country, and to the rest of the community, and stifles the envy which the appearance of vast possessions and wealth, in the hands of an individual, is apt to generate. For the inspection of splendid and extensive scenery of this description around a mansion-house, the points of a public road are, of all others, the most convenient. The traveller gratifies his curiosity, while he pursues his journey, without further attention or trouble; the temptation to general and improper trespass is diminished, and the pretence for it taken away. The privacy of the proprietor, and preservation of his grounds, are equally consulted, while the public taste and curiosity are indulged in the easiest and most commodious manner. The traveller, along the side of the Ballach, has, in one view, a peculiar claim to this indulgence, since the road, apparently for the purpose of increasing the range and picturesque effect of the pleasure grounds, is drawn so high in the face of the declivity, that there is an ascent on the east, and a considerable descent at the west end of the valley, when it might have been formed, at the foot of the hill, a perfect level.

With respect to the mansion itself, it would certainly have been in more correct taste, if the appendages, called wings, had been, in appear

ance and size, more suitable to the main house or castle. The whole, as it is, has a tendency to suggest the idea of an eagle, with the wings of a snipe. The hermitage on the torrent, already mentioned, has been described as well worth the attention of tourists, but it was not visited on this occasion.

This place is said to have formerly belonged to the unfortunate tribe or clan of the Macgregors. This tribe, among the oldest, most numerous, and powerful of the highland clans, was at one time possessed of extensive and rich tracts of country: but they had the misfortune to be, of all the highland clans, the most pertinaciously and incorrigibly turbulent; and hardly a feud took place around them in which some of them were not engaged, either as principals or auxiliaries. The crown had no other means of quelling such disturbances, than that of granting a commission to the chief of some powerful neighbouring clan for their suppression; and the family of the Campbells of Lochawe, then always acting upon the policy of supporting the government on these occasions, rose upon the fall of the fortunes of the Macgregors. The policy was prudent in the individual, whether useful to the public or not, since the possessions of one or both of the contending parties were

the usual reward of the crown commissioner, and successful pacificator; and this method of remuneration would have been the less objectionable, were it not that it unavoidably created the temptation, and actually produced the practice, of secretly fomenting divisions for the sake of the fruits of the suppression. The interference of government, under such circumstances, seems to have been almost purely mischievous; the effect being only to raise one feud, in order to suppress another, and that in such a manner as to lay the ground-work for interminable future feuds. It ought to be recollected, however, that no family risked or suffered more than the noble families of the Campbells, in resisting the power of the crown, in subsequent ages, when directed to the utter subversion of the constitution and liberties of the country. But the result is that the descendants of the Knight of Lochawe, the present proprietors of this superb place of residence, ever increasing in fame, fortune, and power, now unite a large proportion of the whole of the highlands within their princely domains, while it was, till lately, a crime to bear the name of the ancient lords of this noble situation.

The village of Kénmore, consisting of a few

remarkably neat cottages, the parish church, manse, and an excellent inn, stands at the western extremity of the Ballach, on a neck of land jutting out into Loch Tay. This fine expanse of water is situate in the heart of the Braidalbane division of Perthshire, which has been defined to be that part of the country whose waters flow from south and north, to the loch and river of Tay, as to a common centre. This division is about fifty miles long from east to west, and about fourteen miles broad, at an average, thus comprehending an extent of 700 square miles. The district is almost wholly mountainous, but diversified with some beautiful sequestered valleys, of which the Ballach is the finest and most remarkable. It gives the title of Earl to that branch of the house of Campbell, whose chief place of residence, now called Taymouth, has been already described. The lake, a noble object in the scenery of this superb situation, is fifteen or sixteen miles long, in a bending course, from north east to south west, and from one to two miles broad. It is in several places 100 fathoms deep, abounds with perch, pike, eel, char, and trout; but above all, with excellent salmon, which are said to be clean at all seasons, a most remarkable property, if the allegation be well founded, and hardly re

concileable to the commonly received notions respecting the causes of the annual migrations of this valuable fish. It is also asserted, that salmon are at all times caught in the lake by Lord Braidalbane, who, it seems, has this singular privilege by his charter; a privilege which cannot be injurious, if the fish be really clean at all seasons, and which may be legal, if, as is probably the case, the legislative regula tions do not extend to fresh-water lakes, but are confined to rivers and firths. The lake, although partially bounded by some of the high est mountains in Scotland, has a rich margin of natural wood and cultivated fields along its course on both sides; while vast plantations of trees, of every size and variety, extend from the brink of the lake, at both ends, to the summits of the adjacent hills. The waters of the lake have at times suffered violent and extraordinary agitations; the most remarkable of which, as far as has been observed, occurred in September, 1784. Of this phenomenon, a brief and distinct account was given at the time, by Mr. Fleming, the clergyman of the parish of Kenmore, in a letter which is published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. "On Sunday, the 12th of September, 1784, "about nine o'clock in the morning, an un