LANDSCAPE, by Claude. A fine picture, with much of the charming repose and harmony of tone that distinguish this master. But at present its merits must be received as matter of faith rather than of demonstration, for its surface is so much cracked and obscured by smoke, that the refined gradations of tint and delicacies of tone in which Claude was pre-eminent, can scarcely be distinguished. The picture should be cleaned and lined by some judicious hand.

PORTRAIT OF GENERAL TALMASH (Tollemache ?).

and tone.

Very excellent in colour

STATUE OF A GREEK GIRL. Principally to be valued for the graceful flow of the drapery. The head is modern.

TWO PIER TABLES, supported by legs exquisitely carved in box.
PAIR OF CHINA VASES, of very large size, and of extreme beauty.

THE GALLERY.

ELIZABETH, DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUGH, and her daughter LADY MARY MONTAGUE, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, "the purest painter of women and children who ever lived in the art." This picture, painted in 1777, is probably the most valuable in the collection; full to overflowing with all the characteristic excellences of the master. To point out any predominating beauty is scarcely possible, so very perfect is the balance of every valuable attribute in art. It is in admirable preservation.

DOWAGER MARCHIONESS OF QUEENSBERRY, in her childhood, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. The original of the engraving known by the name of "Winter."

CHARLES, DUKE OF BUCCLEUGH, in his boyhood, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. ST. FRANCIS,

ST. AUGUSTINE,} by Zurbaran.

NYMPHS BATHING, by Poelemburg. A cabinet picture of seductive brilliancy of colour and harmony of tone.

LANDSCAPE, a composition, by Claude. Steeped in sunshine and luxurious repose.

JUDGMENT OF PARIS, by the same master (?).

WOODY LANDSCAPE, by Ruysdael. A charming transcript of nature, replete with truth and picturesque beauty.

Two CATTLE PIECES, by Paul Potter. Cabinet pictures of great merit, but their light is under a bushel, chimney-piece ornaments entirely concealing them.

TRUTH FINDING FORTUNE IN THE SEA, by Luca Giordano. A picture of a high class, whether its design, composition, or drawing, be considered. ROCKY LANDSCAPE, by Salvator Rosa. A composition combining many elements of grandeur developed by an energetic hand, the lights and shadows somewhat harshly disposed, and a cloud presiding over the scene, with more of the softness of a bolster, than of an emanation of vapour.

LANDSCAPE, by Vernet.

STAG HUNT, by Wouvermans. A fine picture, with the white horse of everlasting presence charmingly painted.

LANDSCAPE, WITH FIGURES, by Wynants.

DISPUTATION OF THE FATHERS, by Andrea del Sarto. A picture pleasing rather than powerful, its chief charm being a rich sobriety of harmonious colouring.

FEMALE PORTRAIT, by Rembrandt. A very ugly woman rendered into a very beautiful work of art, by the sorcery of colour and chiaroscuro. This picture may indeed warrant the observation of Opie, that Rembrandt "charms without beauty, interests without grace, and rises to the sublime, in spite of disgusting forms and the utmost vulgarity of character."

VIEW IN VENICE, by Canaletti. A good specimen of the master.
Along the upper part of the walls are portraits of James VI.; Henrietta
Maria, Q. of Charles I.; Elizabeth, Q. of Bohemia, daughter of James
VI.; Frances Howard, Duchess of Richmond; Mary Villiers, Duchess of
Richmond; George Villiers (Steenie), Duke of Buckingham; Duke of
Monmouth; Lady in a green dress (unknown); Anne of Denmark;
Countess of Southesk; John, Duke of Argyle; and the Countess de
Grammont.

This room also contains a variety of fine cabinets; among them one Buhl
and one Marqueterie, wedding gifts from Charles II. to the Duchess of
Buccleugh and Monmouth. There are also some very beautiful vases of
Dresden china.

DRAWING ROOM.

SIX VIEWS ON THE GRAND CANAL VENICE, by Canaletti, painted to order, and never out of the family. Coming direct from the studio of the artist to the noble owner, the genuineness of these pictures is unchallengeable by the most captious sceptic.

VIEW OF WHITEHALL at the close of the Seventeenth Century, by Canaletti. ANNE BOLEYN. A well painted portrait, probably a copy of Holbein. HEAD OF A BOY. A captivating sketch, the countenance possessing a most delightful artlessness, and the delicious tone and refinement of chiaroscuro combining to produce an example which would have done no discredit to Coreggio himself.

HENRIETTA MARIA, by Vandyke. A fine portrait, with a charming langour of expression.

A secretaire that belonged to Bourrienne, believed to have been presented or bequeathed to him by Napoleon.

GEORGE THE FOURTH'S DRESSING ROOM.

JUDITH WITH THE HEAD OF HOLOFERNES. An admirable work, to which we cannot assign the name of the artist. In the general treatment of the subject there is more of grace than of grandeur; the form and features of Judith are beautiful rather than heroic; and her sweet countenance expresses horror rather than exultation at the accomplishment of her purpose. The head of Holofernes in the collapse of death is finely painted. The expression throughout is natural and truthful; the fleshcolour, living and dead, unsurpassed in the collection; the composition harmonious and pleasing. The arm of Judith seems rather disproportionately developed, but in drawing it cannot be pronounced defective. The picture merits a better place.

QUEEN VICTORIA'S BED ROOM.

(OCCUPIED BY GEO. IV. IN 1822.)

FOUR LANDSCAPES, by the Rev. John Thomson. Very good specimens of the master; possessing much of the solemnity and profound sentimen

that distinguish his works. Like all his pictures, they betray much crudity of handling, but they are fully informed with poetic truth. LANDSCAPE, WITH CATTLE, by Bassano.

The pleasure-grounds around the house are extensive and beautiful, and the park is stocked with large herds of deer. To those interested in horticulture the gardens and conservatories will be peculiarly attractive, while the cattle, pigs, and poultry deserve the attention of those who feel interested in the purity or improvement of breeds. The environs of Dalkeith are interesting, and the tourist may be conveyed thither from Edinburgh by the North British Railway seven times a-day.*

The beautiful scenes through which the North and South Esk flow, and the various seats that adorn the banks of these streams, are very happily described by Sir Walter Scott in his ballad of The Grey Brother:

"Sweet are the paths,-Oh, passing sweet!

By Esk's fair streams that run,

O'er airy steep, through copsewoods deep,
Impervious to the sun.

There the rapt poet's step may rove,

And yield the Muse the day-
There Beauty, led by timid Love,
May shun the tell-tale ray.

From that fair dome where suit is paid,
By blast of bugle free, †

To Auchindinny's hazel glade,

And haunted Woodhouselee.

Who knows not Melville's beechy grove,
And Roslin's rocky glen,
Dalkeith, which all the virtues love,

And classic Hawthornden ?"

+ Pennycuik. See ante, p. 109.

About a mile south-west from Dalkeith, on the northern bank of the South Esk, is

NEWBATTLE ABBEY,

a seat of the Marquis of Lothian. This mansion stands on the spot formerly occupied by the Abbey of Newbattle, founded by David I. for a community of Cistertian monks. An ancestor of the present noble proprietor was the last abbot, and his son, Mark Ker, got the possessions of the Abbey erected into a temporal lordship in the year 1591. house contains a number of fine paintings and curious manuscripts, and the lawn is interspersed with some straggling trees of great size.

About two miles farther up the South Esk is

DALHOUSIE CASTLE,

The

a modernized building in the castellated form. The original structure was of vast antiquity and great strength. The present possessor, the Earl of Dalhousie, is the lineal descendant of the celebrated Sir Alexander Ramsay. The scenery around Dalhousie is romantic and beautiful.

Passing ARNISTON, the residence of the celebrated family of Dundas, the tourist, at the distance of about eleven miles from Edinburgh, comes in sight of BORTHWICK CASTLE, an ancient and stately tower, rising out of the centre of a small but well cultivated valley, watered by a stream called the Gore. This interesting fortress is in the form of a double tower, seventy-four feet in length, sixtyeight in breadth, and ninety feet in height from the

area to the battlements. It occupies a knoll, surrounded by the small river, and is enclosed within an outer court, fortified by a strong outward wall, having flanking towers at the angles. The interior of the Castle is exceedingly interesting. The hall is a stately and magnificent apartment, the ceiling of which consists of a smooth vault of ashler work. Three stairs, ascending at the angles of the building, gave access to the separate stories; one is quite ruinous, but the others are still tolerably entire. The license for building Borthwick Castle was granted by James I. to Sir William Borthwick, 2d June 1430. It was to Borthwick that Queen Mary retired with Bothwell, three weeks after her unfortunate marriage with that nobleman, and from which she was obliged, a few days afterwards, to flee to Dunbar in the disguise of a page. During the civil war, Borthwick held out gallantly against the victorious Cromwell, and surrendered at last upon honourable terms. The effect of Cromwell's battery still remains, his fire having destroyed a part of the freestone facing of the eastern side of the castle. Borthwick is now the property of John Borthwick, Esq., of Crookstone, a claimant of the ancient peerage of Borthwick, which has remained in abeyance since the death of the ninth Lord Borthwick, in the reign of Charles II. The valley of Borthwick is a sober, peaceful, sequestered, and exquisitely rural spot, and its manse and church, farmhouses and cottages, are in complete harmony with its prevailing character. In the manse of Borthwick, Dr. Robertson, the historian, was born.