FOYERS, FALL OF, a celebrated and most beautiful ca taract in the Highlands of Scotland. It is is situated in the county of Inverness, and district of Stratherrick, 19 miles south-west of Inverness, and close by the military road from thence to Fort Augustus. It is on the river Feaghlin, a mountain stream of considerable magnitude, which, after a rapid course of about seven miles in a nor therly direction, through the rugged track of Stratherrick, precipitates itself into Loch Ness, on the south-eastern side, about half way betwixt the eastern and western ex tremities of that noble lake, at the romantic seat of Mr Fraser of Foyers.
This cataract is about a mile from the brink of the lake, the banks of which rise so suddenly, that the perpendicu lar height from its surface to the fall is not less than 300 feet. The river at the commencement of the fall becomes narrowed, by the closing of the rocks on each bank, to lit tle more than seven or eight feet. It thence shoots forth in tremendous impetuosity over a precipice of smooth, black granitic rock, forming an uninterrupted, and almost perpendicular water fall of 165 feet from its commence ment to the surface of the pool below. The chasm, or gully, into which it descends, is of a circular form, about 50 or 60 feet diameter at the bottom ; its sides are wooded and rugged, and formed in many parts of rock quite per pendicular, or nearly so, and of great extent, towering on each side of the river to the height of 350 feet above the surface of the pool, that is, 100 feet above the commence ment of the cataract.
The station where the best view is to be had of this su perb fall, is a projection of rock, which, on the east side of the river, extends across it so far as to bring the spectator directly opposite the face of the cataract. But this pro jecting rock is still 80 feet perpendicular above the bottom of the fall ; nor is it practicable to have a view of it from a lower station. The upper surface of this rock is covered with grassy turf, which, from its being incessantly bedew ed with spray, is ever fresh and vegetating, and has front thence obtained the name of the Green Point.
When the river is swollen after rain, on the melting of the snows on the southern mountains, the quantity of spray raised is so great, that the above-mentioned station cannot be occupied with safety ; such floods of water being thrown upon it, as will in a moment thoroughly drench, or perhaps sweep away the adventurous spectator. On such grand occasions, incessant torrents are seen to flow down all sides of the immense circular basin into which the water falls ; a strong current of air is forced up from the bottom, and seems to agitate the water, as it pours from the rocks or the bushes on their surface, and to raise a cloud of spray into the atmosphere, distinctly visible at the distance of l0 or 15 miles, and not less in height than 600 or 700 feet.
The writer of this article has frequently, on such occa sions, seen a most beautiful rainbow formed by it, occupy ing a complete segment of the heavens, as in an ordinary shower of rain. The inverted rainbow is also very beau tifully seen at the bottom ; but this fine phenomenon is ob servable only when there is less water in the river.
The water of this river is very strongly impregnated with moss or peat earth, so that its colour, when descend ing the cataract, is pretty nearly that of porter drawn from a cask ; but no sooner does it strike the surface of the pool, than it flashes of the most brilliant whiteness, as if it were bursting forth into a flame, or like bluish smoke issuing from a kindling mass of wettish straw.
It has been suggested by some, and perhaps not without probability, that this conspicuous fall has given name to Loch Ness: for in the Gaelic, or Erse language, ess signi lies a water-fall, and Loch•an-ess is the Loch of the full. This is to us more probable than that ness should come from the Danish or Saxon word nese, signifying nose or promontory, which has undoubtedly given name to many places on the sea coast of this island. For what propriety would there be in applying this word to Loch Ness ? It is not a nose or projecting promontory, like Caithness, Bu channess, Fifeness, and many others.
It is worth any person's while who inspects this cascade and its scenery, to descend to the bottom of the large gully, about 100 yards farther down the river than the fall. He will there see masses of rock tumbled on one another of a size which, by viewing them from above, he had probably little conception of, and behold nature in an aspect of wild and indescribable magnificence, beyond what even poets usually represent.
About half a mile farther up this river, is another very fine waterfall, 37 feet high, nearly perpendicular, and also uninterrupted. A bridge is thrown across the river, im mediately below this fall, and the height from its ledge to the water is 60 feet. These measurements, as well as those given of the great fall below, were taken by the writer of this article, with all possible accuracy, by a line. He had the opportunity of attending particularly, for seve ral years, to the sublime phenomena of the Fall of Foyers.