exposure, at the western termination of the Ochil Hills, just at the opening of the Allan vale. It stands upon a sort of table-land, slightly elevated above the carse. The river Allan bounds it on the west, only a few houses being beyond the stream. The distance from Stirling is about three miles, and in the season the means of transit are easy and frequent. A finer and better sheltered situation cannot well be conceived. The Ochils, with the intervening heights, protect it on the north. No wind from this quarter can touch it; the breeze that plays on the Allan Water serves only to create and sustain an agreeable circulation. On the west, the beautiful heights of Keir shelter it, without materially marring the view from the high grounds. The Abbey Crag intercepts a barrier to the storms that blow from the east. From the heights behind the village the view, though not extensive, is fine and rich. The eye falls on a large portion of the carse, finely cultivated; beyond this rural scene, and bounding it on the south, you encounter the terraced sides of the Tough Hills and the huge mass of greenstone on which are built the town and castle of Stirling. On the right there is a good view of the grounds of Keir, while on the left you look down upon the sweet estate of Airthrey, the dark woods of Logie, and the sharp features of the crag. The village itself is neat and clean. The western or older portion of it consists of little whitewashed cottages, with roses and woodbine encircling the doors and windows. The newer or eastern portion consists of a main street and cross streets, composed of elegant and commodious buildings. It is rapidly extending in this direction. There are two large public hotels, where every attention is paid to visiters, besides several of a private character. It contains a well-supplied public reading-room, and a gallery of sculpture erected and arranged under the eye of Major Henderson, the spirited proprietor of the estate of Westerton, on whose lands the Bridge-of-Allan is built. There are numerous walks in the immediate neighbourhood of the village, some of which are extremely beautiful and retired. The whole of the high grounds to the north may be traversed; and for those who prefer more extensive perambulations, access may be had to the well-arranged grounds of Keir, whose amiable and open-hearted possessor has so lately been removed from this world, amid the regrets and lamentations of all who shared his friendship or tasted his generosity. There cannot be a more interesting walk, to the pensive and contemplative mind, than that which conducts by the manse, round the base of the hill, to the picturesque church of Logie. Sequestered solemn spot! One cannot stand beneath the brow of that hill, or move under the shadow of these dark pines, without feeling that the place is holy, and experiencing the promptings of an intelligent devotion towards the great God who is weekly worshipped here. Meet resting-place, too, for the ashes of the departed! Reader, permit a hasty tribute to departed worth. Here rest the ashes of one with whom we have held high converse on things divine, and in whose manly bosom our youthful aspirations ever found a willing response.

But the great attraction is the mineral waters of Airthrey. The wells are within a mile of the village, just at the base of the Ochils. The water is brought regularly down, but the practice is to visit the wells at certain hours, and there partake of the healing draught. Every facility is afforded to invalids. We insert the following analysis of the springs, made some years ago, and quoted by Dr Forrest of Stirling in a work on the Airthrey waters. In an English pint, containing 28.875 cubic inches.

Now,

Before leaving this interesting locality, there is another i subject to which the attention of the intelligent reader should be directed. The researches of Charles Maclaren, Esq., of this city, as recorded in the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, for October, 1846, have established certain important geological conclusions in connexion with the high grounds in this neighbourhood. Viewed from the south, there appears an extensive terrace or table-land between the base of the hill and the village. The abrupt face of this terrace hangs over the latter, and is distinctly traced from Lecropt Church to Abbey Crag, a distance of about two miles. There is every reason to believe that this table-land is composed of gravel and sand, and has been deposited by the sea, when the tides stood higher by many feet than they now do. This level tract bears a very close resemblance to existing sea-beaches. That it is composed of such material seems obvious, from the fact that nothing else is discovered along the whole extent of its face; nor is rock found, except at a considerable depth, in any of those deep ruts which the torrents descending from the hill have cut in it. Not even in the Allan vale, the mouth of which is excavated through this terrace, is rock detected, save in the channel of the river. there is no agent in nature of which we know anything that could accumulate such a mass of rubbish, in such an order as this, except water. It is thought, therefore, that the sea once washed the base of the Ochils, and that the plain on which stands the neat mansion-house of Westerton, and the church of Lecropt, constituted then the bottom of that sea. There are traces of a lower beach at the village of Causeyhead, near Abbey Crag. Part of that village is built upon it, and it stretches a little distance to the west. Ancient beaches, corresponding to these, have been traced on the other side of the carse. Indeed, we ourselves have traced three ancient sea-beaches, much further up the vale of Monteith. They are most distinctly seen, on both sides of the Teith, opposite the village of Doune. It is thus obvious that the whole plain west from Stirling was, at one period in our earth's history, under water; the bed of a magnificent bay. At least three or four distinct elevations have taken place in the land during the period that has elapsed since then. The whole surrounding framework of mountains stood then as it does now, only not so high above the level of the waters; and the three high crags that now raise their grey faces to the west, then kept vigils at the entrance of this little inland sea. That this is no mere fancy is demonstrated by the existence of sea-shells in many parts above the level of the Firth, and the discovery, some years ago, of the skeleton of a whale in the very locality of which we are now treating. Formerly copper and silver mines were worked in the western part of the Ochils, but the veins are now closed. The entrance, indeed, to one is still partially open, immediately behind the Airthrey wells.

Leaving Bridge-of-Allan, the highway skirts the western face of the valley to Dunblane six miles to the north. There is a beautiful private road by the banks of the river, through the grounds of Kippenross. In these grounds there is a plane-tree, said to be the largest in the kingdom. It measures twenty-eight feet round the stem, and covers nearly half an acre with its branches. The river is very sweet, and its banks are beautifully wooded. One might wander long among the

'Fairy braes,

Which grace this lovely, winding stream, The scene of many a poet's lays,' without wishing for the shades of evening, or being satiated with the mild beauties of the picture.

The ancient episcopal city of Dunblane is situated in the valley of the Allan. and is cut in two by the river. The cathedral and almost all other objects of interest are on the left bank. The site is pleasant and healthy, but except from the heights to the east or from the bridge down the vale, the view is very limited. There are some good houses in the town, and several villas and mansions within

consequent splendour it possessed at and before the Refor

..267.458 grains. .145.296 40.456 2.008

...

Common salt......................... Muriate of lime.... Sulphate of lime.... Muriate of magnesia. The difference in the results may, in great measure, be attributed to the different methods adopted in conducting the analysis.

The sites of houses occupied by individuals who played a prominent part in the affairs both of church and state, some centuries ago, are pointed out to the visiter; also the manses of various ecclesiastics. But the great object of antiquarian interest is the cathedral. All that remains of this ancient building, in a state of tolerable completeness, is the choir, which is still used as the church of the parish. Though now adopted as a place of worship in connexion with the Presbyterian platform, it still retains much of its original character. There is much to excite the interest of the curious, and awaken reflection in the contemplative mind. The oaken seats of the choristers, with grotesque figures carved upon them, still remain; while the stalls of the prebendaries, and the handsomely carved seats of the bishop and the dean, with the three steps of the altar, can yet be observed.' The information gathered from numerous sources relative to this once famous cathedral casts a steady light upon its history for at least seven or eight hundred years, and shows that it has passed through various vicissitudes. Sometimes it was tenantless, its altars deserted, and its lands alienated; at other times it reaped a rich harvest of prosperity, and had conferred upon it many honours. Now it was entirely overlooked by the ecclesiastical heads of the Scottish church, and then its concerns occupied the anxious mind of popes. This is obvious from the following brief historic statement: The Culdees had a convent at Dunblane, but of it we shall not at present speak. The close of the tenth century is believed to be the epoch of St Blaan, who had no see, it being not yet established. About the middle of the eleventh, it was instituted, in all probability, along with other Scottish sees, by the Convention of Estates. In the early part of the twelfth century, David I.-said by one of his successors to have been a sair saint for the crown,' because of his having built and endowed so many religious houses-appointed the first bishop to Dunblane. He is said by some to have

erected the see; but this is a mistake which might very readily arise out of the former circumstance. The first time that the bishop of this see is referred to, is in a bull of Pope Adrian IV., but the name is unknown. From this date to 1689, when Robert Douglas was deprived of the bishopric, no fewer than thirty-three individuals had occupied the episcopal seat. Clemens, a good bishop, entered this see in 1238, and found matters in a deplorable state. For a hundred years previous to this, it would appear the church had been vacant, almost all its goods having been seized by secular hands. The bishops were inefficient, and no pastoral care was bestowed upon the people. In these circumstances the new bishop appealed to the papal court, and had a bull issued in favour of the see. The bishops of Glasgow and Dunkeld were charged with the deed, and commanded to see his holiness' pleasure carried into execution. But mammon exercised more influence among the seculars' than Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God;' wherefore it still remained in a miserable state, to use the language of the bull, and did not for some time 'recover from the lake of misery.' Clemens, however, seems to have been a man of property and a good churchman; for, partly out of his own funds, he repaired the church, which had long remained in a dilapidated state. To him, therefore, we may look as the person who executed a part, if not the whole, of the more modern building. Finlay Dermoch, 18th bishop, somewhere between 1406 and 1419, erected the good old bridge over the Allan at Dunblane; Michael Ochiltree, a dozen years later, richly adorned the cathedral church, and put into the choir its elegant oak seats, great part of which still remain. We must pass over a number of bishops who were appointed to this see between Michael's time and that of the pious Leighton, who was the 31st in order. Only two, James Ramsay and Robert Douglas, succeeded him when the Revolution dissolved the Scottish sees. character of Leighton is too well known to require us to dwell upon it here. During his residence in Dunblane he seems to have worked a marvellous change among the inferior clergy; and when removed to Glasgow, the very different character of the sacred orders in the west greatly grieved his pious spirit. At his death he left some money to the poor of Dunblane, and also bequeathed his valuable library to the city. It originally consisted of 1400 volumes. The number is now greatly augmented, and the use of it is a great boon to the inhabitants, and no ordinary attraction to the intelligent visiter. The bishop's palace stood immediately to the south of the cathedral and overlooking the river. To the north of the river, and on the bank of the Allan, there is a fine shaded promenade, said to have been the daily resort of the bishop, and which still goes by his name. In speaking of antiquities, we must not omit the mention of the fact, that the great Roman road, from Castlecary, by Torwood and Stirling, to Perth, passed up the Allan valley. Certain indications of its direction are still traceable, or have been so lately. Between Bridge-of-Allan and Keir, stood the famous Alauna of Ptolemy, on the right bank of the stream, a mile from its junction with the Forth. The site of this place was long disputed, but we believe that the correctness of the above opinion is now generally admitted. The name of the Allan is perhaps allied to this. Allunn, in Celtic, means sparkling, beautiful,' and appropriately characterises this river. Six miles north from Dunblane is the camp of Lindum, or Ardoch, in a fine state of preservation. Other antiquarian remains exist in this neighbourhood, especially towards the west, whence in all probability a branch from the great road went by Doune to Moss Flanders.

The

The Sheriffmuir, so famous as being the field on which the engagement between the Earl of Mar, who commanded the rebels, and the Duke of Argyle, who led the royal army, was fought in 1715, stretches to the north-east-from Dunblane. Mar, who had taken possession of Perth and subdued great part of the north-east coast of Scotland, marched southwards, at the head of ten thousand men, with the purpose of crossing the Forth at Stirling. Meanwhile Argyle, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of all

the forces in Scotland, had collected an army, of not half the number, with which he was marching to oppose his progress. The armies met to the east of Dunblane. The left wing of Argyle's was speedily broken; but the right, where he himself commanded, soon routed the left of Mar's. Thus each appeared victorious, and each was defeated. Matters did not long continue in this singular state. The royalists gradually gained the advantage, and pushed the rebels back to the river Allan. When the engagement closed, twelve or thirteen hundred men lay lifeless on the field! The loss was nearly equal. Oh, war! when shalt thou disappear from the face of this beautiful earth-when shall brother cease to shed his brother's blood? The blood of thirteen hundred men was a dainty price to pay for the chagrin consequent upon the dismissal of the Earl of Mar from the office of Secretary of State on the accession of King George.

The Scottish Central Railway sweeps through the part of the country to which this sketch refers. Crossing the Forth a little to the north of Stirling, it passes the Bridgeof-Allan on the south, enters the Allan vale to the west of the bridge, and for a considerable space runs along the wooded brink of the right bank. It crosses and recrosses the river before you reach Dunblane, through the midst of which it cuts its way. Thence it ascends Strathallan, and onwards to the fair city. It certainly appears an intruder in the midst of this beautiful scenery; one cannot find any rational association, even after ingenuity has taxed herself to the utmost, to catch a dim glimpse of such a thing-between flowery meads, and wooded braes, and crystal streams, and-shade of Burns!-iron rails, and puffing engines.

TOADS.

The common toad, which is generally esteemed the most loathsome of British reptiles, and which boys too often heedlessly pelt with stones, as if it were a creature injurious to mankind, is an animal of considerable use in the economy of nature, being evidently created for the purpose of destroying and clearing away worms and other small vermin which would injure vegetation. The character of this inoffensive creature has been well described by Mr Fothergill, a naturalist. The common food of the toad,' says he, is small worms, and insects of every description; but its favourite food consists of bees and wasps. When a toad strikes any of these insects, however, deglutition does not immediately take place, as in other cases, but the mandibles remain closely compressed for a few seconds, in which time the bee or wasp is killed, and all danger of being stung avoided. The mandibles are provided with two protuberances, which appear to be destined for this office. Although capable of sustaining long abstinence, the toad is a voracious feeder when opportunity offers. To a middle-sized one the writer has given nine wasps, one immediately after another; the tenth it refused, but in the afternoon of the same day it took eight more. To see the toad display its full energy of character, it is necessary to discover it in its place of retirement for the day, and, if possible, unperceived, to drop an insect within its sight; it immediately arouses from its apparent torpor, its beautiful eyes sparkle, it moves with alacrity to its prey, and assumes a degree of animation incompatible with its general sluggish appearance. When arrived at a proper distance, it makes a full stop, and, in the attitude of a pointer, motionless eyes its destined victim for a few seconds, when it darts out its tongue upon it, and lodges it in its throat with a velocity which the eye can scarcely follow. It sometimes happens to make an ineffectual stroke, and stuns the insect without gorging it, but never makes a second stroke until the insect resumes motion. It uniformly refuses to feed on dead insects, however recent. For several years a toad took up its abode, during the summer season, under an inverted garden-pot, which had a part of its rim broken out, in the writer's garden, making its first appearance in the latter end of May, and retreating about the middle of September. This toad, there is reason to believe, distinguished the persons of the family, who daily fed it,

from strangers, as it would permit them to pat and stroke it. To try the indiscriminating appetite of these animals, the writer has dropped before a full-grown toad a young one of its own species, about three-fourths of an inch long and the instant it began to move off, it was eagerly struck at and swallowed; but the writer, in repeating this experi ment, found that more will refuse than devour the young of their own species. When living minnows were dropped before a toad, they were struck at and swallowed in the same manner. These experiments were made on toads at full liberty, and met with like results.'

ON A BUTTERFLY.

(For the Instructor.)

Up from the dewy earth,
Child of a second birth,
Revel in nature's mirth

While it is day!

Over the meadows green,
Glist'ning with summer sheen,
Bright is thy way.

Herald of sunny hours,
Song birds, and silken flowers,
Speed to the scented bowers-

Time is thine own!
Speed where the roses twine,
Drink of their ruby wine,

Ere it be flown!

Bright are thy present dreams,
Fast by the shining streams,
Basking in golden beams,

Drunk with delight;
Thinking not earth and sea,
Alas! too soon will be

Buried in night.

Thus flies the life of man,
Ever in pleasure's van,
Careless how short the span
Nature has lent :
Quick as thy fluttering,
Bird of the sunny wing,

Man's life is spent.

Love may look bright a while,
Friendship may seem to smile:
Too often serpent's guile

Festers beneath.

Ah! that such bitter strife
Darkens so short a life,

Ending in death!

Oh! man, since thy life's light
Looks but an insect's flight,
Work while thy day is bright!-
In the dark tomb,
Useless thy deep regret.
Soon will thy sun be set,
Shrouded in gloom.

LITTLE KINDNESSES.

W. LIE

The humble current of little kindnesses, which, though but a creeping streamlet, yet incessantly flows, although it glides in silent secrecy within the domestic walls and along the walks of private life, and makes neither appearance nor noise in the world, proves in the end a more copious tributary to the store of human comfort and felicity, than any sudden and transient flood of detached bounty, however ample, that may rush into it with a mighty sound.-Fawcett.

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