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62 sea, where a steamer was waiting, which conveyed us to Oban. I can hardly convey to you any idea as to how very barren, rugged, broken, and mountainous the western coast of Scotland is. Everywhere you see creeks and inlets of sea, a hundred barren rocky islands, and long chains of high mountains precipitously rising from the Ocean. We reached Oban in the evening. It is a small yet pretty place, and viewed from the see has an imposing appearance with the high hills rising behind the town.

Next morning we went to the island of Iona, celebrated as an early seat of Christianity. Even before that religion was introduced among the Anglo-Saxons (597 A.D.) Columba, an Irish Christian, lived and preached in this island. The ruins of the ancient religious edifices consist of a church, a nunnery and a chapel, of which the last is said to have been built by the Norwegians and is the most ancient. The church, "St. Mary's Church," as it is called, is said to have been built in the 12th century, though some portions of it were built at a much earlier date, it is supposed in the 7th century. In this island are also the graves of several kings and knights, men, says Dr. Johnson, who did not expect to be so soon forgotten. The Macleen's Cross is the only one left out of the 360 which are said to have stood in this island before the reformation.

From Iona we went to the small uninhabited island of Staffa, containing several wonderful caves, of which Fingal's Cave is the most magnificent. This cave with its