a comfortable hotel at Invermoriston, on the left. But the greatest attraction of this loch is not reached for six miles farther, when the steamer stops at the pier of Foyers, to afford an opportunity of visiting the celebrated falls of that name. Time is allowed only to visit the lower fall, but this is by far the grandest, descending through a narrow gap over a precipice 90 feet in height. The height of the three leaps united is 200 feet. Having viewed this, the finest cascade in the kingdom, the tourist re-embarks and resumes his journey down Loch Ness. On the opposite shore to the falls he soon reaches Urquhart Castle, standing on a promontory of a little bay at the base of the Maolfourvinie Mountain. It was besieged in 1303 by Edward I., and taken. In the beginning of the tenth century it fell into the hands of the chief of the Grant clan (Earl of Seafield), and has since continued with that family.

The next object of interest, at the north-eastern extremity of the lake, is Aldaurnie House, the birth-place of Sir James Mackintosh, historian and philosopher. Loch Dochfoir is now entered, through a narrow channel, near which are traces of a Roman encampment and the splendid seat of Dochfoir House. Here the steamer enters the cutting once more, and proceeds to Muirtown, the north-eastern terminus of the canal. About a mile south of this is the city of Inverness.

INVERNESS.

[HOTELS :-RAILWAY, CALEDONIAN, UNION, ROYAL, and QUEEN'S.]

THIS city, the capital (population 14,463) of the Highlands, is finely situated on the right bank of the river Ness. The streets are regularly built, and, though of great antiquity, the city having been erected into a royal burgh by David I., present quite a modern appearance. The Town Hall, in High Street, contains some pictures and the "Stone of the Tubs" (so called from its having been used at one time as a resting-place for their vessels by persons drawing water from the river), which has been preserved with the greatest care since Ronald of the Isles burnt the town on his way to the battle of Harlaw, in 1411.

The old cross of Inverness is built into the wall, where it may be seen, surmounted by the arms of the town and those of the kingdom. The Castle was one of the strongholds of Macbeth, and is traditionally the place in which Duncan the Meek was murdered. This, however, is open to much doubt. It was razed to the ground by Duncan's son Malcolm, who built on its site another castle, which was destroyed by Montrose in 1646. Two bastions and part of a curtain are all that now remain.

The new Cathedral stands on the opposite side of the river; it is in the Gothic style and highly decorated, with some very fine stained-glass windows.

Outside the town, near the firth, stood Cromwell's fort, which was razed after the Restoration. A mile away, on the opposite side of the town, is Chraig Chadric, a hill on which stands a vitrified fort.

An excursion should be made to Culloden Moor. The train brings the tourist within a mile of the battle-field. Here Prince Charles Edward fought his last battle for the crown of his forefathers, on the 16th April, 1746. The moor is a gloomy tract, and the rising ground where the hottest of the fight raged is covered by a spruce-fir plantation.

The cruelties practised by the Duke of Cumberland after the battle are still remembered with execration by the Scotch. About a mile south, across the river Nairn, is the plain of Clava, on which are some stone circles and cairns.

EXCURSION TO SKYE

(By Rail via Dingwall).

The railway communication between Dingwall and Skye has only been established two years, but it affords the greatest advantages to the tourist. Leaving Inverness, the line runs along the shore of Beauly Firth, and, passing through parts of the Bunelerew and Lovat estates, crosses the river Beauly, famed for its scenery. From Beauly the train runs due north to Dingwall, across the peninsula formed by the firths of Moray and Cromarty, and called the Black Isle.

Dingwall (population 2,125) is the county-town of Rosshire, and is rising into importance now that the railway has made ingress and egress an easy matter. Proceeding westward from the town the Castle of Tulloch is seen on the north, with its beautifully wooded park stretching away to the base of snowclad Ben Wyvis. On the south is Druimchat, or the Cat's Back, on the summit of which stands the largest and bestpreserved specimen of the vitrified forts. We now cross the Peffery and commence the ascent of the steep incline to Strathpeffer Station (43 miles from Dingwall), about a mile and a half from which is a spa, little known until it became accessible by rail, but now yearly becoming more fashionable. Some interesting excursions can be made in the neighbourhood, and it is decidedly the best starting-point for the ascent of Ben Wyvis (the Mountain of Storms). Approaching Garve, the next station, the line crosses the Blackwater close to some falls, and then follows the sweep of the northern shore of Loch Luichart, affording glimpses of some charming scenery. With occasional