feet in height. The remains show that the nunneries and
monasteries Columba established were of a very rude kind. It was looked
upon as a holy island, and many kings and chiefs were buried there.
Macbeth was the last king of Scotland who had that honour paid him.
Opposite the cathedral we saw a beautiful cross, carved in high relief.
It had fallen down, but had been replaced on a basement of granite.

The next place of interest before which we brought-up was the island of
Staffa. We could see in the distance the islands of Coll and Tiree.
The latter, only about a mile and a half in circumference, rises out of
the ocean to the height of about one hundred and forty-four feet.
Before landing we sailed along the eastern shore, examining the
wonderful caves and the fine colonnades which form its sides. One might
suppose that it was rather a work of art than thrown up by Nature. The
yachts were hove-to, and we pulled off to examine the caves in the
boats. One is known as the Clam Shell Cave, another as the Herdsman's
Cave, and a third is denominated the Great Colonnade and Causeway. Then
there comes the Boat Cave, and Mackinnon's Cave, and lastly, the most
magnificent of all, Fingal's Cave. Into this we at once rowed. I
scarcely know how to describe it. On either side are lofty columns,
mostly perpendicular, and remarkably regular, varying from two to four
feet in diameter. The height of this wonderful cavern is sixty-six feet
near the entrance, but it decreases to twenty-two feet at the further
end; it is two hundred and twenty-seven feet long, and forty-two wide.
At one side is a causeway formed of the remains of broken columns, upon
which people can walk to the very end. We next pulled into what is
called the Boat Cave, where columns are even more regular than in
Fingal's Cave, but it is much smaller. Our last visit was to
Mackinnon's Cave; its sides are perfectly smooth, it is about fifty feet
high, and forty-eight broad, the roof being almost flat. We pulled on
for two hundred and twenty-four feet, until we reached a beach of
pebbles at the further end, when we appeared to be in a vast hall.
Several places, where the tops of the columns crop up, have the
appearance of a tesselated pavement.

A steady breeze carried us in sight of Ardnamurchan, when, steering to
the east, standing close to the sea-coast, we passed Castle Mingary, the
battlemented walls of which presented no opening. A few miles further
on