Opis: History of the County of Fife, Vol. 2 - Leighton John M.

Excerpt from History of the County of Fife, Vol. 2: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time

The vale in which the gentle Eden meanders slowly amid green and fertile banks, is of great and varied beauty; and nothing can be more enchanting than to ascend one or other of the heights in the neighbourhood of Cupar, when the summer sun is about to drop into the west, and gaze upon the soft golden tinted loveliness presented by the how of Fife, which commences in the west at the base of the Lomond hills, and terminates to the east in the low grounds around St Andrews.

Nor are the natural beauties of this fine district its only charm. The parish of Cupar and the surrounding district is rich in localities connected with events, circumstances, or individuals never to be forgotten, and affording subjects of thought and reflection to even the most ordinary minds. From the top of Tarvit hill, or as it is now called Wemyss-hall hill, these objects attract our attention in every direction. In the distant west, at the bottom of the Lomond hills, we see all that remains of the royal palace of Falkland, where so many of Scotland's sovereigns of the Stewart race sought pleasant retirement from the cares of governing a turbulent kingdom, or of attempting to reconcile the differences of a still more turbulent nobility. How often have these grey walls resounded with music and dancing How often been the scene of hospitable feast, and long protracted, yet merry wassail Over these fields which skirt the Eden, then a royal forest, our ancient kings followed the chace with hound and horn, or flew the hawkat its winged prey. At one time the only sound heard throughout these forest glades was the wild buck's bell, or the call of the various birds which then frequented them to their mates; at another they were the scene of mirth and sport. There the proudest names in Scotland's history followed their prince in peaceful and animating sport There beauty took the field, hawk on arm, and knighly valour bowed subservient to its influence. But alas! Falkland palace was not always a scene of joy; we think on James IV., James V., and the beautiful Mary, and we think of crime, of folly, of misery, captivity, and early death!

Nearer us, in the same direction, appears the manse of Cults. There the great painter of our age, the poetic yet graphic Wilkie, was born and spent his early years. Amid these gently sloping hills and sweet valleys, he studied nature, and imbibed that love of truth and simplicity which he has since, so beautifully in some instances and so grandly in others, developed. Still nearer us in the same direction is the ancient tower of Scotstarvet. There resided Sir John Scott of Scotstarvet one of the directors of the Chancery in the reign of Charles I., who was, says Nisbet, "a bountiful patron of men of learning, who came to him from all quarters, so that his house became a kind of college."

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Szczegóły: History of the County of Fife, Vol. 2 - Leighton John M.

Nazwa: History of the County of Fife, Vol. 2 From the Earliest Period to the Present Time (Classic Reprint)
Autor: Leighton John M.
Wydawnictwo: FB &c Ltd
Kod paskowy: 9781332513628
Języki: angielski
Ilość stron: 330
Format: 15.2x22.9cm
Oprawa: Miękka

Recenzje: History of the County of Fife, Vol. 2 - Leighton John M.