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CONTENTS
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Electric Scotland News
Electric Scotland Community
The Flag in the Wind
Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
Kay's Edinburgh Portraits
Traditions of Perth
Robert Burns Lives!
Places of Interest about Girvan
Poems of George Alexander Rodger
Problems of a Scottish Provincial Town (New Book)
A Sassenach's Stravaig
Robert Burns in other tongues
St Andrews 1645-6
The Canadian Dominion
A Scottish Free-Lance: Sir Andrew Melville
Electric Scotland News
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To try and encourage more feedback from the newsletter Steve has now opened up this forum so that if you want to reply to it to make any comments then you no longer need to be a member to post a message. This only applies to this newsletter forum.
And the reason I mention that is that I'd like some feedback :-)
I have been building Electric Scotland for some 14 years now and certainly there is a huge amount of Scottish history on the site. That said in some ways I'm starting to think we actually have too much information.
The reason I am thinking this is that I was recently asked to visit the Canadian Tourism Commission web site which I did. It is actually a very large site with tons of information on it. In fact there was so much information and was organised in a way that I felt it was difficult to decide where to go.
I didn't really have the time to spend exploring the site so I found myself saying I'll come back when I have more time. And of course I haven't actually been back.
This kind of made me think of my own site as if that was my reaction to that site what would have been my reaction on looking for some information on Scottish history and landing on my own site?
This made me wonder if I should restructure the menu and of course that was why I did a makeover of my index page to try to show what content we carried. I now wonder if I should create a new web site to put just a small version of the main Electric Scotland site on.
I was trying to come up with the main reasons folk arrive on the site and thought that the live stats we have would help me there. Problem is it doesn't as it's rare that more than two people are viewing any page on the site. The other night when I looked at them there were 83 people on the site and each one of them were looking at a different page.
Our menu is quite large but a lot of content is actually under the Lifestyle menu so do I need to somehow expand the menu? We have a ton of books that I've ocr'd onto the site right from the first day I started it. It's now a long page with around 400 books listed.
I'm uncertain on how I might make things easier to find for those that have little time to spare and that's also why we have our site search engine there. Thing is so many people email me to ask a question and my own first port of call is to use our own search engine. BUT why aren't they using it or are they using it but are being served up with too many links and just think it would be easier to email me?
I don't actually know the answers to these issues and asking for feedback on things like this usually only gets a couple of responses and while these responses are greatly appreciated it would be nice to get a couple of hundred responses.
As you'll be reading this in the forum you couldn't reply to this post unless you were logged in as a member and I do know the vast majority of you reading this will be logged in as a Guest. And so this is why we've lifted the restrictions on having to be a member to post a message although this facility is only available in this forum. I hope you will make use of this and look forward to hearing from you :-)
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I have been reading more volumes of the Scottish Review published in the last quarter of the 19th century. As I've found a few articles which I thought were of interest I've extracted them and made them available on the site. See below for ones I've done this week.
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
---------------------------
I think I'll have to find a way to summarize some of the messages that are coming in each week as there are a great mix of messages. Like this week we got a thread started on Tom Jones and some links to some good YouTube vidoes of him singing.
Our community can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.org but of course if you are reading this you're already in it :-)
THE FLAG IN THE WIND
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This weeks issue is now available compiled by Jennifer Dunn in which she gives her own personal view on how the election is going.
You can get to the Flag at http://www.scotsindependent.org
Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland
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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...
Seigneur de la Beaute - 1517
You can read this account at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/wars/
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
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By Cuthbert Bede (1861)
This week we're on Volume 2 with...
Chapter XXX - A Canter through Cantire
A wet Prospect. — The Glass low; Spirits ditto. — Proverbial Philabegs. — Fortune's Farourites, — On the Road. — Rhunahonrine Point. — Kilcalmonell Parish. — Clachat. —Dunskeig Hill. — Vitrified Fort. — West Tarbert Loch. — Its Scenery. —- Ard Patrick. — The Land of the Campbells. — The King of Trees for the Painter. — Euskin and Turner. —Whitehouse. — Laggavoulin. — The Hill of Love. — Tarbert. — An End at the Beginning.
You can read this at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/glencreggan/
Kay's Edinburgh Portraits
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A Series of Anecdotal Biographies chiefly of Scotchmen, Mostly by James Paterson and Edited by James Maidment (1885)
This week we have added...
Mr. William Grinly, Merchant and Shipbroker
Ebenezer Wilson, Brassfounder
Sir Ilay Campbell, Bart., Lord President of the Court of Session
Mr. John Campbell, Precentor
Alexander Campbell, Musician
William Forbes, Esq., of Callendar
The account of Alexander Campbell, Musician starts...
This curious Print is one of the artist's retaliatory pieces. It appears that Mr. Alexander Campbell, offended at the etching of his brother the precentor, and having some skill in the art of drawing, produced, by way of revenge, a caricature of Kay—in which John Dow was represented as dragging him by the ear to the Town Guard, while Bailie Buff brought up the rear, in the attitude of administering a forcible admonition with his foot. The caricature, although rudely executed, afforded considerable amusement to Mr. Campbell's friends, among whom it was chiefly circulated. Kay retaliated by producing the " Medley of Musicians," in which Mr. Alexander Campbell, then organist in a non-juring chapel, appears with a hand-organ on his back—his brother of the Canongate Church is straining his vocal powers in the centre—Bailie Duff, to the right, is chanting it on the great Highland bagpipe—while behind, Meek, the blind Irish piper, and the city Fish-horn Blower, are lending their "sweet sounds" to aid the general harmony. The figure sharping a saw in the background, whose labours may be supposed to afford an excellent counter or tenor to the deep bass of the two long-eared amateurs, is in allusion to Mr. John Campbell's former occupation. The scene altogether is not an inapt illustration of the couplet quoted from Hudibras—
"Let puppies bark and asses bray— Each dog and cur will have his day."
The early history of Mr. Alexander Campbell is already partially known from the sketch of his brother. Of a warm and somewhat romantic temper, he was attached to the small body of Jacobites, who still brooded over the fate of the young Chevalier—enthusiastic in his national prepossessions—and passionately fond of the music of his country. In addition to vocal music he taught the harpsichord, for which many of the Scottish airs are peculiarly adapted.
Mr. Campbell is known as a poet and prose writer as well as musician. His first literary production—"An Introduction to the History of Poetry in Scotland," quarto; to which were added the "Songs of the Lowlands," illustrated by David Allan, and dedicated to Fuseli—appeared in 1798. A Dialogue on Scottish Music, prefixed to this work, is said to have first conveyed to foreigners a correct idea of the Scottish scale; for which he was highly complimented by several eminent German and Italian composers. His next aud best work—"A Tour from Edinburgh, through parts of North Britain," etc., embellished with forty-four beautiful aquatint drawings by his own hand, 2 vols. 4to—was published in 1802. Written in a lighter and purer style than is characteristic of the author's other literary efforts, his " Journey describes the then state of an interesting portion of the country, and displays no ordinary degree of research in reference to general history and local antiquities, while the drawings present a variety of sketches, taken ou the spot, illustrative of the most admired lake, river, and mountain scenery in Scotland.
You can read the rest of this entry at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/vol230.htm
The other entries can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/index.htm
Traditions of Perth
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Containing Sketches of the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants during the last century by George Penny (1836)
We've now added Pages 292 to 303 and we're now exploring the County of Perth.
You can get to these pages at the foot of the page at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/perth/
Robert Burns Lives!
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By Frank Shaw
Burns and Bawdy by R.D.S. Jack
I had long heard of Ronnie Jack and owned an excellent publication he co-edited, The Art Of Robert Burns, which I find myself referring to from time to time for references for my own articles or speeches. I finally met Ronnie at the University of South Carolina in Columbia while attending its Burns conference saluting the Bard on his 250th birthday. I recently emailed Ronnie and asked him to consider submitting an article for this web site. He responded promptly and graciously (a great characteristic, I have learned, of Ronnie Jack) volunteered two articles. I chose “Burns and Bawdy” since we already had two similar articles on Robert Burns Lives!. My thinking was that three articles coming from three different scholars would give us three distinctive perspectives such as we had accomplished earlier in these pages on the subject of Burns and slavery.
So here we are discussing Burns and sex… again! My friend Thomas Keith told me years ago that to understand Robert Burns, we have to appreciate all of him, including the word sex which another friend, Pauline Gray Mackay, refers to as a “legitimate area of study, although it was seen as taboo until recently.” I agree with her that “his bawdy deserves a place in the canon of his work.” How else can you appreciate the man without a look at all his writings?
Before we get into his article, let’s take a brief look at R.D.S. (Ronald Dyce Sadler) Jack. Professor Jack retired in 2004 as chair of Scottish and Medieval Literature at the University of Edinburgh. He became Emeritus Professor the same year. He has authored eight books and edited two others. Among them are The Italian Influence on Scottish Literature, Alexander Montgomerie, and The Road to Neverland.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh as well as Honorary Fellow of the Glasgow University Centre for Robert Burns Studies. Also among his many accomplishments, Dr. Jack is a member of the English Association, and a former member of the UK’s University Admissions Service. His latest book, Myths and The Mythmaker: A Literary Account of J. M. Barrie’s Formative Years, was published last month as an intent to crush any myths about the author Barrie.
I wish to thank three of my Scottish Burnsian friends who provided me with some of the above information - Clark McGinn, Pauline Gray Mackay, and Murray Pittock. It is satisfying to have such knowledgeable sources when you are facing a weekly deadline. In addition I want to point out that pages 98-126, Chapter 5, on “Burns and Bawdy” come from the 1982 publication of The Art of Robert Burns edited by Dr. Jack and Andrew Noble.
(FRS: 4.12.11)
You can read his article at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...s_lives116.htm
All of the Robert Burns articles can be found at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...rank/burns.htm
Places of Interest about Girvan
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By Rev. R. Lawson (1892).
We put up this week...
Trochrague House
Bargany House
Hew Ainslie, Poet
Kilkerran House
Ardmillan House
Girvan to Lendal
Here's the account of Kilkerran House...
IT is instructive to contrast the tall, narrow, secluded tower, still standing in the glen off Drumlamford Road, and known as "Kilkerran auld Castle," with the plain but spacious and comfortable mansion known as Kilkerran House, a representation of which is given above. These two buildings form a contrast of at least 300 years, and tell of very different states of society. The Castle tells of a time when life was insecure, and safety the first point to be attended to while the House tells of a time when the poorest can sit under his vine and fig-tree, none daring to make him afraid. The grounds about Kilkerran are famed for their beauty. The Todey Glen behind the House, and the Lady Glen beyond the fine gardens, are well known to all lovers of scenery; while the magnificent beech by the entrance drive, ^nd sundry specimens of the Silver fir, 100 feet high, in the Lady Glen, are admired by all lovers of forestry.
The Fergussons are a very old family in Carrick, being mentioned in records as far back as the days of Robert Bruce. Sir Adam was eulogised by Burns in his Earnest Cry and Prayer as
"Thee, aith-detesting, chaste Kilkerran."
He represented Ayrshire in Parliament for eighteen years, and Edinburgh for four. But none of the family was more loved than the late Sir Charles, whose monument now stands on Kildoon. He dwelt among his own people, and served his generation faithfully by the will of God. He built the West Church, and Crosshill Church, and supported many local schools beside, while he was eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, and a father to the poor. Sir James, the present Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, served himself heir to most of his father's charities, as well as serving his country as Colonial Governor all over the world.
The well-known monument on Kildoon was erected in 1853 " by the tenantry and friends, in memory of Sir Charles D. Fergusson of Kilkerran, who was born 26th August, 1800, and died 18th March, 1849."
You can read the other chapters at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...rvan/index.htm
Poems of George Alexander Rodger
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Added another poem, Cortachy Games, which you can read at http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/rodger05.htm
The other poems can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/rodger.htm
Problems of a Scottish Provincial Town
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By John Howard Whitehouse (1905)
IN August, 1903, the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust was founded by Mr. Andrew Carnegie for the uplifting of the working classes of his native city. An account of the constitution and scope of the Trust is given in the opening chapter, and it is therefore not necessary to refer to these now in detail. The writer acted as secretary to the Trust until his resignation in the autumn of last year, and the present volume is the result of his study in both official and private capacities of the social conditions of Dunfermline, and is put forward as containing a constructive policy capable of being realised by the Carnegie Dunfermline Trustees. But though the book is primarily concerned with Dunfermline, the author hopes it may not be without interest and value to civic workers generally, since the problems of Dunfermline are in a large measure the problems of many other towns throughout the kingdom.
J. H. W
March, 1905.
I thought this would make an interesting read and we have several chapters up...
Chapter I. The Carnegie Dunfermline Trust
Chapter II. Some Notes of Dunfermline
Chapter III. The Civic Union
Chapter IV. The Housing Problem, and its Solution
Chapter V. The Housing Problem, and its Solution (continued)
which can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ne/townndx.htm
A Sassenach's Stravaig
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Got in the penultimate article in this series, Sunday 2nd August 2009 - Writers along the way, which you can read at http://www.electricscotland.com/trav...hitehead06.htm
Robert Burns in other tongues
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A critical review of the translations of the songs & poems of Robert Burns by William Jacks (1896) (pdf)
I came across this book which I thought might be interesting to scholars of the Bard and you can read this in pdf format at http://www.electricscotland.com/burn...rnstongues.pdf
St Andrews 1645-6
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An article taken from the Scottish Review (1895).
I thought this was an interesting wee article in which for example we read...
For the common people of Scotland,' says Mr. Kerr, 'there were now times of quiet and respite from the terror of the sword. What engaged the thoughts of the country at this time was more the relations between England and Scotland. Both kingdoms were now in subjection to the arms of the English and Scottish Parliaments. It was a time for the squaring of accounts between the allies. Ever since the battle of Marston Moor differences had begun to arise between the English and Scottish parties as to the position of the Scots army in England; and now that the work of the English army was practically completed, the presence of the Scots soldiery became more and more a matter of dispute and irritation. At length, the matter became of so great importance, and so threatened the whole relations between the two kingdoms, that in July 1645, a commission of six from the English Lords and Commons was appointed to go to Scotland and treat with the Scots on the grave matters of the peace of the nation. The Scottish Parliament, in August, accordingly appointed a commission to meet the English Commissioners, and to treat with them.'
You can read this article at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../standrews.htm
The Canadian Dominion
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An article taken from the Scottish Review (1895).
THE Colonial Conference that was held at Ottawa in the Dominion of Canada, during the summer of 1894, gives us the best possible evidence that colonial statesmanship at the present time has a decided tendency, not towards isolation from the parent State and the establishment of independent nations, but rather towards placing the relations between Great Britain and her colonial possessions on a basis of community of interest. It is also quite certain that so important an assemblage of representatives of the scattered colonies of the Empire must more or less stimulate a deeper interest in the affairs of each other. It was for many reasons a happy idea that this second Colonial Conference—the first having been held in London seven years before—should have met at the political capital of the Canadian Dominion, which occupies a pre-eminent position among the colonial possessions on account of having been the first to carry out successfully a plan of colonial federation.
You can read this article at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...mmonwealth.htm
A Scottish Free-Lance: Sir Andrew Melville
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An interesting account of a solder in Europe by J G Alger from the Scottish Review (1895).
To set the scene for this article here is how it starts...
SCION of a leading Scottish family was sent in 1637 to Prussia to learn German. He gave his tutor the slip to go a-soldiering in Poland; but, disappointed in this, he returned to Scotland, where he found his parents dead and his patrimony confiscated by creditors. Turning freebooter, he was captured and imprisoned by peasants. He next went to France, where he entered the army and underwent many dangers and privations. He then joined Charles II. in Scotland, fought at Worcester, and was sheltered by villagers till his wounds were healed, when he effected his escape to the Continent. Agaiu in France, he commanded the Scottish body-guard of Cardinal de Retz. Thrown into prison, he was well nigh starved into abjuring Protestantism. Once more in the field, he was captured by Croats. He next served German princes, one of whom sent him to London to compliment Charles on the Restoration. He fought for Austria against the Turks, combatted the French at Treves, and after the peace of Nimegueu settled down as governor of a Hanoverian town. Yet strange io say, his autobiography, published in French at Amsterdam in 1704, a second edition appearing in the following year, has never been reprinted, nor translated into English. One reason of this is that the author gives no pedigree, nor even his Christian name, information unnecessary at the time but of importance to posterity, so that he is indistinguishable among a host of homonyms; consequently the British Museum catalogue leaves a blank for the Christian name, and an exhaustive history of the family from which he sprang, while containing a letter addressed to him, was unable to trace his relationship, or even to identify him as the autobiographer.
You can read the rest of this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...lle_andrew.htm
And finally...
I got this one in from Keith and seeing as I used to work for Carnation Foods thought I'd share it with you...
A little old lady from Wisconsin had worked in and around her family dairy farms since she was old enough to walk, with hours of hard work and little compensation.
When canned Carnation Milk became available in grocery stores in the 1940s, she read an advertisement offering $5,000 for the best slogan.
The producers wanted a rhyme beginning With 'Carnation Milk is best of all.'
She thought to herself, I know everything there is to know about milk and dairy farms. I can do this!
She sent in her entry, and several weeks later, a black car pulled up in front of her house.
A large man got out, knocked on her door and said, "Ma'am,.....The president of Carnation milk absolutely LOVED your entry.....So much, in fact, that we are here to award you $1,000 even though we will not be able to use it for our advertisements!"
He did, however have one printed up to hang on his office wall.
And that's it for now and hope you all have a good weekend.
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com
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Electric Scotland News
Electric Scotland Community
The Flag in the Wind
Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland
Glencreggan: or A Highland Home in Cantire
Kay's Edinburgh Portraits
Traditions of Perth
Robert Burns Lives!
Places of Interest about Girvan
Poems of George Alexander Rodger
Problems of a Scottish Provincial Town (New Book)
A Sassenach's Stravaig
Robert Burns in other tongues
St Andrews 1645-6
The Canadian Dominion
A Scottish Free-Lance: Sir Andrew Melville
Electric Scotland News
----------------------
To try and encourage more feedback from the newsletter Steve has now opened up this forum so that if you want to reply to it to make any comments then you no longer need to be a member to post a message. This only applies to this newsletter forum.
And the reason I mention that is that I'd like some feedback :-)
I have been building Electric Scotland for some 14 years now and certainly there is a huge amount of Scottish history on the site. That said in some ways I'm starting to think we actually have too much information.
The reason I am thinking this is that I was recently asked to visit the Canadian Tourism Commission web site which I did. It is actually a very large site with tons of information on it. In fact there was so much information and was organised in a way that I felt it was difficult to decide where to go.
I didn't really have the time to spend exploring the site so I found myself saying I'll come back when I have more time. And of course I haven't actually been back.
This kind of made me think of my own site as if that was my reaction to that site what would have been my reaction on looking for some information on Scottish history and landing on my own site?
This made me wonder if I should restructure the menu and of course that was why I did a makeover of my index page to try to show what content we carried. I now wonder if I should create a new web site to put just a small version of the main Electric Scotland site on.
I was trying to come up with the main reasons folk arrive on the site and thought that the live stats we have would help me there. Problem is it doesn't as it's rare that more than two people are viewing any page on the site. The other night when I looked at them there were 83 people on the site and each one of them were looking at a different page.
Our menu is quite large but a lot of content is actually under the Lifestyle menu so do I need to somehow expand the menu? We have a ton of books that I've ocr'd onto the site right from the first day I started it. It's now a long page with around 400 books listed.
I'm uncertain on how I might make things easier to find for those that have little time to spare and that's also why we have our site search engine there. Thing is so many people email me to ask a question and my own first port of call is to use our own search engine. BUT why aren't they using it or are they using it but are being served up with too many links and just think it would be easier to email me?
I don't actually know the answers to these issues and asking for feedback on things like this usually only gets a couple of responses and while these responses are greatly appreciated it would be nice to get a couple of hundred responses.
As you'll be reading this in the forum you couldn't reply to this post unless you were logged in as a member and I do know the vast majority of you reading this will be logged in as a Guest. And so this is why we've lifted the restrictions on having to be a member to post a message although this facility is only available in this forum. I hope you will make use of this and look forward to hearing from you :-)
-----
I have been reading more volumes of the Scottish Review published in the last quarter of the 19th century. As I've found a few articles which I thought were of interest I've extracted them and made them available on the site. See below for ones I've done this week.
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
---------------------------
I think I'll have to find a way to summarize some of the messages that are coming in each week as there are a great mix of messages. Like this week we got a thread started on Tom Jones and some links to some good YouTube vidoes of him singing.
Our community can be viewed at http://www.electricscotland.org 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 Jennifer Dunn in which she gives her own personal view on how the election is going.
You can get to the Flag at http://www.scotsindependent.org
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...
Seigneur de la Beaute - 1517
You can read this account 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 XXX - A Canter through Cantire
A wet Prospect. — The Glass low; Spirits ditto. — Proverbial Philabegs. — Fortune's Farourites, — On the Road. — Rhunahonrine Point. — Kilcalmonell Parish. — Clachat. —Dunskeig Hill. — Vitrified Fort. — West Tarbert Loch. — Its Scenery. —- Ard Patrick. — The Land of the Campbells. — The King of Trees for the Painter. — Euskin and Turner. —Whitehouse. — Laggavoulin. — The Hill of Love. — Tarbert. — An End at the Beginning.
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...
Mr. William Grinly, Merchant and Shipbroker
Ebenezer Wilson, Brassfounder
Sir Ilay Campbell, Bart., Lord President of the Court of Session
Mr. John Campbell, Precentor
Alexander Campbell, Musician
William Forbes, Esq., of Callendar
The account of Alexander Campbell, Musician starts...
This curious Print is one of the artist's retaliatory pieces. It appears that Mr. Alexander Campbell, offended at the etching of his brother the precentor, and having some skill in the art of drawing, produced, by way of revenge, a caricature of Kay—in which John Dow was represented as dragging him by the ear to the Town Guard, while Bailie Buff brought up the rear, in the attitude of administering a forcible admonition with his foot. The caricature, although rudely executed, afforded considerable amusement to Mr. Campbell's friends, among whom it was chiefly circulated. Kay retaliated by producing the " Medley of Musicians," in which Mr. Alexander Campbell, then organist in a non-juring chapel, appears with a hand-organ on his back—his brother of the Canongate Church is straining his vocal powers in the centre—Bailie Duff, to the right, is chanting it on the great Highland bagpipe—while behind, Meek, the blind Irish piper, and the city Fish-horn Blower, are lending their "sweet sounds" to aid the general harmony. The figure sharping a saw in the background, whose labours may be supposed to afford an excellent counter or tenor to the deep bass of the two long-eared amateurs, is in allusion to Mr. John Campbell's former occupation. The scene altogether is not an inapt illustration of the couplet quoted from Hudibras—
"Let puppies bark and asses bray— Each dog and cur will have his day."
The early history of Mr. Alexander Campbell is already partially known from the sketch of his brother. Of a warm and somewhat romantic temper, he was attached to the small body of Jacobites, who still brooded over the fate of the young Chevalier—enthusiastic in his national prepossessions—and passionately fond of the music of his country. In addition to vocal music he taught the harpsichord, for which many of the Scottish airs are peculiarly adapted.
Mr. Campbell is known as a poet and prose writer as well as musician. His first literary production—"An Introduction to the History of Poetry in Scotland," quarto; to which were added the "Songs of the Lowlands," illustrated by David Allan, and dedicated to Fuseli—appeared in 1798. A Dialogue on Scottish Music, prefixed to this work, is said to have first conveyed to foreigners a correct idea of the Scottish scale; for which he was highly complimented by several eminent German and Italian composers. His next aud best work—"A Tour from Edinburgh, through parts of North Britain," etc., embellished with forty-four beautiful aquatint drawings by his own hand, 2 vols. 4to—was published in 1802. Written in a lighter and purer style than is characteristic of the author's other literary efforts, his " Journey describes the then state of an interesting portion of the country, and displays no ordinary degree of research in reference to general history and local antiquities, while the drawings present a variety of sketches, taken ou the spot, illustrative of the most admired lake, river, and mountain scenery in Scotland.
You can read the rest of this entry at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/kays/vol230.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 292 to 303 and we're now exploring the County of Perth.
You can get to these pages at the foot of the page at http://www.electricscotland.com/history/perth/
Robert Burns Lives!
-------------------
By Frank Shaw
Burns and Bawdy by R.D.S. Jack
I had long heard of Ronnie Jack and owned an excellent publication he co-edited, The Art Of Robert Burns, which I find myself referring to from time to time for references for my own articles or speeches. I finally met Ronnie at the University of South Carolina in Columbia while attending its Burns conference saluting the Bard on his 250th birthday. I recently emailed Ronnie and asked him to consider submitting an article for this web site. He responded promptly and graciously (a great characteristic, I have learned, of Ronnie Jack) volunteered two articles. I chose “Burns and Bawdy” since we already had two similar articles on Robert Burns Lives!. My thinking was that three articles coming from three different scholars would give us three distinctive perspectives such as we had accomplished earlier in these pages on the subject of Burns and slavery.
So here we are discussing Burns and sex… again! My friend Thomas Keith told me years ago that to understand Robert Burns, we have to appreciate all of him, including the word sex which another friend, Pauline Gray Mackay, refers to as a “legitimate area of study, although it was seen as taboo until recently.” I agree with her that “his bawdy deserves a place in the canon of his work.” How else can you appreciate the man without a look at all his writings?
Before we get into his article, let’s take a brief look at R.D.S. (Ronald Dyce Sadler) Jack. Professor Jack retired in 2004 as chair of Scottish and Medieval Literature at the University of Edinburgh. He became Emeritus Professor the same year. He has authored eight books and edited two others. Among them are The Italian Influence on Scottish Literature, Alexander Montgomerie, and The Road to Neverland.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh as well as Honorary Fellow of the Glasgow University Centre for Robert Burns Studies. Also among his many accomplishments, Dr. Jack is a member of the English Association, and a former member of the UK’s University Admissions Service. His latest book, Myths and The Mythmaker: A Literary Account of J. M. Barrie’s Formative Years, was published last month as an intent to crush any myths about the author Barrie.
I wish to thank three of my Scottish Burnsian friends who provided me with some of the above information - Clark McGinn, Pauline Gray Mackay, and Murray Pittock. It is satisfying to have such knowledgeable sources when you are facing a weekly deadline. In addition I want to point out that pages 98-126, Chapter 5, on “Burns and Bawdy” come from the 1982 publication of The Art of Robert Burns edited by Dr. Jack and Andrew Noble.
(FRS: 4.12.11)
You can read his article at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...s_lives116.htm
All of the Robert Burns articles can be found at http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...rank/burns.htm
Places of Interest about Girvan
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By Rev. R. Lawson (1892).
We put up this week...
Trochrague House
Bargany House
Hew Ainslie, Poet
Kilkerran House
Ardmillan House
Girvan to Lendal
Here's the account of Kilkerran House...
IT is instructive to contrast the tall, narrow, secluded tower, still standing in the glen off Drumlamford Road, and known as "Kilkerran auld Castle," with the plain but spacious and comfortable mansion known as Kilkerran House, a representation of which is given above. These two buildings form a contrast of at least 300 years, and tell of very different states of society. The Castle tells of a time when life was insecure, and safety the first point to be attended to while the House tells of a time when the poorest can sit under his vine and fig-tree, none daring to make him afraid. The grounds about Kilkerran are famed for their beauty. The Todey Glen behind the House, and the Lady Glen beyond the fine gardens, are well known to all lovers of scenery; while the magnificent beech by the entrance drive, ^nd sundry specimens of the Silver fir, 100 feet high, in the Lady Glen, are admired by all lovers of forestry.
The Fergussons are a very old family in Carrick, being mentioned in records as far back as the days of Robert Bruce. Sir Adam was eulogised by Burns in his Earnest Cry and Prayer as
"Thee, aith-detesting, chaste Kilkerran."
He represented Ayrshire in Parliament for eighteen years, and Edinburgh for four. But none of the family was more loved than the late Sir Charles, whose monument now stands on Kildoon. He dwelt among his own people, and served his generation faithfully by the will of God. He built the West Church, and Crosshill Church, and supported many local schools beside, while he was eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, and a father to the poor. Sir James, the present Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, served himself heir to most of his father's charities, as well as serving his country as Colonial Governor all over the world.
The well-known monument on Kildoon was erected in 1853 " by the tenantry and friends, in memory of Sir Charles D. Fergusson of Kilkerran, who was born 26th August, 1800, and died 18th March, 1849."
You can read the other chapters at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...rvan/index.htm
Poems of George Alexander Rodger
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Added another poem, Cortachy Games, which you can read at http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/rodger05.htm
The other poems can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/rodger.htm
Problems of a Scottish Provincial Town
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By John Howard Whitehouse (1905)
IN August, 1903, the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust was founded by Mr. Andrew Carnegie for the uplifting of the working classes of his native city. An account of the constitution and scope of the Trust is given in the opening chapter, and it is therefore not necessary to refer to these now in detail. The writer acted as secretary to the Trust until his resignation in the autumn of last year, and the present volume is the result of his study in both official and private capacities of the social conditions of Dunfermline, and is put forward as containing a constructive policy capable of being realised by the Carnegie Dunfermline Trustees. But though the book is primarily concerned with Dunfermline, the author hopes it may not be without interest and value to civic workers generally, since the problems of Dunfermline are in a large measure the problems of many other towns throughout the kingdom.
J. H. W
March, 1905.
I thought this would make an interesting read and we have several chapters up...
Chapter I. The Carnegie Dunfermline Trust
Chapter II. Some Notes of Dunfermline
Chapter III. The Civic Union
Chapter IV. The Housing Problem, and its Solution
Chapter V. The Housing Problem, and its Solution (continued)
which can be read at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...ne/townndx.htm
A Sassenach's Stravaig
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Got in the penultimate article in this series, Sunday 2nd August 2009 - Writers along the way, which you can read at http://www.electricscotland.com/trav...hitehead06.htm
Robert Burns in other tongues
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A critical review of the translations of the songs & poems of Robert Burns by William Jacks (1896) (pdf)
I came across this book which I thought might be interesting to scholars of the Bard and you can read this in pdf format at http://www.electricscotland.com/burn...rnstongues.pdf
St Andrews 1645-6
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An article taken from the Scottish Review (1895).
I thought this was an interesting wee article in which for example we read...
For the common people of Scotland,' says Mr. Kerr, 'there were now times of quiet and respite from the terror of the sword. What engaged the thoughts of the country at this time was more the relations between England and Scotland. Both kingdoms were now in subjection to the arms of the English and Scottish Parliaments. It was a time for the squaring of accounts between the allies. Ever since the battle of Marston Moor differences had begun to arise between the English and Scottish parties as to the position of the Scots army in England; and now that the work of the English army was practically completed, the presence of the Scots soldiery became more and more a matter of dispute and irritation. At length, the matter became of so great importance, and so threatened the whole relations between the two kingdoms, that in July 1645, a commission of six from the English Lords and Commons was appointed to go to Scotland and treat with the Scots on the grave matters of the peace of the nation. The Scottish Parliament, in August, accordingly appointed a commission to meet the English Commissioners, and to treat with them.'
You can read this article at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../standrews.htm
The Canadian Dominion
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An article taken from the Scottish Review (1895).
THE Colonial Conference that was held at Ottawa in the Dominion of Canada, during the summer of 1894, gives us the best possible evidence that colonial statesmanship at the present time has a decided tendency, not towards isolation from the parent State and the establishment of independent nations, but rather towards placing the relations between Great Britain and her colonial possessions on a basis of community of interest. It is also quite certain that so important an assemblage of representatives of the scattered colonies of the Empire must more or less stimulate a deeper interest in the affairs of each other. It was for many reasons a happy idea that this second Colonial Conference—the first having been held in London seven years before—should have met at the political capital of the Canadian Dominion, which occupies a pre-eminent position among the colonial possessions on account of having been the first to carry out successfully a plan of colonial federation.
You can read this article at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...mmonwealth.htm
A Scottish Free-Lance: Sir Andrew Melville
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An interesting account of a solder in Europe by J G Alger from the Scottish Review (1895).
To set the scene for this article here is how it starts...
SCION of a leading Scottish family was sent in 1637 to Prussia to learn German. He gave his tutor the slip to go a-soldiering in Poland; but, disappointed in this, he returned to Scotland, where he found his parents dead and his patrimony confiscated by creditors. Turning freebooter, he was captured and imprisoned by peasants. He next went to France, where he entered the army and underwent many dangers and privations. He then joined Charles II. in Scotland, fought at Worcester, and was sheltered by villagers till his wounds were healed, when he effected his escape to the Continent. Agaiu in France, he commanded the Scottish body-guard of Cardinal de Retz. Thrown into prison, he was well nigh starved into abjuring Protestantism. Once more in the field, he was captured by Croats. He next served German princes, one of whom sent him to London to compliment Charles on the Restoration. He fought for Austria against the Turks, combatted the French at Treves, and after the peace of Nimegueu settled down as governor of a Hanoverian town. Yet strange io say, his autobiography, published in French at Amsterdam in 1704, a second edition appearing in the following year, has never been reprinted, nor translated into English. One reason of this is that the author gives no pedigree, nor even his Christian name, information unnecessary at the time but of importance to posterity, so that he is indistinguishable among a host of homonyms; consequently the British Museum catalogue leaves a blank for the Christian name, and an exhaustive history of the family from which he sprang, while containing a letter addressed to him, was unable to trace his relationship, or even to identify him as the autobiographer.
You can read the rest of this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...lle_andrew.htm
And finally...
I got this one in from Keith and seeing as I used to work for Carnation Foods thought I'd share it with you...
A little old lady from Wisconsin had worked in and around her family dairy farms since she was old enough to walk, with hours of hard work and little compensation.
When canned Carnation Milk became available in grocery stores in the 1940s, she read an advertisement offering $5,000 for the best slogan.
The producers wanted a rhyme beginning With 'Carnation Milk is best of all.'
She thought to herself, I know everything there is to know about milk and dairy farms. I can do this!
She sent in her entry, and several weeks later, a black car pulled up in front of her house.
A large man got out, knocked on her door and said, "Ma'am,.....The president of Carnation milk absolutely LOVED your entry.....So much, in fact, that we are here to award you $1,000 even though we will not be able to use it for our advertisements!"
He did, however have one printed up to hang on his office wall.
And that's it for now and hope you all have a good weekend.
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com
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