The Blue Blanket.

being made in these pages to the actual relic itself , for doubtless it is by no means generally known that the " Blanket" is still preserved though long in a very tattered condition , it was some years ago repaired by lining one of its

sides with blue silk , so that it can now he exposed without subjecting it to much injury . On the occasion of laying the foundation stone of the present Freemasons' Hall , Edinburgh , on the 24 th June , 1858 , the " Blue Blanket " banner

was displayed in the Masonic procession by the lodge journeymen No . 8 and the local newspapers in referring at the time to the ceremonial , gave some very interesting particulars respecting * this ancient , curious , aud , indeed ,

national relic ( mentioning amongst other sources from which the information had been gathered , the work to which Bro . Hughan has drawn attention ) , for the " Blue Blanket" is said to have flaunted amid a thousand streamers of all shapes ,

devices , and hues on the Borough Muir when the Craftsmen rallied under the Earl of Angus , the Lord Provost , to accompany James IV . to the

disastrous field of Flodden . It was displayed to assemble the incorporated trades to protect Queen Mary when she was insulted and her life placed in jeopardy by the incensed populace after her surrender to the confederate uoblesat Cavberry Hill ;

and it went up to the rescue of James VI . from a rabble that assailed him in the Old Tolbooth , Edinburgh , for refusing to listen to a petition presented by the Presbyterian Ministers , complaining of his undue leaning in favour of the Popish

party . * That James was fully alive to the spirit existing amongst the Craftsmen with reference to their cherished privileges and their ever readiness , when these were in the least threatened , to " up with the Blue Blanket , " and make a stand point

round their banner to defend them , is very evident from passages in King James' Work " Basilicon Doron , " which he addressed to his son , Henry Prince of Wales , with a very significant quotation from which we have headed this sketch .

It is therefore very pleasing to find the Craftsmen defending the sovereign who looked upon them with such a jealous eye indeed it has ever been with honest pride that they have asserted they

The Blue Blanket.

have shown no less alertness in bringing forth their banner to uphold the honour and independence of their country and to protect the life and liberty of their sovereign than they have in rallying round it in defence of their own privileges ,,

which , however , requires , we presume , the qualifying remark of " so long as they could do so consistently with their own views as to the liberty of conscience and ofthe subject ; " hence the "folding up" of the banner upon the occasion mentioned

by Peunycuick at the end of his work , and quoted by Bro . Hughan in the Magazine of 15 th August ,, with reference to the murder of King Charles I . A careful study and consideration of the troubled state of affairs during * that eventful period in the

history of Scotland aud of her c ? pital is , however ,, the only means of arriving at a fair decision as tothe defection of the Craftsmen on the occasion referred to . The last time when the banner was publicly exhibited was on the memorable visit of George IV . to Scotland in 1822 .

We come now to the Masonic procession of the 24 th June , 1858 , alluded to in the earlier portionsof our remarks . The privilege of displaying the--banner was accorded to the Lodge Journeymen , No . 8 , in consequence of their original connection

with the Masons of Mary ' s Chapel , one of the ^ fourteen incorporated trades of the city . On themorning of the procession , the " Blue Blanket " was delivered by Convener Tibbetts , who was thecustodier of it during his term of office , to the

assembled journeymen in presence of several of thedeacons of the trades , and a large gathering of the citizens . The convener in performing the ceremony , referred to the historical character of the banner , and the important occasions upon

which it had been carried to the field of battle by the citizens , who fought side by side with the ancestors of

those" Who , in days of yore , Thro' hostile ranks , and ruined gaps , Old Scotia ' s bloody lion bore !" The convener concluded the presentation by expressing a hope that while the banner was in .

the hands of the brethren of the lodge journeymen it would be protected with scrupulous care . The lamented Bro . William Hunter , who was then R . W . M . of No . 8—and has left on record aa

admirable history of that ancient lodge—in replying , said that the whole of the journeymen felthonoured in being entrusted with so precious a relic on that auspicious occasion , that it would be guarded