1817-32. VISIT TO THE TKOSACHS. 21 



and from her, accordingly, he derived the materials for his 

 interesting narrative. The next letter is addressed jointly to 

 ' Messrs. D. and J. Wilson/ and tells how the latter part of the 

 holidays had been spent by him while his brothers were enjoy- 

 ing themselves at the Dumbartonshire Manse. 



' Thursday, 7th September 1830. 



' DEAR BROTHERS,- -I have had a delightful jaunt, since I last 

 wrote you, to Callander, along with Catherine and Maiy. We 

 left Newhaven at half one o'clock for Stirling, in the " Stirling 

 Castle" steamboat. We reached Stirling at about half-past 

 seven. We stayed that night and the next day with Mr. and 

 Mrs. M'Ewan. On Friday, we went to Callander by the coach 

 at five o'clock, and reached it at half-past seven. We saw the 

 Pass of Leny, Bracklin Bridge, the Trosachs, Loch Katrine, 

 Helen's Isle, Pass of Glenfmlas, etc. ; as Mary has written an 

 account I shall not say any more about them, but when you 

 come home you will hear all about them. We returned to Stir- 

 ling on Thursday morning, where we had left Catherine till we 

 should return, and left it for Edinburgh on Friday at half-past 

 three. I saw Richard. Alexander in Stirling. He gave me a 

 piece of the stone in which Bruce erected his standard at the 

 battle of Bannockburn. As I was walking out with Mr. 

 M'Millan (when I met Alexander) w r e fell in with an old blind 

 man, blind from his birth, who can tell the colour of your coat 

 by feeling it, and he knows every verse in the Bible. If you 

 mention a proper name that occurs in the Bible, he will tell 

 you where it is, and repeat the verse. I brought home some 

 sea-urchins and sea-eggs brought from Milport in the Cum- 

 braes ; one of them with spines, the other two not. On Monday 

 a balloon went off at Leith. I went up the Calton Hill. It 

 was crowded with people ; as I could not wait, it being past 

 the time, I came away ; however, I saw it from York Place 

 and the North Bridge. It is Mr. Green's eighty-seventh time. 

 Mr. C. Bass, of the Caledonian Theatre, went up. It descended 

 near Corstorphine. Mr. Bass gave an account in the theatre of 

 his voyage, and the feelings incidental to the aeronaut. John 

 Rutherford, the British sailor captured by the New Zealanders 



