116 SCOTLAND ILLUSTRATED. 



hundred feet. Thirty islands, mostly habitable and of various dimensions, are 

 scattered over its surface ; some rising to a considerable height, and most of the 

 larger ones finely shaded with wood. Of the latter, Inch-murrin, upwards of a 

 mile and a half in length, is used by the duke of Montrose as a deer-park, and 

 when we last saw it, maintained an abundant herd. Inch-lonaig, another island 

 about a mile long, is converted to a similar purpose by the proprietor, Sir James 

 Colquhoun, of Luss, Bart. The waters of this lake are supposed to have in- 

 creased very considerably during the lapse of ages ; and in Camstradden Bay, 

 more than a hundred yards from the shore, the ruins of submerged houses are 

 said to be still visible under water. In former times Loch-lomond was supersti- 

 tiously renowned for three wonders, " waves without wind, fish without fins, and 

 a floating island." To the last of these Wilson alludes in his " Clyde" 



" That charming isle the distant sight deceives, 

 Which floats like Delos on the ambient waves ; 

 Where Delos' god, deceived, first pours his beams 

 The dome so like his ancient temple seems." 



Among the finest points of view which present themselves on the borders of 

 this magnificent lake, are those beneath Tarbet, from Inveruglas, with Ben-lomond 

 in the distance, from the head of the lake looking southward, (as ably delineated 

 in the annexed engravings,) and from the village of Luss. The lake is now 

 daily traversed by commodious steam-vessels, the decks of which will afford 

 tourists the best station for enjoying its grand and imposing scenery. 



Like that of some other Highland lakes, the surface of Loch-lomond often 

 displays what is termed the blue belt, the usual precursor of storms, and caused 

 by that unequal agitation of the atmosphere in the vicinity of lofty mountains, 

 which produces a corresponding inequality on the surface of the water. On 

 this cause also depends one of the "wonders" above mentioned, namely, "waves 

 without wind." During the great earthquake at Lisbon, as already noticed, 

 the surface of this lake was thrown into violent agitation, and a boat carried forty 

 yards beyond the ordinary limits of the water's edge. As we proceed northward, 

 the breadth of the lake gradually diminishes, so that its finely wooded banks are seen 

 to still greater advantage. To the right towers the colossal mass of Ben-lomond, 

 the summit of which commands one of the most extensive and highly diversified 

 prospects in Europe a prospect in which Nature is contemplated in her wildest 

 and most awful form. From this point, all the principal mountains of Scotland, 

 and no less than nineteen lakes, are visible. So extensive, indeed, is the view, that 

 it is hardly possible to convey even a faint idea of it in description, or to express 

 the feelings of astonishment that take possession of the mind when we are so 



