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Updated: May 24, 2025
During this summer, Dr Burton and his eldest son walked from Morton to North Berwick and back in the same day, a walk of at least fifty miles. In former years sixty was an ordinary day's work. Once during Captain Speke's stay at Craighouse, Dr Burton traversed a distance within twenty-four hours, which Captain Speke computed at seventy miles.
Before the passage quoted was published, Dr Burton had left Craighouse for Morton House, but the description evidently refers to Craighouse: It was in a venerable, half-castellated, ivy-grown manor-house, among avenues of ancient trees, where the light had first to struggle through the foliage before it fell on the narrow windows, in walls that were many feet in thickness.
The 5th of March was long kept by them as a festival the anniversary of the day on which they drove out to take possession of Craighouse in a spring snowstorm. They had resolved to get possession before the snowdrops, with which the beautiful avenue was carpeted, should be over; and they did but the snowdrops were buried in snow.
His one proviso as to the new abode was, that it was not to be in the town, or nearer the town than Craighouse. The whole spring Dr Burton's family sought in all directions for a suitable abode, and at last pitched on that left vacant by Mrs Cunningham's death as most nearly combining all the various requisites. On the 20th of May 1878 the flitting from Craighouse to Morton was completed.
From his earliest years Dr Burton had been a collector of books, and Craighouse led to the increase of his collection in two ways. The distance from the town was an impediment to the use of the Advocates' Library in his historical studies, and there was space at Craighouse for any number of books.
Craighouse had been besieged by Queen Mary's son in person, and had stood the siege and resisted the king. The then laird of Craighouse, whose name was Kincaid, ran away with a widow, who was a royal ward, and married her in spite of the king; whether with or without the lady's own consent no record condescends to specify.
The laird was afterwards nearly ruined by a fine, of which a part consisted of a favourite nag, which it would appear King Jamie had been personally acquainted with and coveted. The distance of Craighouse from the town was not great nothing as a walk to such walkers as Dr Burton and all his family; but it was enough to interfere seriously with evening engagements.
His neighbours in the country were so few that he had no reason to dread too frequent invitations from them; and he occasionally dined, as has been said, with Mrs Cunningham at Morton, and with his nearest neighbour, equally at Craighouse as at Morton, Mr John Skelton, at the beautiful Hermitage of Braid.
Craighouse Birth and marriages Office and literary work "Perth days" Captain Speke Library Athenæum Historiographership Unsociability and Hospitality St Albans Strasburg London Stories, jokes, and nonsense-verses. At Craighouse a second son was born to Dr Burton; his seventh and youngest child.
He who had escaped so many dangers was so well accustomed to firearms accidentally shot by his own gun while partridge-shooting near his paternal home! While at Craighouse, Dr Burton's library gradually increased from being an ordinary room full of books, to a collection numbering about 10,000 volumes.
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