CHAP. XVII.

ABERDEENSHIRE BIRDS-ABERDEENSHIRE FORESTRY

SLANESCASTLE-ITS EXTRAORDINARY SITUATION-THE LATE EARL OF ERROL-THE BULLERS OF BUCHAN-PETERHEAD EFFECT OF FIRST SEEING A TREE-BANFF-DUFF-HOUSE-THE EARL OF FIFE- CULLEN-FINE MARBLE-FINLATER-HOUSECASTLE

GORDON

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ELGIN

ANECDOTES OF SCOTTISH PEASANTS CATHEDRAL-RURAL ECONOMY.

-THE

UPON quitting Aberdeen, I slept at a hamlet, distant about sixteen miles. The Scotch in general reckon the distance, in posting, by the English mile; but sometimes they confound the English with the Scottish mile, to the no little vexation of the English traveller. A Scotch mile is fifteen hundred geometrical paces, an English mile twelve hundred. The inn was a comfortable one; and, for supper, a branded fowl, as it is called, from its being broiled on the gridiron, was introduced. Here, and in other parts of Scotland, I found that, upon the arrival of a guest, when the larder afforded nothing else, it was common to seize upon the first luckless fowl that came within the reach of the cook, which was instantly put to death, and speedily served up in the way I have mentioned. The ride to this place was

ABERDEENSHIRE FORESTRY.

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flat and extremely dreary. In many parts nature appeared worn to the bone, the rocks rising through the thin surface of the earth. No trees waved their ample branches in the breeze; and the song of the bird was not heard. Many parts of Aberdeenshire reminded me of Russian Finland, except that it wanted its rude masses of rock, which in that country every where line the road. It has been whimsically said, that in Aberdeenshire the birds are accustomed to build their nests upon the ground, so great is the scarcity of hedges and trees.

The contrast between the barren face of the country and the polished state of society very strongly presents itself to the observation. A young artist from Aberdeenshire went to London, to advance his fortunes, and applied to be an assistant scene-painter at one of the theatres: upon being examined as to his qualifications, particularly with regard to trees, he observed, "I can paint a rural scene, but know nothing about your forestry." Notwithstanding these remarks, which arise from what I saw, I am informed that in some parts of Aberdeenshire there are thriving plantations, and that industry and enterprise are doing all within their power to mitigate the severity of

nature.

In making our way to Slanes Castle, the curricle of a

friend of mine, who accompanied me to Peterhead, sustained many a severe shock, and threatened us with frequent overthrow. The cross road to this singular spot is only fit for horse-travelling. Very little, I was informed, remains of the ancient Castle of Slanes, it having been demolished by King James VI., in the Earl of Huntley's rebellion in 1594.

My astonishment increased as I approached the more modern fabric. Upon a wide waste, without verdure and without a tree, the turrets of the castle rose before us. Upon alighting to view its front towards the sea, it presented the extraordinary appearance of a large solid mansion resting upon a rock, lashed by the tempestuous ocean that divides Scotland from Norway. Within, I found a very comfortable house, having a square court, and a gallery leading to the rooms on each side; the drawing-room looks immediately upon the sea, which in stormy weather covers its windows with spray, and wanted nothing but the motion of the waves to make me conceive that I was looking from the cabin-windows of a large man of war. Who will not be surprised to hear that such a chosen scene of gloomy grandeur and magnificent desolation was the hereditary residence of a family at once distinguished for their rank and refinement of manners? It is the seat of the Earl of Errol, who, by the articles of the Union, as well as by an

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act of parliament abolishing the heritable jurisdiction in Scotland, is the hereditary Lord High Constable of Scotland. In the room I have been describing is a fine and very handsome portrait of the late Earl, in his parliamentary robes, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Dr. Beattie thus feelingly and elegantly delineates the character of this amiable nobleman, to whom he was much indebted for many marked civilities, in a letter which he wrote to Mrs. Montagu, upon the subject of his Lordship's death :---" Lord Errol's death, of which you must have heard, is a great loss to this country, and matter of unspeakable regret to his friends. I owed him much; but, independently of all considerations of gratitude, I had a sincere liking and very great esteem for him. In his manners he was wonderfully agreeable; a most affectionate and attentive parent, husband, and brother; elegant in his economy, and perhaps expensive, yet exact and methodical. He exerted his influence, as a man of rank and a magistrate, in doing good to all the neighbourhood; and it has often been mentioned, to his honour, that no man ever administered an oath with a more pious and commanding solemnity than he: he was regular in his attendance upon public worship, and exemplary in the performance of it. In a word, he was adored by his servants, a blessing to his tenants, and the darling of the whole country. His stature was six feet four inches, and his proportions most exact. His countenance and deportment

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THE BULLERS OF BUCHAN.

exhibited such a mixture of the sublime and the graceful as I have never seen united in any other man. He often put me in mind of an ancient hero; and I remember Dr. Samuel Johnson was positive that he resembled Homer's character of Sarpedon." At the coronation of his present Majesty, this Lord Errol officiated as Lord High Constable of Scotland. The library is a very comfortable apartment, and well supplied. The murmur of the waves without seemed auspicious to study and meditation. I should much like to be under the roof of Slanes Castle

"When the storms aloft arise, when the north lifts the wave on high."

OSSIAN.

The road to Peterhead, by the way of the Buller, or Boiler, of Buchan, distant from the castle about two miles, was represented to be so bad, that I mounted a led horse, and my friend went round by the main road.

The Buller is very near to a little romantic hamlet of fishermen, and resembles from the top of the rock on which we stood, and which forms its walls, a vast well, opening, at the bottom, through a large caverned passage, into the sea, which in stormy weather rushes in through this aperture, and, striking against the opposite side, rises to a prodigious height, considerably above the top, sometimes throwing up large stones in its rage: in this state