224 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Marcli  12,  1903. 
Out  in  tl\e  Firth  are  moored  H.M.  S.  Caledonia,  used  as 
a  training  sliip  for  the  Royal  Navy,  with  accommodation  for 
.seven  hundred  boys  ;  and  the  ironclad,  which,  for  the  time 
being,  acts  as  guardship  for  the  Forth.  In  the  Hopetoun 
direction,  too.  one  may  observe  a  promontory,  named  Port 
Ftlgar,  whei'e  George  IV.  embarked  from  England  after  a 
visit  to  the  Earl  of  Hopetoun  in  1822.  The  halls  of  Hope¬ 
toun  were  the  last  to  offer  him  festal  cheer  in  his  memor¬ 
able  i)rogrcss  through  these  northern  realms. 
From  this  promontory  westward,  the  walk  to  the  gates  of 
Hopetoun  is  quite  Elysian,  be  the  day  bright  and  warm. 
On  my  visit  in  August  two  years  ago  the  sun  shone  with  a 
radiance  magnificent,  and  my  elderly  companion,  a 
gentleman,  nevertheless,  of  exuberant  spirits,  placing  his 
hat  on  the  point  of  his  stick,  and  hoisting  it  over  his  shoul- 
dei'S,  chanting  to  me  in  voce  feiicro  coJnistn  the  songs  of  the 
Ettrick  Shepherd.  The  surge-sound  of  the  waters  lapping 
on  the  brown  shore-sand,  or  spraying  the  thickly-strewn, 
dark-green  seaweed  on  the  boulders  by  the  river,  was 
joined  with  the  warbles  of  the  birds  in  the  wood,  and  while 
these  were  gratification  to  the  auditory  sense,  tlie  eyes,  too 
were  meted  with  all  that  is  most  charming  in  Nature  un¬ 
adorned. 
The  Mansion  of  Hopst.un. 
The  policies  of  Hopetoun  House  are  entered  by  the 
handsome  eastern  gateway  with  its  lodge  ;  and  the 
lengthened  avenue,  skirting  the  shores  of  the  Firth,  runs 
with  a  gentle  rise  straight  thi'ough  a  beautiful  wide  glade 
of  handsome  trees,  and  shrubs,  and  grass,  leading  one  to  a 
distant  view  of  the  mansion  and  the  hamlet  of  Society  lying 
near  the  coast.  The  photograph,  which  shows  the  cattle  in 
the  foreground,  will  convey  an  impression  of  Hopetoun 
from  a  distance,  the  same  view,  in  fact,  which  is  obtained 
from  the  avenue  I  speak  of,  or  from  the  magnificent  park. 
The  house  is  of  such  massive  proportions  that  in  order  to 
include  it  all  in  one  photograph  the  view'  has  to  be  taken 
far  back.  A  sunken  fence  divides  the  Park  from  the  kept 
lawns  surrounding  tlie  house.  The  illustration  on  page  223 
shows  the  half-circle  of  mown  sward  in  front  of  the  house, 
with  the  Royal  Drive  directed  straight  to  the  handsome 
flight  of  steps.  The  roadways  for  everyday  and  ordinarv 
use  diverge  on  either  side.  From  each  of  the  two  lion 
models  guarding  the  Royal  Drive,  chains  are  hung  across, 
and  these  are  only  to  be  taken  off  at  the  entrance  of 
Royalty. 
The  central  portion  of  the  mansion  was  erected  after 
designs  of  Sir  William  Bruce  of  Kinross  in  the  beginning  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  the  wings  were  added  by 
Robert  Adam  about  its  close.  Its  massive  grandeur  will 
favourably  compare  with  most  of  the  palaces  of  Great 
Britain,  and  it  contains  a  fine  library  and  some  important 
pictiires.  The  flight  of  steps  on  the  west  side  is  30ft  in 
breadth. 
Family  History. 
The  Earls  of  Hopetoun  date  their  Scottish  lineage  back 
to  John  de  Hope,  who  came  from  France  in  1537  in  the  train 
I 
Part  of  the  formal  flower  garden. 
