unfortunate enterprise. A monument has been erected by the late M'Donald of Glenaladale, on the spot where the standard was unfurled, to the memory of those "who fought and bled" in this rebellion.

Leaving Fort-William, the road proceeds along the south side of Loch Linnhe, and, at the distance of nine miles, reaches Coran Ferry; thence it leads a short way along the north shore of Loch Leven, a branch of Loch Linnhe, extending in a straight line between the counties of Inverness and Argyle. "From its mouth to its farther extremity," says Dr. Macculloch, "Loch Leven is one continued succession of landscapes." On both sides it is bounded by lofty mountains, which, toward the head of the loch, are grouped in very grand combinations. Fourteen miles from Fort-William, the tourist crosses Loch Leven at Ballachulish Ferry, on each side of which there is an inn. About two miles from the Ferry are the celebrated slate quarries of Ballachulish, which give employment to about 200 people. The road now proceeds for about four miles along the southern shore of Loch Leven, and enters the vale of

GLENCOE,

celebrated both for the grandeur of its scenery and its historical recollections. The lower part of the glen, next Loch Leven, is cultivated and wooded, but the signs of cultivation gradually disappear on approaching the upper portion, which presents a scene of unmingled wildness and grandeur. In the middle of the valley is the small lake Treachtan, from which issues the wild stream of Cona, celebrated by Ossian, who is said to have been born on its banks. On both sides of this river the hills shoot up perpendicularly to a tremendous height, casting a deep gloom on this wild vale, calculated to strike the traveller with the deepest awe. At the head of the glen the disposition of the mountains becomes peculiarly grand and impressive. Their magnitude, form, and colour, all contribute to the greatness of the effect. In the huge clefts of their rocky and blackened summits, wreaths of snow may be seen all year round, and the scream of the eagle, and the roar

the

of the mountain torrents are the only sounds heard in "the waste howling wilderness." From one end of the vale to the other only one solitary farm-house is to be seen. *The well-known massacre of Glencoe, which casts so deep a stain on the character of King William and his ministers, happened at the north-west end of the vale. At the farthest extremity of Glencoe is the rugged mountain of Buchael Etive, and on the opposite side of the road is the steep ascent called The Devil's Staircase, by which pedestrians may proceed to Fort-William.+ Proceeding onward through a barren district, the tourist arrives at King's House Inn, distant twenty-eight miles and a half from Fort-William. The road then crosses a tedious hill called the Black Mount; and, nine and a half miles from the King's House, reaches Inverouran, on the banks of Loch Tulla. Two miles beyond this, the road crosses the river Orchy, which waters the pretty valley of Glenorchy, and seven miles farther, reaches

TYNDRUM,

situated at the head of Strathfillan, in Perthshire. A short distance from Tyndrum, at a place called Dalrigh, or the King's Field, King Robert Bruce was encountered and repulsed after a very severe engagement, by the Lord of Lorn. "Bruce's personal strength and courage," says Sir Walter Scott, "were never displayed to greater advantage than in this conflict. There is a tradition in the family of the MacDougals of Lorn, that their chieftain engaged in personal battle with Bruce himself, while the latter was employed

"As a piece of perfectly wild mountain scenery, Glencoe has no superior that I know of. In the Alps there are many ravines and valleys immensely larger, but I am not aware of any which has better claims to attention in all that relates to the fantastical disposition of barren rocks of great magnitude tossed indiscriminately about by the hand of Nature."-Captain Basil Hall's Patchwork, vol. ii., p. 268.

†The distance from King's House Inn to Fort-William by the Devil's Staircase is about 23 miles. From the excessive roughness and steepness of a part of the first half of the road, it can be travelled only by pedestrians. The Staircase diverges from the main road at a small cluster of shepherd's houses, called Altnafedh, where it may be well to obtain a guide for the first two miles, the road scarcely being distinguishable among the rocks and loose stones which surround its tract. The only house where any refreshment can be obtained, is one of a very humble order, about twelve miles from Altnafedh, where drovers are accustomed to lodge on their way from the north.

in protecting the retreat of his men; that MacDougal was struck down by the king, whose strength of body was equal to his vigour of mind, and would have been slain on the spot, had not two of Lorn's vassals, a father and a son, whom tradition terms MacKeoch, rescued him, by seizing the mantle of the monarch, and dragging him from above his adversary. Bruce rid himself of these foes by two blows of his redoubted battle-axe, but was so closely pressed by the other followers of Lorn, that he was forced to abandon the mantle, and brooch which fastened it, clasped in the dying grasp of the MacKeochs. A studded brooch, said to have been that which King Robert lost upon this occasion, was long preserved in the family of MacDougal, and was lost in a fire which consumed their temporary residence."* According to the account given in Barbour, three of the strongest among Lorn's followers resolved to rid their chief of this formidable foe. "They watched their opportunity until Bruce's party had entered a pass between a lake (Loch Dochart probably) and a precipice, where the King,

*This exploit is celebrated by Sir Walter Scott in the following song, entitled "THE BROOCH OF LORN," supposed to be sung by the bard of Lorn at his chieftain's request :

"Whence the brooch of burning gold,
That clasps the chieftain's mantle-fold,
Wrought and chased with rare device,
Studded fair with gems of price,

On the varied tartans beaming,

"When the gem was won and lost,
Widely was the war-cry toss'd!
Rung aloud Bendourish fell,
Answer'd Douchart's sounding dell,
Fled the deer from wild Teyndrum,

As, through night's pale rainbow gleam- When the homicide, o'ercome,

ing,

Fainter now, now seen afar,
Fitful shines the northern star?

"Gem! ne'er wrought on Highland moun

tain,

Did the fairy of the fountain,
Or the mermaid of the wave,
Frame thee in some coral cave?
Did, in Iceland's darksome mine,
Dwarf's swart hands thy metal twine?
Or, mortal-moulded, comest thou here,
From England's love or France's fear?

"No! thy splendours nothing tell
Foreign art or faëry spell.
Moulded thou for monarch's use,
By the overweening Bruce,
When the royal robe he tied
O'er a heart of wrath and pride;
Thence in triumph wert thou torn,
By the victor hand of Lorn!

Hardly 'scaped with scathe and scorn,
Left the pledge with conquering Lorn.
"Vain was then the Douglas brand,
Vain the Campbell's vaunted hand
Vain Kirkpatrick's bloody dirk,
Making sure of murder's work;
Barendown fled fast away,
Fled the fiery De la Haye,
When this brooch, triumphant borne
Beam'd upon the breast of Lorn.

"Farthest fled its former Lord,
Left his men to brand and cord,
Bloody brand of Highland steel,
English gibbet, axe, and wheel,
Let him fly from coast to coast,
Dogg'd by Comyn's vengeful ghost,
While his spoils, in triumph worn,
Long shall grace victorious Lorn!"

Lord of the Isles, canto ii., stanza 11,
and Notes.

who was the last of the party, had scarce room to manage his steed. Here his three foes sprung upon him at once. One seized his bridle, but received a wound which hewed off his arm; a second grasped Bruce by the stirrup and leg, and endeavoured to dismount him, but the King, putting spurs to his horse, threw him down, still holding by the stirrup. The third taking advantage of an acclivity, sprung up behind him upon his horse. Bruce, however, whose personal strength is uniformly mentioned as exceeding that of most men, extricated himself from his grasp, threw him to the ground, and cleft his skull with his sword. By similar exertion he drew the stirrup from his grasp, whom he had overthrown, and killed him also with his sword as he lay among the horse's feet."

Two miles from Tyndrum is St. Fillan's church. Here there is a linn in the river Ettrick, called St. Fillan's Pool, in which a considerable number of lunatics are annually immersed, and then bound hand and foot, and laid all night in the churchyard of St. Fillans in the expectation of effecting a cure. Two miles farther is Crienlarich Inn, from which the tourist may either proceed through Glenfalloch to the head of Loch Lomond, or by Glen Dochart and Glen Ogle to Lochearnhead, and join the route described p. 322.

FIFTEENTH TOUR.

STEAMBOAT TOUR FROM GRANTON TO ABERDEEN, INVERNESS, WICK, ORKNEY AND SHETLAND ISLANDS.

AFTER leaving Granton, the first object of interest is the island of Inchkeith, which received its name from the ancient family of Keith, to whom it formerly belonged. It was fortified by the English in the reign of Edward VI.,

but the fortifications were afterwards demolished by order of the Scottish Parliament, During the regency of Mary of Guise, it was occupied by the French, who designated it L'Isle des Chevaux, because the grass which it produced formed a nutritious food for horses. Inchkeith possesses several fine springs of water, which, from the circumstance of their occurring at an elevated level above the sea and being never dry, it is presumed must obtain their supply by a submarine passage from the high hills of Fife. The lighthouse on this island is a work of great neatness, and the machinery by which the lights revolve, is very interesting. From the middle of the Firth, a fine view is obtained of the city of Edinburgh, with the harbours of Leith, Newhaven, and Granton, and the coast of Fife, thickly studded with towns. In allusion to this striking characteristic of Fife, King James VI. is said to have likened it to "a grey cloth mantle with a golden fringe.” A little to the west is Burntisland, nearly opposite is the inn of Pettycur,* and a little farther east is the royal burgh of Kinghorn,† which gives the title of Earl to the Earls of Strathmore. About half a mile west of the town is a precipice called the King's Woodend, where Alexander III. was thrown from his horse and killed, 19th March 1285-6. Below Kinghorn is a square tower, the remains of Seafield Castle. A short way farther on is the "lang town of Kirkaldy," a royal burgh of great enterprise and trade. Its streets are extremely irregular, narrow, crooked, ill-paved, and dirty. Dr. Adam Smith, author of the "Wealth of Nations," was a native of this town. Balwearie, in the neighbourhood, was the birth-place of Sir Michael Scott, the famous wizard immortalized in the Lay of the Last Minstrel. The ruins of the old tower of Balwearie are still

to be seen. On a rising ground behind Kirkaldy is Raith

* Pettycur is supposed to have derived its name (petit corps) from the landing of a small body of French troops during the regency of Mary of Guise. †The parish church of Kinghorn is without a spire. This, and some other circumstances, supposed to be characteristic of the town, have given rise to the following couplet :

"Here stands a kirk without a steeple,
A drucken priest, and a graceless people."