anough, and yet less by far than my mind is im- | pressed with upon perusing his Day-book, and the marginall notes on his familiar closet Bible, for his prayers are before God for his children, and his children's children then unboren.

To conclude: his long confinement, want of free air and exercise, impaired his health; and his trouble by unjust prosecution, add to this the indifference of relations, and even his own brother, Sir Walter Stewart: all these brought a rupture upon him, but though his constitution had been much impaired, by his having been thus shutt up and harassed, yet for some years before his death, by the equall balance of his minde, he came to a more serene state of health; and, amidst his devotions, lived quietly and resigned to the divine will, and so died March 31, 1681, in his own house at Edinburgh, in the 73d year of his age.

'He had come from Cultness the October before he died, and at parting said, "I know my change is at hand; God hath been with me more in my afflictions, and I value these last years of my life as preferable to my most prosperous, and my worldly losses are all more than made up to myself; but when I consider your numerous and interesting family, (looking at his son and daughter-in-law with complacency), if it had not been for the iniquity of the times, and the ingratitude of friends, I had been in a condition to have provyded plentifully for all your children; but the Lord gives and takes,

and blessed be his name. I have seen both sydes of this world, and I have a well-grounded assurance God will provyde for you and your young ones, and though you shall meet with distresses, he will not forsake my family even in outward respects, but my children's children shall prosper, and I have prayed for them. I now parte from Cultness and my native country, but am persweded my prayers shall have a returne when I am gone." He prayed with them, and solemnly blessed them all. It was a melancholy scene, but he cheered up his countenance and endevoured to comfort them; and his concluding advice was-"Fear not! remember HIS last words before his passion, Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.' "-John xvi., 33. He stayed a day or two at Alertoun in his passing for Edinburgh, and spoke comfortably to his son-in-law and to his daughter; his eldest son Cultness, and Alertoun his nephew

ground, in Greyfreirs Churchyard, and in his
loving wife, Anna Hope's grave, and many sin-
cere tears were dropped upon his turf at his
buriell. He was taken from the evils to come,
and to his eternall rest and joy :-" Blessed are
the dead that die in the Lord!
29 I know not
by what direction, but his grave was made more
than ordinary deep; perhaps some had remem-
bered what his grand-unkell, the great Lord Ad-
vocate Sir Thomas Hope, had ordered, "That he
should be so inhumate as not to be exhumate."
And it may be said, Sir James was not exhu-
mate till 1713, that his son, Sir James Stewart,
Lord Advocate, was laid in that grave: I stood
with Mr. Walter Stewart, his grandson, when
they were digging up his grave, and when the
grave-digger judged it ordinary deepth, Mr.
Walter desired he should go deeper, and a foot
and ane half or two foot brought up the bones,
and scull with fresh gray hairs upon it; Mr.
Walter remembered his grandfather's buriell,
and said it was his remains, and we caused
make a hole in the bottom of this grave, and
decently depositate the skull and bones, and
covered all up, that they might not be loosely
scattered about the grave's mouth; and this last
duty I judge due to the relicts of so venerable a
sanct.'-pp. 42–45.

fines and losses, left a fair estate behind
This worthy man, notwithstanding his
him. We do not see that the territories
around Coltness were extended, although
they were by degrees much improved, by
his successors during the last century; and,
when sold a few years ago, they fetched
upwards of 200,000l.

The eldest son of the founder, Sir Thomas Stewart, married early, and devoted himself entirely to a country life. His descendant's description of his buildings and beautifyings may be amusing to many of our readersfor many of them, we are sure, have been acquainted with the elegant hospitalities of the Coltness of recent times :

and so to embellishe the place. But as the old 'He sett himself to planting and inclosing, mansion-house was straitening, and their family likely to increase, he thought of adding to the old toure (which consisted only of a vault and room on top of the turnpike stair, and a garret) two rooms, one above the other, with a small

and son-in-law, attended him to town. At Muiryet, about two miles easte from Alertoun, (it is a rysing ground, and draws a large prospect), there he turned his horse, and looked around, and said, "Westsheild, Carnewatha large addition on south side the staircase, of church, and Lanrick, my early home and haunts, farewell! Alertoun, Cultness, and Cambusnethan church, my later aboads! farewell, ye witnesses of my best spent time and of my devotions! 'Tis long since I bid to the vanities of the world adieu."

'He died, as is aforesaid, with absolute assurance and resignation. The body of the burgars and inhabitants of Edinburgh did him honour at his death and buriell, and said he had been the father of the city, and a most worthy majistrate. So he had a numerous and honourable funerall, and was laid in his own burying

a good kitchen, celler, meat-room or low parlor, a large hall or dyning-room, with a small bedchamber and closet over these, and above that, two bed-chambers with closets, and yet higher thus he made ane addition of a kitchen, six fyerin a fourth story, two finished roof rooms. And rooms with closets; and the vault in the old tower was turned to a convenient useful celler, with a partition for outer and inner repossitaries. The office-houses of bake-house, brew-house, garner-room, and men-servant's bed-chamber, were on the north of a paved court; and a high front wall toward the east, with ane arched entry or porch enclosed all. Without this arched

bushes with scarlet threed, in memory of St. Winifred.

"Nescio quâ natale solum dulcedine cunctos Ducit, nec immemorem quem sinit esse sui." where every tree, thicket, or bush were my fa'I have insisted more largely upon a place miliars, and where I spent the greener and gay

voyd of caires and anxiety, under these lovely shades, and on the bankes, and in the clefts of is a charme in one's early haunts.'—pp. 55-58. the rocks by the murmuring streams. There

gaite was another larger court, with stabells on the south syde for the family and strangers' horses, and a trained up thorne with a boure in it. Opposite to the stables north from the mansion-house, with ane entrie from the small paved inner court, was a large coal-fold, and through it a back entrie to a good spring draw-well, as also leading to the byer, sheep-house, barn, and hen-house; all which made a court, to the norther years of life, when I sat easy and sweet, of the other court, and separate from it with a stone wall, and on the east parte of this court was a large space for a dunghill. The gardens were to the south of the house, much improven and enlarged, and the nursery-garden was a small square inclosure to the west of the house. The slope of the grounds to the west made the south garden, next to the house, fall into three cross tarresses. The tarras fronting the south of the house was a square parterre, or flourgarden, and the easter and wester, or the higher and lower plots of ground, were for cherry and nut gardens, and walnut and chestnut trees were planted upon the head of the upper bank, towards the parterre, and the slope bank on the east syde the parterre was a strawberry border. These three tarrases had a high stone wall on the south, for ripening and improving finer fruits, and to the south of this wall was a good orchard and kitchen garden, with broad grass walks, all inclosed with a good thorn hedge; and without this a ditch and dry fence, inclosing several rows of timber trees for shelter; to the west of the house, and beyond the square nursery garden, was a large square timber-tree park; birches toward the house, and on the other three sydes rowes of ash and plain, and in the middle a goodly thicket of firs. To the north of the barn court, and north from the house, was a grass inclosure of four akres, with a fish-pond in the corner for pikes and perches. All was inclosed with a strong wall and hedgerowes of trees: so the wholl of this policy might consist of ane oblong square, of seven or eight akers of ground, and the house near midle of the square, and the longer syde of the square fronted to the scuth: the ordinary enteries to the house were from east and west, but the main access from the easte.

'It was found still a convenient nursery was wanted for ane interesting young family, and a lower addition was made to the east end of the new buildings, and to run paralell with the south syde of the high house toward the gardens. The low room was for a woman-house, and the upper room was the nursery, and both nursery and woman-house had passage to the great house, by proper doors, and a timber trapstair made a communication betwixt the nursery and woman-house. In short, after all was finished, the fabric was wholly irregular as to the outsyde appearance, and both house and policy were more contrived for convenience and hospitality than for beauty or regular proportion; and so was the humour of these times, that, if there was lodging, warmeness, and plenty within doors, a regular front or uniform roof were little thought of.

There is in Coltness wood, below the house, a well of some virtue, dedicate to St. Winifred, and called by the corruption Wincie well; in superstitious times oblations were tyed to the

This planter and builder was, like his father, a zealous Presbyterian, and though he was himself at Edinburgh when the battle of Bothwell Bridge was fought, he fell into tribulation, was sharply handled by the crown lawyers, and ultimately forced to fly into Holland, and his estate forfeited. The genealogist states that the only grounds of suspicion were that a party of the insurgents had come to Coltness House the evening before the fight, and carried away 'two cold rosted turkeys,' with one recruit, the gardener. However, the laird continued in exile and in extreme poverty until 1696, when he received liberty to return home, with a small pension from the crown, through the good offices of William Penn, who had made acquaintance with him at the Hague, and used to call him 'Gospel Coltness. A younger brother, James Stewart, rose early to eminence at the bar; but, being openly of the ultra-covenanting party, had found it necessary to escape to Holland somewhat earlier. This gentleman, however, appears to have had a rather more elastic conscience; for he made his peace much sooner with the court of James II., and was Under Secretary of State at Edinburgh when 'Gospel Coltness' reappeared there 'Here,' says the historian, was the failing and faux pas, the disjointing of a great and good man; but after the Revolution Mr. Stewart acted with so much integrity and wisdom and such moderation as a great and useful Lord Advocate, that he more than doubly atoned for all, both to his country and to the church.' He was Lord Advocate from 1693 till near his death in 1713; and was undoubtedly a man of large and vigorous talents, and a dexterous and successful manager of political parties in most difficult times.* It is set down here (p. 368) that

1500 letters of invitation were issued for his funeral.' He appears to have, in his advanced life, preserved all the outward marks of the family sanctity—inter alia— having for dinner on Sunday only a bit of

* We find him characterized by a high living authority as the first Lawyer and Statesman in Scotland.'--Riddell's Peerage and Consistorial Law, vol. i., p. 272. (Edinburgh, 1842.)

cold meat or an egg.'
Both himself and,
by his interest, his elder brother, were cre-
ated baronets, and, the Gospel' laird's line
failing in the person of Sir Archibald, our
genealogist, these honours were ultimately
united in the descendants of the lawyer.
We may
afford room for a sketch of two
of the younger branches of that generation.
Gospel Coltness's sister Anna

for active life. He sett out early in business, and settled soon in a marriage state, and had two sons by a daughter of Bennet of Grubet. He used in railery to call her his popinjay: the man. The occasion was this:-Miss Bentrifling incidents sometimes show the humor of net had deceived the world in her complexion, and, by shades of borrowed hair and black lead combs, concealed her red locks. Some weeks after marriage, the husband catched her at her

was married to John Robeson, Dean of Gild of toilet, and with surprise said, 'Effie, good heaEdinburgh and brewer: she lived in great feli-vens, are you so?" "Ho, Harry! have you never seen the hook till now? you're as dead often declared against red hair, they would have as a fish." He had with his companions so Put the sneer upon him, but he joked them off, proved a good, prudent, affectionate wife, and saying that he had got a papingo green. She he was contented and happy in a married life.

I see in his father Sir James his Diery, sistant with minding the better parte." This "Harry has too much turmoyll, almost inconthe old man bewaled in his fervent prayers and agonizings for his son's happyness. When he was on his death-bed, his father had this note,much upon his merchandise, but God gave a "Alas, poor man! his ravings in this fever were calm forty-eight houres before death, and ane tion, and died in a heavenly frame: I am peranswer of prayer; he had deep serious convicsuaded of his eternal happiness in our Lord.". pp. 50, 51.

Nor must we omit the brief record of the

city, and had many children, but after her death their family was rouened by that remarkable fyer and burning in the Parliament Closs, anno 1700. There all Baillie Thomas Robeson's welth had been laid out in sumptuous houses, and from these buildings he is designed, in his vain-glorious monument yet standing in Greyfreirs church, urbis Edina ornator, si non conditor; yet in one night and a day all was consumed, and his family rouened, and this John Robeson, among his other children, brought to poverty. This burning was by the populace called a remarkable judgment, because Baillie Robeson, in his office as youngest magistrate, it fell to his share to attend the execution of the sentence of the Restoration Parliament, in ignominiously burning the nationall Covenants, at the publick cross of Edinburgh, by the hand of the common executioner; and it was remarked that this man's high sumptuous tenements were burnt, and none else, and the fyer stoped at the place of execution. Men are ready from events to read judgements as they affect, and find out humblest of the Lord Provost's progeny— judgements for their neighbours' faults, but never remark judicial strokes for their own or their friends' sins and transgressions, yet some judi-bred to merchandise in the Holland trade, in cious folks thought there was something singu- which he made no gains. He lived poor and lar in this stroke upon his family; and upon retired, had a retentive minde, and spent most this his son Hendry, who was ane advocate, of his time in a devote way, and in the amuseand lost his patrimony of 3000 lib., studied di- ments of fishing or angling: he died anno 1735, vinity, and was minister of the gospel at Old- aged seventy-two, and was never married. He hamstocks, in East Lothian. To conclude the wrote the German character superior to anydigression, this was perhaps the greatest con- thing done by printer's types; he had most of flagration could have happened in any city, by the Psalms upon memory; I have heard him the vast hight of houses, for the highest pinicle repeat the 119 Psalm distinctly, and backward was called Babylon, being backward fifteen from last to first verse in meatter.'—pp. 47, 48. storeys high from the foundation, and all was ane immense heap of combustible matter upon a small foundation, and made a prodigious The Dean of Giid by his losses was much impoverished, and was made one of the captains of the city guard.'-pp. 48, 49.

blaze.

The buildings which replaced Baillie Robison's were as lofty as his; and they also perished in a mass by a similar conflagration in 1824. An ancient English traveller, quoted in the Censura Literaria, says the houses of the Scotch are like unto themselves, high and dirty.'

A younger son of the old Provost was a prosperous wine merchant.

Harry was a full-bodied, genteel man,-of complexion black, of ane open countenance, his eyes full and lively, of ane easy benign gayety in his address, which showed he was formed

Walter Stewart,

from these sons of the founder to their In an appendix we have some letters worthy father. Down to the close of the old man's life, more than twenty years after uniformly address him as 'My Lord.' We he held any civic dignity, his children are not aware that the Lord Mayors of London ever aspired to such prolongation of their title; and we fancy the Scotch proverb once a Provost, always a Provost,'

is now obsolete.