now in the very heart of the city, it still commands a magnificent and varied prospect, bounded only on the distant horizon by the Highland hills. At the time of its erection, it was a suburban retreat, uniting the attractions of a country villa, with an easy access to the centre of the city. We have been told by a gentleman of antiquarian tastes, from information communicated to him, nearly fifty years ago, that Ramsay applied to the Crown for as much ground from the Castle Hill as would serve him to build a cage for his burd, meaning his wife, to whom he was warmly attached, and hence the octagon shape it assumed, not unlike an old parrot cage! If so, she did not live to share its comforts, her death having occurred in 1743. Here the Poet retired in his sixtieth year, anticipating the enjoyment of its pleasing seclusion for many years to come; and although he had already exhausted his energies in the diligent pursuit of business, he spent, in this lovely retreat, the chief portion of the last twelve years of his life in ease and tranquil enjoyment, though interrupted towards its close by a painful malady. He was remarkably cheerful and lively to the last, and his powers of conversation were such, that his company was eagerly courted by all ranks of society; yet he delighted in nothing so much as seeing himself surrounded by his own family and their juvenile companions, with whom he would join in their sports with the most hearty life and good humour.

"On the death of Allan Ramsay, in 1757, he was succeeded in his house by his son, the eminent protrait painter, who added a new front and wing to it, and otherwise modified its original grotesqueness; and since his time it was the residence of the Rev. Dr. Baird, late Principal of the University. Some curious discoveries, made in the immediate neighbourhood of the house, in the lifetime of the poet, are thus recorded in the Scots

Magazine for 1754,- About the middle of June, some workmen employed in levelling the upper part of Mr. Ramsay's garden, in the Castle Hill, fell upon a subterraneous chamber about fourteen feet square, in which were found an image of white stone, with a crown upon its head, supposed to be the Virgin Mary; two brass candlesticks; about a dozen of ancient Scottish and French coins, and some other trinkets, scattered among the rubbish. By several remains of burnt matter, and two cannon balls, it is guessed that the building above ground was destroyed by the Castle in some former confusion.' This we would be inclined to think may have formed a portion of the ancient church of St. Andrew, of which so little is known; though, from Maitland's description, the site should perhaps be looked for somewhat lower down the bank. It is thus alluded to by him,-'At the southern side of the Nordloch, near the foot of the Castle Hill, stood a church, the remains whereof I am informed were standing within these few years, by Professor Sir Robert Stewart, who had often seen them. This I take to have been the Church of St. Andrew, near the Castle of Edinburgh, to the Trinity Altar, in which Alexander Curor, vicar of Livingston, by a deed of gift, of the 20th December 1848, gave a perpetual annuity of twenty merks Scottish money.""(1)

IV. FIRST REPRESENTATION OF THE GENTLE
SHEPHERD.

WE are indebted for the following anecdote to the memoir already referred to.(2) Besides being interesting in

(1) Maitland, p. 206.

(2) Lives of Eminent Scotsmen, page 92. London, 1821.-See page 211.

itself, it supplies a passage in the local history of Edinburgh, not we believe known to its citizens.

"The Gentle Shepherd, though adapted to the stage, did not make its appearance upon it till several years after its publication. The people of Scotland had not as yet thrown off those prejudices, with which ages of stern Presbyterianism had filled them, against all sorts of theatrical representations; there were, therefore, no native actors, and, of course, none who could represent a piece so entirely Scottish.(1) It was the comedy of the Gentle

(1) In a prologue to the university of Oxford written by Dryden, he makes the following apology for the absence of several performers from England:

"Our brethren have from Thames to Tweed departed,
And of our sisters, all the kinder hearted,
To Edinborough gone, or coacht or carted."

A. S.

It was not so much the prejudices of stern presbyterianism, or even religious opinions of any kind, but the absence of any compositions adapted for dramatic representation in that language, that prevented native Scotsmen from becoming actors. It is not to be supposed that when David Hume himself could not so far overcome his Scotch accent, as not to provoke a smile when he harangued an English Society, that any Scotchman of that age, of the condition in life that would warrant his betaking himself to the profession, would be tolerated on the English stage, or could hope to earn a living by it. The dislike of the people of Scotland to theatrical representations, was the natural effect of the licentious character of the pieces of the time on the minds of a sober people. The writings of the earlier dramatists were not prohibited, but expressly admitted as proper for theatrical exhibitions by the Book of Discipline (pp. 145, 161.), provided the subjects were not scriptural. It is true, however, says Forsyth, "that on the whole the Scotch have no great fondness for the entertain. ment of the theatre. The novelty of the appearance of any very distinguished performer excites their attention for a short time, and produces crowded houses; but, in general, the theatre is little attended by genteel people in the middle ranks of society. It is chiefly supported in Edinburgh by young men, the junior practitioners of the law, and students at the university, and by the families of country gentlemen, who reside in Edinburgh during the winter, who go thither occasionally as to a place where they are to display themselves, and to see other persons of their own rank. Neither does this indifference to the theatre among the Scottish nation any longer result from religious opinions or prejudices. Sober families find more pleasure in domestic society, or in the visits of their acquaintances; and when money is to be expended, the social and more substantial pleasure of giving and receiving good suppers or dinners is greatly preferred."

Shepherd, however, which was destined to strike the first blow at this popular aversion to the drama; and the manner in which this came about, affords a striking illustration of the truth, that every attempt to enslave the minds of men is only productive of an ultimate increase in liberality of sentiment.

"A printer in Edinburgh, of the name of Robert Drummond, who had been employed to print one of the editions of the Gentle Shepherd, having, after the rebellion of 1745, published a satirical poem, called the Town Council, containing a smart attack on Mr. Drummond the provost of Edinburgh; Dr. Wishart, principal of the university; Dr. Webster, one of the ministers of the city ;(1) and several other eminent Whig characters;-a prosecution

(1) All of them very estimable men; a circumstance which makes it the more surprising, that they should have countenanced the singularly oppressive proceedings which were adopted against the printer of this mere jeu d'esprit. One of the severest things in it was, an insinuation that Dr. Webster, who was much in the confidence of the town council, and its right hand in all the public improvements then going on, had cost the city more claret than would float a seventy-four! There might be some exaggeration in the estimate, but as no one ever doubted this reverend doctor's love for claret, of which, even to this day, the people of Edinburgh preserve many amusing recollections, it was rather too bad to take a poor satirist to task for a mere over-measurement.

Let us hope, that the reverend doctor himself had no active share in this inglorious prosecution; he was himself a poet of no mean pretensions; and, at his death, in the 76th year of his age, left behind him a character, distinguished for liberality and benevolence. Hitherto, Dr. Webster has been little, if at all, known in the light of a poet, and his claims to that character rest, it is believed, on a single piece, which Pinkerton has printed in his Select Scottish Ballads, vol. ii. No. 33, without being aware of the name of the author. It is a piece, however, of rare merit; in elegance and warmth, it rivals even the effusions of Catullus. It was written in allusion to a real event; his own marriage to a lady of noble family. The following is the initiatory stanza:

Oh! how could I venture to luve ane like thee,
And you not despise a poor conquest like me?
On lords, thy admirers, could look wi' disdain,
And knew I was naething, yet pitied my pain?

You said, while they teased you with nonsense and dress,
"When real the passion the vanity's less."

You saw through that silence which others despise,
And, while beaus were a-tauking, read luve in my eyes.

A. S.

was instituted against him before the magistrates, that is, before the very individuals who were themselves among the parties satirized and complaining. The judgment was such as might be expected from irritated men deciding in their own cause. They found that the poem contained many scandalous, seditious, calumnious, and malicious expressions;' and they therefore ordered the printer, Robert Drummond, 'to be carried to prison, and thence, on the 25th of November, betwixt the hours of twelve and one, to the cross of Edinburgh, there to stand bareheaded with a label on his breast, inscribed thus:

For printing and publishing a false, scandalous, and defamatory libel;' till all the copies seized of the poem should be burnt by the hangman; then to lie in prison till he should give bond to remove out of the city and liberties, and not return for a year on pain of £100 sterling, and suffering imprisonment till the remainder of the year was run, and to be deprived of the privileges of a freeman for a year.' An application was made to the Court of Justiciary for an alteration of this unjust and cruel sentence, but without effect. Poor Drummond underwent the whole punishment awarded; his printing office was shut up; and his workmen, of whom he had employed a considerable number, were thrown idle on the town.

Among the works which Drummond had most recently printed, was the edition of the Gentle Shepherd. While it was passing through the hands of his compositors, they had committed to memory some of its most striking scenes, which they used to take pleasure in reciting among themselves; and now that they were deprived of employment by the ruin of their master, the idea happily struck them of attempting a public representation of the comedy for their common benefit. The manager of the theatre, then situated in the Canongate, readily agreed to