STOBHALL 



present owner, the Earl of Ancaster, whose abode 

 is in Strathearn, at Drummond Castle, famous for 

 its architectural garden and terraces. Some might 

 deem that garden more worthy than Stobhall of a 

 place in this series, but it has been made the 

 subject of so many essays and illustrations that we 

 have given preference to the lonely and less well- 

 known house in Strathtay. 



In truth, there is little that can be called a garden 

 at Stobhall, only the place once bright with summer 

 flowers, whereof a few, such as the grey asters in 

 Miss Wilson's picture, have clung to the soil, mark- 

 ing the change of seasons as the old sundial does 

 the fleeting hours, till hours and seasons together 

 roll up into centuries. Perhaps the place is fairer in 

 its desolation than it ever was when it teemed 

 with busy life. Certes, it would be difficult to find 

 in all Scotland a more enchanting scene than I 

 beheld one May morning on visiting this spot. The 

 pearl-grey walls of the old house gleamed softly in 

 the sunshine, deeply mantled in the fresh verdure 

 of sycamore and beech. Steeply sloped the green- 

 sward to the river, starred and wreathed with 

 late narcissus, purple orchis, and myriad humbler 

 blooms. Far below where I stood, the Tay, lordliest 

 of Scottish rivers, swept in smooth curves, shimmering 

 in the light, glowering in the shade, to fling itself 

 in sudden tumult over the Linn o' Campsie. And 

 all around, far as the eye could range, was wealth 

 of woodland, ancient trees and affluent tillage. 



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