with the past of a once strong and hardy race of
people will be the mere traces of their cultivation, the ruins of their
once populous hamlets, and the grave-stones in their old
burying-grounds.

It is true there is a compensating process going on. For while one
regrets the disappearance of the old thatched houses of the primitive
village of St. Fillans and the migration of their youthful life to the
city, the rise of the modern villa along the loch side speaks of the
growth of a temporary population known as the "summer visitors." It
is not likely that their peaceful pursuits--their climbing and pic-nic
expeditions, their regattas and loch illuminations, will be considered
to be as worthy to be recorded in a future "Book of Chronicles" as the
feuds and raids of the past. Still, it is to be hoped that this land
of "brown heath and shaggy wood" may even in this innocent way minister
to the rearing of a healthy manhood and womanhood, and continue to be
the nursery of that muscular body and brave spirit which in the past
have made the name of Caledonia great.

[1] _Proceedings of the Antiquarian Society_, 1882-83.

[2] Fortrenn seems to have been the ancient name of a large district of
Strathearn, of which Dundurn, or the fort of the Earn, was the capital.

THE PLAIN OF THE BARDS

By Rev. ARTHUR GORDON, M.A., Monzievaird

To supply even in brief outline a sketch of the united parishes of
Monzievaird and Strowan is to cover many centuries and to recall some
extraordinary events and remarkable persons. These parishes comprise
an area of about eight miles long by six miles broad, and on the map
somewhat resemble a pear. The scenery varies from the bare summit of
Benchonzie, the limit on the north, where the highest elevation is
reached at 3048 feet, and the wood-crowned Turleum, 1291 feet high,
where "wind and water sheers," the southern boundary, down to the
well-cultivated and nearly level carse, which lies all the way between
Crieff and Comrie at about two hundred feet above the sea. The little
hills abound with coigns of vantage, rewarding the pedestrian; while
even the driving tourist finds a rich harvest for the eye in the
wonderfully diversified landscape presented on all sides. The River
Earn, if it lacks the majesty of the Tay and the impetuosity of the
Garry, makes itself recognised as the dominating feature, whether in
its quiet meandering moods or in the flooded temper, overflowing its
ban