Numerous legends spread their mystic halo around this ancient fort. The chief of these may be said to be that referring to Vanora or Guinevar, already referred to in the description of the monuments traditionally erected to her infamous memory at Meigle. The title conferred by the local tradition, on the heroine of the story being that of Queen Wander, a malignant giantess, is not certainly so high sounding as that of the wife of King Arthur. The legends all agree, however, in representing this fortified castle as the residence or prison of Arthur's Queen. What after all, should the surmises of Captain Mitchell turn out to be the correct interpretation of these ancient monuments at Meigle, and thus at once sever the alleged connection between them and Barry Hill? Mr Mitchell considers them " as neither more nor less than the monuments of the Knights Templars, who unquestionably had a burying-ground at Meigle. At the top of the south face of the largest stone, the armorial bearings of the kingdom of Jerusalem may be distinctly traced, and the group of figures, now almost obliterated, which has been supposed to represent Vanora torn in pieces by wild beasts, (and on which the popular tradition was very probably founded), may be considered, with great probability, as an allegorical representation of Judea rescued by the Crusaders."

To the south of Barry Hill, there are several rude obelisks, or "Standing Stones," on one of which there is the mark of a large horse shoe, with indistinct traces of other figures. Tradition refers to the time of King Robert the Bruce, as the date of their erection, but they evidently belong to a much more remote period.

The parish records, Mr Ramsay states, commence in 1624, and the minutes of session in 1637. Many of the earlier entries given by him are extremely curious. One of the most remarkable is the entry for the 9th of February 1651, which is as follows:-"This day my Lord Ogilvy declared his repentance before the congregation, in the habit of sackcloth, confessed his sinful accession to General Major Middleton's

rebellion, and for his sinful miscarriages against the Covenant, and gave great evidence of his heartie grief for the samine, to the full satisfaction of the whole congregation." On the 18th of August, and first of September, 1649, fifteen soldiers, who had taken arms in what is called the "unlawful engagement," professed their repentance, and were admitted to the renewal of the covenant as a necessary preliminary to their participating in the communion. The cases of contumacy are numerous; and in addition to the classes of offences which usually fall under the cognizance of a church court, the Kirk session seems to have been frequently occupied with cases of "fechting and flyting," slander, &c., with occasional investigations into charges of witchcraft. Having regard to the changed circumstances of the times in which we live very few now will question the conclusion to which the late minister of the parish, Mr Ramsay, reflectingly arrived, viz.-"On the whole, however, if we may judge from the ecclesiastical records of this parish, the parochial police of that period, to which many are disposed to look back as a golden age of purity and piety, can hardly be regarded in any other view than as most injudiciously and unjustifiably rigid, and rather calculated to irritate and harden the offender, than to win him to repentance."

CHAPTER XLII.

DEN OF AIRLIE.

"Argyle has raised a hunder men,

A hunder men an' mairly,

An' he's awa doun by the back o' Dunkeld,

To plunder the bonnie house o' Airlie."

Old Ballad.

THE name of the parish of Airlie is supposed to have been Airdly, from the Gaelic Aird, signifying the extremity of a ridge, and which exactly describes the locality of Airlie Castle. It is situated in the western part of Forfarshire, and borders upon Perthshire. The southern part stretches along the Howe of Strathmore, gradually rising in a series of undulating ridges, forming a portion of the braes of Angus. The principal ridge stretches along the north side of the parish, and terminates in a deep rocky gorge, through which the impetuous Isla pours its troubled waters from the high lands into those of the low country. At Airlie Castle, this wild ravine separates into two parts, which form, respectively, the channels of the Isla, and the Melgum.

As the genealogy of the noble house of Airlie will be more appropriately alluded to in the succeeding chapter, suffice it here to state, that this noble family became connected with the parish in the year 1458, when Sir John Ogilvy of Lintrathen, received a grant of the Castle and Barony from James II.

The Den of Airlie, celebrated for its fine river scenery and romantic beauty, extends about a mile below the junction of the Isla and the Melgum, and forms one of the most picturesque and beautiful scenes to be met with in the country. The luxuriant brushwood of the Den consists chiefly of oak,

and is remarkable as containing the most easterly remains of natural oakwood on the southern face of the Grampians.

The Den of Airlie, besides its unrivalled scenery, and historical associations, is classic ground to the botanical student, having been a favourite resort of the elder Don, and the scene of some of his earliest discoveries. Here, amongst many other rare plants enumerated by Dr. Barty, are to be found, in comparatively so small a space, the Ribes petræum or rock currant ; the Orobus niger; the curious Paris quadrifolia rare in Strathmore; the interesting Nidus-avis; the Vicia sylvatica, with its trailing festoons of beautiful flowers; the showy Epilobium augustifolium; while the gray walls of Airlie Castle are redolent with the sweetly scented wall-flower, the Cheiranthus Cheiri, a favourite plant in the garden, looking still more attractive in its wild natural beauty, as it clings with loving tenacity to the sheltered crevices of the classical hoary pile.

Come-let us wreathe a garland sweet
Of wild-flowers blooming at our feet,
And twine the mountain heather green,
To weave a crown for fairy queen.
Now mark the varied coloured hue
Of mountain flowers-some softly blue,
And glistering bright with pearly dew;
Some blooming like the purple bell,
Which loyes the lonesome mossy dell;
While some, all hung with silver sheen,
Look pure as angels' robes, I ween,
And gently humming sounds distil,
Like distant song of flowing rill;
And though the music deeper swells,
The bee, deep in these silvery cells,
Pursues her task with busy feet,

And loads her wings with nectar sweet!

Of mountain flowers then twine the wreath

How rich the perfume which they breathe!
But mark the leaves of every flower,
And say if aught in garden bower,
Can e'er these gorgeous tints outvie,
These beauteous flow'rets of the sky.

How delicate their colours bright
Of petals, purple, blue, and white;
What rich embroid'ry gems the form
Of these lone children of the storm!

Although in reality, it was at the Castle of Forter, in Glenisla, that the incidents recorded in the popular old ballad of the "Bonnie House o' Airlie," took place, tradition still clings to Airlie Castle, as the scene of Argyle's cruelties, just as it tenaciously does to the Castle of Glamis, as the locale of the murder of Duncan and the scene of the deadly combat between Macduff and Macbeth.

It is matter of history, however, that the Earl of Airlie was one of the most faithful and distinguished champions of the royal cause, and that in 1639 the middle parts of Scotland. were put under his command by king Charles I. In the year 1640, to avoid the necessity of subscribing the covenant, the Earl covertly passed over to England, and knowing this, his hereditary enemy, the Earl of Argyll, obtained authority from the Committee of Estates to take and destroy the Castle of Airlie and that of Forter, in Glenisla, which was also one of the seats of the Airlie family. Argyll, according to Spalding, raised a body of 5000 men of his own clan, and proceeded in the month of July to execute his commission. The Castle had been left in the charge of Lord Ogilvy, the Earl's eldest son, -who had recently maintained it against the assault of the Earl of Montrose-but on the approach of Argyll's army, he regarded all idea of resistance as hopeless, and abandoned it at once to the assailants, who plundered it of everything which they coveted, and could carry away with them, and burned it to the ground.

Argyll not only directed the siege, but personally lent a willing and earnest hand in the work of demolition. According to the parson of Rothiemay-"He was seen taking a hammer in his hand and knocking down the hewed work of the doors and windows till he did sweat for heat at his work."

It will be observed, that the ballad, instead of taking the