THE MOUNTAIN. 



of the Lake, says of this romantic spot, " This 

 is a beautiful cascade made at a place called the 

 Bridge of Bracklinn, by a mountain stream called the 

 Keltie, about a mile from the village of Callender, 

 in Menteith. Above a chasm where the brook 

 precipitates itself from a height of at least fifty 

 feet, there is thrown, for the convenience of the 

 neighbourhood, a rustic foot-bridge, of about three 

 feet in breadth, and without ledges, which is scarcely 

 to be crossed by a stranger without awe and appre- 

 hension." The stream still retains these charac- 

 ters, but the bridge is now furnished with a hand- 

 rail. So brilliant was the twilight, that, though 

 there was no moon, I gathered, and was able to 

 distinguish from the description which I had read 

 and recollected, a species of Persicaria* which, like 

 a grass I have already mentioned, Festuca vivipara, 

 produced young plants instead of seeds. It was 

 long past ten when I gathered, and found no diffi- 

 culty in discriminating, two species of Orchis. So 

 ended the third and last day of my botanizing 

 among the Mountains. Next morning, at seven 

 o'clock, we took our seats on the Stirling coach, 

 and, the same evening, accompanied the Professor 

 of Botany at Edinburgh through the splendid con- 

 servatories of the Botanic garden, where, among 

 tropical palms and ferns, we were able to draw 

 forth from our cases living specimens of a plant, ) 

 which happened to be the subject of the evening 

 discussion, a humble native of the Scottish Alps. 



* Polygonwn viviparum. t Sibbaldia procumbent. 



