The New Statistical Account of Scotland (1845)
Volume XII - Aberdeen
City of Aberdeen

PRESBYTERY OF ABERDEEN, SYNOD OF ABERDEEN.

Drawn up by William Henderson, M.D. Aberdeen,—the articles Ecclesiastical State and State of Education being contributed by the Rev. Abercromby Gordon; Fisheries, by the Rev. Alexander Spence; Bridewell, by Alexander W. Chalmers, Esq.; Mechanics' Institution, by Thomas Scott Benzie, Esq.; Gordon's Hospital, by the Rev. W. K. Tweedie.

THE REV. JAMES FOOTE, Minister of the East Church.
THE REV. ALEXANDER D. DAVIDSON, West Church.
THE REV. JOHN MURRAY, North Church.
THE REV. WILLIAM K. TWEEDIE, South Church.
THE REV. A. L. GORDON, Grayfriars.
THE REV. ALEXANDER SPENCE, St Clements.
THE REV. HUGH MACKENZIE, Spring Garden Church (Gaelic.)
THE REV. DAVID SIMPSON, Trinity Church.
THE REV. JOHN ALLAN, Union Church.
THE REV. JOHN STEPHEN, John Knox's Church.
THE REV. WILLIAM PRIMROSE, Melville Church.

I.—Topography and Natural History.

Aberdeen, a city of considerable size and extensive commerce, is situated along the left bank of the river Dee, near its mouth, extending about a mile from east to west, and stretching to nearly an equal distance northward from the river.

Name.—Various conjectures have been formed respecting the etymology of the name of this city, of which the two following are the most worthy of notice:

Mr Kennedy, in his Annals of Aberdeen, says, on the authority of the late Mr Maclachlan, Rector of the Grammar-School of Old Aberdeen, that "the Gaelic name, Obairreadhain, pronounced Oberrayn, signifies the town situated on the bank or space of ground near the entrance of two rivers; and is composed of Abair or Aber, a well-known word, and Da-abhuinn, (Da-awin), two rivers, namely, Dee and Don. This analysis is exactly descriptive of the local situation of Aberdeen, which in former ages was almost at an equal distance from the mouths of both rivers, although about a century ago the channel of the Don, near the town, was altered, and the stream diverted straight into the sea, about a mile further northward than its ancient efflux;" and he endeavours in a note to give further probability to this etymology, by saying, " probably at some very remote period, Don had continued its former course still further southward down the hollow of the links, till it united with Dee in the harbour, and both together would form one stream into the ocean. Such conjecture is in some measure confirmed by the works of Ptolemy and Richard (of Cirencester), there being no such river as Don delineated in their maps, or even mentioned in their tables, while Diva (Dee) and Ituna (Ythan) in the district of the Taixali, are particularly noticed. In the earlier records of the burgh, the river Don is distinguished solely by the name of Aqua Borealis.' [Annals, Vol. i. p. 5.]

The conjecture advanced by Mr Thorn in his History of Aberdeen, is expressed in these words: "The name Aberdeen is composed of the Gaelic A-bar, and dun, which signifies the hill in the marsh. Aber, spelt Abar in Gaelic, is a compound of two words, aw, water, and bar, an obstacle; hence it signifies a marsh." [History, Vol. i. pp. 28, 29.]

Various considerations seem adverse to these conjectures. In the first place, there is no vestige in either record or tradition, of the Don having ever run south into the Dee, nor does it seem likely that it should hold for two miles a course parallel to the seashore, and separated from it only by a line of sand-hills so low and loose in several places as sometimes to be broken through by a high tide when pains are not taken to prevent it. On the contrary, if probability may be appealed to in the absence of evidence, it seems much more likely that the course which it has held since the year 1727, (when advantage was taken by the salmon-fishers of a breach made in these hills by a high tide or land-flood, to alter the place of its mouth), was the ancient one, running straight into the sea, instead of turning suddenly at a right angle, along the back of the sand-hills. In the second place, no argument can be founded on the silence of Ptolemy respecting the Don, for he does not mention above half of the rivers that run into the German-Ocean, and the ltuna which he notices, is not in the district of the Taixali, but on the west side of the island, and has a longitude assigned to it of 18°, 30' while that of Divæ ostium is 26°. It cannot, therefore, be the Ythan; and as it is termed by him an estuary, and placed immediately to the north of Morecambe bay, it seems clear that it is the Solway which he meant to point out by this designation. And in the third place, it seems far-fetched to derive a part of the name of the city either from the supposed junction of two rivers, or from the word signifying a hill, when the name of the river that runs close by it supplies the syllable that is wanting, without requiring to undergo any change.

Ptolemy places the river Diva in the territory of the Taixali, who occupied the most easterly part of Albion, and he mentions the city Devana as being in the same province. [Ptolemæi, Geog. Univers. l. ii. c. 3.] These, then, correspond with the situation of the river Dee, and of some city near it. The exact site of the Devana of Ptolemy has been disputed; "General Roy," as Mr Thorn observes, " having placed it at Old Aberdeen, and the laborious author of Caledonia somewhere in the parish of Peterculter;" [History, Vol. i. p. 18.] the former being about a mile north from Aberdeen, and the latter about seven miles south-west of it, on the banks of the Dee.

That the Romans adopted and Latinized the name of the river, seems probable from this consideration, that while in very many cases the Roman names given to rivers have no analogy with those by which they are now known, we find in several districts of the Celtic territories, rivers whose present names, though apparently not of Latin derivation, are almost identical with the names under which they occur in the writings of Ptolemy and other ancient authors, for example the Dee, in Galloway, mentioned by Ptolemy as the Deva in the country of the Selgovii, the Dee in Cheshire, called by him the Deva in the territory of the Cornabii, and the Deba in Guipuzcoa, which is noticed by him under the name of Diva in the country of the Caristi. It need not excite wonder that we find no vestige of the name Devana given to the settlement of the Taixali by the Romans, except in the writings of the ancients, for although the Romans adopted from the natives the name of the river, there was no reason why the natives should give up the name by which the town placed on its banks had previously been known to them, in order to copy from their invaders the name which they chose to affix to it. It seems in a high degree probable that the ancient name of the city among the natives very nearly resembled the one which it bears at this day, (though, perhaps, Camden goes too far when he charges Ptolemy with having put Diva and Devana for Dena and Denana.) ["Quæ Devana, Ptolemæo, pro Denana, Urbs perantiqua, ad Denam fluvium, qui falso itidem apud Ptolemæum Diva legitur." Camden, Britannia, edit. 1587, p. 558.]

Mr Kennedy observes, that in old records the name is variously spelt. - Aberdaen, Aberdon, Abirden, Aberdene, and Abyrdene;—auuiivu.— and in Latin writings it generally occurs in the form of Abredonia; but Buchanan, while he uses the name Abredonia as applicable both to Old and New Aberdeen, says of the latter "Hanc cite-riorem invenio vetustis monumentis Abredeam appellatam." [Buchanan, Hist. Scot. 1. i. c. 26.]

The noun "Abar," is stated by Macleod and Dewar in their Gaelic Dictionary to denote "a marsh, a bog, a fen," and used as a verb "to join together," hence "a place where two or more streams meet." On a reference to the situation of the numerous places both in Scotland and Wales whose names begin with this word, it will be seen that they are all (with one or two questionable exceptions, viz. Abergeley in Flintshire, and Abernyte in Perthshire,) situated either, 1st, at the influx of a stream into the sea; or 2d, on the confluence of two streams; or 3d, in the immediate neighbourhood of a stream; a very few only presenting the anomaly of being on the sea coast, where there is no river or stream of any notable magnitude, such as Abermenai in Caernarvonshire, Aberdour in Fife, and Aberdour in Aberdeenshire.

If, then, it can be admitted that the Celtic name of the river was Dee, or as Mr Thorn asserts, [History of Aberdeen, Vol. i. p. 24.] "Deabhadh pronounced Devay," or some similar word, the origin of the name of the city seems easily deducible from "Abar" or "Eabar," a marsh or fen, (and. it is worth notice that the common people pronounce the name as if it were spelt Ebardeen,) compounded with the name of the river, so that it signifies "the marsh of the Dee." [Armstrong, in his Gaelic Dictionary, gives "a confluence of waters" as the meaning of Eabar,—whence Eabardeen would signify "the embouchure of the Dee."]

Topography, &c.—The parish of St Nicholas, in which Aberdeen is situated, lies on the north side of the river Dee, adjacent to its embouchure, and along the contiguous sea coast. Its shape is irregularly quadrangular. It is bounded on the south side, by the river, along which it extends for about l½ mile in a direction nearly east and west. On the east side, the sea forms its limit for nearly 1¼ mile, in a direction almost due north, to about the point opposite the middle of the Broad Hill, a small eminence which is situated nearly half way between the mouth of the Dee and that of the Don. From this point there is no natural division of the parish from the adjacent one of Old Machar; the boundary runs nearly west for about one mile, and then turns irregularly a little to the south-west for about the same distance, till it reaches the extreme west corner of the parish between Broadford and Gilcomston, and from thence it turns nearly south, and extends along the Denburn, almost three-quarters of a mile, till it meets the south boundary at the place where that burn falls into the basin of the harbour. The superficial contents of the parish may be estimated at about 1100 imperial acres, of which rather more than one-half (including the whole of the west, the greater part of the south, and nearly one-half of the north sides,) is occupied by the city of Aberdeen, and the village of Futtie which lies along the river towards the east end of the south boundary. [It has of late become customary to spell the name of this village Footdee, as if it were derived from the circumstance of its lying adjacent to the embouchure or foot of the Dee; but the uniform spelling in old writings is Futtie, or sometimes, though seldom, Fottie; and it may be observed that etymological propriety would require, that, if the name had reference to the foot of the Dee, it should have been either "Dee-foot," (as Elvan-foot, Bog-foot, &c.) or" Foot-o-dee," (as Foot-o hill.)] By far the greater part of the remainder along the east side is occupied by the links, and a range of low sand hills by which they are separated from the sea coast. Along the north side, from the" Broad Hill to the point where the buildings of Aberdeen begin, the ground is laid out in market gardens, nurseries, and bleach-greens.

The origin of the name of this parish is enveloped in obscurity. The great church of Aberdeen was, in former times, dedicated to St Nicholas, though whether it was to Nicholas, who was Bishop of Myra in Lycia in the fourth century, and who is the patron saint of the Russian empire, or to some one else of the same name, that it was dedicated, is a problem that probably cannot now be solved. The name derived from this dedication, however, has by long use extended to the whole parish; but in ordinary language it has of late years been less generally used,—the name of the city which occupies so large a portion of the parish being employed instead.

With the exception of that part of the Broad Hill which is comprehended within the limits of the parish, the surface of the whole of the east and north parts is nearly level, and but very slightly elevated above the sea; but in the south and west parts, the ground is more broken, rising into several eminences of small height, one of which, the Heading Hill, may be said to lie beyond the limits of the town on the east side, (although a few houses are built on it, and on the adjacent grounds to the north,) while the others, known by the names of the Castle Hill, St Catherine's Hill, the Port Hill, and the School Hill or Woolman Hill, are occupied by the streets and buildings of Aberdeen.

On the south side the boundary of the parish is also the boundary of the district of Mar and of the county of Aberdeen ; and the adjacent parish in the county of Kincardine is Nigg, in which the small fishing village of Torrie lies directly opposite to Futtie on the south side of the Dee. On the north and west sides, the parish of St Nicholas is completely inclosed by the parish of Old Machar, which contains the town of Old Aberdeen, lying about a mile northward from Aberdeen, the manufacturing village of Woodside, at the distance of about two miles to the north-west, and the village of Ruthrieston, about two miles distant towards the south-west. In this parish are also situated the suburbs of Broadford on the north side; Gilcomston, along the north end of the west side; the Windmill-brae and College Street near the south end of the same side; Holburn about a mile off towards the south-west; and Dee village about half a-mile off on the bank of the river. Besides these, the new streets which have of late years been added to Aberdeen, and in which many of the best houses are situated, are within the limits of the parish of Old Machar, lying between Gilcomston and the river, and extending westward nearly three-quarters of a mile. Soil, &c.— The soil of the parish is on the east side principally sandy, derived from its vicinity to the sea, the beach being here composed of fine sand, with occasional beds of small stones. The upper grounds in the other parts consist generally of gravel, and the lower grounds shew in several places extensive beds of peat moss lying under and mixed with the remains of former buildings or artificial soil. There is reason to conclude that the whole of the parish rests on a bed of rock of the nature of granite, and this rock may be seen in some parts of the Broad Hill cropping out to the surface. It has been found, however, in those parts of the town and neighbourhood, where boring for water has been practised, that the rock lies at a depth of nearly thirty feet under the moss and gravel which form the subsoil.

According to the most recent determination, that of Mr George Innes, which has been approved by the engineers employed in the Government survey, the latitude of the observatory on the top of Marischal College, which stands not very far from the centre of the parish, is 57° 8' 57.8" north, and its longitude is 2° 5' 41.56" west from Greenwich.

The climate, in consequence of its proximity to the sea, is not liable to very great or extreme variations; but from the same cause it is very unsteady. The frosts in winter are not often very severe, although occasionally the thermometer has been observed as low as 13°, or even 10°; but this not for any long continuance. And in the summer the temperature scarcely ever rises above 70° or 75° in the shade during the day, while during the night it is very seldom above 60°.

The following Table, drawn up by Mr George Innes, shows the monthly mean temperature for the last seven years—the thermometer being placed freely exposed to the E. N. E., and at the height of 16 feet above the surface of the ground, and the observations being made daily at 8 a. m. and 9 p. m.

The fluctuations of the barometer are not in general either very great or very sudden. It scarcely ever rises above 30.5 inches, or sinks below 28. The effect of the east wind in raising it, or in preventing its fall on the approach of rain, is very frequently to be observed. In the following table Mr Innes has collected the monthly mean for the last seven years—the barometer being placed at the height of 45 feet above half flood, and observed night and morning.

No series of observations with the hygrometer has been recorded, nor indeed are such very satisfactory when they are made. The principles of the various instruments of this kind that are in use are liable to several fallacies which it is not easy to remove, and nearly impossible to make due allowance for. Some of them indicate only the moisture that is diffused in the air; thus almost necessarily assuming that the air in which they indicate the presence of moisture, already holds dissolved or combined with it, all the water which at the observed temperature it is capable of taking. It is obvious that there is therefore a great and a variable quantity of moisture contained in the air to which such instruments are exposed, of which they give no indication. Others are formed on the principle of estimating the quantity of water which the air, under given circumstances, is capable of dissolving, in addition to the unascertained quantity which it already has. A third class depend for their principle on the known facts, that cold air is capable of dissolving less moisture than hot air, and that the moister the air is at any given temperature, the smaller will be the reduction of temperature, required to cause it to deposit a part of that moisture, or, as it is said, to bring it to the dew point; and the hygrometer consists of a vessel having a thermometer inclosed in it, which is to be cooled until moisture begins to be deposited on its surface, when the indications of the inclosed thermometer will show at what temperature the air subjected to observation would become incapable of retaining all its moisture. And a fourth kind is founded on the principle, that evaporation is accompanied by a diminution of temperature in proportion to its rapidity; the instrument, therefore, consists of two thermometers, one of which has its bulb covered with moistened muslin, and its indications are obtained by noting the difference between the two thermometers. This last kind of hygrometer seems to give a more philosophically accurate result than the others; but there are circumstances which none of them take account of, and which it is perhaps impossible to devise an instrument to show satisfactorily.

The sensible effects of the moisture contained in the air often depend not so much on its absolute quantity, (or on its quantity as considered in relation to the temperature prevailing at the time,) as on some differences whose causes are by no means well understood, by which the air is rendered more or less disposed to part with the moisture which it holds, or to dissolve an additional quantity; and these, though not altogether unconnected with its temperature, are yet by no means solely dependent on it. The indications of the state of the atmosphere in regard to moisture and dryness, which are furnished by the flight of insects and birds, and by the feelings of persons of infirm health, are often more delicate, and not unfrequently more accurate, than those given by any hygrometer. That changes in the state of the air in regard to elasticity have a principal share in producing those indications must be admitted; but such changes, at the same time, produce a change in the relations of the air to moisture, which often the most sensible hygrometer will fail to indicate, but which the lapse of a few hours proves to be not the less real on that account. The sensible proof that the air is saturated with moisture seems be obtained by the falling of rain; but even here it is not sufficient to find that rain has fallen in order to justify the conclusion that the air was overloaded with moisture, or to find that no rain has fallen, in order to warrant the inference that the quantity of moisture contained in the air was less than it was capable of dissolving. Sudden changes in this respect often take place, which are not by any means always proportioned to the changes of temperature, and sometimes are even altogether unconnected with them, and which it is extremely difficult to take any accurate account of. It is true that rain often falls from a considerable height in the atmosphere, and we are therefore unable to judge accurately of the circumstances of that stratum of air from which it is precipitated; but this is not always the case, and rain is sometimes produced as it were before our eyes, while the previous indication of the thermometer and of the hygrometer gave little information regarding it.

The rain-guage may thus occasionally become a useful addition to both of these; though it is obviously not capable of always indicating the actual quantity of moisture separated from the air in any given situation; 1st, because it will catch a considerable portion, (and indeed the greater part of what it does catch, is probably to be considered as derived from this source,) of what is separated from strata of air at a considerable but very variable height above the place of observation; 2d, because the circumstances of the various strata of air through which the rain falls before reaching the guage, are liable to such endless variety, that the quantity of water collected by the guage may be either very considerably greater, or very much less than the actual quantity precipitated in the form of rain; and 3d, because when rain is produced from that stratum of the air in which the rain-guage is placed, much of the amount of its indications will depend on the situation which the guage occupies, as that which in the upper parts of the stratum is but a drizzle or small rain, may sometimes be found to be a very heavy shower, if observed in a situation only a small number of feet lower. An observation of this kind was made on one occasion by the late Dr Copland, Professor Natural Philosophy in Marischal College, who found the rain small and by no means thick on the top of the Observatory, while in the court below it was heavy and in large drops. The following table, therefore, showing the rain collected by the rain-guage on the top of the observatory, at the height of 74 feet from the surface of the ground, cannot be looked on as perfectly satisfactory. Yet perhaps the objections to which it is liable, are (though of a different kind) not on the whole stronger than those that might be urged against the indications of any similar instrument however placed. Mr Innes, with the view of removing these objections in as far as they are capable of being removed, has taken measures for observing the fall of rain in future at two additional stations in the vicinity of Aberdeen; the one in a garden about half a mile westward from the boundary of the parish, where the guage is placed seven feet above the surface of the ground, and the other at the light-house on the Girdleness, about a mile south-east from the extremity of the parish, where it is placed at the height of three feet above the ground.

The prevailing winds are during the winter, north and east, and during the summer, westerly; but there is so little of steadiness in this respect, (excepting that there is a month or so during spring when an easterly wind prevails very generally,) that it is difficult to speak with any degree of precision about it. The following table shows the direction of the wind during the last three years, no register previous to that time having been met with.

Generally speaking, the wind does not blow with any great violence, and it cannot be said that there is any particular quarter from which a violent wind may be expected to come, rather than any other; though, perhaps, on the whole, the north wind may be said here to be oftener a violent wind than that which blows in other directions.

The average rise of the tide at the mouth of the Dee is 13½ feet at spring tides, and 8 feet at neap tides, and the former takes place when the moon is about thirty-six hours past the full and change, —the latter about thirty-six hours after the first and last quarters.

The magnetic variation is at present 26° 43' westward. It was a few years ago somewhat greater, having been stated by Mr In-nes at 26° 45' during the years 1830-31-32-33, and 34.

The aurora borealis is sometimes seen here in great splendour, exhibiting a corona of every conceivable colour, and of very great brilliancy from its rapid and constant changes. The hissing or crackling noise which so many have heard accompanying this meteor, while many others have denied that any such sound has ever been heard, (apparently for no better reason than because they have not themselves heard it, and cannot account for it,) has been occasionally observed by several persons in Aberdeen and the neighbourhood, among whom the late Mr John Ramage may be mentioned, as well as the writer of this Account, who also had an opportunity once of confirming the observations made by Captain Back during his sojourn in the Polar regions, that the cause of this meteor, whatever it may be, is not always at so great a distance from the surface of the earth as is commonly supposed, for he saw the beam of light distinctly pass between his eye and a small cloud, while it passed behind another small cloud, which evidently hung lower in the atmosphere. The splendid phenomenon of a luminous arch, about 1° 30' broad, stretching across the heavens nearly in the direction of the magnetic equator, and slowly moving towards the south till it becomes more undefined, and at last breaks up when it has passed a little beyond the zenith, has been of late years several times observed here. Nothing can be founded on the frequency or unfrequency of a phenomenon so irregular and so little understood as the aurora borealis; but it may be mentioned by the way, that after having been for several years very seldom observed, it has of late become much more frequent, and during last winter scarcely a night passed in which it was not seen in a greater or less degree.

Thunder storms are by no means very common in this parish, and when they do occur they are scarcely ever very violent, and it is not above once in two or three years that any injury is done] by lightning to either buildings or lives in Aberdeen or the vicinity.

Springs, Wells, &c.—There are few springs of any consequence in the parish, and although a supply of water can be got in most places by digging from ten to thirty feet, it is generally rather hard, and therefore comparatively of little value. Close by the boundary of the parish, on the west side, are two springs closely contiguous, which have been long known under the name of the Well of Spa. Both of these springs, but especially the least co-pious one, are impregnated with carbonate of iron, and they have been noted as medicinal on account of this quality. In 1615, an account of the properties and powers of these springs was published by Dr William Barclay, under the title of "Callirrhoe, commonly called the Well of Spa, or the Nymph of Aberdene." A building which at that time protected the spring having fallen into decay, was repaired by the celebrated painter, George Jamieson, but was not long after demolished by a flood of the Den-burn, which runs close beside. In 1670, another building was erected over the spring, which still remains, consisting of a stone enclosure with steps or benches, and an entablature bearing these inscriptions:—

"As heaven gives me, so give I thee."
"Hoc fonte derivata salus in Patriam populumque fluat."
"Spada Rediviva, 1670."

These springs have disappeared and been recovered several times within the last two centuries, but until of late their chalybeate virtues seem to have been always retained. Within these few years, however, in digging on the adjacent eminence for the foundations of the west wing of the New Infirmary, it would seem as if the course of the water had been disturbed, or some other change produced, the consequence of which is that now the larger spring scarcely appears to possess any chalybeate impregnation, and the smaller one is much weaker than it formerly was.

It is generally concluded among geologists, that where granite rock forms the bed of a district, the attempt to obtain water by sinking Artesian wells would be vain; and Messrs Richards and Co., when they wished to obtain a supply of water for their manufactory in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, were dissuaded from incurring the expense of boring, as not likely to be attended with success. Messrs Hadden and Sons, however, about three years made the experiment at their manufactory, in the lower part of the town, and with the result of obtaining an abundant supply of water. In sinking this well, they cut through about thirty feet of mossy soil and gravel before coming to the rock, into which they made a bore of eight inches diameter, which was successively contracted to six inches, and at the bottom to four inches. The depth to which this bore was carried through the rock was 150 feet, and the course of the operation they found the matter cut through mostly granite, though of different degrees of hardness at different depths. The water thus obtained, which probably comes from several fissures in the rock, rose to within about eight feet of the surface, but on putting in a pump the supply was found to be copious and capable of increase. On first using the pump a good deal of air rose along with the water, but in about a month this ceased, and it was then found that, by increasing the power of the pump, a larger supply of water (accompanied, however, by a renewal of the escape of air) might be obtained. The supply thus acquired is now equal to nearly 180 gallons per minute, but the quality of the water is hardish, so that it cannot be used except for condensing.

They have more recently sunk another well about 100 feet distant from the first, and this they carried to the depth of 220 feet, the bore throughout being eight inches wide. Here they found the water rose only to within about fifteen feet of the surface, and on applying a pump the supply was by no means so great as from the first, not exceeding fifty gallons per minute, of the same quality as the other, and apparently derived from the same fissures,— for the yielding of the first well is so much diminished by the working of the second, that both together scarcely give more water than the first did alone, before the second was made.

Messrs Richards and Co., on hearing of the success which had attended the attempts of Messrs Hadden, began to bore, and after cutting through 18 feet of moss and black earth, 14 feet of gravel and small stones, 4 or 5 feet of reddish clay, and, below that, about 6 feet of loose sand and clay, they reached the rock, through which a bore of 8 inches diameter was driven to the depth of 132 feet, making 175 feet in all from the surface. The rock was of variable hardness, but mostly granitic. At the depth of 115 feet, a layer of sand was met with, accompanied by much water, and there is reason to believe, that the principal supply of water which was obtained came from this bed of sand. Below this the rock was very hard. The boring was continued for 60 feet further, but without any change in the nature of the rock, or any notable ad-ditiun to the quantity of water. The spring rose to the surface of the earth, and flowed over in small quantity, but on putting in a pump, the supply was found to be equal to about 45 gallons per minute, and of excellent quality, being, though not absolutely soft yet not by any means materially hard.

The only other attempt of this kind which has been made is by Messrs Fisher and Son at the Devanha Brewery, about a mile south-west from the boundary of the parish, where a bore of six inches wide at the top, but diminished to three inches at bottom, was driven to the depth of 140 feet. Nearly the whole of this was through a red granite rock of variable hardness, and the supply of water, which was obtained after boring about 35 feet, not having been materially increased, the attempt was then given up. The water rose to within two feet of the surface, and the quantity ob-tained by applying a pump amounted to about 12 gallons per minute; but it was so strongly impregnated with carbonate of iron as to be altogether useless for the purposes of the brewery.

Zoology.—It cannot be expected that the natural history of a parish which is nearly altogether occupied by a large city should present many objects of rarity or interest. In regard to quadrupeds, the only circumstance that occurs as being worthy of notice, is, that the black rat, which formerly used to abound over all Scotland, has for many years been altogether expelled from this parish by the large brown rat, which is commonly said to have been imported from Norway. The swallow and martin commonly make their appearance here about the end of April, and depart a little before the autumnal equinox. The beautiful bird, the Bohemian jay, is sometimes seen here, but seldom. The other birds found are those which occur in other similarly situated parts of the north of Scotland. The sea in the neighbourhood yields considerable variety of fish, of which those principally caught are the haddock, whiting, cod, skate, and flounders of various kinds, as plaice, &c. Ling, halibut, soles, and mackerel are occasionally caught, and there is no reason to doubt that an abundant supply of some of the finer kinds of fish, as turbot, might be obtained, if the fishermen' were in the habit of using decked boats, in which they could venture to go 15 or 20 miles out to sea. An attempt was made some years ago by some fishers from Hartlepool to introduce the turbot fishery here, but they did not meet with the encouragement which they had hoped for. Herrings are occasionally caught in' abundance along this coast, but it was not until about two years ago, that, by the exertions of the late Provost Blaikie, a vigorous attempt was made to establish a herring-fishery at Aberdeen.

There are at present about thirty boats employed in this way, and the success which they have had has been highly encouraging, so it may be hoped that this department of the fishery is likely to be prosecuted henceforth with advantage. The salmon-fishery is carried on to a very considerable extent both in the sea and in the river Dee, and the rents accruing to the magistrates of Aberdeen, and to various private individuals from this source, are to a considerable amount. A statement of the actual quantity of salmon caught in the Dee and on the beach adjacent cannot be given, because these fishings, being in the hands of persons possessing similar fishings in other situations, it has not been deemed of importance to distinguish the fish of each particular river or station.

Occasionally considerable quantities of shrimps are caught in pools left by the tide on the sands; and the fishermen who reside in Futtie use as bait great quantities of sand-eels, which they collect by turning over the sand after the tide has receded.

In consequence of the sandy nature of the beach, it affords no resting place or shelter for shell-fish; and the shells which are found on the beach are, therefore, brought by the sea from other situations, and generally the fish have decayed before the shells are washed ashore. Sometimes after a storm, a few Echini and Medusae are found on the beach, but this is by no means frequent. The same observation applies to several kinds of small Corallines, and to various kinds of marine plants, none of which are properly speaking the produce of this coast, nor ever found on it in sufficient quantity to be of any importance either as manure, or for the purpose of preparing kelp.

Botany.— The botany of such a parish is equally devoid of interest or variety as its zoology. The plants and trees which thrive well are necessarily of the more hardy kinds, and there is none of which it can well be said, that either the climate or the soil are so peculiarly suited to them, as to render them specially the produce of this parish. Forest trees of the various ordinary kinds, as fir, larch, spruce, ash, elm, beech, birch, plane, mountain-ash, service, &c. &c., are reared to a considerable extent in the nursery grounds in and adjacent to the parish. The oak seems scarcely to thrive now in this part of the country, although in executing the improvements which have lately been carried on in the harhour of Aberdeen, the trunks of a good many oaks of large size have been dug up, in such situations as to lead to the conclusion 1 that they had not been brought down by the river, but had grown where they were found. One of these, which, when entire and covered with its bark, must have exceeded 15 feet in circumference, is set upon the Inch or flat ground between the basin of the harbour and the bed of the river Dee.

No great variety of plants can be said to belong to this parish, but by the industry of the inhabitants, to which the establishment of a Horticultural Society about ten years ago, has not a little contributed, a great many of the natives of other districts, and not a few exotics, both esculent and ornamental, have been successfully cultivated, and may be said to be almost or altogether naturalized here now.

The mineral productions of the parish are not less limited than those of the other departments of natural history. The east parts of the parish lie altogether on a bed of sea-sand; and the low! grounds on the north and east sides, as well as on the bank of the Dee along nearly half of the south side, generally speaking, shew extensive beds of peat moss lying under the vegetable mould. The higher grounds are nearly composed of beds of gravel and small ounded stones.

Climate and Salubrity.—Notwithstanding the variableness of the climate, the salubrity of Aberdeen is not inferior to that of other places in the neighbourhood, which are more favourably situated in this respect. Catarrhs, pulmonary complaints, and rheumatism, may be said to be the only diseases that can in any degree be deemed consequences of the exposed situation of the town on the east coast of the island. As in every other large town, there is a considerable number of cases of fever and other contagious complaints, which may be regarded as consequent rather on the crowding together of a great number of individuals, and on the unfavourable circumstances in which they live, than on the climate or situation of the district. The tables drawn up at the infirmary and dispensaries give information to a certain extend regarding the diseases prevalent in a portion of the community and if there were accurate bills of mortality kept, they would supply a good deal of additional information, though it would not be quite complete or accurate, as many who have lived beyond the bounds of the parish are buried within it, and vice versa. In the absence of this information, little more can be said than that instances of longevity, protracted sometimes to nearly a century, by no means of more unfrequent occurrence in Aberdeen, than in most of the other towns in Scotland.

II.— Civil History.

It would be useless to attempt to trace the origin of the town of Aberdeen, as, in the total absence of records, nothing but conjecture could be offered. It seems likely, that, whether the present town can be identified with the ancient Devana or not, there would be at a very early period a village or fishing-station near the mouth of the Dee, and this may be supposed to have stood where the most ancient traces of inhabitation in Aberdeen have been found, viz. along the south and west sides of St Catherine's Hill, where the Ship-row and Putachyside now are. Hector Boece says that it was erected into a city by Gregory about the year 893, ["Aberdoniam ex pago urbem fecit," Hist. Scot. l. x. fol. 220, edit. 1526.] but of this no record has been preserved. The earliest document extant relating to the town is a charter by William, granted at Perth, the date of which is with probability supposed to be 1179, and from this time the rise of Aberdeen as a place of note may be dated.

It had its share in the troubles and misfortunes of the succeeding reigns, and in 1272, according to Boece, it was reduced to ashes by the fires caused by a tempest which devastated a great part of Scotland, and which is mentioned also by Fordun, though he does not speak of the destruction of Aberdeen by it. [Hist. Scot. l. xiii. fol. 302—Scotichron, l. x. c. 30.] In 1298, the town was garrisoned by the English; but about ten years after, the citizens took possession of the castle, and massacred the garrison; having taken part with Bruce, who, in testimony of their patriotic exertions, granted them permission to bear as the arms of the town, "gules, three towers triple towered, within a double tressure counterflowered argent, supported by two leogards proper, the motto in a scroll above 'bon accord,' " (that having been the watchword on the night when they rose against the English); and soon after he confirmed and extended the privileges formerly possessed by the citizens. In 1336, when Edward III. had ravaged a great part of the north country, he desolated Mar on his way south, and burned Aberdeen, killing a great number of the citizens, [It would be out of place here to enter into any lengthened defence of the historian Boece; but it seems necessary to notice that sometimes mistakes are imputed to him without reason, as in the present instance; Mr Thom in his History of Aberdeen, says, "Hector Boece mentions that Edward II. sent ships to Aberdeen, anno 1333, from which a party landed and burnt the town for six days; but this must be a mistake:" there is, however, no mention of this expedition in Boece's history. Considerable confusion prevails in the statements on this subject, some alleging (apparently on the authority of an incorrect expression in Froissart, 1. i. p. 1, c. 57, where he says that, in 1333, Edward entered Scotland, "qu'il foula gravement toute la plaine d'Escosse, et ardit et exillat moult de villes privées de fosses et de palis;—et coururent ses gens tout le pays jusques à Saint Jehanstone et jusques à Abredane;") that the town was burnt in 1333 as well as in 1336; and that on one or the other of these occasions, (for it is differently stated) the fire raged for six days. There does not seem, however, to be any good evidence for more than one burning; and it is by no means likely that the town was then of such extent as to require six days for its consumption, though possibly the work of destruction by Edward's soldiers may have been carried on for that length of time. Vide Boet. Hist. Scot. 1. xv. fol, 332. Fordun, 1. xiii. c. 37.] in revenge, apparently, for the death of Sir Thomas Roslyne, who had fallen in an attack on the town the year before. [Wyntown's Chronicle, b. viii. ch. 31.] The town was within a few years rebuilt, and seems at this time to have received the designation of New Aberdeen;—not in contradistinction to the Kirktown of Seaton, which is now called Old Aberdeen, but simply because it was then a newly built town. It seems certain that Aberdeen was a town of some note long before Old Aberdeen was any thing more than a hamlet with a church.

Subsequent to this time Aberdeen was repeatedly honoured by the visits or the prolonged residence of the Scottish King, and a mint was established in the town, from which coinages were issued both by David and Robert III.

The records of the town council now extant commence in the year 1398, but nothing requiring notice in this summary occurs for a good many years. During the captivity of James I. and the minority of James II., the troubled state of the country obliged the inhabitants of each town to provide for their own security, and the citizens of Aberdeen were ordered to arm, the town was protected with walls, the gates being carefully shut at night, and an armed patrole of thirty citizens was daily selected as a guard. against surprise.

In 1411, Donald, Lord of the Isles, made an inroad on the country to the west of Aberdeen, and advanced with the purpose of pillaging the town; but the Earl of Mar having collected forces in the low country, opposed his progress, and on the 24th of July a battle was fought at Harlaw, a place about twenty miles from Aberdeen, in which both parties sustained considerable loss, and neither could claim the victory. [Boet. 1. xvi. fol, 354—Majoris Hist. 1, vi, c. 10.—Fordun, 1. xv. c. 21.] Among those who fell on the side of the Earl of Mar was Sir Robert Davidson, the provost of Aberdeen, who joined him at the head of a band of citizens. His body was brought to the town and entombed in the Church of St Nicholas, where its remains were discovered when the church became ruinous about the year 1740. [Kennedy's Annals, i. 51.] In consequence of the death, in this manner, of Provost Davidson, it is said that an act of the town-council was soon after passed, prohibiting the chief magistrate from quitting the town in his official character; but Mr Kennedy, though he mentions this, and though he refers constantly to the council records, does not quote any authority for the statement, and the writer of this has been unable to find any notice of such an act in the council register.

In 1462, the magistrates entered into a bond of manrent for ten years with the Earl of Huntly; he engaging to protect them in their freedom and property, and they promising to give him advice when required, to keep his counsel, to receive him and his men into the town when he pleased, and to take part with him if he should be attacked within the burgh, saving always their allegiance to the King. [A copy of this bond is given in Kennedy's Annals, i. 55.] In the course of the next year he called on them for assistance, but not strictly in terms of the bond, for he required them to meet him at the Cabrach, about forty miles from Aberdeen; but they excused themselves, first because they could not obtain horses, the whole country having been summoned at the same time to repress an incursion made by John Lord of the Isles; and secondly, because they had been ordered by the King to guard the town against the English, who were said to be on the coast.

James III. having been killed in 1488, Lord Forbes and some other nobles came to Aberdeen in the course of the next year for the purpose of stirring up the people to assist in rescuing the young King from the party who had led him into rebellion; and to aid their object they paraded the town, exhibiting the bloody and torn shirt of the late King on the point of a spear. [Buchanani, Hist. Scot. 1. xiii. c. 4. ] The appeal was not in vain, but the citizens seem to have limited the expression of their loyalty to certain resolutions which they passed on the occasion. In 1497, a blockhouse was built at the entrance of the harbour as a protection against the English, and in 1514, besides the gunners stationed there, two men were placed at the bell-house on the south side of the river, with orders to raise a fire as soon as the English fleet appeared in sight, while other two on the castle hill had orders to ring a bell whenever they should see the fire. The expected attack, however, was not made. James IV. paid several visits to Aberdeen, one of which, though very brief, was remarkable. It was on the 30th August 1507, when the King rode in one day from Stirling through Perth and Aberdeen to Elgin, on his way to the shrine of St Duthac in Ross-shire. [Leslæi de Gest, Scot. l. viii. p. 331, ed. 1675.]

In 1525, the town was the scene of a bloody affray, caused by Seton of Meldrum, Leslie of Wardhouse, and Leslie of Balquhain, who entered the town on the night of the 1st October with a number of armed followers, and attacked the citizens, eighty of whom were killed and wounded; but the assailants were repulsed, and the town forthwith put into a state of defence. About the middle of the previous century a public clock had been placed in the tolbooth; but so little progress had the mechanical arts made in Aberdeen, or indeed in Scotland, that in the beginning of this century, when it required repair, it was found necessary to send it to Flanders for that purpose.

In 1514, in 1546, and again in 1647, the plague raged with considerable violence in Aberdeen, and for the safety of the other inhabitants, the sick were lodged in huts erected in the links.

When the Earl of Huntly rebelled against Queen Mary, and the battle of Corrichie was fought, in 1562, the town seems to have been equally in terror of both parties, but the occupation of the place by the Royal army immediately before the battle, and the defeat of the rebels, decided the question, and the Queen's army was joyfully received on its return with the prisoners, and the town was at that time the place of the Queen's residence for nearly three months.

At the earliest period of which any record remains, the government of the town was intrusted to an alderman, (afterwards called a provost,) four bailies, and twenty councillors, who were annually chosen "cum consensu et assensu totius communitatis;" but by a statute passed in 1469, the election of the magistrates was vested in the council, and that of the new council was devolved on the preceding council; and about the beginning of the sixteenth century, a custom began, of the councillors once elected retaining their office for life, while the election of provost became little more than a form, the office being engrossed by one or two powerful families in the town or neighbourhood, in proof of which it may be mentioned, that one individual filled the civic chair for twenty-nine successive years, from 1547 to 1576. These abuses continued till 1591, when the matter having been challenged, and confine under the notice of King James, his Majesty issued one of the most singular rescripts, perhaps, that ever passed the privy seal, in which he ascribes the flourishing state of Aberdeen to the council continuing in office "unalterit or changeit be the space of forty or fifty yeiris;" - says the town would become a monopoly instead of an open burgh, if they were changed annually according to act of Parliament;—and therefore directs the council then in office to continue during life, re-electing themselves annually; "renunceand and dischargeand all actioun and persute competent to us or our successors twitching the contraventioun of our said act of Parliament." This, however, did not give satisfaction, as indeed it could not be expected to do; and next year the matter was referred to certain umpires, who pronounced a decree-arbitral naming the magistrates and council for that year, and "enjoining the acts of Parliament concerning the election of magistrates, council, and office-men within boroughs, to be precisely observed in all time coming."

In 1594, three Popish priests having been apprehended by the magistrates, as abettors of the Popish Lords Huntly, Errol, and Angus, who were then in a state of rebellion, these barons forcibly rescued the prisoners, and denounced fire and sword against the town; a threat which would probably have been executed, had they not been soon after subdued, or rather starved into subjection.

James VI. paid several visits to Aberdeen, viz. in 1582, 1589, 1592, 1594, and 1600, and, generally speaking, these royal visits were expensive affairs to the citizens, both in entertainments, and in presents of money given to his Majesty, according to the custom of the time. About this time, the crime of witchcraft was supposed to be prevalent in Aberdeen as well as in other parts of the kingdom, and many poor old women were sacrificed to appease the terrors which the belief in it was calculated to excite. Few of the individuals who were suspected were allowed to escape from the hands of their persecutors; several died in prison in consequence of the tortures inflicted on them, and, during the years 1596-97, no fewer than 22 were burnt at the Castlehill.

In 1639, the town having, at the instigation of the Marquis of Huntly, taken part with the King, Montrose and General Leslie came north, and after harassing the citizens for a time, and reducing Huntly to the necessity of dispersing his troops, returned southward. Soon after the Viscount of Aboyne resolved to publish at Stonehaven a proclamation, issued by the King, against the Covenanters, but he was repulsed, and pursued by the Earl Marischal, who, coming to the bridge of Dee, found it fortified, but defended by a small number of men only. These he overpowered, and, coming to Aberdeen, entered it without resistance. [Spalding's History of the Troubles in Scotland, 4to edition, Vol. i. p. 153.]

In 1645, the town having mostly acceded to the covenant, Montrose, who had embraced the royal cause, having crossed the Dee about ten miles up, marched down to within two miles of Aberdeen, and sent a drummer with a summons to surrender. This was refused, and the messenger dismissed; but as he was returning, he was killed either accidentally or by design, on which Montrose advanced, and being met by Burleigh's troops and the citizens at the Crabestone, about half a mile from the town, a Woody conflict ensued, in which Montrose overcame, and, pursuing his victory, he took possession of the town, which he gave up to pillage, putting many of the inhabitants to the sword.

The reigns of Charles II. and James were noted for the cruel persecution of the Presbyterians, and for great distress among the people generally, from which Aberdeen was not exempt. Among the arbitrary acts of the latter, may be noticed his having on several occasions controlled the election of magistrates, which was not restored to its former freedom till 1689.

Some time previous to- this (probably at the time when the disturbed state of the country rendered it unsafe to dwell without the walls) a double row of houses was erected, apparently at first of wood, in the middle of the Broadgate, by which that street was, reduced in breadth from about thirty-five paces to its present breadth of about fifteen or eighteen paces, and the west side of it, known by the name of the Guestrow, or as it is called in some old writings, the "vicus lemurum," [Book of Bon Accord, i. p. 117.] thus became a separate street. And, about the beginning of the eighteenth century, the magistrates, anxious to deprive marauders of the shelter afforded them by the forest of the Stocket, gave permission to such of the citizens as chose to take wood from it for that purpose, to add balconies to the front of their houses, projecting eight or ten feet into the street, viz. to the extent occupied by the outer stairs—and thus the streets were considerably narrowed, and the town rendered less healthy. One or two of the houses thus altered still remain, having a wooden front, behind which, at the distance of about ten feet, is the original stone wall of the house.

In 1715, the Chevalier de St George was proclaimed at Aberdeen by the Earl Marischal, and soon after the Earl of Mar sent to demand a contribution of L. 2000 from the town, for the support of the Pretender's army, but of this only about one-half was paid. In December of the same year, the Pretender having landed at Peterhead, passed through Aberdeen on his way to Fetteresso, where he was met by several of the nobles attached to his cause. Although the magistrates at this time were on his side, the town's people generally seem to have been afraid to commit themselves, and he received no effectual aid from Aberdeen.

About 1740, some individuals in Aberdeen engaged in the nefarious trade of kidnapping such young men as they could entice or compel, to go to the plantations in Virginia, and though many were thus decoyed or forced away from their friends, it continued for a good many years little regarded, and a house in the Green is spoken of as having been used for confining those who were refractory until they could be shipped off. Several of the principal citizens appear to have been concerned in this villany, and it was not until one of their victims, Peter Williamson, unexpectedly re-appeared in Aberdeen in 1758, (for the measures taken to prevent their return, or communicating with their friends, were in general successful,) that any check was given to it. He had written a pamphlet, giving an account of the manner in which he had been kidnapped, and of the hardships he had sustained, and this he sold in Aberdeen on his return. For this libel he was summoned before the bailies, and was fined 10s., ordered to beg pardon of the magistrates, and thereafter to be banished from the town, and the obnoxious parts of his book were torn out and burnt at the cross by the hangman. Williamson afterwards went to Edinburgh, where, meeting with some benevolent persons to espouse his cause, he raised an action against the magistrates, which was terminated by these worthies being sentenced to pay him L. 100, with all the expenses of the suit.

In 1745, Prince Charles having landed in the West Highlands, Sir John Cope marched with the royal army to Inverness to oppose him, but he having gone southward, Sir John returned and came to Aberdeen in September, from whence he took shipping; and in November Lord Lewis Gordon, the Prince's Lord Lieutenant for Aberdeen and Banff, came to Aberdeen, and took possession of the town. Soon after, the Laird of Macleod was sent by the Earl of Loudon with about 200 men to drive the rebels from the town, but he was defeated in a skirmish near Inverury, and the town continued to be occupied by the rebels until February 1746, when it was evacuated on the approach of the royal army under the Duke of Cumberland. His Royal Highness reached Aberdeen on the 27th February, and remained in the town till the 8th April. [The Duke during his stay in Aberdeen resided in the house which is now used as the House of Refuge.] A part of the royal army returned to Aberdeen after the battle of Culloden; and the citizens not being so alert in illuminating their houses as some of the officers thought they should have been, they ordered the soldiers to break the windows, which was accordingly done; but the magistrates resented this aggression, and imprisoned one or two of the officers. Ultimately the matter was accommodated by the officers paying about L. 60 for the damage done.

In 1767, the harvest being unfavourable, and the price of meal consequently high, the populace broke open and robbed one of the meal cellars in town, and threatened to hang its owner, under the impression that he had wilfully raised the price beyond what was necessary. In order to quell this riot, the magistrates were obliged to call in the aid of the military, and it was not till one of the rioters was killed and several wounded, that the mob was dispersed. In 1782, the alarming deficiency of the crop led the citizens to adopt precautions to avert the threatened famine, and accordingly a subscription was opened, and a committee appointed to purchase corn to be distributed to the inhabitants. By their accounts it appears that, up to the end of July 1783, they had imported 2205 sacks of various kinds of meal, 619 quarters of barley, and 9082 bolls of grain.

Attempts were made in 1786 to redress certain abuses connected with the administration of the funds of the Scottish burghs, and in these attempts several of the citizens of Aberdeen took a principal share; but the bill which was introduced into Parliament for this purpose was thrown out in 1789. These attempts were renewed in 1792, and a select committee of the House of Commons was appointed to report on the matter. This report was presented in June 1793; but the odium which was cast upon reform by the democratic principles of the "Corresponding Society" and the "Scottish Convention," induced the prudent abettors of burgh reform to discontinue their exertions.

The harvest of 1799 was extremely unfavourable, and the utmost exertions of the magistrates were required in order to prevent famine. But though the prices were very high, [The price per boll was, for oatmeal, L. 2, 5s.; bear, L. 2, 4s.; potatoes, L.2, 2s.] and much distress was suffered in consequence, no serious disturbance took place.

In 1802, the celebration of the anniversary of the King's birthday terminated in a melancholy and fatal manner, in consequence of some of the officers of the Ross and Cromarty Rangers, at that time quartered in the barracks, having become intoxicated while drinking the King's health in the town-house. On their appearing in this state in the street, they were pelted by some idle boys, on which they immediately ordered out the regiment, and fired on the crowd assembled in the Castle Street, four of whom were killed and a good many wounded. It was found necessary, in order to avert further evil, to remove the regiment from the town next morning. The officers and some of the soldiers who were most immediately implicated were apprehended, and soon after ordered to be sent to Edinburgh for trial, but about two months after, the Lord Advocate declined to prosecute any of them. The citizens, much dissatisfied at this, raised a subscription for the purpose of prosecuting them at the instance of those whose relatives had been killed, and three officers and two sergeants were brought to trial, but after a trial of two days, two of the officers were found not guilty, and the verdict was not proven as regarded the two sergeants ; the other officer did not stand his trial, and was outlawed.

One of the most melancholy shipwrecks that have ever occurred on this coast took place on the 1st April 1813. The Oscar whale ship left the port that morning along with four others, the weather being fine; but appearances of a gale coming on, the Oscar and another weighed anchor, in order to stand out to sea. The Oscar was detained by one of her boats having been sent for some of the crew who had not come on board, and the gale coming on from the north-east, she was driven ashore about 11 a. m., in the Greyhope, immediately behind the breakwater at the south side of the harbour, where she quickly went to pieces, and out of a crew of forty-lour, only the first mate and one seaman were saved. The same place proved fatal in 1815 to the Caledonia and the Thames, which were both wrecked in one day, and the crews of both perished.

In 1817, it was found that the expenses into which the magistrates had been led in the execution of various improvements in the town, the harbour, and the roads leading to the city, had so drained the treasury, that it became necessary to declare the town insolvent. The amount of debt for which the security of the town was pledged was L. 225,710, to meet the interest on which an income appeared of L. 10,042, while the value of the property belonging to the town was L. 139,440, exclusive of the value of feus in the new streets, estimated at L. 106,851; so that time only appeared to be required to enable the treasury to overcome its difficulties. A committee of trustees was appointed, and, by careful management, his object was attained in a few years ; and the last yearly accounts just published show a revenue of L. 20,452, with an expenditure of L. 17,084. About the same time attempts were made to open the set of the burgh, and the subsequent election of magistrates having been informal in some respects was set aside, and certain individuals were named by the Court of Session to act until the next day of election. Since that time the Burgh Reform Act has been passed, and the election of the council is now placed pretty much on the same footing as it originally was,—the magistrates being chosen by the council thus elected out of their own number.

Eminent Men.—It would not be easy, and perhaps it is not necessary, to draw the line very nicely between those men of talents and celebrity who have lived in Aberdeen, and those who have,; been principally connected with Old Aberdeen. The notice here given can only embrace a few of the principal, and must necessarily be very brief.

John Barbour was born in 1330, and is said to have been the son of a citizen who lived in the Castlegate. He is known by his office of Archdeacon of Aberdeen, and as the author of the metrical history of Robert Bruce, which, as Mr Kennedy naively remarks, "has not yet lost its reputation," adding, "the style of his composition is regarded by the learned of both kingdoms as an ornament to our language, and not inferior to that of his con-temporary Chaucer."

David Anderson of Finzeauch, commonly known by the appellative of "Davie do a'-thing," was noted for his mechanical genius, and in the year 1618 promoted the improvement of the harbour, by removing a large rock which lay in the middle of the channel] at its entrance.

George Jamieson, the son of Andrew Jamieson, a burgess of Aberdeen, who was born about 1586, is deservedly celebrated as a painter of portraits, and his pictures are remarkable for their soft-ness and the clearness of the colouring. Lists of them are given in Mr Thorn's history of Aberdeen, and in the Statistical Account in 1797. It may not be out of place to notice, that there are still preserved, at the back of the magistrates' gallery in the West Church, two pieces of tapestry worked by Mr Jamieson's daughter, Mary representing Jephthah's Vow, and Susannah and the Elders.

James Gregory, the inventor of the reflecting telescope, was born in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen in 1638, and educated at Marischal College. He was afterwards Professor of Mathematics, first at St Andrews and then at Edinburgh.

Edward Raban is worthy of note, as having been the first printer established at Aberdeen, where he settled in 1621.

Mr Alexander Jaffray, the son of a citizen of Aberdeen, occupied the civic chair in the years 1641 and 1649, [Alexander Jaffray, who was Provost in 1636 and 1638, is generally supposed to be the father of the other, who in 1636 was not more than twenty years of age.] and was highly beneficial to the community, by the judgment and moderation which he exhibited in the direction of the affairs of the town in very difficult times, as well as by the zeal which he displayed for the promotion and maintenance of the true religion, though in his latter days he shewed a considerable want of steadiness, and ultimately became an adherent of the Society of Friends.

James Gibbs was born in Aberdeen in 1688, and studied architecture in Italy, after which he settled in London, where he acquired both reputation and fortune. It is to his taste and talent that the design of the Church of St Martin in the Fields is said to be due; and he gave the plan also for the West Church in Aberdeen.

John Gregory was born in Aberdeen in 1724, and, having studied medicine, became Professor, first in King's College and afterwards in Edinburgh, where, on his death, he was succeeded by his son, the late eminent Dr James Gregory, who also was born in Aberdeen.

John Ramage, who was a currier and leather-merchant in Aberdeen, deserves notice here on account of his devotion to scientific pursuits, and his great practical acquaintance with the construction of reflecting telescopes; one of which, made by him, is placed in the Royal Observatory, and, though considerably inferior in size, is said to be nearly equal in power to Herschel's 40 feet reflector.

Connected with Aberdeen, we must mention Dr Robert Hamilton, formerly Professor of Natural Philosophy, and afterwards of Mathematics, in Marischal College, the author of an Essay on the National Debt, which has often been referred to as one of the ablest and most perspicuous elucidations of the principles of the Sinking Fund; and Dr Patrick Copland, who was Professor in Marischal College, at first of Mathematics and afterwards of Natural Philosophy, who enriched the collection of apparatus there with a great variety of models, made under his own eye, and many of them with his own hand, so that at his death the apparatus-room of Marischal College contained a collection probably superior both in extent and accuracy to any other collection in Scotland.

It is not necessary to do more than mention the names of such men as Dr Thomas Blackwell, Dr George Campbell, Dr Thomas Reid, Dr James Beattie, Dr Gilbert Gerrard, and Dr William Laurence Brown, all of whom were either natives of Aberdeen, or for a considerable portion of their lives resident in it. Neither would it be seemly in closing this list to say more than that Dr John Abercrombie is a native of Aberdeen, and that Sir James Macgrigor received the first elements of his professional education as the pupil of a medical man in Aberdeen.

Ecclesiastical State.—Little precise information can be given regarding the early ecclesiastical state of Aberdeen, except that, for two or three centuries preceding the Reformation, there were in the town, houses of Dominican, Franciscan, and Carmelite Friars, and a monastery dedicated to the Holy Trinity, as well as a parish church dedicated to St Nicholas; and that there is no reason to doubt that in Aberdeen, as in other parts of Scotland, "the form of Popery which prevailed was of the most bigotted and illiberal kind, and its superstitions and absurdities had grown to an extra-vagant height."  [Kennedy's Annals of Aberdeen, Vol. i. p. 109.]

Malcolm having gained a victory over the Danes at Mortlach, in Banffshire, in 1010, founded a bishopric there, which was transferred to Aberdeen in 1139. The bishop fixed his residence at Seaton, on the right bank of the Don, about half a mile from its] mouth, and, in consequence of this, the cathedral church was erected there. [That portion of the Cathedral Church which is still entire is used as the parish church of Old Machar at the present time.] The church of St Nicholas, as being a dependency of the bishopric, was served by a vicar (who was generally the sixth prebendary of the cathedral,) together with a curate, and, chaplains, the number of whom was twenty-two in 1491, but in 1519 they were restricted to sixteen.

The influence of Protestant truth seems to have early begun to manifest itself in Aberdeen; for, in 1521, Mr John Marshall, master of the Grammar School, was summoned before the magistrates for contempt of the Church of Rome. He answered bold-ly that he did not consider himself amenable to the court of Rome. But two years afterwards, he expressed his contrition, which, as Mr Kennedy observes, "probably saved him from the dreadful punishment which generally awaited the enemies of that church." In 1525, the principles of the Reformation had made such process in Aberdeen, that the King sent orders to the Sheriff to search for and punish those who had in their possession heretical books, it being alleged that several strangers and others within the diocese of Aberdeen were busied in propagating the errors of Luther.

Ultimately, however, the truth prevailed, and the following extract from the council records, of date 4th October 1560, shews the zeal and cordiality with which the cause of the Reformation was at that time embraced by the magistrates: "The haill coun-sell present for the tyme oblist thaim faithfullie to assist and council with the Provost and Baillies, obey and fortifie the same in executione of all actis and statutis devysit and mayd be the counsell for the comound weill of this burgh and mantenans of Chryste's religioune, at thair uter power; and peyne to be imputt alsweill upoune the said counsell as upoune the saidis Provest and Baillies for observans of the present statute, that is to say, under the paine of deprivatione of thair offices, gouns, and dignities, and tynsell of thair fredome to be att the counsells will."

The parochial charge of the town was committed to Mr Adam Heriot, who had been an Augustinian friar, but who having renounced the errors of Popery, had joined himself to the Congregation, and the time of his admission to the office seems to be nearly fixed by the following entry in the council records of the same date with the preceding: "The counsell ordains the thesaurer to pay Adam Heriot, minister of the towne, the soume of twa hundreth pounds, usuall money of Scotland, for his ministratione and preching for the space of ane zeir nixt and immedyately following the first day of November nixt to cum."

In January 1561-2, the silver and brass work belonging to the church, which had in the meantime been entrusted to the care of member of the council, was sold by public roup for the common good; and the magistrates about the same time resolved to abolish monasteries, and to raise forty men for the service of the Congregation. They seem, however, to have been partly induced to this resolution by a visit which they had shortly before received from 1 some of the Reformers of the south.

In 1567, the Provost of Aberdeen, writing to excuse his non-at-tendance at the General Assembly called for the 26th of July, 1 expresses the mind of the town as follows: "It shall please your wisdomes understand and most assuredly believe us, professors of the Evangell of the Kirk within the burgh of Aberdeen, to be of ane minde, and be the grace of God to continue, to the mainte-nance of the furthsetting of the glory of God, teaching of the true Evangell, and sustentation of the ministers, with help unto the poore, and unto the tyme your wisdomes with the nobilitie find ane order universall for the ministrie, we shall, for our own part, God willing, sustaine our minister, so that of reason he shall have no cause to plaint, and to the poore after our power doe semblablie as uther burroughs shall take order." [Booke of the Universall Kirk of Scotland, p. 63.]

At the commencement of the Reformation in Aberdeen, a missionary (or assistant to the minister) seems to have been employ-ed, as may be gathered from the following entry in the council records of 11th October 1560: "The counsell ordanis David Mar, thesaurer, to deliver Johne Brabaner ane garmound of cleithing of Frensche or Flanders blak, that is to say, bonnet, goune, coitt, hoiss, and doublatt, for his labours, cair, and diligens taine in tymes bygaine, in preching, teching, and administratione of the sacra-mentis, without ony recompens."

Mr Heriot was greatly respected for his worth and usefulness, and on his death in 1574 he was succeeded by Mr John Craig, who had been for nine years the colleague of Knox in Edinburgh, and afterwards minister at Montrose.

In 1579, Episcopacy was introduced into the Church of Scotland, and David Cunningham was installed the first Protestant bishop of Aberdeen. In the struggles which afterwards took place for the abolition of that form of church government, as well as id the opposition made by the country to the ecclesiastical proceedings, in general, of James and his descendants, the citizens of Aberdeen, influenced by their feelings of loyalty, and under the guidance of their teachers, seem generally to have been less zealous than their countrymen in other quarters. Stevenson having mentioned, (in his History of the Church and State of Scotland) the prevalent feeling in favour of the Covenant, makes the following exceptions:—"1st, Papists; 2d, Courtiers who had no will to displease the King; and 3d, Clergy, of whom the chief were the Doctors of Aberdeen." He goes on to say that the town, being much under the influence of the Marquis of Huntly and the Doctors, (viz. Dr John Forbes, Dr Robert Barron, Dr William Leslie, Dr Alexander Scrogie, Dr James Sibbald, and Dr Alexander Ross,) refused to subscribe the Covenant, which, with a view to their concurrence, had been sent to them in April 1638, by the hands of a commission from the Tables, consisting of the Lairds of Dun, Morphy, Balmain, and Leyes, Mr Alexander Wedderburn, Clerk of Dundee, and Mr Robert Barclay, Provost of Irvine. [Spalding in his History of the Troubles in Scotland, (4to ed. Vol. i. p. 54,) gives only the Lairds of Dun, Morphy, and Leyes, and Carnegie of-------as forming this first Commission.] A short time before this, Aberdeen had been appointed as the place of residence or exile of Samuel Rutherfurd, when he was ejected from his parish of Anwoth, and Dr Barron undertook the task of conferring with him, and bringing him to alter his views on the question which then agitated the church and the nation. The result of these conferences is stated by Rutherfurd in one of his letters, in his usual homely but expressive manner, "Twa yokings laid him by." On the 20th of July 1638, another commission, consisting of the Earls of Montrose and Kinghorn, the Lord Cowper, the Master of Forbes, the Lairds of Leyes and Morphie, with Messrs Alexander Henderson, David Dickson, and Andrew Cant, ministers, came to Aberdeen, and though at first some difficulty occurred with the magistrates, and the covenanting ministers were refused access to the town's pulpits, yet about 500 subscribed after public worship in Earl Marischal's Close, of whom several were persons of the best quality in the place. [An evidence of the effect produced by this second visit is furnished by the following extract from a minute of Council, of date 25th December 1639. "The quhilk day, the Provest, Baillies, and Council agries all in ane voice that Mr Alexander Henderson be delt with to accept the chairge of the ministrie within this burgh in the vacant roume of umquhile Doctor Alexander Ross, and that the magistrates writt to him, and use all fair and possible means for his transplantation."] But though considerable progress had been made among the citizens, the doctors continued adverse to the Covenant, and were both active and successful in their efforts to gain others to their opinions, and to repress the zeal of their covenanting fellow-citizens; in consequence of which proofs of their "good affectioune to his service," they received from Charles I. various communications expressive of his "hartie thanks," and assurances that "when anie thing that way concerne 'your good shall occurr we shall not be unmyndful of the same.'" This promise the monarch performed not long after, by granting a new Royal charter to the burgh, confirming in the most ample manner all their ancient rights, privileges, and immunities. In the latter part of this troubled reign, the citizens of Aberdeen seem to have become more generally favourable to the cause of the Covenanters, the consequence of which was, that they had now to endure the exactions of its enemies, as they had formerly suffered from the hostile attacks of its adherents. Yet it may be doubted whether many of them were not influenced rather by the success which attended the Covenanters, than by any well- grounded persuasion of the goodness of their cause. On the accession of Charles II., and the re-establishment of Episcopacy, "the Synod of Aberdeen distinguished itself by an humble address to | his Majesty's High Commission and the High Court of Parliament, in favour of Episcopacy, dated at King's College, 18th April 1661, in which they strongly reprobate their own former conduct;" [Thorn's History of Aberdeen, Vol. i. p. 346. 4] and this seems to have been the beginning of a course of time-serving compliance, by which they contrived in a great measure to escape from the exactions and persecutions to which the Presbyterians were exposed during that and the subsequent reign. At length the Revolution brought these persecutions to a close, and led to the establishment of Presbyterianism, as at present existing in the country; but while the people of Aberdeen gave way to those who had power to enforce their commands, considerable numbers of them continued attached to the Episcopal forms, and the Presbyterians of Aberdeen were by no means remarkable for their zeal in maintaining the doctrines of the Confession of Faith. The Arminianism which, during the last century, infested the church of Scotland to so lamentable a degree, may be said to have had one of its strongholds in Aberdeen; and about the middle of the century, Mr John Bisset, minister of the West Church, who continued faithfully to preach the doctrines of the church to which he belonged, was excluded from his own pulpit by the provost, who locked the church door against him.

It was not until about the beginning of the present century that a better spirit began to manifest itself in the pulpits of Aberdeen.

Since that time, a brighter day has dawned on the Church of Scotland in general. The churches in Aberdeen have partaken of its light, and the doctrines of the Confession of Faith have now some as staunch supporters in the town and its neighbourhood, as are to be found in any other part of the country.

The old parish of St Nicholas had, from an early period, three churches, the East, the West, and Grayfriars, the two former of which had been, for a period of at least 150 years, collegiate charges, and the town, though constituting but one parish, was divided into districts under the special charge of each of the incumbents. As the population increased, additional church accommodation became requisite, and several chapels of ease were at various times erected, as is noted below more particularly. By a decree of the Court of Teinds in 1828, the parish of St Nicholas was divided into six parishes. By a subsequent Act of the General Assembly, the chapels of ease were each connected with a parochial district quoad sacra; the effect of these two measures was to increase the number of parish churches to ten; and within the last few weeks a congregation of Original Burgher Seceders has been received back into connection with the Church of Scotland, and is about to have a parochial charge quoad sacra allotted to its minister. By this division of the town, a very important object has been attained, inasmuch as parochial superintendence is not now so completely out of the power of the ministers as it formerly was, though still the population of most of the parishes is so great as to prevent that close and intimate connection between the minister and his people, which the parochial system, if properly followed out, should produce and maintain. And when it is considered that each minister, in addition to the parochial charge of an allotted district, must also have a congregational charge, in consequence of many of his hearers not being resident within that district, it will be at once admitted that there is both room and cause for a still further division.

The places of worship in Aberdeen in connection with the Established Church are the following:—1. The West Church, which stands on the site of the old church of St Nicholas. This building having become ruinous and unsafe, was disused as a place of worship in 1732. The present church was founded in 1751, and opened for Divine service in 1755. It ceased to be a collegiate charge on the death of the Rev. Dr Brown. 2. The East Church stands where the quire of St Nicholas formerly was. It was erected in 1834,—the quire, which had been till then used, having become so ruinous, that it was judged necessary to pull it own. This was a collegiate charge until the division of the town into six parishes took place. 3. Grayfriars Church, which derives its name from the monastery of Franciscan friars, to which it formerly belonged, is the only ancient church now remaining in the town. 4. Futtie Church or St Clements. There had been, before the Reformation, a chapel in Futtie, dedicated to St Clement, but this having fallen into decay, there was no Protestant church erected in its place till 1631, when a contribution was made for the purpose of building one, and a catechist was settled there. The present church was erected on the site of the old one, but considerably enlarged in size in the year 1828. 5. The South Church. In 1779, a chapel was built in connection with the Relief body, which, however, a few years afterwards, became connected with the Established Church. The old chapel, being incommodious and insufficient for the congregation, was pulled down in 1830, and the South Church was built on its site. 6. The North Church was erected in 1826. These are the six parishes, quoad civilia, into which the old parish of St Nicholas was divided, as already mentioned.

The parishes quoad sacra are the following:—1. Trinity Church was built in 1794 as a chapel of ease to the Establishment. 2. Gaelic Church. This place of worship was erected in 1795, and it continues to be used by those of the population who speak the Gaelic language. It has a small parochial district allotted to it, under the name of Spring Garden parish. 3. Union Church was erected as a chapel of ease in 1822. 4. John Knox's Church was built in 1833 as a chapel of ease. 5. A place of worship, in connection with the Original Burgher Associate Synod, was erected in 1771. The causes which had produced and kept up the separation between this body and the Establishment having been happily removed, its minister, the Rev. William Primrose, has been recently received as a member of presbytery, and a committee of that presbytery is at present engaged in allotting him a parochial district, under the name of Melville Parish. Besides these, there was a small chapel erected in the neighbourhood of the harbour, in 1825, by the Seamen's Friend Society. This was for a time supplied indiscriminately by ministers of the Establishment, and various denominations of orthodox Dissenters. Efforts have been made of late to place it in connection with the Established Church, and to have a small parochial district assigned to it, and there is every probability that, in a short time, these efforts will be successful.

There is also a place of worship in Aberdeen connected with the Associate Synod of Original Seceders, which it is much to be desired that the way might be opened for receiving back into the Establishment.

The other places of worship in Aberdeen are as follows:—3 chapels belonging to the Congregational Union; 3 chapels connected with the United Associate Synod; 1 chapel in connection with the Relief body; 2 chapels belonging, the one to the Scotch and the other to the English Baptists; 1 chapel belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists; 1 English Episcopal chapel, with two clergymen; 1 Scotch Episcopal chapel, with a bishop and a curate; 1 Roman Catholic chapel; 1 chapel which is called the United Christian Church.

In addition to all these, there are also in Aberdeen small numbers of Friends, Glassites, Irvingites, and Unitarians, which have each their own place of worship.

The following table gives a summary view of the ecclesiastical state of the inhabitants of Aberdeen, as ascertained by surveys made chiefly by the elders of the respective parishes, and given in to the Royal Commissioners for Religious Instruction, when they visited this city in October 1837. [In this table, under the head of Dissenters, are included both those denominations that are friendly and those that are adverse to the principle of a national church.]

There is too much reason to fear, that, although the surveys on which this table is founded were made with every possible care, there are many included under the heads both of the Establishment and Dissenters who are little, if at all, in the habit of frequenting any place of worship. And it must be remembered, too, that the strongest attachment to the forms of a professing church is unhappily too often found to be compatible with an utter disregard or even a deliberate rejection of the saving truths of the Gospel.

The extent of church accommodation provided in Aberdeen at the time of the survey was reported to the Commissioners to be as follows; and it has undergone no material alteration since, excepting the recent admission of Mr Primrose's church into the Establishment:—
 

The stipends paid to the ministers of the East, West, and North parishes are L. 300 a year each; and to the ministers of the South, Grayfriars, and St Clements L. 250 each; but in the case of the South Church it is made up to L. 300 by the congregation. The incomes of the other ministers in the Establishment are various, according to the amount of seat-rents, collections, &c. from which they are paid.

The ministers of other denominations are, in this respect, situated nearly as the ministers of the five parishes quoad sacra.

The above-mentioned stipends, paid to the ministers of the six parishes quoad civilia, are paid out of certain funds administered by the Magistrates and Council, arising from mortifications, seat-rents, &c, and in case of a deficiency of these, it is made up from the "common good," so called, it is to be presumed, as being the property of the community, and designed for the advancement of the welfare and true interests of the city; the principal means of which is, without doubt, the maintenance of the worship of God and the ordinances of religion, since, without these, all other efforts for the preservation of a sound state in the community would be in vain.

In reference to this important object, it may be observed, that the remuneration of the labours of the ministry should be regarded in the same light as that of any other public functionary; and that the services being performed, they should receive their incomes as the price of the work done, and an acknowledgement of the good which they have been instrumental in effecting. It happens sometimes, however, that a minister is expected not only to give his services to the public, but also to provide the funds out of which these services are to be paid. This must necessarily be the case where, as in most of the Dissenting chapels and the parishes quoad sacra, there are no other funds from whence the minister's stipend can be paid. Accordingly, in the case of those parishes for the stipend of whose ministers the magistrates and council are held responsible, if the seat rents, &c. do not suffice for that purpose, the sum drawn from the common good to make up the deficiency is regarded as a debt incurred, or rather as so much lost, seeing there can be little prospect of repayment. The fallacy of this view will be obvious, if the following statement, which was made by the Rev. James Foote to the Royal Commissioners, be considered: "The expenditure on the churches was L. 2124, 15s. 11d.: the mortifications amounted to L. 285; the rental of the East Church for the year 1837, and the average collections in that church for five years, amounted to L. 950, 10s. 1d.; and the rental and collections of the West Church amounted to L. 917; making in all L. 2152, 10s. 1d.; so that there was here a surplus of L.27, 14s. 2d. beyond the whole expenditure, and, whatever was produced from the other churches, there was a clear gain to the public from these two churches alone, which of themselves produced more than the whole expenditure on all the town's churches."

In another respect, too, a mistake of no small moment has been fallen into, viz. in stating the expense incurred in the erection, or by contributing to the erection, of several of the parish churches, as a debt against them in the town's accounts. ["The debt due by the kirk charge, amounted at 15th October last, (exclusive of the expense of building the East Church,) to L. 18,580, 12s. 2d., which may also be considered as a debt against the treasury." Town's Accounts for 1838.] The common good being destined for the advancement of the welfare of the community, ought to be held as much liable for the expense of erecting churches for the maintenance of that form of worship which is by law established in the country, as for the cost of other public buildings, whose purpose it is to benefit the community in a secular point of view, such as court-houses, jails, colleges, &c. Each of these in its own department tends to advance the welfare of the community, and in doing so, they amply repay the sums laid out on their erection. The churches of the Establishment are assuredly not less conducive to the good of the citizens than these buildings, but, on the contrary, much more so, in as much as they are erected and maintained for the promotion of that righteousness which exalteth a nation; it must therefore be an erroneous and improper view of the matter, to regard the expense of these e