Byth House, Aberdeenshire 
By THE HONOURABLE MRS. FORBES 
B YTH House, Turriff, Aberdeenshire, is a quaint 
old Jacobean house which, although now in 
the possession of the Urquhart family, was 
built in 1593 by Deacon Forbes. Little is known of 
him; but that he must have been a near relation of 
Lord Forbes, head of the Forbes Clan and premier 
Baron of Scotland is certain, as the three bears’ heads, 
the Forbes coat of arms, without any quarterings, are 
carved in stone over the old doorway. The initials 
D. F. are also carved on each side of the coat of arms 
and above it, also in stone, stands the legend “Wel- 
cum Freends” in the homely old Scotch spelling of 
the day. The kitchen, built out to the right, is of 
course a modern addition and is incongruous enough, 
but its outlines are now softened by thickly clustering 
ivy, and a great elm tree, the edge only of which is 
visible in the picture, softens its angles and in autumn 
gives a wonderful glow of colour, red and golden, as 
the branches change the coolness of their summer 
garb for the rich warmth of October tints. Almost 
opposite the elm tree a copper beech flings it a chal¬ 
lenge, as to wealth of colour, and at the farther end of 
the house where a path slopes upward to the garden, 
another spreads its richly laden branches keeping 
perhaps more sun than is desirable from the windows 
looking out upon it; but gladly pardoned for its 
beauty’s sake. The garden itself slopes ever upward, 
seeking the sun, and huge box hedges form sheltering 
ramparts, beneath which flowers and vegetables push 
their noses courageously through the cold surface of 
the ground to face an air chill and clear as only 
northern air can be. Against the thick walls of the 
box hedges the hardy scarlet tropaeolum, which 
refuses to bloom in a soft southern air, riots like a 
weed, and a deep orange variety, somewhat bell-like 
in shape, flowers as luxuriantly as the common 
scarlet, with which it wages constant battle for 
supremacy. According to the old Scotch custom, 
use and beauty rub their noses in friendly rivalry. 
Behind a border of rose bushes are strawberry beds, 
rich in early summer with the scarlet berries which in 
Scotland grow with almost reckless profusion. A 
hedge of sweet peas screens the onion bed and 
shadows the potatoes; and carnations, rose colour, 
yellow, white and red, are near neighbours of parsley, 
burrage, rosemary and thyme. Of course, too, there 
are beds of kale, for every one who knows anything of 
Scotland is aware that kale, the curly green of 
England, is an essential factor in a Scotsman’s 
food. 
Not every one, however, knows how excellent a 
substitute for spinach it makes in winter, if treated as 
French cooks treat that vegetable, rubbed through a 
sieve and mixed with cream. Cooked thus it is both 
delicate and delicious, though scarcely so satisfying 
as is the kale brose beloved by the country people; a 
thick and somewhat stodgy mixture this, wherein, 
with kale boiled and passed through a sieve, oatmeal 
and a little cream are blended. This is a staple 
dish amongst the poorer classes, but such details 
belong rather to the kitchen than to the kitchen- 
garden, wherein the flower side has other treasures 
to show us e’er we go. Two great bushes of a 
curious looking plant of the bamboo species, the 
crimson Leycesteria are especially dear to the hearts 
of those who love lasting qualities in the flowers 
plucked lor house decoration, and although the 
crimson of the hunch-like blooms, which droop like 
grapes and suddenly break at their tips into tiny star- 
like blossoms, are scarcely vivid enough to make 
much colour in the mass of leaves, such lengthy, 
graceful bunches can be culled that high vases of it 
are a welcome addition to any room. Another 
plant which has lasting qualities is the white heather 
brought from the moor, the way to which lies up the 
hill behind the house and stables. This flower too is 
closely allied with love and luck, and it is said that 
any woman finding its bloom on the moor will 
receive an offer of marriage before the year is out, 
while a sprig given by man to maid says plainly, 
“Will you marry me?” The question whether 
marriage means luck is of course a very mooted one, 
but those made under the white heather’s auspices 
should surely be so, as the finding of it means luck 
to the finder and to whomsoever it may be given. 
In one of the photographs the back of Byth House is 
shown, and here it is curious to remark that it is 
built in the shape of an E; a form which in England 
is always supposed to stand for Elizabeth. Here, 
however, in the land where her memory is execrated, 
it is curious to find her initial carved in the irrevocable 
form of architecture, and one must fain conclude that 
the E form belonged to the Stuart period and was 
later ascribed by the flattery of Southern tongues to 
the Queen whose reign was England’s glory. 
The walls of the house are of great thickness and 
the quaint old windows cut in them, with their deep 
window-seats, do not let too much light filter into the 
low ceiled rooms in the early darkening autumn days, 
while in the walls dividing room from room huge 
hanging cupboards bring joy to the heart of the 
woman of many clothes. At each end of the letter 
E’s two longer limbs is an outside staircase of stone 
which leads to the second story. In its roof bees 
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