2io By Stream and Sea. 



is reputed to be one of- the finest specimens of Gothic, 

 architecture in Scotland. It stands in a nook which is fit 

 shrine for such a genuine relic of the past. It overlooks 

 the sea, and, southward, gives glimpses of the Cumberland 

 mountains, but otherwise it is hemmed in by hills ; and the 

 trout stream, which you may always expect near an abbey 

 or monastery, is near at hand. The patriarchal arches and 

 columns, some of which are in excellent preservation, are 

 covered with lichen as aged apparently as the stones it 

 conceals. The sentimental visitor may sit down in one of 

 the silent, mouldy recesses of the ruins, and indulge his 

 fancy to the full, for it was at Dundrennan Abbey that Mary 

 Queen of Scots spent her last night in Scotland. 



On the homeward road is the Auchencairn estate, with 

 a coast abounding in creeks, caves, rocks, and smugglers' 

 traditions. Sir Walter Scott, who was very fond of the 

 Solway Firth scenery, and who used it with photographic 

 effect, is supposed to have laid the most stirring incidents of 

 " Guy Mannering " in or about Auchencairn Bay. Captain 

 Dirk Hatteraick and his smugglers might certainly have 

 hidden in many of the fastnesses on this small peninsula, 

 and have ample room to spare for the accommodation of a 

 few waifs and strays from their lawless brethren on the 

 other side of the Firth. 



The Nith, charged with the recent scourmgs of the far 

 distant Lanarkshire and Ayrshire mountains, has a gloomy 

 and turbulent greeting for the wayfarer. The sunshiny 

 weather which had gladdened us, seemed to have broken, 

 and Dumfries, by the time we enter its streets, lies under 

 a brooding sky. The river tumbles hoarsely over the weir 

 opposite the broad timber quay, and the men and boys on 

 the opposite bank, seeing the colour deepen every moment, 

 put up their rods and lines, and depart with dejected 



