From the

along the Causeway is Fingal's wishing chair. Tradition says one has only to sit on it and wish three separate wishes, when they are all sure to be granted. We now ascend the stair to the top of the island, from whence we get the best view of the Clamshell Cave. This cave cannot be gone into either by boat or on foot. right hand side of the stair, looking down over the Causeway and the Herdsman, we have a wonderful view -pillars and stones in every conceivable shape, position and angle, and of every size, all seemingly built or fitted into each other. From the summit of the island M'Kinnon's Cave is to be seen, also Iona and its Cathedral Tower, and further off, Big Colonsay, Islay, and Jura, and to the left the Treshnish Islands, Coll, Tyree, &c.

upon Iona

On leaving Staffa the steamer keeps as close as possible to Fingal's, M'Kinnon's, and the Boat Caves, giving an opportunity of viewing them from the sea. After a sail of about 35 minutes the steamer reaches Iona, and being landed, passengers are conducted by the official Guide (appointed by the Duke of Argyll, who is the proprietor of the island), to the ruins of the Nunnery. Leaving these ruins we walk along what was called the Street of the Dead, past the Established Church and Manse, and "M'Lean's Cross." This cross is supposed to be the oldest in Scotland, being one of three hundred and sixty said to have been standing on the island, but of which only two now remain entire-it and another, "St. Martin's." The latter we shall see in the grounds of the Cathedral, as also the graves of the chiefs and the kings, of whom there are sixty said to be interred here; St. Oran's Chapel, with its fine Norman doorway and triple arch; and the Cathedral itself and St. Columba's tomb; the gravestones of Bishops, Abbots, and Monks, along with that of M'Leod of M'Leod.

Quite recently the Duke of Argyll has had scme excavating done, displaying all the original foundations and plans of the buildings, and uncovering many splendidly carved stones that have lain for centuries, covered with rubbish.

Iona has a population of about 260, with two churches, Free and Established. The Free Church stands

prominently on the point at Martyr's Bay, so called from the fact that it was at this place in olden times that the bodies of those who had suffered martyrdom were landed when brought to the island for interment. The Sound of Iona, separating Iona from the Ross of Mull, is here about a mile wide. The geological formation of the Ross is principally granite, and the quarries here supplied the red granite used in the construction of the Albert Memorial, Blackfriars Bridge, and the Holborn Viaduct. Lovers of nature and antiquarians could spend a few days profitably at Iona, visiting the Spouting Cave, Port-a-Churraich (the spot where St. Columba landed), the Cell of the Culdees; the Granite Quarries and the Lighthouse Station (for Dubh-heartach Lighthouse) on Earraid Island.

The run back to Oban is by the south of Mull and between the Torrin Rocks. The reef called the Torrins stretch to St. John's Rock, 16 miles off, upon which Dubh-heartach Lighthouse is built, and which can be easily seen in clear weather. Clearing these rocks and rounding Ardalanish Point, we get under the bold, high and precipitous headlands of Mull. The first, most prominent, and highest, rising almost perpendicularly from the sea, is called Gorry's Leap. Tradition says, that Maclaine of Lochbuy, having punished Gorry for some offence, the latter is said to have got his revenge in the following manner:-Maclaine with a party had been out shooting, when Gorry, by some means, got possession of the young Laird of Lochbuy, and rushing with him to the brink of the precipice, demanded that Maclaine should suffer the same indignity as he, Gorry, formerly had, otherwise he would jump over the precipice with the boy in his arms. Maclaine suffered the indignity before the eyes of Gorry and his own son; but even this did not appease the Highlander's appetite for revenge, for with one wild shout Gorry and the boy disappeared. We next come to the Carsaig Arches, the tallest standing up, guarding the point; they have a formation somewhat similar to Staffa. After passing the Arches we may get sight of a small opening in the side of the hill-the entrance to the Nun's Cave. The cave and its vicinity abound with valuable geological specimens and fossils of many kinds,

and from this neighbourhood is said to have been taken all the freestone originally used for building Iona Cathedral. The walls of the cave are said to be covered with carvings of crosses, &c., which are thought to be the original tracings of some of the Iona ones. We are now at Carsaig Bay, where the steamer usually calls. The Carsaig estate of Carsaig belongs to A. J. Maclean, Esq., of Pennycross.

We next reach Lochbuy, at the head of which can be seen the old and new castles of Lochbuy, standing side by side. The present proprietor is M. G. Maclaine, Esq. On Lochbuy Head we may have pointed out to us a small hole in the hill-almost imperceptible;—this is the entrance into a very large cave called Lord Lovat's, probably from an erroneous belief that that nobleman concealed himself in it for some time after the battle of Culloden.

Leaving Loch-Buy Head, the steamer now strikes off from the Mull coast, shaping its course for the Sound of Kerrera, returning to Oban by the opposite direction to which it left in the morning.