ScotlandScotland 1

In Scotland Heroism and Romance go hand in hand. Its Heroism is like a mediaeval castle, still haughtily defiant of the wintry storms. Its Romance is the ivy, which covers the historic ruin with a mantle of protection, caresses it with countless clinging fingers, and tenderly conceals the ravages of Time and man. Scotland, although one of the smallest of European countries, has, nevertheless, produced a galaxy of heroes, whose names are still the synonyms of daring and of chivalry. Moreover, since heroic deeds invariably call forth men to guard their memory by song and story, the land of Bruce and Wallace has, also, been the home of Robert Burns and the immortal novelist of Abbotsford.

Loch Achray And Ben Venue

Loch Achray And Ben Venue.

As for the element of sentiment, aside from all that Scott has given us in prose and poetry, one beautiful romantic life illumines Scotland's history, like the long, golden twilight of its northern summer; for Mary, Queen of Scots, is one of the most fascinating and mysterious of female characters. More volumes have been written in regard to her than about any other woman in the world. Of her transcendent beauty, and, alas! her suffering, there is no question; but how far she deserved her tragic fate has always been a theme of bitter controversy. Such is the mystery which enshrouds her life that she has been well called the "Enigma of History." By some, she has been painted as an angel of goodness; by others, branded as the worst of criminals. The truth lies, probably, between the two extremes. National hate, religious prejudice, and the base treachery of her nobles combined, no doubt, to ruin her and then to cover up the crime with slander. This would hardly have been possible had not her life given some occasion for such accusations; but, even at the worst, a multitude of lovely and heroic traits so powerfully plead for her, that thousands, year by year, still read the story of her life with breathless interest, and view it through a mist of tears.

One of the most delightful routes by which to enter Scotland is the river Clyde. The shipyards of the Clyde! Who has not heard of them? Whole navies there are seen in embryo. For miles the river's banks are lined with half-built steamers, which look like skeletons of prehistoric monsters of the sea suspended in mid air. Who would suppose, in looking at their uncouth forms, that they could ever be developed into the marvelous specimens of strength and beauty, which we subsequently see riding the waves, as if instinct with life, conveying thousands every year with speed and safety from the Old World to the New, and bearing on their storm-defying prows such names as the Campania and Lucania? Yet, close beside the river, a few years ago, when excavations were being made to enlarge the harbor of Glasgow, an ancient boat of solid oak was found, not planked or built, but hewn from the trunk of a stalwart tree. Within it lay an ax-head of laboriously sharpened stone, proving that boats were made by savages along the Clyde, ages ago, when neither iron nor bronze was known, but when the inhabitants of Scotland were still in the Stone Period of their evolution. What a prodigious, almost inconceivable, development of intellect is illustrated by a comparison between that tree-trunk of the Clyde, hollowed by fire and a rough stone ax, and the magnificent "ocean greyhounds," built there now, propelled by steam, managed by intricate machinery, lighted by electricity, and guided by the magnetic needle! A very different feature of the Clyde is the stern, formidable mountain called "Dumbarton Rock." Its form reminds one of the "Castled crag of Drachenfels" frowning above the river Rhine; but this old hill of Scotland has a history far more impressive than that of its German rival. The Drachenfels boasts only of a legendary dragon slain upon its cliffs, but old Dumbarton calls to mind the human hero - William Wallace - since it was by the commander of this fortress, six hundred years ago, that the mightiest and most daring of all Scotland's chieftains was shamefully betrayed to his enemies.

Mary, Queen Of Scots

Mary, Queen Of Scots.

Balmoral Castle, The Highland Home Of The Queen

Balmoral Castle, The Highland Home Of The Queen.