THE LAKES OF SCOTLAND. 51 



those he was accustomed to meet with. We question if there be 

 another spot in Europe, whence a view combining in an equal 

 degree the attributes or' extensiveness, variety, sublimity, and gran- 

 deur, may be had. Beneath are the broad expanse of water, the 

 numerous islands with which it is gemmed, and the valleys, plan- 

 tations, and pasture-fields which adjoin its margin. When the 

 weather is fine, which it happily was when we gained the summit of 

 the mountain, the populous city of Glasgow is to be seen on the one 

 hand, and that of Edinburgh on the other. Towards the south, the 

 eye is distracted by the variety and extent of the prospect : it takes 

 in at once the entire county of Lanark, the fertile vale through 

 which the Clyde rolls its majestic waters, with the towns and 

 villages on its banks, and even the far distant mountains of Cumber- 

 land. To the west, are seen the counties of Renfrew and Ayr, with 

 the interesting islands of Bute and Arran ; while still farther on, are 

 the coast of Ireland, and the wide Atlantic ocean, in the immensity 

 of which the eye loses itself. The prospect in a northerly direction 

 partakes in an eminent degree of the sublime and awful. The spec- 

 tator, while beholding the scene, feels an emotion come over him which 

 he finds it impossible to describe : it is of a mixed kind, partaking 

 largely of melancholy and astonishment, not unmingled with fear. 

 Mountain rises above mountain in all their gigantic proportions, 

 while their infinitely diversified and rough and rugged forms impart a 

 grandeur to the whole scene of the most striking kind. 



About two hours before sunset, the sky, which was formerly un- 

 clouded, became suddenly overcast. Shortly after, a scene ensued of 

 a most terrific kind : but few such could ever have been witnessed 

 in Europe. We found ourselves above the region of the clouds : 

 they floated in the atmosphere beneath, and hovered over the sides 

 of the mountains ; anon succeeded a vivid flash of lightning, which 

 was instantly followed by a peal of thunder, louder and longer con- 

 tinued, perhaps, than was ever before or since heard on British 

 ground. Again and again, in vivid forked sheets, did the electric fluid 

 flash, and again and again did the thunder peal, till its reverberations 

 among the mountains seemed to us as if they had been the prelude of 

 the disorganisation of Nature herself. Our courage, we are free to 

 confess, forsook us : we stood aghast at the appalling scene : we 

 then felt, for the first time, the utter insignificance of man : we felt, 

 moreover, as if we had been alone in the world. Happily, the 

 elemental strife, after raging with such violence for about half an hour, 

 began to subside, and we hastened to descend the mountain, seeking 

 to calm our yet troubled spirit in the nearest inn. We returned 

 next day to Glasgow, which is distant from Loch Lomond twenty 

 miles. 



In a few days we quitted Glasgow for the purpose of visiting Loch 

 Katrine. It is situated in the county of Perth, and is nearly fifty 

 miles distant from Glasgow. In extent it is not to be compared 

 with Loch Lomond, being only ten miles in length, and from one 

 and a half to two in breadth. But nothing can surpass the splendour 

 and sublimity of the scenery which surrounds it : Nature seems 

 to run riot here. Elevated mountains and lofty rocks in every 



