The first bell is 2 feet 9 inches diameter and 2 feet 5 inches high. The inscription, in black letters, raised in three lines, is, “Maid be maister robert maxvel byschop of Orknay, ye secund zeir of his consecration ye zeir of gode Im Vc XXVIII zeirs ye XV zeir of Kyng James y V. be robert borthvik maid al thre in ye castel of Edynbrugh.” There are also, on a medallion, a figure of St. Magnus, on a shield the arms of Maxwell, as before, and on another part, “Ihs.” Robert Borthwick, above mentioned, was master gunner to King James IV. The fourth bell is small (1 foot 8 inches diameter and 1 foot 4 inches high), and is not hung. (See description of St. Magnus by Sir Henry E. L. Dryden, Bart.) The fabric of the cathedral does not appear to have suffered at the time of the Reformation, but in 1606 an attempt was made by the Earl of Caithness to destroy it. This happened during the rebellion of E. Patrick Stewart, who had taken possession of the Tower, and used it as a place of strength. The demolition was, however, prevented by the intervention of Bishop Law. The building would appear, in 1701, to have received very improper usage at the hands of the Town Guard, who occupied it as a public place, shooting guns and “drinking, fiddling, piping, swearing and cursing night and day” within the church, and so rendering it unfit for public worship. Great repairs were required in the early part of this century, and the Government, under the belief that the cathedral was Crown property, expended a good deal of money in putting it in good condition in 1848. It was afterwards discovered that the building belonged to the town, when the local authorities took possession of it and replaced in the choir the galleries which had been removed. The choir still continues to be used as the parish church. ST. BLANE’S CHURCH, BUTE. This interesting ruin stands in a remote valley near the south end of the island of Bute, being about three miles south from the parish church of Kingarth. The site is at a considerable elevation, and commands a fine view of the hills of Arran to the south. A lofty and precipitous wooded hill shelters the valley from the northwards. The building stands on a slightly elevated platform, enclosed with a retaining wall. This enclosure forms an upper churchyard, while another enclosure below it forms a lower churchyard. In former times the upper burial-ground was reserved for men, and the lower one for women. At first sight the structure at once impresses one as being a Norman building (Fig. 248), from the style of the masonry of the lofty central wall and the east end, which stand out prominently from amongst the ruins. On closer inspection, the church is found to consist (Fig. 249) of an oblong nave, 50 feet 6 inches in length internally by 16 feet 8 inches in width, and a chancel, 26 feet 3 inches long by 13 feet 11 inches wide, separated by the lofty wall above referred to. The latter contains a chancel arch, 5 feet 3 inches in width.