294 Four-in-Ha7td in Di'itain. 



place in the Vale of Athol where Millais made the sketch 

 for his celebrated picture called " O'er the hills and far 

 awa'." It is a grand view, and lighted as it then was by 

 glimpses of sunshine through dark masses of cloud, giv- 

 ing many of the rainbow tints upon the heather, it is 

 sure to remain long with us. For thirty miles stretch 

 the vast possessions of the Duke of Athol ; over moun- 

 tain, strath, and glen he is monarch of all the eye can 

 see — a noble heritage. A recent storm is said to have 

 uprooted seventy thousand of his trees in a single 

 night. 



The scenery in the neighborhood of Dunkeld is very 

 beautiful. The description of the poet Gray, who 

 visited it in 1766, will do as well to-day. "The road 

 came to the brow of a deep descent ; and between two 

 woods of oak we saw, far below us, the Tay come 

 sweeping along at the bottom of a precipice at least a 

 hundred and fifty feet deep, clear as glass, full to the 

 brim, and very rapid in its course. It seemed to issue 

 out of woods thick and tall that rose on either hand, 

 and were overhung by broken rocky crags of vast 

 height. Above them, to the west, the tops of higher 

 mountains appeared, on which the evening clouds re- 

 posed. Down by the side of the river, under the thick- 

 est shades, is seated the town of Dunkeld. In the midst 

 of it stands a ruined cathedral ; the tower and shell of 

 the building still entire. A little beyond it a large 

 house of the Duke of Athole, with its offices and 



