SCOTT'S OPINION. 413 have been less celebrated. But Roslin and its adjacent scenery have other associations, dear to the antiquary and historian, which may fairly entitle it to precedence over every other Scottish scene of the same kind.' And so say we ! CHAPTER XLI. HAWTHORNDEN. Hawthornden House in Olden Time-The Modern Building- THE HE glen scenery of Roslin is continued to Hawthornden, which is within a mile of Roslin Castle, but on the opposite side of the Esk. Hawthornden House has been constructed on the very edge of a precipitous grey limestone rock, whose base is washed by the river. Its position marks it out as having been originally built with a view to defence. Only a fragment now exists of the old fortalice, whose early history, as in the case of Roslin, is altogether lost; but the family still preserve as relics of the old Hawthornden a marble slab, inscribed with the date 1396, and the initials of King Robert III. and his Queen Annabella Drummond, also her silk dress and shoes, and a two-handed sword of Robert Bruce. The modern Hawthornden dates back to 1638, as is testified by the following inscription over the entrance THE DRUMMOND FAMILY. 415 door of the house-- Divino munere Gulielmus Drummondus Johannis Equitis aurati filius ut honesto otio quiesceret sibi et successoribus instauravit. Anno 1638.' Of course, the William Drummond of this inscription was Drummond the poet, and the wish that it implies has been fulfilled after the lapse of many years, the estate passing into the hands of the Right Rev. Wm. Abernethy Drummond, Bishop of Edinburgh, up to the year 1801. The property is now possessed by the poet's descendant, Sir James Walker Drummond, Bart., who, for a nominal payment, liberally admits the public on three days of the week during the summer season to view his most interesting mansion. The poet's 'restoration' of his home is believed to have been tantamount to a rebuilding on the old foundations; and, at any rate, we may see in it almost as much of Drummond's ideal of a poet's home as may be seen in that 'romance of lime and stone' at Abbotsford. The family of Abernethy, of Salton, held Hawthornden upwards of 200 years; from them the estate passed to Douglas of Strabock, from whom it was purchased by the Drummonds. On the west gable of the house are the following inscriptions, placed above a seat hewn out of the rock, and commanding a remarkable view of the glen: To the memory of Sir Laurence Abernethy, of Hawthornden, second son to Sir William Abernethy of Salton, a brave and gallant soldier, who, at the head of a party in the year 1338, conquered Lord Dowglas five times in one day, yet was taken prisoner before sunset.'--Ford. Lib. xiii. cap. 44. To the memory of William Drummond, Esq., of Hawthornden, Poet and Historian, an Honour to his Family and an Ornament to his Country, this seat is dedicated by the Reverend Dr. William Abernethy Drummond, spouse to Mrs. Drummond, of Hawthornden, and second son Choice of the prudent, envy of the great! Here, blest with health, with business unperplex'd This life I relish, and secure the next.' These lines are by Young. To the north of the house is a room cut out of the rock, 16 feet by 12 feet, and about 6 feet high, and with four recesses in its sides. Still further to the north is another cave, which goes by the name of 'The Cypress Grotto,' and is so called from the tradition that it was a favourite resort of the poet, and that he therein wrote much of his celebrated moral treatise (in prose) called A Cypress Grove; or Philosophical Reflections against the Fear of Death.' Alexander Campbell, in his visit to Hawthornden, in 1802, draws upon his imagination for a lively image of Drummond in the moment of inspiration' in the following passage, in which the ornamental imagery of Mr. George Robins is worthily rivalled :- Immediately under the perpendicular rock on which the fortilage stands are a variety of forest-trees and evergreens, as oak, elm, beech, mountain-ash, willow, weeping birch, yew, Scotch pine, holly, and many exotic shrubs, with arbutus, rooted and mantling among chasms, most admirably blended in all the luxuriance of pure, simple, and elegant nature. In this sheltered spot, secluded from every human eye, the power of imagination can present a lively image of Drummond in the moment of inspiration seated in the DRUMMOND THE POET. 417 bosom of his favourite bower. A shower is heard pattering among the trees; it is over. The fragrance it has caused, and the soft salubrity which steals on the sense of smell; the mildness and freshness of the air; the murmuring of the rivulet, clear and reflective; the gentle movement of the living branches; the singing of birds, and the pauses filled by the lowing of cattle among the neighbouring woods; the bleating of sheep, far distant and out of view; with other rural sounds stealing at intervals on the ear; all, all touch and transport the poet to ecstasy.' But let the poet speak for himself as to the sounds that broke in upon that solitude at Hawthornden which he praises so highly in the following sonnet : Thrice happy he who by some shady grove, Far from the clamorous world, doth live his own. Thou solitary, who art not alone, But doth converse with that eternal love. O how more sweet is bird's harmonious moan, Or the hoarse sobbings of the widow'd dove, * A Journey from Edinburgh through Parts of North Britain, vol. ii. p. 309. † See The most Elegant and Elaborate Poems of that great CourtWit, Mr. William Drummond, whose Labours both in Verse and Prose being heretofore so precious to Prince Henry and to King Charles, shall live and flourish in all Ages, whiles there are Men to read them, or Art and Judgement to approve them.' 1659. One of the engraved portraits of the poet Drummond gives his coat of arms, on which are fifty-two quarterings. EE |