Gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 2

SCAREA.
9li
gateway. This was an occasion of which the
minister availed himself to lay before the foun-
der of the castle the sinful enormity of that
oppression which had enforced its completion.
The earl's wrath was kindled, and in his rage
he threatened the derout pastor with imprison-
ment ; but afterwards, Mr. Pitcairn said to
him, " Well, if you will have a verse, here is
one from Holy Scripture, — " That house which
is built upon a rock shall stand, — but built upon
the sand it will fall !" Earl Patrick would not
receive the motto in its moral sense, but ap-
plied it to the cause which first led to the
building of the new castle. " My father's
house was built upon the sandy shores of
Sumburgh ; its foundations have given way,
and it will fall ; but Scalloway Castle is con-
structed upon a rock, and will stand." Ac-
cordingly, upon the lintel stone of the gate ap-
pears the following inscription ; " Patricius
Steuardus, Orcadise et Zetlandiae Comes,
I. V. R. S. Cujus fundamen saxum est, Dom.
ilia manebit, Labilis e contra, si sit arena perit.
A.D. 1600." Scalloway Castle is a square
formal structure, composed of freestone brought
from Orkney, and of the fashion of many
houses of a similar date in Scotland ; it is three
stories high, the windows being of a very am-
ple size ; on the summit of each angle of the
building is a small handsome round turret.
Entering the mansion by an insignificant door-
way, over which are the remains of the Latin
inscription, we pass by an excellent kitchen
and vaulted cellars, while a broad flight of steps
leads above to a spacious hall ; the other cham-
bers however are not large. The oastle is now
a mere shell.
SCARS OCK, a ridge of moun tains, forming
part of the Grampian range, in the parish of
Crathy, in Marr ; they separate the counties
of Aberdeen and Perth, and rise to a height
of 3500 feet above the level of the sea.
SCALPA, a small island of the Hebrides,
lying on the east side of the isle of Skye, from
which it is separated by a strait called Scalpa
Sound. The island of Raasay lies about two
and a half miles to the north. Scalpa is of an
oval figure, measuring about five miles long, and
from two to three broad. The surface is hilly,
rocky, and generally of a barren nature. The
Sound of Scalpa abounds in oysters, which have
the peculiarity of being black in colour, as is
the shell ; sometimes they are of a paler co-
lour, so as to resemble diluted ink. They ap-
pear to be only a variety of the common kind,
deriving that appearance from the dark mud
in which they are bred. The word Scalpa
signifies a cave.
SCALPA FLOW, or BAY, a large bay
or expanse of water at Orkney, on the south of
the Mainland, and having the islands of Ear-
ray and South Ronaldshay on the east, and
the island of Hoy on the west. The chief
entrance is from the Pentland firth on the
south, by Holme Sound. Being land-locked
by the various islands around it, and measuring
about fifty miles in circumference, it forms a
large inland sea, capable of sheltering any num-
ber of ships. It abounds in excellent road-
steads for vessels.
SCALP AY, a small island of the Hebrides,
lying in East Loch Tarbet, on the east side of
Harris. It is low and covered with heath.
SCARBA, a small island of the Hebrides,
belonging to Argyleshire, and the district of
Jura and Colonsay, lying at the north end of
the island of Jura, from which it is divided by
the gulf of Coryvreckan. Scarba, which is
about three miles long, is little else than a sin-
gle mountain, of an elegant form, rising
suddenly out of the sea, to the height of
fifteen hundred feet or more ; conspicuous
from afar, and from all quarters, no less from
its altitude than its figure. The surface is
rude and rocky, and towards the west in par-
ticular, it is cut down perpendicularly, by rug-
ged precipices of many hundred feet in height.
The east side forms one of the most striking
and romantic objects on this coast. The sea-
line, receding in a beautifully regular curve,
produces a bay from which the land rises
with a rapid and uniform acclivity, diversified by
projecting rocks, and covered with alight scat-
tered forest of birch and alder, which, in the
landscape, has all the effect of the finest wood.
The island supports a few families.
SCARPA, a small island of the Hebrides,
lying on the west side of Harris, from which
it is separated by a Strait called Scarpa Sound.
The island is rocky and conical in appearance.
SCARR, a small river in Nithsdale, Dum-
ffies-shire, rising on the borders of Ayrshire,
and, after a course of about twenty-five miles
through the parishes of Penpont, Tynron, and
Keir, falling into the Nith about a mile below
the church of Keir.
SCARVAY, an islet of the Hebrides near
Harris.