This book, written in the early 1880's by William Gibson, a resident of Dollar and later Tillicoultry, was produced for his family and was not for general sale. It provides a general outlook of the locality over the author's lifetime.
REMINISCENCES OF DOLLAR, TILLICOULTRY
AND OTHER DISTRICTS ADJOINING THE OCHILS.
William Gibson
Published 1882
CHAPTER I.
BLACKFORD: ITS OLD CHURCH AND CHURCHYARD.
THE ruined walls of the old Parish Church of Blackford, and old burying-ground, are beautifully situated on the top of a high knoll to the north-east of the village, and immediately above the railway station. From it can be obtained a fine view of the surrounding country, including a long stretch of the beautiful Ochil hills to the south. Below it lies the quiet village of Blackford, built not in the usual irregular fashion throughout Scotland, but in two regular parallel streets, from end to end of the village, with a number of short regular streets or lanes running at right angles between the two. The south street is the old town of Blackford, and forms part of the old highway from Perth to Stirling. It was along it that, on Saturday the 12th day of November 1715 (167 years ago), the Earl of Mar, with his army of Highlanders, marched from Auchterarder to meet the Duke of Argyle, with some 5000 royal troops, in the neighbourhood of Dunblane; and on the following day fought the stubborn battle of Sheriffmuir.
Mar left Perth on Thursday the 10th of November, and reached the battlefield on Saturday night; and on Sabbath the 13th November, about noon, the battle commenced, and raged so long and furiously that darkness alone put an end to it. At the close of the day it was hard to tell which side had gained the victory, which gave rise to the following amusing lines:
Some say that they wan,
And some say that nane wan at a', man ;
But o' ae thing I'm sure,
That at Sheriffmuir
A battle there was that I saw, man .
I may in passing refer to what led to this famous battle of Scottish history.
On the death of Queen Anne in 1714, George, Elector of Hanover, succeeded to the British crown; but a great portion of the inhabitants of Scotland (notably the Highland clans) had wished James Francis Edward, commonly called "The Chevalier," instead, and, headed by the Earl of Mar, determined to raise the standard of revolt and get this foreigner deposed, and their favourite put in his place. Hence the rebellion of 1715.
Some idea may be formed of the feeling in Scotland regarding George I. from the following couplet :
'Wha the deil hae we gotten for a king
But a wee, wee German lairdie.'
A good many of the houses in this south street of Blackford are very old, but it has also some good new buildings; while the north street—which is the more modern part of the village - has some fine new houses, with two beautiful churches, the Established and the Free, with handsome spires and clocks, which give the village quite a smart appearance.
One of the principal industries of the village is brewing, for which it has long been celebrated - Blackford ales being well known throughout Scotland.
There are three pretty large breweries, only two of which are at present in operation ; but although they must carry on pretty extensive businesses, they do not, unfortunately, give employment to many hands.
About a dozen of hand-loom weavers, or so, still get occasional employment from Auchterarder; but as a weaving village, its day has gone by.
Before the introduction of the power-loom, however, Blackford, like many villages in Scotland, used to get a weekly supply of webs from Glasgow, which were sent to agents who gave out the webs to the weavers, superintended the weaving, and got the cloth returned to the city; and thus employment was given to very many hands.
But this is all changed now. The introduction of steam and the power-loom have concentrated very much the manufacturing of all these goods to the large cities, where large public power-loom factories have been built, the proprietors of which weave goods to anyone; and very extensive manufacturing firms in Glasgow get all their weaving done there, and are not possessed of a single loom themselves except for making patterns on.
The proprietors of these establishments are called 'job weavers,' and some of them are possessed of very large premises, with many hundreds of looms; do a large trade, and are possessed of considerable wealth. Cloth can be woven in these factories at a mere tithe of what it used to cost on the old hand-loom; and hence these small weaving villages throughout Scotland have been ruined, so far as weaving is concerned.
Another flourishing industry that was at one time carried on very extensively in Blackford, and gave employment to a great many hands, has now dwindled down to very small dimensions, and must have told greatly on the prosperity and stir of the village, and that was the tanning and currying of leather, and the manufacture of boots and shoes for the wholesale trade of the country. Although still carried on to a moderate extent, few hands, comparatively, are now employed, for the bulk of this trade is now concentrated in steam factories throughout the country, where, with the aid of the sewing-machine, shoes can be produced at a price that hand-made goods have no chance with; and hence this industry, like the hand-loom weaving, has suffered greatly in Blackford. From these two causes it is now a very quiet village, and the first time I paid a visit to it - in March of this year - I was struck with the great silence that reigned throughout it, and thought it a very rural village indeed. Though quiet in the village, there is plenty of noise adjoining it, however; for throughout the day, and night also, the ‘iron horse' on the Caledonian Railway (which passes close to the village) snorts away almost constantly, the number of trains during the twenty-four hours on this great iron road to the north of Scotland being very great indeed.
The beautiful water of the Allan passes close to the village, and is (even so near the top of Strathallan) of considerable size, and is considered a very fine trout fishing stream. Danny burn, from the Ochils, which passes close to the west side of the village, joins the Allan a little below it. The foot-road through the Ochils, by Backhill House and the Devon to Tillicoultry and Dollar, goes up by Kinpauch House, and before the introduction of the railway was largely used by pedestrians between the north and south sides of the Ochils.
I have been thus particular in giving a description of Blackford, from the fact that it was the birthplace of the writer's grandfather, of whom I will speak more particularly farther on in this narrative.
From a tablet on the inside of the north wall of the old church, we learn that the good people of Blackford had been long honoured in having a baronet for their minister, one of the ancestors of the present Sir Henry Wellwood Moncreiff, Bart., of Tullibole, Fossoway. The inscription runs thus :
THE REVEREND SIR WILLIAM MONCREIFF, BART.,
MINR. BLACKFD., ORDAINED 1738,
DIED 971 DECR. 1767, AGED 61.
AND
MRS. KATHERINE WELLWOOD, HIS WIFE,
WHO DIED 31st March 1768, AGED 45 YEARS.
My purpose, however, in drawing attention to this old church and churchyard of Blackford is more especially to take notice of a very interesting tombstone (so far as the writer's relatives are concerned) lying flat on the ground about the centre of the churchyard, and which, from the date on it (1739), must have been placed there a year after Sir William Moncreiff, Bart., was ordained to the parish. I herewith give a rough sketch of this stone, with that part of the inscription which is plainly readable, the rest of it, unfortunately, being too much wasted to make clearly out what it is, although words are still traceable.
The James Miller who was buried beneath this stone, and who was born at the Mill of Duchally in the year 1680 (202 years ago), was the writer's great-great-grandfather. One of this James Miller's sons was named James, who had a family of nine children—four sons (named William, James, John, and David) and five daughters, one of the latter of whom was named Jean, born in 1746, my grandmother by my father's side, and who lived in my father's house in Dollar till her death, which took place in October 1842, she being then in her ninety-seventh year.
KINCARDINE GLEN, DUCHALLY MILL, AND AUCHTERARDER.
The Mill of Duchally is in one of the most picturesque glens, perhaps, in Scotland—the beautiful water of the Ruthven (or, as the Auchterarder folks generally call it, 'the Water of Riven') flowing through the centre of it. It is situated directly south from Crieff Junction railway station, and within ten minutes' walk of it: but although so near, this really beautiful glen is almost entirely unknown to the many thousands who daily pass that station. If its beauties were known, I have no doubt it would have very many visitors, for no more lovely spot could be selected for a day's outing, and for picnic parties enjoying themselves. This deep gorge or glen of the Ruthven, of some 150 feet deep, and from 700 to 800 feet wide at the top (called Kincardine Glen from Kincardine Castle, the old seat of the Duke of Montrose), commences at the north end of Gleneagles, and runs nearly due east, with the beautiful little stream of pure water running at the bottom of it, which empties itself into the Earn some dozen of miles away.
For a good distance above the mill, and about half a mile below it, the steep sloping banks are beautifully green, with here and there clumps of fine old trees, forming quite a romantic scene, and just such a place as one would like to shut themselves in for a day from the bustling outside world. About half a mile below the mill, the fine policies around Kincardine Castle commence, and the glen is densely wooded down to the water's edge, and is really one of the most romantic spots one could wish to see.
On the high ground not far from the mill, the farmhouse of The Barns is situated, and here it was that the Duke of Montrose, when resident in Kincardine Castle, kept his retainers; and many a struggle would, no doubt, take place between them and the Duke of Argyle's clansmen residing at Castle Campbell (romantically situated in the beantiful glen above Dollar) - a deadly feud having long existed between the two houses. The distance between the two strongholds would not be more than a dozen of miles or so, and two roads were available, one through Gleneagles, and the other by the Borland Glen. The old road through Gleneagles is still distinctly traceable, near the bottom of the glen, and on the opposite side from the present road.
The Miller family of Duchally Mill and Auchterarder, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, carried on the trade of wheelwrights, that of making spinning-wheels for the young brides of those days, for no young wife thought of taking up house without that most essential piece of furniture, and the making of them was a trade by itself. At that time the spinning of yarn was all done by hand, and the wool carded with hand cards; and thus almost every household carded and spun their own yarn, and gave it to weavers to weave into cloth, for the clothing of their households. Then it was that 'homespun' cloths were a reality, and not, as nowadays, a name given to a cloth which our manufacturers try to imitate.
What a contrast to all this now exists at the present day! The introduction of the carding engine, and the invention of the spinning mule, have completely revolutionized this old state of matters; and now can be seen in any of our large factories as many as from 30,000 to 40,000 spindles, spinning yarn, and each spindle turning off as much as at least five women could do with the old hand spinning-wheel; thus the production of one mill is now as great as that of 150,000 to 200,000 hand wheels.
The making of spinning-wheels by the Millers of Auchterarder gradually developed into a general wright's trade, which has been carried on very extensively and successfully up till the present time. Mr. David Miller (who retired from the business some time ago) is a great-grandson of the James Miller who was born in 1680, and Mrs. Tainsh (who is nearly ninety years of age) is a great-grand-daughter.
The principal occupation of the inhabitants of Auchterarder in my young days was hand-loom weaving, the webs being supplied (as in Blackford) from Glasgow. Now there are three large factories in the town, which supply webs to those who still continue at the handloom, while they give employment to a very large number of women at the power-loom, of which there will be well on for a thousand.
Fifty years ago, Auchterarder was very poorly supplied with water, and in dry seasons it had to be carted in barrels, up from the 'Water of Riven.'
They have now, however, got an abundant supply of fine, pure water, from beyond the Muir of Auchterarder; and for this the town was very much indebted to the exertions, along with others, of Mr. David Miller, who took an active part in getting it introduced, which was done in 1832.
In order to get information about my progenitors, Mr. Miller and I paid a visit to Blackford Churchyard, in the month of March of this year; and, after about an hour's work, in 'Old Mortality' style, succeeded in laying bare the inscription on the old family tombstone, which turned out to be of such very great interest to us both.
DOLLAR-RELATIVES-CASTLE CAMPBELL.
My grandfather, James Gibson, was born in Blackford in 1756; and married Jean Miller of Auchterarder, in 1780 or 1781.
As grandfather died in 1819, before I was born, I am indebted for any information regarding him to my elder relatives. He was a tall, stout man, with reddish hair; very pushing and enterprising; of an affable and genial disposition, and was a general favourite with the good folks of Dollar.
Grandmother (who died in 1842) I remember well, as she lived in my father's house till her death. She had been a most active woman in her day, and to her energy and business tact their success in after life was not a little indebted.
They commenced business in two small houses in the old town of Dollar, in the north street that leads up to Castle Campbell, where Mr. Miller's hall (at present a grain store) was afterwards built.
Like most country shops in those days, they dealt in almost everything - groceries, drapery goods, hardwares, etc.; and, from a very small beginning, their business gradually extended, and became the principal emporium, for almost everything, for the district for miles around. With what success they prosecuted their calling may be judged of from the fact that in 1806, grandfather built the large dwelling-house and shop farther down the village, at present occupied by Mr. Hunter, and where, for forty years, the business was successfully carried on-first by grandfather, and then by my father, and where the writer, and the rest of the family, were born and brought up.
In those early days, and before the introduction of spinning machinery, business was very differently conducted from what it is now, and Mrs. Tainsh has told me that she remembers well of grandfather coming north to Monzie ('Monee') market, to buy blankets and plaidings, and calling at Auchterarder on his way there.
The yarn was spun by the women of the Highlands, on their spinning-wheels; woven into blankets and plaidings, and brought to Monzie market to be sold. By and by, when spinning machinery was introduced, and those goods were manufactured in Tillicoultry and Alva, this market was changed to Perth; and thither the manufacturers of our neighbourhood used to go regularly to dispose of their wares. This market must have been discontinued about the year 1840; for, after that time, the manufactures of our district were sold to wholesale houses in the large cities, principally in Glasgow. When I came to Tillicoultry in 1847, I used to hear many stories about our manufacturers attending Perth market.
Grandfather had two sisters and a brother—Margaret and Emily; but his brother's name I have not been able to find out, nor have been able to trace clearly what became of him, further than that he settled somewhere in England, was married, and had a family, and that two of his daughters once paid a visit to my late married sister in Stirling, Mrs. Dalgleish, which must have been more than forty-three years ago, as she died in 1839.
Margaret married a Mr. Ritchie, and I can learn of only two of her family—Mr. William Ritchie of Portobello (I am not aware whether he still survives or not), and the late Mrs. Whitehead of Perth. Emily married a Mr. John Lawson of Blackford, who commenced business as a brewer in Glendevon, and died there, leaving his widow with a large family. After the death of her husband, grandfather brought his widowed sister and her family to Dollar, where they afterwards resided in one of his houses, nearly opposite his own. Her descendants are very numerous at the foot of the Ochils, at the present day—Mr. Edward Moir, Tillicoultry (at present eighty-three years of age), being a grandson; whilst her great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren are very numerous. Mr. Lawson, draper, Alloa, is a great-grandson.
Grandfather's family consisted of three-two sons and a daughter, named William, James, and Janet, the last of whom died in infancy. Whether my father or Uncle James was oldest, I have not been able to find out; but, from the record in my father's family Bible, Uncle James died on the first Sabbath of July 1812, when quite a young man.
I was not aware, till the other day, that I am really descended from a wool-spinner (the business I have now been engaged in for thirty-five years), but an old and respected native of Dollar informs me, that Grandfather Gibson, a Robert Pitcairn, and John Burns (father of the first Mrs. Peter Stalker-Eliza Burns) formed themselves into a company, and built the first wool mill in Dollar; and that one Willie Wilson was the manager. This mill was situated between the upper bridge and Mrs. Bell's Hall (formerly the second wool mill), and stood parallel to the burn; and the water for the wheel of it was brought in a lade, from the weir (now entirely demolished), at the public bleaching-green, down past the foot of the gardens, where the Castle Walk is now formed. This original mill was entirely removed when the second mill was built, some sixty years ago. Like most country mills at that time, it was for carding and spinning country wool, and the yarn was made into goods - blankets, plaidings, cloths, etc. - by weavers throughout the village, for the use of the respective parties who sent in the wool; and thus, in a sense, each family was its own manufacturer. This practice is still continued in many country places, and especially in the Highlands, at the present day, where many thriving country mills are still carried on.
Behind the second wool mill (which is the only one I remember of) there was a large, deep pond, for running the dirty Waulk Mill water into; and this would, I suppose, be emptied occasionally during the night, and thus the burn would not be polluted when people were requiring water. It was a most dangerous place for children, although I don't recollect of any one ever being drowned in it, but many a poor kitten ended its days there. This mill pond was in the next garden to my father's, and was a well-known place to us all.
My father had decided to join grandfather in the now thriving business of general merchants, and after grandfather's death carried on the business successfully for twenty-seven years. The shop, during my father's lifetime and for long afterwards, was where the parlour of the house now is. It was an emporium for almost everything, and people came from many miles around to it, from Glendevon, Muckart, Crook-of-Devon, Powmill, Blairngone, Forrestmill, etc.
In the course of his business my father paid an annual visit to the farmers of the Ochils, and amongst others with whom he dealt, I may mention one or two of the names - Mrs. Low, of the Borland Glen ; Mr. Guild, of Glenquhey ; Mr. David Taylor, of the Eind, above Auchterarder, etc.
For ironmongery goods, such as grates, fenders, etc., he went always to headquarters, - Carron and Falkirk Ironworks, - and bought at first hand. I remember well of going with him on one of these visits, when a very little boy; and as there were no railways in those days, the journey had to be done on foot.
It was a very hot day; and when trudging through the moss between South Alloa and Carron, we couldn't get a drop of drinkable water, and I was almost on the point of giving in. How much the present generation ought to prize the facilities they have for travelling nowadays; only those who remember those early times can fully appreciate the immense advantages we now enjoy.
Dollar is beautifully situated at the foot of the Ochils, immediately below the ruins of the famous old stronghold of the Duke of Argyle—Castle Campbell ; and although a small town, is of very ancient date, John Knox having dispensed the sacrament at Castle Campbell, while the guest of Archibald, fourth Earl of Argyle, in the year 1556; and Thomas Forrest [Forret], vicar of Dollar, being a well-known character in Scottish history. The bridge over the Devon about a mile east from Dollar, where he crossed the stream on his peregrinations between the monastery at Inchcolm and Dollar, still takes its name from him - The Vicar's Bridge. Authentic records in connection with the Castle, date even about a hundred years before John Knox's time, the oldest title deeds known for it, and the lands of Dollar, being dated the 19th of April 1465 - four hundred and seventeen years ago. They were then the property of John Stewart, third Lord Innermeath, and passed into the possession of the Argyle family in 1481, when Colin, first Earl of Argyle, married Isabel Stewart, one of Lord Innermeath's daughters, and must have got them along with his bride as a marriage dowry. The Castle at this time went by the name of Castle Glaume (Gloom); but in 1489 an Act of Parliament of James III. was passed, changing it to Castle Campbell, which would seem to show that the Argyle family had decided to make it one of their principal places of residence. How long before 1465 the Castle was built, there is no authentic record, but it is more than probable it was two or three hundred years.
It continued in the possession of the Argyle family till 1805 (three and a quarter centuries), when it was sold to Craufurd Tait, Esq. of Harviestoun, and is now the property of James Orr, Esq.
Castle Campbell was burned in 1644 by the Macleans (who formed part of the Marquis of Montrose's army) when passing along the valley after the battles of Auldearn and Alford, and immediately before the battle of Kilsyth. And not only was the Castle destroyed, but all the houses in Dollar and Muckart, with the exception of one in each place (which were saved through a mistake), the inhabitants of both parishes being vassals of Argyle.
The Castle is most romantically situated in Dollar Glen, on a high rocky promontory between the two burns of Sorrow and Care (or as they are now called, the Bank and Turnpike burns), and immediately above the junction of the two, and is so surrounded by the deep, densely-wooded, rocky gorges, at the bottom of which the burns run, that no grander scenery is to be found, I believe, in Scotland. That this is the general opinion throughout the country is fully borne out by the many thousands who annually visit it, it being evidently considered one of those romantic sights which must not be overlooked. The old tower of the Castle, with its walls of some seven or eight feet thick, shows what a place of great strength it must have been, and before the introduction of artillery must have been almost impregnable. Tradition says that Argyle's retainers were away on a foray of their own when the Macleans attacked and destroyed it, and this seems more than probable, as a very small number of defenders might, in such a situation and with such a stronghold, have defied the whole of the Marquis's army.
In my young days, and for long after, the road to Castle Campbell was by the old cart road to the north side of the Ochils, up past the Brewlands, and through Glenquhey. At Gloomhill Quarry, a foot-road branched off, down to the bottom of the beautifully-wooded glen; and, after crossing the Turnpike burn, the ascent to the Castle was made up the almost perpendicular brae, by a series of steps worn out of the turf, by the tramp of many hundreds of years.
There is now, however, a romantic walk up to the Castle, through the beautiful glen, the whole way; and for this the inhabitants of Dollar are indebted, I believe, to my late friend, Mr. Peter Stalker, cabinetmaker, who first conceived the idea of making it; and the inhabitants, afterwards (particularly the late Dr. Strachan) deserve great credit for the spirited way in which his efforts were seconded; for, by subscriptions, concerts, etc., the handsome sum of £300 was raised to carry the project out. How well this was done, must be attested by every one who visits the Castle, for every advantage has been taken of the romantic glen in the formation of the road, and the view from various parts of it is very fine indeed. To stand on the end of the long bridge, at the foot of Kemp's Score, and look around, presents a view that is unsurpassed for grandeur, I believe, anywhere in Britain. The fine scenery, also, at Sochie - above the Castle - was opened up to the visitor, by the formation of this walk, which was carried as far up as Nellie's Dell, beyond the fine waterfalls of Upper and Lower Sochie. Until it was formed, few people in Dollar, I believe, had ever seen these beautiful waterfalls, or the deep rocky gorge through which the water, for a considerable distance, passes.
It used to be considered one of our great schoolboy feats to go up Kemp's Score; and, in company with George Gibson (a son of the janitor's, of the Academy), I accomplished it once; but was never tempted to try it again. My companion got fairly stuck for a time, and could neither get up nor down; and, considering all further efforts fruitless for that day, bawled up to me at the top, to go down and tell his folks to send up his supper, as it was evident to him he must remain there all night. However, by a last, almost despairing effort, he got over the difficulty, and reached the top in safety.
Our worthy minister, the late Dr. Andrew Mylne, had the misfortune to make a slip at the top of the Score,' and slid all the way down to the bottom on his back; and the wonder to every one was how he wasn't killed on the spot. As it was, he was very much hurt, and his nether garments were in a woful plight.
A young lady, also, from a neighbouring village, when visiting the Castle, along with two gentlemen, had ventured down a little bit at the top of the Score; and she, too, shared the same fate as the Doctor, and was so seriously hurt, that she was confined to bed for a considerable time after it.
Whether Kemp's Score was a natural chasm, or one quarried out by the inhabitants of the Castle, I suppose no one can tell; but it must have been of great service to them when the Castle was besieged; as by it - if provided by wooden steps (as it would very likely be) - a supply of water could at all times be got, independently of their enemies.
I used often to imagine that part of the ground below the Castle garden had a hollow sort of sound, and that, possibly, some subterranean rooms might be in existence there; but no exploration of it was ever made, although I think it might yet be worth while doing so. Perhaps some antiquarian friend may persuade Mr. Orr to take the matter up.
Mr. and Mrs. John Taylor, and a large family, lived for a very long time in the Castle, in the two rooms at the foot of the stair, which must have been a very dismal abode to live in ; but they were all very strong and healthy looking notwithstanding, and seemed to get on quite comfortably in them. Looking at the whole place and its surroundings, it is really a mystery how some of the children didn't get themselves killed.
A family is at present living in the Castle; but the accommodation for them has been very much improved and enlarged since John Taylor's time. The danger, however, for children is as great as ever, and must keep the parents very anxious.
CHAPTER II.
WILSON FAMILY OF BANKHEAD, AND LETTERS FROM AMERICA
DURING THE AMERICAN WAR IN 1812 AND 1813.
In the old churchyard of the county town of Clackmannan, a tombstone is to be seen not far from the east end of the church, the inscription on which runs as follows:
1828.
Erected by SARAH WILSON
in memory of
Her dear departed friends,
SARAH MALLOCH, her Grandmother,
died 1st July 1791, aged 73 ;
ALEXANDER Wilson, her Grandfather,
died 18th April 1806, aged 72;
ANNIE, her Sister, died 20th Feby.
1814, aged 13;
HENRY, her Brother, died 9th Augt.
1828, aged 33;
Also the above
SARAH Wilson, died 24th Decr. 1861, aged 79.
Come, here is mouldering dust;
behold and see
what you and I and all ere
long must be.'
This Alexander Wilson and Sarah Malloch are my maternal great-grandfather and great-grandmother.
Standing at the Cross of Clackmannan, and looking up the only street of which the town consists, their house is the first one on the right-hand side, with an outside stone stair.
How many of a family they had I have not been able to learn; but they had one daughter, named Mary, who married a cousin of her own- Adam Wilson, who was laird of the farm of Bankhead, in Fossoway parish. They had a family of nine children—six sons and three daughters - their names and the years of their birth being as follows:
William Wilson, born in 1781.
Sarah Wilson, 1782.
Robert Wilson, 1786.
Mary Wilson (my mother), 1788.
Adam Wilson, 1790.
Alexander Wilson, 1792.
Henry Wilson, 1795.
Bruce Wilson, 1798.
Annie Wilson, 1800.
Uncle William, the oldest son, emigrated in 1801 to America, and established himself as a market gardener in the city of New York. He died about the year 1833, leaving a large family, none of whom, however, we have ever seen. His oldest son corresponded with my brother in Dollar, and thought at one time of coming over to see us, but never made it out. He died some years ago.
We know nothing of his family, or of any of the other members of uncle's family. From three letters of uncle's that have just been put into my hands by my brother in Dollar (written in 1812 and 1813), I find he had been a most intelligent and really good man, and gifted, withal, with a poetical turn of mind of no mean order.
Two of these letters were written to his sister Sarah, and one to his young brother Henry, then only sixteen years of age, and are of general interest, from the fact that they were written during the American war with Britain, and show very clearly the great difficulty there was in carrying on any intercourse or correspondence between the two countries at that time. The following quotations will show this. In a letter to his sister, dated June 1813, he says: 'I am sorry that the war between this country and Britain should interrupt our correspondence; yet I expect to have frequent opportunities by the Cartel ships to write you ; and although such letters are all examined by the officers of the Government, and no doubt will be so long as the war continues, yet our correspondence being perfectly inoffensive is no detriment in the least to them. This, and another for Sandy, go by the Cartel ship Robert Burns, from New York to Liverpool. Mr. Gibb in Dunfermline will be able to inform you how to get your letters properly conveyed for the Cartel ships, which are the only chance now by which we can write.' Again, in another letter to his sister, dated December 24th, 1813, he says: 'Your kind letter of last July, and the other two, sent by the return of the Robert Burns, I received all safe. May God grant that we may be equally prosperous with the present Cartel.”
And again in the same letter he says: 'I send one letter to Sandy along with this by the Cartel ship Fair American, bound to Liverpool, where she will be allowed to remain but a short time before her return to the United States. It is of no consequence to what port any of the Cartel ships come here, their letters are very speedily forwarded to New York from any port in the Union. There was one, the Minerva, that arrived at Boston not long ago from Leith. It would have been a fine opportunity for Sandy, and I wondered he did not write by her.'
Having been informed by his sister of the death of his mother at Bankhead, Fossoway, those two letters to her, from which I have quoted, are full of expressions of the most intense, glowing love to his dear departed mother, for whom he and all the family seemed to have entertained the deepest love and affection. In one of them he wishes white marble tombstone to be erected to her memory, with the following inscription, the expense of which was to be entirely borne by himself :
Sacred
to the memory of
MARY WILSON,
wife of ADAM Wilson, of
Bankhead, of Tullybole,
who departed this life on the
27th day of June 1812, aged 52 years.
This stone is erected by her affectionate children, as a lasting testimony of that sincere regard which they bear for the memory of the best of mothers.
The last sad tribute they can here bestow for that maternal and affectionate regard invariably manifested by her unsullied bosom for the best interests of her darling offspring.
'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.'
The death of his mother, and a number of their neighbours, at Bankhead about the same time, suggested to him the following lines, which I here give as a specimen of his poetry :
But lately I roamed through yon bonnie green valley,
The fields they were wet with the soft morning dew,
And the sweet native notes of the lark still ascended,
Far on high rose her song as still upwards she flew.
My mind it was cheered by the sweet-smelling verdure
Of all that is fair in kind nature's display,
The full-blown flowers wide their glories expanded,
The rose and the lily bloomed fragrant and gay.
Green were the boughs of the high towering forest,
Brave emblems of virtue they soared still on high,
Their sweet-smelling odours spread o'er the valley,
Their exalted perfume reached the far-distant sky.
Though my feet wandered wide to yon far-distant nation,
My soul hovered still o'er the midst of the vale ;
Deep, deep in my bosom lay hid the sweet treasure,
Instilled from the fairest, the dearest of all.
With fond exultation how joyful I tasted
Of these sweets*, though far wafted across the wide sea ;
But, ah ! how short-lived are our best earthly treasures,
The beauty of Fossoway blooms no more for me !
The greatest, the fairest of all the green forest
How stately they flourished, how pleasant they shone !
Are laid low in the dust, in silence they moulder ;
The glory of Fossoway is fallen, is gone.
Where are her cedars that waved on the mountain ?
How does her forest look scanty and thin !
O chilly blast, had thou spared but the fairest,
The bonnie white lily, how glad I had been !
Her old goodly timber that still stands unshaken,
Both cheerless and dreary alone now remain ;
O soft be the breeze that may ever pass o'er them ;
Pleasant and calm be their last setting sun.
Ye dear tender shoots who are now thus exposed,
Unsheltered to feel the rough tempest's cold blast,
O how I would lock you to this warm bosom,
And hide thee in safety within this fond breast!
Nor time nor great distance shall e'er dim those features,
Of love and affection my soul ever warms,
It pores o'er the valley with filial raptures,
It lingers, it strays by the dearest of urns.
* His mother's most affectionate letters.
In a footnote under this poetry he says: 'Two lines of the first verse allude to the early morning prayers of our worthy mother, and the two next verses to the happy situation of those who lived under the auspicious care of her, and the other worthy friends that are gone.
That this poetical turn of mind was not confined to him alone of the family, may be gathered from the following quotation from the same letter, written immediately after the poetry :
'In the above verses I have followed the same imagery as that in which my little brother Henry had been traversing. His verses I carefully copied from your letter, and, for a youth of sixteen, I think them well composed.'
From the whole letter to his brother Henry, he shows himself to have been a decided Christian, and the many excellent counsels contained in it, and the language in which they are expressed, would have done credit to any minister. Throughout all the three letters he shows the greatest interest in the temporal and eternal welfare of all his brothers and sisters, and in one of them refers to my father and mother (who were then only about a year married), ‘as our brother Gibson and Mary'.
The many excellent advices given to his young brother in the letter to him are so suitable for young lads about to start on the business of life, that I think I cannot do better than give a few extracts from it, for the benefit of the rising generation of the present day. Although written seventy years ago (the letter being dated September 20th, 1812), they are as suitable now as they were then.
In it he says : 'You will scarcely remember the man that thus addresses you; yet often, often do I think of the playful scenes you gratified me with in your youngest years. But now that you are grown up, considerations of far more importance will no doubt occupy your thoughts ; and as all men continually stand in need of, and are greatly benefited by, serious and sound admonitions, I send you this letter with a sincere desire that it may prove a lasting blessing to you, and that you may not be without a memorandum of a brother who sincerely loves you. Whatever your inclinations may be respecting the occupation you intend to follow, happiness is undoubtedly the grand object of all your wishes; yet perfect happiness cannot be obtained on this side the grave.
But there is an inexpressible happiness to be obtained which the "worldly-minded" knows not of, neither can the world give, or take it away.
'Let me advise you above all things to hold daily and frequent intercourse with your Creator, and endeavour as far as possible to regulate all your conduct according to the good laws of God, so plainly exhibited to you in your Bible. Perhaps you have already gone, or may soon go, to some trade. Then, in a special manner, ought you to be on your guard. Above all things, in your dealings with mankind, observe these two, truth and honesty, by which you will command respect from all who know you; whereas falsehood and covetousness justly incur the contempt of everybody. All kinds of swearing and obscene language sadly demean the man, deprave his every virtue, and sink him below the level of the very brute. Beware, I beseech you, of the friendship of those who indulge in every kind of wickedness and obscenity. You will always find in every place some whose minds naturally rise above the vile and ignominious. Such minds will ever warm to those of similar affections, and the improving intercourse that ensues is truly pleasing and useful.'
'The man who spends his life without the society of a virtuous friend can scarcely know what it is to live. Such an one I hope you will always be able to enjoy, and may God ever preserve you from the paths of vice.'
'I send this letter, and one to Robert, with a Mr. Murphy, whose family lives in Paisley. He has been here a few months only, and returns in a Cartel ship to Liverpool. . . . He is much pleased with my situation.'
I find the postage of those letters was 2s. 6d., this sum being marked on the back of one of them. (There were no envelopes in those days, nor for many a day after - the letters being written on three sides of a big square sheet of paper, and addressed on the fourth.) It is also written on each of them when they were received, and in every case I find it took about two months for the packet to cross the Atlantic.
What a contrast to all this exists at the present day, and how would my worthy uncle be astonished could he revisit this earthly scene again! Instead of two months, his letters would now reach their destination in some seven or eight days, with unfailing regularity, driven along against wind and tide and the ocean currents of the Atlantic, by that wonderful agent steam, the irresistible force of which was first discovered by James Watt, when he tied down the lid of the kettle, stopped up the spout, and blew away at the fire with the bellows, to see what effect it would have, when he escaped death as if by a miracle, the kettle being shivered to atoms.
And then, instead of looking out for friends by whom to send his letters, and when none could be got, sending them through the post office at a charge of 2s. 6d., we get them despatched daily now for the small sum of sixpence only, by the magnificent fleet of gigantic steamers that now cross the Atlantic.
But how would uncle stare in utter amazement, when told that he could flash a message with lightning speed across the Atlantic to his sister in a few minutes, by a mysterious wire at the bottom of the ocean ! Yet those are amongst the great advantages we now enjoy, as compared with his day, and for all of which, and for many other great discoveries since his time, we ought to be truly thankful.
He was the author of a very excellent book on gardening, published by Anderson, Davis, & Co., Chatham Square, New York, in 1828. It is entitled, Economy of the Kitchen-Garden, the Orchard, and the Vinery, with Plain Practical Directions for their Management. By William Wilson, nurseryman.
It is a book of two hundred and six pages, and contains a very full treatise of the subject, and must have been invaluable in those early days of the settlement of the country. He had got the copyright of his book secured; and the fact that it was so is made known in the first page, a short extract from which I here give, as follows:
Southern District of New York, S.S.
BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the sixteenth day of October, in the fifty-second year of the Independence of the United States of America, William Wilson, of the said district, hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as author and proprietor, in the words following, to wit:
[Here follows the title, as given above.]
In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled “ An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts, and Books to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies, during the times therein mentioned. . . . And extending the Benefits thereof to the Arts of Designing, Engraving, and Etching Historical and other Prints."
FREDERICK J. BETTS,
Clerk of the Southern District of New York.'
It may not be uninteresting to give a copy of the index to the book, as showing what products were principally reared at that time in America. It is as follows:
VEGETABLES.
Asparagus, bean, beet, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, carrot, cucumber, corn salad, cress, endive, egg plant, garlick, horse bean, horseradish, Indian corn, kail, lettuce, leek, melon, New Zealand spinnage, nasturtium, onion, okra, parsnip, parsley, pea, pepper, pumpkin, potato, radish, spinage, squash, sorrell, salsify, shallot, turnip, tomatoe.
POT AND SWEET HERBS.
Caraway, coriander, sweet basil, summer savory, sage, thyme.
MEDICINAL HERBS.
Balm, calomile, comfrey, catmint, elecampane, horehound, hyssop, mint, rue, tansey, wormwood.
FRUIT.
Apple, pear, peach, plum, cherry, apricot, nectarine, quince, gooseberry, currant, raspberry, strawberry, grape vine.
Of the vine, he says the following sorts have been found to succeed tolerably well in America :
Millen Burgdundy, Golden Chasselas, White Chasselas, White Sweet Water, White. Muscadine, Morillon Blanc, Black Hamburgh, Tokay, Blue Cartiga, Muscat Violet, Messlier, Austrian Muscadell.
From the introduction to his book I learn that, from a diary he kept regularly for a period of nine years of the results of all his various gardening operations, and from the experience gathered for twenty-seven years of what best suited the soil and climate in the neighbourhood of New York, he had gathered the materials for another and more important work, which was immediately to follow his first one, the title of which was to be The New York Horticulturist, and in which he says would be found 'a distinct arrangement of all the views of importance which I have formed and entertain respecting the practical execution of all the various operations necessary to be performed in the more refined departments of landscape gardening, the pleasure or flower garden, the hothouse, greenhouse, and forcing frames. But as these subjects are not necessarily much connected with the kitchen garden, it has been thought better to commence with the management of it by itself, the more especially as it is presumed the far greater part of purchasers will prefer to have it so. The management of fruit trees and grape vines being so nearly allied to that of the kitchen garden, they will be freely treated upon in the present work, as soon as we get our kitchen garden well cropped.'
of this second work we have, unfortunately, no copy (so far as I know). The copy of the one from which I have been quoting was made a present of to my father by the author, and is inscribed on the first page, in his own handwriting, as follows :
Presented to
WILLIAM GIBSON,
by his Brother,
THE AUTHOR.
New York, October 2, 1828.
It is now in the possession of one of my sisters.
As a contrast to those 'floating islands’ that now leave Glasgow almost daily to cross the Atlantic, it may not be uninteresting here to refer to the Comet, the first steamer that was started on the Clyde, which was built in 1811 by J. Wood, for Henry Bell. It was only forty-two feet long, eleven feet broad, and five and a half feet deep.
This leviathan steamer was advertised to sail, in a newspaper dated 5th August 1812; and referring as it does to those early days of steam navigation, I here give a copy of it in full:
STEAM PASSAGE BOAT THE Comet, BETWEEN GLASGOW
AND HELENSBURGH, FOR PASSENGERS ONLY.
The subscriber having at much expense fitted up a handsome vessel to ply upon the Clyde between Glasgow and Greenock, to sail by the power of wind, air, and steam, he intends that the vessel shall leave the Broomielaw on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays about mid-day, or at such hour thereafter as may answer from the state of the tide ; and to leave Greenock on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in the morning to suit the tide. The elegance, comfort, safety, and speed of this vessel require only to be proved to meet the approbation of the public; and the proprietor is determined to do everything in his power to merit public encouragement. The terms are for the present fixed at 4s. for the best cabin, and 3s. for the second ; but beyond these rates nothing is to be allowed to servants or any other persons employed about the vessel. The subscriber continues his establishment at Helensburgh Baths the same as for ten years past, and a vessel will be in readiness to convey passengers in the Comet from Greenock to Helensburgh. Passengers by the Comet will receive information of the hours of sailing by applying at Mr. Houstan's office, Broomielaw, or Mr. Thomas Blackney, East Quay Head, Greenock.
HENRY BELL.
Aunt Sarah and Uncle Henry lived in their grandfather's house in Clackmannan, and carried on the little shop in connection with it. Uncle died at the early age of thirty-three, but aunt lived to the long age of seventy-nine.
Uncle Robert, who was a builder, established himself in Paisley, and his sons John, William, and Robert used frequently to visit us in Dollar. They have now emigrated to America.
Uncle Adam (who never was married) lived for long in Dollar, but latterly in Paisley, and died there.
Uncle Alexander emigrated to America, and we never heard where he settled, or what became of him.
Uncle Bruce was drowned in the Caldron Linn. No one saw him fall in; but a stepping-stone that used to be at the top of the upper fall, and by which people got across the Devon, was amissing, and this led to the supposition that he might have fallen in. This, alas! turned out to be too true; for, after a week's searching, his body was got in the lower pool.
Aunt Annie died in my father's house, at the early age of thirteen. She was a good little girl, and told the friends around her deathbed that if she died on a Sabbath, to be sure she was in heaven. And on a Sabbath, sure enough, she did die.
THE OLD HOME IN DOLLAR.
I come now to the one of the family around whom the greatest interest centres - my dear and loving mother, Mary, who was married to my father on the 26th of April. 1811, being then twenty-three years of age, my father being a year younger.
I was told by a Mrs. McIlwraith, who lived in Tillicoultry, and who died only a few months ago, aged ninety-five, that she knew my father and mother very well before they were married, and that it was at a marriage in Dollar they first saw each other. Be this as it may, father was fortunate in getting one of the best of women for his partner in life, and who afterwards proved a most devoted and excellent mother to his large family; and whose memory will, till the day of my death, be deeply enshrined in my inmost heart.
They had twelve of a family, four sons and eight daughters, five of whom (two sons and three daughters) died in infancy. The names of the survivors were as follows - six of whom are still living:
Jane (Jeanie), first Mrs. Peter Dalgleish, Stirling.
James, married Elizabeth, youngest daughter of Mr. William Archibald, Craigfoot, Tillicoultry.
Mary-Ann (Mrs. Archibald, Devonvale, Tillicoultry, and Cluny Bank, Forres).
William, married Jessie Christie, eldest daughter of Mr. James Prentice, Stirling.
Janet (Mrs. Kirk, Park House, Dollar).
Sarah.
Amelia (Emily) (Mrs. McLeish, Free Church Manse, Methven).
In my father's house we were most thoroughly drilled in the use of the Scriptures and the Shorter Catechism, having to repeat (question about) the one half of the latter every Sabbath night, my father asking all the questions without a book. This thorough knowledge of the Catechism was at that time, I believe, very general, and was considered essential to salvation; and in almost every household it was looked upon as of equal authority with the Bible. That it should have been so, is, I think, very much to be regretted, as some important things were left out of it that should have been in, and some were given a prominence to that had better have been out.
Throughout the whole book we do not find this all-important truth enunciated, which Paul told Timothy, 'That God will have all men to be saved, and to come unto a knowledge of the truth' (1 Tim. ii. 4); while the twentieth and twenty-first questions on election have been a stumbling-block to thousands. That the doctrine of election is taught in the Bible must be patent to every one who has studied it; but at the same time, it is as clearly taught, that 'whosoever' believeth on Jesus Christ as their Saviour will be saved. While, therefore, the compilers of the Catechism have given a prominence to the doctrine of election, they have altogether ignored the free offer of salvation to all, which runs through the whole New Testament. How much more precious would their compilation of truth have been had they introduced that most precious verse in the whole Bible into it - John iii. 16 : 'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' But the glorious truth that this verse and kindred verses teach us, seems to have been lost sight of altogether by these worthy men ; while the doctrine of election seems to have engrossed their whole vision. Hence their little book, which in many other respects is a most admirable production, has a coldness and hardness about it which is positively painful.
Whoever heard of a case of conversion from studying the Shorter Catechism? Would the thousands that have been brought to Christ through the instrumentality of Moody and Sankey, and other evangelists and faithful ministers, have been so had the Shorter Catechism been made their only text-book? I trow not. Yet this was the book that was 'drummed' into the youth of Scotland so universally in my young days, and is so still, I am sorry to say, in many places, throughout our land. The doctrine of election, along with a free offer of salvation to all, is one of those mysterious things that is beyond our finite natures to comprehend; and hence the less that is said and written about it the better in my opinion.
During our first great revival meetings in Tillicoultry, about twenty years ago (the fruits of which are still seen among us), a strong Calvinist was brought, by mistake, to address the meeting one night; and, with the Shorter Catechism evidently bulking largely in his eye, I heard him say, amongst other things, If an anxious soul were to ask me, "O sir ! did Jesus Christ die for me?" I would answer, "Ah, my friend ! that is a hard question, I cannot answer that." He meant, of course, that unless he was one of the elect, Christ did not die for him. That address was like a wet sheet thrown over the movement, and this reverend gentleman was of course not asked back again. Yet this is the Gospel which the Shorter Catechism teaches, and which was so universally preached in my young days.
I was well up in years before I was led to look upon God as other than a 'stern God of justice;' and I attribute this mainly to the teaching of the Shorter Catechism. Why then should our 'Use and Wont men' persist in retaining in our public schools a book which ignores some of the most precious truths of the New Testament, and tends so thoroughly to mystify the Gospel ? !!! I think it is high time it should be revised, and brought into harmony with the more enlightened views of the glorious gospel that are now generally entertained, than those that existed two hundred years ago, when it was compiled. I have always taught part of it to my family; but the questions on election, never. We have lately got a Revised Version of the New Testament, and will soon have one of the Old, and I hope the Shorter Catechism will follow.
In personal appearance my father was about the average height (5 ft. 8 or 9 in.), with a full round face; and for a long time before he died, had got very grey and bald. He was a kind and affectionate parent, and at the same time very strict in maintaining proper discipline in his household.
Photography not having been discovered in his day, the only likeness we have of him was taken, in pencil, by one of the candidates for the drawing-master's situation in Dollar Academy, when Mr. Brown was appointed. My father being one of the trustees of the Institution, this candidate wished to show him what he could do ; and hence this portrait. I am very sorry we have no likeness whatever of my mother ; but had I been an artist, I think I could take her portrait yet, her features are so indelibly impressed on my memory, although very young when she died. It was on the 29th of August 1828 that this sad event took place, which brought a dark cloud over us all, and brought their married life to a termination after the short sojourn together of only seventeen years.
Although so young when this sad event happened, I have - as already stated - a distinct recollection of her sweet and loving face, and only those who have experienced, like myself, what it is to lose a loving partner in life, can have any idea of the irreparable loss my father sustained in the death of his young wife (she was only forty), and what a loss it must have been to her young family.
This great blow (the greatest, I think, that can befall us poor mortals here below) would weigh on my father's spirits till the day of his death ; for, however full your house may be, your companion is gone; and nothing on earth can make up for the loss. He nevertheless bore up wonderfully under it, and apparently was always cheerful when in the presence of any one, and enjoyed a quiet meeting of friends very much. But 'the heart knoweth its own bitterness ;' and (speaking from my own experience) solitude is found at times to be a great relief, where the pent-up fountain of our grief can flow out freely, unrestrained by the presence of any one. In the words of another, 'Hearts constitute homes, and the loss of a beloved wife is the communion of home ended, and the husband left to a solitude that no tears can relieve, no entreaties reverse.' Seven of a family (one more than in my own case) were left with him to mourn over the loss of his partner in life.
Our Heavenly Father has wise ends in view in those great trials he sends upon us, and though we cannot see through them now, we shall be able to comprehend them in eternity, and to then realize that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord. Those great bereavements are amongst other things sent to try our faith, and I think I cannot do better than here introduce one of Spurgeon's beautiful Morning by Morning Readings (a precious book), bearing on this subject. It is on October 7, from Num. xi. 11: 'Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy servant?' Our Heavenly Father sends us frequent troubles to try our faith. If our faith be worth anything, it will stand the test. Gilt is afraid of fire, but gold is not: the paste gem dreads to be touched by the diamond, but the true jewel fears no test. It is a poor faith which can only trust God when friends are true, the body full of health, and the business profitable; but that is true faith which holds by the Lord's faithfulness when friends are gone, when the body is sick, when spirits are depressed, and the light of our Father's countenance is hidden. A faith which can say, in the direst trouble, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him," is heaven-born faith. The Lord afflicts His servants to glorify Himself, for He is greatly glorified in the graces of His people, which are His own handiwork. When "tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope," the Lord is honoured by these growing virtues. We should never know the music of the harp if the strings were left untouched; nor enjoy the juice of the grape if it were not trodden in the wine-press; nor discover the sweet perfume of the cinnamon if it were not pressed and beaten; nor feel the warmth of fire if the coals were not utterly consumed. The wisdom and power of the great Workman are discovered by the trials through which His vessels of mercy are permitted to pass. Present afflictions tend also to heighten future joy. There must be shades in the picture to bring out the beauty of the lights. Could we be so supremely blessed in heaven, if we had not known the curse of sin and the sorrow of earth ? Will not peace be sweeter after conflict, and rest more welcome after toil ? Will not the recollection of past sufferings enhance the bliss of the glorified ? There are many other comfortable answers to the question with which we opened our brief meditation ; let us muse upon it all day long.
REFORM BILL OF 1832.
Although my father took no active public part in politics, he was thoroughly liberal in his views; and when the great Reform Bill passed in 1832, was amongst those who rejoiced that this first grand step in the political regeneration of this country was taken. Although very young at the time, I remember well the great rejoicings that took place throughout the length and breadth of the land. There was a great procession at Dollar, with some seven or eight bands of music, and we marched round by Rack-Mill, Dollarbeg, and Blairngone, and home by Vicar's Bridge.
In case some of my young readers may not know what this Reform Bill was, I may here state that, previous to its being carried, no one had a vote in a county for a member of Parliament unless he paid £50 of rent; and this bill reduced the qualification from £50 to £10. This was the first 'knock on the head' our Tory legislators got, and put an end, to a great extent, to the 'class' legislation which had been carried on for so long a period.
The first great contest in the united counties of Clackmannan and Kinross, to represent them in Parliament, after the passing of the Reform Bill, was between the late W. P. Adam's father, Admiral Adam (Liberal), and the present Lord Burleigh's father, Mr. Bruce of Kennet (Tory); and resulted in a great victory for the Admiral, who was carried shoulder-high through Dollar.
CHAPTER III.
CAPTAIN JOHN McNAB AND HIS SPLENDID BEQUEST TO DOLLAR.
In the year 1799 a message came one day to Mr. McArbara, the parish teacher of Dollar, that a gentleman wished to see him in the village inn at Gateside; and on repairing thither he found an entire stranger awaiting him, who didn't introduce himself, but who, in the course of a long conversation, asked all the information about Dollar that a parish teacher was so well qualified to give; and after getting this, bid Mr. McArbara good-bye, leaving him still in ignorance as to who his interrogator was. He gave him to understand, however, that the object of his inquiries was, that some one was going to benefit the parish in an educational point of view; and the inhabitants of Dollar are certainly very much indebted to the shrewd old schoolmaster for representing matters in such a light, that what this stranger contemplated would be a very great boon and blessing to Dollar, and would be highly prized by the parishioners. This visit would no doubt give rise to a good deal of talk in Dollar at the time, and great curiosity would be excited as to who this inquisitive gentleman was; but it was fully two years before the mystery was cleared up, and after the visit had been almost entirely forgotten. The first light that was thrown on the incident was the intimation that came to Dollar in 1802, that a Captain John McNab had died in London, leaving a large sum of money for 'a charity or school for the poor of the parish,' and it was to be under the management of the parish minister and kirk-session. This gentleman, then, had no doubt been Mr. McArbara's mysterious visitor, and it became a settled point in Dollar, about which there need not be the slightest doubt.
As is well known, this Mr. John McNab, whose noble gift has so entirely changed the quiet little country village into the important place of learning it now is, a native of Dollar parish, having been born at Wellhall, and was baptized in the Parish Church of Dollar on the 14th of May 1732 - one hundred and fifty years ago. He left Dollar, when a young lad, for a seafaring life, and was so poor he had to borrow the three-halfpence necessary to take him across the Queen's Ferry, when on his way to Leith. From this time till he appeared again in Dollar in 1799 (which must have been some fifty years at least), he was entirely lost sight of, and would be - but by a very few - entirely forgotten. Having been successful in amassing a large fortune, and remembering, no doubt, the disadvantages under which he had himself laboured when a poor boy in Dollar, he had bethought himself of doing something for his native village; and hence his splendid bequest.
The Rev. Mr. Watson appears to have treated the people of Dollar very cavalierly; for although the Rev. Noah Hill's letter to him, intimating Mr. McNab's bequest, was dated the 18th of January 1802, he appears not to have brought it before his session till the 2nd of March 1803, on which date it is taken notice of for the first time in the session records, and the will and Rev. Noah Hill's letter recorded.
From this time till 1807 there appears to have been no session meetings held in connection with it, and both the heritors and inhabitants of Dollar were kept in entire ignorance of what Mr. Watson was doing in regard to the matter. Mr. McNab’s executors having meanwhile raised a Chancery suit (the will being disputed by his cousin), the Court of Chancery ordered the kirk-session to exhibit a scheme of the mode in which they meant to dispose of the legacy. Mr. Watson, in compliance with this order, prepared one for erecting a large hospital, or poor-house, and did so, apparently, without consulting his session, knowing that Mr. McArbara, the session-clerk, and indeed all the inhabitants of the parish, and heritors, were quite opposed to this, and in favour of an educational seminary. (The Chancery suit terminated in favour of Dollar.) As soon as it got to be known that Mr. Watson had presented this scheme, a meeting of the heritors took place on the 27th of January 1808, and also one of the inhabitants of the parish on the same day, with a view of opposing it. Through the kindness of Mr. Haig of Dollarfield, I am enabled to give a copy of the minutes of both of those meetings, and the names of those who attended them, which are as follow :
Minute of a meeting of the heritors of the parish of Dollar, called to consider a plan which the minister of the parish is stated to have presented, with the concurrence of the elders, to the Court of Chancery, for erecting an hospital for poor children with Captain McNab's legacy - held at Dollar, the 27th day of January 1808.
Present - Craufurd Tait, Esq. of Harviestoun, for himself, and Colonel Campbell, of Dollarbeg ; John Duncanson, of Sheardale; William Fult, of Mains of Dollar ; William Haig, of Dollarfield ; Robert Marshall, of Mains of Dollar; Robert Pitcairn, in Dollar; John McCathie, in Dollar ; Thomas Lamb, of Mains of Dollar ; James Fergus, of Mains of Dollar; Walter Moir, for John Moir, of Hillfoot. - Mr. Tait appointed Preses ; Mr. Moir appointed Clerk
'The meeting having very fully considered the subject, are unanimously of opinion that the erection of an hospital for poor children in the parish would be a great misfortune, would discourage industry, and would tend to bring into the parish a number of poor people; and they resolve to oppose the erection of an hospital by every means in their power, and, if necessary, to appear in the Court of Chancery, and state the misfortunes which they consider it will bring upon the parish. Mr. Tait, Mr. Moir, and Mr. Haig stated to the meeting that when they heard that the minister and elders had made an application to the Court of Chancery for the establishment of an hospital, or poor-house, they had retained counsel, and employed a solicitor to oppose the plan of the minister and elders. All the heritors and proprietors present approved of this, and authorized their names to be used in opposing the erection of an hospital or poorhouse. They further resolved, and they individually obliged themselves, not to feu, or let, or in any way to give possession of any part of their grounds to the minister and elders for the erection of an hospital or poor-house, or an establishment of any kind with Mr. McNab's legacy, except a free school, which they think would promote the industry and prosperity of the parish.'
Minutes of a meeting of the inhabitants of Dollar, called to consider a plan which the minister of the parish is stated to have presented, with the concurrence of the elders, to the Court of Chancery, for erecting an hospital for poor children with Captain McNab's legacy-held at Dollar, the 27th day of January 1808.
Present - William Donaldson, quarrier in Dollar ; William Fyfe, coalmaster in Dollar; Alexander Hamilton, baker in Dollar ; Andrew Sharp, smith in Dollar; William Gibson, flesher in Dollar ; Francis Sharp, flesher in Dollar; Alexander Paterson, farmer in Dollarbeg; James Millar, mason in Dollar; John Maitland, excise officer in Dollar; Robert Malcolm, mason in Dollar ; Robert Leslie, carrier in Dollar ; James Scott, overseer at Mains of Dollar.
The minutes of the heritors of this day regarding the application of Captain McNab's legacy having been read to the meeting, and the persons present having both now and formerly considered the subject with all the attention in their power, they are unanimously of opinion that the erection of a free school at which the different useful branches of education would be taught would be the greatest blessing that could be conferred on the parish. As to the establishment of an hospital for poor children, they are of opinion that it would be an improper mode of applying Captain McNab's legacy, first, because the number of children that could be admitted into such an hospital would be so small that it would not be of extensive benefit to the inhabitants of the parish.
Secondly, because they consider that the greatest comfort which parents can receive is the company and conversation of their children in their own families; and they would be obliged to remove this comfort before their children could get the benefit of being educated in the hospital. Besides, they consider it their duty as parents to watch over the health and morals of their children, and they think that these will be as well attended to under their own eyes, as when they are trusted to a hired housekeeper, or hired servants in an hospital.
Thirdly, from their early prejudices and education they have been accustomed to consider it as their pride to be able to feed and clothe their children without the assistance of charity; and the consequence of the erection of an hospital would be either that they, the present inhabitants, would feel themselves degraded if they suffered their children to go into the hospital, and the minister and elders would be obliged to invite families from neighbouring parishes, with different feelings, to furnish children for filling the hospital.
Signed -
William Donaldson, James Millar, William Fyfe, William Gibson, James Scott, David Smitton, Peter McNicol, Andrew Robertson, David Drysdale, Francis Sharp, Robert Younger, John Carmichael, Andrew Sharp, James Lawson, John Chalmers, William Lyon, John Brown, James Donovan, Daniel McGregor, John Blackwood, Alexander Paterson, Alexander Hamilton, Robert Leslie, John Maitland, Robert Malcolm, Thomas Campbell, Andrew Henderson, Donald McLaren, Joseph Marshall, Andrew Wilkie, William Wilson, James Blackwood, William Blackwood, John Blackwood, George Thompson, Duncan Cameron, John Oliphant, Hugh Munro, William Monteath, John Cameron, John Taylor, John Strang, John Hynd, William Duncan, William Anderson, Peter Campbell, James Smith, John Kirk, John Drysdale, Henry Wardlaw, John Bateson, John Burns, John McLean, John McLeish, Andrew Mallach, David Wilson, John Bowie, John Ross, William Reid, Robert Wright, William Carmichael, John Drysdale, William Halley, Henry Murray, John Younger, Robert Jack, Thomas Younger, Peter Lawson, Andrew Gray, John Hall, Joseph Sharp, James Johnston, Robert Lambert, John McIntosh, Peter McLeish, Robert Fyfe, William Cuthil, Alexander Fulton, Andrew Glass, Duncan Donald, Thomas Penman, Robert White, William Sorely, William Law, William McLeish, James Wright, David Westwood, Robert Russell, Andrew Roy, John Archibald, Andrew Henderson, Andrew Hutcheson, Peter Dudgeon, Robert Bean, Benjamin Taylor, James Scotland, John Mercer, John Smith, Thomas Baillie, Alexander McGregor, Thomas Scotland, James Denman, William Penman, James Taylor, Andrew Main, James Law, James Guild, Adam Brand.
After those meetings were held the heritors employed counsel, and took steps to oppose Mr. Watson's plan in Chancery; and thus commenced the Chancery suit which continued for such a long series of years.
Four years after those meetings the inhabitants of Dollar were as much in the dark as ever as to when the parish was to reap the benefit of the legacy; and getting very impatient at the silence maintained by Mr. Watson and the session, a petition was drawn up and presented to them, signed by fifty-nine names; and another meeting took place in the church on the 16th of June 1812, with the view of meeting the minister and session, and hearing what they had to say in regard to it. None of them, however, having put in an appearance, the meeting appointed the following committee to wait on Mr. Watson in the manse: viz. John Burns, David Smitton, Henry Murray, William McLeish, Daniel McGregor, Andrew Paton, Robert Kirk, James Lawson, Andrew Sharp, Robert Malcolm, and Andrew Malloch. They accordingly waited on him in the manse, and in the course of a long interview, learned from him that he was determined that his scheme, and his alone, would be adopted, and told then that unless the parish agreed to it, they would never get the legacy. He wanted them to call another meeting of the inhabitants, and get them persuaded to adopt his views, and added : ‘Although all the parish should leave me, and the session should leave me, who have acted along with me in the business, yet I stand alone for the poor of the parish;' which meant, of course, for having a poorhouse or hospital built, although he knew that this was so generally condemned.
After dragging on for other three long years, the heritors (who were, unfortunately, not trustees under McNab's will) were just on the point of losing their suit in Chancery, when, fortunately for Dollar, Mr. Watson died, which put a stop to the proceedings for a time; and Dr. Mylne being appointed his successor, he at once took steps to get the management of the fund transferred from the English Court of Chancery to the proper parties under the will - McNab's trustees to be under the control of the Court of Session in Scotland, and, after nearly two years, succeeded in accomplishing his object. The announcement of Lord Eldon's (the Lord Chancellor) order to this effect, is recorded in the minutes of session on the 26th of June 1818. With the sixteen years' accumulations of interest that had accrued since the death of the testator in 1802, the legacy had now amounted to the handsome sum of £74,000.
BUILDING OF DOLLAR ACADEMY COMMENCED IN 1818.
Dr. Mylne being at one with the heritors and inhabitants of Dollar as to how the money should be applied, it was decided at once to have an educational seminary ; and in 1818 the building of Dollar Academy was commenced.
Mr. McArbara's declaration on oath, in 1808, before William Haig, Esq. of Dollarfield, J.P., that in the conversation he had with Mr. McNab when he visited Dollar in 1799, he never mentioned an hospital for the support of the poor, but that the legacy that was to be left was to be for the education of the parish, would have great weight with Dr. Mylne in enabling him to make up his mind on the subject.
Could the worthy donor now return, and see the fine building which his noble generosity was the means of rearing, and learn all the good that had been done in Dollar in the way of education for the last sixty years, not only to the natives of it, but to young men from every part of the world, he would have no reason to regret the decision he came to, or find fault with the admirable way in which the people of Dollar had carried out his wishes.
Dr. Mylne having played such an important part in getting McNab's legacy applied to the purpose for which the donor solely intended it, it may not be uninteresting here to give Mr. Tait's letter, appointing him as the Rev. Mr. Watson's successor to the church of Dollar. Mr. Watson (who had been for twenty-three years minister of the parish) died in 1815, and the inhabitants were very anxious to get, as his successor, a Mr. Peter Brydie (afterwards minister of Fossoway), who had for some time been acting as his assistant. With this object in view, a petition in his favour was drawn up for presentation to the patron, Craufurd Tait, Esq. of Harviestoun (the Archbishop of Canterbury's father), and intimation of this had been made to Mr. Tait by letter by my grandfather, James Gibson, one of the elders. This letter brought an answer from Mr. Tait, which I here give a copy of in full.
EDINBURGH, 20th Dec. 1815.
DEAR SIR - I have just now received your letter dated the 18th current, mentioning that Mr. Moore, of Lecropt, had assisted the parishioners of Dollar in drawing up a petition to me, for presenting to the Church of Dollar Mr. Peter Brydie, who has been for some short time past assisting Mr. Watson, the late minister, and that you understand Mr. Brydie would be agreeable to the parish. I have no doubt of Mr. Brydie being a very good man, and it is a great mark of his ability having interested the parish so much in his favour upon so short an acquaint
But there is a very excellent man, with whom I and all my family have been most intimately acquainted now for more than these twelve years, and I have granted a presentation of the Church of Dollar in his favour. He is a religious and good man, of kind and obliging manners, and of great knowledge and learning; and I am sure I do not venture too far, when I pledge myself, that you and the other elders, and all the parish, will, upon experience, find him to be a good minister and a kind friend. His name is Mr. Andrew Mylne, and it is probable that you and many people in the parish have seen him, as he has been frequently at different times living with me and my family at Harviestoun. Many patrons keep the parish vacant for nearly six months; but I am sure that you and the elders will approve of my having granted the presentation without delay, since I know so thoroughly the worth and qualities of Mr. Mylne. - I am, with great regard, dear sir, yours faithfully,
CRAUFURD TAIT.
Mr. Gibson, merchant, Dollar.
Notwithstanding the good account of Mr. Mylne (then pronounced ‘Mill') contained in Mr. Tait's letter, there somehow came to Dollar a report about him, that as a teacher in Edinburgh he was considered rather severe in his discipline; and to distinguish him from another Mr. Mylne, also a teacher there, the good folks of Edinburgh 'dubbed' our worthy Doctor 'the Threshing Mill.' Be this as it may, he had no opportunity of using the tawse in Dollar ; but from our after experience of him, I would be inclined to think there was some truth in the story.
As soon as it was finally resolved on having an educational seminary, and the building of the Academy was commenced, a few teachers were at once appointed ; and until the Academy was finished, they taught in the 'Big Toll-house'.
Mr. James Walker, from Dunbar, was appointed English master; Mr. Peter Steven, for writing and arithmetic; Mr. William Tennant, for Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; Mr. De-Joux (pronounced by the Dollar folks De-Zhue) and his son, for French; and, shortly after the Academy was opened, Mr. Bell was appointed for mathematics. These formed the teaching staff of Dollar Academy for many years.
Mr. Steven didn't come for a few months after Mr. Walker, and Mr. George Taylor, of the old town, who lived opposite my father's house, was temporarily appointed to teach writing and arithmetic, and filled the situation very satisfactorily till the permanent teacher came. After a time, Mr. Patrick Gibson was appointed the first drawing master in the Academy; and, on Mr. Bell resigning the situation of mathematical teacher, Mr. Thomas Mathieson was appointed to succeed him. Mr. Mathieson died on the 13th of June 1833, at the early age of twenty nine. Mr. David Gray succeeded Mr. Mathieson, and Mr. Gibson's successor in the drawing class was Mr. Patrick Syme.
Mr. Walker's first residence when he came to Dollar, was Easter Dollarbeg. Mr. De-Joux lived in Dollar Bank. This Frenchman, who had travelled, thought the Devon Valley so like the Vale of Tempē, that he styled his place of residence Tempē Bank; and the vale below, the Vale of Tempē; and in my young days his beautifully-situated residence was regularly called Tempē Bank.
AN OLD DAME'S SCHOOL.
It must not be thought that Dollar, previous to the inauguration of its now celebrated Academy, was entirely without the means of education; for, in addition to the parish school, it was possessed of a rather famous educational establishment I used to hear a good deal about in my young days, but which had ceased to exist long before my time, and to which I will now refer; this was 'Muckle Jean's School.'
Previous to the fine block of buildings, styled Brooklynn, being built (to the north side of the Academy garden), there stood on the same site three one-storied thatched houses, named Lowburn, the western one of which, during the end of last century and beginning of the present, was the domicile and seminary of this worthy old dame. Her name was Jean Christie ; and to distinguish her from another of the same name, but of smaller stature, she was styled 'Muckle Jean.'
Jean, it seems, didn't approve of a little pair of tawse for keeping order in her school, but used a long wand, with which she could reach the farthest-away scholar, without the trouble of rising; and this wand got to be spoken of as a standard of measurement among her scholars, - 'as long as Muckle Jean's wand' being a common expression used about anything that was considered very long.
We can easily imagine that Jean was not only innocent of having any knowledge of the Classics, but that her acquaintance with the King's English would be but very imperfect; and when any very tough word was reached, that was not only beyond the comprehension of her scholars, but of Jean herself, she got over the difficulty by telling them to 'hip it daughtie' (pass it over).
I have got these particulars about Muckle Jean from a worthy old friend of mine, who, when a child, lived next door to her.
In connection with Mr. McArbara, the parish teacher (to whom I have already referred), this same old friend of mine told me a rather amusing story about the very reprehensible practice of giving every one nickname in those days, and which, I am sorry to say, is still too common amongst boys at the present time.
The sexton having died, the Rev. Mr. Watson asked a weaver named John McDonald to accept of the berth; but John didn't see how he could make his 'daily bread' at it, and wouldn't, therefore, accept of the post.
From that time forward John was dubbed 'Daily Bread;' and not only did he get this name, but it descended to his family. One of his sons, Robert, a silly sort of a lad, was much annoyed one day by his schoolfellows shouting 'Daily Bread' to him ; when, exasperated beyond measure, he rushed in to Mr. McArbara, and complained bitterly to him about the boys calling him names. Sympathizing with the poor afflicted lad, and wishing to put a stop to this very bad practice, Mr. McArbara asked him who were the guilty parties, when Robert amusingly replied, 'It Davie Halley, the “Bulldoug,” and the “Sparrow.". The spell was broken at once, and poor Bob was found just as guilty as the rest.
This Davie Halley I remember as a pretty old man, with a large family, who carried on a cooperage at the head of Craigie's Brae, and went always by the name of 'Cooper Halley.'
CHAPTER IV.
MEAL MILL AND BIG WHEEL BELOW CASTLE CAMPBELL WOOD.
ABOUT seventy years ago there stood, a little below the foot of Castle Campbell Wood, on the east side of the burn, a dwelling-house and meal mill, which were occupied by a Mr. William McLeish (father of the Rev. John McLeish, Free Church minister of Methven). I have no recollection of the mill, but remember the dwelling-house very well, and it was in it that the Rev. John McLeish was born. The course of the old lade for this mill can still be distinctly traced up to near the Black Linn. At a little distance below the mill (and right above the stream, which runs from the Bog Well), Mr. Tait erected a very large wheel (some 30 feet high), which in my young days was a very conspicuous object in the landscape. Why he put it there, no one seems now to know; but he had had it previously erected on Kelly Burn, with the view of pumping the water from the various coal-pits around. Mr. McWhannel, however, the proprietor of Westertown, objected to the scheme, and raised an action in the Court of Session against Mr. Tait, to prohibit its being used; and, being successful in the suit, the wheel had to be removed, and Mr. Tait re-erected it, as already stated, a little way below the meal mill. He must have had some object in view in putting it there, but had evidently changed his mind regarding it, as I believe he only saw it go round once. It rested on a strongly-built, raised-up arc, and must have cost a large sum of money to put it there.
It was broken up and removed in the year 1836; and not a vestige of it now remains.
Another instance of the public spirit of the worthy proprietor of Harviestoun, and his wish to benefit Dollar, was the erection of a very large building, nearly opposite the old Toll-house, which he intended for an hotel; but it was never occupied as such. Being under the impression that Dollar would very rapidly increase after the opening of the Academy, he built this hotel in anticipation of its requirements; but it unfortunately turned out a very bad speculation, as it never found a tenant. A stray room or two of it was now and again let to poor families; but the bulk of it continued unoccupied; and, finally, it was removed to make room for Fairfield Villas, which now occupy its site. It went always by the name of The Big Toll-house,' and was a very conspicuous object on entering Dollar. It was on the side of this building that the hustings were erected, on nomination days, for Members of Parliament; and here it was that the Tory candidates used to get every species of abuse hurled at them—Dollar being then, as now, 'Liberal' to the core.
There was one public undertaking carried out through the influence of Mr. Tait, and the extra cost of which was, I understand, borne by him, that the inhabitants of the locality are still enjoying the pleasure of, and that was the making of the new turnpike road between Dollar and Tillicoultry, in its winding, picturesque form, instead of (as between Alva and Tillicoultry) in an almost straight line. This road has added very much to the beauty of the district, and a lovelier drive than between Dollar and Tillicoultry, through Harviestoun estate, with the fine range of the Ochil hills rising abruptly, and to a great height, in the immediate background, could not be found anywhere. Harviestoun Castle itself is a noble building, and the situation in which it stands is one of the finest, perhaps, in Scotland.
The clear-winding Devon passing through the grounds, adds greatly to the beauty of the magnificent scenery. It was while on a visit to the Tait family at Harviestoun Castle that Burns wrote the following verse, regarding Miss Charlotte Hamilton, a visitor at the time along with himself:
'How pleasant the banks of the clear-winding Devon,
With green-spreading bushes, and flowers blooming fair,
But the bonniest flower on the banks of the Devon
Was once a sweet bud on the braes of the Ayr.'
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE DEVON VALLEY AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY PEAK.
To any one who wishes to see the lovely valley of the Devon in all its beauty, let them take a bird's-eye view of it, as I did this summer, and they will be amply rewarded for their trouble. Starting from Dollar one fine evening, I went up to the top of Dollarbank hill, and then walked straight along to Tillicoultry on the top of the front hills; and the grandeur of the scene was beyond anything I had ever conceived of, and I wondered very much I had been so long in witnessing it. Standing on the top of one of the front peaks, a little to the east of Harviestoun Castle (which, by the way, I will now take the liberty of naming the Archbishop of Canterbury Peak, from his father's beautiful mansion below being so long the home of his youth), the fine building seems almost at your feet; and the beautifully wooded grounds of the estate, with the clear - winding Devon - like a streak of silver - meandering through them, forms one of the finest panoramas, I believe, that can be seen anywhere in Britain. The hills rise so abruptly, you have quite the feeling of looking down on the lovely scene from a tower of at least a thousand feet high. Then the view from this peak (which stands out in front of the range) in the distance is very fine, embracing, as it does, the towns of Stirling, Alloa, Clackmannan, Saline, Menstrie, Alva, Tillicoultry, Dollar, Kinross, with the River Forth, Loch Leven, and all the finely wooded country for thirty miles around.
The burn that passes Mr. Miller's lodge, and which divides Tillicoultry parish from that of Dollar, rises behind this peak, and passes close to the east side of it. The peak, therefore, is in Tillicoultry parish, and at the very eastern extremity of it.
A few years ago I walked from Tillicoultry to Dollar - by way of Helen's Muir, and over the top of the King's Seat (the second highest hill of the Ochils), and the view from the latter is very extensive and grand ; but for real beauty and loveliness, the lower front peaks of the range are much to be preferred.
TAIT'S TOMB.
Although Harviestoun estate has long since passed out of the hands of the Tait family, there is one small sacred spot that still belongs to them - the family burying-place -situated about half-way between Dollar and Tillicoultry, and close to the Devon. It was enclosed with a high wall by the late Mr. Tait; and in it he and a number of his family are buried, including our late worthy sheriff—John Tait, Esq.—and his wife.
This burying-ground, as is well known, is called Tait's Tomb, and in dark nights was an object of great terror (and will still be, I believe) to the young folks, and very few could summon up courage to pass it. not only because of stories about ghosts in connection with it (that we used to hear so much of in my young days) that made us afraid ; but because of its being situated in a densely - wooded thicket, and even in ordinary dark nights is extremely dark. From a tombstone in this burying-ground, I find that Craufurd Tait was not the first of the Tait family who was proprietor of Harviestoun estate (as I had always understood), but that his father, John Tait, had been in possession of it before him. This stone was erected by his grandsons, and part of the inscription on it is as follows :
In Memory of
John Tait, Esqr. of Harviestoun,
and of Cumloden, in Argyleshire,
Writer to the Signet.
Born in 1727. Died in 1800.
Craufurd Tait (son of the above, and to whom I have so often referred) died in May 1832, aged sixty-seven. On the stone to his memory the following eulogium is recorded : His taste adorned this lovely valley, in the bosom of which he lies. His genius - in advance of the age in which he lived - originated, in a great measure, the improvement of the district, and pointed the way to much throughout the country destined to be accomplished by a future generation.'
Mrs. Craufurd Tait died 3rd January 1814.
From the inscription on the stone erected to the memory of our late worthy sheriff, I find he had acted for the long period of forty-four years in that capacity. It is as follows:
In Memory of John Tait, Esq.,
Eldest son of Craufurd Tait,
And for 36 years Sheriff of Clackmannan and Kinross,
And 8 years Sheriff of Perth.
Born 11th February 1796. Died 22nd May 1877.
Mrs. Sheriff Tait died 29th January 1845, so that the sheriff had been a widower for the long period of thirty-two years.
The deaths of other members of the family are recorded, but it is not quite clear whether they are buried there or not.
One of the memorial stones records the fact that this burying ground was 'consecrated' by Archibald Campbell Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury (then Bishop of London), in 1862. On it is the following inscription, followed by some suitable verses from the Bible : ‘He desires here, amongst the graves of his kindred, to commemorate his wife, Catherine Tait, and his son, the Rev. Craufurd Tait, M.A., who were both buried at Addington in 1878. Also his five daughters, buried at Stanwix, near Carlisle, in 1856.'
I recollect well of the deep sympathy felt for the Archbishop (then Dean of Carlisle) throughout the length and breadth of the land, when the overwhelming bereavement came upon him, in the death of five of his daughters at one time, from that terrible disease--scarlet fever; and how much, it was said, the highest lady in the land - our worthy Queen -sympathized with him under the unparalleled blow.
OLD BUILDINGS IN DOLLAR.
The second wool mill of Dollar was built by Mr. William Drysdale, of Alva, who carried it on for a very long time; and after his death, his son Robert continued in it for a great many years. The water for the wheel of this mill was brought, in a raised-up wooden trough, from the weir previously mentioned, and stood right above where the Castle walk now is. When not required for the wheel, the water was discharged into the burn by a large spout immediately behind the mill. A long row of stenters, for drying their goods, stood on the opposite side of the burn, to the north of Cissy and Annie Sinclair's garden.
After Mr. Robert Drysdale's death, Mr. Peter Stalker bought this mill, and afterwards sold it to Sir Andrew Orr; and it is now the property of his brother, Mr. James Orr. It has now been turned into a comfortable hall for religious meetings, and must be a great acquisition to the old town of Dollar.
Immediately below the upper bridge, on the east side of the burn, there was a long row of one-storied houses in those days, with two houses at the upper end, facing the north (many of the inhabitants of which I remember well), but of which not the slightest vestige now remains.
The next two-storied house to these - nearer the old town - was Mrs. Burns' house (the first Mrs. Peter Stalker's mother), and whose husband was one of the original partners of the first wool mill. I might thus go over almost every house in Dollar (the inhabitants of which were nearly all known to me), but will only refer to a few who were in any way in a public position, and to those with whom we came more immediately in contact, and whose friendship and intercourse enjoyed.
Below the old church the parish schoolhouse stood, as at present; two one-storied houses opposite Mr. Robertson's, and three or four one-storied houses, named the Kirk Style (where the present Established Church now is), were all the houses on the east side of the burn below the middle bridge ; while those houses above this bridge have all been recently built. With the exception of a few houses where the post office now is, and on the Rack Mill and Lower Mains' roads, there were no houses to the south of Bridge Street, and only one between the Station Road and the big Toll-house. The introduction of the railway, however, in 1869, gave quite an impetus to the prosperity of Dollar, and there is now a good-sized town between Bridge Street and the railway, while beautiful villas have sprung up in all directions.
The Upper Mains has since those days got, in addition to the gasworks, one or two new houses; but the old ones (including Laird Izat’s and the Upper Mains House) remain as of yore. The latter, however, instead of being almost hid from view by a dense shrubbery, is now quite exposed, and surrounded by public roads on all sides. The pillars of the entrance gate alone now remain to show where the approach to the house was.
At the entrance to the road to Gateside, on the righthand side, the ruins of a house still remain, that was as well known to all the children of Dollar as any house in it; and many a spare penny found its way there, the decent old body who lived in it (Kirsty Mitchell) being quite famous as a maker of 'black man,' and did a 'roaring trade' in it.
About a couple of hundred yards west from Kirsty's house, and on the right-hand side of this road (the old highway to Stirling) going west, the very old house of Gateside stood, which was the principal inn of the village in days of old, but was in my young days the dwelling-house of the farm. This house was to me like a second home, and some of the happiest days of my youth are linked up with it.
No more worthy couple than Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wright - the heads of the family who lived in it - could be found anywhere, and their home was a model of domestic happiness and bliss.
A very antique bed stood in one of the rooms of this house, in which, it was said, the Duke of Argyle slept on one of his visits to Dollar—very probably after the destruction of his Castle by the Duke of Montrose. The stables in connection with it alone now remain, at the west end of which it stood.
Being the principal companions of my youth, I will here give the names of this family : Robert, John, William, Ann, and James.
Robert established an excellent business as a writer in Greenock, but died a good many years ago, leaving his widow (Miss Catherine Kirk, of Park House, Dollar) and a numerous family to mourn his early death. The business is being successfully carried on by some members of his family.
John has been the much-respected minister of the Free Church of Kinross for nearly forty years, having been inducted to this charge shortly after the Disruption.
William commenced business as a writer in Edinburgh, but died when quite a young man, leaving a widow and two or three of a family. He was 'best man' at my marriage.
Ann and James are both married, and comfortably settled in the neighbourhood of Kirkintilloch, where their mother lived for a great many years.
She died only last year, being close on a hundred years old; while her husband died about thirty years ago, in Dollar. Mrs. Wright was a sister of Mr. Gentle, so long parish teacher of Fossoway. Of this family, therefore, which was so well known and so much respected for a very long period in Dollar, there is not one of them now remaining in it.
A brewery was carried on at one time at Gateside, but had ceased operations just before my day. I remember well, however, of the building, and of the water running into it, from the well above, for the brewing operations. It stood at right angles to the road, the north end of it being close to where the present dwelling-house now is. It was carried on by old Mr. Wright's father, and it would be from him that the bit of tableland above Gateside got the name of 'The Brewer's Knowe.'
The road from the brewery into Dollar went by the name of the 'Nappy Gate,' from the folks, I suppose, getting rather 'nappy,' or 'hearty,' after paying a visit to the brewery.
One of the stipulations, tradition says, in the charter of the land in connection with this old brewery, and on the fulfilment of which alone, it is said, it could be retained, was, that when the king passed, the brewer should be able to present him with five gallons of old brewed ale, five gallons of new, and five from what was in the process of brewing.
'OLD CRAIGIE' - DAYS OF THE CORN LAWS.
Sir Henry Wardlaw, Bart's., maternal great-grandfather - Mr. Guild, of Craiginnan hill farm - was the last one who lived in the house up at the hill; and after leaving it, he took up his residence in Dollar. He went always by the name of 'Old Craigie' (from Craiginnan); and the steep brae in the north street of the old town where he lived got the name of 'Craigie's Brae.' His house was situated at the foot of the steepest part of it. He had passed away before my day ; but he used to be often referred to in my young days. That he was in the farm in 1799, I have learned on undoubted authority ; but in what year he left it, I have not been able to find out. In that year (long remembered in these islands as the year of 'the great dearth') Mrs. Guild had been fortunate in having had a good stock of meal laid in, and was very kind to the inhabitants of Dollar; for, as long as her stock lasted, she kindly gave a supply to all who applied for it; and many were the applicants she had from the village. Mr. James Christie's father used to tell them of his going up to Craiginnan, when a little boy, along with the rest, for a supply of meal.
In our days of free trade, and when we have the world for our granary, we can scarcely form any conception of the great straits the people were put to in those days, and the state of semi-starvation the greater portion of them were often reduced to; but when it is stated that the hazel nuts (which were plentiful that year) were pounded into a sort of meal, and baked into cakes, and were largely resorted to by the people, some idea of the dreadful state of matters may be formed.
And yet this is a state of things that might have existed at the present day, if our Tory legislators had had their will; but thanks to Cobden and Bright, and the noble band of coadjutors of the Anti-Corn Law League, who so stirred up the whole country to the crying iniquity of the Corn laws, that our legislators were compelled to abolish them. (I had the pleasure of hearing Messrs. Cobden and Bright in the City Hall of Glasgow when on their first grand tour of agitation throughout the country.)
One of Mr. Guild's shepherds, John Christie, had been much in advance of his day (and, indeed, of our own day), for he was possessed of a library of nearly 400 volumes, in various departments of literature; which shows him to have been a man of a very literary turn of mind, and one among a thousand. Few, indeed, in much higher walks of life, can, at the present time, boast of such a library. When we think, too, of the much greater cost of books in those days than now, the acquisition of such a library by a humble shepherd seems all the more astonishing. What a pity such a unique collection of books had not been preserved; but such, it seems, had not been the case, for at John's death they were sold by auction at the end of the old town bridge, and are scattered abroad, no one knows where.
Mr. James Wardlaw, ironmonger (descended from the Wardlaws of Pitreavie, and cousin of the present Baronet), is one of the very few old natives of Dollar who are left in it, and was one of my most intimate school companions. His brother Alexander succeeded to my father's business when he died, in 1846, and carried it on successfully for a long period.
There was one most energetic, pushing business lady in the old town, to whom, and her husband, and family, I will now briefly refer - Mrs. Tod (sister of Mr. Mein, of Mein's Hotel, Trongate, Glasgow, one of the great hotels of the city in the 'coaching days').
She carried on a most extensive baking business, and supplied the country for miles around with bread - her carts going regularly as far as Oakley, Saline, etc. Mr. David Tod, her husband, was of a quiet, retiring disposition, and superintended some small farming operations which they carried on as well. They had only two of a family, George and Agnes, who were amongst the most cherished companions of my youth; but who were both cut off at an early age, and when full of promise. Agnes died on 21st September 1844, aged 22, and there was one sadly torn heart amongst the teachers of Dollar Academy when she was laid in her grave.
Mr. Tod died on the 14th of January 1845. After his death Mrs. Tod retired from business, and lived for some years in the new town. She died on the 7th of June 1850. George (a very excellent young man) was in a writer's office in Edinburgh, and was cut off at the early age of thirty, on the 6th of December 1852. Four little shrubs mark the spot where they now lie, near the north-east corner of the old churchyard.
Their premises in the old town now go by the name of The Lorne Tavern.
CHAPTER V.
TEACHERS IN DOLLAR ACADEMY IN MY SCHOOL DAYS.
I WILL now give the names of the teachers in the Academy when I was at school.
Mr. James Walker, English teacher; Mr. Charles McIntosh, Mr. Walker's assistant; Mr. Peter Steven, writing and arithmetic; Mr. Power, Mr. Steven's assistant; Mr. William Tennant (afterwards Professor in St. Andrews, and Author of Anster Fair), Latin, Greek, and Hebrew ; Mr. Balfour, Mr. Tennant's assistant; Mr. David Gray (afterwards Professor in Aberdeen), mathematics; Mr. Thomas Martin, teacher of geography, and librarian to the Institution; Mr. Patrick Syme, drawing ; Mr. Gerlach, French, German, etc.; Mrs. Brydie, sewing mistress; Miss Spittal, Mrs. Brydie's assistant; Mr. Thomas Russell, infant teacher; Mr. Gibson (a very worthy man), janitor.
THE OLD CHURCH OF DOLLAR - REV. DR. MYLNE, ETC.
About the year 1841 the old Established Church ceased to be used as a place of worship, the present handsome church being then erected. I have a distinct recollection of the old building, in which the late Dr. Mylne for upwards of twenty - five years preached; and give herewith a rough sketch of its internal arrangements—the front of the gallery, and two of the seats in it, being in dotted lines. I have also given a few of the names of those to whom the seats belonged.
Robert Forrester was precentor in the old church from as far back as I can recollect, till its close; and John Christie was beadle. There was a square seat in the front of the west gallery, where the Honourable David Erskine, of Broomrig (now Mr. Leishman's house), and his family sat; while the corresponding seat in the east gallery was occupied by Mr. Haig's family of Dollarfield.
Mr. Erskine (the grandfather of the present Earl of Mar and Kellie) was very short of stature, and blind; but Mrs. Erskine was a tall, fine-looking lady, and their family were generally tall. Charles attended Dollar Academy for a number of years; but Colonel Erskine, his eldest brother (afterwards Earl of Mar and Kellie), never resided in Dollar.
The communion was observed in those days only once a year, and some, folks seemed to think that by showing face' in the church on those occasions, and attending on all the 'preaching days' (as they were called) - the Fast-day, Saturday, and Monday - they were giving quite enough attention to the concerns of eternity. They prepared themselves for the sacrament, and, after it was past, thought no more, apparently, about these things, till next year again, as they were never seen in church till the next communion season.
I recollect well of some such who sat near our seat in the low church, on whom we could thus calculate of being sure to see in church at least once a year. On those sacramental occasions a tent was generally erected in the churchyard, and preaching was carried on in it and in the church at the same time. People went long distances to attend sacraments, and great gatherings were often to be seen around the tents. The Fast-day was looked upon as of quite as solemn a nature as the Sabbath, and for any one to be seen doing any kind of work on that day, was sufficient to stamp him at once as 'a regular heathen,' and quite a proper subject to be taken before the session.
(The old session records of Tillicoultry can tell some most amusing stories in regard to this; and, very probably, those of Dollar, and most other places in Scotland, can do the same. A man was taken before the session in Tillicoultry for putting his horse into his cart on the Fast-day, and pleaded as his excuse that he quite forgot it was the Fast-day.)
Dr. Mylne didn't trouble himself much about composing sermons; for having, apparently, a good stock when he came to Dollar, he made them 'stand him in good stead' during the whole of his sojourn there. So much was this the case, that I think nearly the whole of his congregation would be able to repeat the most of them from end to end. I recollect well of an amusing story in connection with this. A worthy old lady from Auchterarder (Mrs. Dewar, a cousin of my father's) was paying us a visit, and heard the Doctor lecture on a favourite theme of his, 'The Ten Virgins;' coming back some ten years afterwards, the Doctor again lectured on the same subject, and very naturally and simply the good old lady asked, 'Does Dr. Mylne always preach on The Ten Virgins?'
The worthy Doctor seemed to begin at the top of his pile of sermons, and went regularly down to the bottom; and when that was reached, turned them upside down, and repeated the process over again; and so on, year after year, till the end of his days.
For a number of years after Dollar Academy was commenced, the kirk-session was often composed of a very few members, and for some time previous to the year 1826, of only two, viz., Robert Smith, a shoemaker, and a James Christie, who were seldom consulted by Dr. Mylne about the affairs of the Institution; so that during that time he was virtually the sole ruler in everything connected with it; and, as almost invariably happens when too much power is left in the hands of one man, he ruled with a very high hand. He expelled scholars for the most trivial offences, and issued some very arbitrary decrees. As a specimen of the latter, I subjoin the following correspondence, which will explain itself :
From MR. McKELVIE to DR. MYLNE.
DOLLAR, 24th July 1826.
REV. SIR,—Having heard some surmises that it is your intention, after the coming vacation, to prevent persons keeping boarders in Dollar from engaging young men of the Secession Church as tutors, and being unable to learn the truth of these surmises, I have taken the liberty of writing you, to request that you would make me aware, by letter or otherwise, if such really be your intention. Your doing so will confer a favour, as it will enable me to make such arrangements as your determination may require.
I have been informed that you have come to the above resolution in consequence of a report having reached you that the Stirling Secession Presbytery hesitated to grant Mr. Skinner licence, because he attended on your ministry. I was present when Mr. S. was licensed, and think it a duty I owe to that gentleman, and to the Presbytery, to say that such a subject was never once alluded to. I am, etc.,
W. McKELVIE.
(This Mr. McKelvie (afterwards Dr. McKelvie) was the much-esteemed minister of Balgeddie for thirty-four years (from 1829 till 1863), and author of the Annals and Statistics of the U.P. Church; and of The Life and Vindication of Michael Bruce.)
DR. MYLNE'S Answer.
'DR. MYLNE begs to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. McKelvie's note, and expresses his regret that, owing to his being from home, and the pressure of some urgent business, it has not been in his power to reply to it sooner.
'It is quite true that the Trustees of McNab's Legacy have determined, that after the vacation all persons taking the charge of the pupils attending McNab's School must set their pupils the example of attending the Parish Church. It amounts to the same thing whether the absence of the tutors from the Parish Church be the result of their own choice, or an act of obedience to the orders of others.'
'As to what actually passed in the Presbytery of the Secession Church, the Trustees of McNab's Legacy have no right to know, neither is it any concern of theirs; for whatever happened on the occasion alluded to, cannot affect the general question.'
DOLLAR MANSE, 28th July 1826.
On inquiry being made at the Doctor's two elders about the issuing of this order, it was found that they had never been consulted in the matter, and were quite opposed to it; and when taken to task about this, the Doctor frankly confessed that he never thought of consulting them about anything in connection with the Academy; but that he always, nevertheless, issued his mandates in the name of the Trustees ;' and that, in this instance, he had just acted according to his usual practice. This state of matters caused much discontent throughout the parish, and finally led to a movement being set on foot to get the Doctor to appoint a number of new elders, to act along with him in the management of the Trust. The first to move in the matter was Captain Pinkerton, who waited on Captain Porteous, to ascertain his views about the existing state of things; and both together called on Dr. Elliot; and all the three were of one opinion, that something must be done at once to prevent the Academy being ruined.
Those three, then, commenced an agitation in Dollar, which, after a number of meetings of the inhabitants had been held, and an extensive correspondence had taken place, finally compelled Dr. Mylne to appoint a number of new elders; and on Sabbath the 12th of November 1826, the following gentlemen were inducted into office:-Messrs. Craufurd Tait of Harviestoun, John Tait (sheriff); James Haig, Dollarfield; Robert Haig, Dollarfield; William Clark, Dollarbeg; John McArthur Moir, Hillfoot; Robert Kirk, Dollar; and William Gibson, Dollar. (Mr. William Gibson (the writer's father) was after a time appointed secretary and treasurer, and continued so till his death.)
This large accession to the number of the Trustees took the responsibility off Dr. Mylne's head to a great extent; and although it did not altogether allay the strong feeling that had been raised up against him by many of his acts, it was a great improvement upon the old regime. The new trustees did not, however, find their new berths 'a bed of roses ;' for a feeling had been stirred up amongst a number of the folks that McNab's Legacy should have been divided amongst them; and this was carried to such an extent, that an action was actually raised in the Court of Session against the Trustees, concluding for the modest sum of £70,000. This, however, by the energy of Dr. Mylne and his able body of Trustees, was speedily defeated, and the noble Institution, with all its benefits, secured to Dollar.
Notwithstanding the assistance of such a large number of Trustees, a good deal of grumbling was still kept up in the parish, about the management of the Trust; and to put an end to this, Dr. Mylne finally resolved to petition Parliament to get a board of Trustees appointed on a new basis ; and an Act was accordingly got in 1847, constituting a new board, as follows: The parish minister, and only four of his session, were now to be Trustees, those four to be chosen by the session every five years.
Two members of the Stirling Presbytery, and two representative members for the parishioners of Dollar—also chosen every five years—were now to be Trustees; and any gentleman possessed of £200 annual income from heritable property in the county of Clackmannan, and paying taxes in the parish of Dollar, is eligible for being a Trustee. The Principal of the University of Edinburgh, the Lord-Lieutenant, Vice-Lieutenant, Convener, and Sheriff of the county of Clackmannan, and the patron of the parish of Dollar, are also Trustees.
Dr. Mylne was a man of great talent, and was the author of several educational books of intrinsic value; amongst others, an excellent English Grammar, an elementary book on Astronomy, questions on the histories of England, of Greece, and of Rome; and he was also a contributor to the Encyclopædia Britannica when it was brought out.
The Doctor was short of stature, very stout, of a ruddy complexion, and wore a dark wig, which made him look younger than he really was. An excellent portrait of him (presented to the Academy by Mr. Haig of Dollarfield) is to be seen in the Trustees' room.
From the long intimacy that existed between Sheriff Tait and Dr. Mylne, the sheriff should have been able to form a pretty correct opinion of him; and in a lecture on Dollar, - delivered by the sheriff in 1867, - he says of him, that although he had a quick and irascible temper, he had under it all a kind heart; in charity, therefore, to the old Doctor, let us hope the sheriff's estimate of him was correct. He died in 1856, aged eighty-one years, in the forty-first year of his ministry.
My father's burying-ground is right in front of the west door of the old church, and there lie the remains of Grandfather and Grandmother Gibson, my father, mother, and five of their family—my eldest sister, Jeanie (Mrs. Dalgleish), having been buried in Stirling Cemetery.
The interior of the old church is now, I find, turned into a large tomb. The old Doctor lies right under where the pulpit was, in which he so long preached. Mr. and Mrs. Martin of Springfield are buried under their old seat in the gallery. Mr. Peter Stalker's burying-ground is exactly where the Wrights of Gateside and Mr. Wardlaw's family used to sit. Mr. Brown's is where my father's seat was.
The Academy having been opened in 1820, my father's family all had the advantage of being educated there under some of the best teachers, perhaps, that have ever been in it.
Mr. Walker, who—as I have already said—was the first English master in the Academy, was a most excellent teacher, and a strict disciplinarian, and continued for a very long time the much respected master in this department of the Academy. He could give a very effective paumie, and we had a most wholesome dread of his tawse, and endeavoured, of course, to merit their acquaintance as seldom as possible, by having our lessons thoroughly well prepared. He was, at the same time, a most kind and affectionate man, and possessed the affection and esteem of all his pupils.
He was twice married, and had a very large family, ten of whom (two daughters and a son, of the first marriage ; and two daughters and five sons, of the second) predeceased him; and his memorial-stone in the old churchyard shows how very heavily he and his partners in life had been bereaved. His widow and Miss Walker only are now resident in Dollar; and only one son, Mr. Andrew, survives of the second marriage.
Miss Walker, James, and Isabella (Mrs. Middleton) were my school companions. William (who was considerably older than I), and James, have been long settled in Canada.
Mr. Walker died in 1871, aged eighty-four years.
Mr. Steven was a very worthy man, and one of the best writers, I believe, in Britain. The scholars used to take their prizes to him, to get their names written on them, and many books throughout the world - possessed by old pupils of the Academy, from every clime - can still bear testimony to the beauty of his writing. The ornamental 'specimens' (which he pencilled) of the scholars, for exhibition on the examination days, and which were afterwards inked by them, were fine examples of his great gift in ornamental penmanship; and the walls of many a room are still adorned by fine framed specimens of these ; but perhaps no finer example of his beautiful work can be seen anywhere than in Dollar old churchyard. When the Academy was building in 1819, one of the masons, named David Millar, was fatally injured, and died shortly afterwards; and his master, Thomas Beattie, the contractor for the work, erected a stone to his memory, near the east side of the old burying-ground, the lettering and ornamental work on which had been designed by Mr. Steven. I was never told so; but on taking a walk through the churchyard one day with my brother, and on coming to this stone, I at once said, 'That's Mr. Steven;' there could be no mistaking it.
He was a most enthusiastic curler, and my father and he had many a night of it on the Academy garden pond, with a lantern at each tee. He died in 1855, aged sixty-four years.
Margaret, his eldest daughter, was married to Mr. Maxton, a civil engineer.
Anne married Mr. Peter Stalker; and Jane was married to Dr. Lindsay.
Miss Clarke (the second Mrs. Steven's sister) was an accomplished musician, and was for a long period the principal music teacher in Dollar.
Mr. Tennant, teacher of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, lived in Devongrove. He was a most amiable man, and a very learned scholar. He was very lame, and used two crutches, and had a long walk daily to school. Miss Tennant, his sister, who kept house for him, was one of the most amiable creatures that ever lived, and was a great favourite with everybody; and it must have added greatly to her brother's comfort having such a kind and affectionate sister to take charge of his household. Mr. Thomas Martin, teacher of geography, and librarian to the Academy, built and lived in Springfield, at present owned and occupied by Mrs. Driver and her family. Large additions have been made to it by the present owner.
Mr. Gerlach, the French teacher, was a Swiss, and a very violent-tempered man, and the scholars generally were so much afraid of him that many didn't go to his class at all (myself amongst the rest); and hence to my great loss now I never learned French, which I miss very much.
I recollect he was very anxious to learn Scotch, and used to talk to the scholars on the road; and when he heard any thoroughly broad Scotch word, would repeat it after them, and ask what it meant.
Mr. Syme, the drawing master, was a man of great taste, and a most successful teacher. Landscapes and flowers were his forte, and figures and faces were seldom or ever taught by him. I have still some of my attempts at landscapes, in water - colours, when under him. Mr. Gray, who taught mathematics, was a very talented man, and there was no class in the Academy I enjoyed more than his.
Mrs. Brydie, and Miss Spittal, her assistant, were most efficient teachers in their own department, and were both very much respected by all in Dollar. There were few evening parties of young folks but Miss Spittal formed one of them.
Mr. Thomas Russell (now of Clackmannan), who taught the infant school, was a most admirable teacher of the young. Full of spirit, and abounding in anecdotes, and naturally cut out for the training of a large number of children, it was quite a treat to witness an examination of his young charge. He married the eldest daughter of a well-known and old-established merchant of the new town - Mr. Charles Lawson.
Mr. Power was a fine-looking young man, and a great favourite in Dollar, Mr. Balfour was very much liked by all Mr. Tennant's scholars.
The parish school, which was situated immediately below the old parish church, was conducted by Mr. Peter McLaren ; but his situation was quite a sinecure ; as, when the Academy opened, his school was almost deserted. Parish teachers, however, were secure for life in their situations, and he continued in it till his death.
Mr. George Rennie a native of Alva, (and well known along the foot of the Ochils) visited Dollar every year, and conducted singing classes. Mr. Rennie was blind, but had a wonderful gift of knowing people from the sound of their voices. He was a good singer, and was always ready and willing to assist at any concert in the district when his services were asked ; and his name was very frequently to be seen on the programme on such occasions.
Mr. Christie (who belonged to Kincardine) was the principal dancing-master in those days, and held his classes in the large public room of the Big Toll-house. He visited Dollar regularly for a long series of years.
From the roll-book of the late Mr. Walker, English teacher, I am enabled (through the kindness of Miss Walker) to give the names of those in my class in the month of April 1831. They are as follows :
Joseph Martin, William Gibson, Paul Forrester, David Keir, David Arnot, George H. Gibson, James Wardlaw, Richard Pinkerton, Peter Blackwood, William Elliot, William Ramsay, Alexander Ledingham, James Monteath, George Ledingham, David Bone, George Edmonstone, James Martin, John Kidd.
The following are the names of some of the boys attending the Academy at the same time as myself, those residing in the district being given first :
John Drysdale. Adam Drysdale. Robert Drysdale. William Drysdale. James Drysdale. William Elliot. Alexander Elliot. John Elliot. Henry Elliot. Thomas Porteous. Charles Erskine. Robert Young Richard Pinkerton. William Pinkerton. Thomas Allan. John Allan. Dalhousie Allan. Adam Allan. William Allan. David Drysdale. Thomas Drysdale. Robert Drysdale. Robert Shields. Thomas Buchanan. James Henderson. John Henderson. William Lawson. Daniel Lawson. Archibald Swan. John Murray. Thomas Murray. George Murray. David Westwood. James Robertson. John Halley. William Halley. Peter Blackwood. Benjamin Taylor. James Halley.
George Halley. Peter Halley. Thomas Kirk, John Kirk. John Kidd. Thomas Kidd. Adam Kidd. William Cadogan. George Cadogan. Henry Cadogan. David Arnot. Henry Arnot. Robert Arnot. Alfred Arnot. Robert Wright. John Wright. William Wright. James Wright. George H. Gibson. John Gibson. John Forrester. James Forrester. Paul Forrester. William Walker. James Walker. John Syme. James Christie. James McGruther. William McGruther. James Wardlaw. Alexander Wardlaw. Andrew Campbell. John Burns. John McNee. Peter McNee. Robert McNee. David McGregor. Alexander McGregor. James Smeaton.
Thomas Smeaton. Alexander Blackwood. Adam Carmichael. William Keir. Robert McLeish. David Keir. William McLeish. John Keir. James Carmichael. Robert Keir. John Carmichael. Gordon Keir. David Carmichael. George Haldane. William Cameron. James Haldane. William Smeaton. David Taylor. Robert Thomson. Campbell Taylor. Thomas Thomson. George Monteath. James Hutcheson. Thomas Monteath. John Somerville. James Monteath. George Anderson. John Mercer. John Young Archibald Mercer. George Tod. John Finlayson John Sinclair. David Finlayson. Peter Stalker. John Younger. Joseph Sharp. Hugh Ross. Henry Christie. James Hardie. John Christie. Alexander Drysdale. James Taylor. Thomas Drysdale. John Taylor. James Jack. George Taylor. John Jack. Robert Dickie. Henry Wardlaw. William Halley. Robert Wright. James Scotland. James Syme. John Scotland. Robert Syme. John Sorely. John Syme. John Blackwood. Henry Syme. Alexander Blackwood. James Gibson. James Blackwood. Henry Gibson. William Blackwood. John Stewart. John McIver, Peter Stewart. William McIver. James Syme. Alexander Scott. William Syme. John Scott. Gilbert Martin. Andrew Morgan. William Martin. Peter Stewart. James Martin. Christopher Seton. James Crombie.
For a great many years a silver-handled penknife was presented annually by a gentleman as a prize for the best writer in the Academy; and I have put an asterisk at the names of the accomplished three who gained this distinguished honour, viz. John Drysdale, Harviestoun ; Campbell Taylor, Castle Campbell; and Adam Carmichael, Dollar. Some of the boarders would, no doubt, gain this honour also; but I cannot bring any one to mind, nor have been able to ascertain their names with any certainty. One of the Messrs. Hogg, of Valleyfield, has been mentioned - by an old schoolfellow - as one of the successful competitors; but as he had left the Academy before my day, I cannot vouch for the correctness of this.
BOARDERS.
Robert Ward. Joseph Ward. John Mackie. Andrew McQueen. John M. McQueen. Archibald McQueen. Daniel M Queen. John W. Watson, Henry Calman. David Cowan. Archibald Hogg. David Bone. Alexander Somerville. Andrew Mallach. Donald McGlashan. George Russell. James Ronald. David Ferguson. John M. Reeve. George Brown. Robert Inglis. James Campbell. John Ramsay. Robert Ramsay. David Ramsay. William Campbell. Robert Millie. Robert Pinkerton.
James Alston. David Alston. Edward Mitchell. John Stewart. Alexander Thomson. Douglas McMurdoch. John Ingram. Thomas Adamson. Thomas Young Robert Young Robert Paterson. Andrew Paterson. Adam Kirk. Joseph Bourne. George Edmonstone. Charles Horsburgh. Boyd Horsburgh. John Horsburgh. Richard Bell. Thomas Bell. Alexander Rankine. Henry Rankine. Andrew Campbell. James Wylie. Walter Wylie. Thomas Naughton Cox. Charles Robertson. William Robertson. Alexander Robertson. Jasper Robertson. Robert Drysdale. John Drysdale. Alexander Ledingham. George Ledingham. Robert Walker. Joseph Martin. William Martin. Thomas Martin. Edward Wolff. George Wolff.
Could the biographies of all on these two lists of names be written, they would, I have no doubt, form a series of very interesting volumes, exemplifying in many instances the truth of the old adage, 'that truth is often stranger than fiction.'
THE REV. DR. WYLLIE
Dollar had in those days for one of its ministers a gentleman whose fame as an author has now become world-wide, the Rev. Dr. Wyllie. His church (generally called 'The Auld Licht'), situated to the east of Cairnpark Street, has now been turned into two dwelling - houses, and is known by the name of Mayfield. He married Miss Gray, sister of Mr. Gray, the mathematical teacher.
I recollect well of an amusing incident in connection with the Doctor's church, which showed how tenaciously old folks cling to antiquated customs, and how any innovation is looked on with so much suspicion. In early times, when education was not so general as it is now, and very many were unable to read, it was the custom for precentors to read every line of the psalm before singing it; and this had evidently got to be considered as essential in singing the praises of the sanctuary.
Well, at an evening service one night, a stranger precentor was leading the praise, and he couldn't, it seemed, do this, but sung straight on without reading, or, as it was called in those days, singing 'runline;' when, after he had got one verse finished in this heretical style, a great commotion was observed at the head of one of the seats right in front of the pulpit, and a good old lady of the old town was seen crushing out past the rest of the folks in the seat, and hurried down the long passage as fast as her legs could carry her; and after getting the door opened, dashed it to behind her with all her might, to show her indignation at such open profanity in her 'ain gude Auld Licht Kirk.' What a fine neighbour she would have made to a certain Free Church divine of the present day. It is really wonderful how he ever allowed 'run-line' to be sung.
It would have been very amusing to have seen the effect of an organ on this old lady in Dollar Church, could it have been got to start, unexpectedly, to accompany the precentor in the praise. If 'run-line' was bad, the organ would have been something dreadful, and nothing less than a fit of hysterics could have been looked for. But, indeed, we need scarcely be surprised that this would have been the result fifty years ago, when we think that the consequences would almost certainly be the same to a good many 'reverend auld wives' and their followers, of the present day; for no matter although David used all sorts of instruments in the service of the sanctuary, your 'Use and Wont' man says no such thing as an organ must be thought of, for it is both 'unscriptural' and 'sinful' to do so. I am convinced, however, that this old prejudice against the aid of an organ or harmonium in singing God's praise, will in course of time die out, in the same way as that which at one time existed against singing 'run-line.' Just think of one of our great doctors of divinity of the present day prohibiting his hearers, wherever he preaches, from standing when singing God's praise, because the old antiquated custom was to sit! So much for prejudice and bigotry.
In his Annals and Statistics of the U. P. Church, Dr. McKelvie tells us that so determined was the opposition to the introduction of singing 'run-line,' that congregations were split up by it, and that the persons seceding on this account from the churches in the parishes of Tough and Johnshaven were so numerous as to form congregations at once.
If our Purity of Worship Association of the present day had existed in those days, we would have found it fighting against the innovation of 'run-line' with all the pertinacious bigotry of some of its leaders, and making themselves, as at present, the laughing-stock of the greater portion of the community.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF CAIRNPARK IN DOLLAR.
I have just learned, in the course of my present inquiries, that at the beginning of this century Dollar was possessed of an object of very great interest, but which unfortunately was entirely removed about the year 1806 or 1807. This was nothing less than a great pyramid (well, it was not quite so big as the famous one of Egypt, but still it was a great pile) which had evidently been erected to commemorate some great battle, or the death of some celebrated warrior; and it certainly is very much to be regretted that it should have been removed. This was an immense cairn of stones, some thirty feet high and as many square at the base; and the park in which it stood took its name from it - Cairnpark; and the street leading up to the Academy also got its name - Cairnpark Street - from its being made through this park. It will scarcely be believed, yet it is nevertheless true, that this ancient and interesting cairn was removed for the ignoble purpose of being broken into road metal for the new turnpike road that was then being constructed along the foot of the Ochils. By whose orders it was removed I cannot say; but the late Mr. William Blackwood, of the new town, superintended its removal, and kept a correct note of the cart-loads that were in it, and found they amounted to the astonishing number of one thousand !
When the bottom was reached, there were found in the centre of it a number of ancient clay urns, showing that this immense cairn was a thing of great antiquity, and connected with some important event, and had it been allowed to remain, would have been an object of interest second only to Castle Campbell itself, and an additional attraction to the ancient town of Dollar. The Rev. Mr. Watson got possession of some of the urns, but what became of them is not now known.
The street in which Mayfield now stands had then only the one one-storied house (Mrs. McLean's) and Park House (where the late Mrs. Kirk and family then lived) to the east of the church, and the entrance to it from the east was at the end of Park House. not till Dr. Arnot built the house to the east of Park House, that the street was opened up to the burn-side. With the exception of Dr. Wyllie's church, the one storied house referred to, and Park House, there were no houses to the east of Cairnpark Street but those on Bridge Street - all being green fields.
The corner park, where Mr. Gibb's house and garden now stand, used to be unenclosed, and a near cut was generally taken across it, from Bridge Street, to the burn side. It was in this open field we used to have glorious 'bonfires' on the King's birthday.
OLD FAMILIES OF DOLLAR, ETC.
I will now refer shortly to one of the most influential and highly respected families of Dollar - the Haigs of Dollarfield. With the exception of the wool mill, Dollar bleachfield was the only other public work in Dollar, and a great number of the inhabitants got employment at it. I have a very distinct recollection of the worthy founder of those prosperous works (which were commenced in 1787), William Haig, Esq. (the present Mr. Haig's grandfather), who was a man of sterling worth and highly respected by the whole community of Dollar. He was a justice of the peace for the county of Clackmannan.
Mrs. Haig, also, who was a most amiable, kind, motherly lady, I remember very well.
Mr. Haig died in 1834, and Mrs. Haig in 1849.
Mr. James Haig, their eldest son, died in 1832, and left a widow to lament his early death, who was very much respected in Dollar, but who has for long been non-resident in it.
I cannot bring Mr. James Haig's appearance to my recollection, but Mr. Robert Haig (the present Mr. Haig's father) I remember very well. He was a most excellent man, and had at heart all that concerned the best interests of the inhabitants of Dollar. Besides being a trustee of Dollar Academy, he was a justice of the peace, and deputy-lieutenant of the county of Clackmannan, He died in 1854. Mrs. Robert Haig (a lady much esteemed by all) predeceased her husband by seventeen years; she died in 1837.
Of Miss Haig, who died in 1869, and Miss Mary Ann Haig, who died in 1873 (aunts of the present Mr. Haig), it would be impossible for me to speak too highly, for two more excellent ladies could not be found anywhere. Their many acts of kindness will be long remembered in Dollar.
Mr. Haig is proprietor of the fine estates of Glenshirrup and Dollarfield.
I will only mention one place of amusement connected with my school days, that will be fondly remembered by every one who has attended Dollar Academy, and which is still cherished as a favourite place of resort by the present generation, and that is ‘The Dead Waters' large field immediately below Devon Grove (the late Professor Tennant's house) that was flooded every winter, and where skating, curling, and every sort of ice amusements were carried on. The quickest road to it, and the one we generally took, was through 'The Scott's Plantain,' along by the side of the Quarrel burn, the stream which is used for flooding this field.
In the old town, the next two-storied house to my father's on the north was occupied for a very long time by the Misses Young (three sisters), who were very much respected in Dollar; and their brother, Mr. George Young, and family, were prominent members of our community, and highly esteemed by every one. Miss Isabella Young, Mr. George's daughter, is the only one who now represents this worthy family in Dollar. The Misses Young's garden adjoined my father's to the north.
At the head of the old town lived Mr. John Mathie (generally called 'Provost Mathie'), a very worthy, good old man, of about eighty years of age. Why he was called 'Provost' I could not really say, but he seldom got any other name. He used to pay daily visits to my father's shop, and I remember well of him limping away up the steep brae, with his long staff in his hand. After getting seated at the shop fire, my father and he used to discuss all the news of the day.
An amusing story used to be told about one of the Provost's daughters - Jenny. A Willie Rutherford and she courted each other for thirty years; and when at last they got married, Jenny used to say, that her marriage came on her a' in a dunt. What Jenny would have considered a leisurely courtship, it is really hard to say ; but most folks would have considered the time she took ample.
Opposite my father's house were the Cross Keys Inn, and the house of John Blackwood, the celebrated fiddler. This John Blackwood had three brothers, who were, along with himself, famous throughout the country as violin players, and were taken far and near to balls and dances of all kinds. John, James, and Robert played the violin, and Tom, the violoncello; and for Scotch reels and strathspeys, this band could not be excelled by any one in the country. The ‘Blackwoods of Dollar' were as well known and celebrated in those days as 'Adam's band' is at the present time. Their musical talent seems to have died out with that generation, for I am not aware that any of their descendants (many of whom reside in Dollar and Tillicoultry) are at all musically inclined.
While referring to the Blackwoods, it may not be out of place here to relate a story I have heard about a celebrated fiddler who lived in Dollar long before my time, and from whom, very likely, the Blackwoods may have got their first lessons in fiddling. In the end of last century the Duke of Argyle invited a number of famous fiddlers to a competition in his town mansion in Edinburgh (Argyle House), when a goodly number made their appearance, and amongst the rest, one Johnnie Cook, from Dollar.
To prevent any partiality, the fiddlers were arranged behind a screen, and each in his turn played some tunes before a large audience. After all had performed, the first prize was unanimously awarded to Johnnie Cook, and resulted in a large sum of money being subscribed for him on the spot; and he came back to Dollar with a goodly sum in his pocket. The question then with Johnnie was, in what way could he best invest his newly - acquired wealth ; and thinking, no doubt, that land was safer than any other investment (banks and other companies often coming to grief), he bought a field above the old town of Dollar with it, which was at once dubbed by the good folks of Dollar, Fiddlefield; and by this name it continues to be known to the present day.
That this Johnnie Cook must have been considered no unimportant personage in Dollar, may be gathered from a story told of John Orr, a well-known old pensioner in Dollar in my young days.
When John landed, with his regiment, in Egypt, about the year 1800, he found one David Lambert, another Dollar man, there before him; and being anxious, no doubt, to communicate the most startling bit of news he had brought with him, he at once asked Lambert if he had heard the news. When told he had heard nothing, the great and important event was then made known to him - not that Napoleon Bonaparte was killed, but that Johnnie Cook, the fiddler, was dead. We can picture to our selves the two worthies mingling their tears together over the termination of the life of so celebrated a man, and thinking, no doubt, that the glory of Dollar had departed.
John Orr and Lambert were under the command of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, and would, no doubt, take part in the great battle of Alexandria, fought on March 21, 1801, when the British gained such a signal victory over the French, and let Napoleon see what sort of stuff British troops were made of.
When John Orr came home from the war, he astonished the good folks of Dollar with his wonderful stories about Egypt - about there being three crops in the year, etc.; and I remember well how the boys used to run after the old pensioner, and teaze him, by shouting his name two or three times, and then adding, “Three crops in Egypt;' which invariably roused his ire to the highest pitch, and would have led to broken bones had they not got out of his way.
THE HORSE SHOE, AND WESTERN SUBURBS OF DOLLAR, ETC.
On entering Dollar from the west, the first house approached was a rather peculiar one - a substantial one-storied house, with a very wide door, in the shape of a horse shoe, which was built by Mr. Tait, of Harviestoun, for a smithy, and carried on as such for many a year.
It was a well-known landmark, on account of its peculiarly shaped door, and was always spoken of (and still is by the old inhabitants of Dollar) as 'The Horse Shoe.' Harviestoun Villa now occupies its site.
The next house on the high road - Belmont - was for a long period occupied by Dr. Elliot's widow and family, and Miss Elliot was one of the sprightliest and most spirited young ladies of our Dollar society. There were four sons and five daughters-William, Alexander, John, Henry, Margaret, Helen, Jane, Jemima, and Louisa. The Doctor died in 1834.
Captain Porteous' house, Mount Devon, comes next. I cannot recall the Captain to memory; but Mrs. and Miss Porteous, and Tom, will always be associated in my memory with this house.
Miss Porteous was very superior young lady, and lived for a long time in the house alone, after her mother's death. She married a Mr. Beveridge. Thomas commenced business in Glasgow, but died when quite a young man, leaving a widow and young family to mourn his early death. He was a very pushing young man, and had he been spared, would have soon taken a prominent position amongst the successful merchants of Glasgow.
The present occupants of the cottage below Mount Devon (Belville) - Mr. William and Miss Drysdale are associated with my earliest recollections of Harviestoun Castle, and the home farm adjoining it, where the family so long resided. I do not recollect much of Mr. Drysdale, their father (who was so long factor for Mr. Tait); but Mrs. Drysdale, who survived her husband for twenty-three years, was a most kind, amiable lady, and much esteemed by every one who knew her. On the death of his father in 1843, Mr. William succeeded to the factorship, and acted in that capacity till the estate passed out of the hands of the Globe Insurance Company. Two brothers, Robert and Adam, went to the West Indies; and died there-Robert in 1835, and Adam in 1839. Mr. John died at Harviestoun in 1860. Mr. James Drysdale, banker, Stirling, is the youngest brother.
An amusing story is told of a goat and gander that were long amongst Mrs. Drysdale's collection of live stock at Harviestoun. A strong and lasting attachment sprung up between the two; and wherever Nannie was to be seen, there was the gander, his natural companions, the geese, being, in a most ungentlemanly way, invariably left out in the cold.
When Mrs. Drysdale and family left Harviestoun, and took up their residence in Belville Cottage, the goat and gander were made a present of to Mr. Henderson, of the Castle Campbell Hotel in Dollar; and the same strong attachment continued between the two as before, the goat never being seen anywhere without his companion. Well, one Sabbath day this worthy couple took it into their heads that they would like to hear what kind of a preacher the Rev. Mr. Craigie was; and just as the congregation in the Established Church had nearly all assembled, and the advent of the minister into the pulpit was momentarily looked for, who should march slowly along one of the passages, but Nannie and his companion the gander, and, in order to make sure of hearing well, went right up the pulpit stair, and apparently were bent on getting into the pulpit itself.
As may be readily imagined, the arrival of such unexpected and distinguished visitors created the greatest excitement and amusement in the church - to all except the poor beadle, who seemed to view the situation of affairs in absolute dismay. What was to be done? The gander was known to be of a very pugnacious disposition, and resented at once the slightest interference with his companion; and for any stranger to have attempted to forcibly eject Nannie, would have been sheer madness. The church officer was fairly at his wits' end what to do, when, fortunately, Mr. William Drysdale (who happened to be in church) came to the rescue, rising out of his seat, he approached the worthy couple, and calling the goat by name, told it to follow him. Remembering its old master thoroughly well, it at once obeyed his order; and the two were quietly walked out of the church, to the no little amusement and great relief of all concerned.
How to explain the very singular and strong attachment that existed between these two, I must leave to some of my ornithological friends, who are more skilled in these matters than I am. What subsequently became of them is not recorded in history; but we must be left to suppose that, after reaching a good old age, they both died a natural death, faithfully attached to each other to the last.
Broomrig, the next house in order, was in my young days occupied by a Mrs. Young and family; and Robert, one of her sons, was a class - fellow of mine. Miss Young got married at a very early age to an Edinburgh gentleman. It was after they left that it was then occupied by the Honourable David Erskine and family. There was only the centre house at that time- -the extensive additions to, and adjoining it, having since been made by the present proprietor - James Leishman, Esq.
Devonside House (so long occupied by Mrs. McCallum and family) comes next, which was built by a Captain Pinkerton, a stout, military - looking man, with pure, white hair. Miss Pinkerton a nice young girl of fifteen - was cut off after a few hours' illness, in the year 1833. Mrs. Pinkerton died in 1835.
Devongrove - close to the Dead Waters - and Springfield have been referred to already. Mr. and Mrs. Martin had no family; and I recollect well of them sitting in the front square seat of the west gallery of the old church along with the Honourable David Erskine and family), right above where they now lie buried.
Woodcot was built by the late Dr. Walker, uncle of the present Doctor, who was for a very long period the principal medical man of the district, and was considered a man of great skill, and very much esteemed. He died in the year 1844.
The centre house of Helen Place was for a considerable time occupied by Mr. Bell (son-in-law of the late Mrs. Duncanson of Sheardale, and Mrs. Dr. Brotherston's father) as an educational establishment (styled by him Broomfield Academy), and a very large number attended his classes there. He commenced this establishment after resigning his situation in Dollar Academy of mathematical teacher. He had a large number of boarders, and two of them are very distinctly impressed on my memory as spirited young boys - Charles Davis and Henry Ogilvie. In what part of the world, I wonder, will those two be now; or are they-like so many, so very many, of my school companions - in their graves ?
Between Helen Place and the old toll-bar there were, for many a long day, only the one one-storied house at the east end of Charlotte Place (Mr. William McLeish's), and the cottage to the west of the other end of it. This cottage was built by a Mr. Mallach, manager in Dollar Bleachfield, and it was always spoken of as 'Mallach's Cottage.' By and by the fine two-storied house to the west of it (Viewfield) was built by a Mrs. Allan, for herself and large family, after leaving the farm of Dollar Bank, which they had occupied for a considerable time. This large and highly respected family occupied for long a very prominent place in our Dollar society, and many happy evenings I have spent in their house.
Mrs. Allan was a most hospitable, kind lady, and very much esteemed by every one; and some of the happiest days of my youth are associated with her and her worthy family. Their names were as follows: Thomas, John, Dalhousie, Adam, William, Elizabeth, Janet, Helen (Mrs. Beveridge), Ann (Mrs. Grieve), Alison (Mrs. Bathgate), Christina (Mrs. Drysdale), Mary (Mrs. Wilson), Eliza, and Jane Darling—fourteen in all.
Three only of this large number now remain, viz. Mrs. Bathgate, Miss Eliza, and Miss Jeanie, the last only being now resident in Dollar. Mrs. Allan died at Liverpool (where Mrs. Wilson resided) in 1847.
The first occupant of Castle Campbell Hotel that I remember of, was Mr. Alexander Henderson, grandfather of Mr. Henderson, writer, Alloa. Mrs. Henderson was a sister of Provost Foreman's of Stirling, and a very worthy lady. After Mr. Henderson's death, it was for a considerable period carried on by his son-in-law, Mr. John Robertson; and after his death, by Mr. John Henderson, son of old Mr. Henderson.
GLOOMHILL AND HILLFOOT, ETC.
Very many of my Saturday afternoons (we had to go to school on Saturday forenoon in those days) were spent up at Gloomhill farmhouse with Alick and Johnnie Scott, my school companions, where we used to have some rare fun with old Mr. Robert Cram's donkey, which, though the most docile and serviceable of creatures to its venerable master, knew thoroughly well how to tumble off troublesome boys; and many a good 'header' we got from it.
Mr. John Scott's family consisted of four-Grace, Alexander, John, and Marion. Grace married a Mr. Currer of Ardross, an extensive and successful farmer in the neighbourhood of Elie, Fife. Alexander is settled in Stratford, Ontario, Upper Canada, and his family are grown up and getting on well in the world. John was drowned in Australia, on December 23, 1854; and Miss Scott alone is now left in Dollar. Mr. Scott was overseer on Hillfoot estate.
Mr. Peter Cram, merchant, new town, and Mr. David Cram, Alloa, are sons of old Mr. Cram, who was tenant of the hill farm of Hillfoot, - John McArthur Moir, Esq., being at that time the proprietor of the estate of Hillfoot. No finer view of Dollar and Castle Campbell can be got anywhere than from the top of Gloomhill.
When I was at school, Mr. Moir was a widower, and his sister Miss Moir kept house for him. Four nephews of the name of McQueen lived with him for a number of years, and attended Dollar Academy, viz. Andrew, John, Archibald, and Daniel. They were bright, lively, nice-dispositioned boys.
There being no poor law in existence in those days, the only public way of raising money for the maintenance of the poor, was the collections at the Established Church doors. The plate at the old church of Dollar stood a few yards out from the session-house door, so as to be convenient for the folks in passing; while the elder stood in the door. These collections not being required for the support of the minister, a good many people passed the plate without giving anything; and when it was Mr. Moir's turn to stand, and he saw people passing without giving, whom he knew were very well able to give, and who generally bowed to him in passing, he was not slack in reminding them of their duty, and used to bawl out to them, 'Mind the plate, mind the plate, never mind me,' to the great amusement of the bystanders and the no little confusion of the party addressed. One worthy man, still living in Dollar, I heard one day thus addressed by name, and he went away into the church looking anything but comfortable.
Mr, Moir was an artist of considerable skill, and I recollect well of him taking a sketch one day, in the Academy grounds, of The Banks and Dollar Hill, and in the course of his picture was putting in a paling at a very quick rate; when, turning round to a number of us boys who were looking on, he asked, 'Do you think you could drive in paling stobs as fast as that ?' which of course put us all into good humour, and caused great merriment, which was just what Mr. Moir wanted, as he always enjoyed a good laugh. He was a goodhearted, kind landlord, and, in addition to his estate of Hillfoot, was proprietor of the fine estate of Milton, at Dunoon. He was a justice of the peace for the county of Clackmannan, and being one of the elders in the Established Church, was, as already stated, a trustee of Dollar Academy. He died at Hillfoot on December 17, 1871, aged seventy-three years.
The session-house of the old church still stands to the south of the entrance gate.
Mr. Alexander Stalker (father of Mr. Peter Stalker, who was so long and so well known in Dollar) carried on the wright trade in the old town. He lived in the two-storied house almost opposite the present Lorne Tavern; and his workshop was in the one-storied house adjoining, now turned into a dwelling-house. His family consisted of five-Elizabeth, Peter, Jane, Margaret, and Agnes (Mrs. Hynd).
The first house on the left-hand side, on entering the cart road to the Castle, was a well-known house in Dollar, and amongst the farmers around, the smithy and dwelling-house of Andrew Sharp, senior.
His son Andrew was in business with his father, but was married, and lived in the house next the Castle wood. This smithy was a great resort of the youths of the village, and many an hour I have sat by the smithy fire and looked on at the red-hot bars being hammered away. Old Andrew, who was very fond of a joke, quite alarmed my good old grandmother one day by telling her, when getting a refreshment, and when about to turn over his glass, that her whisky 'was on the turn.'
Any notice of the old town of Dollar as it existed fifty years ago would be incomplete, without referring to a very harmless 'character' we had amongst us, who was well known, and made welcome to every house in Dollar - Robbie Guild. Nothing delighted Robbie more than to get a book (particularly the Bible) to read, and a most amusing job he made of it. One of his peculiarities was, that, when reading, he could not get past certain words, and would repeat and re-repeat the half of a sentence a dozen of times over before he could make out to finish it, which was very amusing; and of course Robbie was often asked to read. The same sort of difficulty occurred to him when walking about. He would stop suddenly for a considerable time, then lift the offending stone or bit of straw, and carry it to the side of the road, and when the obstacle was removed, would then proceed on his way. When teased by boys, he occasionally got into a great fury, and was then (as any one would have been) rather dangerous; but when let alone, he was of a mild and harmless disposition, and was kindly treated by every one in Dollar.
Mr. Wilson, baker, carried on a prosperous business in the old town, from which he retired a good many years ago. He married the eldest daughter of Mr. John Swan, merchant, new town. The younger members of Mr. Swan's family - Mary, Jessie, and Archibald - were among my school companions. Archibald settled in America ; but the daughters are still in Dollar.
Mr. Robert Kirk (one of the Trustees of the Academy) was a very worthy man, and much respected in Dollar. He carried on the wright trade, and at the same time had a shop in the south street of the old town. Besides a son who died when young, he had other four of a family - Margaret, John, Thomas, and Catherine. Miss Kirk alone now survives.
I might fill a volume were I to go in detail over all the old families of Dollar, but will finish my list by simply mentioning one or two others.
Dr. Martin's family - Gilbert, William, James, Anne, etc. The Doctor died in Malta in 1843.
Dr. Arnot's family-David, Henry, Robert, Alfred, and Maggie (Mrs. Wilson). The Doctor died in 1842, aged fifty-seven.
Late Mrs. Kirk's family, Park House - Elizabeth (Mrs. James Kirk, Tullibody); Catherine (Mrs. Robert Wright, Greenock); Thomas, and John. Mrs. Kid's family - Helen, Jeanie (Mrs. McNair), John, Thomas, and Adam. They lived in the first house to the east of the new Club House, which is now joined to the large block of new buildings, but stood at that time by itself.
Mrs. Burns' family, of the old town - Eliza (first Mrs. Peter Stalker), Ann, and John. Mrs. Burns died in 1850, and John in 1848. Her husband died in 1827. The principal grocers in the new town fifty years ago, were Mr. Hugh Munro and Mr. John Swan. Mr. Charles Lawson was the only draper.
The post office at that time was in Cairnpark Street, under the charge of Mr. Robert Forrester, who travelled between Alloa and Dollar with the letters.
Miss Philp was appointed postmistress after him; and the post office, when under her charge, was in the house close to the old toll-bar. She continued postmistress for a long number of years.
CHAPTER VI.
RELATIVES AT ONE TIME IN CLACKMANNAN.
I WILL now refer more particularly than I have yet done to my worthy Aunt Sarah of Clackmannan, my mother's eldest sister, and Uncle Henry. She had a passionate love for the place of her birth - Bankhead, of Tullibole; and many were the stories she used to tell us of the folks round about there, - in Hood's Hill, Coldrain, the Gelvin, etc.; and so vivid were the pictures of some of the scenes she described, that you got to have quite an interest in the whole locality.
She was an exceedingly cheerful person, and her merry laugh could be heard a great way off; and so much was she esteemed, generally, in the town of her adoption, that there wasn't one in it, I believe, but would have done her a kind turn if they had had it in their power.
She attended the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Balfour (the present Lord Advocate's father), and from both him and Mrs. Balfour she ever received the greatest kindness.
She used frequently to speak of the faithful visits paid her, along with others, of Mrs. Bruce of Kennet (Lord Burleigh's mother), and the many excellent tracts she left with them. She died, as I have already mentioned, in 1862, aged seventy-nine.
Uncle Henry lived with her till his death in 1833. Besides being of a decidedly poetical turn of mind, he was very fond of painting, and, though self-taught, produced some most creditable pictures, some of which adorned their rooms. One, particularly, of Alva House, and the Wood Hill, in oil, was a very well executed painting indeed, and a most faithful representation of the scene.
SOJOURN IN DUNFERMLINE.
In the year 1835 I left school, and commenced the business of life. I went to Dunfermline, and served a three-years' apprenticeship to the drapery trade, with Mr. David Inglis, Bridge Street; and was afterwards about a year in Stewart & McDonald's, in Glasgow.
During my sojourn in Dunfermline, I had the pleasure (along with my companions who lived in the same apartments with me) of getting introduced to some very nice, kind families; amongst others, I may mention Mr. Joseph Paton, Wooers Alley ; Mr. Bonar, builder ; Mr. Hay, St. Margaret Street; Mrs. Auld, High Street, etc.
Mr. Joseph Paton was a great antiquarian, and his house was filled with a most valuable collection of old armour, antique furniture, etc., and visitors came from far and near to see his collection, and were always made welcome. Mrs. Paton was one of the kindest and most motherly of ladies, and many a happy evening we spent in their house.
Mr. Paton, I recollect, was very anxious that Robert Wright and I (both Dollar lads) should make a thorough search about the nooks and corners of Castle Campbell, and see if no old relic could be discovered; and I remember well of taking down to him a bit of an old saddle I found in one of the dungeons of the keep, and of which I was sure I had made a great find, but to my great mortification, it turned out to be a bit of a very modern saddle indeed, and all my high expectations regarding it were suddenly blighted.
The fine ruins of the old Palace and old Abbey Church of the ancient city of Dunfermline (connected as it is with the earliest of the kings and queens of our Scottish history, as also those of more recent date) are very well worth seeing; and to any one who has not been there, I would say, 'Go and see them.'
During my sojourn there, forty-five years ago, its celebrity as the seat of the manufacture of linen and woollen damask tablecloths, covers, etc., was world-wide, and it was then a very thriving town indeed, and some very extensive businesses were being carried on in it. Since then it has made great strides, and some very large manufactories have been built, and great fortunes realized, by some of its citizens who were then boys.
Mr. William McLaren (of W. & J. McLaren) was one of the older hands in Mr. Inglis's shop during my apprenticeship; and Mr. John McLaren had just left for a situation in Edinburgh, previous to my entering. Mr. William Shaw of Milnathort (now of Neilson, Shaw, & McGregor, Glasgow), and Messrs. Robert and William Wright of Dollar, and I lived together in the same apartments during our apprenticeships; and Mr. William Mathieson, Mr. Thomas Bonar, Sir Noel Paton, Mr. John Cooper, Mr. James Meldrum, and Messrs. Robert and John Hay, were amongst our most intimate acquaintances. Mr. Shaw was an apprentice with Colville & Robertson, drapers; and Messrs. Robert and William Wright were apprentices with Mr. Thomas Stevenson, writer.
Peter Taylor, Colville & Robertson, Thomas Beveridge, David Reid (afterwards Reid & Davie), J. & A. Duncanson, David Inglis, David Anderson, and William Finlayson, were the principal drapers of those days - all of whom have now passed away. To give an idea how extensively manufacturing was carried on in Dunfermline at the time of which I write, I will here give a list of the firms then in existence, which I am enabled to do through the kindness of an old and esteemed friend in Dunfermline. (The greater part of the fabrics were at that time wrought on the handloom, by weavers throughout the town; this is all changed now, and the weaving is nearly all done in large factories, on the power-loom, giving employment to some four or five thousand women.) John Kinell, Golfdrum; Robert Balfour, Golfdrum ; William Hutton, Golfdrum ; David Dewar & Co., Woodhead Street; Philip & Law, Woodhead Street; John Cowper, Pittencrieff Street; Hay & Shoolbred, Pittencrieff Street; David Inglis, Bridge Street; James & Alexander Beugo, High Street; William Hunt & Son, High Street; George Inglis & Son, East Port Street; James Inglis, East Port Street; James Blackwood, East Port Street; William & John Swan, Queen Anne Street; John Darling, Knabbie Street ; James Kirkland, Knabbie Street; James and Thomas Spence & Co., St. Catherine's Wynd; David Williamson, Moodie Street; Adam & William Bowie, Moodie Street; James Hall & Co., Moodie Street; Thomas Wilson & Sons, Newrow; James Alexander, Canmore Street; Robert & George Birrel, St. Margaret Street; Alexander Bogie, St. Margaret Street; George Burt & Sons, Back of Dam; David Hogg, NewᎢ; row; Robert & James Kerr, Bruce Street; William Kinnes, Canmore Street; Andrew Peebles, Guildhall Street; Thomas & John Russell, Maygate; Erskine Beveridge, St. Leonard's Works. As showing the great changes that take place in half a century, the friend who has supplied me with this list (most of whom I remember well) informs me, that every one on it has now passed away.
Messrs. Rutherford's thread mills were at that time being carried on with great spirit, their thread having quite a name throughout the country, Mr. Taylor, Kirkgate; Mr. Gibb, Maygate ; Mr. Husband, Queen Anne Street; Mr. Henry Russell, High Street; Mr. William Drummond, High Street; Messrs. J. & A. Beugo, High Street; Mr. Samson, Bridge Street; and Mr. David Blelloch, Maygate, were the principal grocers; the last two only of whom are now left.
The Rev. Mr. Young was minister of Queen Anne Street U.P. Church; Rev. John Law, Rev. G. B. Brand, Rev. William Dalziell, Rev. Mr. Cuthbertson, and Rev. Mr. McMichael, of other five Dissenting churches ; and the Rev. Peter Chalmers, under whom I sat, was minister of the Abbey Church. All the seven have now passed away.
The principal writers were : Mr. Thomas Stevenson, Mr. McDonald, fiscal; Mr. Strachan ; Mr. William Beveridge, sen.; Mr. James Smith Ronaldson; Mr. William Warren; and Mr. Henry Bardiner—the last only of whom is now left.
Mr. Gavin Steele, druggist, had his shop in Chalmers Street, and lived for some time in the same apartments with me.
Mr. John Miller, Bridge Street, and Messrs. William Clark and James Bonar, High Street, were the principal booksellers.
ANNULAR ECLIPSE OF THE SUN ON 15TH MAY 1836.
There was one great event that took place during my sojourn in Dunfermline, which I think may not be uninteresting to refer to for a little, as the like of it will not be seen in Scotland again for more than a hundred years; and that was an almost total eclipse of the sun.
This wonderful phenomenon took place on a Sabbath day, the 15th May 1836, and engrossed the attention of the people far more than the sermons that were preached that day; and, indeed, it was itself a great sermon, as showing how the wonderful works of the Great Creator far transcend any piece of human mechanism and skill, and that the movements of the mighty universe of God are so perfectly controlled by Him, that the time when this eclipse was to begin, and when it was to end, were foretold to a moment, and (although the same event had not happened for nearly two hundred years before) were found to be perfectly correct.
No piece of human clockwork can at all compare to the great clockwork of the heavens, for although circling through space with inconceivable speed, those mighty worlds by which we are surrounded, and the one in which we ourselves dwell, never vary in the precision of their movements by a single hairbreadth ; but are at the appointed spot, at the appointed time, guided by the unerring hand of the Great Jehovah. Our astronomers, therefore, can say with perfect certainty this or that eclipse, or this or that transit of a planet over the sun's disc shall begin and end on such a day, in such an hour, and at such a minute, and have not the slightest fear of their predictions being wrong
Watches and clocks may and do vary; but the clockwork of the heavens, never. Truly we can say with the Psalmist David, and with much more emphasis than he (from our more perfect knowledge of the heavens than existed in his day), When we consider the heavens, the works of Thy hands, the sun, moon, and stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him ? or the son of man, that Thou graciously condescendest to visit him ?
What a wonderful body the sun is, which was on this occasion almost entirely hid from our view—one million and a quarter times bigger than this world! write it down in figures, but the mind cannot grasp the idea of such an enormous body, and we wonder how there can be room in the heavens to contain it. But when we think that there are hundreds of thousands of such suns as ours, with worlds, no doubt, revolving round them, like our own, we are utterly lost in amazement, and overwhelmed with awe; and feel that this little world of ours—which we used to think so big—is as but a drop in the ocean of immensity. Yet how cheering it is to know that the same Creator who formed and upholds this great system of suns and worlds, created and upholds the smallest animalcule in a drop of water, and that a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His knowledge; and who, moreover, when His creatures in this world sinned and rebelled against Him, sent His Son Jesus Christ into it to die for them and atone for their guilt. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out !
Our moon, during this eclipse, went right over the centre of the sun; and had it been only a very little bigger, or a little nearer us, the sun would have been entirely hid from our view. Although it was generally called 'total,' therefore and it was as nearly so as it almost ever can be), there was still a streak of light like a silver thread-right round the sun, which gave a very faint glimmer of light; but so faint, that the darkness was very awe - inspiring, and the stars in great numbers were quite visible.
It was through the kindness of Mrs. Anderson of Viewfield (a very old friend of my mother's) that I got into Mr. Inglis's shop, and during my whole three years' sojourn in Dunfermline received the greatest kindness from her. I sat in her seat in the Abbey Church, and was very frequently in Viewfield. It was from her garden I viewed this great eclipse. Mrs. Wyld, her only daughter, was then a young lady of great promise, and much esteemed by every one who knew her.
Before passing from my sojourn in Dunfermline, it may be interesting to refer to the means of locomotion in those days. The occasional route from Dollar to Dunfermline was to walk to Alloa, get the steamer from there to Charleston, and thence to Dunfermline by a horse railway. But the more frequent route was by Saline, on 'Shanks Naigie;' and many is the time I tramped the solitary journey between the two places, distance, 12 miles. How different from nowadays, when we can be whisked about from place to place at the rate of 40 miles an hour, and take journeys of many hundreds of miles without a moment's consideration !
CHAPTER VII.
BEGIN BUSINESS IN DOLLAR.
AFTER finishing my apprenticeship in Dunfermline, I got into Stewart & McDonald's, Glasgow, and continued there for some little time. This prosperous firm was then doing a very large retail business (their premises being generally crowded every day), and was just creeping into a wholesale one, although no hands were then specially employed for this branch of their business. Mr. Stewart appeared considerably older than Mr. M cDonald, but both were very active and pushing the latter particularly so. Mr. Hugh Fraser (who afterwards commenced business in company with Mr. Arthur under the firm of Arthur & Fraser) was one of the principal hands in the establishment, and frequently accompanied Mr. M cDonald to London, Paris, etc., and assisted him in buying. Mr. Byars (who afterwards commenced business in company with Mr. Mann and Mr. Simpson, under the firm of Mann, Simpson, & Byars—now Mann, Byars, & Co.) was at the head of the counting-house; and Mr. Archibald Crombie superintended the execution of all orders that were sent in to the firm. Mr. James Dawson was 'shop-walker;' and Mr. Alexander McDonald, Mr. Alexander Miller, Mr. Robert Mason, Mr. Brown, Mr. McKechnie, Mr. John Innis, and Mr. James Fairlie (of Mr. Girdwood's, Tanfield, Edinburgh), had all charge of important departments.
At the same time that Stewart & McDonald were pushing such a prosperous business in Buchanan Street, the old-established firm of J. & W. Campbell & Co. had a large retail business in Candleriggs—in addition to their very extensive wholesale one. George Smith & Sons, in London Street, and Wingate, Son, & Co. in Queen Street, were then doing large wholesale businesses.
Mr. James Campbell (of J. & W. Campbell & Co.) was seldom seen in the warehouse, but Mr. William, who was very active and pushing - was constantly moving about through the wholesale departments of their large establishment, and was well known to, and much respected by, every buyer who called. Mr. George Smith (of George Smith & Sons) - although always superintending-left, at that time, the active management of their extensive business to his two sons, who were exceedingly shrewd, pushing, business men. Mr. Brock was, for a very long period, one of their much respected travellers, and was well known throughout all Scotland.
Mr. Andrew Wingate (the senior partner of Wingate, Son, & Co.) was a very worthy old gentleman, and greatly respected in Glasgow. Mr. William Page (brother of Mr. John Page, Alloa) was for a considerable time shawl buyer for this firm, and in that capacity regularly visited the hillfoots.
He was a very pushing business young man, of a warm-hearted genial disposition, and for a number of years mixed a great deal with the society at the foot of the Ochils.
To give an idea how much Glasgow has increased to the west since those days (forty-four years ago), I may mention that Woodside Crescent was then just newly built (if indeed it was quite finished); and between it and the city there were brickworks and saw-pits; and, being the only crescent in that quarter, it was always spoken of as The Crescent.' Woodlands House stood in the centre of the field which is now the grand West End Park.
After leaving Glasgow, and the prospect being at that time that the new town of Dollar (as it was called) would by and by become the most important part of the village, my father resolved to build that house and shop at present occupied by Mr. Gibb (which were afterwards largely added to by my brother), and gave up to my brother and me the clothing and drapery part of his business; and, in the end of the year 1839, the firm of J. & W. Gibson was started as a drapery establishment, my father continuing the grocery and ironmongery business in the old town.
Shortly after we commenced business, we were asked to open a sub-branch, under Tillicoultry, of the Edinburgh and Leith Bank, which continued for a number of years, and ultimately became a branch by itself of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Bank. This was the commencement of that banking business which my brother has now carried on for so long a period; and for the last twenty-five years, in connection with the Clydesdale Bank.
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES, AND PROGRESS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
The present generation can scarcely form a proper idea of the many advantages they enjoy, as compared to the state of matters forty years ago.
Gas had not then been introduced into any of the smaller villages of Scotland; and houses and shops had to be content with the dim flicker of the tallow candle (paraffine oil not being then known), requiring 'snuffing' or 'topping every few minutes all the night over. Now we have not only gas - that most useful illuminator - but the still more wonderful electric light, which as much casts gas into the shade as gas did the tallow candle.
When my brother and I commenced business, it was the days of dear postage (a letter to Glasgow costing 7d., and one to London about 2s. 6d.); and in place of sending our orders to Glasgow through the post office three times a day, as at present, we sent them once a week by Robert Young, the Leslie carrier, who, with from eight to ten heavily-laden carts, made the journey from Leslie to Glasgow, and vice versa, once a week, collecting and delivering goods at all the little towns by the way. On reaching Glasgow, he opened the parcel of letters, and delivered them to the different parties to whom they were addressed. Now we have the 'one ounce' letter for a penny, and the halfpenny post card, which have proved such an inestimable boon to the country, and facilitated business to an extent that the present generation can scarcely conceive of. And we are not content with this only, but must have our orders and communications flashed through the electric wire, with lightning speed, and think less of the expense of a telegram now than we used to do in days of old of a letter that took days for its journey by the lumbering old mail coach.
The electric telegraph is truly one of the greatest discoveries of the age, and will for ever make the nineteenth century memorable. It really seems fabulous, that events that happened in America, and indeed in almost any part of the world, yesterday, can be published in to-day's newspapers ! Yet so it is; for, scorning the dangers of the mighty depths of the ocean, the electric current speeds along as quickly at the bottom of the great world of waters as it does above ground, and binds the different nations of the earth together as with a magic band.
Then we have got recently introduced that most scientific discovery, the telephone, by which we can talk to each other through a wire, when far separated from one another; and thus business people save an immense amount of time and shoe leather. Place one of our forefathers in some of the principal streets of any of our great cities - say at the Exchange, or in Queen Street, Glasgow - and make him look up, and what would be his surprise to see a very network of wires, stretching in all directions, and so close in some places that the very birds will have some difficulty in flying through them. Then what are all these for? How astonished would he be when told, they were to enable the inhabitants of the great city, although miles apart, to talk to each other through the telephone office, and thus save an untold amount of time and running hither and thither to see each other. But how wide would he open his eyes when told that not only can this be done, but that talking goes on through it between places at great distances from each other, and that business transactions between Glasgow and Greenock are regularly carried on by means of it. The services of the sanctuary, also, can be enjoyed by invalids in their beds, at great distances away from church, through this great discovery; and our worthy townsman, James Paton, Esq., Tillicoultry, has, for the last twelvemonth, been indebted to it for hearing all the services in the U.P. Church; and a whisper, or even a loud sigh, can be heard distinctly through it. The singing of the choir, too, with all the different parts, is distinctly heard.
In an article published recently on Progress in Telephony, some most interesting statements are given of the rapid progress that has been made, and I think I cannot do better than give a few extracts from it here. It says: 'No invention of modern times took the public more by surprise than did the Telephone, a result due not more to the marvellousness of the thing done - namely, the transmission of spoken words along a telegraph wire - than to the simplicity of the means by which it was accomplished. Seldom, also, has an invention given rise so soon to an important industry. Five years ago, the telephone was being viewed by the savants of the British Association with the interest attaching to the very latest novelty in scientific toys; it is now, according to Mr. Preece of the Telegraph Department, employing in the United Kingdom alone more than a million and a half sterling of capital, and earning over £100,000 in dividends. The practical instrument of today, however, differs considerably from the scientific toy patented about six years ago by Professor Bell. After describing the construction of the instruments, and the various improvements made on it by different scientific men, it continues : Conversation has been carried on by telephone over a distance of 500 miles in India, and over 410 miles in America, and Mr. Preece states that if a wire were placed on lofty poles, and away from all other wires between John-o'-Groat's and Land's End, there would be no difficulty in speaking between those two places.' .... Already the telephone exchange system is being worked in almost all the principal cities and towns of Europe and America. Paris has its central exchange with nearly a thousand wires converging upon it, besides several branch exchanges connected with the central one. The Parisians avoid the unsightliness and danger of a great network of overground wires, however, by placing the telephone wires in the sewers.
Nowhere is the system better organized than in Berlin, where there are four exchanges, besides two public telephone offices, in which any person, on payment of sixpence, is permitted to have five minutes' conversation with any one whose house is connected with the central office. ...In New York alone there are thirteen exchanges, with over 5000 subscribers, besides 1500 private telephone wires. The use to which those exchanges may be put need not be confined merely to enabling subscribers to converse with each other, and already many other purposes are being found for them. Thus, according to Colonel Webber, in a recent paper on the subject, subscribers can arrange to be wakened by the exchange ringing their bell at any appointed hour; and correct time, say at noon, might be sent on all subscribers' wires by the striking of a public clock heard simultaneously on every telephone on the system. In the New York prisons, transmitting telephones are placed in the cell walls, from which wires are led to receivers in another part of the building, and important conversations between prisoners have, it is said, been thus heard, which have materially assisted the ends of justice.
What wonderful discoveries have been made in our day in chemistry, geology, astronomy, etc. ! Notably among the first of these may be specified the beautiful Aneline dyes we are now possessed of, which have so thoroughly superseded a great many of our old dingy looking colours; and which, from their gorgeous brilliancy, have added so much to the beauty of all our textile fabrics. Chemical science has given us these, and principally from an article that was at one time looked upon as of little value, and for which it was difficult to find any use, viz. coal tar. Then, in geology, what wonderful revelations have been made to us of the age of our world by Hugh Miller and other scientific men. In astronomy, every increased power of the telescope has revealed to us greater and greater wonders, and given us such glimpses into the mighty universe of God, that the mind is overwhelmed with awe. In Art, those beautiful oleograph pictures we now possess, are of but very recent date, and furnish another proof of the scientific skill of the present day. When we are told that in some of those pictures as many as sixteen colours require to be printed, separately, ere the picture is finished, it will be seen at once with what scientific skill the machines on which they are produced must be constructed. Then photography is one of the great discoveries of this century, which has enabled people in humble circumstances in life to get portraits of themselves and their friends, who could not otherwise have possibly obtained them.
It was unknown in my young days, and the first portrait (or profile, rather) I ever got taken of myself, was done by a machine, was painted black, and had golden hair put in.
The first time I went to London by land (about 1841), there was no railway beyond Lancaster, and I had to 'coach it' from Edinburgh (by Hawick, Langholm, Carlisle, and Kendal) to Lancaster; and from thence to London by rail, taking part of two days and two nights for the journey, and costing between £5 and £6. Now, the journey can be accomplished in ten hours, and a return ticket from Edinburgh got for about £2, 10s.
Before the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was made, we had to walk to Alloa, and get the 'Earl of Mar' coach from there to Glasgow, taking five hours on the road. The coaches entered the city by Duke Street, High Street, and drew up at Mein's Hotel in the Trongate, a little to the west of the Tron Church, and on the opposite side of the street. After the Edinburgh and Glasgow line was opened (in 1842), an omnibus was started from Tillicoultry to Stirling (with Hugh Black for driver), and we got the coach (driven by Lowrie McLaren) from there to Castlecary Station; and from Alloa, the coach ran, by way of Dunmore, Airth, and Carron, to Falkirk Station. Thus gradually the benefits of railway travelling were approaching nearer us.
When the Scottish Central line from Greenhill to Perth was opened (in 1848), the journey from Stirling to Edinburgh or Glasgow could be accomplished all the way by rail.
Afterwards the Stirling and Dunfermline line was made, and then the Devon Valley; and thus the great iron roads which we now possess were gradually introduced into Scotland, and the old mode of travelling by the stage-coach done away with.
The portion of the Stirling and Dunfermline line from Alloa to Dunfermline was opened in 1850. From Alloa to Stirling and Tillicoultry in 1852. On the Devon Valley route, the portion from Kinross to Rumbling Bridge was opened in 1862; from Tillicoultry to Dollar in 1869, and the connecting link between Dollar and Rumbling Bridge (thus completing the railway) in 1871.
The present generation can scarcely conceive of the dread with which people looked on a journey by rail when railways were first introduced, and many of the old folks wouldn't think of such a thing. My worthy old aunt of Clackmannan used to say it was 'a tempting of Providence' to go into a train, and she never did, although she lived long after they were introduced. This same aunt used to tell me that in her young days she walked all the way from Clackmannan to Paisley to see her brother; but after the Forth and Clyde Canal was constructed, she walked to Lock 16, and got the canal boat there.
I recollect well of another old lady friend of mine, who was going from Edinburgh to Glasgow, shortly after the railway between those two places was opened ; and I urged her strongly, of course, to go by rail ; but no, she was sure to be killed if she hazarded her life on any such perilous undertaking; and so, clinging to her old notions of things like so many old folks), she went by the canal boat, taking some ten hours by the way, and passing through who knows how many locks.
We cannot now appreciate too highly the immense strides the press has taken since those early days, and the great social, political, and religious advantages we derive from the cheap and excellent literature of the present day. Those charming pictorial books that are now produced every year in such profusion for the children were unknown fifty years ago; and who can estimate the advantage this is to a rising generation ? Then the beautifully illustrated school-books we now possess, and the interesting and instructive matter of which they are generally composed, give an interest to the scholars in their lessons that didn't exist formerly, and must tend greatly to forward the education of the young In the matter of cheapness, also, it seems perfectly fabulous the prices at which books can now be published, as compared to the early times of which I have been writing. The first Testament I ever possessed cost 3s. 6d., and just think of getting one now for 3d. !
But dear as my Testament was, what would one have cost before the art of printing was discovered at all ? The town of Mayence on the Rhine has the honour of being the birthplace of the genius who made this invaluable discovery. John Gutenberg showed his first printed sheets to Faust in 1448; and the first book (supposed to be a Bible) was printed in 1450.
A heavy duty existed in my young days on paper, and the Government imposed a heavy tax on newspapers; and instead of getting our morning and evening papers, as we do now, for the small sum of a penny, and halfpenny, a club of half a dozen or so got a newspaper once a week among them—costing 7d.; and each got a reading of it, for a few hours, in his turn. I remember well of my father being a member of such a club.
When the Government removed both duties, the press, being freed from such unnatural shackles, took a bound in the way of progress that seems now perfectly fabulous. This is seen specially in the charming illustrated weekly newspapers that are now published, such as the Graphic, Illustrated London News, etc., where, for the small charge of sixpence, you can get as many really highly artistic engravings as would have cost pounds sterling in days of old, and, in addition, all the general news of the week. Our advantages now are unspeakably great, and our responsibilities in consequence immensely increased, and it would be well that we should all feel this, and act accordingly.
While the press is powerful for good, it is also powerful for evil, when the streams which flow from it are polluted ; and it is very much to be regretted that at the present day such an amount of pernicious literature is constantly making its appearance, and poisoning the minds of all who read it. Parents, therefore, cannot be too careful what sort of books they allow their children to get into their hands, and should exercise the strictest scrutiny in this respect.
Truly it has been my lot to live in the age of the greatest discoveries in the arts and sciences of any period of our globe's history, and our advantages now are very great indeed.
I often wonder how we got on at all in those early times, and how business was ever managed. But, knowing no better, we jogged along somehow, and people contrived to make money then as they do now, and seemed to enjoy the comforts of life as much as at the present day.
ESTABLISHED CHURCH OF DOLLAR, AND FREE CHURCH AT SHELTERHALL.
It was during my partnership with my brother that the building of the present Established Church of Dollar was commenced (about the year 1840), and I used frequently to go up and inspect the operations as they were going on.
The feuars of Dollar were very indignant at being brought in by the heritors to pay a share of this new church - a thing that had been almost unheard of till then; and my father (from being possessed of a good ; deal of heritable property) had a pretty large sum to pay. He, however, got in consequence a very nice seat allocated to him in the new building; but the Disruption coming on very soon after (in 1843), he didn't enjoy it long; for, casting in his lot with the Free Church, he joined the church that was built at Shelterhall, and left the church of his fathers. This church at Shelterhall (like most of the first Free Churches throughout Scotland) was a very plain, one-storied building, with a black felt roof, and was built at Shelterhall, as being about half-way between Muckart and Dollar, so as to accommodate both places. The Rev. James Thomson, of Muckart, was chosen as the first minister of this joint congregation. It was found, however, to be very inconvenient to have to go so far to church, particularly in winter; and ultimately a church was built in Dollar for the inhabitants of Dollar alone, - the folks in Muckart having either to go back to the Established Church, join the U.P. one, or go to Fossoway Free Church, Mr. Thomson married Miss Monteath, of Dollarbank, who was cut off in the prime of life, and was interred in Tillicoultry Cemetery in May 1867. Mr. Thomson died, and was buried in Edinburgh, in December 1871, aged seventy-one years.
MILNATIIORT-COACHING DAYS, ETC.
After nearly a four years' copartnery with my brother in Dollar, I left in 1843, to commence business in Milnathort, where I continued for four years. While there I attended the ministry of the Rev. James Thornton of the Free Church, I boarded during my sojourn there with Mrs. Mitchell, Mr. Thornton's sister, then a widow with a large young family. The Rev. Mr. Little was then (and still is) minister of the Established, and the Rev. Mr. Leslie of the U.P. Church.
Milnathort being situated on the great north road, which runs from Land's End to John-o'-Groat's House, the amount of traffic that passed through it at certain seasons of the year was very great indeed.
There were four public conveyances between Edinburgh and Perth each way daily - the Mail and Defiance stage-coaches; and the number of gentlemen's carriages when the shooting season approached was something fabulous. It was said that at Mr. Mitchell's hotel and posting establishment at North Queensferry about one hundred horses were regularly kept; and the number at Kirkland's hotel, Kinross, would, I suppose, be about the same - as fresh horses were regularly got at Kinross. When the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee Railway through Fife was opened (in 1848), all this was entirely changed ; and where all was stir and bustle before, something like a deathlike silence at once took its place. In this way the introduction of railways suddenly changed many bustling country towns and villages throughout the kingdom into quiet, rural, deserted looking places, and completely ruined many prosperous hotels.
In 1846 my father paid me a visit in Milnathort, and remained with me for some days; and although not feeling quite well, was not much out of his usual. On his return to Dollar (on a Thursday, I think it was) I walked with him the length of Thomanean, and there bade him good-bye - a last good-bye, as it turned out to be - in this world ; for, on the Monday morning following, a conveyance came for me from Dollar, with the sad news that my father had taken suddenly and seriously ill on coming home from church on Sabbath-day, and was no better. When nearing Dollar, George Tod met and told me that all was over - that my father was gone, cut off after a few hours' illness. Thus, at the comparatively early age of fifty-seven, I lost my good and worthy father - taken suddenly away in the midst of his usefulness, and leaving my three young sisters alone in the old home.
The manufacturing trade at the foot of the Ochils being very good at that time, I was induced to leave my old business, and left Milnathort for Tillicoultry in the year 1847. Through the kindness of my brother-in-law, Mr. Robert Archibald, of Devonvale, I learned some of the branches of manufacturing and commenced business on my own account in 1848; and now for thirty-five years I have been engaged in wool spinning and manufacturing. In 1851 my brother-in-law and I entered into partnership, and under the firm of William Gibson & Co. carried on business together for nineteen years, in Craigfoot, and Dawson's Mills. In 1870 Mr. Archibald left the business, and I then carried it on for some years by myself, and since then in partnership with my eldest son, under the same old firm.
CHAPTER VIII.
TILLICOULTRY AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.
It may not be uninteresting here to say a few words about the town and trade of Tillicoultry, which has now for so long a period been the place of my abode.
There is an old story told of how Tillicoultry got its name, and it really has the ring of probability about it. A Highlandman was taking a drove of cattle along the old road, and when passing through Tillicoultry burn, none of the cattle took a drink, when, in astonishment, he exclaimed, 'There's Tiel a coo try' (Deil a cow dry) in Tonald's way of pronouncing the D; and hence the town got its name.
We learn from that interesting little book, Tillicoultry in the Olden Times (by Mr. Watson, headmaster of our public school here, and published by Mr. Roxburgh, of the Tillicoultry News office, price sixpence), that the estate of Tillicoultry was granted to the family of Mar in 1261, the fourteenth year of the reign of Alexander the Third ; and from that very early date to the present day, it has passed through the hands of no fewer than eleven proprietors-Lord Colville of Culross and the Earl of Stirling being amongst the number, - until in 1814 it came into the hands of R. Wardlaw Ramsay, Esq., the father of the present proprietor, and in 1810 into the possession of his son, the present laird-Robert Balfour Wardlaw Ramsay, Esq., who is also proprietor of the fine estate of Whitehill, near Edinburgh.
The Kirk Hill, or Cunninghar Hill, which begins at the Devon, and goes up to near Tillicoultry House, and on the south end of which our beautiful cemetery has been formed, is, to the antiquarian, the most interesting part of the estate. Immediately opposite the cemetery lodge, on the north side of the public road, and close to it, a large portion of a druidical circle can still be seen, of about 130 feet in diameter, which (but for the vandalism of some modern builder, as Mr. Watson informs us) might have been one of the most interesting sights in Scotland. A number of old druidical stones, five and a half feet high, stood at one time in the circle, but by this Goth of a fellow had been removed (very probably to build a dyke with). Had these still remained, the true nature of the place would have been apparent at a glance. Now, however, it is difficult to tell what it has been; and but for the old statistical account of Scotland (from which Mr. Watson got his information), people would have been a little incredulous as to the true nature of the place.
The same vandalism is - in this nineteenth century of ours - still going on; for this famous old relic of antiquity is being gradually carted away in the shape of sand, - the one half of it having already disappeared into the great sand pit adjoining. Had the present proprietor resided at Tillicoultry instead of Whitehill, this surely would never have been allowed to go on.
From several urns, containing human bones, having been dug up at the north end of the Cunninghar Hill, it is supposed the Romans had a station here; and an old rusty sword - evidently of Roman make - was dug up a little farther east, near to Harviestoun Castle.
In early days there were three villages in the parish of Tillicoultry — Eastertown, Westertown, and Coalsnaughton. Harviestoun burn ran through the centre of Eastertown; and that portion of the village on the west side of the burn was called Ellieston, while that on the east side was called Harviestoun. It was situated above the present road, on the north side of the Castle, and close to where the home farm now is. It was, in early times, larger than Westertown, although not a vestige of it now remains. It was entirely removed by Mr. Tait when he formed the garden for Harviestoun Castle, on the site of which it stood. The road from Eastertown to Dollar was by Whitehillhead, and joining the old highway at the villa of Belmont. Mr. Andrew Rutherford, of the post office, Dollar, is a native of Ellieston, and attended the school in Tillicoultry when a boy.
Tillicoultry—as at present—is Westertown very much enlarged; and the old church, manse, and churchyard were situated between the two, close to Tillicoultry House. The first manse on the present site was built in 1730; the first church on the present site, in 1773; and the present handsome building, in 1829.
(For other information about Tillicoultry in days of old, see Mr. Watson's very interesting little book.)
On the west side of the burn, and overtopping the village, stands the beautiful Castle Craig, wooded to the top, and on which stood, in ancient times, a round Pictish fortress, the traces of which can still be distinctly seen. This, I think, is one of the most picturesque objects on the Alva estate, and it is a very great pity that it should be so disfigured by the extensive quarrying operations that are being at present carried on at it. Not far from the foot of this craig, and on the same site where Castle Mills dwelling-house now stands, an old Castle stood, in the beginning of this century, inhabited by two old maiden ladies—Misses Kirkwood—of whom Mr. Edward Moir has a distinct recollection. It was afterwards occupied by one Thomas Harrower, who manufactured 'a drop of the cratur' on his own account; and the excise officers getting to hear of this, surrounded the Castle, and summoned Thomas to surrender; but he was deaf to all entreaties, and would not open the great old door (full of large-headed nails) to them. Recourse was then had, therefore, to force, and a supply of large forehammers procured from a smithy down the village; and with these the big old door was soon hammered to pieces, the sound of the knocks being distinctly heard in Mr. Moir's dwelling-house, a long way from the Castle. It would be either from this old Castle, or the Pictish fortress on the top of the craig, that Castle Craig got its name; but from which, it is not easy now to say. A little below this Castle, a meal mill was carried on in those days by a man named William Carmichael ; but it has long since entirely disappeared. Its site was where the entrance gate now is.</.p>
About twenty-five years ago, the damhead or reservoir for the public works of Tillicoultry (erected in 1824) stood a little above the quarry, at the very mouth of the glen; but as it was getting old, and a new one required, a much more suitable site was fixed on for it, about a quarter of a mile back the glen, and the present damhead was then built. Our late worthy townsman, Mr. Graham Paterson, was the architect and builder of it, and a most substantial job he made of it.
The getting up of the enormous logs required in its construction, proved a very formidable undertaking, and attracted a great amount of attention and curiosity. A carriage had to be specially made for the purpose, and on it they were dragged up the sledge road, entering by the gate near the wood burn, a number of horses being required in the operation.
The damhead is situated in a very romantic part of the glen, and is well worthy of a visit. Indeed, the whole glen up to the base of Ben Cleugh is rocky, precipitous, and wild, and would quite compare with some of the finest Highland scenery, and one could almost imagine himself in the midst of the Grampians. The hills immediately behind Tillicoultry are-the Miller Hill, to the west of the burn; adjoining it, on the west, is the beautiful Wood Hill, on which the mansion-house of James Johnston, Esquire of Alva, stands; the Law, between the two branches of Tillicoultry burn; Ben Cleugh (the highest hill of the Ochil range—about 2500 feet high) is immediately behind the Law; the Whum and Andrew Ganhill are to the east of the Law; and immediately beyond them is Maddy-Moss. The hill above Tillicoultry, on the east side of the burn, is called Tillicoultry Hill. The one between Tillicoultry House burn (or 'Back burn') and Harviestoun burn, is Ellieston Hill the east half of which is in Harviestoun estate, and the west half in that of Tillicoultry—the stone dyke which separates the two properties, running up the centre of it. The hills on the east side of Harviestoun burn are, the Grains Hill, Harviestoun Hill, and Dollar Bank Hill - all three terminating in the farther back and second highest peak of the Ochils, the King's Seat.
Tillicoultry burn, and the other streams of the Ochils utilized for water-power, have been rendered of very much less value to the millowners than they used to be, from the extensive system of drainage that has been carried on for the last thirty years all over the Ochil range. Previous to this, the extensive morasses that exist on the hills used to act as natural reservoirs; and after a heavy rain, good full water was experienced for several weeks. Now, with the deep drains that intersect these places in all directions, the greater part of the water rushes off as fast as it falls, and in two or three days after a flood the streams are as small as ever. In consequence of this, the water-power of our burns has become of very little value indeed, and but for the aid of steam we would be helpless. Helen's Muir, on the back of Tillicoultry Hill, is a fine example of this extensive system of drainage - some of the main drains being of great depth and very wide.
The wire fence that separates the Alva from the Tillicoultry estates, runs right up the centre of the Law, and passes within a few feet of the cairn of stones on the top of it; whilst that which separates Tillicoultry from Harviestoun estates, runs up Harviestoun Glen; and both join the one from Maddy-Moss to Ben Cleugh, which is the southern boundary of Back Hill farm. The top and south side of Ben Cleugh are in Alva estate; part of the Law, the Whum, and Andrew Ganhill, are in Tillicoultry estate; while the King's Seat is in Harviestoun estate. Back Hill farm which extends back to Devon, with Breuch for its eastern boundary, and Greenhorn for its western - is in Tillicoultry estate.
On a clear day, the view from the top of Ben Cleugh is very grand, embracing as it does not only the wide Ochil range, stretching in all directions, a long way below you; but an extensive view also of Strathearn, and the hills beyond Crieff; while to the south, the river Forth, with all the beautiful scenery surrounding it, forms one of the finest panoramas that could be seen anywhere, perhaps, in the British Isles.
The top of Goatfell in Arran can be seen from it on a very clear day; while away to the east, the Bass Rock and the ; mouth of the Firth of Forth can be distinctly seen. The view from Craigleith Hill above Alva, and from Damyat, to the west of Menstrie, is also very fine. The latter stands out a little from the rest of the range, and commands a beautiful view of the Devon valley.
From the remains of old turf walls and stone dykes that cover the Ochils in our neighbourhood, it seems very clear that they were at one time possessed by a great many proprietors, and not, as at present, in the hands of two or three. One of these turf walls can be seen, extending from the Mill Glen House to the Wood Burn, and going right over the top of the Miller Hill. That patches of the very tops of the hills, also, had been at one time under the plough, can be distinctly seen on the level plateau on the top of this hill, the deep furrows being quite visible from one side of it to the other.
No range of hills in Scotland, I believe, possesses a greater number of fine trout-fishing streams than the Ochils. I will refer first to that one with which I was earliest acquainted - Dollar burn. Fine trout used to be got in it (and, I suppose, will still be) from where it falls into the Devon, up to near the very top of its two branches - the Bank and Turnpike burns. From the upper bridge to a little above the Black Linn, I knew at one time every stream and pool, and almost every stone it it, and fished this part of the burn every other night - the fishing-rod and bait being kept always ready. Considering the number of boys that fished this part of the stream almost every night, in the fishing season, it does seem really surprising how a single trout was left in it; but there they constantly were, and we seldom had to go unrewarded. The great flood of 1877 has entirely swept away all the old landmarks (or rather water-marks) of this part of the burn; and now the pools and streams which I used to know so well, are all entirely gone.
An island which existed just below the wood, is now joined to the west side of the burn - the branch of the burn which formed it (and in which were some fine fishing pools) being now quite filled up.
The largest and best fishing stream of the Ochils is, of course, the Devon; to which all the others on the south side of the range, west of Muckart, are tributaries. Rising in the midst of the Ochils, on the back of Myreton hill, north-west of Alva, the Devon falls into the Forth at Cambus, only a few miles from its source, after a run of about thirty miles. Its course till it reaches Kameknowe, is almost due east; it then turns southwards, and passing through Glendevon, runs almost due south till it comes to the Crook of Devon (or, ‘The Crook,' as it is generally called), where, turning sharply round, it then runs straight west till it passes Menstrie ; and after a short run southwards again, it joins our noble river, the Forth, at Cambus. From Back Hill House to Dollar, no finer trout-fishing ground could be found anywhere than on the Devon. The fine scenery on this stream at Glendevon, the Black Linn, the Rumbling Bridge, and Caldron Linn, is so well known, I will not attempt to describe it.
I would merely say to all those who have not seen those celebrated places, they should embrace the first opportunity that comes in their way of doing so, and I am sure they will not be disappointed.
The farthest-up tributary of the Devon that I have fished is the Greenhorn, which rises on the west shoulder of Ben Cleugh, and runs northwards (passing Alva Moss) into the Devon. The next in order is Breuch, which rises at Maddy-Moss, and after a run northwards of about three miles, joins the Devon at Back Hill House. Grodwell (a fine branch of Breuch) rises on the back of Ben Cleugh, and joins the larger stream about a mile north from Maddy-Moss. We come next to Frandy burn, and then Glenshirrup, both fine fishing streams. It is on the latter the reservoir for Dunfermline waterworks has been constructed. The next tributary is Glenquhey burn, with its fine branch the Garthland. This, I believe, is the most severely fished stream of any in the Ochils, being within a convenient distance of Dollar, with its large population of boys. After passing Dollar, we then come to Tillicoultry burn, with its two branches -Daiglen and Gannel burns - which would have plenty of trout but for being so constantly fished. Some good trout are occasionally got in the linns in the glen. The next in order are Alva and Menstrie burns, neither of which I have fished, but which, I have no doubt, would, like the others, have plenty of trout if they could only get a little rest. There are an immense number of smaller streams all the way round, but none of which are big enough to tempt the angler, although I have no doubt many of them contain trout.
On the north side of the Ochils, the stream corresponding to the Devon on the south side, is the Allan. It has many tributaries from the Ochils - the Wharry, Millstone, Buttergask, Ogilvie, and Dannie burns, the last joining it at Blackford. The Ruthven and the Water of May are tributaries of the Earn. The highest hill on the north side of the Ochil range is Craigrossie, to the south-east of Auchterarder.
The north and south Queichs drain the south side of the eastern portion of the Ochils, and fall into Lochleven.
TILLICOULTRY A MANUFACTURING VILLAGE IN THE DAYS OF QUEEN MARY.
We learn from Mr. Watson's interesting book, that as far back as the days of Queen Mary in the middle of the sixteenth century), cloth was manufactured in Tillicoultry, which afterwards became so famous that it established for itself a name throughout the country, and when other places commenced to make the same kind of cloth, it had to be sold by the name of the place where it was first introduced: it was called 'Tillicoultry serge,' and no other name would take the market - in the same way as, at the present day, thousands of spindles of stocking yarn are sold annually as 'Alloa yarn' that never saw Alloa.
When alluding to the now celebrated Alloa stocking yarn, it may not be out of place here to refer shortly, in passing, to an incident in connection with the early days of its manufacture at Kilncraigs, Alloa, that may be said, in a sense, to have laid the foundation of the very extensive business now carried on there. The late Mr. John Mitchell of Alva was one of the first, if not the first foreman, old Mr. Paton had; and one day he said to Mr. Paton, 'What do you think of trying on a batch of stocking-yarn ?' to which Mr. Paton replied, 'I have no objections, if you know how it should be done.' Mr. Mitchell was possessed, it seems, of the necessary knowledge, and a batch was accordingly prepared and spun.
This turned out such a success, that it from that day forward formed part of their business ; and this was the first small beginning of what has turned out to be one of the largest (if not the largest) businesses of the kind in the kingdom. (This incident was related to me by Mr. Mitchell himself, very many years ago.)
Mr. Watson tells us that the writer of the old statistical account of Scotland describes the serge 'as being a species of shaloon, having worsted warp, and yarn waft.'
The weavers were called Websters' in those days, and are mentioned in the oldest records of the kirk-session of Tillicoultry.
With reference to the introduction of this serge into Tillicoultry, Mr. Watson says: What led to its being located here can only be conjectured. David the First received into his dominions a number of Flemish refugees, driven in 1155 from England by Henry II., whose policy thus contrasted unfavourably with that of Henry I., who had gladly given encouragement to the honest Flemish artisans to settle in his realms. It is not improbable that the woollen manufacture was introduced into this part of Scotland by some of these Flemish refugees. Amongst the natural advantages in its favour may be reckoned, the supply of wool which was obtained from the pastoral lands of the Ochils. When this supply was insufficient, it was not uncommon for the guidwife to go to Edinburgh for a stone of wool, which she carried home on her shoulders, and afterwards spun into yarn in the intervals of her household duties.
'The cloth was sold at an average price of 1s. per yard. . . It is much to be regretted,' says the Rev. Mr. Osborne (who was minister of Tillicoultry from 1774 till 1795), 'that more attention is not paid to the manufacture in the place where it was invented, or at least brought to the greatest perfection. About fifty years ago, a serge web from Alva would not sell in the market while one from Tillicoultry remained unsold. But this is by no means the case at present. The author of this account can give no precise statement of the quantity of serge wrought here, as the stamp master keeps no list. He supposes, however, that he stamps annually 7000 ells of serge, and an equal quantity of plaiding. Some of the weavers are now employed in making muslins; but as this branch is still in its infancy, it is impossible to say with what advantage it may be attended.'
It couldn't have been because of the water-power that Tillicoultry got established so early as a place of manufacture, for no power of any kind was used in those days. It must have been, as Mr. Watson suggests, because of the abundant supply of wool close at hand. Wool was then carded with little hand cards, and the yarn spun by women in their own homes, and neither the carding-engine nor the spinning mule had been then heard of.
The mode then in use for milling the blankets and plaidings made from these home-spun yarns, was by the women tramping them with their feet, which must have been a very slow, tiresome, and unsatisfactory process; and the very first object aimed at by our early manufacturers was to get a more efficient method introduced for accomplishing this object; this, therefore, more than for carding and spinning, was the purpose for which the first mills here were principally erected, and to which the water-power was first applied. Waulk mills were erected, which would not only do the work much more efficiently, and quicker than before, but would also relieve the guidwives of what must have been a very laborious and fatiguing operation (although tradition says they were rather jealous of the innovation).
FIRST MILLS ERECTED IN TILLICOULTRY.
As far as can be learned, the first waulk mill erected on Tillicoultry burn was put up in the open air, by one Thomas Harrower, in the end of last century; but where this mill stood, no one seems now to know. About this time, also, the first spinning mill in Tillicoultry was built, by three brothers, named John, Duncan, and William Christie, which is still standing, although used now only as a place of storage, and the attic as a hand-loom weaving shop. It is situated above the upper bridge, and is known as the old mill of Castle Mills.
The Messrs. Christie being very pushing men, particularly the brother John, they soon found the one little mill too small for their operations; and they then built what is known as the Old Mill of Robert Archibald & Sons' works, at the middle of the town, which was the second mill built in the village. In both places waulk mills were erected, and a great trade carried on in milling goods to the country people round about.
The first carding-engine in Tillicoultry was erected in ‘Betty Burns' house (a little two-storied building opposite the boiler-house door of Mr. Walker's mill), and must have been of a very primitive kind; but whether it belonged to the Messrs. Christie or some other one, there seems to be some doubt. It was driven by the hand, and must have been quite as laborious an operation as the tread-mill, but, of course, a decided step in advance of the little old hand-cards. As to the correctness, however, of this being the mode of driving the first carder ever started here, there can be no doubt, as the old man who had been employed at it told my informant (one of our oldest manufacturers) that this was the way it was driven.
The water-wheel for Messrs. Christie's first mill was close to the east wall of the building, on the outside, and was removed only about a dozen of years ago, power not being then required for this part of the works.
About the same time that this primitive mode of driving a carding-engine was in operation in Tillicoultry, there was one started in Alva, driven by a horse, and Mr. Edward Moir recollects well of seeing it in operation. A company of eight or nine gentlemen were connected with it, and they afterwards built the next mill above Castle Mills in Tillicoultry, and it often went by the name of the Horse Mill (in consequence of the company's peculiar start in Alva), although no horse was ever used in it. It was more generally called the Company Mill, by which name it is still known. Six members of this company were named—James Balfour, James Ritchie, James Morrison, David Drysdale, William Rennie, John Cairns, and the name of the firm was James Balfour & Co. A waulk mill was at once erected by them here, and each member of the company got his turn at milling; and a worthy old lady of our village remembers well of the goods being regularly carried along from Alva, on their backs, to get milled here; and so great were the demands on this mill, and so much difficulty experienced in getting their goods milled in time, that it was often like to lead to misunderstandings and unpleasantness amongst the various members of the company.
Mr. John Christie built and lived in Burnside House, Tillicoultry, the residence at present of Mr. Scott and family, and for such a long period of years previously of Mr. Robert Archibald and family. He was the most active of the three brothers; and when he died, the other two gave up the business, and emigrated to America. As far as I have been able to learn, this would be about the year 1814 or 1815, as the old 'middle of the town mill' stood silent for two or three years previous to Mr. Robert Archibald acquiring it.
INVENTION OF THE SPINNING MULE.
About the year 1764 a very great discovery was made (from a very trifling circumstance) in the art of spinning, which completely revolutionized this branch of industry, and led to results the importance and magnitude of which it is impossible to estimate. A spinning-wheel having been accidentally overturned, the spindle (although in a vertical position) continued to revolve as before; and the idea at once suggested itself to James Hargreaves, that if one spindle could do so, why not a number? and here was 'the germ' of the spinning mule.
A small machine was at once constructed, with eight spindles only, and got christened by the name of the Spinning Jenny. In 1770, Arkwright invented a spinning frame, which was a great improvement upon the first attempt of Hargreaves ; but the real author of the spinning mule was Samuel Crompton, who, by combining the invention of Hargreaves with that of Arkwright, gave us that invaluable machine which has continued in use ever since. This combination, or mongrel sort of machine, had suggested the name of ‘mule' for it, and hence it was so named. The vastness of the results gained by its adoption may be judged of from the fact, that in place of one spindle (as in the old spinning-wheel), revolving at a very slow speed, a pair of mules have frequently 1000 spindles, revolving about 4000 times a minute ! Samuel Crompton was born at Bolton in 1753, and died in 1827.
Several attempts were made, first by William Kelly, of Lanark Mills, Scotland; Mr. Smith, of Deanston, and others, to make the spinning mule self-acting; but the real inventor of the self-acting mule was Richard Roberts, born in North Wales in 1789. It was not till 1830 - when he also invented the quadrant motion - that the success of the self-actor may be dated.
The head stock of the self-actor is a most ingenious piece of mechanism, and shows Mr. Roberts to have been a man of rare genius. Had a worthy man who lived in Dollar when the wool mill was first started there, and who, on first seeing through it, was much impressed with the ingeniousness of some of the then primitive machinery, lived to see the self-acting mule, he would have had more reason for the exclamation of surprise he gave utterance to, and which so much amused his hearers : The works of nature are very wonderful, but the works of man are more wonderful still. Mr. Smith, of Deanston, was the first to introduce the self-actors into Scotland; and Robert Archibald & Sons, Tillicoultry, were the first at the foot of the Ochils to adapt them to wool-spinning. Great improvements, however, have been made on them since then, and they are now as near perfection as it is possible almost for them to be.
A very primitive sort of spinning machine, called a Jack, was what was generally in use in Tillicoultry in the beginning of this century; and it, like the carding engine, was driven by the hand. Afterwards the spinning frame was introduced, driven at first, also, by the hand. An uncle of Mr. Edward Moir's (a Mr. David Lawson) wrought one of those hand-spinning frames in the attic of Christie's first mill.
The hand-billey and hand-mules were the next improvements introduced, and they were driven partly by hand and partly by power. When the self-acting head stock was perfected, it was applied to both the billey and the mules, and self-acting machines of both kinds were gradually introduced ; and now, unless in small country mills, hand-mules or billeys are rarely to be seen.
INVENTION OF THE PIECING MACHINE AND CONDENSER.
When carding wool by the carding engine was first introduced (and for long afterwards), the rovings, or rolls of wool that were taken off the carder (from sheets of card set apart from each other) for the foundation of the thread, were rubbed together or 'pieced' at the billey by the hand; which must have caused very irregular yarn, and no little pain to the children's hands, which were often bleeding at night. By and by, however, a piecing machine was invented by Mr. John Archibald, of Keillersbrae (Uncle John,' so called to distinguish him from his nephew of the same name), for joining these rovings together, which did the work much more efficiently, and dispensed with the services of some three or four children for each billey. This piecing machine was afterwards greatly improved, first by James Melrose & Sons, Hawick, and was afterwards further improved by Mr. Archibald, of Devondale ; and where billeys are still used, Mr. Archibald's is the one now in general favour.
The mechanical genius of our age being ever at work, an invention was afterwards brought out that dispensed entirely with piecing machines and billeys, and which not only saves time and labour, but makes a much better yarn - that was the condenser. In place of the wool coming off the carder in thick rolls, from sheets of card placed across the machine, it comes off the condenser doffer (from narrow rings of card put round it) in small, continuous slivers, and thus no piecing is required; and these are rubbed or 'condensed' into small soft threads, which are then taken to the mules and spun into yarn. This mode of making yarn is now almost universally adopted, although piecing machines and billeys are still in use in small country mills, and even hand piecing, I learned the other day, is not yet quite extinct. As the billey is a large machine, and takes up a great deal of room, a great saving of space has been effected by its discontinuance.
DETAILED NOTICE OF THE PUBLIC WORKS IN TILLICOULTRY.
About the beginning of the present century, three brothers named John, William, and Robert Archibald, left Tullibody and started a small woollen mill in Menstrie. They were destined afterwards to play an important part in the opening up of the woollen trade at the foot of the Ochils, and some of their descendants are at the present day proprietors of some of our largest manufacturing establishments. Either direct or by marriage, the descendants of those three brothers are, or have been, connected with nine of our public works, viz.
the original mill at Menstrie; Strude Mill, Alva ; Craigfoot Mill; Robert Archibald & Sons; J. & D. Paton's, and J. & R. Archibald's works, Devondale, Tillicoultry; Keillersbrae, Gaberston, and Kilncraigs Works, Alloa. Mr. William Archibald, of Strude Mill, Alva, and Mr. John Archibald, of Keillersbrae (Uncle John), were sons of Mr. John Archibald, of Menstrie. Messrs. John, William, and Andrew Archibald (who built Keillersbrae new mill) were grandsons ; Mrs. Lambert, of Gaberston, was a grand-daughter; and Mrs. John Thomson Paton, of Norwood, a great-granddaughter. The first Mrs. James Paton, and first Mrs. David Paton, were daughters of Mr. William Archibald, of Craigfoot, Tillicoultry, one of the three brothers who left Tullibody for Menstrie.
In 1806 Mr. William Archibald left Menstrie for Tillicoultry, and built the third mill of the village at Craigfoot (which at present forms the back. wing of the works), and pushed the trade very successfully for a great many years.
Mr. Robert followed him in 1817 or 1818 (two or three years after the Messrs. Christie left Tillicoultry), and bought the second mill they built at the middle of the town,' and started the firm of Robert Archibald & Sons.
Mr. John continued in Menstrie, and carried on the original mill there, which was after his death carried on for such a very long period by his two sons, Mr. Andrew and Mr. Peter.
In order to get water to such a high situation as Craigfoot (fixed on by Mr. William Archibald for his mill), two formidable undertakings had to be accomplished - the formation of a dam far up the glen, and the construction of a lade to convey the water from it to the mill. From the great length of the latter, and the immense depth of it at one part below the surface (20 feet at least), they must have cost him, or the laird, a very large sum of money.
Besides other machinery, Mr. Archibald put in a waulk mill at Craigfoot, which soon brought him into trouble with the inhabitants of the village. There being no common sewer in those days, as at present, the waulkmill water was run into the burn above the village; and the inhabitants naturally rebelled against this, and insisted on its being stopped. Not being able to come to a satisfactory arrangement about it, the guidwives of the village, armed with axes, hammers, etc., proceeded in a body to the damhead, and soon completely demolished it, which, of course, would put a stop to all operations at the mill, and throw all the workers idle. It was, however, got quietly constructed a second time during the night, soon after; and no sooner was this known than the irate ladies proceeded to the work of destruction again, and soon made short work of the erection. (Mr. Moir, who informed me of these incidents, remembers well of the excitement caused in the village at the time, and of seeing the wives proceeding with their implements to the work of destruction.) Things having now reached a crisis, something required to be done to put a stop to such a state of matters, and Mr. Johnstone, of Alva (the present Mr. Johnstone's father), allowed Mr. Archibald to make a sewer for the dirty water down through his plantation into the sunk fence of his fields; and thus an end was put to the strife.
About the same time that Mr Robert Archibald got the middle of the town mill, the other mill built by the Messrs. Christie at Castle Mills was bought by a Mr. Robert Walker, who came about that time, with a grown-up family, from Galashiels.
In 1820 his two eldest sons, James and George, built the mill immediately below the upper bridge, and started business there under the firm of J. & G. Walker. This business was very successfully carried on for a great many years, and when Mr. George Walker (the present Mr. Robert Walker's father) died, he was possessed of very considerable wealth.
Shortly after this mill was built, a younger brother, named Andrew, built the new mill of Castle Mills; and when I came to Tillicoultry, it went always by the name of ' Andrew Walker's Mill.' He erected a large gaswork within the grounds, which supplied (in addition to his own works) the whole of the village with gas. The three brothers had all passed away before I took up my abode in Tillicoultry in 1847.
The next mill to Craigfoot was built by a Mr. James Dawson, about the year 1811 or 1812. Although now the property of Mr. Cairns, it still goes by the name of Dawson's Mill. The one below it was built about the same time by the company of gentlemen from Alva (James Balfour & Co.) already referred to, and is still known by its old name of The Company Mill; but at one time, as already stated, it was occasionally called 'The Horse Mill.'
After Mr. William Archibald's death in 1826, his business was carried on for thirteen years by Mrs. Archibald ; and hence Craigfoot was very generally called, when I came to Tillicoultry, 'The Widow's Mill.' One of Mr. Archibald's first carding engines still stands in the old mill (unused) - a relic of bygone days.
In 1838 the large new mill (with its giant water wheel-35 feet diameter) was built; and in 1839 Mr. Archibald's two sons, Mr. John and Mr. Robert, took over the business, and started the new firm of J. & R. Archibald, which has been carried on so successfully now for forty-three years. The business extended so rapidly, that in 1846 the first part of the extensive works at Devonvale was built, which has since been added to so very largely. Mr. John died on the 1st of January 1848, at the early age of thirty-five; and the business has, since then, been carried on solely by Mr. Robert, until his sons were old enough to assist him in it. Craigfoot and Devonvale were both carried on by the firm till 1851, when the business was transferred entirely to Devonvale. Mr. William Archibald's old rent book for the water power and feu-duty of Craigfoot Mill, which commenced in 1807, is in my possession now, and is still used by me when paying these to James Johnstone, Esq. of Alva. This little passbook is very interesting, from the fact that it is now seventy-five years old, and is quite a little history in itself regarding the factors on the Alva estate. A Mr. Alexander Littlejohn received the first feu - duty for Craigfoot Mill, in 1807, and he continued factor till 1816. Mr John McLaren, of Burnside of Alva, followed him, and continued for the long period of thirty one years. Mr. James Kerr, writer in Stirling, succeeded Mr. McLaren, and acted for nine years; and then Mr. James Moir, banker, Alloa, followed, and continued for fifteen years - from 1859 till 1874 ; and after his death Mr. Archibald Moir, his brother, was appointed, and is now factor at the present time.
The most extensive and prosperous business in our village was commenced in 1824, by Messrs. James and David Paton (the two eldest sons of the late Mr. John Paton, of Kilncraigs, Alloa), under the firm of J. & D.Paton. From a very small beginning, this business gradually extended, and has been for many years the principal mainstay of the working population of Tillicoultry, a very large number of hands being employed by the firm. Their goods have long been celebrated throughout the country; and at the first great Exhibition in London in 1851, they obtained the gold medal for their exhibits. The works now cover a very large piece of ground, and contain seventeen sets of carding and spinning machinery, and upwards of 250 power and hand looms. Both gentlemen have given very largely of their wealth for the cause of Christ, both at home and abroad; and Mr. James built a very handsome manse for the U.P. Church here; bought the old manse, and presented it to the village for a British Workman Public House.
Mr. James's two sons- -Mr. John and Mr. James were taken into the firm a great many years ago, and up till 1875 both together took the active management of the business. In that year, however, on the 3rd of March, Mr. James was taken away at the early age of forty-three; and his death was a great blow to all the friends, and must have been particularly so to his brother, with whom he had all along been associated. Since that year, the management has devolved principally upon Mr. John; and the loss of the counsel and assistance of such a shrewd, active, business young man as Mr. James was, must have been very much felt by him. Mr. James left £5000 to found an orphanage in his native village ; and this has proved a very great blessing indeed. A beautiful house was erected in Ochil Road, and, under the motherly care of Mrs. Currie, who was appointed to take charge of it, from eight to ten orphans have been enjoying all the comforts of a nice home, and having not only their temporal but their eternal interests well looked after.
From the present state of the health of Mr. James Paton, senior, and the long-existing copartnery being about to expire, it is more than probable that Mr. John will after this be the sole proprietor of these extensive works and prosperous business.
The firm of Robert Archibald & Sons consisted of the father and four sons-Messrs. William, Robert, Duncan, and James. Mr. William retired from the business some time ago, and the father, Mr. Robert, and Mr. Duncan having died many years ago, the only one of the original firm now left in it is Mr. James, to whose great energy and business qualifications the business is mainly indebted for the great success that has attended it. The original mill, bought by the firm in 1818, proving too small for their increasing business, their new mill was built in 1836, adjoining which there have since been added a very large power-loom shed, and other extensive premises. For many years they have been doing a large and profitable business, and have become quite celebrated throughout the trade as the makers of the finest woollen shirtings that are produced ; and they are, in consequence, kept always busy, and give employment to a very large number of hands. They have now close on one hundred powerlooms, besides a large number of hand - looms, and manufacture tweeds as well as shirtings. Mr. Archibald has laid our village under a deep debt of gratitude to him, by building a very handsome tower to our Town Hall, and providing it with a clock and bell, at a cost of about £1500. He has been, for upwards of a dozen years, the much-respected captain of our rifle volunteer corps, and is proprietor of the beautiful villa of Beechwood.
About the year 1830, a Mr. John Henderson built the only woollen mill at that time not in connection with the burn, the water for the steam-engine of which was got from the Ladies' Well. This mill was three storeys in height, and was occupied by three different parties - viz., Mr. Henderson, Mr. Thomson Dawson, and Mr. Alexander Robertson. It was destined, however, to have a very short career; for, one evening about seven o'clock, in the year 1839, the cry of Fire !' was suddenly heard, and in little more than an hour the whole pile was reduced to ashes, and nothing left but the blackened walls. I don't know how the others stood for insurance, but Mr. Robertson was not insured at all, and this disastrous fire completely ruined him. From being a manufacturer on a considerable scale, he was at once reduced to a weaver, and was working on the loom when I came to Tillicoultry. This Alexander Robertson (or Sandy Robertson, as he was generally called) was, by the way, one of our very best curlers although left-handed - and considered one of the best skips in the club. The walls of this mill stood for thirty-five years in a ruinous state, and it was always known as 'The Burnt Mill.' In 1874, however, it was turned again into a substantial building, by having its walls thoroughly repaired and roofed in; and now a large portion of it is turned into a dye-house, and carried on by Mr. George Brownlee-on a very extensive scale - as the Lady Well Dyeworks; while the other portion of it has been turned into a weaving shop, and carried on by Messrs. Robert Archibald & Sons. In place, then, of this part of the village having a desolate and forlorn look, as it had for such a long period, all is now bustle and activity.
It may not be out of place here, when taking notice of The Burnt Mill, to give our own experience of fires (those ever-to-be-dreaded calamities of the millowner), of which we have, unfortunately, had more than the average share.
In the month of March 1858, when busy in the office one day, we were suddenly startled by seeing a black cloud of smoke rushing past the office window, and, on running out to see what was the cause of it, were horrified to find the big mill on fire, and the under flat filled with smoke as black as coal. We at once gave the mill up for lost, and were, of course, in a great state of excitement and alarm. However, not a moment had to be lost, and a double row of hands was at once arranged from the mill door to the lade, and a constant supply of water poured on the floor above where the fire was, which was effectual in drowning it out before the fire-engines (which had been sent for) arrived. This was not accomplished, however, till upwards of £300 of damage had been done. Nothing, however, could have saved the mill but for an extraordinary feat that was performed by our old ex-foreman, John Gentles. The day having been a very dull one, the gas was partially lighted through the mill, and the sagacious old man saw at a glance that unless the big meter could be turned off, the mill was sure to be lost. But here was the difficulty. The entrance door of the flat where the fire was, was at the one end of the mill, and the meter stood at the other end, and to reach it the whole length of the mill had to be traversed through black, suffocating smoke, in which I couldn't have lived for a second or two; and into this pit this devoted man plunged, walked the whole length of the mill, turned off the meter, walked all the way back again, and came out alive. How this feat was accomplished astonished every one, as it really seemed little short of a miracle.
After the fire was extinguished, we found that this noble act of his had saved the mill. The main gas-pipe had been blazing, and was melted fully halfway along the mill, and in another minute or two it would have reached the perpendicular 'main' for the flats above; and then all would have been lost.
This fire originated at the teazer, while teazing a batch of Angola wool, which is a very inflammable material when once it is started ; and but for the abundant supply of water immediately at hand, all efforts to put it out would have proved abortive. After this fire, the teazer was at once removed to a separate house, and a stopcock placed on the gas supply pipe, outside the mill.
Our next experience of this dreaded foe was in the month of July 1863. On arriving at the railway station from the east one day, a messenger was waiting for me with the unwelcome news that the teazer-house, with all its contents, was burned down. This, of course, was very vexatious, as it seriously interfered with our operations, and until new teazers could be got ready, would put us very much about. However, with the kind help of our neighbours, we had just to do the best we could, and use every precaution possible against a like calamity occurring again.
Our next and last experience of fire (and I earnestly hope it may be the last), was a much more serious affair than the teazer-house, and, happening as it did through the night, gave us all a dreadful shock. About three o'clock on a dark, foggy morning in November 1876, I was awakened out of a sound sleep by hearing 'Fire! fire ! fire !' shouted most lustily in front of our house; and on opening the window and asking where it was, was answered, 'At the head i' toon' (a very common designation for our works). On looking in the direction of the mill, I was alarmed to see the whole heavens lighted up with a very big fire, and concluded at once it was all over with the big mill. I found, however, on getting to the street - and to my great relief - that it was only the dry-house. This building, however (125 feet long, and two storeys and attics high), was ablaze from end to end, and a very formidable-looking fire it was. The fire-engines were at work when I got there, but all they could do was to prevent the fire spreading to the other buildings, and in this they were successful; but the dry-house, with all its contents, was burned to the ground. building this house, we made it 'fire-proof' by putting in an iron floor above the flue. An old saying is, 'Burnt bairns dread the fire,' and our repeated experiences of this useful servant, but bad master, has made us use every possible precaution against the recurrence of a like calamity. An extincteur and six pails of water are kept always ready in every flat of the mill; and all material that is apt to take fire spontaneously, removed from the mill daily.
The millwright and machine works of Messrs. James Wardlaw & Sons have been in existence since 1824. and were established at first by a Mr. Robert Hall, Mr. William Ross, and Mr. James Wardlaw (Sir Henry Wardlaw, Baronet's, father), under the firm of Robert Hall & Co., and have all along been the only public works of the kind in the village. Their first premises were situated nearly opposite the Crown Hotel, and were the first buildings on the south side of the High
Their present works were erected in 1839, and after the death of Mr. Ross and Mr. Hall (the former about forty years ago, and the latter some fifteen years afterwards), the firm was changed to James Wardlaw & Sons. Sir Henry Wardlaw, Bart., is now the sole partner of this old-established firm. He succeeded to the baronetcy in 1877, on the death of his father's cousin, Sir Archibald Wardlaw, Bart., who lived in Edinburgh. The Wardlaw Baronetcy dates from 1631, and for a very full and interesting account of it from that time till the present day, see the Tillicoultry News of January the 18th, 1882, or Dod's Peerage, Baronetage, and Knighthood of Great Britain and Ireland for 1882. Mr. James Wardlaw (Sir Henry's father) died in 1867.
In this record of the early public works of Tillicoultry, I must not omit to mention a fine mill that was erected by a Mr. Robert Marshall, about the year 1836. Not having been successful in business, this mill came into the market for sale, and was bought by the Messrs. Paton, and is now incorporated with their works. It is the end building of the south wing, and on the righthand side as you enter their works.
CHAPTER IX.
COMMENCEMENT OF THE VILLAGE OF DEVONSIDE.
HAVING taken notice of all the old works established in Tillicoultry, I will now go over to Devonside, that thriving little suburb of our village.
The first mill erected there was built by Mr. Thomas Monteath, of Tillicoultry, in 1834; and in company with his son William, the business was carried on there for a great many years under the firm of Thomas Monteath & Son. The erection of this mill was the commencement of the village of Devonside. It is the second one from the bridge.
The ground being once broken there, others soon followed Mr. Monteath's example, and in 1836 the mill next the bridge was built by a company of three Messrs. James Henderson, David Moir, and Robert Walker (a cousin of the present Mr. Robert Walker).
In the same year, also, the mill to the west of Messrs. Monteath's was built by the following gentlemen Messrs. David Anderson, Robert Blackwood, Peter Miller, William Young, and William Smith, senior ; and the one to the west of it again, in 1841, by Messrs. James and John Hunter, Robert Young, and William Smith, junior.
Beyond this last spinning-mill, and farthest west of the public works, a weaving factory was erected by Messrs. James and Matthew Thomson about the year 1845 or 1846.
The large new mill at Keillersbrae was built in 1838 by the three brothers Messrs. John, William, and Andrew Archibald (as already stated), and a large manufacturing business carried on there for a number of years.
To celebrate the start of it, a grand ball was held in one of the flats of the mill, at which there was a very large attendance - the largest, I believe, that was ever seen in the county. The walls were all hung with tartan, and great preparations made for it, and the entertainment passed off with great spirit, and proved a great success.
SUBSEQUENT OCCUPIERS OF SOME OF THE MILLS.
GREAT FLOOD OF 1877.
I will now refer shortly to those who occupied some of the mills after the original proprietors of them had passed away, and to some public works of more recent date.
On the death of Mr. James Dawson, Messrs. J. & D. Paton and J. & R. Archibald jointly leased the south part of his mill, having each one set of machines in it; while J. & R. Archibald occupied the northern portion of it by themselves as a weaving shop. In 1848 both of them gave up the whole mill in my favour, and it was here I commenced manufacturing in that year, and continued in it by myself till 1851. The south part, as before, was filled with carding and spinning machinery; my office, wareroom, etc., were in the first flat of the north mill; while the upper flat, attics, and back weaving shop were filled with looms.
In 1851, Mr. Archibald, of Devonvale, and I entered into partnership under the firm of William Gibson & Co., and the office was removed to Craigfoot; but we still retained Dawson's Mill, and have continued the tenants of it ever since. Mr. William Anderson was my first warper, and continued in my employment for a number of years.
He then commenced manufacturing on his own account in the old U.P. Church (latterly Mr. Browning's), and carried on a very successful business there till his death, which took place in 1870, when forty-two years of age.
The next mill below Dawson's (The Horse, or Company Mill) was long carried on by Mr. Alexander Harrower, of Alva ; and on his death a Mr. Scott became the tenant of it, and continued in it for many years. Edward Meiklejohn & Co, next became the tenants, and are carrying it on at the present time.
On the death of Mr. Andrew Walker, his widow carried on Castle Mills for a considerable time, under the management of Mr. Robert Fotheringham. After his death they were bought by Alexander McNab, Esq. of Glenochil, in 1849; and the firm of William Hutcheson & Co. was then started, and carried on the works till the disastrous flood of 1877, under the management of Mr. William Hutcheson, and for a short time after that under that of his son, Mr. Abraham Hutcheson.
This great flood having had such an important bearing on the present position of these works, I will now briefly refer to it. On the 28th of August 1877, one of the most calamitous floods took place along the front of the Ochil range that was ever known in the memory of man, and that will be long remembered in Dollar and Tillicoultry, where it seemed to have wrought the greatest havoc. After a deluging rain had continued for some time, the clouds seemed to have suddenly opened out in a series of waterspouts all over the front part of the Ochils, and, without a moment's warning, Tillicoultry burn came raging down in one mighty wall of water of some seven or eight feet high, carrying everything before it, and causing great destruction to property all down through the village, leaving a scene behind it that would be almost impossible to describe.
First in its progress of destruction, a large portion of Mr. Hutcheson's power-loom shed, with the ground between it and the burn, and the strong-built wall at the side of the burn, with the private bridge inside the works, were all swept away without a moment's warning. Then the upper public bridge was left almost a total wreck, the water careering over the high parapet wall on the north side of it, forming one of the most frightful scenes ever beheld. On passing this bridge the raging rush of waters then scooped out a large portion of Upper Mill Street, right across to the houses, and to the depth of some seven or eight feet, the pavement for a good distance being carried away, and the houses escaping total destruction only by a hairbreadth. On leaving this point the mighty torrent then proceeded to the work of destruction on both sides of the burn. The street on the west side was, for a long distance and to a great depth, carried wholly away, and the east end of Mr. Ure's house was completely wrecked, leaving the rooms inside quite exposed. On the east side of the burn it knocked down the wall at the back of Mr. Browning's property, and, rushing through the east portion of it, filled the rooms to a great depth—Mrs. Alexander's invalid son, John, narrowly escaping being drowned, and was carried out with considerable difficulty. After sweeping away the Tea Bridge, and committing terrible havoc on both sides of the burn, part of the water then rushed along Frederick Street (the 'How dub') and down Stirling Street (to the great consternation of the inhabitants), a deep stream of water the whole width of the street, having never been seen there before since ever it was a street.
On the main body of the water reaching the lower bridge, it then swept along the High Street in a great volume of some three feet deep; and so frightened were the inhabitants, that some of them were leaping out at their back windows into the gardens behind, and great damage was done to both dwelling-houses and shops.
But the most painful part of the whole catastrophe was the lamentable loss of life connected with it, my good, kind friend and neighbour Mr. Hutcheson and one of his workwomen (Isabella Miller, daughter of Mr. Crystal Miller, Union Street) being swept away with it and drowned. Mr. Hutcheson and his dyer, William Stillie, were in conversation at the end of the private bridge within the works; and Isabella Miller was, at the critical moment, passing them, when, without the slightest warning, the ground gave way under their feet, and bridge and all three were engulphed and swept away with the torrent. The dyer got hold of the iron stanchions in the windows of Mr. Walker's house below the public bridge, and held on there till assistance came to him; but the other two were carried away and drowned, Mr. Hutcheson's body being got down at the Oak Mill, and Isabella Miller's a good way down the Devon. This lamentable loss of life cast quite a gloom over the town, and great sympathy was felt for the bereaved families.
It would be next to impossible to give a proper idea of the spectacle our burnside presented after the flood had passed, and it would have required to have been seen to be properly realized. The channel of the burn was not only filled to the brim with immense boulders, but was actually piled above this in many places to a great height; while the streets on both sides of the burn were covered with debris to a great depth, some huge blocks of stone, of above a ton weight, being carried right across the streets and deposited on the pavement.
The channel of the burn being thus so completely filled up, the water had to make new channels for itself on both sides of its usual course, the one below the upper bridge being of great depth and extent, and entirely stopping all traffic for a considerable time. The pavement in many places was torn up and damaged to a serious extent; and besides the great loss to private individuals, it took about £2000 to repair the damage to our streets and burn.
The damhead up in the glen was filled to the brim (it is thirty-five feet deep) with debris, and cost the manufacturers above £100 to get it cleared out and repaired. (The Alloa Illustrated Family Almanac of 1878 gives some very good views of the destruction caused by this extraordinary flood, both in Tillicoultry and Dollar - those two places having suffered more than any of the other villages along the foot of the Ochils - and they are repeated again in that of 1879.)
The effects of those waterspouts can be seen all over the south side of the Ochil range, great holes having been made at many places, and the earth from these, to the bottom of the glens, torn up to a great depth, showing clearly that these great floods in Dollar and Tillicoultry were caused by a series of waterspouts. A fine specimen of this can be seen in the front of Ellieston Hill above Harviestoun West Lodge, where a deep and wide scaur was made from the top of the hill to the foot, and a large portion of a field covered to a great depth with the debris. The Lodge was surrounded with water, and the wall opposite it, on the south side of the turnpike road, was tumbled over into the field. In rebuilding this wall, Mr. Orr made several loopholes through it at its base, in case of a similar catastrophe again happening. It is to be hoped, however, they will never be required.
Shortly after Mr. Hutcheson's death, the works were brought into the market for sale, and, lying adjacent to our other premises at Craigfoot, we bought them, and have carried them on ever since.
Having, for business purposes, got views taken of both our works, I herewith insert them; and they will give a better idea than any description can give of what some of the first mills in Tillicoultry are like. The mill in the foreground of the view of Craigfoot Mill is Dawson's Mill, which we only lease; while the large mill at the foot of the Craig is the one built by J. & R. Archibald in 1838; and the wing behind it increased in height when the big mill was built), by Mr. William Archibald, their father, in 1806.
The one-storied building below the entrance gate (in the view of Castle Mill) is the upper end of the first mill in Tillicoultry, built by the Messrs. Christie in the end of last century. The large mill is the one built by Mr. Andrew Walker; while the dwelling-house is on the site of the old Castle, formerly referred to, and from which the works got their name. The roof of a house in the foreground of this view (on the opposite side of the street from the entrance gate) is the roof of The Horse, or Company Mill.
After the deaths of Messrs. James and George Walker, their mill (immediately below the upper bridge) was carried on for a considerable time by Mrs. George Walker, under the management of Mr. Thomson Dawson, until Mr. Robert Walker, her son, was the length of managing it himself. This mill; the Bridge Mill at Devonside; and Thomas Monteith & Son's mill (subsequently acquired by him), are now Mr. Walker's property.
In 1860 the finishing works of Mr. Robert Drysdale were erected, and have been carried on with great spirit ever since. The grounds around these works are laid out with great taste, and are quite an ornament to this entrance to the village.
The spinning-mill of Edward Senior & Co. was erected in 1864; and the Oak Mill - built by a limited liability company - in 1873. The latter is now the property of Mr. Gill, and was acquired by him in 1881.
MANUFACTURING FIRMS WHO DIDN'T SPIN YARNS.
I will now shortly take notice of a number of manufacturing firms who did not spin, but bought all their yarns, and some of whom carried on pretty extensive businesses; and foremost amongst these is the enterprising firm of Monteith & Drysdale.
The original partners of this firm were Mr. James Monteith and Mr. Alexander Drysdale; and they commenced business in 1836, in premises nearly opposite J. & G. Walker's Mill, and carried on, also, the dyehouse in connection with this mill, for a good many years. They had no spinning-mill at this time, but bought all their yarns. Mr. James Monteith died in 1847, and the business for a long period was carried on solely by Mr. Drysdale, until his son, Mr. James, was of age to assist him in it. In 1849, Mr. Drysdale bought the two mills at Devonside, to the west of Thomas Monteith & Son's, and built the fine new spinning-mill there, with the large power-loom shed and other premises that now form their extensive works. Mr. Drysdale retired from the business in 1871, and it is now being carried on by Mr. James Drysdale and Mr. Allan Ritchie, under the same old firm of Monteith & Drysdale.
The next business I will refer to is that of our respected townsman, Mr. Robert Young. Mr. Young, as already noticed, was one of the original partners of the firm who built the farthest west spinning-mill at Devonside in 1841; so that he has now been for the long period of forty-one years one of our local manufacturers.
In 1860 he built those commodious premises in the Moss Road, where he has carried on his business ever since. He is now assisted in it—and has been for a good many years—by his son Mr. James.
The firm of James Dick & Co. commenced business in part of the Bridge Mill at Devonside in 1850. The original partners of this firm were—Messrs. James Dick, Thomas Graham, William Miller, and Andrew Lane. Mr. Dick retired from the firm about two years after it was started; but the name of the firm continued the same as before. Mr. Miller died a few years after Mr. Dick left the business; and it was afterwards carried on by the two remaining partners, Mr. Graham and Mr. Lane. Their premises were changed, first from the Bridge Mill to part of Thomas Monteith & Son's Mill, and ultimately to the weaving factory at the west end of Devonside (erected by the Messrs. Thomson), where they continued in business for nearly twenty years. The business was given up in 1877, Mr. Graham still residing amongst us in retirement, and Mr. Lane removing to Glasgow.
MANUFACTURERS AT ONE TIME IN BUSINESS IN TILLICOULTRY.
It may not be uninteresting to give a list of some of the firms that were at one time in the trade here, most of the members of which have either passed away or have left the district:
William M'Ewan. William Anderson. Charles Fleming. Robert Drysdale. James Mcllwraith. Robert Graham. John Crichton. John Tulloch. James Galloway, sen. James Rolland. Charles Dickson. Andrew Scotland. Alexander Robertson. John Kirk. In company. Thomson Dawson. William Young John Davidson. James Robertson. John Wardlaw. William Miller. In company. John Monteith. James Chalmers. John Dow. Thomas Syme & Co. Andrew Miller (left Tillicoultry in Alexander Hunter. 1840). Alexander Stewart. James Wallace. R. & J. Monteith. James Alexander, Inverarity & Co. James Anderson. Firms carrying on manufacturing here at present, but who don't spin yarns, as follows : Hendry Brothers, Tillicoultry. Thomas Marshall, Robert Young, Hunter, Drysdale, and Co., Archibald Leishman, John Meiklejohn, Tillicoultry. Mr. Lawson, Andrew Miller, Alexander Nicol, Devonside. William Brown & Co.,
GOODS MANUFACTURED AT THE FOOT OF THE OCHILS.
John Archibald & Sons, of Menstrie, commenced at a very early period to manufacture broadcloth ; but did not continue long at this branch of business. They were for a long time, however, quite celebrated for a superior class of tartan trouserings, which were at one time very fashionable, and greatly worn. J. & R. Archibald, also, from the very commencement of their business, occasionally made broadcloths and trouserings; but they formed a very small portion of their business.
Up till the year 1830, the principal goods, however, manufactured at the foot of the Ochils, were blankets and plaidings, which were generally taken to Perth market, and exposed on stalls for sale; and this continued, less or more, up till the year 1840. About the year 1830, however, a new manufacture was introduced to the locality, which gradually superseded the weightier and plainer goods, and eventually became the staple trade of the district—that was, the manufacture of tartans. These goods, by and by, became so fashionable, that no lady considered herself dressed without a tartan plaid or shawl; and tartan dresses became very fashionable also. The result was, that the demand for them became so great, the trade soon assumed gigantic proportions, and the villages of Alva and Tillicoultry increased rapidly in size and population. New firms started by the dozen ; and in the town of Alva alone, there could not have been fewer at one time than thirty to forty manufacturing firms.
About the year 1854 a change of fashion took place, which had a serious effect on the tartan trade, and which eventually drove some of our largest firms out of it altogether; and that was, the introduction of cloaks or jackets as an article of dress, which have continued ever since, in one shape or another, to hold their place in the favour of the ladies. It was then that J. & R. Archibald, Devonvale, J. & D. Paton, Robert Archibald & Sons, and ourselves, commenced to make tweeds or shirtings, which ultimately resulted in J. & R. Archibald giving up the manufacture of tartans entirely, and confining themselves almost wholly to tweeds; Robert Archibald & Sons, to shirtings and tweeds; J. & D. Paton, to tweeds, shirtings, shawls, and other new fabrics introduced from time to time; while for ourselves we gave up manufacturing altogether, and have since 1858 carried on the spinning trade alone. Tartan handkerchiefs, however, are still largely manufactured, and give employment to a great many hands; but the yarn for them is principally spun in Belgium, and at prices the Scotch spinner cannot compete with ; and hence the spinning trade of this district is not much benefited by this class of work. Raised shawls are now, also, (and have been for a number of years), manufactured largely, and have at present every appearance of continuing to be for some time a staple part of our local trade.
Some very extensive businesses are being carried on in Alva at the present time, in various branches of our local manufactures; but it would take too long time, and is out of the scope of these jottings, to refer to them in detail.
I may just mention, however, the large and prosperous business of Messrs. William Ross & Sons, whose extensive and beautiful premises add greatly to the business look of the town of Alva. The late Mr. William Ross, sen., was a man of great taste, and had a thorough practical knowledge of his business, and did much to raise the fame of our local manufactures, from the beauty of the goods he produced. He was the architect of his own fortune, and was much esteemed and respected by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. The business is now being carried on with great energy by four of his sons, and gives employment to a very large number of hands. Mr. Ross commenced business in 1838, and from a small beginning, gradually enlarged his premises as his business increased on his hands. In 1865 he erected the fine spinning-mill and other premises at Brookfield, which are at present being about doubled in size. He died on the 12th of July 1877, aged sixty-eight years, leaving his widow and six of a family to mourn his loss.
I will only refer to one of the old firms that at one time existed in Alva, and which occupied a very prominent place in the tartan shawl trade, and carried on a very extensive business for a great many years—the Messrs. Drysdale, of Boll Mill. There were three brothers of them—William, John, and Robert. In addition to their spinning mill and other premises, they erected in 1845 that fine weaving shop which is such a conspicuous building in the higher part of Alva, and gives such a business-like look to the town. The two youngest brothers were cut off while quite young menthe youngest one, Mr. Robert, first, (he died in 1852), and Mr. John in 1854, and Mr. William alone now survives. Their premises are now occupied by Messrs. Tod & Duncan, Ramage & Sutherland, and others.
While Alva and Tillicoultry were from time to time adding to the number of their mills and factories, and increasing in size and population yearly, Menstrie stood almost stationary for a great many years, having only the original woollen mill built by the three brothers Archibald in the beginning of this century.
In the year 1864, however, the first part of the very extensive and beautiful works of Messrs. Drummond & Johnston was erected, which has since been added to so very largely ; and now their works give employment to a great number of hands, and must have proved of immense benefit to the village. The original mill of the brothers Archibald is still being carried on; but it has now passed into the hands of Messrs. Robert Archibald & Sons, Tillicoultry, the head of which firm was one of the three brothers.
A woollen mill has been carried on for a very long period at Glendevon. Previous to 1850, Mr. Thomas Elliot was the tenant of it; but in that year Mr. John Clayton succeeded him, and greatly enlarged and improved the premises. Since Mr. Clayton's death, the works have been carried on by his sons, under the firm of Clayton Brothers. They are situated at the foot of Glenquhey burn, and near to its junction with the Devon.
The principal warehouses in Glasgow, in the early days of the tartan trade, that confined themselves exclusively to this branch of business were—Robert M Kay & Co., Drysdales & Wilson, Charles McDonald & Co., and Gow, Butler, & Co.; while some of the general warehouses, such as J. & W. Campbell & Co., William McLaren, Sons, & Co., John McIntyre & Co., Stewart & McDonald, Tannahill & Robertson, etc., did a very large trade in them. The Messrs. Drysdale (of Drysdales & Wilson) —William, Archibald Browning, and Thomas—were natives of Tillicoultry, and had always a very 'warm side to their native village. Their father, Mr. Alexander Drysdale was an elder for a very long period in the United Presbyterian Church here, and lived in Stirling Street, in the house at present owned and occupied by Mr. James Hay. Mr. Thomas is the only brother that now survives.
In order to stimulate the demand for tartan dress goods, a ball took place in Alva about the year 1845 or 1846, at which all the ladies had to be dressed in tartan, which was very largely attended, and proved a great success. This assembly was very much talked about for many a day after, and was always spoken of as the tartan ball. Tartan dresses came to be very fashionable and generally worn, and dress goods was a most prosperous branch of the tartan manufacture at the foot of the Ochils for many years. All-wool tartans, however, were too expensive for the million ; and this gave rise to a new branch of the trade, which soon assumed enormous proportions. This was the manufacture of Gala tartans, which were made with cotton warps and woollen wefts, and came in at a much more moderate price than all-wool goods, and the quantity of them manufactured for many years was something fabulous: This branch of the trade, however, didn't benefit the hill foots' at all, as these goods were made principally in Auchterarder, Perth, and Glasgow.
CHAPTER X.
TILLICOULTRY MADE INTO A BURGH.
WERE I to enter in detail into all the social, religious, and political movements and changes that have taken place in Tillicoultry since I came to it thirty-five years ago, it would fill another volume, and I must not therefore attempt the task. There is, however, one important event in connection with our local government, that took place in 1871, that I cannot but refer to, and that was getting our town and neighbourhood made into a burgh, with a staff of commissioners and chief magistrate to rule over us. The result has been that great improvements have been carried out, that cannot but have added greatly to the comfort of the inhabitants, and improved the health of the village ; and notably amongst these are our beautifully paved footways and well constructed run-channels along our streets, which have given our village quite a smart appearance, and put an end to those accumulations of stagnant water which used formerly to meet the eye everywhere. Even our 'Howdub' (Frederick Street), which used to be a regular puddle, and was most appropriately named, is now a smart, tidy looking street, and quite as comfortable for those residing in it as any part of our village. Speaking of this street, I may, in passing, state that in 1805 it was the principal street of the village, and formed part of the old highway from Dollar to Stirling. At that time the new turnpike road was not made along the foot of the Ochils; and my old friend Mr. Moir was telling me that he remembers well of walking to Dollar on the old road, through Tillicoultry and Harviestoun estates, and above Broomrig, Woodcot, and on by Gateside. It passed below Harviestoun Castle, about half-way between it and the present road. It is now entirely shut up between Tillicoultry and the Villa of Belmont, near Dollar; and also through Mr. Johnstone's grounds, of Alva; but it is still open between Burnside, of Alva, and Menstrie.
The two-storied house at the west end of the 'Howdub,' Tillicoultry, was the principal inn of the village in the days of the old road, and is one of the oldest houses in it. It was latterly and for many years conducted by a family of the name of Ure. A smaller inn or public house was in the same street; and the worthy proprietor of it had a very good motto on his signboard, which it would be well for all business people to adopt, 'Pay the day, and trust the morn' (pay to-day, and trust to-morrow). Of course, when to-morrow came it was to-day; and hence this prudent nan did business for 'ready money only.'
Notwithstanding all the improvements that have been carried through (and they are many), since our Burgh Act was introduced, our assessment has never exceeded 1s. 1d. per £ on rental; and to those towns (such as Dollar) that are hesitating about adopting it, I would say, Don't delay another day. (Archibald Walker, Esq., has been our chief magistrate in Tillicoultry ever since the Burgh Act was introduced, and no more worthy man could be got to fill the honourable position.)
The turnpike road was constructed in 1806 or 1807, and then commenced the building of the new part of all our villages along this road. Hence the name of 'the New Town' applied to that part of Dollar built on the new road.
CONSTRUCTION OF NEW CEMETERY IN TILLICOULTRY.
I will now only refer to one other important step that was taken by the inhabitants of Tillicoultry, in the year 1860, in resolving to construct a new cemetery on the south end of the Cunninghar Hill. It was completed in 1861, and the first interment that was made in it was that of our much-esteemed townsman, the late Dr. Ritchie. He had been residing in Glasgow for some time before his death ; but when that event took place, his body was brought to Tillicoultry, and interred in our new cemetery on November 30th, 1861. A handsome memorial-stone was erected to his memory, subscribed for by a great many of the inhabitants of the village, and other friends. The inscription on it is as follows :-
In memory of
DAVID S. RITCHIE,
who was the first interred
in this Cemetery, Nov. 30th, 1861.
Erected by
a large circle of friends
in admiration of his
Philanthropy and gratuitous
Professional Services
to the Poor.
'I was sick, and ye visited me.'
Under the thoroughly skilful management of Mr. Roberts, this cemetery has been beautifully laid out, and is quite an acquisition to our village, and a model of what the last resting-place of our friends ought to be. The suitability of the site fixed on, and the beauty of the situation, could not, I think, be surpassed anywhere.
The late Mr. Peter Dow took a great interest in the construction of our new cemetery, and it was his great ambition (as Inspector of Poor) to see it clear of debt before he died; and in this he was gratified, as the last instalment was paid off just the year before his death.
THANKS.
And now, in conclusion, I beg to return my warmest thanks to all those who have kindly favoured me with information about events that happened before my time, and also for all information received of a more subsequent date, and trust I have presented it in such a form as will meet with their general approval.
APPENDIX.
HAVING, from the pressure of business and other causes, been unable to get my manuscript ready for the press till now, death in the meantime has been busy with some of those referred to in the foregoing pages. WARDLAW RAMSAY, Esq. of Whitehill and Tillicoultry, died in the month of July last, 1882 ; and his lady in about six weeks after. JAMES PATON, Esq. of Lethangie and Tillicoultry, died on the 9th of August 1882, aged eighty-five years. Mrs. Paton is left alone now in the old home; and four members of his family, all married, and resident in different parts of the country, were left, along with her, to mourn his loss. Five of his family (three sons and two daughters) predeceased him. The first Mrs. Paton died on September 5th, 1850, aged forty-seven years. ROBERT ARCHIBALD, Esq. of Devonvale, Tillicoultry, and Cluny Bank, Forres, died on the 24th September 1882, aged sixty-six ; Mrs. Gibson of Dollar (his sister) being the only one now left of the family. His widow and four sons were left along with her to mourn his loss. Two daughters predeceased him. DR. Tait (Archibald Campbell Tait), ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, who was born at Edinburgh in 1811, died at Addington Park, Croydon, on 3rd December 1882, aged seventy-one years, and was buried in Addington Churchyard on December the 8th. His genealogy from 1682 is as follows :-William Tait, joiner, in the village of Langside, Aberdeenshire, was the great-great-grandfather of the Archbishop. He died in 1739, aged fifty-seven years. His son, Thomas-a mason at Thunderton—was father of John Tait, writer to the signet, Edinburgh, and of Harviestoun, Dollar, and Comloden in Argyleshire ; and John Tait's son, Craufurd, was the Archbishop's father.
DAVID MILLER, Esq. of Auchterarder, died last month after a short illness of only five days, aged eighty-three years, leaving his widow, and three of a family, to mourn his loss. When Mr. Miller and I paid a visit to Blackford Churchyard, in March last year, and laid bare part of the inscription on the old family tombstone that was of so much interest to us both - we left instructions to have it all thoroughly cleaned and washed, so as to be able, if possible, to make out the whole of the inscription. On paying a subsequent visit to it, however, I was sorry to find that these operations had so rubbed away the letters as to make the first part of it almost unreadable, and the rest of it wholly so.
Having referred to the deep debt of gratitude Mr. Archibald of Beechwood had laid the town of Tillicoultry under, in building a handsome tower to our Town Hall, I have now to add that he has just supplemented his noble gift by ornamenting externally the Hall itself, at a cost of between £400 and £500, so as to be more in keeping with the beautiful tower; and now we have got such an elegant and commodious Town Hall as few country towns can boast of, and of which we have justly great reason to be proud.
W. G. March 1883.