(79) Plate XXXVII/a

                                                           Plate XXXVII.

                                        LAURISTON CASTLE.

MR. W. Walker, in his account of the parish of Ecclesgreig, or Saint Cyrus, in the county of Kincardine,
makes the following distinctions between Glens and Dens. "It is only on a high coast near the sea, that
Dens exist. They are very distinct from Glens, which are valleys between hills. These can easily be sur-
veyed in all their grandeur from the summit of the hill on either side. But it is impossible to judge from
the appearance of the adjacent grounds, which are highly cultivated, and do not rise above the level of the
surrounding fields, that there are any such objects as Dens, till you come close upon them. Dens sink
suddenly from the common level of the country, and seem to owe their origin to some stream or river.
In this parish there are five; but the one of most beauty in itself, and from the fine ruins on its side, is that
of Lauriston. The old Castle is said to have been built in the eleventh century. The two towers, and
part of its immensely thick walls, still remain, and are incorporated with some modern improvements of
Mr. Brand, the present proprietor, who has thrown a fine bridge of one arch over the den, and connected
the castle with some of the finest grounds and most picturesque part of the den. This spot gave birth to
that celebrated character, John Law, Comptroller General of Finances in the court of France, whose various
plans and speculations are so admirably detailed by Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations.—The family of
the Strattons, who possessed this estate several centuries, were Lairds of Lauriston, and so attached to this
place, that whenever they settled in other parts of Scotland, they changed the name of the place to that
of Lauriston.—This view was taken in 1799.