cestors could for so many centuries submit to an in convenience which in a trading town must have been severely felt. The street was named from the profession of its inhabitants, who were, and still continue to be, skinners and glovers. The manufacture of leather, in all the various manners by which art has appropriated it to the use of man, has long been carried on to a considerable extent in Perth. In adapting it to the purposes of clothing, her citizens have you say What will And ev'ry one of us often inquir'd been What these could mean? Some said, he meant such one, That London, yea all England, like had none. All which were true indeed, yet none could say Till that it came to pass some few years after, Then hearts with joy, and mouths were fill'd with laughter: For I a man most jovial was that day, And had good reason, when I kiss'd that hand, And thus Mr Cant: "This anecdote looks so like a ridiculous falsehood and vain-glorious fable, that it is no wonder if strangers laugh it to scorn, who know that the King is the supreme magistrate, and fountain of all honour. But, however improbable it may appear, there is a foundation for what is recorded in the poem. In the Guildry-register is to be seen, A. D. 1601, Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos; and under this motto, James R. all written with the King's own hand. Upon the next page of the register we see, "Nemo me impune lacessit, July been peculiarly successful, and have acquired a wellearned reputation for cheapness. It is It is proper, however, to warn our readers, that several of the most extensive dealers have deserted their native lane, to exhibit their wares in more spacious and better-frequented streets. Through the Skinnergate, narrow and frequently dirty as it is, we must direct our footsteps. At the north 24. 1650, Charles R." There are blank leaves both before and after these royal subscriptions. Charles II. was crowned at Scone on the 1st of January thereafter. In the miscellaneous manuscript in my custody before mentioned, Mr Dundee, who was on the spot, writes thus: " Item, On the xv Apprill in anno a thousand vi hundred ane yeir the Kingis Majestie came to Perth, and that same day he was made Provost with ane great scerlane of the courteoures, and the bancait was meid at the crois, and the Kingis Majestie wes set downe thereat, and six dozin glasses. brokine, with many owdir silver pissis and pewdir vescilles; and thair the King maid ane great solleime aith to defend the haill libertie of this brouche." "Mr Dundee, a man of reputation in the town, narrates this strange transaction as done at the Cross in sight of the whole town; if it had been a falsehood, both he and the poet had subjected themselves to public ridicule. The King and his courtiers could not have devised a more popular measure to pacify the people of Perth, who, on the fifth of August before, when their beloved Provost, Earl Gowrie, was barbarously murdered in his Majesty's presence, were exasperated to such a degree, that the whole town was one tumult, from whom the King and his retinue narrowly escaped. The indignation of the people subsided; the King had gained the leading men, and a considerable party in the town, in hopes of favour and preferment. The King condescended to be nominal Provost; and we see from the records, that the court-party for a long time had been chosen magis trates." north end stood the castle, the usual residence of the monarchs, previous to the erection of the Dominican monastery in the Blackfriars; but not a stone now remains. Another building now annihilated also stood in this neighbourhood, probably on the castle-grounds, but the chapel of St Lawrence does not appear to have boasted any magnificence, and Robert III. having given the property to the monastery of Blackfriars in 1405, the monks suffered it to fall into decay. Miln Street runs westward, but offers no object to interest curiosity. It contains two tan-works, and an establishment for wool-spinning. The narrow street continuing northward is the Castle-gable. This spot is so low, that it is sometimes laid under water, when highland torrents swell the river. Perth has been frequently inundated, and sometimes in an alarming manner. To guard against this evil, the streets have been raised from time to time; and although the Castle-gable is now the lowest situation, it may not have been so when it bore the proud turrets of the city's defence. Beyond, on the left, is the Curfew Row, where, as may be inferred from the name, hung the bell at whose toll the inhabitants extinguished their lights and fires. It is not out of place here to mention a custom which seems to have originated in something similar to the couvre feu. At seven in the evening, and five in the morning, a piper and drummer traversed the town, exercising in unison their respective professions. Owing to the death of the piper, this usage has been for some time laid aside; but we trust his place will soon BLACKFRIARS-FOUNDERY LANE, &c. 15 soon be supplied, and our interesting serenade continued *. We enter the grounds which belonged to the monastery of Blackfriars by a wynd bearing their name. Within these few years these lands have been laid out for building the terraces, places, and crescents of a new town. The ancient building of which they were the property, was founded by Alexander II. in 1231, and became the royal residence after the demolition of the castle. Here the unfortunate James I. fell under the hands of traitors. The Parliament fometimes met in the church of this monastery; where also the national ecclesiastical councils held their meetings, No trace of it now remains. Foundery Lane, (so named from an extensive work of that kind which it contains), leads into Methven Street, and this last conducts to the Horse Barrack. This very handsome edifice was erected in 1795, and contains accommodation for a body of 200 cavalry. Returning * The deceased Johnny Smolt played the Irish bag-pipe with much pathos; and on a calm morning, while all was still, one of his plaintive airs gradually swelling in approach, accompanied by the murmur of the deafened drum, and again softening into silence, had an effect inexpressibly soothing and delightful. Surely our magistrates will have too much reverence for an ancient, peculiar, and interesting custom, to suffer it to fall into disuse. It may be said, it answers no purpose; to which we would reply, it costs little money; and the rank for which our Provosts so properly insist in the Convention of Burghs*, will prove of as little positive advantage to the community. * Perth contends for the distinction of sitting on the right hand of the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, which prerogative Glasgow disputes. It is only since 1482, that we have given place to Edinburgh; it were too much to " kiss the ground before young Glasgow too!" f Returning by Athol Street, we pass Rose Terrace, on which an elegant building is nearly finished, to contain halls and apartments for all the public seminaries. It will cost upwards of L. 6000, which sum has been, or is nearly raised by voluntary subscription *. The houses on each side are built in such a style as will render this street, when finished, in the highest degree ornamental to the town. At the south end of the Terrace, the crescent forms an elegant sweep, and Athol Place succeeding, connects the new with the old town. In front of all these buildings is the North Inch f. That beautiful lawn is laved by the noble Tay, the opposite bank of which is clothed in all the luxuriance which elegant embellishment and unwearied cultivation can produce. To this Inch a great number of acres have lately been added, and the old road to *The schools of Perth have long been famous, and students resort to them from all parts of Great Britain and Ireland. The names of many learned and distinguished men are among those of the teachers of the last three centuries; and the list of pupils is still more illustrious. We have room to mention only two who received the rudiments of their education here,-The admirable Crichton, and the great Earl of Mansfield. While Perth was a walled town, the Inches must have been the scenes of frequent combats. One of a singular and interesting nature, which took place on the North Inch, we shall relate in the words of Mr Cant: "In the reign of Robert the Third, there was irreconcileable enmity betwixt the M'Intoshes and M'Kays, two powerful and fierce clans. The King sent the Earls of Dunbar and Crawford with an army to reduce them to order. They wifely tried to make up the matter, by proposing to |