which the doctor, with great pre-historic vagueness tells us "it appears the town had also acquired some kind of right." And as we know it was the custom of early ages to confound one benefactor with another, and deify or attribute the origin of all good-real or supposed to the powers of him whose memory they last cherished; thence, I have no doubt, arose the learned doctor's mythology and the account of the persuasive eloquence of another Mathew, which Mr. Crawford seems also to have received for gospel. The real truth is, that Regent Murray, as well as King James himself, were by no means so thankful and so quick in making any reward for the services rendered at the battle of Langside, or anywhere else. Liberal enough in promises they likely, and, I believe, truly were; but it also so happens that one of the worthy gentlemen with whom my friend, I am told, now under review claims family connection, Mr. Thomas Crawford, of Jordanhill, who is most scandalously chronicled by him as one of "the landowners in the neighbourhood who had acted with the Roman Catholic Archbishop in working the magistracy and political influence of the city," &c., and as "being Papist in heart," was certainly, as Mr. Crawford states, provost of Glasgow in the year 1577-1578; and he it was who had the merit, who, by one of the most daring and dexterous exploits recorded in our Scotch history, surprised, attacked, and took the supposed impregnable Castle of Dumbarton from Lord Fleeming, of Cumbernauld, who was holding it out for the Popish party. He also was present at the battle of Langside, and received, like the bakers, a promise of reward from their good friend Regent Murray, for his services; but the reward was not so "instantly" given. But true it is, and it was but fair that the Provost's turn should come before the Deacon's. He, after much solicitation, I believe, received from the Crown, only on 10th March, 1573, a charter of the mill and other lands in the neighbourhood of Partick, after which, I think, it is most probable that he gave the 66 some kind of right," which Dr. Cleland mentions, to the town of which he was provost, or perhaps exchanged the mills and mill lands for others in the neighbourhood. At all events, there is earlier and more lasting or tangible evidence of the indebtedness of the citizens of Glasgow or the neighbourhood to him, than either to Regent Murray, or that rough-spoken Presbyter, Mr. John Howie or Howison of Cambuslang, for he almost immediately evinced his good will and public spirit, and his desire to promote education, in founding the first bursary that was instituted at the College of Glasgow, by a

deed dated 26th July, 1576, in which he is designed Dominus hereditarius et empluteolicus molendini de Partik, and grants a chalder of meal to be annually taken, as it is to this day, for the support of a bursar in philosophy, out of that mill and the mill lands thereto belonging, and also by building the bridge over Kelvin at Partick, which still stands there, having his name and arms with, it is said, the following inscription beneath-quaint but not altogether inappropriate, perhaps, to the present attempt at vindication of the character of our quondam Lord Provost:

"He that by Labour does ony Honestie,

The Labour goes-the honor bides with thee;
He that by Treason does ony vice also,

The shame remains, the pleasures soon agoe."

A word more on another of the corporations of the Trades' Housethe Cordiners, of which their charter, dated 27th February, 1558, is said to be in excellent preservation. I would like to see it in return for informing them where I accidentally saw, some time ago, one of their earliest, if not actually the earliest, of their minute books, in much better preservation than, I fear, can be said of many other documents.

TRANSACTIONS OF THE GLASGOW ARCHÆOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

NO. IV.

JOURNAL OF A SOLDIER IN THE EARL OF EGLINTON'S

TROOP OF HORSE, ANNO 1689.

TRANSCRIBED FROM HIS MANUSCRIPT BY

GABRIEL NEIL, Esq.

[Read at a Meeting of the Society held at Glasgow on 6th December, 1858.]

PRELIMINARY REMARKS BY THE TRANSCRIBER.

THE little parchment-covered manuscript pocket memorandum Book now submitted to the inspection of the Members of the Society, may of itself be deemed a curiosity; and, from the narrative which it contains, it is additionally of interest, as referring us back to some of the stirring incidents that immediately followed the memorable BRITISH REVOLUTION of 1688.

To the reader of history it is unnecessary to enter into the details that characterised this great event in the Annals of Britain, from which we reap many of those blessings of religious and political freedom now enjoyed. The fact is well known, that with feelings of deep fervency and gratitude the citizens of Glasgow hailed the advent of William, Prince of Orange, to the throne. During the preceding reigns of Charles II. and James II. they had suffered much in their lives, their liberties, and their estates, fully warranting them heartily to desire a constitutional alteration in government. It may simply be mentioned as a tribute of their loyalty, that a regiment of 500 soldiers was raised in Glasgow, and sent to Edinburgh to guard the Convention of Estates, who met on 14th March, 1689; and, also, as a noticeable circumstance, that on 2nd July, 1689, the Magistrates and Council were elected by a poll vote of all the burgesses, in consequence of the effects of the Revolution. The fine equestrian statue erected to William III. at the Cross, so familiar to every eye,

This regiment then got the name of the Scotch Cameronians, and, subsequently, the 26th Regiment of Foot.

+ Annals of Glasgow, by James Cleland, 1816; Vol. I.. p. 20. + Ibid, p. 21.

along with its noble inscription,* may therefore be looked upon as of more significance than the mere pageantry of artistical embellishment.

There were, however, in other parts of Scotland, many disaffected persons to the new settlement of affairs; some of them of no mean power and note. These were chiefly confined to the northern Highland districts. It is alleged against these parties that they could have had no sufficient pretext for war and opposition to the government except through a love of plunder; but this charge may be harsh enough, and we should at least give them credit that, although with no important public principle for which to contend, they, no doubt, from a native affection and a generous sympathy, deplored the fate of the extruded Monarch, and sighed for "their ain Stuart back again." Be that as it may, to suppress the turbulence of these mountaineers, who, with Colonel Cannon at their head, made frequent depredations on the neighbouring country, General MacKay and Sir Thomas Livingston were despatched, with large forces, on behalf of Government. The Battle of Killiecrankie, fought on 16th July, 1689, was a severe blow to the future prospects of the rebels; and, according to what may be gathered from the MS. narrative before us, the principal proceedings which had afterwards happened were, in pursuing the "rogs" from place to place, apprehending them, and gaining, in occasional skirmishes, small advantages over them.+

Alexander, Earl of Eglinton, was at that time one of the Lords of the Privy Council of King William, and also one of the Commissioners of the Treasury. Doubtless, with the view of aiding the cause of the King, his royal Master, he had collected a body of men, under the designation of the Earl of Eglinton's Troop of Horse, in which the

+ The clans, wearied with repeated misfortunes, laid down their arms by degrees, and took the benefit of a pardon which King William offered to those who should submit within the time specified in his proclamation.-The History of England, by Smollett, Edit. 1828, p. 8.

Author of the MS. had enlisted in May, 1689, and in which he continued for two years, though bringing down his Journal only till 10th November, 1690, a period of about eighteen months. While in the service he appears to have kept a regular account of his own military movements in the troop, and also of those in the progress of the main armies, so far as the latter had come under his observation; and had subsequently, at his leisure hours, extended his notes in his pocket memorandum book in the manner in which we find them. In respect to the peculiarities of his MS.-the handwriting is of a good style though not easily deciphered, the orthography is irregular, and from beginning to end of the composition he is regardless of punctuation, and of the ordinary divisions into sentences and paragraphs. Notwithstanding, by a careful study of the contents, they form a plain, clear, and succinct narrative, in which there is conveyed a lively idea of what he intends to represent, and the valiant trooper may be discovered toiling in his marches over muirs and mosses, and through mountain passes, faithful in the discharge of the various duties assigned him.

Unfortunately, the surname of the author has been abraded from the parchment cover of the pocket book with the exception of the initial R., and we know no farther of him on this point than that his Christian name was Alexander. A memorandum at the end of the Journal is as follows,-" The 27 day Nover, 1695, my father was infeft in Cairnbrok and Balfiroch-the clark was Alexr. griarson; John Camell, Jam. M'Kie, Tho. Doibie, John Carsall, witnesses; John Ros, James Blair, wt ym." The two landed Properties noticed, namely Cairnbrok and Balfiroch are situated in Wigtonshire, and from his father having been the proprietor of them, the parentage of the author had been respectable. In Notes of his business transactions (including another department of the pocket-book), he frequently alludes to his father as the "old man," and to his "brother," and it is therefore probable that he was the younger son of his family. After his return from the troop, his pursuits appear to have been those of a grazier and rearer of cattle, for which Galloway is still famous; and, on reference to his annual Inventories, his stock of nolt, milk cous," &c. was numerous. Many of his book entries give the current prices of such live stock in "dollors, miled crouns,

แ

By a rather singular coincidence Cairnbrok was that of which the millionaire John Ferguson, Esq., residing at Irvine, died infeft, whose munificent benefactions for benevolent and literary uses are almost unprecedented.