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The judicial designation of Lord Fountainhall was adopted from a place belonging to him in East Lothian, now the property of his representative, Sir Thomas Dick Lauder. The original name of the place was Woodhead. When the able lawyer came to the bench, and, as usual, thought of a new appellative of a territorial kind—‘Woodhead—Lord Woodhead,’ thought he; ‘that will never do for a judge!’ So the name of the place was changed to Fountainhall, and he became Lord Fountainhall accordingly.
[1868.—The western half of James’s Court having been destroyed by accidental fire, the reader will now find a new building on the spot. The houses rendered interesting by the names of Blair, Boswell, Johnson, and Hume are consequently no more.]
Lady Stair’s House as Restored.
STORY OF THE COUNTESS OF STAIR.
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In a short alley leading between the Lawnmarket and the Earthen Mound, and called Lady Stair’s Close,[47] there is a substantial old mansion, presenting, in a sculptured stone over the doorway, a small coat-armorial, with the initials W. G. and G. S., the date 1622, and the legend: