SCOTLAND.

The sojourn of the Queen and Prince Albert at Blair Atholl Castle has been marked by the expected privacy, and, it should seem, by fully the expected enjoyment of the wild retreat. The Royal rustica- ters have been constantly in the open air ; walking in the neighbour- hood of the Castle, or riding in an open carriage, Prince Albert being the driver ; with a few Lords and others in attendance on horseback. In the course of an excursion up the romantic Glen Tilt, on Thursday last week, the Queen went into a field where some reapers were busy cutting down oats. Her Majesty and Prince Albert entered into con- versation with them for some time, and appeared to be " much amused." Afterwards the Queen and Lady Glenlyon went into a cottage and had some bread and milk. Another version makes the " cottage " a " hut," and varies the incidents—" The gudewife was spinning, and the Queen sat down and conversed with her very affably for some time. The inmates did not know the rank of their visiters, and, in accordance with the ens- tom, they put a bottle and glass on the table, and asked them to taste the mountain-dew." We are not told whether the visiters did taste the whisky.

Prince Albert extends his exercise to the more hardy field-sports of shooting and deer-stalking in the Highlands. The day after he arrived, a large quantity of powder and shot was brought to the Castle ; and it has not been spared.

The Princess Royal also has her share of healthful activity. A pony with a chair-saddle is placed at her use ; and she is constantly seen riding and running about the "policies." The Highland guard always present arms to the little girl when she approaches them ; and as she runs hither and thither, the mountain soldiers are much more frequently called upon to pay that military devoir to the child than to her august parents.

On Saturday, the Queen remained almost entirely within the Castle walls. While the Highlanders were changing guard, her Majesty walked between the ranks, and expressed her approval of their appear- ance.

The officers on duty for the day join the Royal party at dinner ; and on Friday a curious relic was exhibited to the Sovereign of the House of Brunswick-

" The Master of Strathallan wears the sword which his great-grandfather wielded at the battle of Culloden, where he fell; and her Majesty, on learn- ing the circumstance, made various inquiries relative to the history of the weapon, and the use made of it by his brave ancestor. After answering her Majesty's inquiries, young Strathallan is said to have added, with much gallantry, that he was ready to defend her Majesty, to the last drop of his blood, with the same good sword which had formerly been drawn against her Royal ancestors."

Another incident on the same day was less decorous-

" On the return of her Majesty to the Castle, a Scotch peasant, who had been evincing his loyalty in copious libations in honour of the Queen, staggered into the Castle, and entered the room where the illustrious party were assembled, with far less ceremony and discrimination than were displayed by the boy Jones.' The intruder was forthwith handed over to the tender mercies of the local police."

On Sunday, in spite of the unceasing rain, the Queen and Prince Albert attended divine service in the parish-church ; and there was something remarkable in this Royal visit to the humble edifice.

The pariah-church of Blair Athol] is an unpretending building, situate on the main road about a quarter of a mile from the Castle, and very nearly ad- joining the new road which has been made through the grounds for her Ma- hesty's accommodation. A number of workmen had been engaged until a late our on Saturday night in fitting up the chieftain's pew, which on this °m- ai= was destined for the use of the Queen. Fresh cushions were placed on all the seats, and it was lined throughout with red velvet ; and every preparation that the most careful attention could devise was made to render it fit for the reception of its illustrious occupant. On alighting, at twelve o'clock, her Majesty was conducted by Lord Glen- lyon to his pew; and shortly after another of the royal carriages drew up to the church, containing Lord Aberdeen, Lord Liverpool, Lord Charles Weller ley, Mr. G. Anson, and Sir James Clarke. The chieftain, in Highland dress, with Lady Glenlyon, sat beside Lady Canning, in the front-seat with her Ma- jesty ; Prince Albert on the seat behind ; the chief persons of the suite were in the same pew. Upon these feudal principles, also, which even on the present occasion were not departed from, places were assigned on the back of the pew for Lord Glenlyon's steward and some few of the principal members of hit household. Divine service then commenced, according to the Presbyterian form of wor- ship. A psalm was first sung, in excellent time and tune ; the minister, Mr. Irvine, delivered an extempore prayer ; after which another psalm was sung; and the sermon followed, Mr. Irvine taking his text from the 13th verse of the 5th chapter of Matthew—" Ye are the salt of the earth." The sermon, was a plain straightforward discourse, devoid of all flourishes of rhetoric, and was delivered in a broad Scotch accent ; but Mr. Irvine's enunciation was se clear and distinct that every word was perfectly intelligible to the English por- tion of the congregation. He had the good taste to abstain from those pulpit panegyrics and personal allusions which on former occasions had been dis- tasteful to the Queen. In the short prayer at the close, the Queen and Royal Family were mentioned as a matter of course ; but beyond this there was no allusion, either directly or indirectly, to the presence of the Sovereign among the congregation. The whole service was very simple ; and the people were devoutly attentive, notwithstanding that the presence of the Queen was such re temptation to wandering eyes. Her Majesty pail the deepest attention during the service ; which, it is understood, much gratified her from its simplicity. There was a second sermon, in Gaelic, for those who did not understanfl, English ; but the Queen and the previous congregation did not stay for it. After the service, according to a custom still existing in some parts of Scot- land, wooden boxes attached to thin poles, and called " ladles" by the Scotch, were handed into all the pews, in order that every member of the congregation might contribute his mite towards the support of the parochial poor. Her Ma. jesty appeared to look with great interest at this method of collecting alma, which was explained to her by Lady Glenlyon ; and Prince Albert was evi- dently anxious to contribute ; but a plate being placed at the door, at the entrance of the chieftain's pew, the Royal party were able to leave the* donations on going out of the church. The Queen was conducted to her carriage by Lord Glenlyon; an umbrella being in over her Majesty to protect her from the rain, which continued to pour in ceaseless torrents. She was fortunately provided with India-rubber; goloshes, needful guard against a cold ; as the thick, muddy, newly-laid gravel, through which all were compelled to pass, was but little adapted, to lightly- shod ladies.

After two attempts, frustrated by bad weather, the Queen succeeded, on Monday—a splendid day—in going to see the famed Falls of Bruar,

The Bruar water, which forms these celebrated falls, crosses the Inverness road between two and three miles beyond Blair. Immediately on the other side of the bridge over which the high-road passes, there is a pathway to the right, leading along the bank of the stream. At a distance of forty or fifty yards from the bridge, a gate is placed across the pathway, by the side of a Rice turesque-looking cottage; where resides a woman who acts as guide to tourists coming to see the falls. Passing through the gate, the traveller enters a Manta, tion M fir and larch, which continues up to the top of the pass ; walks whirl; have been made, affording the spectator the most favourable points of view. The falls themselves (for they are many in number) form a really magnificent picture. The aides of the pass rise abruptly from the bed of the torrent, which has worn a path for itself, leaving immense rugged masses of stone overhanging the stream. The tops, and partly the sides of these precipices, are covered with fir, larch, and beech, which clothe them with a beautiful green. The Bruar water (which was now swelled by the recent rains to more than ite usual summer volume) rushes through this pass in an impetuous torrent; sometimes turning aside to avoid an impediment, at others wearing its way through natural arches formed during long time by its own incessant force, and now again leaping over the masses of rock in falls of one hundred or two hundred feet. From almost every point of view the pass presents a grand and imposing aspect. Seen from the bottom, the long succession of cataracts looks interminable; and from the summit you have a splendid view of the whole* pass; the quiet country and blue hills beyond forming a placid relief to the grandeur of the rushing and roaring waters. A. garden-chair was taken to the falls, and in it the Queen was drawn up the greater part of the steep pathway ; the others of the party walking, and Lord Glenlyon acting as guide. Her Majesty ascended to the very top of the pass, and expressed her admiration.

On Tuesday, the whole party at the Castle went to the Pass of Kile liecrankie, which the Queen had admired on her journey ; her M. jesty riding in a pony-phaeton. Thence they proceeded to the Felts of the Tummel. The Queen alighted, and walked down the Pass for nearly a mile, and back again ; walking fast, and seeming in excellent health and spirits. Her Majesty sat for twenty minutes in the stone chair at the top of the Falls. The country-people at the place are said to have been struck with the smallness of her foot-print ; which they measured, and recorded with delight.

On Wednesday morning, the Queen and Prince Albert rode out on mountain-ponies, attended only by a servant,—the Queen wearing's shepherd's plaid, Prince Albert a shooting-jacket ; forded the Garry at Inverach, ascended the hill of Tulloch, and surveyed the strath is which lies Blair Atholl, watered by the Tilt and the Garry.

The manners of the Royal couple, considerate and courteous towards the untutored but unobtrusive villagers, win their liking. But some,. times the plainness of their aspect causes disappointment ; as in the case of a Highland girl who complained that the Queen was " no sight," for that there was no difference between her and any other lady. Queen Victoria seems quite to have adopted the policy of Alcibiades, and not to disrelish the black broth of Sparta- " Her Majesty appears to have a great taste for things peculiarly Scottish. At Dunkeld, Moulinearn, and Blair, she tasted, and not only so, but, as the rev port goes, highly relished, the Athol brose which was proffered her ; and oaten cake is an established and especial favourite. Scotch broth,' as Englishmen term it, is also in daily requisition at the royal table. It is even whispered that her Majesty is not altogether unacquainted with the mysteries of Scotch • haggis."rhe English cooks are puzzled. And then as to dress, both her Majesty and the Prince, when at the Falls of Bruar, appeared in tartan plaids* and but that they are now in mourning, they would, it is said, wear tartar; dresses. To crown all, it is her Majesty's request that a bunch of fresh mountain-heather should be each morning in readiness for her, whenever she goes out to walk ; a request to which Lord Glenlyon personally attends. Thy Princess Royal, young though she be, is not slow in these things to imitate her Royal mother. Not a child in all broad Scotland likes better to lunch on milli and oaten cake, or dine on broth. Meeting the young son of Lord Glenlyon, the other day, in the Castle avenue, she told him how much she liked his tartan dress, and how it was the same as was worn by the Prince of Wales."

" Her Majesty too,"' we are told, " delighted all the gadewives of Dunkeld by the way in which she took the Princess Royal on her knees at the window there, and tied on her bonnet."

Anecdotes of the journey to Athol' continue to creep forth ; and some tote not unamusing. The Dundee Advertiser relates an incident in the stage before arriving at Caper-Angus-

" A dragoon had dismounted for the purpose of performing some service to ene of the officers, and had let go the bridle of his horse, which started off at a racing pace through the fields. The dragoon could lend no assistance in the catching of his steed; and both man and horse were required to make up the complement of the military escort. In this emergency, Colonel Kinloch, of Kiley, the Aide-de-camp of Lord Airlie, (Lord-Lieutenant of Forfarsbire,) set off in pursuit of the lost animal; and, after sundry hairbreadth escapes, the Colonel was successful in his chase, and restored the horse to its rider. The whole ' run ' was seen from the Royal carriage ; and both her Majesty and Prince Albert evidently enjoyed the scene. The Colonel is a beautiful rider, and his horsemanship was displayed to great advantage in this little inci- dent."

• The stoppage of the Royal party at Dunkeld was unexpected, and the people of the inn were thrown into some confusion by the conscious wants of their establishment for such very distinguished guests-

" The want of fit preparation for a Royal lunch," says the Glasgow Argus, " which it was presumed her Majesty and Prince Albert wished to take, was felt as a sore mishap ; and every one was running to and fro, eagerly making such preparations as the circumstances of the case would admit. The house itself was not in a condition deemed worthy of Royal visiters. The stair happened to be ancarpeted, the rooms were not garnished with decorations such as the eye of a Queen might delight to rest upon ; and in short, everything was in that state which an inn may be supposed to exhibit when it is intended not for regular company, but for a host of visiters who might find a convenient place from which to witness a passing pageant. By dint of activity, however, matters were soon arranged. A loyal draper, who lived next door, drew from one of his shelves a roll of plaiding ; which, stretched upon the stair, served admirably the purposes of a carpet ; and by the time the Royal cortege drove to the door, everything was in perfect readiness ; while the resolution of her Majesty and the Prince not to take lunch, but simply to sip a glass of Athol brose,' saved the landlord from all farther perplexity. After her Majesty's departure, the plaiding which covered the stair was purchased, at a very handsome price, by a gentleman, who declared that he would not part with it for ten times its value."

Lord Glenlyon holds his estate of the Crown on condition of present- ing a white rose to the Sovereign, should his Highland abode be ho- noured by a Royal visit. But this is not the season of white roses ; and Lord Gleolyon's right was in periL At length, however, he found two beautiful flowers of the requisite kind, and duly presented them on Queen Victoria's arrival.

The village of Blair is crammed with sight-hunters, who have pur- sued the Queen into the Highlands ; but, though they undergo the ter- rible hardships pertaining to crowded inns and had lodging, they are rarely rewarded with a sight of the truant Sovereign. Among the visiting population are not a few reporters ; five London and eight Scotch papers being named as having representatives on the spot.

The following extraordinary epistle has been forwarded to Lord Aberdeen. The writer seems to have a natural misgiving ; but it is to be doubted whether he can be "fully aware" of the spirit that per- vades it- " To the Right Honourable the Earl of Aberdeen, K.T., &c., the Great Officer of State in attendance on her Majesty in Scotland.

"My Lord—I have the honour of addressing your Lordship, as the Great Officer of State in attendance on her Majesty in Scotland, in the name of the friends of the observance of the Lord's-day in Scotland. " I am fully aware of the extreme presumption of thus addressing your Lordship, and thus venturing to approach the Royal presence ; but, having in- troated to me the confidence of those in whose name I now presume to write, and the shortness of time not permitting the gathering together of the sig- natures of all who concur in the sentiments which I express, I humbly pray that, as an individual, I may be pardoned. "It is a well-known fact, that the habits of Sabbath-observance are not in all respects the same in the Northern and Southern divisions of these king- doms; and it is equally well known that Scotland has, since the Reformation, been distinguished among the nations of Christendom as a strict Sabbath- observing country, in the true Scriptural sense of that word : and it is this important fact which, with all imaginable respect, and deference, and dutiful. ness, and loyalty, it is humbly prayed may be brought under the notice at this time of her most gracious Majesty the Queen ; not doubting that in this, as in all other respects, it is the gracious desire of the Royal mind to recognize, to respect, and to gratify the religious habits, the peculiar characteristics, and the best principles of her Majesty's most loyal and devoted subjects in this her ancient kingdom.

"It would be the highest presumption to suggest to your Lordship's con- sideration the extent of the overwhelming moral influence which the example of the Court is calculated to produce upon the religious habits of Scotland on this auspicious occasion; as it must be the Christian patriarch's confident hope that the result shall be a large increase of that righteousness which exalteth a nation, and of which, by Divine appointment, the Sabbath is the sign. " With thankfulness to Almighty God, who at another time put it into the heart of our Protestant Queen to hallow the holy day of the Lord of the Sab- bath in a foreign land,—or with prayer, in the language of the Holy Scripture, that now and ever the Sabbath may be a sign between God and her Majesty, whereby her Majesty may know that He is the Lord her God—and moreover praying that every blessing of God the Father, through our Lord. Jesus Christ, may, by the Holy Spirit, bless the Queen, " I have the honour to be, my Lord, in the name of the friends of the obser- vance of the Lord's-day in Scotland, your Lordship's most obedient and very