JvNB 6.
was General of the forces in Scotland under James II. difperfed the-
army of the unfortunate Argyle.. A gallant officer, who, when
James was at. Salujbury., generoufly. offered to attack the Prince
of Orange with his iingle regiment of the Scottijh Royal, not with
the hope o f vidtory, but o f giving him fuch a check as hiii
fovereign might take advantage of:. James, with equal generality,
would not permit the facrifice of fo many brave men. Dunbartm
adhered to his king in all fortunes, and on the abdication partook!
of his exile.
General James Douglas, who in 1691 died at Namur.
Earl of Clarendon, fon of the Chancellor, half-length, in his
robes.
A.good-portrait of a Tripoli Ambaffadour.-
In the gardens, which are moil: expenfively cut out of-a rock, is»
bird cherry, of a great fize, not lefs than feven feet eight inches is
girth ; and among feveral fine filver firs,,one thirteen feet and a hall
in circumference.
In,my walks, about the. park fee the white-breed off wild cattles
derived from the native race of the country ; and ftill retain tbs
primaeval favagenels and ferocity of their anceftors : ■ were more %
than any deer ; ran away on the appearance, o f any of the human
fpecies, and even fet off at full gallop on the left noife ; fo that 1
was under, the neceffity. of going very foftly under the ihelter of
trees or buihes to- get a near view of. them : during fummer they-
keep apart from all.other cattle, , but in fevere. weather hunger will
compel them to vifit the out-houfes in fearch o f food. The keepen
are obliged to ffiootithem, if any are wanted : if the beaft is not
killed on the fpot it runs , at the perfon who gave, the wound, aid
•ffbii
Lho is forced, in order to fave himfelf, to fly for fafety to the interlention
of fome tree. I Thefe cattle are of a middle fize, have very long legs, and the
lows are fine horned : the orbits of the eyes' and the tips of the nofes
fa r e black : but the bulls have loft the manes attributed to them by
%BoetMus. -
I Ride to Merton- caftle, about: four miles diftant, feated on a
Iteep projedtion, in a lofty fituation, near the Anchenlec hills.
Ixhis was originally the feat of Dmenald, predeceffor of Thomas
mRanddph, afterwards created Earl o f Murray by Robert Bruce,
S-whenthat caftle and that of Auchencafs, near Moffat, was difpofed
lo f to Douglas of Morton,’ predecefior of' the Earls of Morton:
but at the time that title was conferred, the caftle and lands of
WMcrton being fettled on a fon of a fecond marriage of that fa-
■mily, the parlement, on a proteftation on his- part, declared, that
■the bellowing that title fhould not prejudice his right to the caftle
land lands, but that it was taken from a place called Morton in JVeJt-
M Lothian.
At prelent remains only one fronts with a-number of . fmall windows,
each to be afcended on the infide by a flight o f fteps: at
■each end is alfo a rounded tower. I find little of its hiftory, any
■farther than, that it was -among the caftles demolilhed by David II * 3
■on his return from England, probably in compliance with a private
■ agreement made with Edward III.
Two miles North from Morton ftood the caftle o f Durifdeer,
3 demolilhed at the fame time with the former. In the church o f
* Gutbr.it, III. 70.
Durifdeer