islet owes its holy and
beautiful name, the House of God.

Among these old wives' stories there was one which I was inclined to
hear with more credulity. As I was told, in that tempest which scattered
the ships of the Invincible Armada over all the north and west of
Scotland, one great vessel came ashore on Aros, and before the eyes of
some solitary people on a hill-top, went down in a moment with all
hands, her colours flying even as she sank. There was some likelihood in
this tale; for another of that fleet lay sunk on the north side, twenty
miles from Grisapol. It was told, I thought, with more detail and
gravity than its companion stories, and there was one particularity
which went far to convince me of its truth: the name, that is, of the
ship was still remembered, and sounded, in my ears, Spanishly. The
_Espirito Santo_ they called it, a great ship of many decks of guns,
laden with treasure and grandees of Spain, and fierce soldadoes, that
now lay fathom deep to all eternity, done with her wars and voyages, in
Sandag Bay, upon the west of Aros. No more salvos of ordnance for that
tall ship, the "Holy Spirit," no more fair winds or happy ventures; only
to rot there deep in the sea-tangle and hear the shoutings of the Merry
Men as the tide ran high about the island. It was a strange thought to
me first and last, and only grew stranger as I learned the more of
Spain, from which she had set sail with so proud a company, and King
Philip, the wealthy king, that sent her on that voyage.

And now I must tell you, as I walked from Grisapol that day, the
_Espirito Santo_ was very much in my reflections. I had been favourably
remarked by our then Principal in Edinburgh College, that famous writer,
Dr. Robertson, and by him had been set to work on some papers of an
ancient date to rearrange and sift of what was worthless; and in one of
these, to my great wonder, I found a note of this very ship, the
_Espirito Santo_, with her captain's name, and how she carried a great
part of the Spaniards' treasure, and had been lost upon the Ross of
Grisapol; but in what particular spot the wild tribes of that place and
period would give no information to the king's inquiries. Putting one
thing with another, and taking our island tradition together with this
note of old King Jamie's perquisitions after wealth, it had come
strongly on my mind that the spot for which he sought in vain could be
no other than the small bay of Sandag on my un