proprietors have not derived any benefit from it. It was, at first, carried on by private individuals, and has been finished by the aid of Government. It is in contemplation to enlarge the reservoirs this summer; and perhaps a greaving-dock, and some other useful works, might be executed, if Government would afford some further assistance, The Duke of Argyle, the Earl of Breadalbane, and some others, have been the great promoters and supporters of this undertaking.

I quitted Inverary-castle and its festivities for Loch Lomond, the ride to which presents successive scenes of beauty, grandeur, and desolation. I slept at Arroquhar, a good inn in a most picturesque spot. The next day, the morning of which was soft (in other words, it rained as hard as it could pour), I reached the town of Luss, from which I procured a boat and four boatmen to carry me on the lake of Loch Lomond to Ross, the delightful residence of my much-esteemed friend, Hector M'Donald Buchannan, Esq. where I experienced much kindness and hospitality from him and his amiable lady. The little voyage on this great and magnificent lake, so finely described by Smollet in Humphry Clinker, and by many tourists, was uncommonly gratifying. The next day I contemplated from a height its vast extent of waters, nearly thirty miles long, its beautiful, richly-wooded, and numerous islands,

and the stupendous mountain of Benlomond, to the summit of which, from the water's edge, is about six miles of continued ascent. A more beautiful and sublime spectacle cannot be contemplated. During my visit at the Ross I rode to Dumbarton, from which the views are very fine and commanding. In the vicinity are many picturesque scenes, enriched by the windings of the Leven and the Clyde. From the Ross I proceeded to Gartmore, the elegant seat. of Cunninghame Graham, Esq. under whose hospitable roof I passed several days, which, from the attentions of him and his lovely lady, and the beauty of the place, will long be remembered with pleasure. In my way to Gartmore I passed through the beautiful grounds of the Duke of Montrose, in which there is much fine timber. At Gartmore there are a few excellent pictures, by Rubens, Claude Lorraine, Berghem, Jean Stein, Salvator, and Gerard Dow. Mr. Graham has also several valuable curiosities in his library. The lakes of Monteith, in the neighbourhood of Gartmore, are highly worthy of attention; they are small, but very interesting. One of the islands, about half a mile in circumference, is a little paradise; it contains the ruins of a monastery, some noble trees, and two or three luxuriant gardens, all of which do great honour to the taste of the holy fraternity who made it their residence in distant days.

I left these scenes for others of a very different description. I allude to the Trossachs, a region of savage and naked rocks, which appear to have been hurled together in some angry and frantic mood of Nature. It was a scene of sublime desolation. The great mountains which form the principal features in this chaos are Benledi, or the Mountain of God; Benivenow, or the High Hill, which is encrusted with sharp rocks; and Benmore, or the Great Hill, whose summits are covered with eternal snows. The Duke and Duchess of Bedford had just been visiting this part of Scotland. During their excursions, her Grace, with that true passion for her native country, which, with so many other excellent qualities, distinguishes her character, suffered no object worthy of their notice to pass unvisited, although she was frequently exposed to "the weeping winds" in places where no carriage can ever roll. As the Duke is well known to be a great patron of agriculture, the peasants, with a little laudable vanity, considered the object of his tour was to ascertain the cause of their corn being so much stronger and more productive than that grown in England. In my route to Loch Katherine, or Ketterine, I crossed the Grampians. This lake has much beauty to recommend it. I slept at Callendar, which is a very pretty town, in a romantic situation; the houses owe much of their neatness to a stone and slate quarry being in the neighbourhood.