Page:Scotish Descriptive Poems - Leyden (1803).djvu/202

 "Certayne Matters," &c. "The tyde of the sea betwixt this isle (Scarba) and Jura is so violent, that it is not possible to pass it, eyther by sayle or ayre, except at certayne times."

According to Martin, "this whirlpool yields an impetuous current, not to be matched any where about the isle of Britain. The sea begins to boil and ferment with the tide of flood, and resembles the boiling of a pot; and then increases gradually, until it appear in many whirlpools, which form themselves in a sort of pyramids, and immediately after spout up as high as the mast of a little vessel, and at the same time make a loud report. These white waves run two leagues with the wind before they break. The sea continues to repeat these various motions from the beginning of the tide of flood, until it is more than half flood, and then it decreases gradually until it hath ebbed above half an hour, and continues to boil till it is within an hour of low water. This boiling of the sea is not above a pistol-shot distant from the coast of Scarba Isle, where the white waves meet and spout up. They call it the Kaillach, i.e. an old hag; and they say, that when she puts on her Kerchief, i.e. the whitest waves, it is then reckoned fatal to approach her. The gulf has its name from, said to be son to the King of Denmark, who was drowned here, cast ashore on the north of Jurah, and buried in a cave, as appears from the stone tomb and altar there ."