ELGIN,

[Hotels: The Gordon Arms; the Star; the Station. Population 7543.] the principal town of Elgin or Morayshire, is noted both for some curiosities of street architecture and the amenity of its situation. Its noble double-towered Cathedral was founded by the Bishop of Moray in the year 1223, and is a building

of most elegant proportions. In 1390 it was burnt by Alexander Stewart, a natural son of Robert II., called, from his ferocious habits, "The Wolf of Badenoch." Gradually it rose out of its ruins, and by the year 1538, the great central steeple was completed. But in 1568, the council under the

Regent Moray ordered it to be stripped of its leaden roof, to be "sauld and disponit upon" for the sinews of war. On Easter-day 1711, the great central tower fell in, and these calamities by fire and violence, coupled with the neglect of time, have brought it to its present ruinous condition. Sufficient of it remains, however, to bear out its character as one of the most stately of the ecclesiastical edifices of Scotland. About a mile to the west of the town a monument has been erected to the last Duke of Gordon, on a rising ground called Lady-hill, from which there is a good view.

Another object of interest near Elgin is Pluscardine Abbey, situated in a wooded valley six miles to the south-east. "Few places," says Mr. Billings, "convey a better impression of medieval civilization and monastic repose. The architecture is chiefly that fine, solemn, early English, called the first pointed, with a few of those peculiarities which indicate that the progress towards the decorated forms had already begun. Some portions are of a period still later, and have some tinges of the French flamboyant style. That northern peculiarity, the preservation of the old semicircular arch, is here conspicuous."

About six miles from Elgin, and connected with it by railway, is Lossiemouth, a village on the coast, near the mouth of the Moray Firth.

The distance from Elgin to Fochabers by road is nine miles. On the way we pass Contin Tower, and the village of Lhanbryde, on the property of the Earl of Fife, and crossing the river Spey, reach Fochabers (Gordon Arms Hotel), a village that forms a sort of appendage to the princely Castle Gordon, the ancient seat of the Dukes of Gordon, now represented by the Duke of Richmond.

The entrance to the Park is by a handsome arch at the west end of the town, and the road winds fully a mile down an easy ascent, through a grove of tall spreading trees and shrubberies. The castle is a large building of four storeys, with two-storeyed wings, and connecting galleries or arcades of a similar height, the whole exhibiting a front of uniform regularity of 540 feet in extent. Behind the main building rises a square tower six storeys high, which was the origin from which the present pile sprung. The gloomy tower then stood in the centre of a morass, called the Bog of Gight, accessible only by

a narrow causeway and a drawbridge. From this the ancestor of the Duke of Gordon acquired the soubriquet of the Gudeman of the Bog.

The adjoining grounds are of very great extent, affording a variety of drives and extensive forests spread over the mountain-side, near which are several parks of fallow deer. Many of the trees are of large dimensions, particularly the limes, horse-chesnut, and walnuts. One lime behind the castle measures 18 feet in girth, and its droopbranches cover an area of more than 200 feet in circumference. But their principal feature is the river Spey, which a few miles northward falls into the Moray Firth, supplying in a short course one of the most valuable salmon fishings in Scotland.

The village of Fochabers* is perhaps the neatest and best laid out of its size north of Aberdeen. In the centre of the town is a large square, laid out in shrubberies, from the east and west of which diverge several good streets now lighted with gas. On the south side is the parish church, having a portico, and surmounted by a neat

* From Fochabers a road is carried along the sea coast by Cullen and Cullen House (the seat of the Earl of Seafield), and Portsoy to Banff, distant 26 m. p. 549.)

From Orton Junction, about four miles north of Fochabers, there is a branch line of six miles to Rothes and Craigellachie. Rothes may also be reached by a beautiful walk of ten miles up the banks of the river Spey. This village is situated on a plain several miles in length, and environed by beautifully wooded hills, and the lofty Benrinnes, the most northerly of the Grampian chain, looks sublimely down upon it. The Glen Grant distillery, near Rothes, is one of the largest establishments of the kind in the north, and it gives employment to a number of persons about the place. Much interest is attached to Rothes, from the fishings on the Spey, and the neighbouring moors, to which there are experienced guides.

Near the west end, and overlooking the village, stands part of the wall of the ancient Castle of Rothes, once the seat of the Leslies, Earls of Rothes. They removed to Fifeshire about the year 1700, having sold their possessions in Rothes to Grant of Elchies. At the north end of the village a road strikes off on the right to Elgin (which is 10 miles distant), down a defile called the Glen of Rothes. From Fochabers the Spey may be followed nearly to its source, by the road, of which the following is an itinerary:-Fochabers to Rothes, 10 miles; Rothes via Craigellachie Bridge, Avon Bridge, and Spey Bridge, at Grantown, to Aviemore, 393; Aviemore via Kinrara to Kingussie, 12; Kingussie via Cluny Castle, to Laggan Bridge, 10; Laggan Bridge via Garviemore Inn, to Loch Spey, 16. From Garviemore over Corryarick to Fort Augustus, 20. Or from Laggan Bridge the tourist may go by Loch Laggan and Glen Spean to Fort William, about 40 miles.*

* A separate Guide to this tour is published by Mr. Keith, Inverness, from which part of the above information is quoted. See also "Speyside, etc.," by John Longmuir, A. M., LL.D., 1860.

spire; and the town contains a very elegant Roman Catholic chapel. Alexander Milne, Esq., of New Orleans, a native of Fochabers, bequeathed to the town of Fochabers the sum of 100,000 dollars, to be employed in establishing a free school, with competent teachers. This stands a few hundred yards east of the town, and is a very great ornament, as well as a boon to the place. Population in 1851,

1097.

From Fochabers the village of Keith is 9 miles distant by road. Proceeding onwards by the train, we pass on to Aberdeen, by Huntly, Inveramsay, Inverury, and Kintore. At the latter is Keith Hall, the seat of the Earl of Kintore. Huntly, in Strathbogie, is noted for the ruins of Huntly Castle, a very fine old fabric, built by George, first Marquis of Huntly, whose name, and that of his wife, Henrietta Stewart (daughter of the Duke of Lennox), are inscribed on various parts both of the exterior and interior. This castle was, next to Gordon Castle, the principal stronghold of the powerful family of Gordon. Huntly Lodge, near the castle, is a seat of the Duchess of Gordon, who erected a fine seminary as a gateway in honour of her late husband.

At Inveramsay station the Turriff and Banff line of railway strikes off northwards, and passes close to Fyvie Castle, one of the most interesting specimens in Scotland of the chateau or baronial style of architecture, in some respects excelling Glamis, more particularly the staircase. The original castle dates as far back as the thirteenth century, but it is supposed to be mostly indebted for its latter ornamentation to Chancellor Seaton (ninth son of George, Lord Seaton) who was created Lord Chancellor and Earl of Dunfermline at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The building is in a state of excellent preservation, and now belongs to the family of Gordon of Fyvie. It is situated on the eastern bank of the river Ythan, near the parish church of Fyvie, where is still to be seen the tombstone of Agnes Smith, or "Mill o' Fifty's Annie," the heroine of the ballad of "Andrew Lammie."

About twelve miles to the east of Fyvie is Haddo House, the seat of the Earl of Aberdeen; near it is the village of Methlic, and "the auld house o' Gicht."

Four miles north of this (on the left) is the fine old castle of Towie Barclay, for many centuries the residence of

the family of Barclay or Berkley. Over the main entrance is the following inscription :

Sir Alexander Barclay of Tolly, Foundator, decessit Anno Domini 1136.

Passing on the right Hatton Castle (L. Duff, Esq.), we reach the town of TURRIFF. The railway skirts the left side of the Deveron, and on the left are Forglen House (Sir G. S. Abercromby, Bart.), and Mountblairy (Morison, Esq.) Passing through a bleak district, and close by the pretty parish kirk of King Edward, the traveller is landed at the Banff station, within a mile of which, on the right, are the village and seaport of Macduff, and on the left the royal burgh of

BANFF,

[Hotel: The Fife Arms. Pop. 6762.]

beautifully situated at the mouth of the river Deveron. It is a place of great antiquity, having been noticed as a royalty since the year 1057. It contains several handsome public buildings, some curious old houses, and Banff Castle, a residence of the Earl of Seafield. In the immediate neighbourhood is Duff House, the magnificent mansion of the Earl of Fife, surrounded by extensive plantations. The park is fourteen miles in circumference. About a century ago, Banff was the scene of the execution of a noted robber, named Macpherson, whose "farewell" has been made the subject of a spirited song by Burns.

INVERNESS TO CROMARTY.

Between the Moray and Cromarty Firths intervenes an extensive peninsular district of country, known as “The Black Isle," across which there is a road by Kessock Ferry to Dingwall, which is several miles shorter than the main road round the head of the firth by Beauly. The whole of the Black Isle is well peopled; but the portions to the eastward of Kessock Ferry are comparatively little frequented by the tourist. They, however, demand a brief notice in the following tour.

Kessock Ferry is about a mile from Inverness, and the plain on which it is built advances on the waters of the firth,