the Grampian Mountains. By and by the river itself is seen gliding along from Crieff, where it is augmented by the water of Turret. Stratherne now intersects Strathmore, or rather forms a part of the GREAT VALLEY. The Upper Stratherne is dotted, particularly near Crieff, with a greater number of gentlemen's seats than might be expected from either the extent of the country, though great, or its fertility, though not inconsiderable. A great part, and sometimes the greater part of the estates appertaining to these, is situated in the mountainous country to the north west, and, in a few instances, in the Aichils, on the south.

On the south and west of the Erne, two miles south of Crieff, on the great military road, is seen Drummond Castle, the seat of the earls of Perth, among whom was the chancellor Perth, who figures greatly in Scotland in the reign of king James II. It is situated on the precipice of a rock, fronting, as is usual with those appearances of nature, the southwest, rising in a beautiful bay of land, covered with a fine natural wood, and a number of fine stately trees planted. Castle Drummond commands Strathmore, as far as the eye can reach, which is as far, they say, as FORFAR, in Angus, and down Stratherne, and the Frith of Tay, as far as Dundee. Three miles down the river is Machany, situated in a beautiful and extensive plain, the seat of the Drummonds, viscounts of Strathallan. The title is extinct, but the estate is still in the possession of the Drummonds. There is a very extensive natural wood at Machany, and some old trees, particularly one or two of immense size. Fronting Drummond

Castle, in a concavity of the serpentinizing Erne, stands the Castle of Inner Paffray, the antient seat of the Lords of Maderty. It has a pleasing and a venerable aspect-an old castle-old trees-and old chapel. It would be tedious to notice all the beautiful residences in this romantic region, but I cannot pass over Auchtertire, the seat of Sir Patrick Murray, situated on a shelf of BEN Y CHOIN, in the midst of a fine natural wood, looking down on the Loch of Monivard, covering thirty acres of ground, and aslant the valley of the Erne, into the pass of Glen Eagles, which opens a very easy communication with Clackmannan. As to the Lower Sratherne, it is so beautifully inclosed between verdant hills, so delightfully watered by the Erne, and the brooks and rivulets that fall into it on either hand, so neatly divided into well fenced and well cultivated fields, and so thickly interspersed with gentlemen's seats, that it seems to be one garden or piece of pleasure-ground. If we take in the scenery of the Hill of Moncrieff, with the cliff of Kinnoull, and the conflux of the Erne and Tay, expanding, after their junction, into a spacious Estuary, it would be difficult for the magnificent taste of even an emperor of China, to form a garden on a nobler scale.

From Drummond Castle, or rather the village of Muthil, near it, where I rested for some hours, or wandered about in its vicinity, I went in the evening to Crieff. This is a very populous and thriving village, containing upwards of two thousand souls. It is situated on the southern slope of a hill, isolated from the Grampians by a narrow dell or glen, called the KNOCK of Crieff. Being at an equal distance between Perth and Stirling, and lying on the military

road which diverges here in branches, leading to Loch Erne, through Glenalmon, to the Bridge of Aberfeldie, and to Perth. It is a place of great resort, and to this circumstance chiefly it owes its prosperity.

CRIEFF.

Travellers, bodies of troops, in their march from one station to another, and great numbers of Highlanders, bringing what things they can spare in exchange for the articles they want, render Crieff a very stirring place. The manufacture of linen too flourishes here. There are also corn mills, three paper mills, a cotton, and three oil mills, belonging to this place. It enjoys a variegated prospect of mountains, hills, and woods, contrasted with the extensive plains of Stratherne. The soil is light, dry, and sandy, and intersected for many miles around by running waters. It is accounted the Montpelier of Scotland; and, with other places in the vicinity, resorted to in the summer by people from Glasgow, Edinburgh, and other towns, on account of the purity of the air, goat-whey, and the beauty and grandeur of the natural scenery. On looking westward into the Grampians, around Loch Erne, and where the river issues through a narrow Glen into the plain of Comrie, famous for one or two of Agricola's camps, the face of nature various, rugged, abrupt, and sublime, one is constrained to philosophise, however unskilfully, on the formation of at least the surface of this globe.

All the old people in Crieff, and within a few

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miles of it, to the north and to the west, every one, both old and young, speaks both the Gaelic and the English language. This is the part where the Highland and the Erse language penetrate farthest into the Lowlands. As there is a post-office here, and that this is more central, perhaps, than any other place of equal size and accommodation to Scotland, and opening an easy communication every way, with both the Highlands and Lowlands; it is a charming spot to spend the summer in, to any one who can be introduced to the numerous gentry in the neighbourhood, who are, I have been informed by those who know them, on the whole, hospitable and polite in their manners, even beyond what is common in Scotland. But, at the same time, the sojourner at Crieff should not be a poor man. Crieff is the capital of the upper, as Abernethey is of the lower Stratherne. There are two excellent inns at Crieff. But every thing almost is twice, nay sometimes more than twice, as dear at the former capital as at the latter.

As the upper Stratherne, particularly that part of it which extends from the lake to Crieff, is resorted to in the summer by invalids for the salubrity of the air, and goat whey; so, also, in the Lower Stratherne, there is, in the same season, a concourse of people at PITKETHLEY WELLS, the waters of which are used commonly, and frequently with eminent success, in scorbutic and other cases. There are five distinct springs, all of the same quality, but of different degrées of strength. The water, is said, and I believe truly, to be," gentle in its operation, to relieve the stomach of crudities, cool the blood, procure an appe

tite, exhilarate the spirits, and instead of weakening the constitution to strengthen it." Some springs, very similar in their nature and effect, it seems, have been lately discovered at Hampstead, by Mr. Goodwin, a surgeon at that place: which, even if they should not possess all the virtues of Pitkethley Wells, must be of great service to many in its neighbourhood, if they should only, by a gentle and safe operation, relieve the stomach from crudities, and cool the blood.

Being informed, by accident, at the inn in Crieff, that a family from the banks of the Forth, with which I had the happiness to be intimately ac quainted, was at this time at Pitkethley Wells, I determined, instead of pursuing my route directly to Perth, to return to that watering place, which is situated in the middle of the Lower Stratherne. I had discharged my bill in the evening, as I was to take my departure early next morning; but the landlord, as I passed his parlour, was ready, at the early hour of six o'clock, with cakes, and bottles of rum, brandy, and whiskey, to give me, according to the good old custom, he said, deuchan dorish, or a drink at the door. I shuddered at the very idea of drinking ardent spirits on a hot summer morning; nor did I express any cordial thanks to my host; being more out of humour with his bill-perhaps because I had been spoilt at Abernethey-than gratified by his offer of deuchan dorish.

Departing from Crieff, I went by Inver Paffray, and another seat called the Mill of Erne, a very beautiful residence on the banks of the river, with fine orchards, and other plantations, and in front de