History of the Clan MacLean from its first settlement at Duard Castle, in the Isle of Mull, to the present period

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transepts from north to south are seventy feet three inches, by seventeen feet
two inches in breadth. The tower is about seventy feet high. The walls are
composed of a mixture of materials, among which the red-grained granite of
Mull, resembling the syenite of Egypt, predominates. Some of the blocks
are of immense size, and must have been hewn and polished with very great
labor. Carved on the capitals of the pillars and pilasters are Scripture
scenes. The walls are bare ; not even an ivy leaf in a crevice to relieve the
sharp outlines. The architecture is difficult to describe, for it presents a
mixture of styles, and has been subjected to many alterations and repairs.
The monastery is connected with the Abbey on the north side, and is in a
very ruinous condition. St. Oran's Chapel is situated in the principal ceme-
tery, called the " Reilig Odhrain," or burying place of Oran, to the south-
west of and not far from the cathedral. It is a plain, oblong structure, twenty-
nine feet eight inches long, by fifteen feet ten inches in breadth, in the interior,
and for windows has two narrow lights ; that in the north two feet high,
and that in the south three feet. It is roofless, and has well withstood the
ravages of centuries. Its principal object of interest is the Romanesque
circular-headed west door, decorated with what is termed the " beak-headed
ornament." This building is the oldest on the island, and belongs to the
close of the 11th century, having been erected by the munificence of queen
Margaret. The Nunnery (not shown in the engraving), although much dilapi-
dated, still retains the evidence of its former elegance. The nuns were per-
mitted to remain here for a time after the monks had been expelled.
The Reilig Odhrain is a large inclosure, and the great place of interment
not only for monarchs, but also for the chiefs and potentates of the isles and
their lineage, notably the MacDonalds, or Lords of the Isles, MacLeans, Mac-
Leods, MacKinnons, MacKenzies, MacQuarries, and other powerful families.
Some are buried within the chapel, and others in the cathedral, while ladies
of rank and the prioresses are entombed within the chapel of the Nunnery.
It would be difiicult to state how many saints are buried either in or else close
to the religious houses ; but the records show that sixty-four kings found
sepulture here. Of these two were kings of Ireland, three of Norway, one of
France, and the rest of Scotland ; the last to be interred was MacBeth. It
would be out of place to enumerate all in this connection, for we are par-
ticularly interested in the relation the MacLeans sustained to the island.
In the description of the tombs I shall closely follow that given by Gra-
ham in his "Antiquities of lona," and not follow the observations I made
when on the island.