Part 9

It is an accepted fact that Aberdonians have intellectual characteristics somewhat different from those of their fellow-countrymen, the result partly of race, partly and chiefly, we believe, of environment. We have already alluded to the amalgamation of nationalities that went to form the people of this north-eastern corner of the kingdom. Doubtless the Spartan upbringing that was the rule in the county served to develop sturdy character and good physique. The result is that the Aberdonian has distinguished himself in all parts of the Empire and even beyond it. Not that he has often risen to the front rank of greatness, but he is frequently found well forward among the best of the second-class.

Their own county presenting no tempting openings for ability, Aberdonians have migrated from the narrow home-sphere in great numbers and have made their mark as administrators, medical officers, and even as soldiers of fortune. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the cadets of the great houses, exiled by the pressure of the times, joined the service of continental kings and rose to high rank in the armies of Sweden, France, and Russia. Chief amongst these was James Keith, younger brother of the last Earl Marischal, and born at Inverugie Castle. After serving for nineteen years in Russia, he joined the service of Frederick the Great, under whom he attained to the highest military rank as Field-Marshal, contributing to victories gained during the Seven Years’ War and conducting the retreat from Olmütz. At the battle of Hochkirchen, when charging the enemy, he fell mortally wounded in 1758. Peterhead keeps his memory green by a statue presented to it by the Emperor William I. It is a replica in bronze of a similar effigy in Berlin. Field-Marshal Keith is probably the native of Aberdeenshire who has figured most largely in history. He was Frederick’s right hand, and his military genius has been fittingly acknowledged by Carlyle in his great work.

Another of the same type, though less eminent, was Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries, who fought both on the Swedish and on the Polish side, but ultimately transferred his sword to Russia, where he rose to the highest rank, and on his death-bed was watched over and wept over by Peter the Great. He was born in 1635 at Auchleuchries near Ellon and died in 1699. He was a perfect example of the successful military adventurer, one of the type so skilfully depicted by Walter Scott in Dugald Dalgetty.

The county has been a prolific recruiting ground for the Army. After the ’45 Chatham’s device for breaking down the clan system and diverting the energies of the Highlanders into healthier channels by enlisting them in British regiments was an inspiration of genius. In 1794 the Duke of Gordon raised during a few weeks a regiment of Gordon Highlanders, which first distinguished itself with Sir Ralph Abercromby in Egypt, and did noble service also in the Peninsula and at Waterloo.

In the work of empire-making in India and elsewhere, the Aberdonian has borne a notable part. He has shown ability to exercise a singular mastery over inferior races. Conspicuous in this respect was Sir Harry B. Lumsden, who formed the Corps of Guides out of the most daring free-booters of the North-West frontier of India.

In statesmanship the county has been surpassed by other districts, and yet it has the distinction of having produced one Prime Minister—the fourth Earl of Aberdeen (1784-1860), who was responsible for the Crimean War, and whom Byron styled “the travelled Thane, Athenian Aberdeen.”

The ecclesiasts of distinction are too numerous to mention. Foremost amongst them was Bishop Elphinstone, who, though not a native of the county, identified himself with its interests when he became Bishop (1483), founded the University, King’s College, the light of the North (1494), and the church of St Machar (the Cathedral in Old Aberdeen) and was a pioneer in all that makes for educational enlightenment. He was instrumental in introducing the art of printing into Scotland. His tomb is very appropriately in King’s College, the centre from which radiated the beneficent influence of his life. Henry Scougal (1650-1678), scholar and saint, son of Bishop Scougal and the inspirer of John Wesley, was a student of King’s College. He had not been long ordained in his charge at Auchterless before he was appointed to the Chair of Divinity in King’s College. He died at 28; but his _Life of God in the Soul of Man_ is still greatly prized by lovers of devotional literature. Dean Ramsay, whose _Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character_ (1858) is a classic in humorous literature and one not likely soon to be forgotten, was born in Aberdeen.

In medical science the roll of eminent names is long and impressive, from Bannerman, who was physician to David II, down to Arthur Johnston, who after an academic career abroad, cultivated the muses at Aberdeen, gaining fame as a writer of Latin verse. He was for some time physician to Charles I. Born at Caskieben in 1587, he was rector of King’s College in 1637, and died in 1641. Dr John Arbuthnot, though a native of Kincardineshire, was a student at Marischal College; as the friend of Pope and Swift, and the wit and physician at the Court of Queen Anne, he is likely to be remembered. Another celebrated physician was Dr John Abercrombie, who, born in Aberdeen, went to Edinburgh, and became head of the profession and first physician to the king in 1824. Others no less noted were Sir James Clark; Sir Andrew Clark; Neil Arnott, a contemporary with Byron at the Grammar School, and more famous as natural philosopher than as physician, devising skilful inventions in healing and ventilation; Sir James Macgrigor, to whose memory a lofty obelisk in polished red granite was erected in Marischal College quadrangle. After standing there for years it was recently removed to the Duthie Park. Macgrigor was a pioneer in the humanitarian treatment of the sick and wounded in war, and was chief of the Medical Staff in the Peninsular campaigns.

In natural science William Macgillivray is known by his careful and authoritative work on the _History of British Birds_. James Clerk Maxwell, who did so much for the advancement of modern Physics, was for a few years professor of Natural Philosophy in Marischal College. Dr Alexander Forsyth, minister of Belhelvie, invented the percussion lock, and Patrick Ferguson, a native of Pitfour, invented the breech-loading rifle.

The county is remarkable for families with pronounced hereditary intellectual gifts. The most noted case is that of the Gregories, who sprang from John Gregory, minister of Drumoak. It has produced fourteen Professors in British universities, skilled in Mathematics, Astronomy, Chemistry and Medicine. One of them was the inventor of the reflecting telescope. The Reids, the Fordyces, the Johnstons are other cases less remarkable, but still exceptional.

Philosophy is a sphere in which the Aberdonian has left his mark. The greatest local name in this regard is that of Thomas Reid, who created the Scottish school in opposition to David Hume, and whose _Inquiry into the Human Mind on the principles of Common Sense_ was written while he was a Professor at King’s College. Born at Strachan on the south side of the Dee, he was for a time parish minister of New Machar. Later he migrated in 1763 to Glasgow, as successor to Adam Smith. His _Intellectual and Active Powers_ was written after his retirement in 1780. Other philosophical writers worthy of mention are, Dr George Campbell, who, besides his dissertation on _Miracles_, wrote a _Philosophy of Rhetoric_; Dr James Beattie, whose _Minstrel_ is still read and whose _Essay on Truth_ had a great contemporary reputation; Dr Alexander Bain, an analytical psychologist, whose books _The Senses and the Intellect_ and _The Emotions and the Will_ contain the most complete analytical exposition of the mind. Bain was the first Professor of Logic at Aberdeen, and in conjunction with his pupil Croom Robertson started the philosophical Review called _Mind_.

[Illustration: Professor Thomas Reid, D.D.]

The sphere of imaginative literature is not the Aberdonian’s sphere. Criticism, Philosophy, History, Science are more in his way, and yet a few names can be given as of some note in pure literature. Foremost in time and unrivalled in his own department is Barbour, Archdeacon of Aberdeen (1357). He studied at Oxford, and was contemporary with Wycliffe and Chaucer. His great work is _The Brus_, the most national of all Scottish poems. It is instinct with the spirit of freedom, of chivalry and romance, and details the struggles, the perils, and the marvellous escapes of his hero Robert the Bruce, with great simplicity, vividness, and directness. Alongside of him we may place John Skinner, author of _Tullochgorum_, _The Ewie wi’ the Crookit Horn_, and other well-known songs. A native of Birse and for long episcopal minister at Longside, he was the father of Bishop Skinner. His fame rests on _Tullochgorum_, which Burns pronounced to be the best of Scotch songs. Dr W. C. Smith, the author of _Olrig Grange_ and _Borland Hall_, was born and educated in Aberdeen. Dr George Macdonald, poet, novelist, and critic, author of _Alec Forbes_ and other novels embodying local colour and illustrating Aberdeenshire life and dialect in the early part of last century, was a native of Huntly. The best known poet connected with Aberdeen is Byron, who spent some years of his boyhood in the city and short periods of the summer on Deeside. These visits to Ballater are reflected in his poem on Loch-na-gar and elsewhere in his work. He left Aberdeen at the age of 10 in 1798 and never saw it again.

History is a subject that has appealed to Aberdonians. Dr David Masson’s monumental work on Milton must be mentioned. Other historians are Joseph Robertson, John Stuart, John Hill Burton, Bishop Burnet, who wrote the _History of his Own Time_, Sir John Skene, and Robert Gordon of Straloch, antiquarian and map-maker, as well as his son James, minister of Rothiemay and historian of the early years of the Troubles. The first Principal of the University, Hector Boece, wrote histories somewhat credulous and imaginative but quite authoritative where his own times are concerned.

Of painters connected with the district may be mentioned Jamesone, Dyce, and Phillip called “of Spain” from his success with Spanish subjects. Architecture claims Gibbs, whose Radcliffe Library at Oxford, and London churches such as St Martin’s-in-the-Fields, still stand a testimony to his art; the Smiths and Archibald Simpson have already been mentioned. Sculpture owns the two Brodies and Sir John Steell.

Scholars like Wedderburn and Ruddiman, Cruden of _Concordance_ reputation, Dr James Legge, the Orientalist, and Professor Robertson Smith, born in the Donside parish of Keig, editor of the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, Professor of Arabic at Cambridge, and one of the most learned pundits of his time—are but a few representatives of a long list.

The thirst for education and the well-taught parish schools of the county contributed to bring about such results. The doors of the University have for centuries been opened by bursaries to the poorest boys, and in this way many who were endowed with capacity above ordinary entered the learned professions and rose to eminence.

25. THE CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF ABERDEENSHIRE.

(The figures in brackets after each name give the population in 1911, and those at the end of each section are references to pages in the text.)

=Aberdeen= (161,952). From being entirely built of granite, Aberdeen is best known as “The Granite City.” The light grey stone gives the town a clean look which strikes visitors from cities built of brick or of sandstone. Its many handsome public buildings, banks, offices, churches and schools, all solid and substantial, and of great architectural interest, are undoubtedly finer than those of any other town of the same size in the kingdom.

The first historical reference to it is in the twelfth century; later a charter was obtained from King William the Lion, granting the city certain trading privileges. Long before Edinburgh and Glasgow had begun to show signs of rising to greatness, Aberdeen was a port of extensive trade, but its growth was slow until the dawn of the nineteenth century. In 1801, its population was only 27,608; in 1831 this figure had doubled, and in recent years, owing chiefly to the phenomenal growth of the fishing industry, its progress has been rapid.

Aberdeen has long been a great educational centre. Its Grammar School claims to have existed in the thirteenth century. Its first University, King’s College in Old Aberdeen, was founded in 1494 by Bishop Elphinstone, and its second, Marischal College in New Aberdeen, by Earl Marischal in 1593. These were united in 1860 as the University of Aberdeen. Since that time the buildings of both Colleges have been largely added to, and the number of professorships greatly increased. Its students in the different faculties, Arts, Medicine, Science, Law and Divinity are little short of 1000.

[Illustration: The Old Grammar School, Schoolhill]

Being the only really large town in the county, and for that matter in the whole north of Scotland, it tends to grow in importance, and its business connections are ever extending. It is the focus of the trawling industry, and of the granite trade; while the agricultural interests of the county look to Aberdeen as their chief mart and distributing medium. Its secondary schools, its technical college, its agricultural college, its University, all help to swell its population by bringing strangers to reside within its boundaries. In itself it is clean, healthy and attractively built, while its fairly equable climate, its relatively low rain-fall (29 inches) and its equally low death-rate (14·2 per 1000) conduce to its popularity as a residential town. Being the northern terminus of the Caledonian Railway, and having excellent service to London by the West Coast, the Midland, and the East Coast routes, it obtains a large share of the tourist traffic; and the sportsmen who fish in the Aberdeenshire rivers or shoot grouse in the Aberdeenshire moors must all do more or less homage to the county town.

The chief street of the city is Union Street created a century ago at a cost which was considered reckless at the time but which has been more than justified by the results. This first improvement scheme, which has been followed up by others in recent times, was the work of men with a wide outlook. Prominent among the Provosts of enlightenment was Sir Alexander Anderson, whose name is now at the eleventh hour stamped in memory by the Anderson Drive—a fashionable west-end thoroughfare. Union Street is the backbone from which all the other thoroughfares radiate. It is broad and handsome and the buildings that face each other across it are as a rule worthy of the street. Union Bridge, one of Fletcher’s graceful structures, with a span of 130 feet, makes a pleasing break in the line of buildings and permits a view north and south along the Denburn valley. The northern view, which shows Union Terrace and Union Terrace Gardens with handsome public buildings, both in the foreground and in the background, is undoubtedly one of the finest in the city. The Duthie Park on the north bank of the Dee, the links that fringe the northern coast, the picturesquely wooded amenities of Donside, above and below Balgownie Bridge, the quaint other world air of Old Aberdeen with its lofty trees, its grand cathedral and the ancient crown of King’s College, these are all elevating and meliorating influences that help to keep in check the commercial spirit that rules about the harbour-quays and the fish-market.

Aberdeen can boast of four daily newspapers besides several weeklies. It claims the honour of having the oldest newspaper in Scotland—_The Aberdeen Journal_—established in 1748. (pp. 3, 8, 11, 13, 20, 24, 37, 38, 39, 66, 68, 75, 80, 83, 85, 89, 91, 92, 94, 95, 101, 102, 107, 108, 109, 111, 126, 145, 162, 164, 165, 169, 172, 173.)

=Aberdour= (549) is a small village on the coast half-way between Troup Head and Rosehearty. Sometimes called New Aberdour to distinguish it from the parish, the village came into existence in 1796. The parish is very ancient. Its church, now in ruins, was dedicated to St Drostan, the disciple and companion of St Columba. Aberdour is the birth-place of Dr Andrew Findlater, once Head-master of Gordon’s Hospital (now College), Aberdeen, and first editor of Chambers’s _Encyclopaedia_. (pp. 39, 62, 105, 119, 164.)

=Aboyne= (1525), properly called Charlestown of Aboyne in compliment to the first Earl of Aboyne, is a picturesquely situated village on Deeside with a high reputation for its bracing climate. Near it is Aboyne Castle—for centuries the family seat of the Marquis of Huntly. In the vicinity are Lochs Kinnord and Davan. At Dinnet are beds of kieselguhr. (pp. 2, 8, 24, 31, 88, 117, 119, 162.)

=Alford= (pa. 1464), on Donside, is the terminus of the branch railway from Kintore and the centre of a rich agricultural district called the Vale of Alford. In the neighbourhood are several interesting castles—Terpersie, Kildrummy and Craigievar. From Alford the main Donside road leads up the valley to Strathdon and Corgarff, from which there are passes both to Deeside and to Speyside. (pp. 27, 71, 113, 115, 134, 160, 162.)

=Ballater= (1240), a small town beautifully situated on the north side of the river Dee, in a level space enclosed by high mountains, is 660 feet above sea-level. From Ballater coaches drive daily to Braemar, passing Balmoral Castle half-way. (pp. 2, 8, 18, 24, 27, 33, 154, 162, 164, 176.)

[Illustration: Birsemore Loch and Craigendinnie, Aboyne]

[Illustration: Mar Castle]

=Braemar= (502), properly Castleton of Braemar, is the highest village in the county, being 1100 feet above sea-level. It stands at the junction of the Clunie and the Dee, and is finely sheltered in a hollow amongst the surrounding mountains. Braemar is a fashionable health resort. Some 10,000 strangers visit it annually. At the beginning of the nineteenth century it was not much more than a Highland clachan. Now it has

[Illustration: Ballater, view from Pannanich]

spacious hotels with electric light and all modern conveniences on a luxurious scale. Six miles distant is the famous Linn of Dee. The Duke of Fife’s Highland residence, Mar Lodge, as well as Mar Castle and Invercauld House, the home of the Farquharsons, are all in the vicinity. From Braemar the ascent of Ben-Macdhui is usually made, and sometimes also Loch-na-gar. A road leads from Braemar up the valley of the Clunie and over the Cairnwell to Blairgowrie. (pp. 8, 21, 22, 33, 66, 68, 75, 112, 161, 162.)

=Byth= (360), usually New Byth, is a village three miles from Cuminestown, and founded in 1764. It is a bare and treeless district. Near it are the hills of Fishrie with a large number of crofts given off by the Earl of Fife in 1830 to poor people evicted from other estates at a time when the fashion began of amalgamating small holdings in larger farms. (pp. 91, 124, 163.)

=Collieston= is a fishing village circling round a romantic bay near the parish church of Slains. Here in 1588 one of the ships of the Spanish Armada (_Santa Catherina_) was wrecked. The fishermen still call the creek St Catherine’s Dub. Several small cannon have been recovered from the pool. Eighty years ago, Collieston enjoyed a certain notoriety for smuggling, and the graveyard of Slains close by contains evidence of the deeds of violence that the contraband trade brought about. (pp. 38, 48, 54.)

=Culter=, eight miles west of Aberdeen, celebrated for its paper-mills, which date back to 1750. This paper-mill, the first of its kind in the north, manufactured superfine paper and in particular the bank-notes of the Aberdeen Bank. (p. 89.)

=Cuminestown= (466), a village on the north side of the Waggle Hill in Monquhitter, was established by Joseph Cumine of Auchry in 1763. Joseph Cumine was a pioneer in agricultural improvement. He planted trees and started the manufacture of linen. About a mile distant is the smaller village of Garmond. The villages were once much more populous in the days when the spinning of flax and the knitting of stockings were rural industries. (p. 40.)

[Illustration: Braemar from Craig Coynach]

=Ellon= (1307), a thriving town on the Ythan, is the junction for the Cruden and Boddam Railway. It has a shoe factory and large auction marts for the sale of cattle. The Episcopal Church—St Mary’s on the Rock—was designed by George Edmund Street and is a handsome building in Early English style. A prominent divine in the pre-Disruption controversies, Dr James Robertson, was parish minister of Ellon from 1832 to 1843. Later he became a professor in Edinburgh University. Ellon is a place of great antiquity. It was the seat of jurisdiction of the Earldom of Buchan, and there the earls held their Head Court. (pp. 29, 41, 163, 164, 171.)

=Fraserburgh= (10,570) is the third largest town in the county. It is a busy, thriving place, being the great centre of the herring fishing industry in Scotland. It was founded by Sir Alexander Fraser, one of the Frasers of Philorth (now represented by Lord Saltoun). The Frasers are said to have come into England with the Normans. A royal charter was granted in 1546 erecting “Faithlie” as it was then called into a free burgh of barony with all the privileges. Sir Alexander Fraser was a great favourite with James VI and was knighted at the baptism of Prince Henry, 1594: he was a man of enterprise; he built the town and the harbour and erected public buildings. He received from King James the privilege of founding a University in Fraserburgh, and a building was set apart for this institution. Not only so but a Principal was appointed in 1600. The College may have been active for a few years, but very little is known of its history. During the plague which raged for two years at Aberdeen, the students of King’s College went for safety to Fraserburgh in 1647 and, it is supposed, occupied the old College buildings. A street in the town is still called “College Bounds.” (pp. 8, 38, 59, 61, 76, 94, 95, 101, 102, 163, 164, 169.)

[Illustration: The Doorway, Huntly Castle]

[Illustration: The Bass, Inverurie]

=Huntly= (4229), the largest inland town of the county, is situated at the confluence of the Deveron and the Bogie. It is the centre of an extensive agricultural district—Strathbogie—and has woollen and other manufactures. In the vicinity are the ruins of Huntly Castle, the property of the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. The first Lords of Strathbogie, being opposed to Bruce’s claims of kingship, were disinherited and their lands bestowed on Sir Adam Gordon, whose descendants became Earls of Huntly, Marquises of Huntly and Dukes of Gordon. The old castle of Strathbogie was destroyed after the battle of Glenlivet in 1594, but rebuilt as Huntly Castle in 1602. Huntly is the birth-place of Dr George Macdonald, poet and novelist. (pp. 29, 31, 91, 160, 162, 164, 176.)

=Insch= (616), a village on the Great North Railway, with Benachie on one side, and the Culsalmond and Foudland Hills on the other. The vitrified fort of Dunnideer is in the vicinity. (pp. 119, 164.)

=Inverurie= (4069), a royal burgh at the confluence of the Ury and the Don. The workshops of the Great North of Scotland Railway were removed from Kittybrewster to Inverurie some years ago, thereby increasing the population of the burgh. It is one of the Elgin parliamentary burghs. The Bass of Inverurie is a conical mound, long considered artificial, but now ascertained to be a natural formation due to the action of the two rivers. Inverurie has paper manufactures. In the neighbourhood is Keith Hall, the seat of the Earl of Kintore. (pp. 27, 71, 80, 108, 109, 113, 132, 137, 160, 162, 164, 165, 169.)