Nine unfortunate young women—‘very naked and meagre beings’—‘made an amende |1736.| honorable through the several streets of the city [of Edinburgh], the hangman attending them, and drums beating to the tune of Cuckolds-come-dig.’—C. M.
While Allan Ramsay was preparing his playhouse, an Italian female rope-dancer, named Signora Violante, performed in Edinburgh and some other Scottish towns. It was announced that she danced a minuet on the rope, as well as it could be done on the floor—danced on a board placed loosely on the rope—danced on the rope with two boys fastened to her feet—danced with two swords at her feet—the rope being no thicker than penny whip-cord. In Edinburgh, the scene of her performances was the ‘Old Assembly Hall.’—C. M.
1738. Mar. 22.
‘A grand convention was held of the adherents to the seceding ministers of the Church of Scotland, in a square plain on Braid Hills, two miles south of this city. About 10 before noon, Mr Thomas Mair, minister of Orwel, in Kinross-shire, opened the service of the day (standing in a pulpit reared up within a tent), with a sermon from Jeremiah i. 5. At noon, Mr William Wilson, one of the ministers of Perth, preached from Ezekiel xxii. 24, and afterwards baptized ten children, brought thither some 20, some 30 miles off. At four afternoon, Mr Ralph Erskine, one of the ministers of Dunfermline, preached from Hosea xxiii. 9, &c. The apparent tendency of these sermons was to excite devotion and fervour, a renewal of solemn engagements, to deprecate sin in general, and those of this corrupt age in particular: and it was observed that it was no proper expedient either to wash away sin, or indemnify the sinner, to purchase indulgences at the hand of the kirk-treasurer, and some other tenets that savoured of a popish tincture were soundly lashed. There were about 5000 hearers at each sermon (I mean of the household of faith), some of whom from South Britain and Ireland, besides the ungodly audience, consisting of many thousands, some of whom set fire to furze; others hunted the hare around ’em to create disturbance, a certain huntsman having laid a plot to carry off the collection. The convention dispersed at 7 at night.’—C. M.
Apr. 7.
In consequence of a butcher’s dog going mad, and biting some others of her species, the magistrates of Edinburgh ordered the slaughter of all the butchers’ dogs in the city, and, commanding the seclusion of all other dogs whatsoever, put a shilling on the head of every one which should be found abroad. There then took place a crusade against the canine species, which seems to have been nearly the sole Scottish incident reported in London for the year. ‘The street cadies went very early into obedience to this edict; for the drum had scarce gone round to intimate the same, when they fell a-knocking on the head all suspicious or ill-affected curs, some of which they hanged on sign-posts, &c.; and with difficulty could they be restrained from killing the dogs that lead the blind about the streets, or attacking the ladies with their lap-dogs. A detachment of the City Guard was ordered down to the butcher-market, when they made very clean havoc of all the dogs there. Saturday, at noon, the town-officers being provided with large oaken clubs, went a dog-hunting, and killed every cur they could see or hear of; so that nothing was to be seen but chasing, hacking, and slashing, or heard other than the lamentation of butchers’ wives, &c., for the loss of Credit, Honesty, Turk, Twopenny, Cæsar, &c.’
Three days later, the magistrates of Leith ordered all the dogs of their town to be put to death. Accordingly, the curs were driven into the harbour, and drowned, or else knocked on the head. ‘Several gentlemen and others,’ it is reported, ‘have sent off their dogs to the country, and a certain writer has despatched his favourite Tipsy to Haddington in a cloak-bag. Patrick Kier in Multries-hill having tied up his dog, the beast gnawed the rope, and getting loose, rushed into the room on his master, and bit him severely. The dog was immediately killed, and Mr Kier carried to the sea and dipped.’—C. M.
1740. July 30.
Lord Lovat having occasion at this time to travel from his house of Beaufort, in Inverness-shire, to Edinburgh, with his two daughters, made an effort to get his coach |1740.| ready, and, after two or three days spent in its repair, set out on his journey. Passing through Inverness without stopping, he came the first night to Corriebrough. To pursue his own narrative, as given in a letter to a friend:[[772]] ‘I brought my wheel-wright with me the length of Aviemore, in case of accidents, and there I parted with him, because he declared that my chariot would go safe enough to London; but I was not eight miles from the place, when on the plain road, the axle-tree of the hind-wheels broke in two, so that my girls were forced to go on bare horses behind footmen, and I was obliged to ride myself, though I was very tender, and the day very cold. I came with that equipage to Ruthven late at night, and my chariot was pulled there by force of men, where I got an English wheel-wright and a smith, who wrought two days mending my chariot; and after paying very dear for their work, and for my quarters two nights, I was not gone four miles from Ruthven, when it broke again, so that I was in a miserable condition till I came to Dalnakeardach, where my honest landlord, Charles M‘Glassian, told me that the Duke of Athole had two as good workmen at Blaire as were in the kingdom, and that I would get my chariot as well mended there as at London. Accordingly, I went there and stayed a night, and got my chariot very well mended by a good wright and a good smith. I thought then that I was pretty secure till I came to this place. I was storm-stayed two days at Castle Drummond by the most tempestuous weather of wind and rain that I ever remember to see. The Dutches of Perth and Lady Mary Drummond were excessively kind and civil to my daughters and to me, and sent their chamberlain to conduct me to Dumblain, who happened to be very useful to us that day; for I was not three miles gone from Castle Drummond, when the axle-tree of my fore-wheels broke in two, in the midst of the hill, betwixt Drummond and the bridge of Erdoch, and we were forced to sit in the hill, with a boisterous day, till Chamberlain Drummond was so kind as to go down to Strath, and bring wrights, and carts, and smiths to our assistance, who dragged us to the plain, where we were forced to stay five or six hours till there was a new axle-tree made, be that it was dark night before we came to Dumblain, which is but eight miles from Castle Drummond, and we were all much fatigued. The next day, we came to Lithgow, and the day after that we arrived here, so that we were twelve days on our journey by our misfortunes, which was seven days more than ordinary.’
1743. Jan. 10.