PREFACE.

TOURS in Scotland, have of late become so fashionable, that no apology seems necessary in offering to the Public, a work, which is designed as a guide to the romantic and sublime scenery of that country. To the admirer of Nature, no part of Europe affords more varied landscape than its Lowland dells and Highland wilds. On other accounts also, Scotland is highly interesting. It never was conquered. The Romans, indeed, subdued the Lowlands; but to gain the heath-covered mountains of Caledonia, all their endeavours were fruitless. The Norwegians and Danes, those terrible Northmen, who made important conquests, and alarmed every coast of Europe, made no impression on the mainland of Scotland. The utmost efforts of powerful and warlike England to reduce this country, were successfully resisted for five hundred years, by a nation that justly considered foreign domination as the greatest of misfortunes. Here, too, in the sixteenth century, a noble stand was made for the civil and religious liberties of the nation. A king of Scotland succeeded to the royal throne of England, and now his descendant, our beloved Sovereign, William IV. sways the sceptre of the most powerful nation in the world. In hardy deeds of arms, the Scotch of this day have eminently upheld their ancient renown in every quarter of the globe; as in arms, so in Arts and Sciences,

and in solid learning, the Scotch are inferior to none: if the population, which by the census of 1821 amounted only to 2,092,014, be taken into the account, they may justly be reckoned superior to any nation in Europe. Till of late, however, the matchless scenery of Scotland was almost unknown to the world, and even the inhabitants of the Lowlands were ignorant of the magnificent landscapes to be found in the Highlands.

The appearance of M'Pherson's translation of the Poems of Ossian, about sixty years ago, astonished the world, and induced many admirers of the Celtic bard to visit the country. The poems of Burns, and particularly his exquisite lyrics, attracted the attention of our English neighbours. Burns, however, was little acquainted with the grandeur of Scottish scenery; and it was not in description, but in the expression of sentiment and of passion that his genius delighted. The bolder notes, and chivalrous strains of Sir Walter Scott, resounded from shore to shore, and crowds hastened to the north, to behold the scenes so admirably delineated by his magic pencil. Above all, the fascinating works of "The Author of Waverley," have spread the fame of this country far and wide, as far indeed as the world is inhabited by civilized man. In these delightful novels, the manners and customs of the inhabitants of Scotland are so happily illustrated, and Scottish scenery so finely depicted, that vast numbers of foreigners, from every part of Europe, are induced to visit "the land of gleaming lakes and heathy mountains." Many of the natives of Switzerland, and of Italy, have frankly acknowledged that the scenery of the Highlands of Scotland is su

perior to that of the Alps or the Apennines, though the Highland mountains are much inferior both in height and magnitude. To the philosopher, Scotland is perhaps now more interesting than at any former period, owing to the rapid strides made in arts and improvements of every kind; also in the acquirement of wealth, the result of the industry, the ingenuity, and enterprise of her inhabitants.

Many books, descriptive of Scottish scenery, have from time to time been published. Though the fidelity of the descriptions in some of these may be relied upon, and though they afford both instruction and amusement in the closet, it is evident, from the nature of the plans adopted, that they can be of little practical use to the Tourist, as the authors describe only what they actually saw, without noticing the antiquities, local statistics, and other interesting objects in the vicinity of the scenes they visited; and even though former productions were not deficient in these particulars, still such a work as the present must be useful, since the formation of new roads, and other important changes, have created new facilities of travelling, opened new communications, and rendered many places accessible by carriages and steamboats, that formerly could only be approached by the pedestrian.

Of the Scottish Itineraries which have appeared, the Publishers of this Work feel no disposition to speak disparagingly. The information they convey regarding scenery, antiquities, or local history, is both meagre and defective. To the traveller of intelligence and taste, there is this disadvantage in the plan of an Itinerary, that, while it professes to describe every road, it chalks out no tour

upon a large scale; consequently the traveller is obliged to scheme a tour for himself, which he can only do after an irksome perusal of dry details: and even these, so far as they respect the bearing and connection of different places and roads, are more apt to bewilder the stranger than to assist him in forming any judicious plan. It has often been observed, that Tourists, with Itineraries in their pockets, have neglected to visit the most charming scenery upon roads diverging a little from that on which they were travelling, totally ignorant of its proximity.

To supply the wants of travellers on these subjects, and to obviate the complaints so frequently made, the Publishers have been induced to undertake the present work. The plan is, to present a series of tours through the most romantic regions of Scotland, and in each of them to give a concise account of as many interesting places and objects as possible, including the picturesque and magnificent scenery both of the Highlands and Lowlands: pointing out what is curious and important in the localities of the country, or venerable as the remains of antiquity. They have proceeded upon the plan, of making digressions from the main route easy to the Tourist, by explaining, in foot-notes, the remarkable objects to be seen upon divergent roads, with the easiest approach to them. By the aid of these foot-notes, he will find no difficulty either in making variations in his route, if so disposed, or in combining, with one tour, according to the arrangement of this Work, parts or sections of the others.

As travellers now avail themselves very extensively of steam-boat conveyances, there is subjoined to the Tours an account of all the voyages which may