We came in the afternoon to Slanes Castle, built upon the margin of the
sea, so that the walls of one of the towers seem only a continuation of a
perpendicular rock, the foot of which is beaten by the waves. To walk
round the house seemed impracticable. From the windows the eye wanders
over the sea that separates Scotland from Norway, and when the winds beat
with violence must enjoy all the terrifick grandeur of the tempestuous
ocean. I would not for my amusement wish for a storm; but as storms,
whether wished or not, will sometimes happen, I may say, without
violation of humanity, that I should willingly look out upon them from
Slanes Castle.
When we were about to take our leave, our departure was prohibited by the
countess till we should have seen two places upon the coast, which she
rightly considered as worthy of curiosity, Dun Buy, and the Buller of
Buchan, to which Mr. Boyd very kindly conducted us.
Dun Buy, which in Erse is said to signify the Yellow Rock, is a double
protuberance of stone, open to the main sea on one side, and parted from
the land by a very narrow channel on the other. It has its name and its
colour from the dung of innumerable sea-fowls, which in the Spring chuse
this place as convenient for incubation, and have their eggs and their
young taken in great abundance. One of the birds that frequent this rock
has, as we were told, its body not larger than a duck's, and yet lays
eggs as large as those of a goose. This bird is by the inhabitants named
a Coot. That which is called Coot in England, is here a Cooter.
Upon these rocks there was nothing that could long detain attention, and
we soon turned our eyes to the Buller, or Bouilloir of Buchan, which no
man can see with indifference, who has either sense of danger or delight
in rarity. It is a rock perpendicularly tubulated, united on one side
with a high shore, and on the other rising steep to a great height, above
the main sea. The top is open, from which may be seen a dark gulf of
water which flows into the cavity, through a breach made in the lower
part of the inclosing rock. It has the appearance of a vast well
bordered with a wall. The edge of the Buller is not wide, and to those
that walk round, appears very narrow. He that ventures to look downward
sees, that if his foot should slip, he must fall from his dreadful
elevation upon stones on one side, or into water on the other. We
however went round, and were glad when the circuit was completed.
When we came down to the sea, we saw some boats, and rowers, and resolved
to explore the Buller at the bottom. We entered the arch, which the
water had made, and found ourselves in a place, which, though we could
not think ourselves in danger, we could scarcely survey without some
recoil of the mind. The bason in which we floated was nearly circular,
perhaps thirty yards in diameter. We were inclosed by a natural wall,
rising steep on every side to a height which produced the idea of
insurmountable confinement. The interception of all lateral light caused
a dismal gloom. Round us was a perpendicular rock, above us the distant
sky, and below an unknown profundity of water. If I had any malice
against a walking spirit, instead of laying him in the Red-sea, I would
condemn him to reside in the Buller of Buchan.
But terrour without danger is only one of the sports of fancy, a
voluntary agitation of the mind that is permitted no longer than it
pleases. We were soon at leisure to examine the place with minute
inspection, and found many cavities which, as the waterman told us, went
backward to a depth which they had never explored. Their extent we had
not time to try; they are said to serve different purposes. Ladies come
hither sometimes in the summer with collations, and smugglers make them
storehouses for clandestine merchandise. It is hardly to be doubted but
the pirates of ancient times often used them as magazines of arms, or
repositories of plunder.
To the little vessels used by the northern rovers, the Buller may have
served as a shelter from storms, and perhaps as a retreat from enemies;
the entrance might have been stopped, or guarded with little difficulty,
and though the vessels that were stationed within would have been
battered with stones showered on them from above, yet the crews would
have lain safe in the caverns.
Next morning we continued our journey, pleased with our reception at
Slanes Castle, of which we had now leisure to recount the grandeur and
the elegance; for our way afforded us few topics of conversation. The
ground was neither uncultivated nor unfruitful; but it was still all
arable. Of flocks or herds there was no appearance. I had now travelled
two hundred miles in Scotland, and seen only one tree not younger than
myself.