sides, and were slowly shifting about: yet the sky was
clear, and the sea, from the reflection of the sky, of an ethereal or
sapphire blue, which was intermingled in many places, and mostly by
gentle gradations, with beds of bright dazzling sunshine; green islands
lay on the calm water, islands far greener, for so it seemed, than the
grass of other places; and from their excessive beauty, their unearthly
softness, and the great distance of many of them, they made us think of
the islands of the blessed in the Vision of Mirza--a resemblance more
striking from the long tract of mist which rested on the top of the
steeps of Morven. The view was endless, and though not so wide, had
something of the intricacy of the islands and water of Loch Lomond as we
saw them from Inch-ta-vanach; and yet how different! At Loch Lomond we
could never forget that it was an inland lake of fresh water, nor here
that it was the sea itself, though among multitudes of hills.
Immediately below us, on an island a few yards from the shore, stood an
old keep or fortress; {160} the vale of Appin opened to the water-side,
with cultivated fields and cottages. If there were trees near the shore
they contributed little to the delightful effect of the scene: it was the
immeasurable water, the lofty mist-covered steeps of Morven to the right,
the emerald islands without a bush or tree, the celestial colour and
brightness of the calm sea, and the innumerable creeks and bays, the
communion of land and water as far as the eye could travel. My
description must needs be languid; for the sight itself was too fair to
be remembered. We sate a long time upon the hill, and pursued our
journey at about four o'clock. Had an indifferent dinner, but the cheese
was so excellent that William wished to buy the remainder; but the woman
would not consent to sell it, and forced us to accept a large portion of
it.

We had to travel up the loch, leaving behind us the beautiful scene which
we had viewed with such delight before dinner. Often, while we were
climbing the hill, did we stop to look back, and when we had gone twenty
or thirty yards beyond the point where we had the last view of it, we
left the car to the care of some children who were coming from school,
and went to take another farewell, always in the hope of bearing away a
more substantial remembrance. Travelled for some miles along a road
which was so smooth it was more like a gravel walk in a gentleman's
g