As we approached Staffa, on the north side, we could see scarcely anything of the pillars. It appeared a mass of Basalt, of very irregular shape, rising abruptly out of the sea, scantily covered with grass on the upper surface.
It is the south side of the island that is chiefly remarkable, of which I will show you a picture that I made on the spot.
It has (as you may see) exactly the appearance of a great layer of earth swelling out at the edges, resting on a vast number of pillars stuck close together. The colour of the pillars is nearly black, and that of the stratum above, lightish green, yellow, and brown, from the grass and variously coloured lichens that grow upon it. The sea is very deep, quite close to the cliffs.
The day I was there, was as fine as possible; not a cloud was to be seen, and the great ocean was as calm as a mill-pond, which is not very common in these parts, for there is mostly a considerable swell.
The celebrated cave of Fingal, as it is called, (but why, nobody knows,) is close to one extremity of the south side.
FINGAL'S CAVE