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CONTENTS
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Electric Scotland News
Electric Scotland Community
The Flag in the Wind
Geikie's Etchings
Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
Kay's Edinburgh Portraits
William McTaggart, R.S.A., V.P.R.S.W.
Sir James Douglas
History of America
History of India - An Historical Disquisition
Ten Tales by Sir Harry Lauder
Cavendish - The settlement of P.E.I.
The Lairds of Glenlyon: Historical Sketches
The Complete Scotland
A Sassenach's Stravaig
Lossiemouth Project
Old Pistol
Scotland, Social and Domestic (New Book)
Electric Scotland News
----------------------
This is the last newsletter of 2010 and so time to wish you all a Very Happy New Year and Lang may yer lum reek!
As we'll all be singing Auld Lang Syne I thought I'd mention that we have a great article about this song which you can read at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...s/langsyne.htm
We also have another account where the music plays in the background so you can sing the words as you listen to the music at http://www.electricscotland.com/burns/langsyne.html
-----
Had a wee accident on Christmas Eve which meant I broke a bone in my hand which meant that after Christmas I had to go to the local emergency unit in Toronto. They diagnosed the break and then tried to put it back in place and then put my hand in plaster. That in turn meant I couldn't use my mouse and struggled greatly to use my left hand. As it happens they plastered my hand when it was badly swollen so after a couple of days the plaster came loose so I just removed it and hence you are now getting this newsletter which otherwise would not have been possible. I am to go back after January is in to get it looked at. I'm told I might need to have a wee operation to put in a pin but we'll see how that goes.
-----
New Year is of course a time for reflecting on the past year and looking forward to the new one. Even though I'm well into history I'm not one that reflects on what might have been but instead look forward to what might be in the new year.
I have been making progress with Visit Scotland and so I hope the new year will see us getting some interesting articles from them.
I am also keen to try and develop our Lossiemouth Project. As I speak a leaflet has been printed by David Thomson and his daughter about the project to hand out to local people in the area. David is back in the area over the Christmas period and so is talking to many people so hopefully this will turn into lots of people getting in touch.
I hope that our Electric Scotland community will continue to see new members joining and the community flourishing with lots of new contributors.
I noticed with interest the rankings of Facebook, Google, etc. The actual meaning of the new rankings in terms of search vs. social as it relates to marketers and Web business is a matter of debate, but one thing is certain from the latest statistics. The 10 most-visited websites in the U.S. accounted for more than one-third of the overall traffic in 2010, gaining 33 percent of the year’s total visits.
That number represents a 12-percent increase over 2009, which may cast a shadow on predictions about the rise of local commerce and the emergence of small businesses on the Web. The data clearly indicates that the gap is widening between a handful of giant properties and the rest of the commercial Web.
To me this just means that the BBC's and our own surveys confirm that most people only visit a handful of sites on anything like a regular basis. I think the challenge is how the smaller web sites might band together to be a more compelling offering and secure better regular traffic.
This applies to the Grocery trade, book trade, etc. The big keep getting bigger so the smaller brands get increasingly sidelined unless they can offer a truly unique service and that becomes even harder. So this is not unique to the online industry.
So the challenge ahead simply means that I have to be on the lookout for more compelling content and perhaps a wider focus. This of course is why I often ask for feedback and suggestions!!! <grin>
-----
We've created a one page 2011 calendar in a pdf file which you can download and print off at http://www.electricscotland.com/escalendar2011.pdf
I played around with this and it prints perfectly if printed from the adobe reader or in IE8 but noted that Chrome and Firefox did chop a wee bit from the bottom if printed directly (although all the dates are there). This will print fine on both US letter paper or US legal paper and A4.
ABOUT THE STORIES
-----------------
Some of the stories in here are just parts of a larger story so do check out the site for the full versions. You can always find the link in our "What's New" section in our site menu and at http://www.electricscotland.com/rss/whatsnew.php
Electric Scotland Community
---------------------------
Checking the community today I find we now have 315 members. There were 30 users in at the time, 2 members and 28 guests. We are averaging 1,313 visits each week which kind of shows that most of the people viewing are coming in as guests. There are 1,128 Threads (topics) with 3,126 Posts (messages).
I note many interesting posts and one is "The Modern Jacobite" by Kelly d Whittaker which can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.org/show...ly-d-Whittaker
Our community can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.org/forum.php
THE FLAG IN THE WIND
--------------------
This weeks issue is now available compiled by Jim Lynch in which he tells his own personal tale of woes from a sick PC to accidents and home issues. We hope that Jim has a much better 2011. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors for their contributions to our understanding of our fight for independence.
I hope that in 2011 we might see them tackle some issues that are of vital interest to Scotland. Politics is of course top of their agenda but if Scotland is to become Independent then we need a robust Scotland to be successful. We need to export our way out of our financial woes, we need to increase tourism spending in Scotland and we need to understand why an independent Scotland should join the EU where there seem to be compelling reasons why we shouldn't.
Looking at just some of the figures in this issue I noted...
The TNS poll was carried out Nov 24 – Dec 6 and sample size was 910.
The SNP have outlined their plans for a possible referendum which would transfer additional powers to the Scottish Parliament to enable Scotland to become an independent country. If such a referendum were to be held tomorrow, would you support or oppose the following proposal? The Scottish Government proposes that the Scottish Parliament's powers and responsibilities should be extended to enable independence to be achieved.
Yes 40%
No 44%
Don’t Know 16%
I can't help but wonder if it's time to talk about Scotland and not just political Scotland. We're now so used to "he said that we say this" type of mentality which the media has orchestrated for years now and we're all sick and fed up with. It's also the reason that I think people are voting in smaller and smaller numbers. It's why I noted recently that the famed CNN are now fading away due to the concentration on politics. I mean there average viewers are now down to some 750,000 and in a country with some 275 million of a population that must tell a story all of its own.
I believe it's time for a re-think so perhaps as we move into the 2nd decade of this century some new thinking can be done on how to present Scotland of today and tomorrow. I also think a poll of just 910 is not nearly sufficient to get an idea of Scotland's thinking on this matter. We need to poll at least 5,000 to get a better idea of how Scotland is thinking.
Of course as it's not my job to run the Scots Independent Newapaper or the Flag in the Wind, this is but a personal plea for more tranparency from Scotland. Having spent a good part of 2010 trying to get the Scottish Parliament, Scottish businesses and Scottish tourism to be more open with us about Scotland and having failed miserably, I just hope someone can do better.
You can get to the Flag at http://www.scotsindependent.org
Christina McKelvie's weekly diary is available at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...lvie/index.htm
Geikie's Etchings
-----------------
This week we've added more articles...
Fishwives
A Pleased Bairn
You can read these at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ikie/index.htm
Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland
----------------------------------------
And of the Border Raids, Forays and Conflicts by John Parker Lawson (1839). This is a new publication we're starting on which is in 3 volumes. We intend to post up 2 or 3 stories each week until complete.
This week we've added...
The Raid Of Ruthven - 1582
Battle Of Dryfe Sands - 1593
Feuds Of The Somervilles - 1593 and 1596
You can read these at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/wars/
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
------------------------------------------
By Cuthbert Bede (1861)
This week we put up Chapter XIV - Half a Dozen of the Hebrides
The Hebrides. — Cara. — Giguliim. — Giglia. — The squirting Cave. — The Watch-Cairn. — Keefie's Hill. — The miraculous Well of Toubirmore. — The Brownie. — Islay. — Antiquities. — Milo outdone.— Dinners and Deserts. — Traces of the Lords of the Isles. — Kernes and Gallowglasses. — A Wife upon Trial. — Macdonald's Feud. — Jura. — Corpachs. —The Island of Deer. — The Paps of Jura. — Their Altitude and Character. — The Mountain of Gold. —
The Slide of the old Hag. — Corryrraken. —The Legend of the Whirlpool. — The grey Dog's Slap. — A Tub for a Whale. — The Mermaid. — The Song of Colonsay. — Oransay. — A Hebridean Alsatia.
You can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/glencreggan/
Kay's Edinburgh Portraits
-------------------------
A Series of Anecdotal Biographies chiefly of Scotchmen, Mostly by James Paterson and Edited by James Maidment (1885)
This week we have added...
Mrs. Siddons, at the Edinburgh Theatre
The Rev. Hugh Blair, D.D., of the High Church, Edinburgh
The Honourable Henry Erskine, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates
James Bruce, Esq., the Abyssinian Traveller
Peter Williamson, Author and Publisher
William Martin, Bookseller and Auctioneer
About William Martin the account starts...
Martin, or "Bibles" as he was commonly called, is supposed to have been born at or near Airdrie, about the year 1744; and like his contemporary, Lackington of London, was originally bred a shoemaker. He used to boast that he was in arms during the Rebellion 1745. For several years after he came to Edinburgh, Martin occupied a small shop in the High Street, near the head of the West Bow, where he combined the two very opposite professions of bookseller and cobbler. He also frequented the country towns around Edinburgh on fairs and other market-days, exposing his small stock of books for sale; and, by dint of great perseverance and industry, was soon able to withdraw his allegiance from Crispin altogether, and to devote the whole of his attention to the sale of books.
It is uncertain at what period Martin came to Edinburgh. His burgess-ticket is dated 1786—but he must have been well established in business many years previously. From a letter of condolence written by him to the widow of his brother, who died in America, he appears to have been in thriving circumstances so early as 1782. He says, " The awfully sudden and unfortunate death of my brother—the helpless situation in which you were left, and so many fatherless children—situate in a country surrounded with war and devastation, my thoughts thereupon may be more easily conceived than described. My uneasiness has been much increased by the thoughts of the boy coming to me, that I might receive him safely, and that he might escape the dangers of so long a voyage. Indeed it has been the will of Providence to take all my children from me, and my intention is to adopt him (his nephew) as my own son. My situation in business I have no cause to complain of. I have a shop in the bookselling way in the Lawnmarket of Edinburgh, to which occupation I mean to put "William, my namesake, and in which I hope he will do very well. I will give him the best education, and he shall be as well clothed as myself. . . . My wife has been very much indisposed for some time bypast, and is not yet much better. She is most anxious about William, and wishes much to see him, from which you may conclude his arrival would make us both very happy." The letter from which the foregoing extract is taken, is dated June 2, 1782, and directed to "Mrs. Martin, relict of Captain Martin, to the care of Mr. William Pagan, merchant, New York." The nephew, for whom he expresses so much anxiety, arrived safe in Scotland, and continued with him for several years, but returning to America, died not long after. His wife also, whose bad health he mentions, did not long survive.
You can read the rest of this account at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/vol132.htm
The other entries can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/index.htm
William McTaggart, R.S.A., V.P.R.S.W.
-------------------------------------
Painter and Artist and a man of considerable talents.
Added Chapter VII. Broomieknowe, 1889-1910
You can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...rt_william.htm
Sir James Douglas
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By Robert Hamilton Coats and R. E. Gosnell (1908) from the Makers of Canada series.
We have now completed this book with the following chapters...
Chapter IV - Fort Vancouver
Chapter V - The Oregon Boundary
Chapter VI - Victoria
Chapter VII - Vancouver Island
Chapter VIII - The Two Colonies
Chapter IX - Confederation
You can read this book at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...a/bc/index.htm
History of America
------------------
by William Robertson
We have now completed this book with...
Book 4
Notes and Illustrations
And these can be read at the foot of this page at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...on_william.htm
History of India
----------------
by William Robertson
We've now added Section III - Intercourse with India, from the Conquest of Egypt by the Mahomedans, to the Discovery after Passage by the Cape of Good Hope, and the Establishment of the Portuguese Dominion in the East. You can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...a/indiandx.htm
Ten Tales
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By Sir Harry Lauder (1908)
We found this charming wee book and thought we'd add it to the site. We've added the fifth tale...
Andy Broon's Love Affair
and you can view this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...entalesndx.htm
Cavendish
---------
Have now added Chapters 14 - 16 to this book which can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../cavendish.htm
The Lairds of Glenlyon: Historical Sketches
--------------------------------------------
Relating to the Districts of Appin, Glenlyon and Breadalbane by Duncan Campbell (1886)
We now have up chapters 1 to 9.
Chapter 6 starts...
WHEN Dundee fled from the Convention, "Coll of the Cows," the head of the M'Donalds of Keppoch, was pursuing with relentless fury the broken host of the Mackintoshes, his ancient foes, and was, on the arrival of the Viscount in the north, threatening to sack Inverness. On receiving a large sum of money from the town, as compensation for alleged injuries, Coll and the citizens were reconciled through the intervention of Dundee and both joined in supporting the jacobite interest. An attempt was made to include the Mackintoshes in the general reconciliation, but Coll rated his friendship at such a high value as to render the attempt abortive. The Keppoch Chieftain was so enraged at the refractory spirit of Mackintosh, that, with the forced connivance of the high-souled Graham, he drove away all his cattle, most of which were kept among his own retainers. When Coll took such liberty under the eye of an energetic general, whose dearest plans were thereby put in peril, how could he be controlled by the weak, unpopular Cannan? Soon after the battle of Killiecrankie, several of the clans left the white standard to go to their several homes with the spoils gathered during the campaign. Coll of Keppoch left with his own men, and the M'lans of Glencoe, his confederates, in October. Determined to gather their winter mart in going home, and aware they could not do so with any propriety or hope of success in the land of the Robert sons, who had fought with them under Dundee, they came round by Glenlyon, and gratified their love of plunder and their inveterate hatred to the Campbells, by harrying the little property still possessed by the poor Laird of Glenlyon.
You can read the rest of this account at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../chapter06.htm
The other chapters can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...lyon/index.htm
The Complete Scotland
---------------------
Alan is back and has started again on this book. This week he had made a start at the Eastern Scotland section which you can get to at http://www.electricscotland.com/travel/scotland/
A Sassenach's Stravaig
----------------------
By Roger Whitehead
Got in the second article in this series...
Sunday, 5 April 2009 — Ayr
and you can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/trav...hitehead02.htm
Lossiemouth Project
-------------------
We are making some progress with this project and delighted to say that we're now getting some information in about Ramsay MacDonald the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Included with this is an account of how Mount Ishbel in the Rokies was named after Ishbel MacDonald by MacKenzie King who Ramsay befriended when he studied in London. Ishbel married a Lossiemouth chemist Peterkin by name and lived in Lossie the remainder of her life.
There is a huge archive of material which they are going to share with us.
I am also told that the local football club and the local newspaper will be getting together some information for us.
David Thomson, who is helping with this project, is now back home for Christmas and is taking some time to talk to local people about this project. His daughter created a flyer to hand out to the locals and we have a copy of it in pdf format for you to look at on the index page.
You can see more of this at http://www.electricscotland.com/lossiemouth/
The account of the Prime Minister can be found under "Lossiemouth People".
Old Pistol
----------
This is an old pistol that was dug up in a garden in Chatham, Ontario. We think it was made in the 18th century unless you know otherwise! You can see the pictures at http://www.electricscotland.com/canada/pistol.htm
Scotland, Social and Domestic
-----------------------------
Memorials of Life and Manners in North Britain by Rev. Charles Rogers LL.D., FSA Scot (1869)
We are now making a start at this new book in which the author says...
Lord Macaulay, in one of his essays, thus writes:— "To call up our ancestors before us, with all their peculiarities of language, manners, and garb, — to show us over their houses, to seat us at their tables, to rummage their old-fashioned wardrobes, to explain the use of their ponderous furniture; — these parts of the duty, which properly belongs to the historian, have become appropriated by the historical novelist. In these pages I have endeavoured to present a portraiture of Scottish life and manners from the Reformation downwards, dissociated from fiction, and founded on original materials. I have collected my information from many sources. I gathered much in the course of antiquarian rambles in different parts of Scotland. The ecclesiastical records have been of especial service. Annals, journals, diaries, provincial histories, club books, and books privately printed, have yielded a store of information. MSS. relating to Scotland in the British Museum, and the Public Record Office, London, and in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, and the General Register House Edinburgh, have been laid under tribute. I have been favoured with communications from intelligent persons in various parts of the country. My special acknowledgments are due to Captain Dunbar Dunbar, author of "Social Life in Moray;" to John Gorrie, Esq., Advocate; and to Hugh Barclay, Esq., LL.D., Sheriff-Substitute of Perthshire. To my accomplished friend, Thomas Laurence Kington Oliphant, Esq., of Gask, I have been deeply indebted for many valuable suggestions during the progress of the work at press. My thanks, lastly, are due to the Grampian Club, for printing this work as the first of their issues.
Snowdoun Villa, Lewisham, Kent.
July, 1869.
The first chapter is now up which can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../socialndx.htm
And to finish...
Good Intentions
A holidaymaker in Minorca tried out her Spanish on the local butcher by wishing him a Happy New Year - "feliz ano nuevo" and wondered why he threw her such a dirty look.
Unfortunately, she had mispronounced ano - it should have been año, like señor, and had wished him a happy new bottom, which didn't help as he had just had an operation for haemorrhoids.
And that's it for now and hope you all have a Very Happy New Year :-)
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com
--------
Electric Scotland News
Electric Scotland Community
The Flag in the Wind
Geikie's Etchings
Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
Kay's Edinburgh Portraits
William McTaggart, R.S.A., V.P.R.S.W.
Sir James Douglas
History of America
History of India - An Historical Disquisition
Ten Tales by Sir Harry Lauder
Cavendish - The settlement of P.E.I.
The Lairds of Glenlyon: Historical Sketches
The Complete Scotland
A Sassenach's Stravaig
Lossiemouth Project
Old Pistol
Scotland, Social and Domestic (New Book)
Electric Scotland News
----------------------
This is the last newsletter of 2010 and so time to wish you all a Very Happy New Year and Lang may yer lum reek!
As we'll all be singing Auld Lang Syne I thought I'd mention that we have a great article about this song which you can read at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...s/langsyne.htm
We also have another account where the music plays in the background so you can sing the words as you listen to the music at http://www.electricscotland.com/burns/langsyne.html
-----
Had a wee accident on Christmas Eve which meant I broke a bone in my hand which meant that after Christmas I had to go to the local emergency unit in Toronto. They diagnosed the break and then tried to put it back in place and then put my hand in plaster. That in turn meant I couldn't use my mouse and struggled greatly to use my left hand. As it happens they plastered my hand when it was badly swollen so after a couple of days the plaster came loose so I just removed it and hence you are now getting this newsletter which otherwise would not have been possible. I am to go back after January is in to get it looked at. I'm told I might need to have a wee operation to put in a pin but we'll see how that goes.
-----
New Year is of course a time for reflecting on the past year and looking forward to the new one. Even though I'm well into history I'm not one that reflects on what might have been but instead look forward to what might be in the new year.
I have been making progress with Visit Scotland and so I hope the new year will see us getting some interesting articles from them.
I am also keen to try and develop our Lossiemouth Project. As I speak a leaflet has been printed by David Thomson and his daughter about the project to hand out to local people in the area. David is back in the area over the Christmas period and so is talking to many people so hopefully this will turn into lots of people getting in touch.
I hope that our Electric Scotland community will continue to see new members joining and the community flourishing with lots of new contributors.
I noticed with interest the rankings of Facebook, Google, etc. The actual meaning of the new rankings in terms of search vs. social as it relates to marketers and Web business is a matter of debate, but one thing is certain from the latest statistics. The 10 most-visited websites in the U.S. accounted for more than one-third of the overall traffic in 2010, gaining 33 percent of the year’s total visits.
That number represents a 12-percent increase over 2009, which may cast a shadow on predictions about the rise of local commerce and the emergence of small businesses on the Web. The data clearly indicates that the gap is widening between a handful of giant properties and the rest of the commercial Web.
To me this just means that the BBC's and our own surveys confirm that most people only visit a handful of sites on anything like a regular basis. I think the challenge is how the smaller web sites might band together to be a more compelling offering and secure better regular traffic.
This applies to the Grocery trade, book trade, etc. The big keep getting bigger so the smaller brands get increasingly sidelined unless they can offer a truly unique service and that becomes even harder. So this is not unique to the online industry.
So the challenge ahead simply means that I have to be on the lookout for more compelling content and perhaps a wider focus. This of course is why I often ask for feedback and suggestions!!! <grin>
-----
We've created a one page 2011 calendar in a pdf file which you can download and print off at http://www.electricscotland.com/escalendar2011.pdf
I played around with this and it prints perfectly if printed from the adobe reader or in IE8 but noted that Chrome and Firefox did chop a wee bit from the bottom if printed directly (although all the dates are there). This will print fine on both US letter paper or US legal paper and A4.
ABOUT THE STORIES
-----------------
Some of the stories in here are just parts of a larger story so do check out the site for the full versions. You can always find the link in our "What's New" section in our site menu and at http://www.electricscotland.com/rss/whatsnew.php
Electric Scotland Community
---------------------------
Checking the community today I find we now have 315 members. There were 30 users in at the time, 2 members and 28 guests. We are averaging 1,313 visits each week which kind of shows that most of the people viewing are coming in as guests. There are 1,128 Threads (topics) with 3,126 Posts (messages).
I note many interesting posts and one is "The Modern Jacobite" by Kelly d Whittaker which can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.org/show...ly-d-Whittaker
Our community can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.org/forum.php
THE FLAG IN THE WIND
--------------------
This weeks issue is now available compiled by Jim Lynch in which he tells his own personal tale of woes from a sick PC to accidents and home issues. We hope that Jim has a much better 2011. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors for their contributions to our understanding of our fight for independence.
I hope that in 2011 we might see them tackle some issues that are of vital interest to Scotland. Politics is of course top of their agenda but if Scotland is to become Independent then we need a robust Scotland to be successful. We need to export our way out of our financial woes, we need to increase tourism spending in Scotland and we need to understand why an independent Scotland should join the EU where there seem to be compelling reasons why we shouldn't.
Looking at just some of the figures in this issue I noted...
The TNS poll was carried out Nov 24 – Dec 6 and sample size was 910.
The SNP have outlined their plans for a possible referendum which would transfer additional powers to the Scottish Parliament to enable Scotland to become an independent country. If such a referendum were to be held tomorrow, would you support or oppose the following proposal? The Scottish Government proposes that the Scottish Parliament's powers and responsibilities should be extended to enable independence to be achieved.
Yes 40%
No 44%
Don’t Know 16%
I can't help but wonder if it's time to talk about Scotland and not just political Scotland. We're now so used to "he said that we say this" type of mentality which the media has orchestrated for years now and we're all sick and fed up with. It's also the reason that I think people are voting in smaller and smaller numbers. It's why I noted recently that the famed CNN are now fading away due to the concentration on politics. I mean there average viewers are now down to some 750,000 and in a country with some 275 million of a population that must tell a story all of its own.
I believe it's time for a re-think so perhaps as we move into the 2nd decade of this century some new thinking can be done on how to present Scotland of today and tomorrow. I also think a poll of just 910 is not nearly sufficient to get an idea of Scotland's thinking on this matter. We need to poll at least 5,000 to get a better idea of how Scotland is thinking.
Of course as it's not my job to run the Scots Independent Newapaper or the Flag in the Wind, this is but a personal plea for more tranparency from Scotland. Having spent a good part of 2010 trying to get the Scottish Parliament, Scottish businesses and Scottish tourism to be more open with us about Scotland and having failed miserably, I just hope someone can do better.
You can get to the Flag at http://www.scotsindependent.org
Christina McKelvie's weekly diary is available at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...lvie/index.htm
Geikie's Etchings
-----------------
This week we've added more articles...
Fishwives
A Pleased Bairn
You can read these at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ikie/index.htm
Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland
----------------------------------------
And of the Border Raids, Forays and Conflicts by John Parker Lawson (1839). This is a new publication we're starting on which is in 3 volumes. We intend to post up 2 or 3 stories each week until complete.
This week we've added...
The Raid Of Ruthven - 1582
Battle Of Dryfe Sands - 1593
Feuds Of The Somervilles - 1593 and 1596
You can read these at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/wars/
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
------------------------------------------
By Cuthbert Bede (1861)
This week we put up Chapter XIV - Half a Dozen of the Hebrides
The Hebrides. — Cara. — Giguliim. — Giglia. — The squirting Cave. — The Watch-Cairn. — Keefie's Hill. — The miraculous Well of Toubirmore. — The Brownie. — Islay. — Antiquities. — Milo outdone.— Dinners and Deserts. — Traces of the Lords of the Isles. — Kernes and Gallowglasses. — A Wife upon Trial. — Macdonald's Feud. — Jura. — Corpachs. —The Island of Deer. — The Paps of Jura. — Their Altitude and Character. — The Mountain of Gold. —
The Slide of the old Hag. — Corryrraken. —The Legend of the Whirlpool. — The grey Dog's Slap. — A Tub for a Whale. — The Mermaid. — The Song of Colonsay. — Oransay. — A Hebridean Alsatia.
You can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/glencreggan/
Kay's Edinburgh Portraits
-------------------------
A Series of Anecdotal Biographies chiefly of Scotchmen, Mostly by James Paterson and Edited by James Maidment (1885)
This week we have added...
Mrs. Siddons, at the Edinburgh Theatre
The Rev. Hugh Blair, D.D., of the High Church, Edinburgh
The Honourable Henry Erskine, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates
James Bruce, Esq., the Abyssinian Traveller
Peter Williamson, Author and Publisher
William Martin, Bookseller and Auctioneer
About William Martin the account starts...
Martin, or "Bibles" as he was commonly called, is supposed to have been born at or near Airdrie, about the year 1744; and like his contemporary, Lackington of London, was originally bred a shoemaker. He used to boast that he was in arms during the Rebellion 1745. For several years after he came to Edinburgh, Martin occupied a small shop in the High Street, near the head of the West Bow, where he combined the two very opposite professions of bookseller and cobbler. He also frequented the country towns around Edinburgh on fairs and other market-days, exposing his small stock of books for sale; and, by dint of great perseverance and industry, was soon able to withdraw his allegiance from Crispin altogether, and to devote the whole of his attention to the sale of books.
It is uncertain at what period Martin came to Edinburgh. His burgess-ticket is dated 1786—but he must have been well established in business many years previously. From a letter of condolence written by him to the widow of his brother, who died in America, he appears to have been in thriving circumstances so early as 1782. He says, " The awfully sudden and unfortunate death of my brother—the helpless situation in which you were left, and so many fatherless children—situate in a country surrounded with war and devastation, my thoughts thereupon may be more easily conceived than described. My uneasiness has been much increased by the thoughts of the boy coming to me, that I might receive him safely, and that he might escape the dangers of so long a voyage. Indeed it has been the will of Providence to take all my children from me, and my intention is to adopt him (his nephew) as my own son. My situation in business I have no cause to complain of. I have a shop in the bookselling way in the Lawnmarket of Edinburgh, to which occupation I mean to put "William, my namesake, and in which I hope he will do very well. I will give him the best education, and he shall be as well clothed as myself. . . . My wife has been very much indisposed for some time bypast, and is not yet much better. She is most anxious about William, and wishes much to see him, from which you may conclude his arrival would make us both very happy." The letter from which the foregoing extract is taken, is dated June 2, 1782, and directed to "Mrs. Martin, relict of Captain Martin, to the care of Mr. William Pagan, merchant, New York." The nephew, for whom he expresses so much anxiety, arrived safe in Scotland, and continued with him for several years, but returning to America, died not long after. His wife also, whose bad health he mentions, did not long survive.
You can read the rest of this account at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/vol132.htm
The other entries can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/index.htm
William McTaggart, R.S.A., V.P.R.S.W.
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Painter and Artist and a man of considerable talents.
Added Chapter VII. Broomieknowe, 1889-1910
You can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...rt_william.htm
Sir James Douglas
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By Robert Hamilton Coats and R. E. Gosnell (1908) from the Makers of Canada series.
We have now completed this book with the following chapters...
Chapter IV - Fort Vancouver
Chapter V - The Oregon Boundary
Chapter VI - Victoria
Chapter VII - Vancouver Island
Chapter VIII - The Two Colonies
Chapter IX - Confederation
You can read this book at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...a/bc/index.htm
History of America
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by William Robertson
We have now completed this book with...
Book 4
Notes and Illustrations
And these can be read at the foot of this page at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...on_william.htm
History of India
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by William Robertson
We've now added Section III - Intercourse with India, from the Conquest of Egypt by the Mahomedans, to the Discovery after Passage by the Cape of Good Hope, and the Establishment of the Portuguese Dominion in the East. You can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...a/indiandx.htm
Ten Tales
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By Sir Harry Lauder (1908)
We found this charming wee book and thought we'd add it to the site. We've added the fifth tale...
Andy Broon's Love Affair
and you can view this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...entalesndx.htm
Cavendish
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Have now added Chapters 14 - 16 to this book which can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../cavendish.htm
The Lairds of Glenlyon: Historical Sketches
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Relating to the Districts of Appin, Glenlyon and Breadalbane by Duncan Campbell (1886)
We now have up chapters 1 to 9.
Chapter 6 starts...
WHEN Dundee fled from the Convention, "Coll of the Cows," the head of the M'Donalds of Keppoch, was pursuing with relentless fury the broken host of the Mackintoshes, his ancient foes, and was, on the arrival of the Viscount in the north, threatening to sack Inverness. On receiving a large sum of money from the town, as compensation for alleged injuries, Coll and the citizens were reconciled through the intervention of Dundee and both joined in supporting the jacobite interest. An attempt was made to include the Mackintoshes in the general reconciliation, but Coll rated his friendship at such a high value as to render the attempt abortive. The Keppoch Chieftain was so enraged at the refractory spirit of Mackintosh, that, with the forced connivance of the high-souled Graham, he drove away all his cattle, most of which were kept among his own retainers. When Coll took such liberty under the eye of an energetic general, whose dearest plans were thereby put in peril, how could he be controlled by the weak, unpopular Cannan? Soon after the battle of Killiecrankie, several of the clans left the white standard to go to their several homes with the spoils gathered during the campaign. Coll of Keppoch left with his own men, and the M'lans of Glencoe, his confederates, in October. Determined to gather their winter mart in going home, and aware they could not do so with any propriety or hope of success in the land of the Robert sons, who had fought with them under Dundee, they came round by Glenlyon, and gratified their love of plunder and their inveterate hatred to the Campbells, by harrying the little property still possessed by the poor Laird of Glenlyon.
You can read the rest of this account at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../chapter06.htm
The other chapters can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...lyon/index.htm
The Complete Scotland
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Alan is back and has started again on this book. This week he had made a start at the Eastern Scotland section which you can get to at http://www.electricscotland.com/travel/scotland/
A Sassenach's Stravaig
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By Roger Whitehead
Got in the second article in this series...
Sunday, 5 April 2009 — Ayr
and you can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/trav...hitehead02.htm
Lossiemouth Project
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We are making some progress with this project and delighted to say that we're now getting some information in about Ramsay MacDonald the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Included with this is an account of how Mount Ishbel in the Rokies was named after Ishbel MacDonald by MacKenzie King who Ramsay befriended when he studied in London. Ishbel married a Lossiemouth chemist Peterkin by name and lived in Lossie the remainder of her life.
There is a huge archive of material which they are going to share with us.
I am also told that the local football club and the local newspaper will be getting together some information for us.
David Thomson, who is helping with this project, is now back home for Christmas and is taking some time to talk to local people about this project. His daughter created a flyer to hand out to the locals and we have a copy of it in pdf format for you to look at on the index page.
You can see more of this at http://www.electricscotland.com/lossiemouth/
The account of the Prime Minister can be found under "Lossiemouth People".
Old Pistol
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This is an old pistol that was dug up in a garden in Chatham, Ontario. We think it was made in the 18th century unless you know otherwise! You can see the pictures at http://www.electricscotland.com/canada/pistol.htm
Scotland, Social and Domestic
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Memorials of Life and Manners in North Britain by Rev. Charles Rogers LL.D., FSA Scot (1869)
We are now making a start at this new book in which the author says...
Lord Macaulay, in one of his essays, thus writes:— "To call up our ancestors before us, with all their peculiarities of language, manners, and garb, — to show us over their houses, to seat us at their tables, to rummage their old-fashioned wardrobes, to explain the use of their ponderous furniture; — these parts of the duty, which properly belongs to the historian, have become appropriated by the historical novelist. In these pages I have endeavoured to present a portraiture of Scottish life and manners from the Reformation downwards, dissociated from fiction, and founded on original materials. I have collected my information from many sources. I gathered much in the course of antiquarian rambles in different parts of Scotland. The ecclesiastical records have been of especial service. Annals, journals, diaries, provincial histories, club books, and books privately printed, have yielded a store of information. MSS. relating to Scotland in the British Museum, and the Public Record Office, London, and in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, and the General Register House Edinburgh, have been laid under tribute. I have been favoured with communications from intelligent persons in various parts of the country. My special acknowledgments are due to Captain Dunbar Dunbar, author of "Social Life in Moray;" to John Gorrie, Esq., Advocate; and to Hugh Barclay, Esq., LL.D., Sheriff-Substitute of Perthshire. To my accomplished friend, Thomas Laurence Kington Oliphant, Esq., of Gask, I have been deeply indebted for many valuable suggestions during the progress of the work at press. My thanks, lastly, are due to the Grampian Club, for printing this work as the first of their issues.
Snowdoun Villa, Lewisham, Kent.
July, 1869.
The first chapter is now up which can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../socialndx.htm
And to finish...
Good Intentions
A holidaymaker in Minorca tried out her Spanish on the local butcher by wishing him a Happy New Year - "feliz ano nuevo" and wondered why he threw her such a dirty look.
Unfortunately, she had mispronounced ano - it should have been año, like señor, and had wished him a happy new bottom, which didn't help as he had just had an operation for haemorrhoids.
And that's it for now and hope you all have a Very Happy New Year :-)
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com
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