Scotland > 1825-1826 - Pigot & Co.'s new commercial directory of Scotland for 1825-6

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EDINBURGH
Urrrtcrp.
of Angui, and tlie translator of Virgil. lu 1542,
Henry VHI, of England, being foiled, through the
influence of Cardinal Beaton, in his attempts to
unite the crown of Scotland, with that of England,
by the mariiage of his son Edward with the young
Cinecu of Scots, sent two hundred tail of vessels
into tlic Frith of Forth, under the command of the
Earl of Hartford, who, having disembarked his
troops, took and burned Leith and Edinburgh,
plundered the adjacent country, and withdrew.
These towns, however, soon recovered, and Edin-
burgh arose from its ashes, more splendid than
eve)'. In 1547, after the defeat of the Scots at Pin-
kie, Edinburgh vcas again pillaged by the Englisli,
but escaped confiagratijn.
About this time the reform in religion was ma-
king rapid progress in various slates of the European
continent. 'I'lie Reformers, known by the name
of the members of the Congregation, urged on
by the persuasive eloquence of John Knox,
made themselves masters of the principal cities of
Scotland, destroyed many of the abbeys and churclies,
and the most terrible excesses were committed by
both parties, which little suited their professions of
Toleration and Christianity. The different parties,
in turn, gained the ascendency. The Catholics, at
the head of whom was Mary of Guise, the Queen
regent, admitted a French force to their assistance ;
and the CongregatioUj beginning to despair, applied
for aid to Queen Elizabetii, wliose jealousy ot the
French faction, and zeal for the reformed religion,
they well knew. She accordingly seni a fleet of
ships, and au army of six thousand foot and two
thousand horse. The Fiench forces in Leith were
forced to capitulate, and leave the kint dom. Vari
ous penal statutes were enacted again: t the Catho-
lics, and the fortifications of Leith were ordered to
be demolished. These occurrences took place be-
tween 1557 and 1561. In August of the latter year,
Mary, Queen of Scots, arriving from France to take
possession of the tlirone of her ancestors, v^'as fir.st
treated with every demonstration of respect, but
afterwaids with equal indignity; and that freedom
in the choice of a form of worship, which the citi-
zens of Edinburgh claimed for themselves, they
denied to their Queen. It having been determined
to try two men, who had, with many others, tu-
multuously interrupted the Catholic service at Holy-
roodhouse, in I5')3, Knox i&sued circular letters,
requiring all true believers to repair to Edinburgh
on the day of trial, to comfort their distressed
brethren. Ou this account he was himself tried
for treason ; Imt after a long hearing, he was unani-
mously acquitted by a Protectant jury. In 16'57,
after the muider of Darnley, the marriage of tlie
Queen with Bothwell having given offence to the
nobility, the confederate lords raised an army, and
advanced from Stirling to Edinburgh: Bothwell and
the Queen retired to Dunbar, and the army of the
nobles entered the city without opposition. The
surrender of Mary, at Piukie, her exposure as a
.•spectacle in the streets of the metropolis, her con-
finement in the castle of Lochleven, and her abdi-
cation of the crown in favor of her infant son James,
soon followed. Tiic contending parties, however,
still continued for upwards of two years lo carry on
a kind of predatory war with alternate euccess, till
the castle of Edinburgh, which was defended by
Kirkaldy, a partisan of the Queen's, was, after a
desperate resistance, compelled to surrender. A
parliament was appointed to be held in Edinburgh ;
and on the 17th October 1579, James VI, after-
wards James I. of England, entered the city with
great pomp. This monarch brought the refiactory
clergy to their duty, and, at a public entertainiuent
given to the nobles in the capital, he brought about
a reconciliation, and made them promise to bury
their past differences in oblivion. In 1588, when
the citizens were alarmed by the approach of the
Spanish Armada, they raised three liundred men
for the defence of the place, and of the King's per-
son. In 1591 they defeated an attempt of Earl
Bothwell to seize his Majesty. Bothwell re-
tired to the north ; and the King liaviBg unadvi-
14
sedly commissioned the Earl of Huntley to pursue
him with fire and sword, the latter gratified his
private revenge by tlie murder of the Earl of Mur-
ray, the favourite of the people. In consc(iuence of
this, the indignant populace rose in a tumultuous
manner, and openly insulted both the magistrates
and the king. James upon this prudently withifrew
from the city, and fixed his residence for some time
at Glasgow. In 1596^ Edinburgh was distracted by
a serious commotion, occasioned by the differences
between the clergy and the king. James withdrew,
with all his attendants, to Linlithgow, and other-
wise acted with so much vigour, as to dismay his
adversaries. The city was declared to have forfeited
its privileges as a corporatioa, and to be liable to all
the penalties of treason. And although, in compli-
ance with the wishes of Queen Elizabeth, who
interceded in their favour, James absolved the citi-
zens from the peiihlties of the law ; yet he would
not peiinit them to elect their own magistrates, nor
their own ministers ; many new burdens were im-
posed ou them ; and a great sum of nwney was
exacted by way of peace-offering. In 1603, James,
amidst the tears and felicitations of his Scottish
subjects, took an affectionate farewell, previous to
his taking possession of the English throne. In
1609, being entirely reconciled to the citizens of
Edinburgh, he allowed the provost to have a sword
of state carried before him, and the magistrates to
wear gowns on public occasions. In 1618, the king
paid his last visit to the city, on which occasiou he
was entertained with the greatest pomp and magni-
ficence.
In 1637 Charles attempted the establishment
of Episcopacy in Scotland ; but Presbyterianism
was so deeply rooted, that the enraged populace
assaulted Lord Tranquair and some of the bisiiops,
who narrowly escaped with their lives. Notwith-
standing these differences between the king and his
subjects, on the score of religion, Charles, when
he visited Scotland four years after, was sumptu-
ously entertained by the magistrates of Edinburgh,
at an expense of 12,000/ Srottish money, or 1000/
Sterling, lu 1680, the Cuke of York (afterwards
James II of England) with his Duchess the Princes
Anne, and tht" whole court of Scotland, was enter-
tained in the Parliament-house by the magistrates,
at an expense of 1250/ sterling. At this time, it is
said, the plan for building a bridge across the North
Loch was first projected by the Duke of York. Upon
the accession of William, a serious commotion wa3
excited in Edinburgh. The rioters, proceeding to
Holyroodhouse, with a determination of destroying
the royal chapel, were opposed by a party of about
a hundred men, who were stationed in tlie abbey,
and who adhered to the interests of James ; twelve
of the populace were killed, and a considerable
number wounded. However another skirmish im-
mediately followed, in which the popular party
were victorious, and James's party were either kil •
led or made prisoners ; the royal chapel was demo-
lished, and many of the houses of the Catholics were
plundered.
'1 he Union between the two kingdoms in 1707,
whicb has been productive of so many advan-
tages to Scotland, caused at first a considerable
diccurbance in Edinburgh; and the measure w^as so
unpopular at the time, that it was found necessary
to introduce four regiments of foot, besides the re-
gular guards, to protect the members of parliament,
and preserve the peace of the city. During the re-
bellion of 1715, Edinburgh remained taithful to the
house of Hanover; and such measures were taken by
the magistrates and the inhabitants generally, that
the rebels, who had temporary possession of Leith,
retreated during the night without making any
attempt on the city. The expense of the prepara-
tions for defence, at this time, amounted to 1700/,
which governniLiit repaid in 1721. On the passing
of the excise -bill in 1725, when disturbances took
place in almost every part of the kingdom, particu-
larly in Glasgow, the tranquillity of the metro|)olis
was so remarkable, that the magistrates received
the thank? of goverumeut ou the occasiou. In 1736,