man.

"When I behold," he said, "this rich and varied land, with its castles, churches, convents, stately palaces, and fertile fields, these extensive woods, and that noble river, I know not, my daughter, whether to admire the bounty of God or the ingratitude of He has given us the beauty and fertility of the earth, and we have made the scene of his bounty a charnel-house and a battlefield. He hath given us power over the elements, and skill to erect houses for comfort and defence, and we have converted them into dens for robbers and ruffians.

"Yet, surely, my father, there is room for comfort," replied Catherine, "even in the prospect we look upon. Yonder four goodly convents, with their churches, and their towers, which tell the citizens, with brazen voice, that they should think on their religious duties,—their inhabitants, who have separated themselves from the world, its pursuits, and its pleasures, to dedicate themselves to the service of Heaven,-all bear witness, that if Scotland be a bloody and sinful land, she is yet alive and sensible to the claims which religion demands of the human race."

The conversation between the monk and his fair proselyte involved subjects not wholly separated from the earth they dwelt on; and with a mind looking upwards, the maiden still found it difficult to forget all the flattering attentions paid to her, by those whose approbation was most highly valued by her contemporaries, nor was the admiration of the monk in favour of such oblivion at all strengthened by the magnificent panorama which the Vale of Perth presents to a spectator seated at the rock of Kinnoul.-This pleasing eminence, rising from the banks of the Tay, and within view of the town of Perth, is one of the noblest positions and objects in North Britain. It is surrounded and adorned with wood, and enlivened by a variety of villas embosomed in shrubberies and gardens of the most exuberant description, and presenting, altogether, a prospect remarkably analogous to that from Richmond Hill.-At the eastern end of the bridge, that spans the Tay at Perth, a suburban village has arisen, called Kinnoul, or Bridge-end. The houses are substantially and regularly built, and the chief street coincides with the high post-road for a considerable distance.-A modern church, erected on a bank overhanging the Tay, is an object of interest and beauty, but the ruins of the ancient castle are too contemptible to detain or gratify curiosity. Kinnoul gives title of Earl to a branch of the family of Hay of Errol.

THE REVELLERS.

"Unwelcome revellers, whose lawless joy,
Pains the sage ear, and hurts the sober eye."

POPE.

[The Fair Maid of Perth, Vol. I. p. 347.

"Art thou in case to bear thyself like a galliard? Now, cut me a caper-ha! one, two, three-admirable! again-give him the spur-(here a satellite of the Indian gave Oliver a slight touch with the sword)-nay, that is best of all-he sprang like a cat in a gutter; tender him the nut once more; nay, no compulsion, he has paid forfeit, and deserves not only free dismissal, but reward. Kneel down, kneel down, and arise Sir Knight of the Calabash. What is thy name?-and one of you lend me a rapier. So saying, the Prince of Revels bestowed a smart blow on the bonnet-maker's shoulders, dubbing him Sir Oliver Thatchpate, knight of the honourable order of the pumpkin.”

PHILIPSON AND THE GERMAN INNKEEPER.

"How all this is but a fair Inn,
Of fairer guests which dwell within."

SIDNEY.

[Anne of Geierstein, Vol. II. p. 9.

"He inquired for the private retreat of the landlord himself, trusting that, by some of the arguments powerful amongst his tribe, he might obtain separate quarters from the crowd, and a morsel of food to be eaten in private. A grey-haired Ganymede, to whom he put the question, where the landlord was, indicated a recess behind the huge stove, where, veiling his glory in a very dark and extremely hot corner, it pleased the great man to obscure himself from vulgar gaze. There was something remarkable about this person: short, stout, bandy-legged, and consequential, he was in these respects like many of the brethren in the profession in all countries. But the countenance of the man, and, still more, his manner, differed more from the merry host of France or England, than even the experienced Philipson was prepared to expect. He knew German customs too well to expect the suppliant qualities of the master of a French inn, or even the more blunt and frank manners of an English landlord. But this man's brow was a tragic volume, wherein jest found as little room as in a hermit's breviary. His answers were short, sudden, and repulsive; and the tone as surly as their tenor."

ORDEAL BY TOUCH, IN THE CHURCH OF ST. JOHN, PERTH.

"Wo to the hand that shed this costly blood,

Over thy wounds now do I prophesy;

Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips,

To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue."

[The Fair Maid of Perth, Vol II. p. 99.

"After high mass had been performed with the greatest solemnity of which circumstances rendered the ceremony capable, and after the most repeated and fervent prayers had been offered to Heaven by the crowded assembly, preparations were made for appealing to the direct judgment of Heaven on the mysterious murder of the unfortunate bonnet-maker. The scene presented that effect of imposing solemnity which the rites of the Catholic church are so well calculated to produce. The eastern window, richly and variously painted, streamed down a torrent of chequered light upon the high altar. On the bier placed before it were extended the mortal remains of the murdered man, his arms folded on his breast, and his palms joined together, with the fingers pointed upwards, as if the senseless clay were itself appealing to Heaven for vengeance against those who had violently divorced the immortal spirit from its mangled tenement.

"Close to the bier was placed the throne, which supported Robert of Scotland and his brother Albany. The prince sat upon a lower stool, beside his father; an arrangement which occasioned some observation, as Albany's seat, being little distinguished from that of the king, the heir-apparent, though of full age, seemed to be degraded beneath his uncle in the sight of the people of Perth. The bier was so placed as to leave the view of the body it sustained open to the greater part of the spectators in the church.

"At the head of the bier stood the Knight of Kinfauns, the challenger, and at the foot the young Earl of Crawford, representing the defendant. The evidence of the Duke of Rothsay, in expurgation of Sir John Ramony, exempted him from attendance as a party subjected to the ordeal: his household, however, were accounted the prince's domestics, and, being men of profligate habits, were deemed capable, in the riot of a festival evening, of committing the slaughter of the bonnet-maker. These were drawn up in a row on the left side of the church, and wore a species of white cassock, resembling the dress of a penitent. All eyes being bent on them, several of the band seemed so much disconcerted, as to excite amongst the spectators strong prepossessions of their guilt. The real murderer had a countenance incapable of betraying him-a sullen dark look, which neither the feast nor wine-cup could enliven, and which the peril of discovery or death could not render dejected."

On occasion of these superstitious tests, these impious practices upon the credulity of the ignorant, the face of the corpse was bared, as well as the breast and arms; the body was wrapped in a winding-sheet of the whitest linen, so that if blood should flow, it would be instantly observed. A mass, peculiarly adapted to the ordeal, was next celebrated; after which, the most suspected, calling down, in language strong and measured, the signal vengeance of Heaven if they spake falsely, successively approached