tremendous triple tier of vaults, stands upon a peninsular rock, overhanging the picturesque glen of the Esk, and is accessible only by a bridge of great height, thrown over a deep cut in the solid rock, which separates it from the adjacent ground. This castle, the origin of which is involved in obscurity, was long the abode of the proud family of the St. Clairs, Earls of Caithness and Orkney. In 1544, it was burned down by the Earl of Hertford; and, in 1650, it surrendered to General Monck. About sixty or seventy years ago, the comparatively modern mansion, which has been erected amidst the ruins of the old castle, was inhabited by a genuine Scottish laird of the old stamp, the lineal descendant of the high race who first founded the pile, and the last male of their long line. He was Captain of the Royal Company of Archers, and Hereditary Grand Master of the Scottish Masons. At his death, the estate descended to Sir James Erskine St. Clair, father of the present Earl of Rosslyn, who now represents the family.

The neighbouring moor of Roslin was the scene of a celebrated battle, fought 24th February 1302, in which the Scots, under Comyn, then guardian of the kingdom, and Simon Fraser, attacked and defeated three divisions of the English on the same day.*

After leaving Roslin, we pass the caves of Gorton,

"Three triumphs in a day!

Three hosts subdued by one!
Three armies scatter'd like the spray

Beneath one summer sun.

Who, pausing 'mid this solitude

Of rocky streams, and leafy trees,-
Who, gazing o'er this quiet wood,
Would ever dream of these?

Or have a thought that ought intrude,
Save birds and humming bees?"

A

situated in the front of a high cliff on the southern side of the stream. These caverns, during the reign of David II., while Scotland was overrun by the English, afforded shelter to the gallant Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalwolsey, with a band of chosen patriots.

Passing through scenery of great natural beauty, the footpath down the river conducts the tourist to

HAWTHORNDEN,

the classical habitation of the poet Drummond, the friend of Shakspeare and Jonson; it is now the property of Sir Francis Walker Drummond. "This romantic spot seems to have been formed by nature in one of her happiest moments. All the materials that compose the picturesque seem here combined in endless variety: stupendous rocks, rich and varied in colour, hanging in threatening aspect, crowned with trees that expose their bare branching roots; here the gentle birch hanging midway, and there the oak, bending its stubborn branches, meeting each other; huge fragments of rocks impede the rapid flow of the stream, that hurries brawling along unseen, but heard far beneath, mingling in the breeze that gently agitates the wood." Being built with some view to defence, the house rises from the very edge of the grey cliff, which descends sheer down to the stream. An inscription, on the front of the building, testifies that it was repaired by the poet in 1638. It is well known, that Ben Jonson walked from London, on foot, to visit Drummond, and lived several weeks with him at Hawthornden. Under the mansion are several subterraneous caves, hewn out of the solid rock with great labour, and connected with each other by long passages; in the court-yard there is a well of prodigious depth, which