opinion, that this hill bore the name of Arthur's Sate, before the end of the fifteenth century, and quotes Kennedy's flyting with Dunbar, in Ramsay's Evergreen, vol ii. p. 65. Upon turning up a copy of the Evergreen, printed at Edinburgh, in 1761, we see no reason to suppose this Flyting to be older than the sixteenth century. Dunbar's Dregy, is said to have been “made to King James V. in Stirling Castle."-p. 41. This must have been after 1513; notwithstanding, Chalmers is probably right, for the name of the hill seems, at that time, to be quite familiar, thou sall be brint With pik, tar, fyre, gun-powder and lint, On Arthur-Sate, or ony hicher hill. We have met with no document, in which it is distinguished by the name of Arthur's Seat, that can be supposed older than the reign of James IV. As this gallant monarch delighted in chivalry, and was partial to the tales of minstrels, so he was also a great admirer of Arthur, and his Round Table; and we think it probable, that the name was given to this romantic hill by James IV. in honour of Arthur, on account of the tilts and tourneys held in its vicinity; and the name would readily be adopted, in compliment to a prince so generally beloved. Barbour and Winton, were well acquainted with the Arthur of romance. At a later period, Sir David Lindsay, in his Complaynt of the Papingo, makes her take leave of Stirling Castle thus: Adew fair Snowdoun with thy towris hie, Thy chapell royall, park, and tabyll round. And in his Dreme, he mentions his having diverted James V. when young, with " deidis martiall,” – antique stories and Of Hector, Arthur, and gentle Julius, By this we see, that Sir David Lindsay reckons Arthur among the most celebrated heroes of antiquity. The oldest of these authorities, being later than the era of the Pendragon by 700 years, proves nothing; and, altogether, they only shew that the Arthur of romance had become famous by the end of the twelfth century. Nennius wrote, A. D. 858, or 316 years after the Pendragon is said to have fallen in the battle of Camlan, in 542; yet he makes no mention of this hero; for, the chapter concerning Arthur is an addition, and inserted after the words, Hic expliciunt gesta Britonum, a Nennio conscripta, “Here are unfolded the affairs of the Britons, written by Nennius." This circumstance seems to have escaped Whitaker, who did not observe that the chapter on Arthur is an addition taken from Geoffrey of Monmouth, who wrote about 1150, an author whose work is filled with fables, and who, probably, is the father of the Arthur of romance. Bede wrote about 190 years after the fall of the Pendragon, but makes no mention of him. This hero was unknown to Gildas, the first British author, and whose work is the chief authority for the times in which he lived: yet he must have been a contemporary of the supposed Arthur; for he tells us, chap. 26, that he was born in the year of the battle of Badon, that is, in 520, and he wrote, as he there says, 40 years after it, or in 560. In the Life of Gildas, published by Mabillon, from a MS. in the library of Fleury Abbey, it is mentioned, that Gildas was born at Arclyd, (Alclyd,) or Dunbritton; and that his father Caunus, (Caw, or Cawn,) was king of that country, (Strathclyde,) and was succeeded by his son Hoel. According to the Welsh Triads, this Hoel, or Houail, was driven from his kingdom by the Pendragon, who conquered the Strathclyde Britons, and afterward occasionally resided in his palace, at Pen-rhyn-Ryoneth, or Dunbarton Castle, where Gildas was born, and where his father and his brother had reigned. If Arthur had performed the feats ascribed to him, between 508 and 542, to us it appears incredible, that Gildas would not have mentioned them; but he takes no notice of such a personage, and his silence satisfies us that Arthur never existed.-Art-uir, (Arthur,) in British, signifies the Chief, or Great-man; and appears to have been a name given, by the Welsh, to Aurelius Ambrosius, their Roman defender against the Saxons.-Gildas, chap. 25. Bede says, Aurelius Ambrosius was the last of the Romans by birth, that reigned in Britain.—Bede, i. 16. We were led to make inquisition concerning Arthur and Vanora, from the sculptured pillars at Meigle being supposed to be the monument of the British queen. That this was one of the fictions of Boece, we never doubted; but, when we entered upon the inquiry, it was with the impression, that Arthur was not altogether an imaginary being; though we could not understand how Scotland should have been the place of his sojourn, at a time when the Welsh could hardly maintain their ground against the Saxons. When we consulted the authors who believed in the existence of Arthur, we were surprised to find the evidence of his entity so deficient; and, as the subject is curious, we have quoted the passages, or referred to the authorities, from which our conclusion is drawn. It remains, that we make a few observations on the Pictish monuments. In various parts of Scotland, but chiefly on the east side, from the river Tay to the county of Sutherland, there are found singular erect stones, generally with crosses on one side, and upon the other sculptures; which are far from being ill executed for a barbarous age. These chiefly abound in the county of Angus, which may be regarded as the centre of Pictavia; but the most remarkable are certainly those to be seen at Meigle, already described. At Essie, between Glammis and Meigle, there is a pillar of the same kind, on which is represented a hunting match. This stone is now placed in the wall of the churchyard. There is one at Glammis, on which are sculptured deer and cattle; and on the reverse, salmon and other fish. Pinkerton is of opinion, that these point to the sources of wealth of the distinguished persons to whose memory they were erected; but we cannot agree with him in thinking this probable. In Pictish times, and long afterward, there was no wealth in Scotland, in the shape of money. The riches of the country did consist of cattle and deer, horses, and perhaps bee-hives, with the rude produce of the soil; but the fisheries were neglected before the arrival of the Saxons, in the beginning of the 12th century; and at no period could a lord of Glammis have acquired wealth by the salmon that could be taken in Dean Water. Under the salmon, on the pillar last mentioned, is a mirror, which always indicates a female. On a stone which was found at Dunnichen there is a mirror, and also a comb. The same symbols occur on another, of which an engraving may be seen in Cordiner's Picturesque Antiquities; and on which is also represented a lady riding out to hunt, with two footmen blowing horns, and two other attendants on horse back. The sculptured pillar at Glammis may perhaps have been erected in honour of Malcolm II. or to the memory of his queen. The fables told by Pennant, and others, have been formerly noticed. A number of these pillars bear the names of saints, in honour of whom they seem to have been erected. At Cossens, about a mile north-east from Glammis Castle, there is St Orland's Stone, on which symbolical characters are rudely delineated. Five miles north-west from Dundee, in the north end of the parish of Strathmartin, there is a large upright pillar, called St Martin's Stone: there is another at the west gate of the churchyard, with the figures of two serpents carved upon it. The stone near Newburgh, called Cross Macduff, seems to have formerly borne the name of St Macgriddel, or Macgirdle, and it may have been erected in honour of that saint. At Baldowrie, in the vicinage of Cupar Angus, and about a mile east of Halyburton House, there is an upright pillar, standing 6 feet above the ground; but the rude sculpture is almost defaced. Four miles south-west from Cupar Angus, in a field near the village of Cargill, there is a religious monument, consisting of upright stones, whereon are carved the moon and stars. One of the most interesting of the Pictish monuments was discovered about 30 years ago, at Pitmachie, in Aberdeenshire, being the second stage from Aberdeen on the road to Huntly. In a small thicket near the road were two pillars, standing 6 feet above the ground, and composed of small-grained granite, while the soil in the vicinity rests upon red sand-stone. Various symbolical figures are carved on these pillars; but the stone on which a serpent is sculptured has now been removed to the adjacent House of Newton. Upon the |