230 Craigniillar and its Environs. 



walks through the pleasure-grounds. This wooded 

 dell reminds one forcibly of Hawthornden, and its 

 sylvan beauties form the subject of many an artist's 

 canvas. From 1760 to 1785 the garden at Moredun 

 claimed pre-eminence as being the richest in the 

 county ; and it was believed to be the first in which 

 forcing was carried out to any degree of perfection. 

 Baron Moncrieff, the proprietor, used to boast that 

 from his own ground, within a few miles of Edinburgh, 

 he could, by the aid of glass, coals, and a good gar- 

 dener, match any country in Europe in peaches, grapes, 

 pines, and every other fine fruit excepting apples and 

 pears. These, he acknowledged, were grown better 

 m the open air in England and the north of France. 

 James Boswell, the biographer of Dr Johnson, was 

 on intimate terms with Baron Moncrieff, and was 

 a frequent visitor at Moredun. On one occasion, 

 when Boswell was narrating his frolics over his 

 success in the great Douglas cause, Moncrieff said 

 to him, "By my soul, Boswell, you're mad!" to 

 which he replied, glibly and cuttingly, " Swear by 

 your peach-houses, your pineries, and your vineries 



