Tweet
CONTENTS
--------
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
Traditions of Perth
Glasgow and it's Clubs
Robert Burns Lives!
John Clay - A Scottish Farmer
Berwick upon Tweed
Old Church Life in Scotland (New Book)
Places of Interest about Girvan (New Book)
Fishermen and Fishing Ways (New Book)
Clan Leslie Society
The Crofters Act in Shetland
The Wicked Clan Gregor
Canada and the United States
The Life and Death of Jamie Fleeman
Poems of George Alexander Rodger
A Sassenach's Stravaig
Clan Ross Association of Canada
Electric Scotland News
----------------------
We now have our Amazon SHopping Malls up and running at http://www.electricscotland.com/shopmall.htm
Still more work to do but right now we have a mall for the USA, UK and Canada. This means you should pick the mall for your country if you want cheaper shipping or pick any of them if you wish. We've colour coded each one so the USA is blue, UK is brown and Canada is red. Also the currency is appropriate to the various countries. Amazon of course is responsible for the final check out and shipping.
The USA offering is more advanced than the others at this time with a greater range of products but we'll be working on that in the days ahead. I have noticed that in the books section there does seem to be a different choice depending on the country you select.
Also.. if you are an author or artist and sell your books, cd's or dvd's or other products through Amazon do let us know and we can feature your products for you.
To get to our Malls at any time just click on "Shopping" in our main menu in the header of our site.
-----
This coming week I'll be posting a report on a 7 day trip to Scotland with dinner, bed and breakfast which just cost £207.00. That's around $334.00. I'm also told there is no single persons allowance. Looking forward to bringing this to you.
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
---------------------------
Under the EScotland menu you will find quick links to the Electric Scotland site and our Shopping Mall.
We seem to have an Arcade that finally works and saves the high scores. Steve is intending to add some mods to this to bring in extra functionality.
We got a request to onbtain Animal Mahjong and we found two and have now added them to the Arcade. Should you have one you used to like in the old system and isn't in the new system then simply either email us the name or post in the Gamers Corner and we'll do our best to get it for you.
We've also removed the Links program because that just wasn't reliable. We are looking at trying another program to do a similar job that hopefully will be much more reliable.
I should also just remind you that our Postcard program works fine if you are sending out a postcard right away. However, if you schedule a card to be sent at a later date that doesn't currently work but we are working on finding a solution.
Our community can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.org/forum.php but of course if you are reading this you're already in it :-)
THE FLAG IN THE WIND
--------------------
This weeks issue is now available Compiled by Ian Goldie in which he makes available the SNP's launch campaign for the forthcoming elections.
You can get to the Flag at http://www.scotsindependent.org
Christina McKelvie's weekly diary came in but not so much of a diary as such as the Parliament has been disolved. She tells me she will send in some reports from the campaign trail so we'll look forward to getting these and wish her all the best for the elections. Her diary can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/mckelvie
Geikie's Etchings
-----------------
This week we've added more etchings along with some quite detailed accounts...
Come To Me And You'll Get It, My O'e
Guidman, I Maun Hae Anither Penny
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...
Surprise Of Berwick - 1318
Conflict Of Knock Mary - 1490
The Highlanders Revenge - 1589
You can read these accounts at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/wars/
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
------------------------------------------
By Cuthbert Bede (1861)
This week we're on Volume 2 with...
Chapter XXVII - Muasdale, A Watering-Place - In Cloudland
The bending Line of Shore. — An ideal Watering-place.— The Highland Aberystwith.—Muasdale's Superiorities. — Lions of the Neighbourhood. — Climate and Longevity. — Necessities and Attractions.— A Prophecy. — Killean Manse.— The minor Prophets. —Muasdale Village.—A Farina MLU. —Legend of the fourteen Farmers of Muasdale.
— Clachaig Glen. —Legend of Beith and the Arch-fiend. — The two Bridges. — The dry Bones of a Sketch. — How to manufacture a Picture. — Plenty of Smoke. — Half-price Distinction.
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...
Lord Hermand, of the Court of Session
Mr. Robert Johnston, Banker
Miss Sibilla Hutton, Milliner
Mr. John Bennet, Surgeon
The Right Hon. Francis, Lord Napier, of Merchiston
Mr. James Sibbald, Bookseller
The account of Miss Sibilla Hutton, Milliner, starts...
Miss Sibilla Hutton was the daughter of a very worthy dissenting clergyman, the Rev. William Hutton of Dalkeith. She kept a millinery establishment in the Royal Exchange. Sibby—for that was the name by which she was best known—was, without exception, the most fantastic lady of her day. This disposition grew with her growth, and strengthened with her strength. She by no means coincided with the poet's idea of beauty—
"When unadorned, adorned the most."
From her infancy she had been remarkable for her love of ornament; and, notwithstanding all the injunctions and rebukes of her father, Sibby still admired and followed the capricious changes of fashion.
Sibby carried on business to great "purpose, and daily added to the heaviness of her purse, as well as to the rotundity of her person. Neither did she neglect her early imbibed notions of personal decoration. She was always at the head of the ton, and indeed generally so far in advance that few attempted to follow. Miss Sibilla's silks, too, and the profusion of lace with which she was overlaid, were always of the most costly description, and must have been procured at immense expense.
During her residence in Edinburgh she occasionally visited her friends at Dalkeith. The old Secession minister was sadly scandalised at Sibby's obduracy in the practice of vain ornament. One day Sibby appeared at Dalkeith with the identical head-dress in which she is portrayed in the print. It was the first occasion on which it had graced her portly figure. "Sibby! Sibby!'" said the father, with more than usual gravity; "do you really expect to get to heaven with such a bonnet on your head?" "and why not, father?" said Sibilla, with her accustomed good humour; "I'm sure I'll make a better appearance there than you will do with that vile, old-fashioned black wig, which you have worn for the last twenty years!"
You can read the rest of this account at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/vol211.htm
The other entries can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/index.htm
Traditions of Perth
-------------------
Containing Sketches of the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants during the last century by George Penny (1836)
We've now added Pages 235 to 261 and included in these pages are accounts of the General Trade of Perth.
You can get to these pages at the foot of the page at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/perth/
Glasgow and it's Clubs
----------------------
Or Glimpses of Conditions, Manners, Characters and Oddities of the City By John Strang LL.D. (1857)
This week we've added...
Patrick and its Gastronomes—Duck Club
The Radical War—Waterloo Club—The Wet Radical Wednesday of the West
The Glasgow Charities—Shuna Club
The Radical War—Waterloo Club is an interesting account which starts...
Immediately after the victory of "Waterloo had procured the pacification of Europe and sealed the destiny of Napoleon Bonaparte, a set of jovial hearted fellows, who always preferred punch to water-gruel and Momus to melancholy, united themselves into a Club that met in a house which, though now not so celebrated as at that period, bore the sign of Britain's most memorable conflict. The members of the fraternity were at first limited to five-and-twenty ; but its glory, spreading like the fame of Waterloo, which bad been chosen as the nominal link of the union, produced a large addition to both ordinary and honorary members of the brotherhood. Honours and titles being the fashion of the period, it was not likely that the members of this Club would withstand the infection: the truth was, that all of them did feel an anxiety about distinction; and, in imitation of the extended Order of the Bath, the Waterloo Club order of knighthood was established. The original twenty-five members assumed the title of "Knights Grand Cross," and added to their signatures G.C.W. The ordinary members that of "Knights Commanders," with K.C.W. The honorary members were simply designated "Companions."
You can read these chapters at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...w/clubsndx.htm
Robert Burns Lives!
-------------------
By Frank Shaw
Burns and Sex By George Scott Wilkie
I have known of George Scott Wilkie since 2002 when he published Understanding Robert Burns, Verse, Explanation, and Glossary. In fact, if one can say they know someone by reading a book, then I know him quite well! He published The Lassies in 2004, and for me it was like new found time with an old literary friend. Wilkie will teach you verse by verse about Robert Burns if you are willing to read the works of a man who “walks the walk” and “talks the talk” on the subject of the Bard. He will not lead you astray concerning Burns. In his introduction to Understanding Robert Burns, Wilkie concludes with these words, “Read and enjoy the words of Robert Burns and you will join the many millions who have fallen under his spell”. One cannot ask for more than a’ that.
Some months ago while attending our monthly gathering of the Burns Club of Atlanta, I was chatting with good friend and fellow member Keith Dunn prior to the start of the meeting. Another member walked by carrying a book that looked familiar to me and I mentioned to Keith it looked like a volume written by George Scott Wilkie. After inquiry, the owner revealed that it was indeed Wilkie’s Understanding Robert Burns. It’s easy to spot a distinctive book one has spent so much time with!
Last year, out of the blue, I received an email from George Wilkie with some words of encouragement about a situation that will remain untold, but his words meant the world to me. “When ignorance is on the march, stand aside and let it pass you by!” Thanks, George. I did just that!
We are in for another treat from this author. His new book, Robert Burns: A Life in Letters, is due to be published on April 14. George describes it as a selection of letters written by Burns, Clarinda, his brother William, and others. His publisher, Neil Wilson, portrays it as “a comprehensive publication of the correspondence of Robert Burns spanning 1780 to 1796 arranged chronologically.”
One closing word on Wilkie. He “was exposed to the work of Burns as a Leith schoolboy and has retained his interest in the bard throughout his life. He is retired and lives near Cambridge.” (FRS: 3.23.11)
You can read this article at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...s_lives113.htm
All of the Robert Burns articles can be found at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...rank/burns.htm
John Clay - A Scottish Farmer
-----------------------------
By his eldest son (1906)
We've now added...
Chapter IX - As a Sportsman
Chapter X - Part 1 - What he did for agriculture
Chapter X - Part 2 - Notes
Chapter X - Part 3 - Retiring Address
Chapter XII - His Last Eight Years
Newspaper Notices
which now concludes this book.
All the chapters can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/clay/index.htm
Berwick upon Tweed
------------------
A History of the Town by John Scott (1888)
We now have up...
Chapter IX. 1560—1568
Chapter X. 1568—1603
Chapter XI. 1603—1685
Chapter XII, 1685—1887
The Guild History of Berwick & Appendices (pdf)
Government of the Town by the Guild
and this now concludes this book.
You can read this book at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...wick/index.htm
Old Church Life in Scotland
---------------------------
By Andrew Edgar, Minister at Mauchline (1885).
The Lectures published in this volume were in their first draught delivered in Mauchline during the spring of 1884. They formed part of a course of lectures on "Our Parish Church and Parish Records," and the object originally contemplated by them was to furnish the people of Mauchline with such scraps of Parochial History and illustrations of Old Church Life as could be gleaned from the Records of Mauchline Kirk Session.
After I had agreed to publish some of the lectures, it occurred to me that it would be desirable to recast them and widen their scope, so that interest in them might not be limited to people connected with Mauchline Parish. The lectures now published are accordingly altered from what they were when delivered. They are also very much lengthened, and although like a house that has been repaired and added to, they may shew more trace than is desirable of their original design, it is hoped that on the subjects of which they treat they will give a fairly full and correct account of Church Life in Scotland during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
I am aware that the title chosen for this volume is not free from objection, but it was the best title I could think of. There is a great deal of old Church Life that is not described in this volume. The higher forms and aspects of Church Life are little noticed, but that is because the traces and evidences of such life are not to be found in the official records I have had mainly to deal with. It has to be remembered also, that the lectures now published formed only the half of a course, so that the volume viewed as a treatise is incomplete. It was thought that the publication of all the lectures would make too large a book on a subject that is not of very general interest. The topics treated in the lectures not published were, I may here state, the Church's provision for the Poor, the Church's work in providing Education for the people, Marriages, regular and irregular, Baptisms and Burials, and the roll of Mauchline Ministers since the Reformation.
Besides having carefully read over all the extant records of Mauchline Kirk Session from 1669 to the present day of grace, I have had the privilege of examining the Records of the Presbytery of Ayr from 1642 to 1650 and from 1687 to 1796. I have also been favoured with a perusal of the Session Records of Galston from 1626 to (about) 1750, the Session Records of Fen wick from 1645 to 1699, and the Session Records of Rothesay from 1658 to 1662. I have not literally ransacked these Recorcs. but I have appropriated all that on a cursory examination caught my eye as bearing on the several subjects discussed in the lectures. To those who favoured me with an inspection of these valuable documents—my fathers and brethren of the Presbytery of Ayr, the Rev. John Brown of Galston, the Rev. J. K. Hewison of Rothesay, the Rev. John Hall of Fenwick, and Mr. Macnair, Session-clerk, Fenwick—I have publicly to express my thanks and obligations.
It is not necessary to enumerate the printed books that have been consulted and drawn from, in the compilation of the lectures now published, because these books are for the most part indicated by name in the passages where extracts from them are given. It may be stated, however, that as this volume is meant for the general public, and not for such readers only as are well versed in Church history and church law, I have not hesitated, wherever I deemed it advantageous for the purpose of exposition, to make quotations not only from books that might be counted rare, but even from some that are well known and easy of access to people in towns. I have also purposely violated what may be termed one of the canons of literature, by engrossing into the text of the lectures many and sometimes large extracts from session books. This plan of composition, I am well aware, interrupts the flow of writing, and produces dull and heavy reading; but if I should succeed in making my meaning clear and in fully explaining all I attempt to expound, I shall not be dissatisfied with the result.
Nearly half of the volume is taken up with the subject of Church discipline, but in dealing with cases of scandal I have generally withheld the names of persons involved, when I thought it possible that such names could be identified with families still represented in the district of Mauchline. To this rule, however, I have made one notable exception. The public interest in the national poet is so absorbing, and people are so anxious to know the whole truth about his bright and sad career, that I have thought proper to tell nearly all that the Session Records of Mauchline have to say about him and the persons that figure in his poems. And the cause of this insatiate curiosity regarding all places and persons associated with Burns is not far to seek. The poetry of Burns more than that of any British poet, except perhaps Wordsworth, was the outcome of his own life and surroundings. An intimate knowledge of that life and of these surroundings is craved therefore by every one who makes the poems of Burns a study ; and although it is not in Session Records that we can expect to meet with what was best and greatest in the poet's life, we still long to hear from these Records the minutest facts they contain about him and his contemporaries.
I have only to add that although I have been at much pains to be accurate, I cannot flatter myself with the expectation that in a book containing so many statements as this does, both on matters of fact and on matters of opinion, no slip nor misjudgment will be found. One point on which, from following with unquestioning faith the statements made in popular works, my remarks are open to criticism and doubt, is the old monastic life at Mauchline. In Appendix F, I have done what I could to set what may be termed the new state of this question impartially before the public.
You can read this book as we get it up at http://www.electricscotland.com/bible/churchlifendx.htm
Places of Interest about Girvan
-------------------------------
By Rev. R. Lawson (1892).
This book, like Places of Interest about Maybole, took its origin from my Monthly Letters. In these, I have been in the habit of giving sketches of the more interesting places in the neighbourhood, illustrated by drawings provided for me by various obliging friends. During the last two years I have been engaged in sketching the places of interest about Girvan, my native town, and now that I have finished these, I have thought it right to gather them into a volume, that the two towns, in one or other of which most of my life has been spent, may be equally recognised by me in such fashion as I am enabled.
As to the drawings, which form such an attractive feature of the volume, I may mention that most of them have been furnished by my friend Mr Robert Bryden, A.R.P.E., South Kensington, London, who has all along freely helped me in the books I have written. Nine of them have been furnished by my young friend and townsman, Mr William Bone, Architect, Kilmarnock, who has also been forward with his pencil in lending me assistance. The drawing of Bennan Head was sketched by a lady friend, once resident in the neighbourhood; that of the Hole in the Rock by Miss Gray, Lendal School; and that of Lendal Bay by a native of Maybole, Mr David M'Gill, London, from a painting by Mr William Muir, Girvan.
Any one who looks on the book, and remembers the necessarily limited constituency to which it appeals, must see that it is not published for profit. It is published for the good of such people in the district as have a taste for the history of it, and to these, young and old, it is inscribed with my hearty good wishes.
You can read this book as we get it up at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...rvan/index.htm
Fishermen and Fishing Ways
--------------------------
By Peter F Anson (1932)
I mentioned this book before and was delighted to get permission to publish it on the site and it is now going up.
From the shore, eyes gaze anxiously out across the storm-tossed sea. Will they be safe? Has there been a mishap? For the wives and relatives of all fishermen there are periods of stress and worry. At the mercy of the elements, a drifter or trawler is small craft indeed.
Fishermen are a breed of their own. They have their own beliefs and superstitions. They have their own special methods of catching fish, and they have to be admired. Surrounded on all sides by the sea, the British Isles have long been dependent on the treasures it holds. Other countries have also gleaned from the sea, providing food, money and a living.
The superstitions exist because of two Actors. Firstly there is a necessity of calming the fury of the sea, which is regarded as being either a divinity in itself or else inhabited by good and evil spirits. Secondly, there is the need of taking the greatest number of fish with a minimum of effort, this being best achieved by securing the co-operation of the supernatural beings which live in the sea and control its movements.
Peter Anson's book reveals all about Fishermen and their ways in a spellbinding manner. For as long as the sea exists there will be fish, barring pollution, and there will always be fishermen.
"The fish shone white in the water came up shining and large in the net, like grains of corn on an interminable ear. Yard after yard came up, solid with fish. We got wet through, and we didn't care".
You can read this book at http://www.electricscotland.com/loss.../fishermen.htm
Clan Leslie Society
-------------------
Both the International and the Australia and New Zealand societies sent in copies of their newsletter. They can be viwed at...
International at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...ters/leslieint
Australia & New Zealand at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...letters/leslie
The Crofters Act in Shetland
----------------------------
From the Scottish Review (1890).
I found this article in an old issue of the Scottish Review and extracted it for the site. The account starts...
NOW that the Crofters Commission have issued their Parliamentary Report upon last year's work in Shetland, we propose to summarise the results of their visit to the island, and to point out the effects which the Crofters Act has had, and probably will have, upon the relations of proprietors and tenants, upon the circumstances of the latter, and upon the prosperity and progress of the island. According to the Report the Commission dealt with 1330 applications to have fair rents fixed, embracing 7057 acres of arable land, 15,031 acres of outrun or cow's grass, and 123,420 acres of hill pasture, with the result that a gross rental of £6917, payable by 1328 Crofters, has been reduced to £4990,—a reduction of over 27 per cent.; while arrears of £6438 have been reduced to £2323,—a reduction of over 63 per cent. A discussion of the merits of these decisions, incongruous as some of them appear, would serve no good purpose, as the Commission give no reasons for any of their decisions, and we prefer rather to enquire, what, now that the general result of the Commissioners' visit is known, is the effect likely to be produced by their action.
This can be viwed at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...d_crofters.htm
The Wicked Clan Gregor
----------------------
From the Scottish Review (1890).
Another article I extracted which starts...
THERE are some minor episodes in Scottish history that illustrate with singular force the native intensity of character and fervour of attachment to traditional systems, which so often made the nation's progress towards the universal reign of law a blood-stained path. The case of Clan Gregor is perhaps the most typical of these episodes, which marked the transition from the old Celtic system of the military organization of the clans under the chiefs of their names to the territorial system by which the men of the tribes became the men of their feudal landlords. But though its tragic and romantic elements have been often dealt with, the true story of the doings and sufferings of the devoted clan has yet to be dug from the dry-as-dust sources of historical narrative in contemporary records, and the purpose of this paper is merely to show that the records contain materials for such a narrative.
You can view this article at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...les/gregor.htm
Canada and the United States
----------------------------
From the Scottish Review (1890) in which is a discussion on the merits of the political systems in Canada and the USA.
And one final article I extracted from this edition of the Scottish Review which starts...
This paper contains the material parts of a series of lectures delivered at Harvard and Johns Hopkins' Universities, in the United States, and at Trinity University, Toronto, in the month of November last, and is now printed in full for the first time.
Ypu can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../canadausa.htm
The Life and Death of Jamie Fleeman
-----------------------------------
The Laird of Udny's Fool (1859)
This person is mentioned on various pages of the site and John Henderson thought it would be worth while to add some information about him and so we have. The Introduction has been ocr'd in and starts...
There are more fools in the world than those publicly accounted such, and in the number many who would be highly offended were the least hint thrown out that their names stood on the list. Idiots or common fools, whose minds are so framed that it is difficult to determine whether the weak parts or the strong be the more conspicuous, generally view things through a medium peculiar to themselves, and think, speak, and act in a way distinct from the great mass of mankind. While other men allow the world to become acquainted with only the more rational part of their views, the fool reveals all that comes into his thoughts. Both rational men and idiots build castles in the air. The former are accounted wise because they conceal the airy fabrics ; the latter are esteemed fools, not because they allow their thoughts to run riot, but because they cannot conceal their vagaries from the public. The one may embark in the wildest schemes, and pursue the most headlong course, and still be reckoned no fool ; while the other may say many witty things, and do many rational deeds, and still the world will not account him wise, but will laugh at both his sayings and his doings, because he does not follow exactly the same track nor view circumstances in the same light as the muiltitude. But if the world laugh at the eccentricities of the fool, the fool, in revenge, seems to hold the notions of the world in derision : for while the more rational part of the community are carefully keeping in one common and beaten track, and, individually, would be quite unhappy were they to be singular in their manners and habits, the fool fearlessly bounds into a path of his own formation, and pursues his way through a kind of fictitious region, wherein he seems to find enjoyments of no ordinary nature, and beyond the ken of all ordinary men.
The rest of this introduction and a pdf file of the book can be got to at http://www.electricscotland.com/book...ie_fleeman.htm
Poems of George Alexander Rodger
--------------------------------
We brought you one of his poems last week and thought we'd more for you over the weeks. The first one "Gleanings By Glenner 1978" can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/rodger01.htm
A Sassenach's Stravaig
----------------------
Monday 29 June 2009 -- Mosspaul.
Got in another account in this series which can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/trav...hitehead05.htm
Clan Ross Association of Canada
-------------------------------
We got in the Winter 2011 newsletter, February 2011 which can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...wsletters/ross
And here is a wee story to finish...
Wrap-Up!
A Scot and an American were talking about playing golf during the various seasons of the year. “In most parts of the USA we can’t play in the winter time. We have to wait until spring,” the American said.
“Why, in Scotland we can even play in the winter. Snow and cold are no obstacle to us,” said the Scot.
“Well, what do you do? Paint your balls black?” asked the American.
“No,” said the Scot, “we just put on an extra sweater or two.”
And that's it for now and hope you all have a good weekend.
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
Traditions of Perth
Glasgow and it's Clubs
Robert Burns Lives!
John Clay - A Scottish Farmer
Berwick upon Tweed
Old Church Life in Scotland (New Book)
Places of Interest about Girvan (New Book)
Fishermen and Fishing Ways (New Book)
Clan Leslie Society
The Crofters Act in Shetland
The Wicked Clan Gregor
Canada and the United States
The Life and Death of Jamie Fleeman
Poems of George Alexander Rodger
A Sassenach's Stravaig
Clan Ross Association of Canada
Electric Scotland News
----------------------
We now have our Amazon SHopping Malls up and running at http://www.electricscotland.com/shopmall.htm
Still more work to do but right now we have a mall for the USA, UK and Canada. This means you should pick the mall for your country if you want cheaper shipping or pick any of them if you wish. We've colour coded each one so the USA is blue, UK is brown and Canada is red. Also the currency is appropriate to the various countries. Amazon of course is responsible for the final check out and shipping.
The USA offering is more advanced than the others at this time with a greater range of products but we'll be working on that in the days ahead. I have noticed that in the books section there does seem to be a different choice depending on the country you select.
Also.. if you are an author or artist and sell your books, cd's or dvd's or other products through Amazon do let us know and we can feature your products for you.
To get to our Malls at any time just click on "Shopping" in our main menu in the header of our site.
-----
This coming week I'll be posting a report on a 7 day trip to Scotland with dinner, bed and breakfast which just cost £207.00. That's around $334.00. I'm also told there is no single persons allowance. Looking forward to bringing this to you.
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
---------------------------
Under the EScotland menu you will find quick links to the Electric Scotland site and our Shopping Mall.
We seem to have an Arcade that finally works and saves the high scores. Steve is intending to add some mods to this to bring in extra functionality.
We got a request to onbtain Animal Mahjong and we found two and have now added them to the Arcade. Should you have one you used to like in the old system and isn't in the new system then simply either email us the name or post in the Gamers Corner and we'll do our best to get it for you.
We've also removed the Links program because that just wasn't reliable. We are looking at trying another program to do a similar job that hopefully will be much more reliable.
I should also just remind you that our Postcard program works fine if you are sending out a postcard right away. However, if you schedule a card to be sent at a later date that doesn't currently work but we are working on finding a solution.
Our community can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.org/forum.php but of course if you are reading this you're already in it :-)
THE FLAG IN THE WIND
--------------------
This weeks issue is now available Compiled by Ian Goldie in which he makes available the SNP's launch campaign for the forthcoming elections.
You can get to the Flag at http://www.scotsindependent.org
Christina McKelvie's weekly diary came in but not so much of a diary as such as the Parliament has been disolved. She tells me she will send in some reports from the campaign trail so we'll look forward to getting these and wish her all the best for the elections. Her diary can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/mckelvie
Geikie's Etchings
-----------------
This week we've added more etchings along with some quite detailed accounts...
Come To Me And You'll Get It, My O'e
Guidman, I Maun Hae Anither Penny
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...
Surprise Of Berwick - 1318
Conflict Of Knock Mary - 1490
The Highlanders Revenge - 1589
You can read these accounts at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/wars/
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
------------------------------------------
By Cuthbert Bede (1861)
This week we're on Volume 2 with...
Chapter XXVII - Muasdale, A Watering-Place - In Cloudland
The bending Line of Shore. — An ideal Watering-place.— The Highland Aberystwith.—Muasdale's Superiorities. — Lions of the Neighbourhood. — Climate and Longevity. — Necessities and Attractions.— A Prophecy. — Killean Manse.— The minor Prophets. —Muasdale Village.—A Farina MLU. —Legend of the fourteen Farmers of Muasdale.
— Clachaig Glen. —Legend of Beith and the Arch-fiend. — The two Bridges. — The dry Bones of a Sketch. — How to manufacture a Picture. — Plenty of Smoke. — Half-price Distinction.
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...
Lord Hermand, of the Court of Session
Mr. Robert Johnston, Banker
Miss Sibilla Hutton, Milliner
Mr. John Bennet, Surgeon
The Right Hon. Francis, Lord Napier, of Merchiston
Mr. James Sibbald, Bookseller
The account of Miss Sibilla Hutton, Milliner, starts...
Miss Sibilla Hutton was the daughter of a very worthy dissenting clergyman, the Rev. William Hutton of Dalkeith. She kept a millinery establishment in the Royal Exchange. Sibby—for that was the name by which she was best known—was, without exception, the most fantastic lady of her day. This disposition grew with her growth, and strengthened with her strength. She by no means coincided with the poet's idea of beauty—
"When unadorned, adorned the most."
From her infancy she had been remarkable for her love of ornament; and, notwithstanding all the injunctions and rebukes of her father, Sibby still admired and followed the capricious changes of fashion.
Sibby carried on business to great "purpose, and daily added to the heaviness of her purse, as well as to the rotundity of her person. Neither did she neglect her early imbibed notions of personal decoration. She was always at the head of the ton, and indeed generally so far in advance that few attempted to follow. Miss Sibilla's silks, too, and the profusion of lace with which she was overlaid, were always of the most costly description, and must have been procured at immense expense.
During her residence in Edinburgh she occasionally visited her friends at Dalkeith. The old Secession minister was sadly scandalised at Sibby's obduracy in the practice of vain ornament. One day Sibby appeared at Dalkeith with the identical head-dress in which she is portrayed in the print. It was the first occasion on which it had graced her portly figure. "Sibby! Sibby!'" said the father, with more than usual gravity; "do you really expect to get to heaven with such a bonnet on your head?" "and why not, father?" said Sibilla, with her accustomed good humour; "I'm sure I'll make a better appearance there than you will do with that vile, old-fashioned black wig, which you have worn for the last twenty years!"
You can read the rest of this account at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/vol211.htm
The other entries can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/index.htm
Traditions of Perth
-------------------
Containing Sketches of the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants during the last century by George Penny (1836)
We've now added Pages 235 to 261 and included in these pages are accounts of the General Trade of Perth.
You can get to these pages at the foot of the page at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/perth/
Glasgow and it's Clubs
----------------------
Or Glimpses of Conditions, Manners, Characters and Oddities of the City By John Strang LL.D. (1857)
This week we've added...
Patrick and its Gastronomes—Duck Club
The Radical War—Waterloo Club—The Wet Radical Wednesday of the West
The Glasgow Charities—Shuna Club
The Radical War—Waterloo Club is an interesting account which starts...
Immediately after the victory of "Waterloo had procured the pacification of Europe and sealed the destiny of Napoleon Bonaparte, a set of jovial hearted fellows, who always preferred punch to water-gruel and Momus to melancholy, united themselves into a Club that met in a house which, though now not so celebrated as at that period, bore the sign of Britain's most memorable conflict. The members of the fraternity were at first limited to five-and-twenty ; but its glory, spreading like the fame of Waterloo, which bad been chosen as the nominal link of the union, produced a large addition to both ordinary and honorary members of the brotherhood. Honours and titles being the fashion of the period, it was not likely that the members of this Club would withstand the infection: the truth was, that all of them did feel an anxiety about distinction; and, in imitation of the extended Order of the Bath, the Waterloo Club order of knighthood was established. The original twenty-five members assumed the title of "Knights Grand Cross," and added to their signatures G.C.W. The ordinary members that of "Knights Commanders," with K.C.W. The honorary members were simply designated "Companions."
You can read these chapters at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...w/clubsndx.htm
Robert Burns Lives!
-------------------
By Frank Shaw
Burns and Sex By George Scott Wilkie
I have known of George Scott Wilkie since 2002 when he published Understanding Robert Burns, Verse, Explanation, and Glossary. In fact, if one can say they know someone by reading a book, then I know him quite well! He published The Lassies in 2004, and for me it was like new found time with an old literary friend. Wilkie will teach you verse by verse about Robert Burns if you are willing to read the works of a man who “walks the walk” and “talks the talk” on the subject of the Bard. He will not lead you astray concerning Burns. In his introduction to Understanding Robert Burns, Wilkie concludes with these words, “Read and enjoy the words of Robert Burns and you will join the many millions who have fallen under his spell”. One cannot ask for more than a’ that.
Some months ago while attending our monthly gathering of the Burns Club of Atlanta, I was chatting with good friend and fellow member Keith Dunn prior to the start of the meeting. Another member walked by carrying a book that looked familiar to me and I mentioned to Keith it looked like a volume written by George Scott Wilkie. After inquiry, the owner revealed that it was indeed Wilkie’s Understanding Robert Burns. It’s easy to spot a distinctive book one has spent so much time with!
Last year, out of the blue, I received an email from George Wilkie with some words of encouragement about a situation that will remain untold, but his words meant the world to me. “When ignorance is on the march, stand aside and let it pass you by!” Thanks, George. I did just that!
We are in for another treat from this author. His new book, Robert Burns: A Life in Letters, is due to be published on April 14. George describes it as a selection of letters written by Burns, Clarinda, his brother William, and others. His publisher, Neil Wilson, portrays it as “a comprehensive publication of the correspondence of Robert Burns spanning 1780 to 1796 arranged chronologically.”
One closing word on Wilkie. He “was exposed to the work of Burns as a Leith schoolboy and has retained his interest in the bard throughout his life. He is retired and lives near Cambridge.” (FRS: 3.23.11)
You can read this article at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...s_lives113.htm
All of the Robert Burns articles can be found at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...rank/burns.htm
John Clay - A Scottish Farmer
-----------------------------
By his eldest son (1906)
We've now added...
Chapter IX - As a Sportsman
Chapter X - Part 1 - What he did for agriculture
Chapter X - Part 2 - Notes
Chapter X - Part 3 - Retiring Address
Chapter XII - His Last Eight Years
Newspaper Notices
which now concludes this book.
All the chapters can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/clay/index.htm
Berwick upon Tweed
------------------
A History of the Town by John Scott (1888)
We now have up...
Chapter IX. 1560—1568
Chapter X. 1568—1603
Chapter XI. 1603—1685
Chapter XII, 1685—1887
The Guild History of Berwick & Appendices (pdf)
Government of the Town by the Guild
and this now concludes this book.
You can read this book at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...wick/index.htm
Old Church Life in Scotland
---------------------------
By Andrew Edgar, Minister at Mauchline (1885).
The Lectures published in this volume were in their first draught delivered in Mauchline during the spring of 1884. They formed part of a course of lectures on "Our Parish Church and Parish Records," and the object originally contemplated by them was to furnish the people of Mauchline with such scraps of Parochial History and illustrations of Old Church Life as could be gleaned from the Records of Mauchline Kirk Session.
After I had agreed to publish some of the lectures, it occurred to me that it would be desirable to recast them and widen their scope, so that interest in them might not be limited to people connected with Mauchline Parish. The lectures now published are accordingly altered from what they were when delivered. They are also very much lengthened, and although like a house that has been repaired and added to, they may shew more trace than is desirable of their original design, it is hoped that on the subjects of which they treat they will give a fairly full and correct account of Church Life in Scotland during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
I am aware that the title chosen for this volume is not free from objection, but it was the best title I could think of. There is a great deal of old Church Life that is not described in this volume. The higher forms and aspects of Church Life are little noticed, but that is because the traces and evidences of such life are not to be found in the official records I have had mainly to deal with. It has to be remembered also, that the lectures now published formed only the half of a course, so that the volume viewed as a treatise is incomplete. It was thought that the publication of all the lectures would make too large a book on a subject that is not of very general interest. The topics treated in the lectures not published were, I may here state, the Church's provision for the Poor, the Church's work in providing Education for the people, Marriages, regular and irregular, Baptisms and Burials, and the roll of Mauchline Ministers since the Reformation.
Besides having carefully read over all the extant records of Mauchline Kirk Session from 1669 to the present day of grace, I have had the privilege of examining the Records of the Presbytery of Ayr from 1642 to 1650 and from 1687 to 1796. I have also been favoured with a perusal of the Session Records of Galston from 1626 to (about) 1750, the Session Records of Fen wick from 1645 to 1699, and the Session Records of Rothesay from 1658 to 1662. I have not literally ransacked these Recorcs. but I have appropriated all that on a cursory examination caught my eye as bearing on the several subjects discussed in the lectures. To those who favoured me with an inspection of these valuable documents—my fathers and brethren of the Presbytery of Ayr, the Rev. John Brown of Galston, the Rev. J. K. Hewison of Rothesay, the Rev. John Hall of Fenwick, and Mr. Macnair, Session-clerk, Fenwick—I have publicly to express my thanks and obligations.
It is not necessary to enumerate the printed books that have been consulted and drawn from, in the compilation of the lectures now published, because these books are for the most part indicated by name in the passages where extracts from them are given. It may be stated, however, that as this volume is meant for the general public, and not for such readers only as are well versed in Church history and church law, I have not hesitated, wherever I deemed it advantageous for the purpose of exposition, to make quotations not only from books that might be counted rare, but even from some that are well known and easy of access to people in towns. I have also purposely violated what may be termed one of the canons of literature, by engrossing into the text of the lectures many and sometimes large extracts from session books. This plan of composition, I am well aware, interrupts the flow of writing, and produces dull and heavy reading; but if I should succeed in making my meaning clear and in fully explaining all I attempt to expound, I shall not be dissatisfied with the result.
Nearly half of the volume is taken up with the subject of Church discipline, but in dealing with cases of scandal I have generally withheld the names of persons involved, when I thought it possible that such names could be identified with families still represented in the district of Mauchline. To this rule, however, I have made one notable exception. The public interest in the national poet is so absorbing, and people are so anxious to know the whole truth about his bright and sad career, that I have thought proper to tell nearly all that the Session Records of Mauchline have to say about him and the persons that figure in his poems. And the cause of this insatiate curiosity regarding all places and persons associated with Burns is not far to seek. The poetry of Burns more than that of any British poet, except perhaps Wordsworth, was the outcome of his own life and surroundings. An intimate knowledge of that life and of these surroundings is craved therefore by every one who makes the poems of Burns a study ; and although it is not in Session Records that we can expect to meet with what was best and greatest in the poet's life, we still long to hear from these Records the minutest facts they contain about him and his contemporaries.
I have only to add that although I have been at much pains to be accurate, I cannot flatter myself with the expectation that in a book containing so many statements as this does, both on matters of fact and on matters of opinion, no slip nor misjudgment will be found. One point on which, from following with unquestioning faith the statements made in popular works, my remarks are open to criticism and doubt, is the old monastic life at Mauchline. In Appendix F, I have done what I could to set what may be termed the new state of this question impartially before the public.
You can read this book as we get it up at http://www.electricscotland.com/bible/churchlifendx.htm
Places of Interest about Girvan
-------------------------------
By Rev. R. Lawson (1892).
This book, like Places of Interest about Maybole, took its origin from my Monthly Letters. In these, I have been in the habit of giving sketches of the more interesting places in the neighbourhood, illustrated by drawings provided for me by various obliging friends. During the last two years I have been engaged in sketching the places of interest about Girvan, my native town, and now that I have finished these, I have thought it right to gather them into a volume, that the two towns, in one or other of which most of my life has been spent, may be equally recognised by me in such fashion as I am enabled.
As to the drawings, which form such an attractive feature of the volume, I may mention that most of them have been furnished by my friend Mr Robert Bryden, A.R.P.E., South Kensington, London, who has all along freely helped me in the books I have written. Nine of them have been furnished by my young friend and townsman, Mr William Bone, Architect, Kilmarnock, who has also been forward with his pencil in lending me assistance. The drawing of Bennan Head was sketched by a lady friend, once resident in the neighbourhood; that of the Hole in the Rock by Miss Gray, Lendal School; and that of Lendal Bay by a native of Maybole, Mr David M'Gill, London, from a painting by Mr William Muir, Girvan.
Any one who looks on the book, and remembers the necessarily limited constituency to which it appeals, must see that it is not published for profit. It is published for the good of such people in the district as have a taste for the history of it, and to these, young and old, it is inscribed with my hearty good wishes.
You can read this book as we get it up at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...rvan/index.htm
Fishermen and Fishing Ways
--------------------------
By Peter F Anson (1932)
I mentioned this book before and was delighted to get permission to publish it on the site and it is now going up.
From the shore, eyes gaze anxiously out across the storm-tossed sea. Will they be safe? Has there been a mishap? For the wives and relatives of all fishermen there are periods of stress and worry. At the mercy of the elements, a drifter or trawler is small craft indeed.
Fishermen are a breed of their own. They have their own beliefs and superstitions. They have their own special methods of catching fish, and they have to be admired. Surrounded on all sides by the sea, the British Isles have long been dependent on the treasures it holds. Other countries have also gleaned from the sea, providing food, money and a living.
The superstitions exist because of two Actors. Firstly there is a necessity of calming the fury of the sea, which is regarded as being either a divinity in itself or else inhabited by good and evil spirits. Secondly, there is the need of taking the greatest number of fish with a minimum of effort, this being best achieved by securing the co-operation of the supernatural beings which live in the sea and control its movements.
Peter Anson's book reveals all about Fishermen and their ways in a spellbinding manner. For as long as the sea exists there will be fish, barring pollution, and there will always be fishermen.
"The fish shone white in the water came up shining and large in the net, like grains of corn on an interminable ear. Yard after yard came up, solid with fish. We got wet through, and we didn't care".
You can read this book at http://www.electricscotland.com/loss.../fishermen.htm
Clan Leslie Society
-------------------
Both the International and the Australia and New Zealand societies sent in copies of their newsletter. They can be viwed at...
International at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...ters/leslieint
Australia & New Zealand at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...letters/leslie
The Crofters Act in Shetland
----------------------------
From the Scottish Review (1890).
I found this article in an old issue of the Scottish Review and extracted it for the site. The account starts...
NOW that the Crofters Commission have issued their Parliamentary Report upon last year's work in Shetland, we propose to summarise the results of their visit to the island, and to point out the effects which the Crofters Act has had, and probably will have, upon the relations of proprietors and tenants, upon the circumstances of the latter, and upon the prosperity and progress of the island. According to the Report the Commission dealt with 1330 applications to have fair rents fixed, embracing 7057 acres of arable land, 15,031 acres of outrun or cow's grass, and 123,420 acres of hill pasture, with the result that a gross rental of £6917, payable by 1328 Crofters, has been reduced to £4990,—a reduction of over 27 per cent.; while arrears of £6438 have been reduced to £2323,—a reduction of over 63 per cent. A discussion of the merits of these decisions, incongruous as some of them appear, would serve no good purpose, as the Commission give no reasons for any of their decisions, and we prefer rather to enquire, what, now that the general result of the Commissioners' visit is known, is the effect likely to be produced by their action.
This can be viwed at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...d_crofters.htm
The Wicked Clan Gregor
----------------------
From the Scottish Review (1890).
Another article I extracted which starts...
THERE are some minor episodes in Scottish history that illustrate with singular force the native intensity of character and fervour of attachment to traditional systems, which so often made the nation's progress towards the universal reign of law a blood-stained path. The case of Clan Gregor is perhaps the most typical of these episodes, which marked the transition from the old Celtic system of the military organization of the clans under the chiefs of their names to the territorial system by which the men of the tribes became the men of their feudal landlords. But though its tragic and romantic elements have been often dealt with, the true story of the doings and sufferings of the devoted clan has yet to be dug from the dry-as-dust sources of historical narrative in contemporary records, and the purpose of this paper is merely to show that the records contain materials for such a narrative.
You can view this article at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...les/gregor.htm
Canada and the United States
----------------------------
From the Scottish Review (1890) in which is a discussion on the merits of the political systems in Canada and the USA.
And one final article I extracted from this edition of the Scottish Review which starts...
This paper contains the material parts of a series of lectures delivered at Harvard and Johns Hopkins' Universities, in the United States, and at Trinity University, Toronto, in the month of November last, and is now printed in full for the first time.
Ypu can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../canadausa.htm
The Life and Death of Jamie Fleeman
-----------------------------------
The Laird of Udny's Fool (1859)
This person is mentioned on various pages of the site and John Henderson thought it would be worth while to add some information about him and so we have. The Introduction has been ocr'd in and starts...
There are more fools in the world than those publicly accounted such, and in the number many who would be highly offended were the least hint thrown out that their names stood on the list. Idiots or common fools, whose minds are so framed that it is difficult to determine whether the weak parts or the strong be the more conspicuous, generally view things through a medium peculiar to themselves, and think, speak, and act in a way distinct from the great mass of mankind. While other men allow the world to become acquainted with only the more rational part of their views, the fool reveals all that comes into his thoughts. Both rational men and idiots build castles in the air. The former are accounted wise because they conceal the airy fabrics ; the latter are esteemed fools, not because they allow their thoughts to run riot, but because they cannot conceal their vagaries from the public. The one may embark in the wildest schemes, and pursue the most headlong course, and still be reckoned no fool ; while the other may say many witty things, and do many rational deeds, and still the world will not account him wise, but will laugh at both his sayings and his doings, because he does not follow exactly the same track nor view circumstances in the same light as the muiltitude. But if the world laugh at the eccentricities of the fool, the fool, in revenge, seems to hold the notions of the world in derision : for while the more rational part of the community are carefully keeping in one common and beaten track, and, individually, would be quite unhappy were they to be singular in their manners and habits, the fool fearlessly bounds into a path of his own formation, and pursues his way through a kind of fictitious region, wherein he seems to find enjoyments of no ordinary nature, and beyond the ken of all ordinary men.
The rest of this introduction and a pdf file of the book can be got to at http://www.electricscotland.com/book...ie_fleeman.htm
Poems of George Alexander Rodger
--------------------------------
We brought you one of his poems last week and thought we'd more for you over the weeks. The first one "Gleanings By Glenner 1978" can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/rodger01.htm
A Sassenach's Stravaig
----------------------
Monday 29 June 2009 -- Mosspaul.
Got in another account in this series which can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/trav...hitehead05.htm
Clan Ross Association of Canada
-------------------------------
We got in the Winter 2011 newsletter, February 2011 which can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...wsletters/ross
And here is a wee story to finish...
Wrap-Up!
A Scot and an American were talking about playing golf during the various seasons of the year. “In most parts of the USA we can’t play in the winter time. We have to wait until spring,” the American said.
“Why, in Scotland we can even play in the winter. Snow and cold are no obstacle to us,” said the Scot.
“Well, what do you do? Paint your balls black?” asked the American.
“No,” said the Scot, “we just put on an extra sweater or two.”
And that's it for now and hope you all have a good weekend.
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com