The baronial fortress of Slaines was afterwards demolished by order of James VI., on the rebellion of the Earl of Huntly, and long continued in ruins.
Dr. Johnson thus records his visit and reception within these walls:—"We came in the afternoon to Slaines Castle, built upon the margin of the sea, so that the walls of one of the towers seem only a continuation of a perpendicular rock, the foot of which is beaten by the waves. To walk round the house seemed impracticable; from the windows, the eye wanders over the sea that separates Scotland from Norway, and when the winds beat with violence, it must enjoy all the terrific grandeur of the tempestuous ocean. I would not for my amusement wish for a storm, but as storms, whether wished for or not, will sometimes happen, I may say, without violation of humanity, that I should willingly look out upon them from Slaines Castle."
The caves and grottoes along this coast are numerous and interesting. The Dropping, or White Cave of Slaines, extends about 200 feet underground; and through a natural vault the water oozes forth, and forms fantastic pyramids of incrustations or stalactites. The cave, by this natural process, would soon be filled up, were not the petrified substance frequently cut away and burnt for lime. In this, as in many other caves along the shore, the ancient inhabitants of the district are supposed to have taken refuge when repeatedly harassed by the sudden descent of Danish marauders; and in later times it may have often served as a secure retreat for smugglers, who formerly abounded in this neighbourhood, and carried on their illegal traffic in comparative safety.
THE BULLER OF BUCHAN.
"If I had any malice against a walking spirit, instead of laying him in the Red Sea, I would condemn him to reside in the Buller of Buchan."—Samuel Johnson.
The Buller of Buchan, one of the most remarkable natural curiosities in Scotland, is about six miles south from Peterhead. It is a vast hollow in a rock projecting into the sea, open at the top, and communicating with the water by means of a natural arched passage, about fifty yards high. The basin within is nearly circular, about thirty yards in diameter; and around the extreme edge of the chasm is a narrow footpath, from which to the water in the abyss below, measures about thirty fathoms,[13] more or less, according to the state of the tide. It is a scene upon which all travellers dwell with feelings of mixed awe and admiration. Even Dr. Johnson, the learned philologist from whom we take our motto, visited and retired from the spot with amazement. "We soon turned our eyes," he observes, "to the Buller, or Bouilloir, of Buchan, which no man can see with indifference, who has either sense of danger or delight in rarity. It is a rock perpendicularly tubulated, united on one side with a high shore, and on the other rising steep to a great height above the main sea. The top is open, from which may be seen a dark gulf of water, which flows into the cavity through a breach made in the lower part of the enclosing rock. It has the appearance of a vast well, bordered with a wall. The edge of the Buller is not wide, and to those who walk round appears very narrow. He that ventures to look downward sees that, if his foot should slip, he must fall from his dreadful elevation upon stones on one side, or into water on the other. We, however, went round, and were glad when the circuit was completed. When we came down to the sea, we saw some boats and rowers, and resolved to explore the Buller at the bottom. We entered the arch which the water had made, and found ourselves in a place which, although we could not think ourselves in danger, we could scarcely survey without some recoil of the mind. The basin in which we floated was nearly circular, perhaps thirty yards in diameter. We were enclosed by a natural wall, rising steep on every side, to a height which produced the idea of insurmountable confinement. The interception of all lateral light caused a dismal gloom. Round us was a perpendicular rock; above us, the distant sky, and below, an unknown profundity of water."[14]