Walks near Edinburgh 19

Walks near Edinburgh 19

The "opera-box" itself had been part of the outer buildings of the

old castle. This once belonged to Sir Thomas Hope of Craighall,

the famous lawyer of Charles I.'s time, who made it his principal

residence. After his death in 1646, it passed through many different

hands, including various members of the Hope family, till it was

bought in 1740 by John, Duke of Argyle and Greenwich, who had

acquired Roystoun the year before from Sir James Mackenzie, grandson

of the Lord Tarbat who built the house. The Duke threw the two

places together, and called them Caroline Park, out of compliment

to his royal mistress, the queen of George II. At his death, the

property passed, by the marriage of his daughter Caroline, to the

ducal family of Buccleuch, who now possess it. The prosperity of the

neighbouring port of Granton has proved the destruction of Caroline

Park. Warehouses and other buildings press closely upon it, and the

beautiful old house itself has been turned into the offices of a

printing-ink manufactory.

 

Leaving it behind us, we turn along a road which leads westwards from

the lodge, and, passing a little place called Granton House, we soon

reach Muirhouse. Griffins surmount the gate-pillars which open on

to a broad and fine avenue, at the end of which stand the ruins of

the old royal hunting-lodge, and a finely wooded park slopes down to

the sea. This barony was granted by King Robert Bruce to Sir William

Oliphant of Aberdalgy. Previously it had been royal property. The

last Oliphant that possessed Muirhouse, or the Murrows, as it was

then called, was Sir James Oliphant of Newton (born in 1612), who in

a drunken fit stabbed his own mother with a sword, so that she died.

This dreadful event obliged him to fly into Ireland, where he died

in great penury and wretchedness.[62] All his property was sold.

Muirhouse now belongs to the Davidson family, who acquired it in 1776.

 

[62] Scot's _Staggering State_.

 

[Illustration: _Carved Stone at Lauriston Castle._]

 

A little to the south-west of Muirhouse, we pass Drylaw, a place that

once belonged to a younger branch of the Foresters of Corstorphine,

and then come to the village of Davidson's Mains, or Muttonhole,

hole, as it used to be called. The east gate of Barnton faces us,

but we shall describe that place later, and, turning to the right

along the park wall, we soon see the towers of Lauriston rising

between us and the sea. The castle appears to have been built about

the end of the 16th century, as over two of the windows we can still

see the letters S. A. N. and D. E. M. They are the initials of Sir

Archibald Napier and his second wife, Dame Elizabeth Mowbray. They

acquired Lauriston from the Foresters in the latter half of the

sixteenth century. One of the windows near the roof has a kind of

stone shelf at its base, intended to hold a beacon, which could be

seen simultaneously from the castles of Merchiston and Barnbougle,

the former homes of its master and mistress. At Sir Archibald's

death in 1608, Lauriston passed to his younger son, Sir Alexander.

He has left a trace of his tenure in the _Celestial Theme_, which is

cut on a stone nineteen inches square, and is still preserved here.

It was probably calculated for him by his more celebrated brother,

John Napier, the inventor of Logarithms, who was deeply versed in

astrology. After his death, Lauriston passed away from the Napiers,

and in 1683 came into the hands of the family with which its name is

most closely associated. John Law, the great financier, succeeded his

father here in 1688.[63]

 

[63] See Wood's _Account of the Parish of Cramond_, 1794.

 

The history of the famous Comptroller-General, whose fertile brain

evolved the Mississippi Scheme, is too well-known to repeat here;

but it is only just to his memory to say that he was no ordinary

speculator. He believed as firmly in the reality of these golden

dreams as the most enthusiastic of his followers; and his system

appears to have been founded on a real intention to extend the

commerce and improve the credit of France. It was against his

wish, and in opposition to his advice, that the fatal edict was

promulgated, which, by lowering the value of the bank-note, brought

about the downfall of public credit; and in the crash that followed

Law lost everything, including the large private fortune he had

inherited from his father. The end of his life was a sad one, for he

died at Venice in great poverty in 1729, at the comparatively early

age of fifty-seven. It is a touching trait of his character, that,

even in the height of his power and prosperity, his thoughts still

fondly turned to his distant Lauriston. Archibald, Duke of Argyle,

then Lord Islay, relates that, going to wait upon him by appointment,

he found the antechambers filled with persons of the highest

quality in France. Being by special order admitted to Law's private

apartments, he found him writing what, from the number and the rank

of those left to await his leisure, he took to be most important

despatches. On saying this to his old friend, to his amusement he

learnt that Law was only writing to his gardener at Lauriston, and

giving him directions to plant cabbages in a particular spot. This

was at a time when he stood at a giddy height, which few subjects

have ever reached. He was the object of the adulation, almost the

worship of the whole nation. After his death, and that of his only

son, Lauriston Castle passed to his brother William and to his

descendants, who were all in the French service.[64]

 

[64] The Laws of Lauriston bear ermine, a bend between two cocks,

gules. The cock in their arms is supposed by Nisbet to refer to the

concluding part of the crow of that bird having a similar sound to

the name Law.

 

William Law's son was Baron de Lauriston and Governor of Pondicherry.

His grandson was Napoleon's distinguished general, Alexander, Marquis

de Lauriston (born 1768, died 1828). He served in most of Napoleon's

campaigns, and was sent on important embassies to London and St.

Petersburg. After the Restoration he reconciled himself to the royal

family, and was given various posts at court, and finally was created

Maréchal de France in 1823. His son Auguste was an almost equally

distinguished officer. When hardly more than a boy, he served in the

Imperial campaigns from 1808-1814. He carried on the line of the

family in France, where they still exist, and are known by their

French title. Their Scottish home was sold early in this century

to Mr. Allan, a banker in Edinburgh. It has since belonged to Lord

Rutherfurd, and is now the property of Mr. Macknight Crawford.

 

A little farther west we see before us the woods which surround

Cramond House, or Nether Cramond, as it was formerly called. This has

always been a remarkable place. The early British fort on the Amon

(Caer-Amon, hence Cramond) became later an important Roman military

station. On the opposite side of the river, in the park of Dalmeny,

there can still be seen the figure of an eagle, rudely carved on the

Hunter's Craig, a rock close to the sea, which has remained there

since the days of the Roman occupation. In the 12th century Robert

Avenel, who had received these lands from David I., granted them to

the bishopric of Dunkeld, and for many years this was the bishop's

principal residence south of the Forth. Hence it was sometimes called

Bishop's Cramond, to distinguish it from Cramond Regis (King's

Cramond), which stood where Barnton stands now. A ruined tower close

to the modern house of Cramond is all that is left of the bishop's

palace. It is a small building about twenty-four feet square and

forty feet high. About 1624 this property was acquired by the Inglis

family, to whose descendant, Colonel Inglis Craigie Halket, it now

belongs. The last of the direct line was Anne, Lady Torphichen,

who spent all the latter years of her life here. She was very fond

of the place, and kept it up beautifully till her death in 1849.

Chopin, the famous Polish musician, once stayed with her at Cramond,

and I have often heard his visit, his playing, and his delight in

the woods of Dalmeny described by a relation of mine, who as a girl

lived much with Lady Torphichen. In front of the house stands a very

elaborate sundial, bearing thirty-three gnomons. One of the faces is

dated 1732, and it bears the names of _Sir Rob. Dickson_, for whom

it was made, and _Ach. Handasyde_, the maker. He was a native of

Musselburgh, or "Conchi Polensis," as it is more classically termed

on his tombstone in Inveresk churchyard. There is a legend that this

dial was brought here from Lauriston Castle, where it originally

stood.

 

A little farther up the Almond in a sheltered nook stands Braehead,

which has been in the Howieson Crawfurd family since their ancestor

received it from James V. That king, on one of his solitary,

adventurous expeditions, was attacked on Cramond Bridge by some

gipsies. A poor man who was threshing corn in a barn close by,

hearing the scuffle, and seeing one man defending himself against

four or five, went to the king's help, and, laying about him lustily

with his flail, soon dispersed the assailants. He then took the

king into the barn, and brought him a towel and water, with which

to wash the blood from his face, and finally escorted him a little

way towards Edinburgh, in case he should be again attacked. On the

way, James asked him who and what he was. The labourer answered that

his name was John Howieson, and that he was a bondsman on the farm

of Braehead (which belonged to the king). James then asked him if

there was any wish he particularly desired to have gratified; and

Howieson confessed he should be the happiest man in Scotland, were

he but proprietor of the farm on which he wrought as a labourer. He

then asked the king in turn who _he_ was; to which James replied, as

usual, that he was the Goodman of Ballengeich, a poor man who had a

small appointment about the palace; and he added that if Howieson

would come to see him the following Sunday, he would endeavour to

repay his opportune assistance.

 

Howieson accordingly presented himself at Holyrood the following

Sunday, and inquired for the Goodman of Ballengeich. The king had

given orders he should be admitted, and received him in the same

disguise he had formerly worn. He then, preserving the character of

an inferior officer of the household, conducted Howieson through the

different apartments, and was amused by his wonder and his remarks.

At length he offered to show him the king. "But how," asked the

countryman, "am I to know his Grace from the nobles who will be all

about him?" "Easily," replied his companion; "all the rest will be

uncovered, the king alone will wear his hat or bonnet."

 

So saying, King James led him into a great hall, which was filled

by the nobility and officers of the crown. Howieson was a little

frightened, and drew close to his conductor, but was still unable to

distinguish the king. "I told you you should know him by his wearing

his hat," said his companion. Then said the man, "It must be either

you or me, for all but us two are bareheaded." The king laughed

heartily, and revealed himself, and then rewarded his deliverer with

the farm of Braehead, which he gave him as a free gift, on condition

that John Howieson or his successors should be ready to present a

basin and ewer, for the king to wash his hands, whenever his Majesty

should come to Holyrood Palace or should pass by the bridge of

Cramond. Accordingly, in 1822, when George IV. came to Scotland,

Howieson of Braehead appeared at Holyrood and offered his Majesty water from a silver ewer.[65]