Milfield Greys

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1854 September After the Highland Society’s Cattle Shew at Berwick, Tel Meuricoffre Hatty Grey and Emily had been here (1) my dear clever wife went to Edinbro with me, I went next morning to Falkirk tryst, bought a lot of kyloes got them sent off, and went on to Glasgow, I soon met Elizabeth at the station, she having come in company with General Sir John Grey of Mirwick/Morwich? ; we joined Mr Barchem, of China and Shanghaugh trade, next morning we all started, went to Stirling, where we saw the finely situated castle, and view around the country, which I had known before from the bridge of Allen, we dined and went forward on the box of an omnibus to , the Highlands, by Callander and a pretty ride by Loch Venachar “where Venachar in silver breaks” and then “the Bridge of Turk was won” and then we passed “the copswood gray that waved and wept on Loch Achnay” (2) we got tea and slept at a comfortable new Inn before reaching the Trosachs, before dark, taking a pleasant walk with a gentlemanly ?gruff American, up a pretty glen, with several small waterfalls, to which we clambered by help of branch and stone, next morning we went on the front of a coach, through the Trosachs, which is wild and pretty indeed and waited for some time at the end of the lake, Loch Katrine, where it is studded with pretty little wooded islands, one shewn as that of

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“Lady of the Lake”, we then took ship and sailed by “the pine trees blue, on the Cold/bold? cliffs of Benvenue” after that the sail is pleasant but Tame, green, grassy, sloping banks, at the top of the lake there was a scramble to get out and get possession of some conveyance Mr Barchem jumped on the quay, and my wife more active than the dames soon followed and I after with the bags, we got a car, and in cavalcade with many others trundled across the country, an open moor with the Alps of Arrochar in the distance, to Inversnaid where there is a pretty cascade falling into Loch Lomond, we got some cold salmon, the house was full, the down steamer broken down, no beds to be had for half the company, we hired a row boat, and two highlanders, and had a sweet pull down the lake for several miles to Rowardennan, where we took a walk out in the dusk, and were eaten by mosquitoes, we started early in the morning on ponies and with a boy guide on foot, and rode up to the top of Ben Lomond, on looking down on the Lake the sun rising on the glass like water, studded with islands, and the high sea of hills beyond, it is very beautiful, on the very top there were flitting clouds which we had to wait for passing away to see the far and high hills, the ponies came down very steadily, we got steamer and came down to the foot of the Lake, got sail to Dumbarton got steamer again up the Clyde to Glasgow, got letters from the children, and went home next day.

(1) Harriet Grey, George’s sister married Tell Meuricoffre, (a Swiss banker) in August 1854, then went to live with him in Naples. Emily was youngest of his 6 sisters born in 1836. She married her first husband in 1856 aged 20.

(2) From The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott