may cite the following, as characteristic of those unhappy times when
the country was torn by the violence of faction, and fire and sword laid
waste this ill-fated district. On the 20th of March, 1645, the Marquis
of Montrose, then quartered at Stonehaven, addressed a letter to Earl
Marischal, at his castle of Dunnottar, about two miles from this,
exhorting him to espouse the royal cause; but receiving no answer, he
proceeded to wreak his vengeance on the earl's lands and dependants.
"Thereafter," says the historian Spalding, "he fires the Tolbooth, a
prison of Stonehaven, wherein there was store of grain, and the whole
town, with all the barnyards, houses, and other buildings, except those
of James Clark, wherein Montrose himself was quartered. They plundered a
ship lying in the harbour, then set fire to her, as well as to all the
fishing-boats then in the harbour. They burnt up the whole town of
Cowie, houses, buildings, corn, and corn-yards; and in like manner
plundered the whole goods, gear, horses, oxen, sheep, which they could
get; plundered the parson of Dunnottar's house and set it on fire. The
people of Stonehaven and Cowie, it is said, came out, men, women, and
children at their feet and children in their arms, crying, howling, and
weeping, praying the earl, for God's sake, to save them from this fire
as soon as it was kindled; but these poor people got no answer, nor knew
they where to go with their children. How lamentable to behold!"
[Illustration: ABERDEEN.]
ABERDEEN.
GENERAL VIEW.
The city of Aberdeen, the seat of two celebrated universities, is
divided into the old and the new towns, at an interval of about a mile.
Of these, the former--now reduced almost to a village--appears to have
been a town of some note as early as the ninth century, but gradually
fell into decay after the great epoch of the Reformation. The Cathedral
of St. Machar was founded at the remote era of 1164, and repaired in the
beginning of the fourteenth century. But a new building of more elegant
design was founded by Bishop Kinnimond, the second prelate of that
family, and finished by Bishop Leighton. The Reformation, however,
suspended all further operations, and left the pile a monument of
premature decay. Of King's College, founded at the close of the
fifteenth century, the learned Hector Boethius was the first principal.
New Aberdeen, though irregularly built, is a handsome city, and
beautifully situated on three gentle eminences at the mouth of the Dee.
The streets are spacious, and many of the public buildings of elegant
design. In ancient times, several religious establishments flourished
here, belonging to the different orders of Dominicans, Carmelites, and
Grey Friars, with an hospital, or _maison-Dieu_. Marischal College, so
named from its liberal founder, George, Earl Marischal of Scotland, has,
like its predecessor, been long celebrated as a seat of the muses. Its
professors and lecturers--twenty-seven in number--have shone conspicuous
in every department of human learning, and are continually sending forth
in their pupils the living proofs of that zeal and assiduity with which
their important functions are discharged. With the fame of this
university, the names of Campbell and Beattie are more especially
associated, as the champions of religion and the ornaments of our native
literature.
The environs of this ancient city exhibit many pleasing indications of
commercial improvements, which are daily acquiring fresh impulse, adding
new embellishments to the landscape, and evincing an increase of comfort
and independence among the inhabitants, who amount to about fifty
thousand.
There are few springs of any consequence in Aberdeen or the
neighbourhood, and although a supply of water can be had in most places,
by digging to a depth of from ten to thirty feet, it is generally so
hard as to be of comparatively little value. Close by the boundary of
the parish, on the west side, are two springs, quite contiguous, which
have been long known as the "Well of Spa." Both these springs, but
especially the least copious one, are impregnated with carbonate of
iron, and on that account have been long noticed as medicinal. Early in
the seventeenth century an account of the properties and powers of these
springs was published by Dr. Barclay, under the title of _Callirhoee,
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
afterwards demolished by a flood of the Den-burn, which runs close
beside it. 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."
Within the last two centuries both these springs have repeatedly
disappeared and been recovered, and always retaining their chalybeate
qualities till of late. Within the last few years, however, while
digging upon 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 appears to possess hardly any chalybeate
impregnation, whilst the smaller one is much weaker than formerly.
[Illustration: ABERDEEN, FROM ABOVE THE CHAIN BRIDGE.]
ABERDEEN,
FROM ABOVE THE CHAIN BRIDGE.
"Blyth Aberdein! thou beriall of all tounis,
The lamp of bewtie, bountie, and blythnes;
Unto the heaven ascendit thy renown is
Off vertew, wisdom, and of worthines;
Benottit is thy name of nobilnes;--
Be blyth and blissful, burgh of Aberdein!"--DUNBAR.
The Port of Aberdeen is now universally known among seafaring men as one
of the safest and most commodious in Scotland. The skill and practical
efforts of both Smeaton and Telford were successively employed upon it;
and after an arduous and extensive enterprise, the grand object has been
fully obtained. To those who are only acquainted with the harbour under
its present aspect it will be difficult to convey a correct notion of
its appearance in ancient times. There is reason to suppose that at a
period beyond the reach of history, the river Dee must have discharged
its waters into the sea at the Craiglug--where the Chain Bridge is seen
in the engraving--and that by their alluvial deposits, and the effects
of the north-east winds, in accumulating the sands in the neighbourhood,
the ground now occupied by the village of Footdee, the shorelands and
Sandilands, the Links and the islands in the estuary were gradually
raised above the level of the sea. At a less remote period it is
believed that the river Don poured its floods into the frith of the Dee:
and the conjecture derives strength from the notices of Roman
geographers. The occurrence of great changes is attested by various
remains which have been disinterred at different periods. Thirteen feet
under low-water mark in spring-tides, and twenty-eight feet below the
general surface of the Inches, were discovered two human skulls, a large
piece of flint, and great quantities of shells and other marine
deposits; and in excavating the canal, at a considerable distance from
the shore, anchors and other articles of shipwreck were found deeply
imbedded in the earth.
The entrance to the harbour of Aberdeen is naturally bad, owing to a bar
at the mouth of the river, where, at ebb-tide, the depth of water was
often not more than two feet. To remedy this evil was, from a very early
period, the ardent desire of the citizens, and to some of their first
efforts in this direction we have alluded in our notice of Aberdeen
Light-house. But it is since the commencement of the seventeenth century
that the most effective improvements have been made, amongst which we
may name the erection of a bulwark on the south side of the entrance,
and the removal of a great stone, called "Knock-Maitland," which lay
nearly in the middle of the river, both of which were accomplished in
succession; the first in 1608, and the latter in 1618. Between 1623 and
1658, the quay was extended eastward, towards Futtie; by which means a
considerable portion of ground was redeemed below the Castle-hill, and
is now covered with buildings. In 1755 an additional quay was built a
good way further down, opposite the village of Torrie. In 1770, further
improvements were projected; and, on a report from Mr. Smeaton,
recommending the erection of a pier on the north side of the entrance,
so that the influx of sand from the north might be prevented, and the
removal of the _bar_ effected, by confining the waters of the river Dee
within narrower bounds, the work was commenced in 1775, and finished in
less than six years. The length of this pier was twelve hundred feet,
and it terminated in a round head of sixty feet in diameter. Owing,
however, to a departure from Mr. Smeaton's plan, by which the pier was
founded too far to the north, it was found that a heavy swell entered
the harbour; and to obviate this formidable inconvenience, a bulwark was
projected from the pier, to about one-third across the channel.
By these means considerable improvements were effected; but as the trade
of the city increased, inconvenience was still felt from a deficiency of
water on the bar; and Mr. Telford, having been consulted in 1810, on the
means of remedying this evil, recommended that the pier should be
extended, and that wet-docks should be formed in the harbour. These
works were commenced forthwith, and the pier, carried on to the extent
of nine hundred feet beyond the head of Smeaton's pier, and again
finished with a round head, was completed in 1816. In the course of the
following winter, however, this head was destroyed by the storms; but
being rebuilt with a slope towards the sea, it has since stood without
very material damage. A breakwater, extending to the length of eight
hundred feet, was also built on the south side, by which the mouth of
the channel was narrowed, and the entrance protected from the storms of
the south-east. Wharfs were built along the south-west side of Futtie;
the pier opposite Torrie was enlarged; and, latterly, the quay has been
extended westward from the old quay-head; and by raising embankments on
the Inches, a considerable range of quay-room has been gained there,
which is connected with the town by a swivel-bridge, opposite
Marischal-street. By all these combined measures, quay-room has been
provided to the extent of about four thousand feet; a tide-harbour has
been formed, in which, at spring-tides, the depth of water is about
_eleven feet_ at the west-end, gradually increasing to _fifteen feet_,
where it joins the course of the river; while the depth of the water on
the bar has been increased to about nineteen feet.
[Illustration: THE LIGHT HOUSE, ABERDEEN.]
ABERDEEN LIGHTHOUSE.
Immediately to the south of the small bay of Greyhope stands the
Girdleness Lighthouse; an erection by which the trade of Aberdeen has
been greatly benefitted. The Girdleness, from which it takes its name,
is a conspicuous promontory of which the Commissioners of the Northern
Lights took advantage to erect this monitory beacon: it was lighted up
for the first time on the night of the 15th of October, 1833, and is a
lofty, circular tower, built of granite, and crowned with two copper
domes, one within the other, in order to prevent the effects which would
follow from the condensation of vapour from the heated air of the lamps.
The dwelling-houses of the keepers are at the bottom of the tower; and a
field of considerable extent has been walled in and cultivated for their
accommodation. It is on the larboard, or left-hand side, as we enter the
port, and is known to mariners as a _double-light_, a distinction
produced by placing two lights in the same tower, the one above the
other. Of these, the lower light is visible in clear weather at the
distance of thirteen, and the higher at that of sixteen miles. They are
under the charge of two keepers, one of whom mounts guard at sunset, and
in case of emergency can summon assistance by means of an alarm-bell,
placed in the sleeping apartments, which may be rung from the
light-room, by means of an air-blast, through tubes laid for that
purpose. This edifice, of incalculable benefit to the cause of humanity,
was erected after the design of Robert Stevenson, Esq., and does great
honour to his talents. The bay of Greyhope, above-named, is memorable as
the scene of many a disastrous shipwreck, particularly that of the
Oscar, in which, out of a crew of forty men, only two were saved. This
occurred on the 1st of April 1813.
For many centuries after the foundation of Aberdeen, the harbour was
nothing more than an open expanse of water, washing the base of the
Castle-hill on the north, the rising grounds of Torrie on the south, and
communicating with the sea by the narrow and shallow mouth of the river.
Of this basin the greater part was left dry at ebb of tide; while
several large, but low islands, were never wholly overflowed. The most
ancient, and during many years the only erection within the port, was a
bulwark extending from the Ship-row southwards, and now known as the
Shore-area. Its extremity was called the Quay-head, a name afterwards
applied to the wharfs extending from the vicinity of the Trinity Kirk
eastward, beyond the present weigh-house. At what time it was built is
altogether unknown; but it was in existence in the fourteenth century,
and was probably constructed in the preceding age. In 1484, having
become ruinous, it was either repaired or rebuilt; and about the same
time, beacons for the guidance of ships were erected, and the wreck of a
Spanish galley on the southern shore, which had long obstructed the
channel, was removed. In 1512, the quay was again repaired; and in 1526,
still further operations became necessary, and a great portion of the
wharfs was reconstructed. In 1549, repairs being once more required, a
stair was added; and in 1582 a crane was erected. In 1621, two
corn-mills were built within flood-mark; and about thirteen years later,
a weigh-house, which served also for a custom-house, was erected. In the
course of the same century, various other additions were made to the
wharf, and several municipal statutes introduced for the better
regulation of the port. In 1566, a lighthouse, containing "three great
flaming lights, to burn from daylight to daylight, between the first day
of September and the last day of March," was erected on St Ninian's
Chapel, on the Castle-hill.
[Illustration: SLAINES CASTLE,--NEAR PETERHEAD.]
SLAINES CASTLE.
Slaines Castle, the feudal residence of the Hays of Erroll, covers a
peninsular rock, boldly projecting into the German Ocean and forming an
abrupt and imposing landmark on this iron-bound coast. Its position is
remarkable: the huge precipice over which it projects on one side, and
of which it seems an integral part, descends perpendicularly to the sea,
where the water is so deep that vessels of large burden may float within
a yard of the rock. It is said, indeed, that a tankard of wine may be
lowered down from the Castle window to the yard-arm of a man-of-war
under sail. Whether this experiment has been tried we know not; but this
we can readily admit, that much good wine has taken the opposite
direction.
The situation of this family fortress is rather bleak and cheerless,
presenting no leafy bowers, no clumps of trees, few masses of verdure or
vegetation, to refresh the eye or flatter the imagination.
"La nature maratre, en cet affreux climat,
Ne produit, au lieu d'or, que du fer des soldats."
The prospect, however, which is bounded only by the horizon seaward, is
grand and imposing, and fills the mind with corresponding ideas. For a
Trappist convent, with Baron Geramb at its head, nothing finer could be
imagined; for their nearest neighbour in one direction is the "King of
the Norse;" and the hills, on the other hand, are wild and solitary
enough to shut out the world and its vanities.
The following is the traditional origin of the Hays of Erroll:--In the
year 980, and reign of Kenneth III., the Danes having invaded the
country, gave battle to the Scots at Loncarty, near Perth. The latter,
being worsted in the fight, gave way; but, while passing a defile in
their flight, were stopped by a countryman and his two sons, who
encouraged the fugitives to rally and renew the struggle. The example,
resistance, and reproaches of these three brave men, armed only with the
implements snatched hastily from their ploughs, inspired the routed
Scots with new life. They rushed back upon their pursuers, encountered
the Danes afresh, defeated them at every point, and delivered their
country from servitude. The victory being complete, the father,
afterwards known by the name of Hay, was ennobled by the king, and
rewarded with the best part of the enemy's baggage, and a grant of land
in the rich Carse of Gowry, containing as much as "a falcon flew over
without alighting." The march stones, being about seven miles apart, are
to this day called the "Falcon Stones."
The first of this ancient family who did honour to the Scottish peerage
was created Earl of Erroll by James II., in 1452, in recompense of his
faithful services, and died at this castle in 1470.
The baronial fortress of Slaines was afterwards demolished by order of
James VI., on the rebellion of the Earl of Huntly, and long continued in
ruins.
Dr. Johnson thus records his visit and reception within these
walls:--"We came in the afternoon to Slaines Castle, built upon the
margin of the sea, so that the walls of one of the towers seem only a
continuation of a perpendicular rock, the foot of which is beaten by the
waves. To walk round the house seemed impracticable; from the windows,
the eye wanders over the sea that separates Scotland from Norway, and
when the winds beat with violence, it must enjoy all the terrific
grandeur of the tempestuous ocean. I would not for my amusement wish for
a storm, but as storms, whether wished for or not, will sometimes
happen, I may say, without violation of humanity, that I should
willingly look out upon them from Slaines Castle."
The caves and grottoes along this coast are numerous and interesting.
The Dropping, or White Cave of Slaines, extends about 200 feet
underground; and through a natural vault the water oozes forth, and
forms fantastic pyramids of incrustations or stalactites. The cave, by
this natural process, would soon be filled up, were not the petrified
substance frequently cut away and burnt for lime. In this, as in many
other caves along the shore, the ancient inhabitants of the district are
supposed to have taken refuge when repeatedly harassed by the sudden
descent of Danish marauders; and in later times it may have often served
as a secure retreat for smugglers, who formerly abounded in this
neighbourhood, and carried on their illegal traffic in comparative
safety.
[Illustration: THE BULLER OF BUCHAN.
(near Peterhead)]
THE BULLER OF BUCHAN.
"If I had any malice against a walking spirit, instead of
laying him in the Red Sea, I would condemn him to reside in the
_Buller of Buchan_."--SAMUEL JOHNSON.
The Buller of Buchan, one of the most remarkable natural curiosities in
Scotland, is about six miles south from Peterhead. It is a vast hollow
in a rock projecting into the sea, open at the top, and communicating
with the water by means of a natural arched passage, about fifty yards
high. The basin within is nearly circular, about thirty yards in
diameter; and around the extreme edge of the chasm is a narrow footpath,
from which to the water in the abyss below, measures about thirty
fathoms,[13] more or less, according to the state of the tide. It is a
scene upon which all travellers dwell with feelings of mixed awe and
admiration. Even Dr. Johnson, the learned philologist from whom we take
our motto, visited and retired from the spot with amazement. "We soon
turned our eyes," he observes, "to the Buller, or _Bouilloir_, of
Buchan, which no man can see with indifference, who has either sense of
danger or delight in rarity. It is a rock perpendicularly tubulated,
united on one side with a high shore, and on the other rising steep to a
great height above the main sea. The top is open, from which may be seen
a dark gulf of water, which flows into the cavity through a breach made
in the lower part of the enclosing rock. It has the appearance of a vast
well, bordered with a wall. The edge of the Buller is not wide, and to
those who walk round appears very narrow. He that ventures to look
downward sees that, if his foot should slip, he must fall from his
dreadful elevation upon stones on one side, or into water on the other.
We, however, went round, and were glad when the circuit was completed.
When we came down to the sea, we saw some boats and rowers, and resolved
to explore the Buller at the bottom. We entered the arch which the water
had made, and found ourselves in a place which, although we could not
think ourselves in danger, we could scarcely survey without some recoil
of the mind. The basin in which we floated was nearly circular, perhaps
thirty yards in diameter. We were enclosed by a natural wall, rising
steep on every side, to a height which produced the idea of
insurmountable confinement. The interception of all lateral light
caused a dismal gloom. Round us was a perpendicular rock; above us, the
distant sky, and below, an unknown profundity of water."[14]
To the above description, written in the autumn of 1773, little needs to
be added: the wild features of the scene, and the effect produced upon
the minds of travellers, continue to present nearly the same aspect and
to awaken the same impressions as in the days of the great
lexicographer. The scene of horror, however, is often enlivened by
pic-nic parties from Peterhead, during the fine season, and is
deservedly considered as one of the great "lions" on this coast, a title
to which its continual "roar" gives it a more especial title.
The geological features of this locality are very interesting. The rocks
are of primitive granite, and appear to have been upheaved to the
surface by some internal expansive force, and have an inclination from
east to west of 25 degrees. Reposing upon the granite, is a bed of
diluvial clay, of from ten to fifteen feet deep, containing numerous
small water-worn stones, of different species of the secondary
formation; besides large quantities of flint, originally imbedded in
limestone, which must have been rolled from a great distance, as there
are no beds of limestone on this coast, or in any of the neighbouring
districts. From atmospheric action and other causes the rocks are
rapidly disintegrating; and great quantities of _debris_ are annually
accumulating at the bottom of the precipices, where wild grasses and
lichens springing up produce, by their decomposition, a vegetable mould
which is gradually increasing.
[13] Two hundred and fifty feet, according to more recent admeasurement.
[14] The accompanying view has been justly pronounced as by far the best
that has ever appeared of this remarkable scene, and is taken at the
same point from which it was contemplated by Dr. Johnson, after his walk
from Slaines Castle, about two miles distant. Sir Walter Scott, when on
his excursion to the Shetland Isles, and while becalmed off this coast,
paid a visit to the Buller; and we are of opinion (says Mr. Mackie),
that in his description of the Cavern of Staffa, we can discover some of
the general features of the scene described, shadowed forth in the _Lord
of the Isles_. It is proper to mention, that although now generally
written Buller, it is uniformly known in the district as the
_Bullers_--_Les Bouilloirs_, or boiling caldrons.
[Illustration: PETERHEAD.]
PETERHEAD.
"No scene for me like the bounding sea;
No couch like my cabin pillow!
No fair domain like yon ocean's plain--
And my coursers, the breeze and billow!"
_The Heliotrope._