Series 1 > Tours in Scotland 1747, 1750, 1760

74
TOUR THROUGH SCOTLAND, 1760.
round within. The way to this Castle is by a Drawbridge, and
the appartments were to the South. It belongs to a Campbell,
whose family has enjoyed it for many years. He showed us a
very curious piece of Antiquity found not a great many years
agoe in the Castle ; It is a figure of Ivory sitting in a Chair as
supposed of a King of Scotland, about four Inches and a half
long with a Crown on the Head and a beard, the robes hang
rather clumsily ; a drawing of the figure and chair are on the
other side; what is very particular his hands are laid on his
Knees, as in the statue of Memnon,1 and as the Grand Signior
sits at this day when any one goes to Audience. The tradition
is that this Castle was built by King Ewin 100 years before
Christ, A view of it is here seen [see p. 73]. They have a
red stone here which seems to have iron in it.
To the south of the Castle is the Chapel in which they say
many of the Kings of Scotland are buried in a vault, there
being no memorial of them. It seems to be an old Church tho’
it has been altered. About 30 yards from this Church is a
perpendicular rock, it may be 20 feet high which turns to the
south near opposite to the west end of the Chapel. If any one
goes about 20 yards behind this rock to the south and directs
his voice to the South wall of the Church, and you stand at the
rock about opposite to the middle of this wall, though the
person speaks low yet you hear his voice by the Echoe and by
the Echoe alone, and it seems as if it came from the Church.
We went on and saw Castle Dunolly two miles to the
South which is the Castle of the Physitian, where as they say
the Physitian of the Kings of Scotland lived ; a little to the
south of which is Oban where the Custom House is building.
The wind turned so that we could not get to Ahan Craig 2 in
Mull, and therefore we went to Douart Castle,3 an oblong
square building of which nothing is remaining but the outer
walls ; it is strongly situated on a rock over the water. Here
is a barrack for one company of soldiers and there is one
always here on Duty. We went three miles round Lough
Don to Ahan Craig.
1 Bishop Pococke saw this statue during his Eastern travels. It is described
and figured in the first vol. of his great work, A Description of the East and
some other Countries, ‘Observations on Egypt,’ 1743, p. 102, PI. xxxvi.
2 Auchenacraig. 3 Duart.