ature waterfalls. The rocks in the
immediate neighborhood of the castle are rugged in the extreme, here
and there rent by a gigantic fissure reaching far inland, and up which
the foaming waters gurgle continually as if in impatience of their
narrow bounds, now jutting far into the sea like a Titanic staircase
and thickly matted with coarse sea-weed, and again reared up on high,
a sheer glistening wall, with not a cranny for the steadiest foot, and
with Niagaras of spray for ever veiling its smooth, unchanging face.
In wonderful hollows you will come upon pools of green water with
sea-anemones, delicate sea-weed of pink, yellow or purple hue, and
gem-like shells resting on a bottom of clearest sand; and while the
waves are roaring on every side, and flinging their dampness into your
very face, these fairy pools will lie at your feet without a breath or
ripple on their surface.

The most magnificent of these rocks is one called in Gaelic "Dun-Bug"
("Yellow Rock"), the favorite haunt of the white sea-gulls. It stands
alone, as if torn from the land and hurled into the tossing waves
by some giant hand. Two hundred feet in height and a thousand in
circumference, it forms a natural arch, being pierced from its base
upward by an opening that widens as it ascends. The waves dash through
it with terrific violence, and the very sight of its grim splendor
conjures up a vision of shipwreck and danger. Scott has made
mention of it in _The Antiquary_, and Johnson in his _Journey to the
Hebrides_, recalling the grandeur of the rocky coast of Slains, has
said that though he could not wish for a storm, still as storms,
whether wished for or not, will sometimes happen, he would prefer
to look at them from Slains Castle. These rocks and the caves that
alternate with them were once famous as a smuggling rendezvous, and
as such Scott has again immortalized them in his _Guy Mannering_. The
Crooked Mary, a noted lugger, had many an adventure along this coast
during the last century. The skipper's arrival was eagerly looked for
at certain stated times, the preconcerted signal was given by him,
and the inhabitants bestirred themselves with commendable haste.
All ordinary business was immediately suspended: men might be seen
stealing along from house to house, or a fisher-girl, bareheaded and
barefooted, would hurry to the neighboring village, and deliver a
brief message which to a bystander would sound very like nonsense, but
which nevertheles