THE last broad reach of the Kelvin from the old bridge to the curve where the stepping-stones were placed, not far from its union with the Clyde, must have been a scene of exceeding beauty a century ago. Orchards, meadows, wooded and grassy slopes were on either hand, and between the myriad tints of green the clear river rippled and flashed. And not uselessly, because its sylvan power was used in the old harmonious way to drive the grinding stones of prosperous mills. It is a matter of regret that the progress of civilization should bring with it such a deterioration of natural loveliness.

The true village of Partick is one of the oldest and most picturesque of the villages near Glasgow. There is some evidence that Yorkhill, immediately to the south of the old bridge, was the site of a Roman station in the second century. The village being on the highway from Glasgow to Dumbarton, was naturally a place of some importance. It is mentioned in many old charters; it was connected with the Glasgow Cathedral as a part of its endowment; and in the thirteenth century it was the residence of the bishops. Where the Manor House of the bishops stood is a matter of conjecture, but it is supposed that it was on the northern bank of the Kelvin, at the point where the stepping-stones existed. At that point George Hutcheson, one of the beneficent founders of Hutchesons' Hospital, built a house in 1611, the ruins of which have been erroneously supposed to be those of the "Bishop's Castle"; but there is reason to believe that his house may have been built upon the site of the olden "Castle." The oldest known house in the village, the old "Mansion Lodge," bore the date 1619. The old bridge was finished by Captain Thomas Crawford of Jordanhill in 1577 when he was Provost of Glasgow. This gallant soldier is celebrated as the hero of the surprise and capture of Dumbarton Castle on 2nd April, 1571. It is said that on the south side of the bridge appeared the arms of his house, and underneath the following verse:

"He that by labour does any honestie,

The labour goes, the honour bides with thee.

He that by treason does any vice also,

The shame remains, the pleasure soon a' goes."

On the north-west side of the bridge there is a coat-of-arms carved within a compartment which, interpreted by our eminent local antiquary, Mr. A. D. Robertson, appears to be those of Stewart, quartered with another. Probably the arms of Crawford and the inscription have been removed or concealed by the widening of the bridge. The bridge was at that time very narrow, allowing only one cart to pass at a time. At the beginning of the present century it was widened, and the addition to the east side is still plainly visible in the masonry. Above the old bridge on each side are the mills. On the south bank stood the Archbishop's Mill, which was granted to the Bakers or "Baxters" of Glasgow by the Regent Murray in recognition of their strenuous endeavours to supply bread for his troops during the stormy time of the battle of Langside. The name of the mill was changed to "Bunhouse Mill" on account of its close proximity to the tavern called the "Bun and Yill House" which stood at the gate. A struggle was long and successfully maintained by the villagers to preserve a right-of-way across the stepping-stones; and when a spate washed away any of the stones they were carefully replaced. At that period the Kelvin was a splendid salmon stream. At the damhead above the bridge were erected cruives for catching the fish, which were sometimes sold in the village at three-halfpence per pound! James Colquhoun, the village tailor, says Mr. Napier in his Notes and Reminiscences, rented these cruives, and on one occasion during a heavy flood, while the salmon were leaping up, something went wrong with them. James, spear in hand, made his way along the dam-head in order to put things right. A crowd was on the bridge watching, and expecting every moment that he would be swept over. He had put things right and was standing looking down on the boiling linn when a large salmon leaped close to him. James instantly struck with his spear and transfixed the salmon, but over-reaching himself was carried over the fall. A cry of horror rose from the bridge. but in a moment James was seen swimming down the stream, holding his spear firmly in one hand, and he landed safely with his fish below the bridge near to where he lived.