Stirling, or Strivelin, and its storied environs have furnished Mr.
Burford with a new Panorama, of more than usual interest in its details.
The town is fraught with historical association, and the surrounding
country is of picturesque and poetical character. A Scottish poet
describes its attractions in these enthusiastic lines:
O! grander far than Windsor's brow!
And sweeter to the vale below!
Whar Forth's unrivalled windings flow
Through varied grain,
Brightening, I ween wi' glittering glow,
Strevlina's plain!
There, raptured trace, (enthroned on hie)
The landscape stretching on the ee,
Frae Grampian hills down to the sea--
A dazzling view--
Corn, meadow, mansion, water, tree,
In varying hue.
There, seated, mark, wi' ardour keen,
The Skellock bright 'mang corn sae green,
The purple pea, and speckled bean,
A fragrant store--
And vessels sailing, morn and een,
To Stirling's shore.
And Shaw park, gilt wi' e'ening's ray:
And Embro castle, distant grey;
Wi' Alva screened near Aichil brae,
'Mang grove and bower!
And rich Clackmannan rising gay
Wi' woods and tower.
_Hector Macneill._
Stirling is seated on the river Forth, upon a precipitous basaltic
rock, about one hundred feet from the level of the plain. Upon the rock
stands the Castle, from the outer court of which the present Panorama
was sketched. The town, in external appearance, bears a miniature
resemblance to Edinburgh, being situate like the old town of that
city, on the sloping ridge of a rock, running from east to west, the
precipitous end of which is occupied by the Castle. But, of the town
itself, little is seen in the Panorama. The view, as we have stated, is
from the Castle, and is generally allowed to be one of the finest in
Scotland. Its scenery has many sublime and picturesque features, and
has moreover been the site of some of the most stirring incidents in
Scottish history; no less than twelve fields of battle, including three
important ones fought by the first and second Edwards, being distinctly
visible. Beginning with the Castle, we find, from its situation
commanding the passes and fords between the north and south of Scotland,
it was in early times styled the Key, as Dumbarton was the Lock, to the
Highlands. Its first fortification is referred to the time of Agricola;
the Picts had a strong fortress here, which was totally destroyed in the
ninth century by the Scots, under Kenneth II. Stirling formed part of
the ransom of his brother and successor, who had been taken prisoner by
the Northumbrians; they rebuilt the Castle, but subsequently restored
the place to the Scots. In the twelfth century, it was considered one of
the strongest forts in Scotland. It was often visited by the Scottish
monarchs, but it did not become a royal residence until the accession of
the Stuarts. Here was born James II., and in an apartment now forming
part of the deputy-governor's lodging, this king perpetrated the murder
of Earl Douglas. James III. made it his chief residence, erected the
parliament-house, and a richly-endowed chapel, since destroyed. James V.
was crowned here, and erected the palace. Mary was crowned here, as
was James VI. when thirteenth months old; he was educated here by the
celebrated Buchanan. During the regency of Mary of Lorraine, a strong
battery was erected here; and in the reign of Queen Anne, the
fortifications were strengthened and enlarged. In 1806, the rocky ground
in front was converted into an esplanade; since which the towers have
been repaired and castellated, it being one of the Scottish forts,
which, by the articles of the Union, are always to be kept in repair.
It mounts about 36 guns; but if regularly invested in modern warfare, it
could not hold out many hours. To enumerate its sieges, dismantlings,
and repairs would occupy too much space. Among the most memorable of its
stormy annals, is its siege by Edward II. in 1301, for three months,
when it was battered with stones of two hundred pounds weight each,
thrown by engines, in the formation of which was used all the lead
from the monastery of St. Andrew's. It was last besieged in 1746 by the
Highlanders under Prince Charles. The chief parts of the building seen
in the Panorama are the additions by Queen Anne, the parliament-house,
(though not the unsightly, modern roof,) and the palace, a stately
and curious structure of hewn stone, and embellished with grotesque
sculpture. The latter building forms a quadrangle, the central court of
which is called the lion's den, from the king's lions being formerly
kept there. The whole is now used as barracks. From the Castle, looking
over the town, towards the east, is a vast plain, nearly 40 miles
in extent, called the Carse of Stirling, through which the Firth in
meandering, forms a number of peninsulas, in places approximating so
closely as to have an isthmus of only a few yards, the effect of which
in the picture, reminded us of the contrived intricacies of a child's
puzzle; in this direction is seen Alla, or Alloa, a thriving seaport
town, with a Gothic church, and celebrated for its excellent ale;
Clackmannan, a miserable town, where in a tower lived King Robert Bruce,
and where an old Jacobite lady knighted Burns with a sword which
belonged to Bruce, observing that she had a better right to do so than
_some folk_; Falkirk, known for its _trysts_, or markets, where
the country-people point out a battle-field, and a stream called the
Red Burn, from its running with blood on the day of the conflict; Bruce
lived near this spot, the view from which he said was not surpassed by
any he had seen in his travels: next lies the Firth of Forth, and the
country as far as Edinburgh and the Pentland Hills. Towards the south
stands the ancient village of St. Ninian's, and Bannockburn, the
battleground of the most celebrated and important contest that ever took
place between English and Scots; the Torwood, where till lately stood
a tree said to have sheltered Wallace; and the Carron, bounded by the
green hills of Campsie. Towards the west are the plains of Menteith,
a district, says Chambers, distinguished almost above all the rest of
Scotland, for the singular series of beautiful and romantic scenes which
it presents to the view of the traveller, and bounded by the majestic
Grampians. On the north are the famous ruins of Cambuskenneth, and the
precipitous Abbey Craig, beyond which lies the richly-cultivated vale of
Devon; the moor on which the battle of Dumblain was fought; and Ochill
Hills, clothed with blooming heath, and overtopped by the summits of
Perthshire. Such is the artist's outline of the prospect: our task shall
be to select a few of its most entertaining details.
To return to the Panoramic arrangement: next the castle is Gowlan Hill,
the ordinary place of execution in times of wicked bloodshed, and thus
apostrophized by Douglas, in the _Lady of the Lake_:
And thou O sad and fatal mound!
That oft hast heard the death-axe sound,
As on the noblest of the land,
Fell the stern headsman's bloody hand.
The hill has, however, less terrible association; it being after called
Hurly Hacket, from James V. and his nobles there playing at that game,
which consisted in sliding down the steep banks on an inverted cutty
stool. This was, at least, more rational than cutting off heads. Next is
Abbey Craig, a rock upon which Wallace defeated the English; Dollava, a
village on a gloomy rock, almost insulated by two streams, whose Celtic
names signify the glens of care and the burns of sorrow; Tillabody, the
birthplace and property of Sir Ralph Abercrombie; the crumbling walls
and bell tower of Cambuskenneth Abbey, wherein several parliaments were
held, and at whose high altar the clergy and nobles swore fealty to
Robert and David Bruce; Edinburgh, with its castle, thirty-eight miles
from Stirling, whence it is discernable in clear weather; the Carron
Iron-works; and the Carron, of more classic celebrity in Ossian, and the
battles of the Romans and the Scots and Picts; the dome-shaped hill of
Tinto, in Lanarkshire, 60 miles from Stirling, and 2,336 feet in height;
Arthur's Hill, a circular mound of earth, surrounded by seats of turf
in the royal gardens, sometimes called the king's knot, where the court
held fêtes, and where James used to amuse himself with the pastime
called the Knights of the Round Table; Ben Lomond, 3,240 feet above the
lake, which is 32 feet above the level of the sea; Ben Venue, and Ben
Ledy, or the hill of God, in Perthshire, 3,009 feet in height, so called
from the inhabitants of the surrounding villages, in former times,
meeting on its summit at the summer solstice, three days and nights for
the purpose of devotion. These three mountains, with their vicinities
are enshrined in Sir Walter Scott's _Lady of the Lake_; and the
village of Balquidder, at the foot of Ben Ledy, is the burial place of
Rob Roy. We have just described the circle: over the garden wall of
the Castle, at a considerable distance, is the well-wooded estate and
mansion of Craig Forth, said to have once belonged to a blacksmith of
Stirling: this man having placed the iron bars (which still remain to
the windows of the palace), and done other work for James VI. when that
monarch came to the throne of England, made a demand of one thousand
pounds Scots,--but by some error, the accounts being paid in Stirling
money, he with it purchased the estate and built the house of Craig
Forth. Next, to the right is Blair Drummond, formerly the residence of
the accomplished Lord Kaimes; and beyond are the celebrated ruins of
Donne Castle; not the least interesting incident of its annals was the
imprisonment there in 1745, of John Home, (the author of Douglas,)
who has left a narrative of his clambering escape over the high walls.
It is time to speak of the Panorama as a work of art; for hitherto we
have rather considered its intellectual interest. The Castle and Palace
we take to be finely painted, with admirable picturesque effect: the
huge gateway, flanked with two towers, the battlemented walls, and
battery, are in fine bold relief, as is the clinging vegetation about
the building; nor must we omit the grotesque figures or corbelled
pedestals, and the identical window bars, the work of the wily Scot
of Craig Forth; the latter especially, are clever. A portion of the
esplanade otherwise devoid of interest, is peopled with a meeting of the
Highland Society celebrating the feats of the ancient Caledonians, the
object of the Society being to preserve their language, costume, music,
gymnastic sports, and martial games. This introduction happily fills up
what would otherwise have been the only void in the scene, so thickly
is it studed and storied with objects and recollections. Altogether, we
have rarely seen a topographical panorama of such diversified character:
it has reminiscences of history and poetry to lead us through the
retrospect of chivalrous ages, princely contests for crowns that rarely
sat lightly on their wearers, and the last flickering hopes of defeated
ambition and ill-starred fortune. Yet, how powerfully, not to say
painfully, are these pages in the chronicles of human actions, when
contrasted with the broad volume of nature, as spread before us in this
picture. Alas! what is the majesty of the mightiest of the kings that
dwelt in its palace in comparison with the sublimities of Tinto, Ben
Lomond, Venue, or Ledy; or what the peace of their halls amidst the
smiling expanse of the Carse of Stirling in all its quiet luxuriance.
They and their houses have become dust or crumbling ruin, and death has
with a little pin bored through their castle walls--while Nature has
been flourishing from year to year, and reading man an epitome of
existence in the succession of her changes.
It has been stated that Mr. Burford, the successful painter of Stirling,
is engaged on a Panorama of the Falls of Niagara. All admirers of this
style of painting must be anxious for his success.
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