Aberdeen, the Granite City. -- No sign of the Statue of "you
know whom." -- All Grey. -- The Town and its Suburbs. --
Character of the Aberdonian. -- Why London could not give an
Ovation to a Provost of Aberdeen. -- Blue Hill. -- Aberdeen
Society. -- A thoughtful Caretaker. -- To this Aberdonian's
Disappointment, I do not appear in Tights before the Aberdeen
Public.
It does not enter into the plan of this book to give a detailed
description of the principal towns and sites in Scotland. That can be
found in any guide-book.
The aim of this little volume is to give an idea of the character and
customs of the Scotch, from _Souvenirs_ of several visits made by the
author to the land of Burns and Scott.
But a few words must be said on the subject of the City of Granite.
Aberdeen is a large, clean-looking town, with more than a hundred
thousand inhabitants; wide, regular streets, fine edifices, and many
statues, among which we are happy, for a change, not to find that of
_you know whom_.
If Glasgow and Dundee are the principal centres of commercial activity
in Scotland, Edinburgh and Aberdeen are the two great centres of
learning.
Union Street, the principal thoroughfare, is about half-a-mile long, and
is built entirely of light grey granite, which gives it a rather
monotonous aspect. Public buildings, churches, private houses,
pavements, all are grey; the inhabitants are mostly dressed in grey, and
look where you will, you seem to see nothing but grey.
Just as it is in London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, the fashionable quarter
is the west, and the poor live in the east.
Is this due to chance?
The most conspicuous edifice of the town is the Municipal Building,
forming a town hall and a court of justice. The most interesting is
Marischal College, the home of the Faculty and School of Medicine, which
now form part of the University of Aberdeen, after having had a separate
existence for two hundred and sixty-six years. The college is a very
fine building, but is unfortunately hemmed in by a number of other
buildings which hide its _facade_.
A mile from the town stands the college of the university (King's
College), built in 1495 on the model of the Paris university. Most of
the Scotch buildings, which date from the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries, have a very pronounced French character.
I would advise tourists, who go as far north as Aberdeen, not to miss
making the ascension of the Blue Hill, which is about four miles from
the town. From the summit of this hill, they will see a delightful
panorama of Aberdeen, a stretch of fifty or sixty miles of coast, the
ruins of the celebrated castle of Dunnottar, and all the valley of the
Dee framed in hills. It is a grand sight; unfortunately, to thoroughly
bring out its beauties, a clear sky is essential, and there comes the
rub.
* * * * *
The county of Aberdeen is not only one of the great intellectual centres
of Scotland, it is the home of Caledonian shrewdness and pawkiness.
Aberdeenshire alone furnished more than half the anecdotes collected by
Dean Ramsay.
The Aberdonians are the chosen people, the elect of God.
Every Scot is proud of his nationality, but an Aberdonian will tell you:
"Not only am I a Scotchman, but I was born in Aberdeen."
And true enough, "tak' awa' Aberdeen, and twal' miles round, and faar
are ye?"
It is related that a provost of Aberdeen, having come to London with his
wife, someone recommended the lady to be sure and go to Covent Garden to
see the opera.
"No," she replied, "we have come to London to be quiet and not to
receive ovations. We shall not show ourselves in public during our stay
in the capital."
Her resolution was adhered to, and London saw them not.
For the future life, the Aberdonian has no fears, and if he will only
recommend you to Saint Peter, you will not have to wait long at the
gates of Paradise.
Society in Aberdeen is of the choicest. Its aristocracy is an
aristocracy of talent. In Aberdeen, as in Edinburgh, the local lions are
the professors of the university, literary people, doctors, barristers,
and artists. To cut a figure there, you need not jingle your guineas,
but only show your brains and good manners. In Glasgow, show your
_savoir-faire_; but, in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, your _savoir-vivre_.
* * * * *
I cannot quit the subject of Aberdeen without relating a little incident
which exceedingly diverted me.
A few hours before delivering a lecture at the Albert Hall, I paid a
visit to the place to see if my reading-desk had been properly arranged.
Great was my surprise, on entering the hall, to see near the platform an
elegant improvised green-room, curtained off. I asked the caretaker if
there was not a retiring-room, in which I could await the moment for
beginning my lecture, to which he replied:
"Yes, sir; we have an anteroom over there, but I have set apart this
little green-room, because I thought it would be more comfortable for
you to go and change your dresses in during the performance."
The worthy fellow evidently imagined that I was going to appear in
tights before the lairds of Aberdeen.
The learned professor, who had kindly come to introduce me to my
audience, laughed heartily with me over the joke.