Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 1

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BAT
as a state-prison, and many of the covenanters were
confined here. Among these sufferers for conscience'
sake was the celebrated Colonel John Blackadder,
who died in confinement here, and whose cell is still
pointed out to the visitor.* At the Revolution, it
held out so stoutly for King- James, under Captain
Maitland, with a garrison of 50 men, that the Scot-
tish Privy council were necessitated to enter into
negotiations for the surrender of the place, in which
the garrison were granted honourable terms, f The
fortifications were then demolished, and the island
was gifted by the Crown to Sir James Dalrymple,
Lord-president of the court of session. Immense
quantities of sea- fowl nestle and breed on this rock.
Of these the most remarkable is the solan goose, of
which De Foe has given us the following account :
" They feed on the herrings, and therefore 'tis ob-
served they come just before, or with them, and go
away with them also; though 'tis evident they do
not follow them, but go all away to the north, whi-
ther none knows but themselves, and he that guides
them. As they live on fish, so they eat like fish,
which, together with their being so exceeding fat,
makes them, in my opinion, a very coarse dish, rank,
and ill-relished, and soon gorging the stomach. But
as they are looked upon there as a dainty, I have no
more to say ; all countries have their several gusts
and particular palates. Onions and garlick were
dainties, it seems, in Egypt, and horse-flesh is so to
this day in Tartary, and much more may a solan-
goose he so in other places. It is a large fowl, rather
bigger than an ordinary goose ; 'tis duck-footed, and
swims as a goose ; but the bill is long, thick, and
pointed like a crane or heron, only the neck much
thicker, and not above five inches long. Their lav-
ing but one egg, Which sticks to the rock, and will
not fall off, unless pulled off by force, and then not
to be stuck on again, though we thought them fic-
tions, yet, being there at the season, we found true;
as also their hatching by holding the egg fast in their
foot. What Nature meant by giving these singulari-
ties to a creature that has nothing else in it worth
notice, we cannot determine.'/ The Bass is fre-
quently visited by parties of pleasure. The best
season for visiting it is June or July. Boats are
obtained at the keeper's house in the hamlet of
Canty bav.
BASS" OF INVERURY (The), an earthen
mount on the banks of the Ury in Aberdeenshire,
said by tradition to have been once a castle which
was walled up and covered with earth because the
inhabitants were infected with the plague. It is
defended against the stream by buttresses, which were
built by the inhabitants of Inverury, who were
alarmed by the following prophecy, ascribed to
Thomas the Rhymer,
" Dee and Dnn, they shall run on,
And Tweed shall run and Tay^
And the bonny water of Ury
fahall hear the Bass away."
The inhabitants of Inverury sagaciously concluded
that this prediction could not be accomplished with-
out releasing the imprisoned pestilence, and, to
guard against this fatal event, they raised ramparts
against the encroachments of the stream. The no-
tion of the plague, or pestilence, or black death, or
other fearful epidemic, being buried in certain places,
is one of the most common traditions in Scotland.
" According to some accounts,'' says Leyden, "gold
seems to have had a kind of chemical attraction for
the matter of infection, and it is frequently repre-
* See CrichtoTi's Memoirs of Blackadder, a very interesting
piece of biography*
+ A Narrative of this sieue was published in a small tract
hbimt the beginning of the 18th century. This piece is insulted
iu the 3d vol. of the ' Mijccllanea Scotica.' Glasgow, f8*U.
sented as concentrating its virulence in a pot of gold.
According to others, it seems to have been regarded
as a kind of spirit or monster, like the cockatrice,
which it was deadlv to look on."
BASSENDEAN, or BASINGDENE, in the
parish of Westruther, and shire of Berwick, an an-
cient vicarage, which formerly belonged to the nuns
of Coldstream. The church, now in ruins, stood
near the mansion-house, on the south-east ; and the
walls still enclose the burying-plaee of the Homes of
Bassendean. Soon after the Reformation, Andrew
Currie, vicar of Bassendean, conveyed to William
Home, third son of Sir James Home, of Cohlen-
knows, "terras ecclesiasticas, mansionem, et glebair"
vicariae de Bassendene:" whereupon, he obtained
from James VI. a charter for the same, on the lltli
of February, 1573-4. This William, who thus built
his house upon church-lands, was the progenitor of
the present family here ; of whom George Home, a
compatriot of the Duke of Argvle, was one of the
most devoted supporters of Presbyterianisin against
the inroads of Episcopacy in the 17th century. See
Westruther.
BATHGATE, a parish in Linlithgowshire, bound-
ed on the north by the parishes of Torphichen and
Linlithgow; on the east by Ecclesmachan, IJphall,
and Livingston ; on the south by Livingston and
Whitburn ; on the west by Torphichen and Shotts.
It is about 7^ miles in length from east to west, and
2 in average breadth ; and has a superficial area of
1 1,214 English acres. It is intersected by one of the
great roads leading from Edinburgh to Glasgow. A
considerable portion of the south-east, south, and
west of the parish is almost a level; but towards the
north-east it becomes hilly. The soil is exceedingly
variable, some very good, some very indifferent and
intermixed with patches of moss and moor; and the
climate is far from genial; but yet where it is arable,
it is in a good state of cultivation, and yielding good
crops of barley, oats, pease, and' some beans. Large
tracts also are covered with thriving plantations,
which tend greatly to heighten the beauty of the
landscape and improve the climate. Iron-stone has
been found within this parish, but not much wrought;
freestone, coals, and limestone are found in great
abundance, and wrought to a great extent. Some
mines of silver, in the hills to the north of the
town of Bathgate, were formerly wrought by Ger-
mans, but the vein has long been lost. This parish
in ancient times was a distinct sheriffdom. On
the abolition of hereditary jurisdictions, in 1747,
John, Earl of Hopetoun, claimed £2,000 tor his
right of sheriffdom. Population, in 1801, 2,513; in
1831, 3,593; of whom 2,581 reside in the town of
Bathgate. Houses 510. Assessed property, in
1815, .£9,843 This parish, anciently a vicarage,
is in the presbytery of Linlithgow, and synod of
Lothian and Tvveeddale. Patron, the Earl of Hope-
toun. The church of old was of moderate value.
Malcolm IV. granted to the monks of Holyrood the
church of Bathgate, with a portion of land. Robert,
the diocesan, who died about the year 1159, also
granted to it certain privileges, and subsequently the
abbot and monks of Holyrood ma:!e a transfer of the
church-property to the abbot and monks of New-
bottle, which arrangement was confirmed in 1327 by
Bishop Landels. The present parish-church was
built in 1739, and underwent some alterations iu
1780. It is in tolerably good repair, and capable of
accommodating 719 persons. The stipend is £132
8s. 4d., with a manse, and a glebe of the value of £19.
The salary of the parochial schoolmaster is £34 4s.
4idi, and lis. 6d. of a mortification, with fees
amounting to about £24. There is also a free
academy here, conducted by four teachers, in which