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For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/
Electric Scotland News
I should mention that as we are now working with the Centre of Scottish Studies at Simon Fraser University I have added a link to them in the header of our site.
And now some news from the Scottish Press this week...
Scotland Bill powers may be unworkable
Scotland's new package of powers may not be workable and could require an entirely new method of funding devolved governments
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...itics-34884122
Scots cafe's all-day-breakfast munchie box
A CAFE has been amazed at the popularity of the breakfast boxes which include potato scones, bacon, link sausage, sliced sausage, black pudding, haggis, bagels, French toast, mushrooms, scrambled egg, beans and a drink.
Read more at:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/sc...-cafes-6870427
The dodgy dossier of independence
A respected insider has laid bare the untruths of the White Paper.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/brian-w...ence-1-3954521
Why is the Unicorn Scotland’s national animal?
AN American historian has uncovered the roots of how the Unicorn became Scotland’s national animal in the late 1300s.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/peo...imal-1-3953188
Glasgow named Best of the World destination
GLASGOW has been named as a must visit destination in 2016 by National Geographic.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/tr...tion-1-3953322
Heriot-Watt scientists working on new type of matter
Scientists at Heriot-Watt University are working with an entirely new type of solid matter.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-34926881
Official North Sea oil revenue forecast down by 94%
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has forecast receipts from North Sea oil and gas will be down by 94% this year to just £130m.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...itics-34926904
Americans fund Alloway Burns monument project
The donation is from its American foundation. NTS needs to raise £175,000 for the project.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...-west-34939291
Electric Canadian
The Pioneer Pastor
Some Reminiscences of the Life and Labors of The Rev. Geo. Buchanan, M.D., First Presbyterian Minister of Beckwith, Lanark County, Upper Canada by Jessie Buchanan Campbell, His only Surviving Daughter (1900)
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/Reli...neerpastor.htm\
Electric Scotland
Snippets from the Glasgow Herald
This is a new section we've created thanks to John Henderson who has gained access to their archives from 1800 to 1990.
So far we've created categories for...
Associated Football
Disasters
Education
Employment and Pauperism
Rugby Football
Transport
War Stories
but others will be added as we work through the archives.
Some of the articles are a wee bit hard to read but we've done our best to improve the scans to the best of our ability.
You can get to these articles at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...pets/index.htm
Scottish Pewter-Ware and Pewterers
By L. Ingleby Wood.
PREFACE
The increasing interest manifested during recent years in the history and craft of Pewter-making, and the development of a taste for collecting examples of what is unfortunately a lost art, has induced me to essay this work. This book deals more particularly with Scottish Pewter-ware, and the history connected with the craft of the Pewterer in Scotland.
Unfortunately, the materials for a connected history of the Industry and Art of Pewter-making in Scotland are but fragmentary. The Kecords of the various Incorporations of Hammermen, to which bodies the Pewterers belonged, and which are probably the most important sources of information, are, in many cases, altogether missing, or existing in a more or less fragmentary and unsatisfactory condition.
While it is thus frequently impossible to speak on some points with certainty, it is yet possible, with the materials available, to construct either by inference or from extraneous sources, a fairly connected and reliable account. In order to understand the general conditions under which the Pewterers as a craft lived and worked, it has been considered necessary to include to some extent the general history of the various hammermen bodies, even at the risk of encroaching upon ground already traversed by some other writers, but this has been done as briefly as consistent with clearness.
This work is primarily designed rather for the collector than for the ordinary reader; and although the more purely historical chapters may possess an interest for the general reader, apart from the special subject, the other portions of the book presuppose a certain technical knowledge upon the subject of Pewter-ware, such as a collector would naturally possess.
I am only too conscious of the shortcomings of this work, but can at least plead that I have honestly endeavoured, at the sacrifice of much time and labour, to piece together a work which may both be of some value to collectors and of some real historical interest.
Added a link to this book to the foot of our Hammermen page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/Hist.../hammermen.htm
Letters from Edinburgh
Written in the Years 1774 and 1775 by E. Topham.
This is one of these old book where the letter f is used instead of the letter s and so is a little hard to read but well worth the effort. In these letters you will find discussion on many topics and there are many wee gems amongst them.
Added a link to this book at the foot of the page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/edinburgh/
Scottish Vernacular Literature
A Succinct History by T. F. Henderson (1898). Added a link to this book at the foot of our Studies in Scottish Literature page.
PREFACE
In his Preface to The Evergreen, Allan Ramsay explains that he had intended to have given 'an account of the Authors of the following Collection,' but had 'delayed the Design' for the sufficient reason that he had not been 'furnished with such distinct Information as could be wished for that End at present'; and he virtually had to content himself with 'marking the Names of the Authors before and after their poems.' Such was the total oblivion which, in the course of a few short generations, had engulfed the old 'makaris' and all their works! Already had they become subjects all To envious and calumniating time.
But many things have happened since the days of Ramsay, among them the birth of Robert Burns, whose striking poetic success, very much on the lines of the old vernacular 'makaris,' inevitably tended to strengthen the reviving interest in those forgotten masters of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Within the present century those old 'makaris' ceased among the educated Scots to be merely 'names' and again became poetic personalities; and within the last few years the studious attention directed to this old vernacular poetry has been rapidly widening even on the Continent and in the United States, where many professors of English Literature have set an example to those in Great Britain by systematically including the subject in the English Literature course. In such auspicious circumstances a succinct handbook of the whole subject—a handbook which should summarise the main features of this in many ways admirable literature, should trace its interdependence, even in prosody, from its earliest beginnings down to Burns and his immediate successors, and should serve as, at least, an introduction and guide to its more general and systematic study—is surely an almost imperative desideratum.
No such handbook has up to the present been attempted, nor does any History of Scottish Literature exist that can be regarded as a substitute for it, the few Histories that have from time to time appeared, embracing only special aspects or special periods of general Scottish literature, while in none has the vernacular literature been dealt with as a separate entity.
It is only within recent years that such a handbook as that attempted in the following pages has become possible. It in a sense represents and summarises the labours of many preceding editors -labours whose results are here thankfully acknowledged—from Pinkerton, Laing, Irving, and other pioneers, to those of the Early English and Scottish Texts. Those Text Societies are, it may be, devoted more to the philological and antiquarian than the strictly literary aspects of the subject, but it is owing mainly to them and other learned Clubs—as the Bannatyne, the Maitland, the Roxburgh, the Hunterian—that Scottish Vernacular Literature has begun to assert its title to full literary recognition.
The older vernacular literature being comparatively unknown, more quotation has been deemed advisable than is usual in literary histories. In the quotations no attempt has been made to modernise the spelling, because (1) the special pronunciation is an essential part of the poetical effect, and (2) a proper knowledge of Scottish vernacular or any other literature is not obtainable by means of short cuts. It is hoped, however, that the side glossary will not only sufficiently guide the 'general reader' to an intelligent appreciation of the quotations, but tend to quicken an interest in one of the most graphic of literary dialects—a dialect which perhaps even yet has not wholly lost its efficacy to enrich modern English.
T. F. HENDERSON.
October 10, 1898.
You can download this book at the foot of the page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...s_lives169.htm
Mr Gladstone's Scotch Speeches
By Arthur James Balfour.
Mr Balfour, who was received with loud cheers, said,—I cannot enter into what I have got to say to you on the large political subjects with which I have to deal, without first thanking Sir George Warrender for the kind and flattering—too flattering-expressions with which he has introduced me to you. He alluded to the fact that I was Lord Salisbury's private secretary.
Gentlemen, I am proud of the connection. But 1 ought to say that I come here to address you, not as Lord Salisbury's private secretary, but as an independent, although loyal and steadfast, supporter of her Majesty's Government, and as a near neighbour of your own. When my friend Mr Usher wrote to me some two months back, and did me the honour of asking me to address the Conservative Working Men's Association, he said in his letter that I might choose my own subject. Gentlemen, as events have turned out, there is no choice in the matter. Accident has fixed the date on which I am to address you at a time when no man speaking on political subjects in Scotland, and more especially in Mid-Lothian, can do otherwise than occupy himself with the interminable series of speeches with which Mr Gladstone has lately favoured us.
There are many reasons, gentlemen, of a purely personal kind which make me desire that the task of criticising those speeches had fallen on somebody else. But speaking as I do, not yet four days after the last speech has been delivered from the last railway station, and considering, as I must, the number and the nature of the accusations which Mr Gladstone has thought fit to bring against her Majesty's Government, the party which support her Majesty's Government, and more especially the Foreign Secretary, there is no choice for me but to deal as shortly as I can with some of the points on which he has touched.
Added a link to this book on our page about him at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...adstone_we.htm
Twenty-Six Years Reminiscences of the Scotch Grouse Moors
By W. A. Adams (1889) (pdf)
MY grouse shooting days are now past. Increasing years and rheumatic muscles remind me that I have had my time, and a very good time too, so now let younger men take my place and profit by my experience, if it should so please them.
You can download this book at: http://www.electricscotland.com/natu...tysixyears.pdf
Scottish Diaries and Memoirs 1550 - 1746
Arranged and Edited by J. G. Fyfe (1927).
THIS volume has a two-fold aim firstly, to interest the general reader in the Scotland of yesterday; and secondly, to give intimate glimpses of life in Scotland during the period from 1550 to 1746, and to shed the light of contemporary observation and knowledge on certain historical personages and events.
Many passages of great historical value have been omitted simply because they are entirely lacking in general interest; but, on the other hand, I have inserted several paragraphs for the very selfish reason that a turn of phrase or a peculiar point of view has appealed to my sense of humour. Perhaps, indeed, personal considerations have affected my choice rather too often, but I hope that part at least of what has attracted me will interest and amuse every reader.
The arrangement of the book has been determined by the periods of time covered by the extracts from the various authors. In several instances, however, the advisability of keeping in close proximity passages dealing with the same subject has necessitated slight departures from strict chronological order.
Though the spelling of a few of the earlier authors has been modernised, there are many extracts in Scots dialect. These will present little difficulty, however, for obscure words are annotated, and when a seemingly unknown word is encountered an attempt at phonetic pronunciation will generally solve the problem.
Several narrations of events and criticisms of men have been given from different points of view. The more important of such passages are linked by cross-references, but the index must be the guide to what the book contains on any particular subject.
I wish to acknowledge my gratitude to Professor Rait, not only for writing a delightful introduction, but also for the invaluable help and kindly encouragement which he has given me. I have also to record my thanks to the Hon. Evan Charteris for permitting me to quote from his edition of Lord Elcho's Short Account of the Affairs of Scotland in the years 1744, 1745, and 1746; to Captain M. J. Erskine-Wemyss for placing at my disposal the manuscript of the Journal of the 2nd Earl of Wemyss; to Dr. George Pratt Insh for allowing me to make extracts from two journals in his volume of Darien Papers: and to the Scottish History Society for permitting me to make use of its texts of Lauder of Fountainhall's Journal, the Diary of Erskine of Carnock, the Diary of Clerk of Penicuik, The Darien Papers, and The Lyon in Mourning.
For permission to reproduce the illustrations in this volume, I am indebted to The Church of Scotland, The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Messrs. John Swain & Son, Ltd., and Messrs. T. & R. Annan & Son.
http://www.electricscotland.com/books/pdf/index.htm
Spanish Influences in Scottish History
By John R. Elder (1920)
You can download this book at: http://www.electricscotland.com/history/spain/index.htm and we feature the Scots College in Spain as our story this week.
Robert Burns Lives!
Edited by Frank Shaw
Some books are a bit difficult to read for a variety of reasons, but the publication in today’s review is not in that category. It is most certainly a keeper. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s only the story of a radical Irish poet. Robert Burns figures in this book with many references throughout its pages. Author Carol Baraniuk has written an outstanding book on James Orr, Poet and Irish Radical, that is most enjoyable. As the book cover reveals, it concerns “Poetry and Song in the Age of Revolution”.
There are many people in Scotland I have grown close to over the years and “family” seems to be the best word to describe our relationships. Carol is one of those people. I met her years ago while attending a Robert Burns Conference at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Robert Burns Studies. We sat across from each other in a restaurant close to campus at the end of the day’s conference. As I recall, it was a large table since there were so many of us, and I do remember the restaurant being full of patrons and the conversations and music were very noisy. It was a Saturday night and everyone was evidently celebrating the end of another work week. I do not remember what I had to eat, but I certainly remember my conversation with Carol about all things Scottish. She is a lovely person and it does not take long to get to know her as she is right at home with anyone she meets. She is, by the way, the aunt of Jennifer Orr whose own book was reviewed in these pages sometime back (see Chapter 138 in our index) and I might add that Jennifer has recently published another book that I will review in the near future. Writing must run through the veins of this talented and scholarly family!
I hope you take time to read the brief review of Carol’s book below and find something new about the times in which Burns lived, loved, and wrote as those in Ireland followed his career as much as the people did in his own little town or countryside. There is much more between the Irish writers and Burns than many current Burnsians know. Carol gives us the opportunity to obtain a new perspective on Burns and read what they were writing and saying about him in Ireland. Several of them made trips to hisScottish home to have meetings with him, and some knew his favorite pubs and waited there to converse with him. His Irish contemporaries looked up to him and sought him out for advice which they took back home to share with their fellow writers. These Irish writers have more to offer about Burns than some throughout Scotland, the United States or other countries. This book is worth the journey from page one through 238. Saddle up, hold on and enjoy a good ride. Your time in this book will be well rewarded…it is that good!
Read James Orr, Poet and Irish Radical by Dr. Carol Baraniuk at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...s_lives227.htm
The Scottish Lyon Office of Arms
By Joseph Foster and Are there two Earls of Mar? by J. H. Round. You can read this at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/webc...milies/mar.htm
For those connected to the Mar family there is certainly some interesting reading here.
THE STORY
I decided on this story due to making available the above book about "Spanish Influences in Scottish History"
The Royal Scots College in Salamanca
By Denis Carlin
A question often asked of us (both in Spain and in Scotland) is: Why is there a Scots College in Salamanca.. or even in Spain? The answer begins in 1560 when the Scots Parliament outlawed the practice of the Catholic religion in Scotland. To ensure a supply of priests for the Scottish Mission, seminaries were founded at Tournay (later moved to Douay), Rome, Paris and Madrid. Honourable mention should also be made of the Benedictine monasteries of Regensburg and Würzburg which also provided priests for Scotland in those difficult times.
Colonel William Semple of Lochwinnoch, after a life spent in the military and diplomatic service of the Spanish crown, founded (with his wife, Doña María de Ledesma) a college in Madrid in 1627, entrusting its running to the Jesuits. Their deed of foundation stipulated that the college was for students "Scottish by birth, preferably those of superior character and virtue and those who promise more fruit in the welfare of souls, and they have to spend whatever time may be necessary in studying Grammar and Philosophy, Theology, Controversies and Sacred Scripture, so that when they are well versed in all of these, they may proceed to the said Kingdom of Scotland to preach the Gospel and convert heretics... when they leave the said seminary for this purpose, others are to be received in their place having the same end, and thus the matter will continue for as long as the aforesaid conversion may require".
For various reasons too complex to treat here, the College in Madrid did not produce very many priests for the mission in Scotland and at times was almost on the verge of extinction. Such was the case when in 1771 John Geddes (later to be Vicar Apostolic of the Lowland District in Scotland) obtained from Carlos III the use of the former Jesuit Colegio de San Ambrosio in Valladolid. Luckily, for us Scots at least, in 1767 the king had suppressed the Society of Jesus in his realm and many of the former Jesuit buildings lay empty. The original Cédula Real (Royal Charter) of 1771 granting us part of the building was followed in the same decade by others which gave us the use of more of the building and granted us similar constitutions and rights as had the English Colegio de San Albano, founded in Valladolid in 1589.
From its new base Valladolid, the Royal Scots College sent a steady stream of priests to Scotland, achieving one of our finest hours when by 1798 we remained the only Scots seminary on the Continent functioning when the other colleges were suppressed in the turmoil which followed the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon, although we too had to close our doors briefly from 1808-1816 due to the Peninsular War. In 1812 our country house, built in the village of Boecillo less than twenty years previously, twice played host to the Duke of Wellington and his army in the course of his campaigns against the French. It is also worth noting that in the early 19th century a number of priests trained in Valladolid went as chaplains with the Scots who were driven from their highland homes to seek refuge in Canada; some of these priests became founding bishops of dioceses there.
While the College had a long and fruitful stay of more than two hundred years in Valladolid, occupied a distinguished building in that city and had many friends and pastoral contacts there, the decision was taken to move to the beautiful University city of Salamanca in 1988: this was done principally to give our students the possibility of attending the Pontifical University (established by Pius XII in 1940, restoring the ancient Salmantino tradition of teaching Theology and Canon Law to the highest level), thus allowing them access to S.T.L. and J.C.L. degrees.
For some years after our arrival in the 'City by the Tormes' we rented a building from the Marist Brothers and ended up buying it from them. This building, while in a very pleasant site, bore all the hallmarks of a Spanish 'rush job' of the mid 60's; these hallmarks were exacerbated in 1992 when we were linked up for the first time with the city mains water supply... and the plumbing system could not cope. The virtually continuous presence of plumbers and electricians convinced us that drastic measures were needed... and we took them.
Having taken architectural advice from Scotland and from Spain, we embarked on the great adventure of la reforma; a process which, painful though it sometimes was, has given us the building we solemnly blessed in October 1996 and now occupy with pride (and comfort). And why are we still here? Read again the quote from the deed of foundation (making ecumenical changes where necessary): that students trained here "may proceed to Scotland and Preach the Gospel".
At the foot of this article page I have links to the complete book and a pdf brochure about the college and you can get to this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../salamanca.htm
And that's it for this week and hope you all enjoy your weekend.. and Happy Thanksgiving!
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com/
Electric Scotland News
I should mention that as we are now working with the Centre of Scottish Studies at Simon Fraser University I have added a link to them in the header of our site.
And now some news from the Scottish Press this week...
Scotland Bill powers may be unworkable
Scotland's new package of powers may not be workable and could require an entirely new method of funding devolved governments
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...itics-34884122
Scots cafe's all-day-breakfast munchie box
A CAFE has been amazed at the popularity of the breakfast boxes which include potato scones, bacon, link sausage, sliced sausage, black pudding, haggis, bagels, French toast, mushrooms, scrambled egg, beans and a drink.
Read more at:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/sc...-cafes-6870427
The dodgy dossier of independence
A respected insider has laid bare the untruths of the White Paper.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/news/brian-w...ence-1-3954521
Why is the Unicorn Scotland’s national animal?
AN American historian has uncovered the roots of how the Unicorn became Scotland’s national animal in the late 1300s.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/peo...imal-1-3953188
Glasgow named Best of the World destination
GLASGOW has been named as a must visit destination in 2016 by National Geographic.
Read more at:
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/tr...tion-1-3953322
Heriot-Watt scientists working on new type of matter
Scientists at Heriot-Watt University are working with an entirely new type of solid matter.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-34926881
Official North Sea oil revenue forecast down by 94%
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has forecast receipts from North Sea oil and gas will be down by 94% this year to just £130m.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...itics-34926904
Americans fund Alloway Burns monument project
The donation is from its American foundation. NTS needs to raise £175,000 for the project.
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-...-west-34939291
Electric Canadian
The Pioneer Pastor
Some Reminiscences of the Life and Labors of The Rev. Geo. Buchanan, M.D., First Presbyterian Minister of Beckwith, Lanark County, Upper Canada by Jessie Buchanan Campbell, His only Surviving Daughter (1900)
You can read this at: http://www.electriccanadian.com/Reli...neerpastor.htm\
Electric Scotland
Snippets from the Glasgow Herald
This is a new section we've created thanks to John Henderson who has gained access to their archives from 1800 to 1990.
So far we've created categories for...
Associated Football
Disasters
Education
Employment and Pauperism
Rugby Football
Transport
War Stories
but others will be added as we work through the archives.
Some of the articles are a wee bit hard to read but we've done our best to improve the scans to the best of our ability.
You can get to these articles at: http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...pets/index.htm
Scottish Pewter-Ware and Pewterers
By L. Ingleby Wood.
PREFACE
The increasing interest manifested during recent years in the history and craft of Pewter-making, and the development of a taste for collecting examples of what is unfortunately a lost art, has induced me to essay this work. This book deals more particularly with Scottish Pewter-ware, and the history connected with the craft of the Pewterer in Scotland.
Unfortunately, the materials for a connected history of the Industry and Art of Pewter-making in Scotland are but fragmentary. The Kecords of the various Incorporations of Hammermen, to which bodies the Pewterers belonged, and which are probably the most important sources of information, are, in many cases, altogether missing, or existing in a more or less fragmentary and unsatisfactory condition.
While it is thus frequently impossible to speak on some points with certainty, it is yet possible, with the materials available, to construct either by inference or from extraneous sources, a fairly connected and reliable account. In order to understand the general conditions under which the Pewterers as a craft lived and worked, it has been considered necessary to include to some extent the general history of the various hammermen bodies, even at the risk of encroaching upon ground already traversed by some other writers, but this has been done as briefly as consistent with clearness.
This work is primarily designed rather for the collector than for the ordinary reader; and although the more purely historical chapters may possess an interest for the general reader, apart from the special subject, the other portions of the book presuppose a certain technical knowledge upon the subject of Pewter-ware, such as a collector would naturally possess.
I am only too conscious of the shortcomings of this work, but can at least plead that I have honestly endeavoured, at the sacrifice of much time and labour, to piece together a work which may both be of some value to collectors and of some real historical interest.
Added a link to this book to the foot of our Hammermen page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/Hist.../hammermen.htm
Letters from Edinburgh
Written in the Years 1774 and 1775 by E. Topham.
This is one of these old book where the letter f is used instead of the letter s and so is a little hard to read but well worth the effort. In these letters you will find discussion on many topics and there are many wee gems amongst them.
Added a link to this book at the foot of the page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/edinburgh/
Scottish Vernacular Literature
A Succinct History by T. F. Henderson (1898). Added a link to this book at the foot of our Studies in Scottish Literature page.
PREFACE
In his Preface to The Evergreen, Allan Ramsay explains that he had intended to have given 'an account of the Authors of the following Collection,' but had 'delayed the Design' for the sufficient reason that he had not been 'furnished with such distinct Information as could be wished for that End at present'; and he virtually had to content himself with 'marking the Names of the Authors before and after their poems.' Such was the total oblivion which, in the course of a few short generations, had engulfed the old 'makaris' and all their works! Already had they become subjects all To envious and calumniating time.
But many things have happened since the days of Ramsay, among them the birth of Robert Burns, whose striking poetic success, very much on the lines of the old vernacular 'makaris,' inevitably tended to strengthen the reviving interest in those forgotten masters of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Within the present century those old 'makaris' ceased among the educated Scots to be merely 'names' and again became poetic personalities; and within the last few years the studious attention directed to this old vernacular poetry has been rapidly widening even on the Continent and in the United States, where many professors of English Literature have set an example to those in Great Britain by systematically including the subject in the English Literature course. In such auspicious circumstances a succinct handbook of the whole subject—a handbook which should summarise the main features of this in many ways admirable literature, should trace its interdependence, even in prosody, from its earliest beginnings down to Burns and his immediate successors, and should serve as, at least, an introduction and guide to its more general and systematic study—is surely an almost imperative desideratum.
No such handbook has up to the present been attempted, nor does any History of Scottish Literature exist that can be regarded as a substitute for it, the few Histories that have from time to time appeared, embracing only special aspects or special periods of general Scottish literature, while in none has the vernacular literature been dealt with as a separate entity.
It is only within recent years that such a handbook as that attempted in the following pages has become possible. It in a sense represents and summarises the labours of many preceding editors -labours whose results are here thankfully acknowledged—from Pinkerton, Laing, Irving, and other pioneers, to those of the Early English and Scottish Texts. Those Text Societies are, it may be, devoted more to the philological and antiquarian than the strictly literary aspects of the subject, but it is owing mainly to them and other learned Clubs—as the Bannatyne, the Maitland, the Roxburgh, the Hunterian—that Scottish Vernacular Literature has begun to assert its title to full literary recognition.
The older vernacular literature being comparatively unknown, more quotation has been deemed advisable than is usual in literary histories. In the quotations no attempt has been made to modernise the spelling, because (1) the special pronunciation is an essential part of the poetical effect, and (2) a proper knowledge of Scottish vernacular or any other literature is not obtainable by means of short cuts. It is hoped, however, that the side glossary will not only sufficiently guide the 'general reader' to an intelligent appreciation of the quotations, but tend to quicken an interest in one of the most graphic of literary dialects—a dialect which perhaps even yet has not wholly lost its efficacy to enrich modern English.
T. F. HENDERSON.
October 10, 1898.
You can download this book at the foot of the page at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...s_lives169.htm
Mr Gladstone's Scotch Speeches
By Arthur James Balfour.
Mr Balfour, who was received with loud cheers, said,—I cannot enter into what I have got to say to you on the large political subjects with which I have to deal, without first thanking Sir George Warrender for the kind and flattering—too flattering-expressions with which he has introduced me to you. He alluded to the fact that I was Lord Salisbury's private secretary.
Gentlemen, I am proud of the connection. But 1 ought to say that I come here to address you, not as Lord Salisbury's private secretary, but as an independent, although loyal and steadfast, supporter of her Majesty's Government, and as a near neighbour of your own. When my friend Mr Usher wrote to me some two months back, and did me the honour of asking me to address the Conservative Working Men's Association, he said in his letter that I might choose my own subject. Gentlemen, as events have turned out, there is no choice in the matter. Accident has fixed the date on which I am to address you at a time when no man speaking on political subjects in Scotland, and more especially in Mid-Lothian, can do otherwise than occupy himself with the interminable series of speeches with which Mr Gladstone has lately favoured us.
There are many reasons, gentlemen, of a purely personal kind which make me desire that the task of criticising those speeches had fallen on somebody else. But speaking as I do, not yet four days after the last speech has been delivered from the last railway station, and considering, as I must, the number and the nature of the accusations which Mr Gladstone has thought fit to bring against her Majesty's Government, the party which support her Majesty's Government, and more especially the Foreign Secretary, there is no choice for me but to deal as shortly as I can with some of the points on which he has touched.
Added a link to this book on our page about him at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...adstone_we.htm
Twenty-Six Years Reminiscences of the Scotch Grouse Moors
By W. A. Adams (1889) (pdf)
MY grouse shooting days are now past. Increasing years and rheumatic muscles remind me that I have had my time, and a very good time too, so now let younger men take my place and profit by my experience, if it should so please them.
You can download this book at: http://www.electricscotland.com/natu...tysixyears.pdf
Scottish Diaries and Memoirs 1550 - 1746
Arranged and Edited by J. G. Fyfe (1927).
THIS volume has a two-fold aim firstly, to interest the general reader in the Scotland of yesterday; and secondly, to give intimate glimpses of life in Scotland during the period from 1550 to 1746, and to shed the light of contemporary observation and knowledge on certain historical personages and events.
Many passages of great historical value have been omitted simply because they are entirely lacking in general interest; but, on the other hand, I have inserted several paragraphs for the very selfish reason that a turn of phrase or a peculiar point of view has appealed to my sense of humour. Perhaps, indeed, personal considerations have affected my choice rather too often, but I hope that part at least of what has attracted me will interest and amuse every reader.
The arrangement of the book has been determined by the periods of time covered by the extracts from the various authors. In several instances, however, the advisability of keeping in close proximity passages dealing with the same subject has necessitated slight departures from strict chronological order.
Though the spelling of a few of the earlier authors has been modernised, there are many extracts in Scots dialect. These will present little difficulty, however, for obscure words are annotated, and when a seemingly unknown word is encountered an attempt at phonetic pronunciation will generally solve the problem.
Several narrations of events and criticisms of men have been given from different points of view. The more important of such passages are linked by cross-references, but the index must be the guide to what the book contains on any particular subject.
I wish to acknowledge my gratitude to Professor Rait, not only for writing a delightful introduction, but also for the invaluable help and kindly encouragement which he has given me. I have also to record my thanks to the Hon. Evan Charteris for permitting me to quote from his edition of Lord Elcho's Short Account of the Affairs of Scotland in the years 1744, 1745, and 1746; to Captain M. J. Erskine-Wemyss for placing at my disposal the manuscript of the Journal of the 2nd Earl of Wemyss; to Dr. George Pratt Insh for allowing me to make extracts from two journals in his volume of Darien Papers: and to the Scottish History Society for permitting me to make use of its texts of Lauder of Fountainhall's Journal, the Diary of Erskine of Carnock, the Diary of Clerk of Penicuik, The Darien Papers, and The Lyon in Mourning.
For permission to reproduce the illustrations in this volume, I am indebted to The Church of Scotland, The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Messrs. John Swain & Son, Ltd., and Messrs. T. & R. Annan & Son.
J. G. F.
Added this as item 119 to our pdf books which you can get to at:http://www.electricscotland.com/books/pdf/index.htm
Spanish Influences in Scottish History
By John R. Elder (1920)
You can download this book at: http://www.electricscotland.com/history/spain/index.htm and we feature the Scots College in Spain as our story this week.
Robert Burns Lives!
Edited by Frank Shaw
Some books are a bit difficult to read for a variety of reasons, but the publication in today’s review is not in that category. It is most certainly a keeper. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s only the story of a radical Irish poet. Robert Burns figures in this book with many references throughout its pages. Author Carol Baraniuk has written an outstanding book on James Orr, Poet and Irish Radical, that is most enjoyable. As the book cover reveals, it concerns “Poetry and Song in the Age of Revolution”.
There are many people in Scotland I have grown close to over the years and “family” seems to be the best word to describe our relationships. Carol is one of those people. I met her years ago while attending a Robert Burns Conference at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Robert Burns Studies. We sat across from each other in a restaurant close to campus at the end of the day’s conference. As I recall, it was a large table since there were so many of us, and I do remember the restaurant being full of patrons and the conversations and music were very noisy. It was a Saturday night and everyone was evidently celebrating the end of another work week. I do not remember what I had to eat, but I certainly remember my conversation with Carol about all things Scottish. She is a lovely person and it does not take long to get to know her as she is right at home with anyone she meets. She is, by the way, the aunt of Jennifer Orr whose own book was reviewed in these pages sometime back (see Chapter 138 in our index) and I might add that Jennifer has recently published another book that I will review in the near future. Writing must run through the veins of this talented and scholarly family!
I hope you take time to read the brief review of Carol’s book below and find something new about the times in which Burns lived, loved, and wrote as those in Ireland followed his career as much as the people did in his own little town or countryside. There is much more between the Irish writers and Burns than many current Burnsians know. Carol gives us the opportunity to obtain a new perspective on Burns and read what they were writing and saying about him in Ireland. Several of them made trips to hisScottish home to have meetings with him, and some knew his favorite pubs and waited there to converse with him. His Irish contemporaries looked up to him and sought him out for advice which they took back home to share with their fellow writers. These Irish writers have more to offer about Burns than some throughout Scotland, the United States or other countries. This book is worth the journey from page one through 238. Saddle up, hold on and enjoy a good ride. Your time in this book will be well rewarded…it is that good!
Read James Orr, Poet and Irish Radical by Dr. Carol Baraniuk at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/fami...s_lives227.htm
The Scottish Lyon Office of Arms
By Joseph Foster and Are there two Earls of Mar? by J. H. Round. You can read this at:
http://www.electricscotland.com/webc...milies/mar.htm
For those connected to the Mar family there is certainly some interesting reading here.
THE STORY
I decided on this story due to making available the above book about "Spanish Influences in Scottish History"
The Royal Scots College in Salamanca
By Denis Carlin
A question often asked of us (both in Spain and in Scotland) is: Why is there a Scots College in Salamanca.. or even in Spain? The answer begins in 1560 when the Scots Parliament outlawed the practice of the Catholic religion in Scotland. To ensure a supply of priests for the Scottish Mission, seminaries were founded at Tournay (later moved to Douay), Rome, Paris and Madrid. Honourable mention should also be made of the Benedictine monasteries of Regensburg and Würzburg which also provided priests for Scotland in those difficult times.
Colonel William Semple of Lochwinnoch, after a life spent in the military and diplomatic service of the Spanish crown, founded (with his wife, Doña María de Ledesma) a college in Madrid in 1627, entrusting its running to the Jesuits. Their deed of foundation stipulated that the college was for students "Scottish by birth, preferably those of superior character and virtue and those who promise more fruit in the welfare of souls, and they have to spend whatever time may be necessary in studying Grammar and Philosophy, Theology, Controversies and Sacred Scripture, so that when they are well versed in all of these, they may proceed to the said Kingdom of Scotland to preach the Gospel and convert heretics... when they leave the said seminary for this purpose, others are to be received in their place having the same end, and thus the matter will continue for as long as the aforesaid conversion may require".
For various reasons too complex to treat here, the College in Madrid did not produce very many priests for the mission in Scotland and at times was almost on the verge of extinction. Such was the case when in 1771 John Geddes (later to be Vicar Apostolic of the Lowland District in Scotland) obtained from Carlos III the use of the former Jesuit Colegio de San Ambrosio in Valladolid. Luckily, for us Scots at least, in 1767 the king had suppressed the Society of Jesus in his realm and many of the former Jesuit buildings lay empty. The original Cédula Real (Royal Charter) of 1771 granting us part of the building was followed in the same decade by others which gave us the use of more of the building and granted us similar constitutions and rights as had the English Colegio de San Albano, founded in Valladolid in 1589.
From its new base Valladolid, the Royal Scots College sent a steady stream of priests to Scotland, achieving one of our finest hours when by 1798 we remained the only Scots seminary on the Continent functioning when the other colleges were suppressed in the turmoil which followed the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon, although we too had to close our doors briefly from 1808-1816 due to the Peninsular War. In 1812 our country house, built in the village of Boecillo less than twenty years previously, twice played host to the Duke of Wellington and his army in the course of his campaigns against the French. It is also worth noting that in the early 19th century a number of priests trained in Valladolid went as chaplains with the Scots who were driven from their highland homes to seek refuge in Canada; some of these priests became founding bishops of dioceses there.
While the College had a long and fruitful stay of more than two hundred years in Valladolid, occupied a distinguished building in that city and had many friends and pastoral contacts there, the decision was taken to move to the beautiful University city of Salamanca in 1988: this was done principally to give our students the possibility of attending the Pontifical University (established by Pius XII in 1940, restoring the ancient Salmantino tradition of teaching Theology and Canon Law to the highest level), thus allowing them access to S.T.L. and J.C.L. degrees.
For some years after our arrival in the 'City by the Tormes' we rented a building from the Marist Brothers and ended up buying it from them. This building, while in a very pleasant site, bore all the hallmarks of a Spanish 'rush job' of the mid 60's; these hallmarks were exacerbated in 1992 when we were linked up for the first time with the city mains water supply... and the plumbing system could not cope. The virtually continuous presence of plumbers and electricians convinced us that drastic measures were needed... and we took them.
Having taken architectural advice from Scotland and from Spain, we embarked on the great adventure of la reforma; a process which, painful though it sometimes was, has given us the building we solemnly blessed in October 1996 and now occupy with pride (and comfort). And why are we still here? Read again the quote from the deed of foundation (making ecumenical changes where necessary): that students trained here "may proceed to Scotland and Preach the Gospel".
At the foot of this article page I have links to the complete book and a pdf brochure about the college and you can get to this at http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../salamanca.htm
And that's it for this week and hope you all enjoy your weekend.. and Happy Thanksgiving!
Alastair
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