“And what do you think of the Kyles of Bute?” I again queried.
“The Kyles of Bute; you asked me that before. I never saw them.”
“But you say you sailed to Ardrishaig in the Iona?”
“Yes.”
“Then you must have seen the Kyles—you could not possibly have gone to Ardrishaig without seeing them.”
He seemed astonished, but after a moment’s thought a bright idea struck him, and he exclaimed—
“Ah! yes, I remember now, I saw a red board with gilt letters ‘Kyles of Bute’ on it; but I didn’t go ashore—I never saw them.”
Fortunately all men are not so unobservant; and so we find tourists from Great Britain and Ireland; from Canada and the United States; from South Africa and the Antipodes, journeying to enjoy not alone the beauties of the Kyles of Bute, but also the grand and beautiful scenery of the Western Highlands, now so easy of access by the splendid steamers of the MacBrayne fleet.
In 1862 was built the first of the trio of handsome screw steamers which sail regularly round the Mull of Cantyre to Stornoway and the far North. She is named the Clydesdale. A larger steamer, the Clansman (second of the name), was built in 1870, and one still larger, the Claymore, in 1881.
Mr. David Hutcheson retired in 1876, leaving his partner, Mr. David MacBrayne, sole control of the business, which has since grown steadily, necessitating from time to time the addition of new steamers.