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A SCOTTISH TOILETTE.

241

As I

line of natural defence which the Grampians, the Ochills, and the Pentland-hills present; and the latter will, with a sigh, wander over the remaining impressions of Roman encampments, and military stations, through the extent of Strathmore, and the Wall of Agricola, between the Forth and the Clyde. In Bannockburn, Cambuskenneth, and Pinkie, he will trace the shores of the Forth; he will reflect upon the vicissitudes of the wars which here so long raged between the Scottish and the English nation; whilst the Hill of Largo, in Fife, rises as a monument of the Danish invasion. was roving towards the inn, at the foot of the rock on which the Castle stands, my attention was attracted to a pretty lassie at her toilette. My fashionable country women will wonder to hear how simple it was; she was seated by the side of a burn, that is, a rivulet, snooding her hair; which done, she put on her shoes and stockings, and went into the town. The windings of the Forth present a very extraordinary appearance, resembling the folds of a vast serpent, or rather a watery labyrinth. These meanders are SO numerous, that although, by land, the distance to Alloa is only eight miles, and in a direct line not quite six miles, it is no less than twenty-four by water. I must confess I am not amongst the admirers of the Forth at this place. Its windings impart to the surrounding scenery through which it flows a cold, marshy, and agueish appearance.

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TIDES OF THE FORTH.

The tides of this river exhibit an extraordinary phenomenon, which I believe does not occur in any other. For several miles above and below Clackmannan, in the shire of that name, invariably, during the recess tides, if the weather is favourable, and sometimes also during the spring tides, if the weather is unusally fine, after the water has flowed for three hours, it runs back for an hour and a half, nearly as far as when it began to flow, upon which it returns immediately, and flows during another hour and a half, as high as before; and this change takes place both in the flood and ebb tides, so that this river has double the number of tides of any other. The sailors call it a leaky tide. No one has attempted to account for it..

The Carse of Stirling is generally considered to be a leveľ ground, and it is thought that the waters of the Forth are flowed over it; in corroboration of its appearance, some years since a complete boat was found near Falkirk, five fathoms deep in clay, and anchors have been dug up between Stirling and Alloa. The great church of Stirling is an ancient cathedral of Gothic architecture, erected by James V. in 1494, but long since denuded of its ornaments. When General Monk besieged the castle in 1651, he raised his batteries in the church-yard, and the steeple and roof of the church still exhibit the marks of bullets, discharged from the garrison. The neighbourhood abounds with beautiful

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walks, and the remains of many a venerable and holy pile.

The Tolbooth is an old and defective prison, and the new one then building appeared to me to be insecure in its construction, and objectionable in its design. In the old prison, to the credit of the county, there were only two smugglers, and a few debtors. In this place I was shewn a small vessel, called the Jug, which is the legal standard of dry measure in Scotland; the firlot, for barley, malt, and oats, ought to contain thirty-one times the cubical contents of this jug. I cannot help here lamenting the deplorable situation of two miserable maniacs, whom I presume, for want of other accommodation, I found immured in two gloomy damp caves, the gates of which opened towards the street, and, from the appearance of the earth before them, looked as if they had not been opened for a long time, the windows on the other side being used to introduce their food. One of these unfortunate wretches was frequently raving, and had, according to the report of the gaoler, been confined nearly for six years, during the winters of which he had been kept warm only by the fever that raged within his frame; for during that period, by being permitted to use his hands when the madness raged upon him, he scarcely ever kept any clothes on his body. The other instance was more shocking, because, with medical care and tender treatment, the chances were highly in favour of recovery.

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WHIMSICAL CALCULATION.

This unhappy being had been committed for setting a stack of hay on fire, was found to be insane at times, and had for two years been shut up in this horrible dungeon. These things are entitled to serious investigation. In mitigation of these unfortunate cases, Stirling is well known to contain within its walls many most humane and opulent institutions, of various descriptions, for the relief of the destitute and miserable. A whimsical instance of primitive calculation is recorded to have taken place in this town. When the knowledge of writing and arithmetic was in its infancy in Scotland, the old treasurer of the town of Stirling used to keep his accounts by the assistance of an old pair of boots, which were suspended on each side of his chimney. In one of them he deposited all the money he received, and in the other the receipts or vouchers for the sums which he had paid, and balanced his accounts at the end of the year by throwing out the contents of his boots, and comparing the one with the other. Here are all sorts of sectaries; Churchmen, Papists, Highflyers, Glassites, Cameronians, Whitfieldites, Glassites Episcopalian, Independents, Unitarians, Arminians, Burghers, Antiburghers, Calvinists, Haldanites, Socinians, Universal Redemptionists, &c.; and a follower of the Church of England is a little surprised, upon his first visit in Scotland, to find that he professes a religion which is only tolerated.

Considerable tartan manufactures for the Highlanders were

MANUFACTURES.

245 once carried on in Stirling to a great extent, but they are now much reduced. There are several carpet-manufactories in a very flourishing state, and weaving is carried on to a considerable extent; there is also a very productive salmon-fishery on the Forth. There is a capital inn here. Stirling has given birth to some distinguished literary men, viz. Dr. Robert Pollock, an eminent writer, and the First Principal of the University of Edinburgh: Dr. Henry, author of the History of Great Britain and Dr. Moore, author of a View of Society and Manners in Italy, Zeluco, &c. and father of the gallant General Sir John Moore. The Grammar-school of Stirling has been long celebrated; and many persons, who have afterwards raised themselves to notice in the world, have received their education in it.

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