on our left we gladly saw
The spreading waters of Loch Awe,
And still more gladly truth to tell —
A very up-to-date hotel,
[130] With Conan's church within its ground,
Which gave it quite a homely sound.
Thither we came upon the Sunday,
Viewed Kilchurn Castle on the Monday,
And Tuesday saw us sally forth
Bound for Oban and the North.

We came to Oban in the rain,
I need not mention it again,
For you may take it as a fact
That in that Western Highland tract
It sometimes spouts and sometimes drops,
But never, never, never stops.
From Oban on we thought it well
To take the steamer for a spell.
But ere the motor went aboard
The Pass of Melfort we explored.
A lovelier vale, more full of peace,
Was never seen in classic Greece;
[131] A wondrous gateway, reft and torn,
To open out the land of Lome.
Leading on for many a mile
To the kingdom of Argyle.

Wednesday saw us on our way
Steaming out from Oban Bay,
(Lord, it was a fearsome day!)
To right and left we looked upon
All the lands of Stevenson —
Moidart, Morven, and Ardgour,
Ardshiel, Appin, and Mamore —
If their tale you wish to learn
Then to "Kidnapped" you must turn.
Strange that one man's eager brain
Can make those dead lands live again!
From the deck we saw Glencoe,
Where upon that night of woe
William's men did such a deed
[132] As even now we blush to read.
Ben Nevis towered on our right,
The clouds concealed it from our sight,
But it was comforting to say
That over there Ben Nevis lay'.
Finally we made the land
At Fort William's sloping strand,
And in our car away we went
Along that lasting monument,
The good broad causeway which was made
By King George's General Wade.
He built a splendid road, no doubt,
Alas! he left the sign-posts out.
And so we wandered, sad to say,
Far from our appointed way,
Till twenty mile of rugged track
In a circle brought us back.
But the incident we viwed
[133] In a philosophic mood.
Tired and hungry but serene
We settled at the Bridge of Spean.

Our journey now we onward press
Toward the town of Inverness,
Through a country all alive
With memories of "forty-five."
The noble clans once gat