"roads" are said to be composed of sand and gravel, and run longitudinally along each side of the glen, at various heights, forming those slightly marked lines, and exactly parallel to each other. At some parts they are not to be seen, such as where they cross the bare, hard rock, where loose soil or gravel would not rest, and where the surface of the hill is gently inclined. Very often, the appearance is so faint, that a spectator may find himself standing on one, without being aware of its existence-but, at other parts, they swell out into pretty broad terraces; and, what seemed obscure to a spectator in juxta-position with it, becomes more distinct, when seen from the opposite side of the valley, where the eye takes in the lines for the length of some miles. Each of these terraces, by the test of the level, have been found to be exactly horizontal with each other-and, also, as regards the corresponding terraces on the opposite side. The first, or lowest terrace, is 972 feet above the level of the sea; the second is 1,184 feet; and the third, 1,266 feet. When viewed from the entrance to Glen Roy, which is a lateral branch of Glen Spean, they appear like a belt of ropes, running horizontally along the sides of the hills, and stretching far up the steep narrow ravine.

The origin, or structure of these curious terraces, has long been a theme of scientific discussion; nor is the question yet settled; but to those who wish to study the subject, we recommend the latest published work that treats of it-" Chambers's Ancient Sea-margins."

Quitting these wonderful roads, and leaving the old Fingalians and the modern philosophers to adjust their conflicting theories between them, we took our departure for Fort William, resolved, next day, weather and steam permitting, to push our adventures into the Hebrid Isles. Already, "the boat was rocking in the bay," impatient to convey her freight of delighted passengers to Oban. Travellers have the option of proceeding by land or water the former commands some charming scenery, but the latter is more convenient, and so we preferred it. The coasts about the junction of Loch Eil, and Loch Linnhe, abound in romantic landscape views. On either

side, the hills are bold, sprinkled with green pasture and grey rock. They are often intersected by lateral valleys, and here afford a great diversity of sky and shore outline. Loch Linnhe is a beautiful expanse of water, and as we ploughed its surface, we experienced, in looking back towards the huge Ben Nevis, and "the cradle of the rebellion," something of the feelings of the exiled Cameron, when compelled to bid adieu to his wild fastnesses, and seek refuge on the continent

"To his blue hills, that rose in view,
As o'er the deep his galley bore,
He often look'd, and sighed adien!'
We'll never see Lochaber more."

At Corran, where there is a ferry, the loch swells out very considerably. Farther to the left is the village of Onich, the last of the Lochaber country; and some few miles to the eastward, is Ballaheellish ferry, which crosses Loch Leven, and joins the road that traverses the celebrated pass of Glencoe. The broad Linnhe is studded with islands, the largest of which is Shuna and Lismore. On the left it is bounded by the craggy knolls of Appin; on the opposite side, by the green shores and purple hills of Morven. Lower down, at the mouth of Loch Leven, there is a considerable extent of level ground on both sides, skirted by wooded crags, and planted with several gentlemen's seats, embosomed in pleasure-grounds, and adorned with full-grown trees. Among these sequestered residences are Castle Stalker, an old square building in ruins; Barcaldine Castle, a lofty, heavy structure; and some miles nearer Loch Etive, are the remains of a druidical circle, on the summit of an eminence, where antiquarians conjecture stood the famous city Bergan, or Beregonium of the later geographers. The island of Lismore, opposite the mouth of Loch Etive, is low and fertile, carrying on a considerable trade in limestone, of which it is entirely composed. On nearing the island of Kerrera, and before entering the Bay of Oban, we pass two places of historical celebrity-Dunstaffnage Castle and Dunolly Castle. whole of this district is classic ground. It was in the island of Kerrera that Alexander II. died of a fever, when

The

engaged in wresting the sovereignty of certain islands from the Norwegians. He had gone on that expedition to compel Angus of Argyle to do homage to himself, and not to the king of Norway, for his lands; but expired before effecting his object. Tradition says, his body was buried "near the Horse-shoe harbour, where his fleet lay at the time," in a field, still called Dalree, or the King's Field. Dunstaffnage Castle is of unknown antiquity; and neither its founder nor the time of its construction are recorded. It was, however, once the seat of the British kings and Scottish princes; and here, for a long time, was preserved the famous coronation stone, reckoned the palladium of Scotland, brought, according to the legend, from Spain, and alleged to have been Jacob's pillow. It was afterwards removed to Scone Palace, by Kenneth II., and carried thence to Westminster (where it now is) by Edward I., among other sacred monuments of Scottish independence. The belief of the Scots in its mystical virtues was cherished by an old monkish inscription, in doggrel Latin:

"Ni fallat fatum, Scoti, quocumque locatum, Invenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem."

Some of the ancient regalia are still preserved by the owner of the castle, Mr. Campbell, amongst which are the spurs and stirrups of King Robert Bruce; a battle-axe, and an ivory image, mentioned by Pennant, who has given a drawing of it; and which, he thinks, "was certainly cut in memory of the celebrated chair, and appears to have been an inauguration sculpture: a crowned monarch is represented sitting in it, with a book, or scroll, in one hand, as if going to take the coronation-oath." The book is supposed to contain the laws of the land, which the monarch was swearing to observe; the mode of taking the oath being, not by kissing the bible, but by holding up the right hand. was about the year 843 that Kenneth M'Alpine transferred the seat of government from Dunstaffnage to Scone; and then it vanishes from history for several centuries, till it rises again to view in the eventful reign of Bruce, who encountered many struggles and adversities in this part of Argyleshire.

It

It was then possessed by Alexander, father to John, the Lord of Lorn; and, more than a century later, it was transferred to the knight of Lochan (Campbell), the direct ancestor of the family in whose possession as "Captains of Dunstaffnage," it has remained to the present day. From that period, the castle has been carefully maintained as the principal stronghold of the clan Campbell in that district, as a defence against the hostile incursions of the warlike islanders, down to the rebellions of 1715 and 1745, when it was garrisoned by the royal forces. This castle is of a square form, having round towers at three of the angles. The average height of the walls is sixty-six feet, and nine in thickness. The interior of the quadrangle is eighty-seven feet; and the external measurement of the walls two hundred and seventy feet. It has its entrance from the sea by a staircase; but it is supposed that in former ages the access was by means of a drawbridge.

To imagine that this castle was founded by a certain Pictish king, Evan, and called after him Evanum, in the time of Julius Cæsar, would be to tax credulity rather severely. The present building may have been erected towards the end of the thirteenth century, and was taken possession of by Robert Bruce after his victory over the Lord of Lorn in the Pass of Awe; till the middle of the seventeenth century, it was inhabited by the lords of Argyle; and during the wars of Montrose, Macdonald of Colkitto (the left-handed) narrowly escaped falling into the hands of its hostile governor. Believing it to be held by his friends, he was, unsuspectingly, ap proaching it in a boat, when a faithful piper, then a prisoner in the castle, struck up a well-known air, which being perfectly understood by Macdonald, he hastily shifted his course and escaped. The luckess piper was not so fortunate, for so exasperated were the garrison at an incident which had lost them a prisoner of distinction, that they wreaked their vengeance on the faithful clansman. On the battlements are preserved the brass guns which formerly belonged to the flagship of the Spanish Armada (the "Florida,") when it was blown up at Tobermory. A portion of a plank of

this ship was presented to George IV. when he visited Edinburgh.

A singular custom is said to have been used by the chiefs of Dunstaff. nage, and discontinued not many years ago. When a company of unexpected visitors arrived, an event not uncommon in the Highlands, a flag-staff was immediately erected on the battle. ments, with the expressive ensign of a table-cloth affixed to it. This served as a signal to the tenants on certain lands bordering the sea, to repair to the castle with salmon, or other fish, then in season; while others, embracing the opportunity of thus paying their court to the laird, presented everything else that was rare, or which they might think acceptable. But at that period luxury had not reached these retired shores; the proprietors lived chiefly at home, subsisting on the produce of their own lands and lakes, and exercising a liberal hospitality. Near by the castle is a small roofless chapel, of elegant workmanship, within whose hallowed enclosure, it is said, several of the Scottish kings are interred. On the south side is a rock, one point of which stretches towards the chapel, where, if a person be placed on one side of it, and speak low, the sound of his voice is so distinctly reverberated from the ruin, as to make him imagine that the voice comes from a person within the walls. Report states that a man, some years ago, contracted a fatal illness in hearing a sermon on mortality read to him by an unearthly voice, proceeding from a person who, in the dusk of the evening, had concealed himself on the opposite side of the echoing rock, but which the frightened hearer believed came from the dead, who had left the sepulchre of kings, to warn him of his approaching dissolution.

Dunolly Castle, between Dunstaffnage and Oban, stands in a very pictu resque situation, upon the summit of a grey basaltic rock, precipitous on three sides. It is an ivy-clad, square tower, four stories high; but with the excep tion of the vaulted donjon, which is still entire, the building is now a mere shell. It was once a place of importance, being the ancient castle of the Macdougalls of Lorn, whose lineal descendant occupies a mansion in its vicinity, built partly out of the quarry of the old ruin. It may have been a

Danish fort, as some suppose; but it is recorded to have been gifted by the famous thane, Somerled of the Isles, to one of his sons, Dugal, whose successor, Allaster de Argadia, married the third daughter of the red Comyn, whom Robert Bruce slew in Dumfries. Hence, the Macdougalls became the mortal enemies of Bruce, and in one of their encounters they got possession of the king's brooch, better known in song as the "brooch of Lorn." This royal trophy was long carefully preserved as an heir-loom, but did not escape all the vicissitudes of the family. At the period of the civil war it happened to be deposited in Gylen Castle, another stronghold belonging to the Macdougalls, romantically situated upon a rocky promontory, in the island of Kerrera. In 1647, that fortress was beleagured and taken by a detachment from the main army, sent into Argyleshire by General Leslie, under the command of Colonel Montgomery. Campbell of Loch Awe, happening to serve in that detachment, became possessor of the Bruce's brooch; and by his descendant it was faithfully preserved down to 1826, when it was purchased from the representatives of that family by General Duncan Campbell, of Lochnell. him, however, it was restored to the proprietor of Dunolly, who became again the custodier of the long-lost treasure. In 1715, the lord of Lorn and Dunolly incurred the forfeiture of his estate for joining the insurrection of that period; but the property was afterwards restored; and continues in the direct line. A more delightful spot than this old ruin can hardly be conceived. About a quarter of a mile from it, on the shore, is a huge upright pillar, or detached fragment of the sort of rock called plumpudding stone. It is called Clachna Con, or the Dog's Pillar, because Fingal is said to have used it as a stake, to which he bound his celebrated dog, Bran. Others say, that when the Lord of the Isles was upon a visit to the chief of Lorn, the dogs brought for his sport were kept beside this pillar.

By

About a mile or so beyond Dunolly is Oban, where the steamer makes a halt, to give tourists a choice of the locality they may desire to visit. The village is neat, handsome, and beauti

fully situated; its appearance from the bay is particularly striking. The houses, drawn out in a semi-circle, rise from the water's edge; and, with a bold undulating range of mountains behind, they present an amphitheatre highly picturesque. It belongs to the Marquis of Breadalbane, and Campbell of Sonnachan, and is indebted for its present thriving condition to the encouragement afforded by its late and present proprietors to house-building, by giving sites, on payment of a small ground-rent. For several years it has been frequented, during the summer and autumn, by temporary visitors, and has now a name among the fashionable watering places of the country.

In

addition to its attractions as an excellent sea-bathing station, it has also several powerful chalybeate and sulphureous springs, lately discovered in the immediate neighbourhood. From its central situation, in the west Highlands, its safe and spacious harbour, and good quays, it is visited daily in summer by steamers, with passengers, to and from Glasgow, Inverary, Iona, Staffa, and Skye. There is a good hotel, plenty of the finest whiskey, and several boarding-houses, which afford strangers comfortable accommodation.

Our destination being the Hebrides, we were informed that the excursion to Staffa and Iona would be performed either by the ferries from Oban to Kerrera, and to Achnacraig in Mull (six miles) from thence by land to Aros; or, what is considered preferable, from Oban, along the Sound of Mull, to Aros. The navigation of the sound presents a combination of sublime and romantic scenery, which assumes a variety of striking aspects, as the steamer advances. The scenes in the Sound of Kerrera are remarkably picturesque, bounded on each hand by bare rocks and headlands. The land itself abounds in objects of natural curiosity, and affords the scientific traveller a wide field of interesting investigation. The western part, which rises to a great elevation above the sea, exhibits many appearances of volcanic origin. It was in this island that Hakon, King of Norway, met the great body of the Highland chiefs, his vassals, when he landed here, in his me morable expedition, with the largest fleet that had ever left the Scandinavian ports. By them he was accom

panied in his disastrous attempt upon Ayrshire, when a tempest, and the Scottish host at Largs, broke his mighty power, and reduced the Hebrides to the sceptre of the youthful Alexander III. In this sound General Campbell lay, in 1746, waiting instructions from the Earl of Albemarle to regulate his conduct respecting the capture of Prince Charles, who was then in concealment at Glendossorie; but before the general had received his orders, the prince found means to provide for his safety, by a timely retreat. Gylen Castle again makes its appearance, with its ivy-crowned battlements, beetling on the extreme verge of its almost perpendicular rock. In front are two stone effigies, called the Piper and the Nurse-two cha racters of great importance in all Highland families.

When passing the mouth of Loch Etive, the mountainous district of Ardchattan appears on the right. The landscape is rugged and wild, compos. ed of a whole congregation of Bens, of the most fantastic shape and outline, overtopped by the gigantic Ben Cruachan, towering to the height of 3,669 feet, with a circumference at its base of more than twenty miles. The names of these mountains are generally ex pressive of some peculiarity about them. We had pointed out to us, by a topographical friend on board, Ben nan-aighean, "the mountain of the heifers;" Ben Chaorach, “the mountain of the sheep;" BuachailEtive-ar, "the great keeper of the Etive;" and Buachail beg," the lesser keeper;" Ben Nambian," the mountain of the deer-skins," from the number of these animals slaughtered there. The glens abound in roaring cascades, and are often clothed with yew trees, from which Glen Ure (the glen of the yews) takes its name. It was mentioned to us as a curious fact, though scarcely noticed in the history of the clans, that the bow was at one time as important a weapon in the hands of the Highlanders as of the Scottish borderers, and the English in the days of the Edwards. In more recent times, the bows of the Celtic warriors were made of the yew of Easragain, in Lorn, which were esteemed superior to all others. The feathers most in vogue for their arrows were furnished by the eagles of Loch Treig; the wax

for the string by Baill-na-gail-chinn ; and the arrow-heads by the smiths of the race of M'Pheidearain. Ardchattan can boast of many historical relics. There are the ruins of a once-celebrated priory, founded in 1231, and belonging to monks of the order of St. Benedict. It was the pious endowment of John M'Dougal, ancestor of the house of Lorn. Here Robert Bruce held a parliament, said to have been one of the last in which the business was conducted in the Gælic language. After a flourishing existence of several centuries, this venerable structure was finally burnt and destroyed, by Colkitto, during the wars of Montrose. At no great distance is another place, famous in antiquity, now called Dunmac-Suiachan, "the fortified hill of the son of Suiachan." It is a fort, and said to mark the site of the fabled city of Beregonium, already mentioned, the erection of which, tradition ascribes to Fergus II. The stupendous cliffs, in the back-ground, overhanging the road and the sea, are called "the Hill of the King's Town." The distinction is further claimed for this spot as being the Selena of Ossian, and the site of the palace of the Fingal dynasty. The Cond of the same poet is identified with the noisy falls of Connel, a little to the south, and the adjacent widely-extended moss of Archnacree, studded with ancient cairns, rude druidical temples, obelisks, and other relics of the olden time, has aptly enough been regarded as the celebrated "Plains of Lara!"

Among the distinguished persons connected with Ardchattan, is the late Bishop of Madras, Daniel Corrie, whose name is intimately associated with the progress of Christianity in India. He was the friend of Brown and Buchanan, of the missionary Martin, of Bishops Middleton, Heber, and Turner, and of other devoted men, whose lives and labours in the East shed so bright a lustre on the Church of England. For more than thirty years, he discharged faithfully his apostolic mission; and after having "borne the burden and heat of the day," he was raised from being archdeacon of Calcutta, to the see of Madras. Though himself a native of Ardchattan, Bishop Corrie's ancestors were from Dumfrieshire. His grandfather followed the humble trade of a

miller, and leased the corn-mills of Duncow, in the parish of Kirkmahoe, about five miles from Dumfries, towards the middle of the last century. The miller's son studied for the church, an ambition which is not uncommon among the poorer classes in Scotland; and which the facilities of a cheap and excellent classical education, in the parish schools, bring within the reach of the poorest parents to gratify. In course of his studies at the University of Edinburgh, he got the appointment of the parochial school of Ardchattan, and formed the acquaintance of one of the principal heritors, or land-owners, of the name of Campbell. Being then a theological student, he might have procured a living in the church, through Mr. Campbell's interest, who had promised him his influence. But the handsome schoolmaster, having fallen in love with a respectable young woman, of the name of Mac Nab, said to have been lady's maid to Mrs. Campbell, he resolved to marry her at all hazards, and against the remonstrances of his patron, who vainly pointed out the folly of his embarking in the cares of a family, without any adequate means of provision for them. The advice was thrown away-love got the better of prudence. The divinity-student clave to his sweetheart, and forfeited his patron's interest. A young family was the consequence; and, in course of time, it became necessary to look out for some more remunerative employment, than teaching kilted urchins to read and write. With his Highland wife, and several children, he removed to his father's humble mansion, at the mill of Duncow, and, at the parish-school there, about the close of last century, the future bishop of Madras, received his education.

Leaving his family under the shelter of the paternal roof, he resolved to seek his fortune in the south, as many of his countrymen had done before him. Like the ancient patriarch, with his staff in hand, and almost in a state of apostolic poverty, with neither purse nor scrip, he crossed the Borders into England, and wandered as far as Yorkshire, or Lincolnshire, without meeting with a single offer or engagement. Happening to pass some place on the way, where the bishop of the diocese was holding