30 THE CRUISE OF THE BETSEY j OR, 



" is perfectly mural, and extends for upwards of a mile and 

 a-half, and rises to a height of several hundred feet. It is 

 entirely columnar, and the columns rise in successive ranges 

 until they reach the summit, where, from their great height, 

 they appear, when viewed from below, diminutive. Staffa is 

 an object of the greatest beauty and regularity ; the pillars 

 are as distinct as if they had been reared by the hand of art ; 

 but it has not the extent or sublimity of the Scuir of Eigg. 

 The one may be compared with the greatest exertions of 

 human power ; the other is characteristic of the wildest and 

 most inimitable works of nature." " The height of this ex- 

 traordinary object is considerable," says M'Culloch, dashing 

 off his sketch with a still bolder hand ; " yet its powerful ef- 

 fect arises rather from its peculiar form, and the commanding 

 elevation which it occupies, than from its positive altitude. 

 Viewed in one direction, it presents a long irregular wall, 

 crowning the summit of the highest hill, while in the other 

 it resembles a huge tower. Thus it forms no natural com- 

 bination of outline with the surrounding land, and hence ac- 

 quires that independence in the general landscape which in- 

 creases its apparent magnitude, and produces that imposing 

 effect which it displays. From the peculiar position of the 

 Scuir, it must also inevitably be viewed from a low station. 

 Hence it everywhere towers high above the spectator ; while, 

 like other objects on the mountain outline, its apparent di- 

 mensions are magnified, and its dark mass defined on the 

 sky so as to produce all the additional effects arising from 

 strong oppositions of light and shadow. The height of this 

 rock is sufficient in this stormy country frequently to arrest 

 the passage of the clouds, so as to be further productive of 

 the most brilliant effects in landscape. Often they may be 

 seen hovering on its summit, and adding ideal dimensions to 

 the lofty face, or, when it is viewed on the extremity, con- 

 veying the impression of a tower the height of which is such 



