Walter Scott Dalgleish

“ The day being still young, the ‘Iolanthe’ is brought into requisition, and a delightful trip is made up Loch Sunart, a veritable fiord in its windings, and its narrowness, and its flanking mountains. As we enter the Loch, we catch one of those occasional and transient effects which delight artists, but which it is hazardous to paint, and still more difficult to reproduce without colour. ”

“ We pass on the one shore the ruins of Strome Castle, and on the other the handsome residence of Duncraig, and the fishing [56] village of Plockton—a collection of weatherbeaten huts, but prettily situated on an outstanding promontory. As we emerge from the Loch, we have a very grand view of the Coolins, with the ‘Dunottar Castle’ lying under their shadow, and of the islands of Scalpa and Raasay—the latter crowned with a curious little table-mountain over which the Old Man of Storr is distinctly visible. ”

“ On the east, the Bay is cut off from the sea by the small island of Calve, which forms a natural breakwater, thus producing a spacious and very safe anchorage. Aros House, imbedded in woods, stands on the south side of the Bay, and near it there is a very fine waterfall on the stream which emerges from the Mishnish Lochs—a favourite resort of anglers. From the deck, a lovely view of the Sound of Mull is seen over the crest of Calve. The hills in the distance are dark, but the east shores of the Sound are lighted up with gleams of sunshine, developing marvellous combinations of colour. ”

“ The object of stopping at that point in the voyage was to visit Loch Coruisk, the wildest and most desolate of Highland lochs, imbedded in the heart of the Coolins. In spite of the mist and the threatening rain, nearly the whole party started in the ‘Iolanthe’ for the head of Loch Scavaig. Scavaig itself is a very grand loch, partaking of the gloom of the mountains that surround it,—a gloom relieved only by the breakers on the rocky coast, and the glint of the wings of sea-birds. ”

“ The trial cruise will not soon be forgotten by those who were privileged to take part in it. The trip was worthy of the great ship, and worthy of the famous ‘Castle’ Line. The strangers and foreigners, the Englishmen and the colonists, who were of the party, had an opportunity of seeing all that is grandest in Scottish coast-scenery, such as is enjoyed by few natives; and every Scotsman on board must have felt proud of his country. ”

“ A novel luxury in the ‘Castle’ liners is a barber’s shop, with a rotatory hair-brushing machine worked by an electric motor. Indeed, scarcely anything is lacking which could be desired by the most fastidious traveller on shore.
One of the greatest charms of the ship is the electric lighting, which is carried out on a perfect scale. Nothing has done so much as the introduction of the electric light to make ocean-travelling comfortable and safe. It is bright and cleanly, and it is always available. It is an immense advantage to be able to turn on a bright light in your state-room at any moment. ”

“ Opposite that weird glen, of evil omen, we turn northward, and steam past the Fallen Rocks, and round the north point of Arran into Kilbrannan Sound, our purpose being to sail round Arran and to anchor for the night in Lamlash Bay. We have a pleasant glimpse, in passing, of Loch Ranza and its rugged keep, and of the valleys and ‘cols’ that lead over to Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa. The west coast of Arran, however, is distinctly tame, and gives few tokens of cultivation and industry, until we approach the south end of the island. ”

“ The course taken was the converse of that of Agricola, when his galleys sailed round Scotland, and proved for the first time that Britain was an island. While the Romans sailed, or rather rowed in open galleys, from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde, the ‘Dunottar Castle’ pleasure-party steamed from the Clyde to the Forth in a veritable floating palace, replete with the comforts of advanced civilisation, and embodying the most recent developments of science in the applications of steam and of electricity. ”

“ In point of fact, the saloon is quite as brilliant at night as during the day.
The decks also are brightly lighted up at night with electric cluster lights, as well as with single lamps, so that dancing and other recreations can be carried on with the greatest comfort. The ship’s band of ten or twelve instruments is also an excellent institution, which does much to relieve the tedium of the voyage.
The rapidity with which the ‘Dunottar Castle’ was got into working order speaks well for the resources and the organising power of the Clyde shipbuilders. ”

“ Lamlash Bay and Holy Isle.
We then begin to realise the importance of the fact that our cruise is to be one of pleasure, as well as of practical use, in a sense not previously thought of. We are to steam ahead during daylight, and our nights are to be spent peacefully at anchor in quiet waters. The arrangement is not only comfortable on that account, but is also convenient, inasmuch as we shall miss very little of the coast-scenery—none of it, indeed, if we are careful to rise betimes. ”

“ Indeed, I need hardly say that the preparation of the story of our Cruise has given me infinite pleasure.
My efforts have been ably seconded by the artistic skill of my fellow-guests, Dr. Lennox Browne of London, and Miss Cecilia G. Blackwood, whose facile pencils have contributed to the work many clever and beautiful illustrations. I am indebted to Mr. T. Maclaren for the architectural drawings of the Cathedral and the Earl’s Palace at Kirkwall; while a few of the pictures are taken from photographs by Miss Munn, another of our gifted passengers. ”

“ The ruins of Ardtornish are near the entrance to Loch Aline, and under the shadow of the massive and bare hills of Morven. These hills had a never-ending charm for Dr. Norman M‘Leod, whose native village of Morven lies on the east coast of the Sound, nearly opposite Tobermory. The Sound to-day is in one of its angry moods: clouds obscure the sun; mists cling to the mountains, and the sullen sky is reflected in the fretful sea.
Castle Duart—Mull.
Presently we pass on the left the ruins of Aros Castle, another of those rock-built fortresses which are so numerous on these coasts. ”

“ We read and speak of the luxury and ease of the South, where life is free from care, and its burdens rest very lightly on men whose hearts are bright and gay. But there is a place even for something of this kind in the final home. There must be rest and peace, as well as toil and energy: enjoyment, as well as action. So the men of the South come trooping in at the call of Christ, even as the Queen of the South once came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. ”

“ No view could be obtained either of the Coolins or of the mountains of the mainland. It was indeed tantalising to know that we were in the neighbourhood of some of the grandest scenery in Scotland, and to be unable to see a vestige of it, except occasionally a few outlying rocks, or a mountainous headland swept by the mist. Early in the day we cast anchor in the Sound of Soa, near the entrance to Loch Scavaig. ”

“ The north coast, east of Cape Wrath, partakes of the same rugged character as the promontory. There are castle rocks, and detached rocks, and dark ‘cletts,’ too numerous to mention. There are isolated mountains of considerable height about the dark Kyle of Durness, and Loch Erribol, and the Kyle of Tongue. The coast-scenery, however, becomes rapidly tamer. Ben Hope and Ben Loyal are the last prominent peaks that stand out from the undulating plain. ”

“ It might be said, indeed, that we had come from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. After pointing out that the words were Christ’s real answer to the question, ‘Are there few that be saved?’ and showing that His restrictions applied to those who sought to enter the kingdom of God in other ways than by the strait gate, the preacher continued:—
‘My text gives us the vision of a great commonwealth or society, into which all worthy elements of human character are gathered up—a kingdom of God which is at the same time a kingdom of man. ”

“ The [19] crew consists of 150 officers and men, commanded by Captain Webster, the senior Captain of the ‘Castle’ Company. Each of the dining saloons accommodates at one time the whole complement of passengers assigned to it,—a point of no small importance, as the trouble and worry of double meals are thereby avoided. The ship is admirably equipped in every particular, and the furnishings are of the most elegant character. The first-class dining saloon is a very handsome apartment, with panelled walls and dado, and is furnished throughout with refined taste. ”

“ The Main-Deck.
The intermediate sleeping-berths differ but little, in point of comfort and convenience, from those assigned to first-class passengers; and the dining-saloon, which has its own piano and organ, is infinitely superior to what we were accustomed to in old-fashioned steamers. The third-class [22] accommodation is altogether superior to that provided in the general run of ocean-going steamers. ”

“ After its surrender to Cromwell, the Castle was partially dismantled and reduced to ruins. What remained of it was, like the Bass Rock, used as a State prison for the Covenanters during the persecutions under Charles II. and the Duke of York. One hundred and sixty-seven men and women were imprisoned at one time in its ‘Whig’s Vault,’ or Black Hole, and nine of them speedily died of suffocation. Driven to despair, some twenty-five of them one night crept out of a window and along the face of the cliff, in the hope of effecting their escape. ”

“ The Trishnish Islands are covered with rich grass, which makes excellent pasture. The Laird of Calgary fattens his mutton there during the summer months, and sends out a [43] yacht once a fortnight to capture two or three sheep for use. As the animals are as wild and as swift as deer, capturing them is no easy task. They are generally driven by a contracting line of men and boys into a trap made with spars and a sail between two rocks on the shore; but they often break through the cordon, and even leap sometimes over the heads of the drivers.
Distant View of Staffa. ”

“ On board, everything was ship-shape and in good order; and when Sir Donald Currie, on his arrival from Garth, was received on the main deck about noon, by Captain Webster and his officers, it might have been supposed that the steamer had been in commission for years, and was undergoing an inspection on her return from one of her ocean voyages.
The view from the upper deck was magnificent. Few scenes in the British Isles can compare in beauty and variety [26] with the estuary of the Clyde opposite Greenock. ”

“ The mists lift somewhat, and give us a view of the north coast of Mull, [38]
[39] and of the bold beetling headland of Ardnamurchan, with its tall lighthouse thrust out into the sea. Then we return to Tobermory, the quaint and primitive capital of Mull, and anchor in its lovely Bay.
The village, which, like a few other places in the Highlands, looks best at a distance, skirts two sides of the Bay. The western banks are steep and richly wooded. ”

“ They came from the north in mighty hordes—those fierce barbarians who swept down upon the tottering Roman Empire, and crushed out what remained to it of life. Province after province was invaded by these terrible men, the fairest tracts of Southern Europe were occupied by them, and are still held by their descendants. ”

“ Unfortunately, we reached Strome Ferry pier just in time to see the eleven o’clock train steam out of the station, and meander along the coast of the Loch. It was rather aggravating, [55] no doubt; but everything comes to him who waits; and our disappointed friends, who wished to go southward, were able to enjoy a drive over the crest of the promontory to Balmacarra, and to return in time for the two o’clock train.
Misty Morning—Loch Carron.
The Coolins—The ‘Dunottar Castle.’
Loch Carron is a very beautiful sea. ”

“ To tell the truth, however, the scenery had to be taken very much for granted. One or two picturesque bits of [51] rocky coast were all that could be seen. ‘M‘Leod’s Maidens’ were ‘children of the Mist.’ Dunvegan Castle was nowhere. ”

“ It also contains valuable books of reference, in the shape of atlases and gazetteers, and a representative selection of music, including Scottish, English, and Irish songs and glees. The man or the woman would be very difficult to please who could not find within the ship itself, with its pianos, organ, and library, ample resources for spending pleasantly and profitably three or four weeks at sea.
The promenade deck is exceptionally spacious, and affords ample room for those recreations with which time is wont to be beguiled in tropical seas. ”

“ Before these sheets have left the Press, there comes the news that ‘The Dunottar Castle’ has ‘beaten the record’ on her first Cape voyage in both directions.
She made the outward passage in 16 days, 11 hours, 54 minutes, and completed the homeward run to Plymouth in 16 days, 6 hours, net steaming time. The fastest passages previously recorded were made by ‘The Roslin Castle’: outward in 17 days, 10 hours, 15 minutes, and homeward in 16 days, 16 hours, 35 minutes. ‘The Dunottar Castle’ has thus shortened the passage between England and the Cape by nearly a whole day. ”

“ Then we crossed Loch Broom, with its Summer Isles, and the point of Rhu-Coigach, and Enard Bay, and Loch Inver, and we began to recognise the peculiar character of the [65] Sutherlandshire mountains. They rise abruptly to a considerable height from wide intervening valleys, and they frequently assume the sugar-loaf shape. That is the case with Suilven, ‘the sugar-loaf’ par excellence, and also with Canisp, and Ben Stack, and Foinaven near Loch Laxford.
The Coolins—Blaven—Marsco.
The whole coast is rugged and forbidding. ”