The village of Eyemouth, in Berwickshire, was the original of our author's Wolf's Hope, or Haven. It is an ancient little sea-port, seated at the embouchure of the river Eye, about seven miles from Berwick, and early enjoyed the distinction of a burgh of barony. Its proximity to England encouraged a contraband trade here for many years; but this unenviable notoriety has been gradually diminished, by the assimilation of laws, by more energetic conduct on the part of the revenue servants, and by improved habits of society generally. Eyemouth now enjoys an honourable and profitable export trade, and affords a safe and sheltered asylum to shipping, against which all other ports along that line of coast may happen to be closed by either tide or wind. "The town, however, has still a dark, cunning look, is full of curious alleys, blind and otherwise; and there is not a house of any standing, but seems as if it could unfold some tale of wonder." A stranger would form an erroneous estimate of the magnitude of this place, if derived from its superficial contents alone, for it is supposed that "there is as much of the town below as above ground." The villa of Gunsgreen, occupying the site of Restalrig's Castle, on the opposite shore of the Eye, built from the profits of smuggling, is peculiarly suited to the continuance of that trade, and was alluded to in parliament as an illustration of the success of illegal commerce in North Britain. Eymouth Fort, which once gave importance to the vicinity, stood a little north of the harbour, or Hope. It was first erected by the Protector Somerset, demolished by the Scots, rebuilt by Mary of Lorraine when regent, but a second time razed to the ground at the instance of the English. It occupied the summit of a promontory in the German ocean, and hung boldly over the waters: extensive grass-grown hillocks, and mounds, still indicate its site with sufficient certainty. The consummation of the misfortunes of Ravenswood, as indeed the whole legend of Lammermoor, is founded on fact, although it is uncertain whether the prototype of the "last heir of Ravenswood" perished in the links of Eyemouth, or elsewhere. It is generally believed that the principal events or facts in the tale are derived from the story of Lord Belhaven, a protegè of the duke of Hamilton: others, with much confidence, assert that the family of the earl of Stair are the true claimants to the melancholy notoriety which such a narrative confers; but that the author himself was fully persuaded of the truth of the principal events in the novel, there is every reason to be convinced of. THE PASS OF LENEY. "No longer steel-clad warriors ride Along thy wild and willow'd shore. SCOTT. [Tales of my Landlord, (3rd Series,) a Legend of Montrose, Vol. III. p. 13—14.] "It was towards the close of a summer's evening, during the anxious period of the attempt to establish Presbyterianism in England, that a young gentleman of quality, well mounted and armed, and accompanied by two servants, one of whom led a sumpter horse, rode slowly up one of those steep passes, by which the highlands are accessible from the lowlands of Perthshire. Their course had lain for some time along the banks of a lake, whose deep waters reflected the crimson beams of the western sun. The broken path, which they pursued with some difficulty, was in some places shaded by ancient birches and oak-trees, and in others overhung by fragments of huge rock. Elsewhere, the hill which formed the northern side of this beautiful sheet of water, arose in steep but less precipitous acclivity, and was arrayed in heath of the darkest purple. In the present times, a scene so romantic would have been judged to possess the highest charms for the traveller; but those who journey in doubt and dread pay little attention to picturesque scenery. "They had not advanced above half way up the lake, and the young gentleman (Lord Menteith) was pointing to the spot where the intended road turned northward, and leaving the verge of the loch ascended a ravine, when they discovered a single horseman coming down the shore, as if to meet them. This solitary stranger was mounted upon an able horse, fit for military service, and for the great weight he had to carry, and his rider occupied his war-saddle with an air that showed it was his familiar seat. He wore a bright burnished head-piece, with a plume of feathers, together with a cuirass thick enough to resist musket-ball. These defensive arms he wore over a buff jerkin, along with a pair of gauntlets, the tops of which reached to his elbow; at the front of his saddle hung a case of pistols, nearly two feet in length, and carrying bullets of twenty to the pound. A buff belt with a broad silver buckle sustained on one side a long straight double-edged sword, with a strong guard, and calculated either to strike or pusa. On the right side hung a dagger of about eighteen inches in length: a shoulder-belt sustained at his back a musketoon, and was crossed by a bandalier containing his charges of ammunition. Thigh-pieces of steel, called taslets, met the tops of his jack-boots, and completed the equipage of Ritt-master Dugald Dalgetty of Drumthwachet. This redoubtable warrior was above the middle size, and of strength sufficient to endure conveniently the great weight of his offensive and defensive arms: his age was then above forty, and his countenance that of a resolute weather-beaten veteran, who had witnessed many hard-fought fields, and from which he had borne away more than one defacing token." The reader will remember that Captain Dalgetty had just returned from the service of "the Lion of the North, the Terror of Austria, Gustavus the Victorious;" and that he is borne by his favourite horse, Gustavus, named after the invincible hero, his late master. The meeting of Lord Menteith is supposed to have occurred in the romantic pass of Leney, one of the most picturesque defiles in the whole range of mountain scenery, of which the beauties have been immortalised in the poem of the Lady of the Lake. It is a narrow opening, about one mile west from the village of Callander, affording access from the low country, which terminates here, into the wildest recesses of the mountains. This sublime entrance may be said to commence immediately beyond the village of Killmahog, (i. e. the Cell of St. Hugh, or St. Chug,) where stands a tall pole, with a bell on the top of it, which is generally tolled during the passing of funeral processions. The river, in accomplishing its course through the pass, is interrupted by a series of falls, until it descends at least two hundred feet: the road next winds round the base of Benledi, and, still ascending, at a distance of three miles from Callander, discloses Loch Lubnaig, the source of the rapid-falling river that meets the traveller, sleeping beautifully at the feet of the giants of the highlands. The north shore of the lake is skirted by a mountain road; steep, and rugged, and wooded banks confine the view on every side; and a long ledge of rock, projecting from Benledi's base, terminates in a dark precipitous cliff, that overhangs, in a bold and awful manner, the surface of the lake. The distance, in this exquisite panorama, is occupied by Benmore, rising over the parish and village of Balquidder, where the ashes of Rob Roy have slept since his spirit has ceased to disturb his countrymen. Ardchullery, on the margin of Loch Lubnaig, was the residence of Bruce, the Abyssinian traveller, aud there he is said to have arranged his MSS. for publication. T |