On Sunday, the 15th of June, we got under
weigh, and were very soon out of sight of Liv^er-
pool. The weather Avas fine, and the Avind fair,
Avhich enabled us to pass the Isle of Man the same
CA’ening ; but on the folloAving day the Avind had
shifted to the northward, and blcAV very fresh. We
had noAV arrived at the Western Islands, and at no
great distance from Ila and those lofty peaks of
Ju ra, usually knoAvn to navigators by the name of the
Paps. Finding we could make but little progress
against this strong and adverse Avind, Ave tacked,
and stood over for the island of Rachlin, situated at
a short distance from the north-east coast of Ireland,
under the lee of which we came to anchor in the
small bajq laid down in the charts under the name
of Achill Bay ; and va o Avere not a little glad to
find ourselves in so sheltered a spot, as it continued
to bloAV a gale of Avind all that night, as
Avell as during the Avhole of the following day.
The island of Rachlin presents a very barren
aspect, the rock being, to all appearance, tabular
basalt, or trap, exhibiting, hoAvever, on the side
next to the anchorage, some faint indications of
broken pillars, but Avholly unlike to those columnar
clusters Avhich rise so conspicuously, in regular
order, to the heijjht of 250 feet on the Fairhead
promontory, directly opposite to us; or to the more
remarkable, but less prominent, pavement of columns,
to the Avestward of Fairhead, Avhich, descending
Avith a slope into the sea, are Avell knoAVii under the
name of the Giant’s CauseAvay. This causeAvay,
as ancient tradition tells, and the credulous still
belieA'e, continues under the deep aa ater to the
island of Staffa, the palace of Fingal, or, as S i r
Joseph Banks heard it named there, Fiuhn Aiac
Coul. On a clear serene day, Avhen %/ ^ the sea is smooth
and the sky blue, the fishermen tell you that liie
columnar causeway is distinctly visible at the
bottom of the sea.
We had none of us the curiosity to go on shore
at Rachlin : there Avas nothing, in fact, to invite
one to do so ; but a party of Irishmen, remarkably
uncouth in their personal appearance, came off in
a boat to dispose of some eggs and butter, as Avell
as a few potatoes and some whiskey. The butter
Avas by no means so bad as might ha\'e been expected
from the barrenness of the island, at least
in the immediate neighbourhood, and from the
ragged and uncleanly appearance of the people ;
but it had a strong taste of peat, similar to that
Avhich is commonly supposed to exist in AvhiskeAq
and Avhich in the latter is generally, I believe, much
admired. We also procured a sheep from these poor
people, which Ave Avere likely enough to have lo s t;
for, Avhile in the act of getting him out of their boat
into the yacht, he contrived to jump OA^erhoard, and
immediately sAvam out to s e a : the jolly-boat was
soon in pursuit of him, but whenever it approached
AA'ithin a short distance he exerted himself afresh,
resolved rather to perish in the water than be