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''Striking and Picturesque Delineations of the Grand, Beautiful, Wonderful, and Interesting Scenery Around Loch-Earn,'' also published as ''A Description of the Beauties of Edinample and Lochearnhead,'' is a short book by the Scotsman Angus McDiarmid (1770?–1820?) that led the local-history populariser Archie McKerracher to call him "the world's worst author". ==Synopsis== The book begins with a dedication to the Earl of Breadalbane (presumably John Campbell, the fourth Earl, as the book was first published in 1815). Its "grovelling and abject" tone was unusual by that time. Then an anonymous preface recounts how an unnamed "Gentleman", on a grouse-shooting visit to the earl's estate in the Lochearnhead region, met Angus McDiarmid, a ground-officer (or ghillie, a gamekeeper and hunting-guide) of the earl's. Struck by McDiarmid's eloquent descriptions of the scenery and associated legends, the gentleman learned that McDiarmid had written a manuscript, which McDiarmid entrusted to him to be published. The preface assures the reader that visitors to Lochearnhead could confirm McDiarmid's existence and his sole authorship of the book. It then praises the "unparalleled sublimity" of the book's style, which it connects with the rugged Highland landscape and offers as the reason that McDiarmid's sentences "overleap the mounds and impediments of grammar". The main text is 28 pages about the region near Lochearnhead. There are three sections: *"Sketch of the Scenery at Loch-Earn" is described by its title. Features mentioned include Edinample Castle, Glen Ogle, and Loch Earn. *"Sketch of the Following Descriptions" covers scenery including the nearby mountains of Ben Vorlich and Stùc a' Chroin, wild and domestic animals, and local history and legend. *"Sketch of an Ancient History Deserves To Be Inserted" adds fairly recent local history and animal stories. McDiarmid's dedication is in grammatical English, but the main text is not, and is full of obscure and misused words. The paragraph about an earthquake in the Grampian Mountains may give an idea: :It merits the trouble to exhibit a description of a part of Glenogle's Grampian mountains, disjointed in the time of the generations past ; which event happen about the twilight, that the dread of the horrible sight seized the beholders with fear, ultera the comprehension of the individual, discernible to their sight. The pillars of fire rising from the parting of the rock, where there was a cement, the stones forcibly dashing one against another, that the melancholy sight was similar to a corner of mountain set wholly on fire, also overhearing such a loud noise of the stones break at juncture ; which vociferous might reach the ears of the people living at great distant. This place perceptible to view of the beholders that passes by.〔McDiarmid. ''Striking and Picturesque'', pp. 16–17.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Striking and Picturesque Delineations of the Grand, Beautiful, Wonderful, and Interesting Scenery Around Loch-Earn」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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