BAM 



t»tIiegetMral- apfiearjncc and co'nin?i'c'aI eoiiftqiienee of 

 tliiu flourifhing fea-port town. The indullry of its inhabit, 

 taats is fafficiei.tly manifcil in thcii- viirlt>ui employments ; 

 and tliofe of condition fct a landable example in the improve- 

 ments carried on in the immediate vicinity ; fo that in all 

 likchhood Bamff bids fair to accumulate wealth under cii- 

 cnmlUnce? favourable to the fpirited exertions of ih.jfe en. 

 gaged in commerce and trade. The fahnon-tiniery extends 

 about four miles on the Dcveroii. It bclonjjs to the carl of 

 Fife ; and it yields him a yearly rent of 1250I. The right 

 of this property, together with fonw land, wa«, in A. IX 

 1470, by real'ou of the poverty of the burghers of Bamfi", 

 alienated to perpetuity for a fmall annual fueduty or 

 fine for the purpofe of keeping the parilb church and pri- 

 fon in proper repair. Before the reformation, there was a 

 convent dedicated to the Virgin Mary, which belonged to 

 the order of Carmelites, or white friars ; its houfe and lands 

 were annexed to the old college of Aberdeen, in A.D. 1617 ; 

 and in the year 1752, thefc were purchaftd by the pixfent 

 earl of Fife. The ccclcfiaftics, both epifcopal and })reft)y- 

 terian, are on the bell terms with each other. The former 

 are under the jurildiclion of the bifiiop of Aberdeen ; and the 

 latter is under the preibytery of ForJyce. The unfortunate 

 James Sharp, archbilhop of St. Andrews, the arch-cpifco- 

 pal fee of Scotland, was born in the caftlc of BamfF, in 

 May 1613. 



The parilh of Bamff is about fix miles in length and two 

 in breadth ; its furface is beautifully diverfified, and the foil 

 is generally good, though of different qualities. The greater 

 part is kept in pafturage, on which a number of black cat- 

 tle are annually reared. Population of th? town in 180c, 

 3571. Bamff is about 165 miles noil Iv of Edinburgh. In 

 the vicinity of this town is Duff-houfe, the magn'Hcent man- 

 fion of the earl of Fife. This was built after the defigns 

 of the late Mr. Adam. It is enriched with Huted columns, 

 fcidptured cornices, and ftatucs, vafes, &c. wh'ch give pe- 

 culiar elegance to its external appearance. The internal is 

 fplendidly furniffitd, contains a large, well-feleAed hhrary, 

 and many valusble paintings, Sec. Cordiner's Antiquities 

 acid Scenery of Scotland. 



BAMFFSHIRE gives name to one of the counties in 

 Scotland ; it is bounded on the north by the Moray frith, on 

 the well by the counties of Moray and" Invtrnefs, and on 

 the fouth and eail by Abcrdeenfhire. It extends about 36 

 miles in its longed diameter nortli and fouth ; and its ave- 

 rage breadth is about 16 miles. Within its boundaries arc 

 included twenty-four parilhes, and two royal boroughs. 

 The furface of the country is agreeably diverfified with hill 

 and dale, well-watered with rivers, and ornamented with 

 feveral feats and their annexed plantations. The principal 

 of thefe belong to the duke of Gordon, earl of Findlateiv 

 earl of Fife, a^id lord Bar.iff. Part of the county is moun- 

 tainous ; but the lower lands, and thofe in the vicinity of 

 towns, arc in high cultivation. Its principal rivers are the 

 Spey, which partly divides this county from. Moray (hire ; 

 thcDcveron, which feparates it from Abcrdeenfhire; the 

 Ida, Conglas, Avon, and Fiddich. Some valuable mine- 

 rals are found in this county ; and grcar qiiantities of hones 

 and whetllonts are obtained from a hill in the dilliiA of 

 Balvenie. Several mountains are noted for their elevated 

 fuminits. Of thefe Cairngorum, about 4050 feet in height, 

 is the chief, and is reckoned among the highcll of the 

 Grampian hills. That of Belrinnes runs t^ th.e htight of 

 2690 feet above the level of the fta, and Knock-hill is cfti- 

 inated at 25CO feet. At Portfoy, near the north coaft, is 

 .T ftratum of ferprntine, called Portfoy marble, alfo a fpe- 

 cies of granite, which when poliihed exhibits various figures 

 r.Td cliaratitrs, fi?s\r of thcra refexnbling thofe of the Arabic 



BAM 



und Hebrew alphabet. A great nutr.bcr of tutrtili are feai, 

 tcre<i over the hilU near the coaft ; and feme druidical arti- 

 quiiies arc in this diftridl. The population of this county, 

 according to the parliamentary report in i3co, was 35,60". 

 BAMIAX, or B.\MIYAN, acity which fomc have referred 

 to Khorafan, 1:1 Perfia ; and others, with greater propriety, f* 

 that part of Independent Tartary, called great Ijucharia, 

 near its foutheni linut, at the foot of mount Caiicafu«, or 

 near that part of thi'. range of mountains called Paropa- 

 mifu«, and Hindoo Khoo, and not far from the ancient 

 Alexandria. Bamian belijngs to the fame portion of Bucha- 

 ria which includes Gaur, and lies between this province and 

 Cabul. It is eighty-eight geographical miles from Ghizni. 

 N. lat. 34° 30'. E. long. 67". It gives name to a diltrict 

 that extends from Balk towards the eaft, or the kingdom of 

 Cabul. This famous city, denomiHatrd the Thebes of the 

 eail, is fituated on the road between Bsiiilae, or Balk, and 

 Cabul ; and they reckon eight tnanzils, or days' joumev, 

 from Cabul to liamian. Like Thebes in Egypt, it is en- 

 tirely cut out of an infulated mountain, and the valley round 

 it is called, in the language of the country, the Tagavi of 

 Bamlyan ; Tagavi being fynonyinous with Purganah or 

 dillrift. Nearly to the fonth arc the ruins of feveral build- 

 ings of mafonry round a fmall conical hill ; on the fummit 

 of which are the remains of the palace of its ancient, 

 kings. A rivulet, rifing in the adjacent hills, goes through 

 the ruins of Ghulguleh and the Tagavi of Bamiyan, and 

 falls into a fmall lake, from which iffue fotir rivers, the 

 Plirmend, the LandJii-Sindh, the rivers of Bahlac, and of 

 Condur. The city of Bamiyan confills of a great number 

 of apartments and rcceffcs, cut out of the rock; foaie of 

 which, on account of their extraordinary dimenfions, are 

 fuppo'.ed to have been temples. Some of them arc adorned 

 with niches and carved work ; and there are fome remains 

 of figures, in relievo, which have been deilroycd or disfigured 

 by the Muffulmans. Some remains of paintings on the walU 

 arc dill to be feen ; but the fmoke has almoft obliterated 

 them. In the Ayeen-Akbery it is faid, that there are 

 about 120CO of thefe receffes in the Tagivi of Bamian ; and 

 this account is confinned by the general' report of t;avcller8. 

 The country of the Afghans, as far as Bahlac and Badak- 

 (han, abounds with thefe receffes, called Samach'hes in thi 

 language of the country, or Samajes in Perfian. The molt 

 peifeci are at a place called Mohi, on the road between 

 Bamian and Balk ; but as they are fituated among preci- 

 pices, the Mufiulmans have not thought of uting them 

 as habitations ; the paintings with which they are adomcU 

 appear quite frefli. The attention of travellers is particu* 

 larly attratted by two coloffal llatues, whi.;h Ere feen at a 

 great dillance. They are ered, and adher* to the moun- 

 tain from which they were cut out. They are in a fort 

 of niches, the depth of which is equal to their thicknefs ; 

 and in the Ayeen-Akbery, the largell is faid to be eighty 

 ells high, and the other only ftfty. But thefe dimenfiom 

 are exaggerated ; and the trutrh feems to be, that they arc 

 only fifty cubits high. At fome didancc from thefe, there 

 is another about filteen cubits high. Authors arc diiagrecd 

 both as to their fex and tlieir names. A late traveller faysj 

 that the drapery is covered with embroidery and figured 

 v.'ork, which was formerly painted of different cokiurs ; one 

 feeraing to have been red, and the other retaining the origi* 

 iial Colour of the done, or having been paiiMi-d grey. Ac- 

 cording to Dr. Hyde, one of thefc ftatuts is called Surkh- 

 But, or the red idol, and the other Khink-Biit, or the grey 

 idol. Between the legs of the male figure is a door leading 

 into a fpacious temple, at the entrance of which are dationtd 

 a few wretched Banyans, who fellprovifions to travcllersi 

 According to Perfian authors> Baraian mutt have existed 

 " before 



