GLASGOW. (DESCRIPTION.) 



465 



ence. On this tower, about the year 1420, was built 

 a tapering octangular spire, with diminishing battle- 

 ments. The spaces between the battlements are 

 enlivened by pointed windows, and relieved by 

 mouldings and small spires, the whole terminating 

 in a ball and weathercock, at the height of 225 feet 

 above the floor of the choir. A similar tower rises 

 on the west end of the building, to a level with the 

 first battlement. Tliis tower contains the bell and 

 clock. The bold and lofty arches in the body of the 

 church, formed by the concurrent ramifications of the 

 opposite columns, and the massive pillars, exhibit a 

 grand perspective, though the effect is hurt by the 

 partitions by which it is now divided into two differ- 

 ent places of worship, one called the Inner Church, 

 and the other the Outer Church. In the crypt under 

 the choir and chapter house, the piers and groining 

 are of the most intricate and beautiful workmanship, 

 and are not equalled by any in the kingdom. This 

 was opened as a church for the Barony parish in 

 1595 ; but in 1801, the seats were removed, and it 

 was converted to its original use, as a depositary for 

 the dead. It was here where the congregation so 

 finely described in " Rob Roy" assembled. 



From the elevated situation of the ground upon 

 which it is built, being 104 feet above the level of 

 the river, the Cathedral is a most conspicuous object, 

 and commands a delightfully extensive view of the 

 surrounding country. Sir Walter Scott's description 

 of its situation and character must be familiar to most 

 readers, yet the following short passage is so exquisite- 

 ly beautiful that we cannot refrain from copying it. 

 " Situated," he says, " in a populous and considerable 

 town, this solemn and massive pile has the appearance 

 of the most sequestered solitude. High walls divide 

 it from the buildings of the city on one side ; on the 

 other, it is bounded by a ravine, through the depth of 

 which, and invisible to the eye, murmurs a wander- 

 ing rivulet, adding, by its rushing noise, to the im- 

 posing solemnity of the scene. On the opposite side 

 of the ravine rises a steep bank, covered with fir trees 

 closely planted, whose dusky shade extends itself over 

 the cemetery with an appropriate and gloomy effect. 

 The church-yard itself has a peculiar character ; for 

 though in reality extensive, it is small in proportion 

 to the number of respectable inhabitants who are 

 interred within it, and whose graves are almost all 

 covered with tomb stones. There is therefore no 

 room for the long rank grass, which, in the ordinary 

 case, partially clothes the surface in these retreats, 

 where the wicked cease from troubling, and the 

 weary are at rest. The broad flat monumental stones 

 are placed so close to each other, that the precincts 

 appear to be flagged with them, and, though roofed 

 only by the heavens, resemble the floor of one of our 

 old English churches, where the pavement is covered 

 with sepulchral inscriptions. The contents of these 

 sad records of mortality, the vain sorrows which they 

 preserve, the stern lessons which they teach of the 

 nothingness of humanity, the extent of ground which 

 they so closely cover, and their uniform and melan- 

 choly tenor, reminded me of the roll of the prophet, 

 ' which was written within and without, and there 

 were written therein lamentations, and mourning, and 

 woe.' " 



Besides the cathedral, there are many churches 

 and chapels in Glasgow worthy of notice, the most 

 important of which, in point of architectural attrac- 

 tion, are, St Andrew's, St Enoch's, St George's, St 

 David's, and the Roman Catholic Chapel. 



The College or University of Glasgow is an exten- 

 sive and venenible edifice, situated on the east side 

 of the High Street. It owes its origin, as we have 

 already seen, to William Turnbull, bishop of Glasgow, 

 who in 1450 laid the foundation of the institution by 

 in. 



establishing a teacher of theology, and three profes- 

 sors of philosophy; and Pope Nicholas V., at the 

 request of James II., issued a bull licensing the 

 college as a school for theology, canon and civil law, 

 and the liberal arts, with privileges to the professors 

 and students similar to those of the university of 

 Bologna ; and he vested the office of chancellor of 

 the institution in the successive bishops of Glasgow. 

 Ample endowment was bestowed on the new semi- 

 nary by the founder, and James II. granted it many 

 privileges and immunities. The Scottish reformation 

 in 1560, involving the overthrow of the ecclesiastical 

 hierarchy, proved almost ruinous to the university. 

 The professors and other officers, who belonged to 

 the clerical order, fled from the violence of the Pres- 

 byterians, and the chancellor, archbishop James 

 Beaton, going to France, carried away the charters 

 and records, and deposited them in the Scots College 

 at Paris. The university continued in a very depres- 

 sed state till James VI. granted a new charter, and 

 endowed it with valuable property ; since which it 

 has acquired high reputation as a school of science, 

 especially since the middle of the past century. The 

 college buildings, though displaying but little archi- 

 tectural decoration, nevertheless interest the observer 

 by their venerable and classic appearance, while their 

 general arrangement deserves the praise of conveni- 

 ence and usefulness of structure. The front towards 

 the street is 300 feet in length, and has an elevation 

 of three stories. A t the northern extremity is a gate- 

 way leading to an area or court-yard of considerable 

 extent, in which are the houses of the different pro- 

 fessors ; and a corresponding gateway at the southern 

 extremity leads to the residence of the principal. 

 The grand entrance is through a gate in the centre, 

 surmounted by the royal arms ; and this opens into a 

 large court, on one side of which is a stone staircase 

 leading to the faculty-hall, an extensive and splendid 

 room, in which the professors^issemble to transact 

 the private business of the college. Passing onwards 

 through another gateway we reach a second court, 

 surrounded by the different lecture-rooms of the uni- 

 versity ; and on the outer side of this area, on the 

 second story, is the common hall of the college, in 

 which public meetings of the students are held, and 

 public worship takes place on Sundays. Another 

 gateway passes under the common hall, and leads to 

 a third area, in the front of which stands the Hun- 

 terian museum, an elegant edifice erected in 1805, 

 under the direction of Mr Starke, for the reception of 

 the valuable collection of anatomical preparations, 

 shells, insects, and fossils, with a cabinet of coins and 

 medals, bequeathed to the university by the cele- 

 brated Dr William Hunter. The college library 

 forms another side of this area ; the collection 

 of books is large and valuable, including the 

 library of Dr Robert Simson, the translator of 

 Euclid's Geometry, and medical books given by 

 Dr Hunter. There is also an observatory, well fitted 

 up, and furnished with instruments for the use of the 

 professor of practical astronomy. The government 

 of this institution is intrusted to a lord chancellor, a 

 lord rector, a dean of faculty, the principal, and the 

 faculty of professors. The chancellorship is a per- 

 manent office ; and the rector is appointed annually 

 by votes of the professors and the public students. 

 The emoluments of the professors are derived, partly 

 from the funds of the college, arising from landed 

 property in the town and neighbourhood, now ex- 

 tremely valuable, and partly from fees paid by the 

 students. There are two descriptions of the latter 

 the public students, who undergo the ceremonies of 

 matriculation, attend the five classes of Latin, Greek, 

 logic, moral and natural philosophy, keep regular 

 terms, submit to the restraints of college discipline 



