other parts it preponderated largely. The prevailing colour of the syenite is dark grey, and is heightened, in some places, by a considerable quantity of black mica. Higher up the glen, we found some granite containing pyrrhotine (magnetic iron pyrites), in which the felspar was flesh-coloured, as it is in the gneiss, which latter rock covers nearly the whole of Scotland to the north and west of this district.

In Glen Dole, which we explored on the Wednesday, there is not even a pathway, except those made by the sheep; and after we had passed a short distance beyond Dole farmhouse, the last in Clova Glen, we did not see a single person during the whole day, until we had almost reached the same place on our return in the evening, when we saw a shepherd on the opposite hills!

Here the moraines are much more frequent and clearly defined than in Clova Glen. They are all covered, as are the hills, with heather, which was just coming into bloom. We followed the "White Water," as the branch of the South Esk flowing down this glen is called, for a couple of miles, and then turned with it up Glen Phee, where it forms a charming waterfall, or rather a succession of falls, which, at a short distance, look like one, and from the appearance of the spray give to the burn its name. The water, as is the case with all mountain streams which flow over peaty soil, is of a brownish colour. This is plainly seen in any of the numerous deep pools occurring here and there along its course, and affording good shelter for many a "lusty trout." Here we found the Brittle and the Toothed Bladder ferns, Cystopteris fragilis and C. dentata, growing luxuriantly, with the Oak and Beech ferns, Polypodium dryopteris and P. phegopteris; the two latter are very common throughout the Clova district at the bottoms of the valleys; also, in the moist crevices of the rocks, Wilson's film fern, Hymenophyllum unilaterale, and, higher up on the hills, splendid plants of the Holly fern, Polystichum lonchitis, with fronds two feet high. This was tolerably abundant; but we were unsuccessful in our search for Woodsia ilvensis, which has been found here by Dr. Balfour, as has also the Woodsia hyperborea in Glen Bach-na-gairn. The Hard fern, Blechnum boreale, grows to the summits of the hills, though it is rather stunted at the greater altitudes.

On Thursday we visited Loch Brandy, a mountain tarn, situated about half-a-mile to the east of the church, but at an elevation of 1300 feet above it, which made it a good hour's walk, for there is not even a foot-path up to it. On our ascent by the side of Corrie Burn, we noticed Lastrea spinulosa, L. dilatata, and L. oreopteris. The latter is very common throughout the district. Polystichum lonchitis, P. angulare, etc., the

Bilberry and the Mountain or Cloud-berry, Rubus chamamorus, together with that pretty Alpine plant with silvery leaves, Alchemilla alpina, grow everywhere amongst the heather which covers the hills here; and we saw also a great many of those rare Alpine species for which Clova is such a noted locality.

Loch Brandy is about a mile and a half in circumference, and abounds in pike and trout. From the summit of the hills, which rise precipitately in a semicircle at the north of the Loch to about 700 feet above it, one obtains, on a fine day, a splendid view over the surrounding country to the south, along the Clova Glen, across the valley of Strathmore; while to the east, north, and west are to be seen nothing but mountains, and mountains beyond mountains, right away into the blue distance. A shepherd whom we met told us the names of a great many, but with such a Highland accent that we could catch only one here and there, amongst which were Loch-nagar, and Glas Miel, etc.

But we must not omit to point out the best means of access to Clova. We preferred travelling by sea from London to Edinburgh, to being shut up in a close railway carriage for twelve hours; and so took a steamer from Irongate Wharf, bound for Leith. We had a pleasant and quick passage down of only thirty-seven hours, on board the "Oscar," one of the swiftest of the Leith steamers, which are all noted for their speed, the weather being almost too calm; but on our return it was rather rough, which was a pleasant change. The "Oscar" is 240 feet long, by 30 feet broad, and of 900 tons burden. From the steamer one has a good view of a great portion of the eastern coast. We had to give the flat shore of Essex a wide berth, but approached land a little nearer when passing Suffolk and Norfolk, though almost the only objects to be seen on them were the Martello towers placed at intervals along the shore, and the two lighthouses on Orford Ness. At Cromer we first see cliffs. In crossing by the Wash we lose sight of land for some time. While passing the bold Yorkshire coast, we kept still closer to the shore, sighting Flamborough Head, at 7·15 on the Sunday morning, having left London at 10 the day before; next Filey Brig, Scarborough, with its ruined castle, Robin Hood's Bay, then Whitby, in the neighbourhood of which so many fossil ammonites are found, and of which the popular tradition runs:

"And how, of thousand snakes, each one
Was changed into a coil of stone,

When holy Hilda prayed."

The magnificent abbey, now in ruins, which forms a con

spicuous object on the cliffs to the south of the town, was dedicated to that lady.

After this we did not see much of the land, owing to the curve of the coast-line, until we approached the Ferne and Staple Isles, and Lindisfarn, or Holy Island. The weather was so favourable that we sailed between the former and the shore. We passed within half-a-mile of St. Abb's Head just at sunset, and the sight of this fine headland alone, we felt, would have repaid us for coming by sea. The rock is

a dark red colour, but, in the more sloping places, was covered with vegetation which, in the declining rays of the sun, appeared an unusually bright green; while here and there were patches of yellow lichen, and all the sheltered ledges were white with gulls, hundreds of which were flying about.

It was quite dark when we reached Tantallon Castle and the Bass Rock. We arrived at Leith at 11 o'clock the same night.

After staying a couple of days in Edinburgh and seeing a few of the "lions," including the charming Botanical Gardens, said to be the finest in Europe for their size, we took a steamer from Granton Pier to Stirling. The scenery on each side of the Forth is said to be very lovely, but as we were favoured with a Scotch mist and a little rain, we are not in a position to pass an opinion upon it. The numerous windings of the river between Alloa and Stirling, known as the "Links of Forth," are very remarkable.

We spent an hour or two looking over the Castle, which was for a long time a favourite residence of the Scottish kings, but is now used as a barrack; and a regiment of Highlanders were then stationed in it, who, in their kilts, added greatly to the picturesqueness of the scene.

It is situated on a hill, and which rises gradually from the east, but terminates abruptly in a precipice, below which is a large expanse of level country. The Wallace monument, a memorial tower now in construction on a lofty hill on the opposite side of the river, forms a conspicuous object in the landscape.

In the afternoon, we took the train on to Forfar, which we had determined to make our headquarters for a few days, for although it is in itself a very dull, uninviting town, there are several very interesting places within easy access. Our first excursion was to the famed coves and caves of Forfarshire, for which we took the train to Arbroath, where are the ruins of a fine Abbey founded by William the Lion, in 1178, who was afterwards buried in it; it was dedicated to St. Thomas à Becket. It was chiefly built in the early English or first pointed style of Gothic architecture. The church was 269 feet

long, the nave and side aisles 65 feet broad, and about 67 feet high. Portions only of the nave and choir, the east and west ends, and of the south transept, now remain, but they exhibit some beautiful mouldings and details. The abbey gateway, upwards of sixty feet long, which was only unroofed at the commencement of the present century, is of rather a later date, and shows a dawning of the decorated or second pointed style. The chapter house, the most perfectly preserved portion of the building, is of two storeys, with a short spire at the southwest angle, and is now used as a museum for any relics found among the ruins.

About twelve miles S. by E. out to sea from Arbroath is the Bell Rock Lighthouse, built under the superintendence of Mr. Robert Stephenson, on a range of rocks that rise four feet above low water at spring tides; the outer casing is of Aberdeen granite, and its height 115 feet. It was commenced in 1807, and finished in 1811.

It derives its name from the circumstance of one of the abbots of Arbroath having had a bell fixed on it to warn mariners. This was wantonly cut down by a Dutch pirate, who was afterwards, it is said, wrecked upon it, in just retribution for his misdeed.

We walked along the cliffs to Auchmithie, a small fishing village about five miles to the north. The cliffs, here composed of old red sandstone, are extremely picturesque, being much indented and broken up by the action of the sea and weather, leaving here and there insulated rocks, and containing numerous caveins which penetrate in many places through projecting portions of the cliffs. Many of the caves are occupied by the sea at all times, others at high tide only, and some are altogether out of the reach of the water. One is called the Mason's Cave, from the appearance of the rocks at its entrance, which look at a short distance as though they had been built up artifically; another the Green Cave, from the luxuriant manner in which the Hart's Tongue fern, Scolopendrium vulgare, grows in it. We also found in this cavern a few stunted plants of the Sea-spleenwort, Asplenium marinum.

On Friday we confined ourselves to the immediate neighbourhood of Forfar, in order to see the ruins of Restennet Priory, situated about a mile to the east of the town. We passed on our way the source of the Lunan, a stream that originates at the head of Restennet marshes. It flows into the sea in Lunan Bay, a few miles south of Montrose, forming in its course Roscobie and Balgaries Lochs. Till the latter end of last century it also formed a loch where the Restennet marshes are now, and which was drained for the valuable marl it contained. The ruins of the priory of Restennet, or Rostinoth

as it was originally spelt, are situated upon a small eminence in the marsh formerly an island in the loch.

The greater part of the walls of the church are almost entire, including the tower, which is surmounted by an octagonal spire. They have lately been repaired by the proprietor. The south-east and west walls of the cloisters are in a ruinous condition. The whole building appears to have been in the first pointed style of architecture, or that which prevailed in Scotland during the thirteenth century. It is believed to have been erected on the site of the old church of Rostinoth, founded by St. Boniface when he came into Scotland in the beginning of the seventh century. Growing in these marshes, near to Clocksbriggs station, we found the Marsh fern, Lastrea thelypteris.

We walked round Loch Feithie on our return to Forfar, a charming little lake entirely surrounded by woods, about half a mile to the south of Restennet; but it is much choked up by the soldier-weed. This loch contains no deposits of marl, "which," says Sir Charles Lyell, "is owing to there being no springs in it." It is only where a stream enters a lake, or where it is fed by springs, which may introduce a fresh supply of calcareous matter, that shells accumulate and help to form marl. For otherwise, the thin shells of one generation of mollusks in decomposing only afford sufficient nutriment to the succeeding races.

On Saturday we walked to the vitrified forts, situated a little to the west of the village of Aberlemno, on the north brow of the Finhaven hills, and five miles N. E. from Forfar. These hills form the southern boundary of the vale of Strathmore, above which they rise to the height of 600 feet, and so the fort occupies a most commanding situation. The origin of these vitrified forts, of which there are several in the country, though this one is the most extensive, goes so far back into antiquity, that not only the names, but even the races of their builders are unknown. The Finhaven fort is in shape a parallelogram, having its corners rounded off. It declines with the hill to the W., in length from E. to W., 476 feet, at the E. end its breadth is 83 feet, and at the W. 125 feet; the wall is from three to ten feet in height, but is supposed at one time to have been much higher. Great quantities of the stone have been carted away for mending the roads. In the west end of the fort there was a well, but this is now filled up. The fort is built of several kinds of stone, chiefly sandstone and gneiss, which have been fused together by the action of fire, a good substitute for cement. It must have required an immense amount of wood to vitrify such a large fort, but in those days that could easily have been obtained, for the whole of this district was once covered by forest, as is shown by the quantities of old