198 NIMROD'S NORTHERN TOUR. 



I have already said that the laird of Mellerstaia was at this time living 

 in privacy on account of a recent indisposition, and consequently I did 

 not expect to find many guests under his otherwise hospitable roof. 

 There were, however, Mr. Henry Scott of Harden, a near relation of 

 the Duke of Buccleuch, and Captain Elliot, brother to Sir William 

 Elliot. But guests are not wanting at Mellerstain to make a numerous 

 fire-side, forasmuch as when they are all at home, the sons and daugh- 

 ters, with the laird and his lady, are quite equal to that. I should have 

 much liked to have seen this family party entire, as from what I have seen, 

 and from what I have heard of them, they do honour to the human race. 

 It is not usual to place young ladies under the standard, therefore on that 

 subject I am silent ; but all the sons stand upwards of six feet, without 

 their shoes ! 



At the hour of six precisely, we found ourselves at the dinner table, 

 no bad finish to a long morning's work. But independently of mere 

 animal gratification, it was here that I had the pleasure of discerning 

 the flattering estimate my host had formed of his stranger guest. Not 

 only was I commanded by him, when dinner w^as announced, to offer my 

 arm to his lady, in the presence of two, my superiors in rank, but he 

 had ordered his butler to produce a bottle of wine, and as he informed 

 me, nearly the last of such wine -perhaps as could scarcely be matched 

 in Europe. It was the wine of Syracuse — such as we may conclude 

 Archimedes, who was born there, may have drunk, or Cicero in his iEdile- 

 ship— Mai had been in the cellar of himself and his ancestors j ex- 

 actly one hundred and one years!! Very old and very bad wine are, 

 generally speaking, synonymous words ; but here was a striking excep- 

 tion to the rule. This wine had not only not lost its strength, but there 

 was a richness of flavour scarcely to be expected in wine of such an age. 



