Chapter 9

Uam-Var, which in Gaelic signifies large cave, is a mountain between Glenartney and Callander, and takes its name from a cave on the south side of it, said by tradition to have been inhabited by a giant centuries ago. Glenartney was a Royal forest, and a portion of it is still fenced off for the same purpose. On an eminence at the head of the glen stands Glenartney Lodge, belonging to the proprietor, the Earl of Ancaster. In the past as in the present the strict preservation of game seems to have been attended with dangers and difficulties. Some people seem to have an uncontrollable liking for hunting and poaching. In the sixteenth century Glenartney was the scene of a terrible tragedy. In the year 1588, John Drummond of Drummond-Ernoch was forester to King James VI. there. One day, according to one tradition, he discovered some of the Clan Macgregor trespassing in the Royal forest. He seized them and cropped off their ears. The Macgregors, incensed by the punishment inflicted upon their clansmen, vowed vengeance against Drummond-Ernoch. They made a raid upon the forest, seized the forester, and cut off his head, which they carried with them in a corner of one of their plaids. "In the full exultation of vengeance," says Sir Walter Scott in his introduction to the _Legend of Montrose_, "they stopped at the house of Ardvoirlich and demanded refreshments, which the lady, a sister of the murdered Drummond-Ernoch (her husband being absent), was afraid or unwilling to refuse. She caused bread and cheese to be placed before them, and gave directions for more substantial refreshments to be prepared. While she was absent with this hospitable intention the barbarians placed the head of her brother on the table, filling the mouth with bread and cheese, and bidding him eat, for many a merry meal he had eaten in that house. The poor woman, returning and beholding this dreadful sight, shrieked aloud and fled into the woods, where, as described in the romance, she roamed a raving maniac, and for some time secreted herself from all living society. Some remaining instinctive feeling brought her at length to steal a glance from a distance at the maidens while they milked the cows, which being observed, her husband, Ardvoirlich, had her conveyed back to her home, and detained her there till she gave birth to a child, of whom she had been pregnant, after which she was observed gradually to recover her mental faculties." Leaving Ardvoirlich, the Macgregors proceeded to Balquhidder, and at a meeting of the clan held in the church--the chief presiding--they placed their hands successively upon the dead man's head and swore to defend the author of the deed. At one time there was a large population in this glen. In 1745 the farm of Auchinnar alone had eight tenants. An interesting document in possession of the relatives of the M'Greuthers of Meiggar referring to the Rebellion of 1715 shows the power of the laird in those days, and the resources of the glen as far as fighting men were concerned. It is as follows:--

"William M'Gruther, in Dalclaythick, you are hereby ordered to acquaint William M'Nivan, in the same town, and Alexander M'Gruther, in Dalchruwn, to go along with you as officers to command the company of our men that is to come out of your glen, and all the men are hereby ordered to obey your command on their highest peril, which you are to intimate to them, as you will be answerable to us, and this shall be your warrant.

"Given at Drummond Castle, the fifteenth day of August, one thousand seven hundred and thirteen years.

"See that none of the men of Auchinnear of whatever rank be absent, as they will be answerable, and all the men in good order.

"(Signed) DRUMMOND."

M'Gruther and his two neighbours obeyed the summons of the laird of Drummond, and took charge of the company of Highlanders raised in Glenartney; but the laird could not save them from the consequence of their obedience. When the Rebellion was quelled they were banished to America and sold as slaves. The two M'Gruthers managed to get back to their native country, but were doomed to spend seven long years in hiding.

The origin of place-names may not be of so much interest to the reader as it is to the writer of this article, but we cannot resist the temptation of recording a suggestion made to us years ago as to the origin of the word Glenartney, by Mr James Ferguson, the present keeper of the forest, and the worthy successor of old Drummond-Ernoch. It is this: _Gleann-ard-an-fheidh_--"the high glen of the deer." This would certainly account for the last syllable of the modern name, and would also accord with the fact of the place being an ancient forest; but we prefer the derivation _Gleann-ardan_--"the glen of heights," and we think the last syllable has been added merely to suit the imperfection of the Saxon's vocal organs.

The mansion-houses of the head of Strathearn and their occupants are of some historical interest, but, as our space is limited, our reference to them must be brief, and confined to a few of the oldest. On the margin of Loch Earn stands Ardvoirlich House. The present occupant of the estate is Colonel John Stewart, who spent the first part of his life in India, and now resides upon the estate. With the exception of the Drummonds, who trace their ancestry back to Maurice, the Hungarian, who lived about the time of the Norman Conquest, the Stewarts of Ardvoirlich are the oldest family in the district. They lay claim not only to a long ancestral line, but also to Royal blood, through a son of Murdoch, Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland, and son of Robert II. Among the antique curiosities of this family, it is said, there is a large gem called _clach dhearg_--red stone, seemingly white rock crystal, bound with four silver bands, which used to be regarded as a talisman, giving to water into which it is dipped virtue for the cure of all diseases of cattle. In recent times the Stewarts have been a family of soldiers who served in India. Their burying-place is within the old Chapel of Dundurn, but the monuments erected to the memory of members of the family recently deceased are in the Parish Church of Comrie. They are all handsome, and a great ornament to the interior of the Parish Church; but one of them is worthy of special notice on account of its artistic beauty. It is that erected by the Governor-General of India and other dignitaries and friends to commemorate the death of William Stewart, who, along with his wife and infant son, was murdered in the Indian Mutiny of 1857. It is a cenotaph of pure Carrara marble, with the figure of a Sepoy soldier with arms reversed on the one side, and a Hindoo in a kneeling posture on the other.

Dunira House is the seat of the Dundases. The present proprietor is Sir Sidney James Dundas, the third baronet of Beechwood and Dunira, who succeeded his father, Sir David Dundas, Bart., in 1877. What is the word Dunira derived from? Is it like Dundurn, "the hill or fort upon the Earn"? or is it _Dun aoraidh_, "the hill of worship"? It is difficult to say; Gaelic words have been so much corrupted to suit the tongues of the Saxon. There is little doubt, however, that in ancient times the locality was intimately associated with divine worship. Not far from the east lodge there are to be seen large standing-stones, supposed, as already said, to be the remains of an old Druidical circle. On the hillside, above Dunira House, there is a place called Drumnakil, which signifies the "ridge of the chapel"; and farther to the north-east, near the hill of Dunmore, is Ballochintaggart, "the gap of the priest." At Drumnakil there is an old burying-ground, the grave-stones scarcely discernible among the rank grass; but all trace of the chapel, or monks' cell, if ever there was one, has disappeared. Dunira was once the property of Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville and Baron Dunira. He was son of Robert Dundas of Arniston, Lord President of the Court of Session. He was called to the bar in 1763, and elected member of Parliament for the County of Edinburgh in 1774, and after holding several important offices under the Crown, he retired with Pitt in 1801, and the following year he was raised to the Peerage. After his death his Perthshire friends paid a tribute to his memory and worth by erecting a monument on Dunmore Hill, at Comrie. It is an obelisk, 72 feet high, built in 1812 of Innergeldie granite. A better site could not have been chosen. From the top of Dunmore Hill there is a magnificent view of varied landscape. To the west you have a peep at Loch Earn, the Aberuchill Hills, and the old white-washed Castle nestling among its trees; to the south you have the village of Comrie and the strath, with the Earn and the Ruchill winding their way through the plain; to the east, Sir David Baird's Monument, the Knock of Crieff, Turleum, the Ochils, and one of the Lomonds of Fife; looking to the north, we see Glenlednock stretching far towards Loch Tay, with Spout Rollo at its head, and guarded on each side by the lofty peaks of the Grampians. This, like so many others of our Highland glens, has suffered much through depopulation during this century. An old Glenlednock farmer still living in the parish informs us that in his recollection there were thirty-six tenants with their cottars, where there are now five and a few shepherds. One cannot help admiring the industry, economy, and thrift of these old Highland farmers, who in such numbers could live and thrive and pay higher rents to the landlord than the few who are now in possession of the land.

Aberuchill Castle was for nearly three centuries the seat of the Campbells of Aberuchill and Kilbryde. It was originally built in 1602, but has since been modernised and enlarged. The Crown granted a charter of the lands of Aberuchill in 1596 to Colin Campbell, second son of Sir Colin Campbell of Lawers. His son James was made a baronet of Nova Scotia by Charles I. in 1627. He fell fighting for Charles II. at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Sir Colin, only son of Sir James, succeeded him. He was the most distinguished of the family. Bred to the law, he rose to the position of Lord of Session with the title of Lord Aberuchill. Sir Colin was a Whig and a Presbyterian when the most of the gentry of Strathearn were either Episcopalians or Popish Jacobites. His name is associated with the massacre of Glencoe, inasmuch as he was a member of the Council that refused the certificate of the Sheriff-Depute of Argyle that M'Donald of Glencoe had taken the oath of allegiance to King William, unless they got a warrant to receive it from the King. From 1693 to 1702 he represented the County of Perth in the Scottish Parliament, and died in 1704. From the Campbells, the estate passed into the hands of the Drummonds. It is now the property of Captain Robert Dewhurst, son of George C. Dewhurst, Esq., lately deceased.

It would be unpardonable to write anything about Comrie without making allusion to the earthquakes which have made it famous. In the Statistical Account of Scotland, published in the year 1794, the Rev. Mr M'Diarmid, minister of the parish, gives an account of the first recorded earthquake in the district. During the autumn of 1789 loud noises, unaccompanied by any concussion, were heard by the inhabitants of Glenlednock; but on the 5th of November of that year they were alarmed by a loud rumbling noise, accompanied with a severe shock of earthquake, which was felt over a tract of country of more than twenty miles in extent. The Rev. Mr Mackenzie, successor to Mr M'Diarmid, writing in 1838, in the last Statistical Account, says that "at and after the time of the last Statistical Account the earthquakes were so frequent and violent, and accompanied with such noises, as to occasion great alarm, especially one which occurred on a Sabbath while the congregation was assembled." The year 1839, however, was the time of the great earthquakes. Writing in 1842 in the last Statistical Account, the Rev. John Ferguson, minister of Monzievaird, says:--"At this time they began to be frequently felt, nearly 20 shocks being occasionally experienced in 24 hours. The most violent one happened about ten o'clock on the evening of 23d October, 1839. The shock seemed to pass along through the parish of Monzievaird from north-west to south-east. For a second or two every house for miles around the village of Comrie was shaken from top to bottom; and while the motion was passing away to the eastward it was accompanied by a tremendous noise like the roar of 100 pieces of ordnance discharged at once and gradually dying away in the distance. This earthquake was partially felt throughout a great part of Scotland, as far as Inverness, Dunbar, Berwick, and the banks of Loch Awe. In this neighbourhood it was very alarming. Several individuals fainted, and most of the inhabitants of the village of Comrie spent the whole night in the streets, or in the churches, which were very properly opened for prayer. Many stone dykes were thrown down, walls of houses rent, and chimney-stalks shattered, the stones being frequently shifted from their places, but no serious damage was sustained. The shocks have again diminished both in frequency and violence since the autumn of 1839." Another severe shock occurred in November, 1846, but from that date they have decreased both in number and intensity. The cause of these subterranean commotions is in this as in similar cases a matter of conjecture, but there is good cause for thankfulness that they have hitherto been attended with no serious damage to life or property.

The Session records of some parishes in Scotland are of some historical value, but this is not so with those of Comrie. Beyond the perpetual reiteration of cases of discipline and doles to the poor, there is little to be found in them to throw light upon the Christian life and work of the parish. So meagrely kept were these records that until the year 1829 the Christian name and surname of the Moderator and Clerk never appear in the minutes--not even the Secession of 1843 is recorded, though the minister left the church with a great majority of the congregation to worship upon Tomachessock. The only exception to what we have just stated, perhaps, is a minute of Kirk-Session dated 17th November, 1772, recording the honour due to Patrick Campbell, Esq. of Monzie, then deceased, and the Rev. Robert Menzies, minister of the parish, for the active and benevolent part they took in the building of the Dalginross Bridge over the Earn. The bridge was built in 1756 at a cost of L230.

The Parish Church was erected in 1805, and holds 1044 sitters. The manse was built in 1784, and an addition was made to it in 1822. A new church was built in St. Fillans in connection with the Church of Scotland in 1878, and in March, 1895, it was endowed and erected into a parish _quoad sacra_ under the old name of Dundurn. It is curious to note how the land has been changing hands during the last 180 years. In 1715, the heritors were the Earl of Perth, Duke of Athole, the proprietors of Aberuchill, Lawers, Monzie, Cultabraggan, Ardvoirlich, Comrie, Strowan, Drummond-Ernoch, and Balmacuin. At present they are the Earl of Ancaster, Marquis of Breadalbane, and the proprietors of Ardvoirlich, Dunira, Aberuchill, Strowan, Lawers, Dalchonzie, and Drumearn.

ON THE BANKS OF THE DEVON

By Rev. E. B. SPEIRS, B.D., Glendevon

Seeing that "St. Serf's Bridge" still spans the Devon at one part within the parish of Glendevon, and that the good Saint did not himself build the bridge, but, following a common practice, baptised and made Christian what was a Pagan structure, reared in this instance by the Imperial legionaries, it might be permissible for the local historian to go back at least to the times of the Roman occupation. After describing the camp and the Roman road which still exist in the mind's eye of the antiquaries, he might then go on to tell of holy St. Servan's feats in the way of detecting sheep-stealers by making them, like Speed under the influence of Proteus' reasoning, cry "Baa," or relate some such pretty human story as that of how he turned water into wine for the sake of a sick monk, or unfold the thrilling tale of how he fought the Dovan dragon, as Wyntoun sings, or at least says:--

"In Dovyn of devotyoune And prayere, he slew a fell Dragoune, Quhare he was slayne, that place wes ay The Dragownys Den cald to this day."[1]

The more exact methods of writing history now in vogue, however, almost compel the chronicler to begin with the first certain mention of Glendevon in accredited records, and that belongs to the year 1521. On the eleventh of July of that year an interesting ceremony was gone through down at Cambuskenneth, on the banks of the Forth. Abbot Mylne, a man both of culture and character, who to a genuine love of letters added a love of art and architecture, and who was ultimately the first President of the Court of Session, had re-built the great altar, the chapter-house, and part of the cloister of his Abbey, and had laid out two new cemeteries. In order to signalise these notable additions and restorations he invited the Bishop of Dunblane to conduct a consecration and dedication service. The Bishop was directly assisted in this solemn function by three of his principal clergy--his archdeacon, George Newton; John Chesholme, prebendary of Kippane; and "Jacobus Wilson, prebandarius de Glendowane." John Tulydaf, warder of the Minorites of "Striueling" (Stirling), preached on the efficacy of dedication after the celebration of the Mass, and amongst those present were the "noble and powerful" Lord John Erskin, Jacobus Haldene of Glenegges (Gleneagles), Knight, and various others of the local clergy, nobility, and gentry, together with a large concourse of people from the surrounding district. The official account of what took place on this high day when Glendowane, Glendovan, Glenduen, or Glendevon, first emerges into the light of history, is duly signed by Jacobus Blakwood, presbyter of the Diocese of Dunblane, public notary by apostolic authority, who was on the spot and saw everything properly done.[2] The name of Prebendary Wilson occurs in several documents both before and after this, all of which have reference to matters connected either with Cambuskenneth or Dunblane. He gets prominent mention in a paper dated from Cambuskenneth, June, 1530, in which he is styled "Canonicus Dunblanensis," heading a list of "venerable and discreet" gentlemen, including Alanus Balward, vicar of Kalender, and Andreas Sym, vicar of Cumry, but we cannot trace him further down than March of the following year. It is clear from this that Glendevon was attached to the "Kirk of Dunblane," and that the Parish Church was served from there, not, it is to be hoped, in the slovenly fashion characteristic of these times, when the stipend was too often fought for by different teind hunters in the shape of the bishop of the diocese and the abbot of some neighbouring monastery, a state of things to which Prebendary Wilson himself bears witness. There is something almost pathetic in the thought that less than forty years after that dedication service in which the Prebendary of Glendevon took part, these additions were to be pulled to pieces by the savage mob which wrecked, amongst other religious houses, the stately monastery on the Links of the Forth; and it is just possible that the great destroyer--spiritually at least--of what Canon Wilson helped to build up was in his parish in 1556. At any rate a spot is still pointed out on the glebe where, according to tradition, John Knox preached. We know from his own statement[3] that he spent some time in the early part of the summer of that year at Castle Campbell--which is only some four or five miles distant--"whare he taught certane dayis"; so it is at least not utterly improbable that he may have come through Glenquey past the Maiden's Well, and visited a possible congregation in Glendovan, exhorting them to "prayaris, to reading of the Scriptures, and mutuall conference unto such tyme as God should give unto them grettar libertie."[4]