In consequence of the publication of the “Minstrelsy,” the Kelso printer soon acquired a more than local fame, and was in general request in the publishing world. He was therefore induced, towards the end of 1802, to remove to Edinburgh, and he commenced there his long and distinguished career as a book printer, “with two presses and a proof one.” He adopted at first the designation of the Border Press. This was for a short time in premises in the neighbourhood of Holyrood, and then again in Foulis Close, Canongate; but in 1805 he removed to better accommodation at Paul’s Work, where, according to one of Scott’s letters (July 1806), he had “established a hall, equal to that which the genie of the lamp built for Aladdin in point of size, but rather less superbly furnished, being occupied by about a dozen of presses.” In another letter to Ballantyne, Scott says, “I am glad you have got some elbow-room at last.”
Paul’s Work, at North Back of Canongate, under the shadow of the Calton Hill and near the foot of Leith Wynd, had been rebuilt in 1619, on the site of an earlier religious foundation, for the reception and entertainment of twelve poor men, under the name of the Hospital of Our Lady, with a chapel or altar dedicated to St. Paul; and it must also have had some connection with the police of the city. The accounts of the Town Treasurer and of the Dean of Guild are preserved in almost unbroken series from 1552 to the present time. Many of the entries are very quaint, and throw light on the social conditions then prevailing in Edinburgh. Several items illustrating the rough justice of those days, arranged under “discharge extraordinar,” and one referring to Paul’s Work, may be given:—
| “Item, the day of 1554, for takin of ane greit gebet furth of the nether tolbuith and beiring of it to the hecht of the Dow Crag, to haif hangit hommill Jok on, and down bringing of it agane to Sanct Paullis Wark | xijᵈ | |
| Item, for cords to bynd and hang him with, | viijᵈ | |
| Item, the feird day of Fabruar 1554, for cordis to bind Nicoll Ramsay quhill he wes hedit, | vjᵈ | |
| Item, the samyn day, for cords to hang the man that brint Lord James’ cornis, | viijᵈ” | [7] |
Subsequent to Reformation times the building fell into decay, but was reconstructed and again occupied about 1619-1620 by certain Dutch manufacturers and weavers from Delft. It was decorated over the doorway with the city arms and the legend, “God · Bliss · this · Wark, 1619.” We next find it converted into a hospital for the wounded soldiers of General Leslie’s army, during the skirmishes which preceded his defeat at Dunbar, and thereafter it was used as a penal workhouse or bridewell. Portions of the grounds and buildings were cleared away about the middle of the eighteenth century by James Macdowall, a merchant of Edinburgh, who here erected a street of dwelling-houses under his own name. At the east end of the street there was also an entrance to the printing-house. The whole district—houses and everything thereabout—has undergone a complete change, the ground having been appropriated by the station and goods-sheds of the North British Railway. As a bridewell or house of correction Paul’s Work is referred to in the “Heart of Midlothian,” in the scene where Madge Wildfire is examined regarding her knowledge of Geordie Robertson and the Porteous Riot:—
“‘But maybe, Madge, ye wad mind something about it, if I was to gie ye this half-crown?’ said Sharpitlaw, taking out the piece of money.
“‘That might gar me laugh, but it couldna gar me mind.’
“‘But, Madge,’ continued Sharpitlaw, ‘were I to send you to the Wark-house in Leith Wynd, and gar Jock Dalgleish lay the tawse on your back——’