A VISIT TO BRAEMAR. . 203 



exposure being clothed in a verdant mantle of bright green oaks^ thus 

 affording an agreeable contrast to the fir trees, (Pinus sylvestris.) which 

 form the staple of the forest, whether natural or planted, in this district. 

 Unfortunately this colony of the noble oak {Quercus sessilijlora) is cut down 

 at intervals for economical purposes, though a few venerable monarchs of 

 the race still survive, scattered here and there upon Deeside. Besides many 

 views of the majestic Lochnagar, and other less striking hills, the objects 

 of interest between this point and our ultimate destination are of a varied 

 and interesting nature; of these, perhaps, the most worthy of note are the 

 ^'Birks of Abergeldie," and Balmoral Castle. The former is a natural growth, 

 extending for many miles around, of the fragrant birch, whose pendant 

 tresses (at least in one variety) droop elegantly above our heads, rustling 

 in every breeze. No wonder that such a proximity should have excited 

 the poetic element in hearts less susceptible than that of the gifted Burns, 

 who, in his ode, "The Birks of Aherfeldie" (Perth,) beginning — 



"Now simmer blinks on flowery braes, 

 And o'er the crystal streamlet plays," 



celebrates, in flowing numbers, such a scene; strangely enough, borrowing 

 his chorus and metre from a song of older date, traceable to the very 

 locality of which we are speaking, the "Birks of Abergeldie." 



And now we near that pile of almost dazzling whiteness, (a very light 

 granite,) nestling in glades of silvery birch and more sombre pine, which 

 boasts a Eoyal Mistress. Let us then, as we leave its receding form, pray 

 with every loyal subject, that she may in this her Highland home, yet 

 spend many a happy hour, far removed from the cares of state, in the 

 palmy days of Peace.*" Enjoying as we proceed a combination of scenery 

 alike sublime, and fascinating in its beauty, we are apprised of our prox- 

 imity to the Castleton, by obtaining occasional glimpses of the white walls 

 of its castle, and more especially by the up-and-down (always characteristic of 

 old bridges in Scotland) over the picturesque bridge that here spans the river. 



The remainder of our course lies along the base of Craig Clunie, and 

 the Lion's Face, (so named from some fancied resemblance to the said 

 appendage of his shaggy majesty,) whose sides shooting up almost perpen- 

 dicularly from our feet, clothed to their very summits in a tangled mass 

 of vegetation, inspire with something like dread the pigmies at their base, 

 lest at every instant they topple over, and bury bipeds, quadrupeds, stage 

 and all, in extricable ruin. Without the occurrence of such an unlikely 

 catastrophe, however, we drive merrily into the capital of Braemar. 



The rest of this day we spent in a pleasant saunter in the environs of 

 the village, and in the no less pleasant employment of making the acquaiu- 



* Amen, — F. 0. MoiiRis. 



