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After leaving Fordoun Station, on the left is Monboddo, the seat of the late Lord Monboddo, and on the right the house of Keir. A little beyond, the line is carried across the water of Bervie at Mondynes, a short way above which is the mansionhouse and parish church of Glenbervie; but these are not seen from the railway. The line shortly reaches Drumlithie Station (664 miles). The village of Drumlithie is chiefly inhabited by weavers. On the left of the station is a handsome Free Church and manse. The line is now carried along an extensive viaduct, and turns northwards. On the right, at a considerable distance, may be seen the ancient castle of Fiddes. On emerging from an immense cutting through the solid rock, the line enters the valley of the Carron Water, with the woods of Dunnottar and Carmount Hill on the right, and the lands of Fetteresso on the left. We then cross the Carron near Aquherie, and enter the woods of Fetteresso. On the left is Fetteresso Castle, the ancient residence of the Earls Marischal, situated on the north bank of the Carron, and surrounded with extensive policies. A short way further on, the line again crosses the Carron by a very extensive viaduct, from which a fine view is obtained of the house and extensive enclosures of Ury, the seat of Captain Barclay Allardice. In the valley on the right is the Kirktown and ruins of the old parish church of Fetteresso. On the right, surrounded with trees, is the parish church of Dunnottar, in the churchyard of which there is a grave-stone in memory of certain Covenanters killed in endeavouring to escape from the "Whigs' vault" in Dunnottar Castle. Beyond this is also seen the modern house of Dunnottar. Stonehaven (73 miles).—[Inn: Finlay's Railway. Population, 3240.] The town of Stonehaven has a safe and commodious harbour. To the north of the station stands the parish church of Fetteresso.

Dunnottar Castle, the seat of the ancient family of the Keiths, Earls Marischal, is a short way to the right of the church. The area of the castle measures about three acres, and the rock bears a considerable resemblance to that on which Edinburgh Castle is built. It is divided from the land by a deep chasm, and the only approach is by a steep path winding round the body of the rock. Dunnottar was built by Sir William Keith, then Great Marischal of Scotland, during the wars between England and Scotland in the reign of Edward I. In 1296 it was taken from the English by Sir William Wallace. Edward III. refortified it in his progress through the kingdom in 1336, but as soon as he quitted the kingdom it was again captured by Sir Andrew Murray, Regent of Scotland. During the time of the Commonwealth it was selected as the strongest place in the kingdom for the preservation of the Regalia. The garrison, under the command of Ogilvy of Barras, made a vigorous resistance to the English army, but were at length compelled to surrender by famine. Previously to this, however, the

regalia had been secretly conveyed away, and buried beneath the pulpit of the church of Kineff, by Mrs. Granger, the wife of the minister of that parish. At the Restoration, all the persons connected with this affair were amply rewarded. Ogilvy was made a baronet; the brother of the Earl Marischal was created Earl of Kintore; and Mrs. Granger was rewarded with a sum of money. During the reign of Charles II. Dunnottar was used as a state prison for confining the Covenanters. The prisoners were, without distinction, packed into a large dungeon, having a window open to the sea, in front of a huge precipice. They were neither allowed bedding nor provisions, excepting what they bought, and were treated by their keepers with the utmost rigour. The walls of this place, still called the Whigs' Vault, bear token to the severities inflicted on those unhappy persons. There are, in particular, a number of apertures cut in the wall, about a man's height, and it was the custom, when such was the jailor's pleasure, that any prisoner who was accounted refractory should be obliged to stand up with his arms extended, and his fingers secured by wedges in the crevices described. It appears that some of these apertures or crevices, which are lower than the others, have been intended for women, and even for children. In this cruel confinement many died, some were deprived of the use of their limbs by rheumatism and other diseases, and several lost their lives by desperate attempts to descend from the rock on which the castle is founded. Some who actually escaped, by descending the precipice, were retaken, and so cruelly tortured for the attempt, by lighted matches tied between their fingers, that several were mutilated, and others died of the inflammation which ensued. It was dismantled soon after the Rebellion of 1715, on the attainder of its proprietor, James, Earl Marischal. "The battlements, with their narrow embrasures, the strong towers and airy turrets, full of loopholes for the archer and musketeer; the hall for the banquet and the cell for the captive, are all alike entire and distinct. Even the iron rings and bolts that held the culprits for security or torture still remain to attest the different order of things which once prevailed in this country. Many a sigh has been sent from the profound bosom of this vast rock-many a despairing glance has wandered hence over the boundless wave- and many a weary heart has there sunk rejoicing into eternal sleep."

Leaving Stonehaven Station, the line is carried across the water of Cowie, below Ury, by a viaduct of great length and height. In the valley is Glenury distillery. The line then passes the house of Cowie, and near the ruins of the church of Cowie approaches the bold sea-cliffs, along which it passes onwards to Aberdeen. The country from Stonehaven to Aberdeen is remarkably bleak and sterile, presenting, for the most part, barren eminences and cold swampy moorlands. The bold line of coast is

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the principal object of interest. The stations from Stonehaven to Aberdeen are Muchall's (77 miles), Newtonhill (78 miles), Portlethen (81 miles), and Cove (84 miles). The_line_passes successively the fishing villages of Skaterow, Portlethen, Findon, or Finnan, and Cove. From the village Finnan the celebrated dried haddocks derive their name. After leaving Cove Station, and proceeding for a short distance along the shore, the line sweeps round from Girdleness (the eastern termination of the great chain of the Grampians), and crossing the River Dee by means of an extensive viaduct, reaches Aberdeen (described page 227).

EDINBURGH TO ABERDEEN, BY STEAMER.

The steamers sail in the morning from Granton Pier on the arrival of the trains and coaches from Edinburgh. They do not touch at any of the intervening towns between Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The time occupied is from eight to nine hours, according to the weather. By railway, Aberdeen should be reached from Edinburgh in six hours and twenty minutes; but it is often seven, and sometimes eight hours.

AFTER leaving Granton, the first object of interest is the island of Inchkeith, which received its name from the ancient family of Keith, to whom it formerly belonged. It was fortified by the English in the reign of Edward VI., but the fortifications were afterwards demolished by order of the Scottish Parliament. During the regency of Mary of Guise, it was occupied by the French, who designated it L'Isle des Chevaux, because the grass which it produced formed a nutritious food for horses. Inchkeith possesses several fine springs of water, which, from the circumstance of their occurring at an elevated level above the sea and being never dry, it is presumed must obtain their supply by a submarine passage from the high hills of Fife. The lighthouse on this island is a work of great neatness, and the machinery by which the lights revolve is very interesting. From the middle of the firth, a fine view is obtained of the city of Edinburgh, with the harbours of Leith, Newhaven, and Granton, and the coast of Fife, thickly studded with towns. In allusion to this striking characteristic of Fife, King James VI. is said to have likened it to " grey cloth mantle with a golden fringe." A little to the west is BURNTISLAND-Inn: Forth.] A little further east is Pettycur point, supposed to have derived its name (petit corps) from the landing of a small body of French troops during the regency of Mary of Guise. Close to it is Kinghorn, which gives the title of Earl to the Earls of Strathmore. About half a mile west of the town is a precipice called the King's Woodend, where Alexander III. was thrown from his horse and killed, 19th March 1285-6. Below Kinghorn is a square tower, the remains of Seafield Castle.

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Kirkcaldy [Inns: George; National] is a short way further on. Population, 15,568. Its streets are extremely irregular, narrow, crooked, ill-paved, and dirty. Dr. Adam Smith, author of the "Wealth of Nations," was a native of this town. Balwearie, in the neighbourhood, was the birth-place of Sir Michael Scott, the famous wizard immortalized in the Lay of the Last Minstrel. The ruins of the old tower of Balwearie are still to be seen. On a rising ground behind Kirkcaldy is Raith House, the handsome seat of Colonel Ferguson. The situation is commanding, and the pleasure-grounds are extensive and very beautiful. At a short distance is Dunnikier House, the seat of Oswald, Esq. To the east of Kirkcaldy is Ravenscraig Castle, the property of the Earl of Rosslyn, situated upon a rock overhanging the sea. It has been in the possession of the St. Clair family since the reign of James III., and was entire and habitable till the time of Cromwell. About half a mile further on is Dysart House, a seat of the Earl of Rosslyn, and close to it is the town of Dysart, a royal burgh of great antiquity, and two or three centuries ago a place of considerable trade. Two miles further on is West Wemyss, a burgh of barony, containing about 600 inhabitants, a dingy, dirty, ruinous looking place. The steamer now passes Wemyss House, the seat of Admiral Wemyss, Lord-Lieutenant of Fife, situated on a steep rock overhanging the sea. In Wemyss Castle, now a ruin, Darnley was first introduced to Queen Mary. Further on is Easter We emyss, a burgh of barony, principally occupied by weavers. Wemyss derives its name from the number of caves on this part of the coast-Weem or Wemyss being the Gaelic word for a cave. One of these, called the King's Cave, received its designation from an adventure related of James IV. Travelling through Fife on foot and incognito, that monarch happened to be benighted, and was obliged to enter a cave for shelter. He found it already occupied by a band of robbers, but having gone too far to retreat, he was under the necessity of joining the company. After some time, supper having been served up, two of the gang approached him with a plate on which lay two daggers-a signal that he was to be put to death. He instantly snatched a weapon in each hand, laid the two robbers prostrate at his feet, and rushed through the rest toward the mouth of the cave. Having fortunately succeeded in making his escape, he returned next day with a sufficient force, and captured the whole band. A short way further east are the ruins of Macduff's castle, said to have been built by Macduff, created Thane of Fife about the year 1057. A mile further down is Buckhaven, a curious antique fishing village, inhabited by a most extraordinary race, supposed to be the descendants of the crew of a vessel from the Netherlands, which was wrecked near this place in the reign of Philip II. They were severely ridiculed more than a century ago in a celebrated satirical pamphlet called

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the "History of the College of Buckhaven, or the Sayings of Wise Willie and Witty Eppie," well known to the book-stall collectors of pamphlets and broadsides. Buckhaven is, however, a place of considerable wealth. A mile further on is the small village of Methill, and, at the distance of another mile, the village of Leven, situated at the mouth of the river of the same name, which issues from Loch Leven. Though it has a course of only twelve miles, it receives an immense number of tributary streams. Leven contains about 1200 inhabitants, who are principally engaged in weaving linen. A short way in the interior is Durie House (C. M. Christie, Esq.) The steamer is now in Largo Bay, familiar to every Scotsman from the allusion made to it in the fine old song, Weel may the boatie row." In the centre of the bay is the village of Lower Largo, the birth-place of Alexander Selkirk, whose singular adventures form the groundwork of Defoe's charming novel of "Robinson Crusoe." The chest and cup which he used on the uninhabited island are still in possession of his family, and the gun with which he killed his game, now belongs to Major Lumsden of Latthallan. Upper Largo was the birth-place of Sir Andrew Wood, the celebrated Scottish Admiral, who received the barony of Largo from James IV. as a reward for his services at sea against the English. Largo also gave birth to Sir John Leslie, the celebrated philosopher. Near Upper Largo, in the midst of a beautiful park, and surrounded by trees, stands Largo House, the seat of Sir P. H. C. Durham. To the north of the village, the fine hill called Largo Law rises to the height of 1000 feet above the level of the sea. A short way to the west of Largo, in the midst of a park, are three straight sharp stones, several yards high, called "the Standing Stanes o' Lundie," supposed to be of Roman origin. Four miles east from Largo is ELIE-[Inn: Ship.] Elie House, the seat of Sir W. C. Anstruther, stands close to the town. Two miles further on is St. Monance, noted for its curious little old Gothic church. The ruins of Newark Castle, the seat of the famous General Leslie, stand on a bold part of the shore, about a mile to the west of the village. A mile to the east is the ancient royal burgh of Pittenweem. Here are the ruins of some curious antique religious buildings. Pittenweem contains the house in which Wilson and Robertson committed the robbery upon the collector of excise, which led to the famous Porteous Mob. A mile from Pittenweem, there are two or three towns placed together in a cluster. The first of these is ANSTRUTHER[Inns: - Commercial.] Population, 1526. Anstruther was the residence of the renowned Maggie Lauder," commemorated in the popular song of that name, and Anster Fair" has been made the subject of an amusing poem by Mr. Tennant, late Professor of Oriental Languages in the University of St. Andrews.

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