CONTRIBUTED BY J. W. C.

This Abbot sold

Rome for the furnishings.
drink on the premises, and was considered
ane right gude man," and "held ane noble
hous." The following notice of him is taken
from "Ane Schort Memoriale of the Scottis
Croniklis": "On the 29th of June, 1459,
decessit at Paslay, Thomas Tarvis, Abbot of
Paslay, the quhilk was ane richt gud man, and
helplyk to the place of ony that ever was; for
he did mony notable thingys, and held ane
noble hous, and was ay weel purvait. He fand
the place all out of gud reule, and the kirk un-
biggit. He biggit the body of the kirk fra the
bucht (winding) stair up, and put on the ruf,
and theekit it with sclait, and riggit it with
stane, and biggit ane great portion of the steple,
and ane staitlie yethons, and brocht hame mony
gud jowellis and clathis of gold, silver and silk,
and mony gud bukis, and maid staitlie stallis
(pews) and glasynnil (glazed) mekle of all the
kirk, and brocht hame the staitliest tabernakle
that was in all Scotland, and the maist costlie
And schortlie he brocht all the place to fredome,
and fra nocht till ane mighty place, and left it
out of all kynd of det, and at all fredome till
dispose as thai lykit, and left ane of the best
myteris that was in Scotland, and chandellaris
of silver and ane lettren (reading desk) of brass,
with mony other gud jowellis.' The King rati.
fied to Abbot Tarvis the regality, into which the
Abbey lands had been erected by Robert III.

In 1472 another good Abbot was appointed for Paisley; this was George Shaw. In 1484 he added greatly to the Abbey buildings, and built a lofty ashlar wall, a mile in circumference, enclosing the church, park, and garden. This wall extended from the Abbey down Lawn Street; thence along Incle Street; thence towards Seedhill and the river Cart; thence along the river to the Abbey. The regality granted to Abbot George was the fullest given to the monastery. It gave the power of trying for all offences whatever, even including the four crimes generally reserved by the Crown-"rape, rapine, murder, and fire-raising." In 1483 the Abbot obtained permission from Pope Sixtus IV. to let for an annual rent in perpetuity, or for a fixed time, lands within a mile round the monastery.

The village of Paisley at this time was groaning under a real grievance-they being subjected to pay customs to the Burgh of Renfrew. In 1487 the taking of these customs caused a serious broil between the villagers and the Royal Burgh, for which the people of Paisley were fined at Renfrew. To free his people from further oppression, the Abbot resolved, if pos sible, to erect the village into a burgh. This he effected, and the necessary charter was granted by King James IV., dated 19th August, 1488a red letter day in the annals of Paisley. The

THE TOWN OF PAISLEY:

It

magistrates were appointed by the Abbot.
need scarcely be said that the new Burgh caused
a good deal of jealousy to Renfrew, whose in-
habitants, in the dead of night, came to the
market place and knocked down the newly
erected cross. For this they met with the dis-
pleasure of the King; but, nothing daunted,
they returned on a market day and "violently
dang doun the cross, and forcibly seized a quar-
ter of beef for a pennie of custome, ane cabock
of cheyss for a halfpennie of custome, and a
wind of quhit claith for a pennie of custome.
The cheese, beef, and white cloth were forcibly
retaken by the Paisley people under the direc
tion of the bailies. This resulted in an action
at law, in which Paisley came off victorious.
The cross stood in such a position that it could
be seen from Moss Street, High Street, and
Smithhills.

Naturally, a good deal of ill-feeling existed for a lengthened period between the rival burghs, which has come down almost to our own time in the form of jest and bickering, the subject of contention being latterly the steeple, which stood at the Cross of Renfrew, and which, on account of its diminutive stature, the people of Paisley threatened to carry away. This steeple was built in 1670, and taken down in 1871 to give place to the Town Hall. It was only necessary for an inhabitant of Paisley to touch this steeple to raise the ire of the people of Renfrew; but if he put his arms on it and asked a passer-by for a lift, it was a challenge. to fight. Many a skirmish ensued, by no means confined to the juvenile part of the community; and often for their audacity, the intruders found themselves in the lock-up, part of which was the steeple itself. On one of these occasions, a Paisley lad was looking through the bars of a cell in the steeple, when a female member of the Royal Burgh shook her fist at him and exclaimed, "Tak awa the steeple noo ye daft redheaded callant, since you've got it on your back." Strange to relate, this steeple, which was so long threatened to be taken away, did actually come to Paisley. At its demolition the stones were bought by a contractor, brought to Paisley, and houses built of them.

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

II.

In May, 1489, King James IV. was in Paisley, and in the following July he found it necessary to quell an insurrection of the insurgent lords, who had taken possession of Dumbarton, Crookston, and Duchal, and whose ostensible purpose was revenge for the murder of the late king. It was accordingly resolved that the King should pass in person to Crookston and Duchall, to be there on the 19th July, and with him all the barons, gentlemen and freeholders south of Forth, who should be summoned thereto. The expedition brought with it the great gun "Mons Meg," which is still to be seen in Edinburgh Castle, and at that time had not long arrived from Belgium. The conveyance of this heavy piece of artillery, about five tons in weight, by the roads that existed then, must have been a frightful undertaking. Men were sent before that "kent the gayt;" and the districts through which they passed were obliged to furnish oxen to draw it. There is no record of the King having been in the town on this occasion, but he obtained from it "workmen with spades and shools." Duchal and Crookston both soon surrendered.

In 1491, the King, on return from a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Ninian, at Whithorn, visited Paisley. Building operations were being prosecuted at the Abbey, and he gave the masons ten shillings Scots. In 1504 he was again in Paisley, the guest of the Abbot, and the minstrel of Lord Semple attended and played before him, for which he received fourteen Shillings Scots. In 1507 the King and Queen were both in Paisley, on a pilgrimage to Whithorn, and were the guests of Abbot Robert Shaw. Building was still going on at the Abbey, and the King, as was his wont, gave the masons "drink silver." On their return they remained in Paisley for a week, and again the masons profited. At that time, Paisley, although it contained but five or six hundred inhabitants, was well patronised by royalty.

Till 1490, the Abbey possessed an orchard and garden on the opposite side of the river. In that year Abbot George Shaw feued it to one of the bailies of the town. It extended to over six acres of land. The present Orchard Street is a portion of it.

The Chapel of Saint Mirrin and Columba, generally called the Sounding Aisle, was founded in

CONTRIBUTED BY J. W. C.

the site of one of the chapels on the south side of the School Wynd. The Abbey and its properties were, with the sanction of the Pope, erected into a temporal lordship, and granted to Claud Hamilton and his heirs in fee. Cland Hamilton, who was nephew of the last Abbot, then received the title of Lord Paisley. The Papists were persecuted by the now dominant Protestants; one, at least, of the monks was killed for saying Mass; and one of the principal sufferers was Claud Hamilton. It was with the greatest difficulty that the authorities got the people to attend the new form of worship. The Town Council enacted that "sic persons that willfulie remains fra the Kirk in tyme of sermount on the Sonday" would be apprehended and fined twenty shillings each time, and, if unable to pay, would be put in the jugs for twenty-three hours. In 1602 they passed an Act for the attendance of morning and evening prayers in the Sounding Aisle. There was a service in the church every Tuesday, when all shops and booths were to be closed under a penalty of eight shillings.

Whilst the authorities were thus forcing the people in wisdom's ways, they do not seem to have been working in a spirit of unity; for, as two ministers, named Andro Knox and Gavin Stewart, were leaving the "Toun Hous," the former, in the course of a wordy argument, struck the latter a violent blow on the head with a key to the effusion of blood. This assault was committed before the bailies. For this offence the Presbytery relieved Mr Knox from his duties till he would show penitence and offer a suitable apology. After a little delay, Mr Knox expressed willingness to do so. He was then summoned "to sit in the maist patent place of the Kirk of Paisley, upon Sunday next to come, before noon, being the 19th day of November, and thereafter, when Mr John Hay, appointed by the brethren to supply the place, has detailed the fault and offence of the said Mr Andro to the people, the said Mr Andro, in all humiliation, shall confess his offence to God, the brethren, and the party offended, and shall get down upon his knees and ask God's mercie for the same. The same being done, the bailies and some honest men of the place shall receive him by the hand."

During this eventful time there was a plague raging in the town; and in 1588, the Town Council of Glasgow found it necessary to forbid any of its inhabitants going to Paisley on that account.

On the 29th of April, 1596, James Mathie and Alexander Cochran were ordered by the magistrates to make a distribution of meal at the Cross for making use of wrong measures.