On a sloping bank overhanging the river, with the Selkirk hills behind, Scott built at first a small villa, now the western wing of the castle. Afterward, as his income increased, he added the remaining portions of the building, on no uniform plan, but with the desire of combining in it some of the features of those ancient works of Scottish architecture which he most venerated. The result is a singularly picturesque and irregular pile, such an one as nobody but Scott would have thought of erecting, yet eminently imposing in its general effect, and in most of its details full of historic interest and beauty.

In a letter to his brother-in-law, Mr. Carpenter, Scott describes his new property, adding :

I intend building a small cottage here for my summer abode, being obliged by law, as well as by inclination, to make this country my residence for some months of every year. This is the greatest incident which has lately taken place in our domestic concerns, and I assure you we are not a little proud of being greeted as laird and lady of Abbotsford."

The greatest practical romance of Scott's life was the improvement of the almost sterile soil and the construction of the quaint, picturesque edifice, as much castle as mansion, of Abbotsford. The most fascinating scheme among all the wild dreams of his fancy, it has been said, was to purchase lands; to raise himself a fairy castle; to become, not the minstrel of a lord as were many of those of old, but a minstrel-lord himself. The practical romance grew. On the banks of the Tweed began to rise the fairy castle, quaint and beautiful. Lands were added to lands; over hill and dale spread the dark embossment of future woods; Abbotsford was spoken of far and wide.

If you expect a great castle you will be disappointed. It is described as resembling an old French château, with its miniature towers and small windows grafted upon an Elizabethan mansion. It occupies considerable ground, but is deficient in massiveness and loftiness. On a castellated gateway is hung an iron collar used for holding culprits by the neck brought from Thrieve

Castle, the ancient seat of the Douglases in Galloway. The mansion shows portico, bay windows of painted glass, battlemented gables and turrets. There is a good deal of carved work on the corbels and escutcheons. Through a light screen of freestone, finely carved and arched, the garden and greenhouse may be seen. all sides, except toward the river, the house connects itself with the garden, according to an old, picturesque

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fashion. On the right hand of the portico is a carved image of Scott's favorite dog, Maida; on the left, a Gothic fountain from the old cross of Edinburgh. A square tower is ascended by steps from the outside; at the other end is a round tower covered with ivy. The house is more than one hundred and fifty feet long in front, and its walls abound in heraldic and other carvings. There is a balcony ranging along the whole front, where during dinner John of Skye, the wild piper, used to strut to and fro playing Scotch airs.

The porch, upon which gigantic stags' horns are fastened, opens into a fine hall, forty feet long and twenty feet wide and high, lined with dark oak wainscot richly carved. The ceiling is a series of arches, also of carved oak, with an armorial shield emblazoned in colors and metals, upon the centre of each beam. Around the cornice are two rows of escutcheons, bearing the arms of thirty or forty of the old chieftains of the border. A running inscription all around in black letter reads as follows:

"These be the coat arms of the Clannis and chief men of name wha keepit the marchys of Scotland in the auld time for the Kynge. Trewe were they in their tyme, and in their defense God them defendit."

Over and round a doorway are the shields of Scott's particular personal friends. The room is crowded with curiosities ancient armor, cuirasses and eagles from Waterloo, helmets and spurs, historic swords, and massive chairs.

The other show apartments are the drawing-room, dining-room, breakfast-room, armory, library, and study.