to such of the insurgents as should take the oath of allegiance to William III. before the last day of December, and the chiefs of the clans availed themselves of it, and took the required oath. Macdonald of Glencoe was prevented by accident from tendering his submission within the specified time. "In the end of December he went to Colonel Hill, Governor of Fort William, and tendered his allegiance. This the colonel had no power to receive. Sympathising, however, with the distress of the old chieftain, he gave him a letter to Sir Colin Campbell, Sheriff of Argyllshire, requesting him to receive Macdonald's submission and administer the oath to him that he might have the benefit of the indemnity. Macdonald hastened to Inverary, but his way lying through almost impassable mountains, and the country being covered with snow, the ill-fated chieftain did not reach Inverary till after the prescribed time had elapsed. The Sheriff, however, yielding to the entreaties, and even tears of Macdonald, administered the oath and sent off an express to the Privy Council, certifying the fact, and explaining the delay. But Macdonald had rendered himself obnoxious to Sir John Dalrymple (afterwards Earl of Stair), and to the powerful Earl of Breadalbane, whose lands the Glencoe men had plundered, and he was now to feel the weight of their vengeance. The letter of the sheriff was suppressed, and the certificate that the oath had been taken blotted out from the records of the council. A warrant against the clan was procured from the King, and orders were given for its rigorous execution. The chief instrument for this purpose was one Campbell, a captain in Argyll's regiment. He was ordered to

repair to the glen, on February 1st, with 120 men. They were well received, and were treated by the inhabitants with great kindness and hospitality. They continued to live familiarly with the people of the glen for 12 days. On the 13th of February an officer of the force called at the house of the chief with a party of soldiers, and was at once admitted. Macdonald, while in the act of dressing and giving orders for refreshment, was shot dead, as was his aged wife. The slaughter now became general, and neither age nor sex were spared. Thirtyeight persons were massacred, and several who fled to the mountains perished from cold and hunger. An officer sent to guard the passes of the glen arrived too late to prevent the escape of a few, but he entered the glen on the following day, burned the houses and carried away the cattle and spoil, which were divided among the officers and soldiers.'

Hammerton, in speaking of this massacre, says:- "So long as history shall be read, and treachery hated, that name, Glencoe, shall thrill mankind with undiminished horror! The story is a century old now; the human race has heard it talked over for a hundred years. But the tale is as fresh in its fearful interest as the latest murder in the newspapers. Kind hospitality was never so cruelly requited; British soldiers were never at once so cowardly and so ferocious. That massacre was not warfare; it was not the execution of justice; it was assassination on a great scale, and under circumstances every detail of which adds to the inexpressible painfulness of the fact. Itis lamentable that the character of William, on the whole respectable, should be blackened by so foul a stain.”

ROUTE 25.

OBAN TO MULL, SKYE AND GAIRLOCH, including Lochs Scavaig and Coruisk, Loch Maree, and the Highland Railway to Inverness.

(The steamer leaves Oban every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 7 a.m., during the months of July, August, and September. It reaches Gairloch at 6.40 p.m., except on Tuesdays, when the steamer lands passengers at Loch Scavaig, and it reaches Gairloch at 8.40 p.m.)

EAVING Oban, we follow the same course across Loch Linnhe, and through the Sound of Mull, as on the route to Staffa and Iona before described. Leaving Tobermory, the entrance to Loch Sunart, Ben Shiand (1759 feet) is seen on our right. Near the village of Kilchoan, are the ruins of Mingary Castle, once the seat of the Maclans. On the left we pass Ru-nan-Gael Lighthouse, and a little further on, Bloody Bay, where a battle was fought between Haco of Norway and the MacLeods of Skye. On the heights above is Glengorm Castle. Leaving the Sound of Mull, we round the point of Ardnamurchan, the westermost extremity of the mainland of Scotland; and see the islands of Muck, Eigg, Rum, Canna, and Skye, with Ardnamurchan Lighthouse on our left. The inhabitants of Muck numbered 140 in 1773, but they all emigrated to America in 1828. Now, except a couple of herdsmen, the island is unoccupied. The island of Eigg (8 miles in circumference) has about 250 inhabitants. The Scuir of Eigg, a basaltic column with the ruins

of a fort at the top, is described by Hugh Miller as "a tower 300 feet in breadth, by 470 feet in height, perched on the apex of a pyramid, like a statue on a pedestal." Both Muck and Eigg contain monastic remains of buildings raised by Saint Columba in the seventh century. On the southern shore of Loch Moidart, are the ruins of Castle Tyrim, once the seat of the Clan Ranald. On the way to Loch Scavaig, where the steamer calls every Tuesday, we enter the Sound between Muck, Rum, and Eigg. The island of Rum is 30 miles in circumference. The island of Canna lies to the north-west of Rum, and is 18 miles in circumference. Compass Hill, on the north-east end, contains so much magnetic iron ore, as to affect the compasses of passing vessels. Near the entrance to the harbour, are the ruins of an old castle, where, tradition says, one of the Lords of the Isles imprisoned a Spanish lady; and the inhabitants assert that, at "the witching hour of night, when churchyards yawn, and graves give up their dead" her wraith is visible hovering round the antiquated ruin. Sir Walter Scott refers to the story in the following lines:

As we approach Loch Scavaig, we see the Cuchullin Hills; to the left may be seen the little island of Soa. We steam in near the head of the loch, and are rowed ashore. A few minutes walk brings us in view of the solitary LOCH CORUISK. Wilson thus describes it. "The dead dull lake lay beneath; the ruins as it were of a former world were scattered on all sides, and above, as far as the eye can pierce through the murky clouds, rose the vast rocky pinnacles, their extremest beights obscured except at intervals, when we could behold the grim and awful giants keeping their eternal watches. The sides of these mountains, from the almost constant atmospheric moisture, are dark and damp, but there are thousands of small silvery streaks of waterfalls coursing downwards, which occasionally catch the gleaming lights, and throw a partial cheerfulness over the prevailing sadness of the scene. There was nothing within the visible diurnal sphere that breathed the breath of life,-no sound, nor sight of any moving thing,-nothing but a dead and stony, seemingly a God-forsaken world. We almost longed in this cloud-capped thunderstricken region, to hear the voice of gladsome bird, or even of murmuring bee,-but all, so far as regarded living nature, was silent as the grave. Only once we heard the resounding voice of some far avalanche of rocks and stones, sent rolling down the great breast of the opposing mountain.

"Just as we had risen to descend the rocks, there was a great break in the heavens above, a flood of far-flashing light was thrown upon the vast o'erhanging mountains, and into the gloomy gorges by which they

G

were divided, and for a few minutes we could see glittering waterfalls and giant peaks above the wreathed clouds, and small pure breathing places, through the deep blue sky. This splendour, however, was but of brief duration. Vast streams of misty vapour rolled into the hollows of the upper mountains, and obscured each peak and pinnacle which overhung the deep ravine. The whole scene from first to last exceeded in its sterile grandeur whatever we had previously seen in this, perhaps in any other country.'

Returning to the steamer, we soon enter Armadale Bay. Further on, we see the Established Church and parsonage, and on a promontory, the ruins of Knock Castle. Loch Nevish ("loch of heaven") on the opposite side, divides the districts of Morar and Knoydart. Isleornsay light is passed on the left, and, as we round into the bay, we see the little village of Isleornsay. On the right we observe the entrance to Loch Hourn. The precipitous peak of Ben Screel, on its northern shore, is 3,196 feet high. Crossing the Sound of Sleat, we reach Glenelg. (From this a road crosses by the head of Loch Duich to Invergarry, on the Caledonian Canal, and affords many striking and picturesque views to the pedestrian). Passing round the head of the Sound, we pass through a narrow channel called the Kyle-Rhea, and enter Loch Alsh. Loch Duich, a very beautiful and picturesque loch, winds among the hills to the right. On an island, at the entrance to this loch, are the ruins of Eilan Donan Castle, the ancient stronghold of the Mackenzies of Kintail. It was partially destroyed by an English war-ship in 1719, and is un

""

occupied. Balmacara Hotel and Balmacara House are seen on the right. On the left are the ruins of Castle Moil, built by a Danish princess called "Saucy Mary,' who stretched a chain across the Sound, and allowed no vessel to pass without paying toll. Ben-na-Cailleach ("the old woman's hill") rises 2,387 feet, behind the village. We pass Kyleakin and its lighthouse on the right, and Loch Carron, stretching among the hills behind us, with Strome Ferry Station, the terminus of the Dingwall and Skye Railway, on its southern shore. The little island of Pabba on our right, is of remarkable interest to the geologist. We now land at Broadford, where tourists sometimes land to visit the Cuchullin Hills, Loch Scavaig, and Coruisk. The island of Scalpa, on our left, contains the ruins of the ancient chapel of St Fillan, a contemporary of St Columba. Passing through the Kyle Mhor, between the islands of Raasay and Scalpa, we enter the Sound of Raasay. On the shore of the latter island, are seen the ruins of numerous huts, with green patches of land attached to each. The inhabitants were in the habit of literally tethering their children to neighbouring trees, to prevent them from falling over the cliffs into the sea; hence the place is called 'Baillenan-gibean,' or "the town of tethers."

The entrance to Loch Sligachan is seen on the left, with Ben Lea (1473 feet) on its northern shore, and surmounted on the opposite side by Ben Glamaig (2670 feet). As we round into Portree Harbour, the hills rising almost perpendicularly from the sea, have numberless caves at their base, hollowed out by the action of the sea. PORTREE("the king's port"),

so called from having been visited by James V. of Scotland. Here tourists land to visit the quirang -basaltic pillars at the north end of Skye-21 miles distant; and it is the best starting-point for the Cuchullin Hills and Loch Coruisk, by way of Sligachan, 9 miles distant. Excursions are made in small boats to Prince Charlie's Cave (4 miles). Portree contains 2500 inhabitants, principally engaged in fishing and cloth-weaving.

Leaving Portree for Gairloch, Loch Maree, and Inverness, we re-enter the Sound of Raasay. The entrance to Prince Charlie's Cave is discernible near the shore on the left, before passing the island of Holm. Above the island of Holm are the Storr Rocks, with the "old man of Storr"-a pinnacle 160 feet highconspicuous in the front. Farther on is the Kilt Rock, so-called from the perpendicular, basaltic pillars, chequered by horizontal strata. On the right we pass the rocky island of Rona, separated by a channel from Raasay. Emerging from the Sound of Raasay, we enter the Minch. On the left is seen the northern part of Skye and some of the Hebridean Islands in the distance. On the right are the Torridon Hills, and behind we see the mountains of Skye.

As we approach Gairloch, two hours sail from Portree, carriages are in waiting to take us to the hotel. The Established and Free Churches are passed on our way to the hotel, which is a comfortable building, with superior accommodation, commanding a very fine sea-prospect. Near the sandy shore, a little distance off, are the remains of a vitrified fort. From the hills above Poolewe, 6 miles from Gairloch, a magnificent view of Loch Maree, studded with its islands, is obtained.

We may return to Oban by steamer every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at 6.45 A.M., or by coach by way of Loch Maree to Auchnaseen, a station on the Highland Railway, and thence to Dingwall, Beauly, and Inverness (see Route 35). Leaving Gairloch by coach, a ride of 6 miles, brings us to Loch Maree, passing on by the side of the Loch, the "Victoria Falls" are seen near the road on the right. As we emerge from the wood, Talladale Hotel, where Queen Victoria resided for a week in 1877, is passed on the left. A monument near the road commemorates the royal visit. After passing the hotel, we see the Isle Maree near the opposite side of the Loch. The island contains the ruins of a monastery. The waters of a well on the island are said to have cured insanity. Whittier refers to this well in the following lines :

"Calm on the breast of Isle Maree
A little well reposes:

A shadow woven of the oak
And willow o'er it closes.
And whoso bathes therein his brow,
With care or madness burning,
Feels once again his healthful
thought

And sense of peace returning.
Life's changes vex, its discords stun,
Its glaring sunshine blindeth;
And blest is he who on his way
That fount of healing findeth!

"A Danish Prince appointed the island the meeting place for his fiancee, the daughter of an Irish King. Having heard that the vessel was observed approaching Poolewe, he sent his messenger thither, to ascertain if the lady had come. They were preparing to hoist a white flag-the appointed signal-to announce her arrival, when she, wishing to test his affection, ordered a black flag to be unfurled instead, upon seeing which, the prince, whose mind was overcome with

anxiety, put an end to his existence. The sad result being conveyed to her, she died in a paroxysm of despair; and the two flat stones, lying side by side within the monastery ruins, mark the grave of the unfortunate lovers."

Passing the inn at KINLOCHEWE, we reach Auchnasheen (28 miles from Gairloch), where we join a branch of the Highland Railway, and proceed by Dingwall and Beauly to INVERNESS, and return either by swift steamer, via Caledonian Canal, to Oban or Glasgow, or by Highland Railway, via Dunkeld, Killiecrankie, &c. (see Route 29).

ROUTE 26.

EDINBURGH TO GLASGOW, BY STIRLING, THE TROSSACHS, AND LOCHS KATRINE AND LOMOND.

ROUND TRIP-Fare from Edinburgh, first, 21s. 3d.; second, 19s. 3d., including all charges evcept Coachman's fees on the Trossachs and Inversnaid coaches.

HIS excursion may be made in one day, but in that case no stop can be made at Stirling or any other point on the way. Tickets for the excursion are sold at Edinburgh (North British Station) and Glasgow. (This favourite excursion may be made in the other direction,

.e., from Glasgow or Edinburgh, first to BALLOCH, on Loch Lomond, up that loch, and thence back to Edinburgh or Glasgow, by way of Stirling.)

Leaving Edinburgh by the Waverley Station, and passing