London to John O* Groat's. 



359 



before you that you will remember. Here is more 

 of Mary the Unfortunate. You see reflected in the 

 silver sheen of the lake that face which looks at you 

 with its soft appeal for sympathy in all the galleries 

 of Christendom. Out there, on that little islet, green 

 and low, stands the black castle in which they prisoned 

 her. There they made her trembling, indignant fingers 

 write herself " a queen without a crown." South- 

 ward there, where amateurs now fish for trout, young 

 Douglas rowed her ashore with muffled oars so softly 

 that they stirred no ripple at the bow. The keys of 

 the castle they threw into the lake to bar pursuit 

 lay in the mud for nearly three centuries, when they 

 were found by a lad of the village, and presented 

 to the Earl of Morton, a representative of the Douglas 

 family. 



, The next day I walked on to Perth, passing through 

 a very interesting section, which nature and history 

 have enriched with landscapes and manscapes manifold. 

 It is truly a romantic region for both these qualities, 

 with delightful views in sudden and frequent alterna- 

 tion. Gflens deep, winding and dark, with steep 

 mountain walls folding their tree-hands over the road ; 

 lofty hills in full Scotch uniform, in tartan heather and 

 yellow grain plaided in various figures ; chippering 

 streams, now hidden, now coming to the light, in white 



