180 



IN VERARY. 



Inverarjr. Latin ; and there is reason to fear that this important 

 *.' privilege, from its having been allowed to remain so 

 long in desuetude, may now be lost. As might be ex- 

 pectt-tl, from the circumstance of Inverary being the 

 seat of tin- courts of law, a considerable proportion of 

 the genteel inhabitants follow this profession. Here, 

 as in other places, it is found to be a thriving profes- 

 sion ; and many instances have occurred, within the last 

 50 years, of men rising from the desk to the possession 

 of considerable landed properties. The English lan- 

 guage is generally spoken in the town. The better 

 clas-cs of tiie inhabitants, of both sexes, speak it with 

 considerable propriety ; and are, in general, distin- 

 guished for their politeness and intelligence. 



There are at present (1817) no mannfactures in the 

 town or parish, though the dukes of Argyll, with that 

 laudable attention, to the interest and improvement of 

 the country, which has uniformly distinguished that 

 noble family, have made manj; attempts to establish 

 them. The great staple, on which the bulk of the po- 

 pulation of the place and of the whole coast of Loch- 

 fine depend for employment and subsistence, is the 

 herring fishery. From the excellence and occasional 

 abundance of the herrings caught in this loch, this is 

 found to be a very lucrative trade, yielding sometimes 

 more than 40,000 per annum. Inverary has no fo- 

 reign trade ; its chief traffic consists in the export of 

 wool and salted herrings to the Clyde and to Liverpool, 

 and in the import of coals, meal, and merchandise, for the 

 use of the inhabitants of the place and neighbourhood. 



There are no antiquities or buildings of any interest in 

 Inverary. On the lawn, a little to the south of the castle, 

 there stands a single druidical stone, as it is sometimes 

 termed, a kind of rude obelisk. Whether it was raised 

 to mark the grave of a warrior, or for some other pur- 

 pose, it is now impossible to ascertain. Many stones 

 of this description are to be seen in the county of Ar- 

 gyll, and some of them of so stupendous a height and 

 size, that it is quite inexplicable how the old Celts, who 

 are represented as barbarians by certain refined anti- 

 quaries and historians, could have contrived to place 

 them in their present position. Indeed, versed as the 

 present generation is in mechanics, it would proba- 

 bly at this day be found an arduous task, either to re- 

 move or to erect these singular monuments. In the mid- 

 dle of the town there is a neat monument, raised about 

 the year 1735, to some gentlemen of the clan Camp- 

 bell, who, towards the close of the seventeenth centu- 

 ry, fell victims to their attachment to Presbyterianism. 

 About 14. years ago, a new church was built, compre- 

 hending under one roof two places of worship. The one 

 is used for the Gaelic or parish part of the population, 

 the other for the burgh or English. There are two cler- 

 gymen, who preach alternately to each congregation. 

 Two years ago the building of a new county jail was 

 commenced. The plan of the structure seems to have 

 been designed with a view to the ornament of the 

 place, and the comfort of the unfortunate prisoners. 

 Its site is on the beach, in a very airy situation ; and, 

 besides the mere jail, it is meant to contain within its 

 wall a range of handsome court and county rooms. 



The castle, which stands, as it was already noticed, 

 about a quarter of a mile from the town, is a noble 

 building. It was built by Archibald, Duke of Argyll, 

 immediately after the year 1745 ; and, though it has 

 been the subject of much criticism to men pretending 

 to superior architectural discernment, yet most travel- 

 lers of taste always view it with decided approba. 



tion. Indeed, the more one contemplates and consi. Invrrnty, 

 ders the surrounding scenery, the more will he feel in- ' nv ' 

 clined to admire the tatt of that distinguished noble- ^_' ns A_' 

 man, under whose auspices Inverafcy castle was de- ""Y"" 1 

 signed and executed ; and with regard to internal ele. 

 gauce, comfort, and convenience, it is certain that this 

 fine edifice is not inferior to any nobleman's residence 

 in the kingdom. 



The parish of Inverary extends for nearly 12 miles, 

 along the western shore of Lochfine. Its breadth ge- 

 nerally is about 6 miles. The Duke of Argyll is sole 

 proprietor. The population of the parish, without the 

 royalty, according to the census of 1810, amounts to 

 977 souls. The aspect of the parish is hilly, and much of 

 its soil is bad, and difficult of improvement!' Indeed, few 

 of the tenants make the attempt. The traveller is sur- 

 prised to see the system of run-rig, with all its wretch- 

 ed accompaniments, within a few miles of Inverary 

 Castle. Unfortunately, many of the farms of the pa- 

 rish are subdivided among a number of small tenants, 

 possessing little skill, enterprise, or capital ; and not- 

 withstanding the excellent example held out by the 

 late Duke, no improvoment could be expected "under 

 such a system. The very quantity of valuable wood, 

 which is annually given by the noble proprietor to this 

 swarm of tenantry, and which they consume in renew-, 

 ing or repairing their ill built and ill thatched houses, 

 would, if accurately calculated, appear incredible, and 

 shew, beyond dispute, the propriety of lessening their 

 number. There was a period, indeed, when the house 

 of Argyll found it politic, like other noble houses, to 

 maintain on their estates a numerous population ; when 

 their credit, and perhaps security, depended not a little 

 on the number of men they could bring into the field. 

 But happily those times are gone by ; and there can 

 be no question, that the interest of the proprietor, 

 and of the community at large, would be highly bene- 

 fited by a change of system. Nay, the change would 

 be advantageous to those small tenants themselves ; for 

 not a shadow of doubt can be entertained, that if his 

 Grace were to give them cottages with small tenements 

 of land, or crofts, as they are commonly termed in 

 Scotland, on the side of Lochfine, where they might 

 have access to the rich treasures of its fishery, instead 

 of becoming in their old age; as is now too frequently 

 the case, pensioners on his charity, their condition 

 would be comparatively raised to a state of independ- 

 ence and of comfort. 



The woods of Inverary, both natural and planted, 

 have been long known and admired for their beauty 

 and extent. There are great quantities of fine old 

 oaks, sycamores, ashes, limes, chesnuts, &c. and the 

 magnificent beeches can scarcely be matched in the 

 kingdom. The woods of this parish have been reck- . 

 oned worth nearly half a million of money ; and though 

 the data on which the calculations 'were formed may 

 not be perfectly satisfactory, there can be no doubt 

 that, from their extent, as well as quality, they must 

 be of prodigious value. Inverary is situated in North 

 Lat. .56 28', and in West Long. 5. (TV, n.) 



INVERKEITHING is a royal burgh, and sea-port 

 town of Scotland, in the county of Fife. It stands upon 

 a rising ground on a bay of the same name, on the north 

 side of the Firth of Forth. The town consists princi- 

 pally of one street, through which the great north road 

 passes, and of some bye lanes. Some of the houses are 

 good, but many of them are very old, with staircases 

 on the outside. The town- house, which was built in 



