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this very rich sort of ironstone, Pieces of fine jasper, Forth. 
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shells which may be recovered here. 
i ornithology ; for, except i 
resorting hither during winter, and in 
solan geese frequenting a small rocky 
Bass, there are no iarities. Few 
but on some of the rocks, and occa- 
the shore. 
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found alike on each side of the river ; 
of these are not only on the banks, but penetrate 
far under its bottom—so far, that it is reported the 
workmen from the ite coasts can hear each other’s 
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Neither is this so improbable as might 
appear ; for the coal workings 
said to have been carried two miles 
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pebbles, granite, and petrifactions, occur,on many parts 
of the shore. 
There are severalrocks and:islands'scattered through- [slands. 
out the lower part of this river, where it has expand- 
ed into. a frith, of which Inch Garvey, Inch Colme, 
Inch Keith, the Bass, and the Isle of May, are the 
principal: On the top of the ‘first, which is: barren 
and rocky, stands a small fort, with two inconsider- 
able pieces of cannon, and one invalid soldier, who: is 
stationed there in solitude six weeks at atime. It was 
sometimes converted to -- state prison of old, but now 
belongs to a private family. This island, standing in 
the middle of a strait, between the Queen’s Cote, 
could effectually prevent any hostile approaches higher 
up the river. - Inch Colme, which scarce exceeds half” 
a mile in length, and is narrow, enjoys greater celebri- 
ty ; for one of the — of Scotland, having escaped 
imminent danger, w he found an asylum on it, 
shewed his gratitude to Divine Providence, by erecting 
a here in the year 1123. Its picturesque 
ruins are still extant. Soon after the commencement 
of the late war, in 1793, a battery of heavy guns was- 
constructed on Inch Colme, which, it was supposed, 
would command the eo rane Tse | the Forth, but no 
ity has been of trying their effect, 
which those who consider themselves well acquainted 
with the a ion of the channel have doubted. The 
island abounds in rabbits, and belongs to the family of 
Murray. Cramond Island, nearly ite, on the south 
side, is connected with the land at low water, but the 
access, unless in a certain direction, is very dangerous, 
from deep mud or quicksands. The island best known, 
at least to the inhabi aera a a is Inch Keith, 
which lies about half way between the coasts, and some- 
what eastward of Edinburgh. It is between two and 
ee circuit, of fertile ss and has always 
Circumstances have frequently render- 
deed this inconsiderable spot of importance, from an 
early date, either in civil or military operations. In the 
year 1497, when the venereal disease was making un- 
common ravages in Edinburgh, and was then, as in the 
rest of Europe, considered a pestilence, the magistrates 
directed that all infected with the “ grand 
” should repair to the sands of Leith, where they 
find boats ready to convey them to the island, 
*‘ there to remain, untill God should provide for their 
health.” In the reign of Edward VI. the English 
sent two expeditions equally destructive into Scot- 
land, when Inch Keith was taken and fortified. They 
were expelled by the French, who erected fortifica- 
tions on a seale, consisting of a strong tower 
on the highest ground, with an interior court, 100 
feet in diameter, as also an external wall of hewn 
stone, 20 feet high, and 9 feet thick, with Queen Ma- 
ry’s arms on it, and a motto sa vertue m’at- 
ture ; but the whole fort was afterwards demolished by 
order of the Scotish parliament. More recently, when 
a Russian fleet lay in Leith roads, during the war, 
’ there was an hospital here for their seamen; and at 
t it has a lighthouse for the safety of mariners. 
Bass isa lofty precipitous rock, with a conical sum- 
mit rising from water, within two miles of the 
southern shore of the Forth, near North Berwick. This 
isle, which is less than a mile in circuit, is accessible 
only by a dangerous and narrow pathway: formerly 
it was employed as a state prison, and a small fortress 
upon it surrendered.to Oliver Cromwell. It was held 
in property by.a private family, and purchased by go- 
vernment in the reign of Charles IL. ; but after most of 
the kingdom had submitted to the sovereignty of Wil« 
