H a m i l t o n .
tom: all parts are rich in corn, meadows, orchards and groves!
Crofs the Nathan. A t Nathan foot, gain the heights, which are
far lefs fertile; and, after going over the river Avon, reach the,I
town o f Hamilton.
The original name o f this place, or the lands about it, was I
Cadzow, or Cadyow, a barony granted to an anceftor of the no-1
ble owner on the following occaiion : In the time of Edw. II, lived* I
Sir Gilbert de Hamilton, or Hampton *, an Englijhman of rank; I
who, happening at court to fpeak in praife of Robert Bruce, re-1
ceived on the occaiion an infult from John de Spenfer, Chamber-1
lain to the King 5 whom he fought and flew : dreading the re-1
fentment o f that potent family -f, he fled to the Scottijh monarch, I
who received him with open arms, and eftablilhed Trim at the I
place the family now pofleflfes: whofe name in after-times m I
changed from that of Cadzow to Hamilton; and in 1445- the lands
were erefted into a lordfhip, and the then owner, Sir James, fat
in parlement as Lord Hamilton.
The fame nobleman founded the collegiate church at Hamiltm
in 1451, for a provofl: and feveral prebendaries. The endowment
was ratified at Rome by the Pope’s bull, which he went in
perfon to procure
The old caftle * o f Hamilton, being poflefied by certain of the
name who had been guilty of the deaths o f the Earls o f Lenox and
Murray, was on the 19th of May 1579 furrendered ; and by the
order of the king and council, entirely demolifhed |{.
* In Leicefterjhire, vide Burton’s Hift. of that, county, p. 126.
f Buchanan, viii, c. 49. $ Crawford's peerage, 119.
|| Mojfej. 34..
Hdmltim
I Hamilton houfe, or palace, is at the end of the town : a large
¿¡(agreeable pile, with two deep wings at right angles with the
lentre: the gallery is of great extent, furmfhed (as well as fome
other rooms) with mod excellent paintings :
I That of Daniel in the lions den, by Rubens, is a great performance:
the fear and devotion of the prophet is finely exprefs’d
by the uplifted face and eyes, his clafped hands, his fwelling
m u f c le s , and the violent extenfion o f one foot: a lion looks
fiercely at him, with open mouth, and feems only reftrained by
the A lm i g h t y P o w e r - from making him fall a viftim to his
hunger: and the deliverance of Daniel is more fully marked by
the number of human bones fcattered over the floor, as if to fhew
Ihe inftant fate o f others, in whofe favor the D e i t y did not m-
. terfere. '' _ _
■ The marriage feaft, by Paul Vtronefe, is a fine piece; and the
bbftinacy and refiftance of the intruder, who came without the
li?edding garment, is ftrongly exprefied.
■ The treaty of peace between England and Spain, in the reign of
James I, by Juan de Pantoxa, is a good hiftorical pifture. There
are fix envoys on the part of the Spaniards, and five on that of
■he Englijh, with the names infcribed over each : the Englijh are
the Earls of Dorfet, Nottingham, Devonjhire, Northampton, and
pRolert Cecil.
I Earls of Lauderdale and Lanerk fettling the covenant; both in
black, with faces full of puritanical folemnity.
I James, Marquis of Hamilton, and Earl of Cambridge, in black,
Jfby Vanfomer. This nobleman was high in favor with James VI.
Knight of the Garter, Lord High Steward of the Houfhold, and
X 2 Lord
P i c t u r e s .