of Awe. It is now a royal castle, the Duke of Argyle being hereditary keeper. From Dunstaffnage, the celebrated stone on which our Scottish monarchs used to be crowned, was transported to Scone, whence it was removed to England by Edward I., and is now deposited beneath the coronation chair in the chapel of Edward the Confessor, in Westminster Abbey. At a little distance from the castle is a small roofless chapel, where one of the Scottish kings is said to have been buried. Three miles from Dunstaffnage is the pleasant thriving village of OBAN, situated at the head of a fine bay. From the heights in the neighbourhood, magnificent sea views may be obtained; and the road which skirts the shore to the southward is overhung by romantic cliffs. In the vicinity is Dunolly Castle, the ancient fortress of the MacDougals of Lorn, situated on the point of a rocky promontory, at the northern extremity of the bay. Near it is Dunolly House, inhabited by the representative of that once powerful family.*

* "Nothing can be more wildly beautiful than the situation of Dunolly. The ruins are situated upon a bold and precipitous promontory overhanging Loch Etive, and distant about a mile from the village and port of Oban. The principal part which remains is the donjon or keep; but fragments of other buildings, overgrown with ivy, attest that it had been once a place of importance, as large apparently as Ardtornish or Dunstaffnage. These fragments enclose a court-yard, of which the keep probably formed one side; the entrance being by a steep ascent from the neck of the isthmus, formerly cut across by a moat, and defended, doubtless, by out works and a drawbridge. Beneath the castle stands the present mansion of the family, having on the one hand Loch Etive, with its islands and mountains, on the other two romantic eminences tufted with copsewood. There are other accompaniments suited to the scene; in particular, a huge upright pillar or detached fragment of that sort of rock called plum-pudding stone, upon the shore, about a quarter of a mile from the castle. It is called Clachna-cau, 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 came upon a visit to the Lord of Lorn, the dogs brought for his sport were kept beside this pillar. Upon the whole, a more delightful and romantic spot can scarce be conceived; and it receives a moral interest from the considerations attached to the residence of a family once powerful enough to confront and defeat Robert Bruce, and now sunk into the shade of private life. It is at present possessed by Patrick MacDougal, Esq., the lineal and undisputed representative of the ancient Lords of Lorn. The heir of Dunolly fell in Spain, fighting under the Duke of Wellington,—a death well becoming his ancestry."-Lord of the Isles.

For a description of the view from Dunolly Castle, the reader is referred to the footnote, p. 250.

TENTH TOUR.

GLASGOW TO INVERNESS, BY THE CALEDONIAN CANAL.

TOURISTS generally proceed to Oban by Lochgilphead and the Crinan Canal. There are two routes by land from Oban to Fort-William; the coast line, by Connel Ferry and Appin, which is the shorter of the two, and the other by Taynuilt, Dalmally, and Glencoe. Loch Linnhe, bounded on the one hand by the craggy knolls of Appin, and on the other by the purple hills of Morven, is the commencement of that chain of salt and fresh water lakes formed into the Caledonian Canal, and presents on both sides scenery of a most romantic character. Opposite to the upper extremity of the island of Lismore, Loch Creran branches off into Lorn. The first mansion to the north of this Loch is Airds, the seat of Sir John Campbell; next is the ruin of Castle Stalker; Appin House, (Downie of Appin,) next occurs; and after that, at the mouth of Loch Leven, Ardshiel, (Stewart, Esq.) From Ballachulish Ferry on Loch Leven, noted for its slate quarry, the West Highland road penetrates the savage vale of Glencoe.* Coran Ferry, nine miles from Fort-William, divides Loch Linnhe from Loch Eil. Fort-William, and the contiguous village of Maryburgh, stand on a bend of Loch Eil, near the confluence of the river Lochy. The fort was erected in the reign of William III. It is provided with a bomb-proof magazine, and its barracks accommodate about 100 men. Maryburgh is a village of about 1500 inhabitants, and contains two inns. BEN NEVIS,

* On certain days the steamer lands the passengers for Glencoe at Ballachulish Ferry. When this is not done, they must land at Coran Ferry, from which the distance to Ballachulish is four miles. A cart, said by its owner to have springs, may be hired from one of the boatmen at a charge of one shilling per mile, to carry on tourists to Ballachulish.

which till lately was considered the highest mountain in
Scotland, is one of the most striking features of this neigh-
bourhood. It rises 4416 feet above the mean level of the
sea, and its circumference at the base, which upon one side,
is almost washed by the sea, is supposed to exceed twenty-
four miles. "Its northern front consists of two grand dis-
tinct ascents, or terraces, the level top of the lowest of
which, at an elevation of about 1700 feet, contains a wild
tarn or mountain lake. The outer acclivities of this the
lower part of the mountain are very steep, although cover-
ed with a short grassy sward, intermixed with heath; but
at the lake this general vegetable clothing ceases.
Here a
strange scene of desolation presents itself. The upper and
higher portion seems to meet us, as a new mountain shooting
up its black porphyritic rocks through the granitic masses,
along which we have hitherto made our way, and, where
not absolutely precipitous, its surface is strewed with angu-
lar fragments of stone of various sizes, wedged together,
and forming a singularly rugged covering, among which we
look in vain for any symptoms of vegetable life, except
where round some pellucid spring the rare little Alpine
plants, such as Epilobium alpinum, Silene acaulis, Saxi-
fraga stellaris and nivalis, which live only in such deserts
wild, are to be found putting forth their modest blossoms,
amid the encircling moss. The eagle, sallying from his
eyry, may greet the approach of the wanderer, or the mourn-
ful plover, with plaintive note, salute his ear; but for those
birds of the mountain the rocky wilderness were lifeless
and silent as the grave; its only tenants the lightnings and
the mists of heaven, and its language the voice of the
storm."*
A terrific precipice on the north-eastern side
makes a sheer descent from the snow-capped summit of not
less than 1500 feet. The tourist who is so fortunate as to
ascend the mountain in a favourable state of the atmo-
sphere, is rewarded with a prospect of remarkable extent
and grandeur. Ben Lomond, Ben Cruachan, Ben More,
Ben Lawers, Schehallion, and Cairngorm, rear their gigan-

* Guide to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, by George Anderson and Peter Anderson, Esquires.

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