322 ARRAN. ANTIQUITIES. 



the cattle along this open shore, than that of the Fions. 

 They are not in any other respect interesting, as their 

 dimensions are insufficient for grandeur, and their 

 smooth uniformity of surface precludes all picturesque 

 beauty; while, being thoroughly illuminated, they are 

 deprived of that uncertainty and obscurity which is, in 

 these cases as in many others, a great source of the 

 sublime. 



The castles of Kildonan, Loch Ransa, and Brodick, 

 remind us of the history of more modern times, although, 

 as far as can be discovered, the precise date of neither 

 of these buildings is ascertained : it is sufficiently plain 

 that they are of no high antiquity. Little of Kildonan 

 remains, and that little, consisting of a solitary square 

 tower of inconsiderable dimensions, is not interesting. 

 The castle of Brodick is connected with historical facts 

 which must always render it an object of interest. But 

 the remains of that fortress which Bruce wrested from 

 the hands of his enemies, have disappeared and been 

 replaced by later erections ; while even these have, in 

 the lapse of time, been at length modernized into the 

 present habitable mansion. The castle of Loch Ransa 

 remains unsophisticated, but its apparent antiquity, if we 

 may judge from the style and execution of the architecture, 

 is not great. It is however said to have been a royal 

 castle in the early part of the fourteenth century. It 

 is still in a tolerable state of preservation, and might, 

 with no great labour or expense, be again rendered 

 habitable. This building is by no means picturesque 

 in design, although in its present situation it conduces 

 much to the picturesque appearance of the little bay 

 in which it is situated ; giving a centre of unity to 

 the whole, and offering to the artist a circumstance of 

 moral and historical interest, of which, among these 

 solitary and deserted scenes, he has often occasion to 

 regret the absence. 



Those who would enjoy the scenery of Loch Ransa 



