_April 11th, 1805._--I am setting about a task which, however free and
happy the state of my mind, I could not have performed well at this
distance of time; but now, I do not know that I shall be able to go on
with it at all. I will strive, however, to do the best I can, setting
before myself a different object from that hitherto aimed at, which was,
to omit no incident, however trifling, and to describe the country so
minutely that you should, where the objects were the most interesting,
feel as if you had been with us. I shall now only attempt to give you an
idea of those scenes which pleased us most, dropping the incidents of
the ordinary days, of which many have slipped from my memory, and others
which remain it would be difficult, and often painful to me, to
endeavour to draw out and disentangle from other thoughts. I the less
regret my inability to do more, because, in describing a great part of
what we saw from the time we left Kenmore, my work would be little more
than a repetition of what I have said before, or, where it was not so, a
longer time was necessary to enable us to bear away what was most
interesting than we could afford to give.
_Monday, September 5th._--We arrived at Kenmore after sunset.
_Tuesday, September 6th._--Walked before breakfast in Lord Breadalbane's
grounds, which border upon the river Tay. The higher elevations command
fine views of the lake; and the walks are led along the river's banks,
and shaded with tall trees: but it seemed to us that a bad taste had
been at work, the banks being regularly shaven and cut as if by rule and
line. One or two of such walks I should well have liked to see; but they
are all equally trim, and I could not but regret that the fine trees had
not been left to grow out of a turf that cattle were permitted to feed
upon. There was one avenue which would well have graced the ruins of an
abbey or some stately castle. It was of a very great length, perfectly
straight, the trees meeting at the top in a cathedral arch, lessening in
perspective,--the boughs the roof, the stems the pillars. I never saw so
beautiful an avenue. We were told that some improver of pleasure-grounds
had advised Lord B. to cut down the trees, and lay the whole open to the
lawn, for the avenue is very near his house. His own better taste, or
that of some other person, I suppose, had saved them from the axe. Many
workmen were employed in building a large mansion something like that of
Inverary, close to the old house, which was yet standing; the situation,
as we thought, very bad, considering that Lord Breadalbane had the
command of all the ground at the foot of the lake, including hills both
high and low. It is in a hollow, without prospect either of the lake or
river, or anything else--seeing nothing, and adorning nothing. After
breakfast, left Kenmore, and travelled through the vale of Tay, I
believe fifteen or sixteen miles; but in the course of this we turned
out of our way to the Falls of Moness, a stream tributary to the Tay,
which passes through a narrow glen with very steep banks. A path like a
woodman's track has been carried through the glen, which, though the
private property of a gentleman, has not been taken out of the hands of
Nature, but merely rendered accessible by this path, which ends at the
waterfalls. They tumble from a great height, and are indeed very
beautiful falls, and we could have sate with pleasure the whole morning
beside the cool basin in which the waters rest, surrounded by high rocks
and overhanging trees. In one of the most retired parts of the dell, we
met a young man coming slowly along the path, intent upon a book which
he was reading: he did not seem to be of the rank of a gentleman, though
above that of a peasant.
Passed through the village of Aberfeldy, at the foot of the glen of
Moness. The birks of Aberfeldy are spoken of in some of the Scotch
songs, which no doubt grew in the stream of Moness; but near the village
we did not see any trees that were remarkable, except a row of
laburnums, growing as a common field hedge; their leaves were of a
golden colour, and as lively as the yellow blossoms could have been in
the spring. Afterwards we saw many laburnums in the woods, which we were
told had been "planted"; though I remember that Withering speaks of the
laburnum as one of the British plants, and growing in Scotland. The
twigs and branches being stiff, were not so graceful as those of our
garden laburnums, but I do not think I ever before saw any that were of
so brilliant colours in their autumnal decay. In our way to and from
Moness we crossed the Tay by a bridge of ambitious and ugly
architecture. Many of the bridges in Scotland are so, having eye-holes
between the arches, not in the battlements but at the outspreading of
the pillar of the arch, which destroys its simplicity, and takes from
the appearance of strength and security, without adding anything of
lightness. We returned, by the same road, to the village of Weem, where
we had left our car. The vale of Tay was very wide, having been so from
within a short distance of Kenmore: the reaches of the river are long;
and the ground is more regularly cultivated than in any vale we had yet
seen--chiefly corn, and very large tracts. Afterwards the vale becomes
narrow and less cultivated, the reaches shorter--on the whole resembling
the vale of Nith, but we thought it inferior in beauty.
One among the cottages in this narrow and wilder part of the vale fixed
our attention almost as much as a Chinese or a Turk would do passing
through the vale of Grasmere. It was a cottage, I believe, little
differing in size and shape from all the rest; but it was like a
visitor, a stranger come into the Highlands, or a model set up of what
may be seen in other countries. The walls were neatly plastered or
rough-cast, the windows of clean bright glass, and the door was
painted--before it a flower-garden, fenced with a curiously-clipped
hedge, and against the wall was placed the sign of a spinning-wheel. We
could not pass this humble dwelling, so distinguished by an appearance
of comfort and neatness, without some conjectures respecting the
character and manner of life of the person inhabiting it. Leisure he
must have had; and we pleased ourselves with thinking that some
self-taught mind might there have been nourished by knowledge gathered
from books, and the simple duties and pleasures of rural life.
At Logierait, the village where we dined, the vale widens again, and the
Tummel joins the Tay and loses its name; but the Tay falls into the
channel of the Tummel, continuing its course in the same direction,
almost at right angles to the former course of the Tay. We were sorry to
find that we had to cross the Tummel by a ferry, and resolved not to
venture in the same boat with the horse. Dined at a little public-house,
kept by a young widow, very talkative and laboriously civil. She took me
out to the back-door, and said she would show me a place which had once
been very grand, and, opening a door in a high wall, I entered a ruinous
courtyard, in which was a large old mansion, the walls entire and very
strong, but the roof broken in. The woman said it had been a palace of
one of the kings of Scotland. It was a striking and even an affecting
object, coming upon it, as I did, unawares,--a royal residence shut up
and hidden, while yet in its strength, by mean cottages; there was no
appearance of violence, but decay from desertion, and I should think
that it may remain many years without undergoing further visible change.
The woman and her daughter accompanied us to the ferry and crossed the
water with us; the woman said, but with not much appearance of honest
heart-feeling, that she could not be easy to let us go without being
there to know how we sped, so I invited the little girl to accompany
her, that she might have a ride in the car. The men were cautious, and
the horse got over with less alarm than we could have expected. Our way
was now up the vale, along the banks of the Tummel, an impetuous river;
the mountains higher than near the Tay, and the vale more wild, and the
different reaches more interesting.
When we approached near to Fascally, near the junction of the Garry with
the Tummel, the twilight was far advanced, and our horse not being
perfectly recovered, we were fearful of taking him on to
Blair-Athole--five miles further; besides, the Pass of Killicrankie was
within half a mile, and we were unwilling to go through a place so
celebrated in the dark; therefore, being joined by a traveller, we
inquired if there was any public-house near; he said there was; and that
though the accommodations were not good, we might do well enough for one
night, the host and his wife being very honest people. It proved to be
rather better than a common cottage of the country; we seated ourselves
by the fire, William called for a glass of whisky, and asked if they
could give us beds. The woman positively refused to lodge us, though we
had every reason to believe that she had at least one bed for me; we
entreated again and again in behalf of the poor horse, but all in vain;
she urged, though in an uncivil way, that she had been sitting up the
whole of one or two nights before on account of a fair, and that now she
wanted to go to bed and sleep; so we were obliged to remount our car in
the dark, and with a tired horse we moved on, and went through the Pass
of Killicrankie, hearing only the roaring of the river, and seeing a
black chasm with jagged-topped black hills towering above. Afterwards
the moon rose, and we should not have had an unpleasant ride if our
horse had been in better plight, and we had not been annoyed, as we were
almost at every twenty yards, by people coming from a fair held that day
near Blair--no pleasant prognostic of what might be our accommodation at
the inn, where we arrived between ten and eleven o'clock, and found the
house in an uproar; but we were civilly treated, and were glad, after
eating a morsel of cold beef, to retire to rest, and I fell asleep in
spite of the noisy drunkards below stairs, who had outstayed the fair.
_Wednesday, September 7th._--Rose early, and went before breakfast to
the Duke of Athol's gardens and pleasure-grounds, where we completely
tired ourselves with a three-hours' walk. Having been directed to see
all the waterfalls, we submitted ourselves to the gardener, who dragged
us from place to place, calling our attention to, it might be,
half-a-dozen--I cannot say how many--dripping streams, very pretty in
themselves, if we had had the pleasure of discovering them; but they
were generally robbed of their grace by the obtrusive ornaments which
were first seen. The whole neighbourhood, a great country, seems to
belong to the Duke of Athol. In his domain are hills and mountains,
glens and spacious plains, rivers and innumerable torrents; but near
Blair are no old woods, and the plantations, except those at a little
distance from the house, appear inconsiderable, being lost to the eye in
so extensive a circuit.
The castle stands on low ground, and far from the Garry, commanding a
prospect all round of distant mountains, a bare and cold scene, and,
from the irregularity and width of it, not so grand as one should
expect, knowing the great height of some of the mountains. Within the
Duke's park are three glens, the glen of the river Tilt and two others,
which, if they had been planted more judiciously, would have been very
sweet retirements; but they are choked up, the whole hollow of the
glens--I do not speak of the Tilt, for that is rich in natural
wood--being closely planted with trees, and those chiefly firs; but many
of the old fir-trees are, as single trees, very fine. On each side of
the glen is an ell-wide gravel walk, which the gardener told us was
swept once a week. It is conducted at the top of the banks, on each
side, at nearly equal height, and equal distance from the stream; they
lead you up one of these paths, and down the other--very wearisome, as
you will believe--mile after mile! We went into the garden, where there
was plenty of fruit--gooseberries, hanging as thick as possible upon the
trees, ready to drop off; I thought the gardener might have invited us
to refresh ourselves with some of his fruit after our long fatigue. One
part of the garden was decorated with statues, "images," as poor Mr.
Gill used to call those at Racedown, dressed in gay painted clothes; and
in a retired corner of the grounds, under some tall trees, appeared the
figure of a favourite old gamekeeper of one of the former Dukes, in the
attitude of pointing his gun at the game--"reported to be a striking
likeness," said the gardener. Looking at some of the tall larches, with
long hairy twigs, very beautiful trees, he told us that they were among
the first which had ever been planted in Scotland, that a Duke of Athol
had brought a single larch from London in a pot, in his coach, from
which had sprung the whole family that had overspread Scotland. This,
probably, might not be accurate, for others might afterwards have come,
or seed from other trees. He told us many anecdotes of the present Duke,
which I wish I could perfectly remember. He is an indefatigable
sportsman, hunts the wild deer on foot, attended by twelve Highlanders
in the Highland dress, which he himself formerly used to wear; he will
go out at four o'clock in the morning, and not return till night. His
fine family, "Athol's honest men, and Athol's bonny lasses," to whom
Burns, in his bumpers, drank health and long life, are dwindled away: of
nine, I believe only four are left: the mother of them is dead in a
consumption, and the Duke married again. We rested upon the heather seat
which Burns was so loth to quit that moonlight evening when he first
went to Blair Castle, and had a pleasure in thinking that he had been
under the same shelter, and viewed the little waterfall opposite with
some of the happy and pure feelings of his better mind. The castle has
been modernized, which has spoiled its appearance. It is a large
irregular pile, not handsome, but I think may have been picturesque, and
even noble, before it was docked of its battlements and whitewashed.
The most interesting object we saw at Blair was the chapel, shaded by
trees, in which the body of the impetuous Dundee lies buried. This quiet
spot is seen from the windows of the inn, whence you look, at the same
time, upon a high wall and a part of the town--a contrast which, I know
not why, made the chapel and its grove appear more peaceful, as if kept
so for some sacred purpose. We had a very nice breakfast, which we
sauntered over after our weary walk.
Being come to the most northerly point of our destined course, we took
out the map, loth to turn our backs upon the Highlands, and, looking
about for something which we might yet see, we fixed our eyes upon two
or three spots not far distant, and sent for the landlord to consult
with him. One of them was Loch Rannoch, a fresh-water lake, which he
told us was bordered by a natural pine forest, that its banks were
populous, and that the place being very remote, we might there see much
of the simplicity of the Highlander's life. The landlord said that we
must take a guide for the first nine or ten miles; but afterwards the
road was plain before us, and very good, so at about ten o'clock we
departed, having engaged a man to go with us. The Falls of Bruar, which
we wished to visit for the sake of Burns, are about three miles from
Blair, and our road was in the same direction for two miles.
After having gone for some time under a bare hill, we were told to leave
the car at some cottages, and pass through a little gate near a brook
which crossed the road. We walked upwards at least three quarters of a
mile in the hot sun, with the stream on our right, both sides of which
to a considerable height were planted with firs and larches
intermingled--children of poor Burns's song; for his sake we wished that
they had been the natural trees of Scotland, birches, ashes,
mountain-ashes, etc.; however, sixty or seventy years hence they will be
no unworthy monument to his memory. At present, nothing can be uglier
than the whole chasm of the hill-side with its formal walks. I do not
mean to condemn them, for, for aught I know, they are as well managed as
they could be; but it is not easy to see the use of a pleasure-path
leading to nothing, up a steep and naked hill in the midst of an
unlovely tract of country, though by the side of a tumbling stream of
clear water. It does not surely deserve the name of a pleasure-path. It
is three miles from the Duke of Athol's house, and I do not believe that
one person living within five miles of the place would wish to go twice
to it. The falls are high, the rocks and stones fretted and gnawed by
the water. I do not wonder at the pleasure which Burns received from
this stream; I believe we should have been much pleased if we had come
upon it as he did. At the bottom of the hill we took up our car, and,
turning back, joined the man who was to be our guide.
Crossed the Garry, and went along a moor without any road but straggling
cart-tracks. Soon began to ascend a high hill, and the ground grew so
rough--road there was none--that we were obliged to walk most of the
way. Ascended to a considerable height, and commanded an extensive
prospect bounded by lofty mountains, and having crossed the top of the
fell we parted with our guide, being in sight of the vale into which we
were to descend, and to pursue upwards till we should come to Loch
Rannoch, a lake, as described to us, bedded in a forest of Scotch pines.
When left to ourselves we sate down on the hillside, and looked with
delight into the deep vale below, which was exceedingly green, not
regularly fenced or cultivated, but the level area scattered over with
bushes and trees, and through that level ground glided a glassy river,
not in serpentine windings, but in direct turnings backwards and
forwards, and then flowed into the head of the Lake of Tummel; but I
will copy a rough sketch which I made while we sate upon the hill,
which, imperfect as it is, will give a better idea of the course of the
river--which I must add is more curious than beautiful--than my
description. The ground must be often overflowed in winter, for the
water seemed to touch the very edge of its banks. At this time the scene
was soft and cheerful, such as invited us downwards, and made us proud
of our adventure. Coming near to a cluster of huts, we turned thither, a
few steps out of our way, to inquire about the road; these huts were on
the hill, placed side by side, in a figure between a square and a
circle, as if for the sake of mutual shelter, like haystacks in a
farmyard--no trees near them. We called at one of the doors, and three
hale, stout men came out, who could speak very little English, and
stared at us with an almost savage look of wonder. One of them took much
pains to set us forward, and went a considerable way down the hill till
we came in sight of the cart road, which we were to follow; but we had
not gone far before we were disheartened. It was with the greatest
difficulty William could lead the horse and car over the rough stones,
and to sit in it was impossible; the road grew worse and worse,
therefore we resolved to turn back, having no reason to expect anything
better, for we had been told that after we should leave the untracked
ground all would be fair before us. We knew ourselves where we stood to
be about eight miles distant from the point where the river Tummel,
after having left the lake, joins the Garry at Fascally near the Pass of
Killicrankie, therefore we resolved to make our way thither, and
endeavour to procure a lodging at the same public-house where it had
been refused to us the night before. The road was likely to be very bad;
but, knowing the distance, we thought it more prudent than to venture
farther with nothing before us but uncertainty. We were forced to unyoke
the horse, and turn the car ourselves, owing to the steep banks on
either side of the road, and after much trouble we got him in again, and
set our faces down the vale towards Loch Tummel, William leading the car
and I walking by his side.
For the first two or three miles we looked down upon the lake, our road
being along the side of the hill directly above it. On the opposite side
another range of hills rose up in the same manner,--farm-houses thinly
scattered among the copses near the water, and cultivated ground in
patches. The lake does not wind, nor are the shores much varied by
bays,--the mountains not commanding; but the whole a pleasing scene. Our
road took us out of sight of the water, and we were obliged to procure a
guide across a high moor, where it was impossible that the horse should
drag us at all, the ground being exceedingly rough and untracked: of
course fatiguing for foot-travellers, and on foot we must travel. After
some time, the river Tummel again served us for a guide, when it had
left the lake. It was no longer a gentle stream, a mirror to the sky,
but we could hear it roaring at a considerable distance between steep
banks of rock and wood. We had to cross the Garry by a bridge, a little
above the junction of the two rivers; and were now not far from the
public-house, to our great joy, for we were very weary with our
laborious walk. I do not think that I had walked less than sixteen
miles, and William much more, to which add the fatigue of leading the
horse, and the rough roads, and you will not wonder that we longed for
rest. We stopped at the door of the house, and William entered as
before, and again the woman refused to lodge us, in a most inhuman
manner, giving no other reason than that she would not do it. We pleaded
for the poor horse, entreated, soothed, and flattered, but all in vain,
though the night was cloudy and dark. We begged to sit by the fire till
morning, and to this she would not consent; indeed, if it had not been
for the sake of the horse, I would rather have lain in a barn than on
the best of feather-beds in the house of such a cruel woman.
We were now, after our long day's journey, five miles from the inn at
Blair, whither we, at first, thought of returning; but finally resolved
to go to a public-house which we had seen in a village we passed
through, about a mile above the ferry over the Tummel, having come from
that point to Blair, for the sake of the Pass of Killicrankie and Blair
itself, and had now the same road to measure back again. We were obliged
to leave the Pass of Killicrankie unseen; but this disturbed us little
at a time when we had seven miles to travel in the dark, with a poor
beast almost sinking with fatigue, for he had not rested once all day.
We went on spiritless, and at a dreary pace. Passed by one house which
we were half inclined to go up to and ask for a night's lodging; and
soon after, being greeted by a gentle voice from a poor woman, whom,
till she spoke, though we were close to her, we had not seen, we
stopped, and asked if she could tell us where we might stay all night,
and put up our horse. She mentioned the public-house left behind, and we
told our tale, and asked her if she had no house to which she could take
us. "Yes, to be sure she had a house, but it was only a small cottage";
and she had no place for the horse, and how we could lodge in her house
she could not tell; but we should be welcome to whatever she had, so we
turned the car, and she walked by the side of it, talking to us in a
tone of human kindness which made us friends at once.
I remember thinking to myself, as I have often done in a stage-coach,
though never with half the reason to prejudge favourably, What sort of
countenance and figure shall we see in this woman when we come into the
light? And indeed it was an interesting moment when, after we had
entered her house, she blew the embers on the hearth, and lighted a
candle to assist us in taking the luggage out of the car. Her husband
presently arrived, and he and William took the horse to the
public-house. The poor woman hung the kettle over the fire. We had tea
and sugar of our own, and she set before us barley cakes, and milk which
she had just brought in; I recollect she said she "had been west to
fetch it." The Highlanders always direct you by east and west, north and
south--very confusing to strangers. She told us that it was her business
to "keep the gate" for Mr. ----, who lived at ----, just below,--that
is, to receive messages, take in letters, etc. Her cottage stood by the
side of the road leading to his house, within the gate, having, as we
saw in the morning, a dressed-up porter's lodge outside; but within was
nothing but the naked walls, unplastered, and floors of mud, as in the
common huts. She said that they lived rent-free in return for their
services; but spoke of her place and Mr. ---- with little respect,
hinting that he was very proud; and indeed her appearance, and subdued
manners, and that soft voice which had prepossessed us so much in her
favour, seemed to belong to an injured and oppressed being. We talked a
great deal with her, and gathered some interesting facts from her
conversation, which I wish I had written down while they were fresh in
my memory. They had only one child, yet seemed to be very poor, not
discontented but languid, and willing to suffer rather than rouse to any
effort. Though it was plain she despised and hated her master, and had
no wish to conceal it, she hardly appeared to think it worth while to
speak ill of him. We were obliged to sit up very late while our kind
hostess was preparing our beds. William lay upon the floor on some hay,
without sheets; my bed was of chaff; I had plenty of covering, and a
pair of very nice strong clean sheets,--she said with some pride that
she had good linen. I believe the sheets had been of her own spinning,
perhaps when she was first married, or before, and she probably will
keep them to the end of her life of poverty.
_Thursday, September 8th._--Before breakfast we walked to the Pass of
Killicrankie. A very fine scene; the river Garry forcing its way down a
deep chasm between rocks, at the foot of high rugged hills covered with
wood, to a great height. The Pass did not, however, impress us with awe,
or a sensation of difficulty or danger, according to our expectations;
but, the road being at a considerable height on the side of the hill, we
at first only looked into the dell or chasm. It is much grander seen
from below, near the river's bed. Everybody knows that this Pass is
famous in military history. When we were travelling in Scotland an
invasion was hourly looked for, and one could not but think with some
regret of the times when from the now depopulated Highlands forty or
fifty thousand men might have been poured down for the defence of the
country, under such leaders as the Marquis of Montrose or the brave man
who had so distinguished himself upon the ground where we were
standing. I will transcribe a sonnet suggested to William by this place,
and written in October 1803:--
Six thousand Veterans practised in War's game,
Tried men, at Killicrankie were array'd
Against an equal host that wore the Plaid,
Shepherds and herdsmen. Like a whirlwind came
The Highlanders; the slaughter spread like flame,
And Garry, thundering down his mountain road,
Was stopp'd, and could not breathe beneath the load
Of the dead bodies. 'Twas a day of shame
For them whom precept and the pedantry
Of cold mechanic battle do enslave.
Oh! for a single hour of that Dundee
Who on that day the word of onset gave:
Like conquest might the men of England see,
And her Foes find a like inglorious grave.
We turned back again, and going down the hill below the Pass, crossed
the same bridge we had come over the night before, and walked through
Lady Perth's grounds by the side of the Garry till we came to the
Tummel, and then walked up to the cascade of the Tummel. The fall is
inconsiderable, scarcely more than an ordinary "wear"; but it makes a
loud roaring over large stones, and the whole scene is grand--hills,
mountains, woods, and rocks. ---- is a very pretty place, all but the
house. Stoddart's print gives no notion of it. The house stands upon a
small plain at the junction of the two rivers, a close deep spot,
surrounded by high hills and woods. After we had breakfasted William
fetched the car, and, while we were conveying the luggage to the outside
of the gate, where it stood, Mr. ----, _mal apropos_, came very near to
the door, called the woman out, and railed at her in the most abusive
manner for "harbouring" people in that way. She soon slipped from him,
and came back to us: I wished that William should go and speak to her
master, for I was afraid that he might turn the poor woman away; but she
would not suffer it, for she did not care whether they stayed or not. In
the meantime, Mr. ---- continued scolding her husband; indeed, he
appeared to be not only proud, but very ignorant, insolent, and
low-bred. The woman told us that she had sometimes lodged poor
travellers who were passing along the road, and permitted others to cook
their victuals in her house, for which Mr. ---- had reprimanded her
before; but, as she said, she did not value her place, and it was no
matter. In sounding forth the dispraise of Mr. ----, I ought not to omit
mentioning that the poor woman had great delight in talking of the
excellent qualities of his mother, with whom she had been a servant, and
lived many years. After having interchanged good wishes we parted with
our charitable hostess, who, telling us her name, entreated us, if ever
we came that way again, to inquire for her.
We travelled down the Tummel till it is lost in the Tay, and then, in
the same direction, continued our course along the vale of Tay, which is
very wide for a considerable way, but gradually narrows, and the river,
always a fine stream, assumes more dignity and importance. Two or three
miles before we reached Dunkeld, we observed whole hill-sides, the
property of the Duke of Athol, planted with fir-trees till they are lost
among the rocks near the tops of the hills. In forty or fifty years
these plantations will be very fine, being carried from hill to hill,
and not bounded by a visible artificial fence.
Reached Dunkeld at about three o'clock. It is a pretty, small town, with
a respectable and rather large ruined abbey, which is greatly injured by
being made the nest of a modern Scotch kirk, with sash windows,--very
incongruous with the noble antique tower,--a practice which we
afterwards found is not uncommon in Scotland. Sent for the Duke's
gardener after dinner, and walked with him into the pleasure-grounds,
intending to go to the Falls of the Bran, a mountain stream which here
joins the Tay. After walking some time on a shaven turf under the shade
of old trees, by the side of the Tay, we left the pleasure-grounds, and
crossing the river by a ferry, went up a lane on the hill opposite till
we came to a locked gate by the road-side, through which we entered into
another part of the Duke's pleasure-grounds bordering on the Bran, the
glen being for a considerable way--for aught I know, two miles--thridded
by gravel walks. The walks are quaintly enough intersected, here and
there by a baby garden of fine flowers among the rocks and stones. The
waterfall, which we came to see, warned us by a loud roaring that we
must expect it; we were first, however, conducted into a small
apartment, where the gardener desired us to look at a painting of the
figure of Ossian, which, while he was telling us the story of the young
artist who performed the work, disappeared, parting in the middle,
flying asunder as if by the touch of magic, and lo! we are at the
entrance of a splendid room, which was almost dizzy and alive with
waterfalls, that tumbled in all directions--the great cascade, which was
opposite to the window that faced us, being reflected in innumerable
mirrors upon the ceiling and against the walls. We both laughed
heartily, which, no doubt, the gardener considered as high commendation;
for he was very eloquent in pointing out the beauties of the place.
We left the Bran, and pursued our walk through the plantations, where we
readily forgave the Duke his little devices for their sakes. They are
already no insignificant woods, where the trees happen to be oaks,
birches, and others natural to the soil; and under their shade the walks
are delightful. From one hill, through different openings under the
trees, we looked up the vale of Tay to a great distance, a magnificent
prospect at that time of the evening; woody and rich--corn, green
fields, and cattle, the winding Tay, and distant mountains. Looked down
the river to the town of Dunkeld, which lies low, under irregular hills,
covered with wood to their rocky summits, and bounded by higher
mountains, which are bare. The hill of Birnam, no longer Birnam "wood,"
was pointed out to us. After a very long walk we parted from our guide
when it was almost dark, and he promised to call on us in the morning to
conduct us to the gardens.
_Friday, September 9th._--According to appointment, the gardener came
with his keys in his hand, and we attended him whithersoever he chose to
lead, in spite of past experience at Blair. We had, however, no reason
to repent, for we were repaid for the trouble of going through the large
gardens by the apples and pears of which he gave us liberally, and the
walks through the woods on that part of the grounds opposite to where we
had been the night before were very delightful. The Duke's house is
neither large nor grand, being just an ordinary gentleman's house, upon
a green lawn, and whitewashed, I believe. The old abbey faces the house
on the east side, and appears to stand upon the same green lawn, which,
though close to the town, is entirely excluded from it by high walls and
trees.
We had been undetermined respecting our future course when we came to
Dunkeld, whether to go on directly to Perth and Edinburgh, or to make a
circuit and revisit the Trossachs. We decided upon the latter plan, and
accordingly after breakfast set forward towards Crieff, where we
intended to sleep, and the next night at Callander. The first part of
our road, after having crossed the ferry, was up the glen of the Bran.
Looking backwards, we saw Dunkeld very pretty under the hills, and
surrounded by rich cultivated ground, but we had not a good distant view
of the abbey.
Left our car, and went about a hundred yards from the road to see the
Rumbling Brig, which, though well worth our going out of the way even
much further, disappointed us, as places in general do which we hear
much spoken of as savage, tremendous, etc.,--and no wonder, for they are
usually described by people to whom rocks are novelties. The gardener
had told us that we should pass through the most populous glen in
Scotland, the glen of Amulree. It is not populous in the usual way, with
scattered dwellings; but many clusters of houses, hamlets such as we had
passed near the Tummel, which had a singular appearance, being like
small encampments, were generally without trees, and in high
situations--every house the same as its neighbour, whether for men or
cattle. There was nothing else remarkable in the glen. We halted at a
lonely inn at the foot of a steep barren moor, which we had to cross;
then, after descending considerably, came to the narrow glen, which we
had approached with no little curiosity, not having been able to procure
any distinct description of it.
At Dunkeld, when we were hesitating what road to take, we wished to know
whether that glen would be worth visiting, and accordingly put several
questions to the waiter, and, among other epithets used in the course of
interrogation, we stumbled upon the word "grand," to which he replied,
"No, I do not think there are any gentlemen's seats in it." However, we
drew enough from this describer and the gardener to determine us finally
to go to Callander, the Narrow Glen being in the way.
Entered the glen at a small hamlet at some distance from the head, and
turning aside a few steps, ascended a hillock which commanded a view to
the top of it--a very sweet scene, a green valley, not very narrow, with
a few scattered trees and huts, almost invisible in a misty gleam of
afternoon light. At this hamlet we crossed a bridge, and the road led us
down the glen, which had become exceedingly narrow, and so continued to
the end: the hills on both sides heathy and rocky, very steep, but
continuous; the rocks not single or overhanging, not scooped into
caverns or sounding with torrents: there are no trees, no houses, no
traces of cultivation, not one outstanding object. It is truly a
solitude, the road even making it appear still more so: the bottom of
the valley is mostly smooth and level, the brook not noisy: everything
is simple and undisturbed, and while we passed through it the whole
place was shady, cool, clear, and solemn. At the end of the long valley
we ascended a hill to a great height, and reached the top, when the sun,
on the point of setting, shed a soft yellow light upon every eminence.
The prospect was very extensive; over hollows and plains, no towns, and
few houses visible--a prospect, extensive as it was, in harmony with the
secluded dell, and fixing its own peculiar character of removedness from
the world, and the secure possession of the quiet of nature more deeply
in our minds. The following poem was written by William on hearing of a
tradition relating to it, which we did not know when we were there:--
In this still place remote from men
Sleeps Ossian, in the Narrow Glen,
In this still place where murmurs on
But one meek streamlet, only one.
He sung of battles and the breath
Of stormy war, and violent death,
And should, methinks, when all was pass'd,
Have rightfully been laid at last
Where rocks were rudely heap'd, and rent
As by a spirit turbulent;
Where sights were rough, and sounds were wild,
And everything unreconciled,
In some complaining, dim retreat
Where fear and melancholy meet;
But this is calm; there cannot be
A more entire tranquillity.
Does then the bard sleep here indeed?
Or is it but a groundless creed?
What matters it? I blame them not
Whose fancy in this lonely spot
Was moved, and in this way express'd
Their notion of its perfect rest.
A convent, even a hermit's cell
Would break the silence of this Dell;
It is not quiet, is not ease,
But something deeper far than these;
The separation that is here
Is of the grave; and of austere
And happy feelings of the dead:
And therefore was it rightly said
That Ossian, last of all his race,
Lies buried in this lonely place.
Having descended into a broad cultivated vale, we saw nothing
remarkable. Observed a gentleman's house,[20] which stood pleasantly
among trees. It was dark some time before we reached Crieff, a small
town, though larger than Dunkeld.
[Footnote 20: Monzie probably.--J. C. S.]
_Saturday, September 10th._--Rose early, and departed without breakfast.
We were to pass through one of the most celebrated vales of Scotland,
Strath Erne. We found it a wide, long, and irregular vale, with many
gentlemen's seats under the hills, woods, copses, frequent cottages,
plantations, and much cultivation, yet with an intermixture of barren
ground; indeed, except at Killin and Dunkeld, there was always something
which seemed to take from the composure and simplicity of the cultivated
scenes. There is a struggle to overcome the natural barrenness, and the
end not attained, an appearance of something doing or imperfectly done,
a passing with labour from one state of society into another. When you
look from an eminence on the fields of Grasmere Vale, the heart is
satisfied with a simple undisturbed pleasure, and no less, on one of the
green or heathy dells of Scotland, where there is no appearance of
change to be, or having been, but such as the seasons make. Strath Erne
is so extensive a vale that, had it been in England, there must have
been much inequality, as in Wensley Dale; but at Wensley there is a
unity, a softness, a melting together, which in the large vales of
Scotland I never perceived. The difference at Strath Erne may come
partly from the irregularity, the undefined outline, of the hills which
enclose it; but it is caused still more by the broken surface, I mean
broken as to colour and produce, the want of hedgerows, and also the
great number of new fir plantations. After some miles it becomes much
narrower as we approach nearer the mountains at the foot of the lake of
the same name, Loch Erne.
Breakfasted at a small public-house, a wretchedly dirty cottage, but the
people were civil, and though we had nothing but barley cakes we made a
good breakfast, for there were plenty of eggs. Walked up a high hill to
view the seat of Mr. Dundas, now Lord Melville--a spot where, if he have
gathered much wisdom from his late disgrace or his long intercourse with
the world, he may spend his days as quietly as he need desire. It is a
secluded valley, not rich, but with plenty of wood: there are many
pretty paths through the woods, and moss huts in different parts. After
leaving the cottage where we breakfasted the country was very pleasing,
yet still with a want of richness; but this was less perceived, being
huddled up in charcoal woods, and the vale narrow. Loch Erne opens out
in a very pleasing manner, seen from a hill along which the road is
carried through a wood of low trees; but it does not improve afterwards,
lying directly from east to west without any perceivable bendings: and
the shores are not much broken or varied, not populous, and the
mountains not sufficiently commanding to make up for the deficiencies.
Dined at the head of the lake. I scarcely know its length, but should
think not less than four or five miles, and it is wide in proportion.
The inn is in a small village--a decent house.
Walked about half a mile along the road to Tyndrum, which is through a
bare glen,[21] and over a mountain pass. It rained when we pursued our
journey again, and continued to rain for several hours. The road which
we were to take was up another glen, down which came a stream that fell
into the lake on the opposite side at the head of it, so, after having
crossed the main vale, a little above the lake, we entered into the
smaller glen. The road delightfully smooth and dry--one gentleman's
house very pleasant among large coppice woods. After going perhaps three
miles up this valley, we turned to the left into another, which seemed
to be much more beautiful. It was a level valley, not--like that which
we had passed--a wide sloping cleft between the hills, but having a
quiet, slow-paced stream, which flowed through level green grounds
tufted with trees intermingled with cottages. The tops of the hills were
hidden by mists, and the objects in the valley seen through misty rain,
which made them look exceedingly soft, and indeed partly concealed them,
and we always fill up what we are left to guess at with something as
beautiful as what we see. This valley seemed to have less of the
appearance of barrenness or imperfect cultivation than any of the same
character we had passed through; indeed, we could not discern any traces
of it. It is called Strath Eyer. "Strath" is generally applied to a
broad vale; but this, though open, is not broad.
[Footnote 21: Glen Ogle.--J. C. S.]
We next came to a lake, called Loch Lubnaig, a name which signifies
"winding." In shape it somewhat resembles Ulswater, but is much narrower
and shorter, being only four miles in length. The character of this lake
is simple and grand. On the side opposite to where we were is a range of
steep craggy mountains, one of which--like Place Fell--encroaching upon
the bed of the lake, forces it to make a considerable bending. I have
forgotten the name of this precipice: it is a very remarkable one, being
almost perpendicular, and very rugged.
We, on the other side, travelled under steep and rocky hills which were
often covered with low woods to a considerable height; there were one or
two farm-houses, and a few cottages. A neat white dwelling[22] on the
side of the hill over against the bold steep of which I have spoken, had
been the residence of the famous traveller Bruce, who, all his travels
ended, had arranged the history of them in that solitude--as deep as any
Abyssinian one--among the mountains of his native country, where he
passed several years. Whether he died there or not we did not learn; but
the manner of his death was remarkable and affecting,--from a fall
down-stairs in his own house, after so many dangers through which
fortitude and courage had never failed to sustain him. The house stands
sweetly, surrounded by coppice-woods and green fields. On the other
side, I believe, were no houses till we came near to the outlet, where a
few low huts looked very beautiful, with their dark brown roofs, near a
stream which hurried down the mountain, and after its turbulent course
travelled a short way over a level green, and was lost in the lake.
[Footnote 22: Ardhullary.--J. C. S.]
Within a few miles of Callander we come into a grand region; the
mountains to a considerable height were covered with wood, enclosing us
in a narrow passage; the stream on our right, generally concealed by
wood, made a loud roaring; at one place, in particular, it fell down the
rocks in a succession of cascades. The scene is much celebrated in
Scotland, and is called the Pass of Leny. It was nearly dark when we
reached Callander. We were wet and cold, and glad of a good fire. The
inn was comfortable; we drank tea; and after tea the waiter presented us
with a pamphlet descriptive of the neighbourhood of Callander, which we
brought away with us, and I am very sorry I lost it.
_FIFTH WEEK_
_Sunday, September 11th._--Immediately after breakfast, the morning
being fine, we set off with cheerful spirits towards the Trossachs,
intending to take up our lodging at the house of our old friend the
ferryman. A boy accompanied us to convey the horse and car back to
Callander from the head of Loch Achray. The country near Callander is
very pleasing; but, as almost everywhere else, imperfectly cultivated.
We went up a broad vale, through which runs the stream from Loch
Ketterine, and came to Loch Vennachar, a larger lake than Loch Achray,
the small one which had given us such unexpected delight when we left
the Pass of the Trossachs. Loch Vennachar is much larger, but greatly
inferior in beauty to the image which we had conceived of its neighbour,
and so the reality proved to us when we came up to that little lake, and
saw it before us in its true shape in the cheerful sunshine. The
Trossachs, overtopped by Benledi and other high mountains, enclose the
lake at the head; and those houses which we had seen before, with their
corn fields sloping towards the water, stood very prettily under low
woods. The fields did not appear so rich as when we had seen them
through the veil of mist; but yet, as in framing our expectations we had
allowed for a much greater difference, so we were even a second time
surprised with pleasure at the same spot.
Went as far as these houses of which I have spoken, in the car, and then
walked on, intending to pursue the road up the side of Loch Ketterine
along which Coleridge had come; but we had resolved to spend some hours
in the neighbourhood of the Trossachs, and accordingly coasted the head
of Loch Achray, and pursued the brook between the two lakes as far as
there was any track. Here we found, to our surprise--for we had expected
nothing but heath and rocks like the rest of the neighbourhood of the
Trossachs--a secluded farm, a plot of verdant ground with a single
cottage and its company of out-houses. We turned back, and went to the
very point from which we had first looked upon Loch Achray when we were
here with Coleridge. It was no longer a visionary scene: the sun shone
into every crevice of the hills, and the mountain-tops were clear. After
some time we went into the pass from the Trossachs, and were delighted
to behold the forms of objects fully revealed, and even surpassing in
loveliness and variety what we had conceived. The mountains, I think,
appeared not so high; but on the whole we had not the smallest
disappointment; the heather was fading, though still beautiful.
Sate for half-an-hour in Lady Perth's shed, and scrambled over the rocks
and through the thickets at the head of the lake. I went till I could
make my way no further, and left William to go to the top of the hill,
whence he had a distinct view, as on a map, of the intricacies of the
lake and the course of the river. Returned to the huts, and, after
having taken a second dinner of the food we had brought from Callander,
set our faces towards the head of Loch Ketterine. I can add nothing to
my former description of the Trossachs, except that we departed with our
old delightful remembrances endeared, and many new ones. The path or
road--for it was neither the one nor the other, but something between
both--is the pleasantest I have ever travelled in my life for the same
length of way,--now with marks of sledges or wheels, or none at all,
bare or green, as it might happen; now a little descent, now a level;
sometimes a shady lane, at others an open track through green pastures;
then again it would lead us into thick coppice-woods, which often
entirely shut out the lake, and again admitted it by glimpses. We have
never had a more delightful walk than this evening. Ben Lomond and the
three pointed-topped mountains of Loch Lomond, which we had seen from
the Garrison, were very majestic under the clear sky, the lake
perfectly calm, the air sweet and mild. I felt that it was much more
interesting to visit a place where we have been before than it can
possibly be the first time, except under peculiar circumstances. The sun
had been set for some time, when, being within a quarter of a mile of
the ferryman's hut, our path having led us close to the shore of the
calm lake, we met two neatly dressed women, without hats, who had
probably been taking their Sunday evening's walk. One of them said to us
in a friendly, soft tone of voice, "What! you are stepping westward?" I
cannot describe how affecting this simple expression was in that remote
place, with the western sky in front, yet glowing with the departed sun.
William wrote the following poem long after, in remembrance of his
feelings and mine:--
"What! you are stepping westward?" Yea,
'Twould be a wildish destiny
If we, who thus together roam
In a strange land, and far from home,
Were in this place the guests of chance:
Yet who would stop, or fear to advance,
Though home or shelter he had none,
With such a sky to lead him on?
The dewy ground was dark and cold,
Behind all gloomy to behold,
And stepping westward seem'd to be
A kind of heavenly destiny;
I liked the greeting, 'twas a sound
Of something without place or bound;
And seem'd to give me spiritual right
To travel through that region bright.
The voice was soft; and she who spake
Was walking by her native Lake;
The salutation was to me
The very sound of courtesy;
Its power was felt, and while my eye
Was fix'd upon the glowing sky,
The echo of the voice enwrought
A human sweetness with the thought
Of travelling through the world that lay
Before me in my endless way.
We went up to the door of our boatman's hut as to a home, and scarcely
less confident of a cordial welcome than if we had been approaching our
own cottage at Grasmere. It had been a very pleasing thought, while we
were walking by the side of the beautiful lake, that, few hours as we
had been there, there was a home for us in one of its quiet dwellings.
Accordingly, so we found it; the good woman, who had been at a preaching
by the lake-side, was in her holiday dress at the door, and seemed to be
rejoiced at the sight of us. She led us into the hut in haste to supply
our wants; we took once more a refreshing meal by her fireside, and,
though not so merry as the last time, we were not less happy, bating our
regrets that Coleridge was not in his old place. I slept in the same bed
as before, and listened to the household stream, which now only made a
very low murmuring.
_Monday, September 12th._--Rejoiced in the morning to see the sun
shining upon the hills when I first looked out through the open
window-place at my bed's head. We rose early, and after breakfast, our
old companion, who was to be our guide for the day, rowed us over the
water to the same point where Coleridge and I had sate down and eaten
our dinner, while William had gone to survey the unknown coast. We
intended to cross Loch Lomond, follow the lake to Glenfalloch, above the
head of it, and then come over the mountains to Glengyle, and so down
the glen, and passing Mr. Macfarlane's house, back again to the
ferry-house, where we should sleep. So, a third time we went through the
mountain hollow, now familiar ground. The inhabitants had not yet got in
all their hay, and were at work in the fields; our guide often stopped
to talk with them, and no doubt was called upon to answer many
inquiries respecting us two strangers.
At the ferry-house of Inversneyde we had not the happy sight of the
Highland girl and her companion, but the good woman received us
cordially, gave me milk, and talked of Coleridge, who, the morning after
we parted from him, had been at her house to fetch his watch, which he
had forgotten two days before. He has since told me that he questioned
her respecting the miserable condition of her hut, which, as you may
remember, admitted the rain at the door, and retained it in the hollows
of the mud floor: he told her how easy it would be to remove these
inconveniences, and to contrive something, at least, to prevent the wind
from entering at the window-places, if not a glass window for light and
warmth by day. She replied that this was very true, but if they made any
improvements the laird would conclude that they were growing rich, and
would raise their rent.
The ferryman happened to be just ready at the moment to go over the lake
with a poor man, his wife and child. The little girl, about three years
old, cried all the way, terrified by the water. When we parted from this
family, they going down the lake, and we up it, I could not but think of
the difference in our condition to that poor woman, who, with her
husband, had been driven from her home by want of work, and was now
going a long journey to seek it elsewhere: every step was painful toil,
for she had either her child to bear or a heavy burthen. _I_ walked as
she did, but pleasure was my object, and if toil came along with it,
even _that_ was pleasure,--pleasure, at least, it would be in the
remembrance.
We were, I believe, nine miles from Glenfalloch when we left the boat.
To us, with minds at ease, the walk was delightful; it could not be
otherwise, for we passed by a continual succession of rocks, woods, and
mountains; but the houses were few, and the ground cultivated only in
small portions near the water, consequently there was not that sort of
variety which leaves distinct separate remembrances, but one impression
of solitude and greatness. While the Highlander and I were plodding on
together side by side, interspersing long silences with now and then a
question or a remark, looking down to the lake he espied two small rocky
islands, and pointing to them, said to me, "It will be gay[23] and
dangerous sailing there in stormy weather when the water is high." In
giving my assent I could not help smiling, but I afterwards found that a
like combination of words is not uncommon in Scotland, for, at
Edinburgh, William being afraid of rain, asked the ostler what he
thought, who, looking up to the sky, pronounced it to be "gay and dull,"
and therefore rain might be expected. The most remarkable object we saw
was a huge single stone, I believe three or four times the size of
Bowder Stone. The top of it, which on one side was sloping like the roof
of a house, was covered with heather. William climbed up the rock, which
would have been no easy task but to a mountaineer, and we constructed a
rope of pocket-handkerchiefs, garters, plaids, coats, etc., and measured
its height. It was _so_ many times the length of William's
walking-stick, but, unfortunately, having lost the stick, we have lost
the measure. The ferryman told us that a preaching was held there once
in three months by a certain minister--I think of Arrochar--who engages,
as a part of his office, to perform the service. The interesting
feelings we had connected with the Highland Sabbath and Highland worship
returned here with double force. The rock, though on one side a high
perpendicular wall, in no place overhung so as to form a shelter, in no
place could it be more than a screen from the elements. Why then had it
been selected for such a purpose? Was it merely from being a central
situation and a conspicuous object? Or did there belong to it some
inheritance of superstition from old times? It is impossible to look at
the stone without asking, How came it hither? Had then that obscurity
and unaccountableness, that mystery of power which is about it, any
influence over the first persons who resorted hither for worship? Or
have they now on those who continue to frequent it? The lake is in front
of the perpendicular wall, and behind, at some distance, and totally
detached from it, is the continuation of the ridge of mountains which
forms the vale of Loch Lomond--a magnificent temple, of which this spot
is a noble Sanctum Sanctorum.
[Footnote 23: This is none other than the well-known Scottish word
"_gey_,"--indifferently, tolerable, considerable.--J. C. S.]
We arrived at Glenfalloch at about one or two o'clock. It is no village;
there being only scattered huts in the glen, which may be four miles
long, according to my remembrance: the middle of it is very green, and
level, and tufted with trees. Higher up, where the glen parts into two
very narrow ones, is the house of the laird; I daresay a pretty place.
The view from the door of the public-house is exceedingly beautiful; the
river flows smoothly into the lake, and the fields were at that time as
green as possible. Looking backward, Ben Lomond very majestically shuts
in the view. The top of the mountain, as seen here, being of a pyramidal
form, it is much grander than with the broken outline, and stage above
stage, as seen from the neighbourhood of Luss. We found nobody at home
at the inn, but the ferryman shouted, wishing to have a glass of whisky,
and a young woman came from the hay-field, dressed in a white bed-gown,
without hat or cap. There was no whisky in the house, so he begged a
little whey to drink with the fragments of our cold meat brought from
Callander. After a short rest in a cool parlour we set forward again,
having to cross the river and climb up a steep mountain on the opposite
side of the valley. I observed that the people were busy bringing in the
hay before it was dry into a sort of "fauld" or yard, where they
intended to leave it, ready to be gathered into the house with the first
threatening of rain, and if not completely dry brought out again. Our
guide bore me in his arms over the stream, and we soon came to the foot
of the mountain. The most easy rising, for a short way at first, was
near a naked rivulet which made a fine cascade in one place. Afterwards,
the ascent was very laborious, being frequently almost perpendicular.
It is one of those moments which I shall not easily forget, when at that
point from which a step or two would have carried us out of sight of the
green fields of Glenfalloch, being at a great height on the mountain, we
sate down, and heard, as if from the heart of the earth, the sound of
torrents ascending out of the long hollow glen. To the eye all was
motionless, a perfect stillness. The noise of waters did not appear to
come this way or that, from any particular quarter: it was everywhere,
almost, one might say, as if "exhaled" through the whole surface of the
green earth. Glenfalloch, Coleridge has since told me, signifies the
Hidden Vale; but William says, if we were to name it from our
recollections of that time, we should call it the Vale of Awful Sound.
We continued to climb higher and higher; but the hill was no longer
steep, and afterwards we pursued our way along the top of it with many
small ups and downs. The walk was very laborious after the climbing was
over, being often exceedingly stony, or through swampy moss, rushes, or
rough heather. As we proceeded, continuing our way at the top of the
mountain, encircled by higher mountains at a great distance, we were
passing, without notice, a heap of scattered stones round which was a
belt of green grass--green, and as it seemed rich, where all else was
either poor heather and coarse grass, or unprofitable rushes and spongy
moss. The Highlander made a pause, saying, "This place is much changed
since I was here twenty years ago." He told us that the heap of stones
had been a hut where a family was then living, who had their winter
habitation in the valley, and brought their goats thither in the summer
to feed on the mountains, and that they were used to gather them
together at night and morning to be milked close to the door, which was
the reason why the grass was yet so green near the stones. It was
affecting in that solitude to meet with this memorial of manners passed
away; we looked about for some other traces of humanity, but nothing
else could we find in that place. We ourselves afterwards espied another
of those ruins, much more extensive--the remains, as the man told us, of
several dwellings. We were astonished at the sagacity with which our
Highlander discovered the track, where often no track was visible to us,
and scarcely even when he pointed it out. It reminded us of what we read
of the Hottentots and other savages. He went on as confidently as if it
had been a turnpike road--the more surprising, as when he was there
before it must have been a plain track, for he told us that fishermen
from Arrochar carried herrings regularly over the mountains by that way
to Loch Ketterine when the glens were much more populous than now.
Descended into Glengyle, above Loch Ketterine, and passed through Mr.
Macfarlane's grounds, that is, through the whole of the glen, where
there was now no house left but his. We stopped at his door to inquire
after the family, though with little hope of finding them at home,
having seen a large company at work in a hay field, whom we conjectured
to be his whole household--as it proved, except a servant-maid, who
answered our inquiries. We had sent the ferryman forward from the head
of the glen to bring the boat round from the place where he left it to
the other side of the lake. Passed the same farm-house we had such good
reason to remember, and went up to the burying-ground that stood so
sweetly near the water-side. The ferryman had told us that Rob Roy's
grave was there, so we could not pass on without going up to the spot.
There were several tomb-stones, but the inscriptions were either
worn-out or unintelligible to us, and the place choked up with nettles
and brambles. You will remember the description I have given of the
spot. I have nothing here to add, except the following poem[24] which it
suggested to William:--
[Footnote 24: See _Rob Roy's Grave_, in "Poetical Works," vol. ii. p.
403.--ED.]
A famous Man is Robin Hood,
The English Ballad-singer's joy,
And Scotland boasts of one as good,
She has her own Rob Roy!
Then clear the weeds from off his grave,
And let us chaunt a passing stave
In honour of that Outlaw brave.
Heaven gave Rob Roy a daring heart
And wondrous length and strength of arm,
Nor craved he more to quell his foes,
Or keep his friends from harm.
Yet Robin was as wise as brave,
As wise in thought as bold in deed,
For in the principles of things
He sought his moral creed.
Said generous Rob, "What need of books?
Burn all the statutes and their shelves:
They stir us up against our kind,
And worse, against ourselves.
"We have a passion; make a law,
Too false to guide us or control:
And for the law itself we fight
In bitterness of soul.
"And puzzled, blinded thus, we lose
Distinctions that are plain and few:
These find I graven on my heart:
That tells me what to do.
"The Creatures see of flood and field,
And those that travel on the wind!
With them no strife can last; they live
In peace, and peace of mind.
"For why? Because the good old rule
Suffices them, the simple plan
That they should take who have the power,
And they should keep who can.
"A lesson which is quickly learn'd,
A signal this which all can see!
Thus nothing here provokes the strong
To tyrannous cruelty.
"And freakishness of mind is check'd;
He tamed who foolishly aspires,
While to the measure of their might
All fashion their desires.
"All kinds and creatures stand and fall
By strength of prowess or of wit,
'Tis God's appointment who must sway,
And who is to submit.
"Since then," said Robin, "right is plain,
And longest life is but a day;
To have my ends, maintain my rights,
I'll take the shortest way."
And thus among these rocks he lived
Through summer's heat and winter's snow;
The Eagle, he was lord above,
And Rob was lord below.
So was it--would at least have been
But through untowardness of fate;
For polity was then too strong:
He came an age too late.
Or shall we say an age too soon?
For were the bold man living now,
How might he flourish in his pride
With buds on every bough?
Then Rents and Land-marks, Rights of chase,
Sheriffs and Factors, Lairds and Thanes,
Would all have seem'd but paltry things
Not worth a moment's pains.
Rob Roy had never linger'd here,
To these few meagre vales confined,
But thought how wide the world, the times
How fairly to his mind.
And to his Sword he would have said,
"Do thou my sovereign will enact
From land to land through half the earth;
Judge thou of law and fact.
"'Tis fit that we should do our part;
Becoming that mankind should learn
That we are not to be surpass'd
In fatherly concern.
"Of old things all are over old,
Of good things none are good enough;
I'll shew that I can help to frame
A world of other stuff.
"I, too, will have my Kings that take
From me the sign of life and death,
Kingdoms shall shift about like clouds
Obedient to my breath."
And if the word had been fulfill'd
As might have been, then, thought of joy!
France would have had her present Boast,
And we our brave Rob Roy.
Oh! say not so, compare them not;
I would not wrong thee, Champion brave!
Would wrong thee nowhere; least of all
Here, standing by thy Grave.
For thou, although with some wild thoughts,
Wild Chieftain of a savage Clan,
Hadst this to boast of--thou didst love
The Liberty of Man.
And had it been thy lot to live
With us who now behold the light,
Thou wouldst have nobly stirr'd thyself,
And battled for the right.
For Robin was the poor man's stay;
The poor man's heart, the poor man's hand,
And all the oppress'd who wanted strength
Had Robin's to command.
Bear witness many a pensive sigh
Of thoughtful Herdsman when he strays
Alone upon Loch Veol's heights,
And by Loch Lomond's Braes.
And far and near, through vale and hill,
Are faces that attest the same;
Kindling with instantaneous joy
At sound of Rob Roy's name.