Traquair. We went through that curious old place, Traquair, where the kitchen-garden walls are 18 ft. high, and were coped with turf now bearing a rich crop of grass and weeds, the seeds of which were nearly ready for being distributed over the garden by the winds. In this garden were excellent crops, particularly of strawberries, but we did not find the gardener at home. In the herb ground we found elecampane, lovage, horehound, and a number of other herbs formerly cultivated in all gardens, but now generally neglected. Traquair House has nothing modern about it, not even a full-sized sash window, and the main entrance has no gravelled road up to it; as, till lately, was the case at Knowle in Kent, and, by imitation of old places, at Fonthill Abbey. There is a grand terrace on the other front, and the main body of the house is flanked by square pavilions. Altogether it is a great curiosity as a gentleman's residence; and it was not without difficulty that we obtained liberty to drive up to it, the Earl of Traquair being from home.
