CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 207 



Pinkerton, and occurs in his select Scottish Ballads, vol. ii. Lond. 1783.' By s 

 strange and unaccountable mistake which a perusal of one stanza of the poem 

 would have corrected, Peblis to the Play has often been ascribed to Allan Ramsay, 

 who, like Hercules of old, seems to have fathered all unappropriated prodigies. 

 Connected with the locality of Peebles is another poem of merit though little 

 known. * From an edition which appeared at Edinburgh in 1603, Mr. Pinkerton 

 has also published,' says the learned author of the Life of Buchanan, ' The Thrie 

 Tailes of the Thrie Priests of Peblis.^ These tales, with apparent propriety, have 

 been referred to the reign of James III. Many of the allusions are completely 

 applicable to the conduct of that deluded prince. King James, it will be necessary 

 to recollect, was slain in the year 1488 ; and the style of the poem does not seem 

 of a modern cast. * The three priests of Peebles having met on St. Bride's day for 

 the purpose of regaling themselves, agree that each in his turn shall endeavour to 

 entertain the rest by relating some story. They acquit themselves with sufficient 

 propriety. The tales are of a moral tendency, but at the same time are free from 

 the dulness which so frequently infests the preceptive compositions of our earlier 

 poets.' * The earliest edition that has been traced of this curious poem was * im- 

 printed at Edinburgh by Robert Charteris,' 1603, 4to. It is a book of great rarity, 

 and probably not more than one copy exists." 



However pressed we maybe for room, we must yet give another short 

 quotation to enable our readers to judge of the style and method of the work 

 in question. For this purpose we select the article *' Parochial Economy," 

 as connected with the town of Peebles. 



" Peebles, the capital of the county, and the seat of the presbytery, is situated 

 on the north side of the Tweed, in latitude SS** 38' 40", and 3° 6' west longitude, 

 the meridian of Edinburgh passing through the town. It is 21 miles south from 

 Edinburgh, 22 from Selkirk, and 54 from Glasgow. The town is divided into the 

 Old and New, the former standing on a high ridge of ground, with the Tweed 

 forming the southern boundary ; and extending to the east on a lower tract of 

 ground ; it is bounded by the Eddlestune or Peebles water. The New town, with the 

 exception of a few paltry houses on the south side of the Tweed, lies in a peninsula 

 formed by that river and the Eddlestone water. This water runs in almost an 

 opposite direction to the Tweed, and falls into it, contrary to the course of most 

 rivers, forming an acute angle, with the apex pointing up the stream. The New- 

 town presents the strange anomaly of being bounded on the south by a river 

 running due east, and on the north by another river running due west. 



*' The burgh of Peebles, till the passing of the bill which altered the representa- 

 tive system, joined with Selkirk, Linlithgow, and Lanark, in returning a member 

 of Parliament. It was then thrown into the county. The town-council consists 

 of a provost, two bailies, a dean of guild and treasurer, with twelve councillors. 

 The number of electors amounts to about 94. The revenues of the burgh amount 

 to about £643, from the following sources : — 



Rents of lands ^6*333 2 6^ 



Rents of mills, houses, &c 168 14 2 



Customs, &c 120 5 



Feu-duties 10 9 8^ 



Interest on fences, &c 10 17 9i 



^643 9 2i 



"The amount of debt in October 1833 was £5426. 2s. 5d. The income at 

 present is more than sufficient for all expenses, and even for discharging part of the 

 debt. The town is very well supplied with water, and lighted with gas from the 

 burgh funds. The weekly market for grain in bulk has within these few years been 

 revived, and the magistrates, with a becoming liberality to encourage the farmers 

 to bring their grain, make no demand for customs." 



These we acknowledge to be insufficient extracts whereby to judge of 

 the entire merits of the publication. To bring to view a single brick as 

 a specimen of an entire building is certainly not the way by which a 

 splendid edifice can be estimated ; but it may in this instance be taken as 

 a sample of the matter and style ; and sorry we are that our citations, 

 by necessity, should be so incomplete. - 



* Irving's Lives of the Early Scottish Poets, Vol. i. p. 372. 



