THE DEVON. 



the chasms on either side, become united at the base. 

 The whole of the scenes about the upper Devon are of 

 the most romantic kind, and are strikingly different 

 from all other Scottish scenery. 



As the river winds out from its rocky bed below the 

 Caldron Linn, it enters the beautiful open valley which 

 runs along the foot of the Ochils, taking on its way the 

 rivulets which flow down from the mountains. It runs 

 westward near Dollar, Tillicoultry, Alva, and Menstrie ; 

 then, winding sharp round towards the south near Tulli- 

 body, it joins the Forth at Cambus, a little below the 

 ruins of Cambuskenneth Abbey. 



Among his many beautiful verses descriptive of the 

 rivers of Scotland, Burns has not forgotten the Devon : 



" How pleasant the banks of the clear winding Devon, 

 With green spreading bushes and flowers blooming fair !" 



The verses werer composed as a poetic compliment to 

 Miss Charlotte Hamilton, a charming lady, then residing 

 at Harvieston, near Dollar.* 



The lofty range of the Ochils is a prominent feature 

 in the scenery of the Devon. The hills are soft, green, 

 and pastoral. Their sunward slopes are here and there 

 varied with magnificent wooded glades, intermingled with 

 copse and whins, which in their golden summer yellow 

 are supremely beautiful. The burns and streamlets come 

 down in cascades through the deep rifts of the hills, and 

 are turned to use in many mills along the valley. 



* Near Dollar is "Tait's Tomb," the family burial-place of the 

 Archbishop of Canterbury, whose father built Haivieston, and became 

 the possessor of Castle Campbell. 



