GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 TOL. I.
 
 LO^'DOy 
 
 PBINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. 
 
 NEW-STREET SQrAEK
 
 GLENCREGGAN : 
 
 OR, 
 
 A HIGHLAND HOME IN CANTIRE. 
 
 CUTHBEET BEDE. 
 
 Illustrated with Three Maps, Eight Chromolithographs, and 
 Sixty- one Woodcuts, from the Author's Drawings. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS. 
 
 1861.
 
 THIS BOOK 
 
 IS DEDICATED TO 
 
 WILLIAM HANCOCKS, ESQ. 
 
 IN KEilEMBRANCE OF 
 
 AN AGREEABLE VISIT AND 
 
 MANY KINDNESSES.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 In the following pages I essay to guide my readers to new 
 ground, even to *' the Land's End " of Scotland, — for 
 such is the English meaning of the Graelic word Cantire, 
 Ceantire, " the Land's End," which is the southern part 
 of the county of Argyle, and is a peninsula only twelve 
 miles removed from Ireland, washed by the Atlantic, 
 and flanked by the Isles of Arran and the southern 
 Hebrides. I venture to call Cantire new ground, for 
 in truth it is somewhat of a terra incognita, and is but 
 rarely visited, and has been but barely mentioned by 
 the guide-books, some of which indeed do not bestow 
 any description upon Cantire, evidently regarding it as 
 a Western Highland district which no tourist would 
 desire to explore. 
 
 For, it is a country which must be visited for its own 
 sake ; and the traveller, in quest of Highland cele- 
 
 A 4
 
 Vni TEEFACE. 
 
 brities, need not, on his way to them, pass through 
 Cantire. It lies south and west of the better-known 
 portions of the Scottish Highlands ; and although so 
 many thousand tourists annually visit those spots which 
 fashion has very justly pronounced to be so invitingly 
 beautiful, — but which, rather more than a century ago 
 (as they were hard to be got at), were deemed to be 
 the types of all that was uninteresting and repulsive, — 
 yet not even a driblet of this annual stream is filtered 
 through Cantire. It lies out of the beaten track ; it 
 is somewhat of a journey to get at it, to get through 
 it, and to get away from it ; and, in these days of rapid 
 locomotion, when the British tourist can breakfast in 
 Glasgow, and " do " Dumbarton, Loch Lomond, Eob 
 Roy's country, Loch Katrine, the Trossachs, and Stirling, 
 within the limits of one summer's day, and can sleep in 
 Edinburgh the same night, he can get more for his 
 money and for his after-conversation out of such a tour 
 as this, than he can do by going out of his way to see a 
 district of the Highlands, which must consume at the 
 very least three or four days of his time to get to 
 and away from, and in which his home friends will 
 probably not take the slightest interest. For the 
 British tourist is a gregarious and sheep-like animal,
 
 PEEFACE. IX 
 
 and Brown's instinct leads him along the beaten track, 
 where he is sure to meet with Smith, Jones, and Eobin- 
 son, and where railways, steamers, coaches, and well- 
 appointed inns fit into each other with ease and 
 comfort. 
 
 And thus, although the Western Highlands have 
 been so much visited and described, the peninsula of 
 Cantire has well-nigh escaped notice. It is true that 
 when compared with certain other better-known dis- 
 tricts, the scenery of the Land's End of Scotland must 
 (in some particulars) take an inferior rank ; but it only 
 fails when put to the test of comparison ; and after all 
 this test is but a variable one, dependent upon the 
 diversities of taste, and for all practical purposes next 
 to worthless. Brown's remark, that the Fall of Foyers 
 is a hundred times as big, or ten times as stunning, as 
 that tiny cascade in the glen which honest Smith is 
 admiring with all his artistic heart and soul, is no real 
 depreciation of the smaller fall. Nor ought the satis- 
 faction with which Robinson, prone in heather, regards 
 the Cantire panorama from his hill twelve hundred feet 
 above the Atlantic, to be in any way damped by the 
 sneer of travelled Jones : " Ah ! you've never been up 
 the Coollins I "
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 But whatever may be said of the general scenery of 
 Cantire, when compared with that of better-known 
 districts in the Western Highlands, yet it has its dis- 
 tinguishing characteristic of a peninsula to mark it out 
 as sui generis ; and as the peninsula, in its widest part, 
 is not more than ten or twelve miles, the sea is a main 
 object (this is mentioned as a fact and not as a pun) in 
 all the Cantire views. Stand where you will, unless 
 buried deep in the winding glens, and you have abundant 
 sea-scape as well as landscape. Traversing the centre 
 of Cantire, and forming the back-bone of the peninsula, 
 is a range of hills and mountains, averaging about 
 twelve hundred feet in height, but including greater 
 altitudes, and cro^vned by Cantire's "monarch of moun- 
 tains," Beinn-an-Tuirc, "the Wild-Boar's mountain," 
 whose siunmit is 2170 feet above the sea. The view 
 from nearly every heathery moor is panoramic in its 
 extent, and varied and beautiful in its details. To the 
 west is the great Atlantic, its broad bosom studded with 
 the Highland gems of the southern Hebrides ; to the east 
 is Kilbrannan Sound and the Firth of Clyde, with the 
 torn peaks of the lovely isle of Arran. Further north 
 is Loch Fyne, the Isle of Bute, and a mass of mountains, 
 among which Ben Lomond is plainly to be discerned.
 
 PEEFACE. XI 
 
 Due north may be seen Ben More and the mountains 
 of misty Mull ; and to the southward lies, like a blue 
 cloud upon the sea, that portion of the northern coast 
 of Ireland that extends from Fair Head to the Giant's 
 Causeway. Every way there is a sea-view, diversified 
 for the most part with islands ; and when we combine 
 this with the varied inland scenery, we might almost 
 apply the words of Milton to this Highland ground of 
 Cantii-e, and say : 
 
 " All is here that the -whole earth yields, 
 Variety without end ; sweet interchange 
 Of liill and valley, riTers, woods, and plains. 
 Now land, now sea, and shores with forest crown' d, 
 Rocks, dens, and caves." 
 
 The " forest-crowned " shores are even found here 
 and there, though the greater part of the sea-board is 
 destitute of timber. The Mull of Cantire, — the veri- 
 table " Land's End," — is peculiarly bare, and is for the 
 most part a wild region of heath-covered hills, girdled 
 by ragged rocks, against which the waves of the Atlantic, 
 after their three-thousand-mile race, are dashed with a 
 furious roar, that has been heard (so it is stated) at a 
 distance of forty miles. The highest mountain upon 
 the Mull is Cnoc j\Iaigh, which attains an altitude of 
 2063 feet, and which has apparently been named
 
 Xll PREFACE. 
 
 Cnoc Maigh, or "the Hill of the Plain," on the 
 lucus a non principle, as it rises from a confused 
 pile of mountains, some of which are but little its in- 
 feriors in altitude, and from all of which the views are 
 varied and magnificent. To the wildness of the scenery 
 in the southern, portion of the peninsula, the soft beauty 
 of the northern affords a marked and agreeable contrast, 
 and the loveliness of West Loch Tarbert is like a con- 
 fused memory of Loch Katrine and Windermere. 
 
 But, whatever difference of opinion may exist as to 
 the scenery of Cantire, there can be but one opinion as 
 to its being a district which yields to no other in the 
 Western Highlands both in interest and importance. 
 Cantire was the original seat of the Scottish monarchy, 
 and its chief town was the capital of the Scottish king- 
 dom centuries before Edinburgh existed. It was the 
 first part of Western Scotland where Christianity took 
 root ; for in Cantire St. Columba's tutor, and then St. 
 Columba himself, preached the Grospel before it had 
 been heard at lona, or in any other part of the Western 
 Highlands and Islands. From its nearness to Ireland 
 it was subject to other invasions than those by the 
 Danes ; and from its being one of the chief territories 
 of the Lords of the Isles, and having within its boun-
 
 PREFACE. XUl 
 
 daries some of their most important strongholds, its 
 soil was the scene of perpetual feuds and chronic wars. 
 In the following pages these points will be found to 
 be treated, I trust, with conciseness and clearness, but 
 yet with sufficient fulness. 
 
 My visit to Cantii-e was made during the months 
 of August and September, 1859; and since then I 
 have been at considerable pains to collect from reliable 
 sources a large body of information, statistical and 
 archaeological, on every point that would illustrate the 
 history, antiquities, scenery, and characteristics of this 
 interesting Highland territory of the Lords of the Isles, 
 as well as the dress, manners, customs, sports, and 
 employments of the inhabitants, together with their 
 moors and glens, their lochs and rivers, their towns, 
 villages, churches, castles, farms, and cottage dwellings. 
 In short, so far as in me lay, I have endeavoured to 
 give a full and informing sketch of the peninsula and 
 people of Cantire. I have also added a description of 
 the route to and from Cantire by the Firth of Clyde, 
 the coast of Arran, Kilbrannan Sound, Loch Fyne, 
 and the Kyles of Bute ; together with a brief account 
 of Islay and Jura, and those other islands of the
 
 XIV PREFACE. 
 
 Southern Hebrides that lie off the western coast of 
 Cantire. 
 
 My knowledge on many points must necessarily have 
 been but slight and superficial, and I therefore grate- 
 fully pay testimony to the kindness of those Cantire 
 friends who have so readily assisted me with informa- 
 tion. I have acknowledged my obligations to them 
 in various portions of my book ; and I need here but 
 mention the names of the Eev. Duncan Macfarlane of 
 Killean, Keith Macalister, Esq., of Grlenbarr Abbey, the 
 Hon. A. H. Macdonald Moreton, of Largie Castle, and 
 William Hancocks, Esq., of Grlencreggan, without whose 
 kindness and hospitality this book would not have had 
 an existence. 
 
 I would also wish to especially acknowledge my 
 obligations to Mr. Peter Mcintosh, of Campbelton, 
 for the greater part of those curious and characteristic 
 tales and legends with which my descriptions are re- 
 lieved. During a long and well-spent life Mr. Mcintosh 
 has turned his attention to the collection and preser- 
 vation of the fast-dying records of past customs and 
 beliefs, and has been a pioneer in that movement 
 which Mr. Campbell has so well inaugurated in his 
 lately-published volumes of the " Popular Tales of the
 
 PREFACE. XV 
 
 West Highlands," to which I have frequently referred 
 in the following pages, although their mention of 
 Cantire is confined to five brief passages. 
 
 Grreatly aided, therefore, by Mr. Mcintosh, with 
 slight help from other sources, both public and private, 
 I have been enabled to collect upwards of fifty pop- 
 ular tales relating to Cantire: the titles of the prin- 
 cipal stories will be found (under the head of Story) 
 in the Index which I have prepared for the book, and 
 which, without being overladen with references, will 
 I trust be found sufficiently compendious for all useful 
 purposes. 
 
 Cantire has hitherto been very imperfectly and in- 
 correctly mapped, and it is hoped that the map given 
 in the present work will be found to surpass its pre- 
 decessors. If the truth must be told, it has given me 
 more trouble than all the rest of the book. I compiled 
 it from various sources, — my own observation, private 
 charts kindly placed at my disposal, and the best pub- 
 lished maps. The coast lines have been adopted from 
 those in the Admiralty charts, — (" Scotland, West-coast ; 
 Sheets 2 and 3, — 1966, 2159 — surveyed by Captain 
 Robinson ; ") and the mountain ranges and other por- 
 tions are chiefly based upon Mr. Keith Johnston's
 
 XVI PREFACE. 
 
 large map of Southern Arg-yleshire, which (the Ord- 
 nance Survey not having mapped Cantire) is said to be 
 the best map of the peninsula. There are many errors, 
 however, in Mr. Johnston's map, and considerable 
 differences and discrepancies will be found on com- 
 paring his ■ map with that in the present work. This 
 is notably the case with regard to the names of places, 
 and in this respect I. encountered considerable diflS- 
 culties. Scarcely any two maps agreed upon this point, 
 and when I went to original authorities, and to people 
 upon the spot, the Gaelic name has been spelt for me 
 by my Celtic informants in so many different ways, 
 (owing chiefly to the variations in dialect) that after 
 all, I have had to choose between several varieties, and 
 to select that name which seemed to me to have the 
 best title for correctness. In this dilemma, I have 
 generally been guided by the author of the " Statis- 
 tical Account " of each parish, who, from his local 
 knowledge and acquirements, could speak on this point 
 ex cathedra. I also received the valuable assistance of 
 Mr. Edward Weller, F. K. Gr. S., under whose careful 
 superintendoDce the map has been engraved. 
 
 A Eoute Map, and a Greological Map, have also been 
 added. For the latter I am indebted to the kindness
 
 PREFACE. XVll 
 
 of an eminent geologist, whose name (were I allowed 
 to mention it) would be a sufficient g-uarantee for its 
 correctness. That it greatly differs from Macculloch's 
 map is attributable partly to the older map being 
 limited to " the general features " of the Cantire 
 geology, and partly to the science having been Somewhat 
 revolutionised since Macculloch's day. 
 
 With regard to the Illustrations, those in colours 
 have been copied in chromo-lithography from my large 
 water-colour drawing-s, a task which has been performed 
 by the Messrs. Hanhart, with great skill and fidelity, 
 to my own satisfaction, and I trust, to the gratification 
 of my readers, who will be enabled to judge from them, 
 better than from any vei'bal description, how wild and 
 picturesque is the scenery of Cantire. The woodcut 
 illustrations (engraved by Mr. Branston) are from my 
 own sketches, assisted, in a few instances, by photo- 
 graphs specially taken for this work. The greater part 
 of the landscape illustrations have been drawn upon the 
 wood by Mr. J. Willis Brooks, and are denoted in the 
 Lists of Illustrations prefixed to the volumes. For all 
 the other woodcuts I myself am answerable. 
 
 My thanks are due to the publishers, who have not 
 
 spared pains or expense on the production of this work; 
 VOL. I. a
 
 XVIU PREFACE. 
 
 and I trust that by their aid my sketches and des- 
 criptions may tempt some of the numerous Highland 
 tourists, who have never had an opportunity of seeing 
 the originals, to take as pleasant a tour as I myself 
 enjoyed in the land of the Lords of the Isles — Cantire 
 — the « Land's-End " of Scotland. 
 
 June, 1861.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE SCENERY OF THE CLYDE. 
 
 Greenock no Wapping, but tlie first Seaport in Scotland. — Greenock's 
 Glory and Greenock's Lament. — A pleasant and reliable Author. — 
 Down the Clyde. — Eoseneath and Gourock. — The Kempoch Stane. 
 — Trade Winds. — "Witches and Sailors. — Sir G. Head's Opinion. — 
 Loch Long and Holy Loch. — The Hieland Hills. — Clyde Scenery. — 
 One of the Northern Lights. — "Watering-Places on the Clyde. — 
 Bums and Kelly-Bum. — The Frith of Clyde. — Sketching Difficul- 
 ties. — Amateur Sailors. — Sic Transit. — Garroch Head . Page 1 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 OFF THE COAST OF AERAN. 
 
 Nearing Arran. — Wordsworth and Scott. — The Cock of Arran. — Loch 
 Eanza, and Opinions anent it. — A femal Parson. — A valuable Sug- 
 gestion to Tourists. — First Sight of Cantire. — Loch Fyne. — Skip- 
 ness Castle. — A sturdy Covenanter. — Dr. Johnson and the Minister 
 of Skipness. — The Legend of the Smith of Skipness. — Kilbrennan 
 Soimd. — Carradale. — Vitrified Forts. — A Legend of the Great 
 Plague. — The Weeper. — Superstitions. — Bel Teine. — A knotty 
 Bargain . . . . . . .23 
 
 a 2
 
 XX CONTENTS OF 
 
 CIL\P. III. 
 
 IN KILBRANNAN SOUND. 
 
 Torrisdale. — Saddell Castle. — Wanton Destruction of national An- 
 tiquities. — Saddell Monastery. — The mighty Somerled. — A High- 
 land Chieftain's Eent-KoU. — Macdonald and his Cuckoo. — My 
 Thomson. — How Macdonald entertained his Irish Friends and the 
 M'Leans. — The Lord of the Isles. — Eobert Bruce and local Le- 
 gends concerning him. — Fingal and his Dog Bran . . Page 45 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 ON HIGHLAND GROLTND. 
 
 Ugadale. — MacNeal's Elopement. — A Point of Honoiir. — The Cap- 
 tain's Bible. — A teetotal Corsican Brother. — Ailsa Craig. — Glen- 
 lussa and its Volunteers. — The Sailor's Cup of Tea. — Island of 
 DaTar. — Campbelton Harbour and its Scenery. — We step on High- 
 land Groimd. — Old and slow ; modern and swift. — Highland 
 Porters. — We take our Ease in our Inn . . ,59 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 THE land's end OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Cantire, geographical, historical, and antiquarian. — Who knows any- 
 thing about Cantu-e ? — Maps, Guide-Books, and other Publications 
 making mention of Cantire. — Eureka ! a novel Subject. — Scotch 
 Mulls in general, and the Mull of Cantire in particular. — The most 
 southern Northern Light. — Tides. — Highland Vagrants. — High- 
 land Story-tellers. — The Lau'd of Carskey and his familiar Spirit. 
 — Kilcolmkill and St. Columba — His History and Miracles. — 
 Modem Miraclemongers. — Columba's first Hebridean Church at 
 KilcolmkiU. — A romantic Eeqiiest. — Coneglen. — The Fort of the 
 Land's End of Scotland . . . . . .76
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. XXI 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 DUNAVERTT AXD ITS TRADITIONS. 
 
 Dimaverty Castle. — Eobert Bnice. — Southend. — The Piper of Keill. 
 — Isle of Sanda. — The Eock of Elood. — The Massacre of Duna- 
 verty — Traditions concerning it. — The Covenanter Chaplain. — 
 Preservation of the Infant Macdonald. — Argyll hangs his Brother- 
 in-Law. — Story of Macdonald and the Irish Princess. — The last 
 Macdonald and the Lord Lieutenant. — Hotv CaUum cheated the 
 Evil Eye. — How the Clan CaUiim cemented their Friendship 
 
 Page 111 
 
 CHAP. YII. 
 
 THE OLD SCOTTISH CAPITAL. 
 
 A Dialogue. — Brevity and Clearness. — Campbelton the earliest Seat 
 of the Scottish Monarchy, and the Christian Religion in Scotland. — 
 The Dalruadhs. — An out-of-the-way Place. — Roimd Eobin Hood's 
 Barn. — The Inverary Cross. — The Campbelton Cross : did it 
 come from lona ? — Arguments for and against. — Popular Tra- 
 ditions and their value. — Ornamentation of the Cross. — Maccid- 
 loch at fault. — Demons and Angels. — Pen and Pencil Records. — 
 The Town House . . . . . .132 
 
 CHAP, \^n. 
 
 THE CHIEF TOW^ OF THE LORDS OF THE ISLES. 
 
 Campbelton Law. — A good Confession. — The joint Farmers and the 
 'cute Chamberlain. — Law is Justice for once. — A royal Burgh. — 
 Andrew Fairservice's Opinion. — The modem • Town — Its Trade 
 and Distilleries. — Whiskey. — The Busses. — Fisheries. — Scenery 
 of the Harbour. — Lime Craigs. — The Dowager Duchess. — Her 
 Craft. — She is outwitted by a Servant. — The Trench Battery. — 
 CastlehiU Church. — Macdonald's Castle. — The Lords of the Isles 
 a 3
 
 XXU CONTENTS OF 
 
 — James the Fifth's Visit. — Coll Kittoch, "the Leit-handed." — 
 A Eelief Church. — The Descendants of the Covenanters. — Cannie 
 Scots. — Malcolm's Advice. — Scotch Wit. — The Campbelton 
 Oracle ....... Page 159 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 KILKERRAN, AND THE FIRST MISSIONARY IN THE HIGHLANDS. 
 
 Kilkerran. — St. Kiaran — His History. — The Apostle of Cantire. — 
 Palladius. — St. Patrick. — St. Kiaran's Pupil Columba. — Chrono- 
 logical Difficulties. — St. Kiaran's Home in Cantire — His begging 
 Horse. — An unfair Compact. — The Bxirial-ground — Three Views 
 of it. — Aidan's Tomb. — A pugilistic Apparition. — Mr. Boes and 
 his Second-sight. — " Well done, John ! " — The Sleeper. — Mr. 
 Boes and his Combats with Satan. — Kilkerran Castle. — Small 
 Profits and quick Returns ..... 185 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 SAINTS AND LEGENDS. 
 
 St. Couslan. — The Spanish Princess. — Dr. Smith of Campbelton. — 
 Kilcouslan. — Kilcoivin. — A noted Duellist. — Holy Music. — St. 
 Couslan and runaway Couples. — St. Coivin and unhappy Married 
 Folks — Their several Plans. — A Midnight Conversazione for Dis- 
 contented Couples. — A Disappointed Divorcer. — Etymology of 
 " Cabbage." — Machrilianish Bay — Its Scenery and Dangers. — 
 Salt-Pans. — Pan Cod — How it is caught. — The three Degrees of 
 Comparison in Mountain Altitudes. — View from Cnoc-maigh. — 
 Tirfergus Glen. — The Legend of the Weaver of Tirfergus. — Mac- 
 kinven's Bard outdone. — Raids. — The Story of Boyle's Bible. — 
 The Act Recissory. — Torquil MacNeal's Second-sight. — The Lag- 
 gan of Cantire. — The Black Fisherman of Lochsanish. — The 
 Poor Man's Prayer fulfilled. — Kilchenzie and St. Kenneth. — How 
 MacEachin entertained MacCallum More . . . 202
 
 THE FIRST VOl.UME. XXlll 
 
 CHLIP. XI. 
 
 A VERY AMUSING ROAD. 
 
 On the Koad. — Chevaiix de Poste. — Our Tail. — An engaging Kide. 
 
 — Varieties in Opinion. — Scenery of the Western Shore. — The 
 Atlantic and Southern Hebrides. — The Impedimenta of Travelling, 
 
 — Dr. Kitchener's List of Toiirists' Necessaries. — Travelling for 
 Pleasure. — Bealochintie. — Paiten. — Barr. — A Highland Village. 
 
 — Inn and Shop. — An Emporium. — The Smith of Barr and the 
 Great Plague. — Sketching. — Not to be put in the Window Page 228 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 GLENBARR. 
 
 Glenbarr Abbey — Its Position — Scenery and Gardens, — Barr 
 Eiver. — Salmon spearing. — " It's just the Sport." — Timber. — 
 Glen Scenery. — The Eiver Defile. — A Memory-Picture. — Mouth 
 of the Eiver. — Seaward View. — Modern Nereids. — Scotch wash- 
 ing. — The Eiver-tub. — The Princess Nausicaa. — Twenty-seven 
 Centuries ago ....... 247 
 
 CILIP. XIII. 
 
 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 Situation of Glencreggan. — A View of one Hundred Miles, — The 
 Southern Hebrides. — A Glass for a Toper of the Picturesque. — 
 Conversing Mirrors. — An imaginary Waterfall. — The Mare's Tail, 
 and a Mare's Nest, — Atlantic Blue, — Harvest in the Highlands, — 
 The Lady Eeapers. — Bare Feet and Stubble. — The Artist's ideal 
 Gleaner. — Stem Eeality. — Clouts. — Little Monkeys. — "What 
 educated Feet can be made to do. — Singular Instances. — The 
 walking of Cloth. — Novel way of scouring a Eoom. — Broth withal. 
 
 — Cleanliness and Picturesqueness. — A naked Foot saved Scotland. 
 
 — Nemo me impune lacessit ..... 264
 
 XXIV CONTENTS OF 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 HALF A DOZEN OF THE HEBRIDES. 
 
 The Hebrides. — Cara. — Gigulum. — Gigha. — The squirting Cave. — 
 The Watch-Cairn. — Keefie's Hill.— The miraculous Well of Tou- 
 bir-more. — The Brownie. — Islay. — Antiquities. — Milo outdone. 
 
 — Dinners and Deserts. — Traces of the Lords of the Isles. — 
 Kernes and Gallowglasses. — A Wife upon Trial. — Macdonald's 
 Feud. — Jura. — Corpachs. — The Island of Deer. — The Paps of 
 Jura — Their Altitude and Character. — The Mountain of Gold. — 
 The Slide of the old Hag. — Corryrraken. — The Legend of the 
 Whirlpool. — The grey Dog's Slap. — A Tub for a Whale. — The 
 Mermaid. — The Song of Colonsay. — Oransay. — A Hebridean 
 Alsatia ....... Page 288 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 SHADE AND SHINE. 
 
 Geology of the Coast. — Old Scotland. — Mont Blanc an Upstart. — 
 Procopius and his 'wonderful Descriptions. — How to write contem- 
 porary History. — Barr School. — The Scholars and their System. — 
 Bottge et Noir. — A Canth-e Winter. — The Climate. — " Coorse " 
 Weather. — Storms and Mist. — Tempests. — Sunrise versus Sunset. 
 
 — Much to be said on both Sides. — The Sunset on the Atlantic. — 
 The Painter and the Poet both at fault . . .308 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 HIGHLANDERS AND HIGHLAND DRESS. 
 
 Preparations for the Moors. — The Shooting-cart. — Highland Roads 
 and Carriages. — Ossian's Chariots. — The Head-Keeper. — The 
 Dogs. — Old Viscount. — A teetotal Highlander. — Old Eudd. — 
 Our little Weaknesses. — A Whiskey Formula. — A Cross-examina-
 
 THE FIEST VOLUME. XXV 
 
 tioii. — Old Eudd offended. — Ditto the Scotch Cook. — Archie. — 
 Barley-sheaves and Whiskey, — The Shooters' Departvire. — Earity 
 of the national Dress. — Scotch'd but not kilt. — The Poetical and 
 Practical. — The Scotch Bonnet. — A royal Example. — A kilted 
 Morning-caller. — Detractors of the Dress. — Age of the Kilt. — An 
 extravagant Bishop! — Mr. Pinkerton's Modesty shocked. — Eoyal 
 Toleration. — The ancient Briton and modern Highlander. — He- 
 raldic Tartans. — The Cantire Parmer and his Wardrobe Page 323 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 HEATHER-LAND. 
 
 Awa' to the Moors ! — Heather-land. • — Beauty of Heather. — Foreign 
 and natiye Heaths. — Uses of Heather. — Food and Shelter to Bird 
 and Beast. — Heather-honey. — The Humble-bee. — Heather Beds. 
 — Heather Fuel. — Heather Ale. — Heather Tobacco. — Heather 
 Tracks. — Highland botanical Heralcby. — Heather Heraldi-y. — 
 Heather pictorially considered. — A Sketcher's Gvin and Bag. — An 
 extensive View. — Memories of Heather-land . . . 354
 
 LIST or ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 TO 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 CHEOMO-LITHOGEAPHS. 
 
 Glenbarr Abbey, Cantire ..... Frontispiece 
 
 Saddell House and Castle, Cantire . . To face page i& 
 
 The Mull of Cantire . . . . . .90 
 
 Kilkerran, Campbelton Harbour, and Davar Island, Cantire . 186 
 Barr Glen, Cantire .... , . 256 
 
 WOODCUTS PEINTED AS PLATES. 
 {Brawn on the wood by Mr. J. Willis BrooTcs. Engraved by Branston.) 
 
 Locli Eanza, Isle of Arran . . . To face page 2S 
 
 Dunaverty, Cantire . . . . . .116 
 
 Glenereggan, Cantire, from the Atlantic .... 265 
 
 WOODCUTS PEINTED IN THE TEXT. 
 
 Subject. Drawn on the wood by Page 
 
 Custom-house, Greenock . . . C. Bade . . 1 
 
 Frith of Clyde ; entrance to Holy Loch and 
 
 Loch Long . . . . „ . .10
 
 XXVlll 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS. 
 
 Subject. 
 
 Seotcli Terrier, with Native Complaint 
 
 Putting the Stone 
 
 Campbelton; the Town and Harboiu- 
 
 The MuU of MacKyloe 
 
 Scotch Mulls .... 
 
 Inverary Cross 
 
 Main Street, Campbelton . , 
 
 The Campbelton Cross 
 
 Campbelton Cross Inscription 
 
 Arms of the Kintyre Club 
 
 Gude Wives and Mutches 
 
 Machrihanish Bay 
 
 In an open Car on the Western Shore 
 
 Barr Village .... 
 
 The Eag and Bone Woman , 
 
 Glen-Barr Abbey, N.W. A^'iew 
 
 Scotch Washing 
 
 Diaga'am of View from Glencreggan , 
 
 Highland Eeapers 
 
 Training the Feet 
 
 Cloth Wauking (after Pennant) 
 
 From Glencreggan House to Barr School 
 
 Scotch' d but not kilt . 
 
 Glencreggan House. — (OiF to the Moors) 
 
 What it may come to 
 
 National and Picturesque . 
 
 How happy could I be with Heather ! 
 
 )rawn on the wood by 
 
 Page 
 
 . C. Bede . 
 
 45 
 
 ,, 
 
 59 
 
 „ 
 
 68 
 
 „ 
 
 76 
 
 ,, 
 
 89 
 
 . J. W. Brooks 
 
 140 
 
 ,, 
 
 143 
 
 I) 
 
 152 
 
 ,, 
 
 153 
 
 . C. Bede . 
 
 157 
 
 ,, 
 
 185 
 
 ,, 
 
 210 
 
 )) 
 
 228 
 
 II 
 
 241 
 
 II 
 
 245 
 
 11 
 
 249 
 
 )i 
 
 259 
 
 II 
 
 266 
 
 11 
 
 274 
 
 II 
 
 277 
 
 II 
 
 281 
 
 • 11 
 
 312 
 
 11 
 
 323 
 
 11 
 
 327 
 
 11 
 
 339 
 
 11 
 
 342 
 
 11 • 
 
 35 
 
 MAPS. 
 
 Route Map 
 Map of Cantire 
 
 To face 'page 1. 
 End of the Volume.
 
 ROUTE MAP TO ILLUSTRATE "GLEN CR E GGAN" 

 
 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 THE SCENEET OF THE CLYDE. 
 
 Greenock no Wapping, but the fii'st Seaport in Scotland. — Greenock's 
 Glory and Greenock's Lament. — A pleasant and reliable Author. — 
 Down the Clyde. — Koseneath and Gouroek. — The Kempoch Staue. 
 — Trade Winds. — Witches and Sailors. — Sir G. Head's Opinion. — 
 Loch Long and Holy Loch. — The Hieland Hills. — Clyde Sceneiy. — 
 One of the Northern Lights. — ■ Watering-Places on the Clyde. — 
 Burns and Kelly-Burn. — The Frith of Clyde. — Sketching Difficul- 
 ties. — Amateur Sailors. — Sic Transit. — Garroch Head. 
 
 ^OWX by the Custom-house 
 at Greenock, — a building in 
 the Grecian style, with a 
 large portico, — the hand- 
 somest structure in the town ; 
 and here we are amid all 
 the bustle of the quays. 
 They are three in number, 
 with their harbours and dry 
 docks filled vvdth the mani- 
 fold evidences of the present prosperity of the town. 
 A little more than two centuries since it was but a 
 VOL. L B
 
 2 GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 small fishing village; then it acquired a name for 
 herrings, and from its dealings in this little fish, laid 
 the foundation of its present importance ; then it did 
 a good business in the matter of tobacco, and was made 
 a custom-house port ; then it was accused by its jealous 
 rivals of London, Bristol, and Liverpool, of defrauding 
 the revenue, but came off with flying colours ; then it 
 steadily increased its exports and imports until it attained 
 its present rank as the first seaport in Scotland. 
 
 " No one ought to pass Greenock," says INIacculloch, 
 *' as if it were a mere receptacle of rum and sugar. It 
 is a splendid seaport, and it is no less beautifully situ- 
 ated. . . . The middle ground is occupied, first by 
 the broad expanse of the Clyde, gay with shipping, in 
 every position, and in every variety of form, and still 
 nearer, by the port of Grreenock, crowded with masts 
 and sails and buildings ; while the town itself, and 
 the high rocky and wooded banks that tower above 
 it, produce foregrounds as appropriate as they are 
 various and picturesque. Those who may have ex- 
 pected to find it a kind of Wapping deserve to be 
 confined for their lives to that odoriferous region, if 
 they leave Greenock with the same impression as they 
 entered it. The beauties of the shore on this side, 
 whether along the road, which is so judiciously con- 
 ducted near the margin of the water, or from the water 
 itself, are not often surpassed; while the whole coast, even
 
 GREENOCK. 3 
 
 as far as Largs, is varied by villages and houses, by- 
 ordinary marine villas, or by rural ones of higher anti- 
 quity and claims, by wood and by cultivation, and by 
 land of ever-changing forms. From a line of coast 
 thus intricate,, the Clyde, always spacious, and always 
 covered with its shipping, offers a scene of life and 
 brilliancy, unparalleled on any of our sea shores, and 
 enhanced by the majestic screen of mountains to the 
 north, for ever varying under the changes of a restless 
 atmosphere, but, under all these changes, for ever mag- 
 nificent." * 
 
 Grreenock is indeed no copy of dirty Wapping, but is 
 a shining, fresh, and clean seaport, that worthily bears 
 its honours as the first in Scotland. Those huge dredging 
 machines, with their endless treadmill of dirty buckets, 
 that, through the facility afforded by their successful 
 operations to large vessels of sailing right on to Glas- 
 gow, have received the sobriquet of " Grreenock's 
 Lament," or the " Terror of Greenock," — those dredgers 
 are constantly at work, scouring and deepening the bed 
 of the river, and making it fit for its work. There are 
 steamers from here to Glasgow and back, in as great 
 frequency as the trains ; and others constantly coming 
 and going, on their way to and from Glasgow, or the 
 immediate watering-places, or to the Highlands, Liver- 
 pool, Ireland, and America. On a summer's day, then, 
 
 HigKlands and Western Isles, vol. ii. p. 5. 
 B 2
 
 4 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 in the height of the touring season, the view from the 
 Custom-house at Grreenock is exceedingly animated. 
 Our destination is Campbelton, Cantire ; and here 
 comes our boat. The Celt, greatly puffing from the 
 effects of her run up from Glasgow. She swings broad- 
 side on to the quay ; and, after ten minutes have been 
 consumed in rattling of chains, and holding on and 
 casting off of ropes, and embarking heavy packages, and 
 no small amount of bad language in a foreign tongue, 
 we find the Custom-house and the quay slipping from 
 our side ; and by the time that we have made ourselves 
 comfortable on a deck seat, we begin to realise the fact 
 that we have left Grreenock behind us, and that we are 
 steaming down the Clyde, and past those pretty water- 
 ing-places that make the shores at the mouth of the 
 Clyde seem like a succession of Scarboroughs and 
 Llandudnos. " If a man had nothing else to do than 
 to make tours," says Macculloch, " I know not where 
 or how he could better spend his money and his time, 
 than in wandering up and down and about the shores 
 of the Clyde, and those of all the lochs that open into it, 
 and in ferreting out the endless corners and nooks in 
 which it abounds. Castles, towns, ships, islands, rocks, 
 movmtains, bays, creeks, rivers, cascades, trees, lakes, 
 cliffs, forests, country seats, cultivation — what is there, 
 in short, which may not be found on the shores of the 
 Clyde ? and what is there of all these which is not
 
 CLYDE SCENERY. 5 
 
 beautiful? Scotland has not such a house as Eose- 
 neath, and scarcely such a park as the park of Inverary. 
 Few of its towns are so beautifully situated as Grreenock 
 and Campbelton, and not many of its sea lochs exceed 
 Loch Long and Long Fyne. Dumbarton Castle has 
 not many equals ; the Kyles of Bute resemble nothing 
 on earth ; Ailsa is unmatched perhaps in the world ; 
 and if Arran, in parts, has more than a rival in some 
 parts of Skye, it has none, as a whole, throughout all the 
 Western Islands. But every inch is beautiful, even 
 from Dumbarton Castle to the Mull of Cantyre ; nor is 
 there a creek or a point in all this long space, that does 
 not present something new, and something attractive." * 
 So much by way of a sharpener of the mental appetite, 
 to enable us the more to appreciate those dainty bits of 
 scenery, which, during the next few hours, will, in suc- 
 cession, present themselves to our view. Our route is 
 the very one thus indicated in the foregoing quotation, 
 and we are truly thankful to be favoured with such pro- 
 pitious weather, and with such brilliant sunshine. It is 
 evident that we shall see the scenery to perfection, and 
 that the only drawback will be, that it will all be hastily 
 seen from the sea, and not leisurely explored from the 
 land. So, I am the more glad that we brought Mac- 
 culloch on board. As the advertisements say, " No 
 tourist should be without it." I do not mean his " De- 
 
 * Highlands and "Western Isles, vol. ii. pp. 1, 2. 
 B 3
 
 6 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 scription of the Western Islands," wherein his vivid and 
 picturesque descriptions are hidden away under trap 
 veins, sandstone dips, and calcareous strata, sufficient 
 to affright any reader but a severe geologist *, but that 
 book published five years later, his " Highlands and 
 Western Isles," wTitten in letters to Sir Walter Scott, and 
 a model of pleasant writing and extensive reading. If 
 you ever catch him tripping, it is not through drow- 
 siness ; for Macculloch is one of the liveliest of authors 
 on the Highlands and Western Isles, and his book, de- 
 spite its forty years of age, is still the best book on the 
 subject.! I am glad that we brought with us so plea- 
 
 * Lord Teignmouth has truly said of this valuable -work, " Dr. Mac- 
 cuUoch's account of the Hebrides, the result of sereral expeditions to 
 those islands, is the best which has appeared ; but the information is 
 partial, and, unfortunately, so OTcrloaded ^with adventitious matter, 
 that few but the learned will search it out ; and often, when our cu- 
 riosity is excited by the announcement of his arrival on some island 
 which had been reached not without difficulty and peril, our eyes 
 straining to the full extent of vision, are suddenly blinded by the dust 
 of a himdred folios." 
 
 t Few books of such a comprehensive nature can be wholly free from 
 mistakes. My opinion of the work, however, is as a whole ; and is 
 not shaken by the perusal of the second edition of " A Critical Examina- 
 tion of Dr. Macculloeh's work on the Highlands and "Western Isles 
 of Scotland " (1826, price 85. 6d. pp. 320). Of the character and spirit 
 of this publication the reader will be enabled to judge from the fol- 
 lowing phrases taken at random from various parts of the book, and 
 which I here transcribe on the audi alteram partein principle, and as 
 a good example of the perfervidum ingenmm. Macculloeh's book is 
 saluted with such expressions as " lying volumes, miserable and libellous
 
 MACCULLOCn. 7 
 
 sant a fellow-traveller, though I could have wished 
 him less bulky ; but his services will amply repay any 
 slight inconvenience that we may experience from his 
 size. Keeping him by our side for occasional reference, 
 and with sketch-book in hand, let us now glance at the 
 Clyde scenery. 
 
 We stand well out into the middle of the four-mile- 
 wide river, in order to avoid the great sand-bank that 
 reaches from Dumbarton to a little below Greenock ; 
 and we appear at first as though our course was di- 
 rected for Helensburgh, a watering-place, whose shining 
 houses are gleaming on the opposite coast at the en- 
 trance of Graer Loch. There is Eoseneath, too, mth its 
 Duke of Argyle Castle, embosomed in soft woods, for 
 visitors to admire ; and its "Wallace's Loup," for visitors 
 
 trash, impertinent scurrilitj, injurious riljaldry, malignant slanders, the 
 dirty scrawl of a tenth-rate author, an abortion with manifold pollu- 
 tions and iniquities," &c. And Macculloch himself is termed "an 
 impudent stone-doctor, an insidious libeller, a miserable toad-eater, a 
 puppy, and a brute who ought to be kicked for his insolence, an im- 
 pertinent mendacious jackanapes^ a wholesale accuser and calumniator, 
 a modern Mandeville, who has all the venom of Pinkerton." And his 
 character is summed up at pp. 302, 303, in simUar " prave worts." 
 Dr. Johnson is called a " scrofulous literary despot," whose " road to 
 his heart lay through his stomach, which it was not always practicable 
 to appease," and whose book, therefore, is " full of grumbling, saucy, 
 ill-natured observations, the spawn of a mind contracted and illiberal, 
 deeply imbued with prejudice, and incomparably more enamoured of 
 antithesis than truth, the whole being delivered in that pompous domi- 
 neering tone of insolent superiority which, from long habit and slavish 
 acquiescence, had become habitual and natural to him," &c. (pp. 8. 9). 
 
 b4
 
 8 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 to wonder at and speculate how the patriot survived 
 that leap of thirty-four feet that was fatal to his horse. 
 But bearing away from them, and standing in for the 
 Eenfrewshire coast, we pass on our left hand Gourock 
 bay and town (the bathing-place for Glasgow's citizens), 
 and Ashton, and the long line of houses and villas that 
 stud the coast to Kempoch Point. We are not un- 
 thankful when we have rounded this point ; for, we 
 cannot but recal the painful fact that it was here where 
 the Catherine of lona steamer was run down on the 
 10th of August, 1822, when only four people were saved 
 out of forty-six on board ; and here, also, three years 
 later, that a similar accident, with equally fatal re- 
 sults, befel the Comet.* The promontory is a porphy- 
 
 * On October 21, 1825. I find various versions of the number of 
 lives lost by this sad accident — " upwards of forty," " upwards of 
 fifty," " about sixty," &c. Black's " Where shall we go," and also 
 their " Guide to Scotland," in its notice of this calamity, says, " The 
 Comet was the first steamboat that sailed upon the Clyde" (p. 415). 
 Granted ; but not this Comet. Henry Bell's Comet had but engines 
 of three-horse power. They are still preserved, and were exhibited at 
 the meeting of the British Association in Glasgow in 1840. There is 
 a passage in Macculloch, too long for quotation here, which speaks of 
 the extraordinary and intricate nature of the currents at this portion 
 of the Clyde, which may have something to do with the accidents 
 that so frequently occur hereabouts. " At the same instant of time," 
 he says, "there were four fresh breezes blowing from four opposite 
 points of the compass." See his " Highlands and Western Isles," 
 vol. ii. pp. 18, 19; also his "Description," vol. ii. pp. 329, 330, where 
 the passage occurs in his account of the Isle of Arran.
 
 THE KEMPOCH STANE. \) 
 
 ritic mass, terminating in a columnar rock called " the 
 Kempoch Stane," from whence a saint was wont to dis- 
 pense favourable winds to those who paid for them, 
 and imfavourabl^ to those who had not the necessary- 
 money or confidence in his jDowers. But, whether or no 
 this wily old gentleman, like Macbeth's witches, dealt 
 in winds from 
 
 " All the quarters that they know, 
 r the shipman's card," 
 
 and sold them (and thereby the buyers of them) done 
 up in bladders, and labelled " warranted to keep in any 
 climate," we are not told. WTien the Innerkip watches 
 were tried in 1662, one of them named Mary Lament, 
 a girl of eighteen, declared that she and others, who 
 had made a compact with the enemy of man, had 
 met at Kempoch in order " to cast the long stone into 
 the sea, thereby to destroy boats and ships." Some 
 portion of this superstition, we are told, may yet linger, 
 for the sailors prefer Gourock ballast to any other ; 
 but, they may well have a liking for putting into Gou- 
 rock for ballast, for Grourock bay affords them the 
 safest anchorage on the coast. 
 
 The scenery down the Clyde is beautiful and grand, 
 and very varied, and still " romantic," despite what 
 Campbell said to the contrary.* " In case it were pos- 
 sible," says Sir George Head, "to compensate a tra- 
 * See his " Lines on revisiting a Scottish river."
 
 10 
 
 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 veller for the pain of sea-sickness, by the splendour of 
 a marine or inland landscape, it is here within the 
 British dominions, where the changing horizon displays 
 every variety of mountain scenery, and magnificent 
 features of land and water in the freedom of range and 
 distance, create in the mind an impression of trans- 
 atlantic magnitude. I was particularly reminded, espe- 
 
 FEITH OF CLYDE. 
 
 cially about the entrance of the Clyde, of the regions 
 of the Great St. Lawrence." * We are steering now for 
 the Frith of Clyde. Close before us to our right is the 
 entrance to Loch Long ; a little further on is the open- 
 ing of Holy Loch, with its watering-places of Kilmun 
 and Strone. A crowd of vessels of every description 
 
 * A Home Tour through various parts of the United Kingdom, 
 p. 97.
 
 THE FRITH OF CLYDE. 11 
 
 make the river thick with masts. Steamboats are 
 plying up and down, backwards and forwards, and 
 churning the water into waves. "Argyle's Bowling- 
 green " fronts us ; the mountains are before us and on 
 each side of us, stretching away into the misty distance, 
 piled up and confusedly massed together, their group- 
 ings constantly varied as we steam along, and their 
 pictorial effect as constantly changing under the float- 
 ing pageantry of alternate light and shade. WTiat 
 mountains are these? W^ may make answer in the 
 words of Bailie Nicol Jarvie, " They are the Hieland 
 hills ! the Hieland hills I Ye'll see and hear enough 
 about them before ye see Grlasgow Cross again ! " Yes, 
 but not too much ! We are longing to be on them now, 
 and revelling in their heathery summits, with the 
 grouse and black game whirring in their level flight, 
 and the pure mountain breeze bringing fresh life and 
 vigour to the frame. We are in sight of those " Hie- 
 land hills," and are nearing them as rapidly as the 
 powers of steam will permit ; and, the motion of the 
 vessel not being (as yet I) overpoweringly unpleasant, 
 we feel exultant and delirious, and murmur, as in a 
 mad moment, something about our heart being in the 
 Hielands, a chasing the deer and a following the roe ; 
 which statement, so far as we can keep our brains 
 clear to guess at its meaning, may be a possible pun 
 upon the heart, or hart, as having some aflinity with the
 
 12 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 deer and the roe ; or it may perchance refer remotely 
 to the belief in the transmigration of the soul. 
 
 Where is MaccuUoch ? I cannot resist here quoting 
 him — especially as the reader would have some diffi- 
 culty in discovering the passage amid the mass of 
 geological matter in which it is imbedded, for it is to 
 his first published book that I now turn. " It would 
 be unpardonable," he says, " to conclude the descrip- 
 tion of the islands of the Clyde, without pointing out 
 the extreme beauty of this river, from Dumbarton, to 
 its gradual and final termination in the open sea. The 
 shores of the western boundary are everywhere cha- 
 racterised by cultivation, by woods, scattered trees, 
 towns, and villas; displaying, with all the marks of 
 wealth and high population, innumerable scenes of 
 picturesque effect. On the opposite coast, the moun- 
 tains of Argyllshire present the reverse character, that 
 of wildness ; the sea margin being still skirted by oc- 
 casional patches of natural wood, and ornamented by 
 the houses of the opulent proprietors. On this side, 
 the intricate inlets of Loch Long, Loch Fyne, the Gaer 
 Loch, and numerous others, will conduct the traveller 
 to all the varieties of mountain scenery which Argyll- 
 shire affords in perfection ; these being occasionally 
 further diversified by the castles of ancient times. 
 Those narrow straits are often peculiarly striking, from 
 the height of the land immediately enclosing them, and
 
 THE NORTHERN LIGHTS. 13 
 
 from the picturesque disposition of the rocky and 
 woody precipices so often occurring along the shores, 
 while their tortuous courses produce a never-changing 
 variety of scenes. The islands alone present objects of 
 endless diversity, whether examined in their interior, or 
 by coasting their shores ; or, when forming parts of the 
 distance, they combine with the perpetual variations of 
 the surrounding land. If to all this be added the 
 effects produced by the variable atmosphere of the 
 western coast, and by the life and movement of the 
 shipping that navigate the Clyde, it may without ex- 
 aggeration be said that no portion of Scotland presents 
 greater attractions to him whose pursuit is that of 
 picturesque beauty." This, in a great measure, is our 
 pursuit at the present time, and that we have attained 
 our object thus far, the foregoing quotation — which, 
 though lengthy, I cannot have the heart to abbreviate — 
 will prove. 
 
 But here we are at the Cloch Lighthouse, one of 
 those " Northern Lights " of which Sir Walter Scott 
 was a commissioner.* It shines white and lustrous in 
 
 * It is to this family of the Northern Lights, of which the Cloch 
 Lighthouse is a shining member, that the world is (in a measure) in- 
 debted for a great novel and poem. For it was in his capacity as a 
 " Commissioner of Northern Lights," that Sir Walter Scott paid those 
 •visits to the Hebrides, the Orkneys, and Shetland, that resulted in 
 " The Lord of the Isles," and " The Pirate," and popularised so many 
 beautiful scenes that, comparatively speaking, were unknown.
 
 14 GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 the Sim, built on the Eenfrewshire coast (to our left) 
 at a point where the Clyde makes a sudden and bold 
 sweep. Right opposite, on the Argyllshire coast, is 
 the fashionable watering-place of Dunoon — a place 
 which has its history, for it was the original seat of the 
 Great Stewards of Scotland, and the ruins of their 
 castle may still be seen. Its situation is very beautiful, 
 and as the accommodation is said to be good, its popu- 
 larity is not to be wondered at, though an importation 
 of bathing-machines, to take the place of the sentry- 
 boxes on the beach, would be a vast improvement on 
 the present state of affairs. Innellan, another w^ater- 
 ing-place, is just beyond Dunoon. Now we pass plan- 
 tations and moorland, on our left, and come to Inner- 
 kip, once famous for its witches, and now noted for 
 witching young ladies, being a very pretty bathing- 
 place in a snug little bay. Ardgowan House looks down 
 upon it, and the mingled mass of houses, plantations, 
 and rock, mirrored in the clear waters of the Frith, 
 make up a very pleasant picture. A little lower down 
 we pass by a bend in the Frith, called Wemyss Bay, 
 where is Kelly House, and Kelly Burn, dividing the 
 counties of Renfrew and Ayrshire. The burn flows 
 down Kelly Grlen, and touching upon Burns' county, 
 has not been forgotten by the poet, who altered an old 
 ballad, thus : —
 
 burns' brushing. 15 
 
 " There lived a carle on Kelly-burn braes, 
 
 (Hey and the rue grows bonnie wi' thjnne!) 
 And he had a ■wife was the plague o' his days, 
 
 (And the thyme it is wither' d, and rue is in prime !)" &c. &c. 
 
 What this ballad must have been in its normal state, 
 we may judge from Cromek's anecdote. He had asked 
 the poet's widow to point out the songs that had been 
 filled in, or amended, by her husband. Accordingly 
 she ran her fingers over the pages, saying, " Eobert gae 
 this ane a brushing, and this ane got a brushing also." 
 But when she came to the ballad in question, she said, 
 *' He gae this ane a terrible brushing." The sheltered 
 position of Wemyss Bay, combined with its lovely 
 scenery and many natural advantages, marked it out as 
 an advantageous site for a watering-place. It has its 
 pier and hotel, and other elements for success, and, 
 some day or other, it may fulfil its proud promise of 
 being " the Clifton of the Clyde." To our right is the 
 rocky peninsula of Cowal, with Toward Castle, and the 
 lighthouse, and the entrance to the Kyles of Bute. On 
 our left is Lord Eglintoun's Skelmorlie Castle, and, in 
 succession. Knock Point, Knock Castle, Brisbane House, 
 and the watering-place of Largs — the last, but not the 
 least, of the many watering-places that we have met 
 with on the Clyde ; but taking into consideration the 
 beauty and variety of the scenery, and the opportuni- 
 ties now afibrded for reaching these places from a dis-
 
 1 6 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 tance, we cannot be surprised at so many pleasant 
 places having sprung up so rapidly and so thickly. With 
 a fl3'ing thought on the great battle of Largs *, we 
 quickly lose sight of the town, passing between the 
 Cumbray Isles (where is yet another Avatering-place, 
 Millport) and Bute, and bearing out from the Frith to 
 the open sea. The day is one of those gloomy days, 
 when purple masses of storm-clouds are hurried across 
 the skyj and, by their own contrasting blackness, serve 
 to make the lights in the landscape more vivid. On 
 such a day as this, a six hours' sail amid such magnifi- 
 cent mountain scenery, is no ordinary delight. Every 
 change in the landscape, or variation in its effect, has 
 its o\vn peculiar charm ; and it requires a quick eye to 
 mark the rapidly-shifting scenes in this extensive pano- 
 rama, and no small artistic boldness to endeavour to 
 transfer them to the drawing-block. Indeed, delibe- 
 rate sketching becomes a ridiculous failure. By the 
 time that we can look up from our drawing-block, that 
 peaked mountain has slid by us, and has assumed a 
 totally new form. Where, a minute ago, we seized 
 upon an effect that we wildly endeavoured to represent 
 
 * They who take an interest in the subject of the battle of Largs, 
 woiild do -well to tiirn to the " Saturday Review " for Nov. 3, 1860, 
 p. 563, and read its notice of Professor Munch's work, "Chronica 
 Regum Mannise et Insularuni," wherein various popular errors are 
 corrected.
 
 SKETCHING DIFFICULTIES. 17 
 
 by a splash of indigo and neutral tint, we now see a 
 bright light that we should have counterfeited with 
 king's yellow. The storm-clouds and the sunbeams 
 travel faster than we do, and our pencil fails to over- 
 take them. So, we give it up (for a time) in grim des- 
 pair, and content om-selves with imprinting uj)on om- 
 brain, through the medium of the eye, our first im- 
 pressions of the Highland mountains. And we watch 
 all the variations in the landscape, and we note how, 
 every now and then, into the midst of some purple dark- 
 ness, will float a golden sunshine ; and how, up the 
 steep side of some mountain of deep indigo blue, there 
 will travel a bright gleam that is almost white from the 
 force of contrast. The storm-clouds gather their 
 masses, and two brief, but sharp, scuds overtake us; 
 but they are soon over, and the sun shines out again 
 with a power that speedily dries the wet deck. 
 
 The power of sketching adds greatly to the simple 
 enjoyment of natural scenery. It enables those who 
 possess it, to detect beauties that would be passed over 
 unnoticed by the non-sketcher, and to gaze upon them 
 with a more appreciative relish than would be felt by 
 those who merely look upon them with a vague and 
 limited pleasure. Macculloch, here at my side, devotes 
 an entire chapter of his Highland work to Draicing. I 
 was reminded of it just a moment ago, when we were 
 watching the changing lights. " In the accidents of 
 
 VOL. I. C
 
 18 GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 light and shade," he says, " the sketcher perceives 
 beauties which those do not know how to feel or value, 
 who are unaware of their powers in giving force and 
 attraction to paintings. In the multiplicity and harmony 
 of direct, reflected, and half-lights, under a thousand tones 
 for which there are no terms, he sees charms which are 
 only sensible to a highly cultivated and somewhat tech- 
 nical eye. It is only such an eye that can truly feel the 
 beauty of colouring, that is sensible to its innumerable 
 modifications, to all the hidden links by which it is 
 connected, and to all the harmony which results from 
 arrangement and contrast." * And as much might be 
 written about " the theory of selection " from an artistic 
 point of view, as Mr. Darwin has said concerning it as 
 discerned from his own peculiar standground. But, 
 the dark storm-clouds have rolled away, and are piled 
 in indigo masses over the Argyllshire hills, and the sun 
 is shining out again with summer fierceness. In a few 
 minutes the deck is as dry as the engineer's throat, or 
 Mr. Tupper's Proverbial Platitudes. 
 
 Fortunately for all those on board who were but 
 sorry sailors, the aspect of the sea was far from terrible, 
 and left every one at liberty to enjoy the voyage — as 
 much as it is possible to enjoy a voyage. For, what- 
 ever outward aspect the amateur sailor may assume, 
 there must still be that terrible vulture of fear pecking 
 * Highlands, vol. i. p. 233.
 
 AMATEUR SAILORS. 19 
 
 at his heart — that shadowy spectre of atra Cura joo-- 
 ging his elbow — that harrowing and agonising thought 
 ever uppermost in his mind, — " True, I am all right so 
 far, but, in another hour, or another half-hour, or an- 
 other ten minutes, how shall I be then ? feeding fishes ? 
 making a humiliating spectacle of myself before the 
 eyes of the passengers in general, and that young lady 
 in particular, who has got her sea-legs in such capital 
 order, and continues to promenade the deck as placidly 
 as though she were on Brighton Pier. Here am I," 
 thinks this Janus-faced voyager, " putting on a 7ion- 
 chalant air — refusing dinner on the most transparent 
 pleas about being too much interested in the scenery to 
 feel hungry — making pretence to be delighted with the 
 seascape as well as the landscape, and yet, dreading 
 every roll and quiver of the vessel, and with my heart 
 in my mouth at every pitch and toss." These are cir- 
 cumstances in which even a Mark Tapley might con- 
 sider it creditable to be jolly. The poor wretch would 
 willingly shut his eyes to the magnificence of the 
 scenery, if by that act he could ensure a corresponding 
 closing to any sickening sensation within ; but, he is 
 unable to bear the close atmosphere of the cabins — his 
 only chance is from the cold au' and the sea breeze on 
 deck; and he cannot for very shame shut his eyes, 
 when every one around him is intent upon the landscape, 
 and when, perhaps, he has friends on board, who poke 
 
 C 2
 
 20 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 him up to look at such and such a mountain, or castle, 
 or watering-place, and goad him into a bewildering 
 search into his guide-book and map to find out the 
 name of the place, the number of its inhabitants, its 
 exports and imports, its antiquities and natural pro- 
 ductions, and all those particulars that a traveller in- 
 sists upon being made acquainted with, only to forget 
 the very next moment by an accumulation of fresh sta- 
 tistics. And a very happy thing too, that this total 
 oblivion so rapidly succeeds to this species of informa- 
 tion ; for, if we retained all that we were told, what a 
 plethora of useless knowledge would be ours by the end 
 of om- journey ! 
 
 But, it is all smooth sailing now ; and we need not 
 sigh " Sic transit,^'' but " Si sic omnes ! " in reference 
 to our sea voyage. Soon we pass fhose " fairy pros- 
 pects," 
 
 " Where Cumray's isles, •with rerdant link, 
 Close the fair entrance of the Clyde ;" * 
 
 and merrily, merrily, goes our bark, and we can note 
 all the changing features of the beautiful scenery with 
 real pleasure. But (as we discovered on our return 
 from the Highlands) very rough and unmannerly seas 
 may be encountered in the Fii'th of Clyde ; and the 
 general conduct of its waves does by no means resemble 
 that warbled by young ladies in the popular duet, 
 
 * Lord of the Isles, canto v. 13.
 
 GARROCH HEAD. 21 
 
 " O'er the bonnie Clyde we ride." However, for this 
 once, the billows did as " sweetly glide " as they do ia 
 the duet, when they float smoothly on the drawing- 
 room air from the lips of two young ladies whose mu- 
 sical *' organs " are in perfect accord ; and though the 
 steward's invitation to a hot dinner in the hotter cabin 
 was not very inviting, and was rejected with alarm — 
 for, had not the gush of cooking through the cook's 
 chimney been sufficient for us ? — yet, we rolled and 
 pitched through the rough water at Garroch Head, and 
 rounded for the Isle of Arran with thankful hearts, and 
 what was more, with serenity dwelling in those regions 
 in the near neighbourhood of the heart. 
 
 Garroch Head is the southern point of the Isle of 
 Bute. According to Macculloch, it " consists of a 
 ridgy and rugged group of hills, rising in different 
 places to an elevation which varies from 600 to 800 
 feet, and composed almost entirely of trap rocks." The 
 loftiest of these is named Ben Varagen, from w^hose 
 summit there is an unusually extensive view of " su- 
 perior magnificence." * " This is in every respect a 
 most singular spot ; and no less unexpected than it is 
 romantic, and unlike to anything else on this or on 
 any other coast. To the north, we look over the island 
 of Bute, and to the mass of the Argyllshire mountains, 
 which, piled over each other till they vanish in air, 
 
 * Description of the Western Islands, vol ii. pp. 446, 450, 
 C 3
 
 22 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 here occupy the horizon. To the south, and on each 
 side, is displayed the beautiful expanse of the Clyde, 
 alive with a perpetual succession of shipping ; while, to 
 the eastward, the view is bounded by the two Cum- 
 brays, and the coast of Ayrshire. Arran is here a pe- 
 culiarly fine object ; the whole of its mountain district 
 being displayed in a magnificent manner, and conveying 
 a more perfect idea of the grandeur of this tract than 
 can be obtained from any other position." * 
 
 Eounding this romantic point, through the troubled 
 waters that clash in wild uproar at its base, we shape 
 our course towards the red sandstone rocks that gird 
 the north-eastern shore of the Isle of Arran, — 
 
 "The inland sea 
 We furrow with fair augury, 
 And steer for Arran's isle." 
 
 * Highlands and Western Isles, toI. ii. p. 20.
 
 NEARING AERAN. 23 
 
 CHAP. 11. 
 
 OFF THE COAST OF ARRAN. 
 
 Nearing Arran. — Wordsworth and Scott — The Cock of AiTan. — Loch 
 Ranza, and Opinions anent it. — A fernal Parson. — A valuable Sug- 
 gestion to Tourists. — First Sight of Cantire. — Loch Fyne. — Skip- 
 uess Castle, — A sturdy Covenanter. — Dr. Johnson and the Minister 
 of Skipness. — The Legend of the Smith of Skipuess. — Kilbrennan 
 Sound, — Carradale. — Vitrified Forts. — A Legend of the Great 
 Plague. — The Weeper. — Superstitions. — Bel Teine. — A knotty 
 Bargain. 
 
 We near the Isle of Arran, "the island of sharp pin- 
 nacles," as its name signifies. And rightly is it called, 
 for it is little else than a rocky mass, whose outline cuts 
 the sky in ragged peaks. * How grand it looked, with 
 
 * The etymology of Arran is thus given by Lord Teignmouth, on 
 the excellent authority of the Eev. Dr. Macleod of Glasgow. " Pro- 
 nounced in Gaelic Arrinn ; from ar, land, or country; and rinJi, sharp 
 points : hence Ar-rinn signifies island of sharp pinnacles, or the land 
 of serrated tops or siunmits, — a most appropriate name for Arran." For- 
 syth gives the derivation as " Air-Inn, or the Island of Mountains." 
 Martin ("Western Islands ") gives the following fanciful etymology: 
 " The name of this isle is by some derived from arran, which, in the 
 Irish language, signifies bread ; others think it comes more probably 
 from arin or arsyn, which in their language is as much as the place 
 of the giant Fin-Mac- Coul's slaughter or execution ; for aar signifies 
 
 C 4
 
 24 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 its dark mountains rising ruggedly out of the waves ! 
 and over the nearer ridge, their monarch, Groatfell, 
 with his conical crown, towering nearly 3000 feet 
 towards the sky, and grandly conspicuous in the serrated 
 mountain range. Wildness and ruggedness are the lead- 
 ing features of the scenery, but the herbage, and the 
 heather, and the varied colouring of the geological 
 formation of the hills give a softness to the stern 
 expression of the scenery ; and, when we first saw the 
 island, with the dark shadows drifting across it, making 
 the sharply contrasted effects of shine and shade, I 
 thought it one of the most picturesque " bits " of 
 mountain scenery that I had ever beheld. We call to 
 mind how Wordsworth sonnetised the island from his 
 steam-boat point of view, and longed for his favourite 
 hippogriff to bear him to the summit of Goatfell. 
 
 " Arran ! a single-crested Teneriffe, 
 A St. Helena next — in shape and Irae 
 Varying her crowded peaks and ridges blue ; 
 Who but must covet a cloud-seat, or skiff 
 Built for the air, or winged HippogriiF? 
 
 slaughter, and so they will have arin only the contraction of arrin or 
 fin. The received tradition of the great giant Fin-Mac-Coid's military 
 valour, which he exercised upon the ancient natives here, seems to 
 favour this conjectivre." The gentleman here referred to is the hero 
 Fingal. Macculloch gives a somewhat similar derivation " Ar, a 
 field of battle ; and Fin, the hero of the Gael. So say the Highlanders. 
 Quidlibet k quolibet."
 
 •WORDSWORTH AND SCOTT. 25 
 
 That he might fly where no one could pursue, 
 From this dull Monster, and her sooty crew ; 
 And, as a god, Kght on thy topmost cliiF. 
 Impotent wish ! which reason would despise 
 If the mind knew no union of extremes, 
 No natural bond between the boldest schemes 
 Ambition frames, and heart himiilities. 
 Beneath stem mountains many a soft vale lies, 
 And lofty springs give birth to lowly streams." 
 
 It is so here. Many a soft vale lies beneath those 
 vStern mountains, " beautiful exceedingly," and affording 
 the richest treat to the lover of the charms of nature, 
 whether he woo her under the guise of poet, painter, 
 botanist, or geologist. When we were afterwards in 
 Edinburgh we saw a highly elaborated Pre-Eaffaelitish 
 picture, by Noel Paton, the landscape portion of which 
 was one tangled mass of wood, and water, and rock, and 
 ferns, and wild flowers, and was said to have been 
 " painted on the spot in the Isle of Arran ;" and from 
 this picture, as well as from many other evidences that 
 reached me, I could readily imagine what a lovely 
 field for artists is to be found in the interior of the 
 island. But we could discern abundant beauties even 
 from our sail round a portion of the island, and this 
 view of the northern coast of Arran from the sea had 
 its own peculiar charm. According to MaccuUoch, it is 
 the finest of the Arran views. " The high and serrated 
 forms are peculiarly striking, presenting a rugged
 
 26 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 mountainous character unequalled in Scotland, except 
 by the CuchuUin hills in Skye. These mountains are 
 also exceedingly elegant in the outline, and though not 
 attaining to quite 3000 feet of elevation, yet, from their 
 independence, and from their rising immediately out of 
 the sea, their Alpine effect is equalled by that of very 
 few mountainous tracts in Scotland, of even much 
 greater altitude." * The broken masses of rocks are 
 piled upon each other in irregular stages, making every 
 kind of fanciful angle of which a mad mathematician 
 might dream, and assuming every combination of shape, 
 from the grotesque to the grand, and, in many places, 
 presenting a massive sea-wall rising sheer out of the 
 waves, with no white line of shore to interpose between 
 the sea and the rocks ; which rise like a rampart from 
 the waters that dash against them as against the dark 
 hull of a mighty vessel. In other places there is a 
 strip of grassy bank, or shingly beach, between the rocks 
 and the water; and, at the Fallen Kocks of Scriden, 
 which have "the effect of a torrent of stones in the 
 very act of motion," and at the rock, or rather large 
 stone, known as " the Cock of Arran," the beach ex- 
 hibits two well-known landmarks. The stone known 
 as " the Cock," is supposed to present the appearance 
 of bright chanticleer in the act of crowing ; but though, 
 
 * Highlands, vol. ii. p. 26.
 
 LOCH EANZA. 27 
 
 evidently, this particular 
 
 " Cock was of a larger egg 
 
 Than modern poultry drop ;"' 
 
 yet it requires a very powerful imagination to trace 
 any resemblance between this solitary stone and any 
 known specimen of the animal kingdom. 
 
 The sternness of the rugged cliffs is softened and 
 relieved by the many accidental touches and graceful 
 embelKshments that they have received from the 
 fairy fingers of Nature. Patches of verdure cover the 
 rocks, ledges, and shelves ; and on these spots, ap- 
 parently so inaccessible, the sheep were busily brows- 
 ing. Here and there pink and purple shades of 
 heather diversified the tints of the grass and rocks. 
 Thatched and whitewashed huts were sparsely scat- 
 tered on the hill-sides or in the little valleys, high 
 up amid the " tumultuous waste of huge hill-tops," — 
 
 " A lowly Tale, and yet uplifted high 
 Among the mountains ; " 
 
 and " we knew by the smoke that so gracefully curled "' 
 from their thatch chimneys that those houses on the 
 rocks were peopled places, and that the pot was boiling 
 against the gudeman came hame. We are nearing Loch 
 Eanza now, and fresh beauties await us : — 
 
 " The sun, ere yet he sunk behind 
 Ben-Ghoil, ' the Mountain of the Wind,'
 
 28 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 Gave his grim peaks a greeting kind, 
 
 And bade Loch Eanza smile. 
 Thither their destined course they drew : 
 It seem'd the isle her monarch knew, 
 So brilliant was the landward view, 
 
 The ocean so serene ; 
 Each puny wave in diamonds roll'd 
 O'er the calm deep, where hues of gold 
 
 With azure strove and gi-een. 
 The hill, the vale, the tree, the tower, 
 Glow'd with the tints of evening's hour. 
 
 The beech was silver sheen, 
 The wind breathed soft as loA-er's sigh. 
 And, oft renew'd, seem'd oft to die, 
 
 AVith breathless pause between. 
 Oh who, with speech of war and woes. 
 Would wish to break the soft repose 
 
 Of such enchanting scene ! " * 
 
 An enchanting scene in truth it was : far, very far, 
 prettier than the prettiest scene for a theatre painted 
 by the united talent of Stanfield and Beverley. There 
 was the placid bay, taking a sweep of about a mile ; 
 and there in the centre, just in the very spot where the 
 artist would wish it, there was the old castle, perched 
 on a tongue of rock jutting into the bay. Here are 
 some opinions " anent " this scene. " The castle of 
 Loch Eansa," says Macculloch, "remains unsophisticated, 
 but its apparent antiquity, if we may judge from the 
 style and execution of the architecture, is not great. It 
 
 * Lord of the Isles, cantos iv. xiii. Ben Ghoil is now commonly 
 known by its English name of GoatfeU, or Goatfield.
 
 LOCH KANZA. 29 
 
 is, however, said to have been a royal castle in the early 
 part of the fourteenth century. It is still in a tolerable 
 state of preservation, and might, with no great labour 
 or expense, be again rendered habitable. This building- 
 is by no means pictm^esque in design, although in its 
 present situation it conduces much to the picturesque 
 appearance of the little bay in which it is situated, 
 giving a centre of unity to the whole, and offering to 
 the artist a circumstance of moral and historical interest, 
 of which, among these solitary and deserted scenes, he 
 has often occasion to regret the absence." * " The ap- 
 proach," says Pennant, " was magnificent : a fine bay in 
 front, about a mile deep, having a ruined castle near 
 the lower end, on a low, far-projecting neck of land that 
 forms another harbour, Avdth a naiTow passage, but 
 within has three fathoms of water, even at the lowest 
 ebb. Beyond is a little plain, watered by a stream, and 
 inhabited by the people of a small village. The whole 
 is environed with a theatre of mountains, and in the 
 background the serrated crags of Grrianan. Athol 
 soars above." f " In point of gloomy grandeur no 
 British bay surpasses Loch Eanza, in Arran," says Lord 
 Teignmouth, who, however, it must be remembered, 
 visited this spot in a snowy season, and is speaking of it 
 
 * Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 322, 
 See also his " Highlands," vol. ii. p. 38. 
 t Voyage to the Hebrides, p. 168.
 
 30 GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 in its wintry aspect ; " dark ridges hem it in, and an 
 ancient castle, formerly an occasional residence of the 
 Scottish monarchs, occupies in the midst of it a central 
 and commanding position, on a green projecting slip of 
 land." * But we saw Loch Eanza bay in all the beauties 
 of its summer dress. Groatfell (from whose summit you 
 may see at one view England, Ireland, and Scotland, to- 
 gether with the Isle of Man,) proudly towered above the 
 amphitheatre of mountains. The old castle, the houses 
 in the village, and the scattered huts of the fishermen 
 gleamed all around, and, reflected in the still blue 
 waters of the bay, made therein streaming lines of 
 white. The bright beams of the afternoon sun shone 
 full — 
 
 " On fair Loch Ranza .... 
 Thin wreaths of cottage smoke are upward curl'd 
 From the lone hamlet, which her inland bay 
 And circling mountains sever from the world. 
 And there the fisherman his sail unfurl' d, 
 The goatherd drove his kids to steep Ben Grhoil, 
 Before the hut the dame her spindle twirl' d, 
 Courting the sunbeam as she plied her toil." 
 
 Our steamer had come to a full stop just opposite 
 the centre of the bay, and was putting down passengers 
 
 * Lord Teignmouth's " Sketches of the Coasts and Islands of Scot- 
 land," vol. ii. p. 390. But it is not possible to please everybody ; and 
 the Messrs. Anderson, in their " Guide to the Highlands," say, "Loch 
 Eanza is not peculiarly picturesque, but its old and royal castle be- 
 stow.s on it an interesting character " (p. 378),
 
 VALUABLE SUGGESTION. 31 
 
 into a shore-boat that had been waiting for us. I 
 envied the comfortable-looking divine who was carefully 
 let down into this boat to be rowed on shore ; I envied 
 him, for it was his third visit to the island, and he had 
 dilated on the richness of the scenery, and had said that 
 " he believed he had not seen a tithe of its beauties," 
 revealing his profession even in that rectorial expression. 
 He did not look like an artist, and decidedly not like a 
 poet — though, after all, see the picture portraits of Ten- 
 nyson and Longfellow, and then say in what respects your 
 real poet is like your ideal in his outward semblance. 
 Perhaps he was of a geological or a fernery turn. 
 Indeed, I think he must have been, for I espied a candle- 
 box-looking apparatus among his luggage, destined, 
 doubtless, to contain lovely specimens of that true 
 maiden-hair fern, which grows in " dark Arran's dells " 
 in luxuriant beauty. And this suggests a hint. Gentle 
 reader ! if you wish for a summer tour, and know not 
 whither to proceed, go to the Isle of Arran, and spend 
 a couple of healthy hours in each day of your stay 
 there in the agreeable occupation of digging up maiden- 
 hair fern, and transferring the plants to pots. Then, if 
 you have had good luck you will find that you have 
 nearly cleared your expenses ; for, if you go to a florist's 
 to buy some specimens of Adiantum capillus Veneris 
 for your greenhouse or stove, will you not be charged 
 (at least I find it so) Is. 6d. or 2s. for the smallest
 
 32 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 plant ? So that, if you take back with you from the 
 Isle of Arran a couple of hampers of maiden-hair fern, 
 and transmute them into £. s. d. at florists' prices (less 
 the trade percentage) surely you will find that you have 
 botanised to some profit. Q. E. D. 
 
 As we lay alongside Loch Eanza Bay, we had breath- 
 ing time afforded us to study its beauties. There were 
 the white houses, and the dark old castle, and the am- 
 phitheatre of mountains mirrored in the still waters 
 of the bay ; and, in the immediate foreground (to use 
 an Irishism), was a crowd of boats, with the fishermen 
 in their blue shirts, and here and there a red cap, 
 hearty sun-burnt fellows, whom Hook would paint so 
 well ; and these fishermen were plying about, picking 
 up the scarlet herring-boxes, that were being flung 
 out in scores from our steamer, and left to float 
 towards their owners. These red rovers upon the 
 waves made dancing bits of bright colour in the sea- 
 green waters; the fishermen pulled towards them, and 
 lashed them alongside their boats ; and boats and 
 boxes alike were tossed about by the movements of 
 our steamer getting under weigh again, and cutting 
 up the parti-coloured reflections by arrowy lines 
 of foam. All this made up a busy, bustling, and 
 picturesque foreground, through the midst of which 
 darted the boat containing the comfortable-looking 
 divine, sitting solemnly in the stern with his eyes upon
 
 FIRST SIGHT OF CANTIRE. 33 
 
 Loch Eanza, — where, too, our eyes are fixed, until the 
 mountains hav'e shut in the lovely scene. 
 
 Now we get into Kilbrannan Sound, and sail south- 
 wards, having Cantire on our right, and Arran on our 
 left. At the head of the Sound, we have already dis- 
 cerned Skipness Point, on the eastern coast of Cantire, 
 with Skipness Castle, a massive square fortress, that 
 dates back to Danish times. This strong old place, 
 backed up by rugged hills, is our first sight of Cantire. 
 Here is the mouth of Loch Fyne, from which we are 
 now sailing — but which we shall sail doA\Ti before 
 many weeks are over our heads. There is a good view 
 up the loch, with its enclosing mountains dra-svn out in 
 long perspective. 
 
 In order to save time, and to spare the reader a 
 double description, I will speak of the various note- 
 worthy places on the eastern coast of Cantire, as we 
 sail past them. The scene in which the massive castle 
 of Skipness is a leading object, favourably impresses us, 
 at first sight, with this interesting portion of the 
 Western Highlands. Skipness is the Scandinavian for 
 ship-point, and the name was given to this place from 
 its having been a central station for the fleets of the 
 Normen, during their struggles for conquest upon 
 this and the neighbouring coast. Skipness and Saddell 
 are the only two ancient castles in Cantire, that are 
 not in a ruined state, though Skipness is somewhat 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 dilapidated.* Its outer walls are seven feet in thick- 
 ness ; it has two projecting towers, one of which was 
 evidently the keep of the castle, and goes Ly the 
 name of Tut in Vsagairt, the Priest's Tower. This 
 place, like most others in Argyleshire, belongs to the 
 Campbells, and is now the property of Major Walter 
 Campbell. One of the Campbells, called " the Captain 
 of Skipness," was one of the eminent men of Cantire. 
 He studied the art of war under Gustavus Adolphus, 
 was a sturdy Covenanter, and fought against Charles 
 the First and Montrose. Under the command of Gre- 
 neral Leslie, he pursued a body of the Macdonalds in 
 their retreat to Ireland, as far as the Castle of Duna- 
 verty, a stronghold on a promontory near the Mull of 
 Cantire, that was possessed by the Macdonalds. The 
 Captain of Skipness fell on the first day of the siege ; 
 enraged at his loss, his followers compelled the Mac- 
 donalds to surrender, and slew them to a man. The 
 mother of the Captain of Skipness, who was daughter 
 to the chief of the Macfarlanes, was hourly expecting 
 her son's arrival. At length, as she thought, she saw 
 him approaching at a quick pace ; but it proved to be 
 the messenger with the tidings of his death. The 
 shock was too great for her, and she fell into a swoon, 
 
 * See the Kev. John Macfarlane's account of " The United Parishes 
 of Saddell and Skipness."
 
 DR. JOHNSON AND THE MINISTER. 35 
 
 from which she never recovered. The body of the 
 Captain of Skipness was interred in the old Gaelic 
 church at Campbelton, where the following inscription 
 formerly was to be seen on the stone that covered the 
 remains of this brave Covenanter : — 
 
 " A Captain much renowned, 
 Whose cause of fight was still Christ's right, 
 For which his soul is crownecL 
 So briefly, then, to know the man, 
 This stone teUs all the storie ; 
 On earth his race he ran with grace, 
 In heaven he reigns with glory." 
 
 There was a Mr. Donald Macnicol, minister of this 
 parish in 1753, who brought himself into notice by a 
 review on " Johnson's Tour to the Hebrides." " Hum ! " 
 growled the Doctor, when he read the work, " these 
 Highland savages write the English language wonder- 
 fully well ! " 
 
 Mr. Campbell, in his " Popular Tales of the West 
 Highlands," * has the following story connected with 
 Skipness (or Skipnish): — "When the people of Kintyre, 
 MuiNTiR CHEAN TiREADH, were comiug home from the 
 northern airt from fighting against Prince Charles, 
 under their chieftain, the Man of Skipnish, they w^ere 
 going together, each band, that was nearest as neigh- 
 
 * Vol. ii. pp. 85, 86. 
 V 2
 
 36 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 bours. So one little company stayed behind the gi'eat 
 band, in cean loch gilp, Lochgilphead. The one 
 who was hindermost of this company, who was called 
 by the nickname of ian dubh mor. Big Black John, 
 heard an unearthly noise, when he was come in front 
 of a fall that was at A mhaoil dhubh, on the northern 
 side of Tairbairt Chean-tireadh, Tarbert (which may 
 be rendered Land's End drawboat). He went on, and 
 in a burn below the fall, a terrible being met him : he 
 drew his blade. Said the being to him, ' Strike me ! ' 
 * I will not strike, thou monster ! ' said John ; ' but 
 bi'odaidh mi thu, — I will prod thee ! ' ' Prod me ! ' 
 the being would say. ' I will not prod thee, monster, 
 but I will strike thee ! ' John would say. They fought 
 thus for a great time, till the cock crew : and the 
 being said to Ian, 'thou wilt now be going; but, 
 before thou goest, take thy choice of the two follow- 
 ing things — Ealan gun rath no, Rath gun ealain, — 
 speechless art, or artless speech.' John chose speech- 
 less art ; and so it happened. He was a blacksmith, as 
 skilful as ever drew hammer on anvil ; but he was not 
 much better for that ; there was no penny he earned, 
 that he would not spoil, and that would not go in some 
 way that was not easily explained. As an instance of 
 art, he could mend a saw, though thou hadst a bit in 
 either hand, in such a way that it could not be seen 
 where it was broken ; and a gun in the same way.
 
 THE blacksmith's LEGEND. 37 
 
 There would be a covering on the smithy windows 
 when he would be mending such things. Big Black 
 John got a great power over witchcraft, BuitseachaSy 
 and evil eye. There was a man in Skipnish who had 
 made money by smuggling, but he began to lose his 
 trade, for his malt refused to yield its product, till at 
 last he lost the whole of what he had made ; and he 
 was a poor man. He went at last to lonarair, Ayr, 
 where John was dwelling at that time. John told him 
 that it was enmity that was doing the ill. He did not 
 learn who was spoiling him. He said to him, ' Go 
 home, and thou wilt get back the produce of the 
 malt ; ' and so he did. Each togail, mashing, he made, 
 began to give more than the other, till the produce 
 he got frightened him. He followed on thus till the 
 loss was made up, and, after that, he got but the usual 
 product," 
 
 At Skipness is the ruined church of St. Columba, 
 which, in its entirety, was the largest church in Can- 
 tire, except that at Saddell. The greater portion of 
 the building still remains.* 
 
 Macculloch does not give any detailed description 
 of the eastern coast of Cantire, from Skipness to 
 Campbelton, but generalises it thus : — " Hence to 
 Campbelton is a succession of sea-coast, which is almost 
 
 * See Appendix, " Ecelesiology of Cantire." 
 D 3
 
 38 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 everywhere various and amusing, and that, whether we 
 take the high road, which follows the margin of the 
 water, or pursue the line of shore in a boat. The coast, 
 itself, is intricate with hill and dale, and with bays, and 
 promontories, and rocks ; sometimes woody, at others 
 populous and cultivated, and, in a few places, bare and 
 open, but still always entertaining. Arran, accom- 
 panying it for a long way, forms a fine object in the 
 distance, while the ships, for ever standing up and 
 down the Clyde, add life to the whole." * 
 
 "We sail on down Kilbrannan Sound, passing Clunaig, 
 with its kirk, two miles north-east of which is G-len- 
 ristle, and a very entire Druidical circle, of the usual 
 formation. Then we pass Corsaig, and Cour House 
 (where, on the Cour estate, is Loch-na-breach, con- 
 taining trout of exquisite quality, from two to four 
 pounds in weight), and Sunadale and Barmolloch. 
 Although, by the steamer's regulations, we are re- 
 quested not to speak to the man at the wheel, we 
 transgress the rule, and find him particularly commu- 
 nicative, though his Gaelic pronunciation of the names 
 of places is sufficiently puzzling to a southron's under- 
 standing ; but, by the aid of a map, we in some mea- 
 sure surmount the difficulty. The coast-line of the 
 beautiful Isle of Arran now presents a more cultivated 
 appearance, low pasture lands intervening between the 
 
 * Highlands, vol. ii. p. 63.
 
 CARE AD ALE. 39 
 
 mountains and the sea. Our steamer is under engage- 
 ment to touch at Carradale, " weather permitting ; " and 
 on a fine day like this she has not the shadow of an 
 excuse for shirking her duty ; accordingly we stand in 
 for Cantire land, and swng round by Carradale pier, 
 a little pier, but no little bustle upon it. The natives 
 gaze at us, and we gaze at the natives ; and we give 
 and take in the matter of herrings, groceries, and other 
 commodities ; and we hear a great deal of Gfaelic and 
 Highland converse that is altogether unintelligible to 
 us. All the way from Skipness, there are to be seen, 
 on various headlands, ruins of small forts, called Duns, 
 probably of Danish origin, and originally used for watch- 
 towers or beacons. The remains of the most import- 
 ant of these we have just seen at Aird of Carradale, 
 built on a high rock over the sea, and inaccessible on 
 that side ; and the foundations of a vitrified fort are now 
 also visible, cro'v\Tiing a rocky islet in Carradale Bay. 
 Lord Teignmouth speaks of this fort, and thus de- 
 scribes these architectural puzzles : " At Carradale 
 Point is a circular knoll, presenting externally a regu- 
 larly-formed surface, but within, a confused but well- 
 compacted mass of artificial rock-work, one of the best 
 specimens of the vitrified forts, illustrating the design 
 of the rude architects, which clearly was to imitate 
 the work of nature, as being more solid and secure 
 than that of art, by reducing the materials which the 
 
 D 4
 
 40 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 coast afforded to the consistency of rock-work by 
 fusion. The whole structure then became one com- 
 pact mass, and not composed of separate fragments 
 cemented together by masonry." * These vitrified 
 forts have been variously ascribed to the accidental 
 demolition of buildings by fire, to the effect of beacon 
 lights, and to volcanoes ! It was not till the year 
 1777 that public attention was directed to them, and 
 ever since they have afforded matter for conjecture to 
 the curious. So much has been written concerning 
 them, that it is not necessary to pursue the subject 
 here, as it could only cause a digression, which, to be 
 of any service, would be a long one, if not tedious ; 
 nor could I hope to add anything novel or valuable to 
 what has already been -written on the subject. I may 
 observe, however, that Macculloch, who gives a list of 
 the chief vitrified forts, in which he mentions this one 
 at Carradale, would refer their origin to the aboriginal 
 Celts, or first settlers in Scotland; and he thus con- 
 cludes a chapter devoted to the consideration of vitrified 
 forts: "After all that we can do or conjecture, the 
 da,te of these works, and the people by whom they 
 are erected, must remain a problem, and it is one not 
 very likely to be solved. Yet I should be unworthy 
 the office of antiquarian bottle-holder, into which I 
 have unwittingly intruded, if I also did not declare my 
 * Sketches, &c., p. 385.
 
 LEGEND OF THE GREAT PLAGUE. 41 
 
 own hypothesis, by stating my hope, that some future 
 traveller in the East, will find further reasons to prove 
 that they are among the earliest military works of our 
 oriental Celtic ancestors." * 
 
 Our friend at the wheel tells us a legend of this 
 locality. "SMien the Great Plague of 1666 had swept 
 away its thousands in the city of London, it visited 
 Scotland, and was very fatal in Ayrshire. From thence 
 it passed " in a great white cloud " across to Cantire. 
 It was a fearsome time ! whole households died, and 
 there were none to bury them, neither would any go 
 near to them; and these houses of the dead were 
 avoided, till first the thatch fell in, and then the walls, 
 and then a green knoll covered all, giving them a burial 
 many, many years after it had been denied them by man. 
 You see there Carradale Glen, where the plantings are, 
 and where the river comes down from the mountains — 
 a bonnie glen it is, where the Haldoeans f came some 
 fifty years ago, and preached the Gospel, and were per- 
 secuted for righteousness' sake. Well, sir, in that 
 glen, in the time of the Great Plague, there was a man 
 who took the sickness ; and, hearing of what I've told 
 you of the people djnng in their houses, he feared 
 he should not be buried. So, this fear took such a 
 
 * Maeciilloch's " Higlilands and "Western Isles," pp. 287 — 301. See 
 also Hugh Miller's " Eambles of a Geologist," pp. 365, 371. 
 t i. e. the Haldanites.
 
 42 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 power over him, that he jarevailed on some of his 
 friends to dig his grave ; and he went and sat by, and 
 saw it done. And when it was dug, he laid himself 
 in the grave, with his sword by his side ; and presently 
 he died ; and his friends covered his body with the 
 turf. Mac Caog was the man's name; and they will 
 show you the grave to this day. *' Uaigh-Mhic-Caoga " 
 is its Gaelic name, which means " the Grave of Mac 
 Caog." 
 
 There is a hill in Carradale (said the man at the 
 wheel) called Sroin-na h-eanachain, in which lives an 
 old creature, who makes a great noise before the death 
 of individuals of a certain clan. 'Tis an awsome noise, 
 and makes the whole glen to tremble. There is also 
 a little fairy dwarf at Carradale, called Caointeach, or 
 " the Weeper," and when any one hears him weep, they 
 may be sure that they shall soon be told of a death. I 
 know a woman who saw the Caointeach. He was no 
 bigger than a new-born babe, and was weeping in a 
 feeble tone, like an infant ; and, next day, she got the 
 news of the death of a near friend. You'll meet with 
 a many legends, sir, if you'll talk to the Highland 
 people ; they're a very superstitious folk, and think 
 much of warlocks, and second-sight, and such like. 
 There are some as have known of a death coming on 
 by hearing the trampling of feet outside the house, and 
 seeing a spectral funeral going by. It isn't long* since
 
 LEGEND OF THE "WEEPER." 43 
 
 that they used to wake the dead in Cantire ; and they 
 may do so now, for all I know, in some of the glens and 
 out-of-the-way places. The soul was taken to Flath- 
 innis, or " the Island of the Brave," but the friends 
 used to watch and wake by the body, lest the evil spirits 
 should take it away to Ifrinn, " the dark, cold island," 
 and leave some other substance in its place. When 
 once the body was buried, then it was safe. And it 
 isn't long since they used to keep the Druids' May- 
 day and first of November, in Cantire. The one they 
 called Bealtuinn, or Beil-teine, which means " the fire 
 of Belus," and the other they called Samhuinn, or " the 
 serene time." There was a great fire lighted before 
 sunrise on the top of the highest hill, and when the 
 sun rose, the people came to welcome it, and to worship 
 God ; and the chief Druid blessed them, and received 
 their offerings, and gave each of them a kindling 
 wherewith to light their fires ; and if he was displeased 
 with any one, or they didn't bring him a sufficient offer- 
 ing, he refused them the kindling ; and no one dare 
 give them one under pain of being cursed ; so the poor 
 person had to go without fire till Beil-teine came round 
 again. 
 
 When we were coming down the Frith of Clyde (said 
 the man at the wheel) we passed " the Kempoch 
 Stane," where there once lived a saint who sold winds 
 to sailors. That was in the olden times; but there
 
 44 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 were people in Cantire that believed in the same sort 
 of thing till quite lately. There was an old man who 
 died not long since — he was the owner of a fine little 
 smack, with which he trafficked from Campbelton to 
 Ireland, and other places. There was an old woman in 
 Cantire, who sold winds, and he made a bargain with 
 her to give him a fair wind to sail to Ireland. All that 
 she gave him was two strings, with three knots on each 
 string. When he undid the first, he got a fine fair 
 breeze, getting into mid-channel ; he untied the second, 
 and got a strong gale ; and when near the Irish coast, he 
 wished to see the effect of the third knot, and unloosed 
 it, a great hurricane blew, and drove him on the 
 shore, where it destroyed many houses. With the 
 second string he came back to Cantire, but he only 
 untied two knots, so he had a prosperous voyage 
 home. Oh, yes ! when you get to Cantire, you'll hear 
 some strange tales and legends, if you're that way 
 inclined. 
 
 To which I replied, that I had an insatiable cra- 
 ving for storied traditions ; and that if I met with any 
 that had not been in print, they might prove useful to 
 me. To which I may now add, that I hope they may 
 prove interesting to my readers.
 
 TOKRISDALE. 
 
 45 
 
 CHAP. in. 
 
 IN KILBRANNAN SOUND. 
 
 Torrisdale. — Saddell Castle. — Waiitou Destnietiou of national An- 
 tiquities. — Saddell Monaster}'. — The mighty Somerled. — A High- 
 land Chieftain's Eent-EoU. — Macdonald and his Cuckoo. — My 
 Thomson. — How Macdonald entertained his Irish Friends and the 
 M'Leans. — The Lord of the Isles. — Robert Bruce and local Le- 
 gends concerning him. — Fingal and his Dog Bran. 
 
 TE.iiiiNG on from Carra- 
 dale, we pass some 
 flourishing plantations 
 on the Cantire coast, 
 and come to Torrisdale, 
 with its pretty glen, 
 and its modern castle, built by Creneral MacAlister, and 
 how the property of Jolm Hoyes, Esq. It is a fine 
 place, and is well kept up. As we sail on we pass almost 
 under the shadow of Beinu-an-tuirc, the loftiest 
 mountain in Cantu-e (of which I shall have occasion to 
 speak in a futui-e chapter), and soon we come to the 
 picturesque little bay of Glen Saddell, with its fine 
 woods and thriving plantations. As this is an interest-
 
 46 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 ing locality, and that we may not have to go over the 
 same ground twice, I will here refer to it in its proper 
 place, instead of bringing the reader back again to the 
 eastern coast of Cantire when I want to have his com- 
 pany on the western shore. 
 
 Saddell Castle is the most perfect of the ancient for- 
 tresses of Cantire. It stands near to the sea, on low 
 ground, environed by wooded hills, and commanding an 
 excellent view across the water to Arran. It is of a 
 plain and massive character, quadrangular in form, like 
 Skipness, and with an embattled and machicolated top, 
 with small projecting turrets at the four corners. It was 
 a place of great strength, and had at one time a regular 
 gateway and courtyard, and is believed to have been 
 surrounded by a moat. The castle commands the ap- 
 proach to the glen, down which flows the river, passing 
 near to the castle, and making its channel over the 
 sandy plain, and so into the sea. It is this sandy plain 
 that gives its name to the place, for Saddell, or Sandel 
 (for so it is found written in ancient chartularies), means 
 sandy 'plain. At least so says the Eev. John Macfarlane 
 in his history of this parish * ; but the differences of ety- 
 mologists are even greater than those of doctors, and 
 the Eev. Dr. Macleod says that Samhdail is the original 
 
 * According to this aiithor, there is a very good field for the bo- 
 tanist in this neighbourhood, and " plants of great beauty and interest" 
 are to be ioxmd upon the " sandy plain."
 
 SADDELL CASTLE. 47 
 
 name, and that it " means the quiet peaceful valley ; " 
 while other authorities make it out to be derived from 
 Saigart-daU, " the plain of the priests," who occupied 
 the monastery a little higher up the glen. All these 
 meanings describe the spot. The castle is on the " sandy 
 plain " of the sea beach, in the " quiet, peaceful valley " 
 of the sequestered bay. An avenue of fine beech trees 
 leads up to the castle, dividing it from the village. A 
 good road is carried over the river by a bridge, and, on 
 the opposite side of the stream, is Saddell House, the 
 modern residence of the proprietor of the castle, which 
 is now inhabited by dependants and old servants. We 
 have a good view of both castle and house as we sail 
 past, and also the picturesque mouth of the glen, but 
 we cannot see the ruins of the monastery, unless, indeed, 
 we see a portion of them in the additions to the old 
 castle, which we afterwards find to be the case. As has 
 been very truly remarked by Mr. Burns, in his " Eccle- 
 siastical Antiquities of Scotland," the landowners of the 
 last century have done more than Knox and his followers 
 ever did towards destroying the antiquities of their 
 native country* ; and this was a case in point. Frag- 
 
 * There is a sad significance in these remarks of Mr. Eurus. " To 
 the last hundred years Scotland can trace more destruction among her 
 antiquities than ever occurred before ; and her o'wti children, from no 
 religious or party prejudices, but from sheer motives of gain, have 
 been the despoilers. Did the magnates of the burgh want a few good 
 feasts ? the funds were at hand by an appropriation of dressed stone
 
 48 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 ments of tracery in the walls told their own tale, and 
 divulged the theft. " After it had for centuries with- 
 stood the violence of the solstitial rains and equinoctial 
 gales," says Mr. INIacfarlane, " the hands of a modern 
 Groth converted it into a quarry, out of which he took 
 materials to build dykes and offices, paving some of the 
 latter with the very gravestones. He did not, however, 
 long survive this sacrilegious deed, as he soon afterwards 
 lost his life by a trifling accident, which the country 
 people still consider a righteous retribution, and the 
 estate passed into other hands." 
 
 As a matter of course, in consequence of these spoli- 
 ations, there are but few actual remains of the monas- 
 tery, and they have no particular beauty or architectural 
 interest. The buildings formed a square, in which the 
 main fabric took the form of a cross. The length from 
 east to west was about 136 feet by 24, and of the 
 
 from the ready-made quarry presented by the old cathedral or abbey. 
 Did the baronial leader, or the laird descended from him, want farm- 
 steadings, stone walls, or cottars' houses biiilt ? the old abbey or castle 
 wall was immediately made use of Those who wish proof of this 
 assertion may see its evidences, either at the village of New Abbey, 
 near Dimifries, or in the dikes about Kildrummie, in Aberdeenshire. 
 So strong, indeed, was the desire for appropriating such precious 
 spoils in Scotland, that even in a report from a surveyor to the go- 
 vernment, some few years back, upon the cost of some repairs to an- 
 other building, the destruction of one of the most interesting baronial 
 remains in the country (the Earl's Palace, at Kii-kwall) was suggested, 
 on account of the saving to be effected by using its materials."
 
 SADDELL MONASTERY. 49 
 
 transept, from north to south, 78 feet by 24. The body 
 of the church itself, from east to west, measured 60 feet, 
 and the height of the side walls 24 feet. The extent 
 of the monastic buildings was originally marked out by 
 "consecrated dust" (whatever that maybe) "brought 
 from Eome ; " as much ground as the dust could be 
 made to cover, so much was to be built upon. This 
 was done by Reginald, the son of Somerled — the 
 " mighty Somerled " of Scott — who was Thane of 
 Argyle and Lord of Cantire and the Isles, and was slain, 
 in 1163*, in an endeavour to subjugate the w^hole of 
 Scotland, and was buried at SaddelL He had com- 
 menced the monastery — w^hich was for monks of the 
 Cistercian order — and it was completed by his son and 
 successor, Reginald, who assumed the title of King of 
 the Isles and Lord of Argyle and Cantire. In con- 
 formity with a common practice among the Scandi- 
 navian sea-kings, he is said to have lived for three 
 3^ears without entering under the roof of any house 
 where a fire had been kindled, and thus accustomed 
 himself to privation and hardship. The site for the 
 monastery had been well selected in the hollow of the 
 glen, surrounded by woods and rocks, and close by the 
 trout and salmon-stocked river. The . churchyard is 
 beside it, shaded by tall ash and elm trees, and con- 
 taining some very interesting and ancient tombstones, 
 
 * As appears from the Chronicle of Melross. 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 rich in sculptures of abbots, and warriors, and Lords of 
 the Isles, more or less mutilated. 
 
 Among the monuments are some in memory of 
 Macdonalds, the former possessors of Saddell. Although 
 the worldly possessions of these Scottish chieftains were 
 so extensive and varied, and their power so great, j^et, 
 so far as money went, their income must have been no 
 larger than that of a merchant's clerk. This chiefly 
 arose from their rentals being generally paid in produce 
 — beef, and mutton, and meal, and malt, and cheese, and 
 geese, and poultry, taking the place of pounds, shillings, 
 and pence. The rent-roll of one of the Macdonalds, 
 who was Lord of Cantire, and Lord also of Islay and 
 Eheinds, in the year 1542, was scarcely equal to 140^. 
 sterling. And yet these Macdonalds of Saddell were 
 some of the greatest among the great. Our Prince of 
 Wales still bears the title that they held, and in future 
 pages we shall have occasion to make frequent mention 
 of them. Many are the legends of their prowess and 
 power, though the tales told of one of them are more 
 peculiar than pleasing. It is said of this chieftain, sur- 
 named " Eigh Fiongal," that he was accustomed to 
 amuse himself by keeping watch from the battlements 
 of his castle, and firing at any suspicious-looking 
 person, with a gun that he called " the cuckoo," the 
 notes of which, as may be imagined, were listened to 
 with less delio-ht than those of the " blithe new-comer
 
 MACDONALD AND HIS CUCKOO. 51 
 
 of the spring." There is a legend extant that this pro- 
 prietor of " the cuckoo '" went to Ireland, and not only 
 fell in love with the wife of another man, but brought 
 her back by force to Saddell Castle. The husband fol- 
 lowed, and Macdonald made him a prisoner (without 
 the wife's knowledge), and endeavoured to rid himself 
 of the encumbrance by the tedious process of star- 
 vation. So he shut him up in a barn ; but the poor 
 fellow kept himself alive by eating the grain. Then 
 Macdonald moved him to another place, where a gene- 
 rous hen came daily, and charitably laid an egg for him, 
 by means of which diui-nal gift he sustained life. Mac- 
 donald then shut him up in the deep dungeon of the 
 castle, where no aid could reach him, when the poor 
 wretch died miserably, after gnawing his hand and arm. 
 Bat Macdonald gave him burial ; and his widow saw the 
 funeral from the top of the castle, and asked whose it 
 was. " It is Thomson's," said Macdonald. *' Is it my 
 Thomson ?" she asked. " Yes ! " was the reply. " Wait 
 a little, and I will be wdth you," she said ; and she leapt 
 from the battlements. So they buried her in the same 
 grave with her husband. 
 
 This little mishap, however, did not prevent Mac- 
 donald's Irish friends from paying him a visit. One 
 day three of them came, and were hospitably enter- 
 tained. They were housed in the barn, where their 
 host went early next day to wish them a good morning. 
 
 E 2
 
 52 GLENCREGGAX. 
 
 He found them asleep, lying close beside each other, with 
 their necks bare. Now, for a long time past, Macdonald 
 had greatly wished to try the strength of his arm and 
 the temper of his blade. Here was a chance not to be 
 thrown away; so he tried the experiment, and found 
 that it answered his most sanguine expectations; for, 
 with one swishing stroke of his sword, he decapitated 
 his three Hibernian friends. It is also told of this 
 disgrace to the Lords of the Isles, that having had to 
 make peace with the clan of JNI'Lean, he invited 
 M'Lean and his principal chieftains to a feast, in order 
 to cement their friendship. But when they came he 
 threw them into his dungeons ; and hung one of them 
 every morning after breakfast, until, the King of Scot- 
 land hearing of it, forbad him to gibbet the small 
 remnant of the M'Leans, and to come to the Parlia- 
 ment at Campbelton and answer for his misdeeds. 
 Macdonald went, and was very humble, and swore 
 allegiance ; but no sooner had the king sailed away, 
 and before he was out of sight, than Macdonald hoisted 
 a flag of defiance. But one of his ancestors was a man 
 of a far different stamp. This was — 
 
 " The heir of mighty Somerled, — 
 Konald, from many a hero sprung, 
 The fair, the valiant, and the young. 
 Lord of the Isles, whose lofty name 
 A thousand bards have giveu to fame : "
 
 A LORD OF THE ISLES. 53 
 
 though, as Sir Walter Scott explains in a note, the true 
 name of the hero of his poem was Angus Oig*, ex- 
 changed for " Eonald," euphonice gratia. How this 
 Angus or Eonald supported the interests of Eobert 
 Bruce, we may pleasantly learn from Scott's poem, to 
 which we may add a fact not mentioned by Sir Walter, 
 that Bruce crossed over from Arran, and was entertained 
 at Saddell Castle, and afterwards at Dunaverty Castle, 
 in the jNIuII of Cantire, and finally removed by Angus 
 in safety to his Island of Eathlin, between the Mull of 
 Cantire and the Irish coast. It was to this Angus, on 
 his arrival at Torwood, near Falkirk, that Bruce ad- 
 dressed these words, still borne as a motto by the lineal 
 descendants of the Lords of the Isles, "My hope is 
 constant in thee." He had waited for him in anxiety ; 
 for some had begun to suspect his allegiance, and the 
 King of England, with a mighty army, was at hand. 
 A battle was impending, the battle of Bannockburn, in 
 which Angus nobly repaid his monarch's confidence by 
 his assistance in the final and decisive charge. It is to 
 that jmicture, indeed, that the poet transfers the words 
 of Bruce : — 
 
 " Lord of the Isles, my tnist in thee, 
 
 Is firm as Ailsa Koek ; 
 Rush on \rith Highland sword and targe, 
 I, with my Carrick spearmen, charge ; 
 
 Now, forward to the shock ! " 
 
 * Buried at lona. See Pennant's " Hebrides," p. 250. 
 E 3
 
 54 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 At this point in our passage our friend at the wheel 
 waxes mighty eloquent on the subject of " the Breeyuce," 
 as he terms the valiant King Robert, for recollections 
 of him beset us on both sides. Nearly opposite to 
 Saddell, he points out to us the basaltic cliff of Drum- 
 moduin *, on the Isle of Arran, jutting precipitously 
 into the sea. Near this the hungry waves have eaten 
 away the base of the white gritstone cliff, and hol- 
 lowed it into caves, the largest of which is called " the 
 King's Cove." The Breeyuce is said to have made this 
 cave his residence, when, as a fugitive, he first landed 
 upon the island. A rude sculpture on the wall of the 
 rock is pointed out as having been carved by the king, 
 ]pour jjasser le temps, a tradition thus rejected by the 
 matter-of-fact Macculloch (who, however, takes no 
 notice of any connection between Bruce and this cave, 
 and Pennant and Martin are also silent on the subject) : 
 *•' the sculptures, as they are called, consisting of rude 
 lines scratched in the soft rock, are more likely to be 
 the work of the children who herd the cattle along this 
 open shore." But our friend at the wheel, and all true 
 Highlanders, prefer to father all these things upon their 
 idol, Robert Bruce ; and they also call the neighbouring 
 caves by the names of the king's kitchen, the king's 
 cellar, and the king's stable. The chief cave (says 
 
 * Or Druhn-an-Duin, "the Eidge of the Fort," from a roiuid tower 
 on its summit.
 
 fingal's cave. 55 
 
 Pennant) is 112 feet long and 30 feet high. Lord 
 Teignmouth mentions that Mackinnon, the patriarch of 
 the lay preachers of Arran, was accustomed to preach 
 in this cave ; and that, on one occasion, when a woman 
 who heard him had fallen into convulsions, he coolly 
 observed, when they had ceased, " Poor thing ! what a 
 struggle she had with the devil I " For then, as in these 
 later revivalism days, a convulsive emotion or external 
 bodily sign was looked upon as an evidence of con- 
 version. Mackinnon, however, was not the first who 
 had preached in this spot ; for Martin records that, 
 one hundred and fifty years ago, a minister preached in 
 this cave " in regard of its being more centrical than 
 the parish church." 
 
 As a matter of com'se, where there is anything rather 
 remarkable, whose history is lost in the mists of anti- 
 quity, that renowned gentleman Fingal must be thrust 
 forward to play his part. Accordingly, we are told that 
 he inhabited this cave for the convenience of hunting, 
 and that the sculptures of men and animals were made 
 by him, and not by " the Breeyuce." " Fingal's Cave," 
 says Pennant, " branches into two towards the end ; 
 within these two recesses, which penetrate far, are, on 
 each side, several small holes, opposite to each other ; 
 in these were placed transverse beams, that held the 
 pots in which the heroes seethed their venison ; or, pro- 
 bably, according to the mode of the times, the bags 
 
 E 4
 
 56 GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 formed of the skins of animals slain in the chase, 
 ^which were filled with flesh, and served as kettles, 
 sufficiently strong to warm the contents, for the heroes 
 of old devoured their meat half raw, holding that the 
 juices contained the best nourishment." * Which is the 
 reason why the boating heroes of modern times are pre- 
 scribed the diet of half-cooked steaks. But, as to this 
 cooking of venison for Fingal, hear matter-of-fact Mac- 
 culloch : — " Near Tormore are to be seen some caves 
 in the sandstone, the supposed habitations of tradi- 
 tionary heroes, not a little problematical. Fingal, like 
 our Arthur, the ubiquarian king and warrior, is said to 
 have occupied them during his hunting excursions. It 
 is not improbable that they have been inhabited in 
 later times, as they are much better adapted for human 
 habitations than almost any caves in the Western 
 islands, being dry, light, and convenient of access, while 
 they are capacious enough to receive a large com- 
 munity. It is not long since the caves of Isla were 
 inhabited, and those of Bridgenorth have been con- 
 verted into commodious houses in the present days. 
 In such circumstances the holes which, in the caves of 
 Arran, seem to bespeak contrivances for cookery, may 
 have been made." f 
 
 * Voyage to the Hebrides, pp. 181, 182. 
 
 t Vol. ii. p. 321. In the town of Kidderminster, and within a 
 circuit of four miles, there are scores of houses made in the sandstone 
 rock.
 
 FINGALS DOG BEAN. 57 
 
 Close adjoining these caves, at Tormore, are traces of 
 (supposed) Druidical circles and Celtic cairns, and there 
 are also three pillars of old red sandstone sunk deeply 
 in the ground, and five yards in height above the soil. 
 Through one of these stones a hole has been drilled, 
 and this hole (according to one account) received the 
 cord that was passed round the victim's neck, and 
 strung him up to the sacrifice * ; but, according to 
 another and more innocent version of the story, it was 
 made in order that Fingal's dog. Bran, might be tied up 
 to it. (By the way, the adjacent village is called She- 
 dog ; but whether this has anything to do with Fingal's 
 dog, or if, indeed. Bran was of the feminine gender, we 
 are not informed.) In the notes to Ossian's poems — 
 poems of which Buonaparte was so fond, that they formed 
 the chief portion of his poetical library f — Macpherson 
 says, " there is a stone shown still at Dunscai, in the Isle 
 of Skye, to which Cathullin commonly bound his dog 
 Xaaf/i." So here is a companion stone of a companion 
 dog. "Bran is howling at his feet, gloomy Luath is 
 
 * " He cross'd his brow beside the stone, 
 
 Where Druids erst heard victims groau ; 
 And at the cairns upon the wild, 
 O'er many a heathen hero piled. 
 He breath'd a timid prayer for those 
 Who died ere Shiloh's sun arose." 
 
 Lo>-d of the Isles, canto v. 6. 
 
 t See Sir James Mackintosh's "History of England," vol. i. p. 86.
 
 58 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 sad ;" says Ossian, in " Temora."* And he thus sings of 
 Bran: — "A deer fell by every dog ; three by the white- 
 breasted Bran." f " Bran does not shake his chains at 
 the gate." | " There shone to the moon the broken 
 shield of Clatho's son, and near it, on the grass, lay 
 hairy-footed Bran." § Bran signifies " a mountain 
 stream;" it is a common name for a Scotch deer- 
 hound. It was to Trathal, Fingal's grandfather, that 
 the fall of the Druids may be imputed. He was the 
 Vergobretus, or chief magistrate, and when a new 
 war arose between the Caledonians and Eomans, the 
 Druids, in order to strengthen their position, attempted 
 to resume their lapsed right to appoint the Vergobretus. 
 On the refusal of Trathal to lay down his office a civil 
 war arose, the Druids were conquered, and soon be- 
 came extinct. 
 
 * Book i. 
 
 t Fingal, book vi. Cf. " Temora," book riii. 
 I Fingal, book v. 
 
 § Temora, book vi, Maeculloch has an interesting chapter on 
 " Ossian " in the second vohime of his " Highlands," pp. 190 — 225.
 
 UGADALE. 
 
 59 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 ON HIGHLAND GROUND. 
 
 Ugadale. — MacNeal's Elopement. — A Point of Honom*. — The "Cap- 
 tain's Bible. — A teetotal Corsican Brother. — AUsa Craig. — Gleu- 
 lussa and its Volunteers. — The Sailor's Cup of Tea. — Island of 
 Davar. — Campbelton Harbour and its Scenery. — We step on High- 
 land Ground. — Old and slo-w ; modern and swift. — Highland 
 Porters. — We take our Ease in our Inn. 
 
 LITTLE south of Saddell is Uga- 
 dale, which also can boast of its 
 traditions of Eobert Bruce ; but, 
 as the story is chiefly connected 
 with the mountain of Beinn-an- 
 tuirc, of which I shall have oc- 
 casion to speak in a future page, 
 I need not now say any more 
 concerning it, than that the 
 estates of Ugadale and Arniele 
 were given to INIackay by King- 
 Robert Bruce, in consideration of past kindnesses, and 
 of Mackay having hospitably entertained the fugitive 
 monarch at Ugadale. But there are some storied tra-
 
 60 GLENCEEGaAN. 
 
 ditions of later date concerning the owner of Ugadale, 
 which are worth the telling. During the last century, 
 the estate had come into the possession of the last of 
 the Mackays of Ugadale, an heiress known by her 
 Graelic name of Ni'-mhic-Caidh, who married a Mac- 
 Neal, and had a son, to whom, in due course, the estate 
 passed. He was intimate with the Duke of Argyle, 
 and was a frequent visitor at Inverary. There he met 
 with a daughter of the Earl of Crawford, who fell in 
 love with him, and (perhaps it was leap-year, and she 
 took advantage of the ladies' law,) coolly proposed 
 that he should run away with her. He was not alto- 
 gether unwilling to do this, but being (as the tradition 
 goes) "a very upright and honourable man," he could 
 not commit the crime of eloping with a young lady, 
 who was his fellow-guest at a friend's house. He 
 therefore replied to Lady Lindsay's proposal, that his 
 principles forbad him running away with her, but that 
 he had no objection to her running away with him ! 
 which was as great a distinction without a difference, 
 as that drawn by the young lady who would not give 
 her lover a kiss, but would not object to his taking 
 one. Of course, where there was no objection to the 
 plan, the difficulties were smoothed towards its agree- 
 able development. Lady Lindsay procured a horse, 
 set MacNeal upon it behind her pillion, and then 
 they trotted away from the duke's, and went and got
 
 macneal's elopement. 61 
 
 married. \Mien he was afterwards taxed with the 
 elopement, he defended himself by alleging that, in 
 this case, the grey mare was the better horse ; and that 
 it was the lady who had run away mth him. It 
 proved to be a very happy match, and they lived at 
 Losset, a portion of his property on the w^estern side 
 of the Mull of Cantire. This little local tradition, I 
 dare say, is not to be found in the published records 
 of the Lindsays ; nor, probably, is the following little 
 anecdote, which is told of Captain Hector MacXeal, 
 the son of the hero who was run away with by a lady. 
 (The anecdote, by the way, is somewhat of "an old 
 Joe," and is laid at other people's doors than those of 
 the gallant captain.) He was captain of a man-of-war 
 in the service of King George the Third. WTien he 
 first went to sea, his mother gave him a Bible, begging 
 him to be diligent in its perusal. When he returned, 
 she said, "I trust. Hector, that you have read your 
 Bible ? " " Oh, yes, mother," was the reply. " Show 
 it to me," she said ; and he brought it to her. She 
 opened it, and found that some bank-notes which she 
 had placed wdthin its leaves had not been disturbed. 
 " Oh, Hector, Hector ! " she cried ; " you have not 
 opened your Bible since you went away." " I would 
 have done so, if I had known that those notes were in 
 it," was the ingenuous reply ; " for sometimes I stood 
 in need of them." When he died, however, he left a
 
 62 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 good name behind him, especially for charity to the 
 poor. The estates of Ugadale and Losset still remain 
 in his family, as also does Tirfergus, which is near to 
 Losset, and to which we shall subsequently refer. 
 
 By the time that these storied traditions can be 
 told, Ugadale is left behind us, and we are steaming 
 on our course, with many lingering looks at Arran's 
 peaks. It would do us a great service if we could 
 "see ourselves as others see us;" but I very much 
 question if the inhabitants of Arran, a century and a 
 half ago, could have recognised themselves in the fol- 
 lowing description by Martin. "The inhabitants of 
 this isle are well-proportioned, generally brown, and 
 some of a black complexion. . . . Their ordinary 
 asseveration is by Nale, for I did not hear an}^ oath 
 in the island." 
 
 Steaming down Kilbrannan Sound, and looking, now 
 to right and now to left, at the magnificent Highland 
 scenery on either hand, our walk is arrested, as we 
 pace the deck, towards the torrid zone of the boilers, 
 by a small, circular iron trap-door suddenly opening 
 at our very feet, and the vacancy of the aperture 
 being as suddenly filled with a man's head. Very 
 fortunately for the nose upon this head, our attention 
 is not so entirely taken up by the mountains of Arran 
 and Cantire, as altogether to divert our notice from 
 our path upon the deck. The man's head rises before
 
 AN APPARITION. 63 
 
 our arrested feet, and his body slowly follows it, with 
 the arms pinned tightly to the sides, like the ghost 
 in " The Corsican Brothers." It is not a fat body, or 
 it could not pass through that narrow trap-door ; from 
 his grimy appearance we know him to be the engineer. 
 Streaming with perspiration, unctuous with grease, 
 and panting for a breath of cool air, he takes his seat 
 at the side of the vessel, and plunging a tin pannikin 
 into a bucket of cold water, lifts the refreshing draught 
 to his lips with all the gusto of a Malvern hydropathist. 
 Having non-hydropathic ideas as to the danger of thus 
 swallowing a pint of icy water, while in a fizzing state 
 of heat, I offer him my brandy-flask — provided (as a 
 matter of course !) for medicinal purposes only — and 
 ask him to qualify his cold water with a portion of the 
 contents of the flask. He thanks me, but shakes his 
 head, somewhat sorrowfully, to decline my proffer : he 
 has taken the pledge, and he therefore cannot do the 
 same by the brandy. But, as I am about to re-pocket 
 the flask and turn away, he stops me with the sug- 
 gestion that there is a mate of his in the fiery regions 
 below (nodding towards the boilers), who has not taken 
 the pledge, and would, doubtless, be glad to take the 
 brandy. I accept the suggestion, and he takes the 
 flask, and with it a half-filled pannikin of water, and 
 then descends through the little trap-door, a la Cor- 
 sican Brother ; leaving me to ponder on the problem
 
 64 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 touching the personal identity of the mate, and whether 
 or no these two Corsican Brothers might not be 
 enacted by one and the self-same performer. 
 
 But all this time we are pursuing our course to- 
 wards Campbelton ; and the romantic rocks and ser- 
 rated peaks of Arran are receding from our view, 
 although we shall not altogether lose sight of them 
 until we are safe within Campbelton harbour. If the 
 exigencies of our position permitted us to indulge in 
 unwonted song, surely the most appropriate air would 
 be " Isle of beauty, fare thee well ! " Fare thee well, 
 for a time at least, for here we are pushing out of 
 Kilbrannan Sound, and sighting that remarkable rock 
 called Ailsa Craig, 
 
 " Eisen from ocean, ocean to defy." * ♦ 
 
 Macculloch exactly describes our distant view of 
 this lion of the Frith of Clyde. *' In the distant 
 horizon it forms an object peculiarly striking from its 
 unexpected magnitude in the blue haze, and from the 
 decided and sudden manner in which it rises from the 
 sea. In this respect it presents a solitary feature in 
 Scotland, rather reminding the spectator of the vol- ' 
 canic islands of the distant Pacific Ocean. The effect . 
 is often much increased by the position of the clouds, 
 which so frequently involve its summit, adding inde- 
 
 * Wordsworth.
 
 GLENLUSSA YOLUNTEEES. 65 
 
 finite and ideal dimensions to its altitude." * Its real 
 height is 1100 feet; ships can approach it within a 
 close range, and, if fortified, the defence of the Frith 
 of Clyde would be secured. We have passed Ardna- 
 cross, on the Cantire coast, where there is a little bay- 
 in which vessels may occasionally anchor, and into 
 which flows a considerable stream. Straduigh Glen is 
 in this locality, and runs from north to south of Grlen- 
 lussa Grlen, a highly romantic spot with a good salmon 
 river. The young men in this glen were considered 
 remarkable for strength and intelligence, and in the 
 early days of Greorge the Third a fine company of 
 volunteers was raised from them, a proceeding which 
 could not be accomplished now, as the glen is almost 
 depopulated.! " About sixty years ago," says a late 
 local writer, " a great many people came on Sabbath 
 to church from this glen, all dressed with home-manu- 
 factured clothes, made to suit their shape and size. 
 The females looked beautiful, with their linen caps 
 and silk ribbons round them, far superior in elegance 
 to the mode of dress used by females now-a-days." 
 
 In these sequestered Highland glens tea was an 
 unheard-of luxury, long after it had been commonly 
 used among the poor of great towns. At length a 
 sailor, when he came home from sea, brought with him 
 
 • * Vol. ii. p. 490, 
 t An excellent volunteer corps has been raised at Campbelton. 
 VOL. I. F
 
 66 GLENCREGGAJ!^. 
 
 a pound of tea, as a present to his mother, who lived in 
 Grlenlussa, He went out to visit a neighbour, request- 
 ing his mother to have the tea ready made for him on 
 his return. But this conversion of the dried leaves 
 into a palatable article of consumption was as sore a 
 riddle to the old Highland woman, as was the manu- 
 facture of the English plum-pudding to the French- 
 man, who, being ignorant of the need of the pudding- 
 cloth, served up the Christmas luxury in a tea-pot, 
 and dispensed it in tea-cups to his English guests. 
 But this Grlenlussa woman had neither tea-pot nor tea- 
 cup to suggest the method of preparing her pound of 
 tea, so, after much anxious thought, she popped the 
 tea into the pot of water that hung over the fire, and 
 when it was well boiled poured off the water and took 
 the potato "beetle," and pounded the tea as though 
 it had been kale. She then mixed it up with meal, 
 milk, and butter, and served it up in a stodgy mass 
 upon a dish. The sailor was greatly amused, and 
 asked his mother how she liked the tea. The old lady 
 replied that she " did not think much of it, it was not 
 so good as kale." * 
 
 We have passed Grlenlussa and other less important 
 spots, and now we leave Arran behind us and steer in 
 
 * A tale is told in Sternberg's "Northamptonshire Glossary" (p. 
 112), of an old lady who boiled a pound of tea with her bacon, in lieu 
 of cabbage, not knowing how to " cook it " otherwise.
 
 ISLAND OF DATAE. 67 
 
 for Campbelton harbour. At its very moutli or en- 
 trance it is landlocked by the natural breakwater made 
 by the rocky island of Davar, which is an island, how^- 
 ever, only at high water, being connected with the 
 land on the south side by a spit of shingle. Davar is 
 about a mile and a half in circumference, and consists 
 of a lofty mass of rock, producing varieties of green 
 and brown porphyry, and covered on its summit with 
 a good grazing ground. The base of the precijDitous 
 rock has, on its southern side, been hollowed into 
 caverns by the ceaseless action of the waves. Pennant 
 says that vessels often used to mistake the entrance 
 into the harbour, and steer for the southern, instead of 
 the northern, side of Davar, and find out their error 
 by running aground. But our captain has gone over 
 the ground too often to make this mistake ; and, even 
 if it w^ere a dark night instead of a sunny afternoon, 
 there is now a revolving light on the north-east point 
 of the island, to guide the mariner to his destination ; 
 so we safely steer a middle course between Davar and 
 Trench Point, and enter the beautiful harbour of 
 Campbelton. 
 
 The town was originally called in Graelic Ceann 
 Loch, " the head of the loch," and denotes its situation 
 at the further end of the bay. The harbour widens 
 after we have passed through its narrow neck : it is 
 nearly two miles in length, with a depth of water 
 
 F 2
 
 68 
 
 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 varying from five to thirteen fathoms. The largest 
 vessel can enter it at any state of the tide, and ap- 
 proach close to the town. A sweep of lofty hills shuts 
 in the harbour, and the town encircles the further end 
 of the loch in a crescent-like form. It is a town of 
 very respectable dimensions, containing its 7000 in- 
 habitants, with its churches, and its outlying villas 
 bordering the bay, its quays and harbours crowded 
 
 CAMPBELTON. 
 
 with fishing-boats and vessels in picturesque confusion. 
 As we neared Campbelton, whose white houses and 
 villas were reflected in the blue waters of the quiet 
 bay, the setting sun was sinking over the hills behind
 
 CAMPBELTON HARBOUR. 69 
 
 the town, and flooding the landscape with a golden 
 splendour. It was a beautiful scene, and one that 
 would amply repay the toil of a far more troublesome 
 journey than that which we had been called upon to 
 undertake ; and its picture will form a pendant in my 
 memory to that of Loch Eanza. They are rival 
 beauties, but each deserving a crown of excellence. 
 
 In order to fortify my opinion let me here quote 
 Macculloch's authority. " Fertile as is the west coast 
 in harbours, there is not one that excels this ; which, 
 besides being spacious enough to contain a large fleet, 
 is perfectly landlocked, easily entered, and has the 
 best possible holding-ground. The high and bold rock 
 
 of Davar covers it from the sea completely 
 
 Campbelton occupies the end of the bay on both sides, 
 and is a town not only of very reputable appearance, 
 but of considerable extent and population. Some ex- 
 tensive piers serve for receiving the smaller class of 
 shipping ; and as it is always swarming with fishing- 
 boats and vessels of different kinds, it forms one of 
 the gayest and liveliest scenes imaginable. Detached 
 villas and single houses, scattered about the shore and 
 the sides of the hills, not only add much to the orna- 
 mental appearance of the bay, but give an air of taste 
 and opulence to the whole. A more picturesque, and 
 beautiful situation for a maritime town could not well 
 be found ; and, from different points, it presents some 
 
 F 3
 
 70 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 fine views, uniting all the confusion of town architec- 
 ture with the wildness of Alpine scenery, the brilliancy 
 of a lake, and the life, and bustle, and variety inci- 
 dental to a crowded harbour and pier." * I will not 
 add quotations from less reliable authorities, to weaken 
 the force of this passage. It is sufficient to say that 
 Dr. Macculloch's opinion is echoed by the few writers 
 who have made mention of Campbelton, and (I should 
 imagine) by all those who have visited the town and 
 bay. Certainly no one who saw the scene, as we first 
 saw it, irradiated with all the glories of a brilliant 
 sunset, could have differed with the learned doctor, 
 and would only have amended his description by 
 touching it up with some of those laudatory adjectives, 
 a very feu de joie of which was poured forth by the 
 young ladies on board, as we steamed up the lake-like 
 waters of the beautiful bay, — " how charming ! how 
 lovely ! ! how exquisite I ! ! how splendid ! ! ! ! how very 
 nice ! ! ! ! ! how sweetly pretty !!!!!!" 
 
 We steam up between the mountains, and past pretty 
 villas, and detached houses, and fishermen's huts, and 
 rusty-looking nets hung out on high poles, until the 
 houses creep closer to each other, and form themselves 
 into thin lines, and then into a dense crescent-shaped 
 mass, from among which, to the left, darts a weather- 
 cocked spire, while a pinnacled tower, and other signs 
 
 * Highlands and Western Isles, vol. ii. pp. 63, 64.
 
 ON HIGHLAND GROUND. 71 
 
 and evidences of a well-to-do-town, make themselves 
 visible above the confused heap of houses. We pass a 
 battery, and the New Quay, and then, plunging in 
 amid a crowd of boats and fishing-vessels, and dashing 
 into reeling ripples the quiet reflections of white houses 
 and painted boats, we swing broadside on alongside 
 the Old Quay. There is a crowd upon the pier, and a 
 nodding of heads, and other telegraphic signals, made 
 by, and to, passengers on board whose arrival has been 
 expected ; and there is a mighty bustle, and a throwing 
 out of ropes, and rattling of chains, and gathering to- 
 gether of luggage, and a furious raid upon it by a 
 crowd of semi-savage gentlemen of the hybrid fisher- 
 man breed ; and we step across the gangway, and, for 
 the first time in our lives, set foot in the Highlands. 
 
 It is with no small pleasure that we find ourselves 
 once more on terra firma. For, although we could 
 congratulate ourselves on having had so favourable a 
 passage, with no bodily discomforts to mar the pleasures 
 of the day, yet, a voyage of six hours, even amid such 
 romantic scenery as that of the Clyde, and the coast of 
 Arran, will begin to tire poor human nature at the last ; 
 and the tourist — especially the lady tourist, unless she 
 be gifted with the masculine powers of " the Unpro- 
 tected Females " and some other recent female tra- 
 vellers, — will begin to sigh for shore, and the comforts 
 of a room that is not a cabin, and that does not vibrate 
 
 F 4
 
 72 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 to the throbs of a steam-engine. So we hailed the 
 Highlands with a hearty Gflad-to-see-you ; and set foot 
 on Can tire land with no small joy, and, perhaps, with a 
 small and secret residue of pride that we had shown" to 
 ourselves and to our fellow-passengers that we were 
 such capital sailors. 
 
 We had need, too, to congratulate ourselves that we 
 lived in these present days when steam has passed into 
 its vigorous youth, and that we had not been called 
 upon to undertake the voyage a quarter of a century 
 ago, when steam was yet but a crawling infant, and 
 when the voyage to Campbelton would have been 
 twelve hours instead of six. Still worse would it have 
 fared with us half a century ago, when the twelve hours 
 would have been twelve days — if winds and waves were 
 propitious. But the route was so hazardous, that this 
 momentous little " If " usually interfered to prolong the 
 voyage to an indefinite extent; so that, in some in- 
 stances, where goods have been ordered from Glasgow, 
 and regularly shipped, and bills at three months drawn 
 from the day the vessel sailed, these bills have become 
 due before the goods have arrived in Campbelton. In 
 those days, people made their wills before they under- 
 took this long and perilous voyage that we have now so 
 comfortably and pleasantly achieved in half a dozen 
 hours. It is impossible that the next generation will 
 be able to point to so marked a contrast effected in so
 
 OLD AND SLOW : MODERN AND SAVIFT. 73 
 
 brief a time, though, since wonderful discoveries are now 
 treading so closely upon each other's heels, that one re- 
 markable invention is nullified in a few months by 
 another still more remarkable invention, which, in its 
 turn, is speedily reduced to comparative uselessness by 
 some cleverer successor, — there is no knowing where 
 this speed of transit will stop ; and the next generation 
 may probably be taking their return tickets at Glasgow 
 for a sail down the Clyde, round Arran, to Campbelton 
 to lunch, and back again to Griasgow to dinner, with 
 appetites sharpened by the sea-breeze. . 
 
 Indeed, something like this was done on the 7th of 
 July, 1860, when the Lord Provost and magistrates of 
 Griasgow, together with their friends, went on their 
 annual inspection of " the Northern Lights," in the 
 Frith of Clyde. They were on board the Glasgow and 
 Belfast Eoyal mail steam-ship Giraffe, a magnificent 
 vessel, 280 feet long, with double engines, and all the 
 most recent improvements, built by the Messrs. Thom- 
 son of Glasgow, and running her birthday trip on that 
 occasion. The day was still, warm, and beautiful ; and 
 the sea as placid as ever lay under summer sun ; and the 
 party landed at Campbelton pier, amid the ringing of 
 bells, the inspiriting strains of music, and the joyous 
 welcome of the population, who had turned out in great 
 force to do the honours of the town. Then, after a 
 while, they left Campbelton, amid the same demonstra-
 
 74 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 tions, and steamed back to Grlasgow, at the rate of 
 twenty miles an hour. 
 
 We, however, are not on board the Griraffe, neither 
 do we land amid popular demonstrations of joy, save 
 such as ever encounter the tourist from expectant 
 porters, and greedy land-sharks ; and, thus, at six 
 o'clock on this sunny summer's afternoon, we stand 
 amid new sights and sounds upon Campbelton quay, 
 while the customary scramble for our luggage is going 
 on. A stalwart, bare-legged woman is the victor, who 
 bodily carries off our bag and baggage to a truck, 
 where she vainly endeavours to persuade us to leave it 
 and speed on our way to our inn. This specimen of 
 the Highlander's beast of burden (for this is but too 
 generally the character of the women) appears to think 
 her honesty impugned when I make answer that our 
 luggage is but another portion of ourselves, and that 
 she might as well attempt to separate us from it, as to 
 detach her husband (who, the work being all over, has 
 now lounged up) from that gill of whiskey, for which 
 he will infallibly ask, when he has trundled up our goods 
 to the inn. So, we form ourselves into a little proces- 
 sion : the husband tugs at the baggage-laden truck ; 
 the wife lustily shoves in the rear ; and we march up 
 Main Street, and past the Cross, to the corner of 
 Argyle Street, where the \Miite Hart receives us out of 
 the evening sunshine, and where Mr. Freeborn soon
 
 AT EASE IN OUR INN. 75 
 
 sets before us a comfortable tea, wherein the light artil- 
 lery of plates of biscuits, and glasses of preserves, are 
 mingled, in Scotch fashion, wth the heavier metal of 
 cold joints, and chicken, and hot chops.* Eefreshed by 
 the meal, with no headache, and but little fatigue, we 
 are glad to wander out in the cool of the evening, 
 and look about us. 
 
 * The tourist will find this a comfortable inn, the host and hostess 
 civil and obliging, and their charges moderate. Open cars and other 
 conveyances are kept here, and a couple of days might be very plea- 
 santly passed in driving about to see "the lions."
 
 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 THE land's end OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Caiitii-e, geographical, historical, and antiquarian. — Who knows any- 
 thing about Cantire ? — Maps, Guide-Books, and other Publications 
 making mention of Cantire. — Eureka ! a novel Subject. — Scotch 
 Mulls in general, and the Mull of Cantire in particular. — The most 
 southern Northern Light. ^ Tides. — Highland Vagrants. — High- 
 land Story-tellers. — The Laird of Carskey and his familiar Spirit. 
 — Kilcolmkill and St. Cohimba. — His History and Miracles. — 
 Modern Miraelemongers. — Columba's first Hebridean Chiu-ch at 
 Kilcolmkill. — A romantic Request. — Coneglen. — The Eort of the 
 Land's End of Scotland. 
 
 UE first step on Highland 
 ground has brought us to 
 the Land's End of Scotland, 
 — for such is the meaning 
 of the word " Cantire," or, 
 as it is -vvi-itten in Graelic, 
 Ceantlre, Land's end." * 
 
 Cantire is the southern 
 portion of Argyleshire. It 
 is a peninsula of more than 
 forty miles in length, com- 
 mencing at Tarbert with a narrow neck barely two 
 * On the authority of the Rev. Dr. Macleod, of Glasgow.
 
 CANTIRE. 77 
 
 miles in width, and gradually widening out into the 
 respectable peninsular proportions of some ten or twelve 
 miles about the waist. As you look at it upon the 
 maj), this forty miles of land hangs by its neck from 
 Tarbert, and dangles alongside the Isle of Arran, A\dth 
 its foot only prevented from treading on Irish ground 
 by barely twelve intervening miles of Atlantic waves, 
 but with the island of Eathlin for a stepping-stone 
 between it and Ireland. Although Cantire as a whole 
 is not equal to other portions of the Highlands in the 
 grandeur, beauty, or diversity of its scenery, yet it 
 contains many attractions ; and, from the peculiarity of 
 its peninsular position, has throughout its length and 
 breadth that which many other portions of the High- 
 lands cannot boast, — a grand sea view. Regarded 
 from a historical point of view, Cantire is fully as in- 
 teresting as any other part of Scotland ; for it was the 
 cradle of Christianity in south-western Scotland, and 
 the original seat of the Scottish monarchy. It was the 
 first land that the Scots possessed in what is now called 
 Scotland, and the capital of their kingdom was the town 
 now called Campbelton. Its nearness to Arran, to 
 Ireland, and to the southern Hebrides gives it another 
 special peculiarity among Highland districts, and also 
 affords the chief reason why its sea views are of so varied 
 and picturesque a character. To the historian, the 
 antiquarian, the geologist, the botanist, the ai'tist, the
 
 78 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 fisherman, the sportsman, and to the tourist in search 
 of a healthy climate, sea breezes, and fine landscapes, 
 Cantire will amply repay a visit. 
 
 And yet, who knows anything about Cantire ? Is 
 there one in a hundred who even ever heard of Cantire? 
 To begin at home, cle te fabula narratur, I confess 
 my own ignorance on the subject and the locality, until 
 a friendly invitation had paved the way towards en- 
 lightening my ignorance. But is not there many a one 
 among my readers to whom these pages will first convey 
 the tidings that there is such a country, that its boun- 
 daries are so-and-so and its population so-and-so, and 
 that its exports are herrings and whiskey, and its im- 
 ports English sportsmen. Even the very chartogra- 
 phers, although when they draw you a map of Scotland 
 they must necessarily mark down its Land's-end, yet 
 will tell you little or nothing respecting Cantire ; or, if 
 they do condescend to mention its more important 
 features, will do it on their own responsibility, and as it 
 were from information supplied " out of their own 
 heads ; " for no two maps that I have seen (and, during 
 the last six months, I have consulted as many maps in 
 number as I could count upon the fingers of five or six 
 of my friends) can agree as to the names of the places 
 in Cantire, or to the method of spelling them. Even 
 Cantire itself is variously spelt Kintyre, Cinntire, Cean- 
 tire, Can tyre, &c., while the nomenclature of the villages.
 
 IGNORANCE ABOUT CANTIRE. 79 
 
 glens, and streams is as varied as it is unpronounceable.* 
 Beginning with the map in the sixpenny Bvadshaw 
 (which advertises all the Campbelton steamers, but) 
 which does not even mark down Campbelton, and yet 
 gives prominence to the tiny island of Davar ; and 
 running through all the maps up to Mr. A. K. John- 
 ston's large ten shilling " County-Map " of Argyllshire, 
 which (on the authority of Mr. Stanford, of Charing 
 Cross) is " the best map of Cantire," we find, on con- 
 sulting them, so much diversity and so many errors, 
 that it is very evident that we must wait for the Ord- 
 nance Survey before we can obtain anything like a 
 
 * The natives tell me that there are two ways of spelling the word : 
 viz. Cantire, or Kintyre, either of which is correct. And I see that 
 Jlr. Campbell, in his "West Highland Tales," spells it Cantire (vol. ii. 
 p. 36) and Kintyre (toL ii. p. 53), indifferently. " Cantyre," I am 
 told by Gaelic purists, is a word for which there is no authority, 
 although Scott thus spells it, and MaccTilloch and others follow his 
 example. Among much that is very interesting concerning the Gaelic 
 language and its dialects, Jlr. Campbell says, " It is my own opinion, 
 and it is that of jVIr. Maclean, that the Gaelic language is the same 
 from Cape Clear in Ireland, to Cape Wrath in Scotland, though there 
 are many dialects, and there is much variety. . , . An Argj'leshire 
 Highlander is known in the north by his accent, just as a Yorkshire- 
 man would be foxind out in Somersetshire. . . . The author of a 
 very good dictionary says, under the word Coig, that ' in the islands 
 of Argyleshire every word is pronoiineed jiist as Adam spoke it.' Dr. 
 Johnson pronounced the whole to be the rude speech of a barbarous 
 people; and the Saxon knew as much of Gaelic as the Celt did of 
 Adam." (Vol. i. pp. cxxvi, cxxvii.)
 
 80 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 tolerably correct chartography of the Land's Eud of 
 Scotland.* 
 
 I suppose that it is from Cantire lying so much out 
 of the beaten track of tourists that it has been so little 
 kno-\\Ti, or so little described in print. As for the 
 tourist's Gruide-books, if they refer to this part of the 
 world at all, they are content with a joassing reference 
 to Campbelton, Tarbert, and the Mull of Cantire.f And 
 
 * From a private source I have been informed that " the best and 
 most accurate map of Cantire is that by Langlands and Son. It is on 
 a large scale, and copies of it are now rare." This map I have not 
 seen. In Mr. A. K. Johnston's map of Cantire, above referred to, 
 there are frequent examples -where names convey erroneous informa- 
 tion, even when correctly noted down, as to locality and spelling. 
 Thus, in the neighbourhood of Glenbarr Abbey, there are some names 
 of other houses marked in equally enlarged characters, and with the 
 like representation of a little house, to denote that they are places of 
 unusual "importance ; and one would naturally conclude that they are 
 mansions of similar dimensions and rank ; whereas they are nothing 
 more than miserable farm-houses, of one story high, and not half so 
 important in size or appearance as the generality of farm outbuildings 
 in an English country village, and sink below the level of an EngUsh 
 labourer's cottage. 
 
 t I must make honourable exception in favour of M'Phim's " Plea- 
 sure Excursion to the Highlands," a shilling guide-book, ^Titten by 
 Mr. Wm. "Wallace Fyfe, and re-published in 1858. I say " re-pub- 
 lished," but not re-written ; for it is nothing more than an old book 
 in a new cover. The book is identically the same, including the pre- 
 face (which speaks of "the present edition being enlarged," &c.), vdth 
 the edition published in 1850 under a different title. Although, from 
 this circumstance, much of the information has not improved in cor- 
 rectness by thus being kept, yet the book is very carefully compiled, 
 and will be found a pleasant and informing compunion.
 
 MAPS, GUIDE-BOOKS, ETC. 81 
 
 sometimes not so much as that ; for the most expensive, 
 and in many respects the best as well as the most popular 
 of all the Guide-books, Black's " Picturesque Guide to 
 Scotland," although in 1859 it had passed through four- 
 teen editions, yet does not even mention Campbelton, or 
 bestow any of its descriptive or illustrative powers upon 
 the peninsula of Cautire. Except from the scanty de- 
 scriptions in Gazetteers, the curious reader would ex- 
 perience no small difficulty in obtaining much authentic 
 information regarding this interesting Land's End of 
 Scotland. Pennant's account is very meagre : he briefly 
 notices Tarbert and Campbelton, and but little else. 
 MaccuUoch, in his earlier book, only refers to the 
 geology of Cantire, and in his later work bestows very 
 scanty writing upon Cantire. He briefly notices the 
 Mull of Cantire, but does not even mention Dunaverty ; 
 and his account of the thirty miles of country between 
 Machrihanish Bay and Loch Tarbert, is compressed 
 into twenty lines. Dr. Beattie, in his large illustrated 
 work on Scotland, only speaks of Tarbert, and makes 
 no further reference to Cantire. 
 
 Lord Teignmouth describes Tarbert and Campbelton 
 and some places (such as Saddell) on the eastern coast, 
 but says, " the scenery on the western side of Cantire is 
 not worth notice.* This, however, is a matter of opinion ; 
 and Lord Teignmouth had already said of the Kyles 
 
 * Lord Teignmouth's " Scotland," vol. ii. p. 375. 
 VOL. I. G
 
 82 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 of Bute, now one of the great attractions for Scotc?i 
 tourists, " The Kyle of Bute offers no scenery worthy 
 of notice." * "A Historical Account of Campbelton" was 
 published by Dr. Smith nearly half a century ago, and 
 has formed the basis for all subsequent accounts; and 
 an illustrated history of " Campbelton and its neigh- 
 bourhood, by William Smith," in forty-three folio pages, 
 was published in 1833 ; but I have failed to meet 
 with either of these works in public libraries of nearly 
 100,000 volumes, and they will probably be unknown to 
 the general reader.f An account of Cantire will be 
 found in the " Statistical Account of Scotland," pub- 
 lished in 1843; but this book also would not be easily 
 accessible to the general reader, nor would the informa- 
 tion it contained come before him in a very palatable 
 state. From these volumes, how^ever (bringing into 
 use the theory of selection), I wall extract, for the 
 reader's benefit, anything that may seem suitable or 
 interesting, duly comparing it with and correcting it by 
 such later information as I have been able to obtain, 
 either by my own observation or by the kindness of 
 Cantire friends, by which means I trust that the reader 
 may gain some reliable information concerning a very 
 interesting but little known country. There is also 
 another account of Cantire that would not come under 
 
 * Lord Teignmouth's " Scotland," vol. i. p. 25. 
 t I have been unable to obtain a sight of Dr. Smith's work ; but it 
 it) quoted io the Statistical Account, &c.
 
 CANTIRE IN PEINT. 83 
 
 the notice of the general reader. It is a pamphlet 
 printed (I believe) for private circulation, and not to 
 be bought, written by Mr. Peter Macintosh, catechist 
 at Campbelton. From this publication, of which a copy 
 has kindly been given to me, I shall have frequent occa- 
 sion to quote; but although it contains much that is 
 valuable and interesting, its information is not always 
 to be depended upon, and must be used with caution.* 
 WTien Hugh Miller made his " Cruise of the Betsy," 
 he unfortunately sailed round the Mull of Cantire in 
 the dark, and did not land at Islay until sunrise next 
 
 * For example, lie says that Beinn-an-Tuirc is " 1000 to 1500 feet" 
 above the level of the sea. At the best this is a very loose way of 
 giving the approximate height of a moimtaiu ; but it so happens that 
 the real height of this mountain, as determined by trigonometrical 
 survey, is 2170 feet. Cnoe Maigh, on the Mull of Cantire, he very 
 precisely determines to be " but two or three feet lower " than this 
 mountain, whose height he is unable to determiae to a matter of 500 
 feet! Its real height is 2036 feet. (Seethe " Statistical Account of 
 Scotland," pp. 437, 454.) Of Saddell monastery — the history of 
 which we have already seen — he says, "The church was not erected 
 by St. Columba, but is of a more modern construction, though the 
 date of its erection cannot be ascertained." It is clear that this in- 
 habitant of Campbelton had not access to Dr. Smith's " Historical 
 Account," or to Smith's " History," or he would have been able to 
 have given more authentic information concerning Saddell monastery. 
 But his pamphlet has, in certain matters,, afforded me very much 
 assistance, which I here beg gratefully to acknowledge. With this 
 general acknowledgment I shall quote from it, and the other works 
 just mentioned, without confusing or encumbering my pages with 
 useless references. 
 
 O 2
 
 84 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 morning. Sir Walter Scott, in the "Lord of the Isles," 
 makes reference to " wild Cantyre," * and the narrow 
 neck of the peninsula at Tarbert. 
 
 Professor Wilson speaks of "the many-based, hollow 
 rumbling western coast of that unaccountable county, 
 Argyleshire," but says nothing specially concerning 
 Cantii-e. Maxwell, in his " Highlands and Islands," f 
 mentions that he sailed into Campbelton harbour in 
 his friend's yacht, yet he does not say one word as to 
 the scenery or the place, but indulges in a rhapsody on 
 the comforts, and luxuries, and " culinary capabilities " 
 of a first-class yacht. One of the authors of Ander- 
 son's (half-guinea) " Guide to the Highlands," appears 
 to have satisfied himself that the distant view of the 
 western coast of Cantire, as seen from the deck of a 
 steamer when crossing from Tarbert to Islay, was quite 
 sufficient for all the purposes of his " Guide." *' On 
 passing Ardpatrick Point," he says, "the appearance 
 of the bleak, sombre, heathy hills of Cantire and Argyle 
 is quite uninteresting ; and the passenger will feel no 
 reluctance in being carried away from the coast " 
 (p. 350). There is a considerable degree of cool as- 
 surance in putting forth such a sentence as this. It 
 reminds us of the legal endorsement, "Bad case : abuse 
 plaintiffs attorney ! " If, from force of circumstances 
 in compiling a Guide-book, you are unable to describe 
 
 * Canto ir. 12. t Vol. i. p. 32.
 
 EOUTES AND TOURS. 85 
 
 a tract of land, from the very sufficient but unsatis- 
 factory reason that you are carried away from it, the 
 easiest way to get over the difficulty is to tell your 
 readers that the country is utterly uninteresting, and 
 need not call for any remark. " Manners, none : Cus- 
 toms, beastly ; " let us get away from the place as fast 
 as we can. And so, because Cantire is out of every 
 one's way, and does not lie in the high road to the most 
 familiar sights, it must either be unnoticed or dismissed 
 with a sneer. 
 
 But when we have read nineteen pages further on 
 in " Anderson's Guide " (a book which, despite my pre- 
 sent fault-finding, I regard as the fullest and best Guide- 
 book to the Highlands, and which %vithout the aid of 
 illustrations has now held its own for nearly thirty 
 years), we find ourselves taken to another " Koute," 
 — for this is one of those Guide-books that condemn 
 the tourist to a system of " Eoutes " or " Tours," from 
 which, if the traveller deviates one jot or tittle, or pre- 
 sumes to commence his journey at the wrong end, he 
 is altogether thrown out, and has to read his Guide- 
 book backwards (as though it were a Hebrew volume), 
 or to puzzle out his journey by intricate references to 
 the Index ; — and this " Route " takes the traveller to 
 *■' Cantire and Isles of Ailsa and Arran," and devotes 
 nearly seven pages to a description of Cantire, in which 
 is the following sentence, describing that portion of the 
 
 o 3
 
 86 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 coast condemned as " quite uninteresting," by the writer 
 of the previous "Eoute." "From its southern ex- 
 tremity {{. €., West Loch Tarbert), the road running 
 almost all the way to Mackerihanish Bay along the 
 shore, forms a pleasing ride, and commands noble sea 
 views towards Jura and Islay " (p. 370). 
 
 Since the island of Skye has become the fashion, all 
 Argyleshire south of Inverary, and all the Hebrides 
 south of Eum, or " Mull's mountain shores," have been 
 thro-\vn out of the tourist's track. From Dr. Johnson's 
 time to the present day, nearly every "Tour to the 
 Hebrides" that has been published might have been 
 entitled " Highlands, Islands, and Skye-lands ; " for the 
 reader might be very sure that " the Hebrides " was a 
 name given only to a small portion of those three hun- 
 dred Western Isles, and that that portion related to 
 its northern division, and most probably to " the misty 
 hills of Skye." I have mentioned (so far as a diligent 
 search has enabled me to do this) all the books in 
 which the interesting district of " the Land's End " of 
 Scotland is in any way described. Such books, as we 
 have seen, are but very few : their information is either 
 very scanty and incorrect ; or else, in those few cases 
 where it is reliable and tolerably full, it is either mixed 
 up with other matters in a form very hard to be di- 
 gested, or hid away in books which may very safely be 
 pronounced to be imknown to, and unattainable by.
 
 EUREKA I A NEW SUBJECT. 87 
 
 that highly erudite and otherwise well-informed person, 
 "the general reader." 
 
 In these days of multifarious pennings of places and 
 people, when the " Complete Letter-Writer," who pro- 
 vides you with a stereotyped form of epistolary com- 
 munication for every circumstance of life, is altogether 
 outstripped by the complete " Tourist's Guide," who 
 will give you a more or less faithful description of 
 every place to which you may or may not wish to go, 
 it is a rare accident to light upon a virgin spot of earth 
 innocent as yet of much author's craft, and for whom 
 the scribbler's ink has not yet been greatly spilled. 
 Few districts are there in the United Kingdom whose 
 charms have been as yet unsung. Well, therefore, 
 might the author, in search of a subject, shout an 
 EureJia when he steps upon Campbelton pier; and, 
 looking northwards towards Tarbert, sees a long stretch 
 of twice twenty miles of western coast, mth its villages, 
 and farms, and country seats ; its chui-ches, and manses, 
 and schools ; its mountains, and moors, and lochs, and 
 rivers ; its fisheries and shootings ; its good roads, tra- 
 versed twice a day by a dashing mail-cart, but not once 
 crossed by an obstructive silver-extracting turnpike, — 
 w^ell, indeed, might the subjectless author echo the 
 glad " Eureka " of Archimedes and Mr. Shirtmaker 
 Ford, for he hath lighted on a land of which there is 
 but the barest record in print. 
 
 C 4
 
 88 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 The Mull of Cantire is the veritable " Land's End," 
 the southernmost point of the Peninsula. Pennant says 
 that it was " the Epidii fvomontorium of the Romans, 
 •noted for the violence of the adverse tides, compared 
 to the force of a 7nill~Ta.ce, from whence the modern 
 name." Pennant's etymology, however, is erroneous; 
 for, although there are many meanings to the word 
 " Mull " in Scotland, yet this particular kind of Mull 
 means " a promontory, or point ; " though it does not 
 follow that the point of a Scotch jest is synonymous 
 (in slang language) to the mull of that jest, notwith- 
 standing Sydney Smith's declaration that it required a 
 surgical operation to get a joke into a Scotchman. But, 
 to come to the point, — which is to come to the Mull, — 
 we find this Land's End of Scotland to consist of a 
 group of heath-covered hills, or (for in the Highlands 
 it is difficult to say where a " mountain " begins and a 
 " hill " terminates) to use Lord Teignraouth's expres- 
 sion, "the Mull is a huge pile of mountains." The 
 loftiest of the range,— Cnoc-maigh, or Knockmoy, "the 
 Hill of the Plain," may fairly be conceded to range 
 among the mountains of Scotland, for it is 2036 feet 
 above the level of the sea; although, together with 
 its companion Cantire mountain, Beinn-an-Tuirc, whose 
 altitude is 2170 feet, it is not included in the tabular 
 lists of the heights of mountains given in Black's 
 " Gruide" and other works, where mountains of not half
 
 SCOTCH MULLS. 
 
 89 
 
 the elevation are mentioned.* The other hills on the 
 Mull of Cantire vary from about 1200 feet down to 
 200, or 280, the height of the bold rocky cliff on which 
 
 SCOTCH MLT.L8. 
 
 the lighthouse is built. This lighthouse, the most 
 southern of the " Northern Lights," was originally 
 erected at the latter end of the past century f, but was 
 
 * One of the latest and most compendious of the Gazetteers of 
 Scotland, thus sums up its description of Cantire : — •" The long narrow 
 peninsula of Knapdale and Kintyre, extending nearly fifty miles 
 southward, with a mean breadth of about' seven miles, rises at its 
 southern extremity to an altitude of about 1000 feet above sea level; 
 but elsewhere is very moderately, and even gently hilly, has many 
 interspersions of plain and valley, and wears an ai'able, sheltered, and 
 softly picturesque appearance." 
 
 t By Mr. Peter Stuart of Campbelton. The light room and the
 
 90 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 renewed in 1820 from the designs of Mr. Eobert Ste- 
 phenson, who was the engineer to the Commissioners 
 for the Northern Lights. It has a circular tower forty 
 feet high, domed with copper, and the light can be seen 
 for a distance of thirty miles. Ballycastle, in Ireland, 
 is only eighteen miles distant, and the Irish coast comes 
 still nearer to the Mull. *' It is the nearest point of 
 the whole island of Great Britain to Ireland," says 
 the late Eev. D. Kelly, the minister of Southend, 
 " the distance being computed to be only eleven and a 
 half miles between the promontory and Tor Point, in 
 the county of Antrim." This inconsiderable distance 
 would denote the Mull of Cantire as being a favourable 
 spot for laying a submarine telegraph to connect Great 
 Britain with Ireland, unless, indeed, the sea at this 
 point is too perpetually violent for the success of the 
 undertaking. The coast is peculiarly hazardous, and 
 off the Mull there is a great peculiarity in the tides. 
 At the distance of three miles from the shore, a depth 
 
 reflecting apparatus were brought from Edinburgh, and can-ied on 
 men's shoulders over the mountains, for the road through the Mull 
 was not made till 1828. The light was first exhibited on Dec. 1, 
 1788. "The British Pharos" describes the light as "a stationary- 
 light, appearing like a star of the first magnitude at the distance of 
 six or seven leagues." The point of Corsewall bears S.S.E. from this 
 twenty-six miles ; Portpatrick Light, S. by E., thirty-seven miles ; the 
 Maiden Rocks, S. by W. | W., distant twenty miles ; Copeland Light, 
 S. by W. i W., distant thirty-eight miles.
 
 f' 
 
 4 
 
 1- 
 
 5|i; 
 
 1 
 > 
 
 ■1 
 
 m 
 

 
 TIDES. 91 
 
 of twelve fathoms is sometimes found. The spring 
 tides run at six miles an hour ; the neap tides at 
 about three. Within a mile and a half of the pro- 
 montory there runs an eddy tide like a whirlpool, and 
 much stronger than that which runs in the channel ; 
 as, when the tide runs to the westward, this eddy tide 
 runs to the eastward along shore, and vessels have 
 often been driven on shore from ignorance of this 
 peculiarity. So powerful is the tide that rolls round 
 the Mull, that it throws up the sand and gravel at 
 Carskay Bay, so as to make an embankment, which has 
 turned to the westward the stream that flows down 
 Glen Breckry. The wild and varied magnificence of 
 the rocks projecting into this stormy ocean, and ex- 
 posed to all the fury of the waves and the outrage of 
 tempests, is peculiarly striking. The solitude of the 
 spot is broken only by the hoarse thundering of the 
 waves, for scarcely a sea-bird is to be seen here ; and 
 for the same cause, — namely, the absence of fish who 
 love not the perpetual conflict of the tides, no fisher- 
 man here perils his life in his hazardous trade. A wild 
 fury prevails over the scene. 
 
 The precipitous sea-wall of this iron-bound shore * 
 is girt at its base by innumerable rocks, appearing 
 from the waves in all kinds of jagged and fanciful 
 
 * Consisting of immense masses of mica slate and q^uartz.
 
 92 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 shapes ; three of these at the foot of the lighthouse 
 cliff, are known as " The Merchants," or " Pedlars." 
 The sea is never tranquil at this spot, but ever in wild 
 unrest ; the conflicting tides lash the waves into a state 
 of perpetual madness, so that there ever appears to be 
 a storm raging at the foot of the Mull, when all around 
 is calm and quiet. It requires no great play of the 
 fancy to imagine the scene presented by this coast in 
 tempestuous weather ; and, in order to avoid its dan- 
 gers, boats were frequently dragged across the neck of 
 the peninsula at Tarbert, as we read in " The Lord of 
 the Isles." There have been many hundreds of ship- 
 wrecks off the Mull of Cantire, and many crews have 
 gone down without it having been possible to afford 
 them the slightest aid. With this thought before me, 
 it is therefore very gratifying to be able to record the 
 establishment of a life-boat station at a point where it 
 is so terribly needed. Lady Murray, of Edinburgh, 
 has given the munificent sum of 5201. for this pur- 
 pose ; and the Eoyal National Life-Boat Institution 
 have undertaken the formation of the station, which is 
 now in progress. The boat station, however, will be 
 at Campbelton, which, from its central position, equally 
 commands the Mull of Cantire and Machrihanish Bay, 
 besides other dangerous parts of the eastern and west- 
 ern coasts. Besides this station, the Life-Boat Insti- 
 tution have a second station at Irvine (on the west
 
 LIFE-BOATS. 93 
 
 coast), also ia course of formation ; and have eight other 
 stations at Ayr, Thurso, Buckie, Banff, Lossiemouth, 
 Fraserburgh, St. Andrews, and North Berwick. It will 
 thus be seen that the rugged coast of Scotland is very 
 inadequately provided with those appliances for pre- 
 serving life and property from shipwreck, of which a 
 maritime country ought to be possessed ; and, as the 
 first formation of a life-boat station does not cost more 
 than 400^., and as its efficiency can be maintained for 
 an annual outlay of 40/., it surely is better policy (to 
 take the lowest ground of argument) to invest so com- 
 paratively small a sum in such a noble insurance so- 
 ciety, than to run the risk of losing priceless lives and 
 valuable cargoes at such dangerous parts of our coast 
 as those of which the Mull of Cantire may be taken as 
 a type. Lady Murray's noble gift is a splendid ex- 
 emplar text, which preaches to all those who have the 
 ability to " go and do likewise." * 
 
 On the slope of the hill behind the lighthouse is a 
 flag-staff, where a rain-gauge is kept; and not far off 
 is a vitrified fort. The view from this spot is most 
 extensive ; Ireland, the Isle of Man, Arran and Bute, 
 the Ayrshire coast, and Islay and Jura, are included 
 in the panorama. It is said that the Mull of Cantire 
 was once so thickly populated, that a beggar who 
 
 * See Appendix.
 
 94 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 commenced his round at Balligrogan on the western 
 coast, could find hospitable entertainment for the space 
 of four months between that place and Southend, on 
 the eastern coast, a distance under twenty miles. These 
 vagrants were the walking newspapers of those times ; 
 they played on the bagpipes or fiddle, and they told 
 legendary tales, sang Gaelic songs, and recited the 
 poems of Ossian. They were, therefore, very welcome 
 guests, and there was as much stratagem evinced in 
 obtaining their presence at a farm-house, and as much 
 complacent cackling when the stratagem was crowned 
 with success, as could ever be shown by any Lady 
 Mayfair in entrapping the latest lion to her Tuesday 
 evenings. " If my fiddle won't give me milk," said 
 one of these sturdy rovers, " she will give me music." 
 But he knew very well that the whiskey "mild as 
 milk," would speedily be offered in exchange for the 
 scraping. But another, who was a bagpiper, would 
 not drink whiskey, saying, " It is too strong for me ; I 
 saw a far stronger man than myself whom it whirled 
 into a ditch." Another vagrant met the Duke of 
 Argyle, and said to him, " Mr. Duke, I have a petition 
 for you." " WTiat is it, John ? " asked his Grace. " I 
 cannot read it," replied John, " but I can say it. I 
 wish you to allow me more fat beef than I am getting." 
 **You shall have plenty of fat beef, John," said the 
 Duke. Another man, with a good knowledge of the
 
 HIGHLAND STORY-TELLERS. 95 
 
 Scriptures, would wander about holding arguiuents at 
 the very top of his voice, with the devil and the pope. 
 One day, when a lady gave him charity, he said, 
 "Now I must thank God in the first place for this 
 favour, and next the lady." He then uncovered his 
 head, and solemnly thanked God, and then turned to 
 the lady and repeated his gratitude. 
 
 Such characters are still to be met with in certain 
 parts of the Western Highlands and Islands, though, it 
 is to be feared, that they will soon be as extinct a race 
 as stage coachmen or old charleys. Mr. Campbell's 
 " Popular Tales of the West Highlands " give us some 
 very pleasant information concerning them, and would 
 appear to assign their partial destruction to the 
 efforts of " the minister and the schoolmaster." We 
 are told that " the recitation of tales during the long 
 winter nights is still very common. The people gather 
 in crowds to the houses of those whom they consider 
 good reciters, to listen to their stories. They appear 
 to be fondest of those tales which describe exceedingly 
 rapid changes of place in very short portions of time, 
 and have evidently no respect for the unities. During 
 the recitation of these tales the emotions of the reciters 
 are occasionally very strongly excited, and so also are 
 those of the listeners, almost shedding tears at one 
 time, and giving way to loud laughter at another.'' * 
 
 * Vol i. p. 12.
 
 96 GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 " I found the story-tellers to be men with clear heads, 
 and wonderful memories, generally very poor and old, 
 living in remote corners of remote islands, and speak- 
 ing only Graelic ; in short, those who have lived most 
 at home, furthest from the world, and who have no 
 source of mental relaxation beyond themselves and 
 their neighbours."* Mr. Campbell mentions more 
 than one West Highland man (who could neither read 
 nor write) who would declaim the poems of Ossian two 
 hundred lines at a time, and tell a wild w^eird legend 
 whose recital would occupy a coiiple of long evenings. 
 The late Rev. Dr. Stuart, minister of Luss, knew an 
 old Highlander in the Isle of Skye, who repeated to 
 him for three successive days, and during several hours 
 each day, without hesitation, and with the utmost ra- 
 pidity, many thousand lines of ancient poetry, and 
 would have continued his repetitions much longer if 
 the Doctor had required him to do so.f 
 
 This once populous Mull of Cantire is now quite 
 deserted, and turned into a large sheep farm. When 
 Lord Teignmouth visited it in 1827, only three shep- 
 
 * Vol. i. p. 31. 
 
 t For other examples of Highland recitations and powers of memory, 
 see Stewart's " Sketches," Tol. i. § 8. The Icelanders repeat intermin- 
 able Sagas, word for word, if compared with a book. For the reciting 
 powers of modern Greek blind bards, see Grote's " History of Greece," 
 vol. ii. p. 197 (4th edition). See also Max Miiller's "History of San- 
 skrit Literature," (p. 497) for the still more surprising facts connected 
 with the early Vedic literature.
 
 LxVIRD OP CAESKAY. 97 
 
 herds resided upon it, though, a few years previous, it 
 was inhabited by twenty families. If, therefore, the 
 recruiting sergeant of a Highland regiment should 
 pver beat up this district, the same remark could be 
 made to him that was once made to a Highland chief- 
 tain whose clansmen had been driven to other lands, 
 " Ye must recruit with the colly dog, for there is no- 
 thing but sheep upon your hills ! " 
 
 Passing from the Mull towards the east, we come to 
 Carskay, where " once upon a time " lived a laird who 
 had a familiar spirit called Beag-bheul, or "little 
 mouth," which talked to him, and took great care of 
 him and his property. " Little mouth " once told him 
 of a great battle that would be fought in Cantire, and 
 that the magpie would drink human blood from otf a 
 standing stone erected near Campbelton. The stone 
 was removed and converted into a bridge, but the 
 battle has not yet been fought. 
 
 A stream called the Breckry, rising in the mountain 
 of Cnoc-maigh, falls into Carskay Bay. The mouu- 
 tainous scenery of Grien Breckry is fine; the rocks are 
 chiefly composed of mica-slate, and mountain sandstone 
 or quartz. In this glen lived An Dotair Beag, " the 
 little doctor," who had cunning power over herbs, and 
 endeavoured to make his patients believe that he per- 
 formed his cures by the aid of magical charms, an en- 
 deavour in which he was tolerably successful. Another 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 inhabitant of this glen was a Mr. Dunbar, who, for 
 fifty years, kept a school in this wild district.* It has 
 been said of him, that he could compose a satire that 
 was not unworthy of Burns himself. 
 
 From Grlen Breckry we come to Kilcolmkill, near 
 Keill, where is the ancient church and burying-gi'ound 
 of St. Columba, and the pedestal of a large stone cross, 
 of which we shall hear more in a future chapter. The 
 name of Kilcolmkill is said by tradition, to be derived 
 from that Irish Prince named Colum, whom we know 
 as St. Columba, "the Apostle of the Picts," or, as 
 Martin, in his " Western Isles," funnily calls him " Co- 
 lumba the Clergyman." Kil means " a Cell, or 
 Church," therefore the name signifies the " Cell of St. 
 Colum (the founder) of Churches." Shakspeare tells 
 us that the body of King Duncan was " carried to 
 Colm's kill," which was Icolmkill, otherwise called 
 Icolumbkill, and now commonly known as lona f, but 
 still called by the Hebrideans by its old name of I or 
 Hy, " the island," for, it was the island ^ar excellence^ the 
 
 " Isle of Columba's Cell, 
 Where Christian piety's soul — cheering spark 
 (Kindled from heaven between the light and dark 
 Of time) shone like the morning star." | 
 
 * There is a good school house here, supported by the proprietors 
 and by the Edinburgh Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 
 t lova would be more correct, just as Hebrides should be Hebudes, 
 \ Wordsworth's "Poems of the Imagination," Toiir, 1833, sonnet xxxv.
 
 ST. COLUMBA. 99 
 
 St. Columba's baptismal name was Criomthan, and 
 his cognomen of Columbnakill, " the Dove of the 
 Church," was simply a nickname given him by his com- 
 panions out of irony, to express the ungovernable ve- 
 hemence of his temper, which had brought him into 
 great trouble in his native land, and finally caused his 
 expulsion from thence. For, to avenge the death of a 
 ward, Colum had waged war against his sovereim, Kins 
 Dermot, and had been defeated in the battle of Kill 
 Drummie. Dermot banished him, and the Abbot 
 Molaise, to whom Colum had vowed obedience, bade 
 him, when he left Ireland, never look upon its shores 
 again ; a command which Colum obeyed, for, his final 
 resting-place of lona was chosen because his native 
 country could not be seen from thence, and when he 
 was called upon by Aodh (Hugh) King of Ireland to 
 attend the meeting of Drumcat, in 588, he landed upon 
 the Irish coast with bandaged eyes. The Abbot Molaise 
 had also bidden Colum expend his superfluous energies 
 in endeavours to convert the Northern Picts, and, in 
 this holy work, to seek for reformation and forgiveness. 
 This was in the year 561, according to the best autho- 
 rities, when Colum was forty years of age *, possessed 
 
 * Bede, however, says that Cohim did not leave Ireland till 565, 
 when he was forty-two years of age, and that he came to Britain in 
 the ninth year of the reign of Bridius. Keating, in his " History of 
 Ireland," says that there were twenty-two saints named Coliim, which 
 may account for some of the discrepancies in dates, &c. 
 
 H 2
 
 100 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 of extraordinary talents, and eminent piety, a model of 
 manly beauty, and with a voice that was even more 
 powerful than that of Mr. Spurgeon. Indeed, if we 
 might believe his biographer, St. Adamnan, his voice 
 had that miraculous quality, that, while it did not seem 
 to be loud to his brethren who were in the Church, yet 
 it could be distinctl}^ heard at a distance of five 
 hundred, or a thousand paces, and even by those who 
 were more than a mile away. And, Adamnan also tells 
 us, that when St. Columba was chanting outside King 
 Brude's fortifications, and the Pagan Druids endeavoured 
 to drown his voice, he sang a Psalm with such amazing 
 power, that it was like the sound of thunder. 
 
 A word as to St. Adam nan's work.* It contains a 
 detailed account of fifty prophecies made by St. 
 Columba, which (of course) came true, forty- six mi- 
 racles performed by him, and twenty-two apparitions 
 of angels that at divers times appeared to him ; and it 
 has therefore found favour in the eyes of Eomanists, 
 so much so, that, in the latter part of 1860, a trans- 
 
 * Adamnan was the fourtli abbot of lona. He died in 704, and 
 had conversed with those who knew St. Columba, to whom he was of 
 kin, being descended (through his mother) from Conan, King of Ire- 
 land, grandfather to St. Columba. Cuonian, the third abbot of lona 
 (who may have seen St. Columba), also wrote a biography of him. 
 Among modern lives of St. Columba, I may mention that pubHshed 
 by Dr. Smith, of Camjjbelton, in 1 798. Of modern editions of Adam- 
 nan's life, that edited by Dr. Reeves is the most important.
 
 MODERN MIRACLE-MONGERS. 101 
 
 lation of it was issued "to help on the cause of Catho- 
 lic literature." We cannot be surprised at this, in days 
 when Cardinal Wiseman quotes the Montalembert 
 miracle of " Saint " Elizabeth of Hungary, in his 
 Christmas Pastoral for 1860, and when men (like 
 Newman) think miracles to be " the sort of facts 
 proper to ecclesiastical history." We have had an 
 abundance of these " facts," from the days of " the 
 Thundering Legion," down to the days of "winking and 
 sweating pictures, and blood that liquefied to the very 
 moment, in obedience to the command of that laugher- 
 in-his-sleeve, Graribaldi. Classical history too has a 
 plentiful blackberry-crop of similar " facts," and they 
 make very pretty reading, and cast many flowers on 
 the school-boy's thorny path. They have a classical 
 peculiarity about them which is but natural, just as 
 " the sort of facts " to w^hich Newman refers have also 
 their OAvn indigenous peculiarity, viz. that Popish 
 miracles always occur in Popish countries ; which, in 
 its way, is as providential a circumstance as the flowing 
 of large rivers by large towns. Nothing is easier than 
 to take the history of the past, and encrust it with 
 fictions. It is an occupation that is the pastime of the 
 Eomish writer, and the profit of the Romish priest. In 
 the nature of things, it must fall to the lot of posterity 
 to canonise the dead ; and it would be but a useless 
 work to enrol in the list of Eomish saints any indivi- 
 
 H 3
 
 102 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 dual whose mortal deeds were not tinged with an im- 
 mortal hue. Miracles impart this couleur de rose to a 
 prosaic life, and " distance lends enchantment to the 
 view," and many an honest gentleman, who, in the 
 plodding round of his everyday life, had never even 
 dreamed of setting the Thames on fire, would, if he 
 could arise from his grave, awake, and find himself 
 famous, after a fashion of which he had no anticipa- 
 tion. It is necessary to bear in mind, that the mira- 
 culous narrative is generally considerably posterior to 
 the alleged miracle, as in the case of " St." Ignatius 
 Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. He was so far an 
 honest man, that he never attempted to humbug his 
 followers into the belief that he was possessed of mira- 
 culous powers, nor were they attributed to him in any 
 contemporary narrative, or in any of the Biographies 
 written shortly after his death. But, when his gene- 
 ration was clean gone, and they who could have given 
 evidence on the question of his miracles were in their 
 graves, then, his followers, growing ambitious as they 
 increased in numbers and importance, commenced the 
 invention of that long list of miracles, which gave their 
 founder a place in the Eomish calendar, and which 
 have since formed (to Eomanists) the most interesting 
 portion of the " Saint's " biography. And, thus it ap- 
 pears to have been with Adamnan's Life of St. Co- 
 lumba. He wrote what he had learned from others ;
 
 ST. COLUMBA, HIS HISTORY AND MIRACLES. 103 
 
 and, with great simplicity, he tells us that though he 
 did not actually see those wonderful miracles that he 
 has recorded, yet that his belief in them is confirmed 
 beyond a doubt, by the miracles that he himself saw 
 on three several occasions (which are detailed), when, 
 after the invocation of St. Columba, unfavourable winds 
 were changed into propitious breezes. But, perhaps 
 we cannot wonder at modern Eomanists for bringing 
 St. Adamnan into prominence, for he was the first who 
 introduced Eomanising innovations into the apostolic 
 simplicity and purity of the Church of lona. 
 
 To continue the narrative of St. Columba. " He 
 left his country," says Mrs. Hamilton Gray, " with a 
 heavy heart, accompanied by twelve coadjutors *, and 
 landed in Cantire ; where he remained until his sen- 
 tence had been partially reversed by an Irish Council, 
 which declared that he had acted upon great provoca- 
 tion, and that the punishment exceeded the offence. In 
 
 * Commonly said to be in imitation of the twelve apostles ; but St. 
 Columba's character does not Avarrant this belief; and Bede too says 
 that there were thirteen. Adamnan mentions one of them, by name 
 Lugbeus Moeumin, to whom St. Columba had told of a fire of sulphxir 
 that was then being poured down from heaven on an Italian city, and 
 destroying 3000 souls ; and that sailors should come from Gaul and 
 speak of this, before the year was out. (It was then just after harvest 
 time.) In a few months after this Lugbeus accompanied the saint to 
 Cantire, and there met with the captain and sailors of a ship that had 
 just arrived from Gaul, who told them of the fate of the city and its 
 inhabitants, as it had been prophesied by St. Colxunba. 
 
 H 4
 
 104 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 Cantire he exercised the charm of his great superiority 
 over every one whom he approached ; and Connal," 
 the fifth king- of the Dabiad Scots, " was soon com- 
 pletely under his influence, and engaged in every way 
 to forward his penitential mission. He sent him with 
 an honourable escort, and as a master in wisdom, to 
 Brude, King of the Picts ; and Colum made so wonder- 
 ful an impression upon that monarch, that, notwith- 
 standing the opposition of the Druids, he declared 
 himself a Christian, and recognised Christianity as the 
 religion of his people. The chiefs followed their mo- 
 narch, and the people their chiefs ; and thus, without 
 persecution, Christianity silently and surely settled its 
 churches in every district of Pictavia. Colum con- 
 verted the Arch-Druid Broichan by curing him of a 
 lingering disease ; and he appealed to the Prince of 
 Orkney, whom he met at the Court of Brude, to favour 
 the Christians already in Orkney, and to protect the 
 preachers whom he should send there." * Soon after, 
 the beautiful " Island of Druids," Innis nan Druid a 
 nach, soon to be world-renowned, under the name of 
 lona, whence " savage clans and roving barbarians de- 
 rived the benefits of knowledge and the blessings of 
 religion,"! was conferred upon Colum, by Kings Connal 
 and Brude.} 
 
 * The Empire and tlie Church. f Dr. Johnson. 
 
 I Brude, Bridius, or Bridei, surnamed "Potentissimus," ascended 
 the Pictish tlirone in 556. He defeated the Dalruadhini in 557. It
 
 NARRATIVE OF ST. C0LU5IBA. 105 
 
 Colum became " lona's saint," in the year 565, having 
 arrived in Cantire either in 561, or 3, — for both dates 
 
 would be out of place here to enter upon any disquisition on that oft- 
 mooted question, Who were the Picts ? It is e\-ident that they were 
 of the Caledonian race. Caledonia, it will be remembered, was that 
 great section of Scotland comprising the Highlands north of Loeh Fyne, 
 but not including Cantire. The Scots and the Picts were congenial 
 races, of a common origin, and of common tongues, and coiild easily be 
 fused into one people. Kenneth was the very person who could best 
 do this, for he was the grandson, on his mother's side, of the Pictish 
 kings Constantino and Ungus the Second. On the death of Uvcn, 
 the last son of Ungus, Kenneth had claimed the Pictish crown as his 
 by right. " Two successive and successful competitors kept it for five 
 years from his grasp, but both wore it amid disturbance and in misery, 
 and at last met a violent death at Forteviot, the seat of his power. 
 Kenneth could dexterously take advantage of such confusions as arose 
 from the loss of a battle, or the death of a king, to achieve an im- 
 portant revolution ; and, finding no man bold enough again to contest 
 his claim, he easily stepped into the vacant throne. In his person a 
 new dynasty, and a consolidation of popular interests among two 
 great peoples who had hitherto been at variance, began." (Forsyth.) 
 A new period now began, generally called "the Scottish" (in distinc- 
 tion to the Dah'uadhinian period), which continued up to 1097, when 
 the Scoto-Saxon period commenced. We must claim, however, for the 
 Dalruadhinian the title of the Scottish period, and for Dalruadhaiu 
 the name of the Scottish capital ; for if the one period is Scoto-Irish, 
 the other is Scoto-Pictish ; and there was more of the Scottish element 
 in the former than the latter. The obscurities and perplexities that 
 beset this early history, are well treated in the first volume of Chal- 
 mers' " Caledonia." For the Scoto-Irish Celts, see also ^Nlr. Campbell's 
 "West Highland Tales," vol. i. pp. 100—118; the chapter on " Os- 
 sian" in Macculloch's "Highlands and Western Isles," vol. ii., and 
 also vol i. p. 301 ; and Keating's " History of Ireland." Skene, in 
 his "Scottish Highlands," derives the name Pict from the Celtic
 
 106 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 are given. It was at this part of the Mull, that he is 
 supposed to have landed, and given his name to the 
 parish of Kilcolmkill, which, with its adjoining parish 
 of Kilblaan, now forms the parish of Southend. His 
 passage from Ireland was made in a currach or boat, 
 made of -svicker or woven osiers, and covered on the 
 outside with hides. The British currachs are spoken 
 of by Julius Csesar, who says that they were furnished 
 with a keel, and a mast of light wood. Adamnan de- 
 scribes the currach employed by St. Columba at lona, 
 as possessing all the parts of a ship, with sails and oars, 
 and with a capacity for passengers ; and he adds, that, 
 in this roomy, though apparently fragile, vessel, he 
 sailed into the North Sea, and, during fourteen days, 
 remained there with perfect safety. That portion of 
 the shore of lona, where Colum's currach first touched, 
 when it conveyed him from Cantire, is still called Po7'- 
 na Currach, " the Bay of the Boat ; " and its exact 
 model, or counterpart, is pointed out in a rocky heap 
 upon the shore, about fifty feet in length. There is a 
 tradition that one of the missionaries who accompanied 
 Colum to Cantire, was St. Kiaran, " the Apostle of the 
 
 Ffechti, "a warrior;" and says, " We may hold it as an incontrover- 
 tible fact, that the Picts and Caledonians were the same people, ap- 
 pearing at different times under different appellations." Vol. i. p. 14. 
 He also makes out the Northern Picts, who, called themselves Gael, and 
 spoke the Gaelic language, to be "the real ancestors of the modern 
 Highlanders." Vol. i. chap. iv.
 
 columba's first hebridean cnuEcir. 107 
 
 Cantire," who had been tutor to Colum.* There seems, 
 however, every reason to believe that St. Kiaran had 
 been settled in Cantire many years prior to Colum's 
 banishment from Ireland ; and, we may conclude, that, 
 on his disgrace, and in consequence of the parting 
 advice of the Abbot Molaise, Colum would naturally 
 direct his thoughts to that portion of Cantire, where his 
 old tutor had preached the Gospel. If St. Kiaran was 
 still alive, we may believe that Colum would wish to 
 have the benefit of his counsel and companionship. 
 But if (which seems more probable, so far as we can 
 judge from the light glimmer thrown on the subject by 
 a confusion of dates and statements) St. Kiaran were 
 already dead, Colum would still seek that portion of 
 Cantire which had been the scene of his labours, where 
 he could catch up his mantle, and continue the good 
 work that his tutor had commenced. As in a future 
 chapter, I shall have occasion to refer to the little that 
 is known (or conjectured) concerning St. Kiaran's his- 
 tory, I will not more particularly refer to it in this 
 place ; but, while I claim for St. Kiaran the proud 
 position of being the first preacher of Christianity in 
 the kingdom of the Scots, we have ground to show that 
 St. Columba trod in his footsteps, and preached the 
 Gospel in Cantire for the space of two if not four years, 
 
 * His other tntors were Finian, Bishop of Clonard, Fenhar, and 
 Gemman of Leinster.
 
 108 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 before he embarked for the scene of his well-known 
 labours in Zona. 
 
 It is this that lends to Kilcolmkill its chief interest. 
 We are here on the traces of St. Columba, amid the 
 scenes that surrounded him, when he first set foot on 
 Scottish ground. The name of the place suggests that 
 he here founded a church, and it is highly probable that 
 he would do so ; if so, it would (in till probability) be 
 the first of those Hebridean churches, of which so many 
 were founded by this venerated " Apostle of the Picts." 
 Tradition says, that St. Columba built the little church, 
 whose walls, pierced with Norman doorway and windows, 
 may still be seen upon the sea-shore. If this is not 
 strictly correct, the chvirch would doubtless be an early 
 successor to one built by Colum on that spot, which 
 was probably erected (as were the greater part of his 
 churches,) moi^e Plctorum, with timber, and enclosed 
 with a rude stone wall. The church, at any rate, was 
 dedicated to St. Columba, and is called after his name ; 
 and the stone cross, of which the pedestal alone remains, 
 is also supposed to have been dedicated to the memory 
 of the saint.* 
 
 The present parish church, built in the year 1774, is 
 a plain structure. It contains the tomb of the wife of 
 Colonel Fullerton, who died soon after the marriage : 
 
 * See Appendix, " Ecelesiology of Cantire," for St. Columba's Church 
 at Keill, and also for Kilblaan, &c.
 
 EOMANTIC BEQUEST. COXIGLEN. 109 
 
 and when, many years after, the husband was dying in 
 America, he directed his servant to bear his heart to 
 ICilcohnkill, and inter it in his wife's grave : a request 
 which was duly carried out. It lends a poetic interest 
 to the place to recall this circumstance, — the dying 
 man's thoughts wandering to this lonely spot, where all 
 that was mortal of his young wife was laid, and his wish 
 that the heart that -had throbbed with love for her during 
 his life, should be laid beside her in death. 
 
 This church (with its Manse) is well situated on a 
 high bank over the stream of the Coniglen, which flows 
 into the sea at Dunaverty. The river abounds in salmon 
 and trout. The glen is between six and seven miles 
 long, and has some rich land, bounded by considerable 
 hills of claystone porphyry, and Old Ked Sandstone. 
 The river, which was subject to sudden and dangerous 
 risings, has been straightened and embanked by the 
 Duke of Argyle, at the expense of 1600^. One of 
 those sudden risings of the river washed away the old 
 church and its burying-ground. Eeligious houses were 
 very numerous in the neighbourhood of Kilcolmkill. 
 The names of Kildavie, Killravan, Killeolan, Killoran, 
 preserve the memory of churches and cemeteries, of 
 which all other traces have been lost. No vestioe too 
 remains of the parish church of St. Blane, at Kilblaan ; 
 but there are a few ruins of St. Catherine's Chapel, in 
 a lovely spot on the banks of a stream in the secluded
 
 110 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 pastoral vale of Grlenadle, where close to the chapel 
 there is a cemetery and holy well, frequented by dis- 
 eased persons up to a late date. 
 
 Caoran Grlen is about a mile north of Coniglen ; it 
 runs from west to south-east, for three or four miles, 
 winding round Cnoistapail, and then mingling its waters 
 with those of Coniglen. Grlenreith Grlen is to the north, 
 and Kildavie Glen to the east. There are some Danish 
 forts in this district of Cantire. The remains of the 
 chief fort are to be found on the farm of Balemacumra, 
 near to the Mull. The situation is almost inaccessible, 
 being on the head of a perpendicular rock, 180 feet in 
 height, the base of which is about thirty yards from the 
 sea. The fort is surrounded by three walls ; the inner wall 
 being 12 feet in thickness, the second 6 feet, and the 
 outer wall 3 feet. The space between the edge of the 
 precipice and the inner wall is 66 feet in length, and 
 its mediiun width 22 feet. With the natural and arti- 
 ficial defences of precipices and walls on the one side, 
 and with the Atlantic waves on the other, forbidding a 
 landing, by the strength and current of their tides, this 
 old fort of Balemacumra must have been one of the 
 safest, as well as the wildest, of retreats, and was 
 literally the Fort of the Land's-End of Scotland.
 
 DUNAYERTT CASTLE. Ill 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 DUXAYERTY AND ITS TRADITIONS. 
 
 Dunaverty Castle. — Robert Bnice. — Southend. — The Piper of Keill. 
 — Isle of Sanda. — The Kock of Blood. — The Massacre of Duna- 
 verty — Traditions concerning it. — The Covenanter Chaplain. — 
 Preservation of the Infant Macdonali — Argyll hangs his Brother- 
 in-Law. — Story of Macdonald and the Irish Princess. — The last 
 Macdonald and the Lord Lieutenant. — How Calliun cheated the 
 Evil Eye. — How the Clan Callum cemented their Friendship. 
 
 But Dunaverty, which is close at hand, is crowded with 
 memories of the lordly days of Cantire. Here was the 
 Macdonald's Castle, where (as we saw in the last chap- 
 ter) Bruce came, on his way from Saddell Castle. Here 
 lie lay safely hid for some days, his enemies imagining 
 that he had fled to Ireland.* He did, in fact, go from 
 Dunaverty to the Isle of Kathlin, distant about twenty 
 miles, where, at the place now called " Bruce Castle," 
 he remained in concealment for some time. On the 
 Isle of Sanda, three miles from the mainland, and op- 
 posite to Dunaverty, there is a hill still known by the 
 name of " Prince Edward's Hill." The only prince of 
 
 * See Barboui"'s "Life of Bruce."
 
 112 GLEXCREGGAN. 
 
 that name connected with the history of Scotland, is 
 the brother of Eobert Bruce, and the tradition is, that 
 lie was placed there to give timely notice to the king of 
 the approach of danger. 
 
 A few remains of Dunaverty Castle are yet visible, 
 on a rocky promontory, having a precipitous sea-wall, 
 and only to be approached from the mainland by a 
 narrow isthmus. From this point to Kilcolmkill, the 
 land recedes in a rocky semicircle, forming the Bay of 
 Dunaverty, in which vessels can find a safe harbour 
 from northerly and westerly gales. Seals are often seen 
 basking on the rocks in this bay. It is little more 
 than a mile distant from the pretty village of Southend, 
 which can boast of two churches, and where the tourist 
 will find an inn, and "good accommodation for man 
 and beast." The glen scenery between this point and 
 Dunaverty is very picturesque ; the streams abound in 
 salmon and trout ; and the heath-covered hills are well 
 stocked with game. Thriving plantations and shrub- 
 beries add to the beauty of the scenery. A good road 
 passes through the village from Campbelton, and, ap- 
 proaching the Bay of Dunaverty, passes Keill House 
 (lately tenanted by Lord St. John), and is continued to 
 Carskay, where more salmon fishing is to be met with. 
 There is also abundant sea-fishing (of haddocks, whiting, 
 mackarel, salmon, &c.) off this part of the coast, which 
 is not the case at the Mull of Cantire, where the per-
 
 THE PIPER OF KEILL. 113 
 
 petual conflict of the tides apparently puts the fish to 
 the rout. The birds are consequently not so numerous 
 at the jNIull as at Dunaverty, as they naturally prefer 
 to lodge where their food is most easily attainable. 
 There used to be a ferry-boat from this spot to Bcxlly- 
 castle, in Ireland, twenty-three miles distant ; and if a 
 pier or small quay were constructed here, it would be 
 of great advantage to the district. 
 
 There are many large caves on this part of the coast, 
 the most considerable one being at Keill. This cave, now 
 used as a cattle-fold, was long the resort of smugglers, 
 and was said to possess a subterranean passage extend- 
 ing six miles from the mouth of the cave to the Hill of 
 Killellan. Perhaps this tradition is but another version 
 of the following popular story regarding the cave at 
 Keill : the cave was said to be haunted, and whoever 
 should dare to penetrate beyond a certain distance in it 
 would never live to return. (A convenient invention, 
 doubtless, of the smugglers for the protection of their 
 hidden property.) A piper, however, made up his 
 mind to explore the inmost recesses of the cave ; and, 
 accompanied by his little terrier dog, set forth on his 
 expedition to the interior, while his friends watched and 
 listened at the cavern's mouth. The- piper went in 
 boldly, blowing his pipes till the cave re-echoed. He 
 was sooner lost to sight than to sound, and his friends 
 heard his shrill music gradually becoming fainter and 
 
 VOL, I. I
 
 11-4 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 fainter, until all at once, when, as they supposed, he 
 had passed the fatal boundary, his pipes were heard to 
 give an unearthly and tremendous skirl, while a y el- 
 dritch laugh resounded through the cave. The little 
 terrier dog presently came running out of the cavern, 
 but without his skin ! In process of time he obtained 
 a fresh skin, but he vms never heard to bark again ! 
 As for the piper, what was his fate can only be a matter 
 for conjecture ; but he is supposed to have stumbled on 
 the subterranean passage ; for, about five miles from the 
 cavern, there is a farm-house, and underneath its 
 hearthstone, the piper has often been heard playing 
 his favourite tune, and stopping occasionally to 
 ejaculate, 
 
 "I doubt, I doubt, 
 I'll ne'er win out ! " 
 
 Opposite to Dunaverty Bay, and about three miles 
 from the mainland, is the Isle of Sanda, famed as 
 having been the place for the rendezvous of the Danish 
 fleets, in their predatory excursions to the Scottish 
 coast, and, from this circumstance, it is often called by 
 the surrounding people by a Gaelic name signifying 
 " The Danes' Gatherincf." * The remains of an old 
 
 * Avona Porticosa, or Avoyn, " the island of harbours ; " from tha 
 Danish Hafn, " a haven." See Macculloch's " Highlands," vol. ii. 
 p. 68; see also Pennant ("Hebrides," p. 192), quoting from Buchanan
 
 ISLE OF SANDA. 115 
 
 church are to be seen on the island ; and there is also 
 a modern summer residence for the proprietor. Two 
 other islands, Sheep Island, and Grlunamar, lie close to 
 the north of Sanda, together with several rocks, one of 
 which, called Paterson's Eock, to the E. S. E. of 
 Sanda, one-sixth of a mile in circumference, and only 
 visible at spring-tides, has been the scene, and the 
 cause, of many shipwrecks. This group of islands and 
 rocks, girdled by white lines of breakers, makes a very 
 pleasing object in the seaward view, as we stand on 
 Dunaverty Point ; and beyond them we see Ailsa Craig 
 rising from the waves, more like a cyclopean work of 
 art, than a freak of nature — with the southern shore 
 of Arran, and the A}Tshire hills in the dim distance. 
 
 It is but a narrow point of rock on which we are 
 standing, rising from the mainland by a natural stair- 
 case up to this height, on which the old castle once 
 stood, and terminating on its three other sides in a 
 giddy precipice. There are sheep creeping up to the 
 very toppling edge, to browse on the short thymy grass ; 
 the curlews fly around and skim the placid sea for food ; 
 the sails of the little fleet of fishing-boats in the Bay 
 hang listlessly on the masts ; the ships go sailing slowly 
 on, their broad sails gleaming white as the sea-gulls' 
 
 and the Dean of the Isles. Fordiin mentions the church as being the 
 chapel of St. Annian, and a refuge for criminals. Sanda is the more 
 ancient name, as appears from Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba." 
 
 I 2
 
 IIG GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 wings against the cloudless sky ; the heaven is blue 
 above us, and all is hot and still, save the soothing 
 plashing of the breakers, the scream of the curlews, 
 and the sheep's ceaseless cropping of the sweet grass : — 
 all speaks of peaceful quietude ; and, as we lie like the 
 lazy shepherd, and with supine face fall into a pleasant 
 day-dream with one of the old castle's stones for a 
 pillow, we can scarcely imagine that Dunaverty Point 
 has ever been witness to scenes more stirring than 
 those that, with half-shut eyes, we now dreamily look 
 upon. But, where you come upon the track of a Lord 
 of the Isles, you may feel pretty sure that you are upon 
 the footsteps of war and violence ; and, as Dunaverty 
 Castle was one of the great strongholds of the Mac- 
 donalds, who were Lords of the Isles, and Lords of 
 Cantire, we may be very certain that this rocky pro- 
 montory formed no exception to the non-peaceful rule. 
 If I were to tell its tale with anything like complete- 
 ness, or even with moderate fulness, I should have to 
 devote a long chapter to this special purpose. But, as 
 my reader will doubtless have something better where- 
 with to occupy his time, than to lounge with me, lazy- 
 shepherd-like, on this summit of Dunaverty Point, and 
 listen to its history and legends, with the pleasant ac- 
 companiments of a glorious summer's day, sea air, wave 
 murmurings, curlew cries, and sheep bleatings, I will 
 not bore him with lengthy details, but merely indicate
 
 THE EOCK OF BLOOD. 117 
 
 a few salient points in tlie castle's history, which I trust 
 will be sufficiently interesting to prevent my reader 
 from receiving the legends in the shape of soporifics, 
 which might prove fatal to him, and roll him from off 
 his thymy promontory, down to those jagged rocks, far, 
 far below us, where the treacherous sea is smiling for 
 its victim. 
 
 This rock of Dunaverty, peaceful as it now seems to 
 us, was so named because it was " the Kock of Blood." * 
 Its best-remembered baptism of blood occurred in the 
 year 1647, during the Charles-the-First war between 
 the EoyaKsts and Covenanters. The Marquis of Argyll 
 was of the latter party, and Montrose of the former. 
 Sir Alexander Macdonald, of Dunaverty, known by the 
 name of AUister, the son of Coll Kittach, " the left- 
 handed," sided with Montrose ; and having ravaged 
 Cantire, and given many of its inhabitants to the sword, 
 and their houses to the flames, was at length defeated 
 by Argyll, and one of his generals (Leslie), and driven 
 back to Dunaverty. There he placed 300 of his men, 
 and leaving them under the command of his brother, 
 Archibald Oig Macdonald, of Sanda, sailed to Ireland 
 
 * Di'.nainortaich, in Gaelic. There is, however, some uncertainty as 
 to the derivation. Bunamhortaemh is also given, which means " The 
 Rock of the Bay of the Great Swell;" the sonth and east winds 
 blowing in here -wdth great fiuy^. Pennant does not make any mention 
 of Dunaverty. Lord Teignmouth gives a hrief account of it, imder the 
 name of Dcunaverdich. 
 
 I 3
 
 118 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 with the remainder of his force, with the intention of 
 endeavouring to raise an army there, and, with their 
 aid, return and relieve the castle, and retrieve his 
 disasters. AMiilst the men were launching the boats 
 upon the beach, Macdonald held his last council in 
 Cantire, on the sands of the sea-shore beneath the 
 fortress. Soon after he had sailed to Ireland (where 
 he was killed in a battle with the Earl of Carlingford), 
 General Leslie arrived with 3000 men before Duna- 
 verty, and laid siege to the castle. During the month 
 of June several desperate assaults were made upon the 
 fortress, but were repelled with great loss to the assail- 
 ants. The place was impregnable, and the Royalists, 
 having plenty of provisions, might have stood out for a 
 year against any force ; but, unfortunately for them, 
 about the middle of July, it was discovered by the be- 
 siegers that the water was supplied to the garrison by 
 means of pipes connected with a spring without the 
 walls. These were speedily destroyed, and every effort 
 of the Royalists to supply themselves from a small 
 stream at the base of the rock was unsuccessful. Sir 
 James Turner, who, after the Restoration, became a 
 Royalist, but who was then acting as Adjutant-General 
 of Argyll's army, has left a record of this siege of 
 Dunaverty, and thus describes the country through 
 which I hope shortly to conduct the reader. He says, 
 " From Inverary we marched to Kintyre, which is a
 
 MASSACKE OF DUNAVERTT. 119 
 
 peninsula. Both before and at the entry to it, there 
 were such advantages of ground, that our foot, for 
 mountains and marshes, could never have drawn up one 
 hundred in a body, nor our horse above three in a 
 breast, which, if Sir Allister had prepossessed with 
 those thousand or twelve hundred brave foot that he 
 had with him, I think he might have ruined us, at least 
 we should not have entered Kintyre (but by a miracle) ; 
 but he was ordained for destruction, for, by a speedy 
 march, we made ourselves masters of these difficult 
 passes, and got into a plain country, where no sooner 
 he saw our horse advance, but with little or no fighting 
 he retired ; and if the Lieutenant-Greneral had been 
 with him, and have given him a salvo or two, which 
 would have disordered them, I believe none had escaped 
 from our horse. Allister, like a fool, for he was no 
 soldier, though stout enough, put three hundred of his 
 men into a house on the top of a hill called Dunaverty, 
 environed with a stone wall on the one side, and the 
 sea on the other, where there was not one drop of water 
 
 but what fell from the clouds We besieged 
 
 Dunaverty, which kept out well enough till we stormed 
 a trench they had at the foot of the hill, whereby they 
 commanded two stripes of water. This we took, and in 
 the assault, forty of them were put to the edge of the 
 sword." Extreme thirst now raged in the besieged 
 garrison. Every contrivance was made for catching 
 
 I 4
 
 120 GLENCKEGaAN. 
 
 rain water; but no rain came, and the July heat made 
 their thirst all the more intolerable. The refreshing 
 sight of the waves washing around their rock, added 
 but tantalising pains to their torture. There was 
 
 " Water, water everjTvhere, 
 But not a drop to drink ; " 
 
 and when they had held out to the very last extremity, 
 they desired a parley. Sir James Turner was sent to 
 negotiate terms. Alexander Oig Macdonald proposed 
 sundry stipulations, but they were all rejected. At 
 length the garrison was induced to surrender at dis- 
 cretion, or to the mercy of the kingdom. The men 
 delivered up their arms, and were marched out of the 
 garrison on the top of the rock, but were not allowed 
 to pass the walls of the fortification at the foot of it. 
 For five days they were detained prisoners, until at 
 length General Leslie yielded to the counsel that they 
 should be put to death. He seems to have been a nice 
 casuist, for he thought that he kept his word by dis- 
 tinguishing between the discretion of the estates (which 
 was the expression made use of in the treaty) and his 
 own discretion. Foremost among the counsellors for 
 the massacre, was Mr. John Nave, who had been ap- 
 pointed by the Commissioners of the Kirk as the chap- 
 lain to the Covenanters' army. He never ceased to 
 tempt the General to the bloodshed, and to threaten
 
 TBADITIOXS OF DUNATERTY. 121 
 
 him with the curses that befell Saul for sparing the 
 Amalekites. " Then the prisoners," (says Sir James 
 Turner,) "were put to the sword, every mother's son, 
 except one young man, Mac Koull, whose life I begged, 
 to be sent to France, with one hundred country fellows 
 whom we had smoked out of a cave, as they do foxes, 
 and were given to Captain Campbell, the Chancellor's 
 brother." According to popular tradition, the Cove- 
 nanters showed great cruelty in their methods of put- 
 ting the Eoyalist JMacdonalds to death, and threw many 
 of them from the precipice into the sea. Human bones 
 have been found in the sand at the foot of " the Rock 
 of Blood," and a skull, gashed \^dth sabre cuts, was 
 formerly preserved in the fisherman's hut near to the 
 base of the rock, and shown to visitors as the skull of 
 one of the sufferers in the terrible "Massacre of Du- 
 naverty." And, in the year 1822, after an unusually 
 high tide, accompanied with a gale of wind, the sand 
 was drifted from a bank in the farm of Brunerican, 
 which lies in the immediate neighbourhood of Duna- 
 verty, and a perfect charnel-house of human bones 
 became exposed to view. 
 
 According to tradition, the young man, IMac Koull, 
 was not the only person saved. It is "said, that there 
 was in the garrison a woman named Flora ]McCam- 
 bridge, .who was nurse to the infant son of Archibald 
 Macdonald. "SMien the massacre commenced, she fled
 
 122 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 along the beach, with the naked child in her arms. She 
 was met, and laid hold of by the Captain Campbell (of 
 Craignish) just mentioned. She said that the child was 
 her own, the son of a countryman. " It has the eye of 
 the Macdonald," observed the Captain, " but no matter, 
 it wants clothing." And so saying, he cut off the tail 
 of his belted plaid, and gave it to her for a covering for 
 the child. She fled with it in safety, and concealed 
 herself in a cave in the Mull of Cantire, until the Co- 
 venanters' army had left the country. The child who 
 was thus so wonderfully preserved from the massacre, 
 grew up to be Eonald Macdonald, the husband of Anne 
 Stewart, the sister of the first Earl of Bute.* 
 
 General Leslie and the Marquis of Argyll burned 
 Danaverty Castle to the ground, and razed the out- 
 works. They were never afterwards reconstructed, and 
 one of the greatest strongholds of the Lords of the Isles 
 is now only represented by these few scattered founda- 
 tion-stones on this thymy promontory, where we are 
 lazily lounging on this summer's day, amid the sheep 
 
 * His father and granclfatlier were buried in the middle of a field 
 on the farm of Maehribeg, not far from the shore, together -with an- 
 other chieftain, Macdonald of Largie, as it is said. The graves are 
 marked by three large flagstones sunk deeply in the ground ; and re- 
 main undisturbed, although the field has been ploughed and regularly 
 ■worked for more than a century. On this farm of Maehribeg are some 
 very good modem farm buildings, erected by the Duke of Argj-ll. A 
 fijie coral is found on the shore (and also at Keill), which is serviceable 
 for manure.
 
 MASSACRE OF DUNAVERTY. 123 
 
 and the sea-gulls, with the fishing-boats below us, and 
 every sea-going vessel looking 
 
 " As idle as a painted ship, 
 Upon a painted ocean." 
 
 There is the sandy beach, along which the faithful 
 nurse ran with the naked child, and happily encoun- 
 tered that truly Christian gentleman of a Covenanter 
 captain. Here is the precipice, from w^hose giddy height 
 the miserable prisoners were dashed upon the ragged 
 rocks beneath, and bade to quench their thirst with a 
 draught of sea-water. There, maybe, is the spot where 
 that puritanical preacher (so rightly named a knave), 
 may have stood, and misapplied his fierce denunciatory 
 texts. And here is the spot where the thirsting garrison 
 were forced to capitulate on terms that proved far more 
 cruel than their previous sufferings. All this comes be- 
 fore us like a fevered dream, as we lie here basking in 
 the sun, and the fresh sea-breeze. But they were terrible 
 realities at Dunaverty two centuries ago ; and were only 
 surpassed, when, a few years later, the great plague 
 came in its " white cloud " from Ayrshire, and depopu- 
 lated not this district only, but the whole of Cantire. 
 So completely were the estates of the Marquis of 
 Argyll wasted by this pestilence, and by the scourge of 
 war, that a sum of money was voted by the estates of 
 Parliament for the support of himself and family, and a
 
 124 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 collection was ordered throughout all the churches of 
 Scotland for the relief of the people. Lowlanders, who 
 had joined the standard of Argyll, were induced, after 
 the war, to settle in Cantire ; and as others came from 
 the opposite mainland, bringing with them their servants 
 and dependents, a considerable part of Cantire, espe- 
 cially around Campbelton, which admitted of being 
 cultivated and ploughed like Ayrshire, was speedily 
 occupied by a thriving colony of pious and industrious 
 inhabitants. 
 
 In connection with the massacre of Dunaverty, tra- 
 dition says, that Alexander Mac Cholla Macdonald was 
 Bearing the castle with a small force, in order to assist 
 his clansmen, when the Dunaverty piper, who spied 
 them coming, struck up the air of " CoUa nan riin, 
 seachuinn an Dim," which meant, that he was to keep 
 away from Dunaverty. jMac Cholla understood the 
 hint, and profited by it : but the faithful piper was 
 rewarded by having his fingers cut off by his savage 
 conquerors. There is also a family tradition among the 
 jMacallisters, that, at the time of the massacre, Glen- 
 lussa (which we passed on our way to Campbelton, as 
 we came down Kilbrannan Sound), was possessed by 
 Mr. Hector Macallister, who had married the Marquis 
 of Argyll's sister. He was rich, not only in land, but in 
 " the sinews of war " — money ; and Argyll begged him 
 to espouse his cause. But Macallister refused to fight
 
 AEGTLL AND THE WHELPS. 125 
 
 against his neighbours, the Macdonalds, who had not 
 done him any harm. Arg}dl was angry ; and Macallister, 
 fearing his wrath, fled with his three sons towards Dun- 
 averty, but was captured near to Camjjbelton. When 
 his wife heard of this, she rode with great speed, that 
 she might save the lives of her husband and children. 
 Argyll saw his sister coming, and bringing out his 
 brother-in-law and the sons upon the Whinny Hill, 
 told his men to hang them speedily, as he feared his 
 sister would put a stop to their execution. The men 
 asked " WTiich of them shall we put up first ? " and 
 Argyll replied, " The whelps ; and afterwards the old 
 fox." The lady reached the hill only in time to find 
 the bodies of her husband and three sons swinoing life- 
 less in the air. She fell upon her knees, and said in 
 Gaelic, 
 
 " Mo sheachd mallachd air mo cliiuneacb, 
 Gun iad adhol aon la an sinnead ; 
 No gun oighre air an ionn-ogha." 
 
 Lord Teignmouth says, that " there are several tradi- 
 tions respecting the massacre " of Dunavert}^, and men- 
 tions one of them. It is this : — "A fine young highlander 
 sj)rang from the rock to reach a boat which contained 
 some of the fugitives, when Argyll, compassionating 
 him, interceded with Leslie in his behalf. His name 
 was Stuart; he proved grateful to his protector, and 
 became his first factor ; for, by this conquest, Argyll
 
 126 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 became possessed of Cantyre, and divided it among the 
 Campbells." 
 
 There is an old legend of Dunaverty, which may here 
 have its place, and which the Cantire Highlanders tell 
 thus : — In times long ago, w^hen there was a great 
 stronghold on this " Rock of Blood," the Macdonalds 
 were the lords of Dunaverty. One of them was asked 
 over to Ireland, to partake of a feast given by the great 
 king of Ireland, at which all the lesser kings were to 
 be present with their wives and daughters. The daughter 
 of the king of Carrickfergus was to be there, with whom 
 O'Connor, the king of Innisheon, had fallen in love ; 
 but she did not return his love, and her father would 
 not permit him to marry her. This caused O'Connor 
 to use a stratagem to obtain her. He placed his armed 
 followers in ambush at a certain part of the road, where 
 the king of Carrickfergus and his daughter would have 
 to pass in going to the feast ; and when they came, 
 attended only by a few followers, pounced upon them, 
 and after a struggle, in which the king was wounded, 
 made them his prisoners. But O'Connor only wanted 
 the king's daughter ; so he told his followers to release 
 the king and his men after a short space, until he 
 had time to get away. Then he set the damsel upon 
 his horse, and galloped off with her as fast as he could. 
 It so happened that Macdonald of Dunaverty was coming 
 along the road, in order that he might be at the feast ;
 
 MACDONALD ASB THE IRISH PRINCESS. 127 
 
 and when he saw O'Connor galloping towards him, wdth 
 a young girl screaming behind him, he placed himself 
 at a narrow part of the road, and opposed O'Connor's 
 progress, with his drawn sword, commanding him to 
 set the damsel at liberty. O'Connor leaped from his 
 horse, and fell upon Macdonald, and they fought des- 
 perately, until the king of Innisheon was slain by the 
 Lord of Dunaverty. Macdonald then moimted O'Con- 
 nor's horse, set the young lady behind him, and restored 
 her safely to her father. The king was rejoiced to get 
 his daughter back again ; and kept Macdonald at his 
 house for some weeks, entertaining him with great 
 kindness. At last, INIacdonald was obliged to return. 
 The king thanked him for his services, and promised to 
 grant any favour that he would ask. Macdonald had 
 only one favour to ask ; and that was, that the king 
 should give him his daughter in marriage. The king 
 had never thought that ]Macdonald would have the 
 boldness to ask for his daughter ; and instead of gi'ant- 
 ing the favour, and keeping his word, he fell into a 
 violent passion with Macdonald, and threw him into a 
 dungeon. The king's castle was by the sea, on Belfast 
 Lough ; and Macdonald's dungeon was near to the 
 shore. The king's daughter had fallen in love with 
 him ; and she now found means to requite him, for 
 releasing her from the king of Innisheon. She con- 
 trived to get him out of his dungeon, and had a swift
 
 128 GLENCREGGAX. 
 
 boat and stout men ready for him at the shore ; and, in 
 a few hours, Macdonald was safe at home at Dunaverty. 
 But he could not forget the Irish princess : and, at 
 length, when he could no longer endure to be separated 
 from her, he sailed across to the Irish coast, and made 
 good his landing at Carrickfergus, at dead of night. 
 Now the king had discovered that his daughter had 
 supplied Macdonald with the means of escape ; and to 
 prevent her from following him, he shut her up in a 
 room that was over the precipice. Macdonald contrived 
 to learn where she was imprisoned, and climbed up the 
 precipice to her window. He gave her a signal, which 
 she understood ; she lowered herself into her lover's 
 arms, and he bore her in safety down the rock, and 
 into his vessel, which was soon swiftly sailing back to 
 Dunaverty. Next morning, when the king found that 
 his daughter was gone, he fell into a mighty rage ; and, 
 guessing whither she had betaken herself, he raised an 
 army, and sailed to Dunaverty, with the intent to 
 destroy every Macdonald. But his daughter interfered, 
 and so soothed his mind, that he became reconciled to 
 his son-in-law, and brought him back to Carrickfergus, 
 where he lived long and happily, and where his offspring 
 became kings. The earls of Antrim are said to be 
 descended from these Macdonalds of Dunaverty. 
 
 Until the Jurisdiction Act of 1748 took it from them, 
 these chieftains possessed the power over life or death.
 
 MACDONALD AND THE LORD LIEUTENANT. 129 
 
 and, as a matter of course, thought no small beer of 
 themselves, ^yhen the last Macdonald of Dunaverty 
 who possessed this power was invited to an entertain- 
 ment given by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, he 
 chanced to be amongst the last in coming in, and sat 
 himself down at the foot of the table, near to the 
 door. The Lord Lieutenant spying him there, called 
 to him to come and sit beside him at the head of the 
 table. " What does the Carl say ? " asked Macdonald, 
 in Gaelic. It was explained to him that the Lord 
 Lieutenant wished him to move towards the head of the 
 table. " Tell the Carl," was the reply, " that wherever 
 Macdonald sits, that is the head of the table I " 
 
 In older times than those of the Macdonald, Duna- 
 verty was an important stronghold, for it was the prin- 
 cipal fortification of the Danes, on the mainland, on 
 this part of the coast. It was also the place where 
 King Fergus the First landed, to take possession of the 
 Crown of Scotland, and, from its position, it w^as always 
 considered a fort of considerable strength and import- 
 ance. Let us now descend from this " Kock of Blood," 
 and dismiss its tragical memories ; but, ere we leave the 
 Land's-end of Scotland, let us pause at the pretty vil- 
 lage of Southend, a mile on our way towards Camp- 
 belton, and refresh ourselves at the inn, while mine 
 host tells us the following story from his budget of 
 traditional lore. 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 Once npoD a time, there was a tenant-farmer of the 
 name of Galium, who lived somewhere np north. He 
 had twelve sons, fine strapping lads, and on a certain 
 New-year's Day they all appeared in their best clothes, 
 at the feast given by the great lord of the place. Now 
 his lady was childless, and when she saw those twelve 
 well-dressed hearty lads, she envied Galium his children. 
 This was a bad thing for poor Galium, for, when once 
 the envious eye had fallen upon his sons, some mischief 
 was sure to follow. And it did ; the lads fell sick, and 
 fell away, without having any disease. One after another 
 died, and before New-year's Day had come again, only 
 three of the twelve sons remained. In despair, Galium 
 advised his three surviving sons to leave the place, and 
 go away to some other. They obeyed, and made ready. 
 Each of them took a horse, laden with two creels, in 
 which their luggage was packed. These creels were 
 slung over the horses' backs by ivoodies, or twisted rods, 
 and Galium advised his sons to go straight on until 
 their woodies broke. So the three sons went away 
 together. They had reached Kilmartin, when the 
 woodies on the first horse gave way, and tumbled the 
 creels to the ground. So the first son bade his bro- 
 thers farewell, and settled at Kilmartin. The other 
 two pursued their journey, and got as far as Glachan 
 before the next pair of creels fell to the ground througli 
 the bursting of the woodies. The third brother went
 
 HOTV CALLUM CHEATED THE EVIL EYE. 131 
 
 on his solitary way down Cantire, with his face towards 
 the Mull, and when it appeared as though he must 
 march into the sea, if he would obey his father's com- 
 mand, his woodies broke, and he settled at Southend. 
 In this manner it was that Galium cheated the evil eye, 
 and saved the lives of his three sons. They had large 
 families, and in process of time, the clan Galium be- 
 came numerous and important. The Gallums of South- 
 end communicated with those of Glachan, and it was 
 agreed that they should salute their brethren of Kil- 
 martin, to whom a message was sent to that effect, with 
 the proposal to meet them half-way. They met near 
 to Tarbert, but did not know each other. Then they 
 demanded each other's names, but in those da\'s it was 
 considered a sign of cowardice to answer such a question 
 when put in such a manner. So instead of answering 
 each other's question, and saying who they were, the}^ 
 fell fiercely upon each other with their swords, and 
 fought so long and hotly, that the greater part of them 
 were slain. At last, they came to understand the mis- 
 take they were making, so those that remained alive 
 shook hands, and expressed their sorrow for what had 
 occurred. Then they buried their dead brethren, and 
 returned to their homes again. And that was the way 
 in which the distant ends of the clan Galium cemented 
 their friendship. 
 
 K 2
 
 132 GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 THE OLD SCOTTISH CAPITAL. 
 
 A Dialogue. — Brevity and Clearness. — Campbelton the earliest Seat 
 of the Scottish Monarchy, and the Christian Religion in Scotland. — 
 The Dali'uadhs. — An out-of-the-way Place. — Eomid Robin Hood's 
 Barn. — The Inrerary Cross. — The Campbelton Cross : did it 
 come from lona ? — Arguments for and against. — Popular Tra- 
 ditions and their value. — Ornamentation of the Cross. — Maccul- 
 loch at ianlt. — Demons and Angels. — Pen and Pencil Records. — 
 The Town House. 
 
 Scene. — Freeborn'' s Hotel, Campbelton : first-jioor sitting-room : 
 Author and Friend seated near a table on which are hooks. 
 
 Friend. — The old Scottish capital^ you say. Of 
 course you mean Edinburgh ? 
 
 Author. — Of course I do not. 
 
 Friend. — Scone, then, or perhaps Dunfermline ? 
 
 Author. — Don't know such modern places. 
 
 Friend. — Forteviot, then, in Perthshire ? 
 
 Author. — Nothing of the kind, my dear sir, though 
 you are certainly coming nearer the mark ; but Forte- 
 viot was not a capital until the ninth century — three 
 hundred years after this spot ; and Dun-Edin was not 
 heard of when this town was the seat of monarchy. 
 
 Friend. — But this town is Campbelton, in Cantire,
 
 A DIALOGUE. 133 
 
 at whose harbour we landed yesterday afternoon from 
 the Grreenock steamer. 
 
 Author. — Certainly, my dear friend, and this Camp- 
 belton was a capital city long before the present metro- 
 polis of Scotland had even swelled into the dimensions 
 of a little village. 
 
 Friend. — You surprise me. 
 
 Author. — I don't wonder at it. To tell you the 
 truth, it has surprised me also to discover the fact. I 
 fear that I must have got shaky in my Scottish histor}-, 
 or else it was imperfectly taught me, and bumped each 
 year by Greece and Eome, until the Classical Boat had 
 got to the head of the river, and the British Boat was 
 nowhere. But, here are some very instructive volumes 
 that have greatly enlightened my ignorance. This is 
 Dr. Smith's "Historical Account of Campbelton," which 
 exhausts the subject. 
 
 Friend. — And its reader, I should imagine. It looks 
 terribly dry. 
 
 Author. — Not to those who are thirsting for informa- 
 tion, and this is William Smith's " Campbelton and its 
 Neighbourhood." And this — 
 
 Friend. — Oh, spare me ! those Smiths are to be 
 found everywhere, doing everything. ' Can 3'ou not 
 present them with the prefix of Mac, wherewith to 
 improve their appearance, and make them more con- 
 genial to these Highland sights and sounds ! But put 
 
 K 3
 
 134 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 away those terrible folios, my dear Author, and tell me 
 a few of the most important facts, if they are interest- 
 ing and worth the telling. Boil down those dreary 
 looking volumes, and extract their essence; and be 
 brief in serving up the banquet. 
 
 Author.— Willingly ! though as Horace said, and as 
 Thomas Warton wittingly quoted when he snuffed out 
 the candle — " I trust that while I endeavour to be 
 brief, I may not become obscure." 
 
 Friend. — It is certainly, in many matters, no easy 
 thing to be brief; conciseness and clearness can only be 
 obtained at the expense of thought and labour ; and I 
 don't wonder at Cicero apologising for writing a long 
 letter, on the plea that he had not time to write a short 
 one. And now, my dear sir, jperge ! 
 
 Author. — When, early in the seventh century, that 
 fortress rock that had been known as CastruTn Puel- 
 larum received its Anglo-Saxon name of Edwins-burgh, 
 which was the nucleus for a thriving village that was 
 afterwards to grow into the gi'eat metropolis of Edin- 
 burgh, this town of Campbelton, or Dalruadhain, as it 
 was then called, had, for more than a century, been the 
 capital or seat of the original Scottish monarchy, and 
 had received within its boundaries the first preachers of 
 Christianity in the western Highlands. The earliest 
 mention that we have of this district, is by Ptolemy, 
 who distinguishes it, together with the islands of Islay
 
 EARLIEST SEAT OF THE SCOTTISH MONARCHY. 135 
 
 and Jura, by the name of Epidium ; " probably," Dr. 
 Smith remarks, " from a similar Celtic word signifying 
 the Isle of the Picts." * This might refer to that por- 
 tion of Cantire from this place to Mull, which was once 
 island — or, to the whole of the peninsula of Cantire, 
 which was commonly reckoned as an island, and was es- 
 tablished as such in the year 1093, when the sovereignty 
 of the isles was granted by Donald Bain, king of 
 Scotland, to Magnus the Barefooted, king of Norway, 
 who had his barge drawn under sail over the isthmus of 
 Tarbert, and in this way brought Cantire under the 
 compass of the grant, and fully established it as one of 
 the islands of the Lords of the Isles. The chief inha- 
 bitants of " the Isle of the Picts," of course, were Picts 
 until about the year 210 a.d., when the natives of 
 the Mull of Cantire were driven to Ireland. But 
 before the third century had expired, Cairbre Ruadh, or 
 " red-haired Cairbar," the son of Conan the second 
 king of Ireland, crossed over from Ireland, at the head 
 of a colony of the ancient Celtic inhabitants, and landing 
 upon the Mull, eflfected a settlement in that southern 
 portion of the Pictish dominions, from which they had 
 formerly been expelled. In this contest, Oscar, the son 
 of Ossian was slain. About the middle of the fifth 
 
 * Ehyd, however, was the old British word for "a peninsula." The 
 Epidii formed one of the tweuty-oue tribes among whom Scotland was 
 originally divided hy Agrieola. 
 
 K 4
 
 136 - GLENCREGaAN. 
 
 century, the Scots were again driven back to Ireland, 
 where they remained till the year 503, when they made 
 another descent on Cantire, headed by Lorn, Angus, and 
 Fergus, the three sons of Ere, and made themselves 
 masters of the Peninsula, dividing the country between 
 them.* Lorn took that northern point of Argyleshire 
 that still retains his name. Islay fell to the share of 
 Angus, who died soon after. Fergus who had landed at 
 Dunaverty, took possession of Cantire; and on his 
 brother Lorn's death, added his territory to his own, 
 and so became sole monarch of the Scots, and has ever 
 since stood at the head of the Scottish kings.f From 
 
 * " All the Gaelic traditions now current in the isles, point at an 
 Irish migration which took place in the year of grace once upon a time, 
 and the word Eighdeire occurs eontinually, where it seems to mean a 
 small king, and a king of Erin. Even the word Albanach, now used 
 for Scotchman, means Wanderer." — CampheWs Poptdar Tales of the 
 West Highlands, vol. ii. p. 36. 
 
 t Father Innes having written a "Critical Essay on the Picts and 
 Scots," in which he sets forth that the Soots probably did not come 
 into Britain until after the time of Christ, and had not a king before 
 the fifth or sixth century after Christ, was answered by a valorous 
 Scottish gentleman (supposed to be a Mr. Waddel ; see " Scotia Eedi- 
 viva," vol. i. p. 256), who, in a pamphlet published 1733, entitled, 
 "Eemarks on IVIr. Innes's Critical Essays," &c., proves satisfactorily 
 (to himself) that "the Scots began to reign 452 years before the In- 
 carnation, and 245 years three months before the Picts." This little 
 touch of correctness about the three months is a master stroke. In 
 speaking of the time of Alexander the Third (1249—1285), Mr. Cham- 
 bers says, "When Fergus invaded the country in 503, he brought 
 with him a flat black stone like a cushion, which had been, even for
 
 THE DALRUADHS. 137 
 
 Cairbre Euadh, Cantire and the adjacent lands received, 
 the name of Dal-raaedh, or " the portion of Euadh ; " the 
 Scots were called Dalruadhini ; their kingdom, the 
 Dalruadhinian kingdom ; and their capital or seat of 
 government, Dalruadhain, now called Campbelton.* 
 King Fergus had a sister named Erca, who married a 
 son of Conan, king of Ireland, to whom she bore 
 Felim, who was the father of St. Columba. He is 
 
 ages before Ms time, a kind of family palladium. A destiny ■was at- 
 tached to it, according to tradition, that wherever it should be placed, 
 there should the race of Scots be predominant. Perhaps the sacred 
 object had been carried with the tribe through Ireland, and might be 
 afterwards committed to the charge of Fergus, as a means of procuring 
 success to his expedition. On this the Scottish kings had always been 
 placed at their coronation. Another Celtic ceremonial was gone 
 through on such occasions. A Highland senachy, or herald, appeared 
 before the new king, and recited his genealogy back to the time of 
 Fergus, by way of showing his right to the throne." — History of 
 Scotland, vol. i. p. 14. There were at lona sacred black stones for a 
 like purpose. 
 
 * " The Frith of Clyde is uniyersaUy allowed to have been the boun- 
 daiy which separated the Dalriads from the Strathclyde Britons, and 
 consequently it follows that Dalriada, or the territory of the Scots in 
 Britain, must have been confined to South Argyll, or that part of the 
 coimty lying to the south of Linne Loch ; and the Scots appear to have 
 maintained their possession of a territory so inconsiderable in com- 
 parison with that of the Picts, partly by the strong natural boundaries 
 and impervious nature of the coimtry itself, and partly by the close 
 connection which they at all times preserved with the Irish." (Skene's 
 " Highlanders of Scotland," vol. i. p. 33.) The same author also says 
 of the three Dalriad tribes of Lorn, CowaU, and Kintyre, " that of 
 Kintyre attained to so great power as eventually to obtain the supreme 
 authority over all Scotland." (Vol. ii. p, 9.)
 
 138 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 believed to have been born in the year 521, or 523, 
 though a rather later date is sometimes assigned. His 
 life is so clouded with monkish legends, that, in most 
 instances, its facts can only be a matter of speculation ; 
 nor can we tell anything more of his visit to Cantire 
 than we learnt when we paid our visit to Kilcolmkill 
 yesterday. It is very evident that he preached the 
 Grospel here before proceeding to lona, and also that 
 St. Kiaran, " the Apostle of Cantire," was his prede- 
 cessor in the work, and thus this old Scottish capital 
 received within its boundaries the earliest preachers of 
 Christianity in the Highlands. For nearly three cen- 
 turies and a half, the ancient Campbelton continued to 
 be the seat of government, and the capital of the 
 Scottish kingdom, until 843, when Kenneth the Second, 
 king of the Scots, having finally subdued the Picts, 
 merged into one the two kingdoms and races of the 
 Picts and Scots, and transferred the seat of government 
 from Dalruadhain to Fortren (Forteviot), in Perthshire. 
 Such, briefly, is the ancient history of this place in its 
 palmy days, when it was the capital of the Scottish 
 kingdom ; and there is no spot throughout the length 
 and breadth of Scotland, which has a higher or nobler 
 history than this town at its very Land's-end ; but be- 
 cause it lies out of every one's way, few care to 
 visit it. 
 
 Friend. — Certainly, it must be confessed, that how-
 
 AX OUT-OF-THE-WAY PLACE. 139 
 
 ever interesting Campbelton may be, it is not a very ac- 
 cessible place. It is a terrible voyage to us gentlemen 
 of England who live at home in ease. Just four times as 
 long as the passage from Dover to Calais, even if you 
 abbreviate this voyage as we did yesterday, by taking 
 the rail to Greenock, and thereby getting two hours less 
 of the steamer's company. A voyage equal to four 
 times across the channel ! and the worst of it is, that 
 when we are here, we have got to get back again ! 
 
 Author. — I will take you back by a shorter route. 
 We will post up to Tarbert, and then get from thence to 
 Greenock through the Kyles of Bute. By that way, 
 the voyage will only be three hours and a half — if the 
 weather is propitious. 
 
 Friend. — Only — and if ! I groan within me ! 
 morroroi. 
 
 Author, — If you dare not trust yourself to so long 
 an acquaintance with salt-water, and wish to get back to 
 England on dry land, you will have to go round Rolnn 
 Hood's barn with a vengeance, though you will be com- 
 pensated by lovely scenery. In the first place, you 
 would have to post seventy-three miles from here to 
 Inverary, unless you stopped short at Ardrishaig to see 
 the Crinan Canal, and then crossed Loch Fyne by the 
 Otter Ferry. You might do worse than this ; and if 
 you should stop at Ardrishaig, which is a very pretty 
 spot, and well worth seeing, I would counsel you to
 
 140 
 
 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 put up at Mrs. Johnson's Hotel, where you will have 
 nothing to put up luith, but will meet with all the 
 comfort, cleanliness, and attention that you can possibly 
 desire. If you go on to Inverary, don't forget to look at 
 
 IJTVEEARY CROSS. 
 
 the old cross. It is of the same age and character as 
 that cross in the Main Street of Campbelton, which we 
 can see from this window; but it is smaller, though 
 equally well preserved. Here is a sketch of it. It is 
 singular that it should only be mentioned in one out
 
 THE INYERAKY CROSS. 141 
 
 of these many books that cover this table. These Guide- 
 book and Grazetteers and Beauties of Scotland do not 
 speak of it : they only tell us of the monument to the 
 luckless Campbells. Old Pennant is silent concerning 
 it, although it was an antiquity quite in his way, and he 
 has given us plates of less perfect crosses in Oransay 
 and Islay. Here is another book — Mawman's " Excur- 
 sions to the Highlands," published in 1805, and illus- 
 trated by the magical pencil of Turner, which, in fact, 
 gives the book its only value, and lends an interest to 
 a very dull narrative. Here is the great landscape- 
 painter's view of Inverary ; but neither in it, or in the 
 accompanying letter-press can we catch a glimpse of the 
 old cross. Here is Miss Sinclair's pleasant and gossip- 
 ping description of Inverary, and Lord Teignmouth's 
 soberer version, and Maxwell's forced vivacity ; but not 
 a word about this cross : and the only mention of it that 
 I can find, is in " Smith's Statistical Account of the 
 Parish of Inverary."* 
 
 Friend, — What ! Smith ao-ain ? 
 
 Author. — Yes, but a true Scotchman, the Eev. 
 Colin Smith, who speaks thus of the Inverary Cross : — 
 " There is also a stone cross in the parish, which was 
 probably brought from lona, and which was for many 
 
 * And in the " Old Church Architecture of Scotland," which has 
 been published after these pages had gone to press. See Appendix, 
 " Ecclesiology of Cantire," where the Campbelton Cross is also descjjibcd.
 
 142 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 years the town cross of Inverary. It was removed 
 when the old town was knocked down, and lay long- 
 neglected, but it is restored now to its former office, 
 and stands at the end of the principal street. On one 
 of its narrow sides there is an inscription in Lombardic 
 character as follows : ' Hasc est crux nobilium virorum 
 videlicet Dondcani M'Eugyllichomghnan Patrici filii 
 ejus et Maelmore filii Patrici qui banc crucem fieri 
 faciebat.' " I said that this was the only mention of the 
 cross that I could find. But I should rather have said, 
 the only detailed mention : for the Rev. Daniel Kelly, 
 in speaking of St. Columba's supposed visit to that spot 
 now called Kilcolmkill, on the Mull of Cantire, says, 
 " Here is the pedestal of a large stone cross, no doubt 
 dedicated to the memory of the saint, but which has 
 been removed from its proper place, and now lies 
 neglected at Inverary." Mr. Kelly does not assign any 
 reason for coupling together the Kilcolmkill pedestal, 
 and the Inverary shaft, nor does he attempt to show 
 why the shaft should have been removed from one 
 extremity of Argyleshire to the other.' But at any 
 rate, we may accept his statement as an additional 
 evidence to the popular belief that these crosses, 
 whether brought from lona or not, had been dedicated 
 to St. Columba. And if this Inverary Cross does 
 really belong to Cantire, then is our consideration of 
 it scarcely to be called a digression. But at any rate.
 
 CAMPBELTON CROSS. 
 
 H3 
 
 from its age and character, if not from its history, it 
 may be taken in illustration of the Campbelton Cross ; 
 to which let us now proceed. But first, let me direct 
 your attention to this second edition of Constable's 
 
 MAIN STEEET, CAMPBELTON. 
 
 Gazetteer, which particularlj^ prides itself on " the ac- 
 curacy of its statements," and on giving " a description 
 of every remain of antiquity." This is its accurate 
 statement and description of the Campbelton Cross, one
 
 144 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 of the finest and best preserved crosses in Scotland, and 
 which from its position in the centre of the Main Street, 
 could not have been unobserved by any visitor. " There 
 are no antiquities of any note, as might have been ex- 
 pected in the site of the most ancient capital of the 
 Scottish kingdom." Now, come with me, and see if 
 this Cross of Campbelton can be considered as an anti- 
 quity of any note.* 
 
 \Tlicy go down and inspect the cross^ 
 Author. — The Cross, as you may perceive, my dear 
 Sir, is carved out of hard blue granite, and is well placed 
 in the centre of this wide street, raised upon a modern 
 pedestal nearly seven feet high, composed of six tiers, 
 ranged in an irregular octagon, as steps to the cross — 
 the lowest tier being double the height of the other 
 five. The cross, itself, is ten feet ten inches in height, 
 and its thickness not more than four inches. The width 
 of its shaft at the base is eighteen inches, which width 
 gradually diminishes to twelve inches at the upper 
 portion of the cross. The width across the arms is 
 three feet three. The cross, therefore, lifts its head 
 between seventeen and eighteen feet above the roadway. 
 Its basement conceals a spring of water ; would that it 
 also could conceal this homely-looking pump, which is 
 
 * Forsj'th, in his fire-volume book, *' The Beauties of Scotland," in 
 ■which all the antiquities of the country are said to be fully described, 
 does not mention the Campbelton and Inverary crosses.
 
 CAMPBELTON CEOSS. 14 j 
 
 the ugly means of conveying the limpid stream to tlie 
 recipients of its bounty. But let us close our eyes to 
 this repulsive fact, which, in these days of pretty driuk- 
 ing fountains, the Provost and his Baillies and muni- 
 cipal government might very readily convert into an 
 elegant adjunct that should please the eye and har- 
 monise with the chief portion of the structure ; and 
 let us, in this fountain of pure water gushing forth from 
 the foot of the Cross, see an emblem of better things, 
 and read a lesson significant of those higher and purer 
 blessings that flow to us from the Cross of Christ. This 
 fountain adds to the teaching of the Cross ; and the 
 main end, in thus setting up the symbol of our re- 
 demption in the market-place and public thoroughfare, 
 was to make it a silent preacher to remind them of that 
 leaven wherewith the whole lump of the every-day 
 business of their common life should be leavened. How 
 many years do you suppose it has preached this lesson ? 
 
 Friend. — Judging from the freshness of its sculp- 
 ture, I should have said that it was but a preacher of 
 yesterday ; but despite its good preservation and sharply- 
 cut ornaments, there is enough about it to tell me that 
 it must be of some antiquity. Is the date of its erection 
 known ? 
 
 Author. — No ! We have only tradition to help us 
 to a solution ; and even popular tradition varies in its 
 accounts. From the character of its Lombardic in- 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 14C GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 scription, and from the nature of the ornamentation, I 
 think we might assign its date to the end of the four- 
 teenth, or the commencement of the fifteenth century. 
 The most generally received tradition is, that it was 
 brought to this spot from lona.* This was Pennant's 
 idea, when he visited the town in 1770, and he says, 
 that it concurred with the tradition of the place.f 
 Gordon, in his " Itinerarium Septentrionale," had men- 
 tioned it as a Danish obelisk ; but he had never seen 
 the Cross, nor did he venture to describe it. Dr. Smith 
 of Campbelton, and his namesake, William Smith, with 
 the author of the " Statistical Account of the Parish of 
 Campbelton," all incline to the idea that it was brought 
 from lona, and that such had been the popular tradi- 
 tion for ages. If this tradition is correct, its transpor- 
 tation must have taken place previous to 1560, in which 
 year, by the decree of the Synod of Argyle, the three 
 hundred and sixty crosses that made lona one great ceme- 
 tery of crosses, were thrown down and cast into the sea. 
 I say, " must have taken place previous to " that bar- 
 barian act of the Convention of Estates, which dispersed 
 
 * Lord Teignmouth is the only author who gives a different Tersion, 
 though some of the " Gazetteers " have adopted his description. He 
 says : " The main street of Campbelton is adorned by a beautiful cross 
 brought from Oransay; small human figures, foliage, and a Saxon 
 inscription are engraven on it, specifying the individuals by whom it 
 was erected." (Vol. ii. p. 377.) 
 
 t Voyage to the Hebrides, p. 196.
 
 eAMPBELTON CEOSS. 147 
 
 all the treasures of knowledge in lona, besides destroy- 
 ing its " monuments of idolatrie," as such crosses as this 
 were called. But, according to another tradition, when 
 those three hundred and sixty crosses, save three, were 
 thrown down, only a portion were cast into the sea, and 
 others were carried off, and may be seen as grave-stones 
 in the churchyards of Mull, and the surrounding islands. 
 But who would carry them off ? certainly not the icono- 
 clastic mob, mad drunk with their pseudo-religious 
 zeal. And I do not suppose that those about the 
 monastery would be enabled to save them from their 
 overthrow into the sea, by transporting them at such a 
 time of danger and difficulty, to Campbelton, or In- 
 verary, or Mull. Their transportation was no easy 
 matter. Indeed, one of the wonders connected with 
 these " lona crosses " is how such monoliths of the 
 hardest whinstone, of such weight and dimensions, could 
 be quarried, and brought over from the mainland, with 
 the means and appliances that then existed. They must 
 not only have taxed the powers of first-rate artists and 
 sculptors, but of engineers also.* But although these 
 traditions vary, with regard to the date of transporta- 
 tion, they agree in the main point, — that this cross 
 came from lona. On the other hand,- they who scoff at 
 popular tradition, and scout the idea that this, or any 
 
 * The sienite or red granite, and the grey freestone for the cathedral 
 of lona, were qxiamed in Mull. 
 
 L 9.
 
 148 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 other of the so-called " lona crosses," were actually 
 transported from lona, base their supposition on the 
 improbability of the crosses having been removed from 
 the places where they were once set up, and being made 
 to do duty for various persons in various places of the 
 Western Highlands and Islands. To which objection, I 
 think it might be argued, that, although these crosses 
 may never have been set up in lona, yet that they 
 may have been carved there, by a school of monastic 
 sculptors, whose office it might have been to supply 
 these sacred symbols to the different applicants in 
 different places. This would account for the uniformity 
 of the type ; and the difficulty of transportation (far 
 more difficult on the land than the water) would be a 
 sufficient reason why these " lona crosses " should be 
 confined to Argyle and the Isles. With regard to this 
 particular Campbelton Cross, they who deride the idea 
 of its having been brought from lona, point to the two 
 names in the inscription — Kyregan, and Ealcoman, — 
 and pretend to see in them a resemblance to, and 
 possibly an identity with, Kilkerran close to Camp- 
 belton, and Kilcoivin, which was formerly a portion of 
 the present parish of Campbelton. But this idea is 
 more ingenious than probable ; although to give it 
 greater strength, it is asserted that this cross formerly 
 stood upon a stone, plainly marked with a socket, and 
 evidently the old pedestal of a cross — which stands
 
 POPULAR TRADITIONS. 149 
 
 upon an artificial knoll outside the wall of the burial- 
 ground at Kilkerran. But besides the fact that lona 
 was a place that was esteemed to be of peculiar sanctity, 
 there was an additional reason in the people of this 
 place having a memorial of St. Columba, on account of 
 the intimacy that existed between him and St. Kiaran, 
 the Apostle of Cantire, whose abode was in a cave not 
 far hence, which we will presently go and see. In fact, 
 as we have already seen, St. Columba, before he pro- 
 ceeded to lona, visited Cantire, and landed at that spot 
 on the Mull, which after him was called Kilcolmkill, 
 where he is said to have preached the Gospel and 
 founded a church, and where there is a pedestal of a 
 cross, which is believed to have been dedicated to his 
 memory. But whether the Kilcolmkill and Campbelton 
 Crosses were originally set up in Cantire, or were trans- 
 ported from lona — however that may be — we know 
 that relics such as this were thought worthy of carriage 
 from a far greater distance than lona; and I confess, 
 that, despite the sneers of some writers regarding the 
 " lona crosses," I am inclined to pin my faith to the 
 popular tradition, and ascribe the origin of this cross to 
 St. Columba's isle. There, as I imagine, was a school 
 of sculptors, w^ho designed and executed these elabo- 
 rately-ornamented monoliths, which will account for 
 their prevailing type, and for their frequency through- 
 out Argyle and the Isles. 
 
 L 3
 
 150 GLENCREaGAN. 
 
 Friend. — I also incline to believe in popular tra- 
 dition. It is generally based upon fact, even where 
 the superstructure is erroneous. I love to put a plea- 
 surable faith in romantic lore ; and it pains me when 
 any of my old friends in whom I have believed and 
 delighted, are exposed as liars and swindlers. I even 
 strive to continue my faith in them, long after their 
 deceptions have been incontrovertibly pointed out ; and 
 I fancy that I am not altogether singular in this re- 
 spect. I think I have heard something about Pojnilus 
 vult decipi. I still believe in William Tell, and can 
 swallow his orange, and think his achievement no tale 
 of a long-bow. What is it, indeed, compared with the 
 doings of an Armstrong rifle in the hands of one of our 
 volunteers ? I still like to credit the story (story, in- 
 deed !) that the mother of the future Edward the 
 Second, was " cabin'd, cribb'd, confined," in that little 
 servitor's waiting-room in the Eagle Tower of Caernar- 
 von Castle, although modern research has so terribly 
 disturbed oral tradition, and has incontestibly proved 
 from public records that the chamber pointed out as 
 the birth-place of the first Prince of Wales was not 
 built until Edward of Caernarvon was thirty-three years 
 of age. Then there is that other Prince of Wales who 
 struck Judge Gascoigne upon the bench. I don't like 
 to be made to believe in this new historical discovery, 
 that shows us that one of Henry's first acts when he
 
 POPULAR TRADITIONS. 151 
 
 came to the throne was to send that faithful judge to 
 the Tower. And there is also that Black Prince of 
 Wales, with his ostrich-plume cognisance, which Cam- 
 den had tauo^ht us was taken from the blind King of 
 Bohemia, the prisoner of Cressy, and which we are 
 now told was never at any time the badge of that mo- 
 narch, but was the cognisance of Philippa of Hainault, 
 
 and 
 
 Author. — But we are straying off into records of the 
 Princes of Wales, instead of examining this cross. Not 
 but what we could show a connection between this cross 
 and the present Prince of Wales. For, was not this 
 cross the chief ornament of the capital of the Lords of 
 the Isles, and is not our Queen's eldest son the present 
 Lord of the Isles, and the virtual owner and guardian 
 of this beautiful specimen of antiquity? See, how 
 fresh is its carving. It seems as though it had but 
 lately left the sculptor's hands. Its ornamentation, as 
 you perceive, is of a character precisely similar to that 
 of the Inverary Cross. Here is the same foliage worked 
 into the same conventional pattern, elaborately twisting 
 and twining, but the pattern reproduced at equal dis- 
 tances. Indeed, the back of the cross, as you see, is 
 entirely taken up with this pattern, with but little va- 
 riation in its treatment ; and exquisitely delicate and 
 beautiful it is. But in the front (or eastern face) of 
 the cross, we see that this pattern only fills up the 
 
 L 4
 
 152 
 
 GLENCEEGaAN. 
 
 lower part of the shaft of the cross, and that two ani- 
 mals, conventionally treated, rear themselves up against 
 either side of the twisted stem of the foliage. Similar 
 animals, similarly treated, are seen in the Inverary 
 Cross. Above the foliage pattern, is a tablet closely 
 covered by lines of letters, which if we would wish to 
 read, we must mount the steps of the cross for that 
 
 THE CAMPDELTON CROSS. 
 
 purpose. Here is the Lombardic inscription faithfully 
 copied — the pencil having been assisted not only by 
 the aid of photography, but also by " a rubbing." A 
 few of the letters are well-nigh illegible, and it is cu-
 
 THE INSCRIPTION. 
 
 153 
 
 rious that the inscription has suffered more wear and 
 tear than any other portion of the carved work. 
 
 Pennant appears to have been the first who published 
 an account of this inscription. His reading of it (which 
 
 CAMPBELTON CROSS IXSCEIPTION. 
 
 appears to err in more than one letter) is thus given, and 
 faithfully copied by all after- writers on the subject : — 
 " Hsec : est : crux Domini : Yvari : M : K : Eachyrna : 
 quondam: Eectoris: de Kyregan: et: Domini: Andre:
 
 154 GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 nati : ejus : Rectoris de Kil-coman : qui banc crucem 
 fieri faciebat." Which has been thus translated.* "This 
 is the Cross of Mr. Ivar, M. K. Eachran, once Eector of 
 Kyregan, and Master Andrew, his son, Eector of Kil- 
 coman, who erected this Cross." The few accounts that 
 have been printed of this cross, are excessively meagre, 
 and give little besides this inscription ; its ornamentation 
 being very vaguely described. " It is a very handsome 
 pillar of granite, richly ornamented with sculptured 
 foliage," says Smith and the author of the " Statis- 
 tical Account." " A very beautiful and perfect stone 
 cross," says Macculloch, " the sculptures are as fresh as 
 if but just executed, and consist of various foliages 
 and Runic knots, designed and wrought with great taste, 
 together with some emblematical figures of demons and 
 angels, to which the same praise cannot be assigned. ' 
 Now, with all due deference to so great an authority, 
 this latter part of his description is sheer nonsense, and 
 no true description at all, conveying to the reader, who 
 has not, like you, my dear Sir, an opportunity of seeing 
 tlie original, a very erroneous idea of its ornamenta- 
 tion t ; for, doubtless, the impression on the reader's 
 
 * By tlie author of " The Statistical Account of Campbelton." Other 
 translators make the M.K. to stand for the Scotch prefix " Mac." 
 
 t This mistake of Macculloch's passes unnoticed in the "Critical 
 Examination of Macculloch's Highlands," mentioned in a note at 
 p. 6 ; nor, indeed, is Cantu-e mentioned in that book.
 
 DEMONS AND ANGELS. 155 
 
 mind would be, that emblematical — and why " emble- 
 matical " I should like to know ? — figures of ugly de- 
 mons and angels were sprawling about among tasteful 
 foliage and Eunic knots. WTiere, by the way, are the 
 Eunic knots ? Does Macculloch mean that this grace- 
 ful arabesque, of evidently a much later date than the 
 old Danish times, is compared of Eunic knots, or 
 "Danish tangles," as they are commonly called in these 
 parts ? And now look at his demons and angels. At 
 the summit of the cross, among the ornamental foliage, 
 you will perceive four figures, or rather five, for there 
 is a smaller figure on the left hand arm of the cross ; 
 but the other four figures are larger and more important, 
 and are arranged in two rows, one falling in each seg- 
 ment of the circle that occupies the greater portion of 
 the arms of the cross. At a glance you will see, that 
 if the sculptor intended these figures to represent de- 
 mons, they must have been eminently respectable 
 demons, and are standing in their several places, as 
 calm and passionless as any saints. But, seriously, how 
 could Macculloch give such an inaccurate description, 
 which, of course, has since been copied by compilers of 
 gazetteers, and the like. Not that I can pretend to say 
 for whom the figures are meant, except that they are 
 plainly not intended either for angels or demons. Per- 
 haps these four might do duty for the Evangelists, or 
 they may be tutelary saints, or even clerical portraits of
 
 156 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 contemporary individuals. You will perceive that they 
 are similarly clothed in long garments, though slightly 
 varied as to attitudes. Beneath them, the upper por- 
 tion of the shaft of the cross is divided into two parts, 
 sculptured in the form of niches. On the Inverary 
 Cross there is one niche, similar in character to these. 
 The upper niche on this cross, as you see, is curiously 
 treated in its foliated ornamentation, while in the lower 
 niche, on the right-hand side, is figured a sacramental 
 cup and a book. 
 
 Friend. — It is certainly a very beautiful monument 
 of antiquity, and in very wonderful preservation. It is 
 singular that it has been so little noticed by the pen. 
 Perhaps the pencil has atoned for this. 
 
 Author. — No ; this cross has never yet been properly 
 represented. Considerable research and inquiry on this 
 subject justify me, I believe, in saying, that only two 
 illustrations of it have yet appeared. One of these is an 
 engraved note-paper heading, representing Main Street, 
 Campbelton, wherein, of course, the cross is shown 
 standing in the centre of the street. This engraving, 
 however, is on too small a scale to attempt anything 
 like an indication of the details of the cross ; but it is 
 merely a reduced copy of Stewart's lithograph given in 
 Smith's " Views of Campbelton," published twenty-seven 
 years ago; and the lithographer has only given a 
 general idea of the cross, without troublinsf himself with
 
 ENGRAVINGS OF THE CROSS. 157 
 
 the complicated details. In the vignette to Smith's 
 " Views," the artist has again shown the cross, and on a 
 larger scale than in the view of Main Street ; but he 
 has misrepresented its dimensions, and has not only 
 abstained from attempting to copy the ornamentation, 
 
 but has erroneously indicated its leading characteristics. 
 The cross is also . shown on a very minute scale, of 
 course, surmounting the badge of " the Kintjre Club," 
 a benevolent society connected with the district, but 
 having its head-quarters and its annual meetings at 
 Glasgow. Beside these, I believe there has been no 
 other representation of this interesting antiquity.* 
 Neither this nor the Inverary Cross, are represented in 
 the splendid work of the Spalding Club, whose speci- 
 mens (nearly one hundred and fifty in number) are 
 selected chiefly from the Eastern coast t 
 
 * The editor of "The Gentleman's Magazine" is of the same 
 opinion. 
 
 t Sculptured Stones of Scotland. 1856.
 
 158 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 Friend. — The cross, as was usual, is placed, I per- 
 ceive, where four arms of streets can diverge from it. 
 This Main Street is long, and wide, and with its good 
 shops and houses presents quite an important appearance. 
 There is Freeborn's Hotel at the corner of the street to 
 the left ; and at the opposite corner of the other side of 
 the street, what is that building with its octagonal tower 
 and spire ? 
 
 Author. — That is the to-^Ti-house. It contains a 
 court-room, and gaols for criminals and debtors, and 
 has improved in condition since the not-very-far-back 
 date when the Commissioners on Municipal Corpora- 
 tions in Scotland reported it to be " perhaps the worst 
 gaol in Scotland, after the old gaol of Eothsay." The 
 burgh of Campbelton, under the new Municipal Act, 
 has seventeen or eighteen councillors. It was formerly 
 governed by a provost, two bailies, a water-baihe, a 
 dean of guild, treasurer, town-clerk, and twelve coun- 
 cillors. Their head-quarters were there. Let us stroll 
 down towards the quay, while I " discoorse ye," as 
 Paddy says. 
 
 [Uxetmt discoorsing.']
 
 159 
 
 CHAP VIII. 
 
 THE CHIEF TOWN OF THE LORDS OF THE ISLES. 
 
 Campbelton Law. — A good Confession. — The joint Farmers and the 
 'cute Chamberlain. — Law is Justice for once. — A roj'al Burgh. — 
 Andrew Faii'seiwice's Opinion. — The modern Town. — Its Trade 
 and Distilleries. — Whiskey. — The Busses. — Fisheries. — Scenery 
 of the Harbour. — Lime Craigs. — The Dowager Duchess. — Her 
 Craft. — She is outwitted by a Servant. — The Trench Battery. — 
 Castlehill Church. — Macdonald's Castle. — The Lords of the Isles. 
 — James the Fifth's Visit. —Coll Kittoch, "the Left-handed." — 
 A Relief Church. — The Descendants of the Covenanters. — Cannie 
 Scots. — Malcolm's Advice. — Scotch Wit. — The Campbelton 
 Oracle, 
 
 Scene. — Main Street, Camphelton ; Author and Friend strolling 
 towai-ds the Quay. 
 
 Author. — Now for my legend touching the town- 
 house of Campbelton. Once upon a time two Cantire 
 farmers fell out, and resolved to settle their dispute by 
 law. So they went to the sheriff of Campbelton to 
 state their case : and he inquired what was the nature 
 of their dispute. Then said one farmer, " He was hasty, 
 and I was a briar ! that is the foundation of the whole 
 matter." Said the sheriff, " Then I will soon end this
 
 160 GLENCEEaGAN. 
 
 case. Go home together, drink one glass of whiskey 
 each, and shake hands ; and I declare the law to be 
 settled." They did as the sheriff advised, and were 
 good friends ever after. 
 
 Friend. — They must have been sensible people in 
 those days — Solons and not solans. " He was hasty, 
 and I was a briar," was a good confession. 
 
 Author. — Hear yet another tale connected with 
 Campbelton law. There were two farmers that worked 
 a joint farm. The one had a large family of young 
 children who could not help him ; the family of the 
 other was grown up, and could assist in farm labour, so 
 that his portion of the farm was better tended than 
 that of his poorer companion. The lease being out, 
 the man in good circumstances, who was a hard and 
 covetous man, wished the new lease to be made out en- 
 tirely for him, and that the poor man should be ejected. 
 So he came to Ca,mpbelton, and told the chamberlain 
 that he wished to take the other man's part of the farm, 
 as he was better able to work it. Now the chamberlain 
 was 'cute, and perfectly understood the whole case ; so 
 he replied, " If you are desirous to take the other por- 
 tion of the farm, and to work it, you shall have it ; and 
 I will see that the lease is made out accordingly." So 
 the man returned home with great joy, and told his 
 poorer neighbour that he and his family must now turn 
 out, for that he had taken the whole farm on a new
 
 LAW FOE ONCE JUSTICE. 161 
 
 lease. Thereupon the poor man, in great dejection, 
 came to Campbelton, to lay before the chamberlain his 
 sad case. "It is very true," said the chamberlain, 
 " that I have let your part of the farm to your neigh- 
 bour, and the new lease is made out accordingly. But 
 I said nothing to him about his own portion of the 
 farm, which I have reserved for you, and here is the lease 
 that will confirm it to you." And thus was the poor 
 man installed in the covetous man's place ; and the 
 Campbelton chamberlain was commended for the Scotch 
 shrewdness shown in his decision. 
 
 Friend. — " A second Daniel come to judgment ! " 
 Author. — And now let me presume that you are 
 sufficiently interested in Campbelton, to wish to know 
 something more of its history. As we stand here upon 
 the quay, we see how the town encircles the head 
 of the bay. From this circumstance, when the Dal- 
 ruadhinian times had passed away, it was called Cecum 
 Loch, " the head," or " end of the Loch," and the 
 Graelic-speaking people still call it by this name. It 
 was also called Ceann Loch chille Chicvran, or *' the 
 Head of the Loch of Kilkerran." Soon after the Re- 
 formation, the four parishes of Kilkerran, Kilmichael, 
 Kilkivan *, and Kilchousland, were united under the 
 
 * Probably by an error of the press, Kilkerran is again given 
 (instead of KUkiyan) in the " Statistical Account of Campbelton " 
 (p. 453). 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 162 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 title of Loch-head. But in 1700 the town finally 
 changed its name into Campbelton, out of compliment 
 to the Duke of Argyle, who was (and whose successor 
 is) the chief landowner. Campbelton is one of the 
 three royal burghs (the other two being Inverlochy 
 and Stornoway) that were created by James VI. for 
 the civilisation of " the stern Scottish Hielands." The 
 statute 15 James VI. c. 267, ordains "for the better 
 entertaining and continuing of civility and policy within 
 the Hielandes and lies," " that there be erected and 
 builded within the bounds thereof, three burghes and 
 burrowe-towns in the maist convenient and commo- 
 dious partes meet for the same ; to wit, ane in Kintyre, 
 another in Lochaber, and the third in the Lewis ; " 
 and gives as reasons for the erection, that Inverary, 
 distant about sixty miles, was then the only royal 
 burgh in Argyleshire ; that the burgh of Campbelton 
 was a very fit and convenient place to be erected into 
 a royal burgh ; and that the Earl of Argyle, to whom 
 the same belonged in fee, was anxious for the erection. 
 The charter for raising the old burgh or barony of 
 Loch-head to the dignity and privileges of the royal 
 burgh of Campbelton was granted by William III. 
 April 19th, 1700. The town, however, had been 
 known by its present name for some years, by the 
 act of the people themselves, out of respect for the 
 family of Argyle. From the Justiciary books of Argyle-
 
 ANDREW FAIESERVICE'S OPINION. 163 
 
 shire and the Isles, it appears that a Circuit Court of 
 Justiciary was held at Campbelton in August, 1680. 
 This is the earliest period that the modern name has 
 been found in writing ; and the first time thereafter 
 that the Presbytery of Cantire met, it was at Camp- 
 belton, on the 9th of November, 1687. Previous to 
 this there had been no entry in the record for twenty- 
 seven years. The last previous entry is dated March 6, 
 1660, and the town is then called Loch-head. By the 
 59th Act of the sixth Parliament of James IV, in 1503, 
 the " Loch-head of Kilkerran " was declared to be the 
 seat of justice for the South Isles. 
 
 Friend. — These royal burghs were, in the eyes of 
 Andrew Fairservice, one of Scotland's boasts. " Sae 
 mony royal boroughs," he said, " yoked on end to end, 
 like ropes of ingans, mth their hie-streets, and their 
 booths nae doubt, and their krsemes, and houses of 
 stane, and lime, and forestairs." 
 
 Author. — In this respect Campbelton sustains that 
 flavour of royalty with which she was filled when she 
 was Dalruadh, the capital of the old Scottish mo- 
 narchy. The ancient places of the town that are still 
 identified by their modern names, are Fisher's Point, 
 Parliament Close, Dalaruan, and Dalintober. There is 
 the suburb of Dalintober, over against us, on the op- 
 posite side of the harbour, \nth its little quay, and the 
 houses of the fishermen, and their rusty-looking nets 
 
 U 2
 
 1 64 GLENCEEGGAl^. 
 
 hung out on large poles. This old quay of Camp- 
 belton is about to be widened some ten or twelve 
 feet, a necessary improvement towards meeting the 
 demands of the increasing commerce. The popu- 
 lation of the town is between six and seven thousand ; 
 of the burgh and parish, upwards of ten thousand. 
 As to the public buildings and institutions, besides 
 those we have already seen, there are eight places 
 of worship — chm-ches, chapels, and meeting-houses, 
 with a Eoman Catholic chapel, chiefly used by the 
 Irish inhabitants ; there are Sunday schools, and a 
 ragged school, and a grammar school, and private 
 schools. There are two banks, a custom-house, and an 
 excise ofBce ; there are reading-rooms, an Athenteum, 
 and a public library, and all the conveniences and com- 
 forts of a good provincial town. Here is McEwing's, 
 the chief bookseller and printer. He publishes a news- 
 paper, called " The Argyleshire Herald," which has a 
 large circulation, and is very well edited. Let us go 
 into his shop and possess ourselves of a copy, and see 
 how the world wags in Campbelton. So : let us run 
 our eyes over the advertisements. Here is Neil Sin- 
 clair, the seedsman and florist ; Alexander McPhail, 
 the painter and paperhanger ; Mrs. McCallum, the mil- 
 liner, who intimates that she has returned from Grlas- 
 gow with the latest fashions ; William Dickson, the 
 wine-merchant; ^Yilliam Hunter, the jeweller and
 
 LOCAL ADYERTISEMEXTS. 165 
 
 watchmaker ; and Eobert Simpson, with his concen- 
 trated manures. Here, too, is the Campbelton Apothe- 
 cary Hall, offering to prevent our sea-sickness with a 
 dose of their Bicolotyne. Here, too, are the sales by 
 auction, or " Public Eoup ; " the " Cows and Queys, 
 calved and to calve, and a few Quey Calves," at the 
 farm of Mid Craigs ; the Ayrshire bulls, and Milk 
 Boynes, Chessets, &g., at the farm of Low Drumore ; 
 the furniture, including " a large Napery chest " at 
 Askomill Walk ; the Ayrshire cows, queys, and bulls, 
 the " potale cart, churters," &c., and the "prize bull, 
 belonging to Mr. M'Conachy, Knockrioch," to be sold 
 at Kilwhipnach ; the " paling stobs from Largie ; " the 
 "excellent Tidy Cows, the property of Mr. Dancan 
 M'Tarish ; " and the " Cargo of dissolved Bones, ar- 
 rived per schooner Eobert," in the corner of which 
 advertisement, you will perceive, in capital letters, the 
 words " No Bosh ; " which shows that Eastern slang- 
 has penetrated into the Western Highlands. The word 
 " that " appears to be expressively used. Among the 
 "To Lets" is "That house," "That shop," "That 
 business." And there have been lost, somewhere be- 
 tween Westport and Ballachantee, " Three white-faced 
 Wedder Hoggs, double back bit far lug. Ewe, single 
 back bit far lug." If we find these singular creatures, 
 we are permitted to claim a reward from Mr. JNIcKenzie 
 of the Argyle Arms. So much for an analysis of the 
 
 91 3
 
 166 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 advertising columns. As for the local news, we will 
 study that hereafter. You see it is a thoroughly com- 
 plete newspaper, with its weekly column of " Town-talk, 
 by our London Correspondent," a gentleman who sees 
 farther into a millstone than you can be aware of, and 
 who will open the eyes of the West Highlanders to va- 
 rious interesting circumstances of which they might 
 otherwise have remained in ignorance. Here, for in- 
 stance, he tells them, how their Lord of the Isles, the 
 Priace of Wales, *' takes hold of the cantle of the saddle 
 when he jumps," plays the violin, has an excellent ap- 
 petite, and likes a cigar ; " but that taste is not ap- 
 proved of at Windsor." May the "Argyleshire Herald" 
 and its London Correspondent continue to flourish ! 
 for a newspaper in any country district, — and a for- 
 tiori, in a West Highland one, — is a mighty engine 
 for good, and is frequently the only printed document 
 that can gain a footing in a cottage. We may look 
 then, on the " Ai'gyleshire Herald " as a pioneer of pro- 
 gress and civilisation ; and may sincerely and heartily 
 wish it Grod-speed. 
 
 Friend. — Now that we are in the street again, tell 
 me about the trade of the town. 
 
 Author. — Campbelton possesses tan-works, woollen 
 manufactories, a salt manufactory, bleach-fields, and 
 rope-walks ; but the chief trade of the place is now in 
 whiskey. There are about thirty large distilleries, paying
 
 TRADE AND DISTILLERIES. 167 
 
 not far from a hundred thousand a year in duty ; and 
 probably there is not a vessel that leaves this harbour 
 without its stock of whiskey on board. Glasgow is the 
 principal market for it. In fact Campbelton has gra- 
 dually drawn to itself the supply of Glasgow and other 
 towns of the Clyde. Its vicinity to the principal 
 barley lands of Cantire renders its situation far pre- 
 ferable to that of Glasgow for the manufacture ; and 
 the easy and perpetual intercourse by steamboats has 
 brought the market to its doors. The manufacture of 
 spirits, and consequent trade, have influenced the 
 import as well as the export ; and although barley and 
 bear, which is an inferior kind of barley, have become 
 the staple produce of Cantire, they are still insuflicient 
 for the supply of the distilleries.* 
 
 Friend. — Bear with me while I recite a quotation 
 anent bear, though you well know the lines : — 
 
 " The rougli bvir-thistle, spreading wide 
 Amang the bearded bear, 
 I tiirn'd the weeding-hook aside, 
 An' spared the symbol dear." 
 
 Author. — If Burns had abstained from the produce 
 
 * See Lord Teignmouth's "Scotland" (p. 879), where the subject 
 is pursued at much length, and where statistical tables are giyen as to 
 the distillation, consumption, illicit traffic, effects upon crime and 
 social progress, &c. &c. During 1860 there has been a great fiilling 
 off in the revenue from duties on Highland whiskey. 
 
 M 4
 
 168 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 of the bear, as well as from the thistle, it would have 
 been the better for him. But to return to my muttons. 
 The joint operation of the legal distilleries and of the 
 excise has been the diminution of the illicit trade, which 
 is now almost extinct. Formerly malting was much 
 carried on at Campbelton, and proved a principal 
 source of encouragement to smuggling, as those who 
 were engaged in the illicit traffic brought their grain to 
 the regular establishments to be malted, and paid for it 
 after the sale of their whiskey. Women had a large 
 share in this traffic, and were notoriously continually 
 drunken. The temptation to drink whiskey when every 
 one manufactured it, was irresistible; but few could 
 pay for the manufactured article. Lord Teignmouth, 
 who inquired deeply into these particulars, comes to 
 the conclusion, that, with the diminution, almost 
 amounting to extinction, of illegal distillation in the 
 Highlands and Islands, there was a corresponding de- 
 crease of profligacy and crime. The return from Camp- 
 belton of the comparative amount of duty on spirits 
 distilled, and of convictions, places this conclusion in 
 a striking light. The diminution of convictions, not- 
 withstanding the enormous increase of legal distillation 
 in the town, proves that its demoralising effects must 
 not necessarily be sought where it is carried on, whilst 
 its immediate influence in suppressing the illegal prac- 
 tice is undoubtedly beneficial. The whiskey trade has
 
 FISKERIES. 169 
 
 now supplanted the fisheries for which Carapbelton was 
 once celebrated. Its harbour, as the old Gazetteers tell 
 us, was " the rendezvous for the busses." 
 
 Friend. — A sort of Elephant and Castle, or King's 
 Cross. 
 
 Author. — No; these busses instead of plying on the 
 land, plied on the deep. 
 
 Friend. — Then (to interrupt you with a bad joke) 
 those busses were light smacks. 
 
 Author {with severity^ — They were vessels from 
 twenty to ninety tons burden, the best size being about 
 eighty. You will see a full description of them in 
 Pennant.* He tells us that a buss of eighty tons 
 ought to take out ten lasts, or a hundred and twenty 
 barrels of herrings at one guinea a barrel, in order 
 to clear expenses. A vessel of that size ought to have 
 eighteen men, three boats, and 20,000 square yards of 
 nets. A bounty of thirty shillings per ton, which was 
 finally increased to fifty shillings, was allowed for the 
 encouragement of British adventurers, and was allowed 
 to such as claimed it at the appointed rendezvous. 
 Campbelton was formerly the harbour appointed for 
 this purpose, and as many as 260 busses have been 
 seen here at one time. Whole fleets of boats and 
 busses were formerly built here, and sent from hence 
 on this trade ; and, in a single year, as many as 
 * Hebrides, p. 319.
 
 170 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 30,000 barrels have been exported. When the Go- 
 vernment wished to encourage men to enter the navy, 
 they withdrew the herring bounty, a circumstance 
 which, while it for a time brought great loss to Camp- 
 belton, gave hundreds of fine fellows to man our 
 wooden walls. A great part of the capital formerly 
 embarked in the herring fishery by the Campbelton 
 merchants, was then invested in distilleries, and the 
 fishery consequently declined ; but of late years it has 
 considerably revived, and now that steamers can con- 
 vey the fish fresh to Grlasgow, the trade has greatly in- 
 creased.* We shall, however, see more of the herring- 
 fishery when we get to Tarbert, on Loch Fyne. Cod 
 and ling and other fish are also shipped from this port 
 in great quantities. One of the articles of export is 
 called draff; it is the refuse of the grain from the dis- 
 tilleries, and is usually sold for pig-meal. 
 
 F I' lend. — "WTiat an excellent harbour it is, and how 
 beautiful is the view from it ! 
 
 Author. — The bay, you perceive, comes in from 
 the east, and on the western side of the town is low 
 ground about three miles in width, extending to Mach- 
 rihanish Bay, on the Atlantic shore. This plain is now 
 cultivated, and traversed by a canal leading to a coal 
 mine (at the village of Dalvaddy) that supplies the town 
 
 * The report by the " Commissioners for the British Fisheries," 
 gives the latest statistics conceruuig the Campbelton fisheries.
 
 SCENERY OF THE HARBOUR. 171 
 
 with, fuel * ; but from the alluvial character of the soil, 
 and from the general appearance of this tract of land, 
 it is easy to perceive that it was once covered by the 
 sea, and that this spot on which we are now standing, 
 and from it all round to the Mull, was once an island, 
 or at any rate was like the Isle of Davar, which we 
 see yonder, and which is an island at high water. The 
 hills that overhang the town on its north and south 
 sides vary from 800 to 1000 feet high. The hill over 
 against us is called Cnoc Scalapil. On this side, towards 
 the island of Davar, are the Grlenramskill hills, heathery 
 and beloved of sportsmen. At their foot, near to the 
 harbour, is the Grlenramskill distillery. The hill of 
 Bengullion, which, I am told, is about 1500 feet in 
 height, is seen a little further south. Here, in this 
 harbour, in January, 1853, lay H. M. S. Hercules, a 
 seventy-four, for the reception of 840 emigrants, who 
 came chiefly from the Isle of Skye. No less than 
 3000 people emigrated from the Western Highlands 
 and Islands about that time, two thirds of whom came 
 from Skye ; they were enabled to do this chiefly through 
 the assistance of the Highland and Island Emigration 
 Society. Just on the slope of the hill, on this side the 
 harbour, behind the little battery, you see Limecraigs, 
 the Duke of Argyle's house, or rather, you see the 
 
 * The coal is of an inferior quality. The dip of the coal corresponds 
 in inclination and quality with that found at BaUycastle, in Ireland.
 
 172 GLENCREGaAN. 
 
 avenues of fine trees that front it. They were planted 
 more that 180 years ago, by Elizabeth Tollemache, 
 Duchess of Argyle, and mother of the great Duke 
 John. The old Duchess was more partial to Cantire 
 and Campbelton than many of her descendants have 
 been *, and she delighted to live here in company with 
 several young ladies of rank, whom she watched with 
 Argus-eyed vigilance, lest they should stoop to an 
 alliance with the lairds of Cantire. She was foiled, 
 however, in her stratagems, although she was a more 
 than ordinarily cunning old lady, to say nothing worse 
 of her, as the following story may suggest. ^\Tien 
 Argyle had subdued the Macdonalds, and gained pos- 
 session of Cantire, he gave several estates to the mem- 
 bers of his clan. The old Duchess wished for these 
 scattered possessions to be taken from their owners, and 
 given back again to her own family. She therefore 
 borrowed their charters from the several Campbells, 
 under pretence of revising them ; but when once she 
 had got them in her hands, she destroyed them, and the 
 Campbells having nothing to show to prove their titles 
 to the estates, were compelled to give them up to the 
 Argyle family, who thus revoked their original grants. 
 It is delightful to know that this crafty old Duchess was 
 outwitted by the shrewdness of a common (or rather, 
 
 * Lord Teignmouth (who also gives this anecdote) says that the late 
 Duke of Argyle only paid one visit to Cantire.
 
 THE TRENCH BATTERY. 173 
 
 an uncommon) servant. He suspected some evil design, 
 and having abstracted his master's charter before it 
 could be placed in the hands of the Duchess, made off 
 with it, and did not restore it until time had exposed 
 the old woman's fraud. This was at Kildalloig, a plea- 
 sant estate, on the outside of the bay, on the other side 
 of the Isle of Davar, and still held by a Campbell. 
 
 Friend. — That crafty old Duchess would be a fa- 
 mous subject for Thackeray's scalpel.* But Avhat was 
 that very mild-looking little battery for? 
 
 Author. — For intimidation. It is called " The 
 Trench," and was raised for the reception of Alex- 
 ander Macdonald, alias Alister MacColl, who came 
 over with a party of Irish to assist Montrose, the Earl 
 of Antrim being expected at the same time. It does 
 duty now as a saluting battery, and makes itself of 
 great importance at the Campbelton regattas. But 
 let us stroll back up Main Street and by the old cross. 
 We have heard already a good deal about the JNIac- 
 donalds, at Saddell, at Dunaverty, and here. They 
 were the ruling powers of the district. The con- 
 venticle-lookino- building that terminates the vista of 
 
 * " At the south comer of the now roofless Loland Kirk, are in- 
 terred the remains of Elizabeth Tollemache, Duchess of Argyle, mother 
 of the great Duke John and Duke Archibald, and Lady Anne, who 
 married the Earl of Bute. She lired for more than twenty yeai's at 
 Limecraigs, during the early part of the eighteenth centur}', having 
 Kintyre as her jointure." — Statistical Account of Campbelton, p. 462.
 
 174 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 our view of Main Street, is called the Castlehill 
 Church, and occupies the site of the ancient castle of 
 the Macdonalds of Ceann-Loch. When, as we have 
 already seen, the seat of government was removed 
 from Dalruadhain to Forteviot, in 843, this remote 
 and deserted part became a prey to foreign invaders. 
 The Danes and Norwegians had already got firm pos- 
 session of the greater part of the Western Isles, and, 
 by making frequent inroads into the heart of the 
 kingdom, put it entirely out of the sovereign's power 
 to pay any attention to the frontiers. Cantire suffered 
 the same fate with the other islands with which it was 
 classed, and became the asylum for pirates. About 
 the end of the ninth century, Harold Harfager, King 
 of Denmark, made an expedition in person to Cantire, 
 in order to reduce the pirates to obedience. He also 
 appointed a governor over them; for, as Cantire and 
 the Isles were chiefly inhabited by his subjects, he 
 began to consider them as a portion of his kingdom. 
 These governors, or viceroys, were not contented with 
 deputed royalty; and, in 1164, Somerled, a powerful 
 chieftain in Cantire, — "the mighty Somerled" of Scott*, 
 — formed a matrimonial alliance with one of the vice- 
 roys, by marrying the grand-daughter of Harold, and 
 made a descent upon the Clyde with a fleet of one hun- 
 
 * For further particulars of Mm see the notes to " The Lord of the 
 Isles,"
 
 LORDS OF THE ISLES. 175 
 
 dred and twenty sail, but was defeated and slain at 
 Eenfrew by Malcolm IV. This defeat was long 
 felt by Somerled's descendants, preventing them not 
 only from attempting new conquests, but even scarcely 
 enabling them to preserve the territories of their 
 fathers. Accordingly we find, at different periods, the 
 Kings of Norway, of Scotland, and sometimes of Eng- 
 land, laying claim to the sovereignty of Cantire and 
 -the Isles. Now the son of " mighty Somerled " was 
 Eeginald, a more powerful prince even than his father, 
 for he formed alliances "svith the kings of England ; 
 and he was the ancestor of those Macdonalds of Can- 
 tire whom we have already encountered here, and at 
 Danaverty, and at Saddell, and with whom we shall 
 meet elsewhere. For centuries they reigned as lords 
 of the Isles.* Cantire paid them a yearly tribute of 
 five hundred cows ; Islay contributed another five hun- 
 dred, and the other isles in like proportion. One of 
 the Macdonalds of whom we heard when we were near 
 Saddell, was surnamed Angus Oig, and was the friend 
 and protector of the gallant Bruce in his adversity, 
 and was that self-same — 
 
 " Ronald, from many a hero sprang, 
 The fair, the valiant, and the young, 
 
 * They assumed regal powers and held parliaments. Lord Hales 
 says, that in one of these parliaments (held at Artornish), Macdonald 
 received a regular embassy from the King of Scotland.
 
 176 GLENCEEaGAN. 
 
 Lord of the Isles, whose lofty name 
 A thousand bards have given to fame. 
 The mate of monarehs, and allied 
 On equal terms with England's pride." 
 
 His grandson John at first espoused the cause of Baliol, 
 but returned to liis allegiance, and was married to 
 a daughter of Eobert II., King of Scotland. Of 
 this marriage there were four sons : Donald, Lord of 
 the Isles, John of Antrim, Alexander, and Allan. Do- 
 nald, in right of his wife, succeeded to the earldom of 
 Koss. It was when one of his descendants, John, Earl 
 of Koss, had offended the King by his daring conduct, 
 that the King sent an army against him under the 
 Earl of Athol, to whom he gave, as a parting command, 
 that laconic phrase that has since formed the family 
 motto: "Furth, fortune, and fill the fetters!" meaning, 
 " Go forth ! may good fortune attend you, and may 
 you bring back many prisoners." James IV. held 
 a parliament in Campbelton, on the spot that still 
 retains the name of " Parliament Close," where he 
 emancipated a part of the vassals of the Macdonalds, 
 and granted them de novo charters, holding of the 
 crown; but, in 1536, to curb the license and subdue 
 the haughty spirit of the chieftains and their vassals, 
 James V. found it necessary to make a voyage to 
 Cantire and the Isles. During this expedition tlie 
 King repaired the fortalice of Kilkerran, close by here,
 
 macdonald's castle. 177 
 
 and left in it a garrison wherewitli to overawe Mac- 
 donald. But before the King had got clear of the 
 harbour, Macdonald sallied out of his castle, took pos- 
 session of the fortalice, and, in the sight of the King, 
 hung the new governor from the walls as an umnis- 
 takable proof of their conquest. 
 
 FHend. — Which was adding insult to injury. And 
 this Castlehill church is built upon the site of ]Mac- 
 donald's castle, and, by its name, reminds us thereof? 
 
 Author. — Yes. It was James Macdonald who was 
 the hero of the surprise of Kilkerran. He was suc- 
 ceeded by his son Angus, who lived chiefly here, but 
 occasionally at Largie and Dunaverty, whose castle he 
 had put in a state of repair. He carried on a bloody 
 feud with Maclean of Duart. In 1591 they were pre- 
 vailed upon to go to court, in order that their dif- 
 ferences might be settled. The King settled them by 
 clapping them both in prison, in Edinburgh Castle, 
 though they were afterwards released on paying a 
 fine. Angus behaved with great cruelty, and repeatedly 
 resisted and defied the government. His Protestant 
 neighbours complained of him, and the Earl of Argyle, 
 who was then engaged in suppressing an insurrection, 
 was ordered to march against him. • At his approach 
 Angus and his son James, with their followers, fled to 
 Ireland, and Argyle took possession of his castle of 
 Ceann-Loch, and of the rest of Cantire. The lands of 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 the Macdonalds were then forfeited to the crown, and 
 bestowed by James VI. on the Earl of Argyle. An- 
 gus was afterwards pardoned, and a pension was 
 bestowed on his son, who was knighted ; but the lands 
 were never restored. Sir James Macdonald died with- 
 out issue, and the lands were claimed by Coll INIac- 
 donald, surnamed Coll Kittoch, " the left-handed." 
 Some believe him to have been a natural son of the 
 Earl of Antrim ; but, according to tradition, he was 
 the son and lawful heir of Sir James. He was noted 
 for his strength and prowess, and left no means un- 
 tried to harass Argyle. His son Alexander com- 
 manded the auxiliaries sent by Lord Antrim to assist 
 the royal cause in the struggle between Charles I. and 
 his Parliament. Alexander served under Montrose as 
 his major-general; and, immediately after the battle 
 of Inverlochy, where Argyle was defeated on the 2nd 
 of Feb. 1644, his father Coll invaded Cantire (from 
 Colonsay, of which he had taken violent possession), 
 and claimed it as his inheritance. WTien Montrose 
 was appointed Captain-general of Scotland, he con- 
 ferred the honour of knighthood on his major-general ; 
 and, after the battle of Philiphaugh, the Earl of Hunt- 
 ley in the north, and Sir Alexander Macdonald in the 
 south, were the only chieftains who remained in arms 
 against the Covenanters. When Lieutenant-Greneral 
 Leslie had subdued the Earl of Huntley, he marched
 
 ITS CHURCHES. 179 
 
 south against Sir Alexander Macdonald, who retreated 
 to Dunaverty. Then followed that dreadful massacre 
 at " The Eock of Blood," and the downfall of the Mac- 
 donalds. Sir Alexander was killed in Ireland. Coll 
 Macdonald was hanged at Dunstaffnage. Neither he 
 nor his son left issue, and Cantire was never afterwards 
 claimed by the heirs of mighty Somerled, the de- 
 scendants of the powerfid Lords of the Isles. So this 
 castle of Ceann-Loch passed away from the Mac- 
 donalds into the possession of the Earls of Argyle; 
 and here, in 1685, the unfortunate Earl of Argyle 
 issued his declaration of hostilities against James 11. 
 Thus that old castle of old Campbelton saw its fierce 
 and stormy days ; and now, as has been appro- 
 priately said, " the ministers of Campbelton enjoy 
 the satisfaction of preaching that gospel which speaks 
 peace on earth and good- will to the sons of men, on 
 the same spot where the Lords of the Isles issued their 
 stern and arbitrar}^ mandates." This Castlehill church, 
 as it is now called, is one of the two parish churches 
 of Campbelton ; the ser^dce here is in English, at the 
 other kirk in Gaelic. The Gaelic Kirk has sittings for 
 1860 worshippers; the English Kirk for 1200. At 
 the Eelief Church there are sittings for 1600. It pos- 
 sesses the imusual ornament of a tall tower of five 
 stages, with pinnacles, built in a species of Gothic, 
 which, with the spire of the town-house, form the 
 
 N 2
 
 180 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 two most conspicuous features in the views of the 
 town. 
 
 Friend. — I hear also of a kirk in this place called 
 " The United Secession Church," * which seems a queer 
 title. But what do you mean by a Relief Church ? 
 
 Author. — I will answer you out of book. This is 
 what Lord Teignmouth says : " The people of Camp- 
 belton and its neighbourhood are divided into two dis- 
 tinct classes ; generally distinguished as Highlanders 
 and Lowlanders; the former belonging to the Kii-k, 
 the latter to the Eelief ; the former speaking Graelic, 
 the latter English ; though the gradual diffusion of 
 English has tended in a great measure to obliterate the 
 difference. The Eelief are much less numerous than 
 the Kirk. They have no chapel in Argyleshire except 
 at Campbelton and Southend, and very few of their 
 persuasion except in these parishes. They are the 
 remnant of a colony of Covenanters, introduced during 
 the religious wars by Argyle ; and it is singular that to 
 this day they steadily maintain their separate existence, 
 names, religion, and associations, though some High- 
 landers have joined their communion. They inter- 
 marry almost exclusively, and bury their dead in a 
 separate cemetery near Campbelton ; though the Ro- 
 man Catholics, less bigoted in this respect, mingle their 
 
 * They form the most considerable body nest .to the Established 
 Church.
 
 CANNIE SCOTS. 181 
 
 dead promiscuously with those cf the Kirk in the 
 cemetery of Kilkerran. In the burial-ground of South- 
 end, a stream separates the dead of the Kirk and the 
 Eelief. In this respect, however, they resemble the 
 Highlanders, who are buried together as much as pos- 
 sible in reference to their clans. They have also their 
 own distinct traditions. But the chief difference, for a 
 long time, between the two sects was the language. 
 The Eelief belonged to the Kirk till about sixty years 
 ago, when they quitted it on account of the Duke of 
 Hamilton having appointed a minister whom they did 
 not approve" (this was in 1767), " about the time at 
 which the great secession took place throughout Scot- 
 land on the score of patronage. They were then pos- 
 sessed of all the malting business, and secured the 
 monopoly of this lucrative employment by admitting 
 none but persons of their own persuasion to a share in 
 it. The inducement was so strong, that it attracted a 
 few Highlanders to their number." 
 
 Friend. — The cannie Scots ! Truly it might be said 
 of their godliness, that it was great gain. 
 
 Author. — " They are characterised by the people," 
 says Lord Teignmouth, " as very strict in their re- 
 ligious tenets, looking down somewhat superciliously 
 on others, and also extremely shrewd in their worldly 
 affairs, and more cautious than the Highlanders, of 
 which proof is afforded by their having obtained pos- 
 
 N 3
 
 182 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 session of nearly all the best farms near Campbelton, 
 and being an opulent body. They are very scrupulous 
 in the selection of their ministers, and prompt in dis- 
 missing them, if dissatisfied with them. One was lately 
 discharged for presuming to marry the woman of his 
 choice, in preference to one whom they had marked 
 out for him. The practice of choosing the minister 
 attracts many to their sect. Their minister is well 
 paid." It was about 1801. a year when Lord Teign- 
 mouth wrote, which was in the year 1827*; but in 
 1835 the congregation was split into two; and a law- 
 suit as to the occupancy of the Kirk was decided in 
 favour of the party that adhered to the Eelief. Pen- 
 nant says that the Eelief Kirk " was raised by a volun- 
 tary subscription of 2800/., collected chiefly among the 
 posterity of oppressed natives of the Lowlands, en- 
 couraged to settle here (in times of persecution) by the 
 Argyle family. These still keep themselves distinct 
 from the old inhabitants, retain the zeal of their an- 
 cestors, are obstinately averse to patronage, but are 
 esteemed the most industrious people in the country." 
 There is a tale told of a man named Malcolm Mac 
 Greachy, who lived at Campbelton, and was a very pious 
 and intelligent man. His wife was dead, and his chil- 
 
 * Mucli of his work (but not the Campbelton portion of it) appearctl. 
 as supplements to " The Saturday Magazine," 1833-4. The work itself 
 was not published till 1836.
 
 Malcolm's advice. 183 
 
 dren were scattered abroad. Under the same roof witli 
 him lived an old woman named Kate Mac Eachin, but 
 a partition separated their two rooms. It was so thin, 
 however, that they were enabled to converse togetlier 
 without leaving their own rooms and firesides. One 
 day, after a long silence, Malcolm said, " Hallo, Kate I " 
 " \Miat now, Malcolm ? " she asked. " I am going to 
 give you a bit of advice, Kate ! " said he. " Well," 
 replied Kate, *' let me hear it ; for you have given me 
 many a good bit of advice." " Then, my advice to 
 you, Kate," said he, " is, that you give up praying." 
 " Give up praying ! " cried out Kate ; who was a very 
 piously disposed person, and never omitted reading her 
 Bible, and saying her prayers every morning and 
 evening : " Why, what a bad man 3-ou must be, Mal- 
 colm, to advise me to give up praying ! " " Yes, Kate," 
 said he; "you must give up praying, or else, you 
 must give up scolding. I heard you scolding yovu* 
 other neighbour yestreen ; and you must either give up 
 scolding, or praying; for, you may depend upon it, 
 they cannot do together." Kate became very thought- 
 ful, and then said that Malcolm was quite right; so 
 she kept her praying, and did away with her scolding. 
 
 Friend. — There is much grim humour and shrewd- 
 ness in the Scotch nature. They can originate wit, 
 even if they cannot appreciate it when they encounter 
 it. I have been reading Dean's Kamsay's book ; and I 
 
 N 4
 
 184 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 like to have such old anecdotes as he tells us strictly 
 preserved, for they are usefid illustrations of men and 
 customs that are fast disappearing. 
 
 Author. — Those old customs and national peculi- 
 arities survive in Cantire, when they have long since 
 perished in other parts of the Highlands before the 
 advance of tourists and civilisation. We have already 
 met with many specimens of this, even though we have 
 advanced only thus far into the bowels of the land ; 
 and we shall encounter yet more. But enough for the 
 present. 
 
 Now, let us go back to the White Hart to dinner ; 
 and, as such is the custom of the place, consult the 
 oracle.* 
 
 [^^xeunt : tJie scene closes, and so does this chapter.'] 
 
 * "At night am admitted freeman of Campbelton, and, according to 
 the cnstom of the place, consult the oracle of the Bottle about my 
 future voyage, assisted by a numerous company of brother burgesses." 
 — PEjraA.NT's Voyage to the Hebrides p. 176.
 
 KILKERRAN. 
 
 185 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 KILKERRAN, AND THE FIRST MISSIONARY IN THE 
 HIGHLANDS. 
 
 Kilkerran. — St. Kiaran. — His History. — The Apostle of Cantire. — 
 Palladius. — St. Patrick. — St. Kiaran's Pupil Columba. — Chrono- 
 logical Difficulties. — St. Kiaran's Home in Cantire. — His begging 
 Horse. — An unfair Compact. — The Burial-ground. — Tliree Views 
 of it. — Aidan's Tomb. — A pugilistic Apparition. — Mr. Boes and 
 his Second-sight. — "Well done, John!" — The Sleeper. — Mr. 
 Boes and his Combats with Satan. — Kilkerran Castle. — Small 
 Profits and quick Keturns. 
 
 F those spots in the im- 
 mediate neighbourhood of 
 Campbelton, Kilkerran is 
 the most interesting. It 
 is one mile east of Camp- 
 belton, and pleasantly si- 
 tuated on the shore of 
 the Loch, with the Glen- 
 ramskill hills rising behind it, and the picturesque island 
 of Davar close at hand to the right. There are a few 
 cottages and a farm-house or two, snugly embosomed in 
 trees, and there are the ruins of the old castle, and the
 
 186 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 site of the old church, with its large burial-ground, 
 which is still used as a cemetery for the use of Canip- 
 belton. Altogether Kilkerran forms a very lovely bit 
 of scenery, and the view from its hills is most pleasing 
 and varied. But it is the past history of the place 
 that gives it its crowning interest ; for here lived St. 
 Kiaran, the Apostle of Cantire, the tutor of St. Co- 
 lumba, and the first person (in all probability^ who 
 preached in the Highlands the Grospel of Christ. 
 
 The saint gave his name to this spot ; Kilkerran, or 
 as it is in Gaelic Kil-Giaran, signifying " the Cell of 
 Kiaran ; " and Campbelton harbour was sometimes 
 called " The Loch of Kilkerran," and Campbelton 
 itself was occasionally spoken of as " Kilkerran." I 
 have already referred to the tradition of St. Kiaran 
 being accompanied by his pupil, St. Columba, to the 
 Mull of Cantire ; but it is also stated that St. Columba 
 did not proceed to lona until fifteen years after the 
 death of St. Kiaran* ; and, if there is any shadow of 
 truth in this statement, it would appear that St. 
 Kiaran preached Christ in the Highlands many years 
 before St. Columba's visit, and that to this " Apostle 
 of Cantire " (as he is generally called), must be ascribed 
 the honour of being the first missionary to the western 
 coast of Scotland. It would, perhaps, be impossible to 
 
 * On the authority of tlie Rev. W. L. Alexander, D.D., and " The 
 Annals of Innishfallen, Ireland."
 
 ST. KIARA>'. 187 
 
 fix with any precision the date of St. Kiaran's preach- 
 ino-. He is said to have died when St. Columba was 
 only twenty-seven years of age ; and this would bring 
 his preaching into the fii'st half of the sixth century, 
 and his death somewhere about the year 550, — Sept. 
 9, 548, has been given as the date, but other dates have 
 also been assigned to that event. The Eomanists, I am 
 aware, assert that Palladius, after he had preached to 
 the Scots in Ireland, crossed over to the west coast of 
 "Scotland, in consequence of the opposition he had en- 
 countered in Ireland, from the heathen king Dathi ; 
 and that after preaching the Grospel for a short time in 
 the Highlands, he died in 432*, and was succeeded by 
 
 * It is stated that he took refiige at Abernethy, on the borders of 
 Perthshire, with the Pictish King Kethan (or Nectan) I. He, 
 however, did not come to the throne till 455, and it does not seem 
 clear whether Abernethy was founded by Nethan I., or (accord- 
 ing to the register of St. Andrews) by Nethan II., about the year 
 600. (See Dr. Jamieson.) It is also stated that Palladius preached 
 to the Picts for twenty years, and died at Fordun in 450, and 
 was buried there : in confirmation of which there is a house in the 
 churchyard still called Palladius' s chapel, where there was an image 
 of the saint, and whither pilgrimages used to be performed. There is 
 also a well there called Paldy Well ; and an annual fair called Paldy 
 Fair. (See the Eev. Alexander Leslie's " Statistical Account of For- 
 dun.") But all this might be without Palladius having any personal 
 connection with the place. The phrase that he was sent by Ccelestine 
 to preach " in Scotiam," is variously interpreted. It is true that the 
 Breviary of Aberdeen mentions his dying at Fordun " full of years " 
 (" auuorum plenus apud Long-forgund in Meruis in pace requiescit 
 beata"); and many historians have adopted this statement; but, says
 
 188 GLENCREGaAN. 
 
 St. Patrick, who had been consecrated at Rome by 
 Pope Coelestine, as the successor of Palladius, and 
 " Archbishop of the Scots." But this story may have 
 been framed to meet the difficulties of the position ; 
 and although from the close connection subsisting be- 
 tween Ireland and Cantire, the light of Christianity 
 may have shone upon the Dalruadhinian kingdom long 
 before St. Kiaran, in 536, became the Apostle of Can- 
 tire, yet he is the first preacher of whom we have any 
 authentic accounts, and to him therefore (in the ab- 
 sence of more reliable authority) we may fairly assign 
 the honour of having been the forerunner of Columba, 
 and the first person who preached the Grospel in the 
 Highlands. 
 
 St. Kiaran's history, however, is connected with that 
 
 ]Mr. Chambers, " It is now the general opinion of the more rigorous 
 antiquaries, that Palladius never was in Scotland, and that the claims 
 of Fordoun to have been his resting-place arose at first from a mis- 
 apprehension, eitlicr wilful or through ignorance, on the part of the 
 monks. Palladius, according to the only proper authority, was sent 
 ' in Scotiam,' that is, to Ireland ; for such was the designation of the 
 sister isle at that period." The truth of this remark may be confirmed 
 by a reference to Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba," wherein " Scotia " 
 is invariably applied to Ireland, although this is a point on which the 
 usually careful Romish historian. Dr. Lingard, has fallen into error. A 
 similar mistake has arisen from the word Hibemia being applied to 
 Cantire and the Isles. The "Western Highlanders were frequently 
 called Hibernii, or "the Irish" (even up to 1547), to distinguish them 
 from the Scots of the mainland. (See Paterson " On the Origin of the 
 Scots.") But whether Palladius was at Fordun or not, he does not 
 appear to have had any connection with Cantire.
 
 ST. kiakan's history. 189 
 
 of St. Patrick. This saint, it may be remembered, 
 whose real name was Calphurnius, surnamed " the 
 Patrician " (whence Patrick'), was born at that Eoman 
 city in Dumbartonshire, now called Kilpatrick, or " the 
 Cell of Patrick," and, at the age of sixteen, was taken 
 prisoner, and carried off to Ireland, by Nial of the 
 Nine Hostages, King of Ireland, from whom St. Co- 
 lumba was fourth in descent. After nine years of a 
 shepherd's life, he escaped to his native country, and 
 from thence went to Tours, where he received his edu- 
 cation. WTien he returned to Ireland, as the successor 
 of Palladius, he baptized several persons of great con- 
 sequence, and among them St. Kiaran, and Fergus, who 
 was afterwards King of Cantire. According to Bede, 
 St. Patrick died fifty-seven years before the birth of 
 Columba, i. e. somewhere about the year 463, or 465 ; 
 for it is as difficult to calculate these confused chro- 
 nologies as it would be to arrive at the hour of the day 
 by consulting Captain Cuttle's famous watch. But 
 there do not appear to have been two St. Patricks, who 
 were nearly contemporaneous, although such a thing is 
 by no means improbable ; for when any one was dis- 
 tinguished for an unusual odour of sanctity, he or she 
 had many admirers and imitators, who, by assuming the 
 name of the saint, have greatly confounded posterity, 
 if they did not deceive their contemporaries. Thus, 
 "svithin the same century, there were twenty-two Co-
 
 1 90 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 lumbas, and there were fifteen rival Bridgets before St. 
 Bridget of Kildare ended her useful life. 
 
 If St. Kiaran, therefore, died about the year 550, it 
 would follow that he was nearly as old as his tutor St. 
 Patrick, by whom he must have been baptized in early 
 youth. St. Patrick gave him a copy of the Gospels, 
 the genuineness of which was authenticated in the year 
 1682, and which is now preserved in the library of 
 Trinity College, Dublin. St. Kiaran was the founder 
 of the church of Duleek, one of the oldest in Ireland, 
 also of the monastery of Clon (or Clonmacnoise) on the 
 Shannon, six miles south of Athlone *, where one of 
 his pupils was St. Columba, who ever retained the 
 greatest respect and affection for him, and on St. Kia- 
 ran's death, wrote an ode to his memory, commencing 
 thus : — 
 
 " Quantum Christe ! Apostohim 
 Mundo misisti hominum ? 
 Liicerna hujus insulae," &c. 
 
 Perhaps, from the expression " hujus insulee," this 
 ode was written after St. Columba's arrival at Cantire, 
 which may have been ten or a dozen years after his old 
 tutor's death. Cantire, we may remember, was ac- 
 
 * AVlion tlie Easter controrcrsy arose in tlic Irish Church (at the 
 close of the seventh century), St. Kiaran of Clonmacnoise was cited as 
 one of its primitive fathers, — "Nostrorum patrum priorum," in St. 
 Cummian's epistle.
 
 CHROXOLOGICAL DIFFICULTIES. 191 
 
 counted an island ; and, indeed, the Mull of Cantire 
 must, at one time, literally have been so. 
 
 When King Arthur was yet but young, and ere that 
 glorious company of his Knights of the Eound Table, 
 could 
 
 " Serve as model for the mighty world, 
 Aiid be the fair beginning of a time," 
 
 Fergus, the son of Ere (who, together with St. Kiaran, 
 had been baptized by St. Patrick) quarrelled with the 
 King of Ireland, and, with his brothers Lorn and 
 Angus, made a descent upon Cantire, and made them- 
 selves masters of the peninsula. This was in the year 
 503 ; and it is said that St. Kiaran accompanied them ; 
 which, if this statement be correct, and, supposing him 
 not to have returned to Ireland, would quite overthrow 
 the idea that he was tutor to St. Columba. Other ac- 
 counts, however, date his arrival in Cantire to a much 
 later period, viz. to 536, which date certainly harmo- 
 nises better with the story of his tutorship. At this 
 time, St. Kiaran must have been nearly, if not quite, 
 eighty years of age. 
 
 But, whether or no we must date his arrival in 
 Cantire to 503, or to 536, St. Kiaran, from the very 
 first, would seem to have made his abode in a cave on 
 the sea coast, near to Kilkerran, and about four miles 
 and a half from Campbelton. It is where the eastern 
 coast of Cantire rounds off from Campbelton harbour
 
 192 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 towards the Mull. The spot is known as Achanhoan 
 or Achanatonn, signifying " The Field of the Waves," 
 a name denoting the extensive sea view visible from 
 this place. Here, where the waters keep an everlasting 
 murmur to the precipices and crags that overhang 
 them, is a wild and dreary cavern, hollowed from the 
 seaward rock. This was the home for the saint for 
 many years ; and it is called Cove-a-Chiaran, *' the Cave 
 of Kiaran." It is difficult of access, and is only ap- 
 proachable at half tide, and the road to it is covered 
 with large stones, round and slippery. Other caves 
 adjoin it. Pennant thus describes them : — " Turn to 
 the south, and visit some caves in the rocks that face 
 the frith. These are very magnificent, and very va- 
 rious ; the tops are lofty, and resemble Grothic arches. 
 One has on all sides a range of natural seats ; another 
 is in the form of a cross with three fine Grothic por- 
 ticoes for entrances. This had been the residence of St. 
 Kerran ; had formerly a wall at the entrance, a second 
 about the middle, and a third far up, forming different 
 apartments. On the floor is the capital of a cross, and 
 a round bason, cut out of the rock, full of fine water, 
 the beverage of the saint in old times, and of sailors in 
 the present, who often land to dress their victuals 
 beneath this shelter." The water in the bason is sup- 
 plied by the continual dropping from the roof of the 
 cave. There is also a rudely sculptured cross on a
 
 ST. kiaran's begging horse. 193 
 
 stone, upon which the saint is said to have sat and 
 prayed. The spot is not without its personal legends 
 of the Apostle of Cantire. It is said that St. Kiaran 
 employed an old horse to go out and beg for him, and 
 bring back to his cave whatever the charitable had 
 stowed away in his panniers. One day, a wicked 
 fellow put out the poor horse's eyes ; and, in conse- 
 quence of its loss of sight, it fell over a cliff and 
 perished. Shortly after, the wretch who had perpe- 
 trated the cruelty, was stung by a serpent, and his life 
 was despaired of. St. Kiaran was called in, and prayed 
 over him, and doctored his wounds; but though the 
 man recovered his health, he lost his eyesight. 
 
 Between Achanatonn and Kilkerran is Kildalvig 
 House, beautifully situated, and girdled by fine old 
 timber. 
 
 There was once a church at Kilkerran, which was 
 well endowed by the Macdonalds. In the year 1261, 
 Lawrence, Bishop of Argyle, annexed it to the Abbey 
 of Paisley *, of course with the consent of the jNIac- 
 donalds, though why or wherefore is not known, as 
 they had recently established their monastery at Sad- 
 dell. The revenues derived from the church of Kil- 
 kerran by the Abbey of Paisley are not known ; but, 
 however large, they could scarcely have formed an ade- 
 
 * Keith's "Catalogue of Bishops." 
 VOL. I.
 
 194 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 quate recompense for the strenuous exertions of the good 
 monks of Paisley, who, for the trifling consideration 
 of the revenues, undertook to secure to the Macdonalds 
 " their own salvation, and that of their heirs for ever ; " 
 and, as we have had an insight into the characters of 
 a few of the members of this family, we may easily 
 imagine, that, to a conscientious monk, the terms of 
 this compact must frequently have brought many 
 qualms. The Lords of the Isles were in the habit of 
 making gifts to the Abbey of Paisley. One of the 
 grants is entitled " Grift by Eeginald, son of Somerled, 
 Lord of Inchegal, King of the Isles, and Lord of 
 Argyle, of one penny from every house in his domi- 
 nions from which smoke issues." 
 
 The burial-ground of Kilkerran is very interesting. 
 The ruins of the church have now totally disappeared ; 
 the in closure, therefore, presents nothing more than 
 a diversity of tombstones, thickly scattered over an 
 irregular plot of ground ; but, from the character of a 
 small portion of these monumental memorials*, and 
 from the picturesque situation of this retired cemetery, 
 its effect, as a whole, is particularly impressive. Its 
 effect upon different visitors, however, will naturally 
 be directed by their various idiosyncrasies. Thus, one 
 visitor has written of it thus : — "A walk through this 
 
 * See Appendix, " Ecclesiology of Cantire."
 
 KILKEEEAN BUEIAL-GEOUKD. 195 
 
 churchyard, would be well calculated to raise ideas like 
 the following : — 
 
 " Here all do meet, the high, the low, 
 The young, the old, the friend, the foe ; 
 The priest, the monk, the presbyter. 
 The hoary head, the gay and fair ; 
 The haughty chief, the timid slave. 
 In others arms sleep in the grave." 
 
 Pennant looks at it with different eyes. " Take a 
 ride along the west side of the bay. See in Kilkerran 
 churchyard, several tombs of artificers with the instru- 
 ments of their trades engraven ; amongst others appear 
 a goose and shears, to denote that a tailor lay be- 
 neath." Macculloch views it in still another light : — 
 " The burying-ground of Kilkerran, named after St. 
 Kiaran, is a very pleasing and not an unpicturesque 
 spot ; while it is also rendered a very lively scene by 
 the concourse of the fair sex employed in washing ; the 
 public laundry being on the banks of the small stream 
 which runs past it, and displaying all the well-known 
 variety which results from blazing fires, huge black 
 kettles, smoke, linen, tubs, bare legs and arms, and 
 merriment. This would be an admirable scene for 
 Wilkie ; the landscape adding charms to the fair, and 
 the fair reflecting them back on the landscape." 
 
 How Wordsworth would have written of tliis burial- 
 ground of Kilkerran, we may judge from one of his 
 
 O 2
 
 196 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 sonnets on a similar spot; and, as the lines may be 
 aptly quoted here, I may be excused for recalling them 
 to the reader's recollection : — 
 
 " Part fenced by man, part by a rugged steep, 
 That curbs a foaming brook, a gi-aveyard lies ; 
 The hare's best couchiug-place for fearless sleep ; 
 Which moonlit elves, far seen by credulous eyes, 
 Enter in dance. Of church, or sabbath ties, 
 No vestige now remains ; jj^et thither creep 
 Bereft ones, and in lowly anguish weep 
 Their prayers out to the wind and naked skies. 
 Proud tomb is none ; but rudely sculptured knights, 
 By humble choice of plain old times, are seen 
 Level with earth, among the hillocks green ; 
 Union not sad, when sunny daybreak smites 
 The spangled turf, and neighbouring thickets ring 
 "With, jubilate from the choirs of spring." * 
 
 Lord Teignmouth does not describe Kilkerran ; and. 
 Pennant and Macculloch say no more than has been 
 quoted. In this churchyard, however, according to the 
 testimony of Fordun, was buried, in the year 605, 
 Aidan, the most renowned of the Dalruadh kings. He 
 had fought for the crown with his cousin Doncha, and 
 had prevailed over him ; and he wished to be anointed 
 as king by St. Columba. Now the saint had more 
 favour for his brother Eoghan, and therefore delayed 
 for a considerable time the ceremony of unction, till at 
 length, a supernatural agent appeared to him for two 
 
 * Wordsworth's "Tour in Scotland, 1831," vol. iii.
 
 A PUGILISTIC APrAEITION. 197 
 
 or three successive nights, and charged him to perform * 
 his office. The saint still delaying, the visionary being 
 again appeared to him, and gave him such a Sayers- 
 like bloAV on his right side, that he never lost the mark 
 of it ; and as the pugilistic apparition threatened him 
 with a repetition of the dose if he postponed the busi- 
 ness any longer, the saint thought it prudent to anoint 
 Aidan as king. Ever afterwards he zealously supported 
 Aidan's cause ; and, when he went to fight a battle, 
 the monks of lona were convened to pray for success 
 on his arms. One of the tombstones bears the follow- 
 ing inscription : — " Here lies the body of Mr. James 
 Boes, one of the ministers of Campbeltown, who was 
 born 1667, and died 14th Februar}^, 1749 ; was an ex- 
 traordinary pious man, much beloved by his flock, 
 whom he loved as a faithful pastor fifty-seven years, 
 and by many whose piety endeared him to them." It 
 is said that he had the national gift of second-sight ; 
 and that when on a certain Sabbath day his congrega- 
 tion had assembled as usual, the minister continued 
 his walk upon the green after the time for commencing 
 the service had expired. The elders were unwilling to 
 disturb him, as he appeared absorbed in meditation. 
 At length he clapped his hands, and exclaimed, "Well 
 done, John I " and then came into the meeting, and 
 proceeded as usual with the service. Now, it hap- 
 pened, that John, Duke of Argyle, was at that time at 
 
 3
 
 198 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 the head of the army in Flanders, and gained a battle 
 on the very day and at about the very horn*, when 
 Mr. Boes exclaimed, " Well done, John I " So, when the 
 people (after the event) ascribed to him the gift of 
 second-sight, and made out that in his " mind's eye " he 
 had seen the Duke's victory, Mr. Boes did not deny 
 the soft impeachment. Other circumstances also oc- 
 curred to deepen the popular impression of his pro- 
 phetical gift. 
 
 Once, when he was preaching, a man fell asleep, as 
 has happened to the best preachers, from the days of 
 Eutychus to the present time. Mr. Boes spied him, and 
 called out to him to awake. This personal address re- 
 vived the sleeper for a time ; but the soporific nature 
 of the sermon again overpowered him, and a second 
 time he succumbed to its influence, and a second 
 time Mr. Boes called out to him to awake, and to listen 
 to the sermon. He awoke, but, for the third time, 
 fell asleep. Then cried Mr. Boes with a loud voice, 
 *' Awake, and hear this sermon ! for it will be the last 
 that you will ever hear in this life !'' It was even so : 
 before the next Sabbath the man was dead. On 
 another Sabbath, when the Communion was to be ad- 
 ministered, and there would be a larger congregation 
 than usual, Mr. Boes got up very early, convinced that 
 something was wrong about the church. He found, 
 on examination, that the beams of the gallery were
 
 MR. BOES' SECOXD-SIGHT. 199 
 
 almost sawn through, so that the weight of the congre- 
 gation would have brought it to the ground. He at 
 once set carpenters and smiths to work, and had the 
 church put in a safe condition to enable him to go 
 through the solemn services of the day. So, in this 
 case, Mr. Boes " second-sight " was of great value. 
 
 He ascribed the sawing of the gallery beams to the 
 agency of Satan, with whom he had many imaginary 
 combats, being sorely tried with his temi:)tations. At 
 such times as these, Mr. Boes was not in the best of 
 tempers, and would not allow any one to come near him. 
 On one of these occasions he shut himself up in his 
 room for three days. His wife being fearful that he 
 would die from hunger, sent to hira food by a servant 
 man ; but the minister scattered it on the floor. " The 
 devil's in the man I " cried the servant. " You are quite 
 right ; " replied the minister, who at once became calm, 
 partook of the food, and returned to his former habits. 
 One time, when he had been at the Assembly, and was 
 returning home on the Saturday, a storm drove his vessel 
 into Rothesay, and compelled him to stay there over the 
 Sunday, on which day he preached in the Eothesay 
 church. Its roof was very much out of order, and, in 
 the middle of his sermon, sharp-sighted Mr. Boes spied 
 his old enemy peering at him through a hole in the 
 tiles. So he at once cried out, " Aye, ye're there, Satan ! 
 Ye kept me from preaching to my ain congregation, but 
 
 o 4
 
 200 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 3-e canna keep me from preaching for a' that ; " and he 
 then went on with his sermon, as though this little in- 
 terruption to it had been nothing more than a gloss or 
 marginal reference. Near to Dunavertyis a cave called 
 Boes' Cave, where he was accustomed to retire for medi- 
 tation and prayer. 
 
 Between the burial-ground of Kilkerran and the 
 sea, are the remains of that old castle of Kilkerran, 
 which was repaired and garrisoned by James V. in 
 1536, to overawe the Macdonalds, and which was cap- 
 tured by that bold chieftain, and its governor hung 
 from its walls, before the King had sailed froni the 
 harbour, an instance of unusually " quick returns " for 
 the " small profits " anticipated by the monarch. This 
 castle of Kilkerran, it is thought, was not "built by 
 James V.," as stated in Smith's " Campbelton and its 
 Neighbourhood," but had existed for some centuries, 
 and had been captured by Haco of Norway, in that 
 expedition to enforce his claims on the sovereignty 
 of the Hebrides, which ended in the battle of Largs, 
 October 2nd, 1263. Having fallen into a ruinous state, 
 James V. caused it to be repaired for the purpose above 
 mentioned. 
 
 Just above Kilkerran, in the face of the hill of Ben- 
 gullion, and near to its summit, is a narrow and deep 
 crevasse, which is popularly believed to be the entrance 
 to a subterranean passage, leading to Southend, on the
 
 THE WATCirMAN's WELL. 201 
 
 Mull, a distance of ten miles. These legends of long 
 subterranean passages and caves are very common in 
 Cantire. The reader may remember that we met with 
 a cave (six miles long) at Keill, near to Dunaverty and 
 Southend. Perhaps the two legends are but variations 
 of the same tale. Near this place is a curious well called 
 « the Watchman's Well."
 
 202 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 SAINTS AND LEGENDS. 
 
 St. Couslau. — The Spanish Princess. — Dr. Smith of Campbeltou. — 
 Kilcouslan. — Kilcoivin. — A noted Duellist. — Holy Music. — St. 
 Couslan and runaway Couples. — St. Coivin and unhappy Married 
 Folks. — Theii- several Plans. — A Midnight ConTersazione for Dis- 
 contented Couples. — A Disappointed Divorcer. — Etymology of 
 " Cabbage." — Machrihanish Bay. — Its Scenery and Dangers. — 
 Salt-Pans. — Pan Cod. — How it is caught. — The three Degrees of 
 Comparison in Mountain Altitudes. — View from Cnoc-maigh. — 
 Tirfergus Glen. — The Legend of the Weaver of Tirfergus. — Mac- 
 kinven's Bard outdone. — Kaids. — The Story oi" Boyle's Bible. — 
 The Act Eecissory. — Torquil MacNeaFs Second-sight. — The Lag- 
 gan of Cantire. — The Black Fisherman of Lochsanish. — The 
 poor Man's Prayer fulfilled. — Kilehenzie and St. Kenneth. — How 
 MacEachin entertained MacCallum More. 
 
 After St. Kiaran's time, there were two saints who 
 laboured to plant the gospel in Cantire, and are still 
 remembered. These are Saints Couslan and Coivin, 
 who have given their names to two places near to 
 Campbelton, Kilcouslan and Kilcoivin, where the ruins 
 of their churches are still to be seen. 
 
 Kilcouslan is situated on a promontory at the entrance 
 of Campbelton harbour on its northern side. There is
 
 DK. SJIITH. 203 
 
 a tradition that ascribes it, not to Saint Couslan, but to 
 Cusalan, the daughter of a king of Spain, who died on 
 board a Spanish vessel in Kilbrannan Sound, and whose 
 body was brought ashore and buried in this place. In 
 accordance with this tradition, her grave is still shown, 
 and the spot is variously called Kilchusalan, and Kil- 
 couslan. The church * contains the tombs of the Kev. 
 Dr. John Smith, and his son the Kev. Donald Smith, 
 both ministers of Campbelton. Dr. John Smith was 
 the historian of Campbelton, and a man of varied and 
 distinguished literary attainments. He took a leading 
 part in the Ossian controversy, and was well known 
 (says Hugh Miller), " for his Celtic researches, and his 
 exquisite translations of ancient Celtic poetry." f An 
 old inhabitant of Campbelton who can remember him 
 at the end of the last century, says, " Dr. Smith was a 
 great linguist, philosopher, poet and divine. He lectured 
 on the Book of Eevelations, and many assembled to 
 hear him ; but, as these productions were never printed, 
 their loss must have been great. By his parishioners he 
 
 * See Appendix, " Ecclesiologj' of Cautire." 
 
 t Cruise of the Betsey, p. 114. Hugh Miller visited Mr. Swanston, 
 miuister at Isle Ornsay, -n-hose ■wife was a niece of Dr. Smith. The 
 "advertisement" of Dr. Smith's manuscript poems collected in the 
 Western Highlands and Islands, is given in ISIr. Campbell's "Popular 
 Tales " (vol. ii. pp. 472, 473). The manuscripts are in the possession 
 of the Highland Society. Dr. Smith is also spoken of in j\Ir. Campbell's 
 first volume (introduction, pp. xx. xxxv.).
 
 204 GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 was much esteemed. Having a very powerful voice, when 
 preaching in the tent at the time of the Communion, 
 he might have been heard at an immense distance. On 
 going to church on a Sabbath, he always appeared 
 dressed in his gown, with his Bible under his arm, 
 taking no notice of any jDerson in the streets as he 
 passed. He seldom preached without shedding tears. 
 Dr. Smith died at Kilcouslan, in the house he built on 
 the glebe. On the day of his death, he called all his 
 family into his room, addressed each of his children 
 individually, and gave du-ections to his wife respecting 
 his funeral, speaking to them in his usual manner. 
 Afterwards, with his own fingers, closing his eyes, he 
 departed this life without a struggle." 
 
 Kilcoivin is about four miles to the south-west of 
 Campbelton, on the road, and near to Machrihanish 
 Bay. Its name is also written Kilkivan ; and instead 
 of the word meaning Kil-Coivin, " the cell of Coivin," 
 it is said to mean Cil-chaomhan, " the Cell of the 
 Beloved ; " but be this as it may, the memory of St. 
 Coivin is there cherished. The broken walls of the 
 church are still standing in the centre of the burial- 
 ground, where are some stones of elaborate workman- 
 ship, — a priest in the attitude of prayer — a man in 
 full armour, and the like.* The last-named is pointed 
 
 * " Observe on the roadside the ruins of the chapel of Cill-cJiaovain,
 
 A NOTED DUELLIST. 205 
 
 out (and evidently erroneously so), as the tomb of Archi- 
 bald MacNeal, of Tirfergus, who died towards the middle 
 of the last century. He was a noted duellist, and, in- 
 deed, made it his profession ; for he travelled about to 
 various continental and other cities, challenging them 
 to find an antagonist for him, whom he fought for a 
 sum of money, and — killed. From his sanguine tem- 
 perament, one would suppose that he must have been 
 of the true Scottish blood, and that his Celtic bump of 
 pugnacity was unusually developed. Near to the church 
 is a hill called Cnocan-a-chluir/, on which a man used 
 to stand, and ring a hand-bell, to give due notice to the 
 people to repair to church. The bell was consecrated, 
 and called ceolan-naomha, " the holy music." A little 
 more than a century ago it was still used by the town- 
 crier of Campbelton. 
 
 Whatever may have been the unity between Saints 
 Couslan and Coivin in point of matters of doctrine, they 
 were altogether at variance in their ideas respecting the 
 indissolubility of the marriage tie. St. Couslan stre- 
 nuously upheld it. Perhaps he was a married man 
 
 or Kil-chijvain. Witliin are some old gravestones, engraven with 
 figures of a two-handed sword, and of dogs chasing deer." — Pexxant's 
 Voyage to the Hebrides, p. 196. 
 
 On the lands of Macharioch, in the parish of Southend, near to the 
 Mull of Cantire, and close by the mansion house of Ballyshoar, are 
 also the remains of a religious edifice, called after, and dedicated to, 
 St. Coivin.
 
 206 ULENCREGGAN. 
 
 himself, and happy in his wedded life, — like that 
 " dark-attired Culdee," of Campbell's poem. 
 
 " Peace to their shades ! the pure Culdees 
 
 "Were Albyn's earliest priests of God, 
 Ere yet an island of her seas 
 
 By foot of Saxon monk was trod ; 
 Long ere her chiirchmen by bigotry 
 Were barr'd from wedlock's holy tie. 
 'Tvvas then that Aodh famed aftir 
 
 In lona preach'd the word with power, 
 And Reidliu'a, beauty's star, 
 
 Was the partner of his bower." 
 
 Perhaps St. Couslan had a Reullura of his own, from 
 whom he did not wish to be separated ; and this made 
 him the more strenuous in opposing his brother saint's 
 lax notions on the indissolubility of the marriage tie. 
 At any rate he strenuously upheld it ; to such a degree, 
 indeed, that at his church of Kilcouslan there was a 
 large stone, with an open space in the centre, through 
 which runaway couples caught hands.* However closely 
 they might be pursued, yet, if they could succeed in 
 reaching the church, and catching hands through St. 
 Cousla,n's hole-y stone, before the pursuing non 'placets 
 could interfere, it was held unlawful to separate them, 
 though they might be married with greater form and 
 ceremony when they had the leisure and opportunity. 
 
 * A similar ceremony took place at " the Odin stone " of the Brogar 
 circle, in the Orkneys. See Mr. Weld's " Two Months in the High- 
 lands, Orcadia, and Skye," p. 161.
 
 ST. COIYIX AND UNHArPY MAKEIED FOLKS. 207 
 
 Thus St. Couslan was the forerunner of the Gretna Green 
 blacksmith ; and many a runaway couple doubtless 
 joined hands through that stone, which (or a similar 
 stone) existed within the memory of man, though, alas, 
 for the modern runaAvays, it had survived its original 
 use. 
 
 But St. Coivin thought very differently to St. Couslan 
 on the subject of marriage, and instituted an oppo- 
 sition ceremony, which appears to have been quite as 
 popular as that promulgated by the favourer of elope- 
 ments. While St. Couslan was for uniting couples in 
 indissoluble bands, St. Coivin burst the bands asunder 
 and disjoined the married pair. In fact, while St. Couslan 
 was the Gretna Green blacksmith of those early days, 
 St. Coivin was its Sir Cresswell Cresswell, and his 
 church the Divorce Court of the Land's End of Scot- 
 land. His theory was, that those who were not pleased 
 with their partners should be indulged with the oppor- 
 tunity of a separation, and of making a second choice. 
 And this was the peculiar practice with which he con- 
 verted his theory into a startling fact. He instituted 
 an annual solemnity, which all unhappy married couples 
 were invited to attend. A late hour of the night was 
 fixed for the meeting, which our knowledge of human 
 nature tells us was sure to be a crowded one. At 
 midnight St. Coivin and his assistants blindfolded all 
 the husbands and wives, and then started them for
 
 208 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 a pell-mell race three times round the church at top 
 speed. The moment this was accomplished, and while 
 all were in confusion, St. Coivin gave the word Cabhag, 
 " Seize quickly ! " upon which every man laid hold 
 of the first female near him ; and whether old or young, 
 handsome or ugly, good or bad, one-eyed or two-eyed, 
 hunchbacked or straight, she was his wife till the next 
 anniversary, when he could again try his lot at this 
 matrimonial blind-man's buff. If St. Coivin's insti- 
 tution was not as popular as that of St. Couslan's, we 
 may feel sure that it was equally well supported, and 
 that these two holy gentlemen must have driven a 
 considerable trade in the articles of marriage and di- 
 vorce, and derived, doubtless, a large revenue of fees 
 from the loves and quarrels of their neighb'oui's. Con- 
 ceive the case of a gentleman who hoped to get his 
 neighbour's young and pretty wife in return for his 
 own old and ugly one, and who had privately made 
 such arrangements with the pretty spouse as should 
 ensure her attendance at St. Coivin's midnight conver- 
 sazione for discontented couples, — imagine this gentle- 
 man being blindfolded for his race. Preparatory to 
 that obscuring ceremony, he had noted the position of 
 the lady of his choice : St. Coivin gives the word, and 
 off they go ! once, tmce, — men and women mixed up 
 in hopeless confusion, jostling, pushing, and tumbling 
 over each other. Oh, that he could slip the bandage !
 
 ETYMOLOGY OF " CABBAGE." 209 
 
 but St. Coivin has been too sharp for him, and he 
 cannot steal a glimpse of anything or anybody. On 
 they run ! the third time round the course — church, I 
 mean, — is completed. Cabhag is cried ; and he darts 
 at vacancy, until the warm flesh and blood of a panting 
 woman is "within his grasp. Hold her tight while the 
 bandages are undone. Now for his neighbour's young 
 and pretty wife, for whose sake he has so often broken 
 the tenth commandment. Horror of horrors ! it is his 
 own old and ugly wife whom he had brought here to 
 get rid of, and whom relentless destiny has again given 
 to him for another twelvemonth. Let us close the 
 curtain on this uuhappy and mistaken gentleman ; the 
 cup of happiness has been dashed from his lips, and, 
 doubtless, the consequent smash and the row ^\dll be 
 somewhat awful. There are other gentlemen who have 
 gained their point in losing their wives, but find that 
 they have not gained anything else thereby ; and it 
 seems highly probable that if St. Coivin has not received 
 his fees at the commencement of the ceremony, he will 
 have emphatically to whistle for them. 
 
 A word as to that word Cabhag, " Seize quickly ! " 
 Can our cant term cabbage be derived from it, I wonder ? 
 Pieces of cloth purloined by tailors are known as tailors' 
 " cabbage," from whence that ninth part of a man is 
 represented, allegorically and valentinally, as furnished 
 with an enormous garden cabbage, as a necessary por- 
 
 VOL. I. jp
 
 210 
 
 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 tion of his stock in trade. Hence we get the cant verb 
 " cabbage," to pilfer or purloin. I have met with but 
 one derivation of the word, which made it out to be 
 from an old word, cablesh, "wind-fallen wood." I 
 venture, however, to suggest to etymologists a con- 
 sideration of the foregoing anecdote of St. Coivin, as 
 helping to a solution of the derivation of " cabbage." 
 
 St. Coivin's old parish is close upon Machrihanish 
 Bay, on the Atlantic, — a spot well worth a visit, though 
 
 MACllHIHANISH BAY 
 
 Macculloch does not seem to have thought very much 
 of it. " The bay itself," he says, " is wide, open, sandy, 
 and shallow, producing a great surf in west winds ; nor 
 is there anything picturesque in this quarter, vmless it 
 be under the high cliffs." The author of " The Sta- 
 tistical Account of the Parish of Campbelton," who is
 
 MACHRIHANISII BAY. 211 
 
 more given to bold facts and figures than to decorative 
 descriptions, thinks otherwise of Machrihanish Bay. 
 He says : *'•' There are few bays in the United Kingdom 
 that can compare with this, extending, as it does, in a 
 beautiful curve for nearly six miles ; while the beach is 
 composed of a fine white sand of great breadth, and so 
 firm that it affords a most delightful ride. Each ex- 
 tremity of the bay is composed of a huge headland, 
 which projects its dark and sable rocks into the sea, 
 over which the waves dash continuall}^, even in the 
 calmest weather; but when a westerly wind prevails, 
 the Atlantic Ocean then rolls in its mighty billows to 
 the shore, breaking upon the beach with a loud and 
 stunning noise, which is said occasionally to be heard 
 upon the Ayi-shire coast, a distance of thirty miles. The 
 islands of Islay, Jura, and Grigha are distinctly visible 
 from this, and add to the beauty and grandem* of the 
 scene. These, together with a boundless expanse of the 
 mighty ocean, form the main features of the landscape." 
 This description, however, has been adopted from that 
 given by Smith in his "Views of Campbelton," who 
 says : " To this scene no description can do justice, and 
 even the pencil can convey but a slight idea of its mag- 
 nificence and grandeur. There are but few bays in the 
 world that can compare with that of Machrihanish," a 
 panegyric that has been somewhat softened by the sta- 
 tistician. As may be imagined, however, from the 
 
 p2
 
 212 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 foregoing quotation, Machrihanish Bay is well worth 
 seeing- ; though, to be seen to perfection, it should be 
 visited either during a storm, or on a clear day, 
 immediately after the prevalence of westerly winds. 
 '' The bay is guarded by a reef of rocks," says Smith, 
 " which are visible in many places at low water, and 
 upon which the sea beats with a fury that is almost 
 incredible, sending up huge masses of snow-white foam, 
 and woe to the vessel which at any time may be un- 
 fortunate enough to be driven near them ; not one of 
 the many which have been driven ashore here having 
 yet escaped, but have been completely wrecked, and 
 soon disappeared in the quicksands with which this bay 
 abounds, and in which the remains of many a brave 
 barque and gallant seaman lie buried." The interest 
 as well as the picturesqueness of the scene are centred 
 in the bay and in the seaward view. The inland view 
 is .shut in by sand-hills covered with long bent, and 
 coarse grass, presenting a scene of irrecoverable deso- 
 lation and barrenness. Whales are sometimes driven 
 in here, and cast ashore upon the sandy beach, a rich 
 treasure-trove for their lucky captors. The quantity of 
 sea-weed, or " sea- wrack," that is also thrown up after a 
 storm is very considerable and valuable ; on which jjoint 
 more hereafter. 
 
 At the southern extremity of the bay is a cliff called 
 " The Negro's Head," from a fancied resemblance in
 
 SALT-PANS. PAN COD. 213 
 
 the disposition of a portion of the rock to the features 
 of a negro. Here also is the village of Salt-Pans, so 
 named from some works that once existed here for the 
 manufacture of sea-salt. Its present celebrity is due 
 to its excellent cod fishery, " Pan cod " being esteemed 
 the best and finest upon the coast. The village can 
 boast of its little quay, school-house, and inn ; and with 
 the exception of a few farm-houses, and gentlemen's 
 seats, all the cottages are inhabited by fishermen. Their 
 old system of hand -line fishing has for many years been 
 abandoned for the more remunerative long-line system. 
 The line is floated by buoys on the surface of the water, 
 and from it are suspended from ten to fifteen hundred 
 lines, with a baited hook on each, and of such length 
 as to reach that certain depth where the fish are known 
 to congregate. The fishermen do not require to keep 
 by this line, as they were obliged to do with the hand- 
 line, which was pulled into the boat as soon as the fish 
 was hooked ; but being supplied with two sets, they 
 draw the one which has been in the water for eight or 
 ten hours, and at once lay down the other — " shoot " it, 
 is the local term, while they land their fish. And in 
 this way " Pan cod " is caught. It is then conveyed in 
 carts to Campbelton, to be shipped to. its destination. 
 
 Near to Salt-Pans, is a spot named Machaireionan, 
 where a battle between the Scots and the Danes is be- 
 lieved to have been fought, somewhere about the tenth 
 
 P 3
 
 214 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 century. An artificial knoll in that place was opened, 
 and within it was found a stone coffin, containing hu- 
 man bones, supposed to be the remains of a chieftain. 
 Similar coffins have been found elsewhere in Cantire, 
 some of them containing urns. A river flows into 
 Machrihanish Bay, at Salt-Pans, passing by Losset, and 
 rising under the hill called Sleit, or Sliabh. Close to 
 Sliabh, to the south-west, towards the Mull, is another 
 hill, called Cnoc-maigh. The hill called Bengullion, 
 which has been already referred to, is mthin six miles 
 of Sleit, or Sliabh. These three last-mentioned hills 
 ought to express in their names their various degrees of 
 elevation ; for, in Graelic, says the author of the " Sta- 
 tistical History of Campbelton," " Cnoc signifies a small 
 surface, eminence, or little hill ; Sliabh, a hill of con- 
 siderable elevation ; and Beann, a mountain of the 
 largest magnitude." These, then, are the three degrees 
 of comparison in mountain altitudes, and when we 
 meet with either of them prefixed to the name of a 
 hill, we ought at once know to which class to assign 
 it. Thus, when we see Beann, Beinn, or, as it is more 
 commonly written, Ben, we might be sure that it 
 denotes some gdant — Ben Nevis, Ben Lawers, Ben 
 More, Ben Lomond, Ben Yenue, Ben Ledi, or some 
 equally elevated gentleman of the Ben-jamin tribe. 
 And so, by this formula, Bengullion ought to be much 
 loftier than Cnoc-maigh. But as there is no rule Avith- 
 out an exception to prove it, I presume that such is the
 
 VIEW FROM CNOC-MAIGH. 215 
 
 case here ; for Bengullion is very much the inferior of 
 Cnoc-maigh, which, in fact, is the highest mountain in 
 the Mull of Cantu-e, being 2036 feet above the level of 
 the sea. Cnoc-maigh signifies "the Hill of the Plain," 
 and is a conspicuous object to all vessels sailing from 
 the westward. " From the summit of this mountain," 
 says the late Eev. Daniel Kelly, minister of Southend, 
 " an admirer of the sublime in nature may delight his 
 imagination with one of the grandest scenes in North 
 Britain. The green isle of the ocean is spread in all 
 its magnificence around him. The islands of Islay, 
 Eathlin, Jura, Grigha, and the distant mountains of 
 Mull, are in view. On the east there is a magnificent 
 prospect of the Frith of Clyde, the lofty hills of Arran, 
 the coast of Ayrshire, and the Carrick and Grallowa}'' 
 mountains. In the extreme horizon, Ailsa forms an 
 object peculiarly striking." 
 
 Another river flows into the Atlantic at ]Machrihanish 
 Bay, supj>lied chiefly by the waters of Choilipol Loch, 
 and the small loch in the hollow of the high hill of 
 Sliabh. This stream flows through Tirfergus Grlen — a 
 glen named, it is said, after King Fergus. There is 
 some very fine timber in this glen ; and according to 
 popular tradition, no snakes or reptiles are to be found 
 there, which is accounted for (say some) by the trees 
 having been, brought from Ireland, where the ^NlacNeals 
 (to whom Tirfergus belonged) had estates. But others 
 
 F 4
 
 216 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 ascribe this freedom from venomous reptiles, not to the 
 remote influence of St. Patrick, but to the immediate 
 power of St. Columba, when he visited Kilcolmkill, and 
 other parts of the Mull. And herein, is not popular 
 tradition borne out by St. Adamnan? for one of those 
 forty-six miracles that he has ascribed to St. Columba, 
 is, that the saint, shortly before his death, blessed the 
 island of Hy (lona), and said that from thenceforth 
 poisonous reptiles should not be able to hurt men or 
 cattle in the island. Upon which statement, the latest 
 Romanist editor of St. Adamnan's Life, observes, — 
 " From luhatever cause it has arisen, it is a singular 
 fact, that no snakes or vipers have ever been seen in 
 Hy, whilst many of a very venomous nature are found 
 on the opposite coast." Perhaps the editor will construct 
 a forty-seventh miracle out of this Glen of Tirfergus.* 
 
 * Mr. Campbell also refers to the legend of those places blessed by 
 St. Columba, being freed from serpents and toads. They are numerous 
 in Islay, but are not to be found in certain small islands off the west 
 coast. " I believe that the Gaelic serpent stories, and the Highland 
 beliefs concerning them, are old myths, a part of the history of the 
 oldest feud in the world, the feud with the serpent who was ' more 
 subtle than any beast of the field that the Lord had made ; ' for the 
 leading idea seems always to be that the holy healing power overcomes 
 the subtle destroyer. Thus Mrs. MacTavish tells that St, Patrick 
 coaxed the last Irish snake into a chest by the promise that he would 
 let him out ' to-morrow,' and then he put Iiim into Lough Neagh, and 
 there he is still. The serpent is alwaj's asking, ' Is it to-morrow ? ' but 
 a to-morrow has never come, and no serpents are to be found on any 
 place belonging to Ireland to this day." — West Highland Tales, vol ii. 
 pp. 371, 372.
 
 LEGEND OF THE WEAVER. 217 
 
 The Irish friends of the oNIacNeals often nsed to cross 
 the water, and come over to Tirfergiis, bringing with 
 them their harpers and bards, and being entertained by 
 the MacNeals with great splendour and hospitality. Our 
 friend Popular Tradition tells the follo^^ing story con- 
 nected with Tirfergus. 
 
 Once upon a time there lived a weaver in the Glen 
 of Tirfergus. He had a heavy family of young children, 
 and it went hard "with him to find them a living. An 
 Irish gentleman had been to visit MacNeal of Tirfer- 
 gus, and had brought his bard with him. When they 
 left, the bard had forgotten to take back his cochuU, or 
 hood, which was a mark of distinction and pointed out 
 that the wearer was a bard. Now, the weaver found this 
 cochull, and being a sharp-witted man, he thought he 
 would put it on, and see what he could make of it. So 
 he put it on, and went away to try his luck. He went 
 on till he reached Strath House, where lived INIackin- 
 ven.* ^^^len Mackinven's bard saw the Tirfergus weaver 
 wearing the cochull, he called out to him. Am bard 
 ihusa ? which means, " Are you a bard ? " but the 
 Graelic word bard also means " was high," so the weaver 
 pretended to misunderstand him, and replied Cha b^ard 
 na iosal mi, a' dhuine, that is, " Neither high nor low, 
 
 * Mac loumliiiinn, I believe, is the proper spelling. As I am entirely 
 ignorant of Gaelic, I have to trust to the natives for the correctness of 
 the quotations.
 
 218 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 man." Then Mackinven's bard asked him another 
 question, which the weaver answered in a similar way * ; 
 and a servant ran and told Mackinven that his bai'd was 
 wrancjling: with a strange bard. So Mackinven ordered 
 them both before him, and throwing down a piece of 
 gold upon the table, said, that the first of them who 
 could make a verse upon it, should have it, Mackin- 
 ven's bard began to hum and haw, and clear his throat, 
 but while he was doing this, and thinking of some- 
 thing to say, the weaver uttered rapidly the following 
 verse : — 
 
 " Chuir Mac lonmliuinn nam bosa miii, 
 Or fior-ghlau air a' bhord lorn, 
 Chuir a bhard fein smugaide 
 Air a' chiiid do'n bhonn," — 
 
 which meant that Mackinven of the soft hands, threw 
 down pure gold upon the table, and that his own bard 
 had spat upon or disdained his share of the gold. Then 
 the weaver picked up the gold piece ; and Mackinveu's 
 bard went off in a rage, and was never seen afterwards. 
 The weaver entertained Mackinven with sonsfs and 
 stories, of which he had a great stock ; and Mackinven 
 was so pleased with him, that he offered to support him 
 and his family, if he would come and reside with him, 
 
 * " Ciod an tabli air an d' ainie thu do'n bhaUe ? " Answer. " Abh 
 mo shul, abh mo ghliui is abh na h-abhann." The word abh, in 
 Gaelic, means, eyes, knees, liands, and water-way.
 
 EAIDS. 219 
 
 and be his bard. But the weaver preferred to return 
 to Tirfergus, and his own family; so INIaekinven gave 
 him a good suit of clothes, and rewarded him, and sent 
 him away. Such success had the weaver of Tirfergus 
 when he first wore the cochull. 
 
 Those were the days when one man made a raid upon 
 another man's cattle ; and these raids frequently ended 
 in battle and bloodshed. Once when a raid was made 
 on the cattle of MacNeal of Tirfergus, he collected his 
 men, and pursued the freebooters, and overtook them. 
 A desperate fight ensued, in which MacNeal's men were 
 victorious, and slew many of the freebooters, and brought 
 back the creach or plunder. From this cii'cumstance, 
 the farm from whence the cattle were driven, is called 
 Tilleadh na creach, "the returning of the plunder." 
 
 Another of the MacNeals of Tirfergus possessed (it is 
 said) the only Bible that was to be found in Cantire. 
 The proprietor of Penuyland, in Southend, wished to 
 obtain a perusal of it ; but MacNeal would not let it go 
 from Tirfergus without a pledge that it would be re- 
 turned to him ; and so greatly did the laird of Penn}- 
 land thirst for a perusal of the sacred volume, that he 
 gave to iNIacNeal the charter of his lands in pledge that 
 he would return the Bible after perusing it. So runs 
 the popular tradition ; which, however, is probably but 
 an erroneous version of the folloAWng well-authenticated 
 circumstance, which is sufficiently interesting to be
 
 220 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 quoted at length from the old " records of the Presby- 
 tery of Kintyre." A copy of the Irish Bible, it seems, 
 had been given to the Kirk Session of Southend, by the 
 illustrious Eobert Boyle ; and Mr. MacNeill of Tirfergus 
 wished to borrow it. Under date of " Campbelton, 3rd 
 of August, 1692," the following entry occurs in the 
 records: — "Forasmuch as John M'Neill of Tirfergus 
 addressed the Presbytery for the loan of the Irish Bible 
 gifted by Sir Eobert Boyle, to the parish of Southend, 
 in Kintyre, for the use of the ministers that shall be in 
 the said parish, promising that he will have special care 
 of it, and that he will return it on demand, — the Pres- 
 bytery, considering the present vacancy of Southend, 
 condescends that Mr. Eobert Duncanson (in whose 
 custody the said Bible is at present) deliver the same 
 to the said John M'Neill, he being obliged to return the 
 same, in as good order as he now received it, to the 
 future minister of the said parish, or to any other whom 
 the Presbytery of Kintyre shall appoint, under the 
 penalty of such a sum as the Presbytery shall nominate." 
 The next entry bears date " Campbelton, the 14th 
 December, 1692 : Forasmuch as the Presbytery convened 
 at Campbelton, the 3rd day of August, 1692, allowed 
 Mr. Eobert Duncanson to give to John M'Neill of 
 Tirfergus, the use of the Irish Bible bestowed by Mr. 
 E. Boyle on the parish of Southend, the said John 
 M'Neill giving in his obligation to be accountable for
 
 STORY OF BOYLE S BIBLE. 221 
 
 the same, Mr. Eobert Duncanson declared that he did 
 deliver the said Bible to the said John, and that he 
 received his obligation for the same, of the date the 
 16th day of November last, which obligation was pro- 
 duced in presence of the Presbytery, and appointed to 
 be recorded in futuraiin rei memoriam,''^ " The tenor 
 of the obligation granted by the said John M'Neill for 
 the above-mentioned Irish Bible : — I, John M'Xeill of 
 Tirfergus, grant me to have received from Mr. Eobert 
 Duncanson, minister of Campbelton (according to the 
 appointment of the Presbytery of Kintyre), the church 
 Bible of the Irish character, bestowed by the Honour- 
 able Sir Eobert Boyle on the parish of Southend of 
 Kintyre, which Bible I oblige me to restore sound and 
 entire, and to deliver the same to the minister of the 
 said parish, or to the Presbytery when required, under 
 the penalty of . In witness whereof 
 
 I have written and subscribed these presents at Camp- 
 belton, the 16th November, 1692 years. Sic subscri- 
 bitur. Jo. M'Neall." 
 
 This, as will have been observed, refers only to a 
 copy of the Irish version of the Bible. Perhaps the 
 Laird of Pennyland borrowed it from jNIacNeal (who, it 
 may be noticed, twice writes his name, and spells it 
 differently). We may, at any rate, believe popular 
 tradition to be wrong in calling it the only Bible in 
 Cantire. It is interesting to see how greatly Sir Eobert's
 
 222 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 gift was valued, and, from the close connection of Can- 
 tire with Ireland, and the immigration of the Irish 
 Celts to the parish of Southend, it would probably prove 
 a valuable gift to the minister of the parish. He, it 
 seems, had been a Mr. David Simson, who, at the 
 passing of Charles II.'s " St. Bartholomew " Act of 
 Uniformity (the Act Eecissory, as the Scotch Presby- 
 terians called it), in 1662, had been ousted from his 
 parish, but who was afterwards " indulged ; " but, finally, 
 in August 1685, banished by order of the government 
 to New Jersey, where he died.* Sir Robert Boyle, I 
 may remind the reader, had, in the year 1662, been 
 appointed Grovernor of the Corporation for propagating 
 the Gospel in New England ; and, in his strenuous and 
 laudable exertions for the diffusion of Christianity, had 
 
 * He was succeeded by his son, who conformed to the prelatie esta- 
 blishment, but, at the Revolution, recanted. In the troubles and perse- 
 cutions that raged after the passing of " the Act Eecissory," several 
 Ayrshire and Renfrewshire gentlemen of the Covenant (the Laird of 
 Ralston, MaxweU of Williamwood, Maxwell of South Barr, Hamilton of 
 Wishaw, Dunlop of Garnkirk, Maxwell of Milnwood, &c.), when cruelly 
 oppressed by the government, fled to Cautire, whither certain of their 
 countrymen and relatives had previously gone, to settle under the 
 auspices of the Earl of Argyle, and were protected by their friends, 
 until they could return in safety to their homes. Some of their fol- 
 lowers remained behind, and still constitute the lowland class of the 
 parish of Southend, rarely amalgamating themselves by intermarriages 
 with the Highlanders, and even having a detached place of sepulture 
 to themselves, of which I have already made mention in the preceding 
 chapter.
 
 TORQUIL MACNEAL'S SECOND-SIGHT. 223 
 
 caused the Holy Scriptures to be translated into Malay, 
 Welsh, and Irish. The translation of the Bible into 
 Irish cost him seven hundred pounds ; besides the ex- 
 pense of gratuitously distributing copies throughout 
 Ireland, and to such parishes in Scotland, as at South- 
 end, where it might be turned to good account. The 
 foregoing anecdote shows how much store was set upon 
 the gift. 
 
 An anecdote is told of a poor descendant of these 
 MacNeals, named Torquil MacNeal, which may be classed 
 among the tales of second-sight. He left Tirfergus for 
 Ireland, where, for forty years, he kept a school, and 
 then returned to Cantire, to end his days in his native 
 glen. A Mr. M'Math allowed him to live in his house, 
 where Torquil made himself useful in instructing the 
 children. He lived to be one hundred years old, and 
 preserved his faculties to the very last. On the day of 
 his death, he did not appear to be more ailing than 
 usual, but he called the gudeman and his wife to his 
 bed-side, and told them that it was his last day upon 
 earth. Then he affectionately warned them to prepare 
 themselves for a great trial which should befal them in 
 six months from that day. They anxiously inquired 
 what it should be. He told them that their favourite 
 son, little Torquil, his best-loved pupil, would, on that 
 day, be with him in glory. Then the old man closed 
 his eyes, and peaceably departed ; and it came to pass
 
 224 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 as he had spoken, for little Torquil died on that day 
 six months. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Tirfergus, and on that low 
 ground between Campbelton and Machrihanish Bay, 
 called the Laggan of Cantire, over which the sea is 
 supposed to have formerly flowed, there were two lochs, 
 Doryloch, and Lochsanish, or " the Black Loch ; " but 
 both these lochs are now drained, and the land yields 
 excellent crops. The country people tell a legend of 
 the black fisherman of Lochsanish. The loch was a 
 mile in length, and half a mile in breadth, and it 
 abounded in salmon and trout. The black fisherman 
 would not suffer any person to live on its banks, but 
 claimed, by the strength of his arm, sole dominion 
 over the loch. Macdonald of Largie, who lived eighteen 
 miles north of the loch, kept a guard of soldiers, lest 
 the black fisherman should come and make an attack 
 on him. Every day he sent his soldiers as far as 
 Balergy Cruach, to see if the black fisherman was on 
 the loch fishing; and if they saw him fishing, they 
 would go back to Largie, not fearing an attack on that 
 day. One day, a stranger who had come to Macdonald's 
 house, and had asked why he kept the soldiers, was told 
 about the black fisherman of Lochsanish. So he went 
 with the soldiers to the hill of Balergy Cruach, and saw 
 the black fisherman on the loch. Then the stranger 
 told the soldiers that he would go down to Lochsanish
 
 THE rooR man's peater fulfilled. 225 
 
 and see the fisherman, and they might watch how he 
 got on. So he went down, and the black fisherman 
 attacked the stranger, and they fought for some time. 
 Then the black fisherman fell ; and the stranger cut off 
 his head, which was large and heavy; and he carried it 
 to Largie, and laid it at Macdonald's feet. Then he 
 went away without telling anyone his name ; and he 
 was never seen again. When the loch was drained, a 
 rude boat, cut from the trunk of an oak, was discovered ; 
 which, as a matter of course, was believed to be the 
 boat that had been used by the black fisherman. 
 
 Lochsanish and the surrounding estates were pur- 
 chased about a century ago by a Mr. Charles Campbell, 
 a native of these parts. It is said of him that when a 
 youth, and walking one night near to Kilcoivin, he 
 found a poor man lying in a ditch by the wayside in a 
 state of extreme exhaustion, unable to extricate himself 
 and at the point to die. Campbell took him to the 
 nearest house, placed him by a good warm fire, provided 
 him with food and raiment, and acted the Grood Sa- 
 maritan part towards him. He had the old man taken 
 care of until he was sufficiently recovered to pursue his 
 journey. WTien the old man bade him farewell, he 
 prayed that his preserver might live to be the pro- 
 prietor of the lands surrounding the spot where he had 
 found him in the ditch. And this prayer was fulfilled ; 
 for Campbell entered the army, went to the East Indies, 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 was advanced to the rank of colonel, and, returning to 
 Cantire with a large fortune, purchased the estates 
 around Lochsanish. 
 
 The number of the churches and their antiquity mark 
 the former importance of Cantire, which was more 
 thickly populated than most other portions of the king- 
 dom. On the west coast, and adjoining to Campbelton, 
 is the parish of Kilchenzie, the remains of whose ruined 
 church are still to be seen in the midst of the ancient 
 burying-ground.* Kilchenzie is, in Graelic, Kil- 
 chaoinich, "the Church of St. Kennek," who lies 
 buried in a small island upon the coast of Mull, called 
 after him " Kennek's Isle." Perhaps he was (for there is 
 neither oral tradition nor written record concerning him) 
 one of those zealous missionaries who issued from the 
 <;elebrated monastery of lona, to propagate the gospel 
 through Scotland and the Hebrides. The burial- 
 ground of Kilchenzie is still used, and is crowded with 
 monumental memorials. I will conclude this chapter 
 with a legendary tale relative to a monument that has 
 now been broken up and removed, but which existed 
 within the memory of man inside the north corner of 
 what was once Kilchenzie Church. The monument 
 bore the figure of a man in armour, with an inscription 
 well nigh obliterated, but in which the words Hicjacet 
 M'Eachin were discernible. This M'Eachin is said to 
 * See Appendix, " Ecclesiology of Cantire."
 
 m^eachin's entertainment. 227 
 
 have been the Laird of Tangie, a beautiful glen six 
 miles north-west of Campbelton. A stream flows 
 through the glen from Loch-nar-cannach to the Atlantic ; 
 and the ruins of a large house, on which was the date 
 1670, were to be seen in the Grien at no very distant 
 date. M'Eachin (runs the tale) invited the great 
 " Maccallum More " * to his mansion ; and Argyll came 
 to Tangie, riding in great style, with ten young men in 
 white clothing running before him, and crying out to 
 clear the way for Maccallum (Mac-chailean). M'Eachin 
 had prepared for Argyll's entertainment a dinner of 
 a very novel character. Upon his table — which must 
 have been a tolerably large one, and which may literally 
 have " groaned " under the load — he had placed a 
 specimen of every eatable animal that was to be found 
 in Cantire. They were roasted whole, and set up on 
 their stumps ! There was an ox, a sheep, a stag, a roe, 
 a goat, a pig, besides such other small deer as hares and 
 rabbits. 
 
 Shade of Soyer ! imagine the disgusting spectacle 
 presented by such a liberal display of joast meat, and 
 all these animals slaughtered to make a Highland 
 chieftain's banquet; and brought, like the brave old 
 man in " Chevy Chace," to fight upon their stumps 
 against the fierce onslaught of ravenous men. 
 
 * Or, more correctly, "Mac Callen Mor," the chief of " Clau 
 Dhiarmaid." 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 
 
 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 A VEET AMUSING ROAD. 
 
 On the Road. — Chevaux de Poste. — Our Tail. — An engaging Eide. 
 
 — Varieties in Opinion. — Scenery of the Western Shore. — The 
 Atlantic and Southern Hebrides. — The Impedimenta of Travelling. 
 
 — Dr. Kitchener's List of Tourists' Necessaries. — Travelling for 
 PleasTire. — Bealochintie. — Paiten. — Barr. — A Highland Village. 
 — Inn and Shop. — An Emporium. — The Smith of Barr and the 
 Great Plague. — Sketching. — Not to be put in the Window. 
 
 DiEU to Campbelton ! We clatter 
 away from the White Hart Inn, 
 past the old Cross, and by the 
 Town Hall, with our horse's head 
 turned northwards. We are seated 
 in one of the open cars of the 
 country. They are inside-cars 
 similar to those used in Wales and at the English 
 lakes, holding four persons (not very comfortably) 
 besides the driver, and well adapted for seeing the 
 scenery in fine weather. Away we drive, followed by a 
 pack of snarling curs, apparently as numerous now as
 
 CIIEYAUX DE POSTE. 229 
 
 in the days when Edward Waverly entered the village 
 of Tully Veolan, and reminding us of what Scott tells 
 us of the French tourist who, exploring the Highlands 
 and desirous of finding a rational reason for everj'thing 
 that he saw, wrote to his fellow-countrymen that the 
 State maintained in every village a set of curs called 
 " collies," whose duty it was to chase the chevaux de 
 poste — too starved and exhausted to move without such 
 a stimulus — from one village to another. 
 
 Our horse, however, did not stand in need of such 
 a canine stimulant, and the administration of bark was 
 entirely a matter of supererogation. The bare-legged 
 and bare-headed children ran after the car, and shouted 
 from exuberance of animal spirits, — 
 
 " And lang leggit callants gaun wanting the breeks, 
 AVanting the breeks, and without hose and shoon " 
 
 saluted us in Graelic, and ran races for coppers, for 
 which they had not begged. Thus, as befits a gentle- 
 man in the Highlands, Ave leave " with our tail on," 
 but soon shake it off, as we bid adieu to the old Scottish 
 capital. 
 
 At a short distance from Campbelton, where the road 
 ascends a hill and passes under an avenue of limes, 
 there is an exceedingly picturesque view of the town 
 and harbour, and the encircling hills and distant ocean, 
 — the which I longed to sketch, and had to smother 
 
 Q 3
 
 230 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 a strong desire to command a halt for that purpose. 
 The road passes through the properties of Alexander 
 Macalister, Esq., of Tangie, and the Duke of Argyll, 
 neither of whom have a residence in the parish. The 
 road, be it remarked, is a capital road all the way 
 northward to Tarbert and Inverary, and is not crossed 
 by a turnpike or any other bar to progress. When the 
 road has passed the old burying-ground of Kilchenzie, 
 it turns seaward, nearing the western shore of Cantire, 
 and so continues along the sea-shore (with very slight 
 exceptions) for thirty miles, all the way to Tarbert. 
 Macculloch's description does not descend to many 
 particulars, and makes no mention of Glen Barr ; and 
 Pennant condenses his account into two lines. " From 
 Machrihanish Bay to Loch Tarbert," says Macculloch, 
 *' the beauties of the shore will not be discovered from 
 a boat ; but there is a very amusing road, conducted 
 nearly the whole way on the margin of the water, which 
 affords in itself some pleasing scenes, besides the fine 
 maritime views which it presents of the channel of Jura 
 and of that of Gigha, terminated by the long outline 
 of Jura and Isla, in which the Paps form a pre- 
 dominant and beautiful feature. In a summer evening 
 and with a calm sea, a more engaging ride for ten or 
 fifteen miles cannot be imagined." * 
 
 This description of Macculloch's is exactly suited to 
 
 * Highlands, toI. ii. p. 83.
 
 AN ENGAGING RIDE. 231 
 
 our case. It is a^ summer evening, there is a calm sea, 
 and we find the ride " engaging " and the road " amus- 
 ing." I am glad to fall back on Macculloch's authority, 
 for, brief as is his description, it is sufficiently laudatory ; 
 and, as I have heard the scenery described as utterly 
 uninteresting, and found it to be anything but that, I 
 am not sorry to fortify my opinion by that of so eminent 
 an authority. It is true, indeed, that, compared with 
 other portions of the Highlands, and even with the 
 fifteen miles immediately south of Tarbert, the road 
 for ten miles north of Campbelton lacks timber, variety, 
 and many elements of the picturesque. But still there 
 is the coast, and the sea- view is a host in itself; and 
 with the Atlantic on one side and a range of heath- 
 covered hills on the other, no scenery could be con- 
 sidered as entirely wanting in interest and beauty. 
 But he who drives rapidly through a country, and views 
 the landscape under the most favourable circumstances 
 of season, light, and weather, must after all be but a 
 partial observer. I will, therefore, counterbalance 
 Macculloch's account by quoting a description of the 
 scenery from the pen of one who had many years' 
 acquaintance with it, and was the minister of the 
 parish. 
 
 " Its general aspect is rather tame and uninterest- 
 ing, with very little variety of scenery, destitute of 
 woods and inclosures, gradually rising from the level 
 
 Q4
 
 232 GLEXCREGaAN. 
 
 of the sea to the height of 700 or 800 feet, diversified 
 and intersected by some heights and hollows, three 
 narrow glens, and various streams. The lower part of 
 the hills sloping towards the shore, occasionally half a 
 mile in ascent, is uniformly cultivated, and produces 
 plentiful crops of oats, bear, potatoes, peas, and beans. 
 The higher ground beyond the region of cultivation 
 is naked, bleak, and sterile, covered with stinted heath, 
 generally interspersed with detached spots of coarse 
 grass, sheep fescue sprits, rushes, and gall, a species of 
 alpine myrtle. The hills range from north to south, 
 and are pretty uniform in height, vnth the exception 
 of Beinn-an-tuirc. ... At the termination of Bea- 
 lochintie Bay, the coast assumes a more bold and 
 rugged aspect. A promontory of detached rocks and 
 loose stones of immense magnitude projects into the sea, 
 which seem, since the creation, to have set the utmost 
 efforts of the waves at defiance. In the immediate 
 vicinity of the sea, and throughout the whole extent 
 of the parish, a narrow strip of low alluvial land, 
 edged by an indented declivity, bears evident traces of 
 having at one period been occupied by the sea. The 
 general belief among the aged inhabitants is, that the 
 sea is gradually retiring from the land. In confirma- 
 tion of this belief, the bank or sloping declivity which 
 forms the boundary of the level land, occasionally as- 
 sumes a shelving appearance, and, in such places as the
 
 SCENERY OF THE WESTERN SHORE. 233 
 
 sea has encountered obstruction from projecting pre- 
 cipitous rocks, they have formed an irresistible barrier 
 against any encroachment of the ocean; but, where 
 no such interruption occurs, the waves seem to have 
 forced a passage further inland. Along the shore, the 
 remains of some rude circular inclosures are still vi- 
 sible, which, from theii" appearance and position, must 
 at one period have been surrounded by the sea. . . . 
 A few obelisks of rude unpolished stone, and evidently 
 sepulchral monuments, are scattered through the 
 parish. The most conspicuous has been erected in 
 the neighbourhood of a ruinous building, and measures 
 16 feet from the surface ; a grave at the base of the 
 obelisk, covered with turf, is 18 feet 7 inches in length, 
 and 4^ in breadth. Barrows or tumuli are sometimes 
 to be found not far from the shore. In one or two 
 which have been opened, nothing was discovered but a 
 few human bones, almost reduced to ashes, and some 
 chips of bmrned wood, which sanctions the belief that 
 our forefathers were in the practice of burning their 
 dead. In the recess of a soft freestone rock, not far 
 from the sea, where a farmer was lately preparing to 
 erect a cart shade, and had commenced to level the 
 bottom, he met with a great collection of sea-shells, 
 and discovered in the face of the rock several aper- 
 tures, or square holes, crammed with human bones. 
 He immediately desisted from his operations, and left
 
 234 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 undisturbed the repositories of the dead. In the south 
 division of the parish, two circular inclosures, com- 
 monly known as Dun flunn, or "Fingal's Fort," and 
 Dun-na foghmhar, or " The Giant's Fort," attract 
 the attention of the traveller. They seem to have 
 stood for many ages, and bafHe conjecture to account 
 for their origin. The vulgar, who are fond of the mar- 
 vellous, consider them ancient residences of Fingal and 
 his giants ; — and the antiquary, Druidical temples of 
 worship. At this distant period of time, without 
 written records to throw any light upon the subject, 
 it is very difficult to arrive at any satisfactory con- 
 clusion with regard to their original design. As in- 
 closures of a similar nature frequently occur in the 
 Highlands of Scotland, and have been uniformly erected 
 upon elevated situations, it is by no means improbable 
 that they might have been originally intended as places 
 of temporary retreat and security for some of the do- 
 mestics and cattle of the natives, when engaged in 
 battle with their enemies." 
 
 Such is the Eev. D. Macdonald's account of that 
 western-shore country north of Campbelton, through 
 which we are now rapidly driving, on this lovely sum- 
 mer's evening. Perhaps (as one of our friends sug- 
 gested to us) the country appeared all the more 
 picturesque, because we turned our backs upon it, and 
 looked out to sea ! And, to a certain degree, this may
 
 THE IMPEDIMENTA OF TEAYELLING. 235 
 
 have been the case ; for the sun was slowly sinking 
 over the Atlantic, and throwing the long line of Islay 
 and Jura into a deep piuple, while we inhaled all the 
 fresh fragi-ance of the sea-breeze, and watched the 
 waves rolling in almost to our very feet. Consequently, 
 the sea was the leading attraction of our drive ; and 
 we (^. e. my wife and I *) had so placed ourselves in 
 our open inside car, that we looked towards the At- 
 lantic, and turned our backs upon the hills. Our lug- 
 gage was piled chiefly upon the opposite seat.. We 
 had condensed it as much as possible, knowing by ex- 
 perience, that there is no greater drawback to the 
 enjojTuent of a long tour than an over-crowding of 
 luggage; and this is peculiarly the case in the High- 
 lands, where, in many cases, the means of traffic are 
 confined to one car, like to that in which we are now 
 driving, so that the over-weisrhted tourists must leave 
 behind them one half of their hnpedimenta, to follow 
 them at an uncertain time, and at a grievous incon- 
 venience and expense, even when they are fortunate 
 enough to find the one car disengaged, and (for this is 
 often a no7i sequitur) a horse also at liberty to draw 
 it. The tourist in Cantire (as in many other parts of 
 
 * "I and my wife," -would be more grammatical ; but, in a case 
 like this, grammar must gire way to coui'tesy if not to facts, and the 
 ■wife must have the leading place. Wolsey's grammatical " E^o ct 
 meus Rex " was by no means a politic proceeding.
 
 236 GLENCREGGAX. 
 
 the Highlands) will therefore find it best to write a few 
 days before-hand, and engage his conveyance.* 
 
 We, therefore, can the more enjoy our summer- 
 evening drive along this Atlantic shore, and in sight 
 of the Irish coast and the southern Hebrides, because 
 we have no agonising thoughts (like poor Mrs. Seymour 
 in Albert Smith's Mont Blanc) as to the " black box " 
 that has been left behind, and which may pursue us, 
 like atra cura, all through our Scotch tour, and never 
 reach us until we are safe at home again, and don't 
 want it. Our minds are at ease on this score, for all 
 our luggage is stowed away with us in the car. I fear 
 that Dr. Kitchener would consider us but scantily pro- 
 vided for our journey ; and that we could only answer, 
 " Where, indeed ! " if he demanded of us, Where are 
 those things that I told you, in my " Traveller's Oracle," 
 were absolutely needful for every tourist ? Where is 
 the hunting-watch with seconds, with a detached lever 
 or Dupleix's escapement ? Where are your two pairs 
 of spectacles with strong silver frames ? Where are 
 your own knife, fork, and spoon ; your " galoches and 
 paraloses;" your traveller's knife, containing a large 
 and small blade, a saw, a hook for taking a stone out of 
 your horse's shoe, a turnscrew, a gunpicker, tweezers, 
 
 * Letters for this purpose should be directed to Mr. Freeborn, \A'lute 
 Hart Hotel, Campbelton, N. B. ; to Mr. Sheddan, Barr Inn, near Camp- 
 belton ; or to Mr. Stewart, car proprietor, East Tarbert, Loch Fyne, N. B.
 
 tourists' necessaries. 237 
 
 and long corkscrew ? Where are your two greatcoats, 
 your dreadnought, and your Welsh wig ? Where is your 
 folding one-foot rule, and ruby or Khodium pen, made 
 by Doughty, No. 10, Grreat Ormond Street? Where 
 are your double-barrelled pistols, with spring bayonets, 
 which you should take the first unostentatious oppor- 
 tunity of showing to your landlord ? Above all, where 
 are your sheets, your light eider-down quilt, and your 
 two dressed hart skins, wherewith you are to render 
 yourself independent of damp beds ? My dear Doctor, 
 you might as well ask, ^Miere is the warming-pan ? 
 neither have we provided ourselves with the corkscrew 
 door-fastener that you so highly recommend to your 
 travelling friends, who would, doubtless, find more work 
 for the corkscrew than for the door-fastener. Imagine 
 the commotion that we should make at the hotels, to 
 say nothing of private houses, if we travelled with all 
 your paraphernalia, and made use of it. The landlady 
 sulky at our precautionary sheets, the landlord furious 
 at the unostentatious display of our double-barrelled 
 pistols with their spring bayonets ! WTiat an agreeable 
 tour of pleasure we should make ! It was all very 
 well for you. Dr. Kitchener, whose relaxations even were 
 performed to most exact rule, to have your journeys 
 made wretched in a lumbering chaise large enough to 
 hold your Welsh wigs, and sheets, and stone-water 
 bottles, and all your other little comforts, and thus to
 
 238 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 roll about from one hotel to another in miserable ex- 
 pectation of what might await you at the hands of 
 ruffianly landlords, and murderous landladies ; but we 
 are neither invalids nor hypochondriacs ; nor " if cir- 
 cumstances should unhappily compel us to ride on the 
 outside of a coach " (which is the most distressing po- 
 sition for a tourist that your vivid imagination can con- 
 ceive) should we coddle ourselves in accordance with 
 your directions. No : we are quite best off as we are, 
 with our luggage reduced to sensible dimensions, and 
 not swollen with extra sheets and Welsh wigs. 
 
 So we drive pleasantly on, watching the red disc of 
 the sun sinking behind the Atlantic, in a line between 
 us and North America, and we think, with MaccuUoch, 
 that it is " a very amusing road," and that on " a sum- 
 mer evening, with a calm sea, a more engaging ride 
 for ten or fifteen miles cannot be imagined." Ten 
 miles from Campbelton we reach the small village of 
 Bealochintie (or as it is more properly spelt in Graelic 
 Beallachantsuidhe) which is the site of the parish 
 church of Kilchenzie. The bay of Bealochintie com- 
 prehends a circuit of nearly two miles, and shows many 
 formidable rocks over which the waves break into 
 foam. Close by, is the burial-ground of Paiten (or 
 Cloagh nam Paitean), which is said to have been first 
 used as the last resting-place of shipwrecked sailors. 
 The chief monuments are those of the Macalisters of
 
 BAER. 239 
 
 Glenbarr, the most recent being to the memory of the 
 late Colonel Macalister of Glenbarr Abbey. Presently, 
 our driver flourishes his whip, when we are on a hill over 
 a deep glen, and pointing off to the right among the 
 woods in the valley, exclaims, " Yon's the big hoose ! " 
 which, being translated, means that we are approaching 
 Grienbarr Abbey. The road descends the hill, crosses 
 a bridge over Barr Eiver, then twists sharply to the 
 right, past the entrances to the Abbey, and between its 
 garden walls, up a steep hill completely overhung by 
 shadowy trees, and then gives another twist into day- 
 light and Barr Village. Not that it is daylight now, 
 however ; but, as we shall have many opportunities of 
 seeing the place by shine and shade, we will condense 
 the observations of our repeated visits into one de- 
 scription, and so dismiss the subject. There will be 
 an additional advantage in lingering awhile over Barr 
 Village, as a description of it will be a description of 
 all the other villages in Cantire ; for they are much of 
 the same pattern, and differ from each other as little 
 as do the dinner parties of Mesdames Smith, Brown, 
 Jones, and Eobinson, where with a slight experience, 
 you may always calculate to a nicety, the quality of the 
 jelly, the nature of the soup, and the sequence of the 
 dishes and entries, as well as the deadly hilarity of 
 the whole affair, and the thankful satisfaction you will 
 feel at its conclusion.
 
 240 GLENCREGGAX. 
 
 Barr Village then, is rather more than twelve miles 
 from Campbelton, built on high ground over the glen, 
 and at a short distance from the Atlantic. It consists 
 mainly of one short, wide street, laid out on the slant 
 of the upper portion of the hill. The houses are low, 
 built on the ground-floor only, roughly thatched, and 
 invariably whitewashed — much whiter outwardly than 
 inwardly. There is an Inn, a Post Office, a general 
 shop, a blacksmith's, and a shoemaker's. The Inn is 
 first in dignity, the shoemaker's first in indignity, for 
 neither time nor man have kept their defacing, or *' effa- 
 cing fingers " from its battered carcase. The Inn can 
 boast of an upper story, and as this is constructed in 
 the roof, you are enabled, as you lie in bed, to study 
 through the narrow skylight, the courses of the stars. 
 The accommodation, therefore, although clean, is some- 
 what cramped ; but tourists in the Highlands, especially 
 they who come intent on sport, can put up with much 
 rougher accommodation ; and among the shooting 
 tenants of that low sky-lighted bedroom, have been a 
 gallant officer who obtained his majority for his conduct 
 on that terrible day at the Eedan, and his brother-in- 
 law, a noble lord, who of all men in the United King- 
 dom is alone entitled to wear his hat in the presence of 
 his Sovereign.* Down stairs there is a good and com- 
 
 * A right never, of course, exercised ; but gi'acefully recognised by 
 George IV. when he held a levee at Dublin, and bade the noble lord's 
 father " be covered."
 
 BARR VILLAGE. 
 
 241 
 
 fortable room, neatly furnished ; and in the way of 
 creature comforts, the traveller who puts up here for a 
 time, is not likely to starve. The inn is red tiled, and 
 has a signboard with a simple inscription : — " glenbarr 
 INN, J. SHEDDAN, LICENSED." In these Highland villages, 
 where there is no opposition beer-house (or rather 
 whiskey-house), it is needless to distinguish the inn-sign 
 
 BAER \^I,LAGE. 
 
 by any one's arms, or, for that matter, his legs, as in the 
 case of the Isle of Man, whose arms are three legs ! so 
 they simply write up the name of the village, with the 
 word " inn" after it, and subjoin the name of the land- 
 lord. Turning in at the door with its whitened step, 
 the guest's room is to our left, the common room to the 
 right, and further on, other buildings, in the front of 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 242 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 which, in the street, we see a light " trap," and an open 
 car, in which Mr. Sheddan will send you and your lug- 
 gage on your next stage. A bare-legged lassie flits 
 about over the whitened stone floor, and Mrs. Sheddan, 
 who wears shoes and stockings like a superior being, 
 (which, indeed, she is, for is she not mine hostess, and 
 has she not been my lady's maid?) and whose former 
 beauty is far from faded, superintends operations, and 
 looks to the bairns. 
 
 The Post Ofiice (at the upper end of the street, on 
 the right, where those children are approaching the 
 door) is also the shop, with few outward adornments, 
 but a wonderful place within, gaily papered with scenes 
 from Uncle Tom's Cabin, the sable hero himself, and 
 the gentle Eva, in china effigy, in the window ; it deals 
 in nearly everything that you could possibly ask for, and 
 is presided over by so civil a couple that " shopping " 
 became a pleasure, as well as an excitement. In this 
 repository for multifarious conveniences and needs, 
 where flitches of bacon and tubs of butter jostled 
 against a stock of stationery and " Queen's heads," and 
 where cheeses and pickles coquetted with ready-made 
 clothes and blue woollen cloth, you could purchase the 
 best biscuits either for yourself or your dogs, obtain all 
 your groceries and sauces, buy your pins and needles 
 and thread, get your Highland " bonnets " and plaids, 
 lay in your winter flannel and hosiery, procure your
 
 BARE VILLAGE EMPOEIUM. 243 
 
 oranges and lemons and best blacking, replenish your 
 salt and tobacco boxes, order your loaves of bread and 
 oatmeal cakes, and have your game boxes made up in 
 any number and to any size, wherewith to contain all 
 those braces of grouse and black game that you pro- 
 posed to send to your friends in England. Verily, Mr. 
 Duncan McMillan may well have dignified his shop by 
 the name of an " Emporium," for almost everything 
 that man requires in the Highlands was to be pur- 
 chased there ; while the post-office was as well managed 
 duly and daily, as in an English country town. Oppo- 
 site to " the shop," is the blacksmith's, where the High- 
 land Vulcan is at work on the hind legs of a beast, with 
 a coat as rough as Mr. Bright's tongue. We are re- 
 minded of the traditionary tale of his predecessor in 
 the office during that dreadful time when the great 
 plague visited Cantire, and when one of the keenest 
 fears that attended it, was that a man might die, and 
 there would be none to bury him. Of the smith of 
 Barr, it is said, that he took the plague. It developed 
 itself by a great swelling, and unless this swelling 
 broke, there was no chance of recovery. The smith 
 had the plague tumour, and it did not break. He feared 
 that he should die, and that his friends would flee from 
 him in alarm, and not give him the rites of sepulture. 
 So he went and lay down under the brow of an old 
 dyke, hoping that not long after his death, it would fall 
 
 R 2
 
 244 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 over him, and cover his mortal remains. But while he 
 lay there, the tumour broke, and the smith recovered. 
 It is said that he made himself very useful in perform- 
 ing the last sad offices for such of his friends and neigh- 
 bours at Barr who fell victims to the plague. 
 
 The blacksmith's and the post-office are on the upper 
 and higher end of the street ; at the further and lower 
 end is the inn. Looking down the street, the view is 
 bounded by the garden wall of Grienbarr Abbey, with 
 its dense screen of fine timber, the high road twisting 
 sharply off to the right, round the inn, and down into 
 the glen. Let us walk down to that wall while I set 
 my back against it, and looking up street, make a 
 water-colour sketch of the village and its inhabitants. 
 Fowls go cackling about, and a few ducks dabble in a 
 dirty gutter ; bare-legged children, with nothing on 
 their heads, and not much more on their bodies, stare 
 at the Sassenach, and appear to regard the reproduction 
 of themselves and their homes on the drawing-block, 
 with as much amazement as the Eed Indians who, as 
 they looked upon their own likenesses when painted 
 by Mr. Catlin, would have tomahawked him for paint- 
 ing them in profile (which they regarded as a charm 
 to make the other half of their face wither away), 
 had it not been to their evident interest to preserve his 
 life until he had painted them in full face, with both 
 their eyes and cheeks.
 
 RAG AND BONE WOMAN. 
 
 246 
 
 Tlie butler from the abbey comes by, and talks to 
 the late lady's-maid, something to my disadvantage, 
 perhaps, for their conversation is in Gaelic. A butler 
 and a late lady's maid talking Gaelic ! Oh, Jeames ! 
 oh. Frippery ! do you ever carry your Gaelic into May- 
 
 THE EAG AND BONE WOM.AN. 
 
 fair, and excite the astonishment of the Belgravian 
 yellow-plushes at your Highland " di'lect." Presently, 
 the rag and bone woman of the district comes by, with 
 her bare feet and her white " mutch " cap, and is greatly 
 
 R 3
 
 246 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 flattered at the marked artistic attention that I pay her. 
 She has a stock of English at her command, and she 
 begs me not to put her likeness " in the window." She 
 is evidently somewhat ashamed of her rag-and-bone 
 bag and odds-and-ends basket, and would doubtless 
 wish to appear without them, and in her Sunday best, 
 whenever she is " put in the window." 
 
 But too long have I kept the reader from Grlenbarr 
 Abbey. The Queen, however, is always last in a pro- 
 cession ; and the lion is more highly thought of when 
 we have been gazing upon inferior animals. So, now 
 that we have seen the smaller fry, let us pay a visit to 
 (what our Campbelton car-driver called) "the big 
 hoose."
 
 GLENBARR ABBEY. 247 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 GLENBAKR. 
 
 Glenbarr Abbey. — Its Position. — Scenery and Gardens. — Barr 
 Eiver. — Salmon spearing. — "It's just the Sport." — Timber. — 
 Glen Scenery. — The Eiver Defile. — A Memory-Picture. — Mouth 
 of the River. — Seaward View. — Modem Nereids. — Scotch wash- 
 ing. — The River-tub. — The Princess Nausicaa. — Twenty-seven 
 Centuries ago. 
 
 We have not far to go. Here, where I have been 
 standing to sketch, is a wicket-gate admitting us to a 
 walk that will lead us down a steep hank and under 
 lofty trees, immediately in front of the Abbey. So 
 steep is the bank that the Abbey, which is at the foot 
 of it, is not fifty yards from the village street, whose 
 houses are built on a much higher elevation than the 
 Abbey chimneys. The village is shut out from the 
 Abbey grounds by a stone wall and a profusion of shrubs 
 and trees, and to all appearance the Abbey lies in a 
 sequestered glen, far away from human habitation. 
 As a matter of course the house lies low, although the 
 dip of the glen slightly falls from it to tbe river, which 
 
 R 4
 
 248 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 runs at a short distance from the house, the ground 
 then ascending sharply on the other bank to a con- 
 siderable elevation. In the front of the Abbey the glen 
 widens sufficiently to allow of a tolerably open space of 
 greensward, dotted with fine timber, amid which the 
 carriage-drive winds into the high road at the foot of 
 the steep hill leading up the village; but in rear of 
 the house, and within four hundred yards of the front, 
 the glen narrows to a rocky defile, through which the 
 river burrows, and amid great boulders and stony frag- 
 ments brawls its way to the Atlantic. The steep sides 
 of the glen are densely covered with foliage, much 
 of the timber being of very fine growth. The late 
 Colonel Macalister added considerably to the Grlenbarr 
 plantations, which, being well attended to and protected 
 by their position from the influence of high winds and 
 sea air, thrive far beyond expectation. The colonel's 
 son, Keith Macalister, Esq.,* is the present proprietor 
 of Glenbarr, and is one of the few landowners in 
 Cantire who are resident upon their estates. Next to 
 the Duke of Argyle, Mr. Macalister is the largest pro- 
 prietor in Cantire, so that the example of residence set 
 by him has the greater importance. 
 
 Grlenbarr Abbey is a large and handsome stone 
 mansion of some antiquity, though greatly altered and 
 
 * For the clan Macalister, see Skene's " Highlanders of Scotland," 
 vol. ii. p. 93.
 
 GLENBARR ABBEY. 
 
 249 
 
 improved in later times. It outwardly represents what 
 may be presumed to be the abbey style of architecture. 
 The windows are mullioned, those of the principal 
 rooms very richly so, with tracery in the upper com- 
 
 GLEX-BAER ABBEY, N.W. -STEW. 
 
 partments. The house is buttressed and turreted all 
 round with Gothic pinnacles at each corner and angle. 
 The porch is deeply recessed, its entrance being formed 
 of three open lancet arches. Triple lancets above give
 
 250 GLENCREUGAN. 
 
 light to a pretty room opening into the drawing-room. 
 Higher up is a crow-stepped gable, bearing the Mac- 
 alister arms, and the motto " Per mare, per terras ; " 
 and this projecting portion of the Abbey is flanked by 
 octangular towers, surmounted with crocketed pinnacles. 
 The interior contains a spacious entrance-hall and stair- 
 case, " hung around with pikes, and guns, and bows," 
 and family pictures, and foreign curiosities ; and, among 
 the rooms, the dining and drawing-rooms are noticeable 
 for their large dimensions. They look westward, the 
 drawing-room being over the dining-room, and com- 
 manding a very pleasant (though somewhat confined) 
 view down the glen, bounded by a peep of the Atlantic. 
 The gardens are behind the Abbey, and are extensive. 
 The Barr river and a small tributary stream flow through 
 them, and add to their picturesqueness. The fuschias 
 formed noble shrubs from six to ten feet in height, as 
 one sees them in favoured spots in the Isle of Wight, 
 and, being in full bloom at the time of our visit, were 
 very lovely additions to the beauties of the garden. 
 Looking at them, one could scarcely imagine oneself 
 so far north, and with the Atlantic close at hand ; but 
 we found them almost as large and luxuriant against 
 the walls of fishermen's cottages down upon the sea- 
 shore, and exposed to the full violence of the westerly 
 gales. The very steep slope of the hill (on the village 
 side) is not only a striking feature in the gardens, but
 
 BAKR RIVER. 251 
 
 one that with its southern aspect was as favourable for 
 fruit as for fuschias. A wide walk under an avenue of 
 fine beeches, at the foot of this slope, is an important 
 feature in the garden. This leads on, past the boundary 
 of the gardens, to a wilderness-walk along the rocky 
 slope of the glen, by the side of the brawling river, A\ith 
 a thick wood on either side of us. Here and there the 
 water has been widened into a pool, where the salmon 
 and grilse may love to congregate, and where the banks 
 are fringed mth a lovely medley of sedge and fern. 
 
 The Barr river is about five or six miles in length, 
 its sources being Loch Arnicle, Loch Coiribidh, and 
 other smaller lochs, and it flows in a tolerably direct 
 course from east to west till it falls into the Atlantic. 
 It is well stocked with salmon and salmon-trout, and is 
 a stream after a fisherman's own heart, no less than a 
 painter's. It is true that in these western Highland 
 streams the fish do not increase to those enormous 
 proportions with which they are often weighted in the 
 most famous salmon rivers ; but if a plentiful supply 
 of ordinary-sized fish up to one that would turn the 
 scale at twenty pounds can satisfy a fisherman, he will 
 assuredly find that satisfaction in Barr river. 
 
 On one morning during our stay, there was a salmon- 
 spearing about two miles above the Abbey, which re- 
 sulted in the capture of ten fish in most excellent 
 condition, varying from four to sixteen pounds in
 
 252 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 weight. W^en laid out upon the lawn for the ladies' 
 inspection, with their silvery sides glistening in the 
 sun, they formed a group to delight the eyes of pisca- 
 torial old Isaak himself. I asked old Maccallum, — the 
 elder of the fishermen, to whom the chief honours 
 of the day were due, — how he, an old man, could be 
 battling about in a rocky stream from five in the morn- 
 ing till after mid-day, with not a crust to eat or (which 
 was more to the purpose), a drop of whiskey to drink. 
 *' It's just the sport ! " Macallum pithily answers ; and, 
 now that it is over, he is very ready to toss off any 
 number of glasses that the laird will deign to give 
 him. 
 
 Barr river is even more picturesque between the 
 Abbey and the sea than towards the hills. In the front 
 of the Abbey, as I have said, the glen widens, and leaves 
 a pleasant plot of greensward, along which the river 
 brawls, and across which the high road is taken. We 
 pass through a gate on the other side of the road into a 
 small meadow, which is rapidly narrowed into the form 
 of an acute triangle, by the steep sides of the glen con- 
 tracting to enclose it. The sloping bank to our right 
 is thickly covered Avith timber, much of it being of 
 large dimensions and luxuriant growth. The soil is 
 well adapted for the growth of forest trees ; and where 
 they can be sheltered from the cutting sea-blasts, as in 
 a glen like this, they thrive amain. There are oaks
 
 GLEN SCENERY. 253 
 
 and pines ; but the trees that flourish most are ash, 
 plane, elm, beech, mountain-ash, alder, black Italian 
 poplars and larch. Underneath these trees there was 
 a most luxuriant undergi'owth of wild flowers and 
 shrubs, the ferns being of great size and beauty. Wind- 
 ing walks have been cut on the hill-slope to the right 
 of the glen, and seats placed at those spots from whence 
 the best views are attained. 
 
 Here is a seat placed most temptingly for the 
 sketcher. We have been following the path by the 
 side of the river, and it has now taken us up out of the 
 valley, on to this rock some sixty feet above the stream. 
 The glen has narrowed to a defile, through which the 
 river forces its way over a multitude of stony obstacles, 
 and making a very sharp turn to the right through 
 steep rocks, cloven as though by art, hurries on to the 
 Atlantic. We are on the verge of the precipitous rock 
 just above this acute bend in the river. We look up 
 the river ; and through a vista of forest tre^s to the 
 west front of Grienbarr Abbey, backed by woods and 
 hills ; the rocky walls rise on either side the stream, 
 hung with ivy and creepers, and with a tangled mass of 
 ferns and heather and wild flowers growing on every 
 ledge and " coign of vantage," the trees on the opposite 
 banks nearly meeting over the river, that dashes on 
 far below amid the rocks and white boulders that chafe 
 its dark boulders into angry foam. It is a lovely scene.
 
 254 GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 and one of a similar character, though on a less ex- 
 tensive scale, to the matchless glen at Roslin.* Barr 
 river is precisely one of those streams that an artist 
 loves to paint ; and no one with a feeling for the beau- 
 tiful could see it without longing to carry away some 
 delineation or memory-picture of its wild and rvigged 
 banks, its overhanging trees, its deeps and shallows, its 
 mossy stones and dark rocks and grey boulders; its 
 multitudinous tiny waterfalls, and its rapid hurrying 
 course from the hills to the Atlantic. Its waters varied 
 greatly in colour and depth, according to the time and 
 the season ; and I saw them under more than one aspect ; 
 but when I first set eyes on the Barr water, it had been 
 swelled with a " freshet " from the hills, and was so 
 impregnated with peat that it was of a rich coffee 
 colour, — 
 
 " Red came the river down, and, loud and oft, 
 The angry spirit of the water shrieked!" 
 
 but Barr was something more than red, for he was of 
 the hue of dark mahogany. 
 
 Now we climb by the winding path to the extreme 
 height of the rocky wall, until we emerge from the 
 woody screen of stately trees, and come in sight of the 
 Atlantic. The trees still abide with us, but their crests 
 have been smoothly shaven by the cutting western 
 
 * See the Frontispiece to the Volume.
 
 GLEN SCENERY. 255 
 
 winds, and they cannot compare with their near neigh- 
 bours in the favoured bend of the glen. The river is 
 murmuring below us, between its steep rocky walls, but 
 we cannot see it as yet. To our right is a thin belt of 
 young plantation of larch and firs, which are thriving 
 well. Presently the path takes us to a little heathery 
 plateau on the edge of the rock, where there is a garden 
 seat, to suggest that we should " rest, and be thankful " 
 for the dainty repast so liberally supplied by nature for 
 the refreshment of our artistic appetite. Barr river is 
 in sight now, brawling at our feet, though at some 
 distance below us. It takes a twist to the right, and 
 then again to the left, amid the rocky banks and a 
 confused debris. The geological authorities inform us, 
 that micaceous schist is the leading class of rock in this 
 glen, with veins and detached blocks of primary sand- 
 stone, quartz, basalt, whinstone, and red shiver. 
 
 We lose the tall overhanging trees; but the banks 
 are thickly covered with brushwood. Sheep-pastured 
 downs slope upwards from the rocky banks on either 
 side. The rocks gradually lessen in height, until, at 
 no great distance from us, they fall to the level of the 
 roadway that is carried over a very Welsh-like bridge 
 that spans the stream. Beyond thi^ bridge, the river 
 streams on over the sand upon the sea-shore, until its 
 waters are lost in the dash of the Atlantic. As we sit 
 here, the upland downs on either hand shut in the sea-
 
 256 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 ward view, and confine it to that portion of the Atlantic 
 between Islay and Rathlin Island. No land is therefore 
 seen to break the ocean prospect ; we look out towards 
 the sea, and far away there, over that dark blue hori- 
 zontal line with which Britannia rules the waves, is 
 America. Distant vessels fleck the wide expanse of 
 ocean, which, under this bright mid-day sun, assumes 
 the very faintest sea-green hue, save that distant hori- 
 zontal line of dark blue. Nearer in shore, the waves 
 change to a pearly grey, shot with emerald green, glit- 
 tering in the sunbeams, and crisped with foam, as they 
 break upon the yellow beach with a soothing cadence. 
 Columns of white smoke go up from the beach high 
 into the air, from fires kindled by the kelp burners, 
 whom we see against the bright sea, like black specks 
 upon the shining sand. Beyond the bridge, Barr river 
 glistens white over the beach, as colourless as molten 
 silver ; but below us, among the rocks and boulders, it 
 is dark and peat-stained. Approaching the bridge 
 from the down on the left is a herd of Highland cattle 
 with their attendant lassie. On the bridge itself, on a 
 certain day, might have been seen one of the ladies of 
 our party, landing a salmon that had been hooked and 
 " played " by one of the gentlemen, — the same gentle- 
 man whom (on another day) we might have seen shoot- 
 ing at the seals as they disported themselves in the sea, 
 a few hundred yards from the mouth of Barr river.
 
 GLEN SCENERY. 257 
 
 It murmurs musically at our feet ; now hurrying over 
 rocky shallows in tiny waterfalls, now coursing round 
 great boulders that half block up its narrow bed, now 
 hiding itself in natural caverns hollowed out of the base 
 of the rock by centuries of floods and freshets, now 
 dallying in deep pools whose blackness is only broken 
 by the silveiy circles left by the leaping salmon, now 
 sweeping into those crescent harbours, where the cease- 
 less action of the hurrying water has scooped out the 
 rock into smooth semicircular baths in which Nereids 
 might love to sport. Here, with my feet among the 
 fragrant heather, with the river murmuring below me, 
 and the wide expanse of the Atlantic glistening before 
 me, I sit and sketch. Would that I could represent, 
 with even a faint approach to truth, the wonderful 
 beauty of the confused mass of verdm-e (in which 
 heather and ferns are predominant) with which the 
 rocky walls of Barr river are adorned. He indeed must 
 be a skilful and a patient colourist who could hope to 
 depict but a hundredth part of the minute and manifold 
 beauties of that nearest rock- wall on the other side of 
 the brawling stream, where every little mossy ledge is 
 crowned with coronals of ferns, and gemmed with the 
 varied hues of heather and wild flowers, while ivy 
 clings to the grey rock, and trailing creepers hang in 
 luxuriant festoons from the shrubs that fringe the edge 
 of the downs. So I plod on with my pencil in the hot 
 
 VOL. I. s
 
 258 GLENCREGGAN, 
 
 glare of the mid-day sun, pleased at seeing the rude 
 counterpart of the beautiful scene gradually assuming 
 shape and colour upon the virgin leaf of my sketching- 
 block ; yet (if it must be confessed) sad at heart at my 
 inability to represent with patient toil of brush the 
 wondrous minutise painted by one glance on the retina 
 of the eye ; so I plod on, till eye and brain become 
 confused, and demand a few moments' rest. Let me 
 leave my drawing materials upon this seat, secured by 
 this rude paper-weight of rock ; they will be safe ; for 
 there is no pic-nic party here to-day from Campbelton, 
 or elsewhere, as is frequently the case during the 
 summer season.* So I take my pannikin, in order that 
 I may fill it with clean water for painting, and I make 
 my way down to the river's edge, by a very circuitous 
 course, however ; and I am half way towards the bridge, 
 before I can clamber down the broken rocks sufficiently 
 near to the water to fill my pannikin. 
 
 In accomplishing this feat, and endeavouring to re- 
 gain the path by a less steep and slippery road, I am 
 brought in full view of that portion of the river which, 
 by making a sudden turn from right to left, had been 
 concealed from me by the steep rocky wall. A moment 
 ago, I said that there were spots in this Barr river 
 where Nereids might love to sport. But, in these rail- 
 
 * Mr. Macalister liberally grants permission to such parties to make 
 use of his grounds.
 
 SCOTCH WASHING. 
 
 239 
 
 way days, romance yields to reality ; and the only 
 Nereids who now honour the stream by their jiresence, 
 are some of the neighbouring cottagers, who, by an old 
 custom, which they have come to regard as their pre- 
 
 SCOTCH WASHING. 
 
 scriptive right, make use of a certain shallow spot on 
 the left bank of the river for the purpose of a laundry, 
 and thus convert Barr river into a wash-tub for foul 
 
 s 2
 
 260 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 linen. This takes place at regularly-recurring periods, 
 opposite to that detached rock, which may be noted in 
 my sketch, upon the right bank of the river towards the 
 bridge. The sketcher, therefore, who goes to that spot 
 to fill his pannikin with water, may, if he time his visit 
 aright, glean materials for a picture of " Scotch wash- 
 ing," which, if it be not quite so pretty as that well- 
 known print after Mr. Harvey's painting, may at least 
 be a little more true to the ordinary t3rpe of the High- 
 land lassie and her various attitudes during her sanitary 
 proceeding. 
 
 Edward Waverley, as joxx may remember, when he 
 approached the Baron of Bradwardine's manor-house, 
 saw, upon the green, two bare-legged damsels, each 
 standing in a spacious tub, and performing with their 
 feet the office of a patent washing machine. " These 
 did not, however," says his biographer, " like the maidens 
 of Armida, remain to greet with their harmony the 
 a]3proaching guest ; but, alarmed at the appearance of 
 a handsome stranger on the opposite side, dropped their 
 garments (I should say garment to be quite correct), 
 over their limbs, which their occupation exposed some- 
 what too freely, and with a shrill exclamation of ' Eh, 
 sirs ! ' uttered with an accent between modesty and 
 coquetry, sprung off like deer in different directions." * 
 
 This tub-washing seems to have been an old custom ; 
 
 * Waverley, vol. i. chap. ix.
 
 SCOTCH WASHING. 201 
 
 for, in those " curious letters," as Sir Walter Scott calls 
 them, which were written from the Highlands in 1754, 
 the author * takes notice of " what is commonly seen 
 by the side of rivers, that is, women with their coats 
 tucked up, stamping, in tubs, upon linen by way of 
 washing ; and this, not only in summer, but in the 
 hardest frosty weather, when their legs and feet are 
 almost literally as red as blood with the cold ; and often 
 two of these wenches stamp in one tub supporting them- 
 selves by their arms thrown over each other's shoulders." f 
 
 The modern process in Barr river dispenses \nth. the 
 tub, and is extremely simple, though, I should think, 
 not very efficacious for the proper " getting-uj) " of fine 
 linen. The clothes are placed in a shallow jDart of the 
 river, and the women and girls stamp ujDon them with 
 their naked feet, their petticoats (of very scanty longi- 
 tude in the first instance,) being tucked up for that 
 purpose. Occasionally a stout cudgel is also brought 
 into play to thump the linen. A little hand-washing is 
 added, and the garments are then wrung out, and spread 
 upon the river's bank to be dried by the sun. Starch- 
 ing and ironing are deemed vain superfluities. 
 
 After all, this is a very ancient custom, and dates 
 back to those old-world days when even princesses were 
 their own shepherdesses and laundresses. Homer, for 
 
 * Who is understood to have been Captain Biu-t. 
 t Letters from a gentleman in the North of Scotland, «S:e., Letter III. 
 
 S 3
 
 262 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 example, tells us, that when the Princess Nausicaa, 
 daughter of King Alcinous, was going to be married, 
 the Groddess of Wisdom justified her claim to that title 
 by bidding her get all her clothes washed. With that, 
 the young lady borrowed her papa's chariot, and in 
 addition to her own trousseau, also took the greater 
 part of the wardrobe of her three brothers *, and drove 
 off at dawn of day, with her maids, to the river, which 
 appears to have been at a considerable distance. Like 
 
 * As the Beus ex machina, probably, which shoiild enable her to 
 clothe the naked Ulysses, with whom, she holds a long conversation 
 before she gives him the clothes. (" Odyssey," book vi.) This, how- 
 ever, was in the free-and-easy days of " The Golden Age," when a 
 young lady would attend a young gentleman to the bath. So in the 
 case of Telemaehus ; he pays a visit to Nestor, and a princess of his 
 house, whom he had the pleasure of meeting for the first time, performs 
 for him this " pleasing rite," quite as a matter of course and ordinary 
 compliment. 
 
 " Sweet Polycaste took the pleasing toil 
 To bathe the prince, and pour the fragrant oil." 
 
 See "Odyssey," book iii. ; see also "Iliad," book xxii. 1.53, for the 
 washing of garments in river cisterns by the feet ; and " Odyssey," 
 book vi. 40, 86. The bason, or cistern, was called Phmos, from the 
 Greek Pluno, to wash or clean. Aristophanes ("Acharnians," 381) 
 applies this verb exactly in the slang way in which we now use it when 
 we say. Such a man has been wiped down handsomely ; i. e. has had 
 " a good dressing." Sir Eobert Ker Porter, in his " Eastern Travels," 
 describes a visit that he paid, with a male friend, to the ladies' baths 
 at Tiflis, where the Georgian Venuses continued to bathe before them 
 with the same unblushing coolness that was displayed by Nausicaa 
 and her young ladies in the presence of Ulysses.
 
 TWENTY-SEVEN CENTURIES AGO. 263 
 
 as in the Barr river, the place for washing was close to 
 the sea-shore ; and they then, as in modern days, pre- 
 ferred the pure river stream to the rough salt sea-water. 
 In the river were certain basons or cisterns, which were 
 either made of marble, or wood ; and in these the 
 Phseacian damsels of twenty-seven centuries ago were 
 wont to wash their garments, by trampling them with 
 their feet, just in the same way that the Highland lassies 
 do up to the present hour. 
 
 Tempora mutantur: but it seems that we don't 
 always change in them. 
 
 s4
 
 264 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 Situation of Gleiiereggan. — A View of one Hundred Miles. — Tlie 
 Southern Hebrides. — A Glass for a Toper of the Picturesque. — 
 Conversing Mirrors. — An imaginaiy Waterfall. — The Mare's Tail, 
 and a Mare's Nest. — Atlantic Blue. — Harvest in the Highlands. — 
 The lady Eeapers. — Bare Feet and Stubble. — The Artist's ideal 
 Gleaner. — Stern Eeality. — Clouts. — Little Monkeys. — What 
 educated Feet can be made to do. — Singular Instances. — The 
 walking of Cloth. — Novel way of scouring a Eoom. — Broth withal. 
 
 — Cleanliness and Picturesqueness. — A naked Foot saved Scotland. 
 
 — Nemo me impune laeessit. 
 
 Eathee more than a mile beyond Glenbarr Abbey is 
 Griencreggan House, the property of Captain Smollett 
 M. Eddington, but now let on a lease to William Han- 
 cocks, Esq., of Blakeshall House, Worcestershire, who 
 occupies it as a shooting-box during the greater part of 
 August, September, and October, and has the shooting 
 on these and the adjacent moors. This shooting ex- 
 tends over about sixteen thousand acres, and the house 
 is conveniently situated in being equi-distant from the 
 extreme points of the property. It is well and sub-
 
 GLENCREGGAN, CANTIRE 
 Fror,} thr Atlantic.
 
 A VIEW OF ONE HUNDRED MILES. 265 
 
 stantially built, though outwardly a plain structure ; 
 but within, it has been comfortably aiTauged for all 
 modern requirements, and, in short, comprehends all 
 those items that go to make up what is usually meant 
 by the phrase " a gentleman's house." 
 
 The situation of Glencreggan is most commanding. 
 It stands on a plateau of high ground, about a quarter 
 of a mile from the verge of the line of sea-clififs, and 
 with no interveniug object to intercept or interrupt the 
 seaward view. The house lies on the land side of the 
 public road, but on a higher elevation ; plantations are 
 behind, and on each side ; and close in the rear the 
 ground rises sharply, and so continues to ascend, until 
 it gains an altitude of some fifteen hundred feet above 
 the level of the sea, and is merged in that range of 
 hills that forms the back bone of Cantire. The sea- 
 view from Glencreggan is magnificent. The drawing- 
 room windows command an uninterrupted view from 
 left to right, of nearly one hundred miles, quite that 
 in fact, for it begins on the left with the Irish coast, 
 and terminates in the misty distance to the right with 
 Ben More, in the island of Mull, which, as the crow 
 jflies, is just one hundred miles from Ireland, a tolerably 
 extensive sweep of sea and landscape. The portion of 
 the Irish coast seen from Grlencreggan, is that from 
 Fair Head to the Giant's Causeway, in the front of 
 which Rathlin Isle is plainly visible. Its lighthouse
 
 266 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 was to US as a nightly star. Then, passing on in our view 
 towards the right, is the open Atlantic, with nothing 
 but that waste of waters between us and America. Then 
 come Islay and Jura, their rugged outlines forming one 
 long bold line against the sky, the Paps of Jura being 
 its most conspicuous feature. Between us and them 
 lie the pretty islets of Cara and Grigha. The western 
 coast of Cantire stretches in long perspective to the 
 
 Ireland. The Atlantic. 
 
 DIAGRAM OF ATEW FEOM GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 right ; and the misty mountain beyond points out to us 
 the spot where 
 
 " On high Ben More green mosses grow." 
 
 Islay is about twenty-eight miles, and Jura thirty-four ; 
 but from Islay overlapping Jura, the two, at first sight, 
 seem to form one long island. These four islands of 
 the Southern Hebrides, Islay, Jura, Cara, and Gigha 
 (pronounced " Geera,") are a lovely feature in the view, 
 more especially when seen from the moors on the hills 
 behind Grlencreggan, when the higher elevation enables
 
 DISTANT VIEWS. 267 
 
 US to see the silvery thread of water dividing the two 
 larger islands, and the boiindless sweep of the Atlantic 
 on the farther side of them. From the hills too we 
 see another portion of the Hebridean group, the islands 
 of Colonsay and Oransay ; and still further to the 
 right the island of Scarba, with the dreadful Gulf of 
 Corrivrekin ; while shadowy Mull fills in the back- 
 ground. 
 
 On a clear day, it was " mighty agreeable," as Pepys 
 would say, to lie among the fragrant heather on the 
 summit of one of the softly-rounded hills, in the shade 
 of one of those great rocky fragments that are thickly 
 sprinkled over the moors, and by the side of a little 
 stream falling over a stony ledge into a mossy basin 
 overhung with ferns, — pleasant to lie there in the shade 
 " by the burnie 'mid the brackens," and drink in the 
 scenery, glass in hand. With such scenery, and with a 
 good glass, one may well be a toper ! and as for those 
 lovely islands of this western Archipelago, I warrant 
 that each will " prove an excuse for the glass," ^vith a 
 result that will cheer, but not inebriate. It was, indeed, 
 agreeable, on a clear day, thus, telescope in hand, to ob- 
 tain a view more distinct than could be gained by the 
 naked eye, of those distant Hebridean beauties rising 
 like so many Aphrodites from the waves. But without 
 the glass, we could make out most of the leading fea- 
 tures of the islands even in tolerably fair weather; and
 
 268 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 on clear sunny days, the houses at Port Ellen *, in 
 Islay, were very apparent, more especially when their 
 glazed windows flashed back the rays of the sun. The 
 distance was a little more than twenty miles. The dis- 
 tinguished traveller, Mr. Galton, has lately utilised, by 
 a clever invention, this flashing of the sun's rays in 
 glass. It can be seen at an almost fabulous distance, 
 and at the interval of twelve miles, travellers may 
 telegraph to each other with perfect ease, and converse 
 according to a prescribed code of signals. The Ord- 
 nance Survey have in this way often made good use of 
 small mirrors ; nor have savage tribes been ignorant of 
 so simple but valuable a plan of communication. 
 
 Indeed, by the aid of imagination and a good glass, 
 we saw more than could be seen. There was a jDatch 
 of light, like sea-sand, only in a perpendicular position, 
 plainly visible on the dark line of coast, and extending 
 for a considerable height up the face of the rock. 
 WTien the telescope had been brought to bear upon it, 
 we made out (to our great satisfaction) a lofty and wide 
 waterfall, fed by a stream that we could discern thread- 
 ing its way down the side of the hill. We could see 
 
 * Port Ellen is in Londinas Bay, in the Mull of Oe. It is not 
 marked in Johnston's large map. It has its place, however, in the 
 valuable map in Black's " Guide," with the track of the steamers. 
 These steamers, whose route from Glasgow to Oban is round the Mull 
 of Cantire, usually touch at Port Ellen.
 
 AN IMAGINAET WATERFALL. 269 
 
 the movement of the water as it meandered down the 
 mountain side, and then leapt over the face of the pre- 
 cipice. Each one of the party made it out distinctly, 
 and for several days this waterfall was a frequent object 
 to which the telescope was directed. Alas I it was but 
 an optical delusion. In a few days we had discovered 
 that there was no such stream or waterfall, and that the 
 patch of light was nothing more than a sand-bank, 
 composed of sand of such whiteness, that it glistened 
 and glimmered like pulverised chalk. And yet, even 
 when we knew this, we could still make out the water- 
 fall as distinctly as before ; for the play of the sunlight 
 on the particles of shining sand — which was pounded 
 over with fractured shells — produced a similar effect 
 to that of falling water. So much for imagination ; 
 and if it had not been for the timely discovery of the 
 mistake, I might have here added to the number of 
 waterfalls in the Highlands, by an account of this He- 
 bridean one, of whose existence we one and all (as we 
 thought) had repeated ocular proof. " The Mare's 
 Tail," is by no means an uncommon name for a cascade, 
 and in the Highlands, when they see the white streams 
 threading their way at flood-time down the dark cavi- 
 ties of the mountain, they say, " the grey mare's tail 
 begins to grow ! " but, in the present instance, we must 
 have named our waterfall, not " the Mare's Tail," but 
 " The Mare's Nest."
 
 270 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 But we were near enough to these islands of the 
 Southern Hebrides, to view them with sufficient dis- 
 tinctness ; and as seen from Glencreggan, this portion 
 of the Scottish Archipelago, with its picturesque group- 
 ings, and accidental effects of light and shade, was at 
 all times an object of interest. On bright days, the 
 sunlight strongly defined all the rocky irregularities of 
 the coast ; while here and there, in the cultivated por- 
 tions, could be discerned the strips of green, and the 
 blaze of golden corn, with the houses and the tiny 
 shipping, their sails now white, and now a dusky red, 
 and the larger vessels slowly sliding along the dark 
 blue line of the horizon, and now and then a steamer, 
 ■with its long, thin level cloud of smoke, streaming like 
 a mighty pennant in its wake. 
 
 There is a description of Mr. Kingsley's which might 
 be well applied to this spot. " How clear and brilliant 
 everything shows through this Atlantic atmosphere. 
 The intensity of colouring may vie with that of the 
 shores of the Mediterranean. The very raininess of 
 the climate, by condensing the moisture into an ever- 
 changing phantasmagoria of clouds, leaves the clear air 
 and sunshine, when we do get a glimpse of them, all 
 the more pure and transparent. One does not regret 
 or even feel the want of trees here, while the eye ranges 
 down from that dappled cloud-world above, over that 
 vast sheet of purple heather, those dells bedded with
 
 ATLANTIC BLUE. 271 
 
 dark velvet green ferns, of a depth and richness of hue 
 which I never saw before, over those bright grey granite 
 rocks, spangled with black glittering mica and golden 
 lichens, to rest at last on that sea below. This is real 
 Atlantic blue here beneath us. No more glass-green 
 bay water, but real ocean sapphire — dark, deep, in- 
 tense, Homeric purple, it spreads away, away, there 
 before us, without a break or islet, to the shores of 
 America. You are sitting on one of the last points of 
 Europe, and therefore all things round yon are stern 
 and strange with a barbaric pomp, such as befits the 
 boundary of a world. Does it not raise strange long- 
 ings in you, to gaze out yonder over the infinite calm, 
 and then to remember, that, beyond it lies Ame- 
 rica ! the new world ; the future world ; the great Titan 
 baby : " * 
 
 It was harvest time when we were in Cantire ; and 
 the following beautiful bit of description by Hugh 
 Miller, of a Highland landscape further north, will 
 strengthen the foregoing word-painting of Mr. Kings- 
 ley's, and will also well describe many of the da3-s and 
 scenes that we encountered at Glencreggan : — " The 
 keen morning improved into a brilliant day, with an 
 atmosphere transparent as if there had been no atmo- 
 sphere at all, through which the distant objects looked 
 
 * " JVtiscellames," by the Her. C. Kingsley, vol. ii. pp. 298, 300.
 
 272 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 out as sharp of outline, and in as well-defined light 
 and shadow as if they had occupied the background, 
 not of a Scotch, but of an Italian landscape. A few 
 speck-like sails far away on the intensely blue sea, 
 which opened upon us in a stretch of many leagues, 
 gleamed to the sun with a radiance bright as that of 
 the sparks of a furnace blown to white heat. The land 
 uneven of surface, and open, and abutting in bold 
 promontories, still bore the sunny hue of harvest, and 
 seemed as if stippled over with shocks from the ridgy 
 hill summits, to where ranges of giddy cliffs flung their 
 shadows across the beach." 
 
 I esteemed myself fortunate to visit Glencreggan at 
 such a season. When we had left England the harvest 
 was well-nigh over, but here it was barely begun. It 
 is always a picturesque time ; but harvest in the High- 
 lands exceeds an English harvest in the elements of the 
 picturesque, — chiefly from the scener}^, but partly from 
 the abundant presence of women in the national dress. 
 A loose cotton jacket is commonly worn by them, and, 
 for this, pink was the all-prevailing colour : beneath 
 appeared a short petticoat, similar in colour (and per- 
 haps in texture) to that dark blue stuff of which bathing 
 dresses are made. In many cases the girls wore nothing 
 upon their heads but their own luxuriant hair : where 
 they adopted any covering, it was a loose white cotton 
 bonnet or a wide-awake. They used the sickle as
 
 LADY REAPERS. 273 
 
 dexterously as did the men ; even as Wordsworth de- 
 scribes the 
 
 " Solitary Highland lass 
 Reaping and singing by herself; " 
 
 (which is somewhat tautological, seeing that she could 
 not be solitary without being by herself). But the 
 Highland lassies that I saw reaping and singing, and 
 
 " Breaking the silence of the seas 
 Among the farthest Hebrides," 
 
 were never solitary, but were altogether gregarious in 
 their habits. The women, as usual, wore their large 
 white caps, or " mutches ; " and, together with the girls, 
 had coverings for their feet and ankles, — which is al- 
 most the only occasion on which they wear anything 
 on their legs, Sundays excepted. The rule seems to be, 
 go barefoot everywhere but into a kirk ; but when you 
 work in a stubbly barley-field, protect your legs. 
 
 And a very wise rule it is. It is, however, the custom 
 with those artists who paint from indoor models instead 
 of outdoor realities, to invariably represent "the 
 gleaner " (with an especial preference for the Highland 
 specimen) as an impossible specimen of agricultural 
 humanity, with delicately-chiselled nude feet, or else 
 with clean tight-fitting white stockings and dancing- 
 pumps. I am conscious of a long acquaintance with 
 many bucolical myths and pastoral goddesses, created 
 by artists for the delectation of society, who have fas- 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 274 
 
 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 cinated the beholder by a display of their pedal pieces, 
 or by the harmonious tones produced by white stockings 
 or rosy flesh. I have a pleasing memory of a lovely 
 picture by Mr. Frith, a Highland " Gleaner " (who has 
 
 
 HIGHLAND EEAPEBS. 
 
 since figured in the print-shops), dressed like these 
 Grlencreggan girls, . in short petticoat and loose pink 
 jacket, with a complexion like the famous 
 " Mulberry smother'd in cream," 
 
 suggesting that she must have fed upon strawberries
 
 BARE FEET AND STUBBLE. 275 
 
 and milk all her life, or that some one must have 
 held a gig umbrella over her while she was at work, 
 and thus have preserved the pearly delicacy of her 
 cheek and bust. Her rose-leaf arms (the blush rose, 
 and not the cabbage) elegantly balanced upon her head 
 a sheaf of gleanings, while from beneath her short dark 
 petticoat appeared a pair of delicate little legs and feet 
 tramping through "the histie stibble " — stubble, be it 
 remembered, that ^vill cut like a knife — without so 
 much as a scratch or a scar to disfigure the excessive 
 cleanliness and pearly hue of her exquisiteh^-turued 
 
 foot and 
 
 "About the loveliest little ankle in the world." 
 
 This fair creation of Mr. Frith's brain I duly ad- 
 mired; my admiration being tempered with astonish- 
 ment, because in real life I had always found that when 
 any lovely young Lavinias went to glean the corn in 
 rich Palaemon's field, they very wisely put on their 
 oldest and strongest shoes {Kota bene, boots preferred), 
 and wrapped their feet and legs in any protective 
 material on which they could lay their hands, which 
 armour of defence was technically termed " clouts," and 
 bade defiance to the sharpest stubble ; and that no 
 Lavinia was insane enough to subject herself to the 
 unheard-of penance of promenading with bare feet and 
 legs in a field whose sword-like stubble would speedily 
 lame her with countless bleeding wounds. I was not.
 
 276 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 therefore, surprised to see the Glencreggan gleaners, 
 whose normal state was that of naked legs, sensibly- 
 attired for their occupation, and greatly adding to the 
 picturesqueness of the landscape ; though this enforced 
 wearing of shoes and stockings is " a sair burden " to 
 them. Even when they walk to kirk on the Sabbath- 
 day, they frequently carry their shoes and stockings, 
 and do not put them on until within a short distance 
 of the building ; a circumstance which made a Turkish 
 tourist in the Highlands remark that, in his country, 
 religion enjoined them to put off their slippers when 
 entering a sacred building, whereas in Scotland religion 
 made them put on their shoes. 
 
 It is this general absence in the Highlands of shoes 
 and stockings on the part of women and children (for 
 you never see a barefooted man), that is so striking to 
 the English eye, which does not readily become accus- 
 tomed to the novelty. Except in the severest weather, 
 I was assured that the children, and their elder sisters 
 and mothers, greatly prefer the freedom of bare feet 
 to the restraint of shoes and stockings. A very little 
 child may be sometimes seen to whimper if it steps 
 upon a sharp pebble, over which its mother, and its 
 elder brothers and sisters will walk without flinching.* 
 
 * "Their infants are no sooner brought into the world than they 
 are pretty roughly handled, wrapt up in a Highland blanket, and 
 nursed in a very homely and masculine manner, not bound and painted 
 up in their trinkets like so many dolls, but are often carried in and
 
 TRAINING THE FEET. 
 
 277 
 
 The fences in the neighbourhood of Grlencreggan were, 
 for the most part, simihir to those throughout the 
 
 TRAIXING THE FEET. 
 
 Western Highlands, and were composed of large stones 
 roughly piled together, and cemented with mud, the 
 
 about the house as naked as when they were born, and noiu-ished \^"ith 
 good and substantial cheer, not with dates aiid sugar phims ; and, once 
 they can use their legs they don't spare them, but will run up hills and 
 down dales, many of them without any clothing, and that in the middle 
 of winter." — Dr. J. Campbell's Description of the Highlands of Scot- 
 land (1752), p. 17. 
 
 T 3
 
 278 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 upper surface not being brought to a level, but follow- 
 ing the inequalities of the stones. I often noticed the 
 little barelegged children amusing themselves by walk- 
 ing along the rugged tops of these stone fences, their 
 toes clasping the stones as though with a prehensile 
 power. They ran along the wall like monkeys, and, as 
 Dibdin says : — 
 
 "Daintily handled their feet," 
 
 with the craft of a rope-dancer. Children brought up 
 in this way literally kick at the restraint of shoe-leather ; 
 and, as I was informed, can scarcely be prevailed upon 
 to wear shoes even in the depth of winter. The feet of 
 such are necessarily far more supple than the feet of 
 those who have bowed to the customs of civilisation by 
 wearing corn-producing boots. 
 
 " It has been observed," says Mawman, " that were 
 it the fashion to go naked, the face would be hardly 
 noticed : certain it is that the bare feet very much 
 attracted our attention. The conspicuously-active 
 spring of the ball of the foot, and the powerful grasp 
 of the toes, increased our knowledge by exhibiting the 
 beauty and utility of that member. All the High- 
 landers walk with firmness and agility. We saw not a 
 single instance even of a female turning in her toes, or 
 stepping with a stiff bent knee. We remarked that, 
 north of Glasgow, we had not beheld one individual.
 
 USES OF BARE FEET. • 279 
 
 man, woman, or child, crooked ; and that, though their 
 feet were freely applied to rugged roads and gravelly 
 shores, they did not appear to have received any injury. 
 Their general ability proved that they could 
 
 " 'Foot it featly here and there.' " * 
 
 In which opinion my own observation leads me to cor- 
 dially agree. 
 
 Who can tell to what uses the feet and toes might 
 be put, if the necessity arose for the full development 
 of their powers ? There is a way of educating the foot 
 as well as the hand or the eje ; and it is astonishing 
 what an educated foot can be made to do. We know 
 that, in the time of Alexander, the Indians were taught 
 to draw their bows with their feet as well as with their 
 hands ; and Sir James Emerson Tennent tells us that 
 that this is done up to the present time by the Kock 
 Veddahs of Ceylon. And nearly all savage tribes can 
 turn their toes not only to good but also to bad account ; 
 like the aborigines of Australia, who, while they are 
 cunningly diverting your attention with their hands, 
 are busily engaged in committing robberies with their 
 toes, with which they can pick up articles as an ele- 
 phant would with his trunk. So also the Hindoo makes 
 his toes work at the loom, and weaves with them with 
 almost as much dexterity as with his iingers. The 
 
 * Excursion to the Highhinds of Scotknd (1804). p. 151. 
 T 4
 
 280 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 Chinese carpenter will hold the bit of wood he is planing 
 by his foot like a parrot, and will work a grindstone 
 with his feet.* The Banaka tribe, who are the most 
 famous canoe-men on the west African coast, will 
 impel their light canoes (weighing only from eight to 
 ten pounds) with great velocity over the waves, and at 
 the same time will use their one foot to bale out the 
 water ; and " when they would rest their arms, one leg 
 is thrown out on either side of the canoe, and it is pro- 
 pelled with the feet almost as fast as with a paddle." f 
 In the case too of Miss Biffin, the miniature-painter, 
 who died but eleven years since, and who was patronised 
 by our present Queen and her three predecessors on 
 the throne, we know how her toes took the place of 
 fingers, and guided the pencil with equal delicacy and 
 skill. There was also Monsieur Ducornet, who died 
 only four years ago, who, although he was born without 
 hands, was brought up as an artist, and who annually 
 exhibited at the Louvre pictures painted by his feet.ij: 
 Then there was Thomas Koberts, the armless huntsman 
 to Sir Greorge Barlow, whose feet were made to perform 
 the duties of his hands. And there was William King- 
 
 * See Albert Smith's " To China and Back," pp. 8, 19. 
 
 t Rev. J. L. Wilson's " Western Africa." 
 
 I A large painting (11 feet by 9 feet) by this artist, representing a 
 " Vision of the Virgin and Child appearing to St. Philomene," is in the 
 choir of the church of St. Riccn-uer. See Musgrave's " Bye-Eoads and 
 Battle-Fields," p. 87.
 
 FULLING CLOTir. 281 
 
 stone, Avho \nth. his toes wrote out his accounts, shaved 
 and dressed himself, saddled and bridled his horse, 
 threw sledge-hammers, and fought a stout battle in 
 which he came off victorious. And there was Kleyser, 
 the German, who with his toes shaved, dressed, wrote, 
 threaded needles, fired pistols, and fenced with a rapier. 
 And there was also Matthew Buckinger, who was also 
 born without arms, and could do these things and many 
 more; and like his fellow-countryman, Kleyser, gained 
 his livelihood by the dexterity of his toes. 
 
 The linen-washers in Barr River have already shown 
 us one use of the naked feet that is very popular in 
 Scotland. Pennant mentions another, that is now pro- 
 bably out of date. As a substitute for the fulling- 
 
 CLOTH •WAUKTNG. (After Pennant.) 
 
 mill, about a dozen women, divided into two equal 
 numbers, and all in full song, would sit down on each 
 side of a long board, ribbed lengthways, with the cloth 
 placed upon it. When they were tired of working it 
 backwards and forwards with their hands, "every
 
 282 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 female," says Pennant, "uses her feet for the same 
 purpose, and six or seven pair of naked feet are in the 
 most violent agitation, working one against the other ; 
 as by this time they grow very earnest in their labours, 
 the fury of the song rises ; at length it arrives at such 
 a pitch, that without breach of charity you would ima- 
 gine a troop of female demoniacs to have assembled." * 
 This was called the Luaghadh, or " Walking (wauking) 
 of Cloth." Pennant gives an illustration of the remark- 
 able scene ; though, in his sketch (which is here co- 
 pied) the ladies are very orderly and quaker-like. 
 
 Captain Burt, the author of those old and curious 
 " Letters," to which I referred in the last chapter, 
 thus describes the washing of a room, " which," he very 
 suggestively adds, " the English lodgers require to be 
 sometimes done." It was done with the feet. " First, 
 they spread a wet cloth upon part of the floor; then, 
 
 * Hebrides, p. 286. It is also mentioned in the " Letters from the 
 North of Scotland " (cf. Letter XX.), and by Macculloeh (vol ii. p. 314), 
 who came suddenly on " the bare-legged nymphs in the very orgasm 
 and fury of inspiration, kicking and singing, and hallooing as if they 
 had been possessed by twelve devils." Mr. Campbell says, " There 
 are songs composed in a particular rhythm for washing clothes by 
 dancing on them, songs which are nearly all chorus, and which are 
 composed as they are sung. The composer gives out a single line, 
 applicable to anything then present, and the chorus fiUs up the time by 
 singing and clapping hands, till the second line is prepared. I have 
 known such lines fired at a sportsman by a bevy of girls who were waulk- 
 ing blankets in a byre, and who made the gun and the dog the theme 
 of several stanzas," — Campbell's West Highland Tales, vol. i. p. xliv.
 
 SCOURING A EOOM. 283 
 
 with their coats tucked up, they stand upon the cloth 
 and shuffle it backward and forward with their feet; 
 then they go to another part and do the same, till they 
 have gone all over the room." He ordered a mop to 
 be made, and showed them how to use it ; but he could 
 not persuade them to use it instead of their feet,* " I 
 have seen women by the river-side," he says, "washing 
 parsnips, turnips, and herbs, in tubs with their feet. 
 An English lieutenant-colonel told me, that about a 
 mile from the the town, he saw, at some little distance, 
 a wench turning and twisting herself about as she stood 
 in a little tub; and, as he could perceive, being on 
 horseback, that there was no water in it, he rode up 
 close to her, and found that she was grinding off the 
 beards and hulls of barley with her naked feet, which 
 barley, she said, was to make broth withal ; and, since 
 that, upon inquiry, I have been told it is a common 
 thing. They hardly ever wear shoes but on a Sunday ; 
 
 * Bare legs were to be met witli in town as well as in country, a 
 century ago. Dr. SomerviUe, in his " Life and Times," says : — " Before 
 the year 1760 none of the poor, or only a small proportion of them, 
 wore stockings. Even in the houses of gentlemen of high rank, the 
 maid-servants seldom used them in the earlier part of the day, while 
 employed in servile work. The celebrated Charles Townshend used to 
 give a ludicroiLS description of his being received, by a 'female porter' 
 \vithout stockings or shoes, when he paid his respects to Lord President 
 Craigie, in the Lawnmarket, Edinburgh, in 1758 or 1759 ; and also of 
 the practice, at that time general in the coimtry, of the women treading 
 their dirty linen, instead of washing it with their hands" (p. 326).
 
 284 GLENCREaOAN, 
 
 and then, being unused to them, when they go to 
 church, they walk very awkwardly ; or, as we say, 
 like a cat shod with walnut-shells." The state of 
 " their legs covered up to the calf with dried dirt," is 
 then touched upon with a far different pencil to that 
 used by Mr. Frith in his dainty-limbed gleaner. But, 
 although this charge may be true in too many cases, 
 yet they might retort, that the cleanliness of their 
 feet was better cared for when they paddled barefoot 
 through burns and puddles, than when encased in heat- 
 producing shoes. 
 
 " In respect to dress, shoes, stockings and bonnets 
 are not much worn, and the fashions for this month 
 are white muslin caps, dark cotton gowns, made short 
 and scanty in the skirt, and neither leather nor pru- 
 nella for shoes ; but I always maintain, that for hard- 
 working people, the custom is both wholesome and 
 cleanly, of having their bare feet washed daily, or per- 
 haps hourly, in every stream they pass. A woman 
 respectably clothed in shoes and stockings, was heard 
 saying once to a friend, ' I must hurry home and wash, 
 for I've negleckit my feet for three weeks.' " So says 
 Miss Sinclair. But, so far as my own observation goes, 
 I must say, that the Highland lassie, however pic- 
 turesque an object, would be made a much more whole- 
 some and inviting character by a little more attention 
 to tidiness and cleanliness. Sir Walter Scott has
 
 PICTURESQUENESS AND CLEANLINESS. 285 
 
 pierced the mark, in the following description : — 
 " Three or four village girls, returning from the village 
 well or brook with pitchers and pails upon their heads, 
 formed pleasing objects, and, with their thin short 
 gowns and single petticoats, bare arms, legs, and feet, 
 uncovered heads and braided hair, somewhat resem- 
 bled Italian forms of landscape. Nor could a lover of 
 the picturesque have challenged either the elegance 
 of their costume, or the symmetry of their shape ; al- 
 though, to say the truth, a mere Englishman, in search 
 of the comfortable, a word peculiar to his native 
 tongue, might have wished the clothes less scanty, the 
 feet and legs somewhat protected from the weather, 
 the head and complexion shrouded from the sun, or, 
 perhaps, might even have thought the whole person 
 and dress considerably improved by a plentiful appli- 
 cation of spring water, with a quantum, sufficit of 
 soap." * This is the more to be lamented when found 
 among a people, of whose peasantry, as Sir Walter 
 elsewhere says, " from among the young women, an 
 
 * The author of the "Old Church Architecture of Scotland" (1861), 
 describes the landing of himself and friends at St. Kilda, and going 
 through their morning's purification "in the hollow of a small stream 
 up a little way from the shore, to the infinite amusement of the people, 
 who, probably haring never seen their water turned to such account 
 before, or men rubbing and scrubbing themselves so unmercifully, must 
 needs have believed that they were witnessing some pagan rite, or act 
 of pious mortification " (p. 213).
 
 286 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 artist might have chosen more than one model whose 
 features and form resembled those of Minerva." 
 
 And while the naked foot may be accepted as a 
 national characteristic, we may remember that it was 
 through a naked foot that Scotland was saved. If that 
 bare-footed Dane, who, in the darkness of the night, 
 trod upon the rough prickles of the thistle (thence- 
 forth to become the national emblem), and, yelling 
 with the suddenness of the pain, aroused the garrison 
 and put them on their defence ; if he had worn boots, 
 or even one of those pairs of rough-skinned Scottish 
 '' brogues " that were constructed with slits at the 
 heel, so that the water might run out of them, then, 
 who can tell the sequence of events that may have 
 followed ? As it is, there — to remind us of the great 
 events accruing from the misplaced confidence of a 
 naked foot, — there is the thistle for Scotland's badge, 
 with its prickly Dane-and-enemy-defying motto Nemo 
 rue impune lacessit, which, being interpreted into good 
 broad Scotch, means (according to the song) 
 
 " Wha daur meddle vn! me ! " 
 
 So much for the legs of the lassies at Grlencreggan, 
 and elsewhere in the Highlands. But they are deserv- 
 ing of notice ; for (as Macculloch has remarked) they
 
 STOCKINGS NO ADVANTAGE. 287 
 
 are full of symmetry, and are not like the legs of the 
 Welsh girls, which look as though they had been 
 turned in a lathe, although 
 
 " Stockings and shoon 
 To them are no boon."
 
 288 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 HALF A DOZEN OF THE HEBRIDES. 
 
 The Hebrides. — Cara. — G-iguliim. — Giglia. — The sqiiii-ting Cave. — 
 The Watch-Cairn. — Keefie's Hill. — The miraculous Well of Tou- 
 bir-more. — The Brownie. — Islay. — Antiquities. — Milo outdone. 
 — Dinners and Deserts. — Traces of the Lords of the Isles. — 
 Kernes and Gallowglasses. — A Wife upon Trial. — Macdonald's 
 Feud. — Jura. — Corpachs. — The Island of Deer. — The Paps of 
 Jura. — Their Altitude and Character. — The Mountain of Gold. — 
 The Slide of the old Hag. — Corryrraken. — The Legend of the 
 Whirlpool. — The grey Dog's Slap. — A Tub for a Whale. — The 
 Mermaid. — The Song of Colonsay. — Oransay. — A Hebridean 
 Alsatia. 
 
 Of the three hundred and odd islands that lie along 
 the western coast of Scotland, and are known as the 
 Hebrides, the most southern * constitute that group of 
 which Islay and Jura are the monarchs, and which form 
 such a leading object in the seaward view from Grlen- 
 creggan. The half dozen that are most noticeable are 
 Cara, Grigha, Islay, Jura, Colonsay, and Oransay ; though 
 
 * According to the present reckoning; for Cantire itself, Rathlin 
 Island, and the Isles of Arran and Man were formerly included among 
 the Mhudce.
 
 CARA AND GIGHA. 289 
 
 Cara is very small, and only worthy of notice from its 
 nearness to the shore of Cantire, from which it makes a 
 very pretty object. But all these islands have outlying 
 rocks and islets, to most of which there is a name, and 
 some of which are peopled ; so that the half dozen of 
 the Hebrides seen from Grlencreggan might really be 
 multiplied to more than six times six. Let us notice 
 a few of their salient features, with their legends and 
 superstitions. Their agricultural and commercial sta- 
 tistics we will leave to the Grazetteers. 
 
 First of all come Cara and Grigha (pronounced Geera), 
 only three miles and a half from the shore, and but 
 slightly divided from each other. Cara is about a mile 
 in length by half a mile in breadth ; Grigha is seven 
 miles long by two and a half wide. In the sound 
 which divides them is the islet of Grigulum, near to 
 which is good anchoring ground for the largest vessels. 
 The navigation on the eastern coast of these islands is 
 rendered dangerous by sunken rocks ; but there are 
 many safe bays and harboiurs. The JMull of Cara is a 
 precipitous rock of iron-stone 167 feet high, having 
 large caves in its base. This is the highest ground in 
 the island. This rock is much frequented by sea-fowl, 
 and the real game hawk is said to nestle here. The 
 highest ground in Gigha is called Creag hlian or 
 ** the White Eock," and does not exceed 400 feet above 
 the level of the sea. On the western coast, which is 
 
 VOL. I. u
 
 290 GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 very bold and rocky, are two caves, called the Great 
 Cave, and the Pigeon's Cave. There is also a curious 
 cave called 8loo-an-leim, " the Squirting Cave," at the 
 south-west end of Gigha, on the farm of Leim. Here 
 there is a subterraneous passage, 133 feet long, into 
 which the sea flows. About the middle of it is an 
 aperture 8 feet long and 2 broad ; and near the end 
 is another, 20 feet long and 4 broad. When there is 
 a surf a perpetual mist issues from these apertures, ac- 
 companied with a great noise, caused by the rolling of 
 large stones, which are carried backward and forward 
 by the agitation of the water. A storm from the west 
 causes the sea to rush in with such violence as to 
 discharge itself with a thundering noise, in the form 
 of intermitting jets. Hence its name of Sloc-an-leim, 
 "the Squirting Cave," or, literally, the jumping, or 
 springing pit. 
 
 The coast of Gigha is so sinuous, that it is not less 
 than 25 miles in extent. On the eastern shore are fine 
 sandy bays, admirably adapted for sea-bathing, and 
 valuable for the fine white sand which they afford for the 
 manufacture of glass. The Bay of Ardminish is about 
 the centre of the eastern coast, and has a good anchor- 
 age in six or seven fathoms of water ; it is protected by 
 rocks and the headland called Ardminish Point. At 
 the head of the bay are the church and manse. Drim- 
 yconbeg Bay is a little farther north ; and Tarbert Bay
 
 THE WATCH CAIRN. 291 
 
 still higher up, both bays affording good anchorage. 
 There is a ferry across to Tayinloan on the Cantire 
 coast, and communication also with Tarbert by means 
 of a steamer. When it is wished for the May steamer 
 to touch at Grigha, a signal is made from a signal-post 
 erected on an old cairn, called Carn-na-faire, or " the 
 Watch-cairn," on a hill commanding an extensive view, 
 and, no doubt, greatly used as a watch-tower in the 
 stirring times of the Lords of the Isles. 
 
 There is but little heather in the island; but juniper 
 abounds on the east coast, and is made to give a gin 
 flavour to whiskey. Illicit distillation is believed still 
 to exist in the island. Its fishery chiefly consists of 
 cod, ling, and haddocks, which, vnth. potatoes and oat- 
 meal, constitute the chief food of the inhabitants.* The 
 moss-rose grows wild in the island. 
 
 About the middle of Grigha is Dun Chifie, or Keefie's 
 Hill, which appears to have been a strong fortification. 
 Keefie was the son of the King of Lochlin, and occupied 
 this stronghold, where (according to tradition), he was 
 slain by Diarmid, one of Fingal's heroes, with whose 
 wife he had run away. We shall hear more about 
 Diarmid when we come to the eighteenth chapter. In 
 Cara are the remains of a chapel, 29 feet by 12, with a 
 
 * The geology of tliese islands is fully illustrated in the '• Statistical 
 Accounts," and Macenlloch's "Western Islands," vol. ii. p. 278; also 
 map, p. 86. 
 
 c 2
 
 292 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 Gothic arched door ; and in Grigha are also the remains 
 of an old church (about a mile from the present church), 
 which are described by Martin and Pennant *, as well 
 as some monumental stones and a cross. The most 
 noticeable modern monuments are those to the memory 
 of the Eev. Dr. Curdie, of the West Indies, who died, 
 aged eighty, at the residence of his nephew, the Eev. 
 James Curdie, minister of Gigha, — and to Captain 
 M'Neill (proprietor of the island), his wife, and two 
 daughters, who were all drowned in the Orion, June 
 18th, 1850. 
 
 Pennant also speaks of " a little well of most mira- 
 culous quality ; for, in old times, if ever the chieftain 
 lay here wind-bound, he had nothing more to do than 
 cause the well to be cleared, and instantly a favourable 
 gale arose." f Martin, who visited it at an earlier period 
 than Pennant did, says, " There is a well at the north 
 end of this isle, called Toiibir-more, that is, 'a great 
 well,' because of its effects, for which it is famous among 
 the islanders; who, together with the inhabitants, use 
 it as a catholicon for diseases. It is covered with stone 
 and clay, because the natives fancy that the stream that 
 flows from it might overflow the isle ; and it is always 
 opened by a Dlroclt, that is, *an inmate,' else they 
 think it would not exert its virtues. They ascribe one 
 
 * See also Macculloeh's " Highlands," vol. iv. p. 425. 
 
 t Hebrides, p. 198; see also Campbell's "Popular Tales."
 
 TOUBIRMORE MIRACULOUS "WELL. 293 
 
 very extraordinary effect to it, and it is this ; that when 
 any foreign boats are wind-bound here, which often 
 happens, the master of the boat ordinarily gives the 
 native that lets the water run, a piece of money ; and 
 they say, that immediately afterwards the wind changes 
 in favour of those that are thus detained by contrary 
 winds. Every stranger that goes to drink of the water 
 of this well, is accustomed to leave on its stone cover a 
 piece of money, needle, pin, or one of the prettiest 
 variegated stones they can find." At the present day, the 
 superstition regarding this miraculous well of Toubir- 
 more, is, that if any of the stones that are in the well 
 be taken out of it, a great storm will arise. Some men 
 declared that they had caused a dreadful tempest by 
 these means. In Cara, the brunie or brownie is 
 believed in. 
 
 Islay (the stronghold of whiskey, eni'iching the govern- 
 ment to more than thirty thousand a year, and bringing 
 more practical results to the exchequer of the present 
 Lord of the Isle, than did all the sovereignty of his 
 predecessors), is about twenty-eight miles long ; Jura, 
 thirty-four, the two being divided by the narrow sound 
 of Islay ; but as Islay overlaps Jura on the south-west, 
 the two islands, as seen from Cantire, appear to form 
 
 but one — 
 
 Green Islay's fertile shore " 
 
 gently sliding behind the rugged coast of Jura. Danish 
 
 u 3
 
 294 GLEXCEEGGAN. 
 
 forts, and Danish-named places, are evidences that 
 Islay was once under the government of the Danes, 
 before it became the possession of the Lords of the Isles. 
 There are many interesting ruins of churches, together 
 with monuments and crosses, which are fully described 
 and figured in Pennant *, and need not be further re- 
 ferred to here. The ruins of as many as fourteen churches 
 have been found in the island, together with many 
 strongholds and castles. Traces of the once powerful 
 Macdonalds, the Lords of the Lsles^ abound ; and many 
 are the legendary tales told of them. 
 
 In one legend, Milo is altogether outdone. Five 
 hundred chosen followers formed the body-guard of 
 Macdonald, King of the Isles ; and out of these 500 
 sixteen picked men attended him wherever he went. 
 They had great privileges, and they consequently met 
 with great enemies. One Macphail is said to have 
 destroyed the last sixteen in the following highly in- 
 genious way. He was engaged in splitting an oak-tree, 
 when they came up -with the king. Macphail asked 
 them to lend a helping hand ; to which they consented. 
 Eight of them took hold of the split on the one side of 
 the tree, and eight on the other. When they were all 
 tugging, Macphail drew out the wedges, when the 
 severed sides of the oak fled to, and clasped the thirty- 
 two hands with a " sense of touch " that was " something 
 * See also Lord Teignmouth's " Scotland," toI. ii. p. 332.
 
 DINNERS AND DESERTS. 295 
 
 coarse." The sixteen picked men of the king's body- 
 guard of five himdred were Macphail's jDrisoners ; and 
 their monarch's head might have been cleft by Mac- 
 phail's axe, before their very eyes. Macphail, however, 
 had too great a regard for the King of the Isles, than 
 to lay violent hands upon him ; and he sent him safely 
 home. He then gave his sixteen prisoners a good dinner, 
 feeding them, it may be presumed, as Mrs. Whackford 
 Squeers fed the pupils of Dotheboys Hall ; and then, 
 with the aid of his three sons, cut off their heads ; a 
 proceeding which he might perhaps term giving them 
 their deserts after their dinners. 
 
 At Loch Finlagan, in Islay, on a small island in the 
 midst of a three-mile bay, are the ruins of a castle, 
 a pier *, and a chapel, dedicated to St. Columba ; and 
 here was the large stone, seven feet square, on which 
 Macdonald stood when he was crowned, and presented 
 with the sword and the white wand of power. In the 
 Sound of Islay is a small island, called Freughilein, 
 where may be seen the ruins of the square fort of Claig 
 Castle, where the Macdonalds protected the entrance of 
 the Sound, and also kept their prisoners. 
 
 The Lords of the Isles found burial-places at lona, 
 
 * " Pass by two deep channels, at present clry. These had been the 
 harbour of the great Macdonald ; had once piers, with doors to secure 
 his shipping, a great iron hook, one of the hinges, having lately been 
 found there." (Pennant's "Hebrides," p. 221.) It was founded in 
 the reign of ^neas II., see p. 227. 
 
 u 4
 
 296 GLENCIIEGGAN. 
 
 but their wives and children were buried in the island 
 of Finlagan, in Loch Finlagan ; where was another 
 small island, called Ilan-na-Corlle, " the Island of 
 Council," where thirteen judges (the ArTnin or Tlerna, 
 heads of the principal families) constantly sat to de- 
 cide differences among Macdonald's subjects, receiving 
 for their trouble the eleventh part of the value of the 
 affair tried before them. At the south of the island is 
 a harbour guarded by two rocks, called Creig-a-nairgid, 
 " the Eock of the Silver Eent ;" and Craig-a-nione, 
 " the Eock of Eents in kind ; " these rocks being the 
 places where the rents of the Isle of Man were paid to 
 the King of the Isles. On the shores of Loch Finlagan 
 were the quarters of his soldiers, the Carnauch and 
 Gilli-glasses, the first word signifying " strong men," 
 who fought with darts and daggers ; the latter word 
 signifying " grim-looking fellows," who fought with 
 axes, and were defended by coats of mail. These are 
 the Kernes and Gallowglasses to whom Shakspeare 
 refers in 2 Henry YL, act iv. scene 9 ; and in Macbeth, 
 act i. scene 2 : — 
 
 " The merciless Macdonald 
 . . . from the ■western isles 
 Of kernes and gallowglasses is supplied." 
 
 One of the Macdonald feuds arose curiously enough, 
 and is characteristic of the customs of those rude 
 though chivalrous times. It seems, that when a High-
 
 macdonald's feud. 297 
 
 land gentleman wished for a wife, he was allowed to 
 take to himself a young lady upon trial. If, after 
 living a year as husband and wife, he did not feel in- 
 clined to cement the relationship by marriage, he was 
 permitted to return her to her friends. He could thus 
 have a fresh young lady every year, and not encumber 
 himself by converting his annual into a perennial. This 
 custom was perfectly en regie, and obtained in the 
 highest circles. The chieftain of the Macdonalds had, 
 in this way, taken upon a twelvemonth's trial the 
 daughter of the chieftain of the Macleods ; and, at the 
 termination of her period of probation, had returned 
 her to her parents. The father was indignant, and 
 considered that a slur had been cast upon his family 
 He vowed vengeance, not only with sword, but also 
 with fire ; saying, that, as there had been no wedding 
 bonfire, there should be a fire to celebrate the divorce. 
 He carried his threat into execution, and devastated 
 Islay ; and, from that day, a bloody feud arose between 
 the Macdonalds and Macleods, which it took centuries 
 to quell. 
 
 The readers of "The Lord of the Isles" will re- 
 member that an Islay minstrel was among those who 
 were met to celebrate the feast in the halls of Artor- 
 nish ; and when Lord Eonald (" the heir of mighty 
 Somerled," the sovereign of Cantire, who was slain in 
 1164) gave his signal of " high command,"
 
 298 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 " Verdant Islay call'd her host, 
 And the clans of Jura's rugged coast 
 Lord Ronald's call obey." 
 
 Sir Walter Scott's adjectives are here (as always) most 
 correctly applied. The coast of Jura is indeed rugged^ 
 and the scenery of the island is both bold and bald, and 
 a contrast to green and verdant Islay. The eastern shore 
 towards Cantire is cultivated; but on the western 
 shore the mountains, in many places, are precipices 
 over the sea, their bases hollowed into vast caves by the 
 action of the water. Here rested the bodies of those 
 who were being conveyed to their last resting-places at 
 Oransay and lona ; and, in stormy weather, the bodies 
 of the dead must necessarily have been detained many 
 weeks in these natural caverns, which are called cor 
 "packs from this circumstance. Similar caverns are 
 met with at Sane3niiore, on the western coast of Islay, 
 where, on April 27th, 1847, the Exmouth was wrecked 
 with 240 Irish emigrants on board, only three of whom 
 were saved ; many of the others finding their corpach 
 in Saneymore Cave. 
 
 Jura is connected with the mainland by the ferry of 
 Lagg, about midway on its eastern shore ; and from this 
 point a road runs in a southwardly direction, beneath 
 the Paps to Feoline, on the Sound of Islay, where a 
 ferry-boat conveys the passengers to Portaskaig in 
 Islay. While Islay is supposed (b}' some) to mean in
 
 THE ISLAND OF DEER. 299 
 
 Gaelic, An Eilean IleacJi, " the fine, diversified, varie- 
 gated island," Jura signifies "the dark, bleak isle," 
 or "the waste steep."* These meanings certainly well 
 express the leading characteristics of the two islands ; 
 but MaccuUoch would derive Jura from the Scandi- 
 navian Duir-a, "the Island of Deer." f Bat what- 
 ever may be the etymology, there is no doubt about 
 the fact ; Jura is an island of deer to the present day ; 
 and on its mountains, abounding in grouse and black 
 game, the red deer is the lord of the isle. Gordon 
 Gumming tells us that his famous German rifle, that 
 did such deadly work on tigers, lions, hippopotami, 
 elephants, giraffes, and such small deer, had, ten years 
 
 * " The spelling Duira and Diurath, for the island of Jura, does not 
 change the soxind, but seems to indicate a reasonable derivation for the 
 name which is common to the " Jura " mountains, and may well be an 
 old Celtic name preserved, AN DIU EATH, the waste steep, the Jura. 
 There is a local rhjone in support of this view, said to have been com- 
 posed by a poetess who was a native of some other island. 
 
 ' Diu Eath an domhain, 
 r diu dath an domhain ann, 
 Eiiidhe Dugh a's Eiabhach.' 
 
 ' Waste steep of the world, 
 And waste hue of the world in it, 
 Yellow, black, and brindled.' 
 
 These three colours being the most common family names, luitil very 
 lately, in the island, as well as the distinguishing colours of the land- 
 scape, according to the eye of the discontented lady." — Cajipbell's 
 Popular Tales of the West Hic/hlands, vol. ii. p. 353. 
 t Highlands, vol. iii. p. 148.
 
 300 GLENCREaGAN. 
 
 before, brought down his first stag on the Paps of 
 Jura. 
 
 The Paps are Jura's leading feature. They are the 
 three chief eminences on the southern portion of that 
 mountain ridge which extends from one end of the 
 island to the other, and are named Beinn-an-Chao- 
 lois, " the Mountain of the Soimd " (i. e. the Sound 
 of Islay), Beinn-an-Oir, " the Mountain of Grold," and 
 Bienn-sheunta, " the Consecrated Mountain." The 
 next peak is called Corra-hhien, " the Steep Moun- 
 tain." The highest of the Paps is the central one of 
 the three, Beinn~an-Olr, or Benanoir, " the Moun- 
 tain of Grold ; " so called " from its metallic appear- 
 ance," says Lord Teignmouth, but more probably from 
 its summit being the first part of the island to be 
 " tipped with gold " by the rays of the rising sun. 
 Oir signifies the east (Oriens\ or the rising sun. In 
 the Arabian tale, the man who turned his back upon 
 his companions who were looking out for the sunrise, 
 was ridiculed by them for looking towards the west 
 when the sun rose in the east ; nevertheless he was 
 the first to hail the sunrise, by pointing out its rosy 
 glow on the summit of a minaret. 
 
 The height of Benanoir is variously stated. Pennant 
 makes it to be 2420 feet above the sea-level; Lord 
 Teignmouth, 2240 ; the late Professor Walker, of Edin- 
 burgh, 2340; Mr. Wallace Fyfe (inMacPhun's "Gruide"),
 
 PAPS OF JURA. 301 
 
 " about 2700 feet ; " Black's " Guide " (p. 569), 2565 ; 
 Collins's " Atlas," 2470 ; while MaccuUoch says that the 
 two chief Paps have a medium height of " about 25,000 
 feet," — which, of course, is a misprint for 2500.* Sir 
 Joseph Banks ascended Bienn-sheunta, and by actual 
 measurement found it to be 2359 feet above the sea- 
 level, " but it was far out-topped by Benanoir." f The 
 Paps are quite mammillary in their formation and 
 their geology, and the peculiar stratification of Jura 
 will be found fully described and mapped in Mac- 
 culloch's dry book. He says that on the summit of the 
 Paps he found the heat very great, the thermometer 
 standing at 72° and being 82° on the shore. Professor 
 Walker boiled water on the summit with six degrees of 
 heat less than he found necessary for the purpose on 
 the plain below. The Professor describes the view from 
 the summit, which includes in its wide circle at once 
 the Isle of Skye and the Isle of Man, as singularly 
 noble and imposing : two such prospects more, he says, 
 would bring under the eye the whole island of Great 
 Britain, from the Pentland Frith to the English 
 Channel.:]: Pennant also describes the extensive view 
 
 * But not corrected in the table of errata. " Highlands," vol. iv. 
 p. 419. 
 
 t Recorded in the eightieth volume of the " Philosophical Trans- 
 actions." 
 
 \ See Hugh Miller's " Cruise of the Betsey," p. 3.
 
 302 GLENCEEGaAN. 
 
 from the summit. Lord Teignmouth conversed with 
 Mr. Campbell of Jura, who accompanied Pennant in 
 his ascent; and was assured by him that, although 
 Pennant expressed a great dislike to whiskey, he had 
 descended the Paps much more happily than he had 
 ascended them, on the strength of a glass of Glenlivat, 
 of which he had been prevailed to taste on the summit. 
 A strip of rock, running from the western side of Bena- 
 noir into the sea, is called Sariob na Cailich*, *' the 
 slide of the old hag." The old hag is also supposed to 
 have knocked off the summit of the southernmost hill 
 of the chain in her haste to get to Mr. MacKarter, of 
 Islay. On the north of Jura, between it and the island 
 of Scarba, is the famous gulf, or whirlpool, of Corry- 
 vraken, occasioned, it is supposed, by the confluence of 
 the currents of the flood-tide, the stream being opposed 
 (as in the Maelstrom), by a pyramidal rock that shoots 
 up from a depth of about a hundred fathoms to within 
 fifteen fathoms of the surface. Its roar can be heard 
 at a prodigious distance : its sound being like " the sound 
 of innumerable chariots," says the poet Campbell, in 
 his notes to " Gertrude of Wyoming," where he speaks 
 
 of the 
 
 " Distant isles that hear the loud Corbreehtan roar." 
 
 * For the legend of this old hag, Chaileah Bheine Mhore, and her 
 adyenture with MacPhie of Colonsay (which led to her "slide"), see 
 Mr. Campbell's "West Highland Tales," vol. ii. p. 351. Many ciirious 
 legends of Islay and Jura will be found in these interesting volumes.
 
 LEGEND OF CORKTVEAKEN. 303 
 
 Dr. ]\Iacleod, of Glasgow, explains Corryvraken — or 
 more properly Corrie-bhreacan — to signify "^ the Caul- 
 dron of the foaming tide," — from corrie, a cauldron ; 
 breae, foaming ; and ain, a tide or rapid stream. The 
 popular derivation, however, makes it to be the cauldron 
 of Bhreacan, or, as Campbell says, "the whirlpool of 
 the Prince of Denmark ; and there is a tradition that 
 a Danish prince once undertook, for a wager, to cast 
 anchor in it. He is said to have used woollen instead 
 of hempen ropes for greater strength, but perished in 
 the attempt." Much to the same effect, but with a 
 little more romance and amplitude. Lord Teignmouth 
 tells the legend. But the compiler of the " Statistical 
 Account " of the island gives a different and much 
 fuller and more poetical version of the legend, thus : — 
 "According to a tradition still believed in the He- 
 brides, Corryvreachkan, or the cauldron of Breachkan, 
 received its name from a Scandinavian prince, who, 
 during a visit to Scotland, became enamoured of a 
 princess of the Isles, and sought her for his bride. 
 Her wily father, dreading the consequences of the 
 connection, but fearful to offend the King of Lochlin, 
 gave his consent to their marriage, on condition that 
 Breachkan should prove his skill and prowess by an- 
 choring his bark for three days and three nights in 
 the whirlpool. Too fond or too proud to shrink from 
 the danger, he proceeded to Lochlin to make prepara-
 
 304 GLENCHEGQAN. 
 
 tions for the enterprise. Having consulted the sages 
 of his native land, he was directed to provide himself 
 Avith three cables, one of hemp, one of wool, and one 
 of woman's hair. The first two were easily procured ; 
 and the beauty of his person, his renown as a warrior, 
 and the courtesy of his manners, had so endeared him 
 to the damsels of his country, that they cut off their 
 own hair to make the third, on which his safety was 
 ultimately to depend ; for the purity of female inno- 
 cence gave it power to resist even the force of the 
 waves. Thus provided, the prince set sail from Loch- 
 liu, and anchored in the gulf. The first day the 
 hempen cable broke. The second day the woollen 
 cable parted. There still remained the gift of the 
 daughters of Lochlin. The third day came, the time 
 had nearly expired, his hopes were high, his triumph 
 was almost achieved, but some- frail fair one had con- 
 tributed her flaxen locks, the last hope failed, and the 
 bark was overwhelmed. The prince's body was dragged 
 ashore by a faithful dog, and carried to a cave that 
 still bears his name, in which the old men point out 
 a little cairn, where tradition says the body of Breach- 
 kan was interred. From that time, as the legend tells, 
 the whirlpool was called Corryvreachkan." 
 
 Lord Teignmouth says that the " faithful grey dog 
 followed his master overboard and reached Scarba, but 
 perished in the lesser Corryvraken, between that island
 
 THE SONG OF COLONSAT. 305 
 
 and Lunga." The Sound which separates these islands 
 is still called " the Grrey Dog's Slap " (or passage). A 
 story was told me of a vessel having drifted into the 
 Sound, and being deserted instantly by its crew, with 
 the exception of a boy who was asleep, and did not 
 perceive the absence of his companions or the peril 
 of his situation, till he had arrived on the verge of the 
 gulf. With much presence of mind he cast a tub to 
 the raging monster, which was swallowed up, and satis- 
 fied the cravings of his appetite. The waves closed 
 upon it, and afforded a smooth passage to the vessel. 
 
 According to the old Graelic legend, versified by 
 Dr. Leyden, mermaids dwell beneath the waves at 
 Corryvraken ; and MacPhail, the chief of Colonsay, was 
 seven months their captive in a coral cave before he 
 was able to outwit them. The moral, therefore, of 
 Corryvraken would seem to be, that its waves are as 
 dangerousl}^ beautiful and engrossing as a woman who 
 would allure to destruction, whose " house inclineth 
 unto death, and her paths unto the dead." No wonder 
 then that " the song of Colonsay " should take the form 
 of these words of warningf, — 
 
 " As you pass through Jura's sound, 
 
 Bend your course by Scarba's shore ; 
 Shun, oh shun, the gidf profound, 
 Where Corrivreckiu's surges roar." 
 
 Colonsay lies to the west of Jura: it is about ten 
 VOL. I. I
 
 306 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 miles long, and has the small island of Oransay at its 
 feet, from which it is separated by a narrow strait, 
 which is dry at low water. The smaller island bears 
 away the palm of interest, both from its having been 
 the spot where St. Columba landed (and from whence 
 he rapidly retired to lona on finding that Oransay 
 commanded a view of his foresworn Ireland), and also 
 from the ruins of its priory for the canons of St. Au- 
 gustine, which are inferior in interest only to those 
 of lona. An illustrated description of the ruins and 
 antiquities of these two islands Avill be found in Pen- 
 nant ; and Lord Teignmouth's book may also be con- 
 sulted with advantage. 
 
 So much for our half dozen of the Hebrides forming 
 that beautiful group of the Highland Archipelago 
 visible from Grlencreggan. I trust that no one of 
 them was included among those western isles that 
 were at that time proving an Alsatia for certain English 
 debtors, who, by a sojourn of forty days, were enabled 
 to qualify themselves as residents in the island, and, 
 by the facilities afforded by the Scotch law, go through 
 the operation known as " white-washing," in a very 
 easy and expeditious manner. Mr. Smith, of London, 
 would scarcely recognise in the Mr. Jones of (say) 
 Tobermory, Isle of Mull, that individual Jones to 
 whom he had so confidingly supplied goods upon 
 credit ; and even if he did, the journey to Tobermory,
 
 AN HEBRIDEAN ALSATIA. 307 
 
 and the uncertainty of making good his claim, would 
 be sufficient to deter him from taking any active steps 
 in the matter. This is certainly one use to which the 
 Hebrides may be put, which is not recommended for 
 imitation. 
 
 X 2
 
 308 GLENCKEGGAN. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 SHADE AND SHINE. 
 
 Geology of the Coast. — Old Scotland. — Mont Blanc an Upstart. — 
 Procopius and his wonderful Descriptions. — How to write contem- 
 porary History. — Barr School. — The Scholars and their System. — 
 Eouge et Noir. — A Cantire Winter. — The Climate. — "Coorse" 
 "Weather. — Storms and Mist. — Tempests. — Sunrise versus Sunset. 
 — Much to be said on both Sides. — The Sunset on the Atlantic. — 
 The Painter and the Poet both at fault. 
 
 Hugh Millee, iu saiKng from Islay northwards, made 
 the following general observations on the coast on which 
 Grlencreggan is situated, which will explain its geologi- 
 cal character and formation. 
 
 "The disposition of land and water on this coast 
 suggests the idea that the Western Highlands, from the 
 line in the interior whence the rivers descend to the 
 Atlantic, with the islands beyond to the outer Hebrides, 
 are all parts of one great mountainous plain, inclined 
 slantways into the sea. First, the long-withdrawing 
 valleys of the mainland, 'svith their brown mossy streams, 
 change their character as they dip beneath the sea-level.
 
 GEOLOGY OF THE COAST. 309 
 
 and become salt-water lochs. The lines of hills that 
 rise over them jut out as promontories, till cut off by 
 some transverse valley, lowered still more deeply into 
 the brine, and that exists as a kyle, minch, or sound, 
 swept twice every tide by powerful currents. The sea 
 deepens as the plain slopes downward ; mountain-chains 
 stand up out of the water as larger islands, single 
 mountains as smaller ones, lower eminences as mere 
 groups of pointed rocks ; till at length, as we pass out- 
 wards, all trace of the submerged land disappears, and 
 the wide ocean stretches out and away its unfathomable 
 depths. The model of some Alpine country raised in 
 plaster on a flat board, and tilted slantways at a low 
 angle into a basin of water, would exhibit on a minute 
 scale an appearance exactly similar to that presented 
 by the western coast of Scotland and the Hebrides. 
 The water would rise along the hollows, longitudinal 
 and transverse, forming sounds and lochs, and sur- 
 round, island-like, the more deeply-submerged emi- 
 nences." 
 
 And he sums up its geology thus : — " The idea im- 
 parted of old Scotland to the geologist here — of Scot- 
 land proudly, aristocratically, supereminently old — 
 for it can call Mont Blanc a mere upstart, and Dhawa- 
 lagheri, with its 28,000 feet of elevation, a heady fel- 
 low of yesterday, — is not that of a land settling down 
 by the head like a foundering vessel, but of a land whose 
 
 X 3
 
 310 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 hills and islands, like its great aristocratic families, have 
 arisen from the level in very various ages, and under the 
 operation of circumstances essentially diverse." * 
 
 As I have quoted this for the reader's instruction, I 
 may here quote for his amusement that fictitious de- 
 scription of the Scottish Highlands written by Pro- 
 copius, a legal gentleman at Constantinople, who died 
 just 1300 years ago, after being high in favour with 
 Anastasius and Justinian, and Secretary-of-War to Beli- 
 sarius. He set up to be the Macaulay of his age, and 
 to judge from the following specimen of his writings 
 (as translated by Gribbon) must have been the founder 
 of the Society for the Confusion of Useless Knowledge. 
 " Great Britain," he says, " is divided into eastern and 
 western parts, by an antique wall, the boundary of life 
 and death. The east is a fair country, inhabited by 
 civilised people ; the air is healthy, the water is pure 
 and plentiful, and the earth yields her regular and 
 fruitful increase. In the west, beyond the wall, the air 
 is infectious and mortal ; the ground is covered with 
 serpents ; and this dreary solitude is the region of de- 
 parted spirits, who are transported from the opposite 
 shores in substantial boats, and by living rowers. Some 
 families of fishermen, the subjects of the Franks, are 
 excused from tribute, in consideration of the mysterious 
 
 * Cruise of the Betsey, pp. 3, 4. For the geology of Cantire, see 
 Appendix.
 
 PEOCOPIUS'S WONDERFUL DESCKIPTIONS. 311 
 
 office which is performed by these Charons of the 
 ocean. Each, in his turn, is summoned at the hour of 
 midnight, to hear the voices, and even the names of 
 the ghosts ; he is sensible of their weight, and he feels 
 himself impelled by an unknown but irresistible 
 power." In this way was contemporary history MTitten 
 thirteen centuries ago. But such reports as these 
 afforded the civilised and luxurious southern nations an 
 excuse for not interfering with the savage wilds of a 
 northern clime. **How," asks the historian, "could 
 the masters of the fairest and most wealthy climates of 
 the globe refrain from turning with contempt from 
 gloomy hills assailed by the winter tempest, from lakes 
 covered with a blue mist, and from cold and lonely 
 heaths, over which the deer of the forest were chased 
 by a troop of naked barbarians?" So much for ancient 
 history ; now let us turn to modern times and personal 
 experiences. 
 
 On the upper side of the high road, about half-way 
 between Grlencreggan and Barr Village, is the parochial 
 school ; it has been built within these few years, and is 
 a commodious building.* The ground-floor is occupied 
 
 * It is a subject equally delicate and unsavoury even to hint at in 
 tlie semi-obscurity of a foot-note ; but, when I say that there is not a 
 single outbuilding of any description attached to the school premises, 
 for the use either of the inmates or the scholars (and, a fortiori, the 
 cottages are without such accommodations), I am mentioning a fact 
 which makes itself known to the tourist in the Highlands in various 
 
 X 4
 
 312 
 
 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 by the school-room, approached from the back, and 
 lighted by three western windows. The upper part of 
 
 FROM GLEXCEEGG.IN HOUSE TO BARR SCHOOL. 
 
 the house is apportioned to the master and mistress, 
 and is approached by an exterior flight of steps. The 
 
 disagreeable ways, and which is an e-videnee of a trait of national 
 character that is most repulsive and disgusting, both to the moral and 
 physical senses. Coleridge's enumeration of the seventy-two stenches 
 in the towii of Cologne could easily be paralleled in Scotland ; although 
 the forcible reasons no longer exist, which not more than a century ago 
 obliged the visitor to an Edinburgh or Glasgow wynd or close, after 
 ten o'clock at night, to be preceded by a guide shouting, "Haudyer 
 hand! " to those who were emptying iinclean vessels from the -n-indows 
 into the street, and were permitted to commit this filthy act by civic 
 permission, and by sound of city drum. For which any one who is 
 curious on such a revolting subject may find a verification in "Letters
 
 BAER SCHOOL. 313 
 
 present master is Mr. William Conner, who was trained 
 in the Normal Seminary. His wife is the school-mis- 
 tress, and they appeared very efficient, and well adajjted 
 for their situation. The school is supported by the 
 Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, with a 
 salary to the master of 17/. a year, a residence, and 
 two and a half acres of " mortified " land. It has no 
 help from the Grovernment, but the Committee of 
 General Assembly endow a school in this same united 
 parish of Killean and Kilchenzie, in which Barr School 
 is placed. During the last quarter of a century the 
 people have manifested a laudable desire to give their 
 children an education ; and the advantages resulting 
 from this wise step have produced a sensible change on 
 the morals of the community. The girls are taught to 
 mend and make clothes, a novelty of the present day 
 that is of no slight sicrnificance in a Highland village. 
 The school was tolerably well supplied with maps and 
 books and the usual paraphernalia, and the proficiency 
 of many of the pupils was very satisfactory. For their 
 schooling they paid various sums, ranging from two 
 
 from Scotland" {e.g. Letter II.), and Pennant's "Scotland," vol. i. 
 p. 63. I was informed, on good authority, that there is almost a total 
 absence of necessary outbuildings throughout the whole of the cottage 
 accommodation in Cantire, and (I believe) in the islands and the other 
 portions of the Western Highlands. The Highland tourist who wishes 
 to botanise on a dyke side, is therefore strongly recommended to choose 
 his dyke at a considerable distance from a human habitation. Exfe- 
 ricntia docct.
 
 314 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 shillings per quarter, according to the means of their 
 parents ; and although, at the period of my visit, it 
 was the harvest season, it did not appear to sensibly 
 affect the school attendance, as is the case in agricul- 
 tural parishes in England. The children were about 
 seventy in number, from mere " infants," up to those 
 who had reached their fifteenth year; and boys and girls 
 occupied the same room. With a very few exceptions 
 of those of the better sort, all the children were bare- 
 footed and bare-legged, to an English eye a peculiar 
 feature in a parish school. Personal cleanliness was 
 insisted on, and the children, for the most part, looked 
 clean and tidy. The school presented an illustration of 
 Rouge et Noir ; for, among the scholars was a private 
 pupil of the master's, a respectably-born black boy, 
 who a fortnight before had arrived from the West 
 Indies, and whose tawny countenance and woolly head 
 looked very remarkable among the red-haired and 
 fair-visaged Highlanders. He had now to look for- 
 ward to the rigours of a Scotch winter, one, as it hap- 
 pened, which was unusually severe and protracted. 
 Indeed, many of the Cantire people say that the winter 
 of 1859 could not be paralleled since that of 1816. 
 Many cattle and sheep in the neighbourhood of Glen- 
 creggan and Grlenbarr died from the severity of the 
 weather and the scarcity of fodder ; and, according to 
 the reports of the Kegistrar-Greneral, the number of
 
 CLIMATE OF CANTIRE. 315 
 
 deaths of all classes of the community was unusually 
 great. 
 
 GTenerally speaking, however, the winter in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Glencreggan, and along the western coast 
 of Cantire, is mild ; more especially in comparison with 
 many other districts in Scotland. Snow rarely lies upon 
 the ground many days together, and frosts are not of 
 long continuance. The climate of Cantire is mild, and 
 rather humid; and though productive of asthma and 
 rheumatic affections during the spring and latter part 
 of the autumn, from the sudden changes in the weather, 
 yet instances of longevity are not uncommon. The 
 latest case was that of a woman, who died not far from 
 Grlencreggan, early in April last (1860), aged one hun- 
 dred years, having retained full possession of her faculties 
 up to the last. On the whole, the climate is considered 
 a particularly healthy one *, and has been found so by 
 those English visitors who have now, for several years, 
 made this neighbourhood their summer home. 
 
 The great feature in the climate is the rain. At 
 certain portions of the year the general aspect of the 
 weather is what the natives term "coorse;" and the 
 epigram said to have been written by Aaron Hill upon 
 
 * " When we consider the variableness of our temperature," says the 
 Eev. J. MacArthur, speaking of this western coast of Cantire, "it may- 
 be surprising that the climate should be so healthy as it in general 
 is." — Statistical Account.
 
 316 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 the pane of an inn window at Berwick-upon-Tweed, is 
 very applicable to the western coast of Cantire : — 
 
 " Scotland ! thy weather 's like a modish wife, 
 Thy winds and rains for ever are at strife ; 
 The termagant, awhile, her bluster tries, 
 And when she can no longer scold — she cries." 
 
 " It rains whiles, " and when it does not rain " it 
 blaws," at any rate, during a great portion of the year. 
 From the want of shelter, the west coast of Cantire is 
 very subject to stormy weather and sudden changes of 
 climate. A mild day, especially at the equinoctial 
 seasons, is frequently succeeded by furious and tremen- 
 dous tempests of north or north-west w^inds. The high 
 range of hills in Cantire attract the storm-clouds, con- 
 ducting them over the low lying islands of Gigha and 
 Cara, and the strait, which is but three and a half miles 
 in breadth ; so that the fall of rain is very much less 
 in these islands than in Cantire, or mountainous Jura. 
 The cloud-capped Paps of Jura afford to the inhabitants 
 of Cantire a sure prognostic of rain, or, if the clouds 
 are of a whitish appearance, of a heavy gale of wind ; 
 and, when the w^ind sets in from the west, the exhala- 
 tions of the Atlantic are attracted to the Highlands of 
 Cantire. These floating vapours are constantly carried 
 about by the prevailing winds, and impregnate the at- 
 mosphere. To these are added the humid exhalations 
 which arise from the lochs and marshes in the interior ; 
 and although these are counteracted to a great extent
 
 STORMS AND MISTS, 317 
 
 by the dry east winds, yet the atmospliere is naturally 
 moist. 
 
 Our visit to Glencreggau was made during the latter 
 part of August and the beginning of September (1859), 
 the most favourable part of the year for fine weather ; 
 and we were fortunate in having many consecutive days 
 of glorious sunshine, when an out-of-door life was full 
 of exquisite delight. But the shine was varied by 
 shade ; and we had our share of Scotch mists as well as 
 our days of driving rain. On the two or three days that 
 succeeded our arrival at Grlencreggan, although it was 
 tolerably fine and clear for a distance of several miles, 
 yet there was not the slightest trace of Islay and Jura, 
 which were obscured by local mists ; and our friend's 
 description of the view that we ought to have seen from 
 Grlencreggan was somewhat on a par with that of the 
 London gentleman who showed his French visitor the 
 view of the great metropolis from Waterloo Bridge, 
 during a November fog. On such mornings, when — 
 
 "The blinding mist came down and hid the land — " 
 
 when Jura and Islay had entirely disappeared from 
 our view, and when Grigha and Cara would seem to 
 have floated many miles out to sea, then, as the vapours 
 would begin to disperse, the Paps of Jura would lift 
 themselves out of the mysterious ocean of mist, and, 
 presently, through the ragged rents of drift, portions of
 
 318 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 Islay would sail into sight ; till, at length, sky and 
 sea would seem to suck up the vapours, and the sun 
 would clearly reveal the long line of island, that, per- 
 chance, had been hidden from us for two or three days. 
 Grrand, too, was it to watch from Grlencreggan a storm 
 sweeping across the Atlantic from Jura, blotting out the 
 lofty Paps, suddenly building a wall of rain between us 
 and Islay, lashing the sea into fury, hurrying the brown- 
 sailed fishing-boats over galloping billows, driving the 
 screaming gulls before its face, and then, with a mighty 
 roar of wind, dashing itself against the opposing cliffs, 
 sweeping over our house-top with a mad swishing shriek, 
 until it swirled away over the hills and heather, and 
 sobbed out its rage on the heart of distant mountains. 
 Very grand were these sudden storms, especially when 
 accompanied by the lightning and thunder, the peals 
 buffeting about among the hills, and dying in sullen 
 echoes. Professor Wilson has, in more than one place, 
 both powerfully and faithfully described these Highland 
 mists and tempests. He speaks of the mist overtaking 
 him on the moor, and holding him prisoner for many 
 hours within its shifting walls, frail indeed, and opposing 
 no resistance to the hand, yet impenetrable to the feet 
 of fear as the stone dungeon's thraldom. " If the mist 
 had remained, that would have been nothing ; only a 
 still, cold, wet seat on a stone ; but, as " a trot becomes 
 a gallop soon, in spite of curb and rein," so a Scotch
 
 STOEMS AND MISTS. 319 
 
 mist becomes a shower, and a shower a flood, and a 
 flood a storm, and a storm a tempest, and a tempest 
 thunder and lightning, and thunder and lightning 
 heavenquake and earthquake." * And, in the following 
 fine passage, he describes an abundance of rain after a 
 season of great drought : — " The windows of heaven 
 were opened, and like giants refreshed with mountain- 
 dew, the rivers flung themselves over the hills with roars 
 of thunder. Like people that have hidden themselves 
 in caves when their native land was oppressed, out gush 
 the torrents, and descend with songs to the plain. The 
 hill country is itself again when it hears the voice of 
 streams. Magnificent army of mists ! whose array en- 
 compasses islands of the sea, and who still, as thy glorious 
 vanguard keeps deploying among the glens, rollest on 
 in silence more sublime than the trampling of the feet 
 of horses, or the sound of the wheels of chariots to the 
 heath-covered mountains of Scotland, we bid thee hail."f 
 The words of INIercury are harsh after the songs of 
 Apollo ; and quotations hke the foregoing are as plums 
 in a workhouse pudding, seriously endangering the 
 author's narrative by their strong poetic contrast to his 
 simple prose, which, in too many cases, may be con- 
 tinued into prosiness. Let my reader, then, credit me 
 with much benevolence of heart, when I endeavour 
 
 * Eecreations of Christopher Isorth, vol. i. p. 83. 
 t Idem, Tol. ii. p. 39.
 
 320 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 to make him a sharer in the pleasm-e that these, and 
 the like, quoted passages have already afforded me ; at 
 the same time, let him ascribe to me great reticence in 
 forbearing to extract many other choice fragments which 
 are equally ready to hand, and which would greatly 
 adorn and swell out this present narrative. I wish only 
 to insert such quotations as shall help the reader to a 
 better understanding of the subject under treatment, 
 and bring it before him in a more lively manner. 
 
 I have already spoken of the view from Grlencreggan, 
 under the varied effects of storm, and mist, and sun- 
 shine : but it remains for me to say a few words on its 
 grandly beautiful aspect at sunset, although the beauty 
 was all too short and evanescent. It has been a sub- 
 ject of close debate, whether to see the sun rising from 
 the sea, or the sun setting into the sea, is the more 
 entrancing sight. The early risers have the best of the 
 debate, in that they can watch both effects, and are 
 therefore better able to form a decision than are those 
 who can only judge of the aspect of sunrise from an 
 enforced acquaintance with it some few times in their 
 lives, when they have had to rise betimes to catch an 
 early train, and are, perhaps, not half awake, and not 
 at all in a placid state of mind. Then, too, so much 
 depends upon position. Scarborough would probably 
 decide for the sunrise ; Aberystwith for the sunset ; 
 while Llandudno would remain neutral. As Sir Eocfer
 
 SUNSET ON THE ATLANTIC. 321 
 
 de Coverley sagely observed, " There is much to be said 
 on both sides ;" but, all things considered, the majority 
 of votes would probably be given for the setting sun, 
 with its adjunct of the " soft hour that wakes the wish 
 and melts the heart." At Grlencreggan we should cer- 
 tainly have voted ^^ith the majority. We were, as I 
 have said, on high ground over the sea, duectly facing 
 " the sumptuous west," the Hebridean group being to 
 the right of the wide-stretching view, the coast of 
 Ireland to the left, and, immediately in front of us, the 
 expanse of ocean, with nothing but the Atlantic billows 
 between us and America. It was at this open jDoint of 
 view, midway between the Irish coast and the Mull of 
 Islay, that, during the time of our visit, the setting sun 
 dipped into the waves. 
 
 I cannot remember seeing more beautiful sea-sunsets, 
 even at Aberystwith. But at Grlencreggan the islands 
 added greatly to the loveliness of the scene ; the long 
 stretch of Islay and Jura, with their purple peaks stand- 
 ing out so sharply against the broad bars of molten gold, 
 and the nearer islets floating in a sea whose hue changed 
 from bright emerald to deepest violet with countless 
 sparkles at every throb. There was one sunset in par- 
 ticular, that " burnt into my brain," and which I vainly 
 essayed to represent with paint and brush ; with very 
 poor success, as I need not say. For even a Turner 
 and a Dan by can only indicate the fleeting glories of the 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 322 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 pageantry of heaven ; and the most consummate art 
 must necessarily come short of success in the futile 
 endeavour to depict what it is impossible adequately to 
 represent. A summer's sunset on the Atlantic is a scene 
 which may not be delineated by pen or pencil so as to 
 convey a full sense of the glorious and unapproachable 
 original. Both painter and poet are at fault here. 
 Danby has painted it; and Ayrshire's second poet, 
 Alexander Smith, has expended upon it a wealth of 
 expression and a world of imagery ; and after all that 
 has been so well said and painted, how much preferable 
 is a five minutes' view of such a fleeting reality, than 
 the enduring records of it on canvas or in verse. 
 
 Truly those were gratifying moments when we looked 
 from Grlencreo'cran over the wide Atlantic, and 
 
 "Watched 
 The sunset build a city, frail as dreams, 
 With bridges, streets of splendoiir, towers ; and saw 
 The fabrics crumble into rosy ruins, 
 And then grow grey as heath."
 
 PREPARATIONS FOE THE MOORS. 323 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 HIGHLANDERS AND HIGHLAND DRESS. 
 
 Preparations for the Moors. — The Shooting-cart. — Highland Eoads 
 and Carriages. — Ossian's Chariots. — The Head-Keeper. — The 
 Dogs. — Old Viscount. — A teetotal Highlander. — Old Eudd. — 
 Our little Weaknesses- — A Whiskey Formula. — A Cross-examina- 
 tion. — Old Eudd oifended. — Ditto the Scotch Cook. — Archie. — 
 Barley-sheaves and Whiskey, — The Shooters' Departure. — Earity 
 of the national Dress. — Scotch' d but not kilt. — The Poetical and 
 Practical. — The Scotch Bonnet. — A royal Example. — A kilted 
 Morning-caller. — Detractors of the Dress. — Age of the Kilt. — An 
 extrayagant Bishop! — Mr. Pinkerton's Modesty shocked. — Eoj-al 
 Toleration. — The ancient Briton and modern Highlander. — He- 
 raldic Tartans. — The Cantire Farmer and his Wardrobe. 
 
 < 7t is a fine morning at Glencreggan ; and, as 
 we look from our bedroom ■s\T.ndow across 
 the Atlantic, the sails of the distant vessels 
 turn to us their sunlit sides. Below us, in 
 the garden, the two peacocks are taking an 
 'S^^^^ airing; with their wives, and no longer scream 
 i AoT Ki ^^ ^^ prophecies of rain. By the time that 
 we have assembled for breakfast, it is apparent that the 
 shooters must have made up their minds about the 
 
 T 2
 
 324 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 weather; for their dress shows that they must have 
 made their morning toilette with thoughts intent on 
 grouse. The keeper and beaters are also seen about 
 the house, and there is a commotion at the kennels. 
 The gun-room is visited, and its murderous weapons 
 critically examined. John Macallum, the head-keeper, 
 makes his appearance clad in Highland costume, which 
 of itself is a clear proof that he has made up his mind 
 about the weather, for, if it had been a wet or un- 
 favourable morning, he would have been in an ordinary 
 English dress. The two beaters, Eudd and Archie, do 
 not aspire to the Highland costume. 
 
 The acreage of moors rented by our host was some- 
 where about sixteen thousand, more or less, for it is 
 impossible to be precise in a case where the owners of 
 the j^roperty themselves cannot tell you the extent of 
 their estates to a few hundred acres ; and the shooting 
 consequently extended for so many miles behind, and 
 on either side of Glencreggan, that a vehicle is neces- 
 sary to help on such of the shooters as do not ride on 
 ponyback, together with their paraphernalia, towards 
 the spot from whence it has been determined to com- 
 mence the day's beat. Now, as no gingerbread vehicle 
 on delicate springs would have the slightest chance of 
 returning alive from those moorland " roads," which 
 are in a complete state of nature, and worn and washed 
 into mighty ruts that form so many water-courses for
 
 ossian's chariots. 325 
 
 the mouutain streams ; therefore it of necessity follows 
 that although an omnibus-carriage may be found very 
 useful to convey our host and his guests along the high 
 road, yet the shooting-cart must be a strongly-built 
 machine on wheels, put together for use and not for 
 show, and with a hanging-seat for " the gentlefolks," 
 made as comfortable as may be by the aid of plaids 
 and rugs. 
 
 In the argument whether the Ossian poems belong 
 to Celtic Ireland or Celtic Scotland, a strong point has 
 been made against their Highland parentage from their 
 frequent mention of chariots and of battles wherein 
 chariots were largely used in a way utterly at variance 
 with the mountainous nature of the country, and which 
 would have necessitated the existence of roads, of which 
 not the slightest evidence or trace remains. Indeed, 
 among the miracles performed by St. Columba, it is 
 expressly mentioned by his early biographer Adamnan, 
 that he travelled for a whole day in a chariot without 
 a linch-pin ! and, although this remarkable and mira- 
 culous feat was performed in a plain, it sufficiently 
 demonstrates the impracticability of any chariots up to 
 the period of the sixth century being able to career 
 over the road-less territories of the mountainous High- 
 lands.* 
 
 * This " miracle " happened on Irish ground (says St. Adamnan), 
 during a visit of a few days that the saint paid to Ireland. His servant 
 
 Y 3
 
 326 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 As there is no Columba to act as charioteer to the 
 Glencreggan shootiug-cart, you may be sure that the 
 linch-pins have been properly attended to, and that 
 the cart is warranted to bump and plunge and jolt in 
 a resolute and not-go-to-pieces way, that may perchance 
 dislocate the limbs of its riders, but will do no damage 
 to its own. It comes round from the stable-yard, 
 drawn by a Eoman-nosed steed that has seen better 
 days, and managed by a light-weight jockey of a lad. 
 John JMacallum and his satellites group around ; and, 
 while guns are being looked up and examined, game- 
 bags brought out, the prog-basket packed for luncheon, 
 and flasks and sandwich-cases filled, I wander forth 
 pencil in hand and sketch the out-door preparations. 
 
 First, in order and importance, comes John Macallum 
 in his Highland dress and kilt of light grey tartan, 
 well suited to the moors. He is girt with powder- 
 flasks, and will presently be further laden with a 
 game-bag and gun. His dog-whip is in his hand, and 
 before him are the dogs, all impatient for the fray, 
 but controlled by voice, and eye, and sight of whip. 
 There is Alba, the beautiful white setter, with a coat 
 
 Columbanns, or Colmanus, had neglected to furnish the chariot with 
 the linch-pins (necessariis ohicibus). Macculloch twice refers to this 
 "miracle" (vol. i. p. 86; vol. ii. p. 203), but appears to have quoted 
 from Adamnan at second-hand ; for he says it does not " follow that 
 this was in the Highlands. If it was not in Ireland, it must have been 
 in the low country, and in the Pictish dominions."
 
 THE DOGS. 
 
 327 
 
 like satin ; and old Viscount, sitting- sedately upon his 
 haunches, but ready for action, and uncommonly re- 
 minding one of another old Viscount in his seat in the 
 House of Commons; like him, too, juvenile in spite of 
 years, game and plucky to the last, with more work in 
 him than many of his more frolicksome and thought- 
 less youngsters; a fine old dog and handsome, and, 
 alas ! his last season on these moors. That his biped 
 
 GLENCKEGGAN HOUSE. (OFF TO THE MOOES.) 
 
 altei^ ego may be preserved for many seasons yet to 
 come, to sport over his Commons with unflagging tact 
 and powers, is the hope of many a one (like the "WTiter) 
 whose difference of politics cannot quench their admi- 
 ration and respect for the man. And there is Bacchus, 
 betraying all the restless impatience of youth ; wliile 
 
 y 4
 
 328 GLENCREGaAN. 
 
 Lady and Countess complete a canine group, to depict 
 which makes me ardently long for the skill and grace of 
 Frederick Tayler.* Their keeper is a good-looking 
 fellow, and no bad subject for the pencil of artist or 
 amateur. Old Eudd grins over my shoulder at the 
 pictured likeness, and pronounces Macallum to look 
 " varra snug," whatever that encomium may mean ; 
 and some "chaff" ensues in Graelic, and therefore out 
 of my ken. John Macallum is worthy of special men- 
 tion, not only because he is a very honest, superior, 
 and civil man, — though that last point is not so ex- 
 traordinary, for, as Sir Walter Scott says, " there are 
 few nations who can boast of so much natural polite- 
 ness as the Highlanders,"! — but because he is a High- 
 
 * As a matter of course the sketch (which has been reproduced in 
 colours and forms the frontispiece to the second Tohime) was far too 
 elaborate to be completed with the speed of a photograph ; but " by 
 poetic license " I sjjeak of it here as though it were finished " at one 
 sitting," like the laying of an egg. 
 
 t Christopher North, too, says that the Celts are "gentlemen in 
 manners, wherever the kilt is worn ; for the tartan is the sjTnbol of 
 courtesy, and Mac a good password all the world over between man 
 and man." "Scotch Highlanders," says IVIr. Campbell, "have faults in 
 plenty, but they hare the bearing of nature's own gentlemen, the 
 delicate natural tact which discovers, and the good taste which avoids, 
 all that would oiFend or hiu-t a guest. The poorest is ever the readiest 
 to share the best he has with the stranger. A kind word kindly meant 
 is never thrown away," (a golden rule!) "and, whatever may be the 
 faults of this people, I have never found a boor or a chiu'l in a 
 Highland bothy." — West Highland Tales, vol. i. p. xxxii. And Dr.
 
 A TEETOTAL GAMEKEEPEE. 329 
 
 land gamekeeper who never touches whiskey. The 
 Total Abstinence Society might do worse than engage 
 him as a "deputation," for, in his Highland costume, 
 he would be much more picturesque and healtiiy- 
 looking than Messrs. Gough and Co. ; and though he 
 might not be able to compete with the transatlantic 
 teetotallers in astounding narratives and Yankee yarns, 
 yet his experience would be much more serviceable to 
 the cause of truth and temperance. Like the prisoner 
 at the treadmill, John Macallum's turning was the re- 
 sult of conviction : he saw so much abuse of whiskey 
 going on around him, that he determined to dispense 
 with the use of the spirit, if possible, and drink instead 
 the real mountain-dew that flowed from the hill-side. 
 He did not take any unnecessary " pledge " imposed 
 by man, but followed out his own reading of the Word 
 of God, and acted upon its precepts. It is now 
 three years since he abstained from everything in 
 the shape of malt liquor and spirits, and he finds 
 himself none the less fitted for those arduous duties 
 that his profession demands. All honour to a man 
 like this, who, without making a parade of his tem- 
 
 Joka Campbell, in his " I>escription of the 'Highlands of Scotland" 
 (1752), says : " It is commonly said of the Venetians that they are aU 
 noble ; but it can without the least deviation of truth be said of the 
 Highlanders that they are all gentlemen, seeing that they are entire 
 strangers to every mean and dishonourable action " (p. 7).
 
 330 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 perance, can preserve himself victorious amid perpetual 
 temptations.* 
 
 Would that I could say the same for old Rudd, who 
 is grinning over my shoulder. Like Mr. Colquhoun's 
 Sandy t, old Rudd "likes his whiskey raw, but is very 
 fond o' a drap water after 't ; " and an uncommonly 
 homoeopathic modicum of water is sufficient for him. 
 His formula is, — as much whiskey as you like ; and 
 every drop of water after will spoil it. To parody the 
 language of Baillie Macwheeble, old Rudd was as sober 
 as a saint if you only kept whiskey from him and him 
 from whiskey. Most people have their little weak- 
 nesses : Napoleon the Great inclined to a j^rofusion of 
 snuff, and the great Johnson to an immoderate use of 
 tea; the cruel and ferocious Charles IX. of France, 
 the hero of St. Bartholomew, delighted in working a 
 forge, shoeing horses, snaring hares, and chopping live 
 animals to pieces with a sharp sword ; the great Conde, 
 as a boy, loved to bore out the eyes of a pet canary 
 with red-hot needles ; Mr. Carlyle's hero, Frederick the 
 Grreat, was attached to drink, wooden furniture, gigantic 
 
 * Mr. Weld, in his work on " The Highlands," pronounces " tea, 
 without milk or sugar," to be " the most refreshing beverage during a 
 long and fatiguing day's shooting;" an opinion which I have heard 
 confirmed by experienced shooters. A pound of tea at 3s. 6d. goes as 
 far as a gallon of whiskey at 16s. 
 
 t " Rocks and Rivers ; or, Highland Wanderings," by J. Colquhoun, 
 p. 22.
 
 OLD EUDD. 331 
 
 grenadiers, and greens and bacon ; and Peter the Great 
 was devoted to dram-drinking. Old Eudd's devotion 
 resembled that of Peter the Grreat. His passion was 
 for a glass of whiskey, made according to that formula 
 which forbids the intermixtm'e of any other element. 
 When he was out on the moors, he had a habit of 
 lagging behind when he ought to have been to the fore ; 
 and his punishment for this neglect was, at luncheon 
 time, to mix his whiskey with water instead of sup- 
 plying it to him neat. Old Eudd didn't at all like 
 this. His invariable excuse for lao-crinsf behind and 
 not being up to the birds when he was wanted, was 
 that " he had been took bad ; " which meant that he 
 had stopped to enjoy a quiet smoke, though it sug- 
 gested that a modicum of whiskey to relieve his imagi- 
 nar}^ qualms would be esteemed a favour. 
 
 By this time I have turned from sketching John 
 Macallum, and am engaged on old Eudd himself, who 
 is by no means picturesque or national in his costume, 
 save a pair of blue trousers very much the worse for 
 wear ; but what can you expect from a gentleman who 
 sjDends all his pocket-money in whiskey? He leans 
 upon a gun, and looks at me ^\^.th a cunning twinkle. 
 
 " D' ye do that when ye 're at hame ?" he says, as 
 he watches the movements of my pencil. For Mister 
 Eudd is by no means troubled with bashfulness, and 
 loses nothing for the want of askinof.
 
 332 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 I assure him that I do so. 
 
 " D' ye get yer Ijread by it ? " he asks. 
 
 " Well, — not exactly." 
 
 But Mister Eudd is not to be put off with half 
 answers, and follows me up with all the persistency of 
 an old Bailey practitioner cross-examining a reluctant 
 witness. " Then what d' ye get yer bread by ? " 
 
 I satisfy him on this point. 
 
 " Aye, aye ! the best trade of all ! " is his commen- 
 tary on my answer. 
 
 Just before I had commenced sketching him there 
 came a message from the kitchen that the cook wanted 
 him to skin a hare. " Skin a hare, indeed ! " cried 
 the indignant gentleman ; " does she tek me for a 
 flesher ! " meaning a butcher. And he was so hurt by 
 the supposition that he refused to go ; and Archie (who 
 was glad to abscond from the sketching through mo- 
 tives of bashfulness) was sent in his place. Archie 
 forthwith carries the news of the portrait-painting into 
 the domains of the kitchen, and so arouses the interest 
 of the Scotch cook, that she wishes me to introduce 
 her portrait into the group ; and, on my declining to 
 do so (on the ground of inappropriateness, no less than 
 inability to do full justice to her charms), goes off in a 
 huff; which I sadly call to mind afterwards when 
 taking a turn on the sea-shore, where my memory, like 
 an insane bee flitting over poisoned blooms, touches
 
 ARCHIE. 333 
 
 upon the many dreadful stories that I have read, in 
 which offended cooks have wreaked their vengeance by 
 placing poison in the soup. I therefore make up my 
 mind to avert any such impeDding calamity, by politely 
 requesting the cook, at the first opportunity, to sit for 
 her portrait as a present to her " gude mon." 
 
 Archie has come back red-handed, and takes his 
 turn to be sketched, which he does sheepishly, and 
 places his profile to me, as though he were Cardinal 
 Wolsey himself. He stands by the head of Eoman- 
 nose ; his bonnet, white jacket, and blue bathing-dress 
 trousers being the most salient points in his attire. 
 Both he and old Eudd will have to strap on the game- 
 baskets presently, and get themselves into full march- 
 ing order. The harness, like the cart itself, is not 
 made for show but for rough work. The rugs and 
 plaids are spread over the swinging-seat, and will 
 partly protect the two gentlemen who will ride there- 
 upon from any abrasions that might have been re- 
 ceived from the mad plunges that the cart will make 
 when it comes to the pitfalls and ruts of the moorland 
 roads. There is room in the cart for the prog-baskets, 
 and for the dogs, if they will lie close. The barefooted 
 gillie, in his white jacket and blue bonnet and trousers, 
 has taken his station on the cart, and will get a lift on 
 the shafts. 
 
 So much for the figures in the near view. As for
 
 334 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 the landscape, — before us is an uneven stretch of 
 meadow-land, with the rock cropping up every here 
 and there : a stone wall divides it from the high road. 
 Then come two more fields with their stone fences, and 
 their sheep, and Highland cattle feeding up to the edge 
 of the cliffs, the Atlantic tumbling in below. The 
 ground dips to the right, where the high road descends 
 to the sea-shore in the direction of Muasdale, and the 
 meadow-land rises sharply up the hills towards the 
 moors at our back. There are many corn-fields that 
 chequer the green with bright patches of gold, where 
 the reapers are at work, with the women in their white 
 caps, and pink jackets, and short petticoats, looking 
 very picturesque amid the barley-sheaves. Ten to one 
 but those sheaves will be converted into whiskey ere 
 another twelvemonth. Campbell, with a touch of 
 truth and national knowledge of the subject, even 
 makes " poor Caledonia's mountaineer," among the 
 Indian hills of Wyoming, not forget the Highland use 
 of a barley-sheaf: — 
 
 " And plied the beverage from his o\ni fair sheaf, 
 That fii'ed his Highland blood with mickle glee." 
 
 And no small proportion of these Cantire sheaves will 
 be transformed into " fire-water." We are on too high 
 ground, and too far back from the face of the cliff, to 
 have a peep at the shore and the shingle ; but we look
 
 DEPAETUEE OF THE SHOOTERS. 335 
 
 over the blue width of waters, flecked by giills or the 
 ruddy sails of fishing-boats, and there are Gigha and 
 Cara, with the long range of Islay and Jura for a 
 mountainous background. Highest of all the hills rise 
 the Paps of Jura, and, from this point, their shape 
 directs us to the origin of their name. 
 
 By the time the sketch is made the preparations for 
 the departure of the shooters have also come to an end ; 
 and after much difficulty in repressing the too buoj^ant 
 spirits of Lady and Bacchus, and compelling them to 
 an unwilling ride in the cart, where the intelligent 
 head of old Viscount is seen resting against his master's 
 knee, the old Eoman-nose has collared to his work, 
 and the cart, and the keeper, and the beaters, and the 
 dogs, have vanished '' over the hills and far awa'," and 
 are already disturbing the grouse ere they have arrived 
 at the scene of action. As I see the last of John Mac- 
 allum striding through the purple heather, I agree 
 with Mr. Eudd (and the more readily as I don't quite 
 know what he means) in pronouncing his appearance 
 to be " varra snug," taking that expression in a general 
 sense to be a high commendation, although its precise 
 meaning is hid from me. And I wonder why Mac- 
 allum should so rarely wear the dress, and why High- 
 landers should shirk the Highland costume. 
 
 Indeed, one 'of the things that especially struck me 
 during my stay in Scotland, was the prevalence, among
 
 336 GLENCREGaAN. 
 
 the men, of the English dress. With the exception of 
 the bonnet there was little to mark the nationality of 
 the Scotch dress. During a tour of many hundred 
 miles, including a sojourn in the two great cities of 
 Scotland, and a visit to other spots where men most do 
 congregate, I saw the full Highland costume of plaid, 
 philabeg, sporan, naked' knees, and stockings, only six 
 or eight times.* The first was the Glencreggan game- 
 keeper, who simply wore the dress as a livery, and on 
 Sundays, and when off duty was clad in common En- 
 glish costume ; two others were bagpipers who, of 
 course, sported the dress as a portion of their stock-in- 
 trade; and the others were gentlemen, to the manor, 
 as well as " to the manner, bred," and who wore the 
 costume, perhaps, because they were lairds, and per- 
 haps because they had well-made legs and figures, and 
 thought they looked particularly captivating in the 
 costume ; which undoubtedly they did ; and why so 
 picturesque a dress, and one which harmonises so well 
 with the surrounding scenery, should be discarded in 
 favour of the tasteless costume of an Englishman, is 
 to me a problem difficult of solution. I am told that 
 the dress is more common in the Northern than in the 
 
 * " Eveu among the chiklt'cn vre did not see a single lilf, though, 
 indeed, where is it to be seen, except in pictiu-e-shop ^v-indows, or at a 
 ' gathering,' or other-like got-up affair." — Old Church Architecture of 
 Scotland (1861), p. 218.
 
 RARITY OF THE NATIONAL DRESS. 337 
 
 Western Highlands, which it certainly may be, and 
 yet not he quite so common as heather-bells on a 
 moor, or the flocks and herds upon the hills, or the 
 herring-shoals in Loch Fyne ; and I am also told that 
 every Highland laird has his Highland dress, more or 
 less bejewelled and cairngormed, and laid up in laven- 
 der for state occasions. But it is this habitual laying 
 aside the dress by those who have every right to wear 
 it, and the assumption in its place of those "trouble- 
 some disguises that we wear," as Milton calls clothes 
 (surely with a prophetic eye to nineteenth century 
 fashions), that, to me, betrays both a want of taste as 
 well as national spirit. The Highland snake of the 
 present day may be scotch'd, but it is certainly not 
 kilt; and one would suppose that the act of 1747 was 
 still in force, and that no man or boy, under any pre- 
 tence whatever, was " to appear in the clothes com- 
 monly called the Highland clothes, viz. the plaid, 
 philabeg or little kilt, trowse, shoulder-belts, or any 
 part w^tsoever of what peculiarly belongs to the 
 Highland garb ; and that no tartan or parti-coloured 
 plaid or stuff should be used for great-coats or for 
 upper coats." 
 
 This habitual modern disvise of the national dress 
 may be a sinking of the poetical in the practical and 
 commercial, and may partly proceed from a dim con- 
 sciousness that a man of business has no business with 
 
 VOL. I. Z
 
 338 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 the Higliland costume, unless his profession he that of 
 arms, and he an unit in the 42nd, or 92nd, or one of 
 those three seventies, where he can serve his queen 
 and country, and cock his bonnet, and wear his kilt, 
 and show the naked development of his knee-pan, 
 and be considered by the strictest man of business as 
 quite en regie, and not a mere " amateur Highlander, 
 white as to the legs and sensitive as to the cuticle."* 
 Yet one misses — or at any rate I very much missed 
 — this picturesque garb, which artists have done their 
 best to instil into our minds as a necessary part and 
 parcel of Scottish scenery f, for from its variety of 
 folds, and its sparkles, and diagonal lines, and above 
 all from its brilliant "strife of colours,"! i^ i^ certainly 
 a most becoming, convenient, and picturesque costume. 
 As for the Highland bonnet being worn with an English 
 costume, it is a thing as incongruous as a plaided and 
 kilted Highlander would be in a chimney-pot hat with 
 a tasselled stick in his hand, or, worse still, with an 
 umbrella. This dreadful apparition, however, of a 
 Highlander with an umbrella has been already ima- 
 gined by poetic fancy, — an English poet, as we may 
 
 * See " Blackwood's Magazine," Oct. 1822, p. 493. 
 
 t Thus, in a page wood-cut of " Edinburgh Castle from the Grass- 
 market," in the " Illustrated News " for August 18, 1860, the artist has 
 introduced at least twelve kilted figures. 
 
 I The variegated stuff of which tlie tartan is composed is called 
 cath-datk, "war colour," or "strife of colours."
 
 UMBRELLAS IN THE nTGHLANDS. 339 
 
 readily conjecture, for no Scotch bard could conjure up 
 such a monstrosity. Wordsworth, in one of his sonnets, 
 has spoken of — 
 
 "The vimbrella spread 
 To weather-fend the Celtic herdsman's head." 
 
 Highlanders and umbrellas also caused a theme for 
 the English satirist on the occasion of her JNIajesty's 
 first visit to Inverness-shire. She landed, said the cor- 
 
 ■V\"HAT IT JtAY C<JME TO. 
 
 respondent of the " Morning Chronicle," " under cove 
 of a goodly umbrella, carried by her own royal hands. 
 There was a tolerable muster of the men of Lochaber, 
 with plaids, kilts, claymores, and cotton umbrellas, who 
 waved glittering blades and dripping ginghams, and 
 shouted Graelic salutations to * the wife of the King.' " 
 On this was founded a parody of the song " Cam' ye 
 by Athole, lad wi' the philabeg ? " w^hich commenced 
 thus : — 
 
 Z 2
 
 340 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 " Cam' ye by Badenoeh, lad wi' the paletot ? 
 
 Saw ye the Higlilanders, loyal, good fellows ? 
 Wrapp'd in their dripping plaids, wiping their rusting blades, 
 'Waiting theii' Queen under cotton umbrellas ! " 
 
 and ended with — 
 
 " Wet Caledonia! who wouldn't drown for thee ? 
 Are not your sons loyal brave-hearted fellows ? 
 Keeping their powder dry, while with a smother'd cry, 
 Comes a damp welcome from under umbrellas ! " 
 
 The Scotch " bonnet," we may remember, was once 
 adopted in England, in order to encourage the woollen 
 manufacture ; and, in the thirteenth year of Elizabeth's 
 reign, an act was passed that all above the age of six 
 (nobility excepted) should, on Sundays and holidays, 
 wear these woollen caps or Scotch bonnets. Hence 
 they are called " statute caps ; " and, as such, are men- 
 tioned by Shakspeare : " Well, better wits have worn 
 plain statute-caps ! " says Eosaline, in " Love's Labour 
 Lost." Major-General Stewart says, that *'the Basque 
 wear a blue bonnet of the same form, texture, and 
 colour, as that worn by the Scottish Highlanders ; and, 
 in their erect air, elastic step, and general appearance, 
 bear a remarkable resemblance to the ancient race of 
 Highlanders." * By themselves, however, these Scotch 
 bonnets are the reverie of ornamental, if worn in con- 
 junction with an English dress ; but " the Highland 
 
 * Sketches, vol. i. p. 13.
 
 A ROYAL EXAMPLE. 341 
 
 garL," says Mr, Logan, *'when worn by one who knows 
 how to dress properly in it, is undoubtedly one of the 
 most picturesque in the world." * Now that the male 
 members of the royal family have done their best to 
 popularise the Highland costume, it is somewhat sin- 
 gular that the example so worthily set should not be 
 more generally followed, and not localised, or assumed 
 only at certain times, — for a gathering, or for Highland 
 games, for instance, just as an English gentleman 
 would put on a scarlet coat, with its et ccvteraSf when 
 he appears in the hunting-field. 
 
 To a Southron eye it is certainly a striking sight, 
 when one is making a morning call at a Highland home 
 to see another gentleman also bent on discharging the 
 like social civility, — a gentleman who as Punch says, 
 is not only entitled to bear arms, but also to bare legs, 
 — it is a sight, I repeat, " gude for sore e'en," but still 
 a striking sight to a Southron's eye, to see this morning 
 caller walk into the room in his full Highland dress f, 
 
 * History of the Highlanders. 
 
 t By "full dress" I do not, of course, include the celebrated brace 
 of pistols, like to those vrorn by the last Glengany at the coronation 
 of George lY., which excited such a rumpus, occasioned by the nervous 
 lady's beKef that he had come to shoot the King. To allay the excite- 
 ment he was obliged to suffer himself to be .disarmed by the Garter- 
 King-at-Arms ; and the only remedy that he had for this public dis- 
 grace, after travelling six hundred miles (no joke in those days) to do 
 honour to his sovereign, was that still existing safety-valve for wounded 
 dignity, — a letter to " The Times." The anecdote is narrated iu Mr. 
 
 z 3
 
 342 
 
 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 the sunlight glancing from his cairngorms, and the 
 silver tips of his sporran tassels. The knowledge that 
 this gentleman is not dressed for a charade, or bed 
 masque, but is wearing his ordinary clothes, and the 
 costume to which he is entitled both by birth and 
 position, this knowledge soon checks our surprise, and 
 leaves vis only the delightful task to admire. The 
 
 NATIONAI. AND PIC'lUEESQUE. 
 
 accompanying illustration is a sketch from life, of a 
 brother of the present Earl of Morton, and shows the 
 Douglas tartan, one of the most ancient and famous in 
 Scotland. But black and white give but a poor idea of 
 the " strife of colours," and fail to represent the reds. 
 
 Weld's " Two Months in the Highlands," pp. 306, 398 ; and more fully 
 in " Blackwood's Magazine " for August, 1821, pp. 22, 24, where Glen- 
 garry's letter is given entire.
 
 DETRACTORS OF THE HIGHLAND DRESS. 343 
 
 and blues, and greens, wLicli make the costume so 
 showy and attractive. 
 
 And yet, as with everything else, the dress has had 
 its detractors. Some, like Sir John Sinclair and 
 Mr. Pinkerton, have sought to pass it off as a novelty. 
 The former (and jMacculloch takes up the wondrous 
 tale) declares that the kilt was invented only a centary 
 and a quarter ago by an Englishman, who thought 
 that it would be more decent for the workmen em- 
 ploj'ed in cutting down the Locliaber woods, to wear 
 a short petticoat than nothing at all ; from which 
 we may draw the inference that Pope may have looked 
 nearer at home for his " naked savage " of the woods. 
 It is certainly a most remarkable fact (as has been 
 pointed out by Mr. Planche,) that the dress was not 
 mentioned by any writer, either native or foreign, for 
 the space of a thousand years ; and it was not until the 
 time of Leslie and Buchanan, about three centuries 
 since, that any particular attention was directed to the 
 costume of "Messieurs les sauvages Ecossois, dat is, 
 gentilmans savages," as Monsieur le Beaujeu termed 
 those who wore "the garb of old Graul." But, even 
 without dubbing the kilt of the Celtic {i.e. kilted) 
 nation with the antiquity of the Roman tunic, and thus 
 making 
 
 " The chiefs that lead old Scotia's ranks, 
 Of Koman garb, and more than Roman fii-e ;" * 
 
 * Campbell. 
 z 4
 
 344 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 and without viewing 
 
 " The Koman kilt, degraded to a toy 
 Of quaint apparel for a half-spoilt boy," 
 
 as Wordsworth says, yet it appears to have been 
 referred to rather more than six hundred years ago, 
 in some canons of the Scottish Church, which pro- 
 hibited the ecclesiastics from wearing red, green, and 
 striped clothing, and garments that were shorter than 
 the middle of the leg.* What would they have said to 
 our modern Church dignitaries, and to the Bishop of 
 Barchester with his apron? Indeed, an anecdote is 
 told of one of our English bishops, whose out-of-door 
 episcopal costume was so little understood in the 
 Highlands, that the natives censured him for extrava- 
 gance in wearing the trews and the kilt at the same 
 time. 
 
 Captain Burt, the author of those curious " Letters 
 from Scotland " (from which I have already quoted) 
 written in 1754, describes what he terms the quelt as 
 being " a small part of the plaid, set in folds and girt 
 round the waist to make of it a short petticoat that 
 reaches half way down the thigh ... so that they 
 make pretty near the appearance of the poor women in 
 London, when they bring their gowns over their heads 
 to shelter them from the rain." This quelt (he says) 
 is adopted for various reasons ; it is very convenient 
 * Dalyell's " Remarks on the Chartxilaries of Aberdeen."
 
 CONVEXIEXCE OF HIGHLAND DRESS. 345 
 
 for travelling ; " they would not be so free to skip over 
 the rocks and bogs with breeches, as they are in the 
 short petticoat ; " also " it would be greatly incom- 
 modious to those who are frequently to wade through 
 waters, to wear breeches, which must be taken off 
 upon every such occurrence, or would not only gall 
 the wearer, but render it very unhealthful and 
 dangerous to their limbs to be constantly wet in 
 that part of the body, especially in winter time, when 
 they might be frozen ; " but, above all, the quelt 
 commends itself for its cheapness.* This high re- 
 commendation is accepted by those cavillers of the 
 Sinclair-cum-Pinkerton genus, who assert that the 
 Highland costume was invented by the natives, because 
 they could only clothe themselves in a patchwork of 
 rags, and that it exhibits the nakedness of the land 
 and the people. There certainly must be occasional 
 personal discomforts attendant upon the wearing of the 
 kilt ; for, what says the poet ? 
 
 " There was a short-kilted Xorth Britou 
 Who promiscuously sat on a kitten ; 
 
 The kitten had claws — 
 
 The immediate cause 
 Of much pain to the short-kilted Briton." 
 
 The excessive modesty of Mr. Pinkerton appears to 
 
 * Some curious anecdotes about the q^iielt are related by him in 
 Letters xix. and sxii.
 
 346 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 have received a severe shock* by his unfortunate meet- 
 ing with a full-dressed Highlander, whom he regarded 
 as equally as much i<H-dressed as a modern ball-room 
 belle would be by Mrs. Beecher Stowe f, or by a 
 young lady of any period between the times of the 
 
 * " A story is told," says Mens. Esquii'os, " that when the 84th 
 Highlanders were quartered in Nova Scotia, a ball was given to the 
 ladies in the neighbourhood ; some of them, on entering the room and 
 seeing the naked legs of the Scotchmen, protested against it in the name 
 of modesty. ' She must be a very indelicate woman to have such 
 thoughts,' said a young Indian squaw (!) present, ' for are not her own 
 arms naked to the elbows ? ' The truth is, that the dress of the High- 
 landers does not at all diverge from the laws of masculine and severe 
 decency." {English at Home, vol. ii. p. 268.) "During the last war in 
 India, the 93rd regiment consented to exchange the kilt for trews, which 
 defended them better against the stings of the mosquitoes ; but, at the 
 moment they advanced on Ca-mipore, they asked as a favour to have the 
 kilt given them again, as they could not fight so well in any other garb." 
 (Vol. ii. p. 270.) Dr. John Campbell, in his " Description of the 
 Highlands" (1752), after giving a very minute account of "their 
 native dress, called kiltine," says, "it is an active dress, seeing they 
 have nothing to do when entering action but to throw off theii" plaids 
 and (b-aw their swords and pistols ; and, as they wear no breeches, and 
 tie their garters below their knees, they are much more alert than those 
 who are boimd up like so many dolls." (P. 9.) The " thraldom of 
 the breeks " is ludicrously shown in Serjeant Archy Stewart's adven- 
 tures and mishaps when first placed in his regimentals and bid to 
 " step out." See Sir T. D. Lauder's " Legendary Tales of the High- 
 lands," vol. i. p. 40. For many particulars of the Highland garb, see 
 Stewart's "Sketches," vol. i. part i. § 5; and, for its suppression, 
 vol. i. part i. § x. 
 
 t See her remarks on the fuU-di'ess of ladies in " Sunny Memories," 
 Letter xiii.
 
 MK. nXKERTON's MODESTY SHOCKED. 347 
 
 ancient Britons and those of Henry YIII., during 
 which long interval it would have been the height of 
 impropriety for any lady to appear in public with bare 
 arms, while the display of any portion of the neck was 
 a breach of decency that none probably even dreamed 
 of committing. The sensitive but virulent Mr. Pin- 
 kerton, at the sight of that full-dressed or undressed 
 Highlander, felt his modesty so outraged, that he be- 
 spattered the costume with such epithets as *' grossly 
 indecent, filthy, absurd, effeminate*, beggarly, tasteless, 
 vulgar," &c. The bare knees impressed him " with an 
 unconquerable idea of poverty and nalcedness ;" so that 
 a " noble Eoman " in his tunic, would have appeared 
 anything but dignified to this highly sensitive critic. 
 
 But Mr. Pinkerton and his outraged modesty have 
 met with gross imitators even so recently as in January 
 1860, when, at a meeting of the London Scottish 
 Volunteer Corps, when " the kilt question " was again 
 brought forward, it was found necessary that "the 
 charge of indecency " which had been adduced against 
 the costume, should be " indignantly rebutted ; " and 
 it was stated by some wiseacre, that " the Queen allowed 
 her children to wear the dress even in Jier oivn pre- 
 sence ! " a wonderful instance of Eoyal toleration. 
 And even this astounding piece of information, which 
 
 * Wlien the Highland regiments marched into Luckno-n', the natives 
 imagined them to be the ghosts of the miu'dered women.
 
 348 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 ought at once to have carried conviction to the heart 
 even of a Cockney, could scarcely silence some would-be 
 purists ; who, if they had had their eyes as widely dilated 
 as their grievance, must, on their way to the meeting, 
 have seen in all the print-shop windows, the then-re- 
 cently-published portrait of the Prince Consort (from 
 the picture by Philip — " of Spain "), attired in a full 
 Highland costume, which it is highly probable was 
 worn by him even in the presence of the Queen.* 
 
 But, of the antiquity of the Highland dress there is 
 no doubt, however much the question of the kilt is 
 obscured. Sir Samuel Meyi'ick shows us, that the 
 ancient Gauls and Britons were dressed in chequered 
 tartans at the time of the Roman invasion, and that 
 their coats were not merely coats of paint, as is gene- 
 rally imagined. And, "indeed," says Mr. Blanche, 
 " with the exception of the plumed bonnet, and the 
 tasseled sporan or purse, a Highland chief in his full 
 costume, with tunic, plaid, dirk, and target, affords as 
 good an illustration of the appearance of an ancient 
 Briton of distinction as can well be imagined." Mr. 
 Timbs should add this example to his " Things not 
 
 * " Matters have changed for the better. Celt and Saxon are no 
 longer deadly foes. There still exists, as I am informed, an anti- 
 Celtic society, whose president, on state occasions, wears three pairs of 
 trousers ; but it is no longer penal to dispense with these garments, 
 and there are Southerns who discard them altogether when they go 
 north." Campbell's IVest Highland Tales, vol. i. p. 39.
 
 HERALDIC TARTANS. 349 
 
 generally known." And^ — only think of this, Mr. 
 civilised Pinkerton ! the Eomans called us " breeched 
 barbarians," because our rude ancestors wore tartan 
 breeches *, and did not follow their custom of wearing 
 tunics at such times when " the nation of the gown " 
 did not use the toga for its "toggery" — id est toga-ry. 
 
 Colonel Stewart, a very good authority on the sub- 
 ject, says, that, " as far back as they have any tradition, 
 the truis, breachan-na-feal (the kilted plaid) and phi- 
 labeg, have been the dress of the Highlanders." f 
 
 As early as the eleventh century (according to " The 
 Annals of the lona Club ") the " bare-legged and red- 
 shankled Scottes " are described as delightinor in 
 "marled clothes, especially that have long stripes 
 of sundry colours." And Martin, in his " Western 
 Islands," published in 1703, mentions the prevalence of 
 clan patterns, and the varieties of plaids in different 
 islands. The colours of the tartans are said to be 
 heraldic, — as, for example, red for the Stuarts, and 
 black for the Bruces ; and fresh colours were introduced 
 on intermarriage with other families.| Descent is also 
 
 * Bracce, or braccce ; Celtic, breac, "anything parti-coloiired or 
 striped." Whence we get the GaeKc brakes, or brecks, and the English 
 breeches. 
 
 t Sketches of the Character, Manners, and present State of the 
 Highlanders of Scotland ; with details of the Military Service of the 
 Highland Regiments (1822), toI. ii. Appendix L. 
 
 I On this subject the folloM-ing works may be consulted with ad- 
 vantage : " The Costume and Historj' of the Clans," by John Sobieski
 
 350 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 believed to be marked in the tartans ; the green for 
 those claiming descent from the Irish Celts; the red, 
 
 S. Stuart, and Charles Edward Stuart ; also the similarly illustrated 
 work of Maclan ; Logan's " History of the Highlanders ; " and Sir S. 
 Meyrick's "Costumes." Professor HeideloiF, in "The Art Journal" 
 for 1851 (p. 281), gives a very remarkable drawing and description of 
 " a Scottish costume of the eighth or ninth century, after a drawing on 
 parchment extracted from an old book, which, according to the cha- 
 racters on the back, appears to have been written in Gaelic, or Erse." 
 If this account were correct in its statement, the MS. would be contem- 
 poraneous with the priceless " Book of Deir," lately discovered by Mr. 
 Bradshaw, and infinitely more valuable than King Duncan's charter of 
 1095, which is not in Gaelic, but which, prior to the discovery of the 
 "Book of Deir," was the most ancient piece of Scottish writing extant. 
 The drawing of the costume would of course greatly increase the value 
 of this remarkable MS. Professor Heideloff claims the distinction of 
 an antiquary as well as an artist ; but, in this case, he has either been 
 terribly gulled, or has simulated one of Homer's nods. His description 
 of the costume of his Scotchman of " the eighth or ninth century," is 
 worth quoting, and may aiFord amusement blended with instruction. 
 " Our figure represents a Highland chief whose dress is picturesque 
 and extremely beautiful. The Scottish timic or blouse, checkered or 
 striped in light and dark green, with violet intermixed, and bordered 
 with violet stripes, is covered with a steel breastplate, accompanied by 
 a back-piece, judging fi'om the iron brassarts, positively a bequest of 
 the Romans, by whom the Scots were once subjugated ; this, indeed, is 
 also attested by the ofi'ensive weapon, the javelin ; the sword, however, 
 must be excepted, for it is national, and like that of the present time. 
 The strong shield may also have descended from the Romans, as well 
 as the helmet, which is decorated with the eagle's wing : these, toge- 
 ther with the hunting-horn, give to the figure a very imposing appear- 
 ance. The national plaid is wanting ; this was borne by the attendants 
 or squires." 
 
 Mr. Worsae, in his work on the Danes and Norwegians in England 
 and Ireland, says of the account given (in the thirteenth century) by
 
 HERALDIC TARTANS. 351 
 
 from the pure British Celt ; and the yellow from the 
 Danes. But, in this present day, when, by "statin^ 
 your name and county," and paying five shillings " for 
 fee and search," you can obtain " your ftimily arms " 
 by return of post, the heraldic difficulties of the tartan 
 are not considered insurmountable ; and new tartans 
 are manufactured for new lairds, with as much ease as 
 *' your family arms " are discovered for you " as per 
 advertisement," — novi homines who have no more 
 right to assume the dress and bearing of a Highland 
 chieftain, than those "pawky Lowland lairds," who 
 were denounced by Glengarry, and the Nodes Am- 
 brosiancB : — 
 
 " Fat Teil bae you to do v,-i' kilts ? gae -wa' and get your claes on ! 
 Get out, ye nasty Lowland i^oys, and put your preeks and stays on ; 
 Ye shanna wear your claes like me, I look on you as fermin ; 
 Ye hae nae mair o' Highland phiid than if ye were a Cherman." * 
 
 the Icelandic historian Snorro Sturleson, of Magnus Barefoot's carrying 
 back to Norway the fashionable costume of Cantire and the Western 
 Isles : " It is remarkable enough that this is the oldest account extant 
 of the weU-kno-wTi Scotch Highland dress, whose antiquity is thus 
 proved." The costume consisted of " short coats or cloaks" and "bare 
 legs." This is also mentioned by Skene ("Highlanders of Scotland"), 
 who adduces the circumstance in proof of the antiquity of the dress. 
 He says that it also may be proved from sculptured representations on 
 early tombstones ; and, that after their date, " there is a complete 
 chain of authorities for the dress of the Highlanders, from the four- 
 teenth to the seventeenth century." See vol. i. chap. ix. of his work, 
 where numerous authorities are quoted. 
 
 * Quoted in Mr. Weld's " Two Months in the Highlands," p. 396.
 
 352 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 Since the introduction of steam and the increased 
 facilities of conveyance and intercourse, the private 
 looms in cottages, — of which Pennant gives an illus- 
 tration, and which were common in his day*, — have 
 disappeared, or are only to be met with very rarely. 
 At one time they were very prevalent throughout Can- 
 tire, and the Western Highlands and Islands ; but now 
 the cottage-looms have taken flight to Glasgow, al- 
 though the spinning-wheel and flax-carding may still 
 be seen. There is a Cantire legend to the effect that 
 " once upon a time," when the great Macallum More 
 was in Campbelton, he called a meeting of the farmers, 
 and, among other things, stated that he had been told 
 that they were now wearing English cloth. He hoped 
 this serious accusation had no foundation in facts. Up 
 jumps a farmer, not indigent but indignant, and replies, 
 "All the clothes that I have on my back at this present 
 moment were made by my wife, except my shoes, 
 which I made myself." Argyle asked him how many 
 shirts he had ? whereupon the farmer answered, " I am 
 sure that I have two, for, when I put off one, my wife 
 always gives me a clean one to put on." Which was 
 convincing as to the satisfactory state of his wardrobe. 
 But enough of these reminiscences of Highland cos- 
 
 * See his "Voyage to the -Hebrides," p. 229; see also Lord Teign- 
 mouth's " Scotland," vol. ii. chap, xxii ; see also " Eeport of the Com- 
 missioners on the Condition of the Hand-loom Weavers, 1841."
 
 THE MOORS. 353 
 
 tume, and regrets that, in tartan-land, the tartan is so 
 rarely seen. But if we cannot get as much of the true 
 Highland dress as we would desire, yonder are the 
 Highland hills and the Highland heather. There is 
 no mistake about them or their beauty ; let us go and 
 make a closer acquaintance with them. The moor 
 where the sportsmen are to finish their day's shooting 
 is away over that glen. Suppose we take a walk there ! 
 As Tamora says, in " Titus Andronicus," * 
 
 " Now viill I hence to seek my lovely moor ! " 
 * Act ii. Scene 3. 
 
 VOL. I. A A
 
 354 
 
 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 HEATHEE-LAND. 
 
 Awa' to the Moors ! — Heather -land. — Beauty of Heather. — Foreign 
 and native Heaths. — Uses of Heather. — Food and Shelter to Bird 
 and Beast. — Heather Honey. — The Humble-bee. — Heather Beds. 
 — Heather Fuel. — Heather Ale. — Heather Tobacco. — Heather 
 Tracks. — Highland botanical Heraldry. — Heather Heraldry. — 
 Heather pictorially considered. — A Sketch er's Gun and Bag. — An 
 extensive View, — Memories of Heather-land. 
 
 (T^ATS the old Jacobite song, with 
 its mots a double entente, — 
 
 " If yo diuna come ftist, 
 The blackcock will flee past, 
 
 And nae sport will be left us at a' ; 
 Then awa' to the moors, hilliho, 
 hilliho ! " 
 
 One could easily obey this order at Glenereggan, for 
 the house was built on the very boundary of the moors, 
 and on the verge of heather -land. Immediately behind 
 the building there was a rock of " old red sandstone," 
 covered with heather, and th& land arose, with a sharp
 
 HEATHER-LAND. 355 
 
 pitch, to a sufficient height to shelter the house from 
 the east winds, in which kindly office the young planta- 
 tions of larch were intended to assist. These planta- 
 tions, and the corn-fields and meadow-land on either 
 side of them, were bounded by walls of great stones, 
 rudely piled together, and cemented with mud. For 
 the first few hundred yards above the plantations the 
 heather was but scanty, it was mere grazing-ground for 
 cattle, with, here and there, white boulders cropping 
 out from amid the soft herbage, and seeming like a 
 scattered flock of sheep. The rude stone walls were 
 continued here, but at very wide intervals, and soon 
 ceased altogether. Then we began to tread ankle-deep, 
 and more than ankle-deep, in the fragrant heather, its 
 beautiful blossoms dusting our boots and legs with a 
 pinky powder. And soon we were in heather-land, 
 literally knee-deep in heather, and could discover that 
 it was not such very easy walking, and could think of 
 the toil of the grouse- shooters, and Leech's sketch of 
 poor Mr. Briggs prostrate on his back with fatigue, 
 after an hour's exertion on the moors. 
 
 We were fortunate in seeing the heather in full 
 blossom and in uncommon luxuriance, and were never 
 wearied of admiring its pleasing harmonies of colour, 
 and its graceful beauties of form. The Highland 
 natives could not understand our foreign ecstacies on 
 such a common subject, — just as the English villagers 
 
 A A 2
 
 356 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 could not see what there was in their gorse-bloomed 
 common that could bring Linnreus upon his knees 
 "vvith a thanksgiving to Him who could make flowers 
 so beautiful. But to many an English eye, the first 
 sight of a Highland moor, with the heather in full 
 bloom, would be as novel and beautiful an object as 
 an expanse of green meadows would be to a dweller in 
 the Arctic regions or a snow-storm to a West Indian. 
 
 One cannot wonder that so much has been sung and 
 said about the heather, and that poets have decked out 
 " the rustic blushing heath " with so many pretty 
 epithets — 
 
 " The flower of the ^Hld, 
 The hardy mountaineer, 
 The lonely mountain child." 
 
 Mr. Ruskin has written some wonderful prose on the 
 beauty of grass, and moss, and lichens ; how he would 
 handle the heather ! A sprig of heather seems to me 
 to be one of the most graceful and beautiful of Grod's 
 earth-ornaments. In Scotland it appears to flourish 
 with as much luxuriance as it does at the Cape 
 of Good Hope, though not with equal variety ; but in 
 England the Cape and exotic heaths owe half their 
 luxuriance to the ashes of their hardy Highland 
 brethren ; because the turfy peat which is so requisite 
 for their propagation is, doubtless, composed of the 
 decayed leaves, and flowers, and stems of the heather,
 
 BEAUTY OF HEATHEE. 357 
 
 decomposed by years, aud mingled with the natural 
 sandy soil : and it is in this sense that Miss Louisa 
 Twamley, one of the muses attache 1 to Flora's court, 
 has represented Erica, the hardy Highlander, jeering 
 his tender exotic cousin. We read that the great Lord 
 Bacon loved to have the flowers in season set upon his 
 table : if he had been in the Highlands durino- August 
 and September he would certainly have had, not far 
 from his elbow,, a vaaeful of heather, with a blue-bell 
 or "two for variety. 
 
 The fragrance of the heather is particularly pleasing, 
 — a refreshing and aromatic scent, — though its pecu- 
 liarity is not precisely of that kind indicated in the 
 Scotch songs, where the poet asks — 
 
 " why do those heath-bells, so fresh, aud so blooming. 
 Give fragrance that heath-bells could ne'er give before?" 
 
 and explains, that a zephyr having found a youug lady 
 asleep in " a bower," — which would seem to be the 
 resort (in poetry) of all somnolent damsels, — had 
 performed the difficult chemical experiment of " load- 
 ing his wings with the balm of her breath," and then, 
 beating retreat by a flight over the moor, had shaken 
 off some of the superfluous balm upon the heather, and 
 thus endued it with a new attraction. But, without 
 going to poetic fiction for this added charm, we may 
 discover it in the scent of those herbs that grow so 
 
 A A 3
 
 358 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 profusely among the heather, by which they are over- 
 topped and smothered. The old author of the " Letters 
 from Scotland," tells lis how to produce the extra fra- 
 grance without any resort to zephyrs and somnolent 
 young ladies. Speaking of a moor he says, " Hither 
 we sometimes retire on a summer evening, and sitting 
 down on the lieath we beat wdth our hands upon the 
 ground, and raise a most fragrant smell of wild thyme, 
 penny-royal, and other aromatic herbs that grow among 
 the heath." 
 
 " The heatlier-balm is fragrant, the heather-bloom is fair," 
 
 says Professor \Yilson. But the heather has its use as 
 well as its beauty and,- fragrance ; and, now that we are 
 in heather-land, we may very appropriately call to 
 mind some of the offices tliat art and nature have 
 combined to make it fulfil. Imprimis, — for in the 
 time of grouse this is the leading association connected 
 with the heather, — it is the natural cover for the 
 winged denizens of the moors. The Scotch poet, Gra- 
 hame, makes a touching application of this in his poem 
 of " The Sabbath," though his lines will not diminish 
 the number of game certificates. 
 
 "Orer their souls 
 His accents soothing came, as to her young 
 The heath-fowl's plumes, when, at the close of eve, 
 She gathers in, mournful, her brood dispersed 
 By murderous sport, and o'er the remnant spreads
 
 HEATHER FOOD FOR BIRDS. 359 
 
 FoncUy her wings ; close nestling 'ncath her breast 
 They cherish'd cower amid the purj^le bloom." 
 
 And not only is the heather the natural cover for the 
 winged denizens of the moors, but it is their food 
 also : — 
 
 " Flower of the waste 1 the heath-fowl shuns 
 For thee the brake and tangled wood ; 
 To thy protecting shade she runs, 
 
 Thy tender buds supply her food ; 
 Her young forsake her downy plumes 
 To rest upon thy oj^jening blooms." 
 
 The grouse and black-game feed upon the heather 
 berries and blossoms, and from this derive that pecu- 
 liar bitter flavour that distinguishes them ; and when 
 the berries and bloom are scarce, they will feed upon 
 the tops of the heather. In winter, the young shoots 
 of the heather are found very serviceable for the food 
 of sheep and cattle. The wild deer makes its bed 
 among the heather, — 
 
 " Fit couch of repose for a pilgrim like thee ! " 
 
 The deer also browse upon it, and, indeed, derive half 
 their subsistence from the heather : — 
 
 " Flower of the desert, though thou art ! 
 The deer that range the mountain fi'ee, 
 The graceful doe, the stately hart. 
 
 Their food and shelter seek from thee." 
 
 The heather is also " a bed for the hare " no less than 
 
 A A 4
 
 360 GLENCREGGAN. 
 
 for the wild deer. The caterpillar of the oak-egger 
 moth feeds upon the heather leaves, and — 
 
 " The bee thy earliest blossom greets, 
 And draws from thee her choicest sweets." 
 
 The honey, however, thus prepared is darker than the 
 ordinary honey, and derives a peculiar flavour from the 
 heather blossom. Heather-honey mixed with moun- 
 tain-dew makes Athole-brose ; at least so says Chris- 
 topher North *, whom I take to be a good practical 
 authority on the manufacture and taste of Highland 
 drinks. The same writer thus sings a poean to the 
 producer of the heather-honey : — " True to thy time, 
 even to a balmy minute, art thou, with thy velvet 
 tunic of black striped Avith yellow, as thou windest thy 
 small but not sullen horn |, by us called in our pride 
 
 * Kecreatioiis, vol. ii. p. 137. 
 
 t Professor "Wilson M'ould seem to be quoting from Collins's " Ode 
 to Eveniag," — 
 
 " Or where the beetle winds 
 His small but sullen horn," 
 
 Clare, in his " Summer Morning," also speaks of the beetle sounding 
 " his horn ; " and Milton, in his "Lycidas," makes the grey-fly "wind 
 her sultry horn." The Eev. W. Faber, in his poem of " The Contrast," 
 says : — 
 
 " And by the tiny ti-umpet of the bees 
 Was I well soothed." 
 
 And Spenser speaks of the " murmuring small trumpets " of gnats. 
 The expressive word " booming," which Professor Wilson uses for the
 
 THE HUMBLE-BEE. 361 
 
 humble-bee ; but not, methiuks, so very humble, while 
 booming high in air in oft-repeated circles, as if the 
 smell of some far-off darling heather-bed had touched 
 thy finest instinct ; away thou fliest straight southward 
 to that rich flower-store, unerringly as the carrier- 
 pigeon wafting to distant lands some love-message on 
 its wings. Yet humble after all thou art ; for, all day 
 long, making thy industry thy delight, thou retm-nest 
 at shut of day, cheerful even in thy weariness, to thy 
 ground-cell within the knoll, where, as fancy dreams, 
 the fairies dwell, a silent people in the land of peace." * 
 This is poetry in prose ; here follows, on the same 
 subject, by the same author, a scrap of poetry in 
 rhyme : — 
 
 " 'JMid the flo^vers of the heath, not more bright than himself, 
 The ■wild bee is busy, a musical elf — 
 Then starts from his labour, imwcaried and gay, 
 And, cii-cling the antlers, booms far, far away." t 
 
 Thus the heather provides sustenance to bird, beast, 
 and insect. 
 
 Of course, too, many winged diners-out beside the 
 grouse tribe lind food, as well as shelter, from the 
 heather ; while, as for the Highlander's bothie, what 
 would it be without the heather? Mixed with earth, 
 
 hnmble-bee, has been applied by Howitt to the cockchafer ; and by 
 Scott, Crabbe, and Ebenezer Elliott to the bittern. 
 
 * Recreations, vol. ii. p. 48. 
 
 t Address to a Wild Deer.
 
 362 GLEXCREGGAN. 
 
 it forms its walls ; it also helps to thatch the bothie, 
 and a dry heap of it makes the beds. This is an old 
 custom of heather-land. Dr. Johnson speaks of it ; and 
 Martyn, a century and a half ago, says of the High- 
 landers : " They lie for the most part on beds of straw, 
 and some on beds of heath, which latter, being made 
 after their way, with the tops uppermost, are almost as 
 soft as a feather-bed. It yields a pleasant scent after 
 lying on it once, and is very refreshing after a fatigue 
 of any kind." * Lord Somers had made an earlier 
 mention of it : " In their houses they lye upon the 
 ground, laying betwixt them and it, hrakens, or hadder, 
 the roots thereof downe, and the tojDS up, so prettily 
 layed together, that they are as soft as feather-beds, 
 and much more wholesome; for the tops themselves 
 are drye of nature, whereby it dryes the weake hu- 
 mours and restores againe the strength of the sinewes 
 troubled before ; and that so evidently, that they who 
 at evening go to rest sore and weary, rise in the morn- 
 ing whole and able." f So that " the bed of health" is, 
 after all, a bed of heath. 
 
 Mixed with peat, the heather makes excellent fuel 
 for boiling the gudewife's kettle in many a mountain 
 shieling : and this custom also may be traced to a 
 considerable antiquity. The Highland hunting-feasts 
 
 * Western Highlands, p. 196. 
 
 t Lord Somers's "Tracts," voL iii. p. 388.
 
 HEATirER-ALE. 363 
 
 in olden time were thus prejoared. The venison, or 
 meat to be cooked, was laid in a pit lined with stones 
 heated by heath. The venison was laid on this, then 
 more hot stones, then more venison, and so on, in 
 alternate layers, until the pit was full. The whole was 
 then covered over with heath to confine the steam. 
 
 The weaver of plaids extracts a yellow dye from the 
 heather, and the drinker brews from it a liquid called 
 heather-ale. Here again we are taken back to ancient 
 days ; for Boece's " Chronicles " tell us that heather- 
 ale was kuo^vn to the Picts. The legend runs that 
 Kenneth MacAlpine slew all the Picts but two, a 
 father and his son, who possessed the recipe for brew- 
 ing the heather nectar, and were spared on condition 
 that they should disclose the secret. The father pro- 
 mised to do so if he were granted one boon. This was 
 agreed to. The boon was, that his son should be 
 killed ! his head was accordingly struck off. " Now," 
 said the father, " I am satisfied. My son might have 
 taught you the art, but I never will." And he carried 
 it to his grave : and the ballad tells us, — 
 
 " The Fiets M-ere undone, cut oif, mother's son, 
 For not teaching the Scots to brew heather-ale ! " 
 
 another of those historical points which may be classed 
 among the things not generally known. Mr. Weld, 
 who tells the foregoing legend, adds : " I have read, 
 however, that although the art of brewing the Pictish
 
 364 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 heather-ale is lost, old grouse shooters have tasted a 
 beverage prepared by shepherds on the moors, prin- 
 cipally from heather flowers, though honey or sugar, 
 to produce fermenta*:ion, was added."* Was it Athole- 
 brose ? 
 
 Grarnett, m his " Tour,'' f tells us of the heath- 
 peasling {Orohus tuberosus), which grows in great 
 abundance among the heather, and sa3's : " It has 
 purple papilionaceous flowers, succeeded by a pod con- 
 taining about twelve dark-coloured seeds resembling 
 small shot. The roots of this plant, when boiled, are 
 very savoury and nutritious; and when dried and 
 ground into powder, may be made into bread. The 
 Highlanders frequently chew the root like tobacco, 
 asserting that a small quantity prevents the uneasy 
 sensations of hunger." 
 
 And, while thus writing on the various uses of the 
 heather, I must not forget a remarkable instance where 
 it was made the first step in the ladder to fame Well 
 
 * Two Mouths iu the HighLuids, p. 83. Maccxilloch denies that 
 there ever was such a beverage as heather-ale ; though he says that 
 the flowers of the heath may have been added to the malt for the 
 purpose of giving it flavour. (Vol. iii. p 333.) Osiris is said to have 
 taught the Britons the art of making beer. Pennant, in his " Voyage 
 to the Hebrides," p. 229, mentions the heather-ale, and says that the 
 proportions were two-thirds of tlie plant to one of malt, hops being 
 sometimes added. 
 
 t Gamett's " Tour," vol. i. p. 337.
 
 HEATHER-TRACKS. 365 
 
 nigh a century ago an old shepherd in Galloway taught 
 one of his lads his letters by scoring them with a burnt 
 heather stem on the back of a wool card. That boy 
 lived to be Dr. Alexander Murray, the celebrated lin- 
 guist, Professor of Oriental Literature in the University 
 of Edinburgh, and was applied to by the Marquis of 
 Wellesley as the only person in the British dominions 
 who could translate a letter written by an Eastern 
 potentate to the King of England. 
 
 Thus the heather has man}^ uses, and has had still 
 more. For, when pressed by the foot, it retains the 
 impression for a considerable time before it rises again 
 to its former position ; so that when a creach, or great 
 expedition was made against a neighbour's cattle, their 
 o^vner, on the discovery of the raid, would track his 
 stolen kyloes through the heather with all the skill of a 
 Eed Indian on a trail. We are told that they could 
 thus track them for scores of miles, and, with sur- 
 prising skill, discriminate between the tracks of their 
 own cattle and those that were casually wandering or 
 being driven upon the hills. The foe and the runaway 
 were in the same manner tracked by their footsteps 
 upon the heather. Thus the heather provides food 
 and shelter for bird, beast, and insect ; and is of assist- 
 ance to man for food and drink, for fuel, for architec- 
 ture, for bedding, and for many useful purposes. Well, 
 therefore, does this friend to the Highlander merit all
 
 366 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 the honours that could be paid to it. Accordingly we 
 find that there is a heraldry of heather, and that this 
 humble plant figures as the badge of many a family 
 proud of their high lineage. 
 
 Scotch heraldry largely draws upon botany. j\Iany 
 of the Highland clans adopted badges from flowers, 
 shrubs, and trees, commonly from evergreens, selected 
 probably on the "sans changer ^^ principle. The royal 
 Stuarts, however, were an exception to this : they wore 
 the oak, which, from its being deciduous, was regarded 
 by many as a fatal emblem of the decay of their family 
 and name. The Camerons also " sported the oak," and 
 sometimes the crowberry. The Macgregors adopted 
 the pine as their badge ; the Buchanans, the birch ; the 
 Erasers, the yew ; the Macdougalls, the cypress ; the 
 Maclachlans, the mountain-ash ; the Lamonds, the 
 crab-apple tree ; the Macphersous and Mackintoshes, 
 the boxwood ; the Camjjbells, the myrtle, or fir-club 
 moss ; the Kobertsons, the fern, or " brackens ; " the 
 Macfarlanes, the cloudberry bush ; the Drummonds, 
 the plain holly, or wild thyme ; the Mackenzies, the 
 variegated holly, or deer-grass * ; the JNIacleods, the red 
 whortleberry ; the Forbes, the broom ; the Mackays, 
 
 * The deer-grass was in allusion to tlieir armorial bearings, a deer's 
 head and horns. The reason for this crest being assnmed wiU be 
 found by referring to Stewart's " Sketches of Highland Regiments," 
 vol. ii. p. 196.
 
 HIGITLAND BOTANICAL nEEALDRY. 367 
 
 the biillrush ; the Grordons, the ivj ; the Cummins, the 
 cummin-wood ; the Rosses, the mid rosemary ; the Sin- 
 clairs, the clover ; the Macleans, the crowberry ; the 
 Macneills (of Barra and Gigha), the sea- ware ; the 
 Grrahams and Stewarts, the thistle. 
 
 As this was the case, we might be sure that in 
 heather-land the heath would receive due heraldic 
 honours. Thus, the Macdonells chose as their badge 
 the common heath (Calluna vulgaris); the Mac- 
 donalds, the cross-leaved heath {Erica ietralix) ; the 
 Macallisters, the three-belled, or the fine-leaved heath 
 {Erica cinerea) ; the Macleans, the blackberry heath ; 
 and the Grrants, the cranberry heath.* 
 
 But many a leal Scot who cannot boast of clanship 
 with Macdonalds or Macallisters, is proud to place in 
 his bonnet a sprig of mountain heather, as a fair em- 
 blem of the charms of his native land, and a badge of 
 himself, " the hardy mountaineer." 
 
 How we prize our little clumps of heath in our 
 gardens and conservatories ! and when one sees the 
 full-blossomed heather stretching for miles and miles 
 on every side, and can stand in it, and walk thi'ough it, 
 and inhale its delicious fragrance, and note its various 
 tints, from a dim purple, through all the shades of 
 lilac, to a creamy pink and brightest crimson, — 
 
 * The two last badges are mentioned in Skene's "Highlanders," 
 vol. ii. p. 118.
 
 368 GLENCREGaAN. 
 
 " Sometimes with bells like amethysts, and then 
 Paler, and shaded like the maiden's cheek 
 With gradual blushes ; other while as white 
 As rime that hangs upon the frozen spray," — 
 
 these varied hues spread over the wide landscape, 
 varying according to distance or slope of the ground ; 
 a dull purple in the shade, a bright pink or flesh- colour 
 in the sun, and mingled with the cooler shades of 
 green, from the dark hue of the feathery heather stem, 
 to the lighter brackens and emerald-green patches of 
 grass, — Oh ! how rich a treat it is to see all this, with 
 the bright sky overhead, and the pure keen mountain 
 air and sea-breeze invigorating the frame and bracing 
 the mind to a healthier enjoyment and keener percep- 
 tion of the beautiful. Beautiful indeed it is : 
 
 " Oh there is sweetness in the mountain air ! " 
 
 says Byron. Let us rest here awhile on the summit of 
 this hill, 
 
 " Stained with heather like bloody foot-prints ; " * 
 
 and, leaning back against this great boulder, look out 
 from its grateful shade upon heather-land, the 
 
 " Land struck with brightest sun-tints ; " 
 
 its " dark purple moors," and " sleek ocean-floors," and 
 all the varied beauty of this Western Highland scene. 
 
 * Alexander Smith.
 
 AN EXTENSIVE VIEW. 369 
 
 The view is very varied, and embraces land and 
 water. From this Grleiicreggan moor we have not only 
 Gronzalo's " thousand furlongs of sea," but we have 
 also the " long heath and browa furze " for which he 
 longed in vain. There is the broad Atlantic, yonder is 
 the Irish coast, and here are the Southern Hebrides 
 clustering so gracefully ; our lofty position enables us 
 now to overlook them, and to see the ocean upon their 
 further side. Away to the right are the shadowy 
 mountains of Mull, where 
 
 " Througli his thin scarf of mist, 
 Ben More to the sun heaves his wet shining shoulders ; " 
 
 and the height to which he heaves them is 3170 feet 
 above the Atlantic level. Then, turning our backs 
 upon the Atlantic, we look over the rugged peaks of 
 Arran, and the island of Bute, and towards that tu- 
 multuous sea of mountains whose highest wave is Ben 
 Lomond. 
 
 But, looking nearer afield, here are abundant objects 
 for seeing and admiring. To begin with the heather, 
 what says " Nature's sternest painter, yet her best ? " 
 
 " This gay ling, with all its purple flowers, 
 A man at leisure might admire for hoiu's ; 
 And then, how fine this herbage ! Man may say 
 A heath is barren ; nothing is so gay I " 
 
 VOL. I. B B
 
 370 GLENCEEGGAN. 
 
 Gray indeed it is. Burns speaks of 
 
 " Auld Coila's plain and fells, 
 Her moors red-brown wi' heather bells ; " 
 
 and, on this bright August day, this " red-brown " is 
 varied with numberless tints of pink and purple, in a 
 manner which I quickly discover to be by no means 
 easy to represent with the paint-brush. For I have 
 wandered out upon these Glencreggan moors to bag 
 other game than those whose slaughter is limited to 
 the interval between the twelfth of August and the 
 tenth of December. I am no shot, and have a woman- 
 like antipathy to slay " the pretty birdies." (N.B. not 
 the slightest objection to eat them when killed by 
 others !) So my gim is my pencil, and my bag my 
 sketch-book, and while the other Grlencreggan guests 
 are enjoying their sport, I, within hearing of their 
 guns, enjoy myself more quietly after my own fashion, 
 and say with lago, 
 
 *' Myself the while -will draw the Moor apart." * 
 
 The while I draw this moor, a broken sprig of heather 
 blossom has been blown upon my moist-colour box, 
 and lies embedded on the cake of emerald green which 
 the hot sun has softened. Since then a twelvemonth 
 has elapsed, and the heather blossom is still there ; and 
 as I open the colour box and see those pretty pink and 
 
 * Othello, Act ii. Scene 3.
 
 MEMORIES OF HEATHEIl-LAND. 371 
 
 white bells hung upon their delicate spray, they ring 
 out to me pleasant memories of heather-land, and I am 
 tempted to address them in the words of Campbell : — 
 
 " I love you for killing me back into dreams 
 Of the blue Highland mountains and echoing streams, 
 And of birchen glades breathing their balm." 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
 
 LONDON 
 
 PEINTKD BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. 
 
 NEW-STnEEI SQUABE
 
 Bute 
 
 :..>n 
 
 oVi
 
 OF 
 
 NEW WORKS IN GENERAL LITERATU] 
 
 
 RE 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 
 LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS 
 
 
 39 Paternoster Row, London. 
 
 
 CLASSIFIED INDEX 
 
 
 Agriculture and Rural AiFairs. 
 
 Maunder's Biographical Treasury 
 Mountain's (Col.) Memoirs . 
 
 . 13 
 . 17 
 
 Bavldon on Valuing Reuts, &c. . . 5 
 
 Palleske's Life of Schiller 
 
 . IS 
 
 Cecil's Stud Farm 8 
 
 Parry's (Admiral) Memoirs . 
 
 . IS 
 
 Hoskyns's Talpa 11 
 
 Loudon's Agriculture . . • .14 
 
 Peel's Sketch of Sir R. Peels Life an 
 
 
 Character 
 
 . 18 
 
 Morton on Ilanded Estates . . .17 
 
 Piozzl'B Autobiography and Letters 
 
 . 18 
 
 " (J. C.) Handbook of Dairy Hus- 
 
 Russell's Memoirs of Moore . 
 
 . 18 
 
 bandry 17 
 
 " (Dr.) Life of Mezzofanti . 
 SchimmelPenninck's (Mrs.) Life . 
 
 . 20 
 . 20 
 
 
 Shee's Life of Sir M. A. shee 
 
 . 21 
 
 Arts, Manufactures, and Archi- 
 
 Southey's Life of Wesley 
 Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 
 Strickland's Queens of England '. 
 Sydney Smith's Memoirs 
 
 21 
 
 tecture. 
 
 2'2 
 21 
 
 Brande's Dictionary of Science, &c. . 6 
 
 Waterton's Autobiography and Essays 
 
 24 
 
 " Organic Chemiatry ... 6 
 
 
 
 Cresv's Civil Engineering ... 8 
 
 
 1 
 
 Fairbairn's Information for Engineers . 9 
 " on Mills and Jlillwork . . 
 
 Books of General Utility. 
 
 1 
 
 Falkenet's Dsedalus .... 9 
 
 .\cton'& Cookery-Book 
 
 r 
 
 " Museumof Classical Antiquities 9 
 
 Black's Treatise on Brewing . 
 
 6 
 
 Goodeve's Elements of Mechanism . 9 
 
 Cabinet Gazetteer . . " . 
 
 7 
 
 Givilfs Encyclopsedia of .Architecture . 10 
 
 " Lawyer .... 
 
 
 Harford's Plates from M. Angelo . . 10 
 
 Cust's Invalid's 0>vn Book . 
 
 M 
 
 Humphreys's Parahles Illuminated . 12 
 
 Hensman's Handbook of the Constitutic 
 
 nil 
 
 Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art . 12 
 
 Hints on Etiquette .... 
 
 11 
 
 " Commonplace-Book . . 12 
 
 Hudson's Executor's Guide . 
 
 12 
 
 Konig'B Pictorial Life of Luther . . 10 
 
 '* on Making Wills 
 
 12 ! 
 
 Loudon's Rural Architecture . . . U 
 
 Hunter's Art of WriUng Precis . 
 
 12 
 
 Love's Art of Dyeing .... 14 
 
 Kesteven'8 Domestic Medicine 
 
 13 
 
 Lowndes's Engineers' Handbook . . 14 
 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cycloptedia 
 
 13 i 
 
 MacDougall'9 Campaigns of H.aiinibal . 13 
 
 Loudon's Lady's Country Companion . 
 Maunder's Treasury of Knowledge 
 " Biographical Treasury 
 
 14 
 
 " Theory of War . . 14 
 
 15 
 
 Moseley's Engineering . . . .17 
 
 15 
 
 Piesse's Art of Perfumery . . . 18 
 
 ** Geographical Treasury 
 
 IG 
 
 " Laboratory of Chemical Wonders 18 
 
 ** Scientific Treasury 
 
 15 
 
 Richardson's Art of Horsemanship . 19 
 
 " Treasury of History 
 
 16 
 
 Scofl'ern on Projectiles, &c. . . . 20 
 
 " Natural History . 
 
 15 
 
 Steam Enzine, by the Artisan Club . 6 
 
 Piesse's Art of Perfumery 
 
 18 
 
 Ure'sDictionary of Arts, &c. . . . 23 
 
 Pitt's How to Brew Good Beer 
 
 IS 
 
 
 Pocket and the Stud . . . . 
 
 10 
 
 
 Prcroft's EngUsh Reading 
 
 19 
 
 Biography. 
 
 Richardson's .\rt of Horsemanship 
 Riddle's Latin Dictionaries . 
 
 19 
 
 19 
 
 Arago'sLivesof Scientific Men . . 5 
 
 Roget's English Ihesaurus . 
 
 19 
 
 Baillie's Memoir of Bate . . 5 
 
 Roivton's Debater 
 
 •-'0 
 
 Brialmont's WeUington .... 5 
 
 Short Whist 
 
 21 
 
 Bunsen's Hippoljtus .... 7 
 Bunting's (Dr.) Life .... 7 
 
 Simpson's Handbook of Dining 
 
 21 
 
 Sleigh's Personal Wrongs and Legal 
 
 
 Crosse's (Andrew) Memorials . . 8 
 
 Remedies 
 
 21 
 
 Green's Princesses of England . ]0 
 
 Thomson's Interest Tables . 
 
 22 
 
 Harford's Life of Michael Angelo . . lu 
 
 W'alford's Handybook of the Civil Servies 
 
 23 1 
 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopiedia . . 13 
 
 Webster's Domestic Economy 
 
 23 
 
 Marshman's Life of Carey, Marsliman, 
 
 West's How to Nurse Sick Children . 
 
 21 1 
 
 and Ward 15 
 
 Willich's Popular Tables 
 
 24 1 
 
 '■ Life of Havelock ... 15 
 
 Wilmot's Blaekstone . . . . 
 
 24
 
 CLASSIFIED INDEX TO CATALOGUE, 
 
 Botany and Gardening. 
 
 Hassall's British Freshwater Alga ." 10 
 
 Hooker's British Flora . . . . H 
 
 " Guide to Kew Gardens . , 11 
 
 Lindley*3 Introduction to Botany . . 13 
 
 " Synopsis of the British Flora. 13 
 
 " Theory of Horticulture . . 13 
 
 Loudon's Hortus Britannicus . . 14 
 
 ** Amateur G;irdener . . .14 
 
 " Trees and Shrubs ... 13 
 
 " Gardening . . . .13 
 
 " Plaits 14 
 
 Pereira's Materia Mcdica . . .18 
 Eivers's Rose-Amateur's Guide . . 19 
 "Wilson's British Mosses . . , .24 
 
 Chronology. 
 
 Bre^ver's Historical Atlas . . ; 6 
 
 Bunsen's Ancient Egypt ... 7 
 
 Haydn's Beatson's Index . . . l'> 
 
 Jaquemet's Abridged ChronoloL^y . . 13 
 
 Commerce and Mercantile 
 Affairs. 
 
 Gilbart's Loffic of Banliing . 
 Lorimer's Young Master Mariner . 
 M*Culloch's Commerce and Navigation 
 Thomson's Interest Tables . 
 Tooke's History of Prices 
 
 Criticism, History, and Memoirs. 
 
 Brewer's Historical Atl.is 
 Bunsen's Ancient Egypt . 
 
 *' Hippolytus' 
 Burke's Vicissitudes of Families . 
 Chapman's Gustavus Adolphus 
 Clough's Greek History from Plutarch 
 ConoUy's Sappers and Miners 
 Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul . 
 Crowe's History of France 
 Frazer's Letters during the Peninsular 
 
 and Waterloo Campaigns . 
 Gurney's Historical Sketches . 
 Hayward's Essays .... 
 Hensman's Handbook of the Constitution 11 
 Herschel's Essays and Addresses . . 11 
 Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions 
 Kemble's Anglo-Saxons 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia 
 Latham'sWorks on the English Language 13 
 Lowe's Campaigns in Central India 
 Macaulay's Critical and Hist. Essajs 
 
 " History of England 
 
 ** ^Miscellaneous "Writings 
 
 *' Speeches 
 
 Mackintosh's Miscellaneous "Works 
 
 " History of England . 
 
 M'Culloch'a Geographical Dictionary 
 Maunder's Treasury of History 
 Merivale's History of Rome . 
 
 " Roman Republic 
 Moore's (Thomas) Memoirs, &c. . 
 Mure's Greek Literature . 
 Palleske'9 Life and Works of Schiller . 18 
 ^ Piozzi's Autobiography and Letters 
 
 Porter's Knights of Malta . . . 18 
 
 Eaikes's Journal 19 
 
 Rich's Roman and Greek Antiquities . 19 
 Riddle's Latin Dictionaries . . .19 
 Rogers's Essays from Edinb. Review . 19 
 
 " (Sam.) Recollections . . 19 
 Rogefs English Thesaurus ... 19 
 
 SchimmelPenninck's Memoirs of Port- 
 
 Uoyal 20 
 
 '* Principles of Beauty 20 
 
 Schmitz's History of Greece . . .20 
 
 Southey's Doctor 21 
 
 Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography . 22 
 '* Lectures on French History . 22 
 ■ Smith's Works .... 21 
 Lectures . . . 21 
 
 *' Memoirs . . .21 
 
 Thirl wall's History of Greece . . ,22 
 Turner's Anglo-Saxons . . . . 23 
 White and Riddle's Latin Dictionary . 24 
 
 Whiteside's Italy 24 
 
 Wilkins's Political Ballads . . , 24 
 Wilmot's Brougham's Law Reforms . 24 
 
 Geography and Atlases, 
 
 Brewer's Historical Atlas . . . 6 
 
 Butler's Geography and Atlases . 7 
 
 Cabinet Gazetteer ... .7 
 
 Johnston's General Gazetteer . . 13 
 
 M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary . 15 
 
 Maunder's Treasliry of Geography . 1 6 
 
 Murray's Encyclopaedia of Geography . 17 
 
 Sharp's British Gazetteer . . . 20 
 
 Juvenile Books. 
 
 Amy Herbert ...,.» 20 
 
 CleveHall 20 
 
 Earl's Daughter (T)ie) . . . .20 
 
 Experience of Life 20 
 
 Gertrude 20 
 
 How'itt's Boy's Country Book . . 12 
 
 *' (Mary) Children's Year , . 11 
 
 Ivors 20 
 
 Katharine Ashton 20 
 
 Laneton Parsonage .... 20 
 
 Margaret Percival 20 
 
 Piesse's Chymical, Natural, and Phy- 
 sical Magic 18 
 
 *' Laboratory of Chymical Wonders 18 
 
 Pycroft's Collegian's Guide ... 19 
 
 MedicinCj Surgery, &c. 
 
 Brodie's Psychological Inquiries . 
 Bull's Hint's to Mothers . 
 
 " Management of Children 
 Copland's Dictionary of Medicine . 
 Gust's Invalid's Own Book 
 Holland's Mental Physiology . 
 
 " Medical Notes and Reflections 
 Kesteven's Domestic Medicine 
 Pereira's Materia Medica 
 Spencer's Principles of Psychology 
 Todd's Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and 
 
 Physiology ..... 
 West on Children's Diseases . 
 *' Nursing Sick Children 
 
 Miscellaneous Literature. 
 
 Bacon's (Lord! Works . 
 Boase's Philosophy of Nature 
 Bray on Education of the Feelings . 
 Defence of Eclipse of JPaith . 
 Eclipse of Faith .... 
 Greyson's Select Correspondence . 
 Gurney's Evening Recreations 
 Hassall's Adulterations Detected, &c. 
 Havdn's Book of Dignities 
 Holland's Mental Physiology
 
 CLASSIFIED INDEX TO CATALOGUE. 
 
 Hooker's Kew Guide , , ^ 
 Howard's Gymnastic Exercises 
 Howitt's Rural Life of England 
 
 '• Visits to Remarkable Places 
 Jameson's Corhmonplace-Book 
 Jeffrey's (Lord) Essays . 
 Macaiilay's Critical and Hist. Essays 
 
 " Speeches 
 Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Woiks 
 Martineau's Miscellanies 
 Newman, on University Education 
 
 ** Office & Work of Universities 
 
 " 's Lectures and Essays 
 Pycroft's English Reading 
 Rich's Dictionary of Antiquities . 
 Riddle's Latin Dictionaries , 
 Eowton's Debater .... 
 Sir Roger De Coverley . 
 Smith's (Rev. Sydney) Works 
 Southey's Doctor, &c. .... 
 Spencer's Essays .... 
 Stephen's Essays .... 
 Stow's Training System . 
 Thomson's Laws of Thouaht 
 Trevelyan on the Native Languages o 
 
 India 
 
 White & Riddle's Latin Dictionary 
 AVit and Wisdom of Sydney Smith 
 Yonge's English-Greek Lexicon . 
 
 "** Latin Gradus 
 Zumpt's Latin Grammar 
 
 Natural History in general. 
 
 Agassiz on Classification 
 Callow's Popular Conchology 
 Ephemeras Book of the Sahnon . 
 Garratt's Mar\ els of Instinct . . 
 Gosse's Natural History of Jamaica 
 HartTvig's Sea and its Livin" Wonders . 
 Kirby and Spence's Entomology . 
 Lee's Elements of Natural History 
 Maunder's Natural History . 
 Quatrefages' Rambles of a Naturalist . 
 Stonehenge on the Dog . . , . 
 Turton's Shells of the British Islands , 
 Waterton's Essavs on Natural History . 
 Youatt's The Dog . . , . 
 
 ** The Horse . . . , 
 
 One- Volume Encyclopaedias and 
 Dictionaries. 
 
 Blaine's Rural Sports .... 6 
 Brandt's Science, Literature, and Art . 6 
 Copland's Dictionary of Medicine . 8 
 
 Cresv's Civil Engineering ... 8 
 Gwili's Architecture .... 10 
 Johnston's Geographical Dictionary . 13 
 Loudon's Agriculture . . . .14 
 '* Rural Architecture . . 14 
 
 *' Gardening . . . .13 
 
 « Plants 14 
 
 " Trees and Shrubs . . .13 
 M'CuUoch's Geographical Dictionary . 15 
 ** Dictionary of Commerce . 15 
 
 Murray's Encyclopfedia of Geography . 17 
 Sharp's British Gazetteer ... 20 
 Ure's Dictionary of Arts, &c. . . , 23 
 Webster's Domestic Economy , . 23 
 
 Religious and Moral Works. 
 
 Afternoon of Life . 
 
 Amy Herbert .... 
 
 Bloomfield's Greek Testament 
 
 Bloomfield's Supplementary Annota 
 tions on the Greek Testament 
 
 Bray on Education of the Feelings 
 
 Bunyan's Pilsrim's Progress 
 
 Calvert's Wifi's Manual . 
 
 Catz and Farlie's Moral Emblems 
 
 CleveHall 
 
 Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul 
 
 Cotton's Instructions in Christianity 
 
 Dale's Domestic Liturgy 
 
 Defence q{ Eclipse of Faith . 
 
 Earl's Daughter (The) . 
 
 Eclipse of Faith ..... 
 
 Experience (The) of Life 
 
 Gertrude - 
 
 Hoare on the Veracity of Genesis . 
 
 Home's Introduction to Scriptures 
 " Abridgment of ditto * 
 
 Humphreys's Parables Illuminated 
 
 Ivors, by the Author of Atny Herbert 
 
 Jameson's Saints and Martyrs 
 ** Monastic Legends 
 
 '* Legends of the Madonna 
 
 " on Female Emplovment 
 
 Jeremy Taylor's Works . ' . 
 
 Katharine Ashton . 
 
 Kouig's Pictorial Life of Luther 
 
 Laneton Parsonage . 
 
 Lyra Germanica 
 
 Maguire's Rome 
 
 Margaret Percival . 
 
 Marshman's Serampore Mission 
 
 Martineau's Christian Life 
 '* Hymns 
 
 " Studies of Christianity 
 
 Merivale's Christian Records 
 
 Moore on the Use of the Body 
 ** " Soul and Body 
 " *s Man and his Motives 
 
 Morning Clouds 
 
 Moseley's Astro- Theology 
 
 Neale's Closing Scene 
 
 Powell's ChrisUanity without Judaism 
 „ O rder of Nature 
 
 Readings for Lent . 
 
 " Confirmation 
 
 Riddle's Household Prayers . 
 
 Robinson's Lexicon to the Greek Tes 
 tament 
 
 SchimmelPenninck's Sacred Musings 
 
 Self-Examination for Confirmation 
 Scwell's History of the Early Church . 
 " Passing Thoughts on Religion 
 
 Smith's (Sydneyj Moral Philosophy 
 ** (G.) Wesleyan Methodism 
 " (J.) Shipwreck of St. Paid 
 
 Southey's Life of Wesley 
 
 Spitta's Lyra Domestica 
 
 Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 
 
 Theologia Germanica 
 
 Thumb Bible (The) 
 
 Poetry and the Drama. 
 
 Aikin"s (Dr.) British Poets . 
 Arnold's Merope .... 
 ' ' Poems .... 
 Calvert's Wife's Manual . 
 Goldsmith's Poems, illustrated 
 L. E. L.'s Poetical Works 
 Linwood's Anthologia Oxoniensis 
 Lyra Germanica .... 
 Macaulay's Lavs of Ancient Rome 
 MacDonald's ^Vithin and Without 
 
 " Poems 
 
 Montgomery's Poetical Works
 
 CLASSIFIED IKDEX TO CATALOGUE. 
 
 Moore's Poetical A^'orks . 
 
 " Selections ("iliuslrated) 
 
 " LiiUa Rookll 
 
 " Irish Meloilies . 
 
 " National Melodies 
 
 " Sacred Songs {uith Mus 
 
 " Songs and Ballads . 
 Power's ^'irIrinia's Hand 
 Shakspeare, by Bowdler . 
 Southey's Poetical Works 
 Spitta's Lyra Domestica . 
 Thomson's Seasons, illustrated 
 Warburton's Hunting Songs , 
 Wilkins-s Political Ballads . 
 
 The Sciences in general and 
 Mathematics. 
 
 Arago's Meteorological Essays . . 5 
 
 " Popular Astronomy ... 5 
 
 Boase's Philosophy of Nature . . . G 
 
 Bourne on the Steam Engine . . 6 
 
 " 's Catechism of Steam-Engine . 6 
 
 Boyd's Naval Cadet's Manual . . 6 
 
 Brande's Dictionary of Science, &c. . 6 
 
 " Lectures on Organic Chemistry G 
 
 Conington's Chemical Analysis . . 8 
 
 Cresy's Civil Engineering ... 8 
 
 De la Rive's Electricity .... 9 
 
 Grove's Correlation of Physical Forces . 10 
 
 Tlerschel's OutUnes of Astronomy . . 11 
 
 Holland's Mental Physiology . . .11 
 
 Humboldt's Aspects of Nature . . 12 
 
 " Cosmos . . . .12 
 
 Hunt on Light 12 
 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia . . 13 
 
 h-Iarcet's ' Mr«. I Con^■ersations . . 15 
 
 Morell's KleiiiPiit? of Psychology . . 17 
 
 Moselev'- A-tro-'l'heology . . .17 
 
 " ' Kngimering and Architecture 17 
 
 Ogilvie's Master-Buiiaer'8 Plan . . 17 
 
 Owen's Lectures on Comp. Anatomy 17 &1S 
 
 Pereira on Polarised Light . . . IS 
 
 Peschel's Elements of Physics . .18 
 
 PliiUips's Mineralogy .... 18 
 
 " Guide to Geology ... 18 
 
 Piesse's LaboratoiY of Chymical Wonders 18 
 
 Powell's Unity of Worlds ... 18 
 
 " Christianity without Judaism IS 
 
 " Order of Nature . . .19 
 
 P>amsav's Glaciers of North Wales and 
 
 Switzerland 19 
 
 Smee's Electro-Metallurgy; . . . 21 
 
 Steam-Fngine, by the Artisan Club . 6 
 
 Tate on Strength of Materials . . 23 
 
 Twisdon's Examples in Mechanics . 23 
 Webb's Celestial Objects for Common 
 
 Telescopes 23 
 
 Rural Sports. 
 
 i Rifle and Hound in Ceylon 
 illaines Dictionarv of Sports . 
 Cecil's Stable Practice . 
 
 " Stud Farm . 
 Dead Shot (The) 
 Ephemera on Angling . 
 
 " Book of tlie Salmon 
 Freeman and Salvin's Falconry 
 Hamilton's Reminiscences ol an 
 
 Sportsman .... 
 Hawker's Young Sportsman . 
 Howard's Athletic Exercises . 
 The Hunting-Field . 
 Idle's Hint* on Shooting 
 Pocket and tlie Stud 
 
 Practical Horsemanship . 
 Pycroffs Cricket-Field . 
 Richardson's Horsemanship . 
 Ronalds's Fly-Fisher's Entomology 
 Salmon Fishing in Canada 
 Stable Talk .and Table Talk . 
 Stonehenge on the D..g 
 
 " " Greyhound 
 
 The Stud, for Practical Purposes . 
 
 Veterinary Medicine, &c. 
 
 Cecil's Stable Practice . 
 
 *' Stud Farm . . . 
 Hunting-Field (The) 
 Miles's Horse-Shoeing . 
 
 " on the Horse's Foot 
 Pocket and the Stud 
 Practical Horsemanship . 
 Richardson's Horsemanship . 
 Stable Talk and Table Talk . 
 Stonehenge on the Dog . 
 Stud (The) .... 
 "i'ouatt's The Dog . 
 " The Horse 
 
 Voyages and Travels. 
 
 Baker's Wanderings in Ceylon 
 
 Barth's African Travels . 
 
 Burton's East Africa 
 
 " Lake Regions of Central Afri< 
 " Medina and Mecca . 
 
 Domenech's Deserts of North America 
 " Texas and Mexico 
 
 Forester's Sardinia and Corsica 
 
 Hill's Peru and Mexico . 
 
 HinchliflT's Travels in the Alps 
 
 Hind's North American Exploring Ex- 
 peditions . . . . \ 
 
 Howitt's Victoria .... 
 
 Hue's Chinese Empire 
 
 Hudson and Kennedy's Mont Blanc 
 
 Humboldt's Aspects of Nature 
 
 Hutchinson's Western Africa 
 
 Kane's Wanderings of an .\rtist . 
 
 Lady's Tour round Monte Rosa . 
 
 Lowe's Central India in 1657 and 1658 
 
 M'Clure's North-West Passage 
 
 Minturn's New York to Delhi 
 
 MoUhausen's Journey to the Pacifii; 
 
 Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers . 
 
 Ramsay's Glaciers of North Wales am 
 Switzerland .... 
 
 Senior's Journal in Turkey and Greece 
 
 Snow's Tierra del Fuego . 
 
 Tennent's Ceylon .... 
 
 Weld's Vacations in Ireland . 
 
 " Two Months in the Highlands 
 " Pyrenees, West and East . 
 " United States and Canada . 
 
 Whiteside's Italy .... 
 
 Wills's " Eagle's Nest" . 
 
 Works of Fiction. 
 
 Cruiksliank's FalstafT . 
 Howitt's Tallangetta 
 Moore's Epicurean . 
 Sewell's Ursula 
 Simpkinson's Washingtons 
 Sir Roger Dc Coverley 
 Sketches (The), Three Tales 
 Southey's Doctor, &c. 
 TroUope's Barchester Towers 
 '* Warden
 
 ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE 
 of 
 
 NEW WORKS and NEW EDITIONS 
 
 PTTBLISUED bT 
 
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