^ NIMROUS NORTHERN TOUR. 



most violently, and had he struck him an inch higher up, would 

 Jbave killed him on the spot. As it was, the blood appeared 

 through his clothes. Sportsmen cannot be too cautious at this 

 ^articular moment ; for horses, perfectly quiet at all other times, 

 Tnll kick both horses and hounds as well as men when they 

 smell blood, and their sense of smell is very susceptible to it. 



Sunday, 16. Hudibras says, when speaking of the English 

 language, that we have " a suit for holidays, and another for 

 working days." .Being now in a country where the Sabbath is 

 spent somewhat differently to what it is in France, I must "hold 

 liard" here and sink hunting. After church then, I walked to 

 Dunse Castle for two purposes ; first to pay my respects to the 

 worthy inmates of it ; and secondly, to have a look at the out- 

 side of the house, having only before had ocular demonstration 

 $>f the inside, which, after all, to one so little versed in architec- 

 tural science as myself, is generally the best in the month of 

 November, and particularly about the hour the dinner bell 

 rings. And this reminds me of a good anecdote respecting 

 Marchmont House, of which I have just spoken. It was built 

 % the last Earl of Marchmont, who was told that the roughness 

 f its exterior being of what is called 'ruple-work was not 

 suitable to the splendour of its interior. " Perhaps not," said 

 the Peer, who was a wag ; " but I mean to live in the inside and 

 not on the outside of my house." But to return to Dunse Castle. 

 It is undoubtedly one of the finest castellated mansions I have 

 ever seen in any country, and the ornaments and figures on the 

 specula, or watch towers, are to my taste singularly elegant and 

 imposing. Conscious, however, of my being a bad hand at 

 describing houses, as well as a very bad judge of the outside of 

 them, your readers shall form their own opinion of Dunse 

 Castle from the following description of it in the " Picture of 

 Scotland" (vol. i. page 42), published in 1834, and illustrated 

 fey several plates a very amusing work : 



" Dunse Castle is a magnificent new house, in what is called 

 the castellated style. It was erected partly upon the remains of 

 a former castle, which had been the property of that glorious 

 patriot, Randolph Earl of Moray, and it went into the hands of 

 Cospatrick (Earl of Dunbar), by his equally glorious daughter, 

 Black Agnes, who married that powerful nobleman. The former 

 eastle was remarkable on account of having been the head-quar- 

 ters of General Leslie, when he lay with the Scottish army of 

 1639 on tne to P f tne neighbouring Law. The apartment in 

 which he and his officers dined, having fortunately been pre- 

 served untouched at the re-edification, can now be seen in the 

 sastle ; it is the butler's room. 



