Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 21, ROT-Siam

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other resorts of gay society a good deal during his youth
and manhood, that he attached himself at different times
to different great noblemen—Retz (the duke, not the car¬
dinal), Crequi, Harcourt, &c.—that he saw some military
service, and sojourned at different times in Italy, in England
(a sojourn which provoked from him a violent poetical
attack on the country, only printed within the last thirty
years), in Poland (where he held a court appointment for
two years), and elsewhere. But details on all these points
are both few and vague. Saint-Amant’s later years were
spent in France; and he died at Paris in 1661.
Saint-Amant has left a not inconsiderable body of poetry as
various in style as Herrick’s, and exhibiting a decided poetical
faculty, hardly at all assisted by education. Of one class of his
poetry the chief monument is the Molse Sauv6, published in 1653.
The author calls this by the odd title of “idylle heroique”; but
it is to all intents and purposes an epic of the school of Tasso. It
is not by any means without merit, and the alexandrine couplet is
managed in it with much vigour and ease. The second and larger
part of Saint-Amant’s works consists of short miscellaneous poems
un a wreat variety of subjects. The best of these are Bacchanalian,
the oft-quoted La Debauche being one of the most remarkable
convivial poems of its kind. All through his work flashes of
strength and true poetical imagination occur ; but he was rarely
happy in his choice of subjects, and his execution is constantly
marred by want of polish and form.
The standard edition of Saint-Amant, with life, notes, &c., is that in the
“ Bibliotheque Elzevirienne ” by M. 0. L. Livet (2 vols., Paris, 1S55).
ST ANDREWS, a city, royal burgh, university town,
and seaport of Scotland, in the county of Fife, is situated
on a bay of the German Ocean and on a branch of the
North British Railway, 9 miles east of Cupar and 11
south-south-east of Dundee. It occupies a platform of
sandstone rock about 50 feet in height, running east and
west and presenting to the sea a precipitous wall, which
has been much encroached on by its action within recent
years. The principal streets (North Street, Market Street,
and South Street) diverge from the cathedral and run east
and west, and Queen Street runs south from the centre of
South Street. Many new houses and villas have been
Plan of St Andrews,
recently erected towards the south, north, and west. The
prosperity of the city depends primarily on its educational
institutions, especially the university. The golf links,
which are considered the best in Scotland, and sea-bathing
attract many residents and visitors. In the 16th century
St Andrews was one of the most important ports north
of the Forth, and is said to have numbered 14,000 inha¬
bitants ; but it fell into decay after the Civil War, and,
although it has much increased in the present century, its
trade has not revived to any extent. The harbour, pro¬
tected by a pier 630 feet in length, affords entrance to
vessels of 100 tons burden. The principal imports are
wood and coals and the principal exports agricultural pro¬
duce. The herring and deep-sea fishing is carried on
by about 170 fishermen. The evidences of antiquity in
the dwelling-houses are comparatively few. The city was
never surrounded by walls, but had several gates, of which
that called the West Port still remains. The most pro¬
minent ruins are those of the cathedral and the castle (see
below). Among the modern public buildings are the town-
hall (1858) in the Scottish baronial style, the golf club¬
house, the Gibson and fever hospitals, and the recreation
hall (1884). The population of St Andrews in 1801 was
only 3263, but by 1881 it had nearly doubled, being 6406.
The parliamentary burgh in 1881 numbered 6458.
The cathedral originated partly in the priory of Canons Regular
founded to the south-east of the town by Bishop Robert (1122-1159).
Martine, who wrote in the end of the 17th century, states that in
his time some of the buildings were entire and that considerable
remains of others existed, but nearly all traces have now disappeared,
with the exception of portions of the abbey wall and the archways,
now known as the “Pends,” forming the main entrance from the
city. The wall is about three-quarters of a mile long and hears
turrets at intervals. The cathedral was founded by Bishop Arnold
(1159-1162), to supply more ample accommodation for the canons
and for the celebration of the worship of the see than was afforded
by the church of St Regulus. Of this older building in the Roman¬
esque style, probably dating from the 10th century, there remain
the square tower, 108 feet in height, and the choir, of very diminu¬
tive proportions. On a plan of the town c. 1530 a chance^ appears
beyond, and on seals affixed to the city and college charters there
are representations of other buildings attached. The cathedral which
succeeded the church of St Regulus is represented in full outline
in the plan of the town of 1530. It was constructed in the form
of a Latin cross, the total length of the building inside the walls
being 355 feet, the length of the nave 200, of the choir and lateral
aisles 62, and of the lady chapel at the eastern extremity 50. The
width at the transepts was 166 feet and of the nave and choir 62.
According to Pordun the building was founded in 1159 ; but before
it was finished the see witnessed the succession of eleven bishops,
the consecration taking place in the time of Bishop Lamberton
(1297-1328) in 1318, wlien the ceremony was witnessed by Robert
the Bruce. When entire it had, besides a central tower, six turrets,
of which two at the eastern and one of the two at the western ex¬
tremity rising to a height of 100 feet still remain. The building
was partly destroyed by fire in 1378, and the restoration and further
embellishment were completed in 1440. It was stripped of its altars
and images in 1559 by the magistrates and inhabitants of the city.
It is believed that about the end of the 16th century the central
tower gave way, carrying with it the north wall. Since then large
portions of the ruins have been taken away for building purposes,
and nothing was done to preserve them till 1826. The principal
portions now remaining, partly Norman and partly Early English,
are the eastern and western gables, the greater part of the southern
wall of the nave, and the western wall of the south transept.
Closely connected with the fortunes of the cathedral are those of
the castle, the picturesque ruins of which are situated about 250
yards north-west of the cathedral, on a rocky promontory now
much worn away by the sea. It is supposed to have been erected
by Bishop Roger about the beginning of the 13th century as an
episcopal residence, and was strongly fortified. It was frequently
taken by the English, and after it had been captured by the Scot¬
tish regent in 1336-37 was destroyed lest it should fall into their
hands. Towards the close of the century it was rebuilt by Bishop
Trail in the form of a massive fortification with a moat on the
south and west sides. James I. spent some of his early years
within it under the care of Bishop Wardlaw, and it is supposed to
have been the birthplace of James III. From a window in the
castle Cardinal David Beaton witnessed the burning of Wishart in
front of the gate, and shortly afterwards he was murdered within
it in his bedroom by a party of Reformers. The castle was taken
from the conspirators by the French, among the prisoners captured
being John Knox. Some years afterwards it was repaired by Arch¬
bishop Hamilton, but in a less massive and substantial form. It
had in 1656 fallen into such disrepair that the town council ordered
its “sleatts and timmer, redd and lumps” to be devoted to the
repair of the pier at the harbour. The principal remains are a por¬
tion of the south wall enclosing a square tower, the bottle dungeon
below the north-west tower, the kitchen tower, and a curious sub¬
terranean passage.
The town church, formerly the church of the Holy Trinity, was
originally founded in 1112 by Bishop Turgot. The early building
was a beautiful Norman structure, but at the close of the 18th
century the whole, with the exception of little else than the square
tower and spire, was re-erected in a plain and ungainly style.
Within the church Knox preached the sermon which led to the
stripping of the cathedral and the destruction of the monastic