THE Scots Magazine, AND EDINBURGH LITERARY MISCELLANY, For DECEMBER 1815. Description of the Tower of ALLOA. was built about the end of the 13th century. It was at first the property of the Sovereigns of Scotland; but in 1369, David II. ex-. changed it with Lord Erskine, for the estate of Strathgartney, in Perth shire. An intimate friendship long subsisted between the family of Erskine and the Royal House of Stewart, of which many memorials are preserved. Several of the Scottish Princes, while under the wardship of the Earl of Mar, received their education here. It contained some very fine pictures, particularly a half length of Queen Mary; and, till 1800, it was the residence of the Erskines of Mar. On the 28th August 1800, a fire broke out, by which the mansion was burnt to the ground, and the Tower only remained. The picture of Queen Mary was destroyed; but the other pictures, with the books and papers, and part of the furniture, were fortunately preserved. The Tower is situated nearly in the heart of the town of Alloa. It is 89 feet high, and the thickness of the walls 11 feet. It is surrounded with very fine gardens, chiefly in the old-fashioned style. Description of Scotland in the Reign of James I. From Historia Etatum Mundi. By Hartmann Schedel. Nuremburg, 1493. SCOTLAND is the remotest por-. Here tion of that island in which England is situated, and lies to the North of the latter country, from which it is separated by rivers of moderate size, and by a certain mountain. we were in the time of winter, when the sun enlightened the earth for little more than three hours. James then reigned, a prince of a square form, and a large belly. Having been formerly taken by the English, he had been kept a prisoner for eleven years. At length, being dismissed, he took a wife from England, and returning home, slew many nobles with the sword. But he himself was at length slain by his own domestics; whose revenge being completed, his son assumed the kingdom. We had formerly heard that there grew in Scot land a tree, above the bank of a river, which produced fruits having the form (anetarum) which, when they were neatly ripe, fell off spontaneously, some upon the ground, others into the water. Those that fell on the ground rotted, but those that fell into the water, first swam in the We the rivers with fins, and then flew in the air with feathers and wings. On enquiring eagerly about this matter, we learned, that spurious miracles fly always farther and farther. The famous tree, we were told, was to be found, not in Scotland, but in the Orkney Islands. But the following miracle was presented to us. saw poor people, almost naked, coming to church and begging; upon which they received stones, for which they expressed thanks, and shewed the greatest joy. This kind of stone being composed of sulphur, or other fat matter, is burned instead of wood, of which the country is destitute. Theodosius, marquis of Parma, by whom he had several sons, besides his heir, 4. Axo-The second, who was third marquis of Este, and the founder of the Brunswick family, by his wife Maria, sister to Guelph III. earl of Alost, and, by her, was father to 5. Guelph -Surnamed the Robust, who, about 1070, was by the emperor Henry IV. made duke of BaJaria he married Judith, daughter of Baldwin earl of Flanders, and widow of Tosto earl of Kent, brother to Harold king of England. He left by her, two sons, Guelph, who died without issue, and 6. Henry-Called the Black. He married Wilfenden, daughter of Maginus, duke of East Saxony, was by her, father of Henry, and of Guelph, who settled in Italy. 7. Henry II.-Called the Haughty, 8. married Gertrude, daughter to the Emperor Lothaire II. of whom he had the investiture of Bavaria, and afterwards the dukedom of Saxony. He died about the year 1179, and was succeeded by his son Henry III. — Called the Lyon, duke of Saxony, one of the most powerful princes in Germany. He married Maud, or Matilda, daughter of Henry II. king of England, and great grand-daughter of king Malcolm III. of Scotland, called Ceanmore. By her he was father of Otho, who was elected emperor of Germany, and died without issue. Henry was count Palatine of the Rhine, by means of his wife Agnes. His third son 9. William I.-Called Longsword, was Duke of Brunswick. His brother Otho, then Emperor, had erected these lands into a dukedom in favour of William, who married Helena, daughter of Waldemar king of Denmark, by whom he was father of |