o68 SCOTLAND 



3. Rivers. The rivers are numerous, and, descending from a high region, their currents are 

 broken and rapid. They are of little use in navigation. The Forth runs easterly into the 

 Ge rman ocean, and at its mouth expands into a wide bay or Frith, It is a very crooked 

 stream, and through all its windings has a length of 200 miles ; part of it is navigable for small 

 vessels. The Tay has the largest body of water, with a shorter course. It flows in the same 

 direction, and has a navigation near the sea for ships ; it particularly abounds in salmon. The 

 Clyde flows to the sea on the opposite side. It is much broken by falls, but its mouth admits 

 vessels of 400 tons. The Tweed is a beautiful stream, running into the German ocean near 

 the English border. It flows 60 miles in a straight line, and abounds in trout and salmon. 



4. Lakes. These are called Lochs in Scotland. The most remarkable is Loch Lomond, 

 near the sea in the southwest. It is 30 miles long, of an irregular breadth, but generally nar- 

 low. It is sprinkled with islands, some of them large and finely wooded ; the shores are 

 everywhere highly beautiful and picturesque. The mountain of Ben Lomond, which over- 

 looks the northeastern part, presents a prospect of unequalled grandeur. Loch Katrine in the 

 same neighborhood, is another beautiful sheet of water. Loch Levcn, in Fife, is about 12 miles 

 in circuit, and contains several small islands, upon one of which Mary, Queen of Scots, was 

 confined by her nobles. In Ayrshire, is Loch Doon, 7 miles in length, the waters of which 

 flow into the sea by a river of the same name. Tiie banks, of both river and lake, are 



much admired for their beautiful scenery, 

 and have obtained celebrity from the muse of 

 Burns, who was born here. There are many 

 other charming lakes in different parts of the 

 country. 



5. Islands. The Hebrides or Western 

 Islands lie on the western coast of Scotland. 

 They are about 300 in number. The largest is 

 Lewis, 87 miles long. The next in size are, 

 8kye, JlIuU, and Islay., Arran, South Uist, and 

 Jura. Most of them are small. They are 

 rocky and barren, with hardly a single tree or 

 even a bush upon them. On the shores are some 

 swampy tracts and peat bogs. The vegetation 

 consists principally of heath and moss. But the 

 most remarkable feature of these islands is the 

 great number of lakes which they contain ; these, 

 nowever, rather impart gloom than beauty to the landscape ; their sullen brown waters present 

 the idea of unfathomable depth, and their borders exhibit no cheerful verdure to relieve the 

 eye. The most westerly of the Hebrides is St. Kilda. It is small and rocky, yet inhabited. 

 Its shores are composed of enormous precipices, worn by the sea into caverns, often with 

 roofs more lofty than the ceiling of a gothic cathedral. These shores are the resort of vast 

 varieties of sea-fowl, which the islanders pursue at immense hazards, by swinging with ropes 



from the perpendicular cliffs. There are 

 87 of these islands inhabited, and several 

 under good cultivation, producing tolerable 

 crops of grain, pulse, and potatoes. The 

 inhabitants are about 70,000. Their only 

 articles of trade are horned cattle, sheep, 

 fish, and kelp. One of the smallest of these 

 islands, called Staffa, is remarkable for a 

 singular basaltic cavern, called FingaVs 

 Cave, 227 feet in length and 42 wide. The 

 entrance resembles a gothic arch, and 

 the floor of the cave is covered with water. 

 The walls of the interior are formed of 

 ranges of basaltic columns, irregularly 

 grouped. This natural architecture is 

 Bending Pillars of Staffa. ggij to surpass in grandeur and magnifi- 



cence the most splendid artificial temples and palaces in the world. Many of the columnar 

 rocks in this island are bent and twisted in a remarkable manner. 



Burns's House. 



