CHAPTER I.--VOL. I., p. 17.

"Ailsa, about fifteen miles from the coast, [of Ayrshire,] is a vast rock of a conical form, 940 feet in height, two miles in circumference, accessible only on the north-east, and uninhabited. Its summit is covered with heath and a little grass. It is the property of the Earl of Casilis, who obtains a rent from it, paid from the sale of feathers, Solan geese, and rabbit-skins. On its acclivity are the ruins of a chapel and fort, and near these there is a spring of fresh water."--PLAYFAIR'S _Geographical and Statistical Description of Scotland_, vol. I. p. 179.

In the summer of 1811, and likewise in that of 1824, the author of these volumes sailed past this stupendous rock, and the Scotch sailors on board informed him, that the rent received from the produce of this rock by Lord Cassilis, amounted to upwards of £30 per annum.