There is
a court below, under the before-named courts, wherein sit
the judges touching criminal matters and misdemeanours.
6. The Consistory, which takes only cognizance of eccle
siastical affairs.
In this kingdom the clergy of late extend their authority
and revenues. Archbishoprick of St Andrewes is Lord
1 Sir Robert Spottiswoode, President of the Court of Session, was the second
son of Archbishop Spottiswoode, the historian, who is mentioned below. 2 In
an Act for regulating the sederunts of the Lords, the Lords resolve " that such
(Lords) as come in after the Lords are sett and entered upon business, shall
lose the sum of five merks, and such as are altogether absent  shall
lose the sum of twenty merks for each sederunt " (Acts of Sederunt, 16th July
1701).

138 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1636.
Chancellor of Scotland and Eegent here. And, as I was
informed by some intelligent gentleman, it is here thought
and conceived that they will recover so much of that land
and revenues belonging formerly to the Abbeys, as that they
will in a short time possess themselves of the third part of
the kingdom. The Duke of Lennox and Marquis Hamilton
are possessed of the largest proportion of Church-land: it
is expected that they should resign and deliver up their
interests and rights therein to the Church, whose example
it is thought will induce the rest of the nobility to do the
like.1 And to the end that they may carry some sway in
Parliament, it is now endeavoured (as some here informed
me, Mr Calderwood 2 and Dr Sharpe 3) to restore abbots, and
to invest them in the revenues and seats of abbeys : hereof
they say there are forty-eight which are intended to be
established, who are all to sit and carry voices in Parlia
ment ; which, if it can be effected, then there will be always
in the parliament-house so strong a party for the king,
considering those officers that have an immediate dependance
upon him and the bishops and abbots, as that they will be
able to sway the whole house. Divers of the clergy incline
this way, and many also are mighty opposite and averse
hereunto.4 This Saturday, after dinner, I took a view of the castle
here, which is seated very high and sufficiently commanding,
and being able to batter the town ; this is also seated upon
the top of a most hard rock, and the passage whereunto was
(as they there report) made through that hard and im
pregnable rock, which cannot be touched or hewed, aud it
is indeed a stately passage, wherein was used more industry,
pains, art, and endeavour, than in any place I have found
amongst the Scotts. It is but a very little castle, of no great
1 In 1629 a compromise was made between Charles I. and the Scottish
nobles regarding these church lands. By this arrangement " the church lands
were to remain in the hands of those who held them, upon the payment of
certain rents to the king" (Gardiner, The Personal Government of Cliarles I.,
vol. i. p. 350). 2 David Calderwood, author of the History of the Kirk of
Scotland. 3 Not the notorious archbishop of that name, who was at this date
only eighteen years of age. 4 About the period of Brereton's visit, Charles I,
was feeling his way towards the establishment of Episcopacy in Scotland.
The memorable attempt to introduce the English liturgy in St Giles was
made about two years later.

1636.] SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 139
receipt, but mighty strength ; it is called Castrun Puel-
larum, because the kings of the Picts kept their virgins
therein; upon the wall of the castle, towards the top, is
this insculpsion, part thereof gilt, — a crown and sceptre,
and dagger placed under it cross-wise, with this super
scription : " Nobis hffic invicta miserunt, 106 proavi;" the
same arms and inscription is placed upon the front of the
abbey, which is the king's house. Out of the court of this
high-seated castle, there was one that watched (a soldier in
his turn) in a little wooden house or cabin, which by a
whirlwind was taken and thrown down both together over
the castle wall and to the bottom of this high and steep
rock, and the man not hurt or bruised, save only his finger
put of joint. Hence you may take a full view of the
situation of the whole city, which is built upon a hill
nothing oversteep, but sufficiently sloping and ascending to
give a graceful ascent to the great street, which I do take
to be an English mile long, and is the best paved street
with bowther1 stones (which are very great ones) that I
have seen : the channels are very conveniently contrived on
both sides the streets, so as there is none in the middle ;
but it is the broadest, largest, and fairest pavement, and
that entire, to go, ride, or drive upon.
Here they usually walk in the middle of the street, which
is a fair, spacious, and capacious walk. This street is the
glory and beauty of this city : it is the broadest street
(except in the Low Countries, where there is a navigable
channel in middle of the street) and the longest street I have
seen, which begins at the palace, the gate whereof enters
straight into the suburbs, and is placed at the lower end of
the same. The suburbs make an handsome street ; and
indeed the street, if the houses, which are very high, and
substantially built of stone (some five, some six stories high),
were not lined to the outside and faced with boards, it were
the most stately and graceful street that ever I saw in my
life ; but this face of boards, which is towards the street,
doth much blemish it, and derogate from glory and beauty ;
as also the want of fair glass windows, whereof few or none
are to be discerned towards the street, which is the more
1 Boulder.

140 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1636.
complete, because it is as straight as may be. This lining
with boards (wherein are round holes shaped to the proportion
of men's heads), and this encroachment into the street about
two yards, is a mighty disgrace unto it, for the walls (which
were the outside) are stone ; so, as if this outside facing of
boards were removed, and the houses built uniform all of the
same height, it were the most complete street in Christen
dom. This city is placed in a dainty, healthful pure air, and
doubtless were a most healthful place to live in, were not
the inhabitants most sluttish, nasty, and slothful people. I
could never pass through the hall, but I was constrained
to hold my nose ; their chambers, vessel, linen and meat,
nothing neat, but very slovenly ; only the nobler and better
sort of them brave, well-bred men, and much reformed. This
street, which may indeed deserve to denominate the whole
city, is always full thronged with people, it being the market
place, and the only place where the gentlemen and merchants
meet and walk, wherein they may walk dry under foot
though there hath been abundance of rain. Some few
coaches are here to be found for some of the great lords and
ladies, and bishops.
Touching the fashion of the citizens, the women here wear
and use upon festival days six or seven several habits and
fashions ; some for distinction of widows, wives and maids,
others apparalled according to their own humour and
phantasy. Many wear (especially of the meaner sort) plaids,
which is a garment of the same woollen stuff whereof saddle
cloths in England are made, which is cast over their heads,
and covers their faces on both sides, and would reach almost
to the ground, but that they pluck them up, and wear them
cast under their arms. Some ancient women and citizens
wear satin straight-bodied gowns, short little cloaks with
great capes, and a broad boun-grace1 coming over their brows,
and going out with a corner behind their heads ; and this
boun-grace is, as it were, lined with a white stracht cambric
suitable unto it. Young maids not married all are bare
headed ; some with broad thin shag ruffs, which lie flat to
1 Bongrace or boungrace, u shade in front of the bonnet to protect from the
sun.

1636.] SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 141
their shoulders, and others with half bands with wide necks,
either much stiffened or set in wire, which comes only
behind ; and these shag ruffs some are more broad and thick
than others.
The city of Edenborough is governed by a lord provost
{which is equivalent to a lord mayor) and two or three
bailiffs, who execute the office of sheriffs, who, as they assume
no extraordinary state, only some few officers attending
them, so they do not maintain any great houses and hospi
talities : and when any occasion of greater consequence and
importance occurs, they then call unto them and consult
with, as assistants, some of those that have been formerly lords
provosts. The people here are slothful, that they fetch not
fresh water every day, but only every other day, which makes
their water much worse (especially to drink), which when it
is at best is bad enough. Their houses of office are tubs or
firkins placed upon the end, which they never empty until
they be full, so as the scent thereof annoyeth and offendeth
the whole house.
I was this day with an intelligent, understanding man,
who told me there were about sixty back lanes or streets,
which were placed in the side of this street, and went out of
it x narrow and inconvenient straight lanes, some wider, some
narrower, some built on both sides, others only on one side ;
and enquiring what number of persons might be in this
city, I found that it was generally computed that they were
no more than sixty thousand persons, because there are only
four parish churches in this city, and it is observed that
there are no more than about four thousand communicants
in every parish. Here is a dainty hospital 2 erecting, not
yet finished. I took notice here of that common brew-house
which supplieth the whole city with beer and ale, and observed
there the greatest, vastest leads, boiling keeves, cisterns and
combs, that ever I saw : 3 the leads to cool the liquor in

1 " This made an English gentleman, that was here with the Duke of York,
merrily compare it (High Street) to a double wooden comb, the great street
the wood in the middle, and the teeth of each side the lanes " (Macky, A
Journey through Scotland, p. 67). 2 Heriot's Hospital, which was not com
pleted till 1648. 3 Keeve, a large vessel, in which the liquor is placed to
ferment. Comb, a large wooden vessel or tub.

142 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1636.
were as large as the whole house, which was as long as my
court. Junii 27. — We went this morning to behold and take a
view of Leith, where is the haven belonging to this city;
which is a pretty little haven, neither furnished with near
so many ships as it is capable of, nor indeed is it a large
haven capable of many ships. There are. two neat wooden
piers here erected, which run up into the river, but not one
ship saw I betwixt them. There are two churches in this
town, which belongs unto and is subordinate to the city of
Edenborough. This towne of Leith is built all of stone, but
it seemeth to be but a poor place, though seated upon a
dainty haven : the country 'twixt this and Edenborough, and
all hereabout this city, is corn, is situate betwixt the hills
and the sea. Upon the top of the Toole-bowthe stands the
head of Gawrie.1 Here are pies (whereof I have had some
this day to dinner) which are sold twelve for a penny
English. Here upon the Toole-boothe stands the head of Earl
Gawrie. Many Highlanders we observed in this town in
their plaids, many without doublets, and those who have
doublets have a kind of loose flap garment hanging loose
about their breech, their knees bare ; they inure themselves
to cold, hardship, and will not diswont themselves ; proper,
personable, well-complectioned men, and able men; the very
gentlemen in their blue caps and plaids.
The sluttishness and nastiness of this people is such, that
I cannot omit the particularizing thereof, though I have
more than sufficiently often touched upon the same: their
houses, and halls, and kitchens, have such a noisome taste,
a savour, and that so strong, as it doth offend you so soon as
you come within their wall ; yea, sometimes when I have
light from my horse, I have felt the distaste of it before I
have come into the house ; yea, I never came to my own
lodging in Edenborough, or went out, but I was constrained
to hold my nose, or to use wormwood, or some such scented
plant. Their pewter, I am confident, is never scoured; they are
1 The Earl Gowrie meant is probably the son of the Earl of the Raid of
Ruthven. The son also (in 1600) was engaged in a plot for the assassination
of James.

1636.] SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 143
afraid it should too much wear and consume thereby ; only
sometimes, and that but seldom, they do slightly rub them
over with a filthy dish-clout, dipped in most sluttish greasy
water. Their pewter pots, wherein they bring wine and
water, are furred within, that it would loathe you to touch
anything which comes out of them. Their linen is as
sluttishly and slothfully washed by women's feet, who, after
their linen is put into a great, broad, low tub of water, then
(their clothes being tucked up above their knees) they step
into the tub and tread it, and trample it with their feet
(never vouchsafing a hand to nett1 or wash it withal) until
it be sufficiently cleansed in their apprehensions, and then it
looks as nastily as ours doth when it is put unto and designed
to the washing, as also it doth so strongly taste and smell of
lant and other noisome savours, as that when I came to bed
I was constrained to hold my nose and mouth together. To
come into their kitchen, and to see them dress their meat,
and to behold the sink (which is more offensive than any
jakes) will be a sufficient supper, and will take off the edge of
your stomach.
Junii 28. — Lord's Day. — Touching the government and
orders of the church here established. It is governed by
pastors, elders, and deacons ; there are about twelve elders,
eight deacons, and two pastors in every parish, (as Mr Wallis,
a judicious merchant informed me : ) these deacons, their
employment and office is to provide for the poor; the elders
take notice and cognizance of all misdemeanors and offences
committed in their parish, unto every of which elders there
is proportioned and alloted a part of the parish, which is
under their care and charge, who take notice of all
fornications, adulteries, thefts, drunkards, swearers, blas
phemers, slanderers, extortioners, and all other scandalous
offences committed in their parishes : these (by virtue of
their offices and strict vows, and protestations) are to present
all these offenders unto the minister and church-officers, who
proceed to ecclesiastical censure ; it is the duty of these to
provide bread and wine for the parishioners at the com
munion, and this upon the parish charge; these also are
assistants to the pastors in the administration of the sacra-
1 To clean. Fr. netloyer.

144 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1636.
ment. All these officers are yearly changed, and chosen by
the parishioners, and are proclaimed in the church, to be
designed for those places a year before they are invested
with those places, that so if any just exception can be made
against them, they may be put by that office and others
elected. Once every week, the pastors and elders, and sometimes
the deacons, assemble and meet together, to consult upon and
consider of the affairs of the parish ; they are most strict in
their censures against fornicators and adulterers ; those that
commit fornication under colour of intended marriage, and
¦after promise of marriage, are enjoyned to sit upon the stool
of repentance one day. This stool is a public and eminent
seat, erected towards the lower end of the church about two
yards from the ground, either about some pillar, or in some
such conspicuous place, where the whole congregation may
take notice of them; this seat is capable of about six or
eight persons. Here this day, 28 Junii, I was at sermon in
the Gray Friors, where there stood three women upon the
stool of repentance, who are admitted to sit during the sermon.
Those other fornicators are enjoined three days penance on
this stool; adulterers are censured to stand every Lord's
day upon this stool during twelve months in a sheet of hair,
and this enjoined them in divers churches. This day, after
sermon, the preacher admonished some who had persevered in
a course of impenitence and uncleanness, and had often been
admonished and enjoined to give testimony of their repentance,
and to make satisfaction to the congregation ; this hath been
delayed, and is not performed. He said, he wondered that
people were not ashamed to sin against God and against their
brethren, and against tlieir own souls, and yet they were
ashamed to make satisfaction unto the church, which had
conceived just matter of offence against them, for so great
scandal thereby given. He added, that they had proceeded
with much remissness against them, and forborne them not
one year but two, but if at the next meeting they did not
make their appearance, the next Lord's day they would
publish their names to the congregation. They proceed in
their ecclesiastical censures with all meekness, endeavouring
a reformation first by those means, and very rarely, not once

1636.] SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 145
in many years, do they denounce any excommunicate. There
are some officers made choice of to take notice of, and to
apprehend all those that loiter in the streets upon the Lord's
day, during service and sermon-time, these are punished by
being committed to the Toll-bowth ; and if any are found in
any house tippling, or gaming in church-time, they are com
mitted to prison. Those also called to account that are met
walking fromwards the church, and are detained in durance
until they be brought before the bailiffs of the town, who
punisheth them severely.
Good provision is here made by the deacons, the church-
officers, for the poor, a collection and contribution every
Lord's day before sermon, every well-affected parishioner doth
receive the alms and bounty of those who come to church (all
which give something), in box; hereunto they are chosen
and designed by the church-officers ; this they receive at the
church door, and there is also a monthly taxation and assess
ment laid upon all the inhabitants of the parish, towards the
relief of the poor, so as none beg, nor are suffered to wander
upon and down the parish ; but though many poor people
swarm and abound here, and more than I have met with in
any part of the world, yet these most abound here, and the
most miserable creatures in the world.1
Bought in Edenburgh ; Thanksgiving Sermon upon birth
of Prince,2 and the Itinerary of Scotland and Ireland : 3
two pair of pistols, which cost eight rixdollars, which is
£1, 18s. 4d., a dudgeon-hafted dagger and knives, gilt,
3s. 8d.
Divers earls' and lords' houses here in Edenburgh, as mean
buildings as gentlemen's and knights' in London and England.
Here I saw the Earl of Trequhere's 4 house, who is deputy
treasurer under my Lord Morton ; he was made earl when
the king was last here. I paid here for my horses two
rixdollars, and for our lodging for six persons, three beds
1 As has been said in the Introduction to Brereton's Travels, he left his
notes in a somewhat fragmentary condition. This must explain such sentences
.as the above. 2 Probably James, afterwards James II. 3 Possibly that of
Fynes Moryson. 4 The Earl of Traquair was made Lord High Treasurer of
Scotland in 1636. His house was "a lofty stone tenement on the south side
of the main street (the Canongate) to the east of Gillon's Close" (Wilson,
Memorials of Edinburgh, p. 285, ed. 1872). K

146 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1636.
every night, Is. 6d. ; for victuals, Saturday, 7s. 2d. ; Sunday,
Monday, Tuesday, breakfast about £1, 5s. ; washing, Is. 8^. ;
rewards to the maid and cook, 2s.
The College of Edinburgh, called King James his college,
was founded by the citizens about seventy years ago, by the
direction of Mr Bollock, the first principal thereof, and
minister of the college church. The order that is observed
in the worship of God is- this ; upon the Lord's day, they do
assemble 'twixt eight and nine hour in the morning, and
spend the time in singing psalms and reading chapters in the
Old Testament, until about ten hour ; then the preacher comes
into the pulpit, and the psalm being ended, he reads a printed
and prescribed prayer, which is an excellent prayer; this
being ended, another psalm is sung, and then he prays before
sermon, and concludes his sermon betwixt eleven and twelve
hour ; and during the intermission, many continue in the
church until the afternoon's exercise, which begins soon after
one, is performed in the same manner as in the morning, save
the chapters then read out of the New Testament, and they
conclude about four hour. I was in the morning at the
Gray Friors, where I heard a very worthy man, Mr James
Sherley ; in the wall of the yard of this church, I observed
very fair tombs and monuments, erected in memory and
honour of divers merchants and others interred in this church
yard ; which custom, if they continue, in the revolution of a
short time the whole wall will be most gracefully adorned
with tombs, which are most stately ornaments round about
the same. In the afternoon I went to the College Kirk,
where I heard a blind man preach, much to be admired.
Here I saw the sacrament of Baptism administered in this
manner: — The preacher standing in the pulpit, and there
being placed and fastened into the same a frame of iron,
shaped and proportioned to a basin, wherein there stands a
silver basin and ewer ; here the minister useth an exhortation
of gratitude for God's great goodness, in admitting them to
this privilage, &c, and demanding from the witnesses (which
are many, sometimes twelve, sometimes twenty), according to
a printed form of Baptism ; the parent receives the child from
the midwife, presents the same unto the preacher, who doth
baptize it without any manner of ceremony, giving a strict

1636.] SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 147
care of Christian and religious education, first unto the
parent, then to the witnesses.
When the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is administered,
a narrow table is placed in the middle aisle, the whole length
of the aisle, about which the most of the receivers sit, as in
the Dutch and French churches, but now the ceremonies of
the Church of England are introduced, and conformity is much
pressed, and the gesture of kneeling is also much pressed.
About twenty years last past, by virtue of an Act of
Parliament made in this kingdom, there was every year once
assembled a national council, consisting of one burgess for
every burough, one baron or elder in every presbytery, and
two or three ministers or pastors for a presbytery ; but these
meetings were dissolved and taken away about twenty years
last past, and now that Act of Parliament is made void and
abrogated.1 The discipline of the Church of England is much pressed
and much opposed by many pastors and many of the people.
(Quaere touching aire 77.) The greatest part of the Scotts
are very honest and zealously religious. I observed few
given to drink or swearing ; but if any oath, the most
ordinary oath was, " Upon my soul." The most of my hosts
I met withal, and others with whom I conversed, I found
very sound and orthodox, and zealously religious. In their
demands they do not so much exceed as with us in England,
but insist upon and adhere unto their first demand for any
commodity. I observed few bells rung in any of their
churches in Edenborough, and, as I was informed, there are but
few bells in any steeple, save in the Abbey Church steeple,
which is the king's palace. Herein is a ring of bells erected
by King Charles immediately before his coming into Scotland,
anno Dom. 1635, but none here knew how to ring or make
any use of them, until some came out of England for that
purpose, who hath now instructed some Scotts in this art.
In most of the eminent churches in this city, the king hath
a stately seat placed on high, almost round about some pillar
opposite to the pulpit.
Junii 30. — About twelve hour we left Edenborough, and
1 Brereton, of course, refers here to the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland.

148 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1636.
came to Light-Goaw,1 twelve miles from thence.2 This seems
to be a fair, ancient town, and well built, some part of it of
stone. Here is a fair church, and a dainty conduit in the
middle of the street.3 Here the king hath a very fair palace,
built castle-wise, well seated, so as it may command the whole
town, which is governed by a provost and bailiffs, who have
power to punish with death offences committed within their
liberties. By the way, I observed gentlemen's (here called
lairds) houses built all castle-wise. We lodged this night at
Failkirk, whence about seven miles distant (which we discerned
as we came) is seated the best house or castle of his Majesty
in this kingdom, called Sterlin, which is placed upon an high
commanding rock and hill, and not far from the fair navigable
river Frithe,4near adjoining whereunto this is situate. Here
is another of his Majesty's houses, an abbey called Drum-
farmalin,6 which is not above ten miles distant hence ; and
his Majesty's most pleasant and gallant houses are Falkeland,
and Sterlin, and Luthgow ; and there is also another palace in
the abbey of Scune, where the kings formerly were crowned.
All along the shore of Frithe are placed, even almost to
Sterlin, from beyond Mussleborough, salt-pans, wherein a
mighty proportion of salt is boiled, which cannot be estimated
and guessed, because the works are not easily to [be]
numbered, which are placed all along the shore, at least
thirty English mile. The conveniency of coals gives greatest
encouragement to the erection and pursuit of these works ;
coals abound all along the shore, yea, it is conceived
that the vein lies all under the river, seeing it is found on
both sides as it were reaching towards the other. Here the
chief charge is the getting, which is not easy, seeing the vein
lies sometimes sixteen or twenty fathom deep. The greatest
part of salt here made is transported into Holland. Here
now are some of their ships, which are also supplied with
coals hence, now the rather, because the custom of 4s. upon
a chaldron being increased, they decline the trade there, and
none or few of them are there to be now found. Coals are
sold for 3s. or 3s 6d. chaldron, and carriage 2s. 8d. Here
1 Linlithgow is locally known as Lithgow. 2 Linlithgow is seventeen miles
from Edinburgh. 3 This is the ancient Cross Well, which was erected in 1620.
The present fountain is of recent date (1805). 4 Forth. 6 Dunfermline.

1636.] . SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 149
was (about seventeen hundred years since) a great stone and
earth wall, called Grahames Wall,1 leading from Forth, six
mile below Leith, over the main land to Dumbarton, which
is upon the West Sea ; which wall was thirty-two 2 miles long,
and gave bounds to the kingdoms of Scots on the south and
Picts on the north ; at every mile's end was there erected a
tower for the watchmen, and a castle at every two miles' end,
wherein was a strong garrison.
About half a mile hence was there a cruel battle fought
betwixt the English and Scotts, in anno 1298, in Julii 22.3
Then was there slain, which here are buried in the church
yard, and whose monuments are still extant, Stewart of Butts 4
(out of which house it is said his majesty that now is
hath, descended) and Sir John . Grahames,5 both . brave men.
About fourteen miles hence is a meare or lake called Loe-
mund, in Perth, wherein are the flitting islands which move
(my host, Mr Fleemeing, affirmed he hath seen it) : it is most
rough in calm weather ; the fish are without fins.6 There is
in Caricke a rock three yards long and one broad, upon
which if you tingle with your knife, it will ring like brass
pan : this is called the Einging Bock, and is near the high
way, about sixteen miles from Port Patrick. Strange foot
steps in the cave of Caricke,7 wherein (as my host here
affirmed that he had often seen it) are always to be seen
and found the prints and footsteps of men, women, and
children, of clogs, cats, sheep, kine, horses, deer, and all
manner of beasts ; yea, he further protested that he had seen
it, that though the sand were overnight sifted, yet these
impressions were to be found next morning. And whereas
some write and some report of a deaf rock, it is but a fable,'
so I was informed by very judicious men. Here we paid
6s. English supper for seven persons, and lodged in Mr
1 The wall of Antonine. The appellation Graham's Dyke is applied to several
ancie»t ditches and ramparts in England. 2 It is about thirty-six miles
long. 3 Battle of Falkirk, in which Wallace was defeated by Edward I.
4 Bute. 5 Sir John Grahame, the bosom friend of Wallace. 6 Loch Lomond
was famous for three wonders — "Waves without wind, fish without fins, and
a floating island." But according to Geoffrey of Monmouth and the inter
polator of Nennius, Loch Lomond boasted still greater wonders than these.
It had 300 islands peopled with human beings, 340 rocks peopled with eagles,
and 340 rivers flowing out of it while it received only one (Nennius, chap.
74). 7 See p. 156.

150 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1636.
Fleemeing's house, who is a very intelligent, proper, com
plete, and well-bred man. There is a great Earl of this
country ; his name is Fleemcing, and his title Weghkton,1
whose house or palace2 we saw ; but there was so much
wood encompassed the same, as we could not discern the
same. Here we were shewed by Mr Guordon a meadow of
his, reputed the fairest meadow in Scotland. I would not
give in exchange for it the Broad Meadow, though it be
much larger ; one acre of the Broad Meadow, worth two of
this. I paid for hay here Qd. per noctem, and 12<£ peck
per oats.
Julii 1. — Hence I departed, and about twelve miles
hence there is a town called Cuntellen.3
Here, by the way, we were showed the relics of a stately
wood cut down, which belonged to this Earl of Weghkton.
There is very little or no timber in any of the south or west
parts of this kingdom, much less than in England. I have
diligently observed, but cannot find any timber in riding
near one hundred miles ; all the country poor and barren,
save where it is helped by lime or sea-weeds. Limestone
here is very plentiful, and coals; and where there are no
coals, they have abundance of turves. Poorest houses and
people that I have seen inhabit here ; the houses accommo-r
dated with no more light than the light of the door, no
window ; the houses covered with clods ; the women only
neat and handsome about the feet, which conies to pass by
their often washing with their feet.
About one hour we came to the city of Glasgoaw, which
is thirty-six miles from Edenburgh, eighteen from Failkirke.
This is an archbishop's seat, an ancient university, one only
college consisting of about one hundred and twenty students,
wherein are four schools, one principal, four regents. There
are about six or seven thousand communicants, and about
twenty thousand persons in the town, wliich is famous for
the church, which is fairest and stateliest in Scotland, for
the Toll-booth e and Bridge.
This church I viewed this clay, and found it a brave and
1 Wigton. - Cumbernauld House. 3 Kirkintilloch, locally known as
Kinlilloch.

1636.] SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 151
ancient piece. It was said, in this church this day, that
there was a contribution throughout Europe (even Eome
itself contributed), towards the building hereof.1 There is a
great partition or wall 'twixt the body of the church and
the chancel ; there is no use of the body of the church,
only divine service and sermon is used and performed in
the quire or chancel, which is built and framed church-
wise ; and under this quire there is also another church,
which carries the same proportion under this, wherein also
there is two sermons every Lord's day. Three places or
rooms one above another, round and uniformed, like unto
chapter-houses, which are complete buildings and rooms.
The Tole-boothe, which is placed in the middle of the
town, and near unto the cross and market-place, is a very
fair and high-built house, from the top whereof, being leaded,
you may take a full view and prospect of the whole city.
In one of these rooms or chambers sits the council of this
city : in other of the rooms or chambers preparation is
made for the lords of the council to meet in : these stately
rooms. Herein is a closet lined with iron ; walls, top, bottom,
floor, and door, iron ; wherein are kept the evidences and
records of the city : this made, to prevent the danger of fire.
This Tole-booth said to be the fairest in this kingdom : the
revenues belonging to this city are about £1000 per annum.
This town is built : two streets, which are built like a cross,
in the middle of both which the cross is placed, which looks
four ways into four streets, though indeed they be but two
straight streets ; the one reaching from the church to the
bridge, a mile long, — the other wliich crosseth, that is much
shorter. Two archbishops ; of St Andrewes, Spotswood, Chancellor,
Eegent : the other, of Glasgoaw, Dr Lindsey, Bishops, above
twenty.2 The prime cities in Scotland : Edenborough, St Andrewes,
Dondye, Aberden, Glasgoaw, Perth or St Johnstone, Light-
gow; Aire, Sterling, Dumbarton, Erwing,3 Don Frise,4
1 I have found no authority for this statement of Brereton. According to
the latest historian of Glasgow, the building of the cathedral was probably
begun by Bishop Bondington, who was consecrated in 1233 (Macgeorge, Old
Glasgow : the Place and Us People). 2 As has been already said, there were
only twelve bishops in Scotland. 3 Irvine. 4 Dumfries.

152 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1636.
Haddington, Dunbarr, Erwin,1 Elgin, Murray, Banffe, Enver-
ness, Boughan.2
Fairest bridges in Seottland : Done,3 which is in the north,
under which, as Mr Guordon informed me, that a ship of
fifty or sixty ton may pass with her sails full spread. This
is but one arch, placed on a high rock, upon either side much
above the water. A very fair bridge at Glasgoaw,4 over
Cleyd the river ; St Johnstones is a gallant bridge, stands
upon Tay ; Aberdeen. Glasgoaw is a fair bridge, consisting
of seven or eight fair arches, which are supported and
strengthened with strong buttresses : this river is now
navigable within six miles of this city ; it ebbs and flows
above the bridge, though now the water is so shallow, as you
may ride under the horse belly. Beyond this river there
is seated pleasantly a house, which was Sir George Elvin-
stones,5 and is to be sold to pay his debts : the revenue there
unto belonging is above £300 per annum. The price offered
by this city, who are about to buy it, is £6000, the suburbs and
privileged places belonging unto it induce them to buy it.6
We lodged at Glasgoaw, in Mr David Weyme's house ;
his wife's name is Margrett Cambell (the wives in Scotland
never change, but always retain, their own names), no stab
ling hereunto belonging; in the town we were constrained
to provide stabling, I paid 5d. for pease straw, for my straw;
no hay would be gotten. We paid for victuals, dinner, and
breakfast, seven persons, two rix-dollars.
There is a good handsome foundation propounded and set
out, to add a good fair and college-like structure to be built
quadrangular ; one side is already built, and there hath been
collections throughout Scotland towards the building of this
1 This is probably an unconscious repetition. 2 By Buchan Brereton may
have meant Brechin, which is mentioned below (p. 219) as one of the principal
towns of Scotland. He must have been misled about Murray. 3 Built in the
reign of Robert Bruce by Bishop Cheyne. This is the "Brig o' Balgownie,"
the prophecy regarding which is well known from " Don Juan: " —
"Brig' o' Balgownie, though wight be your wa',
Wi' a wife's ae son, and a meare's ae foal, down ye shall fa'."
4 Built in 1350 in place of the wooden bridge by which Wallace crossed the
river to attack the bishop's palace. 6 Elphinstone was Provost of Glasgow.
6 The Gorbals, in early times the compulsory retreat of persons affected with
leprosy.

1636.] SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 153
college, and much more money is collected than is needful
to the building hereof.1 Here the library is a very little
room, not twice so large as my old closet ; that part of it
which is now standing is old, strong, plain building. This
college is governed by one principal, four regents, and about
one hundred and twenty students. Here the scholars may
be distinguished from others by gowns (in Edenborough they
use coloured cloaks), though coloured, some red, some gray,
and of other colours, as please themselves.
Here I visited the Archbishop of Glasgoaw's palace, which
seems a stately structure, and promises much when you look
upon the outside. It is said to be the inheritance of the
Duke of Lennox, but the archbishops successively made use
of it.2 Here I went to see the hall and palace, and going
into the hall, which is a poor and mean place, the arch
bishop's daughter, an handsome and well-bred proper gentle
woman, entertained me with much civil respect, and would
not suffer me to depart until I had drunk Scotch ale, which
was the best I had tasted in Scotland, and drunk only a
draught of this ale in this kingdom. One fair house is here
lately built, he that built it died before he finished it.
Upon the way hence to Erwin, we discerned many islands,
and, amongst the rest, the great isle of Arran, belonging to
the Marquess Hamilton. Many more islands hence appear,
and indeed the isles, belonging and annexed unto this king
dom, are said to be more land than half the main land of
this kingdom. Mr Guordon informed me that they were
above three hundred in number.
One more remarkable isle, hence shows itself at forty
miles' distance ; this is placed in the sea about sixteen miles
from shore. It is a mighty high rock, seeming very steep
and high, round at the top; the name of it is Ellsey,3 and
1 The building of which Brereton speaks was the new pedagogium or college
of the Faculty of Arts acquired by gift from the Hamilton family in 1460.
It was the desire of the college authorities to extend this building ; but so low
were their funds that it was not completed before the Reformation overtook
them. In 1631 a new attempt was made to extend and restore the original
building ; but the work was not completed till 1656 (Munimenta Alme Uni-
versitatis Glasguensis, Preface to Index, pp. xxxix, xl). 2 Its site is now
occupied by the infirmary, near the western entrance of the cathedral. It is
mentioned in an old charter as early as 1290 (Macgeorge, Old Glasgow : tlie
Place and its People). 3 Ailsa Craig.

154' EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1636.
it belongs to my Lord Castle : 1 not inhabited, but with abund
ance of fowl, and two eareis [eyries] of goose-hawks, this year
stolen by some Highlanders. This rock or island was in our
view three days, whilst we travelled betwixt sixty and seventy
mile, and when you are at a great distance, it presents itself
in shape like a sugar-loaf, and when you approach nearer, it
seems lower and flatter at the top, but it is a much-to-be-
admired piece of the Lord's workmanship. In this isle of
Ellsey, which is my Lord Castle's, there breed abundance of
solemne (solan) geese, which are longer necked and bodied
than ours, and so extreme fat are the young, as that when
they eat them, they are placed in the middle of the room, so
as all may have access about it ; their arms stripped up and
linen cloaths placed before their clothes, to secure them from
being defiled with the fat thereof, which doth besprinkle and
besmear all that near unto it.
Julii 1. — -I came from Glasgoaw about eight hour, and came
to Erwin about twelve hour, which is sixteen mile. We
passed through a barren and poor country, the most of it
yielding neither corn nor grass, and that which yields corn
is very poor, much punished with drought. We came to
Mr James Blare's in Erwin, a well-affected man, who
informed me of that which is much to be admired : above
ten thousand persons have within two years last past left
the country wherein they lived, which was betwixt Aberdeen
and Ennerness,2 and are gone for Ireland ; they have come
by one hundred in company through this town, and three
hundred have gone hence together shipped for Ireland at one
tide : none of them can give a reason why they leave the
country, only some of them who make a better use of God's
hand upon [them], have acknowledged to mine host in these
words, " that it was a just judgment of God to spew them
out of the land for their unthankfulness."
This country was so fruitful formerly, as that it supplied
an overplus of corn, which was carried by water to Leith,
and now of late for two years, is so sterill of corn as they
are constrained to forsake it. Some say that, these hard
years, the servants were not able to live and subsist under
their masters, and therefore, generally leaving them, the
1 Cassillis. 2 Inverness.

1636.] SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 155
masters being not accustomed, nor knowing how to frame,1
to till, and order their land, the ground hath been untilled ;
so as that of the prophet David is made good in this their
punishment : " a fruitful land makes He barren, for the
wickedness of them that dwell therein;" for it is observed
of these, that they were a most unthankful people : one of
them I met withal and discoursed with at large, who could
[give] no good reason, but pretended the landlords increasing
their rents : but their swarming in Ireland is so much
taken notice of and disliked,2 as that the Deputy 3 hath sent
out a warrant to stay the landing of any of these Scotch
that came without a certificate. Threescore of them were
numbered returning towards the place whence they came, as
they passed this town. Some of them complain of hard
years (the better to colour and justify this their departure),
but do withal acknowledge that corn is as cheap with them
as in this town ; but in the distraction and different relation
of themselves, there may be observed much matter of ad
miration ; and, doubtless, digitus Dei is to be discerned in it.
Here we were well used, and paid about 4s. 4d. for our
dinners. Here I exchanged Mr Hobbye's nag with Mr
James Blare, for the white nag, and paid £1, 6s. 8d. to
boot. This town of Erwin is daintily situate, both upon a
navigable arm of the sea, and in a dainty, pleasant, level,
champaign country ; excellent good corn there is near unto
it, where the ground is enriched and made fruitful with the
sea-weeds or lime : the other ground which lies at too
great distance to be thus helped, either very poor corn, if
it be sown ; or if it lie, no grass at all. The minister of
this town is Mr David Dike,4 a worthy man ; and upon
further conference with my host, I found him a right
honest man of approved integrity, who is also part owner of
the best ship belonging to this town, wherein I spoke with
1 That is, " to arrange the course of cultivation in a methodical manner."
2 This emigration had been encouraged by James I. and Charles I., and
specially by Charles's minister Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford. 3 Went
worth, who was made Deputy of Ireland in 1631, and Lord-Lieutenant in 1639.
4 This must be the well-known Rev. David Dickson, minister of Irvine, who
took a prominent part in the ecclesiastical aff'airs of his day, was Moderator of
the General Assembly in 1639, and was appointed Professor of Divinity in the
University of Glasgow in 1640.— Scott, Fasti Ecclesim Scoticance.

156 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1636.
a merchant, who came lately from West Chester, and per
formed the journey in five or six miles (days), being about
one hundred and eighty miles : — from hence to Don Frise
forty-four miles ; thence to Carlile twenty-four, and so to
Pereth,1 &c. Hence to Dublin by sea is about forty hours'
sail with a good wind. Hence they trade much into
Bourdeaux in France, and are now furnished with good
wine. Not far hence, about two miles, lives the Earl of
Egglington, at Kill winning, he hath a dozen or sixteen halls
or houses hereabouts, and sways much in these parts.
Hence we came to Aire, which is eight miles upon the
sea coast, a most dainty, pleasant way as I have ridden,
wherein you leave the sea on your right hand; here we
taught our horses to drink salt-water, and much refreshed
their limbs therein. Coming late to Aire, we lodged in one
Patrick Mackellen's house, where is a cleanly neat hostess,
victuals handsomely cooked, and good lodging, eight (sic)
ordinary, good entertainment. No stable belonging to this
inn ; we were constrained to seek for a stable in the town,
where we paid 8d. a night for hay and grass for an horse,
and Is. a peck for base oats. This also is a dainty, pleasant-
seated town ; much plain rich corn land about it ; and better
haven, there being a river, whereon it is placed, which flows
much higher than the bridge, which is a great and fair neat
bridge, yet nevertheless it is but a bare naked haven, no
pier, nor defence against the storms and weather. Better
store of shipping than at Erwin. Most inhabiting in the
town are merchants trading unto and bred in France.
Enquiring of my hostess touching the minister of the
town, she complained much against him, because he doth so
violently press the ceremonies, especially she instanced in
kneeling at the communion ; whereupon, upon Easter day last,
so soon as he went to the communion-table, the people all
left the church and departed, and not one of them stayed,
only the pastor alone.
Julii 2. — Hence we went to the cave of Carick, which
is about eight miles from Aire, where there dwells a laird,
Sir Alexander Kendrick of Cullen,2 who hath a pretty
pleasant seated house or castle, which looks full upon the
main sea ; hereinto we went, and there found no hall, only
1 Penrith. 2 Kennedy of Colzean.

1636.] SIR WILLIAM BRERETON. 157
a dining-room or hall, a fair room, and almost as large as
the whole pile, but very skittishly kept, unswept, dishes,
trenchers and wooden cups thrown up and down, and the
room very nasty and unsavoury. Here we were not enter
tained with a cup of beer or ale ; only one of his sons,
servants and others, took a candle, and conducted us to the
cave, where there is either a notable imposture, or most
strange and much to be admired footsteps and impressions
which are here to be seen of men, children, dogs, coneys, and
divers other creatures. These here conceived to be Spirits,
and if there be no such thing, but an elaborate practice
to deceive, they do most impudently betray the truth ; for
one of this knight's sons and another Galloway gentleman
affirmed unto me that all the footsteps have been put out
and buried in sand over night, and have been observed to be
renewed next morning.1 This cave hath many narrow
passages and doors, galleries also, and a closet and clivers
rooms hewed with mighty labour out of an hard limestone
rock. Herein are two dainty spring wells, whereof I tasted ;
a foul, slippery, dark passage is thereinto, and it was first
framed and intended for a stronghold or place of defence, no
way to be offended or annoyed by any assault, if the port be
made good ; though one door looks towards and conveys light
from the seaward, yet these seas are so guarded with rocks
all along the shore of Caricke (such terrible rocks and stones
I never saw) as no ships dare nor do frequent those seas.
This day we were exceedingly punished for want of drink
and meat for ourselves and our horses, and could not meet
with any good accommodation in riding forty long miles ;
the entertainment we accepted, in a poorer house than any
upon Handforth Green, was Tharck-cakes,2 two eggs, and
some dried fish buttered ; this day, as many days before, I
drunk nothing but water ; and divers of our horses, and
Will. Baylye almost fainted for lack of relief. This day we
passed up and down many high and steep hills, which you
cannot ride, and very much hard and stony beaten way,
exceeding much moorish barren land.
We came into Galloway about six miles from the chapel,
and therein observed one of the widest, broadest, plainest
moors that I have seen ; it is much moss, but now so dry, as
1 Cf. Burns's "Hallowe'en." 2 Oat cakes.

158 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1636.J
it is good hanking. Coming off this moor, we observed an
eminent stone, and tried it with our knives, and it did ring
and sound like metal. About eight hour we came to this
long desired chapel,1 the town is thence denominated and so
called. This is situate upon a long loch,2 four miles long,
wherein the sea ebbs and flows. Here we found good accom
modation (only wanted wheat bread) in Hughe Boyde's house ;
ordinary 6d., good victuals, well-ordered, good wine and beer,
lodging, and horse meat. This house is seated four miles
from the Port Patrick, whence it is to Carlingworke 3 32
miles ; best lodging there is Tho. Hutton ; thence to Don-Frise
28 miles ; best lodging is John Harstein ; thence to Carleil 24.
Julii 4. — We went from hence to the Port Patrick, which
is foul winter way over the mossy moors, and there we
found only one boat, though yesternight there were fifteen
boats here. We hired a boat of about ten ton for five horses
of ours, and for five Yorkshiremen and horses ; for this we
paid £1 and conditioned that no more horses should come
aboard, save only two or three of an Irish laird's, who then
stayed for a passage, and carried his wife and three horses.
His name is Levinston, laird Dun Draide.4 Here we shipped
our horses two hours before we went aboard. It is a most
craggy, filthy passage, and very dangerous for horses to go in
and out ; a horse may easily be lamed, spoiled, and thrust
into the sea ; and when any horses land here, they are
thrown into the sea, and swim out. Here was demanded
from us by our host, Thos. Marsh-banke, a custom of 2s. an
horse, which I stumbled at, and answered that if he had
authority to demand and receive it, I was bound to pay
it, otherwise not; and therefore I demanded to see his.
authority, otherwise I was free to pay or refuse ; herewith
he was satisfied, and declined his further demand. Here is a
pretty chapel lately built by Sir Hugh Montgomeries, laird of
Dunskie on this side,5 where he hath a castle, and of Newton
de Clanyboyes on the Irish side, where he hath a market-town.
1 A chapel dedicated to St John stood in that part of the parish of Inch,
which was detached to form the parish of Stranraer (New Statistical Account
of Scotland). This explains the old name The Chapel by which Stranraer was
known. 2 Loeh Ryan. 3 Castle-Douglas sprang from a hamlet of the name
of Carlinwark. Its present name dates from 1792. 4 Sir William Livingston
of Kilsyth, who also owned the lands of Duntreath. 5 The family of Mont
gomery possessed extensive lands both in Scotland and Ireland. Dunskey
Castle is about half a mile from Portpatrick.

JAMES HOWELL
(1639).
THE following is one of the Familiar Letters of James
Howell. We have cause to regret that it is one of
his briefest, and that it has no companion, as a more detailed
account of Scotland by so experienced a traveller and so
accomplished a writer as Howell, would have been among
the most valuable in the present collection.
Letter XXVI. — To My Lord Clifford, from Edinburgh.
MY LOED, — I have seen now all the King of Great
Britain's dominions ; and he is a good traveller that
hath seen all his dominions. I was born in Wales, I have
been in all the four corners of England : I have traversed
the diameter of France more than once, and now I am come
through Ireland into this kingdom of Scotland. This town
of Edinburgh is one of the fairest streets that ever I saw
(excepting that of Palermo in Sicily), it is about a mile long,
coming sloping down from the castle (called of old the Castle
of Virgins, and by Pliny,1 Castrum Alatum) to Holyroodhouse,
now the royal palace ; and these two begin and terminate
the town. I am come hither in a very convenient time, for
here is a national assembly, and a parliament, my Lord
Traquair being his Majesty's Commissioner. The bishops
are all gone to wreck, and they have had but a sorry funeral :
the very name- is grown so contemptible that a black dog if
he hath any white marks about him, is called Bishop.2 Our
1 This should, of course, be Ptolemy. 2 By the date of Howell's visit the
Scottish nation had made it clear that they would have none of the religious
innovation which Charles I. wished to thrust upon them. In 1638 the
Covenant had been renewed amid the enthusiasm of all classes in the country ;
and in the same year the General Assembly, held at Glasgow deposed all

160 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1639,
Lord of Canterbury x is grown here so odious, that they call
him commonly in the pulpit, the Priest of Baal, and the son
of Belial.
I will tell your Lordship of a passage which happened
lately in my lodging, which is a tavern. I had sent for a
shoemaker to make me a pair of boots, and my landlord, who
is a pert smart man, brought up a chopin of white wine ;
and for this particular, there are better French wines here
than in England and cheaper,2 for they are but a groat a
quart, and it is a crime of a high nature to 'mingle or
sophisticate any wine here. Over this chopin of white wine,
my vintner and shoemaker fell into a hot dispute about
bishops. The shoemaker grew very furious, and called them
the firebrands of hell, the panders of the whore of Babylon,
and the instruments of the devil ; and that they were of his
institution, not of God's. My vintner took him up smartly
and said, " Hold neighbour there, do you not know as well as
I, that Titus and Timothy were bishops ? that our Saviour is
entitled the Bishop of our Souls ? That the word Bishop is
as frequently mentioned in Scripture as the name Pastor,
Elder, or Deacon? Then, why do you inveigh so bitterly
against them ? " The shoemaker answered, " I know the
name and office to be good, but they have abused it." My
vintner replies, "Well then, you are a shoemaker by your
profession, imagine that you, or a hundred, or a thousand, or
a hundred thousand of your trade should play the knaves,
and sell calf -skin leather boots for n eats-leather, or do other
cheats, must we therefore go barefoot ? Must the gentle
craft of shoemakers fall therefore to the ground ? It is the
fault of the men not of the calling." The shoemaker was so
gravelled at this, that he was put to his last ; for he had
not a word more to say, so my vintner got the day.
There is a fair parliament house built here lately,3 and it
was hoped his Majesty would have taken the maiden head of
it, and come hither to sit in person ; and, they did ill who
advised him otherwise.
the bishops, excommunicated eight of them, and annulled all Acts of
Assemblies held since 1606. 1 This is, of course, Archbishop Laud. 2 Other
English travellers in Scotland besides Howell noted this. 3 The Parliament
House had been built in 1632.

1639.] JAMES HOWELL. 161
I am to go hence shortly back to Dublin, and so to London,
where I hope to find your Lordship, that according to my
accustomed boldness I may attend you. In the interim, I
rest Your Lordship's most humble .servitor,
J. H.
Edinburgh, 1639.

THOMAS TUCKEE
(1655).
ON the 18th March 1652, the English Parliament, under
the Protectorate of Cromwell, resolved "that an Act
should be brought in for incorporating Scotland into one
Commonwealth with England ;" and in 1655 commissioners
were appointed to proceed to Scotland, and " by all possible
waies and meanes to inform themselves of the state of that
countrie, and consider of the readiest and best way for settling
and continuing the peace and good government of the same,
and how the union may be preserved, and the interest of the
Commonwealth promoted and maintayned." It was in con
nection with this object that Thomas Tucker was sent to
Scotland. As Eegister to the Commissioners for the Excise
in England, he received orders on the 17th August 1655 to
proceed " unto Scotland to give his assistance in settling the
excise and customs there ; " and it is from the report he
prepared that the following extracts have been taken. The
entire report is valuable and interesting; but the only
portions that require to be reproduced here are Tucker's
descriptions of the various seaports of Scotland. As a careful
official report, these descriptions will serve to check the
irresponsible accounts of other strangers in Scotland. At the
same time it should be said that Tucker's report is to this
extent misleading, that he evidently measures Scotland by
the standard of England, whereas such a country as Denmark
would have been a fairer measure to go by.
Eeport by Thomas Tucker upon the Settlement of the
Eevenues of Excise and Cdstoms in Scotland (Ban.
Club, 1825).
A LTHOUGH Scotland is almost encompassed with the
-£j- sea, (which hath very many inletts into the mayne
land,) and hath a very greate number of islands adjoyneing

[1655.] THOMAS TUCKER. 163
therunto, both on the easterne and westerne parts thereof,
and soe naturally comodious for commerce and traffique, yet
the barrenesse of the countrey, poverty of the people, gener
ally affected with sio the, and a lazy vagrancy of attending
and followeing theyr heards up and downe in theyr pastorage,
rather than any dextrous improvement of theyr time, hath
quite banished all trade from the inland parts, and drove her
downe to the very sea-side, where that little which is still
remayneing, (and was never greate in the most proude and
flourishing times,) lives pent and shutt up in a very small
compasse, even of those parts where there is any exercised,
which is mostly and chiefly on the east part, and soe
northerly along the side of the German ocean ; or else on the
westerne part, along Dunbryton Fyrth1 into the Irish or
English seas, the rest of the country from that Fyrth on the
west side, with all the islands up towards the most northerne
headland, being inhabited by the old Scotts or wilde Irish,
and speakeing theyr language, which live by feeding cattle
up and downe the hills, or else fishing and fowleing, and
formerly, (till that they have of late been restrayned,) by
plaine downeright robbing and stealeing.
According to the most eminent places of trade, the
commissioners have erected or established eight severall
head ports or offices for customes and excise. Those lyeing
on the east sea are Leith, Burrostones,2 Brunt Island,
Dundee, Aberdeene and Invernesse ; those on the west are
only two, Glasgoe, and Ayre.
,The port of Leith did formerly extend itselfe, and had for
its districts and members thereof, all the places and creekes
from South Barwicke 3 along the coast, up as farre as Sterling
inclusive ; but since, upon consideration of the length of the
ground and the trade of Burrostoness, it hath beene cutt
shorter, and goes noe further up the Firth now than to a
little place called Cramond, where this and the next office is
divided by a little river4 that, comeing from the landward,
empties it selfe into the Firth.
The towne of Leith is of it selfe a pretty small towne, and
fortifyed about, haveing a convenient drye harbour into which
the Firth ebbs and flowes every tyde ; and a convenient key
1 Firth of Clyde. 2 Borrowstouneness. 3 Berwick-on-Tweed. 4 The Almond.

164 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1655.
on the one side thereof, of a good length, for landing of
goods. This place formerly, and soe at this time, is indeed
a storehouse not onely for her owne traders, but alsoe for the
merchants of the citty of Edinburgh, this being the port
thereof ; and did not that citty, (jealous of her owne safety,)
obstruct and impede the groweing of this place, it would,
from her slave, in a few yeares become her rivall.1 For as
certainely the castle of Edinburgh did first give both the rise
and growth to that citty, by inviteing people in the time of
theyr intestine troubles to plant and setle there, for sheltering
themselves under the strength and security thereof ; soe now,
in times of peace, the scituation of this towne, and all other
circumstances concurreing to the rendring it fitt to prove
the most eminently mercantile and tradeing place of the
whole nation, would soone invite the inhabitants of that citty
to discend from theyr proude hill into the more fruitfull
plaine, to be filled with the fulnesse and fattnesse thereof.
This port being the cheife port of all Scotland, the
comissioners, out of a willingnesse to have a particular eye
upon the transacting of things, have therefore made election
of it for theyr particular residence. And because, besides a
collector, with his assistant and a checque, (who is present
at all receipts,) there is both the surveighor itinerant, when
his other occasions drawe him not abroad, and an head
searcher constantly to attend, looke after and instruct the
inferiour officers and wayters in the respective dutyes of
theyr trusts, have designed it for theyr gymnasium or nursery
of such as shal be employed under them ; and for this cause,
when any vacancy happens in any other place, resolve to
supply that with some officer from this, and to take in such
fresh officers which may happen at any time to bee enter
tained into this place, here to be trayned up, and fitted by
the instruction of theyr superior, and the experience and
example of theyr fellowe-officers, the sooner to become
masters of theyr businesse, and capable to bee sent forth to
this or that port, as occasion shal be offered. The number of
wayters in this port are not certaine ; for although there is
a certaine number of wayters established for the whole,
whatever of them at any time are not employed in the
1 See above, p. 84.

1655.] THOMAS TUCKER. 165
out-ports remayne constantly here for the lookeing after
this port, and the districts thereof, with the citty of
Edinburgh. The members, or creekes rather, of this port, though lye-
ing all along the coast, are not many in respect the height
and rockinesse thereof, in many places, will not give way
for landing goods in every place. The most materiall ones
are Eyemouth, not farre from South Barwick, where the
Scots and English both did usually shippe out skyns, hides,
wooll, and other prohibited comodityes, and againe bring in
such, which were there landed, and afterward carryed away
for the consumption and expence of the northerne parts of
England. The distance of it from the first head-port of
Scotland, and the vicinity of it to the east of England, whose
officers had noe power there, gave occasion of much deceipt,
which hath beene remedyed of late by placeing an officer
there constantly to attend at that place, but to have an eye
to all the creeks between that and Dunbarre, when any goods
passe up by him into the Firth.
The towne of Dunbarre, or village rather, (for all the
townes of Scotland, unless the burgh townes deserve noe
other appellation, did not use and custome of speech give
them a bigger title,) is a fisher towne, famous for the herring
fishing, who are caught thereabout, and brought thither and
afterward made, cured, and barrelled up either for merchan
dize, or sold and vended to the countrey people, who come
thither farre and neere at that season, which is from about
the middle of August to the latter end of September, and
buy greate quantityes of fish, which they carry away, and
either spend them presently or els salt and lay up for the
winter provision of theyr familyes. The trade here is little
else except salt, wliich is brought hither and layd up, and
after sold for the fishing ; the people of these parts which are
not fishermen, employing themselves in tillage and in affaires
of husbandry. But yett the conveniency of an indifferent
good harbour1 and landing-place hath occasioned the place
ing of a wayter here, not only for preventing any goods
from being brought privately on shoare, but alsoe to looke
1 As has been already mentioned, the old harbour at Dunbar began with a
grant of £300 from Cromwell.

166 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1655.
backward as farre as Eyemouth, and forward as Preston-
pans and Newhaven,1 two small places adjoyneing one to
another, and both lyeing on a fiatt shoare where there are
many salt-pans, which is the trade of the place and employ
ment of the people. Hither many small vessells come to
fetch salt, and oftentimes bringe goods with them, which
would bee stolne ashoare were there not a wayter at these
places who takes care of them, and upon all occasions looks
backe as farre as Dunbarre and forward to Musselburgh ; a
small, or rather three or foure small townes joyneing together,
the inhabitants fishermen and husbandmen, haveing an
open harbor on the outside theyr towne for small boats or
vessells, and a very opportune place for carryeing out and
bringing in of goods, unto or from any shippe that shal be
lyeing in the roade if not looked after. From this to Leith
the shoare being open upon a flatt sand with some rockes
before it, nothing can either safely or comodiously be landed ;
besides that it lyes all in sight. As for the tract of ground
beyond Leith, and yett in the district thereof, there are onely
a few fishermen with some two or three empty houses, the
ruins of some salt-workes, and the little country village of
Cramond, not worth the placeing any officer there, and for
that cause left to the care of all the officers in generall, who
may easily in the day-time from the towne of Leith discover
any vessells (or boates from them) goeing to the shoare,
and bee as soone as themselves at theyr place of landing.
And yett, if any thing doe, or should happen to slippe in at
night, the same being for account of the Leith or Edin
burgh merchants, must afterwards bee brought to some of
those two places, and if soe, or to any other burgh towne
where there are officers attending, they can hardly escape
the being seized upon. There are belonging to the port of
Leith and members, some twelve or fourteene vessells, two or
three whereof are of some two or three hundred tons apiece,
the rest small vessells for ladeing and carryeing out salt,
and to and from the coast of England, the cheife part of the
trade of these parts being driven thence, the rest being
1 Now called Morrison's Haven, the harbour of Prestonpans. It was built
by the monks of Newbattle Abbey for the exportation of coal from Preston-
grange, and was originally known as Newhaven.

1655.] THOMAS TUCKER. 167
from Norway, the East-land,1 Low countryes, or France,
immediately from the places themselves.
The next port is Burrostonesse, lyeing on an even lowe
shoare on the south side of the Firth, about the midway
betwixt Leith and Sterling. The towne is a mercat towne,
but subservient and belonging (as the port) to the towne of
Lynlithquo, two miles distant thence. The district of this
port reacheth from Cramond exclusive, on the south side of
the Firth to Sterling inclusive, and thence all along the
north side of the same Firth as farre as a little towne called
Lyme-Kills.2 This port, next to Leith, hath of late beene
the chiefe port one of them in Scotland, as well because it is
not farre from Edinburgh, as because of the greatt quantity
of coale and salt that is made and digged here, and after
wards carryed thence by the Dutch and others, and the
comodityes some time brought in by those Dutch who, avoyd-
ing and passing by Leith, doe runne up the Firth, and did
usually obtayne opportunity of landing theyr goods on either
side in theyr passage, the Firth a little above Brunt-Island
contracting and running along in a more narrowe channel].
There are constantly resident at this porte a collector, a checque,
and some foure wayters to attend to the coast and Inchgarvy.
The member ports on this side of the head port, and on
the south side, are Queenesferrye, a small towne, where
formerly goods have beene landed, but not of late, because of
Inchgarvy lyeing over against it in the middle of the river,
and that being furnished with soldiers and an officer or
two, to examine and search all shipps in theyr passage,
have kept them from that practice thereabout.
Blacknesse, Cuffe-abowt,3 and Grange,4 the former of them
sometimes reported to have beene a towne,5 and at that
time the port of Lythquo, but now nothing more than three
or foure pittif ull houses, and a peice of an old castle. The
other two are likewise some few houses standing on two
places of the shoare nigh some salt-pans and coale-hughs.6
On the other side of the port (but of the same side of the
1 Denmark. 2 A pan-house, started for the manufacture of salt, gave a tem
porary impulse to Limekilns ; but it has long ceased to be a place of any com
mercial importance. 3 Cuffabouts, a hamlet in Carriden parish, Linlithgowshire.
4 Grangemouth. 5 Borrowstounness became the recognised port of Linlithgow
in 1680, and since then Blackness has steadily declined. 6 The shaft of a pit.

168 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1655.
Firth) is Elphiston,1 a small towne, where there is pretty
store of greate coale shipped for beyond the seas. And
although there bee never a vessell belong to this place, yett
the Dutch mostly, and some others, choose to lade there
because of the goodnesse of the coale and its measure. The
river here being narrowe, the waiter on the opposite side
takes care as well as accompt of what is shipped here.
The next place beyond and furthest of the district this
way, is Sterling, a pretty burgh, famous for the strength of
the castle and bridge, which is layd over the Firth at that
place, this being the head of it, and the tyde floweing not a
mile above it. Here live some merchants, but the shallow-
nesse of the river, with the windeings thereof, makeing the
way long, and not permitting a boat of burthen to passe up
soe high, all goods are entred first and cleered belowe at
Burrostonesse, and thence afterward carryed up in small
boates, as the merchant hath occasion for them.
On the north side of the Firth, there is a pretty fine
burgh called Alloway,2 haveing a fine harbour, and an
excellent coale, which is for the most part shipped out and
carryed away by the Dutch, there being noe vessell belong
ing to the place. Nevertheless, there hath usually beene a
pretty trade for that eomodity, but interrupted of late by
some difference happened amongst some of the proprietors of
the coalhughes.3 Here is a wayter constantly resident, to
take care of this and the towne of Kennett,4 where likewise
is a very good greate coale, but cheifly sent from port to
port, and never or seldome outwards.
The next are Kincarne5 and Culrosse, the first a small,
and the other a burgh towne. From these two places salt
onely goes out. There is indeede a coale at Vallefeild6
adjoyneing to Culrosse, and at Kincarne alsoe, but bought up
and spent by the countrey, and not sent out. There were
lately some fine vessells belonging to Culrosse, but lost and
taken all except two of the best, which still remayne. These
two places have a wayter constantly to attend them, with
the adjoyneing towne of Torriburne,7 the cheife place for
1 Elphinstone, in parish of Airth, in Stirlingshire. 2 Alloa. 3 Scottioe,
coalheughs. 4 A collier village in Clackmannanshire. 6 Kincardine-on- Forth.
6 Valleyfield in the parish of Culross. 7 Torryburn.

1655.] THOMAS TUCKER. 169
shipping out small coales, where he is mostly resident.
There are three vessells belonging to this towne, one of some
an hundred and twenty, another of an hundred, and the
third of sixty tons.
The last place of this district is Lyme-kills, a towne
whence some small coale hath some time beene sent out, but
very little of late; and, for this reason, it hath beene
comended to the wayter of the next place, to have an eye
and take accompt when any coale shal be shipped out, but
not esteemed worth the placeing of an officer purposely.
The next head port is Brunt Island, lyeing opposite to
Leith, on the north side of the Firth, whose districts reach
from Innerkeithen all along the shoare of the county of
Fife, unto the bankes of the river Tay. The trade of these
parts inwards, is from Norway, the East countrey, and some
times from France with wines, and outwards with coale and
salt, at all times very small, and worth little. For, although
this bee the bounds of one of the best and richest countyes
of Scotland, yett the goodnesse and riches of the countrey,
ariseing more from the goodnesse and , fertility of the soyle
and lands than any traffieque, hath made it the residence
and seate of many of the gentry of that nation, who have
wholly driven out all but theyr tenants and peasants even
to the shoare side. There is one collector and five officers
constantly attending in this port, and members thereof,
which are on the west of Brunt Island, Innerkeithen ; on
the east Abirdore, Kinghorne, Kircaldy, Disert, Wems,1
Leven, Ely,2 St Minas,3 Petten-Weym, Ainster,4 Craill, St
Androes, and South-ferry ; 5 all pittifull small townes on the
coast, inhabited by seamen, colliers, salt makers, and such like
people, except St Androes, which (if I mistake not) is a burgh
towne, but if not a pretty neate thing ; — which hath formerly
beene bigger, and although sufficiently humbled in the time
of intestine troubles, continues still proud in the ruines of her
former magnificence, and in being yett a seate for the Muses.
To this port and members thereof, there are very many
vessels belonging, which are imployed for the carryeing coale
and salt outwards and to the coast, and generally every-
1 Wemyss. 2 Elie. 3 St Monance. 4 Anstruther (locally pronounced
Anster). 5 Newport.

170

EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND.

[1655.

where in Scotland rather than the ports to which they doe
belong, but have received theyr names and denominations
from the places of abode and habitation of theyr respective
masters, owners, or marriners, who live plentifully hereabouts,
because of the roade lyeing before them, and are in number,
and of the tunnage each, as followith, viz. : —

To Brunt Isle, seaven, whereof

Kinghome, one of

Kircaldy, twelve,

Disert foure,
Wems, sixe, viz., .
Leven, two, viz.,
Ely, two, viz.,
St Minas, one,
Petten Wems, two,

Ainster, ten, viz.,

1655.] THOMAS TUCKER. 171
Tonnes.
To Craill, one of .90
„ St Androes, one of . . .20
„ Southferry, one of . . .18
The port of Dundee comes next in view, which is a pretty
considerable place, lyeing by the mouth of the river Tay,
which, springing out of the mountaynes of Albany,1 and
running through the feilds, at length spreads itself into a
lough full of islands, and afterward contracting itself, taketh
in Amund,2 (a river of Athol,) passeth on to Dunkell, and
thence by Scoone maketh its way into the German Ocean.
The towne of Dundee was sometime a towne of riches and
trade, but the many rencontres it hath mett with all in the
time of domestick comotions, and her obstinacy and pride of
late yeares rendring her a prey to the soldier,3 have much
shaken and abated her former grandeur ; and notwithstand
ing all, shee remaynes still, though not glorious, yett not
contemptible. The trade of this place inwards is, from
Norway, the East countrey, Holland, and France; and out
wards, with salmon and pladding. Here is a collector, a
checque, and five wayters established, three of which wayters
constantly reside here, and the rest are bestowed in the
member ports, which are : —
1. St Johnstons,4 an handsome walled towne, with a
cittadell added thereunto of late yeares,5 lyeing a good way
up the river Tay, where there is a wayter alwayes attending,
not soe much because of any greate tradeing there, as to
prevent the carryeing out wools, skyns, and hide, of which
comodityes greate plenty is brought thither out of the
1 Albany, or Albaiun, a name applied to the Highlands of Scotland.
2 The Almond. 3 Dundee was besieged by the Marquis of Montrose in 1645,
and stormed by General Monk in 1651. On the latter occasion, in retribution
for the stubborn resistance of the inhabitants, 1200 of the garrison were put
to the sword, and the town was so thoroughly sacked that each of Monk's
men received nearly £60 sterling. 4 Perth. Hector Boece says that Perth
began to be called St Johnstone in his day (Episcoporum Murlhlacen. et Aber-
donen. Vitaz, p. 23, Bannatyne Club). But we have seen that more than a half
a century before the time of Boece, Hardyng speaks of Perth under the name
of St Johnston, and that still earlier it is so called in the narrative of
Edward I.'s expedition into Scotland. 5 This citadel, built by Cromwell's
army in 1652 on the South Inch of Perth, was one of the four raised to overawe
Scotland after the Battle of Dunbar. The very gravestones and walls of Grey-
friars' Churchyard were used in its construction.

172

EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND.

[1655.

Highlands, and there bought up and engrossed by the
Lowlandmen. 2. Arbroth, a small towne without any trade, but for
theyr owne expence, which is but little.
3. Montrosse, seated betwixt the North and South Eskes.
A pretty towne, with a safe harbour, risen by the fall and
ruine of another towne of the same name, not farre offe.1
Here, likewise, is a wayter, because there hath usually beene
salt brought in; and salmon, pladding, and come, usually
sent forth. The vessells belonging to this port and members
are: —

To Dundee, ten, viz.

Tons.

r'l

1

1

90

1

GO

1

55

1

50

1

40

1

30

l2

25

Lasts

A

26

2

18

2

16

2

12

1

7

3

6

1

5

Montrose, twelve, viz.,

The port of Aberdeene lyes next northward, being a very
handsome burgh, seated at the mouth of the river Donne, and
is commonly called the New towne, for distinguishing it from
another towne hard by, of the same name, but more antiquity,
lyeing at the mouth of the river Dee, some a mile distant
from the New towne, and is the cheife academie of Scotland.2
This being now a place more for study then trade, hath
1 Old Montrose two miles distant, in the parish of Maryton, where the great
Marquis of Montrose was born. 2 Tucker is in error here. New Aberdeen is
at the mouth of the Dee, Old Aberdeen at the mouth of the Don. The fame
of the "Aberdeen Doctors " had given Aberdeen its first place among the Uni
versities of Scotland at this period. See p. 204 (below).

1655.] THOMAS TUCKER. 173
willingly resigned her interest that way, unto the New towne,
which is noe despicable burgh, either for building or large-
nesse, haveing a very stately mercat place, sundry houses
well built, with a safe harbour before it for vessells to ride
in. But the widenesse of the place, from the inlett of the
sea comeing in with a narrowe winding gut, and beateing in
store of sand with its waves, hath rendred it somewhat
shallowe in a greate part of it, and soe lesse usefull of late
than formerly. But the inhabitants are remedyeing this
inconveniencye, by lengthning theyr key, and bringing it up
close to a necke of land, which, jetting out eastward, towards
an headland lyeing before it, makes the comeing in soe
streight. At the end of which formost neck of land there is
a little village called Footie, and on the other headland,
another called Torye,1 and both nigh the harbour's mouth,
and lyeing very neere unto the place where the ships usually
ride, (being forced to keep some distance from the key, because
of the shallownesse of the water,) have given opportunity of
much fraude, in landing goods privatly, but prevented of late,
by appointeing the wayters by tumes, to watch those two
places narrowly, when there are any shipping in harbour.
The trade of this place, (as generally all over Scotland,) is,
inwards, from Norway, Eastland, Holland, and France ; and
outwards, with salmon and pladding, comodityes caught and
made hereabout in a greater plenty then any other place of
the nation whatsoever.
In this port there is a collector, a checque, and three
wayters, some of which are still sent into the member ports
as often (which is but seldome) as any opportunity is offered,
or occasion requires. Those are in number five : Stonehive,2
a little fisher towne, where formerly goods have beene
brought in, but not of late, because hindred from doeing
soe by the neighbourhood and priviledges of the burgh of
Montrose ; Newburgh,3 where sometimes a few deales and
timber are brought ; Peterhead, a small towne, with a
convenient harbour, but spoyled of late by stresse of weather ;
Friselburgh 4 and Bamffe, where, in like manner, something
1 Futtie and Torrie were fishing hamlets at the mouth of the Dee. Futtie
is Footdee. 2 Stonehaven, locally pronounced Stanchive. 3 Newburgh at the
mouth of the Ythan. 4 Fraserburgh.

174 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1655.
now and then is brought in from Norway, but theyr onely
trade is coasting, except that from the latter of them some
salmon may happen to be shipped out. The vessels to this
district belonging are, viz. : — Tons.
1 80
1 70
To Aberdeene, nine, viz., . < „ .
2 30
.1 20
„ Frazerburgh, four, ... 20
„ Peterhead, one of ... 20
The last port northerly, is Invernesse, lyeing at the head
of the Firth of Murray, not farre from Loquh Nesse, where
the towne is a small one, though the cheife of the whole
north, and would bee yett worse, were it not for the large
cittadell built there of late yeares.1 This port hath for its
district all the harbours and creekes of the shires of Murray,
Eosse, Southerland, and Caithnes, with the Isles of Orkney ;
in which, although there bee many large rivers which,
riseing in the hills, runne downe into the sea, and the
oceane hath indented many more creeks and inletts, with
its stormy waves still beateing on the shoare, yett few of
them are serviceable, and those few much too bigge for any
trade that is or may be expected in these parts. For as the
roughnesse of the sea and weather lye constantly on the
east of them, soe on the west they have the hills for theyr
portion. The inhabitants beyond Murray land2 (except in
the Orkneys) speake generally Ober garlickh,3 or Highlands,
and the mixture of both in the towne of Invernesse is such
that one halfe of the people understand not one another.
The trade of this port is onely a coast trade, there being noe
more than one single merchant in all the towne, who brings
home sometimes a little timber, salt, or wine. Here is a
collector, a checque, and one wayter, who attends here, and
lookes (as occasion serves) to Garmouth 4 and Findome in
Murray-land, two small places, from whence some 60 lasts 5
1 Built in 1652 by the army of Cromwell. 2 Morayshire. 3 i.e., Highland
Gaelic. 4 At the mouth of the Spey. 5 Loads, generally estimated at 4000 lbs.

1655.] THOMAS TUCKER. 175
of salmon in a yeare are sent out, for which salt is brought
in from France, and sometimes a small vessell comes in from
Holland or Norway.
In the shire of Eosse there are onely two ports, the one
called Cromarty, a little towne in a bottome, with one of
the delicatest harbours reputed in all Europe,1 the tide come
ing in a greate depth betwixt two stately rockes, (called the
Sooters,2) through which the water passes into a large bay,
where the greatest shipps of burden may ride in safety ; and
the other Tayne, a small towne lyeing neere the mouth of a
river of that name. To the former of these nothing comes
more than a little salt to serve the countrey, and to the
other it may bee a small barke once in a yeere from Leith, to
fetch deales, which are brought downe thither from the hills.
In Southerland there is onely Dun Eobin, and some two
small creekes more, where some barkes used to come for
carryeing the Earle of Southerland's corne for some other
parts of Scotland, according as hee findes his best markett.
In these two shires it was never thought worth the cliarge
of appointing an officer ; but the collector keeps a correspond
ence with some on the place for giveing him intelligence
when any barkes come in or goe out.
In Caithness there is a wayter constantly resident for
lookeing after Thursoe and Weeke, two small ports, from
whence good store of beefe, hides, and tallowe, are usually
.sent to the coast ; his worke is rather preventive, for
hindering those comodities from being sent into forraigne
parts, than profitable by any thing hee is likely to receive
there. The like alsoe is practised at Kirkewaile, in the Isles of
Orkney, where there is another officer for lookeing after those
Isles, whence they send corne, fish, butter, tallowe, hides, and
.sometimes some timber is brought in from Norway, or els a
Dutch vessell may happen to touch there in her passing about.
As for Shetland, (thought to be the Ultima Thule, soe
much spoken of and reputed by the ancients to bee the
furthest part of the world,) it lyes over against Bergen in
Norway, and very difficult to get thither but in some
certaine moneths of the summer. There was never yett
1 In Mercator's map, reproduced in this volume, Cromarty is styled "portus
.salutis." 2 " The Sutors " well known to readers of Hugh Miller.

176 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1655.
officer either sent or that would adventure thither till of late,
when the farmer of the inland comodityes of those parts
haveing prevailed with one to undertake his affaires there, the
comissioners did comission the same party likewise as to
custome and f oraigne excise alsoe ; but what successe this
enterprise may have, must be left to the discovery of some
further time. Eeport speakes the place to bee frequented
about May with some Dutch, who come to fish there,
bringing beere, strong waters, and tobaccoes with them. The
vessels or barkes of this district belonging are, viz. : —

To Invernesse, one of
„ Garmouth, one of
„ Cromarty, one of .
„ Thirsoe, one of

„ Orkney, three, viz.,

There were lately some nine barkes more belonging to those
isles, which have beene taken or lost by storme, this and the
last yeare.
Being advanced as farre as the furthest coast of all
Brittaine, I shall passe over Stranaverne,1 Assinshire,2 and the
Western Isles, (places mangled with many armes of the
Westerne Sea, imbosomeing it selfe within many parts thereof,
and destitute of all trade, being a countrey stored with cattell,
craggie hills, and rockes, and planted with the ancient Scotts
or wilde Irish, whose garbe and language they doe still
retayne amongst them,) and returne southerly as farre as
/Glasgowe, a very neate burgh towne lyeing upon the bankes
of the river Cluyde, which, riseing in Anandale, runnes by
Glasgowe and Kirkpatrick, disburthening it self into the Firth
of Dunbarton. This towne, seated in a pleasant and fruitfull
soyle, and consisting of foure streets, handsomely built in
forme of a crosse, is one of the most considerablest burghs of
Scotland, as well for the structure as trade of it. The
1 In Mercator's map, Strathnaverna occupies the northern half of Sutherland-
shire. 2 District of Assynt in same shire.

1655.] THOMAS TUCKER. 177
inhabitants (all but the students of the colledge which is
here) are traders and dealers : some for Ireland with small
smiddy coales, in open boates, from foure to ten tonnes, from
whence they bring hoopes, ronges, barrell staves, meale, oates,
and butter; some from France with pladding, coales, and
herring, (of which there is a greate fishing yearly in the
Westerne Sea,) for which they return salt, paper, rosin, and
prunes ; some to Norway for timber ; and every one with
theyr neighbours the Highlanders, who come hither from
the isles and westerne parts ; in summer by the Mul of
Cantyre, and in winter by the Torban1 to the head of the
Loquh Fyn, (which is a small neck of sandy land, over
which they usually drawe theyr small boates into the Firth
of Dunbarton,) and soe passe up in the Cluyde with pladding,
dry hides, goate, kid, and deere skyns, which they sell, and
purchase with theyr price such comodityes and provisions as
they stand in neede of, from time to time. Here hath like
wise beene some who have adventured as farre as the
Barbadoes ; but the losse they have sustayned by reason of
theyr goeing out and comeing home late every yeare, have
made them discontinue goeing thither any more. The scitua-
tion of this towne in a plentifull land, and the mercantile
genius of the people, are strong signes of her increase and
groweth, were she not cheequed and kept under by the
shallownesse of her river, every day more and more increas
ing and filling up, soe that noe vessells of any burden can
come neerer up then within fourteene miles, where they must
unlade, and send up theyr timber, and Norway trade in rafts
on floates, and all other comodotyes, by three or foure tonnes
of goods at a time, in small cobbles or boates of three, foure,
five, and none of above six tonnes, a boate. There is in this
port a collector, a checque, and foure wayters, who looke to
this place, Eenfrew, Arskin2 on the south, and Kirkepatrick3
on the north side of Cluyde, with Dunbarton, a small and
very poore burgh at the head of the Firth. The former of
these are inhabited with fishermen, that make herring and
trade for Ireland with open boates, and the latter gives
shelter some time to a vessell of sixteen tons, or thereabouts,
comeing from England or Ireland with corne.\
1 Tarbert. In Blaeu's Map, Torbaet. 2 Erskine Ferry. 3 Kiipatrick. M

178 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1655.
The member ports of this district are : —
1. Newarke, a small place where there are (besides the
laird's house of the place) some foure or five houses, but
before them a pretty good roade, where all vessells doe ride,
unlade, and send theyr goods up the river to Glasgowe in
small boates ; and at this place there is a wayter constantly
attending. 2. Greenocke, such another, onely the inhabitants are
more ; but all seamen or fishermen tradeing for Irelande or
the isles in open boates ; at which place there is a mole or
peere, where vessells in stresse of weather may ride, and shelter
themselves before they passe up to Newarke, and here like
wise is another wayter.
3. Fairly, Culburgh,1 Salcoates, shoares onely of the roade
with a few houses, the inhabitants fishermen, who carry fish
and cattell for Ireland ; bringing home corne and butter for
theyr owne use and expense. A wayter in extraordinary
here takes care of these places, and advertises the head port
when any thing comes in thither.
4. Bute, a small island lyeing in the mouth of the Firth,
under which some vessels in stormy weather shelter them
selves, but passe afterward up the river. The inhabitants
are all countreymen and cowheards, who feede cattell,
and spinne, and make some woollen clothe, which carryed
to bee dyed and dressed at Glasgowe, where they buy still
whatever they have occasion of for theyr expence and
provision. And lastly, Irwyn, a small burgh towne, lyeing at the
mouth of a river of the same name, which hath some time
beene a pretty small port, but at present clogged and
almost choaked up with sand, which the Western Sea beats
into it, soe as it wrestles for life to maintaine a small
trade to France, Norway, and Ireland, with herring and
other goods, brought on horsebacke from Glasgowe, for
the purchasing timber, wine, and other comodityes, to
supply theyr occasions with. Here alsoe is another wayter
in extraordinary. The vessells belonging to this district are,
viz. : — 1 Kelburn.

To Glasgowe, twelve, viz.,

1655.] THOMAS TUCKER. 179
Tonnes.
'3 150
1 140
2 100
1 50
3 30
1 15
U 12
„ Eenfrew, 3 or 4 boates of 5 or 6 tonnes a-piece.
„ Irwin, 3 or 4, the biggest not exceeding 16 tonnes.
The next and last head port of Scotland is Ayre, a small
towne in Kyle, lyeing over against the Isle of Arren, where
formerly the inhabitants, before the troubles of Ireland,
report themselves to have had a pretty trade thither. How
flourishing soever theyr former condition hath beene, it is
now certainely to bee deplored, the place groweing every day
worse and worse, by reason of theyr harbours being clogged
and filled up with sand, which the Westerne Sea and the
winds from the neighbouring islands beate up into it, in soe
much that it is very difficult for any vessell to come in or
goe out. That which will most conduce to the preserveing
the towne either in trade, name, or memory, wil be the strong
cittadell built there of late yeares by the English.1
The lymitts or district of this port are of a very large extent
and circuit, being all the shoare that bounds and terminates
the shires of Kyle, Carrick, and Galloway, places fuller of
moores and mosses then good townes or people, the same being
in many places not planted, and all of it voyde of tradeing
except the towne of Ayre, Kircowbright, and Dunfreeze ; nor
in any likelihood of obtayneing any when there is not a,
shippe or barke belonging to any port in these parts except
to Ayre, where there is one shippe of one hundred, another
of forty, and a third of some thirty tonnes, and two barques,
one of three and the other of some foure tons onely, which
are employed most comonly in a coasting trade to Glasgowe,
and sometimes with coales for Ireland.
The creekes along the coast from this place to Port-
1 Built by the soldiers of Cromwell in 1652, on the site of the ancient church
of St. John and out of its materials, and at such cost that he declared it might
have been built of gold.

180 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1655.
patricke, are Dundufmull,1 Dunneure,2 Maidenhead,3 Turne-
berry, Drumgarloch,4 Girven, Armillian,5 Ballantry,6 Garran,7
and Glenfoote,s at which places there are some five or sixe
fisher-boates, and not many more houses, except Ballantry,
which is a mercate towne, as poore as little.
From the Glenfoote there is noe creeke up the lough,
untill one come as farre as Stranrawer, otherwise called the
Chappell,9 being a small mercate towne the side of the lough,
which would prove a pretty harbour for shelter of vessells,
in time of storme to putt in there, which is certainely very
seldome and rare, in respect there is not now nor ever was
any trade to bee heard of here.
Next to Stranrawer is Girvellen,10 a creeke, whether boates
come and goe to and from Ireland, and next to those two
is Port-patrick, a place much frequented by those who
have any trade or affaires towards Ireland, because of its
nearnesse to that countrey, and conveniency of transporting
horse, cattell, and other materialls for planting thither, which
is the sole trade of these parts : as there is noe harbour
soe noe vessell of any burden can possibly come in.
The next to these are Whithome and Wigton, to the
latter of which there comes sometimes a small boate from
England, with salt or coales.
Betwixt these and Kircowbright there is noe creeke
nor port, but one creeke at the foot of the water of Fleete,
not worth the nameing.11 As for Kircowbright, it is a
pretty and one of the best ports on this side of Scotland,
where there are a few, and those very poore, merchants, or
pedlars rather, tradeing for Ireland. Beyond this, there are
the small creekes of Balcarie,12 the Water of Ore,13 and
Satternis,14 whither some small boates come from England
with salt and coales. And last of all Dunfreeze, a pretty
mercat towne, but of little trade, that they have being
most part by land, either for Leith or Newcastle. The
1 Dunduff in parish of Maybole, where, acccording to the New Statistical
Account, smuggling was once actively practised. 2 Dunure. 3 The Maidens.
4 Dungyrdloch, a little to the south of Turnberry (see Blaeu's Atlas).
6 Ardmillan. 6 Ballantrae. 7 Garran ? 8 Lendalfoot ? » See above, p. 1 57.
10 Port Garvilland, IJ miles south-west of Corsewall Point. n Gatehouse of
Fleet, which in the middle of last century promised to be a possible rival of
Glasgow. K Balcary. 13 Urr. 14 Southerness.

1655.] THOMAS TUCKER. 181
badnesse of comeing into the river upon which it lyes,
hindering theyr comerce by sea, soe as whatever they have
come that way is comonly and usually landed at Kir
cowbright. This towne of Dumfreeze was formerly the
head port of these parts, the towne of Ayre being then
within the district of Glasgowe ; but there being nothing
to doe, the, comissioners thought fitt to remove the collector
to Ayre, (which is much the better towne of the two,) where
there is a checque and three officers ; one of which officers
attends constantly at that towne, one other of them resides
at Port-patrick, and lookes to that and the adjacent creekes
of Stranrawer, Garvellen, Whitehome, and Wigton, and the
last of them at Kircowbright, for lookeing after that place,
with Dunfreeze and the Water of Fleete, Balcarie, the
Water of Ore, and Satternis ; the rest of the ports and
places of this district haveing beene never esteemed worth
either the care or charge of a wayter, and indeede the whole
will not doe much more then defray the charge which is
necessarily expended on them.

EICHAED FEANCK
(1656).
OF Eichard Franck we know little more than he has
himself casually told us in the book from which
the following extracts have been made. It has been con
jectured that he was born in 1642, and that he
died in the year 1708. From himself we learn that
he was a native of Cambridge, that he received " a slender
education " at its university, and that the impending civil
wars drove him for a time to make his residence in London.
We have it also from himself that he at one time resided in
Nottingham, though in what capacity, or whether before or
after his visit to Scotland, he does not specify. His first
acquaintance with Scotland was made as a trooper in the
army of Cromwell in 1650. It was probably in 1656 or
1657, however, that he made the northern tour of which
his Memoirs is the record. He seems to imply that the
unsettled state of affairs under the Commonwealth led him
to quit England for a time ; but a perusal of his book
suggests another and a sufficient reason. Franck was an
enthusiastic angler, and in his own fantastic manner a lover
of nature as keen as Izaak Walton himself. From his
occasional references to Walton, indeed, we gather that he
had the ambition of improving on the Compleat Angler;
and certainly there could hardly be a greater contrast than
between the simplicity of Walton and the grandiloquence of
Franck. When on service in Scotland, Franck had noted
the riches of her lochs and rivers, and when the opportunity
came he simply gratified what seems to have been the ruling
passion of his life. From another work of Franck's, a
strange rhapsodical book, entitled " A Philosophical Treatise
of the Original and Production of Things Writ in America

[1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 183
in a Time of Solitude, by E. Franck, London, 1687," we
learn that he subsequently visited America. Besides this fact
nothing more is known of his later life.
Franck's book on Scotland was edited by Sir Walter
Scott in 1821 with a few notes and a short preface. Its
title sufficiently indicates its quality. It runs as follows : —
"Northern Memoirs, calculated for the Meridian of Scotland,
wherein most of all the Cities, Citadels, Sea-ports, Castles,
Forts, Fortresses, Eivers, and Eivulets, are compendiously
described. Together with choice Collections of various
Discoveries, Eemarkable Observations, Theological Notions,
Political Axioms, National Intrigues, Polemick Inferences, Con
templations, Speculations, and several curious and industrious
Inspections, lineally drawn from Antiquaries, and other
noted and intelligible Persons of Honour and Erninency.
To which is added the Contemplative Angler by way of
Diversion. With a Narrative of that dextrous and
mysterious Art experimented in England, and perfected in
more remote and solitary Parts of Scotland. By way of
Dialogue. Writ in the year 1658, but not till how made
publick, by Eichard Franck, Philanthropus." The book
is in the form of a dialogue between Amoldus (Franck
himself) and Theophilus,1 which is resolutely maintained
without a break throughout their tour. Beginning with a
discourse on the glories of creation, on man's place in the
general order, and the effects of Adam's first sin, the inter
locutors (at the fifteenth page) at length propose the
northern journey; and the remainder of their dialogue is
made up of rambling talk on angling, Scottish scenery, and of
theosophic disquisition, which proves Franck to have been a
kind of compound of Quaker and Fifth Monarchy man.
As will be seen, Franck's style is as absurd as anything in
English literature. To his perverse grandiloquence Scott
could find a parallel only in Sir Thomas Urquhart, with
whose name at least Franck was acquainted.2 Moreover,
that this was sheer coxcombry is proved by the fact that
on occasion Franck could write as plainly as might be
1 There is a third interlocutor, but he drops off at an early stage of the
dialogue. 2 Franck refers to Urquhart when he has occasion to speak of
Cromarty (pp. 216-217).

184 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
expected of the quondam trooper of Cromwell. While the
value of his book is seriously marred by his foolish
affectations, it nevertheless, as Scott has said, " contains a
deal of interesting matter concerning the state of Scotland
during the civil wars." Franck had one merit of an
intelligent traveller — he was good-natured. In an age
of acrimonious tempers he speaks with fairness of both
parties in politics and religion — of Montrose as kindly as of
David Leslie. He has unfavourable remarks on the habits
and poverty-stricken condition of the Scottish people, yet on
the whole he is not an unfriendly observer. Of the natural
beauties of the country he shows an appreciation which is
usually supposed to be the privilege of our own century,
Scott was struck by this feeling in Franck, and quotes
with approval his description of Scotland as "a legible
fair draught of the beautiful creation, dressed up with
polished rocks, pleasant savannas, flourishing dales, deep
and torpid lakes, with shady woods, immerged with rivers
and gliding rivulets, where every fountain overflows a
valley, and every ford superabounds with fish." It remains
to be said that the highest modern authorities on angling
speak with respect of Franck's proficiency in what he
characteristically calls " the solitary and piscatorial art."
France's Memoirs. (Scott's Edit., 1821.)
Dumfries. — Theophilus. However, in the mean while
reflect on yourself, and give us a description of the town of
Dumfreez. Amoldus. I fancy e're long you will change your note, when
you traverse these pleasant northern tracts. In the mean
time I'll gratify you with a breviate of Dumfreez, where a
provost, as superintendent, supplies the place of a mayor, a
magistrate almost as venerable as an Enghsh constable.
, Theoph. That's wittily applied ; what comes next ?
Am. Nay, hold a little, I have not done yet with the
eminencies and the remarks of the town of Dumfreez ; for
you are to consider it was anciently a town girt about with
a strong stone wall ; but the late irruptions, or perhaps some
state-disagreement, has in a manner defaced that regular

1656J RICHARD FRANCK. 185
ornament, otherwise the cankrous teeth of time have gnawn
out the impressions, as evidently appears by those ruinous
heaps. Nor is the Arnotus x in all parts portable, notwith
standing her shores are so delightful.
Theoph. What, is there more yet ? pray, go on.
Am. In the midst of the town is their market-place, and
in the centre of that stands their tolbooth, round about which
the rabble sit, that nauseate the very air with their tainted
breath, so perfumed with onions, that to an Englishman it is
almost infectious.
But the kirk is comely,2 and situated southward, furnished
once a week with moveable spectrums, (you know what that
means,) yet the outside than the inside is more eminently
imbellished, if sepulchres and tombstones can be said to be
ornaments ; and where death and time stand to guard the
steeple, whose rings of bells seldom or rarely exceed the
critical number of three.
Here also you may observe a large and spacious bridg,3
that directly leads into the country of Galloway, where thrice
in a week you shall rarely fail to see their maid-maukins
dance corantos in tubs. So on every Sunday some as seldom
miss to make their appearance on the stool of repentance.
Theoph. Then it seems by your relation they keep time
with their Comers, that hazard their reputation for a country-
custom (or the love of liquor) rather than omit a four-hours
drinking. Am. That's true enough; and it's an antient practice
among the female sex, to covee together (about that time) as
naturally as geese flock'd to the Capitol. Now the very
name of Corner^ they mightily honour ; but that of Gossip
they utterly abominate, as they hate the plague, or some
mortal contagion. So that whether to conclude it a vulgar
error, and an abomination among the Scots to lick up
an English proverb, it matters not ; or, whether to fancy a
more laudable emphasis in the word Comer, then there

1 The Nith. Portable is Franck's usual word for navigable. 2 The ancient
church of St Michael. The present church dates from 1744. Burns is
buried in the graveyard of this church. 3 This bridge, originally consisting
of nine arches, .is said to have been built by Devorgilla, mother of John
Baliol. 4 Cummer.

186 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
is in Go-sip. I leave you to judg of that, and those other
abominable customs, that drink till they sigh to do penance
for their sins.

Franck's Experience as a Trooper in Scotland.
Am. Near the English promontories stands the town of
Jedard l whose skirts are wash'd by the famous Tweed.
But westward from thence (and inclining yet more norward)
are the remarkable antiquities and ruins of Bog-hall ; 2 and
not far from thence is the admirable Tintaw,3 a prodigious
mountain over-looking the Marshes. From whence, or from
Erricsteen 4 (that's not far from it) there issue forth three
eminent and considerable rivers; as that of the Tweed,
Loyd, and the river Annon : But of these three rivers we
shall discourse more at large, as opportunity presents in its
proper place.
And now let's advance to our country cottage, since
compelled by the extremity of rain, and encreasing waters.
To which place when we arrived, like men in amaze, we
stood gazing at one another, because to see the sheep grazing
on the tops of those houses, where there was hardly grass
enough to graze a goose in. By this you may conclude their
buildings but low, and I'm sure their doors and entrances
were so strait, that they exercised our strength beyond our art.
Archimedes' engines signified but little, till the souldiers set
their shoulders to support the eves, by which means the
horse got an entrance in ; and that horseman that was not
throughly wet, was doom'd that night to go supperless to bed.
Thus in a storm we stormed the town, and 'twould make
a man storm to be treated only with oatmeal, of which we
made cakes ; for every souldier became a baker ; and the
flesh-meat they procured us was drest without slaughter ; for
none we had except my duck (you formerly discours'd), so
that most of us roosted with an empty appetite ; and every
man that went that night to bed, was sufficiently alarum'd
1 Jedburgh, locally called Jeddart. 2 Boghall, a castle of the Earls of
Wigton, is about a mile from the town of Biggar, the town where Franck's
comrades were quartered. 3 Tinto Hill. 4 Erickstanebrae, in which the
Tweed, Clyde, and Annan have their sources.

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 187
before it was day. Oat-straw was our sheets, and port-
mantles our pillows. It's true, some had cloaks, and 'twas
well they had them, otherwise they had been constrained to
use plads ; and he that used one but to cover his carcass,
mustred (I uphold him) more gray coats than black coats,
that claw'd him more perniciously than a Middlesex bailiff.
The next day we recruited with some country ale, but so
thick and roapy it was, that you might eat it with spoons.
Besides, some small quantity of mutton was brought us,
enough to discover the cookery of the country : and the
linen they supplied us with, were it not to boast of, was
little or nothing different from those female complexions
that never washed their faces, to retain their Christendom.
But among the rest I had almost forgot to remind you that
the souldiers and people were jointly agreed to part without
the loss of one tear in the morning.
Sanquhar. — Theoph. Zanker 1 stands situate on a flat or
level, surrounded, as you see, with excellent corn-fields : but
more remote it's besieged with mountains that are rich in
leadmines.2 The planets I fancy them very benevolent to
influence this swompy rocky earth, and shine metallick
blessings into them, to commode the indigent and almost
uncultivated native. Heaven, it's true, is always propitious,
because never to impose the law of sterility, when to
supply the whole world with the bounty of increase. And
tho the people hereabouts are destitute of ingenuity, and
their fields for the most part impoverish'd for want of
cultivation ; yet are their rivers and rivulets replenished
with trout, because undisturb'd with the noosy net, which
augments the angler's, if not the artizan's entertainment.
Am. Here's no character of Zanker all this while.
Theoph. I am just coming to tell you, that Zanker is a
town and a corporation too ; tho not bulky in buildings, yet
there is a bailiff, master sometimes of a brew-house, whose
entertainments (in my opinion) may easily be guest at,
provided you reflect on our late accommodation.
1 Sanquhar. 2 The load-mines of Wanlockhead, in the parish of Sanquhar,
are said to have been discovered by a German, named Cornelius Hardskins,
during the minority of James VI. With the permission of James, Sir Bevis
Bulmer, Master of the English Mint, employed 300 men in working these mines
(New Statistical Account).

188 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
There is also a market-place, such an one as it is, and a
kind of a thing they call a tolbooth, which at first sight
might be suspected a prison, because it's so like one ; whose
decays, by the law of antiquity, are such, that every prisoner
is threatned with death before his trial ; and every casement,
because bound about with iron bars, discovers the entertain
ments destined only to felons. Now the market-place is less
worthy of a description than the tolbooth ; for no man
would know it to be such, were he not told so.
There is also a kirk, or something like it ; but I might as
reverently call it a bam; because so little to distinguish
betwixt them, and the whole town reads daily lectures of
decays ; so do her ports, her avenues, and entrances. Where
note, I call her the child of antiquity, by reason of her ruins
and irreparable decays. It's true, I was not murdered, nor
was I kill'd outright, yet I narrowly escaped as eminent a
danger, when almost worried to death with lice.
Kilmarnock. — Am. Yes, that is Kilmarnock, an antient
corporation, heap'd up and crowded with men and mechanicks;
through the midst of whose crazy tottering ports, there runs a
river eplenished with trout, where we may treat our appetites,
as already our apprehensions, with the entertainments of
Dumbarton, whose rapid streams, when we come to examine
them, are enough, one would think, to surfeit the angler.
To which place it is now but one day's journy, nor need we
hackney it at more than an ordinary rate, before we discover
those beautiful ascents, and the hostile habitation of our
friend Aquilla, that dwells in those western florid fields, who
will bid us welcome, and rejoice to see us. Nor will
Glasgow be any impediment in our way, whilst we only
survey her beautiful palaces, so direct to the lofty turrets of
Dumbarton. Theoph. Let the sun, or his star the beautiful Aurora,
arrest me, if otherwise I arise not before break of day, and
be in readiness for a march to the famous Glasgow, where
you purpose to refresh, and briefly examine the city curio
sities ; as also the customs of their magnificent situations ;
whose academick breasts are a nursery for education, as the
city for hospitality. And let this be your task as we travel
to Dumbarton, to give us a narrative of the antiquities of

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 189
Cloyd, as also of the town of Kilmarnock, where we slept
this night, that so bravely refresh'd us.
Am. That I can do as we ride along.
Theoph. Do so, it will be very acceptable.
Am. Then to expostulate the antiquities of Kilmarnock ;
as it would puzzle the pen of an ingenious historiographer,
so I, for that end, was thinking to evade it, and refer it to
some other of more mature judgment ; since you yourself,
and consequently others that read my relation, will probably
reduce me to the probate of a censure. On the other hand,
the native who lives under an expectation, would equally
condemn me for my taciturnity, should I silently pass by and
imprint no remarks on their silty sands, and silver streams.
To this dilemma I am driven by the censures of some, nor
can I escape the clamours of others ; so that I sail betwixt
Sylla and Charibdis. However, I shall use my best
endeavours to gratify both as near as I can, and consult the
mean and mediums of veracity, so far as experience and
discovery can inform me : So that I shall say but little
more than to tell the world that Kilmarnock is an antient
corporation, crowded with mechanicks and brew-houses.
Theoph. But that's not all.
Am. If not enough, then you must have more, it seems ;
and not only for yourself, but for those that are more
inquisitous. And what will they say ? Why you and they
both will tell me, it's only rifling into ruins. Nor, indeed,
is it other, when in our progress we proceed to prove httle
more, save only a discovery of ruins and decays.
Theoph. Be it what it will, however, let us have it.
Am. Well, then, if to go one step further, surely it won't
cripple me ; let me tell you, then, it's an antient manufac
tory. Theoph. And what of all that ? Is this more than what
we formerly knew ?
Am. It's more than I knew, that you knew so much.
But this discourse, Theophilus, better becomes an antiquary,
than one that queries ; for, should I but step into her dirty
streets, that are seldom clean but on a sun-shiny day, or at
other times, when great rains melt all the muck, and forcibly
drive it down their cadaverous channels into the river

190 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
Marr,1 whose streams are so sullied then, that the river loses
its natural brightness, till the stains are wash'd out, so
become invisible. All which to examine, is enough to con
vince you, that the influence of planets are their best
scavenger : for the natives in this northern latitude, are
naturally so addicted to idleness and nastiness, that should
not the heavens contribute the blessings of rain, they would
inevitably surfeit with their own uncleanliness.
Theoph. All this we will grant you; the footsteps are
evident. Am. Where, note, these inhabitants dwell in such ugly
houses, as, in my opinion, are but little better than huts;
and generally of a size, all built so low, that their eves hang
dangling to touch the earth ; nor are they uniform, nor hold
they correspondency one with another; and that which is
worse than all the rest, is their unproportionate ill contriv
ance ; because, when to consider a dwarf of a house so
covered over with a gigantick roof. By which, you may
imagine, our former projectors had but little project for
curious contrivances ; and, to speak plain English, as little
costly. The next thing in course that falls under our considera
tion, will be their artificers. But the Moors (more than all
the rest) have gain'd the reputation for the temper of dirks,
razors, and knives, whose temper is so exact, that it super-
excels all the mechanicks in Scotland. Where, note, you
may observe there are artists amongst them, though not one
good structure to be found in Kilmarnock ; nor do I remember
any wall it has, but a river there is, as I formerly told you
of, that runs through the town ; over which there stood a
bridg so wretchedly ancient,2 that it's unworthy our com
mendations any otherwise, than as travellers commend the
bridg they go over.
Another part of their manufacture is knitting of bonnets,
and spinning of Scotish cloth ; which turns to very good
account. Then, for their temper of metals, they are without
compeer ; Scotland has not better. And, as they are
artizans in dirks, so are they artists in fudling, as if there
were some rule in drinking. So that, to me, it represents as
1 The Marnock. 2 This bridge existed till 1762.

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 191
if art and ale were inseparable companions. Moreover, their
wives are sociable comers too ; yet, not to compare with
those of Dumblain, who pawn their petticotes to pay their
reckoning. Theoph. Here's a jolly crew of alemen (but very few
anglers) crowded together in the small compass of a little
corporation, curiously compacted. For the houses, you may
observe, besiege the river; and that river, to divide the
ruinous ports, left only as reliques that remain discoverable ;
however, it's my opinion, that a stone wall has incircled the
town, since hitherto, as to observation, there's rarely a town
of any eminency in Scotland, but is, or has been, beleagured
with a strong stone wall ? but as to that lie silence my self.
Glasgow. — Am. [Glasgow] is a city girded about with a
strong stone wall, within whose flourishing arms the indus
trious inhabitant cultivates art to the utmost. There is
also a cathedral (but it's very ancient) that stands in the east
angle, supervising the bulk of the city, and her ornamental
ports. Moreover, there are two parish churches;2 but no
more, to the best of my observation. Then, there is a
college, which they call an university; but I'm at a stand
what to call it, where one single college compleats a univer
sity. Now, let us descend to describe the splendor and gaity of
this city of Glasgow, which surpasseth most, if not all the
corporations in Scotland. Here it is you may observe four
large fair streets, modell'd, as it were, into a spacious - quad
rant ; in the centre whereof their market-place is fix'd ; near
unto which stands a stately tolbooth, a very sumptuous,
regulated, uniform fabrick, large and lofty, most industriously
and artificially carved from the very foundation to the
superstructure, to the great admiration of strangers and
travellers. But this state-house, or tolbooth, is their western
prodigy, infinitely excelling the model and usual built of
town-halls ; and is, without exception, the paragon of beauty
in the west ; whose compeer is no where to be found in the
north, should you rally the rarities of all the corporations in
Scotland. 1 See pp. 19, 47 (above). 2 The Cathedral and the Church of St Mary. The
latter continued in use till 1793, when it was destroyed by fire.

192 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
Here the reader (it's possible) may think I hyperbolize ;
but let him not mistake himself, for I write no ambiguities :
Truth stands naked in plain simplicity; and partiality I
abhor as a base imposture. He that reads my relation, and
the morals of this famous Glasgow, will vindicate my descrip
tion, and place the fault to him that invents the fable ; for
it's opposite to my genius, as also to my principles, either to
deface a beautiful fabrick, or contract a guilt by magnifying
it beyond its due merit. I have, and therefore shall, as near
as I can, in an equal poize ballance things aright. Permit
me, therefore, as a licentiat, to read you but a short, yet
pertinent lecture, and I'le tell you what entertainments we
met with in Glasgow, as also what hopes we have to meet
with the like in the circuit of our intended northern pro
gress. But this I offer to the dubious only; if, peradventure,
there be any such as scruple, I'le refer them to the natives
to evidence for me, which I am satisfied they will with ten
thousand manifesto's.
In the next place, we are to consider the merchants and
traders in this eminent Glasgow, whose store-houses and
ware-houses are stuft with merchandize, as their shops swell
big with foreign commodities, and returns from France, and
other remote parts, where they have agents and factors to
correspond, and inrich their maritime ports, whose charter
exceeds all the charters in Scotland ; which is a considerable
advantage to the city-inhabitants, because blest with privi
leges as large, nay, larger than any other corporation.
Moreover, they dwell in the face of France, and a free trade,
as I formerly told you. Nor is this all. for the staple of
their country consists of linens, friezes, furs, tartans, pelts,
hides, tallow, skins, and various other small manufactures
and commodities, not comprehended in this breviat. Besides,
I should remind you, that they generally exceed in good
French wines, as they naturally superabound with fish and
fowl ; some meat does well with their drink. And so give
me leave to finish my discourse of this famous Glasgow,
whose ports we relinquish to distinguish those entertainments
of Dumbarton, always provided we scatter no corn.
Theoph. What to think, or what to say of this eminent
Glasgow, I know not, except to fancy a smell of my native

; ;

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 193
country. The very prospect of this flourishing city reminds
me of the beautiful fabricks and the florid fields in England,
so that now I begin to expect a pleasant journey. ' Pray,
tell me, Arnoldus, how many such cities shall we meet with
in our travels, where the streets and the channels are so
cleanly swept, and the meat in every house so artificially
drest ? The linen, I also observed, was very neatly lap'd up,
and, to their praise be it spoke, was lavender proof ; besides,
the people were decently drest, and such an exact decorum
in every society, represents it, to my apprehension, an
emblem of England, though, in some measure, under a deeper
die. However, I'le superscribe it the nonsuch of Scotland,
where an English florist may pick up a posie ; so that should
the residue of their cities, in our northern progress, seem as
barren as uncultivated fields, and every field so replenished
with thistles that a flower could scarcely flourish amongst
them, yet would I celebrate thy praise, 0, Glasgow ! because
of those pleasant and fragrant flowers that so sweetly
refresh'd me, and, to admiration, sweetned our present
enterments. Stirling and Dunblane. — Am. So let us pass on with our
travelling design (by the house of Cardrus 2) to the ports of
Sterling ; where stands a beautiful and imbellished Castle,
elevated on the precipice of an impregnable rock, that com
mands the vallies (as well as the town) and all those habitable
parts about it : those are the turrets that present before us,
let us enter her ports, both strong and spacious ; whose
incircling arms surround a city (but not a great one) that's
built all with stone ; so is her castle ; and situated close by
the river Firth, as above explain'd, upon lofty, craggy, and
mountanous rocks, almost inaccessable. More southward yet
the city spreads itself into many sweet situations, that
invigorate the inhabitants, and accommodate the Low-land
merchant rather than the mariner with profitable returns from
the hills, by the Highlander. The Firth2 runs here that
washeth and melts the foundations of the city, but relieves
the country with her plenty of salmon;, where the burgo
masters (as in many other parts of Scotland) are compell'd.
1 Cardross Castle, built by Robert Bruce, and where he died in 1329.
Nothing of it now remains. 2 The Forth. N

194 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
to reinforce an ancient statute, that commands all masters
and others, not to force or compel any servant, or an
apprentice, to feed upon salmon more than thrice a week.1
Theoph. Is there such a law in force now ?
Am. Yes sure, for ought I know it remains to this day :
and the reason of it is, as I conceive, from the plenty of
salmon in these northern parts, that should the inhabitants
daily feed upon them, they would inevitably endanger their
health, if not their lives, by surfeiting ; for the abundance
of salmon hereabouts in these parts, is hardly to be credited.
And the reader I fancy will be of my perswasion, when he
comes to consider that the price of a salmon formerly
exceeded the value of sixpence sterling, which I suppose no
English man will grudg, nor think it unreasonable to give
at any time ; so that the danger, in my opinion, lies most in
the diet : for as salmon is a fish very apt to surfeit, more
especially fresh salmon, when only boiled ; which if too
frequently fed on, relaxes the belly, and makes the passages
so slippery, that the retentive faculties become debilitated ;
so suffers the body to be hurried into a flux, and sometimes
into a fever, as pernicious as death. Which is much better
prevented by abstinency, than to stand the test of uncor
rected physick.
This famous Firth is the most portable river in Scotland,
whose streams, because meandring, make it deep and torpid;
so fit it for navigation ; for below Bridg there are neither
streams nor sharps ; 2 but above Bridg there's enough, more
especially towards the flourishing fields of Montieth, which I
rather prefer, than Alan 3 and Althrwery,4 for the angler's
diversion, except Frith and Koak;5 the one for pearl, but
the other for trout.
Theoph. What town is this ?
Am. Dirty Dumblain ; let us pass by it, and not cumber
our discourse with so inconsiderable a corporation : our itch
after Mockeny 6 puts a spur to quicken our expectation ; for
who knows but the various alteration of weather may in
1 There was no such statute as Franck refers to ; but servants did stipulate with
their employers that they should not have to eat salmon more than thrice
a week. 2 Sharps are the parts of the stream where the current is swiftest.
3 Allan Water. 4 Athrwery ? 5 Koak ? I have been unable to identify these
two streams. 6 Machany in the parishes of Muthil and Blackford.

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 195
some measure frustrate those expectations we may have of
those admirable streams to answer our designs ?
Theoph. Do what you please.
Am. Truly I think it but time lost, to survey the
reliques of a ruinous heap of stones, that lean o're the
verge of a river, facing the mountains. The houses, it's true,
are built with stone, but then to consider them low and
little, it plainly demonstrates there's nothing eminent but
narrow streets, and dirty houses ; a convincing argument
there's no scavengers amongst them. And for their hous-
wifery, let that alone ; for if you touch it, you sully your
fingers. There is a market-place, such an one as it is ; but
as for merchants, there's no such thing in nature. But a
palace there is, and a cathedral too, otherwise Dumblain
had nothing to boast of.
But there is one thing remarkable, and that's the house of
Domine Caudwel (a formal pedagogue) that absolv'd the
thief, and conceal'd the theft, so lost his breeches; for you
must know, the good woman his wife was a notable comer,
one of the first magnitude ; who, with two more of her
consorts, (as I was told, at a four hours' drinking,) guzled
down as much ale and brandy, wine and strong waters, as
amounted to the sum of forty pound Scots. But wanting
money to pay her reckoning, she liberally pawned her
husband's breeches ; and he, like a fop, to redeem his wife's
reputation, would never redeem his breeches, lest suspecting
they should smell of the tears of the tankerd. And here, as
reported, was celebrated that famous union of Doh and Doris?
stark love and kindness, a custom inviolable. Here also
resided jovial Bille Sincleer.
Now, you are to consider, that this pittiful pedling cor
poration of Dumblain, has little or no trade amongst them,
except now and then a truck with a brandy-man, a tobacco-
merchant, or a brewster-wife ; for ale, tobacco, and strong
waters, are the staple of the town : And so let us leave
them, to pursue our intended design for Minever,2 and
Dromon-Castle,3 that stands distant about some three miles
1 The reference is to the well-known story of Doch an Dorough, which Franck
afterwards tells in his most tedious manner in connection with Cupar- Angus.
2Methven(?). 3 Founded by the first Lord Drummond in 1491. It was almost
levelled with the ground by the Jacobite Duchess of Perth in 1745.

196 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
from the Bridg of Ardoch ; where there runs a small rivulet
of a rapid motion, paved with a slaty bottom, but the access
difficult. And here we cross the moor to Mockeny, whose limpid
streams are pleasant beyond report, and her fords generally
furnished with trout, as if nature had there designed to
entertain the contemplative angler, in those liberal streams,
where the artist in a storm may shelter himself under shady
trees, elevated upon lofty mountains, over the melting
amorous smiling banks ; as if the boughs were barnicles, and
ready to drop into the silent glittering streams, that glide
softly along a delightful meadow ; excepting here and there
some small cataracts of water that tumble down a precipice
of rocks, that encircles and surrounds great stones in the
sandy foundation of this mystical Mockeny, whose glittering
sholes are gently moved by the soft breathings of Zephyrus,
that dash the smaller waves ashore, and discover to the
angler the intricate angles of Mockeny, so that here we
assume a poetick liberty, in some sort, to call Scotland
Arcadia. Loch Ness, Inverness. — Theoph. What new inviting object
have we now discovered ?
Am. The famous Lough-Ness,1 so much discours'd for the
supposed floating island ; for here it is, if any where in
Scotland. Nor is it any other than a natural plantation of
segs and bull-rushes, matted and knit so close together by
natural industry, and navigated by winds that blow every
way, floats from one part of the Lough to another, upon the
surface of the solid deeps of this small Mediterrane : and
here it is, in these slippery streams, that an English ship,
by curious invention, was haled over the mountains to this
solitary Lough ; brought hither on purpose to reclaim the
Highlander. Theoph. Do you romance, or not, to tell me that an
island swims in the midst of the ocean, and a ship fluctuates
in the midst of the Highlands ; where every rock represents
a Charibdis, and every wave threatens an inundation ; where
1 Franck seems to have thought that the phenomenon of the floating island
had been erroneously assigned to Loeh Lomond. When he speaks of Loch
Lomond he expressly assigns it to Loch Ness, as he also does here.

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 197
there's no harbour without hazard of life, nor sea enough to
promise security to the mariner, when the winds mingle
themselves with the waves, that wash the pallid cheeks of
the polish'd rocks ? Now tell me that can, where the
mariner must have birth (and the passinger supplies) in this
fluctuating ocean, when a storm arises to ecclipse his eye
from a land discovery ?
Am. If eye-sight be good evidence, there's enough to con
vince you ; behold the ship.
Theoph. How came she here ? Was she not built in
some creek hereabouts ?
Am. No.
Theoph. By what means then was she moved into this
small Mediterrane ? I solicite advice, and you can solve
the doubt.
Am. Art was both engin and engineer to invite this ship
into this solitary Lough.
Theoph. If so, it's strange that a vessel of her force should
leap out of the ocean, and over the hills, to float in a gutter
surrounded with rocks.
Am. Not so strange as true, for here she is.
Theoph. Was there a possibility of her sailing from the
citadel, to this eminent Lough Ness, when a boat of ten tun
can't force her passage half way up the river ? This looks
romantick beyond the ingenuity of art, or possibility of
invention. Am. Let it look as it will look, I am sure it was so.
Theoph. You are sure it was so ; then, pray, resolve the
point. Am. Why thus it was : In the time of war betwixt the
King and Parliament, this navigate invention was consulted
by Maj. General Dean ; who to compleat a conquest over
the Highlanders (in regard hitherto the law of a foreign
power had never bridled them) he accomplished this new
navigation of sailing by land : who contrived the transporta
tion of this fair ship (that you now see) into these torpid
and slippery streams.
Theoph. What, without sails ?
Am. Yes, without sail, pilot, card or compass ; by
dividing only the ambient air, as formerly she plowed the

198 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
pondrous ocean. Nor was she compell'd to encounter sea or
land in all her passage ; which, by some, may be thought a
ridiculous report. On the other hand, for a ship of this
burden to transport her self, or suffer her self to be trans
ported without ordinary, nay, extraordinary means, looks like
an impossibility ; however, here you find her, nor is it to be
denied that she had a passage to this solitary Lough.
Theoph. But how ?
Am. First, you must conclude no vessel, without a
miracle, could remove her self so far from sea ; and I'le
assure you in this here's nothing miraculous. Then you are
to consider that so eminent a ship eould never shove her
self to reach this limit, as extends from the Orchean seas to
this obscure Lough Ness, without probable endeavours, and
very considerable assistance. Lastly, to admit of a violent
motion, were a kind of madness; because to impose a
contradiction upon the design.
Theoph. Pray explicate the senigma.
Am. A motion must be had (that you'l grant) and means
considerable to move by, (this you must allow,) which to
accomplish, the sailers and the souldiers equally contributed.
For a regiment (or it may be two) about that time quartered
in Inverness ; who, by artifice, had fastned thick cables to
her fore-castle, and then they got levers and rollers of timber,
which they spread at a distance, one before another; whilst
some are of opinion these robust engineers framed a more
artificial and politick contrivance : but thus it was, and no
otherwise, I'le assure you ; save only they fastned some
cheeks and planks to the solid sides and ribs of the ship, the
better to secure her from crushing upon transportation.
Theoph. And did she pass in this manner as you tell me,
to this famous Ness ?
Am. Yes, she relinquished the brinish ocean, to float in
the slippery arms of Ness. But to keep ber steddy in her
passage, and preserve her from rocking and rolling by the
way, they consulted no other project than what I tell you :
save only some additional supplies from Inverness, that with
ropes and tackle haled her along to this very place where
you now observe her. For you are to consider, she no
sooner got motion, but by industry and art she was steer'd

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 199
without a compass, to this remarkable Ness ; where now she
floats obvious enough to every curious observer.
For let me tell you, that strength, artifice, and resolution,
are indisputable arguments to reach the possibility of any
thing possible ; a threefold cord is not easily broken.
Motion therefore was no sooner begot, but the whole mystery
was almost accomplished ; the plover, you observe, never
breaks the shell, before the lapwing is ready to run ; nor
will the sailer spread the sails, until he observe a wind
presents. Nor got our ship the mediums of motion, but by
argument of force (not of artillery) which forced her by
graduate means, till arriving in this Ness, obvious to all
men.1 And this is that famous and renowned Lough Ness
(Loemon excepted) 2 inferiour to none in the kingdom of
Scotland ; whose streams are strewed with eel and trout,
whilst her deeps are saluted with the race of salmon ; whose
fertil banks and shining sands are hourly moistned by this
small Mediterrane : which I fancy is besieged with rocks
and mountains ; whilst her polite shores are frozen in the
winter, by the frigid lungs of blustring Boreas, that per
plexes her banks, and masquerades her rocks with a
cristalline hue of polished ice. Where the Tritons and
Sea-nymphs sport themselves on the slippery waves, sounding
an invasion to her moveable inmate ; supposed by some, the
floating island.
Theoph. Do these fair mountains that interdict the dales,
survey the forcible streams of Inverness ?
Am. Yes surely, these torrents, which you now discover,
frequently wash the walls of Inverness, (a derivative from
Lough Ness,) at the west end whereof stands a diminutive
castle, about a mile distant from that magnificent citadel,
that subjects those precarious Northern Highlanders. This
Inverness, or model of antiquity, (which we now discourse.)
stands commodiously situated for a Highland trade ; defended
with a weather-beaten tottering wall, that's defaced with age
and the corruptions of time, where yet there remains two
1 This "curious account," says Scott in a. note on this passage, "was an
instance among many of the determined perseverance, as well as the ingenuity,
of the republican commanders." 2 Loch Lomond.

200 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
parish-churches : But I remember a third, that was a kind
of a cathedral or collegiat-church, that now, like old Troy,
sleeps in dust and ashes, as part of the walls do, charging
time and neglect with their tottering decays.
North and by east, near the forcible streams of the Ness,
stands the fortress,1 or pentagon, drawn out by regular lines,
built all with stone, and girt about with a graff, that
commodes it with a convenient harbour. The houses in this
fair fortress are built very low, but uniform ; and the streets
broad and spacious, with avenues and intervales for drilling
of foot, or drawing up horse. I must confess, such and so
many are the advantages and conveniencies that belong to
this citadel, it would be thought fabulous, if but to numerate
them: for that end I refer my self to those that have
inspected her magazines, providores, harbours, vaults, graffs,
bridges, sally-ports, cellars, bastions, horn-works, redoubts,
counterscarps, &c. Ocular evidence is the best judg, and
gives the plainest demonstration ; which, without dispute,
will interpret this formidable fortress a strength impregnable ;
and the situation, as much as any, promises security, by
reason it's surrounded with boggy morasses ; standing in
swamps, on an isthmus of land, that divides the Ness from
the Orchean Seas.
Yet here is one thing more among our northern novelties
very remarkable ; for here you shall meet with a wooden
bridg to convoy you over the rapid Ness ; but certainly the
weakest, in my opinion, that ever stradled over so strong a
stream. However, it serves to accommodate the native, to
those pleasant and fragrant meadows, north and north-west,
that direct to the demolishments of the Castle of Lovet,2 near
to which stand the antiquities of Brawn,3 planted upon the
brow of a considerable bank, that hangs, one would think,
o're a spacious river, above all in Scotland, replenished with
salmon ; whose numbers are numberless, if not improper to
say so ; and careless of their lives, they cast them away.
Eoss and Sutherland. — Theoph. Here's another Helles
pont ; must we cross this also ?
1 One of the four built by Cromwell. 2 Beaufort Castle, which existed as
early as the reign of Alexander I. 3,,Brahan Castle, in the Parish of Urray in
Ross-shire.

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 201
Am. Yes surely, we must cross this rugged ferry,
especially if intending the bounds of Innerbrachy,1 in the
cultivated fields in the country of Eoss ; where the rocks are
undermin'd by the sea quellem, that serves for a filtre to
riddle the ocean, and separate her saline brinish taste, from
those more sweet and luscious fountains ; where the inhabi
tants will flatter you with an absurd opinion (an old
tradition received from their ancestors) that the earth in
Eoss hath an antipathy against rats,2 as the Irish oak has
against the spider : And this curiosity, if you please to
examine, you may, for the natives do ; but had they asserted
there were no mice in Eoss, every tongue had contradicted
them. Now, mice and rats are cousin-german, every body
knows that knows any thing, and for the most part keep
house together : But what difference has hapned amongst
them here, as to make such a feud in this country of Eoss,
that the rats in Eoss should relinquish their country, and
give possession wholly to the mice ; this is a mystery that I
understand not.
Besides this fond opinion of the natives hereabouts, some
others more remote (as ignorant as themselves) transport the
earth of Eoss into most parts of Scotland ; perswading them
selves, that if they do but sprinkle it in the fields, fens, moors,
mountains, morish or boggy grounds (all is one as to that),
for it alters not the property, nor does it diminish the quality,
nor impair the virtue, but that still it retains a certain
antipathy against that enormous vermin the rat, nay, the
very scent on't shall force him to become an exile. This
odd kind of creed they had when I was resident amongst
them ; yet to the best of my observation, I never saw a rat ;
nor do I remember of any one that was with me ever did ;
but for mice, I declare, so great is their plenty, that were
they a commodity, Scotland might boast on't., And that
they have owls with horns, some favour the report ; yet are
they not horns, but as like horns as any thing that are no
horns ; nor is it any other than a sort of feathers, that's
clung and twisted so naturally together, that represents the
1 Inverbreakie. 2 The same was anciently belie ved of various districts. The
earth of Liddesdale, for example, in Roxburghshire, was formerly sent for
from a considerable distance to lay the floors of barns withal (Scott's Note).

202 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
idiom or form of a horn, if when to observe them at a
reasonable distance, which seemingly beautifies the ivy-bush,
as horns adorn the head of a buffulo.
The next curiosity to entertain you with, is the country
of Southerland ; which we enter by crossing a small arm of
the ocean from Tain to Dornoch. So from thence we travel
into Cathness, and the country of Stranavar ; where a rude
sort of inhabitants dwell (almost as barbarous as Canibals)
who when they kill a beast, boil him in his hide, make a
caldron of his skin, browis of his bowels, drink of his blood,
and bread and meat of his carcase. Since few or none
amongst them hitherto have as yet understood any better
rules or methods of eating. More north in an angle of
Cathness, lives John a Groat, upon an isthmus of land that
faceth the pleasant Isles of Orkney ; where the inhabitants
are blessed with the plenty of grass and grain ; besides fish,
flesh, and fowl in abundance. Now that barnicles (which
are a certain sort of wooden geese) breed hereabouts, it's past
dispute ; and that they fall off from the limbs and members of
the fir-tree, is questionless ; and those so fortunate to espouse
the ocean (or any other river, or humitactive soil) by virtue
of solar heat are destinated to live ; but to all others so
unfortunate to fall upon dry land, are denied their nativity.
Theoph. Can you credit your own report ; or do you
impose these hyperboles ironically upon the world, designedly
to make Scotland appear a kingdom of prodigies ?
Am. No certainly ! and that there is such a fowl I
suppose none doubts it ; but if any do, let him resort to
Cambden, Speed, or Gerhard's herbal, and there he shall find
that in Lancashire, thousands were gathered up, adhering to
the broken ribs of a ship wreck'd upon that coast; but
these are not like the barnicle geese that I speak of : the
like accident hapned in Kent sometime past, and in many
other parts of England, &c. So that few ingenious and
intelligible travellers doubt a truth in this matter; and the
rather, because if sedulously examined, it discovers a want
of faith to doubt what's confirmed by such credible authority.
But if eye-sight be evidence against contradiction, and the
sense of feeling argument good enough to refute fiction, then
let me bring these two convincing arguments to maintain

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 203
my assertion ; for I have held a barnicle in my own hand,
when as yet unfledg'd, and hanging by the beak, which as I
then supposed of the fir-tree ; for it grew from thence, as an
excrescence grows on the members of an animal : and as all
things have periods, and in time drop off, so does the
barnicle by a natural progress separate it self from the
member it's conjoin'd to.
But further, to explicate the method and manner of this
wooden goose more plainly : The first appearing parts are
her rump and legs ; next to them, her callous and unploom'd
body ; and last of all her beak, by which she hangs immature,
and altogether insensible ; because not as yet having any
spark of life hitherto discovered to shine about her. Then,
like the leaves in October that leisurely drop off (since
predestinated to fall) even so the barnicle drops off from
the twig of the tree to which Nature had fastned her, and
gave her a growth, aud an inanimate being. Where note,
to so many as providentially fall into water, protection is
immediately sent them to live ; but to all others as accident
ally encounter dry land, such I presume are doom'd to die
without redemption. And though some of them are com
missioned to live, yet how difficult is it to preserve life,
when hourly sought after by the luxurious devourer ?
Aberdeen, Stonehaven, Dunnottar, &c. — Am. And this
is that famous Aberdeen, whose western suburbs are guarded
by the hills ; as are those levels more easternly saluted by the
ocean. Theoph. Is this that Aberdeen so generally discours'd by
the Scots for civility?1
Am. Yes, and humanity too ; for it's the paragon of
Scotland. Theoph. Why do not you call it by the name of a city ?
Am. It matters not much for that, since the general
vogue of a town serves as well : however it's a corporation,
and that's enough ; and I'm convinc'd it stands in a culti
vated country, that never knew the force of sterrility ;
1 As has been already said, the fame of the "Aberdeen Doctors," distinguished
alike by their learning and their opposition to the principles of the Solemn
League and Covenant, had given great lustre to Aberdeen during the first
half of the seventeenth century. Among these doctors were Robert Barron,
William Leslie, James Sibbald, Alexander Scroggy, William and John Forbes.

204 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. ' [l656.
whose banks are bathed with the glittering streams of Dee,
and her walls shaded with fertil corn fields, promulgates
plenty; for heaven, by the law of generosity, certainly
has bless'd her : for here the sun so moderates the cold in
winter, that it seldom or rarely freezes her sands ; whose
increase is multiplied from the generous breasts of the ocean.
And from whence both mariner and merchant accumulate
treasure, because to drag it forth from the solid deeps of
the sea ; when at other times they import their goods into
the Highlands, as they export commodities into remote
countries. Theoph. But the harbour, I fancy, that's somewhat too
strait ; and the entrance, as I conceive, much too narrow ;
however it's examined secure enough.
Am. Peradventure it is ; yet these rocks at the entrance
terrify the pilot, as her harbour, when entred, exhilarates the
passenger. Now the buildings of this city are framed with
stone and timber ; facing the sun, and fronting this pleasant
harbour : the streets also are large and spacious, and the
walls strengthned with towers and buttresses of stone. So
that nothing, in my opinion, remains defective to compleat
them happy ; for if not to waste by an overpluss, they can
never pine away by a want.
Theoph. I fancy this place situate in a pleasant part of a
country ; and so was that relique of antiquity we but newly
past by, when approaching the suburbs of this flourishing city.
Am. You do well to remind me, for I had almost forgot
it ; that was Old Aberdeen : things that grow ancient, grow
out of fashion ; however, it's the mother city of New Aber
deen, and a university to boot, wherein stands an old
weather-beaten cathedral, that looks like the times, some
what irregular : but of that I have little to say, since others
before me thought requisite to erect such public places for
private devotion, when this present generation conform
themselves, by contracting their congregations to lesser now.
Theoph. Is this Old Aberdeen an old university ? why
then a sophister may pick up as much ethicks and politicks
as will serve him to stuff out a pair of lawn sleeves.
Cathedrals in some countries influence the inhabitants, as
planets, you know, have government over the vital parts.

1656:] RICHARD FRANCK. 205
, Am. You must have a slash at the gown, I perceive ; but
what think you of the church in New Aberdeen (that's no
cathedral) where the magistrates sit under the soveraignty
of the mace, and every merchant in his peculiar pew ; where
every society of mechanicks have their particular seats,
distinguished by escutcheons, sutable to their profession ; so
that confusion seldom or rarely happens amongst them, in
quarrelling for places ; where strangers are unsuspected for
informers and intruders, and the civillity of the people such,
that no man is left destitute of a seat to sit on, but every
one entertained answerable to his quality ?
Theoph. This is something like ; for it far exceeds the
custom of England, where a man may stand in some
churches till his feet are surbeat, yet nobody proffer him a
remove, or a stool to sit on.
Am. But this is not all neither; for here you shall have
such method in their musick, and such order and decorum
of song-devotion in the church, as you will admire to hear,
though not regulated by a cantor or quirister, but only by
an insipid parochial clerk, that never attempts further in the
mathematicks of musick, than to compleat the parishioners
to sing a psalm in tune. -¦
Theoph. You have concisely characterized Aberdeen, with
her inhabitants ; but what have we here ? Cawses uncart-
able, and pavements unpracticable, pointed with rocky
stumpy stones, and dawb'd all over with dingy dirt, that
makes it unpassible ; and the fields, as I conceive, are ten
times worse, because o'erspread with miry clay, and incumbred
with bogs that will bury a horse.
Am. For better for worse, we must through it, if intend
ing to climb the southern elevations. Now at the foot of
this pavement there's a small little harbour which they call
.Steenhive,1 but I take the liberty to call it stinking hive,
because it's so unsavory ; which serves only for pirates and
pickeroons ; 2 but it bravely accommodates the Highlander
for depredations.
Theoph. What fabrick is this that peeps out of the .
ocean ?
1 The local name for Stonehaven. 2 Picaroon, a rogue or cheat (Spanish,
picaron).

206 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
Am. Donnotter-Castle surrounded with sea, and waves
for recreation dance about it ; it's a house so inoculated and
cemented into rocks, that a man would fancy it to swim
in the ocean ; and the natural strength so impregnable,
supposeth the artificial but inconsiderable, whose rocky
foundations, like Atlas's pillars, support the bulk of this
gaudy fortress. For art and artist are but nature's substi
tutes ; where- ever therefore nature ceaseth to operate, then
is the time for artist to begin his progress. But nature has
finished what she had to do, and has left nothing for the
artist to practise, save only to adorn the natural excellency.
After this manner is that artificial imbellishment, for the
rock it self is the natural strength, then the castle can be
but the artificial. From when we conclude, that nature and
art have form'd such a fabrick for strength and beauty, that
amuzes and amazes every beholder.
Theoph. I behold and consider this invincible castle, lifted
up like a cloud into the ambient air. I have also considered
the gaity of her galleries, and those ornaments that adorn
her gaudy frontiers. I have also considered those opposite
mountains, whose formidable aspect are no pleasing prospect
to those imbellish'd battlements, that seemingly float in the
arms of the ocean.
Am. You have hit the key, and now let me tune up the
instrument ; those mountains mar all : yet in this fair
fortress they conceal the Eegalia's of Scotland,1 from such
sacrilegious hands that would steal diadems to adorn their
ambitions ; so rob their prince to inrich themselves ; for here
it is, in this solitary rock besieged with sea, that Scotland
has conceal'd both ornament and treasure ; and what greater
ornament to a prince than a crown ?
Theoph. That I can believe as an article of my creed, yet
all is not gold that glisters; for should all reports pass
muster for realities, truth it self might be brought into the
scandal of suspicion. That the crown has been lodg'd in
1 During the civil wars the Regalia of Scotland were deposited for safety
in Dunnottar Castle. The castle having been besieged, and being at the point
of surrender, they were secretly conveyed thence, and buried in the Kirk of
Kineff, where they remained till the Restoration. At the time of Franck's
visit, it was generally received that they were hidden somewhere about the
castle.

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 207
Donnotter, I dispute not, yet Dumbarton I should think in all
respects as secure, and Edinburgh- Castle as secure as either,
to conceal that treasure from degenerate mercenaries, that
would violate their trust though they venture to hang for it.
Am. You are in the right on't, but the road I fancy runs
not so rough as it did ; nor are my apprehensions of England
so remote as they were : both the way and the weather
favour our designs in this southern expedition : for England's
our prospect, now propound you the object : and as we ride
along to the town of Montrose, signify your opinion of the
flourishing Aberdeen.
Theoph. You impose a little too hard upon me; I can
scarcely express my opinion of a place, but I must be
sentenced too much to commend it. On the other hand,
should I lessen or impair tlieir civilities, then you challenge
me to reflect on our civil entertainments. This dilemma I am
driven to. However you cannot deny, but acknowledg, that
Aberdeen is sweetly situated, and under the government of
well-regulated magistrates : No complaint of poverty, nor
luxurious superfluities ; where the houses are fill'd with
hospitality, not with prophaneness ; their streets and allies
cleanly swept and paved, and their church and state-house
very curiously kept, after the best methods of the Scotish
mode. But how Montrose will represent unto us, that I
suspend to determine till farther examination.
Am. Trouble not your self with that affair, for Montrose
will murder all your suspicions. Her generous entertain
ments in every angle, like radiated beams of the sun that
invigorate the earth, so naturally do the inhabitants influ
ence their civilities amongst strangers ; which remonstrates
Montrose a beauty that lies conceal'd, as it were, in the
bosom of Scotland ; most delicately drest up, and adorn'd
with excellent buildings, whose foundations are laid with
polish'd stone, and her ports all wash'd with the silver
streams that trickle down from the famous Ask.1 This is
Montrose in the county of Angus, antiently known by the
name of Caelurcha. Tell me how you like it, whose gaity
and gallantry springs from the nobility and gentry ; but the
wealth of the - city, from her merchants and manufacture :
1 The South Esk.

208 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
and though you see not her harbours deck'd with delicate
shipping, yet she contents herself with a pleasant river, that
commodes the inhabitant with the blessings of plenty, and
that's enough. So to sum up all in a compendious narrative,
we intitle Montrose the Mount of Eoses.1
Theoph. What encomium more elegant, or what character
more eminent for these sweet situations, than the Eosy
Mount of our northern latitude ? Nay, what expressions
could be added more compendiously significant to characterize
the beautiful elevations and imbellishments of Montrose, I
know not : then let this short derivation answer all objec
tions ; whilst we enter her ports, and use arguments of
refreshment to our hostile appetites, in regard so famous a
river as the famous Ask salutes her banks and flourishing
shores with daily supplies, to relieve her inhabitants, and
accommodate strangers.
Am. Now our next advance is to the town of Dundee :
but give me leave to call it deplorable Dundee, and not
to be exprest without a deluge of tears; because storm'd
and spoil'd by the rash precipitancy of mercenaries, whose
rapinous hands put a fatal period to her stately imbellish
ments, with the loss of many innocent lives, altogether
unconcern'd in that unnatural controversy.
Ah, poor Dundee ! torn up by the roots ; and thy natives
and inhabitants pick'd out at the port-holes. Can honour
shine in such bloody sacrifices, to lick up the lives of inhabi
tants, as if by a studied revenge ? Can nothing sweeten
the conquerour's sword, but the reeking blood of orphans and
innocents ? Blush, 0 heavens, what an age is this ! There
was wealth enough to answer their ambitions, and probably
that as soon as any thing betrayed her. Could nothing
satisfy the unsatiable sword, but the life of Dundee to atone
as a sacrifice ? English men without mercy, are like
Christians without Christianity ; no moderation nor pity
leftj but parcelling out the lives of poor penitents in cold
blood ? Who must answer for this at the bar of heaven,
before the judg of all the world ? But he that doom'd
Dundee to die, is dead himself, aud doom'd e're this ; and
Dundee yet living to survive his cruelty.
i In Gaelic, Montrose is Alt-moine-ros, " the burn of the mossy point."

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 209
Theoph. Is this Dundee ! Disconsolate Dundee,1 where
the merciless conquerour stuck down his standard in streams
of blood ?
Am. Yes, this is that unfortunate and deplorable Dundee,
whose laurels were stript from the brow of her senators, to
adorn the conquering tyrant's head. Here it was that every
arbour flourished with a fruitful vine ; and here every border
was beautified with fragrant flowers. Yet her situation
seems to me none of the best ; for if bordering too near
the brinks of the ocean proves insalubrious, or stooping too
low to salute the earth, incommodes health by unwholsom
vapours ; then to stand elevated a pitch too high, suffocates
with fumes that equally offend and infect the air, by blotting
out sanity with the soveraignty of life.
Theoph. This somewhat answers my former opinion, that
neither honour nor riches, nor the ambitions of men, stand
in competition with the mediocrity of health ; nor is there
any blessing under the sun adequate to the soveraign
sanctions of sanity on this side eternity, but the radies of
sanctification from the sun of righteousness. The world's a
fool, and none but fools admire it : Yet not that I prophane
the beautiful creation ; when only censuring that fictitious
and imaginary world in man. Go on with Dundee ; I over
flow with pity, and could wish my reluctancy penitency
enough to weep her into a religious repentance, but not with
Eachel never to be comforted. Hark, Arnoldus ! Don't
you hear the bells ?
Am. Yes, I hear them, and what of that ? Bells and
bonfires are two catholick drumsticks, with which the church
beats up for volunteers only to debauch them. For what
end were bells hung up, if not to jangle ; and bonfires
kindled, if not to blaze like an ignis fatuus ? Thus people
uncultivated are like land untill'd and arts unimprov'd print
the footsteps of penury. But arts are improv'd by industrious
ingenuity ; when through want of ingenious industry they
slide into a non-entity. As no man can be truly religious
1 Monk's merciless treatment of Dundee has already been referred to. In
his lament over the misfortunes of Dundee, as in many other passages, Franck
shows that he was not a blind sectary, but could see two sides of a question,
which so few of his contemporaries, either in England or Scotland, could do.
O

210 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [l 656.
without good morals, so no man without good morals can be
in any measure religious. Not that I assert religion is
morality ; but morality is the porch that lets into the
temple. Theoph. You paraphrase upon bells ; I wonder how you
miss'd bag-pipes, since the one has as much the root of the
matter in't as the other. By these mystical metaphors, if. I
hit the mark, you present England an emblem of Canaan,
and Scotland but a piece of English imitation.
Am. You don't hit the key right, but I perceive England
lies close siege in your bosom; however there ought to be
some charity for Scotland, that so generously entertained
you with all sorts of varieties.
Theoph. Scotland 'tis true has variety enough to confuse
and confound all the cooks in England.
Am. All this I'll grant.
Theoph. Then you must grant their butter but little better
than grease we usually grease cart-wheels withal ; wliich
nauseates my palat if but to think on't, or remember the
hand that made it up. I know there are men that have
maws like muck-hills, that can feed as freely upon tainted
flesh; as you and I upon pheasant and partridge.
Am. What then ?
Theoph. Why then you argue as if you had lost your
English appetite, and I would not for all the varieties in
Scotland, that the resentments of England should expire in
my palat.
Am. Does hunger make any distinction in dainties ? if
not, then why should Scotish kale blot out the character of
English colliflowers ?
Theoph. I shan't dispute the point, but the very thoughts
of England sweetens my apprehensions, that possibly e're
long I may taste of a southern sallad : However, this I'll
say in the honour of Scotland, that cold and hunger are
inseparable companions, but their linens are fresh ; and were
not their beds so short, they would serve well enough for
weary travellers.
Am. Then I fancy they will serve well enough for us,
whilst we trace the fragrant levels of Fife. For now we
relinquish the beautiful ports of Dundee, to transport in

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 211
boats that are steer'd with a compass of straw, by reason of
the embodied mists, to which Dundee is as incident as any
part, because standing in a bottom that's besieged with
mucky miry earth; from whence there insurrect such
pernicious vapours, as nauseate the air ; whereby it becomes
almost infectious.
. Theoph. Why so ?
Am. Because it debilitates both the native and inhabi
tant, and would certainly incapacitate them of health and
long life, did not custom and a country-habit plead a pre
scription, both as to physick and diet : Insomuch, that
neither gass nor blass,1 nor any nauseating suffocating fumes,
nor hardly death it self can snatch them from Scotland ;
where some natives have lived to a prodigious age.
Theoph. But to the country of Fife, I fear you'l forget it.-
Am. No, no, doubt it not, nor would I have you startle
the mariner, who, because destitute of a card to pilot us over
by, is compell'd to make use of a compass of straw.
Theoph. A very ingenious invention; pray tell us the
manner on't.
Am. Don't push too hard upon me ; and I'll tell you
this new way of navigation. When cloudy mists arise that
darken the face of the firmament, and threaten danger with
out any disturbance, you shall then see the seamen stuff
the stern with straw, as now they do with little trusses,
which they successively expose one at a time ; and so supply
it time after time from the stern of the vessel, till at length
they arrive at the desired shoar, as now we do : And thus
have I past and repast from Dundee. Nor is there any
difficulty nor danger to any man more than hazarding his
carcase in timber. Now welcome ashore to the fields in Fife ;
where we must exchange our navigable horses for hackneys.
Theoph. What must we call the name of this town ?
Am. Cooper in Fife ; 2 it's a corporation.
Theoph. And what other town is that yet more eastward,
that seems to lean on the skirts of the ocean ?
Am. That's antient Saint Andrews, their metropolitan
1 The Belgian chemist Van Helmont invented two corresponding terms, gas
and bias, of which the former passed into use, the latter has been forgotten
(Skeat, Etymological Dictionary). 2 Cupar-Fife.

212 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
university. Upon the same coast lie Creel and Petenweems.
More southerly yet lies cockly Carcawdy1 facing the ocean.
and the frontiers of Leith : we shall only take a view of the
palace of Faulkland, though her fair imbelhshments outlustre
Dumfermling. Theoph. What's our next stage ?
Am. Brunt-Island : but I must remind you of the
magnificent Palace of Scoon, forgot as we past by the ports
of Saint Johnstons, near whose elevated turrets there stands
a kirk, that stands upon all the land in Scotland ; which
kirk is immur'd with a fair stone wall ; and in that kirk
they crown their kings, and perform the formalities of all
other royal duties ; which regalia are the sword, spurs, purse,
crown, globe, scepter, and Bible. Now he's a dunce that
knows not this duty, because it's incumbent on all the
kingdom of Scotland.
Theop>h. But how stands the kirk upon all the kingdom ?
Am. There's not a royalty in the kingdom of Scotland,
but has sent some part of earth (from every angle) to this
place called Scoon ; 2 which earth was dispersed by laborious
industry; upon which the foundations of the kirk were
laid. So that now you are to consider this variety of mould
represents but one uniform and compact body of earth :
which earth represents the great volume of Scotland in a
breviat, or as I may term it, a little compendium.
Thus our discourse of the kirk of Scoon has accompanied
us to a view of pleasant Carcawdy, a little pretty maritime
town (built all with stone) that stands in the face of the
ocean, and the frontiers of Fife. But the time and our
occasion constrains us to pass by Carcawdy, where the
inhabitants live more upon fish than flesh ; from whose
slender ports we must hasten to Brunt-Island, otherwise we
endanger losing our tide, which will much incommode us ;
nor can we stay there to examine their curiosities.
Theoph. What's this that so naturally represents the
ocean ? And what are those ships, under sail ? or must I
fancy them a landskip of moveable mountains ?
1 Crail, Pittenweem, Kirkcaldy. 2 According to the tradition of the
neighbourhood, it was the mote-hill and not the foundations of the church that
was formed as Franck relates.

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 213
Am. If you fancy them ships fluctuating to and fro on
those solid deeps to attempt that harbour, you are not much
mistaken. Theoph. Is there any town on those rocky foundations ?
Am. Yes surely there is ; for we now discover the
pleasant shores of beautiful Brunt-Island, guarded with
rocks that front the harbour and pier of Leith ; over whose
rubified sands we must plough the ocean, to those delectable
flourishing ports ; provided the vessel be tite and unleaky, as
questionless this is, design'd for our passage.
Theoph. However, I'll remind you of our hazardous
passage from Innerbrachy to the famous Ness, as at another
time our personal hazard, when fording over Forres, and the
rapid Trespey j1 besides other great rivers and rivulets in our
mareh, of very swift and violent motion ; which we often
discharg'd without the artifice of boats : and yet I cannot
help that natural antipathy and aversion, that I find against
timber fortifications ; nor can I think them such soveraign
security, but that sometimes they are accompani'd with
difficulties and danger. It's true, I grant, that no man has
an infallible protection for life ; nor a pre-knowledg of
sickness nor sudden solution.
Am. Well then, if so, transplant those fears into foreign
parts ; for we must certainly, and that suddenly, expose
ourselves to the mercy of the sea, by the providence of God.
Nor is the danger more than imagination ; for the fear of
death to some men is more dreadful and terrible than death
it self ; which great sea we must all sail through, before we
cast anchor in the port of eternity.
Theoph. You have sodred the breach, and salv'd the
wound, that now I itch to be floating on the ocean. How
ever, before we embark for Leith, let us give nature a Philip
in the arms of Brunt-Island.
Am. All this we may do, and view the situations too,
which stands on a flat and flourishing level, back'd by Fife,
and the mountains of Mirt,2 whose foundations are laid in
rocky stone, and beautified with the regularities of art, where
there's a small but secure harbour, to rescue the retreats
1 Spey. 2 Evidently a hopeless corruption of some other name.

214 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.
of the terrified passenger, when pursued with the furious
hostility of Neptune, whose waves storm the shores, insinuat
ing themselves into every creek. But the beauty of Brunt-
Island lies most in her market-place, which serves for an
exchange, fronting the harbour, and facing the ocean ; where
all or most of her merchant's houses stand gazing on the
beautiful Pier of Leith.
Leith and Edinburgh. — Am. Leith stands, as you see,
situated on a level surrounded by sea on the north-east ; and
guarded on the south with Neal's Craigs,1 and Arthur's Seat,
that hangs over Edinburgh. But the fabricks of Leith are
built with stone, hovering over the pier, and fronting the
ocean, almost drown'd under water ; and that which is worse,
if worse can be, those nauseating scents suckt greedily from
the sea, bring arguments of disease, and sometimes summons
for death. On the other hand, Scotland cannot present you
with a more pleasant port ; for here the houses and structures
are large and lofty, and the pier like a gnomen directs to the
tolbooth. Here also stands a substantial cawsey that leads
to the bridg, that brings you to a citadel that was, but now
is not, because hudled in dust, and ruinous heaps ; yet not
ruin'd by age, nor torn with the scars and impressions of
war ; but policy, and not piety, laid her surface in the sand.
Theoph. What merchandize doth she trade in ?
Am. For the most part she trades in foreign commodities,
except some manufactures of their own, as ticking, bedding,
tartan, pladding, Scots-cloth, &c. So that Leith for trade,
with her merchandize for treasure, excels most, if not all the
maritime ports in Scotland.
Theoph. Pray, what other accommodation hath she ?
Am. She has fish and flesh in abundance, viz., oysters,
cockles, muscles, crabs, craw-fish, lobsters, soles, plaice,
turbet, thornback, cod, keeling, haddock, mackrel, herring, &c.
Then there's salmon, trout, pike, perch, eel, &c, but their
flesh are beeves, veals, porks, veneson, kid, mutton, lamb, &c.
And their fowl are eagles, signets, hawks, geese, gossander,
duck and mallard, teal, widgeon, cock, pidgeon, heath-game,
moorfowl, curlue, partridg, pheasant, plover, grey and green,
1 I have been unable to identify these " Craigs."

1656.] RICHARD FRANCK. 215
and many more that I cannot remember. So great is their
plenty and variety, that did not the popularity in Edinburgh
render things more chargeable than other parts more remote
up the country, a man might live almost without expence.
And now we relinquish the flourishing ports of Leith, whose
foundations are daily saluted by the ocean. 0, how sweetly
the weather smiles, the horizon looks clear, the sky is serene,
and the birds you may see them beat the ambient air with
their tunable notes ! Come, Theophilus, let us mount our
horses, and lift up your eyes to behold those lofty imbelhsh
ments of Edinburgh.
Theoph. They are obvious enough, half an eye may
see them.
Am. Welcome to these elevated ports, the princely court
of famous Edinburgh. This city stands upon a mighty
scopulous1 mountain, whose foundations are cemented with
mortar and stone ; where the bulk of her lofty buildings
represent it a rock at a reasonable distance, fronting the
approaching sun ; whose elevations are seven or eight stories
high, mounted aloft in the ambient air. But the length, as
I take it, exceeds not one mile, and the breadth on't
measures little more than half a mile ; nor is there more
than one fair street, to my best remembrance. But then it's
large and long, and very spacious, whose ports are splendid,
so are her well-built houses and palaces, corresponding very
much to compleat it their metropolis.
Theoph. What fabrick is that on the east of Edinburgh ?
Am. Hallirood-House, the regal court of Scotland.
Theoph. But there's yet another great fabrick, that pre
sents westward.
Am. That's Edinburgh-Castle, elevated in the air, on an
impregnable precipice of rocky earth, perpendicular in some
parts, rampir'd and barrocadoed with thick walls of stone,
and graffs proportionable, to contribute an additional strength.
So that you are to consider this inaccessible castle shines
from a natural as well as an artificial product, because part
of it you see contiguous with the rock; but the other part,
because affixed by cemented stone, which inoculates and
1 It is due to Franek to say that his scopulous appears in Dr Johnson's
Dictionary as the equivalent of the Latin scopulosus, full of rocks.

216 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1656.]
incorporates them so firmly together, that the whole mass
of building is of such incredible strength, that it's almost
fabulous for any man to report it, or sum up the impregnable
lustre and beauty of this fair fortress, that defies all attempts,
except famine, disease, or treachery be conduct ; so that
culverins and cannons signify but little, without bombs and
carcasses.1 On the other hand, the defendants must not be
too liberal, lest their water forsake them sooner. than their
ammunition; so inevitably draw upon them the foregoing
consequence, and incommode them with a thousand incon
veniences. True it is, many arguments of art and artillery
have been sent to examine this impregnable castle, but none
were ever found more successful than hunger and disease, or
the golden apples of the Hesperides. Such kind of magnets
muzzle mercenaries, and make them a golden bridg to pass
over. Theoph. Is this fair fabrick the Parliament-House where
the grandees sit on national affairs ?
Am. Yes, this is their palace where the parliament sits
to accommodate the kingdom ; whose famous ports we now
relinquish to take a review of the bars of Musselburg. But
that on our right hand is delicate Dalkeith, surrounded with
a park ; and that on our left hand is Preston-pans, where
the natives make salt from the brine of the ocean. That
other town before us is the corporation of Haddington ; and
this is the Brill ; 2 but the Bass you may see is a prodigious
rock, that makes an island on the skirts of the ocean.
1 A special kind of bomb. 2 I cannot discover what Franck meant by the
Brill.

JO KEVIN DE EOCHEFOED
(1661 ?).
THE following narrative is taken from the fourth volume
of the Antiquarian Repertory (1809). It is a trans
lation from a very scarce book of travels published at Paris
in 1672. The name of its author does not appear in the
French biographical collections ; and nothing seems to be
known of him except what is implied in his own narrative
of his travels, which extended over England and Ireland as
well as Scotland. From certain of his remarks we gather
that his visit to Scotland took place shortly after the
Eestoration.

Antiquarian Eepertory, vol. iv., p. 599.
THE kingdom of Scotland is ordinarily divided into two
parts, which are on this side and beyond the river
Tay ; each part is subdivided into provinces, called Chirif-
domes. This kingdom is bounded on the north side by the
Orcade Islands, Schetland and Farro, inhabited only by
fishermen, and persons who subsist -almost entirely on fish,
and a little game they take by hunting in the mountains,
with which these islands are generally covered. It is
bordered on the west by the Ebudes1 Islands, and clivers other
small islets, which are at the entrance of an almost infinite
number of great gulfs advanced into the kingdom, which they
furnish with fish, in abundance. But the country is so
mountainous and so ingrateful in some places, that it is not
worth cultivation ; and the cold so intense as scarcely to
permit grain to ripen. On the south is the kingdom of
England; and on the east the German Sea, otherwise the
fishy sea, or Haringzee, because there are caught by the
Flemish and Dutch the salmqncod, but principally herrings,
1 Hebrides.

218 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1661.
with which, after salting, they serve France and other king
doms ; this fishery making the best part of their riches.
I know very well that the northern part of this kingdom,
beyond the river Tay, is almost uninhabited, on account of
the high mountains, which are only rocks, where there is
no want of game in great quantities ; but there grows but
very little corn ; which obliges the inhabitants of the interior
parts of the country to subsist on fish, which they dry by
means of the great cold, after having caught them in the
lakes, which are to be found all over the kingdom ; and
some of the villages by the sea-side export as much fish
as furnishes them with corn and other necessaries of life. It
is said, that there are certain provinces on that side of the
country, where the men are truly savage, and have neither
law nor religion, and support a miserable existence by what
they can catch. But I likewise know, that the southern
part of the kingdom on this side the Tay contains many fine
towns, good sea-ports, great tracts of fertile land, and
beautiful meadows filled with herds of all sorts of cattle ; but
the extreme cold prevents their growing to the common size,
as is the case all over Europe. The principal towns are,
Edinbourg, Lyth, Sterling, Glasgo, Saint Andreau, Abernethy,
Dunkeld, Brechin, the old and new Aberdeen, the port of
Cromary, Dornok, the town of St Johnstone, where are the
four fine castles of Scotland.
After having passed through Nieuwark 1 that is on the
side of the gulf of Dunbriton,2 which lay on my left hand,
to enter into a country surrounded almost on all sides
by mountains, I descended into some very agreeable valleys,
as Kemakoom,3 &c. From thence I followed a small river,
where the country grew a little better, to go to Paslet,4 on a
river forded by a large bridge abutting to the castle, where
there is a very spacious garden enclosed by thick walls of
hewn stone. It was once a rich abbey, as I discovered by a
mitre and cross, that appeared half demolished, upon one of
the gates of the castle, which was the abbey house. Those
1 Newark. 2 Dumbarton, i.e., fort of the Britons. Like most of the
intelligent travellers who visited Scotland, Rochefordwas evidently acquainted
with the early historians of the country. 3 Kilmalcolm. 4 Paisley, which is
situated on the White Cart. Its abbey was founded by Walter Stewart, who
married Marjory, the daughter of Robert the Bruce.

1661.] JOREVIN DE ROCHEFORD. 219
who go from Krinock x to Glasgo pass from Kemakoom by
Eeinfreu ; but the way is full of marshes, difficult to pass
over, and where there is a boat which does not work on
Sundays, according to the custom of England, as it happened
when I was travelling that road ; which caused me, in order
to avoid these difficulties, to change my route, which was
after Paislet, to enter into a fine country upon the banks of
the river Clyd, which I followed to the suburbs of Glasgo,
joined to the town by a large bridge. This I passed before
I could enter Glasgo.
Glasgo. — Glasgo is the second town in the kingdom of
Scotland,2 situated upon a hill that extends gently to the brink
of the river of Clyd, which is capable of bearing vessels,
since the tide rises here a little from the gulf of Dunbritton,
into which it empties itself ; so that vessels can come from
Ireland to Glasgo. The streets of Glasgo are large and
handsome, as if belonging to a new town ; but the houses
are only of wood, ornamented with carving. Here live
several rich shopkeepers. As soon as I had passed the
bridge, I came to the entry of two broad streets. In the
first is a large building, being the hospital of the merchants,3
and farther on the market-place, and town-hall,4 built with
large stones, with a square tower being the town clock-
house ; under which is the guard-house, as in all the towns
of consequence in England. Although Glasgo has no other
fortification, that does not prevent it from being very strong,
for towards the east side it is elevated upon a scarped rock,
the foot whereof is washed by a little river,5 very convenient
to that part of the town through which it passes. I lodged
in this fine large street. The son of the owner of the house,
being then studying philosophy at the university, conducted
me everywhere, in order to point out to me what was most
remarkable in the town. He began by the college,6 of which
he showed me the library, which is nothing equal to that I
1 Greenock. 2 In the middle of the sixteenth century Glasgow held only the
eleventh place amongst the towns of Scotland (Denholm, History of Glasgow,
p. 110). 3 Hutcheson's Hospital. 4 This was the New Tolbooth erected in
1626. It served as a prison and a place for county meetings till early in the
present century. The tower still stands, and is known as the Cross Steeple
(Macgeorge, Old Glasgow). 5 The Molendinar Burn. 6 As the college was
completed in 1656, Rocheford would see it in its completed state.

220 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1661.
saw at Oxford. From hence I came into a large and very
fine garden, filled with all kinds of fruit-trees, deemed scarce
in that country. At length we entered into the great court,
the facade whereof is the great body of the house, newly
built, under which are the classes sustaining the galleries, and
lodgings for the scholars and students. He introduced me
to the regent in philosophy, who asked me many things
respecting the colleges and universities of France, principally
of that of the Sorbonne ; ] upon which he told me, he was
astonished that throughout all Europe there was not one
uniform faith, since we all sought the same end to go to
Paradise, the road to which we Catholics had made so
difficult, although God by his sufferings and mercy had
rendered it very easy, and was desirous all the world should
enter. To whom I answered that God was at once both
merciful and just, and that we could not arrive at heaven but
by the difficulties and labours that he himself had suffered,
in order to point out the way to us. I was unwilling to
continue this discourse, whereby I could learn nothing useful
in my voyage, wherefore I took leave of him, in order to visit
the metropolitan church of the archbishopric. It is perhaps
the longest and best built in the kingdom, and ornamented
round about with many figures of saints, some of which were
thrown down and broken at the time the Protestants made
themselves masters of it, after having driven out the Catholics.
The chapel behind the choir contains some very remarkable
tombs. There are two high towers over the principal doors
of this handsome church. The archbishop's palace2 is large,
and very near it. We went and walked in the market-place,
where a market is held twice a week; it is a cross-way,
formed by the handsomest streets in the town; on that towards
the left hand is the butchery, and the great general hospital.3
In the environs of Glasgo are several pits, from whence
they dig very good coal, which is used for fires instead of
wood in winter time, here severe, and of long duration. One
had only need to look at the sphere to know this, and at the
1 The original college of the Sorbonne had been founded in 1253 by Robert
de Sorbon ; but a new building (that which still stands) was begun by
Cardinal Richelieu in 1627. 2 See page 153 (above). 3 The Bishops' Alms
houses are probably meant. The other hospitals were St Nicholas aud that of
the Lepers. ,

1661.] JOREVIN DE ROCHEFORD. 221
time too, when the days in summer are more than twenty-
two hours long, since the sun sets only three or four hours
at night ; so that as the days are long in summer, they are
proportionately short in winter.
I left Glasgo to go to Edinbourg,and passed over a great
plain, where stands Cader,1 and afterwards Cartelok,2 where
there is a castle on a river. And shortly after, towards my
left hand, I left a great castle3 in the bottom of a little
valley, at the foot of the mountains, from whence issues a
little river that I passed at Falkirk. Here great quantities
of stuffs and cloths of all sorts are made. Leaving it, on
the left hand one sees the extremity of the gulf of Edin-
bourg, where the river of Forthna empties itself near the
town of Stirling, situated at the foot of a range of the
highest mountains in Scotland, to go to Lithquo.
Lithquo. — Lithquo is situated in a very good country,
although it is environed by high mountains. It stands on
the banks of a large lake, with a castle on the highest
part of the town, being on a rock commanding its whole
extent. It is flanked by several large towers, which render
it one of the strongest places in the kingdom. There is
a very handsome church4 at one end of the market-place,,
in the center of which is a fountain,5 in a bason which
receives its waters. The chief street crosses the market
place and the whole town. Here is a manufactory of cloth
and fine linen. I left this place, and passed through
Kalkester 6 to go to Edenburgh.
Edenburgh. — Edenburgh is the capital town, and the
handsomest of the kingdom of Scotland, distant only a mile
from the sea, where Lith is its sea-port. It stands on a
hill, which it entirely occupies. This hill, on the side
whereon the castle is built, is scarped down as steep as a
wall, which adds to its strength, as it is accessible only on
one side, which is therefore doubly fortified with bastions,
and a large ditch cut sloping into the rock. I arrived
1 Cadder. 2 This is the Cuntellon of Brereton, i.e., Kirkintilloch. The
odd spelling was suggested by the local name Kintilloeh. 3 Castlecary (?)
4 This church, probably founded by David I., is considered one of the finest,
as it is one of the best-preserved, specimens of Gothic architecture in Scot
land. It was here that James IV. saw the apparition so vividly described
by Pitscottie. 5 The Cross Well (see above, p. 48). 6 Kirkliston.

222 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1661.
by the suburbs, at the foot of the castle where at the
entry is the market-place, which forms the beginning of
a great street in the lower town, called Couguet.1 On
coming into this place, one is first struck with the
appearance of a handsome fountain,2 and, a little higher up,
with the grand hospital 3 or alms-house for the poor : there is
no one but would at first sight take it for a palace. You
ascend to it by a long staircase, which ends before a plat
form facing the entry at the great gate. The portico is
supported by several columns, and the arms and statue of
the founder, with a tablet of black marble, on which there is
an inscription, signifying, that he was a very rich merchant,
who died without children. There are four large pavilions,
ornamented with little turrets, connected by four large wings,
forming a square court in the middle, with galleries sustamed
by columns, serving for communications to the apartments of
this great edifice. One might pass much time in considering
the pieces of sculpture and engraving in these galleries, the
magnitude of its chambers and halls, and the good order
observed in this great hospital. Its garden is the walk and
place of recreation for the citizens, but a stranger cannot be
admitted without the introduction of some inhabitant. You
will there see a bowling-green, as in many other places in
England : it is a smooth even meadow, resembling a green
•carpet, a quantity of fruit-trees, and a well-kept kitchen-
garden. From thence I proceeded along this great street,
to see some ancient tombs in a large burial-ground,4 and,
farther on, the college of the university.5 I was shown a
pretty good library, but the building is not remarkable ; it
has a court, and the schools are round about it. This lower
town is inhabited by many workmen and mechanics, who,
though they do not ennoble the quarter, render it the most
populous. Here are a number of little narrow streets
mounting into the great one, that forms the middle of the
1 Cowgate. 2 Hence Fountainbridge. 3 George Heriot's Hospital, which
seemed to have arrested the attention of all visitors to Edinburgh. 4 Grey-
friars, which had been made a burying-ground about 1580. 5 The original
College of Edinburgh, which Rocheford saw, was simply the house of the Duke
of Chatelherault, adjusted to the necessities of a, college, together with a
wing containing fourteen chambers, added by the town council (Grant, Hist.
of tlie Univ. of Edin., i. p. 129).

1661.] JOREVIN DE ROCHEFORD. 223
town, and which from the castle extends gently to the
bottom of the hill, that seems on two sides enclosed by a
valley, which serves for a ditch ; in one is what we have
called the lower town, and in the other are the gardens,
separated from the town by a great wall. I lodged at
Edenburgh in the house of a French cook,1 who directed me
to the merchant on whom I had taken a bill of exchange at
London. He took me into the castle, which one may call
impregnable, on account of its situation, since it is elevated
on a rock scarped on every side, except that which looks
to the town, by which we entered after having passed the
drawbridge, defended by a strong half-moon, where there
is no want of cannon. This brings to my mind one seen in
entering the court, which is of so great a length and
breadth,2 that two persons have laid in it as much at their
ease as in a bed. The people of the castle tell a story of it
more pleasant than true : they say it was made in order
to carry to the port of Lyth against such enemies as might
arrive by sea ; we saw several of its bullets, of an almost
immeasurable size. This court is large, with many buildings
without symmetry. There are some lodgings, pretty well
built, which formerly served for the residence of the kings
of Scotland, and at present for the viceroys, when the
King of England sends any ; for at the time I was there,
there was only the Grand Chancellor,3 who had almost the
same authority and power as a viceroy.
Descending from this castle by the great street, one may
see its palace, and, a little before the great market-place, the
custom-house,4 where are the king's weights. This street is
so wide that it seems a market-place throughout its whole
extent. The cathedral church is in the middle ; its only
ornament is a high square tower.0 Beside it is the parliament-
house, where the chancellor resides. There are several large
halls, well covered with tapestry, where the pleadings are
1 The traveller of 1704 already quoted says : " In all the best houses here
(Edinburgh) they dress their victuals after the French method " (p. 46).
s Mons Meg, which excited the admiration of every visitor to Edinburgh.
3 The Lord Chancellor at the date of Jorevin's visit was George, Earl of
Aberdeen. 4 The old weigh-house had been destroyed by Cromwell in 1650.
That which Jorevin saw had been built in 1660. 5 The Crown Tower of St
Giles's had been only recently built (1648) when Jorevin visited Edinburgh.

224 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1661.
held, and a fine court. In the great hall are several shop
keepers, who sell a thousand little curiosities. There is
besides a large pavilion, having a little garden behind it,
where there is a terrace commanding a view over all that
part of the town called the Couguet,1 at the foot of the palace
and pavilion where the chancellor resides. This fine large
street serves for the ordinary walk of the citizens, who
otherwise repair to the suburbs of Kanignet,2 in the ancient
palace of the kings of Scotland.
This suburb is at the end of the great street, where there
is another of the same size, and almost as handsome, which
adjoins to the palace called the king's house, said to have
been formerly an abbey, great appearances thereof being
still remaining. In entering, you pass the first great court
surrounded with lodgings for the officers ; and from thence
into a second, where appears the palace, composed of several
small pavilions, intermixed with galleries and turrets, forming
a wonderful symmetry; but it has been much damaged by
fire.3 There is likewise the church, the cloisters, and the-
gardens of this ancient abbey. This suburb is separated from
the town by a gate with a bell tower, wherein is a clock ;.
and on one side appears the little suburb of Leyth-oye, the-
way leading to the port of Leyth. In the middle of the
street is a very fine hospital,4 which carries some marks of
having formerly been a convent, and close to it a handsome-
church, once belonging to a priory, when the Catholic religion
was prevalent in the kingdom of Scotland,
It is difficult to hear mass at Edinburgh, for it is strictly
forbidden to be celebrated, although there are some Catholics,
Flemings and Frenchmen, who dwell there, with whom I
made an acquaintance, and who visited me sometimes in my
inn. They one clay begged me to go a shooting with them,.
assuring me that we should not return without each of us
filling his bag with game; nevertheless, it was not this
consideration that caused me to go, but rather the hope of'
1Cowgate. 2Canongate. 3 The greater part of Holyrood was burned by
the troops of Cromwell after the Battle of Dunbar (1650). "It was rebuilt.
between 1671 and 1679, subsequently to Jorevin's visit. 4 Trinity Hospital,
swept away by the North British Railway Company in 1845. It is described
by Sir Daniel Wilson (Memorials of Edinburgh, p. 50, edit. 1886) as "the most.
ancient and interesting building that Edinburgh possessed."

1661.] JOREVIN DE ROCHEFORD. 225
learning some curiosity of the country and the city of Edin
burgh, where these gentlemen had resided a long time. We
set out at four o'clock in the morning, being four in company,
with three good dogs. We came to the sea- side on a great
beach,1 from whence the tide had retired, where we found
some water-fowl, of which we killed three, and six large
wood-cocks, and near this place were some little hills covered
with heath and bushes, where we went to beat for hares and
rabbits, which frequently stroll near the sea-side. Our dogs
put out a large leveret, which was soon knocked down. We
then went to get some of our game cooked for breakfast, at a
village 2 not far off, and afterwards returned to hunt along that
gulf which we coasted in going to Edenburgh, whither we
carried, of our shooting, six young wild ducks, four wood
cocks, and two rabbits. I was very much fatigued, yet
nevertheless lent my hand as heartily to the business as any
present in getting the supper ready, in order to have it the
sooner done ; when in the combat that ensued, every one did
wonders, where the glasses served for muskets, the wine for
powder, and the bottles for bandileers ; whence we returned
from the field all conquerors and unwounded.
These gentlemen invited me several other times to go
sporting with them, but I always refused, on account of the
great fatigue I had undergone. I chose rather to visit Leyth,
a mile distant from Edinburgh, from whence coaches set out
every moment to go by a paved road over a large and very
fertile plain. Seeing a gibbet in my way, I could not refrain
from laughing, as it brought to my mind the many tricks
played at Eome with the hangman's servant, who is obliged
to carry a ladder from his house to the place of punishment,
where his master is to execute the criminal. He, carrying
this ladder, is mounted on a horse, led by a man with a
drawn sword in his hand, to defend him. But let him do
what he will, every one will have a stroke at him ; some
refresh him with pails of water, which they throw out of
the windows ; others embroider his clothes with handfuls of
mud ; some greet him with rotten melons, and others over
whelm him with stones, accompanied with this reproach,
Boya, so odious among the Italians ; they also pull his feet
Probably the Figgate Whins. 2 Restalrig. • P

226 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1661.
and ladder, to make him fall ; insomuch that it is pleasant
to see in what a pickle he arrives on the gallows. But in
England it is not so, for the executions are performed only
every six months ; and it signifies nothing at what time the
criminal is condemned to death, he being always kept till
that day, and is taken from the gibbet to be interred on
Good Friday.
Lyth. — Lyth is a little trading town, and a good sea-port,
situated at the mouth of the little river Lyth in the gulf of
Edenburgh, which is above forty miles in length, and twelve
broad at its entry, and before Lyth about eight.1 In the
middle there is a small island,2 on which is an impregnable
fort. There are many good harbours and large towns along
this gulf, with mines yielding tin, lead, and sea-coal, in
such quantities that the Flemish, the Dutch, the Danes and
the Swedes, and even the French, are served from hence.
Moreover in this same gulf they prepare salt, which the
Dutch purchase to cure the fish catched in the Scotch seas ;
although many persons say this salt will not preserve them
long, and that the things pickled with it are apt to spoil.
But without straying from Lyth, I can say it is the most
famous sea-port in Scotland, frequented, on account of its
traffic, by all the nations in Europe ; and it is at the mouth
of this little river,3 which is so deep that the largest vessels
can come up into the center of the town, and lie loaded
along the quay, sometimes to the number of more than fifty.
The river forms the separation of a large village,4 Which lies
on the other side, to which you must pass over a stone bridge
that joins it to the town. This village is the residence of
fishermen and sailors, and here sometimes large vessels are
built. On the same side is a citadel, close to the sea, which
has almost ruined it by its waves, having undermined the
bastions in such a manner, that it is as it were abandoned,
for there is no garrison to guard it. Adjoining to the
quay is a mole, fashioned like a wooden bridge, advancing
more than two hundred paces into the sea, to prevent the
sand brought by the tide from choking up the entrance
of the port, which is extremely necessary for the town
1 Our traveller's measurements are here far astray. 2 Inchkeith. 3 The
Water of Leith. 4 Newhaven.

1661.J JOREVIN DE ROCHEFORD. 227
of Edenburgh, for the merchandizes that arrive by sea,
or are shipped for foreign countries, principally for the
north. I returned to Edinburgh, and, after taking my leave of
some French people of my acquaintance, departed for Bar
wick, by the following route. Leaving the town, I had the
gulf on my left hand, and on my right the great road to
Newcastle, near a small river at Nedrik,1 where there is a
castle. At Molsburg2 there is also a castle on a river, still
within the agreeable view of this gulf ; which one is obhged
continually to follow, on account that the road is bordered
by high mountains, which are impassable. Come to Trenat,3
where there are mines of very good coal, with which I
saw several vessels loaded. The country where they are
commonly found, is somewhat mountainous, and covered with
bad soil, as hereabouts at Arington4 on a river. Here is a
large market-place, and a fine street adjoining to the prin
cipal church,5 which it is said the French held a long time,8
when they made themselves masters of a good part of this
kingdom, and from whence they were at length driven out,
as I was informed by my landlord's son, in conducting me
out of the town. I followed the river,7 full of good fish,
particularly trout of a delicious taste ; on it I saw a large
castle,8 on the right hand, going to Linton,9 where I passed
this river, which runs among the rocks. Shortly after, one
has a view of the same gulf, passing over a country covered
with sandhills to Dunbart.
The village is famous for its great fishery of herrings and
salmon, which are carried into France and other parts of
Europe. The port would be good for nothing, if the road,
1 Niddrie. 2 Musselburgh. jThe castle referred to is probably Pinkie
House, which dates from the reign of James VI. The river is, of course,
the Esk. 3 Tranent. He could not have seen the vessels loaded at that
village, however, as it is fully two miles from the sea. 4 Haddington. A
name we have seen mutilated in so many different ways. 5 The present
parish church, by some supposed to be the "Lamp of Lothian" celebrated by
Fordoun and other early historians. 6 Rocheford has but a hazy notion of the
real achievements of his nation on the occasion he refers to. It would seem,
however, that the French preserved the memory of the Sieur d'Esse's expedi
tion. We have seen that both Perlin and De Rohan make special reference
to it. 7 Tyne. 8 Hailes Castle, a seat of the Bothwell family, and associated
with Queen Mary. 9 East Linton.

228 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1661.
which is before it, was not covered by high rocks, which
border these coasts. At the foot of these is a part of the
village, the habitation of fishermen ; and another above it,
where there is a fine large street. I lodged in the house of
one who spoke French, and had served Louis the Thirteenth
in the Scots Guards. He related to me many things that
had happened in his time. He had been at the siege of
Eochelle,1 the history of which he gave me, with many
particulars. He treated me with fish of all sorts, among
others, with a piece of salmon dressed in the French manner,
and a pair of soles of prodigious size. The beer usually
drank in Scotland is made without hops, they call it ale ; it
is cheaper than the English beer, which is the best in
Europe. From Dunbarton, through a champaign country, I next
came to Cobrspech,2- whence, having passed some little moun
tains, I still followed the sea, and went through five or six
small hamlets, in a plain near a river. The country here
abouts is but badly cultivated, and full of heaths, till I
descended into a bottom to Aiton,3 where there is a castle on
a river, which I crossed, and afterwards passed a high
mountain, adjoining to some meadows near the sea-side,4 and
along the banks of a river, following which, I arrived at
Berwick. Barrwick. — Barrwickis thefirst town by whichl re-entered
England, and, being a frontier to Scotland, has been fortified in
different manners. There is in it at present a large garrison,
as in a place of importance to this kingdom. It is bounded
by the river Tweed, which empties itself into the sea, and
has a great reflux, capable, but for sands at the entrance into
its port, of bringing up large vessels. I arrived here about
ten of the clock on a Sunday ; the gates were then shut, it
being church time, but were opened at eleven, as is the
custom in all fortified places. Here is an upper and a
lower town, which are both on the side of a hill, that slopes
towards the river. On its top there is a ruined and
abandoned castle, although its situation makes it appear
impregnable ; it is environed on one side by the ditch of the
1 La Rochelle was taken by Richelieu in 1628. 2 Cockburnspath. 3 Ayton.
4 Marshall Meadows and Homildon Hill.

1661.] JOREVIN DE ROCHEFORD. 229
town, and on the other side by one of the same breadth,
flanked by many round towers and thick walls, which
enclose a large palace, in the middle of which rises a lofty
keep, capable of a long resistance, and commanding all the
environs of the town.
The high town encloses within its walls and ditches those
of the lower, from which it is only separated by a ditch filled
with water. In the upper town the streets are straight and
handsome ; but here are not many rich inhabitants, they
rather preferring the lower town, in which there are many
great palaces, similar to that which has been rebuilt near the
great church. In all the open areas are great fountains, and
in one of them the guard-house and public parade, before the
town-hall or sessions house, over which is the clock-tower of
the town ; so that by walking over Barwick, I discovered it
to be one of the greatest and most beautiful towns in
England. The greatest parts of the streets in the lower town are
either up or down hill ; but they are filled with many rich
merchants, on account of the convenience and vicinity of its
port, bordered by a large quay, along which the ships are
ranged. There is not a stone bridge, in all England, longer
or better built than that of Berwick, with sixteen 1 large and
wonderfully well-wrought arches ; it is considered as one of
the most remarkable curiosities of the kingdom.
1 There are only fifteen arches.

JOHN EAY
(1662 ?).
JOHN EAY (1627-1705), known as "Kay the Naturalist,"
was one of the most widely- travelled Englishmen of
his time, and his contributions to botany and zoology have
given him a distinguished place in the history of these
sciences. The son of a blacksmith, he received a learned
education at Trinity College, Cambridge, of which he became
a Fellow. Deprived of his Fellowship in 1662 by the Act
of Uniformity, Eay, accompanied by his friend Francis
Willoughby, set out on a course of travel through the United
Kingdom in the interests of the science to which he had
already devoted his life. From the " Itinerary," in which he
records his observations made on these travels, the following
extracts relating to Scotland have been taken.

Select Eemains of the Learned John Eay
(Lond. 1760), p. 187.
THIS night we lodged at Berwick ; our journey was of
about 25 miles. The river Tweed, is here joined
with a stone bridge of 15 arches. Here hath been a very
goodly castle, which is now demolished. The upper town is
encompassed with a wall which is not very strong ; within
this wall is a large void ground or green, whereunto the
inhabitants bring their cattle, and let them stay all night,
and in the morning drive them out again to pasture. The
lower town is very strongly fortified with a broad and deep
ditch of water, and against it an impenetrable bulwark or
bank of earth, faced with free stone against the ditch.
There are also for defence, four tall platforms or ports,
besides external fortifications. This town is still kept with
a strong garrison. There is in it a fair church,1 built by
1 Trinity Church, begun in 1650 but not completed till 1657. Cromwell
does not appear to have had any hand in its construction (Scott, History of
Berwick, p. 361 et seq.).

1662?] JOHN RAY. 231
Oliver Protector. Here we saw in the cliff by the shore, a
cave called the Burgesses Cave, not worth the remembering,
and an hole in a rock, through which a boat may pass at
full sea, called the Needle's- Eye.
August the lfth. — We travelled to Dunbar, a town noted
for the fight between the English and Scots.1 The Scots
generally (that is, the poorer sort) wear, the men blue
bonnets on their heads, and some russet ; the women only
white linnen, which hangs down their backs as if a napkin
were pinned about them. When they go abroad none of
them wear hats, but a party coloured blanket which they
call a plad, over their heads and shoulders. The women
generally to us seemed none of the handsomest. They are
not very cleanly in their houses, and but sluttish in dressing
their meat. Their way of washing linnen is to tuck up
their coats, and tread them with their feet in a tub. They
have a custom to make up the fronts of their houses, even
in their principal towns, with firr boards nailed one over
another, in which are often made many round holes or
windows to put out their heads.2 In the best Scottish
houses, even the king's palaces, the windows are not
glazed throughout, but the upper part only, the lower have
two wooden shuts or folds to open at pleasure, and admit
the fresh air. , The Scots cannot endure to hear their
country or countrymen spoken against.- They have neither
good bread, cheese, or drink. They cannot make them, nor
will they learn. Their butter is very indifferent, and one
would wonder how they could contrive to make it so bad.
They use much pottage made of coal-wort, which they call
keal,3 sometimes broth of decorticated barley. The ordinary
country houses are pitiful cots, built of stone, and covered
with turves, having in them but one room, many of them
no chimneys, the windows very small holes, and not glazed.
In the most stately and fashionable houses, in great towns,
instead of ceiling, they cover the chambers with firr boards,
nailed on the roof within side. They have rarely any
bellows, or warming-pans. It is the manner in some places
there, to lay on but one sheet as large as two, turned up
1 Battle of Dunbar in 1650, when Cromwell defeated the Scots under Lesley.
2 See p. 102 (above). 3 Scottice, kail,

232 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1662 ?
from the feet upwards. The ground in the valleys and
plains bears good corn, but especially beer-barley or bigge,
and oats, but rarely wheat and rye. We observed little
or no fallow grounds in Scotland; some layed ground1 we
saw, which they manured with sea-wreck. The people seem
to be very lazy, at least the men, and may be frequently
observed to plow in their cloaks. It is the fashion of them
to wear cloaks when they go abroad, but especially on
Sundays. They lay out most they are worth in cloaths,
and a fellow that hath scarce ten groats besides to help
himself with, you shall see come out of his smoaky cottage
clad like a gentleman.
There hath formerly been a strong castle at Dunbar*
built on a rock upon the sea, but it is now quite ruined
and fallen down. Yearly, about this time, there is a great
confluence of people at Dunbar, to the herring-fishing;
they told us, sometimes to the number of 20,000 persons ;
but we did not see how so small ,a town could contain,
indeed give shelter to, such a multitude. They had at our
being there two ministers in Dunbar ; they sung their
Gloria Patri at the end of the psalm after sermon, as had
been ordered by the Parliament, in these words : 3 —
Glore to the Father and the Sonne,
And to the Holy Gheast ;
As it was in the beginning,
Is now, and aye doth last.
There is in the church a very fair monument of the Earl
of Dunbar, George Howme, made in King James's time.4
August the 19th. — We went to Leith, keeping all along
on the side of the Fryth. By the way we viewed Tontallon
Castle,5 and passed over to the Basse Island f where we
1 Unploughed ground. A lay or lea is a meadow.
"A tuft of daises in a flowery lay." — Dryden.
2 The date of the erection of the Castle of Dunbar is uncertain ; but for nearly
four hundred years the history of the town centred round it. 3 Episcopacy
had been restored in Scotland at the Restoration in 1660. 4 George Hume of
Manderston, Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, and afterwards Chancellor of
the Exchequer in England. It was upon him that James VI. chiefly relied
in his attempts, to introduce Episcopacy into Scothind. 5 Tantallon. 6 The
Bass Rook.

1662?] JOHN RAY. 233
saw, on tho rocks, innumerable of the soland geese. The
old ones are all over white, excepting the pinion or hard
feathers of their wings, which are black. The upper part
of the head and neck, in those that are old, is of a yellowish
dun colour. They lay but one egg apiece, which is white,
and not very large : They are very bold, and sit in great
multitudes till one comes close up to them, because they are
not wont to be scared or disturbed. The young ones are
esteemed a choice dish in Scotland, and sold very dear
(Is. 8d. plucked). We eat of them at Dunbar. They are
in bigness little inferior to an ordinary goose. The young
one is upon the back black, and speckled with little white
spots, under the breast and belly grey. The beak is
sharp-pointed, the mouth very wide and large, the tongue
very small, the eyes great, the foot hath four toes webbed
together. It feeds upon mackrel and herring, and the
flesh of the young one smells and tastes strong of these
fish. The other birds which nestle in the Basse are these :
the scout, which is double ribbed ; the cattiwake, in English
cormorant ; the scart ; and a bird called the turtle-dove,
whole footed, and the feet red. There are verses which
contain the names of these birds among the vulgar, two
whereof are : —
The scout, the scart, the cattiwake,
The soland goose sits on the lack,
Yearly in the spring.
We saw of the scout's eggs, which are very large and
speckled. It is very dangerous to climb the rocks for the
young of these fowls, and seldom a year passeth but one
or other of the climbers fall down and lose their lives, as
did one not long before our being there. The laird of this
island makes a great profit yearly of the soland geese
taken ; as I remember, they told us £130 sterling. There
is in the isle a small house, which they call a castle ; it is
inaccessible and impregnable,1 but of no great consideration
in a war, there being no harbour, nor any thing like it.
1 In this connection it will be remembered that the Bass Rock was the last
place in the countiy to surrender to the government of William III., and that
only want of provisions compelled the garrison to capitulate after holding out
for nearly three years.

234 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1662 ?
The island will afford grass enough to keep 30 sheep.
They make strangers that come to visit it burgesses of the
Basse, by giving them to drink of the water of the well,
which springs near the top of the rock, and a flower out
of the garden thereby. The island is nought else but a
rock, and stands off the land near a mile ; at Dunbar you
would not guess it above a mile distant, though it be
thence at least five. We found growing in the island, in
great plenty, Beta marina, Lychnis marina nostras, Malva
arborea marina nostras, and Cochlearia rotundifolia. By the
way also we saw glasses made of kelp and sand mixed
together, and calcined in an oven. The crucibles which
contained the melted glass, they told us, were made of
tobacco-pipe clay.
At Leith we saw one of those citadels 1 built by the
Protector, one of the best fortifications that ever we beheld,
passing fair and sumptuous. There are three forts advanced
above the rest, and two platforms. The works round about
are faced with free-stone towards the ditch, and are almost
as high as the highest buildings within, and withal, thick
and substantial. Below are very pleasant, convenient, and
well-built houses for the governor, officers, and soldiers,
and for magazines and stores ; there is also a good capacious
chapel, the Piazza, or void space within, as largo as Trinity-
College (in Cambridge) great court. This is one of the
four forts. The other three are at St Johnston's, Inverness,
and Ayre. The building of each of which (as we were
credibly informed) cost above £100,000 sterling; indeed I
do not see how it could cost less. In England it would have
cost much more.
At Edinburgh we went to the principal public buildings ;
those are : — 1. The castle, a very strong building, on a pre
cipitous solid rock. It is one of the king's houses, but of
no very great receipt ; in it are kept the Crown and Scepter
of Scotland. There was then lying in the castle yard an
old great iron gun, which they called Mounts Meg,2 and
some, Meg of Berwick, of a great bore, but the length is not
answerable to the bigness. 2. Heriot's Hospital, a square
1 Built in 1650. " Mons Meg is reputed to be the oldest piece of ordnance
in Europe with the exception of one in Lisbon.

1662?] JOHN RAY. 235
stone building, having a large turret at each corner. It
hath very spacious and beautiful gardens, and is well
endowed. There is a cloister on both sides of the court,
on each hand as one goeth in, and a well in the middle
thereof. At our being there it maintained threescore boys,
who wore blue gowns ; but they told us it was designed for
other purposes. It would make a very handsome college,
comparable to the best in our universities. Over the gate,
within side, stands the figure of G. Heriot the founder
thereof, and under him this verse : —
Corporis haze, animi est hoc opus effigies.
3. The college, for the building of it but mean, and of no
very great capacity, in both comparable to Caius College
in Cambridge. Most of the students here live after the
fashion of Leyden, in the town ; and wear no gowns till
they be laureat, as they call it, that is, commence. At our
being there (being the time of the vacancy) there was not
a student in town ; the Premier 2 also, as they call him, was
absent at London. In the hall of this college the king's
commissioner, Middleton, was entertained by the citizens
of Edinburgh. 4. The Parliament House, which is but of
small content, as far as we could judge, not capable of
holding 200 persons. The Lords and Commons sit both in
the same room together. There is also a place which they
call the Inner House, in which sit 15 Lords,3 chosen out of
the House, as it were a grand committee. There is an outer
room like the lobby, which they call the waiting room;
and two other rooms above stairs, where commissioners sit.
We saw Argyle and Guthry,4 their heads standing on the
gates and toll-booth. At the time we were in Scotland,
divers women were burnt for witches, they reported, to the
number of about 120.
August the 21st. — We went on northward as far as
1 Heriot's Hospital was designed solely for the maintenauce and education
of the sons of decayed burgesses. During Cromwell's presence in Scotland the
hospital was used for his wounded soldiers. 2 Principal, who at this time
was William Colvill. 3 The Lords of the Articles. 4 James Guthrie, a
Covenanter of the most- uncompromising type, was executed on a charge of
high treason in 1661. His name occurs in the lines on the Martyr's Monument
in Greyfriars' Churchyard, Edinburgh.

236 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1662 ?
Sterling, 24 miles. By the way we saw the king's palace
at Lithgow, built in the manner of a castle, a very good
house, as houses go in Scotland. There is a small lough
or standing water on two sides of the house. This lough
formerly was never without swans : but Mr Stuart, one of
the bailiffs of the town, told us a strange story of those
swans, which left the lake when the house was taken and
garrisoned by the English ; and although two were brought
on purpose for trial, yet would they not stay there ; but at
the time of the king's coming to London, two swans, nescio
unde sponte et instinctn proprio, came thither, and there
still continue.1 This Stuart hath nourished in his garden
divers exotick plants, more than one would hope to find in
so northerly and cold a country ; some such as we had not
before seen, viz., Archangelica, Fumaria siliquosa, Carduus
lacteus peregrinus fio. albo, Verbas-cum 4 Matth. angusti folium,
Anchusm species fio. parvo nigricante, Alcea surrecta Imvis fio.
amplo rubro et albo, as we then named them. Sterling is
an indifferently handsome town, hath a good market-place,
two palaces, one of the Earl of Marr,2 the other of the
Marquis of Argyle.3 But the castle is most considerable,
and hath been, and, with little cost, may be again made, a
very magnificent house. It hath an hall longer, if not
broader, than Trinity-College Hall in Cambridge. The
building, added by James V., contains many very stately
rooms both for lodging and entertainment, in many of
them very good carved wood-work on the roofs. There is
also a chapel built by James VI. at the birth of his eldest
son, in which we saw a model of Edinburgh Castle, and the
ship in which they served up the meat into the hall, when
Prince Henry was baptized. This castle stands on an high
and steep rock ; under the building are many vaults cut
out of the rock, and one under another. The castle, on
our being there, was garrisoned with 200 English. The
1 Thi3 story is related in the Mcrcurius Caledonius of 8th January 1661.
According to this account, it was a garrison planted in the town by Cromwell
that occasioned the flight of the swans, which returned to their habitat the
very day of the coronation of Charles II. at Scone. 2 Now known as Mar's
Work — the remains of a palace built by the Earl of Mar in 1570. 3 Now-
known as Argyll's Lodging to the south-east of the Esplanade. It was built
by the Earl of Stirling in 1630.

1662 ?] JOHN RAY. 237
commissary told us that the greatest inconvenience of that
castle, in case of a siege, was, that upon the discharging of
the great guns, the water in the wells would sink, and the
wells become dry ; of which it is easy to render a probable
reason. Sterling-Bridge is considerable for nothing, but that
is a pass. The river here, Mseander like, takes circuits,
and almost meets itself again, and that for a considerable
space, both on the one and the other side of the bridge ; so
that what is by land but 4 miles, is by water 24.
F*om Sterling we went, August the 22nd, to Glascow,
which is the second city in Scotland, fair, large, and well
built, cross-wise, somewhat like unto Oxford, the streets very
broad and pleasant. There is a cathedral church built by
Bishop Law ; 1 they call it now the High Kirk, and have
made in it two preaching places, one in the choir, and the
other in the body of the church ; besides, there is a church
under the choir, like St Faith's under Paul's, London ; the
walls of the church-yard round about are adorned with many
monuments, and the church-yard itself almost covered with
grave stones; and this we observed to be the fashion in all
the considerable towns we came into in Scotland. The
bishop's palace, a goodly building, near to the church, is
still preserved. Other things memorable in this town are :
— 1. The college, a pretty stone building, and not inferior to
AVadham and All Soul's Colleges in Oxon. The Premier, Mr
Gelaspy, was removed by the Parliament there.2 Here are
{as they told us) most commonly about 40 students of the
first year, which they call Obedients ; 3 near so many of the
.second, which they call Semies ; and so proportionably of the
third, which they call Baccalors ; and the fourth, whom
they call Laureat or Magisters. It being the time of
vacancy, we saw not the habits which the students use.
2. A tall building 4 at the corner, by the market-place, of
1 See above, p. 150. 2 The Scottish Estates (25th September 1660) accused
Patrick Gillespie and others of having subscribed a dangerous and seditious
paper tending to the disturbance of the kingdom, and sequestrated tlieir
stipends (Munimenta Alme Universitatis Glasguensis, ii. p. 327 et seq.).
3 Bajan, of course, is meant, a term derived from the mediseval universities of
the Continent. The French was bijaune, or bejaune. The designations of the
other three classes were — Semi, Tertian or Bachelor, and Magistrand, each
bein<* named from the degree to which it immediately led. 4 The New Tol
booth already more than once mentioned.

238 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1662 ?
five stories, where courts are kept, and the sessions held,
and prisoners confined, &c, upon the door whereof is this
distich : —
Hasc domus odit, amat, punit, conservat, -honorat,
Nequitiam, pacem, erimina, jura, probos. l
3. Several fair hospitals, and well endowed ; one of the
merchants, now in building.2 4. A very long bridge of
eight arches, four whereof are about fifty feet wide each ;
and a very neat square flesh-market, scarce such an one to
be seen in England or Scotland.
August the 23rd. — We rode to Douglas, 20 miles. We
passed through Hamilton, by the way, an handsome little
market-town, where is a great house of Duke Hamilton's.
The country all thereabout is very pleasant, and in all
respects, for woods, pastures, corn, &c, the best we saw in
Scotland. At Douglas there is a castle 3 belonging to the
Marquess Douglas, half a mile distant from the town ; which,
though it be a free burgh, and without doubt of great anti
quity, yet is a pitiful, poor, small place, scarce an house in it
which will keep a man dry in a shower of rain. In the church*
we saw some old monuments of the Douglasses, with two
hearts wrapped up in lead,5 which it seems were of two of
that family that died in France, and were sent over hither.
August the 2Aih. — We rode to Dumfreis, or (as they
spelled it) Drumfrese, 28 miles, and in the way saw lead
mines, at a place called the Lead-Hills,6 which will in time,
it is likely, increase to a good considerable town. We also
passed over much hilly ground ; the highest place was called
Anderkin-Hill,7 upon the top whereof the air was sharp and
1 This house hates evil, loves peace, punishes crime, preserves the laws,
honours the good. 2 Hutcheson's Hospital. 3 Douglas Castle. This is
the Castle Dangerous of Scott. 4 The Kirk of St Bride, dating from the
thirteenth century, was the burying-place of the Douglases. 6 The tradition
is that .the heart of Sir James Douglas, who was slain fighting against the
Moors in Spain, was brought to this church ; but there is no satisfactory
evidence of this. It is uncertain whose heart is contained in the leaden
coffer to which Ray refers. 6 The mines at Leadhills have been actively
wrought since Ray's time ; but it cannot be said that his prediction has been
fulfilled. In 1769 the population of Leadhills was 1500 ; in 1881, 1023.
7 The Enterkin Burn and Pass well known from Dr John Brown's paper.
Ray was mistaken in the height of the surrounding hills. That, on the left,
Therstane Hill, is 1895 feet high ; Stey Gail or Steep Gable, on the right, 1875.

1662?] JOHN RAY. 239
piercing, when in the level it was warm and gentle : neither
yet were we on the highest apex of it, by the ascent of near
half a mile, as we guessed. This hill we judged to be higher
than any we had been upon in England or Wales, Snowdon
itself not excepted. This is a dangerous passage in winter
time, the way being narrow and slippery, and a great precipice
on the one hand, besides the descent steep, so that we led
our horses down about a mile. At Dumfreis they have two
ministers, one a young man named Campbell, related (as we
were told) to Marquis of Argyle, the other, an elder man, by
name Henderson, who has married his daughter to the younger.
Campbell prayed for the preservation of their church govern
ment and discipline, and spake openly against prelacy and its.
adjuncts and consequences. Here, as also at Dunbar, and
other places, we observed the manner of their burials, which
is this : when any one dies, the sexton or bell-man goeth
about the streets, with a small bell in his hand, which he
tinkleth all along as he goeth, and now and then he makes
a stand, and proclaims who is dead, and invites the people
to come to the funeral at such an hour. The people and
minister many times accompany the corpse to the grave at
the time appointed, with the bell before them, where there
is nothing said, but only the corpse laid in. The minister
there, in the public worship, doth not shift places out of the
desk into the pulpit, as in England, but at his first coming
in, ascends the pulpit. They commonly begin their worship
with a psalm before the minister comes in, who, after the
psalm is finished, prayeth, and then reads and expounds in
some places, in some not; then another psalm is sung, and
after that tlieir minister prays again, and preacheth as in
England. Before sermon, commonly, the officers of the town
stand at the church-yard gate, with a join'd stool and a dish,
to gather the alms of all that come to church. / The people
here frequent their churches much better than in England,
and have their ministers in more esteem and veneration.
They seem to perform their devotions with much alacrity.
There are few or no sectaries or opinionists among them ;
they are much addicted to their church government, excepting
the gentry, who love liberty, and care not to be so strictly
tied down. The country abounds with poor people and

.240 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1662 ?
beggars. Their money they reckon after the French manner.
A bodel (which is the sixth part of our penny) they call
tway -pennies, that is with them two-pence ; so that, upon
this ground, 12 pennies, or a shilling Scotch (that is, six
bodels), is a penny sterling. The Scotch piece mark'd with
xx, which we are wont to call a Scotch two-pence, is twenty-
pence Scotch, that is, two-pence sterling, wanting two bodels,
or four pennies Scotch ; the piece with XL is four-pence
sterling — 4 bodels ; and so one shilling sterling is 12 shillings
Scotch. Thirteen pence half-penny English, a mark Scotch.
One pound Scotch, 20d. sterling. One bodel they call tway-
pennies (as above), 2 bodels a plack, 3 bodels a baubee, 4
bodels 8 pennies, 6 bodels 1 shilling Scotch.

JAMES BEOME
(1669).
JAMES BEOME, a clergyman of the Church of England,
visited Scotland in 1669, and published the account of
his visit in 1700 under the title of Travels over England,
Scotland, and Wales. From his preface we learn that his
narrative had been published without his knowledge in 1694
with the title, Historical Account of Three Years' Travels over
England and Wales. In 1712 appeared another volume
by Brome giving an account of his travels through Portugal,
Spain, and Italy. He died in 1719. As will be seen, Brome
was an intelligent and fair-minded observer. His remarks
on the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, it may be
said, are of special interest.
Three Years' Travels over England, Scotland, and
Wales. By James Bkome. (p. 194).
BUT to return now again to our journy, passing through
some part of the country of March, which lies upon
the German Sea, we came to Lothien, called from the Picts
formerly Pict-land, shooting out along from March into the
Scottish Sea, and having many hills in it, and little wood,
but for fruitful corn-fields, for courtesie and civility cf
manners, commended by some above all other countries of
Scotland ; about the year 873, Edgar, King of England
(between whom and Kenneth, the third king of Scots, there
was a great knot of alliance against the Danes their common
enemies), resigned up his right to him in this country, and
to unite his heart more firmly to him, he gave unto him
some mansion houses in the way, as Cambden observes out
of Matthew Florilegus, wherein both he and his successors
in their coming to the kings of England, and in their
Q

242 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [l669.
return homeward might be lodged, which unto the time
of King Henry the Second continued in the hands of the
Scotch king.
The first town of any consequence, that offered it self unto
us, was Dunbar, famous formerly for a strong castle, being
the seat of the Earls of March, afterwards styled Earl of
Dunbar ; a fort many times won by the English, and as oft
recovered by the Scots. And in the reign of Edward the
Third, the Earls of Salisbury and Arundel came into Scot
land with a great army, and besieged the castle of Dunbar
two and twenty weeks, wherein at that time was black Agnes
the Countess ; who defended the same with extraordinary
valour, one time, when the engine called the sow, was
brought by the English to play against the castle, she replyed
merrily, that unless England could keep her sow better, she
would make her to cast her pigs ; and indeed did at last
force the generals to retreat from that place. The town
stands upon the sea and hath been fenced in with a stone
wall of great strength, though by the frequent batteries it
hath of late years received, 'tis much impaired and gone to
decay ; the houses here (as generally in most towns of .
Scotland) are built with stone and covered with slate, and
they are well supplyed with provision by reason of a weekly
market which is held here. The inhabitants are governed
by a mayor and aldermen, and talk much of great losses and
calamities they sustained iu the late civil wars, for in this
place was that fatal battle fought betwixt Oliver Cromwell
and the Scots, wherein he routed and cut in pieces twenty
thousand Scots, with twelve thousand Englishmen, and
obtain'd so strange and signal a victory, that the very
thoughts of it do to this very day still strike a terror into
them ; when e'er they call that bloody day to remembrance,
and think what great havock and spoil was made amongst
them by the victorious success of the English forces.
Our next quarters we took up at Edinburgh, which is the
metropolis of Scotland, and lies about twenty miles distance
from Dunbar. 'Tis situated high, and extends above a mile
in length carrying half as much in breadth, it consists of
one fair and large street with some few narrow lanes
branching out of each side, 'tis environed on the east, south,

1669.] JAMES BROME. 243
and west with a strong wall, and upon the north strengthened
with a loch ; 'tis adorned with stately stone buildings both
private and publick, some of which houses are six or seven
stories high which have frequently as many different
apartments and shops, where are many families of various
trades and calling, by reason of which 'tis well throng'd
with inhabitants, and is exceeding populous, which is the
more occasioned by the neighborhood of Leith which is a
commodious haven for ships, and likewise, because as 'tis
the seat of their kings or vice-roys, so 'tis also the oracle or
closet of the laws, and the palace of justice.
On the east side or near to the monastery of St Cross,1
that was a holy rood, is the king's palace, which was built
by King David the First, but being much ruinated and
impaired in the late unhappy broils betwixt the two kingdoms,
it hath been since enlarged and beautified, and is now become
a stately and magnificent structure : And not far from this
house, within a pleasant park adjoyning to it, riseth a hill
with two heads called of Arthur, the Britain Arthur's Chair.
A little further stands the college founded and endowed
by that most famous favourer of learning, the wise and
learned King James the Sixth, though afterward the
magistrates and citizens of this place proved likewise very
considerable benefactors to it, and upon their humble
address to the same prince, it was made an university, a.d.
1580,2 but the privileges hereof were not fully confirmed
and throughly perfected till the year 1582, and have been
since the same with those of any other university in this
kingdom. The dignity of Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor doth
reside in the Magistrates and Town Council of Edenburgh,
who are the only patrons ; neither was the dignity, they say,
as yet ever conferred upon any simple person:3 the persons
endowed were a Principal or Warden, a Professor of Divinity,
four Masters or Eegents, for so they are called, of Philosophy,
1 The Abbey of Holyrood is styled by Fordun ' * Monasterium Sauctae Crucis
de Crag." 2 The College of Edinburgh was first styled a university in an Act
of the town council of date 24th March 1685. 3 It may be pointed out that
this statement of Brome, together with that of Morer (p. 284), is of some
importance in the history of the University of Edinburgh (see Grant, The
Story of the University of Edinburgh, i. p. 234).

244 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1669.
a Professor or Eegent of Humanity or Philology : Since the
first foundation the town hath added a Professor of Hebrew,
1640, and the city of Edenburgh hath since added a Pro
fessor of Mathematicks.1
The library was founded by Clement Little, oneof the
officials or comissaries for Edinburgh, a.d. 1635,2 since which
time it is much increased both by donatives from the
citizens, as also from the scholars, who are more in number,
than in any other college in the kingdom ; and here were
presented to our view two very great rarities, the one was
a tooth taken out of a great scull being four inches about,
and the other was a crooked horn taken from a gentlewoman
of the city who was fifty years old, being eleven inches long,
which grew under her right ear, and was cut out by an
eminent chirurgeon then living in the town who presented
it to the college.
About the middle of the city stands the cathedral, which
is now divided into six sermon houses, for which service
there are seven other kirks set apart besides, and not far
from the cathedral is the Parliament House, whither we
had the good fortune to see all the flower of the nobility
then to pass in state, attending Duke Lauderdale who was
sent down High-Commissioner.3 And indeed it was a very
glorious sight, for they were all richly accoutred and as nobly
attended with a splendid retinue, the heralds of arms and
other officers, that went before were wonderful gay and
finely habited, and the servants that attended were clad in
the richest liveries; their coaches drawn with six horses,
as they went ratling along, did dazle our eyes with the
splendour of their furniture, and all the nobles appeared in
the greatest pomp and gallantry ; the regalia, which are the
sword of state, the scepter, and the crown were carried by
three of the antientest of the nobility, and on each side the
honours were three mace-bearers bare headed, a nobleman
bare headed with a purse, and in it the Lord High Commis
sioner's commission, then last of all the Lord High Commis-
1 The Chair of Hebrew was founded in 1642. Mathematics were separately
taught by the first James Gregory in 1674 (ibid., pp 212, 215.) 2 It was in
1580 that Clement Little, advocate and commissary, made the first grant of books
to the College of Edinburgh. 3 This fixes the date of Brome's visit. Laudei-
dale was Lord High Commissioner in 1669.

1669.] JAMES BROME. 245
sioner with the dukes and marquesses on his right and left
hand: it is ordered that there be no shooting under the
highest penalties that day, neither displaying of ensigns, nor
beating of drums during the whole cavalcade : The officers of
state not being noblemen, ride in their gowns, all the members
ride covered except those that carry the honours, and the
highest degree and the most honourable of that degree ride last.
Nor is their grandeur disproportionate to their demeanour,
which is high and stately, but courteous and obliging, having
all the additional helps of education and travel to render
it accomplish 'd, for during their minority there is generally
great care taken to refine tlieir nature, and emprove their
knowledge, of which when they have attain'd a competent
measure in their own country, they betake themselves to
foreign nations to make a further progress therein, where
they do generally become so great proficients, that at their
return they are by this means fitted for all great services
and honourable employments, which their king or country is
pleased to commit to their care and fidelity, and are thereby
enabled to discharge them with great honour and applause.
On the west side a most steep rock mounteth up aloft
to a great height every w7ay save where it looks towards the
city, on which is placed a castle built by Ebrank the son of
Mempitius, as some write, though others by Cruthneus
Camelon the first king of the Picts about 330 years before
the birth of our Saviour ; 'tis so strongly fortified both by
art and nature, that it is accounted impregnable, which the
Britains called Myned Agned, the Scots the Maiden Castle,
of certain young maids of the Picts royal blood, which were
kept here in old time, and which in truth may seem to have
been that Castrum alatum, or castle with a wing before
spoken of: In this castle is one of the largest canons in
Great Britain, called roaring Megg, which together with two
tire of ordinance besides planted upon the wall, can command
the city and all the plains thereabouts : but most famous is
it, in that Queen Mary was brought to bed here of a son,
who was afterward christened at Sterling, and called James,
who at last became the happy uniter of the two crowns ;
and in that chamber in which he was born are written upon
the wall these following verses, in an old Scotch character : —

246 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1669.
James (6. Scot.) (I. England).
Laird Jesu Christ, that crownit was with thorns,
Preserve the birth quhais badgie here is borne,
And send hir son succession, to reign still
Lange in this realm, if that it be thy will,
Als grant (0 Laird) quhat ever of hir proceed,
Be to thy glory, honour, and praise, so beed.
July 19, 1566.
A little below the castle is a curious structure built for
an hospital by Mr Herriot, jeweller to the aforementioned
King James, and endowed with very great revenues for the
use of poor orphans, and impotent and decrepit persons,
but by the ruinous and desolate condition it seem'd at that
time to be falling into, it became to us a very doleful
spectacle, that so noble a heroick design of charity should
be so basely perverted to other evil ends and purposes,
contrary to the will and intention of the donor.1
The city is governed by a Lord Provost, who hath always
a retinue befitting his grandeur; and for the punishing
delinquents there is a large tolbooth, for so they call a prison
or house of correction, where all malefactors are kept in
hold to satisfie the law as their offences shall require.
Within seven miles round the city there are of noble and
gentlemens palaces, castles, and strong builded towers and
stone houses, as we were inform'd, above an hundred, and
besides the houses of the nobility and gentry within it,
here dwell several merchants of great credit and repute,
where because they have not the conveniency of an exchange
as in London, they meet about noon in the High Street,
from whence they adjourn to their changes, i.e., taverns, or
other places where their business may require them to give
their attendance.
The fortune of this city hath in former ages been very
variable and inconstant ; sometime it was subject to the
Scots, and another while to the English, who inhabited the
east parts of Scotland, until it became wholly under the
Scots dominion about the year 960, when the English being
overpowered and quite oppressed by the Danes were enforced
1 See above, p. 236 (note).

1669.] JAMES BROME. 247
to quit all their interest here, as unable to grapple with two
such potent enemies.
A mile from the city lies Leith, a most commodious
haven hard upon the river Leith, which when Dessry 1 the
Frenchman for the security of Edenburgh had fortified very
strongly by reason of a great concourse of people, which
after this flocked hither in abundance, in a short time from
a mean village it grew to be a large town : In the reign of
our King Henry the Eighth, the sufferings and calamities
both of it and its neighbours were grievous and inexpressible,
being both burnt and plundered by Sir John Dudly, Viscount
Lisle, Lord High Admiral of England, who came hither with
a puissant army, and broke down the peer, burning every
stick thereof, and took away all the Scotch ships that were
fit to serve him, which kind of execution was done likewise
at Dunbar ; 2 afterward when Francis, King of France, had
taken to wife Mary, Queen of Scots, the Frenchmen who in
hope and conceit had already devoured Scotland, and began
now to gape for England, a.d. 1560, strengthened it again
with new fortifications : But Queen Elizabeth solicited by the
nobles, who had embraced the Protestant religion, to side
with them, by her wisdom and prowess so effected the
matter, that the French were enforced to return into their
own country, and all their fortifications were laid level with
the ground, and Scotland hath ever since been freed from
the French, and Leith hath become a very opulent and
flourishing port, for the peer is now kept up in so good
repair, and the haven so safe for ships to ride in, that here
commonly lieth a great fleet at anchor which come hither
richly laden with all sorts of commodities.
After we had spent some time in this city, we went from
hence through Linlithgow, a town beautified with a fair house
of the king's, a goodly church, a pleasent park and a loch, a
lake under the palace wall full of fish (of which lake it
seems to have derived its name, lin in the British tongue
signifying a lake), to another town called Falkirk famous for
the notable battle which was fought here betwixt King
Edward the First and the Scots, wherein were slain no less
1 The Sieur d'Esse. 2 The invasion referred to is that of 1544 under the
Earl of Hertford.

248 early travels in Scotland. [1669.
than two thousand men : not far from which place likewise
upon the river Carron was formerly situate the famous city
of Camelon,1 chief city of the Picts, founded by Cruthneus
Camelon before the birth of Christ 330 year, which was
destroyed by King Kenneth the Great about the year of
Christ 846, and what was left was afterward swallowed up
by an earthquake, where the void place is now filled with
water. At last we came to the renowned city of Glasgow, which
(lying in Liddisdail2) was indeed the farthest of all our
northern circuit ; 'tis situated upon the river Glotta, or
Cluyd, over which is placed a very fair bridge supported with
eight arches, and for pleasantness of sight, sweetness of air,
and delightfulness of its gardens and orchards enriched with
most delicious fruits, surpasseth all other places in this tract ;
the buildings in this town are very large and beautiful; and
the tolbooth itself so stately a structure, that it appears
rather to be a palace than a prison : This has formerly been
the see of an archbishop, and in the year 1554 an university,3
which consists of one college, was founded here by Arch
bishop Turnbill for a rector, a dean of faculty, a principal
or warden to teach theology, and three professors to teach
philosophy : Afterwards some clergymen professed the laws
here, being invited to that profession rather by the con
venience of a collegiate life, and the immunities of the uni
versity, then by any considerable salary. King James the
Sixth, a.d. 1577, did establish twelve persons in the college,
viz., a principal, three professors of philosophy, called
regents, four scholars called bursars, an ceconomus or
provisor, who furnisheth the table with provisions, the
principal's servant, a janitor and a cook.4
The cathedral is a very fair ancient fabrick, built by
Bishop John Achaian, a.d. 1135.5 It oweth thanks to the
memory of King James the Sixth; and which is most
remarkable, to the mob itself at that time, for its preserva
tion from mine; for the ministers here having perswaded
1 A western suburb of Falkirk is still called Camelon. " This should, of
course, be Clydesdale. 3 Glasgow University was founded in 1451 by Bishop
Turnbull. 4 This is known as the "New Erection," and was the work of
the Regent Morton. 4 See p. 150 (above).

1669.] JAMES BROME. 249
the magistrates to pull it down, and to build two or three
other churches with the materials thereof, and the magistrates
condescending, a day was appointed and workmen ready to
demolish it, but the common tradesmen having notice given
them of this design, convene in arms, and oppose the magis
trates, threatening to bury the clemolishers of it under the mines
of that ancient building, whereupon the matter was referred to
the King and Council who decided the controversy in the
tradesmens favour, and reproving very sharply the magistrates
for their order, so that it still continues with four other
churches here beside for the exercise of their religion.1
The city is governed by a Mayor, and is very eminent for
its trade and merchandize, and is noted upon record for being
the place, where William Wallace, the renowned champion of
Scotland, was traitourously betrayed by Sir John Menteith,
and delivered up to our King Edward the First, by whose
order he was afterward publickly executed in Smithfield.
Passing away hence by Hamilton, a famous palace then
belonging to Duke Hamilton, which hath a fair and spacious
park adjoyning to it, we had two days journy very doleful
and troublesome, for we travelled over wide meers and
dangerous mountains in the company of some Scotch gentle
men, who were going that way for England, where the
weather was ill, the ways worse, and the long miles with
their way-bits2 at the end of them worst of all, where our
lodging was hard, our diet course, and our bodies thin, that
it might easily be decerned how we had lately pass'd throngh
the territorys of famine, who reigns very potently over that
cold and pinching region.
But coming at length to Dumfries in the County of
Nidisdail3 it made us some amends, for being situate
between two hills upon the mouth of the river Nid,4 over
1 Spottiswoode is the source of the history related in this paragraph, which
has been so constantly repeated as almost to have become an accepted fact. Dr
M'Crie, however, has proved that it is entirely without foundation, and that
the magistrates of Glasgow, so far from wishing to injure the church, showed
anxiety for its preservation. In support of this statement, M'Crie quotes an
entry from the Town Records of Glasgow, which leave no room for doubt in
the matter (M'Crie, Life of Andrew Melville, p. 39, edit. 1856). 2 Brome,
like his countryman Guy Mannering, had evidently been exasperated by the
Scotch "mile and a bittock." 3 Nithsdale. 4 Nith.

250 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1669.]
which is laid a bridge of large fine stones, it appears to be
one of the most flourishing towns in this tract, notable no
less for its ancient castle and manufacture of cloath, then for
the murther of John Cummins,1 one of the most renowned
personages for his retinue and equipage in all this kingdom,
whom Eobert Bruce, for fear he should fore-stal his way to
the crown, run quite through with his sword in the Fryars
Church, and soon obtain'd his pardon from the Pope, though
he had committed so great a murder in so sacred a place.
After this we came to Anandale2 at the mouth of the
river Anan in the County of Anandale, bordering upon our
own nation, which lost all its glory and beauty upon the
war, which was raised in Edward the Sixth's days ; in these
two last-named counties have been bred a sort of warlike
men, who have been infamous for robbery and depredations,
for they dwell upon Solway-Frith, a fordable arm of the
sea at low water, through which frequently they have made
many inroads into England to fetch home great booty's, and
in which they were wont after a delightful manner on horse
back, with spears to hunt salmons, of which there are in these
parts a very great abundance.
1 The Red Comyn. 2 Annan.

THOMAS KIEKE
(1679).
THE following work was first published at London in 1679,
under the title, A Modem Account of Scotland by an
English Gentleman. It has since been frequently reprinted.
All that is known of the book and its author is thus stated
by Sir Egerton Brydges (Censura Literaria, vol. vi. p. 373) :
" This curious work was written in so splenetic a disposition,
and contains many circumstances of so singular a nature,
that the author naturally confined its circulation by not
permitting it to be published, and also concealed bis name
from prudential motives. This omission, however, has been
supplied in MS. in the copy from whence this description is
taken, and 'the English gentleman' appears to have been
Thomas Kirke, of Crookwige in Yorkshire." J
Though Kirke is a splenetic and perverse observer, he
seems to have been well acquainted with Scotland, and he
reports facts not noticed by other travellers. His bias is
evidently due to his political leanings, and to his disgust at
the proceedings of the Scots in connection with Charles I.
and Charles II. From the style of his narrative we may
conclude that Kirke had Sir Anthony Weldon before him as
his model. A Modern Account of Scotland by an English
Gentleman (1679).
IF all our European travellers direct their course to Italy,
upon the account of its antiquity, why should Scotland
be neglected, whose wringled surface derives its original from
1 Brydges printed certain portions of the Modern Account in his Censura
Literaria. It is here printed in full with the exception of a few passages
too distinctly in the taste of the author's time.

252 early travels in Scotland. [1679.
the chaos ? The first inhabitants were some stragglers of
the fallen angels, who rested themselves in the confines, till
their Captain Lucifer provided places for them in his own
country. This is the conjecture of learned criticks, who trace
things to their originals ; and this opinion was grounded on
the devils brats yet resident amongst them (whose foresight
in the events of good and evil, exceeds the oracles at
Delphos) the supposed issue of those pristine inhabitants.
Names of countries were not then in fashion, those came
not in till Adam's days, and history (being then but in her
infancy) makes no mention of the changes of that renowned
¦countrey, in that interval betwixt him and Moses, when their
chronicle commences ; she was then baptized (and most
think with the sign of the Cross) by the venerable name of
Scotland, from Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh, King of
Egypt.1 Hence came the rise and name of these present
inhabitants, as their chronicle informs us ; and it is not to
be doubted of, from divers considerable circumstances ; the
plagues of Egypt being entailed upon them, that of lice (being
a judgment unrepealed) is an ample testimony, those loving
animals accompanied them from Egypt, and remains with
them to this day, never forsaking them (but as rats leave a
house) till they tumble into their graves. The plague of
biles and blains is hereditary to them, as a distinguishing
mark from the rest of the world, which (like the devils
cloven hoof) warns all men to beware of them. The judg
ment of hail and snow is naturalized and made free denison
here, and continues with them from the sun's first ingress
into Aries, till he has passed the 30th degree of Aquary.
The plague of darkness was said to be so thick darkness,
as to be felt, which most undoubtedly these people have
a share in as the word o-KOTirj (darkness) implies; the
darkness being applicable to their gross and blockish under
standings (as I had it from a scholar of their own nation).
Upon these grounds this original is undeniably allowed them,
and that the countrey itself (in pyramids) resembles Egypt,
but far exceeds them both in bulk and number; theirs are
1 According to the legend accepted by the early historians of Scotland,
Gathelus, the successor of Moses, and his wife Scota, were the founders of the
Scottish nation.

1679.] THOMAS KIRKE. 253
but the products of men's labours, but these are Nature's
own handy work ; and if Atlas would ease a shoulder, here
he may be fitted with a supporter.
Italy is compared to a leg, Scotland to a louse, whose legs
and engrailed edges represent the promontories, and buttings
out into the sea, with more nooks and angles than the most
conceited of my Lord Mayor's custards ; J nor does the com
parison determine here : A louse preys upon its own fosterer
and preserver, and is productive of those minute animals
called nitts ; so Scotland, whose proboscis joyns too close to-
England has suckt away the nutriment from Northumberland.
The arms of the kingdom was anciently a red lyon
rampant in a field of gold, but anno dom. 787 they had the
augmentation of the double tressure, for assisting the French
King ; 2 but his Majesties arms in Scotland is a mere hysteron
proteron, the pride of the people being such, as to place the
Scots arms in the dexter quarter of the escutcheon, and make
a unicorn the dexter supporter, with the thistle at his heels,
and a suitable motto, Nemo me impune lacessit, true enough :
whosoever deals with them shall be sure to smart for't : The
thistle was wisely placed there, partly to show the fertility of
the country; nature alone producing plenty of these gay
flowers, and partly as an emblem of the people, the top thereof
having some colour of a flower, but the bulk and substance
of it, is only sharp and poysonous pricks.
Woods they have none, that suits not with the frugality
of the people, who are so far from propagating any, that they
destroy those they had, upon this politick state maxim, that
corn will not grow in the land pestered with its roots, and
their branches harbour birds, animals above their humble
conversation, that exceeds not that of hornless quadrupeds ;
marry, perhaps some of their houses lurk under the shelter
of a plump of trees (the birds not daring so high a presump
tion) like Hugh Peter's puss3 in her Majesty, or an owl in
1 Dr Johnson describes custards as "a food much used at city feasts."
2 According to the early Scottish heralds, the tressure was granted by
Charlemagne to Achaius, King of Scotland, to symbolise that in all time
coming the French cities would be the defence of the Scottish lion. In point
of fact, however, the tressure first appears on the seal of Alexander III.
3 For an explanation of this reference the curious reader may consult The
Tales and Jests of Mr Hugh Peters (Lond. 1660), jest vii.

254 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1679.
an ivy bush. Some firr woods there are in the Highlands,
but so inaccessible, that they serve for no other use than dens
for those ravenous wolves with two legs, and they prey upon
their neighbourhood, and shelter themselves under this covert ;
to whom the sight of a stranger is as surprising as that of
a cockatrice. The vallies for the most part are covered with
beer or bigg, and the hills with snow ; and as in the northern
countries the bears and foxes change their coats into the livery
of the soyl ; so here the moor fowl (called termagants) 1 turn
white, to sute the sample, though the inhabitants still stand
to their ^Egyptian hue.
They are freed from the charge and the incumbrance of in-
closures, the whole being but one large waste, surrounded with
the sea : Indeed in many places you may see half a rood of land
divided by an earthen bank, into many different apartments,
according to the quality of the beasts that are to possess them.
The whole country will make a park, forest, or chase, as
you'll please to call it ; but if you desire an account of
particular parks, they are innumerable, every small house
having a few sodds thrown into a little bank about it, and
this for the state of the business (forsooth) must be called a
park, though not a pole of land in't.
If the air was not pure and well refined by its agitation,
it would be so infected with the stinks of their towns, and
the steams of the nasty inhabitants, that it would be
pestilential and destructive ; indeed it is too thin for their
gross senses, that must be fed with suitable viands, their
meat not affecting their distempered palates, without it have
a damnable hogce,2 or musick their ears, without loud and
harsh discord, and their nostrils (like a Jew's) chiefly delight
in the perceptible effluviums of an old Sir E  .
Fowl are as scarce here as birds of paradise, the charity
of the inhabitants denying harbour to such celestial animals,
though gulls and cormorants abound, there being a great
sympathy betwixt them. There is one sort of ravenous
fowl amongst them that has one web-foot, one foot suited for
land, and another for water; but whether or no this fowl
(being particular to this country) be not the lively picture of
the inhabitants, I shall leave to wiser conjectures.
1 Ptarmigans. 2 From the French haul goAt.

1679.] THOMAS KIRKE. 255
Their rivers, or rather arms of the sea, are short, few
places in Scotland being above a day's journey from the sea ;
but they are broad, deep and dangerous, pestered with
multitudes of porpuses and sharks (some of them perhaps
amphibious too, that live more on land than water) which
destroys their salmon, the great commodity of this country ;
which being too good for the inhabitants, are barrel'd up and
converted into merchandise, &c. Their banks and borders
of these rivers (especially near their towns) are adorn'd with
hardy amazons, though inverted, their valour being (chiefly)
from the waste downwards, which parts they readily expose
to all the dangers of a naked rencounter.
The exercise of their arms, I shou'd say feet, is much
about linen ; sheets are sufferers, a fit receiver is provided
(not unlike a shallow pulpit to mind them of their idol
sermons) wherein foul linen is laid to suffer persecution, so
they turn up all, and tuck them about their wastes, and
bounce into buck-tub, then go their stock, and belabour poor
lint till there be not a dry thread on't. Hence came the
invention of fulling-mills, the women taught the men, and
they put in practice.
The country is full of lakes and loughs, and they well stockt
with islands, so that a map thereof, looks like a pillory coat
bespattered all over with dirt and rotten eggs, some pieces
of the shells floating here and there, representing the islands.
Their cattle are only representatives of what are in other
countreys, these being so epitomized, that it is hard to know
what class they relate to. Their horses are hardy and not
without gall (as some say other horses are) using both tooth
and nail to mischief you ; that they may not use more state
than their masters, they go bare-foot, which preserves them
from the gout ; and if Hudibras's horse had been of this race,
he had not needed a corn-cutter; 1 their furniture or harness is
1 Butler describes Hudibras's horse as
 Yet so fiery he would bound
As if he grieved to touch the ground ;
That Csesar's horse, who as fame goes,
Had corns upon his feet and toes,
Was not by half so tender hooft,
Nor trod upon the ground so soft.
Hudibras, pt. i. canto ii. 1. 431.

256 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1679.
all of the same matter, all wood from head to tail, bridle,
saddle, girths, stirrups, and crupper, all wood ; nothing but a
withy will bind a witch, and if these be called witches, I
shall not oppose it, since by their untoward tricks one would
guess the devil to be in them ; their bridles have no bitts,1 but
a kind of musroll 2 of two pieces of wood ; their crupper is a
stick of a yard's length, put cross their docks, both ends
thereof being tyed with woven wood to the saddle. Their
bed and board too is all of the same dry straw, and when
they heave it up, whip on harness and away. Their neat
are hornless, the owners claiming the sole propriety in those
ornaments, nor should I deny them their necklace too, for
methinks that hoisted wood wou'd mightly become them.
Their sheep too have the same preferment, they are coupled
together near their masters palace. Some animals they have
by the name of hogs, but more like porcupines, bristled all
over, and these are likewise fastned to the free-hold by the
former artifice ; all their quadrupedes (dogs only excepted, in
which sort they much abound) are honoured with wooden
bracelets about their necks, legs, or arms, &c.
Their cities are poor and populous, especially Edenborough,
their metropolis, which so well suits with the inhabitants,
that one character will serve them both, viz., high and dirty.
The houses mount seven or eight stories high, with many
families on one floor, one room being sufficient for all
occasions, eating, drinking, sleeping, &c. The other cities
and towns are copies from this original, and therefore need
no commentators to explain them ; they have seven colleges, or
rather schools, in four universities ; the regents wear what
colour'd cloaths or gowns they please, and commonly no-
gowns at all, so that it is hard to distinguish a scholar from
an ordinary man, since their learning shines not out of their
noses ; the younger students wear scarlet gowns only in term
time ; their residence is commonly in the town, only at school-
hours they convene in the college, to consult their oracle
Buchanan ; their chief studies are for pulpit preferment, to-
prate out four or five glasses with as much ease as drink
them ; and this they attain to in their stripling years, com-
1 It will be remembered that jEneas Sylvius noted this. See p. 27 (above).
2 Musrole, the nose-band of a horse's bridle.

1679.] THOMAS KIRKE. 257
mencing Master of Arts (that is meant onely Master of this
Art) before one wou'd judge them fit for the college ; for as
soon as they can walk as far as the school (which they will
do very young, for like lapwings they run with shells on
their heads) they are sent thither, where they find no benches
to sit on (only one for the master) but have a little heath
and fadder strewed for them to lye upon, where they litter
together, and chew the cud on their fathers horn-books, and
in good time are preferred to the bible ; from this petty
school away with them to the grammar school, viz., the
college, where in three or four years time they attain to
(their ne plus ultra) the degree of A. Mag., that is, they can
extempore coin graces and prayers for all occasions ; if you
crack a nut, there is a grace for that, drink a dish of coffee,
ale or wine, or what else, he presently furnishes you with a
grace for the nonce ; if you pare your nails, or any other
action of like importance, he can as easily suit you with a
prayer, as draw on a glove; and the wonder of all is, that
this prayer shall be so admirably framed, that it may indiffer
ently quadrate with any occasion, an excellency no where so
common as in this country. Thus you see the young man
has commenced and got strength to walk to the kirk and
enter the chair, where we find him anon, after we have
viewed the outsides of their kirks, some of which have been
of antient foundations, and well and regularly built, but
order and uniformity is in perfect antipathy to the humour
of this nation, these goodly structures being either wholly
destroyed (as at St Andrews and Elgin, where by the
remaining ruines you may see what it was in perfection) or
very much defaced ; they make use of no other quires, those
are either quite pulled down, or converted into another kirk,
for it is common here three, four or five kirks under one
roof, which being preserved entire, would have made one good
church, but they could not then have had preaching enough
in it ; out of one pulpit now they have thirty sermons per
week, all under one roof plenty of spiritual provision, which
gusts 1 much better with a mixture of the flesh ; as you may
guess by their stools of repentance in every kirk, well furnished
with whore-mongers and adulterers of both sexes. In Venice
1 Tastes. R

258 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1679.
the shadows only of curtezans are exposed to publick view
only in the Effigief but here the whore in person, has a high
place provided her in the view of the whole congregation, for
the benefit of strangers, who (some think) need not this
direction, but may truck for all commodities with the first
they meet with. They use no service-book, nor whore of
Babylon's smock (as they term a surplice) nor decency, nor
order in their divine or rather contumelious service. Wou'd
a king think himself honoured by subjects, that petitioned
him without bonet vailed, but cockt his cap the while his
request was granting ; while precious Mr Presbyter grimaces,
prays or houls, the monster-rabble vails; but as soon as the
text is taken, blew-bonnet takes place again, and this pulpit-
prater is esteemed more than God's ambassadour, having the
Holy Spirit at his beck, to prompt him every word he speaks,
yet not three sentences of sense together, such blasphemy, as
I blush to mention.
Their ehristnings (as all other things) are without form,
only water is poured on the infant, and such words used as)
Sir John's Mephistophilus supplies him with, and so the child
commences Christian, as good (or better) than the best of
them. Some think marriage an unnecessary thing amongst
them, it being more generous and usual amongst them to take
one anothers words ; however, 'tis thus performed, the young
couple, being attended with tagrag and bobtail, gang to kirk,
where Mr Scruple (like a good Casuist) controverts the point
in hand to them, and schools Mr Bridegroom in his lesson,
then, directs his discourse to Mrs Bride, who being the weaker
vessel, ought to have the more pains taken with her; he
chalks out the way she is to walk in, in all its particulars, and
joyns their hands, and then let them fall to in God's name :
Home they go with loud ravishing bag-pipes, and dance about
the green, till they part by couples to repetition, and so put
the rules in practice, and perhaps Sir Eoger follows Mrs
Bride to her apartment, to satisfie her doubts, where he uses
such pungent and pressing arguments as she never forgets as
long as she lives.
When any one dies, the bell-man goes about ringing their
passing-bell, and acquaints the people therewith, in form
following, "Beloved brouthrin and susters, I let you to wot that.

1679.] THOMAS KIRKE. 259
thir is an fauthful broothir lawtli departed awt of this prisant
varld, aut thi plesuir of Aulmoughti Good (and then he vails
his bonnet) his naum is Volli Voodcok, third son to Jimoy
Voodcok a cordinger; he ligs aut thi sext door vethin thi
Nord Gawt, close on thi Nawthwr Eawnd, and I wod yaw
gang to hus burying on Thrusdau before twa acloak, &c."
The time appointed for his burying being come, the bell-man
calls the company together, and he is carried to the burying-
place, and thrown into the grave (as Dog Lyon was) and
there's an end of Volli. Few people are here buried in their
kirks (except of their nobility) but in the kirk-garths, or in
a burying-place on purpose, called the hoof, at the further
end of the town (like our Quakers) enclosed with a wall, so
that it serves not only as a burying-place, but an exchange
to meet in ; perhaps in one part of it the Courts of Judicate
are kept ; in another are butts to shoot at for recreation.
All agree that a woman's tongue is the last member she
moves, but the Latin proverb, Mulieri ne credos, &c, seems
to prove it after death ; I am sure the pride of this people
never leaves them, but follows them to their long homes
(I was about to have said, to the devil), for the meanest man
must have a grave-stone full fraught with his own praises
(though he was the vilest miscreant on earth) and miserable
memento moris, both in English and Latin, nay Greek too, if
they can find a Greek word for cordinger, the calling he was
of, and all this in such miserable Scotch orthography, that 'tis
hard to distinguish one language from another.
The castles of defence in this country are almost impreg
nable, only to be taken by treachery or long siege, their
water failing them soonest; they are built upon high and
almost inaccessible rocks, only one forced passage up to them,
so that few men may easily defend them, f Indeed, all the
gentlemens houses are strong castles, they being so treacher
ous one to another, that they are forc'd to defend themselves
in strong holds ; they are commonly built upon some single
rock in the sea, or some high precipice near the mid-land,
with many towers and strong iron grates before their windows
(the lower part whereof is only a wooden shutter, and upper
part glass), so that they look more like prisons than houses
of reception ; some few houses there are of late erection, that

260 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1679.
are built in a better form, with good walks and gardens
about them, but their fruit rarely comes to any perfection, -s.
The houses of the commonalty are very mean, mud-wall and
thatch the best ; but the poorer sort live in such miserable
hutts as never eye beheld; men, women, and children pig
altogether in a poor mouse-hole of mud, heath, and some such
like matter ; in some parts, where turf is plentiful, they
build up little cabbins thereof, with arched roofs of turf,
without a stick of timber in it ; when their houses are dry
enough to burn, it serves them for fuel, and they remove to
another. The habit of the people is very different, according
to the qualities and places they live in, as Low-land or
High-land men. The Low-land gentry go well enough
habited, but the poorer sort go (almost) naked, only an old
cloak, or a part of their bed-cloaths thrown over them. The
Highlanders wear slashed doublets, commonly without
breeches, only a plad tyed about their wastes, &c, thrown
over tlieir shoulder, with short stockings to the gartering.
place, their knees and part of their thighs being naked ; others
have breeches and stockings all of a piece of plad ware,
close to their thighs ; in one side of their girdle sticks a
durk or skean, of about a foot and half a yard long, very
sharp, and the back of it filed with divers notches, wherein
they put poyson ; on the other side a brace (at least) of brass
pistols; nor is this honour sufficient, if they can purchase
more, they must have a long swinging sword.
The women are commonly two-handed tools, strong-posted
timber, they dislike English men because they have no legs,
or (like themselves) posts to walk on ; the meaner go bare
foot and bare-head, with two black elf-locks on either side
their faces ; some of them have scarce any cloaths at all,
save part of their bed-cloaths pinn'd about their shoulders
and their children have nothing else on them but a little
blanket; those women that can purchase plads, need not
bestow much upon other cloaths, these cover-sluts being
sufficient. Those of the best sort that are very well habited
in their modish silks, yet must wear a plad over all for the
credit of their country.
The people are proud, arrogant, vain-glorious boasters,
Ibloody, barbarous, and inhuman butchers. Couzenage and

1679.] THOMAS KIRKE. 261
theft is in perfection among them, and they are perfect
English haters, they show their pride in exalting themselves,
and depressing their neighbours.
The nobility and gentry Lord it over their poor tenants, and
use them worse than gally-slaves ; they are all bound to serve
them, men, women, and children ; the first fruits is always
the landlord's due. Those of his own name that are inferior
to him, must all attend him (as he himself must do his
superior, of the same name, and all of them, attend the chief)
if he receives a stranger, all this train must be at his beck
armed as aforesaid; if you drink with them in a tavern, you
must have all this rubbish with you ; and if you offend the
laird, his durk shall be soon sheathed in your belly, and,
after this, every one of his followers, or they shall suffer
themselves that refuse it, that so they may be all alike
guilty of the murder. Every laird (of note) hath a gibet
near his house, and has power to condemn and hang any of
his vassals j1 so they dare not oppose him in any thing, but
must submit to his commands, let them be never so unjust
and tyrannical. There are too many testimonies of their
cruelty amongst themselves in their own Chronicles, forty of
their kings have been barbarously murthered by them, and
half as many more have either made away themselves for
fear of their torturing of them, or have died miserably in
strait imprisonment. What strange butcheries have been
committed in their feuds, some of which are in agitation at
this day, viz., Argill with the Macclenes, and Macdonnels
about Mula Island,2 which has cost already much blood, and
is likely will cost much more before it will be decided ; their
spirits are so mean, that they rarely rob, but take away life
first ; lying in ambuscade, they send a brace of bullets on
embassy through the travellers body ; and to make sure work,
1 This feudal jurisdiction carrying with it the power of life and death, was
not taken from the Scottish nobility till after the union of the Parliaments.
On the occasion of his visit to Scotland in 1617, James VI. did his best to
put an end to this system, offering to compound with the barons for the sur
render of their claims. None accepted the offer, and only in the succeeding
reign did one lord, the Earl of Huntly, barter his jurisdiction (Gardiner, His
tory of England, vol. iii. p. 225-6). 2 For the cruelties exercised by Argyll
and Lesley on the Macleans, see Brown, History of the Highlands, ii. pp.
5, 6, 95.

262 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1679.
they sheath their durks in his lifeless trunk, perhaps to take
off their fine edges, as new knives are stuck in a bag pudding.
If an highlander be injured, those of his own name must
defend him, and will certainly have satisfaction from the
offenders. A late instance whereof was at Inverness (a
considerable town) where one of the Macdonnels was slain,
but shortly the chief of his own name came down against the
town with 1500 men of his own name, and threatned to fire
the town, but the inhabitants compounded with them for
2000^. Their cruelty descends to their beasts, it being a custom
in some places to feast upon a living cow, they tye in the
middle of them, near a great fire, and then cut collops of this
poor living beast, and broil them on the fire, till they have
mangled her all to pieces ; nay, sometimes they will only cut
off as much as will satisfie their present appetites, and let
her go till their greedy stomachs call for a new supply ; such
horrible cruelty as can scarce be parrallel'd in the whole
world.1 Their theft is so well known, that it needs no
proving, they are forced to keep watch over all they have, to
secure it ; their cattle are watch'd day and night, or other
wise they wou'd be over-grown by morning. In the High
lands they do it publickly before the face of the sun. If
one man has two cows, and another wants, he shall soon
supply himself from his neighbours, who can find no remedy
for it. The gentry keep an armory in their own houses,
furnish'd with several sorts of fire-arms, pikes, and halberts,
with which they arm their followers, to secure themselves
from the rapine of their neighbourhood. The Lowland
language may be well enough understood by an English man,
but the Highlanders have a peculiar lingue to themselves,
which they call Erst,2 unknown to most of the Lowland men,
except only in those places that border on them, where they
can speak both. Yet these people are so currish, that
if a stranger enquire the way in English, they will certainly
answer in Erst, and find no other language than what is
inforc'd from them with a cudgel. If Cornelius Agrippa
1 I have been unable to discover any other authority for this statement of
Kirke. It will be remembered that James Bruce was mercilessly ridiculed for
relating that this custom prevailed among the Abyssinians. 2 Erse.

1679.] THOMAS KIRKE. 263
had travelled Scotland, sure cookery had been found in his
vanity of sciences, such is their singular skill in this art, that
they may defie the world to rival them ; King James's treat
for the devil, that is a poll of ling, a joll of sturgeon, and a
pigg, with a pipe of tobacco for digestion, had been very
compleat, if the ordering thereof had been assigned to a cuke
of this countrey, who can sute every dish with its proper
hogoe, and bring corruption- to your table, only to mind men
of mortality. Their meat is carrion when 'tis killed, but
after it has been a fortnight a perfuming with the aromatick
air, strained thro' the clammy trunks of flesh flies, then it
passes the tryal of fire under the care of one of those
exquisite artists, and is dish'd up in a sea of sweet Scotch
butter, and so cover'd and served hot up to the table. 0
how happy is he that is placed next to it, with a privilege
to uncover it, and receive the hot steams of this dainty dish,
almost sufficient to cure all distempers. It will be needless
to instance in particulars so plain and evident to all that
have travell'd through the countrey, that they may certainly
bear away the bell from all their neighbouring nations, or
indeed from the whole world. Their nobility and gentry
have tables plentifully enough furnish'd, but few or none of
them have their meat better order'd. To put one's head
into their kitchen doors, is little less than destructive ; you
enter Hell alive, where the black furies are busied in mangling
dead carcases and the fire and brimstone, or rather stew and
stink, is ready to suffocate you, and yet (which is strange)
these things are agreeable to the humours of the people.
The poorer sort live on haddock, whiting, and sower milk,
which is cryed up and down their streets (whea buyes sawer
milk) and upon the stinking fragments that are left at their
laird's table. Prodigious stomachs, that, like the gulon,1 can
feed on their own excrements, and strain their meat through
their stomachs, to have the pleasure of devouring it again.
Their drink is ale, made of beer-malt, and tunned up in
a small vessel, called a cogue; after it has stood a few
hours, they drink it out of the cogue, yest and all; the
better sort brew it in larger quantities, and drink it in
1 The glutton (Gulo) ? The most extraordinary stories of the voracity of this
animal used to be current.

264 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1679.
wooden queighs, but it is sorry stuff, yet excellent for
preparing birdlime ; but wine is the great drink with the
gentry, which they pour in like dishes, as if it were their
natural element ; the glasses they drink out of, are con
siderably large, and they always fill them to the brim, and
away with it ; some of them have arrived at the perfection
to tope brandy at the same rate ; sure these are a bowl
above bacchus, and of right ought to have a nobler throne
than a hogshead.1
Musick they have, but not the harmony of the sphears,
but loud terrene noises, like the bellowing of beasts ; the
loud bagpipe is their chief delight, stringed instruments are
too soft to penetrate the organs of their ears, that are only
pleased with sounds of substance.
The high- ways in Scotland are tolerably good, which is
the greatest comfort a traveller meets with amongst them ;
they have not inns, but change-houses (as they call them)
poor small cottages, where you must be content to take
what you find, perhaps eggs with chicks in them, and some
lang cale; at the better sort of them, a dish of chap'd
chickens, which they esteem a dainty dish, and will take it
unkindly, if you do not eat very heartily of it, though for
the most part you may make a meal with the sight of the
fare, and be satisfied with the steam only, like the in
habitants of the world in the moon ; your horses must be
sent to a stablers (for the change-houses have no lodging
for them) where they may feed voluptuously on straw only,
for grass is not to be had, and hay is so much a stranger to
them, that they are scarce familiar with the name of it.
The Scotch gentry commonly travel from one friend's
house to another, so seldom make use of a change-house ;
their way is to hire a horse and a man for two pence a
mile ; they ride on the horse thirty or forty miles a day,
and the man, who is his guide, foots it beside him, and
carries his luggage to boot. The commonality are so used
to worship and adore their lairds, that when they see a
stranger in any tolerable equipage, they honour him with
the title of laird at least. ' An't please you, my laird such
1 It is worth noting that by none of our travellers is whisky mentioned as
a drink of the country.

1679.] THOMAS KIRKE. 265
a one,' or 'An't please you, my laird Dr,' at every bare
word forsooth.
" The nobility show themselves very great before strangers,
who are conducted into the house by a many servants
where the lord with his troop of shadows receives them
with the grand law, then enter into some discourse of their
countrey, till you are presented with a great queigh of
syrup of beer, after that a glass of white wine, then a
rummer of claret, and sometimes after that a glass of sherry
sack, and then begin the round with ale again, and ply you
briskly; for its their way of showing you'r welcome, by
making you drunk. If you have longer time to stay, you
stick close to claret, till bacchus wins the field, and leaves
the conquer' d victims groveling on the place where they
receive their overthrow. At your departure you must
drink a dougha doras, in English a stirrup-cup, and have
the satisfaction to have my lord's bagpipe (with his loud
pipes, and his lordship's coat armor on a flag) strut about
you, and enchant you with a loath to depart. s^
Their money is commonly dollars, or mark-pieces, coined
at Edenbrough, but the way of reckoning is surprising to a
stranger. To receive a bill of £100 in one of their change-
houses, when one wou'd not suppose they had any of the
value of a hundred pence ; they call a penny a shilling, and
every twenty shillings, viz., twenty pence, a pound; so the
proportion of their pound to ours is twelve to one.
Strangers are sure to be grossly imposed upon in all their
change-houses, and there is no redress for it. If an English
man shou'd complain to their magistrates, they wou'd all
take a part against him, and make sure to squeeze him.

T

THOMAS MOEEE.
(1689).
HE title of Morer's book, from which the following
-J- extracts have been taken, tells us all that appears to
be known of its author. " A short account of Scotland ;
being a description of the nature of that kingdom, and what
the constitution of it is in church and state. Wherein also
some notice is taken of their chief cities and royal boroughs.
With an appendix, .1. about the king's supremacy, 2. the
difference of the Scotch and English liturgy, 3. the revenue
and expense on the civil and military list, according to a
late establishment. Written by the late Eev. Mr. Thomas
Morer, minister of St. Ann's within Aldersgate, when he was
chaplain to a Scotch regiment. Lond. 1715, 12mo. First
printed without a name, 1702, 8vo."
Of all the accounts of Scotland here brought together,
Morer's indubitably stands first in historic interest and value.
Indeed, Morer's book, which consists only of some pages,
cannot be neglected in any study of Scotland during the
latter half of the 17th century. By the breadth of his
interests, his intelligence, and justness of mind, Morer should
rank high among English travellers; and his book well
deserves to be reprinted in the interests of Scottish history;
Here we produce only those parts of it which are of most
general interest.
A Short Account of Scotland. By Thomas Morer
(London, 1715).
THE soil -of the country seems to the eye/ery indifferent,
and tho' they have many fine valleys, which might be
improved into a competitorship with our English meadows,
yet for want of sufficient industry and care they become
almost useless, on the account of frequent bogs and waters
in such places. Whence it is, that- they have little hay in

1689.] THOMAS MORER. 267
that kingdom. And tho' there is a competency of grass
daily exposed to sale in their towns and villages, yet being
cut out of the intervals or little spaces between the ridges
of corn, sometimes very distant from one another, they think
it more profitable to sell the grass, than to make it into hay
for winter ; at which time their horses feed for the most
part on straw and oats, which are sold in their markets at
tolerable rates. And this is the reason likewise why their
arable ground is very considerable ; and 'tis almost incredible
how much of the mountains they plough, where the declen
sions, I had almost said the precipices, are such, that to our
thinking, it puts 'em to greater difficulty and charge to carry
on their work, than they need be at in draining the valleys.
Their harvest is very great of oats and barly, which is the
more common and flourishing grain of the country, the straw
whereof is very serviceable to 'em for the support of the
cattle. Not but they have beans, pease, and some wheat
likewise, but the oats and barly are most in request, as on
which they chiefly depend : on the first for bread, on the
other for drink, which is sometimes strong enough to arm
'em against the coldness of the climate. And of their barly
there are two sorts ; one of which has double ears, and they
call it beer : This they make their malt of, and may be a
reason for giving the drink that name.1 But that which
employs great part of their land is hemp, of which they have
mighty burdens, and on which they bestow much care and
pains to dress and prepare it for making their linen, the most
noted and beneficial manufacture of the kingdom.
We seldom meet with inclosures ; either because being a
corn country, they would be injured as little as may be by
birds which harbour in the hedges ; or being without those
long and kind leases the tenants of England have, they are
not encouraged by their lords in that and some other
improvements ; 2 or that there is want of industry in this,
and the like cases : So it is, that their fields are open, and
without fences, unless here and there they raise out of the
road some little continued heaps of stone in the nature of a
wall, to secure their crops from the incursions of travellers.
1 Skeat (Etymological Dictionary) is disposed to accept this etymology of
beer in preference to that which connects it with bibere. 2 Cf. p. 42 (note).

268 early travels in scotland. [1689.
The Highlands.
Scotland is distinguished into High-lands and Low-lands.
The people of the first were anciently called Brigantes (a
name the Irish sometimes go by, of whom they are supposed.
to be descended), from Briga or Bria, a Bray, a word still in
use with 'em to signifie an high place; as when they say,
the Bray of Athol, they mean the mountainous part of that
country. But now mostly High-landers, whether because
they lie more northerly than the rest of the kingdom, or
because they dwell in the hilly part of it, is uncertain.
But heretofore this was the main of the Scotch King's
territories till the Picts were expelled, who had Edinburgh
in possession, and the better part of the Low-lands, where
about five miles from that city there are a row of hills,
called Pictland Hills,1 in which those distressed princes
frequently sculked in convenient refuges or rooms hew'd out
of the rocks, till they had fresh opportunities to try their
fortune, and recover their country : But were at last, in the
reign of Kenneth 2nd (about the year 839),2 so intirely
routed, that the name is now extinct as well as the king
dom. The High-landers are not without considerable quantities
of corn, yet have not enough to satisfie their numbers, and
therefore yearly come down with their cattle, of which they
have greater plenty, and so traffick with the Low-landers for
such proportions of oats and barly as their families or
necessities call for.
They are in great subjection to their lords, who have
almost an absolute power over 'em. So that whenever they
summon'd 'em, they immediately got together, and attended
them whithersoever they went, tho' to the loss of their lives
and the little fortune they had. But of late years the scene
is changed ; and tho' at this day there are divers instances
to be seen of that power of their lords yet their present
case is much better, and the yoke easier than it was before.
Nor are they more obedient to their lords than affection-
1 Pentland Hills. 2 The Union of the Piets and Scots took place in 843,
under Kenneth MacAlpin. It is perhaps unnecessary to say that Morer's
history must be taken with large reserves.

1689.] THOMAS MORER. 269
ate to their clans, and the heads of their tribes, or families
whom they usually have so great a regard to, that they will
not, as far as lies in them, suffer 'em to sink under any
misfortune. But in case of a small estate, they make an
honourable contribution on their behalf, as a common duty
or concern to support the credit of their houses.
Their religion, as to outward profession, is for the most
part after the establishment of the kingdom ; yet too many
not only retain the Irish language, but the Irish religion ;
and not a few profess no religion at all, but are next door
to barbarity and heathenism. However, in the general, they
have so great a veneration for ministers, or men in holy
orders, that notwithstanding their natural roughness, and
perhaps rudeness to other sort of travellers, these persons
coats are a sufficient protection and passport to them through
out that part of Scotland. Which respect is grounded on a
principle they have, that should they in the least injure such
a man, they must not expect to prosper all the days of their
life. 'Tis true, at the skirmish at Brechin, some of Colonel
Barclay's Dragoons found in one of their sacks, among other
things, a minister's gown ; and 'twas a hot report at that
time, while we were in sight of their camp, that they used a
clergyman hard by very ill both as to goods and person.
But then this is imputed to the villainy of the Irish join'd
'em a little before, and who are remarkable enemies to men
of this profession. For I was well assured by an old divine
at Perth, who had spent many years among 'em, that this
was not the way of the High-landers themselves who rever
enced gown-men to a degree, not much short of superstition.
They are constant in their habit or way of clothing ;
pladds are most in use with 'em, which, tho' we English
thought inconvenient, especially for swordsmen in times of
action, and in heat of summer, as when we saw 'em ; yet
they excused themselves on these accounts, that they not
only served them for cloaths by day in case of necessity,
but were pallats or beds in the night at such times as they
travelled and had not opportunities for better accommoda
tion, and for that reason in campaigns were not unuseful :
The Low-landers add, that being too often men of prey, by
this means they cover their booty the better, and carry it

270 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1689.
off without the owner's knowledge. These pladds are about
seven or eight yards long, differing in fineness according to
the abilities or fancy of the wearers. They cover the whole-
body with 'em from the neck to the knees, excepting the right
arm, which they mostly keep at liberty. Many of 'em have
nothing under these garments besides wastcoats and shirts,
which descend no lower than the knees, and they so gird
'em about the middle as to give 'em the same length as the-
linen under 'em, and thereby supply the defect of drawers.
and breeches.1
Those who have stockings make 'em generally of the same-
piece with their pladds, not knit or weaved, but sow'd
together, and they tie 'em below the knee with tufted garters.
They wear a sort of shooes, which they call brocks,2 like
our pumps, without heels, of a very thin sole, and affording
little security from the wet or stones, which is their main
use and chiefly intended for.
They cover their heads With bonnets or thrum-caps,3 not.
unlike those of our servitors, tho' of a better consistence to
keep off the weather. They are blue, grey, or sad-colour'd,.
as the purchaser thinks fit ; and are sometimes lined accord
ing to the quality of their master.
The quarrels and animosities between their great ones
made it always necessary in elder times to be very well
armed, and the custom continues to this day ; so that you
shall seldom see 'em, tho' only taking the air, without sword
and dirk, which is a short dagger. In war, they had
formerly bows and such kind of arrows as once entered the
body could not be drawn out without tearing away the
flesh with 'em : But now they carry muskets and other- fire
arms ; and when they are on the defensive part, they depend
much on the targes or targets, which are shields of that
form the Latines call by the name of Clypeus, round and
sequidistant from the center, and are made of the toughest.
wood they can get, lined within and cover'd without with
skins, fenced with brass nails, and made so serviceable that
no ordinary bullet, much less a sword, can penetrate to injure
them or their masters, who have such an artificial way of
1 This is a description, not of his philabeg or kilt, but of the older Highland.
" belted plaid." 2 Brogue, Gael. brog. 3 Caps made of coarse yarn.

1689.] THOMAS MORER. 271
twisting themselves within the compass of these shields, that
'tis almost a vain attempt for their enemy to seek to annoy
'em. And indeed they fight with too much odds, when they
come so near us, because they not only have the protection
of their bucklers, but are withal very expert at their swords,
which consist of the best blades now in being, and were there
fore much sought after by our officers and souldiers, who were
very well furnished with 'em before wee left the High-lands.
Once or twice a year, great numbers of 'em get together
and made a descent into the Low-lands, where they plunder
the inhabitants, and so return back and disperse themselves.
And this they are apt to do in the profoundest peace, it
being not only natural to 'em to delight in rapine, but they
do it on a kind of principle, and in conformity to the pre
judice they continually have to the Low-landers, whom they
generally take for so many enemies.
The Lowlands.
The Low-lands are so called by way of comparison, and
as they relate to the High-lands I just spoke of. Not but that
the mountains here are both numerous and lofty, and we
pass not many miles without climbing some of 'em (so that
this track of ground, independently taken, might be very well
named the hill-country). Yet, considering its neighbourhood
to the Northern Provinces, whose mountains are more con
tiguous and of greater number, it may (in some measure)
justifie the distinction ; though I should chuse rather to make
the difference between 'em on the account of the language,
garb, humour, and spirit of the people, than the strict ety
mology of the word or situation of the country.
We take the Low-landers to be a Medley of Picts, Scots,
French, Saxons, and English, as their language and habit
insinuate, which is the reason why the High-landers, who
look on themselves to be a purer race, cannot affect 'em ;
but on the contrary deal with 'em as a spurious degenerate
people. And indeed the Low-landers abate much of that
true courage anciently and deservedly given their fore
fathers. Whether it be that they degenerate in their kind,
or become soft and effeminate by their daily converse with
politer nations, we know not ; but certain it is, they fall

272 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1689.
short of their ancestors' spirit (whether Picts or Scots), and
in case of a breach, the High-landers think it advantage
enough if they have only these men to fight with. An
instance of which we had at the Battle of Gilliecranky,
where, upon the approach of the High-landers, the Scotch
forces on our side scoured away, and left one only regiment,
that of Colonel Hastings, to bear the charge and fury of the
enemy. The Low-landers have plenty of most sorts of grain,
especially oats and barley. And as for cattel, though they
have large herds and hags of their own, yet their plenty of
this kind depends much on the yearly descent of the High
landers, who come hither with considerable droves to exchange
for corn, when their own is spent at home.
Their habit is mostly English, saving that the meaner sort
of men wear bonnets instead of hats, and pladds instead of
cloaks ; and those pladds the women also use in their ordinary
dress when they go abroad, either . to market or church.
They cover head and body with 'em, and are so contrived as
to be at once both a scarf and hood. The quality go thus
attired, when they would be disguised, and is a morning dress
good enough when some hasty business calls them forth, or
when the weather disheartens 'em to trick themselves better.
Their language is generally English, but have many words
derived from the French, and some peculiar to themselves.
They are great criticks in pronunciation, and often upbraid
us for not giving every word its due sound, as when we call
¦enough " enow " or " enuff," without making it a guttural, but
neglecting the gh as if not written. Wherein, however, they
are as faulty themselves, as I shew'd 'em by divers examples
in their daily discourse ; particularly their neglect of vowels
is very remarkable, which being few, ought to be pronounced
with greater care. As when o happens to terminate the
word, especially monosyllables, they change it into a, as wha
for who, twa for tvjo, &c, and if in the middle, they say
steans for stones, mare for more, &c, all which they no other
wise excused than by custom and usage of speech, which is
our apology for the like misrepresentations in words objected
to us. They have an unhappy tone, which the gentry and
nobles cannot overcome, tho' educated in our schools, or

1689.] THOMAS MORER. 273
never so conversant with us ; so that we may discover a
Scotchman as soon as we hear him speak : Yet, to say truth,
our Northern and remote English have the same imperfection.
They have the advantage of their brethren in the North,
as to trade and merchandice, which is the reason why they
are more factious than the rest of the kingdom, the spirit of
schism usually reigning in such places where the people are
rich to reward their teachers.
This is all that occurs at present concerning the Low-lands,
as before distinguished. What I add more, treats of the
Scotch in common.
Their ordinary women go barefoot, especially in the
summer. Yet the husbands have shoes, and therein seem
unkind in letting their wives bear those hardships without
partaking themselves. Their children fare no better when
scarce able to go. But, what surprised me most, some of
the better sort, lay and clergy, made their httle ones go in
the same manner, which I thought a piece of cruelty in them,
that I imputed to the others poverty. But their apology
was, the custom of the country, grounded on an ancient
law, that no males were to use shoes till fourteen years of
age, that so they might be hardened for the wars when their
Prince had occasion for their service.1
Their bread, for the most part, is of oat-meal, which, if thin
and well baked upon broad irons or stones for that purpose,
is palatable enough, and often brought to gentlemen's
tables. But the vulgar are not so curious, for they only
water the meal into a convenient consistence, and then
making 'em into thick cakes, called bannocks, they set 'em
before the fire to be hardened or toasted for their use.
These people prepare the oats after this manner, — they take
several sheaves, and setting fire to 'em consume the straw
and chaff to ashes, which, after a convenient time, they blow
away, then gathering up the grain sufficiently parched, they
bruise it into meal.
Their flesh is good enough, yet I confess it will not keep
as long as that in England, which they say proceeds from
the largeness of the pores, exposing it more than elsewhere
to the air and weather.
1 1 have found no trace of such a law in the Acts of the Scottish Parliament. S

274 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1689.
Their cheese is not the best, nor butter, made in part of
ewes-milk, which did not relish with us, yet we could not
tempt 'em to forbear that mixture.
Their drink is beer, sometimes so new that it is scarce
cold when brought to table. But their gentry are better
provided, and give it age : yet think not so well of it as to
let it go alone, and therefore add brandy, cherry-brandy, or
brandy and sugar, and is the nectar of this country at their
feasts and entertainments, and carries with it a mark of
great esteem and affection. Sometimes they have wine (a
thin-bodied claret) at lOd. the muskin, which answers our
quart, but is no more than half of the Scotch pint ; and
thereupon they tell us, that if their drink be not so good as
ours, yet their measure is better. But the difference lies
only in the terms, for the proportions are alike, and we paid
as much for their chopping as for the pint here, containing
the same quantity.
They have poultry and fowls in convenient plenty.
Among the rest there is the solon goose, a large bird, but
tastes more of fish than flesh, because accustomed to the sea,
and feeds there oftener than in other places. The inhabi
tants say that the manner of its production is this : She
lets fall her egg according to the season on the side of a
rock, which, having a slimy, glutinous matter about it, fastens
itself to the place where it happens to fall, nor can it be
removed without danger of breaking it to pieces. And
sometimes the egg is so untowardly fix'd that there is no
more room for the bird to come at it than with one of her
feet, which she spreads on the upper part of the egg, rests
on it with her whole body, and in time, with the heat of her
foot, produces the young one, which from this way of hatch
ing takes its name, and is- called solon, quasi " sole on," 1 from
the sole of the dam's foot, which after this manner gives it
being. But whether so or no I am not sure ; you have the
relation. The houses of their quality are high and strong, and
appear more like castles than houses, made of thick stone
walls, with iron bars before their windows, suited to the
necessity of those times they were built in, living then in
1 Solan is now connected with the Icelandic sula.

1689.] THOMAS MORER. 275
a state of war and constant animosities between their
families. Yet now they begin to have better buildings, and
to be very modish both in the fabrick and furniture of their
dwellings : Tho' still their avenues are very indifferent, and
they want their gardens, which are the beauty and pride of
our English seats. The vulgar houses, and what are seen
in the villages, are low and feeble. Their walls are made
of a few stones jumbled together without mortar to cement
'em : On which they set up pieces of wood meeting at the
top, ridge-fashion, but so order'd that there is neither
sightliness nor strength ; and it does not cost much more
time to erect such a cottage than to pull it down. They
cover these houses with turff of an inch thick, and in the
shape of larger tiles, which they fasten with wooden pins,
and renew as often as there is occasion ; and that is very
frequently done. 'Tis rare to find chimneys in these places,
a small vent in the roof sufficing to convey the smoak away.
So that, considering the humility of those roofs, and the
gross nature of the fuel, we may easily guess what a
smother it makes, and what httle comfort there is in sitting
at one of their fires. However, in their towns and cities
the case is otherwise: but of them when I come to parti
cular places. 'Twas matter of wonder at first that so great
a corn-country as Scotland is should not be able to afford
'em straw enough to thatch the houses : But calling to
mind their want of hay, which makes 'em employ the straw
in feeding their horses as well as foddering their other
cattel, I was quickly satisfied as to this point, and there
upon chose rather to pity their poverty than charge 'em
with ill contrivance in the covering of their cells.
Orchards they have few. And their apples, pears, and
plumbs are not of the best kind ; their cherries are tolerably
good. And they have one sort of pear, large and well
tasted, but seldom had. Wall-fruit is very rare. But of
gooseberries, currans, strawberries, and the like, they have
of each ; but growing in gentlemen's gardens, and yet from
thence we sometimes meet with 'em in the markets of their
boroughs. They have excellent pit-coal, so bituminous and pitchy
that it burns like a candle, ,and is both pleasant and usefuL

276 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1689.
But this is chiefly for their gentry and boroughs; the
common people deal in peat and turff, cut and dried in the
summer, and would be no bad fuel, but that at first kindling
it makes a very thick and offensive, smother.
They are fond of tobacco, but more from the snush-box
than pipe. And they have made it so necessary, that I
have heard some of 'em say, that should their bread come
in competition with it, they would rather fast than their
snush should be taken away. Yet mostly it consists of the
coarsest tobacco, dried by the fire, and powdered in a little
engine after the form of a tap, which they carry in their
pockets, and is both a mill to grind and a box to keep
it in. The women of Scotland are capable of estates and honours,
and inherit both as well as the males ; and therefore after
marriage may retain their maiden name ; but one disadvantage
they lie under, that in case the husbands die without a will,
they claim no thirds, which is a consideration awes 'em a
Httle, and makes 'em more obsequious to their husbands.
Most of their titles of honour are derived from England,
brought thence into Scotland in the second century by
Malcomb the Third, who had been a great while a guest in
our Prince's court. But one degree seems peculiar to them
selves concerning their lairds ; which, tho' some compare to
our freeholders with independent tenures, yet, being masters
of royalties, they cannot be less than the English lords of
mannors ; and from these regalities they assume to themselves
titles, as many do among us, both here and in Wales.
The water is good, and they have several considerable
rivers ; the chief whereof, which fell within my knowledge
and are navigable, were the Fryth,1 the Tay, and the Clide.
The first runs from Leith to Sterling, and further upwards
with tide. The next from Dundee to Perth, and the last
from the Irish Sea to Glasgow. Three very serviceable
currents, and would contribute much to enrich the bordering
places if they had sufficient shipping.
This makes the trade of this kingdom inconsiderable,
having, as was said, very few ships, and those of light burden,
With these they fetch their wines from France, and some
\ Forth,

1689.] THOMAS MORER. 277
other commodities had from thence and Ireland. But other
merchandice comes at second hand from the citizens of
London and Bristol.
Money of their own coining they have little, for want of
bullion; and therefore make use of all foreign stamps,
especially the Elector of Cologne's, which by reputation or
weight pass current among 'em. The Spanish cobbs, half
cobbs, and quarter cobbs, are commonly put in the scales,
and so were formerly dollars of all sorts. But now to save
trouble, they divide 'em into two sorts, the rix-dollar at
4s. lOd. and the leg-dollar1 at 4s. 8d., and so in proportion
for the lesser pieces.
The coins properly Scotch consist of these pieces, crowns
coined in the minority of King James the Sixth, having the
arms on the one side, and a sword on the reverse with that
treasonable circumscription, Si mereor pro me, si non in me,
made by Buchanan, his preceptor.2 There are three lesser
pieces of this impression, Is. 3d., Is. 8d., and 2s. lid., which
is all I saw of that coin. They have likewise crowns, half
crowns, marks, and nobles of King Charles H.'s ; ten groat
pieces, ten penny, and three pence half pennies of King
James VII.'s, but shillings and sixpences they have none
peculiar to the nation, nor any current gold but what is
common with England, which they advance and give sixpence
more for every jacobus or guinea.
They show some vanity in the stile of their money, for
they call a bodel twa pennies, tho' no more than the sixth
part of our penny. So that should they have occasion to
mention three half pence or two pence half penny, they
chuse rather to call the one 18 pennies, and the other 30.
Each of our pence is with them a shilling, and so our twenty
pence is a Scotch pound. Their mark is 13£d. of our money,
1 Leg Dollar or Leggat, so called from Liege, its place of coinage. Its
value was £2, 16s. ; whereas that of the Rix-dollar was £2, 18s. 2 I have
found no satisfactory authority for this statement, but it is certainly con
sistent with the whole tenor of Buchanan's political teaching. In the
famous speech which he puts in the mouth of the Earl of Morton on his
return from an embassy to Queen Elizabeth, he makes the Earl tell the story
of Trajan handing the sword to the prefect of the City with the words, " Use
it for me or against me, as I shall deserve." As the coin was struck at the
coronation of James VI., the legend was in all probability the suggestion of
Buchanan,

278 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1689.
and the half of that is their noble ; and by the number of
these pieces it is they reckon the estates and fortunes of
their people. As when a man is supposed worth 501. per
annum sterling, they call it near 1000 mark, which bears a
bigger sound, tho' it adds nothing to the substance of the
party. They have many bridges for the ease and safety of travellers,
very strong and well built, sometimes consisting but of one
mighty arch, whose height and breadth deserves admiration.
Stage coaches they have none, yet there are a few
hackneys at Edinburg, which they may hire into the country
upon urgent occasions. The truth is, the roads will hardly
allow 'em these conveniences, which is the reason that their
gentry, men and women, chuse rather to use their horses.
However, their great men often travel with coach and six, but
with so much caution, that, besides their other attendance,
they have a lusty running footman on each side the coach, to
manage and keep it in rough places.
But this carriage of persons from place to place might be
better spared were there opportunities and means for the
speedier conveyance of business by letters. They have no
horse-posts besides those that ply 'twixt Berwick and
Edinburg, and from thence to Port Patrick, for the sake of
the Irish packets ; and if I forget not, every town the post
passes through contributes to the charges. But from Edin
burgh to Perth, and so to other places, they use foot-posts
and carriers, which, tho' a slow way of communicating our
concerns to one another, yet is such as they acquiesce in till
they have a better.
Edinburgh. — Edinburgh is in Lothien ; and it was first
called Ageda from ayh, a rupture or broken rock, meaning
the place where the castle was built from which the town
took its name. The northern Scotch term'd it Duned, from
whence probably the Latines had their Edinum and
Edinodunum. But the moderns say Edinburgh, or the city
near the Winged Castle, because the Castle, which was built
before the town, stands between two eminent rocks, like two
wings, one whereof is called [Arthuri Sedes] Arthur's Stool,
and is a steep rock on the south of the castle. It is now
the royal city, having the King's Palace, the courts of

!689.] THOMAS MORER. 279
justice, and the Parliament House, which was before the
reign of King James the V, held indifferently at Perth,
Sterling, or Forfar.1 It is seated on an hill, and consists
chiefly of one fair street from west to east, about a mile long,
from the castle to Hall-rood-House 2 ; but then we include
Cani-gate, or Canon-gate, tho' a distinct corporation ; and, in
strictness, is rather the suburbs of Edinburgh, than any part
of the city itself, like London and Westminster, and has the
name of Cani-gate, from a society of Canons who formerly
dwelt in it. The street is wide and well paved, and the
Scotchman is apt to say that it is sike another as Cheapside ;
It swells in the middle, the kennels being made on each side,
so that 'tis commonly very clean, and is thereupon their
parade, tho' the natural descent, and its situation on an hill
contributes more to keep it so, than any industry or care of
the people.
Their old houses are cased with boards, and have oval
windows (without casements or glass), which they open or
shut as it stands with their conveniency. Their new houses
are made of stone, with good windows modishly framed and
glazed, and so lofty, that five or six stories is an ordinary
height, and one row of buildings there is near the Parliament
Close with no less than fourteen. The reason of it is, their
scantness of room, which, not allowing 'em large foundations,
they are forced to make it up in the superstructure, to
entertain comers, who are very desirous to be in, or as near
as they can to the city.
Most of the houses, as they are parted into divers tene
ments, so they have as many landlords as stories ; and
therefore have no dependence on one another, otherwise than
as they stand on the same foundation, so that in this respect
they may be compared to our students' apartments at the
Inns-of-Court, which are bought and sold without regard to
the chambers above or below 'em.
Their stairs are unsightly and inconvenient : for, being
built out of the street for the service of every story, they are
sometimes so steepy, narrow, and fenceless, that it requires
care to go up and down for fear of falling. But in their
1 The town records of Forfar prove that Parliaments were held there by
William the Lyon, Alexander II., and Robert II. 2 Holyrood.

280 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1689.
new houses the contrivance is better ; and the staircase, being
made within the yard, or foundation of the building, the
ascent and descent is more decent and easie, and rids the
street of an incumbrance, which cannot be avoided in the
other houses.
On the south-side of Edinburgh was heretofore a lough
or lake, but is now drained, and a narrow street built upon
it, which they call Cow-gate. Between which and the High
Street there are many little lanes of communication, but very
steepy and troublesome, and withal so nasty (for want of
bog-houses, which they very rarely have), that Edinburgh is
by some liken'd to an ivory comb, whose teeth on both sides
are very foul, though the space between 'em is clean and
sightly. The city is govern'd by a Lord Provost and four bailiffs,
who, with the assistance of some substantial citizens, in the
nature of our Common Council, manage all publick affairs
relating to the benefit of the Corporation, or peace of the city.
The pride of Edinburg is the Parliament- Yard or Close, as
they call it. In the midst whereof is the effigies of King
Charles II. on horse-back, a well-proportioned figure of stone,
and natural enough. The Yard is square and well-paved,
beautified with good buildings round about it ; and the only
fault is, that it is no bigger, the height of the houses bearing
no correspondence to the dimensions of the area. Its western
boundary is the Parliament House, a large room and high
roofed. Over the entrance is the Scotch arms, with Mercy
and Truth on each side, like two supporters, and this inscrip
tion — Sta,nt his Felicia Regna — These Vertues make Kingdoms
happy. Under the arms was, Unio Unionum, " The union of
unions " — meaning not only the union of the two kingdoms,
but that to the uniting of kingdoms good advice is necessary,
which is the business of that place. Within the room on
the south of it is an high throne, and on each side several
benches one above another, the uppermost whereof is level
with the throne, and the lowest reaches the pit, well
furnished with forms, for the conveniency and ease of the
members. Opposite to the Throne, and without the area, is
a pulpit, for sermons in sessions of Parliament, upon special
occasions. Behind the pulpit is a large partition, where

1689.] THOMAS MORER. 281
strangers stand and hear the sermon; and sometimes the
delater of the house, which to my thoughts were not
managed with gravity enough, but was next door to wrangling.
East of this House, but south of the Square, is the Privy-
Council Chamber, and not far from it the Eoyal Exchange,
made up of a double row of shops, very small and meanly
furnished. There is also another Exchange, inferior to this,
but both above stairs, and without any piece of magnificence
to distinguish them from the other buildings.
In the first floors level with the Yard are three or four
booksellers, and as many goldsmiths, whose shops are
sufficiently stockt, to let us see their occupations and trades.
The northern boundary is the wall of the High Church,1
which, with a few shops joining to it (leaving room for
coaches to pass to the Parliament House) concludes the
figure of this close, the beauty of their City.
On the west of the High Street and a musket-shot
distance from the houses stands the Castle, built near 2020
years ago, Castrum alatum (said Ptolemy), the Maiden
Castle (say the Scotch), because the Pictish kings kept and
educated their daughters in it. On the west, south, and
north it is a rock very steepy, yet not inaccessible (as they
called it) for upon the bombarding of it2 'twas so batter'd,
that with the fall of . the walls and some other rubbish, it
was brought to that pass, that the soldiers with little difficulty
might have clamber'd up, but that it was timely surrender'd.
On the east towards the town, 'tis guarded with an half-
moon, and has on its battlements eight pieces of cannon,
with a wide trench, and draw-bridge, and then a thick wall
lined with guns for its better security from the assaults of
that quarter. The Castle is certainly a strong building,
both from art and nature, well stored with ordinance and
other conveniences to bear a siege, provided it be well
man'd, as it was not when the Duke of Gourdon
deliver'd it up.3 There is a little room in the Castle where
they say King , James VI. was born, and thence in a little
'The Church of St Giles. 2In 1573, when Kirkaldy of Grange and Mait
land of Lethington held it for Queen Mary, the Regent Morton, with the
assistance of English troops, bombarded the castle, and forced the garrison to
surrender. , 3 At the Revolution in 1689.

282 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1689.
time removed to Stirling, which occasions some authors to
assert that he was born at Stirling. Whereas the verses writ
over the chimney-piece in that chamber, which they there
apply to him, otherwise give out in this language and

spelling.1 South of the Castle, and not far distant from it, we have
the beautiful front of a large hospital, built by one Hariot, a
goldsmith, for the education of 40 boys, who, if they take
learning, and go to the College, have an exhibition, each of
11. sterling or thereabouts ; if put to trades, about 200 marks
or about 111. sterling, for the incouragement of their
masters. South of the Cow-Gate, and on a rising stands the College,
consisting of one small quadrangle, and some other lodgings
without uniformity or order, built at several times, and by
divers benefactors, who thought probably to be better dis
tinguished by this variety of forms and situations in those
buildings. In the midst hereof is the library, a large and
convenient room made about 60 years ago for that purpose.
The roof is covered with lead, and is neatly kept within ; well
furnish'd with books, and those put in very good order, and
cloister'd with doors made of wire which none can open
but the keeper, and which is thought a better way than our
multitudes of chains incumbering a library,2 and are equally
troublesome and chargeable to us. It has (as all other publick
libraries) many benefactors, whose books are distinguish'd
by their several apartments, and the donors names set over
'em in golden letters.3 A device, grateful and honourable
enough for the parties concern'd, encourages others to follow
their examples ; such especially who may be charmed to the
doing of a good work, tho' not always upon a principle of
goodness. Over the books are hung the pictures of divers
Princes, and most of the reformers, as Luther, Melancthon,
Zuinglius, Calvin, &c, and near them Buchanan's scull,
1 The lines have already been given by Brome (p. 246). 2 Alberti, visiting
Oxford about the middle of the eighteenth century, found this chaining of
books still in practice there, and makes the same complaint as Morer, Briefe
betreffend den allerneuesten Zustand der Religion und der Wissenschaften in
Gross-Britannien (Hanover, 1752), iii. 794. 3The only separate collections
of books now in the library of the University of Edinburgh are those of
Clement Little (mentioned above) and Drummond of Hawthornden.

1689.] THOMAS MORER. 283
very intire, and so thin that we may see the light through
it, and that it is really his appears from hence, because one,
Mr Adamson, principal of the College, being a young man of
24 years of age, when Buchanan was buried, either out of
curiosity or respect to the dead, brib'd the sexton sometime
after to procure him the skull, which being brought he
fastened these1 verses to it, and at his death left it and them
to the College.
The east end of the great street of Edinburgh brings you
to the royal palace, formerly an abbey, but converted into
this use by King James V, yet still retains its old name,
and is sometimes called the Abbey, and Hali-rood House.
It is a noble structure, built of stone, well carved and
beautified, in the fashion of a square, with - a piazza or
gallery under it, from whence by several staircases they
ascend to such apartments as their respect or business
ingage 'em. The gallery above is very fine, extended to a
considerable length, and set out with the pictures of
their 112 kings, and hath also a billy ard table for
the diversion of the house. The lodgings are stately
enough, and not meanly furnished. The house is guarded
from surprize by a large court where the souldiers draw up
when they relieve one another.
Adjoining to the palace is the shell of the old abbey,
and by the common yard for burials, which is ill situated
on the account of the king's house, but very convenient for
the ease and health of the citizens who have no vacant ground
within the walls for such an use, and who thereby lose the
scents which must needs attend such places.2
1 This is the earliest notice I have found regarding Buchanan's skull now in
the Anatomical Museum of the University of Edinburgh. In a MS. catalogue,
prepared (about 1697) by Robert Henderson, Librarian of the University, there is
an entry to the same effect as the above account as to how the skull was obtained
(Irving, Memoirs of Buchanan, p. 311, note, edit. 1817). The same story is
again told by Sir Robert Sibbald, Commentarius in Vitam, Georgii Buchanani,
p. 62 (Edin. 1702). Morer's testimony, therefore, carries us still further back ;
and as he must have had his information from persons connected with the
University, it must have been the received belief that the skull was that of
Buchanan. The Latin verses to which Morer refers may be found in Sibbald.
2 In 1566 Queen Mary granted to the Town Council of Edinburgh the yards
and site of the Greyfriars' Monastery for the purpose of a public burying-place,
as "being somewhat distant from the town" (Wilson, Memorials of Edin
burgh, p. 73, edit. 1866).

284 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1689.
On the north of the city in a bottom, is the physick-
garden with 2700 sorts of plants, as the keeper of it told
me. But then this variety of plants is all its beauty,
having no walks, and but little walling or good hedges to
recommend it ; and is (to my thinking) the rudest piece of
ground I ever saw with that name.
The manager of it, I suppose, guest at my thoughts, and
told me that he was taking a much more convenient field a
little farther off, which he designed to fence with a large
brick wall, and, removing his plants thither, digest 'em into
such a method as might make it a pleasant as well as
useful garden. He had for his incouragement a small
sallary allowed by the apothecaries of the town, which he
adds to by the sale of such goods.1
Before we leave Edinburg, we ought to number their
churches. They are seven, (1) the High Church,2 divided
into three parts, the Old, the New, and the Tolbooth Church,
(2) the Trone Church, (3) the Friary,3 (4) the Abbey, (5)
the College Church, (6) the West Church, (7) the Lady
Esther's Church,4 which with the castle chappel are all the
churches they have ; and of these some are not used, and
the rest thin, excepting the Trone and High Church.
There is no Cathedral, and tho' there be a chapter when
there is a bishop, yet the prebendaries are little more than
nominal, the stipends being deduced out of the bishops'
revenue, which being not great in itself, very ill affords
those defalcations. And tho' the prebendaries demand not
above 8 or 101. yearly each of them, yet are seldom paid,
1 The Physic Garden was established in 1675, mainly through the action
of Sir Robert Sibbald and Dr R. Andrew Balfour. Mr James Sutherland was
its first curator, and he still retained his charge at the time of Morer's visit.
The first site of the garden and that of which Morer speaks so disparagingly
was the ground adjoining Trinity Hospital, which stood a little to the east of
what is now the North Bridge. The object of the garden was to discover " what
materia mediea, in the way of herbs, Scotland was capable of producing."
The garden proved a success ; for, under date 1695, there is an entry in the
Town Council Records, to the effect that "the Physic Garden is in great reputa
tion both in England and foreign nations." From the Physic Garden sprang
the present Botanical Garden of Edinburgh (Grant, Story of the University,
vol. i. pp. 218-220). 2 St Giles. 3 Church of the Trinity, on the site of the
North British Railway Station. 4 Lady Yester's Church, built in 1644, stood
at the corner of the High School Wynd. J

1689.] THOMAS MORER. 285
and thereupon sometimes murmur. But the reason of that
neglect I take to be this, that because these prebends are not
given by the kings, or bishops, but are appendages to the
neighbouring benefices, and follow the presentation to such
living, therefore the bishop thinks he is not bound to take
that notice of 'em, as he might otherwise do, were they
creatures of his own. And so much for Edinburg.
A mile from Edinburg is Leith, a mart town, at
the mouth of the Fryth, having a fine piere stretch
ing itself a great way into the sea, and serves for the
safety of the vessels, and the pleasure of those who walk on
it. It may be called the warehouse of Edinburgh, to
supply the merchants and other citizens. It was formerly
a great check to Edinburg, when King James VI. was
there, who often threaten'd 'em to remove his palace and
courts of judicature thither, to keep the citizens in better-
obedience. It is a thriving town, having a double
advantage, the sea-trade and the citizens' recreation to
inrich it ; for thither they flock by foot or in coaches to
divert themselves, having no play-house, musick meetings,
or spring-garden to tempt them to those superfluous
expences. The second city of Scotland is Perth, or St John's town,
because St John is its tutelar saint or guardian. It stands
on the bank of the river Tay, and not being above twenty
miles from the sea, is every day saluted with the tide which
brings up vessels thither. There are two long spacious
streets, besides others of less moment, for intercourse, which
being well paved, are at all times tolerably clean. The
houses are not stately, but after the Scotch way make a
good appearance. The most remarkable building, is that
where the Gowries had like to have murder'd James VI. to-
revenge their father's death, executed in the King's minority.1
But the person hired to dispatch him at that instant refus
ing, and one of the Gowries not being able of himself to do
it, succour came in, the King escaped at that time, and
returned safe to Sterling.
Here are only two churches ; but one of 'em so big that
1 The site of the Gowrie House, of which nothing now remains, is occupied
by the County Buildings.

286 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1689.
it looks more like a cathedral than parish church, kept in
good repair, and decent within.1
The trade of the town depends chiefly on linen, which
the Highlanders bring thither, and which they export to the
value of 40,000Z. sterling per annum. It was in former
days the seat of divers parliaments, is a county town
govern'd by a Lord Provost and Bailiffs, has the stile of
royal borough, with the honours and privileges of the most
eminent places of Scotland ; and the inhabitants speak very
big whenever they have occasion to mention the city, as we
may see in the instrument of burgess-ship given us, and
which is a civility and honour they confer on strangers.
While we staid at Perth, our curiosity led us to visit
Scone, being a walk of pleasure, or short mile thither. It
was formerly a monastery, tho' now made a lay-mansion,
belonging to my Lord Stormond, and has a few houses about
it to the bulk of a country village, but hardly fit to be called
a town. The honour of the place is a little chappel, where
the kings of Scotland are usually crowned, and where King
Charles II. took the covenant when he was in that kingdom.
From hence the stone was brought to Westminster Abbey
by King Edward I. whereon the Scotch princes anciently
received their crowns, and concerning which there is this
kind of prophecy —
Si verum est fatum, Scoti, quocunq ; locatum
Invenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem.
The Scots shall brook the realm as natif ground.
If wierds fail not, whaire'ere this stane is found
which is thought to be accomplish'd in the late race of kings,
from King James VI. downward.
From Perth we march'd northerly to Forfar, a place of
no great noise, saving that it is a country town, a royal
borough, and anciently the seat of several parliaments,
govern'd by a Provost and Bayliffs, and had once the King's
Palace,2 though now we scarce see the ruins of it.
While we quarter'd here, we took the air so far as Dundee,
1 The Church of St John already more than once referred to. 2 The castle
of King Malcolm on a rising-ground to the north of the town.

.] THOMAS MORER. 287
a very pretty town, seated at the bottom of an hill, almost
at the mouth of the river Tay, which runs up to Perth ; 'tis
fumish'd with two or three small piers for the conveniency of
shipping, and the buildings are such as speak the substance
and riches of the place. It is a royal borough, and con
siderable for its trade, wherein it has supplanted St Andrews
on the other side the river, and about seven miles from
it. Here we were handsomly treated at the charges of the
corporation, who complimented us with burgess-ships.
Eeturning back to Perth, we received orders to march to
Glasgow ; and in our way thither we pass'd through
Dunblain, a bishop's sea, but a very ordinary town, without
anything worthy remembrance but Bishop Leighton's new
library ; 1 a large church much abused by the wild Camer-
•onians ; and the late bishop's kindness, whose name is
Douglas, a very reverend and hospitable gentleman, and
-entertained me courteously.
About four miles farther was Sterling, a fine town, and
in two instances a copy of Edinburgh, as standing on a con
siderable rising, and having a strong castle to defend it,
built on a steep rock, and by a great river, over which is a
long stone bridge, and a strong gate. 'Tis a town of good
trade, having the benefit of the Fryth to bring up vessels
to it. 'Tis a royal borough, was formerly the king's palace,
and seat of Parliaments, is well built and continues still in
much reputation and honour. But I only pass'd through it,
and can say no more.
Twelve miles hence, and the midway between Sterling and
Edinburg, is the town of Linlithgow, a royal borough, with
a large building called the Castle, and was formerly the
residence of several princes. It is still own'd forthe king's
bouse, but used by my Lord Leviston,2 and consists of a
stately quadrangle, in the midst of which is a fine
fountain. About the quadrangle are divers niches or
places for images to stand in, but not one figure left besides
1 Archbishop Leighton, who died in 1684 (five years before Morer's visit),
.bequeathed a library of over 1500 volumes for the use of the clergy of the
diocese of Dunblane. The library still exists, and is known as the Bibliotheea
Leightoniensis, which is inscribed on the present building. 2 From the reign
Lof James VI., Linlithgow Palace had been little more than the occasional
residence of the Earls of Livingstone.

288 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1689.
the Pope's, which affords matter of reflection. There are
many such conveniences about the church wall, but there is
no effigies besides that of St Michael the archangel, the
protector or tutelar angel of the church and town, whose
common seal is gartered with this inscription —
Sancte Michael ora pro nobis.
The church is large and has an handsome gallery and a
seat for the king. One of its ministers formerly served at
Iver in Buckinghamshire, by name Mr Seaton, who studies
divinity and physick together.
'Tis from Linlithgow to Glasgow 24 miles, and we go
through Falkirk and Kelsyth, two boroughs of royalties,
but there is nothing remarkable in 'em, nor in all the way
to Glasgow, excepting the sight of grey crows, which are
very numerous in this country.
Glasgow is a place of great extent and good situation ;
and has the reputation of the finest town in Scotland, not
excepting Edinburgh, tho' the royal city. The two main
streets are made cross-wise, well paved and bounded with
stately buildings, especially about the centre, where they
are mostly new, with piazzas under 'em. It is a metro-
politane sea, and at the upper end of the great street stands
the archbishop's palace, formerly without doubt a very
magnificent structure, but now in ruines, and has no more
left in repair than what was the ancient prison, and is at
this time a mean dwelling. A little higher is the church, a
great fabrick, with a lofty steeple, built by St Mungo, who
lies buried between four pillars in that part of the church
they call the baronie ; for it is divided into three parts, the
upper, the lower, and the baronie, which is assigned the
country people thereabouts for their use, and the town has
nothing to do with it. This cathedral, with one large church
more in the heart of the city where the magistrates attend,
are all the places of publick worship at Glasgow, the nest of
fanaticism, and the most factious town in all that kingdom.
The yard belonging to the cathedral is the common burial-
place, and the fence or wall consists of continued monu
ments, or stones erected for the memory of the dead, a

1689.] THOMAS MORER. 289
pretty device and useful. From hence to the river the city
reaches, a mile in length, the half of which is upon a declen
sion. This river is a great current, called the Clyde, and
conduces much to the riches of the inhabitants, and makes it
the most considerable town of that nation. Here are several
hospitals, or houses of charity, and many spires more for
ornament than use : And a tolbooth or common-hall very
magnificent (as most of 'em are in the towns of Scotland)
for publick entertainments, or city business.
Glasgow is as factious as it is rich. Yet the most con
siderable- persons for quality, are well disposed to the church.
But the disaffected make up that defect with number, and
sometimes call the hill men or field conventiclers to assist
'em. Over the river Clyde is a very fine bridge, with a great
number of arches ; 1 and on the other side is a little town,2
which is the suburbs of Glasgow, and is as Southwark to
London. The sight of the river and arms of Glasgow
(being a fish with a ring in his mouth), put me in mind of
this story, as the inhabitants report it.8
A young lady being courted by a gentleman living not
far from Glasgow, was presented with a ring, which after
marriage, going over the river, she accidentally let fall into
the water. A while after, the husband missing the ring
grew jealous, and suspected she had given it to some other
man whom she fancied better. This created great discontent,
nor could the archbishop himself reconcile 'em, tho' he
earnestly and often endeavour'd it ; till one day walking in
a green by the river-side, and seeing the fishermen drawing
their nets, it so happened that the bishop made a purchase
of the draught, and in the mouth of one of the fishes found
the ring, which had occasioned so much animosity and
quarrels between the man and his wife. The bishop
immediately carries the ring to the husband, convinces him
of his wife's innoceney, and so without much difficulty
reconciles 'em again. And from the strangeness of the
1 Erected in 1350, and widened and modernised in 1770. 2 The Gorbals.
3 Morer here gives a version of the well-known legend of St Mungo and Lang-
neth, queen of Strathclyde, invented to account for the salmon and ring,
which make part of the arms of the city of Glasgow. T

290 EARLY TRAVELS IN SCOTLAND. [1689.]
event, from this time forward, was made the arms of the
town. We went from Glasgow to Ayre, a country-town, and
royal borough, situated near the Clyde, the same river that
runs up to Glasgow, from whence it is distant 24 miles.
Here are seen the ruins of a citadel, built by Oliver
Cromwell about the year 1652, and was demolish'd after
the Eestauration. In this town King William and Queen
Mary were first proclaimed, and own'd for their sovereign.
The town is pretty enough, and had formerly a very great
trade, but is much impair'd of late years by the losses they
have sustained ; so that now they give way to the success of
Glasgow, and chuse rather to freight other men's ships,
than be at the hazard to build any of their own. There is
a small river runs by the town side into the Clyde, with a
good bridge upheld by four arches.1 Here I had the sight
of a manuscript in much repute, and of which I had heard
before, tho' I could not come at it, when I had more leisure
to peruse it. The Bishop of Dunkell was the author. It
is an historical account or narrative of all the transactions
during the late civil war, wherein being himself a concern'd
party, he was better able to do such a work.2
3 The ' Auld Brig ' of Burns. 2 Henry Guthrie or Guthry was made Bishop
of Dunkeld in 1665, and died in 1677. " He wrote Memoirs of Scottish Affairs
from the year 1637 until the Murder of good King Charles I." — Keith, Cata
logue of Scottish Bishops, p. 99 (edit. 1824). Guthrie's manuscript, to which
Morer refers, was published at London in 1702, and afterwards at Glasgow in
1747.

INDEX.

Abbbbkothook = Abbey of Burbro-
do-che, 5.
Abercarny, Lord, 115.
Aberdeen = Dabberden, 5; Aberdyne,
20 ; described by De Beaugue, 66 ;
112, 151; bridge at, 152; 163; de
scribed by Tucker, 172-4 ; described
by Franck, 203-5; 218.
Aberdour, 169.
Abernetby, 218.
Acherson, James, 126.
Ailsa Craig =Ellsey, 153.
Albany, Duke of, 44, note.
Allan Water, 194.
Alloa = Alloway, described by Tucker,
168.
Alloa Tower, 117.
Almond, the, 171.
Angus, 19.
Annan, the River, 107.
Annan, 250.
Anstruther, 169, 170.
Apples, 275.
Arbroath, Abbey of Burbro-do-che,
5; Arbroith, 20 ; Arbroth, 172.
Archbishoprics, number of, 45.
Archibalds, John, 118.
Ardmillian, 180.
Ardoch, Bridge of, 196.
Armour, use of, 74.
Army, Scottish, in 1498, 48 ; 52.
Arnet, "William, and his inn at Cock-
burnspath, 127.
Arran, Island of, 153, 179.
Artillery, 48.
Assynt, 176.
Atholl =Athill, 20.
Atholl— Erie of Acelelles, 3; Earl
of, 124.
Auchmuchty, James, 113.
Auchterarder =Entrearde, 4.

Auldhame = Adam, 127.
Ayr, 21, 23, 151, 163; described by
Tucker, 179; 290.
Ayton=Aton, 81 ; Aten, 144 ; Aiton,
228.
Badenoch = Bedvaasok, 3 ; Baden ¦
asshe, 4, 5 ; hunt in, 123.
Badgers, 87.
Bag-pipes, 99, 258, 265.
Balcary, 180.
Baledgarno = Balygernathe, 5.
Baliol and Edward I. at Montrose, 4.
Ballantry =Ballantrae, 180.
Ballo Castle = Castle Grant, 123.
Balvenie, 5.
Banff =Banet Castle, 5, 152, 173.
Baptism, ceremony of, described, 101,
146, 258.
Barley, grown on the islands, 46 ; in
Scotland, 86, 232.
Barnacle geese, 26, 56-7, 202-3.
Bass Rock, described by Swave, 55;
by De Beaugue, 67 ; by Taylor,
126-7; by Brereton, 135; 216; by
Ray, 232-4.
Baylie, James, 127.
Baylye, Will, 157.
Bears in Scotland, 60, 254.
Beaufort Castle = Lovet, 200.
Beer, 74 ; home-brewed, 89 ; brewery
iu Edinburgh, 141 ; made without
hops, 228; 263.
Benavon, 120.
Benoit, Rene, xv.
Bergenroth's Simancas Papers, 39.
Berner's Froissart, 8.
Berteville, Jean, xii.
Bervie = Barvye, 20.
Berwick on Tweed= Barwyk, 2; siege
of, 3, and note; Barwik, 6 ; Berwike

292

INDEX.

17 ; Barwyke, 23 ; and .ffineas Syl
vius, 28, 29 ; fortress at, 53 ; bridge
by Henry VII., 53, aud note; de
scribed by Moryson, 81, 86; by
Taylor, 128 ; by Brereton, 132-3 ;
163, 165, 227; by De Rocheford,
229 ; by Ray, 230-1.
Bishoprics and Abbacies, revenue from,
in 1498, 42 ; number of, 45; 83, 100.
Blacknesse, 17, 167.
Blaeu's Atlas, xxvi.
Blare, James, of Irvine, 154.
Blythe, 108.
Boece, Hector, x.
Boghall Castle, 186.
Bog-of-Gight Castle, 125.
Bo'ness = Bowne, 17; 163, 167.
Bordeaux, wine from, 78.
Bothwell, James, Earl of, 76.
Bowyer, Sir William, 128.
Box-beds, 89.
Braemar, 120.
Brahan Castle, 200.
Brantfime, xvi.
Bread, oatmeal of, 273.
Brechin = Breghem, 5; Brichan, 20 ;
Breekin, 118 ; the Water-Poet at,
125; 152, 218.
Brereton, Sir William, xxii, 132.
Bridge at Berwick, 132, note; in
Scotland, 152.
Brimstone and butter, 103.
Brome, James, xxii, 241.
Bronkhorst, Arnold, xxiv.
Broom, 75.
Buchan — therle of Bochan, 4 ; Earl
of, 120.
Buchanan, George, 256, 282-3.
Buckle's Sketch of Scottish History,
16.
Bullets of gold, value of, 112.
Burgundy, Duke of, 13, 30; wears the
Cross of St Andrew, 49.
Burntisland = Bruteian, 69; 112, 113,
125, 163, 169, 170, 212, 213.
Bute, 178.
Cabbage, 88.
Gadder, 221.
Caim-o'-Mount, 125.
Caithness = Chatnesse, 20.
Calderwood, David, 138.

Callis, William, lodging-house, 136.
Cambuskenneth = Camskinelle, 18.
Camden, xxv.
Campbell, John, 56, 58.
Camphire = Campvere or Vere, 87.
Cantlow — Sir John Cantelow, 5.
Capua, Prior of, 66, and note.
Cardan, Jerome, xiii.
Cardross, 193.
Carlisle = Carlill, 22; Carelyl, 22;
Carlile, 107.
Carrick = Carryct, 21;*23; cave of,
149, 156; 179.
Cars, the, of Prestongrange, 82.
Cartelok (Kirkintilloch) Castle, 221.
Cassanate, William, xiii.
Cassillis, Lord, 154.
Castelton, 4.
Caudwel, Domine, anecdote regarding,
195.
Chappell, the (Stranraer), 180.
Charles VI. of France, 13.
Chastaigner, Louis, xvi.
Chastellard, xvi.
Cheese, 61.
Church, the government of, 143 ;
service, 146, 239, 258 ; training
for, 257.
Churches, highly ornamented, 79 ;
in Edinburgh, 284.
Clackmanan=Clakmannan, 18.
Claret, 265; price of, 274.
Climate of Scotland in 1598, Fynes
Moryson, 86.
Cluny = Clony Castle, 4.
Clyde, the, 23, 163, 176, 219, 276,
289.
Coaches in Edinburgh, 140.
Coal, given in alms, 26; and note; 61,
75 ; sea-coal, 87 ; mines, 98 ; at
Culross,' 115, note, 116, 117; price
of, 148 ; at Tranent, 227; 275.
Cockburnspath, 127, 228.
Cockles, 214.
Cocks, non-crowing, 57.
Codfish, caught in moats, 78, 214.
Coldingham = Coldynghm, 3; 6, 22.
Coldstream = Calderstreme, 2.
Colewort, red, 88.
Compass of straw, 211.
Comyn, Sir John, of Badenoch, 3,
and note, 4.

INDEX.

293

Conies, 87.
Constable, Marmaduke, family of,
57.
Contareno, Peter Francis, xii.
Cookery, primitive, 8-9 ; bread, 79 ;
on a deer hunt, 122 ; 263, 273.
Cormorants, 233, 254.
Corn, method of sowing and cutting,
44 ; 86, 87 ; plenty of, 98.
Cowie = Cowy, 20.
Crabs, 214.
Crail, 169, 17J., 212.
Cramond, 163, 166.
Cranston, David, 77, and note.
Crawfish, 214.
Craycross = Creke Crosse, 22.
Crighton, Master, 115.
Cromarty, 175, 176, 218.
Crows, 27, and- note.
Cuffabouts, 167.
Culross = Cooras, 115.
Cupar-Fife, 211.
Curlew, 214.
Currants, 275.
Customs in 1498, 42.
Dalkeith, castle, 8; 10, 82, 216.
Danes, 53.
Darnaway Castle = Tarnaway, 124.
David I. of Scotland, 8.
D'Angers, Sir Aubert, death of, 9.
De Ayala, Don Pedro, xi, 16, 39, 50,
51, 54.
De Beaugue, Sire Jean, xii, 63.
De Charny, Sir Geoffry, 10.
Dee, the, 20, 204.
Deer hunt in Braemar Forest,
120-3.
De Lalain, Jacques (1448), 30-8.
De Longueville, Madame, 75, and
note.
De Medina, Sir John, xxiv.
De Meriadet, Herve, 32.
Denmark, Anne of, 94.
De Rocheford, Jorevin, 217.
De Rohan, Henri, Due, Travels,
91-5.
De Thermes, Monsieur, 78.
De Vienne, Sir John, 11, 12.
De Witt, James, xxiv.
Dickson, Rev. David, 155.
Dirt of the houses, 97.

Distances travelled by the Scottisl:
army, 8.
Dogs, used for hunting, 61.
Done (Don) Bridge, 152.
Donglasse, 22, 67.
Dornoch, 202.
Dornock, 218.
Douglas— Lord William Dowglas, 3
Sir William, 8 ; Earl of, 9, 12
William, Earl of, 30, and note
Douglas and Burgundy, 32-8.
Douglas, 238.
Dozay, Monsieur, 76.
Dress, 47, 121, 140, 142, 231-2, 260.
269-70, 272.
Drink, different kinds of, 274.
Drinking, habits of, 90.
Drip (Ford of) = Tirps, 18.
Drummond = Dromon Castle, 195.
Drummond of Hawthornden, xx

Drummond, David, 113, 129.
Dryburgh = Treborch, 56.
Dn Bartas, Guillaume de Salluste,
xvii.
Duck, 214.
Dumbarton = Dumbertayne, 21 ;
Domberterand, 75, 78, 151, 163,
177, 207, 218.
Dumfries, 21, 22, 151, 179, 184, 238,
239, 249.
Dunbar, Earl of— Erie Patrik, 3,
and note.
Dunbar, Earl of= George Hume, 232.
Dunbar, Castell of Dunbarre, 3, 10,
17,22,23; De Beaugue's description
of, 67; 75, 78, 81, 112, 127, 134,
152, 165, 227; described by Ray,
231, 232; 239, 242.
Dunblane, 191, 193, 194-5, 287.
Dundee, 5, 20, 55, 58, 67, 112, 125,
151, 163, 171, 172, 208-9, 287.
Dundu(f=Dundufmull, 180.
Dunfermline = Donffremelyn, 6; 10 ;
Domfarmelin, 94 ; palace and
church, 115, 148; 212.
Dunfermline, Earl of, 102.
Dunglass Castle, 134.
Dungyrdloch = Drumgarloch, 180.
Dunkeld, 171, 218.
Dunnotter Castle, 206.
Dunrobin, 175.

294

INDEX.

Dnnskey Castle, 158.
Dunnre, 180.
Durham — Bishop of Dwreysm, 5.
Durris = Downes, 5.
Dysart= Disert, 18, 112, 170.
Eagles, 214.
Earls, Scottish, and their soldiers,- 45.
East Linton, 227.
Edinburgh = Edenbrough , Edward I. 's
visit, 4, 6 ; French Army in, 9 ;
described by Froissart, 10; 23, 47,
56 ; Ennebroc, 75 ; Lislebourg, 78 ;
walls of, 84, and note ; described by
Fynes Moryson, 82-4, 86 ; by Due
de Rohan, 92-3; 99; Taylor's visit
to, 108-12, 125, 126 ; described
by Brereton, 136-42 ; 151 ; Howell
writes from, 159; Tucker's account,
164-5 ; Franck's, 21 5 ; 218 ;described
by De Rocheford, 221-6; by Ray,
234-5 ; by Brome, 242 ; by Morer,
278-85.
Edinburgh Castle, siege of, 4; 83,
93, 99, 109-10, 138-9, 215, 234,
281.
Edinburgh, High Street, 83, 110, 139,
215.
Edward I., voyage of, in 1295, 1-6.
Edward VI., 71.
Edzell, 119.
Eel, 214.
Ehingen, Georg von, x.
Elgin, Earl of, 120.
Elgin = Deigm, 5 ; Elgen, 124, 152,
257.
Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, 94.
Elphinstone, Sir George, 152.
Elphinstone, 168.
Ely, 169, 170.
Emigration to Ireland, 154.
Enterkin, the, described by John
Ray, 238.
Enzie =Lannay, 5.
Erskine Ferry, 177.
Erskine, Lords of, 86,
Esk, the, 107.
Ettrick = Etryke, 22.
Ewes-dale =¦ Ewysdale, 22.
Execution of a criminal, 225.
Exports, 87.
Eyemouth = Esmons, 67, 165, 166.

Falkirk, 148, 221.
Falkland, 18, 85, 212.
Farms, value of, in 1498, 41.
Farro Islands, 217.
Fast Castle =Fauxcastel, 67.
Fasting-man, account of, 56.
Fenton, John, 115.
Ferdinand and Isabella, 39.
Fernell=Fernovell, 4.
Fife = Fiffe, 18, 45, and note, 85, 210-
11.
FiDdorne, 174.
Fish, dried and salted, 87.
Fisheries in 1498, 43 ; rent from, 43.
Fisherrow=Fisherawe, 82.
Flemish, the arrival in Scotland of
the, 43, and note.
Floating Island of Lochlomond, 57 ;
of Loch Ness, 196.
Food, of the common people, 27 ; in
1598, 88 ; 231.
Forests in Scotland, scarcity of trees,
13, and note; no trees, 26, and
note; well-timbered oak, 60.
Forfar Castle, 4, 125, 286.
Forth, the Frith of = Scottish so, 4 ;
Foorth, 17, 18, 19, 23, 193-4
windings of, 237; 276.
Foxes, 60, 254.
Fox's Journal, xxiii.
France, young Scotchmen well
received in, 48, 102.
Franck, Richard, xxii, 182.
Fraserburgh, 173, 174.
French in Scotland, 9, 85, 93.
Friars Observant, 40, and note.
Froissart, Jean, his acquaintance
with Scotland, 7 ; different trans
lations of, 8.
Fruits, 44.
Funerals, 101, 239, 259.
Futtie, 173.
Fyvie = Fyuin Castell, 5.
Gaelic, the language in the " wooded
region," 27; James IV. 's knowledge
of, 39 ; in the islands, 48 ; 174,
262.
Galloway, 21, 22 ; name for Scotland
south of the Forth, 45, and note,
157, 179.
"Galloways" — horses, 8.

INDEX.

295

Garioch = Garioth, 20.
Garmouth, 174, 176.
Garran, 180.
Garvilland, Port, 180.
Gatehouse of Fleet, 180.
Geese, 28 ; salted, 88, 214.
General Council, 46.
Geographical position of Scotland
described, 25-6, 48, 50, 59, 72, 217.
Gibel, John, 115.
Gipsies, 28.
Girven, 180.
Glasgo w= Glasgo, 21, 23 ; Brereton's
visit to, 150-4 ; bridge at, 152 ;
163, 176-7, 179, 191-3, 218-9,
219-21,^37, 248, 288-90.
Glass, made of kelp and sand, 234.
Gleenfoote, 180.
Glenbervie = Glowberwy, 5.
Glenesk, 119.
Glutton, the, 263.
Gold-mines, 61.
Gooseberries, 275.
Gosford, 126.
Gos-hawks on Ailsa Craig, 154.
Gossander, 214.
Gowrie — The Kerse of Gowry, 19.
Graham — Lord Patrik of Greahm, 3,
and note.
Grahame, Sir John, 149.
Grahames Wall, 149.
Grampians, 19.
Grangemouth, 167.
Greenock, 178, 219.
Hacket, Laird, of — Hauket, 32 ;
Haguet, 32.
Haddington = Hadyngton, 3, 6 ; Had-
dyngtoune, 17 ; Edimton, 67 ;
Hadirington, 82; 152, 216, 227.
Haddock, 214, 263.
Hamilton, 238 ; palace, 249.
Hamilton, Duke of, 76 ; Marquis of,
138, 153.
Hardyng, John, 16 ; Chronicle of,
17-23.
Hares, 60, 225.
Hastings — Sir John Hastynges, 5.
Hawick = Ha wike, 22.
Hawks, 214.
Hay, 98 ; price of, 150 ; scarcity of,
264, 267.

Hay, Robert, 113, 129.
Hay, Sir George, Earl of Kinnoul,
102, and note.
Heath-game, 214.
Hebrides = Ebudes, 217.
Henderson, James, 126.
Henry, Prince, son of James VI., 9-1.
Heralds, 99.
Heriot's Hospital, 141, 246, 282.
Herrings, great quantities exported,
44; fisheries, 87, 214, 217; at Dun
bar, 232.
Highlands described, 218, 268.
Hogs, 60.
Holyrood Palace = Holy Crosse, 83:
110, 215, 283.
Horse-post, 278.
Horses, of the Scots, 8; value in 1367,
12; management, 27; breed, 60, 86;
wild, 121; harness, 255; hire of,
264.
Hospitality, treatment of foreigners,
44, 52, 60.
Hostility to the English, 60.
Houses, construction of, 27, 47, 52,
74, 84 ; state of, 140, 142, 190,
195, 231, 260, 274-5, 279 ; sheep
grazing on top, 186.
Howell, James, 96 ; Familiar Letters,
159.
Hume, Lord, 81.
Huntly, Marquis of, 120, 125.
Hutton, Berwickshire — Hatton, 2.
Imports, 87.
Inchgarvy, 167.
Inchkeith = Isle Dieu, 69 ; Isle aux
Chevaux, 78.
Inhabitants of Scotland character
ised, 27, 51-2.
Innerquharanche = Interkeratche, 5.
Innerwick=Anderwick, 134.
Inns in Scotland, 89, and note.
Interest on money, "in kind," 77, 81.
Inverbreakie, 201.
Inverkeithing = Ennerkethen, 19,
169.
Inverness, 152, 163, 174, 176, 199,
262.
Inverqueich=Entrecoit Castell, 4.
Iron, none in Scotland, 11.
Irvine, 151, 154, 178, 179.

296

INDEX.

Islands, number of inhabited, 45,
163.
Isle of Man, 54.
Italian's, an, account of Scotland in
1500, 50.
James I. described, 25.
James IV. described by Pedro de
Ayala, 39-41 ; government of the
Highlands, 46.
James V., "Navigation round Scot
land," xi ; and Peder Swave, 54 ;
at Melrose, 57.
James VI., 92 ; visit to Scotland,
98-9.
Jasper, columns of, in Melrose, 58.
Jedburgh = Gardeford, 4; Gaydeford, 4;
22 ; Jeduart, 56, 58 ; Jedard, 186.
Jonson, Ben, xx ; and Taylor the
Water-Poet, 104 ; in Edinburgh,
126.
Jorevin, xxii.
Kale, 210, 231.
Keeling, 214.
Kelburn, 178.
Kelso, 10.
Kendrick, Sir Alex, of Cullen, 156.
Kennedy, Joan, mistress of James
IV., 41.
Kennett, 16S.
Kildrummy = Kyndroken, 5.
Kilmalcolm, 218.
Kilmarnock, 188.
Kiipatrick, 177.
Kincardine = Kyncarden, 5 ; Kynge
Carden, 5 ; Kincarne, 168.
Kinclavin = Kyne Colowen Castle,
4.
Kindroghit Castle, 121.
Kinghorn= Quincornes, 78; 85, 112;
well at, 113; 125, 169, 170.
King's places of residence, 46.
Kintore = Kyntorn, 5.
Kirkcaldy, 112, 169, 170, 212.
Kirkcudbright, 179, 180.
Kirke, Thomas, 251.
Kirkwall, 175.
Kitliwake Gull, 233.
Knighthood, order of, conferred by
James IL, 32.
Kyle=Kile, 23, 179.

Lammeemoee, 22.
Lanark =Lamarke, 23.
Lapwings, 257.
Lauder = Lowedere 3 ; Lowdere 4 ;
Lader, 22 ; Ladres, 67.
Lauderdale = Lawdendayle, 22.
Law, administration of, in 1498, 42.
Leadhills, 238.
Lead-mines, 61.
Le Grange, David, xxiv.
Leith, 17 ; Petit Lict, 69, 84 ; Lits
or Petit Lict, 93 ; exports from,
112; 142, 163, 167, 214, 215, 218
226, 234, 247, 285.
Lennox, Duke of, 138.
Lenox, 20.
Lesley, Bishop, xii, xxvi.
Leven, 169, 170.
Levingston, Henry, 126.
Liddesdale = Lyddis-dale, 22.
Lindores = Loundos, 6.
Lindsay, Barnard, 112.
Ling — heather, 134.
Linlithgow = Lunsta, 4 ; Lansen, 6 ;
Lithko, 17; Lythko, 23, 45; Lescow,
94; Light-Goaw, 148, 151 ; Lyn-
lithquo, 167, 221; 236, 247, 287.
Linnen cloathes, 87.
Livingstone, Earls of, 287.
Livingstone, Sir William, 158.
Lobsters, 214.
Loch Leven, 19.
Lochlevyne, Laird of, 32.
Lochlomond, xxii ; floating island,
57, and note, 149, 199.
Loch Ness, 174, 197.
Lodgings of the French iu Edinburgh,
10; difficulty to procure, 76 ; at
Blythe, 108 ; at Edzell, 119 ; at
Brechin, 125 ; at Cockburnspath,
127 ; at Berwick, 134 ; at Edin
burgh, 136, 145; at Glasgow, 152 ;
at Irvine, 155 ; at Hugh Boyde's
house, 158 ; at a country cottage,
186, 264.
Lonquhards= forest huts, 121.
Lord High Commissioner's procession,
244.
Lord's Supper, sacrament of, 147.
Lords, the, in Scotland, 100.
Lord Provost of Edinburgh, 246, 280.
Lowlands described, 271.

INDEX.

297

Machant, 194, 196.
Mackrel, 214.
Maidens, the = Maidenhead, 180.
Malcolm, King of Scot, 53.
Mallard, 214.
Map, ancient, of Scotland, xxv.
Map of Scotland, 13th century,
author unknown, xxv.
Mar— Earl of Marre, 4, 5, 115, 120.
Mar, district of, 20, 45, note.
Markinch, Merkynch, 6.
Marnock, the, 190.
Marriage, without the ring, 101 ;
ceremony, 258.
Martens, 87.
Marvels in Scotland, barnacle geese,
26, 56 ; floating island, 57.
Master of Arts, training for, 257.
Maxwell, John, and the Water-Poet,
109, 126.
Maxwell, Mr, of Anderwick, 134.
May, Isle of, De Beaugue's descrip
tion of, 69 ; 136.
Mearns=Marnes, 5 ; Morenue, 5 ;
Meernes, 20.
Melrose, 22 ; Jemoers, 57, 58.
Melville's, James, Diary, xvii.
Menteith = Menteth, 18.
Mercator's Atlas, ix.
Metal, temper of, 190.
Mice, none in Ross, 201.
Moffat = Mophot, 107, aud mote.
Monasteries or abbeys, number of,
45.
Money, value in 1498, 42; scarcity
of, 79 ; value, 240, 265, 277.
Mongavile, Laird of, 32.
Mons Meg at Edinburgh Castle, 110,
245.
Monteith — erle of Monetet, 3.
Monteith, 45, note, 194.
Montigny, Messire Simon de Lalain,
Lord of, 32.
Montrose, Duke of, 44, note.
Montrose = Monorous, 4; Monrosse,
20; 66, 172, 173, 207.
Moor Fowl, 214.
Moray, Earl of, 9, 12.
Moray = Mureffe, 20 ; 45.
Morer, Thomas, xxii, 266.
Morrison's Haven, 166.
Morton, Earl of, 82.

Moryson, Fynes, 80-90.
Mount Keen = Skeene, 119.
Mull, Island of, 261.
Murray, Bishop of, 124.
Murray, Captain, 113.
Murray, Earl of, Banquet, xii.
Murray, Earl of, 121, 124.
Murray, Sir Patrick, 124.
Murray, Sir William, 115, 120.
Murray, 152.
Music, 264.
Musselborough, 82, 136, 148, 166,
216, 227.
Mussels, 214.
Mutton, salted, 88, 214.
Mynour, artist, xxiv.
Navy in 1598, 86.
Neal's Craigs, 214.
Newark, 178, 218.
Newbattle = Abbey of Neubattaill, 4.
Newburgh, Aberdeen, 173.
Newcastle, 29.
Newhaven, 166.
Newport = South Ferry, 169, 171.
Niddrie, 227.
Nith, the = Arnotus, 185, 249.-
Nithsdale = Nithysdayle, 21.
Norham Castle, 29, note.
Nucius Nicauder, 59-62.
Oak Forests, 60, 61.
Oat Cakes, 9, 89, 157, 186.
Oatmeal, chief fare, 98.
Oats, 86 ; price of, 150 ; 232, 267.
Ochills = Oyghylles, 18 ; Oyghles, 18,
221.
Oil of Bays, 103.
Organ in Holyrood Chapel, 98,
note.
Orkney Islands, 26, 45, and note, 54,
174, 176.
Ortelius's Atlas, xxvi.
Otters, 87.
Oxen, without horns, 60-61.
Oysters, size of, 27, 214.
Paisley, 218.
Panton, George, xii.
Paris, Matthew, xxv.
Parliament House, Edinburgh, 137,
160, 280.

298

INDEX.

Partridge, 210, 214.
Payment in kind in 1598, 88.
Pearls, exported, 27, and note.
Pears, 275.
Peas, 267.
Peat, 26, note, 150, 276.
Peebles = Pebles, 23.
Pennyless Pilgrimage, 107-31.
Pentland=Pictland Hills, 268.
Perch, 214.
Perlin, Estienne, 71.
Perth, xxiii ; Saynt Johns, 4 ; Saint
John of Perte, 5 ; Saynte Jhons
Towne, 18, 19, 20, 66, 118, 151,
152, 171, 218, 285-7.
Peterhead, 173, 174.
Peter's Pence, 58, note.
Pewter Pots, 143.
Pheasant, 210, 214.
Physic Garden in Edinburgh, 284-5,
and note.
Piccolomini, tineas Sylvius, 24.
Pidgeon. 214.
Pigs, 256.
Pike, 214.
Pinkerton = Pikelton, 6.
Pistols, cost of, 145.
Pittenweem, 169, 170, 212.
Plaice, 214.
Plover, grey and green, 214.
Plums, 275.
Poland, emigration to, 88.
Police, 47.
Pope Pius II. , 24.
Population of Edinburgh in 1636,
141.
Pork, 214.
Porpoises, 255.
Porridge, 88.
Portincragge, 19.
Port Patrick, 149, 158, 180, 278.
Prelates, 46.
Prestonpans, Prestongraung, 82, 166,
216.
Prineipatus Gallovidice, 45, and
note.
Prineipatus insularum, 45, and
note.
Privy Council, Edinburgh, 46,
137.
Provisions, price of, 73.
Ptarmigans, 254.

Quart Measure, 107.
Queensferry, 167.
Queens of Scotland, possessions of,
47.
Rabbits, 225.
Ransom, claimed by the Scots for
damage done by the French army,
14-15.
Rats, none in Ross, 201.
Ray, John, 230.
Bed Castle, near Montrose, Balyger-
natthe, 5.
Red-shankes, 120, and note.
Religion, 100-1, 269.
Renfrew, 177, 179, 219.
Rents in kind, collection of, 47.
Revenue in the time of James IV.,
41.
Ringing Rock, near Port Patrick,
149.
Roads, 264.
Robert IL, 10.
Rochelle, wine from, 78.
Rollock, Principal of Edinburgh
College, 146.
Ross, Duke of, 44.
Ross— Roos, erle of, 3.
Ross = Rosse, 20, 45, note, 575.
Rothes = Rosers Maner, 5.
Rothesay, Duke of, 44, note.
Rowlands, Samuel, 105.
Roxburgh, Lord, 135.
Roxburgh(Bokesbrough)— Castell, 3 ;
Graie Freres, 4 ; Roussebroa, 67.
Rycks penny nek, 58.
Rye, 232.
Ryngwodfelde, 22.
Sabbath Exercise, 101.
St Andrew, patron saint of Scotland,
49.
St Andrews, Archbishop of, John
Hamilton, xiii.
St Andrews, Archbishop, richest
man in Scotland, 76, and note,
137-8.
St Andrews, xviii, xxii, 6 ; Saynte
Andrewes, 18, 65, 74, 77 ; Sainct
Andre, 78 ; 85, 101, 112, 151, 169,
171, 211-2, 218, 257.
St Catherines, oil well of, 57.

INDEX.

299

St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, 83,
100, 244, 281.
St John, Sir Hugh, 5.
St Margaret's Hope, 19.
St Monance, 169, 170.
St Mongo's Shrine, 20.
St Patrick = S. Patryke, 21.
Salmon, great quantities, 44 ; caught
in moats, 79 ; at Berwick, 81, 128,
133, 134 ; in the Spey, 174-5 ; in
the Forth, 193 ; servants' stipula
tion, 194; 214, 217; at Dunbar,
227.
Salt, 87.
Saltcoats, 178.
Salt-pans, 136, 148.
Sanquhar = Zanker, 187.
Scaliger, the younger, xvi.
Scart, the, 233.
Scone, 19, 148, 212.
Scots, characterised, 8, 43, 44, 47,
64, 74, 95, 163, 231, 264, 269.
Scots and French, disagreement at
Edinburgh, 10.
Scott, John, a hermit, 56, and note.
Scott, Sir Walter, on Froissart, 8.
Scottish mile, 107.
Scout, the, 233.
Seaports, number of, in 1498, 45.
Serpents near Dundee, 59.
Seton Castle, 82, 136.
Sharks, 255.
Sharpe, Dr, 138.
Sheep, immense flocks of, 44, 46, 60,
61.
Sheep-stealing, punishment for, 61.
Sherley, James, 146.
Sherry, sack, 265.
Shetland, 175.
Shooting, near Edinburgh, 224, 225.
Signets, 214.
Silver-mines, 61.
Simson, Simon, a doctor, 77, and
note.
Sinclair — Saintler, Sir William, 3.
Siward — Sir Richard Suard, 3.
Solan Geese, 57, 67, and note, 126 ; on
Ailsa, 154; on the Bass, 55 ; habits
of, 135-6, 233, 274.
Soles, 214.
Southerness = Satternis, 180.
South Esk, 207.

Soutra = Soltray, 23.
Speed's Atlas, xxv.
Spencer, Sir Hugh, 5.
Spey, 213.
Sport— James IV. hunts in the moun
tains, 41; hunting bears and wild
boars, 61 ; near Edinburgh, 224 ;
spearing salmon, 250.
Spottiswoode, Sir Robert, 137.
Spynie, 124.
Stag, Scots hunting the, 57, 60.
Stage-coaches, 278.
Stewart, of Bute, 144.
Stirling=Estrevelyn, 4 ; Strevelyn,
6, ] 7, 18, 21, 23 ; tournament at,
32-8; 45, 94, 115, 148, 151, 163,
168, 193, 218, 236-7, 287.
Stirling Castle, 118, 236.
Stock fish = stoque fix, 43.
Stonehaven, 173.
Stool of repentance, 144, 185, 257.
Stow= Stowe, 22.
Stranraer, 180.
Strathbogie, 125.
Strathearn— Earl of Stradern, 4.
Strathearn = Strathren, 19, 45.
Strathnavar, 202.
Sti-athnaverna, 176,
Strawberries, 275.
Stuart, John, 126.
Summer, day, length of, in, 61.
Sunday, observance of, 40.
Sutherland, 20, 45,
Sutors, the, 175.
Swans on Linlithgow Loch, 236.
Swave Peder, xi ; 1535-55, diary of,
55-8.
Sylvius, iEneas, Pope Pius II. , visit to
Scotland, 24.
Tain, 175, 202.
Tantallon Castle = Tinton, 78 ; 232.
Tarbert, Lochfyne, 177.
Tay = Taye, 18; 19, 56, 171, 218, 276.
Taylor, the Water-Poet, xxi, 104-
31.
Tayport = Portincragge, 20.
Teal, 214.
Tempest's, Nicholas, house, 129.
Teviotdale = Tyvydale, 22.
Thistle, the fairest flower in Scotland,
98, 253.

300

INDEX.

Thornback, 214.
Thurso, 175, 176.
Tin-mines, 61.
Tinto Hill, 186.
Tobacco, 263, 276.
Todrigg, George, 126.
Topographical description, 43, 60,
218, 241, 253, 266.
Torrie, 173.
Torryburn, 168.
Tranent =Trenat, 227.
Traquair, Eavl of, 145.
Trees in Scotland, scarcity of, 13, and
note; none, 26, endnote; the wooded
region, 27 ; oak forests, 60 ; not
one for Judas to hang himself, 97-8 ;
fir, 123 ; at Seaton, 136 ; want of,
150, 254.
Trevisano, Andrea, xi, 50.
Trout, abundance of, 187 ; 214 ; in
the Tyne, 227.
Tucker, Thomas, xxii, 162.
Turbot, 214.
Turnberry, 180.
Turtle-dove, 233.
Tweed, the = Twede, 2, 23, 28; Tivida;
53; 58, 128, 132.
Tyrie, Captain, 113.
Ubaldini, Petruccio, xiii.
Urr, 180.
Vansoum, Adrian, xxiv.
Vassals, time of service, 47.
Veal, 214.
Venison, 214.
Volcano, near Edinburgh, 57.

Wanlockhead, lead-mines, 187.
Wards, revenue from, in 1498,
42.
Warfare, Scottish mode of, 64,
Warham, Sir Thomas Worhne, 5.
Wark on Tweed, 23.
Washing clothes with the feet, 135,
143, 231, 255.
Weapons, 270.
Wedale, 22.
Weldon, Sir Anthony, 96.
Wemyss, 169, 170.
Wheat grown in Scotland, 60, 232.
White Kirk = Wiel, 4 ; Whitekirk,
near North Berwick, iEneas Syl-
vius's pilgrimage to, 25, note.
Whithorn, 180.
Whiting, 263.
Wick, 175.
Widgeon, 214.
Wigton (Weghkton), Earl of, 150.
Wigton, 180.
Wild ducks, 225.
Windows in houses, 231.
Wine, drinking of, 264.
Wine, white, 265.
Winter in Scotland according to
iEneas Sylvius, 25 ; length, of day,
25, 27.
Winton, Earl of, 136.
Witherington, Sir Henry, and the
Water-Poet, 113-5, 129.
Wolves, 27, and note, 60, 121.
Wood-cocks, 225.
Yarn, 87.
York, 129.

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