SCOTTISH GAEDENS 



What a paradise of flowers might be created here! 

 which, after all, is but a sorry pretext for including 

 among Scottish gardens a place where a garden 

 was, but is not. Our excuse is that Stobhall remains 

 in its desolation one of the most fascinating places 

 in the realm. 



Those who are curious in architecture will find 

 in the buildings interest that they miss in the 

 garden. As at Barncluith, instead of a single man- 

 sion there is a group of detached dwellings, the 

 oldest and chief of them bearing the date 1578, and 

 containing a remarkable chapel and rooms for priests. 

 The ceiling of the chapel is in five compartments, 

 each painted with figures on horseback, except one, 

 which represents Rex Mauritanae mounted on an 

 elephant. This decoration, coupled with the profu- 

 sion of heraldic devices and the repetition Drummond 

 motto GANG WARILY, recalls the coloured roofs of 

 the Chateau de Blois, with the everlasting sala- 

 mander of Francois P One cannot be too grateful 

 to the family which has so faithfully preserved this 

 choice example of the Scottish renaissance. 



204 



