about two feet in diameter, and having either five, six, seven, or nine equal sides and angles, and varying in height up to one hundred and forty-four feet above the sea.

Of the numerous caves that have been worn through the lapse of ages by the ceaseless surge of the Atlantic, the most celebrated is Fingal's Cave:

"that wondrous dome,

Where, as to shame the temples deck'd
By skill of earthly architect,

Nature herself, it seem'd, would raise
A minster to her Maker's praise!

Not for a meaner use ascend

Her columns, or her arches bend;

Nor of a theme less solemn tells

That mighty surge, that ebbs and swells;
And still between each awful pause,
From the high vault an answer draws,
In varied tone, prolonged and high,
That mocks the organ's melody."

To this noble description from the Lord of the Isles the author appended a note, which we cannot do better than

introduce, secure that a sketch, both in poetry and prose, from such a master of descriptive writing as Sir Walter Scott, will do all that words can do to pourtray the glorious scene with clearness, unrivalled save to an eye-witness.

"It would be unpardonable to detain the reader upon a wonder so often described, and yet so incapable of being understood by description. The palace of Neptune is even grander upon the second than the first view. The stupendous columns which form the sides of the cave; the depth and strength of the tide, which rolls in deep and heavy swell up to the extremity of the vault; the variety of tints formed by white, crimson, and yellow stalactites, or petrifactions, which occupy the vacancies between the base of the broken pillars forming the roof, and intersecting them with a rich, curious, and variegated chasing occupying each interstice; the corresponding variety below water, where the ocean rolls over a dark red or violet-coloured rock, from which, as from a base, the basaltic columns arise; the tremendous noise of the swelling tide, mingling with the

deep-toned echoes of the vaults, are circumstances elsewhere unparalleled."

To this we need only add, that Fingal's Cave is about two hundred and thirty feet deep, and at flood-time and in moderate weather, a boat may sail from its entrance nearly to its extremity. The height from the water to the centre of the roof is nearly seventy feet, and the columns that line its sides are nearly perpendicular.