Belle Skinner Journal Thursday, August 18, 1887

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Thursday, Aug. 18 ’87

Early this morning we went to St. Giles Church which was much larger than I had expected. The windows of the Church are all memorials and are exceedingly beautiful. The gas jets, where lighted, represent Scotch Thistles. This is the Church where John Knox used to preach. We went from the Church to the Advocates Library, now filled with portraits, formerly in assize Hall. There is one beautiful stained glass window in the Hall. On our way to John Knox’s house we passed the Old Tolbooth and Town Church where Tradesmen who weighed falsely where  were nailed up by the ears. Then we reached Knox’s house, most interesting. On the outside of the house is a  motto  “Lufe God abufe al and yi nychtbour as yi self” [Love God above all and your neighbor as yourself]. We entered first Knox’s study. In this room is the window from which he used to preach to the people. All the rooms in the house have very low ceilings and the walls are mostly paneled bearing various inscriptions. Behind his…

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study is a very low-ceilinged room used as a bed-room by his two daughters. We went up a flight of stone stairs to the next floor. There, over the bed-room of the first floor we saw another bed-room, his room.  And over the study is the sitting-room. A beautiful room filled with exquisite carving all done of course where he house was made 397 years ago, and 70 years before the time of Knox. We saw the Bible he used to preach from. After this we came home to Lunch. Although it has showered all day, we went out again this afternoon and visited first the Royal Exhibition of Water Colors. It was not very large but some of the pictures were quite interesting. Next we went through the Antiquary Museum. After this we wandered about for a while looking in store windows and then Kitten and I walked through the Princes Street Gardens and climbed to the top of Scott’s Monument…

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The view from the top is superb. After dinner in the evening we drove around Arthur’s Seat. On our way up the hill we saw a pile of stones. The trysting place of Jeanie Dean and outlaw George Robertson [Novel “The Heart of Midlothian]. Also the home where Charles I once spent the night, before one of his battles. We could not drvie to the Seat on account of the dampness  but the carriage ride went quite near. We also saw the ruins of St. Anthony’s Chapel and the lochs now used as skating ponds. Coming down we saw the magnificient residence of Nelson the painter, who is making improvements in the castle at his own expense. On our way home we drove past the City infirmary and immense building one of the largest we have seen and also Sir John Harrods Hospital, a large building too.