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INTRODUCTION
The county of Perth,
throughout its whole extent, has been long admired and justly celebrated for
the sublimity and the beauty of its scenery. But that portion of it which is
situated upon the south-western frontier, together with the adjoining
district of Stirlingshire, which stretches along the eastern shore of
Lochlomond, (of which it is also proposed to offer some account) has, of
late years, attracted the particular attention and admiration of travellers.
This most interesting scenery has, indeed, for some time past, been the
favourite resort of strangers from every quarter of the united kingdom. This
has arisen partly from the intrinsic charms which they are pleased to
ascribe to it, and partly from the present exclusion of Britons from the
continent, in consequence of the rigours of a savage and jealous despotism.
To these causes of increasing resort to this quarter of Scotland, may be
added another of recent occurrence Mr.
Walter Scott, by adopting it as the scene of the transactions of his justly
admired poem. The Lady of the Lake, has rendered it classic ground. At
present, the topography of this region,
"From lone Glenartney’s hazel shade,”
on the north-east,
"E’en to the pass of Bealmaha,”
on the south-west, including an ample range of country, adorned with woods,
lakes, and rivers, with fertile vales, and lofty mountains, has become as
interesting to the admirers of Mr Scott’s popular poem, as that of the Troad
is to the admirers of Homer.
These “Sketches, descriptive of Picturesque Scenery on the southern Confines
of Perthshire, including the Trosachs, Lochard, &c.” were first published in
1806, and were honoured, even in the defective state in which they then
appeared, by the favourable reception of the public. Mr Scott, by citing
them repeatedly in flattering terms, in the notes to his celebrated poem,
has contributed much to the credit of that little volume; and the edition
being exhausted, the author takes the liberty of offering another, which, he
hopes, will be found freed from several imperfections, and supplied with
many subjects which were desiderated in the former.
This edition has, particularly, the advantage of a map, delineated by the
author’s friend, the Reverend William Stirling, minister of Port. In this
map reference is had to the topography of the Lady of the Lake ; and the
several routes are set down, to enable the stranger the more advantageously
to direct his course. The recent delineation of this region by Mr Arrowsmith,
which is, in general, extremely accurate, together with his scale, is
adopted. Some alterations are made from local knowledge, and from the
communications of intelligent friends. In particular, it is presumed that
the Archipelago of Lochlomond will be found more faithfully pourtrayed in
this map than it has been in any other; indeed, from Mr Stirling’s having
taken the trouble to superintend the execution of the map himself, it is
hoped that it will be considered as the very best specimen of North British
geographic engraving now extant.
By the suggestion of several intelligent tourists, it was intended to have
enriched this edition with some beautiful drawings in perspective, of the
most remarkable scenes described in the volume. The drawings were actually
furnished by Mr Stirling, who sometimes relieves his professional
occupations with the elegant and permissible amusement of the pencil.
Circumstances have interfered to prevent the present publication being
enriched with these drawings. It is probable, however, that Mr Stirling will
soon publish them upon his own account; and the public will then have it in
their power to add the delineations of the pencil to the descriptions of the
pen.
The author presumes to add, that a circumstance occurred to him several
years ago, which, without any merit on his part, may be considered as
qualifying him, in some slight degree, for this undertaking. When the Messrs
Boydells of London, in 1792, proposed to publish the description of the four
rivers, the Thames, the Severn, the Forth, and the Clyde, from their sources
to the sea, they employed the ingenious Mr Farrington of the Royal Academy,
to execute the drawings of the adjacent scenery. The author of these
Sketches had the happiness to attend that accomplished artist for several
days, whilst he was employed in the quarter which it is now proposed to
describe; and it was his office to accompany the delineations of the pencil
with a verbal description, which Mr Farrington regularly revised.
The proposed work of the Boydells having been long ago abandoned, the writer
now considers himself at liberty to employ the notes which he took down on
those occasions for Mr Farrington ; and he even hopes that they may be found
of some service, to young artists at least, by suggesting the points of view
which were chosen by so eminent a master, as well as the mode by which he
constructed his outline.
As few districts in Scotland present a more fertile field to the botanist
than this, the rarer native plants are enumerated ; and the labour and
uncertainty of finding them is lessened by pointing out the particular
places of their growth. Some account is given of the animals and minerals of
the neighbourhood. These Notices of Natural History are thrown into a
separate section ; and it is hoped that the general reader will forgive
them, for the sake of the admirers of an elegant and useful science, numbers
of whom are attracted hither every summer. Occasional remarks are offered on
the soil, the climate, and meteorology of this part of the Highlands; some
account is given of the language, the manners, and history of the country,
and of the popular superstitions which still prevail.
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