Gazetteer of Scotland

STI
connected by the famous wall of An-
toninus; (vide Antoninus' Wall.)
In this county the heroes of Offian
perfoi"med many of their heroic ex-
ploits, and here fought againft the Ro-
mans under Caracalla, who is named
" the fon of the king of the world."
•Near Bannoekburn was fought the
eventful battle between Robert Bruce
and Edward I., which finally defeated
the fchemes of the Engliih monarch
for uniting the whole ifland by con-
queft under his fovereignty. Conti-
guous to this is the Torivood, famous
for being the hiding-place of the re-
nowned Sir William Wallace. Near
Falkirk, two famous battles were
fought ; one wherein Wallace and
the Scots were defeated,' and the o-
ther where the adherents of the Stuart
family met with a total defeat in 1745.
On the banks of the Carron are the
hills of Dunipace, reprefented by Buch-
annan as " the hills of peace," where
national caufes of great importance
have been decided, often by great
monarchs in perfon, and where the
-treaties of peace were wont to be
figned. But a late celebrated anti-
quarian, Sir James Foulis, conjec-
tures, with equal probability, that
the name is "a corruption of Dunabas,
*' the hills of death," where the pri-
foners of war in thefe barbarous ages
were immolated, to fatisfy the re-
venge of the injured country. The
caftle of Stirling has frequently fu-
ftained the molt lengthened fieges re-
corded in the annals of Scotland. But,
happily for thefe days, the fcene is
changed ; inftead of gloomy caftles,
and fields of blood, we fee the arts
of peace converting to human ufe
even the rudeft materials of nature.
Now the <wall of Antoninus, that mo-
nument of Roman invafion, is almoft
entirely dernolilhed by the plough-
share. Here the Caledonian tramples
on the ruin of. Roman ambition, and
unfettered commerce occupies the
feat of imperious' ufurpation. Inftead
of that wall, which put a barrier be-
twixt two countries that nature in-
tended to be united, we have the
great canal running parallel to it,
which unites the eaftern to the weft-
en", feas, that nature had disjoined.
Inftead of a barrier, which prevented
even amicable intercourfe, we have a
navigable canal, that facilitates com-
STI
merce, and calls forth the true riches
of the country ; and the Carron river,
having long ceafed to roll its waters
in the din of arms, now lends its aid
to the molt extenfive manufactures ;
(vide Carron.) Stirlingfhire con-
tains one royal borough, viz. Stir-
ling, the county town; the confi-
derable burghs of barony of Falkirk
and St. Ninians, and feveral large
villages ; of which the principal are
Larbert, Kippen, Kilfyth, Buchlyvie,
Airth, Campfie, and Killearn. Numer-
ous feats and plantations are inter-
fperfed throughout, and enrich the
appearance of the whole county. Stir-
iingfnire is divided into 22 parochial
diftricTis, which, by the returns to Sif
John Sinclair, between the years 1790
and 1798, contained 46,663 inhabit-
ants; increafe 7850 fince 1755. The
two ridges of hills, called Lennox and
Qcijil, in this county, exhibit many
volcanic appearances, particularly at
Fit/try, and the Campfie Fells; (fee
thefe articles, and Lennox and O-
chjls.) The county abounds with
coal, ironftone, freeftone, and lime-
ftone ; and more valuable, at lead
more precious minerals have been dis-
covered, and in part wrought : thefe
are filvei", copper, cobalt, and lead.
The parilh of Kilfyth affords many fine
fubjedts for mineralogical refearch ;
(vide Kilsyth.) Stirlingfhire' fends
one member to parliament. The va-
lued rent of the county is 108,518k
8s. 9d. Scots, and the real land rent is
eftimated at 86,720k fterling.
STIRLING ; an ancient town in,
that divifion of Lennoxfhire to which
it gives its name, fituated upon the
river Forth, 25 miles N. W. of Edin-
burgh, in 3" 59' W. longitude from
London, and 5 6° 6' N. latitude. Its
iituation is very romantic, feated, like
the Old Town of Edinburgh, on the
Hoping ridge of a rock, the precipitous
end of which, towards the W., is oc-
cupied by a fortrefs. The great ftreet,
on the funimit of the hill, is broad
and fpacious, with elegant houfesj
but the other ftreets are narrow and
irregular. The Tonvn-houfe is a lai"ge
building, with convenient apartments
for the town and county courts. In
the council chamber is kept the Jugg*
appointed by law to be the ftandard
for dry meafure in Scotland. There
are three hofpitals : the firft endowed