Part 16 (1/2)
”Oh, yes; but suppose it made a mistake? We should be running on to some coast or other before we knew where we were.”
”We crossed the big sea,” observed Nat, ”and for days and days together we did not see any land.”
I got out the chart, and showed d.i.c.k the point of Ayr, the most northern part of the Isle of Man, towards which we were now directing our course.
”We shall see it in the course of the morning. If you were to go to the mast-head, you would probably make out the land to the south of it.”
”Are we to touch at the Isle of Man?” asked d.i.c.k. ”I should _very_ much like to see some of the places described by Sir Walter Scott.”
”Papa says that we have no time,” I replied. ”If we don't make more speed than we have hitherto done, we shall not get round England before the summer is over; and the east coast is not to be trifled with.
Although he says that we shall be unable to see many of the places he would like to visit, we shall nevertheless obtain a general view of the country.”
I have not said much about Nat. Poor little fellow! He was quite reconciled to his lot, and had become completely one of us. We had as much affection for him as if he had been our brother. I took a special interest in him, as he was my pupil; and I devoted a part of every day to teaching him. He was very obedient, and always did his best to learn his lessons; so that it was quite a pleasure for me to instruct him.
d.i.c.k was greatly astonished when papa came on deck with the s.e.xtant in his hand, and ”shot” the sun, as it is called; that is to say, he ascertained our exact lat.i.tude by observing through the instrument the height of the sun at noon. Placing it to his eye, he watched it until it ceased to rise, the indicator showing the number of degrees it was above the horizon. The _Nautical Almanack_ gives the height it would be at noon on that day along every parallel so that a few figures enabled him to ascertain how far north we had sailed. The way to find the longitude, he explained to us, was by means of the chronometer. An observation is then taken of the sun, moon, or a star, which would appear at a certain height above the horizon at that particular hour.
The wind fell before we reached the Isle of Man. In the evening we saw several bright lights burst forth--some on the Isle of Man, others on the mainland. On the right we saw a fixed light, which the chart showed us was Saint Bees' Head; while another shone from the point of Ayr.
Leaving Saint Bees' Head astern, with the light on the point of Ayr on our port beam, we came in sight of the intermittent light of the Mull of Galloway. Most of these lights were visible at the same time; and as we sailed up the channel we could see those on the Irish coast, as well as those on the coast of Scotland.
When we came on deck the next morning, we were pa.s.sing along the coast of Ayrs.h.i.+re, within sight of Ailsa Crag, a fine rock, which stands out of the sea to a great height. It is a ma.s.s of columnar trap of a grey colour. We steered so as to pa.s.s it on our starboard side. We had come in sight of the southern face, where we could distinguish a square tower, perched on a terrace, about two hundred feet above the sea. The ascent to the summit must be no easy matter. As we sailed on, we came off the north-west side, which is almost perpendicular, and composed of successive tiers of enormous columns. Here we made out a cave, above which was a gra.s.sy declivity sloping upwards towards the summit. Though it is at the very mouth of the Clyde, its great height causes it to be seen at a distance, preventing it being dangerous to vessels bound to Glasgow. Any person inclined to solitude might take up his abode there, and live without leaving it, as it is inhabited by numerous flocks of sea-fowl, with goats and rabbits; while nettles, and a variety of hardy plants, grow in the interstices of the rocks. I asked d.i.c.k if he would like to remain there, saying that I would get papa to put him on sh.o.r.e, if he wished it; but he declined the offer, preferring rather to go back to school at the end of the holidays.
Pa.s.sing Ayr and Troon, we came off Ardrossan, then stood on to Port-in-cross, close to Fairlie Head, which forms the south-eastern point at the entrance of the Firth of Clyde. Opposite, in the distance, rose the Isle of Arran, with its lofty picturesque hills. We brought-up off Port-in-cross for the night, as we wished to have daylight for ascending the Clyde, so as to enjoy the scenery.
Next morning, the wind being fair, we made good progress. The country on our right, though very smiling and pretty, was not so grand as we expected; but we saw, far away over the port-bow, blue mountains rising one beyond the other. Directly after getting under weigh, we pa.s.sed two islands, the Lesser c.u.mbrae, at the entrance of the Firth, and the Greater c.u.mbrae, a little higher up.
To our right we saw the village of Largs, celebrated as the scene of a great battle, won by the Scottish army, under Alexander the Third, over Haco, King of Norway. To our left was the Island of Bute. We sailed on nearly due north, until the channel gave a sudden bend, just after we had pa.s.sed the town of Greenock, a busy-looking place, with s.h.i.+pbuilding yards, and smoking chimneys, interesting to us because Watt was born here; near it we had seen on the opposite sh.o.r.e the village of Dunoon, a pretty watering-place. The wind being from the southward, we were able, close-hauled, to stand up the Clyde. We pa.s.sed Port Glasgow, which was at one time really the port of Glasgow; but the river having been deepened by dredges, vessels of large size can now run up to Glasgow itself.
We appeared to be in quite a labyrinth of lochs, Holy Loch running up in one direction, Loch Long in another, and Gare Loch in a third, all joining the Clyde on the north. We were eagerly looking out for Dumbarton, which stands on a lofty projecting point of rock where the river Leven runs into the Clyde. The scenery round us was the finest we had yet beheld. The summit is crowned by bristling batteries pointing down the Firth. Bringing up, that we might pay it a visit, we at once pulled towards the Governor's house, which stands on a platform at the base of the rock. We ascended a flight of steep steps to a s.p.a.ce between two summits, where are erected some barracks and the armoury.
The most interesting object we saw was Wallace's great double-handed sword, which he wielded with such terrific power against his southern foes. Of course, as we looked at it, we sang--
”Scots wa' hae wi' Wallace bled.”
When the unfortunate Mary was Queen of Scots, in the year 1571, and the place was in possession of her partisans, it was captured in an extraordinary manner by Crawford, of Jordan Hill, an officer of the Lennox. He and a few followers, landing there during the night with ladders, climbed the cliffs. During the ascent one of the party was seized with a paralytic fit. As any sound would have aroused the garrison, the man was lashed by his companions to the ladder. It was then turned round, and they all ascended, leaving him hanging there until they had gained the fortress, when he was released.
From this eminence we obtained a magnificent view over the Vale of Leven, with lofty Ben Lomond in the distance; while the views down and up the Clyde were such as we had never seen surpa.s.sed in beauty.
As papa and Uncle Tom did not wish to take the yachts further, we got on board one of the steamers running up to Glasgow. During the pa.s.sage we pa.s.sed numbers of steamers, large and small, rus.h.i.+ng up and down the stream at a rapid rate; and sailing vessels of all sizes outward-bound, or returning home; the former laden with the cotton and woollen manufactures produced in Glasgow and the neighbourhood, giving us some idea of the vast amount of trade carried on in the city.
Curious-looking steam dredges were also at work, with wheels ever revolving, ladling up the mud from the bottom of the river--an endless task, for fresh mud is constantly being washed down from the upper parts of the stream. Clouds of smoke and increasing signs of activity showed us that we were approaching Glasgow.
We took a hurried view of that famed city, wandered through its broad streets, with stone-built houses and fine edifices, people bustling about, and numberless tall factory chimneys smoking; drays and carts carrying merchandise from the quays, and everything wearing an air of prosperity. We looked into the ancient sombre Cathedral, with its beautiful modern stained-gla.s.s windows, and visited the University, with its museum and library--the museum bequeathed by William Hunter, the great surgeon, who gave at the same time 8,000 pounds to erect a building for its reception.
Uncle Tom told us a story of Hunter's first lecture. Being unknown to fame, no one had come to hear him. On entering the hall, he found only Sandy McTavish, the old custos. He was not daunted, however. Bidding the old man sit down, he brought a skeleton from a cupboard, and having placed it in front of him, he began to lecture to it and Sandy. First one student by chance looked in, and, seeing what was going forward, beckoned to another. In the course of a few minutes another dropped in, and soon discovered that no ordinary lecturer was speaking. The whole audience could not have amounted to a dozen; but they soon made a noise about what they had heard, and the next day the hall was crowded.
Our next visit was to a fine cemetery across a valley above the town; and d.i.c.k declared that it would be quite a pleasure to be buried there.
It was crowded with fine monuments to celebrated persons.
Glasgow owes much of its prosperity to its situation in the midst of a country producing coal and minerals, and having water communication down the Clyde towards the west into the Atlantic, and through the great ca.n.a.l which connects that river with the Forth and German Ocean. We got back to Dumbarton, where the Dolphin's boat was on the look-out for us, just at nightfall.
It being moonlight, we sailed down the Clyde, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery under a different aspect. Had we possessed steam, we could have run through the channel of Bute, and then up Loch Fyne, pa.s.sing through the Crinan Ca.n.a.l into Loch Linnhe; but as that could not be done, we had to sail round Arvan and the Mull of Cantyre, and then up the Sound of Jura. We thus lost the enjoyment of much magnificent scenery; but the shorter route would probably have taken us a far longer time to perform, as in those narrow waters we could only sail during daylight, and might be detained by a contrary wind.
CHAPTER NINE.