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excursions which may be made from it.

fine pinkish red. At the Hill of Fare | It is the centre of almost innumerable it is of a very dark blood red. A little above the line is a commodious shooting lodge, built by the gentleman who rents the shootings from the Marquis of Huntly.

Leaving the station we glide on through the plain of Ballater, past the ruins of the old church of the old parish of Tullich, near which is an obelisk, erected to the memory of Farquharson of Monaltrie, across the Burn of Tullich, and past (on the right) Monaltrie or Ballater House, the property of Farquharson of Invercauld. The house is of no pretension, but it is beautifully situated on a spacious and smooth lawn just at the foot of Craigendarroch and the entrance to the Pass of Ballater. On the opposite side of the river are the Pannanich Wells, once very celebrated for their mineral qualities, and still frequented. They have recently been acquired from Invercauld by Mr. J. T. Mackenzie of Glen Muick and Kintail.

From this point of the railway the view of the upper Deeside mountains is very fine. Hills rise above hills, with Lochnagar crowning them all. Craigendarroch occupies the foreground, with Monaltrie at its base. On the right is the narrow gorge called the Pass of Ballater, to the left the valley of the Dee, along which the new road winds round the Craig, meeting the road through the pass at Gairn on the other side. The opening to the left, in the throat of which lies the village of Ballater, is Glen Muick, and shadowing it in the far distance, rises the murallike precipices of dark Lochnagar. On a summer evening before sunset this view is surpassingly beautiful.

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"Among the more recent improvements at Ballater are the new barracks for the Queen's body-guard while she resides at Balmoral. The number of men is about fifty during the summer. There are two new churches. Established, which was finished in 1875 from a design by Mr. Russell Mackenzie of Aberdeen at a cost of £4000; it was built by subscription, the handsome sum of £1400 having been contributed by Mr. Alexander Gordon of London, a native of the parish. The Free Church is a very pretty building, with a beautiful stone spire. The Albert Memorial Hall, lately erected at the south side of the square, is opposite the railway station, and was erected solely at the cost of the same Mr. Gordon. It contains the Post-Office, a billiard-room, library, reading-rooms, etc. The management is entrusted to trustees named by Mr. Gordon. The cost of the building was about £2600. The supply of water lately introduced into the village was the gift of Colonel Farquharson of Invercauld. The drainage of the village is now complete, and cost about £2000."

There is a fine bridge across the Dee at Ballater. The first one was swept away in the floods of 1829. When the present editor first visited Ballater five years after that event, the bridge had not been replaced, and the daily journey to Pannanich Wells could only be accomplished by being ferried across the rapid stream in a boat, which the ferryman pulled across by means of a rope stretched from side to side. A wooden bridge was afterwards erected, and that is now replaced by a substantial and handsome one of stone.

The great flood of 1829 has been thus described :-"For some time previous there had been more than a common downfall of rain, and in especial the day before the rain had been pouring down in one incessant torrent; but the rise in the river was nothing to speak of. Up among the glens too there had been heard the rumblings of many fierce thunderclaps, but this at that season of the year was nothing unusual.

No

wise alarmed, therefore, and dreading nothing, the people of Ballater went to their beds as usual, and laid them down to sleep without fear or suspicion. But at the dead hour of midnight they were awakened from their sleep by the terrible roaring of the river, which roared louder than any thunder; and before they got their heads well raised from their pillows, and while they were yet terrified by that awful and uncouth din, and, perfectly astounded, knew not what to do, the rush of the waters was heard near at hand; in a hand-clap in it swept with a furious swirl and a swell, dashing everything before it, and breaking in waves over the very beds, where the people lay quaking and panting with fear at this strange and unaccountable calamity. Many, heedless of the awful roaring of the river, lay dead asleep, and peacefully slept on till the cold plash of the water on their faces startled them wide awake. Then began such a terrible commotion, such a hurrying to and fro, and such a perplexity and confusion on all hands, as never man saw in Ballater before. People awakened from their sleep by the cold water plashing about them, suddenly started up and scarcely knowing what they did, rushed out from their houses naked and unclothed, shouting and lamenting, when they beheld on all sides of them nothing but a sea of troubled waters, upon which they saw floating sheep, hayricks, great trees torn up by the roots, chairs, tables, eight-day clocks, and all sorts and manner of things; while always the river was roaring on like thunder. Such a running about as was then to be seen! Such a sound of wailing and of woe as was then to be heard! For all the world like the ants in any of the ant hillocks on Craigendarroch when you tear a piece of it down, did the people of Ballater run about, to and fro, hither and thither, on that awful night. Pitiful to behold! There were some hurrying about with their goods in their arms; others labour ing like anything, trying to catch their furniture as it was floating out at their doors; some running with their bairns in their bosoms away from that terrible

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flood; others with their wives or mothers upon their shoulders, wading breast deep through the water, and sometimes stumbling and falling, disappearing wholly out of sight for a minute, then tottering up again, while the women set up their screamings again more desperately than ever; here a whole family rushing out helter skelter, plashing across the square like as many geese in a burn; there some bonny young lady visitor, with a blanket about her, wading to where she saw dry land, and picking her steps, poor thing, as well as she could, while always she gave the other scream and shudder, as she plumped into any pool above the knees; and all these people little better than naked-some with nothing but their shirts on- -others with a blanket about them-some with petticoats some with trousers ;-in short, as you may conceive, it was a scene just altogether indescribable. Meantime the river continued to rise higher and higher still; great lots of trees, bushes, and other wood began to gather about the arches of the bridge; and as they were still blocking up the water-course, it became an evident thing to all the sorrowful people of Ballater that down their brave bridge must go; not that some did not still entertain hopes, and always as the stately structure held out, their hopes grew the stronger. Many began to think that the water was beginning to abate, and vainly thought that the substantial workmanship of the bridge, as it had so long held together, would surely withstand against the raging water, now that the worst, as they thought, was over. But always the water rose higher upon the bridge, and another tree was still dashing against the piers, making the whole structure to tremble. last the waters were so dammed up that no power on earth could withstand them, and the first sign that the bridge was falling was a loud crack which it was heard to give, as loud as the report of a musket. Then the solid masonry of the bridge was seen to bend like a bow of fir, till, with a noise like that of the loudest thunder, it flew from each other into a thousand bits, and was

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hurled with a plash into the river, to be seen no more. The fall of the bridge shook the ground near it like an earthquake; and such was the force of the river, that as it furiously rushed over the fallen bridge, it made the spray of its waters flee over the roof of the inn. Thus perished the stately bridge of Ballater."

A little above Ballater the river

"Gin I had a husband, whereas I hae nane,

He wadna' lie in his bed and see his kye tane.

"Sae rise up, John," said she, "and turn back your kye,

Or me and my maidens, we will them defy.”

She called to her maidens and bade them come in,

"Tak a' your rocks, lasses, we will them comman';

"We'll fetch them, and shortly the cowards will fly,

Muick joins the Dee from the south-So, come forth, my maidens, and turn back

west. Here Mr. Mackenzie has erected a large and commodious residence. Brackley or Braicklie is about a mile to the south of Ballater, on the Muick, and is the scene of the old ballad, "The Barrone of Brackley "—

Inverey came down Deeside whistlin' and playin',

He was at brave Brackley's yetts ere it was dawin';

He rappit fu' loudlie and wi' a great roar, Cried Come down now, Brackley, and open the door!

"Are you sleeping, Barrone, or are ye waukin? There's sharp swords at your yett will gar your blood spin!"

Out spake the brave Barrone, ower the castle wa'

"Are you come to harry and spulzie my ha'?

"O gin ye be gentlemen, licht and come in, Gin ye drink o' my wine, ye'll nae gar my blood spin;

"Gin ye be hired wuddifus, ye may gang byGang down to the Lowlands and steal their fat kye;

"There spulzie like reivers of wild Kalivan clan,

And harry unsparing baith houses and lan'! "But gin ye be gentlemen, licht and come in, There's meat and drink in my ha' for ilka

man."

Out spak his lady, at his back where she lay, "Get up, get up, Brackley, and face Inverey. "Get up, get up, Brackley, and turn back your kye,

Or they'll hae them to the Highlands, and you they'll defy."

"Now haud your tongue Catherine, and still my young son,

For yon same hired wuddifus will prove themselves men."

'There's four and twenty milkwhite nowt' twal o' them kye,

In the woods of Glentanar it's there that they lie.

"There are goats on the Epnach, and sheep

on the brae,

And a' will be harried by young Inverey.

the kye."

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Then up cam' Craigievar and a party wi' him, Had he come one hour sooner Brackley hadna' been slain.

"Cam' ye by Brackley, and was ye in there? Or saw ye his lady was makin' great care?" "Yes, I cam' by Brackley, and I was in there, And there saw his ladye was braidin' her hair; "She was rantin' and dancin' and singin' for joy,

And vowin' that night she would feast Inverey."

She eat wi' him, drank wi' him, welcomed him in,

She drank to the villain that killed her Barrone. "Wae to you,

be,

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Kate Fraser, and may your heart.

To see your brave Barrone's blood come to your knee.'

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She kept him till mornin' and bade him being objects that daily meets the view

gane,

And showed him the road that he mightna' be

ta'en.

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of the sojourner in this part of the
country, I left Abergairn at eight in the
morning with the intention of visit-
ing it. We started from Ballater at
nine [driving up Glen Muick].
Woods of birch, alder, pine, and other
trees, natural and planted, ornamented
the valley, in which gleamed here and
there a farm-steading, scattered huts,
and at least one house of some preten-
sion-that of Birkhall. In what seems
the upper part of the glen, about 5
miles distant from Ballater, is a very
beautiful cascade, not unjustly con-
sidered one of the more remarkable
natural curiosities of the district.
rock appeared to be gneiss, in nearly
vertical strata, running north-east and
south-west. Carduus heterophyllus,
ides, Alchemilla alpina, Melica cærulea,
Trollius Europæus, Saxifraga aizo-
and many other plants ornamented
the rocky shelves. But our object at

The

"This transaction took place in the year of grace 1592. The Baron of Brackley was a Gordon, and related to the Earl of Huntly, who, to get revenge for this cruel slaughter of his kinsman, made a foray upon the lands of the Clan Chattan (to which Far-present is not to describe Glen Muick, quharson of Inverey belonged), laid waste their grounds, harried their towns, and burnt their corn-yards; and having met some of them in conflict, left three-score of them dead on the ground, so that this murder, as you see, went not unpunished. The castle of Brackley is now nearly altogether demolished, nothing thereof remaining but one or two small fragments. A hollow is still pointed out between two small knolls where the Farquharsons fell upon him. Knock Castle, now in ruins, stands on a beautiful eminence a little above the mouth of the Muick.

It has been once a very stately castle,
though now in ruins."

EXCURSUS TO LOCHNAGAR.

Lochnagar is distant 13 miles from Ballater, and may be approached by Glen Muick, for which excursion guides will always be found at Ballater. The following account of a visit to it is from M'Gillivray's "Deeside," privately printed by her Majesty :

"The mountain of Lochnagar, which rises majestically above all the hills on the south side of the Dee, being in many aspects one of the most interest

or any part of it. When you emerge from the wood at the cascade you enter the upper glen, bare and scarcely showing any traces of habitation. Proceeding as far as a place called Inchnabobart, the etymology of which is impracticable, we left our vehicle and commenced walking. Ascending directly to a hollow between the southern shoulder of the mountain and a less elevated conical mass, we found upon the blocks, as well as upon the ground, a great variety of highly developed lichens, of which Cetraria nivalis, C. Islandica, Cladonia turgida, Cl. uncialis, Lecidea cylindracea, G. polyphylla, Lecanora icmadophila, Gyrophora densta, G. parella, Parmelia saxatilis, P. phalodes, Cornicularia tristis, C. lanata, Sphærophoron coralloides, and Lecidea ventosa, most interested us. The ascent, somewhat fatiguing, was rendered very agreeable by the occurrence of these and many other plants, of which may be mentioned Azalea procumbens, Gnaphalium supinum, Alchemilla apina, Luzula spicata, and Epilobium alpinum. On attaining the most elevated part of the hollow we had before us the magnificent corry, a semicircular range of rifted and shattered precipices from 3 to 500 feet

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high, with a slope of detritus at its base, streaked by rills, and in the bottom a lake of very dark water. You might imagine it a volcanic crater; and many persons not particular as to facts, or unable to perceive their indications, have so called it. Ascending over blocks of all sizes to the outh-eastern edge of the corry, we obta ed a more complete view of it, ani proceeding along its margin collected specimens of the few plants that occurred, including Salix herbacea, Juncus trifidus, Carex rigida, and Agaricus nivalis. Stopping now and then to look down the fissures we gazed with wonder, sometimes with awe, upon the huge masses of rock, shattered or partially decomposed so as to resemble piles of giant masonry-the granite being divided into tabular and cuboidal compartments, the separating seams of which may have resulted from the original structure of the mass rendering certain parts more liable to disintegration, or from the rapid cooling which it may have undergone on emerging from the interior of the earth, -if such was its origin.

"Two points of the summit appear to be nearly equal in height. On one of them is an artificial cairn, erected by the trigonometrical surveying people, in the vicinity of which we saw three snow buntings (Plectrophanes nivalis). The other point is somewhat isolated, and forms a small peak at the northeastern extremity of the crags. This is the part chiefly resorted to by visitors; and from it, as well as from some other parts of the summit, is obtained a most extensive view of the country around, as far as the Lothians, Stirlingshire, the southern Grampians, many of the Perthshire mountains, those of the upper extremity of Aberdeenshire; beyond them, some of the great prominences of the counties of Argyle and Inverness; ridges and hills even beyond the Moray Firth, as well as the lower eastern tracts, extending from thence to Aberdeen, and onward to the Lammermuirs. The mountains of the adjoining part of Forfarshire were much lower, less rugged, and more verdant. The Grampians from

Aberdeen to Dunkeld appeared to form a continuous range, broader to the west of Lochnagar, and not affected by the apparently insignificant valley of the Dee, beyond which it extends into the lofty mountains of Ben A'an, Bennabuird, Ben-na-muic-dhui, Ben Vrotan, and Cairntoul. Viewed from this peak the greater part of the country seems mountainous; and as the glens are concealed, and the distant plains not clearly discerned, or partly mingled with the hilly ground, the uncultivated land seems greatly to predominate over that which has been subjected to the plough. With respect to the nearer tract intervening between the mountain and the Dee, it is seen that the land descends irregularly but rapidly; that Glen Muic separated from Glen Tanar by a long ridge, passing far beyond Ballater, is separated by a short ridge of about five miles from Glen Girnac, and this from Glen Gilder by a more irregular ridge; that from a large hill to the eastward, commencing at Glen Muic, a ridge runs obliquely to Balmoral, and that various hills and depressions decline towards the termination of the higher ridge which separates the hollow of the BeallachBuie Forest from Glen Clunie. The whole tract appears almost desolate, a very few scattered farm-houses only being seen.

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My companions being merrily disposed, I had no opportunity of becoming melancholy and cynical. We quenched our thirst from a shallow pool formed by recent rains on а flattish mass of granite, and subsequently with better water from the spring near the summit. From near the most projecting promontory of the precipice we descended by the northeastern slope, which is covered with blocks, over which we scrambled to the margin of the lake. The aspect of the precipice viewed from the base of its talus is singular and most imposing, the rock being fissured by perpendicular chasms, and partly formed into rude pyramids and prisms. Skirting the lake we reached its southern side, and passing over a vast accumulation of enormous blocks, at length gained

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