ABERNETHY, a small town in Strathern, a district of Perthshire in Scotland, situated on the river Tay, a little above the mouth of the Erne. It is said to have been the seat of the Pictish kings; and was afterwards the see of an archbishop, which was afterwards trans- ferred to St Andrew's. In the churchyard of Aber- nethy, there is a tower of singular construction. It is of a circular form, is 74 feet in height, and 48 feet in circumference. The tower at Brechin is the only one of a similar structure in Scotland. The researches of the antiquarian have hitherto failed in discovering the uses of these insulated buildings. Conjecture, there- fore, has supplied the place of certainty, by supposing that they are of Pictish origin, and that they were in- tended as places of confinement for religious devotees in performing penance, and hence they have been de- nominated towers of repentance.