It's your Electric Scotland newsletter meaning
the weekend is nearly here :-)
You can view what's new this week on Electric Scotland at
http://www.electricscotland.com/update.html and you can unsubscribe to
this newsletter by clicking on the link at the foot of this newsletter.
See our Calendar of Scottish Events around the world at
http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/calendar_help.htm
CONTENTS
-----------------
Electric Scotland News
The Flag in the Wind
The Scottish Nation
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1845)
Scottish Canadian Newspaper
Clan Newsletters and Information
Poetry and Stories
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
Proceedings of the Scotch-Irish Fouth Congress at Atlanta, GA., April 28 to
May 1, 1892
History of Scotland
Good Words - Edited by the Rev Nornan MacLeod
Perth on the Tay
Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland in 1876
(New Book)
ELECTRIC SCOTLAND
---------------------------------
See there's to be a clan gathering in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2009. Should be
interesting with I understand a parade of the clans down the Royal Mile in
Edinburgh from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood House. Should be fun :-)
Got more work done on the house this week and also got my trees trimmed
back. Only thing left is to consider doing the extension to my car port and
knocking a door through from the house into it.
Was off getting some fruit to freeze for the winter at the weekend. Must get
a wee chest freezer as my fridge freezer is getting a bit full. Also visited
a winery where I got a wee wine tasting and they had an excellent raspberry
and apple wine which is very refreshing to the taste buds.
Attended a meeting of the Scottish Studies Foundation in Toronto on
Thursday. We've decided to have a Lady Nairne Tea in June of next year.
While the date and venue still need to be decided we are looking at having a
cream tea around 4-6 where you can enjoy cream cakes and scones and at the
same time enjoy listening to her songs and poetry. We believe this is the
first time that there will be a Lady Nairne Tea which we hope will
eventually rival a Burns Supper :-)
ABOUT THE STORIES
-----------------
Some of the stories in here are just parts of a larger story so do check out
the site for the full versions. You can always find the link in our "What's
New" section at the link at the top of this newsletter and pick up poems and
stories sent into us during the week from Donna, Margo, Stan, John and
others.
THE FLAG IN THE WIND
------------------------------------
Mind that The Flag is now in two sections (1) Political and (2) Cultural.
This weeks Flag is compiled by Jim Lynch. I note he tells us that...
Farmers in England are being paid to grow poppies as there is a shortage of
morphine; Andrew finds that odd as British troops are destroying poppy
fields in Afghanistan!
In Peter's cultural section I notice...
This week we reach the end of the second year of this feature which now
contains 452 quotations from 257 sources - an ever-expanding and variety of
quotations on all aspects of Scotland and Scottish life over the centuries
from both home and abroad. For example this week has a quotation from
General George Washington, 1st President of the United States of America,
which reinforced last week’s anonymous Hessian Officer’s quotation regarding
the Scots and Irish influence on the American war of Independence. Indeed
all this week’s quotations add weight to those from Professor Arthur
Herman’s byous book on the Scottish Enlightenment featured last week.
Kenneth (Kenny) MacAskill
There is little recognition in Scotland of the histories, journeys and
achievements of the Scots Diaspora.
(2006)
Henry Louis Mencken
Can the United States ever become genuinely civilized? Certainly it is
possible. Even Scotland has made enormous progress since the Eighteenth
Century, when, according to Macaulay, most of it was on the cultural level
of Albania.
(Minority report 1956)
Alexander (Alex) Elliot Anderson Salmond
This statue is not only a reminder of the Highland Clearances, but a great
example of the skill and vision of those who remain. This is an impressive
work of art that will strike a chord with every Scottish family. This statue
is a reminder of the men, women and children who left Scotland and took
their skills, their strength and their stories across the seas and shared
them around the world. While we deplore the Clearances we can be proud of
the contributions that those cleared have made to humanity.
(Unveiling of memorial statue ‘Exiles’ at the mouth of the Strath of
Kildonan in memory of those who were evicted during the Highland Clearances
23 July 2007)
General George Washington (1732-1799)
…and if all else fails, I will retreat up the Valley of the Virginia, plant
my flag on the Blue Ridge, rally around the Scots and Irish of that region,
and make my last stand for liberty amongst a people who will never submit to
British tyranny whilst there is a man left to draw a trigger.
(Valley Forge, Pennsylvania 1777)
You can read the Flag, listen to the Scots Language, enjoy the Scots Wit and
lots more at
http://www.scotsindependent.org
The Scottish Nation
----------------------------
My thanks to Lora for transcribing these volumes for us.
Now onto the H's with Holyroodhouse, Home, Honyman and Hope added this week.
In the Hope entry we read of...
HOPE, a surname of standing in Scotland since at least the 13th century.
Among those who swore fealty to Edward I. In 1296, were two barons of the
names of Adam le Hoip and John de Hope. Nisbet (System of Heraldry,
Appendix, vol. Ii., p. 96) says that those of this name are said to be
descended from the families des H’Oublons in Picardy. The French word Oublon
means a hop, and when assumed, as a surname it became in Scotland Hope. In
the Saxon, the word hope indicated the sheltered part of a hill.
John de Hope, the immediate ancestor of the Hopetoun family, is said to have
come to Scotland from France in the retinue of the princess Magdalene, queen
of James V., in 1537. He married in France Elizabeth or Bessie Cumming, a
Scotch lady, and had a son, Edward Hope, one of the principal inhabitants of
Edinburgh in the reign of Queen Mary. Being a great promoter of the
Reformation, Edward Hope was chosen one of the commissioners for that city
to the General Assembly of 1560. His son, Henry Hope, merchant in Edinburgh,
having frequent occasion, in the course of business, to visit the continent,
married a French lady, named Jaqueline de Tott, or Joanna Juvitot, and had
two sons, Sir Thomas of Craighall, the celebrated jurisconsult, a memoir of
whom is given below; and Henry, ancestor of the great and opulent branch of
the Hopes, long settled in Amsterdam, a descendant of which, Mr. Thomas Hope
of Deepdene, Surrey, author of Anastasius and other works, died in 1831.
Sir Thomas Hope, the elder son, acquired the estate of Craighall, in the
parish of Ceres, Fifeshire. The ruins of Craighall house, built by him, are
situated in the high ground, above a deep and beautifully wooded den, about
a mile to the south-east of the village of Ceres. In this building, says Mr.
Leighton, we have, what was then rare in Scotland, in private mansions, an
attempt to combine the graces of Italian architecture with the strength at
that time considered necessary in domestic architecture. The elegant mansion
had been erected immediately adjoining the old castle of Craighall, which
forms a wing on the south side of the building. The arms of the family still
remain emblazoned on the front, and the following motto, in allusion to the
family name, is still legible, “Spero suspiro donec.”
Sir Thomas was created a baronet of Nova Scotia in 1628. He married
Elizabeth, daughter of John Binning or Bennet of Wallyford, Haddingtonshire,
and had nine sons and five daughters.
The eldest son, Sir John Hope, second baronet of Craighall, was knighted and
admitted one of the ordinary lords of the court of session, 27th July 1632,
when he assumed the judicial title of Lord Craighall. In 1638 he refused to
take the king’s covenant until it should be explained by the General
Assembly. In 1640 he was one of the committee of Estates chosen to oppose
the designs of Charles I. In 1644 he succeeded his brother, Sir Thomas Hope,
of Kerse, as a commissioner for the plantation of kirks. In the following
year he was sworn a privy councillor, and in 1646 he succeeded his father as
second baronet. He was a member of the various committees of estates
constituted during the subsequent years of Charles I. And the first years of
Charles II. In January 1651 his brother, Sir James Hope of Hopetoun, was
arrested, by order of Charles II., for advising his majesty to surrender
England, Ireland, and part of Scotland to Cromwell, in order to preserve the
rest; and on being examined, he declared that it was his brother Lord
Craighall’s advice to the king, namely, “to treat with Cromwell for the one
halff of his cloacke before he lost the quhole.” Lord Craighall was, in
consequence, cited to attend the committee, but nothing seems to have
followed this citation. He was appointed one of the commissioners for the
administration of justice, and from an entry in Nicol’s Diary, he seems to
have acted as president of the court. In August 1653, he was elected one of
the Scottish members of the Protector’s parliament. He died at Edinburgh,
28th April 1654. He had, with six daughters, two sons, Sir Thomas, and Sir
Archibald of Rankeillour, of whom afterwards.
You can read the rest of this entry at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/hope.htm
You can read the other entries at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/index.htm
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1845)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Have made a start at this huge publication which will likely be with us for
a few years. The first volume I am dealing with is the one on Aberdeen.
There are some 85 parishes in this volume and a write up on each.
This week have added...
Udny at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/statistical/udny.htm
Old Deer at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/statistical/old_deer.htm
Under Old Deer we read of...
Deer, if not the first, was probably one of the first places in Buchan where
a Christian church was erected. There is a legend, that when some pious
individuals formed the design of building a house for the worship of God,
and selected such spots, one after another, as their own judgment,
inclination, or convenience might have led them to prefer, while they saw no
person, they heard a voice thus accost them:
"It is not here, it is not here,
That ye're to big the Kirk o' Deer,
But on the tap o' Tillery,
Where many a corpse shall after lie."
A church accordingly was built on a knoll or small mount, embraced by a
semicircular bend of the Ugie, and, as was customary, a piece of ground
around it was set apart for a burial-place, so that the weird is fully
verified, in the great number of interments that have taken place, during
the lapse of centuries, in a wide and populous parish.
There are visible proofs still remaining that this parish was formerly the
scene of warfare, occasioned by family feuds, civil strife, or the invasion
of the country by foreigners. On the top of the hill of Bruxie, and at Den
of Howie, near Fetterangus, there are traces of fortifications and
encampments; and near the foot of Arkey-brae, there is a cluster of tumuli,
pointing out the graves of warriors who fell in a bloody contest reported to
have taken place between Edward, the brother of King Robert Bruce, and
Cumming, the Earl of Buchan, with their followers and clansmen.
In the insurrection of 1745—6, there were risings in behalf of the exiled
Stuarts, many of the heads of families being attached to the Jacobite
interest. That rough partizan of the fallen cause, Gordon of Glenbucket,
instead of attaching himself to the main army, extended his barbarities into
the lowlands ; and as the Laird of Kinmundy was known to favour the opposite
side, he shewed some of his rude civilities to that house, particularly to
the lady, who was left in command of the garrison.
On the index page of this volume you can see a list of the 85 parishes and
also a map at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/statistical/volume12.htm
Scottish Canadian Newspaper
--------------------------------------------
Added another issue of this newspaper...
October 1, 1891 at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/scotscan/issue45.htm
This issue carries an article about Inverary Castle, on the first page.
You can see all the issues to date at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/scotscan/index.htm
Clan Newsletters and Information
-----------------------------------------------
Added an update for the 2008 MacIntyre Gathering in Scotland at
http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/m/macintyre/2008.htm
Poems and Stories
----------------------------
Donna sent in a frugal story about Potatoes at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/america/donna/frugal/potatoes.htm
Donna sent in a poem, To my Granddaughters at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/america/donna/children/story7.htm
and also a wee collection of Can of Soup Recipes at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/america/donna/wenona/canofsoup.htm
and a wee gardening article about Crepe Myrtles at
http://www.electricscotland.com/gardening/gardening3.htm
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
---------------------------------------------
Beth is publishing a monthly edition of this production which can be read on
the 1st of each month at
http://www.electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Added the August edition of Beth's Newfangled Family Tree at
http://www.electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Proceedings of the Scotch-Irish Fouth Congress at Atlanta, GA., April 28 to
May 1, 1892
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Added more sections to this volume...
The Scotch-Irish of Iowa. By Mr. Henry Wallace, of Des Moines, Iowa at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotsirish/congress4-12.htm
Three American Ideals—The Puritan, Cavalier, and Scotch-Irish. By Henry
Alexander White, M.A., Ph.D., D.D., of Lexington, Va. at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotsirish/congress4-13.htm
The Georgia Cracker. By Maj. Charles H. Smith (Bill Arp), Cartersville, Ga.
at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotsirish/congress4-14.htm
Here is how The Georgia Cracker starts...
As confession always precedes forgiveness, it becomes me to say that my
right to a membership in this honorable order has not been established to my
own satisfaction. Until very recently I had an idea that a Scotch-Irishman
was a cross, a descendant from the union of Scotch and Irish parents, and
that fitted me pretty well. But now it appears that the pure Scotch-Irish
blood was, not contaminated or adulterated with any other, but the Scotch
addenda was given because these Scots, under stress of circumstances,
removed to the North of Ireland. One of my grandfathers was a McGuire and
claimed to have come from Scotland, and I reckon he did, for he was a very
stubborn man and always declared that the days wore not as long here as they
were in Scotland, and there were not as many of them. But I cannot establish
his removal to the North of Ireland.
My other grandfather, who was a Smith, never could trace his ancestry
further back than the Revolution, and so I cannot tell whether I am lineally
descended from the Smiths of England or Scotland. In my gushing youth I
claimed a lineage from Captain John Smith, until I read his biography and
found that he never bad any wife or wives to speak of; and so I took another
pedigree and endeavored to trace my rich blood back to Adam Smith, of
Scotland, whose text book I had studied in college. Investigation on that
line proved that Adam had no wife of any kind, and so I cannot say that I am
lineally sprung from a distinguished ancestor, and am content with having
descended from some of the Smiths who were detailed in old Norman times to
do the fighting and smite the enemy. In latter days they became the smiters
of iron and other metals, and were called blacksmiths, goldsmiths,
silversmiths, gunsmiths, locksmiths, and many other smiths, including John.
There is but one trouble about anybody and everybody being a
Scotch-Irishman, and that is the broken links. If a man's name begins with
Mack, it is, of course, a presumption in his favor, but just how far back he
can safely go in making proof of a long, unbroken line of honorable
ancestors is the question. The investigation is beset with embarrassment.
Maj. Campbell Wallace, whom every Georgian and every Tennesseean respects
and delights to honor, is certainly a Scotchman, of Scotch-Irish descent,
and yet he declares that when a young man he made an effort to establish his
pedigree and trace it back to Sir William Wallace, and suddenly ran up
against an old uncle of his father, who said: "Cam, I wouldn't be overly
particular about that if I was you. Some of the boys behaved pretty well
away back yonder, but some of 'em didn't. Your pa's Uncle William, I
remember, stole some taters offen a flat-boat, and they took him down in the
canebrake and whipped him. I wouldn't bank too much on my forefathers if I
was you."
Honor and shame from no condition rise;
Act well your part; there all the honor lies.
Nevertheless, pedigree is a good thing—good alike in men and domestic
animals. It is a pardonable pride for a man to look back upon honored
parents and feel that their blood runs in his veins and their principles are
alive in his bosom.
Now, while there is some doubt about my Scotch-Irish pedigree, I am pleased
to say that the most influential member of my family has no doubt about
hers. She can go right straight back to the Holts of old Virginia, those
three brothers who descended from Sir William Holt, of England, and left
£40,000,000 in the Bank of England to be kept there for a hundred years and
then be distributed among his posterity. I was induced to write to Judah P.
Benjamin about it, and he said that it was there on the books, but by the
laws of England no heir could got his share unless he moved back on English
soil and became an English citizen. He said further that there were about
seven hundred thousand claimants to this money, and more coming; and so when
I ran the figures through it, I found that our share would be only $300, and
half of that would go to the lawyers and it would take the other half to pay
passage to England, and so we concluded to stay at home. But that Holt blood
is good blood, and it seems to get better the farther it runs my way, and
our children will be Scotch-English, you know. Nevertheless, I have known
some Holts who were badly sidetracked from the main line. This is one of the
ills that flesh is heir to. It is just as my darky Bob said when he returned
from a two-years' tour in the penitentiary: "Boss, dar is good folks an' bad
folks everywhar; dar is some folks in de chain gang jes as bad and mean as
folks outen dar."
But now for the Georgia cracker. My time is already half gone, and it will
be impossible to discuss him in five minutes. And hence I must do as "Josh
Billings" did when he lectured on milk. With solemn earnestness he said: "My
friends, the best thing I ever saw on milk was—cream." And that was the only
allusion he made to his subject.
The cracker is a lapse, sometimes a relapse. It takes two or three
generations to produce him. It has been often said of the negro that but for
his contact with the white man he would fall back in civilization and resume
his ancestral barbarism. Environment has much to do with us all. It is as
easy to backslide in manners and customs and language as it is in religion.
The cracker is not an original institution. He is an Anglo-Saxon lapse. A
few years ago, while I was sojourning at Sanford, in this state, I heard
Gen. Iverson ask Maj. Marks if he had any yam potatoes to sell. "No," he
said, "I have not, but if you will send a team down I will give you a wagon
load of laps, but you will have to dig them." On inquiry I learned that laps
were the volunteers, the uncultivated crop that comes from seed not planted,
but left in the ground from the preceding year. For want of cultivation they
are scattering and stringy, and lack good shape and flavor. They have
matured outside of good potato society; they have lapsed; they are vegetable
crackers.
You can read the rest of this at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotsirish/congress4-14.htm
You can get to the index page of this volume at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotsirish/congress4ndx.htm
History of Scotland
----------------------------
In 9 volumes By Patrick Fraser Tytler (1828)
Now completed the 8th volume with...
Chapter IV (Pages 197 to 287) at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotland/history67s.pdf
James the Sixth, 1584 to 1586
Chapter V (Pages 288 to 405) at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotland/history68s.pdf
James the Sixth, 1586 to 1587
Proofs and Illustrations (Pages 409 to 451) at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotland/history69s.pdf
From Unprinted Manuscripts
In the Proofs and Illustration we find...
ELIZABET, as been already hinted, had a great purpose in view, when she
concluded this league and sent Archibald Douglas into Scotland. Two months
before, her indefatigable minister, Walsingham, had detected that famous
conspiracy known by the name of Babington'a plot, in which Mary was
implicated, and for which she afterwards suffered. It had been resolved by
Leicester, Burghley, and Walsingham, and probably bp the Queen herself. that
this should he the last plot of the Scottish Queen and the Roman Catholic
faction; that the time had come when sufferance was criminal and weak; that
the life of the unfortunate, but still active and formidable captive, was
inconsistent with Elizabeth's safety and the liberty of the realm. Hence the
importance attached to this league, which bound the two kirigdoms together,
in a treaty offensive and defensive, for the protection of the Protestant
faith, and separated the young King from his mother. Hense the eagerness for
the return and pardon of Archibald Douglas, who had sold himself to
Elizabeth, betrayed the secrets of Mary, and offered his influence over
James to be employed in furthering this great design for her destruction.
It is now necessary to enter up the history of this plot, and Mary's alleged
connexion with it, one of the most involved and intricate portions in the
history of the two countries. To be clear, and prevent the mind from getting
entangled in the inextricable meshes of Walsingham and his informers, it
will be proper for a moment to look back. Mary had now been nineteen years a
captive; and, upon the cruelty and illegality of her imprisonment during
this long and dreary period, there can be but one opinion. She was seized
and imprisoned during a time of peace; contrary to every feeling of
generosity, and in flagrant violation of every principle of law and justice.
On the one hand, it was the right and the duty of such a prisoner to attempt
every possible means for her escape; on the other, it was both natural and
just that the Catholic party, in England and Scotland, should have combined
with France and Spain to deliver her from her captivity, and upon Elizabeth
such an outrage on the law of nations as the seizure of a free Princess. But
the same party regarded Elizabeth as a heretic, whose whole life had been
obstinately opposed to the truth. Some of them went so far as to consider
her an illegitimate usurper, whose throne belonged to the Queen of Scots.
You can read the rest of this chapter at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotland/history68s.pdf
As all the chapters are .pdf files I'll just point you at the index page of
this publication where you can read the rest of the chapters at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotland/historyndx.htm
Good Words - 1860 Edition
---------------------------------------
Edited by Rev. Norman MacLeod
You should note that as this is a weekly publication you'll find larger
articles are continued week by week.
This week have added articles on...
True Stories of God's Providence (Pages 29-30) at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/goodwords/goodwords16.htm
The New Year (Pages 30-31)
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/goodwords/goodwords17.htm
Good Words for Every Day in the Year (Pages 31-32)
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/goodwords/goodwords18.htm
Woman's Noblest Attitude (Pages 33-35)
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/goodwords/goodwords19.htm
Joy Among The Angels (Pages 35-37)
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/goodwords/goodwords20.htm
Here is how the article "Woman's Noblest Attitude" starts...
A PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE GOSPEL HISTORY.
The four Gospels are peerless even in the Book of books. The scenes which
they depict have the characteristics of the two opposite and rival schools
of art in exquisite combination: a pre-Raphaelite perfection of realistic
detail, with a lofty, unearthly Idealism of life and grandeur, which print
these histories indelibly on the memory, imagination, and heart. We read
them again, and again, and yet again, and never tire of them. Try this upon
any, the very best, history that ever was written by human pen. Head it
twice you may; thrice, not so likely; four or five times, hardly; but more,
never. The very best get flat, stale, and unprofitable; but these matchless
histories never do. Millions read them and re-read them, and still they are
as fresh as the first day, and ever more intelligently relished. New wonders
appear in them, and still new. The illustrious father of the Church,
Augustin, finely expresses this when he says, "Scripture has its first
draughts, its second draughts, its third draughts." Biblical students
comment upon them, and people read with endless interest every sensible and
savoury commentary on them; but the Text itself rises ever above all, and
keeps above. In our most enlarged and spiritual moods, in our most elevated,
heavenly frames, these incomparable Documents are ever above us; and while
they have defied hostile criticism the most virulent and persevering, and
baffled all attempts to break them down, they minister alike to the wonder
and delight of the simple child and the hoary sage, bringing alike to the
humblest and the most exalted minds spiritual life, peace, hope, joy
unspeakable and full of glory.
The scene which we select at present is but one of many illustrations of
this feature of the Gospels; but it is one which, though less noticed than
many others—probably from its quiet character—is to us all the more
inviting, as presenting to the thoughtful student an unobtrusive loveliness
peculiar to such pictures.
It occurs in Luke viii. 1-3:—
"And it came to pass afterward, that he went through town and village,
preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the Twelve
were with him, and certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and
infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had gone to seven devils,
and Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others,
which ministered unto them of their substance."
Let us first study the picture a little, and then try to give the reading of
it, or the ideas for all time which this picture embodies.
"Went," says our version, and quite rightly, but these aorists, when
intended to express a fact of prior date to the time spoken of, are better
rendered by pluperfects.
Touching are the few glimpses which the Gospels give us of the domestic life
of our Lord upon earth. He and the Twelve made up one family: household we
can scarcely call it; for though the foxes had holes and the birds of the
air had nests, the Son of Man had not where to lay his head (Matt. viii.
20). But they had a common purse. That was '' the bag" that Judas kept: "he
bare what was put therein" (John xii. 6). Strange that of all the Twelve it
was just the one whose ruling passion was the love of money that had the
post of treasurer; and stranger still, that though he abused his trust (for
"he was a thief"), yet the Master, to whose all-piercing eye the greed of
his heart and the unscrupulousness of his hands lay continually open, never
exposed him; and probably he was not even suspected by his fellow-disciples
till the atrocious sale of his Lord for a few pieces of sordid silver
revealed his true character! The common stock of the little establishment
appears to have been at times low enough; affectingly so. When the
temple-dues were called for, He had to obtain the sum by a miracle; the only
recorded instance of His resorting to that expedient to meet a pecuniary
emergency of His own. But the voluntary poverty to which He stooped—"though
rich, for our sakes becoming poor" (2 Cor. viii. 9)—and the honour of
relieving it which, during one whole preaching Circuit, He conferred upon a
few grateful and devoted women, opens up such features in His story upon
earth, and principles so enduring in the relation subsisting between the
now-glorified Redeemer above and His dear disciples still upon earth, that
it is a feast of fat things even to skim the surface of it as here spread
out before us.
The rest of this article can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/goodwords/goodwords19.htm
The book index page is at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/goodwords/index.htm
Perth on the Tay
------------------------
A Tale of the transplanted Highlanders by Josephine Smith (1901)
You should note that many of the conversations in this book are in "Broad
Scots" and so you might find some of this hard to read. Should you persist
you'll likely get into the flow and hopefully enjoy this book.
Now up to chapter 28 and here is how Chapter 27 starts...
"The powers aboon will tent thee,
Misfortune shanna steer thee;
Thou'rt themselves sae lovely,
That ill they'll not let near thee."
—Burns.
FOR many weeks in Stratheldy a coming event of more than usual importance
had occupied all the spare time, and some that was not spare, of the younger
members of the county set. Lord Kin-burn reached his majority on an August
day; it was half a century since the last "coming of age," making all who
participated in the festivities of that date now staid middle aged and
elderly men and matrons. Over and over again the story was being told of the
wonderful doings on the "auld Laird's day," while conjecture was rife as to
what character the celebration would take this time. There would be a ball,
that of course; marquees on the lawn, where refreshments would be dispensed
all day long, and games—also of course; but, what else? Dandy Dinmont might
have these, on a less magnificent scale, but still a ball, marquees and
games: and this was Lord Kinburn. The officers of Lord Kinburn's regiment
would be there; this was something Dandy could not have, but for Lord
Kinburn it was only another of course. Finally— because the elephant could
not be steered through the village without being seen—the day before the "
great day," the whole gorgeous truth leaked out, "it'' was to be a circus, a
real, live circus. Their wildest flights had not carried them half so far;
they might have thought of a Punch and Judy, or even a dancing bear, but
this!—why, it was like the stories in the Arabian Nights. The younger
members of the community slept with one eye open that night, lest his
elephantship should take French leave, trusting thereby to catch him at it.
They were much relieved when just at daybreak a faint, half-hearted
"trumpet" assured them that he was still there.
Philip was at the manse the day before and announced himself one of the
bidden guests.
"My father and the old lord were very warm friends," he said; "I am glad to
be here when the young lord makes his bow to the world."
Phemie was feeling a slight flutter of excitement ; like the lads and
lassies and the circus, this ball far exceeded her wildest expectations of
pleasures this visit to Scotland might have in store for her. And she was
not—like Flora McFlimsey— troubled about something to wear; had she not the
lovely gown Rob had thoughtfully sent her ? Mrs. Wilson was revelling in the
prospect of chaperoning this gown. In the daytime she wore her favorite
shade of brown, and looked quietly pretty.
Philip attached himself to the party from the Manse immediately he caught
sight of them. Phemie had already met Lord Kinburn, whom she spoke of to
Philip as a very "fresh, pleasant young gentleman;" her awe of lords was
wearing off in this country where they grow.
"Did the Duke of Kilmarnock pay Perth the promised visit, Miss McGregor?"
Philip asked.
"Oh! no, Mr. Maxwell; he slighted us, after leading us to expect him, too,"
answered Phemie.
"This was certainly very reprehensible in a peer of the realm," said Philip,
solemnly, "but we must not be too severe in our judgments; you know even
peers are sometimes disappointed themselves."
"Yes, I doubt not there will be many things money and influence cannot
obtain," Phemie said.
"That is very true, Miss McGregor. I have seen the Duke since returning, and
can speak authoritatively when I say, what he wanted most of anything on
earth was denied him."
"I am very sorry for him," Phemie said, feeling that health was what he was
deprived of, as surely there couldn't, after all—though she had just said
"many things"—be anything else out of reach of the wearer of a coronet.
"Someway, because we talked of him so much, he almost seems like an old
friend—or," correcting herself, "at least, that we feel an especial interest
in all that concerns him."
"I think he would be pleased to hear your first expression, Miss McGregor.
Friends are not so plentiful in this world but that a man would deeply
appreciate finding a village full of them," Philip said, earnestly.
He took them to see the circus, and, as at the castle, the children made
numerous diversions by way of thrusting themselves into places never
intended for children. Mrs. Wilson, good soul, enjoyed herself so much that,
without realizing it, she left the care of them to Phemie—or, rather, she
left them without care, trusting to someone else looking after them, as they
always had in Perth—and Phemie assumed the responsibility, while Philip,
seeing Phemie thus handicapped, took upon himself to share this.
The duties, however, did not prove so onerous but that both Phemie and
Philip extracted no little entertainment for themselves, while the children
were loud in their commendations of the jolly times Miss McGregor and Mr.
Maxwell had helped them have.
You can read the rest of this chapter at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/perth27.htm
You can read the rest of the chapters at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/perthndx.htm
Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland in 1876
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Am adding a variety of articles from this publication and this week have
included...
On the Agriculture of the County of Fife
On the Improvement of Waste Land on the Estate of Barbreck, Argyllshire
On the Reclamation of Waste Land
You can see these on the index page of this publication at
http://www.electricscotland.com/agriculture/index.htm
On the Agriculture of the County of Fife article starts...
The county of Fife has pre-eminent claims to the dignified title of the
"Kingdom," with which it is frequently honoured. It is more largely
surrounded by water than any other county in the mainland of Scotland; and
few counties in the United Kingdom are more self-supporting—so extensive and
so valuable are its manufactures, so varied and so rich are the treasures of
its rocks and the production of its soil.
Fifeshire is attached to the mainland of Scotland only by a narrow band on
the western side, where it joins the counties of Kinross, Clackmannan, and
Perth. Its other three sides are bathed in the waters of the ocean—the south
by the Firth of Forth, the north by the Firth of Tay, and the east by the
German Ocean. It lies between 56° and 56° 28' north latitude, the "East Neuk"
being in 2° 35', and the most westerly point in 3° 43' west longitude. From
east to west it averages about 36 miles, and right down the centre from
north to south it measures about 14 miles. It has been ascertained by the
Ordnance Survey that the area of the county is 513 square miles, or 328,427
acres. About four-fifths of the whole area is under regular cultivation, the
greater portion of the remainder being under wood. The county is divided
into 64 parishes, a number of which are by no means large. The population in
1871 was 160,735, and the number of inhabited houses 27,056. There are in
all 10,410 owners of land in the county, 8638 having less than one acre, or
1517 acres divided amongst them; while 1772 have possessions exceeding one
acre in extent, or in all 302,846 acres. In 1872-3, when the return of
owners of land in Scotland was taken up by the Government, the gross annual
value of the possessions of 1772 large landed proprietors was L.741,379,
10s.; and those of the 8638 small land owners, L. 164,197, 17s. The gross
annual value of the whole county, exclusive of burghs and railways,
according to the Valuation Roll for 1874-5, is L.698,470, 13s. l0d. The
total valuation of burghs is L.208,002, 8s. 4d., and of railways,
L.49,957—grand total, L.956,430, 2s. 2d.
The Board of Trade returns for the present year (1875) state the total
number of acres under all kinds of crops, bare fallow and grass, at 243,669
acres, of which 16,748 were under wheat, 30,037 barley or bere, 37,646 oats,
1304 rye, 2483 beans, and 109 peas, being a total under grain crops of
88,327 acres. The average under green crop was 47,460 acres—28,514 under
turnips, 17,746 potatoes, 34 mangold, 23 carrots, 88 cabbage, kohl rabbi,
and rape, and 1055 vetches and other green crop. Of permanent pasture there
is 50,261 acres, and of grasses under rotation, 56,430 acres, and of bare
fallow, or uncropped arable land there is 1189 acres.
Though almost every corner of the county is the scene of great enterprise
and no little activity, it cannot be said that the general aspect of
Fifeshire is strikingly commercial. On the contrary, it has the appearance
of being a quiet, retired rural spot, where the aesthetic has never been
wholly lost sight of. Few counties in Scotland, if indeed any, can boast of
a larger number of baronial residences and gentlemen's seats than are to be
found studding and beautifying the undulating landscape of Fifeshire. The
number of landed proprietors is larger than in any other county of similar
size in Scotland, and the fact that these worthy gentlemen, with a few
exceptions, have all along been in the habit of residing on their desirable
possessions in Fife, explains the preservation of the county from the
modernising hand of trade and commerce. Not that they have hampered the
spread of industry and enterprise,—they have encouraged and aided the
development of every healthy industry in a manner that reflects upon them
unbounded credit,—but they have with equal care and rigour preserved the
amenities of their native county. Even in the greatest mining centres where
coal-pits are seen to the right and to the left, the scenery is very fine,
being beautified by numerous clumps of trees; while in the purely
agricultural districts, the carefully cultivated fields are tastefully
fringed by thriving belts of wood. The surface undulates considerably, yet
there are no high hills, the point of greatest eminence—West Lomond—being-only
1713 feet above the level of the sea. The Largo Law hill, situated in the
parish of Largo, on the south coast, rises to a height of 1020 feet, and
commands a magnificent view of the Firth of Forth and the city of Edinburgh.
The Lomonds lie at the north-west of the county, and impart to the scenery
around them an aspect which contrasts strikingly with the landscape along
the seaboard. Seated on the highest eminence of these hills on a clear day,
and provided with a powerful binocular field-glass, one can command a most
exquisite view. At our feet lies the historical Kingdom of Fife spread out
like a magnificent carpet, while away in the distance the prospect is grand
in the extreme. Southwards we see the low winding ranges of the Pentlands
and the Lammermuirs, and the richly cultivated Lothians; to the west lies,
dimly shrouded, the lofty Ben Lomond; to the north, the rugged range of the
Grampians; and, turning to the east, the prospect softens down to the blue
haze of the German Ocean. The smaller objects of attraction in this wide
range are far too many to be enumerated, but, in a word, it may be said that
the prospect is one of the finest to be had anywhere in Scotland; and what
country can boast of grander prospect than the
"Land of brown heath and shaggy wood"?
There are no very large plantations, the wood being pleasantly strewed over
the whole county in thriving clumps, diversifying the scenery and lending a
lustre to the charm of the landscape. The county has no less than 85 miles
of a coast line, considerable portions of which are bold and rocky, and
indented here and there by miniature bays. Between Wemyss and the "East Neuk"
a pretty large stretch is low and sandy, and parts of it strewed with
massive pieces of rock; while on the east it is irregular and very rocky,
and on the north-east plain and sandy.
You can read the rest of this article at
http://www.electricscotland.com/agriculture/page1.htm
And that's all for now and hope you all have a good weekend :-)
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com
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