164 A PARADISE FOR GEOLOGISTS. [CHAP. iv. 



his place of pleasure half an hour later each way, he is all the 

 better pleased with both. To speculators in want of an idea I 

 would say : Eush to the Clyde, and buy up every inch of land 

 that can be had within a mile of the water, build upon it, and 

 from the half million of human beings who tenant Glasgow 

 and the surrounding towns I will engage to find two compet- 

 ing occupants for every house that can be put up. Building 

 has progressed even in Arran, and this too in despite of the 

 late Duke of Hamilton's dislike to strangers, so that there is 

 now a population on the island of about 6000. A friend of 

 mine says that such an important entity as a duke has no 

 right to do as he likes with his own, and consequently that 

 Arran ought to be built upon, and the blackcocks and other 

 game birds be left to take their chance. Even with such 

 limited accommodation as can be now obtained, Arran is a 

 delightful summer residence ; were it to be generally built 

 upon, it would realise from ground-rents alone an annual for- 

 tune to his Grace the Duke of Hamilton, who owns the 

 greater part of it, and he might have capital shooting into the 

 bargain. 



Arran, I may state to all who are ignorant of the fact, is 

 a very paradise for geologists ; and amateur globe-makers 

 persons who think they are better at constructing worlds 

 than the Great Architect who preceded them all are parti- 

 cularly fond of that island, being, as they suppose, quite able 

 to find upon it materiel sufficient for the erection of the 

 largest possible " theories." Figures, it is said, can be made 

 to prove either side of a cause ; so can stones. Each geologist 

 can build up his own pet world from the same set of rocks ; 

 and so active geologists proceed to stucco over with their 

 own compositions " adumbrate " a friend calls the process 

 the sublime works of the greatest of all designers. None of 

 the sciences have given rise to so much controversy as the 

 science of geology. I make no pretensions to much geologic 



