contributed very much by their industry and activity to the improvement and prosperity of the town.

Behind the town there is a shallow lake of some extent, with sloping banks which are cultivated for hay, corn, and garden stuffs. Oban is divided by a water that runs from this lake into the sea. The western portion now belongs to Mr. Campbell of Sonachan, and the northern to the Marquis of Breadalbane.

View from the Hill behind Oban.-Immediately above the town there is a hill, easily climbed, commanding a very extensive view.

"Strange gigantic masses of rock, each with its own wild legend, lie scattered on the shore, and resemble dismantled turrets, or portions of ruined castles, rather than natural shapes of stone. But the seaward aspect forms the noblest feature of the scene. To the west the mountains of Mull, and the opening of the lengthened sound, with portions of Kerrera and the Maiden Island, almost at our feet; north-westwards the green Lismore, backed by bolder ranges of the misty Morven, with the Linnhe Loch receding into the far distance; while the lofty heights of Appin and Barcaldine rise behind the bright broad bosom of Loch Etive, which ascends far inland, laving the base of many a mighty mountain, till it retires a 'shy Winander' behind the dark gigantic masses of Ben Cruachan. To the south are countless isles, nameless or hard to name, but all most fair to look upon."-Wilson's Voyage.

Dunolly Castle is situated in the bay of Oban, which is of a semicircular form, and large enough to contain 500 sail of merchantmen. The high cliffs on the north side of it terminate in a rocky promontory, surmounted by this ivyclad square keep, the ancient seat of the M'Dougalls, Lords of Lorn, whose representative (Capt. J. M'Dougall) still resides in the house adjoining. The only way of approaching the ruins from the land is by the beach, the proprietor having closed the access from the grounds, by which the public were formerly admitted on one day of the week. It is best seen, however, from the sea, and also from a point of land on the south side of the bay, looking directly across to it.

"Nothing can be more wildly beautiful than the situation of Dunolly. The ruins are situated upon a bold and preci

pitous promontory overhanging the bay of Oban, and distant about half a mile from the village. The principal part which remains is the donjon or keep; but fragments of other buildings, overgrown with ivy, attest that it had once been a place of importance, as large, apparently, as Ardtornish or Dunstaffnage. These fragments enclose a court-yard, of which the keep probably formed one side; the entrance being by a steep ascent from the neck of the isthmus, formerly cut across by a moat, and defended, doubtless, by outworks and a drawbridge. Beneath the castle stands the present mansion of the family, having on the one hand Loch Etive, with its islands and mountains, on the other two romantic eminences tufted with copsewood. There are other accompaniments suited to the scene; in particular a huge upright pillar or detached fragment of that sort of rock called plum-pudding stone, upon the shore, about a quarter of a mile from the castle. It is called Clachna-cau, or the

Dog's Pillar, because Fingal is said to have used it as a stake to which he bound his celebrated dog Bran. Others say, that when the Lord of the Isles came upon a visit to the Lord of Lorn, the dogs brought for his sport were kept beside this pillar. Upon the whole, a more delightful and romantic spot can scarce be conceived; and it receives a moral interest from the considerations attached to the residence of a family once powerful enough to confront and defeat Robert Bruce, and now sunk into the shade of private life."-Lord of the Isles.

"The position of the modern mansion is rather more snug than imposing, being placed backward among trees, and behind the shelter of the shoreward height on which the castle stands."

Dunstaffnage Castle is situated upon a promontory on the side of Loch Linnhe and near to Loch Etive, three miles north of Oban. It is said to have been the seat of the Scottish monarchy, till success over the Picts and Saxons transferred their throne to Scone, then to Dunfermline, and at length to Edinburgh. The castle is still the King's (nominally), and the Duke of Argyle (nominally also) is hereditary keeper. But the real right of property is in the family of the depute-keeper, to which it was assigned as an appanage, the first possessor being a natural son of one of the Earls of Argyle.

The shell of the castle, for little more now remains, bears marks of extreme antiquity. It is square in form, with round towers at three of the angles, and is situated upon a lofty precipice, carefully scarped on all sides to render it perpendicular. The entrance is by a staircase, which conducts to a wooden landing-place in front of the portal-door. This landing-place could formerly be raised at pleasure, being of the nature of a drawbridge. When raised, the place was inaccessible. It is necessary then to pass under an ancient arch, with a low vault (being the porter's lodge) on the right hand, and flanked by loopholes, for firing upon any hostile guest who might force his passage thus far. This gives admission to the inner court, which is about eighty feet square. It contains two mean looking buildings,

DUNSTAFFNAGE CASTLE.

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about sixty or seventy years old; the ancient castle having been consumed by fire in 1715. It is said that the nephew of the proprietor was the incendiary. A walk upon the battlements of the old castle displays a most splendid prospect. Beneath, and far projected into the loch, are seen the woods and houses of Campbell of Lochnell. A little summer-house, upon an eminence, belonging to this wooded bank, resembles an ancient monument. On the right, Loch Etive, after pouring its waters like a furious cataract over a strait called Connel Ferry, comes between the castle and a round island belonging to its demesne, and nearly insulates the situation. In front is a low rocky eminence on the opposite side of the arm, through which Loch Etive flows into Loch Linnhe. Here was situated Beregenium, said to have been once a large market-town. Of its existence, however, there are no remains but a few trenches and excavations.

As a building, Dunstaffnage Castle is not of great extent, and kings must have had few retainers when it was in use to receive a royal household. It is generally described as rearing its giant form from the pinnacle of a lofty rock which overhangs the ocean," or in some such mode of speech; but whatever it may have been in former days, we now find it standing very quietly, with no terrific frown, upon a low though rocky knoll, its base unwashed by any boisterous waves, though surrounded by a peninsular flat, which is itself almost surrounded by the sea. It forms, notwithstanding, a good old feudal picture, as every ancient castle needs must do, which possesses its share of craggy rock, and a sprinkling of wood, whether natural or acquired, to beautify its lonely walls. But it is the high historic interest of Dunstaffnage which throws a kind of misty halo round its name.

The Stone of Fortune.-The most noted and peculiar portion of Dunstaffnage history pertains to the famous stone of fortune, sometimes called the Stone of Scone, now adhering to the bottom of an antique chair, dismantled though of "royal state," in Westminster Abbey. The stone bore along with it the tradition, that wherever it abided there should be the kingdom of the Scots, or, as old Boethius has it

"Ni fallat fatum, Scoti, quocunque locatum

Invenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem."

The precise period at which it first graced the shores of Loch Etive may be regarded as uncertain, but it remained in Dunstaffnage till the year 834, when Kenneth II. transported it to Scone in Perthshire, in token of the establishment of the Scottish kingdom in a district of the country which had previously pertained to the Picts. There the successive kings of Scotland were crowned upon its cold foundation till the time of John Baliol, when it was seized by Edward Longshanks, and conveyed to Westminster Abbey, where it may now be seen in a most unimposing position, in the chapel of his namesake the Confessor.

The Chapel.-Proceeding a little further westwards through a young plantation, brings us to a sweet and lonely chapel of ancient structure surrounded by a burial-ground which is known to share with Iona the sepulchral honours of Scottish kings and chieftains. There is here an extraordinary piece of sculpture, in the form of an angel of most graceless proportions, with large wings, a huge trumpet in either hand, and inscribed—“Arise, ye dead, and come to Jesus Christ." Many modern tombstones are now intermingled with those of ancient times, and several of the latter have obviously been removed from their original sites, and placed over the remains of meaner mortals.*

OBAN TO STAFFA AND IONA.

This forms one of the most interesting and agreeable excursions in the Western Highlands, as it affords intellectual contemplations for the historian, the antiquary, and the geologist. In the circuit of Mull, which the steamer accomplishes on its return to Oban, are included visits to the islands of Staffa and Iona-the one famous for its geological features, and the other for its historical and antiquarian associations.

During the summer months the steamer sails on the three alternate mornings from those on which it goes to Glencoe, returning to Oban the same evening. In fine * See Lord of the Isles and Wilson's Voyage.