Scotch Mountain

As the owner of Scotland's most famed mountain, James Graham, Duke, Earl and Marquis of Montrose, Duke, Earl and Marquis of Graham, Baron Graham, Hereditary Sheriff of Dumbartonshire, Vice President of the Institution of Naval Architects, keenly feels his responsibilities. Such a mountain as Ben Lomond (3,192 feet) cannot be lightly bandied, given away, disposed of or auctioned off. To say nothing of its intrinsic worth Ben Lomond is the very mountain mentioned in perhaps the most popular of hoar Scotch ballads (author unknown):

(Second verse)

'Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen, On the steep, steep side o' Ben Lomond, Where in purple hue the Hieland hills we view, And the moon looks out frae the gloamin.'

(Refrain)

O, ye'll tak' the high road, An' I'll tak' the low road, An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye: But me an' my true love will never meet again On the bonnie bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond!

Nevertheless last week Ben Lomond's owner announced that he will shortly employ an auctioneer to sell the mountain if that be possible. In rueful explanation the Duke of Montrose, who owns in all 115,000 acres, said that with taxes what they are Ben Lomond is a luxury His Grace can no longer afford.

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