Teith, surrounded by hills and woods, with the distant view of a monument erected to the memory of one of the family.

At the village of Doune we stopped an hour, and visited the ruins of the Castle, standing on an eminence at the junction of the Teith and Ardoch, which flow close under the walls. The situation of the ancient fortress is one of the most pleasant I have seen, commanding from the grassgrown ramparts and crumbling tower a wide prospect of both streams, as well as of the little village with a Gothic church rising in the midst. It was once a place of great strength, the walls being ten feet thick, strongly cemented. Home, author of the tragedy of Douglas, a royal volunteer in the Rebellion of 1745, was taken a prisoner by M'Gregor of Glengyle, and confined in its dungeon. Here also

Queen Mary had a hunting-lodge and a suite of apartments, over which a talkative female conducted us. The Castle at present belongs to the Earl of Moray, who lives in the vicinity, and derives from it one of his titles.

Not far from this, we had a glimpse of Blair Drummond, formerly the seat of Lord Kames, author of Elements of Criticism. It was a subject of regret, that no opportunity presented of examining the residence of a writer, whose excellent work had afforded me so much instruction and pleasure. Some of the principles of his taste are said to have been exemplified in the embellishments of his rural situation, which now belongs to Henry Home Drummond, member of Parliament.

Curiosity induced us to ride two miles out of our way, for the purpose of visiting Dunblane, which stands upon the river Allan, a branch of the Forth. It is a populous, but dirty place, with nothing interesting about it, except the ruins of the large Cathedral, situated upon the high and woody banks of the stream murmuring by, and furnishing a pretty promenade in summer. The tenants of the churchyard appear to out-number the present residents of the town. Before the reformation, Dunblane was the seat of ecclesiastical power, and a place of much more importance than it now is. As "the lofty Ben-Lomond" was veiled in clouds, and no traces of "the charming young Jessy" could be found, our stay was limited to half an hour. The garrulous old sexton informed us, that the popular song alluded to, was founded in fact.

Re-crossing the Allan, we pursued our journey with all

convenient despatch. Soon after passing Craig Forth, a high and romantic hill on the bank of the river, a distant view of Stirling Castle was obtained, and it continued in sight till our arrival in the town. Its resemblance to that of Edinburgh struck us instantly. The similarity is increased by the general character of the scenery, but especially_by Abbey Crag, which is very like that of Salisbury. The town also is built in much the same manner as the old part of Edinburgh, being situated on a declivity sloping from the Castle at the western end, towards the Forth. It has, however, a less magnificent appearance, as the houses are not so lofty and more scattered, large hanging gardens often intervening between the blocks..

The

The weather was too inclement to permit us to see much of the place on the afternoon of our arrival. Early the next morning, we visited the Castle, which is elevated two hundred and fifty feet above the beautiful plain spreading at its base. The prospect from the parapet is one of the richest in Scotland. Arthur's Seat was recognized as an old acquaintance towards the south-east. In a clear atmosphere the Castle of Edinburgh may be distinctly seen. Forth is traced for many miles east and west of the town, winding in silver mazes through a broad, fertile, and verdant meadow, highly cultivated, and ornamented occasionally with copses of trees. It pursues a very circuitous route, and is here a large and majestic river. On one of the peninsulas just below the town, stand the ruins of CambusKenneth Abbey, once a place of importance, but now merely serving to give variety to the scenery. Dumiat and other ranges of the Ochils rise to the north; and Craig Forth swells from the bosom of the charming vale extending towards the west. In this direction the distant tops of BenLedi and Ben-Lomond may be seen.

The castle commands a view of many fields, which were once drenched with blood, and are celebrated in Scottish story. To the north-west is Sheriff-Muir on which a bloody action took place in the rebellion of 1715. To the southeast is Falkirk, where Edward I. of England defeated the Scots, and where Wallace induced Bruce to join his countrymen, by a conference held across an intervening stream. Towards the south, and only two miles distant, the field of Bannockburn, the celebrated arena on which the liberties of Scotland were achieved, is in full view; and on the banks

of the Forth, close under the walls of the Castle, Wallace fought a great battle with the English, in which he was victorious and established his fame. The reason why so many decisive engagements occurred in this vicinity is found in the fact, that Stirling was once the seat of regal power, and the Castle was reckoned the key to the country. In all wars, civil as well as foreign, its possession was obstinately disputed.

The town lays claim to an antiquity, "whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary." It has at present a population of about 7000, engaged in manufactures, and a trade carried on down the Forth, which is navigable for small vessels. There are seven churches, a handsome Athenæum, and a large number of charitable institutions. Many new houses are going up in the western end of the town, although generally speaking it appears to be on the decline, having lost much of its relative importance by the growth of Edinburgh and other places.

At 11 o'clock seats were engaged in the Glasgow coach; and we walked on two or three miles to examine the field of Bannockburn. Though the day was fine, the muddiness of the road almost made us repent of our curiosity. The route led through St. Ninian, a large village, where the church, since rebuilt, was blown up in the wars of Cromwell. Here an old man who spoke broad Scotch, and whose memory carried him back through a lapse of sixty years, was taken as a guide to conduct us over the far-famed field.

The whole ground for the distance of a mile after leaving St. Ninian is consecrated by the incidents of the celebrated battle; but the principal scenes of Scottish chivalry is a mile south of the village. By the side of a by-path leading over a gentle eminence, a rock is shown with a hole or socket six inches deep, in which it is said the staff of Bruce's banner was planted. The tradition is by no means improbable, since the position commands a view of the whole field; it would therefore be a very proper rallying point. On this height Bruce's army amounting to about 30,000, was formed. The English troops, varying according to different accounts from 100,000 to 300,000, and commanded in person by Edward II. occupied the base of a declivity, distant perhaps two hundred yards. Between the positions spreads a little sheet of water or pool, with low marshy borders, out of which issues a burn, giving name to the field. In this fen,

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deep pits had been dug by the Scots, and covered with grass. The English cavalry, rushing heedlessly forward, plunged in and thousands of them perished.

This great national battle was fought on the 24th June, 1314. Its event is well known. The turning points were the above mentioned stratagem, and the descent from a neighbouring hill of a multitude of women in odd costumes, and with hideous yells, leading the English army to believe, that the Scots had a large reinforcement. After the lapse of so many centuries, it will readily be supposed that not many memorials of the terrible conflict remain. All except what the historian has recorded, is lost in a faint twilight of tradition. A spot was pointed out to us, shaded by a circular copse of elms, where it is said thirteen English earls were interred; as also the precise place where Edward stood, and the route he pursued after having been driven from the field. Gold rings, helmets, spears, aud other relics are reported to have been found on the borders of the morass. But the traveller is at liberty to believe just as much of these stories as he chooses. The old guide, drawing a very natural inference from the collision of such forces, informed us that "the burn ran blude on that day." The muse of Burns has imparted scarcely less celebrity and glory to the field, than the sword of Bruce. It is said he composed his popular song, while riding with a friend through a solitary forest, in the midst of a violent thunder-storm. I do not recollect his letters to Thompson on the subject, except that he peremptorily refused to strike out the epithet "gory," contending it was worth all the rest of the poem.

We had time for a complete survey of the field, and to make a full memorandum of its features before the arrival of the coach, which here took us up, and after carrying us nine miles through a pleasant, well cultivated district, sprinkled with villages, and watered by the Carron, set us down at Castle Cary, a cluster of houses on the bank of the Junction Canal. A hour spent in waiting for the arrival of the packetboat, afforded us an opportunity of examining the construction of the canal and of the four locks at this point. average width of the channel at top is fifty feet, and the depth nine feet. Small vessels pass through from the Clyde to the Forth. At Falkirk the Union Canal from Edinburgh meets the Junction Canal, connecting the two great cities, as well as the two principal friths of Scotland, by artificial

The

navigation. The distance from Edinburgh to Glasgow by this route is sixty-one miles, and on both canals there are twenty locks of the ordinary lift and construction. A supply

of water on the summit level is obtained from an artificial reservoir of eighty acres.

At 4 in the afternoon the packet arrived, and we embarked among the hundred passengers already on board of a boat nine feet wide, and of the ordinary length, drawn by three horses at the rate of four miles the hour. The after cabin is well finished, and furnished. with a small library, maps, and newspapers. This apartment is comfortable. Adjoining is a room appropriated to eating and drinking. It was erowded to overflowing with whiskey-drinkers, who swallowed mutchkin after mutchkin, which is a small measure answering nearly to the English gill. Among the crowd of topers was one blooming lassie, whose countenance manifested an anxiety to restrain the indulgence of the gentleman who accompanied her. In the forward cabin was another multitude huddled promiscuously together, and in an adjoining room a party of Highlanders, by themselves, circulating the cup and jabbering Gaelic. There is a degree of coldness between the inhabitants of the two great districts of Scotland, and they are not fond of mingling together. On board of all the packet boats in Europe, there are two kinds of passengers, who pay different prices, answering to the cabin and steerage in ships. The fare for a passage forward is but about half as much as for one in the after cabin, and the multitude never pass the line of separation.

In the sixteen miles of artificial navigation which we traversed, there is very little either in the work itself or on its borders deserving of particular notice. The town of Kilsyth is prettily situated at a little distance from the northern bank; and on either side are collieries, with rail-roads, which supply a portion of the trade on the canal. But although this would seem to be the principal commercial channel across the country, it does not exhibit one tenth part of the business and active bustle, which are observed at any point on the Erie Canal. The freight-boats are clumsy and awkwardly managed in comparison with those of the United States.

At 8 o'clock in the evening we reached Port Dundas, and walked thence about a mile through the rain, mud, and darkness, to Argyle-street in Glasgow, where excellent accom