The boatmen calculated on reaching Bute in a few hours; but ere
they had been half an hour at sea, the wind, veering about, obliged
them to woo its breezes by a traversing motion, which, though it
lengthened their voyage, increased its pleasantness by carrying them
often within near views of the ever-varying shores. Sailing under a
side-wind, they beheld the huge irregular rocks of Dunoon, overhanging
the ocean; while from their projecting brows hung every shrub which can
live in that saline atmosphere.
"There," whispered Lady mar, gently inclining toward Wallace, "might
the beautiful mermaid of Corie Vrekin keep her court! Observe how
magnificently those arching cliffs overhang the hollows, and how richly
they are studded with shells and sea-flowers!"
"No flower of the field or of the ocean that came within the ken of
Wallace, wasted its sweetness unadmired. He assented to the remarks of
Lady Mar, who continued to expatiate on the beauties of the shores
which they passed; and thus the hours flew pleasantly away, till,
turning the southern point of the Cowal Mountains, the scene suddenly
changed. The wind, which had gradually been rising, blew a violent
gale from that part of the coast; and the sea, being pent between the
rocks which skirt the continent and the northern side of Bute, became
so boisterous, that the boatmen began to think they should be driven
upon the rocks of the island, instead of reaching its bay.
Pages:
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375