a small but remarkable river in Scotland, rising about the middle of the isthmus between the firths of Forth and Clyde. Both its source, and the place where it emptieth itself into the sea, are within the shire of Stirling, which it divides into two nearly equal parts. The whole length of its course, which is from west to east, is not above 14 miles. It falls into the firth of Forth about three miles to the north-east of Falkirk. The stream thereof is but small, and scarcely deserves the notice of a traveller; yet there is no river in Scotland, and few in the whole island of Britain, whose banks have been the scene of so many memorable transactions. When the Roman empire was in all its glory, and had its eastern frontiers upon the Euphrates, the banks of Carron were its boundaries upon the north-west; for the wall of Antoninus*, which was raised to mark the limits of that mighty empire, stood in the neighbourhood of this river, and ran parallel to it for several miles.

Near the middle of its course, in a pleasant valley, stand two beautiful mounts, called the Hills of Dunipace, which are taken notice of by most of the Scottish historians as monuments of great antiquity. The whole structure of these mounts is of earth; but they are not both of the same form and dimensions. The most easterly one is perfectly round, resembling an oven, and about fifty feet in height; and that this is an artificial work does not admit of the least doubt; but we cannot affirm the same, with equal certainty, of the other, though it has been generally supposed to be so too. It bears no resemblance to the eastern one either in shape or size. At the foundation it is nearly of a triangular form; but the superstructure is quite irregular; nor does the height thereof bear any proportion to the extent of its base. These mounts are now planted with firs, which, with the parish church of Dunipace standing in the middle between them, and the river running hard by, give this valley a very romantic appearance. The common account given of those mounts is, that they were erected as monuments of a peace concluded in that place between the Romans and the Caledonians, and that their name partakes of the language of both people; Dun signifying a hill in the old language of this island, and Pax "peace," in the language of Rome. The compound word, Dunipace, signifies "the hills of peace." And we find in history, that no less than three treaties of peace were at different periods entered into between the Romans and Caledonians; the first by Severus about the year 210; the second soon after, by his son Caracalla; and the third, by the usurper Carausius Carus about the year 285; but of which of these treaties Dunipace is a monument, we do not pretend to determine. If the concurring testimony of historians and antiquaries did not agree in giving this original to these mounts, we would be tempted to conjecture that they are sepulchral monuments. Human bones and urns have been discovered in earthen fabrics of this kind in many parts of this island, and the little mounts or barrows which are scattered in great numbers about Stonehenge in Salisbury plain are generally supposed to have been the sepulchres of the ancient Britons. See BARROWS.

From the valley of Dunipace, the river runs for some time in a deep and hollow channel, with steep banks on both sides; here it passes by the foundations of the ancient Roman bridge; not far from which, as is generally thought, was the scene of the memorable conference betwixt the Scottish patriot William Wallace and Robert Bruce, father to the king of that name, which first opened the eyes of the latter to a just view both of his own true interest and that of his country.

After the river has left the village and bridge of Larbert, it soon comes up to another smaller valley, through the midst of which it has now worn out to itself a straight channel, whereas, in former ages, it had taken a considerable compass, as appears by the track of the old bed which is still visible. The high and circling banks upon the south side give to this valley the appearance of a spacious bay; and, according to the tradition of the country, there was once an harbour here; nor does the tradition seem altogether groundless, pieces of broken anchors having been found here, and some of them within the memory of people yet alive. The stream tides would still flow near the place, if they were not kept back by the dam-head built across the river at Stenhouse; and there is reason to believe, that the firth flowed considerably higher in former ages than it does at present. In the near neighbourhood of this valley, upon the south, stand the ruins of ancient Camelon: which, after it was abandoned by the Romans, was probably inhabited, for some ages, by the natives of the country.

Another ancient monument, called Arthur's Oven, once stood upon the banks of the Carron: but was, with a spirit truly Gothic, entirely demolished about 40 years ago. The corner of a small inclosure between Stenhouse and the Carron iron-works, is pointed out as the place of its situation. This is generally supposed to have been a Roman work: though it is not easy to conceive what could be their motive for erecting such a fabric, at so great a distance from any other of their works, and in a spot which at that time must have been very remote and unfrequented. The form of it is said to have been perfectly round, and rising perpendicular for some yards at first, but afterwards gradually contracted, till it terminated in a narrow orifice at the top. Antiquaries are not agreed whether it had been a temple, or a trophy, or a mausoleum; but the most common opinion is, that it had been a temple, and Buchanan thinks, a temple of Terminus. Hector Boetius says, that there were benches of stone all around it upon the inside; and that there had been a large stone stone for sacrificing upon, or an altar, upon the south side.

As the Carron extends over the half of the isthmus, and runs so near the ancient boundaries of the Roman empire, the adjacent country fell naturally to be the scene of many battles and encounters. Historians mention a bloody battle fought near the river between the Romans and the confederate army of the Scots and Picts in the beginning of the 5th century. The scenes of some of Ossian's poems were, in the opinion of the translator, upon the banks of this river. Here Fingal fought with Caracal, the son of the king of the world, supposed to have been the same with Caracalla, the son of the Roman emperor Severus. Here also young Oscar, the son of Ossian, performed some of his heroic exploits. Hereabout was the stream of Crom, celebrated in the ancient compositions of the Gaelic bard; possibly that now called the water of Bonny, which runs in the neighbourhood of the Roman wall, and discharges itself into the Carron at Dunipace. In those poems, mention is made of a green vale upon the banks of this river, with a tomb standing in the middle of it, where young Oscar's party and the warriors of Caros met. We only take notice of this as it strengthens the conjecture hazarded above, that the mounts of Dunipace, especially the more easterly of them, were sepulchral monuments.—About the distance of half a mile from the river, and near the town of Falkirk, lies the field of that battle which was fought by William Wallace and the English in the beginning of the 14th century. It goes by the name of Graham's muir, from the valiant John Graham, who fell there, and whose grave-stone is still to be seen in the church-yard of Falkirk.

The river Carron, though it has long since ceased to roll its stream amidst the din of arms, still preserves its fame, by lending its aid to trade and manufactures; (see the next article.)—The river is navigable for some miles near its mouth, and a considerable trade is carried on upon it by small craft; for the convenience of which, its channel has of late years been straightened and much shortened, and the great Canal * has its entrance from it.

Carron-Works, a large iron-foundery, two miles north from Falkirk in Scotland. They are conveniently situated on the banks of the Carron, three miles above its entry into the frith of Forth. Above 100 acres of land have been converted into reservoirs and pools, for water diverted from the river, by magnificent dams built above two miles above the works, which after turning 18 large wheels for the several purposes of the manufacture, falls into a tide-navigation that conveys their castings to the sea.

These works are among the greatest of the kind in Europe, and were established in 1760. At present, the buildings are of vast extent; and the machinery, constructed by Mr Smeaton, is the first in Britain, both in elegance and correctness: there are 2000 men employed, and there are about twenty furnaces which consume 200 tons of coals a-week; 6500 tons of iron are smelted annually from the mineral with pit-coal, and cast into cannon, cylinders, &c.—In the founding of cannon, those works have lately arrived at such perfection, that they make above 5000 pieces a year, many of which are exported to foreign states; Carron and their guns of new construction are the lightest and neatest now in use, not excepting brass guns; the 32 pounder ship-gun weighing 42 hundred weight, the 6 pounder 8 hundred-weight and one-half, and the other calibers in proportion.

The present proprietors are a chartered company, with a capital of 150,000l. sterling, a common seal, &c. but their stock is confined to a very few individuals.