cedars of Lebanon spread among copper beech crowded among oaks, larches and other native trees. And there, hidden by the forest, the bonnie wee Houston Burn ripples and flows much as it did in centuries long past.

The 3,000-acre estate is divided into farms averaging above 100 acres, let out to tenants much as in the days of the Houstouns except that the farms of each tenant then were probably less than half the present acreage. The laird reserves some 400 acres for his own operations.

Major Maitland and his charming wife were gracious hosts. While no relation to the Houstons, the laird of the ancient estate is deeply interested in the history of the lands and the castle. We enjoyed a delightful luncheon in the spacious, ornate dining room, the four of us at a table of such size that microphones would have aided in conversation. The food, partly from products of the Houston lands, was served by a middle-aged Italian butler. The two Maitland children were away at the time, but the Major’s four favorite dogs were about and under the table, giving our knees a friendly caress, as they waited expectantly for the meal to be over.

There was a cozy wood fire in the library where we re.paired for smoking. The walls were completely lined with -shelves of books, the bindings mellow with age. I could scarce.ly resist the urge to browse among them, but Mrs. Maitland explained that the books were of no special rare editions, but she liked them because they gave the room an atmosphere of warmth.

We wandered through several of the many rooms on the first and second floors of the castle but did not make the climb to the third floor or the high tower. The walls of the east wing, the oldest part of the structure, built of solid stone, are six feet thick, a mighty defense against attack with any weapons of the 16th century. In this ancient wing, a strange discovery was made in the early 1940’s. During World War II, some alterations were being made, involving a cut into the massive walls. In the process, the drills uncovered a hidden stairway, completely enclosed within the six-foot wall. Its purpose remains an enigma.

The secret of the stairway is the greatest mystery of the Houston House. It is rivaled only by an engraved stone above