the whole space of the area had been free to the parish in general,
and that the lofts were constructions, raised at the special expense
of the heritors for themselves. The fronts being for their
families, and the back seats for their servants and tenants. In
those times there were no such things as pews; but only forms,
removeable, as I have heard say, at pleasure.

It, however, happened, in the course of nature, that certain forms
came to be sabbathly frequented by the same persons; who, in this
manner, acquired a sort of prescriptive right to them. And those
persons or families, one after another, finding it would be an ease
and convenience to them during divine worship, put up backs to their
forms. But still, for many a year, there was no inclosure of pews;
the first, indeed, that made a pew, as I have been told, was one
Archibald Rafter, a wright, and the grandfather of Mr Rafter, the
architect, who has had so much to do with the edification of the new
town of Edinburgh. This Archibald's form happened to be near the
door, on the left side of the pulpit; and in the winter, when the
wind was in the north, it was a very cold seat, which induced him to
inclose it round and round, with certain old doors and shutters,
which he had acquired in taking down and rebuilding the left wing of
the whinny hill house. The comfort in which this enabled him and
his family to listen to the worship, had an immediate effect; and
the example being of a taking nature, in the course of little more
than twenty years from the time, the whole area of the kirk had been
pewed in a very creditable manner.

Families thus getting, as it were, portions of the church, some,
when removing from the town, gave them up to their neighbours on
receiving a consideration for the expense they had been at in making