SCi. II. THE COUNTY OF FIFE. jt 



Marvel Tower, a beautiful fabric of hewn stone, 

 stands on the estate of Scotstarvet, in the parish 

 of Ceres. It is twenty-four feet square, and 

 fifty feel high. It is situated on high ground, 

 and is seen at a great distance. The tower is 

 formed by one lofty vault raised on the top of 

 another, the uppermost of which is surrounded 

 with a .battlement, and has over it an apartment 

 still covered with slate. From the thickness of 

 the walls, and from the small number and di- 

 minutive size of the windows, it appears to 

 have been originally designed for a place of de- 

 fence. 



Dcnmlln Castle , in the parish of Abdie, Lexch- 

 ars Gastk, in the parish of Leuchars, Bendon^ 

 in the parish of Markinch, and some others, 

 might have been noticed. But passing these, 

 we shall only mention 



Balgome Gasth, in the parish of Markinch, 

 belonging to the Earl of Leven. This is a fabric 

 of great antiquity, and of considerable strength. 

 The time when it was built cannot be exactly 

 ascertained : but^ from the best information that 

 can be got, v/e are inclined to think that it was 

 built in the I2th or 1 3th century. From the 

 similarity of its architecture to that of the castle 

 of Loch-Levcn, it is presumeable that it may 

 be nearly of the same age ; and, though the pre- 

 cise time when the latter was built cannot be 

 known, yet we find that it was a place of strength 

 at the beginning of the 1 4th century, as it then 

 sustained a siege and prevailed. 



Balgonie Castle is pleasantly situated on tbe 

 south bank of the Leven, elevated about 36 feet 

 above the bed of the river. It is of a quadran- 



