ABERDEEN. 



193 



consisting of the town council, five trustees elected 

 by the burgesses, and one by the incorporated trades. 

 The watching, cleaning and lighting of the town, 

 are under the control of a board of commissioners 

 of which the Provost, the dean of guild, the city 

 treasurer and the convener of the incorporated 

 trades are ex-qfficio members, and other eighteen 

 commissioners are elected by the rate payers. Aber- 

 deen is better supplied with excellent water than 

 any large city in Scotland. The act of parliament 

 for raising the assessment for supplying the town 

 with water from the Dee was passed in 1829, and 

 has conferred immense benefit on the population. 



Charitable Institutions Among the benevolent 



and charitable institutions of Aberdeen may be 

 mentioned in the first place, Robert Gordon's hos- 

 pital in which a hundred and thirty-eight boys are at 

 present maintained and educated, their instruction 

 embracing, besides the more ordinary branches, 

 French, drawing and music. The building itself is 

 one of the most ornamental in Aberdeen. Another 

 hospital, on aless extensive scale, educates fifty boys ; 

 and the girls' hospital now contains forty inmates. 

 A new hospital for girls has also just been erected 

 and endowed at the west side of the town by a 

 benevolent lady. A house of refuge was established 

 here in 1836. The new lunatic asylum was built 

 in 1819, in a beautiful and retired situation at a 

 little distance from the town. The new infirmary 

 is just completed and is a very fine structure. In 

 connexion with it there is a general dispensary for 

 furnishing medicines to the poor gratis ; and there 

 is another similar institution in a populous district 

 of the town, and two others in the parish of Old 

 Machar. The benevolent institutions and associa- 

 tions in Aberdeen are indeed so numerous that we 

 have not space even to notice their names. Besides 

 those which we have already mentioned, there is an 

 institution for the education of the deaf and dumb, 

 and there is soon to be an hospital for the relief of 

 the blind, to be built and endowed from funds be- 

 queathed several years ago, by a Miss Ouickshank. 

 A public soup kitchen has for many years been 

 opened for the benefit of the poor in seasons of dis- 

 tress, and a building to be permanently used for 

 this purpose has just been completed. There are 

 besides a clothing society, a society for educating 

 the children of the poor, and a number of other 

 lesser charitable associations, all managed with the 

 greatest economy and prudence. Measures are now 

 in progress for establishing an hospital for orphans, 

 from funds left for this purpose by Mr Shaw, a 

 merchant in Aberdeen. Old Aberdeen has an 

 hospital for five decayed maiden daughters, and five 

 widows of burgesses. One of these women is ap- 

 pointed governess, the founder of the hospital in 

 his deed of endowment, which is a very curious 

 document, most ungallantly observing that " it is 

 impossible to keep order and regularity among ten 

 women, except one of them have a superiority over 

 the rest." The old town possesses another very an- 

 cient institution the bead house, as it is called 

 founded in 1531 by bishop Gavin Dunbar, an amiable 

 prelate, distinguished for his munificence and good 

 works. In this hospital, the benevolent founder in- 

 tended that twelve old men should be maintained, in 

 order that they might say their prayers without mo- 

 lestation. At present twenty-one old men receive 

 annuities of six or seven pounds each from the en- 

 dowment. 



Churches. There are in Aberdeen, including the 

 parishes of St Nicholas and Old Machar thirteen 



VII. 



parish churches. Two other churches in connexion 

 with the establishment have recently been erec- 

 ted, and there is besides a chapel for seamen in 

 a convenient situation near the quay, in which ser- 

 vice is performed by clergymen of the establish- 

 ment. The parish church of Old Machar is tlie 

 nave of the ancient cathedral, and is a magnificent 

 old building. The East and South churches are 

 newbuildings, erected on the site of former churches, 

 and are both fine gothic structures. The North 

 church is a capacious building, of a recent date, and of 

 a Grecian kind of architecture. Grey-friars church 

 is the only place of worship now standing in Aber- 

 deen, which once belonged to the Roman Catholics. 

 Besides the churches of the establishment, there 

 are three chapels belonging to the United Associate 

 Synod, one in connexion with the original Seceders, 

 and another with the original Burghers. There are 

 two Scottish Episcopalian chapels, and one Indepen- 

 dent chapel, in which the worship is conducted 

 after the forms of the church of England. The 

 Roman Catholics have an elegant chapel here, 

 erected by the present clergyman, Mr Gordon, about 

 the year 1804. There are four congregations of 

 Independents ; two Baptist congregations, a Wes- 

 leyan Methodist chapel, and one congregation of 

 the Relief church. We have only to add that the 

 society of Friends have a meeting-house here ; and 

 that there are besides a congregation of Unitarians, 

 another of Glassites, and another of Irvingites. 



Colleges, Schools, &c Of seminaries of edu- 

 cation, Aberdeen has a very fair proportion. It 

 is well known that it is the seat of two univer- 

 sities, an honour of which no other city in Europe 

 can boast. King's college and university in Old 

 Aberdeen, was founded in the year 1500. It is 

 much frequented by students from the northern 

 counties, who are attracted to it by the numerous 

 endowments, called bursaries, which it possesses. 

 Its library is extensive and valuable. Marischal 

 college in New Aberdeen was founded in 1593 by 

 George Earl Marischal. The original buildings ar 

 heavy and inelegant ; but a splendid new college, 

 after a design by a native architect of eminence, is 

 now erecting in their place. The foundation stone 

 of the new buildings was laid on the 18th of 

 October, 1837, by his Grace the Duke of Richmond. 

 The funds for this erection are a grant from govern- 

 ment of 15,000 with accumulated interest of two 

 or three thousand pounds more, and subscript! ons 

 which now amount to 7,500, of which the to wn 

 council gave a subscription of 1000. The 

 senatus of Marischal college consists of a chan- 

 cellor (the Duke of Richmond) a rector ^Lortl 

 .Brougham) a dean of faculty (Mr Bannerman, M.P.) 

 a principal, and nine professors. The sessions, both 

 at King's college and Marischal college, commence 

 in the beginning of November, and close at the end 

 of March. The grammar school of Aberdeen con- 

 tains five classes, the two highest of which are 

 taught by the rector. Formerly Latin was the 

 only study in this seminary, but the present rector, 

 Dr Melvin, in the year 1826 commenced giving in- 

 struction in the elements of Greek, and in the year 

 1835, the masters, on the recommendation of the 

 town council, the patrons of the school, intro- 

 duced history, geography and arithmetic into the 

 curriculum. All the classes at this school are well 

 attended. There are also, under the charge of the 

 magistrates, two English schools, a writing school 

 and a mathematical school, besides a large semi- 

 nary for educating four hundred boys and girls, 



