MEMOIR OF PENNANT. 2-3 



" The eruption burst from the place of its discharge 

 like a cataract of thick ink, and continued in a stream 

 of the same appearance, intermixed with great frag- 

 ments of peat, with their heathy surface; then flowed 

 like a tide charged with pieces of wreck, filling the 

 whole valley, running up every little opening, and, 

 on its retreat, leaving upon the shores tremendous 

 heaps of turf, memorials of the height this dark tor- 

 rent arrived at. The farther it flowed, the more 

 room it had to expand, lessening in depth, till it 

 mixed its stream with that of the Esk." 



Arrives again at Glasgow, and having spent some 

 days in visiting the places of note on the Clyde, sets 

 sail for Greenock in a little cutter of ninety tons, to 

 explore the Western Isles of Scotland. He first 

 landed on Bute and Arran ; on the latter he re- 

 mained for some time, and devoted a considerable 

 space to the description of its rocky coast, produce, 

 and natural history. On the mountains here he met 

 with what he terms a gigantic frog, and notices it as 

 distinct from the common species of the Lowlands. 

 This frog, common on most of the alpine districts of 

 Scotland, has been often noticed ; but I am not sure 

 that species from these localities have been properly 

 examined, and consider it probable that it may yet 

 constitute a third species to the fauna of Scotland. 



From this he was anxious to visit the Crag of 

 Ailsa, where he was much struck with its preci- 

 pices, and birds, numerous as swarms of bees. He 

 enumerates what he saw, which are not beyond the 



