Dunblane

“ One writer (in the Musical Magazine, for May 1835) records that he had actually been introduced at Dunblane to the individual Jessie, then an elderly female, of an appearance the reverse of prepossessing! Unfortunately for the curious in such inquiries, the heroine only existed in the imagination of the poet; he never was in Dunblane, which, if he had been, he would have discovered that the sun could not there be seen setting "o'er the lofty Benlomond." Mr Matthew Tannahill states that the song was composed to supplant an old one, entitled, "Bob o' Dumblane." ”

“ Notwithstanding the beauty of many of our larger and{vi} finer edifices, such as Holyrood and Melrose Abbeys, and Glasgow, Dunblane, and Elgin Cathedrals, evidence is wanting in the design of these edifices of a full appreciation of the leading principles which inspired and guided the architects of the Ile de France. The Scottish buildings represent the echo rather than the original voice of the genius of Gothic architecture. ”

“ Chisholm seems to have been a man of immoral character, and a nepotist, for, being an adversary of the Reformation, he alienated nearly all the property of the bishopric of Dunblane to his relations. Most of it he gave to his nephew, Sir James Chisholm of Cromlix ”

“ Among Scotsmen, Dunblane enjoys a modest repute as a place of villeggiatura; to tourists it is perhaps best known as junction of the Caledonian line to Oban, which brings them to Callander, a few miles from the Trossachs. This line at first follows the course of the Teith, “daughter of three mighty lakes,” past Doune Castle, not Burns’s “Bonnie Doon,” but an imposing monument of feudal struggles and crimes, that has housed many a royal guest, if not, as one of its parish ministers gravely declares for unquestionable, Fitz-James himself on the night before his adventurous chase. ”

“ The legate, after commenting on the incapacity of the Scotch bishops generally, goes on to say: ‘The only exception is the coadjutor bishop of Dunblane; though holding but a secondary position during the lifetime of his superior, he has already made his influence felt, both in public an in private, having succeeded in confirming a great many people in the faith, and being justly held in high esteem and regard by all good men’ (Leith, Narratives of the Scottish Catholics under Mary Stuart and James VI, p. 75) . ”

“ The church of Dunblane was situated in the vale of the river Allan, not far from its junction with the Forth, and is mentioned in the Pictish Chronicle under the reign of Kenneth mac Alpin, when it was burnt by the neighbouring Britons of Strathclyde. We hear no more of this church till the foundation of the bishopric by King David. The catalogue of religious houses places Keledei as the religious community of the church, but the only Keledei we have any record of appear as located at Muthill, situated farther north, and not far from the river Earn ”

“ The poet," he adds, "had no particular fair one in his eye at the time, and Jessie was quite an imaginary personage." The truth is, Tannahill wrote the words to supplant the old coarse song, called "Bob o' Dunblane"—hence the title. ”

“ SHERIFFMUIR, a battlefield situated on the verge of the extreme north-western iiank of the Ochils, Perthshire, Scotland, watered by Wharry Burn, an affluent of the Allan. It lies within the bounds of the parish of Dunblane, 21/2 m. ”

“ When the troops of Argyll, after coming within half a mile of the enemy, inclined to their left towards Dunblane, ‘the enemy,’ says Wightman, with quiet sarcasm, ‘behaved like civil gentlemen, and let us do what we pleased, so that we passed the Bridge of Dunblain, posted ourselves very securely, and lay on our arms all night.’ Mar withdrew to Ardoch, ‘whither,’ he complacently remarked, ‘we marched in very good order.’ He then fell back on Auchterarder, and as the highlanders began to disperse, the retreat was continued to Perth. ”

“ Sir Phillip Jocelyn sprang up with his face all a-glow with rapture, and would fain have seized the banker's hand in token of his gratitude; but Henry Dunbar waved him off with an authoritative gesture.
"Good morning, Sir Philip," he said; "I am very poor company, and I shall be glad to be alone with the Times. You young men don't appreciate the Times. You want your newspapers filled with prize-fighting and boat-racing, and the last gossip from 'the Corner.' You'll find Miss Dunbar in the blue drawing-room. Speak to her as soon as you please; and let me know the result of the interview." ”

“ When he met Arthur and the two girls at the dinner-table, Henry Dunbar had quite recovered from the agitation of the morning, and talked gaily of the future. He alluded now and then to his Indian reminiscences, but did not dwell long upon this subject. His mind seemed full of plans for his future life. He would do this, that, and the other, at Maudesley Abbey, in Yorkshire, and in Portland Place. He had the air of a man who fully appreciates the power of wealth; and is prepared to enjoy all that wealth can give him. ”

“ But, for a short time, Lord Dunholm remained to converse with Mount Dunstan. In a way the situation was delicate. To encounter by chance a neighbour whom one—for reasons—has not seen since his childhood, and to be equal to passing over and gracefully obliterating the intervening years, makes demand even upon finished tact. Lord Dunholm's world had been a large one, and he had acquired experience tending to the development of the most perfect methods. ”

“ While lanely l stray’d in a calm simmer gloamin
⁠To muse on sweet Jessy the flow’r o' Dumblane.
How sweet is the brier wi’ its saft faulding blossom
⁠And sweet is the birk wi’ its mantle o’ green;
Yet sweeter and fairer, an’ dear to this bosom
⁠Is lovely young Jessy the flow’r of Dumblane.
She’s modest as ony, and blythe as she’s bonny,
⁠For guileles simplicity marks her its ain;
An’ far be the villain divested o’ feeling,
⁠Wha’d blight in its bloom the sweet flower Dumblane. ”

“ In the railway carriage, at the Basingstoke inn, at the station, through the long sleepless night at the public-house by the water, in the tailor's shop, even when he was most occupied by the choice of his clothes, he had still thought of Henry Dunbar. From the time of his meeting the old clerk at the Waterloo terminus, he had never ceased to think of Henry Dunbar.
He never once thought of his brother: not so much even as to wonder whether the stroke had been fatal,—whether the old man was yet dead. ”

“ Gundolph Lane, sir," returned Joseph; "I have a letter for you from Mr. Balderby. I came to meet you, and to be of service to you."
Henry Dunbar looked at him doubtfully.
"You are not one of the clerks in St. Gundolph Lane?" he said.
"No, Mr. Dunbar."
"I thought as much; you don't look like a clerk; but who are you, then?"
"I will tell you presently, sir. I am a substitute for another person, who was taken ill upon the road. But there is no time to speak of that now. I came to be of use to you. Shall I see after your luggage?" ”

“ Almost every one on the course knew that crest of an armed hand clasping a battle-axe, and knew that it belonged to Henry Dunbar. The banker appeared so very seldom in public that there was always a kind of curiosity about him when he did show himself; and between the races, people who were strolling upon the ground contrived to approach very near the carriage in which the master of Maudesley Abbey sat, wrapped in Cashmere shawls, and half-hidden under a great fur rug, in legitimate Indian fashion. ”

“ How dared this shabby-looking man, with clumsy boots that were queer about the heels, and a mangy fur collar, like the skin of an invalid French poodle, to his threadbare coat—how in the name of all that is audacious, dared such a low person as this lay his dirty fingers upon the sacred shoulder of Henry Dunbar of Dunbar, Dunbar, and Balderby's banking-house, St. Gundolph Lane, City?
The millionaire turned, and grew as ashy pale at sight of the shabby stranger as he could have done if the sheeted dead had risen from one of the graves near at hand. ”

“ So Henry Dunbar had been obliged to submit himself to the decrees of Fate, and to lie day after day, and night after night, upon his bed in the tapestried chamber, staring at the fire, or the figure of his valet and attendant; nodding in the easy-chair by the hearth; or listening to the cinders falling from the grate, and the moaning of the winter wind amongst the bare branches of the elms.
The banker was getting better and stronger every day, Arthur Lovell said. His attendants were able to remove him from one chamber to another ”

“ Dunholm was the possession of a man who stood for all that was first and highest in the land, dignity, learning, exalted character, generosity, honour. He and the late Lord Mount Dunstan had been born in the same year, and had succeeded to their titles almost at the same time. There had arrived a period when they had ceased to know each other. All that the one man intrinsically was, the other man was not. All that the one estate, its castle, its village, its tenantry, represented, was the antipodes of that which the other stood for. ”

“ Arthur Lovell had taken out his pocket-book, and was making notes of the verger's evidence.
The old man went on to describe his having shown Mr. Dunbar all over the cathedral. He made no mention of that sudden faintness which had seized upon the Anglo-Indian at the door of one of the chapels; but he described the rich man's manner as having been affable in the extreme. He told how Henry Dunbar had loitered at the door of the cathedral, and afterwards lingered in the quadrangle, waiting for the coming of his servant. He told all this with many encomiums upon the rich man's pleasant manner. ”

“ Not only so, but, in utter fearlessness of human presence, they began a series of wild antics, which culminated in their forming living chains, one holding on to the other's tail, and then they let themselves down from the lofty trees until they were actually within reach of the people below.
One of these animated chains swung to and fro so near to Donalblane that he thought the grinning, grasping creatures meant to attack him, and he drew his cutlass to strike at them, when happily Mr. Paterson divined his intention, and with a quick movement caught his arm. ”

“ There was no such thing as bustle and confusion in a household organized like that of Mr. Dunbar. The valet packed his master's portmanteau and dressing-case; the carriage came round to the gravel-drive before the porch at the appointed moment; and five minutes afterwards Mr. Dunbar came out into the hall, with his greatcoat closely buttoned over his broad chest, and a leopard-skin travelling-rug flung across his shoulder.
Round his waist he wore the chamois-leather belt which he had made with his own hands at the Clarendon Hotel. ”

“ Everybody knew who Miss Dunbar was, and that she was going to be married to the young baronet; and people looked with interest at that pale face, keeping such anxious watch at the carriage-window. I am speaking now of the simple country people, for whom a race meant a day's pleasure. There were people on the other side of the course who cared very little for Miss Dunbar or her anxiety; who would have cared as little if the handsome young baronet had rolled upon the sward, crushed to death under the weight of his chestnut mare, so long as they themselves were winners by the event. ”

“ Dunborough were no more than forty yards behind him when he fell; in five seconds the man had sprung from his saddle, let his horse go, and was at his master's side. There were trees there, and the darkness in the shadow, where Sir George lay across the roots of one of them, was intense. The man could not see his face, nor how he lay, nor if he was injured; and calling and getting no answer, he took fright and cried to Mr. Dunborough to get help.
But Mr. Dunborough had ridden straight on without pausing or drawing rein, and the man, finding himself deserted, wrung his hands in terror. ”

“ The heir-at-law would have gnashed his teeth in impotent rage had he known the crisis which came to pass in the baronet's life a short time after Mr. Dunbar's return from India; a crisis very common to youth, and very lightly regarded by youth, but a solemn and a fearful crisis notwithstanding.
The master of Jocelyn's Rock fell in love. All the poetry of his nature, all the best feelings, the purest attributes of an imperfect character, concentrated themselves into one passion, Sir Philip Jocelyn fell in love. ”

“ Sutherland's arm. "There's naethin' like that in Scotland."
"No, indeed, Donald," responded Mr. Sutherland, smiling at the boy's enthusiasm. "It's very different from Scotland, and far more beautiful; and if its fulfilment only equals its promise we shall have done well to come here."
By a clever bit of strategy Donalblane managed to get into the first boat that left the ship, and, curled up in the bow, waited until they touched ground, when he sprang out, recking naught of wet feet so long as he was really the first one of the expedition to set foot on the New World. ”

“ The chief looked searchingly at the trader and at the trader's brigade, as if to read their intent.
"Strong Father," he declared, "the lodges of my people are open to you. My heart is right toward you in spite of the high words of my son and the White Squaw. They would have me think you walk against my wigwams to do me harm. Tell them whence you have voyaged. Perhaps even now you are come from the Stern Father by the Holy Lake!"
"That is so," admitted Dunvegan. "I come from Oxford House and from the Factor, him you call the Stern Father. ”