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The title of James Hogg's great novel, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, is a bit of a mouthful

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Copyright Information This article is copyright © 2010 The James Hogg Society and Contributors, and is the result of the independent labour of the scholar or scholars credited with authorship. The material contained in this document may be freely distributed, as long as the origin of information used has been properly credited in the appropriate manner (e.g. through bibliographic citation, etc.).

Take a Walk in the Footsteps of the Justified Sinner Alasdair Thanisch (University of St Andrews, Scotland) and Peter Thanisch (University of Tampere, Finland)

Overview The title of James Hogg’s great novel, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, is a bit of a mouthful, so we abbreviate it to ’Justified Sinner’. Of course, you can enjoy Hogg’s novel without us imposing imagery on you, but maybe you’re interested in the sort of landscapes in which Hogg chose to locate the events in the novel. Hogg’s style is to mix fact and fiction and although he is deliberately ambiguous about people, dates and events, he is often very specific about geography, mostly using actual, rather than fictitious, place names. Where he does use a fictitious place name, he provides enough clues for us to be fairly sure where he had in mind. These web pages provide maps and photographs to show where these places are and what some of those landscapes look like now. Occasionally, we throw in an old print to give you an idea of what a place looked like at the time of the Justified Sinner, i.e. the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. We also provide directions and other useful information to help you plan some walks and other trips to explore the places we describe, since some of them are ‘off the beaten track’, yet well worth a visit. We urge you to get your hiking boots on and take a walk in the footsteps of the Justified Sinner.

Acknowledgements We have been assisted by several people in doing the research for this document, especially Iain MacNair (the Archivist for St Mungo’s Cathedral), Joanna Sworn of Toronto and Eystein Thanisch of the University of Edinburgh. We are particularly grateful to Marguerite Nesling of the University of Stirling for huge improvements in quality and for keeping our prejudices in check. However, we take full responsibility for errors, poor taste and pathetic attempts at humour. So please contact us if you have any complaints or suggestions. Peter’s email address is [email protected]

Which Edition of the Novel? There are several editions of Justified Sinner currently in print. We picked the edition with the most background information. The publication details are as follows: James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, ed. Peter Garside (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2002).

In Case you Haven’t Read the Novel If you have not read Justified Sinner, don’t expect us to give you a plot outline. (We wouldn’t dare, so try www.wikipedia.org instead.) However, for each location, we state briefly what has brought the plot of the novel there. So if you haven’t read the novel, you can have fun trying to figure out what on earth is going on. However, our remarks about Justified Sinner will make little sense unless you know something about its

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structure. ‘Robert Wringhim’ is the name of the character in the novel who is the justified sinner of the title. In the novel, Robert is the author of the Memoirs and Confessions, the manuscript which is buried with Robert after he committed suicide in 1712 when he was in his mid-twenties. We shall refer to this section of the novel as ‘Robert’s Manuscript’. In the novel, Robert’s Manuscript remained buried for more than 110 years and was discovered by another character in the novel who is not given a name by Hogg, but who we refer to as ‘the Editor’. In the novel, The Editor does some research on Robert’s Manuscript and then produces his own narrative account, which we shall refer to as The Editor’s Narrative.

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The Editor’s Trip to Ettrick: Fall Law and Cowan’s Croft James Hogg cleverly stirred up pre-publication public interest in Justified Sinner. He did not use his own name as the author of Justified Sinner, making it appear to be the work of an anonymous Editor. In August, 1823 (the year before Justified Sinner came out) Hogg published a letter in Blackwood’s Magazine (at the time a major literary magazine) describing how a suicide’s grave had been dug up by two young men who were on the hills digging peat. Part of James Hogg’s letter to Blackwood’s Magazine is as follows: On the top of a wild height called Cowan’s-Croft, where the lands of three proprietors meet all at one point, there has been for long and many years the grave of a suicide marked out by a stone standing at the head and another at the feet. Often have I stood musing over it myself, when a shepherd on one of the farms, of which it formed the extreme boundary, and thinking what could induce a young man, who had scarcely reached the prime of life, to brave his Maker, and rush into His presence by an act of his own erring hand. (Justified Sinner, pp. 165–6)

Figure 1 ‘a wild height called Cowan’s-Croft’: the view from Cowan’s Croft to the south-west

At the time, the reading public was greatly excited by this sort of thing. Napoleon had brought mummies back from Egypt, Frankenstein had been published in 1818 and the idea of digging up dead bodies, physical resurrection, , etc. was all the rage. In Justified Sinner, the Editor tells us that he read Hogg’s letter in Blackwood’s Magazine (the above extract from the letter is reprinted in the novel) and he describes how he travelled to Ettrick, presumably in 1823 or 1824, in the hope of visiting the grave.

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Figure 2 View north-east from Cowan’s Croft of not-so-wild forestry plantation. (Fall Law is just to the left)

In Ettrick, The Editor and his companions persuade a shepherd to take them to the site of the grave. The shepherd tells them that James Hogg’s letter in Blackwood’s Magazine is wrong and that the grave is actually on Fall Law, just to the North-West of Cowan’s Croft. The shepherd guiding The Editor and his companions gives a different version of events: the Eltrive men, with Mr. David Anderson at their head, had risen before day on the Monday morning, it having been on the Sabbath day that the man put down himself; and that they set out with the intention of burying him on Cowan’s-Croft, where the three marches met at a point. But, it having been an invariable rule to bury such lost sinners before the rising of the sun, these five men were overtaken by day-light, as they passed the house of Berry-Knowe; and, by the time they reached the top of the Faw-Law, the sun was beginning to skair the east. On this they laid down the body, and digged a deep grave with all expedition; […]. (Justified Sinner, p. 171) Hogg cleverly sows the seeds of doubt. Were there supposed to be two different suicides’ graves, one on Cowan’s Croft and the other on Fall Law? On maps, the name of the hill is ‘Fall Law’, rather than ‘Faw-Law’. Although the top of Fall Law is clear of trees, the conifers on the slopes grow above the peak and thus dominate the horizon. That makes it tricky to get a good shot of the sunrise from the top of Fall Law. So we cheated a bit and got our sunrise shot just east of Fall Law.

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Figure 3 The cairn on the hill east of Fall Law just after sunrise

The Editor and his companions discover Robert’s Manuscript whilst robbing Robert’s grave on Fall Law. [We] picked up a leathern case […] on opening it out, we found, to our great astonishment, that it contained a printed pamphlet. We were all curious to see what […] it could contain that he seemed to have had such a care about. For the slough in which it was rolled was fine chamois leather […]. But the pamphlet was wrapped so close together, and so damp, rotten, and yellow that it seemed one solid piece. […] With very little trouble, save that of a thorough drying, I unrolled it all with ease, and found the very tract which I have here ventured to lay before the public, part of it in small bad print, and the remainder in manuscript. The title page is written and is as follows: THE PRIVATE MEMOIRS AND CONFESSIONS OF A JUSTIFIED SINNER: WRITTEN BY HIMSELF Fideli certa merces. (Justified Sinner, pp. 173–4) In Justified Sinner, The Editor’s Narrative is split in two, sandwiching Robert’s Manuscript. The first part is the Editor’s account of the events to which Robert’s Manuscript alludes, in so far as there is any historical record of them, and the other a short postscript describing the discovery of the manuscript.

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How to get there Cowan’s Croft and Fall Law are on Ordnance Survey Landranger Map 79 (scale 1:50,000). The Ordnance Survey Grid Reference is: NT 251 192 GB Grid. If you travel there by car, it is a bit less than two hours from either Glasgow or Edinburgh. If you want to be on Fall Law at sunrise, you will probably want to stay in the vicinity. There are a few options, but in particular, you could consider Tibbie Shiell’s Inn (www.tibbieshiels.com) on the A708 to the West of Fall Law or the Tussielaw Inn (http://www.tushielaw-inn.co.uk) to the East of Cowan’s Croft. There is a public footpath called Captain’s Road that runs roughly East-West and goes over the saddle point between Cowan’s Croft and Fall Law. Please do not be misled by the name ‘Captain’s Road’. It bears no resemblance to a road and at places is very indistinct, even for a hill path. Please take heed of the following advice   

Parts of the path can get muddy and slippery, so wear waterproof footwear with good treads. Weather in Scotland, especially on the hills, can take a turn for the worse very quickly, even in summer. So wear waterproof outdoors clothing. If you approach the hills from the East, please keep to the footpath when in the vicinity of the farm at Thirlestanehope. There is a track that leads through the farmyard, but this is NOT the public footpath.

If you want to be on Cowan’s Croft or Fall Law at sunrise, we offer the following advice.      

Check the weather forecast. If the weather is too cloudy and overcast, you won’t get much of a sunrise. We advise you to do the hike first during the day, then come back and do it again at night. You will find it much easier to navigate in the dark. We strongly advise you to do the hike when there is a reasonable amount of moonlight. So check the time when the moon sets. You should definitely bring a torch, but for finding your way at night, the moon is really your best friend. You should leave the Inn about two hours before dawn. Please don’t wake the other guests. Also, tell the folks at the Inn what you are going to do. Wrap up very warm. If the skies are clear, it will be cold and you will be hanging around for some time. In Scotland, the nights can be cold even in the summer. After sunrise, it will take you about one and a half hours to get back to either Tibbie Shiels’s Inn or the Tussielaw Inn. So, depending on the time of year, you may want to check if you can get back to the Inn before they stop serving breakfast.

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Tibbie Shiel’s Inn to Fall Law/Cowan’s Croft First we describe the walk from Tibbie Shiels Inn.

Figure 4 Route from Tibbie Shiel’s Inn to Fall Law and Cowan’s Croft: the red diamond shapes mark the Southern Upland Way Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

There is a car park to the west of the bridge near Tibbie Shiels Inn.. Take a few moments to visit the James Hogg monument nearby. Tibbie Shiels Inn is a piece of history in itself. James Hogg, Walter Scott and William Wordsworth all drank there. They do meals, snacks and drinks as well as accommodation. Furthermore, they have a picture of James Hogg in the bar. Tibbie Shiels Inn has a patrons-only car park. Follow the signs for the Southern Upland Way. (This is marked by the red diamond shapes on the map.) Eventually, you will see a wooden signpost where the path you need to take branches off from the Southern Upland Way. Your path is signposted as Captain’s Road, but do not be misled: this is no road. It starts off boggy in patches, but it is not so bad once the path leads into the conifer plantation. Eventually Captain’s

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Road joins a vehicle track. Turn right onto the track and keep going until you see a firebreak between the trees up the slope to the left.

Figure 5 The firebreak runs up the slope of Fall Law

Climb up the slope along the firebreak and you will come to a clearing in the trees around the top of Fall Law. Let us remind you that although the top of Fall Law is clear of trees, the horizon all round is dominated by conifers. You can just about get a glimpse of the top of Cowan’s Croft to the south.

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Figure 6 Fall Law: the horizon is dominated by conifers

If you want a better view from a hilltop, don’t go up Fall Law. Just continue along Captain’s Road until you are clear of the conifers and Cowan’s croft will be on your right. Walking from Tibbie Shiels Inn to Fall Law and back to Tibbie Shiels Inn takes no more than three hours with breaks, photos, etc.

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Tushielaw Inn to Cowan’s Croft/Fall Law Next we describe how to get to Cowan’s Croft and Fall Law from the Tushielaw Inn. This is likely to be close to the route that Hogg had in mind for The Editor and his party. (The started off from the Thrilestanehope sheep fair. Talking to people in the area, we discovered that even today, the various sheep farms in the area take it in turns to host sheep sales.

Figure 7 Route from the east to Fall Law and Cowan’s Croft Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

This walk assumes that you approach the hills from the east. The Tushielaw Inn (also frequented by James Hogg) is about a mile from where the path leaves the B709 road. The footpath that takes you to the foot of Cowan’s Croft and Fall Law is signposted as ‘Captain’s Road’”. The minor road marked in the bottom righthand corner of the map (B709) is too narrow to park in, so you will have to look carefully for a parking

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place that does not inconvenience local people. If you are staying at the Tushielaw Inn, you can leave the car there and walk along the B709 road. There is not much traffic. Just after you start the walk along Captain’s Road, you will walk past a small area of woodland. Please note that just after the woodland, the public footpath is off to the left through a gate. (The other way leads in to the farm yard.) We shall be returning to this area at the end of this document to describe how you can visit the spot that Hogg had in mind for where Robert tops himself, so that you can follow the route taken by the folk who buried Robert. But of course all that comes at the end of Robert’s Manuscript.

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Dalchastel The Editor’s Narrative starts as follows: It appears from tradition, as well as some parish registers still extant, that the lands of Dalcastle (or Dalchastel, as it is often spelled) were possessed by a family of the name of Colwan, about one hundred and fifty years ago, and for at least a century previous to that period. That family was supposed to have been a branch of the ancient family of Colquhoun. (Justified Sinner, p. 3) Actually, spelling of proper names was fairly haphazard right up to the nineteenth century. In this case, it is not much of a handicap since ‘Dalchastel’ is a fictitious place name anyway. The fact that it is fictitious means that Hogg experts like to play academic guessing games as to where Hogg might have located Dalchastel in his imagination. We like the reasons given for equating Dalchastel with Luss, a village on the banks of Loch Lomond. In Hogg’s time, the real life Lady Colquhon of Luss had several personality traits in common with the Laird of Dalchastel’s wife, Rabina, including viewing her husband as a religious conversion project. Also, the first time Rabina ran away from her husband, George Colwan, it took her about a day to walk back to her native Glasgow: Luss is about 40 kilometres from Glasgow, so the distance is about right. Rossdhu Castle was occupied by the Colquhons until the late eighteenth century. Since then, it has become a ruin. Some years ago, the Loch Lomond Golf Club acquired the land around Rossdhu Castle from the chieftain of the Colquhon clan. The castle is located behind the 18th green. Unnecessarily officious security guards stopped us from getting close to Rossdhu Castle. You have to be a member of the Golf Club to get any nearer.

Figure 8 Rossdhu Castle. We doubt that this is really what Hogg had in mind

Rossdhu Castle is about three kilometres south of Luss. The road between the castle and Luss can be busy and the traffic is fast-moving. It is not advisable to walk. We (Alasdair and Peter, that is) are not convinced that Hogg had Luss and Rossdhu in mind for the physical location of Dalchastel. In the novel, the village is south of the castle, whereas Luss is north of Rossdhu. We have several more reasons for thinking that Hogg had somewhere else in mind, but we won’t bore you with them just now.

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Getting there The map below shows how to get to Luss by road from Glasgow. To travel from Glasgow to Luss by public transport, you could get a train from Glasgow Queen Street Station to Alexandria (the journey time is just over half an hour) then a bus from Alexandria Station to Luss (another half an hour).

Figure 9 Rossdhu Castle. Don’t be fooled by the map: you’ll have trouble getting up close Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

Where to stay Luss is a popular tourist destination, so there is a wide variety of accommodation available in the Luss area. If you do not have Internet access, contact the Visitor Information Centre in Tarbet. Telephone: 08707 200 623.

How to get away from there The day after her marriage to Colwan, the Laird of Dalchastel, Rabina Orde did a runner. Matters, without all doubt, had been very bad between the new-married couple; for in the course of the day the lady deserted her quarters, and returned to her father's house in Glasgow, after having been a night on the road; […] (Justified Sinner, p. 8)

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Figure 10 Luss (top left-hand corner) and Glasgow (lower right-hand corner). Not recommended as a hike!

Sad to say, the journey would have been a lot safer in 1687 than it is today. Strictly NOT recommended as a hike, especially not overnight the way Rabina did it. At some later time, Rabina left Colwan for good. She went back to Glasgow, taking young Robert with her, but she left her first son, George, with his biological father, Colwan, the Laird of Dalchastel.

Glasgow The Editor hints that Rabina may have been seduced by her Glasgow minister, Rev. Wringhim, and that Wringhim was Robert’s biological father. Rev. Wringhim strenuously denies this in public, but does agree to let Robert use his surname. Although The Editor is vague about the location in Glasgow of Rev. Wringhim’s parish, we are given the following clue. [Rev. Wringhim] took pity on me, admitting me […] but into the bosom of his own household […]. (Justified Sinner, p. 67) So Robert lived in or near Rev. Wringhim’s manse. In Robert’s Manuscript, he says I hurried through the city, and sought again the private path through the field and wood of Finnieston, in which my reverend preceptor had the privilege of walking for study, and to which he had a key that was always at my command.

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(Justified Sinner, p. 85)

In the early 1700s, Finnieston was to the west of Glasgow. So if Robert had to go through the city to get to Finnieston then, presumably, Rev. Wringhim’s parish would have been on the east side of Glasgow. At this time, Glasgow was still fairly small.

Figure 11 Glasgow in the 1670s. The High Kirk (St Mungo’s) is on the right

The obvious candidate for Rev. Wringhim’s church is the High Kirk of Glasgow (nowadays called St Mungo’s Cathederal). It was in use at the time at which Justified Sinner is set and there are not any other obvious candidates on that side of Glasgow. It is an amazing building and well worth a visit.

Figure 12 Glasgow’s St Mungo’s Cathedral. It used to be known as the High Kirk

If Hogg did have the High Kirk in mind for Rev. Wringhim’s church, it would throw light on this even in Justified Sinner: The laird […] cut her short in all her futile attempts at spiritualization, and mocked at her wire-drawn degrees of faith, hope, and repentance. He also dared to doubt of the great standard doctrine of absolute predestination, which put the crown on the lady’s Christian resentment. She declared her helpmate to be a limb of Antichrist, and one with whom no regenerated person could associate. She therefore bespoke a separate establishment […] The upper, or third, story of the old mansion-house was awarded to the lady for her residence. She had a separate door, a separate stair, a separate garden, and walks that in no instance intersected the laird’s; so that one would have thought the separation complete. (Justified Sinner, p. 9)

This was very similar to the arrangement in the High Kirk at the time of Rev. Wringhim. Two congregations did not want to worship together, so they physically partitioned the High Kirk and worshipped separately.

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One congregation was called the Lower Congregation and the other was called the Outer High Congregation. The physical partition was still in place in Hogg’s time and was only removed in the 1830s.

Figure 13 Interior of St Mungo’s Cathedral (called the High Kirk in earlier times)

Rev. Wringhim would probably have been a bit sniffy about the idea of stained glass windows. If you visit St. Mungo’s, don’t miss the opportunity to visit the Glasgow Necropolis, just to the east of the Cathedral precinct. It was not mentioned in the novel. In 1831, it was established as a Glaswegian Père Lachaise.

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Getting there It is about a ten-minute walk from Glasgow Queen Street station to St Mungo’s Cathedral.

Figure 14 Glasgow Cathedral is at the east end of Cathedral Street then one block south on Castle Street

Check the opening hours before you go. Although St Mungo’s is used for Church of Scotland services, the building is actually owned by Historic Scotland.

Finnieston: Robert’s first blooding Robert’s first victim was the mild-mannered and inoffensive Rev. Blanchard. The murder takes place in Finnieston Dell. Alas, Finnieston is sadly lacking in dells these days. Since the early 1700s, Finnieston has been industrialized and then de-industrialized. In the process, not much of the original landscape has survived.

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Figure 15 Finnieston

The first time we went to Finnieston was on an anti-Iraq war march. The march ended in Finniston where Tony Blair was in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (see the photo below, fig. 16) telling the Scottish Labour Party that invading Iraq was a really good idea.

Figure 16 Finnieston: the SECC building is a part of ‘de-industrialized’ Glasgow Picture by courtesy of SECC, Finnieston Quay, Glasgow

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It is a little difficult to conjure up an image of Robert firing his pistol at Rev. Blanchard through a hedge, given the post-industrial landscape of Finnieston today.

Getting there Finnieston railway station was renamed ‘Exhibition Centre‘ sometime after the SECC Exhibition Centre opened nearby. It is on the Argyle Line, which somehow seems appropriate, considering the political affiliations of Rev. Wringhim. There is a frequent service from Glasgow Central Station.

Where to stay There is a huge range of accommodation available in Glasgow. We suggest that you contact the Glasgow Tourist Information people. Tel: 0141 204 4400; web: www.seeglasgow.com

Paisley Had Robert not topped him, Rev. Blanchard would have preached in Paisley. Gil-Martin’s otherwise encyclopedic knowledge let him down at this point, because he told Robert that Rev. Blanchard would be preaching at the ‘High Church’ there. From the Reformation until 1736, the Abbey was the only church in the burgh and parish of Paisley. The High Kirk was built in 1754, so maybe Gil-Martin really meant Paisley Abbey. Or maybe he was giving Robert an opportunity to call his bluff? With Hogg, you never know. Anyway, Paisley Abbey is so steeped in Scottish history that we just had to mention it even though Robert and co. do not actually go there.

Figure 17 Paisley Abbey

Getting there Paisley Abbey is near to Paisley Gilmour Street railway station. You can get a train there from Glasgow Central.

Edinburgh The Editor is a bit vague about the year, but around 1703 or 1704, the Laird of Dalchastel, by now a Member of the Scottish Parliament, travelled to Edinburgh with his son George (now in his late teens) to attend the Parliament. The Laird of Dalchastel would almost certainly have been in the Cavalier party, sympathizing with the exiled King James. At the same time, Rev. Wringhim also travelled to Edinburgh, taking young Robert with him. Robert is about a year younger than George. Rev. Wringhim acts as a sort of eighteenth century spin doctor/rabble rouser for the other main party, known as the Court Party, which supported Queen Anne.

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The Scottish Parliament Interestingly, when Hogg wrote his novel, there was no Scottish Parliament. It was shut down in 1707 and was re-established in 1999. The old Parliament House has undergone extensive alterations so much that it is now unrecognizable.

Figure 18 Parliament House, Edinburgh (from the time of the Justified Sinner)

It is now part of the building in the next picture.

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Figure 19 Façade in Parliament Square, Edinburgh. This structure is from a later date than Justified Sinner

To make matters worse, when you go into the building, you can see the Hall through a glass door, but there is a row of security guards who will stop you taking photos of the Hall. To add insult to injury, one of them tried to sell us a £4 glossy booklet about the building.

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Figure 20 Security guards behind this door stop you from taking photos of Parliament Hall, Edinburgh

Figure 21 Hall in the Old Parliament House. (The sketch was presumably done by somebody who found an innovative way to circumvent the ‘no photography’ rule)

Consequently, the best that you can do if you want to see a similar building from this period is to take a look at George Heriot’s School, which is a five-minute walk from the old Parliament House.

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Figure 22 George Heriot’s School, Lauriston Place, Edinburgh (not mentioned in Hogg, but dates from the same period as the old Parliament building and the architecture is similar)

Yet another security guard at the gatehouse will stop you going in, but you can get a reasonable view from the street or from Greyfriars’ Kirkyard (see section on Greyfriars’ Kirk below, pp. 29–31).

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Figure 23 Edinburgh street map: ‘The Links’ is the green bit right at the bottom on the left

Tennis George and Robert had not met for many years, but they bumped into each other in Edinburgh. shortly after their arrival in Edinburgh, Robert, for the first time, met with the young laird his brother, in a match at tennis. The prowess and agility of the young squire drew forth the loudest plaudits of approval from his associates, and his own exertion alone carried the game every time on the one side, and that so far as all I along to count three for their one. The hero’s name soon ran round the circle, and when his brother Robert, who was an onlooker, learned who it was that was gaining so much applause, he came and stood close beside him all the time that the game lasted, always now and then putting in a cutting remark by way of mockery. (Justified Sinner, p. 16)

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The pundits like to argue about what sort of tennis George and co. could have been playing in 1703: the rules of lawn tennis had not been invented and so-called ‘real’ tennis, as played in 1703, required a court. Also, Hogg is vague about where the tennis game occurred. However, if you play tennis on the Meadows, you will not be too far from the location of the tennis game in Hogg’s mental map, just a wee bit to the south. There are 16 public courts run by Edinburgh Council.

Figure 24 Tennis courts on the Meadows, Edinburgh

At the time of the Justified Sinner, the Meadows was partly under water. The Meadows as we know it today was created when the Burgh Loch was drained. (The loch had been only partially drained by the Justified Sinner’s time.) So we stress that there are no grounds for thinking that the present-day courts are near the ones used by George and his pals.

The Black Bull So once you have worked up a healthy thirst from a game of tennis, it is time to walk in the footsteps of the justified sinner again. The very next time that George was engaged at tennis, he had not struck the ball above twice till the same intrusive being was again in his way. The party played for considerable stakes that day, namely, a dinner and wine at the Black Bull tavern; […] (Justified Sinner, p. 17)

But the persecution of the latter terminated not on the play-ground: he ranked up among them, bloody and disgusting as he was, and, keeping close by his brother's side, he marched along with the party all the way to the Black Bull. […] (Justified Sinner, p. 19)

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The Black Bull [stood] in a small square half-way between the High Street and the Cowgate, and the entrance to it being by two closes […].

(Justified Sinner, p. 21) Today, there is no Black Bull in any of the small squares between the High Street and the Cowgate. So, where should you quench your thirst? You have a choice. There is a Black Bull just a couple of minute’s walk away from the Cowgate, in the Grassmarket. You will not be disappointed: the food and drink today would be very acceptable to George and his pals.

Figure 25 The Black Bull in the Grassmarket. (This is NOT the location of the Black Bull in the book)

However, once you have taken the edge of your thirst at the Black bull, it is worth exploring the other closes between the Cowgate and the High Street for further refreshment.

The Castle Hogg describes how Robert’s shenanigans outside the Black Bull trigger a riot in Edinburgh. The town-guard was now on the alert; and two companies of the Cameronian Regiment, with the Hon. Captain Douglas, rushed down from the Castle to the scene of action; but, for all the noise and hubbub that these caused in the street, the combat had become so close and inveterate that numbers of both sides were taken prisoners fighting hand to hand, and could scarcely be separated when the guardsmen and soldiers had them by the necks. (Justified Sinner, p. 22)

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Edinburgh Castle is open to the public, but it is not cheap. Plan to spend sufficient time there to get value for money.

Figure 26 Edinburgh Castle: the rock and the walls are more or less how they would have looked when the Justified Sinner was prowling the streets, but the buildings inside the walls in this picture were later additions

The name ‘Douglas’ has close associations with the origins of the Cameronian Regiment: it was formed following a meeting at Douglas Parish Church and the original colonel was from the Douglas family.

Figure 27 The only picture we could find of a Cameronian soldier of this period looks like the bloke on a porridge oats packet (albeit toting a gun)

The Links The next day George and his companions […] were to meet on the Links for a game at cricket. They did so; and, stripping off part of their clothes, they began that violent and spirited game. They had not played five minutes till Wringhim was stalking in the midst of them, and totally impeding the play. (Justified Sinner, p. 25)

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Figure 28 The Links

Cricket ‘violent and spirited’? Who said that Hogg did not have a sense of irony? Golf was played on the Links before the action depicted in Justified Sinner and you can play pitch and putt where George and his mates had their ‘violent and spirited’ game of cricket. For cricket itself, however, you can stroll north-east from the Links across Melville Drive (see map, fig. 23, p. 23) to The Meadows to see some cricket pitches.

Figure 29 Cricket pitches marked out on the Meadows. Cricket is so boring that it is more interesting to watch the grass grow. Hence the lack of cricketers in our picture

Cricket is a summer game and you will only see it played at weekends and some evenings. But there is nothing to stop you having a ‘violent and spirited’ game yourselves at any time. You will observe that most twenty-first-century Scottish teenagers act just like Robert Wringhim when they see other people doing things like play cricket.

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St Giles Cathedral [George] remembered one day of setting out with the intention of going to attend divine worship in the High Church, and when, within a short space of its door, he was overtaken by young Kilpatrick of Closeburn […] (Justified Sinner, p. 27) The High Church is also known as the ‘High Kirk’ (not to be confused with the High Kirk in Glasgow), but nowadays everyone calls it ‘St Giles Cathedral’. (The Church of Scotland has no bishops, so it re-badged the cathedrals it acquired during the Reformation as ‘high kirks’. In recent times, the traditional names have been revived.) The present structure dates from the fifteenth century. Hogg does not tell us which door George was aiming for, so we have included pictures of a couple of them.

Figure 30 West-facing steps to St Giles Cathedral. Edinburgh is just like our family home: everything is in a constant state of ‘undergoing repairs’

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Figure 31 East-facing steps of St Giles Cathedral

St Giles looks a lot more interesting (a) inside or (b) up towards the roof. But nobody in the novel is recorded as having got that far. So you will just have to discover St Giles’ attractions for yourself.

Greyfriars Kirk [George] remembered one day of setting out with the intention of going to attend divine worship in the High Church, and when, within a short space of its door, he was overtaken by young Kilpatrick of Closeburn, who was bound to the Grey-Friars to see his sweetheart, as he said: ‘and if you will go with me, Colwan,’ said he, ‘I will let you see her too, and then you will be just as far forward as I am.’ (Justified Sinner, p. 27)

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Figure 32 Greyfriars Kirk: exterior Wall. Greyfriars Kirk looks better inside than outside, but we couldn’t resist this bit of sculpture stuck to an outside wall

George assented at once, and went; and, after taking his seat, he leaned his head forwards on the pew to repeat over to himself a short ejaculatory prayer, as had always been his custom on entering the house of God. When he had done, he lifted his eye naturally towards that point on his right hand where the fierce apparition of his brother had been wont to meet his view: there he was, in the same habit, form, demeanour, and precise point of distance, as usual! George again laid down his head, and his mind was so astounded that he had nearly fallen into a swoon. He tried shortly after to muster up courage to look at the speaker, at the congregation, and at Captain Kilpatrick's sweetheart in particular; but the fiendish glances of the young man in the black clothes were too appalling to be withstood--his eye caught them whether he was looking that way or not: at length his courage was fairly mastered, and he was obliged to look down during the remainder of the service. (Justified Sinner, p. 27)

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Figure 33 Greyfriars Kirkyard looks great at any time of the year

As well as regular Church of Scotland services, Greyfriars Kirk also has some services in Gaelic. Check the times and dates on the notice board outside of the kirk. The entrance to Greyfriars Kirk is through a passage off Candlemaker Row (see the street map of Edinburgh, fig. 23, p. 23).

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Marquis of Queensberry’s House and Holyrood Palace This is yet another example of where you have to get up early to walk in the footsteps of the Justified Sinner. George (unaware that he was being tailed) set off for an early stroll. chancing to awaken very early, [George] arose to make an excursion to the top of Arthur’s Seat, to breathe the breeze of the dawning, and see the sun arise out of the eastern ocean. The morning was calm and serene; and as he walked down the south back of the Canongate, towards the Palace, the haze was so close around him that he could not see the houses on the opposite side of the way. As he passed the Lord-Commissioner's house, the guards were in attendance […] (Justified Sinner, p. 28) At this time, the Lord Commissioner was the Marquis of Queensberry.

Figure 34 Queensberry House

Queensberry House was commissioned in 1681 by Lord Haltoun but sold upon completion some 5 years later to William, 1st Duke of Queensberry. Although the house looks a bit dull. It does have some colourful history. William’s son James (2nd Duke of Queensberry) then lived here with his children including Lord Drumlanrig, his eldest son whose existence was kept secret for many years as he was considered a ‘wild madman’, and lived chained up in its ground-floor rooms. James was a very unpopular figure throughout Scotland as he accepted a bribe of £12,325 to push through the 1707 Treaty of the Union with England. Whenever he left his house he had to take body guards with him to protect him from stones and other missiles that were often thrown at him.

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During one of his many evenings spent canvassing for signatures, James returned home to a scene of horror. Lord Drumlanrig had ‘gotten oot’. He was devouring the flesh of a young kitchen boy whom he was roasting on the spit. We are aware that this is not relevant to the plot of Justified Sinner. But we decided to mention it because we are pleased that we are not the only ones with ‘problem’ relatives. The Queensberry family remained in the house until 1832. Later the building was used to house the destitute and then as Queensberry Hospital for the elderly, which was closed in 1975. It is now part of the development of the New Scottish Parliament, retaining its original exterior. But it is so hemmed in with security fences, etc. that it is tricky to get a decent photograph.

Holyrood Palace the guards were in attendance, who cautioned him not to go by the Palace, as all the gates would be shut and guarded for an hour to come, on which he went by the back of St. Anthony's gardens, and found his way into that little romantic glade adjoining to the saint's chapel and well. (Justified Sinner, p. 28)

Figure 35 Holyrood Palace. (To paraphrase ex-Vice President Spiro Agnew, when you’ve seen one palace, you’ve seen ’em all)

As you will know if you have read the novel, Robert tails George on this expedition. Unfortunately, if you want to follow in their footsteps, you have exactly the opposite problem to George. There is no barrier to going straight to the top of Arthur’s Seat from the foot of the Canongate. But if you want to go around the left-hand side of Holyrood Palace and past St Anthony’s Chapel, you have to pay to get in. It’s not cheap. It costs the same whether you just wander around the outside or you go inside the palace. And it doesn’t open particularly early either.

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Figure 36 St Anthony’s abuts Holyrood Palace

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Figure 37 St Anthony’s, looking back

Having walked around St Anthony’s, had George looked over his shoulder, he would have seen this view of the chapel. (He might also have noticed Robert on his tail, but that would have ruined the plot.)

Arthur’s Seat [George] approached the swire at the head of the dell--that little delightful verge from which in one moment the eastern limits and shores of Lothian arise on the view […]. (Justified Sinner, p. 29)

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Figure 38 Scene to the east as your head pops up over the ridge whilst climbing Arthur’s Seat from the direction of Holyrood Palace

Figure 39 More of the East Lothian coastline comes into view as you climb higher up Arthur’s Seat

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Figure 40 Arthur’s seat from the other side

The High Street I […] begged my way with my poor outcast child up to Edinburgh, and was there obliged, for the second time in my life, to betake myself to the most degrading of all means to support two wretched lives. I hired a dress, and betook me, shivering, to the High Street, too well aware that my form and appearance would soon draw me suitors enow at that throng and intemperate time of the Parliament. (Justified Sinner, p. 49)

The Nor’ Loch George stepped out; the door was again bolted, the chain drawn across, and the inadvertent party, left within, thought no more of the circumstance till the morning, that the report had spread over the city that a young gentleman had been slain, on a little washing-green at the side of the North Loch, and at the very bottom of the close where this thoughtless party had been assembled. (Justified Sinner, p. 37)

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Figure 41 A drying green by the Nor’ Loch

our apartment was a corner one, and looked both east and north, I ran to the eastern casement to look after Drummond. Now, note me well: I saw him going eastward in his tartans and bonnet, and the gilded hilt of his claymore glittering in the moon; and, at the very same time, I saw two men, the one in black, and the other likewise in tartans, coming towards the steps from the opposite bank, by the foot of the loch; and I saw Drummond and they eyeing each other as they passed. I kept view of him till he vanished towards Leith Wynd […] (Justified Sinner, p. 51) Leith Wynd used to be the road that went north towards Leith from the present-day St Mary’s Street (see the street map of Edinburgh, fig. 23, p. 23).

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Figure 42 Looking north over Waverley Station (where the Nor’ Loch used to be)

The eastern end of the Nor’ Loch would have been to the right of the scene in the photo of Waverley Station. There are not many late-seventeenth- century/early-eighteenth-century dwellings left in Edinburgh. But if you are in the vicinity of the High Street/Canongate in Edinburgh, then the best example is, in our opinion, White Horse Close.

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Figure 43 White Horse Close, Edinburgh (not mentioned in the novel, but it’s the right period and layout)

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The Edinburgh Tolbooth Ridsley, the man who was in Bell Calvert’s room and, with her, witnessed Robert stab George, was subsequently arrested and eventually banged up in the Tolbooth. [They] sent the prisoner in the Tolbooth, he who had seen the whole transaction along with Mrs. Calvert, to take a view of Wringhim privately; and, his discrimination being so well known as to be proverbial all over the land, they determined secretly to be ruled by his report. (Justified Sinner, p. 64)

Figure 44 St Giles and the Tolbooth

The Edinburgh Tolbooth was very near to St Giles (which is on the right in the picture below).

Figure 45 The Edinburgh Tolbooth

There is a bit of confusion about the Tolbooth, some of it created deliberately. There is a museum in the High Street that is in a building that used to be the tolbooth for Canongate. The Edinburgh tourist trade often refers to the building as the ‘Edinburgh Tolbooth’. This is deliberately misleading. When the building

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functioned as a tolbooth, Canongate was separate from Edinburgh. This building has nothing to do with the Edinburgh Tolbooth which was demolished in the nineteenth century.

West Port After Ridsley confirmed to the court that Robert was indeed George’s murderer, the wheels of justice started to turn. Robert did a runner from Dalchastel and eventually arrived in Edinburgh. Miserable, forlorn, and dreading every person that I saw, either behind or before me, I hasted on towards Edinburgh, taking all the by and unfrequented paths; […] I reached the West Port, without meeting with anything remarkable. Being exceedingly fatigued and lame, I took lodgings in the first house I entered, and for these I was to pay two groats a week, and to board and sleep with a young man who wanted a companion to make his rent easier. I liked this; having found from experience that the great personage who had attached himself to me, and was now become my greatest terror among many surrounding evils, generally haunted me when I was alone keeping aloof from all other society. (Justified Sinner, p. 151) At the time of the Justified Sinner, West Port was in Portsburgh and not yet a part of Edinburgh. This picture depicts a scene roughly contemporaneous with the events depicted in the Justified Sinner.

Figure 46 The West Port in what was then Portsburgh

There are some very good second-hand and antiquarian bookshops along the West Port these days. This is what it looks like when you walk there from the Grassmarket.

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Figure 47 West Port just west of the Grassmarket

Where to stay So long as you can afford to pay quite a lot more than the two groats per week that Robert paid to stay in the West Port, then there is really only one place for you to stay. Well actually, you have to be seriously rich to contemplate this one. Although The Editor is probably an amalgam of several characters in the Edinburgh literary scene in the 1820s, Hogg experts consider the Professor John Wilson, who used the pseudonym ‘Christopher North’, to be a prime suspect. In 1826, two years after Justified Sinner was published, Christopher North moved to a house in Gloucester Place in Edinburgh. Nowadays, it is an up-market hotel. The website is www.christophernorth.co.uk

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Figure 48 The Christopher North Hotel, Edinburgh

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Figure 49 The plaques outside the hotel

The Editor moved to Gloucester Place from Ann Street, Edinburgh. We recommend a walk from Gloucester Place to Ann Street to see some fine examples of Georgian architecture.

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Figure 50 Ann Street, Edinburgh. This is where The Editor lived at the time Hogg wrote Justified Sinner

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Figure 51 Ann Street, Edinburgh: a view along the street where The Editor lived

Peebles Arabella Logan is a lot like Ida Arnold in Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock. She is a middle-aged woman with no religious conceptions of good and evil, but with a strong secular sense of right and wrong. She thinks that the Wringhims are responsible for George’s death and she risks her life to bring him to justice. She was likewise summoned, or requested, I know not which, being ignorant of these matters, to go as far as the town of Peebles in Tweedside, in order to survey these articles on such a day, and make affidavit to their identity before the Sheriff. She went accordingly; but, on entering the town by the North Gate, she was accosted by a poor girl in tattered apparel, who with great earnestness inquired if her name was not Mrs. Logan? On being answered in the affirmative, she said that the unfortunate prisoner in the Tolbooth requested her, as she valued all that was dear to her in life, to go and see her before she appeared in court at the hour of cause, as she (the prisoner) had something of the greatest moment to impart to her. (Justified Sinner, p. 41)

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Figure 52 Peebles Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

The North Gate is still a street in Peebles. The Tolbooth is no longer standing. We have not yet been able to establish when it was last in use. A part of the castle was used as a prison, but it may not have been the only one in Peebles at the time of Bell Calvert’s incarceration.

How to get there From Edinburgh: By car, take the A702 then the A701 then the A703. Peebles is well sign-posted. By bus, take bus service 101 (operated by McEwans). From Glasgow: By car, M74 then the M72. By bus: we could not find a direct service and we have not done this trip by bus ourselves. One possibility is to get a bus from Glasgow to Biggar, then get another bus from Biggar to Peebles.

Where to stay We are not told where Mrs Logan stayed in Peebles. However, if you want some sort of connection with Justified Sinner, not to mention with other nineteenth-century literature, you could try the Cross Keys Hotel, North Gate, Peebles.

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Figure 53 Cross Keys Hotel, Peebles (not mentioned by Hogg, but in the North Gate)

Walter Scott’s novel St Ronan’s Well, refers to a fictitious establishment called the ‘Cleikum Inn’. Apparently, Scott modelled his fictitious inn on the Cross Keys Hotel. Scott even modelled the landlady of the Cleikum Inn on a former landlady of the Cross Keys. Above the doorway is written ‘The Original Cleikum Inn’, underneath which is the date 1653.

Ellanshaws In Robert’s Manuscript, he describes how he went on the run from Edinburgh, heading south towards England. I travelled all that night and the next morning, exerting myself beyond my power; and about noon the following day I went into a yeoman's house, the name of which was Ellanshaws […] (Justified Sinner, p. 154) ‘Ellenshaws’ seems to be a fictitious name, but the experts say that Hogg had in mind Langshaw, on the Allan Water.

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Figure 54 Langshaw on Allan Water Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

There are two ruined towers in Langshaw that look like they could be the right age for the Justified Sinner. However, neither of us is an expert in dating ruins and we have not been able to verify the age of either ruin.

Figure 55 Langshaw ruined tower number 1

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Figure 56 Langshaw ruined tower number 2

The darkling intruder paused for a few moments, and then came towards the foot of the ladder. The horses broke loose, and, snorting and neighing for terror […] the lad in the bed next the ladder sprung from his couch, crying out: ‘The L--d A--y preserve us! What can it be?’ With that he sped across the loft and by my bed, praying lustily all the way; and, throwing himself from the other end of the loft into a manger, he darted, naked as he was, through among the furious horses, and, making the door that stood open, in a moment he vanished and left me in the lurch. Powerless with terror, and calling out fearfully, I tried to follow his example; but, not knowing the situation of the places with regard to one another, I missed the manger, and fell on the pavement in one of the stalls. I was both stunned and lamed on the knee; but, terror prevailing, I got up and tried to escape. [...] Two or three times was I knocked down by the animals. but all the while I never stinted crying out with all my power. At length, I was seized by the throat and hair of the head, and dragged away, I wist not whither. […] I remember no more till I found myself lying naked on the kitchen table of the farm-house, and something like a horse’s rug thrown over me. (Justified Sinner, pp. 155–6) We are not sure which one Hogg had in mind as the yeoman’s house. However, you can find better accommodation in Langshaw than did Robert. You can get bed and breakfast accommodation on an organic farm, Over Langshaw Farm (www.overlangshawfarm.co.uk). It will be quite near to where Robert spent such a disagreeable night.

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Ellan Water In this deplorable state of body and mind, was I jogging on towards the Tweed, by the side of the small river called Ellan, when, just at the narrowest part of the glen, whom should I meet full in the face but the very being in all the universe of God would the most gladly have shunned. (Justified Sinner, p. 157)

Figure 57 Allan Water flows south, joining the Tweed just east of Selkirk Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

If you are travelling by car, go along the B6374 road. You can park in a lay-by just east of the Allan Bridge. There is a gate at the parking place. Cut across a small paddock and enter the woodland on the east side of the Allan Water.

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Figure 58 Allan Water just north of the bridge

There is a path of sorts up the glen, but you should only attempt it if you have got the right footwear. It is very easy to slip or trip. The narrowest part of the glen is about a mile upstream. We found it easiest to switch from bank to bank to avoid dense undergrowth. When the water level is low enough, there are stepping stones. A fallen tree also provides a natural bridge at one point.

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Figure 59 Allan Water: narrow part of the glen

Ancrum … and Oxford (but Not the One You’re Thinking Of!) Robert’s Manuscript continues to describe Robert’s flight south: I took up my lodgings that night in a small miserable inn in the village of Ancrum, of which the people seemed alike poor and ignorant. (Justified Sinner, p. 158) In the early hours of the morning the innkeeper, his wife and their serving girl, Tibby, discovered that Robert’s presence was causing things to go bump in the night. They considered that it was time to introduce Robert to the inn’s express check-out service. I was obliged to attempt dressing myself, a task to which my powers were quite inadequate in the state I was in, but I was readily assisted by every one of the three; and, as soon as they got my clothes thrust on in a loose way, they shut their eyes lest they should see what might drive them distracted, and thrust me out to the street, cursing me, and calling on the fiends to take their prey and be gone. The scene that ensued is neither to be described nor believed if it were. I was momently surrounded by a number of hideous fiends, who gnashed on me with their teeth, and clenched their crimson

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paws in my face; and at the same instant I was seized by the collar of my coat behind, by my dreaded and devoted friend […]. (Justified Sinner, pp. 160–1) Poor old Robert. Boringly, we were unmolested during our visit to Ancrum. Furthermore, the innkeeper these days is both shrewd and agreeable.

Figure 60 Ancrum Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

Nowadays, the only establishment in Ancrum that provides accommodation is the Cross Keys Inn. The present building is about one hundred years old, but and it is better than Robert’s ‘small miserable inn’ in every way, with the exception of the speed of the express check-out. In fact the interior of the Cross Keys Inn is listed, meaning that it would be illegal to alter it because it is of historical interest. There is a small village green near the Cross Keys Inn. On the green is a carved stone, said to date from the 1200s. Several sources say that some ruined walls to the east of the village are part of a building associated with Bishop (later Archbishop) Blacader of Glasgow, who became Ancrum’s feudal lord when the feudal superior, Lindisfarne Abbey, was dissolved.

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Figure 61 The Cross Keys Inn, Ancrum

Which Oxford? Before things turned really nasty, Robert had a chat with the innkeeper about his education. I said I was a poor student of theology, on my way to Oxford. They stared at one another with expressions of wonder, disappointment, and fear. I afterwards came to learn that the term theology was by them quite misunderstood, and that they had some crude conceptions that nothing was taught at Oxford but the black arts, which ridiculous idea prevailed over all the south of Scotland. For the present I could not understand what the people meant, and less so when the man asked me, with deep concern: ‘If I was serious in my intentions of going to Oxford? He hoped not, and that I would be better guided.’ I said my education wanted finishing; but he remarked that the Oxford arts were a bad finish for a religious man's education. (Justified Sinner, p. 159) Robert was referring to Oxford University. But is Hogg playing a trick on the typical reader? Is he putting us in the same situation as Robert, where we our minds are at cross-purposes with those of the ordinary folk in the novel? Ancrum is on the Roman road called Dere Street. If you were leave Ancrum going South along Dere Street and take the first on the left (the first Roman road on the left, that is), you will eventually see this sign:

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Figure 62 Oxford, Northumberland

You have just entered the hamlet of Oxford, Northumberland. So why do we think that Hogg’s Ancrum innkeeper would associate this Oxford with the black arts? Take a look at a map and you will see that the Roman Road that you walked on is called ‘The Devils’s Causeway’. The Devil’s Causeway is just to the west of Oxford. If you are driving along the A1 through Northumberland and feel like a break, take the B6525 and visit the team room at Oxford Farm in the hamlet of Oxford. It is shut on Mondays. They sell devilishly good jam and chutney, all made on the farm.

Chesters Chesters, July 27, 1712.—My hopes and prospects are a wreck. My precious journal is lost! Consigned to the flames! My enemy hath found me out, and there is no hope of peace or rest for me on this side the grave. […] (Justified Sinner, p. 153)

Not daring to look behind me, I crept on my way, and that night reached this hamlet on the Scottish border; and being grown reckless of danger, and hardened to scenes of horror, I

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took up my lodging with a poor hind, who is a widower, and who could only accommodate me with a bed of rushes at his fireside. (Justified Sinner, p. 162)

Figure 63 Chesters

Robert would have done better to check out The Steadings Bed and Breakfast at Roundabouts Farm in Chesters. It offers the visitor a very attractive alternative to a bed of rushes.

Figure 64 Chesters: Robert should have checked this place out

Robert hiked from Chesters to Roberton, sticking to the hills. On leaving the hind’s cottage on the Border, I hasted to the northwest, because in that quarter I perceived the highest and wildest hills before me. As I crossed the mountains

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above Hawick, I exchanged clothes with a poor homely shepherd, whom I found lying on a hill-side, singing to himself some woeful love ditty.” (Justified Sinner, pp. 162–3)

This is very good hill-walking country, so we shall suggest a couple of hikes. However, although we encourage you to walk in the footsteps of the Justified Sinner, we draw the line at approaching shepherds with a view to dressing up in each other’s clothes.

Figure 65 Hills between Chesters and Roberton

Roberton I slept the first night in a farm-house nigh to the church of Roberton, without hearing or seeing aught extraordinary […]. (Justified Sinner, p. 163)

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Figure 66 Roberton Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

Figure 67 Roberton Kirk

We have tried to find out the age of the present Roberton Kirk with no success. It looks just a tad more recent than 1712, but we are no experts.

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There is easy access to the hills from Roberton. There is a footbridge over Borthwick Water (just South of Roberton; see the map). Go through the gate with the sign on it saying ‘Beware the Bull’ and in a couple of minutes you will be on the hillside. There is a marked path over the hills if you are the sort of person that likes marked paths and you can establish a good working relationship with bulls.

Figure 68 Hills south of Roberton

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Eldinhope to Fall Law Near the end of Robert’s Manuscript, Robert is beginning to realise that there is no escape. Ault-Righ, August 24, 1712. —Here am I, set down on the open moor to add one sentence more to my woeful journal; and, then, farewell, all beneath the sun! (Justified Sinner, p. 162) According to Hogg’s letter to Blackwood’s Magazine (as quoted in The Editor’s Narrative): The last service he was in was with a Mr. Anderson, of Eltrive […] who had hired him during the summer to herd a stock of young cattle in Eltrive Hope. (Justified Sinner, p. 166)

Figure 69 Eldinhope Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

a man coming in at the pass called The Hart Loup, with a drove of lambs, on the way for Edinburgh, perceived something like a man standing in a strange frightful position at the side of one of Eldinhope hay-ricks. The driver’s attention was riveted on this strange uncouth figure, and, as the drove-road passed at no great distance from the spot, he first

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called, but, receiving no answer, he went up to the spot, and behold it was the abovementioned young man, who had hung himself in the hay rope that was tying down the rick. (Justified Sinner, pp. 166–7) Early next morning, Mr. Anderson’s servants went reluctantly away, and, taking an old blanket with them for a winding sheet, they rolled up the body of the deceased, first in his own plaid, letting the hay-rope still remain about his neck, and then, rolling the old blanket over all, they bore the loathed remains away to the distance of three miles or so, on spokes, to the top of Cowan's-Croft. (Justified Sinner, p. 167) We are treated to a classic piece of Hogg’s deliberate confusion concerning the location of the grave. The shepherd who acts as a guide to The Editor provides a different account. […] the grave was not on the hill of Cowan's-Croft nor yet on the point where three lairds’ lands met, but on the top of a hill called the Faw-Law […]. (Justified Sinner, p. 170) On modern maps, ‘Faw-Law’ is spelt ‘Fall Law’. Of course, The Editor only heard the shepherd say the name, so he may have written it down as it sounded.

Figure 70 Cowan’s Croft and Fall Law Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

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Formatted: Font: Not Italic

So where does this leave you, the hapless hiker? In the spirit of the way that Justified Sinner is written, you will just have to hoof it both to Cowan’s Croft and to Fall Law.

Ettrick In the good old days, Scotland was pretty much a theocracy. If someone fell foul of the church, they would have to sit at the front during the service, facing the congregation, during church services on the so-called penitents’ stools (more widely referred to as ‘creepy stools’). The church would also fine people large sums of money for moral misdemeanors. Of course, the church would act as both judge and jury in such matters. In Ettrick in 1712, the Church of Scotland minister was Thomas Boston. His name lives on in Ettrick.

Figure 71 Thomas Boston Memorial Hall

Thomas Boston had the front pews of his church ripped out to make way for more creepy stools. Thomas Boston was highly successful in terms of getting bums on pews (that is the pews that were left after he re-arranged the furniture to accommodate the extra creepy stools).

How to get there Use the information on page 5 to get to the general area. Then drive a few miles South from Captain’s Road along the B709 and follow the signposts to Ettrick. You will see a Hogg monument, Hogg’s birthplace and the Boston Memorial Hall.

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