Scotish her grand and univerfal engine: but,.
reflect that bafalt is ftrongly impregnated with iron,, and that the
bafaltic columns are alfo found at Edinburgh, at -Dichmont, Clydefdale,
and in Skey, and extend over .great part o f the county of Antrim., we
muft allow a circle of abou,t 6qp miles for this eruption, far too vaft
for any volcano or volcanoes, and probably arifing from the fermentation
of iron in the interior of the .globe. Mull ftands in the centre; .of
feveral fmall but interefting ifles. On the eaft is Lifmore, .fertile-, m
oats, bigge, or beer, often called by the: vague name of barley, though
• it b'e .a very diftinct fpecies frqm'the^Engtiflr barT^T^ Tfbis^ ifle&as
anciently the'chief feat o f the ^mfKom, of ArgyleLwHo,TWer,@ thencSto-.e-
nominated’ Bifhops of Lifmore, and fome ruins ,of'. then: .tefidlpnre
remain : it was in confeq^etjce. wefE reple^rfiedi m tk ..d S |a t^ d ^ a b le s
have arifen that it .was, Qnq& a; -foEgfl. . . J o the Tmi'W^f J jf'n lore,; s.ifc ii, rs
Rerrara, remarkable for th&fleatn, 6f^pexand,et l l , t in 1249 W jT o B i '
vulcamflT St. F o h d ^ Kprrara feerhs partly vdlblhic, as it p ^duccS bafalt-
» buf"it has llfo flate, and a fibrous, m kacedmE Ichifttis, .ccwMofpd. of
quartz, ftcatite, apd micrn
lcolm-kill. But the moft curious objeds in the vicinity o f M ull, ar&> tcnlna-HIl
and Staffa. H y en a, or Icolm-kill, <is about,th-rae^milgs, lo q g ,.> h y n e
broad, and is venerable as the primitive ;fe§,t o f * Scotijlh^literature .and
religion,founded by St. Columba in the fixth;ceptupy. »Its hiflppy^and
ruins have been often defcribed; b u t ,k may bft a&fed, from a, recent
traveller, that the ifle produces beautiful white marbk&sppl lange^qcks
c f jafper, or rather indurated fleatitesIO, , ’T h e facred ^difiqes are partly
couftru&ed of red granite, refembling. th e Egyptian, whichl-Edrms
Icolm-kill, and the ifle o f N uns adjacent, f r a gm e n t^ n f ,^ great granitic
chain, fornaerly mputiopccL Some parts ,qfJthe ifle ai?e<fajd tp p ie fen t
green and red jafper, elegaptly veined, apd^fome, £pe<?imens> Q&j^eplKj.
in the bay o f M artyrs, on the E. fide,, is found hornblende \\ and inMshe
. fmall haven, o p the oppofite part o f the ifle, are immpnfe n}in$ber§ o£
beautiful pebhles, chiefly Terpentine, jafper, granite, marble^ kp ism e -
* Pennant, 357. 9 Tomeii. 170. J '
10 Garnett, I. 2 6 6 , corre&ed by. Jamefon, in his 'Mineralogy, and by the.ocular'obferv’ations
o f a friend.'
phriticus
phriticus, nephritic afbeftos, violet coloured quartz, and porphyry. Scotish
T hefe pebbles are rounded, and finely polifhed b y the tide, which rolls IsLI3-
ijgamenfejqd^ntitie^Q^them,backwards and forwards,, with a noife like
thuiiiejs'L/ Jn/botany.thils- iffo p r o d u c t the beautiful fea buglofi, and
the fea» h ^ jiy ^ th e tapkmdiwiifew; a -fc a h a e ih ru ^ row s not far from the
marble, q u a rry : navel wort, marfh trefoil, and dwarf juniper, are alfo
b tfite ¥ / q f . Alyona, was firftj »introduced to gtafia.
'jA f e p h ^ B ^ 'j 'B i^ ^ n a h 'h a s -ra e n tib n ^ l th e ifle
b ^ P ^ r s r ^ d fingulgylties^itjj beautiful bafaltic columns, and one of
^ rp^ ^ e£t^ ° f nature> the vaft' bafaltic cavern, called
Au-.iia-\une,iqFftheih^rnionrous grptfo,> a name nov? borpiedfed, as every
I b ut ■ w hi'cMmay asile,, either from a'q^elpdiJ^h
fflUh^s B^^^bed'.hyjAhW^jrfeuffipAfof th e waves at t h e , furtfieft extrem
jt^ ro r ffbm .th e ' exa<^^rdey.ipf i$hichi«the ' are'idifpqfl&dTf'
tile .entrance fiffy-frx.M^Vbreadth th ltty irfi^ , - thickpefa.of
tjijjHfexterior f a u lt twtenJy.girThe; depth,"o'Elerfgths,o£'kha cavern is 'n d \
ldfejfhgaiH J40»;feefe;> and whetp'St. Fond; lids’, reprcfented the exterior
as-.pWnetratirig.' the whple, ‘he jhas committed a great effPr iii ,
perfpe'<Sbive,t -
^ theTN. W . o f M ull,”are-the ifles >a£ Tifey and CoJ,? the. fo rm ef' Tkey.
prod'^cifig'; beaut>£fijlr1tnfarblej' vof' a\t$fe-<k>fo.u’r, penetrated with
fmall irregular cryfials of green hornblende, and which the French na-
turalifts have from the name of the ifle called Tirite, B fimilar marble
beis^ any where found. Tirey is generally plain and fertile.) Col, on
the>Gontrary, is rocky., but.has feveral fmall lakes, replenifhed with fifh.
Dr.^Johnfqn has-paid a. ddferved?tribute. tdats' lo rd '3, i,
, Another groupe confifts of Skey, in the Scandinavian ftyled Skua, amd skey.
th e furrounding: ifles. Skey is the largeft of thc.'Hebudes, ‘being about
forty-five Englifh miles in length, and about twenty-two in breadth.
Inhabitants about 15,000 ; chief experts black, cattlm.and fmall horfes :
the land, as ufual.in the Hebudes, rough and hilly. r Muggaflot is the .
refidence o f the Lord Macdonaldj Dimvegan that of M r. Macleod. At
tiuan is a Danifh fort, fixty'feet diameter, and eighteen high I+. A
high hill,, near Talyfkir, prefents a feries of bafaltic columns, the moft
ib- 11 St- Fo,id' ; ’ 5 4 * n a S a i j S s p ! *95- 14
B B . • northern' '