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CHAP. XXVIII.

LINES TO THE CALEDONIAN HARP-LOCH TAY-HOUSE OF TAY

MOUTH
PARK

MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS

DUKE OF ATHOL'S

DUNKELD - ATHOL BROZE-ANECDOTE-A WEE BIT OVER THE BRAE-DOUNE THE LORD'S ANOINTED-GLASGOW - ARGYLE-STREET

TONTINE COFFEE-HOUSE

TOLBOOTH · INFIRMARY CATHEDRAL-COLLEGE-ANDERSONIAN INSTITUTION

NELSON'S MONUMENT-STEAM-THEATRE-CIRCUIT COURT- REMARKS ON COTTON-MILLS - CLYDE AND WATERFALLS RUGBY SCHOOL.

As I rode along, thinking of M'Nab and his piper, the following lines occurred to my mind, which I afterwards retouched at Killin :—

LINES

ON THE CALEDONIAN HARP.

In days that long have glided by,
Beneath keen Scotia's weeping sky,
On many a hill of purple heath,
In many a gloomy glen beneath,
The wandering lyrist once was known
To pour his harp's entrancing tone.
Then, when the castle's rocky form
Rose mid the dark surrounding storm,
The harper had a sacred seat,

Whence he might breathe his wild notes sweet.

The pen

1

LOCH TAY.

Oh! then, when many a twinkling star
Shone in the azure vault afar,

And mute was ev'ry mountain bird,
Soft music from the harp was heard;
And when the morning's blushes shed
On hill, on tow'r, their varying red,
Oh! then the harp was heard to cheer
With earliest sound th' enraptur'd ear.
There many a lady fair was known,
With snowy hand, to wake its tone;
And infant fingers press'd the string,
And back recoil'd to hear it sing.
Sweet instrument! such was thy pow'r-
"Twas thine to gladden ev'ry hour;
The young and old then honour'd thee,
And smil'd to hear thy melody.

Alas! as Time has turn'd to dust

Th' embattled tower, the beauteous bust,
Thou too hast mark'd his frowning brow-
No Highland echo knows thee now:
A savage has usurp'd thy place,
Once fill'd by thee with ev'ry grace-
Th' inflated pipe, with swinish drone,
Calls forth applauses once thine own!

517

and the pencil would fail in giving any adequate idea of Loch Tay-a superb expanse of water, fifteen miles long, and from one to two broad. Neat farms and country residences everywhere enliven the eye. The road winds through plantations of young beech and oak, beneath the arches of whose branches the lake is seen in a thousand points of varying beauty; a prodigal luxuriance diffuses itself over the fields which line its verdant margin, and

518

HOUSE OF TAYMOUTHI.

high up the sides of the majestic mountains, which, whitened by many a waterfall, are reflected in its mirror; whilst a small island, thickly covered with trees, and supporting the ruins of a priory, the picturesque church-tower, bridge, and village of Kenmore, embellish its beautiful termination. In this island the remains of the Queen of Alexander the First of Scotland are said to be interred. The inn at Kenmore wanted only a bellows to render it very convenient; the servant told me there were none in the house, as she puffed my fire with her own healthy lungs. The lake abounds with salmon, pike, perch, eels, char, and trout. Lord Breadalbane has vast property in this part of Scotland, and an immense extent of pleasureground. About two miles from Kenmore, towards Killin, I visited the hermitage belonging to his Lordship, through the rustic window of which is seen a beautiful waterfall, two hundred and seventy feet in extent of visible descent. His Lordship is building a new house upon the site of the ancient house of Taymouth: that which is erecting appeared to be designed almost precisely from Inverary-castle, and also to be built with the lapis ollaris: the wings of the ancient mansion were standing. Hills thickly covered with stately trees rise before and behind it. As I advanced in my way to Dunkeld, upon leaving Taymouth-castle, I passed by a small druidical temple, and near Aberfeldie saw the Fall of Moness, which I think one of the finest

DUKE OF ATHOL'S.

519

I ever beheld. The road to Dunkeld, occasionally extended along the banks of the Tay, was a continuation of beautiful and picturesque objects.

The evening was far advanced when I reached the ferry below Dunkeld. The scenery was very beautiful and picturesque, and the Tay runs with a deep and rapid current, after winding from a south-western to a north-eastern direction by a noble meander above. Arrived on the other side, I passed under a brick archway, which connects one part of the Duke of Athol's grounds with another; and after a ride through a noble avenue of elms and other stately trees, and another arch, and by the remains of the cathedral, occupying a large space towards the north-east end of the street, I reached the inn, which was so crowded, that it was solely owing to the courtesy of two gentlemen who were visiting the Highlands that I could obtain admission to a room. I did not then know that there was an excellent inn, affording every comfort and accommodation, on the other side, within two or three hundred yards of the ferry, but out of the road which I came.

In the morning I visited the cathedral, which is a noble Gothic pile, and throws over the town the interesting appearance of antiquity. The choir still remains, and is used for worship. The chancel is now the burial-ground.; and

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the whole building, standing between the grounds of the
Duke of Athol and the town, forms a continuation of the
Duke's park-wall. Upon one of the tomb-stones I read,
"Here lie Roy Macdonald, and Eliza Fleming, his wife."
Amongst the lower people, the wife continues her maiden
name; and if a widow, and several times married, she may,
if she likes it, select the name of the husband she liked
best.

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Dunkeld was long a Bishop's see; and amongst those who
did honour, by their piety and learning, to the Catholic re-
ligion, during its establishment in Scotland, the tourist,
with peculiar pleasure, recurs to the well-known history of::
Gavin Douglas, once Bishop of this see. This illustrious
Prelate was one of the ancestors of Lord Glenbervie. He
was of a noble family, and was born in 1474: he excelled
in theology and poetry.

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The ruins of this cathedral form a picturesque object to
the Duke's house, which is very plain, and badly situated.
I was informed that it is in contemplation to remove it for
one upon a magnificent scale. The park and grounds, which
are very extensive, are richly adorned with trees of stately
and graceful growth, by hill and dale, and lofty craggy
rocks, majestically rising, thinly shaded with young firs.
Along the river, and sometimes diverging from it, the most

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