The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1878-08-24
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
LETTER FROM SCOTLAND.
The Scottish Lakes and Sterling Castle.

years ago it was small city OF less than 50,000
inhabitants and without Importance, but to-day it
is the commercial metropolis of Scotland, and has
population of 100000. Its inhabitants have
shown remarkable enterprise in building up
manufactures, and in developing the mineral re-
sources of the neighboring counties. The almost
numberless tall chimneys with their clouds of
smoke, and the continual noise of numerous iron
works. remind us of our own Pittsburgh.
To the tourist the city has few attractions. The
chief of these is the old Cathedral, which was
built in the twelfth century and is one of the few
in all Scotland which survived the mad fury of
the populace during the times of the Reformation.
The building is very large, more than three hun
dred feet long, and most of its carvings and inte-
rior decorations in fine state of preservation.
It's crypts are the finest and most massive of any
in the kingdom. But the pride of the cathedral
is its beautiful great stained glass windows, of
which it has forty four from twenty-five to thirty
feet in height, each representing some well known
| Bible event. These windows were made about ten
| years ago at Munich, and are the perfection of
modern art. Adjoining the Cathedral is the Ne
| cropolis or Cemetery, beautifully laid and con-
| tanning many fine monuments. Conspicuous
| among these is one to John Knox, whose body
| however, is buried at Marlborough. Other things
in the city, worthy of mention are George Square
| with its colossal monument to Sir Walter Scott ;
| Glasgow Green containing fine monument to
| Nelson, Englands favorite hero; and the New
|
| streets of the old city shown the quarters
| once occupied by Cromwell.
The most noticeable thing about the city to an
| American Just landed, is the massiveness and So
lidity of the buildings, for they mostly of cut
| stone with tile or slate roof There are almost no
| buildings made of wood and but few OF brick, and
| the streets are all paved with stone. This gives
an impression that the city is built to stand for
all time and accords with generally accepted
| opinion of Scotch thoroughness. Yet miles and
miles of streets with stone houses and stone paw
| ING, everything stone, gives the city monotOny
of dull color which finally becomes wearisome,
until the eye longs for some bright COLOR and for
even a little outside paint.
| The increased length of the day, owing to ex
IRENE northern latitude, is plainly noticeable for
| was able to read fine print by daylight after 10
| o'clock at night, while ybreak comes about two
| o'clock. Indeed in clear weather the morning and
evening twilight almost overlap.
| Leaving Glasgow by early train we soon reach
Balloch on Loeb Lomond where we take steamer
fer Inversnaid near the opposite end of the lake,
a sail of nearly thirty miles. Scotch mist as it
| is politely called 1--WE should say rain Storm
| soon settled down upon us, and although it was
| the fourth of July and we had on our OvercOats,
| we were shivering in the cold wind. The High
landers have a saying that "When Benlomond
| puts on his night cap the rain will come down."
and as we looked up toward the mountain and saw
ing around us, we decided that there weather
| signs which are true. Sailing up the lake which
| is surrounded by Scotand's highest mountains,
we are in the midst of scenery scarcely equalled
| by any lake in Europe, MaggiOre in Italy alone
accepted.
| Nearly every mountain pass, rock and village is
! associated with some of Scott's characters. We
see Balloch Castle, beyond ruined fertilization,
traditional strong hold of Fingal a beautiful
wooded island, the deer park of the Duke of Mont
| rose Rob Roy's prison a rock from which he
! dipped refractory captiveS in the lake until they
were willing to pay the required ransom, and his
| cave, which also sheltered Robert the Bruce Near
| Inyersnaid is the ruin of a fort once commanded
| by General Wolfe, the hero of Quebec. AtInver-
| snaid we take coaches for Stronachacker, on Loeb
| Katrine. These coaches are the few remaining
| from the famous old English coach system, the
drivers being dressed in red coats, plug hats, and
| high topped boots. The four horses started
up the steep hill at a full amid fearful snap
| ping of whips.
Shortly after leaving Inversnaid we pass the
/ ruins of the house in which Helen McGregor, Rob
| Roys wife, was born. The drive of two hours
| was over desoate country, in the midst of high
| mountains whose sides are covered for the most
part with heather, that mercifu provision of ma
| ture for cOncealing unsightly rocks and rugged
mountain sides. Occasionally there was little
pasturage for sheep and a wretched looking stone
| house. The trees were few in number and mostly
| scrub oaks Peat, which is abundant, is the only
fuel. To an American the country looks forlorn,
and it is his constant wonder why any one should
| fight either to gain or defend it..
The little steamer Rob Roy carries us over the
pretty Loeb Katrine which reminds us strikingly
of our own lake George. In less than an hours
time az the end of the lake near the Goblin
Cave" where Douglas is represented as hiding his
daughter when he took her from ROderick Dhu's
island. For a mile we ride through the "Tros-
| sachs or ''Bristling Territory narrow, rugged
| gorge, so called from its many pointed rocks This
| is the very center of the "Lady of the Lake" re-
gion and filled with romantic interest.
Not far beyond is 'Coiantogle Ford" which
was Gar beyond Clau Alpines outmost guard,
| the scene of the encounter between Roderick Dhu
| and Fitz James.
| Riding several miles farther reach Callander
| where the train for Sterling awaits us. Near Cal
| lander we pass through forlorn looking village
where the wretched inhabitants still speak only the
original Gaelic. This whole region through which
| we have been passing was studied carefully for
years by Scott, as preparation for his landscape
descriptions in "Rob- Roy" "The Lady of the
| Lake. and "Waverly." The scene of Word
worth's "Highland Girl" was also laid near Invers-
| maid. Deprived of these historic and romantic
associations the region would lose much of its in
| terest.
On the way to Sterling we pass first Doune with
its ruined castle. formerly resort of the imperial
| families of Scotland. Next comes Dunblane with
its partly renovated, ruined cathedral dating from
| 100. One end of this has been rooted over and
is used by the Presbyterians and the other in the
same way by the English church. Two miles be-
yond is Bridge of Allan, delightfully."- situated
watering place, visited by 10000 to $4,000 people
annually.
mile more and we are at Sterling from whose
lofty castle walls more historic territory can be
be seen than from any other points in England or
| Scotland.
History cannot specify a time when there was
not fort upon the lofty and precipitous rock on
which Sterling castle is situated. part of the
present Notifications known to have been built
by the Romans. This splendid CASTLE the key to
| the. land of the Scots, has been held time and
again successfully by the Scotch and English. Its
last seige and capture was by Gen. Monk, under
the great Cromwell in 1867. A long line of Scot
fish kings from James the 1. to the VI. occupied
| it. Kings were born here, crowned here and died
here. From its lofty walls on a clear day twelve
of Scotlands great battle fields can be seen, in
| GLIDING Bannockburn, where Bruce with 10000
men defeated 100000 English and won the indie
pendence of Scotland.
| In the far distance Arthu's Seat, mountain
near Marlborough, 40 miles away, appears Just
below the castle is the field on which the tourna-
ments used to be fought and the ground yetshows
the formation of the lists. As we looked down
from inc Olu Willis upon INC tlitlhS HeIu VIC couu
almost see the gay equipments OF armored knights
as they collected upon the field preparing for the
combat. Part way down the rock is the Ladies
Seat, from which the ladies of the court viewed
the contests of arms and feats of strength.
The castle consists of many buildings erected al
various times, in different styles of architecture
and for various purposes. The most interesting
of them all to the traveller is the Douglas Room
or the Star Chamber. In this room James Ii
stabbed the too powerful Earl of Douglas, at thu
close of heated discussion, after which his at
tendants dragged the body into a closet and threw
} it from window into the moat below. The ske
eton of a man in armor, dug up under the window
nearly $50 years after, tends to confirm the ira
dition. The body was buried when it was dug W
in front of the door under the window. The close
) of the Douglas room has n stained glass window
with the Douglas Arms and the motto "Lorl
} Sickar." A door from this closet leads to un
} derground passage which has been explored con
siderable distance. Among the curosities in thu
Douglas room are the communion table (date 1900
: | Az Nv obr and 4haY Mini