History of the Parish and Burghs of Lawrencekirk. By William
Buxton Fraser, M.A. (Blackwood.)—There can be little doubt that books of this kind should be encouraged. Of coarse they must con- tain much that is of no interest at all to the general reader; but it is not from the general reader's point of view that they are to be criti- cised. They are intended, in the first instance, for those who have some special interest in the place whose annals are recorded; and they often have a secondary value, as supplying materials for the historian of more important events. Lawrencekirk has been the abode of several families of distinction, among them the Keiths, Earls Mari- schall (the Keiths, we are interested to find, are our old friends the Chatti). In fact, there is something interesting to say about almost every property in the parish. The burgh is of recent origin, having been formed by Lord Gardenstone, a Lord of Session from 1764 to 1785. This gentleman seems to have been of an eccentric disposition, having had, among other fancies, the whim of making a pet of a pig, which he allowed, till it grew too big, to sleep in his bed. There is sometimes amusement to be found in the record of his relations with the burgh of which he was patron. One of the burghers seem to have known at least one passage from Horace, and could not help employing it, though not quite appropriately, when his lordship's birthday was celebrated, in 1780. " Quis desiderio sit pndor ant modes jam [sit] cari capitis," be appends to the minute in which the festivities are recorded. Thirteen years later he had the opportunity of using it more legitimately, and it accordingly appears,—" Lastly, may WE join with the poet Horace, when admon- ishing Virgil to bear with patience," &c. The most distinguished -native of the town up to the present time has been Beattie, author of " The Minstrel," a work which still keeps its place, not undeservedly, in collections of English poetry. Rnddiman was a name known to the Scottish youth of past generations as the author of a Latin grammar. Mr. Fraser, who is very anxious to make out that the Scotch are not deficient in the quality of humour, tells a variety of anecdotes in support of his thesis. We do not wish to pronounce any opinion on that, but his anecdotes seem to prove that there is one Scotchman, at least, in whom it is not highly developed. However, there are some amusing stories scattered up and down the book. One of the best is this, of a certain Andrew Watson :—" His workshop was visited on one occasion by a beggar, who, by aid of artificial signs, indicated that he was deaf and dumb, and desired an alms. Suspicious of the applicant, and resolved on testing him, Andrew called to his wife in another apartment, 'Annie, shot the outer door, an' bring my sharpie'-stone. Here's a dnmmie wi' plenty o' bawbees, an' naebody saw him come in. We'll do for him !' Before the outer door could have been locked, the deaf and dumb' man was on the safe side of it."
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