finest scenes imaginable. It seemed as if a great chieftain in olden
feudal times was receiving his sovereign. It was princely and romantic.
Lord and Lady Breadalbane took us up-stairs, the hall and stairs being
lined with Highlanders. The Gothic staircase is of stone, and very fine;
the whole of the house is newly and exquisitely furnished. The
drawing-room, especially, is splendid. Thence you go into a passage and a
library, which adjoins our private apartments. They showed us two sets of
apartments, and we chose those which are on the right hand of the corridor
or anteroom to the library. At eight we dined. Staying in the house,
besides ourselves, are the Buccleuchs and the two Ministers, the Duchess
of Sutherland and Lady Elizabeth Leveson Gower, the Abercorns, Roxburghes,
Kinnoulls, Lord Lauderdale, Sir Anthony Maitland, Lord Lorne, the Fox
Maules, Belhavens, Mr and Mrs William Russell, Sir J. and Lady Elizabeth
and the Misses Pringle, and two Messrs Baillie, brothers of Lady
Breadalbane. The dining-room is a fine room in Gothic style, and has never
been dined in till this day. Our apartments also are inhabited for the
first time. After dinner, the grounds were most splendidly illuminated--a
whole chain of lamps along the railings, and on the ground was written in
lamps: "Welcome Victoria--Albert." A small fort, which is up in the woods,
was illuminated, and bonfires were burning on the tops of the hills. I
never saw anything so fairy-like. There were some pretty fireworks, and
the whole ended by the Highlanders dancing reels, which they do to
perfection, to the sound of the pipes, by torchlight in front of the
house. It had a wild and very gay effect.'

[Illustration: Pass of Killiecrankie--'The Queen's View']

Her Majesty drove about daily, enjoying the magnificent scenery, or by the
banks of Tay, to see Lord Breadalbane's American buffaloes; while Prince
Albert had sport--nineteen roe-deer on the first day, besides hares,