^Marine Qiohgical Laboratory Library itfcods Stole, Massachusetts OF - (EXPLORATION OHOMPSON MONTGOMERY (1907-1986) RAVENSCRAIG CASTLE, NEAR KIRKCALDY* . A .147 BRIDGE OF DON, OR BRIG o' BALGOUNIE . . A . 149 BR.EMAR CASTLE C . 150 THE PASS OF CAIRN GORM, LOOKING TOWARDS AVIEMORE A . 151 DESTRUCTION OF ELGIN CATHEDRAL, 1390 . A . 153 GORDON CASTLE A . 154 CROMARTY BAY, FROM THE EAST .... A . 155 STRATHPEFFER MINERAL WELLS .... A . 156 CAWDOR CASTLE A . 157 DUNROBIN CASTLE . . • B . 160 CAPE WRATH B . 163 * Ravenscraig Castle, too late to be fully noticed in its proper place, is situated on a bold promontory overhanging the sea, near the ancient town of Dysart. It is a place of great antiquity, having been presented by James III. to William St. Clair, Earl of Orkney. The situation and appearance of these ruins are highly picturesque; but the dangerous nature of the coast is sufficiently apparent in the storm-scene so forcibly delineated in the fore-yround of the picture. SCOTLAND. 1 Land of brown heath and shaggy wood — Land of the mountain and the flood !" 'Twas here the Son of Fingal towered along, And midst his mountains rolled the flood of song ; 'Twas here the heroes of that song arose, And Roman Eagles found unvanquished foes." PERTHSHIRE. THE county of Perth, one of the largest in Scotland, is proverbial as the favoured province in which Nature has been prodigal of her gifts. The Highlands of Perthshire,* with their fabled lakes and rivers, and woods and fountains — their feudal and monastic ruins — their popular legends and traditions — present a field peculiarly rich in all that can charm the eye, improve the mind, or flatter the imagination. In proof of these attractions, it is only necessary to advert to the numerous strangers, from every nation in Europe, who are annually attracted to these regions of " fell and flood," where the magnificence of Nature and the primitive simplicity of the inhabitants offer the most pleasing contrasts, and * At the commencement of the second volume of this work, it is proper to remind the reader, that, owing tu the limited number of pages to which the Author is restricted, various topics of inferior interest must be omitted, others only slightly alluded to, in order that the connexion between the text and illustrations may not be interrupted, but mutually serve to explain each other. The Painter, in illustrating the scenery of the Highlands, has been careful in the selection of his subjects, so as to present a faithful transcript of that stupendous scenery with which the glory of the Gael is identified, whilst the Author has made it his study to frame his narrative according to the scenes through which he moves, and the historical sugges- tions to which they give rise. VOL. II. B 2 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. unfold those interesting sources from which poetry has drawn many of her wildest themes, and history some of her noblest achievements. With the bold chain of the Grampians swelling in lofty gradation before us ; the dark lakes gleaming in the distance ; and the Forth rolling its fantastic meanders at our feet ; herds in the valley, and flocks on the hill ; immemorial forests, casting their broad shadow along the mountain sides; and crumbling rocks, that could once arrest an army in its march — all proclaim that sacred frontier from which the Roman legions recoiled like " waves from the rock," and where Freedom looked proudly down from her hills, as from an impregnable citadel. But whatever the lavish hand of nature may have bestowed on these native bulwarks — whether she has enriched them with precious ore, girdled them with forests, or rendered them subservient to pasture or the plough — their great charm and patriotic boast is, that they are peopled by a race who never yielded to a foreign yoke, nor pledged their fealty to a stranger. If they have suffered the calamities of war, these calamities have been the results of internal division, never of conquest. The first altars raised to Liberty were in the glens and mountains before us ; and there — so long as the name continues to influence the human conduct and warm the heart — these altars will be found. Like the Swiss cantons, the Highland clans, wherever united, have been invincible ; but between the two people there is this distinction : — the latter never " surrendered " their liberty; the former " recovered " it when lost. The Swiss expelled their oppressors, but not till after they had been enslaved; but the Celts, by repulsing them at the frontier, preserved their independence from pollution, and thus vindicated their pretensions as an unconquered people. But, without following up the parallel to the extent to which it might be carried, we return to the more express objects in view, and prosecute our journev to the Trosachs — those haunted localities which the poetry and romance of our own times have invested with peculiar charms. " For there — on every wild and wondrous scene, The Wizard's many-coloured touch hath been." Continuing to ascend the valley of the Forth, the road passes the mansion of Craig Forth, crosses the river about two miles above Stirling, at the Bridge of Drip, and then winds for several miles through a tract of country which, within the last sixty years, the labour and ingenuity of man have converted from a dreary waste into a fertile garden. The Moss of Kincardine, the original name of this subdued waste, has undergone a thorough metamor- phosis— a healthy population have displaced the heath-fowl and the bittern ; MOSS OF KINCARDINE. — LORD KAIMES. 3 corn fields and cottage gardens have overspread the once pestilential marsh, and fruit trees and flowers the dark heath and furze, " unprofitably gay." It is one of those scenes which every philanthropic mind delights to contem- plate, as affording the most gratifying testimony to the capabilities of man, when skilfully applied and perseveringly directed. This pleasing transformation was effected by the enlightened and patriotic Lord Kaimes, to whose exemplary labours we have already adverted in a former page.* For the space of four miles above Stirling, the valley continues nearly two miles in breadth, but gradually expands as we ascend. On the north it is bounded by rising grounds, presenting scenes of wood and cultivation. The hills in front are green and pastoral, but in the back-ground the lofty summits of Benlomond, Benledi, and Benmore, rise in majestic dignity upon the scene, and recall to the tourist's mind no inadequate idea of the Bernese Oberland. The points of resemblance are particularly striking when they are crested with snow; and on those who have not witnessed the Alps of Switzerland, these Celtic mountains cannot fail to make a lasting impression. Blair-Drummond,f seat of the late Henry Home, Lord Kaimes, enbosomed in rich woodland scenery, and the church of Kincardine, with its Gothic architecture, — both pleasingly associated with the surrounding landscape — are the principal objects that mark the road as it winds into the vale of the Teith, where the fresh verdure, undulating surface, and wooded acclivities, present the most beautiful varieties of Highland landscape.. The course of the Teith is fringed by luxuriant woods, through which, at intervals, the flashing of the stream and the gentle murmur of its waters exert a' pleasing influence on the eye and ear, as we advance through scenery which fully vindicates to itself the epithet of Arcadian. * About sixty years ago, the late Lord Kaimes became proprietor of one thousand five hundred acres of the Moss, which, to his shrewd intellect, appeared readily reclaimable from its then unprofitable condition. At an average deptli of seven feet below the surface of the moss (tourbiere) a substratum of rich coarse clay, with a thin covering of vegetable mould, held forth the prospect of a most inviting return for the expense of disencumbering it ; and as the Kaimes possession extended from the Forth to the Teith, which flows along the north side of the valley, a large wheel was erected to lift water from the latter stream, for the purpose of floating the moss by means of drains cut in the clay into the Forth. Portions of the moss were then let to tenants in lots of eight acres, on leases of " three nineteen years" — without rent the first nineteen ; twelve shillings for each acre brought into culture the second nineteen years ; and so increasing till towards the close of the lease they came to pay a guinea per acre. About two hundred families are now settled on this portion of the Moss, who live in neat houses, disposed in regular lanes, and equidistant from each other. At the expiration of the leases, a rental of nearly £5000 per annum will be the fruit of this judicious improvement. — See Statist, dec. f " And BLAIR, half hid in sylvan shade, Where Taste and HOME delighted strayed ; What time when Lear and Genius fled, frae bar and town, To ' TeithV clear stream, that babbling played by • Castle- Doune.' " — MACNEILL. 4 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. The chief object deserving of exclusive notice in this route, is the CASTLE OF DOUNE— the theatre of several important deeds, and the theme of more than one pathetic ballad. It overhangs the point of a narrow green promontory, with the Teith rolling at its base on one side, and the mountain torrent of Ardoch descending with its tribute from the other. According to tradition, it claims for its founder the unfortunate Murdoch,* duke of Albany, whose fate we have already noticed; but it is evidently of much earlier date, and belongs to the first-rate order of Scottish fortresses. At one end of the front, a spacious square tower rises to the height of eighty feet, succeeded by another of inferior dimensions from behind the opposite extremity. The great hall, OR state chamber between the towers, is seventy feet long, and that in the great tower, forty-five by thirty feet. The kitchen fire-place alone seems of sufficient capacity to have accommodated with warmth and viands a full host of retainers. The whole structure, surrounded by a back wall forty feet high, forms an ample quadrangle of massive architecture. In the reign of James V., Sir James Stewart of Beath, ancestor of the Moray family, was appointed constable of the Castle ; and his son obtained a charter, under the great seal, of certain lands to be called the barony of Doune. In the succeeding reign, it served as a retreat for the loyalists of that unhappy period. The demesnes of the castle having been erected into a barony prior to the abolition of hereditary jurisdiction in the year 1748, courts of law were held in it; but, happily for the Scottish peasantry, these " hereditary and exclusive privileges" were thenceforth solemnly transferred to the executive government of the country. Queen Margaret,f and her unfortunate grand- daughter Mary, are said to have frequently resided here. In 1745 this fortress was held by Mac Gregor of Glengyle, a nephew of Rob » Murdoch was son of Robert, (son of Robert II.) who was created earl of Monieath in 1370, and eighteen years later, duke of Albany. In 1406, he succeeded bis brother, Robert III., and reigned fifteen years. In 14-01, Murdoch was taken prisoner by the English at the battle of Homildon, and detained till exchanged for Percy, ten years after. In September 1420, he succeeded his father, but being unfit to hold the reins of government, he was obliged to resign in four years. His resignation was suddenly followed by a charge of high treason, in consequence of which, himself, his two sons, and his father-in-law, Duncan, earl of Lenox, were seized, carried to Stirling, and there beheaded, as already mentioned; Isabella, Murdoch's unhappy wife, being carried from Doune to the Castle of Tamtallan, the heads of her father, her husband, and her two sons, were inhumanly sent to her in prison, to try if in the agony of grief she would reveal the supposed treason ; but her answer was noble and elevated. — " If," said she, " the crimes wherewith they were charged be true, then hath the king done justly, and according to law," f The dowager Queen Margaret, daughter of Henry VII., married in 1528 Henry Lord Methven, descendant of Murdoch, already mentioned ; and by consent of her son, James V., and her husband, granted to James Stuart, his younger brother, and ancestor of the MORAY family, the custody of the Castle of Doune, which formed part of the settlement made on her marriage with James IV. ESCAPE FROM DOUNE CASTLE. Roy, who had raised two hundred men for the service of Prince Charles Stuart, and here supported his authority, and claims, till after the victory of Falkirk, when the prisoners taken on that occasion were disposed of in a large, ghastly room, in the highest part of the castle, near the battlements. Of this number was Home, the author of " Douglas," and historian of the Rebellion, who records the following circumstances : — To guard the prisoners there was a party of about twenty Highlanders : a sentinel, who stood two or three paces from the door of the room, allowed any of the prisoners, who chose, to take air on the battlements. One of them, availing himself of this privilege, made his way to the place where the soldiers and other prisoners were confined ; but as there was not one officer with them, he returned the way he went, and "told his companions their scheme of making their escape by force was at an end. It was then proposed that they should make a rope of the blankets they had, by which they might descend from the battlements to the ground — a depth of seventy feet, but where there was no sentinel. The proposal was agreed to ; and to prevent suspicion of their design, some of the " volunteers" always kept company with the other persons in the great room, which was common to all, whilst the rest of them, barring the door of their cell, were at work till they had finished the rope, of which they resolved to make trial the very night it was completed. The two officers then claimed it as their right to be the first that should hazard them- selves by proving the strength of the rope. But that claim was objected to, and all drew lots, so as to settle the order in which they should descend. This done, the captain showed No. 1 — the lieutenant No. 2. When every thing was adjusted, they went up to the battlements, fastened the rope, and about one o'clock, in a moonlight night, began to descend. The two officers, Robert Douglas and another, got down very well ; but with the fifth, who was tall and bulky, the rope broke just as his feet reached the ground. The lieutenant now called to the next in the order of descent — an Englishman of the name of Barrow — not to attempt it, as twenty or thirty feet were broken oif frcm the rope. Nevertheless, putting himself on the rope, he slid down as far as it lasted, and then let go his hold. His friend Douglas, and the lieutenant, as soon as they saw him on the rope, placed themselves under him, so as to break his fall ; but descending from so great a height, he brought them both to the ground, dislocated one of his ankles, and broke several of his ribs. In this extremity the lieutenant raised him from the ground, and taking him on his back, carried him towards the road which led to Alloa. When unable to proceed further with his burden, two others of the company, by holding each one of Mr. Barrow's arms, helped him " to hop along upon one leg ;" but thinking VOL. II. C O SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. that at this slow rate they would certainly be overtaken, they resolved to call at the first house in their way, and that happening to belong to a friend, a horse was procured, and having reached the sea, they were received on board the Vulture sloop of war. But to return to the castle. When Niel Mac Vicar had drawn the last num- ber, and while standing on the parapet had seen the disaster of his friends, he carried the rope to his cell, where he substantially repaired and lengthened it with shreds of blankets. This done, he returned to the battlements, and there again fastening it, commenced his descent. But when he reached that part where the fracture had taken place, and which he had endeavoured to secure by adding greatly to its thickness, he found it beyond his grasp, and falling from the same height that Mr. Barrow had done, but with no one to break his fall, he was so seriously injured that he languished and died soon afterwards at the house" of his father, a clergyman in the isle of Isla. Since the publication of " Waverley," the Castle of Doune has enjoyed much additional celebrity, as the fortress to which the English hero was conveyed by his Highland captors, and which the classic author of the novel has so vividly depicted. The village of Doune is gradually rising into some degree of local importance. A church, and many new houses have been recently added, and cotton manufactures established near the bridge — the latter a very pleasing substitute for that of Highland pistols,* for which the village was originally famous. Cambus-Wallace, the ancient seat of the Edmonstones, and now that of Lord Doune, eldest son of the earl of Moray, to whom the barony belongs, is in the immediate vicinity. In his march from the Highlands, the " Chevalier" took a cup of welcome, presented by a fair adherent, at its gate. Dunblane, though not immediately in our route, is too important to be passed over in silence, and will amply repay the tourist, who, in pursuit of health or amusement, makes a short sojourn in this much frequented neighbourhood. For its recent celebrity, Dunblane is chiefly indebted to its mineral spring, which, for several years past, has enjoyed high reputation for its medicinal qualities. But, of itself, the scenery is so beautiful, and so rich in historical associations, as to present no ordinary attraction to the summer tourist, " who looks on Nature with a poet's eye." * While the ancient dress was in use, there was a great demand for Doune pistols, presents of which were frequently sent by the nobility to foreign princes. The art was first introduced here about two centuries ago, by Thomas Cadell, who was considered the first pistol-maker in Britain. Among the national songs to which this district owes so many pleasing associations, we need only quote " The banks and braes o' bonny Doune ;" " The bonny Earl of Moray," &c. •— »: " DUNBLANE. — BATTLE OF SIIERIFF-MUIR. 7 The village is pleasantly situated on the classic river Allan — a tributary of the Forth — and remarkable for its ancient cathedral, erected by the pious king David about the middle of the twelfth century.* Though greatly dilapidated by time and fanaticism, enough of its ancient style and proportions remain to vindicate its claim as one of the finest consecrated structures of its age. A cell of Culdees existed here long before the erection of the place into a bishop's see, and continued to flourish for several centuries. St. Blaan, from whom the modern name is derived, was superior of the convent during the reign of Kenneth in 932. Some remains of the episcopal residence are still visible. The last bishop of Dunblane was Robert Leighton, consecrated in 1663, and, seven years later, translated to the archiepiscopal see of Glasgow. His history, so intimately connected with that of his times, is too well known to our readers to require more than the mere allusion to the subject. Besides his daily charities to the poor, this pious and learned prelate settled a fund for some beneficent purpose, or some public work, in all the places where he had influence or charge ; and by his last will bequeathed to the clergy of the diocese of Dunblane his valuable library, with funds for its support. This generous bequest has subsequently received many additions, and forms now a collection of great value and permanent advantage to the place and neighbourhood. At the foot of the Ochil Hills, the fine pastoral chain that divides this and the adjacent county on the east, is the scene of another sanguinary engagement —the battle of Sheriff-Muir. It was fought in November 1715, between the insurgents commanded by the earl of Marr, and the royal army under the duke of Argyll, and, in history, is occasionally distinguished as the battle of Dunblane. On the evening before the battle, the insurgent forces occupied the same station at Ardoch — now the most perfect of the Roman, .stations in Scotland — which Agricola did in the third year of his expeditions. On the fatal morning in question, the right of the royal army and the left of the rebels having advanced to within pistol-shot, at their first interview, vere instantly engaged. The Highlanders began the action with all their accustomed ardour, and their fire was little, if at all, inferior to that of the best disciplined troops. f But Colonel Cathcart, being ordered to stretch to the right and take them on the flank — a movement which he executed in the most gallant • In Strathern, a short distance from Dunblane, are tlie ruins of Inchaffray Abbey, founded in 1200. f Ronald M'Donahl, captain of Clan Ronald, was killed at the first fire; but Glengarry, who succeeded him as leader-in-chief, started from the lines, waved his bonnet in the air, and shouting revenge, so animated the men, that they followed him to the muzzles of the muskets, pushed aside the bayonets with their targets, and spread terror and havoc with their claymores. 8 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. manner — gave a decisive turn to the contest on that part of the field, while General Witham, with three battalions of foot, rapidly advanced to the support of the Duke, who was now pursuing the advantage so suddenly obtained by the first manoeuvre. The Highlanders, though compelled to retreat, retreated like the Parthians. They harassed their pursuers — rallied so frequently, and repulsed the royal troops with such obstinacy, that in three hours they were not three miles from the first point of attack. But, to all appearance, they were completely broken, and the duke resolved to continue the pursuit as long as the light would serve. He was suddenly recalled, however, by the circum- stance of there being no appearance of the division of his army under Witham, while a large body of the rebels were strongly posted behind him. Witham's division, while advancing, had fallen in with a body of Marr's foot, concealed in a hollow way full in front, while a squadron of horse stood ready to charge them in flank. In this situation they were attacked by the Braidalbane men, supported by the Clans, a great number of them cut to pieces, and the remainder driven in among their own cavalry, who were thus thrown into confusion. Had the rebel squadron on the right fallen in at the same time, that portion of the royal army had been entirely cut off.* This neglect on the part of the insurgents decided the day. The broken battalions were brought off with comparatively little loss, but, unable to join the other part of the army under Argyll, or to keep the field against the superior strength of the rebels, they retired towards Dunblane, thence to Corntown, and at the end of the long causewayf that communicates with Stirling bridge, took their station to defend the pass. Had the rebels pursued them, Stirling itself would probably have received the former as victors. The battle of Sheriff-Miiir reflected little credit upon the skill and experience of the commanders on either side ; but, although in itself as indecisive as any action on record, it was followed, nevertheless, by consequences which are supposed only to attend the most signal victories, and, in the language of the day, " broke the heart of the rebellion." Both armies claimed the honour of a triumph, from the fact that the right wing of each had been victorious.^ • " A Highlander, stung with indignation at the inactivity of his general, could not help exclaiming at the moment, ' Oh, for one hour of Dundee !' — conceiving, no doubt, that the hero of Killiecranky would have shown very different generalship on such an occasion." — Chambers' Hist. f Supposed to be the Roman military way, and continuation of that formerly traced through Camelon. J In allusion to this, many of our readers will remember the popular song — " Some say that we wan, and some say that they wan ; And some say that none wan at a', man." — Jacobite Rilics. 1 ' . I, DUNBLANE MINERAL SPRING. — CALLENDER. The rebel army lost, on this melancholy occasion, the earl of Strathmore, Clanronald, and several persons of distinction. Panmure, and Drummond of Logie were among the wounded. Among the causes which the insurgent leaders assigned as an apology for their indecision, was the conduct of Rob Roy,* who, in the absence of his brother, commanded the M'Gregors, and on the day of battle kept aloof, waiting only for an opportunity to plunder. The mineral spring, already noticed, is about two miles from the village of Dunblane, and was discovered about twenty years ago, by its having become the resort of pigeons, which flocked round the small pools formed by the water in its descent. It issues from two springs of various strength, f and, in its medicinal qualities, which are found highly serviceable in general debility and dyspeptic cases, resembles the celebrated Pitkaithly. The climate of the place is mild and salubrious, and the district well sheltered by surrounding mountains. The scenery will recall the popular ballad, long known to all lovers of Scottish song, the " Flower o' Dunblane." Resuming our route through the vale of the Teith, we advance through a pastoral district of sloping uplands and waving woods, with here and there fea- tures of the olden time and modern improvement rising in contrast before us. Of these, Lanrick Castle and Cambusmore — the former, the residence of the Baronet M'Gregor, and the latter, of John Buchanan, Esq., are princely seats, and in fine keeping with the scenery. Callender, the " Capital of the Trosachs," which has risen into importance in consequence of the celebrity conferred on the district by the genius of Scott, consists chiefly of a long row of houses flanking the road right and left — all slated and white-washed, and having the door and window- sashes painted green. It contains a neat church and school-house, and a large commodious inn. On the north the horizon is bounded by an imposing rampart of hills, sprinkled with trees, and presenting a bold, perpendicular front, Bracklin Bridge, about twenty minutes' walk from the village, and the scene of the accompanying illustration, is one of the most remarkable of its kind. The cascade, " Bracklin's thundering wave," consists of a series of minor falls, shelving rapids, and dark linns, formed by the torrent-stream of the Keltic, in its progress through a low, rugged chasm, dashing down a succession of horizontal ledges of rock, about fifty feet in height. In former times it was considered a trial of some skill and fortitude to pass this torrent by a narrow, • Life of John, Duke of Argyll, p. 205. Struthers. History of the Rebellion, by Rae. Chambers. t The ingredients in a pint of the water, are: — Muriate of soda, twenty-four grains; muriate of lime, eighteen grains: sulphate of lime, three grains and a half; carbonate of lime, half a grain , with slight indications of iron. VOL II- I) 10 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. alpine bridge — a tree thrown across the chasm ; but this terror, though partly dissipated by the addition of a hand-rail, is still a giddy enterprise ; and when the torrent is full, the scene is one that cannot but awaken something like the " sublimity of fear." The plain of Bochastle, through which the river continues its serpentine course, is richly cultivated, finely sheltered with wood, and interspersed with cottages and villas, which afford pleasing evidence of the improved taste and increasing prosperity of the country. On the Dun, the remains of three mounds and ditches point out to the antiquary an interesting field of speculation. On either side of this eminence is a straight, artificial bank of earth, supposed to have been used in the practice of archery. To the westward, rising between the Teith and its mountain tributary the Lubnaig, Benledi takes possession of the scene. This gigantic landmark is upwards of three thousand feet in height ; and in its Celtic name, Benledi, or the " Hill of God," recalls the ancient religious ceremonies observed on its summit. Here, as tradition reports, the people were accustomed to assemble during three successive days, annually, for the worship of Baal, or the Sun. Near the top, an iron ring was discovered towards the close of last century, attached by a staple to the rock, but for what purpose — unless for securing the victims — remains a question still open for discussion. Near this spot distinct traces of culture are still observable. On the same mountain is a small lake, called Lochan-an-Corp, a name commemo- rative of a melancholy catastrophe. While a funeral party from Glenfinlas were crossing it when frozen over, the ice suddenly gave way, and the whole company perished. It is an incident from which superstition derives fresh evidence in support of her creed. Within the memory of the present generation, certain practices used to be observed in this neighbourhood, which would appear to be vestiges of druidical rites. On Bel, or Baal-tain, the 1st of May, it was customary for the boys to meet and cut a circular trench in some verdant spot, and then light a fire in the centre. At this fire, a sort of custard of eggs and milk was dressed, and an oatmeal cake prepared. When the first of these was disposed of. the cake was divided into pieces corresponding with the number of the guests ; and one bit being blackened, the whole were thrown into a cap, from which each individual drew one. He who had the misfortune to fall upon the black piece, was the " victim" to be sacrificed to Baal, in order to propitiate his genial influence for a productive season.* • On All-Saints' eve, also, numerous bonfires were lighted, and the ashes of each collected into a circular heap, in which a stone was put near the edge for every person in the hamlet ; and the individual SCENERY OF THE TROSACHS. — LOCH-CATRINE 11 The mountain range, which forms the outskirts of the Highlands, runs for several miles due west from Callender, and then verges to the south towards Benlomond. The small lakes of Vennachar and Achray, into which are dis- charged the waters from Loch-Catrine, lie on the outside of the Highland boundary ; while the latter is encompassed by mountains through which a com- munication has been formed, between Loch-Catrine and Loch- Achray, by some great convulsion of nature — sweeping away the connecting link between Benan and Benvenue, which, on either side, present lofty and inaccessible precipices. The intermediate defile, known as the pass of the Trosachs, or " bristled territory," is occupied by intricate groups of rocky and wooded eminences. On the south of Vennachar and Achray, the hills are covered with heather, and fringed at their base with oak. " Coilantogle ford," where Roderick Dim was overcome by Fitz-James, is at the lower point of Loch- Vennachar. " Lanrick Mead," the mustering-place of Clan Alpin, lies on the north side of the lake.* Loch-Catrine, serpentine in form, and about ten miles long by two in breadth, is encircled by high mountains. The narrow river which conducts its waters to Loch- Achray, keeps the southern side of the intermediate isthmus, sweeping by the precipitous flank of Benvenue. Between the river and Benan are various abrupt rocky ridges, rising into summits of different character — some more or less spiry ; others presenting elongated outlines. This labyrinth is tangled over with a forest of oak, coppice, birch, and underwood, which also climb high up the long and almost vertical side of Benan. Not many years ago Benvenue could also boast a myriad of noble trees, which the extreme irregularity of its shattered rocky sides threw into the most varied and effective groups. — Byron censured the excellent monks of St. Bernard for having hewn down the timber from Clarens ; but the present was an act of greater sacrilege, inasmuch as there was no similar apology for the axe. Until the publication of Dr. Robertson's " Statistical Account," in 1790, this romantic district was comparatively unknown. Shut out from the rest of the world by an almost impenetrable barrier of precipitous rocks, dark ravines, and impervious forests, the bright waters of Loch-Catrine, and its romantic shores, had whose stone-representative happened to be displaced by the following morning, was regarded as fey — that is, one whose days were numbered, and might be expected to die within twelve months. These relics of ancient superstition are always interesting, and often serve important ends in facilitating historical and philosophical inquiry. — See Local Statist. ' For a minute account of this classic scenery, and the points that take a more prominent part in " The Lady of the Lake," see "Chambers," " Graham's Sketches," and " Anderson's Guide to the Highlands" — a work of great merit 12 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. slept for ages in their native wilderness. But when the report spread, that within this rugged girdle of rocks and chasms, a fairy-land was embosomed — the charms of which poetry itself could hardly exaggerate — curiosity was excited — taste and genius were attracted to the spot, and the scene was found to justify the enthu- siastic encomiums in which the writers had indulged. Native pride was flattered by the arrival of strangers, who came to admire this new " el Dorado ;" and the fame of the district was finally immortalized by the publication of the " Lady of the Lake." A commodious road was constructed, and views which, by climbing precipices and crossing ravines, the hunter, or hardy mountaineer, had only ventured to indulge, were now rendered alike accessible to all. The lake and its scenery — as disclosed from the precipice where they first burst upon the eye of Fitz-James, in all the glory of an alpine sunset — are so finely sketched in the poem, that we shall here give the extract in preference to every other. " The western waves of ebbing day Rolled o'er the glen their level way ; Each purple peak, each flinty spire, Was bathed in flood of living fire.". . . . " One burnished sheet of living gold, Loch-Katrine lay beneath him rolled; In all her length, far-winding lay With promontory, creek, and bay, And islands that, empurpled bright, Floated amid the livelier light ; And mountains, that like giants stand, To sentinel enchanted land. High on the south bold Benvenue Down to the lake in masses threw Crags, knolls, and mounds, confus'dly hurled, The fragments of an earlier world ; A wildering forest feathered o'er His ruined sides and summits hoar, While on the north, through middle air, Benan heaved high his forehead bare." — Lady of the Lake, Canto I. Travellers who wish to see as much as they can of the wonders of Loch-Catrine generally sail westward,* on the south side of the lake, to the rock and " Den of the ghost," whose dark recesses the imagination of the natives conceived to be the habitation of supernatural beings. f * See Dr. Graham's Sketches of Perthshire. t A gentleman who possessed a farm immediately above the den, going home one evening at a late hour, beheld, in passing through the haunted spot, a figure glide swiftly past him, and instantly drew his sword THE TROSACHS. — LOCH-CATK1NE. 13 " Grey Superstition's wliisper dread Debarred tlie spot to vulgar tread : For there, she says, did fays resort, And satyrs hold their sylvan court, By moonlight tread their mystic maze, And blast the rash beholder's gaze." In sailing, you discover many arms of the lake— here a bold headland, and there black rocks dip in unfathomable water — there the white sand in the bottom of the bay bleached for ages by the waves. In walking on the north side, the road is sometimes cut through the face of the solid rock, which rises xipwards of two hundred feet perpendicular above the surface of the lake. Before the road was made, the precipice had to be mounted by a kind of natural ladder, like that described in the poem — " No pathway meets the wanderer's ken, Unless he climb with footing nice 3ome far projecting precipice j The broom's tough roots his ladder made — The hazel saplings lent their aid." Here every rock has its echo, every grove is vocal with the harmony of birds, or the songs of women and children gathering hazel-nuts in their season. Down the side of the opposite mountain, after a shower of rain, flow a hundred foaming streams, which rush into the lake with the noise and velocity of cataracts, and spread their white froth on its surface. On one side, the water-eagle sits in undisturbed majesty on his well-known rock, in sight of his eyry on Benvenue. The heron stalks among the reeds in search of his prey ; and the sportive wild- ducks gamble along the surface, or dive under the waters of the lake. On the other hand, the wild goats climb where they have scarce a footing, and take their sport on precipices which seem as if inaccessible to all but the eagle or raven. Perched on the highest trees, or rocky pinnacles, the winged tenants of the forest look down with composed defiance at man. The scene is closed by a west view of the lake, having its sides lined with alternate clumps of wood, and cultivated fields, and the smoke from farm-houses, concealed by the inter- vening woods, rising in spiral columns through the air. The prospect is bounded by the towering Alps of Arrochar, chequered with snow, or hiding their summits in the clouds. in an attitude of defence ; when the mysterious figure, springing forward at the sight, exclaimed, " Walter of Drunkie, spare my life — it is I." It was an unfortunate female maniac, who had taken shelter in this dismal solitude. — Spcnce's " Sketches." VOL. II. E 14 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. In one of the defiles of the Trosachs, two or three of the natives having met a band of Cromwell's soldiers on their way to plunder them, shot one of the party dead, whose grave marks the scene of blood, and gives name to the pass, To revenge the death of their comrade, the soldiers resolved to attack an island in the lake, on which the wives and children of the natives had taken refuge. This, however, they could not effect without a boat ; but one of the most daring of the party undertook to swim to the island and bring off the boat for his companions. With this resolution he plunged into the lake, and, after an apparently successful enterprise, was on the point of seizing hold of the rock to secure his landing, when a heroine, named Helen Stuart, opposed the attempt, and cut off his head with a sword. The party who witnessed the performance of this tragedy on the body of their comrade, felt little disposed to repeat the experiment, and cautiously withdrew.* The rocks of the Trosachs jut forward in successive promontories into the lake, and thus occasion a similar number of narrow inlets. A terminal portion of one of these headlands, detached from the adjacent shore and covered with wood, will be recognised as the isle of the poem — " Where Ellen's hand had taught to twine The ivy and Idaean vine, The clematis, the favoured flower Which boasts the name of Virgin-bower; And every hardy plant could bear Loch- Katrine's keen and searching air." The defile of Beal-an-Duine, where Fitz-James's steed sank exhausted under him, is in the heart of the gorge. This is the subject chosen by the painter for the accompanying illustration, and, poetically, is the spot where — " . . . . The good steed, his labours o'er, Stretched his sliff limbs to rise no more" — and Fitz-James breaks forth into the following apostrophe : — " I little thought, when first thy rein I slacked upon the banks of Seine, That Highland eagle e'er should feed On thy fleet limbs, my matchless steed! Woe worth the chase — woe worth the day That costs thy life, my gallant grey!" See the " Local Statistics," " Guide to the Lakes," and the works already quoted. CLANS. — PASS OF LENT. — BALQUIDDAR. 15 The clans who inhabit the romantic regions in the neighbourhood of Loch- Catrine, were, even until a late period, much addicted to predatory excursions upon their Lowland neighbours. Those districts, situated beyond the Grampian range, were rendered almost inaccessible by strong barriers of rocks, and mountains, and lakes ; and, although a border country, almost totally sequestered from the world, and insulated with respect to society. Under such times and circumstances, it was accounted not only lawful, but honourable, among hostile tribes, to wage predatory warfare with one another ; and the habits of a rude age were, no doubt, strengthened in this district by the circumstances mentioned, and the fact that they bordered upon a country, the inhabitants of which, though richer, were less warlike than they, and widely different in language and manners.* In those days might was right, and the watchword — "... They shall take who have the power, And those may keep who can." But, in order that a connexion between the text and the subjects chosen for illustration may be preserved, our remaining notice of this district can only be brief and desultory. Much beautiful scenery and much interesting history must, consequently, be omitted ; but, while we select the more prominent fea- tures in each department, we shall best enable the lover of Highland scenery to form a correct notion of its character. The choice, however — where all is beautiful, or picturesque, or sublime — is attended with no little difficulty ; particularly where the artist, as in the drawings before us, has made it his study to combine an air of striking novelty with a perfect resemblance to nature. The usual conclusion to a survey of the Trosaehs is to cross over the hills between Loch-Catrine and Loch-Lomond, embark on the latter, and then return southward by Glasgow and the Clyde ; but reserving these as the subject of a future portion of the tour, we continue our progress towards the valley of the Tay. On leaving Callender, the road enters the pass of Lcni, and skirts the left bank of Loch-Lubnaig, a narrow sheet of water about five miles in length. The scenery is bold and rugged ; the hills approach the water so closely as to give the space it occupies the appearance of a deep ravine. On the east side is the farm-house of Ardhullary, in which James Bruce secluded himself while engaged in composing his travels in Abyssinia. Passing onward, the Braes of Balquiddar — a theme well known in Scottish song — rise in gentle acclivities on the left. The valley is chiefly occupied by • See Notes to the " Lady of the Lake;" " Statistical Account." 16 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. the small lakes of Doin and Voil. In the churchyard of Balquiddar is shown the tombstone of the famous Rob Roy, who spent the last days of his life at the upper end of Loch-Voil. His escape in crossing the river, as related in the celebrated novel bearing his name, is said to have actually occurred, and in the manner recorded. A party, headed by the duke of Montrose, having succeeded in capturing him, he was fastened on the saddle behind Graham of Gartnafuorach, who, unable to withstand the captive's remonstrances, slipped the belt at a spot where the fragments of rock precluded the possibility of any horseman being able to follow him. The arms on his tombstone are a fir crossed by a sword, supporting a crown, denoting his relationship with the royal line of Stuart. Lochearn Head, where there is an excellent inn, is a favourite resting-place for tourists, and -the lake is surpassed by few in all the mingled characteristics of Highland scenery. It is a " miniature and model of scenery which might well occupy ten times its space." At this point, all its peculiar beauties appear as if condensed into a space, so circumscribed, as to place them immediately before the eye. Its mountains rise in majestic simplicity to the sky, terminating in bold, and various, and rocky outlines, enriched with precipices and masses of protruding rock, with chasms and ravines, and the channels of innumerable torrents, which pour from above, and, as they descend, become skirted with trees till they lose themselves in the waters of the lake. Loch-Tay, the next lake in our route, is about fifteen miles in length, by one in breadth. Among the lofty chain of mountains by which it is encom- passed on the north, Benlawers, the Colossus of Perthshire, presents an elevation of more than four thousand feet. Killin, a small Highland village near the junc- tion of the Lochy and Dochart, and embellished with two picturesque islets formed by the river, is proverbial for its striking scenery. It is a perfect picture- gallery of itself, says Dr. Macculloch,* since we cannot move three yards with- out meeting a new landscape. In addition to its fame as an admirable station for the artist, Killin is the reputed sepulchre of Fingal. On the north side of the plain are the picturesque ruins of Finlarig Castle, an ancient seat of the Braidalbane family, overgrown with ivy, and crown- ing a broad, low mound with an avenue of stately sycamores, leading into the park. Immediately adjoining this ancient bcrqeau, is the family burying- vault. Between Killin and Kenmore the scenery, throughout, is of a bold and striking character ; and the tourist has the choice of two roads, skirting the * See his detailed account. TAYMOUTH. — GLENLYON. 17 right and left banks of the hike, which assumes the appearance of a magnificent river, winding gracefully between its mountain shores, all finely embellished with woods, and enlivened with cottages or cultivated farms, which contrast well with the wild landscape from which they have been reclaimed by the labour and ingenuity of man. The village of Kenmore, occupying the slope of a small peninsula at the lower extremity of the lake, is highly picturesque in situation and appearance. Its cottages, festooned with sweet-brier, honeysuckle, and wild roses — its white church spire rising in the centre — the lake sparkling above, and mountains and forests extending their mingled shadows beyond, offer a most inviting subject for the pencil. On the north is a handsome bridge of several arches, spanning the " lordly Tay ;" and beyond, a small wooded island, in which Sibylla, queen of Alexander I., lies interred. The scenery of Tay mouth — more particularly that portion which immediately surrounds the castle — is of the richest description, and, to the traveller who approaches it from the wilder districts of the north, appears like an Elysium reposing in the lap of horror. " Hie secura quies, et nescia fallere vita, Dives opura variarum ; hie latis otia fnndis. Spelunca?, vivique lacus ; hie frigida Tempe, Mugitusque bouin, mollesque sub arbore somni." The view from the vista-fort in the face of the hill, and directly fronting the castle, is universally admired. In the centre of the landscape, the lake opens on the spectator ; on the left, two long mountain slopes, partly wooded, rise in successive stages from the water ; to the right, Drummond Hill displays its flanks, surging downwards with undulating forests ; the gigantic summit of Benlawers towers up from behind ; and at the extremity of the range rises the cone of lofty Benmore. On the fore-ground, the village, bridge, lake, and island, are seen beautifully grouped, and thus complete one of the finest landscapes in the United Kingdom.* Glenlyon, remarkable for its scenery, and no. less for its traditions, will amply recompense the tourist, who has time and inclination to explore its recesses ; and for this a single morning will suffice, as the more striking objects • On the north side of the river is the Valley of FortingaJ, in the churchyard of which is an enormous yew-tree — much older than the famous linden of Fribourg. About a century ago, the trunk was single, and measured fifty-six feet in girth. It now consists of two stems, the largest of which is quite hollow, and measures thirty-two feet. This is a vegetable production which may vie with the famous Sicilian chestnut d\ cento cavalli. VOL. II. F 18 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. lie within the compass of a few miles. This glen holds a distinguished place in the native songs and superstitions of Braidalbane — " Somnia, terrores magicos, miracula, sagas, Nocturnes lemures, portentaque Thessala rides ?" — This is the principal seat of the marquess of Braidalbane, whose family posses- sions occupy a tract of seventy miles in length. The castle is a magnificent specimen of modern architecture ; and, surrounded by a park stocked with deer, and embellished in the richest style of landscape gardening, forms a superb and princely residence. In following the right bank of the Tay, the most prominent object in the route, after quitting Taymouth, is Menzies Castle, planted at the foot of a lofty range of rocky hills, rising in successive grades like an amphitheatre, fortified with precipices shaded with woods, and watered by mountain torrents. The park is rich in ancient timber, and commands delicious vistas over the adjacent country. Aberfeldy, so pleasingly associated with the charms of Scottish song, is a village of the first class, and celebrated for its fine series of water-falls, in which respect it is a miniature of the Swiss Meyringhen. In the deep " birchen dell" of Moness, in which they occur, on either hand, rise high sloping banks, with a rich garniture of trees ; where, soothed with the murmur of waters and the melody of birds, the visitor may indulge a pleasing clay's reverie. " When simmer blinks on flowery braes, And o'er the crystal streamlet plays ; How sweet to spend the lightsome days In the Birks of Aberfeldy !" Three miles below Aberfeldy, Grandtully Castle — a domestic fortress of the olden time, and still a habitable as well as hospitable mansion — is a prominent object in the landscape. Logie-rait, at the confluence of the Tay and Tummel, is rendered classical as the birthplace of Dr. Adam Ferguson ; but the scenery, till we arrive in the precincts of Dunkeld, is comparatively tame. Here, however, the aspect of nature is changed, and all that can fascinate the eye, or feast the imagination, is lavished around with unlimited profusion. In point of situation, and in all those natural and artificial accessories which enter into the usual descriptions of an earthly paradise, Dunkeld has scarcely a rival. Those who have once visited its enchanting scenery will leave it with regret, and often long to renew the acquaintance. " Hie manns ob patriam pugnando vulnera passi, — Quirp.ie pii vates, et Phcebo digna locuti." DUNKELD CATHEDRAL. — BISHOPS. 19 The town is situate in a plain on the east bank of the river, embosomed in richly wooded hills, to which the rugged face of Craigie-barns, on the north, presents an ample and majestic screen. To the west, Cragvinean rears his pine-clad shoulders ; and on the south rise detached circular hills, at the base of which — " Across the shire of valleys and of hills, Braklalbane, and great Athol's dread domain, Swoln by the tribute from a thousand rills, The Scottish Tiber thunders to the plain." Of the two principal streets, one opens on a handsome bridge of five arches over the Tay, and at the west end of the other, stands the ancient cathedral, four- score paces in length, in all its compartments of corresponding dimensions, and on a noble scale. Its architecture consists of the Norman, with that of every other variety introduced into ecclesiastical structures, during the three subsequent periods of the Gothic style.* " Wanting only the roof, it wants nothing as a ruin." The choir, now converted into the parish church, was restored on the original model, and at a great expense, by the duke of Athol. Thus, while certain preservation has been gained to the whole structure, nothing has been lost of the original design ; and the cathedral will now continue a venerable monument of ancestral piety, and of times when Dunkeld was the seat of primacy in Scotland, and " capital of ancient Caledonia." Among the episcopal worthies, the name of Gavin Douglas throws a hallowing lustre over the darker features of his day. William Sinclair, of a different temperament, was as much the champion of his country's liberty as the former was of its literature. His spirit was worthy of the age of Wallace, and formed to be the companion of the best patriots of his country. On one occasion, when a party of Edward the Second's troops had made a hostile inroad upon the coast of Fife, Sinclair — like the famous Matthew Schimmir, the warlike bishop of Sion — overtook the invaders in the midst of their plundering expedition, near Aberdour, and, with the assistance of only threescore retainers, expelled the intruders at the point of the sword. Among the few sepulchral antiquities, the most remarkable is a statue in armour, with a lion's head at the feet, representing the ferocious " Wolf of Badenoch," Alister, son of Robert II. who burnt Elgin cathedral, and became otherwise notorious by his sanguinary disposition, f * Here, it is said, while the site of the cathedral was consecrated as a cell of Culdtes, Kenneth Macalpin deposited the bones of St. Columba. As a consecrated spot antiquaries trace its history to the remote reign of Constantine, in the early part of the eighth century. •f Hie jacet Alexr. Seneschallus . films U^berti regis Sector: ct Elizabeths? More . Dominus de . Buchan . et Baclenocli . qui obiit A.D. 1391. 20 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. Were we to quote the testimony of authors who have written on Scotland, \ve might here adduce many pages in praise of Dunkeld alone* — a topic in which all tastes seem to harmonise, and where one of the most graphic modern writers found ample materials for the composition of an interesting volume. But our own remarks must be few ; and, however fascinating the subject, our limited space must plead our excuse for numerous omissions. The pleasure- grounds surrounding the ducal palace of Dunkeld — which will shortly be replaced by a magnificent new family mansion — are kept up with great nicety. The walks are upwards of fifty miles, independently of a carriage-drive of thirty. f These present every possible variety of picturesque scenery, and in their extent, and constant transition from one style of landscape to another, are equalled by no demesne in Great Britain. The greatest curiosity, however, is the cascade of the Bran. A hermitage, called Ossian's Hall, forty feet above the basin of the cascade, and directly in front, is so constructed, that the stranger, on entering it, is brought suddenly in view of the fall, which — multiplied a thousandfold by the mirror-glass with which the walls and ceiling are covered — appears as if rushing upon him from every point. The effect is altogether magical, and although too artificial, is well calculated to strike the visitor with astonishment — the more so, as there is nothing in the approach that leads him to anticipate such a scene ; for, while he is contem- plating a fine painting of Ossian, which covers the door-way, the latter suddenly springs open, and he is ushered into a fairy world, with the foaming cataract full in his view. Between Dunkeld and Perth, the painter will find many rich subjects for his pencil ; and every admirer of that landscape in which fertility predominates, and the sublime softens down into the picturesque, a source of uninterrupted enjoyment. The heath-clad waste and frowning precipice are now succeeded by a kindly soil under industrious cultivation. Birnam-wood, which every reader of Shakspeare is prepared to contemplate with some degree of curiosity, is much * " That scene which opens before you after going through the pass, has not, perhaps, its parallel in Europe; and the grounds belonging to the duke, I do not hesitate to pronounce, are almost without a rival." Such is the testimony of the traveller, Dr. E. Clark ; and, in confirmation, we cannot do better than annex to it that of Mr. R. Chambers : — " I may mention," says he, " after having seen almost all the rest of Scotland, this place appeared to me, on visiting it, decidedly the finest throughout the whole country." To this the present writer will add, that, after many excursions in the Alps, Switzerland, and continental Europe, he recalls, with undiminished pleasure, the delightful impressions made upon his mind by the scenery of Dunkeld. f The pine and larch woods cover an extent of eleven thousand square acres — the number of trees planted by the duke, twenty-seven millions, besides several millions of various kinds. (Anderson, p. 100.) At the end of the cathedral the stranger is shown the first two larches introduced into this country. They were at that time treated as green-house plants, but are now of gigantic proportions. PERTH. — THE TAY. — MONC1UEFF-HILL. 21 reduced in extent, and has never, as Pennant remarks, " recovered the march of its ancestors to Dunsinnane." PERTH, the capital of the county, and once of the country, is the arena of many historical events in which the fate of the kingdom has been involved — many traits of national character and popular vicissitudes which arrest attention, and conjure up a thousand reminiscences in the reflecting mind. Surrounded by a rich amphitheatre of hills undulating along the horizon, their summits covered with woods, their flanks sprinkled with cheerful country- seats, and washed by the majestic Tay, Perth is a city of almost unrivalled attrac- tions. Highly favoured by Nature, it became a place of great commercial importance at the earliest period, and down to the present time has continued to be one of the chief seats of national prosperity.* Its handsome bridge of nine arches, its elegant quays and public buildings — of which the most interesting are the celebrated Academy and Antiquarian Institution — the north and south Inches — extensive public lawns stretching along the river, either of which would form a Campus Martins — with numerous gardens and public walks, are all of the most beautiful description, and worthy of its patriotic citizens. As one of the first places in Scotland where Knox promulgated the doctrines of the Reformation, — which here took strong hold of the public mind, and extended its influence in every direction — Perth possesses a double interest, and recalls the most important epoch in the national history. It was, for some time, the centre of that moral revolution which broke the fetters of ancient superstition, emancipated the human mind from a despotism worse than feudal bondage, and at length placed a new dynasty on the throne. The view from Moncrieff-hill is proverbially referred to as one of the most beautiful in the kingdom. Pennant styles it " the glory of Scotland." From this point, when the Roman legions came first in sight of Perth— the ancient Bertha— and beheld the Tay, the exclamation of " Ecce Tiberim!" announced • As the metropolis of ancient Caledonia and the residence of her kings— still pointed out in the palace of Scone— Perth and its environs occupy no small share in the history of those times, before the seat of royalty had been transferred to the more southern parts of the kingdom. As the Scottish nation extended its authority by the conquest of the Picts, and its subsequent intermarriages with England, the royal residence, keeping pace with the expanded limits of the sovereign, passed successively from Dunstafmage, Kildrummy, and Inverlochy, to Scone. Scone was exchanged in its turn for Falkland and Dunfermlme-these for Stirling-Stirling for Linlithgow, and this for Edinburgh, and lastly, Edinburgh for London. Amidst these changes, after the establishment of the monarchy of all Scotland, the natural boundaries which marked the land confined, on the whole, the choice of a place of residence for the royal family to that space which is bounded by the courses of the Forth and Tay, on the south and north ; on the west, by the rising of the country towards the middle of the island, and on the east by the ocean. During the hottest times of war with England, the interposition of theTay recommended Scone as the most secure court-residence. VOL. II. G SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED, the surprise and pleasure with which they discovered a resemblance between the two rivers. In the present day, however, the exclamation would not be com- plimentary ; the Tay gains exceedingly by comparison with the ' yellow' Tiber, which has scarcely the volume of one of the tributaries to the former, unless when swollen by continued rains. In transparency, too, no less than in volume, the Caledonian river has greatly the advantage. By a sudden inundation of the Tay, in the reign of William the Lyon, the ancient city of Perth was overthrown in a night. The royal palace shared the same calamity, and with that, the king's infant son, the nurse, and fourteen other persons, perished. The hill of Kinnoull is a point of view much resorted to by strangers ; while the antiquary and patriot find an interesting pilgrimage among the " tumuli of Luncarty" — the celebrated battle-field of that name. This victory obtained over the Danes, in 980, gave name and title to the noble family of Hay.* The battle was decisive ; of the enemy, according to tradition, those who escaped the sword were drowned in the river. A bleaching field and corn lands now occupy the scene of battle. The classic reader will recall the spirited lines of the poet Johnston on this subject.f At a short distance, on the Almond, a tributary of the Tay, is the scene of the pathetic legend of " Bessy Bell and Mary Gray," — a scene which, independently of its associations, is highy picturesque. It is in the demesne of Lord Lynedoch, a circumstance which gives it an additional attraction to the patriotic tourist. J Pitkaithly, so long a fashionable watering-place, is also in the immediate neighbourhood, * For the interesting legend, the reader may consult the family history of Kinnoull, descendants of the Scottish Cincinnatus, who, like his Roman prototype, left the plough to rout an army. Dupplin is also the scene of a sanguinary conflict in 1333, by which, for a time, the cause, of Bruce yielded to that of Baliol. f " Quo ruitis, cives ? Heia! hosti obvertite vultus! Non pudet infami vertere terga fuga ? Hostis ego vobis ; aut ferrum vertite in hostem. Dixit, et armatus dux praeit ipse jugo. Qua, qua ibat vastam condensa per agmina Danurr Dat stragem. Hinc omnis consequiturque fuga Servavit cives. Victorem reppulit hostem, Unus cum natis agminis instar erat. Hie Decios agnosce tuos magna? aemula Romse, Aut prior hac ; aut te his Scotia major adhuc." \ These young ladies, according to the fondly cherished tradition, were celebrated for their beauty, and sincerely attached as friends. Their families had rank and property in the country, and lived on a footing of mutual intimacy. In the plague of 16-15, which committed dreadful havoc in the population of this district, these young ladies, in the hope of avoiding infection by entire seclusion from society, retired to a lonely spot, called the " Burn Brje." Hither, however, they were traced by a young gentleman in the neighbourhood, who had long entertained a romantic passion for both, but without being able to decide which was the most beautiful. The consequences of this visit were fatal. Having himself caught the SCONE. — ASSASSINATION OF JAMES I. 23 and equally famous for the efficacy of its spring, and the picturesque scenery by which it is surrounded.* Scone, with its numerous relics of antiquity, and long and intimate associa- tions with royalty, has attractions peculiarly its own. The princely edifice which now occupies the spot — long consecrated as the residence of kings, and the sanctuary of religion — -is an object of the first attention to every stranger. Of its internal arrangements and decorations we cannot here enter into any detail ; but may simply state that, after having visited the finest palaces in Europe, we can still find much to please and interest us in that of Scone. Its position, on a fine terrace, gives it an imposing aspect when seen from the river. In the short space of seven years, the patriot Wallace, Edward I., and Robert Bruce, were severally resident at Scone. In 1715 the Pretender found it sufficient to accommodate a numerous suite, and filled its courts with the splendour of royalty. Preparations, too, were making for his coronation, but were interrupted by an unwelcome visit from a party of the King's horse. The earl of Mansfield has added several recent embellishments. In the church of the abbey of Scone was preserved the famous stone which was said to have first served the patriarch Jacob for a pillow, and, afterwards transported into Spain, was used as a seat of justice by Gothalus, a contem- porary with Moses. From Spain it found its way to Dunstaffnage, and there continued as the coronation-chair, till the reign of Kenneth II., who removed it to Scone, where every Scottish sovereign was crowned upon it till the year 1296, when Edward I. in order, it is said, to defeat an ancient prophecy, -j- had it removed to Westminster Abbey, where it now remains an indispensable requisite in coronation ceremonies. We now return to the historical recollections of Perth. Of these the more prominent features are the tragic death of James I. and the Govvry Conspiracy, which we shall briefly relate as they have been recorded by the best authorities. Sensible how deficient his long imprisonment had made him in the knowledge of real life, James I. was most anxious in his endeavours to render himself disease, the unhappy youth communicated it to the lovely friends, who soon fell victims to its malignity. They were buried in one grave, on the banks of the Almond ; the spot has been enclosed, and from its romantic situation, and the melancholy circumstances of the story, is a favourite pilgrimage among lovers, and the " poetical spirits" of the place. • This water is composed principally of muriate of soda and muriate of lime, with a slight trace of sulphate and carbonate of lime. In an English pint of the water, it contains about thirty-five grains of the different salts. The effects are similar to those already mentioned of the spring at Dunblane, t " Ni fallat fatum, Scoli quocunque locatum Invenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem." This prediction was supposed to have been verified when James VI. ascended the English throne. 24 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. acquainted with the character, habits, and pursuits of all classes of his people. For this purpose he went often in disguise among them, visiting their fire- sides, mingling in their sports, observing their wants, and redressing their wrongs. He was thus enabled to dictate many excellent laws, for the security of th& subject and the encouragement of industry ; and, by concih'ating the affections of the people, seemed to have established his throne on a basis which no private hostility could shake. The fate of James I., however, like that of Henry IV. of France, and Gustavus of Sweden, furnishes a striking proof that it is not in the height of his popularity that a prince has least to fear. In the thirteenth year after his return to Scotland, a conspiracy was formed against his life. At the head of that deadly faction, was Walter, earl of Athol, one of the king's nearest kinsmen. The chief confederates were Robert Stewart, the earl's grandson, and Sir Robert Graham, of ' Strathearn, to whom James had given mortal offence by reannexing to the crown certain property of which Graham had unlawfully possessed himself during the regency. Unattended even by a body guard, and confiding in the love of his subjects, the king was residing at this time within the sacred walls of the Carthusian monastery, at Scone, which he had founded and endowed. Graham, who had been for some time heading a band of outlaws in the adjacent mountains, seized the occasion, and brought down a party by night to the neighbourhood of the monastery. Seconded in this unhallowed purpose by accomplices, and unsuspected or unobserved by all others, he quietly gained possession of the outer gates, and finally of the interior passages. The first intimation which the king received of his danger was from his cup-bearer, Walter Straton, •who, on leaving the chamber, in which the king and queen were at supper, to bring some wine, was astonished to find the passage crowded with armed strangers, who answered his cry of alarm by striking him dead on the spot. The voice reached the royal chamber — a rush of the assassins followed ; and Catharine Douglas, one of the queen's maids of honour, springing forward to bolt the outer door of the apartment, found to her dismay that the bar had been clandestinely removed. In this moment of surprise and consternation, reckless of her own life, she thrust her feeble arm into the staple to supply its place. But this noble intrepidity could not for a moment retard the san- guinary band. The last frail barrier which heroic beauty could interpose, was crushed in an instant ; and, with no farther obstacle to check their purpose, the ruffians with drawn swords, and ferocious impatience, rushed forward upon the king. Patrick Dunbar, brother of the earl of March, was cut down while nobly interposing his sword and strength in defence of his sovereign. The RAID OF RUTHVEN. — COWRIE CONSPIRACY. 25 queen* threw herself between her husband and the daggers of his assassins : twice she received the wounds aimed at his person ; and it was not till she was forcibly torn away, that the deed of blood was completed, and the sum of James's woes filled up by an end as tragic as any recorded in history.f As few travellers ever quit Perth without a visit to the site of Gowrie House (for the building itself has given place to modern improvements), we annex an abridged statement of the particulars of the inexplicable conspiracy under that name, and to which the incident known in history as the " Raid of Ruthven," may serve as preface. James VI., then in his twelfth year, was no sooner released from the stern control of Morton, than he surrendered himself to the guidance of the duke of Lennox and the earl of Arran — two designing courtiers, who entangled their royal ward in an unremitting round of amusements, while they themselves exercised the regal authority in a way best calculated to advance their own sinister views. To rescue the young sovereign from this degrading state of subserviency, the earl of Gowrie, at the head of a party of nobles, entered into a secret combination ; and, as the king was returning from stag-hunting in Athol, on his way to Dunfermline, met and solicited him to honour the house of Ruthven with a visit. This loyal invitation was complied with ; but the next day, when the royal visitor offered to take leave, he was informed that he was the earl's prisoner. His surprise and indignation, as natural at this tender age, were expressed in a paroxysm of tears and bitter upbraidings. But, whilst the young king was observed weeping, Sir Thomas Lyon boldly exclaimed — " Let the tears run — though we be sorry for the cause — better that bairns greet than bearded men." But the reign of this conspiracy was brief : although it had the good of the country at heart, the party acted in a way little calculated to bring over the young prince to a cordial approbation of the measures thus forcibly imposed upon him. Themselves disciples of the reformed religion, they suffered its ministers to exer- cise undue influence over them in matters pertaining to the civil administration — to indulge in strains of vituperation, not only offensive to the king personally, • The fair " Lady Jane," of whom lie became enamoured, while a prisoner in the Castle of Windsor, and who was afterwards the subject of the " King's Quair," — a poem which reflects the highest honour 0:1 the poetical talent of this accomplished prince. t /Eneas Sylvius, afterwards Pope Eugene IV., who was legate in Scotland at the time of this catastrophe, says, that he was at a loss which most to applaud, the universal grief which overspread the nation on the death of the king, or the resentment to which it was roused, and the just vengeance wlih which his inhuman murderers were pursued. Being all traced and dragged from their lurking-places, they were put to death by the most lingering tortures that human invention could suggest. Athol, after suffering three days' torture, with a rid-hot coronet of iron, was beheaded, and his limbs exposed in the chief cities in the kingdom. VOL. II. II 26 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. but subversive of the most established attributes of sovereign authority. At length, having contrived to escape out of the hands of his " dictators," James placed himself once more under the direction of Arran, and issued a proclamation declaring his recent detention an act of treason. On this charge Gowrie,* as the principal concerned, was tried, condemned, and executed for high treason, with this declaration in his mouth, that " if he had served God as faithfully as he had served his king he had not come to so disastrous an end." The next remarkable epoch in the house of Ruthven, and that which completed its ruin, furnishes an event, justly termed one of the most problematical in Scottish history, and well known as the Gowrie Conspiracy. The court version, which James himself furnished for the satisfaction of his subjects, is briefly this. On the 5th August, 1600, while residing at Falkland Palace, and when going out to hunt in the morning, James was accosted by Alexander Ruthven, the earl of Gowrie's youngest brother, who informed him, that on the preceding evening he had seized a stranger, and found under his cloak a pot filled with a quantity of foreign gold. Thinking the circumstance suspicious, he had detained him, and now felt it his duty to inform the king. James, supposing him to be a foreign priest, come to excite disturbance in the country, ordered the prisoner to be con- signed over to the magistrates of Perth for strict examination. Ruthven, however, eagerly advised the king to go thither in person. Accordingly, with a suite of only twenty individuals, James set out for Perth, and, being met by the earl of Gowrie and several citizens, who with much apparent loyalty invited him to partake of a repast at Gowrie House, he complied with the desire of his subjects. While sitting at table he was attended by the earl, but the latter, contrary to the etiquette on such occasions, and insensible to the joy which a king's presence ought to inspire, appeared thoughtful and embarrassed, as if some weighty matter pressed upon his heart. When the repast was finished, and the royal attendants had withdrawn to dine in another room, Ruthven cautiously suggested, that now was the time to visit the chamber where the stranger priest was confined. To this proposal the king assented, and Ruthven leading the way, conducted him through several apartments, — but locking every door behind him- — till he came to a small turret chamber, in which stood a man in complete armour, with a sword and dagger by his side. The king, who expected to have found the "priest" under very different circumstances, started back, and hastily inquired if this was the " stranger ?" But • The earl of Gowrie was son of that Lord Ruthven who played the principal part in Rizzio's murder, and was so little affected with remorse for his share in that tragedy, that on his death-bed he spoke with great coolness of what he termed " the slaughter of David!" HIE COWRIE CONSPIRACY. 27 Ruthven, snatching the dagger from the girdle of the man in armour, and direct- ing its point to the king's breast, answered, " Remember how unjustly my father suffered by your command ! You are now my prisoner — submit to my disposal without resistance or outcry, or this dagger shall avenge his blood ! " Startled by this sudden change in the drama, James expostulated, entreated, and flattered, till Ruthven, appearing to relent, protested, that if the king raised no outcry, his life should be sacred. In the mean time, moved by some inexplicable motive, and taking the king's word of honour not to make any noise in his absence, he left him in charge of the man in armour. But, \\hili in this critical situation, the royal attendants becoming impatient to know what had become of their master, one of Gowrie's servants entered hastily and informed them that the king had just taken horse for Falkland, and was still in sight. At this intimation, all rushed into the street, while Gowrie himself, seconding their impatience, ordered out the horses. By this time Ruthven had returned to the king, and swearing that there was no alternative but death, attempted to manacle his sovereign. Fired at the insult, and scorning to submit to such indignity, James, unarmed as he was, closed with the assassin, and a fierce struggle ensued. The man in armour, as hitherto, stood amazed and motionless, while the king, dragging Ruthven towards a window, cried with a voice of terror, — " Treason, treason ! help ! " His attendants instantly recognising liis voice, and seeing at the open lattice a hand which violently grasped his neck, flew to his assistance. The duke of Lennox, the earl of Mar, and a number of others, mounted the great staircase, but in this direction found all the doors fastened. Sir John Ramsay, however, and others of the suite, entering by a back staircase, and rushing up, found the door of the closet open, and Ruthven still struggling with the king. Ramsay, starting to his assistance, struck the traitor twice with his dagger, thrust him towards the staircase, where Sir Hugh Herries met and dispatched him, while, with his last breath, he called out — •" I am not to blame for this action ! " During this scuffle, the man in armour escaped unobserved. Along with Ramsay, Erskine, and Herries, pages of the king, a servant, named Wilson, returned into the room where the king was standing; but before they had time to secure the door, Gowrie, with a drawn sword in each hand, followed by seven of his armed attendants, rushed in, and with a loud and frantic voice threatened them with instant death. But Ramsay and his party, though so unequal in numbers, faced the earl ; and, in the sharp encounter that ensued, the latter receiving a mortal thrust from Ramsay, fell dead without uttering a word. A great noise still continued at the door opening upon the principal staircase, where many persons were vainly endeavouring to force an entrance. The king being 28 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. assured that these were Lennox, Mar, and his other friends, ordered them to be admitted. Rushing forward, and finding the king, unexpectedly, safe, nothing could exceed the warmth of their congratulations; while James, falling on his knees with all his attendants around him, offered up fervent thanks to God for so miraculous a deliverance. But the danger was not yet over ; the inhabitants of Perth, of which Gowrie was provost — and in that office highly popular,* on hearing the fate of the two brothers, flew to arms, beset the house, and threatening revenge, applied the most opprobrious epithets to the king. James endeavoured to pacify the exasperated multitude by speaking to them from the window ; he admitted their magistrates to his presence, related the whole circumstances as they had occurred, and these being repeated to the people, their fury subsided, and they dispersed. The man in armour, who was afterwards discovered, on a promise of pardon, and proved to be Gowrie's steward, declared that he was totally ignorant of his master's design. After many trials, and several executions, nothing was ever elicited that could throw any light upon this mysterious plot. The clergy, however, boldly maintained that the " court account" was a mere fabrication, formed and executed by the king himself, for destroying two popular characters, who were known to favour the Presbyterian interest, and whose family had long been privately obnoxious to James. Rendered stubborn by this conviction, they refused to return public thanks for the king's escape, and several were banished in consequence. f Having mentioned Ruthven, now Huntingtower Castle, as that in which the Scottish sovereign was unlawfully detained, we may add the following anecdote by way of contrast. A daughter of the first Earl Gowrie, being addressed by a young gentleman, much her inferior in rank and fortune, (disadvantages which were entirely overlooked by the lady,) her family, although they dis- couraged the match, permitted his visits at the castle. On one of these * Alexander Ruthven was a young man of great hoiics, learned, handsome, young, and active; his brother and he belonged to the class of men which most readily attracted the king's notice ; and generous, brave, and religious to a degree, not common with men so young, they were the darlings of the people. — Sir Waller Scott. t Even on the continent, says Osborn, not a Scotchman could be found who did not laugh at it, and agree that the relation murdered all possibility of credit. The whole, indeed, is a story which might almost stagger a believer in miracles, and, for its proof, demands an evidence which neither the history of the times, nor the most intimate knowledge of human nature, can produce. We can only say with Bruce, one of the clergymen who demurred at thanking the Almighty for the discomfiture of this pre- tended conspiracy, that, " if we must, on pain of death, reverence his Majesty's report of the trans- action, we will reverence it, but we will not say that we are convinced of the truth of it." — See also Lives of Scottish Poels, art. James VI. THE MAIDEN'S-LEAP. — THE ROYAL WELCOME. 29 occasions, he was lodged in a tower, nearly opposite to that of his mistress, but communicating with a different staircase, and divided at top by a wide interval of nine feet between the walls, which were sixty feet in height. In the evening the young lady was accidentally missed from her chamber, at the accustomed hour ; and some suspicion having arisen that she had mistaken the staircase, and was secreted in the turret of her lover, her mother hastened thither in search of the fair truant. The latter, however, rightly guessing what must ensue were she discovered in the prohibited " bower," and hear- ing the maternal footsteps approaching, formed the desperate resolution to elude detection under such delicate circumstances, or perish in the effort. Thus nerved for the attempt, and with the agility of a chamois on its native precipices, she cleared the frightful chasm at a bound, lighted on her own battlements without injury, and retired to bed, where the wary countess, defeated in her previous search, found her shortly afterwards apparently asleep, and could hardly forgive herself for her unjust suspicions of so dutiful a daughter. Next night, however, the young lady, taking a still more desperate step, eloped from the paternal castle, and was married to her lover. The battlements where this daring experiment was tried are still shown as the "maiden's leap." One of the proudest clays in the annals of Perth seems to have been that on which King David Bruce, or David II., was conducted thither on his return from France, and where he assembled the vast army with which he afterwards invaded England. The account given by Froissard, who was then in Scotland, furnishes a vivid picture of the scene. As soon as the young king landed at Inverbervie, in the Mearns, his subjects nocked to him in multitudes, and thence, with great joy and solemnity, conducted him to Perth. His arrival there was the signal of national festivity, and all classes hastened to bid him a loyal welcome. The smile of the sovereign was like a sudden light in a dark place ; and for some time, every day was a renewal of the festival. When the first outpourings of the national spirit had in some measure subsided, it was represented to the king what waste and woe had been brought upon the country by his great enemy, Edward, the English king. David expressed his deep sense of the sufferings of which so many of his loyal subjects had been the innocent victims, but consoled them with the prospect of speedy retaliation, and pledged his royal word to see their wrongs redressed, or to perish in the attempt. Full of this lofty resolve, and with the advice of his council, he sent messages to all his friends and vassals, to entreat that they would unite their strength to his, and thereby insure a triumph to his patriotic enterprise. The VOL. II. I 30 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. first who responded to the royal summons was the earl of Orkney, who had married the king's sister, and now arrived with a powerful subsidy of hardy mountaineers. Numerous barons and knights, also, from Sweden, Denmark, and other parts beyond sea — some for affection to the king and his cause, some for pay — swelled the amount of the Scottish host. So great were the numbers that arrived from all parts, that, on the day of rendezvous appointed by the king, sixty thousand warriors on foot, and three thousand horse, with a long roll of knights and squires, made their entrance into Perth. Ronald, Lord of the Isles, who governed the " wild Scots," as Froissard terms them, and whom only they would obey, was especially invited to attend the king in Parliament, and brought with him three thousand of the " wildest of his countrymen." Unhappily for the latter chief and his sovereign's cause, there was a deadly feud between him and the powerful earl of Ross, by whose machinations Ronald was murdered by a faithless harper, while lodged in the monastery of Elcho, near Perth.* Ross, justly dreading the king's resentment, immediately retired with his followers ; while the men of the Isles, disgusted by the base assassination of their chief, and viewing the disaster as a bad omen for the cause, broke up, and deserting the royal standard, retired in disorder to their native mountains. The king, though disconcerted, and greatly weakened by this desertion, which lost him the service of two of the most effective chiefs and their clans, resolved to proceed; and on the disastrous field, near Durham, that closed the expedition, left the best part of that noble army which inarched under the royal standard from Perth. The Carse of Gowrie, in fertility of soil and beauty of scenery, may be not inaptly designated the Val d'Arno of Scotland. The interval between Perth and Dundee, a space of twenty-two miles, is filled up with a continued series of highly cultivated and productive farms, noblemen's seats, populous villages, and garden and orchard grounds. On the left, on leaving Perth, is the romantic Craig of Kinnoul, with Kinfauns Castle beneath, sheltered in luxuriant woods, and over- looking the Tay. Among the antiquities preserved in this castle, is Charteris's sword, five feet nine inches long. This formidable weapon is said to have belonged to Sir Thomas Charteris, or Thomas de Longueville, the ancient proprietor of Kinfauns. He was a native of France, and representative of a family well known in that country ; but at the close of the thirteenth century, when at the court of Philip the Fair, having a dispute with one of the noblemen, he slew him in the king's presence. Being refused pardon for the rash and bloody act, he betook himself to the high seas, and under the name of the Red Reaver, • Froissavd's Chron. c. cxxxv. KIN FAUNS. — GLAMMIS CASTLE. 31 became terrible to all seafaring people as a remorseless pirate. Sir William Wallace, however, in his voyage to France, having met and encountered this formidable giaour, took him prisoner, and pleased with that kindred spirit of heroism, which would have immortalized the reaver in a better cause, presented him to the French king as a suppliant for mercy. Philip, who was pleased to have an occasion of obliging the Scottish hero, and of exhibiting a signal instance of his royal clemency, cancelled the sentence of outlawry, and conferred on his penitent subject the honour of knighthood. Thus restored to court favour, and to society, Charteris accompanied Wallace to Scotland,* where he ever after remained his steady friend, and a frank participator in all his daring exploits. When Wallace was betrayed and carried into England, and Bruce asserted his right to the Scottish crown, Charteris was the first that followed him into the water at the taking of Perth, in January 1313, and in reward for his bravery, received a royal grant of the estate of Kinfauns. Pitfour, Kinnaird, and Castle Huntley, are magnificent mansions, combining all the advantages of situation with the embellishments of art. But of these, and many others with which this district is richly adorned, our limits will not permit us to enter into any description. -j- Glancing at the valley of Strathmore, the first objects that arrest attention are the dramatic scene of Dunsinnan-hill, and Glammis Castle. The latter, in point of antiquity and historical interest, is one of the most remarkable structures in the kingdom. Although much dilapidated and dimmed in its original splendour, its feudal air of strength and haughty defiance, and its sullen gloom of seclusion in an antique forest, render it a subject peculiarly adapted for the pencil, and for exciting the imagination of the poet. We shall not detain the reader with the recent changes that have altered, but not detracted, from the dignity of this stately fortalice, but the following account will show what it was a century ago. " Entering Strathmore," says an anonymous traveller, " we arrived at the palace of Glammis, belonging to Lyon, earl of Strathmore, which, by its many turrets and gilded balustrades at the top, struck us with awe and admiration. It stands in the middle of a well-planted park, with avenues brandling off in all directions from the house. The great avenue — thickly planted on each side, and entered by a massive gate-way, with offices of free- • See the Statist Ace. and Family Hist. t For the pedestrian who would see the Carse and its adjacent scenery in perfection, the best road is that along the heights, or braes of the Carse, which command the whole valley, the river, and the populous shores of Fife. As a central point in this route, the ir.anse of Kinnaird might be selected as that which combines the greatest number of striking features. From this station, too, the traveller will trace no small resemblance to the Tuscan Val d'Arno already mentioned. 32 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. stone on each side, like a little town — leads through a space of half a mile to the outer court, within which are statues as large as life. On the great gate of the inner court, are balustrades of stone, finely adorned with statues ; and in the court, four colossal statues — one of James VI. in his stole, another of Charles I., as he is usually painted by Vandyk. From this court we have a full prospect of the gardens on each side, cut into grass-plots, and adorned with evergreens. The house is the highest we have ever seen, consisting of a lofty tower in the middle, with two wings, and a tower at each end — the whole above two hundred feet broad. The stairs, from the entrance hall to the top of the house, consist of one hundred and forty-three steps, of which those of the great staircase, where five people can mount abreast, are eighty-six, each step of a single block. In the first floor are thirty-eight rooms with fire-places ; the hall is adorned with family pictures, and behind this is a handsome chapel, with an organ. On the altar is a fine painting of the ' Last Supper,' and on the ceiling an ' Ascension,' by De Wit, a Dutchman, whom Earl Patrick brought from Holland, and who painted the ceilings of most of the rooms. In the drawing-room next to the hall is an excellent portrait of Queen Mary, of Medina, the ' Pretender's' mother, with several others of the principal Scottish nobility ; and over the chimney, a curious Italian scripture piece. When the Pretender was here on a visit, besides the state chamber, eighty-eight beds were made up for his retinue, besides the servants, who were lodged in the offices out of doors." On the Hunters' Hill, an eminence which overlooks Glammis, Malcolm II. is said to have been attacked by assassins ; and tradition still points out the chamber in the castle where the unfortunate monarch died of his wounds. To the readers of Shakspeare it would be superfluous to state how Macbeth became master of Glammis, and this stronghold and the usurper so closely associated. In the armoury of the castle — a museum well stored with antiquities that recall the " pomp and circumstance" of their feudal possessors — are the sword and shirt of mail worn by Macbeth — and, among others of modern date, the arms with which the earl of Strathmore fell on the field of Sheriffmoor, are exhibited to visitors. The castle is in all respects an object of interest, not only on account of its traditions, but as one of the finest specimens of feudal architecture now existing ; and combines, in a striking manner, the gloom of prison security with the grandeur of a 'palace. Among the melancholy associations connected with this castle, is the fate of the beautiful Lady Glammis, who fell a victim to that horrid superstition which, in a barbarous age, brought so many unhappy beings to the stake. In pursuance of the sentence which had pronounced her guilty of witchcraft, she BLAIR ATHOL. — KILLICRANKIE. 33 was publicly burnt* on the Castle-hill of Edinburgh, and met her doom with a fortitude and composure which, added to her youth and beauty, made a strong impression upon the multitude, and left an additional stigma on the legislation of her day. Before taking leave of Perthshire— of which, as premised, we have offered only an imperfect gleaning — we return to the district of Athol, in which Blair Castle and the Pass of Killicrankie are the commanding objects. The former of these, the ancient residence of the dukes of Athol, stands on an extensive plain, known as the blair, or vale of Athol ; and, in point of strength and situation, was well calculated to serve as a post of defence. With such facility, and being the only fortress commanding the Pass, it was repeatedly taken and garrisoned by the rival armies, which alternately lost and won this key to the Highlands. It was besieged and taken by Montrose, in consequence of its garrison having presumed to check his progress. Colonel Daniel, an officer in Cromwell's army, took it by storm ten years later; and in 1689, it occasioned, what was justly termed the most important event of the day, the battle of Killicrankie. In the last rebellion, its garrison, under the command of Sir Andrew Agnew, foiled the rebels in two several attempts to reduce it. But at last, the noble proprietor seeing that he had little prospect of ever enjoying domestic tranquillity whilst the mansion was in a condition to serve as a rallying post in every civil commotion, dismantled its towers, lowered it by three stories, and reduced the warlike fortress of his ancestors into a common-place family residence. By this decisive measure, it has gained in security what it lost in picturesque effect; and, in these peaceful times, with its magnificent curtain of umbrageous woods and mountains, watered by two rivers, embellished by the hand of art, and stocked with every species of wild game, from the roebuck to the ptarmigan, it presents one of the most attractive domains in Scotland. The Pass of Killicrankie, which communicates with the Blair of Athol, stretches for the space of a mile or upwards along the termination of the river Garry. The hills rise from the bed of the river in steep gradation, flanking it on the western bank with a precipitous wall. The bold rocks, lining its channel, are mantled over with masses of waving birch, ash, and oak — the light and graceful foliage of which, moving and changing its hues with every breeze, • Speaking of the indiffl-rence with which we pronounce the words, " burnt alive .'" an ahle writer has well remarked — " Brules vifs ! on lit sans y penser ces expressions si courtes, qu'on est tant habitue a voir dans les martyrologes. Mais concoit-on bien ce que c'est ! se sentir enchaine et la flamme vous attein- dre : la peau s'ecailler ; la chair irritee decrepiter et se fendre ; les muscles se tordre dans les membres ; le sang faire effervescence sur les tisons, lorsqu'une veine eclate : puis, enfin la mort qui vous arrive dans un air ardent et m^pliitique." — Huston, liv. i. 62. VOL. II. K 34 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. contrasts finely with the bleak crags that start at intervals through its leafy screen, and at length soar into the abrupt and rugged outline of Ben-Vracky. The situation of Fascally-house, at the entrance to the Pass, is singularly romantic. This Pass, in reference to its military history, has been styled the Scottish " Thermopylae," and, till the present road was constructed, might have been called with no less propriety the " Via-Mala" of Scotland. But the dangers of the Pass, which contributed not a little to its " sublimity," have disappeared with the progress of art, and those unprecedented facilities of intercourse which have been thrown open by modern enterprise. The circumstances by which it gained so important a station in history, are these : — General Mackay, with the design of intimidating the district of Blair-Athol into measures favourable to the revolution under King William, directed his whole force upon this point. When the Viscount Dundee, who supported the interest of King James with a body of the Clans, had reached Blair, he was informed that General Mackay had already entered the Pass of Killicrankie, and was momen- tarily expected at the head of a numerous force. Dundee, whose intrepidity was proverbial, and his influence over the minds of his Highland followers unlimited, resolved to meet his adversary at the mouth of the Pass. With this determination, he drew up his Highland force, explained in pithy phrase the emergency to which he was reduced, told them a bright day had dawned upon them at last, and that now their Highland broad-swords must open them a path to victory. His well-known voice was answered by shouts of loyalty and devotion to the cause, and the next minute, while the Highland bagpipe screamed its shrill note of defiance, the whole body moved rapidly forward to the Pass. A brief inarch brought the generals in sight of each other ; the troops hastily formed as they debouched from the rocky defile ; a furious volley of musquetry announced their mutual recognition, and the Highlanders, armed with sword and target, and seizing the momentary pause, rushed down upon the " red- coats"— as the soldiers were contemptuously styled — with a confidence and impetuosity that carried every thing before them. The troops, who were chiefly composed of raw levies, were paralysed by this sudden appeal to close quarters ; and, unable to stem the charge, fell under the blows of the Highland broad-sword and Lochaber axe, or fled like fragments scattered from the disjointed mass. Others, with better success, met the unwonted charge with serried bayonets, against which the Highlander dashed with reckless impatience, placed his target in front, entangled his adversary's steel, and then, springing BATTLE OF KILL1CRANKIE. — VISCOUNT DUNDEE. 35 forward into the lines, slew or disarmed an enemy at every stroke. Thus beset by a continued rush of undisciplined troops, the soldiers could make no effective use of their fire-arms. The centre and left wing of Mackay's troops had been completely broken ; but the right wing still maintained its ground, and, like a stately column, stood erect amid the ruin of its fellows. This caught the eye of Dundee : hastily rallying his horsemen for this important object, he made a desperate charge upon the stubborn mass ; but at the very moment that he had brought them to the assault and raised his arm to strike, a bullet whistled through the thick mass of his attendants, and lodged in his body. A violent " imprecation" escaped his lips, and the next minute the chief lay expiring in the arms of his devoted followers.* On the bleak surface of the moors stretching along the frontiers of Perth and Inverness, many pillars and cairns — memorials of those who have perished in the snow or fallen in battle — give melancholy interest to the scene. At Dalnaspidal, are the remains of an encampment occupied by Cromwell's troops. Here, also, in the last rebellion, General Cope drew up his army in expectation of an attack, but quitting his position to continue his march northward, threw open the Pass to the Highlanders. This ground is still further remarkable as the scene of certain exploits, in speaking of which, says General Stewart, of Garth, " I know not if the whole of the Peninsular campaigns exhibited a more com- plicated piece of military service." A battalion of the Athol brigade — common peasants, and a few country gentlemen, without military experience — under Lord George Murray's directions, " surprised and carried twenty detached, strong and defensible posts, all within two hours of the night ; and the different parties engaged in this daring enterprise, met punctually at the appointed place of rendezvous, although their operations lay in a rugged and mountainous country. Lord George had himself marched to the bridge of Bruar with only twenty-five men, and a few elderly gentlemen, when he was • informed that Sir Andrew Agnew, who held the Castle of Blair, was advancing with a strong force to • Thus fell the "gallant Dundee !"— or, as he was designated by the Covenanters, the " bloody Clavers" — a man -whom historians have depicted under the most opposite colours ; one set representing him as a Castro-Caro, or a Pianessa," the other as a second Bayard ; but both agreeing in ascribing to him that military tact and fearless intrepidity, which made him the idol of one party, and the terror of the other. His death completely neutralized the victory ; the Clans dispersed, and Mackay was suffered to retire with the wreck ot his forces. An obelisk marks the scene of battle, and stands on the spot where Dundee received his death wound. It may be superfluous to remind the reader of the celebrated novel, in which the character of " Dundee" is so vividly portrayed. The songs, commemorative of this battle, have been long popular. • See the History of the Waldenses, (the " Covenanters" of Piedmont,) in the persecution of whom these individuals were so infamously distinguished. 36 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. reconnoitre. It was daylight, but the sun was not up.* Lord George, looking earnestly about him, observed a fold-dike, or wall of turf, which had been begun as a fence for cattle, but left unfinished. He ordered his men to follow, and draw up behind the dike, but at such a distance from one another that they might make a great show, having the colours of both regiments flying in front. He then gave orders to the pipers — for he had with him the pipers both of the Athol men and the Macphersons — to keep their eyes fixed on the road from Blair, and the moment they saw the soldiers appear, to strike up with all their bagpipes at once. It happened that Agnew's regiments came in sight just as the sun rose ; and that instant the pipers began to play one of their most shrill and rousing pibrochs. Lord George and his Highlanders, both officers and men, whilst drawing their swords, brandished them about their heads. Sir Andrew, after gazing awhile at this spectacle, ordered his men to the right about, and without farther question marched back to the Castle of Blair. Lord George kept his post till several of his parties came in, and then marching forward with about three hundred, laid siege to the castle. INVERNESS-SHIRE. " Land of the pibroch and the plaid ; Land of the henchman and the raid ; Land of the brave, the fair, the good." — THE RECESS. " Quos ille timorum Maximus haud urget lethi metus : hide ruendi In ferrum mens prona viris, aninTaeque capaces Mortis." LUCAN. THE county of Inverness is the most extensive in Scotland, and, like that we have just left, peculiarly rich in all that can interest the mind, or waken the imagination of strangers. The expanse and character of its lakes — the wild sublimity of its mountains — its pastoral hills, fertile valleys, and waving forests — the venerable monuments of religion — the mouldering fastnesses of its Celtic chiefs — the gloom of its Alpine passes, and the smiling landscapes that encircle its lakes — all that is most effective in painting, or famous in the page * Home. Anderson. Stewart's Sketches, Statistics of the County. GLEN*. — CALEDONIAN CANAL. 37 of history, invite the traveller to its recesses, and furnish ample materials for reflection and improvement. The barren heath displays on its breast the imperishable records of strife; the frowning rock, its once impregnable fastness; the forest, its druidical altars; the heath, its cairns; and the softer features of the landscape, its well-stocked folds, thriving hamlets, and cultivated farms. Lordly mansions, embosomed in their picturesque domains ; villas and country seats, that have rapidly multiplied within the last twenty years ; villages, that have risen into towns, and towns that far outstep their former limits, bear flattering testimony to the progress of industry, and the extension of those natural resources which form the great mine of domestic wealth. This magnificent county is bounded on the north by Ross-shire, and part of the Moray Frith ; on the east by the shires of Elgin, Moray, and Aberdeen ; on the south by Perth and Argyll ; and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. It comprehends a variety of districts ; a considerable portion of the Hebrides, with the smaller islands sprinkled along the coast ; and, exclusive of these, presents a territory of more than ninety miles in length, by nearly fifty in breadth. The great distinguishing feature of this county is, its natural division into two parts, by what is called the Great Glen, or Valley of Albyn, which runs from its north-western extremity to that on the north-east — a direction nearly parallel with that of the Grampians. This immense fissure, opening between two distinct chains of lofty mountains, and occupied by a succession of lakes, suggested the great national undertaking of the Caledonian Canal, which now connects the Atlantic with the German Ocean.* To the tourist, this canal presents the greatest facilities for an extensive survey of those romantic regions from which he was formerly debarred by the imperfect state of the roads, or could only reach by a very circuitous route. The country through which it passes is often of the most striking and varied character — alternately presenting all the gradations of lake and mountain scenery, from the cultivated farm to the cloud-capt palaces of Nature, and the wild magnificence with which she has invested the Celtic Alps. The fare by the weekly steam boats, which perform the trip between Inverness and Glasgow in forty hours, or less, is only twenty-five shillings ; while to the weak or invalid traveller, the comfort • The survey was made by Messrs. Telford and Jessop, civil engineers, in 1S03, and the following year ; and after nearly twenty years' labour, and an enormous expenditure, the canal was finally opened in October, 1822. A splendid fete — given on board the steam vessel with which the late. Charles Grant, Esq., the county member, and his friends, proceeded from sea to sea, a distance of sixty miles — commemorated thf event. From that time a regular communication has been kept up between Inverness, Glasgow, and ihe west coast, by means of steam boats, which have opened a new source of convenience and emolument to those engaged in foreign and domestic trade. — For particulars, see ANDERSON'S " Highlands," pp. 231-9. VOL. II. L 38 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. and convenience of such means of transport from one side of the kingdom to the other are inestimable. The city of Inverness, the Highland metropolis, occupies a station highly advantageous for trade, being traversed by the waters of the Ness, and in immediate contact with the great canal, where it joins the Moray Frith. The buildings, extending along the banks of the river, are generally handsome, and such as bespeak the ancient importance and modern improvements of a com- mercial capital. From the bridge, a handsome structure of seven ribbed arches,* the principal street extends eastward at right angles to the river ; and from it two others diverge northward towards the harbour. At the angle of Church- street, one of these, is the prison, built at the close of the last century, and ornamented with a lofty steeple, which adds greatly to its effect as a public edifice. Nearly opposite are the exchange, the town-house, and the ancient market-cross, at the base of which lies the Clach-na-cuddin, or stone of the tubs, ^on which, in former times, the maid-servants, on drawing water from the river, were wont to rest their tubs, or pitchers. This antiquity, ornamented with the royal and city arms, is reckoned the palladium of the town, and recalls a period of national history which recognized none of those " water-companies" which have since banished the classic " pitcher," or, at least, confined it to the painter's canvass. The square tower of the High Church was built by Cromwell ; and the sweet, clear-toned bell which tolls the curfew, was transported hither by his order from the cathedral of Fortrose, where it had long summoned to its altars the followers of a more imposing ritual. The various churches and chapels, which give a pleasing effect to the general architecture of the city, are numerous — compared with the population — well attended, and the service performed by able and conscientious pastors. In addition to those of the Establishment in English and Gaelic, the town contains Episcopalian, Seceder, Independent, Methodist, and Roman Catholic chapels — all of which, in the full enjoyment of religious toleration, present a most gratifying * One of the arches encloses a vault formerly used as a prison, and latterly as a madhouse, which, says Mr. Anderson, " has only been closed up within the last twenty years." The narrow iron grating through which the unhappy captive caught a distant glimpse of the hills, and of the river, which rushed under his dismal cell, is still visible. The roar of waters, the rolling of wheels, the trampling of horses over the arched roof, or the chime of the evening bell, were the only sounds that reached him in his dreary recep- tacle ; and the only face which had become familiar, was that of the grim attendant who doled out the stinted means of prolonging a miserable existence. The "prison of Chillon" was a palace, and "Bonnivard" almost enviable, when compared with this breathing sepulchre on the Ness. It is a melancholy reflection that this dungeon was not abandoned till the last miserable tenant had been nearly devoured by rats — a fact which recalls the " ratten-thurm" on the Rhine. In the present day, a gratifying revolution has taken place in this particular administration, and a humane distinction drawn between the maniac and the malefactor. CITY OF INVERNESS. 39 contrast to that spirit of bigotry which so long denounced religious distinction as a crime against the state, and made it a sufficient ground for persecution. The Academy is a handsome building, with class-rooms for five masters, besides the public hall, ornamented with a fine painting by an old Italian master, and a bust from the chisel of Westmacott. The Northern Institution, for the encouragement of literary and scientific pursuits, is among the recent proofs of that march of intellect, which is now so generally promoted over the whole kingdom, and no where with better judgment or more ennobling efforts, than among the enlightened citizens of Inverness. Numerous private schools and academies have also come in for their share in the great and important business of public education ; and the most laudable exertions are employed by parents and teachers, to qualify the course of human study* with the purifying influence of religious instruction. Reading-rooms, chambers for county assemblies, and, in short, all the usual resources of a great capital, only on a smaller scale, are to be found in the city of Inverness. Within the last five or six years, the town has made a rapid advancement in all that contributes to the health and comfort of the inhabitants, and to the clean and cheerful appearance of the buildings. The streets have been newly paved with granite ; the footpaths widened and laid with Caiihness Bag, a stone well adapted for the purpose ; and the town exceedingly well lighted with gas. The public sewers have been deepened and carried under the streets and houses so as to sweep off every impurity, and preserve the town in a state of great salubrity. The public Hospital, erected in a pleasant and cheerful situation a short way out of the town, is supported by voluntary subscriptions only. It is extremely well conducted, and, we may add, highly deserving of support. Those wealthy individuals who annually resort for health to the mountains of Inverness, cannot better express their gratitude than by here contributing to that of its less fortunate inmates. Of the public walks, and the magnificent and varied prospects which they command, it is hardly possible to speak too highly. The banks of the Ness are bordered with a rich garniture of trees, embellished with numerous villas, and within a mile of the town the stream is divided into separate branches by a series of small islands luxuriantly wooded. Here, in ancient times, the city * By the late Dr. BELL'S munificent bequest for the purposes of education in his native country, Inverness benefits to the amount of 10,000?. three per cent, consols, which is applied to the establishment of schools on his well-known system. Previously to this, a fund was left in 1803, by Captain Mackintosh, for the education of boys belonging to certain families of that name, and which now amounts to upwards of 25.000/. The public charities are numerous, originating in legacies devised by philanthropic individuals. 40 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. magistrates entertained the king's judges with rural feasts when they came to hold assize-courts. " Salmon, caught in the_ adjoining pool, formed the prin- cipal delicacy ; while claret, brand}', and even the classic sack, flowed in plentiful libations among the guests." The surface of these islands is now intersected by pleasant walks, where the more refined citizens of the present day indulge the luxury of exercise and recreation. When the projected plan, of connecting these islands with the opposite banks by means of chain bridges, shall have been carried into effect — of which an earnest has been already given in the completion of one — Inverness and its precincts will have scarcely a rival within the limits of ancient Caledonia ; even now it may challenge comparison with the finest cities in the kingdom. Every thing has been done for Inverness that can be effected by wood or cultivation ; whilst, in a natural state, it unites the opposite qualities of a rich campaign with the wildest Alpine scenery — here interrupted, and there contrasted, in the most striking manner. The beautiful plain on which it stands — girdled with hills, variegated in shape and size, here projecting their rocky escarpments, there swelling in wooded cliffs, and interspersed with pleasing evidences of improved taste and increasing prosperity — presents one of the finest prospects in the kingdom. On the Crown, a rising ground to the east of the town, formerly stood an ancient castle,* the nucleus of the burgh, where Macbeth is supposed to have resided when he perpetrated the murder of his sovereign. But on this point Shakspeare and the antiquaries are at variance ; the latter having endeavoured to vindicate the castle from so foul a stain, by transferring it to a place in the vicinity. The version of the poet, however, will remain the more popular, and is too intimately associated with the drama to be overthrown by antiquarian arguments. This primitive fortress was razed by Malcolm Canmore, who built another on the eminence close by the river, which, after having served as a palace and fortress through a long line of royal descendants, was blown up by the insurgent forces in the last rebellion. The Castle-hill has been very recently embellished with a spacious new court-house, record-office, and county-rooms, to which, it is said, a jail, better accommodated to the different classes of prisoners, will be added. Down to * " This castle hath a pleasant seat ; the air Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself Unto our gentle senses. The guest of summer — The temple-haunting martlet — doth approve By his loved mansionry, that the heaven's breath Smells wooingly here." — MACBETH, Act\. SceneG. HISTORICAL SKETCH. 41 the invasion of Edward I., Inverness was the frequent residence of the kings, whose presence was so often necessary to repel northern encroachments, and suppress the violence of faction at home. After the accession of Bruce, it was long held in despotic subjection to the constables of its own castle ; while the constant inroads upon its territory, the heavy imposts levied upon its inhabitants, and its civil broils and battles with the neighbouring clans, rerder its early history replete with the disasters of a barbarous warfare, Eminently adapted by nature as a seat of mercantile enterprise, Inverness appears to have been the early resort of those Flemish merchants who had their colonies on almost every shore where ships could receive or dispose of their lading. In proof of their Flemish origin, the old houses were erected with large courts, arched gateways, steep roofs, and gables turned towards the street ; and, till the middle of last century, many of them were thatched with heath or straw. It is only within the last few years that the hanging balconies, round turnpike stairs, and towers projecting in front of the houses — features which gave several of the streets an appearance highly picturesque — have disappeared. Of the citadel, built by Cromwell, and dismantled at the Restora- tion, part of the ramparts still remains. For the erection of this fortress, England furnished the oak planks and beams, and Strath-glass the fir. The monasteries of Kinloss and Beauly, the bishop's castle of Chanonry, the Grey Friars' church, and St. Mary's chapel, in Inverness, supplied materials for the stone-work. It was built at the time when religious houses were converted into " stone quarries," when altars were demolished to erect the most humble domestic offices, and, in its turn, became a " quarry" for municipal improvement. Part of the house in which Queen Mary resided during her visit to Inverness, still exists. The object of this visit was to quell an insurrection raised by the earl of Huntly, whose lieutenant, the governor of the castle, she caused to be executed. Till the legislative measures of the disarming act were put in force, every Highlander, even at church, appeared as if equipped for battle — the dirk and pistols at his belt, and broadsword at his side. But does not every levee and drawing-room in the present day present a similar spectacle ? So slow was the progress of fashion, and so cautiously were its maxims adopted by the ladies of Inverness, that, little more than sixty years ago, only three appeared at the High church in straw bonnets : but it may be added with great justice, that the ladies of Inverness need not the foreign aid of ornament.* The municipal authorities consist of a provost, four bailies, a dean of guild, * '• Quid de matronis dicam tenerisque puellis ! Si modo fas. dixeris es^e deas." VOL. U. M 42 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. a treasurer, and fourteen councillors. On Sundays, the magistrates walk to church, preceded by their lictors, and, till lately, used to attend, by invitation, the funerals of the inhabitants. The population of the town and parish is nearly fifteen thousand, and the number entitled to vote for a member of parliament, in conjunction with Forres, Nairn, and Fortrose, four hundred and eighty-nine. Among the chief objects of -attraction in the environs, are Craig Phadrick, and Ord-hill of Kessock, vitrified forts; Tomnaheurich, Culloden Moor, basin and entrance of the Caledonian Canal, Druidical Temple of Leys, and Battle- hill of Torvain.* Of these, Craig Phadrick has been long an object of philo- sophical speculation, as to its being the work of human art or the result of volcanic action. In support of the latter hypothesis, Dr. Johnson, who examined the hill only two years ago, has spoken decidedly.f The hill is surrounded with a wall in the form of a parallelogram, about eighty yards long, and thirty in breadth. The stones are all firmly cemented by a vitrified matter, like lava, or the scoria of an iron foundry, the substance of the stones being, in many places, softened and vitrified— in some parts partially, in others entirely. Where the fusion is imperfect, the stones are embedded in the vitreous substance. Those who are familiar with volcanic phenomena are most likely to adopt that theory, and to conclude that, in the formation of the conical hills of Scotland, subterranean fire has had more to do than superincumbent water. From the level summit of this hill the view of the sea-coast is very beautiful. Tomnaheurich is a beautiful insulated hill, wearing its sylvan coronet of trees, and in popular tradition the favourite rendezvous of " moonlight elves," and the tomb of Thomas the Rhymer. As an alluvial relic, it forms an interesting • The other objects lying within a day's excursion, and which will be noticed under their proper heads, are, Fort George, and Fort Augustus ; Falls of Foyers, and Kilmorrack ; Castles Stewart, Dalcross, Cawdor, and Urquhart ; Stone Monuments at Clava, Roman Station at Bona, &c. t " In rny own mind," says our distinguished author, " not a shadow of doubt remains that Craig Phadrick is a volcanic mountain ; that its summit was the crater of an extinct volcano ; that advantage was taken of the locality to form a fort, or place of defence ; and that the rocks were vitrified by subterranean fire', not by human art. That the masses of lava now existing on the summit and sides of Craig Phadrick were vitrified by Roman, Celt, or Sassenach, is abuiit as probable as that the basaltic columns of Staffa were baked like bricks, in the cave of Fingal, or that the Giant's Causeway was fused in a tinker's crucible." " But," says Mr. Anderson, in his notice of this passage, " it might as well be said that all the conglo- merated sand-stone ridges between Speymouth and Mealfourvoney, and thence to the Kyle of Sutherland, are volcanic; for Craig- Phadric, one of these, in no respect differs in general composition from the rest.'1 P. 618. The most recent theory advocated (and especially with much success, by Sir George Mackenzie, Bart., of Coul,) is, that the vitrification of these forts was caused by ancient BEACON- FIRES." To this propo- sition the traditions of the country, and the practice of its inhabitants to the present day, give much countenance. THE FIELD OF CULLODF.N. 43 object for the geologist, while it offers a pleasing feature in the landscape. Its summit, quite flat, and commanding the town and surrounding scenery, is a belvider on which the landscape-loving tourist will be delighted to take his station. This remarkable fragment appears to have resisted the force of those primeval torrents which ploughed their way through the Great Glen, and swept away those mountain barriers originally interposed between sea and sea. It stands as a monument of the catastrophe ; and having survived, as if by miracle, the dissolving floods that stripped the surrounding surface to a depth of two hundred and fifty feet, may well be supposed to inspire superstitious belief. It is compared to a ship with the keel upwards, and scattered with trees instead of sea-weed. Perhaps nothing can convey a clearer idea of its singular appear- ance and position than to compare it to an ark that had ridden out the storm, but remained stranded on the secession of the waters. Dr. Johnson has made it the subject of an amusing legend, in which it is made to figure as the sleeping- station of an original " Rip Van Winkel." Among the objects which excite a very different interest in this neighbour- hood, Culloden Moor is that which has acquired a mournful familiarity in the page of national disasters. It was the closing scene in that fearful drama in which the efforts of the Stuart dynasty were finally overcome, and the brave followers of an " exiled house" exposed to every calamity that could afflict the conquered. With the heath, and its undulating ridges of graves expanding before us, it requires little effort of fancy to conjure up the last struggle, and the carnage that followed. Wherever we turn, the words of the seer are forcibly recalled — ... "A field of the dead rushes red on my sight, And the clans of Culloden are scattered in fight ; Proud Cumberland nuances, insulting the slain, And their hoof-beaten bosoms are trod to the plain." After the battle of Falkirk, already adverted to, Prince Charles Stuart having failed to take advantage of those circumstances which were seemingly at his dis- posal, continued his retreat upon Inverness, and here, in April, 1746, took up his last position, where his cause had excited the warmest interest. The duke of Cumberland having drawn together a large army, and anxious to realize the flattering expectations which parliament entertained of his generalship, speedily followed in the same track. An engagement, now eagerly expected by the rival forces, was to be directed on each side by the presence of a royal leader. The army of Prince Charles, however, was far from being under strict discipline ; a spirit of insubordination manifested itself among the clans, 44 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. while dissensions, jealousies, and open quarrels, precluded all hearty coopera- tion among the chiefs. The army of the royal Duke, in the mean time, was in good order, well provisioned, confident under the auspices of their new leader, and anxious to retrieve the credit they had forfeited on a recent occasion. On the evening preceding the engagement, Prince Charles, with the officers of his staff, took up his quarters in Culloden House. The same night, a project having been formed to surprise the Duke, the army wasted its time and strength in a fruitless expedition to this effect, and had to resume its position in an almost exhausted state between five and six in the morning. The men had received no pay for a month ; and the only ration distributed the preceding day was a biscuit to each man. The night-march had been severe, and with nothing to refresh them on their return, a painful scene ensued. Many of the men threw themselves hastily down for a few minutes' sleep, while others, impelled by hunger, went in search of provisions for themselves and comrades. But at this very juncture, an express arrived to state that the duke's army was in full inarch upon Culloden. At this intelligence every chief hastened to his post; the stragglers .were recalled, the sleeping roused from their brief repose, and a muster of about five thousand troops drawn up on the moor, with some small field-pieces on their right. The rival force, amounting to little short of nine thousand, made its appear- ance on the verge of the heath. Its imposing front, flanked by a park of artillery, and supported by troops of horse, was speedily formed and distributed in order of battle. A sharp cannonade on the part of the Highland army opened hostilities, but, the guns being ill served, the shot was at last slack and defective, while a galling fire from the English carried death and disorder into the prince's van. Impatient of this slow and murderous operation, and maddened by the sight of their falling comrades, the Highlanders, with characteristic impetuosity, rushed to the charge. The Duke's right wing met the shock, and recoiled from the weight of the column ; but, soon reinforced by two battalions from the line, again made head and stemmed the torrent. Hereupon, changing the point of attack, the Highlanders threw their whole weight upon the Duke's left wing, making a strong effort to flank the front line. But in this manoeuvre they were again foiled by the advance of Wolfe's regiment, and exposed to a murderous fire from the artillery. In the mean time, a passage being forced through the park wall on the right, the royal cavalry were immediately brought into action, the Prince's corps of reserve dispersed, and the others, having to support a charge of horse, front and rear, were thrown into disorder. A scene of unsparing carnage succeeded. The heavy dragoons, finding little to resist them THE BATTLE OF CULLODEN. 45 in the masses of infantry that now pressed upon each other in helpless confusion, indulged the spirit of revenge to its full extent. But the Highlanders did not sink under the iron hoof and sabre of the horsemen unavenged ; although entirely broken, in a military sense, they were still unsubdued in spirit.* Here and there, like a stag at bay, turning desperately on their pursuers, they cut their reins, wounded their horses, and, in falling, dragged the troopers to the ground. Others, maimed and bleeding on the ground, but with sufficient life remaining to render them formidable even in that miserable condition, sprang convulsively from the earth as one of the exterminating horsemen approached, and plunging his dirk into the charger's flank, brought his insulting enemy to the ground. Scattered at short distances, detached groups of the clans — almost buried in the mass of horse that charged them— stood back to back, the buckler in one hand and the broadsword in the other, and forming in appearance a sort of armed testudo, made desperate but ineffectual struggles to retrieve the fate of the day. Their sable plumes and waving tartans, surged for a time in rapid agitation, then, gradually sinking under the irresistible shock of cavalry, disappeared like rocks in the continued rush of an overwhelming tide. Others of the clans, struck with panic at a scene which threatened annihilation to their cause, fled like deer before the hunter, and were cut down without even an effort to resist, or a prayer for mercy. It was a moving sight to observe with what native dignity the worsted but still unvanquished Celt met his fate. Disabled by wounds, or exhausted by fatigue, he drew himself up feebly on the ground, clenched the still bloody but useless steel, extended his target, and with the attitude and expression of a dying gladiator, perished in the succeeding charge. Others, unable to rise from the ground, but keenly alive to the scene passing before them, followed with eager eyes the standard of the prince ; but at last, seeing the tartan — the badge of heroic clanship — and " the blue bonnets of the north," strewn around them like leaves in a sudden tempest, the sight was heart-breaking. The spectacle of their prince and their chiefs crushed in evil hour, inflicted an agony more poignant than their wounds, and falling • Never was the peculiar and irresistible power of a charge of Highlanders more fearlessly displayed than in this their last feudal engagement on their native hills. It was the emphatic custom before an onset, says a spirited historian of this rebellion, to scrug their bonnets— that is, to pull their little blue caps down over their brows, so as to ensure them against falling off in the ensuing melie. Never, perhaps, was this motion performed with so much emphasis as on the present occasion, when every man's forehead burned with the desire tc avenge some dear friend who had fallen a victim to the murderous artillery. A Lowland gentleman who was in the Jine, and who survived till a late period, used always, in relating the events of Culloden, to comment, with a feeling of something like awe, upon the terrific and more than natural expression of rage which glowed on every cheek, and gleamed in every eye, as he surveyed the extended line at this moment. — Chambers. VOL. II. N 46 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. backwards on the bloody turf, they died " with their feet to the foe." But we need not here indulge in individual scenes ; the entire field was now an arena where as mournful a tragedy was enacted as ever drew tears from a widowed mother. The shrill note of the bagpipe, the clang of the bugle, and the shouts of infuriated troopers, brought at once tidings of triumph and retreat. Cumberland remained in possession of the field, and on that field lay a thousand gallant clansmen who had surrendered their lives — victims of a mistaken loyalty.* The Prince, who had now witnessed the destruction of his army and the death- blow to his cause, was hurried off the field by the officers of his staff, and consigned, as a fugitive, to those natural fastnesses where alone the royal name of Stuart was still revered. His adventures during the period which followed have furnished as noble a record of manly fortitude and endurance as ever did honour to human nature. Denounced, and destitute of the most common necessaries — thirty thousand pounds offered for him, alive or dead — pursuing only the most lonely tracks — there sleeping in caves, and here soliciting shelter in some solitary cabin — his life, from that of a prince, was suddenly encompassed with every danger which could threaten him as an outlaw — with every privation that could afflict the body — every circumstance that could distract the mind. Those who affect to despise his pretensions as an aspirant to the throne, cannot refuse him, as a man, the tribute of their respect and admiration. The victory was decisive ;f but the glory to which the victors laid claim was sullied with the greatest inhumanity. The wounded and defenceless were cut down without distinction. Those who had merely assembled as spectators, shared in the disasters of the field. The cry of " no quarter" spread conster- nation among the flying, while it sanctioned the pursuers in the work of carnage. The Highland garb — whether of the unarmed peasant or the hostile clansman — was a fatal signal to the wearer. The accents of the " mountain tongue" were answered by the shouts of extermination ; and he who counted most victims showed the greatest loyalty. Vengeance was now the word ; and seldom has a retreat presented scenes of cold-blooded ferocity like that from Culloden Moor. That these were to be charged rather to the officers than the men, and most to the commander, is undeniable. The occasion offered one of the • The French piquets stationed on the right took no share in the engagement, but intimidated by the disastrous commencement, remained passive witnesses of the conflict, and at its close, surrendered them- selves prisoners of war. This inactivity, however, was neither to be attributed to want of courage, or want of zeal in the cause ; but to a conviction that no sacrifice of life could retrieve the honours of the day. f Prince Charles's resources, notwithstanding the loss of this battle, were by no means desperate ; eight thousand men were ready to meet him at Ruthven, in Badenoch, had he signified his desire to renew the strife. — Anderson. CULLODEN MOOR. — NIGHT-SCENE. 47 finest opportunities for the exercise of clemency ever presented to a victorious commander ;* but the divine attribute of mercy was not a military virtue in the estimation of the leader. The noble maxim to spare the vanquished had no place in his catechism ; he drew no distinction between actual treason and mistaken loyalty ; between intentional guilt and error of judgment ; between the vassal who fought in obedience to his chief, and the mercenary who betrayed his allegiance. His sole aim was to restore peace by forming a solitude ; to establish authority by leaving none to resist. The wounded were abandoned during three days to all the horrors of a lingering death, denied assistance, and a prey to all that mental and corporeal sufferings could inflict. The distracted friend or relative who stole forth at midnight to administer relief, ran imminent hazard of being shot as a rebel, and of taking his grave by the side of him for whose sake he had risked his life. Few could elude the vigilance of the sentinels stationed along every avenue leading to the Moor, and of those few who did, still fewer returned. The silence of the night scene was more appalling than the heat of the conflict. As the visitor approached the dismal heath, a thrill of horror rushed through his frame. The mingled sounds of agony and despair struck fitfully upon his ear ; but all modified by the nature of the wounds, or the vigour of mind and constitution possessed by the survivors. One implored lu'm for a drop of water ; one, driven frantic with excessive pain, raved of the prince, and brandished in his hand the fancied trophies of victory. Another, fully alive to the horrors of his situation, invoked the names of his chief and his kindred, urging them to avenge his cause, and then, exhausted by the frantic effort, sank into a death-like torpor. A third spoke not, but pointed to the cornel}' but disfigured coun- tenance of one whose youth bespoke him a younger brother. They lay singly, and in groups, as they had fallen — the living unable to extricate themselves from the dead, and the dead retaining in their features that expression which the last agitating passion had left. In this situation the wounded were left to perish on the field. Those who survived the third day, were shot by command of the duke of Cumberland, whose officers were charged with the execution of this sanguinary order. The accom- panying plate represents the murderous proceeding. In pursuance of the same order, a barn, in which the maimed and dying, having crawled from the field, lay huddled together, was set fire to, and its miserable inmates consumed in the • In the town of Inverness, the duke instituted a complete military government — treated the magistrates and inhabitants with contempt; and he was afterwards obliged to sue out an act of indemnity from the British parliament for these and other atrocities, of which it is notoriously known he was guilty. — Anderson. 48 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. flames. Had this taken place in the heat of battle, as at Hougumont, where the spirit of resistance was still maintained by those inclosed, the fact would have been written down as one of those catastrophes which no humanity could prevent ; but in the present instance the battle had long ceased — resistance was at an end — the royal authority was recognised — and Cumberland might have reposed on his laurels, honoured, if not respected ; and, if not popular, yet in the full enjoyment of power. By aspiring to those traits which show the avenger, he lost sight of all that magnanimity which should distinguish the victor ; dissatisfied with the mere honour of victory, he neutralized its fame by the infamy of a massacre. It has been said, that if mercy were banished from the earth it should find a resting-place in the hearts of princes ; but the royal leader in the present instance was insensible to its pleadings, and in the means adopted to render himself terrible in the eyes of the people, he became odious. Such conduct threw a qualifying shade over the lustre of conquest, and by degrading the illustrious personage from the character of a hero, avenged the people whom he had sacrificed. " Mais pourquoi rappeler cette trisle victoire ? Que ne puis-je plut&t ravir a la memoire Les cruels monumens de ces affreux succes .'" Parties of the military were sent into every district whose chiefs were supposed to have been concerned in the rebellion, to burn, plunder, and lay waste the country; and in this their orders were executed to the letter. The Duke in the mean time reached the highest degree of popularity ; in the south, his victory of Culloden was regarded as a brilliant example of generalship, and the conqueror was flattered by every token of public admiration.* But the honour so liberally awarded him, and those high talents for which the parliament gave him unbounded credit, were eventually proved to be rash and unfounded. In proof of this, we need only allude to his royal highness's capitulation when opposed by a French general at Closter Severn. The letters written by him to the countess of • expose his memory to ridicule. That other great men have not done the same, we presume not to say ; some of our most distinguished * After the battle of Culloden, most of the old signs of naval and military heroes gave way to the Head of Duke William. " I was yesterday out of town," says Horace Walpole in a letter to Mr. Conway, dated April 16, 1747, " and the very signs at the inns, as I passed through the villages, made me make very quaint reflections on the mortality of fame and popularity ! I observed how the ' Duke of Cumberland's Head' had succeeded almost universally to ' Admiral Vernon's," and his had left but few traces of the ' Duke of Ormond's.' I pondered these things in my heart, and said to myself, Surely all glory is but as the sign over an inn duor ,'" PRINCE CHARLES STUART. statesmen and heroes have acted inconsistently with the characters they had won ; but then they had great virtues to throw into the scale, which established an immense balance in their favour. Of Prince Charles— whose adventures after the battle of Culloden, the " Flodden" of the North, are universally known — we need only add, that after innumerable hardships and hair-breadth escapes, he succeeded, with about a hundred of his friends, in securing his retreat to France in a privateer engaged for that purpose. It is worthy of remark, as a trait that reflects immortal honour on the people of the Highlands, that during his wanderings amongst them, Prince Charles had occasion to entrust his life to more than fifty individuals — many of them poor and destitute — but not one of whom was tempted either by the enormous bribe offered, or intimidated by the continual vigilance of their enemies, to betray his path or lurking-place. A person of the name of M'lan — to whose cottage the prince went and threw himself on his protection — though no friend to his cause, watched over him for several weeks with inviolable fidelity. What renders this fact still more remarkable is, that M'lan, whose family were at the time in a state of starvation, was compelled to the dire necessity of robbing in order to support the prince — of robbing, too, at the risk of his life, when a word or sign would have raised him to opulence, and to special favour with government. It is< a melancholy fact to add, in conclusion to such unparalleled fidelity, that this poor man was afterwards brought to the gallows for having, during a season of great severity, stolen a cow to keep his family alive, and when he had only one choice left, to rob or to starve. A little before his execution, he took off his bonnet and said — " I thank God that, although condemned to suffer death for an offence com- mitted under the pressure of want, I have never betrayed a trust — never injured the poor — never refused to share my last morsel with the stranger and the needy." On having the circumstance represented to him, the king was said to have expressed much regret that the sentence had been carried into execution, and to have added, that, had the case been reported to him in proper time, the poor man should have been placed in a situation where he would have had no temptation to rob for his subsistence. We now proceed to Fort George occupying the eastern extremity of the county which projects into the Moray Frith.* It was built at the disastrous period • In pursuing this route, the antiquary will find the ancient baronial residence of Dalcross Castle an object of attraction. It consists of two towers, joined at right angles, the inner corner where they meet, being covered with a projecting turret and large entrance gate. In the front court is a deep draw-well ; the windows are staunchioned with iron ; it has a huge oaken door, with inner iron gratings; the kitchen, with its enormous vaulted chimney, is like the arch of a bridge ; the dungeons and the hall are quite perfect. VOL. II. ° 50 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. just named, by command of the duke of Cumberland, and covers a space of ten Scotch acres. The fortifications are regular, and, like others composing the hain of forts built to check any future rise on the part of the Highlanders, were finished under the direction of the best engineers of the day. It is consi- dered a model in this respect, and equal in all but extent to the continental forts on the plan of the celebrated Vauban. It contains barracks for more than two thousand troops, exclusive of houses for the governor and officers ; and is amply provided with all the accommodations to be found in the best fortification in the kingdom. The buildings unite great strength and solidity with elegance of execution ; but the stranger is tempted to wish that the vast sums there expended had been employed in some work of more permanent advantage — something that, while it kept them in check, might have promoted the interests of the Highlands. While this vast citadel was erecting, famine was severely felt in the surrounding districts — the cottages were in ruins, the land uncul- tivated, and the survivors still suffering from the violence employed against them at the close of the rebellion. Having answered the purpose of their erection, these formidable bastions now serve only to recall the circumstance which caused them. The fort stands like a mailed veteran in the midst of peaceful citizens, and as if longing for war, like sailors for a fair wind. The breadth of the Frith at this point is upwards of a mile ; and immediately above the fortress it presents the appearance of a spacious basin, or inland lake. The communication with the opposite coast of Cromarty is kept up by ferry-boats, the security of which is provided for by a jetty projecting from the fort into the sea. The village of Cambelltown, which says more for the modern improvement of the Highlands than its forts, occupies the lower end of the peninsula, and has risen into importance under the protection of the house of Cawdor. Fortrose, on the opposite side of the Frith, is remarkable as a free town, and as the ancient seat of the Catholic bishops of Ross, whose palace was com- pletely destroyed, the cathedral greatly damaged, and its fine bells, as already The ceiling of the latter is of fine carved oak, in part rudely painted : but its most interesting feature is the dais, or portion of the floor raised above the rest, for the special use of the lord of the manor, his family, and principal guests. The roof of one of the bedrooms was painted all over with the coats-of-arms of the principal families in the country. Those of Robert Bruce, of the earls of Huntly, Marischal, and Stuart, are still quite distinct. This castle was built by Simon, eighth Lord Lovat, in 1620. CASTLE-STEWART is a fine specimen of the castellated mansion, and has been restored to much of its ancient beauty by the timely interference of the earl of Moray. The precise period of its erection is disputed. By some it is said to have been a favorite residence of James IV., and built as a hunting seat. Others assert that the Regent Moray was its founder, and that Queen Mary occasionally honoured it with her presence.— See the description at full by Messrs. Anderson. — Guide to the Highlands, pp. 112, 113. BEAULY. — FALLS OF KILMORACK. 51" mentioned, transported to Inverness, by order of Cromwell. Here resided the celebrated historian, Bishop Leslie — the biographer, Dr. Gregory Mackenzie — and another physician of the same name, author of " The Art of preserving Health." Here the famous Scottish lawyer and statesman, Sir George Mackenzie, often retired from courts and senates, to enjoy the delightful and secluded walks. And here, also, the late Sir James Mackintosh, the well- known historian and eloquent senator, received the rudiments of his education. The magnificent valley of Beauly — a plain nearly two miles wide, watered by the broad sweeping river of that name, and encompassed by a ring of high terraced banks — is a scene on which the eye reposes with peculiar delight. The surface of the plain, and the sides of the hill which slope down to it, are elegantly chequered with cultivated fields, and dense woods of birch and fir. On the west, where the acclivities approach each other, the eye penetrates the gorge of a rocky opening, through which the descending waters form the picturesque falls of Kilmorack. The lower falls are situate about two miles from the village of Beauly, immediately beneath the parish church. They are less remarkable for their height than for breadth and volume, and for the beautiful accompaniments of lofty rocks, smooth green banks, and hanging woods, which encircle them. The river, dashing from between two lofty precipices, where it is confined to an extremely narrow channel, suddenly expands into an open semicircular basin, through which it slowly glides, and is then precipitated over its lower edge in a series of small cataracts.* The next group of waterfalls occurs about three miles up the river, at the top of a most romantic ride, called the Drhuim. This, in character, is the most completely Highland and beautiful p;irt of the course of the Beauly river. On either hand the mountain acclivities are steep and rocky, and the inter- mediate valley not above four hundred yards in breadth. Woods of birch and fir encompass the whole scene, especially on the north side ; and the edges of the river are fringed all along with rows of oak, weeping birch, and alder. In one part, half way up the strath, near the cottage of Teanassie, the waters plunge through a rocky passage encircling high pyramids of stone, slanting up in isolated masses in the midst of the stream — gigantic witnesses of its ceaseless and consuming power. This is the point represented in the annexed engraving. • The bridge of Lovat which spans the Beauly, is a handsome modern structure, and highly ornamental in the landscape. The surface of the opposite hill is diversified with small patches of corn land, allotted by Sir Simon Fraser, of Lovat, to the veteran soldiers of his clan who had served under him in the American war; thus securing a substantial provision for his dependents by a slight tax on their industry — the best of all pensions, and redounding to the lasting honour of the chief. '52 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. Immediately below this scene, the turmoil of the waters subsides into smooth dark linns, while the rocks at the same time recede and give place to daisied banks, and sweet patches of corn-fields. On the southern bank of the river, on a high conical mound, rising above a perpendicular sheet of rock, is the vitrified structure of Dunfion,* recently thrown open to public inspection by the taste and liberality of Mr. Fraser, of Lovat, who has also formed a beautiful drive along his own side of the river, so as to include this interesting and romantic scenery. At the further end of the Drhuim, the road begins to ascend towards the interior of the country ; and here the river is seen pouring down on each side of a high rounded hill, covered with oak and birch, at the lower extremity of which it forms the second set of small but beautiful cataracts. This wooded hill is the island of Aigas— for the river parts into two and encircles it — noted as having been the temporary retreat to which Simon, the last Lord Lovat, conducted the dowager Lady Lovat, whom he had forced to become his wife — when letters of fire and sword were issued against him, and the principal families of his clan, by King William, in 1697.f The ancient Priory of Beauly stands on a fertile spot near the brink of the river, surrounded by aged trees, which give to its venerable walls an air of congenial sanctity and seclusion. The name, beau lieu, was no doubt suggested by the beauty of the situation. It was founded in 1230 by John Bisset, of Lovat, but received various additions from his successor. The monks belonged to the order of Valliscaulium, a reform of the Cistercian, and following the rule of St. Benoit, or Benedict. They were introduced from France by Malvoisin, bishop of St. Andrews, about the period above named ; and established also at Pluscardine in Elginshire, and Ardchattan in Argyll. They led an austere and solitary life, and afforded, says Mr. Anderson, " an asylum within these walls to many natives of the Highlands, whom either bodily infirmity, or a distaste for the coarse manners of their countrymen, disqualified for more active occupations. The remains of an orchard still attest the fertility of the ground, and the attention which the good old monks paid to horticulture. At the Reformation, when the last prior resigned it along with his lands in trust to Lord Lovat, its revenues were considerable. It is now a mere shell ; the roof is fallen in, the area occupied with rubbish, and the closely set graves of the Clan Fraser and their allies. Beside the high altar repose the ashes of the • The cross sections of this vitrified fort displayed several layers of charcoa, earth, and bones, f See the description of this and the adjacent scenery in the highly interesting " Guide to the Highlands," already quoted ; — an indispensable Vade-Mecum for the northern counties. ss 4 fe "> INVERFARRAKAIG. — ALTSAY BURN. &8 old chiefs ; and near them those of the principal branches of the Frasers, the Chisholms, and other tribes in the adjacent valleys. The variety of figures on the more ancient tombstones is considerable ; some elegantly carved, and many of the inscriptions in the ancient Saxon character. The north aisle belongs exclusively to the Mackenzies of Gairloch. The effigy of a knight, recumbent, in full armour, marks the resting-place of Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, who died in 1493, and was the first chief of that name interred here ; all his ancestors having been buried in lona. We now return to those points of view in the vicinity of Loch-Ness to which the accompanying illustrations have immediate reference. Of these, the first is the Pass of Inverfarrakaig — a defile which, in many respects, may vie with some of the minor passes of the Swiss Alps. It has all the characteristics usually observed in that country, glaciers excepted; and presents a combination of features rising in striking gradation, from the softness of cultivated landscape, through the different stages of the beautiful, the picturesque, and romantic, till it closes the picture with those sublime and stupendous bulwarks with which Nature appears to exclude the habitable world. There is nothing in the High- lands, says an able writer, more picturesquely beautiful, wild, or even stupendous, than the Pass of Inverfarrakaig. Woods of birch line the bottom of the deep ravine, from which a few groups and single trees extend along the face of the precipitous rocks above, waving their graceful twigs like flowery garlands along the mountain's brow, and blending in harmonious colouring their own bright green with the grey stone, purple heath, and the azure blue of the incumbent sky. At the entrance of the Pass, and for a considerable space, the eastern side consists of a range of perpendicular and rugged precipices, in the crevices of which a few straggling knotted oak, ash, birch, and elm trees, maintain a precarious footing. As Loch-Ness comes into view, the high and broad frontlet of the Black Rock, surmounting an ample birch-clad acclivity, terminates the range of precipices, and crowning its summit, we discern the green-coloured walls of the ancient vitrified fortress of Dundarduil. The accompanying illustration of Altsay-burn, presents an incident in one of the most sanguinary feuds ever recorded in the annals of Inverness-shire. The historical circumstance to which it refers, is the barbarous outrage emphatically known as the " Raid of Gillie-Christ." In the early part of the seventeenth century, Angus, eldest son of the Glengarry chief, Macdonell, had made a foray into the territory of the clan Mackenzie, in the Frith of Beauly, with whom the Macdonells were at war. On his way home from this fatal expe- dition, the heir of Glengarry was intercepted and slain, with several of his VOL. II. P 54 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. followers, by a party of Mackenzies. To revenge his death, a strong body of Glengarry men were despatched under Allan Mac Raonuill, of Lundy, who led them immediately across the hills, into the country of their enemies. Marching under favour of night, they reached the scene of premeditated revenge early on Sunday morning ; and, having ascertained that a numerous company of Mackenzies were then assembled in the chapel of Cillie-Christ, near Beauly, resolved to take advantage of the circumstance for the execution of their diabolical purpose. Having surrounded the sacred walls with sentinels, and secured every door and aperture by which the unsuspecting congregation might effect their escape, they set fire to the edifice in several places, and in a few minutes the house of prayer was blazing like a funeral pile. Lips, on which the orison was still unfinished, now gave vent to the wildest shrieks of despair. The wail of women and children — the groans of the men — the glare of the flames, as the crackling roof crumbled in their devouring grasp — the dense volumes of smoke checkered with red streaks, that at length concentrated into a blaze — the hurrying from aisle to altar, from door to window — the ejaculations of despair — the gaspings for breath — and finally the seething heart-streams bursting their receptacles — all formed a picture from which the mind shrinks appalled. The sacrilege, also, with which it was accompanied, invests the scene with a still deeper horror. The Macdonells looked on with complacence ; and as the shrieks of their tortured and expiring victims rose wildly upon the ear, they were answered by shouts of triumph and the shrill notes of the pibroch,* which mocked their agony with a funeral dirge. Men, women, and children, were sacrificed without distinction ; and what the fire would have spared, the sword thrust back into the flames. Not an individual escaped. Those who in the morning had met here, a numerous and happy congregation, were a mass of smouldering ashes at noon. The perpetrators of this atrocious deed, enjoying the dastardly satisfaction of having avenged their wrongs, retired from the scene like troops after a victory, but like troops who dreaded reprisals. Vengeance, indeed, was already mus- tering her strength: the fire in which the Mackenzies were sacrificed, served as a gathering beacon to the clan. Every man who could bear a sword now drew it forth, and, casting away the scabbard, rushed to the pursuit. Dividing their force into two bodies, one followed the track along the south side of Loch-Ness; while the other, crossing the mountains to the north bank of the lake, • The miserable victims found all attempts at escape unavailing, and were, without a single exception — man, woman, or child — swallowed up hy the devouring element, or indiscriminately massacred by the swords of the relentless Macdonells; whilst a piper marched round the church, playing an extemporary piece of music, which lias ever since been the pibroch of the Glengarry family. — Anderson. ' ALTSAY BURN. — RAID OF CILLIF.-CHRIST. 55 pursued the first division of the Macdonclls, under their leader, Mac Itaonuill. Stimulated by revenge, they continued the chase without intermission; and at length overtook the guilty fugitives near Altsay-burn, where they had ventured to halt for refreshment. The hostile clans, mutually fatigued in body, but still burn- ing with revenge, rushed upon each other with the most deadly rancour. But the Macdonells, who had already exhausted their revenge, and were consequently more enfeebled, could not resist the fury of their opponents, to whom the prospect of immediate retaliation had given strength of arm and swiftness of foot. The conflict was maintained for some time with mutual fury ; but at length the Macdonells, overpowered by numbers, were driven into the burn, or torrent, where many of them, missing the ford, or impeded by the rugged rocks by which its channel is encumbered, were overtaken and slain by the Mackenzies. Mac Raonuill, a man of athletic frame, having made good his retreat to a point where the torrent rushes through a chasm of great depth and breadth, took a desperate leap, cleared the abyss, and landed safe on the opposite bank. One of the Mackenzies, hot in pursuit, but with less of the wild stag in his limbs than the Macdonell leader, and blinded, perhaps, to the danger by the hope of overtaking his prize, followed at a venture. The attempt failed: his feet fell short of the brink; but catching fast hold of a birch sapling, he broke his fall, and hung dangling over the abyss that boiled beneath him. Turning round and seeing his pursuer in this critical state of suspension, Mac Raonuill coolly drew his dirk, approached the tree, and with a smile of demoniac satisfaction at the despair of his victim, lopped off" the branch, and dropped him into the gulf beneath. :l There," said he, with deadly sarcasm, " I have left much behind me with ye to-day — take that too !" This done, his athletic limbs carried him considerably ahead of his pursuers ; till, reaching the cool margin of the lake, he plunged in, breasted the waters for some time, and was finally picked up by a boat to which he made signals. The worsted party of the Macdonells, who had figured in the morning- tragedy, and now fled by Inverness, were surprised in a public-house by the other detachment of Mackenzies, who made sure of their prey. The building was surrounded — the doors and windows secured — lighted matches applied to the thatch : the flames burst forth in an instant ; and in these flames thirty- seven of the Macdonells did penance for the atrocious proceedings of the morn- ing.— Such was the Raid of Gillie-Christ, or Christ-church, and such the speedy retribution by which it was followed. It is a revolting picture of the barbarous state of society at that period, and of the excesses into which the rival clans were perpetually hurried by the impulse of ungovernable passions. 56 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. Loch-Ness, along whose glittering expanse the business of commerce is now directed by the new impulse of steam, occupies the Great Valley for more than twenty miles. The scenery in which it is embedded presents a succession of grand and imposing features — pastoral acclivities, picturesque rocks, woods and water- falls, dark ravines and dismal precipices, from which the frequent torrent dashes with its foaming tribute to the lake. Here and there, isolated rocks, starting forth like landmarks in the forest, bear testimony to the awful convulsion by which the ancient mountains were split, and when the lake sprang forth between the disruptured banks. The whole chain of these lakes occupies one vast chasm, through which the sea must have forced its way, and thus divided the country into two distinct portions.* The scenery of Loch-Ness, although generally fine, from whatever point it may be contemplated, is most so when viewed from the north shore, instead of the deck of the steamer. In the former case, owing to the doublings and undulations of the road, every turn presents the lake under a different aspect, and adds some new feature to the landscape. The waters of the lake fill the whole interval between the mountains, which dip so suddenly, that, within a hundred yards of the shore, the depth is often forty or fifty fathoms. Towards the centre, soundings have been made to the depth of one hundred and thirty fathoms — a fact which fully accounts for its never -freezing ; for even a Highland winter is too short to reduce so great a depth and volume of water to the point of congelation. After long continued rains, the lake has been known to rise eight or ten feet above its natural level. It abounds in trout. The water, though considered salubrious by the natives, has often the opposite effect upon strangers, who drink it freely in the " shooting season." This is said to be owing to the immense numbers of confervce adhering to the rocks at the bottom, and there giving off a decomposed vegetable matter, which, by intermixture, has a tendency to produce diarrhoea. In other respects the water is exceedingly pure ; no saline ingredients having yet been detected by the ordinary tests of analysis. At the time of the great earthquake at Lisbon, the waters of this lake were thrown into violent agitation ; rushing up their • It is hardly possible to contemplate the great valley of the Ness, without coming to the conclusion that the German and Atlantic Oceans once communicated through this long and narrow chasm ; thus separating Caledonia into two distinct parts; but if so, how comes a lake now in the centre, some ninety feet higher than the level of either ocean ? It may be accounted for by supposing that the high or mountainous banks of this strait fell in during some earthquake or convulsion, so as to block up the chasms in two or three places — say at Inverness, or Fort Augustus — thus insulating as it were the site of Loch-Ness. The conse- quence would be, that the lake would gradually rise by the streams from the mountains, till the waters found an exit, as at present, into the Moray Frith. — The Recess, by JAMES JOHNSON, M.D., Physician extraordinary to the King. LOCHNESS. — FALLS OF FOYERS. 57 channel with amazing impetuosity — invading the bed of the river Oich, and covering its banks to the height of five feet above the ordinary level. This continued for about an hour in violent ebb and flow; and then, a huge wave bursting upon, and inundating the northern bank, the commotion gradually subsided, and the waters returned to their bed. Loch-Tay exhibited a similar phenomenon ; and in various other parts of the island, as our readers are aware, lakes and rivers at the same time gave strange evidence of sympathy in that terrible catastrophe. Of this celebrated and much-frequented scene, the Falls of Foyers, Burns has transmitted us a correct and vivid picture in the following lines : — " Among the heathy hills and ragged woods, The roaring Foyers pours his mossy floods ; Till full he dashes on the rocky mounds, Where, through a shapeless breach, his ftream resounds. As high in air the bursting torrents flow, As deep recoiling surges foam below" .... " Still through the gap the struggling river toils, And still below the horrid caldron boils." The Falls are distant about a mile from the " General's hut," or inn, and close to the public road leading to Fort Augustus. After passing across the highly elevated and chiefly moorland district, lying to the south of Loch-Ness, the river Foyers, on reaching the hills which skirt the lake, enters a deep narrow ravine, at the commencement of which it is precipitated over a ledge of rock, about thirty feet in height, and thus forms the Upper Fall. To see this to advantage, it is necessary to descend to the channel of the river below the bridge. From this position the appearance of the headlong and tumultuous mass of waters is very imposing ; while the lofty and perpendicular rocks between which the river pours its noisy and troubled flood, and the aerial single-arched bridge spanning* the chasm, add much to the picturesque effect. Below the Fall, the channel of the river is deep and rocky, and shelves rapidly down towards the lake ; the mountain sides are clothed with luxuriant woods of birch ; and the river, interrupted in its course by numerous masses of rock, is lashed into foam, and hurries impe- tuously forward for about a quarter of a mile. Here it encounters a second • A little above the cascade, the river is very much contracted between two rocks ; and previously to the erection of the bridge, a log was thrown over this chasm, reaching from one rock to the other, and serving as a bridge to the more courageous foot passengers. There is a tradition, that a person who resided in the heights of the country, while in a state of intoxication, passed on horseback along the log-bridge in a moon- light night ; and that, having gone afterwards to the place, he was so horror-struck at the peril he had escaped, that he returned home, went to bed, and soon after died. VOL. II. Q 58 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. abrupt descent, and is dashed through a narrow gap, over a height of ninety feet, into a deep spacious linn, or basin, surrounded by lofty precipitous rocks. As we approach this greater cataract, the ground is felt to tremble from the shock of the falling waters, and the ear is stunned with its sullen and ceaseless roar. Descending by a winding footpath to a point directly opposite to, and on a level with the Fall, the spectacle appears in all its sublimity. Here at once the eye can scan the terrors of the troubled gulf below, the whole extent of the Fall, and the stupendous overhanging rocks, waving with birch, and partially covered with a rank mossy vegetation, forced into life by the volumes of vapour which float around ; but it is chiefly when the river is much swollen by rain that the spectator regards it with mingled feelings of awe and admiration. Then the living spirit of the waters wakens with thundering call the echoes of the solitude ; every other sound is drowned, and all nature seems attentive to the voice of the falling element. The mighty caldron is filled with shifting masses of spray, frequently illumined with the bright and lambent tints of the rainbow.* " But on the verge, From side to side, beneath the glittering morn, An iris sits amidst the infernal surge, Like Hope upon a death-bed ; and, unworn It steady dyes, whilst all around is torn By the distracted waters, bears serene Its brilliant hues with all their beams unshorn ; Resembling, 'mid the torture of the scene, Love watching Madness with unalterable mien."f In several of the Highland districts, and particularly in that now under notice, the state of property, and the local history of ancient times, would be entirely unknown, but for the few gleams of light thrown upon them by the annals connected with their existing monuments of antiquity. Of this description is the Castle of Urquhart, one of the chain of fortresses — several of them royal — which, from the earliest times, stretched across the Great Glen from Inverness to Inverlochy, and thus secured the country from foreign invasion and the excess of civil discord. Perched on the western promontory of Urquhart bay, this ruined fortress overhangs Loch-Ness. The isolated rock on which it stands, is separated from the adjoining hill by a moat twenty-five feet deep and sixteen broad. The rock is crowned by the remains of a high wall or curtain, surrounding the buildings; the principal of which, a strong square keep, * Anderson. Guide, Sect. v. p. 252. f Byron. CASTLE OF URQUHART. — FORT AUGUSTUS. 59 of three stories, and surmounted by four square projecting turrets, still exists. The outer wall encloses a spacious area, and in some places is terraced, with platforms iu the angles for the convenience of the defending soldiery. The entrance is through a spacious gateway, between two guard-rooms, projecting beyond the general line of the walls, and guarded by more than one massive portal, and a huge portcullis. These entrance-towers are much in the style of architecture peculiar to the Welsh castles built by Edward I. ; and in front of them lay the drawbridge across the outer moat- The whole buildings were of superior masonry, strongly secured, and so extensive as to accommodate a gar- rison of at least five hundred men. The first siege sustained by this castle was in 1303. In that year, the officers of Edward I. — who did not venture in person beyond Nairn — were sent forward to subdue the country around Kildrummie, and began their operations against Castle Urquhart, which, of all the strongholds in the North, maintained the most determined resistance. At length, however, the place was captured, A.D. 1334,* and the intrepid governor, De Bois, and his garrison, were put to the sword. Fort Augustus, the central stronghold erected in the Great Glen, stands on a peninsula formed by the rivers Tarf and Oich, at the western extremity of Loch-Ness. The scenery is wild and mountainous ; but in respect to convenience, and the facilities of communication, the locality is well chosen. All the supplies necessary for a garrison could be transported at little expense by land and water. It is a regular fortification, with barracks for nearly four hundred troops, • Thirty-one years later, Sir Robert Lauder, a knight of Morayshire, was governor of Urquhart, and held the castle successfully against the Baliol faction. His daughter having married the laird of Chisholm in Strathglass, the offspring of that union, Sir Robert Chisholm,* on coming into the inheritance of his maternal property, the estates of Quarrel Wood, becam^constable of Urquhart Castle, in right of his grandfather. After this period, it is known to have lie™ n royal fort or garrison ; and such, probably, it also was at the commencement of the fourteenth century, the period of the siege, and during the reigns of the Alexanders, and other early Scottish sovereigns. About the middle of the fourteenth century, the barony and castle of Urquhart were disponed by David II. to William count of Sutherland, and his sou John ; and were subsequently held for the king by the ancient family of Grant of Freuchie, now Grant of Grant, who, as chamberlains of the crown, obtained possession of most of the lands around, constituting the domains of the Castle. Finally, at the commencement of the sixteenth century, when James IV. was empowered by parliament to let out in feu-farm the royal lands, both annexed and unannexed, he granted three charters of the lordship of Urquhart, and baronies of Urquhart and Glenmoriston, in different por- tions, to John Grant of Freuchie, and his two sons ; from the latter of whom are descended the GRANTS of Glenmoriston and Corymony. — Paroch. Statist. 1836. • A gentleman of Inverness is in possession of an original charter of this Sir Robert Chisholm, to the church of the Holy Cross, in Inverness, of certain lands near the town, dated on the first of the Epiphany, A.D. 1362. 60 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. and was built in 1729, on the Lovat estate, to overawe certain clans who were inclined to disturb the peace by supporting the exiled family of Stuart in their claims to the throne. In 1746 it was taken by the Highland clans, and partly demolished, but, afterwards reinstated, it became for some time the head-quarters of the royal army.* The garrison is now become unnecessary ; and, some years ago, orders were given to dismantle the ramparts and transfer the ordnance to Fort George — measures which were carried into effect. The hill of Suidh-Chuiman is crossed by the great military road from Inverness to Fort Augustus; and on its very summit, within two yards of him, the tourist will observe a small cairn — such as is commonly found where persons have perished from the inclemency of the weather, or died suddenly. On this spot, it is said, one of the chieftains of the Clan Cummin, -j- so powerful in their day, while on the way to visit some of his dependants, fell sick and died. Here, any disastrous event is perpetuated by a cairn — in the Alps, by a cross erected on the spot. Among the traditions relative to events which took place in this neighbourhood at the calamitous period of "forty-five," one is thus perpetuated: — Cameron of Lochiel, having joined Prince Charles, was followed by his whole clan — a measure which involved them in ruin. The royal army, after its victory on the field of Culloden, as already mentioned, was stationed at Fort Augustus, from which point small detachments were sent in different directions to plunder and lay waste the country. In Lochaber, they drove away all the cattle, J burnt the houses, » When taken possession of by the royal army, it became the centre of gaiety and fashion. Amidst the fatigues and hardships which the soldiers had to suffer, says a writer of that day, " the brave Duke makes all about him as jovial as the place will possibly admit of." In a letter, dated from the fort, June 17th, the writer gives some account of the royal pastimes. " Last Wednesday," says he, " the duke gave two prizes to the soldiers to run heats for, on bare-backed galloways taken from the rebels, when eight started for the first, and ten for the second prize. Tftse galloways are little larger than a good tup, and shew excellent sport. Yesterday his royal highness gave the soldiers' wives a fine Holland smock to be run for on these galloways, also bare backed, and riding with their limbs on each side the horse, like men. Eight started, and there were three of the finest heats ever seen ! The prize was won with great difficulty by one of the Old Buffs' ladies. In the evening, General Hawley and Colonel Howard ran a match for twenty guineas, on two of the above shelties (or ponies), which Hawley won by about five inches." — Strutters' Hist. Scots Mag. 1748. t The whole distict of Badenoch was originally the property of the Comyns, (or Cummins,) who, at an early period of Scottish history, were one of the most powerful families in the kingdom. It is matter of doubt at what time and in what manner this family, which came from England in the time of David I., acquired possession of so much wealth and influence; but we find John Comyn first noticed as lord of Badenoch in the reign of Alexander III. — See Parochial Statistics. I " We hang or shoot," says an officer, writing from Fort Augustus, " every one that is known to conceal the Pretender ; burn their houses, and take away their cattle, of which we got a thousand head within these few days past ; so that if some of your Northumberland graziers were here, they would make their fortunes." — liny. " We had near twenty thousand head of cattle brought in, taken from the rebels LOCAL TRADITIONS. — GLENGARRY. 61 and expelled the miserable inhabitants, old and young, without food or clothing, to the hills. Several persons were murdered in cold blood, or shot through sheer wantonness. About four hundred of the royal army having surprised a young man of the name of Cameron with a musket in his hand, the unfortunate youth, without any form of trial, was posted up and shot by an order from Grant, who commanded a party of the Ross-shire militia. This, it is not improbable, was as much the result of private antipathy as of political zeal, which too frequently served as a mask for similar acts of violence. At this time, a difference in name implied a difference in nature ; so that he who was not a Grant, or of some other clan conspicuous for its loyalty, was marked as a rebel ; and, too frequently it is feared, the mere difference of a patronymic, sufficed for the prompt execution of feeble and inoffensive individuals. Dugald Roy Cameron, the father of the unhappy youth, and witness of his death, kept a vigilant eye upon the detachment as they returned to quarters with their plunder. In their pro- gress towards the fort, either by accident, or, as it has been surmised, with the well-founded apprehension that the avenger was not far distant, and that his identity might at least be rendered doubtful by the change, Grant gave his horse to Major Munro. Dugald having come up shortly after, and taken aim at the rider without observing the change, the amiable Major fell mortally wounded by the shot. In vain the soldiers attempted to capture the assassin ; throwing away his musket, he scaled the precipices with a speed and deter- mination known only to mountaineers ; and hastening to intercept them once more in a narrow pass, hoped to accomplish, by a discharge of rocky fragments, results still more fatal than that already caused by his musket. This, however, was happily prevented by the delay and consternation caused by the death of Munro. Cameron found no more victims that day, but the morning's disaster checked all similar expeditions into Lochaber. Cameron was never discovered, and served afterwards as a private in the royal army. On the western shore of Loch-Oich, where it receives the tributary stream from Loch-Garry, is the modern residence of the Macdonell family — distin- guished for centuries as the chieftains of that name, and the leaders of a warlike clan. Not far distant from the present mansion is the ruined Castle* of Invergarry by parties sent out for them. . . Great numbers of our men grew rich by their share of the spoil, which was bought in the lump by jockeys and farmers from Yorkshire and the south of Scotland, and divided amongst the men. . . few common soldiers were without horses. . . gold was also as common among great numbers as copper at other times." — Journal of a Medical Officer, London, 1746. * Invergarry was the first stage of Prince Charles's pilgrimage — after his defeat at Culloden, and when he had assumed his disguise — a pilgrimage long continued, perilous in the extreme, and which nothing VOL. II. R (52 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. the ancient stronghold of the same illustrious family — which was burnt at the close of the last rebellion, that disastrous period so often referred to, and which so many objects in this country serve to perpetuate. Over a well in the neighbourhood a small monument commemorates the following fact, highly characteristic of the lawless period to which it relates. The laird of Keppoch, having sent his two sons to be educated in France, died during their absence, and left the management of his affairs to the care of seven brothers, men of his own clan. Thus placed in a station of unexpected authority, these kinsmen relished the advantages it afforded them better than became men of honour, and resolved to insure its continuance at every risk. But as the heir of Keppoch still remained in France, they suffered no interrup- tion for a considerable time. At length, the young laird and his brother, having returned home to take possession of their inheritance, were waylaid and murdered on the very night of their arrival. The perpetrators of the foul deed evaded for some time the strong arm of justice ; but the family bard succeeded at last in drawing down upon them that vengeance which they so richly merited. Having failed in several appeals to other clans, he finally addressed himself to Macdonald of the Isles. Receiving from that source what aid he required, he overtook the murderers in the midst of their guilty career, and, in the manner recorded,* avenged the untimely death of the young chief and his brother. In this mountainous country, Ben-Nevis is to the Celtic, what Mont Blanc is to the Savoy Alps — the monarch of the chain. It is estimated at four thousand three hundred and seventy feet above the level of the sea, which approaches to within three quarters of a mile of the stupendous mass. The labour of ascend- ing this colossus of the waste is well repaid by the majestic features presented to the tourist as he climbs from crag to crag, and observes at every pause the scene expanding before him. But when he reaches the summit, the vast panorama which then opens upon him, fills the mind with ideas to which no words can give utterance. If the weather be favourable, the extent of horizon thus embraced, and the variety of objects brought before the eye, are such as but the sympathy of " some who were his enemies, and the extraordinary fidelity of his friends, could have saved from a fatal termination." » As a memorial of the ample and summary vengeance which, in the swift course of feudal justice, inflicted by the orders of the Lord Macdonell and Aross, overtook the perpetrators of the foul murder of the Keppoch family, a branch of the powerful and illustrious clan of which his lordship was the chief: This monument is erected by Colonel Macdonell, of Glengarry — xvii. Mac-Mic-Alaister— his successor and representative, in the year of our Lord 1812. The heads of the seven murderers were presented at the foot of the noble chief, in Glengarry Castle, after having been washed in this spring ; and ever since that event, which took place early in the sixteenih century, it has been known by the name of " Tobar-nan-ceann," or the Well of the Heads. . BEN-NEVIS. FORT WILLIAM. 63 no other of the Scottish Alps can exhibit, and which will long retain a place in the spectator's memory.* On forming an enterprise of this kind, however, caution and an experienced guide are indispensable requisites. A melancholy catastrophe, still fresh in the recollection of many of our readers, occurred while descending this mountain last summer, in which an amiable and accomplished youth was snatched away from his bereaved family in the moment of health, hope, and enjoyment. Ben-Nevis is particularly interesting to the geologist, and will afford him a wide field for practical study and contemplation. The lower part is composed of mica- slate and gneiss : higher up we meet with syenite ; beyond this with granite, and on the higher elevations with porphyry, in different varieties. The obelisk in the fore-ground of the annexed drawing, will be sufficiently explained by quoting the inscription, which is couched in the following terms : — " Sacred to the memory of Colonel John Cameron, eldest son of Sir Ewen Cameron, of Fassifern, Bart., whose mortal remains, transported from the field of glory, where he died, rest here with those of his forefathers. During twenty years of active military service, with a spirit which knew no fear and shunned no danger, he accompanied or led in marches, sieges, and battles, the gallant 92d regi- ment of Scottish Highlanders, always to honour, almost always to victory ; and at length, in the forty-second year of his age, upon the memorable 16th day of June, A.D. 1815, was slain in the command of that corps, while actively contri- buting to achieve the decisive victory of Waterloo, which gave peace to Europe. Thus closing his military career with the long and eventful struggle, in which his services had been so often distinguished, he died, lamented by that unrivalled GENERAL, to whose long train of success he had so often contributed; by his country, from which he had repeatedly received marks of the highest conside- ration ; and by his SOVEREIGN, who graced his surviving family with those marks of honour which could not follow to this place, him whose memory they were designed to commemorate. Reader, call not his fate untimely, who, thus honoured and lamented, closed a life of fame by a death of glory." Fort William is a market town, but exhibits little of the activity generally associated with towns so qualified. A quay has been recently built here, and is expected to be of some benefit to the place ; but, with a numerous population, • The reader will find a detailed account of Ben Nevis in the " Guide to the Highlands," and New Statistical account. It may be said, without exaggeration, that every point of the horizon is at least one hundred and twenty miles removed from the spectator. On the north-east side is a terrrific precipice, commencing at the summit, and descending to a depth of not less than one thousand five hundred feet perpendicular. Gi SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. and great lack of employment, it exhibits at present a scene of afflicting poverty, for which it is difficult to foresee a remedy.* A fort was built here during the usurpation of Cromwell, containing barracks for two thousand troops, and named the " Garrison of Inverlochy," from the ancient castle of that name. In the reign of King William it was rebuilt on a smaller scale, and in compliment to the sovereign received its present name, while the village annexed took that of Mary-burgh, in honour of the queen. In 1746, this fort, tinder the gallant conduct of Captain Scott, stood a siege of five weeks against the insurgent army. Inverlochy Castle, the ancient fortress just named, is distinguished in native tradition as a residence of the early sovereigns of the country, and where the league between Achaius and Charlemagne was ratified. -j- However doubtful, or even fabulous, the latter circumstance may appear, there is nothing improbable in its having served as a royal residence, at a time when the fittest situation for the king's palace was that which promised the greatest security as a fortress, In this respect the ruins of Inverlochy offer sufficient evidence, by the strength of their position and the capacious area they still occupy, that they were well adapted to afford the kingly recommendations of splendour and security. It consists of a quadrangle, with round towers at the angles, well fortified according to those tactics which did not anticipate the effects of a battering-train. Here, it is said, Banquo, thane of Lochaber, resided in princely state ; an event per- petuated by a pleasant walk still bearing his name. The powerful family of Gumming, or Comyn, already named, also possessed it, and have left their name to the western tower. From the opposite side of the lake from which it takes its name, the Castle, backed by stupendous mountain scenery and the wild and rugged opening into Glen- Nevis, appears to great advantage. J » Besides the Established Church, Fort William has an Episcopalian and Roman Catholic chapel, a Bible society, excellent schools, and two public libraries — each with a judicious selection of books. There is no prison in the parisli — the garrison serving as such when required. In the months of June and November, the place is enlivened by two annual fairs, at which considerable business is transacted. f The present building — constructed, perhaps, on the remains of some more rude and ancient fortress, to which the tradition refers — may be ascribed with more probability to the era of the invasion by Edward I. Like the castle of Urquhart, already mentioned, it presents, in the style and quality of its architecture, abundant evidence of having been the work of engineers well practised in the art of fortification ; and if so, the presumption is that it was of foreign construction — one of those garrison forts raised by the English monarch to support his ambitious views in the North. Its similarity to the Welsh castles of the same era gives strength to the conjecture ; but it is only by conjecture that the question can be answered. J About three miles farther up the banks of the river, situated on the verge of a precipice overhanging the water, which is here confined and interrupted by ledges of rock, are the slight remains of Tor Castle, formerly inhabited by the chiefs of the clan Chattan, who once possessed this country, and in which the "classic" Banquo is said to have also resided. BATTLE OF INVERLOCHY. 65 Inverlochy has been at different periods the scene of internal conflicts, of which history has preserved some melancholy details. Alexander, Lord of the Isles, having been imprisoned in Tan tall on Castle by James I. for burning Inverness, and other acts of violence, his cousin, Donald Balloch, — either to insult or intimidate the king, and thereby procure Alexander's release, — carried fire and sword into the district of Lochaber. Two of the king's officers, the earls of Mar and Caithness, having encountered the islesmen at Inverlochy, the latter nobleman was slain ; but the king, advancing in person, Donald fled to Ireland, from which his head was afterwards sent over to the king as an efficient guarantee for his future conduct. The scene represented in the engraving, exhibits the battle, or rather flight, of Inverlochy — a battle which proved so destructive to the army under the marquess of Argyll, and so triumphant to his rival, the marquess of Montrose. It was on Sunday, the 3d of February, 164*5, "just as the sun had risen over the shoulder of Ben Nevis, that the troops under Montrose advanced to the attack. Taken by surprise, and with a great portion of their strength already cut off, the Argyll force was drawn up in a line of somewhat formidable extent. In the centre were the Highlanders, on the right and left the Lowlanders, on an eminence behind stood a small body of reserve, and within the fortress itself was a garrison of fifty men. The ground on which they met was perfectly level, formed by the junction of the river Lochy with Locheil. Behind them, and still nearer the embouchure of the river, the castle of Inverlochy raised its vast square form into the cold winter air. Behind were the provision galleys ; and that in which Argyll had taken shelter* lay upon the placid face of the estuary, as if quietly waiting to contemplate the dreadful scene that was to ensue." . . When the Campbells, waiting to receive the attack, saw the disorderly band of Montrose issue at sound of trumpet from the dusky glen before them — " when they saw their uplifted weapons flashing under the rays of the sun as they rushed forward at full speed — when they heard the wild yell with which they accompanied the discharge of their muskets, and sprang forward to close in active conflict — their hearts, unexcited by motion as those of their enemies had been, fairly sunk within them, and they might be said to have lost the battle before it was commenced. The greater part of them discharged their firelocks against the royalists only once, and then, without drawing a sword, turned and fled. A few only, and those in detached portions throughout the field, waited t Argyll himself, suffering from a hurt in his arm and face, caused by a fall, and which disabled him for (he use of sword and pistol, retired on board his galley, moored hard by, while his cousin, the veteran Auchinbreck, took the command. This fact alone — the absence of iheir chief — must have contributed not a little to discourage the troops. — Chambers' Histor. Details of the Rebellion. VOL. II. S 66 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. for the charge, or made the least attempt to contest the fortune of the day." . . A few minutes saw the whole of the Argyll army accumulated in a confused and terrified mass upon the brink of the lake, or flying to irretrievable ruin along its shore. After the turn of the day, Montrose's men found easy work in chasing and cutting down their unhappy countrymen. The flight was more destructive than the hardest fought battle. Those who crowded back upon the beach in the hope of reaching the vessels, were almost, without exception, slain or drowned. Those who fled along the shore towards the south-west, were closely followed, and great numbers of them overtaken and slain. A party of about two hundred, who made for the Castle, were intercepted by a troop of Montrose's horse, and either cut down or driven back upon the beach. A great number endeavoured to reach their chief's vessel by means of the rope which attached it to the shore ; but this support suddenly giving way, all that were upon it sank at once into the water and were drowned. Argyll himself, too much concerned for his own safety to attempt the rescue of his unhappy followers, was no sooner certain of the fate of the day, than he ordered his sails to be hoisted, and extricating his vessel from the midst of his dead and drowning clansmen, glided down the Loch in quest of a safer anchorage. — Such is a brief sketch of the battle of Inverlochy, which the reader will find detailed with great effect in the popular work here abridged. A short excursion into Lochaber carries the tourist to Glen-roy, celebrated for a series of parallel roads, which have furnished abundant materials for discussion between geologists and those patriots who, with excusable partiality, still cling to the immemorial traditions of the country. The theory established by the latter, is, that these extraordinary roads, or terraces, were constructed by human labour, and devised for the use of the ancient kings who held their court at Inverlochy, and here indulged in the royal pastime of hunting. But, admitting that such was their intended purpose — that they could really have been useful in facilitating the business of the chase — still there is no trace of artificial formation. Had such been their origin, the exchequer of the Celtic kings must have been amply provided, and most idly expended. But this theory is not only untenable by any argument that could give it even an air of proba- bility, but is refuted by the existence of similar lines in various parts of the * Montrose is said to have " knighted on the field," John Hay, of Lochloy — the latest instance of that honour being conferred by a subject. This circumstance is commemorated by Sir Walter Scott, in his " Legend of Montrose," where the doughty " Major Dalgetty " is made to win his spurs in this battle, which the great novelist has depicted with admirable effect as well as historical accuracy. For this scene see " Legend of Montrose," pp. 284, 285. GLEN-ROY. — CAMERON OF LOCHIEL. 67 continent, in Italy, Germany, and the valleys of the Alps. In South America, also, Captain Basil Hall discovered horizontal roads very similar to those under notice, and which had been formed, as in the present case, by a sudden discharge of the waters with which the glen was previously filled. The subject, never- theless, has given rise to much ingenious argument ; and, in spite of geological dogmas, the more poetical account, it is probable, will long maintain the ascen- dancy. The strength of early prepossessions is hostile to scientific innovation. It is hard to divest the mind of what is so pleasing to the fancy, or so flattering to the national pride. No, say the advocates of the more poetical origin — no ; we will not listen to a theory which would degrade this haunt of our Nimrod kings into the deserted bed of some primeval lake ; nor need we be surprised that geologists who have " impugned the Book of Genesis, should venture a new theory on the roads of Glen-roy."* The scenery of Lochiel, like that which borders the contiguous waters of Loch-Linnhe, of which it is only a branch, is generally picturesque — always romantic. The hills are lofty ; here rising abruptly from the water's edge, and there broken into ravines and valleys, and tracing their bleak and bold outline along the horizon. At one point their base is indented by a small bay, sweeping in a gentle curve under the face of the rocks ; at another, a bold promontory, girdled with wood, and surmounted by a track of bright green pasture, surges forward into the lake, and shuts out, like a curtain, the fine scenery beyond. This passed, a fresh landscape unfolds itself, and is again surrounded by another and another — all different in arrangements— yet all presenting similar materials, and losing no charm by repetition. The accompanying engraving shows the most exciting and important event that ever took place on the lake of Eil — the " morning-march" of the rebellion — the nucleus of the insurgent army — Prince Charles at its head — the Stuart standard unfurled, and gathering strength at every step, but, after waving for a time over the heads of its followers, trampled at last on the fatal heath of Culloden. Their march was like their own mountain- stream, collecting its tributaries from every glen and green acclivity — filling the valley with the thunder of its course, and at last swallowed up in that ocean which in its pride it appeared to stem. Donald Cameron of Lochiel, chief of the clan Cameron, inherited all the martial spirit, the social and manly virtues, of his ancestors. In this district • Instead of arguing the point, would it not be better for all parties to admit at once the geological formation of these roads, and then allow that they were used by the royal hunters for the purpose described ? The only objection to this compromise, is, that it would be giving Nature credit for what ought to have been done by the engineers of old Fingal ! G8 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. of Lochaber, particularly, his memory is cherished with amiable partiality ; and through the Highlands generally, the name of the " gentle Lochiel" never fails to awaken the most kindly sympathies in his favour. His opinion was so much respected, and his support deemed of so much weight in the cause, that, until the prince had obtained a guarantee for the latter, his desperate enterprise met with little countenance from the neighbouring chiefs. However much they felt attached at heart to the house of Stuart, and to the person of its repre- sentative then amongst them, it required little penetration to foresee, that the standard once raised, this proof of their loyalty might entail ruin on themselves and their posterity. This Lochiel clearly foresaw, and would have avoided ; but, led away by a strange fatality, he openly espoused what he inwardly condemned, and to escape the imputation of coldness to his prince, plunged into the vortex in which so many of his gallant clansmen were destined to perish. When Charles first landed in Borrodale, Lochiel heard the tidings with inward sorrow, but hastened to present himself before the royal stranger, and, if he could not prevail on him to abandon the enterprise, to offer him at least the rights of hospitality. Thus resolved on the part he should act, Lochiel set out, and on his way to the prince, who had anchored off the coast, called at the house of his brother Cameron of Fassafern, to whom he expressed his intention of dissuading Charles from the mad speculation in which he had embarked. " Then," said his brother, " if such be your intention, proceed no further ; perform this duty by letter ; a trusty messenger shall convey it into the prince's hands." " No," said Lochiel, " that were a mark of disrespect of which I cannot be guilty. I will present myself in person, explain my reasons, and without reserve counsel the prince to deliberate on the rash step he has taken, and abandon the enterprise." " Brother," said Fassafern, " I know you better than you know yourself ; if the prince once sets eyes on you, he will make you do whatever he pleases : reflect while it is yet time." The conversation ended. Thus ominously warned, Lochiel proceeded to the inter- view,* and was complimented by the prince on this early demonstration of loyalty. " Yes," said he, " my father has often told me that Lochiel was our firmest friend." Lochiel, nevertheless, laboured by many arguments to convince the royal adventurer that every circumstance was against him. He pointed out * It was while proceeding to this ill-starred interview, that Lochiel is supposed to have been met by a native " seer," in a wild pass of the mountains, and forewarned of the "coming events," and the disasters in which his concession should involve his own and the neighbouring clans. This traditional interview with a person gifted with the faculty of •' second sight," has afforded a hint for CAMPBELL'S celebrated poem of " Lochiel and the Wizard" — a poem which, had he written nothing more, would have gone far to establish his claims as the " poetarum facile princeps" of his age and country. LOCIIABER. — THE PRINCE AND LOCHIEL. G9 to him the necessity of at least deferring, if he did not utterly abandon, his expedition ; for that, at present, he had neither men, money, nor arms at his command ; and until his adherents could meet and deliberate on the measures to be adopted, any public manifestation of his arrival would not only derange his plans, but ensure imminent danger to his person. This prudent counsel was lost upon the prince. His inexperience, enthusiasm, and extravagant notions of the nation's attachment to his cause, rendered him too confident of success to reflect with calmness on the slender means at his disposal ; and he was too impetuous in natural temperament to take a dispassionate survey of his actual position. His suspicions were roused, and his pride piqued, by the tone of moderation and diffidence in which Lochiel addressed him. " No," said he, " it would ill become Charles Stuart to temporize or retreat, when the voice of the nation has called upon him to assert his claims. I will not listen to counsel that would betray my claims and faithful adherents. I will erect the standard of my family on these very shores ; I will proclaim to the nation that the son of their king has arrived to vindicate his rights, to reinstate himself on the throne of his ancestors, or perish in the attempt. Then it will be seen whether the nation will respond to the call, and whether the 'exiled Stuart' has yet a place in the hearts of his people. Lochiel, the descendant of a race who have never shrunk back in the hour of danger — never adopted ' counsel' when they should have drawn the sword — Lochiel, the representative of ' Ewen Cameron,'* may withhold his assistance, and withdraw to his castle. There, in inglorious retire- ment, he may learn from the public bulletins who are in the front of the battle, and then, if he may, enjoy the satisfaction of having abandoned his prince." " Never !" exclaimed Lochiel, with impassioned voice and manner — " never ! If I cannot save my prince, I will share his fate ! and so shall every man over whom nature or fortune have given me command !" The die was cast ! Lochiel, under the dread of being impeached with cowardice, or disaffection to the cause, but with a strong conviction on his mind that it was hopeless, drew the sword, and by his example surrounded the prince's standard with those gallant chiefs and their adherents who had hitherto stood aloof, f The issue, as predicted, involved them in universal ruin. * Sir Ewen Cameron, of Lochiel^ was the last man in Scotland who maintained the royal cause during the great civil war. His constant incursions rendered him a very unpleasant neighbour to the republican garrison at Inverlochy. The governor of the fort detached a party of 300 men to lay waste Lochiel's pos- sessions, and cut down his trees; but in a sudden and desperate attack made upon them by this chieftain, with very inferior numbers, they were nearly all cut to pieces. The skirmish is detailed in a curious memoir of Sir Ewen's life, for which see the Appendix to " Pennant's Scottish Tour." f The clan Cameron, headed by Lochiel himself, and 300 men commanded by Mac Donald of Keppoch, VOL. II. T 70 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. The other chieftains who followed the prince embraced his cause with similar presentiments : of this we have an example in his interview with Clanronald " the dauntless." Charles, says Home, almost reduced to despair, in his discourse with Boisdale, addressed the two Highlanders with great emotion ; and summing up his arguments for taking arms, conjured them to assist their prince, their countryman, in his utmost need. Clanronald and his friend, who were well inclined to the cause, positively refused, and told him, that to take up arms without concert or support, was to pull down certain ruin upon their own heads. Charles persisted, argued, and implored. During this conversation they were on shipboard, walking backwards and forwards on deck, with a Highlander armed at all points, as was the fashion of the country, standing near them. He was a younger brother of Kinloch-Moidart, and had come off to the ship to inquire for news, without knowing who was on board. When he gathered from their discourse that the stranger was the prince of Wales — when he heard his chief and his brother refuse to take arms with their prince, his colour went and came — his eyes sparkled — he shifted his place, and grasped his sword. Charles observed his demeanour, and turning briskly to him, called out, " Will you assist me?" " I will, I will!" said Ronald; " though no other man in the Highlands should draw a sword, I am ready to die for you." Charles, with a profusion of thanks to his champion, said he wished all the Highlanders were like him. This incident closed the deliberations ; the two Macdonalds declared that they would also join, and use their utmost endeavours to engage their countrymen to take arms.* Lochiel had the good fortune to get safe to France, with the prince, and was there made colonel of a regiment, but did not enjoy his commission more than two years, when he died.f composed the majority of the little band who commenced this hazardous enterprise. Their standard, which was made "of white, blue, and red silk, and twice the size of a modern stand of colours, was unfurled hy the Marquess of Tullibardine, titular Duke of Athol." * In reference to this subject, it must never be forgotten that the Rebellion of 1745 was only a. partial insurrection of a few Highland chiefs, and their followers. Neither were those gentlemen the heads of the most powerful clans — nor did the whole of their respective tribes attend them to the field ; only nine parishes in the Highlands contributed a part of their inhabitants towards furnishing the rebel army. . . That the insur- gents met with little encouragement in Scotland, is evident. Their whole number amounted hardly to seven thousand, and of these about two thousand were English. It must not be supposed, -therefore, that near two millions of people who were innocent, were to be involved in the guilt of a few thousands. Such, how- ever, Dr. Johnson seems to have implied, when he states, " that the law which followed the victory of Culloden1, found the whole nation dejected and intimidated." The truth is, that, without the assistance of the loyal clans, the victory of Culloden had never been heard of. It was the division among the chiefs and their followers — " when Greek met Greek" — the unnatural conflict between members of the same family, that invested the duke of Cumberland with the ensigns of a triumph. — See U'Nicol's Notes. f Lochiel's brother, Dr. Cameron, who fought also at Culloden, was wounded severely in the arm, but HIGHLAND CHARACTER. LOCHABER. 71 " To his blue hills that rose in view, As o'er the deep his galley bore, He often looked and sighed adieu ! We'll never see Locliaber more !" The feelings of those exiles, who for years lingered in foreign lands with the vague expectation of being restored to their native mountains, are the subject of many sympathizing lays. The severe measures which were put in force by government for the suppression of the insurrection, compelled great numbers of the Highlanders to seek for refuge on the continent. Those who escaped to France,* were chiefly of the upper class, and were consoled for the loss of property and the ruin of their families, by escaping a tragical death on the scaffold, while, at the same time, they were protected, and in many instances pensioned, by the humane and liberal government of France. A sum was set apart for their subsistence, and thus les braves Ecossais were supplied with every means of support, and cheered by daily proofs of sympathy. The Dutch alone, on a demand of the British minister, consented to deliver up twenty of the unhappy emigrants. But of these one only was arrested ; the others escaped to countries of greater security.f It is worthy of record, that, during their exile, Cameron of Lochiel, Stewart of Ardsheal, and others, whose estates had been confiscated, were still supported by spontaneous contributions from their former tenantry, who, besides paying one rent to government, reserved another for their chiefs, whose misfortunes seemed only to add to the strength of their claims as landlords, and to the affectionate attachment due to them as the hereditary leaders of their race. Instances of this attachment are numerous, and reflect the highest honour on the warm-hearted and faithful Highlanders. When the earl of Seaforth was in similar circumstances, after his attainder in 1716, he experienced the same generous and disinterested fidelity. When the rents were collected for the purpose of being sent to him in France, four was reserved for a more melancholy fate. " I remember," says the late Dr. Spence, " while a sch