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generations, all-powerful through the upper districts of Aberdeen and Banffshire

"By Bogie, Deveron, Don, and Dee,

The Gordons haud the guidin' o't.'

"The head of the noble house of Huntly,' the chief of 'the gay Gordons,' enjoyed the soubriquet of 'The Cock o' the North,' and was also popularly known as 'The Guidman o' the Bog,' from his stronghold in the Bog of Gight, now known as Gordon Castle. During the great struggles towards the close of the last century, more than one regiment, raised for the service of the Crown, attested the influence still wielded by the Duke of Gordon. The last of these regiments, the 92d (Gordon Highlanders), which was rapidly recruited through the personal exertions of the Duchess of the day (known as the Great Duchess), still remains one of the best known in the British Army, and was, by the late Army Localisation Scheme, linked with the 93d (Sutherland Highlanders), and has its depôt at Aberdeen.

"The Lordship or Thanedom of Strathbogie comprehended about 120 square miles along both sides of the river; but the modern Presbytery of that name is of much greater extent comprising twelve parishes, situated in Aberdeen, Banff, and Moray shires. The Presbytery of Strathbogie attained much notoriety during 'The Ten Years' Conflict in the Church of Scotland. Seven of its ministers were suspended by the General Assembly for having inducted a minister at Marnoch in opposition to the wishes of the majority (all except one) of the parishioners, in defiance of an Act of Assembly called the Veto Act. The law-courts exonerated the suspended ministers, and declared the Act of Suspension of the General Assembly null and void-a decision which mainly led to the Disruption of 1843."

Strathbogie is famous for a reel that bears its name, "The Reel of Bogie,' and for more than one good song and ballad. One of these, and perhaps the best known, is the "The Three-Gir'd Cog:"

There's cauld kail in Aberdeen,
And custocks in Strathbogie,
And ilka lad maun hae his lass,
But I maun hae my cogie.

For I maun hae my cogie, sirs,
I canna want my cogie;
I wadna gie my three-gir'd cog
For a' the wives in Bogie.

Johnny Smith has got a wife

Wha scrimps him o' his cogie; But were she mine, upon my life, I'd dook her in a Bogie.

For I maun hae my cogie, sirs,
I canna want my cogie;
I wadna gie my three-gir'd cog
For a' the wives in Bogie.
Twa-three toddlin' weans they hae,
The pride o' a' Stra'bogie;
Whene'er the totums cry for meat
She curses aye his cogie:
Crying, Wae betide the three-gir'd cog!
Oh, wae betide the cogie!

It does mair skaith than a' the ills
That happen in Stra'bogie.

She fand him ance at Willie Sharp's,
And what the maist did laugh at,
She brak the bicker, spilt the drink,
And tightly gouff'd his haffat:

Crying, Wae betide the three-gir'd cog!
Oh, wae betide the cogie!

It does mair skaith than a' the ills
That happen in Stra'bogie.

Yet here's to every honest soul
Wha'll drink wi' me a cogie;
And for ilk silly, whinging fool,
We'll dook him in a Bogie.

For I maun hae my cogie, sirs,
I canna want my cogie;
I wadna gie my three-gir'd cog

For a' the queans in Bogie.

An answer to this popular lyric was composed by Alexander, fourth Duke of Gordon, and was also pretty popular :

There's cauld kail in Aberdeen,
And castocks in Strathbogie;
Gin I ha'e but a bonnie lass

Ye're welcome to your cogie.
An' ye may sit up a' the nicht,
And drink till it be braid daylicht;
Gie me a lass baith clean and ticht
To dance the reel o' Bogie.
In cotillions the French excel;

:

John Bull loves country dances;
The Spaniards dance fandangoes well;
Mynheer an allemande prances;
In foursome reels the Scots delight,
At threesomes they dance wondrous light,
But twasomes ding a' out o' sight,
Danced to the reel o' Bogie.

Come, lads, and view your partners weel,
Wale each a blythesome rogie;
I'll tak' this lassie to mysel',

She looks sae keen and vogie.
Now, piper lad, bang up the spring;
The country fashion is the thing,
To prie their mou's ere we begin

To dance the reel o' Bogie.

Now ilka lad has got a lass,
Save yon auld doited fogie,
And ta'en a fling upon the grass
As they do in Stra'bogie;
But a' the lassies look sae fain
We canna think oursel's to hain,
For they maun hae their come-again
To dance the reel o' Bogie.

Now a' the lads ha'e done their best,
Like true men o' Stra'bogie;
We'll stop a while and tak' a rest,

And tipple out a cogie.

Come, now, my lads, and tak' your glass,
And try ilk other to surpass
In wishing health to every lass

To dance the reel o' Bogie.

Of Gartly itself there is nothing particular to be said. The parish is partly in Aberdeenshire and partly in Banffshire. The conical hill opposite the station is called Kirknie, and slates are quarried in it. The country is rich farming land down the vale, till we reach Huntly

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Huntly is the principal town of Strathbogie, its capital, so to speak. It is a burgh of barony, the Duke of Richmond and Gordon being the feudal superior, and its population with the parish is about 4000. Prettily situated on a ridge of rising ground, it is neatly built with good streets and a spacious market square. "Huntly stands on an angle of land at the juncture of the Deveron and the Bogie, and, being surrounded by rising grounds, has a most comfortable cosy aspect about it. The most favourable view of the town is to be had as we approach per rail from the south, as the eye can not only range all over the town, but take in the finely varied background, conspicuous in which are the ruins of Huntly Castle, Huntly Lodge (the residence for long of the late Dowager Duchess of Gordon), and the wood-clothed Bin Hill of Huntly, rising to the height of 1032 feet above the level of the sea. There are some fine buildings in the town, most prominent of all being the Gordon schools, erected by the Dowager Duchess in memory of her husband George, the fifth and last Duke of Gordon, as the

legend on his statue in Castle Street, Aberdeen, sadly tells. They are situated at the entrance of the castle park, the drive to the lodge passing under the arched central tower, and the schools and teachers' houses being placed at each side. "It is indeed," says Grant, "a noble memorial both of the deceased Duke and of the practical and munificent benevolence of the Duchess of Gordon." The front is to the principal street of Huntly, and the back towards the pleasure grounds of Huntly Lodge, which entered through an archway in the centre of the building. Inscribed over the archway on the outside we read,

are

"Gordon Schools, erected in Memory of George Fifth Duke of Gordon, by his widow: founded 1839, opened 1841.".

Within the arch on the right hand is placed a marble bust of the late Duke, and on the left one of his widow: both by Campbell the sculptor. Over the point of egress is this inscription :"These Memorials of George, Fifth Duke of Gordon, and his Widow, Elizabeth, Duchess of Gordon, are placed here in testimony of the respect and affection of an attached tenantry and a faithful people."

In a description of the castle, which stands beyond within the grounds, we may follow Grant. He says

As we are informed that we may enter the grounds and visit the old castle on any lawful day, without any one finding fault with us, if we only observe the polite injunction, Please to keep off the grass,' we shall avail ourselves of the privilege. Strolling for about half a mile down an avenue, skirted with ornamental trees and shrubs, we come in front of the magnificent ruins of Huntly Castle, great even in decay; but we must go further ere we can obtain possession of the keys. This we do by calling at the next cottage standing on the rocky brink of the Deveron, where the river is spanned by the bridge on the avenue leading to Huntly Lodge. The cottage is not a couple of hundred yards off; but ere we knock at its door and make our request, let us stand for one moment

little

on the bridge and gaze into the limpid |
waters as they ripple on their rocky
way. This is a sweet romantic spot
such as might delight the soul of poet
or sentimental maiden who love to
wander lone where murmuring waters
flow and scented wildwoods spread
their sheltering arms. But we have to
deal with facts, and not with senti-
ments, so let me take this opportunity
to tell you that the Deveron rises in
the Cabrach hills, and, pursuing a wind-
ing north-easterly course through Aber-
deen and Banff shires, falls into the
German Ocean at the town of Banff.
Its length may be about 60 miles, and
it has a good reputation as a trouting
and salmon stream. The scenery along
its lower banks is delightful, but its
beauties above Huntly are of a sterner
aspect. Now we knock at the door of
the porter's lodge, receive the keys, and
approach the ruin through the sur-
rounding woods. Standing on a rising
ground, with the Deveron in its rear,
and what must have been a moat in
front, with its thick walls and towers
of defence in sufficient preservation to
indicate its former strength, the ruin
carries back the mind to ages when
Huntly was 'Cock o' the North.'
"When might was right, possession law,
In donjon keep and castle ha':
When trust was great and fears were small
To him that fought behind a wall.

"The Comyns or Cummings, the first lords of the Castle, as we have previously remarked, forfeited their lands and castles, and Sir Adam Gordon received a grant of this castle and the lands of Strathbogie from Robert the Bruce. Sir Adam's son, Sir Alexander, was the first Gordon who took the title of Lord of Huntly. About the close of the fifteenth century, the Lords of Huntly became Earls; in 1599, Marquesses; and in 1684, Dukes of Gordon. On the death of George, fifth Duke of Gordon, in 1836, the title of Marquess of Huntly devolved on the Earl of Aboyne, and is now held by the son of the same. The Gordon estates were inherited by the late Duke of Richmond, whose mother was the eldest sister of the last Duke of Gordon, and are now the property of his son, the present

Duke of Richmond [and Gordon, the Dukedom of Gordon having been conferred on him in 1876.] The Castle of Strathbogie was almost entirely destroyed after the battle of Glenlivet in 1594, and rebuilt in 1602, under the title of Huntly Castle, by George, first Marquess of Huntly, who married Henrietta Stewart, daughter of the first Duke of Lennox. These rudely built vaults and ivy-covered walls, round what appears to have been the court of the Castle, are supposed to be vestiges of the Castle of Strathbogie. The mass of better preserved buildings before us must have been the more recently erected Huntly Castle. On a nearer survey, we observe above what appears to have been the principal inner entry door, a good deal of partially traceable heraldic sculpture, amongst which we can make out the Royal Arms of Scotland, with the inscription

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Over the

"On the lintel, the date 1602 may with difficulty be traced. Going round to the front, we have two round towers, flanking the building on the east and west, and the principal apartments of the castle between them. upper row of windows in that part of the building between the two towers, runs a broad belting, bearing the inscripions the one over the otherGEORGE GORDOVN FIRST MARQVS OF Hv. HENRIETTA · Stevart · MARQVSSE OF Hv. The rest of the inscription-likely ntlie, to complete the HV.'s-has been broken down. We shall look into the interior now, but we cannot afford time to speak of the vaulted chambers individually, neither would we willingly descend into the dungeon under the east tower, for the way is steep and pitchy dark, and the smell dank and noisome; but we must climb the spiral staircase of the west tower, and from its top enjoy a brief survey extending over hill and

dale-over Huntly Lodge, and lawn, and forests, stretching west away for miles along the Bin Hill, over the valleys of the Deveron and the Bogie, and the town of Huntly. Fain could we linger here, but time's up, and back we fly to Huntly station.

"How quick is a glance of the mind!

Compared with the speed of its flight, The tempest itself lags behind,

And the swift-winged arrows of light." The third Duke of Gordon's brother was Lord Lewis Gordon of "the Fortyfive," and the hero of the popular Scottish ballad

O send Lewie Gordon hame,
And the lad I daurna name,
Though his back be at the wa',
Here's to him that's far awa
Ohon my Highlandman,
O my bonnie Highlandman!
Weel would I my true love ken
Among ten thousand Highlandmen.
O! to see his tartan trews,
Bonnet blue, and laigh-heeled shoes,
Philabeg aboon his knee,
That's the lad that I'll gang wi'.
Ohon, etc.

This lovely youth of whom I sing,
Is fitted for to be a king;
On his breast he wears a star,
You'd tak' him for the god of war.
Ohon, etc.

O! to see this princely one
Seated on a royal throne !
Disasters a' would disappear;
Then begins the jub'lee year.
Ohon, etc.

George Macdonald, in his story of "Alec Forbes of Howglen," introduces Huntly old Castle, and the extract may be interesting to visitors. It is as

follows:

"The red light melted away the mist between them, and they walked in it up to the ruined walls. Long grass grew about them, close to the very door, which was locked, that, if Old Time could not be kept out, younger destroyers might. Other walls stood around vitrified by fire-the remnants of an older castle still, about which Iamblichus might have spied the lingering phantoms of many a terrible deed.

"They entered by the door in the great tower, under the spiky remnants of the spiral stair projecting from the huge circular wall. To the right, a steep descent, once a stair, led down to

the cellars and the dungeon; a terrible place, the visible negations of which are horrid and need no popular legend, such as Alec had been telling Kate, of a walled-up door and a lost room, to add to their influence. It was no wonder that, when he held out his hand to lead her down into the darkness and through winding ways to the mouth of the far-off Beehive dungeonit was no wonder, I say, that she should shrink and draw back. A few rays came through the decayed planks of the door, which Alec had pushed to behind him, and fell upon the rubbish of centuries sloping in the brown light and damp air down into the abyss. One larger ray from the key-hole fell upon Kate's face, and showed it blanched with fear and her eyes distended with effort to see through the gloom.

"Gin ye want to gang up than, I'll lat ye see the easiest road. It's roun' this way.' And she pointed to a narrow ledge between the descent and the circular wall, by which they could cross to where she stood. But Alec, who had no desire for Annie's company, declined her guidance, and took Kate up a nearer though more difficult ascent to the higher level. Here all the floors of the castle lay in dust beneath their feet, mingled with fragments of chimney-piece and battlement. The whole central space lay open to the sky.

"After they had rambled over the lower part of the building, Alec took Kate up a small winding stair, past a succession of empty doorways like eyeless sockets, leading no whither, because the floors had fallen. Kate was so frightened by coming suddenly upon one after another of these defenceless openings, that, by the time she reached the broad platform, which ran all bare of battlement or parapet around the top of the tower, she felt faint; and, when Alec scampered off like a goat to reach the bartizan at the other side, she sank in an agony of fear upon the landing of the stair.

Seized with a terror she did not understand, Annie darted into the cavern between them, and sped down its steep into the darkness which lay there like a lurking beast. A few

yards down, however, she turned aside, | of the Spey, the Deveron, and the through a low doorway into a vault. Isla, are moderately fertile and pleasant B. rushed after her, passed her, and fell to inhabit, but much of the uplands over a great stone lying in the middle are thin, cold, and unsheltered. The of the way. Annie heard him fall, exposed situation of much of the sprang forth again, and flying to the county, the vast tracts of uncultivated upper light found her way out, and left moor, moss, and damp soil, and the the discourteous knight a safe captive, lofty mountain ranges, clothed with fallen upon that horrible stair. A snow during many months in the year, horrible stair it was up and down combine to give the climate of Banffthose steps, then steep and worn, now shire the character of being far less massed into an incline of beaten earth, genial than the Lowlands of Aberdeenhad swarmed for months together a shire or the Laigh of Moray. Banff multitude of naked children, orphaned abounds with limestone; and a numand captive by the sword, to and from ber of quarries in various parts of the the trough where they fed like pigs county are very profitably worked. amidst the laughter of the lord of the The principal towns are Banff and castle and his guests; while he who Macduff, Cullen and Portsoy, on the passed down there to the dungeons be- coast; and Keith and Dufftown in the yond had little chance of ever retracing interior; all of which have the adhis steps upwards to the light" (p. 232 vantage of railway communication et seq.) except Cullen. The main line crosses the county at the narrowest part, running from east to west by Keith. Rothiemay is the first station in Banffshire.

18. Rothiemay.

45 miles from Aberdeen.

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Huntly. Leaving Huntly Station, the traveller catches first a sight of the gray ruined tower of the castle we have just been describing, and then a glimpse of the meeting of the waters" of Bogie and Deveron, and presently he crosses the latter river by a handsome viaduct of five arches and 70 feet in height. He has now quitted Aberdeenshire and entered the county of Banff.

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"Banffshire is bounded on the north by that part of the German Ocean called the Moray Firth; on the east and south by Aberdeenshire; and on the west by the counties of Moray and Inverness. Its greatest length from east to west along the shore, from the confines of Aberdeen to the confines of Moray, is reckoned 34 miles; and its greatest length, from the German Ocean, south-east to Ben Macdhui, the loftiest mountain in Great Britain, is about 67 miles. The superficial area of the county is estimated at 412,800 acres, about onethird of which is under cultivation, and the rest occupied by lofty mountain ranges, isolated hills, moors, mosses, and forests. The lands lying in the valleys and along the banks

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James Gordon, "the parson of Rothiemay in the middle of the 17th century, was a younger son of the celebrated antiquary of that date, Robert Gordon of Straloch, and besides assisting his father in making maps of Scotland, wrote a narrative of the events so well described as "The Trubles."

This narrative is known as "Gordon's History of Scots Affairs." He is to be distinguished from Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, who also wrote a history dealing with the same period under the title of "A Short Abridgment of Britaine's Distemper." Aberdeenshire also boasts another historian of the same period-Spalding, the author of "Memorials of the Troubles in Scotland." All of the three wrote from the Royalist standpoint.

There is nothing of interest to be seen from the station. The village lies two miles off to the right. Down the Deveron and on its north bank, but not in sight, are the mansion-houses of Rothiemay (W. J. Taylor, Esq.) and Mayen (Adam Hay Gordon, Esq.) Conspicuous to the east rises the Knock Hill, 1408 feet, and Deskford Hill, 956 feet.

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