is unknown, but it is evidently of great antiquity. Between the kirk and the brig, on an elevation, stands the monument erected in 1820 by voluntary contribution, at a cost of upwards of £4,000. It is a beautiful structure, and contains, in a circular apartment on the ground floor, several articles appropriate to the place, various editions of the poet's works, a snuff-box made from the wood-work of Alloway Kirk, a copy of the original portrait of Burns by Nasmyth, and the Bible given by Burns to his Highland Mary. The monument stands in the centre of a square acre, which is beautifully inclosed and adorned with shrubbery of every description. In a small grotto at the south side of the inclosed ground we were shown the two farfamed statues of Tam o' Shanter and Souter Johnnie, by Mr. Thom, of Ayr. They are well executed, and represent the characters in the drinking scene to perfection.

From the base of the monument we obtained a splendid view of the picturesque scenery of Dover and the surrounding country, which has acquired so much celebrity through the writings of the inimitable bard. It is certainly beautiful, and every way suited to inspire the imagination and elevate the thoughts of a poetical genius.

LETTER NINETEEN.

STIRLING, Scotland.

Farming in the South of Scotland-Hotels-Expense of Travel-Highland Scenery-Lochs Lomond and Katrine-The Trosachs-Stirling Castle, etc.

In previous letters I have given descriptions of the system of farming in England and Ireland, which varies materially from that in this country, owing to the great difference in the qualities of the land and manner of culture. Scotland is naturally divided into highlands and lowlands, and the surface of the country is consequently exceedingly diversified. The general average is inferior to that of England, although many of the valleys are highly productive. It is supposed, that estimating the whole extent of the country, exclusive of lakes, at 19,000,000 acres, scarcely so many as 6,000,000 are arable—that is, less than one third; whereas in Eng

land the proportion of arable land to the entire extent of the country exceeds three fourths. The inferiority of the climate also renders this country less desirable in an agricultural point of view than either England or Ireland, as exhibited by contrasting the phenomena of vegetation in the several divisions. Notwithstanding the very advanced state of agriculture in the southern counties of Scotland, the crops are not reaped with the same certainty as in England; nor do the ordinary kinds of grain arrive at the same perfection. Various fruits, also, which ripen in the one country, seldom arrive at maturity in the other, and never reach the same perfection; while different berries acquire in Scotland somewhat of that delicious flavor which distinguishes them in still higher parallels. The highlands of this country are barren and unproductive, and fit only for grazing purposes--a source of wealth entered into very largely by the tenantry. In the lowlands, which lie principally in the south, the farms are not divided up into small parcels or patches as in other portions of Great Britain, but on the contrary, they are very extensive, and remind me very much of the broad acres in our western fields.

The internal communication throughout Scotland is so extensive, and the facilities of locomotion so great, that one may accomplish the usual tour through the Highlands in a few days, without much annoyance or fatigue. Carriage roads extend over the whole country; and in consequence of the excellent materials which abound in all parts of Scotland, and of the greater skill and science of Scottish trustees and surveyors, their turnpike roads are better built and superior in every respect to those in England. Notwithstanding the irregularity of surface is so unfavorable to artificial inland navigation, we find a number of large canals, of considerable length, upon which are carried on an extensive traffic. Many railroads are also in progress, and some completed, connecting the most important points of communication, and rendering the facilities of travel and transportation exceedingly convenient for those who are able to stand up under exorbitant charges. Every thing that one requires while travelling through Scotland has to be paid for about three times over. The fares on canals, railroads, and post-coaches are much dearer even than in England, and the hotel bills are really alarming to a backwoodsman unaccustomed to "roast beef and two

dollars a day." One can afford, however, to be gouged in this manner for a short time, if he has any romance in his composition, and loves to gaze upon the beauties of nature, which are scattered profusely in every direction over the whole country. To describe the Highland scenery would be a work of supererogation and presumption on my part, as every one who has perused the writings of Sir Walter Scott and the letters of the numerous tourists through this country, are almost as familiar with every lake, hill, and dalë in Scotland, as the Highlanders themselves. But in order to furnish you with a connecting link of our journey, I will describe briefly the scenes that we passed through en route from Glasgow to this place-a tour usually made by persons who do not desire to penetrate the extreme north, and which embraces the finest lake scenery and most beautiful highlands in Scotland. Leaving the city of Glasgow early in the morning, we proceeded down the river Clyde on a small steamer, with a full complement of passengers, as far as Dumbarton, where we took the rail for the foot of Loch Lomond, ("the lake full of islands,") which is unquestionably the pride of Scottish lakes. Here we found a small steamboat waiting to convey us to the northern extremity of the lake to an excellent inn called Tarbet, which is snugly ensconced in a little vale at the foot of Ben Lomond. The lake is twenty-three miles in length, and its breadth, where greatest, at the southern extremity, is five miles, from which it gradually grows narrower, till it terminates in a narrow prolonged sheet of water. Numerous islands of every varying form and outline which fancy can frame, stud the unrippled surface of the water, and the old ruins of the strongholds of the Macfarlanes still stand as monuments of the past; while the lofty peak of Ben Lomond, rising more than three thousand feet above the level of the sea, serves to complete the view, and form a picture of natural beauty that is really sublime. Reaching Tarbet early in the day, we concluded to make use of our time and visit Loch Long, about three miles distant, which is considered by many as very beautiful, but far inferior to Loch Lomond in every particular. It is formed by an arm of the sea, and navigable in high tide as far up as a little place called Arroquhar, formerly the seat of the chief of the clan Macfarlane. Our guide-whom we found to be like all other guides, exceedingly communicative, and willing to tell all he knew and more too-

informed me that this was the loch up which the Norwegians sailed when they invaded Scotland with a fleet of sixty vessels, ravaging the country on all sides, and on reaching the head of the loch they drew their boats across the isthmus into Loch Lomond, and committed the same depredations on its shores. Near the head of the loch is a fantastic peak called Ben Arthur or the Cobbler, from its resemblance to a shoemaker at work-a place where all strangers are decoyed by the guide in order that they may run their hands a little deeper into your pocket, and excuse themselves when you express your disappointment, by saying that every body goes there, which is very consoling to a man feeling conscious that he has been gouged. However, we shall not complain, as we were fully compensated on our return to the inn, by an invitation from one of the lairds to attend a Scottish fête in the neighborhood, which we accepted, as you might suppose, being unwilling to allow such a favorable opportunity to pass for seeing the Highland character on its native heath. Here we were interested beyond measure in the costumes of the different clans, and their manner of dancing, each one having different ways of adjusting their plaids, and peculiarities of step easily distinguished by the looker on. The Macgregors, Macfarlanes, and all the neighboring Macs, were there with their bonnie lasses, “tripping the light fantastic toe," to the squeak of the bagpipe, until the shades of evening admonished them that it was time for them to repair to their homes. On the following morning we crossed the placid waters of Loch Lomond in a pleasure boat to the cataract of Inversnade, the scene of Wordsworth's beautiful Here we procured a drosky and crossed over a narrow and rugged pathway to Loch Katrine, so elegantly described by Sir Walter Scott, in the Lady of the Lake. Just as we came in sight of the water we saw the little boat that was to convey us to the Trosachs, puffing away about two miles from the starting point-leaving us, as we supposed, to pass the day in a miserable little hovel, licensed to sell ale and cider, to be drunk on the premises. Fortunately, however, we had in our party a tall sixfooter from the far west, who proposed to hail the boat, a suggestion received with a smile, as they all doubted the power of his lungs to make himself heard at so great a distance. But suiting the action to the word, he raised his stentorian voice to its highest key, and

poem to the “Highland Girl.” S

actually succeeded in rendering himself audible and bringing the boat back to the shore-an achievement worthy of Rob Roy, or any of the McGregors who once roved the region about Loch Katrine to the terror of all the neighboring clans. To give you a description of this beautiful sheet of water is impossible, as no one can convey to the distant reader an adequate idea of the works of nature. It must be seen, and the many associations connected with it felt, in order to appreciate its varied beauties. The loch is of a serpentine form, encircled by lofty mountains, and is ten miles in length, attaining, in some places, a breadth of two miles. The scenery which fringes its shores is wild and romantic, reminding me very much, from its similarity, of Lake George in New-York. In sailing along towards the Trosachs, I discovered many arms of the lake-here a bold headland, where black rocks dip in unfathomable water—there the white sands in the bottom of a bay, bleached for ages by the waves. On the north side there is a solid ledge of rock, which rises two hundred feet above the lake, down which a hundred little streams rush with incredible noise and velocity into the basin below. On the opposite shore the wild goats climb where they have scarce room for the soles of their feet, and the water eagle sits in undisturbed majesty on his well-known rock, where he gazes with composed indifference on the sight-seekers below. The scene is closed by a view of the Trosachs, (Troschen, bristled territory,) which is

"So wondrous wild, the whole might seem

The scenery of a fairy dream."

Here we found an excellent inn, much resorted to during the summer months by tourists, and persons wishing to avoid the heat and dust of the cities, where we procured refreshments, and proceeded by post coach to Stirling, passing en route the Bridge of Turk, the "Coilantogle Ford," where Fitzjames and Roderic Dhu met face to face, and steel to steel-and the romantic village of Callender, surrounded by wooded crags and pastoral inclosures.

The town of Stirling is delightfully situated on an eminence near the river Forth, and bears in the distance a beautiful and imposing appearance, but possesses nothing to interest the stranger, except the old castle, which was built and for a long time used as the residence of royalty. It was frequently taken and retaken after pro