The Knickerbocker, Vol. 10, No. 1, July 1837Various
History
The Knickerbocker, Vol. 10, No. 1, July 1837
Various
Periodicals
We passed the goblin cave, and enjoyed all at which 'the stranger'
was enraptured and amazed; 'that soft vale,' and 'this bold brow,'
and 'yonder meadow far away.' On landing, our boat-party found ponies
in waiting to take us over the rough and dreary pass to Loch Lomond.
Our cavalcade, with the guides, straggling along between these wild
hills and precipices, was a subject for the pencil. There were some
odd geniuses among us, too, who contributed much to our amusement.
Arrived at Loch Lomond, we descended a rocky steep, to the banks
where the steam-boat from Glasgow was to call for us. The place is
called Inversnaid; but the only habitation in sight was a little hut,
at the foot of a pretty cascade, where Wordsworth wrote:
'And I, methinks, 'till I grow old,
As fair a maid shall ne'er behold,
As I do now--the cabin small,
The lake, the bay, the water-fall,
And thou the spirit of them all.'
The boat took us to the head of the loch to see _Rob Roy's Cave_,
(which also once gave shelter to Robert Bruce,) and then reversed her
course toward Glasgow. As we proposed to see Inverary, and some of
the Western Islands, we landed at Tarbet, opposite Ben Lomond. The
sky looked too black to warrant an ascent; but with glasses we could
see several persons on the sugar-loaf summit. A tourist wrote on the
window of the inn here, in 1777, a chapter of metrical advice to those
'Whose taste for grandeur and the dread sublime
Prompt them Ben Lomond's dreadful height to climb.'
From Tarbet, we took a car and rode through the grand but dreary
pass of Glencroe, Ben Arthur frowning upon us for six miles, and
went round the head of Loch Long to Cairndow, on Loch Fine, where we
again took boat for Inverary, and had a charming moonlight sail. This
is a very neat and pretty little village, belonging almost entirely
to the Duke of Argyle. The houses are mostly white, and evidently
arranged for effect, being clearly reflected in the quiet lake,
like Isola Bella, in Italy. The duke's castle, near the village, is
an elegant modern edifice, of blue granite, with a circular tower
at each corner. We had a ride through the extensive parks and
pleasure-grounds, which are filled with every variety of valuable
exotic trees. The owner of this fine estate has not been here for
fifteen years--no great argument for his grace's good taste, or
justice to his tenants. Some of the most eminent British artists have
found ample employment for their pencils in this neighborhood. The
loch is celebrated for its fine herrings, which is the chief article
of trade of Inverary.
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