TorJ^orth^m. porUon .tee rnd of ^le Book Bonholouu'w. Eaic? BLACK'S PICTURESQUE TOURIST SCOTLAND. TO TOURISTS. The Editor of this GUIDE BOOKv/M esteem it a great favour to be furnished icilh the notes and suggestions of Tourists, and Communications founded on recent personal knowledge will be especially valued. Travellers willing to make such communications, are requested to forward them, addressed to the Publishers, Edinburgh ; and in the event of the notes being made on the book itself, another will be sent in exchange, free of expense. Edinbuegh, Augiisl 1857- BLACK'S PICTUKESQUE TOURIST or SCOTLAND, PART FIRST. EDINBURGH— ROSLIS AXn H AWTHORNDEN — HOPETOUN' UOUSE — DU>rF,RJI- I.INE, KTC. ifELEOSE—ABBOTSFORD—DEYBURGH—JEDBUEGU— HAWICK— THK ETTBICK AM) Y ARROW. KELSO — COLDSTREAM — NOEHAII— BERWICK-ON-TWEED. PEEBLES — INNEELEITUEX — NORTH BERWICK — TANTALLON — FAST CASTLE — ST. ANDREWS — LINLITHGOW — LOCHLEVEN CASTLE. STIRLING— CALLANDER — THE TROSACHS— LOCH KATRINE — LOCH LOMOND. PERTH — DUNKELD — BLAIR-ATHOLL — LOCH TUMMEL — LOCH EAN^■OCH — KKNMORE — TATSIOUIH— LOCH TAT — KILLIN — LOCH EARN — CRIEFF. EDINBURGH: ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK, G NORTH BRIDGE. MDCCCLVn. ' The Index i- bound up with both Parts to facilitate reference. The Map of Scotland is placed in the Pocket at the end of Part First. PRINTED By n. AND B. CLAKK, KOINBUROn. In plan and execution the present volume <1 lifers from most works published with similar intent. Eloquence or ambitious eulogiiuu of the scenery to which the volume is meant to be a guide, has been studiously suppressed. A plain and intelligible account is given of those locali- ties most worthy of the attention of strangers, and of the means by which they can be reached; the measure of admiration with which they must be contemplated is not prescribed. By adopting this course, space has been found for the incorporation of Traditionary, Historical, and Pictorial Illustration, by which it is thought a recollec- tion of the scenery will be more permanently fixed in the memory of the tourist, than by any description of its features which the author could himself have given. Neither labour nor expense has been spared to give the work the greatest possible degree of accuracy. To secure this object, all the principal touring districts have been specially and frequently traversed, in order that the via PREFACE. information given might be the direct result of a personal disinterested inspection, and that all local opinions, which are so apt to be tinged by an exaggerated appreciation, and a disregard for the merits of other places, might be carefully avoided. The improvements made upon every edition since the work first appeared have been numerous and important. The present edition has undergone a thorough revision and correction, the information, in several instances, having been entirely re-written. The Publishers have frequently been indebted to Tourists for information and suggestions, procured in the course of their journeys. To these the Publishers desire to return their best thanks ; and they take this opportunity of repeating that communications of this description will at all times be greatly appreciated. Edixeurgh, Avfjnst 1857. PART I. List of Illustrations ..... Travellintj Expenses ..... Skeleton Tours, etc. ..... General Description of Scotland Description of Edinburgh and its Environs . Watering Places near Edinburgh Edinburgh to Melrose ..... Melrose to Abbotsford ..... Melrose to Dryburgh Abbey .... Melrose, Jedburgh, and Hawick Melrose or Selkirk to Newark Castle, and Vales of Ettrick and Yarrow ..... Melrose, Kelso, Coldstream, Ber\vick-on-T\veed Peebles, Nidpath Castle, and Innerleithen Places of Interest that may be -vnsited from Edinburgh one dav ...... Description of Perthshire .... Edinburgh to Stirling by steamei- Description of Stirling .... Stirling to Dollar, Castle Campbell, and the Cauldron Linn Stirling to Dunblane and Ardoch Camp Stirling to Callander and the Scenery of the Lady of the Lake Callander to Loch Lubnaig, Loch Toil, Balquhidder, am Kob Koy's Country .... Callander to Lake Menteith, Aberfoyle, and Loch Ard Callander to the Trosachs, Loch Katrine, and Loch Lomond Glasgow to Loch Lomond and the Highlands Edinburgh to Perth by Railway Description of Perth and its Environs Dun'ite .... Perth to Dunkeld .... Dunkeld to Blaii--Atholl by the Pass of Killiecrankie Southside of Garry, Killiecrankie, and Cascade of Urrard Fall of the Tummel, Coilivrochan, Loch Tummel, Loch Rannoch ..... Dunkeld to Kenmore .... Kenmore to Killin, Lochearnhead, and Criett' ■203-211 '211-217 218-241 242-247 248-250 250-259 2G0-262 262-269 269-277 277-278 279-283 284-290 290-301 PART I. I. MAPS, PLANS, AND RAILWAY CHARTS. 1. General Map of Scotland - - End oj Volume. 2. Plan of Edinburgh. ------ .'^. Environs of Edinburgh ten miles round - - - 4. North British and Berwick and Kelso Railways- Edinburgh to Melrose and Hawick - - I Iilelrose, etc. to Berwick-on-Tweed . - ) Edinburgh to Peebles, etc. . _ . - 5. Berwick-on-Tweed to Edinburgh - - - - a. Edinburgh and Glasgow and Edinburgli and Batligate Uail- ways ------- 7. Map of Tours through Perthshire - - - - S. Edinburgh to Stirling by Steamboat - - I 9. Loch [.omond, Loch Katrine, and Trosachs - - ) 10. Edhibuigh, Perth, and Dundee Railway 11. Plan of Perth ------ 12. Edinburgh to Kinmss, Perth, Dunkeld, and Blair-Atlinll Page 1 77 96 144 138 157 163 235 248 250 262 XU LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. II. VIEWS OF SCENERY, &c. The Engi-avings on Steel are distinguished by Italics. 1. Entrance to Loch Scavaig — Frontispiece Edinburgh. 2. St. Giles and Old Town ----- 9 3. Scott Monument ------ 10 4 Statue of Sir Walter Scott ----- 11 o. Roy(d Institution ------ 12 6. National Monument ----- 18 7. High School ------- 19 8. Edinburgh Castle - - - - - - 21 9. Group of Old Houses, Castle Hill - - - - 29 10. Foot of West Bow. (Execution of Porteous) - - 31 11. The Cowgate, (off Grassmarket) - - - - 32 12. St. Giles' Cathedral - - - - -. - 34 13. Statue of Duncan Forbes of Culloden - - - 36 14. Old Cross, Edinburgh ----- 39 15. Hyndford's Close ------ 42 16. Chalmers' Close ------ 43 17. John Knox's House ----- 44 18. View in Canongate ----- 45 19. Moray House ------ 47 20. Canongate Jail ------ 48 21. White Horse Close ----- 50 22. Holyrood Palace ------ 51 23. Queen Mary's Bedchamber - - - - 52 24. Queen Mary's Boudoir ----- 53 25. Queen Mary's Batli ----- 55 26. Heriot's Hospital from the Grassmarket - - - 63 27. The Game of Golf . . - - - 65 28. Castle from Greyfriars' Churchyard _ - - 66 29. Newhaven Fishwives ----- 75 30. Doorway of Roslin Chapel ----- 78 31. Interior of Roslin Chapel ----- 79 32. Roslin Castle ------ 81 33. Dunfermline ------ 86 34. Dunfermline Abbey ----- 87 35. Crichton Castle ------ 93 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XUl PAGE 36. Melrose Ahhey _...-- 99 87. Melrose Abbey. The Eastern "Window - - - 101 38. Seal of Melrose Abbey ... - - 103 39. Abbotsford ...... 107 40. The Study, Abbotsford ... - - 109 41. The Armoury, Abbotsford ... - - 111 42. Dry burgh Abbey - - - - - - 115 43. Ruberslaw ... - - - . 119 44. Jedburgh Abbey .----- 121 46. Brauksome Tower .--.-- 125 47. Newark Castle _....- 130 48. Oakwood Tower .__.-- 131 49. Kelso - ..-.-- 137 50. Norham Castle ...... 141 51. Holy Island ..---- 143 52. Border Tower, Vale of Tweed ... - 145 53. Nldpath Castle ...... 146 54. Tantallon Castle -.--.- 150 55. Fast Castle .__... 151 56. Linlithgow Palace ----.- 158 57. Lochleven Castle -_.-_. 162 58. Slirlini] Castle ...... 170 59. Stirling Castle from the Ladies' Kock . - .176 60. Forth and Damyut ..--.. 186 61. Castle Campbell _.--.. 190 62. Doune Castle ..---. 197 63. Benledi from Callander Bridge .... 201 64. Chapel of St. Bride ... .. 203 65. Loch Lubnaig ..---. 204 66. Loch Voil and Balquhidder - - - . 209 67. Lake Menteith - - - - - - 212 68. LochArd .--..-. 216 69. Coilantogle Ford ...... 219 70. Loch Venachar _...-. 220 71. Duncraggan - - - - - - 221 72. Brigg of Turk .-..-.. 222 73. LochAchray --...._ 223 74. Loch Katrine - - - - - - 226 75. Ellen's Isle .... - - 227 76. View from above Goblin's Cave ... - 228 77. West view of Loch Katrine .... 231 78. Inversnaid Fort ...__. 233 79. Loch Lomond ..__._ 235 80. Rob Roy's Cave - 237 XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE 81. Ben Lomond - - - - - - 238 82. Falkland Palace - - - - - - 249 83. St. John's Church, Perth - - - - - 251 84. Scone Palace - - . - - - 255 85. Glammis Castle - - - - - - 257 86. The Dairv, Tajnnouth - . - - - 288 87. Rock Lodge, fajonouth - . ... 289 88. Killin and Auchmore _ . . - - 291 89. Cottage in Glen Ogle - - - - ■ 293 90. Lochearnhead - - - - - - 294 91. Drummond Castle - - - - - - 299 92. Ochtertjre .._--- 300 93. Monzie Castle ------ 302 TRAVELLING EXPENSES. The following scale shows the average charge for the several items which enter into the traveller's bill. The prices in the/rs< division of the scale are rarely exceeded in any of the Inns in the smaller towns in Scotland; while in some villages, charges even more motle- rate may sometimes be met with. The prices in the second division show the charges in Hotels of the highest class in such towns as Edinburgh and Glasgow. Breakfast, Is. 6d. to 2s. . Dinner, 2s. to 3s Tea, Is. 6(1. to 2s Supper, Is. 6d. to 2s. . . Pert or Sherry, per bottle, 5s. Porter or Ale, per bottle, 6d. to Is Brandy, per gill. Is. 6d. Whisky, per gill, 9d. . . . Bed, Is. 6d. to 3s ... *»* If the Ti-aveller require Ms table to be furnished beyond the ordi- nary scale of comfort, he must be prepared for a proportionate increase of charge. 23. to 3s. 3s. to 4s. 2s. to 3s. Accordiug to what is ordered. 6s. Is. 2s. Is. 3s. 6d. to 4s. In the inferior country Inns, Wine, Brandy, and Malt Liquor are frequently not to be met with, or, if kept, will probably be of indiffe- rent quality. Posting, Is. 6d. per mUe; postboy, 3d. per mile. A one-horse four-wheeled carriage, Is. per nule, or 15s. per day. A gig, 10s. 6d. to 123. per day. A riOing-horse, Cs. or 7s. ; a pony, 5s. per day. *,* In large tow-ns tlie charges for carriages and riding-horses are about 20 per cent above those here quoted. Where the hire is for several successive days, an abatement may be expected. The posting is the same in town and country. The payment of the gratuities to servants at Inns is a source of great annoyance to travellers. It largely contributes to the tourist's comfort when the charges under this head are included among the other items of the landlord's bill. ' Although this practice has been adopted by the principal Hotel-keepers in the towns in Scotland, it NOTE OF TRAVELLING EXPENSES. has not yet been generally iutroduced into the Inns throughout the country. The following are the average rates charged in those establishments where the practice of including service in the bills is adopted. A single gentleman, taking the general accommodation of the Hotel for one or two meals as a passing traveller — Waiter, 6d. ; Chambermaid, 6d.; Porter or Boots, 6d. This includes the removal of any reasonable weight of luggage ; but extra messages and parcels are charged separately. 2. A single gentleman, staying a day and night, and taking Ms meals in the hotel- Is. 6d. or 2s. for ser%'ants ; and if he stays several days, Is. or Is. 6d. per day. 3. ; A gentleman and liis wife, occupying a sitting-room and bedroom — 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. per night for servants. If accompanied by sons or daughters, or other relatives, half this rate from each ; but no charge tor children under nine years of age. 4. A party of fotrr or sL\ for one night, about Is. 6d. each. Upon submitting this scale to several of the most respectable Hotel-keepers in Edinburgh, they consider the rates to be a fair ave- rage. In country and village inns, even the lowest of the payments above quoted may be unnecessarily liberal, just as in some of the fashionable hotels in London the highest may be considerably under par. When a tourist arrives in Scotland, lie is sometimes at a loss to know how best to lay out the time at his disposal. The object of the fol- lowing directions is to supply him with a few hints how he may spend agreeably from a couple to fourteen days. It is not generally known that the facilities now afforded during the summer months are such as to enable any one to run over the greater part of Scotland in a very short space of time. Even in one day the distance that may be travelled is greater than many are aware of. For example, any one leaving Edinburgh in the morning can reach the head of Loch Lomond, and roiurn the same evening; any one leaving Inverness in the morning can make one of the most agreeable tours down the Caledo- nian Canal, and round a considerable portion of the West Coast of Scotland, where the scenery is of the very finest description, and arrive in Glasgow or Edinburgh the next evening, in time to catch the train for Liverpool, Manchester, or London. By leaving the Broomielaw, Glasgow, in the morning, the tourist may sleep at the foot of Ben Nevis in the evening, and another day will enable him to penetrate into some of the most remote districts of the Higlilands. b SKELETON TOURS. SINGLE DAY EXCURSIONS FROM EDINBURGH OR GLASGOW. [It is understood that these tours are made during the summer months, when every facility for travelling is given by coaches and steamboats.] Edinburgh or Glasgow to the head of Loch Lomond, by Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway and steamer, page 235. Edinburgh or Glasgow to Castle Campbell, Rumbling Bridge, and Falls of Devon, by Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway to Tilli- coultry, and omnibus from thence to Dollar, page 188. Edinburgh or Glasgow to Lanark and the Falls of the Clyde, by the Caledonian Railway, page 363. Edinburgh to Melrose, Abbotsford, and Dryburgh, by North British Railway, page 96. Edinburgh or Glasgow to Stirling, page 166, Perth, page 248, or Aberdeen, page 314, by railway. Each place will take a day. Edinburgh to St. Andrews and the East of Fife, page 152. Glasgow, down the Clyde, through the Kyles of Bute to Ardrishaig, at the mouth of Loch Fyne — (The tourist may return all the way to Edinburgh) — page 434. Glasgow to Arroquhar, Loch Long, by steamer, page 441 . Glasgow to Lochgoilhead by steamer, page 443. Glasgow to the Gareloch by steamer, page 419. Glasgow to Rothesay by steamer, pages 420 and 434. Glasgow to Largs and Millport by steamer, page 425. Edinburgh or Glasgow to Ayr and Burns' Monument by railway, page 379. Edinburgh or Glasgow to Stirling. Bannockbum, etc. If from Edin- burgh, by steamer up the Forth (if the time of sailing suits), and returning by railway, page 166. Edinburgh or Glasgow to Hamilton and BothwcU Castle by railway, page 363. Edinburgh to Hawthornden and Roslin by coach or railway every morning, page 76. Edinburgh to North Berwick, Tantallon Castle, and the Bass Rock, by North British Railway to North Berwick, thence by boat, page 149. TOURS FROM TWO TO FOURTEEN DAYS. The Trosachs, etc., 2 days. 1st day. Edinburgh to the Trosachs, by Stirling and Callander (rail- way and coach), pages 166 and 218. ''d day Trosachs to Edinburgh or Glasgow by Loch Katrine, Inver- snaid, Loch Lomond, and Balloch (coach, railway, and steamer). The tourist may now go from Balloch to Stir- ling by railway, page 224. In going from Glasgow this route is reversed. Tkosachs and Perthshire, 3 days. 1st day. Edinburgh to Stirling and Trosachs (railway and coach), pageslee and 218. 2d day. Trosachs to Kenmore, by Loch Lomond, thence per coacli in connection with steamer (coach and steamer), page 286. ^ , ,w 1 1 3d day. Kenmore to Edinburgh or Glasgow, by Dunkeld (coach and railway), page 284. Ayr, Wigtown, Kirkcudbright and Dumfriesshire, 3 days. 1st day. Edinburgh to Beattock by Caledonian Eailway, and from thence by coach to Dumfries, page 399. 2d day. Dumfries to Stranraer by Castle-Douglas, Gatehouse, Crec- town, and Newton-Stewart (mail coach), page 412. 3d day. Stranraer to Ayr by steamer, which sails on Monday and Friday mornings, via Girvan, Turnberry Castle, Colzean Castle, and Dunure Castle. On arrival at Ayr, visit Burns' Monument, Birth-place, and Alloway Kirk, 2 miles from Ayr, and return to Glasgow or Edinburgh same evening by railway, pages 417, 383-398. Should the weather be too rough for the steamer, take the coacii from Stranraer to Ayr by Girvan. TOURS FROM TWO TO FOURTEEN DATS. Trosachs and Akgtleshire, 4 days. 1st day. Edinburgh to Stirling and the Trosaclis (rail and coacli), pages 166 and 218. 2d day. Trosachs to Fort-AVilliam, by Loch Lomond-head, and from thence by coach (which runs only during the summer months in connection with the steamer), through Giencoe, Fort-William, lying at the foot of Ben Nevis, pages 235 and 243. 3d day. Fort- William to Oban, and from thence to StafFa and lona, by steamer (one of the most romantic sails in Scotland), page 457. 4t]i day. Oban to Glasgow or Edinburgh, by the Crinan Canal, Ardri- shaig, at the foot of Loch Fyne and the Kyles of Bute. The steamer generally arrives in Glasgow in time to enable passengers to catch the train'for Edinburgh or the South. The -whole journey from BannaTie or Fort- William to Edinburgh can be easily accomplished in one day. If the weather and circumstances permit, another day may be added to this excursion by climbing Ben Nevis, page 439. Teosachs akd Aegyleshike, 5 days. 1st day. Edinburgh to Trosachs (Edinburgh and Glasgow Eailway, and coach), pages 166 and 218, etc. 2d dav. Trosachs to Oban, by Loch Lomond-head, thence per coach in connection with steamer by Loch Awe (coach and steamer), pages 235 and 447. od day. Oban to Staffa and lona, returning to Oban in the evening (steamer), page 457. 4th day. Oban to Giencoe, by Ballachulish, where cars arc in waiting, returning same way to Oban (steamer and cars), page 476. These days may be reversed according to sailing of steamer. 5th day. Oban to Glasgow or Edinburgh, by the Crinan Canal, Ardri- shaig, and Kyles of Bute (steamer, canal boat, and railway), page 4S9. Arean and Aye, 5 days. 1 st day. Glasgow to Arran, page 425. 2d day. Climb Goatfell and visit Glen liosa and Glen Sanuox, page 428. TOURS FROM TWO TO FOURTEEN DATS. XXI 3d day. Cross to Ardrossan, and thence, per rail, to Ayr (steamer and rail), page 381. 4th day. Visit Burns' Cottage, Alloway Kirk and Monument (private conveyance), page 379. 5th day. Return to Glasgow or Edinburgh (rail), page 347. Argyle, Inveeness, and Eoss Shires, 6 days. 1st day. Monday. Glasgow to Oban by Crinan Canal, page 434. 2d day. Tuesday. Oban to Balmacarra on Loch Duich by Skye steamer, page 482. 3d day. Wednesday. Balmacarra to Invermoriston on the Caledonian Canal by gig through Glens Shiel and Moriston, and passing Loch Clunie, page 517. 4th day. Thursday. Spend at Invermoriston, visit the Falls of Foyers, etc., page 517. 5th day. Friday. Catch the steamer coming down the Caledonian Canal from Inverness at about 10 a.m., and go on to Bannavie. If the weather and length of day suit, there will be time after this to ascend Ben Nevis same day, page 517. 6th day. Saturday. Return by steamer to Oban, Glasgow, or Edin- burgh, page 434. Aegtle, Inverness, and Ross Shires, 6 days. 1st day. Monday. Glasgow to Bannavie by Crinan Canal, page 434. 2d day. Tuesday. IJannavie to Invermoriston by steamer on Cale- donian Canal. There visit Falls of Foyers, Falls of Inver- moriston, and surrounding scenery, page 512. 3d day. Wednesday. Invermoriston to Shiel Inn, a very romantic road (by gig), page 517. 4th day. Thursday. Shiel Inn to Invergarry Inn by Tomdoun, another road of great beauty (gig), page 515. 5th day. Friday. Drive down to Laggan Locks (5 miles), and there catch the steamer at 1.30, returning to Bannavie (from which, if cii'cumstances permit, climb Ben Nevis), page 512. 6th day. Saturday. Return to Oban, Glasgow, or Edinburgh, by steamer, page 434. Highlands op Perthshire and Argyleshire, 7 days. 1st day. Edinburgh to Perth and Dunkeld (railway), pages 248 and 264. 2d day. Dunkeld to Kenmore at head of Loch Tay (coach), page 284. XXll TOURS FROM TWO TO FOURTEEN DAYS. 3d day. Kenmore to the Trosaclis, by Killin, Lochearnhead, and Callander (coacli), page 290. 4th day. Trosachs to Loch Lomond-head, thence per coach to Fort- William by Glencoe (coach and steamer), page 22-1. 5th day. Fort-William to Oban (.steamer), page 513. 6th day. Oban to Staffa and lona, returning to Oban same night (steamer), page 457. 7th day. Oban to Glasgow by Crinan Canal and Ardrishaig, con- tinuing to Edinburgh and the South, if desired (steamer and canal boat), page 439. Highlands of Perth, Inverness, and Argtle Shires, 9 days. 1st day. Edinburgh to Perth and Dunkeld (railway), page 262. 2d day. Dunkeld to Blair-Atholl (coach), page 269. 3d day. Blair-Atholl to Inverness (coach), page 519. 4th day. Inverness to Oban by Caledonian Canal (steamer, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings), page 512. 5th day. Oban to Staffii and lona (steamer), page 457. 6th day. Oban to Glencoe and back (steamer), page 476. 7th day. Oban to Inverary by Loch Awe (coach), page 447. 8th day. Inverary to the Trosachs by Glencroe, Arroquhar, Loch Long, Tarbet, Loch Lomond, and Loch Katrine (coach and steamer), page 445. 9th day. Trosachs to Stirling, Edinburgh, Glasgow, or the South (coach and railway), page 224. Argtle, Inverness, and Perth Shires, 10 days. 1st day. Glasgow to Oban by Crinan Canal, page 434. 2d day. Oban to Staffa and lona, and back (steamer), page 457. 3d day. Oban to Glencoe, and back (steamer and cars) page 476. 4th day. Oban to Inverness, by Caledonian Canal, Tuesdays, Thurs- days, and Saturdays (steamer), leaving Oban previous evening, page 512. 5th day. Inverness to Blair-Atholl (coach), page 519. 6tli day. Blair-Atholl to Dunkeld (coach) page 269. 7th day. Dunkeld to Kenmore on Loch Tay (coach), page 284. 8th day. Kenmore to Tarbet on Loch Lomond (coach and steamer), page 290. 9th day. Tarbet to Trosachs by Loch Katrine, page 224. 10th day. Trosachs to Stirling, Edinburgh, or Glasgow (coach and rail) page 224. Highlands of Aberdeen, Inverness, Argtle, and Perth Shires, 13 days. 1st day. Edinburgh to Aberdeen (steamer), 310; Perth to Aberdeen by railway, page 303. 2d day. Aberdeen to Braemar (railway and coach), page 322. TOUKS FROM TWO TO FOURTEEN DAYS. XXUl 3d day. Braeniar to Lochnagav and back (pony or on foot), page 329. 4th day. Biaemar to top of 13en-muicli-dui and Loch A'an, and back ; or if this is too much fatigue, to Falls of Garrawalt and Linn of Dee (pony, dog-cart, or on foot), page 339. 5th day. Braemar to Aberdeen (coach and railway), page 322. 6th day. Aberdeen to Inverness (railway and coach), page 527. 7th day. Inverness to Bannavie, by Caledonian Canal (steamer, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), page 515. 8th day. Bannavie to top of Ben Nevis, page 514. 9th day. Bannavie to Staffa and lona, or to Glencoe, and, returning to Oban, change steamers at Oban, page 457. 10th day. Oban to either of the above places (lona or Glencoe) not visited previous day (steamer), nth day. Oban to Inverary by Loch Awe (coach), page 447. 12th day. Inverary to the Trosachs by Glencroe and Tarbet (coach), page 445. 13th day. Trosachs to Edinburgh or Glasgow (coach and railway), page 224. Skye, Boss, Inverness, Argyle, and Perth Shikes, 14 days. 1st day. Glasgow to Oban by Crinan Canal, leaving on a Monday or Wednesday, so as to catch the Skye steamer the next morning at Oban, page 434. 2d day. Oban to Broadford in Skye (steamer) on Tuesday or Friday mornings, page 482. 3d day. Broadford to Sligachan by private conveyance, boat, and ponies, passing the Spar Cave, Loch Scavaig, Coruisk, the CuchulKn Mountains, and Glen Sligachan, page 487. 4th day. Sligachan to Portree by mail or private conveyance, visiting the Storr Rock same day, page 494. 5th day. Portree to Oban by steamer ; or Portree to Jeantown in Ross-shire by mail, page 503. 6th day. Jeantown to Dingwall by mail, thence per private convey- ance to Inverness, page 540. 7th day. Inverness to Bannavie by Caledonian Canal, page 510. 8th day. Climb Ben Nevis, page 514. 9th day. Bannavie to Oban, continuing to Staffa, lona, or Glencoe, as the steamer may suit, changing steamer at Oban, page 457. . . 10th day. Oban to lona or Glencoe — which ever was unvisited on previous day (steamer), page 476. 11th day. Oban to Glasgow by Crinan Canal (steamer) ; or Oban to Inverary by Loch Awe (coach), page 447. 12th day. Inverary to Tarbet, Loch Lomond (coach), page 445. 13th day. Tarbet to the Trosachs by Loch Katrine (steamer and coach), page 224. 14th day. Trosachs to Edinburgh or Glasgow (coach and railway), page 224. DESCRIPTION OF SCOTLAND. ORIGIN OF THE NAME — EXTENT GENERAL ASPECT NATURAL DIVI- SIONS MOUNTAINS VALES RIVERS LAKES MINERAL PRODUCE AND SPRINGS — CLIMATE — AGRICULTURE ANIMAL KINGDOM — FISH- ERIES MANUFACTURES COMMERCE INTERNAL COMMUNICATION REVENUE— CONSTITUTION RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS UNIVERSITIES AND SCHOOLS ADMINISTRATION OP JUSTICE POPULATION. Scotland is the northern and smaller division of the Island of Great Britain. The origin of the term is involved in much obscurity. That part of the country which lies beyond the Firths of Forth and Clyde received from the Romans the appel- lation of Caledonia, and its inhabitants were denominated Caledonians. They were afterwards known by the name of Picts, and from them the country was for some centuries called Pictland. The term Scotland began to come into use, for the first time, in the eleventh century, and this name is supposed to have been derived from a colony of Scots, who had previously left Ireland, and planted themselves in Argyleshire and the West Highlands, Extent. — The longest line that can be drawn in Scotland, is from its most southerly point, the Mull of Galloway, in lat. 54° 38' N., long. 4° 50' W., to Dunnet Head, its most northerly point, in lat. 58° 40' 30" N., long. 3^ 29' W., or about 285 miles ; but the longest line that can be drawn in about the same parallel of longitude, is from the former point to Cape Wrath, in lat. 58^ 36' N., long. 4° 56' W., a distance of 275 miles. The XXVI DESCRIPTION OF SCOTLAND. breadth is extremely various. From Buchanness Point to the Point of Ardnamurchan in Argyleshire, the distance is 160 miles ; but from the bottom of Loch Broom to the Firth of Dornoch, it is only twenty-four miles. The whole coast is so much penetrated by arms of the sea, that there is only one spot throughout its whole circuit upwards of forty miles from the shore. The area of the mainland is computed at 25,520 square miles of land, and 494 of fresh water lakes ; the islands are supposed to contain about 4080 square miles of land, and about 144 of water. General Aspect. — The surface of the country is distin- guished for variety, and, compared with England, it is generally speaking rugged and mountainous. It is supposed, that esti- mating the whole extent of the country, exclusive of lakes, at 19,000,000 acres, scarcely so many as 6,000,000 are arable — that is less than one-third ; whereas in England, the proportion of arable land to the entire extent of the country exceeds three-fourths. With the exception of a few tracts of rich alluvial land along the courses of the great rivers, Scotland has no extensive tracts of level ground, the surface of the country being generally varied with hill and dale. Natural Divisions. — Scotland is naturally divided into Highlands and Lowlands. The former division comprehends, besides the Hebrides, the Orkney and Shetland islands, the counties of Argyle, Inverness, Nairn, Ross, Cromarty, Suther- land, and Caithness, with parts of Dumbarton, Stirling, Perth, Forfar, Kincardine, Aberdeen, Banff, and Moray or Elgin. The Highlands, again, are divided into two unequal portions, by the chain of lakes occupying the Glenmore-nan-albin, or "Great Glen of Caledonia," stretching north-east and south-west across the island, from Inverness to Fort-William, now connected together, and forming the Caledonian Canal. The northern division of the Highlands is decidedly the more barren and unproductive of the two, though the other division contains the highest mountains. In the eastern parts of Ross and Cromarty there are level tracts of considerable fertility. The Lowland division of the kingdom, though comparatively flat, comprises also a great deal of mountainous country. Mountains. — Of the Highland mountains, the most cele- brated is the chain of the Grampians. It commences on the DESCRIPTION OP SCOTLAND. XXVll south side of Loch Etive in Argyleshire, and terminates between Stonehaven and the mouth of the Dee on the eastern coast. Ben Nevis, now finally determined by the " Ordnance Survey" to be the highest mountain in Great Britain, lies immediately to the east of Fort- William, being separated from the Gram- pians by the moor of Rannoch ; it rises 4406 feet 3 inches above the mean level of the sea, and its circumference at the base is supposed to exceed twenty-four miles. Excepting it, the most elevated part of the range of Grampians lies at the head of the Dee. Ben Macdui, the second highest mountain in Scotland, rises to the height of 4292 feet, and the adjoining mountains of Cairngorm, Cairntoul, and Ben Avon, are respec- tively 4050, 4245, and 3967 feet high. The other principal summits of the Grampian chain are Schehallion, near the east end of Loch Rannoch, 3613 feet above the level of the sea ; Ben Lawers, on the north side of Loch Tay, 3984 ; Ben More, at the head of Glendochart, 3818 ; Ben Lomond, on the side of Loch Lomond, 3192 feet ; and Ben Cruachan, at the head of Loch Awe, 3390. To the north and west of the Grampians, the highest mountains are Mamsuil, Inverness-shire, 3862 ; Ben More, Mull, 3178 ; Ben Hope, 3039, Ben Clibrigg, 3155, Sutherlandshire ; and Ben Wyvis, Caithness-shire, 3415 feet high. To the south of the Grampians, and running parallel to them across the island, there is a chain of hills divided by the valleys of the Tay and Forth into three distinct portions, and bearing the names of the Sidlaw, Ochil, and Campsie Hills. The low country between them and the Grampians is called the valley of Strathmore. In the Lowland division of the country, the Cheviots form the principal range. These hills are situated partly in England and partly in Scotland. They separate Northumberland from Roxburghshire, stretch through the latter county in a westerly direction, keeping to the north of Liddesdale, then bending north-west towards the junction of the counties of Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Dumfries, they unite with the Lowther Hills. This extensive group, which, near the above-mentioned junction, has Ettrick Water for its eastern boundary, spreads over the southern portion of the counties of Selkirk, Peebles, and Lanark, and the north of Dumfriesshire, and in the west of the latter county joins the ridges, which, passing through Kirkcudbrightshire, Wigtownshire, and the XXVlll DESCRIPTION OF SCOTLAND. south of Ayrshire, terminate at Loch Ryan in the Irish Channel. Of these hills the highest lie on the confines of the counties of Dumfries, Peebles, Lanark, and Selkirk ; Merrick, in Kirkcudbrightshire, the most elevated mountain in the south of Scotland, is 2764 feet above the level of the sea ; Broadlaw, Peeblesshire^ is 2761 feet high, and Hartfell is 2641 feet above the level of the sea, and several of the neighbouring hills rise to the height of about 2000 feet. Vales. — The most important level tracts in Scotland are, the Carse of Stirling and Falkirk, which occupies the country on both sides the Forth, from Borrowstounness on the south, and Kincardine on the north, vrestward to Gartmore ; the tract between Dundee and Perth, bounded by the Sidlaw Hills on the north, and the Tay on the south, denominated the Carse of Gowrie ; the Merse of Berwickshire, extending from Leader water along the Tweed to Berwick ; and the valley of Strath- more, which comprises a considerable portion of the counties of Perth and Angus, stretching from Methven in the former to the vicinity of Laurencekirk in Kincardineshire, and from thence, under the name of the Howe of the Mearns, to within a short distance of Stonehaven. Besides these, there are several smaller straths, such as Teviotdale in Roxburghshire, Tynedale in East-Lothian, and the Howe of Fife. Rivers. — The principal rivers of Scotland are, the Tweed, the Forth, the Tay, the Spey, and the Clyde. The Tweed rises in Tweedsmuir about six miles from Moffat. It runs first north-east to Peebles, then east, with a little inclination to the south, to Melrose ; it next passes Kelso and Coldstream, and, pursuing a north-easterly direction, falls into the sea at Berwick. During the latter part of its course, the Tweed forms the boundary between England and Scotland. The descent from its source to Peebles is 1000 feet, and thence to Berwick about 500 feet more. Including windings, its length is reckoned at rather more than 100 miles. Its principal tributaries are, the Ettrick, which it receives near Selkirk ; the Gala a little above, and the Leader a little below Melrose ; the Teviot at Kelso ; the Till at Tillmouth ; and the Adder near Berwick. The salmon fisheries at Berwick are very productive. The extent of country drained by the Tweed is 1687 square miles. The Forth rises on the east side of Ben Lomond, and runs DESCRIPTION OF SCOTLAND. STXIX in an easterly direction, with many windings, till it unites with the Firth of Forth at Kincardine. Its most important tributary is the Teith, which it receives a short way above Stirling. It drains 793 square miles. The Tay conveys to the sea a greater quantity of water than any other river in Britain. It has its source in the western extremity of Perthshire, in the district of Breadal- bane, on the frontiers of Lorn in Argyleshire. At first it receives the name of the Fillan. After a winding course of eight or nine miles it spreads itself out into Loch Dochart, and, under the appellation of the Dochart, flows in an easterly direction through the vale of Glendochart, at the eastern extremity of which, having previously received the waters of the Lochy, it expands into the beautiful long narrow lake, called Loch Tay. Issuing thence, it speedily receives a great augmentation by the river Lyon, and running north and east at Logierait, about eight miles above Dunkeld, it is joined by the Tummel. It now takes a direction more towards the south, to Dunkeld, where, on its right bank, it receives the beautiful river Bran. On leaving Dunkeld, it runs east to Kinclaven, and after receiving a considerable augmentation to the volume of its waters by the accession of the Isla, the Shochie, and the Almond, it flows in a south-westerly course to Perth. At the foot of the vale of Strathearn, it receives on its right bank its last great tributary, the Earn, and gradually expanding its waters, it flows in a north-easterly direction past Newburgh, where it assumes the apj^earance of a firth or estuary. Ten miles from the German Ocean it passes Dundee, and finally unites its waters to the sea, between Tentsmoor Point and Buttonness. The Tay is celebrated for its salmon fisheries, the value of which is between i:iO,000 and i,11.000 per annum. The river is navigable for vessels of 400 tons burden, as far as Perth, thirty-two miles from the German Ocean. Its drainage is 2283 square miles, and its mean discharge below the junction of the Earn has been ascertained by Mr. David Stevenson to be 273,117 cubic feet per minute. That of the Thames is stated at only 80,220 cubic feet per minute, or less than one- third that of the Tay. The Spcy is the most rapid of the Scottish rivers, and, next to the Tay, discharges the greatest quantity of water. It has XXX DESCRIPTION OF SCOTLAND. its source in Loch Spey, within about six miles of the head of Loch Lochy. It runs in a north-easterly direction through Badenoch and Strathspey to Fochabers, below which it falls into the Moray Firth, at Garmouth. During its course, it receives numerous mountain streams, but no important tribu- tary. From its source to its mouth, the distance is about seventy-five miles ; but following its windings, its course is about ninety-six miles. Owing to the origin and course of its tributary waters, the Spey is very liable to sudden and destructive inundations. It flows through the best wooded part of the Highlands, and affords a water-carriage for the produce of the extensive woods of Glenmore and Strathspey, large quantities of which are floated down to the seaport of Garmouth. It drains 1234 square miles. The Clyde is, in a commercial point of view, the most important river of Scotland. It has its origin in the highest part of the southern mountain land, at no great distance from the sources of the Tweed and the Annan. It flows at first in a northerly direction with a slight inclination to the east as far as Biggar. Being joined by the Douglas, near Harperfield, it takes a north-west course by Lanark, Hamilton, and Glasgow, falling into the Firth of Clyde below Dumbarton. Following its windings, the course of the Clyde, from its source to Dumbarton, is about seventy-three miles, but the length of the river, in a direct line, is only about fifty-two miles. Its principal tributaries are the Douglas, Xethan, Avon, jNIouse, Kelvin, Cart, and Leven. The extent of its drainage, exclusive of the Leven, is 945 square miles. Of the celebrated falls of the Clyde, two are above, and two below Lanark ; the upper- most is Bonnington Liun, the height of which is about thirty feet ; the second fall is Cora Linn, where the water dashes over the rock in three distinct leaps ; Dundaff" Fall is ten feet high, and at Stonebyres there are three distinct falls, altogether measuring about seventy-six feet in height. At high water the Clyde is navigable for the largest class of merchant vessels as far as Glasgow, and large sums of money have been expended, especially of late, in improving and deepening the channel. The Forth and Clyde Canal falls into the latter river, at Dunglass, a little above Dumbarton. Lakes. — The chief lakes of Scotland are — Loch Lomond, DESCRIPTION OF SCOTLAKD. lying between Dumbartonshire and Stirlingshire ; Loch Ness in Inverness-shire ; Loch Maree, in Ross-shire ; Loch Awe, in Argyleshire ; Lochs Tay, Rannoch, and Ericht, in Perthshire, etc. Mineral Produce. — The minerals of Scotland are numer- ous and valuable. The great coal-field of Scotland extends, with little interruption, from the eastern to the western coast. The most valuable part of this field is situated on the north and south sides of the Forth, about the average breadth of ten or twelve miles on each side, and on the north and south sides of the Clyde, ranging through Renfrewshire, part of Lanark- shire, and the north of Ayrshire. Detached coal-fields have also been found in various other parts of Scotland. Lime is very generally diffused throughout the country. Iron abounds in many parts, particularly in the coal-field. Lead-mines are wrought to a great extent at Leadhills and Wanlockhead, in Dumfriesshire. In the soil which covers these fields, particles of gold have occasionally been found ; copper ore is found at Blair Logic, Airthrie, and at Fetlar, in Orkney ; antimony at Langholm ; manganese in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen ; silver has been wrought at Alva in Stirlingshire, in Clackman- nanshire, and at Leadhills in Lanarkshire ; there are extensive slate-quarries in Aberdeenshire, Argyleshire, Perthshire, and Peebles-shire ; marble is found in Argyleshire, Sutherland, and the Hebrides ; sandstone abounds generally throughout the country ; and granite and other primitive rocks within the limits of the Grampians. Mineral Springs. — There are numerous medicinal mine- ral springs in various parts of Scotland. " The most remark- able of these are — the sulphureous waters of Stratlqieffer, near Dingwall, Ross-shire ; Muirtown, in the same neighbourhood ; Moffat, in Dumfriesshire ; and St. BernarcVs, at Stockbridge, a suburb of Edinburgh ; the chalybeates of Hartfell, near Moffat ; Vicars Bridge, near Dollar, Stirlingshire ; and Bon- nington, near Edinburgh ; the saline waters of Dunhlane, near Stirling ; Airthrie, also near Stirling ; Pitcaithly, near Perth ; and Innerleithen, near Peebles. At St. Catherine's, in the parish of Liberton, near Edinburgh, there is a spring which yields asphaltum in considerable quantities." Climate. — The climate of Scotland is extremely variable. XXXU DESCRIPTION OF SCOTLAND. Owing to its insular situation, however, neither the cold in winter, nor the heat in summer, is so intense as in similar lati- tudes on the continent. The annual average temperature may- be estimated at from 44^^ to 47'^ of Fahrenheit. The quantity of rain which falls on the east coast of Scotland varies from 22 to 26 inches, while on the west coast, and in the Hebrides, it ranges from 35 to 46 inches. The average number of days in which either rain or snow falls in parts situated on the west coast, is about 200 ; on the east coast, about 145. The winds are more variable than in England, and more violent, especially about the equinoxes. "Westerly winds generally prevail, espe- cially during autumn and the early part of winter, but north- east winds are prevalent and severe during spring and the early part of summer. Agriculture. — The soils of the various districts of Scot- land are exceedingly diversified. The general average is inferior to that of England, although many of the valleys are highly productive. In Berwickshire, the Lothians, Clydesdale, Fifeshire, the Carses of Stirling, Falkirk, and more particu- larly in the Carse of Gowrie, Strathearn, Strathmore, and Moray, there are tracts of land not inferior to any in the empire. The inferiority of the climate and soil, as compared with England, is exhibited by contrasting the phenomena of vegetation in the two countries. Notwithstanding the very advanced state of agriculture, in many districts of Scotland, the crops are not reaped with the same certainty as in England, nor do the ordinary kinds of grain arrive at the same perfec- tion. Thus, although Scotch and English barley may be of the same weight, the foi'mer does not bring so high a price ; it contains less saccharine matter, and does not yield so large a quantity of malt. Various fruits, also, which ripen in the one country, seldom arrive at maturity in the other, and never reach the same perfection ; while different berries acquire in Scotland somewhat of that delicious flavour which distinguishes them in still higher parallels. Animal Kingdom. — The domestic animals common to Scot- land are the same as those of England, with some varieties in the breeds. Among the wild animals, the roe and the red-deer are most worthy of notice. The golden eagle, and other birds of prey, are found in the mountainous districts, and the country DESCRIPTION OF SCOTLAND. XXXIU abounds with all kinds of moor-game, partridges, and water- fowl. Fisheries. — There are many valuable fisheries in Scotland ; the salmon fisheries, especially, produce a large revenue to their owners, but, during late years, they have experienced an extraordinary decline. The herring fishery is carried on to a considerable extent on the east coast of Scotland, and there are most productive and valuable fisheries of ling and cod in the neighbourhood of the Shetland and Orkney Islands. Manufactdres. — The manufactures of Scotland, especi- ally those of linen and cotton, are extensive and flourishing. The woollen manufacture, compared with that of England, is inconsiderable. The making of steam-engines, and every other description of machinery, as also the building of steamboats, both of wood and iron, is carried on to a great extent, especially on the Clyde ; and vast quantities of cast-iron goods are pro- duced at Carron, Shotts, and other works. Commerce. — The commerce of Scotland has increased with astonishing rapidity, especially within a comparatively recent period, and a vast trade is now carried on, particularly with America and the West Indies. It is supposed, that since 1814, the increase in the principal manufactures and trades carried on in the country, and in the number of individuals employed in them, amounts to at least 30 or 35 per cent. Internal Communication. — Carriage roads extend over every part of the country ; and in consequence of the excellent materials which abound in all parts of Scotland, the turnpike roads are excellent. The irregularity of surface is not favour- able to artificial inland navigation. Among the most important Canals are the Caledonian Canal, connecting the Lakes Ness, Oich,and Lochy, with the Beauly Firth on the north, and with Loch Eil on the south ; the Crinan Canal, across the Mull of Cantire between Ardrishaig and Crinan ; the Forth and Clyde or Great Canal, extending from the Firth of Forth at Grange- mouth, to Bowling Bay on the Firth of Clyde ; and the Union Canal, commencing at Edinburgh, and terminating in the Great Canal at Port Downie near Falkirk. Besides these, there are several others which may be noticed in describing the localities through which they pass. Among the Railways XXXIV DESCRIPTION OF SCOTLAND. of Scotland, completed, or in progress, the most important are — the Edinburgh and Glasgow, the Glasgow and S. Western, the Glasgow and Greenock, the Dumbartonshire, the Cahdonian, the North British, the Scottish Central, the Scottish Midland Junction, the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee, the Aberdeen, and the Great North of Scotland and Deeside. Revenue. — The increase in the revenue has fully kept pace ■with the increased prosperity of the country. At the period of the Union, the revenue amounted only to =£110,696 ; in 1788, it was £1,099,148 ; in 1813 (when the Income Tax was at its height), it amounted to £4,204,097 ; in 1831, notwith- standing the repeal of the Income Tax, and many other taxes, the gross revenue amounted to £5,254,624 ; and in 1840, although there was a farther reduction of taxation, it amounted to £5,231,727. The returns since this period, with the excep- tion of the year 1842, have continued to exhibit a progressive increase in amount. Constitution. — Under the Reform Act of 1832, Scotland returns fifty-three members to the Imperial Parliament, of whom thirty are for the shires, and twenty-three for the cities, l)oroughs, and towns ; twenty-seven counties return one member each, and the counties of Elgin and Nairn, Ross and Cromarty, and Clackmannan and Kinross, are combined in pairs, each of which returns one member. Of the cities, boroughs, and towns — seventy-six in number — Edinburgh and Glasgow return two members each ; Aberdeen, Paisley, Dundee, Greenock, and Perth, one each ; the remaining burghs and towns are combined into sets or districts, each set, jointly, sending one member. The Scottish Peers choose sixteen of their number to represent them in the House of Lords. These representative Peers, like the Commoners, hold their seats for only one Parliament. Religious Institutions. — Scotland is divided into 1023 parishes (including parishes quoad sacra), each of which is provided with one minister, or, in a few instances in towns, with two. The number of parishes quoad sacra has, however, been increased of late. The stipends of the endowed clergy, with the glebe and manse, probably average from £260 to £300 a year. The Government of the Church is vested in kirk-sessions, presbyteries, synods, and the General Assembly. DESCRIPTION OP SCOTLAND. XXXV The number of churches belonging to Dissenters of all denominations amounts to 1500, besides a considerable number of missionary stations. Of this number about 800 belong to the Free Church of Scotland, which separated from the Establishment in 1843. The incomes of the Dissenting clergy are wholly derived from their congregations ; they average, probably, from ^120 to ^130 a year, including a house and garden. In many cases, however, the income is considerably larger. Universities and Schools. — Scotland has four Univer- sities, that of St. Andrews, founded by Papal authority in 1413 ; that of Glasgow, by the same authority, in 1450 ; that of Aberdeen, also, with the sanction of the Pope, in 1494, though education did not commence there till 1500 ; and that of Edinburgh, the only one instituted since the Reformation, in 1582. None of these colleges or universities can be said to be liberally endowed. St. Andrews has eleven professorships ; Glasgow twenty-two ; King's College, Aberdeen, nine ; Maris- chal College, twelve ; and Edinburgh thirty-one. The aggre- gate number of students in these universities is at present about 2593, of which Edinburgh has 1050, Glasgow 843, Aberdeen about 550, and St. Andrews 150. In every parish there is at least one school for teaching the ordinary branches of education. The emoluments of the schoolmaster are derived from a small annual salary, with a free house and garden, provided by the landed proprietors, and moderate school fees. Private schools, also, are very numerous, and it is supposed, on good authority, that the total number of schools of every kind in Scotland amounts to about 5500. Administration of Justice. — The supreme civil court of Scotland is called the Court of Session. It holds, in Edinburgh, two sessions annually. The number of judges was formerly fifteen, but is now thirteen ; they are styled Lords of Session, and sit in two courts or chambers, called the first and second divisions, which form in effect two courts of equal and inde- pendent authority. The Court of Justiciary, the supreme criminal court of Scotland, consists at present of six judges, who are also judges of the Court of Session. The president of the whole Court is the Lord Justice-General. The Court holds sittings in Edinburgh during the recess of the Court of Session ; XXXVl DESCRIPTION OF SCOTLAND. and twice a year, in the spring and autumn vacations, the judges hold circuits in the chief provincial towns, two going each circuit. The Court of Exchequer, for the trial of cases connected with the revenue, is now held as a separate establish- . raent, and the duties are devolved on two of the judges of the Court of Session. There are also inferior courts of law, viz., the courts of the boroughs, of the justices of the peace, and of the sherifts. Population. — The population of Scotland at the period of the Union, in 1707, is supposed not to have exceeded 1,050,000. In 1755, it amounted to 1,265,380 ; in 1831, it had increased to 2,365,114 ; in 1841, to 2,628,957 ; and in 1851 it was 2,870,784. The average population per square mile is 88.5, During the ten years ending with 1820, the increase was 16 per cent ; during the ten years ending with 1830, 13 per cent ; during the ten years ending with 1840, 11 per cent ; and during the ten years ending with 1851, 10 per cent. The population of Scotland has increased less rapidly than that of England, and much less so than that of Ireland ; and, in con- sequence, the Scotch have " advanced much more rapidly than the English or Irish in wealth, and in the command of the necessaries and conveniences of life. Their progress in this respect has indeed been quite astonishing. The habits, diet, dress, and other accommodations of the people have been sig- nally improved. It is not too much to affirm, that the peasantry of the present day are better lodged, better clothed, and better fed, than the middle classes of landowners a century ago." a THE PICTURESQUE TOURIST OF SCOTLAND. The approach to Scotland from other countries must, of course, be determined by the particular views and circum- stances of individuals. From England, the North British and the Caledonian railway lines are the great avenues of approach ; and those who enter by the former may diverge westward from Berwick to Kelso, Melrose, and Abbotsford, and having visited these places, proceed by railway to Edinburgh. Those who enter by the Caledonian line, should continue their journey to Edinburgh or to Glasgow, as best comports with their subse- quent progress. The great majority of tourists come at once to the metropolis, and to all who visit Scotland for the first time, this plan possesses many advantages. Edinburgh (with its environs) is of itself an object of very great interest and curiosity, and, by the increased facilities of travelling, is placed cheaply within a few hours' journey of the finest scenery of Perth, Stirling, Dumbarton, and Argyle shires. \\c shall therefore assume Edinburgh as our first great starting point, and commence our description with a notice of that city and its interesting environs. EDINBURGH. HOTELS. First-rate Family Hotels. — Douglas', 35 St. Andrew Square. British, 70 Queen Street. Macgregor's Eoyal, 53 Princes Street. Mackay's, 91 Princes Street. Queen's, 131 Princes Street. Claren- don, 104 Princes Street. Caledonian, 1 Castle Street. First-rate Hotels for Tourists. — Macgregor's Royal, 53 Princes Street, opposite the Scott Monument — very central. Mackay's Hotel, 91 Princes Street, opposite the Castle rock — of a more private nature. Waterloo, 2-4 Regent Bridge, opposite the General Post Office, and close to the Calton Hill. The New Royal, 16 Princes Street. Graham's, 8 Princes Street. The Star, 36 Princes Street. London, 2 St. Andrew Square. Campbell's North British, 21 Princes Street. Hotel Francais, 100 Princes Street. First-rate Commercial Hotels. — The Crown, 10 Princes Street. London, 2 St. Andrew Square. Regent, 14 Waterloo Place. Ship, 7 East Register Street. Temperance Hotels. — Johnstone's, 17 Waterloo Place ; Waverley, 43 Princes Street. Restaurants .•— DouU, 74 Princes Street ; Blair, 37 George Street ; Littlejohn, 31 Leitli Street ; Caf6 Royal, 1 Register Place ; Raiubow, New Buildings, North Bridge. News-rooms: — Harthill's, 23 Waterloo Place— one penny per visit; Robertscn and Scott, 76 George Street. Postmasters : — Isaac Scott, Lothian Road; Ilobday, York Lane. Circulating Libraries : — Elgin's, 13 North St. Andrew Street ; luglis', -18 Hanover Street. SITUATION. 3 General Post Office. — Waterloo Place. Secretary for Scotland, Francis Abbot, Esq. Stage Coach Office. — i Princes Street, East End. Steamboat Offices .—Aberdeen and Inverness, 6 St. Andrew Street (off Princes Street). London (General Steam Navigation Co.'s), 21 Waterloo Place. Stirling, 4 Princes Street. FARES FOE ONE-HOKSE FOUR-WHEELED CARRIAGES. Ordinary fares. Is. and Is. 6d. £i/ Distance. — For a distance from the stance not exceeding a mile and a half, Is., and 6d. for every additional half mile, or part thereof. Half fare returning. Wlien parties return, and the fare going is Is., the carriage shall wait ten minutes without any charge ; when Is. 6d. fifteen minutes ; when 2s. and upwards, twenty minutes. If detained longer, a charge of 6d. for every additional twenty minutes, or part thereof. By Time. — For the first half hour. Is.; for every additional quarter of an hour, 6d. For an airing into the country, within five mUes from the General Post Office, and returning either by the same or a different road, 3s. per hour ; 15s. for a whole day. Whether by Distance or Kjne, the hirer pays toUs. If more than four grown persons, 6d. extra for each additional one, or for each two children above six years of age. No additional charge for one child above six, or children under sLx. Luggage under 70 lbs. free, above 70 lbs. 6d. From eleven at night tiU eight morning, faje and a half. The fares for Two- Horse Carriages one-third more than the above. SITUATION. The precise geogi-aphical position of the centre of the city is 55° 57' 20" north latitude, and 3° 10' 30" west longitude. The metropolis of Scotland is situated in the northern part of the county of Mid-Lothian, and is about two miles distant from the Firth of Forth. Its length and breadth are nearly equal, measuring about two miles in either direction. In panoramic effect, its site is admitted to be equalled by few of the capitals of Europe. The prospect from the elevated points of the city and neighbourhood is of singular beauty, and combines the estuary of the Forth, expanding from river into ocean ; the solitary grandeur of Arthur's Seat ; the varied park and wood- land scenery, and pastoral acclivities of the Pentland Hills, which enrich the southward prospect ; and the shadowy splen- dours of the Lammermoors, the Ochils, and the Grampians. " Traced like a map the landscape lies, In cultur'd beauty stretching wide ; Tliere Pentland's grceu acclivities ; There Ocean, with its azure tide ; 4 EDINBURGH. Tliere Arthur's Seat ; and, gleaming through Thy southern wing, Uunedin blue ! Wiile in the orient, Lammer's daughters, A distant giant range are seen. North Berwick-Law with cone of green, And Bass amid the waters." * To most of the great cities in the kingdom the approaches lie through mean and squalid suburbs, by which the stranger is gradually introduced to the more striking streets and public edifices. The avenues to Edinburgh, on the contrary, are streets of a highly respectable class, the abodes of poverty being, for the most part, confined to those gigantic piles of buildings in the older parts of the city, where they so essen- tially contribute to the picturesque grandeur of the place. The general architecture of the city is very imposing, whether we regard the picturesque disorder of the buildings in the Old Town, or the symmetrical proportions of the streets and squares in the New. Of the public edifices it may be observed, that while the greater number are distinguished by chaste design and excellent masonry, there are none of those sumptuous structures which, like St. Paul's Westminster Abbey, or York Minster, astonish the beholder alike by their magnitude and their architectural splendour. But in few cities of the kingdom is the general standard of excellence so well maintained. The resemblance between Athens and Edinburgh, which has been remarked by most travellers who have visited both capitals, has conferred upon the Scottish metropolis the title of the " Modern Athens." Stuart, author of " The Antiquities of Athens," was the first to draw attention to this resemblance, and his opinion has been confirmed by the testimony of many later writers. Dr. Clarke remarks, that the neighbourhood of Athens is just the Highlands of Scotland enriched with the splendid remains of art ; and Mr. II. W. Williams observes, that the distant view of Athens from the ..^Egean Sea is extremely like that of Edinburgh from the Firth of Forth, " though cer- tainly the latter is considerably superior." Perhaps the most beautiful feature of Edinburgh in its modern state consists in the highly ornamental pleasure-grounds which occu]>y the open spaces between the Old and New Towns * Delta. LITERARY EMINENCE. 5 and the parallel ranges of Queen Street and Heriot Row, and other parts. Nor are the natural or artificial beauties of the place its only attractions. ^lauy of its localities teem with the recollections of the " majestic past," and are associated with events of deep historical importance. Others have been invested with an interest no less engrossing by the transcending genius of Sir Walter Scott. The writings of this great author have not only refreshed and embellished the incidents of history, but have conferred on many a spot, formerly unknown to fame, a repu- tation as enduring as the annals of history itself. In literary eminence, Edinburgh claims a distinguished place. At the commencement of the present century, its University displayed an array of contemporaneous talent un- equalled by any similar institution either before or since, and this scientific and literary reputation has been honourably main- tained. The year 1802 ushered in that new era of publishing commencing with the Edinburgh Review in 1802, and the early editions of the Encyclopasdia Britannica. Sir Walter Scott's Poetical Works appeared at intervals from 1802 till 1812, and the Waverley Novels began to be published in 1814. The principal names associated with the literature or intellectual progress of Edinburgh, are — Gawin Douglas (1522); George Buchanan (1528) ; John Knox (1572) ; John Napier (1617) ; Andrew Melville (1622) ; William Drummond of Hawthornden (1C49) ; Robert Leighton (1684) ; James Dalrymple, Viscount Stair (1695); Bishop Burnet (1715); Sir John Lauder, Lord Fountainhall (1722) ; Daniel Defoe (1731); Colin M'Laurin (1746); Robert Blair (1747); Thomas Ruddiman (1757); Allan Ramsay (1758); Dr. Monro (1767); William Fal- coner (1769); Dr. John Gregory (1773); Robert Fergusson (1774); David Hume (1776); Henry Home, Lord Karnes (1782). In 1790 died Adam Smith, and Dr. Robert Henry (historian), and Dr. William Cullen. David Dalrymple, Lord Hailes (1792) ; James Boswell (1795); Dr. James Hutton( 1797); James Burnet, Lord MoubodJo, and Dr. Joseph Black (1799); Dr. Hugh Blair (1800) ; Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee (1813); William Robertson, historian, and Adam Ferguson (1816); Fran- cis Horner (1817) ; Malcolm Laing, historian. Hector Macneil, poet, and Mrs. Mary Brunton, novelist (1818) ; John Play fair b EDINBDRGH. (1819); Dr. Thomas Brown, philosopher (1820); Lord Erskine, lawyer (1823); John Pinkerton, historian (1825); Robert PoUok, poet (1827); Dugald Stewart, philosopher (1828); Henry Mac- kenzie, author of "Man of Feeling," (1831) ; Sir John Leslie, Sir James Mackintosh, and Sir Walter Scott (1832); Sir Charles Bell, physician (1 842) ; Dr. John Abercrombie, physician (1844) ; Sydney Smith (1845) ; Rev. Dr. Thomas Chalmers (1847) ; Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, Bart. (1848) ; Francis (Lord) Jeffrey (1850); D. M. Moir, poet (1851); Professor John Wilson and Henry (Lord) Cockburn (1854) ; Professor Robert Jameson, (1854); Professor Edward Forbes (1854); Sir William Hamil- ton, Bart. (1856); Hugh Miller (1857).* The prosperity of the city essentially depends upon its College and Schools, and still more essentially upon the Courts of Judicature. The former attract many strangers who desire to secure for their families a liberal education at a moderate expense ; the latter afford employment for the gentlemen of the legal profession, which may be said to embrace at least one- third of the population in the higher and middle ranks of society. As it has no very extensive manufactures, the city is exempt from those sudden mercantile convulsions productive of so much misery in many other of the great towns of the kingdom. The manufacture of iron has recently been commenced, and promises to increase. The new Chelsea Bridge is a specimen of the work. Among other productive departments of industry in Edinburgh, Leith, and the neighbourhood, are brewing, distilling, machine making, shipbuilding, carpet and gutta percha manufacture, paper making, printing and publishing ; in which latter depart- ment, Edinburgh is surpassed by London only. As a place of family residence, Edinburgh possesses many advantages. The climate, although it cannot be called mild or genial, is yet salubrious ; and favourable not only to longe- vity, but to the development of the mental and physical powers. The annual quantity of rain is moderate, compared with the fall upon the western coast ; for while the average in Edinburgh is about 23^, in Glasgow it is about 29.C5. The violent winds, to which the city is exposed by its elevated situation, are by no means unfavourable to general health, as they carry the * The dates arc those of the years in which the above-named died. CHURCHES. 7 benefit of a thorough ventilation into the close-built lanes and alleys of the Old Town, The facilities of education, and the advantages of cultivated society, have been already alluded to. In the former of these particulars, we believe it to be unequalled in the kingdom, and in the latter it can be surpassed by Lon- don alone. The markets are liberally supplied with all the necessaries and luxuries of the table. White fish are more especially abundant — cod, haddocks, and herrings, being sold at certain seasons at a very low price. Coal of good quality is found in the immediate neighbourhood of the city, and the recent ex- tension of the works of the Water Company now furnishes the inhabitants with a copious supply of excellent water. Upon the whole, it would be difiicult to name a city which unites so many social advantages, and where a person of cultivated mind and moderate fortune could pass his time more agreeably. There are numerous Presbyterian Churches in Edinburgh, but few of them have any claim to great architectural merit. There is service twice every Sunday, commencing forenoon at 11 A.M., and afternoon at a quarter past 2 p.m. Of the Scottish Episcopal Churches St. John's, situated at the west end of Princes Street, is one of the most elegant. It was founded in 1816, and finished in two years at an expense of £15,000. It is of the florid Gothic style, from a design by Mr. Burn, and measures 113 feet in length by 62 in breadth, terminated at the western extremity by a square tower, 120 feet high. St. Paul's, in York Place, is another Episcopal church of tasteful Gothic architecture. It was designed by Mr. Elliot, founded in 1816, and finished in 1818, at an expense of about .£12,000. It measures 122 feet by 73, and from each corner there rises a small circular turret. St. Paul's Chapel, Carrub- ber's Close, is the oldest Episcopal chapel in Edinburgh, having been erected in 1689 by the few who adhered to Episcopacy on the establishment of the Presbyterian form of worship by William II. There are two Roman Catholic Chapels. The principal one, St. Mary's, is situated in Broughton Street, off" Leith Walk, and next the Queen's Theatre. The other is in the Cowgate. 8 EDINBURGH. PRINCES STREET is generally one of the first localities in Edinburgh visited by the tourist. It is the main street of the New Town, and the one in which most of the hotels are situated. It is a mile in length, quite straight, and with a southerly exposure ; and it has the advantage of a large extent of pleasure ground stretching betwixt it and the Old Town. These jileasure grounds extend the whole length of the street, and sweep round the base of the Castle, covering the valley originally occupied by a stagnant marsh called the Nor' Loch. The western portion of these gardens belongs to the pro- prietors of the opposite houses, who maintain them at their own expense, and liberally grant admission to others, on pay- ment of a small annual fee.* They are much more beautiful than those on the east, presenting a succession of agreeable walks, and affording ample scope for recreation. At their most elevated point close to the Castle esplanade, and immediately behind the Duke of York's statue, is an ancient Runic monu- ment, formed of a block of granite 5^ feet high, brought from Sweden, and presented in 1787 to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, who erected it on this site in consequence of its large size. There is engraved on it a serpent encircling a cross, with the inscription in Runic characters : — Ari rasti stain aftir Hialm Fadur sir ; Guth hialbi ant Hans ; which is translated, " Ari erected this stone for Hialm his Father ; God help his Soul," There is a beautiful view from this stone. The Bast Princes Street Gardens were recently acquired by the town, and under the superintendence of the city architect * Tlic WTits under whioh the gardens are held and rents payable are as follows : — (1.) Tlie largest part of the rcntre, and the upper walk, are lield on lease nnder an Act of Coimcil from the city of Edinburgh to the feuars of Princes Street under certain conditions, for 99 years from Martinmas 1816, at an annual rent of £50. (2 ) Another portion is held under a lease from General Ramsay, one part on a lease for 96 years from Martinmas 1S19 at a rent of £2 : 10s., and another part on a lease for 319 years from Candlemas 1822 at a rent of £17 I'cr annum— in all, £19 :10s. (3.) The Castle banks, held under a contract with the Hoard of Ordnance, dated 8th December 1818, until the grounds should be wanted for the public senice, for pay- ment of a quit rent of Is. and for payment, formerly to the Governor of the Castle, now to the Board of Ordnance, of an annuiil sum of £32 — in all £32 : Is. (4.) A portion of ground, originally part of St. Cuthhert's glebe, purchased by the proprietors from the ministers of the parish at the price of £tOO, and held under a fcu-dispositian for payment of an additional sum of £10 per annum. The total rents and feu-duties thus payable annually by tlic proprietors amount to £111 : lis., in addition to which they bear the cost of keeping up the gardens. PRINCES STREET — SCOTT's MONUMENT. 9 have beeu greatly improved. They are now open to the public. On the mound, thrown across the centre of this hollow for a jHp/ //): ST. GILES AND OLD TOWN FBOJI PEINCES STREET. communication between the Old and New Towns, stand the Royal Institution and the National Gallery ; and a little to the east of them the elegant monument to the author of Waverley. In 10 EDINBURGH. other parts of the street are the Wellington Statue, the Theatre, and many of the principal shops. The lofty houses of the Old Town present a striking appearance from this street. Sir Walter Scott's Momiment (Princes Street) was designed by George M. Kemp, an architect little known to fame, and who died before the structure was completed. The foundation was laid on the 15th of August 1840, and the building was finished in 1844. Its height is 200 feet 6 inches, and its cost was ^15,650. A stair of 287 steps conducts to the gallery at the top. In each front of the Monument, above the principal arch, are six small niches, making a total of 24 in the main structure, besides 32 others in the piers and abutment towers. These niches are to be occupied by sculptural impersonations of the characters, historical and fanciful, portrayed in the writings of Sir Walter. The following statues fill the four principal niches which crown the four lowest arches. In the northern niche facing Princes Street is the statue of Prince Charles (from Waverley) drawing his sword. In the eastern niche, on the side next to the Calton Hill, is Meg Merrilees (from Ouy Mannering) breaking the sapling over the head of Lucy Bertram. In the southern niches, next the Old Town, are the statues of the Lady of the Lake stepping from a boat to the shore, and of George Heriot ; and, in the western niche, is the Last Minstrel playing on his harp. Other statues for the remaining niches are in progress. The following inscrip- tion was written by the late Lord Jeffrey on the plate placed under the foundation-stone : — " This graven plate, deposited in the base of a votive building on the fifteenth day of August, in the year of Christ 1840, and never likely to see the light again till all the surrounding structures are crumbled to dust by the decay of time, or by human or elemental violence, may thjen testify to a distant posterity that his countrjTiien began on that day to raise an effigy and architectural monument To the JIemory of Sik Walter Scott, Bakt., whose admirable writings were then allowed to have given more delight, and suggested better feeling, to a larger class of readers in every rank of society than those of any other author, with the exception of Shakespeare alone : and which were therefore thought likely to be remembered long after this act of gratitude, on the part of the first generation of his admirers, should be forgotten. — He was born at Edin- burgh 15th August 1771 ; and died at Abbotsford 21st September 1832." PRINCES STREET — ROYAL INSTITUTION. 11 The marble statue of Scott, by Steell, was placed in the monument on the 15th of August 1846. STATUE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. The Royal Institution and National Gallery, which occupy the most conspicuous positions on the centre of the street, and fronting the opening of Hanover Street, were designed and executed by W. H. Playfair, to whom Edinburgh is indebted for many other buildings of classical taste. The Royal Insti- tution was originally founded in 1823, but was enlarged, by an extension towards the south, in the year 1832, which was completed in 1836. It is of the Grecian-Doric order, of the era of Pericles, and is designed upon the theme of a peristylar temple. The great projection of the north portico surrounded and filled with columns, and the long ranges of pillars upon each flank, preserve the columnar richness of the original ; 12 EDINBURGH. while the necessary departure from the simple parallelogram, caused by the necessities of the plan, is compensated by the introduction of small side porticos of classic design. A statue of the Queen in stone by John Steell, R.S.A., is placed on an attic immediately behind the northern portico. The building is the property of the Board of Trustees for Manufactures in Scotland ; and besides furnishing official apartments for the Board, and galleries for the School of Design under their charge, is appropriated by them for the accommodation of the following institutions : — The Board of British White Herring Fishery ; the Incorporation of the Royal Institution for the Encourage- ment of the Fine Arts in Scotland ; the Royal Society ; and the Society of Antiquaries. The interior accommodations consist below of a large central gallery for exhibitions, the ends of which are formed into octagons of some size. On both sides of this gallery is a range of smaller apartments, those on the east side being reserved as offices for the Board of Trustees, and for the Board of Fishery, and those on the west being tenanted by the Royal Society. Above is another spacious gallery, in which is a noble collection of casts from the best ancient works of sculpture with some of modern date. This gallery, along with the adjoining apart- ments, is occupied by the School of Design. In one of the apartments is contained the admirable set of busts of celebrated Greeks and Romans, known by the name of the Albacini Col- lection. In the picture gallery is deposited a small but valu- able collection of works by ancient and modern masters, among which are some very fine specimens of Vandyke, and in the modern section some masterly paintings by Etty. The collec- tion since its first formation has been enlarged by the addition of the pictures, bronzes, and marbles belonging to the late Sir James Erskine of Torrie, who bequeathed them to the College at Edinburgh, for the purpose of laying a foundatioti for a gallery for the encouragement of the fine arts ; and in the year 1845, with the consent of the Senatus Academicus, an agree- ment was entered into between the trustees of Sir James Erskine's will and the Board of Trustees for Manufactures, that the collection should be placed in the Royal Institution for public exhibition, where it passes under the name of " The Torrie Collection." The whole of the collections are increased PRINCES STREET — ROYAL INSTITUTION. 13 from time to time by gifts or purchases of works of art, or by their temporary deposit in charge of the Board for the purpose of exhibition. The galleries are opened gratuitously to the public ; the statue gallery for five days in the week, and the picture gallery for two. On other days the picture gallery is reserved for the use of artists and students. Exhibition of Ancient Pictures open Wednesday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Gallery of Casts is open every day, except Saturday and Sunday. FIRST ROOM, Specimens of the Flemish and Dutch and French Schools of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the Marbles and Bronzes. 1. Rrmbhandt Van Ryn. 2 and 23. Minderhout Hobbima. 3. Anthony Fbancis Vandeemeulen. 4. T. B. Greuze. 5. Andrew Both. 6 and 26. Jan Both. 7. TiziANO Vecelli. 8. Carel Du Jardin. 9. GiULio I'lpr, called G. Romano. 10 and 18. Jacob Ruysdael. The figures by Ph. Wouvernians. 11 and 12. Domenico Zajipiert, called DoMENiCHiNO. 12. A tliick Wood. 13. Adam Pynaker. 1-i. GlULIO C.esare Procaccini. 15. Albert Cuyp or Kuyp. IG. Jan Le Due. 17 and 20. Giovanni Ghisolfi. 19 and 46. Francis Snyders. 21. Adrian Vandevelde. 23. Paolo Cagliari, called P. Vero- nese. 24. Petee Neef or Neees. 25. Jan Steen. 27. School of Beechem. 28. RicHAKD Wilson. 29. Geoegio Barbaeelli, called Gior- GIONE. 30. Salvator Rosa. 31. Sea Piece. 32 and 38. David Tenniebs theyonnger. 33. Rembrandt Van Ryn. 34. Adkian Vandevelde. 35. William Vandevelde. 36. Jan Linglebach. 37. Nicholas Beechem. 39 and 45. Jacopo Cobtese, called Bor- gognone. 40. Karel Du Jardin. 41. Gaspae Dughet or Gaspab pots- SIN. 42. Guido Reni. 43. Jan Vandkr Heyden. 44. LuDOLF Backhuisen. CENTRAL OR SECOND ROOM. Specimens of the Italian, Venetian, Genoese, Florentine, Flemish, and other Schools, of fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. 1, 2, and 3. Sir Anthony Vandyke. — 1. The Lomellini Family. 2. Por- trait in Armour. 3. Martyrdom of St. Sebastian. Opposite these are three very fine large paintings by William Etty, R a. The subjects are — 1. Judith and Ilolofernes; 2. Judith issuiDK from the tent with the head of Holofemes; and 3. Judith's attendant listen- ing at the tent of Holofernes. On the south wall of the same room is another large picture by the same artist; subject — Benaiah slav- ing tlie two lion-like men of Moab. Not far from it, but lower down, is the celebrated sketch of Jolin Knox dispensing the sacrament at Calder House, by SiB David Wilkie, R.A. 14 EDINBURGH. 4. Cav. Paris Bordone. 5 aud 6. Cav. Tiziano Vecelli, called TiZIANELLO. 7. Tea Sebastiano Luciano, called Fea Sebastiano Del Piombo. 8. Justus Suttekman. 11. Gaspab, Poussin, called Gaspae DUGHET. 13. GiAcoiio Da Ponte, called II Bas- SANO. 13. Cav. Gio. Fkancesco Bab.bieei, called II Guercino Da Cento. 14. GiuLio C^SARE Procaccini. 16. Cav. Maec. Antonio Frances- CHINI. 17. Artist Unknouni. 18. Cavalier Gig. Antonio Licino, called II Poedenone. 19. LucA Cambiaso. 20. G. HOWKIKST. 31, 22, and 23. Giacomo Robusti, called II Tintoretto. 24. Giovanni Batista Paggi. 25. Carlo Antonio Tavella. 26 and 27- Sinibalbo Scoeza. 28. Michael Amerigi Angelo, called Da Caravaggio. 29. Giorgio Barbarelli, called Gior- gione. 30. Bartoleme Estevan Murillo. 31. Beenasio. 32. Pandolfo Reschi. 33 and 34. Francesco Furini. 35. Cav. Gio. Francesco Barbieei, called 1l Gueecino Da Cento. 36. Giov. MiEL. 37- John Both. 38. Elizabetta Sieani. 39. Antonio Canal, called II Cana- letto. 41. LoDovico Carracci. 42 and 45. Cav. Giuseppe Ribera, called 1l Spagnoletto. 43. Elevation of tlie Cross. 44. Schneiders. — Bear Hunt. 49. Giacomo Robusti, called II Tinto- retto. THIRD ROOM. Scottish School, etc. The Crucifixion, by Rubens ; copied from the original in the Museum at Ant- werp, by R. R. Rkinagle, R A. The Quarrel and Reconciliation of Oberon and Titania, from Midsummer Wight's Dream, 2 pictures by Joseph Noel Paton, R.S.A. William Etty, R.A.— The Combat; Woman interceding for the Van- quished. The Transtiguration, by Raphael; copied by Gkegor Urquhart. ■ Geoegk Harvey, R.-^.A — Dawn reveal- ing the New World to Columbus. James Drummond, R.S.A. — ThePorteous Mob, 1736. 9. BenvenutoTisio, called Garoealo. 10. Dirk Van Delen. 15. Jacopo Palma, called II Vecchio. 40. Giacomo Da Ponte, called II Bas- SANO. 46. Adrian Vander Were. 50. GuiDo Reni. 51 and 52. Giovanni Batista Tieo- POLO. 58. William Dyce.' 59. A. Gedues.— Summer. 61. Henry Howard. — Venus carrying oif Ascanius. G2. H. W.Williams. — Temple of Mineri'a Simium. 63. Rev. John Thomson. — Bruce's Castle of Turnberry. 64. Alexander Nasmyth. 65. Sir William Allan. — The Black Dwarf. 66. D. O. Hill. 67. R. Gibb.— Craigmillar Castle. 68. E. T. Crawford. 69. J. Stark. 70. Sir John Watson Gordon.— Por- trait of the late Peter Spalding, Esq. 71. Copy by Thomas Duncan of the Marriage in Cana of Galilee, by Paul Veronese. 72. Copy by Thomas Duncan of Portrait of the Marquese di Guastalla, and his Mistress, by Titian. 73. Copy by Thomas Duncan of the Entombment, by Titian. 74. Alex. Christie, A.R.S.A. — Design and 1 igiu-es of Saints. The figures by T. Faed, a. 76. Copy after Guido. The School of Design in connection with the Institution had its commencement in 1760, when a drawing academy on a small scale was formed, and placed under the direction of NATIONAL GALLERY. .15 M. Delacour, a French artist. He was succeeded in 1768 by M. Pavilion, another French artist. Runciman, an eminent Scottish artist, was appointed in 1772 ; who, in 1786, was suc- ceeded by David Allan, a Scottish artist of great genius. His successor was John Graham, under whom were brought up Wilkie (1841); Burnet, Sir William Allan (1850); and Sir John Watson Gordon ; and with these the Rev. John Thomson of Duddingston (died 1840) was intimately associated. The sphere of the school has been enlarged of late years, so as to be converted from a drawing academy into a School of Design, embracing, besides the study of the antique, the art of manu- facturing design and of architectural and general ornament. In this stage it has been successively superintended by Andrew Wilson, Sir William Allan, William Dyce, Thomas Duncan, Alexander Christie, A.R.S.A., and Robert Scott Lauder, R.S.A. In the department of architecture and ornament, this school gives instruction in drawing, painting, and modelling, and in architectural and ornamental design of every kind ; and in the department of the antique, in drawing, painting, and modelling from the antique ; and also from the living model. There are upwards of 180 students attending the school, who are divided into separate male and female classes. Among these, besides the ordinary students, are several schoolmasters and school- mistresses and pupil teachers ; so that the establishment has the character of a normal institution for drawing and painting, as well as that of a school for art. The National Gallery was founded by Prince Albert in August 1850, and was finished externally in 1854. It is of the Greek-Ionic order, and has a central mass with large hexa- style porticos to the east and west. At each side of this central portion stretching to the north and south, ranges of antag are terminated by smaller tetrastyle porticos, which form the north and south fronts of the building — two porticos, separated by a recessed portico being upon each front. The absence of windows on the flanks increases the classic aspect of the entire building. It was erected at the joint expense of the Board of Trustees for Manufactures and of the Government, under arrange- ments made with the Lord Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, and confirmed by Act of Parliament. The Government have made a grant of £25,000 towards the building, and the 16 EDINBURGH. Board of Trustees have undertaken to furnish other ^15,000. Its objects are the giving of suitable accommodation for the annual exhibitions of the Royal Scottish Academy, for the extension of the School of Design, and for the Institution of a Scottish National Gallery of Painting and Sculpture, and thus to promote the successful progress of the fine arts in Scotland, and aflFord facilities to the public for viewing exhibitions and collections of modern and ancient art. The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy commences generally in the month of February and continues until May. The charge for admittance is Is., or 5s. for a season ticket. The Theatre Royal, east end of Princes Street, was built in 1768, shortly after the commencement of the New Town, and acquired great reputation under the successive manage- ments of Henry Siddons and his brother-in-law W. H. Murray. Previously to this period the theatrical performances of the city were exhibited in the Canongate, where a play-house was erected in 174G, in opposition to a rival establishment in the Cowgate. The present house accommodates about 1500 people, and although externally of plain appearance, in internal arrangements it is neat and comfortable ; and the company of actors has generally been considered as one of the best out of London. The Queen's Theatre and Opera House, at the head of Leith "Walk, not so well situated, but internally it is more elegant and commodious. It accommodates 1700 persons. The Register House occupies another of the most conspi- cuous sites in Princes Street, facing the opening of the North Bridge. In this building the Scottish Supreme Courts possess accommodations for their records, and the functionaries con- nected therewith. The foundation was laid on the I7th of June 1776, and £1:200 were given by George III. out of the money arising from the sale of the forfeited estates, to assist in its erection. It was fully completed in 1822, at a very great expense, which has been defrayed by an accumulation of fees paid by persons searching the records, and for writs in the chancery office. The building, which was planned by Mr. Robert Adam, forms a square, with a quadrangular court in the centre, containing a circular edifice, fifty feet in diameter, which joins the sides of the court, leaving spaces at the angles for the admission of light. Viewed from the street, it presents a compact CALTON HILL. 17 building of 200 feet in length by a breadth of 120. Each of the corners is surmounted by a small turret, and the central tower is crowned with a dome. The interior consists principally of small fire-proof chambers, in which are deposited state papers, copies or records of all the title-deeds of property, and of all legal contracts, mortgages, etc. : also records of all suits at law from an early period. In front of it is an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington in bronze by Steell. The North Bridge, which rvms straight south from this, is one of the best points from which to obtain a good view of the Calton Hill, its monvtments, the picturesque wall of the prison, and the High School ; and it may be well to take this view before proceeding to the hill itself The valley which the bridge spans was a lake, called the Nor' Loch, until 1763, when the founding of the bridge required it to be drained. From the western wall of the bridge a very attractive view is also to be had of the Old Town, the National Gallery, Royal Institution, and the Castle. The Calton Hill (350 feet high) is one of those commons which confers so much beauty and amenity on the city. If the tourist wish to take in at one panoramic view the town and the adjacent country, the prospect which he will obtain from this eminence cannot fail to afford him satisfaction and delight. Westwards from Dugald Stewart's Monument stretches the long vista of Princes Street, with the Scott Monument. Over the Jail or Bridewell are seen Hume's Circular Monu- ment, the Martyrs' Obelisk, the dingy houses of the Old Town (from which the spires of the Tron Church, St. Giles, and the Assembly Hall, rise conspicuously), and the Castle. The Corstorphine Hills form a beautiful background to the mass of houses on the north-west side of Princes Street. To the south (looking over the High School, Burns's Monument, and the Jail) are the high crowded buildings of the Old Town, rising gradually on the sloping ridge, from the lower part of the dark valley at Holyrood, in irregularly terraced piles, intersected and serrated by wynds and lanes, until, crowning the eminence of the Castle Hill, they are abruptly terminated by the precipitous rock upon which the fortress is built. Over the strange assemblage of roofs and chimneys broods a cloud of smoke — a circumstance from which the town acquired the 18 EDINBURGH. popular soubriquet of " Auld Reekie." Beyond this, Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags rise majestically, like guardians of the place, while the distant Lammermoor and picturesque Pent- land Hills close the prospect. To the north are the more regular and elegant streets of the New Town, broken here and there with a church steeple or other prominent structure, and termi- nated by the seaport of Leith, with its long pier, and the estuary of the Frith of Forth. The distant view to the north and north-west includes the coast of Fife, Donnibristle House (Earl of Moray's), Inchcolm, Burntisland, the Lomond, Ochil, and Highland Hills, including Damyat (near Stirling), Ben Lomond, and Benledi. To the east (looking over the Royal and Regent Terraces) are seen Lochend, Inchkeith, Prestonpans Bay, Portobello, Musselburgh, and Prestonpans; North Berwick Law, the Bass Rock, and Isle of May. The Monuments on the hill add greatly to its interest. Upon the left hand, in ascending the second flight of steps to the hill, is DuuALD Stewart's, a reproduction, with some variations, of the Choragic monument of Lysicrates ; erected in 1830. Close by are The Observatory, and Monument to Professor Play- fair. The unshapely building, occupying a prominent position a little to the west, is the Old Observatory. Upon the summit of the hill stands Nelson's Monument, a structure more pon- derous than elegant, " modelled exactly after a Dutch skipper's THE HIGH SCHOOL. 19 spy-glass, or a butter-churn." The top of the monument affords a more uninterrupted prospect than tbe hill, otherwise it is much the same ; the admission-fee is threepence. Near Nelson's Monument are the twelve columns of the National Mondment, a structure intended to commemorate the heroes who fell at Waterloo. The splendour of the projected building (which was to be a literal reproduction of the Parthenon) was worthy of so patriotic a cause, but, unfortunately, the architectural ambition of the projectors was far in advance of the pecuniary means at their disposal, and only twelve massive pillars, of exquisite workmanship, have as yet been completed. The Higli School, on the south side of the Calton Hill, facing the road, is one of the two chief seminaries in Edinburgh for classical education, and has long maintained an eminent place amongst similar establishments. Its origin may be traced to an early period in the sixteenth century ; but it has been greatly extended and improved in recent times. The design was furnished by Thomas Hamilton, and the foundation-stone was laid on the 28th of July 1825. The main building extends about 270 feet in front, and in the centre of the edifice is a magnificent hexastyle Doric portico. On each side of the portico there is a corridor, the entablature of which is supported by six Doric columns. The apartments, which are entered through a spacious play-ground, consist of a large hall of 75 by 43 feet, and rooms for the accommodation of the various classes taught in the establishment. The cost of this extensive building was about .£30,000, which was partly raised by sub- scription. The patronage of the High School is vested in the town-council of the city. The curriculum of study extends over six years, and embraces the Latin, Greek, French, and German languages, history, and geography ; and the business of the school is conducted by a Rector, four Classical Masters, Teachers of French and German, of Writing, Arithmetic, and Mathematics, and of Drawing, Fencing, and Gymnastics. Of these the first five have a small endowment from the city, in addition to the class-fees. Although essentially a classical seminary, due consideration is given to those collateral branches of learning which form a necessary part of a liberal education. The extent of the building affords ample accommodation for conducting the business of instruction upon the most approved '20 EDINBlTRGn. principles ; and the play-ground, extending to nearly two acres, commands a fine prospect of the Old Town, Arthur's Seat, and the adjacent country. Burns's Monument is nearly opposite the High School, on the road side. The statue of the Poet by Flaxman, which for some time adorned the interior, has been placed in the Uni- versity Library. The Prisons are situated ou the Calton Hill, fronting the road which sweeps round that eminence. The centre division of the range, formerly called the city bridewell, from having been built on the same principle as the St. Brideswell prison in London, was constructed in 1791, in the Panopticon form, after a plan by Robert Adam. The west wing of the prison was erected in 1817, after a plan by Archibald Elliot, in lieu of the Old Tolbooth ; and the east wing was erected in 1847, after a plan by Robert Brown. The buildings are in the castellated style of architecture, and have a striking appearance from whatever point they are viewed. The castellated style was probably suggested to the architect by the old stronghold called Dingwall Castle, that stood at the junction of Waterloo Place with ."Shakspere Square, and which was a square keep with round towers at its angles. The prison contains about 430 cells and rooms, and affords accommodation for both civil and criminal prisoners. .J^ - rf '--■-„!;, ^ EDINBURGH CASTLE, the most prominent and interesting building in the city, stands at the head of the High Street on a precipitous rocky eminence, and is one of the fortresses which, by the Articles of Union, is to be kept constantly fortified. The period of its foundation is unknown, but there is no doubt, that it can boast a more remote antiquity than any other part of the city, and that it formed the nucleus around which Edinburgh has arisen. The earliest name by which it is recognised in history is Castnan Fuellarum, or " The Camp of the Maidens," from the daughters of the I'ictish kings being educated and brought up within its walls. It consists of a series of irregular fortifications, and although, before the invention of gunpowder, it might be considered 22 EDINBURGH, impregnable, it is now a place of more apparent than real strength. It can be approached only upon the eastern side. the other three sides being very precipitous. Its elevation is 383 feet above the level of the sea, and, from various parts of the fortifications, a magnificent view of the surrounding country may be obtained. It contains accommodation for 2000 soldiers, and its armoury affords space for 30,000 stand of arms. Facing the north-east is the principal or Half-Moon Battery, mounted with twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four pounders, the only use of which, in these, our days, is to fire on holidays and occasions of public rejoicing. The architectural eifect of the Castle has been much marred by a clumsy pile of barracks on its western side, which, observes Sir Walter Scott, would be honoured by a comparison with the most vulgar cotton-mill. These, it is believed. Government are likely soon to have so altered as greatly to obviate their present objectionable appearance. Margaret, the queen of Malcolm Canmore, frequently resided here, and a handsome little Norman chapel, erected by her, has withstood the ravages of time ; the tourist will find it not the least interesting of the architectural relics of Edin- burgh. Margaret died in the Castle in 1093. In 1174, the Castle was surrendered to the English as part of the ransom of William I. It was afterwards restored to William as the dowry of his wife. In 1296, during the contest between Bruce and Baliol, it was taken by the English. In 1313, it was recovered by Randolph, Earl of Moray, by a daring exploit, of which Scott gives the following account : — " The attempt was undertaken by thirty men, commanded by Randolph in person, and guided by Francis, one of his own soldiers, who had been in the liabit of descending and reascending the cliff surreptitiously to pay court to his mistress. The darkness of the night, the steepness of the precipice, the danger of discovery by the watchmen, and the slender support which they had to trust to in ascending from crag to crag, rendered the enterprise such as might have appalled the bravest spirit. When they bad ascended half- way, they found a flat spot, large enough to halt uiion, aiul there sat down to recover their breath, and prepare for the further part of then- perilous expedition. While they were here seated, tbcy heard the rounds or ' check-watches,' as I'.arbour calls them, pass along the walls above them ; and it so chanced that one of the English soldiers, in mere wantonness and gaiety, hurled a stone down, and cried out at the same time, ' I see you well,' although without any idea that there was any one beneath. THE CASTLE. 23 The stone rolled down the precipice, and passed over the heads of Moray and his adventurous companions, as they sat cowering under the rock from which it bounded. They had the presence of mind to remain per- fectly silent, and presently alter the sentinels continued tlnir rounds. The assailants then continued their ascent, and arrived in safety at the foot of the wall, which they scaled by means of the ladder which they brought with them. Francis, their guide, ascended tirst, Sir Andrew Grav was second, and Randolph liiiuself was third. Ere they had all mounted, however, the sentinels caught the alarm, raised the cry of ' treason,' and the constable of the castle and others rushing to the spot, made a valiant, though inetlectual resistance. The Earl of IMoray was for some time in great personal danger, until the gallant constable being slain, his followers fled or fell, and this strong castle remained in the hands of the assailants." The fortifications having been demolished, that it might not again be occupied by a hostile power, Edward III. caused it to be rebuilt and strongly garrisoned, but it was shortly afterwards recovered by stratagem by Sir William Douglas. The Castle was gallantly defended for Mary Queen of Scots by Sir William Kirkaldy of Grange. The Regent Morton being unable to reduce it, obtained the assistance of Queen Elizabeth, who sent him 1500 foot and a train of artillery under the com- mand of Sir William Drury. For three and thirty days Kirkaldy gallantly resisted the combined forces of the Scots and English, nor did he demand a parley till the fortifications were battered down, and the wells were dried up or choked with rubbish. Even then, with a heroism truly chivalrous, he deter- mined rather to fall gloriously behind the ramparts, than surrender to his enemies. But his garrison were not animated with the same heroic courage. Rising in a mutiny, they com- pelled hira to capitulate. Drury, in the name of his mistress, engaged that he should be honourably treated ; but Elizabeth, insensible alike to the claims of valour and to the pledged honour of her own officer, surrendered Kirkaldy to the Regent, who, with her consent, hanged the gallant soldier and his brother at the Cross, on the third ot August 1573. In 1650, the Castle was besieged by the Parliamentary army under Cromwell, and capitulated on honourable terms. In 1745, although Prince Charles Stuart held possession of the city, he did not attempt the reduction of the Castle. 24 EDINBUKGH. The Esplanade, one of the earliest promenades of the citizens, still forms a most agreeable and interesting resort. The garrison is regularly inspected here between 9 and 10 o'clock in the morning, and the drilling of soldiers is carried on throughout the day. From the parapet walls an exquisite view is obtained of the Pentland Hills and southern districts of Edinburgh, and of Heriot's Hospital, the Grassmarket, etc. The view from the north side, where there is a statue of the Duke of York, is not so good, being obstructed by the trees of Princes .Street Gardens. In the reign of James IV. (1538) John, Lord Forbes, was beheaded here ; and a few days after. Lady Glammis was burnt alive on a charge of high treason. The place seems to have been particularly set apart for the burning of traitors and witches, many of whom, according to ancient records, suifered here the last penalties of a severe law. Crossing the drawbridge, we pass through the old Portcullis Gate, a massive archway, in which may be seen openings for two portcullises, and huge hinge-catches for gates that formerly guarded the passage. Above this is the ancient and gloomy State Prison of the Castle, in which both the Marquis and Earl of Argyle were confined previous to their trial and execution, and numerous adherents of the Stuarts. Emerging from this, and passing on the left the steep narrow staircase that leads directly to the Crown Room, we have on the right the Argyle Battery, and a little further on the same side, at the foot of a roadway, The Armoury or principal magazine, which occupies buildings at the extreme west of the rock. Behind this is the Old Salbi Port, to which Viscount Dundee, while on his way from Edinburgh to raise the Highland clans in favour of James V., scrambled up to hold an interview with the Duke of Gordon. The quadrangular range of buildings on the highest point of the rock, enclosing what is called the Grand Parade, is the most interesting. This consists of the ancient Royal Palace, where the Crown Room and Queen Mary's Room are, the old Parliament Hall, now an hospital, and barracks. The Crown Room, where the ancient crown jewels of Scot- land are kept, is in the eastern wing of the quadrangle. These insignia of Scottish Royalty consist of a Crown, a THE CASTLE. 25 Sceptre, and a Sword of State. Along with them is also shown the Lord Treasurer's Rod of Office, found deposited in the same strong oak chest in which the Regalia were discovered in 1818, exactly as they had been left in the year 1707, after the ratifi- cation of the Treaty of Union. They are exhibited every day from twelve till three o'clock, gratuitously, by an order from the Lord Provost, which may be obtained by applving at the City Chambers between twelve and three o'clock. The order is available only upon that day on which it is dated. Queen Mary's Room (Admittance free) is a small apart- ment on the ground iioor, at the south-east corner of this wing of the quadrangle. Here Queen Mary gave birth to James VL, in whom the Crowns of England and Scotland were united, an event commemorated by the inwrought initials H. and M., and the date 1566 over the doorway. The room is remarkably small and irregular in form, and has loit much of its antique wainscot panelling, which has been but rudely replaced. The original ceiling remains, and the initials I. R. and M. R., sur- mounted by the Royal Crown, are wrought in the alternate compartments of the panels. On the wall is the following inscription, surmounted by the Scottish arms : — JLort ^ei\x Cljvij^t, tf)at trDunit toa^ tottlb Ci)0nt^r, ^xt^tvht tijc JJirtIb, qufiai^ SSatigic I)cir ii fiornr, QnO itnts l^ir ^onnc ^ucrc^^tour, to Kctgnc still, Hang in tl)i^ Ucalmr, if ti)at it 6c '€\^vi toill. 9IS grant, C9 iLniir, qnljat rbcr of ii|ir pro^ccli, 33e to CI)n liioncr, anil i3rai£?, jioftifti. 19th IVNII, 1566. The Hospital, which forms the south wing of the quadrangle, was the old Parliament Hall ; but there are few remains of its former grandeur left, in consequence of the numerous changes that have been made on the building to adapt it to its present use. Queen Margaret's Chapel, already alluded,to in the history cf the Castle, was long used as a powder magazine, and its antiquity and architectural merits were unheeded until recently. It is now in the course of being restored, under the superintendence 26 EDINBURGH. of that able architect Charles Billings. It is remarkably small, and is supposed to have been the place of worship of the pious Queen Margaret during her residence in the Castle, till her death in 1093, and thus may be said to be the oldest chapel in Scotland. To the north of this interesting relic is Mons Meff, a gigantic piece of artillery, mounted on a carriage on the Bomb Battery. It was constructed at Mons in Brittany, in 14S6. We are informed by the inscription on the carriage, that it was employed at the siege of Norham Castle in 151.3. In 16S2, it burst whilst firing a salute to the Duke of York, on the occasion of his visit. It was removed to the Tower of London in 1684, and restored to the castle in 1829 by George IV. This large gun is composed of thick iron bars hooped together, and is about 20 inches diameter in the bore. The Bomb Battery is an excellent point for obtaining a view of the whole range of the New Town and the distant THE CASTLE HILL, HIGH STREET, & CANONGATE. The line of street from the Castle to Holjrood Palace is diyidf fl into four poitions. The first, from its conti^ity to the Castle, is called " Castle Hill," the second, from the West Bow to Bank Street, is called " The Lawnmarket " (Linenmarket), the third and principal portion is " 'I'he Higii Street," and the fourth, extending from Knox's House to Ilolyrood, is called "The Canongate." This noble street was long considered one of the finest in Europe. Though advancing years have swept away not a few of its old interesting relics, it nevertheless still has about it many memorials of the glory departed. Many quaint old houses still remain that have been the residence of the rank, wealth, and fashion of the Scottish court in the time of the Stuarts. The nigh Street has also connected with it memories of a lite- rary and ecclesiastical nature, that are at least as interesting as the traditions of the violent and factious proceedings of rival nobles.* * Scott's Pronncial Antiquities. See also Chamhcrs's Traditions of Kdinhurgli, ii very interesting and amusing work ; Lord Coekburu's Memorials ; and Wilson's Memorials uf Ediuburgh in the Olden Time. HIGH STREET. 27 The numerous lanes and closes that are continually diverg- ing on both sides, will not be without interest to the stranger. Though now the abode of the lowest of the population, most of them were in former times places of respectability and dignity, and even now many of them afford some of the best business premises in the city.* From an inspection of these it is evident that with attention to ordinary cleanliness these old closes are in themselves neither unhealthy nor undesirable places of residence. In our description we shall assume that the tourist com- mences with the Castle and descends eastwards to Ilolyrood. In this way the first object that meets his eye is that range of houses forming the nearest portion of the town to the Castle (and seen immediately on the right on leaving the esplanade), and which is one of the most picturesque and ancient in the city. One of these, looking towards the Castle, and entering from below a soldiers' refreshment room. No. 406 Castle Hill, was the mansion of the Duke of Gordon ; and a cannon-ball, said to have been shot from the Castle in 1745, may be seen sticking in the gable-wall next the esplanade. The entrance to it is marked by the rudely carved ducal coronet, with sup- porters, over the doorway to the turreted staircase. Another house in the close was occupied by John Grieve, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, in 1783. The eastraost house in this row, which adjoins the Assembly Hall, was built by Robert Mowbray of Castlewan in 1740, on the site of an ancient mansion which belonged to the Countess Dowager of Hyndford. It passed from Mowbray's hands into the possession of William, fourth Earl of Dumfries, and who also became Earl of Stair. His widow married the Hon. Alexander Gordon, son of the second Earl of Aberdeen, and who afterwards became a Lord of Session under the title of Lord Rockville, whose name the close has since retained. * Sonic of the principal of these are, Mr. Gricvc's, Pcnipill Close, Castle Hill; the warehouses, in the High Street, of Messrs. W. & R. Chamhers, pubHshers, Messrs. Maclaren, Oliver, and Co., Warriston, Don's, and Roxbur.sh Closes ; the Mercury and Scotsman newspaper offices, Craig's and Old Post Office Closes ; of the publishers of this work, who occupy part of the Old Cap and Feather Close, nearly the whole of Halkerston's Wyud, and part of Kinloch's and Carrubber's Closes; Messrs. Oliver & lioyd, publishers, Tweeddale Court, the old house of the Marquis of IVccddale ; and many others. 28 EDINBURGH. Opposite this range of houses, on the north side of the street, is the Reservoir for the supply of the city with water. The quantity furnished is about twenty-five gallons a-day to each person. Turning round the corner of this, Ramsay Lane is on the same (north) side of the Castle Hill, and takes its name from the house of Allan Ramsay, author of "The Gentle Shepherd," and many Scottish songs of great merit. The house has been considerably altered since the poet died there in 1757. Under the superintendence of Mr. Billings, the ground to the north of Ramsay Lane has been laid out as a terrace in the style of a battery, so as to correspond with the architecture of the Castle. A statue of Ramsay is to be erected on this site. Ragged Schools. — At the corner of Ramsay Lane is the Orio-inal Ragged School, associated with the name and bene- volent exertions of the Rev. Thomas Guthrie, D.D. There is another similar institution, called the United Industrial School, in South Gray's Close, off No. 56 High Street. They are both remarkably well conducted. Short's Observatory is at the corner of Ramsay Lane ; entrance from the Castle Hill. Nearly opposite the centre of the Assembly Hall is Sempill's Close, within which is an old substantial mansion of the Sempill family. Over the entrance is the inscription : — Sedes manet OPTIMA CCELO, 1 638, and an anchor entwined by an S. On a higher part of the house is another inscription, " Praised be the Lord, my God, my Strength, and my Redeemer." Anno. Dom. 1638, and the device repeated. It was acquired by Hugh, twelfth Lord Sempill, in 1743, so that it must have had a former proprietor, whose name cannot now be traced. Lord Sempill commanded the left wing of the royal army at Culloden, and his son sold the family mansion to Sir James Clerk of Pennicuik in 1755. Between this and Blyth's Close, and at the back of the New College, there was one of the most interesting old buildings in Edinburgh, but, excepting a very small portion, it has all been pulled down recently to make room for the New College. This was the mansion of Mary of Guise, Queen of James V., and mother of Queen Mary. On the main doorway, which still remains, is the inscription, laus honor deo, and I. R., the King's initials. The interior of this palace was more elegant HIGH STEEET, 29 aod ornamental than the exterior, and some of the wood carvings may be seen in the Antiquarian Museum. GKOUP OF OLD HOUSES, CASTLE HILL. The westmost stone land, represented in the accompanying woodcut, bearing the inscription, laus deo. R. M. 1591, belonged to two wealthy burgesses, whose names are represented by the initial letters R. M., namely, James Rynd and Robert M'Naught. James's Court (Lawnmarket, north side), erected about 1725-27, is interesting as having been the residence of David Hume, James Boswell, and Lord Fountainhall. The northern side forms part of that lofty pile of buildings at the head of the Mound, which presents such a formidable appearance from Princes Street. Ladi/ Stair's Close is another alley opening from the north side of the Lawnmarket, and is the scene of Sir Walter Scott's romantic story of " My Aunt Margaret's Mirror." Over the doorway of the house are a coat of arras, the initials W. G. and G. S., the date 1622. and the legend, "Fear the Lord, and DEPART FROM EVIL." 30 edinbttrgh. The Assemhhj or Victoria Hall, the meeting-place for the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and also used as one of the city churches, occupies a prominent site on the Castle Hill. Its noble spire, rising to the height of 241 feet, is one of the finest modern ornaments of the city, and from its commanding position there is scarcely any point from which it is not conspicuously seen. The length of the building from east to west is 141 feet. The design is by Mr. Gillespie Graham. The pile of old houses at the Bow-head, opposite Dr. Guthrie's Church, is extremely picturesque, and forms a solitary remnant of the famous West Bow. The house at the very corner is a good specimen of the manner in which the old houses of Edinburgh were enlarged by the addition of wooden fronts. These fronts are supposed to be of much more recent date than the houses them?elves ; and from examination it will be found that if the wood were removed, there would be exposed walls of immense thickness, and probably considerable elegance in their style of architecture. Immediately behind the Bow-head land, and entering from Johnston's Close, Lawnmarket, are some buildings of old date, one of which contains the hall of the Knights of St. John. The West Bow is the first opening on the right after passinjr the Assembly Hall, and took its name from an arch or ''bow" in the city wall which crossed the street and formed the western gateway of the city. A few yards north of the Rev. Dr. Guthrie's Church, was an old building called " The Weigh House," where Prince Charles posted a guard when he contemplated the vain design of blockading the Castle. Although the West Bow is now a place of small consideration, it is not a hundred years since it contained the Assembly Rooms of Edinburgh. Before the erection of the North and South Bridges, it was the principal avenue by which wheel-carriages reached the more elevated streets of the city. It has been ascended by Anne of Denmark, James I. and Charles I. ; by Oliver Cromwell, Charles II. and James II. The West Bow has also been the scene of many mournful processions. Previous to the year 1 785, criminals were conducted down the Bow to the place of execution in the Grassmarket. Among these were the Marquis of Mon- trose and Karl of Argyle, who were conveyed in tlie hangman's cart, the former in 1650 and the latter in 1G61 ; and the 31 FOOT OF VVEbT BOW. (EXKCUTION OF PORTEOUS). murderers of Porteou3, after secviriiig their victim, hurried him down this street to meet the fate they had destined for him* Behind the remaining houses of the Bow, and approached by » Sec Scott'3 novel "Heart of Midlothian," or his " Talcs of a Giandfathcr," for an account of tliis wonderful nocturnal liot and conspiracy. There is an admirable picture of the scene, by James Drummond, A. ll.A.,, in the third room of the E.\.hibitiou of Ancient Pictures, open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. 32 EDINBURGH. an entry through them, stood the House of Major Weir, the celebrated necromancer, who, along with his sister, suffered death for witchcraft in 1670. As the tourist in the course of his perambulations will pro- bably visit that superb building to the west of Edinburgh calledDonaldson'sHospital,it may be interesting for him to know here that the founder of this charitable institution lived in a house at the foot of the "Bow " towards theend of the eighteenth century. Donaldson was a bookseller and printer, and made his money by republishing cheap editions of standard works. He is said to have been the first in Britain to have adopted this line of the publishing business. The Grasi^market, at the foot of West Bow, is the place where regular markets were held on Wednesdays ; but being found too small and inconvenient, a place for the cattle and sheejj market >Ji|^^ TIIK COWGATK (OFF GRAbSM AUKKT). was procured in the neighbourhood, and fitted up for the pur- pose in 1844, at the cost of £8000. In 1849 a spacious corn- HIGH STREET. 33 market was erected on the south side of the Grassmarket, at the cost of £17,500. It is a handsome building, with a front of three storeys, in the Italian style, and a campanile or belfry at the west end. The covered market-place behind is 156 feet 6 inches in length by 97 feet in width, and is lighted from the roof. As previously mentioned, the Grassmarket was the place appointed for public executions, and many men of note in history have there made their exit from the stage of life. The opening to the east of the Grassmarket is The Cotcgate, in which there are still many old houses of the nobility of Scotland when this street formed a faubourg of the Canongate, with which it runs nearly parallel. It is now inhabited by the lowest class cf the population, and many tourists will prefer viewing it from George IV. Bridge or the South Bridge, both of which overlook it, than from the street itself. The opening on the west of the Grassmarket is the West Port, a squalid locality, still haunted by associations of the murderer Burke, and which took its name from the western gate to the city being placed there. We now retrace our steps up the West Bow ^nd Victoria Street to the Lawnmarket, and passing by several places of antiquity — for a minute description of which we must refer the reader to the works alluded to at page 26 — we come in sight of St. Giles' Cathedral and the Parliament House. St. Giles's Cathedral, High Street, nearly opposite the Royal Exchange, forms the north side of the Parliament Square. The style of architecture is Gothic, much, and very questionably, modernized. The spire is in the form of an octagonal lantern, and exhibits those irregularities found in the finest specimens of Gothic work. St. Giles, whose name it bears, was abbot and confessor, and tutelar saint of Edinburgh. The church is first mentioned in the year 1359, in a charter of David II. In 1466, it was made collegiate, and no fewer than forty altars were at this period supported within its walls. The Scottish poet Gavin Douglas (the translator of Virgil), was for some time Provost of St. Giles, After the Pieformation, it was partitioned into four places of worship, and the sacred vessels and relics which it contained were seized by the magistrates of the city, and the proceeds of their sale applied to the repairing of the building. In 1603, before the departure of James VI. to take possession of the throne of England, he attended divine service in this 34 EDINBORGH. church, after which he delivered a farewell address to his Scot- tish subjects, assuring them of his unalterable affection. On the ST. GILES CATHEDEAL. 13th October 1643, the Solemn League and Covenant was sworn to and subscribed within its walls by the Committee of Estates of Parliament, the Commission of the Church, and the English Commission. The Regent Moray and the IMarquis of Montrose are interred near the centre of the south side of the church, and on the outside of its northern wall is the monument of Napier of Merchiston, the inventor of logarithms. Originally the city consisted of only one parish, of which the ancient church of St. Giles was the place of worship. This building is now divided into three places of worship, viz., the High Church, the Old Church, and New North Church. In the High Church the Magistrates of the city, and the Judges of the Court of Session, attend divine service in their official robes. The patronage of these, as well as of all the other city parish churches, is vested in the Town Council. The remains of John Knox, the intrepid ecclesiastical Reformer, were deposited in the cemetery of St. Giles, which formerly occupied the ground where the buildings of the Parliament Square now stand. HIGH STREET. 35 So lately as the year 1817, all the spaces between the buttresses of the church were occupied by small shops called the hrames, grafted upon the walls of the building — the unholy fires of the shopkeepers begriming with their smoke the whole external surface of the sacred edifice. With the exception of the spire, the whole of the external walls of the Cathedral have in recent years been renovated — a circumstance which has materially impaired the venerable aspect of the building. The Old Tolbooth, immortalized by Scott as " The Heart of Mid-Lothian," the name which it sometimes received, stood in the middle of the High Street, at the north-west corner of St. Giles's Church. It was built in 1561, and from that period till 1640 served for the accommodation of Parliament and the courts of justice, as well as for the confinement of prisoners. Its situation, jammed as it was into the middle of one of the chief thoroughfares of the city, was signally incon- venient ; and in 1817, when the New Prison was ready for the reception of inmates, the ancient pile of the Tolbooth was demolished. The great entrance-door, with its ponderous padlock and key, were removed to Abbotsford, where they may now be seen. Courts of Law. — Edinburgh is now chiefly distinguished as a capital by being the seat of the Supreme Courts or College of Justice, which was constituted in 1532 by James V. This body comprehends the judges or senators, the faculty of advo- cates, writers to the signet (attorneys), solicitors in the supreme courts, advocates' first clerks, clerks to the judges, extractors, keepers of the different departments, etc. This influential body at one time possessed some valuable privileges, one of which still is, exemption from certain local taxes. The Parliament House, which has been appropriated since the Union as the place of meeting of the Supreme Courts, is situated in the centre of the Old Town, and separated from the High Street by the cathedral of St. Giles,* and was erected between the years 1632 and 1640, at an expense of £11,600. Recently, with the exception of the great hall, it has been almost totally renewed. The Square, of which it forms a part, was at one time surrounded with the shops of tradesmen, all ot which perished in the destructive fires of 1824. The entrance to the courts is at the south-west angle of the square. The * Sec Cockbuni's Memorials, Chap. ii. 36 EDINBURGH. great hall is 122 feet by 49, and has a lofty roof of carved oak, arched and trussed in an admirable style of carpentry. This hall was finished in 1639 for the use of the Scottish Parliament, and was used as such until the Union. It now serves as the waiting room of the advocates and other practitioners in the Supreme Courts ; and the floor during session is the daily resort of all persons connected with them. The Lords Ordinary sit in small court-rooms at the south end of the hall. On a pedestal near the north end of the hall is a statue in white marble by Chantrey, of Henry Viscount Melville, who died in 1811. In a recess in the wall close to this is an admirable statue of Duncan Forbes of Culloden, by Rou- biliac. This masterpiece of art was erected in 1752, and bears the following inscription on the pedestal : — "Duncano Forbes DE Culloden suPKEMiE in civilibus curiae pr^sidi Judici INTEGERRIMO CiVI OPTIMO PRISON VIRTUTIS VIRO FACULTAS JURIDICA LIBENS POSUIT ANNO POST OBITUM QUINTO. C. N. rilGU STREET. 37 MDCCLii." The judge is represented as sitting in his robes, his right hand extended, his left leaning on the chair and holding a roil of papers* Roubiliac, of whose genius this statue is an excellent example, was born at Lyons in France, but all the works by which he gained his reputation were executed during a long residence in England. The first to appreciate his merits was Sir Edward Walpole, who obtained for him the execution of several busts for Trinity College, Dublin. Through the same interest he was employed on the monument to John Duke of Argyle, in which he was so successful that his claims to the highest honour of his profession were at once admitted. He died in London in 1762. The other statues are those of Robert Dundas of Arniston (1819), Robert Blair of Avontoun, by Chan- trey (1811), and Lord Jeffrey by Steell (1850). Advocates' and Writers to the Signet Libraries are contained in spacious apartments adjoining the Parliament House. The * DcNCAN Forbes of Culloden was born at Bunchrew or Culloden in the year 1685, and was descended from the Forbeses of Tolquhoun in Abcrdeensliire, a brancli of whom had settled in Inverness about the end of the sLxteenth century. He studied law at Edinburgh and Leyden, and was admitted advocate at the S-cottish bar in 1709. His own tnlents, and the influence of the Argyle family, soon elevated him in his profession. At the period of the Rebellion in 1715, he stood firm to the Hano- verian cause, as did also his brother John Forbes, tlien Laird of Culloden, a popidar and hospitable Highland gentleman, whose conviviaUties are described m Burt's Letters from the North of !>cotland. In 17;i-2 Duncan Forbes was returned member for Inverness, and in 1725 he was appointed Lord Advocate. He succeeded to the patrimonial estates in 1731-, and in 17,37 he attained to the highest legal honours m Scotland, being made Lord President of the Court of Session. The Rebellion of 1745 found him at his post, and it tried all his patriotism. He had in vain urged upon the Government the expediency of embodying Highland regiments, putting them under the command of colonels whose loyalty could be relied vipon, but otticenng them with the native chieftains and cadets of old f;imiUcs in the north. Such a plan was afterwards successt'ullv pursued by Cliatham ; but tliough Walpole is said to have approved of Forbes's scheme, the Council unanimously rejected it. Had it been adopted in time, and a few thousand pounds placed in I'orbes's hands to be spent usefully iu the Highlands, there would have been no .Jacobite rising in '45. At this critical juncture of affairs, the apathy of the Government was immovable. No advance of arms or money could beolitained until it was too late, and though Forlies employed aU liis own means and what money he could borrow on his personal security, his resources were quite inadequate to the emergency. The ingratitude of the Govern- ment, and the many distressing circumstances connected with this insurrection, sunk deep into the mind of Forbes. He never f;urly rallied from his depression, his health dechncd, and he died on the 10th of December 1747, in the sixty-second year of his age. A tardy act of justice was rendered to his family. Two years after his death, a pension of £400 per annum was granted to his only son, John Forbes ; and the same good fortune that had attended the early history of his race, enabled this worthy man (the chosen associate of Thomson the poet in his youth) to free the estate "from the debt so generouslv contracted by his fatlier, and to add to the amount of his possessions by the purcuase of contiguous lands. The fair fame of the President is, however, the proudest inheritance of his descendants. He was a patriot without ostentation or pretence— a true Scotsman with no naiTow prejudices— an acoomphshed and even erudite scholar without pedantry— a man of genuine piety without asceticism or intolerance. — See Memoir of Forbes by John Ilill Burton. 38 EDINBURGH. Advocates' Library was founded in 1682, at the instance of Sir George Mackenzie, then Dean of Faculty. The collection is now the largest and most valuable in Scotland, and is in every sense one of the noblest national libraries. It is one of the five entitled by Act of Parliament to a copy of every work printed in Britain ; and, with the sums annually disbursed in the pur- chase of useful and rare books, it is rapidly increasing. The library is under the charge of six curators, a librarian, and assistants. The Library of the Society of AVriters to the Signet occupies a modern erection of two storeys, extending westward from the north-west corner of the Parliament House, and having a front to the Lawnmarket. This edifice contains two large and beau- tiful apartments, decorated in front of the book-presses with rows of columns. These noble apartments have cost the society £•25,000. The library, like that of the Advocates, is under the charge of curators, a librarian, and assistants. The County Hall forms the western wing of the square, and here are held the Sheriff Courts and the meetings of the Com- missioners of Supply for the county. The narrow way at the back of this building is the site of Libberton Wynd, where Lord Brougham's father resided. He afterwards removed to St. Andrew Square. T/ie Police Office occupies part of the eastern wing of Parliament Square. Till the year 1805 the city was protected only by a feeble body of old men in the garb of soldiers, entitled the City Guard, which constituted the remains of a civic defensive force originally raised in 1514, after the battle of Flodden. In 1805 a regular police establishment was formed, and the city guard was finally dissolved in 1817. The spot where the City Cross formerly stood is now indi- cated by a radiated pavement opposite the Police Office door. It was demolished in 1756. On the morning of the day when the workmen began their labours, " some gentlemen who had spent the night over a social bottle, caused wine and glasses be carried thither, mounted the ancient fabric, and solemnly drank its dirge." Sir Walter Scott invokes a minstrel's malison on the destroyer — " Diin-Edin's Cross, a pillar'd stone, Kose on a turret octagon ; HIGH STllEET. 39 But now is razed that monument \Mience royal edict rang, And voice of Scotland's law was sent In glorious trumpet clang. O ! be his tomb as lead to lead. Upon its dull destroyer's head ! — A minstrel's malison is said." THE OLD CEOSS. The Royal Exchange Build- ings stand upon the north side of the High Street, opposite St. Giles's Cathedral. The Council Chamber for the meet- ings of the Magistracy, and various other apartments for the transaction of municipal business, occupy the side of the quadrangle opposite the entrance. Here at No. 10, orders are granted for visiting the Crown Room in the Castle ; at No. 11, for Heriot's Hos- pital. The buildings extend- ing from the Police Office eastwards to the Tron Church were mostly destroyed by the great fire in 1700. The northern part of the street, although in many respects greatly altered, still preserves much of its an- tiquity. In Dunbar's Close, Cromwell's guard was estab- lished after the victory of Dunbar. Here may be seen one of the mottoes which the citizens often inscribed over their lintels — " Faith . in . Christ . ONLY .SAviT. 1567." The old land facing the High Street, at the head of Craig's Close, was first the printing ofiice of the celebrated Andrew 40 EDINBURGH. Hart, and after him it was occupied successively by the well- known bibliopoles Creech and Constable. It is now the Cale- donian Mercury Newspaper Office. In a house at the foot of the Anchor Close lived the mother of Drummond of Hawthornden ; and after her, George Drummond, provost of Edinburgh, and one of the most useful magistrates the city ever possessed. He fought at SherifFmuir in 1715 ; and under his auspices were erected the Royal Infirmary, the Royal Exchange, and the North Bridge. He died in 1766. An old land in the Stamp Office Close was the mansion of the ninth Earl of Eglinton, but it became better known to the citizens of Edinburgh as Fortune's Tavern. In connection with this part of the High Street, it may also be interesting to know that when Henry Dundas (afterwards first Viscount Melville) began to practise as an advocate, his habitation was the third storey of the high land at the head of the Fleshmarket Close. The Tron Church took its name from the Tron or weighing- beam, which was formerly on or near its site. To this " Tron " it was customary, in former times, to nail false notaries and other malefactors by the ears. Near this place was the town residence of the Bishop of Dunkeld, where Queen Mary and Darnley resided for some time in 1566, after the murder of Riccio. The present entrance to Hunter Square was the site of the Black Turnpike, the town residence, in 1567, of Sir Simon Preston of Craigmillar, then provost, in which Mary spent her last night in Edinburgh. The Black Turnpike afterwards became the property of George Heriot, and was demolished in 1788. On the west side of the Tron was Kennedy's Close, where George Buchanan died in 1582. On passing the opening of the North Bridge, an old wooden-fronted house is seen at the nead of Halkerstoun's Wynd, opposite one of the city wells. This was the first dwelling and shop of Allan Ramsay the poet, before he removed to Creech's land, and was marked by the sign of the Mercury. The flat he occupied is reached by the pro- jecting stair, and is now a watchmaker's shop. It is supposed that he used the flat above also, the same that now forms a turner's workshop. Carrubber's Close, adjoining this, is a place of considerable interest, and is associated both with Ramsay and Burns. At the foot of the close Ramsay built a playhouse (now Whitcfield Chapei), and in an old tenement called the HIGH STREET. 41 Clamshell land, also at the foot of the close, on the east side, Burns was a frequent guest, with two of his earliest and most intimate friends, Robert Ainslie and Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo, both of whom resided there. The close is principally known as the retreat of a remnant of Jacobites on the overthrow of Episcopacy in 1688 ; and their chapel of St. Paul's still remains. The vacant space above the chapel on the same side, and this old house to the east of it, were the site of one of the finest private dwellings in the High Street, namely that of John Spottiswood, Archbishop of St. Andrews ; hence the entrance to it from the High Street is still called Bishop's Close. After him it was successively inhabited by Lady Jane Douglas and the first Lord President Dundas ; the famous Viscount Melville was also born in it. It was burnt down in 1814. The next place of antiquity on the other (the south) side of the High Street going down, is Blachjriars Wynd, the avenue to the Blackfriars' Monastery (which occupied the site of the old High School, now part of the Infirmary). It was the rendez- vous and place of abode of the principal ecclesiastics in the time of the Stuarts, and the scene of several deadly scuffles between contending parties of the nobility. The Earl of Morton's man- sion still remains entire at the head of the close, on the Avest side, and is a beautiful specimen of the antique habitations of these days. There is another old house opposite it, in which there used to be a Roman Catholic Chapel. At the foot of the close, on the west side, and marked by the turret at the corner, is the old palace of Cardinal Beaton. The house opposite the Cardinal's was originally the town mansion of the St. Clairs, Earls of Roslin, and afterwards became a Roman Catholic Chapel. If the tourist wishes to witness the change of a century on the manners and customs of Edinburgh society, let him visit this close. On the same (the south) side, a little further down, are South Gray's and Hyndford's Closes. Half-way down the former, one of the old tenements on the right side is converted into the United Industrial School. At the foot of the latter (Hyndford's) is the very antique mansion of the Earl of Selkirk, which after- wards came to be occupied by Dr. Rutherford, the maternal grandfather of Sir Walter Scott. 4-2 EDINBURGH. Nearly opposite this, on the north side of the High Street, is Chalmers' Close. A house on the west side of this close, said to have been a private chapel before the Reformation, became the dwelling-place of Lord Jeifrey's grandfather ; and the name hyndfobd's close. John Hope over the doorway marks the original mansion of the founder of the family of the Earls of Ilopetoun. Returning to the High Street, we come to the lion of the place, Joh7i Knox's House, Netherbow. — The interior of the house is open on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, from 10 A.M. to 4. P.M., admission sixpence. In this house Knox resided, with some interruptions, from 1560 till his death in 1572. The house JOHN KNOx's HOUSE. 43 as now shown consists of three rooms — the sitting room, bedroom, and study. The old oak panelling is not the wood with which the walls were originally lined, but was taken from other old CHALMEKS' CLCSE. houses in Edinburgh, so as to bear as close a resemblance to it as possible. The interior is worth seeing as a specimen of a dwelling-house of the sixteenth century. The only object in the house connected with the reformer, is his chair, which stands in the study. This house or manse was provided for the Reformer in 1559, when he was elected minister of Edinburgh. Here he providentially escaped the shot of an assassin ; and here he died at the age of sixty-seven, not so much "oppressed 44 EDINBURGH. with years, as worn out and exhausted by his extraordinary labour of body and anxiety of mind." Over the door is the following admonitory inscription : — !£ttf£'.' day except Sunday. Admission on Saturdiiys free— on other days by tickets got within the quadrangle, price Sixpence. At the end of May, wlien occupied by the Queen's Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Chui'ch of Scotland, there is no admittance. This ancient residence of Scottish Royalty is a building of a quadrangular form, with a central court ninety-four feet square. Its front is flanked with double castellated towers, imparting to the building that military character which the events of Scottish history have so often proved to have been requisite in royal residences. The changes which from time to time the edifice has under- gone render it a matter of difficulty to affix a precise date to any part of it. The towers of the north-west corner, built by James V., are understood to be the most ancient portion of the present building. In 1822, previous to the visit of George IV., some improvements were made in its internal accommodation, and since that time its walls have undergone a thorough repair at the expense of the Crown. The Duke of Hamilton is heredi- IIOIA'ROOD PALACE. 53 tary keeper of the palace, and both he and the Marquis of Breadalbane retain apartments within it. Queen 2[arys Apartments are the most interesting. The ;:^ ....... -..h^iSfillilfliiiffllllk ,1. quEEN Mary's buudoib. bedchamber is said to remain nearly in the same state as when last occupied by the unhappy Princess. The c27,000. The chapel occupies the south side of the quadrangle, and is fitted up with oaken carvings, richly adorned ceiling, and stained glass windows. The object of this splendid institution is the main- tenance and education of " poor and fatherless boys," or boys whose parents are in indigent circumstances, " freemen's sons of the town of Edinburgh," of whom 180 are accommodated. The course of instruction consists of English, Latin, Greek, Writing, Arithmetic, Book-keeping, Mathematics, and Geography. To these branches have recently been added French, Drawing, the Elements of Music, and Practical Mechanics. The ages for admission are from seven to ten, and generally the age for leav- ing the institution is fourteen, unless extended, with the view of preparation for the studies of the University. All the boys, upon leaving the hospital, receive a bible, and other useful books, with two suits of clothes of their own choice. Those going out as apprentices are allowed i>10 annually for five years, and =£'.5 at 64 EDINBURGH. the termination of their apprenticeship. Those destined for any of the learned professions are sent to college for four years, during which period they receive £30 a-year. In 1836, an act was obtained from Parliament, empowering .the Governors to extend the benefits of the Institution, and employ their surplus funds in establishing Free Schools in the different parishes of the city. Ten of these schools are already in full operation, in which very nearly 3000 children, of both sexes, are instructed in the usual branches of a parochial educa- tion, the females being, in addition, taught sewing and knitting. This great scheme of instruction, when complete, must prove of incalculable benefit to the community, as the advantages of a substantial education will be brought within the reach of every citizen, however humble. In addition to these liberal provisions for the instruction of youth, there are also ten bursaries, or exhibitions, open to the competition of young men not connected with the institution. The successful competitors for these bursaries receive i;20 fer annwm for four years. The princely provision thus made for the welfare of his countrymen amply justifies the sentiment put into the mouth of the founder by Sir Walter Scott — " I think mine own estate and memory, as I shall order it, has a fair chance of outliving those of greater men." TIte Meadows and Bruntsfield Linls {Anglice, Downs), south side of the town, may be visited with Heriot's Hospital. In the year 1722 a marshy ground, anciently called the Burrow- loch Boroughmuir, in the southern environs of the city, was inclosed, drained, planted with trees, and traversed by extensive broad walks, for the accommodation of the citizens. The public grounds, which receive the appellation of the Meadows, and bear some resemblance to the Green Park in London, are bordered on the south-west side with extensive open downs, called Bruntsfield Links, which are also open to the public, and form a place of agreeable recreation for youth, as well as an excellent golfing ground. In a stable at the head of the links Bruce wrote the most of his travels in Abyssinia. It was then a solitary hut quite in the country, and so far from town as to afford perfect retirement and seclusion. Kewington, Bruntsfield, Oreenltill, Morning side, and Canaan, THE MEADOWS. 65 are the principal suburbs on the south side of Edinburgh. Thej ^— ^.9^^^/^g«^_ THE GAME Of GOLl'. occupy the slope of a hill, with a pleasant southern exposure, and looking towards Arthur's Seat and the Pentland Hills. Southern Cemetery, Grange, south side of the town, is similar to that of Warriston, diftering only in respect of its commanding a view of Edinburgh from the south instead of from the north. Here the late Dr. Chalmers and Hugh Miller are buried. George Square is the principal square in the old town. Towards the close of the last century, it was the residence of the higher ranks — such as the l)uchess of Gordon, the Countess of Sutherland, the Countess of Glasgow, Viscount Duncan, the Hon. Henry Erskine, and many other persons of distinction The house of Walter Scott, Esq., W.S., father of the novelist, was on the west side of the square (No. 25), but previous to his removal to this quarter he lived in a tenement at the head of College Wynd, a narrow alley leading from the Cowgate to the present North College Street, and there Sir Walter 66 EDINBURGH. was born. This wynd was at that time inhabited by many of the professors and students, including the celebrated Dr. Joseph Black, Lord Keith, and Oliver Goldsmith. Returning to the New Town by George IV. Bridge, we pass on our way the Grey- friars' Churchyard and the Highland and Agricultural Society's Museum. The Greyfriars' Churchyard (Entrance from Candlemaker THE CASTLI. FROM THE GHEYVRIARS CHUUCIIYAIID. Row, at the south end of George IV. Bridge) is the most interesting and ancient churchyard in Edinburgh. In it are interred George Buchanan, the accomplished Latin poet, and preceptor of James VI. ; George Heriot ; Allan Ramsay, the Scottish poet ; Robertson, the historian ; Dr. BLack. the dis- tinguished chemist ; Mackenzie, author of " The Man of Feeling ; " Dr. Hugh Blair ; Colin Maclaurin ; M'Crie, the biographer of Knox ; and other eminent men. GUEYFRIARS' CHUKCnYARD. 67 The Martyrs' Monument, in the lower part of the cemetery, next the city wall, is the one regarded with most interest. On it is the following inscription : — "From May 27, i65i, that the most noble Marquis of Argyle suffered, to the 17th February 1688, that Mr. James Kenwick suffered, were executed at Edinburgh about one hundred of noblemen, gentlemen, ministers, and others, noble martyrs for Jesus Christ : the most part of them lie here." Halt passenger, take heed what thou dost 1 But as for these, in them no cause was see, ! found This tomb doth shew for what some did die. 1 Worthy of death ; but only they were sotind, Constant and steachast, zealous, witnessing For the prerogative of Christ their King. Whicli trutiis were seal'd by famous Gutlirie's head, Here Ues intcrr'd the dust of those who stood, 'Gainst perjury resisting unto blood. Adhering to tlie covenants and laws, Establishing the same; which was the ! And all along to Mr. Renwick's blood cause I They did endure the wrath of enemies, Their lives are sacrific'd unto the lust 1 Reproaclies.torments, deaths, and injuries; Of prelatists abjured; tho' here their dust ' But yet, they're these who from such Lies mix'd with miu-derers, and other crew, j troubles came, Whom justice, justly, did to death pui-sue. I And now triumph in glory with the Lamb." One of the most picturesque and effective views of the castle and Old Town is to be obtained from this churchyard. The Old Greyfriars' Church was built in 1612, but it was not constituted a parish church till 1722. Previously to this, in May 1718, its spire was blown up by gimpowder, which had been lodged in it by the town authorities for security. It was destroyed by fire in 1845 ; and thereafter re-erected, uniform with the New Greyfriars' Church, to which it is contiguous. Its stained glass windows are of great merit, and greatly improve the internal aspect of the building. The New Greyfriars' Church was built in 1721. Both of these buildings, which were sepa- rated only by a wall, were erected on what was formerly the garden ground of the monastery of Greyfriars, in the south part of the town, and which, on the demolition of the friary in 1559, was conferred by Queen IMary on the town, to be used as a public cemetery. The Old Greyfriars' Church was the place where the first signatures to the National Covenant were appended in 1038 ; and Robertson, the celebrated historian of Charles V., officiated in it for many years. The Highland and Agrmdtural Society of Scotland was the first institution of the kind in the United Kingdom, and the parent of the very numerous bodies which now devote special attention to the advancement of agriculture. The museum 68 EDI^'BURQH. and hall for public meetings arc on George IV. Bridge. The museum contains a number of models of agricultural imple- ments, and is open to the public free every day, from eleven o'clock to three, except Monday. The society's chambers are in Albyn Place, where also is the secretary's official residence. NEW TOWN. Moray Place, AinsUe Place, Great Stuart Street, and Randolph Crescent, at the west end of Princes Street, are celebrated for their architectural magnificence. They are built on the grounds of Drumsheugh, the property of the Earl of Moray, in accordance with a uniform plan designed by Mr. Gillespie Graham, archi- tect. They are inhabited by the wealthiest classes in Edinburgh. The house. No. 24 Moray Place, was the residence of the late Lord Jeffrey. The rent of the houses in Moray Place varies from ^'160 to .£200, and in the other streets mentioned, from .£130 to £150. The tourist, when here, should continue his walk a little westwards by Randolph Crescent and Randoljjh Cliff to the Dean Bridge, from which he may observe the pleasant nature of the ground to the back of those streets through which he has passed, and part of which descends pre- cipitously to the level of the Water of Leith, where the district called Stockbridge has arisen. Stockbridge was one of those villages which, like Broughton, Canonmills, Silvermills (Hender- son Row), etc., have gradually been absorbed by the e.-ctension of the new town. It contains several elegantly built streets, such as St. Bernard's Crescent (built on the site of St. Bernards, the villa of Sir Henry Raeburn, the celebrated portrait painter), but from the locality being rather sunk, and too near the Water of Leith, the property has very much depreciated. This con- dition, however, it has now some chance of imjijroving by being brought into contact with the new streets on the north side of the Dean Bridge. The Dean Bridije now forms part of the roadway extending to the westward of the city, and is a favourite promenade. It commands a fine view, among the more striking objects in which are Donaldson's Hospital to the south-west, the Water of Leith below, Frith of Forth, etc., to the north. Trinity Chapel, one of the Episcopal places of worship, stands at the Donaldson's hospital. 69 north end of the bridge. The roadway passes at the height of 106 feet al)ove the bed of the stream. The arches are four in number, each 96 feet span, the breadth between the parapets being 39 feet, and the total length of the bridge 447 feet. The design was furnished by the late Mr. Telford. On the lands of Dean at the other (the western) end of this bridge, is a very handsome block of buildings, called respectively, Clarendon Crescent, Eton and Oxford Terrace, and Lennox Street. Western Cemetery, Dean, reached by the Dean Bridge, vies with that at Warriston in the beauty of its situation, which, ho"wever, is of a very different nature. The steep bank of the Water of Leith is here adorned with lofty trees, which impart an air of sombreness and seclusion, and thus assort well with the associations likely to be called up by those frequenting the place. It was a favourite resort of the late Lord Jeffrey ; and here he and his biographer Lord Cockburn and their mutual friend Lord Rutherfurd lie side by side. Steivarfs Hospital, at the Dean, displays a mixture of the Scotch castellated dwelling with that of the last period of domestic Gothic. The central tower has the small outsailing turrets at the angles common to Scotch buildings ; the windows are square-headed, divided by mullions and transoms, and the heads of lights are segmental. The entrance-front has a projecting wing on each side, forming three sides of a square, and the area within is enclosed on the fourth side by an arcaded screen, which will stretch from wing to wing. The material used is Binny stone. The architect was David Rhind, Esq, With the view of inspecting Donaldson's Hospital we must now retrace our steps to the west end of Princes Street, and proceed from that in a direct line west by Shandwick Place, Maitland Street, and the Haymarket. Donaldson's Hospital, (Glasgow Road, about a mile from the west end of Princes Street ; admittance by order, obtained from one of the directors). — This Institution was founded by James Donaldson of Broughton Hall, a printer in the West Bow, Edinburgh, who died in 1830, and left the greater part of his property, amounting to nearly £200,000, for the en- dowment of an hospital for the maintenance of poor boys and girls after the plan of the Orphan and John Watson's Hos- pital — poor children of the name of Donaldson or Marshall 70 EDINBURGH. having a preference. The building, commenced in 1842 and finished in 1850, is a structure of large dimensions, exceeding those of any building in the city, excepting the University. The length of its south or principal front is 270 feet, and its depth (exclusive of the chapel, which projects ninety feet from the north front) is 260 feet. The size of the quadrangle within is 175 by 163 feet, being greater than the external dimensions of Heriot's Hospital, which is 160 feet square. The style of architecture employed in the design is that which arose in Britain in the sixteenth century, when, upon mediaeval archi- tecture (which had been verging from ecclesiastical into civic and domestic application) were engrafted many features of modern Italian buildings ; resulting in combinations which assumed a marked and individual style, eminently expressive of a high condition of social refinement and grandeur. On the centre of the south front a tower 49 feet square, with lofty central oriel corbelled above the entrance doorway, and with bold enriched cornices, embattled parapets, and perforated chimney-shafts, rises to the height of 120 feet ; at each angle of which are attached octagonal towers pierced with mullioned windows, enriched with multiplied ijanellings, armorial bear- ings, devices, and ornaments, and finished with ogee leaded roofs surmounted by richly carved stone lanterns and finials. The four corners of the building have each a tower 43 feet square, and 92 feet high, with attached square towers termi- nated by lead roofs and finials, the main tower having oriels, battlements, and chimney-shafts. These corner towers are connected with each other and with the large central tower of the south front by intermediate stretches of building, having mullioned and labelled windows and buttresses surmounted by little curved pediments with angels' heads and terminal orna- ments, the whole being crowned by a corbelled cornice and para- pet with shields and devices, and terminal shafts above each buttress. The chapel, projecting to the north, partakes of the same general character of detail which obtains throughout the main building, but resumes somewhat of an ecclesiastical aspect by the introduction of arched mullioned and transomed windows, which, ■with a lintellcd oriel to the north, serve to mark the idea of a domestic or baronial chapel. The interior is roofed with corbelled beams, the walls are GEORGE STREET — ANTIQUARIAN MUSEUM. 71 lined with massive panelling, and the windows filled with richly stained glass. The entire structure was designed and carried into execution by W. II. Playfair, and it may well be said to be the crowning masterpiece of this great architect. Returning through Moray Place eastwards, by Darnaway Street into Heriot Row, the stranger is introduced to another suite of those pleasure grounds, called the Queen Street gardens, which tend so much to beautify the city. Ascending the first opening on the right (Wemyss Place), we reach Queen Street, the upper windows of which command an excellent prospect of the Frith of Forth, the shores of Fife, and the Ochil Hills, and in some states of the atmosphere, the peaks of the Grampians. Proceeding eastward along Queen Street, the first opening on the right is Castle Street, in which the house numbered 39, was the to\vn residence of Sir Walter Scott. George Street, running parallel with Princes Street, succeeds it in point of value and importance. Till lately, it was almost wholly occupied with private dwelling-houses of the best kind ; but these have now been very much converted into shops, and this state of transition is still making rapid progress. The Assemlly Rooms, where public assemblies, balls, and concerts, are held, are plain and unpretending in their external appearance, and were erected in 1787. The Music Hall, a recent addition to the original edifice, forms the largest of the apartments : it is seated for 1486, exclusive of the orchestra, which measures 108 feet long by 91 broad, and accommodates 200 people. It contains a large organ, and is well adapted for concerts and public meetings. The ball-room is 92 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 40 feet high. The Antiquarian Mtiseum, No. 24 George Street, is open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 to 4 ; on other days by a member's order, which may be obtained at Mr. W. Watson's, bookseller, 52 Princes Street. Among the many interesting relics of antiquity preserved in this collection may be mentioned the colours carried by the Covenanters during the civil war ; the stool which Jenny Geddes, in her zeal against Prelacy, launched at the head of the Bishop of Edinburgh in St. Giles's Church ; and the Maiden, or Scottish Guillotine, with which the Earl of jMorton, the Marquis of Argyle, Sir Robert Spottis- wood, and many other distinguished persons, were beheaded. 72 EDINBURGH. Commercial Bank of Scotland, opposite St. Andrew's Church, is a building of bold and massive architecture. Bt. Andrew Square, oW Princes Street, and at the east end of George Street, from its central position has become one of the principal places of business in the city. In it are situated the Royal, British Linen Company, National, and Western Banks. In front of the Royal Bank is a statue of John, fourth Earl of Hopetoun. The British Linen Company's Bank was recently rebuilt in a very handsome and striking style, and the interior is fitted up in the most elegant manner. The architect was David Bryce, Esq, The ten banks and branches of banks in Edinburgh are all joint-stock companies. Five are properly Edinburgh institutions, originating and having their principal establishments there. These possess an aggregate capital of £5,600,000 sterling. Of the other five, two may be considered as partly Edinburgh and partly Glasgow establishments, having head offices and directors in both cities. These have each a capital of one million. The remaining three are branches of Glasgow banks. The oldest bank in Edinburgh is the Bank of Scotland, which was established in 1G95 by an Act of the Scottish Parliament. In the third floor of the house in the north-west corner of St. Andrew Square, No. 21, Lord Brougham was born ; and the house directly opposite, in the south-west corner, with entrance from St. David Street, was the residence of David Hume after he left the old town. The Melville Monument, which graces the centre of St. Andrew Square, was erected to the memory of the first Lord Melville. It rises 136 feet in height, to which the statue adds other 14 feet. The design is that of the Trajan column, the shaft being fluted, instead of ornamented with sculpture, as in the ancient model. What Lord Jloray's grounds of Drumsheugh were on the west of Queen Street, General Scott's * of Bellevue were on the east. They extended from York Place northwards to Canonmills. The mansion-house stood near the centre of Drummond Place ; and the place as described by Lord Cockburn was one of the most pleasing scenes of luxuriant foliage that his eye had ever beheld. Although sadly maimed by the * The fatlier-in-law of Mr. Cauninsf. HORTICULTURAL AND BOTANIC (iARDENS. lO cutting down of the trees, part of these grounds still remains to beautify the city. Queen Street, Heriot Row, and Abercromby Place, from their contiguity to the gardens, are thus rendered two of the most favourite rows of streets in the town. Drummond Place, also, has the advantage of part of the gardens, and many of the old thorn trees there have attained to a considerable size. The only streets that have retained the name of Bellevue are Bellevue Crescent (looking towards Leith) and Bellevue Terrace, ;it the east end of Claremont Street. The Zoological Gardens are pleasantly situated opposite the last named street, and contain a small collection of animals, some of which are very fine specimens. Admittance, Is. The streets to the east of Bellevue are built on the site of the village and baronial burgh of Broughton, the name of which is still preserved in Broughton Street, Broughton Place, and Barony Street. The houses to the north of the Bellevue district are built on the lands of Inverleith and Warriston, and form agreeable suburban residences. Inverleith Roio is the principal of these, and extends for about a mile in a straight line from Canonmills to the Granton Road. The Caledonian Horticultural Societfs Gardens are situated here, and cover a beautiful piece of ground of ten imperial acres, commanding one of the finest views of Edinburgh from the north. Strangers are admitted by orders from members of the Society, or on application to the Curator of the garden. The Royal Botanic Gardens are upon the same side of Inver- leith Row, quarter of a mile further down. To this noble Garden, strangers are freely admitted, but the hot-houses are open to the public only on Saturday, between the hours of twelve and four. The Garden embraces an extent of 14^ English acres, and presents every facility for prosecuting the study of Botany. Warriston Cemetery was the first of its kind beyond the boundaries of the town. It occupies an open sloping piece of ground to the east of Inverleith Row, from which there is a beautiful view of Edinburgh from the north. Granton is about a mile from the foot of Inverleith Row, and, next to Leith, is the port upon which Edinburgh and the eastern portion of Scotland most depend. Its low-water 74 EDINBURGH. pier and harbour have been constructed by the Duke of Buccleuch at great expense, and are worthy of being visited by all who take an interest in such works, as well as by those who take a pleasure in sea-side promenades. From this pier the London, Aberdeen, Inverness, Shetland, and Stirling steamers sail. Granton is also one of the stations of the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee Railway, and betwixt it and Burntisland, on the opposite coast of Fife, is the principal ferry on the Frith of Forth. There is an excellent hotel at Granton. Trinity, half a mile from Granton, is a conveniently situated marine suburb of Edinburgh, where a number of neat villas have recently been erected overlooking the Frith of Forth. Trains run almost every hour betwixt it and the town. Leith (population 30,919), the sea-port of Edinburgh, is distant about a mile and a half from the centre of the metropolis. It was not only the first, but, for several centuries, the only port in Scotland — traces of its existence being found in documents of the twelfth century. Among the few remaining antiquities it contains, may be mentioned the Parish Church of South Leith, a Gothic edifice, built previous to the year 1496, and the Old Church of North Leith founded in 1493. In the Links, upon the south-east side of the town, may be seen several mounds, raised for the purpose of planting cannon, by the besieging army, in 1560. For the most part the town is irregularly and confusedly built, and a great portion of it is extremely filthy, crowded, and inelegant. The modem streets, however, and various ranges of private dwellings, erected of late years on the eastern and western skirts of the town, are spacious and handsome. There are excellent docks and a good harbour. The trade of Leith is principally with the Baltic and north of Europe. Its two piers form an excellent promenade, and are each upwards of a mile in length, and there is a ferry from the extremities of each. (Charge one halfpenny.) The docks contain an area of fifteen acres. The depth of water at high water is twenty feet at neap tides. The quays, which are 2800 yards in length, are amply furnished with shed accommodation and cranes ; and there is railway communication from ship's side in the harbour, docks, and at the low-water landing slip, in direct connection with the prin- cipal railways in Scotland and England. There are five graving LEITH. 75 docks, and the construction of another of a still larger size, and calculated to accommodate vessels of the largest class, with a commodious building slip alongside, is in contemplation. Gene- rally, it is believed, that as regards access, safety, the facilities for loading and discharging vessels afloat, the convenience of immediate railway connection, and other internal accommoda- tion, the harbour of Leith is not now surpassed by any sea-port in the United Kingdom. Neil-haven is a small fishing village, situated about a mile farther up the Forth than Leith. It possesses a stone pier, suitable for fishing smacks. The inhabitants of Newhaven are a laborious and hardy race. They form a distinct community, rarely intermarrying with any other class. The male inhabitants are almost all fishermen, and the females are constantly occupied in vending the produce of their husbands' industry in the markets or streets of Ediubura-h. ENVIEONS OF EDINEUEGH. HAWTHORNDEN AND ROSLIN. Days of Admission. — Ha-n-thornden is open to strangers on Wednes- day only. Admission on any other day can only be had by order of the proprietor. The house is not shown. The guide's charge for describ- ing the caves, etc., is 6d. each, or 2s. 6d. for a party not exceeding six. Visitors are admitted by the Hawthornden gate only, and are allowed to proceed to Eoslin through the grounds, but there is no admittance the reverse way. RosLiN. — Roslin Chapel is exhibited every day except Sunday. The guide's charge is the same as at Hawthornden — Gd. each, or 2s. 6d. for a party not exceeding six. The charge is repeated by the guide who shows the Castle. Ha-\vthomden being open to strangers only on Wednesdays, and Dal- keith Palace only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Wednesday is the only day upon which all the three places can be seen, and tourists will therefore endeavour to devote the day to this purpose. If taken in this way, it is necessary to go first to Hawthornden before going to Roslin, as visitors are not admitted the reverse way. During summer, a coach leaves 4 Princes Street for Eoslin in the morning, returning in the afternoon, and the Peebles Railway has stations within a mile of either place. For time of trains, see Time Tables. If the Roslin coach should be full, there is another to Loanhead, which is within a mile and a half of Roslin. Another way is to go by rail to Dalkeith, and, after seeing the park, walk or take a car to Lasswade, about 2 mQes, and thence to Hawthornden, about Ih miles, and walk through the grounds to Roslin, other IJ miles. The best plan for a partj- is to hire an open cab for their own use. Charge for a one-horse vehicle (holding four persons) to Hawthornden and Roslin, allowing two or three hours there, 12s. Tolls and keep of horse and man beuig defrayed bv the party hiring. There is a small inn Avith stabling at Roslin. Haicthornden, the classical habitation of the poet Drum- mond, the friend of Shakspere and Jonson, is now the property of Sir James Walker Drummond, Btut. iz ^- ^' \Al'^^4^liliA±2±^ ^__^_Uu^b^TA.K^j^hrMi WMtaaaff HAWTHORNDEN. 77 This romantic spot seems to have been formed by nature in :>ne of her happiest moments. Down, down, precipitoiis ajid rude, The rocks abruptly go, While, through their deep and narrow gorge Foams on tlie Esk below ; Yet, though it plunges strong and bold, Its niuiinurs meet the ear Like fretful childhood's weak complaint, Half smother'd in its fear. Here, too, iire labyrinthine paths To caverns dark and low, Wlierein, they say, king Uobert Bruce Found refuge from his foe ; And stdl, amid their relics old, His stalwiu't sword they keep, Which telleth tales of cloven heads And gashes dire and deep : While scidptui'ed in the yielding stone Full many a niche they show, Wliere erst his library he stored, (The giude-ljoy told us so). Slight need had he of books, I trow, Mid hordes of savage men, And precious little time to read. At leaguer'd Hawthomden. Loud pealing from those caverns drear, In old disastrous times, The Covenanter's nightly hymn Upraised its startling chimes ; Here, too, they stoutly stood at bay. Or frowning sjied along. To meet the highljorn cavalier lu conflict tierce and strong. And here's the hawthom-broidered nook, Where Drummond, not in vain, Awaited his inspiring muse, And woo'd lier dulcet strain. And there's the oak, beneath whose shade He welcomed tuneful Ben, And still the memory of then- words Is niu-sed in Hawthomden. Flowers! flowers! how tliick and rich they grow. Along the garden fair, And sprinkle on the dewy sod Their gifts of fragrance rare. Methinks from many a heather bell Pee])s forth some fairy lance, And tlien a tiny foot protrudes. All ready for the dance ; Methinks 'neath yon bright laurel leaf They hold their revels light. Imprinting with a noiseless step The mossy cai'pet bright ; And then their ringing laughter steals From some sequestered glen ; A fitting place for fays to sport Is pleasant Hawthomden. SlGOUENEY. All the materials that compose the picturesque seem here com- bined in endless variety : stupendous rocks, rich and varied in colours, hanging in threatening aspect, crowned with trees that expose their bare branching roots ; here the gentle birch hang- ing midway, and there the oak bending its stubborn branches, meeting each other ; huge fragments of rocks impede the rapid flow of the stream, that hurries brawling along unseen, but heard far underneath. Being built with some view to defence, the house rises from the very edge of the grey cliff, which descends sheer down to the stream. An inscription on the front of the building testifies that it was repaired by the poet in 1638. In the year 1618 Ben Jonson walked from London, to visit his friends in Scotland, and lived several weeks with Drummond at Hawthomden. Under the mansion are several subterraneous caves, hewn out of the solid rock with great labour, and connected with each other by long passages ; in 78 EDINBURGH — ENVIRONS. the court-yard there is a well of prodigious depth, which com- municates with them. In the side of this, many feet below the caverns, and eight feet above the water, is another cave, said to have been a hiding place of Robert the Bruce, and which he used to reach by swinging himself down the well by a rope. These caverns are supposed to have been constructed as places of refuge, when the public calamities rendered the ordinary habitations unsafe. After leaving Hawthomden, we pass the caves of Gorton, situated in the front of a high cliff on the southern side of the North Esk stream. These caverns, during the reign of David II., while vScotland was overrun by the English, afforded shelter to the gallant Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalwolsey, with a band of chosen patriots. Roslin is one and a half miles from Hawthornden, and eight from Edinburgh. The vale of Roslin is one of those sequestered DOORWAY OF KOSLIN CHAPEL. dells, abounding with all the romantic varieties of cliff, copse- wood, and waterfall. Its Gothic Chapel is an exquisitely decorated specimen of ecclesiastical architecture, foimded in 144G by William St. Clair, Earl of Orkney, and Lord of Roslin. 79 At the Revolution of 1688, part of it was defaced by a mob from Edinburgh, but it was repaired in the following century by General St. Clair ; and a restoration of its more dilapidated INTEEIOE OF BOSLIN CHAPEL. parts has recently been made by the present Earl. "This building," says Mr. Britton, "may be pronounced unique, and I am confident it will be found curious, elaborate, and singularly interesting. The Chapel of King's College, St. George, and Henry VII., are all conformable to the styles of the respective ages when they were erected ; and these styles display a gradual advancement in lightness and profusion of ornament ; but the Chapel of Roslin combines the solidity of the Norman with the minute decorations of the latest species of the Tudor age. It is impossible to designate the architecture of this building by any given or familiar term ; for the variety and eccentricity of its parts arc not to be defined by any words of common 80 EDINBURGH — ENVIRONS. acceptation." The nave is bold and lofty, enclosed, as usual, by side aisles, the pillars and arches of which display a profusion of ornament, executed in the most beautiful manner. The " Prentice's Pillar," in particular, with its finely sculptured foliage, is a piece of exquisite workmanship. It is said that t"he master-builder of the Chapel, being unable to execute the design of this pillar from the plans in his possession, proceeded to Rome, that he might see a column of a similar description which had been executed in that city. During his absence, his apprentice proceeded with the execution of the design, and, upon the master's return, he found this finely ornamented column completed. Stung with envy at this proof of the superior ability of his apprentice, he struck him a blow with his mallet, and killed him on the spot. Upon the architrave uniting the Prentice's Pillar to a smaller one, is the following sententious inscription from the book of Apocryphal Scripture, called Esdras : — " Forte est vioium, fortior est rex, fortiores sunt mulieres ; super om^iia vincit veritasr Beneath the Chapel lie the Barons of Roslin, all of whom, till the time of James VII., were buried in complete armour. This circumstance, as well as the superstitious belief that, on the night before the death of any of these barons, the chapel appeared in flames, is beautifully described by Sir Walter Scott, in his ballad of Rosabelle. Roslin Castle, with its triple tier of vaults, stands upon a peninsular rock, overhanging the picturesque glen of the Esk, and, excepting by the pathway from Hawthornden, is accessible only by a bridge of great height, thrown over a deep cut in the solid rock, which separates it from the adjacent ground. This Castle, the origin of which is involved in obscurity, was long the abode of the proud family of the St. Clairs, Earls of Caith- ness and Orkney. In 1544, it was burned down by the Earl of Hertford ; and, in 1650, it surrendered to General Monk. About sixty or seventy years ago, the comparatively modem mansion, which has been erected amidst the ruins of the old castle, was inhabited by a genuine Scottish laird of the old stamp, the lineal descendant of the high race who first founded the pile, and the last male of their long line. lie was captain of the Royal Company of Archers, and Hereditary Grand Master of the Scottish Masons. At his death, the estate descended to BOSLIN. 81 Sir James Erskine St. Clair, fatlier of the present Earl of Rosslyn, who now represents the family. Part of the castle still forms a romantic summer residence. KOSLIN CASTLE. The neighbouring moor of Roslin was the scene of a cele- brated battle, fought 24th February 1302, in which the Scots, under Comyn, then guardian of the kingdom, and Simon Eraser, attacked and defeated three divisions of the English on the same day. Lassivade, six and a half miles from Edinburgh, and which 82 EDINBURGH ENVIRONS. is passed going either to or from Edinburgh in this direction, is said to have derived its name from a iass, who in former times, waded across the stream, carrying upon her back those whose circumstances enabled them to purchase the luxury of such a conveyance. In a neat house in the vicinity. Sir Walter Scott spent some of the happiest years of his life. The manufacture of carpets and paper is carried on to a considerable extent in its vicinity. Melville Castle, the seat of Viscount Melville, is one mile from Lasswade, and six from Edinburgh. The building was erected by the celebrated Harry Dundas, first Viscount Melville. The park contains some fine wood. Dalkeith Palace is open to the public on Wednesdays and Saturdays. This seat of the Duke of Buccleuch is a large, but by no means elegant, structure, surrounded by an extensive park, through which the rivers of North and South Esk flow, and unite their streams a short way below the house. In the year 1642, the estate was purchased from the Earl of Morton by Francis, Earl of Buccleuch. Anne, Duchess of Buccleuch and Monmouth, after the execution of her unhappy husband, substituted the present for the ancient mansion, and lived here in royal state. Since the union of the crowns, Dalkeith House has thrice been the temporary residence of royalty, — namely, of King Charles in 16.33, of George IV. in 1822, and of her present Majesty in 1842. It is worthy of notice, that Frois- sart, the historian of chivalry, visited the Earl of Douglas, and lived with him several weeks at the Castle of Dalkeith. There is a popular belief current, that the treasure unrighteously amassed by the Regent Morton lies hidden somewhere among the vaults of the ancient building ; but Godscroft assures us that it was expended by the Earl of Angus in supporting the companions of his exile in England, and that, when it was exhausted, the Earl generously exclaimed " Is it, then, all gone ? let it go ; I never looked it should have done so much good ! " The town of Dalkeith is six miles from Edinburgh, and easily accessible either by railway or coach. In it is held one of the most extensive grain markets in Scotland. Newhattle Ahhei/, a seat of the IMarquis of Lothian, is a mile south-west from Dalkeith, on the northern bank of the South CRAIGMILLAR CASTI.E. 83 Esk. This mansion stands on the spot formei'ly occupied by the Abbey of Newbattle, founded by David I. for a community of Cistercian monks. An ancestor of the present noble pro- prietor was the last abbot, and his son, Mark Ker, got the pos- sessions of the abbey erected into a temporal lordship in the year lo91. The house contains a number of fine paintings and curious manuscripts, and the lawn is interspersed with some old trees of great size. Dalhousie Castle, a modernised building in the castellated form, is two and a half miles from Newbattle, farther up the South Esk. The original structure was of vast antiquity and great strength. The present possessor, the Earl of Dalhousie, is the lineal descendant of Sir Alexander Ramsay, celebrated in Scottish history. The scenery around Dalhousie isvery pleasing. Craigmillar Casing occupies a noble site on a wooded eminence two and a half miles to the south of Edinburgh. It is approached most easily by a narrow road which strikes off to the left hand at the village of Little France, two miles and a quarter on the old Dalkeith road. The rampart wall which surrounds the castle appears, from a date preserved on it, to have been built in 1427. Craigmillar, with other fortresses in Mid-Lothian, was burned by the English after the battle of Pinkie in 1555, and Captain Grose surmises, with great plausibility, that much of the building, as it now appears, was erected when the castle was repaired after that event. In point of architecture and accommodation, Craigmillar surpasses the generality of Scottish castles. It consists of a strong tower, flanked with turrets, and connected with inferior buildings. There is an outer court in front, defended by the battlemented wall already mentioned, and beyond these there was an exterior wall, and in some places a deep ditch or moat. John Ilarl of IMar, younger brother of James III., was imprisoned in Craigmillar in 1477. James V. occupied it occasionally during his minority, and in the eventful 1566, Queen IMary resided there, and held, with her deceitful and double-dealing counsellors, some of those dark and mysterious interviews which terminated in Darnley's death and her own ruin. From her residence here, the adjacent village acquired the name of Little France, her French guards being quartered there. 84 EDINBrRGH— ENVIROXS. About the period of the Revolution, the Castle and estate of Craigmillar were purchased by Sir Thomas Gilmour, an eminent Scottish lawyer, to whose descendant, Walter Little Gilmour, Esq., they still belong. After the Calton Hill and Arthur Seat, it may without exaggeration be said to command the most striking and picturesque view of Edinburgh, and the surrounding country. HOPETOUN HOUSE AND DUNFERMLINE. [The best way to visit these places is by coach from 4 Princes Street. DfNFERii- LiSE may also be reached by Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee Railway, from Waverley Bridge Station, but it is a round-about and not so picturesque a road ; and besides, the ferry across the Forth in this way is sk miles long, whereas at Queensferry it is only two, and the water generally calmer. Those who do not disUke the sea, may go the one way and return the other.] The coach leaves Edinburgh by Princes Street and the Queensferry Road, crossing the Water of Leith at the Dean Bridge, a superb edifice of four arches, each ninety feet in span. Below, on the right, is St. Bernard's Well. On the left, in the hollow, stands the village of the Water of Leith, and further in the distance may be seen the mosque-like turrets of Donaldson's Hospital. The road now passes (left) Trinity Episcopal Chapel, (right) Clarendon Crescent, (left) Stewart's Hospital, (right) Dean House, Craigleith House, and Craigleith Quarry, from which the stone employed in building the New Town of Edinburgh was chiefly procured. (2) At a short distance to the left are Ravelston (Lady Keith), and Craigcrook (John Hunter, Esq.), the favourite residence of Lord Jeffrey. (4) On the right, Barnton House (Hon. Mrs. Ramsay). (4-^) Cross the Almond by Cramond Bridge, and pass on the left New Saughton (Lord Aberdour), and Craigiehall (Hope Vere, Esq.) On the shore is the vilhige of Cramond, and on the right the entrance to Dalmeny Park, the seat of the Earl of Rosebery. The grounds of Dalmeny slope beautifully to the sea, and present views of the most pleasing description. They are open to the public on Mondays, but admission on other days may be obtained on application to the proprietor's agents. The banks of the river Almond iu this neighbourhood are very HOPETOUN HOUSE. 85 picturesque, as is also the scenery about the old bridge of Craigiehall. (7) On the left, Dalmeny Kirk. (8) South Queensferry was erected into a royal burgh by Malcolm Can- more, and derived its name from jMargaret his queen. Here are some ruins of a monastery of Carmelite Friars founded in 1330. On the left is Dundas House (G. H. Dundas, Esq.,) and a little to the south, the ruins of Dundas Castle, which has been in the Dundas family upwards of 700 years. Ilopetoun IIov,se, the seat of the Earl of Hopetoun, is a build- ing of great splendour, possessing a delightful prospect. It is three miles west from Queensferry, and twelve from Edinburgh. A beautiful lawn surrounds the mansion, and romantic walks intersect the plantations. There is a large pond at the back of the house. The gardens and interior of the house are worthy of a visit, but the principal beauty of the place is the extensive prospect from the high terrace walk and other parts of the grounds. No order is required for admission to the grounds ; but to see the interior of the house requires an order from the factor or one of the family. In the narrow strait at Queensferry, there is the little island of Inch Garvie, on which a fort was established during the last war. Previous to the reign of Charles XL, the principal state prison was placed on it. (9^) Upon a promontory, on the northern coast, stands the small village of North Queensferry. It is remarkable as the place where Oliver Cromwell first encamped on crossing the Forth, in 1651. On this promontory, which is called the Cruicks, there is a lazaretto, where goods landed on this part of the coast, from tropical climates, have to pass quarantine. Rosyth Castle, a large square tower, is situated in the immediate neighbourhood, close by the sea. It was the ancient seat of the Stuarts of Rosyth, a branch of the royal family, from which Oliver Cromwell is said to have descended. The bay between the Cruicks and Rosyth Castle is called St. Mar- garet's Hope, from the circumstance of the Princess Margaret, sister of Edgar Atheling, afterwards consort of Malcolm Can- more, having been wrecked there in her flight from England, immediately after the Norman conquest. 86 EDIXBURGH E.WIRON?. (15) Dunfermline [New Inn ; Roval. Population 8577]. This ancient town became at an early period the seat of government, and a favourite residence of the Scottish kings. " The king sits iu Dunfermline town, Driiildng the blude-red wine." — Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens. The principal antiquities of Dunfermline are the Tower of Malcolm Canmore and the Palace, both situated in the grounds DUNFEUMLINE. of Pittencrieff, the property of James Hunt, Esq., who kindly permits visitors to inspect them. The tower stands on a pen- insular eminence called the Tower Hill, overlooking a deep THK ABBEY, Ui;M'hi;iiI.i:v E. ravine. A small fragment only of the tower remains. Here was born "the good Queen Maude," daughter of ]\Ialcolm Canmore, and Avife of Henry I. of England. She is buried in Westminster Abbey. The Palace, now in ruins, seems to have been a building of great magniiicence. It was a favourite residence of the kings of Scotland and the birth-place of Charles I. The bed in which he was born is preserved in Broomhall, the seat of the Earl of Elgin, two miles from the town. Charles' sister Elizabeth, afterw.ards queen of Bohemia, was also born here in 1.596. The last monarch who occupied this palace was Charles II., who OO EDINBURGH ENVIRONS. lived in it for some time before his engagement with Cromwell at Pitreavie, three miles south of Dunfermline, in 1650-51. It was also here the same monarch subscribed the National League and Covenant, in August 1650. The Abbey of Dunfermline was founded by Malcolm III. about the year 1075. Within its hallowed walls were interred eight Kings, five Queens, six Princes, and two Princesses of Scotland, but no vestige of this " Locum Sepulturte Regium" remains. Tradition has long pointed erroneously to a spot, now under the floor of the north transept of the present modern church, as " the sacred ground," probably because there lay here uncovered until the year 1818 six extraordinary large flat grave stones, arranged in two parallel rows. The proper locality has since been found to be before the altars in the chuix-h of "the Holy Trinity," now known as "the Anld Kirk." Being a Culdeaa establishment, the church at Dunfermline was dedicated to "the Holy Trinity," and was likewise ordained to be the future place of royal sepultiu-e for Scotland. This church had two altars — the High Altar, and the Altar of the Holy Cross. Before the "High Altar "were inteiTcd Edgar, in 1107 ; Malcolm (Canmore), exhumed at Tynemouth, and deposited here about 1109; Alexander I., in 1124; David I., in 115.S; and Malcolm IV., in 1165. And before the Altar of " the Holy Cross," were interred Margaret, Queen of Malcolm Canmore, in 1093, and her three sons, Princes Edward, Ethelrede, and Edmond, in 1093, 1097, and 1099, respectively. This church of "the Holy Trinity" was raised to the dignity of an abbey by David I., and was consecrated in 1150. In 1250, a splendid new church, with lantern tower, and transepts and " Ladye aisle," was built to the east end of tlie church of " the Holy Trinity," forming along with it an immense ecclesiastical pile stretching in length from east to west 27fi feet, with an average breadth of G6 feet. The new eastern edifice was verj' frequently called "the Qwere," (choir), and sometimes "the Psaltery," and the united buildings were known by the name of " Dunfermling Abbacie." Here the daily ser\aces were per- fomied, accompanied by a powerful organ, the first introduced into public worship in Scotland. In this year (1250), a new High Altar was erected in " Supra Chori," — the site now occupied by the pulpit of the modern church. It was before this that, on 22d July 1290, the "Earls, Barons, and Burgesses," of tlie kingdom swore fealty to Edward I. ; where the remains of Alexander III. were interred in 1285, and those of Eliza- beth, (iueen of Robert Bruce, in 1327. Here also, being directly in front of the present pulpit, were deposited in 1329 the remains of the immortal hero and king of glorious memory, King Robert Bruce. HAIiBIE S HOWE. 89 When the tomb of Robert Bruce was discovered, the skeleton of the illustrious monarch was found entire, together with the lead in which his body was wrapt, and even some fragments of his shroud. He was re-interred with much state by the Barons of the Exchequer, immediately under the pulpit. The fratery still retains an entire window, much admired for its elegant and complicated workmanship. Beneath the fratery there were six-and-twenty cells, many of which still remain. Besides the royal interments, Dunfermline Abbey holds the ashes of an Earl of Athol ; Thomas Randolph, Earl of ]\Ioray, of Bannockburn renown,— he lies not far from St. Margaret's tomb ; Robert, Dnke of Albany, Governor of Scotland; Elizabeth Wardlaw, authoress of tlie celebrated poem, "Hardj'knute;" Rev. Ralph Erskine, one of the founders of the Secession Church, etc. After its partial destruction by the reformers on 28th March 15G0, the Abbey lay long in a ruinous condition. James VI. fitted up the western part, which seems to have entirely escaped the reformers of 1560. In 1816 this old church was so uncomfortable and ill adapted for worship, that the present new church was erected on the east; and "the Auld Kirk," the original church of " the Holy Trinity," has ever since been serving as an outer church or nave to a second eastern edifice. Dunfermline has greatly increased within the last thirty years, and is now distinguished by the extent of its linen manu- facture. PENTLAND HILLS, HABBIE'S HOWE, & PENNYCUIK. There is a stage-coach to Pennycuik and Broughton once daily from 4 Princes Street, which suits this excursion. Charge for a one-horse vehicle to Newhall (where Habbie's Howe is situated) and Pennycuik, allowing two or three hours there, from 12s. 6d. to 15s. — tolls and keep of man and horse being defrayed by the party hiring. The figures thus (3) indicate the number of miles from Edinburgh. Leaving Edinburgh by Bruntsfield Links, the tourist passes on the right MERCHisTO>r Castle, the birth-place of the cele- brated Napier, the inventor of logarithms. (1) Village of Morningside, and anuml)er of villas and country boxes. (1;|) Hermitage of Braid (J. Gordon, Esq. of Clunie), situated at the 90 EDINBURGH — ENVIRONS. bottom of a narrow and thickly wooded dell, through which a small rivulet, called the Braid Burn, strays. The road now skirts the rocky eminences called the Hills of Braid, which com- mand a beautiful view of Edinburgh, with the Frith of Forth, and the shores of Fife in the background. The more northern side, called Blackford Hill, the property of Richard Trotter, Esq. of Mortonhall, is the spot mentioned in " Marmion." " still on the spot Lord Marmion stay'd, For fairer scene lie ne'er surveyed," etc. The space of ground which extends from the bottom of Blackford Hill to the suburbs of Edinburgh was formerly de- nominated the Borough Moor. Here James IV. arrayed his army, previous to his departure on the fatal expedition which terminated in the battle of Flodden. The Hare Stone, in which the Royal Standard was fixed, is still to be seen built into the wall, which runs along the side of the footpath at the place called Boroughmoor-head. (2|) Comieston (Sir James Forrest), on the right. (3) On the right, at some distance, are Dreghorn (A. Trotter, Esq.), the village of Colinton, delightfully situated at the bottom of the Pentland Hills, and ColintonHouse, (Lord Dunfermline). On the left, Morton Hall (Richard Trotter, Esq.) (4) Three roads meet — keep the one to the right. (5-^) On the southern slope of the Pentland Hills, is Woodhouselee, the seat of James Tytler, Esq., surrounded by fine woods. The ancient house of the same name, once the property of Bothwell- haugh, the assassin of the Regent Murray, was four miles distant from the present site. Woodhouselee had been bestowed upon Sir James Bellenden, one of the Regent's favourites, who seized the house, and turned out Lady Bothwellhaugh, naked, in a cold night, into the open fields, where before next morning, she became furiously mad. (5^) Toll-bar and hamlet of Upper Howgate. Road on the left to Roslin. (6) The Bush (Trotter, Esq.), ou the left. (6-^) Road on the right to the Compensation Pond, Pentland Hills, and Vale of Glencorse. At the head of this valley the Logan Water, which, further down, is called the Glencorse Burn, falls over a lofty precipice in the midst of a barren uninhabited glen. This is what popvilarly goes by the name of Uabbie's Howe ; and is generally visited by pleasure parties from Edinburgh as the scene of Allan Ramsay's pastoral drama, " The Gentle Shepherd ; " but although the sequestered GLENCORSE — NEWHALL. 91 pastoral character of the valley render it well worthy of a visit, the appearance of the scenery, as well as the absence of all the localities noticed by Ramsay, render this opinion extremely improbable. After crossing Glencorse Burn, the road passes (7) House- of-Muir, where a large sheep market is held in spring. Road on the left to Pennycuik. (7^) On the right, Rullion Green, where the Covenanters were defeated, 2Sth November 1666. (8) Road on the right to Pennycuik House. (12) Neivhall, the property of Robert Brown, Esq., lies on the banks of the North Esk, about three miles from Pennycuik House. At the era of Ramsay's drama, it belonged to Dr. Alexander Pennycuik, a poet and antiquary. In 1703, it passed into the hands of Sir David Forbes, a distinguished lawyer ; and, in Ramsay's time, was the property of Mr. John Forbes, son to Sir David, and cousin-german to the celebrated President Forbes of Culloden. The scenery around Newhall answers most minutely to the description in the drama.* Near the house, by the water's side, are some romantic projecting crags, which give complete "beild" or shelter, and form a most inviting retreat, corre- sponding with the first scene of the first act — and further up the vale, and behind the house, there is a grass plot, of the most luxuriant green, beside the burn, which answers to the description of the second scene. Penny mik House, the seat of Sir George Clerk, Bart., is well worthy of a visit. The neighbouring scenery is extremely beautiful, and the pleasure-grounds are highly ornamented. The house contains an extensive and excellent collection of paintings, with a number of Roman antiquities found in Britain, and, amongst other curiosities, the buff-coat worn by Dundee at the battle of Killiecrankie. * .\ neat illustrated copy of Ramsay's Gentle Shepherd is published, priec 2s. 6d. 92 EDINBURGH — ENVIRONS. BORTHWICK AND CRICHTON CASTLES. (Two mUes south of the Gorehridge Station of the Hawick 15ranch of the North British Railway. They may be seen from the railway on the way to Melrose.) Borthwick Castle is an ancient and stately tower, rising out of the centre of a small but well cultivated valley, watered by a stream called the Gore. The fortress is in the form of a double tower, seventy -four feet in length, sixty -eight in breadth, and ninety feet in height from the area to the battle- ments. It occupies a knoll, surrounded by the small river, and is enclosed within an outer court, fortified by a strong outward wall, having flanking towers at the angles. The hall is a stately and magnificent apartment, the ceiling of which consists of a smooth vault of ashler work. The license for building Borthwick Castle was granted by James I. to Sir William Borthwick, 2d June 1430. It was to Borthwick that Queen Mary retired with Bothwell, three weeks after her unfortunate marriage with that nobleman, and from which she was obliged, a few days afterwards, to flee to Dunbar in the disguise of a page. During the civil war, Borthwick held out gallantly against the victorious Cromwell, and surrendered at last upon honourable terms. The efi'ect of Cromwell's battery still remains, his fire having destroyed a part of the freestone facing of the eastern side of the castle. Borthwick is now the property of John Borthwick, Esq. of Crookstone, a claimant of the ancient peerage of Borthwick, which has remained in abey- ance since the death of the ninth Lord Borthwick, in the reign of Charles II. In the old manse of Borthwick, Dr. Robertson, the historian, was born. Crichton Castle, a mile and a quarter to the eastward of Borthwick Castle, and within sight of its battlements, stands on the banks of the Tyne, twelve and a half miles south from Edinburgh. The footpath which leads from Borthwick to Crichton is by the banks of the river, which meanders delight- fully through natural pastures and rushy meadows. The rail- way embankment, however, has much destroyed the beauty of the valley. Crichton Castle was built at different periods, and forms, on the whole, one large square pile, enclosing an interior court-yard. The eastern side is the most modern, and offers an example of splendid architecture very unusual in Scottish CRICHTOX CASTLE. 93 castles, and the interior corresponds with the external elegance of the structure. Crichton was the patrimonial estate and residence of the celebrated Sir William Crichton, Chancellor of Scotland, whose influence during the minority of James II., contributed so much to destroy the formidable power of the Douglas family.* Tlie towers in differeut ages rose ; Their various ai'cliitccture shows The builders' various liands ; A niiglity mass, that could oppose, Wlien deadliest hatred fired its foes, Tlie vengeful Douglas' bands. Still rises, uniiii])air'd, below, The court -yard's graceful portico ; Above its cornice, row and row Of fair-hewn facets richly show Their pointed diamond form, Though there but houseless cattle go. * For a further description of the place, see Manuion, or Scott's Provincial Antiquities. 94 EDIXBURGH ENVIRONS. WATERING PLACES NEAR EDINBURGH. Portohello (Campbell's Hotel) is the principal marine suburb of Edinburgh, from which it is three miles distant by railway. Its gently sloping and extensive sandy beach, renders it very favourable as a bathing place, and it is much resorted to on that account. The place has of late greatly extended, and may now be said to have amalgamated with the village of Joppa, a village to the eastward. A great many of the houses are let for the summer months at rates varying generally from £10 to £20 per month, furnished. Musselburgh (Inn: Musselburgh Arms) is three miles east of Portohello, and six miles from Edinburgh by railway. Popula- tion, 7092. It is connected with Fisherrow by three bridges, the oldest of which is supposed to have been built by the Romans. At the end of the new bridge is a monument to the memory of Moir the poet, who was a native of Musselburgh. Musselburgh Links, an extensive common between the town and the sea, are a favourite resort of golf players, and here also the Edinburgh races are run. On this plain, in 1G3S, the Marquis of Hamilton, repre- senting Charles I., met the Covenanting party ; and here Oliver Cromwell, in 1650, quartered his infantry, while the cavalry Avere lodged in the town. Pinkie House, the seat of Sir John Hope, Bart., at the east end of the town, is interesting for its many historical associations. It was originally a country mansion of the Abbot of Dunfermline, but was converted into its present shape at the beginning of t"he seventeenth century by Alexander Seton, Earl of Dunfermline. About a mile southward (at Pinkieburn House, on the east side of the Esk) the battle of Pinkie was fought (1547), in which the Scottish army was defeated by the English, commanded by the Duke of Somerset. Further southward, to the right, is Carberry Hill, where, in 15G7, Queen Mary surrendered to the insm-gent nobles. Burntisland (Forth Hotel), a summer resort of the inhabi- tants of Edinburgh, stands on a promontory opposite Granton, and forms one of the stations of the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee Railway. There is frequent access by excellent steamers, which take about half an hour to cross. The lodgings are numerous and comfortable ; those on the Lammerlaws are generally preferred. The charge varies from £\() to £20 a month. The extensive sandy beach, although very much destroyed by the line of railway, is well adapted for bathing and WATERING PLACES — ABEKDOUR. 95 healthful recreation. With the east wind a high sea rolls up the Frith, rendering the passage stormy and to many unpleasant. Aberdour, a village on the Frith of Forth, four miles west- wards from Burntisland, is situated on the confines of Donibristle and Aberdour, the respective domains of the Earls of Moray and Morton. It is protected on the east by the Hawkcraig cliff, and has a warm southern exposure. The ruins of an ancient castle occupy a beautiful position in the older part of the village, at Aberdour House, a seat of the Earl of Morton, and which gives the title of Lord Aberdour to his eldest son. Donibristle (the seat of the Earl of Moray) is entered by a gate at the western part of the village. The grounds are beau- tifully laid out, and the inhabitants of Aberdour, or those resident there for the summer, are admitted on certain days of the week by tickets. Donibristle House is a large plain build- ing, a mile from the Aberdour gate. It was the scene of the atrocious murder by the Earl of Huntly of the youthful Earl of Moray, son-in-law of the Regent.* Otterstoun Loch and mansion-house of Cockairney (Sir Robert Moubray, Bart.) are two miles westward. Inchcolm Island, on which are the ruins of an old monastery, resembling loua, is about a mile from the pier, and forms a very pleasant and interesting excursion, A small boat may be hired at Aberdour for this purpose. The other excursions which may with advantage be made from Edin- Ijurgh are : — I. To lleh-oso, Abbotaford, and Diyburgh, by rail, — going in the morning and returning in the evening. II. To Lanarli and tlie Falls of the Clyde, which may also be acconiplislied in one day. III. To St. Andrews, situated on the east coast of Fife, also by rail, returning same day. IV. To Linlithgow Palace, by rail; and back same day. V. To Lochleven Castle by rail and coach, or private vehicle. VI. To North Berwick, Tantallon Castle, and the Bass Rock, by North British Railway. VII. To the angling district of Peebles and Innerleithen. * Talus of a Grandfather, by Sir Walter Scott. 96 EDINBURGH TO MELROSE. I. EDINBURGH TO MELROSE, ABBOTSFORD, AND DRYBURGH. [By Xorth British Railway.] Notice. — From and after the £Otb of August, Abbotsford House is shown only on Wednesdays and Fridays, from two till five p.m. During the earlier part of the year, when Mr. Scott's family is from home, it is generally shown every day ex- cept Sunday, from 10 a.m. tUl dusk. Directions to accomplish this tour, returning to Edinhurgh same da^. Leave Edinburgli by an early train on the Hawick Branch of the North British Railway; station at Waverley Bridge. Take a return ticket for INIelrose, distant from lidiuburgh thirty-seven miles, and which is reached in about two hours. 1. Visit the ruins of Melrose Abbej-. Abbotsford is three miles Avest- ward, and Drybargh four miles eastward of jMelrosc. 2. Walk, or hire a vehicle to Abbotsford, the interior of which is shown to strangers. 3. Return to Melrose, from which proceed by same conveyance, or by railway to Newton St. Boswells Station, from which Drj'burgh is about a mile distant. 4. Return to Melrose, and take the evening train to Edinburgh. The scenery r-'i the country traversed by the railway from Edinburgh to Melrose is pleasing, although by no means striking. On emerging from the tunnel, shortly after leaving the station at Edinburgh, a fine view is obtained, on the right, of Arthur's Seat, Iloljrood Palace, and ruins of St. Anthony's Chapel. Passing Portobeilo, the principal watering-place of the inhabitants of Edinburgh, and the village of Dalkeith, the line skirts the grounds of Dalhousie Castle, affording in its progress a beautiful prospect of the Pentland Hills to the right. Close to Gorebridge Station, on the left, are the ruins of Gore- bridge Castle. A little beyond the station, after passing through two short tunnel.s, a glance may be had, on the right, of Arniston House, the ancient seat of the Dundases of Arniston, a family conspicuous in the legal and political history of Scotland. About two miles further on, we come in sight of Borthwick village and the ruins of Borthwick Castle on the right, and those of Crichton Castle on the left, both beautifully situated NORTH BRITISH & BERWICK & KELSO RAILWAYS. EDINBURGH TO HAWICK. HAWICK TO BERWICK. GALASniELS — SELKIRK. 97 iu the valley of the Tyne, (see page 92.) A little beyond Heriot Station, to the left, is Crookston (J. Borthwick, Esq.) Proceeding onwards, we reach Stow Station, opposite the ancient and irregular village of the same name, situated in the middle of a district which formerly bore the name of We-dale (the Vale of Wo). The whole of this territory belonged at one time to the Bishops of St. Andrews, and many of their charters are dated from We-dale. The line now crosses the Lugate Water by a viaduct, and reaches Crosslee, on the confines of the county of Roxburgh. The river Gala here forms the boundary between the counties of Roxburgh and Selkirk, and the alder, birch, and hazel, are found in abundance on its banks. The " Braw Lads of Gala AVater " are celebrated in Burns's well- known beautiful lyric of that name. In the immediate neigh- bourhood, but not visible from the line, is ToRWoonLEE, the mansion of Pringle of Torwoodlee. Galashiels [Inns : The Bridge Inn. Population about 4000] is situated on the banks of the Gala, about a mile above its junction with the Tweed. It is noted for its manufactures of tartans, tweeds, and shawls of the finest texture and most brilliant colours. The wool used is principally imported from Van Diemen's Land. Within the last few years the town and its manufactures have increased with great rapidity, and the mills have grown to four times their original size. The town is partly in Selkirkshire, and partly in Roxburgh. Galashiels proper is a burgh of barony, under the family of Gala, which now bears the name of Scott, though representing the ancient Pringles — the ancestor of Mr. Scott having married the heiress of that baronial house, and succeeded to its fortunes iu 1 023. An old pear-tree exists near the house, on which the destined bride is said to have been amusing herself in youthful frolics whilst the marriage-contract was signed. The higher ground of the parish is traversed by the remains of an ancient wall, supposed to be the Catrail, and near it at Rink, on an eminence, is an old British Camp. ■Selkirk [Lms : Mitchell's Inn ; The Fleece Inn. Popula- tion, 2.593J is connected with Galashiels by a branch line of railway. It is situated on a piece of high ground overhanging the Ettrick. Close to the town is the Ilaining, the seat of the late Robert Pringle, Esq., of Clifton, now belonging to his sister. 98 EDINBCRGH TO MELROSE. Mrs. Douglas of Edderstone. Selkirk gives the title of Earl to a branch of the Douglas family. A party of the citizens of Selkirk, under the command of their town clerk William Brydone, behaved -with great gallantry at the battle of Flodden, when, in revenge for their brave con- ■ duct, the English entirely destroyed the to-\vn by fire. A pennon, taken from an English leader by a person of the name of Fletcher, is still kept in Selkirk by the successive Deacons of the weavers, and Brydone's sword is still in the possession of his lineal descendants. The well-known ballad of " The flowers of the forest," was composed on the loss sustained by the inhabitants of Ettric Forest at the fatal battle of Flodden. The principal trade carried on in Selkirk at the time of the battle, and for centuries afterwards, was the manufacture of thin or single-soled shoes. Hence to be made a souter of Selkirk is the ordinary phrase for being created a burgess, and a hirse or hog's bristle is always attached to the seal of the ticket. Of late the manu- factures of Galashiels have found their way to Selkirk. Large mills have been erected on the EtCrick ; the old decaying burgh seems to have revived its youth ; new buildings have arisen in and around a town which was long thought to have been in a hopeless state of decay. The line crosses the Tweed at the village of Bridgend. To the right are seen the woods of Abbotsford, and to the left " The Pavilion," the mansion of Lord Somerville, situated on the banks of the Allan Water. The small village of Bridgend received its name from a bridge erected over the Tweed by David I., to afford a passage to the Abbey of Melrose. It con- sisted of four piers, upon which lay planks of wood ; and in the middle pillar was a gateway large enough for a carriage to pass through, and over that a room in which the toll-keeper resided. It was at a ford below this bridge that the adventure with the White Lady of Avenel befell Father Phillip, the sacristan of the monastery. (See Monastery, vol. i.) From this bridge the Girthgate, a path to the sanctuary of Soutra, runs up the valley of Allan Water, and over the moors to Soutra Ilill. The Eildon Hills now rise majestically on the right, and shortly afterwards the train arrives at MELROSE ABBEY. 99 MELROSE. [Hotels: The George; King's Arms; Railway Hotel.] Population, 96G. .37 miles from Ediuburgli, 13 from Jedburgli, and 11 from Kelso. Melrose is situated on the Tweed, near the base of the Eildon Hills. The vale of the Tweed is everywhere fertile and beautiful, aud the eye is presented with a wide range of pleasing scenery. Villages and hamlets, the river winding rapidly among fields and orchards, the town with its old abbey, wooded acclivities, and pastoral slopes crowned with the Eildon Hills, form a richly diversified panorama. Melrose Ahhey is one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture in Scotland. The stone of which it is built, though it has resisted the weather of so many ages, retains perfect sharp- ness, so that even the most minute ornaments seem as entire as when newly wrought. The other buildings being completely destroyed, the ruins of the church alone remain to attest the ancient magnificence of this celebrated monastery. It is in the usual form of a Latin cross, with a square tower in the centre, eighty-four feet in height, of which only the west side is standing. The parts now remaining are the choir and transept — the west side, and part of the north and south walls of the great tower, part of the nave, nearly the whole of the southern aisle, and part of the north aisle. The west gable being in ruins, the principal entrance is by a richly moulded Gothic portal in the south transept. Over this doorway is a magnifi- cent window, twenty-four feet in height and sixteen in breadth, divided by four bars or muUions, which branch out or interlace each other at the top in a variety of graceful curves. The stone work of the whole window yet remains perfect. Over this window are nine niches, and two on each buttress, which formerly contained images of our Saviour and his Apostles. Beneath the window is a statue of John Baptist, with bis eye directed upward, as if looking upon the image of Christ above. The carving upon the pedestals and canopies of the niches exhibits a variety of quaint figures and devices. The buttresses and pinnacles on the east and west sides of the same transept H 100 MELROSE ABBEY. present a curious diversity of sculptured forms of plants and animals. On the south-east side are a great many musicians admirably cut. In the south wall of the nave are eight beautiful windows, each sixteen feet in height and eight in breadth, having upright mullions of stone with rich tracery. These windows light eight small square chapels of uniform dimensions, which run along the south side of the nave, and are separated from each other by thin partition walls of stone. The west end of the nave, and five of the chapels included in it, are now roofless. The end next the central tower is arched over — the side aisles and chapels, with their original Gothic roof, and the middle avenue with a plain vault thrown over it in 1618. at which time this part of the building was fitted up as a parish church. The choir or chancel, which is built in the form of half a Greek cross, displays the finest architectural taste. The eastern window in particular is uncommonly elegant and beautiful, and seems as if " Some fairy's hand Twixt poplars straight the osier wand In many a freakisli knot had twined ; Tlien framed a spell when the work was done, And changed the ^rillow wreaths to stone." * The original beautifully fretted and sculptured stone roof of the east end of the chancel is still standing, and rises high " On pillars lofty, and light, and small, Tlie keystone that locks each ribbed aisle. Is afleur-de-lys or a quatre-feniUe ; The corbells are carved grotesque and grim. And the pillars with cluster'd shafts so trim. With base and with capital flourish'd around. Seem bundles of lances which garlands have bound." The outside of the fabric is everywhere profusely embellished with niches, having canopies of an elegant design beautifully carved, and some of them still containing statues. The cloisters formed a quadrangle on the north-west side of the church. The door of entrance from the cloisters to the church is on the north side, close by the west wall of the tran- sept, and is exquisitely carved. The foliage upon the capitals of the pilasters on each side is so nicely chiselled, that a straw can be made to penetrate through the interstices between the leaves and stalks. The best views of the Abbey are obtained * Lav of the Last Minstrel. me:.rose abbey. 101 from the south-east corner of the church-yard, and from tlie .-•rounds of Prior Bank (William Tait, Esq.) Within the Abbey lie the remains of many a gallant vvanior and venerable priest. A large slab of polished marble, of a greenish black-colour, with petrified shells imbedded in it, is believed to cover the dust of Alexander II., who was interred beside the high altar under the east window. Here, also, the 102 MELROSE ABBEY. heart of King Robert Bruce is supposed to have been deposited, after Douglas had made an unsuccessful attempt to carry it to the Holy Land. Many of the powerful family of Douglas were interred in this church : among these were James, second Earl of Douglas, who fell at the celebrated battle of Otterburn ; and William Douglas, " the dark knight of Liddisdale," who tarnished his laurels by the barbarous murder of his companion in arms, the gallant Sir Alexander Ramsay, and was himself killed by his god-son and chief, William Earl of Douglas, while hunting in Ettrick Forest Their tombs, which occu- pied two crypts near the high altar, were defaced by the English under Sir Ralph Evers and Sir Brian Latoun — an insult which was signally avenged by their descendant, the Earl of Angus, at the battle of Ancrum Moor. AVID I, founded Melrose Abbey in 1136, but the building wasnot completed till 1146, when it was de- dicated to the Virgin Mary. The monks were of the re- lormed class called Cistercians. They were brought from the Vbbey of Rievalle, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, and were the first of this order who came into 'Scotland The Abbey was destroyed by the English in their retreat under h Iwaid II. in 1322, and four years after, Robert Bruce gave £2000 sterling to re- build it This sum, equal to £50,000 of the money of the present day, was raised chiefly from the baronies of Cessford and Eckford, forfeited by Sir Roger de Mowbray, and the lands of Nesbit, Longnewton, M:ixton,and Caverton, forfeited by William Lord Soulis. The present beautiful fabric, which even in its ruins is still the object of general admiration, was then raised in a style of graceful magnificence, that entitles it to be classed among the most perfect works of the best age of that description of ecclesias- tical architecture to which it belongs. In 1385 it was burnt by Richard II. ; in 1545 it was despoiled by Evers and Latoun ; MELUOSE ABBEY. 103 and, again, ia the same year, it was destioyed by the Earl oi Hertford. At the period of the Reformation it suffered severely, from the misdirected zeal of the reformers.* Its chief dilapidations, however, must be attributed to the hostile incursions of the English, and to the wanton mischief or sordid utili- tarianism of later times.t The estates of the Abbey were granted by Queen Mary in 1.556 to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, by whose forfeiture in 1507, they reverted again to the Crown ; and the usufruct, with the title of Commen- dator, was conferred, the following year, upon James Douglas, second son to Sir William Douglas of Loch- leven.t In 1609, the Abbey and its possessions were erected into a temporal lordship for Sir John Ram- say, who had been created Viscount Haddington, for his services in preserving James VI. from the treasonable attempt of the Earl of Gowrie. * The following verse, from a once popular ballad, shows that, at the time of the lU-tin-mation, the inmates of this Abbey shared in the general reproaeli of seusiinlit!/ and irrei/uUiritii tlirown upon the Homish churchmen ;— " The monks of Metrose made gude kail On Fridays when they fasted ; Nor wanted they gude beef and ale, As lang's their neighbours' lasted." + The same remark is applicable to the dilapidations of the other monasteries of 'I'eWotdale. In some instances the heritors seem to have availed themselves of the venerable ruins as a quarry for materials to build or repair modern churches and schools. Fragments of scixlptured stones frequently occur in jirivate dwellings. A better spirit now generally prevails. % Monastir Annals of Teviotdale, p. 245. SEAL OF ilELEOSK AliliEV. 104 MELROSE ABBEY. Lord Haddington, who was afterwards created Earl of IIol- derness, appears to have disposed of the possessions belong- ing to the Icrdship of Melrose, since we find that they were granted by charter to Sir Thomas Hamilton (" Tarn o' the Cowgate"), a celebrated lawyer, who was created Earl of Mel- rose in 1619, and afterwards Earl of Haddington. Part of the lands were conferred upon Walter Scott, Earl of Buccleuch ; and his descendants, about the beginning of the eighteenth century, acquired by purchase the remainder of the Abbey lands in- cluded in the lordship of Melrose, which still form a part of the extensive possessions of the same noble family. At the abolition of heritable jurisdictions in 1747, the Lady Isabella Scott was allowed the sum of ^1200 sterling as com- pensation for her right to the bailiery of Melrose. When King David I. laid the foundations of Melrose Abbey, the ground on which Melrose now stands was occupied by a village called Fordel. The present village is almost entirely modern, and has little of the antique about it. In the centre stands a cross, about twenty feet high, supposed to be coeval with the Abbey. There is a ridge in a field near the town, called the Corse-rig, which the proprietor of the field holds upon the sole condition that he shall keep up the cross. In the vicinity of Melrose are the Eildon Hills, the Tre- montium of the Romans. The village of Gattonside, with its numerous orchards, on the other side of the Tweed, is connected with Melrose by a chain bridge. At Gattonside is Gattonside House (General Duncan). Near it is the Pavilion (Lord Somer- ville), and AUerly (Sir David Brewster). A short way further down the river, on a peninsula formed by a remarkable sweep of the Tweed, stood the ancient monastery of Old iMelrose. The estate of Old Melrose was long possessed by a family of the name of Ormestoun. It is now the property of Adam Fairholme, Esq. of Chapel. EXCURSIONS PROM MELROSE. 105 EXCURSIONS FROM MELROSE. The following tariff of charges for vehicles from the George Hotel, Melrose, will be found useful : — 1. Melrose to Abbotsford and back— 5s. for a one-horse, and 7s. 6d. for a two- horse carriage. Distance three miles. Post-boys are usually paid about od. per mile when two horses, a trifle less when only one ; but at such places as Abbotsford and Dryburgh, where they are kept waiting, the mileage is generally counted both ways. Tolls 6d. and Is. — one or two horses. 2. Melrose to Dryburgh by Bemerside Hill, and returning by Newtown St. Boswells, is 7s. for one horse ; 10s. 6d. for two. Distance about 5h miles on one side, and 4 on the other. Or direct from IMelrose • and back by Newtown, Gs. and 9s. ; but supposing the water cannot be crossed at Drybm-gh, and the tourist must go roimd by Mertoun Bridge, the distance is greater, and Is. or Is. Gd. additional charge is then made. Tolls Gd. or Is. 3. From Melrose to Selkirk, thence to Newark, and returning by Bowhill and the south side of the Yarrow. Distance about 13 mile.s each way. Charge for a one-horse foiu--wheeled carriage, 13s. ; two horses 20s. ; for a gig, 10s. Tolls, two, Gd. each for one-horse. Is. each for two horses. Postboy, saj'- 2s. Gd. for one-horse, and 3s. 6d. for two horses. 4. Melrose to Kelso by INIertoun, and returning by the opposite side of the Tweed — 15 miles each way; charge 15s. and 22s. 6d. Tolls three each side. Same rate as above. There will occasionally be slight deviations from these charges accord- ing to cu-cumstances and the time absent or waiting. 1. Abeotsford, 3 miles from Melrose. Leave Melrose by the road which proceeds westwards. Oa the right is the Established Church, opposite it the Free Church. A little further, on the right hand, is the Episcopal Chapel and manse, built by the Duke of Buccleuch, command- ing a tine view of the vale of the Gala. About a mile from Melrose, cross Huntly Burn. Here a road strikes off to the left to Chiefswood, " a nice little cottage in a glen, belonging to the property of Abbotsford, with a rivulet in front and a grove of trees on each side, to keep away the cold wind. It is about two miles distant from Abbotsford, and a very pleasant walk reaches to it through plantations." 106 EXCDRSIO??S FROM MELROSE. ChiefswooJ was occupied during Sir AValter Scott's life- time by Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart. Sir Walter had great pleasure in visiting his son-in-law and daughter at this cottage, and when circumstances permitted, usually spent in it one evening at least in the week. " The clatter of Sibyl Grey's hoofs, the yelping of Mustard and Spice, and his own joyous shout of reveille under our windows, were the signal that he had burst his toils, and meant for that day to 'take his ease in his inn.' On descending he was to be found seated with all his dogs and ours about him, under a spreading ash that overshadowed half the bank between the cottage and the brook, pointing the edge of his wood-man's axe for himself, and listening to Tom Purdie's lecture, touching the plantation that most needed thinning. After breakfast he wovild take possession of a drawing- room up stairs, and write a chapter of The Pirate ; and then having made up and despatched his packet for John Ballantyne, away to Tom Purdie, wherever the foresters were at work, and sometimes labour among them as strenuously as John Swauston himself, until it was time to join either his own party at Abbotsford, or the quiet circle of the cottage." — {Lockhari's Life of Scott, vol. vi.) About half a mile further on, at the village of Darnick, a road strikes off to the left, through an archway formed by the railway, to Huntly Burn House, long occupied by Sir Walter's bosom friend and companion. Sir Adam Fergusson. The Huntly Burn, a mountain brook from which the house was named, finds its way from Cauldshiels Loch through the Rhymer's Glen, " famous in tradition as the scene of Thomas the Rhymer's interviews with the Queen of Fairy." The walk up the burn side, the steps at the linn, and the rustic bridge, were planned by Sir Walter Scott himself, and made under his superinten- dence. It was one of his favourite retreats. Passing through the village of Darnick, we come to the toll- house. The left road leads to Abbotsford, the right to Melrose Bridge, the only one hereabouts for vehicles crossing the Tweed. Taking the road to the left of the toll-house, the remaining portion of the way is uninteresting. About a mile further, and three from Melrose, a little rustic gate on the right hand side of the road indicates the way to the house, which lies hidden at the foot of the bank. ABBOTSFORD. 107 Abbotsford is situated on a bank overhanging the south side of the Tweed, which at this place makes a beautiful sweep around the declivity on which the house stands. Further up the river, on the opposite bank, venerable trees, scattered over a considerable space, indicate the site of the old mansion and village of Boldside, of which a fisherman's cottage is now the only representative. Below the Selkirk road may be seen the site of its church, and the haunted churchyard extending along the face of the bank. Immediately opposite, at the extremity of his property, Sir Walter had a bower overhanging the Tweed, where he frequently sat musing during the heat of the day. Abbotsford is now the property of Mr. Hope Scott, who married Sir Walter Scott's granddaughter. Considerable additions have recently been made to the original building for the proprietor's own residence. From April to October inclusive, visitors are admitted daily (Sundays excepted) from 10 a.m to 6 p.m. In November, February, and March, admission is restricted to Wednesdays and Fridays. No admission during December and January.* Abbotsford is a house of very extraordinary proportions, * No specific sum can be prescribed as the gratuity payable to domestics in such cases. Tlic amount will necessarily vary between prince and peasant, but Is. for a single individual, and 2s. Cd. for parties not exceeding six, may lie regarded as fair medium payments. 108 EXCUUSIOXS FKOM MELROSE. and, though irregular as a whole, it produces a very striking effect. The entrance to the house is by a porchway, adorned with petrified stags' horns, into a hall, the walls of which are panuelled with richly carved oak from the palace of Dunfermline, and the j-oof consists of painted arches of the same material. Round the cornice there is a line of coats-armorial richly blazoned, belong- ing to the families who kept the borders — as the Douglases, Kers, Scotts, Turnbulls, Maxwells, Chisholms, Elliots, and Armstrongs. The floor is of black and white marble from the Hebrides, and the walls are hung with ancient armour, and various sjjecimens of military implements. From the hall strangers are conducted to the armoury, which runs quite across the house, and communicates with the drawing-room on the one side, and the dining-room on the other. The drawing-room is a lofty saloon with wood of cedar. Its antique ebony furniture, carved cabinets, etc., are all of beautiful workmanship. The dining-room is a very handsome apartment, containing a fine collection of pictures ; the most interesting of which are the head of Queen Mary in a charger the day after she was beheaded, and a full-length portrait of Lord Essex, of Oliver Cromwell, Claverhouse, Charles II., Charles XII. of Sweden ; and, among several family pictures, one of Sir Walter's great-grandfather, who allowed his beard to grow after the execution of Charles I. The breakfast parlour is a small and neat apartment, overlook- ing the Tweed on the one side, and the wild hills of Ettrick and Yarrow on the other. It contains a beautiful and valuable col- lection of water-colour drawings, chiefly by Turner, and Thomson of Duddingston, the designs for the illustrated edition of the " Provincial Antiquities of Scotland." The library, which is the largest of all the apartments, is fifty feet by sixty. The roof is of carved oak, chiefly after models from Roslin. The collection of books in this room amounts to about 20,000 volumes, many of them extremely rare and valuable. From the library there is a communication with the study, which is perhaps the most interesting of all the apartments, hallowed as it is by associations with most of the imaginative writings of the great author. It contains a small writing table, a plain arm chair covered with black leather, and a single chair besides. There are a few books, chiefly for reference, and a light gallery of tracery work runs round ABEOTSPORD. 109 t=)f' r ^ ^}l/^'^Y^Z THK STUDY, ABBOTSFOKU. three sides, while a single window admits a sombre light into the place. From this room we enter a small closet, containing under a glass case what many will view with the ABBOTSFORD. Ill deepest interest— the bodj-clothes worn hy Sir Walter previous to his decease.* The external walls, as well as those of the adjoining garden, are enriched with many old carved stones, which have originally figured in other and very diflFerent situations. The door of the ofd Tolbooth of Edinburgh, the pulpit from which Ralph Erskine preached, and various other curious and interesting relics, may also be seen. Through the whole extent of the surrounding plantations there are winding walks, and benches or bowers "are erected on every position commanding a pic- turesque view. The mansion and its woods were entirely created by its late proprietor, who, when he purchased the ground, found it occupied by a small onstead called " Cartley Hole." The first purchase was made from the late Dr. Douglas of Galashiels. It is said that the money was paid by instalments, and that the letter enclosing the last remittance contained these lines : " Noo the gowd's thine, Ami the land's mine." Various other " pendicles" were purchased at different times from the neighbouring bonnet-lairds, at prices greatly above their real value. In December 1830, the library, museum, plate, and furniture of every description were presented to Sir Walter as a free gift by his creditors, and he afterwards be- queathed the same to his eldest son, burdened with a sum of .£5000 to be divided among his younger children. The proceeds of a subscription set on foot in London shortly after Sir Walter's death, have been applied to the payment of this debt, thus enabling the trustees to entail the library and museum as an heir-loom in the family. " The place itself," says Mr. Lockhart,t " though not to the general observer a very attractive one, had long been one ot peculiar interest for him. I have often heard him tell, that * " After showinc; us the principal rooms, the woman opened a sn)all closet adjoin- ing ttic study, in which hung the last clothes that Sir Walter had worn. There was the hroad-skirted blue coat with large buttons, the plaid trousers, the heavy shoes. the hroad-rimmed hat, and stout walking stick,— the dress in which he rambled about in the morning, and wliich he laid off when he took to his bed in his last illness. Sin- took down the coat, and gave it a sliake and a w ipe of the collar, ns if he were waiting to put it on again! "—Willis's Pnicilliw/s by the //Vii/.— Sir Walter called this closet " Speak a bit." + Lockhart's Life of Scott, vol. iii. p. 335. 112 EXCURSIONS FROM MELROSE. when travelling in his boyhood with his father, from Selkirk to Melrose, the old man suddenly desired the carriage to halt at the foot of an eminence, and said, ' We must get out here, Walter, and see a thing quite in your line.' His father then conducted him to a rude stone on the edge of an acclivity about half a mile above the Tweed at Abbotsford, which marks the spot — ' Wliere gallant Cessford's life-blood dear Reeked on dark Elliot's border spear.' This was the conclusion of the battle of Melrose, fought in 1526, between the Earls of Angus and Home, and the two chiefs of the race of Ker on the one side, and Buccleuch on the other, in sight of the young King James V., the possession of whose person was the object of the contest. This battle is often men- tioned in the Border Minstrelsy, and the reader will find a long note on it under the lines which I have just quoted from the Lay of the Last Minstrel. In the names of various localities between Melrose and Abbotsford, such as SJcirmishfield, Charge- Law, and so forth, the incidents of the fight have found a lasting record ; and the spot where the retainer of Buccleuch terminated the pursuit of the victors by the mortal wound of Ker of Cess- ford (ancestor of the Dukes of Roxburghe), has always been called Turn-again. In his own future domain the young min- strel had before him the scene of the last great Clan-battle of the Borders." The tourist may return to Melrose by Turn-again, where Sir Walter had a favourite seat, from which there is one of the best views of the vale of Melrose. A little to the east of Abbotsford, on the opposite bank of the river, below the junction of the Gala, the Allan or Elwand water runs into the Tweed. There can be little doubt that the *\Vhen we bad ridden a little time on tlie moors, be said to me ratber pointedly, ' I am goina to sbow you sometbing tbat I think will interest you ; ' and presently, in a wild corner of tbe liills, he baited us at a place where stood three small ancient towers, or castellated houses, in ruins, at short distances from each other. It was plain, upon tbe slightest consideration of tbe topography, that one (perhaps any one) of these was tbe tower of Glendearg, where so many romantic and marvellous adven- tures happen in tbe Monastery. While we looked at this forlorn group, 1 said to Sir Walter tbat they were wliat Burns called ' ghaist-alluring edifices.' ' Yes,' he answer- ed carelessly, '1 dare say there are many stories about them.' As we returned, by a different route, he made me dismount and take a footpath through a part of Lord Somer\-ille's grouiuls, where the Klland runs through a beautiful little valley, the DBTBCIIGH ABBEY. 113 vale of the Allan is the true " Glendearg" of the Monastery * The lianks on each side are steep, and rise boldly over the eccentric stream which jets from rock to rock, rendering it absolutely necessary for the traveller to cross and recross it, as he pursues his way up the bottom of the narrow valley. " The hills also rise at some places abruptly over the little glen, dis- playing at intervals the grey rock overhung with wood, and further up rises the mountain in purple majesty — the dark rich hue contrasting beautifully with the thickets of oak and birch, the mountain ashes and thorns, the alders and quiver- ing aspens which chequered and varied the descent, and not less with the dark green velvet turf which composed the level part of the narrow glen." 2. Melrose to Dryeurgh Abbey. The most direct way to Dryburgh Abbey is either by road or railway to Newtown St. Boswells, from which the road turns directly to the left. At a short distance from the station is a toll-bar, where the road, overhung with trees, turns again to the left, and conducts to the banks of the Tweed. The tourist is here ferried across for a penny to the other side, which is within ten minutes' walk of the Abbey. The distance this way is four miles. The more picturesque road, though longer, is by the village of Newstead, across the Tweed by the Fly Bridge, two miles below Melrose, near the junction of the Leader with the Tweed. On crossing the bridge, take the bye-road to the right by the village of Leaderfoot, Gladswood Gate, (Spottiswood, Esq.), and Leader Bridge. From this a long ascent conducts to the top of Bemerside Hill, from which there is one of the most interesting views in the south of Scotland. From no other point can the eye command with equal advantage the whole vale of Melrose ; and if the tourist should have time to proceed by this route, he should by no means neglect to take this view on his way to Dryburgh. This view (of which the woodcut at page 115 is a copy) is represented by Turner in one of his stream winding between level borders of the brightest green sward, which narrow or widen as the steep sides of the glen advance or recede. The place is called tlie Fairy Bean, and it required no cicerone to tell, that the glen was that in which Father Eustace, in the Monastery, is intercepted by the White Lady of A.vene\."— Letter oj Mr. W(i(///i/iMs— Lockhakt's Life of Scott, vol. v. 114 EXCURSIONS FROM MELROSE. illustrations to the Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott. In the immediate vicinity is Drygrange House (John Tod, Ksq.), beautifully situated. About a mile and a half from Drygrange is the house of Cowdenknowes (Dr. Home), standing on the east bank of the Leader, at the foot of the hill of Cowdenknowes, celebrated in song for its " bonny, bonny broom." A mile further up the Leader is the village of Earlstoun, anciently Erceldoune, the dwelling of Thomas Learmont, commonly called Thomas the Rhymer, in whom, as in the mighty men of old, "the bonour'd name Of propliet and of poet was the same." The remains of the Rhymer's Tower are still pointed out. in the midst of a haugh, on the east side of the Leader. A little further on, in the vicinity of Dryburgh, are the modern mansion and old tower of Bemerside, the lands and barony of which have been in the possession of the Haigs since the time of Malcolm IV. The following rhyme respecting this family is ascribed to Thomas the Rhymer, whose patrimonial territory was not far from Bemerside — " Tide, tide, whate'er betide, There'll aye be Haigs in Bemerside" — testifying to the confident belief of the country people in the perpetual lineal succession of the Haigs. Opposite the house there is a Spanish chestnut tree of extraordinary age and size. Dryhurijli Alley stands on a richly wooded haugh, round which thelliver Tweed makes a circuitous sweep.* The situation is eminently beautiful, and both the Abbey and the modern man- sion-house are embosomed in wood. The best view of the ruins is from the "Braeheads," behind the village of Lessuden. Dry- burgh Abbey was founded in 1150, during the reign of David I., by Hugh de Moreville, Lord of Lauderdale, Constable of Scotland, upon a site which is supposed to have been originally a place of Druidical worship. The monks were of the Premon- stratensian order, and were brought from the Abbey founded at Alnwick a short time before. Edward II., in his retreat from the unsuccessful invasion of Scotland in 1322, encamped in the grounds of Dryburgh, and, setting fire to the monastery, burnt it to the ground. Robert I. contributed liberally towards its Tlie ^uide lives in a cottiige neur the entr.iucc. The usual gratuity is Is. for parties not exceeding six. %■ M 116 EXCURSIONS FROM MELROSE. repair, but it has been doubted whether it was ever fully restored to its original magnificence. In 1544, the Abbey was again destroyed by a hostile incursion of the English, under Sir George Bowes and Sir Brian Latoun. In 1604, James VI. granted Dryburgh Abbey to John, Earl of Mar, and he afterwards erected it into a temporal lordship and peerage, with the title of Lord Cardross, conferring it upon the same Earl, who made it over to his third son, Henry, ancestor of the Earl of Buchan. The Abbey was subsequently sold to the Haliburtons of Mertoun, from whom it was purchased by Colonel Tod, whose heirs sold it to the Earl of Buchan in 1786. The Earl at his death, bequeathed it to his son, Sir David Erskine, at whose death, in 1837, it reverted to the Buchan family. The principal remains of the building are, the western gable of the nave of the church, the ends of the transept, part of the choir, and a portion of the domestic buildings. Opposite the door by which tourists are introduced to the ruins is a yew tree as old as the Abbey. The following are the places generally pointed out to visitors. 1. The chapter-house, in which a double circle on the floor marks the burial place of the founder. 2. The kitchen and dormitories. 3. The library. 4. St. Catherine's circular window, beautifully radiated, twelve feet in diameter, much overgrown with ivy. 5. The refectory or great dining-room of the monks, which occupied the whole front of the Abbey facing the south, and which was 100 feet long by 30 feet broad^ and 60 feet high. 6. Wine cellars and almonary cellars below the refectory. 7. Porter's lodge. 8. Cloisters with old font. 9. Main door to the cloisters. 10. Cells or dungeons, places of confinement. In one of these there is a contrivance for punishment in the shape of a hole cut in the solid stone, into which the prisoner's hand was thrust, and then wedged in with a wooden mallet, which again was chained to the wall. The hole is placed so low that the prisoner could kneel, but neither lie down nor stand. 11. West door to the church, in the shape of a Roman arch, orna- mented with roses. 12. Nave of the church, with remains of the pillars on each side. The nave is 190 feet long by 75 broad. Under the high altar, James Stuart (of the Darnley family), the last abbot, was buried. 13. St. Mary's aisle, which is by far the most beautiful part of the ruin, where Sir Walter Scott was buried, 26th September 1832, in the burying-ground of LILLIARD S EDGE. 117 his ancestors, the Haliburtons of Newmaius, the former proprie- tors of the Abbey. On one side is the tomb of his wife, on the other the tomb of his eldest son, Sir W.Scott. 14. The second aisle, the place of interment of the Erskines of Shieldfield ; and the third, that of the Haigs of Bemerside. 15. St. Woden's Chapel, with altar, font, etc., the burial-place of the Earls of Buchan. In the immediate vicinity of the Abbey is the mansion-house of Dryburgh, surrounded by stately trees. At a short dis- tance from it, near the Tweed, is the house where the Rev. Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine, two eminent Scottish divines, were brought up, and with whom originated the first secession from the Established Church of Scotland. On a rising-ground at the end of the bridge, is a circular temple dedicated to the Muses, surmounted by a bust of Thomson, the author of the " Seasons." Further up, on a rocky eminence overlooking the river, is a colossal statue of the Scottish patriot Wallace. 3. Melbose. Jedburgh. Hawick. The journey from Melrose to Jedburgh can most easily be made by railway, branching off from Roxburgh Station. For the benefit of those, however, who prefer driving or walking, it is proper to mention that the best road is by Newtown St. Boswells, Ancrum ]\Ioor, and Mount Teviot. In this way there are passed (1) Village of Newstead on the left, and the Eiklons on the right. (2|) Newtown St. Boswells, village and railway station. (3|) Lessuden village and St. Boswells Green, where the fair of the same name is held annually in July, and where there is a good inn. The road strikes off to the right to Ancrum Moor, which is reached by a long straight ascending road, Lilliard's Edge being right in front. ' The slope of a hill planted with fir trees and intersected by the road, is the place where the Earl of Angus routed the English in 1545. During the year 1544, Sir Ralph Eure and Sir Brian Latoun committed the most dreadful ravages upon the Scottish frontiers. As a reward for their services, the English monarch promised to the two barons a feudal grant of the country which they had thus reduced to a desert ; upon hearing which, Archi- bald Douglas, the seventh Earl of Angus, is said to have sworn 118 EXCURSIONS FROM MELROSE. to write the deed of investiture upon their skins, with sharp pens, and bloody ink, in resentment for their having defaced the tombs of his ancestorsat Melrose. In 1545, Eure and Latoun again entered Scotland with an army of upwards of 5000 men, and even exceeded their former cruelty. As they returned towards Jedburgh, they were overtaken by Angus at the head of 1000 horse, and he was shortly after joined by the famous Norman Lesley with a body of Fife-men. While the Scottish general was hesitating whether to advance or retire, Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch came up at full speed with a small but chosen body of his retainers, and by his advice, an immediate attack was made. The battle was commenced upon a piece of low flat ground, near Penielheugh, and, just as it began, a heron roused from the marshes by the tumult, soared away betwixt the encountering armies. " !" exclaimed Angus, " that I had here my white gosshawk, that we might all yoke at once !" The Scots obtained a complete victory, and Sir Ralph Eure and his son, together with Sir Brian Latoun, and 800 Englishmen, many of whom were persons of rank, fell in the engagement. "Tradition says that a beautiful young maiden called Lillyard, followed her lover from a village in the neighbourhood, and, on seeing him fall in battle, rushed herself into the heat of the fight and was killed, after slaying several of the English. Her burial place is at the left corner of the plantation. The inscrip- tion on the monument, not now discernible, is said to have run thus : — " Fair JIaiden Lillyard lies under tliis stane, l/ittle was her stature, Init great was her fame ; L'pon the EngUsh louns she laid many thumps. And when her legs were cutted off, she fought upon her stumps." Scott. Ancrum Moor lies to the right of the road. On looking back while ascending the hill, there is an extensive view including Smailholm Tower, Home Castle, and Mertoun House (Lord Polwarth). Descending on the other side there is a distant prospect of the Cheviots. On the top of an eminence on the left (called Penielheugh) is the Waterloo Pillar. (7-|) Ancrum House (Sir William Scott, Bart.), and (8) Ancrum Bridge over the Ale Water, are both passed on the right. (8^) Mount Teviot (Marquis of Lothian) is on the left. (8-|) Cross Teviot RUBERSLAW. no Bridge. On the right, two miles up the Teviot, is Chesters (W. Ogilvie, Esq.) (9-^-) Bonjedward. Half a mile to the east is the celebrated Koman causeway which crossed the Jed, and is still in a state of preservation, from the Jed to the Border hills. On the right is seen Tympandean, with the ruins of an ancient tower. On left is Bonjedward Bank (Major Pringle). Two miles east of Bonjedward is Crailing, the ancient seat of the Cranstouns, the border family that figures in the Lay of the Last .Minstrel, situated on the retired and romantic stream of Oxnam, which here falls into the Teviot. Descending from this point there is a beautiful and extensive view, comprehending Jedburgh town and Abbey, the River Jed and surrounding country. A conspicuous object in the distance is " Dark Rulievslaw tliat lifts its head sublime, Hugged and hoary with the wrecks of time ! On his broad misty front tlie giant weai'S The horrid fm-rows of ten thousand years ; His aged brows are crown'd with ciuiing fern, Where perclies grave and low the hooded Erne." 120 EXCURSIONS FROM MELROSE. The appearance of this hill is said to have suggested to the Bard of the Seasons the description of the storm collecting on the mountain cliff in the beginning of his "winter." (II5) Cross the Jed, and enter Jedburgh, [Inns .-—The Spread Eagle ; Commercial. Population 3615.] On the line of North British Railway. The county town of Roxburghshire, and the seat of the circuit court of justiciary, is a place of great antiquity ; the village of old Jed worth, about four miles above the present town, having been founded by Ecgred, Bishop of Lindisfarn, a.d. 845. St. Kenoch was Abbot of Jedburgh, a.d. 1000, and its royal castle is mentioned in the earliest Scottish annals. It appears to have been a royal burgh even in the time of David I. It was the chief town on the middle marches. Defended by its castle and numerous towers, and surrounded by the fastnesses of its forest, it was frequently the rendezvous of the Scottish armies, and was as frequently assailed, pillaged, and burnt by the English. Its importance declined from the union of the two crowns, and though it has revived in modern times, it has never reach- ed any great extent either in population or trade. Many interesting objects of antiquity were destroyed during the last century, such as St. David's Tower — the gateway of the ancient bridge of the Canongate — and the cross, a venerable structure, on which, according to Bannatyne, the magistrates, having espoused the cause of James VI., compelled the heralds of Mary, after suffering unseemly chastisement, to eat their ])roclamation. The Abbey is the principal object of attraction. It was enlarged and richly endowed by David I. and other munificent j)atrons about the year 1118, or 1147. At one period, its jjowerful abbots disputed, though unsuccessfully, the jurisdic- tion of the Bishops of Glasgow, who frequently resided at Ancrum in the neighbourhood. It suffered severely in the English wars, especially from the invasions of Edward I. and Edward III. It sustained a siege of two hours under the artillery of the Earl of Surrey, at the storming of Jedburgh, JEDBCKGH. 121 JEDBURGH ABBET. in the reign of Henry VIII., and the traces of the flames are still visible on its ruined walls. It suffered subsequent dilapi- dation from the forces of the Earl of Hertford ; and in common with the other monasteries of Teviotdale, does not appear to have been inhabited at the time of the Reformation. The monks were Canons regular or Augustine friars, brought from Beauvais in France. At the Reformation, the lands of the Abbey were converted into a temporal lordship, with the title of Lord Jedburgh, in favour of Sir Andrew Kerr of Ferniehirst, and they are now possessed by his descendant, the Marquis of Lothian. The prin- 122 EXcnRsiois's from melrose. cipal parts now remaining are the nave, nearly the whole of the choir, with the south aisle, the centre tower, and the north transept, which is entire, and has long been set apart as a burial-place for the family of the Marquis of Lothian. The Jforman door, entering from the cloisters on the south, is of exquisitely delicate and beautiful workmanship. Over the intersection of the nave and transept, rises a massive square tower, with irregular turrets and belfry, to the height of 100 feet. The west end is fitted up as a parish church, in a most barbarous and unseemly style. Considerable sums have been lately expended in repairing the decayed parts of the building, so as to prevent further dilapidation. The best view of the Abbey is obtained from the banks of the river. The Castle of Jedburgh was situated on an eminence at the town head, and was a favourite residence of our early Scottish kings, from the time of David I. to Alexander III. Malcolm the Fourth died in it ; Alexander III. was married in it with unusual pomp, October 14, 1285, to Jolande, daughter of the Count de Dreux, on which occasion the festivities of the even- ing are said to have been interrupted by the sudden and omi- nous appearance of a spectre, which, entering the dance, filled the gay company with consternation. The importance of this castle may be estimated from the circumstance of its always ranking in the treaties with England, along with Roxburgh, Edinburgh, and Stirling, and from the fact, that when the Scottish government determined to destroy it, it was meditated to impose a tax of two pennies on every hearth in Scotland, as the only means of accomplishing so arduous an undertaking. The site of this ancient fortress is now occupied by a new jail, from the top of which there is a view of the town and neigh- bourhood. In the lower part of the town may be still seen the old man- sion occupied by Queen Mary, and where she lay sick for several weeks after her visit to Bothwell, at Hermitage Castle. She rode from Jedburgh to Hermitage, and returned on the same day, a distance of about forty miles ; she was in consequence thrown into a violent fever, and her life for some time despaired of. The rich soil and mild climate of Jedburgh render it pecu- liarly congenial to horticulture ; delicate plants and fruits growing in the open air, which in other places require to be JEDBURGH. 123 placed under glass. IMany of the pear trees are of great size and antiquity, and bear immense crops, which are disposed of through an extensive district. The best kinds are French, and may probably have been planted by the monks. The inhabitants of Jedburgh, in ancient times, were a war- like race, and were celebrated for their dexterity in handling a particular sort of partisan, which therefore got the name of the '• Jethart staff." Their timely aid is said to have turned the fortune of the day at the skirmish of Reidswire. Their proud war-cry was, " Jethart's here." Their arms are a mounted trooper advancing to the charge, with the motto, " Strenue et prospere." They have still in preservation some ancient tro- phies taken from the English, particularly a flag or pennon taken at Bannockburn. The ordinary proverb of "Jethart Justice," where men were said to be hanged first and tried afterwards, appears to have taken its rise from some instances of summary justice executed on the Border marauders.* In the south aisle of the Abbey, then used as the Grammar School, the poet Thomson received the rudiments of his educa- tion, and when he attended Edinburgh University, it was as the bursar of the Presbytery of Jedburgh. Samuel Rutherford is also said to have been educated here. Dr. Somerville, his- torian of William and Anne, was upwards of fifty years minister of Jedburgh, and in the manse was born the amiable and highly gifted Mrs. Somerville. Sir David Brewster also is a native of Jedburgh. On the banks of the Jed, at Hundalee, Lintalee, and Moss- burnford, are caves dug out of the rock, supposed to have been used as hiding-places in ancient warfare. In the neighbourhood are the remains of numerous camps ; but the most remarkable is the camp of Lintalee, little more than a mile from the town, where Douglas, as described in Barbour's Bruce, lay for the defence of Scotland, during the absence of the king in Ireland, and where in a desperate personal encounter he slew the English commander, the Earl of Brittany, at the head of his * There is a similar Englisli i)roverb concerning Lydl'ord : — " I oft have heard of Lydford law, Wliere in the moru men liang and draw, And sit in judgment after." Brown's Puems. 124 EXCTJRSIONS FROM MELROSE. army, and routed the whole with great slaughter — an achieve- ment commemorated in the armorial hearings of the Douglas family. Jed Forest was conferred on Douglas by Bruce, the regality of which was sold to the Crown by the Duke of Douglas. Ferniehirst Castle, the ancient feudal fortress of the Kerrs, occupies a romantic situation on the right bank of the river, two miles from Jedburgh. It was built by Sir Thomas Kerr in 1490, and was taken by the English in 1523, and again after the battle of Pinkie. The family of Kerr settled at Kerrsheugh in the thirteenth century, and from this place the Marquis of Lothian takes his title as a British peer. About a mile northward from the castle grows a large oak tree, called, on account of its great size, " the king of the wood," and at the side of the ruin stands another, equally large, called " the capon tree." Both trees are noticed in Gilpin's Forest Scenery. From Jedburgh to Hawick there is a fine drive of about ten miles along the bank of the Teviot. The vale of the Rule intervenes, as also the chief hills of Teviotdale, the Dunian, and Ruberslaw. The whole course of the Teviot between these towns is studded on each side with cottages and mansions. The most distinguished of these is Minto House, the seat of the Earl of Minto.* The grounds are open every day except Sunday. The mansion is a large modem house, surrounded with beautiful grounds, studded with some noble old trees. At no great distance from the house are Minto Crags, a romantic assemblageof cliffs, which rise suddenly above the vale of Teviot. A small platform on a projecting crag, commanding a most beautiful prospect, is termed BarnhilVs Bed. This Barnhill is said to have been a robber or outlaw. There are remains of a strong tower beneath the rocks, where he is supposed to have dwelt, and from which he derived his name. On the summit of the crags are the fragments of another ancient tower in a picturesque situation.t A mile and a half to the south of Minto House lies the village of Denholm, the birth-place of Dr. John Leyden, and a little further to the west. Cavers, the seat of J. Douglas, p]sq., the lineal descendant of " an illegiti- mate son of " the Gallant Chief of Otterburn," who carried his father's banner in the memorable battle in which he fell. * Minto may also be reached by leaving the railway at Hassendean Station, and walking from thence througli tlie village of Minto to the Lodge, t See Lay of the Last Minstrel. 125 Hawick. linns .— Tlie Tower ; Tlie Commercial. Population C683.] On the line of the North British EaUway. This town is situated upon a haugh, at the junction of the Rivers Slitterick and Teviot. The inhabitants are principally engaged in the manufacture of woollen cloth. The Slitterick is crossed by an antique bridge, and at the head of the town is a moat-hill, where the brave Sir Alexander Ramsay was acting in his capacity of Sheriff of Teviotdale, when he w^as seized by Sir William Douglas, the " Dark Knight of Liddesdale," and plunged into one of the dungeons of Hermitage Castle, where he perished of hunger. Hawick is noted among topers for its " gill." A Hmcicl- gill is well known in Scotland to be half a mutchkin, equal to two gills. " Weel she loo'ed a Hawick gill, And leuch to see a tappit lien." Andrew and his Cnttie Gun. [A tappit hen is a frothing measure of claret.] On the right bank of the Teviot, about two miles above Hawick, stands the ancient tower of Goldielands, one of the most entire now extant upon the Border. The proprietors of this tower belonged to the clan of Scott. The last of them is said to have been hanged over his own gate for march treason. Brdnksome Tourer, the principal scene of the " Lay of the Last Minstrel," and during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the residence of the Barons of Buccleuch, is about two miles and a half from Hawick. The place was famous of yore for the 126 EXCURSIONS FROM MELROSE. charm of a bonnie lass, whose beauty has been celebrated by Ramsay in a ballad, beginning " As I came in by Teviot side, And by the braes o' Branksome, There first I saw my bloomiu' bride, Young, smUiug, sweet, and handsome." * Nearly opposite Goldielands Tower, the Teviot is joined by Borthwick Water. The vale of Borthwick was formerly inha- bited by a race of Scotts, retainers of the powerful family of Harden, famed in border history for their carnage and preda- tory habits. The lands they possessed were chiefly overgrown with heath, and were well described by the couplet in which Scott of Satchells, in his history of the name of Scott, charac- terizes the territory of Buccleuch — " Had heather bells been com of the best, Buccleucli had had a noble grist ! " Tradition relates that amid the plunder of " goods and gear " carried off by them in one of their predatory incur- sions, a child was found enveloped in the heap, who was adopted into the clan, and fostered by Mary Scott, commonly known by the epithet of " The Flower of Yarrow," who married the celebrated Wat, or Walter, of Harden, about the latter part of the sixteenth century. This child of fortune afterwards became celebrated as a poet, and is said to have composed many of the popular songs of the Border. At the head of the narrow valley formed by the Borthwick, stands Harden Castle, a long- shaped plain-looking structure. The mantel-piece of one of the rooms is surmounted with an earl's coronet, and the letters W. E. T. wreathed together, signifying "Walter Earl of Tarras," a title which, in 1660, was conferred for life upon Walter Scott of Highchester, the husband of Mary Countess of Buccleuch. In front of the house there is a dark dell, covered with trees on both sides, where the freebooting lairds of former times are said to have kept their spoil. From Hawick the tourist may return by railway to Melrose or Edinburgh. Carlenrig Churchyard is five miles from Branksome, and * The boiinie lass was daughter to a woman nicknamed Jean the Ranter, who kept an ale-house at the Hamlet, near Branxholm Castle. A young officer named Maitland, who happened to be quartered somewhere in the neighbourhood, saw, loved, and married her. So strange was such an alliance deemed in those days, that it was imputed to the inlluence of witchcraft. HERMITAGE CASTLE. 127 eight from Tlawick, on the right side of the road. This is the place where " Tliat bold chief, who Hcnrj''s power defied, True to his country, as a traitor died. Yon mouldering cairns by ancient hunters placed, Where blends the meadow with the marshy waste, Mark where the gallant warriors he." The famous Border warrior referred to was the famous Johnnie Arm- strong, brother of the chief of the Armstrongs, once a powerful clan on the Scottish march. He resided at Gilnockie, the ruins of which are still to be seen at " The Hollows," a beautiful and romantic scene a few miles Irom Langholm. Having incurred the animosity and jealousy of some of the powerful nobles at the court of James V., he was enticed to the camp of that prince during his memorable expedition to the Border about l.>30, and hanged, with all his retinue, on gi-owing trees at Carlenrig Chapel. Their graves are still slioivn in the deserted churchjard in its vicinity. The Bor- derers, especially the clan of the Armstrongs, reprobated this act of severity, and narrated his fate in a beautiful dirge, which exhibits many traces of pure natural feeling, while it is highly descriptive of the manners of the time. It is still a current tradition that the trees on which Johnnie and his men were hanged were immediately blasted and withered away. — Ley- den, vid. Minstvdsy of Scottish Barder, vol. i. p. 18, and vol. iv. p. 381. Hermitage Castle stands on the left bank of the Hermitao-e Water, about a mile from the road, nine miles from the village of Stobbs, and fifteen from Hawick. This haunted old place was the seat of the Lords Soulis's, of royal descent, and after the forfeiture of their domains fell into the hands of the Douglases Lords of Liddesdale. It is the scene of the ballad, " l.ord Soulis he sat in Hermitage Castle, And beside him old Redcap sly," contained in Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. iv. p. 235. In 1320, William de Soulis entered into a conspii'acy against Robert the Bruce, which occasioned the downfall of the family. The chief of this powerful house is represented by tradition as a cruel tyrant and a sorcerer, who was con- stantly employed in oppressing his vassals and harrassing his neighbours ; and it is stated that the Scottish king, irritated by the reiterated complaints of his vassals, whom he treated no better than beasts of burden, peevishly exclaimed to the petitioners, " Boil him, if you please, but let me hear no more of him." This commission they hastily executed on the Nine Stane Rig, a declivity descending upon Hermitage Water, 128 EXCURSIONS FROM MELROSE. and deriving its name from a druidical circle, five stones of which are still visible, and two of them particularly pointed out as those that supported the iron l)ar upon which the fatal cauldron was suspended. It was here that the Knight of Liddesdale tarnished his renown by the cruel murder of Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, whom he seized, while administering justice at Hawick, threw horse and man into a dungeon, and left him to perish of hunger. It is said the miserable captive prolonged his existence for several days by the corn which fell from a granary above the vault.* Unable to support the load of iniquity which had been long accumulating within its walls, the castle is supposed to have partly sunk beneath the ground, and its ruins are still regarded by the peasants with peculiar aversion and terror. 4. Melrose or Selkirk to Newark Castle akd the Vales OF Ettrick and Yarrow. A very pleasant driving or walking excursion may be taken from Melrose or Selkirk to the vales of Ettrick and Yarrow, including the ruins of Newark Castle (the opening scene of Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel). The route may be varied in several ways, by taking the south side of the Rivers Tweed, Ettrick, and Yarrow, on the way to Newark, and returning by the northern. Leaving Melrose by the road which proceeds westwards by Abbotsford, about three miles from Selkirk, the Ettrick flows into the Tweed at Sunderland Hall, where bridges are thrown over both rivers. Near this spot is the secluded burying-ground of Lindean. Here the body of the " Dark Knight of Liddesdale " rested on its way from Ettrick Forest, where he was murdered, to Melrose Abbey, where he was buried. The road now enters Selkirkshire, and conducts the tourist to Selkirk, close to which is the Haining, the beautiful seat of the Pringles of Clifton. Leaving Selkirk, the tourist may cross the bridge over the Ettrick, and turn up the north bank ; but to reach Newark, unless he go round by Yarrow Ford, he must take the south * Some years ago, a person digging for stones, broke into a vault containing a quantity of cliaff, some bones and pieces of ii-on ; amongst others, the cui-b of an ancient bridle, which was given to the Earl of Dalliousie, as a relic of his brave ancestor. NEWARK CASTLE. 129 side of tbe river, or cross at Philiphaugh (W. Murray, Esq). The plain of Philiphaugh, on the northern side of the Ettrick, is the scene of the defeat of the Marquis of Montrose, by Gene- ral Leslie, 13th .September 1645. Montrose himself had taken up his quarters, with his cavalry, in the town of Selkirk, while his infantry, amounting to about twelve or fifteen hundred men, were posted on Philiphaugh. Leslie arrived at Melrose the evening before the engagement, and next morning, favoured by a thick mist, he reached Montrose's encampment without being descried by a single scout. The surprisal was complete, and when the Marquis, who had been alarmed by the noise of the firing, reached the scene of the battle, he beheld his army dispersed in irretrievable rout. After a desperate but unavail- ing attempt to retrieve the fortune of the day, he cut his way through a body of Leslie's troopers, and fled up Yarrow and over Minchmoor towards Peebles. This defeat destroyed the fruit of Montrose's six splendid victories, and efi'ectually ruined the royal cause in Scotland. The estate of Philiphaugh is the property of W. Murray, Esq., the descendant of the '" Outlaw Murray," commemorated in the beautiful ballad of that name. At the confluence of these streams, about a mile above Selkirk, is Carterhaugh, the supposed scene of the fairy ballad of " Tam- lane." The vale of Yarrowparts oft' from theheadof Philiphaugh towards the right, that of Ettrick towards the left. The whole of this tract of country was, not many centuries ago, covered with wood, and its popular designation still is " The Forest," of which, however, no vestige is now to be seen. " The scenes are desert now, and bare. Where flourished once a forest fair. Up pathless Ettrick and on Yarrow Wliercerst the outlaw drew his arrow." — Scott. Crossing the Y" arrow, a little beyond Philiphaugh, on the left, will be seen Bowhill, one of the seats of the Duke of Buccleuch. Newark Castle, the opening scene of Scott's Lay of the Last Jlinstrel — "where Newark's stately tower Looks out from Yarrow's birchen bower," is a massive square tower, now unroofed and ruinous, surrounded by an outward wall, defended by round flanking tjirrets. It is beautifully situated, about three miles from Selkirk, upon the 130 EXCnilSIONS FROM MELROSE. banks of the Yarrow, a fierce and rapid stream, which unites with the Ettrick about a mile and a half to the east of the castle. Newark was built by .James II. The royal arms, with the unicorn, are engraved on a stone in the western side of the .\EWARK CASTLE. tower. There was a much more ancient castle in its immediate vicinity, called Auldwark, founded, it is said, by Alexander III. Both were designed for the royal residence, when the king was disposed to take his pleasure in the extensive forest of Ettrick. Various grants occur in the records of the Privy Seal, bestow- ing the keeping of the castle of Newark upon diiierent barons. The oiEceof keeper was latterly held by the family of Buccleuch, and with so firm a grasp, that when the forest of Ettrick was disparked, they obtained a grant of the castle of Newark in perpetuity. It was within the court-yard of this castle that General Leslie tarnished his victory by putting to death a number of the prisoners whom he had taken at the battle of Philiphaugh. The castle continued to be an occasional seat of the Buccleuch family for more than a century ; and it is said, the Duchess of Monmouth and Buccleuch was brought up here. For this reason, probably, Scott chose to make Newark the scene in which the " Lay of the Last Minstrel " is recited in her presence, and for her amusement. VALE OF THE ETTRICK. 131 It may be added that Bowliill was the favourite residence of Lord and Lady Dalkeith (afterwards Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch), at the time when the poem was composed. The ruins of Newark are all but included in the park attached to that modern seat of the family ; and Sir Walter Scott, no doubt, was influenced in his choice of the locality, by the pre- dilection of the charming lady who suggested the subject of his •' Lay " for the scenery of the Yarrow — a beautiful walk on whose banks, leading from the house to the old castle, is called, in memory of her, the Duchess' Walk. The Vale of the Ettrick. — Going up this valley from Sel- kirk, ths first object of interest is O.ikwood Tower, the residence of the hero of the ballad, " The Dowie Dens of Yarrow," and from time immemorial the property of the Scotts of Harden ; it is su}>posed, also, to have been the mansion of the famous wizard Michael Scott. Two or three miles further up the glen is the village of Ettrick-brig-end, and al)out six miles above, the remains of the tower of Tushielaw may be discerned upon the hill which rises from the north bank of the river. Tushie- law was the residence of the celebrated freebooter Adam Scott, called " the King of the Border," who was hanged by James Y. 132 EXcnRsioNs from kelrose. in the course of that memorable expedition in 1529, which proved fatal to Johnriie Armstrong, Cockburn of Henderland, and many other marauders ; the elm tree on which Scott was hanged still exists among the ruins. Opposite to Tushielaw the Rankleburn joins the Ettrick. The vale of Rankleburn contains the lonely farm of Buccleuch, supposed to have been the original property of the noble family of that name. There are remains of a church and burial-ground, and of a kiln and mill in this district, but no traces of a baronial mansion. Further up are the ruins of Thirlestane Castle, and close by, the modern mansion of Thirlestane, the seat of Lord Napier, the lineal descendant of the old family of the Scotts of Thirlestane, as well as of the still more famous one of the Napiers of Merchiston. Sir John Scott of Thirlestane, his maternal ancestor, was the only chief willing to follow James V. in his invasion of England, when the rest of the Scottish nobles, encamped at Fala, obstinately refused to take part in the expedition. In memory of his fidelity, James granted to his family a charter of arms, entitling them to bear a border of fleurs-de-luce similar to the tressure in the royal arms, with a bundle of spears for the crest, motto, " ready, aye ready." — {See Lay of the Last Minstrel, canto iv.) Thirlestane is sur- rounded with extensive plantations, and its late noble and benevolent owner employed for many years his whole time and talents in carrying on, at great expense, important im- provements in this district. About a mile further up stands the kirk and hamlet of Ettrick. A cottage near the sacred edifice is pointed out as the birth-place of the Ettrick Shep- herd. The celebrated Thomas Boston was minister of Ettrick, and, in the churchyard, a handsome monument has been erected to his memory, since the commencement of the present century. Crossing the hills which bound the vale of Ettrick on the right, the tourist may descend upon the solitary sheet of water called St. Mary's Loch (afterwards described). newtown st. boswells. 133 4. Melrose — Kelso — Coldstream — Berwick-on-Tweed. [By Kciilway.] Leaving Melrose, the first station we arrive at is Newstead, at the village of the same name. Near it is a Roman camp. A little beyond Newstead, on the left, is Ravenswood House. On the same side, a little further on, but not visible from the rail- w;iy, is Old Melrose. Xeivtown St. Bosioells \^Inn : Gavenlock's] is the station where the main line to Hawick branches off on the right. Not far from the station, on the left, is the village of Newtown. The old village of St. Boswells appears to have stood in the vicinity of the Church, where the foundations of houses are occasionally discovered in the operations of agriculture. In the banks are many copious springs, and several of them form beautiful petrifactions. Hard by is the village of Lessuden, formerly a place of some importance, for, when burned by the English in 1544, it contained sixteen strong towers. On the Green is held the fair of St. Boswells, the principal market for sheep and lambs in the south of Scotland. Black cattle arc also sold, although their number is not considerable ; but the show of horns is generally so fine that buyers attend from all parts both of the north of England and south of Scotland. Two miles from St. Boswells is the village of Maxtou, and, on the opposite side of the river, in a delightful situation, is Mertoun House, the seat of Lord Polwarth. Leaving Newtown Station, a peep may be had, on the left, of Dryburgh Abbey embosomed in trees. On the right, at the base of the Eildou Hills, is Eildon Hall (Mrs. Baillie). Further on, on the left, and upon the south bank of the river, are the ruins of Littledean Tower, formerly a place of great note, and long the residence of the Kers of Littledean and Nenthorn, a branch of the Cessford family. It is now the property of Lord Polwarth. Beyond it, to the north, occupying a conspicuous position among a cluster of rocks, is Smailhholm Tower, the scene of Sir Walter Scott's liallad of the " Eve of St. John." The poet resided for some time, while a boy, at the neighbouring farm-house of Sandy- knowe, then inhabited by his paternal grandfather, and he has beautifully described the scenery in one of his preliminary epistles 134 EXCURSIONS FROM MELROSE. to Marmion* The Tower is a high square building, surrounded by an outer wall, now ruinous. The outer court is defended, on three sides, by a precipice and morass, and is accessible only from the west by a steep and rocky path. The apartments are placed one above another, and communicate by a narrow stair. From the elevated situation of Smailholm Tower, it is seen many miles in every direction. It formerly belonged to the Pringles of Whytbank, and is now the property of Lord Polwarth. Continuing along the line, amidst the richest scenery, the tourist enjoys frequent glimpses of the River Tweed, with its wooded banks, and passes Makerstoun (Sir Thomas M'D. Brisbane, Bart.), Roxburgh village on the Teviot, and the ruins of the famous old castle of Roxburgh, on a knoll between the Teviot and the Tweed. Kelso. [Inns : The Cross Keys ; The Queen's Head. Population, 4783.] 15 miles from Melrose ; 53 from Edinburgh ; on the line of North British Railway. This town occupies a beautiful situation on the margin of the Tweed, and consists of four principal streets, and a spacious square or market place, in which stand the town-hall, erected in 1816, and many well-built houses, with elegant shops. It is the residence of persons in easy circumstances, and has a weekly market and four annual fairs. " The Abbe?/,'" says the learned editor of its charters, " stands alone, like some antique Titan predominating over the dwarfs of a later world." Begun in 1128 — and so far completed as to * " It was a barren scene and wild i The mightiest work of human power, Where naked cUffs were rudely piled; I And marvelled as the a'j;ed hind, But ever and anon between j With some strange tale bewitch'd my mind, Lay velvet tufts of loveliest green And well the Irmely infant knew Recesses where the wall-flower grew And honey-suckle loved to crawl Up the low crag and ruin'd wall. I deem'd such nooks the sweetest shade The sun in all its round suneyed ; And still 1 thought that shattered tower Of forayers who, with headlong force, Down from that strength had spurr'd their horse, Their southern rapine to renew, Far in the distant Cheviots blue, And home returning, till'dthe hall With revel, wasselrout, and brawl." " He says that his consciousness of existence dated from Sandy-Knowe ; and how deep and indelible was the impression which its romantic localities had left on his imagination, I need not remind the readers of Marmion and the Eve of St. John. On the summit of the Crags which overhang the farm-house stands the ruined tower of Smailholme, the sceue ot that fine ballad ; and the view from thence takes in a wide KELSO. 135 receive the tomb of the founder's son, Earl Henry of North- umberland, in 1152 — it was a structure commensurate with the magnificence of its endowments, as the first-born of St. David's pious zeal, and with the lofty pretensions of its mitred abbots, who long disputed precedence with the priors of metropolitan St. Andrews, and even contended for superiority with the parent house of Tiron in France, to which this Scottish daughter gave more than one ruler.* As a specimen of architecture, it is partly Norman and partly early-pointed Gothic. The monks were of a reformed class of the Benedictines, first established at Tiron in France, and hence called Tironenses. David I., when Earl of Huntingdon, introduced the Tironenses into Scotland, and settled them near his castle at Selkirk, in the year 1113. The principal residence of the Kings of Scotland, at this period, was the castle of Roxburgh ; and when David succeeded to the Scottish crown, after the death of his brother, in 1124, he removed the convent from Selkirk to Kelso, within view of his royal castle. The foundation of the church was laid on the 3d of May 1128. In consequence of its vicinity to the English border, Kelso suffered severely during the wars between the two countries, and the monastery was frequently expanse of the district in which, as has been truly said, every field has its battle, and every rivulet its song : — ' The lady looked in mournful mood, Loolvod over hill and vale, O'er Mertoun's wood, and Tweed's fair flood. And aU down Teviotdale.' — Mcrtoun, the principal seat of the Harden family, with its noble groves ; nearly in frcjiit of it, across the Tweed, Lessuden, the comparatively small but still venerable and stately abode of the Lairds of Raeburn ; and the hoary Abbey of Dryburgh, surrounded with yew-trees as ancient as itself, seem to lie almost below the feet of tlie spectator. Opposite him rise the purple peaks of Eildon, the traditional scene of Tliomas the Rhymer's inten-iew with the Queen of Faerie ; behind are the blasted peel which the seer of Erceldoun himself inhabited, 'the Broom of the Cowdenknowes,' tlic pastoral valley of tlie Leader, and the bleak wilderness of Lammerraoor. To tlic uiitwaid tlie desolate grandem- of Home Castle breaks the horizon, as the eye travels towards the range of the Clie\iot. A few miles westward, Melrose, 'like some tall rock with licliens grey,' appears clasped amidst the windings of the IVeed ; and the distance presents the serrated mountains of the Gala, the Ettrick, and the Yarrow, ;l11 famous in song. Such were the objects that had painted the earliest images on the eye of the last and greatest of the Border UmstTe\s:'—Loc!ihart's Life of Scott vol. i. p. 109. * Quarterly Review, vol. 85. 136 EXCURSIONS FROM MELEOSE. laid waste by fire. It was reduced to its present ruinous state by the English, under the Earl of Hertford, in 1545. The only parts now remaining are the walls of the transepts, the centre tower, and west end, and a small part of the choir. After the Reformation a low gloomy vault was thrown over the transept, to make it serve as a parish church, and it continued to be used for this purpose till 1771, when one Sunday, during divine service, the congregation were alarmed by the falling of a piece of plaster from the roof, and hurried out in terror, believing that the vault over their heads was giving way ; and this, together with an ancient prophecy, attributed to Thomas the Rhymer, " that the kirk should fall when at the fullest," caused the church to be deserted, and it has never since had an opportunity of tumbling on a full congregation. The ruins were disencumbered of the rude modern masonry by the good taste of William Duke of Roxburghe and his successor Duke James ; and, in 1823, the decayed parts were strengthened and repaired by subscription. After the Reformation, the principal part of the estates of this rich abbey were held in commendam by Sir John Maitland, the ancestor of the Earl of Lauderdale, who exchanged it with Francis Stewart, afterwards Earl of Bothwell, for the priory of Coldinghame. This nobleman, for his repeated treasons, was attainted in 1592, and the lands and possessions of Kelso Abbey were finally conferred upon Sir Robert Ker of Cessford, and they are still enjoyed by his des- cendant, the Duke of Roxburghe. The environs of Kelso, which are singularly beautiful, are thus described by Leyden, in his Scenes of Infancy : — " Bosom'd in woods where mighty rivers run, Kelso's fair vale expands before the sun, Its rising downs in vernal beauty swell, And, fringed with liazel, winds each flowery dell, Green spangled plains to dimpling lawns succeed, And Tcmpe rises on the banks of Tweed, Blue o'er the river Kelso's sliadow Ues, And copse-clad isles amid the waters rise." The most admired view is from the bridge, looking up the river. In this view are comprehended the junction of the Tweed and Teviot, and the ruins of Roxburgh Castle ; in front, the palace of Fleurs, with its lawns sloping to the river's edge, and sheltered by lofty trees behind. On the south bank of the KELSO. 137 Teviot are the woods and mansion of Springwood Park (Sir George Douglas, Bart.), and close by is the bridge across that river. On the right is the town, extended along the banks of the Tweed ; nearer is Ednam House, and immediately be- yond are the lofty ruins of the Abbey. In the background are die hills of Stitchel and Mellerstain, the Castle of Home, the picturesque summits of the Eildon Hills, Penielheugh, etc. An excellent view may also be obtained of the district around Kelso, from the top of an eminence, on the south bank of the river, called Pinnacle-hill ; and a third, equally interesting, from the building appropriated as a Museum and Library, situated on an elevation termed the Terrace.* Fleurs Palace, the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe, occu- * From Kelso a road leads to Jed1)urgh, by tlio villnges of Maxwillhcugli and Heaton, the beautiful banks of the Kale, Grahamslaw, wliere there are sonie remar- kable caves, the villages of Eekford and Crailing, Crailing House (J. Taton, Esq.), fornierlv the scat of the noble familv of Craustouii, and Bonjed«;ird. 138 EXCURSIONS FROM MELKOSE. pies a gently-sloping lawn on the north bank of the Tweed, one mile west of the town. The original edifice was built by Sir John Vanburgh in 1718, and was distinguished by that massive- ness which characterises the works of that dramatist and architect. It has since undergone most extensive improve- ments under the superintendence of W. H. Playfair of Edin- burgh, and may now be said to be one of the finest baronial edifices in Scotland, The park is studded with old trees, among which is a holly bush that marks the spot where James II. was killed by the bursting of a cannon while besieging Rox- burgh Castle in 1460. Admission to the grounds may be ob- tained by application to the Duke's factor. Roxhurgh Castle is on the opposite (south) side of the Tweed, and a mile and a quarter from Kelso. It was formerly a fortress of great extent and importance, and figured conspicuously in the early history of Scotland, but only a few fragments now remain. A deep moat filled with water from the Teviot formed part of its defences. The other seats and places of interest in the neighbourhood of Kelso are, Springwood Park, on the south bank of the Teviot (Sir George S. Douglas, Bart.), Newton-Don (Balfour, Esq.), Stitchel (D. Baird, Esq.), Mellerstain (G. Baillie, Esq.) Home Castle, which forms so conspicuous an object in the distant landscape, was long the residence of the powerful Earls of Home. After the battle of Pinkie, in 1547, it was taken by the English under the Duke of Somerset, and again during the Commonwealth by Cromwell. The Earl of Home's modern seat is the Hirsel, one and a half miles west of Coldstream. Ednam, the birth-place of Thomson the poet, is two miles north of Kelso, on the banks of the Eden. Kelso to Berwick-on-Tweed. [By Railway, 23* miles] The line from Kelso to Berwick, which is a branch of the York, Newcastle, and Berwick Railways, follows the southern bank of the Tweed. At the distance of two miles from Kelso, are the station and village of Sprouston, where passengers may also leave for Kelso. On the left is seen the Tweed, which now forms the boundary between England and Scotland. To the left of Carham Station is Carham Church, with Carham Hall. A mile and a half further, on the same side, are the r COLDSTREAM. 139 ruins of Wark Castle, celebrated in Border history. A mile further, on the left, is the Hirsel, the seat of the Earl of Home. Nearer 'the river is Lees, the seat of Sir John Marjoribanks, Bart. Nine miles from Kelso, the train stops at Cornhill Station, where passengers leave for Coldstream. Ihins : Tlie Newcastle Aims ; The Commercial. Population, 2238.] This town occupies an elevated situation on the north bank of the Tweed, which is here crossed by a handsome bridge. Inhabited houses, 281. In consequence of its proximity to England, Coldstream, like Gretna Green, is celebrated for its irregular marriages. In the principal inn Lord Brougham was married. During the winter of 1659-60, General Monk re- sided in Coldstream before he marched into England to restore Charles II., and here he raised a regiment, which is still de- nominated the Coldstream Guards. About a mile and a half to the east of the town are the ruins of the church of Lennel, which was the name of the parish before Coldstream existed. Near it is Lennel House (Earl of Haddington), in which the venerable Patrick Brydone, author of " Travels in Sicily and Malta," spent the latter years of his long life. There are two roads from Coldstream to Berwick, one along the north bank and one along the south bank of the Tweed. The latter is the more interesting, and is generally preferred. Following the course of the river, we come to Tilmouth, where the Till, a deep, dark, and sullen stream, flows into the Tweed. On its banks stands Twisel Castle (Sir B'rancis Blake, Bart.) Beneath the castle, the ancient bridge is still standing by which the English crossed the Till before the battle of Flodden. The glen has steep banks on each side, covered with copsewood. On the opposite bank of the Tweed is Milne-Graden (D. Milne Home, Esq.), once the seat of the Kerrs of Graden, and, at an earlier period, the residence of the chief of a Border clan, known by the name of Graden. A little to the north-east is the village of Swinton. The estate of Swinton is remarkable, as having been, with only two very brief interruptions, the property of one family since the days of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy. The first of the Swiutons acquired the name and the estate, as a reward for the bravery he displayed in 140 EXCURSIONS FROM MELROSE. clearing the country of the wild swine which then infested it. The family have produced many distinguished warriors. At the battle of Beague, in France, Thomas Duke of Clarence, brother to Henry V., was unhorsed by Sir John Swinton of . Swinton, who distinguished him by a coronet of precious stones which he wore around his helmet.* The brave conduct of another of this warlike family at the battle of Homildon Hill, in 1402, has been dramatized by Sir Walter Scott, whose grandmother was the daughter of Sir John Swinton of Swinton. To the left is Ladykirk Church, an ancient Gothic building, said to have been erected by James IV., in consequence of a vow made to the Virgin, when he found himself in great danger while crossing the Tweed, by a ford in the neighbour- hood. By this ford the English and Scottish armies made their mutual invasions, before the bridge of Berwick was erected. The adjacent field, called Holywell Haugh, was the place where Edward I. met the Scottish nobility, to settle the dispute between Bruce and Baliol, relative to the crown of Scotland. Norhatn Castle, well known as the opening scene in the poem of Marmion, stands on the southern bank of the Tweed, about six miles above Berwick. It is situated on a steep bank, which overhangs the river. The extent of its ruins, as well as its historical importance, shows it to have been a place of magnificence, as well as strength. Edward I. resided there when he was created umpire of the dispute con- cerning the Scottish succession. It was repeatedly taken and retaken during the hostilities between England and Scotland ; and, indeed, it figured in most of the wars between these two countries. The repeated sieges which the castle sustained ren- dered frequent repairs necess^ary. About four miles from Berwick is Paxton House, the property of D. Milne Home, Esq., containing a fine collection of pictures. In the immediate neighbourhood, the Tweed is crossed by the Union Wire Suspension Bridge, constructed in 1820 by Captain Samuel Brown. Its length is 437 feet ; width, 18 ; height of * " And Swinton laid the lance in rest That tamed, of yore, the sparkling crest Of Clarence's Plantageuet." Laij of the Lnsl Minstrel, c. v , s. 4. BEKW1CK-0N-T\VEED. 141 piers above low-water mark, 69, It is one of the finest structures of the kind in this part of Scotland. Near Paxton, NORHAM CASTLlL. the Tweed is joined by the Whitadder, the principal river which flows through Berwickshire ; ou its banks, a few miles to the north-west, is Ninewells, the paternal seat of David Hume. Passing Velvet Hall Station and Halidon Hill, the scene of a battle in 1333 between the English and the Scots, in which the latter were defeated, the train arrives at Tweedmouth Station. Berwick-on-Tweed. [Innj : The Red Lion; The King's Arms; Tlie Salmon. Population, 15,004.] 58 miles from Eclinhurgh, 125 from Newcastle. Berwick is situated upon a gentle declivity close by the German Ocean, on the north side of the River Tweed. It is a well-built town, with spacious streets, and is surrounded by walls which only of late ceased to be regularly fortified. It is governed by a mayor, recorder, and justices, and sends two members to Parliament. The trade of the port is considerable. 142 EXCDRSIONS FROM MELROSE. Berwick occupies a prominent place in the history of the Border wars, and has been often taken and retaken both by the Scots and English. It was finally ceded to the English in 1482, and, since then, has remained subject to the laws of England, though . forming politically a distinct territory. Its castle, so celebrated in the early history of these kingdoms, is now a shapeless ruin. The recent railway operations gave it the finishing blow, and the only remnants are a couple of towers and part of the wall. The walls are a favourite walk of the citizens of Berwick in summer, and command extensive prospects of the surrounding country, the sea, and the Fern and Holy Islands. A ditch surrounds four sides of the irregular penta- gon. The flanks of the bastions are mostly in ruins, and the part overlooking the Magdalene fields and the shore has fallen away, leaving the rampart unprotected. There are five gates to the walls, called respectively. The English Gate, The Scotch Gate, The Cow-port, etc. The new railway bridge con- necting the North British with the Newcastle and Berwick line, consists of 28 semicircular arches ; its length is 6G7 yards, and its extreme height 134 feet. It spans the Tweed from the castle-hill to the line on the Tweedmouth side, and from its great height and airy structure presents a most imposing appearance. Tweedmouth is a large irregularly built village at the south end of Berwick Bridge ; it is now an important railway station. Spittal is a small fishing village, three quarters of a mile east of Tweedmouth. Holy Island is ten miles from Berwick, and can be approached either by Goswick or Beal, across the sands at low water, the track being marked by posts. Quicksands abound, and it is often dangerous to cross on foot. The island is nine miles in circumference, and contains upwards of 1000 acres, half of which only are capable of cultivation. The village lies on the •west side, and is inhabited principally by fishermen. In the months of July and August, however, it is much resorted to by bathers. Avho then rent some of the houses. The Castle stands on a lofty rock on the south-east side, accessible by a narrow winding path, and is probably coeval with the abbey. Lindisfarne Abhe>/ was one of the earliest seats of Chris- tianity in Britain. It is the most interesting object in the HOLT ISLAND. 143 island. All that remains of the original structure is a portion of the walls, and an arch of considerable beauty. The pillars are short and massy, and the whole has been constructed of a dark red sandstone. 144 BORDER AND SOUTH COUNTRY TOURS. PEEBLES. [Inn : The Tontine. Population, 1982.] In summer months a coach runs in connection ^^^th the riiilway from Peebles to Innerleithen. Trains from Edinburgh start from the Waverley Bridge Station, Princes Street. The time taken by the train is an hour and a half. There are no trains on Sundays. See time tables of Nortli British Railway Company. The principal stations on this line are Edinburgh, PortobeUo, Musselburgh, Dalkeith, Hawthornden, Eoslin, Penicuick, Eddleston, Peebles. This town is beautifully situated on the banks of the River Tweed ; and is an excellent station for trout fishing. From its position on the direct road to the royal forest of Ettrick, it became at an early period the occasional residence of the Kings of Scotland, and it is the scene of the celebrated poem of James I., " Peblis to the Play.''' It was burnt and laid waste oftener than once during the invasions of the English, but it figures little in Scottish history, and seems to have taken no part in any great historical event. The old and new town are connected by an old bridge of five arches across the Eddlestone water. It has a weekly market, and seven annual fairs. There is a large edifice of a castellated appearance still existing, known to have belonged to the Queensberry family, which is believed to be the scene of a highly romantic incident thus related by Sir Walter Scott : — There is a tradition in Tweeddale, that when Nidpath Castle, near Peebles, was inha- bited by the Earls of March, a mutual passion subsisted between a daughter of that noble family, and a son of the Laird of Tushielaw, in Ettrick Forest. As the alliance was thought unsuitable by her parents, the young man went abroad. During his absence the young lady fell into a consumption, and at length, as the only means of saving her life, her father con- sented that her lover should be recalled. On the day when he was expected to pass through Peebles, on the road to Tushie- law, the young lady, though much exhausted, caused herself to be carried to the balcony of a house in Peebles, belonging to the family, that she might see him as he rode past. Her anxiety and eagerness gave such force to her organs, that she is said to have distinguished his horse's footsteps at an incre- dible distance. But Tushielaw, unprepared for the change in EDINBURGH loPEEBLES.SELKIRK.MELROSE.KELSOXBERWICK, BORDER TOWERS. 145 her appearance, and not expecting to see her in that place, rode on without recognizing her, or even slackening his pace. The lady was unable to support the shock, and, after a short struggle, died in the arms of her attendants. The vale of the Tweed, both above and below Peebles, con- tained a chain of strong castles to serve as a defence against the incursions of English marauders. These castles were built in the shape of square towers, and usually consisted of three storeys — the lower one on the ground-floor being vaulted, and appropriated to the reception of horses and cattle in times of danger. They were built alternately on both sides of the river, and in a continued view of each other. A fire kindled on the top of these towers was the signal of an incursion, and in this manner a tract of country seventy miles long, from Berwick to the Bield, and fifty broad, was alarmed in a few hours.* * " A score of fires, I weeii, From height, and hill, and cliff were seen, Each with warlike tidings fraught. Each from each the signal caught ; Each after each they glanced in sight. As stars arise upon the night ; They gleam'd on many a dusty tarn, Haimted hy the lonely earn, On many a cairn's grey pjTamjd, WTiere ui'ns of mighty chiefs lie hid." lay of the Last Minstrel. 146 BORDER AND SOUTH COCNTRY TOURS. F=^r Nidpath Castle, the strongest and the most entire of these fortresses, is situated about a mile west from Peebles, on a rock projecting over the north bank of the Tweed, which here runs through a deep narrow glen. It was at one time the chief residence of the powerful family of the Frasers, from whom the families of Lovat and Saltoun in the north are descended. The last of the family in the male line was Sir Simon Fraser, the staunch friend of Wallace, who, in 1 302, along with Comyn, then guardian of the kingdom, defeated three divisions of the English on the same day, on Roslin Moor. Sir Simon left two daughters co-heiresses, one of whom married Hay of Yester, an ancestor of the IMarquis of Tweed- dale. The second Earl of Tweeddale garrisoned Nidpath, in 1636, for the service of Charles II., and it held out longer against Cromwell than any place south of the Forth. The Tweeddale family were so much impoverished by their exer- INNERLEITHEN. 147 tions in the royal cause, that they were obliged, before the end of the reign of Charles II., to dispose of their barony of Nidpath to William, first Duke of Queensberry, who purchased it for his son, the first Earl of March. On the death of the last Duke of Queensberry in 1810, the Earl of Weniyss, as heir of entail, succeeded to the Nidpath estate. The castle is now falling fast to decay. It was formerly approached by an avenue of fine trees, all of which were cut down by the late Duke of Queensberry to impoverish the estate before it descended to the heir of entail. The poet Wordsworth has spoken of this con- duct with just indignation in one of his sonnets. From Peebles a pleasant excursion may be made to Inner- leithen, six miles distant. The road proceeds along the northern bank of the Tweed by Kerfield ; on the opposite bank of the river. King's Meadows, and Hayston ; the ruins of Horsburgh Castle, the property of the ancient family of the Horsburghs, now resident at Pirn ; Kailzie, Nether Horsburgh, Cardrona, formerly the seat of the old family of Williamson, and Glenor- miston House (W. Chambers, Esq.) INNERLEITHEN. The St. Ronas's Well of Sir Walter Scott. [/«« ; Kiddle's Inn.] SL\ miles fi-om Peebles, quarter of a mile from moutli of Leithen Water. Coacli to Peebles in connection with Railway.— See Time Tables. This village occupies a pleasant situation at the bottom of a sequestered dell, environed on the east and west by high and partially wooded hills, and having the Tweed rolling in front. Till little more than forty years ago, Innerleithen was one of the smallest and most primitive hamlets in this pastoral dis- trict ; and it would probably have continued so, but for the beautiful description given of it by Sir Walter Scott, in his novel of St. Ronan's Well. The healthiness of the climate, its proximity to St. Mary's Loch, the Yarrow, Tweed, and other trouting streams, and its mineral well, might have been expected to have rendered it a very delightful residence ; but as yet it is not so much frequented as a watering-place as a fishing station. A wooden bridge leads across the Tweed to the hamlet of Tra- L 148 BORDER AND SOUTH COUKTllT TOUR. 'luair and Traquair House, the seat of the Earl of Traquair. At a short distance, at the base of a hill overlooking the lawn, a few birch trees may be seen, the scanty remains of the famed " Bush aboon Traquair." At a short distance from Innerleithen, is Pirn ; and three miles further on, entering Selkirkshire, is Holylee (Ballantyne, Esq.) A mile beyond, on the opposite side of the river, are the ruins of Elibank Tower, from which Lord Elibauk takes his title. Two miles further on is Ashestiel (General Sir Jas. Russell), once the residence of Sir Walter Scott, and where he wrote part of the Lay of the Last Minstrel,* and Marmion. "A more beautiful situation," says Mr. Lockhart, "for the residence of a poet could not be conceived. The house was then a small one, but, compared with the cottage at Lasswade, its accommodations were amply sufficient. You approached it through an old-fashioned garden, with holly hedges, and broad, green, terrace walks. On one side, close under the windows, is a deep ravine, clothed with venerable trees, down which a mountain rivulet is heard, more than seen, in its progress to the Tweed. The river itself is separated from the high bank on which the house stands only by a narrow meadow of the richest verdure. Opposite, and all around, are the green hills. The valley there is narrow, and the aspect in every direction is that of perfect pastoral repose."' A mile beyond this the road crosses Caddon Water, and at the village of Clovenfords, joins the road from Edinburgh to Selkirk. Two miles beyond, it passes the old mansion-house of Fairnalee, now almost in ruins, and Yair, the seat of Alexander Pringle, Esq. of Whytbank, one of the love- liest spots in Scotland, closely surrounded by hills most luxu- riantly wooded. The road then crosses the Tweed at Yair Bridge, from which the River Ettrick and town of Selkirk arc two miles distant. * This poem may be considered as the " bright consummate flower," in inliich all ttio il'^arest dreams of liis youthful faucy had at length found expansion for their strength, spirit, tenderness, and beauty. In the closing lines — " Hush'd is the harp — the Minstrel gone ; And did he wander forth alone ? Alone, in indigence and age, To linger out his pilgrinuiire ? No ! — close beneath proud Newark's tower Arose the Minstrel's humlile bower," etc. — in these charmius lines lie has embodied what was, at the time when be penned tliem, the chief day-dream of \s]\cs\,ie\. —Lockhart's Life ofSeott. NORTH BERWICK — TANTALLON CASTLE. 14r) PLACES OF INTEREST THAT MAY BE VISITED BY RAILWAY FROM EDINBURGH, EACH IN ONE DAY. NORTH BERWICK TANTALI.ON AND THE BASS FAST CASTLE. AOT'//t Berwick \Inn: The Dalrymple Arms] is 22| miles from Edinburgh, and is reached by a branch line of the North British Railway from Waverley Bridge Station, Edinburgh. Tantallon Castle is two and a half miles eastward from North Berwick. From the land side the ruins are scarcely visible, till the visitor, surmounting a height whicli conceals them, finds himself close under tlie external walls. The following description of this castle is given in the poem of Marmion : — ' Tantallon vast, Broad, massive, high, and stretching far, And held inipregnaljlc in war, On a projecting rock it rose, And roimd three sides the ocean flows, The fourtli did battled walls enclose, And double mound and fosse : Ry narrow drawbridge, outwork strong, Through studded gates, an entrance long, "To the main court they cross. It was a wide and stately square, Around were lodgings fit and fair. And towers of various form, Wliieh on the court projected far. And broke its lines quadrangular ; Here was square keep, there turret high, Or pinnacle that sought the sky. Whence oft the warder could descrj- The gathering ocean storm." c. v., St. 33. Tantallon was a principal stronghold of the Douglas family; and when the Earl of Angus was banished in 152G, it continued to hold out against James Y. The king went in person against it, and, for its re- duction, borrowed from the Castle of Dimbar, tlien belonging to the Duke of Albanv, two great cannons, whose names, Pitscottie informs us, were " Thrawn-mouth'd ISIow and her Marrow ; " also, " two great bocards and two moyan, two double falcons, and foiu- quarter falcons," for the safe guiding and re-delivery of which thi-ee lords were laid in pawn at Dunbar. Yet, notwithstanding all this apparatus, James was forced to raise the siege, and afterwards obtained possession of Tantallon only by treaty with the governor, Simon Panango. Tantallon was at length "dung down" by the Covenanters; its lord, the Marquis of Douglas being a favourer of the royal cause. About the beginning of the eigh- teenth century, the Marcjuis, afterwards Duke of Douglas, sold the estate of North Berwick, with the castle of Tantallon, to Sir Hew Dalrymple, President of the Court of Session, and they now remain in the possession of his descendant, Sir Hew H. Dalrymple, Bart., of Bargeny and North Berwick. The Bass Roch is two miles north from Tantallon, and rises 400 feet slieer out of the sea. The Bass is about a mile in circumference, and is conical on one side, presenting, on the other, an abrupt and overhanging precipice. It is remarkable for its immense quantities of sea-fowl, chiefly solan geese. 150 EXCURSIONS FROM EDINBURGH. TANTALLON CASTLE. Upon the top of the rock gushes out a spring of clear water, and there is ver- dure enough to support a few sheep. The Bass was long the stronghold of a family of the name of Lauder, one of whom distinguished himself as a com- patriot of Wallace. The castle, situated on the south side of theisland, is now ruinous. In 1()71 it was sold by the Lauder family, for £4000, to Charles n., by whom it was converted into a royal fortress aud state prison. Many of the most eminent of the Covenanters were confined here. At the Revolution, it Avas the last stronghold in Great Britain that held out PAST CASTLE. 151 for James VII. ; but after a resistance of several months, the garrison were at last compelled to surrender, by the failure of their supplies of provisions. The Bass is now the property of Sir Hew Dalrymple, Bart. Boats may be hired for visiting it at North Berwick, or at Cauty Bay, iR'ar Tautallon, upon due notice being given. Fast Castle (the Wolfs Crag of the Bride of Lammermoor) forms an agreeable day's excursion from Edinburgh by the North British Railway, conung out at Cockburnspath Station, 37 miles distant. Fast Castle is about .5 miles distant from that station. The promontory on which the castle is biult derives its name from an ancient stronghold, built upon the very point of the precipitous headland. The castle is thus described in the tragic tale mentioned above : — " The roar of the sea had long annovmced their approach to the cliffs, on the summit of Avhich, like the nest of some sea-eagle, the founder of the fortalice had perched his eyry. Tlie pale moon, which had hitherto been contending with flitting clouds, now shone out, and gave them a view of the solitary and naked tower, situated on a projecting cliff, that beetled on the German Ocean. On three sides, the rock was precipitous ; on the fourth, whicli was that towards the land, it had been originally fenced by an artificial 152 EXCURSIONS FROM EDINBURGH. ditch and drawbridge, but the latter was broken down and ruinous, and the former had been in part tilled up, so as to allow passage for a horse- man into the narrow court-yard, encircled on two sides with low offices and stables, partly ruinous, and closed on the landward front by a low embattled wall, while the remaining side of the quadrangle was occupied • by the tower itself, which, tall and narrow, and built of a greyish stone, stood glimmering in the moonlight, like the sheeted spectre of some huge giant. A wilder or more disconsolate dwelling, it was perhaps difficult to conceive. The sombrous and heavy sound of the billows, successively dashing against tlie rocky beach, at a profound distance beneath, was, to the ear, what the landscape was to the eye — a symbol of unvaried and monotonous melancholy, not unmingled with horror." That castle was, in former days, a place of retreat of the great Earls of Home. Notwith- standing its strength, it was repeatedly taken and retaken during the Border wars. About the close of the sixteenth century, it became the stronghold of the notorious Logan of Restalrig, so famous for his share in the Gowrie Conspiracy; and it was to this place that the conspirators intended to convey the king, after getting possession of his person. There is a contract existing in the charter chest of Lord Napier, between this Logan and the celebrated Napier of Merchiston, setting forth, that, as Fast Castle was supposed to contain a quantity of hidden treasure, Napier was to make search for the same by divination, and, for his reward, was to have the third of what was found, and to have his expenses paid in whatever event. Fast Castle now belongs to Sir J. Hall of Dunglas. About two miles south-east of Fast Castle is the celebrated promon- tory called St. Abb's Head. It consists of two hills, the western of which is occupied by an observatory; the eastern, called the Kirkhill, still exhibits the remains of a monastery and a church. The savage and dreary character of the scenery of this place is exceedingly striking. The precipitous rocks on this coast are inhabited by an immense number of sea-fowl, and a number of young men in the neighbourhood occasionally scale these dreadful and dizzy heights, in order to steal the eggs of the birds. Strange to say, an accident does not occur among them, perhaps, once in a ccntui-v. ST. ANDREWS. \_Inns ; The Royal ; Tlie Cioss Keys. Population, 5107.] Edinburgh to St. Andrews by the St. Andrews Branch of the Edin- V)urgh, Perth, and Dundee Railway, 44J miles ; time taken by rail about three hours ; trains two or three times daily. The stations, villages, etc., passed on the way, are as follows : — Granton, where a steamer conveys passengers across the Firth of Forth to Burnt- ST. ANDREWS. 153 island. Kirkcaldy to\ni, on left of which is Raith (Col. Ff rguson). On riifht, Sinclairtowii, a continuation of Kirkcaldj'. Dysait, right, beside is^Dysart House (Earl of Rosslyn). Thornton Junction (for Dunfermline and "Leven). Cross the Leven and arrive at Markinch village on left- Falkland Road Station. Falkland Palace in the distance. King's Kettle. Ladybank, on the right of v.liich is Ramoinie House (Heriot, Esq.) Crawford Priory (Earl of Glasgow). Pitlessie village, the scene of Wilkie's well-known picture, "Pitlessie Fair." The painter was a native of this parish (CuUs), of which his father was minister. Spring- field; on an eminence to the right of this is Scotstarvit Tower, on the Wemyss Hall property. Town of Cupar on left. Dairsie station : after passing which we come in sight of the sea and the towers of St. Andrews. I^uchars station— here passengers change carriages for the St. Andrews branch, which, crossing the River Eden, brings us, in about twenty minutes, to St. Andrews station. Omnibuses await the arrival of each train. In walking from the station to the town, the places of interest will be met within the following order:— 1st, the Links, where golf is much played. The Martyr's Monument. Then entering the town by tlie first street oft' the Links. The College, with its high spire, is on the left; for admission, apply to the janitor, who lives next door. A little further on, down a street to the left, are the ruins of the castle, shown by an old man, who keeps a small garden in it. The ruins of the cathedral, at the eastern entrance of the town, are open to the public, by order of tl)c Commissioners of Woods and Forests, from S a.m to 8 p.m., and on Sundays before 10 and after 3. At the western end of the main street, which is worth walking down, is the western gate to the town. On the way the ruins of the priory are passed on the left. St. Andrews was formerly a place of great importance, and was the seat of the primate of Scotland. It is entered at the west end by a massive antique portal — preserved unimpaired — its other extremity terminating in the ruins of the cathedral, church, and monastery. The city abounds in curious antique houses, whicli were once occupied by persons of rank, both in church and state, and it has an air of seclusion and quiet, which, taken in connection with its colleges and memorials of antiquity, gives it an appearance not unlike some of the cathedral towns of England. The origin of St. Andrews is involved in obscurity, but it is justly believed to have been at a very early period the seat of a religious establishment. It was originally denominated Muckross. According to the common tradition, about the end of the fourth century it became the residence of St. Regulus, who was shipwrecked here. The ruins of a chapel and an entire tower, known by the name of St. Regulus, or St. Rule, are still U> be seen near the cathedral. On the union of the Scottish and Pictish kingdoms, the name of the city was changed to St. Andrews. The famous priory of St. Andrews was erected by Bishop Robert, in the reign of Alexander I., about the year 1120. The city was made a royal burgh by 154 EXCURSIONS FllOM EDINBURGH. David I. in the year 1140. The charter of Malcolm II., written upon a small bit of parchment, is preserved in the Town Hall. In 1471 St. Andrews was erected into an Archbishopric by Sextus IV., at the request of James IV. At wliat time its church became metropolitan, is not known with certainty, but it must have been at a very early period. The chapel of St. Eeffulus is, without doubt, one of the oldest relics of ecclesiastical architecture in the kingdom. The tower is a square prism 108 feet in height, the side of the base being 24 feet. A winding stair leads to the summit, from which a most delightful view is obtained. The stone of which this building is composed is of so excellent a texture, that although it has been exposed to the weather for so many centuries, it still remains quite entire and unimpaired. The chapel to the east of the tower, which was the principal one, still remains; but of a small chapel to the west, which formerly existed, there is now no trace. The Cathedral was founded in the year 1159 by Bishop Arnold, but it was not finished till the time of Bishop Lamberton, who completed it in 1318. This magnificent fabric was pulled down by an infuriated mob, excited by a sermon of John Knox against idolatry', preached in the parish church of St. Andrews. This event is graphically described by Professor Tennant in his poem entitled "Papistry Stormed; or the Dmging Doun o' the Cathedral." We may give a short extract as a specimen of the poem : — I sing the steir, strabash, and strife, ■WTian bickerin' frae tlie towns o' Fife Great bangs o' bodies, thick and rife, Gaed to Sanct Andro's town ; And wi' John Calvin in their heads, And liammers in tlieii' hands, and spades, Enraged at idols, mass, and beads, Dang the Cathedrid down. ] wot the bniilzie then was dour, Wi' sticks, and stanes, and bhiidy clour, Ere Papists unto Calvin's power Gaif up their strongest places ; And fearfu' the stramash and stour. Whan pinnacle came down, and tow'r, And Virgin Marys in a shower. Fell flat, and smashed their faces. Tlie copper roofs that dazzlit heaven, Were frae their rafters rent and riven, The marble altars daslit and driven. The cods wi' velvet laces : The siller ewers and candlesticks ; The puqjle stole and gowden pyx ; And tanakyls and dalmatycks Cam tumbling frae theii' cases. The de-^dl stood bunibazed to see The bonnie eosie byke where he Had cuddlit mony a century, Kipt up wi' sic disgraces. The length of the building was 350 feet, the breadth Go, and the tran- sept 180 feet. The eastern gable, half of the western, part of the south side wall, and of the transept, are all that now remain. The other religious houses in St. Andrews were, the convent of the Dominicans, founded in 1274 by Bishop Wishart ; the convent of Obser- vantines, founded by Bishop Kennedy, and finished by his successor, Patrick Graham, in 1478 ; a collegiate church, which stood innnediately above the harbour ; and a priory. Slight vestiges of the latter, which was the most important of these foundations, may be traced to the south of the ST. ANDREWS. 155 ciithedral. It ^vsis of great extent, and richly endowed. Its boundary wall is still nearly entire, and seems to have enclosed all the east quarter of the to\vn. The prior of St. Andrews had precedence of all abbots and priors, and on festival days had a right to wear a mitre and all Episcopal ornaments. The remains of the castle stand upon a rock overlooking the sea, on the north-east side of the city. This fortress was founded about the year 1200, by Roger, one of the bishops of St. Andrews, and was repaired towards the end of the fourteenth century by Bishop Trail, who died in it in 1401. He Avas buried near the high altar of the cathedral, with this singular epitaph : — " Hie fiiit ccclesiae directa columna, fenestra Lueida, thuribuluni redolcns, campaua sonora." James III. was born in it. The cruel burning of the celebrated Reformer George Wishart took place in front of the apartment occupied by Car- dinaUieaton, who, fearing the fury of the people, and apprehensive of an invasion from England, was induced to strengthen the fortifications. Before he had accomplished his purpose, however, he was surprised and assassinated by Norman Lesley, aided l)y fifteen associates. Early in the morning of May 29, lo-iG, they seized on the gate of the castle, which had been left open for the workmen who were finishing the fortifications ; and having placed sentinels at the door of the Cardinal's apartment, they awakened his numerous domestics one by one, and, turning them out of the castle, without violence, tumult, or injury to any other person, inflicted on Beaton the death he justly merited. The conspirators were immedi- ately besieged in this castle by the regent, Earl of Arran ; and although their strength consisted of only 150 men, they resisted his efforts for five months, owing more to the unskilfulness of the attack than the strength of the place. In 1547, the castle was reduced and demolished, and its pictu- resque ruins have since served as a landmark to mariners. The University of St. Andrews— the oldest establishment of that nature in Scotland— was founded in 1411 by Bishop Wardlaw. It consisted formerly of three colleges :— 1. St. Salvaior's, which was founded in 1458 by Bishop Kennedy. The buildings of this college formed an extensive court or quadrangle about 230 feet long, and 180 wide, and a gateway surmounted by a spire. The original structure having follen into decay, a grant was made by Parliament for the erection of new classrooms and other buildings, which, after considerable delay, have recently been com- pleted in a very tasteful manner. The celebrated martyr Patrick Hamil- ton was burned opposite the gate of this college. 2. St. Leonard's College, which was founded by Prior Hepburn in 1532. This is now united with St. Salvator's, and the buildings sold and converted into private houses. In one of tliese the ckbrated George Buchanan lived, and a portion of his study still remains. The ruined chapel of the college contains some interesting tombstones. 3. New, or St. INIary's College, which was cstab- 156 EXCURSIONS FROM EDINBURGH. lislied by Archbishop Hamilton in 15.52 ; but the house was completed by Ai-chbishop Beaton. The buildings of this college have lately been repaired with great taste. In the United College the languages, philosophy, and the sciences are taught. St. jNIary's, which stands in a different part of the town, is reserved exclusively for theologj% The classes and discipline of the two colleges are quite distinct, each having its respective Principal and Profes- sors. They have a common library, containing upwards of 50,000 volumes. The Madras College was established in the year 1833, by the late Dr. Andrew Bell, a native of St. Andrews, and inventor of the monitorial system of education which bears his name, who bestowed the munificent sum of £60,000 in three per cent stock for its establishment. The build- ings, which are very splendid, stand on the site of the Blackfriars monastery, and in front of the College is the fine old ruin of the chapel connected with that monastery. The course of education comprises the Classics, the English and other modern languages. Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Ciiemistry, Music, and Drawing. The fees being low, and in many cases not exacted, the institution has been very successful, the number of scholars averaging about eight hundred. The Parish Church is a spacious structure, 1G2 feet in length by 03 in breadth, and is large enough to accommodate 2500 persons. It contains a lofty monument of white marble, erected in honour of Archbishop Sharpe, who, in revenge for his oppressive conduct, was murdered by some of the exasperated Covenanters. On this monument is a bas-relief representing the tragical scene of the murder. The College Church, which belongs to the United College of St. Salvator and St. Leonard, is situated to the north of this. It was founded in 1458 bj' Bishop Kennedy, and contains a beautiful tomb of its founder, who died in 1466. It is a piece of exquisite Gothic workmanship, though much injm-ed by time and accidents. About the year 1683, on opening this tomb, six highly ornamented silver maces were discovered, which had been concealed there in times of trouble. Three of these maces are still preserved in the university, and one was presented to each of the other three Scottish imiversities. The top has been ornamented by a representation of our Sa's'iour, with angels around, and the instruments of his passion. Along with these interesting relics are she^^'n John Knox's pulpit, kc. ; and with these are shown some silver arrows, with large silver plates affixed to them, on which are inscribed the arms and names of those who were victors in the annual competitions of archerj'. These, after having been discontinued for half a centmy, were revived in 1833. Golf is now the favourite game in St. Andrews. It is played on a piece of ground called the Links, which stretches along the sea-shore to the extent of nearly two miles. The shipping of the port now consists of a few vessels employed in the coasting trade. The harbour is guarded by piers, and is safe and com- D LTNLITHGOW. 157 modious; but it is difficult of access, having a narrow entrance, exposed to the east wind, which raises a heavy sea on the coast. The shore of the bay is low on the west side, but to the south it is precipitous, bold, and rocky ; and, in severe storms, vessels are frequently driven on it and lost. St. Andrews unites with Cupar, Anstruther, Pittenweem, Crail, and Kilrenny, in returning a member to Parliament. LINLITHGOW. [run : The Star and Garter. Population, 4071.] By Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, 17f miles. Trains five or six times daily; some of the tnniis do not .slop at LinHthfjoiv ; it is therefore necessary to make sure of this before starting. Time taken 35 to 45 minutes. So early as the beginning of the twelfth century Linlithgow was one of the principal burghs in the kingdom. It contains now only a very few of the old-fashioned houses, which belonged to the Knights of St. John, who had their preceptory at Torphichen, in this county. Linlithgow Palace is a massive quadrangular edifice, situated upon an eminence which slopes into the lake. It occupies about an acre of gi-ound, and, though in ruins, is still a beautiful and pictm-esque object. The internal architecture is extremely elegant, but the exterior has a heavy appearance from the want of windows. Over the interior of the grand gate is a niche which was formerly filled by a statue of Pope Julius II., who presented James V. with the sword of state, which still forms part of the regalia. It was destroyed diu-ing the last century by a blacksmith, who had heard popery inveighed against in the neighbouring church. Above this entrance was the Parliament Hall, once a splendid apartment, with a beautifully ornamented chimney at one end, and vmderneath it has Iteen a m; gnificent piazza. This part of the palace is understood to have been begun by James IV., and finished and ornamented by his successor. The west side of the palace is the most ancient, and contains the room where the unfortunate Queen Mary was born. Her father, who then lay