SECRETARY'S REPORT. 367 



ofT. Crossing the river, as we had to on tlie visit to Dryburgh 

 Abbey, seven miles below Abbotsford, the ferryman took in 

 also a fisherman, and I was surprised to learn that for the right 

 of fishing a little distance, not more than a quarter of a mile, 

 I should think, as he pointed out the limits, he had to pay a 

 hundred pounds, or five hundred dollars, a year. 



Abbotsford is by no means very imposing, but it contains 

 many.relics of great interest, as any thing connected with Sir 

 Walter Scott must be. His study is left as it was, with his 

 writing-desk and chair, the dress that he last wore, the 

 gun of Rob Roy, the pistols of Napoleon, and a thousand other 

 mementos of the past. A massive iron door of the old 

 Tolbooth prison, the Heart of Mid Lothian, is built into the 

 wall of the house. The gardens were simply arranged, but 

 attractive. The remains of Sir Walter lie at Dryburgh Abbey. 

 The heart of Robert Bruce was buried at Melrose Abbey, three 

 miles from Abbotsford. Tbe country in the neighborhood is 

 rough, the farming in no very high state of perfection, grazing 

 and sheep husbandry being the . leading pursuits. In the 

 Castle at Edinburgh are preserved the regalia of Scotland — the 

 crown and sword. 



From Glasgow I went to Dumbarton Castle, and over Loch 

 Lomond, through the land of the McGregors, who were 

 buried on an island in the lake near the foot of Ben Lomond. 

 The spot where Rob Roy's house stood is near the shore of 

 Loch Katrine. The last wood of his house was made into a 

 chair, and presented to Sir Walter Scott, and I saw it at 

 Abbotsford, but another small house, owned till recently by a 

 descendant, stands on the spot. Loch Lomond is unquestion- 

 ably the finest of the Scottish lakes. In variety of scenery, 

 extent and beauty, no other can be compared with it. There is 

 no part of it which is not picturesque. Full of the most lovely 

 little islands, covered with wood, and surrounded by bold 

 and lofty highlands — features in themselves attractive — it 

 possesses the additional charm for the readers of Scott, which 

 it derives from fascinating poetical associations. Loch Katrine 

 is one of the most beautiful among the Highlands. Glasgow 

 is supplied with water from it. Near one end, at the foot of 

 Ben Venue is the beautiful little island known as Fair Ellen's 

 Isle, and opposite rises the lofty peak of Benan. We journeyed 



