107 



hood is Inverary Castle, the residence of the Duke 

 of Argyle. Sir "Walter Scott, in his legend of Mon- 

 trose, has done ample justice to this ducal seat 

 and the splendid scenery around it. " Embarked," 

 says he, " on the bosom of Loch Fine, Captain Dal- 

 getty might have admired one of the grandest scenes 

 which nature affords. He might have noticed the 

 rival rivers Ary and Shira, which pay tribute to the 

 lake, each issuing from its own dark and wooded 

 retreat. He might have marked out the soft and 

 gentle slopes that ascend from the shores ; the noble 

 old Gothic castle, with its varied outline, embattled 

 walls, towers, and outer and inner courts, which, so 

 far as the picturesque is concerned, presented an 

 aspect much more striking than the present massive 

 and uniform mansion. He might have admired 

 those dark woods, which, for many a mile, sur- 

 rounded this strong and princely dwelling, and his 

 eye might have dwelt on the picturesque peak of 

 Duniquoich, starting abruptly from the lake, and 

 raising its scathed brow into the mist of the middle 

 sky ; while a solitary watch-tower perched on its 

 top like an eagle's nest, gave a dignity to the scene 

 by awaking a sense of possible danger. " 



Douglas Water runs into Loch Finn, and is a 

 good trout stream, though of very limited extent. 

 There are several small burns which flow into the 

 loch at various places, and in which fine trout are 

 often taken with bait in the summer season after a 

 good shower of rain. 



If the angler be in the higher localities of the 



