twixt the component orders of the State. This important conftitutional queftion will, in all probability, foon receive a judicial difcuffion, as the eldeft fons of Scots peers think it extremely hard that they do not enjoy the fame privileges as the eldeft fons of English peers, and that it is abfurd, that the eldeft fons of Scots peers cannot fit in the British parliament for Scotland, when they are allowed to fit for England. The Bishops and clergy of the Scottish Epifcopal Church, who are now ftrongly attached to the prefent reigning family, met at Laurencekirk, a village founded by Lord Gardenfton, in general convention, on the 11th of November, being the firft Scots Epifcopal convention held fince the year 1688. They continued their deliberations for two days. Thurfo in the County of Caithness. Mr Rafpe, the German mineralogift, after having examined the greater part of the Western Highlands and Islands, has at laft begun his furvey in this county. He has been very fuccefsful in difcovering mines of copper, lead, iron, cobalt, manganefe, &c. but as he will probably publish an account of thofe difcoveries it would be improper to anticipate him. It muft give, however, the greatest fatisfaction to every friend to the profperity of the Highlands, to underftand, that the marble of Tirie belonging to the Duke of Argyle, the lead in the property of Lord Breadalbane, and the iron on the eftate of Glengarry, are likely to turn out of great value and importance. From Sutherland he has brought fpecimens of the finest clay, and there is reafon to hope that this county will yet make a figure as a mining diftrict, there being every symptom of coal, and a very promifing vein of heavy fpar, mixed with lead, having been discovered. On the whole, it is believed that the tour of this ingenious traveller will turn out of great public, as well as private utility, and will do credit to thofe who have promoted it. It is with much fatisfaction that we are able to announce the completion of the operations upon the old works of the Forth and Clyde Navigation, by which an additional foot of water has been acquired-an improvement which cannot fail to prove very beneficial to the coafting trade of the country, as veffels, drawing eight féet water, may now pafs from Grangemouth to Glafgow, and, in the courfe of fix months, there is every rea fon to expect that this great inland navigation will be open from fea to fea.The great aquæduct over the river Kelvin is now nearly completed.-Thefe works, fo fplendid in their design, and fo masterly in the execution, become now an interefting object of curiofity to all ftrangers, and do great credit to the skill and abilities of the chief engineer, Robert Whitworth, Efq:-Within the space of half a mile, from a place called Stockingfield, near Glasgow, to the river Kelvin, there are no less than three aquæduct bridges, five locks, and as many circular bafons, befides a dry dock for careening veffels.-The great aquæduct carries an artificial river over a deep valley, where veffels, capable of being navigated to any part of the world, will be feen paffing near 70 feet above the spectators below, to an extent of above 400 feet in length. This noble fructure, which confits of four arches, is placed in a fituation truly romantic, and will form one of the most picturefque fcenes that is poffible to conceive: as foon as the navigation is opened from fea to fea, the extreme length of the canal will then be thirty-five miles and a quarter more, making the whole navigation thirty-feven miles and a half.-lo thofe who are interefted in the tranfit of goods from Liverpool, Dublin, and other parts of St George's Channel, to the Baltic, the German fea, and to the numerous towns on the eaft coaft of England and Scotland, the profpect of fhortening the distance above 800 miles, must be particularly pieafing, and must prove of the greatest benefit to trade, commerce, and manu factures. Edinburgh, Nov. 30. This day being St Andrew's day, the tutelar faint of Scotland, the mafters and wardens of the different lodges of Free and Accepted Mafons of this city and neighbourhood, with proxies from others fituated in more diftant parts, met this day at one o'clock in the New Church Aile, for the purpose of electing officers of the Grand Lodge for the year enfuing, when the following were chofen : Right Hon. Lord Napier, Grand Mafter; Right Hon. Earl of Morton, Grand Mafter Elect; Right Hon. Lord Binning, Dep. Grand Mafter; Thomas Hay, Efq: Sub. Grand Mafter; John Stewart jun. of Allanbank, Efq; Senior Grand Warden, James Wolfe Murray, Efq; jun. Grand Warden; John Hay, Efq, Grand Treasurer; Mr William Mafon, Grand Secretary; Births. Mrs Dunbar of Homprigs, of a daugh ter. Mrs Riddell, younger, of Ardnamurchan, of a daughter. The Lady of the Rev. George Hay Drummond, of a fon. Deaths.' George Byng, late Member for Middlefex, and nephew to the unfortunate Admiral Byng. George Anton, Efq; M. P. for Litchfield, of the gout in his ftomach, leaving eleven children to deplore his lofs. The Rev. Mr Mearns of Inch, Aber. deenshire. James Reid, Efq; Comptroller of the Cuftoms, Preftonpans. At Offerton, in the County of Durham, aged 98 years, Mrs Middleton, aunt to Sir Thomas Heron, Bart. by which he gets the eftate of Offerton, and changes his name to Middleton; this lady married when 14 years of age. The Prince of Anhault Coethen, Lt. General in the Auftrian fervice, of a fever, at Semlin. The Count d'Albon, King of Yvelet in Normandy, this prince was of the house of Rohan, and a man of letters; it is fuch a title as our King of Man, which belonged to the Stanely family. Paul's church and Greenwich hospital. Sir Francis Drake, Bart. Rear Admi ral of the Red, and a Lord of the Admiralty, a lineal defcendent from the renowned Sir Francis Drake in the reign of Queen Elifabeth. Major General Ralph Dundas, in the fervice of the States General. In the Poor Houfe, Newcastle, Mr Wm. Umtreville, the reprefentative of the moft illuftrious family of Robert Umfreville, Lord of Tours and Vian in the reign of William the Conqueror; he was poffeffed of the fword of his ancestor Sir Robert Umfreville Vice Admiral of England in the time of Richard II. now in the poffeffion of the Duke of Northum berland. The rank and honour of an Earl's daughter to Cicil Hamilton, niece to the late Earl of Abercorn. Major Francis Grofe, Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales. The dignity of a Baronet to John Luforey of the ifland of Antigua, Efq. James Newbigging, Efq; is appointed Clerk to the Register of Hornings, and Mr William Bell Clerk to the Mint, both in place of Mr Flockart, deceased. Lieut. Col. Richard Saint George, is appointed Infpector of Recruits in Ireland, in the room of Major Hobart, refigned. Mr Campbell of Shawfield, elected Rector of the Univerfity of Glasgow. The Earl of Winchelfea, mafter of horfe to the Queen, and Col. Hotham, Col. of the 14th Reg. of foot, both in room of the Earl of Waldgrave deceafed. Sir James Murray, Bart. Aid-de-camp to the King, in room of Col. Hotham. The Earl of Carthampton, Col. in fecond in the Royal Irish Artillery. The Council of Edinburgh have prefented the Rev. Mr Baird of Dunkeld to be minifter of Lady Yefter's Church, in room of Mr Simpfon, gone to the Tron Church. Mr John Dunfmure, teacher of Englifh, in place of Mr Sydferf, decealed. Capt. Fanfhawe, M. P. for Plymouth, refident Commisioner there, in place of Capt. Lafory, gone in the Truffy of so guns to command on the Leeward ft Mrs Hogarth, widow of the celebrated painter of that name, daughter of Sir James Thornhill who painted Station. THE Edinburgh Magazine, OR LITERARY MISCELLANY, FOR DECEMBER, 1789. With a View of DRYBURGH ABBEY. CONTENT S. Regifter of the Weather for Dec. 362 Thoughts on Defcartes, 395 Boffuct, 397 Fenelon, 399 Flechier, 400 369 Original Letters between the Em- peror, the Empress Queen, and State of the BAROMETER in inches and decimals, and of Farenheit's THER MOMETER in the open air, taken in the morning before fun-rife, and at noon; and the quantity of rain-water fallen, in inches and décimals, from the 30th of Nov. 1789, to the 30th of December, near the foot of Arthur's Seat. 363 Dryburgh Abbey. 5 fituated on a beautiful peninfula, formed by the Tweed on the fouth I weitermolt confes of Berwickshire; a mile below Old, and three below New Melrofe. It was in remote ages a feat of Druid fuperstition, and adopted by one of the first Chriftian Millionaries in Britain, for the propagation of the gospel. Modanus, who made apoftolical excurfions in the mid-land and western provinces of Scotland, was abbot here in the year five hundred and twentytwo*, but foon after, it would appear that the religious fociety was tranfferred to Old Melrofe; from whence, by King David I. it was transferred with great fplendour and opulence to New Melrofe, near the ancient Trimontium of the Romans. Dryburgh Abbey received a fecond foundation, fix centuries after its first Chriftian inftitution in the year 1150, by Hugh de Morville †, and Beatrix de Beauchamp his fpoufe, who received a charter of foundation and feveral grants from King David, two years afterwards. In 1322 this monaftery was plundered, and a great part of it burnt, by the army of Edward the Second, and again fuffered depredation in the year 1544 (Nov. 9.) by the troops of Henry VIII. In the year 1560, an act was paffed by the reforming eftates of Scotland for demolishing Cloyfiers and Abbey Churches, when Dryburgh Abbey was deftroyed among the rest, and left nearly in the fituation it is at prefent. One of Knox's favourite proverbs ufed to be, that "the fure way to banish Rooks, was to pull down their nefts," and his amiable followers did not fail to verify the adage upon all the venerable monuments of religion in Scotland: Tantum religio potuit fuadere malorum. "The very fepulchres of the dead," (writes Arch. Spottifwood)" were not "fpared. The registers of the church and libraries were caft into the fire, "the holy veffels, and whatfoever elfe men could make gain of, as timber, "lead, and bells were put to fale, fo that, in a word, all was ruined, and "what had escaped in the firft tumult did now undergo the common cala"mity." If Dryburgh did not take its name from the Druids, it must have taken it from the three Ielding hills, as the words Drey (Three) and berg (a hill) in the Teutonic, agree exactly with the name it at prefent bears. As Mr Grofe has given a pretty full account of Dryburgh, it is unneceffary to trouble our readers with any further particulars, referring them to that elegant work, which we hope will meet with general encouragement. D. E. Fay on the Genius of Taffo.-[Concluded from p. 262]. in is about THAT HAT Taffo, in the greater part bout what is necessary, than about of his narrations, is less anxious a- what is agreeable, is the fecond Z z 2 circumftance See David Chalmers de Statu hominis veteris fimulac novæ Ecclefiæ.' King in his Calender and Breviary of Aberdeen. † Hugh de Morville, Lord Lauderdale, Conftable of Scotland, |