Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-08

ton and inherited the property from John
Hamilton, the late abbot-archbishop. who is
buried in one of the aisles. The choir OF
the old cathedral is in ruins. low roofless
walls inclosing the graves Of twenty gene
rationS, but the nave and the remainder of
the structure have been carefully preserv-
ed and worship is held there every Sab
bath by the Established Church of Scot
land. This was the earliest burial place
of the Stuarts Beside the high altar lie
the dust Of Marjory. daughter of Robert
Bruce and wife of Walter FitZalen, and
the wives of Robert Bruce III and Robert
Bruce Ill. kings of Scotland. who are
themselves buried under the pavement of
the ruined choir.
Magnificent Modern Memorial.
The old cathedral. with its hoary and
blackened walls, srimy with the SCOT of
80 years, furnishes "A striking contrast to
the magnificent new Baptist Church re-
Gently erected of red sandstone at a cost
of half million dollars as a memorial to
the late Thomas Coats by the members
of his family. The design is cruciform
and very ornate. There are several am
bilious towers, of which the central
tower rises to a height of 210 feet and
terminates in an imitation of massive
crown-a daring architectural design
which is accomplished by a circle of flying
buttreSSes. This memorial church is said
to be the finest house of worship ever
erected for non-conformist society in
the United Kingdom, and / am ready to
believe that statement. 1t would have
cost twice much in our country.
You cannot look in any direction in
Paisley without seeing some substantial
evidence of the generosity of the Coats
and Clark families to the town. They
have made enormous fortunes here and
have been correspOndingly liberal and
public spirited. The town hall was built
by George Clark, the Free Library and
Museum by Sir Peter Coats and the Tech
meal School and Observatory by Thomas
Coats. who also gave the public park to
the city. Statues of the Clarks and Coats
of different generations stand in prom
inent places and contemplate benignly the
public institutions they have founded.
Coats Family Cotton Makers.
Sir Peter Coats left five sons and three
daughters; Thomas Coats. his brother and
partner in the original establishment of
the thread works. left five sons and five
daughters and all of the descendants of
both families are still in the business.
Seven Of them live at Paisley in handsome
houses surrounded by beautiful gardens.
and all take lively interest in the city
and particularly in the moral and material
welfare of the 5000 employees of the
thread mills, three-fourths of whom are
women.
Several other branches of the family
| live at Ayr, the home of Robert Burns,
which is about an hours journey on the
| Caledonian railroad. The leading member
| of the clan the one of the present gen.
Grafton who is most prominent in public
movements and financial affairs, is
| Thomas, the third son of Peter. He was
| a member of the house of commons for
| Paisley for several years and was ele-
waited to the peerage by King Edward,
| with the title of Lord of Renfrewshire, as
a recognition of his character and useful
ness; He has a stately residence at Pals
| ley where he exercises 4 general over
| sight of the thread mills, but spends a
| considerable portion OF his time in London
The Mills and the Operatives.
| The thread mills are enormous brick
| structures, four stories high, and the Win