the western and north-western highlands; and, as the face and ridge of the northern hill are better cultivated and wooded than the side and summit of the hill on the south, the traveller who is desirous to see the valley generally to the best advantage will naturally prefer this road, which is besides the most direct and convenient for those who enter the Grampians from the Dunkeld pass. This southern road stretches through the grounds and extensive plain of Balnagard. Above the village or principal farm there are some remarkable waterfalls. A little to the west is the market-town or village of Inseh, a burgh of barony; and near it the walls of an old castle, said to have been built by King Gregory the Great, 900 years ago. From Inseh the road stretches through the estate of Grantully, for five miles, to the village of Aberfeldie, and at this point commences the Earl of Braidalbane's property in this quarter, which extends continuously to the sea-coast on the west.

About Aberfeldie, the southern side of the valley begins to assume a richer and more improved appearance in the declivity than the northern side. A greater number and variety of large and stately timber trees, with underwood of haze, birch, ash, mountain-ash, and other young trees, line the sides of the road,

which is carried along the foot of the southern hill. The house of Bolfracks appears close to the road on the left, in the midst of a thick grove. Its figure, which is that of a cross resembling an old church or cathedral, combined with its romantic situation, gives it a solemn and picturesque effect. Further on, the wood becomes thicker and more continuous. The lofty and spreading trees on each side, especially the oak, the favourite of the valley, intermingle their branches above the traveller's head, and almost darken the road at mid-day :' a delightful shade in the heat of summer. The road, without any very perceptible deviation from its level at any one point, gradually rises higher in the declivity. Through openings, which occur at intervals on both sides of the road, the whole face of the southern hills appears covered to the summit with wood, chiefly of the pine kind, with the exception of some open fields, the lungs of the forest, in which cattle and horses are seen feeding on the finest and richest grass among a few scattered trees. The broad plain of Appin spreads wide below, with its green and yellow divisions, and majestic winding river; and the northern ridge rises high on the right, with its verdant declivity and craggy summit. The vast mass of Drummond hill, completely covered with wood, swells

aloft in the middle of the plain, marking the western limit of the wide valley, and overhanging the rapid flow of the Lyon, which, rushing impetuously from the north under the brow of the hill, there mingles its waters with the Tay. The broad side of Drummond Hill then forms the southern boundary of the narrower but still spacious vale of the Ballach. The well-levelled, smooth, and rich plain on the bank of the river, broad and deep, though newly issued from its parent lake, the abundance and variety of the well-preserved woods on the hills and declivities, the regular and fertile openings in the forest, and other marks of the effect of art, indicate the vicinity of the mansion of some powerful chief; and the application of the utmost efforts of skill and labour to smooth and soften the asperity and wildness of the surrounding scenery, and to give it all the beauty and picturesque appearance of a rich and varied prospect, without detracting from the natural grandeur of this most noble situation. At the point of the road, opposite to the eastern end of Drummond hill, a little gate appears on the right, where a narrow private path leads into the grounds, with a board raised on a pole, threatening, in large letters, the rigours of the law against trespassers: non sic olim. From this gate the road, ascending a little to the left, conducts the

traveller through a thick wood of tall and spreading trees, of which the great size and variety are rendered more remarkable by the rugged appearance of the steep declivity in which they grow. A fine broad arch of elegant blue greyish stone, with turrets on each side, and a broad gateway below, soon appear, exhibiting a rich verdant lawn behind, and marking this as a principal approach to the expected castle. The noise of a mountain stream is heard as the traveller proceeds through the gloom of the thick forest, and anxiously looks for some opening on the right to exhibit the plain and opposite hills. By alighting and looking down below the line of the branches of the upper trees, one catches an occasional glimpse of a green field and lower part of some building; but curiosity is rather excited than gratified, and the disappointed traveller begins to experience no very favourable feeling towards those who at first seem to him to have had a perverse satisfaction in shutting up from public view a prospect which promised to be so well worthy of general admiration. The noise of the stream, swoln by recent rains, became more distinct and louder; the light is let in upon the road over the tops of the trees, descending in the sides of its deep-worn channel.

The desired opening appears. A pretty little bridge is thrown across the gulf, and there the scene bursts at once in full splendour on the astonished sight. A spacious, massy, and lofty structure, of the beautiful blue grey stone, already mentioned, surmounted by fine turrets, and full of large windows in front, rises from the plain, uniting the idea of the power, strength, and grandeur associated with the ancient castle, and that of the convenience, comfort, and brilliancy of modern refinement. From each end of this noble mansion, a neat modern house is advanced, upon which, in that situation, the eye does not much love to rest. A considerable part of the rich verdant lawn, extending over the whole breadth and length of the valley, from the eastern point of Drummond Hill to the lake, is seen surrounding the castle, with single trees scattered along its surface. Drummond Hill, the opposite wall of this splendid inclosure, presents its long, steep, and high green broadside of growing wood, overhanging the dark flood that rolls along its base. The whole forms a perfect representation of the sublime and beautiful in scenery, while the effect is heightened by the unceasing deafening roar of the torrent, dashing furiously down the deep rocky bed, worn in