LACHIN Y GAIR. poems which spring from gloomy feelings, his memory refreshes his spirit, as the mountain air gave him health and energy in his rambles: "When I roved a young Highlander o'er the dark heath, I rose with the dawn; with my dog as my guide, Hours of Idleness. It was amidst such scenes, as the view which Mr. Robson's drawing presents, that Byron rambled in the mountains and the glens of this part of the Grampian range. Here "the summit of Lachin y Gair rises over the centre of the distant group. The eminence towards the right side of the plate, on which is scattered a birch-wood, is called the Craig of Clunie; at its base is the river Dee; in the middle distance, more towards the left, is Invercauld House, the hospitable mansion of Mr. Farquharson. Invercauld is situated in the midst of the Grampians, in a flat and fertile valley, watered by the Dee; the west side of this valley is screened by bold rocks, which are adorned with aged birch-trees; the hills that rise opposite to these have a more prolonged ascent, and are invested with the deep green of Scotch fir, or the pine, with which the pale hue of the birch occasionally mingles. The eminences that rise to the south and are connected with the great mountain of Lachin y Gair, have on their sides an extensive forest of large and ancient pines; on the north, the rocky front of Ben y Bourd forms a fine boundary to the scene, in an extended range of precipices, whose summits retain traces of snow throughout the year." "As a picturesque object, few mountains in the Grampian range are more interesting than Lachin y Gair. Though its summit stretches horizontally to a great extent, it is far from presenting a heavy or inelegant contour, for even where its broad front is displayed to the spectator, the brow of it is diversified by gentle inflections or pointed asperities. The peculiar acuteness of its highest pinnacle is another circumstance of characteristic beauty, which distinguishes this mountain from its more lumpish neighbours; but the most sublime feature of Lachin y Gair consists in those immense perpendicular cliffs of granite, which give such impressive grandeur to its north-eastern aspect. This stupendous precipice extends upwards of a mile and a half in length, and its height is from 950 to 1300 feet. Lachin Ꭹ Gair does not enjoy the advantages of an insulated situation with respect to the neighbouring LACHIN Y GAIR. hills. On the west it is connected with a number of lofty mountains, which extend far into the adjacent counties; but viewed from some of the stations which the banks of the Dee afford, its altitude surmounts those obstructions to a display of its majestic form, which the inferior eminences contiguous to it present to the spectator; and the mountain of Lachin y gair may justly be esteemed the finest feature that occurs in the eastern portion of the Grampian chain." Robson's Scenery of the Grampians. D |