Page:Three Years in Europe.djvu/83

Rh and mountainous scenes of Scotland and perceived how very "stern and wild" Caledonia is. Standing on an eminence you see around yon nothing but high hills, craggy precipices and long chains of lofty mountains. Here and there perhaps you see some small village in a valley or some acres of green pasture fields, but beyond them again, eternal mountains and ridges raise their lofty heads to the skies. Meet indeed is this country to nurse a poetic child.

"Bracklinn's thundering fall" near Callander is an object well worth seeing. From the falls we went to the top of a hill and saw the distant peak of Benledi rearing its head to the skies. It is, 2,882 feet high. We also saw Loch Lubnaig from which issues the river Lubnaig and joins the slow and sluggish Teith near Callander. The Teith itself issuing from Loch Katrine, passes through Lochs Achray and Vennachar, joins the Lubnaig near Callander and after a long and serpentine course joins the Forth near Stirling. Callander is a small town or rather village with the sluggish Teith running along it, while high craggy mountains surround it on all sides.

It was a delightful journey by stage coach from Callander to the Trossachs. Slowly our coach rolled on over hills and by lakes and ravines, and through beautiful glens. During the first part of our journey we saw nothing around us but bleak ridges of high mountains, like giants guarding the land. Mountain brooks we crossed without number with their pure crystal waters foaming and clattering on their beds of rocks. We