diff options
Diffstat (limited to '39892.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 39892.txt | 2123 |
1 files changed, 2123 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/39892.txt b/39892.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2e7d4d4 --- /dev/null +++ b/39892.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2123 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Scottish Loch Scenery, by Thomas A. Croal + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Scottish Loch Scenery + +Author: Thomas A. Croal + +Illustrator: A. F. Lydon + +Release Date: June 1, 2012 [EBook #39892] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCOTTISH LOCH SCENERY *** + + + + +Produced by sp1nd, Matthew Wheaton and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + + SCOTTISH LOCH SCENERY. + + + LONDON: + JOHN WALKER AND CO. + + + SCOTTISH LOCH SCENERY. + + ILLUSTRATED IN + + A SERIES OF COLOURED PLATES + + FROM DRAWINGS BY + + A. F. LYDON. + + WITH DESCRIPTIVE NOTES BY THOMAS A. CROAL. + + LONDON: + JOHN WALKER AND CO. + 1882. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + LOCHMABEN + LOCH DOON + THE GREY MARE'S TAIL + ST. MARY'S LOCH + DUDDINGSTON LOCH + LINLITHGOW LOCH + CORRA LINN + STONEBYRES FALL + LOCH LEVEN + LOCH FAD + LOCH LOMOND + FALLS OF INVERSNAID + LOCH KATRINE + LOCH LUBNAIG + LOCH EARN + LOCH TAY + LOCH AWE + LOCH ETIVE + THE FALLS OF FOYERS + LOCH NESS + LOCH CORUISK + LOCH MAREE + FALLS OF THE GARRAVALT + THE DHU LOCH--LOCH-NA-GAR + THE CAULDRON LINN + + + + +SCOTTISH LOCH SCENERY. + + + + +LOCHMABEN. + + +The visitor to Scotland, entering from the south, has not far to +travel before he reaches one of the loveliest lowland scenes the +country possesses. The very ancient burgh of Lochmaben lies on a +branch line a little distance from Lockerbie junction, and, apart from +its picturesque surroundings, the old place presents attractions of +its own. It dates from very early times, and its burghers are known, +even to this day, as 'the king's kindly tenants.' Many of the +retainers of Robert the Bruce, to whom and whose ancestors the castle +belonged, having obtained rights of property in one or other of the +'four towns of Lochmaben,' under a tenancy direct from the Crown, +hence forming virtually a proprietary interest. + +In Burns's _Five Carlines_, the burgh is called 'Marjory o' the mony +lochs,' from the numerous sheets of water around, of which our view +shows the largest and finest. This is known as the Castle Loch, and +covers about two hundred acres. Although not surrounded by the high +mountains and bolder scenery found further north in Scotland, this +loch presents a scene of great beauty, having fine verdant hills +surrounding it, and being itself clothed on every shore with beautiful +woodland scenery. + +The ruined castle shown in the view occupies a prominent position upon +a heart-shaped peninsula. The visitor will find little but bare and +massive walls to tell him of the extent of this fortress, once +covering sixteen acres in extent, and forming the chief stronghold in +the south-west of Scotland. For many years after the castle fell into +ruin it is said the king's tenants used it as a quarry for building +stones, and Chambers, in his _Picture of Scotland_, speaks of one +honest burgher who then 'warmed his toes beside a pair of fine jambs +procured in Bruce's castle.' From the appearance of the ground, it is +evident the neck of the peninsula could be put under water for +defensive purposes, having both an outer and an inner defence of this +kind, besides one or more intermediate fosses that speak of the same +use. The present is not believed to be the original castle built by +the Lords of Annandale, but a subsequent erection of the thirteenth +century. The days of warlike lords and border forays are over for the +Castle of Lochmaben, and now it is to be regarded merely as a splendid +addition to the picturesque attractions of this very charming +district. Boats may be hired for a row or sail over the placid bosom +of the loch, and on a fine autumn evening no more delightful pleasure +could be got. + +Besides its other attractions, Lochmaben presents a peculiar fact in +natural history, for in its waters are found--in addition to other +fish--the vendace, a species of fish found in no other loch. It is +popularly but erroneously called a fresh-water herring, for it belongs +to the family of _coregonus_, one of the salmonidae. This rare fish +takes no lure, and thus can only be netted, and the fishing for it in +the Castle Loch is limited to one day in the year, in July, when the +vendace club meet, fish, and dine. The Mill Loch, another and lesser +of those surrounding the burgh, also contains vendace, which are +fished for one day in August. The Castle Loch measures a mile long by +three quarters broad, the Mill Loch is half a mile by quarter of a +mile, and the other waters are the Kirk-Loch, Hightae Loch, &c. + + + + +LOCH DOON. + + +Although intimately associated with those scenes to which Burns so +plaintively puts the question + + 'Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon + How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?' + +and although it 'pours a' its floods' under that ancient brig where +Tam O' Shanter had such a narrow escape, Loch Doon is far from the +immediate land of Burns, lying remote in a wild and solitary mountain +region. The loch is, however, within four miles of Dalmellington +station, and as there is excellent fishing, coaches frequently carry +the disciples of Walton, as well as searchers after the picturesque, +to this quiet, outlying place. Loch Doon is eight miles in length, and +irregular in form, the lower limb of the Loch, from which the river +Doon issues, lying to the right as shown in our view. The hills on the +south are in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, and the loch, forming, +over its whole length, the boundary between that county and Ayrshire, +is surrounded with pastoral mountains. + +At the head of the loch, at its southern end, lies an island on which +the remains of an ancient castle are seen. This building, the main +feature of which is an octagonal peel or tower formed of large square +stones, is only vaguely traceable in history, and at one time belonged +to Edward Bruce, brother of Robert the Bruce. Rather more than half a +century ago, several canoes were found in the loch near this island, +each boat formed from the stem of a single oak tree, the trunk being +hollowed out, and the ends finished off in form like a fishing-coble. +Common repute gives to such boats an antiquity of eight or nine +centuries, but no absolute date can be assigned to them. They belong +to what has been called by an eminent Scottish archaeologist, +non-historic man. Whether they are also pre-historic may be matter of +dispute. + +The river Doon, for a portion of its course immediately after leaving +the loch, presents some very remarkable features. The gully through +which it flows gives the appearance of high cliffs rent asunder by +some fierce cataclysm to give passage to its waters. The walk along +this ravine is singularly striking, the rocks seeming at every turn to +close in so as to bar further progress, and when the river is full +after a wet season the spectacle is not without elements of terror. +All around, the region abounds with lochs, Loch Doon being the +largest. Excepting as regards the branch line of railway leading to +Dalmellington, the entire district lies apart and silent, a region of +hills, occasionally, as in Merrick (2704 feet) and Cairnsmore of +Carsphairn (2612 feet), rising to the dignity of mountains, and wholly +given up to pastoral uses, except where the iron works around +Dalmellington suggest that this upward district touches the border of +that mineral wealth which exists so abundantly a little further +north. + + + + +THE GREY MARE'S TAIL. + + +While this is not the highest waterfall in Scotland--for the +inaccessible Falls of Glomak far exceed all others--the Grey Mare's +Tail ranks as one of the most striking. We find amongst the hills at +the north-west corner of Annandale, the waters of 'dark Loch Skene,' +which find no outlet save over this breakneck descent. Far down in the +vale below lies the watering-place of Moffat, famous for its +sulphureous springs, clear, cool, and medicinal. Coaches leave this +town daily during the season to reach the other side of the hills, and +ten miles distant from Moffat this splendid natural phenomenon is +seen. The coach, in the slow ascent to the higher level, gives the +visitor ample time to find, on foot, the best vantage points from +which to see the fall. + +When the stream is small, the 'tail' falls off to thin threads of +spray, dashed into films of prismatic beauty as they rush from rock to +rock. But in spate, the effect comes out in all its grandeur, + + 'White as the snowy charger's tail,' + +and the appropriateness of the name bestowed on the waterfall +evidences itself. The entire fall is above two hundred feet at one +leap, over a dark rugged precipice, closed in on every side with sharp +rocks, and suggesting to the mind ideas of much terror and sublimity. +Attempts have been made to scale the face of the fall, occasionally +with fatal results, and the imagination can create, even if the eyes +cannot see, the fluttering of morsels of clothing that are pointed out +by the guide as horrible memorials of such foolhardy attempts. In this +wild region were enacted some of the terrible scenes of the +Covenanters' persecution. Away in those grim solitudes, 'hunted like a +partridge upon the mountains,' the dauntless upholder of the right of +private judgment would betake himself, associating with others of like +determination. On the 'Watch Hill' opposite Birkhill, the persecuted +people set sentinels to signal the approach of Claverhouse or his men, +while away in a cave, near a wild waterfall called Dobb's Linn, they +held their proscribed services, and here on one occasion the 'bloody +Clavers' shot four men, whose graves were marked in Ettrick kirkyard +not many years ago. The wild desolation of this scene befits the dark +and terrible incidents of which, at this period, it was the scene. The +farmhouse of Bodsbeck lies on the road between Moffat and the +waterfall, and has been rendered famous in literature through James +Hogg, the 'Ettrick Shepherd's' story of the _Brownie of Bodsbeck_, a +tale dealing with incidents of the persecution of the Covenanters. + +From Moffat can be reached in a different direction some notable hills +and ravines, amongst which may be named Hartfell, and Queensberry +Hill, from the summit of both of which magnificent panoramas of +scenery are opened to view. A remarkable scene is that of the Earl of +Annandale's Beef Tub, otherwise called 'The Devil's Beef Tub,' a vast +semicircle of precipitous rock, down in the bosom of which many +beeves, perhaps driven from other mens' lands, could be hidden away. + + + + +ST. MARY'S LOCH. + + +There is no native of Scotland who does not wax poetical when St. +Mary's Loch is named. Round it and the district of which it is the +crown and glory there centres more of legend, ballad, poem and +sentiment than is to be found anywhere else, and in good sooth it is +only necessary to visit the place to realize the halo of love and +admiration which has been thrown around it. Then it is also the centre +of a famous angling district, and in 'Tibbie Shiel's' the +'contemplative man,' when his day of enjoyment is done, will find a +tidy bed, and eke some jovial companion, who will make the evening +hilarious as the day has been exhilarating. If the tourist has visited +the _Grey Mare's Tail_, described in the preceding chapter, the same +coach that has brought him from Moffat will bring him on to this scene +of singular pastoral beauty. + +St. Mary's Loch presents sufficient space to make up a fine landscape, +and is not too large to be taken in at one glance. In its still beauty +it has its chief charm:-- + + 'You see that all is loneliness, + And silence aids--though the steep hills + Send to the lake a thousand rills, + In summer tide, so soft they weep, + The sound but lulls the ear to sleep. + Your horse's hoof-tread sounds too rude, + So stilly is the solitude.' + +The square keep seen in the foreground is Dryhope Tower, the home of +'Mary Scott, the Flower of Yarrow.' Here we at once plunge into the +old ballad and foray, for she married Wat of Harden, a famed Border +freebooter, and to name him is to let loose a flood of reminiscences, +legends, and family histories, on which the space at command here will +not permit us to enter. + +The old kirk and kirkyard of St. Mary's were not less remarkable than +the loch:-- + + 'Lord William was buried in St. Marie's Kirk, + Lady Margaret in Marie's Quire, + Out o' the lady's grave there grew a red rose + And out o' the knight's a brier.' + +Thus ends the tale of the _Douglas Tragedy_. Less famous people are +buried there, as another voice tells us, + + 'For though, in feudal strife a foe + Hath laid our lady's chapel low, + Yet still beneath the hallowed soil + The peasant rests him from his toil, + And, dying, bids his bones be laid + Where erst his simple fathers prayed.' + +The river Yarrow flows through St. Mary's Loch, having passed through +the small Loch o' the Lowes before reaching the larger water, 'Tibbie +Shiel's' lying between the two lochs. Yarrow is well known to every +reader of Wordsworth, and we must pass rapidly over what might be +suggested by that single word, so soft in sound, so suggestive of the +old-world lore of this magical district. Of every nook and dell, hill +and valley, stream and loch, there are stories and songs without end, +everywhere + + 'You hear sweet melodies + Attuned to some traditionary tale.' + +Heroes and bold outlaws, fair women and sorrowing widows, strifes and +plunderings, genealogies and traditions--the Vale of Yarrow and its +surrounding hills and streams abound in these. All hushed are they +now, and the once warlike burgh of Selkirk is a thriving manufacturing +town, but while the 'Flowers o' the Forest' are, in one sense 'a' wede +away,' the natural attractiveness of the district remains, with all +the stories of byegone times to add to its interest for romantic or +poetic minds. + + + + +DUDDINGSTON LOCH. + + +The smallest of all the notable lochs in Scotland, its circumference +being under a mile and a half, Duddingston is nevertheless famous as +the resort of curlers and skaters, and for very many years it has been +a favourite playground of the citizens of Edinburgh, whenever John +Frost holds reign, and the ice is pronounced safe by the police. The +water is deep, and the loch is fed by several springs far down in its +depths, so that it is not a mere touch of frost that will produce +practicable ice at that part of the loch just under the rocky knoll +overhanging the middle. But when the frost has lasted for two or three +days, and the word is passed round in the city that 'Duddingston is +bearing,' then as if by common consent the city is stirred to wend its +way to the loch. Everyone is there, from the arab who has perhaps at +no other time a shoe on his feet, and whose sport can only consist of +'keeping the pot boiling' down the long slides that speedily get +formed, to grave lawyers, councillors and magistrates, while crowds of +the fair sex also don their skates, and anon the surface of the loch +gets obscured by the multitudes of people disporting on the ice. There +have been times when Duddingston, like the Thames, has been so +strongly frozen that an ox has been roasted upon it, and 'Frost Fair' +is still a tradition amongst old people. But a thickness of five or +six inches of ice suffices to make the entire surface safe and solid, +and when by the continuance of frost the ice reaches to nigh two feet +thick--no uncommon event--then the frosty carnival is at its best. + +The village of Duddingston reposes under the wing of Arthur's +Seat--the hill shewn in our view--and lies to the right. In the +village is the house in which Prince Charles Edward lodged before the +battle of Prestonpans. In former times, Duddingston was famous for +'sheep's head' dinners, and its fruit gardens were also a favourite +resort in summer. The parish church, seen amidst the bare trees, is of +architectural interest because of several portions of Norman work +still extant, and also from the fact that at the gate of the +churchyard are to be seen the 'jougs', an iron collar used as a +pillory, and also a curious relic, a 'loupin' on stane,' placed +considerately there so that persons attending church on horseback +should reach their saddle with the least trouble. In the comfortable +manse, which lies away to the right, there lived for a time the Rev. +John Thomson, one of Scotland's greatest landscape painters, who was +minister of the parish, and died there in 1840. The roadway running +between the rocky knoll and the main hill is called the 'Windy Gowl,' +and in certain directions of the wind is almost impassable. The +precipitous rocks standing to the left of the hill are known as +'Samson's Ribs,' and consist of basaltic columns of the same formation +as Fingal's Cave and the Giant's Causeway. Viewed as we see it from +the east end of Duddingston Loch, Arthur's Seat loses the fine leonine +form it presents in every other direction. It is a noble hill, and +although little more than eight hundred feet high, its position as a +solitary eminence gives it much grandeur of appearance, and the view +from its summit is nowhere surpassed. On a clear day, the eye may +wander from the Cheviot Hills on the Border, to the Grampians in the +north-west, and while the city of Edinburgh lies spread out below, the +varied landscape of the Lothians and the sparkling waters of the Firth +of Forth come in to make up a panorama of varied beauty, amply +repaying the slight toil of the ascent. + + + + +LINLITHGOW LOCH. + + +We reach here a quiet loch, of no great extent, but presenting a +beauty of its own, and famous from its association with the ancient +palace that crowns the peninsula in its centre. The tale of Flodden +Field is closely associated with this palace, for in the small turret +at the right hand corner furthest in our view there sat Queen Margaret +in her bower, watching the turn of the road by which the king ought to +be seen on his return, and weeping in secret misgiving as to the +result of an enterprise which had been preceded by such a singular +warning. The scene described by Lindsay of Pitscottie, and better +known through 'Sir David Lindsay's Tale' in _Marmion_, took place in +the old parish church, closely adjoining the palace, the square tower +of which is seen over the trees. The king was in the practise, on each +anniversary of his father's death, to proceed to St. Katherine's +aisle,--still shown--and there to manifest his contrition for the +share he had had in that sad act. When + + 'In Katherine's aisle the monarch knelt + With sackcloth shirt and iron belt + And eyes with sorrow streaming' + +there stepped out from the crowd a mysterious stranger, 'in azure gown +with cincture white,' who warned the king not to go to the intended +war, more especially warning him, if he went, to guard himself against + + 'Woman fair + Her witching wiles and wanton snare.' + +Every one knows that as regards both branches of the warning, the +king proved regardless, and much of the disastrous result of Flodden +arose from the king's fatal dalliance with a renowned Border lady. + +Of the loch itself there is not much to say, after it has been told +that it is dominated on the north by the gentle and verdant declivity +of _Glower-o'er-em_ or Bonnytoun Hill, on the summit of which is an +elegant open gothic cross to the memory of Adrian Hope, a soldier of +note who fell in the Indian mutiny. An exceedingly pleasant hour or +two may be spent boating on the loch. On the level sward to the left +of our view, the Linlithgow youth may be seen practising the game of +cricket, for which use of the palace precincts leave is given. The +palace grounds are open to the public, the building being in +government hands, and, it is believed, swallowing up the whole rent of +the small farm adjoining in the plasterers account for maintenance of +the extensive ruins. + +Within those walls the beautiful Mary Queen of Scots was born in 1542, +and the room is shown, roofless and bare, as are other apartments of +more or less interest. The newest part of the structure is on the +north side, which is also the most ruinous, for when Hawley's +dragoons, in 1746, set fire to the palace, the wooden floors here +proved of course more easily destroyed than the vaulted and tiled +floors in the older parts. + +The porch, it may be mentioned, is copied at Abbotsford, and the fine +fountain which stands in ruins in the courtyard has been reproduced in +fac-simile at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. Leading to the palace from +the town, the church door being also within it, is a fine gateway, +with sculptured panels shewing the four knightly 'Orders' held by +James V., namely, the Thistle, the Garter, the Golden Fleece, and St. +Michael. The town of Linlithgow is a quiet, decayed county town, +famous in history for the assassination of Regent Murray by Hamilton +of Bothwellhaugh, in the High Street, and once distinguished by its +singularly copious water supply from wells or springs, some of which +still run on the streets, though most are now led into pipes for a +general supply. + + + + +CORRA LINN. + + +The old rhyme has it that three of the finest rivers in Scotland set +out to run a race, with varying fortunes:-- + + 'The Tweed, the Annan and the Clyde, + A' took their rise out o' ae hill side, + Tweed ran, Annan wan, + Clyde fell and brak its neck o'er Corra Linn.' + +As an actual fact those three rivers find their head waters within a +very narrow space. Annan, with the shortest course, falls into the +Solway Firth; Tweed, getting many famous waters to strengthen its +current, the Gala, the Yarrow, the Ettrick and the Teviot, rolls its +noble course to the Border city of Berwick, and runs into the German +Ocean. The Clyde, after surviving its leap over Corra Linn and other +falls, becomes the great highway for ships at Glasgow, and has the +most useful, as well as the most romantic career of the three. + +Before it breaks its neck o'er Corra Linn, the Clyde has already met +with an accident at Bonnington Linn, and rushes over rocks and gullies +of the most hazardous kind, so that it reaches the greater fall in a +condition of turmoil and agitation far removed from the gentle +character of its earlier course. Above Bonnington, + + 'Smooth to the shelving brink, a copious flood + Rolls fair and placid,' + +but when it approaches Corra Linn, the water is alive and tumultuous, +and plunges over really as if it would break its neck in its mad +career. + +To reach this fall, the visitor leaves the burgh of Lanark at its +lower end, proceeds to Kirkfieldbank, and there obtains a card of +admission to the grounds of Corehouse. The river is crossed at +Kirkfieldbank, but long ere reaching this the water has quieted down, +and flows gently along. The roar of Corra Linn may however be heard, +especially if the Clyde be in flood. The walk after entering the +grounds is not long, when, following the course indicated by cards +(though the sound of the water indicates the way pretty well,) we +reach the ruins of Corra Castle, just overhanging the fall. A little +roadway,--quite safe, for it is on the solid rock--leads down to a +projecting cliff from which, seated on the benches placed there for +the purpose, the splendid sight can be viewed at leisure. + + 'Dashed in a cloud of foam, it sends aloft + A living mist and forms a ceaseless shower.' + +In the sun, tiny rainbows form, as different points of view are taken. +The deafening roar of this grand cataract rises and falls in a +singular way, as if every slight inequality in the volume of the river +could be detected. The note is low and grand, so that the sound of the +human voice, shrilly set above its deep diapason, is easily heard, and +conversation can be quietly carried on. As in all great waterfalls, +the impression is deepened and strengthened by familiarity. For one +minute the feeling may arise 'is that all'--the next, the grandeur of +the scene has won its way to the mind and taken captive the +imagination. Sit for an hour and the feeling will grow, while to +revisit it day after day for a week will intensify wonder and +admiration at the marvellous scene. Does it plunge and roar thus, year +in, year out, day and night, continuously? Is there no pause, no rest, +for the tost and troubled water--no quietness for those reverberating +rocks that stand around in awe of the ceaseless and giant power that +has so eaten its way into their hearts? + +Everyone who visits Corra Linn walks through the ground to Bonnington +Linn, which from the Corehouse side is seen in face, the water +plunging over in two streams divided by an island. If these falls are +approached on the Bonnington side, the visitor sees Corra Linn in +face, can descend (by a steep descent) to the bed right under the +fall, visits the Wallace Cave where the river roars through a gulley +only a few feet wide, and may cross by an iron bridge to the island in +the middle of Bonnington Linn. + + + + +STONEBYRES FALL. + + +In this cataract, the Clyde leaps a greater distance than in either of +the falls above, and by many it is considered the finer of the two +great waterfalls. It lies about three miles below Lanark, and is +reached from the public road. It is difficult of access, for the +visitor must either content himself with a distant view, or take his +heart in his hand and descend a precipitous and dangerous path, where +at times to hang on by the eyelids may seem the only resource. In +speaking of Corra Linn, nothing has been said of the extreme beauty of +the scene through which the river flows. From Hamilton to some +distance above Lanark, the Clyde valley is a famous fruit district, +itself a testimony to the richness and mildness of the locality. It +would be vain to dwell on the sylvan splendours of the reach of the +river from Bonnington to below Corra Linn. High banks overhang the +whole way, sometimes running to bold cliffs, crowned with woody +knolls, with shining snatches of verdure in every crevice; at other +points wooded to the water's edge. Standing on the bridge at +Kirkfieldbank the river is seen pleasantly flowing on towards its +third leap, the greatest of the series. Before passing by the road to +this scene a detour should be made, on the opposite bank, to the +Cartland Crags, where a lofty bridge crosses the river Mouse, and +amongst whose lofty cliffs the hero William Wallace found refuge after +his famous exploit in slaying Haselrig the English Sheriff. + +Approaching Stonebyres, the war of troubled waters is again heard. The +stream is not far off the road, and only a short walk is necessary +before the scene bursts upon the view. Of course glimpses of the +waterfall can be obtained from many points, but the choice aspect is +to reach the bed of the stream below, and gaze upwards on the mighty +rush of waters. To one who is bold and sure-footed there is no great +difficulty in approaching pretty near the fall, unless the river +should be in spate, when of course the difficulty is increased, and +may indeed become too dangerous to be possible. Supposing the fall +approached within several score of yards, what a splendid scene, and +how thrilling is that on which we gaze! + + 'O what an amphitheatre surrounds + The abyss, in which the downward mass is plunged, + Stunning the ear.' + +The entire descent is about ninety feet, in several distinct leaps. +This broken character of the two great falls gives them a great deal +of their distinctive beauty. Doubtless, if the flood had plunged in +one sheer leap, the turmoil below would have been greater, but the +picturesque aspects of the scene would have been lessened. The jutting +rocks and ragged edges by which the fall is broken, give to the face +of the waterfall an ever varying feature, and with the undulating flow +and gamut of sound here, as at Corra Linn, it presents at each moment +some new point for admiration. Then the triple and repeated leaps +churn the water into the snowiest foam and spray, so that the falls +have great brightness and lightness in spite of the quantity of water +plunging over. The combination of tones of colour is indeed notable, +and when to the greens and browns of rock and tree, and the white foam +of the fall, there is added a brilliant sunshine and cerulean sky +flecked with light clouds, anyone standing here may well exclaim that + + 'Earth hath not anything to show more fair.' + + + + +LOCH LEVEN. + + +This loch has at the present day a two-fold attraction--historical and +piscatorial. Like most other places of interest in Scotland, the story +of Loch Leven and its castle clings round the chequered career of Mary +Queen of Scots. Here, for eleven months, the beautiful Stuart Queen +lay a prisoner, and eventually her escape was arranged with all the +romantic devotion and quiet daring with which she was ever able to +inspire all who fell under the spell of her charms or the pity of her +fate. Here, as Burns has taught us to believe, she uttered that sad +'Lament on the Approach of Spring' which forms one of the most +touching bits of the national poet's writings, + + 'Now Nature hangs her mantle green + On every blooming tree, + And spreads her sheets of daisies white + Out o'er the grassy lea. + + * * * * * + + Now blooms the lily by the bank, + The primrose down the brae; + The hawthorn's budding in the glen, + And milk-white is the slae: + The meanest hind in fair Scotland + May rove their sweets amang, + But I, the Queen of a' Scotland, + Maun lie in prison strang.' + +The waters encompassing the castle form a loch of an irregular square +form, with a maximum length of four miles, and over two miles wide. +The island on which the castle stands is not the largest, there being, +at the eastern end, a large island named after St. Serf, and still +showing the remains of a priory, originally Culdee, and of which +Wyntoun, author of the _Orygynale Cronykil_, was once the head. The +castle, a massive square keep, with a quadrangle of fortified +buildings around it, is of great antiquity, dating, it is alleged, +from Pictish times. The walls of the keep are in good preservation, +and the lower floors, being vaulted, still remain. The surrounding +wall, with circular towers, can be walked upon, but the main buildings +in the area are only indicated by lines of foundation walls. From the +side nearest in our view a sunken causeway formerly connected the +castle with the promontory on which Kinross House stands, and it can +still be traced at the bottom of the loch. + +The surroundings of the loch include the Western Lomond, and the +Bishop Hill on the north-west, and Benarty on the south. Regarding the +last named hill, a retired politician is said to have written the +following couplet, in retirement here, + + 'Oh blest is the man wha belangs to nae party + But sits at his door and glowers at Benarty.' + +The district traversed in reaching the loch impresses the visitor as +being fruitful and prosperous, and there are abundant evidences around +of much mineral wealth. It is, however, for angling purposes that Loch +Leven attracts the greater number of its visitors. The Loch Leven +trout are active and firm-fleshed, and are in much esteem both for the +sport they yield and for the table. At the west end of the loch, close +by the town of Kinross, boats are let for angling, and besides many +private parties, a large number of clubs hold stated competitions on +Loch Leven, and the 'baskets' made, and the prospects of sport, are +the subject of daily reports in the Edinburgh and Glasgow newspapers. +Beds and boats are telegraphed for in advance, regarding which a good +story is told of an Edinburgh journalist, once famous with rod and +line, who first sent a wire to the unsophisticated Kinrossians. When +he arrived he saw that he was unexpected, and asked 'did you not get +my message?' The reply was, 'Ou ay, we got a letter, but as it _wasna +in your ain handwriting_, we paid nae attention to it!' + + + + +LOCH FAD. + + +This is one of the lochs without a history, although doubtless men +have lived and died, married and given in marriage, laboured, plotted, +and perhaps thieved and robbed upon its borders. It owes its presence +in our collection because of its position in an island, and that one +of the most tempting spots in the more lowland parts of Scotland. The +island of Bute, which unites with Arran and the Greater and Lesser +Cumbraes to make up a county to which Bute gives its name, lies on the +west of the Frith of Clyde, and is separated from the mainland on the +inner side by a narrow, tortuous, and picturesque channel called the +Kyles of Bute. Landing at Rothesay we find a busy, cleanly, charming +watering place, with suburbs of Craigmore and Port Bannatyne filling +up the lovely shores of Rothesay Bay, and giving from every window +enchanting peeps of water and hill, carrying the view far into the +mountainous county of Argyle. Writing of this lovely, verdant island, +David Macbeth Moir (the _Delta_ of Blackwood,) says + + 'each moment brought + A new creation to the eye of thought.' + +So much for poetry. We may tell of Bute a more prosaic story, when a +town-lady, going, as the Glasgow people say, 'doon the watter,' asked +a lodging-house keeper in Rothesay about thunder, and received the +very satisfactory rejoinder, _more Scottice_, in question form, 'Wha +ever heard o' thunder in an island?' + +Leaving Rothesay by the road near its centre, and passing the parish +kirk, Loch Fad is found about two miles out. On the south side, +forming the foreground and left of our view, the shores are low and +green, but on the other side it swells out into bolder outlines, and +may fitly claim to be a Highland loch. A curious mound crosses the +water, leading to its northern side. On this side of the pretty island +loch, Edmund Kean, in 1827, built himself a residence. From his +windows, and more especially from a summer-house placed on the height +above, there is a grand view, embracing not only the near waters of +Loch Fad, but glimpses of Rothesay Bay, and on the outer line the bold +features of Argyleshire. Over the doorway of this summer-house, the +great tragedian had those lines + + 'How glorious from the loopholes of retreat + To peep at such a world.' + +And this concisely expresses the feeling with which a wearied man may +seek his holiday in such an island as this. True it is, that Rothesay +has a telegraph, and a post office, and a newspaper, and that in two +hours' time one can be set down in the heart of Glasgow. But the +insular charm is a great one. + + 'The promises of blooming spring live here, + And all the blessings of the ripening year.' + +Those lines were formerly inscribed at Mount Stuart House, the +residence of the Marquis of Bute, recently burnt and rebuilt. It lies +on the Clyde shore of the island, at no great distance from +Rothesay,--indeed there are no _great_ distances anywhere in the +island--and forms one of the many beautiful drives through the island. +On the way thither the village of Ascog is passed, where on a rocky +point jutting out into the river there is a little church, and at its +end a monument to Montagu Stanley, poet, actor, artist, at one time +well known in Edinburgh society. From Mount Stuart and Ascog, and the +other houses on this side of the island, there is an extensive view of +the Frith of Clyde, on the broad waters of which there is a +never-ending panorama of steamers, yachts, and gallant vessels. + + + + +LOCH LOMOND. + + +Justly termed the Queen of the Scottish Lochs, this magnificent sheet +of water presents an almost infinite variety of scenery. It has on the +eastern side one of Scotland's notable mountains, Ben Lomond, and +around are hills of lesser, though still great altitude, over which +the giant mountain towers as a monarch amidst his courtiers. There are +on the loch several excellent steamers, and as the distance from the +pier at Balloch to the landing place at Ardlui is upwards of twenty +miles, a day can be delightfully spent in going and returning, giving +the charms of Highland scenery without the ordinary fatigues of +travelling, and the delights of an excursion on a wide expanse of +water without the attendant risk of sea-sickness. + +There are on the bosom of Loch Lomond several large islands, and many +small islets, adding greatly to the beauty and variety of its scenery. +Some of the islands are clad in oak; one is called Inchlonaig, or +yew-tree island; some display the silvery leafage of the birch, others +are covered with the hardier fir, and here again the element of +variety comes in to charm the sense. Our view shews the loch before it +has narrowed to the lesser channel between Inversnaid and Ardlui, and +before it has lost the charm of those wooded islands that beautify the +southern and wider part. The bulky form of Ben Lomond fills up the +scene, and the sun shining amidst clouds is significant of the varied +weather that may be encountered in one day. The wide reaches and more +lowland aspects of the southern end may be passed in all the enjoyment +of a noon-day summer sun, but ere the upper part of the loch is +reached clouds may gather, and a sudden torrent of rain or a sullen +blast of wind may overtake the voyager. But again, in an hour all is +peaceful and beautiful, and the rain has served to augment and enhance +the burns, rivulets, and streams, whose crystal waters feed the loch +from every shore. On several of the islands are ruins of old castles, +and all around the scene is redolent of memories of old feuds, violent +strifes, and fierce clan struggles. To-day all this is changed, and we +revel only in the grandeur and beauty of the scene. Those caves hide +no caterans to rob us, the cattle and sheep on hill or island are safe +from the foray, and the dwellers around pay no black mail to save +themselves from the attentions of stout and bare-legged ruffians. + +At Rowardennan Inn are guides and ponies, and although the stalwart +man may dispense with the latter, it is not safe to attempt the ascent +of Ben Lomond without a guide familiar with the road, for sudden mists +may envelop the climber, and a mistake in the road may lead to death. +What is to be seen from the top? Rather ask what is not seen? Right +away to 'the back of the North Wind' stretch the innumerable hills. To +the west the mountain ranges of Argyleshire, to the south-west the +long peninsula of Cantyre, with the waters of the Atlantic seen +beyond; to the east the castles of Stirling and Edinburgh may be +picked out, to the south the busy Clyde, and in the foreground the +splendid loch itself. Ben Lomond stands as a sentinel or outer-guard +to the Highlands, and hence the range of view from it is of unusual +extent. All that is to be seen from it cannot be described, so rich, +so extensive, so varied are the prospects presented. + +It is said that last century a visitor wrote some lines on a +window-pane at Tarbet Inn, on the ascent of Ben Lomond, and a few +words of his advice may fitly close our essay:-- + + Rest, oh! rest--long, long upon the top, + There 'hale the breezes, nor with toilsome haste + Down the rough slope thy youthful vigour waste. + So shall thy wondering sight at once survey, + Woods, lakes and mountains, valleys, rocks and sea, + Huge hills that heaped in crowded order stand, + Stretched o'er the western and the northern land. + + + + +FALLS OF INVERSNAID. + + +An essential part of the Trosachs tour is the coach drive between +Inversnaid on Loch Lomond, and Stronachlacher pier, where the steamer +on Loch Katrine begins (or ends) her journey. There is one little loch +on the way, from which emerges the Arklet, which runs into Loch +Lomond, and forms the fine series of cascades of which the upper fall +is shown in our view. There is almost no need to waste words in any +description of this delightful scene, so well does the picture we +present describe itself. We may say of it, in lines that Wordsworth +has linked indissolubly with the place + + 'A very shower + Of beauty is thy earthly dower + + * * * * * + + These trees, a veil just half withdrawn, + This fall of water, that doth make + A murmur near the silent lake. + + * * * * * + + In truth together do ye seem + Like something fashioned in a dream.' + +It may well be doubted whether the Highland girl, with her 'twice +seven consenting years,' and her 'homely ways and dress,' would have +enchained the sympathetic poet, had he seen her in some place less +lovely, or less provocative of a feeling of poetic contentment. Be +that as it may, it will be confessed that the scene, with or without a +'Highland Girl' to stir the strings of the heart, will remain +impressed on the mind of every one who is sensible of the beautiful. +And so we can join with Wordsworth, in the conclusion he arrives at, +always excepting, if necessary, his passion for the girl of fourteen-- + + 'For I, methinks, till I grow old + As fair before me shall behold, + As I do now, the cabin small, + The lake, the bay, the waterfall, + And thee, the spirit of them all!' + +There are many remembrances of Rob Roy, truthful some of them, +fanciful the rest, in the vicinity of Inversnaid. Not far off is Rob +Roy's Cave, the entrance scarcely visible, while within there is a +vast cavern, whence in fancy we may descry + + 'The wild Macgregor's savage clan + Emerging at their chieftain's call + To foray or to festival.' + +On the road between Loch Lomond and Loch Katrine is seen Inversnaid +Fort, now in ruins, having in itself a chequered history. Built in +1713 to check the Macgregors, it is said to have been at one time +resided in by General Wolfe. Now, like some doomed city of old, 'the +cormorant and the bittern possess it,' for the Macgregors are at +peace, their name and tartan are no longer proscribed, and now no +black-mail is levied on any one in the district but the strangers, and +for their protection the government has no need to provide. It is at +times a costly thing to travel in the Highlands, when beds are at a +ransom, and all the wealth of Ind will not secure the coveted box seat +of the coach. But a Macgregor who levies black-mail in a Scottish city +has put the thing in a nutshell, for when remonstrated with about his +charges he said, 'What for should I charge less?--my hoose is fu' +every nicht!' There is true political economy shaking hands with the +plunderer of the Saxon! + + + + +LOCH KATRINE. + + +The most brilliant gem in the loch scenery of Scotland is +unquestionably Loch Katrine or Ketturin, and it is needful, however +attractive or deserving of praise other waters may have proved, to +avoid exhausting upon them the vocabulary of praise, lest no words of +greater admiration should be left for this, the loveliest of them all. +Even if Scott had not superadded to Loch Katrine the witchery of his +genius, and made Ellen's Isle as famous among the abodes of heroines +as the Fountain of Vaucluse, this water would have asserted its claim +to public regard. True, it was Scott that gave the impetus for touring +in Scotland--or Scott-land as some have called it!--and Loch Katrine +thus obtained a first hold upon the admiration of the world. But spite +of all rivals, it maintains first rank, and although it cannot cope +with Loch Lomond or Loch Maree in point of size, neither of those +great lochs command the same admiration. + +Scott in _The Lady of the Lake_, has depicted the scene in words of +fire; taking sunset for the time. The 'gallant grey' has fallen,--the +guides still point out the very spot!--and the huntsman pursues his +way till the end of the glen is reached, and Loch Katrine bursts on +his view, + + 'An airy point he won, + Where, gleaming with the setting sun + One burnished sheet of living gold, + Loch Katrine lay beneath him rolled, + In all her length far winding lay + With promontory, creek and bay, + And islands that, empurpled bright + Floated amid the livelier light, + And mountains that like giants stand, + To sentinel enchanted land.' + +In pointing to 'promontory, creek, and bay,' as the characteristics of +the loch, Scott has depicted its most charming attributes, while the +islands, of which Ellen's Isle is the largest, help to enhance the +effect. As the little steamer breaks the still waters into drops that +glance like gems in the sunlight, the scene changes every +moment,--changes in detail, but never in degree of beauty, for the +loch is lovely throughout, and never fails to enchant the eye. + +The chief attraction of the loch itself is the lovely wooded isle that +fills the foreground of our view, + + 'The wild rose, eglantine, and broom, + Wasted around their rich perfume. + The birch trees wept in fragrant balm, + The aspens slept beneath the calm, + The silver light, with quivering glance + Play'd on the water's still expanse.' + +Seldom indeed will the casual visitor have the opportunity of viewing +this scene thus, by the silvery moonlight. But in sunlight it is not +less beautiful, and the description is complete. Next to the island, +the point of attraction is the 'silver strand,' from whence one of the +many fine views of Ben Venne may be had. + +While Loch Katrine thus ministers to our love for the beautiful, its +waters have learned to combine the _utile_ with the _dulce_, and here, +in October 1859, came Queen Victoria to turn on the water for the +supply of Glasgow. Many and fierce were the controversies as to this +scheme. But Lord Provost Stewart, who was mercilessly assailed for +upholding such a costly scheme of water supply, is now commemorated in +Glasgow by a splendid fountain in the West-End Park, and staticians +and sanitary reformers are able to show that the death rate amongst +the half million crowded workers in Glasgow has manifestly lessened +since the city acquired the right to drink the sparkling waters of +Loch Katrine. + + + + +LOCH LUBNAIG. + + +Turning aside from the formal round of the Trosachs and Loch Lomond, +to penetrate into that wonderful district which the Callander and Oban +railway has opened up, we reach, at no great distance from Callander, +Loch Lubnaig, 'the crooked lake,' so called from its bent form, which +is almost identical with the form of the boomerang. The river Leny, +which drains the lake, passes through the Pass of Leny, once famous as +a gateway defending the entrance to the Highlands. Here, whether +viewed from the train or the road, the river is seen to rush over huge +rocks, tearing, roaring, and tumbling, in a manner calculated to +terrify the timid entrant to this wild district. + +The lake itself lies clear, black, and deep, a somewhat sullen, yet +always beautiful sheet of water. On the left the dark masses of Ben +Ledi cast their shadows upon the water, intensifying the depth of its +tone, and giving the loch its distinctive character. Near the water +the banks are in many places full of gentle woodland beauty, but as a +rule the impression made by the overhanging bulk and the dusky-hued +rocks of Ben Ledi, absorb the sense, and the loch ever presents an +idea of grandeur and desolation. The railway line follows the edge of +the loch over its whole length, and the construction of this track +formed a most difficult engineering task, which at some stages of its +progress was nigh abandoned in despair. To get round the hard and +unyielding shoulders of the mountain, where they impinged direct upon +the water, embankments had to be made across a number of bays and arms +of the loch. In one case the task of throwing rocks and stones into +the water was persevered in for nine months without perceptible +result, but by continued labour a footing above water level was at +last obtained. As the train pursues its course along the bank of the +lovely loch,--the eye the while rejoicing in the dark and placid +beauty of the water, and the charm of the hill scenery beyond,--there +will at times come the feeling that the distance between the carriage +window and the treacherously pellucid depths of the loch is all too +little. The fear is unfounded, for no sign of subsidence has been +shewn--the mass of stones thrown in was too solid for that. But this +is a feature in the case that no traveller will fail to notice, and +the impression thus made by Loch Lubnaig makes it a water which once +seen will never be forgotten. + +Near the debouchure of the river is St. Bride's Chapel, where Angus +thrust the fiery cross into the hands of Norman, as described in _The +Lady of the Lake_. About half-way up the loch is Ardchullary +farmhouse, which was at one time the retreat of Bruce the traveller in +Abyssinia, who here wrote the volumes on which a century ago such keen +controversies arose. On the opposite side, where the railway runs, is +Laggan, said to have been the abode of Helen Macgregor, whom Rob Roy +carried off from here by force and married. In the veritable histories +of Rob Roy, however, his wife's name is given as Mary, daughter of +Macgregor of Comar. + + + + +LOCH EARN. + + +No one can accuse the Scottish lochs of want of variety, for in each +is found some specialty, some individual beauty, that stamps it on the +mind, so that the visitor can carry away a distinct impression. +Nobody, for example, who has been at St. Fillans, or attended the +annual games there, is likely to have any difficulty in remembering +this pretty modern village, and the fine loch near which it lies. St. +Fillan, it may be mentioned is a personage of great sanctity in +Scottish hagiology. And when his crosier, carried away to Canada by +its 'Dewar' or hereditary keeper, was recently restored to Scotland, +and placed in the National Museum at Edinburgh, one might have almost +doubted whether Scotland were really Protestant at all, so full was +every one of the fame of this great miracle-working saint. As is well +known, it was the presence of his arm-bone, in the hands of the Abbot +of Inchaffray, which enabled the Scots to win the battle of +Bannochburn! + +Loch Earn, it is to be understood, was known before the Trosachs. +Although shut in at its upper end by the gloomy hills that darken Glen +Ogle, and from that side until recently not very accessible, it was +reached from Crieff and St. Fillans, long before Scott invented those +wondrous stories about the Trosachs district which are to-day so +veritable that the scene of each incident is pointed out. And in its +perfection of beauty--for so we consider it--it well deserves to hold +its place in public regard. The reverse view from that given here is +also beautiful, and it may be said that no more perfect scene can be +witnessed than from the carriage window in the Oban train as, high on +the side of a steep and terror-striking mountain, it enables the +visitor to look down, as with a bird's-eye view, upon this lovely +loch. The sheet of water is symmetrical, a feature which may be a +beauty or a disadvantage, according as the spectator looks for +completeness of display, or for mystery as the aim of the picturesque. +But, as it is expressed by MacCulloch, Loch Earn is 'consistent and +complete,' and he points out that by this completeness it possesses an +appearance of extent beyond which it actually possesses. The mind can +grasp it all, but we feel that there is a great deal to be grasped. +The hills are sufficiently high to give dignity to the scene, and the +glowing verdure all around gives it softness and beauty. Benvoirlich +is its summit hill, and the house of Ardvoirlich--the 'Darlinvaroch' +of Scott's _Legend of Montrose_--occupies a fine spot half way down +the loch. In this mansion is preserved a singular talisman, a perfect +sphere of rock crystal, with four silver bands, which throughout the +country side has the credit of curing diseases when dipped in water to +be drunk by the patient. + +It remains to notice some physical peculiarities of this loch. +Although situated at an elevation of several hundred feet above +sea-level, its temperature is so equal that the water is never known +to freeze, and even the stream that flows from it never shows ice on +its surface till it has run several miles into bleaker regions. The +depth of the water is at some places six hundred feet, and as it lies +in the immediate region of earthquake in Scotland, it is allowable to +conjecture that some hidden fire of nature far below keeps the water +just a point or two above ordinary heat, and thus produces the +phenomenon stated. There are trout in the loch, and leave to fish can +readily be obtained at either end, as the hotel keepers have boats +upon the loch. + + + + +LOCH TAY. + + +Many of the lochs of which we have spoken have the advantage of Loch +Tay as regards the number of their visitors, and their repute in +distant parts. But in no case is greater beauty to be seen than here, +and no spot in Scotland will more fully repay the labour of travelling +to see it. It lies surrounded with splendid hills, Ben Lawers on the +north proudly towering over the scene. It is very finely wooded over +all its banks, and its slightly irregular form creates change and +variety at every mile of the way. It is the merit of Loch Tay that now +the visitor has 'three courses' before him, like a great statesman of +our day. When he leaves Killin station at the upper end, or Aberfeldy +station at the lower end, he may follow the coach route on the north +side, or he may prefer the less public road on the south side, or he +may sail on the bosom of the water in the steamer, the _Lady of the +Lake_, launched in 1882 by the Earl of Breadalbane. From Killin, the +direction of our view, the north road, which is generally followed, +lies to the left. Just at the head of the road--one of the roads made +by General Wade--is seen the ivy-covered ruin of Finlarig Castle, +situated amidst fine woods, and having near it the burial place of the +Breadalbane family. The Queen, visiting Taymouth Castle in 1842, +lunched at Auchmore, where the south road strikes off. She speaks of +the scene as enchanting, and it would be difficult to find a more +appropriate word. Ben Lawers, the ascent of which is made from Lawers +inn, has not many superiors in height in Scotland, and its ascent is +not difficult, while the view from it is superb. Behind Ben Lawers, +and further on running to a junction with the valley in which Loch Tay +lies, is the grand district of Glen Lyon, of which many think, that +from its upper reaches in the Forest of Mamlorn to where the Lyon +falls into the Tay, there is not a glen in Scotland so weird and yet +so verdantly beautiful. The ascent of Ben Lawers, it may be mentioned, +has special charms for the botanist, boasting amidst many rare plants +the drooping saxifrage (_S. cernua_,) not elsewhere found in this +country. The district abounds in water and in waterfalls, including +the falls of Acharn, which are seen from the north side, but may be +visited if the south road be taken. From near Aberfeldy, when the +noble river Tay, the birth of this grand loch, has run some miles of +its course, the tourist naturally turns aside to visit the falls of +Moness, 'the epitome of waterfalls,' as Pennant says, on a stream +which flows through the town of Aberfeldy. Here is the scene so +exquisitely sung by Burns; + + 'The braes ascend like lofty wa's + The foaming stream, deep-roaring, fa's + O'er hung wi' fragrant, spreading shaws, + The Birks o' Aberfeldy.' + +Close by Kenmore, at the lower end of the loch is a wooded island, on +which lies buried Princess Sybilla, daughter of Henry I. and wife of +the Scots King, Alexander I. In the inn-parlour at Kenmore Burns wrote +some lines of intense feeling and adoration, in which he dwells on + + 'The sweeping theatre of hanging woods; + Th' incessant roar of headlong tumbling floods,' + +--twin characteristics of this most attractive region. + + + + +LOCH AWE. + + +It is but seldom that the eye can rest upon so much soft beauty and +stern grandeur as can be seen at one moment in looking at this grand +loch. Rivalling Loch Lomond in length, it is much narrower, and while +richer, is perhaps less varied. In sailing over its clear waters, the +richly wooded islands and green banks suggest some large and placid +river. Crowded with islands, especially at its upper part, each one +with its ruin, its legend, or its sylvan beauty to attract, the loch +is in all respects charming. There is Inishail--the island of the +fair, immortalized by Hamerton,--Inis-Fraoch, the Hesperides of Celtic +romance, with golden fruit, a dragon, a lover, and a legend, all in +due form, Inistrynich, the island of the Druids, and many others. And +near the head of the loch is the peninsula on which stands Kilchurn +Castle, to whom we may say with Wordsworth, + + 'thy hour of rest + Is come, and thou art silent in thy age.' + +This ruin is one of the favourite subjects of the Scottish landscape +painter, and its picturesque character is well seen in our view. +Though now a complete wreck, it was entire and served as a post for +the royal troops in the '45, and almost within living memory it was a +habitable mansion. It is said that an economical steward of the Earl +of Breadalbane fancied the roof timbers would be useful at Taymouth +Castle, and had them removed. It is certain that for long the gigantic +stronghold served as a common quarry for the surrounding district, and +that even the church in the adjoining Glen Orchy has in it some stones +from the old castle. On the high ground to the right is a circular +and somewhat rude yet effective stone monument to Duncan Ban +Macintyre, of Glen Orchy, who died in Edinburgh in 1812, aged 89 +years, and whose fame as a Gaelic poet is unique. + +At its upper end the loch forks into two arms, that to the right +receiving the Orchy and other feeders, while that to the left runs +through the dark Pass of Brander, and there, in the river Awe, the +loch finds its outlet. Formerly the saying that 'it's a far cry to +Lochow' had more significance, for now the railway has made this grand +loch easily accessible, and as the line skirts the upper end of the +loch (where a large hotel has been built) and proceeds on terraced +banks through the Pass of Brander, crossing the rapids of the Awe on a +high bridge, the traveller enjoys the beauties of the district in a +large degree. The sail on the loch is, however, a part of the Highland +tour which no visitor should forego. + +Ben Cruachan, whose double peak (the highest 3667 feet) dominates the +district, is one of the most striking of the Scottish hills, in its +massive form, magnificently swelling contours, and unique position, +giving perhaps a greater idea of bulk than other hills of the same +height. On three sides it rises from the water's edge, Loch Awe in its +two upper branches, the river Awe, and Loch Etive, the sea-loch into +which the latter runs, washing its base. The ascent of this noble Ben +is best made from the Bridge of Awe, a scene rendered familiar in +Scott's _Highland Widow_, and the view from the summit is magnificent. +No one will ever regret the toil of surmounting + + 'yon sovereign lord + Huge Cruachan, a thing that meaner hills + Might crush, nor know that it had suffered harm.' + + + + +LOCH ETIVE. + + +Coming round the base of Ben Cruachan by rail, and leaving the Pass of +Brander and the rapids of the river Awe, the observant traveller will +not fail to notice that the large and spreading water he now +approaches has the character of a sea loch. If no other indication +were given, the presence of brown sea-wrack along the margin of the +water would show that here the tides ebb and flow. Far away to the +right, surrounded by grand hills, and closed in at the distance by the +bulky shoulders of Buchael Etive, is the upper reach of the loch, +forming in itself a most attractive portion of Highland scenery. The +railway, however, confines itself solely to the south side of the +lower and salter reach of the water, separated from the inner loch by +a reef of rocks, through the chief opening in which the receding tide +rushes with the character of a waterfall. Passing along the loch, +there is seen on the north side the remains of Ardchattan Priory, one +of the three religious houses established in Scotland after the +pattern of those in the Val de Choux (Cabbage Valley, or, _Scottice_, +Kale Glen, as the recent historian of Pluscardyn ingeniously puts it) +near Chatillon, in Burgundy. Loch Etive narrows at its mouth at +Connell Ferry, and then opens grandly into Loch Linnhe. + +Dunstaffnage Castle, shown in the view, is one of the royal castles of +the Duke of Argyle. The building, which is of great antiquity and +strength, was destroyed by fire in 1715. Some guns supposed to have +belonged to the Spanish Armada are in the castle, and the remains of a +chapel are seen, in which are supposed to rest, not only the remains +of the actual King Alexander II, but of various more or less +apocryphal Dalriad kings. Over the water is shown the site of the +Pictish capital of Beregonium, (said to have been destroyed by fire +from heaven!) and, near it, on Bal-an-righ, is a vitrified hill fort, +the _Selma_ of the poems of Ossian. + +At Dunstaffnage was at one time kept the Coronation Stone, or Stone of +Destiny, of which the tradition says that it was the veritable stone +on which Jacob laid his head when he had the dream on his way to +Padan-Aram! Geologists say that the structure of the _Lia Fail_ agrees +with that of the stones at Dunstaffnage. Leaving out tradition, the +stone is said to have been removed from this place to Scone, near +Perth, where the kings of Scotland continued to be crowned till Edward +Longshanks removed this Scottish palladium to Westminster Abbey, where +it remains to-day, fixed beneath the coronation chair. It is said that +Edward II. was willing to restore the Stone of Destiny to Scotland, +but was prevented by the London mob. The 'destiny' was proclaimed in +verses that have been rendered in this form + + 'Unless the fates are faithless grown + And prophets voice be vain + Where'er is found this sacred stone + The Scottish race shall reign.' + +Without a doubt, the house of Brunswick claims the throne of those +realms in consequence of their Stuart descent, so that the stone has +not as yet failed in its effect, and every one desires that the +'destiny' should continue in the same line, whether the boulder from +the borders of Loch Etive has anything to do with the matter or not. + + + + +THE FALLS OF FOYERS. + + +Here we have the culmination, as regards beauty, of the waterfalls of +Scotland. This is one of the scenes that struck the imagination of +Burns, as, standing by the fall, he wrote in pencil words that can +never be omitted in any description for they fulfil all that +description can effect-- + + 'Among the heathy hills and rugged woods + The roaring Foyers pours his mossy floods + Till full he dashes on the rocky mounds + Where thro' a shapeless breach his stream resounds + As high in air the bursting torrents flow + As deep recoiling surges foam below + Prone down the rock the whitening sheet descends + And viewless Echo's ear, astonished, rends: + Dim seen through rising mists and ceaseless showers + The hoary cavern, wide surrounding, lowers, + Still, thro' the gap the struggling river toils + And still, below, the horrid cauldron boils.' + +The last idea is one that ever recurs in the presence of a great +waterfall, and in every respect the description is perfect, the +shapeless breach, the bursting torrent and the deep recoiling surges +are each impressed on the mind, even if the visitor has not read +Burns's lines. When Dr. Johnson visited Scotland, he too saw the Fall +of 'Fiers' as it is called in his _Journey to the Western Islands_, +and although a long continuance of dry weather had robbed the fall of +much of its promised grandeur, Dr. Johnson, while philosophically +remarking that 'Nature never gives everything at once,' gives a +striking word-picture, exercising as he says, his thoughts to +'conceive the effect of a thousand streams poured from the mountains +into one channel, struggling for expansion in a narrow passage, +exasperated by rocks rising in their way and at last discharging all +their violence of waters by a sudden fall through the horrid chasm.' +This is splendid, and if old Samuel Johnson had seen Foyers at its +best he could not have improved on the description. + +The steamers on Loch Ness invariably stay at the pier of Foyers, +affording time to walk to the grand falls. The hotel here is built on +the site of 'General's Hut,' and still in Johnson's day it is 'not ill +stocked with provisions.' The name is given because General Wade, when +superintending those roads that are rendered famous by his epitaph, +was lodged at this spot. There are two falls, with a distance of about +a quarter of a mile between them, the lower or great fall being that +shown in the view. Over the upper fall there is a light bridge thrown, +and the scene here is very fine, though it is exceeded in grandeur by +the snow-white rush of the lower waterfall. The latter earns its +title of the 'fall of smoke,' the spray rising in never-ceasing clouds +of grey mist-like smoke. + +A notable scene in the immediate vicinity of Foyers is the Pass of +Inverfarigaig, with vast cliffs, and many interesting geological +points of study. By ascending this pass and striking westward a fine +approach can be obtained to the upper fall of Foyers. Again, by a +ferry near the pier, the loch can be crossed, and the quaintly shaped +hill of Mealfourvonie can be ascended. Again, a short distance brings +the visitor to Castle Urquhart, while a little further on is +Drumnadrochit, rendered famous by _Punch's_ Fat Contributor,--'your +health sir, in a dram!'--where but for the telegraph wire, and the +post office, and the newspaper, and the frequent steamboats, a man +might moon away his time, and never tire of the fine air, the +wonderful surroundings, and the remote stillness. If a man wished to +be a hermit, and yet see much of the world, to be unoccupied, yet +never fail of variety of occupation, to be rested and refreshed, yet +interested and employed, he could not do better than take up his abode +at Foyers for the four or five months of the long days between April +and October. + + + + +LOCH NESS. + + +This loch, with soundings deeper than any in the German Ocean, has +come into notice in an especial manner, because it forms, in its +twenty-four miles, a large section of famous tourist route, the +Caledonian Canal. The loch is within a few miles of the handsome town +of Inverness; the river Ness, draining the loch, running through the +town to the Moray Firth after a short but lovely course over the +intervening distance. Between Loch Ness and the outlet there lies a +vast gravel peninsula, dividing the section known as Loch Dochfour +from the rest, the barricade thus formed being a safeguard to the town +against the enormous pressure of water that would otherwise flow out +in times of flood. As it is, the records of the town point to terrible +devastations from the Ness coming down in strength. The deep waters of +the loch get lashed into stormy waves by gusts of wind rushing down +from the surrounding glens, so that Loch Ness does not always present +the peaceful aspect of our view, as seen by the summer visitor. But we +will take it on such a day by preference, and can warrant to every one +who comes that the sail in the fine steamers plying on the loch and +canal will be redolent of joy and beauty and grandeur. We may conceive +that there is more comfort and ease in seeing Loch Ness than when, a +hundred and nine years ago Johnson and Boswell rode along its shores. +But the high terms in which Bozzy speaks of the scene are as fresh +to-day as then, for the road shaded with birch trees, the hills above +it, the 'sequestered and agreeably wild' scene, are as fitted to +engross attention as ever. We know also that they would see Castle +Urquhart, on its prominent peninsula, and would probably be struck by +the notable form of the hill called Mealfourvonie. They stopped at the +'General's Hut,' as indeed we all do, for the new hotel at Foyers is +built on its site, whence we take the road to visit the falls of that +name, as described elsewhere. + +Fort Augustus, standing at the western end of the loch, is now a +Benedictine monastery and school. Built after the Jacobite rising in +1715, as part of the plan for holding the turbulent Highlanders in +subjection, it remained crown property for a century and a half, and +falling into disuse and neglect was then sold for its present purpose. + +Although our view gives but a small section of the loch, our notice +may be directed to the other parts of the route that now yearly +carries thousands of tourists through the Glenmore-nan-Albin. There is +at Corpach the famous 'Neptune's staircase,' where eight locks bring +the boat from the outer loch to the canal level. Loch Lochy, ten miles +in length, forms the western portion. Then after two miles of canal +Loch Oich is reached, this sheet of water being four miles long. Then +another cut takes to Loch Ness, the whole distance, from the staircase +to Muirton lock on the east side being about fifty miles. The entire +route, barring the delay at the locks up and down, has all the charm +of one continuous voyage on an inland lake, the portions in canal +being almost indistinguishable except in width from the natural +channels. There is a constant variety and glory of scenery during the +day's sail, and nowhere can the traveller spend a holiday with more +delightful surroundings. + + + + +LOCH CORUISK. + + +There are few scenes more fitted to move the imagination than the +wonderful loch, and the more wonderful hills that surround it, +presented in this view. It is somewhat of an exaggeration for Sir +Walter Scott to say that here + + 'Nor tree, nor shrub, nor plant, nor flower, + Nor ought of vegetative power + The weary eye may ken.' + +But this is distinctly the impression of a first survey of the wild +scene, though under glints of sunshine there will not fail to meet the +eye little snatches of grassy bottom and stunted herbage, here and +there in the midst of the rocks. Yet there is so little to relieve the +singular darkness of the rock-pent water, and the dusky green of the +Cuchullin hills that surround it, that one fully appreciates, even in +the brightest weather, how true a picture Scott has drawn of the +scene:-- + + 'For rarely human eye has known + A scene so stern as that dread lake + With its dark ledge of barren stone. + Seems that primeval earthquake's sway + Hath rent a strange and shattered way + Through the rude bosom of the hill, + And that each naked precipice + Sable ravine and dark abyss + Tells of the outrage still.' + +To see Coruisk in fine weather is impressive, but it is when leaden +clouds weigh down the atmosphere, and dank mists clothe the rugged +peaks around, that the scene comes out in its full and weird +impressiveness. Then 'naked precipice,' 'sable ravine,' and 'dark +abyss,' are seen to be true words, and there comes on the spectator +some feeling of scenes that have been read of in Dante or Milton:-- + + 'He views + The dismal situation, waste and wild. + A dungeon horrible on all sides round * * + Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace + And rest can never dwell.' + +But we must not give too black a character to this loch and its +surrounding hills. It is no Malebolge, filled by 'sounds and sights +unholy,' and while it impresses by its solitude and grandeur, it also +gratifies by its intense feeling of repose, and its remoteness from +the ills of busier life. Those visiting Coruisk will view with wonder +the extraordinary peaks of the Cuchullins, (pronounced Coolins,) each +more fantastic and broken than his neighbour, and all consisting of +the green-black hypersthene trap that gives its character to the +scenery here. South-east of the loch is the mighty bulk of Blabheinn, +(pronounced Blaven,) a huge mass with precipitous sides, down which, +on the occurrence of one of the frequent showers of this watery isle, +the rain is seen to descend in broken rills of dazzling whiteness, +making an extraordinary effect upon the upright face of dark rock. To +the north-east, the Cuchullin hills terminate in the ragged triple +peak of Scuir-na-gillean, the rock or hill of the young men. This +height was first scaled, in recorded history, in 1836, when Principal +Forbes, of glacial fame, ascended it, and since then, with guides, it +has been frequently climbed. But from the extraordinary formation of +the hill, the ascent is a work of much danger, and lives have been +lost in the attempt. The peak is a narrow ledge, precipitous on every +side. The height is 3220 feet, and although Scuir-na-Banachtich, the +westmost peak, is believed to be as high, it has not been climbed so +far as is known, and thus Scuir-na-gillean holds first rank in this +wonderful group of mountains. + + + + +LOCH MAREE. + + +The first sight of this glorious loch, as the stage coach from +Auchnasheen station brings the traveller to the top of a steep +descent, is calculated to excite the liveliest emotions of wonder and +surprise. The road reminds one of some Alpine pass, while far below +stretches the large sheet of water, with its western end eighteen +miles away. If for a moment a feeling of the smallness of the loch +should supervene, the huge hills dwindling it down by their enormous +bulk, this soon passes away, and we feel to be in presence of one of +Scotland's proudest lochs. The coach drive to Gairloch occupies six +hours in all, including a short stoppage to bait the horses at +Kinlochewe, and during the whole time the eye is filled with pictures +of grandeur or of delight. After the tedious descent to the water's +edge has convinced you that the feeling of smallness is a mistake, you +have time to observe the effect which such a mountain as Ben Slioch +has in dwarfing all around it. Loch Maree is but six miles from the +sea, with no great descent, so that the hill raises its mighty +shoulders almost sheer from the sea level. From the road you perceive, +skirting the loch on the other side, what seems a fringe of very small +bushes. But anon a two-storey house appears among the bushes, which +now, with a known standard of comparison, are seen to be tall trees! +From the top of Ben Slioch, or any of the neighbouring mountains of +first-class size, the view is grand, embracing at once the Atlantic +and the German Oceans. On the opposite side from Ben Slioch is the +Scottish _Pentelicus_, Ben Eay, whose brilliant white quartz pinnacle +may sometimes be seen shining in the sun, like the famed marble +mountains of Greece. + +On the bosom of Loch Maree, near its widest end, are several islands, +the largest of which, Eilan Mhaolrubh, contains the remains of an old +chapel, and a holy well that is even yet in high repute amongst the +ignorant. It is sometimes said that the chapel, island, and loch get +their name from the Virgin Mary, but this is now universally +acknowledged amongst scholars to be an error. It was the Irish +preacher, Maelrubha, (Latinised to Malrubius, then softened down in +local tongues to Mulray, Mourie, and Maree,) who came over to Scotland +in the seventh century, who gave his name to the place. Dr. Arthur +Mitchell, in his Rhind Lectures on Civilization, has told in full the +story of the curious superstitions concerning this island, of which +examples as recently as twenty years ago are quoted. It is to be noted +that when, a year or two ago, the Queen visited the island, great +indignation was expressed in some quarters, because it was on a Sunday +evening she got rowed over from her retreat at Talladale to see this +interesting place. + +The coach leaves the edge of the loch at Talladale, after a lovely and +varied drive along its banks, now in the bosom of a dense wood, now in +the midst of a rocky chaos, + + 'The fragments of an earlier world.' + +A few miles down the road are found the romantic falls of the Kerry. +The man on the box seat at the left of the coach looks sheer down the +precipice over which the stream falls, as the coach with a swing turns +the corner of the steep road, with little visible between the +traveller and the dangers of that awful chasm! + + + + +FALLS OF THE GARRAVALT. + + +Although not reckoning amongst the grander waterfalls of Scotland, the +cataract on the Garravalt, in the Queen's Forest of Ballochbuie, is +behind few in the picturesque wildness of its surroundings. The name +in Gaelic,--'Garbh-allt'--is characteristic and descriptive, +signifying a rough brook, and our view of the roaring cataract shews +how completely it deserves that name. The entire course of the stream, +from its rise in Cairn Taggart, one of the Loch-na-gar group of hills, +is about five miles, and the linn itself is little more than half a +mile from where the Garravalt joins the Dee. To reach the place,--and +few visitors to the famed district of Deeside will omit to visit +it,--only a slight deviation from the road leading from Crathie and +Balmoral to the Castleton of Braemar is called for, the place where +the road leads off being close beside the Bridge of Invercauld, over +the Dee. + +This waterfall, the finest of several in Deeside, has been +enthusiastically praised by every writer. The Queen, in the _Leaves +from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands_, says, 'From the road +in the wood we walked up to the _Falls of the Garbhalt_, which are +beautiful. The rocks are very grand, and the view from the little +bridge, and also from a seat a little lower down, is very pretty.' Her +Majesty has here indicated the two points of view generally chosen, +namely that from the bridge looking down, and that from below, looking +up the stream, the latter being adopted for our representation. To +say, as one writer has done, that 'the water comes foaming and raging +and toiling down in a manner almost impossible to be described,' is to +abdicate the chief functions of a word painter. The waters come +roaring and rushing down the rocky cleft, hurrying over the blocks and +stones that impede their passage, and creating a noise that is heard +far off, + + 'Confounding, + Astounding, + Dizzying and deafening the ear with its sound + And so never ending, but always descending + Sound and motion for ever and ever are blending.' + +The eye never tires in looking at the lively scene, and the ear drinks +in the murmuring and thundering sound, which has the usual faculty of +swelling and falling, till the mind gets imbued with the idea that the +waters are endowed with the faculty of speech, so that we +involuntarily ask 'what are the wild waves saying?' and linger long at +the spot in the vain hope that the varying syllables of the living +water will yet form themselves into intelligible words. This is not to +be however, and we may turn away to look for a moment at the +picturesque country in which this attractive waterfall is situated. +The steep pine-covered hill is called the Forest of Ballochbuie. Here +again we may turn to the Queen's book, where 'the aspect of the wood +which is called Balloch Buie' is described as 'most lovely.' It is +said that this ground was at one time given to the Farquharsons of +Invercauld, by the Earl of Mar, for a tartan plaid. It is now royal +property, and forms an extensive and valued addition to the forest of +Balmoral, which lies between Ballochbuie and the castle. It was in the +Mar territory, at the Castleton of Braemar, that in 1715 the then Earl +of Mar raised his standard in support of the Chevalier St. George, +whom he had previously, in Glenlivat, proclaimed as King James the +Eighth of Scotland. Here, where 'the gathering pipe on Loch-na-gar' +was heard sounding 'long and sairly,' the inheritor of the crown of +the Stewarts has frequently attended a very different gathering on the +'Braes o' Mar,' when the Duffs, the Farquharsons, and other clans +meet, not for feuds and bloodshed, but for the athletic rivalries of +'tossing the caber' and other native games. + + + + +THE DHU LOCH--LOCH-NA-GAR. + + +It is perhaps puzzling to the stranger to learn that Loch-na-gar is a +mountain, 3768 feet above the level of the sea, though there is on the +summit, and hemmed in by steep precipices, a small sheet of water that +gives its name to the hill. But in the Dhu Loch, a little further in +the heart of this mountainous district, we find one of the most +striking scenes in Scotland. It was of the hill and its surroundings +that Lord Byron wrote his familiar lines, + + 'Away ye gay landscapes, ye gardens of roses, + In you let the minions of luxury rove. + Restore me the rocks where the snowflake reposes, + Tho' still they are sacred to freedom and love. + O Caledonia, beloved are thy mountains, + Round their white summits though elements war, + Though cataracts foam, 'stead of smooth-flowing fountains, + I sigh for the valley of dark Loch-na-gar.' + +The _Dhu Loch_, or black loch--a well-deserved name--has its bed, as +shown in our view, in steep and desperate precipices of granite, and +for sternness of outline is not excelled. The red-deer on its banks +are undisturbed, for seldom does the foot of man intrude on their +repose, and while the water is clear, it is strongly discoloured by +the peat, and the absence of foliage, with the sterile loneliness of +the scene, make men shun rather than court its remote solitudes. 'The +scenery is beautiful here,' says the Queen, in her _Leaves from the +Journal of our Life in the Highlands_, 'so wild and grand,--real +severe Highland scenery,' and the description is surely a true one. No +one can come about the Dhu Loch without being prepared for 'several +scrambles,' like the royal party, and without being prepared also to +endure the 'severity' as well as enjoy the beauty of the place. If he +does not, like Lord Byron, admit Loch-na-gar to be 'the most sublime +and picturesque of Caledonian Alps,'--for perhaps some hill already +named in this volume, unknown to Byron, such as Blaven, or Ben Eay, +might dispute the title--still he will acknowledge that it is a +wonderful region. It is said that on a fair calculation of what +elements go to make up a desirable climate, the kingdom has nothing +better to offer than Braemar, and that Balmoral is the ideal site for +a residence. The district is like all that belonged to the little bear +in the child's story. The hills are neither too high nor too low, but +just right. The climate is neither too mild nor too severe, but just +right. The rainfall is neither too much nor too little, but just +right. In short it is a perfect region,--perfect in its variety of +scenery, from the rich woodlands of its lower ranges to the wild +grandeur of its mountain recesses. Perfect is it also in its fine +lochs, its picturesque waterfalls, its brattling burns, and its +rolling rivers. + +The waters from the Dhu Loch run into Loch Muick, above which lies the +hut at Altnaghuissac, a favourite _shiel_, or mountain summer house of +the royal family when living at Balmoral. This lies in the very +innermost recesses of a grand region, and here the pure air, and the +splendid views, combine to make a haven of retreat, whether, as in the +case of royalty, from the cares of state and the turmoil of politics, +or, in the case of the jaded man of business, from the burdens and +anxieties of the daily grind of life. Those characteristics, more or +less true of the whole inner region of Aberdeenshire, have made the +district a favourite _sanitarium_, while for the mere pleasure-seeker +it presents a succession of delights, full of unalloyed beauty, unless +indeed the weather should break down, and the unwary traveller is +caught in the rains and mists of winter, which may make the ascent of +Loch-na-gar dangerous. + + + + +THE CAULDRON LINN. + + +It is not a little remarkable that the only conception of the Devon +put on paper by Robert Burns was as a clear winding river, whose sweet +stream 'meandering flows.' The fact was that Burns was led to know +that something was expected of him, and his muse was not to respond, +for she acted spontaneously or not at all. A woman did eventually +inspire him to write--ah! those women, how much of Burns' best +thoughts did they command!--and he referred to the romantic stream +only in order to tell that the 'bonniest flower' there had once been a +sweet bud on the banks of his own beloved Ayr. The river Devon has a +short and chequered existence, and after a course of thirty-four +miles, falls into the Forth within five miles of its source. At that +little bit of its journey when, after rising in Stirlingshire, it +flows through Perthshire into Kinrosshire, and then doubles back +across a peninsular bit of Perthshire to reach the county of +Clackmannan, the stream goes through a series of vicissitudes that +completely destroy its 'clear-winding' character. First there is the +deep chasm across which the Rumbling Bridge is thrown. There are here +two bridges, one over the other. The earlier bridge, built in 1713, +eighty feet above the stream, is narrow and without a parapet, and +there is a local tradition of a man who fell asleep in his cart being +taken home safely over this exalted and narrow pathway by the instinct +of his horse. The present bridge, a plain but strong erection, was +built in 1816, and is one hundred and twenty feet above the stream, +the latter hidden far below amidst inaccessible precipices and +darkening woods. Further up the stream is the 'Devil's Mill,' said to +be a waterfall, but so completely inaccessible, that the character of +the place is very much a matter of conjecture. However, there is +heard far down in the depths below the clack and beat of a mill; and +as this goes on Sabbath and Saturday alike, the name quoted above has +been bestowed on the unhallowed mill. It is understood that the water +falls into a basin or chasm without outlet, carrying air with it, then +the air bursts out with the boom that resembles the regulated beat of +a mill. Be the cause what it may, the delusion is perfect. + +Pursuing its way for a mile through a deeply cleft and gnarled valley, +the Devon flings itself in desperation over the Cauldron Linn. There +are two points of view for this singular waterfall, one from above +looking down, the other, shown in our view, from below, looking up. +From above, at the level where the trees are seen, the water leaps +into the cauldrons that give the Linn its name. In the hard basaltic +rock the swirling water has worn out three circular vats or cauldrons, +in which the stream incessantly goes round. The surplus water plunges +over the edge of one cauldron to that below, or, as in one instance, +has worn a hole in the side of the pot, and rushes through that. It is +said that when a sheep's carcase is brought down, and the river is not +high, it will swirl round in the cauldrons till a spate comes strong +enough to carry it over the edge. At the top the round lips of the +upper cauldron nearly meet, so that a man of nerve could leap across. +The distance is probably not over a yard, but so dizzying is the +incessant whirl of the water, that so far from leaping across, a timid +visitor may not even look over the edge, unless prone on the earth he +puts his face over, conscious that six-sevenths of his body are safe +on _terra firma_! + +From below none of this terrible stir of the Cauldron Linn is seen--we +have merely a snowy sheet of water, beautiful certainly, and +impressive in its height, and encircled with lofty precipices, so +that, without reference to its characteristic features above, it takes +rank as one of the most beautiful cataracts in Scotland. The view, +which forms a vignette on our title-page, would in its natural place +come before or after Loch Leven. + + B. FAWCETT, ENGRAVER AND PRINTER, DRIFFIELD. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Scottish Loch Scenery, by Thomas A. Croal + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCOTTISH LOCH SCENERY *** + +***** This file should be named 39892.txt or 39892.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/8/9/39892/ + +Produced by sp1nd, Matthew Wheaton and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at + www.gutenberg.org/license. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 +North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email +contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the +Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + |