ENVIRONS OF EDINBURGH.

HAWTHORNDEN,*

The classical habitation of the poet Drummond, the friend of Shakspeare and Jonson, is now the property of Sir James Walker Drummond, Bart. "This romantic spot seems to have been formed by nature in one of her happiest moments. All the materials that compose the picturesque seem here combined in endless variety; stupendous rocks, rich and varied in colours, hanging in threatening aspect, crowned with trees that expose their bare branching roots; here the gentle birch hanging midway, and there the oak, bending its stubborn

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aka impede

Hawthornden will be open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, until farther notice.

May 1859.

the front of the building testifies that it was repaired by the poet in 1638. It is well known that Ben Jonson walked all the way from London, to visit Drummond, and lived several weeks with him at Hawthornden. Under the mansion are several subterraneous caves, hewn out of the solid rock with great labour, and connected with each other by long passages;

* DAYS OF ADMISSION.-Wednesdays and Fridays by tickets issued at the Lodge. The charge is 6d. each; children under 14, in charge of grown-up persons, being admitted free.

The easiest way of reaching Hawthornden is by the Peebles Railway. During summer, a coach leaves 4 Princes Street for Roslin in the morning, returning in the afternoon.

Hawthornden being open to strangers only on Wednesdays and Fridays, and Dalkeith Palace only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Wednesday is the only day upon which all the three places can be seen, and tourists will, therefore, endeavour to devote this day to the purpose.

ENVIRONS OF EDINBURGH.

HAWTHORNDEN,*

The classical habitation of the poet Drummond, the friend of Shakspeare and Jonson, is now the property of Sir James Walker Drummond, Bart. "This romantic spot seems to have been formed by nature in one of her happiest moments. All the materials that compose the picturesque seem here combined in endless variety; stupendous rocks, rich and varied in colours, hanging in threatening aspect, crowned with trees that expose their bare branching roots; here the gentle birch hanging midway, and there the oak, bending its stubborn branches, meeting each other; huge fragments of rocks impede the rapid flow of the stream that hurries brawling along unseen, but heard far beneath, mingling in the breeze that gently agitates the wood." Being built with some view to defence, the house rises from the very edge of the grey cliff, which descends sheer down to the stream. An inscription on the front of the building testifies that it was repaired by the poet in 1638. It is well known that Ben Jonson walked all the way from London, to visit Drummond, and lived several weeks with him at Hawthornden. Under the mansion are several subterraneous caves, hewn out of the solid rock with great labour, and connected with each other by long passages;

* DAYS OF ADMISSION.-Wednesdays and Fridays by tickets issued at the Lodge. The charge is 6d. each; children under 14, in charge of grown-up persons, being admitted free.

The easiest way of reaching Hawthornden is by the Peebles Railway. During summer, a coach leaves 4 Princes Street for Roslin in the morning, returning in the afternoon.

Hawthornden being open to strangers only on Wednesdays and Fridays, and Dalkeith Palace only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Wednesday is the only day upon which all the three places can be seen, and tourists will, therefore, endeavour to devote this day to the purpose.

in the court-yard there is a well of prodigious depth, which communicates with them. These caverns are supposed to have been constructed as places of refuge, when the public calamities rendered the ordinary habitations unsafe.

After leaving Hawthornden, we proceed to Roslin by the caves of Gorton, situated in the front of a high cliff on the southern side of the stream. These caverns, during the reign of David II., while Scotland was overrun by the English,

afforded shelter to the gallant Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalwolsey, with a band of chosen patriots.

Passing through scenery of great natural beauty, the footpath up the river conducts the tourist to

ROSLIN,

another interesting scene, visited more frequently than any other by the inhabitants of Edinburgh. It is situated about seven miles from the city, on the banks of the North Esk river.

The vale of Roslin is a quiet sequestered dell abounding with all the romantic varieties of cliff, copsewood, and waterfall. Its beautiful Gothic Chapel is one of the most entire and exquisitely decorated specimens of ecclesiastical architecture in Scotland. It was founded in 1446 by William St. Clair, Earl of Orkney, and Lord of Roslin. At the Revolution of 1688, part of it was defaced by a mob from Edinburgh, but it was repaired in the following century by General St. Clair. The late Earl of Roslyn, some years ago, undertook the restoration of its more dilapidated parts, and the present Earl still con