TOUR II.

FROM LEITH TO ABERDEEN.*-100 MILES.

AFTER gaining the middle of the Firth, the Tourist is struck with the magnificent appearance and lofty situation of the city of Edinburgh, surrounded by romantic hills. The harbours of Leith and Newhaven give animation to the scene; and, looking down the Firth, the eye is charmed with the number of thriving towns and villages, scattered along the capacious bay of Musselburgh, and the no less populous coast of Fife, which James V. used to compare to a mantle with a gold fringe. About the middle of the Firth is the island of Inchkeith, surmounted by a beautiful lighthouse, 188 feet above the level of the sea. On the island are the ruins of a small fortification which was erected by the English in the time of Edward VI.

Burntisland lies directly opposite; and nearly three miles farther down the coast is the ferry of Pettycur. About midway between those places is the rocky precipice where Alexander III., when riding in the dusk of the evening, was thrown from his horse and killed on the spot, 16th March 1286, an event which was the source of incalculable misery to Scotland. Between Pettycur and the small burgh of Kinghorn, a mile farther down, there is a range of Lasaltic pillars, which are distinctly

* The Brilliant and Velocity Steam Yachts sail from Newhaven Stone-Pier, (near Edinburgh,) for ABERDEEN every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning at six ; and from Aberdeen for Edinburgh every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday morning at six,-calling at Elie, Anstruther, Crail, Arbroath, Montrose, Johnshaven, and Stonehaven; and generally perform the passage in ten hours.

And from Newhaven Stone-Pier, (near Edinburgh,) for INVERNESS every Tuesday morning at six; and from Inverness for Edinburgh every Friday morning early, calling as above, and at Aberdeen, Banff, Burghead, Cromarty, Invergordon, and Fort George; and perform the passage in twenty-eight hours.

seen when the tide is out. A mile below Kinghorn is a square tower, now all that remains of Seafield Castle. A mile farther down is "the lang town of Kirkcaldy," a royal burgh of considerable consequence. Manufactures and commerce are carried on to some extent, and its population amounts to about 4500. Kirkcaldy is the birth-place of the famous Michael Scott, who died in 1291. He was one of the ambassadors sent to bring Margaret, the maiden of Norway, to Scotland upon the death of Alexander III. Dr Adam Smith, author of the "Wealth of Nations," was also a native of this place. On the rising ground is Raith-House, the handsome seat of Robert Fergusson, Esq.; and a mile further is Dunnikier House, (Sir John Oswald.)

Eastward of Kirkcaldy, and almost connected with it, is the populous village of Pathhead; next occurs the village of Gallaton.* A mile and a half beyond Kirkcaldy is the royal burgh of Dysart, containing a population of about 1600. In this neighbourhood the Earl of Rosslyn has an elegant mansion. There was anciently a priory of Blackfriars at Dysart.

Upon a point of land, two miles below Dysart, is Wester Wemyss, a burgh of barony, containing about 600 inhabitants. Near to it are the ruins of an old chapel, surrounded by trees. Doubling the above point, Wemyss Castle, (James Wemyss, Esq. M. P.) appears in view. It is a magnificent building, situated on a cliff many feet above the level of the sea. It is of great antiquity, but received considerable additions in the beginning of the seventeenth century. In this castle Darnley had his first interview with Queen Mary. There are some curious caves in the neighbourhood.

Ravenscraig Castle, in ruins, stands upon a rock projecting into the sea, between Pathhead and Gallaton. It was given by James III. to William St Clair, and has ever since been in possession of that family. It was occupied by a party of Cromwell's troops.

EASTER WEMYSS-UPPER LARGO.

263

Upwards of a mile below Wester Wemyss is the village of Easter Wemyss, occupied by weavers; and at a little distance upon the shore stand the ruins of Macduff Castle, which was built in 1057 by Macduff, the first Earl of Fife. The ruins consist of two lofty quadrangular towers. In this castle the wife and family of Macduff are said to have been surprised and murdered by Macbeth. A mile farther down is the fishing village of Buckhaven, inhabited by " a peculiar people," said to be the descendants of the crew of a ship from the Nether. lands, which was stranded upon this coast in the reign of James VI. A mile below Buckhaven is the village of Methil; a mile farther down, upon the western side of Largo Bay, is the populous village of Leven, at the mouth of the river of that name which flows from Lochleven. Its population, extending to about 1200, are principally employed in the linen manufacture.

Three miles farther down, and in the centre of the bay, is Lower Largo, a considerable village. It was the birth-place of Alexander Selkirk, whose wonderful adventures served as the groundwork of Defoe's romance of Robinson Crusoe. North of it is seen Largo-House, (General Durham ;) and eastward is the pretty village of Upper Largo. In this village was born Sir Andrew Wood, the Scottish Admiral, celebrated for his loyalty to his master James III. and for the successive victories which he obtained over the English fleet off the Isle of May and the mouth of the river Tay. Like Commodore Trunnion, he indulged on shore his professional partialities, causing a canal to be formed from his house at Largo to the church, to which he was rowed in his barge with great state every Sunday. Largo has an hospital for twelve old men of the name of Wood, founded in 1659 by a descendant of the Admiral.

To the north of Upper Largo, the hill called Largo Law rises 936 feet above the level of the sea.

On the

eastern side of the bay there are three headlands, called the Shooting Point, the Heugh-Head, and Kingscraig Point, the last near the farther extremity of the bay, and remarkable for its caverns. One of them, called Macduff's, penetrates into the rock 200 feet, and is supposed to be at least 160 in height, forming a stupendous arch. Here tradition says the Thane of Fife found refuge for a time from the murderous designs of Macbeth; and was conveyed thence across the Firth to North Berwick, by the inhabitants of Earlsferry. It is said also that he obtained the erection of that place into a royal burgh, with the following privilege, that they should convey any criminal across the Firth who demanded it; and that no other vessels should be allowed to put to sea in pursuit until the fugitive was half across. It is said that the inhabitants, in the beginning of last century, actually exercised this privilege in the noted case of Carnegie of Finhaven, who was pursued upon a charge of murder.

Earlsferry stands a little to the eastward of Kingscraig; but though a royal burgh it has no share in the representation, having petitioned the Scottish Parliament to be relieved of the expence of sending a com missioner on account of its poverty. Half a mile farther down is another small town called Ely, inhabited by weavers. It has a good harbour, but little trade. Ely-House, (Sir John Anstruther, Bart.) is close to the town. East of this a little way, near the other side of Ely Ness, which forms the extreme point of Largo Bay, is the village of Wadehaven.

Two miles below Ely is St Monance, a burgh of barony, containing about 600 people, who are employed in the fisheries. It is noted for its ancient church, which once was that of a priory of Blackfriars. A mile beyond St Monance stands the royal burgh of Pittenweem. Like most of the other burghs of Fife, it has

declined from its ancient importance. A great cave, or weem, from which the place derives its name, is situated half-way between the beach and the ruins of an ancient abbey that belonged to the canons regular of St Augustine. It consists of two spacious apartments; at the termination of the inner one is a well of excellent water. Where the apartments join, there is a stair leading to a subterraneous passage under the abbey, but now blocked up; another stair leads from the refectory to the farther extremity of this passage. Pittenweem is the birth-place of Dr Douglas, late Bishop of Salisbury. Its population is about 1200.

A mile from Pittenweem is a cluster of small towns huddled together, West Anstruther, a royal burgh, with a population of about 420; East Anstruther, also a royal burgh, with a population of 1000, and claiming for its own the famous Maggie Lauder. Kilrenny, another royal burgh, having a population of nearly 1500, stands a mile farther down the coast.

The coast here is very rocky. Five miles and a half south-east by east, and near the mouth of the Firth of Forth, is the Isle of May, about three miles in circumference. It belonged of old to the monks of Reading in England, for whom David I. founded a monastery, and dedicated it to all the saints. Afterwards it was consecrated to St Adrian, Bishop of St Andrews, who was killed by the Danes in 872, and buried here. William Lamberton, Bishop of St Andrews, purchased the island from the monks, and made a grant of it to the canons regular of his cathedral. The island has a fine well, a small lake, and affords excellent pasture for sheep. It has a light-house, which was formerly a coal-light, but has been changed to a revolving oil-light.

Three miles from Kilrenny is the royal burgh of Crail, once a place of note, but dwindled down to comparative insignificance. The ruins of a priory that once