HISTORIC CLAIMS.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 11382, 6 December 1930, Page 9

HISTORIC CLAIMS.

HOME OF STUART KINGS

PRE-EMINENT / AMONG SCOTTISH BARONIAL CASTLES.

LIFE IN ADJACENT VILLAGE,

. All the eyes of tho English-speak-ing world are turned toward Glamis. .(says a writer in the Christian Science Monitor), for there another member of' tho British Royal Family lias made its advent. It is the fourth Royal' grandchild,* and is, sister to four-year-old Princess Elizabeth. The other two grandchildren ore the two sons of Princess Mary and the Earl of Ha rewood.

By this time the little village near the east coast of Scotland scarcely. needs identification. -Macbeth lived there 900 years ago. Kenneth, Malcolm, Duncan and the Stuart kings made the castle their residence. And it is now the ancestral home of the Duchess of York, whose marriage to the second eon of King George and Queen Mary brought- it again into sudden promienco a few years ago. Because it had been visited by many great writers in centuries past, it has not lacked sublimated recognition.

Sir Walter Scott slept within its turreted chambers, and the bed on which he reclined, with its tartan coverlet.- faded. But in good condition. may still he se§n. Gray,, the poet, gazed over the expansive grounds from its battlement-ed towers; while Shakespeare found in Glamis the scene of one of his most engrossing- plays, * Macbeth.

The castle is in a fine state of pre-' 'serration. Its rich red sandstone has weathered well tlie wind and rain of .centuries. With walks in places sixteen feet thick, with arches hewn from the rough stone, and with passages in which the voice of Lady Macbeth has resounded, with secret chambers and lofty halls adorned by priceless works of axt, Glam is Castle is pre-eminent among the baronial mansions in Scotland. In its chapel are decorative panels unique in their way, containing as they do Biblical scenes depicted in graphic 'form. These paintings are the work of James de Witt, a Dutch artist', probably- the same painter who did ilia portraits in Holy rod Palace at the rate of a monarch a week. Tlie crypt, which is reached by ascending a narrow stout stair, contains brass-bound coffer chests, coats of mail, and. among other treasures, the leather coat won lit Graham of Claverhouse, “Bonnie Dundee.” On its walls are trophies of the hunt, which recall the - days when knights marched to the lists, .and prowess determined the mailBut while there is a never-ceasing interest in the castle, with its legend and. story, there is also much of interest in tho village. Glamis is the true land of the bagpipes. Nowhere are they heard to better effect. Stand on the Gretna Drive, a wide ribbon of turf cut through pines and firs, and listen to the music as it drifts upon tho air of a summer’s night-.

You cannot help but'tliink that, the scent of the heather, the bloom of the heather, the bloom of the bluebell and the wild beauty of bracken and gorse have stolen into chanter and drones, aucl emerged in an exquisite chorus. No wonder the Scot, remembering the sound of bagpipes in hill and glen rises in defence of bis national instrument. All the courage of the Highlander, and the imagination of the Celt seem to bo concentrated in the bag which the piper fondly carries under his arm, while his cheeks expand to the merry tune.’

Out from GUunis, about a mile distant on top of a brae that curves round- wooded land, are three rows of low dwellings, a schoolhouse and an inn. That is Charleston.' In essential features it- has changed not a whit in many generations'. Nor has.it lost any of the glamour thatsurrounded it .because of its story, its Old World air mud its hospitality. If you would know this cl a chan you must not enter it. in contemptuous mood,'for its secret's are liot to those who boast a. superior air. Step inside one of its dwellings;- with its stoneflagged floor, - ami von will see a mere hut and bon, - where a woman perhaps is cooking jam, the black currants boiling in the pot. “Preo nia jam,” • she’ll say, in a “Press'ma jam,” she’ll say, to you. And as she extends the spoon, you will easily ‘ comprehend' lifer 4 meaning. If you are not. of the dialect ' difficult -even - for .Scots and of the meticulous persuasion who demand the -refinements of the dining hall, you may'even be invited to an honest meal of Scotch kail and'bannocks, or oatdakes and jam. Such - is the generous kindness that , greets the visitor in the hills.- Should you be fortunate enough to see Charleston in a gay mood, you may join in a dance in the schoolroom, where kerosene lamps still satisfy humble requirements, and men and- maids hop and swing, indifferent io the passing hours. .

There was a time, and that not so long ago, when a visit to Glamis entailed a long journey. Trains ran infrequently, and, although the distance as the crow flies is only twelve miles from Dundee, tbp trip demanded two changes, one. at-. Newtyle,

and ■ the .other at AlytfiJunction* while the'circuitous "route which t-lio train .followed meant at least half, a

day in travel.;' . .•• - , Now the trip is made'iu ;lialf. an hour bv • motorbus, -' and' the price is cut in .two.’... The" improvement is certain, to make Glnaniji more popular. But no one would. care to •• see' the village modernised * for its - charm lies in its 'tranquility; and antiquity. Sadly missed are. the Vfor esters .who carved in oak, on-winter - evenings, stories 'in • wood ■of ‘the ■ meeting', of Scott .and Burns,' arid -Vho .depicted on plaques' and furniture, scenes in the songs of Scotland’s . national bard. - "

Sadly missed also is * shop in the square, where everything from a needle to an anchor,, fcould-be purchased on demand. Gfemis is a relio of the pa.st, preserved with, an engaging 'freshness*/.lts burns, still ripple as they did of yore, its bubbling springs stake tKe'thirst of the weary, while its bracken-covered woods echo to the song of the'.birds. No one with a lovejof the ■ beautiful would see Glamis "changed, and least of all the-Royal visitors : who now, mqke residence there.. * w.w.o,