a pass over the summit of a ridgy eminence which he had gradually
surmounted, he beheld, stretching beneath him, the valley of the
Tay, traversed by its ample and lordly stream; the town of Perth,
with its two large meadows, or inches, its steeples, and its towers;
the hills of Moncrieff and Kinnoul faintly rising into picturesque
rocks, partly clothed with woods; the rich margin of the river,
studded with elegant mansions; and the distant view of the huge
Grampian mountains, the northern screen of this exquisite landscape.
The alteration of the road, greatly, it must be owned, to the
improvement of general intercourse, avoids this magnificent point of
view, and the landscape is introduced more gradually and partially
to the eye, though the approach must be still considered as extremely
beautiful. There is still, we believe, a footpath left open, by
which the station at the Wicks of Baiglie may be approached; and
the traveller, by quitting his horse or equipage, and walking a
few hundred yards, may still compare the real landscape with the
sketch which we have attempted to give. But it is not in our power
to communicate, or in his to receive, the exquisite charm which
surprise gives to pleasure, when so splendid a view arises when least
expected or hoped for, and which Chrystal Croftangry experienced
when he beheld, for the first time, the matchless scene.

Childish wonder, indeed, was an ingredient in my delight, for
I was not above fifteen years old; and as this had been the first
excursion which I was permitted to make on a pony of my own, I also
experienced the glow of independence, mingled with that degree of
anxiety which the most conceited boy feels when he is first abandoned
to his own undirected counsels. I recollect pulling up the reins
without meaning to do so, and gazing on the scene before me as if
I had been afraid it would shift like those in a theatre before I