muir, before its fatal march into England, is still to be seen, built into the wall on the left hand of the high road to Boroughmuir-head. The Baron of Penicuik is bound, by his tenure, to stand upon the Buck-stone, which is a rocky fragment on Braid Hill, and give three blasts with a horn, whenever the King visits Edinburgh.. Near the Hare Stone is situated Merchiston Castle, once the occasional residence of the immortal Napier, the inventor of the Logarithms. He had a seat in Stirlingshire called Gartness, where he chiefly resided when making his calculations, and was there visited by the famous Professor Briggs of Gresham College.

Inchkeith is a small island in the Forth, opposite to, and about four miles from, Leith harbour. It originally belonged to the family of Keith, and is now vested in that of Buccleuch. When the French occupied Leith in the minority of Queen Mary, they used to pasture their horses upon it; and hence gave it the name of the Isle of Horses; and here they successfully resisted the English, who had attempted to make a settlement upon it. On the highest point are the remains of an ancient fortification; and a light-house, with a revolving light, has in modern times, been erected upon it.

St Bernard's Well is situate on the north side of the city, upon the romantic banks of the Water of Leith. The medicinal qualities of its water induced the late Lord Gardenstone to purchase the property, and to erect a temple over the well, in the centre of which is a statue of Hygeia, well proportioned, but far too large for a near view.

Duddingstone Loch, a beautiful sheet of water, lies on the south side of Arthur's Seat. The precipitousness of the hill on this side, and the singular disposition of the rocks which skirt the road leading to the loch, combine to render the path along its margin one of the most romantic walks in the vicinity of Edinburgh. The road

to this lake commences at St Leonard's, (from which Dumbiedike road is seen winding northward along the foot of Salisbury Crags,) and proceeds through the King's Park on the south side of the Crags; passes a rock a short distance on the left having a remarkable echo, under the brow of Arthur's Seat, upon which some remarkable basaltic columns are observed; and, penetrating an opening in the rocks, reaches the Loch. At the east end of the Loch are the church and village of Duddingston, on the south-east, Duddingston House, the elegant mansion of the Marquis of Abercorn; and, on the west, Prestonfield, the seat of Sir Robert Keith Dick, Bart.

In describing a few of the excursions, which every stranger, visiting Edinburgh, ought to make in its neighbourhood, so distinguished for beauty of scenery, and magnificent mansions, proceed to

HOPETOUN HOUSE.

Hopetoun House, the seat of the Earl of Hopetoun, is situated on the banks of the Firth of Forth, twelve miles west from Edinburgh. The road to this noble mansion is through a country delightfully wooded, and highly cultivated. The first place of any note on the road, is Craigleith Quarry, from which is obtained the fine white freestone that Edinburgh is principally built with. The village of Cramond, six miles from Edinburgh, is situate in a romantic hollow on the east side of the Almond, at its junction with the Forth. This was once a Roman station, and here the English under the Protector Somerset made a landing during the minority of Mary. The road now enters the lands of Dalmeny, the property of the Earl of Rosebery. The beau

tifully undulated surface of the ground, and the agreeable intermixture of lawn and grove, have been much admired. Upon this property stands Dalmeny Park, the seat of the Earl of Rosebery, a modern erection of great elegance, in the Gothic style of architecture. About half a mile distant, within flood-mark, is Barnbougle Castle, till lately the residence of the Earl of Rosebery, and the ancient baronial mansion of the once powerful but long extinct family of the Mowbrays. In this vicinity is Mons-hill, situate within the demesne of Dalmeny; it commands a view of no fewer than sixteen counties. Nine miles from Edinburgh is Newhalls Inn, where a pier has been built for the convenience of ferry boats. Here is the great thoroughfare across the Firth of Forth. Immediately after passing Newhalls, you enter South Queensferry, which was erected into a royal burgh by Malcolm Canmore, whose queen, Margaret, the sister of Edgar Athelstane, with a number of her Saxon adherents, was wrecked on a rock close to the town, in their flight from the dreaded enmity of William the Conqueror. By her influence the inhabitants obtained their charter from her future husband. Here are to be seen the ruins of a monastery of Carmelite Friars, founded in 1330 by one of the lairds of Dundas. On the opposite shore of the Forth is the village of NorthQueensferry. In the middle of the Forth, eastward of the ferry, is the islet of Inchgarvie, which is slightly fortified. At no great distance is seen the island of Inchcolm, or the isle of St Columba, on which stood a monastery founded by Alexander I. who was wrecked here, and entertained by a hermit, residing upon the island in great penury. Stewart of Beith was made commendator of Inchcolm at the Reformation; and his second son Henry was created a peer by the title of Lord St Colm in 1611. The ruins of the monastery are still visible. It was esteemed a place of great sanc

tity, and is memorable in history from its having been often plundered by marauding Englishmen, and the miraculous vengeance with which the Saint is said to have pursued them.

A mile west of Queensferry is PORT-EDGAR, where a pier has been lately built. It derives its name, according to tradition, from the circumstance of Edgar, the brother of Queen Margaret, and his followers, having landed here upon their return from an unsuccessful expedition to England. But it will be better remembered as the place where his MAJESTY GEORGE IV. took leave of Scottish ground, and embarked for England, at the close of his visit to this country.

The road now winds along the margin of the Forth, and on the land side is bordered by the richest foliage.

Three miles west of Queensferry stands Hopetoun House, which, in point of magnificence, yields to few, and, for beauty of situation, excels most mansions in Britain. It is situate a mile from the Forth, upon a magnificent lawn, which forms a terrace along that noble arm of the sea. The ground behind the house is varied, breaking into hills and valleys, and to a considerable extent is planted and adorned, though not in the most modern style, yet with great taste and judgment. From every point some delightful view may be obtained of the Forth, which is still a grand estuary, with its shores and islands; appearing as a lake when seen in lengthened perspective, and as a river when viewed directly across suggesting the idea of the ocean's vastness, yet without that sameness which detracts from the interest of a sea-view. Innumerable striking objects, both of nature and art, present themselves in every direction. On the opposite shore is to be seen Rosyth Castle, the ancient seat of Stuart of Rosyth, a scion of the Royal Family of Scotland, and in which, according to a vulgar tradition, the mother of Oliver Cromwell was

born. To the west appears Blackness Castle, one of the fortresses which, by the articles of Union, are to be kept constantly garrisoned. The intricate windings of the Forth, also, as it rolls its ample stream through the Carse of Stirling, are distinctly traced; and in this direction, the towering Grampians appear as the back-ground. To the east, the prospect, comprehending all the numerous bays of the Forth, terminates where the distant Bass marks its junction with the German Ocean.

The exterior of the house is of great extent and magnificence. It was begun by the celebrated architect Sir William Bruce, and finished by Mr Adam. Here his Majesty George IV. and his suite were entertained by the late lamented Earl of Hopetoun, on the day that the former embarked at Port-Edgar on his return to England.

ROSLIN CASTLE AND CHAPEL.

The most common excursion with the citizens of Edinburgh is to Roslin Castle, so celebrated in song. No scenery in Great Britain exceeds it in romantic beauty. It is situate seven miles south of Edinburgh, upon the banks of the North Esk, on a peninsulated mount. On the land side it is separated from the country by a ravine, over which there is an ancient stone bridge. It is supposed that this Castle was built by William de Sancto Clero, son of Waldernus de St Clair, who came over with William the Conqueror. The former obtained a grant of the barony of Roslin from Malcolm Canmore; and his family, in after ages, acquired great distinction and power, having very extensive possessions and many titles, being Earls of Caithness and Orkney, Dukes of Oldenburgh, &c. Upon them also the honour of being patrons and grand masters of Masonry in Scotland was conferred by James II., and the same continued with them till late