Evening journal., 1913-10-07
GOSSIP OF THE COURTS

Princess Royal Park at Braemar, nest
ling ia the heart of the Deesde Noun.
tains, presented a gorgeous and pictur
esque scene on the gala day of the Scot
tish Highlands. for the "Bracmar Gath
ering' never fails 10 attract crowds of
interested spectators. An ranks and all
classes are usually represented at this
historic gathering, especially when the
King the Queen, ana the British royal
family honor the assembly with their
presence. From the shooting lodges of
Aberdeenshire and the ncighhoriug coun-
ties come the world of fashion, while
sightsecrs from the adjoining towns and
villages swell the gay throng
Few festivals can boast of so distin-
guished list of patrons. Tradition has
10 that $50 years ago Malcolm Canmore,
King of the Scots. established great
hill race in order 90 train athletes fleet
OF foot and strong of limb who could be
relied upon TO convey communications
swiftly from one part Of his kingdom to
another n times of emergency. For
nearly eight centuries that strenuous
contest took place every autumn in Dee
side Highlands and formed one of the
features of the games in the early years
of thc Buomar Gathering. u was aban-
doned. however i'm 1850, AZ the request of
Queen Victoria. who considered that the
strain ON the runners was too severe
Even In It's present FORM the Braemsr
Gathering dates hack eighty years The
Braemar Highlands Society was formed
in 1916 Its purpose is TO provide by mu-
tual insurance for the widows and de-
pendents of the members Two of its
earliest patrons were the Earl of Fife
and Mr.. James Farquharson, of lnver-
cauld.
The first Rraemar Gathering. in its
modern form, was held In 1880 for the
purpose of augmenting the benevolent
funds of the society. and the gather
lings ever since also served the same
lpraiseworthy purpose. for the Brae-
mar Highland Society does a great
deal Of meritOriOus work. after the
manner of the London Caledonian As
sociatinn. When Queen Victoria
came 10 Deeside in the '40's of last
century. her patronage and encour-
.agement increased the popularity OF
the games. Deeside was rapidly be-
coming a popular holiday resort and
the Braemar gathering came to be re-
garded as the leading social event OF
the season in the North of Scotland.
In 1S4S Queen Victoria, accompanied
by her husband, the prince consort
and her children. the Prince OF Wales,
the Duke of Edinburgh. and the
Princess Royal, attended the Braemar
Gathering for the first time. Visitors
came from far and near, and notwith-
standing the Jacobite traditions Of the
district the royal party received a
genuine Highland welcome. The
Queen wore a shawl of Royal Stuart
tartan. while the prince cOnsort the
Prince Of Wales, and the Duke OF
Edinburgh, were arrayed in Highland
carb of the same tartan.
There were the usual games Of put
ting the stone" throwing the ham
mer." aud "caber." and racing up the
hill Of Craig Cheunnich. which was
accomplished in less than six min
utes and a half. II is a fearful eX-
ertion. Eighteen started. and it look
ed very pretty to see them running
lin their different colored kits, with
their white shirts (the dOublets are
taken off for the games), and scram-
BILE un through the wood, emerging
gradually to the edge of it and climb
ing the hill.
Many spit blood after running the
race up the steep hill in this short
space Of time The running up hill in
consequence has been discontinued.
Although six and one-half minutes
rrr
now. tradition has il that when the
first race was run, some $50 years
ago. Allan Durmond. the younger son
of Macgregor Ballochbuie, covered the
distance from the spot where the
Castle of Braemar now stands to the
TOP of the lofty Craig Cheunnich in
three minutes. A purse of gold, to-
gether with a silver baldric. and
sword, was the prize awarded to that
powerful young athlete.
For the greater part Of the last
century the gathering was held at
Braemar Castle. although at different
times Balmoral Castle, Mar Lodge,
and Invercauld have been the meeting
places Of the clansmen. by special re-
ouest of Queen Victoria, was held at
Balmoral and for the past few years
il has been held in Princess stretch OF
ground in the lap of the mountains,
and presented to the society by the
late Duke Of Fife Sloping upward
on all sides is the extensive heathery
moor. forming splendid natural am
phitheatre for the thousands of spec
/ tators.
The gathering Of the clans always
has been a picturesque event on this
nnrAHC a NnIn