THE MOUNTAIN. 141 



sturdy bands, who at a moment's warning flocked 

 to the standard of their chief. The few cottages 

 we saw, gave little evidence that they could fur- 

 nish the bold warriors who were formerly so ready 

 for field or fray. The ruins of Inversnaid Fort, 

 however, built to repress the daring inroads of Rob 

 Roy, assured us that times must have been indeed 

 different, when it was thought necessary to station 

 here a regiment of regular troops ; and when we 

 recollected the numbers of families who have emi- 

 grated to America, or devoted themselves to peace- 

 ful employments in Glasgow, Paisley, and other 

 commercial towns, or turned their attention to 

 agriculture in the more highly favoured districts, 

 we could scarcely regret to find the country so de- 

 serted. 



At Loch Katrine we had to wait some time for 

 luggage-bearers, who, we found, were now about to 

 become our boatmen ; and very entertaining boat- 

 men they were. One of them in particular recited 

 to us long passages from Scott, and pointed out to 

 us the various spots alluded to in the Lady of the 

 Lake. 



To describe the beauty of Loch Katrine, the 

 Trosachs, &c., would be entirely out of my power, 

 even if it entered into my subject. Suffice it to 

 say, that at nightfall I seemed to have been dream- 

 ing away some weeks of my life in an imaginary 

 land, the only thing that appeared real being my 

 preparation for sleep. 



I must not, however, omit to mention that, 

 although it was nine o'clock when we reached Cal- 

 lender, it was still so light that we were induced 

 to set off to visit Bracklinn Bridge, distant about a 

 mile from the village. Scott, in his notes to the Lady 



