AN N ALS O ST F I L LAN I NC LUDI NG TOPOGR PHY ECC ESI O OGY B OT NY A , L L , A , P CE N ME EGE NDS &c. LA A S , L , A LE"AN D ER PO RTE US O , E . cot S A , S . A UTHOR OF “ ” THE TOWN COUNCI L SEALS OF SCOTLAN D and “ ” TORY O F THE H IS CRI EF F . WI TH Twen ty Ifltistratio n s f ro m Pho to g raphs tak n b A e y the uthor. 1 1 2 9 . L I S T O F I LLU S TRATI O N S AGE P . ‘ I L E n N eish sland , och ar , “ dam Eve T m A and o bstone , B id o f D n du n g g e u r , P urn arish Church , u rn M anse , m n A m Ho tel 1 8 o d r s , 44 , m n A m H 1 1 1 o d r s otel , 9 , C hurch , en f e the d A u og l a t r Floo , g u st , Cl b H e u ous , o f l n tarke n G e , Ffice 1 1 1 , 9 , 59 4 9 8 1 ENGLI SH LOCAL U S vi . LIST OF I LL STRATION . - f D n ma n R . a e o R f . C C P re e or tio h p l u d urn , T ma A ms Rev . ho s r trong , an 1 8 S t Fi ll s, 44 , an H S t Fill s ill , h a e T e V ill g S hop , Th o o d e e Cr c il , n e C U ited Fre hurch , — a En d—s w D o n H V illag e E st ho ing o ill , h Ea n Wi n ter S torm on Loc r , ARTH holds no fairer spot than St ill an s F , that village nestling under the shadow of the mountains , and resting sweetly on the eastern shore of Loch Earn . Legend and mystery have held high revel amidst the fastnesses of the surrounding mountains , but these wild tales of yore , of sanguinary struggles during the centuries that a are gone , have , with a few notable exceptions , f ded from the memories of men . Loch Earn , seven miles long and one mile broad , surrounded by mountain and glen , may fairly lay claim to be termed the gem of Scottish lochs . I t “ has been said o f it that it is a miniature and model o f scenery which might well occupy ten times its ” space . That the palm of beauty ha s been award ed to other lochs in Scotland , I am well aware , but those who applied that term to them h ad surely never seen Loch Earn , either when lying like a mirror ‘ ' 2 AN N ALS O F ST FI LLAN S . S k under a cloudless summer y , with the hills faith refl ected fully in its depths , or lashed into fury by a winter gale . At all seasons Loch Earn Shows a , beauty peculiarly its own , and in all its variegated c haracteristics of H ighland scenery it is surpassed . f F ill a n s its by none Viewed rom St , all rare love l in ess e s o appears gath red together , that the whole panorama comes at once before the eye . The , ' l mountains , rising in stately simp icity to the heavens , terminate in bold and craggy outlines , here and there diversified with precipitous masses of outstanding rock . The Slopes are scarred with chasms and ravines , while innumerable torrents , “ pouring down from above , have hollowed deep Channels for themselves , which , lower down , become fringed with trees , till at last they are lost in the deep waters of the loch . I n summer the loch often o c lies immoveably placid , its glassy surface only c a s io n ally broken by the ringed ripples of a rising trout , or a dipping insect . At other times the whole surface may be only Slightly agitated under the influence of a gentle breeze . In autumn , after n a frosty ight , and soon after sunrise , a filmy , misty Cloud frequently rolls lazily along its surface , until s u n absorbed by the yet powerful rays of the , while the purple heather and vello w bracken mingling with AN N ALS O F ST FI LLAN S . 3 the many and varied autumnal tints of the trees , clothe the hill-side with a gorgeous chromatic dis s u n play . The scene is most picturesque when the — sets on the Bra es of Balquhidder in the valley between the mountains . Many a time the orb of day sinks in a glowing mist of orange and yellow , the reflection streaming like a quivering golden bar n t down the loch . The su being s e , the narrow lines o f fi stratus , and the lmy wisps of Cirrus clouds beg in to S assume a rosy hue , which preads and deepens s k until the whole western y is a blaze of crimson , the loch borrowing the tints and becoming a bur n ished o f sheet vermilion ; while , especially in September , the hills around become grey and cold , veiled in a Shadowy bluish haze . Still later these rosy clouds appear suspended in a pale green firma ment , which gradually changes to a wan steely hue “ as the Shades of night deepen . Anon , the moon ” takes up the wondrous tale ; the hills assume a softer and more peaceful aspect , though one can imagine that in the dark shadows mystery lurks ; while , instead of a golden bar , a pure Silver stream stretches along or athwart the water . Winter S is hows it under other aspects , and nothing , or can w be , more beautiful than when , after a heavy sno s u n fall , the clouds having dispersed , and the Shines 4 AN N ALS O F ST FI LLAN S . fi rm a m en t once more in a deep azure , the loch lies like a sapphire in a pure silver setting . The principal lands situated at the east end of Loch Earn were those of Dundurn , Port of Loch Gl en ta rk a n . erne , and Dundurn makes its first f 1 appearance on o ficial record in 444 , when Andrew Mercer , the Chamberlain of Strathearn , in his 2 6 1 5 d account , acknowledged receipt of £ 3 4 , being the rent for the lands of Dundurn . In these “ ” accounts the lands of the port , or , more fully , “ “ Lo chern e the Lands of Port of , and the lands Gl en ta rk a n of , are frequently mentioned along with those of Dundurn . The latter name is Spelled . vx a s . a s D zm n edu m in various y Thus we find it , ’ z n c u e B a n daw e D u n dr une D u n du r n e D zm ~ D m a m , , , , ’ dr u m r D r u ma ozm , o , which latter peculiar spelling o f appears in the account of Peter Scott , Monzie , I s t y 1 2 2 o tb 1 2 6 . a c from J ul , 5 5, to July , 5 The o f 1 6 1 count Robert Mure , for 4 , mentions receipt of D n n edu rn e 6 5 j6 2 2 as rent from the lands of u ; £3 8d as rent from the lands of Port of Lo chern e ; and £6 3 5 4d as rent from the lands of Gl en ta rk a n . The easter island in the loch went along with the lands 1 80 of Port o f Lo ch e r n e . I n 4 the fermes or rents of D u n d ru n e (D u n du r n e) were let for a period of three v hil i o n e v ea r s to F in l a P p s , and at the same time AN N ALS O F ST FI LLAN S . those o f the Port and Gl en ta rk a n were granted to some members of the Murray family . The above F Phil i so n e inlay p was the first miller of Dundurn , and the first mill o f Dundurn was erected in or about 1 . o f 497 The account William Drummond , Cham ber l a in o f 1 Strathearn , for 49 7 , mentions the mill as an d a s F in l a s o Ph l s u n newly built , let to y y p o e for o f 2 2 . Hi three years , at a rent J6 s original name ‘ “ M N a b had been , as he is afterwards called Finlay M ‘ N Phil ” ab a lia s so n e . 1 06 p H e died about 5 , and w a s succeeded in possession of the lands and m ill his s o n Phil s n . by , John p o e At this period Dundurn to M ill was a grain mill , which the surrounding growers of corn were thirled for the grinding of w a s their grain , and it not till after the abolition — of thirlage that it became what it now is a s a w m .