H7S EARLY LIFE AS A COUNTRY WEAVER. 8 1 



shoulder of Cairn William, which guards on the south the 

 passage of the Don through these hills. Here he stayed at 

 two places. One of them was the elevated farm of Cornabo,* 

 seven hundred feet above the sea, commanding a glorious 

 view across the well-wooded glen of the Don to Benachie, 

 which reared its grand bulk right opposite. The other was 

 at the mouth of the Slack Burn, which runs near it, at 

 Milldourie, in the deep hollow below, where this stream 

 joins the Don. Close by Milldourie, along the clear 

 flowing Don, which is there enclosed in a narrow Highland 

 glen, and between it and Monymusk, lies the beautiful spot 

 known as Paradise. It was laid out in 1719, more than 

 a hundred and sixty years ago, as a beautiful garden in 

 the French style, with fruit and flowering trees, interspersed 

 with forest timber, which were disposed according to a 

 well-arranged plan, and it must then have formed a fair and 

 fruitful scene. It is now only the skeleton of what it was, 

 the forest trees alone remaining. The larch, spruce, and 

 oak are unusually splendid, and are said to be unequalled in 

 the north of Scotland. One circular group close by the 

 river, enclosing seats for rest to pilgrim visitors, looks 

 like a Temple of the Winds, with its encircling gigantic 

 colonnade, amidst glorious umbrageous arbours, sheltered 

 and secluded from the outer world by the towering 

 mountains. 



This was a favourite haunt of Duncan's, who used to 

 describe it in after years as a wonderful spot, far more 

 beautiful in his time than it is now. The wood on the 

 hills round about was also more extensive than now; 

 the present proprietor's grandfather having planted, it is 



* Pronounced Cornabo, with accent on the last syllable. 



G 



