rtmm Aftwwvwvwtnrvvirvyvv®;' RICHARD BOOTH Hay-on-Wye Castle, Wales ajo.ooo ebooks in stock DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY SKETCHES OF GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Duke University Libraries https://archive.org/details/biographicdescri01blai BIOGRAPHIC AND DESCRIPTIVE M SKETCHES Of GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. By GEORGE BLAIR, M.A. Author of “The Holocaust,” "Lays of Palestine,” &c. How good to leave the city’s strife. To muse upon this sacred ground, And quit the troubled tide ol life. To commune with the dead around I While, pointing yet to thoughts more high. Yon holy towers their shadows cast. Where buried generations lie— The saints and heroes of the past. Set p. 9. Omncs eodem cogimur: omnium Versatur urna ; serius ocius Sore exitura— Hor. GLASGOW: MAURICE OGLE & SON, EXCHANGE SQUARE. THOMAS MURRAY & SON, BUCHANAN STREET. MDCCCI.VII. 9M. 0*/W3f & &3S B TO THE LORD DEAN OF GUILD, AND THE OTHER DIRECTORS OF THE MERCHANTS’ HOUSE OF GLASGOW, MATRICULATED MEMBERS OF THAT INSTITUTION, AND THE PROPRIETORS OF BURIAL-GROUND IN THE NECROPOLIS, 2Tf}t0 Folttnu, WITH THE SANCTION OF THE LORD DEAN OF GUILD, IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. The Necropolis may be justly regarded as the Westminster Abbey of Glasgow. It is to this City what the beautiful cemetery of 1 Pere la Chaise ’ is to Paris. Almost all our most eminent fellow-citizens who have been called to their rest within the last quarter of a century, arc either interred within its hallowed precincts, or are there represented by cenotaphs reared to their memory—some of them as tributes of private affection, others as tokens of public respect. Added to this consideration, the natural beauty of the rocky emi¬ nence, crowned with its monumental terraces; its claims to distinction as the first ornamental cemetery in this country; its close proximity to the old Cathedral, and to other objects of antiquarian interest; the ready access to it from the city, and the noble view which it affords of the surrounding country, render it a favorite resort of our citizens, as well as a principal attraction to strangers visiting Glasgow. This is precisely in accordance with the object and design of the Cemetery. The elegant and costly monuments with which it is now so richly embellished were never intended to bo hid from view. They resemble a city that is literally ' set on an hill'—a silent but significant city of the dead—to TBEFACE. viii. draw the attention of the living to the memory and virtues of the departed. But to render a visit to this very beautiful Cemetery really instructive and interesting, an adequate interpreter was required. This is a want which has been long felt, and was daily becoming more urgent. Without something of this kind, the monuments erected to our public men are mute and meaningless; the inscriptions are little better than hiero¬ glyphics; to the stranger, and even to many citizens, they are a sealed book, and fail to realise the principal object of their erection. Accordingly, the following pages have been written to meet this acknowledged want; to render the City of the Dead what it should be—a place fraught with instruction and profound interest to the LrviNa; to utter, as it were, in articulate language, that which is only implied or suggested, or very inadequately represented, in brief monu¬ mental inscriptions. In endeavoring to carry out this object in a proper manner, the writer has encountered greater difficulties than might be imagined—partly in obtaining the required infor¬ mation, and partly in drawing a line of demarcation between the public and the private. Aware of the delicacy of his task, he has chiefly confined himself to names of a decidedly public character, or those associated with monuments erected by public subscription. To attempt to enumerate in detail any considerable number of even the most prominent private monuments, would be out of the question; and, except in particular cases and with great precaution, to have given the inscriptions on such monuments, might sometimes have awakened feelings which it is far from his purpose to violate PREFACE. IX. in these pages. If, however, in the course of his progress, he occasionally ventures to allude to monuments which may be considered as partaking of a private nature, he trusts it will be found that he does so in terms which cannot give the slightest ground of offence to the relatives or friends of the deceased. The descriptive passages, if useful for no other purpose, may agreeably relieve and vary the monotony of the biographic notices, which constitute the principal part of the volume. With reference to these biographic sketches, the writer desires it to be clearly understood that the length to which they are extended, in particular cases, frequently depends on the facilities found for obtaining the required information, and must not be regarded as an index of the estimation attached to the life or character of the individual. Some have been necessarily passed over with only a slight notice, and yet a more numerous class without any notice at all, who, if a written record of their lives were accounted an accurate measure of their merits, would deserve an extended biography. But many whose private virtues and unseen benevolence constitute, indeed, the highest and best title to public esteem, must yet be left in death to the silence and obscurity in which they lived. Though not recorded in the page of human history, their names and their virtues will be ‘ had in ever¬ lasting remembrance ’ in a higher and more enduring register. Many an obscure individual, of whom there remains no other record than this, ‘ there lived a man,’ enjoys an immortality more desirable, because more real, than that of the highest literary reputation or scientific eminence. It is not the pro¬ vince of the writer, however, to intrude into the privacy and X. PREFACE. sanctity of that temple in which such names are enshrined. This must be his sole but sufficient excuse for passing over many of the monuments in the Necropolis reared to private worth, and for confining his attention chiefly and in detail to those that are associated with some kind of celebrity or peculiarity that gives them a title to be regarded as public property. He considers it no part of his duty, in traversing with deeply reverential feelings the silent city of the dead, to withdraw the veil which conceals the sacred memories blended with the many unostentatious virtues of domestic life. These remarks he has deemed necessary, lest it should be thought that undue prominence is given to some particular names, while others associated with equal worth, if not with equal celebrity, are passed over in silence. If some should urge as an objection to the plan of the work, that it mixes incongruous and heterogeneous ele¬ ments, bringing together on the same platform persons who occupied during their lifetime widely different positions in society, and moved in different and even conflicting spheres, the writer has merely to reply, that if this be a fault in the work, it is a fault in the Necropolis also; and not in the Necropolis alone, but in every existing cemetery and church¬ yard—a fault in the very grave itself. Death is the great leveller:— " ’Tis here all meet, Men of all climes, that never met before; The shiv’ring Icelander, and sun-burnt Moor; And of all creeds, the Jew, the Turk, the Christian —and not only of all climes and creeds, but of all grades and professions. The poet and the philosopher, the actor and PREFACE. XI. the divine, the humble clerk and the princely merchant, all meet in the grave :— “ There servants, masters, small and great, Partake the same repose; And there in peace the ashes rest Of those who once were foes.” Any incongruity in this respect, therefore, which may be thought to appear in the contents of this little volume, must be laid to the charge of the subject. That subject once selected, the writer had no alternative. If persons are here associated together who were not accustomed to associate in the busy scenes of life, they are so because w r e find them united in the silent grave at last, whither we are all fast hastening. Indeed, so far as relates to the minor consider¬ ation of rank, we discover but little in the Necropolis of the aristocratic element. It is singularly worthy of remark, that almost all its most prominent monuments are erected to persons who rose by their own exertions and merits from a humble position in society, either to affluence or to fame, or at least to high respectability and public usefulness. Ample proof of this will be found in the following pages. We men¬ tion it, not as a disparagement, but rather as conferring additional lustre on many names which have been considered worthy of conspicuous monuments. And this very circum¬ stance, indeed, enhances the value of the Necropolis as an useful monitor to the living. It reminds the visitor that even the humblest in the social scale may, by perseverance in well¬ doing, attain not only to wealth and distinction in life, but even to posthumous honors. XII* PREFACE. It only remains to be stated, that the following pages were suggested by a series of papers, from the pen of the author, which appeared in one of the Glasgow journals several years ago, and some of which, with the necessary changes and adaptations, are embodied in the present work. The account has been brought down to the latest possible date, and a summary of the contents of the volume, intended to serve as a Guide for the immediate use of visitors, is given at the enl of the Appendix. By following the route adopted, which, with a few occasional deviations, is the line of the principal carriage-way, the visitor will find himself introduced to every monument and memory of public interest in the Necropolis. In conclusion, the Author gratefully acknowledges his obligations to Archibald Newall, Esq., the venerable Col¬ lector to the Merchants' House, for kindly affording him every facility in obtaining the requisite information. CONTENTS Preface, Pact. vii. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Glasgow: Past, Present, and Future—Intramural and Extramural Interment—Elevating Tendency of Garden Cemeteries—Lines on the Necropolis, by a Lady,.1 CHAPTER I. Objects of Interest in approaching the Necropolis, ... 11 CHAPTER II. Character and Constitution of the Merchants’ House—Early His¬ tory of the Fir Park—Resolution to convert it into a Cemetery— Dr. Strang's ‘ Necropolis Glasguensis,’.20 CHAPTER III. The Bridge—The Facade—Projected Tunnel—The Egyptian Vaults —Gate and Lodge—Later Improvements,.30 CHAPTER IV. Geological Structure of the Necropolis—Its Superficial Extent— Names of the Compartments into which it is divided—View from Bridge—The Molendinar Nuisance,.41 CHAPTER V. Proposed Route—Obelisk of Peterhead Granite—Hugh Hamilton’s Monument—Meeting of Four Compartments—Grave of the Author of ‘ Tom Cringle’s Log’—The late James Bogle, Esq.— True Egyptian Obelisk—Tomb of the late Hugh Cogan, Esq., and other Monuments.50 CHAPTER VI. Motherwell’s Monument—His Life and Writings—Explanation of the Bas-Reliefs on the Monument,. 61 CHAPTER VII. Tombs near Motherwell’s Monument — Egyptian Vaults and adjacent Sepulchres —Obelisk to the late Henry Monteith of Carstairs, M.P.—Memoranda of the Monteith Family, : . 72 XIV. CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. Ralph Wardlaw, D.D.,.86 CHAPTER IX. John Dick, D.D.—Thomas Atkinson.97 CHAPTER X. Monument to the late John Henry Alexander, of the Theatre- Royal — Early History and Disasters of the Glasgow Stage— Sketch of the Life of Mr. Alexander,.; 10S CHAPTER XI. Dugald Moore—John Tait,.121 CHAPTER XII. Robert Kettle, late President of the ‘ Scottish Temperance League, ’ 129 CHAPTER XIII. The late Mr. David Robertson, Bookseller—James Reddie, LL.D., Advocate,.140 CHAPTER XIV. Sufferers in the 'Wreck of the ‘ Orion’—The Bairds of Gartsherrie —William Rae Wilson, LL.D.,.149 CHAPTER XV. Charles Tennant of St. Rollox,.160 CHAPTER XVI. Knox’s Monument—Inscriptions—History and Personal Appear¬ ance of John Knox—State of Scotland before the Reformation— View from the Base of the Monument,.168 CHAPTER XVII. James Ewing of Strathleven, LL.D., M.P.,.181 CHAPTER XVIII, Thomas Brown, D.D.:.198 CHAPTER XIX. William Black, D.D.,.. 211 CHAPTER XX. Rev. Edward Irving, A.M.222 CHAPTER XXI. Robert Muter, D.D.—Thomas Thomson, M.D., F.R.S.S- L. and E., 238 CHAPTER XXII. Rev. William Brash—William M‘Gavin, Author of ‘the Protestant,’ &c., .... ....... . 245 CONTENTS. XV. CHAPTER XXIII. Monuments overlooking the Facade—Nude Winged Figure—Beau¬ tiful Gothic Tomb—Dilletanti Society—Andrew Henderson— Greek Temple—Mr. Hill's BuryiDg-Ground, .... 259 CHAPTER XXIV. Hugh Heugh, D.D.,.270 CHAPTER XXV. William Dunn of Duntocher — The Relief Church — Upsilon defined—View from the Precipice—Extension of the Necropolis into the Quarry—Analysis of Water from the Quarry—The Lady Well,. 285* CHAPTER XXVI. Major Monteath’s Sepulchre—Mr. Buchanan’s Monument—Colin Dunlop of Tollcross,.293 CHAPTER XXVII. Descent into the Lower Necropolis—Theta, Zeta, Eta, Mnema— Interesting Tombs on the Family Hearth—Iota and Omicron, . 302 CHAPTER XXVIII. Alexander Rodger,.312 CHAPTER XXIX. Colonel Pattison’s Monument—Lambda and Delta—Robert Stuart, author of * Caledonia Romana,’ &c.,.323 CHAPTER XXX. The Jews’ Burying-Ground,.: 336 CHAPTER XXXI. General Remarks on the Monuments, Epitaphs, and Poetry of the Necropolis—Examples from Delta and Lambda— Poetry of Nature—The Snowdrop—Conclusion,.350 APPENDIX. List of Directors of the Merchants’ House, and Members of Necro¬ polis Committee,.365 Boundaries and Relative Position of the Compartments into which the Necropolis is divided,.366 Abstract of the Necropolis Regulations and Charges, . . . 369 James Fillans,.371 Rev. Ebenezer Erskine and Rev. James Fisher, .... 373 Atkinsoniau Hall—Summary of Mr. Atkinson’s Will, . . . 374 Execution of James Wilson.375 The Irvingites in Glasgow,. 376 Strata found in Boring in the Merchants’ Quarry, .... 377 SUMMARY or GUIDE for the IMMEDIATE USE of VISITORS, 379 ERRATA. Pago 50, ihlrd lino from foot, for point it, read point it out. ** 67, seventh do. do. for poroductions, read productions. GLASGOW NECROPOLIS INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. GLASGOW : PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE—INTRAMURAL AND EXTRAMURAL INTERMENT—ELEVATING TENDENCY OF GARDEN CEMETERIES—LINES ON THE NECROPOLIS, BY A LADY. “Row vain to hope for never-dying fame. If souls can die 1 But that they never die. This thirst of glory whispers. Wherefore gave The great Creator such a strong desire He never meant to satisfy ? These stones. Memorials of the dead, declare the soul Immortal. Man, form'd for eternity. Abhors annihilation, and the thought Of dark oblivion. Hence, with ardent wish And vig’rous effort, each would fondly raise Some lasting monument, to save his name Safe from the waste of years. Hence Caesar fought; Hence Raphael painted ; and hence Milton sung,"— Michael Brcce. Glasgow is justly proud of the magnificent trophies of her commercial and manufacturing enterprise, as these are ex¬ hibited to the world at this moment. Her glory is not associated with the past alone. As certain individuals who boast much of their ancestry have justly been compared to a common esculent, of which the most valuable portion is in the ground, so there are cities which survive only in ruins, which are great only in desolation, and live only in the dead. Their honor and glory are in the dust, and all their proud- est reminiscences point backward into the past. They are visited by poets, pilgrims, and antiquaries, not to admire them as they are, but to muse amid the crumbling memorials of their departed grandeur. Some cities are distinguished A GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. only ns museums of their own history. Like Egypt, their sepulchres are their monuments. Their greatness is deci¬ phered only in hieroglyphics. Glasgow, on the other hand, is great in modem history. Her wealth, her grandeur, her architectural elegance are of yesterday. It is w T ithin half a century that she has sprung up into a really great city, swarming with a pojrulation of hundreds of thousands. And still she moves forward in her career—stretches out on every side—extends her traffic, her shipping, her manufactures, and looks to the future rather than to the past, or even the present, for the full develop¬ ment of her'resources, and the brightest page in her history. And yet this mighty modern Glasgow is not a mere mush¬ room. She has also her hallowed and venerable associa¬ tions—her records and monuments of the remote past, as well as other cities that have less to glory of in the present, and less to anticipate in the future. Glasgow can point to her majestic Cathedral as one magnificent and enduring proof that she is not entirely modern. This stately and imposing edifice, soaring amid the smoke of her modern enterprise, links her present greatness with the dim tradi¬ tions of her mediaeval origin. Much that is ancient and venerable is embalmed in the throbbing heart of this mighty aggregation of the works of modern industry. But, even without reverting to the silently significant monuments of remote ages, Glasgow has monuments of more modem meaning, and of more recent erection, which cannot be contemplated by the native citizen, or even by the thought¬ ful stranger, without deep interest. Youthful as Glasgow still is in point of commercial and manufacturing greatness, one generation has already passed away of those who beheld the progressive dawning of this greatness, and acted an impor¬ tant part in promoting it. A City of the Dead is silently growing up in the midst of her, even while she still lives, extends, prospers, and multiplies. The dead are accumulat¬ ing amid the living, and their monuments are rising like a INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 3 tall and beautiful pyramid that overtops the city. Indeed, we may affirm that one of the distinguishing characteristics of Glasgow is the ample and excellent provision which she has already made for the last resting-places of her departed sons ; and one of these, the Necropolis, with the manifold ma¬ terials for study and reflection which it affords, will constitute the interesting.subject of the following chapters. The fearful disadvantages of intramural interment have only lately been recognised; and the total abolition of this unwholesome practice forms one important part of the great sanitary movement which has evidently set in at last, and for which we believe that we are not a little indebted to the , recent repeated visitations of one of the most awful and mys¬ terious scourges that afflict humanity. Burying within the precincts of populous towns has long been a practice almost exclusively confined to this country. In most of the conti¬ nental cities, the cemeteries for the dead are removed consi¬ derably beyond the walls, and often to a distance beyond the suburbs. There is a picturesqueness about these continental cemeteries, of which, till lately, we had almost no instances in this country. The very form of the monuments, often constructed of evanescent materials, strikingly contrasts with the heavy monotony of stone slabs, which generally constitutes the leading feature of English or Scottish churchyards. In this country, a burial-place was almost uniformly associ¬ ated with a church ; and hence the fact that, till of late years, even our detached cemeteries were termed churchyards. This also accounts for the circumstance, that most of our city churchyards are located in the heart of the population. People have a natural desire to repose after death, and to deposit the remains of their deceased relatives, in what they consider sacred ground. Death and the grave are associated with religion, because they are calculated, more than anything else, to withdraw our thoughts from the things of this world and to fix them on religious considerations. Hence the dead have crowded and accumulated around churches, and some- 4 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. times even penetrated within the house of God, although it is a maxim of the Presbyterian creed that no peculiar sanctity attaches to particular localities. We do not, like our brethren of the Church of England, consecrate our places of worship or the cemeteries of the dead; and yet we have a natural de¬ sire, based on the deepest and purest feelings of our nature, to associate an atmosphere of sanctity with both places, and to link them together by a common bond of religion. This is a feeling which it would be unwise to condemn, and exceedingly cruel to resist, except when it comes into contact with higher and holier considerations. And that it does so in creating and perpetuating the evil of intramural interment, is a truth which is now generally acknowledged, and which, we are happy to say, is beginning to he universally acted on. The ancient practice of consuming the bodies of the dead on the funeral pile is repugnant to the feelings and the usages of all Christian countries; and, this being the case, it is cer¬ tain that nothing can be more deleterious than to bury the remains of the dead amid the homes and haunts of the living. The extent to which this practice was long carried in London, from want of extramural accommodation, has led to disclosures that are perfectly appalling, and cannot fail to have hurried prematurely into their graves thousands and hundreds of thousands. These facts are now beginning to he well understood in this island; and Scotland, we rejoice to say, has taken the lead in the enlightened movement which duty and common sense, and even religion, dictate. Few of our large towns are now without ample and increasing accommodation in the shape of cemeteries. This is the more creditable to Scotland, as it shows that religious jmejudices—merely as such—are not permitted to stand in the way of substantial and acknowledged improvements. England has not the same prejudices to contend with; for, in England, wherever a burial-place is provided in connection with the Established Church, the ground is solemnly consecrated by religious rites. In Scot- INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. land it is not so; and yet we may repeat with perfect safety that Scotland has taken the lead in the movement, showing that, in this part of the island, genuine religion is not con¬ founded with merely religious prejudices, however amiable. Glasgow affords one of the most favorable illustrations of this truth. We may now say that no city in the world is better provided with suburban cemetery accommodation. There are about twenty burying-grounds in all in the city and suburbs. Most of these, we need not say, are mere ob¬ scure depositories of the dead—confined within narrow bounds, and totally devoid of the attractive decorations of a more modern taste. No considerable improvement was made in this respect until, in the year 1833, the Necropolis was opened as a place of public interment. This will always be, in some respects, the finest cemetery in Glasgow ; but it does not stand alone. The Sighthill Cemetery beyond the north-eastern suburbs, the ground of which was purchased for a public burial-place in 1840, and contains forty-nine acres, surpasses even the Necropolis in sylvan verdure, and commands a most delightful prospect. There is also the Southern Necropolis in the Gorbals, which embraces in its beautiful enclosure an extent of twenty-two acres. And, last of all, but not the least attractive in point of natural advantages—we have the East¬ ern Cemetery on the south side of the Great Eastern Eoad, embracing an ample area, and commanding a rich and varied view of undulating landscape scenery to the different points of the compass, but more particularly to the south. In the meantime, we propose to confine our attention to that which has been termed, par excellence, the ‘ Glasgow Necropolis’—the first necropolis in order of time, not only in Glasgow, but in Scotland, and which, from its peculiar position and circumstances, seems to be selected, by general consent, as the hallowed depository of the ashes of our most distinguished citizens. Before proceeding with our task, however,—a task which involves the interpretation of some of the more remarkable monuments—we shall take this oppor- (5 GLASGOW NECEOrOLIS. tunity of stating an important benefit which such monuments as these, and such cemeteries as the Necropolis, are calcu¬ lated to confer on society. We cannot say that we entirely agree with the gifted author of the lines with -which we have introduced our remarks on the present occasion, in considering the existence of “ sculptured bust and monumental urn” as a proof of the immortality of the soul. The wish is sometimes “ father to the thought;” but it is not a necessary proof that the thought will be realised, although it may be safely granted that this universal “ longing after immortality” affords a presumption that immortality exists, and that death is only a transition- period from one state of existence to another. This, indeed, is w'hat the poet means. It is perfectly natural to ask, why implant this desire for another, a future, and a better state of existence, if death be annihilation, and dissolution extinc¬ tion? Fortunately, however, we have better proofs of the immortality of the soul than the mere general desire of it. It is not in the cemetery, or in the churchyard, that we are left to grope amid mouldering monuments for this consoling doctrine. It is neither on the rude headstone of the peasant, nor on the magnificent mausoleum of departed greatness, that this revelation is inscribed. We go to epitaphs for useful lessons, and we meditate amid the tombs for improvement; but although the epitaph is as a voice from the dead, it is not a voice from the penetralia of the grave. The sepulchre is faithful to its own mysterious trust— ‘ ‘ Tell us, yo dead ! will none of you, in pity To tliose you left behind, disclose the secret ? Oh ! that some courteous ghost would blab it out, What ’tis you arc, and we must shortly be.” This is a question to which the echoes of the sepulchral vault are the sole answer that life extorts from death; and therefore we must consult a higher oracle than monumental marble for light and information on this mysterious subject. There is, however, much wisdom to be learned in a ceme- INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. teiy or churchyard, if the lesson be read aright. Even the tombstone does not speak with an inspired voice; but it of¬ ten speaks with a “still small voice,” which is deeply instruct¬ ive. The poet has said, and said truly, that one may find “books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything and if there be sermons in the very stones of the field, surely there are sermons of still deeper solemnity in those monu¬ mental stones that are the sculptured memorials of the dead. This is one of the high and holy uses of an ornamental ceme¬ tery. That man must be callous and apathetic, indeed, who is not made better and wiser by occasional intercourse with the tomb. Not that we would go thither to brood over melan¬ choly thoughts, except when we are called by the pious im¬ pulses of natural feeling to render the mournful homage of unavailing regret at the grave of a dear friend or near relative; but we would go thither, in a chastened and sub¬ dued spirit, to receive the purifying, elevating impressions which the tributes of affectionate remembrance reared so gracefully around us, and the beautiful monuments of the good and great which meet us on the right hand and on the left, are calculated to communicate to the heart. The memory of those who are worthy of the respect, gratitude, and admiration of their fellow-men, whether on account of their great achievements, their moral worth, or their intel¬ lectual acquirements, operates as a powerful stimulus to posterity to “ go and do likewise”—to emulate their perse¬ verance, their heroism, their domestic and patriotic virtues; and the salutary influence of their great names and good example, is never so effectually and permanently brought home to us as when we are surrounded with the enduring monuments which public gratitude or private friendship has reared, to commemorate their virtues among the living. By such monuments, the merits and memory of the good are “ had in everlasting remembrance.” Many individuals who would never otherwise have known that such men existed in GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. this great city, and acted a conspicuous and useful part in the world, are thus made acquainted with their history and with their worth, and are inspired with a laudable ambition to imitate and emulate their example. This must be especially the case when a visit to the monuments and resting-places of the dead is rendered attractive to the public. Rear such monuments in gloomy crypts, or in neglected and repulsive churchyards, and they can never become generally useful, because they will rarely be visited by the living, except in the company of the dead. It is in a cemetery-garden, like the Necropolis—a place frequented by the living—that the eloquent voices of “the mighty dead’’ find “fit audience.” Even already this mournful and yet delightful spot is crowded with the monuments of many illustrious individuals ; and as years roll on, all that is distinguished in Glasgow for either worth or talent will find a conspicuous niche in the same beautiful temple, or in one of the other cemeteries around the city, until in generations that are yet far future, these will be the noble museums of all that is worthy of remem¬ brance in Glasgow’s past history—these will be the Glasgow of the past, standing like silent, solemn monitors around the Glasgow of the living, uttering from their eloquent monu¬ mental lips, the names of successive generations of great and good men. Thus our future cities of the dead will be great patterns and examples to the future city of the living. These, and similar sentiments, are so well expressed in the following exquisite lines by a lady, published in the ‘ Glasgow Herald ’ twenty-two years ago, that is to say, in the second year of the existence of the Necropolis, and while it was yet comparatively an untenanted blank, that we shall make no apology for here introducing them to the reader. In the case of Motherwell, to whom allusion is made in the penultimate stanza, the prophetic vision of the fair writer was fulfilled, alas, too soon; and that which is expressed in the concluding verse has also been amply realized, as the following pages will show. Would it not be well to realize, INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 9 likewise, the very natural aspiration of the fair anonymous writer, by erecting a monument in the Necropolis to one whom we are all proud to recognize as a native of this city— the immortal author of ‘ Hohenlinden ’ and ‘ The Pleasures of Hope?’ We speak advisedly when we say that the citizens of Glasgow would honor themselves by so doing. The dead suffer not by the neglect of the living, but the living may suffer by their neglect of the dead. By refusing to honor the illustrious dead, they dishonor themselves. The absence of a monument to the honor of Campbell—what is it but a monument to the dishonor of Glasgow ?— “ Blest was the thought o’er death’s domains. Nature’s refreshing charms to shed; And rear ’mid scenes where beauty reigns A silent city for the dead. For why with needless sorrows cloud The close of man’s existence here. And in dark charnel-houses crowd The relics of the lov’d and dear ? What gorgeous tints adorn the west, As twilight mourns the expiring day. And thus should man he laid to rest. With beauty hallowing his decay. Far from his grave be aught of gloom Whose better man is yet to rise ; Bring all things bright to deck the tomb Where rests the tenant of the skies ! There let affection’s fond hand strew Fresh flowers above the sleeper’s head ; Let sunshine and the silver dew Descend upon his greensward bed. How good to leave the city’s strife To muse upon this sacred ground. And quit the troubled tide of life To commune with the dead around! 10 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. While pointing yet to thoughts more high, Yon holy towers their shadows cast. Whore buried generations lie— The saints and heroes of the past. And living names, to genius dear. Shall after-times emblazoned see, Ou shrines their natal town shall rear To grace her gardon cemet’ry. Here may the Bard of Hope repose. The laurel’s classic shades among ; And here, when death her shades shall close. May sleep the queen of tragic song— And he who late on Scottish lyre The echoes woke of ancient time ; And sung to notes of martial fire, The death-doomed Harald’s runic rhyme. And other lofty names shall shine, Recorded by their country’s pride ; For oft hath genius’ light divine, Beamed o’er the city of the Clyde." CHAPTER I. OBJECTS OF INTEREST IN APPROACHING THE NECROPOLIS. “ Yon ancient aisles, through which a thousand years. Mutely as clouds, and rev’rently have swept.'* Mrs. IIemans. There is this twofold advantage connected with a visit to the Necropolis—that it not only commands a magnificent view of Glasgow and the surrounding country, hut in ap¬ proaching it by the High Street, as strangers in quest of the antique and venerable generally do, the visitor passes through almost all that is interesting in local historical association. Glasgow may be said to have radiated from the Cathedral, to which the Necropolis stands in appropriate juxtaposition; and hence, in approaching this point, the visitor is led through the very heart of the ancient city, and walks amid interesting memorials of the past, until, on reaching the summit of the sacred mount, he looks upon the Glasgow of the present, stretching away into the dim distance, from one of the most favorable points for commanding a complete view of it. We may here remark that there is another approach, the most convenient from the east, entering from Duke Street by St. Anne’s Street or Ladywell Street, passing 1 Our Lady’s Well’ and the ‘ Subdean Mill’—two fine old Romish memo¬ rials—and thence proceeding up the course of the Molendinar, and under the arch of the bridge. Except to the antiquarian, however, this approach to the Necropolis is certainly anything but attractive; and even the High Street is generally in such a state, that those who have no particular predilection for the 12 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. antique, wiU find it conducive to their comfort to take advan- tage of the modern improvement of Stirling’s Road in coming from the west-end of the city. On the other hand, we must not omit to remark, that in approaching from the east, by Duke Street, the visitor enjoys the opportunity of studying one of the most chastely beautiful Gothic specimens of mo¬ dem church-architecture in Glasgow, or perhaps in Scotland. We allude to Wellpark Free Church, erected by Mr. Tennent of Wellpark in 1854, and which, both externally and inter¬ nally, is quite a gem. In approaching by the High Street, the first object of interest on the right hand is the College, which was founded by Bishop Turnbull in 1450, and constituted in that year by a hull of Pope Nicholas V., granted on the Bishop’s represen¬ tations, with the concurrence and approval of King James II. (of Scotland), and conferring the power of granting degrees which should pass current throughout Christendom. The academic body of the University consists of the chancellor, the lord rector, the dean of faculty, the principal and vice- chancellor, twenty-two professors, and one lecturer. The lord rector is elected annually by the students; and some of the most eminent men whom this country has produced have successively filled the office. Among the most celebrated professors were Dr. Joseph Black, the father of modem chemistry; Dr. Adam Smith, author of ‘ The Wealth of Nations;’ and Dr. Thomas Reid,the distinguished metaphy¬ sician. The immortal James Watt resided for some years within the College as a maker of philosophical instruments, and there it was that he commenced his improvements on the steam-engine, resulting in the literal creation of a power which has changed the face of the world. The College buildings consist of five quadrangles or courts, and are partly situated on the site of the old Blackfriars’ Monastery. The principal entrance is surmounted with the royal arms and the initials of Charles II., hut the buildings have been erected at various dates. The Hunterian Museum, founded by ROTTENROW AND DRYGATE. 13 the liberality of the celebrated Dr. William Hunter, is an anatomical and antiquarian collection of great interest and value. The number of students in theology, law, medicine, and philosophy, averages from eleven to twelve hundred. The upper portion of the High Street, commencing about one hundred yards above Duke Street, and terminating at the Rottenrow, is known as the ‘ Bell of the Brae,’* and here it was that, according to Blind Harry, Wallace had a tierce conflict with the English, about the year 1300, and slew Percy their leader. The English are related to have sallied out from the Archbishop’s Palace near the Cathedral, where they were garrisoned at the time. The whole narra¬ tive, however, is generally believed to be a fable, without the slightest foundation in truth, and is justly described as “altogether irreconcilable with existing records of unques¬ tionable authority.”+ At the top of the High Street, where Kirk Street commen¬ ces, the Rottenrow diverges to the west, and the Drygate to the east, and these are two of the most ancient and interesting streets in Glasgow. The etymology of the word ‘ Rottenrow,’ which is also the name of a street in London, has given rise to much dispute; but probably it is a corruption of the words Routine Rue, or ‘ Procession Street,’ this having formerly been the street in which the majority of the Prebendaries and other officers of the Cathedral resided, and through which it is supposed that the processions uniformly passed on solemn festival occasions. Some of the mansions of the comfortable church dignitaries are still standing, and must have been pleasant residences in former days, furnished with good wine and good gardens, and commanding a most ex¬ tensive prospect. The Drygate was likewise occupied by many of these mansions, and must have been a somewhat aristocratic street in the days of papal supremacy. The once • The origin of this name is somewhat doubtful. The most plausible account of It is, that a bell was suspended at this part of the street, which was rung by an old woman on the passing of funeral processions on their way to the Cathedral churchyard. f Pagan’s * Sketches of the History of Glasgow.’ 14 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. magnificent ‘loilging’ of the Duke of Montrose, which stood on the south side of the street, at a little distance from the High Street, has lately been removed to allow of an additional building in connection with the North Prison. A little to the east of this, the house might lately have been seen which was formerly occupied as the mint, and was erected in the time of Robert III. Passing upward to the grand esplanade, the visitor is gra¬ tified with one of the most interesting scenes in Glasgow, or in any city in Europe. It is true that the clumsy Barony Church on the right is rather a blemish than an ornament to the view; but the noble Cathedral, rising in ancient ma¬ jesty, with more than the honors of eight hundred years upon it, supported on the west by the elegant and imposing structure of the Royal Infirmary, and almost overshadowed on the east by the graceful outline of the Necropolis, crowned with its terraced monuments and green shrubbery, is justly an object of admiration to every stranger.* It does not fall within our province, in these pages, to give a minute description or extended history of the Cathedral. We merely notice the magnificent structure'in passing, as being, undoubtedly, the leading object in the group of which the Necropolis is now a distinguishing feature—as forming one of the most interesting subjects of contemplation from almost every point of it, and as lending, by its very proximity, an air of religious sanctity, and something of the character of a churchyard to that delightful cemetery. Those who may wish to study the edifice in detail, both as regards its history and architectural features, are referred to the late Mr. M‘Lel- lan’s admirable ‘Essay on the Cathedral,’ published in 1831, and Mr. Pagan’s ‘History of the Cathedral and See of Glas- * When her Majesty and Prince Albert visited Glasgow on the 14th August, 1849, the royal party, having first inspected the College, proceeded to view the Cathedral ; and we read, that on entering the grounds, “the beautiful view of the Necropolis on the opposito side of the Molendinar, [the name of the rivulet or burn, which now forms a mill-pond be¬ tween the Cathedral and the Necropolis,] at once attracted the attention of Prince Albert, who expressed himself delighted, and called her Majesty’s attention to the prospect. On turning his eyes to the Cathedral, the Prince appeared to be no less delighted, and ex¬ claimed, ‘How splendid; truly it is a magnificent old building.’"— Pagan's history of Glasgow Cathedral. THE CATHEDRAE. 15 gow,’ of which, a new edition, detailing the latest improve¬ ments, has .just been issued. We shall merely remark that the founder of the See was St. Kentigern, or St. Mungo, who is said to have established here a place of Christian worship, or a religious establishment, not later than the year 580. The spot has therefore been consecrated to sacred purposes for nearly thirteen centuries. No substantial fabric was erected, however, until about the year 1124, when Bishop John, under the liberal auspices of his patron, David I., laid the foundation of a Cathedral, which was consecrated on the 7th July, 1136. About forty years afterwards, this fabric is supposed to have fallen a sacrifice to the flames; and the foundation of the present imposing edifice was laid by Bishop Joceline, in 1181. That excellent prelate lived to complete the Crypt, which is one of the greatest architectural wonders in the world, and which was particularly studied and admired by her Majesty and Prince Albert. The other parts of the Cathedral, though commenced in the time of Joceline, were only gradually completed by his successors. The work was the slow growth of ages, and is even yet incomplete. From the time of the Reformation, it remained in an almost neglected and partially dilapidated state till not more than fifteen years ago, when, being the property of the government, it was, by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, at a cost of upwards of T12000, subjected to a very extensive renovation. The government was urged to this good work by tho representations of our local magi¬ strates and other enlightened citizens; and further improve¬ ments have lately been effected, so that we now enjoy the satisfaction of seeing this fine structure restored to some¬ thing like what it was before the decadence and destruction of the arcliiepiscopal see. The whole expense of the im¬ provements to the present time, has amounted to upwards of £17000, of which about £3000 have been contributed by the Corporation. The building is chiefly in the early English pointed style, 1C GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. and is one of the finest examples of that style in the king¬ dom. It is the most entire specimen of ancient ecclesiastical architecture now remaining in Scotland. It contains 147 pillars, and is lighted by 157 windows. The parts left un¬ finished, and which, it is probable, will never be completed, are the transepts or side projections. In the meantime, how¬ ever, in consequence of that complete renovation of the existing fabric which has just been concluded, the interior of this magnificent edifice presents a spectacle which cannot be witnessed in any other city in Scotland. The unsightly galleries which formerly disfigured the choir have been removed, the old pews have been replaced by others of a new and elegant form, and the floor has been laid with a beautiful tesselated pavement of encaustic tiles. When the whole of the lower tier of windows have been filled with stained glass —a further improvement which is now on the eve of being effected by private subscription—the venerable Cathedral Church of St. Mungo will constitute a centre of attraction to visitors from every part of the kingdom.* The See of Glasgow was erected into an archbishopric by James IV., in January, 1491. Its suffragans were the bishops of Dunkeld, Dunblane, Galloway, and Argyle. It was divided into ten deaneries, containing 255 parishes, and was endowed with the most princely temporal possessions. “ The Arch¬ bishops were lords of the Lordships of the Royalty and Baron¬ ies of Glasgow; and besides there were eighteen baronies of lands which belonged to them, within the Sheriffdoms of Lanark, Dumbarton, Ayr, Renfrew, Peebles, Selkirk, Rox¬ burgh, Dumfries, and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright.”+ ~ The honor of the original suggestion of the stained windows is due to Lord Provost Orr. In all. there are forty-six windows to be so decorated—four large ones, each of which will cost L.1000, and forty-two of a smaller size, at L.1‘20 each. The cost of the whole, which is expected to be “the finest work in glass painting, the most perfect and harmon¬ ious in the United Kingdom,’’will therefore amount to upwards of L.91)00. Of the four large windows, the first is to be filled in by the Honourable the Board of Works, London ; the second by the Messrs. Baird of Gartsherrie ; the third by the Trades’ House of Glas¬ gow ; and the fourth by the Duke of Hamilton. Lord Provost Orr having handsomely initiated the work by subscribing for one of the smaller windows, a number of private gentlemen have liberally followed his example ; and we have reason to believe that the whole are already subscribed for. At a meeting of subscribers, which was held on the 4th September, 1856, a committee was appointed to procure information as to the best means of carrying the object into effect. f Pagan’s ' History of Glasgow Cathedral.’ CATHEDRAL AND BISHOP’S CASTLE. 17 Long before the day of her Majesty and Prince Albert, the Cathedral has been honored with the visits of crowned heads and other persons of distinction. Edward I., during his short sojourn in Glasgow in 1301, performed his devo¬ tions within it. James IV. was a canon of the Cathedral. Oliver Cromwell, in 1050, went to the Cathedral in solemn procession from his lodgings in the Saltmarket, and heard a sermon preached by the Rev. Mr. Zachary Boyd, minister of the Barony Church. But the principal historical incident connected with this magnificent edifice is, that it was the scene of the great Presbyterian ‘ General Assembly’ of 1638, which met on the 21st November, and continued in session till the 20th December inclusive, having had in all twenty- six diets, nineteen of which were after the Royal Commis¬ sioner, the Marquis of Hamilton, had left, declaring the proceedings illegal. By this Assembly, in the words of Hume, “Episcopacy, the High Commission, the Articles of Perth, the Canons, and the Liturgy were abolished and declared unlawful; and the whole fabric which James and Charles, during a course of years, had been raising with so much care and policy, fell at once to the ground.” At this protracted Assembly, which was held in the nave of the building, the majority of the aristocracy of the country were present; and the numerous armed trains who accompanied the barons, gave it the appearance of a military demonstra¬ tion, rather than a peaceful assembling of the representatives of the Church. The archiepiscopal palace—known as the Bishop’s Castle or the Castle of Glasgow—stood on the present site of the Royal Infirmary, a little to the westward of the Cathedral. This ancient and strongly fortified structure, of which the ‘great tower ’ was built by Bishop Cameron, some time between 1430 and 1450, rapidly fell into ruins after the Reformation, and the last remains of it were removed in 1789 to make way for the Infirmary. The Bishop’s Castle was twice besieged— first, by the troops of the Regent Arran, who compelled the B 18 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. garrison of tlie Earl of Lennox to surrender, on condition of being permitted to retire unharmed; and then, with a bar¬ barous treachery, put them to the edge of the sword. This was during the minority of Mary, Queen of Soots. In the next reign, the castle was held for the young king by a garri¬ son of only twenty-four men, when it was assailed by the Hamiltons in the cause of Mary. The garrison, however, held out until it was relieved by the approach of the troops of Queen Elizabeth.* On the whole, the scene must have been exceedingly in¬ teresting when the Cathedral and the Bishop’s Castle were in their glory, and wheD the surrounding mansions and pleasant gardens of the church dignitaries occupied the present sites of the Drygate and Bottenrow. Transporting our thoughts in imagination to mediceval days, or even to a still more re¬ mote period of which tradition has transmitted nothing but a few apocryphal fragments, we find ourselves standing upon the bank of a pellucid rivulet, winding through a deep wooded ravine, on one side of which the rocky elevation that now constitutes the Necropolis, covered with a dark mass of native fir trees, rose perpendicularly from the clear wave in which it was reflected as in a mirror, and flung a dark shadow upon the opposite bank, where the cowled figures of venerable ecclesiastics were seen in ‘holy musing,’ or walking in solemn religious procession within the precincts of the Cathe¬ dral. All these things have now passed away, except the Cathedral and the natural configuration of the surrounding scene: and there is nothing of the past that we would now gladly recall hut the pristine purity of the Molendinar Burn, to associate with the elegant modern bridge and the graceful monumental forms that crown the terraces of the Necropolis. * Directly opposite the Royal Infirmary is an old, picturesque, thatched building, which has been fur many years occupied as a pubiic-house, under the imposing designation of ‘ Lord Darnley's Cottage.' It is so calied on the assumption that this was the site of the manse of the parson of Campsie, Chancellor of the Chapter, in which, according to IU*Ure (the old historian of Glasgow), Lord Darnley lodged when he came from Stirling to visit his father, the Earl of Lennox, in 1067 ; and where, being either seized with the small-pox or suffering under the effects of poison, he was visited and tended by Queen Mary before his final removal to Edinburgh to meet his treacherous fate, Mr. Simpson, of Stirling's Library, who, with the ample antiquarian resources at his command, has carefully investigated this subject, considers it highly probable that it is so. SKETCH BY SIR WAITER SCOTT. 19 The scene, as it appeared at a comparatively modern date, from the immediate vicinity of the bridge, embracing the rivulet and the firs, is so well sketched by the masterly pencil of Sir Walter Scott, that we shall take this opportunity of quoting the passage. Speaking in the character of his hero in the novel of ‘Kob Roy,’ he says—“The pile is of a gloomy and massive, rather than of an elegant style of Gothic architecture, but its peculiar character is so strongly pre¬ served, and so well suited with the accompaniments that surround it, that the impression of the first view was awful and solemn in the extreme. I was indeed so much struck that I resisted for a few minutes all efforts to drag me into the interior of the building, so deeply was I engaged in sur¬ veying its outward character. Situated in a populous town, this solemn and massive pile has the appearance of the most sequestered solitude. High walls divide it from the build¬ ings of the city on one side; on the other it is bounded by a ravine, through the depth of which, and invisible to the eye, murmurs a wandering rivulet, adding by its rushing noise to the imposing solemnity of the scene. On the opposite side of the ravine rises a steep bank, covered with fir trees closely l>lantcd, whose dusky shade extends itself over the cemetery with an appropriate and gloomy effect. The churchyard itself had a peculiar character; for though in reality exten¬ sive, it is small in proportion to the number of respectable inhabitants who are interred within it, and whose graves are almost all covered with tombstones. There is therefore no room for the long rank grass which, in most cases, partially clothes the surface of these retreats, where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. The broad fiat monumental stones are placed so close to each other, that the precincts appear to be flagged with them, and, though roofed only by the heavens, resemble the floor of one of our old English churches, where the pavement is covered with sepulchral inscriptions. The contents of these sad records of mortality, the vain sorrows which they preserve, the stem lesson which they teach of the nothingness of humanity, the 20 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. extent of ground which they so closely cover, and their uni¬ form and melancholy tenor, reminded me of the roll of the prophet, which was ‘ written within and without, and there was written therein lamentations and mourning and woe.’ The Cathedral itself corresponds in impressive majesty with these accompaniments. We feel that its appearance is heavy, yet that the effect produced would be destroyed were it lighter or more ornamental. It is the only metropolitan church in Scotland, except the Cathedral of Kirkwall, in the Orkneys, which remained uninjured at the Reformation.” CHAPTER II. CHARACTER AND CONSTITUTION OP THE MERCHANTS’ HOUSE— EARLY HISTORY OF THE FIR PARK—RESOLUTION TO CONVERT IT INTO A CEMETERY—DR. STRANG’S ‘ NECROPOLIS GLASGUENSIS.” 41 Yet, should the best exertions fail, And fickle fortune turn the scale— Should a’ be lost in some hard gale. Or wreck't on shore— The Merchants’ House makes a' things halo As heretofore.”— Mavnl’s ‘Glasgow.* “ Look thee, *tis so—thou singly honest man, Here, take :—the gods out of my misery Have 6ent thee treasure."— Timon of Athens. We pointed out in last chapter some of the most interest¬ ing objects that arrest the attention in approaching the Necropolis by the High Street, concluding with a sketch of the Cathedral and the surrounding scene, at a period when no Necropolis existed, from the pen of the most celebrated ■writer of modem times. We are now on the threshold of the City of the Dead; hut before proceeding to enumerate its principal monuments, or walk its silent streets, em¬ blazoned with the records of many names that will long be remembered in Glasgow, and some that have acquired a THE MERCHANTS’ HOUSE. 21 wider celebrity, it may be desirable to present our readers witb a brief account of its origin. We shall, therefore, take this opportunity of tracing the outlines of the history of the Fir Park from the time when it came into the possession of that most respectable institution, in whose plastic hands it has assumed the beautiful and ornamental aspect which it now exhibits. This will enable us to state some facts which cannot fail to be acceptable to the majority of our readers. To those, at least, who are actually interested in the Necropolis, by ties the most sacred, every circumstance con¬ nected with its past history, or present condition, must pos¬ sess a peculiar value. The Necropolis was formally opened for interment in March, 1833. Thirty years ago this beautiful cemetery, which even already is literally entitled to the appellation by which it is so justly distinguished, * was a mere wilderness, or little better, known by the name of the Fir Park, or the Merchants’ Park. The ground belonged, and still belongs, to the Merchants’ House of Glasgow—a charitable institution, to which it was perfectly valueless until converted to its present noble design. This institution was established in l(i05, when, in consequence of some disputes between the craftsmen of the city, and those of their fellow-townsmen who aspired to the title of ‘merchant venturers,’ the proper position of each party was, hy mutual consent, authoritatively defined, and what is called the ‘ Letter of Guildry,’ was pro¬ mulgated as the charter of the merchant rank. It was also, in its original object, an association to protect the fair trader against the encroachments of a numerous class who dealt in contraband goods. The extensive abolition of iniquitous monopolies, as well as an improved administration of the Customs and Excise departments, has now superseded the necessity for private associations with such an object in view; but the Merchants’ House still continues to watch over the interests of commerce by occasionally petitioning the Legis- ‘Necropolis’ is compounded of two Greek words, signifying ‘City of the Dead. 22 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. lature for or against such measures as affect the commercial interests of the community. It returns its president, the Dean of Guild, to the town council; and the Dean of Guild Court connected with it is a highly important oue, being the tribunal to which are referred all questions regarding the posi¬ tion and construction of streets and buildings. It is, however, chiefly as a wealthy charitable corporation that it continues to discharge important functions, by annually distributing among the fami l ies and descendants of decayed members of the House, a sum which averages, one year with another, .£1500* in pen¬ sions varying, according to the claims or necessities of the recipients, from £5 to £25. The revenue is chiefly derived from certain feu-duties, and the rents of property in houses and lands, of which the corporation became possessed at different periods; as also from the fees for matriculation paid by new members. The late Mr. Ewing of Strathleven left to the House the magnificent bequest of £31,000, and the residuary legatees of the late Mr. Baird of Auchmedden, who died in the official position of Lord Dean of Guild, have lately fulfilled the expressed intentions of that gentleman, by handsomely presenting the House with the sum of £1000. Its constitution is exceedingly liberal, the principal qualifi¬ cation for admission being, that the applicant shall be a trader in Glasgow of fair character, and shall pay the admission or matriculation fee of £10 10s. to the general fund. The society is numerous and highly respectable, numbering, in its list of surviving matriculated members, upwards of one thousand. All the members have an equal voice in the annual election of the Dean of Guild and his council of thirty-six directors, as administrators of the fund. In the year ending October, 1855, there were 14 pensions at £25 each; 20 at £20; 25 at £15; 26 at £10; 2 at £8, and various others at intermediate sums, amounting, in the whole, to upwards of £1600. The pensions conferred in the present year were much the same; hut when the recent bequests are realized, their number will be largely increased. We may, EAT.LV history of the fir park. 23 therefore, safely affirm that in purchasing a right of sepulture in the Necropolis, the money bestowed may be regarded as a contribution to a truly benevolent, charitable, and philanthropic object. In the language of the first Necropolis Keport, those who are asked to contribute to this good work, are “ only asked to plead for the poor, and to help the aged, the orphan, and the widow, who are indeed the peculiar owners of this vast city of the dead.” The Necropolis projects into a promontory, forming part of the estate of Wester Craigs, which was purchased by the Merchants’ House in 1050, from Stewart of Mynto, for .1' 1201 13s. Id. About the year 1700, when Glasgow began to exhibit seme indications of its future prosperity, the House resolved to feu out its lands in the neighbourhood of the city, in lots proportioned to the increasing demand, and the whole of the Wester Craigs lands were accordingly feued out to different individuals and companies, under reservation to the House of the right of quarrying the rock or stone at pleasure, for the yearly sum of £70 Gs. 8d. There was only one exception to this general disposal of the lands included in the estate of Wester Craigs, namely, the promontory of the Fir Park, which was not feued, either because it was already partially quarried, or because it appeared to be not immediately cal¬ culated for any useful purpose, except as a plantation, for which it was accordingly laid out. In this almost wild state the Park was allowed to remain till the year 1801, when the fir trees, which had gradually predominated over the other varieties, began to decay, and the whole were rooted out. This was the commencement of a new era in the natural history of that beautiful cliff which is now the pride of Glasgow. From that time it was moro highly valued and better cared for, as if a presentiment had already existed of its future consecration to a high and holy purpose. The eradicated fir trees were replaced with other varieties, embracing a majority of those which now adorn the spot, a resident keeper was appointed, and the Park was 24 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. surrounded with a stone wall, in which was set a tablet with the following homely inscription— The Merchants' House of Glasgow To whom this Park belongs, Built this wall round it, At their own Expenses. And, strangely enough, on the built-in end of the stone, as if to conceal the illiterate spelling, there was found this simple record of the man to whom the Necropolis is said ti he chiefly indebted for its well-wooded appearance at tin present day— Kobert Carrick, Den of Guild, 1604. The year 1824 was the next important epoch in the early history of the future City of the Dead. In that year the House, with a view to enable them to carry on their quarry¬ ing operations with less restraint, repurchased from one of their feuars the farm immediately adjoining to the east of the Park, and a portion of which has lately been included within the Necropolis. Animated by similar motives, the House purchased at the same time three small properties adjoining the Lady Well, which once formed a portion of the estate of Wester Craigs, but which had been sold off by Stewart of Mynto before his sale to the House. On these latter pro¬ perties several interesting tombstones are now erected, some of them indicating the precise spots where those who are now united in death, and interred in the ‘narrow house’ beneath, were once united in the happy bonds of family intercourse. These most interesting memorials we shall afterwards point out more particularly. In 1825, the monument to John Knox, which occupies the highest point of the hill, was erected by public subscription. We merely allude to it here in its chronological order. The ceremony of laying the foundation-stone, and a general des¬ cription of the monument, with some remarks on the great LANDS OF LIMMERFIELD. 25 Reformer himself, will constitute the separate subject of a future chapter. In the meantime, we may state that all the later acquisi¬ tions of the House which we have last mentioned, are located on the east side of the Molendinar Burn, and these acquisi¬ tions had all been made before the resolution to form the cemetery had been adopted* or even seriously entertained. Soon afterwards, the House proceeded, in its gradually ex¬ panding movement, to the west side of the stream, and pur¬ chased the well-known property which once belonged to a name famous in historic romance—the Laird of Limmerfield. A portion of the lands of Limmerfield is now a garden sur¬ rounded by a brick wall, immediately adjacent to the lane which forms the approach to the Necropolis Bridge. Ano¬ ther property on the w est side of the stream, on which once stood a house of some note, was purchased at the same time. This house was in early days the town residence of a church dignitary; it afterwards became the property of the Earls of Kilmarnock, and then of a respectable citizen and lawyer; it was next elevated to the dignity of a tavern, to which the Magistrates of Glasgow were wont, in the good olden times, to resort for dinner between sermons in the High Church ; subsequently it was the rendezvous of the students of botany under Dr. Thomas Brown, who had a collection of plants in the adjoining garden; and finally it was degraded—oh, most lame and impotent conclusion!—into an herb ale-house. The remains of this venerable relique of other days are still to be seen, immediately within the wall on the south side of Kirk Lane, at the foot of Messrs Clubb & M'Lean’s sculpture and monumental yard. It was at a period not long subsequent to the purchase of the last property on the west side of the burn, that the atten¬ tion of the House was seriously directed to the propriety of forming the Necropolis, by the late James Ewing, Esq. of Stratlileven, L.L.D., previously Dean of Guild, and afterwards, Lord Provost and M.P. for the city. A meeting of the Com- SG GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. mittee of Directors on Lands and Quarries—the first formal meeting on the subject—was held in Mr. Ewing’s house in Queen Street, on the 15th of duty, 1828. At this meeting Mr. Ewing presided, and the other gentlemen present were the late Mr. Dennistoun of Golfliill, the late Mr. Mackenzie of Craig Park, Mr. Laurence Hill, then Collector, and the late Mr. Douglas of Barloch, then Clerk to the House. Other meetings were subsequently held, and after due inquiry, the committee unanimously agreed to recommend the proposal, and accordingly reported to the House, in Mr. Ewing’s words, “ that the Fir Park appears admirably adapted for a ‘Tere la Chaise,’* which would harmonize beautifully with the adja¬ cent scenery, and constitute a solemn and appropriate appen¬ dage to the venerable structure in the front; and which, while it afforded a much wanted accomodation to the higher classes, would, at the same time, convert an unproductive property into a general and lucrative source of profit to a charitable institution.” This report was presented to the House on the 15 th of October, in the following year (1829,) by Mr. Stewart Smith, then Dean of Guild. The House directed it to be printed and circulated, and, after mature consideration, fully ap¬ proved of the principle, and remitted to the same committee to report on the details, with a plan for their future adoption. This led to the advertising, in January 1831, for plans, sec¬ tions, and relative estimates, for converting the Parle into an ornamental Cemetery, in the manner which should best em¬ brace economy, security, and picturesque effect. Not less than sixteen plans were received, and were exhibited for public inspection in the Diletanti Society’s Pmoms, Argyle Arcade. Liberal premiums were awarded for the five best; but all of them were ultimately thrown aside, and the laying out of the grounds was entrusted to the sole charge of a superintendent, who was left unembarassed in his operations. * The name of the beautiful Cemetery near Paris, after the model of which the Necropolis wasplauued and laid out. ITS PROJECTORS. 27 We may state that at this time, the only entrance to the park which the House had a right to, was by Lady well Street, at a point in the adjacent wall a little to the east of the well It was once contemplated to erect at this point the entrance- gate to the new place of interment, when attention was called to the propriety and practicability of improving the access by purchasing the means of doing so in various directions ; and at length, on the 20th September, 1831, the report of the committee recommending a bridge at the foot of Kirk Lane, was approved of, and remitted to the same committee, with powers to carry it into effect. We have thus arrived at that point in our narrative When it was finally resolved to proceed in the good work, and when measures were actually about to be taken for converting the Merchants’ Park into a garden cemetery. To estimate the full importance of this proceeding, it must be remembered that this was the first thing of the kind attempted in Scot¬ land, that it conflicted in some degree with national or reli¬ gious prejudices, that in a sanitary view it inaugurated a new era in Glasgow, and set an example to other towns, which was speedily followed throughout the lungdom. No inconsiderable credit is due to those who were chiefly instru¬ mental in promoting this important improvement, and there¬ fore we consider it a simple act of justice to state that though the late Mr. Ewing of Stratlileven appeared, from his pro¬ minent official position, and his hearty zeal in the cause, as the principal leader in the movement, yet there were other public-spirited citizens who actively co-operated with that gentleman, and to some of whom, perhaps, the credit is due of making the original suggestion. Among these may be prominently mentioned Laurence Hill, Esq., L.L.B., at that time Collector to the Merchants’ House, who labored with the utmost ardor to urge this enlightened improvement; and afterwards commenced a periodical work on the Necropolis, to which wo are indebted for some of the historical facts contained in this chapter, and to which further allusion will 28 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. be made when wo arrive at the burying-ground of the Jews. Another work, too, was published at this period, which operated with no slight effect in imparting an impulse to the modern cemetery reformation—we allude to the ‘Necropolis Glasguensis’ by Dr. Strang, the accomplished author of 1 Travels in Germany,’ ‘ Glasgow and its Clubs,’ &e.* This volume is eloquent throughout, and breathes a fine spirit. It was favorably received at the time, and though published with a temporary object in view, it possesses a permanent interest, and may be perused with advantage and delight at this mo¬ ment. In a notice of the work which appeared in the ‘ Scots¬ man’ of that day, we find the following piece of just criticism, blended with a somewhat amusing conjecture, which may excite a smile :—“ The account of the funeral rites of diffe¬ rent nations,” says the reviewer, “ and the many fine passages culled from the English, French, and Italian poets, will render the publication interesting to readers who attach no importance to its immediate object. From the air of piety which pervades the work, and the many passages from scrip¬ ture interwoven with it, we are led to infer that Mr. Strang is a very religious person—possibly an elder in some super¬ orthodox kirk. Be this as it may, he is a man in whose mind, sense, taste, and fancy are happily blended; and our ardent wish is, that the Glasgow folk may have enough of these qualities to act upon his suggestions.” This latter consummation was not anticipated, however, even by the reviewer himself. In those days a garden-ceme¬ tery was a novelty in advance of the age. “ We agree with Mr. Strang,’’ says the same writer, “in thinking that the neglected state of churchyards in Scotland is a disgrace to the country. But it will not be easily remedied; because, while it springs, we admit, partly from an austere aversion to everything that savours of the mummery and superstition « Dr. Strang has filled for many years the office of City Chamberlain in Clasgow, his native city, and the annual statistical accounts prepared by him in that official capacity, and showing the remarkable progress of the city in wealth, population, and traffic, are not the least valuable of his labora. DE. STEANG’S ‘ NECEOEOLIS GLASGUENSIS.’ 29 witnessed in Catholic countries, it has, we suspect, its origin chiefly in a deficiency of sentiment which belongs to our na¬ tional character.” And the ‘ Edinburgh Observer ’ of the same period says—“ Mr. Strang's scheme is a magnificent one. If it is patronised by his townsmen, which we scarcely hope, let us anticipate that the time will arrive when the citizens of Edinburgh, too, will turn their attention to a like improvement. There are many spots in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh which, under a tasteful superintendence, might be turned into a very sweet and solemn ‘Field of Rest.’ ” We present our readers with these contemporary comments on Dr. Strang's work merely to show, that at the period when that work was published, the idea of a garden cemetery was yet ■with difficulty entertained. The Edinburgh journalists of the day did not believe that Glasgow possessed sufficient ‘sense, or taste, or fancy,’ to realize the conception. They looked upon Dr. Strang as a brilliant ‘ super-orthodox ’ lumi¬ nary burning in a dense cloud of Scotch prejudice and Glas¬ gow smoke. Even one of our local papers, the ‘ Courier,’ ventured to surmise that the orator was somewhat too learned for his audience, and indulged in “ rather a liberal allowance of Italian.” Nay, the sarcastic rogue dared even to suggest, that “for the benefit of the Honourable [Merchants’] House, Mr. Strang should have translated.” When the ‘Necropolis Glasguensis’ was published in 1831, the resolution of the Merchants’ House to convert the Fir Park into a garden cemetery, was already ‘seriously enter¬ tained,’ as the author himself states, and we have seen that the committee had already advertised for plans; but many of the arguments adduced in Dr. Strang’s work had previously ap- peared in periodical publications from the same pen, and had operated with powerful effect in preparing the public mind to entertain the proposal. 30 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. CHAPTER III. THE BRIDGE—THE FAQADE—PROJECTED TUNNEL—THE EGYPTIAN VAULTS—GATE AND LODGE—LATER IMPROVEMENTS. I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs; A palace and a prison on each hand : I saw from out the wave her structure riso As from the stroke of the enchantci''s wand : A thousand years their cloudy wings expand Around me.”—C hildii Harold. The ‘ Necropolis Glasguensis,’ which, as we have stated, was published in 1831, agreeably arrested the details of our nar¬ rative at that point when active measures were about to he taken to convert the Park into a cemetery, and when, as the first important movement in this direction, the report of the committee recommending a bridge at the foot of Kirk Lane was, on the 20th September of the year above-mentioned, remitted to the same committee, with powers to carry it into effect. In the meantime, the superintendent proceeded with his superficial improvements. When in 1804 the gloomy wilder¬ ness of decaying fir-trees had been rooted out, a considerable number of elms which had grown in the midst of them were left standing, and various other trees were planted. It was, however, at a subsequent period, and chiefly, we believe, at the suggestion of the secretary, Mr. Douglas of Barloch, that walks were formed and the ground laid out so as to render the Fir Park accessible as a place of public resort. The superintendent took advantage of these existing improve¬ ments, as far as they could be rendered subordinate to the new design of the Park, and additional walks and other improvements were made, to adapt it to the requirements of a place of public sepulture. Trees especially associated with OPENED FOR INTERMENT. 31 the resting-places of the dead, of which the elm is a recog¬ nised favorite, and with which may be classed the plane, the poplar, the sycamore, the oak, and some others, were planted in appropriate places, so as to produce the best effect, without unnecessarily interfering with the purposes of the ground. To preserve the continuity of our narrative, as regards dates, we may here remark, that Joseph Levi, a Jew, was interred within the precincts of the Necropolis on the 12th of Sep¬ tember, 1832. This was the first interment in the Necropolis, and was attended with peculiar and interesting circumstances, which will be detailed at length in a future chapter. We find, on consulting the register at the Lodge, that the first Christian interment was that of Elizabeth Miles, v/ife of Mr. George Mylne, senior, and father of the first superintendent, which bears date February 0, 1833. It was not, however, till the 12th of March, in the latter year, that the committee were formally authorised to dispose of burial-places in the grounds, “on such terms and under such regulations as they might find most for the advantage of the House.” The foundation-stone of the Bridge was laid on Friday, the 18th October following. On that day, James Hutcheson Esq., the Dean of Guild, and his fellow-directors of the Merchants’ House, with a considerable number of the matriculated mem¬ bers of the same body, met in the town hall, from 'which they went in procession along High Street and Duke Street, and entered the cemetery by a new approach which had only lately been formed from Duke Street at Ladywell. This ap¬ proach, with its neat old-fashioned lodge, still remains, but is not open to the public. A platform was ereoted on the east bank of the Molendinar, where the Dean of Guild, and the Lord Provost (James Ewing, Esq.), the clergymen, the members of the Merchants’ House, a great number of ladies and gentlemen, and Mr. Orme’s cathedral band, were accomo¬ dated; and the west side was occupied by the spectators. The boys belonging to the Hutchesons' Hospital occupied a 32 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. portion of the bridge which was already built. After the cathedral hand and the spectators generally had sung a por¬ tion of the 90th Psalm, to the homely but thrilling music of ‘ Coleshill.’ the very Rev. Principal Macfarlan offered up an impressive prayer, concluding with these words:— “ 'Vo implore thy blessing on those time-honored institutions by which so much distress has been alleviated, and so many improvements effected. May their existence be perpetuated, and may their prosperity and usefulness increase from day to day. Bo especially gracious to that institution, to supplicate thy countenance on whose measures we are met now in thy presence, and prosper that undertaking which is com¬ menced this day in thy name. May it proceed safely, and be in due time happily accomplished. May its effects be, in thy hand, to soothe many a wounded heart, to perpetuate many a kind and fond recollection, to strengthen tho bond of mutual love between those who survive, by keeping up the remembrance of mutual attachment to the departed; and. to hallow the memory of the holy, the wise, aud the good, as a lesson and an example to those who are left behind. To thee, O our God, we commit all our thoughts, our ways, and our works, for time and for eternity, and be thou graciously pleased to hear and accept of us in mercy, through Christ our Mediator. Amen. ” The foundation-stone was then laid by Mr. Hutcheson, Dean of Guild, who addressed the Lord Provost and assemblage in appropriate terms, declaring that he felt a deep and affectiug interest in laying the foundation, stone of a bridge, intended to be the principal communi¬ cation between the habitations of our ever-busy and active population in this commercial city, and the silent hut inter¬ esting city of the dead. When the whole was completed, he remarked, it would form a scene so magnificent and so in¬ teresting as w T ould scarcely he equalled by anything of the kind in the United Kingdom. To this address Mr. Ewing replied as Lord Provost, stating, that the last ceremonial of the kind at which he had the honor to assist, was the foundation of a bridge for the living; this, as had been justly observed, might be called a passage for the dead; and the stream over which it was carried might remind them of the river which they must all cross—the separation between time and eternity. Two inscriptions, intended to be placed on an obelisk to be erected at the eastern end of the bridge, were then read by THE BRIDGE. 33 Mr. Douglas, Clerk of the House. The obelisk, containing the inscriptions, was afterwards erected, but has been subse¬ quently removed; and one of the inscriptions has been transferred to the gateway of the fagade. The other in¬ scription, from the pen of Principal Macfarlan, has not yet been restored; but may, perhaps, re-appear on the blank tablet which surmounts the gateway, and is in the following words:— The Necropolis, or Ornamental Public Cemetery, Was constructed by The Merchants’ House of Glasgow, In their Property, To supply the Accommodation required By a rapidly-increasing Population, And, by Embellishing the Placo of Sepulture. To invest with more Soothing Associations That Affectionate Recollection of the Departed Which is cherished by those who survive. A. D. MDCC’CXXXIII. Even from the Tomb the voice of Nature cries. The late Rev. Dr. Black of the Barony Church then offered an appropriate prayer, and the second paraphrase was sung, beginning with the following beautiful lines :— “ O God of Bethel! by whose hand Thy people still are fed ; Who through this weary pilgrimage Hast all our fathers led.” This concluded the solemn service. The paraphrase was sung to the sweet melody of ‘ Martyrdom,’ which, as it ascended from the valley in the solemn harmony of so many blended voices, produced an impression that singularly har¬ monized with the scene and with the character and purpose of the assemblage. The Bridge is a spacious Roman arch, of 60 feet span, and was built according to a specification and design of Mr. James Hamilton. The lowest of five offers, Mr. John Lochore’s, at .£1240, was accepted. The stone is chiefly from Milton quarry. It was arranged, at the same time that this bridge c 34 GLASGOW NEOKOPOLIS. was erected, to improve the churcli-road through the valley, on the cemetery side of which a handsome iron railing was subsequently erected—forming an excellent fence, and, at the same time, permitting an unobstructed view of the Necropolis. This bridge has been not inappropriately termed ‘ The Bbidge of Sighs.’ How many pass it in tears ! How many—never to return! There is, indeed, a ‘ prison ’ on the one hand—a noble ‘palace ’ on the other. It will be observed that beneath the new bridge is another small and very ancient arch in a somewhat dilapidated state. This, we have reason to believe, is one of the oldest pieces of masonry in Glasgow, and may, perhaps, be coeval with the time when the earliest parts of the Cathedral were built, and when the curious name of the 1 Molendinar’—signifying, in monkish Latin the mill-burn —was first given to the rivulet beneath, from its furnishing the water-power for the Sub¬ dean mill. Near it, on the western bank, is an excellent spring, which still continues, we believe, to be known as ‘ the Minister’s’ or 1 Priest’s Well.’ The next object of interest is the Fagade, at the east end of the bridge. It was not till the autumn of 1835 that the House contracted with Mr. John Park of Anderston Walk for this important improvement, which not only forms a con¬ spicuous architectural ornament at the entrance to the Necropolis, but which was, in fact, necessary as a retaining work, in consequence of the widening of the road-way at that point to allow space for the turning of carriages. This fagade, which forms a striking object, as seen from the foot of the Kirk Lane or the bridge, is in a highly ornate style of Elizabethan architecture, which, although a strange medley of the Gothic and Roman, has something peculiarly noble and picturesque about it. The plan was by Mr. John Biyce, and the stone from Mr. Stirling’s quarry of Kenmure. It consists of a grand central archway, on each side of which are two wings, with two mausoleums in each. The arch¬ way, which forms the entrance to other two mausoleums. THE FAQADE. il5 forming six in all, is supported on each side by buttressed piers of massive strength, and in bas-relief on the entablature is the city arms, surmounted by a decorated tablet supporting three vases. The wings on each side terminate in octagonal towers, and are surmounted by a perforated parapet. The interior of the mausoleums on each side of the principal arch may be seen through the iron grating of the doors ; but the central arch is completely shut up with a massive gate of two valves, which totally precludes inspection. We may therefore observe, that it penetrates only to about the same depth as the other four mausoleums, and that none of the six mausoleums has ever yet been disposed of or applied to any useful purpose in connection with the objects of the Necro¬ polis. Over the archway is the inscription—“Erected A.D., sedcccxxxvi. James Martin, Dean of Guild,” On the valves of the principal gate has been placed the following inscription from the pen of the late James Hutcheson, Esq., who, as we have seen, presided as Dean of Guild at the laying of the foundation-stone of the bridge :— This Bridge Was erected by Tho Merchants’ House of Glasgow, To afford a proper Entrance to their new Cemetery, Combining convenient access to the Grounds, With suitable decoration to the venerable Cathedral And the surrounding scenery; To unite The Tombs of many generations who have gone before With The resting-places destined for generations yet unborn. Until The Resurrection of the Just: When that which is sown a Natural body, Khali be raised a Spiritual body; When this Corruptible must put on Ineorruption, When this Mortal must put on Immortality, When Death is swallowed up in Victory; Blessed is the Man who trusteth in God, and whose hope The Loed is. This very beautiful inscription, which, with the shorter one by Principal Macfarlan, was, as already stated, formerly engraved on an obelisk erected at the east end of the bridge, GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. 36 has been placed in the position which it now occupies under the directions of Mr. Newall, the present venerable Collector of the Merchants’ House, to whose spirit and good taste, aided by the countenance and co-operation of John M’Ewan, Esq., and other intelligent and influential gentlemen, members of the ‘ Committee on Cemetery, Lands, and Quarries,’ the Necro¬ polis has of late years been indebted for so many important improvements, involving, indeed, a complete transformation of the general aspect of the grounds. It was once intended to have carried the excavation, indi¬ cated by the central archway of the fagade, completely through the solid rock which constitutes the elevated promontory of the Necropolis, so as to communicate by a tunnel with the deep basin of the quarry on the opposite side, designed to constitute the central valley of the Necropolis at a future day. That this idea will ever be carried into execution is far from probable. By simply turning to the right at the grand fagade, and proceeding round the base of the hill, the access to the opposite side is almost perfectly level, and is not very circuitous. It is true that one of the principal objects in connection with the projected tunnel was to con¬ vert it into a subterranean crypt, or range of tiered catacombs. Such subterranean places of interment were regarded with much favor before the introduction of the modern cemetery improvement—a circumstance chiefly attributable to the fact, that besides being associated with aristocratic interment, they were supposed to afford complete security against the sacrilegious burglary of the resurrectionist. It was once gravely proposed by the late Dr. Cleland, our celebrated statist and superintendent of public works, to convert the entire burying-ground of St. David’s into “one grand vaulted cemetery, similar to the crypt of that church, the spandrils or upper sides of the groined arches to be paved, and the area or square thus formed to be used for public purposes." Indeed, we believe it was actually suggested, that the area above should be converted into a cattle-market. This was PROJECTED TUNNED. 37 the ne plus ultra of the absurd and incongruous. To be ‘buried with the burial of an ass,’ like Jehoiakim, is bad enough; to be shut up in a gloomy sepulchral dungeon, where the light of the sun never shines, is still worse; but to be interred beneath a cattle-market, in a damp, dismal crypt, is perfectly appalling. These subterranean places of sepulture, including the projected tunnel through the Ne¬ cropolis, seem to have latterly fallen into merited disrepute, now that there is little or nothing to apprehend from the midnight ravages of the resurrectionist. The Act of Parlia¬ ment which rendered the profession of the resurrectionist unprofitable, abated also the growing mania for subterranean accommodation in the shape of vaulted cemeteries; and this being the case, we are strongly disposed to believe that the idea of tunnelling the Necropolis, from west to east, is not likely to be resuscitated. Now that the classical conception of garden-cemeteries has been developed, making even the tomb beautiful, and crowning with a wreath of flowers the pale forehead of death, men are beginning to manifest a preference for that mode of interment. The love of the beau¬ tiful is not extinguished with life—it seems to haunt us in the tomb. Even in the silence and cold seclusion of death we wish to participate in the glories of this green earth—to rest from our labors at the close of life’s pilgrimage, not in some dark nook of the universe, far from the society or sympathy of civilised men, but amid our own kindred in some familiar and yet beautiful spot, where the sun may shine cheerfully on the green turf, or the emblematic flowers which nature or the hand of affection may have scattered over our graves. This is a natural, and it is a beautiful sentiment, calculated, we believe, to elevate the character and aspirations of man as a moral, religious, and intellectual being. The idea of tunnelling the hill, for the sake of a series of subterranean chambers, worthy of the mummied majesty of Egypt’s gloomy catacombs, may therefore be entirely aban¬ doned. This is an idea which we would explode without the 38 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. shadow of a regret. Why bury graves ? Why excavate the solid rock to entomb even the tomb, as if it were desirable to make death awful, and to lock up even the sepulchre in a dungeon? We therefore dismiss the idea, once for all, as an antiquated, obsolete, hypochondriacal imagination, which modern enlightenment and an improved taste co-operate with common sense in condemning :— “ Let Vanity adorn the marble tomb With trophies, rhymes, and scutcheons of renown, In the deep dungeon of some Gothic dome, Where night and desolation ever frown— Mine be the breezy hill that skirts the down; Where a green grassy turf is all I crave. With here and there a violet bestrewn, Fast by a brook, or fountain’s murmuring wave; And many an evening sun shine sweetly on my grave.” The next considerable source of expenditure connected with the gradual improvement of the Necropolis, was the construction of the Egyptian vaults on the western declivity of the hill, near Knox’s monument. As stated in the First Annual Cemetery Eeport, which is dated June 9th, 1835, “ The great proportion of sales were made to parties whose immediate bereavements had not left them the means or time to obtain the accommodations they would otherwise have desired, and there were not unfrequent instances of pur¬ chasers being disappointed in the selection of particular sites for tombs from the mere want of time requisite between the funeral, and the order to get the proper works completed.’’ It was in some measure to obviate this inconvenience that the Egyptian vaults were erected, or rather excavated, in 1837, to afford the necessary accommodation for receiving the remains of the departed in those numerous instances where it was necessary to prepare a tomb after, perhaps, a sudden bereavment. The cemetery has now a considerable number of tombs always ready to meet immediate exigencies ; but the Egyptian vaults are still in frequent use, and will al¬ ways continue to be so, because it often happens that pur¬ chasers select particular spots in which there is no tomb pre- GATE AND LODGE. G9 paved; and the process of excavating these tombs in the solid rock of the Necropolis is necessarily a work of time. The iron gateway of the Egyptian vaults may be seen by the visitor a few yards below the rocky base of Knox’s monument, and par¬ ticular attention will be drawn to the structure in the course of our future pilgrimage in that direction. In 1838 an ornamental cast-iron gate, from a design by Mr. David Hamilton, architect, was erected at the entrance, or west end of the bridge. This gate is an exceedingly ele¬ gant and massive structure, and cost, with the fitting up, &.C., £151. On each valve is a cast of the city arms, with the ap¬ propriate motto, “ Toties redeuntis eodem;” and the following record of its erection and founder—“ William Brown of Kil- mardinny, Dean of Guild, hdcccxxxvh and xxxvm. T. Edington and Sons.” The gentleman here mentioned as Dean of Guild, was re-elected ad interim to that office, on the 9th September, 1856, after the lamented death of the late William Connal, Esq. In 1839-40, the gate-keeper’s lodge was erected, from a design by Mr. Hamilton, on a piece of ground adjacent to the bridge, which was purchased on favorable terms for that purpose from the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. This small but elegant and ornamental building, was erected at an expense of .£413 10s. 4d., including the expenditure on the elaborate embankment which was necessary to lay a pro¬ per foundation. In style it is a castellated Gothic structure, and the heavy mass of rusticated work on which it rests can only be seen to advantage from the church-road beneath. In 1846-7, the sum of £500 was contributed from the funds of the Necropolis towards the public improvement which was then in course of execution, for opening a direct approach to the Cathedral from Stirling’s Road. It is stated in the report for that year, that the Directors considered this work “of great importance to the cemetery, as opening up a more direct com¬ munication with the western parts of the city by a more easy approach than it has hitherto enjoyed, and so obviously bene- 40 GLASGOW NECROPOLS. ficial to the Necropolis in every respect, that they considered themselves justified in expending the large sum referred to; in which they have the farther satisfaction of knowing that they have aided in effecting a great public improvement which it would otherwise have been difficult to accomplish.” In 1848-9, a house for the superintendent was erected on the elevated ground at the east side of the quarry, and was completed at a total cost of about .£400. At this time, also, great improvements were effected in the laying out of the ground, under the liberal sanction and enlightened direction of Andrew Galbraith Esq., during his tenure of the office of Dean of Guild, from October 1848 to October 1850. These operations embraced the heaviest items of expendi¬ ture connected with the actual wants of the Necropolis; but, during the last few years, numerous retaining walls have been erected, additional walks have been formed, embank¬ ments levelled, hollows filled, and these and other improve¬ ments which have been carried out, or are still in progress, necessitate a constant annual outlay. The total expenditure from first to last, has therefore amounted to a very large sum, and has, we have reason to believe, not fallen short of the receipts. Some idea of the heavy outlay necessarily in¬ curred in such improvements, may be formed from the very extensive operations now in progress, to which particular allusion will be made when, in the course of our journey through the upper part of the Necropolis, we reach a favor, able point for commanding a view of the quarry. In the meantime, we may state, that from that excavation, an area of probably two acres is now being added to the cemetery, and that, on the east side of the monuments which crown the summit of the hill, a portion of the meadow has just been enclosed, embracing from two to three acres. We may add that the ground is kept in excellent order by Mr. Slight, the worthy and obliging superintendent. GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. 41 CHAPTER IV. GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF THE NECROPOLIS—ITS SUPERFICIAL EXTENT—NAMES OF THE COMPARTMENTS INTO WHICH IT IS DIVIDED—VIEW FROM BRIDGE—THE MOLENDINAR NUISANCE. ** Circling the base of the poetic mount, A stream there is, which rolls in lazy flow, Its coal-black waters from oblivion’s fount: The vapour-poisoned birds, that fly too low. Fall with dead swoop, and to the bottom go, Escaped that heavy stream, on pinion fleet. Beneath the mountain’s lofty-frowning brow. Ere aught of perilous ascent you meet, A mead of mildest charm delays th’ unlab’ring feet.’* —Coleridge. Having brought our historical notes to a close, we now pro¬ ceed to give some account of one of the most interesting features of the Necropolis—to which it is indebted, indeed, for its principal natural attractions, and even for its very existence as a cemetery—its geological structure. We shall then describe its superficial arrangements; and after con¬ cluding the present chapter with a somewhat unpleasant allusion to the state of the Moleudinar burn, we shall be at liberty to start on our tour through the silent city of the dead. The Necropolis, as already stated, is part of the elevated ridge of the Wester Craigs, which here projects into a promontory, rising to the heightof 225 feet above the level of the Clyde, and consisting chiefly of a mass of trap erupted from the bowels of the earth at some not very remote geological epoch. It may be observed in connection with this subject, that the coal-field on which Glasgow is placed, extends over a considerable por¬ tion of the Middle and Lower Wards of Lanarkshire. The coal alternates with sandstones and shales, the dip, or inclin¬ ation to the horizon, being at this part south-east. When, GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. 42 in the year 1822, Dr. Cleland sunk a bore in the Green to the depth of 306 feet, near the washing-house, with the view of ascertaining the position and character of the coal strata in that locality, he arrived at the rock in which the coal-seams are embedded, at a distance of 119 feet from the surface. In the promontory of the Fir Park, the white rock which Dr. Cleland reached at that depth, crops out; but the mass of the hill to the east is composed of the trap or whinstone of which so considerable a portion has already been excavated in the quarry. It is to the elevation of the latter rock by igneous action, that Glasgow is indebted for the beautiful promontory of the Necropolis. There can be no doubt, that this mass of trap was ejected in a liquid lava-torrent from subterranean regions, rending asunder, by its expansive force, the sand¬ stone and argillaceous rocks of the carboniferous system;— Turbine fumantem piceo, et cadente favilla; Attollitque globos flammarum, et sidera lambit: Interdum seopulos, avulsaque viscera moutis Erigit eructans, liquefactaque saxa sub auras Cum gemitu glomerat, fundoque exsestuat imo. Nay, in this particular instance, the trap, as frequently hap¬ pens, is both a disruptive and overlying mass. In other words, having elevated the superincumbent strata till it burst through them, the liquid trap boiled over at the summit towards the west and south sides, where it may be traced in considerable quantity overlapping the sandstone. This is one of many proofs of the igneous origin of trap, as also of the fact that it must have been erupted from the bowels or inner crust of the earth at a period subsequent to the de¬ position of the stratified carboniferous rocks. It is, how¬ ever, a mistake to suppose, as we have seen it stated, that the overlying or overflowing mass has extended to any con¬ siderable distance towards the south-west. It is quite true that a trap-dyke, emanating from the Necropolis hill, ex¬ tends in this direction several miles, passing diagonally under George Street, North Albion Street, Ingram Street, ITS GEOLOGICAL STEUCTUEE. 43 the Union Bank, Miller Street, Queen Street, &c., and so proceeding in a west-south-west direction to an unknown distance. But the whole of this dyke or vein has been pro¬ jected simultaneously from below, bursting forth with ex¬ traordinary energy, and forming an overlying mass at the Wester Craigs, of which the Necropolis is the commence¬ ment. On the whole, the elevated portion of the Necropolis is almost entirely a mass of solid rock, covered in some places with a scanty soil, and in others exposed to view in terrace¬ like perpendicular masses— “A mount—not wearisome, and bare, and steep, But a green mountain variously up-piled. Where o’er the jutting rocks soft mosses creep, Or colored lichens with slow oozing weep; Whore cypress, and the darker yew start wild Of ‘cypress and the darker yew’ there is little; but the soil is sufficient to afford an adequate support to various trees that are scattered over its surface, gracefully blending with its monumental embellishments. Almost the whole of the west side of the hill, rising abruptly from the Molendinar, and stretching south to the precipitous cliff which supports Major Monteath’s monument, is a mass of sandstone. On this side the tombs are not difficult to excavate. At a recess in the declivity, a little to the north of the rocky base of Major Monteath’s sepulchre, the greenish sandstone is ex¬ ceedingly soft, and masses of trap are lying immediately above it. The sandstone penetrates deep into the hill, of which, however, the great mass is trap, from the summit down¬ wards—a fact abundantly proved by the laborious character of the excavations for tombs which are blasted out of the solid rock on the very brow of the Necropolis. In the valley beneath, which is termed the Lower Necropolis, between the quarry, the Lady Well, and the Molendinar, the graves are chiefly dug with the spade, and do not require to be blasted or hewn out of the rock. 44 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS From these observations the reader will be able to appreciate the singular propriety of the terms in which Dr. Strang in his ‘Necropolis Glasguensis,’ urged the conversion of the Merchants' Park into a garden-cemetery. “In point of situ¬ ation,” he wrote, in the concluding portion of that work, “ the ground belonging to the Merchants’ House of Glasgow, bears, in fact, no small resemblance to that of Mount Louis [or Pere la Chaise]. Its surface, like it, is broken and varied; its form is picturesque and romantic, and its position appro¬ priate and commanding. It is already beautified with vene¬ rable trees and young shrubbery; it is possessed of several winding walks, and affords from almost every point the most splendid views of the city and neighbourhood. The singular diversity, too, of its soil and substrata, proclaims it to be of all other spots, the most eligible for a cemetery; calculated, as that should be, for every species of sepulture, and suit¬ able, as it is, for every sort of sepulchral ornament. The individual, for example, who might wish for the burial of patriarchal times, could there obtain a last resting-place in the hollow of the rock, or could sleep in the security of a sandstone sepulchre, while he who is anxious to mix im¬ mediately with kindred clay, could have his grave either in a grassy glade, or his tomb beneath the shadow of some flower¬ ing shrub. The crypt and catacomb, too, might be there judiciously constructed in the steep face of the hill, while the heights might be appropriately set apart for the cenotaphs and monuments of those who gain a public testimonial of respect or admiration from their grateful countrymen.” How fully and literally these anticipations have been realized, is now matter of observation to every visitor. The entire area devoted to the purposes of the cemetery, embraces about twenty-four acres, of which not more than one-half, on the side adjoining the Molendinar, is yet en¬ closed or appropriated. In this we include the recent addi¬ tions, both from the meadow above and from the quarry below. NAMES OF THE COMPARTMENTS. 40 According to the original plan, the ground is divided into a variety of compartments, considerably differing from each other in superficial extent. These divisions are bounded and marked out by the principal walks, and are distinguished by the names of the different letters of the Greek alphabet, which, we presume, are considered more euphonous and in better keeping with the solemn character of the place than the too familiar and monosyllabic letters of our own. ‘Ornne ignotum pro mirifico ’ is a principle which seems to be ap¬ plied in the present instance with very good effect. The Greek nomenclature of the respective compartments, happens likewise to harmonise with the name given, by way of dis¬ tinction, to the beautiful cemetery as a whole—the word ‘Necropolis’ being, as already stated, a Greek compound (nexgvv mX/;) which signifies literally a ‘City of the Dead.’ The word ‘Cemetery’is, in like manner, a word of Greek derivation (xoifAqrr^ioii), suggesting the expressive idea of ‘a bed of slumber.’ It is further worthy of remark, that the Greek is a sacred and scriptural as well as classical language, being not only the language of Homer and Plato, but that in which the New Testament has come down to us. We there¬ fore think that the selection of the letters of the Greek alphabet, in naming the divisions of the Necropolis, is not in bad taste. Now, it happens that in the Greek alphabet there are exactly twenty-four letters; and supposing the surface of the disposable ground to embrace nearly, if not precisely, the same number of acres, the division, if originally planned and carried out on a strictly uniform and systematic scheme, would have allowed about one acre to each letter of the alpha¬ bet. But no systematic plan has been adopted. Fifteen of the twenty-four letters are already disposed of in naming the divisions of that portion of the Necropolis ground which is already enclosed; and these divisions are exceedingly unequal to each other in point of superficial extent. That the reader may perceive at a glance the proportion of the alphabetical 40 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. list already embraced, we shall subjoin the entire alphabet, distinguishing by Roman capitals, those that have been already appropriated, and the rest by italics :— Alpha, Epsilon, Iota. Nu, Rlio, Beta, Zeta, Kappa, Xi, SrGMA, Gamma, Eta, Lambda, Omioron, Tau, Delta, Theta, Mu, Pi, Upsilon, Phi, Chi, Psi , Omega. The only principle observable in this alphabetical nomen¬ clature is, that the monosyllabic letters have been omitted; and these, we suppose, are not intended to be used in naming the divisions that may be embraced within the limits of the Necropolis at a future period. Greek words, expressive of appropriate sentiments or ideas, will be applied in their stead; and this process has been already commenced in the naming of one of the compartments near the fagade, which is termed Mnema, a Greek word signifying ‘ monument ’ or ‘memorial,’ from the verb pvaoJ or fJ,vccofin.i (to remember) ‘ Mnemata’, the plural of ‘ Mnema,’ is the name given to the Frank burying-ground, near Pera, on the Straits of Constan¬ tinople. “ The vicinity of a cemetery,” says Sir John Hoh- house, in his ‘ Travels in Albania,’ “ is not in the capital of Turkey judged by any means disagreeable, and no spot is so lively and well frequented as the Armenian and Frank bury- ing-ground, at the outskirts of Pera, called Mnemata, or the tombs. It is shaded by a grove of mulberry trees, and is on the edge of some high ground, whence there is a magnificent view of the suburb of Scutari, and a great portion of the Bosphorus.” The names given to the different compartments of the Necropolis already enclosed within the boundary-wall, are therefore categorically as follow:— Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Omicron, Sigma, Upsilon, Omega, Mnema. Without a diagram or plan, which, from the great irregu¬ larity of the ground, would he somewhat difficult of execution, the relative positions of these various compartments cannot be THE MOLENDINAE NUISANCE. 47 easily understood by the reader. They are not in the order of alphabetical sequence, but seem to be perfectly arbitrary. We think, however, that we shall be able to explain them satisfactorily, as we proceed, to those who may visit the Necropolis, by starting, as we intend to do, from the bridge, and following the line of the principal carriage-way, with only a few occasional deviations, throughout the entire route. But before proceeding on this journey, the visitor will naturally pause on the bridge to survey the scene; and it must be admitted that from no other point of view do the terraced heights of the Necropolis appear to greater advan¬ tage. There is, indeed, one unfortunate drawback—the state of the Molendinar burn beneath. Standing on the elegant superincumbent structure, we look around and above on a singularly interesting, striking, and picturesque scene, of which the charm is almost utterly blighted when we look down into that “Abhorred Styx, the flood of deadly hate, Sad Acheron, of sorrow, black and deep into which the rugged rock, fringed with trees that seem to shrink from the loathed presence of the pestilential wave, dips almost perpendicularly. Nothing can be imagined more repulsive than this stagnant pool, in which the process of decomposition—animal as well as vegetable—is going on per¬ petually, boiling up here and there in black, leprous spots, which spread in widening circles, exhaling the most pesti- ferous gases. The whole pool seems to creep and move with the loathsome vitality of putrefaction. It is a dead sea, with¬ out conservating salts, “Where all life dies, death lives, and nature breeds Perverse, all monstrous, all prodigious things, Abominable, unutterable, and worse Than fables yet have feign'd, or fear conceived.” It reminds us of some of the visions, borrowed from the gloomy imaginings of the Pagan mythology, which, like dark clouds from the depths of the unexplored future, swept over 48 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. the susceptible mind of young Michael Bruce, wlieu, with a true prophetic inspiration, he wrote the following verses in the prospect of his own approaching end:— “ Oft morning dreams presage approaching fate; And morning dreams, as pools toll, aru true ; Led by pale ghosts, I outer Death’s dark gate, And bid the realms of light and life adiou. I hear the helpless wail, the shriek of woe; I see the muddy wave, the dreary shore. The sluygish streams that slowly creep below, Which mortals visit, and return no more.’* *—images associated with the dreary religion, or rather with the vague poetical superstitions, of that ancient world which knew of no better or brighter realm than this green earth, with its blue sky and cloudy drapery, and which, if we may judge from the sixth hook of the iEneid, painted even its Elysium with a pencil dipped in twilight, and fringed its heaven with midnight. Far other is the happy spirit of Christianity, which prompted the erection of that magnifi¬ cent cathedral and these graceful monuments, half-hid in leafy verdure, which rise, terrace above terrace, to the pil¬ lared summit of the Necropolis. And it gives us pleasure to state, that, in harmony with this improving spirit, measures are about to be taken to abate, if not entirely to remove the nuisance, which has so long been a blot on perhaps the most interesting locality in or around Glasgow. It has even been proposed, indeed, to arch over the dam, so as to connect the Cathedral churchyard with the rocky base of the Necropolis, covering the work with a deep bed of earth, and converting the dry chasm or ravine, which would be thus formed, into a thick belt of plantation. This course was lately resolved on, but some unexpected difficulties have occurred connected with the water-supply to the Subdean mill, to which the dam is essential—a circumstance which many do not regret, in the hope that the difficulties so presented may lead to the adoption of a totally different plan. It may, perhaps, be admitted that a dense mass of green foliage would constitute a finer object as seen from the bridge, and from the ter- THE MOLENDINAT! NUISANCE. 49 races of the Necropolis, than a constantly boiling cauldron of vegetable putrefaction, the odor arising from which is never agreeable, is certainly deleterious, and is sometimes abso¬ lutely intolerable. But how infinitely better would it be if the polluted water could he restored to its primitive purity. A clear, deep pool, occupying the very basin of the present dam, would greatly enhance the picturesque beauty of the Necropolis. The landscape is never complete without a pel¬ lucid lake or a stream of running water. Dull, dry, and inanimate is even the most exquisite combination of the beautiful and picturesque in nature without this attraction. Water is the vital spirit of the scene;— “That spirit moves In the green valley, where the silver brook, From the full laver, pours the white cascade ; And, bubbling low amid the tangled woods. Slips down through moss-grown stones with endless laughter.” Indeed, it may be safely affirmed, that by burying the nuisance beneath a mass of mason-work, a principal feature in what may be termed the ‘ capabilities of the place,’* would be masked over and obliterated. It is therefore to be hoped that, in the march of modern improvement, a method may yet be devised of getting the Molendinar purified by some deodorizing process—similar to that about to be applied to purify the sewerage of the city—and the pond effectually cleared out and paved, thus retaining so important a feature in the landscape, without the disagreeable effluvia by which the incumbent structure has so long been rendered, in the literal sense of the term, a ‘Bridge of Sighs’ to every un¬ fortunate visitor who ventures to look over the parapet. But this is a subject from which we are glad to escape, and to which we shall promise not to return. We now pro¬ ceed upon our journey through the silent city of the dead, with all its endearing memories) and mournful and memor¬ able associations. Notwithstanding the blemish we have just * An expression, by the way, which gave to a late distinguished landscape-gardener, from his frequent use of it, the soubriquet of * Capability Brown.’ 50 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. mentioned, a lovelier or sweeter spot we would not choose to inhabit, even though associated with tlxe tomb. And while we linger amid the beautiful monuments, and 1 hold sweet converse ’ with memories still green and verdant, it may be that a few readers will not refuse to accompany us in our pil¬ grimage, where, peradventure, some of us shall sleep at the end of life’s journey :— “Little avails it now to know Of ages passed long, long ago, Nor how they rolled ; Our tlieme shall be of yesterday; "Which to oblivion sweeps away, Like days of old.” CHAPTER V. PROPOSED ROUTE—OBELISK OF PETERHEAD GRANITE—HUGH HAMILTON’S MONUMENT—MEETING OF FOUR COMPARTMENTS -GRAVE OF THE AUTHOR OF ‘TOM CRINGLE’S LOG’—THE LATE JAMES BOGLE, ESQ.—TRUE EGYPTIAN OBELISK—TOMB OF THE LATE HUGH COGAN, ESQ., AND OTHER MONUMENTS. " O Land ! O Land ! For all the broken-hearted The mildest herald by our fate allotted. Beckons, and with inverted torch doth stand To lead us with a gentle hand Into the land of the great Departed, Into the Silent Land."— Longfellow. In now proceeding to traverse the Necropolis, the route which we intend to pursue will be that which is usually taken by visitors—the line of the principal carriage-way. This course will bring us into contact with most of its prominent features and leading monuments; and where an occasional divergence may be necessary, we shall point it, so as to enable the reader or visitor to accompany us without difficulty in our whole progress. This we conceive to he a better method MONUMENTS NEAR THE FAQADE. 51 than that of attempting to delineate the different compart¬ ments in succession, which would lead us by a very circuitous course. The nominal division of the ground into these com¬ partments is, as already stated, so arbitrary, and is to the stranger, and even to the public at large, a matter of so little interest—however useful or important in the private manage¬ ment of the cemetery—that it seems to be unnecessary to restrict ourselves by any such arrangement. At the same time, for the benefit of the proprietors of lairs, and of others who may happen to be interested in this matter, the principal or more prominent monuments will be selected as landmarks, to indicate the boundaries and relative order of the alpha¬ betical divisions, as these shall successively present them¬ selves in the course of our journey. Having crossed the bridge, and turning to the left at the fagade, the carriage-way proceeds upward by a gentle slope in a northerly direction. Near this point, a little to the right, and only a tew yards from the fagade, is a beautiful obelisk of Peterhead granite, behind which our route will lead us to pass in close proximity to the little group of which it is the most conspicuous member, in drawing to the close of our tour in the silent city of the dead. At present, we may state, that this monument, as it is one of the first that arrests the eye of the visitor on entering the hallowed precincts of the cemetery, so is it unquestionably one of the finest. We confess to a decided partiality for the obelisk, in its chaste simplicity, pointing silently, eternally, from the tomb beneath to the blue heavens above. There are one or two others of the same material and form in the Necropolis, and these with their beautiful ruddy tinge and exquisitely polished surface, are highly ornamental structures. On the top of the green declivity above, the visitor will notice a sepulchre in the form of an elegant Greek temple, which encloses the remains of the late Mr. Davidson of Ruchill; but this we shall also have a better opportunity of inspecting when we reach the brow of the hill. 53 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. All these monuments standing on the right are in Beta. On the left is a handsome obelisk, painted white, the property of James Fleming, Esq., of Newlandsfield, which marks the southern extremity of Lambda; and here a walk diverges from the carriage-way, leading almost due north, along the margin of the Molendinar, to the Jews’ burying-ground. In the meantime we shall follow the course we have chalked out, and shall return and visit the isolated resting-place of the Jews after performing the circuit of the other parts of the Necropolis, from which—although a portion of the same enclosure—it stands out separate and distinct, like the Jewish people themselves among the other nations of the earth. Passing two other obelisks, or rather tapering columns, crowned with elegant urns, we soon arrive at another walk branching off to the left, through the middle of Lambda, and forming, as it were, a continuation of one on the right, which retires along the brow of the hill behind the fagade, passing Colonel Pattison’s monument, and then again descending to the principal carriage-way without conducting to the summit. This road, on the right hand, is that by which we shall return to the spot where we now stand, before concluding our wanderings at the Jews’ burying-ground. Meanwhile, ad¬ vancing a few steps further, we leave unnoted, but not unnoticed, several elegant private monuments on both sides, which it is impossible that we should delay to enumerate. The first monument of a public character which meets us as we continue our course along the carriage-way, is a massive and elevated structure on the left, erected to the memory of Hugh Hamilton, a working-man, who seems to have acted a conspicuous part among his comrades in those days of poli¬ tical excitement which, happily, have now passed into history. Regarded as a simple memorial of these exciting times, the monument is not unworthy of notice. Mere political designa¬ tions are now of small moment; the names of Whig and Tory are now buried in one grave, but from the ‘ short and simple annals ’ of the man, engraven cn this ‘ pillar of stone,’ hugh Hamilton's monument. 53 Hugh Hamilton appears to have been a loyal subject, and a good citizen. On the south side of the monument, looking towards the fagade, is the following inscription:— Erected by the Glasgow Conservative Operatives’ Association, to the Memory of Hugh Hamilton, Clotlilapper. Born 25th June, 1791, died 25th Dec., 1S37. ‘ Better is the poor that walketh in his upright¬ ness, than he that is peiverse in his ways, though he be rich.’ Pro¬ verbs xxviii. y ipsissima ver'ba —Rev. Dr. WARDtAtV, Immediately contiguous to Mr. Monteith’s obelisk, on the south side, is a somewhat irregular piece of ground, also on the very brow of the hill, which has not at present the appearance of being a grave at all. Here, however, rest the mortal remains of one of the most eminent men, and one of the finest intellects, that Scotland could boast—the late Rev. Dr. Wardlaw—a man whose name and fame are at least as RAtPH WABDLAW, D.D. 8T widely diffused as the language in which he spoke and wrote. If it should appear to he a disgrace to Glasgow that no monument has yet been erected to the memory of this dis¬ tinguished divine, who died at the close of 1853, our readers will be gratified to learn that a very considerable sum has already been collected for this purpose, by the members of that congregation over which he so long presided, and who, in their affectionate devotion to his memory, are making preparations to rear a befitting structure on this commanding site. The congregation is wealthy, and is well qualified to raise the necessary funds without assistance—a circum¬ stance which, if we are not misinformed, has given vise to the impression that they do not accept contributions towards the contemplated object from any other quarter, but that they have resolved to reserve entirely to themselves the privilege of erecting a monument over the grave of their pastor. That they do not solicit contributions is perfectly true, and that they have already collected enough among themselves to ensure the completion of the work in a very satisfactory manner, from their own unaided resources, is also a fact which our readers will be glad to learn; but it is an error to suppose that they refuse to receive contributions from the general public; and we believe, that if this were generally known, and if greater publicity were given to the subject, a fund would soon be amassed from the ready sub¬ scriptions of thousands of Dr. Wardlaw’s admirers, in every part of the country, which would put it in the power of the committee appointed by the congregation to rear a truly magnificent structure, not unworthy to constitute a kind of national testimony to the pre-eminent merits of one of our greatest divines and polemical writers. Dr. Wardlaw was born at Dalkeith, on the 22d December, 1779, but was removed to Glasgow when quite an infant. His parents were William Wardlaw and Anne Fisher, both of respectable, and even distinguished, families. By his paternal ancestors, he was related to the ancient Anglo-Saxon house of 88 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. Wardlaw of Pitreavie, in Fife, one of the members of which was Bishop Wardlaw of St. Andrews, the founder of the ancient university in that city; and by the mother’s side, he was connected, by direct descent, with some of the most emi¬ nent names in the records of the Scottish Secession. His biographer, the Rev. Dr. Alexander of Edinburgh, appends to his memoirs a genealogical table, from which it appears that the Reverend Doctor was actually, by his maternal parent, the ninth in descent from James V., the most popular of all the monarchs of the house of Stewart; and that one of his ancestors in this line was Harry Halcro of Halcro, in South Ronaldshay, a lineal descendant of the ancient Princes oi Denmark. Whatever importance may be attached to such matters, which are, indeed, capable of adding but little to the fame of Dr. Wardlaw, it is certainly interesting to know that his mother Was a daughter of the Rev. James Fisher, and grand-daughter, therefore, of the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine— two of the four founders of Scottish dissent.* Her sister, Margaret Fisher, was married to Walter Ewing M‘Lae, Esq. of Cathkin, by whom she was mother of the late Mr. Ewing, of Strathleven; and thus the subject of the present notice stood in the relation of full cousin to that gentleman, whose name has already repeatedly occurred in these pages a3 one of the principal promoters of the Necropolis, and whom we shall again have occasion to notice, in a still more prominent manner, when we arrive at his own monument, erected only a few yards distant from the grave of his dis- tinguished relative. Dr. Wardlaw’s father settled in Glasgow as a merchant. He became a burgess and guild-brother in 1786, and a matriculated member of the Merchants’ House in the follow¬ ing year. It is stated in Cleland’s Annals that he was a magistrate in 1796 and 1800. He was a man of high intellec¬ tual culture—was distinguished by his upright conduct, his eminent piety and strict integrity, and occupied an honorable - For a short notice of these two fathers of the Secession, see Appendix. RALPH WARD LAW. D.D. 89 place among our Glasgow merchants. He built the house on the west side of Charlotte Street, nearest the Green—a street in which Dr. Chalmers lived at a future period, and which was at one time regarded as a highly fashionable locality, not unworthy of the best families in Glasgow. The subject of our memoir, having lost his mother when a child, was sent at an early age to the High School in this city; and in 1791, before he had completed his twelfth year, he entered the University, where, assisted by his father’s advice and instructions, he pursued his philosophical and classical studies, with marked success, for the usual period of four years. His views having always pointed to the ministry, he entered the Divinity Hall in connection with that branch of the Associate Secession Church, known as the Burgher Synod, in which he had been brought up. His theological instructor was the venerable Dr. Lawson, of Selkirk, then professor in the Burgher Theological Hall. “A native of Selkirk," says Dr. Alexander, “ who recollects him whilst a student there, has told me that he was noticeable by the townsfolk, among his fellows, for the neatness and grace of his dress; and, especially, that he caused no small talk among them by the extravagance, as they viewed it, of a silk umbrella I This slight reminiscence gives note both of the individual and of the age.” Having entered the Hall in 1795, he prosecuted his theo¬ logical studies, with Dr. Lawson’s high approbation, during the prescribed period of five sessions; but when just on the eve of receiving his licence, he found that he could not con¬ scientiously subscribe to some of the articles of the Seces- sion Church. “ I have not,” he wrote to a friend, in February, 1800, “yet assumed the pontificals. I am, in some measure, conscious of wasting time which might have been better occupied in attempting , at least, so far as in me lies, to pro¬ mote the glory of God, and the most important interests of mankind. Many things, however, have of late divided my mind, and it is not impossible (don’t gloom!) that I may be 90 Glasgow Necropolis. sucked in by the vortex of the Tabernacle.” This was tile name then applied to the new Congregationalist or Indepen¬ dent movement, which had been started in Scotland by the Messrs. Haldane, and others. The name was originally given to their places of worship, and hence it came to be applied to the religious movement itself. ‘ Tabernacles ’ were established in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, and other places: and the leaders of the new denomination—Messrs. Haldane, Aikrnan, Rate, Greville Ewing, and Innes—itinera¬ ted through different parts of the country, attracting immense audiences. The Rev. Greville Ewing had his ‘tabernacle’ or place of worship in Jamaica Street, in this city; and Mr. Wardlaw, on a full examination of the principles there inculcated, at length deliberately joined Mr. Ewing’s church, and thus publicly gave his adherence to that body of Christians, of which he was ultimately destined to become one of the most powerful champions, and the brightest ornament. “When someone,” relates his biographer, “announced to the venerable Dr. Law- son that Ralph Wardlaw had left the Secession, and become an Independent, the good old man was at first startled and pained by the intelligence, but after a moment’s pause, he said, ‘Well, it doesn’t much matter: Ralph Wardlaw will make a good anything.’” He now commenced his professional career, and the younger readers of the present day will be surprised to learn, that for many years the Rev. Dr. Wardlaw was actively engaged as an itinerant preacher in different parts of the country. Towards the close of 1800, he visited Edinburgh, and preached for several Sabbaths in that city and neigh¬ bourhood. In the early part of 1801 he engaged to supply the church assembling at St. Paul’s chapel, Perth, for a few Sabbaths, during the temporary vacancy occasioned by the death of their pastor; but from various causes his stay in Perth was extended, with occasional short interruptions, till the middle of October : and during this period he was in the RALPH WARD LAW, D.D. 91 habit of proceeding on laborious itinerant preaching excur¬ sions to various towns and villages in the surrounding country. His letters to his father at this period are exceed¬ ingly interesting. We find him at one time writing from the tabernacle at Dundee, and anon detailing his adventures at Dunkeld, Moulin, and other places, with all the buoyancy of youthful hope and enthusiasm. When Dr. Wardlaw commenced his labors as a preacher, he was far from exhibiting promise of that eminence to which he afterwards attained. He was by no means popular at first; but, acquiring confidence With practice, he rapidly improved in his style and manner, and so well did he acquit himself at Perth, that when another church had been erected for the minister at length appointed there, the proprietors of St. Paul’s chapel were anxious to retain his services, hoping to draw together a new congregation in that place of worship. They made him accordingly a liberal offer, with that object in view. This brought to a crisis a movement which had been proceeding among his friends in Glasgow, who, knowing the superior qualifications of the young preacher, proposed to erect, at their own expense, a place of worship for him in that city. The proposal took him by surprise; but, after much hesitation, he deemed it his duty to accept. A piece of ground was accordingly secured in North Albion Street for the new church. Having left Perth in the autumn, he spent the ensuing winter at Dumfries, while his church was in progress, and there he produced so favorable an impression, that an effort was made by the people to secure him as their settled pastor. This however, was precluded by the pre-existingarrangements. He returned to Glasgow in somewhat impaired health; and sought relaxation from severer duties in composing and com¬ piling a collection of hymns, in which he was ably assisted by his father. This engaged him for nearly a twelvemonth. The chapel in Glasgow having been at length completed, was opened on the 10th February, 1803, on which occasion the GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. church was formally constituted, and Mr. Wardlaw, then only in his twenty-fourth year, was ordained as its pastor. The opening of the North Albion Street Chapel produced a considerable migration from the tabernacle in Jamaica Street; but the Eev. Mr. Ewing, instead of being offended at that circumstance, which had been foreseen from the beginning by all parties, strongly encouraged and supported the movement in behalf of his young friend, with whom he always continued to co-operate on the most cordial terms. Mr. Wardlaw’s aged and respected father, though he never entirely renounced his communion with the old Secession, was a member and deacon of his congregation. This con¬ gregation at first amounted to only sixty-one members; but its numbers were steadily increased by the ability, eloquence, and energy of the young preacher. The extent of his efforts may be conceived from the fact that, besides discharging his duties in the pulpit, he labored much at this period of his ministry as a village, and even as a street preacher. “ There are few villages around Glasgow,” writes one who knew him well, “ that have not their reminiscences of the young minis¬ ter of Albion Street, preaching at cross-roads, in fields, barns, school-rooms, and kitchens. A regular station of his during many years was the top of Balmanno Street, where, on Sabbath evenings, mounted on a chair, he proclaimed the unsearchable riches of Christ. Nor were these labors unrewarded; fora congregation as attached as ever pastor possessed, soon gathered round him. It is worthy of remark, that of his early church a considerable proportion were weavers from Bridge- ton. At that time weaving and weavers were in their palmy days. Bridgeton was then more than now separated from Glasgow. The Independents residing in the village, con¬ strained, perhaps, by a feeling then running strong against thefr principles, kept much by themselves. On Sabbath mornings, they were accustomed to meet, to ‘ go up ’ in com¬ pany, to Albion Street; and in the same manner to return. Their departure caused quite a sensation in their quiet RALPH WABDLAW, D.D. 93 neighbourhood, and as they passed might be heard the re¬ mark, ‘ There goes Wardlaw’s brigade.”’ In the beginning of 1813, Dr. Wardlaw commenced that course of public lectures on the Socinian controversy which attracted so much attention at the time, and brought him into conflict with the Rev. Mr. Yates, then Unitarian minister in Glasgow, and one of the ablest exponents of the Unitarian creed. Our young divine grappled with the question most successfully, and at the request of many friends of the cause he had so warmly espoused, the lectures were published, ran through many editions, and now form a standard text-book in many of the Divinity Halls, both in this country and in America. This auspicious debut as a controversialist contri¬ buted greatly to his popularity; his congregation still in¬ creased to an extent which exceeded the accommodation the chapel was capable of affording; and in 1818, when absent in London, he received the gratifying intelligence of the con¬ templated erection of West George Street Chapel, to which he and his people removed in the following year. It is matter of notoriety that there a congregation was formed, which, for numbers, influence, and intelligence, was second to none in Glasgow. As a preacher, Dr. Wardlaw is acknowledged to have stood in the van of living celebrities. For purity of style, vigor of thought, concise arrangement, simplicity of elucidation, and cogency of reasoning, his sermons were universally admired. Some idea maybe formed of the variety of the subjects which he treated, from the fact that he went over the whole of the Books of the Old Testament, the Acts of the Apostles, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Tbessalonians, Hebrews, the Epistles of James and Jude, and Revelation, besides giving thousands of detached sermons and numerous short series of discourses. Amid many temptations to leave Glasgow, either for pulpits or university choirs in England, where the emoluments would have been considerably larger than the stipend which 94 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. lie enjoyed in this city, although it was reported to be the highest given to any dissenting minister north of the Tweed, he remained warmly attached to West George Street Chapel. About seven years aftdr his ordination he became tutor in the Glasgow Theological Academy, a position which he filled with much efficiency and acceptance till his decease. In ’ this institution he was early associated with the Eev. Greville Ewing, and in later years with Professor Thomson. His fame as a theologian attracted students of all evangelical denomina¬ tions to his class-room; and for nearly half a century he sent forth a large number of able and faithful ministers, who are now engaged in all parts of the world. At the institution of the Local Bible Society, he was appointed secretary, and for many years discharged the duties of the office with great zeal and fidelity. Dr. Wardlaw figured prominently at all public meetings, whether political, educational, or religious; and was always popular as a platform speaker. Much of his time was spent in the important controversies of Christianity, which have of late years been agitated in Scotland. In these the subtlety of his reasoning was put to the severest tests; and it was his lot to be met in debate by the most eminent of his contem¬ poraries, in proof of which we have only to state, that he measured lances with Chalmers himself, on the Voluntary question. His writings—controversial, critical, and exposi¬ tory—are very voluminous, and are favorably known to the whole religious public.* The Rev. Doctor held his degree from Yale College, Connecticut—a circumstance which is surely a reproach to our Scottish universities, and more especially to the college at which he had studied, and of which he was a distinguished alumnus. In February, 1853, on the completion of the fiftieth year of his ministry, a jubilee was held to celebrate this auspicious ¥ Besides the 'Hymn Book' and 'Discourses on the Socinlan Controversy,'already mentioned, he published * Expository Lectures on Ecclesiastes;' ‘Dissertation on Infant Baptism ;' ‘ Essays on Assurance of Faith and Extent of the Atonement, and Universal Pardon;’ ‘ Discourses on the Sabbath;' ‘ Lectures on Female Prostitution; ‘Congre¬ gational Independency the Church Polity of the JS'ew Testament;' &c. ; &c. EALPH WAEDLAW, D.D. 95 event. It assumed the form of a public soiree in the City Hall, and was truly a noble demonstration, attended by the most influential clergymen of every shade of religious belief, who came from all parts of the United Kingdom, vieing with each other in paying their tribute of respect to the venerable and esteemed minister in whose honor it was held. Dr. Wardlaw survived this crowning reward of his long, consistent, and eminent career as a Christian pastor only a few months. In 1817 he had suffered a severe attack of an obscure affection in the chest to which he was subject, and this had led to the appointment of the Rev. Mr. Porter as his colleague in the following year. Events of a painful nature, to which we refrain from alluding further, occasioned that gentleman’s resignation in 1850. Dr. Wardlaw con¬ tinued for some time in feeble health ; but not long after Mr. Porter’s appointment he rallied remarkably—his usual vivacity returned, and even after the jubilee services his health and vigor remained for some time as before. He had afterwards the gratification of receiving, and introducing to the Glasgow public, the celebrated authoress of‘Uncle Tom's Cabin.’ It was evident, however, on that occasion that his strength was beginning to fail. His old ailment, which proved to be spinal neuralgia, returned with greater severity than ever; and after enduring for several weeks the intense sufferings of this malady with true Christian fortitude, he died, surrounded by his family, at Easterhouse, near Glas¬ gow, on Saturday morning, 17th December, 1853—the year of his jubilee. His funeral took place on the following Friday, and the long and mournful procession which accom¬ panied his honored remains to the Neoropolis will not soon be forgotten. Dr. Wardlaw was married in August, 1803, to Miss Jane Smith, daughter of the Rev. Mr. Smith of Dunfermline; and this excellent lady, with a numerous family of sous and daughters, survived to deplore his loss. One of his sons has been, for a number of years, a missionary at Bellary; and 96 GLASGOW NECIIOPOUS. two of his daughters likewise accompanied their husbands to the same missionary field. Another of his sons is honor¬ ably engaged in business in this city. Dr. Wardlaw survived the whole of his father's family, consisting of seven sons and one daughter. One of his brothers, Captain John Wardlaw, fell at the battle of Salamanca, July 22, 1812. In private life, Dr. Wardlaw was greatly beloved. His manners were unaffected and conciliatory, aud he was a genuine pattern of the refinements, accomplishments, and virtues which mark the scholar and Christian gentleman. He possessed a rich vein of humour, was extremely fond of innocent pleasantry, and was never satisfied unless the entire circle were participants in his happiness. He amused his leisure, and often delighted his friends, with lively sallies in verse; and if he did not make poetry a serious study, he rhymed at least with great facility on various subjects,— “ From grave to gay, from lively to severe, ” as the reader may infer from the short but characteristic specimen of his lighter muse prefixed to this chapter. Many of his ‘ hymns,’ indeed, are exceedingly beautiful, and some of them have taken their place as not unworthy to rank with the best compositions of that kind in the English language. Since the death of this eminent divine, the once famous West George Street Chapel, so often vocal with his lucid eloquence, has ceased to exist. It was purchased by the Edin¬ burgh and Glasgow Railway Company at the price of ;£14,000— a sum which has enabled the congregation to erect, at the cor¬ ner of Bath and Pitt Streets, a new and much more magnifi¬ cent structure, designed by Mr. Burnet of West Regent Street, and known as Elgin Place Chapel. Dr. Wardlaw is succeeded by the Rev. Alexander Raleigh, who is held in very high esteem by his people, and is much admired as a preacher. GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. 97 CHAPTER IX. JOHN DICK, D.D.—THOMAS ATKINSON. “Gently, at last, the shades of evening came. But rays that fade not, rest upon his name; Passed from the earth, the trees which he had seen. So oft in Spring’s fair mornings clad in green, Before the spot so long beloved shall wave, W hile he is resting in his honored grave. Put in those branches desolate and bare, " hich shall again their verdant covering wear. We read an emblem of the glorious trust, Wii h which they lay the Christian in the dust— That * certain hope’ on which the soul relies, * The hour is coming wheu the dead shall rise.’ '* We now turn to the Rev. Dr. Dick’s monument, immediately opposite the obelisk in honor of the late Mr. Monteith. The latter is in the compartment of Gamma ; the former occupies the south-west corner of Omega, to which, with its crowded and magnificent tombs, we have now to devote several chapters. Separated from Kappa by the walk which here ascends to the summit, it embraces the principal portion of the highest platform of the hill, from Dr. Dick’s monument northward, and constitutes, indeed, the most richly em¬ bellished division of the whole Necropolis. In this elevated region of monumental splendour, the dead slumber beneath palaces. Art has done much—perhaps too much—to decorate Omega with elegant monumental structures. All around us rise the costly fabrics, rendering even death immortal. And yet we confess that more of the verdure and picturesque leafiness of Nature’s own handiwork—more of the green earth ami the rugged rock rising in the grandeur of natural simplicity to meet the blue sky, and less of the 1 sculptured bust and monumental urn,’ would have been more agreeable to our own taste, although it is impossible to walk these silent streets without a profound feeling of reverential awe in G 98 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS, tlie presence of so much sepulchral pomp, and so many enduring monitors of evanescent mortality. Like the monuments to Knox and M‘Gavin,between which it stands in a direct line, as well as the adjacent obelisk to Mr. Monteith, and another interesting cenotaph close at hand, to which we shall further advert in the course of the present chapter, the prominent and graceful structure before us does not indicate the tomb, but merely the virtues of the deceased. The mortal remains of the learned and worthy divine to whom this honorable mark of respect was erected by his congregation, five years after his death, are interred in the Cathedral or High Church cemetery. This monument was designed by Mr. Thomas Hamilton, of Edinburgh, and is an hexagonal temple of the Ionic order, crowned with a circular canopy resting on six fluted columns. It is formed some¬ what after the general design of the clioragic monument of Lysicrates, known also as the Lanthorn of Demosthenes, at Athens; but, besides that the order is different, aud the pedestal is not square hut hexagonal, the body of the temple is here completely wanting, and the central space between the columns is occupied by a vase or urn. On one of the sides of the pedestal is placed the following in¬ scription To the Memory of John Dick, D.D., Professor of Theology to the United Secession Synod, Aud Minister of Greyfriars’ Church, Glasgow ; Who was born at Aberdeen the 10th of October, 1764, And died at Glasgow the 25th of January, 1833. Erected by his Congregation, 1838. Around the frieze is an inscription in Greek capitals:— ©NH2KEIN MH AETE TOTS ATA0OT2, "IEPON 'TnNON KOIMATAI. Of which the following may be given as a free translation.:— Oh ! tell mo not the good man dies, Embalm’d in sacrc-d sleep he lies ! JOHN DICK, D.D. 99 Dr. Dick was born at Aberdeen, as already stated, on the lOtb of October, 1704. His father, the Rev. Alexander Dick, was minister of an Associate Congregation of Seceders in that city, but originally belonged to the county of Kinross, and was descended of a respectable family. The subject of this notice was the eldest of nine children, and was in his early years greatly indebted to the watchful and affectionate training of his mother, a daughter of Captain Tolrnie of Aberdeen. After passing with distinguished success through the Gram¬ mar School classes, he entered King’s College, in October, 1777, and although at this time he had just completed his twelfth year, he succeeded in gaining a competition bursary. In March, 1781, he took the degree of A.M., and the time for choosing a profession having now arrived, he determined, of his own deliberate choice, to devote himself to the holy ministry in connection with the Secession. After under¬ going the usual examinations, he was admitted hy the As¬ sociate Presbytery of Perth and Dunfermline to attend the Divinity Hall in connection with that denomination, and there he studied for five years under the superintendence of Dr. Brown of Haddington, the author of the Dictionary of the Bible, and other religious works. Part of the vacations he spent with a paternal uncle in Kinross-shire, where he attended the ministrations of the late Rev. Mr. Greig of Lochgellv. It is stated, that about the time of his entering the Divinity Hall, an exuberance of animal spirits for which he was remarkable in youth, was supplanted by an unusual gravity of demeanour which continued for nearly two years, and after which he regained much of his former gaiety. The struggle in his mind having passed over, he settled down into the calm and confirmed cheerfulness of an enlightened faith. In 1785, when about twenty-one years of age, he was licensed as a preacher hy the Associate Presbytery of Perth and Dunfermline, and had not been long licensed before he received calls from the congregations of Scone, of Mussel- 100 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. burgh, and of Slateford, The Synod decided on sending him to Slateford, where, on the hanks of the Water of Leith, near Edinburgh, the young minister was ordained on the 20th October, 1786, at the age of twenty-two. Here he labored with great acceptance and comfort for fifteen years, among an affectionate and worthy people, by whom his superior quali¬ fications and unremitting diligence were fully appreciated. The church and minister’s house stood on the banks of the stream, and much of his leisure time he spent in cultivating his garden, enjoying with a deep zest the simple beauties of nature. A few years after his settlement in this place, he was united in marriage to Miss Jane Coventry, second daughter of the Rev. George Coventry, of Stitehell, in Roxburghshire, and sister to the late Dr. Andrew Coventry, Professor of Agriculture in the University of Edinburgh. By this happy union he became the parent of six sons and five daughters, of whom four sons and four daughters sur¬ vived him. Dr. Dick was an active and laborious student, and made it his habitual practice to rise at an early hour in the morning. The fruits of his pulpit preparations were of a higher order than usually prevailed in the Secession at that time. His first appearance as an author was about two years after his settle¬ ment at Slateford, when he published a sermon entitled 1 The Conduct and Doom of False Teachers,’the text beingS Peter ii. 1. This sermon was launched against Dr. M'Gill of Ayr, a minister of the Established Church, who had published a Practical Essay on the Death of Christ, in which it was alleged that Socinian opinions were maintained, and for which the author was prosecuted before the Church Courts. His next publication was a sermon preached as moderator of the Synod in 1796, Avhen that dispute on Confessions of Faith was at its height, which terminated in the dissent of a small minority, forming a new Secession, under the name of the Original Associate Synod. Dr. Dick took a prominent part in this dis¬ cussion, and his sermon, with the note appended to it, is JOHN DICK, D.D. 101 generally allowed to afford a complete view of the question. He held that Confessions of Faith should he subject to frequent revision. In 1800, he published his celebrated ‘Essay on the Inspira¬ tion of the Scriptures,’which forms, perhaps, the most endur¬ ing basis of his reputation, both as a writer and a divine. In 1801, he preached before the Edinburgh Missionary Society a sermon on the qualifications and the call of missionaries, which, in compliance with the customary request of the So¬ ciety, was likewise given to the public. During the fifteen years that he labored in the village of Slateford, Dr. Dick had received two calls from the Aberdeen congregation to which his lamented father, then deceased, so long discharged the responsible duties of pastor. The Synod, however, on both occasions, and in perfect harmony with his own wishes, decided that he should continue at Slateford, until, in the year 1801, he received a call from the congrega¬ tion then of Shuttlefield, now Greyfriars, Glasgow, to be col¬ league to their aged pastor, the Rev. Alex. Pirie. Dr. Dick resigned this matter entirely into the hands of the Synod, who immediately dissolved his connection with Slateford, and sent him to Glasgow. He was inducted as colleague and suc¬ cessor to Mr. Pirie, on the 21st May, 1801. The congregation of Greyfriars was one of the oldest, wealthiest, and most important connected with the Secession Church in Glasgow, and here Dr. Dick labored with unabated acceptance and constantly increasing usefulness for more than thirty years. In 1810, the death of his venerable colleague left him alone in the charge of the congregation; and in 1815 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the College of Prince¬ ton, New Jersey. His quiet unobtrusive career, spent in the assiduous discharge of his pastoral duties, was marked by few incidents that call for special notice. In addition, how¬ ever, to his ordinary pulpit ministrations, which were greatly admired, he delivered a series of monthly Sabbath evening lectures on the Acts of the Apostles, and other discourses on 102 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. various interesting subjects, which, by their superior merit, attracted crowds of hearers, and drew on the author a large share of public attention. Many of these discourses were afterwards published, and have passed through several editions. In 1820, Dr. Dick was appointed to succeed the venerable Dr. Lawson of Selkirk in the chair of Theological Professor to the Associate Synod—a highly responsible and honorable situation, which he filled with distinguished ability till his death, greatly beloved by the students, and leaving behind him a valuable bequest to the world in his admirable Lectures on Theology, delivered from the Professorial chair, and subsequently published in four volumes by one of his sons. It is to the excellent memoir prefixed to these lectures, published in 1834, that we are indebted for the sub¬ stance of this brief notice. Somewhat suddenly and unexpectedly Dr. Dick closed his long and useful career, on the afternoon of Friday, the 25th of January, 1833. His death was produced by inflammation of the brain, arising from internal disease of the ear, to which he had been frequently subject; and no alarm was created till the evening previous to his death, when he gradually sank into a stupor, from which he never recovered. He died in the sixty-ninth year of his age, the forty-seventh of his ministry, and the thirteenth of his professorship. The sad and unexpected event created a deep and painful sensation throughout Glasgow. He was buried in the High Church cemetery, on the first of the following month, and the funeral procession was marked by imposing solemnity. We may conclude this sketch of Dr. Dick’s life with the following account of his personal appearance from the pen of one of his friends :—“ In person,” says this writer, “Dr. Dick was about the middle size, well-proportioned, and, to the last, erect, noble, and graceful in his mien. In his youth he is re¬ puted to have been eminently handsome; and certainly nothing could exceed his venerable beauty in later years. His fore¬ head was ample, and finely formed; his head slightly bald, THOMAS ATKINSON. 103 and his hair, originally black, had assumed a silvery white¬ ness. His eyes were dark, full, and very expressive, his other features regular and harmonious, and his com¬ plexion clear. The whole cast of his countenance was highly intellectual; its prevailing expression that of mild and meditative gravity, yet without any air of abstraction; on the contrary, he was very much alive to what was acting before him, and upon the instant, his features and attitudes could give to every emotion the most lively expression within the limits of dignity, which never forsook him. The first impression which he made upon a stranger was that of awe, but this soon wore off upon acquaintance; and those who en¬ joyed his esteem will not soon forget the open, animated, and, sometimes, arch look which illustrated his conversation, nor the sweetness of his smile.” Near Dr. Dick’s monument, a little to the south-east, is one of peculiar construction, somewhat impressed with the finger of time, but on which may be traced the following inscrip¬ tion :— To tlio Memory of Thomas Atkinson, Bookseller; Who died At sea, while on a voyage to Barbadoes, For the recovery of his health, 10th October, 1833. In the 32d year of his age. “While, when beneath the verge of time I’ve sped—as soon I know ’twill be— I rise, but in another clime,— Uncircling—fixed Eternity.” This simple tribute To the genuine worth of an only son, Is placed here By his early widowed, now bereaved And desolate mother. A. M. A. The upper part of this unpretending cenotaph consists of a pyramid, terminating in a flame, and bearing on a slab of white marble, the figure of a ship on the ocean, over which 104 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. is a dove with an olive branch in its mouth, and this curious inscription:— “ As forth the dove went trembling.” This monument is worthy of the visitor’s attention, as in. dicating, not the grave, indeed, but the memory and premature fate of one who was endowed with intellectual qualities of no mean order. Mr. Atkinson was born at Glasgow, about the beginning of the present century. His parentage was humble, and as, in all probability, his education was not of a very liberal character, his future literary merit, even at an early period of life, is therefore due to his own natural genius, and the ardent and irrepressible energies of his own mind. He was first apprenticed to Messrs. Brash & Reid, book- sellers, Trongate; and not, as stated in Anderson’s ‘ Scottish Biography,’ to their contemporary, Mr. Turnbull. He after¬ wards entered into partnership as a bookseller, with the late Mr. David Robertson, whose name has already occurred as the publisher of Motherwell’s poems, and of whom we shall have something more to say when we shortly arrive at the spot which encloses his own honored remains. This partner¬ ship, after subsisting for some years, was broken off by mutual consent; Mr. Robertson started for himself, and Mr. Atkinson continued the original business on his own account. His labors, however, were not confined to what might be termed the ordinary routine of the shop. Bookmaking rather than bookselling, was his business; and while he was apparently employed in trafficking in the intellectual temple, he was actually an earnest and assiduous worshipper of the Muses. His literary industry was not a little remarkable. Amid the urgency of business, he found time from his other avocations to publish ‘ The Sextuple Alliance,’ and ‘ The Chameleon,’ in three successive annual volumes; containing only his own literary sketches, in various miscellaneous forms of both prose and verse. He also edited a weekly periodical, entitled ‘ The Ant,’ and chiefly consisting of selections from some of the best modern writers. In this career he was THOMAS ATKINSON 105 more successful than as a politician, when, at the first general election after the passing of the Reform Bill, he started as a candidate, in opposition to Lord DalmtJny, for the Stirling Burghs. To this unsuccessful struggle he was probably urged by the keen interest which, as an ardent reformer, he took in the politics of the day; and also, perhaps, by the fluency and ease of his public elocution, in which Mr. Atkin¬ son was an adept. It is generally believed, that his sanguine and overstrained exertions in this injudicious and unsuc¬ cessful contest, combining with the mortification of defeat, ripened the seeds of consumption in his naturally delicate constitution. When too late he sought for renovated health in a less severe climate; and, after disposing of his books and business, sailed for Barhadoes—which, however, he was never destined to reach. He died on the passage on the 10th October, 1833, in the 32d year of his age, and was buried at sea, in an oaken coffin which he had taken with him, im¬ pressed with a prophetic presentiment of his approaching end! Mr. Atkinson left an annuity of £'40 to his mother, which she enjoyed till her death; and a sum to be applied, after accumulation, in founding an Atkinsonian Hall in Glasgow for the furtherance of adult education by lectures in various branches of science and the belles lettres—a monument of his own zeal for the diffusion of knowledge. How many names might thus be honorably bequeathed to posterity, even with¬ out any higher effort than that of a posthumous liberality! Unfortunately, in this case, the laudable intentions of the deceased are in serious danger of being frustrated. According to Mr. Atkinson’s will, the money which he left (about A'1200) was to be allowed to accumulate till it reached the amount of .£5000, and then to be applied to the purpose above-mentiond. We regret to state, however, that legal pro¬ ceedings have been lately commenced with a view to invali¬ date the will, on two grounds: first, that Mr. Atkinson was an illegiti ate son, and therefore, by a law which was in force at the time of his death, although it has been subsequently 106 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. repealed, disqualified to make a testament; and, second, that the principle of leaving money or property to accumulate in this manner, beyond a certain limited period, is contrary to the English law of mortmain, which has lately been ex¬ tended to Scotland. The suit for reducing the will on these grounds, which has been raised by the law-officers of the Crown, at the instigation of some of Mr. Atkinson's relatives, is now pending in the Court of Session. Having been burdened with several legacies and the annuity already men¬ tioned, the money at present does not amount to more than .£3000; and although the trustees are exerting their utmost to preserve it for the purpose to which it was originally destined, we fear that, having now become a subject of liti¬ gation, its chances of further accumulation are small indeed.* Mr. Atkinson, however, has left us other memorials which wealth could not have purchased, and which, though not of the highest order of intellectual merit, entitle his name to honorable mention as one of the literati of Glasgow. The ‘ Chameleon ’ may be taken as a fair specimen of his style of composition, both in prose and verse; and perhaps the most amusing part of it is the humorous preface, in which he describes at length the difficulty which he experienced in finding a name for the work. The following extract from this introductory jeu d'esprit will show the lively and playful style of the writer when treating a very common subject:— “ Thus posed, I determined to resort to the advice of friends, and even to give away the proudest distinction of authorship—a name to another. I consulted many; and many were the suggestions with which I was favored. ‘What is the nature of your book?'said one and all. ‘Is it of a miscellaneous or single aim, with variety or unity of purpose, grave or gay, in prose or in verse?’ ‘ It has every one of these distinguishing features,’ was my modest but comprehensive reply. ‘ Then it can resemble nothing so much as an Album, and you can’t give it a better name,’ remarked a gentleman very original in his suggestions; ‘but as I think I have seen or heard of some printed book with a title like that, suppose you call it the Album of some particular place or other, by way of distinction, such as Puddingstoue Place Album, or the Album of B llybrogue Hall.’ This would, at all * The surviving trustees in Glasgow are—Sir James Anderson, M.P. ; Mr. William Bankier; Mr. Campbell, of Messrs. Campbell & M'Dougall, Maxwell Street; and Mr. John Kerr, writer. West George Street, A summary of that part of the will which relates to this subject is giveu in the Appendix. THOMAS ATKINSON. 107 events, have been more novel than the Olio, which another suggested* or the Olla Podrida. which was proposed by a youth fresh from the the perusal of Gil Bias i ■ Spanish. ‘Hodge Podge,’ said I, ‘would be better understood, if not quite so sonorous ; and even Le Pot Pourri might be regarded as equally complimentary.’ ‘What’s that?' ‘The Alternate.’ ‘ Tush ! Call it what it is in the name of deuce,’ said a testy friend who had just laid down Banim’s latest novel (the De¬ nounced)—‘ call it the Postponed, as I can vouch for its being so till I am sick of hearing about it and about it; or if you wish for compre¬ hensiveness and novelty, why don’t you covertly shove the trouble of titling it on the public, giving the word of promise to the eye only, and call it Anything.’ ‘Nay,’ was my response, ‘ I might as well do the Hibernian at once, and baptise it the Unchristened, or name it the Nameless, or, better still, boldly challenge public curiosity, and entitle it the Enigma, or in homelier English, the Guess.’ ‘English? Ameri¬ can you mean, I guess,’ said a Yankee friend,” &c. Some of Mr. Atkinson’s best poetical pieces are in tlie Scotch idiom. The following sonnet, taken at random from ‘ The Chameleon,’ is of a more aspiring character. Beri- gonium is a rocky mound near Oban, on which the remains of vitrified forts may be traced, indicating, we presume, the site of ancient beacons. Such, at least, is M'Culloch’s theory on the subject, and we think it is very plausible:— “ This, then, is Berigonium where I stand ; A mass of rock with turf half covered o’er, And brow that is with many tempests hoar, While kindred hills look down from either strand. That it is beautiful, it needs no more Than but to turn and gaze on every hand, Or look upon the blue sea stretch'd before, Girdling with love and lustre round the land! Of what it was tradition’s lofty dreams, Shaping the clouds of far past time to forms. Would picture here a citadel of storms And halls of high debate on lofty themes. Mj faith’s perchance as baseless—built on air; It paints thee, as thou’rt now—forever bright and fair!” Our limits will not permit us to do justice, by further extracts, to Mr. Atkinson’s muse, which, if his life had been spared, might have attained to higher excellence, although it would never have risen beyond mediocrity. We may remark, that Mr. Atkinson’s mother, by whom the monument was here erected to his memory, died many years ago. We have heard it stated that she was a worthy woman, and highly esteemed; but was deceived by a pretended marriage, or something equivalent. 109 GLASGOW NECItOrOLIS. CHAPTER X. MONUMENT TO THE LATE JOHN HENRY ALEXANDER, OF THE THEATRE-ROYAL—EARLY HISTORY AND DISASTERS OF THE GLASGOW STAGE—SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF MR. ALEXANDER. “ All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances ; And one man in his time plays many parts, Ilis acts being seven ages .”—as You Like It. Proceeding eastward along the carriage-way, which, as we have previously stated, here divides Sigma on the right from Omega on the left, we encounter, on passing Mr. Atkinson's monument, one of the most elegant and elaborate structures in the Necropolis, erected to the memory of the late Mr. Alexander, for many years proprietor and manager of the Glasgow Theatre-Pioyal. This is really a very fine monument —not, as its ample proportions might lead the visitor to sup. pose, the result of public subscription, hut reared by an affec¬ tionate widow and family in honor of a deceased husband and father. The design is the production of Mr. Kirkland, archi¬ tect, of this city, on whose professional taste and ability it certainly reflects great credit. The commission for the exe¬ cution of the work, was originally given to the late Mr. Fillans, the sculptor of the busts of Motherwell and Dugald Moore, but, on the lamented death of that artist, was trans¬ ferred to Mr. A. Handyside Piitchie, who, it will he readily acknowledged, has done the design ample justice. This beautiful monument is in the Italian style, and is about twenty-four feet in height, and nine in breadth at the base. It rises on two square plinths, the lower of which is enriched with carved plate scroll-work. It then assumes a circular form, with four wings, which, if extended through the body of the structure, would form a St. Andrew’s cross. The MR. ALEXANDER’S MONUMENT. 109 base, die, and cornice, are kept comparatively plain for the sake of contrast, as the parts immediately above and below are elaborately carved. On the centre part of the die, in front, are inscribed the following exquisite lines, from the pen of Mr. James Hedderwick, of the ‘ Glasgow Citizen ’—a valued friend of the deceased:— " Fallen is the curtain—the last scene is o’er— The favorite actor treads life’s stage no more. Oft lavish plaudits from the crowd he drew, And laughing eyes confessed his humor true. Here fond affection rears this sculptured stone. For virtues not enacted, but his own— A constancy unshaken unto death, A truth unswerving, and a Christian’s faith ; Who knew him best have cause to mourn him most. Oh, weep the man, more tliau the actor lost— Unnumber’d parts he play'd, yet to the end, His best were those of Husband, Father, Friend.” The monument is intended to represent the stage and pro- sceniums of a theatre. In the prosceniums are niches, on which are placed full-length figures representing tragedy and comedy, with their respective emblems. The peculiarly touching expression of profound grief depicted in the fea¬ tures of the Genius of Comedy, is much and justly admired. The stage curtain is represented as having fallen over all the incidents that flow through the drama of human life. On this curtain is carved a medallion, with the dates of the birth and death of the deceased. Immediate^ above the curtain is a very elaborately carved arch, springing from trusses on either side. Above this arch, with a beautiful string-course inter¬ vening, is au alto-relievo bust of Mr. Alexander, surrounded by a laurel-wreath supported by cherubs—both likenesses. Surmounting this is the main cornice above which the prosce¬ niums terminate in richly cut scroll-work, ornamented with grotesque faces and kneeling cherubs. In the centre of this compartment is placed the inscription—‘ To John Henry Alexander’— surmounted by a cornice ornamented with antifixm, the whole finished with a dome carved with laurel- leaves, and terminating in a very rich finial. The records of the Glasgow stage are somewhat interest- 110 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. ing; and therefore we shall preface a short account of the active and enterprising life of the late proprietor of the Theatre-Royal, with some particulars of its early history, which was marked by a series of disasters. We do so from no predilection for the subject; hut because it exhibits, on the one hand, a singularly characteristic feature in the annals of Glasgow, while it affords, on the other, a good opportunity of correcting several inaccuraces in point of dates, into which Dr. Cleland has fallen in the following passage on the subject, in his ‘ Rise and Progress of Glasgow.’ He says :— “The first regular theatre that was opened in Scotland subsequent to the Reformation, was in the Canongatc of Edinburgh, in the winter of 1746. The first play publicly performed in Glasgow was in the year 1750 ; on that occasion Mr. Burrell’s Hall, at the Bell of the Brae, wa9 fitted up as a theatre. In 1752, a temporary play-house was erected against the wall of the Bishop’s Palace, and in this booth, the cele¬ brated Digges, Love, Stampier, and Mrs. Ward, performed. At that period the popular prejudice ran so strong in Glasgow against amuse¬ ments of this nature, that ladies and dress-parties from the lower parts of the town were regularly escorted to the theatre by a military guard. In 1754, the celebrated George Whitefield, having occasion to preach from a tent in the High Church-yard, cast his eyes on this theatrical booth, and having denounced it as the devil’s house, it was soon levelled with the ground. In 1762, Messrs. Jackson, Love, and Beatt, prevailed on N.illiam M'Dowall of Castle-Semple, William bogle of Hamilton Farm, John Baird of Craigton,Robert Bogle of Shettleston, and James Dunlop of Garnkirk, I-squires, to build a theatre in that part of Grahamstown now called Alston-street; this theatre was opened in the spring of 1764, by Mrs Bellamy and other eminent per¬ formers. At one o’clock in the morning of 16th, April, 1782, it was dis¬ covered to be on fire, and in a short time it was burned to the ground ; the wardrobe and properties were valued at £1,000. Some time after this, Mr Jackson built a theatre in Dunlop Street on his own account, which he opened in January, 1785.” Tliis account, as too often happens in Dr. Cleland’s works, is full of minor inaccuracies, especially with reference to the dates. Mr. Jackson, whose name occurs in the passage, and who, as contemporary with these events, besides being per¬ sonally interested in the subject, must have been cognizant of all the facts of the case, states, in his ‘ History of the Scot¬ tish Stage,’ that the wooden booth in the Castle-yard was attacked by the weavers, at the instigation of Mr. Whitefield, with stones and other missile weapons, but not destroyed. For ten years, however, Glasgow remained without a theatre; HISTORY OF THE GLASGOW STAGE. Ill and sucli was the state of public feeling on the subject that neither the magistrates nor any private proprietor would sell, feu, or lease ground for the purpose, on any terms whatever, within the whole city. The first projectors of a regular place of amusement of this description, were thei'efore compelled to erect it, as Dr. Cleland states, in Grahamstown—at that time a village or suburb beyond the royalty. The owner of the ground was Mr. John Miller, of Westerton, who, when remon¬ strated with for demanding the then extravagant price of five shillings per square yard, coolly replied that as it was in¬ tended to be occupied by a temple of Belial, he should expect an extraordinary sum for the purchase. He incurred, how¬ ever, no small odium by this transaction. Another metho- dist preacher, imitating M r. Whitefield, inflamed the populace by relating a vision in which Mr. Miller was represented as suffering the punishment due to his offence ; the new theatre was attacked and set on fire on the night immediately pre¬ ceding that on which it was intended to be opened; the house was with difficulty saved, but the stage and scenery were consumed, and this was the occasion on which Mrs. Bel- amy, who had been engaged for the opening, lost her entire wardrobe. The ladies of Glasgow and the neighbourhood generously presented her with forty silk gowns to assist her in repairing the loss; and the house was temporarily fitted up, and opened on the following evening. This event, which Dr. Cleland has omitted, constitutes the second disaster of the Glasgow stage. The third disaster occurred when the same theatre was burned to the ground in May, 1780, and not as Dr. Cleland states, in April, 1782. At this time Mr. Jackson was one of the lessees, and part-proprietor of the wardrobe and mov¬ able property. He had been on a visit to Dumfries, slept at Kilmarnock in returning, and states, that when he arrived in the morning at the place where the theatre had stood, he found it covered with a smoky ruin. How this accident happened was never known. It had all the appearance of 112 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. design. For two days there had been no performance, and no fires in the house. The trials and troubles of the Glasgow stage did not terminate here. Mr, Jackson, who was now manager of the Theatre-Royal, Edinburgh, resolved to erect another theatre in Glasgow on his own account. At this period Dunlop Street had only lately been opened, on ground disposed of for that purpose by Mr. Colin Dunlop of Carmyle, who was Lord Provost of Glasgow in 1770. We read in a recent publi¬ cation,* that “ Mr. Dunlop had sold a large piece of ground on the east side of that street to Mr. Robert Barclay of Capelrig, writer in Glasgow, who, being superior to the popular prejudice, had no difficulty in redisposing of it to Mr. Jack- son. This was in 1781; and Mr. Jackson immediately pro¬ ceeded to lay off the ground thus purchased for a theatre, suitable to what he conceived Glasgow ought to have. Mr. Jackson was the son of an English clergyman, and had him¬ self at one time been in holy orders. He was of gentlemanly manners, but firm and decided.” It appears that he had ample need of his decision and firm¬ ness. Among those who had erected houses in the new street were Dr. Moore, the accomplished author of ‘ Zeluco,’ and father of the celebrated Sir John Moore, who fell at Corunna; the Rev. Mr. Porteous of the Wynd Church; and the Rev. Dr. John Gillies of the College Church. It is not probable that Dr. Moore was personally hostile to the theatre; but on the morning of the day when the foundation-stone of the building was to be laid, Mr. Jackson received a note from Dr. Gillies and Mr. Porteous, informing him that they intended to join with other proprietors in Dunlop Street, to apply to the magis¬ trates to prevent the building of a play-house in that street, * ‘ Desultory Sketches, by J. B.’—to which we are indebted for much of the subsequent history of Dunlop .street theatre. These most interesting sketches of the origin of some of the older streets of Glasgow, which are printed in the same volume with the ‘ Loose Memoranda,’ by ‘ Senex,’ mentioned at p. 76, are well known to proceed from the pen of John Buchanan, Esq., of the Western Bank of Scotland—a gentleman who elegantly amuses his leisure with antiquarian researches, and to whom, in conjunction with another distinguished antiquary, the world has lately been indebted for the valuable notes appended to a new edition of Stuart's * Caledonia Humana.’ Mr. Stuart is interred in the Necropolis, and some account of his life and great work will be given in a future chapter. HISTORY OF THE GLASGOW STAGE. 113 as being an injury to their property, anti inconsistent with the dispositions granted by Mr. Dunlop to the feuars. Mr. Jack, son, in defiance of this combination, proceeded to lay the foundation-stone, ordered the workmen to push on with the building, and procured an order from the Court of Session prohibiting and discharging the two reverend gentlemen, and all others, from troubling and molesting him in the free exer¬ cise of his property. These vigorous measures succeeded, and no further oppo- sition was offered. The building was soon finished, at a cost of upwards of TO,000, including the ground. It was opened in January, 1782—not, as stated by Dr. Clelnnd, in 1785; and the seasons of performing were so arranged in connection with the Edinburgh theatre, that one set of performers sup¬ plied both houses. Mr. Jackson, however, though a man of remarkable talent, did not prosper in his speculations. He failed in the disastrous year 1700; his affairs were seques¬ trated ; and although in 1790, having made an arrangement with his creditors, he was enabled to repurchase the Glasgow house from the trustee, in conjunction with a Mr. Aicken, of London, it still continued to prove an unprofitable business. Jackson struggled on for six years; but as the Dunlop Street house was supposed to be too small and deficient in decoration, a subscription was set on foot, in 1804, to ereet the magnificent structure afterwards opened in Queen Street. This completely ruined Mr. Jackson, and, broken down with anxieties, he died about a year or two afterwards. His family, in conjunction with the co proprietor, Mr. Aicken, sold the Dunlop Street theatre by public auction in 1807. It was purchased by Mr. Andrew Thomson, a merchant in Glasgow, in whose inexperienced hands it proved a bad speculation, and, after a short experiment of letting it for its original uses, he converted part of it into a warehouse for the sale of West India pioduce; the rest he let for miscellaneous purposes_ for public meetings, exhibitions, concerts, or anything that piomised a return in the shape of rent. For some time, how- H m GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. ever, before it finally passed into the hands of the late Mr. Alexander, the house had been restored to its original charac¬ ter, and was indeed divided into two theatres, or minor places of entertainment of that description, of one of which Mr. Alexander became in the first place lessee. Its subsequent history, and the future disasters of the Glasgow stage, which are not yet brought to a close, will therefore be given in con¬ nection with the life of that gentleman. His parents were natives of Perth, but had settled in l)unse, where the subject of this notice was born on the 31st July, 1700. In that town his father respectably carried on business for some years as a watch and clock-maker ; but afterwards removed to Edinburgh, and thence finally to Glas¬ gow, when John Henry was twelve or thirteen years of age. The boy had been intended for his father’s profession, which lie had commenced to learn in Edinburgh ; but on the arrival of the family in Glasgow, he was placed in the shop of his uncle, Mr. Hugh Proudfoot, a respectable hosier and glover at the foot of the Camlleriggs. He had shewn, from his earliest years, a remarkable taste for music ami mimicry, with great vivacity of disposition; and having in his new situation con¬ siderable time upon his hands, he perused with avidity the memoirs of eminent actors, from which he imbibed a strong predilection for the stage. He continued for some time to discharge his duties in the shop to the satisfaction of his relative ; but visited the theatre as often as he could, and not satisfied with acting the part of a spectator, he joined a num¬ ber of young amateurs like himself, who practised private theatricals, and even occasionally sallied forth to perform in the villages and country-towns in the neighbourhood. The transition from bis private theatricals and country strolling expeditions, to the boards of a ‘ legitimate stage’, was an easy and natural process. It appears that the youthful company, of which he was now an active and leading member, had so far assumed a professional character, that they were in the habit of getting bills printed to blazon their intended JOHN HENRY ALEXANDER. 115 performances in the countin'. Young Alexander, in ‘ manag¬ ing’ this part of the business, was accustomed to frequent the office of Mr. John Tait, then printer, proprietor, and editor of a newspaper in Glasgow, and who, as we shall see in the next chapter, lies interred within a few yards of Mr. Alexander's monument. In this way the young amateur was brought into occasional contact with Mr. Tait, who could not fail to perceive his strong natural talents, as well as to hear of the success which had attended his juvenile essays. Through that gentleman, accordingly, he soon obtained an introduction to Messrs. Bartley and Trueman, then managers of the Queen Street Theatre, by whom he was allowed an early opportunity of malting his first appearance on the boards of that splendid establishment. His reception was flattering ; and, thus intro¬ duced into notice, he applied himself with energy to study the details of his profession. To Mr. Montgomerie, the next lessee of the theatre, he made himself extensively useful in various subordinate capacities ; and, at length, about the sixteenth year of his age, he obtained a regular professional engagement as a member of the company presided over by Mr. H. Johnstone. His first appearance, in that capacity, was made at Ayr; and after performing a variety of parts with much success, he returned to the Queen Street Theatre, which had now fallen into the hands of the elder Macready. There he became a most efficient member of the corps, and after remaining to the end of the season, was despatched by Mr. Macready, with a party, to open the Newcastle Theatre. There he continued several seasons, constantly increasing in favor with the audience, and was generally selected by the younger Macready for the second characters. With the same company he then visited Carlisle, where he became exceed¬ ingly popular; and afterwards accepted a liberal offer from Messrs. Anderson and Falconer, managers of the Scarborough Theatre. About this time he received an invitation from the late Mr. Murray to join him at the commencement of his management 116 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. of the Thoatre-Ttoyal, Edinburgh. The engagement he had just formed, prevented his immediate compliance with this invitation; but as soon as the Scarborough season was con¬ cluded, with the same professional success which had hitherto attended his exertions, he joined the Edinburgh company, with which he continued about ten years, performing an in¬ finite variety of characters both in tragedy and comedy. In Edinburgh he became a decided favorite; and he always retained a profound impression of the kindly and encourag¬ ing manner in -which he was received and supported by the patrons of the drama in that city. His figure and manner at this time were much in his favor; he was not more than nineteen years of age, and was tall and prepossessing in appearance. He had also an excellent voice and great versa¬ tility of talent, -which, with the assiduous cultivation of his powers, enabled him to shine in every department. In humorous, and especially in Scottish character, he stood almost without a rival. His Dandy Dinmont in ‘ Guy Man- nering,’ and his Jem Ratcliff in the ‘ Heart of Midlothian,’ received the highest commendations from Sir Walter Scott. Successful as an actor, he was also successful as a wooer; and in 1817, when only twenty years of age, he married Miss Riddel, daughter of a respectable coachmaker in Edinburgh. In this marriage he was singularly fortunate. Mrs. Alex¬ ander was his faithful partner and ever-judieious counsellor, sharing with him many of the cares and duties that belong to the position of a manager. From Edinburgh as his head-quarters, Mr. Alexander made occasional professional excursions to most of the provincial towns in Scotland. He accepted an invitation from Mr. Ryder to act for some time as stage-manager of the Aberdeen theatre; from this he proceeded with the company to Perth, and afterwards rejoined Mr. Murray’s establishment, then in Glasgow. Pie returned with that company to Edinburgh, where he remained until invited to the management of the Theatre-Royal, Newcastle, the duties of which he discharged JOHN HENRY ALEXANDER. 117 with his usual ability and success. In 1821, at the close of the Newcastle season, he took the Carlisle theatre, and after¬ wards the Dumfries theatre, on his own account, both of which he retained in his hands, and continued to manage successfully for many years, even when Glasgow had become his head-quarters. It was after his first season in Dumfries, and after return¬ ing to Edinburgh for a few weeks to recruit his strength, that, in the summer of 1822, Mr. Alexander commenced his career as a theatrical manager in Glasgow. This was in the old Dunlop Street house, the history of which has been already given, down to the time when it fell into the hands ol Mr. Thomson, and, after passing through various uses, was divided into two theatres. For some time a Mr. Ivinloch and his company performed in the lower part of the building, and a Mr. Seymour with another company occupied the upper floor. Mr. Alexander only succeeded in the first place to Mr. Kinloch’s part of the house. He had therefore Mr. Sey¬ mour above him, and the noise of the applause in the one place often drowned the entertainments in the other. Hence arose frequent bickerings, which were only put an end to at last by the two parties being bound down to perform on alter¬ nate evenings. At this time the law was so stringently enfoiced in Scotland, that Mr. Alexander, to avoid an action for infringing the patent of the Queen Street Theatre, was compelled to designate his place of amusement ‘ The Domin¬ ion of Fancy.’ Even with this disadvantage, and the double opposition to which he was exposed, he continued to struggle successfully, and by and by he was relieved of the incubus above him, by Mr. Seymour's migration to the Queen Street Theatre. On Mr. Seymour's removal, Mr. Alexander obtained a lease of the whole building, took down the front wall, brought it nearer to the line of Dunlop Street, and fitted up the whole interior as a ‘ Minor Theatre,’—the designation which it now assumed, although the lessee was exposed, in consequence, to 118 GLASGOW NECRorOLIS. various legal prosecutions at the suit of his powerful rival in Queen Street. He fought these legal battles with spirit, and kept up a vigorous and successful opposition, until he was again relieved of his antagonist by one of those sudden catas¬ trophes which prove of such frequent occurrence in the his¬ tory of the Glasgow stage. On the 10th of January, 1829, the magnificent building in Queen Street was burnt to the ground, this being the second theatre in Glasgow destroyed by fire; or, reckoning the partial destruction of the booth at the Bishop’s Castle, and the subsequent attempt to destroy the Grahamstown Theatre on the night of its opening, con¬ stituting not the second, but the fourth disaster of the kind that had happened in Glasgow. Little doubt can be enter* tained that the destruction of the theatre in Grahamstown was the work of design; but the cause or origin of the fire which demolished the superb structure in Queen Street was never known. The field, however, being thus cleared, Mr. Alexander bought the Dunlop Street Theatre at a cost of £5000; and, after a keen competition with Mr. Seymour and others, gained possession of the patent, for which he paid T1000. That he should have accumulated so much means, in a house of but limited accommodation, struggling without the protection of a patent, exposed to so much opposition, and harassed by the heavy expenses of almost constant litigation, may appear surprising; but it must be remembered that his industry and enterprise did not confine themselves to Glasgow. At one time he was lessee and manager, not only of the Glasgow Minor Theatre, but of the Dumfries, the Carlisle, and the Edinburgh Caledonian Theatres simultaneously—the last- named of which was afterwards known as the Adelphi—and in every instance he contrived to make the theatres pay, which some of them had never done before. On becoming proprietor of the patent theatre, which now assumed the undisputed title of ‘ The Glasgow Theatre- Royal,’ Mr. Alexander confined his labors exclusively to joiin henry Alexander. 119 this city. To obtain additional accommodation, he took down the whole of Jackson’s old edifice, which he had partially rebuilt at the time of Seymour's removal to the Queen Street house, and erected a new and larger one on the same site. This second Dunlop Street Theatre existed in successful operation till April, 1839, when it was also taken down, and the present elegant house, which is not surpassed by any theatre out of London, was erected by Mr. Alexander, with his characteristic energy, in the short space of nine months, and opened in March, 1810. He was naturally proud of this splendid house, which might almost be considered as the third he had reared with the fruit of his laborious exertions on the same spot; and nothing occurred to materially dis¬ turb the enjoyment which he found in the assiduous dis¬ charge of his professional duties within it, till February, 1819. On the night of the 17th of that month, a fearful tra¬ gedy occurred, which must ever be remembered in the annals of Glasgow, when no less than sixty-five persons, chiefly apprentice lads, were suffocated or crushed to death on the gallery staircase, “ On that terrible evening,” writes the editor of the ‘ Citizen,’ “ Mr. Alexander was up in the midst of the frantic crowd, who were rushing headlong to destruction. He knew that the alarm of fire which had been raised was a false alarm. He roared himself hoarse in efforts to subdue the panic. A multitude of lives were saved by his vast per¬ sonal exertions. But the appalling extent of the catastrophe, when revealed, struck heavily at his heart. The pride he was wont to feel in his magnificent theatre was crest-fallen. He manifested, ever afterwards, an almost superstitious reluc¬ tance to go near the fatal staircase. The business of the theatre went on, after a time, as usual, and he continued to take his lion’s share of the work as before; but it was observed by his friends, and felt by his family, that from the hour of that colossal disaster, he never wholly recovered his spirits.” Mr. Alexander was accustomed to boast, as the great secret 130 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. of his own success where others had almost uniformly failed, that he went through the work of six men daily; and, allow¬ ing for a little exaggeration, it cannot be denied that his phy¬ sical and mental labors were very severe. These extraor¬ dinary exertions began at length to tell upon his constitution; hut up to the close of his last season, in the spring of 1851, he continued to discharge his professional duties with the same assiduity as ever. Conscious, however, of his failing strength, he was easily persuaded, in the course of the follow¬ ing summer, to transfer the management of his theatre to Mr. Simpson, of Birmingham, who then became its lessee. From this time he seemed to have become indifferent to life, and it was not till late in the autumn that he could be induced to leave Glasgow to try the effect of change of scene —with what result will be best stated in the words of the accomplished author of the beautiful lines on his monu¬ ment :— “ At length, when the autumn was far gone, he was prevailed upon more perhaps from the enfeebling of his will than from any concession of active remedial enterprise, to take an excursion to London, accom¬ panied of course by her who had been so long his helpmate, and who was now his ever-near nurse. On no former occasion bad he been there; the Great Exhibition was still open ; and it was hoped that the wondrous new sights he would witness would have an exhilarating effect upon his spirits. But, as regarded the uncomplaining invalid, the time for sight-seeing was over. A sick-bed was ail that awaited him in the metropolis; and, after partial recovery, he was brought home, as it soon became evident, to die. By slow and easy degrees his health continued to wane, and at last his family and one or two inti¬ mate friends gathered round him to watch his end. His tranquillity amazed every one. He desired that the lights should not be lowered, as it would soon be all dark with him Still indulging in his habit of dra¬ matic quotation, he spoke of his having arrived at the ‘last scene of all.’ Ho appeared to suffer neither pain of dying nor fear of death ; his clergyman and all who were dearest to him were around him in prayer; and shortly after five o’clock on Monday morning, the 15th December, 1851, he ceased to bo of this world.” Thus, in one and the same year, peacefully terminated Mr Alexander’s career both as a manager and as a man—both upon the stage of the theatre and the stage of life. He died at the age of 55, leaving behind him an ample provision for his family, and leaving at the same time a name, which not¬ withstanding of strong peculiarities of character, even his ene- DUGALD MOORE. 131 mies respected. He was rigidly honest in his dealings, and if he was sometimes blamed for his frugality, those who were the readiest to censure him on that account, would have been the first to dispise him if, by neglecting his own interests, he had not succeeded in the world. It must ever be remembered to his honor, that he tolerated no immorality among his com¬ pany, and that, as there are few men perhaps who have so completely avoided the vices of the stage in their own prac¬ tice, so he made strenuous efforts to purge it from these vices in others. His funeral took place on the Friday after his death. The conrpany assembled to follow his remains to the grave filled twenty-five carriages, and in the number of the mourners were many of our leading citizens, together with several of his professional brethren, including Mr. Glover, now of the Theatre-Royal, and the veteran Mr. Mackay from Edinburgh. We may add that on the evening of the day of the funeral, both the theatres in Glasgow were closed, from respect to the memory of the deceased. CHAPTER XI. DUGALD MOORE—JOHN T AIT. ° An hour is rushing on, when this young heart. Of the dark clay or stone shall form a part! When all life's fears and hopes must pass from me. Like the rain's silent drops in the lone sea.”—D ouald Moore. Immediately contiguous to Mr. Alexander’s monument, on the east side, is a handsome obelisk, the property of Mr. John Macgregor, and then a conspicuous public monument, erected to the memory of Mr. Dimald Moore, another litera; v 123 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. bookseller of this city, like Mr. Atkinson, hut who, as a poet, gave far higher promise, though not so varied in other accomplishments as that gentleman. This monument, crowned with a fine colossal bust of the deceased, in white marble, executed by Fillans,* is on the whole an elegant and well designed structure, and hears the following inscription:— Erected by a few friends To the memory of Duoald Moore. Died 2d January, 1841, aged 3G years. “He was one Schooled in adversity; he was reared By her in winter; an d he went Forth in the frosty pilgrimage of life, To face its tempests, and to fling them back With the strong arm of virtue and resolve.” Bard of the North , When these lines were written by the poet, he probably little expected that they would become his own epitaph. As such, however, they are not inapplicable to himself. Born in a humble sphere of life, and not enjoying the advantage of even a common education, he found time amid his profes¬ sional employments to cultivate with much success his strong poetical talent, and to give to the world a rapid succession of volumes in the course of a few years. He was born in Stock- well Street, Glasgow, in August, 1805. His father was a soldier in a Highland regiment, but died early in life, leaving his widow in almost destitute circumstances. The hoy was taught to read chiefly by his mother, and while yet a child was sent to serve in a tobacco-spinning establishment, at which he was able to earn a small pittance. When a little older, he was apprenticed to the business of copper-plate pressman, under the late Provost Lumsden, one of the lead¬ ing publishers in Glasgow, who, discerning the poetical bent of his mind, allowed him every facility for its cultivation. * How does it happen that, in Mr. Paterson’s Life of Fillans, no notice is taken of this production of that distinguished artist, by whom also the monument was designed ? DUGALD MOORE. 123 His passion for natural scenery was intense; and many were his rambles in the Western Highlands during the days of his apprenticeship—a privilege for which he was indebted, oftener than is wont with young men in his position, to Provost Lumsden’s considerate kindness and partiality. In these rambles the features of the mountain landscape were vividly impressed on the youthful poet’s mind, and are given back with the distinctness of a faithf ul mirror in ‘ The Bard of the North,’ ‘ Midnight in Glencoe,’ and others of his numerous poems. After concluding his apprenticeship he was enabled, by the kindness of his friends and the fruits of his literary efforts, to commence business on his own account as a book¬ seller in Queen Street. In this line he continued with every prospect of increasing success till his premature death. He usually enjoyed good health, but was suddenly seized with inflammation, which carried him off, after a few days' illness, on the 2d of January, 1841. ‘The Bard of the North’ is generally considered his best poem; and some of his admirers are of opinion that he might have succeeded better by writing less. His pieces have all the appearance of having been produced too hurriedly. The atmosphere of thought which they contain is not sufficiently condensed, although there are occasional passages of inex¬ pressible beauty. The scenes of many of his pieces are laid in the early traditional history of this island, or rather in days that anticipate the annals of tradition, and of which we have only faint glimpses through somewhat apocryphal sources of information. ‘ The Hour of Retribution,’ for instance, is a tragedy in three acts, of which the hero is Rathmor, king of the Strath-Clyde Britons. ‘ The Devoted One’ is another of a similar cast, in which we are introduced to the times of the Roman conquest, and the heroes and heroines of British history at that period. Of his minor pieces we think ‘ The First Poet,’ published in 1831, is perhaps the most beautiful. Some of the conceptions and descriptions of natural scenery in this piece, are equal to 124 GLASGOW NECHOrOLIS. almost anything that we have read. The 4 earliest bard ’ is first introduced to us in his solitude - “ His dwelling was the waste, but such green wastes As blossom by the rivers of the east; He made his arbor in an ancient wood, Whose trees, coeval with the birth of time, Lifted their giant crests, and wildly wove The atmosphere to twilight, where each bird That charms the ear ot wandering echo made The air melodious with their songs of love. There would the lone one sit, and eye the sail Shine through the net-work of the clustering leaves, Like the far burnished ocean waves—and ho Has seen at eve the blue aud ghostlike moon Rise o’er the desert, aud ascend the clouds, While his green temple, with its fretted work Of trunks and buds and branches, o’er her face Drew their soft dancing bars, thri ugh whose wild folds She look'd like beauty in captivity.” This is exquisite painting. The nightingale 4 chanting from her bower of sleeping clouds ’ first excites the musical aspi¬ rations of this poetical hermit. Then comes the grand solemn chorus of the elements— “In his cave, He listened to the viewless winds at night, Singing their melody along the sea ; And olt he sat when twilight held her harp To the calm zephyr, or when thundering by The 'ruffian tempest struck the shrieking strings, And crush'd its thousand melodies at once To one wild burst of grandeur; —the far deep Lent him its voice ol majesty—he joined The soft, the tender, the magnificent, And, with a spirit fitted thus to feel And mingle with the glorious mysteries Of earth aud earth’s, he made the earliest harp. ” At length he is seized with a yearning ‘ to see the world—its ruined cities,’ and this prompts him to leave his lone retreat, and to meet a variety of adventures, through all of which, amid battle and captivity, his harp is his never-failing friend. But we cannot follow ‘The First Poet’ further, although we must give it as our decided opinion, that few modern compo¬ sitions surpass it in point of genuine poetic feeling, and deep, fervid, exquisite appreciation of the glories of this magnificent universe. It seems to us worthy to be placed on a level with Coleridge’s 1 Keligious Musings.’ JOHN TAIT. 125 In tlie meantime, however, we must conclude our short account of this self-taught genius with the following notice which appeared in the ‘Argus ’ newspaper at the time of his death :— “In our obituary of io-clay appears a name which will be perused with deep regret, and which demands from us something more than the usual brief announcement. Dugald Moore, author of ‘ The African, 1 ‘Scenes from the Flood,’ f the read r the emotions with which 1 was seized on beholding the holy city, with its towers, minarets, mosques, monasteries, and in particular, the dome over the church of the holy sepulchre, sparkling unde the setting of a glorious sun. On.this spot the voice of the Eternal himself sounded; the great Redeemer pro- * 1 Samuel xvii. 2, 3. f 1 Samuel xvii. 40, 45, 46, 49. I Psalm exxii. 3. 100 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. claimed his divinity, and shed his precious hlood on the cross as a voluntary sacrifice to satisfy the offended justice of Heaven, for that violation of the law which had been committed by man, thus making reconciliation between the Creator and the creature, and establishing that happiness which is everlasting. At this never-to-be-forgotten moment, I was thrown into a transport of holy awe and joy, which elevated my heart. As by an immediate impulse, I leaped from my mule, threw off my shoes,* and falling down in humility, saluted the ground, exclaiming, ‘ Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good will to men.’ ” Before leaving Dr. Wilson’s sepulchre, it only remains to be stated, that the oblong rectangular piece of ground which lies between it and the carriage-way, and is not yet marked by any monument, indicates vaults in the rock beneath, belonging to the Messrs. Houldsworth, manufacturers, Glas. gow. CHAPTER XV. CHARLES TENNANT OF ST. ROLLOX. •* Great offices will have Great talents. Ami God gives to every man The virtue, temper, understanding, taste. That lifts him into life, and lets him fall Just in the niche he was ordained to fill.”—CoWPEU. Pursuing the bend of the carriage-way, which now returns to the south, forming a fine monumental avenue, along the most elevated part of the Necropolis, to Knox’s pillar, the visitor will observe at the commencement of this avenue a tall obelisk, immediately opposite the entrance to Dr. Wilson’s tomb, and hearing the following inscription :— “Erected by a few friends, to the memory of John Spittal, M.D , Glasgow—who died 27th March, 1810, aged 34 years. As a token of their respect for his private worth aud professional abilities.” Exod. iii. 5 . CHARLES TENNANT OF ST. ROLLOX. 1C1 This obelisk, and all the succeeding monuments on the same side are still in Omega; those on the right are in Kappa, which extends, as the reader may remember, along the brow of the northern half of the hill, including the entire decli¬ vity opposite Motherwell’s monument, and bounded on its western or lower side by that portion of the carriage-way which passes in front of the Egyptian Vaults. With scarcely a single exception, the monuments on both sides of this avenue are all of a superior class; but one is pre-eminent among the rest as a work of art, and demands, at the same time, particular notice as a merited tribute of public respect to one of our most distinguished citizens. We allude to the colossal statue in white marble, resting on a massive pedestal of Aberdeen granite, on which is the fol¬ lowing short inscription:— Charles Tennant, of St. Rollox, Died 1st October, 183S, Aged 71. Erected by a few of his friends As a tribute of respect. The statue represents Mr. Tennant in a sitting posture, in an attitude expressive of meditation, and the vigorous con¬ ception and exquisite modelling of the work, stamp it as one of the finest productions of Mr. Patric Park, the late eminent sculptor. No more appropriate monument could have been erected to Mr. Tennant’s memory, except indeed that which he had reared in his own lifetime, and which he has left behind him in the truly gigantic chemical works of St. Rollox, lying about half a mile to the north, and conspicuous from almost every part of the city and neighbourhood by the im¬ mense stalk (455 feet iu height), which constitutes one of the chief wonders of our manufacturing industry. These works are certainly one of the greatest triumphs of the prac¬ tical application of science in the world, having sprung from a discovery by Mr. Tennant which has introduced a complete revolution in the highly important process of bleaching. We L 102 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. therefore think we shall render an acceptable service to our readers, and a small contribution to the cause of truth, by giving a few particulars of the life of the author of this public benefit. Mr. Tennant was born at Ochiltree House, in Ayrshire, in 1708. After receiving the ordinary elements of education, he left home in early life for Kilbarclian, in Renfrewshire, where he was apprenticed to the silk-weaving trade. In that situation he became acquainted with Mr. Brown, then one of the magistrates of Paisley, with whom he subsequently en¬ tered into partnership as a bleacher. Darnley Bleachfield, near Paisley, was the first field of their operations; and here it was that the discovery of the chloride of lime as a bleaching agent was made—a discovery of which it is im¬ possible to over-estimate the value, and by which the name of Mr. Tennant wall ever be honorably associated with those of the highest benefactors of liis country. This discovery was made in the year 1797. The process of bleaching by chlorine had previously been discovered; and M. Berthollet, the eminent French chemist, had published in the Journal de Physique for June, 1785, and again in the number for August, 1780, the result of the first experiments which he had made with a view to its suc¬ cessful application as a bleaching agent. The subject imme¬ diately occupied a large share of the attention of several dis¬ tinguished chemists in this country; and Mr. James Watt having been invited by Berthollet to witness his experiments at Paris, communicated the information thus obtained to his relative, Mr. Macgregor, a large bleacher at Glasgow, by whom the process of bleaching by chlorine was tried with much success. The next important improvement was the discovery, by some manufacturers at Javelle, of the use of a particular liquor, which was ascertained by Berthollet to be nothing more than a solution of the chloride of potash. These manufacturers having been disappointed in their com¬ mercial prospects at home, in consequence of the opposition CHARLES TENNANT OF ST. ROLLOX. 103 which was offered to the new process in France, came over to England, and settled at Liverpool, where they continued for some time to manufacture the chloride of potash under the name of Liqueur de Javelle, and sold it to the English bleachers in bottles. The chloride of potash was the article generally in use when Mr. Tennant, in 1797, took out a patent for his new bleaching liquor, which was a solution of chloride of lime, and which could he sold much cheaper than the article prepared from potash. The latter was therefore entirely superseded, and the chloride of lime became universally em¬ ployed. To obviate the inconvenience of transporting it in large quantities in that liquid state in which it was first employed, Mr. Tennant undertook to convey to other manu¬ facturers, for the sum of £200, to be paid by each, the right to work under his patent; and this proposal was generally accepted by the principal manufacturers throughout the kingdom. In 17 99, however, Mr. Tennant obtained a patent for a method of obtaining the chloride of lime in a dry state, by which the article is rendered more portable, and easily transmissible to any given distance without losing its virtues. In the same year in which the second patent was taken out, the St, Eollox Works were erected for the manufacture of the dry chloride of lime, and the firm of Tennant, Knox, & Co. was established, the partners being Mr. Tennant, Mr. Knox, Mr. Macintosh, and Dr. Couper. Three of the sons of the last-named gentleman were afterwards married to three of Mr. Tennant’s daughters; and over his remains, which are interred within the same enclosure, is a graceful obelisk of Aberdeen granite, bearing the following inscription:— To the Memory of William Couper, M. A., Surgeon in Glasgow. Born 1757. Died 1813. The late Mr. Charles Macintosh, another of the gentlemen above-mentioned as forming the original partners in the firm, 164 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. was the well-known inventor of the celebrated waterproof fabric. He was born on the 29th May, 1760; and was the son of Mr. George Macintosh, and Mary Moore, sister to Dr. Moore, the distinguished author of ‘ Zeluco, ’ and father of Sir John Moore, who fell at Corunna. Mr. Macintosh was highly successful as a practical chemist. In 1797, he estab¬ lished the alum-works at Hurlet, and in 1805, those at Campsie. He obtained the patent for his waterproof varnish in 1822. Dr. Cleland ascribes to him the invention of the bleaching powder, or dry chloride of lime, for the manufacture of which the St. Rollox works were erected; and in a memoir of the late Mr. Macintosh, by one of his sons (since deceased), the same claim is so strongly urged, that the whole credit of that important invention is now very generally awarded to Mr. Macintosh. This we believe to be an act of gross injustice to the memory of Mr. Tennant, who was the undoubted dis¬ coverer of the liquid chloride of lime as a bleaching agent, and in whose name the patent for the dry chloride was taken; although it is true that in the application of the latter he seems to have acted on a hint which was thrown out quite imMentally by Mr. Macintosh. The essential element in the invention consists in the substitution of lime for the potash previously in use; and although the application of the lime in a dry state was a great improvement, suggested, it is understood, by a hint from Mr. Macintosh 1 to try the experi¬ ment,’ yet the original application of even the dry lime appears to have been made by Mr. Tennant; and it is not the person who offers a casual suggestion, but he who puts it into practice in the steady prosecution of a settled object, that is really entitled to the credit of any important invention. We may add, that in the memoir to which allusion has been made, the late Mr. Macintosh is represented as having anticipated almost all the discoveries of modern chemistry, a circumstance from which we leave the reader to draw his own conclusions. Mr. Macintosh, who was undoubtedly a man of great genius and energy, died at his house at Dunchattan, a little to the east- CHARLES TENNANT OF ST. ROLI.OX. 165 ward of the Necropolis, on the 25 th July, 1843; and his remains are interred in the Cathedral churchyard, where a handsome monument is erected to his memory, at the wall adjoining the Molendinar. Some years after the erection of the St. Rollox Works, the proprietors commenced, in addition to the chloride of lime, the manufacture of the oil of vitriol, and subsequently that of soda, and several other articles. These works are the most extensive in Europe, and occupy an area of about sixteen acres. Considerable quantities of the chloride of lime are shipped to America, and other foreign parts. The discovery of the bleaching efficiency of this important agent has not only been productive of a vast saving to the country, but has given an enormous impetus to other branches of manufac¬ turing industry. The value and importance of this discovery did not fail to meet with recognition in the quarters that were more particu¬ larly interested. In 1804, the bleachers of Lancashire resolved, through the late Mr. Kirkman Finlay of this city, to present Mr. Tennant with some distinct mark of their regard; and, accordingly, we extract the following from the ‘Glasgow Courier’ of that date:— “Saturday, June (1. 1804 —Mr. Ainsworth of Holywell, near Bolton, lately forwarded to Mr Kirkman Finlay, two very elegant silver cups, with suitable inscriptions, to be presented to Mr Charles Tennant of St. Rollocks, in this neighbourhood, from the grateful bleachers in Lancashire, in testimony of the sense they entertain of the great services his ingenuity has rendered to them in particular, and to the trade in general. Last night (Wednesday) the cups were delivered to Mr. Tennant, in presence of a number of gentlemen in the manufactur¬ ing interest assembled at the Tontine, for the occasion, when Mr. Finlay embraced that opportunity to issure Mr. Tennant that he and his friends present, and as far as his information went, the trade in general in this part of the country, entirely coincided with the sentiments so handsomely testified by the Lancashire bleachers. This was an honorable recognition of the value of Mr. Tennant’s discovery, and his exclusive right to it, emanating, so to speak, from the public and intelligent sense of the country. Mr. Tennant took an active interest in every useful inven- 100 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. tion and public improvement that marked the fertile scientific era in which he lived. His energies were not confined to what might be considered as the sphere of his own peculiar province. With that intuitive perception of the practically useful in science, which formed, perhaps, the distinguishing feature of his mind, the secret of the railway principle was no sooner developed than he saw its immense importance to the community, and vigorously exerted his utmost energies in carrying the principle into operation in his own neighbour¬ hood. Even so early as 1821, when the subject of railway conveyance in connection with the mineral fields of the country began to attract public attention, the consumpt of coal at the St. Rollox Works was not less than 30,000 tons annually; and, therefore, it may well be supposed that even with a view to the benefit of that establishment alone, as well as on public grounds, Mr. Tennant would feel a special interest in this mode of transit. Accordingly, he exerted himself to the ut¬ most in carrying out the various railways connected with the different coal and ironstone fields in this district—the Monk- land and Kirkintilloch Railway, which was opened for traffic in 1827: the Ballochney Railway, opened in 1828; and last, and most important of all, the Glasgow and Garnkirk Railway, which formed a direct line of communication from the Monk- land coal-field to this city, without the intervention of water conveyance at all. In connection with this period of Mr. Ten¬ nant’s life, Mr. Grainger, the eminent civil engineer, writes:— “ The better to enable Mr. Tennant to advise and direct as to the best mode of carrying out these various projects, he, along with my¬ self and Mr. George Buchanan, C.E., of Edinburgh, visited the north of England, where we spent ten days most agreeably in examining the principal collieries and railways in that part of the country. This took place in the month of August, 1826. Ia the course of this short ex¬ cursion, his desire to see everything in the district that was interesting, aud the fatigue to which he subjected himself, are incredible. Early or late his activity never failed, and rather outdid that of his younger companions. On arranging one evening in Newcastle to start next morning to see the various works at Sunderland, while we were hesi¬ tating about the hour, he at once resolved to take the earliest coach, at four a.m., which we did. But the energy and vigor of his mental powers—his keen and rapid perception of the nature of the various engineering, mechanical, and mining operations which arose shocks- CHAItLES TENNANT OE ST. KOLLOX. 107 sively under our observation, and his just and accurate estimate of their value, aud comprehensive views of their extensive appreciation in com¬ merce and the arts, which he descried afar off, were what more especially called forth our admiration and respect. Nor did he confine himself to what was to be seen above-ground; he descended some of the deepest coal-pits in Northumberland. I shall never forget the morning on which we, along with Mr. Nicholas Wood, the eminent coal-viewer, riggi d out in coal-pit dresses—and odd figures we certainly were— descended the principal pit of the Killingworth Colliery. “ While Mr. Tennant left no stone unturned to carry out the railway between Edinburgh aud Glasgow, by Bathgate and Airdrie, of which the Garukirk line was to havo formed a part, he, nevertheless, when these projects were abandoned, most cordially co-operated from the beginning with those who promoted the line by Falkirk, since carried out. He was all along one of the most influential of its directors down to the day of his death.” After such testimony, it seems to be unnecessary to remark, that Mr. Tennaut was endued with great mental activity and much decision of character. His sensibilities, too, were keen, while he was equally generous and benevolent in pub¬ lic and private life. His friendship was valuable and lasting to those whom he held in esteem; and no better proof can he given of his kindness and attention to the numerous persons in his employment, than that they rarely left him. In poli¬ tics he took an active and consistent part, and was indeed a pillar of the liberal party in this great city*. Yet, the ardor of his political feelings never interfered with his private friendships, or influenced his conduct to individuals. In every respect he was a worthy citizen and good man—was privileged to be useful and respected in his generation, and died universally regretted. The following notice, which appeared in the ‘Glasgow Argus’ at the time of his death, expresses the general sense which was entertained of that event, and brings out some traits in the character of this excellent man, to which it is impossible to do justice in more appropriate terms :— “ The loss of Mr. Tennant will be widely and deeply felt. He was an earnest and indefatigable promoter of economical and educational im¬ provement, an uncompromising friend of civil and religious liberty. His own inborn energy of character aud clear intellect placed him among the foremost of that class which, by wedding science to manu¬ factures, has at once extended their field of action, aud elevated them to the rank of a liberal profession. With all the deep sustaining power of a comprehensive mind, to which we can scarcely apply a feebler name 168 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. than genius, Mr. Tennant was in his disposition singularly mild and retiring. A constitutional nervousness, remarkable in one of a large and healthy frame, was allied with that sensitiveness to the be mtiful which is occasionally its concomitant. We have more than once listened with delight when he whom most men thought engrossed in scientific and commercial speculation began to expatiate on the youthful reminiscences of Burns. In every respect—as a domestic man aud a citizen—a more pure aud upright soul we have not. known than his, whom society, and, still more, his family, have lost.” In the year 1795, Mr. Tennant was married to Miss Mar¬ garet Wilson, a sister of the late Mr. John Wilson of Thorn- ley, by whom he had two sons and seven daughters. The vast works of St. Rollox, which are still increasing in extent, continue to be carried on by Mr. Tennant’s sons, with undiminished efficiency. CHAPTER XVI. KNOX’S MONUMENT — INSCRIPTIONS — HISTORY AND PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF JOHN KNOX—STATE OF SCOTLAND BEFORE THE REFORMATION—VIEW FROM THE BASE OF THE MONUMENT. “ There stands the messenger of truth ; there stands The legate of the skies !—His theme divine— His office sacred—His credentials clear—. By him the violated law speaks out Its thunders ; and by him, in strains as sweet As angels use, the Gospel whispers peace. He stablishes the strong, restores the weak, Reclaims the wanderer, binds the broken heart, And, arm’d himself in panoply complete Of heavenly temper, furnishes with arms Bright as his own, and trains, by every rule Of holy discipline, to glorious war The sacramental host of God's elect!"—CowrEn. Leaving Mr. Tennant’s monument, and passing onward through the beautiful street in the silent city of the dead, which may not inappropriately be termed ‘ Knox’s avenue,’ we at length reach the lofty column erected on the highest point KNOX’s MONUMENT. 1G9 of the hill, ami crowned with a colossal statue of the great Reformer. It does not fall within our province to specify the numerous elegant monuments erected to private individuals, which constitute the principal portion of this avenue. We therefore pass them in silence, and proceed at once to the description of Knox’s monument. This conspicuous structure, which is visible from a great distance in almost every direction, crowned the summit of the Merchants’ Park when no Necropolis existed. No other monuments consecrated the adjacent ground for a period of eight years after its erection, and, indeed, it is not a monument in the same sense as most of the others. Strictly speaking, it is no portion of the Necropolis, although it harmonizes with it so well. The ashes of the illustrious Reformer, as every Scotchman knows, were not interred here. This monument is therefore a mere memorial. It marks no particular spot; it marks only the man—a man whose memory is written all around us in what Scotland is, and of whom we may truly say, in the language of the epitaph on Sir Christopher Wren, in St. Paul’s, London, Si monumentum qnceris circumspice! An edifice greater than St. Paul’s was reared by Knox’s hands— a beautiful ecclesiastical fabric of Presbyterian worship, through which the blessings of religion and education have now been diffused around us for centuries. Scotland owes much of what she is to John Knox, and therefore it was a good thought to rear this monument to his memory in a city which professes to ‘flourish by the preaching of the Word.’ The name of Knox is thoroughly and utterly identified with this country; and we are surprised that few, if any monuments, were previously reared to the memory of this remarkable man. There is one at St. Andrews, the congenial and befit¬ ting locality of some of his most active, daring, and success¬ ful exertions. A beautiful, massive, truncated obelisk was, about fifteen or twenty years ago, erected in the immediate neighbourhood of that ancient city, looking abroad on the Witch Lake and the stormy bay—apt emblems of his life— 170 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. and standing on a spot which the very feet of the Reformer may have often trod when meditating Scotland’s regeneration. It is dedicated not to Knox only, but to his brother-Re- formers and to the noble martyrs who preceded him. Justice has not been done to Kuox’s memory. Even the venerable house which he so long occupied in Edinburgh was threat¬ ened some years since with demolition, although it is a relique so precious that its value cannot be estimated in pounds, shillings, and pence. We earnestly hope that the venerable fabric will be preserved as long as human inge¬ nuity can make one stone of it to stand upon another. The monument in the Fir Park was erected by public sub¬ scription. The idea originated in that anti-popish enthusiasm which was excited for a period in this city by the late Mr. M'Gavin, to whose monument and memoir we shall have occasion to devote a subsequent chapter. The foundation- stone was laid on the 22d September, 1825. The solemnity began with divine service in St. George’s Church, conducted by the Rev. Dr. Chalmers, at that time Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of St. Andrews. The reverend doctor preached from Jeremiah vi. 10, “ Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” After a most appropriate sermon, the committee of management, and upwards of three hundred of the subscribers, walked in procession to the Merchants’ Park, preceded by the office-bearers of St. John’s Lodge, who had offered their services on the occasion. On arriving at the ground, the late venerable Dr. Burns of the Barony offered up an impressive prayer. The stone was then laid, with the usual solemnities, by Professor MacGill, who afterwards gave a suitable address to the surrounding subscribers. The late Mr. Ewing of Stratlrleven, on their behalf, and on that of the committee, made an appropriate reply, standing, per¬ haps, on the very spot where his own sarcophagus is now erected, near the base of the monument. The ceremonial KNOX’S MONUMENT. 171 was concluded by three hearty cheers from the subscribers and the surrounding crowd, which was very great. As the acclivity of the Park and young planting admitted but a limi¬ ted number of spectators at the summit, the gates of the High Church Yard, adjoining the Park, were thrown open for the accomodation of the public. A numerous party of the subscribers, including some of the magistrates and clergy of the city, dined subsequently in the Black Bull Inn—Henry Monteith, M.P., in the chair. Some excellent and highly interesting speeches were delivered, in which the character and principles of the illustrious Keformer were ably eluci¬ dated. By means of the dinner and the sermon about <£105 were added to the funds. In the foundation-stone two glass bottles were deposited, containing specimens of the coins of the reign of George IV., with some newspapers and other official documents. A metal plate was likewise interred, containing the inscription which was afterwards placed on the west side of the monument, and which Dr. Cleland read aloud before depositing the plate. This inscription is given in the next page, but the following additional records, which do not appear on the monument, were engraved on the plate, and the names will be interesting to not a few readers:— By the favor of Almighty God, The Foundation Stone was laid by Stevenson MacGill, D.D., Professor of Theology in the University of Glasgow, On the 22d day of September, mdcccxxv., And Sixth year of the Reign of our most gracious Sovereign, George the Fourth, In presence of the H. Monteith, Esq., M.P. James Ewing, Esq. Robert Dalglish, Esq. James Cleland, Esq. William Rodger, Esq. Thomas Hopkirlc, Esq. Andrew Mitchell, Esq. John May, Esq. William MTyer, Esq. Robert Wood, Esq. Mr. James Committee of Management, viz., Walter Ferguson, Esq. Wm. M‘Gavin, Esq., Treasurer, Ben. Mathie, Esq , Secretary. Thos. Hamilton, Esq., Architect. Wm. Warren, Esq., .Designer of the Statue. Robt. Forrest, Esq., Statuary. John Herbert, Esq., R.A., and Superintendent. Carmichael, Contractor. Which undertaking may the Supreme God bless and prosper. 172 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. SUPERINTENDING COMMITTEE. Rev. Dr. Mac Gill, Convener. James Ewing, Esq. I William Rodger, Esq. James Cleland, Esq. | Thomas Hopkirk, Esq. The monument is a colossal statue of the Reformer, placed on a fluted Doric column, 58 feet in height. The statue, in¬ cluding the height of the column, is 290 feet above the level of the Clyde. The base of the column is 15 feet square, and was, until lately, surrounded with a handsome iron railing, which has been very properly removed, now that so many other beautiful monuments, much more liable to injury, stand exposed in the Necropolis. The principal inscription is on the west side, and is nearly the same as that which was engraven on the metal plate. There is, however, an inscription on each of the four sides of the base of the column, and these inscriptions it may be acceptable to our readers to give in this place:— [Inscription on west side.~\ To testify Gratitude for inestimable Services In the cause of Religion, Education, and Civil Liberty; To awaken admiration Of that Integrity, Disinterestedness, and Courage, Which stood unshaken in the midst of trials, And in the maintenance of the highest objects; Finally, To cherish unceasing Reverence for the Principles and Blessings of that Great Reformation, By the influence of which, our Country, through the Midst of Difficulties, Has arisen to Honor, Prosperity, and Happiness: This Monument is erected, by Voluntary Contribution, To the Memory of John Knox, The Chief Instrument, under God, Of the Reformation of Scotland. On the xxii. day of September, mdcccxxv. He died, rejoicing in the faith of the Gospel, At Edinburgh, on the xxiv. of November, a.d. 1572, iu the 67th year of his age. [Inscription on south side. ] “The Reformation produced a revolution in the sentiments of man¬ kind, the greatest as well as the most beneficial that has happened since the publication of Christianity.” In 1547, and in the city where his friend, George Wisliart, had suf¬ fered, John Knox, surrounded with dangers, first preached the doc¬ trines of the Reformation. In 1557, on the 24th of August, the Parlia¬ ment of Scotland adopted the Confession of Faith presented by the JOHN KNOX. 173 the Reformed Ministers, and declared Popery to be no longer the religion of this Kingdom. John Knox became then a Minister of Edinburgh, where he con¬ tinued to his death, the incorruptible guardian of our best interests “ 1 can take God to witness,” he declared, “ that 1 never preached in contempt of any man—and wise men will consider that a true friend can¬ not flatter, especially in a case that involves the salvation of the bodies and souls, not of a few persons, but of a whole realm.” When laid in the grave, the Regent said—“There lieth He who never feared the face of man ; who was often threatened with dag and dagger, yet hath ended his days in peace and honor.” [Inscription on east side.] Among the early and distinguished friends of the Refoi*mation, should be especially remembered, Sir James Sandilands of Calder ; Alexander, Earl of Glcncairn; Archibald, Earl of Argyle ; and Lord James Stewart, afterwards known by the name of “ the good Regent”— John Erskine of Dun and John Row, who were distinguished among the Reformed Ministers for their cultivation of ancient and modern literature— Christopher Goodman and John Willock, who came from England to preach the Gospel in Scotland— And John Winram, John Spottiswood, and John Douglas, who with John Row and John Knox, compiled the first Confession of Faith, which was presented to the Parliament of Scotland ; And also the first Book of Discipline. [Inscription on north side.] Patrick Hamilton, a youth of high rank and distinguished attain¬ ments, was the first Martyr in Scotland for the cause of the Reformation. He was condemned to the flames at St. Andrews in 1528, and the 24th year of his age. From 1530 to 1540, persecution raged in every quarter. Manj* suf¬ fered the most cruel deaths, and mauy fled to England and the Conti¬ nent. Among those early martyrs were Jerome Russell and Alexander Kennedy, two young men of great piety and talents, who suffered at Glasgow in 1538 In 1544, George Wishart returned to Scotland, from which he had been banished, and preached the Gospel in various quarters. In 1546, this heavenly-minded man, the friend and instructor of Knox, was also committed to the flau.es at St. Andrews. To the scanty particulars of Knox’s history which are given in the second of these inscriptions, we would willingly add an account of his life, did we not believe it to be familiar to every Scotchman. The life of John Knox, indeed, belongs to history, and not to a brief biographic record of a few of the departed worthies of Glasgow—a city with which the illus¬ trious Reformer had no personal connection. We shall there¬ fore merely give a short sketch to complete the outline. Knox was descended from the ancient family of Ranfurly, in Renfrewshire, and was born at the village of Gifford in East-Lothian, in 1505. lie received the rudiments of his 174 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. education at the grammar-school of Haddington; and after¬ wards studied philosophy and theology at St. Andrews, with a view to the priesthood. His progress in learning was rapid, and he was admitted into priest's orders long before he attained the canonical age. But his own studies, and the preaching of the celebrated George Wishart, led him to per¬ ceive the unsoundness of the Popish system, and about the year 1542, he began to disseminate the new doctrines. This was the signal for his persecution, and to escape the venge¬ ance of Cardinal Beaton, he accepted the office of private tutor to the sons of Douglas of Langniddrie, and Cockburn of Ormiston. On the fall of Beaton, he was persuaded by his patrons to take refuge, along with his pupils, in the Castle of St. Andrews, in 1547; and there he remained till the Castle surrendered, when, sharing the fate of its inmates, he was sent to the French gallies. After a severe and tedi¬ ous detention of nineteen months, he was liberated in 1549, and, repairing to England, was employed as a Protestant preacher, first, at Berwick, and afterwards, at Newcastle. In 1551, he was nominated one of the Chaplains in Ordinary to Edward VI.; but on the death of that young monarch, and the accession of the bigot Mary to the English throne, he was forced to flee to the continent, arriving in January, 1554, at Dieppe, from which he afterwards proceeded to Geneva, where he formed an intimacy with Calvin, his bro¬ ther-reformer. Deceiving an invitation from the English refugees at Frankfort, to become their minister, he was urged by Calvin to accept it, and continued to officiate there for some time; but his language having given offence to the prelatical party, and being accused of treason, he again retired to Geneva—from which, in the autumn of 1555, he ventured to return to his native country. He immediately commenced preaching in Edinburgh and various other places, and so great was the excitement produced by his addresses, that the B.omish clergy, alarmed at his progress, summoned him to appear before them at the church of the Blackfriars at Edin- JOHN KNOX. 175 burgh, May 15, 1550. But the cause of the Reformation had now many influential supporters, and on the 14th he came to the Scottish Metropolis, attended by such a formidable retinue that his opponents were glad to drop the prosecution for the time. From that period he continued to figure as the spiritual leader of the Reformation in Scotland ; and, sup¬ ported by the influence of the Lords of the Congregation, he carried all before him, till, in August, 1500, the Presbyterian religion received the sanction of Parliament. He died, as stated in the inscription on the west side of the column, on the 24th November, 1572, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Giles, now the Parliament Square, Edinburgh. The colossal statue on the column is twelve feet in height. The Reformer is clothpd in the Geneva cap and gown, and holds in his right hand a Bible. The modeller, Mr. Robert Forrest (then of Lanark), has carefully preserved the like¬ ness, which was taken from a painting in the Glasgow Univer¬ sity. The attitude is not greatly admired, particularly the position of the left arm, which has the appearance of stiffness. Perhaps it is well that the considerable height of the column removes the defects as well as the merits of the statue from a too near inspection. Even at the distance to which it is thus elevated above the spectator, the colossal size of the statue produces an appearance of robust physical power which did not belong to the Reformer. A contemporary writer, quoted by Dr. M'Crie, says—“ Haud scio an unquam—magis ingenium in fragili ct imbecillo corpusculo collocarit and on this subject we extract the following remarks which are cal¬ culated to remove an impression, the existence of which we believe to be very general, and which is exceedingly apt to be confirmed, rather than corrected, by contemplating the monu¬ ment in the Necropolis. Dr. M‘Crie says:— “There are, perhaps, few who have attended to the active and laborious exertions of Knox who have not been led insensibly to form the opinion that he was of a robust constitution. This is, however, a mistake. lie was of small stature, and of a weakly habit of body—a cir¬ cumstance which serves to give a higher idea of the vigor ot his mind. 176 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. His portrait seems to have been taken more than once during iris life, and has been frequently engraved. It. continues still to frown in the bedchamber of Queen Mary, to whom he was often an ungracious visitor. We discover in it the traits of his characteristic intrepidity, austerity, and keen penetration. Nor can we overlook his beard, which, according to tlio custom of the times, he wore long, and reach¬ ing to his middle—a circumstance which I mention the rather because some writers have assured us that it was the chief thing which pro¬ cured him reverence among his countrymen.” We cannot say that we agree with those who think that the statue of the Reformer ought to have looked away from the Cathedral, instead of looking at it. Even if that magni¬ ficent edifice were still identified with Roman Catholic wor¬ ship, it would ill comport with the intrepid spirit of Knox to turn his back to the foe. He, who in life ‘never feared the face of man,’ may surely be permitted, in the grim security of monumental stone, to confront, with unabashed visage, one of the few existing remnants of that stupendous system which the thunders of his terrible eloquence overturned. It is perhaps well that, while Knox was yet alive, lie never occupied the same spot as a pulpit on which he is now placed as a platform; otherwise there is reason to fear that the spa¬ cious and majestic structure on which he is now frowning in stone, would have been consigned to the same sudden de¬ struction which swept away, as with a deluge, almost all that was magnificent in Scotland’s ecclesiastical architecture of the middle ages. Not that we attribute directly to Knox the almost universal destruction of these beautiful fabrics, of which we deplore the loss; but Knox’s irresistible denuncia¬ tions undoubtedly inspired the popular breast with the wild and ungovernable frenzy of iconoclastic zeal, which rose like a sudden tide, and heaved tumultuously to and fro on the face of broad Scotland, till nothing but the stern simplicity of Presbyterian worship stood amid the melancholy monu¬ mental ruins of the proud hierarchy of Rome. We repeat, that we deplore the national loss of our ancient ecclesiastical structures, exactly in the same proportion in which we rejoice that the good sense of Glasgow preserved her magni¬ ficent Cathedral for the uses of the Presbyterian worship; JOHN KNOX. 177 but, great as the loss undoubtedly was, the acquisition was unquestionably far greater. Previous to the Reformation, the Romish Church, in this Scotland of ours, had become a mighty nuisance, of which it is impossible in these latter days to conceive the appalling magnitude. The house of God was almost utterly deserted; and yet, as Dr. M‘Crie justly observes, “the kingdom swarmed with ignorant, idle, luxurious monks, who, like locusts, devoured the fruits of the earth, and filled the air with pestilential infection. Friars, white, black, and grey; Canons, regular and of St. Anthony; Carmelites, Carthusians, Cordeliers, Dominicans, Franciscans, Conventuals, and Observantines; Jacobins, Pre- monstratensians; Monks of Tyrone and of Vallis Caulium ; Hospitallers and Holy Knights of St. John of Jerusalem; Nuns of St. Austin, St. Clare, St. Catherine of Sienna, with Canonesses of various clans.” The priesthood had actually engrossed half the land of the country, and almost all the power and authority of the Government. Thanks to the illustrious Reformer for sweeping away this stupendous accumulation of ignorance, idolatry, and super¬ stition, even although much that was worthy of preservation necessarily perished in the universal wreck. It is true that the austere spirit of Knox descended even upon our church¬ yards. The “dingin’ doun of the cathedrals” demolished many of our picturesque tombstones reared in Popish days. Almost all that was externally beautiful and ornamental, either in religion or in the sepulchre, was swept away at the Reformation. The tide of reaction from Romish mummery rushed to an opposite extreme. Religion became almost repulsive in its stern uncompromising simplicity. Its spirit was preserved; but not the external graces which even the sturdy Presbyterianism of this day stoops to borrow from art. A bold and unsparing hand was needed to sweep away the idols from the high places of Popery in this awakened land. Our noble Reformer and his disciples were the men of the time. As the French express it, they were ‘the men M 178 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. of the situation.’ They did their work well and thoroughly; and they stamped the impress of their own austere spirit upon the national character, and upon our national customs. Their posthumous influence penetrated even into the tombs of the dead, as well as the homes and hearts of the living, and converted our cemeteries and churchyards into melan¬ choly regions of desolation and death. It was not a little remai'kable, therefore, that a monument to John Knox was destined to be the first ornament of the first garden-cemetery in Scotland. The stern Reformer now stands surrounded with much that would have seemed to him an idle mockery of death. From his lofty pedestal, grimly he looks down upon a once Romish cathedral, which is now preserved with a watchful solicitude ; and beautiful sepulchral monuments are rising all around him, as if to demonstrate that the Pres¬ byterian worship is not incompatible, in its simplicity, either with the graces of architectural art, or with the exuberant manifestations of the most endearing affections. There is something like retributive justice in this apparent coinci¬ dence. And yet we rejoice that a monument to this remark- able man crowns the summit of the Necropolis. Under Divine Providence, Scotland owes far more to John Knox than to any other one individual, except, perhaps, Sir William Wallace, for what she now is. But we turn for a moment to another subject, which will form an appropriate conclusion to the present chapter. We cannot forget that we are now on the summit of the Necro¬ polis, and that therefore the visitor who has followed us thus far, now stands on the most favorable point for commanding a complete view of the surrounding scenery. Unfortunately the smoke of Glasgow is a veil, which, like the dark future, mortal eye cannot penetrate. Looking to the south and south-west, our attention is directed “-to smoke, to the eclipse That metropolitan volcanoes make, Whose Stygian throats breathe darkness all day long ; And to the stir of Commerce, driving slow, And thundering loud with his ten thousand wheels.” VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT. 179 Glasgow is like a certain inhabitant of the deep, which raises a muddy atmosphere about itself, so that it cannot he seen; and yet, to the stranger and visitor we would say, this is the spot from which to look upon Glasgow as Glasgow really is. That smoke is as much a part of Glasgow as these innumer¬ able tall chimneys and beautiful spires. Glasgow would not be Glasgow without its smoke, as the Highland mountains would he very stupid and flat without their drapery of mists and their dark robe of storms. That smoke is the breath exhaled from the nostrils of this mighty giant of manufactur¬ ing enterprise. Look through it, and you will see the dim images of her great factories—huge black masses—in the heart of which, life is measured by the hour, and the wealth and grandeur of this mighty city are spun in threads, or ham¬ mered and moulded into steam-engines. Moreover, the smoke is an accession to the picturesque, when crimsoned with the setting sun, as it passes away in glory behind the western hills. Then it is that Glasgow, with her towers and cupolas, looming through an atmosphere of intense splendor, appears like the gorgeous creations of the mirage— “ The zenith spreads The canopy of sapphire, but the west Has a magnificent array of clouds; And, as the breeze plays on them, they assume The forms of mountains, castled cliffs, hills. Deep rifted glens, and groves, and beetling rocks.” But to see to advantage the scene all around, of whioh even Glasgow is only an insignificant portion in point of super¬ ficial extent, it is necessary to visit the summit of the Necropolis on Sunday, or on some clear m lining, when the smoky factories are at rest, and the atmosphere is pure and transparent. The scene which is then revealed is one of the finest and most extensive imaginable, and has been so well described by the late Mr. M‘Lellan in his ‘ Essay on the Cathedral Church of Glasgow,’ published in 1831, that we cannot resist the temptation to quote the entire passage. Mr. M'Lellan says:— “It canuot be generally known, if we may judge from the few who 180 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. resort to it, that one of the finest panoramic views in the kingdom is to be seen from the summit of the Merchants’ Park. In clear weather the horizon embraces a range of several hundred miles, comprehending scenery of the most striking and varied character. Standing at the base of Knox’s Monument and looking west, the eye traverses the west portion of the valley of the Clyde, bounded by the picturesque forms of the Cowal hills, between which and the rugged hills of Kyle and Cunningham winds the estuary or Frith of Clyde. Farther off, and in the extreme distance, are seen the shattered peaks of the island of Arran—in the middle distance, amid the ‘wave of woods and corn¬ fields,’ rise the spires of Paisley—the cloud of smoke to the right indi¬ cates the site of the towns of Greenock and Port-Glasgow. The fore¬ ground to this magnificent landscape is composed of the ancient part of the city, the most prominent object in which is the Cathedral, the long- drawn lines of its beautiful perspective lying far beneath the eye. “ On the right hand the scenery assumes a different character ; the ground, which lies high, is bleak and monotonous, and the view is bounded by the abrupt barrier of the Campsie and Stratliblane hills ; at their termination in the north-west, the Grampians are seen dipping into Lochlomond, while above them towers Bcnlomond and the high hills around the Port of Monteith and Loch Katrine. “On the left, stretched beneath you, lies the city, the spires and domes of its public buildings rising into sunshine over the dusky mass of its houses, the huge forms of its cotton-manufactories flanking its suburbs. Beyond it, the eye travels onwards to the shires of Renfrew and Ayr, the portions of which, that are here visible, partake much of the wild and heathy character of the high land lying on the north. “On turning to the east the landscape exhibits a stretch of cham¬ paign country, which, for beauty and variety, is not surpassed even from the terrace of Windsor; the extensive chase and its magnificent oaks are no doubt awanting, with those feelings of awe and veneration inseparable from the conviction, that the grey towers rising majesti¬ cally above us, have been the favorite residence of England’s kings for a thousand years;—but to a Scotsman, here is no lack of heart-stirring and powerful association. Are not these the dark-red walls of Bothwell Castle, from which the sword of Robert Bruce drove their founder, Sir Aymer dc Vallance, when he liberated Scotland from the iron grasp of the stern and politic Edward? Was it not from these sunny glades that the lovely and unfortunate Mary, escaped irom her prison-house, passed the few hours of freedom and joy, which were for ever eclipsed by the issue of the fatal battle on yonder hill of Langside ? Was it not behind yon 1'ising ground that, goaded into madness by the faithless¬ ness of a dissolute monarch, and oppression of a corrupt court, the peasants of Scotland encountered and scattered the veterans of Claver- nouse at Drumclog, to meet with a bloody retaliation at the battle of Bothwell Bridge? These and many other important acts in our king¬ dom’s history, add the weight of their moral influence to a scene full of natural grandeur, and ornamented by high cultivation; and which, whether contemplated from the lofty eminence where we now stand, or examined in detail, must alike interest and gratify the lover of the romantic and the beautiful. “The view from the Calton Hill of Edinburgh, and that from the Fir Park of Glasgow, are not subjects of comparison but contrast; the magnificent scenery around the metropolis would have tasked the combined energies of a Salvator and a Claude; Gasper Poussin would have delighted in the view from the Merchants’ Park.” Tlie accuracy of this description is perfectly worthy of the GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. 181 l-efined language in which it is so elegantly expressed; and the allusion in the concluding passage to three of the most eminent masters of landscape-painting, cannot fail to remind the inhabitants of this great city to whom they are indebted for the noble and munificent bequest of the ‘ M’Lellan Gal¬ lery,’ now known as the ‘ Glasgow Gallery of Art.’ CHAPTER XVII. JAMES EWING OP STRATHLEVEN, LL.D ., M.P. “ His signal deeds and prowess high Demand no pompous eulogy— Ye saw his deeds ! Why should their praise in verse be sung ? The name that dwells on every tongue No minstrel needs. His was a Trajan’s goodness ; his A Titus' noble charities”—F kum the Spanisu. At the close of last chapter, standing at the base of Knox’s monument, we looked abroad from the watch-tower of the silent city, and borrowing the plumage of Mr. M’Lellan’s pen, we essayed a rapid flight to the principal points of historical interest and of natural and artificial grandeur with ivliich the Necropolis is surrounded. From this flight we again return to the quiet resting-places of the dead—the tranquil, beautiful caravanserai, reared on the margin of this tumultuous wilder¬ ness :— “ ’Midst the crowd, the hum, the shock of men,”— to be a place of blessed retreat, and of long, dreamless repose to many of ‘ the world’s tired denizens.’ And first, our attention is arrested by two elegant granite 183 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. monuments wliieh occupy the sloping green bank on the south side of Knox's column. One of these is a beautifully polished block of grey granite, erected to the memory of Henry Wavdrop, Esq. of Blackfaulds; the other is a massive sarcophagus of polished Peterhead granite, resting on a graduated pyramidal basement of Aberdeen granite. The latter is erected to the memory of the late James Ewing, Esq. of Strathleven, LL.D., M.P.—one of the merchant-princes of Glasgow, and a name with which the reader is now familiar as that of the gentleman who took the most prominent part in converting the Merchants’ Park to its present noble design. The remains of the lamented deceased are interred below. We regret that while the present work is in the press, the monument is still in a partially unfinished state. The re¬ cesses in the sides and ends of the sarcophagus have yet to be filled with bronze panels, one of which will contain the inscription, and the others will exhibit appropriate designs illustrative of Mr. Ewing’s character and pursuits. The in¬ scription will be placed on the north side, facing Knox’s monument. The opposite side, we have reason to believe, will display a medallion of the deceased, supported by two symbolical female figures—one, emblematic of Commerce, and the other, of the Liberal Arts or Literature, which, as we shall afterwards see, Mr. Ewing not only patronized, but cultivated in his own person. The end panels will exhibit respectively emblems of Education and Charity—in apt allusion to the ample and almost unparalleled bequests which were left by Mr. Ewing for these purposes. The general design of the monument is due to Mr. Baird, architect, of this city. The execution of the work, and the designing of the plaster casts for the figures on the bronze panels, have been entrusted to the Messrs. Mossman. Mr. Ewing was born at Glasgow on the 5th December, 1775, and was the second son of Walter Ewing, Esq., who was at first a factor and trustee on bankrupt estates, and afterwards a landed proprietor and West India merchant. His mother, JAMES EWING OE STBATHLEVEN. 183 Margaret Fisher, was a daughter of the Eev. James Fisher, one of the four founders of the Secession Church. We have seen that the mother of the late Dr. Wardlaw was another daughter of the same reverend gentleman, so that the remarks which have been made (p.88) with reference to the illustrious descent of Dr. Wardlaw by tho mother’s side, equally apply to Mr. Ewing. He received his education at the High School of his native city, at which he was one of the most dis¬ tinguished pupils, and in which he continued ever afterwards to take a deep interest; so much so, that in 1810, when he was appointed convener of the High School committee, he obtained the revival of a class for writing and arithmetic in the institution; and again, in 1823, he deposited a sum of money in the hands of the Magistrates and Council, the interest of the one moiety of which, was allotted to purchase a silver medal, to be given annually to the student who pro¬ duced the best exemplification of a regular Greek verb, and the interest of the other half to be laid out in the purchase of books with a view to the formation of a library for the use of the scholars. For this handsome donation, which has proved a permanent benefit to the institution, Mr. Ewing received the unanimous thanks of the Magistrates and Council. He had scarcely finished his education at the High School, when, in 1790, his father, by the death of a relative without issue, succeeded to the estate of Cathkin, taking the name of M‘Lae ;* and at his death, in 1814, the estate descended to his eldest son, Humphrey Ewing M‘Lae,Esq. of Cathkin. The late Mr. Ewing of Strathleven was, as already stated, the second son, and succeeded to the mercantile business. He had pre¬ viously acted as an accountant, and also in virtual partner¬ ship with his father; but although at the death of the latter he was thirty-nine years of age, his name does not appear in any • Mr.Ewing’s great-grandfather, Humphrey Ewing, was born at Cardross, Dumbarton¬ shire. His grandfather, also named Humphrey, was a merchant in Glasgow, and married Miss Margaret M‘Lae, daughter of Mr John M'Lae, merchant. Walter M'Lae, eldest brother of this lady, had a son, William M’Lae of t athkin, who died without issue on the 20th December, 1790, and was succeeded by his nephew, Walter Ewing, the father of the subject of this notice, who then took the name of Walter Ewing M'Lae. ISA GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. official position, or ns connected with any public transaction, prior to that event. In less than a twelvemonth afterwards, however—namely, on the 10th October, 1815—we find him elected by the Merchants’ House to the office of Lord Dean of Guild. Thus launched into public life, in one of the positions of highest dignity in his native city, Mr. Ewing displayed the intense activity of his character, by finding time, in the midst of his numerous official and professional avocations, to write a 1 History of the Merchants’ House of Glasgow,’ from its origin in 1005 down to the year 1810. This was a work of considerable labor and research, and was published in 1817. It is really an excellent history, and is written in a style and manner which show that Mr. Ewing was well qualified to take a respectable position in the literary w'orld, had he de¬ voted his time and energies to such pursuits. The value of the history was duly acknowledged by the Merchants’ House, by whom it was characterized in their vote of thanks as ‘ an accurate, luminous, and valuable record.’ It is also worthy of remark, that during Mr. Ewing’s presi¬ dency as Dean of Guild, he was instrumental in adding to the House a large accession of members. He w'as afterwards, in 1830, re-elected to the same position—a very unusual honor—and during his entire tenure of office he added not less than 3(37 names to the list of membership. These facts are worthy of notice, as showing the profound interest which he took in the prosperity of the House during his life, and thus affording a key to the almost unexampled liberality with which he endowed it at his death. A committee was appointed in 1817, to consider and report on the most approved plan, regarding the size, regulations, and constitution for the new town’s hospital or poor’s house, then proposed to be erected. Mr. Ewing was appointed chairman of this committee, and seems to have taken almost the entire labor on his own shoulders. The inquiry em¬ braced a most difficult and extensive field—the past, the JAMES EWING OF STRATHLEYEN. 185 present, and the best method of supplying the necessities of the poor; a comparative system of providing for them in the hospital and in their own houses; the expediency of obliging the able poor to work for their own subsistence; the most efficient method of suppressing mendicity; and other equally important subjects. Mr. Ewing’s labors were unremitting, and the report which he presented to the Magistrates in January, 1818, extended to 500 pages in manuscript, embrac¬ ing an able and elaborate discussion of the whole subject. This report having been read at a meeting of the committee, held in the Town’s Hospital,it was resolved, on the motion of the Rev. Principal Taylor, ‘that the thanks of the committee be presented to Mr. Ewing, for the great research and ability with which he had prepared and arranged this difficult busi¬ ness.’ At the same time, the report was ordered to be printed for circulation among the directors, and formed, when so printed, a pamphlet extending to 220 octavo pages. Such is a specimen of that laborious drudgery to which Mr. Ewing devoted his energies, even while surrounded with ample means of enjoying a life of ease and luxury. But he did not confine his attention or his labors to any one object. Ho took an enlightened and active interest in all the most important questions of the time; and we find him, in 1818, and several subsequent years, laboring in conjunction with the late Mr. Kirkman Finlay and Mr. Dugald Bannatyne— the latter for many years secretary of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce—to obtain the abolition of the East India mono¬ poly. On this subject he wrote a variety of able papers and pamphlets, expressing, in elegant and forcible language, clear and comprehensive views, which subsequent events have realized. Indeed, it affords a striking proof of the soundness of Mr. Ewing’s judgment, that every enterprise or scheme in which he cordially engaged sooner or later succeeded. This was peculiarly the case with his efforts to procure the abolition of the obnoxious Burgess-oatli, which, from the year 1747, had formed a stumbling-block and rock of offence 186 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. to that large denomination of Seceders, known as the Anti- burghers. The ‘religious clause’ which they refused to take, was contained in several burgess-oaths—in those, for ex¬ ample, of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Paisley, and Perth—and was couched in the following terms:—“ Here I protest before God and your lordships, that I profess and allow with my heart, the true religion presently professed within this realm, and authorized by the laws thereof: I shall abide thereat, and defend the same to my life’s end; renouncing the Roman religion called papistry.” We think there can be little doubt that this oath was merely intended as a barrier against Eoman Catholics; and in this light it was viewed by the two Erskines, the Rev. James Fisher, and other fathers of the Secession, who therefore saw nothing objectionable in it; and the party or denomination who adhered to them were termed Burghers. On the other hand, the Rev. Mr. Moncrieff of Abemethy, and other ministers and members of the early Secession Church, forming, indeed, by far the most numerous section, main¬ tained that the swearing of this oath implied a professing of the true religion in the same sense as the Established Church, so far as to mean that the person taking the oath saw “no such defections and corruptions in the present professing and authorizing of it among her hands, as to require or war¬ rant a secession from her, unto a professing of it in the way of a public testimony against these defections and corrup¬ tions.”* They held it, in short, to be simply an oath of full communion with the Established Chui’ch, and, therefore, as amounting to a solemn abjuration of the whole Secession testimony. Such was the view of the subject taken by the Anti-burgher party, who formed themselves into the ‘ General Associate Synod,’ while the other party, under the Erskines and Fisher, continued to be known as the ‘Associate Synod,’ and were termed Burghers. Slight as was this difference of opinion, it created for many years a rancorous feeling between the two sections of the Secession, almost as strong as that Gib’s Display, vol. ii., p. 25. JAMES EWING OF STRATHLEVEN. 187 which had previously animated both towards the Established Church. About the beginning of the present century, the bitterness of this animosity had greatly subsided; the mem¬ bers of the two denominations began to associate with each other at prayer and missionary meetings; the burgess privi¬ lege began to be of less importance; and at length, in 1818, an approach towards union was made by two Secession congre¬ gations in Mid-Calder and East-Calder—a reading society having been established at the former of these places, con¬ sisting of members of both congregations, who were thus brought frequently together. Emanating from this centre, the movement for a general union began to be rapidly ex¬ tended and warmly agitated over the country; the public mind was already prepared for it, and numerous petitions in favor of union were poured into both Synods from their respective congregations. This was the position of affairs when the attention of the late Mr. Ewing was strongly called to the subject. His clerical maternal ancestors, indeed, had belonged to the Burgher party, who did not find any scruple of conscience in taking the burgess-oath ; he had, also, by this time, joined the Established Church, and was attending the ministrations of Dr. Chalmers, having previously, during his father’s life¬ time, sat under Dr. Wardlaw ; but still it may be readily be¬ lieved that his direct lineal descent from two of the fathers of the Secession tended to create in his mind a strong and peculiar interest in the discussion. He accordingly wrote a pamphlet, distinguished by his usual ability, and wbi'h had the effect of directing so much attention to the subject, that the Magistrates and Council of Glasgow appointed a committee of their number to draw up a report on the whole question. Mr. Ewing’s well-known interest in the cause naturally led to his appointment as convener of this com¬ mittee, and he threw himself into the work with his accus¬ tomed zeal. He corresponded with almost every burgh in Scotland, and finally produced an elaborate and lengthened 188 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. report, discussing tire various points at issue in a masterly manner, and urging the strongest reasons for abolishing the obnoxious oath. The report concluded with these words :— “ Statutes and customs vary them character, and lose their utility, with the change of times and of manners; and the period has surely arrived when we may apply the hand of reform without the reproach of innovation.’’ The liberal and enlightened views so ably urged in this report were adopted, and on the 25th March, 1819, the Magistrates and Council of Glasgow abolished the burgess- oath, and substituted for it a simple certificate of payment of the freedom-fine and consequent admission of the party as burgess and guild brother. The General Associate Synod having met at Edinburgh on the 12th of May following, unani¬ mously voted their thanks to the Magistrates and Council of Glasgow for their conduct in the matter, which they described as “ kind, liberal, and enlightened policy, reflecting the highest honor on the Council;” and voted their thanks at the same time to James Ewing, Esq., for his able and meri¬ torious services. Most of the other burghs followed the example of Glasgow, and the union of the two bodies of Seceders occurred in the course of the following year—an event which was attended with happy auspices and great felicitations on both sides. The subsequent repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, to which Mr. Ewing’s labors had not a little contributed, opened up to all professing Pro¬ testants the privilege of a seat in the Town Council and other municipal dignities, and thus removed from the statute-book the last vestige of intolerance towards the dissenting com¬ munity. In 1819 and 1820, the intense political agitation which had been accumulating for some years, reached a dangerous crisis; and in the month of April, in the latter year, it ex¬ ploded in a foolish attempt at insurrection, goaded on by Government spies, to which reference has been made in our notice of the late Mr. Monteith of Carstairs. Among the JAMES EWING OF STRATHLEVEN. 189 miserable sufferers on that occasion was a person named James Wilson, a simple hosier, residing at Strathaven, who was brought to Glasgow and committed to prison on a charge of high treason. His trial took place on the 20th July, 1820; and, unfortunately, it fell to the lot of Mr. Ewing to act as foreman of the jury in this distressing case. The prisoner was found guilty ; and though the jury strongly recommended him to mercy, it was of no avail. He was executed on the 00th August, with all the barbarous accompaniments which usually attended executions for political offences at that period. The case excited universal commiseration; and Mr. Ewing, as foreman of the jury who found the prisoner guilty, although at the same time they recommended him to mercy, was most unjustly accused of being a tool of the Government. He thus became for a time the object of considerable public odium and misrepresentation, to which his supposed Con¬ servative predilections largely contributed. Mr. Ewing then, and for many years afterwards, resided in a beautiful mansion at the head of Queen Street, which, with its sloping shrubbery and graceful avenue of trees, tenanted by a noisy rookery, formed a striking contrast to the present aspect of the same locality. He had purchased this house some years previously for two or three thousand pounds; and he afterwards obtained from the Edinburgh and Glasgow Eailway Company .£.‘15,000, as price and compensa¬ tion for the loss of the property, on which they erected their terminus. It was about this time that Mr. Ewing was engaged in bringing to a close another of those laborious undertakings to which he devoted so much of his time and his energies for the public good; and which maybe said to identify his name, more than that of any other man, with the march of public improvement in Glasgow. Wo refer to his labors in connec¬ tion with the County and City Bridewell, which had been always deficient in the requisite accommodation, and now had become entirely inadequate to the public wants. This had 190 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. been peculiarly felt in 1819, when so many individuals were imprisoned on political grounds; and at that time a com- mittee was appointed to consider and report on the subject, of which committee Mr. Ewing was convener as usual, and generously took upon himself almost the entire labor. A long and detailed report which he had drawn up, was presented to the Council on the 7th September, 1819; and again, in February, 1832, we find the proceedings continued, and another report inserted in the minutes of Council, in which it is stated, “ that the system of bridewells having been adopted as the most rational expedient, it had been agreed by the county to form a junction with the city in the erection of one great establishment in Glasgow, where the manage¬ ment could be conducted on a more beneficial plan, where woi'k could be more easily procured, where stricter economy could be observed, and where more efficient means could be exercised for the punishment and amelioration of the delin¬ quents—and that it had, accordingly, been agreed to apply to Parliament for an assessment of ,=£30,000, according to the ratio of population, producing £30,500 for the county, and £9,500 for the Royalty of Glasgow.” The report was unanimously approved of by the Magis¬ trates and Council; and a bill was brought into Parliament by the promoters of the plan, which met, however, with fierce and unexpected opposition from some of the county gentle¬ men, who did not relish the amount of assessment proposed to be laid upon them. Mr. Ewing, at his own expense, repeatedly went to London to combat the opposition ; and in July, 1833, the Magistrates and Council unanimously voted to him ‘ their warmest thanks for the very zealous, able, and judicious assistance which he afforded in London in carrying through Parliament the County and City Bridewell Bill.’- He received, at the same time, the thanks of the Council for the conferences he had held in London with the Lord Advo¬ cate, on the subject of the bills relative to the Royal Burghs of Scotland, then depending in Parliament. JAMES EWING OF STRATHLEVEN. 101 Mr. Ewing liacl now served in the Council for six years, and in terms of the ancient set of the burgh, which was afterwards changed by the Muneipal Reform Bill, it fell to his lot to retire, for one season at least, along with the next senior Merchant Councillor. In the following year, Dr. Chalmers was transferred from St. John's Parish in Glasgow, to the chair of Moral Philosophy in the University of St. Andrews. Mr. Ewing had always been an intimate personal friend, as well ns a constant hearer of that distinguished divine during his residence in Glasgow—and now he was one of four gentlemen who, in the name of the City of Glas¬ gow and the congregation of St. John’s, accompanied the Doctor to St. Andrews, to surrender him back with all due honor to that venerable seat of learning from which he had originally started on his high career. Mr. Ewing was accom¬ panied on this mission by Charles S. Parker, Esq., James Dennistoun, Esq., and Robert Dalglish, Esq. These gentle¬ men were present at his installation in the University Hall, on Friday, the 14th November, 1823; they attended his in¬ troductory lecture on the following day; and on the afternoon of that day they handsomely entertained at a public dinner the two Principals, all the Professors of the University, the Ministers of the City, and a number of gentlemen from the neighbourhood. “ So gracefully,” says Dr. Hanna, “ did Glasgow surrender to St. Andrews what St. Andrews had originally bestow’cd.” In the following year, Mr. Ewing’s name appears on the committee for erecting the monument to James Watt, which was placed in George Square five years afterwards; and in the next year he prominently figures in the movement for erecting a monument to John Knox—the proceedings con¬ nected with which have been described in our last chapter, and under the very shadow of which he now reposes, crowned with his own stately monument. In the serious mercantile crisis of 1820, the Bank of England agreed to give pecuniary assistance to the mercantile 103 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. and manufacturing community of Glasgow, in loans not under A‘500 or above £10,000, on deposit of goods or personal security, to the satisfaction of commissioners in Glasgow appointed by the Bank. Mr. Ewing was one of the commis¬ sioners, and the gentlemen associated with him in this re¬ sponsible office, were Bobert Dalglish, Esq., William Smith, Esq., Archibald Wallace, Esq., and R„ D. Alston, Esq. In 1827, the project for erecting the Royal Exchange, which is justly the pride of Glasgow, assumed a definite shape, and in this, as in every public-spirited enterprise, we find Mr. Ewing taking a prominent part. Indeed, he was the life and soul of the movement, and acted as chairman of the committee of management, while the late Mr. Henry Monteith of Carstairs, who was generally associated with him in objects of public importance, was chairman of the general committee elected by the proprietors. The foundation-stone of this fine structure was laid by Mr. Ewing, in the presence of a large assemblage, on the 23d December, 1837; and Mr. Mon¬ teith made a suitable reply to the short and elegant address which he delivered on that occasion. The following year was distinguished by the first formal proceedings, with a view to the conversion of the Merchants’ Park into that beautiful Necropolis, in which Mr. Ewing himself and so many of his enterprising compeers are now interred. The first meeting on the subject was held, as already stated, on the 15th July, 1828, in the house of Mr. Ewing, in Queen Street. The result of that meeting, and the active and important part which Mr. Ewing subsequently took in carrying out the idea to a happy and successful issue, have already been detailed in our early history of the Necro¬ polis. In 1830, we find Mr. Ewing beginning, for the first time in his life, to take a conspicuous part on the arena of politics, and manifesting no unwillingness to put himself forward as a candidate for the representation of his native city in Par¬ liament. At that time the honor was more comprehensive JAMES EWING OF STBATHLEVEN. 193 than at present, for Glasgow was associated with three other burghs, Rutherglen, Renfrew, and Dumbarton, all of which had an equal voice iu sending a single member to Parlia¬ ment, and each in succession had the casting-vote when the burghs were equally divided. In 1830, this district of burghs was represented by Mr. Campbell of Blythswood. The demise of George the Fourth, however, in June, necessarily led to a dissolution of Parliament; and then began a struggle for the representation, to which additional excitement was given by the prospect which was now entertained in the country of carrying a Reform measure. On that occasion, Mr. Ewing, who had lately become exceedingly popular by manifesting liberal principles, intended to put himself for¬ ward as Mr. Campbell's opponent, and little doubt was en¬ tertained of his success if he had carried the design into execution. On learning, however, that Mr. Ivirkman Finlay, who had formerly represented the burghs, was desirous of again contesting the field with his old rival, Mr. Ewing gene- rously postponed his own claims, and promised to support Mr. Finlay with all his interest. The election was decided on the 23d of August, when the votes being equal, Mr. Campbell was returned by the casting-vote of the Lord Provost of Glasgow. On that occasion, Mr. Ewing was accused by Mr. Campbell’s supporters of having entered into a compact with Mr. Finlay, by which he transferred his influence in that gentleman’s favor, on condition of receiving a similar return of good offices at a future time; but this accusation was indignantly repelled and disproved by Mr. Finlay himself, who showed that Mr. Ewing’s conduct was distinguished by perfect dis¬ interestedness. In 1831, Mr. Ewing was elected to the dignity of Lord Provost—and, therefore, occupied that position when, in the course of the following year, the Reform Bill received the Royal assent and became the law of the land. This measure gave Glasgow the privilege of sending two representatives to Parliament; and having been immediately followed by a dis- N 194: GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. solution, another general election took place, the first under the new regime. Mr. Ewing had now no hesitation in stand¬ ing as one of the candidates, and the following was the state of the poll at its close on this memorable occasion (Wednes¬ day, 19th December, 1832):— For James Ewing, 3214 “ James Oswald, 2S3S “ Sir D. K. Sand ford, 216S “ John Crawford, 1S50 “ John Douglas, 1340 “ Joseph Dixon, 995 Mr. Ewing was therefore placed at the head of the poll, by a great majority ; and he and Mr. Oswald were the first repre¬ sentatives of Glasgow in the Reformed Parliament—the first representatives indeed that Glasgow could really claim as her own. He was now in the zenith of his popularity and suc¬ cess as a public man; and his private affairs had prospered to his utmost wishes. He had realized a magnificent fortune; and he was Lord Provost and Member of Parliament for his native city. The next and last subject of public importance affecting the interests of Glasgow, in which Mr. Ewing took an active part, was the Burgh or Municipal Reform Bill. When the first copy of this bill reached Glasgow, it was found to contain a clause, annihilating the right of the Merchants’ and Trades’ Houses to be represented in the Town Council by the Dean of Guild and the Deacon Convener respectively. This inno¬ vation was highly resented by the members of these cor¬ porations, and by none more than by Mr. Ewing, who was always jealous of the dignity of the Merchants’ House and the other venerable institutions of the city. Repeated depu¬ tations were sent from Glasgow to remonstrate against this objectionable feature of the bill; and Mr. Ewing, in his official capacity as Lord Provost, entered into a correspond¬ ence with the Lord Advocate (Francis Jeffrey), but could not prevail upon that gentleman to alter the bill, which was accordingly passed by the House of Commons in its original form. The efforts of the Merchants’ and Trades’ Houses JAMES EWING OF STEATHLEYEN. 195 were then directed to the House of Lords; and by bringing the most powerful influence to bear on the Duke of Welling¬ ton and the Lord Chancellor, a clause was introduced into the bill to the effect, that in the five largest burghs, the Deans of Guild and Deacon Conveners should be Councillors ex offlciis. as in past times. Thus, by the greatest exertions were these officials maintained in their position in the Town Councils. On that occasion, thanks were voted by the Coun¬ cil, not only to the deputations, but also to the Duke of Wellington and other peers for their friendly assistance. The effect of the Burgh Reform Bill, however, was to in¬ troduce a Reformed Council; and while, on the one hand, Mr. Ewing was the first representative of Glasgow under the new order of things, so he was the last Lord Provost under the old burgh regime. He presided at the last sederunt of the old Incorporation of Glasgow, on the 4th of November, 1833, and his name is attached to the first minute of the first sederunt of the first Reformed Town Council on the following day. On that occasion ‘ the honorable James Ewing, M.P., Lord Provost of Glasgow,’ having taken his seat for the last time in that capacity, openly broke the seals of the poll-books of the five wards of the city, and having, with the assistance of the Town-Clerks and several other persons, examined the said poU-books, and cast up the votes given, declared the result of the election for the several wards. In performing this duty, Mr. Ewing was attired in the velvet court-dress worn by the ancient Provosts of Glasgow. Having thus gracefully saluted the new Council, he then descended from his seat, and retired from the old Council Chambers, which he never entered again. He continued, however, to represent the city till the close of the following year, 1834, when the overthrow of the Whig Government, under Lord Melbourne, led to another dissolution of Parliament. The Duke of Wellington was called to the head of affairs, and the popular test at the general election in January, 1835, was a pledge to drive him from power. Mr. 196 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. Ewing was not forgetful of tlie Duke’s kindness in the matter of the Municipal Reform Bill, when he gave his important assistance in preserving the ancient right of the Merchants’ and Trades’ Houses to be represented in the Town Council; he was also opposed to pledges on general grounds—and therefore refused point-blank to take the test. The Re¬ formers accordingly resolved to oust him from the represen¬ tation of Glasgow. The two other candidates were Mr. Oswald and Mr. Colin Dunlop of Tollcross. The election took place on the 16th January, 1835, and the following was the result of the poll:— For James Oswald,.8,832 “ Colin Dunlop,.3,267 “ James Ewing,.. . 2,297 After this defeat, Mr. Ewing, who was now in his 60th year, retired into the peaceful shades of private life. The Uni¬ versity of Glasgow had already conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. In the following May he pur¬ chased the beautiful estate of Levenside, in the County of Dumbarton, which formerly belonged to Lord Stonefield, one of the Senators of the College of Justice, and which, with subsequent acquisitions in the same quarter, to the whole of which he gave the name of Strathleven, cost him upwards of T110,000. In December, 1836, he married Miss Crawford, daughter of the late James Crawford, Esq., of the eminent firm of Crawford, Tucker, & Co. of Port-Glasgow—who had, at one time, the largest business on the Clyde. With this lady he lived in comparative retirement for a period of nearly twenty years, acting the part of a benevolent country gentle- man, beloved and esteemed by his tenants, and dispensing his bounty around him in no stinted measure. He died on the 29th November, 1853, in the 78th year of his age. Mr. Ewing adhered to the Free Church at the Disruption, and the late Dr. Chalmers was a frequent guest at the hospi¬ table mansion of Levenside. The Free churches in the neighbourhood enjoyed a considerable share of his bounty JAMES EWING OF STRATHLEVEN. 197 during his lifetime; and were not forgotten at his death, as the following synopsis of his final testament will show. By his deed of settlement, executed on the 9th September, 1844, the life-rent of his estate was left to his widow, and afterwards it goes to his nephew, Humphrey Ewing Crum Ewing, Esq.,* and his descendants. Mr. Ewing’s per¬ sonal estate was found to be of the value of upwards of ,£'280,000; and from this he bequeathed to public charities and religious objects, and persons for whom he entertained a regard, the sum of nearly 4‘70,000, as follows:— MR. Ewing’s LEGACIES. To Dean of Guild and Directors of Merchants’ House for behoof of that Incorporation,.£1,000 To Do. (to be invested for pensions or allowances to decayed Glasgow merchants),.10,000 To Do. (for educating, training, and settling in business, sons of decayed Glasgow merchants),.10,000 To Do. (for widows and daughters of decayed do.), . . . 10,000 To Trades’ House,.500 To Royal Infirmary,.10,000 To Glasgow Asylum for the Blind, ...... 1,000 To Glasgow Deaf and Dumb Institution.1,000 To Glasgow Asylum for Lunatics (the interest to be paid and applied for support of paupers),.2,000 To House of Refuge in Glasgow,.2,000 To Glasgow Eye Infirmary.200 To Glasgow Bible Society.500 To Glasgow Auxiliary Bible Society,.500 To Glasgow City Mission, ........ 500 To Glasgow Missionary Society.500 To Glasgow Night Asylum for the Houseless.300 To Glasgow Lying-in Hospital and Dispensary.300 To Poor of Free St. John’s Church, . . . (per annum) 10 To Dumbarton Free Church,.500 To Dumbarton Free Presbytery, to build and maintain a Free Church in village of Bonhill.600 To Dumbarton Free Church Presbytery, for building and maintaining the Free Church in parish of Kilmarnock, . 500 To Dumbarton Free Church, £10 por annum for coals, and £10 per aunum for clothes to poor of congregation, (per annum) 20 To Magistrates and Council of Dumbarton, to build an In¬ firmary aud Fever Hospital in Dumbarton, .... 500 Towards annual expense of said hospital,.20 * This gentleman, now the representative of the firm of James Ewing & Co., and who, in compliance with the conditions of his uncle’s will, has assumed the name of Ewing, is the son of the late Alexander Crum, Esq. of Thornliebank, who was married to Mr. Ewing’s sister. Walter Crum, Esq., F.R.S., the eminent scientific manufacturer, to whom we shall have further occasion to refer in connection with the life of the late Dr. Thomas Thomson, is another son. 198 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. To Society in Dumbarton for Indigent Old Men and Women.(per annum) To Educate and Train Young Men for Freo Chin For Free College in Edinburgh, For “ in Glasgow, Freo Sustentation Fund, For Building Free Churches, For Building Freo Church Manses, Free Church Foreign Missions Scheme, Jewish Missions Scheme, Colonial Churches, . Home Missions, Education, To each of Trustees (as gratuity),. To Tenants, Servants, and Clerks, each, ch, . (per annum £20 5,000 2,000 5,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 500 500 500 500 500 500 from £100 to 5,000* CHAPTER XVIII. THOMAS BROWN, D.D. “ Would I describe a Preacher such as Paul, 'Vere he on earth, would hear, approve, and own, Paul should himself direct me. 1 would trace His master-strokes, and draw from his design. I would express him simple, grave, sincere ; In doctrine uncorrupt; in language plain, And plain in manner ; decent, solemn, chaste. And natural in gesture ; much impressed Himself, as conscious of his awful charge. And anxious, mainly, that the flock he feeds May feel it too ; affectionate in look. And tender in address, as well becomes A messenger of grace to guilty men,"— Cowpeb. On the east side of Knox’s monument, the visitor will observe a grassy plot surrounded by a chain, supported on eight rude blocks of Argyllshire granite. Thi9 belongs to Mr. Dennis- toun of Golfhill—a property which bounds the Necropolis on the north and north-east, and constitutes part of the old estate of Wester Craigs, of which the Necropolis is a portion. • The author is chiefly indebted for the materials of Mr. Ewing's life to a series of sketches which appeared in the ‘ Glasgow Gazette' shortly after his death. JAMES DENNISTOUN OF GOLFHILL. 100 In connection with banking and mercantile business, the Dennistouns have occupied for half a century a prominent position in this city. The founder of the family was the late .Tames Dennistoun, Esq., who came from the neighbourhood of Campsie to push his fortune in Glasgow, about the begin¬ ning of the present century. In May, 1809, he originated the ‘Glasgow Bank,’ of which he was appointed to the management; and the enlightened, judicious, and liberal yet prudent mode in which he conducted the affairs of the establishment soon brought it into favor, and attracted a very large business. It maintained to the last a high character; and only nominally ceased to exist when merged into the present Union Bank of Scotland. Mr. Dennistoun retired in 1829; and the merchants of Glasgow, on that occa¬ sion, gave him a magnificent entertainment in the Royal Exchange, and requested to be allowed the honor of having his portrait painted, and engraved for distribution among them, in token of the high sense they entertained of his worth, and the ability with which he had so long managed their banking business. He died, universally regretted, on the 11th October, 1835; and having been not only manager but one of the original seventeen partners in the bank, he left behind him a very large fortune. His son, Mr. John Dennistoun, was twice elected to represent his native city in Parliament; first, when Mr. Oswald accepted the Chiltern Hundreds in the spring of 1837, and again, at the general elec¬ tion in the summer of the same year. His opponent on the former of these occasions was Mr. Robert Monteith of Car- stairs, who stood in the Conservative interest; and on the second occasion Mr. Dennistoun was returned along with Lord William Bentinck, in opposition to Mr. R. Monteith and Mr. (now Sir James) Campbell, the two Conservative candidates. From the base of Knox’s monument we next advance by a few steps along the carriage-way, which here proceeds to the east, through the middle of Omega, dividing it into 200 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. two sections; and the first object observed on the right is a substantially enclosed grave, distinguished by an elegant Graeco-Egyptian sarcophagus, which stands with its hack to Mr. Dennistoun’s burying-ground. This sarcophagus, de¬ signed by Mr. J. T. Rochead, of Glasgow, is about seven feet long by three in breadth; and stands on an oblong pedestal, resting on a series of colossal steps, finely graduated, and in perfect harmony with the design. The only ornament em¬ ployed is a Grseciau fret or guilloche in banded work, em¬ bossed on the sides of the monument. The entire structure, which is formed of a fine-grained free-stone, from Craigsland quarry, Ayrshire, produces a very pleasing effect. It is massive in style, yet simple, chaste, and beautiful; in ad¬ mirable keeping with the character, life, and sacred pro¬ fession of him w’hose memory is embalmed in the following inscription on the pedestal:— To the memory of The Reverend Thomas Brown, D.D , Minister of Free St. John’s Glasgow ; He walked with God like Enoch: preached with the fervor of Apollos; And, combining undaunted firmness with groat gentleness and benevolence, Presented, through Grace, A bright example of Christian excellence and pastoral fidelity. Born at Closebum, 9th Ang., 1776. .Died at Glasgow, 23d Jan , 1847. Rev. xiv. 13. Apart from his eminence and great fidelity as a Christian minister, this reverend gentleman filled a conspicuous posi¬ tion, both as the second successor to Dr. Chalmers in St. John’s parish, and as moderator of the Second General Assembly of the Free Church. A few notes of his life may therefore be appropriately given, in connection with the memorable events in which he performed his part with un¬ shaken constancy. He w T as horn, as above stated, in the parish of Closeburn, Dumfriesshire, on the 9th of August, 1776. His parents were people in humble life, both eminent for piety; and it was to his mother’s instructions that Dr. Brown was accus¬ tomed to trace his first religious impressions, which seemed THOMAS BROWN, D.D. 201 to have formed almost a part of his nature from his earliest years. Favored so highly in regard to domestic training, he enjoyed at the same time the best opportunities of obtaining the elements of a liberal education in the school of Wallace- hall, in his native parish, at that time conducted by Mr. Robert Mundell, of whom Dr. Carson, of the Edinburgh High School, and a fellow-pupil of Dr. Brown, said, that he was “ one of the most eminent classical scholars and successful teachers of the period in which he lived.” At this excellent and even celebrated school, in the immediate neighbourhood of which his parents resided, the subject of this notice received his education, from the first initiatory elements up to the most advanced departments taught in a classical semi¬ nary; and such was the proficiency to which he attained in his studies, that when not more than sixteen or seventeen years of ago, he was appointed one of the assistant-teachers. His selection to this office at so early an age, affords incon- testible evidence both of the propriety of his conduct and the extent of his classical acquirements. But although he enjoyed in this position the prospect of rising to eminence as a teacher, he seems to have resolved from the beginning to devote himself to the work of the ministry; and with this view he attended the University of Edinburgh in sessions 1795-0 and 1790-7, supporting him¬ self during the summer months by acting as private tutor in the family of Major Hoggan of Waterside, in the parish of Keir, Dumfriesshire. The remainder of his college course, before attending the Divinity Hall, he completed at the Uni¬ versity of Glasgow, along with his pupils, who accompanied him from Waterside for that purpose during the winter months; and it is mentioned as “a rare and striking testi¬ mony to the excellence of his character and the confidence which ho inspired in those who knew him, that Major Hoggan, in his will, nominated him one of the guardians of his family, the younger members of which, and their children, always regarded him in the light of a parent.” 202 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. His duties in this family having terminated in the spring of the year 1800, Mr. Brown became assistant-teacher in the academy of the Rev. Mr. Grierson of Musselburgh; and while there, was enrolled as a student on partial attendance at the Edinburgh Divinity Hall—an arrangement by which two sessions are reckoned as only equivalent to one of regular attendance, and therefore requiring a longer period to com¬ plete the course. He was soon relieved, however, from this unfavorable position by an invitation from the late Dr. Hun¬ ter, one of the ministers of the Tron Church, Edinburgh, and Professor of Divinity in the University, to accept the position of private tutor to his sons. In this situation Mr. Brown continued till nearly the period of his ordination, enjoying the privilege of regular attendance at the Hall, combined with the advantages derived from the advice and society of Dr. Hunter, between whom and Mr. Brown their existed a perfect congeniality of feeling and character. Having finished his course at the Hall, Mr. Brown was licensed as a preacher of the gospel, by the Presbytery of Edinburgh, on the 20th of August, 1804, at the age of 28 ; and preached his first sermon on the following Sabbath for the moderator of the Presbytery, Mr. Brunton, in the New Greyfriars’ Church, Edinburgh. In the meantime he con¬ tinued for more than two years to reside in the family of Dr. Hunter, till a vacancy occurring in the church and parish of Tongland, by the death of the Rev. Alexander Robb, he was warmly recommended to the heritors of that parish, both by his friend Dr. Hunter, and by Dr. Buchanan, one of the ministers of the Canongate. On the application of the heritors to the Crown, he received the presentation; and after the usual formalities, was solemnly ordained by the Presbytery of Kirkcudbright, on the 26th March, 1807. On the following Sabbath he was introduced to the congregation by Dr. Hunter. The parish of Tongland is, as its name implies, a delta or tongue of land, formed by the junction of the rivers Tarff and THOMAS BROWN, D.D. 203 Dee, and is one of the most beautiful parishes in the south of Scotland. From the ground immediately above the church and manse, there is a magnificent view of rich and varied scenery, embracing the windings of the Dee, from the point where it ceases to he navigable to where it loses itself in the waters of the Solway Frith. In the distance is descried the Isle of Little Itoss, and still more remote, on the furthest verge of the prospect, the hills of Cumberland and the Isle of Man. Immediately below, in the foreground, are the town of Kirkcudbright and Mary’s Isle, the seat of the Earl of Sel¬ kirk. Settled in this delightful parish, Mr. Brown devoted his entire energies to the duties of his sacred office ; he was diligent in his preparations for the pulpit, and regularly visited and examined his flock. By his constant attentions to the sick and the destitute, his kindness to all, and the faithful and conscientious discharge of his ministerial duties, he soon acquired the entire confidence of his parishioners, and was equally respected and beloved by rich and poor. On the 9th November, 1808, or little more than a year and a-half after his settlement, he was married to Miss Eliza Duncan, daughter of the Bev. Dr. Duncan, minister of the Scotch Church, Peter Street, Golden Square, London. His union with this lady greatly added to his happiness, and by her he had one daughter, Eliza, who afterwards married the Kev. Mr. Niven of Balfron, and one son, Alexander, who died in infancy. For many years he discharged the duties of his rural parish with great acceptance; and seems to have been perfectly happy in the sphere to which Providence had called him, cherishing no higher ambition. A period of nearly twenty years of his life was passed in this parish ; his people of all ranks were warmly attached to him; and the resident pro¬ prietors cordially seconded his plans for the temporal and spiritual welfare of those committed to his care. Enjoying this enviable position, it must have been after a severe struggle with his feelings that he yielded to what he con- 304 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. ceived to be the dictates of duty, in accepting the call to the parish of St. John’s, Glasgow, in 1830. He had previously received an invitation to be the successor of Dr. Gordon, in St. Cutlibert’s Chapel, Edinburgh; but this opportunity of removing to a larger sphere of usefulness he had deliberately declined ; and perhaps it was a doubt or misgiving as to the propriety of his conduct in that step that induced him the more readily to accept the call to St. John’s. Even in this case, he hesitated, but at length obeyed—although in acced¬ ing to the call he sacrificed many personal comforts and long- cherished predilections, and took upon himself a heavier burden, in the heart of a crowded city, to which he had no inducement to remove from his beautiful parish, either for the sake of his family or higher emolument. “ Never shall I forget,” writes his daughter, Mrs. Niven, “the few weeks which preceded his departure from Tongland; the look of anguish with which he surveyed every well-known spot, and visited the beautiful walks around his sweet manse, endeared to him by a thousand recollections. The day on which he preached his farewell sermon was a most trying one to us all, more particularly to him, who, for the last time, as minister of Tongland, entered its church, crowded by all ages and ranks of people. He was supported through the overwhelming duty; but returned to the manse exhausted and sad, to throw himself on his bed, from which he was unable to rise during that and the following day.” His farewell discourses were preached at Tongland on Sunday, 7th May, 1836. He was admitted minister of St. John’s on the following Thursday, and on Sunday next was introduced to the congregation by his friend and former pupil, Mr. Hunter, then minister of the Tron Church, Edin¬ burgh. His reception by the people of St. John’s was warm and friendly in the extreme; but some time necessarily elapsed before he could form an acquaintance with the mem¬ bers of his congregation, and replace himself in that endear¬ ing position in which he had found himself at Tongland, as THOMAS BEOWN, D.D. 205 father and shepherd of his flock. The variety of his labors was also immensely increased. Instead of a population of eight hundred, as at Tongland, he had now the pastoral charge of a parish containing as many thousands; and in addition to the numerous calls on his attention connected with religious, benevolent, and charitable institutions, which add so much to the labor of the ministerial office in large cities, he had to preside in the management of that extensive and peculiar plan for supporting the poor of the parish, which had been bequeathed to him by his distinguished predecessor, Dr. Chalmers. The change was far from adding to his hap¬ piness, except as affording scope for additional diligence in duty; and by vigorously applying to the work, the difficulties which at first deterred him diminished; he began to feel himself at home in his new position, and continued to dis¬ charge its duties with increasing comfort and usefulness for many years. “ During the whole of his ministry in Glasgow,” writes his biographer, the late Dr. Patrick Macfarlan* of Greenock, “ Dr. Brown more than sustained his first reputation as a preacher. Not only was he acmired, and almost idolized by his own congregation, but his services were eagerly sought, and highly prized, by the ministers and people of other parishes. He gave them willingly ; sometimes, it is to be feared, with a liberality exceeding his strength. His sermons were relished by the truly pious, to whom they never failed to be a rich repast; they were heard with pleasure by men of taste, who liked the chasteness of his style, the sobriety, and, at the same time, the boldness of his matter, his manifest sincerity, his pathos and deep feeling, and the fearlessness, the fervor, and the earnestness, with which he addressed himself to the consciences of all who heard him.” Again— “ Much as he was admired and valued as a preacher, it may * This gentleman was Dr. Brown’s immediate predecessor, and therefore the immediate successor of Dr. Chalmers, in St. John’s parish. The memoir by Dr. Macfarlan, to which we refer, and to which we are indebted for much of the substance of the present chapter, is prefixed to a \olume of Dr. Brown’s sermons, published after his death. 200 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. be questioned whether he did not still more excel in the minuter parts of the work of the ministry. No man was ever better qualified to guide the serious inquirer after truth, and to resolve his doubts regarding his spiritual condition, to soothe the troubled mind, and to apply to the wounded spirit the balm of consolation.” In 1832, Dr. Brown received the offer of a presentation to the church and parish of Ratho, near Edinburgh. He was now past the mid-time of life; his health was never robust, and, fearing that as he advanced in years he might find him¬ self unequal to the discharge of his duties in St. John’s, he at first accepted the offer. But no sooner w r as his intention announced than it drew forth the strongest expressions of attachment, accompanied with renewed assurances of support, from his congregation and eldership; and, on more mature consideration, he felt it his duty to remain. He continued to discharge his duties with his wonted ardor and perseverance, suffering occasionally from slight complaints produced by excessive exertion, but not of a nature to require the intermission of his labors, till 1837, when his medical attendants prescribed a journey to Harro¬ gate, from which he returned with greatly invigorated health. In the spring of 1838, he accomplished a trip to London, -which he had long been desirous of seeing, and thence paid a visit to Oxford, which he greatly admired. In the course of this latter year, his ailments assumed a new and some¬ what alarming aspect; he became subject to fainting fits, which were known, however, only to a few friends, till the spring of 1839, when, having gone into the pulpit rather unwell, and having commenced the service by reading a por¬ tion of the 03d Psalm, he suddenly dropped down in a state of unconsciousness. The event produced a deep sensation— and for some time the congregation believed that then- beloved pastor was dead; but on being carried into the vestry he revived, and nothing could exceed the joy -which was ex¬ pressed when this was announced. He was then assisted THOMAS BEOWN, D.D. 207 into the carriage of one of his hearers to convey him home ; and looking round upon his land and anxious friends, he said with a solemn and affecting air, ‘ You have got to-day what was far better than a sermon.’ His biographer remarks, that nothing could be more characteristic. Happening, as this event did, when he was otherwise labor¬ ing under considerable indisposition, it did not in itself create much alarm; and he continued his regular ministrations both in the pulpit and in private with his wonted energy; but he was at length persuaded, not without some reluctance, to receive assistance; and different probationers were successively ap¬ pointed, in a way the most agreeable to his own feelings, to relieve him of a portion of his labors, till the time of his death. We now approach the era of the Disruption. The contro¬ versy which had been raging for some years in the church courts and throughout the country, was drawing near to its crisis. Dr. Brown had never been accustomed to take a very prominent part in church-politics; he spoke but little at the Presbyteries and other ecclesiastical courts; he firmly ad¬ hered, however, to the principles of Non-intrusion; and when, in the further progress of the struggle, the exclusive spiritual jurisdiction of the church came to be considered as in danger by the party to which he belonged, he took a de¬ cided part in the movement, and threw himself boldly into every step which indicated firm determination to persevere in the course that ultimately led to the formation of the Free Church. He now occasionally expressed his sentiments in meetings of Presbytery; and nothing can more clearly de¬ monstrate the bold and unequivocal position which he now assumed, than the fact that he was one of several of the ‘Fathers of the Church,’ who were enjoined to hold them¬ selves in readiness to go to preach in Strathbogie in the face of an interdict of the Civil Court. He was one of the re- quisitionists for the assembling of the Convocation in lh42, and subscribed both series of resolutions adopted by that body. In short, when the critical period arrived, he was 308 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. found fighting in the front ranks of the non-intrusion party; nnd when, on the 7th June, 1843, the members of the Presbytery of Glasgow who had withdrawn from the Estab¬ lished Church, met for the first time after the Disruption, Dr. Brown, at the request of his brethren, delivered a dis¬ course from 1 Pet. ii. 7, at the close of which he reviewed the grounds of the step they had taken, and strongly urged perseverance in what they considered the path of duty, as well as the exercise of charity and forbearance towards the members of the Establishment. Before the Disruption occurred, Dr. Brown had been re¬ quested to allow himself to be put in nomination for the moderatorship of the Free General Assembly about to be formed. This he had decidedly declined on that occasion ; and Dr. Chalmers was naturally called to the chair of the first General Assembly of the Free Church ; but when it was resolved to hold the next in Glasgow, in October, 1843, all eyes were turned towards Dr. Brown, and by unanimous and cordial concurrence, he was invited to be the moderator of that Assembly. ITe consented with no small reluctance, arising from distrust of his ability to discharge the duties. He acquitted himself, however, in a highly satisfactory manner, and never was the moderator’s chair filled to greater advantage. In the meantime Dr. Brown had never forgotten the tie which bound him to his old Galloway parish. He had visited Tongland, and preached there repeatedly, since his translation to Glasgow; and after the Disruption he was still more fre¬ quently invited, to assist at the opening of the Free churches which were established in the district, as well as on other occasions. Two such visits he paid to his old parishioners in the summers of 1843 and 1845, and these were not more acceptable to his friends than they were delightful to himself. Immediately before the second of these visits, Free St. John’s Church was opened. In withdrawing himself from the pale of the Established Church, the greater part of the congregation and most of the office-bearers had accompanied THOMAS BEOWN, D.D. 209 him. They were accommodated at first in East Regent Place Secession Church, where they continued to meet for about two years. Dr. Brown was delighted with the liberality with which his congregation contributed to the erection of the ele¬ gant structure in George Street, and took very great interest and pleasure in its planning and progress. At the opening of the church, it greatly enhanced his enjoyment that he was assisted by Dr. Chalmers and Dr. Macfarlan of Greenock. He was not, however, to be long permitted to enjoy the pleasure of preaching to his people in this new place of wor¬ ship. He was now approaching the verge of life, his strength was perceptibly declining, and his health had probably suf¬ fered by the extraordinary efforts required of him in conse¬ quence of circumstances springing out of the Disruption. In the beginning of 181G he was seized with a second fainting fit in the pulpit, and to this alarming tendency was now added a severe cough. In these circumstances the Kirk Session suggested to Dr. Brown the expediency of having an ordained assistant and successor appointed. To this pro¬ posal he consented, and measures were taken soon afterwards for carrying it into effect. He preached to his congregation for the last time at the dispensation of the Sacrament in April, 1816. Soon after that event, he went, by the advice of his medical attendants, to Ardrossan, where he resided for several months ; but, not improving in his health, he removed about the end of July to Gourock, to be nearer his medical adviser. During his resi¬ dence at these places, a committee of the congregation, to whom the work of finding a suitable successor was entrusted, had not been idle; and after the most careful investiga¬ tion, they resolved to recommend the Rev. Mr. Roxburgh, then minister of Free St. John’s, Dundee. The nomination of this gentleman gave entire satisfaction to Dr. Brown, as well as to the congregation ; the utmost harmony prevailed in the proceedings, the call was numerously signed, the various forms were observed without appeal or dissent, and o 210 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. the Presbytery of Glasgow was in favor of the translation. At Dundee, however, both Mr. Roxburgh’s congregation and the Presbytery were almost unanimously opposed to it, and Mr. Roxburgh himself, entertaining doubts as to the path of duty, left the decision of the case to the church courts. Dr. Brown, sympathizing with the wishes of his congrega¬ tion, was anxious to obtain Mr. Roxburgh’s appointment as his successor, and wrote to him several letters with his own hand, in which he affectionately urged the claims of Glasgow; hut he did not enjoy the satisfaction of seeing his successor appointed. The Presbytery of Dundee refused to loose Mr. Roxburgh from his charge. The commissioners from Glas¬ gow protested and appealed to the Synod, and in that posi¬ tion the case stood at the time of Dr. Brown’s death. At the first meeting of the Synod after that event, Mr. Roxburgh was translated to Glasgow. During the latter portion of his residence at Gouroclc, Dr. Brown’s health was so much improved, that at the next com¬ munion Sabbath, in October, he w r as able to serve two of the tables in his own church, and could scarcely be dissuaded by his medical friends from attempting to officiate in the pulpit. He afterwards recovered strength so far as to encourage his family and friends to hope that he might be enabled to resume his public duties. He regularly attended public worship, often opened the service with prayer, and occasion¬ ally addressed the congregation from his chair at the foot of the pulpit. But towards the close of the year, his ailments increased ; and on Sabbath, the 20tli December, he attended in Free St. John’s Church for the last time. From that day, he gradually became worse; and exhibiting, during his last illness, a firm faith in the hopes of the Gospel, and a pious resignation to the Divine will, this most exemplary clergy¬ man died, surrounded by his family, on the evening of the 23d January, 1847, leaving behind him the remembrance of a character approaching as near to Christian perfection as human frailty will admit of. GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. 211 CHAPTER XIX. WILLIAM BLACK, D.D. u Craves of the righteous ! surely there The sweetest bloom of beauty is ; Oh ! may [ sleep in couch as fair, And with a hope as bright as his.”—E dsifstox. Our readers will observe that the compartment of Omega, in which we are now pursuing our solitary wanderings among the tombs, is richer in memorials of men of public note, and monuments of elegant design and elaborate execution, than any other single compartment in the Necropolis. This com¬ pels us to linger longer within it than the mere space which it embraces would have led us at first sight to anticipate. It is true that w r e have turned aside to occasional monuments in other compartments—to the late Dr. Eae AVilson’s in Alpha —to Knox’s monument, and that of the late Mr. Ewing, in Kappa; but still it is not the less true that Omega constitutes the principal field of our labors, restricted as these must necessarily be to monuments erected to persons of some degree of public or local celebrity. One or two additional chapters must still be reserved for this compartment, and then our progress through the rest of the Necropolis will meet with less interruption. At the close of last chapter we found ourselves standing at the grave of the late Dr. Thomas Brown of Free St. John’s, in front of which is a handsome solid monument of Peter¬ head granite, resting on a block of Cowcaddens stone, erected to the memory of the late Mr. Alexander Broom, builder; and still further east, a tall obelisk, “sacred to the memory of David Wilkie, writer, Glasgow, who died March 9, 1849, aged 57 years.” A melancholy interest attaches to tho in- 812 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. scription on the north side of this obelisk, recording tha death of two of Mr. Wilkie’s sons, one of whom, a youth of seventeen, is stated to have been “ drowned while on a voyage to Leghorn, in the schooner Wilhelmina, wrecked off the Isle of Sian, on the morning of the 2Cth January, 1815, when all on board perished.” At Dr. Brown’s grave, a walk diverges southward, at right angles to the carriage-way, leading directly to one of the most striking and elaborate monuments iu the Necropolis, erected to the memory of another lamented clergyman of this city—the late Dr. Black of the Barony. We now pro¬ pose to describe this monument, adding a short biographic notice of the deceased; but first, we may direct attention, in passing, to a stately and massive ..structure on the left of the carriage-way, erected to a gentleman of the same surname, but no relation of the late minister of the Barony, and bear¬ ing the following inscription:— To James Black. Bom 1804; died 1844. The majority of visitors will probably agree with us when we say, that this monument is certainly an elegant piece of masonry, but nothing more. The ornamental carving is good; but the structure is heavy and meaningless in design, resembling rather the fragment of an elegant unfinished building than anything else. Mr. Black was at the head of the enterprising and successful calico-printing establishment of Messrs. James Black & Co., and had, we believe, realised a handsome fortune, when he died prematurely, at the age of forty years. Quitting the carriage-way, and turning down the walk above-mentioned, we find ourselves standing in the presence of Dr. Black’s monument—a very different architectural structure, on which the most competent judges pronounce a very high opinion, and place it in the first rank of the many ornaments of the Necropolis. DR. black’s monument. 213 This splendid monument, which is in the Gothic style, and was designed by Mr. J. T. Emmett of London, is an ob¬ long, quadrangular groined canopy, of beautifully fine white stone, raised on a lofty pedestal, and supported by four columns of polished Derbyshire marble. Beneath the canopy is the tomb, hearing, at a considerable elevation from the ground, the recumbent statue of the deceased. Over the side or principal arches are two large gables; and corresponding, but smaller gables rise at each end. The whole is covered by a bold eaves-roof, protected by zinc, and surmounted by two gilt crosses. The entire height is about 30 feet, and the horizontal dimensions about 11 feet by 5 feet 6 inches. The interior of the canopy is painted a rich azure. There are no pinnacles or other extraneous features; and the carved en¬ richments are limited to the bold but varied capitals of the columns, a delicate band of foliage round the arches, some quaint bosses in the groining, and a rich leaf moulding round the tomb. The names of the apostles and the cardinal virtues are sculptured in scroll around the capitals; and over these, at the springing of the groins, are four angels, watching the recumbent figure on the tomb below. The chief interest of the monument, however, is in its sculptured decorations. On the sides of the tomb, and the pediments or gables of the roof, is a series of illustrations of our Saviour's history, from his ‘subjection unto death’ to his ‘ascension into glory.’ The series begins very appropriately with the entombment, which is carved on the north side of the sarco¬ phagus. In the centre of the group, Christ is being borne by two young men, whose severe exertions seem to enhance by contrast the serious dignity of the attendant mourners. John, in his solicitude for his ‘mother,’ is fulfilling the trust committed to him at the cross; Peter is there, zealous and demonstrative as ever; Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, with Salome, respectful as they ‘minis¬ tered unto him;’ and then Joseph, ‘a good man and a just.’ At the end of the composition are two figures apart from the 211 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. group of disciples; one, a bold and triumphant Pharisee; the other, a thoughtful, considerate Roman—the centurion from the crucifixion—typical of the Jewish and Gentile future. On the south side, the Resurrection, a supernatural event, is treated in a supernatural way. Christ, first tri¬ umphing over death and hell, appears in adoration and prayer, while attendant angels are worshipping him as God incarnate. The soldiers, struck with awe, are manifesting every phase of emotion, from curiosity and affright to abject terror and supplicatory fear. In the distance, however, the Roman standard-bearer is faithful to his trust, and with his single fellow-soldier, amazed but not appalled, exhibits the force of that military instinct and Roman discipline, which even this resurrection from the dead could not entirely over¬ come. In one of the smaller compartments is Mary in the Garden, receiving Christ’s message: “Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father; and to my God, and your God"—his first announcement of the complete redemption ; on the other the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, both attentive listeners—the one re¬ flecting on the old Scriptures, the other wondering at the new truths. “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and opened to us the Scriptures?” —is the sentiment which the sculptor has here endeavored to impress on those who may visit their lamented pastor’s tomb. On the north pediment of the canopy, is a represen¬ tation of the goodly company of the apostles, who are behold¬ ing, with reverential amazement, the Ascension of our Lord; in the south gable the sculptor lias ventured to represent the Last Judgment, and some critics have objected to his bold¬ ness in here figuring the ‘Judge’ himself in human shape, surrounded with a divine glory'—as if this were a Romish attempt to depict Him ‘whom no man hath seen at anytime, nor can see.’ It must be recollected, however, that Christ is the Judge. “ The Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” Two apostles represent the twelve ‘judging the DR. BLACK'S MONUMENT. 215 twelve tribes,’ &c., witli the angel-herald, the dead arising, and the doomed sinking to perdition. Oil the whole, in this delineation, the sculptor has perhaps attempted a little too much. In the smaller pediments the monument is more immediately identified with the memory of Dr. Black. On the east end is the escutcheon of the Church of Scotland, a burning bush, supported by angels, with the motto, Nec tamen consumebatur; and on the other, the facade of the Barony Church, supported in similar fashion, with the in¬ scription, Lueerna ejns est Agnus (the Lamb is the light thereof). The nimbi around the heads of the apostles, the groining of the canopy, and other parts of the structure are gilt. The inscription is on the south side of the base, and is very simple:— Erected by tlie Barony Congregation, in Memory of their Friend and Pastor, ‘William Black, D.L). Born 1801; Died 1851. If some Lave ventured to criticize in terms of slight dis¬ approval the general conception or design of this monument, as somewhat too fanciful, none can deny thxt in point of execution as well as in beauty of material, it stands pre¬ eminent ; and that, as a mere work of art, it is one of the finest productions in the Necropolis. For our own part, the more we contemplate, the more we admire it; we see no fault in the design of the structure, unless that with its light and graceful proportions and delicate ornaments, it seems to he better fitted for the climate of Italy or the friendly shelter of some overshadowing cathedral, than its actual exposed position in our northern latitude. The sculptured illustra¬ tions are finely conceived; they are purely Scriptural—not Romish ; and all of them are eminently suggestive, even to the gilt crosses—the finest symbol of our common Christi¬ anity, and one to which the Church of Rome has certainly no exclusive right. What can be more appropriate than the Cross, either on a tomb or a church ?—-and yet there are mauy who contemplate this Christian symbol with horror, 216 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. while they look with singular complacency on objects of idolatrous worship or heathen origin—on urns, sarcophagi, weeping muses, Greek and Roman temples, inverted torches, figures of Father Time with his scythe, and other unmistak¬ able remnants of pure paganism. But we now turn from the monument to the man. All must admit that the late Dr. Black, although neither dis¬ tinguished by literary eminence nor surpassing eloquence, possessed not a few of those higher qualities of the heart, which even the most costly monument erected by the hand of affection can only feebly commemorate. He was born at Auchenoirn, parish of Cadder, near Glasgow; was educated chiefly at the parish-school of Cadder and New Monkland, and entered the University of Glasgow in 1812. In May, 1810, after completing his philosophical course, which, in the Scottish Universities, extends to four winter sessions, he commenced teaching a school at Dykehead, parish of Sla- mannan, near Falkirk. This he continued with such inter¬ missions as allowed him to attend the Divinity Hall during a part of the prescribed course ; and, during the remaining period of attendance by partial sessions, he supported him¬ self as a private tutor in Glasgow and Old Monkland, and afterwards in the family of Sir R. K. D. Cunyngham, Bart, of Prestonfield. He was licensed as a preacher of the gospel by the Presbytery of Hamilton, in August, 1824; was ordained minister of a chapel in Shettleston, a village a few miles east from Glasgow, within the Barony parish, in April, 1826 ; and in July, 1828, received a presentation from the Crown as assistant and successor to the Rev. Dr. Burns of the Barony. We may here observe, that the Barony Church, which, as remarked in a preceding page, constitutes a prominent object on the south side of the lane that leads to the Necropolis bridge, though placed within the Royalty of Glasgow, is the church of a landward parish, and does not strictly belong to the town. It is now subdivided into several new parishes; WILLIAM BLACK, D.D. 217 but it contained at that time, and still contains, the largest population quoad civilia of any pai’ish in Scotland, not only including the whole of the western division, and most of the suburban parts of the city, but extending for several miles into the country in almost every direction on the north side of the river. When Mr. Black received the presentation as assistant and successor to Dr. Burns, the latter had dis¬ charged the ministerial duties for a period of sixty years— four years as assistant to the former incumbent, the Rev. Laurence Hill, and fifty-three or fifty-four years as parish minister. He must have been at that time, therefore, not less than eighty years of age. His jubilee was held on the 22d September, 1819, when the venerable doctor had just entered on the fiftieth year of his ministerial function. We have seen that Mr. Black was appointed his successor in July, 1828. Yet Dr. Burns survived for a period of ten years, acting in perfect harmony with his junior colleague; and died in 1838, the venerable father of the Church of Scot¬ land, after having labored in a parish with, as already stated, the largest population of any in Scotland for a period of nearly seventy years ! At the death of Dr. Burns, Dr. Black succeeded to the sole charge of the parish. It was in 1831 that he had received from the University of Glasgow the degree of D.D. He continued to labor among his people with great accept¬ ance; and although, in the earlier stages of the controversy which was at that time raging on the subject of non-intrusion and the jurisdiction of the Church, he manifested some dis¬ position at first to side with the so-called evangelical party; yet, when the period of the Disruption came, he deemed it his duty to remain within the pale of the Establishment; and no better proof can be given of the ardent attachment of his people to their minister than that at the Disruption he lost hut three elders out of a session of sixteen, and not fifty of his large congregation. It may truly be said that few clergy¬ men enjoyed so large a sharo of public respect and esteem. 218 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. It was in 1818 or 1810 that symptoms of consumption "be¬ gan to be developed in his constitution. He had previously enjoyed excellent health, and possessed a powerful and robust frame; but this insidious disease, which commenced, we believe, with the rupture of a vessel in the lungs, having once made its appearance, steadily continued its encroach¬ ments ; and the reverend doctor, in the hope of arresting its progress, was counselled by his medical advisers to try the effects of a milder climate. With reference to this event in his life, the minister of a rural parish, who knew the de¬ ceased long and well, thus wrote after his death:— “ It may not be uninteresting to mention that Dr. Black was very unwilling to go abroad. Whether that unwillingness arose from any lurking apprehensions he had of the fatal termination of his malady, or from attachment to home, we know not; but those who conversed with him at that period will remember how hesitatiugly he spoke, long before going away, of his intended movements. Ho seemed to fear he might never be permitted to return. Coming events appeared to throw their dark shadows across his spirit, and even after setting out he cast many a lingering look behind at his peaceful manse and hallowed church, both of which, from the moment he contemplated leaving them, became suddenly invested in his imagination with new and richer charms. Nor did the feeling to which we allude leave him while breathing the milder air. and wandering under the more pro¬ pitious skies of foreign lands. While he was sailing on the bosom of the Rbinj—while he was coasting along the shores of the Mediter¬ ranean—while he was visiting the galleries of Florence—nay, while standing amid the ruins of the Capitol, and calling to mind the glories of other times—his thoughts winged their way to his beloved flock, and he longed to r sume among them those ministrations which had been to him bis best solace amid the many and depressing cares of his office. Ho loved home and liomc-sceues so strongly, that, but for an imperious necessity, he never would have gone abroad. To his quiet and loving spirit, the crowded lanes, the dingy alleys, and the sm*'ky hovels which are to be found in some parts of his own parish, had greater attractions than either the woods of Val Ombrosa, the blue waters of Lake Leman, or the hoary walls of the Pantheon.” The hour ■which his constantly declining strength had fully prepared him to anticipate, at length arrived. Dr. Black died at Florence, on the evening of the 15th January, 1851, in the 50th year of his age—solaced to the last by the presence and attention of his amiable partner.* Two days before his death, he expressed a wish that Dr. Hill of Glas- * This much respected lady is a daughtor of the late William Young, Esq., an extensive coalmaster in the Monklauds WILLIAM BLACK, D.D. 210 gow, and Dr. Stevenson of St. George’s, Edinburgh, should preach his funeral sermons. He enjoined a small funeral; and desired to be interred in some spot overlooking the Barony Church. The tidings, of Dr. Black’s death were received in Glasgow with a thrill of regret, not only by the members of his own congregation and communion, but by the public generally, for he was extensively known and universally beloved. The body was enclosed in a leaden coffin, and conveyed home by the first vessel from Leghorn. The funeral took place on Monday, the 10th March, the body having only arrived from Florence in the course of the preceding week. The personal friends of the deceased, including most of the city clergy, and many highly influential private gentlemen, met at his house, Taylor Street, where the funeral services were con¬ ducted by the Very Eev. Principal M'Farlan, Dr. Muir of St. James's, and other clergymen ; and proceeded afterwards in carriages to the Necropolis. At the Barony Church, the procession was joined by the elders and many of the congre¬ gation, and, although we have remarked that the deceased himself enjoined a small funeral, the whole formed a larger assemblage of respectable people of all ranks than had been seen upon any similar occasion in Glasgow for many years. On the following Sunday, the funeral sermons were preached in conformity with the expressed desire of the de¬ ceased himself—in the forenoon, by the Rev. Dr. Stevenson, and in the afternoon, by the Rev. Dr. Hill of the College— the former a relative, and both intimate personal friends of Dr. Black. The church was crowded to overflowing; the members of the congregation were generally attired in mourning, and many gentlemen from other churches were present to testify their respect for the deceased. His death was likewise referred to in affecting terms by the minis¬ ters of nearly all the Established churches in Glasgow; and the Rev. Dr. Bunciman of St. Andrew’s Church, 220 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. concluded a graceful tribute to bis memory in tbe following terms:— “ It is far from an easy thing to do justice to the character of such a man. There was about him such a concentration of qualities—such an absence of all that was common-place, that we feel it most difficult, with all our love for him, to pourtray truthfully his likeness. . Throughout the Church of Scotland, his loss will be deeply lamented. The Barony Parish and congregation appreciated his worth while ho lived, and now, as one bereaved family, mourn his premature death. Never by the death of one man did so many lose a friend. And of the whole circle of mourners, not one feels his loss more deeply than I. It was our practice to meet every Saturday after our morning’s studies, and many a profitable walk we enjoyed. No minister with whom I ever associated was more habitually impressed with the great respon¬ sibilities of his office. The last walk wo had together was on the Satur¬ day previous to that fatal attack which laid him aside from public duty. He was then in the fullness of health. And well do I remem¬ ber with what « nergy he expressed his determination to devote the winter most closely to his sacred duties. We were walking in the Necropolis, among the graves of many whom he had known and loved; and after surveying particularly the tomb* of the late learned Dr. Dick, to whose writings we both expressed our great obligations, and also that of his friend, the late venerable Dr. Brown, he, with peculiar solemnity, said, ‘how diligent we ought to be!’ Little did either of us then think it was our last walk—the - last time we were to meet as we had done, with few interruptions, for five years. One is taken, the other is left, soon to follow. O that all of us may profit by such a lesson, and that we ministers of the sanctuary, especially, may bo roused to greater devotedness and zeal.” Dr. Black’s pulpit ministrations were of a bigb order. His manner was grave, earnest, and dignified. As a preacher, be was calm and persuasive ratber than violent or argumen¬ tative. The tones of bis voice were in some instances tliril- lingly sweet; and when be spoke of tbe solemnities of death, or tbe grave, or tbe future judgment, they stole insensibly into the soul, moving it to its lowest depths. In addition to bis spiritual functions, the great extent of bis parish en¬ tailed on him a vast amount of secular duty. From nine in tbe morning until dusk, bis door-bell continued, almost without intermission, to remind him that some one or other of tbe innumerable applicants who repaired to him for coun¬ sel or assistance wished to see him. Often them conflicting demands would have both perplexed and perturbed a man possessing less equanimity of temperament and less kindness * Not the tomb, but the monument WILLIAM BLACK, D.D. 221 of heart. But Dr. Black treated all with uniform courtesy and consideration; and all went from his presence with the impression that they had in him a warm friend as well as an able adviser. It was, however, in the privacy of domestic life, that Dr. Black was hest known and most deeply loved. “ Those who had access to that domestic circle of which he formed the great ornament,” writes one of his friends, “ will long remember the charm which rested over his varied con¬ versation—his inexhaustible fund of anecdote—his polished wit—his ability to identify himself with the tastes and feel¬ ings of his different guests—his entire want of selfishness— and last, though not least, his charity in throwing, when the occasion required it, the mantle of forgiveness over the faults and frailties of an erring brother.” It would ill become us to conclude this brief biographic notice of the late lamented minister of the Barony Church, without reminding the casual reader of the fact, that great as was the loss sustained by the congregation of the Barony, as well as by the public at large, in Dr. Black’s death, the former have been fortunate in having his place filled by one of the ablest and most faithful ministers in the Church of Scotland, or in any church—:ke Bev. Norman M'Leod. 222 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. CHAPTER XX. ItEY. EDWARD IRVING, A .11. “ lie spake of virtue : not the gods More purely, when they wish to charm Pallas and Juno sitting by : And with a sweeping of the arm, And a lack-lustre dead-blue eye. Devolved his rounded periods. ** Most delicately hour by hour He canvassed human mysteries. And trod on silk, as if the winds Blew his own praises in his eyes, And stood aloof from other minds In impotence of fancied power” —Tennyson*. Adjacent to the south-east corner of Dr. Black’s monument, and near the large and conspicuous structure erected to the Bev. Dr. Muter, is an elegant cubical monument of Aber¬ deen granite, on which, as on several others of a similar character in the Necropolis, the effect of the operation of polishing is brought out very strikingly. On the square or rectangular surface of each side, a margin of one or two inches is left unpolished, though made smooth to the touch, and the effect of this device is to give to the polished surfaces the appearance of being inlaid or placed in a frame. On this monument we find the following inscription Sacred to the Memory of The Rev. Edward Irving, A.M., who was born at Annan, Dumfriesshire, on the 4th August, 1792; And died at Glasgow, on the 8th December, 1S34. aged 42 years. His remains are interred in the Crypt of the adjoining Cathedral. Janet Irving, Sister of the late Rev. Edward Irving, and wife of Robert Dickson, Esquire, late of Annan, Dumfriesshire, who died at Glasgow on the 29th August, 1S49. Aged 55 years. KEY. EDWARD IRVING, A.M. 223 From this inscription it will be seen that the remains of the well-known divine who is thus somewhat unexpectedly- introduced to our notice, are interred in the crypt of the Cathedral. The monument before us, however, is equally inscribed to his own memory and to that of his deceased sister; and therefore a sketch of the lifs of this extraordinary man will be not less appropriate in this place than our notices of the late Dr. Dick, Henry Monteith of Carstairs, and other persons of distinction not interred in the Necropolis, but who, by the presence of their beautiful monuments, im¬ part an additional interest to the silent city of the dead. Edward Irving, a man of brilliant but erratic genius, was born, as the inscription states, at Annan, on the 4th August, 1792. His father, Gavin Irving, carried on business in that town as a tanner, with so much success that he became the owner of considerable burghage and landed property in the neighbourhood. He married Mary, daughter of Mr. George Louther, one of the heritors of Dornock, a small parish about three miles from Annan, on the road to Carlisle ; and by her he had eight children—three sons and five daughters ; all of whom died in early or middle age, unless we except the eldest sister, here interred, who was the last survivor. The sons were brought up to liberal professions, and received their elementary education in Annan. Edward displayed, at first, but little aptitude for learning; he was more daring and difficult to control than his brothers ; but if he was loss attentive to his studies, there were certain features in his character in which, even from his early boyhood, he was always above the level of his school-associates. “ Whilst foremost to climb the highest crag in the glen-side, or to stem the tides in the Solway Frith, the companions whom he pre¬ ferred were men above his years—the oldest and wisest the town of Annan could produce. In his dress, and manners, and expressions, it was equally apparent that he was not a child as others. As years rolled on and strength increased, his best-loved haunts were neither the public walks, nor 224 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. shows, nor the sports of the field, nor any of the ordinary amusements of youth, but solitary rambles to the spots where the martyrs to the Presbyterian faith had preached or died.’’ At length, his naturally vigorous faculties were called into action in the school-room, by the circumstance of one day having been set apart weekly, for competitions in arithmetic. The excitement attendant on this hebdomadal exercise, which was looked forward to throughout the week with much impa¬ tience, awakened the dormant powers of his mind, and, once launched into actual rivalry, lie soon outstripped his compe¬ titors in this department. He then, also, began to discover a strong predilection for the mathematics, the elements of which he studied successfully under Mr. Bryce Downie, a teacher in Annan, who, like the celebrated Saunderson, was blind, but had not been bom under that misfortune, having lost his sight by disease or some accidental injury. Captain Clapperton, the well-known African traveller, and Dr. Dickson, who accompanied and pre-deceased him, were school-fellows of Edward Irving at that time. It was this Dr. Dickson’s brother, Robert, who subsequently married Mr. Irving’s eldest sister, as the inscription intimates. Having passed through the usual course of a liberal school- education, Edward was sent in his thirteenth year to the University of Edinburgh, where he deliberately resolved to adopt the church as his profession. In the meantime he pursued his philosophical and classical studies with great application and success, for the usual term of four sessions; and such was his proficiency in the mathematics, that he was recommended by Professor Leslie, as the fittest student in his class, to teach the mathematical department in a Had¬ dington academy. When he accepted this situation, he had not completed his seventeenth year; and after discharging its duties for a twelvemonth, he was invited to a similar position, offering higher emolument, in a larger establish¬ ment, in Kirkaldy. There he not only performed the duties of his class-room, but added to his income by keeping board^'s REV. EDWARD IRVING, A.M. 225 find practising private tuition — a course which he con¬ tinued for seven years, until, by attending partial sessions, he completed his course at the Divinity Hall, and became a licentiate or probationer in the Church of Scotland. It was during Mr. Irving’s residence in Kirkaldy that he contracted the acquaintance of Miss Isabella Martin, daughter of the Rev. Mr. Martin, one of the Established clergymen of that town. This lady he engaged to marry as soon as he might find himself settled in life; and the promise was afterwards fulfilled when he removed to London. In 1819, he projected a tour on the Continent; but before setting out on his journey he went over to Edinburgh, to preach for the Rev. Andrew Thomson, the distinguished minister of St. George’s. It was in the performance of this duty that Dr. Chalmers, who happened to be present, heard Mr. Irving for the first time, and formed the favorable opinion which led to his appointment as the doctor’s as¬ sistant in St. John’s, Glasgow, in the course of the same year. In that situation he remained three years, and his conduct in the intercourse of private life, as well as in the faithful discharge of his public duties, procured him the esteem and affection of all classes. At the same time it has been truly said that two luminaries cannot move in the same orbit, and whether his powers as a pulpit orator were not yet fully developed, or whether Dr. Chalmers’ great popularity left no room in the public mind for a second idol, certain it is that Mr. Irving’s pulpit ministrations in Glasgow, though far from being held in slight esteem, excited but little of the fervid admiration which afterwards awaited him in London, and which, it is much to be feared, unsettled his fine intel¬ lect. Many who came to hear Dr. Chalmers, turned abruptly away on learning that his place was to be occupied by Ed¬ ward Irving; and yet, at a future period, the same individuals would have travelled no inconsiderable distance to listen to his strange eloquence. Even Dr. Chalmers himself is said to have admired his conversation more than his preaching. 226 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. During bis sojourn in. Glasgow, Irving was invited to the pastoral charge of a church in Kingston, Jamaica, which he was only prevented from accepting by the earnest dis¬ suasion of his relatives. Another offer of a presentation to a collegiate charge in Scotland, which held out peculiar at¬ tractions, he declined, from a fixed and conscientious objec¬ tion to enter into the office of the ministry by means of patronage. Many of his peculiarities already appeared. “ At this time,” says one of his biographers, “ we find him with the mind, habiliments, habits of thinking, and manners of past centuries, and with morals as untainted by vice as any population of a nunnery could boast.” In 1822, he received a call to a place of worship in Cross Street, Hatton Garden, London, in connection with the Church of Scotland, and known at that time as the ‘ Cale¬ donian Asylum.’ With this invitation he had no scruples in complying, as it emanated from the popular element, although when he removed to this new scene, and entered on his regu¬ lar duties in August, the attendance was very far from en¬ couraging. At first, indeed, the congregation did not amount to more than fifty persons. But not many months or even weeks elapsed, under Mr. Irving’s ministrations, when very different was the scene which the church presented. His style and manner of preaching offered a complete contrast to everything then to be found even in the vast variety of pulpit eloquence in London ; and, in one short quarter, the applica¬ tions for seats at the Caledonian Church increased from the original number of fifty to upwards of fifteen hundred. His popularity was almost instantaneous. His peculiar style of eloquence attracted crowds, from the right hand of royalty, down to the very dregs of the people. Among those whom curiosity or better motives drew to Hatton Garden at an early period of his ministry, are mentioned Canning, Brougham, Mackintosh, Scarlett, Lord Bipon, and Lady Jersey, the Marchioness of Conyngham, and many other persons of rank; nay, it has even been alleged, though with what truth we REV. EDWARD IRVING, A.M. 227 cannot affirm, that royalty itself, incognito, was seen among Mr. Irving’s hearers. From this state of things it naturally followed that the place of worship in Hatton Garden was soon found to be too small; and in 1823 the splendid ‘ Scotch National Church’in Regent Square was erected, to which the congregation re¬ moved. Mr. Irving was now in the zenith of his fame as a pulpit orator. For several years he was the ‘ bright particular star’ of the great metropolis. He was courted by religious societies of every description, to preach their anniversary sermons. He was eagerly invited, by people of rank and fashion, to mix as a guest in the highest circles; but these invitations he had prudence enough to decline. It was not, indeed, till 1827, that the intoxicating draught of a too sudden and too overwhelming popularity began to display, in its effects upon his mind, a dangerous and alarming form; but even at an early period of his London career, the ex¬ aggerated ideas of self-importance produced in his excitablo imagination were too apparent. They showed themselves in strange and wayward peculiarities. His sermons, or orations as he called them, were frequently two or three hours in length. His style was in the quaint old manner of Hooker, whom he acknowledged as his idol and model. He had scarcely been a year in London when he published a large octavo volume of sermons, containing COO olosely-printed pages, under this remarkable title—‘ For the Oracles of God, Four Orations; for Judgment to Come, an Argument in nine parts.’ This volume he dedicated very affectionately to I)!-. Chalmers, who must have been prepared to find in it much of that eccentricity which, in combination with evidence of singular talent, first attracted his attention to the author. Speaking of this volume, a reviewer said—“ The dialect of Mr. Irving is neither Scotch nor English, neither ancient nor modern”—and it must be confessed that the reviewer was not far wrong; yet it was a dialeot of singular sweetness and beauty—a dialect of wondrous fascination aud power when 228 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. uttered with the strange gesticulation and expression of the reverend author himself.* His next publication, which was similar in style and manner, was entitled, ‘ Orations for Missionaries after the Apostolic School,’ and was dedicated to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the poet of the mystic philosophy—another eccentric genius like himself, with whom he had formed an intimate acquaintance, and under whose dreamy influence, leading to unfathomable depths of speculation, the spirit of Edward Irving had now fallen. In 1820, and the two following years, Mr. Irving took a zealous part in the movement agaiust the circulation of the Apocrypha by the Bible Society. It was about this time, also, that he joined the Albury School of Prophets—a sect of religionists holding peculiar views on the subject of prophecy, and so called from the circumstance that, to develop and compare their opinions, they met at the residence of Mr. Henry Drummond at Albury Park, “ there to spend a whole week together for the purpose of consulting the Holy Scrip¬ tures.” It is said of Mr. Irving, that at one of these meetings, he happened to exclaim, in a moment of forgetfulness or irritation—“ Brethren, it is a sore trouble to the flesh for a man to have more light than his neighbours.” As already stated, however, it was not till the year 1827 that anything positively heterodox began to appear in his discourses. Hitherto his path had been eccentric but not erratic. He had moved in the peculiar orbit of the comet, but not in the unbridled career of the meteor that seems to obey no law. This was unfortunately his next movement. In the year above-mentioned he was first observed to speak in a totally new strain concerning the human nature of Christ, which, he affirmed, was sinful and corrupt, and that his striving against that corruption was the main part of his conflict. It was now that some of Mr. Irving’s friends began to be • Like the late minister of the Barony, Mr. Irving had lost the use of one eye, which, with his tall, imposing, and somewhat ungainly figure—very different from that of JDr Black—gave to bis action and appearance in the pulpit a peculiar, wild, prophet-liko expression. REV. EDWARD IRVING, A.M. 229 alarmed, with good reason, for his soundness in the faith. In 1828, however, he boldly developed his peculiar views in a new publication—the largest work he had yet published— ‘ Sermons, Lectures, and Occasional Discourses,’ in three closely printed octavo volumes. It is singular that little con¬ troversial notice was excited by this publication. In the spring of the following year, 1829, he visited Scotland; and the worthy burgesses of Annan, proud of the fame of their townsman, seized the opportunity to do him honor by electing him to serve as their representative elder in the General Assembly of that year. His election was annulled by the Assembly, on the motion of the late Dr. Cook, but simply on the ground of its irregularity; and though a discussion took place, and Irving himself was heard at the bar, not the slightest objection was urged on the score of his opinions. These, indeed, could only have been taken up by the regular proceeding of a libel, and the formal objection was found sufficient to exclude him, by a large majority of votes, from taking his seat in the Assembly. In the meantime, he was far from concealing his peculiar and paradoxical tenets. In the course of the following month (June, 1829) he preached twice at Dumfries, to congregations numbering from twelve to thirteen thousand persons; and the following summary of the doctrines propounded by him on that occasion, will show that his peculiarities were now beginning to extend to a great variety of subjects. “ In all his public appearances here,” says a writer in one of the Dumfries journals of that period, “ Mr. Irving has brought forward, more or less prominently, his peculiar dogmata relative to baptism ; to the immediate downful of Popery; to the very near approach of the millennium, with the personal presence of Jesus Christ on earth; to the temptable and sin¬ ful human nature of Jesus Christ, who was prevented from actual guilt only by the unmeasured possession of the Holy Spirit; to the redemption of the terraqueous globe, with all its animals, reptiles, vegetables, and minerals [!]—a doctrine 230 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. overlooked in all our pulpits, although little inferior, he thiuks, in importance to the redemption of man, &c.” Mr. Irving’s discourses on these occasions were all extempore, or were, at least, delivered without the aid of notes. The first burst of the storm which the promulgation of these opinions created, did not fall on Mr. Irving himself, hut on one of his disciples or adherents, the Rev. A. J. Scott, who had obtained, through his influence, a call to the Scotch Church at Woolwich. It was in connection with the trial discourses of this gentleman that the subject was first taken up by the Presbytery of London, on the 20th April, 1830; and in the course of that and the following year numerous discussions took place in London. While these were in pro¬ gress it so happened that one of the members of the Court, the Rev. H.B. M’Lean, who had likewise imbibed the heresy, received a presentation to the church of Dreghorn, in Ayr¬ shire. This brought the case before the Synod of Glasgow and Ayr, who set aside Mr. M'Lean’s presentation ; but the question being carried by appeal before the General Assembly, the finding of the Synod was reversed on the motion of the late Dr. Cook, and Mr. M’Lean was settled in the parish of Dreghorn. In the meantime, as regards Mr. Irving himself, a new and extraordinary feature was added to the case. It was on the 16th October, 1830, at one of his prayer-meetings, that the strange phenomenon of some of his friends or hearers ad¬ dressing the audience in ‘unknown tongues’ began to make its appearance; and these unwonted ‘ demonstrations of the Spirit ’ were afterwards of frequent occurrence in his congre¬ gation, in the tune of divine service, to the no small alarm of ladies, and persons of delicate nerves, who were some¬ times quite overpowered by sudden ebullitions of strange jargon from different parts of the church. This state of things could not be permitted to continue; and, accordingly, in 1832 the trustees of the church took up the subject, and brought the case in regular form before the Presbytery. By REV. EDWARD IRVING, A.M. 231 this time Mr. Irving’s aberrations had multiplied tenfold; and the Presbytery, on meeting to hear and consider the complaint, were even interrupted during the reading of the charges by some individual in the audience who was suddenly moved by the Spirit to fulminate a warning to the Court in the unknown tongue. The Court, however, calmly proceeded to consider the case; and in May, 1832, Mr. Irving was formally deposed by the London Presbytery, in consequence of which he became dispossessed of his cure as minister of the National Scotch Church in Regent Square. Mr. Irving had enough of adherents to support him in removing to another place of worship ; but it now remained for the Presbytery of Annan, by which he had been licensed to preach the Gospel, to call him to account for his opinions, and either to confirm or revoke the authority by which he continued to preach as a licentiate of the Church of Scotland. He was therefore summoned to appear before that Presbytery on March 13,1833, to answer the charges that were to be brought against him. He arrived at his native place on the day pre¬ ceding the trial; and such was the excitement created, that upwards of two thousand persons crowded the parish church in which the Presbytery assembled. A scene of the greatest confusion occurred. Mr. Irving, being heard in his own defence, addressed himself rather to the audience than to the court, in a long rambling harangue, in which he was re¬ peatedly interrupted, and reminded that he stood at the bar of the Presbytery to answer the charges against him, and not to preach to the people. These interruptions only provoked him to recriminate. His mind evidently wandered. He even declared the General Assembly to be nothing but a synagogue of Satan. A scene of excitement and uproar en¬ sued, in the midst of which Irving, accompanied by some of his adherents, rushed from the Court; and the Moderator, afterwards pronounced the sentence by which he was solemnly deposed from the office of the holy ministry. But Edward Irving was not to be thus silenced. He 232 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. preached on the following day from a tent to a very large congregation. He then returned to London, and continued for some time to minister to his own adherents; but ulti- inately that incipient disease which had probably been work- iug in his system for years, began to undermine his physical strength; and in the autumn of the following year he was advised to proceed to Scotland, with a view to the recovery of his health. The place in which he sought an asylum was Glasgow, where he had still an extensive circle of friends, though few adherents to his new religious creed; and on his return to this city, those who had known him in his better days could not fail to remark that his frame was greatly attenuated, and that, indeed, his whole appearance was sadly changed. So long, however, as his strength permitted, he presided at meetings in the Lyceum, at which he continued to express his peculiar doctrines. But the course of his life and labours was drawing to a close. The disease under which he suffered was internal inflammation; and it formed a significant symptom of his case, that his pulse was often at 140, and by no treatment could it be reduced under 100. At length, after a confinement to his bedroom of two weeks, he died on the 8th December, 1834, under the roof of a gentleman in this city to whom he was virtually a stranger, but who sought his society from a regard to his character, which still commanded respect. Mrs. Irving had accom¬ panied her husband to Scotland, and enjoyed the melancholy satisfaction of attending him in his last moments. He died at the comparatively early age of 42. Besides having buried several children, he left behind him one son and two daughters —the eldest ten years of age, and the youngest six months, at his death. His funeral was attended by the clergy of the city with few exceptions, and by most of the elders and deacons of St. John’s parish, in connection with whom he had spent pro¬ bably the three most useful years of his life.* * Fov some account of the ‘Irvingites' iu Glasgow, boo Appendix. GLASGOW NECROrOUS. 233 CHAPTER XXI. ROBERT MUTER, D.D.—THOMAS THOMSON, M.D., F.R.S.S. L. AND E. “ The sacred seer, with scientific truth. In Grecian temples taught the attentive youth With ceaseless change how restless atoms pass From life to life, a transmigrating mass ; Whence drew the enlightened sage the moral plan. That man should ever be the friend of man. Should eye with tenderness all living forms, His brother emmets and his sister worms 1 ” The next and last conspicuous monument to which we shall call attention in this compartment, is that which is erected to the memory of the late Rev. Dr. Robert Muter of Duke Street United Associate Congregation. This stately monu¬ ment is one of the most prominent objects in the Necropolis, and was among the first erected in Omega. It stands a little to the south-east of Dr. Black’s, and is a large and elegant structure, in the Grecian Doric style. It consists of four fluted columns resting on a massive basement, and support¬ ing a square entablature, enriched by numerous striking and impressive devices. The site of the tomb was selected by Dr. Muter himself, and is within view of his own residence of Broompark, lying a little to the eastward, and still occupied by his family, by whom the monument was erected in 1844. It was designed by Mr. John Stephen, who died in Novem¬ ber, 1850. The following inscription is on the north side of the base:— To the Memory of the Rev. Robert Muter, D.D., Minister of the United Associate Congregation, Duke Street, Glasgow. He was born at Stonehouse on the 13th of August, 1771 ; Ordained on the 14th of August, 1800 ; And died on the 5th of May, 1S4‘2. in the 71st year of his ago, And the 42d of his Ministry. The career of a Christian pastor is seldom invested with 234 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. much of stirring adventure to give to his brief memoirs a deep biographic interest, and the life of Dr. Muter consti¬ tutes, in this respect, no exception to the general rule. He was horn of highly respectable parents, in the parish of Stonehouse, Lanarkshire. Beared within the pale of the Established Church, of which, at an early age, he became a member, he entered on his studies with a view to sacred office in that connection. It was the church of his fathers, and he had been attached to it from early predilection; hut, convinced that the reasons of Secession were well founded, he joined, in 1794, the Associate Congregation of Strathaven, then under the pastoral charge of the Kev. Mr. Stewart; and was soon afterwards admitted to the Divinity Hall at Whit¬ burn, presided over by the Kev. Mr. Bruce, in connection with the General Associate Synod. Having prosecuted his literary and theological studies with great success, he was licensed to preach the Gospel about the close of the last century by the Associate Presbytery of Kilmarnock. He is said to have entered on this great work with deep impressions of his responsibility. His delivery is described by a com¬ petent judge as distinct, varied, and eloquent, and the intona¬ tions of his voice as solemnly impressive. His short probationary course was marked by a very high degree of popularity. He was soon called by the congregation of Leslie, and he was also called by the congregation in Duke Street, then styled the Havannah Street congregation, in 1800. We read that “ for many years subsequent to this period his high talent and impressive, varied delivery, not to mention a handsome intellectual countenance and dignified person, combined to render him one of the most popular preachers of the time. In the exercise of prayer,” it is added, “ he stood almost unrivalled for aptness, variety of sentiment, and sacred unction; and there is every reason to believe that his ministrations were followed by the best effects in the experience of many.” Soon after his settlement it became necessary, from the great increase of the congregation, to ROBERT MUTER, D.D. 235 erect a larger and more commodious place of worship, and this continued for above twenty years under his ministry to be filled to overflowing. He remained pastor of this congre¬ gation till his death, in 1842—pursuing the even tenor of his way, and keeping aloof from political and religious contro¬ versy. It is worthy of remark, that although he became, from conviction in early life, a dissenter from the Established Church in which his fathers had worshipped, he rested satis¬ fied with following the light of his own conscience, and never engaged in any crusade which had for its object the injury or overthrow of the Establishment. Near Dr. Muter’s monument, a slender, smooth, round pillar, crowned with a ball or sphere, on which is perched a dove with an olive leaf in its mouth, is one of the most chaste and graceful memorials in the Necropolis. We allude to it more particularly, as forming one of a line of elegant tombstones, behind which a walk proceeds westward from Dr. Muter’s monument, leading us back to the point from which we started on our journey through Omega. This was at Dr. Dick’s monument, to which we now return, advancing to the western extremity of the walk above-mentioned, and then descending to the carriage-way between Dr. Dick’s ceno¬ taph and Mr. Atkinson’s. In doing so, the visitor will observe, in a line almost directly westward from Dr. Black’s monument, a tall obelisk, ‘in memory of James MacpWbrson, surgeon - dentist;’ and near this, an elegant structure, erected to the late Finlay Tower, Esq., who died 1st Novem¬ ber, 1845. Having thus returned to Dr. Dick’s monument, we now take our leave of Omega, and proceed to Sigma, which con¬ stitutes, as previously stated, the principal portion of the southern half of the summit. It embraces also a variety of beautiful structures—some of them erected to persons of considerable local celebrity; and one in particular indicates the grave of a man whose fame is not local, but European. We allude to a neat, unassuming monument, which stands 23G GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. at the extreme north-western angle of this compart¬ ment, nearly confronting the grave of Dr. Wardlaw, and almost immediately opposite the cenotaph erected to the late Mr. Atkinson. At this stone, the student of chemical philosophy will pause with a sentiment of reverence on reading the following inscription :— Thomas Thomson, M.D., F.R.S.S. L. & E., Professor of Chemistry in the University of Glasgow. Died 2d July, 1S52. Aged 79 years. We have stated that the fame of Dr. Thomson is European —we ought to have said world-wide. The celebrity of a man of science is cosmopolitan—it is not circumscribed by the limits of the language in which he writes; and the late Dr. Thom¬ son devoted his whole life to science. Wherever chemistry is studied, his name and writings are known, and bis immense labors appreciated. Though not the author of any remark¬ able discovery, he did perhaps more than any other man to promote the discoveries of others, to diffuse the knowledge and the study of his favorite science, and to establish on the solid basis of experiment its great principles. As the in¬ ventor cf the use of chemical symbols—as the author of a valuable improvement in chemical nomenclature—as the first to recognize the truth and importance of the Atomic Theory, and aS its most successful and most indefatigable advocate during a long life—this truly eminent pliilospher is justly entitled to be ranked among the greatest men of our age. Dr. Thomson was born at the village of Crieff, Perthshire, on the 12th of April, 1773, and was the seventh child and youngest son of John Thomson and Elizabeth Ewan. After receiving his elementary education at the parish school, he was sent, in 1785, by the advice of his uncle, the Kev. John Ewan, minister of Whittingham in East Lothian, to the grammar-school of Stirling, then under the management of Dr. Doig, an accomplished classical scholar, and the friend and correspondent of Lord Karnes. There he remained two THOMAS THOMSON, M.D., F.R.S. 237 years, pursuing his classical studies with much success; and having written a Latin Horatian poem of considerable merit which attracted the attention of Professor M‘Cormack of St. Andrews, he was sent, in 1787, to that university, where he obtained a competition bursary, which entitled him to board and lodging in the college for three years. In 1791, he became tutor in the family of Mr. Kerr of Blackshiels, and continued to prosecute his studies with a view to the ministerial office in the Church of Scotland. But his passion for the physical sciences predominated, and at the end of 1795, desirous of studying medicine, he went to reside in Edinburgh with his elder brother, afterwards the Kev. Dr. James Thomson of the parish of Eccles, who had succeeded Bishop Walker as colleague to Dr. Gleig in the editorship of the Encyclopedia Britanniea. In the session of 1795-6, he attended the lectures of the celebrated Dr. Joseph Black, formerly of Glasgow University—the discoverer of ‘latent heat’ and ‘fixed air,’ and to whom we have already alluded as ‘ the father of modern chemistry.’ Of this great and good man, Dr. Thomson always spoke in terms of the utmost veneration, as well as of gratitude for those invaluable in¬ structions which seem to have fanned into a flame, if they did not first awaken in his mind, the passion for chemistry. During the session of his attendance at Dr. Black’s lectures, Mr. Thomson wrote the article ‘Sea’ for the Encyclopedia Britanniea; and in November, 1796, he succeeded his bro¬ ther in the editorship of the Supplement to the third edition of that work—a position which he continued to occupy till 1800, having graduated as Doctor of Medicine in 1799. The first outline of his System of Chemistry was sketched during this period, when the author was not yet thirty years of age, and was embodied in the Supplement under the articles Chemistry, Mineralogy, Vegetable Substances, Animal Sub¬ stances, and Dyeing Substances; all of which appeared before the year 1800. The principal features of his system con¬ sisted in the division of all bodies into two classes—com- 238 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. bustibles and supporters of combustion—and the gradual synthetical manner in which he proceeded from the elements and simpler bodies to the more complex. It was in the article Mineralogy, written about the year 1708, that he first introduced the use of symbols into chemical science, express¬ ing compound bodies by the initial letters of their constitu¬ ents—a method in which he was followed by Berzelius, and which, with subsequent important improvements suggested by the Atomic Theory, is now universally adopted. With reference to this part of his life, and the new and compre¬ hensive principles originally developed in these articles, his accomplished nephew and son-in-law, Dr. Robert Dundas Thomson, justly observes—“When we recollect that many of these remarkable views began to be devised by the self-taught chemist in a narrow close in the High Street of Edinburgh, the author being in the receipt of a salary of £50 a-year, from which he sent T15 to his aged parents; and when we contrast such a picture with the costly education and refined apparatus of the modern laboratory, it is impossible to avoid the inference, that Britain has lost in him a genius of no common order.” In the winter of 1800-1, Dr.Thomson first gave a chemical course; and he never afterwards relinquished the character of a lecturer. He was therefore before the public in that capacity during the long period of fifty-two years; and for some time before his death he considered himself the oldest teacher in Europe. He continued to lecture in Edinburgh till 1811; and during that time he opened a laboratory for pupils, probably the first established in Great Britain. But neither his lectures nor his laboratory absorbed his whole attention. In 1802 he published the first edition of his System of Chemistry, a development of the original article in the Encyclopedia. This work afterwards expanded into several volumes, growing with the progress of the science; and although the arrangement which he founded on the THOMAS THOMSON, M.D., R.R.S. 239 combustibility of bodies is now exploded,* it was then en¬ tirely consistent with the state of chemical knowledge, and the book was long universally regarded as the standard work on the science. In that year, also, he invented the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, in which he at first introduced the oxygen and hydrogen into one vessel; but the whole apparatus having blown up, and nearly proved fatal to him, he afterwards adopted the precaution of putting the gases into separate vessels. In August, 1801, in a paper on ‘ Lead,’ he first published his new nomenclature of the oxides and acids, in which Latin and Greek numerals were prefixed to denote the proportional amount of oxygen. This paper was translated and published in France; and the nomenclature was speedily introduced into that country, as well as adopted in our own. To the in¬ telligent reader it is needless to say how much this important improvement contributed to the progress of chemistry. It was, in fact, a further extension of his system of symbols, the name being rendered an index to the constitution of the compound. The same year was memorable in Dr. Thomson’s life for bringing to his knowledge a theory which lies at the founda¬ tion of modern chemistry, and of which he became the great exponent. It was on the 20tli of August, 1801, that he went to Manchester, and visited the celebrated Mr. Dalton, who ex¬ plained to him his new views on the composition of bodies, now known as the Atomic Theory, which teaches, that bodies tend to combine in fixed or definite proportions; and that when they unite in more than one proportion, the amount of the one or the other in each successive compound is a multiple of that in the first.* Perceiving at a glance the • Of two bodies, such as oxygen and hydrogen, which by their combination produce the phenomenon of combustion, it is evidently quite impossible to say which is the com¬ bustible and which the supporter of combustion. If our atmosphere consisted of coal-gas, in that case oxygen or common air transmitted through the gas pipes would take the place of the combustible, and burn like common gas. t The author hopes to demonstrate, in a work which he is now preparing on this sub- ject, that the existence of solid atoms of matter, apart from the forces which they exert, is consistent neither with sound reason nor with observed phenomena ; that matter, in short, is a mere dynamical system of attractive and repulsive forces, according to the beautiful theory first propounded by Boscovich. 240 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. immense importance of this theory, with which he was highly delighted, as throwing a Hood of new light on his favorite science, Dr. Thomson noted down at the time Mr. Dalton’s opinions and arguments; and in 1807, when he published the third edition of his ‘ System,’ he availed him¬ self of that gentleman’s permission to insert the sketch he had taken, before the inventor himself had given it to the world. Up to the period when this edition of his ‘ System appeared, Dr. Thomson is believed to have been Dalton’s only convert. The ingenious aud accurate Dr. Wollaston was the next philosopher of any eminence who, in a paper read before the Royal Society, expressed similar views. Mr. (afterwards Sir Humphrey) Davy remained for some time a stubborn unbeliever; but was at length convinced, and became a most strenuous supporter of the same theory. Dr. Thomson, who occasionally visited London to attend the meetings of the Royal Society, was now on terms of intimacy with these and other eminent men. With reference to his early exposition and continued advocacy of the Atomic Theory, Walter Crum, Esq., F.R.S.,* the distinguished vice-president of the Glasgow Philosophical Society, says—“ I reckon this the most im¬ portant proceeding of his life, unless we place before it his ‘ System of Chemistry,’ the influence of the earlier editions of which it is difficult to estimate.” It was also during this period that Dr. Thomson conducted his important investigations for Government on the malt and distillation questions, which laid the basis of the Scottish excise legislation. On that occasion he is stated by Dr. Robert Thomson to have invented the instrument which is still used by the Excise in Scotland, under the name of * See note appended to our life of the late Mr. Ewing of Strathleven, p. 197—“ Une nouvello obligation nous est encore imposde a cet dgard par les considerations que vient de publier un des chimistes-fabricants les plus distinguds do l’Angleterre, M. Walter Crum, qui, dans son travail, tend a faire revivre l’opinion de Hellot et de Le Pileur d’Ap- ligny. . . . pWsentdo sous une nouvelle forme et avec la reserve d’un esprit essentiellcment experimental .”—Truite Theorique et Pratique de VImpression des Tissus, par J. Persoz. Tome ii. pp.130, 137. THOMAS THOMSON, M.D., F.It.S. 241 Allan’s saccliarometer; and, as the fruit of his researches on this subject, he afterwards wrote the article ‘ Distillation ' in the Edinburgh Encyclopedia. In 1810, he published his ‘ Elements of Chemistry,’ in a single volume—a work intended to furnish an accurate out¬ line of the actual state of the science. In 1812, he produced his ‘ History of the Royal Society ’—a most elaborate work, and which, as Mr. Crum remarks, might rather be called a ‘ Digest of the Philosophical Transactions.’ Having finished this laborious undertaking, he sailed, in August the same year, for a tour in Sweden, in company with his friend Mr. William Ritchie of the High School, Edinburgh; and after his return he published his observations on the natural and political history of that country—a work which is still much esteemed. In 1813, Dr. Thomson removed to London, and projected the ‘ Annals of Philosophy,’ a scientific periodical, in which he immediately commenced an elaborate treatise on the Dal¬ tonian theory, and appended to it an extensive list of atomic weights. The numbers for the elementary bodies in this list have been found by subsequent research to be exceedingly near the truth. They attracted the notice of Dr. Prout; and in November, 1815, that chemist announced, anonymously, his celebrated doctrine, that the atomic weights of all bodies, solid as well as gaseous, are multiples of the atomic weight of hydrogen. Thomson was again the first to acknowledge the truth, and to appreciate the importance, of this discovery. He immediately adopted it; and in November, 1818, he pub¬ lished a new table of atomic weights, embodying its principles, and taking advantage of all the improvements that had been made in analysis during the five years that had elapsed since he published his first table. Even with these illustrations in its favor, Berzelius refused to accept the doctrine of Prout; but the subsequent experiments of Dumas and other dis¬ tinguished chemists confirmed Dr. Thomson’s numbers; and the theory is now recognised as the expression of a law that is all but established. <4 249 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. Dr. Thomson continued to conduct the ‘Annals’ during the five years of his residence in London, and for fuur years more after he was settled in Glasgow. It was in 1817, at the recommendation of Sir Joseph Banks, that he was ap¬ pointed to succeed Dr. Cleghorn as lecturer on Chemistry in the University of this city; and in the following year, at the instance of the Chancellor of the University, the late Duke of Montrose, the appointment was made a regius pro¬ fessorship. The numerous calls upon his time in the dis¬ charge of the duties of this office, and his distance from the place of publication, induced him, in 1821, to resign the editorship of the ‘ Annals ’ in favor of Mr. Bichard Phillips, one of his oldest friends; and in 1827, the journal was pur¬ chased by Mr. Bichard Taylor, and merged in the Philo¬ sophical Magazine. As soon after his appointment to the professorship as he was enabled to obtain a laboratory, Dr. Thomson commenced a series of systematic researches into the atomic constitution of bodies, the results of which he published in 1825, in his ‘ Attempt to Establish the First Principles of Chemistry by Experiment,’ in 2 vols. The numbers given in this most important work, further tended to support the doctrine announced by Prout—so much so, indeed, that Berzelius charged the author with assuming or adapting the numbers to agree with his theory. “ I shall not repeat the expres¬ sions,” writes Mr. Crum on this subject, “ but in touching the moral character of Dr. Thomson, as if he had purposely in¬ vented results, he showed how little he knew the man. Dr. Thomson was incapable of deceiving others when not him¬ self deceived, and that is the question alone worthy of our attention.” In 1831, he published his ‘ Plistory of Chemistry,’ which has been justly characterised by the same gentleman as ‘ one of the most delightful books that can be read by a zealous chemist.’ It is indeed a most interesting work, and like all the publications of the learned author, contributed largely THOMAS THOMSON, M.D., F.R.S. 243 to the diffusion of the study of chemistry. Tiffs work was written by Dr. Thomson in the midst of his arduous pre¬ parations for another, of a more severe character. After the publication of his ‘First Principles,’ in 1825, he devoted him¬ self to the examination of the inorganic kingdom of nature, “purchasing and collecting”—says Dr. It. Thomson, “every species of mineral obtainable, until his museum, which he has left behind him, became not only one of the noblest mineral collections in the kingdom, but a substantial monument of his taste, and of his devotion to science. The results of his investigation of minerals were published in 1836, in his 1 Out¬ lines of Mineralogy and Geology,’in 2 vols.; and contained an account of about fifty new minerals which he had discovered in a period of little more than ten years.” This was the last important work which Dr. Thomson published; but he after¬ wards contributed papers to ‘ The Records of General Science,’ a journal started by his nephew; and we have omitted to enumerate, as quite incompatible with our limits, his various and valuable contributions to Nicholson’s Journal, to the Philosophical Transactions, to the Annals of Philosophy, and to the Proceedings of the Glasgow Philosophical Society, of which he was elected President in 1834. For the long period of twenty-three years, he continued to discharge all the duties of his chair without assistance; and in that period, not only did he restore chemistry to its pro¬ per place in the University as a branch of physical science, but, although as a lecturer he was cold, unimpassioned, and apparently indifferent, his genuine devotion to the science was known—his fame attracted pupils from all quarters— Glasgow was regarded as the source of chemical inspiration— and there went forth from his laboratory a band of young and enthusiastic men, who readily acknowledge that they owe to his example and precepts whatever reputation they may have since acquired. In 1841, being then in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and feeling his strength decline, he associated with him his 241 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. nephew, Dr. Robert Thomson, confining his own labors to the Inorganic course, which lie continued to deliver till 1840. The dangerous illness of his second son, from disease con- traded in India, hurried him for the winter of that year to Nice; and Dr. Robert Thomson was appointed by the Univer¬ sity to discharge the entire duties of the chair, which he con¬ tinued to do until his uncle’s death. For two or three years ufter retiring from these duties, the latter was accustomed to attend the examinations for degrees; but in consequence of the increasing defect in his hearing, he ultimately relin¬ quished this also ; and confined his public labors to attend¬ ance at the fortnightly meetings of the Glasgow Philosophi. cal Society. His last appearance there was on the Gth November, 1850, when he read a biographic account of his old and affectionate friend, Dr. Wollaston. During the early part of the year 1852, his frame became visibly weaker; and latterly, having removed to the country, where it was hoped the freshness of the summer-air might brace his languishing powers, his strength continued to decline; “but no pain,’’ writes his distinguished nephew, “ appeared to mar the tranquil exit of the philosophic spirit. To inquiries after his health, ‘ I am quite well, but weak,' the good old man replied, within a few hours from his last summons.” On the morning of the 2d July, he breathed his last, in the bosom of his family, at his temporary residence at Kilmun, on the lovely shores of the Holy Loch. Dr. Thomson married, in 1818, Miss Agnes Colquhoun, daughter of Mr. Colquhoun, distiller, near Stirling, with whom he enjoyed uninterrupted happiness till her death, in 1834. He left one son, Dr. Thomas Thomson, of the Bengal army, the author of ‘ Travels in Thibet,’ a work -which ap¬ peared shortly after his father’s death—the result of several years’ researches into the botany and physical structure of the Himalaya mountains. He left also one daughter, mar¬ ried to her cousin, Dr. R. D. Thomson. The character of the deceased philosopher we shall sketch in the words of MONUMENTS IN SIGMA. 213 Mr. Walter Crura, who, as his colleague and associate, both in the Royal and the Glasgow Philosophical Society, en¬ joyed the best opportunities of forming a correct judgment:— “Of Dr. Thomson’s personal character I can scarcely speak too highly. All who knew him must have marked his manly independ¬ ence—the unbending rectitude of the course which he invariably pur¬ sued—tho sincerity displayed in all his intercourse—the readiness with which he gave his assistance when it was wanted. I agree most thoroughly, from personal observation, in all that has been said of tho kindness of his disposition and the steadiness of his friendships; and I believe there is not one of his pupils who does not remember him with affection and esteem. More than twenty years since, 1 asked him to name one of his pupils for a situation of some promise in Lancashire. He recommended a youug man, who subsequently accepted the ap¬ pointment, and who is now an extensive manufacturer. On being asked by a friend why he had not named a nephew of his own, who was also well qualified, Dr. Thomson answered that tho other had a mother and a sister to support. That former pupil travelled from Manchester, to follow tho remains of his master to the grave.’'* CHAPTER XXII. REV. WILLIAM BRASH—WILLIAM M‘GAVIN, AUTHOR OF * THE PROTESTANT,’ ETC. “ Lives of gooi inen all remind us We can make our lives sublime. Ami. departing, leave behind us Footsteps on the sandt> of time ; 41 Footprints, that perhaps another. Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked hrother. Seeing, shall take heart again.”—LojTGPPtTour. In last chapter we entered upon Sigma, beginning with the late Dr. Thomas Thomson’s monument—the site of which • Proceedings of the Glas :ow Philosophical Society, vol. iii, p 254 Soc also a memoir by Dr. R. D. Thomson, in the ‘Literary Uazotte,’ for July lo and 17, 1852. 240 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. we may recall to the reader as nearly opposite the inscrip¬ tion on Dr. Dick's cenotaph. We now proceed to peruse the remainder of the northern section of this compartment, terminating in Mr. M'Gavin’s monument. Adjacent to the grave of the late Professor Thomson, is a handsome double tombstone, belonging to Messrs. Thomas Neilson and Joseph Swan. The next is the property of Mr. William Brodie; and then follows a peculiar stone, dis¬ tinguished by its dark-brown color, and curiously mottled surface, strikingly contrasting with those in the vicinity, and bearing an inscription in gilt letters, which fixes the date of its erection, by Mr. John Tait, in 1838. It is worthy of remark that this stone, which, in point of material as well as design, is really very pretty, and seems to give promise of being durable, was taken from the neighbouring trap-quarry, and is therefore part of the material of the rock on which it stands. Instead of advancing directly to Mr. M'Gavin’s monument, the visitor may now turn aside by a walk which proceeds eastward, leading in front of a line of elegant tombstones, which constitute the northern limit of Sigma. The first of these is an elaborate Gothic structure, the property of Mr. Adam Paterson, writer; and further to the east is a some¬ what similar monument in the early English style, to the memory of Mr. Alexander Craig, merchant. Both of these were designed by Mr. Charles Wilson of this city. In the same line are one or two handsome monuments of Aberdeen granite, and others of a superior class, to which we refrain from alluding more particularly. Here we again emerge upon the carriage-way, near the con¬ spicuous obelisk erected to the late Mr. Kettle; and, on turning round to the right, one of the first monuments which meet us in our progress in this direction, is another obelisk, exactly similar both in material and proportions, inscribed to the memory of the late Mr. Fleming of Sawmillfield. Pursuing the walk which passes between this obelisk and the REV. WILLIAM BRASH. 247 elegant adjacent monument erected by Mr. John Walker, the visitor will observe a somewhat peculiar tombstone of white marble, surmounted by a cross, encompassed with a ring or circle of the same material. The meaning of the cross is obvious; and the circle, we presume, is intended as an emblem of eternity and the Divine perfections. Another walk then diverges to the left, which passes in front of some of the finest monuments in this department of Sigma, standing with their backs to the carriage-way. The first is the property of Dr. James Henderson, minister of Free St. Enoch’s, and the second of Mr. William Hamilton of Middleton ; the third, erected by Mr. Laurie, of Laurieston, in memory of his brother, is a beautiful square monument in the Roman style, crowned with an elegant urn; the cor¬ nice is enriched with vine-leaves, and under the inscription is carved the family-arms; The last in this group is dedi¬ cated to the memory of the late Mr. William Dennistoun of Iielvingrove. Here we are re-conducted to the carriage-way, near a point at which it divides into two—one branch continuing south¬ ward, the other proceeding to the right, and passing through the middle of Sigma to the western brow of the hill, a* Mr. M’Gavin’s monument. Keeping the latter object in view, and confining our attention, in the meantime, to the northern division of Sigma, we first encounter on this side a promi¬ nent obelisk—one of the oldest monuments in the Necropolis —erected in 1836, by Mr. William Jack, ‘in filial and affec¬ tionate remembrance ’ of his deceased parents. The next is a tall and elaborate Elizabethan structure, consisting of a lofty pedestal, projecting into four wings in the form of a St. Andrew’s Cross, and supporting a truncated square pillar, which terminates in a cineral urn. In each of the four sides of the monument, a tablet of white marble is inserted; and over that which contains the principal inscrip¬ tion, the sculptor has carved an open Bible, and several closed volumes, which seem to bo carelessly piled on the top 248 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. of the pedestal. The inscription on the front tablet is in the foiLaying terms :— In Memory of The Rev. "William Brash. Born, 1st March, 1791. Ordained, 2Sth December, 1S15. Died, 21th November, 1S51, In the 5Sth year of his age, and 2Gth of his Ministry. Erected by his Family, As a tribute of gratef il affection, To a beloved and revered Father. This lamented gentleman was for many years associated as colleague with the late Rev. Dr. Kidston, of the United Pres¬ byterian church in East Campbell Street—a congregation which now enjoys the able ministrations of the Rev. John Ker, and is about to erect a new place of worship at the corner of Duke Street and Sydney Street. Mr. Brash was highly esteemed as an eloquent preacher and faithful minis¬ ter of the gospel. He was connected by birth and early training with the Burgher branch of what afterwards became the United Secession, and is now, by another happy union, the United Presbyterian Church. His father, James Brash, was an elder in the congregation of the late Dr. Peddie, of Bristo Street, Edinburgh. His mother, Elizabeth Inglis, was distinguished by her piety and benevolence. He lost his father in early life, but his mother survived to enjoy the satisfaction of seeing her son settled in Glasgow. A severe illness, wi h which he was seized after he had reached his sixteenth year, appears, as in many other cases, to have deepened his early religious impressions. From his youth his attention was directed to the ministry, and all his studies were pursued with that object in view. His education was con¬ ducted first at the High School of Edinburgh, (then under the rectorship of the celebrated Dr. Adam), and afterwards at the univei'sity of the same city. Both at school and col¬ lege he distinguished himself, and even in after life, amid the pressure of professional duties, he continued to cultivate Lis classical studies. He likewise obtained a prominent place REV. WILLIAM BRASH. 240 among Ms follow-students, by the force and fluency with which he expressed himself in the ‘Forum’—one of the most popular debating societies in the University, and to which the public were admitted by ticket as auditors. After the usual course at college, he entered the Associate Synod’s Theological Hall, at Selkirk, under Dr. Lawson; and while a student there, he attended also some sessions at the Divinity Classes of the Edinburgh University. He was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Associate Presby¬ tery of Edinburgh, in March, 1815, and was sent immediately afterwards to labor in the south of Scotland. He was then not more than twenty-one years of age, his manner was remarkably animated and earnest, and he was highly popular as a preacher. The East Campbell Street Congregation was at that time requiring a colleague to the Rev. Mr. Kid- ston, who had for some time been laid aside by affliction from public duty ; and Mr. Brash accepted a call to this congrega¬ tion, in preference to another which he received about the same time from Ecclefechan. Settled in Glasgow, he ad¬ dressed himself to his work with intense application, and for a time the entire charge of the congregation devolved upon him. His preaching, and more especially his lectures, were much admired; he was diligent in visitation from house to house, and bestowed not a little of his time in teaching the young. Of the missionary cause he was a warm friend, and an able and energetic advocate; and for a number of years he was mission-secretary to the United Secession Church. In these duties he continued to labor so long as his strength permitted; but at length decided symptoms of disease, the seat of which was afterwards ascertained to be in the heart, began to make their appearance. Compelled to withdraw from other duties, he continued for a time to be able to preach, but soon this also was beyond his strength ; and after enduring the painful alternations of the malady with singu¬ lar fortitude and Christian resignation for a period of two years, he died somewhat suddenly and unexpectedly at last, 250 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. on the 22d November, 1851. His death was deeply lamented by the congregation, who charged themselves with the care of his funeral; and also by an amiable family, who have piously erected, at their own expense, this elegant monument to his memory. It is worthy of remark, that though the health of Dr. Kidston appeared to be declining when the Eev. Mr. Brash was appointed to act as his colleague and successor, and though this relation continued for the long period of twenty- six years, the senior clergyman survived the younger, as appears from the inscription on a tomb in the Cathedral churchyard—“ In memory of the Eev. William Kidston, D.D., Glasgow, who died on the 23d October, 1852, in the 85th year of his age, and the ti3d of his ministry.” In front of Mr. Brash’s monument is a handsome tomb¬ stone, ‘sacred to the memory of Alexander Myers, Esq., merchant, Glasgow.’ The next is a triple antique-looking monument, erected by ‘John M'Symon, merchant, and Mar¬ garet Cumming, his wife,’ in memory of the late James Gumming, Esq. of Turnerfield, and other members of the family. The weeping figure on this somewhat remarkable tomb, which is fashioned in the shield-form so common in England, is finely moulded. The whole is painted a light grey, with the exception of the image of a dove perched at the base of the structure, with an olive leaf in its mouth, which is colored a slate-blue, and has really a very life-like appearance. Passing the rest of the monuments in this line, one of which bears a suitable inscription to the late ‘ Hugh M‘Laehlan, Esq., writer in Glasgow,’ and another is inscribed to the memory of ‘James Coulter Graham, M.D.,’ we now arrive at the conspicuous monument erected to the late Mr. William M‘Gavin, commonly known as ‘The Protestant.’* Occupying one of the most prominent positions on the very * We may here remark, that behind Mr. M‘Gavin’s monument are several elegant tombstones—one of which is a very graceful obelisk, displaying on the lower p-rt a beau¬ tiful bas-relief figure in white marble, and erected to the memory of the deceased lady and two children of our distinguished olasgow artist, Daniel Aiacnee, li.S.A. WILLIAM H'GAYIN. 251 brow of the hill, this is not only one of the finest, but also one of the earliest structures that graced the summit of the Necropolis, having been erected in the month of November, 1801. It was designed by Mr. John Bryce, and executed by Mr. Ritchie, of Edinburgh. In style it is a mixture of Flemish and Elizabethan; and its general character has al¬ ready been given in describing the Rev. Mr. Brash’s monu- ment, the pedestal, or principal portion of which, is, in many respects, a reduced copy of Mr. M’Gavin’s; but the latter, instead of supporting a pillar, is crowned with a fine colossal statue, which is said to be an excellent likeness of the deceased. This production was the work of Mr. Forrest, the sculptor of the neighbouring statue of John Knox, and that of Lord Melville in Edinburgh. The monument is 35 feet high, including the statue, whigh is about eight feet; and on one side of the pedestal is placed the following inscription:— To the Memory of William M‘Gavin, Author of ‘The Protestant,’ &c. &c. Who died on the 23d August, 1832, aged 59 years. This Monument lias been erected By his Fellow-citizens. MDCCCXXXIV. The remains of Mr. M‘Gavin were not interred here, but in the crypt of Wellington Street Chapel, where a plain but elegant marble tablet was erected over his grave by his widow. The imposing structure in the Necropolis is therefore merely a public monument to his name, raised by a number of his admirers and friends, to testify the great estimation in which his labors were held, as well as their high appreciation of his private worth. It may be regarded in much the same light as that which is erected to the memory of John Knox, on the highest point of the hill—and which we have so fully described in a preceding chapter. Indeed, there is some¬ thing peculiarly appropriate in the proximity of these two monuments. The principles of Knox found an interpreter in M'Gavin; and that indomitable spirit of independence which characterised ‘The Reformer,’ was not wanting in 252 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. ‘The Protestant.’ Nay, as we have previously stated, it was the enthusiasm created by Mr. M‘Gavin’s writings that led to ihe erection of Knox’s monument, in which he took an active interest. William M‘Gavin was born on the 25th of August, 1773, in the parish of Auchinleck, Ayrshire. His father, James M*Gavin, who was born in 17 30, rented a considerable farm from Boswell of Auchinleck, the father of Johnson’s bio- grapher. The family consisted of live sons and one daughter; and William, the subject of this notice, was the third son. Of the early period of his life little would have been known, had it not happened that a few days before his death, he began to write a sketch of his own history, which, with the accustomed rapidity of his pen, he carried down in a few hours from his birth in 1773 to 1807. In this autobio¬ graphic fragment, he says :— “We were all employed in country work, as soon as We were fit for anything. None of us received more than a common village-school edu¬ cation except John, the eldest, who was my senior by eight years, and wh o was sent to a school in Cumnock, for the attainment of a better style of penmanship than Auchinleck afforded. He was afterwards sent to stud>- some branches in Glasgow, at what must have been reckoned considerable expense for a man in my father’s circumstances. In¬ deed, I have heard that my father was blamed by his neighbours for spending so much money, bringing up his son as a gentleman, and making him unfit for country work; though I recollect John did his full share of the work when at home, .besides, it turned out that a superior education was the means of bringing himself and all the rest of us forward in the world, and giving us an education that fitted us for business, without a shilling of expense to my father. I recollect perfectly well when my father took me to school for the first time, when I must have been six or seven years old. My course was a very short one ; the only books in use, after the spelling one, were the book of Proverbs and the Bible. When I could read the last, tolerably well, my education was finished, and I took my place with my brothers and the servants in all kinds of country work. My favorite employment, however, was tending the cattle, of which there were at least a score, all giving milk, which was made into cheese, the principal article of our home manufacture, in which my mother was understood to excel, as the goodwives in Ayrshire are said to do still. .... I read all that came in my way, which was not much ; but what I chiefly delighted in and conned over was a metrical paraphrase of the Song of Solomon, by Ralph Erskine. My brother John, who had a more scientific turn, studied Euclid while tending the cattle, drawing his diagrams with his staff on the sand M3 7 parents were both Seceders of the Anti-burgher division. My mother, whose name was McMillan, was of the strict race of Covenanters ; her father was an ex¬ tensive sheep farmer in the parish of Muirkirk.” WILLIAM 11‘GAVIN. 253 Such is the account of the humble parentage and early life of our author, as given in his own words. The episodes with which his narrative is interwoven are very interesting; but those who would wish to peruse them must read the memoir itself.* A very brief sketch is alone compatible with our limits. When young M‘Gavin was in his tenth year, his father sold otf his stock, and removed with his family to Paisley, intending to emigrate to the United States, the independence of which had just at that time been recog¬ nized by Great Britain, and the old man had warmly espoused the cause of the colonists. In Paisley, however, his family were soon engaged in different employments, and finding them able to provide for themselves, he never prosecuted bis intention of leaving this country, but remained in Paisley till his death, in 1789. William was first engaged as a draw- boy to a weaver, at a shilling a-week, and was soon bound apprentice to the trade. His brother, John, got employment as a teacher of writing and mathematics, which he followed for ten years with great success. William for some time attended his brother’s school in the evenings; and afterwards during a stagnation of trade, his master, not being able to find him employment, voluntarily gave up his indenture, by which fortunate occurrence, he was enabled to attend his brother’s school constantly for a whole year. He was then bound to another master for four years, which he served in a satisfactory manner. After that, he continued a year or two longer at the weaving on his own account; and after the death of his father, continued to live with his mother, whom he contributed to support out of his small earnings. In 1790, he finally abandoned the weaving, and entered the service of Mr. John Neilson, a bookseller and printer in Paisley. “Here,” he says, “I found employment more con¬ genial to my mind than the dull routine of the shuttle. I * “The Posthumous Works of the late William M'Cavin, author of ‘The Protestant/ Ac.; accompanied w ill a Memoir, including Autobiograph;-, lixtracts from his Corre¬ spondence, Writings/* £c., in two vols., 1834. 254 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. was initiated into the mysteries of printing and correcting the press; I saw almost every new book as it appeared, and got acquainted with many old ones.’’ At this time he began to study Latin with Mr. John Reid, who was then a weaver, and who by his savings in summer supported him- self at Glasgow College in winter. Mr. Reid afterwards mar- ried his only sister, and took the degree of M.D. at Glasgow College, practising for some years iu Paisley, and then in Glasgow, where he died in 1830. Our author’s Latin studies were, however, of very short duration, and he deeply regretted that he never enjoyed the opportunity of acquiring any proficiency iu that language. Of his religious views he says, that at this period of his life he was ‘ a decided Anti- burgher Seceder,’ and ‘ a Covenanter in principle.’ He was afterwards induced, in the course of his reading, to adopt most of the sentiments avowed by the new-light branches of the Secession, and he states that though still a Presbyterian Seceder, he was no longer a Covenanter. In 1793, his brother John relinquished the school, and entered into the thread-manufacturing business, in partner¬ ship with his father-in-law, Mr. Samuel Walker. William, who was then in the twentieth year of his age, succeeded his brother in the school, which he conducted for two years and a half. “My labour,” he says, “ both of body and mind in the school was very great; it was from seven in the morning in summer, and nine in winter, till ten in the evening all the year round, with barely the necessary intervals for refresh¬ ment.” This was excessive drudgery ; and our author states that he never looked back to this period of his life without pain, except for one circumstance; it brought him into inti- mate acquaintance with the Misses Campbell, two sisters, who kept a ladies’ boarding school, and with one of whom, Miss Isabella Campbell, he formed an attachment, which issued in their union seven years after he removed to Glasgow. In the meantime, tiring of the school, he set up a small WILLIAM M'GAVIN. 255 concern in the thread line, which he intended to pursue for the remainder of his life; but the business in which he had embarked was soon superseded by an article made of cotton on a different principle, and after struggling for two years he found it necessary to abandon it with no inconsiderable loss. His debts were paid by Mr. Walker, who took his own bill for the amount, and was afterwards repaid with interest. It was then that the event occurred which finally settled him in life. A friend in Glasgow recommended him to Mr. David Lamb of that city, a gentleman in the American trade, with whom he engaged as clerk and book-keeper, at a salary of LGO a-year, and entered on service on the first day of January, 1799. With reference to this occurrence he writes:— “Of the practice of business I knew little or nothing, but in that Mr. Lamb required no assistance. He had two sons at the grammar- school, whom I cheerfully undertook to instruct in geography, ac¬ counts, and other branches in my line. I was taken to board in the family free of expense. In the second year my salary was advanced to .£130, and afterwards to £300, still free board ; which, I suppose, for a mere clerk, was the highest in Glasgow at the time. After seven years’ service, I was taken into partnership, which continued with tho father aud his oldest sou for fifteen years. I was so comfortable with that family, that I never sought or formed any other mercantile con¬ nection.” Mr. M'Gavin was now launched into business. His habits of laborious activity, however, were not satisfied with even the onerous duties to which he was professionally devoted. He soon formed a connection with an Independent congregation, in which he was appointed to officiate as a preacher in 1802, and was afterwards elected as co-pastor, along with the Rev. James Ramsay, in 1804. The rest of his autobiography is occupied with interesting details connected with his religious labors, into which it is unnecessary that we should follow him. He seems to have formed a very modest estimate of his own powers as an orator. He says—“ I was not a popular, perhaps I should say, scarcely an acceptable preacher, beyond the small circle of our own members, who never exceeded forty in number. I cannot say how far some of them even bore with me out of mere courtesy, as my services cost them 250 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. nothing. I had never studied the graces of oratory; my voice was husky and unharmonious, and my manner suffi¬ ciently awkward.” It appears that he wrote his sermons in short hand, and committed them to memory with great ease. The congregation, however, did not prosper, and in 1807 he withdrew from the connection, and applied to Mr. Ewing’s church to be admitted a member. He afterwards preached occasionally, but not regularly ns before. “I have had the happiness,” says Mr. Ewing, “ to know some other Christians, remarkable for personal exertion, at the same time, in tem¬ poral and spiritual affairs. But of all the men I ever knew in my life, Mr. M‘Gavin stands alone as an author, having added to all the mingled avocations of a merchant, a factor, a trustee, an arbiter, a banker, a teacher, a preacher, and a minister of the Gospel—the most astonishing number and variety of able and successful publications.” This brings us to the literary life of our author, on which we have little to say, except that most of his earlier essays appeared in newspapers and magazines. He also attempted poetry in his youth, and some of his verses, though not of the highest excellence, exhibit a fine appreciation of the beauties of nature, and even a dash of romance in his composition, which one would not have expected from the style of his sub¬ sequent productions. Some of his published sermons were held in considerable estimation. The letters embodied in the memoir prefixed to his posthumous works are often highly amusing, and exhibit in a fresh and pleasing light his first impressions of England and various parts of Scotland. ‘ The Protestant,’ however, is the work on which his per¬ manent reputation is built, and originated in the following manner:—About the end of May, 1818, an Oratorio was held in the Roman Catholic Chapel in Glasgow, for the benefit of some schools, or societies, connected with the Chapel; and in an account of it given by the ‘ Glasgow Chronicle,’ something was added regarding the pretended holiness of the building. Upon this paragraph Mr. M'Gaviu animad- WILLIAM 11‘GAVIN. 257 verted in a letter to the Editor, signed, ‘A Protestant,’ which was replied to by a letter, signed, ‘Amicus Veritatis.’ The result was, a long newspaper controversy, and Mr. M‘Gavin, foreseeing that the proper discussion of the subject would be likely to encroach too far upon the goodness of the Editor of the ‘Chronicle'and his readers, intimated his intention of carrying it on in a separate weekly publication, to be called • The Protestant.’ This was accordingly commenced, and assumed the form of a series of Essays, in which are dis¬ cussed the distinguishing features between the Christianity of the New Testament and that of the Romish Priesthood. ‘The Protestant' continued to be published regularly every Saturday, during a space of four years, and now forms four large volumes, 8vo. In 1819, an edition of it, with the au¬ thor’s sanction, was commenced and regularly stereotyped and printed in Dublin; another edition was also printed in Liverpool. After the controversy was finished, a new and amended edition was stereotyped and printed in Glasgow, accompanied with a preface by the author; since which, six other editions have been printed in Glasgow, besides several editions in Ireland and America. We have only to add, to complete our brief record of the life of this remarkable man, that in the summer of 1821 his commercial affairs became embarrassed, and he lost all that he possessed. His good name, however, was a treasure which misfortune could not take away; his creditors were paid to the full amount of their claims, and he was offered and accepted the important situation of manager of the Glasgow Branch of the British Linen Bank. This occurred in July, 1822, about the time that he had finished ‘The Protestant,’ and in this situation he remained till his death, abating none of his activity, but still continuing to preach frequently on Sundays, and contributing largely to the press in connection with various subjects, chiefly of a controversial nature. He was strongly opposed to the passing of the Catholic Eman¬ cipation Bill in 1829; and it was about this time that he B 258 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. brought before the public a new edition of Knox’s History of the Reformation, enriched with a memoir of the author, and some of his minor pieces, including the first book of Discip¬ line of the Church of Scotland and the dispute with the Abbot of Crossraguel. Mr. M’Gavin’s death occurred suddenly at dinner, by a stroke of apoplexy, on the 23d of August, 1832. His remains, as already stated, were interred in the Crypt of Wellington Street Chapel; and early in the following year a number of his admirers and friends entered into a subscription to raise a publio memorial to his name. This subscription soon amounted to a handsome sum, and the beautiful monument which now adorns the Necropolis was the result. His cha¬ racter may be well described in the following lines, dedicated by the poet of ‘The Grave’ to the memory of his own father-in-law:— “ Though scrupulously just, yet not severe ; Though cautious, open ; courteous, yet sincere; Though reverend, yet not magisterial; Though intimate with few, yet loved by all; Though circumspectly good, yet never sour; Pleasant with iunocence, and never more Religion worn by thee attractive show'd. And with its own unborrowed beauty glow’d." GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. 259 CHAPTER XXIII. MONUMENTS OVERLOOKING THE FAQADE—NUDE WINGED FIGURE -BEAUTIFUL GOTHIC TOMB—DILLETANTI SOCIETY—ANDREW HENDERSON—GREEK TEMPLE—MR. HILL’S BURYING-GROUND. • 4 What are our ages but a few brief waves From the vast ocean of eternity, T hat break upon the shores of this our world, And so ebb back into the immense profound."—M ilmaic. Before proceeding to the southern section of Sigma, we shall now make a short detour to several elegant monuments* and other objects of interest, which grace the declivity of the hill. Immediately opposite Mr. M'Gavin’s monument, a branch of the carriage-way descends transversely in a straight line along the face of the hill, dividing Beta on the left from Gamma on the right, till it reaches the principal carriage-way below, at Hugh Hamilton’s monument. Descending a few steps in this direction, the visitor will observe on his right hand, and therefore in Gamma, a cubical block of Aberdeen granite, enriched with a beautiful alto-relievo profile in white marble. This very fine monument, which stands a little apart from the family burying-ground, where the deceased is inter¬ red, is inscribed “ to the memory of Alexander Buchanan, mer¬ chant, Glasgow, who died 5th September, 1850, aged 31 years.” A ltttle lower in the same compartment, is one of the most exquisite pieces of sculpture in the Necropolis. We allude to the weeping winged figure, with inverted torch, which crowns or constitutes the monument erected by a few friends, to the memory of the late Mr. Peter Lawrence, sculptor. This object, which may be seen from the bridge, is a decided ornament to the Necropolis—while, at the same time, it is an appropriate tribute to the memory of the deceased artist, of whom there is an admirable profile on the upper part of 200 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. the pedestal. The attitude, form, and expression of the cherub, are all alike faultless, and the statue is worthy of the best ages of Grecian sculpture. It certainly reflects great credit on the memory of the late Mr. Mossman, from whose studio it proceeded. The countenance of the figure expresses a subdued sadness, chastened by calm resignation, and mingled with that celestial beauty which points to a region of immortality and everlasting youth. Returning, and pursuing the walk which passes behind this statue, the visitor will observe, at a little distance beyond it, on the right hand, a truly magnificent Gothic structure, erected by Mr. Mathew Montgomerie, writer, to the memory of his deceased lady. This monument, which stands in the shelter of the rocky bank, was designed by Mr. Charles Wilson,* of this city, and is one of the finest in the Necro¬ polis. It is in the florid or decorated style, somewhat similar to Henry the Seventh’s chapel, Westminster, but of a later period. The principal feature is a central arched recess, surmounted by a traceried canopy, with pointed and highly ornamented gable, terminating in crockets and finial. Under the base of this central recess, is a scroll with the motto, ‘ Spes in ccelo.’ The arch is bounded by buttresses and pinnacles; and on each side are canopied niches, with sculp¬ tured figures of Hope and Resignation, by Mr. Mossman. These figures are much and justly admired. The rest of the work was executed by Messrs. Hamilton & Miller; and we believe it cost the proprietor the sum of .£400. We regret to add, that the numerous pinnacles on this elaborate structure, suffered considerable damage in the storm of the 6th and 7th February, 1856. The next is a handsome double monument; and then follows a series of tombstones in one connected chain, belonging to * This gentleman, a well-known architect in Glasgow, must not be confounded with Charles II. Wilson, A. R.S. ..whom we have mentioned (p. 75) as having designed the beautiful neighbouring obelisk, erected to the late Mr. Monteith of Carstairs. We ought to have stated that Mr. C. H. VYilson is Director of the Government School of Design, Glasgow. DILLETANTI SOCIETY. 201 the Messrs. Gilmour, merchants, and other members of the same respected family. Their position is immediately under the obelisk erected to the late Mr. Henry Monteith of Carstairs. We must give it as our candid opinion, that monuments so connected do not produce a good effect, and should not be encouraged in the Necropolis. Passing these, and a variety of elegant structures on each side, the visitor ■will arrive at the northern extremity of this terrace, where he will observe on his left, opposite a fine massive monu- ment belonging to Mr. James Ker, a considerable rectan¬ gular area, surrounded by a handsome balustrade of sub¬ stantial masonry. Probably few among the citizens of Glasgow are aware that this piece of ground encloses the mortal remains of the deceased Dilletanti Society.* The object of this society was, as its name implies, the encouragement of the fine arts. It was founded in 1821, and flourished for several years, numbering in its list of member¬ ship many of our most respectable citizens, and doubtless contributing not a little to foster in Glasgow an improved taste for painting and sculpture. Its rooms were the same apartments in the Argyle Arcade which have, until lately, been devoted to the annual exhibitions of the Art Union. It was there that the original plans of the Necropolis lay for public inspection. In 1830, a little volume or brochure was published by Dr. Strang, under the pseudonym of ‘Geoffrey Crayon, Jun.,’+ to which we are indebted for the following information, with reference to the founders of this society:— “ The history of the Society is short, but it is nevertheless marked by some interesting incidents. Like the establishment of many other institutions of greater name, this appears to have arisen from mere accident—from nothing more, in fact, than the occasional meet¬ ing of two of its present members, Mr. Andrew Henderson, and Mr. James Davie—both of whom, it is well known, entertain the same taste for the purity of art, and feel the same enthusiasm for its diffusion. • It is true that the Dilletanti Society was never formally dissolved ; but, although several of its members survive, it appears to have virtually ceased to exist or to be merged in the Art Union. t “ A glance at the Exhibitions of the Works of Living Artists, under the Patronage of the Glasgow Dilletanti Society, by Geoffrey Crayon, Jun. David ltobertson. 188 Iron- gate, 1830." 202 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. To the congenial views of these gentlemen, the Dilletanti Society owes its being—a being which, perhaps, might not have proved of such im¬ mediate value to the community, had it not been fostered by the equally congenial spirit of Dr. William Young. Of this triumvirate, and of what they have accomplished, much might be said in the way of eulogy; but to such individuals, the promulgation of the simple fact, of having, by their example and perseverance, congregated around them so respectable a band as that of the Glasgow Dilletanti Society, will be, perhaps, deemed a sufficiently high panegyric . . . In 1S20, the Dilletanti Society could scarcely muster a dozen members, but at the present hour (1830', Glasgow can point to at least fifty individuals, who may justly be said to be patrons or advocates of the Fine Arts, in the respective circles to which they belong.” In April, 1835, the piece of ground at which we are now standing, was purchased and enclosed with the funds of the society for the use of its members;* and here are interred the remains of two of its founders—the late Dr. William Young and Mr. Andrew Henderson. With the facts of Dr. Young’s history we are not acquainted ; but a sketch of the life of Mr. Henderson, who was an original and eccentric genius, is prefixed to ‘ The Laird of Logan ’—a collection of Scottish facetiae and anecdotes, to which reference has been made in our notice of the late Mr. David Robertson, book¬ seller. To this humorous and amusing work, Henderson was a large contributor, along with his friends William Motherwell and John Donald Garrick. He also published, in 1832, a ‘ Collection of Scottish Proverbs,’ with an admirable introduction by Motherwell. Prom the memoir prefixed to ‘ The Laird of Logan,’ we learn that Mr. Henderson was born at Cleish, near Kinross, in 1783. His father was gardener for many years to the Lord Chief Commissioner Adam, at Blair-Adam, in Fifeshire; and Andrew, being destined for the same profession, was bound apprentice, at the age of thirteen, to his brother, Thomas, then gardener to General Scott of Bellevue, near Edinburgh. On the expiry of his apprenticeship, he removed into the service of the Earl of Kinnoul's gardener, at Dupplin, * The ground embraces an area of 18 square yards, and cost the society 3 71 16s., to which would afterwards be added the expense of enclosing and excavation, amounting to something Considerable, The Necropolis Committee are desirous of repurchasing this grouud for the Merchants’ House, with a view to contemplated improvements. ANDREW HENDERSON. 203 near Perth, where he remained a year; and afterwards went to the Earl of Ilopetoun's gardens, Dear Queensferry, where he assisted for several months. This was his last engage¬ ment in that capacity. His constitution not being strong enough for out-of-door exposure, he quitted the employment of gardening; and through the influence of a brother who was settled in Paisley as a clothier, he obtained a situation in a manufacturing house in that town, in which, however, owing to the insolvency of his employer’s, he continued only about a year. At this time, having shown a taste for art, he at¬ tended a drawing-school during a brief period of inaction from business. He afterwards obtained the situation of fore¬ man in the respectable house of Hepburn & Watt, then in Paisley, where he remained for four or five years. But his love for the pictorial art had now become the ruling passion; and in March, 1809, he repaired to London, to complete his education as an artist by studying at the Eoyal Academy. In 1813 he returned to Glasgow, and obtained considerable local celebrity as a portrait painter; but latterly, owing to his eyesight becoming impaired, his portraits rather declined in reputation, the coloring being inferior to those of an earlier period. With reference to Mr. Henderson’s character, the writer of the biographic sketch prefixed to ‘ The Laird of Logan’says :— “ Eccentric he was undoubtedly, and of a temperament not a little uncertain and fiery—so that it requir ed not seldom the indulgence and forbearance of his friends to make allowance for I he curious whims and startling humors with which at times he assailed them. Yet few men had more attached friends, or retained his older friendships with a more firm and genial grasp, or died more sincerely regretted. His claim to rank as one of the distinguished trio—of (,'arriek, Mother- well, and Henderson—rests upon the marked originality of his character, and the eccentric but overpow ring eloquence of his language, when he was fairly kindled into opposition. At such times his rich command of the broad and vigorous dialect of his native tongue, in which he excelled all men we have ever met, seemed to endow him with a nervous eloquence, and a copious energy of language, which descended like a hurricane on the head of the hapless wight who had unwittingly brought him out. No man could listen to him at such times without feeling that he was no ordinary person. In general, his conversation partook of the startling originality, and the impetuous eccentricity of his character, and was richly seasoned with broad humor and sarcastic point. It was his custom to sit for some time 261 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. silent in general society, until something was advanced which touched upon any of his favorite views; and if by chance he was in company with a pretended amateur, or a particularly affected person, it was amusing to observe how he would sit ‘ nursing his wrath ’ until the storm would collect, and burst forth in an absolute tornado of wither¬ ing invective, or torfent of burning sarcasm. Ho had a strong dislike to the Celtic race; and nothing could more effectually stir up his bilr, than for any one to hold forth in their praise in his presence. Man amusing scenes took place in consequence of this rich peculiarity i his character. He was also a stout defender of the state of sing, blessedness, and used to declare that ‘he thanked God, that when he, put on his hat, it covered his whole family.’” Mr. Henderson died of apoplexy, after a few hours illness, April 9, 1835 ; and his friend Motherwell survived him only a few months, dying, by a singular coincidence, in the same manner. Mr. Carrick expired about two years afterwards; so that but a short period elapsed when these three friends and companions, so cordially attached to each other in life, were united in the common bond of death. Well might it be said on this occasion :— “ Like clouds that rake the mountain-summits, Or waves that own no curbing hand, How fast has brother followed brother From sunshine to tho sunless laud ! ” The grave of Motherwell, not far distant from the spot on which we now stand, and in the same compartment of the Necropolis, has been already noticed. That of Carrick, though not in the Necropolis, is likewise so near that we may almost descry it from our present position. It is marked by a marble slab, inserted in a recumbent stone, in the middle of the second terrace from the foot of the Cathedral Cemetery, and bearing the following inscription :— John Donald Carrion, Born 17S7, Died 1837; A man of integrity and benevolence, an author of fine fancy and genuine humor, and a critic of sound judgment. A few friends have placed this slight memorial over his grave, to prove that ‘To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.’ Having thus performed our passing homage to three fami¬ liar names which were closely united in life and in death— we now bid adieu to the ‘narrow house’ of the Diiletanti GREEK TEBIPLE. 265 Society. At the north-west corner of that enclosure, a flight of two or three steps conducts upward to a beautiful terrace, which leads directly to the back of Motherwell’s tomb, and to which we have already alluded (p. 73) as containing a number of handsome monuments, but all of a purely private character. Leaving the visitor therefore to follow that course at his leisure, we now return to the south by a narrow walk, which here descends to the carriage-way that separates Beta from Gamma. Proceeding a few yards in this direction, the visitor will notice beneath him, on his right, a massive tombstone crowned with an urn, and constructed entirely of white marble, the brilliancy of which renders it a strikingly conspicuous object from the bridge below. This is the property of Mr. George Henderson, marble merchant in Bothwell Street; and we have observed, on the summit of Sighthill Cemetery, another very large and beautiful block of the same material, also erected by a gentleman engaged in the marble business. Passing some handsome monuments on the left, our walk descends and rejoins the carriage-way near the graceful rec¬ tangular sepulchre, to which allusion has already been made (p. 51) as enclosing the mortal remains of the late Mr. Davidson of Buchill. Here we look down upon the roof of the structure; and the visitor who wishes to see it to ad¬ vantage must pass to the foot of the carriage-way, and then re-ascend by a walk which branches oif to the left at the back of Mr. Pinkerton’s monument. This will conduct him in the first place to a flight of steps, at which he will observe a modest monument, enriched with a profile, in white marble, and bearing the following inscription :— Jacobus Brown, M.D., Obiit, mho 'cxlvi., Jicat, Lrv. The profile, we regret to say, is sadly defaced; and its only remaining interest as a work of art consists in the fact of its having been executed by Fillans, the sculptor of the busts of Motherwell and Dugald Moore. Continuing his ascent in 266 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. this direction, the visitor will arrive in front of the sepulchre to which we have directed attention, as seen from the car¬ riage-way above. This very elegant classic structure, which partakes of the character of a Greek temple, was erected in 1801, from designs by Mr. Rochead of Glasgow. In form, it is rectan¬ gular, and is 22 feet long by 12 broad, and 12 to 11 in height —covering a series of vaulted spaces beneath. The roof is supported at suitable intervals by coupled pilasters, with channeled courses of stone-work between them, and a bronze door in the centre. The pilasters are continued to the roof, but not the intermediate portions of the walls, and an open¬ ing of 12 or 11 inches is thus left under the eaves, which serves the two-fold purpose of ventilation and effectiveness; besides giving light, and depth of shadow, so much deside¬ rated in Greek architecture—the ancient specimens of which are distinguished by the total absence of window or side lights. The whole is formed of Craiglands Quarry stone, not excepting the roof, which is carved into rolls or cylindrical ridges, enriched with foliated acroteria at the eaves, which swell into larger dimensions at the angles and apices of the pediments. A few steps further on, the walk terminates abruptly at a handsome ornamental gate, which constitutes the northern entrance to the beautiful family burying-ground of Laurence HOI, Esq., LL.B., w'riter in Glasgow—formerly Collector to the Merchants’ House, and to whom allusion has already been made (p. 27), as one of the most active promoters of the Necropolis. We do not hesitate to say, that in its chaste simplicity, this is one of the sweetest and most attractive spots within the precincts of the cemetery. The visitor who may not have leisure or inclination to follow the circuitous course we have pointed out, will readily find access to it from the summit by a walk which diverges from the carriage¬ way, above Mr. Davidson’s sepulchre, opposite the statue of the winged youth erected to Mr. Lawrence, sculptor. MR. HILL S BURYING-GROUND. 2G7 But before proceeding to describe Mr. Hill’s burying-ground, we must advert to a handsome and elaborate Gothic monu¬ ment, which occupies the rocky recess immediately conti¬ guous to that enclosure. This monument, the work of the late Mr. M'Lean, is erected “to the memory of William Matheson, merchant, Glasgow, who died on the 12th December, 1840,’’ and other members of the family. Mr. Hill’s property is nearly in the form of a semicircle, and has the appearance of being partly excavated in the face of the hill. On the west side, which may be considered the diameter of the semicircle, is a massive perforated wall, sup¬ porting at proper intervals four elegant vases. This retain¬ ing wall or breast-work constitutes indeed the only elaborate masonry about the spot. The rest has much of the appear, ance of nature, through which, however, we can mark the effort of art ‘ to conceal art.’ At each end of the wall, north and south, is a handsome ornamental cast-iron gate, similar to one which we shall afterwards find erected at the Jews’ burying-ground. The south gate may be almost said to con¬ sist of the following beautiful verses from the Eighth Para¬ phrase—the letters actually constituting the ornamental tracery which forms the leaf of the gate :— "All nature dies and lives again,— The flower that paints the field. The trees that crown the mountain’s brow. And boughs and blossoms yield . Tet soon reviving plants and flowers Anew shall deck the plain; Tho woods shall hear the voice of Spring, And flourish green again. 0 may the grave become to me The bed of peac- ful rest, Whence I shall gladly rise at length And mingle with tho blest! ” The north gate is composed in the same manner of the fol¬ lowing exquisite stanza from Beattie’s ‘ Minstrel *:— “Shall I be loft forgotten in the dust, When Fate, relenting, lets the flower revive? Shall Nature’s voice, to mau alone unjust, Bid him, though doomed to perish, hope to live ? 2G8 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. Is it for this fail' Virtue oft must strive With disappointment, penury, and pain ? No : Heaven’s immortal springs shall yet arrive, And man’s majes ic beauty bloom again, Bright through th’ eternal year of Love's triumphant reign.” It is difficult to decide between the respective merits of Logan’s paraphrase of Job’s inspired poetry, and Beattie’s beautiful echo of the same fine sentiment, originally uttered in the simple, sacred language of the oldest poem on record. This delightful sentiment has come down to us, hallowed by patriarchal antiquity, as well as by divine sanction—and still it lives and flourishes, budding and blooming afresh in our modern poesy, even like the very flowers themselves, which, although old as the world, are still young and fresh, and start into new and delicate life with every return of spring. Thus even Longfellow speaks of them in transatlantic verse, wafted like sybilline leaves from the other side of the world, and quaintly echoing across the ocean of space the same idea which has floated down to us on the ocean of time “ Spake full well, in language quaiut and olden, One who dwelleth by the castled Rhine, When he called the flowers, so blue and golden, Stars, that in earth’s firmament do shine. Wondrous truths, and manifold as wondrous, God has written in those stars above ; But not less in the bright flowerets under us Stands the revelation of his love. Bright and glorious is that revelation, Written all over this great world of ours; Waking evident our own creation. In these stars of earth—these golden flowers. And with child-like, credulous affection, We behold their tender buds expand ; Emblems of our own great resurrection ; Emblems of the bright and better land.” But to continue our description. The rocky bank or preci¬ pice which constitutes the back-ground of the picture is covered over with rough grotesque stones, and masses of lava¬ like rock, in the fashion of a garden-rockery, which must have been collected and arranged with much trouble. Half concealed among the green ivy leaves, they constitute a finer and more appropriate ornament than any elaborate produc- MR. hill’s burying-ground. 2G9 tion of monumental art. Indeed, with a correct simplicity of taste, the tinsel and frippery of artificial ornament are care¬ fully avoided; and the leading object appears to have been to bring out the natural capabilities of the place to full advan¬ tage. The only monuments are three simple tablets, erected against the face of the rock; and exactly in the centre of the plot of ground, over-shadowed by two aged stumps of trees, covered and matted round with ivy, is a vase or pitcher rest¬ ing on a cubical block of stone, on which is the following inscription, from the book of Ecclesiastes:— “ Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl bo broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cis¬ tern ; Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God, who gave it.” One of the three tablets is worthy of special attention, not only on account of the peculiar character of the inscription, but also as one of the first, in point of chronological order, with which the Necropolis was adorned. Hence the com¬ partment was termed Beta, immediately succeeding in alpha¬ betical order that which contains the sepulchres of the Jews, the earliest tenants of the Necropolis. The tablet in¬ dicates the last resting-place of the late Mrs. Hill, who may be regarded as the first Christian lady, moving in the upper or respectable ranks, whose remains were deposited in the cemetery. There is one portion of the inscription on this tablet which we cannot transfer to our columns—we mean the curious anagrammatic device immediately above the name of the deceased, in which a combination of cypress boughs is made to represent either B. H., or L. H., or both, as the reader may choose to decipher it. Omitting this symbol, the in- 6cription is as follows :— Tranquillus eram ct disrupit me— Vuluerat, etmauus ejus medicautur. Barbara Hopkirk. C. C. Laurcntii Hill, LL.B Dec. ui. Non Maii. mdcccxxxiii. A. O. Mar. F. F. Q. xn. L. Vale 1 paullisper. 270 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. The inscriptions on the two other tablets contain nothing remarkable. We may, however, remark, before quitting the spot, that while it has a singularly solemn and sequestered appearance, it commands a perfectly unobstructed view of the beautiful panorama beneath—the bridge, the Cathedral, and the city. It is one of those quiet nooks from which, with a feeling of perfect security, the visitor may look forth upon the mighty world, with its living, toiling thousands— and there is the Cathedral, too, in its solemn majesty, rising like a venerable pilgrim, the remnant of some holier age, to bless and hallow the scene. CHAPTER XXIV. HUGH HEUGH, D.D. ** When by a good man's grave I muse alone, Methinks an angel sits upon the stone, Like those of old, on that thrice-hallowed night, Who sat and watched in raiment heavenly blight. And, with a voice inspiring joy, not fear, Pays, pointing upward, that he is not here. That he is risen." Rogers, From our short downward digression, we now return to the carriage-way, in front of Mr. M‘Gavin's monument, opposite which will be observed a tall obelisk, with this simple in¬ scription :— Laucht.an Lumsden, Writer, Glasgow, Died February 4, 1837. It ought to have been added, to the honor of the deceased, and as an example to others, that this gentleman left the munificent sum of T5000 to the Glasgow Royal Infirmary— an institution which was also largely indebted to the liberal donations and gratuitous labors of his brother, the late highly HUGH HEUGH, D-D. 271 esteemed Provost Lumsden, who died May 16, 1856, at the age of 78, and is interred in the Cathedral Cemetery. Passing Mr. Lumsden's obelisk, and then a singularly elegant monument, erected by Mr. Richard Kidston—both in the compartment Beta —we next encounter, on the same side of the carriage-way, and therefore in the same com¬ partment, a beautiful obelisk of red granite, bearing the fol¬ lowing inscription :— Rev. Hugh Heugh, D.D. Born, 12th August, 1782. Died, 10th June, 1846. The name of the late Dr. Heilgh is familiarly known in Scotland as that of a distinguished divine, who held a con¬ spicuous position in the ranks of the dissenting community for many years, although he has left behind him little to perpetuate his memory, except the remembrance and the fruits of an active and laborious life devoted to the work of the ministry. His memoirs and extracts from his private writings, together with a volume of his sermons, published by his son-in-law, the Rev. Hamilton M. Macgill, afford, however, ample information with reference to his personal character and history, as well as his public career. To these volumes we refer the reader who desires to form an intimate acquaintance with a man of no common mould, and of ardent religious aspirations. The most interesting part of his life is the record of the workings of his own mind in his letters and private journal. Here we can only sketch briefly a few of the dates and details of his family and per¬ sonal history, in which there is little variety of stirring incident. Dr. Heugh was descended from two generations of clergy¬ men. His paternal grandfather, the Rev. John Heugh, was minister of the parish of Kingoldrum,in the ‘braes of Angus,’ and died in 1731, two years before the Secession. He is described as having been a minister of very evangelical views, strongly opposed to the ‘moderate’ spirit, which at that time 272 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. pervaded the Church of Scotland, and manifesting' great fidelity and zeal in the discharge of his pastoral duties. There is little doubt, from his antecedents, that if he had lived a few years longer, he would have been associated with Erskine, Fisher, Wilson, and Moncrieff, in founding the Secession in 1733. This may be inferred from the fact that the whole of his family, inheriting their father’s opinions, with a perfect knowledge of his views on the questions which at that time divided the Church, afterwards joined the Seces¬ sion. His elder son, Hugh, died at college in Glasgow; but his three daughters were married to dissenting ministers, and the only surviving son, John, the father of the subject of this notice, studied for the sacred profession in connection with the same denomination. On the death of the minister of Kingoldrum, his widow had removed with her family to Perth, and John was engaged in pursuing his studies when, in 1747, the ‘ breach ’ occurred which divided the Secession into two branches—the Burghers and the Anti-burghers. The young divine, with his family, adhered to the Anti-burghers; and such was the proficiency to which he had attained in his studies, that, when not yet twenty years of age, he was appointed by the General Asso¬ ciate Synod, to teach Logic and Moral Philosophy, at Aber- nethy, to students preparing for the theological course. In 1752, he was licensed to preach the gospel, and almost im¬ mediately received two calls—the one from a congregation in Leslie, Fifeshire, and the other to Stirling. The Synod decided in favor of the latter, and on the 22d November, 1752, Mr. Heugh was ordained as minister of the Anti-bur¬ gher congregation in Stirling. His prospects at first were far from encouraging. His call was signed by only 82 in¬ dividuals, who represented his whole congregation, and an overpowering opposition existed in the other branch of the Secession, under the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine, one of the fathers of the movement, who, having left the parish church, naturally attracted to his person and position a large sharo HUGH HEUQH, D.D. 273 of popular sympathy. He died, however, two years after Mr. Heugh’s appointment, and under the able ministrations of that gentleman, the Anti-burgher congregation soon be¬ came highly respectable in point of numbers. Notwithstanding the limited space at our disposal, we have been thus particular in stating these details because they are not the least interesting portion of the volume of Dr. Heugh’s biography, and because, while affording a key to his own religious prepossessions, they introduce us to the scene of his future ministerial labors for many years. Dr. Heugh was born at Stirling on the 12th August, 1782; and was the ninth of ten children, most of whom died in early life. His first religious impressions seem to have been imbibed from his parents when very young; and he stated that he could not remember the time when he did not look forward to the ministry as his profession. At ten years of age he entered the grammar-school of his native place, then conducted by the celebrated Dr. Doig, who is styled by Lord Woodhouselee in the ‘Encyclopedia Britannica,’ ‘the most learned of Scottish schoolmasters in modern times,’ and to whom allusion has already been made in the life of Dr. Thomas Thomson. Having passed through the five years’ course at school, where he was generally dux in his classes, he was sent, in his fifteenth year, to the University of Edin¬ burgh; and, in 1799, after undergoing the proscribed ex¬ aminations, he entered the Divinity Hall in connection with the General Associate Synod, under the llev. Professor Bruce of Whitburn. The session of 1800-1, he devoted to physical science in the Andersonian Institution, Glasgow; and having completed the remaining course at the Hall, he was licensed as a preacher by the General Associate Presbytery of Stilling on the 22d of February, 1804. While attending the College and Divinity Hall, he formed a variety of rules for self-discipline, which show that he was seriously resolved on a life of progressive improvement; and shortly after receiving his license, he began to keep a regular 274 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. diary, which he continued with little interruption to the end of his life. In this diary he lays down rules and maxims for his mental culture, as well as for his spiritual improvement; and, acting on his favorite theory, that ‘ a young man can do anything,’ he seems to have always persevered in his written resolutions and purposes, until he succeeded in acquiring the habit, or effecting the particular object, which he had in view. A natural timidity of manner, which he afterwards succeeded in mastering, produced a want of animation in his earlier pulpit appearances. On one occasion, while officiating at Leslie, his memory or self-possession so entirely failed him, that he was compelled to stop the discourse, and give out a psalm to be sung while he referred to his notes. He was, therefore, far from being popular at first; and nearly two years elapsed from the time of his obtaining licence before he received a call to a church. In the meantime, however, he rapidly improved in his preaching; and such was the effect, that in the early part of 1800 he received no less than three calls—one from a congregation in Hawick; another from Stirling, to he colleague to his father; and a third from a church in Greenloaning. The Synod decided in favor of the claims of Stirling, which quite coincided with his own wishes; and accordingly, on the 14th August, 1800, he was ordained as colleague to his father. By this appointment the whole ministerial duty devolved upon him from the first, his father being then at the advanced age of 70. With great generosity, however, the congregation, instead of diminish¬ ing, actually enlarged the stipend of the aged incumbent at the time of his son’s ordination. In Stirling, he labored with great satisfaction and accept¬ ance, for a period of fifteen years. Besides an indefatigable course of visitation, assiduous attention to the training of the young, and an active participation in the efforts of various religious societies, he was in the habit of writing and commit¬ ting to memory three discourses every week. In 1807, he HUGH HEUGH, D.D. 275 lost his mother. In 1808, we find him deliberately resolving to relinquish literary and philosophical pursuits in favor of active usefulness. In 1809, he married Isabella, daughter of the Rev. John Clarkson, first minister of the Anti-burgher congregation of Ayr—a union which greatly contributed to his future happiness. In 1810 his father died, leaving him the sole pastoral charge of the congregation. We have stated in our life of Mr. Ewing, that for many years the two divisions of the Secession were animated by a bitter rivalry, and held but little intercourse. Mr. Heugli, however, always evinced in his conduct a much more liberal spirit, and lived on friendly terms both with Mr. Erskine’s successor and the parish minister of Stirling. He never ceased in his efforts to promote an evangelical union in religious matters; and the first prominent part which he took in the Church Courts was a movement in this direction, when, in the autumn of 1809, he originated an overture on ‘ Covenanting,’ the object of which was to remove certain intolerant features in that recently revived observance. The overture was ordered to lie on the table, and there it lay un¬ touched for a period of four years; but in 1814 it was taken up, and its frequent discussion in the Synod during the six following years gradually gained the object intended, by pre¬ paring the way for the re-amalgamation of the two branches of the Secession Church. In May, 1819, Mr. Heugh was elected moderator of the General Associate Synod; and at the opening of the Synod, in September, he preached a dis¬ course from Luke ix. 49, 50, in which the approaching union was expressly discussed. The discourse was published, and reached in a few weeks a second edition. It was at the close of his term of office as moderator, in the following year, that ‘ The United Secession Church ’ was formed. The event was hailed by Mr. Heugh and the great majority of his brethren with intense satisfaction; but there were not wanting a few who protested against it; and it argues the high esteem and respect in which Mr. Heugh was now held, that he was 270 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. appointed, with Drs. Mitchell and Stark, to answer the ‘ Protesters.’ He had visited London for the first time in 1812, to assist the Rev. Dr. Jerment upon a communion occasion. His second visit was in 1820, in company with a minister of the Established Church, as a deputation from the Scottish Mis¬ sionary Society. In returning from London by Leicester, he drank tea with the celebrated Robert Hall; and his opinion of that distinguished divine was thus expressed in a letter to Dr. Stark—“I had the happiness to hear him preach, and the folly to preach before him. In conversation, he is the most profound, intellectual, and eloquent man I ever met with. As Dr. Chalmers said of him, ‘ he is quite John¬ sonian;’ but he might have added, that he has none of John¬ son's rudeness or arrogance, and a great deal more piety.” Mr. Ileugh’s superior talents and the weight of his character were now beginning to be fully appreciated; and after the meet¬ ing of the Synod at which he delivered the discourse above- mentioned, he received a call to a congregation which had lately been formed in Regent Place, Blackfriars’ Street, Glasgow. This call was twice over-ruled by the Church Courts in favor of the claims of Stirling, and twice repeated by the congrega¬ tion. As the time for the final decision of the Synod ap¬ proached, he received a similar invitation from Nicholson Street congregation, Edinburgh, to be colleague to their venerable pastor, Dr. Jamieson. On 15th September, 1821, the Synod decided, by a slender majority of two, in favor of his translation to Glasgow. Plis parting with so many attached friends in Stirling was deeply affecting. On the last Sunday of his regular minis¬ terial labors in that town, he preached two farewell dis¬ courses from the pulpit which his father had first entered sixty-nine years before, and which had therefore been occu¬ pied by father and son for the long period of nearly seventy years. He entered on his duties in Glasgow at a deeply interesting HUGH HEUGH, D.D. 277 epocli, when the union between the two bodies of Seceders had just been completed, and the pulpits of the city were adorned with the eminent ministerial talents of Chalmers, Wardlaw, and Dick. He soon became highly popular; and not many months had elapsed when he found himself preach¬ ing to large and intelligent audiences, very different, indeed, from his limited congregation at Stirling. He more than realized expectations; launched with vigor into all his ministerial duties; set himself in firm opposition to some of the antiquated prejudices, such as the objections to gown and bands, and to the singing of repeating tunes, which still lingered in the breasts of a portion of his new congregation; and soon organized a complete machinery of schools and Christian societies. Besides his indefatigable labors in connection with his ministerial function, he had not been long in Glasgow when he became intensely occupied with almost every department of general ecclesiastical business. He was soon associated with Dr. Wardlaw and Dr. Smith, as joint-secretary of the Glasgow Auxiliary Bible Society. This led him, in 1824, to take an active and prominent part in the Apocryphal question, on which he ultimately differed with Dr. Wardlaw, but never in a manner which produced the slightest asperity of feeling between them. So highly were his labors esteemed, and such was the success attending on his ministrations, that within a few years after his arrival in Glasgow, his stipend was twice enlarged by the congregation. His worldly com¬ fort was thus secured beyond the extent of his desires; and the brief intervals of leisure allowed him from his multi¬ farious duties, were spent with exquisite relish and enjoy¬ ment in the midst of a happy and affectionate family, which, at the time of his coming to Glasgow, consisted of two sons and four daughters. Much of the incident of Dr. Heugh’s life consisted in his numerous journeys and excursions, either to advocate the claims of leligious and philanthropic societies, or to represent S78 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. to the Government in London the views of the Scottish Dis¬ senters on the various questions of the day. In 1829, he was one of a deputation sent to Ireland by the Hibernian Auxiliary Scottish Missionary Society; and at that time he remained about five weeks in the northern province of the island. In May, 1830, he preached the annual sermon on Missions to the London Missionary Society in Surrey Chapel. From London he, on this occasion, paid a visit to Paris, where he arrived only a few weeks before the celebrated ‘three days’ which sent Charles X. into exile, and placed Louis Philippe on the throne. In Paris he attended worship on Sunday in the chapel of the English ambassador ; and he states, that he joined with much satisfaction in repeating along with the congregation the Lord’s prayer, and going through the other forms of Episcopal worship—a circumstance which shows how far Dr. Heugh was from sharing the narrow prejudices of some of his brethren. In 1831, he evinced a deep interest in the progress of the Reform Bill, but never attended meetings of a strictly politi¬ cal nature, or allowed his pulpit to he used for the advocacy of such objects. In the month of July, in that year, he visited Lancashire along with his friend Dr. Beattie, as a deputation from the Synod to promote missions. His fame had now extended to America, and it was about this time he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania. With reference to such titles he afterwards wrote to a friend—“Considering all things, they are of vastly little value ; a mere tinsel shoulder- knot,—neither helmet, sword, nor shield, much less brawny arm or valorous soul.” It was, however, when the Voluntary controversy hurst forth, that his powers as a platform-speaker, as well as a con- troversial writer, were called into active and incessant exer¬ cise. Into this question he threw his whole soul, as far as was consistent with a strictly conscientious discharge of his ministerial and other duties. In 1832, he took a prominent HUGH HEUGH, D.D. 270 part in originating the first formal meeting which was held in the Voluntary cause. In the summer of 1834, he undertook another journey to London, as member of a depu¬ tation commissioned to present a memorial founded on numerous petitions of the Scottish Voluntaries. On that occasion he assisted at the interviews with Lord Grey and other members of the Government. In 1835, he was busily occupied with Voluntary meetings in different parts of the country, powerfully advocating the cause on the platform, which, at the same time, he endeavored to promote by several small publications, exhibiting great acuteness and controversial power. In the meantime the spiritual interests of his congregation were not neglected; and no better proof of this can be given than that, in the year at which we have now arrived, this congregation was supporting two city missionaries, two teachers of week-day and evening schools, a foreign mis¬ sionary in Jamaica, and a home missionary in the West Highlands. In February, 1838, in company with Dr. Wardlaw and other members of a deputation from the Glasgow Voluntary Society, he visited London a fifth time, to remonstrate against the proposed additional endowments to tho Church of Scotland. On that occasion the deputation had interviews with Lord Melbourne, Lord Brougham, Mr. O'Connell, Lord Durham, Lord Lansdowne, Lord John Bussell, and other eminent persons. Dr. Heugh took a prominent part in these interviews, some of which he amusingly describes in his letters and diary. In the course of the same year he attended and spoke at meetings connected with the Church question, at Kilmarnock, Ayr, Lanark, Hamilton, Falkirk, Denny, Stirling, Edinburgh, Perth, and other places. He prepared and delivered, also, a course of lectures—partly discussing the general question, and partly in reply to the lectures delivered by Dr. Chalmers in London. It was his intention to have published these; but after being fully prepared for the press, 280 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. they were suppressed, in deference to the wishes of Dr. Wardlaw, who had been requested to deliver a course of lec¬ tures on the same subject, and expressed his displeasure that the field was about to be pre-occupied by Dr. Heugh. In 1811, a ‘Friendly Address to Dissenters’ appeared, calling upon them to co-operate with the then dominant party in the Church of Scotland. To this address Dr. Heugh published a ‘Friendly Reply;’ and again to a second ‘ Friendly A ddress,’ a second ‘ Friendly Reply.’ Both of these publications obtained an immense circulation. In May, 1843, the Disruption occurred—an event with which Dr. Heugh expressed himself delighted beyond measure, as seeming to his mind to inaugurate the era of a triumph of Voluntary principles and pure religion. He proclaimed and applauded from his pulpit what he considered the noble sacrifice made by the Non-intrusion party on that occasion. It was about this period that Dr. Heugh’s health began to decline. He had previously been compelled to relax, for short intervals, in consequence of over-exertion and failing strength. He was now recommended to desist entirely from his labors for a period of at least three months. He selected Geneva as his retreat, passing in his way through Paris, Basle, and Berne. At Geneva he enjoyed frequent intercourse with Drs. Gaussen, Malan, D'Aubigne, and other individuals distinguished for their learning and piety. No part of his life seems to have been spent more happily. His description of his visit to the famous Chamouni shows with how keen a relish he enjoyed, even at his then advanced age, the Alpine glories of Switzerland. This description appears in a little production entitled ‘ Notices on the State of Religion in Geneva and Belgium,’ which he published after his return— having first read them to his congregation in a series of evening lectures. He afterwards wrote to a friend with reference to this continental trip—“ The Swiss visit has been to me the most bewitching sort of thing in my whole ex> perience.” HUGH HETTCH, D.D. 281 lie returned with his health much restored, but still his constitution was now rapidly failing, and the weight of in¬ creasing infirmities began to press upon him. Under a con¬ sciousness of this, he acquiesced in the proposal of bis congregation, that his duties should he shared with a col¬ league, and in April, 1845, a call was given to Mr. Croom, which that gentleman declined. Dr. Heugh continued his labors for some time longer; but on the 20th of the follow¬ ing July, serious and distressing symptoms appeared, which altogether laid him aside from active exertion. In October, he recovered so far as to resume his duties, and entered with ardor into the Evangelical Alliance. In the following December, a call was given to Mr. Taylor, now of Renfield Street church, who was settled as Dr. Heugh’s colleague on the Oth of February, 1840. In the following month, Dr. Heugh was confined to his house with the illness from -which he never recovered. It is a somewhat remarkable coincidence, recorded by his son- in-law, that “after the induction of Dr. Taylor, Dr. Heugh preached only once; once he addressed along with him the communicants at the Lord’s table; once he was present with him at a stated prayer-meeting of the church ; once accom¬ panied in a course of family visitation; was once with him in a few visits to the afflicted; was once with him in the Session; and once with him in the Presbytery. Into these varied scenes of service he introduced his successor, and was with¬ drawn from public life." Under the dropsical complaint, which was the form his disease had now assumed, Dr. Heugh continued rapidly to sink, maintaining his cheerfulness and Christian tranquillity to the last. He died in the bosom of his family on the morning of Wednesday, the 10th June, 1840, and the closing scene, as his biographer states, was in every respect one of perfect peace. The question, ‘ Whether Dr. Heugh might not have more advantageously employed his powers had he devoted more of his energy to literature, and less to action,’ we leave to others 282 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. to determine. The answer must depend on the estimate formed of the value of his public labors. In action, at least, he was well qualified to take a prominent part. “ In all the measures which he prosecuted,” wrote Dr. King from Jamaica, “ Dr. Heugh was conspicuously influential. It seemed impossible for him to act, and not to impel others into action. Some, possessing equal or superior intellectual faculties, make little impression on their times. Perhaps they produce a hook which is little read, or which at the best only replaces some other book nearly as good. Wherever Dr. Heugh was an agent, he was a source and centre of agency. His hand, applied to any good work, gave an im¬ mediate and sensible impulse to all men and mechanism engaged in its promotion. His associates were enlivened by his animation, emboldened by his energy, and carried along by the stream of his generous enthusiasm.” CHAPTER XXV. WILLIAM DUNN OF DUNTOCHBR—THE RELIEF CHURCH—tJPSILON DEFINED-VIEW FROM THE PRECIPICE-EXTENSION OF THE NECROPOLIS INTO THE QUARRY-ANALYSIS OF WATER FROM THE QUARRY-THE LADY WELL. “ 0 meek retiring spirit ! we will climb. Cheering and cheer’d, this lovely hill sublime; And from the stirring world uplifted high, (Whose noises faintly wafted on the wind To quiet musings shall attune the mind. And oft the melancholy theme supply,) There, while the prospect through the gazing eyo Pours all its healthful greenness on the soul, ■We’ll laugh at wealth, and learn to laugh at fame. Our hopes, our knowledge, and our joys the same. As neighb’ring fountains image, each the whole.— Coleridge, Mr. M'Gavin’s monument is still our point of reference. Opposite the south side of this structure, a beautiful avenue ME. DUNN’S MONUMENT. 283 proceeds through the middle of the southern division of Sigma, leading directly to the carriage-way, near the edge of the precipice at Major Monteath’s mausoleum. Entering on this avenue, the visitor will observe a variety of elegant monuments on either hand—hut more especially on the left, to which we shall confine our attention. The first monument on this side is chaste and beautiful in design, exhibiting in high relief the figure of an angel weep¬ ing over an inverted torch, and supported on each side by low pillars bearing inverted torches. It terminates above in a semicircle, enriched with laurel leaves, and near the sum¬ mit is a beautiful symbolic star setting in clouds. This monument is dedicated “to the memory of Alexander Hen¬ derson, Writer; an able Feudalist, an accomplished Con¬ veyancer, a judicious Adviser, a valued Friend, and a beloved Brother.” The second, immediately beside the above, is crowned with a richly decorated capital, the cornice of which is encircled with a garland of grape-leaves, and the dado with honey¬ suckle ornament. It is inscribed “in memory of Colin M’Naughton of Kelvin Grove, late merchant in Glasgow, who died on the 29th day of August, 1818, in the 65th year of his age.” The next is one of the finest and most imposing monu¬ ments in the Necropolis—a large, solid, octagonal structure, formed of beautiful granite from Ireland, and designed by Mr. Rochead of Glasgow after the mural Roman style. It is nearly forty feet high, by ten or twelve in diameter, and rests on a massive stylobate or basement, supporting at four of the sides of the octagon a series of coupled pilasters or anfie, surmounted by an elegant entablature broken up into pro¬ jections. At the point where the coupled pillars commence, each of the pairs corresponds to one of the alternate octagon faces of the lower part of the structure ; so that in its upper portion it assumes a quadrangular form. The parts of the entablature supported by the anfie are crowned with cineral 281 GLASGOW NECROrOLIS. urns, surrounding a dome or circular cupola, formed of tlie same material as the rest of the structure, and rising in mas¬ sive majesty over the whole. Though destitute of all meretricious ornament, this is a remarkably graceful, as well as imposing mausoleum; but the first and leading idea it suggests, is that of an almost indefinite durability. From the fact that there is no entrance or opening, the visitor is left to infer that the edifice is per¬ fectly solid; and in this respect it certainly approaches nearer than any other tomb in the Necropolis to the original design of Egypt’s everlasting pyramids, which, although pro¬ vided with a narrow covered entrance to a small chamber containing the sarcophagus of the deceased monarch, were formed to resemble externally solid masses of granite. Such, indeed, they virtually were; and as such they remain to the present hour, belying the words of the poet, when he said with reference to the granite rocks of the globe, in contradis¬ tinction to man and his works:— “ They still remain Amid the flux of many thousand years, That oft has swept the toiling race of men, And all their labored monuments away.” The pyramids of Egypt have stood amid the flux of thousands of years, and a similar fate may be anticipated for this struc¬ ture, which seems, by its ponderous proportions and lasting material, to be destined to endure as long as the rocky foundation on which it rests. On one of the faces of the upper quadrangular portion it bears the following inscrip¬ tion :— In Memory of IYili iam Dunn or Duntocher. Born, 5th October, 1770. Died, 13th March, 1S49. This gentleman, whose name appears in the Glasgow Directory for 1780, as ‘William Dunn, wright, in Stormont Street,’ rose by successful enterprise and honorable perse¬ verance, to occupy the proud and enviable position of one of the wealthiest commoners in the country. He was born at WILLIAM DUNN OF DUNTOCIIEK. 285 Gartclash, in the parish of Kirkintilloch, Dumbartonshire, and was educated partly at the parish school, and partly at the neighbouring village of Campsie. Before attaining his eighteenth year, he was deprived of both his parents, and was left with four brothers, all much younger than himself, and a sister, dependent on him for advice and support. This charge, much to his honor, he faithfully fulfilled throughout life. After serving his apprenticeship as wright and smith in Glasgow, the first situation he held was in the establishment of Mr. Waddington, a cotton-spinner at Stockingfield, near this city, with whom he learned iron-turning and machine¬ making. He was afterwards employed in Messrs. Black and Hastie's works at Bridge of Weir, and then at the power- loom factory of John Monteith, Esq., at Pollockshaws, to which allusion has been made in our notice of the Monteith family. Even in early life he evinced superior mechanical skill, inventive powers, and an acute mind; and by his in¬ telligence and determined energy he soon acquired the greatest proficiency in all the branches of machine-making. Having succeeded, as eldest sou, to the small property of Gartclash, which had belonged to his father, he determined in 1798, with the proceeds of the sale of this property, amounting to a few hundred pounds, to commence business on his own account. Accordingly, in that year, he established the machine works in High John Street, which, from time to time, were extended under his auspices, and are still of the highest celebrity. The immense superiority of his machines was at once recognized, and he soon ranked among his customers the greatest spinning-houses in the country. He subsequently entered into the business of cotton-spin¬ ning himself. About the year 1802, or later, he acquired a small factory in Tobago Street, Calton of Glasgow; and in 1808 he purchased the Duntocher mill, near Bowling, which had been standing for some years unoccupied. These he fitted up with his own machinery, and so well did he suc¬ ceed that a few years afterwards he purchased the Eaitley 280 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. mill, which stood about a mile distant from Duntocher, and applied it to the same purpose. In 1813, he acquired the Dalnotter Iron - Works, on the site of which he erected the Milton mill in 1821; and finally, iu 1831, he built in the same neighbourhood the Hardgate mill. All these works, with the exception of that in Tobago Street, Glasgow, which was discontinued, lie within a small distance of each other, and the change they have produced in the neighbourhood is remarkable. From a few paltry detached houses, Duntocher and Faifley have now become populous and thriving villages. Mr. Dunn was also an enlightened agriculturist, and the profits derived from his manufacturing enterprise he ex¬ pended in the purchase of land in the neighbourhood of his works, acquiring successively the estates of Duntocher, Mil- ton, Kilbowies, Balquhanram, Dalmuir, Duntiglennan, Auch- intoshan, and others. These purchases were conducted upon so systematic a principle that the land belonging to him at his death formed one compact and unbroken property, ex¬ tending upwards of two miles along the banks of the Clyde, and about three along the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal. Upon this property, about 1200 acres of which were farmed by himself, he employed as quarriers, wrights, farm- servants, &e., more than 250 men; and the amount of wages which be annually paid in the parish was about .£35,000, exclusive of the wages of the engineers and others employed in his works at Glasgow. The sole architect of his large fortune, Mr. Dunn was a man of indomitable perseverance, great self-reliance, and unsullied integrity. He was much esteemed among his tenantry and the population connected with his various esta¬ blishments. He was charitable without ostentation, and united to a strict sense of honor and rigid truthfulness, a liberal spirit in all His dealings. In private life he was beloved as a gentleman of unassuming manners and kindly dispositions; and although he did not aspire to any official distinction, he at all times cheerfully contributed to every VTLIJAM DUNN OF DUNTOCHER. 2S7 object calculated to promote the public good. It was his expressed opinion during life, that no man had the right to fetter the hands of those who should succeed him, and of the practice of entailing he always spoke with abhorrence. His settlement was in strict conformity with these senti¬ ments, for after several annuities, and a bequest of £1000 to the Royal Infirmary, besides various sums to other charities, amounting in all to £3000, clear of legacy duty, he left his whole possessions to his sole surviving brother, the present Alexander Dunn, Esq. of Duntocker, untrammeled by any kind of restriction; but indicating at the same time his desire, that afterwards his property should descend, not to one individual, but in certain proportions among those most nearly related to him. The perfect confidence thus ex¬ pressed in his brother was warranted by years of mutual labor and common success, undertaken and enjoyed by them together; for they had been associated in all their under¬ takings from boyhood. We speak indeed only the simple truth when we say, that no manufacturer or country gentle¬ man in the West of Scotland is more universally esteemed or more sincerely beloved by his tenantry and dependents, than he w’ko has reared this noble monument to his brother's memory—a monument not of the man alone, but of the won¬ derful results of mechanical genius; for it may be truly said that Mr. Dunn’s colossal fortune was ‘made by machinery.’ Passing this stately mausoleum, and one or two other monuments, the visitor will observe a broken column of Peterhead granite, erected by the late Donald Smith, Esq., banker in this city—one of the prettiest monumental gems within the limits of the Necropolis. The massive pedestal and broken shaft are all of the same beautiful stone, and constitute a most appropriate monument to a young lady cut off in the lovely spring-time of early life. Terminating this walk, on the same side, is a chaste and beautiful tombstone, belonging to the Rev. William Anderson, LL.D., the able and distinguished pastor of the United 288 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. Presbyterian Church in John Street. In addition to an English inscription in memory of his deceased lady, which we do not venture to copy, this monument bears another in elegant Latin, which we may be allowed to transcribe, as a rare feature in the Necropolis:— In Memoriam, quoque, Guliet. mi Andeksoni, S.S. Theologioe Studiosi Qui, rnatrcm in ccelum, cito est secutus : l lieu ! quam cito Patri, fratri, sorori, ec sponsoe Eelictis, Multisque aliis lugentibus. Subito oreptus ! Obiit Sep. xxix., A.D. mdccclv. Natus xxvii. annos. As a preacher, the Rev. Dr. William Anderson is highly popular in Glasgow. He is also the author of several theo¬ logical writings, chiefly controversial—among which may be mentioned his treatises on ‘The Mass,’ ‘On Penance,’ ‘The Genius of Popery,’ and ‘Regeneration.’ He was born at Kilsyth, in Stirlingshire, in 1800; was educated at the Uni¬ versity of Glasgow; and in 1822, became minister of what ■was then the Relief Church, John Street, where he has since continued to officiate with great honor and usefulness. The Relief denomination was founded by the Rev. Thomas Gillespie, minister of the parish of Carnock, Fifeshire, w r ho was deposed by the General Assembly in 1752, for refusing to take part in a violent settlement at Inverkeithing. He continued to preach at Dunfermline, and was afterwards joined by the Rev. Thomas Boston,* minister at Jedburgh, and the Rev. Thomas Collier, minister at Colingsburgh, parish of Kilconquhar, Fifeshire. These three ministers met at the village of Colingsburgh, in October, 1701, and formed themselves into a ‘Presbytery of Relief, for the relief of Christians oppressed in their Christian privileges.’ Their adherents rapidly increased in number; and ultimately formed the Relief Synod, which continued a distinct denomi¬ nation till merged with the United Secession in May, 1817, * This gentleman was a son of the celebrated Mr. Boston of Eltrick. VIEW FROM THE PRECIPICE. 289 under the common designation of the United Presbyterian Church. Passing the elegant stone which has suggested these his¬ torical incidents, we now emerge on the carriage-way that sweeps round the southern part of the summit. Beyond it is the small compartment, Upsilon, which is somewhat in the form of an irregular lunula or crescent, including only Major Monteath's mausoleum, with one or two additional monuments, and stretching round the edge of the rocky pre¬ cipice, so as to encircle the southern portion of Sigma. It embraces also a narrow stripe at the foot of the reck. It seems to have been named from a fancied resemblance to the Greek letter so called, but being in reality a mere fragment, incapable of further extension, it would have been better if Sigma had extended to the edge of the precipice. The two or three monuments in this compartment, indeed, are all of a character that calls for special notice; but first, we shall turn a little to the left, to a walk that leads to a rustic seat placed for the convenience of visitors near the edge of the precipice. From this point we have another magnificent view of the city and surrounding scenery. Unfortunately, however, as already observed, it is only on rare occasions that Glasgow emerges from beneath the cloudy canopy, which seems to be the natural atmosphere of all great cities, and more especially of a great city like Glasgow, located in the midst of a vast magazine of fuel, and launching its aerial cataracts towards the blue heavens from a thousand artificial volcanoes, which vomit forth their black Tartarean vapor in one continuous torrent. This atmosphere, tossed into billowy confusion by a strong summer breeze, or lifted up from one particular region by a conflict of two opposing currents, sometimes reveals sun-glimpses of surpassing beauty, and sheds over the distant hill-summits, and the broad expanse of landscape, a rich and mellow tinge, for which the artist, in delineating a distant view of the city, is not a little indebted to the tall I 200 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. factory chimnies. The picturesque mingles even with smoke, and factories may improve a landscape by half concealing it in artificial mist; but this is a subject on which we have said enough already, having amply described the extensive view from the summit when standing at the base of Knox’s monument. At present we confine ourselves within a narrower circle, or rather semicircle, embracing the principal objects in the fore¬ ground, immediately beneath and around us. Here we have an interesting birds’-eye view of the lower Necropolis—the happy ‘ valley of the shadow of death,’ into which we are about to descend in the course of our further progress. To the right, we have a glimpse of Ladywell Street and the Sub¬ dean Mill. A few hundred yards directly in front may be seen the beautiful Free church, with its tall spire, erected in 1854 by Mr. Tennant of Wellpark, the premises of whose extensive brewery lie between the church and the Necropolis. From that point also may be traced the entrance from Duke Street to the large quarry on the left, which belongs, like the Necropolis itself, to the Merchants’ House. The greater portion of this extensive excavation is about to be included within the Necropolis; and a recently-constructed wall, with a series of pits or vaults, may be observed, proceeding from the neck of the quarry in a north-easterly direction, which indicates the boundary of the ground about to be added to the cemetery. Another wall erected on the meadow above, and enclosing the new compartment Epsilon, beyond Mr. Kettle’s obelisk, advances to the edge of the quarry, the sides of which will be sloped down till the walls meet—thus extend¬ ing the beautiful valley of the Necropolis over a considerable part of the large excavation below, from which it will rise by a graceful sweep to the part that has been newly enclosed at the summit. With these arrangements in view, the quarry¬ ing operations are now to be continued and carried forward only on the eastern side of the excavation. In that direction may be seen a handsome Swiss cottage, which was built as a WATER FROM THE QUARRY. 201 residence for the warden or superintendent of the Ne¬ cropolis. The depth of workable rock in the quarry is about sixty feet, being, as we have stated, an overlying mass ejected through a fissure in the subjacent strata. In 1834, two bores were sunk to the depth of fifty feet; one about the middle, and the other on the south-east side of the excavation, for the purpose of ascertaining the strata and depth of rock on the lands* Previous to putting down these bores, there was a considerable run of water, all the year over, from the crevices of the rock; but after sinking the one on the south¬ east side to the depth of forty-seven feet, the quarry was found to be completely drained, while the water rose through the bore from one of the perforated veins on the principle of an Artesian well. This water continues to flow; and an analysis was made of it by Dr. Thomas Graham, the now dis¬ tinguished Professor of Chemistry in University College, London, who found that in 7000 grains, or one pound of the water, there were 1.0 grains of foreign matter, consisting of the following ingredients :— Sulphate of soda, with a little chloride of sodium (Glau¬ ber’s salt and common salt) .... X.O Carbonate of lime, with a little sulphate of lime (chalk and gyp-mm) . . . . . . .05 Silica (soluble principle of sand) . . . .0.4 In the water, when freshly drawn, there is also a considerable admixture of the two gaseous substances—carbonic acid and sulphuretted hydrogen ; but the gases are rapidly dissipated on exposure to the air. We believe that these are precisely the characteristics of the water from the Lady Well, at the south-western angle of the cemetery—water which is used by the inhabitants of that district for all purposes, and which, although it smells strongly and disagreeably of sulphuretted hydrogen when just drawn from the well, entirely loses this offensive characteristic when kept a short time. It evidently • A Journal of these operations, with some further geological details, will be found in the Appendix. 292 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. emanates from a deep-seated mineral source far beneath the surface of the Necropolis— “ A singed bottom, all involved With stonchand smoke so that the vicinity of the burying-ground, of which the exca¬ vations are merely a few feet in depth, cannot, with the exercise of a little precaution, affect it in the slightest degree. Indeed, the experiments of Dr. Orfila of Paris appear to have demonstrated that the effects of the decomposition of bodies never extend further than eighteen inches in any description of ground beyond the substance with which they are in im¬ mediate contact. The manuring operations of the agri¬ culturist, the very object of which is to impregnate the soil with decomposing matters, are never regarded with appre¬ hension on account of the neighboring springs ; and several excellent wells, famed for their purity, as those at Eosslyn and Whitechapel, are in the immediate neighborhood of churchyards. At the same time, we admit that the strata of the rocks and other particulars ought to be carefully con¬ sidered in such cases; and too great caution cannot be exercised to guard against all possibility of danger arising from this source. We have merely to add, that the well which is below the Necropolis Bridge proceeds from the strata on the west side of the burn. GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. 293 CHAPTER XXVI. MAJOR MONTEATH’S SEPULCHRE—MR. BUCHANAN’S MONUMENT— COLIN DUNLOP OF TOLLCROSS. " Gaunt, ghastly, ghaist-alluring edifices, Hanging, with threat’niugjut, like precipices; O’er arching, mouldy, gloom-inspiring coves. Supporting roofs fantastic, stony groves ; Windows and doors in nameless sculpture dressed, With order, symmetry, or taste unblessed ; Forms, like some bedlam-statuary’s dream, The crazed creations of misguided whim ; Forms might be worshipped on the bended knee. And still the second dread command be free— Their likeness is not found on earth, in air, or sea.”— Burns. We now proceed to describe the few, but highly conspicuous monuments which constitute the little group in upper Upsi- lon ; and first in order, as we pass to the westward, is Major Monteath’s mausoleum, occupying the extreme edge or angle of the steepest part of the cliff, and forming perhaps the most prominent object in the Necropolis. It was erected from designs by Messrs. Cousin & Gale; and consists of a circular structure, about 30 feet in diameter, supporting on its coni¬ cal roof, an octagonal lanthorn or tower. It is covered externally with highly elaborate decorations in the Norman Gothic style, and the strange and grotesque faces which sur¬ mount the door-way, and animate other parts of the building, resemble nothing earthly—nothing, indeed, ‘on earth, in air, or sea;’ and therefore, as the poet remarks in the con¬ cluding lines of our motto, such forms might almost be wor¬ shipped without committing a breach of the second com¬ mandment. A look of preternatural ugliness, perfectly appalling to human nature, seems to be the only expression which the artist aims at in such cases; and how he succeeds in inventing so many faces, all surpassingly horrible, and all 294 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. so exceedingly different from each other, is not a little sur¬ prising. Another poet says— “ Deep in the solemn temples—holy places ! To meditation consecrate, and prayer— Sounds not of earth are couched ; aud angel faces Look from the walls^ or glimmer in the air; And every little niche aud groined recess Is full of awful power to tutor and to bless.” ‘Angel faces,’ we think, would be rather more appropriate, though certainly far less expressive, than these diabolical looking visages, glooming and grimacing from beneath the groining of the archway with almost fiendish malignity. The structure is surrounded with beautiful niched windows, no two of which, as the visitor may remark, are precisely similar to each other. This kaleidoscopic variety of orna¬ ment forms a distinguishing feature of that peculiar style of which the mausoleum is a good specimen. The Episcopal Chapel in Rutland Place, Edinburgh, is another example of the same style, from designs by the same architects. Indeed, w r e are informed that not a few English visitors imagine this sepulchre to be a chapel, in acccordance with the well-known custom in England, where chapels for celebrating the funeral- service are usually erected in cemeteries, It certainly bears no small resemblance to the parish church of St. Sepulchre, in Cambridge, known as the ‘Round Church,’ of which, in its external form and appearance, it is almost an exact copy. Unlike that beautiful building, however, the elaborate finish of this monumental structure is entirely confined to the out¬ side. Internally it may almost be said to be ‘ without form and void.’ The tower is supported by eight rough pillars, and the walls have the appearance of common ruble work within. Looking up from within these pillars, the dome-like roof of the tower, which consists internally of brick, appears about fifty feet in height. Major Archibald Douglas Monteath u r as an officer in the service of the East India Company ; and after retiring from the army, spent the remainder of his days in Glasgow, his native city. He was descended from a family which boasted MAJOR MONTEATH. 295 connection by marriage with the ducal House of Douglas. His grandfather, Walter Monteatk of Kepp, was married to a daughter of Douglas of Mains, whose town-residence, in the Bridgegate of Glasgow, was near that of Campbell of Blythswood; and Douglas of Mains had another daughter who was married, in 1758, to the Duke of Douglas. The Major’s father was therefore a nephew of the Duchess of Douglas, and succeeded as the eldest of eight sons to the lands and estate of Kepp and Arnmore. Of Major Monteath’s personal history, little requires to be said, as the monument which graces the Necropolis was reared with a sum of money left by himself for that purpose. “People alleged,” says ‘Senex,’ in one of his interesting letters to the ‘Glasgow Herald,’ “that during his campaign in India, be had captured a stray elephant loaded with treasure, and that the proceeds of the said capture had been laid out in purchasing the two large tenements at the corners of Buchanan Street and St. Enoch’s Square; but I cannot vouch for the truth of the elephant part of the story.” With¬ out presuming to decide this important question, or delaying to inquire into any further particulars of the Major’s history, we shall merely add that he died at Helensburgh, on the 15th June, 18-12, leaving by his will the sum of £1000, for the purpose of erecting this structure. It was built at a cost of £800, and the rest of the sum was expended in pur¬ chasing the ground, which extends on each side of it, more particularly to the north. The Major’s remains w'ere deposited in the Egyptian vaults, before the erection of the sepulchre, to which they were afterwards consigned, and his brother, the late James Monteath Douglas, Esq. of Rosehall and Stone- byres, was interred in the same place, on the 13th July, 1850. There are two covered vaults in the centre of the mausoleum, where the two brothers repose side by side, without slab or in¬ scription. There is not a single letter or date, either inter¬ nally or externally, about the whole structure, although it is completely covered over with so much elaborate ornament. 290 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. The next monument in this compartment is the property of John Buchanan, Esq. of the eminent mercantile house of Messrs. Buchanan & Dennistoun. It was designed by Mr. James Brown of Edinburgh (formerly of Brown & Carrick, Glasgow), and is one of the most elegant structures in the Necropolis. It consists essentially of two hexagonal temples —the smaller erected over the larger, and terminating in a rich finial. Dr. Dick’s monument was described as some¬ what resembling the clioragic monument of Lysicrates, but wanting the circular body of that structure to give it solidity. Here, in the lower of the two temples, we have an hexagonal instead of a circular body, surrounded by six fluted columns supporting a massive entablature. The upper temple has no body, but simply consists of a canopy resting on six smaller columns, which spring from the entablature of the lower one. This is the only instance of supercolumniation in the Necropolis, and the architect has shown much taste in adapt¬ ing the details of the structure to the design. The upper columns are pure Corinthian, with all the exuberance of foliage and volute which marks the matured capitals of that order; but the lower columns are without volutes, and have only a single series of projecting leaves, with an upper row of flat or water-leaves carved upon the body of the capitals. The latter, in short, are exact imitations of the capitals crowning the small columns of the porches of the ‘ Tower of the Winds ’ at Athens, and others discovered at Miletus and elsewhere, which are believed to have been the first developments of the Corinthian order. In the lower series, therefore, the visitor has here a specimen of what may be termed the Corinthian capital in its infancy; in the upper series a dis¬ play of the same capital in its full maturity. We have described this beautiful monument as it stood previous to the dreadful hurricane on the night of the Gth February, 1856. Unfortunately, on that disastrous occasion, when so much valuable property was destroyed, this monu¬ ment suffered more severely than any other structure in the Mn. Buchanan’s monument. 297 Necropolis. The whole of the upper temple, with its graceful columns, was thrown down, and the portion resembling the ‘ Tower of the Winds’ was alone left, as if iEolus had taken advantage of the licence then given him, to wreak his vengeance on the architect for rearing the frippery of a later age over the primitive simplicity of his own temple. We have reason to believe, however, that the worthy proprietor intends to restore it very nearly as it stood, with only the modifications required to ensure its greater stability. With this view, we cannot help thinking that a solid circular body in the upper part of the structure would not only greatly increase its strength, but improve the beauty of its appearance. From the inscription on one of the faces of the hexagon, we learn that the late Mr. Buchanan of Dowanhill, who was a native of the neighborhood of Drymen, in Stirlingshire, died on the 15th April, 1844, at the great age of 89. We have met with only another instance of the same longevity in the Necropolis, (p. 72.) Here also are interred the remains of the eldest son of that gentleman—the late lamented Mr. George Buchanan of the celebrated cotton-mills at Stanley, near Perth, which, like the Lanark mills, were founded by the well-known Mr. David Dale of this city. The next and last enclosure in the upper portion of Upsi- lon, contains two monuments—one, a magnificent horizontal slab of polished Peterhead granite, resting on four supports ; the other, a massive square pillar of Aberdeen granite, rising to the height of twelve or thirteen feet, and crowned with an elegant Greek pediment of the same material. The former is a private monument, belonging to relatives of the gentle¬ man to whom the latter was erected on public grounds. We therefore confine our attention to the pillar, which bears the following short and severely simple inscription, in perfect keeping with the character of the structure itself:—■ Colin Dunlop, of Tollcross. Born, 1775—Died, 1837. 298 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. To the stranger who happens to be little acquainted with the history or localities of this city, the name of ‘ Colin Dunlop of Tollcross’ may possibly suggest nothing in the shape of interesting association; and, pausing and reading the short and simple inscription, engraven on a monument so enduring, he is apt to inquire, with a very natural curi¬ osity, ‘Who was Mr. Dunlop of Tollcross?’ It is quite true that the name of this gentleman is not emblazoned in the annals of literary or scientific fame; it does not, like that of James Watt, or other illustrious names that have gained a deserved celebrity in the world, immediately suggest to every passing reader its own history. It is, however, a name that is familiar as a household word to the older inhabitants of this city—a name associated with its political as well as its manufacturing history—associated with liberal sentiments, both on the public platform and in private life; and sug¬ gestive of nothing but kindly regards and deep and sincere regrets on the part of the present generation of Glasgow citizens. Mr. Dunlop was proprietor of the Clyde Iron-works, at Tollcross, and was co-proprietor with Mr. Wilson of the works at Dundyvan. He was descended from a very old Glasgow family, and many of his predecessors had held the highest civic offices, at a time when greater distinction was attached to the position of a magistrate than at present. He had been educated for the bar, and was a man of considerable accomplishments, united with a kindliness of heart, a home¬ liness of manner, and a liberality of sentiment which ren¬ dered him deservedly popular. At the general election in January, 1835, he was put forward by the Liberal party, along with the late Mr. Oswald, in opposition to Mr. Ewing; and on that occasion he was heard to say in the heat and excite¬ ment of the struggle, that he knew how to bear a defeat, but did not know how he should stand a victory. Although the result of the poll, as recorded in our life of Mr. Ewing (p. 196), will show that he was destined to encounter a trial COLIN DUNLOP OF TOLLCBOSS. 299 in what he considered his weakest point, it is almost super¬ fluous to add that he bore his honors meekly. During his brief parliamentary life, he commanded the respect of all parties, but in consequence of his advanced years and declining health, he did not again present himself as a candidate at the next general election, in July, 1837. He took, however, considerable interest in the struggle, and was present at the nomination of the candidates, but was suddenly arrested by the hand of death before the result was decided. In a brief record of the melancholy event which occurs in a newspaper of the day, we find it stated that “ he was od the hustings on Wednesday, when Lord William Bentinck and Mr. John Dennistoun were named as the liberal candidates for the city, but, by the bursting of a blood-vessel on the following morning (July 27), his noble spirit imme¬ diately fled to its Almighty Maker.” The excitement of this political struggle, in which the above-named gentlemen were the successful candidates, may have accelerated the unex¬ pected event on the very morning of the election. Some idea of the general respect which was entertained for his memory may be inferred from the fact, that on the Mon¬ day subsequent to his decease, a highly respectable meeting of the inhabitants of this city was held in the Town Hall, in terms of a requisition to the Lord Provost, “for the purpose of considering the propriety of paying a mark of respect to the late Colin Dunlop, Esq., by attending his funeral, which was to take place on the following day. On the motion of John Dennistoun, Esq., M.P., the Hon. the Lord Provost (William Mills, Esq.) was called to the chair, and the re¬ quisition calling the meeting having been read by Mr. Craw¬ ford, the Lord Provost said—‘Gentlemen, what you have now heard read states the mournful object for which you have been convened. It has pleased an all-wise Providence to remove from this earthly scene our highly valued and much respected friend, Mr. Colin Dunlop—a man distinguished alike for his public usefulness and his private worth; and 300 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. we, liis bereaved fellow-citizens, are now assembled for the purpose, I trust, of unanimously resolving to pay the last public mark of respect to his hallowed name.’ ” Mr. Graham of Whiteliill then moved the resolution which had been previously prepared—expressing a just sense of the severe loss which the public had sustained in Mr. Dunlop’s death. He observed that the public conduct of their deceased friend was well known to them all; and he never knew his superior as a dutiful son, an affectionate brother, a kind friend, and an indulgent liberal man, in every respect, to¬ wards those employed by him in his extensive works. Mr. H. Smith having seconded the resolution, which was unani¬ mously adopted, the meeting separated upon the understand¬ ing that the citizens who intended to join the funeral, should meet in the Town Hall on the following day, and fall into the procession at three o’clock at the Cross; Accordingly, about a thousand persons joined the funeral procession, the hearse being drawn by six horses, accompanied by four mourning coaches, and followed by a train of forty carriages. A more imposing funeral has never been witnessed in Glas¬ gow. We read that “the procession, when viewed from the elevated ground in the Necropolis, had a most solemn and imposing effect, and was seen to much advantage as it moved along the appropriately-named ‘Bridge of Sighs.’ Along the whole line of procession, the street was thronged with anxious crowds of the citizens, eager to catch a glimpse at the passing of the mortal remains of one who was so univer¬ sally beloved and so highly respected.” We may remark here, in concluding this account, that the late Mr. Dunlop and the cheerful blaze of the Clyde iron furnaces, form the subject of one of Sandie Rodger’s raciest and most original pieces, in which, under a humorous ex¬ pression of gratitude for the blink of the furnaces in ‘mirk’ nights, the poet delineates the kindly character of the pro¬ prietor in one or two touches, which are very properly characterised as ‘warm with genuine feeling and truth.’ The COLIN DUNLOP OF TOLLCROSS. 301 poem was written during Mr. Dunlop’s life, and a few verses will suffice to illustrate the spirit of the writer:— “ We’re rauckle obliged to you, Colin Dulap, We’re muckie obliged to you, Colin Dulap; Ye’re truly a worthy auld patriot chap, To enlighten your country sae, Colin Dulap. Ye patronize lear, and ye propagate light. To guide erring man in the way that is right; Ne’er under a bushel your caudle ye clap, But let it lowe openly, Colin Dulap. A burning and shining light close by the Clyde, Illuming the country around far and wide; Ye bleeze like a beacon upon a hill tap— A general benefit, Colin Dulap. Frank Jeffrey, and Chalmers, and Brougham, and so forth. Diffuse their cheap tracts to enlighten the earth ; Mony thanks to the chields for this praiseworthy stap; Mony mae thanks to you, honest Colin Dulap. Your light unto me has been better than theirs,— For ay when in Glasgow at markets or fairs, And (laundering hame rather light i’ the tap, Ye’re a lamp to my feet, worthy Colin Dulap. Na, mair! like true friendship, the mirker the night, The mair you let out your vast volume o’ light; When sackcloth and sadness the heavens enwrap, ’Tis then you’re maist kind to us, Colin Dulap. The day and the night unto you are the same, For still ye spread out your braid sheet o’ red flame ; When this weary warld soundly tak’s its bit nap, You sleep not, you slumber not, Colin Dulap. O lang may ye shine to enlighten us here, And when you depart for some new unknown sphere. That to shine on mair glorious may stil} be your hap, Is the prayer o’ your weel-wisher, Colin Dulap.” This exhausts the few monuments in upper Upsilon, to which the conformation and limited extent of the ground forbid that any more should be added. On the opposite side of the carriage-way, and therefore in Sigma, the visitor will here observe a somewhat remarkable and not inelegant tomb¬ stone erected to the memory of the late Dr. Alexander Hannay. A little further on, in the same compartment, and immediately opposite the point of the acute angle in which Upsilon 303 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. terminates, a handsome monument., crowned with a vase, resting on a cylindrical dado encircled with stars, is the pro¬ perty of Mr. Mackenzie of the ‘ Glasgow Reformers’ Gazette;’ and advancing a few steps further, the visitor will notice, on the same side, a small but very neat memorial of one of the unfortunate sons of Poland, who has found a grave in our Necropolis, far from the home of his fathers—as shown by the following inscription :— Joseph F. Comozynski, Lieutenant In the late Polish Army, Who fought for The Independence of his Country In 1830, And died in exile at Greenock, 27tli October, 1845, aged 32. Over this inscription are the arms of the kingdom of Poland, surmounted by a crown, and encircled with the motto, ‘ Boze Zbaio Polsk.' CHAPTER XXVII. DESCENT INTO THE LOWER NECROPOLIS-THETA, ZETA, ETA, MNEMA—INTERESTING TOMBS ON THE FAMILY HEARTH—IOTA AND OHICRON.,’ “ The heart returns To the remembered scenes of other years In vain !—within the eye wake burning tears Gazing on many urns. The eloquent words Of the still sleepers, though their lips be mute. Yet burst at times, like music from a lute. That speaks through broken chords.” How beautiful the sunny slopes of the Necropolis when in the full flush of summer exuberance, rising like a green THE LOWER NECROPOLIS. 303 mount or a verdant oasis in some Libyan desert, amid the everlasting smoke and dust of this great city! Thither we retreat as to a place of quiet shelter from the constant whirl of life’s noisy machinery grinding and careering around us, from one generation to another, in this immense factory; and though as it were on the margin of the great ocean of human existence, which heaves in successive billows, storm-tossed, through the streets and thoroughfares of this city, not a sweeter, greener, or more secluded spot can he found any. where than down in the lower Necropolis—in that ‘ happy valley’ which embraces Eta, Zeta, and other minor com¬ partments, with the lower portion of Theta. In Words¬ worth’s beautiful lines:— “ Tho separation that is here Is of the grave, and of austere Yet happy feelings of the dead.” There is,indeed, nothing ‘austere’—nothing but ‘happy feel¬ ings of the dead,’ associated with this ‘narrow glen’—far different from that in which Wordsworth conceived these lines, standing beside Ossian's grave in Glenalmond, and * musing there an hour alone,’ surrounded with one of the most sublime scenes in our rugged mountain-land. The little Necropolis valley is associated with happy feelings of the dead, when contrasted with the living pining miseries of the great city beside it. It reminds us of the Swedish church¬ yard, of which Longfellow writes in his own simple way, when sketching his experience in that northern land—“And over this scene the village pastor looks from his window in the stillness of midnight, and says in his heart, ‘How quietly they rest, all the departed!’ ” We now descend to this lower portion of the Necropolis, having at the close of last chapter returned to the neighbor¬ hood of Dr. H ugh's obelisk. We therefore bid adieu to tho summit of the ‘ green mountain variously up-piled,’ and following the carriage-way which passes downward under the rocky foundation of Major Monteath’s sepulchre, we 304 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. shall find ourselves conducted by a gradual and winding descent to the beautiful sequestered valley below. Proceeding in this direction, we have now the compartment of Beta on our right, and the narrow tongue of Upsilon on our left. The few monuments in Beta, in front of which the carriage-way here passes, do not demand special notice, ex¬ cept, perhaps, the last in the group, which exhibits the fol¬ lowing somewhat laconic inscription—“ James Scott and Malcolm Scott, to their deceased Relations. Beloved Ones, Farewell! ” Descending to the massive foundation of Mr. Buchanan’s monument, the visitor will notice on his right a narrow walk, which leads northward or north-west to the southern gate of Mr. Hill’s burying-ground, where, like the similar walk on the opposite side of the same enclosure, it abruptly terminates. It conducts also to a small triangular enclosure immediately adjoining Mr. Hill’s property, and partly sur¬ rounded by a massive iron railing, partly enclosed by the solid rock behind, which is covered and matted over with ivy. This is the property of Humphrey Ewing Crum Ewing, Esq., nephew cf the late Mr. Ewing of Strathleven, and to whom we have already alluded in the life of that gentleman, (p. 197.) Returning to the carriage-way, and still continuing our descent along the base of the rock, which now rises in the shape of a rugged perpendicular cliff to Major Monteath’s mausoleum, we notice immediately below us, on our right hand, the elegant group of monuments belonging to the Patti- son family. These we shall refrain from describing until we return by the carriage-way that passes in front of the group. They are nearly the last in the compartment of Beta, be¬ yond which Theta commences, at the narrowest part of the neck or isthmus between the carriage-way above and that below; but the actual boundary between them is not exactly defined. In the meantime, the road which we are now pur¬ suing begins to diverge from the base of the cliff, and space is left for a large and beautiful enclosure in the rocky recess, MONUMENTS IN THETA. 305 belonging to William Graham, Esq. of Lancefield cotton¬ spinning mills. This enclosure, as well as the monuments on the top of the clitf, is included in the compartment Epsi¬ lon, and a line of vaults will be continued along the base of the rock in the same compartment. A branch of the carriage¬ way is now being formed in this direction, which will consti¬ tute a well-marked boundary between Upsilon and Theta. Passing the point where the new carriage-way diverges, and turning off to the left, the visitor will encounter a series of monuments in Theta, which stand facing the rock. The first is a beautiful square pillar of polished Aberdeen granite, bearing the following inscription:— “ Sacred to the Memory of James Connell,LL.D. Mathematical Master in the High School of Glasgow; Born. 7th September, 1804 ; died, 26th March. 1S46. Erected by his Friends and Pupils, as a Tiibuta of Respect and Admiration for his Character and Talents, mdcccu.” The rest of the monuments in this group do not present any feature of peculiar interest, until we arrive at the last, which is one of the humblest and plainest in the Necropolis > but which it would ill become us to pass without making room for the inscription. We have seen that the splendid mausoleum which towers upon the top of the cliff has no inscription. Here the inscription is a long one, and gives to this humble tombstone a value which not the most costly architectural structure would possess in the absence of any such testimony. Monuments of granite are for the great, and speak to the eye; the following inscription is for one of the lowly of the earth, and speaks to the heart:— “George Watson, a native of West LintoD, Peebleshire, came to Glasgow a stranger, but his gentle manners and amiable disposition soon gained him many friends. As an office-bearer of the church, and a Sabbath-schoo, teacher, his Christian character and usefulness were highly appreciated by members of various religious denominations, with whom he was associated for purposes of devotion aud practical piety; aud especially by the Young Men composing the Sabbath Class of the Spoutraouth Institution, who roceived his instructions, enjoyed his friendship, and have erected tills monument to his memory. He died 22d September, 1851, aged 35 years 7 months. ‘ That life is long which armwevs life's great end.”’ We have stated that this line of monuments is in Theta, u 30G CLASG0W NECROPOLIS. which embraces the whole of the middle portion of the lower Necropolis, opposite the cliff, and is bounded by the oval sweep of the carriage-way—rising into a bank or ridge which forms a pretty steep declivity towards the south. On the top and sides of the bauk are several handsome monuments, but not of a character that calls for particular notice. We therefore continue our descent towards the gate in the wall, which at present divides the lower Necropolis from the old excavation of the quarry, but whicli will shortly be removed, to enlarge the cemetery in this direction, so as to include within its limits the greater part of that excavation. The piece of ground extending northward from the gate, along the interior of the wall, to the foot of the steep decli. vity that slopes from the upper Necropolis, is all that at present represents Zeta; but this compartment, which is still a comparative wilderness of trees and shrubs, will soon be expanded into the quarry. On the other side of the gate, Eta commences; and here, forming as it were a part of the wall, is what appears to be a family-group of three monuments, rendered considerably more conspicuous by a coating of white paint, than by any peculiar pretensions to artistic elegance. Opposite these, the carriage-way sweeps round to the right with a sharp curve, and we have now on our left the small compartment of Eta, sheltered and bounded towards the south by a woody knoll or ridge, which forms the extreme south-eastern limit of the Necropolis. This ridge has much the appearance of being artificial; but is not so. The hollow through which the carriage-way passes, and not the elevation, is artificial— having been originally formed as a road to the quarry. Meanwhile Eta is snugly esconced at the foot of this ridge, and is of a triangular form, bounded on the north by the car- riage-way, by which it is divided from Theta. When en¬ larged, it will embrace the series of new vaults now in course of construction beyond the wall, and the whole of the inter¬ vening ground—sharing the reclaimed portion with Zeta. MONUMENTS IN ETA. 307 It constitutes at present an outlying angle of the Ne¬ cropolis. The monuments in this compartment are chiefly of a plain and unassuming style, and such as may generally be met with in any churchyard. We may mention, however, as one of the first which we encounter, and as standing conspicuous among the rest, a handsome obelisk, of grey granite, erected to the memory of the late Mr. M’Lean, sculptor, whose name may be seen on not a few monuments in the Necropolis. A little behind, in the second row, is a small tombstone, tinged of a blue color, and bearing this inscription:— “Sacred to the Memory of George Baird, Potter, who died 12th February, 1846, aged 33 years. This Tablet was erected as a tribute to his worth, by his employer and fellow-workmen at Anuficld Pottery; where, during twelve years, ho discharged the duties of a responsible situation, so as to enjoy the confidence of the one, and the esteem of both.” Near the middle of the front row, is a neat and unassum¬ ing stone, erected by a medical gentleman belonging to Worcester, in memory of a daughter who died in this city, aged 25 years; and under the inscription are traced these lines:— “ Blessed, are the dead that die in the Lord." “She is gone, she is gone, to the land of light, Where the glorious day ne’er sets in night; Where a cloud ne’er comes across the sky. Where the tears are wiped from every eye. Where all is holiness, love, and bliss— And none regret a world like this.” Then follows a graceful obelisk, recording the successive deaths of no less than five children of the same family; and subjoined to this mournful register are the following lines:— “ Our little lambs, which promised fair, To us but short were given ; But they have made a happy change. From this vain world to Heaven.” On the general character of the Necropolis poetry, we shall have something to say in our concluding chapter. In the meantime, we shall merely remark, that the reader must be 308 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. hypercritical indeed, who would carefully canvass the poeti¬ cal merit of lines so full of mournful suggestion as those last quoted. The utterances of sore bereavement are totally bey.nd the province of criticism. The course of the carriage-way is now westward, and several monuments which grace the declivity of Theta on our right, are very pretty—one in particular is remarkably elegant—but these we must pass over without further notice. At length we arrive at the western extremity or angle of Eta, where a tablet may be seen in the wall on the left hand, bearing the following inscription :— The Merchants’ House of Glasgow erected this wall in May, 1835, On opening the Eoad by St. Anne Street into their property, in lieu of the road in from off this wall, which they have a right to open and use at plea-ure. The width of the road at Forefield Street is twelve feet two inches, and at this wall seventeen feet. James Martin, D. of G. This road, as previously stated, was principally used for communicating with the quarry, to which, indeed, it was the only convenient means of access before opening the more direct road by St. Anne Street, or rather Duke Street, men¬ tioned in the foregoing inscription. At this point, Iota commences on the left, and instead of Theta, we have now Mnema on our right. Advancing a few yards further, the visitor will observe in the latter com¬ partment, one of the most interesting monuments in the Necropolis. Others may be found to surpass it in elegance of design and elaborate richness of sculpture; but, even as a work of art, it is not without considerable merits; although it derives its chief interest from being erected on that pre¬ cise spot on which stood the house and hearth of the father and grandfather of the proprietor. It consists of an obelisk or tapering column, resting on an elevated base, and crowned with a capital and vase of the simplest and least ornate of MONUMENTS ON THE FAMILY-HEAliTII. 309 the classic orders of architecture. The inscription is in the following terms:— Erected by James Mitchell, Painter, Glasgow, To mark The spot where stood the dwelling-place of his Father and Gra idiather. Which was occupied by them for a jwriod of forty-eight years, previous to the formation of this Necropolis, and is now chosen as the final resting-place of their descendants. ''In childhood’s years, when full of sportive glee. Here have I prattled on my mother's knee. Received her kind caress, her holy care. As oft she breath'd for me her fervent prayer. Here did our parents and their children meet, A happy circle joined in concord sweet; While upwards rose the voice of prayer and praise. That God would lead us in his holy ways. As on this spot I drew my infant breath. Here let me rest when I repose in death ; And when the last trump's pealing notes shall sound. Oh ! may our lot among the blest be found. ” Death, the last enemy, shall be destroyed. 1845. On the east and west sides, the names of the deceased members of the family are inscribed, varying from the almost patriarchal age of eighty-four to the tender years of infancy. Altogether, this monument is a family-record to which the proprietor may well attach an almost sacred value. The feelings with which it is associated are very affectingly ex¬ pressed in the verses above-quoted, of which it is sufficient to say that they are very greatly superior in merit to much of the original poetry in the Necropolis. The theme was worthy of the bard of Rydal Mount, and would have afforded a most congenial topic to that devout worshipper in Nature’s great temple, whether kneeling in the midst of the grandeur of this majestic universe, or humbly adoring in the shadow of the deepest sanctities of the human soul. It will be re- membered that this part of the Necropolis was added to the grounds at a period comparatively recent, and though it 310 GLASGOW NECROPOLIS. originally belonged to the Wester-Craigs estate, it had been entirely alienated from that estate before its re-purchase. Hence the circumstance that dwelling-houses stood on this spot, and on the parts adjacent, even after the rest of the ground was devoted to the purposes of a cemetery. We do not intend to pursue the course of the carriage-way further in this direction; but the visitor who has leisure to do so for a space of fifty or sixty yards, will find his curiosity rewarded, by encountering on his left hand another monu¬ ment of humbler pretensions, but marked by the same inte¬ resting circumstance which lends a peculiar charm to the monument above-mentioned. We allude to a tombstone near the old lodge, erected to the late Mr. .John Lauder, surgeon, Calton, who died August 28, 1847, aged 40, and bearing the following record:— This is the spot where stood the dwelling-house of the Grandfather and Grandmother of Dr. Lauder, 55 years ago, and which he chose for his resting-place. We shall afterwards approach within view of Dr. Lauder’s monument. In the meantime, instead of continuing our route along this branch of the carriage-way, which offers but little of additional interest until it returns to the bridge, we now retrace our steps by a few yards to the nearest tomb¬ stones in Eta, opposite which another branch slopes up¬ ward to the northwest. This will conduct us to Colonel Pattison’s monument, and onward under the brow of the hill, until it descends and rejoins the principal carriage-way, a little beyond the fayade. Jt forms, in the first place, the boundary between Theta and Mnema, so that while the former is again on our right, Mnema is now on our left, em¬ bracing Mr. Mitchell's interesting monument, and sweeping round to the fayade. Ascending a few steps in this direc¬ tion, behind Mr. Mitchell’s monument, we soon arrive at a narrow walk, branching off horizontally to the left, and lead¬ ing to a handsome isolated tombstone, which marks the final resting-place of one of the most gifted of Scotia’s modern MNEMA, IOTA, AND OMICBON. 311 bards in the humble ranks of life. The well-known name of Alexander Rodger is one that cannot be passed over with a mere cursory notice, and, therefore, we reserve it to another chapter, for which the history and poetry of the bard will furnish us with more materials than we require. Advancing, in the meantime, a little further along this walk, we arrive at two peculiar monuments on the left hand. One of the graves, which is closely surrounded by a neat iron railing, is marked at the head by a small sarcophagus of white marble, resting on a solid cubical block of rough-hewn granite ; and over the sarcophagus is thrown a military cloak, from beneath which protrudes the hilt of a sword. On the cloak are the words “ Egypt—Martinique and the body of the monu¬ ment bears this inscription :—■ “Sacred to the Memory of Brevet Lieut. Colonel Francis Weller, late Major, 13th Regiment of Foot. Born at Hilden House. Tunbridge, Kent, 2ut half an hour, his body was let down on a platform. At this period the disguised headsman made his appearance. 37 6 APPENDIX. and with one stroke severed tlie head from the body, and having- held it up, exclaimed ‘ Behold the head of a traitor ! r On this, some per¬ sons in the crowd, which was unprecedentedly great, cried out ‘Mur¬ der ! murder ! ’ “ The Commission was also opened at Dumbarton, Paisley, Ayr, and Stirling. At Dumbarton, Robert Munro was acquitted. At Paisley, James Spiers, weaver in Johnstone, was also acquitted. At Ayr, Thomas M‘Kay pled guilty, received sentence, and was afterwards pardoned. And at Stirling, twenty-two persons were arraigned for appearing in open rebellion, and engaging the King’s troops at Bonny- muir. Andrew Hardie and John Baird were tried and found guilty, and afterwards hanged and beheaded at Stirling ; twenty pled guilty, and were rec ommended to mercy, nearly the whole of whom were transported for life.” A fine monument, covered with inscriptions, has been erected to Hardie and Baird in Sighthill Cemetery, to which their remains were removed from Stirling, by permission of the Government, in July, 1847, and honored with decent interment. THE IRYINGITES IN GLASGOW. (Note to p. 232.) Tr may not be generally known, that there exists at the pre¬ sent moment a church or chapel in Glasgow, the worshippers in which are sometimes termed ‘ Irvingites,’ although they disown the name, and call themselves the ‘ Catholic Aposiolic Church.’ We believe they are the same to whom allusion has been made (p. 228) as the ‘ Albury School of Prophets,’ with whom Mr. Irving associated, and held not a few opinions in common. They affirm, if we mistake not, the sinfulness of Christ’s nature ; the existence in the church of ‘ gifts of heal¬ ings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues,’ and of dif¬ ferent orders of spiritual instructors, corresponding to the various offices indicated in the New Testament. The pre¬ siding clergyman of each church is termed the Angel; and as¬ sociated with him are prophets, evangelists, pastors, elders, teachers, &c., all of whom, robed in surplices, officiate by turns in the different parts of the service. The Rev. Mr. Watson, late of Greenock, is the angel of the church in Glasgow, which is really a magnificent place of worship, op¬ posite the Town’s Hospital, in Parliamentary Road. The building is 124 feet in length within the walls; and is, there¬ fore, so far as we are aware, the longest ecclesiastical struc¬ ture in Glasgow, with the exception of the Cathedral, to which it may well be compared in the beauty and grandeur of the interior. The chancel is floored with ornamental, encaustic APPENDIX. 377 tiles, and enclosed with a carved oak screen, within which are twenty-four stalls for the priests. The forms of worship closely resemble those of the Romish Church, as regards the intoning of the liturgy, genuflexions, burning of incense, &c. At one end of the building is the grand organ, with the con- fessional; and the altar is in the circular apse forming the eastern termination. The hours of Divine worship on Sun¬ days are, 0 and 10 a.m., and 4 p.m. —the door of the church being opened p ecisel.v at the hour, Greenwich time. Henry Drummond, .O.P., ol Albury Park, who occasionally visits his friends in Glasgow, is recognized as the head or presiding Angel of the two branches of the ‘ Catholic Apostolic Church’ in Scotland and Switzerland. STRATA FOUND IN BORING IN THE MERCHANTS' QUARRY. (Note to p. 291.) We were indebted to the kindness of Mr. George Milne, first superintendent of the Necropolis, for the following journals of the bores put down in the quarry in 1834, and which it may be interesting to preserve : — First Bore about the Middle OP the Quarry. Ft. In. Rubbish, - - - - - 0 11 Bastard Whinstone, - . . - - 2 s Broken Rock, - - - - - 2 5 Soft Sandstone, - - - - 2 10 Fire-clay, - - - - 0 7 White Freestone, - - - - - 4 7 Dark “ - - - - 6 6 Blens, - - - - 0 2 Dark Freestone, - - - - - n 10 White “ - - - - 9 9 Grey Rock, - - - - - 3 6 Lleas, - - - - 1 0 Dark Soft Sandstone, - - - - 3 4 Total, - - - - - 50 i Second Bore, ON East Side of Qcarry. Ft. In. Rubbish, - - - 0 10 Blue Whinstone, - - - - 15 8 Bastard “ - - - 5 3 Bleas, - - - 4 0 Fire-clay, - - - - 0 8 Soft Sandstone, - - - 2 3 Fine White Freestone Rock, - - - - 15 0 Dark Brown - - - 3 6 Total, . . - - . 50 6 378 APPENDIX. Speaking with reference to the second of these bores, on the south-east side, Mr. Milne says :— “When we abandoned it, we filled up the bore with clay to within about twenty feet of the top, when the water made its appearance again at the mouth of the boro, and has continued to flow ever since. The fine white sandstone post we met with, of 15 feet 6 inches, is the same soft moulders’ sand which crops out on the west side of the ceme¬ tery, about half-way betwixt the bridge and the north boundary wall, but in the quarry it is consolidated. Underneath this moulders’ sand we had the dark brown sandstone ; and under it two seams of coal, one 6 inches, and the other about 3 inches. There is also, but at a great depth, an excellent seam of fire-clay, which crops out at the bum near the Jews’ monuments; and there is likewise a vein of ironstone running from the south side, behind the old lodge, in a continuous line to and through the north boundary of the cemetery. There are other strata worthy of notice, such as seams of round pebbles, evidently rim and rounded by the action of water.” We have merely to add, that the distinguished chemist who is mentioned at p. 291 as having made the analysis of the water, namely, Dr. Thomas Graham, is no longer Professor of Chemistry in University College, London, but Master of the Mint. At that time he was Professor of Chemistry in the Andersonian Institution; and his portrait may he seen in the hall of the Glasgow Philosophical Society, of which he was president, and where it is associated with that of his successor as president, the late Dr. Thomas Thomson. SUMMARY OR GUIDE, FOB THE IMMEDIATE USE OF VISITORS. The Necropolis was the first ornamental or garden-cemetery formed in this country, on the model of the cemetery of ‘ Pi-re la Chaise’ at Paris ; and is generally admitted to he, in point of situation, the finest in Europe. It belongs to a municipal and charitable corporation, the Merchants’ House of Glasgow, by whom the ground was converted from a fir park to its present purpose in 1833. The hill, or rather the ridge which termi¬ nates in the Necropolis, consists chiefly of a mass of overlying trap, rising to a height of 225 feet above the level of the Clyde. On the highest point is erected a monument to the memory of the great Scottish Reformer, John Knox,—which existed several years before the cemetery was formed, and when, as the Fir Park, it was merely an agreeable place of public resort for the citizens.* The rivulet or burn which divides the Necropolis from the Cathedral grounds is known by the curious name of the ‘ Molendinar’—a term of monkish-Latin origin, derived from its furnishing the water-power for the Subdean Mill. The elegant modern bridge which crosses the stream, and forms the approach to the Necropolis, is sometimes not inap¬ propriately termed the ‘ Bridge of Sighs.’ The fine Elizabethan fagade at the inner end of the bridge was originally intended as the entrance to a tunnel, to be carried sheer through the hill, to a large, quarried excava¬ tion on the opposite side, and to contain a series of catacombs for aristocratic interment; but this idea has been very pro¬ perly abandoned. The excavation was continued only a few feet, and is used as a depository for the tools of the workmen employed in the cemetery. * The bearded figure, with Bible in hand, on the top of this tall column, is therefor© not Sir William Wallace, as wo are told that English visitors sometimes suppose. 380 APPENDIX. Turning to the left at the facade, and proceeding north- ward along the principal carriage-way, the visitor will find himself conducted to the summit by a gradual winding ascent. The first monument of a public character is that erected to the memory of Hugh Hamilton, a cloth-lapper, opposite the foot of a connecting branch of the carriage-way which here ascends in a straight line to the top of the hill at Mr. M‘Gavin’s monument. Hugh Hamilton's name is connected with no history beyond what is stated in the inscription; but, advancing northward to near the point where the carriage¬ way begins to bend round to the east, the visitor will observe on his right hand a plain tombstone, which indicates the grave of Michael Scott, the author of ‘ Tom Cringle’s Log,’ and ‘ The Cruise of the Midge.’ Further to the north, and down a little from the carriage-Way oil the left hand, is an elegant and much-admired private monument, belonging to Mr. Lockhart, clothier. Opposite the bend of the carriage¬ way is a circular green space, beyond which, a true Egyptian obelisk, having no pedestal or base, is erected against the boundary-wall. Following the curve of the carriage-way, until it begins to return in a southward direction, the visitor will observe on his right an elegant Gothic monument, enriched with a marble bust by Fillans. This is the tomb of the poet Mo¬ therwell, as stated in the inscription on the back of the pedestal. The designs carved on the other sides of the structure are explained at pp. 68-70. Opposite Motherwell’s monument is an elegant private sepulchre; and further on is a series of similar structures erected against the steep bank on the same side of the car¬ riage-way ; none of which partake of a public character, ex¬ cept that which is situated almost directly under Knox’s monument. This is known as the Egyptian vaults, and was formed by the Merchants’ House for the purposes of tem¬ porary interment, when it might happen that a tomb had not been previously prepared, or could not be ready in time to receive the remains of the deceased. On reaching the level of the upper platform of the hill, the visitor will observe on his right hand a beautiful obelisk of Peterhead granite, resting on a graduated base of black marble, which is much discolored by the atmosphere. This has been erected by Pi,obert Monteith, Esq. of Carstairs, to the memory of his father, the late Henry Monteith of Car- stairs, who was twice elected Lord Provost of Glasgow, and for some years represented in Parliament the Falkirk district of SUMMARY OR GUIDE. 381 Burghs, before the passing of the Reform Bill. The eminent firm of Henry Monteith & Co., which still exists in full effi¬ ciency, has raised the reputation of Glasgow throughout Europe in connection with the dyeing of Turkey-red ; and the father of the gentleman to whom the obelisk is erected was tlie founder of the muslin manufacture in Scotland. Immediately contiguous to Mr. Monteith's obelisk, on the south side, are interred the remains of the celebrated Rev. Dr. Wardlaw—a name universally known as that of one of the most eminent divines and polemical writers of the age; and to whom an elegant monument is about to be erected by the congregation over which he presided—for¬ merly of West George Street Chapel, now of Pitt Street Inde¬ pendent Church. On the left hand, opposite Mr. Monteith’s obelisk, is a fine hexagonal temple, erected to the memory of another dis¬ tinguished divine—the late Rev. Dr. John Dick, minister of Greyfriars’ U.P. Church, Glasgow, and Professor of Theology to the Associate Synod. Dr. Dick’s theolcgical lectures, pub¬ lished in four volumes after his death, are much and justly admired. Near Dr. Dick’s monument is a small pyramidal structure, erected to the memory of Mr. Thomas At kin son, a literary bookseller in Glasgow, who wrote ‘ The Sextuple Alliance,’ ‘ The Chameleon,’ and other miscellaneous works of con¬ siderable merit. A sum of money which he left to found an educational institution in Glasgow is now under litigation (see p. 105). Mr. Atkinson died at sea, to which his re¬ mains were consigned, and therefore this monument, as well as Mr. Monteith’s and Dr. Dick’s, is merely a cenotaph* or monumental memorial. Pursuing the bend of the carriage-way eastward, the visitor will observe on his left hand, a stately and beautiful monu¬ ment, erected to the memory of the late Mr. Alexander, so well known in Edinburgh, Dumfries, and other parts of the country, as for many years proprietor and manager of the Theatre-Royal, Glasgow. This fine monument has been erected by the widow and family of the deceased. The next is a colossal bust, in white marble, by the late Mr. Fillans, erected to the memory of Mr, Dugald Moore, another literary bookseller in Glasgow, who published seve¬ ral volumes of poetry, including ‘ The African,’ ‘ The Bard of the North,’ and various other compositions of great merit and still higher promise. • Compounded of two Greek words, kenos, empty, «nd taj hot, tomb. 083 APPEKDIX. In the blank space, tying to the eastward of Dugald Moore's monument, are interred the remains of the late Mr. John Tait, a self-educated man, who, from being a weaver, took to political writing during the exciting times of the Reform Bill agitation, and exhibited considerable talent as editor of a newspaper termed ‘ The Glasgow Liberator.’ Still further to the east is a tall and elegant obelisk of un¬ polished granite, erected to the memory of the late Robert Kettle, Esq., a merchant in Glasgow, highly distinguished for his philanthropy and Christian zeal, but more especially by his exertions in the temperance cause. Mr. Kettle was for many years president of the Scottish Temperance League ; and besides editing some of the journals connected with that association, exhibited a warm interest in the cause of Sab¬ bath observance. Near Mr. Kettle’s obelisk, a beautiful monument is about to be erected to the late Mr. David Robertson, bookseller, who died of cholera in 1N54. This gentleman was much beloved for his many amiable qualities, and was well known to most of the literati of the west of Scotland. Mr. Robertson is interred nearly opposite a tombstone, be¬ longing to Mr. Samuel Dow; and immediately behind this stone is a grave, which encloses the remains of the late James Reddie, Esq., LL D., for many years the principal Town-clerk of Glasgow, and eminent as a profound lawyer, and writer on international law. Mr. Reddie was the intimate friend and college-companion of Dr. Thomas Brown, the distinguished metaphysician, and of Lord Brougham, who acknowledges Mr. Reddie’s superiority in learning to all his class-fellows, in¬ cluding some who were afterwards the greatest men of the age. A few yards to the north of Mr. Reddie’s grave is a beauti¬ ful stone of polished Aberdeen granite, which contains a melancholy record of the wreck of the ‘ Orion ’ steamer. Near the middle of the row which commences with Mr. Kettle’s obelisk, the visitor will observe an elegant sarco¬ phagus erected to the late Mr. Miller of Muirshiel; and ad¬ vancing to the northern extremity of the same terrace, he will notice, a little to the eastward, a recently-formed semi¬ circular area, in which are interred the remains of the late Robert Baird, Esq. of Auchmedden—one of the members of the eminent firm of the Bairds of Gartsherrie. This gentle¬ man died in office as Lord Dean of Guild, or President of the Merchants’ House, to which the Necropolis belongs. Conspicuous at the northern limit of the highest platform of the hill, is a lofty octagonal structure, crowned with a stone SUMMARY OR GUIDE. 383 cupola; and pierced at one side for an entrance, through which may be observed, on a tablet of white marble, the name of Dr. William Rae Wilson, the well-known traveller in the Holy Land. Pursuing the carriage-way which now returns southward in a straight line to the base of Knox’s monument, the visitor will notice, on his left hand, a fine colossal statue of white marble, erected to the late Charles Tennant, Esq. of St. Rollox. This gentleman was the inventor of the bleacliing-powder (chloride of lime), and established the St. Rollox chemical works—the largest in Europe—of which the gigantic stalk may be seen about half a-mile to the north, soaring above all others. Advancing to the southern extremity of this avenue, the visitor will arrive at the base of Knox’s monument, on which is engraved a variety of inscriptions, given in the body of this work. We must also refer to the same chapter (pp. 179-80) for an eloquent description by the late Mr. M’Lellan of the splendid and interesting view from the summit. On the green bank sloping down to the south from the base of Knox’s column, is a massive sarcophagus of Peterhead granite, resting on a graduated base, which marks the grave of the late Mr. Ewing of Strathleven, one of the merchant- princes of Glasgow, and chief promoter of the Necropolis. This gentleman was the last Lord Provost of Glasgow under the old Burgh regime, and was one of the first two repre¬ sentatives of Glasgow under the Reform Bill. He wrote an excellent history of the Merchants’ House, by which he was twice elected to the office of Lord Dean of Guild ; and among his magnificent bequests, which are appended to our account of his life (p. 197), he left not less than L'30,000 to that in¬ stitution. Opposite the south-east corner of the pedestal of Knox’s column, is another large and elegant sarcophagus, erected to the memory of the late Rev. Dr. Thomas Brown, of Free St. John’s Church, Glasgow. This excellent clergyman was the second successor of Dr. Chalmers in St. John’s parish church, before the Disruption ; and he was the immediate successor of Dr. Chalmers, as the second moderator of the Free General Assembly. Proceeding southward a few yards, by the walk which passes in front of Dr. Brown’s grave, the visitor will arrive at the splendid Gothic structure erected to the memory of the late Rev. Dr. William Black of the Barony parish. This fine monument is distinguished by its lofty, oblong quadrangular 884 APfENDIX. canopy, surmounted by two gilt crosses, and rising over an elevated tomb, on which is a recumbent statue of the de¬ ceased. The numerous Scriptural illustrations sculptured on different parts of the structure, are fully explained at pp. 318-815. The Barony church, of which Dr. Black was the much esteemed pastor, stands on the right hand of the en¬ trance to the lane which approaches the Necropolis bridge. Near the south-east corner of Dr. Black’s monument, is a massive square pillar of polished Aberdeen granite, inscribed to the memory of that distinguished but unfortunate divine— the Rev. Edward Irving, of the y cotc i National Church, Lon¬ don, who for some years astonished the world by his eloquence and his doctrinal eccentricities. Mr. Irving is interred in the crypt of the Cathedral; and this stone is erected over the grave of his eldest sister, who was married to Dr. Dickson, the companion of Clapperton in his travels. Near this is a lofty, square monument, somewhat gloomy and Egyptian in its character, erected to the memory of the Rev. Dr. Robert Muter, of the Duke Street United Associate Congregation. The visitor may now return westward to the point at which he reached the upper platform of the hill, at Dr. Dick’s monument; and nearly opposite the inscription on that struc¬ ture, he will observe a handsome tombstone which marks the grave of the late distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Thomas Thomson, This eminent philosopher was one of the greatest chemists of the age. He invented the system of chemical symbols, was the chief exponent of the Atomic theory ; and his well-known ‘ System of Chemistry ’ was long the standard work on the science, A little further to the south is. the fine monument, crowned with a colossal statue, ot Mr. M’Gavin, who was born of humble parents in Ayrshire ; became first a weaver, and then a teacher in Paisley; was afterwards a mercantile clerk in Glasgow, then a merchant, and finally a bank manager. Mr. M’Gavin was a lay preacher, and a somewhat voluminous writer; but his reputation rests on * The Protestant,’ a work exposing the errors of Popery, which was published periodi¬ cally in Glasgow until it extended to several volumes, and was the means of exciting the anti-popish enthusiasm, which resulted in the erection of the neighboring monument to John Knox. Opposite Mr. M’Gavin’s monument, a carriage-way, already referred to, descends to the foot of the hill; and a few yards down, the visitor will observe a beautiful sculptured figure of SUMMARY OR GUIDE. 385 a seraph or winged youth, which is much admired. Pursu¬ ing the walk which passes behind this statue, he will notice, erected against the rock, a magnificent Gothic monument belonging to Mr. Montgomerie, writer; and at the further extremity of the same walk, a piece of ground which belongs to the Dilletanti Society. Here are interred the remains of two of the founders of that society—one of whom, Andrew Henderson, was a portrait-painter, a contributor to ‘ The Laird of Logan,’ and editor of a ‘Collection of Scottish Proverbs.’ Descending by another walk, which returns and rejoins the carriage-way, near the winged figure above-mentioned, the visitor will notice below, on his right, an elegant sepulchre in the form of a rectangular Greek temple, which encloses the remains of the late Mr. Davidson of Ruchill; and op¬ posite the statue a walk branches southward, which conducts to the beautiful burying-ground of Laurence Hill, Esq., writer in Glasgow, and formerly collector to the Merchants’ House, in w'hich capacity he took a most active and influential part in promoting the conversion of the Fir Park into a garden- cemetery. It will be observed that the gates of the enclosure are literally constructed of poetry, written in letters of iron. Reascending to the carriage-way in front of Mr. M‘Gavin’s monument, and passing a few yards to the south, the visitor wall observe, on his right hand, a graceful obelisk of Peterhead granite, erected to the memory of the late Rev. Dr. Hugh Heugh, a distinguished United Presbyterian divine, but chiefly known by his labors as a writer and platform speaker in the Voluntary cause. Dr. Heugh was for fifteen years mini¬ ster of the Anti-burgher congregation in Stirling, of which his father was the first pastor, contemporary with Ebenezer Erskine; and in 1821, he received a call from a congregation in Blackfriars’ Street, Glasgow, with which he remained till his death. At a little distance behind Mr. M‘Gavin’s monument, another structure, in a somewhat similar style, but without the statue, is erected to the memory of the late Rev. William Brash, of East Campbell Street United Presbyterian Church. Near this, is a massive and majestic octagonal granite monument, terminating in a stone cupola, erected to the memory of the late William Dunn, Esq. of Duntocher. This gentleman began life as a millwright, and afterwards established machine-works in Glasgow, which gained a high repute at the time when power-looms and spinning machinery come into general application. He then established spinning 2 B 380 APPENDIX. mills of his own ; and ultimately died possessed of several estates and spinning factories at Duntocher and other places near Bowling ; besides the extensive machine.works in Glas¬ gow, which still maintain their pre-eminence. A beautiful avenue, passing in front of Mr. Dunn’s monu¬ ment, proceeds southward to the carriage-way, near the edge of the cliff, which commands a magnificent view of the Cath- kin hills, the valley of the Clyde, and the eastern part of the city. Below, in the foreground, is the lower Necropolis, and on the left an extensive trap-quarry, which belongs, like the Necropolis itself, to the Merchants’ House; and the visitor will observe that operations are now in progress to extend the Necropolis into the quarry. At the south-western angle of the cliff, is a large circular structure, which is sometimes not unnaturally mistaken by English visitors for a chapel. It encloses the remains of the late Major Archibald Douglas Monteath, an officer in the service of the East India Company, who left by his will T1000 for the erection of this sepulchre. His brother, the late James Monteath Douglas, Esq. of Bosehall and Stonebyres, is also interred in a vault -within the same building. Near this is an elegant hexagonal temple, erected to tha memory of the late James Buchanan, Esq. of Dowanhill. This structure suffered severe damage in the dreadful hur¬ ricane of the Gth and 7th February, 1856. It originally con¬ sisted of two parts, the upper of which was blown down, and has not yet been replaced. The capitals of the lower columns are similar to those of the 1 Tower of the Winds ’ at Athens, supposed to be the earliest development of the Corinthian order; the columns of the upper structure, which is laid prostrate, exhibit the Corinthian order in its maturity. The third conspicuous monument in the same group is a massive, square pillar of granite, erected to the memory of Colin Dunlop, Esq. of Tollcross, who was educated as an advocate, was proprietor of Clyde Iron-Works, and repre¬ sented his native city in Parliament from January, 1835, to July, 1837. At the general election in the latter year, he de¬ clined to again present himself as a candidate, but took a deep interest in the proceedings, and died suddenly on the morn¬ ing of the election. On account of his amiable qualities, his kindness to the poor, and his liberal political views, he was intensely popular, and was honored with a public funeral, and this monument to his memory. The visitor may now descend to the lower Necropolis, fol¬ lowing the carriage-way which passes southward under the SUMMARY OR GUIDE. 387 rocky foundation of Major Monteath’s sepulchre, advances eastward to the gate in the quarry wall, and then sweeps round to the right, in a direction almost due west. Pursu¬ ing this course till he arrives at the projecting angle of a wall on the left hand, he will notice, a little beyond this point, an interesting, isolated monument on the right, which occupies the very site of the dwelling-place of the proprietor’s parents; and by continuing to advance about forty or fifty yards in the same direction, he will find on his left hand another tombstone, of humbler character, deriving a peculiar interest from the same circumstance. But instead of continuing our course in this direction, we have now to request the visitor to turn back to a branch of the carriage-way which passes off to the right before arriving at the first of the two monuments last-mentioned. Pursuing this upward course a few yards, and then turning off to the left, we are conducted to a handsome square monument, which marks the resting-place of Alexander Rodger—a man who never rose beyond a humble position; but who, by the native energies of his mind, acquired considerable local celebrity as a poet; and many of his songs obtained an exten¬ sive popularity. Returning, and advancing northward some distance along the same carriage-way, the visitor will soon arrive at the en¬ closure containing the monumental statue erected to the gal¬ lant Colonel Pattison, and other monuments to different members of the same respected family. The ample inscrip¬ tions on these monuments tell their own history, and are given in the body of this work (pp. 324-327). One of them contains a consolatory letter from Lord Fitzroy Somerset, now better known as the lamented Lord Raglan. The next enclosure is in the form of a beautiful ivy- mantled rockery, and is the property of Samuel Higgin¬ botham, Esq., of the firm of Messrs. Tod & Higginbotham. Beyond this are two elegant monuments, one of which is in imitation of some of the rocky excavations seen amid the ruins of Petra. The visitor now descends upon the principal carriage-way a little beyond the fagade, or near where he started on his pilgrimage through the silent city. Advancing along the carriage-way a few yards, and turning into a broad, straight, horizontal avenue which passes northward on the west side of Hugh Hamilton’s monument, already mentioned, he will find, near the middle of this avenue, on his right hand, a massive, irregular, oblong monument, inscribed * to the 388 APPENDIX. memory of James Robertson, Esq., ironmonger; ’ and in the next terrace behind this, will observe a plain tombstone marked as ‘ the property of William Stuart.’ The antiquarian will pause and ponder over this stone, when told that here are interred the remains, not only of Mr. William Stuart, the father—a man of liberal education, literary acquirements, and antiquarian tastes—but also of Mr. Robert Stuart, the son, author of that delightful work, ‘ Caledonia Romana,’ and of ‘ Views and Notices of Glasgow in former times.’ Proceeding to the northern extremity of this avenue, and then descending a few steps, we finally arrive at the burying- ground of the Jews, conspicuous by the Hebrew inscriptions on the tombstones, and the elegant monumental column and gateway, also covered with inscriptions, one of which consti¬ tutes a part of the gate itself. For these, and for some interesting historical incidents connected with this * syna¬ gogue of the dead ’ (which is now full), the visitor must per¬ use at his leisure the chapter expressly devoted to the Jews’ burying-ground; at which, like the way-worn wanderers to Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulchre, we appropriately con¬ clude our pilgrimage among the tombs. C. L. WEIGHT, Steam Printer and Stereotype Pounder, 45 Union Street, Glasgow. In Active Preparation,. To be Published in One Volume, Post 8 vo., Price 10s. (id. Cloth, Illustrated with nearly Three Hundred Engravings on Wood, THE €ext-!$0ok iif ijje Cplrgniplj, BEING A COMPLETE ACCOUNT, HISTORICAL & DESCRIPTIVE, OF THE ELECTRO-MAGNETIC, Eleotro-Chemical, and Magneto-Electrio Telegraphs, TO WHICH IS PREFIXED AN HISTORICAL TREATISE ON FRICTIONAL AND VOLTAIC ELECTRICITY, TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM, ELECTRO-MAGNETISM, AND THERMAL AND MAGNETO-ELECTRICITY; WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE OLD SEMAPHORE, AND THE VARIOUS METHODS OF TELEGRAPHING BY SIGNALS FROM THE EARLIEST TIME. BY GEORGE BLAIR, M.A. N O work has hitherto appeared in the English language which em¬ braces a complete and systematic account of the Electric Telegraph. The greatest scientific miracle of the day has not yet been discussed in a manner worthy of so important a subject. It is true that a variety of treatises have been written upon it, some of them by authors of no inconsiderable eminence in the scientific world; but either they have been too abstruse, and have been addressed exclusively to the classes professionally engaged in such pursuits, or they have aimed at nothing higher than the character of popular expositions, and consequently have omitted many points of great practical importance. Ranking avowedly in the former class is the Traits de Telegraphie Electrique , by the Abb<$ Moigno—by far the most voluminous work on the subject, and containing a mass of interesting information, compiled with much care, and expressed in a lucid and agreeable style, but with reference to which the author himself states, that in writing it he desires to be regarded as addressing himself chiefly to the scientific classes. He therefore assumes many facts to be known to the reader which, in a work intended for general perusal, would require a preliminary expla¬ nation ; and he enters into long discussions on many profound questions, which, although appropriate in a work written with the object avowed, would not be compatible with the limits or design of a treatise intended to elucidate the whole subject in a popular and yet practical manner. Two or three books on the Electric Telegraph have likewise been 2 published in America; but even the latest and most complete of these appears to be chiefly valuable as a collection of documents, compiled with little regard to systematic arrangement, and devoting almost exclusive attention to the history, progress, and development of the American systems. The best and most recent practical treatise is written in the German language, and is therefore inaccessible to the majority of English readers; while, at the same time, it touches but slightly on the historical and theoretical departments, and, like till the other foreign works on the subject, dismisses with a very inadequate notice the system chiefly adopted in England. Of the few books that have been published in this country on the same topic, the writer will only presume to say, that they do not embrace the complete, com¬ pendious, and systematic plan of the volume now announced, in which a detailed Historical and Descriptive view of the different Telegraphic systems either proposed or applied in this and other countries, will be preceded by an Historical sketch of Electricity, Magnetism, and their correlative subjects, written with a special view to the subsequent application of these mysterious agents to the art of Telegraphic com¬ munication, and embracing also an account of the various Semaphores or instruments for telegraphing by visible signals which have been in use from the most remote times. The work will be illustrated by Two or Three Hundred First-class Engravings now in course of preparation under the immediate superintendence of a gentleman who has been long practically acquainted with the whole subject; and while it is hoped that it will be found highly interesting to the general reader, even as a mere narrative or history of the progress of discovery in this direction, till it culminated in one of the greatest scientific triumphs of modern times, it is likewise intended to be invested with so much of a practical character that persons actually engaged in the working of the telegraph may find in it what its title implies—a useful Text- Book for Reference, William Mackenzie, London , Edinburgh, and Glasgow . Just Published, In foolscap 8 vo., 388 pages, price 3s. 6