The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-07-05
IN FOREIGN LANDS.

Travelling Through Scotland = Places
Famed in Song and story-From Belfast
| to Edinburgh.
There's many worse people than the
| Scotch" remarked an old man to us at
Portrush, as sort of an apology for having
after our visit there we are strongly in
clined to his opinion. Like his neighbor
across the North channel, the Scotchman
loves his drink and evidently gets an
abundance of it: but as people they are
industrious, intelligent, faithful to friends
and principles, and endowed with strong
love of liberty and country, which we can
not but admire.
We steamed up the Clyde early one morn
ing, from Belfast, and nature evidently
wept at our arrival, for we were greeted
with drizzing rain. 1t was, however, we
were informed, only specimen of Clyde
weather, as the warm winds from the At
lantic meeting the cooler breezes from the
highlands produce rain on the slightest
provocation.
Glasgow is the commercial metropolis of
Scotland and the third city in Great Britain
i'll population. It's manufacturing interests
are very large and Clyde built ships are
known the world over. To one, however,
who has had the pleasure of sail up the
narrow and shallow Clyde it is wonderful
how this commercial supremacy has been
attained. For miles on both sides of the
river ship yards are seen and the clang of
the hammer is heard ON every hand. The
present season is very dull for business
throughout the United Kingdom and COM
plants of over production are frequently
heard, and the shipping interests of Glas-
Cow are at a comparatively low ebb. The
principal attraction in the city for tourist
is the Cathedral, which was built in the
twelfth century and is in a good state of pre-
servation: Its crypts are the finest in the
kingdom and its forty-four stained glass
windows are among the best specimens of
that branch of modern art; the iconoclasts
of the Reformation having destroyed the
the original windows and these being only
about fifteen years old. In the necroplis, an
ornamental cemetery which adjoins the
Cathedral, is fine monument to John
Knox, whose body, however, is buried at
Edinburgh.
Ayr, the birthplace of Burns, the poet, is
about forty miles southwest of Glasgow
and is easily reached by rail. The low,
thatched cottage, where. the author of
4" Highland Mary and "The Cotter's Satur-
day Night" was born, is two miles south of
Ayr and with some modern addition is now
used as public house. About half mile
farther on is 'tAlloway's auld haunted kirk"
and near by is the Doom, with its old stone
bridge, made famous by Tam O'Shanter's
ride. In the village is found
the Tam .O'Shanter Hotel, where are still
shown the chairs used by Tam and Souter
Johnny, and also the very cup from which
they drank. Near the Bridge of Doom is
fine monument erected to the memory of
Burns and this completes the attractions of
the place.
From Glasgow to Edinburgh, by way of
the Scottish Lakes and Stirling, is a route
that is much travelled by tourists and fur
nishes some most beautiful scenery. Its
great charm, however, was thrown around
it by the writings of the great " Wizard of
the North," Sir Walter Scott. who has in
vested very lake and island, every noun
tain peak and lovely glen with some story
of chivalrous devotion or bloody strife.
In fact the matter was tersely summed up
by our driver from Inversnaid to Stron-
to whom we remarked that Scott
was responsible for a large number of the
travellers through that region. Yes," he
with a shrug, " if it warn't for
him the whole route wouldn't be worth
penny" Not an exorbitant
estimate to say the least. We leave Glas-
gov by an early train for Balloch, where
we take the Loeb Lomond steamer for In |
at the opposite end of the lake, a |
sail of nearly thirty miles. The lake is sur
rounded by the highest mountains in Scot
land, Ben Lomond, which overlooks it on |
the northeast, being about 3,1O0 feet high. /
We pass many beautiful wooded islands,