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 EX .. < . 
 
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 MI IMJ i^J
 
 g l 5 f= 
 
 5 * wl
 
 LETTERS 
 
 FROM 
 
 A Gentleman in the North of Scotland 
 T o 
 
 His FRIEND in London ; 
 
 CON TAI N I NG 
 
 The Description of a Capital Town in that 
 Northern Country ; 
 
 WITH 
 
 An Account of many uncommon Cuftoms 
 of the Inhabitants: 
 
 L IK EWIS E 
 
 An Account of the HIGHLANDS, with the 
 Cuftoms and Manners of the HIGHLANDERS. 
 
 To which is added, 
 
 A LETTER relating to the MILITARY WAYS 
 among the Mountains, began in the Year 1726. 
 
 The whole interfperfed with Faffs and Circumjlances 
 
 intirely New to the Generality of People in England, 
 
 and little known in the Southern Parts of Scotland. 
 
 IN Two VOLUMES. 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for I. P O T TINGER, in Pater-Nofter-Row, 
 M DCC LIX.
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 HAVE hitherto been 
 fpeaking only of the 
 Partof&tf/&W 5 where 
 I am, viz. the Eaftern 
 Side of this Iflandj 
 bordering upon the 
 northern Mountains, which Part I take 
 to be a Kind of Medium between the 
 Lowlands and Highlands ; both by its Si- 
 tuation, and as it partakes of the Language 
 and Cuftoms of both thofe Extremes. 
 
 IN England the Name of Scotfman 
 is ufed difcriminately, to ngnify any 
 one of the Male - Part of the Na- 
 tives of North Britain ; but the High- 
 landers differ from the People of the 
 VOL. II. B Low 

 
 2 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 * 
 
 Low Country in almoft every Circum- 
 ftance of Life. Their Language, Cuf- 
 toms, Manners, Drefs, &c. are unlike, 
 and neither of them would be contented 
 to be taken for the other ; inibmuch, 
 that in fpeaking of an unknown Perfon 
 of this Country (I mean Scot/and) as a 
 Scotfman only, it is as indefinite as bare- 
 ly to call a Frenchman an European, fo 
 little would his native Character be 
 known by it. 
 
 I OWN it may be faid, there is a Dif- 
 ference in the other Part of this Ifland, 
 between the Englifo and the Wel(h ; but 
 I think it is hardly in any Degree to be 
 compar'd with the abovementioned Di- 
 flinction. 
 
 You will conclude, I am fpeaking 
 only of fuch among the People of Scot- 
 land, who have not had the Advantages 
 of Fortune and Education ; for Letters 
 and Converfe with polite Strangers will 
 render all Mankind equal, fo far as their 
 Genius and Application will admit ; fome 
 
 few
 
 L E T T E R XV. 3 
 
 few Prejudices, of no very great Confe- 
 quence, excepted. 
 
 A CROWD of other Remarks and Ob- 
 fervations were juft now prefiing for Ad- 
 mittance, but I have rejected 'em all, as 
 fit only to anticipate fome of the Con- 
 tents of the Sheets that are to follow ; 
 and therefore I am now at Liberty to 
 begin my Account of the moft northern 
 Part of Great Britain, fo far as ifc'has 
 fallen within my Knowledge. 
 
 THE Highlands take up more than 
 one half of Scotland: They extend 
 from Dimbarton, near the Mouth of the 
 River Clyde ^ to the northernmost Part of 
 the Ifland, which is above two hundred 
 Miles, and their Breadth is from fifty 
 to above an Hundred. But how to de- 
 fcribe 'em to you, fo as to give you any 
 tolerable idea of fuch a rugged Coun- 
 try; to you, I fay, who have never 
 been out of the South of England^ is, I 
 fear, a Tafk altogether impracticable. 
 
 ** 
 
 B 2 IF
 
 4 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 IF it had been pomble for me to pro- 
 cure a Landfkip (I mould fay Heath - 
 jfkip, or Rock-fkip) of any one tremen- 
 dous View among the Mountains, it 
 would be fatisfactory and informing at 
 one fingle Caft of the Eye : But Lan- 
 guage, you know, can only communi- 
 cate Ideas, as it were, by Retail ; and 
 a Defc< iption of one Part of an Object, 
 which is compos'd of many, defaces or 
 weakens another that went before : 
 Whereas Painting not only mews the 
 whole intire at one View, but leaves the 
 feveral Parts to be examin'd feparately, 
 and at Leifure, by the Eye. 
 
 FROM Words we can only receive a 
 Notion of fuch unknown Objects, as 
 bear fome Refemblance with others we 
 have feen ; but Painting can even create 
 Ideas of Bodies, utterly unlike to any 
 Thing that ever appear'd to our Sight. 
 
 THUS am I entering upon my moft 
 difficult Tafk ; for the Cufloms and 
 
 Manners
 
 L E T T E R XV. 5 
 
 Manners of the Highlanders will give 
 me little Trouble more than the Tran- 
 fcribing. But, as I believe I am the 
 firft who ever attempted a minute De- 
 fcription of any fuch Mountains, I can- 
 not but greatly doubt of my Succefs 
 herein ; and nothing but your Friend- 
 fliip and your Requeft (which to me is 
 a Command) could have cngag'd me to 
 hazard my Credit even with you (in- 
 dulgent as you are) by an Undertaking, 
 wherein the Odds are fo much againft 
 
 me. 
 
 BUT to begin The Highlands arc, 
 
 for the greateft Part, compos'd of Hills 
 as it were piled one upon another, till 
 the Complication rifes and fwclls to 
 Mountains ; of which the Heads are 
 frequently above the Clouds, and near 
 the Summit, have vaft Hollows fill'd up 
 with Snow, which, on the North Side, 
 continues all the Year long. 
 
 FROM the Weft Coaft they rife as it 
 
 were, in Progreffion upwards, toward 
 
 B 3 the
 
 6 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 the midland Country, Eaftward (for on 
 the Eaft Side of the Ifland they are not 
 generally quite fo high) and their Rid- 
 ges, for the moft Part, run Weft and 
 Eaft, or near thofe Points, as do like- 
 wife all the yet difcover'd Beds or Seams 
 Minerals they contain ; with which, 
 T have good Reafon to believe they arc 
 well furnifh'd. 
 
 THIS Pofition of the Mountains has 
 created Arguments for the Truth of a 
 univerfal Deluge, as if the Waters had 
 formed thofe vaft Inequalities, by rufhing 
 violently from Eaft to Weft. 
 
 THE Summits of the Higheft are 
 moftly deftitute of Earth, and the huge 
 naked Rocks, being juft above the Heath, 
 produce the difagreeable Appearance of 
 a fcabbed Plead, efpecially when they 
 appear to the View in a conical Figure j 
 for as you proceed round 'em in Valleys, 
 on lefler Hills, or the Sides of other 
 Mountains, their Form varies accordino- to 
 
 o 
 
 the Situation of the Eye that beholds 'em. 
 
 THEY
 
 L E T T E R XV. 7 
 
 THEY are cloath'd with Heath, in- 
 terfpers'd with Rocks, and it is very rare 
 to fee any Spot of Grafs ; for thofe (few 
 as they are) lie conceal'd, from an out- 
 ward View, in Flats and Hollows among 
 the Hills. There are indeed fome Moun- 
 tains that have Woods of Fir, or fmall 
 Oaks on their Declivity, where the Root 
 of one Tree is almoft upon a Line, 
 with the Top of another : Thefe are 
 rarely feen in a Journey ; what there 
 may be behind, out of all common 
 Ways, I do not know, but none of 
 them will pay for felling and removing 
 over Rocks, Bogs, Precipices and Con- 
 veyance by rocky Rivers, except fuch as 
 are near the Sea-Coaft, and hardly thofe ; 
 as I believe the York+Buildings Company 
 will find in the Conclufion. 
 
 I HAVE already mention'd the Spaces of 
 Snow, near the Tops of the Mountains : 
 They are great Hollows, appearing be- 
 low as fmall Spots of white (I. will fup- 
 pofe of the Dimenfions of a pretty 'large 
 B 4 Table)
 
 8 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 Table) but they are fo diminim'd to the 
 Eye by their vaft Height and Diftance, 
 from, perhaps, a Mile, or more in Length, 
 and Breadth proportionable. This I 
 know by Experience, having rid over 
 fuch a Patch of Show in the Month of 
 'June : The Surface was fmooth, not 
 flippery, and fo hard, my Horfe's Feet 
 made little or no Impreffion on it j and 
 in one Place I rid over a Bridge of Snow, 
 hollow'd into a Kind of Arch. I then 
 made no doubt this PafTage for the Wa- 
 ter, at Bottom of the deep Burne, was 
 open'd by the Warmth of Springs ; of 
 which, I fuppofe, in dry Weather, the 
 Current was wholly compos'd. 
 
 FROM the Tops of the Mountains 
 there defcend deep, wide and winding 
 Hollows, plough'd into the Sides, by 
 the Weight and violent Rapidity of the 
 Waters ; which often loofen and bring 
 down Stones of an incredible Bignefs. 
 
 OF one of thefe Hollows, only Part 
 appears to Sight, in different Places of 
 
 the
 
 L E T T E R XV. 9 
 
 the Defccnt ; the reft is loft to View, in 
 Meanders among the Hills. 
 
 WHEN the upper moft Waters begin 
 to appear with white Streaks in thefe 
 Cavities, the Inhabitants who are within 
 View of the Height, fay, The Grey 
 Mare's Tail begins to grow, and it fcrves 
 to them as a Monitor of enfuing Peril, 
 if at that Time they venture far from 
 Home ; becaufe they might be in Dan- 
 ger, by Waters, to have all Communi- 
 cation cut off between them and Shelter 
 or Suftenance. And they are very fkil- 
 ful to judge, in what Courfe of Time 
 the Rivers and Burnes will become im- 
 pafTable. 
 
 THE darning and foaming of thefe 
 Cataracts among the Rocks make 'em 
 look exceeding white, by Comparifon 
 with the bordering Heath ; but when 
 the Mountains are cover'd with Snow, 
 and that is melting, then thofe Streams 
 of Water, compar'd with the White- 
 nefs near 'em, look of a dirty yellowifh 
 
 Colour,
 
 io L E T T E R XV. 
 
 Colour, from the Soil and Sulphur mix'd 
 with them as they defcend. But every 
 Thing, you know, is this, or that by 
 Companion. 
 
 I SHALL foon conclude this Defcrip- 
 tion of the outward Appearance of the 
 Mountains, which I am already tired of, 
 as a difagreeable Subject, and I believe 
 you are fo too ; but for your future Eafe 
 in that Particular, there is not much 
 more Variety in it, but gloomy Spaces, 
 different Rocks, Heath, and high, and 
 low. 
 
 To caft one's Eye from an Eminence 
 toward a Group of them, they appear 
 flill one above another, fainter and faint- 
 er, according to the airial Perfpective, 
 and the whole of a difmal gloomy 
 Brown, drawing upon a dirty Purple ; 
 and moft of all difagreeable, when the 
 Heath is in Bloom. 
 
 THOSE Ridges of the Mountains that 
 appear next to the ^Ether, by their rug-
 
 L E T T E R XV. 1 1 
 
 ged irregular Lines, the Heath and black 
 Rocks, are render'd extremely harm to 
 the Eye, by appearing clofe to that dia- 
 phanous Body? without any Medium to 
 loften the Oppofition, and the clearer 
 the Day, the more rude and offenfive 
 they are to the Sight ; yet in fome few 
 Places, where any white Craggs are 
 a-top, that Harfhnefs is fomething fof- 
 tened. 
 
 BUT of all the Views, I think the 
 moft horrid is, to look at the Hills from 
 Eaft to Well, or vice verfa j for then 
 the Eye penetrates far among 'em, and 
 fees, more particularly, their ftupen- 
 dous Bulk, frightful Irregularity, and 
 horrid Gloom, made yet morefombrous 
 by the Shades and faint Reflections they 
 communicate one to another. 
 
 As a Specimen of the Height of thofe 
 Mountains, I fhall here take notice of one 
 in Lccbabcr, call'd Betirvis ; which from 
 the Level below, to that Part of the 
 Summit only, which appears to View, 
 
 has
 
 12 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 has been feveral Times meafured by dif- 
 ferent Artifts, and found to be three 
 Quarters of a Mile of perpendicular 
 Height. 
 
 IT is reckon'd feven Scots Miles to 
 that Part, where it begins to be inac- 
 ceilible. 
 
 SOME Engli/h Officers took it in the 
 Fancy to go to the Top, but could not at- 
 tain it for Bogs and huge perpendicular 
 Rocks ; and when they were got as 
 high as they could go, they found a 
 vaft Change in the Quality of the Air, 
 faw nothing but the Tops of other 
 Mountains, and altogether a ProfpedT: of 
 one tremendous Heath, with here and 
 there fome Spots of Craggs and Snow. 
 
 THIS wild Expedition, in afcending 
 round and round the Hills ; in finding 
 acceffible Places, helping one another 
 up the Rocks, in Difappointments, and 
 their returning to the Foot of the Moun- 
 tain, took 'em up a whole Summer's 
 
 'Day,
 
 L E T T E R XV. 13 
 
 Day, from five in the Morning. This 
 is according to their own Relation. But 
 they were fortunate in an Article of the 
 greateft Importance to them, /. e. That 
 the Mountain happen'd to be free from 
 Clouds while they were in it, which is 
 a Thing not very common in that dab- 
 bled Part of the Ifland, the Weftern 
 Hills i I fay, if thofe condens'd Vapours 
 had pafs'd, while they were at any con- 
 fiderable Height, and had continued, 
 there would have been no Means left 
 for them to find their Way down, and 
 they muft have perim'd with Cold, Wet* 
 and Hunger. 
 
 IN patting to the Heart of the High- 
 lands, we proceed from bad to worfe, 
 which makes the ivorft of all the lefs fur- 
 prizing i but I have often heard it faid, 
 by my Countrymen, that they verily be- 
 liev'd, if an Inhabitant of the South of 
 England were to be brought blindfold 
 into fome narrow rocky Hollow, enclos'd 
 with thefe 'horrid Profpecls, and there 
 to have his Bandage taken off, he would 
 
 be
 
 14 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 be ready to die with Fear, as thinking 
 it impoffible he fhould ever get out to 
 return to his native Country. 
 
 Now what do you think of a poeti- 
 cal Mountain, fmooth and eafy of Afcent, 
 cloath'd with a verdant flowery Turf, 
 where Shepherds tend their Flocks ; fit- 
 ting under the Shade of tall Poplars, 
 
 IN Ihort, what do you think of Rich- 
 mond Hill, where we have pafs'd fo 
 many Hours together, delighted with 
 
 |he beautiful Profpect. 
 
 > 
 
 BUT after this Defcription of thefe 
 Mountains, it is not unlikely you may 
 afk, of what Ufe can be fuch monftrous 
 Excrefcencies ? 
 
 To this I mould anfwer - They 
 contain Minerals, as I faid before j and 
 ferve for the breeding and feeding of 
 Cattle, wild Fowls and other ufeful 
 Animals, which coil little or nothing in 
 keeping. 
 
 THEY
 
 L E T T E R XV. 15 
 
 THEY break the Clouds, and not only 
 replenish the Rivers, but collect great 
 
 Quantities of Water into Lakes and 
 
 ^ - 4* 
 
 other vaft Refervoirs, where they are 
 hufbanded, as I may fay, for the Ufe 
 of Mankind in Time of Drought ; and 
 thence, by their Gravity, perforate the 
 Crannies of Rocks, and .loofer Strata, 
 and work their Way either perpendicu- 
 larly, horizontally, or obliquely ; the 
 two latter, when they meet with folid 
 Rock, Clay, or fome other refifting Stra- 
 tum, till they find proper PafTages down- 
 ward, and, in the End, form the Springs 
 below. And certainly, it is the Defor- 
 mity of the Hills that makes the Na- 
 tives conceive of their naked Straths and 
 Glens, as of the moft beautiful Objects 
 in Nature. 
 
 BUT, as I fuppofe you are unacquaint- 
 ed with thefe Words, I {hall, here, take 
 Occafion to explain them to you.
 
 16 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 A Strath is a flat Space of arable Land, 
 lying along the Side or Sides of fome 
 capital River, between the Water and 
 the Feet of the Hills ; and keeps its 
 Name 'till the River comes to be con- 
 fm'd to a narrow Space, by ftony Moors, 
 Rocks, or Windings among the Moun- 
 tains. . 
 
 THE Glen is a little Spot of Corn 
 Country } by the Sides of fome fmall Ri- 
 ver or Rivulet, like wife bounded by 
 Hills ; this is in general ; but there are 
 fome Spaces that are called Glens, from 
 their being Flats in deep Hollows, be- 
 tween the high Mountains, altho' they 
 are perfectly barren, as Glen-dou, or the 
 black Glen, Glen-Almond, &c. 
 
 BY the Way, this Glen- Almond is a 
 Hollow fo very narrow, and the Moun- 
 tains, on each Side, fo fteep and high, 
 that the Sun is feen therein no more 
 than between two and three Hours in 
 the longed Day. 
 
 Now
 
 LETTER XVI. 17 
 
 Now let us go among the Hills, and 
 fee if we can find fomething more agree- 
 able than their outward Appearance. 
 And to that End I fhall give you the 
 Journal of two Days Progreis ; which, 
 I believe, will better anfwer the Purpofe 
 than a disjointed Account of the Incon- 
 venience, Hazards, and Hardmips, that 
 attend a Traveller in the Heart of the 
 Highlands. But before I begin the par- 
 ticular Account of my Progrefs, I mall 
 venture at a general Defcription of one 
 of the Mountain Spaces between Glen 
 and Glen : And when that is done, you 
 may make the Comparifon with one of 
 our fouthern Rambles ; in which, with- 
 out any previous Route, we us'd to wan- 
 der from Place to Place, juft fo as the 
 Beauty of the Country invited. 
 
 How have we been pleas'd with the 
 eafy Afcent of an Eminence, which al- 
 moft imperceptibly brought us to the 
 beautiful Profpecls feen from its Sum-. 
 mit? What a delightful Variety of Fields, 
 VOL. II. C and
 
 i8 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 and Meadows of various Teints of 
 adorn'd with Trees and blooming Hed- 
 ges j and the whole imbellifh'd with 
 Woods, Groves, Waters, Flocks, Herds 
 and magnificent Seats of the Happy (at 
 leaft feemingly fo) and every other ri- 
 fing Ground, opening a new and lovely 
 Landikip. 
 
 BUT in one of thcfe Monts (as the 
 Highlanders call 'em) loon after your 
 Entrance upon the firft Hill you lofe, for 
 good and all, the Sight of the Plain from 
 whence you parted j and nothing fol- 
 lows but the View of Rocks and Heath, 
 both beneath and on every Side, with 
 hi^h and barren Mountains round 
 
 o 
 
 about. 
 
 THUS you creep flowly on, between 
 the Hills in rocky Ways, fomctimes 
 over thofe Eminencies, and often on 
 their Declivity, continually hoping the 
 next Ridge before you will be the Sum- 
 mit of the higheft, and fo often deceiv'd 
 in that Hope, as almofl to defpair of ever 
 
 reaching
 
 L E T T E R XV. 19 
 
 reaching the Top : And thus you are 
 ftill rifing by long Afcents, and again de- 
 fcending by (horter, 'till you arrive at 
 the higheft Ground, from whence you 
 go down in much the fame Manner, 
 rcvers'd, and never have the Glen in 
 View, that you wifh to fee, as the End 
 of your prefent Trouble, 'till you are 
 juft upon it. And when you are there, 
 the Inconveniencies (tho' not the Ha- 
 zards) are almoft as great as in the tedi- 
 dious Paflage to it. 
 
 As an Introduction to my Journal, I 
 muft acquaint you, that I was advis'd to 
 take with me fome cold Provifions, and 
 Oats for my Horfcs ; there being no 
 Place of Refreshment, 'till the End of 
 my firft Day's Journey. 
 
 The ad of Ofiober, 172 
 
 SET out with one Servant, and a 
 Guide : The latter, becaufe no Stranger 
 (or even a Native, unacquainted with the 
 Way) can venture among the Hills, 
 without a Conducter ; for if he once 
 C 2 goes
 
 10 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 goes afide, and moft efpecially, if SnoW 
 mould fall (which may happen on the 
 very high Hills, at any Seafon of the 
 Year.) In that, or any other Cafe, he 
 may wander into a Bog, to impaffable 
 Burnes or Rocks, and every ne plus ultra 
 oblige him to change his Courfe, 'till he 
 wanders from all Hopes of ever again 
 feeing the Face of a human Creature. 
 
 OR if he mould accidentally hit up- 
 on the Way from whence he ftray'd, 
 he would not diftinguim it from ano- 
 ther j there is fuch a feeming Samenefs 
 in all the rocky Places. 
 
 OR again, If he mould happen to 
 meet with fome Highlander, and one 
 that was not unwilling to give him Di- 
 rections, he could not declare his Wants, 
 as being a Stranger to the Language of 
 the Country : In mort, one might as 
 well think of making a Sea Voyage 
 without Sun, Moon, Stars, or Compafs, 
 as pretend to know which Way to take, 
 
 when
 
 L E T T E R XV. 21 
 
 when loft among the Hills and Moun- 
 tains. 
 
 BUT to return to my Journal, from 
 which I have ftray'd, tho* not with 
 much Danger ; it being at firft fetting 
 out, and my Guide with me. 
 
 AFTER riding about four Miles of 
 pretty good Road, over heathy Moors, 
 hilly, but none high or of fteep Afcent, 
 I came to a fmall River, where there 
 was a Ferry ; for the Water was too 
 deep and rapid to pafs the Ford above. 
 The Boat was patch'd almoft every 
 where with rough Pieces of Boards, 
 and the Oars were kept in their Places, 
 by fmall Bands of twifted Sticks. 
 
 I COULD not but enquire its Age, fee- 
 ing it had fo many Marks of Antiquity ; 
 and was told by the Ferry-man, it had 
 belong'd to his Father, and was above 
 fixty Years old. This put me in mind 
 of the Knife, which w r as of an extra- 
 ordinary Age, but had, at Times, been 
 C 3 repair'd
 
 22 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 repair'd with many new Blades and Han- 
 dles. But in moft Places of the High- 
 lands, where there is a Boat (which is 
 very rare) it is much worfe than this, 
 and not large enough to receive a Horfe ; 
 and therefore he is fwom at the Stern, 
 while fomebody holds up his Head, by 
 a Halter or Bridle. 
 
 THE Horfes fwim very well at firft 
 fctting out, but if the Water be wide, 
 in Time they generally turn themfelves 
 on one of their Sides ; and patiently fuf- 
 fcr themfelves to be dragg'd along. 
 
 I REMEMBER, one of thefe Boats was 
 fo very much out of Repair, we were 
 forced to (land upon Clods of Turf, to 
 flop the Leaks in her Bottom, while we 
 pafs'd acrofs the River. 
 
 I SHALL here conclude, in the Stile of 
 the News- Writers This to be con- 
 tinued in my next. 
 
 LETTER 

 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 ROM the River's Side 
 I afcended a fteep Hill, 
 fo full of large Stones, 
 it was irapoflible to 
 make a Trot : This 
 continued up and 
 
 down, about a Mile and Half. 
 
 AT Foot of the Hill, tolerable Way 
 for a Mile, there being no great Quan- 
 tity of Stones among the Heath, but 
 very uneven j and at the End of it a 
 fmall Burne defcending from between 
 two Hills, worn deep among the Rocks, 
 rough, rapid, and fteep, and dangerous 
 C 4 to
 
 24 LETTER XVI. 
 
 to pafs. I concluded fome Rain had 
 fallen behind the Hills, that were near 
 me ; which I could not fee, becaufe it 
 had a much greater Fall of Water, than 
 any of the like Kind I had pafs'd be- 
 fore. . 
 
 FROM hence a Hill five Miles over, 
 chiefly compos'd of leffer Hills ; fo 
 ftony, it was impoffible to crawl above 
 a Mile in an Hour : But I muft except 
 a fmall Fart of it from this general De- 
 fcription j for there ran acrofs this Way 
 (or Road, as they call it) the End of a 
 Wood of Fir-Trees, the only one I had 
 ever pafs'd. 
 
 THIS, for the moft Part, was an eafy 
 rifing Sloap of about half a Mile. In 
 moft Places of the Surface, it was Bog 
 about two Feet deep, and beneath was 
 uneven Rock ; in other Parts the Rock 
 and Roots of the Trees appear'd to View. 
 
 THE Roots fometimes crofs'd one ano- 
 ther, as they ran along a good Way up- 
 on
 
 LETTER XVI. 25 
 
 em the Face of the Rock ; and often 
 above the boggy Part, by both which 
 my Horfe's Legs were fo much entan- 
 gled, that I thought it imporTible to keep 
 them upon their Feet. But you would 
 not have been difpleas'd to obferve how 
 the Roots had run along, and felt, as it 
 were, for the Crannies of the Rock ; 
 and there {hot into 'em, as a Hold 
 aeainft the PrefTure of Winds above. 
 
 o 
 
 AT the End of this Hill was a River, 
 or rather Rivulet, and near the Edge of 
 it, a fmall grafTy Spot j fuch as I had 
 not feen in all my Way, but the Place 
 not inhabited. Here I ftopp'd to bait. 
 My own Provifions were laid upon the 
 Foot of a Rock, and the Oats upon a 
 Kind of mofTy Grafs, as the cleanefl 
 Place for the Horfes feeding. 
 
 WHILE I was taking fome Refrem- 
 ment, Chance provided me with a more 
 agreeable Repafl ; the Pleafure^ of the 
 Mind. I happen'd to efpy a poor High- 
 lander at a great Height, upon the De- 
 clivity
 
 26 LETTER XVI. 
 
 clivity of a high Hill ; and ordcr'd my 
 Guide to call him down. The Traucho 
 (or come hither) feem'd agreeable to 
 him, and he came down with wonder- 
 ful Celerity, confidering the Rough riefs 
 of the Hill y and afking what was my 
 Will in his Language, he was given to. 
 underftand I wanted him only to. eat and 
 drink. This unexpected Anfwer raifed 
 fuch Joy in the poor Creature, as he 
 could not help (hewing it by flapping 
 about, and expreffing Sounds of Satisfac- 
 tion. And when I was retired a little Way 
 down the River, to give the Men an Op- 
 portunity of enjoying themfelves with lefs 
 Reftraint, there was fuch Mirth among 
 the Three, as I thought a fufficient Re-. 
 compcnfe for my former Fatigue. 
 
 BUT perhaps you may queftion h 
 there could be fuch JVierriment, v 
 nothing but Water ? 
 
 I CARRIED with me a Quart Bottle of 
 Brandy, for my Man and the Guide ; 
 and for myfelf, I had always in my 
 
 Journeys.
 
 LETTER XVI. 27 
 
 Journeys a Pocket-Piftol, loaded with 
 Brandy, mix'd with Juice of Lemons 
 (when they were to be had) which 
 again mingled with Water, in a wooden 
 Cup, was upon fuch Occafions my Ta- 
 ble-Drink. 
 
 WHEN we had trufs'd up our Baggage, 
 I enter'd the Ford, and pafs'd it, not 
 without Danger, the Bottom being fill'd 
 with large Stones, the Current rapid, a 
 fteep rocky Defccnt to the Water, and 
 a Rifing on the farther Side, much 
 worfe j for having mounted a little Way 
 up the Declivity, in turning the Cor- 
 ner of a Rock, I came to an exceeding 
 fteep Part before I was aware of it, 
 where I thought my Horfe would have 
 gone down backwards, much fafler than 
 he went up ; but I recover'd a fmall 
 F ] *~ the Rock, and difmountcd. 
 
 THERE was nothing remarkable after- 
 wards, 'till I came near the Top of the 
 Hill ; where there was a fecming Plain 
 
 of
 
 -8 LETTER XVI. 
 
 of about a hundred and fifty Yards, be- 
 tween me and the Summit. 
 
 No fooner was I upon the Edge of it. 
 but my Guide defired me to alight ; and 
 then I perceived it was a Bog, or Peat- 
 mofs y as they call it. 
 
 I HAD Experience enough of thefe 
 deceitful Surfaces, to order that the 
 Horfes mould be led in feparate Parts ; 
 left, if one broke the Turf, the other 
 treading in his Steps, might fink. 
 
 THE Horfe I ufed to ride, having lit- 
 tle Weight but his own, went on pretty 
 fuccefsfully ; only now and then breaking 
 the Surface a little, but the other that car- 
 ry'd my Portmanteau, and being not quite 
 fo nimble, was much in Danger, 'till near 
 the further End, and there he funk. 
 But it luckily happen'd to be in a Part, 
 where his long Legs went to the Bot- 
 tom, which is generally hard Gravel, 
 or Rock 5 but he was in, almoft up to 
 the Back. 
 
 BY
 
 LETTER XVI. 29 
 
 BY this Time my own (for Diftinc- 
 tion) was quite free of the Bog, and be- 
 ing frighted, flood very tamely by him- 
 felf ; which he would not have done at 
 another Time. In the mean while we 
 were forced to wait at a Diftance, 
 while the other was flouncing wld throw- 
 ing the Dirt about him ; for there was 
 no Means of coming near him to eafe 
 him of the heavy Burthen he had upon 
 his Loins, by which he was fometimes 
 in danger to be turned upfen his Back, 
 when he rofe to break the Bog before 
 him. But in about a Quarter of an 
 Hour he got out, bedaub'd with the 
 Slough, making witlj Fear, and his 
 Head and Neck all over in a Foam. 
 
 THIS Bog was ftiff enough at that 
 Time, to bear the Country Garrons in 
 any Part of it. But it is obfcrv'd of the 
 Englifo Horfes, that when they find 
 themfelves hamper'd, they ftand ftill, 
 and tremble 'till they fink, and then they 
 ftruggle violently, and work themfelves 
 
 further
 
 3 o LETTER XVI. 
 
 further in j and if the Beg be deep, 
 as moft of them are, it is next to 
 impoflible to get them out, other- 
 wife than by digging them a PalTage. 
 But the little Highland Hobbies, when 
 they find themfelves bogg'd, will lie 
 frill, 'till they are relieved. And befides 
 being bred in the Mountains, they have 
 learnt to avoid the weaker Parts of the 
 Mire ; and fometimes our own Horfes 
 having put down their Heads, and fmelt 
 to the Bog, will refufe to enter upon 
 it. 
 
 THERE is a certain Lord in one of the 
 moft northern Parts, who makes Ufe of 
 the little Garrons Tor the Bogs and rough 
 Ways j but has a iizable Horfe led with 
 him, to carry him through the deep and 
 rapid Fords. 
 
 As for myfelf, I was harrafs'd on this 
 Slough, by winding about from Place 
 to Place, to find firch Tufts as were 
 within my Stride or Leap, in my heavy 
 Boots with high Heels j which, by my 
 
 Spring,
 
 LETTER XVI. 31 
 
 Spring, when the little Hillocks were too 
 far afunder, broke the Turf, and then 
 I threw myfelf down toward the next 
 Protuberance : But to my Guide it 
 feem'd nothing ; he was light of Body, 
 mod with flat Broguss, wide in the 
 Soles, and accuftom'd to a particular 
 Step, fuited to the Occaiion. 
 
 THIS Hill was about three Quarters 
 of a Mile over, and had but a fhort 
 Defcent on the farther Side. Rough 
 indeed, but not remarkable in this 
 Country. 
 
 I HAD now five computed Miles to 
 go, before I came to my firft Afylum ; 
 that is, five Scots Miles, which, as in the 
 North of England, are longer than yours, 
 as three is to two. And if the Difficulty 
 of the .Way were to be taken into the 
 Account, it might well be caH'd Fifteen. 
 
 THIS (except about three Quarters of 
 a Mile of heathy Ground, pretty free 
 from Stones and Rocks) confined of 
 
 ftony
 
 $2 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 ftony Moors, almoft impracticable for 
 a Horfe with his Rider ; and like wife of 
 rocky Way, where we were oblig'd to 
 difmount, and fometimes climb, and 
 otherwhile Hide down. But what vex'd 
 me moil of all, they call'd it a Road : 
 Yet after all, I muft confefs, it was pre- 
 ferable to a boggy Way. The great 
 Difficulty was to wind about with the 
 Horfes, and find fuch Places as they 
 could poffibly be got over. 
 
 WHEN we came near the Foot of the 
 lowermoft Hill, I difcover'd a pretty 
 large Glen, which before was not to be 
 feen. I believe it might be about a Quar- 
 ter of a Mile wide, enclos'd by exceed- > 
 ing high Mountains, with nine dwelling 
 Huts ; befides a few others of a lefTer 
 Size, for Barns and Stables. This they 
 call a Town, with a pompous Name be- 
 longing to it j but the Comfort of being 
 near the End of my Day's Journey 
 (heartily tired) was mix'd with the Al- 
 lay of a pretty wide River, that ran be- 
 tween me and my Lodging. 
 
 HAVING
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 33 
 
 HAVING pafs'd the Hill, I enter'd the 
 River ; my Horfe being almoft at once 
 up to his Midfides. The Guide led him 
 by the Bridle, as he was fometimes 
 climbing over the loofe Stones, which 
 lay in all Pofitions ; and many of 
 them two or three Feet diameter. At 
 other Times, with his Nofe in the Wa- 
 ter, and mounted up behind. Than he 
 proceeded with the utmoft Caution, ne- 
 ver removing one Foot, 'till he found 
 the others firm ; and all the while feem- 
 ing impatient of the Preffure of the 
 Torrent, as if he was fenfible, that once 
 lofing his Footing, he mould be driven 
 away, and dafh'd againft the Rocks 
 below. 
 
 IN other rapid Rivers, where I was 
 fomething acquainted with the Fords, 
 by having pafs'd them before, tho' ne- 
 ver fo ftony, I thought the Leader of 
 my Horfe to be an Incumbrance to him ; 
 and 1 have always found (as the Rivers, 
 while they are paflable, are pretty clear) 
 
 VOL. II. D the
 
 34 LETTER XVI. 
 
 the Horfe is the fureft Judge of his own 
 Safety. Perhaps fome would think it 
 ftrange I fpeak in this Manner of a Crea- 
 ture, that we proudly call irrational. 
 
 THERE is a certain Giddinefs attends 
 the violent PafTage of the Water, when 
 one is in it, and therefore I always at 
 entring refolv'd to keep my Eye fteadily 
 fix'd on fome remarkable Stone on the 
 Shore of the farther Side, and my Horfe's 
 Ears as near as I could in a Line 
 with it, leaving him to chufe his Steps ; 
 for the Rider, efpecially if he cafts his 
 Eye down the Torrent, does not know 
 whether he goes directly forward or not, 
 but fancies he is carried (like the Lee- 
 way of a Ship, Sideways) along with 
 the Stream. If he can't forbear look- 
 ing afide, it's beft to turn his Face to- 
 toward the coming Current. 
 
 ANOTHER Precaution is (and you can't 
 ufe too many) to let your Legs hang in 
 the Water, and where the Stones will per- 
 mit,
 
 LETTER XVI. 3$ 
 
 mit, to preferve a firmer Seat ; in cafe 
 of any fudden Slide or Stumble. 
 
 BY what I have been faying, you will 
 perceive I ftill retain the Cuftom of my 
 own Country, in not fending my Ser- 
 vant before me through thefe dangerous 
 Waters, as is the eonftant Practice of all 
 the Natives of Scotland ; nor could I pre- 
 vail with myfelf to do fo, at leaft, unlefs 
 like theirs, mine always went before me 
 in fmooth as well as bad Roads. But in 
 that, there are feveral Inconveniencies, 
 and altho' a Servant may, by fome, be 
 contemn'd for his fervile Circumftance 
 of Life, I could never bear the Thoughts 
 of expofing him to Dangers for my own 
 Safety and Security ; left he fliould de- 
 fpife me with more Juftice, and in a 
 greater Degree, for the Want of a ne- 
 ceflary Refolution and Fortitude. 
 
 I SHALL here mention a whimfical 
 Expedient, againft the Danger of thefe 
 Highland Fords. 
 
 D 2 Ax
 
 36 LETTER XVI. 
 
 AN Officer, who was lately quarter'^ 
 at one of the Barracks, in a very moun- 
 tainous Part of the Country, when he 
 travell'd, carry'd with him a long Rope : 
 This was to be put round his Body, un- 
 jder his Arms, and thofe that attended 
 him were to wade the River, and hold 
 the Rope on the other Side ; that if any 
 Accident mould happen to him by Depth 
 of Water, or the Failure of his Horfe, 
 they might prevent his being carry'd 
 down the Current, and drag him amore. 
 
 THE Inftant I had recovered the far- 
 ther Side of the River, there appeared 
 near the Water fix Highland Men and 
 a Woman : Thefe I fuppofe had coafl- 
 ed the Stream over Rocks, and along 
 the Sides of fteep Hills ; for I had not 
 feen them before. 
 
 SEEING they were preparing to wade, 
 I flay'd to obferve 'em. Firft, the Men 
 and the Woman tuck'd up their Pet- 
 ticoats, then they caft themfelves into a
 
 LETTER XVI. 37 
 
 Rank, with the Female in the Middle ; 
 and laid their Arms over one another's 
 Shoulders ; and I faw they had placed 
 the ftrongeft toward the Stream, as beft 
 able to refill the Force of the Torrent. 
 
 IN their PafTage the large flippcry 
 Stones made fome of them now and then 
 to loofe their Footing ; and on thofe Oc- 
 cafions the whole Rank chang'd Colour 
 and Countenance. 
 
 I BELIEVE no Painter ever remark'd 
 fo ftrong Impreffions of Fear and Hope 
 on a human Face, with fo many and 
 fadden Succeffions of thofe two oppofite 
 Paffions, as I obferv'd among thofe 
 poor People ; but in the Highlands this 
 is no uncommon Thing. 
 
 PERHAPS you will afk How does 
 
 a fingle Highlander fupport himfelf 
 again ft fo great a Force ? He bears him- 
 felf up againft the Stream, with a Stick, 
 which he always carries with him for 
 that Purpofe. 
 
 D 3 As
 
 38 LETTER XVI. 
 
 As I am now at the End of my firft 
 Day's Journey, and ha^e no Mind to re- 
 fume this difagreeable Subject in another 
 Place, I (hall afk Leave to mention one 
 Danger more attending the Highland 
 Fords : And that is, the fudden Gu(hes 
 of Waters that fometimes defcend from 
 behind the adjacent Hills $ infomuch, 
 that when the River has not been above 
 a Foot deep, the Paflenger thinking him- 
 felf fecure, has been overtaken and car- 
 ried away by the Torrent. 
 
 SUCH Accidents have happen'd twice 
 within my Knowledge, in two different 
 fmall Rivers j both within feven Miles 
 of this Town. One to an Excifeman, 
 and the MefTenger who was carrying 
 him from hence to Edinburgh, in order 
 to anfwar fome Accufations relating to 
 his Office. The other to two young Fel- 
 lows of a neighbouring Clan; all drovvn'd 
 in the Manner abovemention'd : And 
 from thefe two Inftances we may rea- 
 fonably conclude, that many Accidents 
 of the fame Nature have happen'd j efpe- 
 
 lallv
 
 LETTER XVI. 39 
 
 cially in more mountainous Parts, and 
 thofe hardly ever known, but in the nar- 
 row Neighbourhoods of the unhappy 
 Sufferers. 
 
 WHEN I came to my Inn, I found 
 the Stable-Door too low to receive my 
 large Horfes, tho' high enough for the 
 Country Garrons, fo the Frame was ta- 
 ken oat, and a frnall Part of the Roof 
 pull'd down for their Admittance j for 
 which Damage I had a Shilling to pay 
 the next Morning : My Fear was, the 
 Hut being weak and final 1, they would 
 pull it about their Ears ; for that Mif- 
 chance had happen'd to a Gentleman, 
 who bore me Company in a former 
 Journey, but his Horfes were not much 
 hurt by the Ruins. 
 
 WHEN Oats were brought, I found 
 them fo light, and fo much fprouted, 
 that, taking up a Handful, others hung 
 to 'em, in Succeffion like a Clufter of 
 Bees ; but of fuch Corn it is the Cuftom 
 to give double Meafure. 
 
 D 4 MY
 
 40 LETTER XVI. 
 
 MY next Care was to provide for my- 
 felf ; and to that End I enter *d the dwel- 
 ling Houfe. There my Landlady fat 
 with a Parcel of Children about her, 
 fome quite, and others almoil naked, 
 by a little Peat Fire, in the Middle of 
 the Hutt j and over the Fire-Place was 
 a fmall Hole in the Roof for a Chim- 
 ney. The Floor was common Earth, 
 very uneven, and no where dry, but 
 near the Fire ; and in the Corners, where 
 no Foot had carry 'd the muddy Dirt 
 from without-Doors. 
 
 THE Skeleton of the Hut was fortn'd 
 of fmall crooked Timber ; but the Beam 
 for the Roof was large, out of all Pro- 
 portion. This is to render the Weight 
 of the whole more fit to refift the vio- 
 lent Flurries of Wind, that frequently 
 ru(h into the Plains, from the Open- 
 ings of the Mountains ; for the whole 
 Fabrick was fet upon the Surface of the 
 Ground, like a Table, Stool, or other 
 Moveable. 
 
 HENCE
 
 LETTER XVI. 41 
 
 HENCE comes the Highlander's Com- 
 pliment, or Health, in drinking to his 
 Friend For, as we fay among fami- 
 liar Acquaintance To your Fire-Side ; 
 he fays much to the fame Purpofe 
 To your Roof ^ree, alluding to the Fa- 
 mily's Safety from Tempefts. 
 
 THE Walls were about four Feet high, 
 lined with Sticks watled like a Hurdle, 
 built on the Out-fide with Turf; and 
 thinner Slices of the fame ferv'd for Ti- 
 ling. This laft they call Divet. 
 
 WHEN the Hut has been built fome 
 Time, it is cover'd with Weeds and 
 Grafs ; and I do allure you I have feen 
 Sheep, that had got up from the Foot 
 of an adjoining Hill, feeding upon the 
 Top of the Houfe. 
 
 IF there happens to be any Continuance 
 of dry Weather, which is pretty rare, the 
 Worms drop out of the Divet, for want 
 of Moifture ; infomuch that I have fhud- 
 dcr'd at the Apprehennon of their falling 
 into the Difh, when I have been eating. 
 
 LETTER
 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 a little Diftance, was 
 another Hut, where 
 Preparations were ma- 
 king for my Recep- 
 tion. It was fome- 
 thing lefs, but con- 
 tain'd two Beds, or 
 Boxes to lie in, and was kept as an 
 Apartment, for People of Diflinftion ; 
 or, which is all one, for fuch as feem 
 by their Appearance to promife Expence. 
 And indeed, I have often found but lit- 
 tle Difference in that Article, between 
 one of thofe Huts and the beft Inn in 
 England. Nay, if I were to reckon the 
 Value of what I had for my own Ufe, 
 by the Country Price, it would appear 
 to be ten Times dearer : But it is not 
 3 the
 
 LETTER XVII. 43 
 
 the Maxim of the Highlands alone (as 
 we know) that thofe who travel mud 
 pay for fuch as ffoy at Home ; and really 
 the Highland Gentlemen themfelves are 
 
 o 
 
 lefs fcrupulous of Expence in thefe pub- 
 lick Huts, than any where elfe. And 
 their Example, in great Mcafure, autho- 
 rifes Impofitions upon Strangers, who 
 may complain, but can have no Re- 
 drefs. 
 
 THE Landlord not only fits down 
 with you, as in the northern Lowlands, 
 but in fome little Time afks Leave (and 
 fometimes not) to introduce his Bro- 
 ther, Coufin, or more, who are all to 
 drink your Honour's Health in UJky ; 
 which, tho' a ftrong Spirit, is to them 
 like Water. And this I have often feen 
 'em drink out of a Scollop Shell. And 
 in other Journeys, notwithftanding their 
 great Familiarity with me, I have feve- 
 ral Times feen my Servant at a Lofs 
 liow to behave, when the Highlander 
 has turn'd about, and very formally 
 drank to him : And when I have baited, 
 
 and
 
 44 LETTER XVII. 
 
 and eaten two or three Eggs, and no- 
 thing elfe to be had, vrhen I afk'd the 
 Queftion, What is there for eating? 
 The Anfwer has been, Nothing for you, 
 Sir $ but Sixpence for your Man. 
 
 THE Hoft, who is rarely other than a 
 Gentleman, is Interpreter between you 
 and thofe who don't fpeak Engli/h -, fo 
 that you lofe nothing of what any one 
 has to fay relating to the Antiquity of 
 their Family, or the heroick A&ions of 
 their Anceftors in War, with fome other 
 Clan. 
 
 IF the Gueft be a Stranger, not feen 
 before, by the Man of the Houfe, he 
 takes the firft Opportunity to enquire of 
 the Servant, from whence his Mafter 
 came, who he is, whither he is going, 
 and what his Bufinefs in that Country ? 
 And if the Fellow happens to be furly, 
 as thinking the Enquiry impertinent, 
 perhaps chiefly from the Highlander's 
 poor Appearance, then the Mafter is fure 
 to be fubtily fifted (if not afk'd) for the 
 
 Secret
 
 LETTER XVII. 45 
 
 Secret j and if obtain'd, it is a Help to 
 Converfation, with his future Guefts. 
 
 NOTICE at laft was brought me, that 
 my Apartment was ready ; but at going 
 out from the firft Hovel, the other 
 feem'd to be all on Fire within : For the 
 Smoke came pouring out, through the 
 Ribs and Roof all over ; but chiefly out 
 at the Door, which was not four Feet 
 high, fo that the whole made the Ap- 
 pearance (I have feen) of a fuming 
 Dunghil remov'd, and frefh pil'd tip 
 ^gain, and pretty near the fame in Co- 
 lour, Shape, and Size. 
 
 By the Way, the Highlanders fay, 
 they love the Smoke ; it keeps 'em 
 warm. But I retir'd to my firft Shel- 
 ter, 'till the Peats were grown red, and 
 the Smoke thereby abated. 
 
 THIS Fewel is feldom kept dry, for 
 want of Convenience, and that is one 
 Reafon why, in lighting, or replenifhing 
 the Fire, the Smoakynefs continues fo 
 
 2 long
 
 46 LETTER XVII. 
 
 long a Time. And Moggy's puffing of 
 it with her Petticoat inftead of a Pair of 
 Bellows, is a dilatory Way. 
 
 I BELIEVE you would willingly know 
 (being an Engliftman) what I had to 
 eat. My Fare was a Couple of roafted 
 Hens (as they call 'em) very poor, new 
 kill'd, the Skins much broke with pluck- 
 ing ; black with Smoke, and greaz'd 
 with bad Butter. 
 
 As I had no great Appetite to that 
 Difh, I fpoke for fome hard Eggs j 
 made my Supper of the Yolks, and 
 wafh'd 'em down with a Bottle of good 
 fmall Claret. 
 
 MY Bed had clean Sheets and Blan- 
 kets j but which was beft of all (tho* 
 Negative) I found no Inconvenience 
 from thofe troublefome Companions, 
 with which moft other Huts abound. 
 But the bare Mention of 'em brings to 
 my Remembrance a Paffage between 
 two Officers of the Army, the Morn- 
 ing after a Highland Night's Lodging. 
 
 ONE
 
 LETTER XVII. 47 
 
 ONE was taking off the floweft Kind 
 of the two, when the other cry'd out, 
 
 Z ds, what are you doing ? Let 
 
 us firft fecure the Dragoons j we can 
 take the Foot at Leifure. 
 
 BUT I had like to have forgot a Mif- 
 chance, that happen'd to me the next 
 Morning j for rifmg early, and getting 
 out of my Box pretty haftily, I unluckily 
 fet my Foot in the Chamber -Pot, a Hole 
 in the Ground by the Bed-fide, which 
 was made to ferve for that Ufe, in cafe 
 of Occafion. 
 
 I SHALL not trouble you with any 
 Thing that pafs'd, 'till I mounted on 
 Horfe-back, only for want of fomething 
 more proper for Breakfaft, I took up 
 with a little Brandy, Water, Sugar, and 
 Yolks of Eggs, beat up together ; which 
 I think they call Old-Man's Milk. 
 
 I WAS now provided with a new 
 Guide, for the Skill of my firft extend- 
 ed no farther than this Place ; but this 
 
 could
 
 48 LETTER XVII. 
 could fpeak no Englijh, which I found 
 afterwards to be an Inconvenience. 
 
 
 Second Day. 
 
 AT mounting I received many Com- 
 pliments from mine Hoft; but the moft 
 earned was, that common one of wim- 
 ing me good Weather. For, like the Sea- 
 faring Man, my Safety depended upon 
 it ; efpecially at that Seafon of the 
 Year. 
 
 As the Plain lay before me, I thought 
 it all fit for Culture ; but in riding along, 
 I obferv'd a good deal of it was Bog, 
 and here and there Rock even with 
 the Surface : However, my Road was 
 fmooth ; and if I had had Company 
 with me, I might have faid jeftingly, 
 as was ufual among us, after rough Way j 
 Come, let us ride this over again. 
 
 AT the End of about a Mile, there 
 was a fteep Afcent, which they call a 
 Carne-, that is an exceeding ftony 
 Hill, which at fome Diftance feems to 
 
 have
 
 LETTER XVI. 49 
 
 have no Space at all, between Stone and 
 Stone. I thought I could compare it with 
 no Ruggednefs, fo aptly as to fuppofe it 
 like all the different Stones in a Mafon's 
 Yard, thrown promifcuoufly upon one 
 another. This I pafs'd on Foot, at the 
 Rate of about half a Mile in the Hour. 
 I do not reckon the Time that was 
 loft, in backing my Horfes out of a nar- 
 row Place without fide of a Rock ; 
 where the Way ended with a Precipice 
 of about twenty Feet deep. Into this 
 Gap they were led by the Miftake, or 
 CarelefTnefs of my Guide. The Defcent 
 from the Top of this Carne was fhort, 
 and thence I afcended another Hill, not 
 fo ftony ; and at laft, by feveral others, 
 (which tho' very rough, are not reckon'd 
 extraordinary in the Highlands) I came 
 to a Precipice of about an hundred 
 Yards in Length. 
 
 THE Side of the Mountain below me 
 was almoft perpendicular ; and the reft 
 above, which feem'd to reach the Clouds, 
 was exceeding fteep. The Path which 
 
 VOL. II. E the
 
 5 o LETTER XVII. 
 
 Highlanders and their little Horfes had 
 worn, was fcarccly two Feet wide, but 
 pretty fmooth, and below was a Lake, 
 whereinto vaft Pieces of Rock had fallen, 
 which I fuppofe had made, in fome Mea- 
 fure, the Steepnefs of the Precipice ; and 
 the Water that appear'd between fome of 
 them, feem'd to be under my Stirrup. I 
 really believe the Path where I was, is 
 twice as high from the Lake, as the Crofs 
 of St. PWs is from Ludgate-Hill : And I 
 thought I had good Reafon to think fo ; 
 becaufe a few Huts beneath, on the far- 
 ther Side of the Water, which is not 
 very wide, appear'd to me, each of 'em, 
 like a black Spot, not much bigger than 
 the Standifh before me. 
 
 A CERTAIN Officer of the Army .go- 
 ing this Way, was fo terrified with the 
 Sight of the Abyfs, that he crept a lit- 
 tle higher ; fondly imagining he mould 
 be fafer above, as being further off from 
 the Danger, and fo to take hold of the 
 Heath in his PafTage : There, a panick 
 Terror feiz'd him, and he began to lofe 
 his Forces, finding it impracticable to pro- 
 
 2 ceed,
 
 LETTER XVII. 5 r 
 
 ceed, and being fearful to quit his Hold, 
 and flide down, left in fo doing he 
 fhould overfhoot the narrow Path ; and 
 had not two Soldiers came to his Af- 
 flftance, viz. One who was at fome lit- 
 tle Diftance before him, and the other 
 behind, in all Probability he had gone 
 to the Bottom. But I have obferv'd, 
 that particular Minds are wrought upon 
 by particular Dangers, according to their 
 different Sets of Ideas. I have fome- 
 times travell'd in the Mountains with 
 Officers of the Army, and have known 
 one in the Middle of a deep and rapid 
 Ford, cry out, he was undone ; another 
 was terrified with the Fear of his Horfe's 
 falling in an exceeding rocky Way ; 
 and perhaps neither of 'em would be fo 
 much fhock'd at the Danger that fo 
 greatly affected the other. Or, it may 
 be, either of 'em at ftanding the Fire 
 of a Battery of Cannon. 
 
 But for my own Part, I had pafs'd 
 
 over two fuch Precipices before, which 
 
 render'd itfomething lefs terrifying j yet, 
 
 E 2 as
 
 52 LETTER XVI. 
 as I have hinted, I chofe to ride it, as I 
 did the laft of the other two, knowing 
 by the firft I was liable to fear, and that 
 my Horfe was not fubject either to 
 that difarming Paffion, or to Giddinefs ; 
 which, in that Cafe, I take to be the Ef- 
 fect of Apprehenfion. 
 
 IT is a common Thing for the Natives 
 to ride their Horfes over fuch little Preci- 
 pices ; but for myfelf, I never was upon 
 the Back of one of 'em. And by the Ac- 
 count fome Highlanders have given me 
 of them, I think I mould never chufe 
 it in fuch Places as I have- been defcri- 
 bing. 
 
 THERE is in fome of thofe Paths, at 
 the very Edge or Extremity, a little 
 moiTy Grafs j and thofe Sbeltys, being 
 never mod, if they are ever fo little Foot- 
 fore, they will, to favour their Feet, 
 creep to the very Brink, which muft 
 certainly be very terrible to a Stranger. 
 
 IT will hardly ever be out of my Me- 
 mory, how I was haunted by a Kind of 
 
 poetical
 
 LETTER XVI. 53 
 
 poetical Sentence, after I was over this 
 Precipice > which did not ceafe 'till it 
 was fupplanted by the new Fear of my 
 Horfe's falling among the Rocks, in my 
 Way from it. 
 
 IT was this : 
 
 " There hov'ring Eagles wait the 
 " fatal Trip." 
 
 BY the Way this Bird is frequently 
 feen among the Mountains, and I may 
 fay, feverely felt, fometimes, by the In- 
 habitants, in the Lofs of their Lambs, 
 Kids, and even Calves and Colts. 
 
 I HAD now gone about fix Miles, and 
 had not above two, as I underflood af- 
 terwards, to the Place of baiting. 
 
 IN* my Way (which I (hall only fay, 
 was very rough and hilly) I met a High- 
 land Chieftain with fourteen Attendants, 
 whofe Officers about his Perfon I fnall 
 hereafter defcribe 5 at lead the greateft 
 E 3 Part
 
 54 LETTER XVII. 
 
 Part of 'em. When we came, as the 
 Sailor fays, almoft Broad-fide and Broad- 
 fide, he eyed me, as if he would look 
 my Hat off; but as he was at Home, 
 and I a Stranger in the Country, I 
 thought he might have made the firft 
 Overture of Civility, and therefore I 
 took little Notice of him and his ragged 
 Followers. 
 
 ON his Part he feem'd to mew a Kind 
 of Difdain at my being fo flenderly at- 
 tended, with a Mixture of Anger, that 
 I fhew'd him no Refpecl before his Vaf- 
 fals ; but this might only be my Sur- 
 mife, yet it look'd very like it. 
 
 I SUPPOS'D he was going to the Glen, 
 from whence I came (for there was no 
 other Hut in all my Way,) and there 
 he might be fatisfied by the Landlord 
 who I was, &c. 
 
 I SHALL not trouble you with any 
 more at prefent, than that I fafely arriv'd 
 at my baiting Place ; for, as I hinted 
 
 before.
 
 LETTER XVII. 55 
 
 before, there is fuch a Samenefs in the 
 Parts of the Hills, that the Defcription 
 of one rugged Way, Bog, Ford, &c. 
 will ferve pretty well to give you a No- 
 tion of the reft. 
 
 HERE I defired to know what I could 
 have for Dinner ; and was told there was 
 fomc undrefs'd Mutton. This I efteem'd 
 as a Rarity, but as I did not approve 
 the Fingers of either Maid or Miftrefs, 
 I order 'd my Man (who is an excellent 
 Cook fo far as a Beef-Stake, or a Mut- 
 ton-Chop) to broil me a Chop or two, 
 while I took a little Turn to eafe my 
 Legs j weary with fitting fo long on 
 Horfeback. 
 
 THIS prov'd an intolerable Affront to 
 my Landlady, who rav'd and ftorm'd, 
 and faid, What's your Mailer ! I have 
 drefs'd for the Laird of this, and the 
 Laird of that, fuch and fuch Chiefs ; 
 and this very Day, fays me, for the 
 Laird of who I doubted not 
 
 was the Perfon I met on the Hill. 
 
 4 To
 
 56 LETTER XVII. 
 
 To be fhort, me abiblutely refus'd to 
 admit of any fuch Innovation, and fo 
 the Chops ferv'd for my Man and the 
 Guide ; and I had Recourfe to my foi> 
 mer Fare, hard Eggs. 
 
 EGGS are feldom wanting at the pub- 
 lic Huts ; tho' by the Poverty of the 
 Poultry, one might wonder how they 
 fhould have any Inclination to produce 
 'em. 
 
 HERE was no Wine to be had ; but 
 as I carried with me a few Lemons in a 
 Net, I drank fome fmall Punch for Re^ 
 fremment. When my Servant was pre- 
 paring the Liquor, my Landlord came 
 to me, and afk'd me ferioufly, if thofe 
 were Apples he was fqueezing ? And 
 indeed, there are as many Lemon-Trees 
 as Apple-Trees in that Country j or 
 have they any Kind of Fruit in their 
 Glens that I know of. 
 
 THEIR
 
 LETTER XVII. 57 
 
 THEIR Huts are moftly built on fome 
 rifing rocky Spot, at the Foot of an Hill, 
 fecure from any Burne or Springs, that 
 might defcend upon them from the 
 Mountains ; and thus fituated, they are 
 pretty fafe from Inundations from above, 
 or below, and other Ground they can- 
 not fpare from their Corn. And even 
 upon the Skirts of the Highlands, where 
 the Laird has indulg'd two or three 
 Trees not far from his Houfe, I have 
 heard the Tenant lament the Damage 
 done by the Droppings and Shades of 
 'em, as well as the Space taken up by 
 the Trunks and Roots. 
 
 THE only Fruit the Natives have, that I 
 have feen, is the Bilberry ; which is moftly 
 found near Springs, in Hollows of the 
 Heaths. The Tafte of them, to me, 
 is not very agreeable j but they are 
 much efleem'd by the Inhabitants, who 
 eat them with their Milk. Yet in the 
 Mountain-Woods, which for the moft 
 Part are diftant and difficult of Accefs, 
 
 there
 
 58 LETTER XVII. 
 
 there are Nuts, Rafberries, and Straw- 
 berries -, the two laft, tho' but fmall, arc 
 very grateful to the Tafte ; but thofe 
 Woods are fo rare, (at leaft it has al- 
 ways appear'd fo to me) that few of the 
 Highlanders are near enough to par- 
 take of the Benefit. 
 
 I NOW fet out on my laft Stage, of 
 which I had gone about five Miles, in 
 much the fame Manner as before, when 
 it began to rain below ; but it was 
 Snow above, to a certain Depth from 
 the Summits of the Mountains. 
 
 IN about half an Hour afterwards, 
 at the End of near a Mile, there arofe a 
 moft violent Tempeft. This, in a little 
 Time, began to fcoop the Snow from 
 the Mountains, and made fuch a furi- 
 ous Drift, which did not melt as it 
 drove, that I could hardly fee my 
 Horfe's Head. 
 
 THE Horfes were blown afide from 
 Place to Place, as often as the fudden 
 
 Gufts
 
 L E T T E R XVII. 59 
 
 Gufts came on, being unable to refifl 
 thofe violent Eddy-Winds ; and at the 
 fame Time they were very near blinded 
 with the Snow. 
 
 Now I expected no lefs than to pe- 
 rifh j was hardly able to keep my Sad- 
 dle, and for Increafe of Mifery, my 
 Guide led me out of the Way, having 
 entirely loft his Land-marks. 
 
 WHEN he perceiv'd his Error, he fell 
 down on his Knees by my Horfe's Side, 
 and in a befeeching Pofture, with his 
 Arms extended ; and in a howling Tone, 
 he feem'd to aik Forgivenefs. 
 
 I IMAGIN'D what the Matter was, 
 for I could but juft fee him, and that 
 too, by Fits ; and fpoke to him with a 
 foft Voice, to iignify I was not in Anger. 
 And it appear'd afterwards, that he ex- 
 peted to be (hot ; as they have a dread- 
 ful Notion of the EngKJb. 
 
 THUS rinding himfelf in no Danger 
 of my Refentment, he addrefs'd hiiiv 
 
 fdf
 
 60 LETTER XVIL 
 
 felf to the fearching about for the Way, 
 from which he had deviated ; and, in 
 fome little Time, I heard a Cry of Joy, 
 and he came and took my Horfe by the 
 Bridle, and never afterwards quitted it, 
 'till we came to my new Lodging, 
 which was about a Mile : For it was al- 
 moft as dark as Night. In the mean Time 
 I had given Directions to my Man, for 
 keeping clofe to my Horfe's Heels, and if 
 any Thing mould prevent it, to call to 
 me immediately j that I might not lofe 
 him. 
 
 As good Luck would have it, there 
 was but one fmall River in my Way ; 
 and the Ford, tho' deep and winding, 
 had a fmooth fandy Bottom, which is 
 very rare in the Highlands. 
 
 THERE was another Circumftance fa- 
 vourable to us, (I fliall not name a third 
 as one, which is our being not far from 
 the Village j for we might have perifh'd 
 with Cold in the Night, as well near it, 
 as farther off) there had not a very 
 
 great
 
 LETTER XVII. 61 
 
 great Quantity of Snow fallen upon the 
 Mountains, becaufe the Air began a lit- 
 tle to clear, tho' very little, within about 
 a Quarter of a Mile of the Glen ; other- 
 wife We might have been buried in feme 
 Cavity hid from us, by the Darknefs 
 and the Snow. 
 
 BUT if this Drift had happened to us 
 upon fome one of the wild Moors, had 
 continued, and we had had far to go, 
 we might have perim'd ; notwithftand- 
 ing the Knowledge of any Guide what- 
 ever. 
 
 THESE Drifts are, above all other 
 Dangers, dreaded by the Highlanders j 
 for my own Part, I could not but think 
 of Mr. Addiforis mort Defcription of a 
 Whirlwind, in the wild fandy Defarts 
 of Numidia. 
 
 LETTER
 
 (62 ) 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 VERY high Wind, 
 in many Places of the 
 Highlands, is a Whirl- 
 wind. The agitated 
 Air pouring into the 
 narrow and high Spa- 
 ces between the Mountains, being con- 
 fin'd in its Courfe ; and if I may ufe the 
 Expreffion, pufli'd on by a crowding 
 Rear, 'till it comes to a bounded Hol- 
 low, or Kind of Amphitheatre : I fay, 
 the Air, in that violent Motion, is there 
 continually repell'd by the oppofite Hill, 
 and rebounded from others, 'till it finds 
 a PafTage ; intomuch that I have feen in 
 the Weftern Highlands, in fuch a Hol- 
 low,
 
 LETTER XVII. 63 
 
 low, fome (battering Oaks, with their 
 Bark twifted, almoft as if it had been 
 done with a Laver. 
 
 THIS I fuppofe was effected, when 
 they were young j and confequently, the 
 reft of their Growth was in that Figure. 
 And I myfelf have met with fuch Re- 
 buffs on every Side, from the Whirling . 
 of fuch Winds, as are not eafy to be 
 defcribed. 
 
 WHEN I came to my Inn, (you will 
 think the Word a Burlefque) I found it 
 a moft wretched Hovel, with feveral 
 pretty large Holes in the Sides j and, as 
 ufual, exceeding fmoaky. 
 
 MY Apartment had a Partition about 
 four Feet high, which feparated it from 
 the Lodging of the Family. And be- 
 ing enter'd, I called for Straw or Hea- 
 ther, to ftop the Gaps. Some Straw 
 was brought ; but no iboner was it ap- 
 ply'd, but it was pull'd away on the 
 Outfide. 
 
 THIS
 
 64 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 THIS put . me in very ill Humour, 
 thinking fome malicious Highlander did 
 it to plague or affront me - 3 and therefore 
 I fent my Man (who had juft hous'd his 
 Horfes, and was helping me) to fee 
 who it could be, and immediately he 
 return'd laughing, and told me it was a 
 poor hungry Cow, that was got to the 
 Backfide of the Hut for Shelter, and 
 was pulling out the Straw for Provender. 
 
 THE Smoke being fomething abated, 
 and the Edifice repair'd, I began to re- 
 flect on the miferable State I had lately 
 been in, and efteem'd that very Hut, 
 which at another Time I mould have 
 greatly defpifed, to be to me as good as 
 a Palace -, and like a keen Appetite, 
 with ordinary Fare, I enjoy'd it ac- 
 cordingly, not envying even the Inha- 
 bitants of Buckingham-Houfe. 
 
 \ 
 
 HERE I conclude my Journal, which 
 
 I fear you will think as barren and tedi- 
 
 J 
 
 ous as the Ground I went over j but I 
 
 muft
 
 L E T T E R XVIII. 65 
 
 mufl alk your Patience a little while 
 longer concerning it, as no great Reafun 
 yet appears to you why I mould come 
 to this wretched Place, and go no fur- 
 ther. 
 
 BY a Change of the Wind, there hap- 
 pen'd to fall a good deal of Rain in the 
 Night ; and I was told by my Landlord, 
 the Hills prefaged more of it : That a 
 wide River before me was become im- 
 paflaBle, and if I remain'd longer in the 
 Hills at that Seafon of the Year, I might 
 be ihut in for moft Part of the Winter ; 
 for, if frem Snow mould fall, and lie 
 lower down on the Mountains, than it 
 did the Day before, I could not repafs 
 the Precipice, and muft wait 'till the 
 Lake was frozen fo hard, as to bear my 
 Horfes : And even then it was dan- 
 gerous in thole Places, where the Springs 
 bubble up from the Bottom, and render 
 the Ice thin, and incapable to bear any 
 great Weight. But that, indeed thole 
 weak Spots might be avoided, by Means 
 of a fkilful Guide. 
 
 VOL. II. F As
 
 66 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 As to the narrow Path, he faid he 
 was certain, that any Snow which might 
 have lodg'd on it from the Drift, was 
 melted by the Rain j which was then 
 ceafed. To all this, he added a Piece of 
 News (not very prudently, as I thought) 
 which was, that fome Time before I 
 pafs'd the Precipice, a poor Highlander 
 leading over it, his Horfe loaden with 
 Creels, or fmall Paniers, one of them ftruck 
 again ft the upper Part of the Hill, as he 
 fuppos'd ; and whether the Man was en- 
 deavouring to fave his Horfe, or how it 
 was he could not tell, but that they 
 both fell down, and were dam'd to 
 Pieces among the Rocks. This, to me 
 was very affecting, efpecially as I was 
 to pafs the fame Way in my Return. 
 
 THUS I was prevented from meeting 
 a Number of Gentlemen of a Clan, who 
 were to have aflembled in a Place af- 
 iign'd for our Interview, about a Day 
 and Half's Journey farther in the Hills -, 
 and on the other Side of the River were 
 
 Numbers
 
 LETTER XVIII. 6? 
 
 Numbers of Highlanders waiting to con- 
 dud: me to 'em. But I was told, before 
 I enter 'd upon this Peregrination, that 
 no Highlander would venture upon it at 
 that Time of the Year 5 yet I piqued 
 myfelf upon following the unreafonable 
 Directions of fuch as knew nothing of 
 the Matter. 
 
 Now I return'd with as hafty Steps as 
 the Way you have feen would permit, 
 having met with no more Snow or Rain, 
 'till I got into the lower Country j and 
 then there fell a very great Storm (as 
 they call it) for by the Word Storm 
 they only mean Snow. And you may 
 believe I then hugg'd myfelf, as being 
 got clear of the Mountains. 
 
 BUT before I proceed to give you 
 fome Account of the Natives, I {hall 
 (in Juftice) fay fomething relating to 
 Part of the Country of Aihol^ which, 
 tho' Highlands, claims an Exception 
 from the preceding general and gloomy 
 Defcriptions j as may likewife fome other 
 Places, not far diftant from the Borders 
 Fa of
 
 68 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 of the Lowlands, which I have not 
 feen. 
 
 THIS Country is faid to be a Part of 
 the ancient Caledonia. The Part I am 
 fpeaking of is a Tract of Land, or Strath, 
 which lies along the Sides of the Toy -, 
 a capital River of the Highlands. 
 
 , 
 
 THE Mountains, tho' very high, have 
 an eafy Slope a good Way up, and are 
 cultivated in many Places ; and inhabited 
 by Tenants, who, like thofe below, have 
 a different Air from other Highlanders in 
 the Goodnefs of their Drefs, and Chear- 
 fulnefs of their Countenances. 
 
 THE Strath, or Vale is wide, and beau- 
 tifully adorn'd with Plantations of vari- 
 ous Sorts of Trees. The Ways are 
 fmooth, and in one Part you ride in 
 pleafant Glades ; in another you have an 
 agreeable Vifta. Here you pafs through 
 Corn-Fields j there you afcend a fmall 
 Height, from whence you have a pleaf- 
 ing Variety of that wild and fpacious 
 River, Woods, Fields, and neighbour- 
 ing
 
 LETTER XVIII. 69 
 
 ing Mountains, which altogether give a 
 greater Pleafurc than the moft roman- 
 tick Defcription in Words, heighten'd 
 by a lively Imagination can poffibly do. 
 But the Satisfaction feem'd beynd Ex- 
 preflion, by comparing it in our Minds 
 with the rugged Ways and horrid Pro- 
 fpects of the more northern Mountains, 
 when we 'pafs'd fouthward from them, 
 through this Vale to the low Country. 
 But with refpect to Athol in general, I 
 muft own, that fome Parts of it are very 
 rugged and dangerous. 
 
 I SHALL not pretend to give you (as 
 a People) the Original of the Highlan- 
 ders, having no certain Materials for 
 that Purpofe. And indeed, that Branch 
 of Hiftory, with RefpecT: even to Com- 
 mon-Wealths and Kingdoms, is generally 
 cither obicur'd by Time, falfify'd by 
 Tradition, or render'd fabulous by In- 
 vention ; nor do I think it would be of 
 any great Importance, could I trace them 
 up to their Source with Certainty. But 
 I am perfuaded they came from Ireland^ 
 F 3 in
 
 7 o LETTER XVIII . 
 
 in regard their Language is a Corruption 
 
 of the Irifo Tongue. 
 
 SPENCER, in his View of the State of 
 Ireland, written in the Reign of Queen 
 Elizabeth, fets forth the Drefs and Cuf- 
 toms of the Irifo - 3 and if I remember 
 right, they were at that Time very near 
 what the People are now in the Highlands. 
 But this is, by the bye, as having little Re- 
 lation to Antiquity j for Drefs is variable, 
 and Cufloms may be abolimed by Au- 
 thority j but Language will baffle the 
 Efforts even of a Tyrant. 
 
 THE Highlanders are exceeding proud 
 to be thought an unmix'd People, and 
 are apt to upbraid the Englijh with be- 
 ing a Compofition of all Nations ; but 
 for my own Part, I think a little Mix- 
 ture in that Senfe would do themfelves 
 no Manner of Harm. 
 
 THE Stature of the better Sort, fo far 
 as I can make the Comparifon, is much 
 the fame with the Engtijb, or Low- 
 Country Scots, but the common People 
 are generally fmall ; nor is it likely, that 
 
 by
 
 LETTER XVIII. 71 
 
 T>y being half flarv'd in the Womb, and 
 never afterwards well fed, they mould, 
 by that Means, be render'd larger than 
 other People. 
 
 How often have I heard 'em defcrib'd 
 in London^ as almofl Giants in Size ; and 
 certainly there are a great many tall Men 
 of them, in and about that City : But 
 the Truth is, when a young Fellow of 
 any Spirit happens (as Kite fays) to be 
 born to be a great Man, he leaves the 
 Country to put himfelf into fome foreign 
 Service (chiefly in the Army) but the 
 fhort ones are not commonly feen in 
 other Countries than their own. I have 
 feen a hundred of them together come 
 down to the Lowlands for Harveft-Work, 
 as the Welfo come to England for the 
 fame Purpofe ; and but few lizable Men 
 among them, and their Women are ge- 
 nerally very fmall. 
 
 IT has been faid, likewife, that mm 
 
 of them are deformed by Crookednefs : 
 
 'Tis true I have not feen many ; for as I 
 
 ebferv'd of the People bordering upon 
 
 F 4 the
 
 72 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 the Highlands, none are fpoil'd by over 
 Care of their Shapes. But is it to be 
 fuppos'd, that Children who are left to 
 themfelves, when hardly able to go alone 
 in fuch a rugged Country, are free from 
 all Accidents ? AfTertions fo general are 
 ridiculous. 
 
 THEY are alfo faid to be very healthy, 
 and free from Diftempers, not with ftand- 
 ing the great Hardmips they endure. 
 Surely an Account of that Country from 
 a Native, is not unlike a Gafcorf^ Ac- 
 count of himfelf. I own they are not 
 very fubjedl to Maladies, occafion'd by 
 Luxury, but very liable to Fluxes, Fe- 
 vers, Agues, Coughs, Rheumatifms, and 
 other Diftempers, incident to their Way 
 of living ; efpecially upon the Approach 
 of Winter, of which I am a Witnefs. 
 
 BY the Way, the poorer Sort are per- 
 uiaded, that Wine or ftrong Malt Drink 
 is a very good Remedy in a Fever ; and 
 tho'.I never prefcribed either of them, 
 I have adminifier'd both with as good 
 
 Succefs,
 
 LETTER XVIII. 73 
 
 Succefs, as any Medicines prefcribed by 
 Doctor Radcliffe. 
 
 ^SCULAPIUS, even as a God, could 
 hardly have had a more folemn Act of 
 Adoration paid him, than I had lately 
 from a Highlander j at whofe Hut I lay 
 in one of my Journeys. His Wife was 
 then defperately ill of a Fever, and I left 
 a Bottle of Chateau Mar gout behind me 
 to comfort her, if fhe mould recover ; 
 for I had then feveral Horfes loaden with 
 Wine and Provifions, and a great Reti- 
 nue of Highlanders with me. 
 
 THE poor Man fell down on his Knees 
 in this dirty Street, and eagerly kifs'd my 
 Hand ; telling me in Iri/h, I had cured 
 his Wife with my good Stuff. 
 
 THIS caufed feveral Jokes from my 
 Countrymen, who were prefent, upon 
 the poor Fellow's Value for his Wife ; 
 and the Doctor himfelf did not efcape 
 their Mirth upon that Occafion. 
 
 HAVING
 
 74 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 HAVING Yefterday proceeded thus far 
 in my Letter, in order to have the lefs 
 Writing this Evening, I had a Retro- 
 fpedion in the Morning to my Journal j 
 and could not but be of Opinion that 
 fome few Additions were neceffary to 
 give you a clearer Notion of the inner 
 Part of the Country, in Regard the In- 
 cidents in that Account are confin'd to 
 one fhort Progrefs, which could not 
 take in all that is wanting to be known, 
 for the Purpofe intended. 
 
 THERE are few Days that pafs with- 
 out fome Rain or Snow in the Hills, 
 and it feems necefTary it mould be fo 
 (if we may fuppofe Nature ever intend- 
 ed the worft Parts as Habitations for hu- 
 man Creatures) for the Soil is fo {hallow 
 and ftony, and in Summer the Reflec- 
 tion of the Sun's Heat from the Sides 
 of the Rocks is fo ftrong, by Reafon of 
 the Narrownefs of the Vales, to which 
 may be added the violent Winds j that 
 otherwife the little Corn they have would 
 
 2 be
 
 LETTER XVIII. 75 
 
 be entirely dry'd, and burnt up for 
 want of proper Moifture. 
 
 THE Clouds in their PafTage often 
 fweep along, beneath the Tops of the 
 high Mountains, and when they happen 
 to be above them, they are drawn as 
 they pafs along, by Attraction, to the 
 Summits, in plain and vifible Streams or 
 Streaks ; where they are broke, and fall 
 in vafl Quantities of \Vater. Nay, it is 
 pretty common in the high Country for 
 the Clouds, or fome very denfe Exhala- 
 tion, to drive along the Part, which is 
 there call'd the Foot of the Hills, tho' 
 very high above the Level of the Sea j 
 and I have feen, more than once, a very 
 fair Rainbow defcrib'd, at not above 
 thirty or forty Yards Diftance from me, 
 and feeming of much the fame Diame- 
 ter, having each Foot of the Semi-circle 
 upon the Ground. 
 
 AN EngliJJ} Gentleman, one Day, as 
 we flopt to confider this Phenomenon, 
 propos'd to. ride into the Rainbow, and 
 
 tho'
 
 76 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 tho' I told him the fruitlefs Confequence, 
 fince it was only a Vifion made by his 
 Eye, being at that Diftance ; having the 
 Sun directly behind, and before him, the 
 thick Vapour that was paffing along, at 
 the Foot of the Hill. Yet (the Place 
 being fmooth) he fet up a Gallop, and 
 found his Miftake, to my great Diverfion 
 with him afterwards, upon his Confef- 
 iion that he had foon entirely loft it. 
 
 I HAVE often heard it told by Travel- 
 lers, as a Proof of the Height of Tene- 
 riff\ that the Clouds fometimes hide 
 Part of that Mountain, and at the fame 
 Time the Top of it is feen above 'em ; 
 nothing is more ordinary than this in the 
 Highlands. But I would not therefore 
 
 o 
 
 be thought to infinuate, that thefe are 
 as high as that ; but they may, you fee, 
 be brought under the famaDefcription. 
 
 THUS you find the immediate Source 
 of the Rivers and Lakes in the Moun- 
 tains, is the Clouds, and not as our Ri- 
 vers, which have their Original from 
 fubterraneous Aqueducts, that rife in 
 
 Springs
 
 LETTER XVIII. 77 
 
 Springs below j but among the Hills the 
 Waters fall in great Cafcades, and vail: 
 Cataracts, and pafs with prodigious Ra- 
 pidity through large rocky Channels, 
 with fuch a Noife as almoft deafens the 
 Traveller, whofe Way lies along by 
 their Sides. And when thefe Torrents 
 rufh through Glens or wider Straths, 
 they often plough up, and fweep away 
 with them, large Spots of the Soil, leav- 
 ing nothing behind but Rock or Gravel, 
 fo that the Land is never to be recover'd. 
 And for this, a proportionable Abate- 
 ment is made in the Tenant's Rent. 
 
 THE Lakes are very differently fitu- 
 ated, with Refpect to high and low. 
 There be thofe which are vaft Cavities 
 fill'd up with Water, whereof the Sur- 
 face is but little higher than the Level of 
 the Sea j but of a furprizing Depth. As 
 Lake Nefe, for the Purpofe which has 
 been ignorantly held, to be without a 
 Bottom ; but was founded by an experi- 
 enced Seaman, when I was prefent, and 
 appear'd to be 130 Fathom, or 260 Yards 
 deep, 
 
 IT
 
 78 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 IT feems to be fupply'd by two frnall 
 Rivers at its Head j but the great In- 
 creafe of Water is from the Rivers, 
 Burnes, and Cafcades from the high 
 Mountains, by which it is bounded at 
 the Water'.s Edge. And it has no other 
 vifible IfTue, but by the River Nefs, 
 which is not large, or has the Lake any 
 perceptible Current ; being fo fpacious 
 as more than a Mile in Breadth, and 
 twenty one in Length. At a Place call'd 
 Foyers, there is a fteep Hill clofe to it, 
 of about a Quarter of a Mile to the 
 Top, from whence a River pours into 
 the Lake, by three fucceffive wild Cata- 
 racts, over romantick Rocks ; whereon 
 at each Fall it dames with fuch Violence, 
 that in windy Weather the Side of the 
 Hill is hid from Sight for a good Way 
 together, by the Sprey that looks like a 
 thick Body of Smoke. This Fall of 
 Water has been compar'd with the Ca- 
 taracts of the Ty&r, by thofe who have 
 feen them both. 
 
 THERE
 
 LETTER XVIII. 79 
 
 THERE are other Lakes in large Hol- 
 lows, on the Tops of exceeding high 
 Hills j I mean, they feem to any one 
 below, who has only heard of 'em, to 
 be on the utmoft Height. But this is a 
 Deception ; for there are other Hills be- 
 hind unfeen, from whence they are fup- 
 ply'd with the great Quantity of Water 
 they contain. And it is imporTible that 
 the Rain, which falls within the Com- 
 pafs of one of thofe Cavities, mould 
 not only be the Caufe of fuch a pro- 
 found Depth of Water, but alfo fupply 
 the Drainings that defcend from it -, and 
 iffue out in Springs from the Sides of 
 the Hills. 
 
 THERE be fmaller Lakes, which are 
 alfo feated high above the Plain, and are 
 ftor'd with Trout j tho' it feems impof- 
 fible, by the vaft Steepnefs of the Burnes 
 on every vifible Side, that thofe Fim 
 mould have got up thither from Rivers 
 or Lakes below. This has often mov'd 
 the Queftion, How came they there ? But 
 they may have afcended by frnall Wa- 
 ters,
 
 8o LETTER XVIII. 
 
 ters, in long Windings out of Sight be- 
 hind, and none fleep enough to caufe a 
 Wonder ; for I never found there was 
 any Notion of their being brought thi- 
 ther for Breed. 
 
 BUT I had like to have forgot, that 
 fome will have them to have fprung 
 from the Fry, carry'd from other Wa- 
 ters ; and dropt in thofe fmall Lakes, by 
 Water-Fowl. 
 
 IN a Part of the Highlands, call'd 
 Strath-glafs, there is a Lake too high by 
 its Situation, to be much arTe&ed by the 
 Reflection of Warmth from the Plain, 
 and too low between the Mountains, 
 which almoft join together, to admit the 
 Rays of the Sun ; for the only Opening 
 to it is on the North Side. Here the 
 Ice continues all the Year round ; and 
 ,tho' it yields a little on the Surface, to 
 the Warmth of the circumambient Air 
 by Day, in Summer-Time, yet at the 
 Return of Night it begins to freeze as 
 hard as ever. This I have been affur'd of, 
 not only by the Proprietor himfelf, but by 
 
 feveral
 
 LETTER XVIII. 81 
 
 feveral others, in and near that Part of 
 the Country. 
 
 I HAVE feen in a rainy Day, from a 
 Conflux of Waters above, on a diftant 
 high Hill, the Side of it cover'd over 
 with Water by an Overflowing 5 for a 
 very great Spaw, as you may have feen 
 the Water pour over the Brim of a Cif- 
 tern, or rather, like its being cover'd 
 over with a Sheet, and upon the peep- 
 ing out of the Sun the reflected Rays 
 have dazzled my Eyes to fuch a Degree, 
 as if they were directed to 'em by the 
 Focus of a burning Glafs. 
 
 So much for Lakes. 
 
 IN one Expedition where I was Well 
 attended, as I have faid before, there was 
 a River in my Way fo dangerous, that I 
 was fet upon the Shoulders of four High- 
 landers ; my Horfe not being to be 
 trufted to in fuch Roughnefs, Depth, 
 and Rapidity, And I really thought 
 
 VOL, II, G fome-
 
 8z LETTER XVIII. 
 
 fometimes, we mould all have gone to- 
 gether. 
 
 IN the fame Journey the Shoulders of 
 forne of them were employ'd to eafe the 
 Horfes, down from Rock to Roek ; 
 and all that long Day I could make out 
 but nine Miles. This alfo was call'd a 
 Road. 
 
 TOWARD the End of another Progrefs 
 in my Return to this Town, after feve- 
 ral Hazards from increafing Waters, I 
 was at Length ftopp'd by a fmall River, 
 that was become impaffable. There hap- 
 pen'd luckily for me, to be a publick 
 Hut in this Place, for there was no go^ 
 ing back again ; but there was nothing 
 to drink, except the Water of the River. 
 
 THIS I regretted the more, as I had 
 refufed at one of the Barracks to accept 
 of a Bottle of Old Hock, on Account 
 of the Carriage, and believing I mould 
 reach hither before Night. In about 
 three Hours after -my Arrival at- this Hut, 
 
 there
 
 L E*T T E R XVIII, 83 
 
 there appear'd on the other Side of the 
 Water a Parcel of Merchants, with lit- 
 tle Horfes loaded with Roundlets of 
 VJky. 
 
 WITHIN Sight of the Ford was a 
 Bridge (as they call'd it) made for the 
 Convenience of this Place. It was com- 
 pos'd of two fmall Fir-Trees not fquared 
 at all, laid one befide the other, acrofs 
 a narrow Part of the River, from Rock 
 to Rock. There were Gaps and Inter- 
 vals between thofe Trees, and beneath a 
 moft tumultuous Fall of Water. 
 
 SOME of my Merchants beftridifig 
 the Bridge, edg'd forwards, and mov'd 
 the Uiky Veflels before 'em; but the 
 others afterwards, to my Surprize, walk'd 
 over this dangerous PafTage, and dragg'd 
 their Garrons through the Torrent, while 
 the poor little Horfes were almoft 
 drown'd with the Surge. 
 
 I HAPPEN'D to have 3. few Lemons 
 left, and with them I fo far qualified the 
 ill Tafte of the Spirit, as to make it to- 
 G 2 lerablc;
 
 84 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 lerable ; but Eatables there were none 
 except Eggs, and poor ftarv'd Fowls as 
 ufual. 
 
 THE TJjky Men were my Companions, 
 whom it was expected I mould treat ac- 
 cording to Cuftom j there being no Par- 
 tition to feparate them from me. And 
 thus I pafs'd a Part of the Day, and 
 great Part of the Night in the Smoke, 
 and dreading the Bed. 
 
 BUT my perfonal Hazards, Wants, 
 and Inconveniencies among the Hills, 
 have been fo many, that I mall trouble 
 you with no more of 'ern 5 or very fpa- 
 ringly, if I do at all. 
 
 SOME of the Bogs are of large Ex- 
 tent, and many People have been loft in 
 'em ; efpecially after much Rain in Time 
 of Snow, as well as in the leffer Moffes, 
 as they call 'em, where, in digging of 
 Peat, there have been found Fir-Trees 
 of a good Magnitude, buried deep, and 
 almoft as hard as Ebony. 
 
 THIS,
 
 LETTER XVIII. 85 
 
 THIS, like the Situation of the Moun- 
 tains, is attributed to Noab's Flood ; for 
 they conclude the Trees have lain there 
 ever 'lince that Time, tho' it may 'be 
 ealily otherwife accounted for. But what 
 feems extraordinary to Strangers, is, that 
 there are often deep Bogs on the 
 Declivities of Hills ; and the higher you 
 go, the more you are bogg'd. 
 
 IN a Part call'd Glengary^ in my Re- 
 turn hither from the Weft Highlands, 
 I found a Bog, or a Part of one, had 
 been wam'd down by fome violent Tor- 
 rent, from the Top of a high Hill into 
 the Plain ; and the fteep Sloap was al- 
 moft cover'd over with the muddy Sub- 
 ftance, that had refted there in its Paf- 
 fage downwards. 
 
 THIS made a pretty deep Bog below, 
 as a Gentleman who was with me, found 
 from his Curiofity to try it, being de- 
 ceived by the Surface, which was dry'd 
 by the Sun and Wind j for he forced 
 G 7 his
 
 86 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 his Horfe into it, and funk, which fur- 
 priz'd my Companion, who I thought 
 fhould have known better, being of 
 Ireland. 
 
 I HAVE heretofore hinted the Danger 
 of being fhut in by Waters, and there- 
 by debar'd from all NecefTaries of 'Life, 
 but have not yet mention'd the Extent 
 of the Hills, that intervene between one 
 Place of Shelter and another j and in- 
 deed it is impoflible to do fo in general. 
 But thofe are fometimes nine or ten Scots 
 Miles over, and one of them in particu- 
 lar, that I have pafs'd, is Eighteen, 
 wherein you frequently meet with Ri- 
 vers and deep rugged Channels in the 
 Sides of the Mountains, which you muft 
 pafs, and thefe laft are often the moil 
 dangerous of the two ; and both, if 
 continued Rains mould fall, become im- 
 paffable before you can attain the End ; 
 for which a great deal of Time is re- 
 quired by the Stonynefs, and other Dif- 
 ficulties of the Way. 
 
 THER?
 
 LETTER XVIII. 87 
 
 THERE is indeed one Alleviation : 
 That as thefe Rivers may, from being 
 mallow, become impracticable for the 
 talleft Horfe in two or three Hours 
 Time, yet will they again be pafTable, 
 from their Velocity, almoil as foon, if 
 the Rain entirely ceafe. When the 
 Highlanders fpeak of thefe Spaces, they 
 call 'em Monfs, without either Houfe or 
 Hall ; and never attempt to pafs them, 
 if the Tops of the Mountains prefage 
 bad Weather. Yet in that, they are 
 fometimes deceived by a fudden Change 
 of Wind. 
 
 ALL this Way you may go without 
 feeing a Tree, or coming within two 
 Miles of a Shrub ; and when you come 
 at laft to a fmall Spot of arable Land, 
 where the rocky Feet of the Hills ferve 
 for Enclofure, what Work do they make 
 about the Beauties of the Place, as tho' 
 one had never feen a Field of Oats be- 
 fore. 
 
 G 4 You
 
 88 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 You know, that a polite Behaviour is 
 common to the Army ; but as it is irn- 
 poffible it fhould be univerfal, confidec- 
 jng the different Tempers, and other 
 Accidents that attend Mankind, fo we 
 have here a certain Captain, who is al- 
 moft illiterate, perfectly rude, and thinks 
 his Courage and Strength are fufficient 
 Supports to his Incivilities. 
 
 THIS Officer finding a Laird at one of 
 the publick Hutb in the Highlands, and 
 both going the fame Way, they agreed 
 to bear one another Company the reft of 
 the Journey. 
 
 AFTER they had rid about four Miles, 
 
 the Laird turn'd to him, and faid 
 
 Now all the Ground we have hitherto 
 
 gone over, is my own Property By 
 
 G , fays the other, I have an Apple- 
 Tree in Hereford/hire, that I would not 
 fwop with you for it all. 
 
 BUT to give you a better Idea of the 
 Diftance between one inhabited Spot, 
 
 and
 
 LETTER XVIII. 89 
 
 and another in a vaft Extent of Country 
 (Main and Ifland) I fhall acquaint you 
 with what a Chief was faying of his 
 Quondam Eftate. 
 
 HE told me, that if he was re-inftated, 
 and difpos'd to fell it, I mould have it 
 for the Purchafe-Money of Three-pence 
 an Acre. 
 
 I DID not then take much Notice of 
 what he faid, it being at a Tavern in 
 Edinburgh, and pretty late at Night ; but 
 upon this Occafion of writing to you, 
 I have made fome Calculation of it, and 
 find I mould have been in Danger to 
 have had a very hard Bargain. It is 
 faid to have been reduced by a Survey 
 to a rectangle Parallelogram, or oblong 
 Square of fixty Miles by forty ; which 
 is 2400 fquare Miles, and 1,951,867 
 fquare Acres. 
 
 IT is call'd 1500 /. a Year Rent j but 
 the Collector faid, he never received 
 
 900 /. 
 
 
 
 Now
 
 90 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 Now the aforegoing Number of Acres 
 at 3 d an Acre, amounts to 24,398 /. 65 
 gd and 900 per Annum, at 25 Years 
 Purchafe, is but 22,5007. The Dif- 
 ference is 1896 7. 6 s, gd. 
 
 THERE are other Obfervations that 
 might not be improper j but I mall now 
 defer them, and continue my Account 
 of the People, which has likewife been 
 deferr'd in this Letter. 
 
 LETTER
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 HE Highlanders are 
 divided into Tribes, 
 or Clans under Chiefs, 
 or Chieftains, 'as they 
 are call'd in the Laws 
 of Scotland ; and each 
 Clan again divided into Branches, from 
 the main Stock, who have Chieftains 
 over them. Thefe are fubdivided into 
 fmaller Branches of fifty or lixty Men, 
 who deduce their Original from their 
 particular Chieftains ; and rely upon 
 them as their more immediate Protectors 
 and Defenders. 
 
 BUT for better Diftindion, I (hall 
 ufe the Word Chief for the Head of a 
 
 whole
 
 gz LETTER XIX. 
 
 whole Clan ; and the Principal of a 
 Tribe deriv'd from him, I (hall call a 
 Chieftain. 
 
 THE ordinary Highlanders efteem it 
 
 the moft fublime Degree of Virtue to 
 
 o 
 
 love their Chief, and pay him a blind 
 Obedience, altho' it be in Oppofition to 
 the Government, the Laws of the King- 
 dom, or even to the Law of God. He 
 is their Idol, and as they profefs to know 
 no King but him, (I was going farther) 
 fo will they fay, they ought to -do what- 
 ever he commands, without Enquiry. 
 
 NEXT to this Love of their Chief, is 
 that of the particular Branch from whence 
 they fprung, and in a third Degree, to 
 thofe of the whole Clan or Name, whom 
 they will afiift, right or wrong, againft 
 thofe of any other Tribe, with which 
 they are at Variance j to whom their 
 Enmity, like that of exafperated Bro- 
 thers, is moft outrageous. 
 
 THEY likewife owe good Will to fuch 
 Clans as they efteem to be their particu- 
 lar
 
 LETTER XIX. 93 
 
 lar Well-wifhers ; and laftly, they have an 
 Adherence one to another as Highlan- 
 ders, in Oppofition to the People of the 
 Low Country, whom they defpife as in- 
 ferior to them in Courage, and believe 
 they have a Right to plunder them, 
 whenever it is in their Power. This 
 laft arifes from a Tradition, that the 
 Lowlands in old Times were the Poflef- 
 fion of their Anceftors. 
 
 IF the Truth of this Opinion of theirs 
 ftood in Need of any Evidence, it might 
 in good Meafure be confirm'd, by what 
 I had from a Highland Gentleman of 
 my Acquaintance. He told me, that a 
 certain Chief of a conliderable Clan, in 
 rummaging lately an old Charter Cheft, 
 found a Letter directed by another Chief 
 to his Grandfather, who is therein af- 
 fured of the immediate Restitution of 
 his Lifted, that is, ftolen Cows ; for 
 that he (the Writer of the Letter) had 
 thought they belong'd to the Lowland 
 Lairds of Murray^ whofe Goods and Ef- 
 fe&s ought to be a Prey to them all. 
 
 2 WHEN
 
 94 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 WHEN I mention'd this Tradition, I 
 had only in View the middling and or- 
 dinary Highlanders, who are very tena- 
 cious of old Cuftoms and Opinions -, and 
 by the Example I have given of a Fadl, 
 that happen'd almoft a Century ago, I 
 would be underftood, that it is very pro- 
 bable fuch a Notion was formerly enter- 
 tain'd by fome, at leaft among thofe of 
 the higheft Rank. 
 
 THE Chief exercifes an arbitrary Au- 
 thority over his VaiTals, determines all 
 Differences and Difputes that happen 
 among them, and levies Taxes upon ex- 
 traordinary Occafions ; fuch as the Mar- 
 riage of a Daughter, building a Houfe, 
 or fome Pretence for his Support, and 
 the Honour of the Name. And if any 
 one mould refufe to contribute to the beft 
 of his Ability, he is fure of fevere Treat- 
 ment ; and if he perfifted in his Ob- 
 ftinacy, he would be caft out of the 
 Tribe by general Confent. But Inftan- 
 
 ces
 
 LETTER XIX. 95 
 
 ces of this Kind have very rarely hap- 
 pen'd. 
 
 THIS Power of the Chiefs is not fup- 
 ported by Intereft, as they are Landlords, 
 but as lineally defcended from the old 
 Patriarchs, or Fathers of the Families ; 
 for they hold the fame Authority, when 
 they have loft their Eftates, as may ap- 
 pear from feveral, and particularly one, 
 who commands in his Clan, tho' at the 
 fame Time they maintain him, having 
 nothing left of his own. 
 
 ON the other Hand, the Chief, even 
 again ft the Laws, is to protect his Fol- 
 lowers, as they are fometimes call'd ; be 
 they never fo criminal. 
 
 HE is their Leader in Clan-Quarrels, 
 muft free the Necefiitous from their Ar- 
 rears of Rent ; and maintain fuch, who 
 by Accidents are fallen to total Decay. 
 
 IF by Increafe of the Tribe any fmall 
 Farms are wanting for the Support of 
 fuch Addition, he fplits others into lefler 
 
 Portions,
 
 96 LETTER XIX. 
 
 Portions ; becaufe all muft be fomehow 
 provided for. And as the meaneft among 
 'em pretend to be his Relations by Con- 
 fanguinity, they infift upon the Privilege 
 of taking him by the Hand, wherever 
 they meet him. 
 
 CONCERNING this laft, 1 once faw a 
 Number of very difcontented Counte- 
 nances, when a certain Lord, one of 
 the Chiefs, endeavour'd to evade this Ce- 
 remony. 
 
 IT was in Prefence of an Englifo Gen- 
 tleman in high Station, from whom he 
 would willingly have conceal'd the 
 Knowledge of fuch feeming Familiarity 
 with Slaves of fo wretched Appearance 5 
 and thinking it, I fuppofe, as a Kind of 
 Contradiction to what he had often boaft- 
 ed at other Times, viz. his defpotick 
 Power in his Clan. 
 
 THE unlimited Love and Obedience 
 of the Highlanders to their Chiefs, are 
 not confin'd to the lower Order of their 
 
 Followers ;
 
 LETTER XIX. 97 
 
 Followers ; but are the fame with thofc 
 who are near them in Rank. 
 
 As for Inftance : As I was travelling 
 in a very wild Part of the Country, and 
 approaching the Houfe of one of thofe 
 Gentlemen who had Notice of my com- 
 ing, he met me at fome Diftance from 
 his Dwelling ; with his Arcadian Offer- 
 ing of Milk and Cream, as ufual, car- 
 ried before him by his Servants. He 
 afterwards invited me to his Hut, which 
 was built like the others, only very long, 
 but without any Partition j where the 
 Family was at one End, and fome Cat- 
 tle at the other. By the Way, altho' 
 the Weather was not warm, he was 
 without Shoes, Stockings, or Breeches, 
 in a mort Coat, with a Shirt not much 
 longer, which hung between his Thighs > 
 andjuft hid his Nakednefs from two 
 Daughters about feventeen or eighteen 
 Years old, who fat over againft him. 
 After fome Compliments on either Side, 
 and his wiming me good Weather, we 
 cnter'd into Converfation, in which he 
 
 VOL. II. H feem'd
 
 98 LETTER XIX. 
 
 feem'd to be a Man of good Senfe, as he 
 was well proportion d. In fpeaking of 
 the Country, he told me he knew I won- 
 der 'd how any Body would undergo the 
 Inconveniencies of a Highland Life. 
 
 You may be fure I was not wanting 
 in an agreeable Contradiction, by faying, 
 I doubted not they had their Satisfactions 
 and Pleafures to countervail any Incon- 
 veniencies they might fuftain ; tho' per- 
 haps thofe Advantages could not be well 
 known to fuch as are en paffant. But he 
 very modeftly interrupted me as I was 
 going on, and faid, he knew that what 
 I faid, was the Effect of Complaifance, 
 and could not be the real Sentiment of 
 one who knew a good deal of the Coun- 
 try ; but, fays he, the Truth is, we are 
 infenfibly inur'd to it by Degrees. For, 
 when very young, we know no better ; 
 being grown up, we are inclin'd, or 
 perfuaded by our near Relations to marry, 
 thence comes Children, and Fondnefs 
 for them. But above all, favs he, is the 
 
 3 
 
 Love of our Chief, fo ftrongly is it incul- 
 cated
 
 LETTER XlX. 99 
 
 cated to us in our Infancy. And if it 
 were not for that, I think the High- 
 lands would be much thinner of People 
 than they now are. By this and many 
 other Inftances, I am fully perfuaded, 
 that the Highlanders are,' at leaft, as 
 fond of the Race of their Chiefs, as a 
 Frenchman is of the Houfe of Bourbon. 
 
 SEVERAL Reafons have juft now of- 
 fer'd themfelves to me, in Perfuafion to 
 conceal one Circumftance of this Vifit ; 
 but your Jntereft with me has prevailed 
 againft them all. 
 
 THE two young Ladies, in my falu- 
 ting them at parting, did me a Favour, 
 which, with you would be thought the 
 utmoft Invitation ; but it is purely inno- 
 cent with them, and a Mark of the 
 higheft Efteem for their Gueft. 
 
 THIS was no great Surprize to me, 
 having received the fame Compliment 
 feveral Times before in the High- 
 lands, and even from married Women, 
 H 2 whom
 
 leo LETTER XIX. 
 whom I may be fure had no further 
 Defign in it ; and like the two above - 
 meption'd young Women, could never 
 expect to fee me again. 
 
 BUT I am not fingular ; for feveral 
 Officers in the Army have told me they 
 had received the fame Courtefy from 
 other Females in the Hills. 
 
 SOME of the Chiefs have not only 
 perfonal Diflikes and Enmity to each 
 other, but there are alfo hereditary 
 Feuds between Clan and Clan ; which 
 have been handed down from one Gene- 
 ration to another, for feveral Ages. 
 
 THESE Quarrels defcend to the mean- 
 eft VafTal ; and thus, fometimes, an in- 
 nocent Perfon fuffers for Crimes com- 
 mitted by his Tribe at a vaft Diftance of 
 Time, before his Being began. 
 
 WHEN a Quarrel begins in Words, 
 between two Highlanders of different 
 Clans, it is efteem'd the very Height of 
 
 Malice
 
 LETTER XIX. 101 
 
 Malice and Rancour; and the greatefl 
 of all Provocations to reproach one ano- 
 ther with the Vices or perfonal Defects 
 of their Chief, which for the moft Part 
 ends in Wounds or Death. 
 
 OFTEN the Monuments of a Clan 
 Battle, or fome particular Murder, are 
 the Incitements to great Mifchiefs. The 
 firft mention'd are fmall Heaps of Stones 
 thrown together on the Place, where 
 every particular Man fell in Battle ; the 
 other is from fuch a Heap firft caft upon 
 the Spot where the Fact was committed, 
 and afterwards by Degrees increas'd to a 
 high Pyramid, by thofe of the Clan that 
 was wrong'd , in ftill throwing more Stones, 
 upon it as they pafs by. The former I 
 have feen overgrown with Mofs, upon 
 wide Moors, which mew d the Number 
 of Men that were kill'd in the Action. 
 And feveral of the latter I have obferv'd 
 in my Journeys, that could not be leis 
 than fourteen or fifteen Feet high, with 
 a Bafe proportionable. 
 
 II ? THUS.
 
 102 LETTER XIX. 
 
 THUS, if fcveral Men of Clans at Va- 
 riance happen to meet in View of one 
 of thefe Memorials, 'tis odds but one 
 Party reproaches the other with all the 
 aggravating Circumftances that Tradition 
 (which is moftly a Liar, either in the 
 whole or a Part) has added to the ori- 
 ginal Truth j and then fome great Mif- 
 chief enfues. 
 
 BUT if a {ingle Highlander of the 
 Clan that offended, fhould be met by 
 two or three more of the others, he is 
 fure to be infulted, and receive fome 
 cruel Treatment from them. 
 
 THUS thefe Heaps of Stones, as I 
 have heard an old Highlander complain, 
 continue to occafion the Revival of Ani- 
 moiities, that had their Beginning per- 
 haps hundreds of Years before any of 
 the Parties accufed were born ; and 
 therefore I think they ought, by Autho- 
 rity, to be fcattered, and effectually de- 
 faced. But fome of thefe Monuments 
 
 have
 
 LETTER XIX. 103 
 
 have been raifed, in Memory of fucb 
 as have loft their Lives in a Journey by 
 Show, Rivers, or other Accidents ; as 
 was the Practice of the eaftern Nations. 
 
 BY an old Scottift Law, the Chief 
 was made accountable for any Depreda- 
 tions, or other Violences committed by 
 his Clan upon the Borders of the Low- 
 lands ; and in extraordinary Cafes he 
 was obliged to give up his Son, or fome 
 other neareft Relation as a Hoftage, for 
 the peaceable Behaviour of his Follow- 
 ers in that Refpect. 
 
 By this Law (for I never faw the Act) 
 he muft furely have had an entire Com- 
 mand over them j at leaft, tacitly, or 
 by Inference underftood. For how un- 
 reafonable, not to fay, unjuft, muft fuch 
 a Reftriclion have been to him, if by 
 Sanction of the fame Law he had not 
 had a coerfive and judicial Authority 
 over thofe, in whofe Choice and Power 
 it always lay to bring Punifhment upon 
 him ? And if he had fuch an abfolute 
 H 4 Command
 
 Jo 4 LETTER XIX. 
 Command over them, was it not to 
 make of every Chief a petty Prince in 
 his own Territory, and his Followers a 
 People diftinct and feparate from all 
 others ? 
 
 FOR atrocious Crimes, fuch as Rebel- 
 lion, Murder, Rapes, or oppofing the 
 Execution of the Laws, which is alfo 
 call'd Rebellion, when by Procefs the 
 Chief or Laird was condemn'd in Ab- 
 fence, and inter commund, as they call it, 
 or outlawed, the Civil Power, by Law 
 and Cuftom gave Letters of Fire and 
 Sword againfl him ; and the Officer of 
 Juflice might call for military Force, to 
 arTifl in the Execution. 
 
 BUT it is certain, fome few of the 
 Chiefs in former Times were upon Oc- 
 cafions, too powerful to be brought to 
 Account by the Government. 
 
 I HAVE heard many Inftances of the 
 Faithfulnefs of particular Highlanders 
 
 3 to
 
 LETTER XIX. 105 
 
 to their Matters, but (hall relate only 
 one j which is to me very well known. 
 
 AT the Battle of Gknfbitts, in the 
 
 Rebellion of the Year 1/19, a Gentle- 
 man, (George Munro of Culcairne) for 
 whom I have a great Efteem, command- 
 ed a Company of Highland Men, rais'd 
 out of his Father's Clan ; and enter- 
 tain'd at his own Expence. There he 
 was dangeroufly wounded in the Thigh 
 from a Party of the Rebel Highlanders, 
 ported upon the Declivity of a Moun- 
 tain ; who kept on firing at him, after 
 he was down, according to their Want 
 of Difcipline, in fpending much Fire 
 upon one fingle Officer, which diftri- 
 buted among the Body, might thin the 
 Ranks of their Enemy. 
 
 WHEN, after he fell, and found by 
 their Behaviour, they were refolv'd to 
 difpatch him outright, he bid his Ser- 
 vant, who was by, get out of the Dan- 
 ger, for he might lofe his Life, but 
 could be of no Manner of Succour or 
 
 Service
 
 io6 LETTER XIX, 
 Service to him j and only defired him, 
 that when he return'd Home, he would 
 let his Father and his Family know that 
 he had not mifbehav'd. 
 
 
 
 HEREUPON the Highlander burft out 
 into Tears, and afking him how he 
 thought he could leave him in that Con- 
 dition, and what they would think of 
 him at Home, fet himfelf down on his 
 Hands and Knees over his Matter, and 
 received feveral Wounds, to mield him 
 from further Hurt ; 'till one of the Clan, 
 who acted as a Serjeant, with a fmall 
 Party diflodg'd the Enemy, after having 
 taken an Oath upon his Dirk, that he 
 would do it. 
 
 FOR my own Part, I do not fee how 
 this Act of Fidelity is any Way inferior to 
 the fo celebrated one of Philocratus^ 
 Slave to Calm Gracchus ; who likewife 
 cover'd his Matter with his Body, when 
 he was found by his Enemies in a Wood, 
 in fuch Manner, that Cairn could not be 
 
 kill'd
 
 LETTER XIX. 107 
 
 kill'd by them, 'till they had firft dif- 
 patch'd his Domeftick. 
 
 THIS Man has often waited at Table, 
 when his Mafter and I din'd together ; 
 but otherwife is treated more like a 
 Friend, than a Servant. 
 
 THE Highlanders, in order to per- 
 fuade a Belief of their Hardinefs, have 
 feveral Rodomontados on that Head ; for, 
 as the French Proverb fays, Tous les Gaf- 
 cons, ne font pas en France : There are 
 vain Boafters in other Countries, befides 
 Gajccny. 'Tis true, they are liable to 
 great Hardmips, and they often fufFer 
 by 'em in their Health and Limbs, as I 
 have often obferv'd in a former Letter. 
 
 ONE of thefe Gafconades is, that the 
 Laird of Keppwb, Chieftain of a Branch 
 of the Mac' Donalds, in a Winter Cam- 
 paign againft a neighbouring Laird, with 
 whom he was at War about a PofTefiion, 
 gave Orders for rowling a Snow-ball to 
 lay under his Head in the Night ; where- 
 upon his Followers murmur'd, faying, 
 
 New
 
 jo8 LETTER XIX. 
 
 Now ive de/pair ofVittory^fince our Leader 
 is become fo effeminate, he cant Jleep 'with- 
 out a Pillow. 
 
 THIS, and many other like Stories arc 
 romantick j but there is one Thing, that 
 at firil Thought might feem very extra- 
 ordinary, of which I have been credi- 
 bly aflured, that when the Highlanders 
 are conftrain'd to lie among the Hills, 
 in cold dry windy Weather, they fome- 
 times foak the Plaid in fome River or 
 Burne j and then holding up a Corner 
 of it a little above their Heads, they 
 turn themfelves round and round, 'till 
 they are invelop'd by the whole Man- 
 tle. Then they lay themfelves down 
 on the Heath, upon the Leeward Side 
 of fome Hill, where the wet and the 
 warmth of their Bodies make a Steam, 
 like that of a boiling Kettle. The wet, 
 they fay, keeps 'em warm by thick'ning 
 the Stuff, and keeping the Wind from 
 penetrating. 
 
 I MUST confefs I fhould myfelf have 
 been apt to queftion this Fadt, had I 
 
 not
 
 LETTER XIX. 109 
 
 not frequently feen them wet from Mora- 
 ing to Night ; and even at the Begin- 
 ning of the Rain, not fo much as ftir 
 a few Yards to melter, but continue in 
 it without Neceffity, 'till they were, as 
 we fay, wet through and through. And 
 that is foon effected by the Loofenefs 
 and Spunginefs of the Plaiding ; but 
 the Bonnet is frequently taken off, and 
 wrung like a Dim-Clout, and then put 
 on again. 
 
 THEY have been accuftom'd from their 
 Infancy to be often wet, and to take the 
 Water-like Spaniels ; and this is become 
 a fecond Nature, and can fcarcely be 
 call'd a Hardmip to them, infomuch that 
 I ufed to fay, they feem'd to be of the 
 Duck Kind, and to love the Water as 
 well. Tho' I never faw this Prepara- 
 tion for Sleep in windy Weather, yet 
 fetting out early in a Morning from one 
 of the Huts, I have feen the Marks of 
 their Lodging, where the Ground has 
 been free from Rime or Snow, which 
 
 remain'd
 
 no LETTER XIX. 
 
 remain'd all round the Spots where they 
 had lain. 
 
 The different Sur-names of the High- 
 landers in general are but few, in re- 
 gard they are divided into large Fami- 
 lies, and hardly any Male Strangers have 
 intermarried with, or fettled amon^ 'em ; 
 
 o 
 
 and with refpeft to particular Tribes, 
 they commonly make that Alliance among 
 themfelves, who are all of one Name, 
 except fome few who may have affected 
 to annex themfelves to the Clan, and 
 thofe for the moft Part affume the 
 Name. 
 
 THUS the Sur-names being ufelefs, 
 for DifHn&ion of Perfons are fupprefs'd, 
 and there ' remain only the Chriftian 
 Names ; of which there are every where 
 a great Number of Duncans, Donalds^ 
 Alexanders^ Patricks^ &c. who there- 
 fore muft be fome otherways diflin- 
 guifh'd one from another. 
 
 THIS
 
 LETTER XIX. m 
 
 THIS is done by fome additional Names 
 and Defcriptions taken from their Fore- 
 fathers ; for when their own Chriflian 
 Name, with their Father's Name and 
 Defcription (which is for the moft Part 
 the Colour of the Hair) is not fufficient, 
 they add the Grandfather's, and fo up- 
 wards, till they are perfe&ly diftinguimed 
 from all others of the fame Clan-Name. 
 
 As for Example ; A Man whofe Name 
 is Donald Grant> has for Patronimick (as 
 they call it) the Name following, viz. 
 
 Donald Bane, i.e. VJh\te hair'd Donald. 
 Mac oil Vane, Son of grey hair'd Donald. 
 Vic oil rot, Grandfon of red hair'd Donald. 
 Vic can, Great Grandfon of John. 
 
 THUS, you fee the Name of Grant is 
 not ufed, becaufe all of that Clan are 
 either fo called, or alTume that Name. 
 
 ANOTHER Thing is ; that if this Man 
 had defcended in a direft Line, as eldeft, 
 
 from.
 
 H2 LETTER XIX. 
 
 from John, the remoteft Anceftor, and 
 John had been a Chief; he would only 
 be called Mac Ran, leaving out all the 
 intermediate Succefllons by way of Emi- 
 nence. 
 
 THESE patronimical Names, at length, 
 are made ufe of, chiefly, in Writings, 
 Receipts, Rentals, GJV. and in ordinary 
 Matters the Highlanders have, fome- 
 times, other Diflindions, which alfo to 
 fome are pretty long. 
 
 WHEN Numbers of them, compofed 
 from different Tribes, have been jointly 
 employed in a Work, they have had 
 arbitrary and temporary Denominations 
 added to their Chriftian Names by their 
 Overfeers for the more ready Diftin- 
 tion ; fuch as, the Place they came from; 
 the Perfon who recommended them, 
 fome particular Vice, or from fome- 
 thing remarkable in their Perfons, &c. 
 by which fictitious Names they have 
 alfo been fet down in the Books of their 
 Employers. 
 
 IT
 
 LETTER XIX. 113 
 
 IT is a received Notion (hut nothing 
 can be more unjuft) that the ordinary 
 Highlanders are an indolent lazy Peo- 
 ple ; I know the Contrary by trouble- 
 fome Experience ; I fay troublefome, be- 
 caufe, in a certain Affair wherein I had 
 Occafion to employ great Numbers of 
 them, and gave them good Wages, the 
 Solicitations of others for Employment 
 were very earned, and would hardly ad- 
 mit of a Denial ; they are as willing as 
 other People to mend their Way of Liv- 
 ing, and when they have gained Strength 
 from fubilantial Food, they work as well 
 as others 5 but why mould a People be 
 branded with the Name of Idles in a 
 Country where there is generally no pro- 
 fitable Euiinefs for them to do ? 
 
 HENCE I have concluded, That if any 
 Expedient could be found for their Em- 
 ployment, to their reafonable Advantage, 
 there would be little elfe wanting to re- 
 form the Minds of the mod fava^e 
 
 o 
 
 amongft them. For my own Part, I do 
 VOL. II. I afore
 
 u 4 LETTER XIX. 
 
 aflure you, that I never had the leaft 
 Reafon to complain of the Behaviour to- 
 wards me of any of the ordinary High- 
 landers, or the IrifJ} j but it wants a great 
 deal that I could truly fay as much of the 
 Englishmen and lowland Sects that were, 
 employed in the fame Bufinefs. 
 
 ONE of the Chiefs, at his own Houfe, 
 complained to me (but in a friendly 
 Manner) as though I had feduced fome 
 G\ his Subjects from their Allegiance. 
 He had Occafion for three or four of 
 thofe of his Clan (whom I employed) 
 about a Piece of Work at home, which 
 they only could do, and when he was 
 about to pay them for their Labour, he 
 offered them Six-pence a Day each 
 (being great Wages, even if they had 
 not been his Vaflals) in Confideration he 
 had t.iken them from other Employ- 
 ment ; upon which they remonflrated, 
 and faid, he injured them in calling them 
 from Sixteen-pence a Day to Six-pence; 
 and I very well remember, he then told 
 me, that if any of thofe People had, 
 
 formerly,
 
 LETTER XIX. r j 5 
 
 formerly, faid as much to their Chief, 
 they would have been carried to the 
 next Rock and precipitated. 
 
 THE Highlanders walk nimbly and up- 
 right, fo that you will never fee among the 
 meaneft of them, in the moft remote Parts, 
 the clumfy ftooping Gait of the French 
 Paifans,or our own Country Fellows ; but 
 on the contrary, a kind of Statelinefs in 
 the Midft of their Poverty; and this I 
 think may be accounted for without 
 much Difficulty. 
 
 THEY have a Pride in theif Family, 
 as almoft every one is a Genealogift ; 
 they wear light Brogues, or Pumps, and 
 are accuftomed to fkip over Rocks and 
 Bogs j whereas, our Country-Labourers 
 have no fuch Pride, wear heavy clouted 
 Shoes, and are continually dragging their 
 Feet out of ploughed Land or Clays ; 
 but thofe very Men, in a fhort Time 
 after they are inlifted into the Army, 
 ere6l their Bodies, change their clownifh 
 Gait, and become fmart Fellows j and 
 I 2 indeed,
 
 n6 LETTER XIX. 
 
 indeed, the Soldiers in general, after 
 being a little accuftomed to the Toils and 
 Difficulties of the Country can, and do, 
 to my Knowledge, acquit themfelves in 
 their Winter-Marches, and other Hard- 
 fhips as well as the Highlanders 3 on the 
 other hand it is obferved, that the private 
 Men of the independent Highland Com- 
 panies are become lefs hardy than others 
 from their great Pay (as it is to them) 
 the beft Lodging the Country affords, 
 and warm Clothing. 
 
 I CANNOT forbear to tell you before I 
 conclude, that many of thofe private 
 Gentlemen have Gt/fys, or Servants to at- 
 tend them in Quarters, an.d upon a March 
 to carry their Provifions and Firelocks. 
 
 BUT as I have happened to touch upon 
 thofe Companies^ it may not be amifs to 
 go a little farther, for I think I have juft 
 room enough for it in this Sheet. 
 
 THERE are fix of them, viz. three of 
 one hundred Men, and three of fixty 
 
 each,
 
 LETTER XIX. 117 
 
 each, in all four hundred and eighty 
 Men. 
 
 THESE are, chiefly, Tenants to the 
 Captains ; and one of the Ccnturkns or 
 Captains of an Hundred, is faid to ftrip 
 his other Tenants of their bed Plaids 
 wherewith to cloath his Soldiers againft 
 a Review, and to commit many other 
 Abufes of his Trufl. 
 
 THESE Captains are all of them vying 
 with each other whole Company (hall 
 beft perform the manual Exercife ; fo 
 that four hundred and eighty Men, be- 
 fides the Changes made among them, 
 are fufficient to teach that Part of the 
 military Difcipline throughout the whole 
 Highlands. 
 
 I AM not a Prophet, nor the Son of a 
 Prophet, or even fccond fghted -, yet I 
 forefee that a Time may come when the 
 InfHtution of thefe Corps may be thought 
 not to have been the befl of Policy. I am 
 not unawares, it may be faid j they were 
 I 3 raifed
 
 Ii8 LETTER XIX. 
 
 raifed in order to facilitate the Difarmirjg, 
 and they are ufeful to prevent the Stealing 
 of Cattle ; but both thofe Reafons are 
 not fufficient to alter my Opinion of their 
 pontinuance. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ( "9 ) 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 H E Gentry may be 
 faid to be a handfome 
 People, but the Com- 
 monalty much other- 
 wife ; one would 
 hardly think, by their 
 Faces, they were of 
 the fame Species, at leaft, of the fame 
 Country, which plainly proceeds from 
 their bad Food, Smoak at home, and 
 Sun, Wind and Rain abroad, becaufethe 
 young Children have as good Features 
 as any I have feen in other Parts of the 
 Jfland. 
 
 I HAVE mentioned the Sun in this 
 
 porchcrn Climate as partly the Caufe of 
 
 I 4 their
 
 120 L E T T E R XX. 
 
 their Difguife, for that (as I faid before) 
 in Summer the Heat, by Reflection from 
 the Rocks, is excefiive j at the fame 
 time the Cold on the Tops of the Hills 
 is fo van: an Extreme as cannot be con- 
 ceived by any but thofe who have felt 
 the Difference, and know the Danger of 
 fo fudden a Tranfition from one to the 
 other j and this likewife has its Effect 
 upon them. 
 
 THE ordinary Natives are, for the moft 
 part, civil when they are kindly ufed, 
 but moft mifchievous when much offend- 
 ed, and will hardly ever forgive a Provo- 
 cation, but feek iome open or fccret Re- 
 venge, and generally fpeakhig, the latter 
 of the two. 
 
 A HIGHLAND Town, as before men- 
 tioned, is compofed of a few Huts for 
 Dwellings, with Barns and Stables, and 
 both the latter are of a more diminutive 
 Size than the former, all irregularly 
 placed, fome one way, fome another, and 
 ance look like fo many Heaps 
 
 Of
 
 L E T T E R XX. 121 
 
 of Dirt ; thefe are built in Glens and 
 Straths, which are the Corn Countries, 
 near Rivers and Rivulets, and alfo on the 
 Sides of Lakes where there is fome a- 
 rable Land for the Support of the In- 
 habitants. 
 
 BUT I am now to fpeak of the Man- 
 ner in which the lower Order of High- 
 landers live -, and {hall begin with the 
 Spring of the Year. 
 
 THIS is a bad Seafon with them, for 
 then their Provifion of Oatmeal begins 
 to fail, and for a Supply they bleed their 
 Cattle and boil the Blood into Cakes, 
 which, together with a little Milk and a 
 fhort Allowance of Oatmeal is their 
 Food. 
 
 IT is true, there are fmall Trouts, or 
 fomething like them, in fome of the little 
 Rivers, which continue in Holes among 
 the Rocks, which are always full of 
 Water when the Stream is quite ceafed 
 for want of Rain ; thefe might be a Help 
 
 to
 
 122 L E T T E R XX. 
 
 to them in this flarving Seafon, but I 
 have had fo little Notion in all my 
 Journeys that they made thofe Fi(h a 
 Part of their Diet, that I never once 
 thought of them, as fuch, till this very 
 Moment. It is likely they can't catch 
 them for want of proper Tackle, but I 
 am fure they cannot be without them 
 for want of Leifure. What may feem 
 ftrange is ; that they do not introduce 
 Roots among them (as Potatoes, for the 
 Purpofe) but the Land they occupy is fo 
 very little, they think they cannot fpare 
 any Part of it from their Corn, and the 
 Landlord's Demand of Rent in Kind is 
 another Objection. You will perceive I 
 am fpeaking only of the poor People in the 
 interiour Parts of the Mountains, for near 
 the Coaft, all round them, there are few 
 confined to fuch diminutive Farms, and 
 the moft neceffitous of all may fhare, 
 upon Occafion, the Benefit of various 
 Kinds of Shell-fim, only for feeking and 
 fetching. 
 
 THEIR
 
 L E T T E R XX. 123 
 
 THEIR Cattle are much weakened by 
 want of fufficient Food in the preceding 
 Winter, and this immoderate Bleeding 
 reduces them to fo low a Plight, that in 
 a Morning they cannot rife from the 
 Ground, and feveral of the Inhabitants 
 join together to help up each others 
 Cows, 
 
 IN Summer the People remove to the 
 Hills and dwell in much worfe Huts 
 than thofe they leave below j thefe are 
 near the Spots of Grazing, and are called 
 Shealings> fcattered from one another as 
 Occafion requires. Every one has his 
 particular Space of Pafture, for which, if 
 it be not a Part of his Farm j he pays, 
 as I mall mention hereafter. 
 
 HERE they make their Butter and 
 Cheefe j by the way, I have feen fome 
 of the former with bluifh Veins made, as 
 I thought, by the Mixture of Smoke, 
 not much unlike to Cajlile Soap, but 
 fome have faid it was a Mixture of 
 
 Sheep's
 
 I2 4 LETTER XX. 
 Sheep's Milk which gave a Part of it 
 that Tincture of Blue. 
 
 When the Grazing fails the High- 
 landers return to their former Habita- 
 tions, and the Cattle to pick up their 
 Suftenance among the Heath, as before. 
 
 AT other Times the Children fliare 
 the Milk with the Calves, Lambs and 
 Kids, for they milk the Dams of them 
 all, which keeps their Young fo lean, 
 that when fold in the low Country they 
 are chiefly ufed, as they tell me, to make 
 Soups withal ; and when a Side of any 
 one of thefe Kinds hangs up in our 
 Market, the leaft difagreeable Part of 
 the Sight is the Tranfparency of the 
 Ribs. 
 
 1 ABOUT the latter End of Auguft, or 
 Beginning of September^ the Cattle are 
 brought into good Order by their Sum- 
 mer Feed, and the Beef is extremely 
 fweet and fucculent, which I fuppofe is 
 owing, in good part, to their being re. 
 
 duce4
 
 L E T T E R XX. 125 
 
 duced to fuch Poverty in the Spring and 
 made up again with new Flefh. 
 
 Now the Drovers colled: their Herds 
 and drive them to Fairs and Markets on 
 the Borders of the Lowlands, and fome- 
 times to the North of England^ and, in 
 their Paflage, they pay a certain Tribute, 
 proportionable to the Number of Cattle, 
 to the Owner of the Territory they pafs 
 through, which is in lieu of all Reckon- 
 ings for Grazing. 
 
 I HAVE feveral times feen them driv- 
 ing great Numbers of Cattle along the 
 Sides of the Mountains at a great Diftance, 
 but never, except once, was near them. 
 This was in a Time of Rain, by a wide 
 River where there was a Boat to ferry 
 over the Drovers. The Cows were about 
 fifty in Number, and took the Water 
 like Spaniels, and when they were in, 
 their Drivers made a hideous Cry to urge 
 them forwards; this, they told me, they 
 did to keep the Foremoft of them from 
 turning about ; for in that Cafe the reft 
 
 ,i'.ld
 
 126 L E T T E R XX. 
 
 would do the like, and then they would 
 be in Danger, efpecially the weaken: of 
 them, to be driven away, and drown'd 
 by the Torrent. 
 
 I THOUGHT it a very odd Sight to fee 
 fo many Nofes and Eyes juft above Wa- 
 ter, and nothing of them more to be 
 feen j for they had no Horns, and up- 
 on the Land they appear'd in Size and 
 Shape, like fo many large Lincoln/hire 
 Calves. 
 
 I SHALL fpeak of the Highland Har- 
 veft, that is, the Autumn, when I come 
 to the Article of their Hufbandry. But 
 nothing is more deplorable, than the State 
 of thefe People in Time of Winter. 
 
 THEY are in that Seafon often con- 
 fin'd to their Glens, by fwolen Rivers, 
 Snow, or Ice on the Paths, in the Sides 
 of the Hills, which is accumulated by 
 Drippings from the Springs above, and 
 fo by little and little form'd into Knobs, 
 like a Stick of Sugar-candy ; only the 
 3 Parti'
 
 L E T T E R XX. 127 
 
 Parts are not angular like thofe, but fo 
 uneven and flippery, no Foot can pafs. 
 
 THEY have no Diverfions to amufe 
 'em, but fit brooding in the Smoke, over 
 the Fire, 'till their Legs and Thighs are 
 fcorched to an extraordinary Degree ; 
 and many have fore Eyes, and fome arc 
 quite blind. 
 
 THIS long Continuance in the Smoke 
 makes 'em almoft as black as Chimney- 
 Sweepers ; and when the Huts are not 
 Water-tight, which is often the Cafe, 
 the Rain that comes through the Roof, 
 and mixes with the Sootinefs of the In- 
 fide, where all the Sticks look like Char- 
 coal, falls in Drops like Ink. But, in 
 this Circumftance, the Highlanders are 
 not very felicitous about their outward 
 Appearance. 
 
 To fupply the Want of Candles, when 
 they have Occafion for more Light than 
 is given by the Fire, they provide them- 
 ielves with a Quantity of Sticks of Fir, 
 
 the
 
 128 LETTER XX. 
 
 the moft refinous that can be procured 5 
 fome of thefe are lighted and laid upon 
 a Stone, and as the Light decays, they 
 revive it with frefh Fewel. But when 
 they happen to be deftitute of Fire, and 
 none is to be got in the Neighbourhood, 
 they produce it by rubbing Sticks toge- 
 ther i but I don't recoiled: what Kind 
 of Wood is fitteft for that Purpofe. 
 
 IF a Drift of Snow from the Moun- 
 tains happens, and the fame mould be 
 of any Continuance, they are thereby 
 render'd compleatly Prifoners. In this 
 Cafe the Snow being whirled from the 
 Mountains and Hills, lodges in the Plains 
 below, 'till fometimes it increafes to a 
 Height almoft equal with the Tops of 
 their Huts j but then it is foon difTqlv'd 
 for a little Space round 'em, which is 
 caus'd by the Warmth of the Fire, 
 Smoke, Family and Cattle within. 
 
 THUS are they confin'd to a very nar- 
 row Compafs, and in the mean Time, 
 if they have any out-lying Cattle in the 
 
 Hills,
 
 L E T T E R XX. 129 
 
 Hills, they are leaving the Heights, and 
 returning Home ; for by the fame Means 
 that the Snow is accumulated in the 
 Gkn, the Hills are clear'd of the Incum- 
 brance : But .the Cattle are fometimes 
 intercepted by the Depth of Snow, in 
 the Plain or deep Hollows in their Way. 
 In fuch Cafe^ when the Wind's Drift 
 begins to ceafe from the Winds having 
 a little fpent its Fury, the People take 
 the following Method to open a Com- 
 munication. 
 
 IF the Huts are at any Diftance afun- 
 der, one of them begins at the Edge of 
 the Snow next to his Dwelling, and 
 waving his Body from Side to Side, 
 prefTes forward, and fqueezes it from 
 him on either Hand ; and if it be higher 
 than his Head, he breaks down that 
 Part with his Hands. Thus he proceeds, 
 'till he comes to another Hut, and when 
 fome of them are got together, they go 
 on in the fame Manner to open a Way 
 for the Cattle ; and in thus doing they 
 relieve one another, wb$i too wet and 
 
 VOL. II. K weary
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 weary to proceed further, 'till the whole 
 is compleated. Yet notwithftanding all 
 their Endeavours, their Cattle are fome- 
 
 times loft. 
 
 
 
 As this may feem to you a little too 
 extraordinary, and you will believe I ne- 
 ver faw it, I fhall aflure you I had it 
 from a Gentleman, who being nearly 
 related to a Chief, has therefore a confi- 
 derable Farm in the inner Highlands, 
 and would not deceive me in a Fact, that 
 does not recommend his Country 3 of 
 which he is as jealous as any one I have 
 known on this Side the Tweed. 
 
 A DRIFT of Snow, like that above de- 
 fcribed, was faid to have been the Ruin 
 of the Swedi/h Army, in the laft Expe- 
 dition of Charles the Twelfth. 
 
 BEFORE I proceed to their Hufbandry, 
 I (hall give you fome Account of an 
 Animal neceffary to it j that is their 
 Horfes, or rather (as they are call'd) 
 Carrons. t 
 
 THESE
 
 LETTER XX. 131 
 
 THESE Horfes, in Miniature, run 
 wild among the Mountains j fome o 
 them, 'till they are eight or ten Years 
 old, which renders them exceedingly 
 reftive and flubborn. 
 
 THERE be various Ways of catching 
 them, according to the Nature of the Spot 
 of Country, where they chiefly keep their 
 Haunts. Sometimes they are hunted 
 by Numbers of Highland Men into a 
 Bog, in other Places they are driven up 
 a fleep Hill, where the neareft of the 
 Purfuers endeavours to catch them by 
 the hind Leg ; and I have been told, 
 that fometimes both Horfe and Man 
 have come tumbling down together. 
 
 IN another Place they have been 
 hunted from one to another, among the 
 Heath and Rocks, 'till they have laid 
 themfelves down through Wearinefs and 
 want of Breath. 
 
 THEY are fo fmall, that a middle- 
 
 fiz'd Man muft keep his Legs almofl 
 
 K 2 in
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 in Lines parallel to their Sides, when 
 carry'd over the ftony Ways ; and it is 
 almofl incredible to thofe who have not 
 feen it, how nimbly they fkip with a 
 heavy Rider among the Rocks, and large 
 Moor-Stones, turning Z/r Zac to fuch 
 Places as are pafTable. 
 
 I THINK verily they all follow one 
 another in the fame irregular Steps, be- 
 caufe in thofe Ways there appears fome 
 little Smoothnefs, worn by their naked 
 Hoofs, which is not any where elfe to 
 be feen. 
 
 WHEN I have been riding (or rather 
 creeping) along at the Foot of a Moun- 
 tain, I have difcover'd them by their Co- 
 lour, which is moftly white, and by 
 their Motion, which readily catches the. 
 Eye -, when at the fame Time they 
 were fo high above me, they feem'd to 
 be no bigger than a Lap-dog, and almofl 
 hanging over my Head. But what has 
 appear 'd to me very extraordinary, is, 
 that when, at other Times, I have pafs'd 
 near to 'em, I have perceiv'd 'em to be 
 
 (like
 
 L E T T E R XX. 133 
 
 (like fome of our common Beggars in 
 London) in ragged and tatter'd Coats, 
 but full in Flem j and that, even toward 
 the latter End of Winter, when I think 
 they could have nothing to feed upon, 
 but Heath and rotten Leaves of Trees, 
 if any of the latter were to be found. 
 
 THE Highlanders have a Tradition 
 they came originally from Spain, by 
 Breeders left there by the Spaniards in 
 former Times ; and they fay, they have 
 been a great Number of Years in 
 dwindling to their prefent diminitive 
 Size. 
 
 I WAS one Day greatly diverted with 
 the Method of taming thefe wild Hob- 
 bies. 
 
 IN paffing along a narrow Path on 
 the Side of a high Hill among the Moun- 
 tains, at length it brought me to a Part 
 looking down into a little Plain j there I 
 was at once prefented with the Scene of 
 a Highland Man beating one of thefe 
 Garrons moil unmercifully with a great 
 K 3 Stick,
 
 134 L E T T E R XX. 
 
 Stick, and upon a ftrifter View I per- 
 ceiv'd the Man had tied a Rope, or 
 fomething like it, about one of his hind 
 Legs, as you may have feen a Tingle Hog 
 driven in 'England ; and indeed in my Si- 
 tuation he did not feem fo big. At the 
 fame Time the Horfe was kicking and 
 violently flruggling, and fometimes the 
 Garron was down, and fometimes the 
 Highlander, and not feldom both of 
 them together, but ftill the Man kept 
 his Hold. 
 
 AFTER waiting a confiderable Time to 
 fee the Event, tho' not fo well pleafed 
 with the Precipice I flood upon, I found 
 the Garron gave it up ; and being per- 
 fedtly conquer'd for that Time, patiently 
 fuffer'd himfelf to be driven to a Hut not 
 far from the Field of Battle. 
 
 I WAS defirous to afk the Highlander 
 a Queftion or two, by the Help of my 
 Guide, but there was no Means for 
 me to get down but by falling ; and 
 when I came to a Part of the Hill, 
 where I could defcend to the Glen, I had 
 but little Inclination to go back again, for 
 
 I never
 
 L E T T E R XX. 135 
 
 I never by Choice made one Retrograde 
 Step, when I was leaving the Mountains. 
 But what is pretty ftrange, tho' very true 
 (by what Charm I know not) I have 
 been well enough pleas'd to fee them 
 again, at my firft Entrance to them in my 
 Returns from England. And this has 
 made my Wonder ceafe, that a Native 
 mould be fo fond of fuch a Country. 
 
 THE Soil of the Corn Lands is in fome 
 Places fo mallow with rocky Ground be- 
 neath it, that a Plough is of no Manner of 
 Ufe. This they dig up with a wooden 
 Spade; for almoft all their Implements for 
 Husbandry, which in other Countries are 
 made of Iron, or partly of that Metal, 
 are in fome Parts of the Highlands en- 
 tirely made of Wood j fuch as the Spade, 
 P lough -JJ:are y Harrow, Harucfs, and Bol(s y 
 and even Locks for Doors are made of 
 Wood. By the Way, thefe Locks are 
 contriv'd fo artfully, by Notches made 
 at unequal Diftances withinfide, that it 
 is impoffible to open them with any 
 Thing but the wooden Keys that belong 
 to them. But there would be no great 
 K 4 Difficulty
 
 I 3 6 L E T T E R XX. 
 
 Difficulty in opening the Wall of the 
 Hut, as the Highlander did by the Port- 
 manteau that he faw lying upon a Ta- 
 ble j and nobody near it but his Compa- 
 nion. 
 
 OUT ! fays he -, what Fool was this 
 that put a Lock upon Leather ? and im- 
 mediately ripp'd it open with his Dirk. 
 
 WHERE the Soil is deeper, they plough 
 with four of their little Horfes abreaftj 
 the Manner this : 
 
 BEING thus- rank'd, they are divided 
 by a fmall .Space into Pairs, and the Dri- 
 ver, or rather Leader of the Plough, 
 having placed himfelf before them, hold- 
 ing the two innermoft by their Heads, 
 to keep the Couples afunder ; he with 
 his Face toward the Plough, goes back- 
 ward, obferving, through the Space be- 
 tween the Horfes, the Way of the 
 Plough-fhare, 
 
 WHEN I nrft faw this aukward Me- 
 thod, as I then thought it, I rid up to 
 
 the
 
 LETTER XX. 137 
 
 the Perfon who guided the Machine, to 
 afk him fome Queftions concerning it : 
 He fpoke pretty good ErigKJh, which 
 made me conclude he was a Gentleman ; 
 and yet in Quality of a Proprietor and 
 Conducter might, without Dimonour, 
 employ himfelf in fuch a Work. 
 
 MY firft Queftion was, whether that 
 Method was common to the Highlands; 
 or peculiar to that Part of the Country ; 
 and by Way of Anfwer, he afk'd me, 
 if they plough'd otherwife any where 
 elfe. Upon my further Enquiry, why 
 the Man went backwards, he ftopp'd, 
 and very civilly inform'd me, that there 
 were feveral fmall Rocks, which I did 
 not fee, that had a little Part of them 
 juft peeping on the Surface, and there- 
 fore it was necefTaryhis Servant mould 
 fee and avoid 'em, by guiding the Horfes 
 accordingly ; or otherwife his Plough 
 might be fpoil'd by the Shock. 
 
 THE Anfwer was fatisfaclory and con- 
 vincing 5 and I mufl here take Notice, 
 
 that
 
 J3 8 L E T T E R XX. 
 
 that many other of their Methods are 
 too well fuited to their own Circumftan- 
 ces, and thofe of the Country, to be 
 eafily amended by fuch as undertake to 
 deride them. 
 
 IN the Weftern Highlands they ftill 
 retain that barbarous Cuflom (which I 
 have not feen any where elfe) of draw- 
 ing the Harrow by the Horfe's Dock, 
 without any Manner of Harnefs what- 
 ever. And when the Tail becomes too 
 fhort for the Purpofe, they lengthen it 
 out with twitted Sticks. This unnatural 
 Practice was formerly forbidden in Ire- 
 land by Act of Parliament, as my Me- 
 mory informs me, from Accounts I have 
 formerly read of that Country j for be- 
 ing almoft without Books, I can have 
 little other Help wherefrom to make 
 Quotations. 
 
 WHEN a Burden is to be carry'd on 
 Horfeback, they ufe two Bafkets, call'd 
 Creels^ one on each Side of the Horfe ; 
 and if the Load be fuch as can't be di- 
 vided
 
 L E T T E R XX. 139 
 
 vided, they put it into one of them, 
 and counterbalance it with Stones in the 
 other, fo that one Half of the Horfe's 
 
 Burden is I can't fay unnecefTary, 
 
 becaufe I don't fee how they could well 
 do otherwife in the Mountains. 
 
 THEIR Harveft is late in the Year, and 
 therefore feldom got in dry, as the great 
 Rains ufually come on about the latter 
 End of Augujt, nor is the Corn well 
 preferv'd afterwards in thofe miferable 
 Hovels they call Barns, which are moftly 
 not fit to keep out the bad Weather from 
 above ; and were it not for the high 
 Winds that pafs through the Openings 
 of the Sides in dry Weather, it would, 
 of Neceffity, be quite fpoil'd. But as 
 it is, the Grain is often grown in the 
 Sheaves, as I have obferv'd in a former 
 Letter. 
 
 To the Lightnefs of the Oats, one 
 might think they contributed themfelves, 
 for if there be one Part of their Ground 
 that produces worfe Grain than another, 
 
 they
 
 i 4 o LETTER XX. 
 
 they referve that, or Part of it for Seed 5 
 believing it will produce again as well in 
 Quantity and Quality as the beft, but 
 whether in this they are right or wrong, 
 I can't determine. 
 
 ANOTHER Thing, befides the bad Wea- 
 ther that retards their Harveft, is ; they 
 make it chiefly the Work of the Women 
 of the Family. Near the Lowlands I have 
 known a Field of Corn to employ a Wo- 
 man and a Girl for a Fortnight j which, 
 with proper Help, might have been 
 done in two Days. And altho' the 
 Owner might not wdl afford to employ 
 many Hands, yet his own Labour would 
 have prevented half the Rifque of bad 
 Weather at that uncertain Seafon. 
 
 AN Englift Lady, who found herfelf 
 fomething decaying in her Health, and 
 was advis'd to go among the Hills, and 
 drink Goat's Milk or Whey, told me 
 lately, that feeing a Highlander bafking 
 at the Foot of a Hill in his full Drefs, 
 while his Wife and her Mother were hard 
 
 at
 
 L E T T E R XX. j 4I 
 
 at work in reaping the Oats -, me afk'd 
 the old Woman how fhe could be con- 
 tented to fee her Daughter labour in 
 that Manner, while her Hufband was 
 only an idle Spectator ?. And to this the 
 Woman anfwered, that her Son-in-Law 
 was a Gentleman^ and it would be a difpa- 
 ragement to him to do any fuch Work ; 
 and that both fhe and her Daughter too 
 were fufficiently honour'd by the Al- 
 liance. 
 
 THIS Inftance I own has ' fomething 
 particular in it, as fuch, but the Thing 
 is very common, a la Palatine r , among 
 the middling Sort of People. 
 
 NOT long ago, a French Officer, who 
 was coming hither the Hill Way, to 
 raife fome Recruits for the Dutch Ser- 
 vice, met a Highland Man with a good 
 Pair of Brogues on his Feet ; and his 
 Wife marching bare-foot after him. 
 
 THIS Indignity to the Sex rais'd the 
 Frenchman** Anger to fuch a Degree, 
 
 that
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 that he leap'd from his Horfe, and oblig'd 
 the Fellow to take off the Shoes, and the 
 Woman to put them on. 
 
 BY this laft Inftance (not to trouble 
 you with others) you may fee it is not 
 in their Harveft-work alone j they are 
 fomething in the Palatine Way, with 
 Refpedt to their Women. 
 
 THE Highlanders have a Notion that 
 the Moon, in a clear Night, ripens their 
 Corn much more than a Sun-fhiny Day ; 
 for this they plead Experience, yet they 
 can't fay by what Rule they make the 
 Comparifon. But by this Opinion of 
 theirs, I think they have little Know- 
 ledge of the Nature of thofe two Planets. 
 
 IN larger Farms, belonging to Gen- 
 tlemen of the Clan, where there are 
 any Number of Women employ'd in 
 Harveft-Work, they all keep Time to* 
 gether, by feveral barbarous Tones of 
 the Voice ; and ftoop and rife together, 
 as regularly as a Rank of Soldier?, when 
 
 they
 
 LETTER XX. 143 
 
 they ground their Arms. Sometimes they 
 are incited to their Work by the Sound of 
 a Bagpipe ; and by either of thefe, they 
 proceed with great Alacrity, it being dif- 
 graceful for any one to be out of Time 
 with the Sickle. They ufe the fame 
 Tone, or a Piper, when they thicken 
 the new woven Plaiding, inftead of a 
 Fulling-Mill. 
 
 THIS is done by fix or eight Women 
 fitting upon the Ground, near fome Ri- 
 ver or Rivulet, in two oppofite Ranks, 
 with the wet Cloth between them ; 
 their Coats are tuck'd up, and with their 
 naked Feet they ftrike one againft ano- 
 thers, keeping exact Time ,as abovemen- 
 tion'd. And among Numbers of Men, 
 employ'd in any Work that requires 
 Strength and joint Labour, as the launch- 
 ing a large Boat, or the like, they mufl 
 have the Piper to regulate their Time, 
 as well as Ulky, to keep up their Spirits 
 in the Performance - y for Pay they often 
 have little, or none at all. 
 
 NOTHING
 
 144 
 
 L E T T E R XX. 
 
 NOTHING is more common than to 
 hear the Highlanders boaft how much 
 their Country might be improv'd, and 
 that it would produce double what it 
 does at prefent, if better Huibandry 
 were introduced among them. For my 
 own Part, it was always the only Amufe- 
 ment I had among the Hills, to obferve 
 every minute Thing in my Way -, and I 
 do afTure you, I don't remember to have 
 feen the leaft Spot that would bear Corn 
 uncultivated, not even upon the Sides 
 of the Hills, where it could be no 
 otherwife broke up, than with a Spade. 
 And as for Manure to fupply the Salts, 
 and enrich the Ground, they have hardly 
 any. In Summer their Cattle are di- 
 fpers'd about the Sheetings, and almofl 
 all the reft of the Year in other Parts of 
 the Hills j and therefore all the Dung 
 they can have, muft be from the trifling 
 Quantity made by the Cattle, while they 
 are in the Houfe. 1 never knew or 
 heard of any Limeilone, Chalk, or Marl 
 they have in the Country ; and if fome 
 
 of
 
 L T T E R XX. 14$ 
 
 of their Rocks might ferve for Lime- 
 flone in that Cafe, their Kilns, Carnage, 
 and Fewel would render it fo expenfive, 
 it would be the fame Thing to them, 
 as if there was none. Their great De- 
 pendance is upon the Nitre of the Snow ; 
 and they lament the Difappointment, if 
 it does not fall early in the Seafon. Yet 
 I have known, in fome, a great Inclina* 
 tion to Improvement, and mail only in- 
 ftance in a very fmall Matter, which 
 perhaps may be thought too inconfidera- 
 ble to mention. 
 
 NOT far from Fort William ', I have 
 feen Women with a little Horfe-Dung 
 brought upon their Backs, in Creels or 
 Bafkets from that Garrifon \ and on their 
 Knees, Spreading it with their Hands 
 upon the Land, and even breaking the 
 Balls, that every Part of the little Spot 
 might have its due Proportion. 
 
 THESE Women have feveral Times 
 brought me Hay to the Fort, which was 
 made from Grafs cut with a Knife, by 
 the Way-fide ; and from one I have 
 
 VOL. II. L bought
 
 146 L E T T E R XX. 
 
 bought two 'or three Pen'noth ; from ano- 
 ther, the Purchafe has been a Groat ; but 
 Six-pen'noth was a moft confiderable 
 Bargain, 
 
 AT their Return from the Hay-market 
 they carried away the Dung of my Stable 
 (which was one End of a dwelling Hut) 
 in Manner abovementioned. 
 
 SPEAKING of Grafs and Hay, it comes 
 to my Remembrance, that in pairing 
 through a Space between the Mountains, 
 not far from Keppoch in Lcchabar^ I ob- 
 ferved, in the Hollow (though too nar- 
 row to admit much of the Sun) a greater 
 Quantity of Grafs than I remembred to 
 have feen in any fuch Spot in the inner 
 Parts of the Highlands. It was in the 
 Month of Auguft when it was grown 
 rank and flagged pretty much, and there- 
 fore I was induced to afk why the Owner 
 did not cut it ? To this I was anfwered, 
 it never had been mowed, but was left 
 every Year as natural Hay for the Cattle 
 in Winter, that is, to lie upon the Ground 
 
 like
 
 LETTER XX. 147 
 
 like Litter, and (according to their De- 
 fcriplion) the Cows routed for it in the 
 Snow, like Hogs in a Dunghill : But the 
 People have no Barns fit to contain a 
 Quantity of Hay, and it would be im- 
 poffible to fecure it in Mows from the 
 tempeftuous eddy Winds, which would 
 foon carry it over the Mountains : Befides, 
 it could not well be made, by reafon of 
 Rains and want of Sun, and therefore 
 they think it beft to let it lie, as it does, 
 with the Roots in the Ground. 
 
 THE Advantage of Enclofures is a 
 mighty Topick with the Highlanders, 
 though they cannot fpare for Grafs one 
 Inch of Land that will bear Corn, or if 
 they could, it would be a much more 
 expenfive Way of grazing their Cattle, 
 than letting them run, as they do, in the 
 Hills; but Enclofures, fimply as fuch, 
 do not better the Soil, or, if they might 
 be fuppofed to be an Advantage to it j 
 where is the Highland Tenant that can 
 lay out ten Shillings- for that Purpoie ? 
 And, what would he be gainer by it in 
 L 2 the
 
 i 4 S LETTER XX. 
 
 the End, but to have his Rent raifed, or 
 his Farm divided with fome other ? Or, 
 laftly, where are the Number of High- 
 landers that would patiently fuffer fuch 
 an inconvenient Innovation. For my 
 Part, I think Nature has fufficiently en- 
 clofed [their Lands by the Feet of the 
 furrounding Mountains. Now, after 
 what has been faid, where can this Im- 
 provement be ? 
 
 BUT it feems, they had rather you 
 iliould think them ignorant, lazy, or any 
 thing elfe, than entertain a bad Opinion 
 of their Country. But I have dwelt too 
 long upon this Head. 
 
 THEIR Rent is chiefly paid in Kind, 
 that is to fay, great Part of it in feveral 
 Species arifing from the Product of the 
 Farm ; fuch as Barly, Oatmeal, and what 
 they call Cujloms^ as Sheep, Lambs, Poul- 
 try, Butter, &c. and the Remainder, if 
 any, is paid in Money, or an Addition 
 of fome one of the aforementioned Spe- 
 cies, if Money be wanting. 
 
 THE
 
 L E T T E R XX. 149 
 
 THE Gentlemen, who are near Rela- 
 tions of the Chief, hold pretty large 
 Farms, if the Eflate will allow it, per- 
 haps twenty or thirty Pounds a Year, 
 and they again, generally, parcel. them 
 out to under Tenants in fmall Portions. 
 Hence it comes, that by fuch a Divifion 
 of an old Farm (part of an upper Te- 
 nant's Holding) fuppofe, among eight 
 Perfons, each of them pays an eighth Part 
 of every Thing, even to the Fraction of 
 a Capon, which cannot, in the Nature 
 of it be paid in Kind, but the Value of 
 it is caft in with the reft of the Rent, 
 and, notwithftanding the abovemention- 
 ed Cuftoms are placed in an upper Tenant's 
 Rental, yet they properly belong to the 
 Chief for the Maintenance of the Family 
 in Pfovifions. 
 
 EVERY Year, after the Harveft, the 
 
 Sheriff of the County, or his Deputy, 
 
 together with a Jury of landed Men, fets 
 
 a Rate upon Corn Provifions, and the 
 
 L 3 Cuflom
 
 L E T T E R XX. 
 
 Cuftom of the Country regulates the 
 reft. 
 
 THE Sheriff's Regulation for the Year 
 is called the Peers-price, and ferves for a 
 Standard whereby to determine every 
 thing relating to Rents and Bargains ; fo 
 that if the Tenant is not provided with 
 all the Species he is to pay, then, that 
 which is wanting may be converted into 
 Money, or fomething elfe with Certainty. 
 
 Before I conclude this Letter, I mall 
 take notice of one thing, which, at firft, 
 I thought pretty extraordinary, and that 
 is : If any landed Man refufes or fails to, 
 pay the King's Tax ; then, by a War- 
 rant from the Civil Magiftrate, a pro- 
 portionable Number of Soldiers are 
 quartered upon him, with fometimes, a 
 CommhTion- Officer to command them ; 
 all whom he muft maintain till the Cefs is 
 fully difcharged : This is a Penalty for. 
 his Default, even though he had not the 
 Means to raife Money in all that time, 
 
 and
 
 L E T T E R XX. 151 
 
 and let it be ever fo long, the Tax, in the 
 End is ftill the fame. You will not 
 doubt that the Men, thus living upon 
 free Quarters, ufe the beft Intereft with 
 their Officers to be fent on fuch Parties. 
 
 LETTER
 
 * 
 
 # 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 O U will, it is likely, 
 think it ftrange, that 
 many of the High- 
 land Tenants are to 
 maintain a Family 
 upon a Farm of twelve 
 Merks, Scots, per An- 
 t which is thirteen Shillings and four 
 Pence ftcrling, with, perhaps, a Cow or 
 two, or a very few Sheep or Goats j but 
 often the Rent is lefs, and the Cattle are 
 wanting. 
 
 WHAT follows is a Specimen taken 
 out of a Highland Rent-roll, and I do 
 affure you it is genuine, and not the leaft 
 by many. 
 
 "Donald
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 -F-P* 
 
 -o -o -TJ 
 
 fl H 
 
 rt rt < 
 
 MiO> ~i< 
 
 I I 
 
 I 
 
 M^ Q 
 
 N tn o 
 
 o o - 
 
 CQ 
 
 N ^-oo 
 
 % o o o 
 
 O O 
 
 V 
 
 6| 
 
 i? i~ 
 
 5 b 
 
 u 
 jq 
 
 <D ^> 
 
 ^3 <j 
 
 1> J-l 
 
 ^O 4> 
 ON 
 
 ** fc^ 
 
 J^ ^ 
 
 < rs 
 
 O d 
 
 *I3 C 
 
 < | 
 
 ^ c 
 
 <5 * 
 
 o j 
 
 -C H 
 
 O t3 
 
 d 5 
 
 .2 a 
 5 P 3 
 
 Ii J 
 
 O- O 
 
 ago 
 
 O C -4J 
 
 O < ^ 
 
 cJ 4> "^ 
 S * J -^ 
 
 V4- ** 
 ^ O 3 
 
 S W " 
 
 6bo 8^ 
 b/) g w 
 
 w C W 
 
 J2 ^ rt 
 
 w .2 
 
 00 u .4-1 
 
 *~* QJ rt 
 
 < 
 
 153 
 
 . -0 
 
 .|OC M(rt Mi^ Hl. 
 
 O - c?v -0- 
 
 ITS ^- O 
 
 o o o o 
 
 "0 
 
 rt 
 
 II 
 
 ;l 
 
 I 
 
 I I 
 
 4- C 
 
 rt rt 4j .2 
 
 T . t S 
 
 g;-S rt 
 
 t* . Tv^ c< pT. 
 O L T <U 
 
 O'lS 2 
 
 t * 
 
 .00 
 
 cu o 
 
 3 - G >s. 
 
 ^ "S -*S "rt 
 
 <0 JC Jc S 
 
 S 3 "So >* 
 
 ^sa J3 
 
 l:-i H 
 
 S J ol 
 
 i-; r c 
 
 o 5 
 
 IK
 
 154 LETTER XXI. 
 
 IN fome Rentals you may fee fcven or 
 eight Columns of various Species of Rent, 
 or more, viz. Money, Barley, Oatmeal, 
 Sheep, Lambs, Butter, Cheefe, Capons, 
 &c. but every Tenant does not pay all 
 thefe Kinds, though many of them the 
 greateft Part. 
 
 THE Landlord has, by Law, an Hy- 
 potbick, or right of Pledge, with refpedt 
 to the Corn, for fo much as the current 
 Year's Rent, and may, and often does, 
 by himfelf or his Baily, fee it reaped to 
 his own Ufe ; or if that is not done, he 
 may feize it in the Market or any where 
 elfe ; but this laft Privilege of the Land- 
 lord does not extend to the Crop or Rent 
 of any former Year. 
 
 THE Poverty of the Tenants has ren- 
 dered it cuftomary for the Chief, or 
 Laird to free fome of them every Year 
 from all Arears of Rent -, this is fup- 
 pofed, upon an Average, to be about 
 one Year in five of the whole Eftate, 
 
 IF
 
 LETTER XXI. 155 
 
 IF the Tenant is to hire his Grazing 
 in the Hills, he takes it by Scumes. 
 A Soume is as much Grafs as will main- 
 tain four Sheep j eight Sheep are equal 
 to a Cow and a half, or forty Goats, but 
 I do not remember how much is paid 
 for every Soume. The reafon of this 
 Difproportion between the Goats and 
 Sheep is, that after the Sheep have eat 
 the Pafture bare, the Herbs, as Thyme, 
 &c. that are left behind, are of little or 
 no Value, except for the Brouzing of 
 Goats. 
 
 THE Laird's Income is computed by 
 Cbalders of Vi&ual, as they are called : 
 A Cbalder is fixteen Bolls of Corn, each 
 Boll containing about fix of our Bufhels, 
 and therefore, when any one fpeaks of 
 the yearly Value of fuch a Laird's Eftate, 
 he tells you it is fo many Chalders ; but 
 the Meafure varies fomething in dif- 
 ferent Parts of the Country.
 
 156 LETTER XXL 
 
 WHEN a Son is born to the Chief of 
 a Family, there generally arifes a Con- 
 tention among the VafTals, which of 
 them fhall have the foflering of the 
 Child, when it is taken from the Nurfe ; 
 and by this Means fuch Differences are 
 fometimes fomented, as are hardly ever 
 after throughly reconcil'd. 
 
 THE happy Man, who fucceeds in his 
 Suit, is ever after calPd the Fofter-fa-f 
 ther 5 and his Children the Fofter-bro- 
 thers and Sifters of the young Laird. 
 
 THIS they reckon not only en- 
 dears them to their Chief, and greatly 
 ftrengthens their Intereft with him, but 
 gives them a great deal of Confideration 
 among their Fellow- VafTals ; and the 
 Fofter-brother having the fame Educa- 
 tion as the young Chief, may befides 
 that, in Time become his H<mcbman> or 
 perhaps be promoted to that Office un- 
 der the old Patriarch himfelf, if a Va- 
 cancy (hould happen. Or otherwife, by 
 
 their
 
 LETTER XXI. 157 
 
 their Intereft, obtain Orders and a Be- 
 nefice. 
 
 THIS Officer is a Sort of Secretary, 
 and is to be ready, upon all Occalions, 
 to venture his Life, in Defence of his 
 Matter ; and at Drinking-bouts he ftands 
 behind his Seat, at his Haunch, from 
 whence his Title is deriv'd, and watches 
 the Converfation, to fee if any one of- 
 fends his Patron. 
 
 AN EngliJJj Officer being in Company 
 with a certain Chieftain, and feveral 
 other Highland Gentlemen, near Killi- 
 chumen, had an Argument with the Great 
 Man ; and both being well warm'd with 
 Ufky, at laft the Difpute grew very 
 hot. 
 
 A YOUTH who was Hancbman, not un- 
 derflanding one Word of Englijh, ima- 
 gin'd his Chief was infulted, and there- 
 upon drew his Piftol from his Side, and 
 fnap'd it at the Officer's Head ; but the 
 Piftol mifs'd Fire, otherwife it is more 
 
 than
 
 158 LETTER XXI. 
 
 than probable he might have fuffer'd 
 Death from the Hand of that little 
 Vermin. 
 
 BUT it is very difagreeable to an Eng- 
 li/hman over a Bottle, with the Highlan- 
 ders, to fee every one of them have his 
 Gilly ; that is, his Servant (landing be- 
 hind him all the while, let what will be 
 the Subjed: of Converfation. 
 
 WHEN a Chief goes a Journey in the 
 Hills, or makes a formal Vifit to ari 
 Equal, he is faid to be attended by all j 
 
 or mod Part of the Officers following, 
 viz. 
 
 The Hancbman y before dcfcrib'd. 
 
 Bard, His Poet. 
 
 Blatter, - Spokefman. 
 
 Gitti-mcre, 5 Carries his Broad - 
 
 C Sword. 
 
 Carries him, wherr 
 on Foot, over 
 the Fords. 
 r Leads his Horfe in 
 
 Gitty-comjlraine, ) rough and dan- 
 
 t gerous Ways. 
 Gilly 
 
 r 
 ) 
 
 *-
 
 LETTER XXI. 159- 
 
 ujbanarm/bt The Baggage-Man. 
 
 r Who being a Gen- 
 
 Piper^ J tleman, I fhould 
 
 } have nam'd him 
 And la/lty* ^ fooner. 
 
 <Tbt Piper's Gilly, \ Who carries the 
 
 Bag-Pipe. 
 
 THERE are likewife, fome Gentlemen, 
 near of Kin, who bear him Company ; 
 and befides, a Number of the common 
 Sort, who have no particular Employ- 
 ment, but follow him only to partake of 
 the Cheer. 
 
 I MUST own that all thefe Attendants, 
 and the profound Refpect they pay, muft 
 be flattering enough ; tho' the Equi- 
 page has none of the bell Appearance. 
 
 BUT this State may appear to Tooth 
 the Pride of the Chief to a vaft Degree, 
 if the Declaration of one of them was 
 fincere ; who at Dinner, before a good 
 deal of Company, Englift as well as 
 Scots, myfelf being one of the Number, 
 
 afHrm'd,
 
 160 LETTER XXL 
 
 affirm'd, that if his Eftate was free from 
 Incumbrances, and was none of his own, 
 and he was then put to chufe between 
 that and the Eftate of the Duke of New- 
 caftle, fuppofing it to be thirty thoufand 
 Pounds a Year (as fomebody faid it was) 
 he would make Choice of the former, 
 with the following belonging to it, before 
 the other without it. Now his Eftate 
 might be about five hundred Pounds a 
 Year. 
 
 BUT this Pride is pretty coftly; for as 
 his Friend is to feed all thefe Attendants, 
 fo it comes to his own Turn to be at a 
 like, or perhaps greater Expence, when 
 the Vilit is ^epaid. For they are gene- 
 rally attended in Proportion to the 
 Strength of the Clan ; and by this In- 
 tercourfe they very much hurt one ano- 
 ther in their Circumftances. 
 
 BY what has been faid, you may know 
 in Part, how neceffary the Rent call'd 
 Cujloms is to the Family of a Highland 
 Chief. 
 
 HERE
 
 LETTER XXI. 161 
 
 HERE I muft afk a Space for thofe 
 two Sons of Apollo j the Bard and the 
 Piper. 
 
 THE Bard is fkill'd in the Genealogy 
 of all the Highland Families, fome- 
 times Preceptor to the young Laird ; ce- 
 lebrates in Info Verfe the Original of 
 the Tribe, the famous warlike Actions 
 of the fucceffive Heads, and fmgs his 
 own Lyricks as an Opiate to the Chief, 
 when indifpos'd for Sleep ; but Poets 
 are not equally efteem'd and honour'd 
 in all Countries. I happen'd to be a 
 Witnefs of the Dishonour done to the 
 Mufe, at the Houfe of one of the Chiefs ; 
 where two of thefe Bards were fet at a 
 good Diflance, at the lower End of a 
 long Table, with a Parcel of Highlan- 
 ders of no extraordinary Appearance, 
 over a Cup of Ale. Poor Infpiration ! 
 
 THEY were not afk'd to drink a Glafs 
 
 of Wine at our Table, tho' the whole 
 
 Company at it confifted only of the Great 
 
 VOL. II. M Man,
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 Man, one of his near Relations, and 
 myfclf. 
 
 AFTER fome little Time, the Chief 
 order'd one of them to fing me a High- 
 land Song. The Bard readily obey'd, 
 and with a hoarfe Voice, and in a Tune 
 of few various Notes, began, as I was 
 told, one of his own Lyricks j and when 
 he had proceeded to the fourth or fifth 
 Stanza, I perceived by the Names of fe- 
 veral Perfons, Glens and Mountains, 
 which I had known or heard of before, 
 that it was an Account of fome Clan 
 Battle. But in his going on, the Chief 
 (who piques himfelf upon his School- 
 Learning) at fome particular PafTage, 
 bid him ceafe, and cry'd out to me, 
 ^There's nothing like that in Virgil or Ho- 
 mer. I bow'd, and told him I believ'd 
 fo. This you may believe was very 
 edifying and delightful. 
 
 I HAVE had Occafion before to fay 
 fomething of the Piper, but not as an 
 Officer of the Houfhold. 
 
 i IN
 
 LETTER XXI. 163 
 
 IN a Morning, while the Chief is 
 drefling, he walks backward and for- 
 ward, clofe under the Window without 
 Doors ; playing on his Bag-Pipe, with 
 a moft upright Attitude, and majeftick 
 Stride. 
 
 IT is a Proverb in Scotland, viz. The 
 Jlately Step of a Piper. When required, 
 he plays at Meals, and in an Evening, 
 is to divert the Guefts with his Mufick, 
 when the Chief has Company with him ; 
 his Attendance in a Journey, or at a Vi- 
 fit, I have mentioned before. 
 
 His Gilly holds the Pipe, 'till he be- 
 gins, and the Moment he has done with 
 the Inftrument, he difdainfully throws 
 it down upon the Ground, as being only 
 the paffive Means of conveying his Skill 
 to the Ear ; and not a proper Weight 
 for him to carry or bear at other Times. 
 But for a contrary Reafon, his Gilly 
 fnatches it up, which is, that the Pip? 
 may not fufFer Indignity from his Neg- 
 left. 
 
 M 2 THB
 
 164 LETTER XXI. 
 
 THE Captain of one of the Highland 
 Companies entertain'd me fome Time 
 ago at Sterling, with an Account of a 
 Difpute that happen'd in his Corps about 
 Precedency. This Officer among the 
 reft, had received Orders to add a Drum 
 to his Bagpipe, as a more military In- 
 ftrument j for the Pipe was to be re- 
 tain'd, becaufe the Highland Men could 
 hardly be brought to march without it. 
 Now the Conteft between the Drummer 
 and the Piper arofe about the Poft of 
 Honour, and at length the Contention 
 grew exceeding hot, which the Captain 
 having Notice of, he call'd them both 
 before him, and in the End deci- 
 ded the Matter in Favour of the Drum j 
 whereupon the Piper remonftrated very 
 warmly. Ads Wunds, Sir y fays he, 
 dnd fiall a little Rafcal that beats upon a 
 Sbeep-jkirit tak the right Haund of me> 
 that am a Mufician ? 
 
 THERE are in the Mountains both red 
 J)eer and Roes, but neither of them in 
 any great Numbers, that ever I could 
 
 find,
 
 LETTER XXI. 165 
 
 find. The red Deer are large, and keep 
 their Haunts in the higheft Mountains, 
 but the Roe is lefs than our fallow Deer, 
 and partakes, in fome Meafure, of the 
 Nature of the Hare ; having no Fat 
 about the Flefh, and hiding in the Clefts 
 of Rocks, and other Hollows, from the 
 Sight of Purfuers. Thefe keep chiefly 
 in the Woods. 
 
 A PACK of Hounds, like that of Ac- 
 t<zon> in the fame metaphorical Senfe, 
 would foon devour their Matter. But, 
 fuppofing they could eafily be maintain'd, 
 they would be of no Ufe, it being im- 
 poiTtble for them to hunt over fucli 
 Rocks and rugged fteep Declivities \ or 
 if they could do this, their Cry in thofe 
 open Hills would foon fright all the 
 Deer out of that Part of the Country. 
 This was the EffecT: of one fingle Hound, 
 whofe Voice I have often heard in the 
 Dead of the Night fas I lay in Bed) 
 ecchoing among the Mountains j he was 
 kept by an Englifo Gentleman, at one 
 of the Barracks, and it was loudly com- 
 M 3 plain'd
 
 i66 LETTER XXI. 
 
 plain'd of by fome of the Lairds, as be- 
 ing prejudicial to their Eftates. 
 
 WHEN a folemn Hunting is refolv'd 
 on, for the Entertainment of Relations 
 and Friends, the Haunt of the Deer be- 
 ing known, a Number of the VafTals are 
 fummon'd, who readily obey by Incli- 
 nation j and are befides oblig'd by the 
 Tenure of their Lands, of which one 
 Article is, that they mall attend the 
 Majler at his Huntings. This, I think, 
 was Part of the ancient VafTalage in #- 
 land. 
 
 THE Chief convenes what Numbers 
 he thinks fit, according to the Strength 
 of his Clan j perhaps three or four hun- 
 dred. With thefe he furrounds the Hill, 
 and as they advance upwards, the Deer 
 flies the Sight of them, firfl of one Side, 
 then of another ; and they flill, as they 
 mount, get into clofer Order, 'till in the 
 End he is enclos'd by them in a fmall 
 Circle, and there they hack him down 
 wilt) their broad Swords, And they ge- 
 nerally
 
 LETTER XXI. 167 
 
 nerally do it fo dexteroufly, as to pre- 
 ferve the Hide entire. 
 
 IF the Chace be in a Wood, which 
 is moftly upon the Declivity of a rocky 
 Hill, the Tenants fpread themfelves as 
 much as they can, in a Rank extending 
 upwards ; and march, or rather crawl 
 forward, with a hideous Yell. Thus 
 they drive every Thing before them, 
 while the Laird and his Friends are wait- 
 ing at the farther End with their Guns, 
 to moot the Deer. But it is difficult to 
 force the Roes out of their Cover, info- 
 much that when they come into the 
 open Light, they fometimes turn back 
 upon the Huntfmen, and are taken alive. 
 
 WHAT I have been faying on this 
 Head, is only to give you fome Tafte of 
 the Highland Hunting ; for the Hills, as 
 they are various in their Form, require 
 different Difpofitions of the Men that 
 compofe the Pack. The firft of the 
 two Paragraphs next above, relates only 
 to kith a Hill as rifes fomething in the 
 M 4 Figure
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 Figure of a Cone ; and the other you 
 fee, is the Side of a Hill, which is 
 cloath'd with a Wood, and this laft is 
 more particularly the Shelter of the Roe. 
 A further Detail I think would become 
 tedious. 
 
 WHEN the Chief would have a Deer 
 only for his Houmold, the Game-Keeper, 
 and one or two more, are fent into the 
 Hills, with Guns and Oatmeal for their 
 Provifion j where they often lie Night 
 after Night, to wait an Opportunity of 
 providing Venifon for the Family. This 
 has been done feveral Times for me, bu$ 
 always without Effect. 
 
 THE Foxes and wild Cats (or Cata- 
 mountain) are both very large in their 
 Kind, and always appear to have fed 
 plentifully. They do the Highlanders 
 much more Hurt in their Poultry, &V. 
 than they yield them Profit by their 
 Furs -, and the Eagles do them more 
 Mifchief, than both the others together. 
 It was one of their chief Complaints, 
 
 when
 
 LETTER XXI. 169 
 
 when they were difarm'd in the Year 
 1725, that they were depriv'd of the 
 Means to deftroy thofe noxious Ani- 
 mals j and that a great Increafe of them 
 muft necefTarily follow the Want of their 
 Fire- Arms, 
 
 OF the eatable Part of the feather'd 
 Kind peculiar to the Mountains, is,- Firft, 
 the Cobberkely y which is fometimes call'd 
 a wild Turky, but not like it, otherwifc 
 than in Size. This is very feldom to be 
 met with (being an Inhabitant of very- 
 high and unfrequented Hills) and is 
 therefore efleem'd a great Rarity for the 
 Table. 
 
 NEXT is the black Cock, which refem- 
 bles in Size and Shape, a Pheafant, but 
 is black and mining like a Raven ; but 
 the Hen is not, in Shape or Colour, 
 much unlike to a Hen-Pheafant. 
 
 AND laftly, the Tormlcan is near about 
 the Size of the Moor-Fowl (or Grouft) 
 but of a lighter Colour j which turns 
 
 almoft
 
 170 LETTER XXL 
 
 almoft white in Winter. Thefe I am 
 told feed chiefly upon the tender Tops 
 of the Fir-Branches, which I am apt 
 to believe; becaufe the Tafte of them 
 has fomething tending to Turpentine, 
 tho' not difagreeable. It is faid, if you 
 throw a Stone, fo as to fall beyond it, 
 the Bird is thereby fo much arnus'd or 
 daunted, that it will not rife 'till you 
 are very near ; but I have fufpecled this 
 to be a Sort of Conundrum^ fignifying 
 they are too my to fuffer an Approach 
 near enough for that Purpofe, like what 
 they tell the Children about the Salt and 
 the Bird. 
 
 THE Tribes will not fuffer Strangers 
 to fettle within their Precinct, or even 
 thofe of another Clan to enjoy any Pof- 
 feffion among them ; but will foon con- 
 flrain them to quit their Pretenfions, by 
 Cruelty to their Perfons, or Mifchief to 
 their Cattle, or other Property. Of this 
 there happen'd two flagrant Jnftances, 
 
 :hin a few Years pafs'd. 
 
 THE
 
 LETTER XXI. 171 
 
 THE firft was as follows : Gordon, 
 Laird of Glenbucket, had been inverted 
 by the D. of G. in fomfe Lands in Ba- 
 denoch, by Virtue, I think, of a Wadfet 
 or Mortgage. Thefe Lands lay among 
 the Macpberfons, but the Tenants of 
 that Name refufed to pay the Rent to 
 the new Landlord, or to acknowledge 
 him as fuch. 
 
 THIS Refufal put him upon the Means 
 to eject them by Law ; whereupon the 
 Tenants came to a Refolution to put an 
 End to his Suit and new Settlement, in 
 the Manner following. 
 
 FIVE or fix of them, young Fellows, 
 the Sons of Gentlemen, enter'd the Door 
 of his Hut j and in fawning Words told 
 him, they were forry any Difpute had 
 happen'd. That they were then refolv'd 
 to acknowledge him as their immediate 
 Landlord, and would regularly pay him 
 their Rent. At the fame Time they 
 begg'd he would withdraw his Procefs,and 
 
 they
 
 172 LETTER XXI. 
 
 they hop'd they mould be agreeable to 
 him for the future. All this while they 
 were almoft imperceptibly drawing nearer 
 and nearer to his" Bed-fide, on which he 
 was fitting, in order to prevent his de- 
 fending himfelf (as they knew him to 
 be a Man of diftinguim'd Courage) 
 and then fell fuddenly on him ; fome 
 cutting him with their Dirks, and others 
 plunging them into his Body. This was 
 perpetrated within Sight of the Banack 
 of Rutbven. 
 
 I CAN'T forbear to tell you how this 
 Butchery ended, with Refpect bath to 
 him and thofe treacherous Villains. 
 
 HE, with a Multitude of Wounds 
 upon him, made a Shift, in the Buftle, 
 to reach down his broad Sword from the 
 Tefter of his Bed, which was very low -, 
 and with it he drove all the Aflaffins 
 before him. And afterwards from the 
 Duke's Abhorrence of fo vile a Fact, 
 and with the Afllffonce of the Troops, 
 
 they
 
 LETTER XXI. 173 
 
 they were driven out of the Country, 
 and forced to fly to foreign Parts. 
 
 BY the Way, the Duke claims the 
 
 j ' 
 
 Right of Chief to the Macpherfons ; as 
 he is, in Fact, of the Gordons. 
 
 THE other Example is of a Minifter, 
 who had a fmall Farm affi^n'd him, and 
 
 O 
 
 upon his Entrance to it, fome of the 
 Clan, in the Dead of the Night, fired five 
 Balls through his Hut, which all lodg'd 
 in his Bed ; but he happening to be ab- 
 fent that Night, efcap'd their Barbarity, 
 but was forced to quit the Country. 
 Of this, he made to me an affecting 
 Complaint. 
 
 THIS Kind of Cruelty, I think, arifes 
 from their Dread of Innovations, and the 
 Notion they entertain, that they have a 
 Kind of hereditary Right to their Farms 3 
 and that none of them are to be difpof- 
 fefs'd, unlefs for fome great Tranfgrefllon 
 againfl their Chief, in which Cafe every 
 
 Indi-
 
 i 7 4 LETTER XXI. 
 
 Individual would confent to their Expul- 
 fion. 
 
 HAVING lately mentioned the Dirk, 
 I think it may not be unfeaibnable here, 
 to give you a fhort Deicription of that 
 dangerous Weapon j and the rather, as 
 I may have Occalion to fpeak of it here- 
 after. 
 
 THE Blade is ftraight, and generally 
 above a Foot long, the Back near an 
 Inch thick j the Point goes off like a 
 Tuck, and the Handle is fomething 
 like that of a Sickle. They pretend 
 they can't well do without it, as being 
 ufeful to them in cutting Wood, and 
 upon many other Occafions ; but it is 
 a conceal'd Mifchief hid under the 
 Plaid, ready for fecret {tabbing, and in 
 a clofe Encounter, there is no Defence 
 again ft it. 
 
 I AM far from thinking there is any 
 Thing in the Nature of a Highlander, 
 as fuch, that mould make him cruel and 
 
 remorfelefs ;
 
 LETTER XXI. 175 
 
 rcmorfelefs ; on the contrary, I cannot 
 but be of Opinion, that Nature in ge- 
 neral is originally the fame in all Man- 
 kind, and that the Difference between 
 Country and Country arifes from Educa- 
 tion and Example. And from this Prin- 
 ciple I conclude, that even a Hottentot 
 Child being brought into England^ be- 
 fore he had any Knowledge; might by 
 a virtuous Education, and generous Ex- 
 ample, become as much an Engli/bman 
 in his Heart, as any Native whatever. 
 
 BUT that the Highlanders, for the 
 moft Part are cruel, is beyond Difpute ; 
 tho' all Clans are not alike mercilefs. 
 In general they have not Generality 
 enough to give Quarter to an Enemy 
 that falls in their Power ; or do thcy 
 feem to have any Remorfe at fhedding 
 Blood without Neceffity. 
 
 THIS appear'd a few Years ago, with 
 Refpecl: to a Party of Soldiers, confift- 
 ing of a Serjeant and twelve Men, who 
 
 were
 
 176 LETTER XXI. 
 
 were fent into Lochaber after fome Cows, 
 that were faid to be flolen. 
 
 THE Soldiers, with their Arms flung, 
 were carelefly marching along by the 
 Side of a Lake, where only one Man. 
 could pafs in Front ; and in this Circum- 
 ftance fell into an Ambufcade of a great 
 Number of Highland Men, VafTals of 
 an attainted Chief, who was in Exile, 
 when his Clan was accufed of the 
 Theft. 
 
 THESE were lodg'd in a Hollow on 
 the Side of a rocky Hill ; and tho' they 
 Were themfelves out of all Danger, or 
 might have defcended and difarm'd fo 
 fmall a Party, yet they chofe rather, with 
 their Fire- Arms, as it were, wantonly to 
 pick them off, almoft one by one, 'till 
 they had deftroy'd them all ; except 
 two, who took to their Heels, and wa- 
 ded a fmall River into the Territory of 
 another Chief, where they were fafe 
 from further Purfuit. For the Chiefs 
 (like Princes upon the Continent, whofe 
 
 Domi-
 
 LETTER XXI. 177 
 
 Dominions lie contiguous) do not invade 
 each others Boundaries, while they are 
 in Peace and Friendship with one ano- 
 ther, but demand Redrefs of Wrongs ; 
 and whofoever fhould do otherwife, 
 would commit an Offence, in which 
 every Tribe is interefted, belides the laft- 
 ing Feud it might create between the 
 two neighbouring Clans. 
 
 P. S. One of thefe Soldiers, who in his 
 Flight had fix'd his Bayonet, turn'd 
 about at the Edge of the Water, up- 
 on the Highland Man ; who, for 
 greater Speed, had no other Arms 
 than his broad Sword, and at the fame 
 Time, as 'tis faid, the Soldier at once 
 fent his Bayonet and a Ball through 
 his Body. 
 
 VOL. II. N L E T~
 
 '78 ) 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 U T the Rancour of 
 fotnc of thofe People 
 in another Cafe was 
 yet more extraordi- 
 nary than the Inflance 
 in my laft Letter, as 
 the Objedts of their 
 Malice could not feem, even to the ut- 
 moft Cowardice, to be in any manner of 
 Condition to annoy them. This was 
 after the Battle of Glerfiiels, in the Re- 
 bellion of 17*9, before mentioned.
 
 LETTER XXII. 179 
 
 As the Troof>s were marching, from 
 the Field of Action to a Place of En- 
 campmerft, fome of the Men, who were 
 dangeroufly wounded, after their being 
 carried fome little Way on Horfeback, 
 complained they could no longer bear that 
 uneafy Carriage, and begged they might 
 be left behind 'till fome more gentle 
 Conveyance could be provided. 
 
 IN about three or four Hours (the little 
 Army being incamped) Parties were fent 
 to them with Hurdles that had been 
 made to ferve as a Kind of Litters ; but 
 when they arrived they found to .their 
 Aftonifhment, that thofe poor miferable 
 Creatures had been ftabbed with Dirks 
 in twenty Places of their Legs and Arms 
 as well as their Bodies, and even thofc 
 that were dead had been ufed in the fame 
 favage Manner. This I have been aflured 
 of by feveral Officers who were in the 
 Battle, Scots as well as EngUJh. 
 
 N 2 I MAKE
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 I MAKE no manner of Doubt you 
 will take what is to follow to be an odd 
 Tranfition, /. e. from the Cruelty of the 
 ordinary Highlanders to Dialed: and Or- 
 thography, although you have met with 
 fome others not more confident, but then 
 you will recoiled; what I faid in my firft 
 Epiftle ; that I mould not confine my- 
 felf to Method, but give you my Ac- 
 count juft as the feveral Parts of the Sub- 
 ject mould occur from my Memoran- 
 dums and Memory. 
 
 STRANGE Encomiums I have heard 
 from the Natives upon the Language of 
 their Country, although it be but a Cor- 
 ruption of the Irijh Tongue, and if you 
 could believe fome of them, it is fo ex- 
 pretfive that it wants only to be better 
 known to become univerfal. But as for 
 myfelf, who can only judge of it by the 
 Ear, it feems to me to be very harm in 
 Sound, like the Weljh^ and altogether as 
 gutteral, which laft, you know, is a 
 2 Quality
 
 I/E T T E R XXII. 181 
 
 Quality, long fince banifhed all the polite 
 Languages in Eurofe. 
 
 IT like wife feems to me, as if the Na- 
 tives affected to call it Erft, as though it 
 were a Language peculiar to thejr 
 Country ; but an Irijh Gentleman wbo 
 never before was in Scotland, and made, 
 with me, a highland Tour, was perfectly 
 understood, even by the common Peo- 
 ple -, and feveral of the Lairds took me 
 * , i 
 
 afide to afk me who he was, for that 
 they never heard their Language fpoken 
 in fuch Purity before. This Gentleman 
 told me, that he found the Dialed: to 
 vary as much in different Parts of the 
 Country as in any two Counties of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 i 
 
 THERE are very few who can wrke 
 the Character, of which the Alphabet is, 
 as follows. 
 
 N 3
 
 182 LETTER XXII. 
 
 Pronounced 
 
 a 
 
 gi 
 
 d 
 
 Ailim. 
 
 b 
 
 b 
 
 B 
 
 Beith. 
 
 c 
 
 C 
 
 c 
 
 Coll. 
 
 d 
 
 6 
 
 b 
 
 Duir. 
 
 e 
 
 e 
 
 e 
 
 Eadha. 
 
 f 
 
 F 
 
 F 
 
 Fearn. 
 
 g 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 Gort. 
 
 h 
 
 rc 
 
 h 
 
 Uath. 
 
 j i 
 
 7 * 
 
 ^ i 
 
 Jogha. 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
 Luis. 
 
 m 
 
 3ft 
 
 m 
 
 Muin. 
 
 n 
 
 H 
 
 n 
 
 Nuin. 
 
 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 Oun. 
 
 P 
 
 P 
 
 P 
 
 Peithboc. 
 
 r 
 
 R 
 
 n 
 
 Ruis. 
 
 s 
 
 S 
 
 r 
 
 Suil. 
 
 t 
 
 C 
 
 c 
 
 Tinne. 
 
 u 
 
 u 
 
 o 
 
 Uir. 
 
 IN
 
 bl .It. 
 
 2'aff i C
 
 LETTER XXII, 183 
 
 IN writing Englifo they feem to have 
 no Rule of Orthography, and they pro- 
 fefs they think good Spelling of no great 
 ufe, but if they read Englijh Authors, I 
 wonder their Memory does not retain the 
 Figures, or Forms of common Words, 
 efpecially Monofyllables ; but it may, 
 for ought I know, be Affectation. 
 
 I HAVE frequently received Letters 
 from Ministers and lay Gentlemen, both 
 efleemed for their Learning in dead Lan- 
 guages, that have been fo ill fpelt, I 
 thought I might have expected better 
 from an ordinary Woman in England. 
 As for one fingle Example ; for Heirt 
 (of Latin Derivation) Airs repeated 
 feveral times in the fame Letter j and 
 further, one Word was often varioufly 
 fpelt in the fame Page. 
 
 THE Highland Drefs confifts of a 
 
 Bonnet made of Thnim without a Brim, 
 
 a fhort Coat, a Waftcoat longer by five 
 
 or fix Inches, fhort Stockings znd Brogues 
 
 N 4 or
 
 184 LETTER XXIL 
 
 or Pumps without Heels. By the way 
 they cut Holes in their Brogues, though 
 new made, to let out the Water when 
 they have far to go and Rivers to pafs j 
 this they do to preferve their Feet from 
 galling. 
 
 FEW befides Gentlemen wear the 
 Troivzey that is, the Breeches and Stock- 
 ings all of one Piece and drawn on to- 
 gether j over this Habit they wear a 
 Plaid, which is ufually three Yards long 
 and two Breadths wide, and the whole 
 Garb is made of chequered Tartan or 
 Plaiding 3 This, with the Sword and 
 Piftol, is called a full Drefs, and to a 
 well proportioned Man with any tolerable 
 Air, it makes an agreeable Figure \ but 
 this you have feen in London, and it is 
 chiefly their Mode of dreffing when they 
 are in the Lowlands, or when they make 
 a neighbouring Vifit, or go any were on 
 Horfeback - y but when thofe among them 
 who travel on Foot, and have not Atten- 
 dants to carry them over the Waters, 
 
 they
 
 LETTER XXII. 185 
 
 they vary it into the >uelf, which is a 
 Man?ier I am about to defcribe. 
 
 THE common Habit of the ordinary 
 Highlands is far from being acceptable 
 to the Eye ; with them a fmall Part of 
 the Plaid, which is. not fo large as the 
 former, is fet in Folds and girt round 
 the Wafte to make of it a mort Petticoat 
 that reaches half Way down the Thigh, 
 and the reft is brought over the Shoul- 
 
 o 
 
 ders, and then fattened before, be 
 the Neck, often with a Fork, and fc 
 times with a Bodkin, or fharpened I' 
 of Stick, fo that they make pretty near 
 the Appearance of the poor Women in 
 London when they bring their Gowns 
 over their Heads to fhelter them from 
 the Rain. In this way of wearing the 
 Plaid, they have fometimes nothing elfe 
 to cover them, and are often barefoot ; 
 but fome I have feen mod with a kind 
 of Pumps made out of a raw Cow-hide 
 with the Hair turned outward, which 
 being ill made, the Wearer's Feet looked 
 fomething like thofe of a rough-footed 
 
 Hen
 
 i86 LETTER XXII. 
 
 Hen or Pigeon : Thefe are called 
 rants, and are not only offenfive to the 
 Sight but intolerable to the Smell of 
 thofe who are near them. The Stock- 
 ing rifes no higher than the Thick of 
 the Calf, and from the Middle of the 
 Thigh to the Middle .of the Leg is a naked 
 Space, which being expofed to all Wea- 
 thers, becomes tanned and freckled, and 
 the Joint being moftly infected with the 
 Country Diftemper, the whole is very 
 difagreeable to the Eye. 
 
 THIS Drefs is called the %uelt, and 
 for the moft part they wear the Petti- 
 coat fo very fhort, that in a winday Day, 
 going up a Hill, or {looping, the Inde- 
 cency of it is plainly difcovered. 
 
 A Highland Gentleman . told me, one 
 Day merrily, as we were fpeaking of a 
 dangerous Precipice we had patted over 
 together j that a Lady of a noble Family 
 had complained to him very ferioufly ; 
 That as me was going over the fame 
 Place with a Gt/fy, who was upon an 
 
 upper
 
 LETTER XXII. 187 
 
 upper Path leading her Horfe with a 
 long String, (he was fo terrified with the 
 Sight of the Abyfs, that, to avoid it, fhe 
 was forced to look up towards the bare 
 Highlander all the Way long. 
 
 I HAVE obferved before, that the Plaid 
 ferves the ordinary People for a Cloak 
 by Day, and Bedding at Night : By the 
 latter it imbibes fo much Perfpiration, 
 that no one Day can free it from the 
 filthy Smell j and even fome of better 
 than ordinary Appearance, when the 
 Plaid falls from the Shoulder, or other- 
 wife requires to be readjusted, while you 
 are talking with them, tofs it over again, 
 as fome People do the Knots of their 
 Wigs, which conveys the Offence in 
 Whiffs that are intolerable, of this they 
 feem not to be fenfible, for it is often 
 done only to give themfelves Airs. 
 
 VARIOUS Reafons are given both for 
 and againft the Highland Drefs. It is 
 urged againft it, that it diftinguifhes the 
 Natives as a Body of People diftinct and 
 
 fe pa rate
 
 j83 LETTER XXII. 
 
 feparate from the reft of the Subjects of 
 Gnat Britain, and, thereby, is one 
 Caufe of their narrow Adherence among 
 themfelves to the Exclulion of all the 
 reft of the Kingdom j but the Part of 
 the Habit chiefly objedted to is the Plaid 
 (or Mantle) which, they fay, is calcu- 
 lated for the Encouragement of an idle 
 Life in lying about upon the Heath in 
 the Day-time, inftead of following fome 
 lawful Employment j that it ferves to 
 cover them in the Night when they lie 
 in wait among the Mountains to commit 
 their Robberies and Depredations, and is 
 compofed of fuch Colours as altogether 
 in the Mafs fo nearly refemble the Heath 
 on which they lie, that it is hardly 
 to be diftinguifhed from it until one is fo 
 near them as to be within their Power, if 
 they have any evil Intention. 
 
 THAT it renders them ready at a 
 Moment's Warning to join in any Re- 
 bellion, as they carry continually their 
 Tents about them. 
 
 AND
 
 LETTER XXII. 189 
 
 AND, laftly, it was thought neceffary 
 in Ireland to fupprefs that Habit by Act 
 of Parliament for the above Reafons, and 
 no Complaint, for the want of it, now 
 remains amon^ the Mountaineers of that 
 
 o 
 
 Country. 
 
 ON the other hand it is alledged ; the 
 Drefs is mod convenient to thofe who, 
 with no ill Defign, are obliged to travel 
 from one Part to another upon their 
 lawful Occafions, 
 
 THAT they would not be fo free to 
 fkip over the Rocks and Bogs with 
 Breeches, as they are in the fhort Petti- 
 coat. 
 
 THAT it would be greatly incommo- 
 dious, to thofe who are frequently to 
 wade through Waters, to wear Breeches, 
 which mufl be taken off upon every fuch 
 Occurrence, or would not only gall the 
 Wearer, but render it very unhealthful 
 and dangerous to their Limbs to be con- 
 
 ilantlv
 
 i 9 o LETTER XXII. 
 
 flantly wet in that Part of the Body, 
 elpecially in Winter-time when they 
 might be frozen. 
 
 AND with refpect to the Plaid, in par- 
 ticular, the Diftance between one Place 
 of Shelter and another are often too great 
 
 o 
 
 to be reached before Night comes on, 
 and being intercepted by fudden Floods, 
 or hindred by other Impediments, they 
 are frequently obliged to lie all Night in 
 the Hills, in which Cafe they muft perifh 
 were it not for the Covering they carry 
 with them. 
 
 THAT even if they mould be fo for- 
 tunate as to reach fome hofpitable Hut, 
 they muft lie upon the Ground uncovered, 
 there being nothing to be fpared from 
 the Family for that Purpofe. 
 
 AND to conclude, a few Shillings will 
 buy this Drefs for an ordinary Highlan- 
 der, who very probably might hardly 
 ever be in Condition to purchafe a Low- 
 land Sute, though of the coarfeft Cloth 
 
 or
 
 LETTER XXII. 191 
 
 or Stuff, fit to keep him warm in that 
 cold Climate. 
 
 I SHALL determine nothing in this 
 Difpute, but leave you to judge which 
 of thefe two Reafonings is the moft 
 cogent. 
 
 THE whole People are fond and tena- 
 nacious of the Highland Cloathing, as 
 you may believe by what is here to 
 follow. 
 
 BEING, in a wet Seafon, upon one of 
 my Peregrinations, accompanied by a 
 Highland Gentleman, who was one of 
 the Clan through which I was paffing ; 
 J obferved the Women to be in great 
 Anger with him about fomething that I 
 did not underfland ; at length, I afked 
 him wherein he had offended them ? 
 Upon this Queftion he laughed, and told 
 me his great Coat was the Caufe of their 
 Wrath, and that their Reproach was, 
 that he could not be contented with the 
 Garb of his Anceftors, but was degene- 
 rated
 
 192 LETTER XXII. 
 
 rated into a Lowlander, and condefcend- 
 ed to follow their unmanly Fafhions. 
 
 THE wretched Appearance of the poor 
 Highland Women that come to this 
 Town has been mentioned ; and here I 
 fhall ftep out of the way to give you a 
 notable Inflance of Frugality in one of a 
 higher Rank. 
 
 THERE is a Laird's Lady, about a Mile 
 from one of the Highland Garrifons, who 
 is often feen from the Ramparts on Sun- 
 day Mornings coming barefoot to the 
 Kirk with her Maid carrying the Stock* 
 ings and Shoes after her. She Stops at 
 the Foot of a certain Rock, that ferves 
 her for a Seat, not far from the Hovel 
 they call a Church, and there me puts 
 them on, and in her Return to the fame 
 Place, me prepares to go home barefoot 
 as me came, thus reverting the old Mo- 
 faick Precept. What Englifo Squire was 
 ever blefled with fuch a Houfewife ! 
 
 BUT
 
 LETTER XXII. 193 
 
 BUT this Inftance, though true to my 
 Knowledge, I have thought fomething 
 extraordinary, becaufe the Highlanders are 
 fhy of expofing their Condition to Stran- 
 gers, efpecially the Englifo, and more 
 particularly to a Number of Officers to 
 whom they are generally defirous to 
 make their beft Appearance. But in my 
 Journies, when they did not expect to 
 be obferved by any but their own Coun- 
 try People, I have twice furprized the 
 Laird and his Lady without Shoes or 
 Stockings, a good Way from Home, in cold 
 Weather. The Kirk, above mentioned, 
 brings to my Memory a Curiofity of the 
 fame kind. 
 
 AT a Place in Eadenoch, called Han 
 Don, as I palled by a Hut of Turf fome- 
 thing larger than ordinary, but taking 
 little Notice of it, I was called upon by 
 one of the Company to flop and obferve 
 its Figure, which proved to be the Form 
 of a Crofs : This occafioned feveral Jokes 
 from a Libertine and a Prefbyterian upon 
 VOL, II. O the
 
 , 94 LETTER XXIt. 
 
 the Highland Cathedral, and the 
 Jurors, in all which, they perfectly 
 agreed. 
 
 THE ordinary Girls wear nothing upon 
 their Heads until they are married of 
 have a Child, except fometimes, a Fillet 
 of red or blue courfe Cloth, of which 
 they are very proud j but often their 
 Hair hangs down over the Forehead like 
 that of a wild Colt. 
 
 IF they wear Stockings, which is very 
 rare, they lay them in Plaits one above 
 another from the Ancle up to the Calf, 
 to make their Legs appear, as near as 
 they can, in the Form of a Cylinder ; but 
 I think I have feen fomething like this 
 among the poor German Refugee Wo- 
 men, and the Moorijh Men in London. 
 By the way, thefe Girls, if they have 
 no Preteniions to Family (as many of 
 them have, though in Rags) they arc 
 vain of being with Child by a Gentle- 
 man, and when he makes Love to one 
 of them, me will plead her Excufe, in 
 
 faying
 
 LETTER XXII. 195 
 
 faying, he undervalues himfelf, and, 
 that fhe is a poor Girl not worth his 
 Trouble, or fomething to that purpofe. 
 
 THIS eafy Compliance proceeds chiefly 
 from a kind of Ambition eftablifhed by 
 Opinion and Cuftom ; for, as Gentility 
 is of all things efteemed the moft valu- 
 able in the Notion of thofe People, fo 
 this kind of Commerce renders the poor 
 plebeian Girl, in fome meafure, fuperior 
 to her former Equals. 
 
 FROM thenceforward fhe becomes 
 proud, and they grow envious of her 
 being fingled out from among them, to 
 receive the Honour of a Gentleman's 
 particular Notice ; but otherwife they are 
 generally far from being immodeft, and 
 as Modefty is the Capital feminine Vir- 
 tue, in that, they may be a Reproach 
 to fome in higher Circumftances, who 
 have loft that decent and indearing 
 Quality. 
 
 O 2 You
 
 196 LETTER XXII. 
 
 You know I mould not venture to 
 
 talk in this manner at where 
 
 Modefty would be decryed as impolite 
 and troublefome, and I and my (lender 
 Party ridiculed, and born down by a vaft 
 Majority. I mall here give you a Sam- 
 ple of the Wretchednefs of fome of 
 them. 
 
 IN one of my northern Journies, where 
 I travelled in a good deal of Company, 
 there was among the reft a Scots Baronet, 
 who is a Captain in the Army, and does 
 not feem (at leaft to me) to affedt Con- 
 cealment of his Country's Difadvantage. 
 This Gentleman, at our Inn, when none 
 but he and I were together, examined 
 the Maid Servant about her way of liv- 
 ing, and me told him (as he interpreted 
 it to me) that me never was in a Bed in 
 her Life, or ever took off her Cloaths 
 while they would hang together; but in 
 this laft, I think, me was too general, 
 for I am pretty fure fhe was forced to 
 
 pull
 
 LETTER XXII. 197 
 
 pull them off now and then for her own 
 Quiet. But I muft go a little further. 
 
 ONE Half of the Hut, by Partition, 
 was taken up with the Field-bed of the 
 principal Perfon among us, and therefore 
 the Man and his Wife very courteoufly 
 offered to fit up and leave their Bed to 
 the Baronet and m.e (for the reft of the 
 Company were difperfed about in Barns) 
 but we could not refolve to accept the 
 Favour for certain Reafons, but chofe 
 rather to lie upon the Benches with our 
 Saddles for Pillows. 
 
 BEING in a high Part of the Country, 
 the Night was excemve cold with fome 
 Snow upon the Mountains, though in 
 Auguft^ and the next Day was the hoteft 
 that, I think, I ever felt in my Life. 
 
 THE violent Heat of the Sun among 
 the R^cks made my new Companions 
 (Natives of the Hovel) fuch voracious 
 Canibals that I was obliged to lag behind, 
 and fet my Servant to take Vengeance on 
 O 3 them
 
 198 LETTER XXII. 
 
 them for the plentiful Repaft they were 
 making at my Expence, and without my 
 Confent, and by which I was told they 
 were become as red as Blood. But I 
 fhould have let you know, that when the 
 Table, over Night, was fpread with fuch 
 Provifions as were carried with us, our 
 chief Man would needs have the Lady 
 of the Houfe to grace the Board, and it 
 fell to my Lot to fit next to her till I 
 had loaded her Plate, and bid her go and 
 fup with her Hufband, for I forefaw the 
 Confequence of our Conjunction. 
 
 THE young Children of the ordinary 
 Highlanders are miferable Objects, in- 
 deed, and are moftly over-run with that 
 Diftemper, which fome of the old Men 
 are hardly ever freed [of from their In- 
 fancy. I have often feen them come 
 out from the Huts early in a cold Morn- 
 ing, ftark naked, and fquat themfelves 
 down (if I might decently ufe the Com- 
 parifon) like Dogs on a Dunghil, upon a 
 certain Occafion after Confinement. And 
 at other times they have but little to de- 
 fend
 
 LETTER XXII. 199 
 
 fend them from the Inclemencies of the 
 Weather in fo cold a Climate - y nor are 
 the Children of fome Gentlemen in much 
 better Condition, being flrangely neg- 
 lected 'till tipsy are fix or feven Years 
 old ; this one might know by a Saying I 
 have often heard, viz. That a Gentle- 
 man's Beams are to b: dijlingujl.cd by tbtir 
 fpeaking Englifh. 
 
 I WAS invited one Day to dine with a 
 Laird, not very far within the Hills, and 
 obferving, about the Houfe, an En 
 Soldier, whom I had often feen before, 
 in this Town, I^took an Opportunity to 
 ail: him feveral Queflions. This Man 
 was a Bird-catcher, and employed by 
 the Laird to provide him with fmall Birds 
 for the Exercife of his Hawks. 
 
 AMONG other things, he told me, 
 that for three or four Days after 
 coming, he had obferved in the Kit, 
 (an Out-houfe Hovel) a Parcel of dirty 
 Children half naked, whom he took to 
 belong to fome poor Tenant, 'till, at 
 O 4 laft
 
 200 LETTER XXII. 
 
 laft he found they were a Part of the 
 Family j but although thefe were fo little 
 regarded, the young Laird, about the 
 Age of fourteen, was going to the Uni- 
 verfity, and the eldeft Daughter, about 
 fixteen, fat with us at Table, clean, and 
 genteely drefTed, 
 
 BUT perhaps it may feem, that in this 
 and other Obfervations of the like kind, 
 whenever I have met with one particular 
 Fact, I would make it thought to be 
 general. I do aflure you it is not fo ; 
 but when I have known any thing to be 
 common, I have endeavoured to illuftrate 
 it by feme particular Example. Indeed, 
 there is hardly any thing of this fort, 
 that I have mentioned, can be fo general 
 as to be free from all Exception, it is 
 Juftification enough to me if the Matter 
 be generally known to anfvver my De- 
 fcription, or what I have related of it. 
 But I think an Apology of this nature to 
 you is needlefs, 
 
 IT
 
 LETTER XXII. 2 oi 
 
 IT is impoflible for me, from my own 
 Knowledge, to give you an Account of 
 the ordinary way of Living of thofe Gen- 
 tlemen, becaufe, when any of us (the 
 Englijh) are invited to their Houfes there 
 is always an Appearance of Plenty to Ex- 
 cefs, and it has been often faid, they 
 will ranfack all their Tenants rather than 
 we mould think meanly of their Houfe- 
 keeping ; but I have heard it from many 
 whom they have employed, and perhaps 
 had little regard to their Obfervations 
 as inferior People j that, although they 
 have been attended at Dinner by five or 
 fix Servants, yet, with all that State, 
 they have often dined upon Oatmeal 
 varied feveral ways, pickled Herrings, 
 or other fuch cheap and indifferent Diet, 
 but though I could not perfonally know 
 their ordinary Bill of Fare, yet I have 
 had Occafion to obferve they do not 
 live in the cleaneft manner, though fome 
 of them, when in England^ affect the 
 utmofl Nicety in that Particular. 
 
 A
 
 202 LETTER XXII. 
 
 / 
 
 A FRIEND of mine told me fome time 
 ago, that, in his Journey hither, he 
 flopped to bait at the Bull Inn at Stam- 
 ford, which, I think, is one among the 
 beft in England. He foon received a 
 Meflage, by the Landlord, from two 
 Gentlemen in the next Room, who were 
 going from thefe Parts to London, pro- 
 pofing they might all dine together; 
 this he readily confented to, as being 
 more agreeable to him than dining alone. 
 
 As they fat at Table waiting for Din- 
 ner, one of them found fault with the 
 Table-cloth, and faid, it was not clean ; 
 there was, it feems, a Spot or two upon 
 it, which he told them was only the 
 Stain of Claret, that could not, at once, 
 be perfectly warned out ; then they 
 wiped their Knives, Forks and Plates 
 with the Napkins, and, in fhort, no- 
 thing was clean enough for them, and 
 this to a Gentleman, who is, himfelf 
 extremely nice in every thing of that 
 Nature ; at laft, lays my Friend, vexed 
 
 at
 
 LETTER XXII. 203 
 
 at the impertinent Farce, as he called it, 
 Gentlemen, fays he, I am vaftly pleafed, 
 at your Diflikes, as I am now upon my 
 Journey to Scotland,, where I have never 
 yet been, becaufe I muft infer I fhall 
 there find thefe Things in better Con- 
 dition. Troth (fays one of them) \e 
 want it. 
 
 I AM forry for fueh Inftances where- 
 by a Fop, confcious of the Fallacy, ex- 
 pofes his Country, and brings a Ridicule 
 upon other Gentlemen of Modefty and 
 good Senfe, to ferve a momentary Vanity, 
 if not to give Affronts by fuch grofs 
 Impofitions. 
 
 I KNOW very well what my Friend 
 thinks of them now, and perhaps, by 
 their Means, of many others who do not 
 deferve it. 
 
 THERE is one Gafconade of the Peo- 
 ple hereabouts which is extraordinary j 
 they are often boafting of the great Kof- 
 pitality of the Highlanders to Strangers ; 
 
 for
 
 204 LETTER XXII. 
 
 for my own Part, I do not remember to 
 have received one Invitation from them, 
 but when it was with an apparent View 
 to their own Intereft ; on the contrary, 
 I have feveral times been unafked to eat, 
 though there was nothing to be purchafed 
 within many Miles of the Place. 
 
 BUT one particular Inflance was mofl 
 inhofpitable. 
 
 BEING benighted; foon after it was 
 dark, I made up to the Houfe of one to 
 whom I was well known, and though I 
 had five or fix Miles to travel over a dan- 
 gerous rugged Way, wherein there was 
 no other Shelter to be expected j yet, 
 upon the Trampling of my Horfes before 
 the Houfe, the Lights went out in the 
 Twinkling of an Eye, and Deafnefs, at 
 once, feized the whole Family. 
 
 THE latter Part of what I have writ 
 of this Letter relates, chiefly, to Gen- 
 men who inhabit the Hills not far from 
 the Borders of the Lowlands, or not very 
 
 far
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 far from the Sea, or Communication with 
 it by Lakes, as indeed molt Part of the 
 Houfes of the Chiefs of Clans are in one 
 or other of thefe Situations. 
 
 THESE are fometimes built with Stone 
 and Lime, and though not large, ex- 
 cept fome few, are pretty commodious, 
 at leaft, with Comparifon to thefe that 
 are built in the manner of the Huts, of 
 which, if any one has a Room above, it 
 is, by way of Eminence, called a lofted 
 Houfe ; but in the inner Part of the 
 Mountains there are no Stone Buildings 
 that I know of, except the Barracks; 
 and one may go a hundred Miles an end 
 without feeing any other Dwellings than 
 the common Huts of Turf. 
 
 I HAVE, indeed, heard of one that 
 was intended to be built with Stone in a 
 remote Part of the Highlands, from 
 whence the Laird fent a Number of 
 Highlanders with Horfes to fetch a 
 Quantity of Lime from the Borders ; but 
 in their way Home there happened to 
 
 fall
 
 2 o6 LETTER XXII. 
 fall a good deal of Rain, and the Lime 
 began to crackle and fmoke : The High- 
 landers not thinking, of all Things, Wa- 
 ter would occafion Fire, threw it all into 
 a {hallow Rivulet in order to quench it, 
 before they proceeded further home- 
 ward ; and this, they fay, put an End 
 to the Project. 
 
 BUT I take this to be a Lowland Sneer 
 upon the Highlanders, though not im- 
 probable. 
 
 I HAVE mentioned, above, among 
 other Situations of Stone-built Houfes, 
 fome that are near to Lakes, which have 
 a Communication with the Sea. 
 
 THERE are, in feveral Parts of the 
 Highlands, winding Hollows between 
 the Feet of the Mountains whereinto the 
 Sea flows, of which Hollows fome are 
 navigable for Ships of Burden for ten or 
 twenty Miles together, inland : Thofe 
 the Natives call Lochs or Lakes, although 
 
 they
 
 LETTER XXII. 207 
 
 they are fait, and have a Flux and Re- 
 flux, and therefore, more properly, 
 fhould be called Arms of the Sea. 
 
 I COULD not but think this Explana- 
 tion neceflary to diftinguifh thofe Waters 
 from the ftanding frefh water Lakes, 
 which I have endeavoured to defcribe in 
 a former Letter. 
 
 LET-
 
 * x*!^;fc5 l p; 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 H E N a young Cou- 
 ple are married, for 
 the firft Night, the 
 Company keep Pof- 
 feffion of the dwel- 
 ling- Houfe or Hut, 
 and fend the Bride* 
 groom and Bride to a Barn or Out- Houfe, 
 giving them Straw, Heath, or Fearn for a 
 Bed, with Blankets for their Covering , 
 and then they make merry, and dance to 
 the Piper all the Night long. 
 
 SOON after the Wedding- Day, the 
 new-married Woman fets herfelf about 
 fpinning her winding Sheet, and a Huf- 
 band that mould fell or pawn it, is 
 
 efteem'd
 
 LETTER XXIII. 209 
 
 efteem'd, among all Men, one of the 
 moft profligate. 
 
 AT a young Highlander's firft fetting 
 up for himfelf, if he be of any Confi- 
 deration, he goes about among his near 
 Relations and Friends, and from one he 
 begs a Cow, from another a Sheep ; a 
 Third gives him Seed to fow his Land, 
 and fo on, 'till he has procur'd for him- 
 felf a tolerable Stock for a Beginner. 
 This they call 
 
 AFTER the Death of any one, not in 
 the loweft Circumftances, the Friends 
 and Acquaintance of the Deceafed af- 
 femble to keep the near Relations Com- 
 pany the firft Night j and they dance, 
 as if it were at a Wedding, 'till the next 
 Morning, tho' all the Time the Corps 
 lies before them in the fame Room. If 
 the deceafed be a Woman, the Widower 
 leads up the firft Dance j if a Man, the 
 Widow. But this Highland Cuftom I 
 knew, to my Difturbance, within lefs 
 than a Quarter* f a Mile of Edinburgh, 
 
 VOL. II. P before
 
 2io LETTER XXIII. 
 
 before I had been among the Mountains, 
 It was upon the Death of a Smith, 
 next Door to my Lodgings, who was a 
 Highlander. 
 
 THE upper Clafs hire Women to moan 
 and lament at the Funeral of their near- 
 eft Relations. Thefe Women cover 
 their Heads with a fmall Piece of Cloth, 
 moftly Green, and every now and then 
 break out into a hideous Howl and Ho- 
 bo-bo-bo-boo ; as I have often heard is 
 done in fome Parts of Ireland. 
 
 THIS Part of the Ceremony is call'd 
 a Coronocby and generally fpeaking, is 
 the Caufe of much Drunkennefs attend- 
 ed with its Concomitants, mifchievous 
 Rencounters, and bloody Broils ; for all 
 that have Arms in their PoflefTion, ac- 
 coutre themfelves with them upon thofe 
 Occafions. 
 
 I HAVE made mention of their Fu- 
 neral Piles n a former Letter ; but I 
 had oacc Occafion to take particular No- 
 tice.
 
 LETTER XXIII. 211 
 
 tice of a Heap of Stones, near the Mid- 
 dle of a fmall Piece of arable Land. 
 The Plough was carefully guided as 
 near to it as poffible, and the Pile, being 
 like others I had feen upon the Moors, 
 I afk'd, by an Interpreter, whether 
 there was a Rock beneath it, but being 
 anfwer'd in the Negative, I further en- 
 quir'd the Reafons why they loft fo 
 much Ground, and did not remove the 
 Heap ? To this I had for Anfwer, it 
 was a Burial-Place, and they deem'd it 
 a Kind of Sacrilege to remove one lingle 
 Stone, and that the Children, from their 
 Infancy, were taught the fame Venera- 
 tion for it. Thus a Parcel of loofe 
 Stones are more religioufly preferv'd 
 among them, than, with us, the coftly 
 Monuments in Weflminfter-Abby , and 
 thence I could not but conclude, that 
 the Inclination to preferve the Remains 
 and Memory of the Dead, is greater with 
 thofe People, than it is among us. The 
 Highlanders, even here in this Town, 
 cannot forego the Practice of the Hills, 
 in raifing Heaps of Stones over fuch as 
 P 2 have
 
 212 LETTER XXIII. 
 have loft their Lives by fome Misfortune ; 
 for in Olivers Fort, no fooner was the 
 Body of an Officer remov'd from the 
 Place where he fell in a Duel, than they 
 fet about the raifing fuch a Heap of Stones 
 upon the Spot where he had lain. So 
 much for Mountain Monuments. 
 
 THOSE who are faid to have the fe- 
 cond Sight, deal chiefly in Deaths, and 
 it is often faid to be a Gift peculiar to 
 fome Families j that is, the Cheat has, 
 with fome, been handed down from Fa- 
 ther to Son. Yet I muft confefs they 
 feldom fail to be right, when they reveal 
 their Predictions j for they take the 
 fureft Method to prophetife, which is 
 to divulge the Oracle after the Fact. Of 
 this I had once an Opportunity to con- 
 vince a Highland Gentleman, from whom 
 I thought, might have expected more 
 Reafon, and lefs Prejudice than to be 
 gull'd by fuch Impoftors. 
 
 THE Matter was this ; A poor High- 
 lander was drown'd in wading a Ford, 
 
 and
 
 LETTER XXIII. 213 
 
 and his Body afterwards put into a fmall 
 Barn. Not many Days after, the Laird 
 endeavouring to pafs the fame Water, 
 which was hard by his own Houfe, his 
 Horfe gave Way, and he was likewile 
 drown'd, and carried into the fame Hut. 
 Soon after, a Story began to pafs for cur- 
 rent, that fuch-a-one the fecond-fighted, 
 foretold, when the Body of the poor 
 Man lay expos'd to View, that it would 
 not be long before a greater Man than 
 he mould lie in the fame Place. This 
 was all that was pretended, and that 
 too was afterwards found to be an Inven- 
 tion arifmg from the Circumfhnce of 
 two Perfons, at a little Diftance of Time, 
 being drown'd in the fame Ford, and 
 both their Bodies carried to one Hovel ; 
 which indeed flood fingly, near the 
 Place where they were both flopp'd by 
 the Rocks. 
 
 WITCHES and Goblins are likewife 
 pretty common among the Highlanders, 
 and they have feveral old Prophefies, 
 handed down to them by Tradition; 
 amcng which, this is one. That the 
 P 3 Time
 
 2H LETTER XXIII. 
 
 Time fhall come, when they {hall mea- 
 fure out the Cloth of London with a long 
 Pole. 
 
 As the little Manufacture they had 
 was Cloth, fo at the Time, when this 
 pretended Prophecy was broach'd, they 
 efteem'd that the only Riches, and did 
 not know of the Treafure of Lombard- 
 Street, like the Country Boy, that fed 
 poorly, and work'd hard j who faid, if 
 he were a Gentleman, he would eat fat 
 Bacon, and fwing all Day long upon 
 Gaffer Such-a-one's Yate. 
 
 A CERTAIN Laird, whom I have men- 
 tion'd feveral Times before, tho' not by 
 Name, is frequently heard to affirm, 
 that at the Inftant he was born, a Num- 
 ber of Swords that hung up in the Hall 
 of the Manfion-Houfe, leap'd of them- 
 felves out of the Scabbards, in Token, 
 I fuppofe, that he was to be a mighty 
 Man in Arms, and this vain Romance 
 feems to be believ'd by the lower Order 
 of his Followers ; and I believe there 
 are many that laugh at it in Secret, who 
 
 dare
 
 LETTER XXIII.' 215 
 
 <!are not publickly declare their Dilbe- 
 lief. But becaufe the Miracle has hi- 
 therto only portended the Command of 
 his Clan and an independent Company, 
 he has endeavour'd to fupply the Defeat 
 of the Prefage by his own Epitaph, al- 
 together as romantick, in his own Kirk ; 
 which he flill lives to read, whenever 
 he pleafes to gratify his Vanity with the 
 Sight of it. 
 
 THEY have an odd Notion relating to 
 dead Bodies that are to be tranfported 
 over Rivers, Lakes, or Arms of the Sea. 
 Before it is put on Board, they appraife 
 and afcertain the Value of the Boat or 
 Veflel, believing, if that be neglected, 
 fome Accident will happen, to endanger 
 the Lives of thofe who are embarked in 
 it j but upon Recollection, I think fome of 
 our Seamen entertain this idle Fancy in 
 fome Meafure. For I have heard, they 
 don't care for a Voyage with a Corps on 
 Board, as tho' it would be the Occafion 
 of tempefluous Weather.
 
 216 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 AND laftly ; for I mall not trouble 
 you longer with Things of this Kind, 
 which are without Number. The High- 
 landers are of Opinion, that it is in the 
 Power of certain Enchantrefles to pre- 
 vent the Act of Procreation ; but I am 
 rather inclin'd to believe it was originally 
 a Male Artifice among them to ferve as 
 an Excufe, in cafe of Imbecility. 
 
 THE Marriages of the Chiefs and 
 Chieftains arc, for the moft Part, confin'd 
 to the Circuit of the Highlands j and 
 they generally endeavour to ftrengthen 
 their Clan, by what they call powerful 
 Alliances. But I muft not be iinderftood 
 to include any of the prime Nobility of 
 Scotland., of whom there are fome Chiefs 
 of Clans. Their Dignity places them 
 quite out of the Reach of any Thing I 
 have faid, or have to fay, in relation to 
 the Heads of Highland Families, who 
 refide constantly with them, and govern 
 them in Perfon. As to the lower Clafs 
 of Gentry, and the ordinary People, they 
 
 generally
 
 LETTER XXIII. 217 
 
 generally marry in the Clan, whereto 
 they appertain. 
 
 ALL this may be political enough, 
 i. e. the Chief to have Regard to the 
 
 o 
 
 Highlands in general, and his Followers, 
 to their own particular Tribe or Family, 
 in order to preferve themfelves a diftinct 
 People ; but this continues them in a 
 narrow Way of thinking, with Refpect 
 to the reft of Mankind, and alfo pre- 
 vents that Addition to the Circumftances 
 of the whole, or a Part of the High- 
 lands, which might be made by Marri- 
 ages of Women of Fortune in the Low- 
 lands. This, in Time, might have a 
 good Effect, by producing an Union in- 
 ftead of that Coldnefs, to fay no more, 
 which fubfifts at prefent between the 
 Natives of thofe two Parts of Scotland, 
 as if they bore no relation one to ano- 
 ther ; confidered as Men and Subjects of 
 the fame Kingdom, and even the fame 
 Part of it. Yet I muft here (and by 
 the by) take Notice of one Thing, 
 wherein they perfectly agree, \yhich 
 
 Expe-
 
 2i8 LETTER XXIIL 
 
 Experience has taught me to know 
 perfectly well ; and that is, to grudge 
 and envy thofe of the South-Part of 
 the Ifland any profitable Employment 
 among them, altho' they themfelves 
 are well received, and equally en- 
 courag'd and employ'd with the Natives 
 in that Part of the Kingdom. And 
 I think further, they have fometimes 
 more than their Share, if they muft 
 needs keep up fuch a partial and invidi- 
 ous Diflinclion. 
 
 BUT to return to the Marriages of the 
 Highlanders : Perhaps, after what has 
 been faid of the Country, it may be 
 afk'd, what Lowland Woman would 
 care to lead a Life attended with fo 
 many Inconveniencies ? Doubtlefs there 
 are thofe who would be as fond of mar- 
 ing the clannifh State and Power with a 
 Hufband, as fome others are of a Name, 
 when they fell themfelves for a Title ; 
 for each of thefe Kinds of Vanity is very 
 flattering. Befides, there are many of 
 the Lowland Women, who feem to 
 
 2 have
 
 LETTER XXIII. 219 
 
 have a great liking to the Highland Men, 
 which they cannot forbear to infinuate 
 in their ordinary Converfation. 
 
 BUT fuch Marriages are very rare, and 
 I know but one Inftance of them, which 
 I muft confefs will not much recom- 
 mend the Union, of which I have been 
 fpeaking ; but then it is but one, and 
 cannot be the Caufe of any general In- 
 ference. 
 
 A CERTAIN Chieftain took to Wife 
 the Daughter of an Edinburgh Gold- 
 fmith, but this Lowland Match was the 
 Caufe of much Difcontent in the Tribe, 
 as being not only a Diminution of the 
 Honour of the Houfe, but, in their 
 Opinion, an ill Precedent befides ; and 
 nothing was more common among the 
 People of that Branch of the Clan, than 
 to afk among themfelves, Were there 
 not Smiths enough in the Clan that had 
 Daughters ? How comes our Chief then 
 to have married the Daughter of a Low- 
 land Smith ? making no Diftinction be- 
 tween
 
 220 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 twecn an Edinburgh Goldfmith and a 
 Highland Blackfmith. 
 
 THEY thought it was a Difgrace, of 
 which every one partook, that he fhould 
 match himfelf with a Tradefman's 
 Daughter ; a Lowland Woman, and no 
 Way deriv'd from the Tribe. 
 
 THIS prov'd in the End to be a fatal 
 Marriage , but as it is uncertain, and 
 therefore would be unjufl for me to de- 
 termine, in a Matter whereof I have not 
 a perfect Knowledge, I can't conclude 
 which of the two, the Hufband or the 
 Wife, was the Occafion of the fad Cata- 
 ftrophe. I mall only fay what I know ; 
 viz. That an old rough Highlander, of 
 fixty at leafl, was imprifoned at one of 
 the Barracks, while I was there, for 
 accepting Favours from the Lady. She 
 was to be fent to Edinburgh to anfwer 
 the Accufation, and while fhe was pre- 
 paring to go, and the MefTenger waiting 
 without-Doors, to conduct her thither, 
 Jhe died. 
 
 THE
 
 LETTER XXIII. 221 
 
 THE Clan whereto the abovemen- 
 tion'd Tribe belongs, is the only one I 
 have heard of, which is without a Chief ; 
 that is, being divided into Families, un- 
 der feveral Chieftains, without any par- 
 ticular Patriarch of the whole Name. 
 And this is a great Reproach, as may 
 appear from an Affair that fell out at 
 my Table in the Highlands, between 
 one of that Name and a Cameron. The 
 Provocation given by the latter, was 
 Name your Chief. The Return to it, 
 at once, was, Ton are a FooL They 
 went out the next Morning, but having 
 early Notice of it, I fent a fmall Party 
 of Soldiers after them ; which in all 
 Probability prevented fome barbarous 
 Mifchief that might have enfued. For 
 the Chieflefs Highlander, who is him- 
 fclf a petty Chieftain, was going to the 
 Place appointed, with a fmall Sword 
 and Piftol ; whereas the Cameron (an 
 old Man) took with him only his Broad- 
 Sword, according to Agreement. 
 
 WHEN
 
 222 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 WHEN all was over, and I had, at 
 Icaft, feemingly reconciled them, I was 
 told the Words, of which I feem'd to 
 think but flightly, were to one of that 
 Clan, the greatefl of all Provocations. 
 
 IN a Bargain between two Highlan- 
 ders, each of them wets the Ball of his 
 Thumb with his Mouth, and then join- 
 ing them together, it is efteem'd a very 
 binding Act -, but in more folemn En- 
 gagements they take an Oath in a Man- 
 ner, which I mail defcribe in fome fuc- 
 ceeding Letter. 
 
 WHEN any one of them is arm'd at 
 all Points, he is loaded with a Target, 
 a Fire-lock, a heavy Broad-Sword, a 
 Piftol-Stock, and Lock of Iron, a Dirk ; 
 and befides all thefe, fome of them 
 carry a Sort of Knife, which they call a 
 Skeen-ocles, from its being conceal'd in 
 the Sleeve near the Arm-pit. 
 
 THIS laft is more peculiar to the Rob- 
 bers, who have done Mifchief with it ; 
 
 when
 
 LETTER XXIII. 223 
 
 when they were thought to have been 
 effectually difarm'd. 
 
 To fee a Highlander thus furnim'd 
 out, might put one in mind of Merry 
 Andrew^ when he comes from behind 
 the Curtain in a warlike Manner, to dif- 
 pute the Doctor's Right to his Stage. 
 He is then in his own individual Perfon 
 a whole Company of Foot, being load- 
 ed with one of every Species of the 
 Arms and Trophies of a Regiment 5 
 viz. a Pike, Halbert, Firelock, Sword, 
 Bayonet, Colours and Drum. 
 
 SOMETIMES, when a Company of 
 them have previoufly refolv'd, and agreed 
 to be peaceably and friendly over their 
 VJky> they have drawn their Dirks, and 
 ftuck them all into the Table before 
 them ; as who mould fay, nothing but 
 Peace at this Meeting, no private Stab- 
 bing to Night. But in promifcuous 
 Companies, at great Affemblies, fuch as 
 Fairs, Burials, &c. where tnuch Drunk- 
 ennefs prevails> there fcarcely ever fails 
 
 to
 
 224 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 to be great Riots and much Mifchicf 
 done among them. 
 
 To moot at a Mark, they lay them- 
 felves all along behind fome Stone or 
 Hillock, on which they reft their Piece, 
 and are a long while taking their Aim ; 
 by which Means they can deftroy any 
 one unfeen, on whom they would wreak 
 their Malice or Revenge. 
 
 WHEN in Sight of the Enemy, they 
 endeavour to pofTefs themfelves of the 
 higher Ground, as knowing they give 
 their Fire more effectually by their Situ- 
 ation one above another, being without 
 Difcipline ; and alfo, that they after- 
 wards defcend on the Enemy with great- 
 er Force, having in fome Meafure put 
 it out of their Power to recede in the 
 firft Onfet. \k,A 
 
 N X V'} 
 
 AFTER their firft Fire (I need not 
 have faid their firft, for they rarely ftand 
 a fecond) they throw away their Fire- 
 Arms and Plaids whifch incumber them, 
 and make their Attack with their Swords $ 
 
 but 
 
 t
 
 LETTER XXIII. 225 
 
 but if repuls'd, they feldom or never 
 rally* but return to their Habitations. 
 
 IF they happen to engage in a Plain* 
 when they expert the Enemy's Fire, 
 they throw themfelves down on the 
 Ground. They had ever a Dread of 
 the Cavalry, and did not care to en- 
 gage them, tho' but few in Number. 
 
 I CHANCED to be in Company one 
 Time with an old Highlander, as I 
 pafs'd over the Plain of Ki Hi cranky, 
 where the Battle was fought between 
 King Williams Troops, commanded by 
 General Mackay and the Rebel Highlan- 
 ders, under the Earl of Dundee. 
 
 WHEN we came to the great Stone 
 that is rais'd about the Middle of the 
 Flat, upon the Spot where Dundee fell, 
 we flop'd, and there he defcrib'd to 
 me, in his Manner, the Order and End 
 of the Battle, of which I fhall now 
 give you the Subftance only ; for he was 
 long in telling his Story. 
 
 VOL. II. q HE
 
 226 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 HE told me that Mackay extended his' 
 Line, which was only two deep, the 
 whole Length of the Plain j defigning, 
 as he fuppos'd, to furround the High- 
 landers, if they mould defcend from 
 the Side of an oppoiite Hill, where they 
 were ported. 
 
 THAT after the firft Firing, the Re- 
 .bels came down fix or feven deep, to 
 attack the King's Troops, and their 
 Rear pufhing on their Front, they by 
 their Weight, charg'd through and 
 through thofe feeble Files, and having 
 broke them, made with their Broad- 
 Swords a moft cruel Carnage ; and many 
 others who expected no Quarter, in or- 
 der to efcape the Highland Fury, threw 
 themfelves into that rapid River (the 
 Tay) and were drown'd. But he faid 
 there was an Engll/h Regiment, who 
 kept themfelves entire (the only one 
 that was there) whom the Highlanders 
 did not care to attack ; and after the 
 Slaughter was over, and the Enemy re- 
 
 tir'd,
 
 LETTER XXIII. 227, 
 
 tir'd, that fmgle Corps march'd from the 
 Field in good Order. 
 
 HE further told me, there were fome 
 few Horfe badly mounted ; who by the 
 Strength and Weight of the Highland 
 Files were pufii'd into the River, which 
 was clofe in their Rear. 
 
 ON any fudden Alarm and Danger of 
 Diftrefs to the Chief, he gives Notice of 
 it throughout his own Clan ; and to 
 fuch others as are in Alliance with him. 
 This is done by fending a Signal, which 
 they call the Fiery Crofs, being two Sticks 
 tied together tranfverfly, and burnt at 
 the Ends ; with this, he fends Directi- 
 ons in Writing, to fignify the Place of 
 Rendezvous. And when the principal 
 Perfon of any Place has received this 
 Token, he difmifles the Mefienger, and 
 fends it forward to another ; and fo on, 
 'till all have received the Intelligence. 
 
 UPON the Receipt of this Signal, all 
 that are near, immediately leave their 
 
 Habi-
 
 228 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 Habitations, and repair to the Place ap- 
 pointed, with their Arms -, and Oat- 
 meal for their Provifion. This they 
 mingle with the Water of the next Ri- 
 ver or Burne they come to, when Hun- 
 ger calls for a Supply ; and often, for 
 Want of a ^proper VefTel, fup the raw 
 Mixture out of the Palms of their 
 Hands. 
 
 THEY have been ufed, to impofe a 
 Tax upon the Inhabitants of the Low 
 Country, near the Borders of the High- 
 lands, call'd black Mail (or Rent) and 
 levy it upon them by Force ; and fome- 
 times upon the weaker Clans among 
 themfelves. But as it was made equally 
 criminal, by feveral Acts of Parliament, 
 to comply with this Exaction, and to ex- 
 tort it, the People, to avoid the Penalty, 
 came to Agreement with the Robbers, 
 or fome of their Correfpondents in the 
 Lowlands, to protect their Houfes and 
 Cattle. And as long as this Payment 
 was punctually made, the Depredations 
 ceafed, or otherwife the Collector of 
 
 this
 
 LETTER XXIII. 229 
 
 this Impofition was by Contract oblig'd 
 to make good the Lofs, which he fel- 
 dom fail'd to do. 
 
 THESE Collectors gave regular Re- 
 ceipts, as for Safe-guard Money ; and 
 thofe who refufed to pay it, were fure 
 to be plunder'd, except they kept a con- 
 tinual Guard of their own, well arm'd, 
 which would have been a yet more ex- 
 penfive Way of fecuring their Pro- 
 perty. 
 
 AND notwithftanding the Guard of 
 the independent Highland Companies, 
 which were rais'd chiefly to prevent 
 Thefts and Impofitions of this Nature ; 
 yet I have been certainly inform'd, that 
 this black Mail, or evafive Safe-guard- 
 Money, has been very lately paid in a 
 difarm'd Part of the northern High- 
 lands. And, I make no Doubt, in other 
 Places betides, tho' it has not yet come 
 to my Knowledge. 
 
 THE gathering in of Rents is call'd 
 uplifting them, and the ftealing of Cows 
 
 d
 
 23 o LETTER XXIII. 
 
 they call Lifting^ a foft'ning Word for 
 Theft 5 as if it were only collecting 
 their Dues. This I have often heard ; 
 but it has as often occurr'd to me, that 
 we have the Word Shop-lifting^ in the 
 Senfe of dealing, which I take to be an 
 old Englifh compound Word. But as 
 to the Etymology of it, I leave that to 
 thofe who are fond of fuch unprofita- 
 ble Difquifitions, tho' I think this is 
 pretty evident. 
 
 WHEN a Defign is form'd for this 
 Purpofe, they go out in Parties from ten 
 to thirty Men, and traverfe large Tracts 
 of Mountains, 'till they arrive at the 
 Place where they intend to commit their 
 Depredations j and that they chufe to 
 do as diflant as they can from their own, 
 Dwellings. 
 
 THE principal Time for this wicked 
 Practice is, the Michaelmas Moon, when 
 the Cattle are in Condition fit for Mar- 
 kets held on the Borders of the Lowlands. 
 They drive the ilolen Cows in the, 
 
 2 Night-
 
 LETTER XXIII. 23 / 
 
 'Night-time, and by Day, they lie con- 
 .ceal'd with them in By-Places among 
 the Mountains, where hardly any others 
 come ; or in Woods, if any fuch are to 
 be found in their Way. 
 
 I MUST here afk. Leave to digrefs a 
 little, and take Notice, that I have fe- 
 veral Times ufed the Word Cows for a 
 Drove of Cattle. This is according to 
 the Highland Stile j for they fay, a 
 Drove of Cows, when there are Bulls 
 and Oxen among them, as we fay a 
 Flock of Geefe, tho' there be in it many- 
 Ganders. And having jufl now men- 
 tion'd the Time of Lifting^ it reviv'd 
 in my Memory a malicious Saying of 
 the Lowlanders, viz. That the High- 
 land Lairds tell out their Daughters 
 Tochers by the Light of the Micbaelmdk 
 Moon. But to return : 
 
 SOMETIMES one Band of thefe Rob- 
 bers has agreed with another to exchange 
 the ftolen Cattle ; and in this Cafe, they 
 ufed to commit their Robberies nearer 
 
 4 Home,
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 Home, and by appointing a Place of 
 Rendezvous, thole that lifted in the 
 North-Eaft (for the Purpofe) have ex- 
 chang'd with others toward the Weil, 
 and each have fold them not many Miles 
 from Home j which was commonly at 
 a very great Diftance from the Place 
 where they were ftolen. Nay further, 
 as I have been well inform'd, in making 
 this Contract of Exchange, they have by 
 Correfpondence, long before they went 
 out, defcrib'd to each other the Colour 
 and Marks of the Cows deftin'd to be 
 flolen and exchang'd. 
 
 I REMEMBER a Story concerning a 
 Highland Woman, who, begging a 
 Chanty of a Lowland Laird's Lady, was 
 
 ; afk'd feveral Queflions ; and among the 
 reft, how many Hufbands flie had had ? 
 To which me anfwer'd Three. And 
 being further queftion'd, if her Huf- 
 
 1 bands had been kind to her, (he faid 
 the two firft were honeft Men, and very 
 careful -of their Family -, for they both 
 died for the Law : That is, were hang'd 
 
 for
 
 LETTER XXIII. 233 
 
 for Theft. Well, but as to the laft? 
 Hont ! fays (he, afulthy Peaft ! He dfd 
 at Hame, lik an auld Dug, on a Puckle 
 o' Strae. 
 
 THOSE that have loft their Cattle, 
 fometimes purfue them by the Track, 
 and recover them from the Thieves. Or 
 if, in the Purfuit, they are hounded (as 
 they phrafe it) into the Bounds of any 
 othej Chief, whofe Followers were not 
 concern'd in the Robbery, and the Track 
 is there loft, he is oblig'd by Law to 
 trace them out of his Territory, or make 
 them good to the Owner. 
 
 BY the Way, the Heath or Heather, 
 being prefs'd by the Foot, retains the 
 Impreffion j or, at leaft, fome remains 
 of it for a long while, before it rifes 
 again effectually j and befides you know, 
 there are other vifible Marks left behind 
 by the Cattle. But even a lingle High- 
 lander has been found by the Track of 
 his Foot, when he took to Hills out of 
 the common Ways, for his greater Safety 
 
 3
 
 23* L E T T E R XXIII. 
 
 In his Flight ; as thinking he could not 
 ib well be difcovcr'd from Hill to Hill 
 every now and then, as he often might 
 be, in the Road (as they call it) be- 
 tween the Mountains. 
 
 IF the Purfuers overtake the Robbers, 
 and find them inferior in Number, and 
 happen to feize any of them, they are 
 feldom profecuted, there being but few 
 who are in Circumftances fit to fupport 
 the Expence of a Profecution j or if 
 they were, they would be liable to have 
 their Houfes burnt, their Cattle hock'd, 
 and their Lives put in Danger, from 
 fome of the Clan, to which the Banditti 
 belong'd. 
 
 BUT with the richer Sort, the Chipf 
 or Chieftain generally makes a Compo- 
 iition, when it comes to be well-known 
 the Thieves belong'd to his Tribe, 
 which he willingly pays, to fave the 
 Lives of fome of his Clan j and this is 
 repaid him by a Contribution among the 
 Robbers, who never refufe to do their 
 
 utmoft
 
 LETTER XXIII. 235 
 
 utmoft to fave thofe of their Fraternity. 
 But it has been faid this Payment has 
 been forrietimes made in Cows flolen 
 from the oppofitc Side of the Country, 
 or paid out of the Produce of them, 
 when fold at the Market. 
 
 IT is certain fome of the Highlan- 
 ders think of this Kind of Depredation, 
 as our Deer-Stealers do of their Park 
 and Foreft Enterprizes j that is, to be a 
 fmall Crime, or none at all. And as 
 the latter would think it a fcandalous 
 Reproach to be charg'd with robbing a 
 Hen-Rooft, fo the Highlander thinks it 
 lefs mameful to fteal a hundred Cows, 
 than one fmgle Sheep j for a Sheep- 
 ftealer is infamous even among them. 
 
 IF I am miftakcn in that Part of my 
 Account of the Lifting of Cattle, which 
 is beyond my own Knowledge, you may 
 lay the Blame to thofe Gentlemen who 
 gave me the Information. 
 
 BUT there is no more Wonder that 
 Men of Konefty and Probity fliould dif- 
 
 clofe,
 
 236 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 clofc, with Abhorrence, the evil Practices 
 of the vile Part of their Countrymen, than 
 that I mould confefs to them, we have 
 among us a Number of Villains that can- 
 not plead the leaft Shadow of an Excufe 
 for their Thievings and Highway- Robbe- 
 ries ; unlefs they could make a Pretence 
 of their Idlenefs and Luxury. 
 
 WHEN I firfl came into thefe Parts, a 
 Highland Gentleman, in order to give 
 me a Notion of the Ignorance of fome 
 of the ordinary Highlanders, and their 
 Contempt of the Lowland Laws (as 
 they call them) gave me an Account, as 
 we were walking together, of the Be- 
 haviour of a common Highland Man at 
 his Trial, before the Lords of Jufti- 
 ciary in the Low Country. By the Way, 
 the Appearance of thofe Gentlemen up- 
 on the Bench is not unlike that of our 
 Judges in England, 
 
 I SHALL repeat the Fellow's Words 
 as near as I can, by writing, in the fame 
 broken Accent, as my Highland Friend 
 
 ufed in mimicking the Criminal. 
 
 THIS
 
 LETTER XXIII. 237 
 
 THIS Man was accufed of ftealing, 
 with others his Accomplices, a good 
 Number of Cattle. And while his In- 
 dictment was in reading, fetting forth, 
 that he as a common Thief, had lain 
 in wait, Gfc. the Highlander loft all Pa- 
 tience ; and interrupting, cry'd out, Com- 
 mon Tiefy Common Tieff Steal ane Cow, 
 t*iva Cow dot be Common *titf: Lift hun- 
 dred Cow, dat be Shentilmans Trovers. Af- 
 ter the Court was again filent, and fome 
 little Progrefs had been made in the Par- 
 ticulars of the Accufation, lie again 
 cry'd out, Ah ! Hone ! Dat fuel fine 
 Sbentilrnans flwuld Jit dere wid der fine 
 Coivns on, te mak a Parfiel o* Lees on a 
 peur honefit Mon. 
 
 BUT in Conclulion, when 'he was told 
 what was to be his Fate, he roar'd out 
 moft outragioufly, and fiercely pointing 
 at the Judges, he cry'd out, Ah for a 
 froad Sword an a Tirk> to rid de Hoofe o* 
 tofefoul Pea/tes. 
 
 PER-
 
 238 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 PERSONAL Robberies are feldom heard 
 of among them. For my own Part, I 
 have feveral Times, with a fingle Ser- 
 vant, pafs'd the Mountain Way from 
 hence to Edinburgh, with four or five 
 hundred Guineas in my Portmanteau, 
 without any Apprehenfion of Robbers 
 by the Way, or Danger in my Lodgings 
 by Night ; tho' in my Sleep any one, 
 with Eafe, might have thruft a Sword 
 from the Outfide, through the Wall of 
 the Hut and my Body together. I wifh 
 we could fay as much of our own Coun- 
 try, civiliz'd as it is faid to be, tho' one 
 can't be fafe in going from London to 
 Highgate. 
 
 INDEED in trifling Matters, as a Knife, 
 or fome fuch Thing, which they have 
 Occafion for, and think it will caufe no 
 very ftrict Enquiry, they are, fome of 
 them, apt to pilfer ; while a filver Spoon, 
 or a Watch might lie in Safety, becaufe 
 they have no Means to difpofe of either, 
 and to make Uie of them would foon 
 
 difcovcr
 
 LETTER XXIII. 239 
 
 difcover their Theft. But I cannot ap- 
 prove the Lowland Saying, viz. Shew me 
 a Highlander , and I 'will flew you a 
 Thief. 
 
 YET after all, I can't forbear doing 
 Juftice upon a certain Laird, whofe Lady 
 keeps a Change far in the Highlands, 
 Weft of this Town. 
 
 THIS Gentleman, one Day, Opportu- 
 nity temptingjtook a Fancy to the Lock of 
 an Officer's Piflolj another Time he fell in 
 Love (like many other Men) with a fair, 
 but deceitful Outfide, in taking the Bofs 
 of a Bridle filver'd over, to be all of that 
 valuable Metal. 'Tis true, I never loft 
 any Thing at his Hut ; but the Pro- 
 verb made me watchful I need not 
 repeat it. 
 
 BUT let this Account of him be of 
 no Confequence ; for I do affure you I 
 never knew any one of his Rank do any 
 Thing like it in all theHighhmds. 
 
 
 AND
 
 240 LETTER XXIIL 
 
 AND for my Own Part, I do not re* 
 member that ever I loft any thing among 
 them, but a Pair of new Doe-ikin 
 Gloves ; and at another Time a Horfe- 
 Cloth made of Plaid ing, which was 
 taken away, while my Horfes were in 
 fwimming crofs a River ; and that was 
 fent me the next Day to Fort William > 
 to which Place I was going, when it was 
 taken from the reft of my Baggage, as 
 it lay upon the Ground. I fay nothing 
 in this Place of another Robbery, be- 
 caufe I know the Motive to it was purely 
 Revenge. 
 
 I THOUGHT I had done with this Part 
 of my Subject j but there is juft now 
 come to my Remembrance a PafTage be- 
 tween an ordinary Highland Man and 
 an Officer in Half- pay, who lives in this 
 Town, and is himfelf of Highland Ex- 
 traction. 
 
 HE tol3 me a long while ago, thut, 
 on a certain Time, he was going on 
 
 Foot,
 
 L E T T E R iCXIII. 24 1 
 Foot, and unattended, upon a Vifit to a 
 Laird, about feven or eight Miles among 
 the Hills ; and being clad in a new glofiy 
 Summer Sute (inftead of his Highland 
 Drefs, which he ufually wore upon fuch 
 Occafions) there overtook him in his 
 Way, an ordinary Fellow, \vho forced 
 himfelf upon him as a Companion. 
 
 WHEN they h:ul gone together about 
 a Mile, his new Fellow-Traveller Aid to 
 him, Troth , ye ba gciten bra Clals 
 of which the Officer tool: little Notice 5 
 but fome Time after, the Fellow began 
 to look four, and to fnort (as they do 
 when they are angry) Ah ! 'tis penny 
 Gcer j izbat an I jhotfd tak 'em frae 
 ye noo ? Upon this, the Officer drew a 
 Piftol from his Breaft, and faid, / 
 do you th.nk of tb.'s ? 
 
 BUT at Sight of the Piftol, the Fel- 
 low fell on his Knees, and fquall'd.out 
 
 Ah bcne ! Ah hone ! & 
 
 fioking. " 
 
 VOL. II. R Ir's
 
 242 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 IT'S true, this Dialogue pafs'd lit 
 Irtjh ; but this is the Language, in 
 which I was told the Story. 
 
 BUT I have known feveral Inftances 
 of common Highlanders, who finding 
 themfelves like to be worfted, have 
 crouch'd and howl'd like a beaten Spa- 
 niel ; fo fuddenly has their Infolence 
 been turn'd into fawning. But, you 
 know, we have both of us feen in our 
 own Country, a Change in higher'Life, 
 not lefs unmanly. 
 
 You may fee by this additional Arti- 
 cle, that I can conceal nothing from 
 you ; even tho' it may feem, in fome 
 Meafure, to call in Queftion what I had 
 "been faying before. 
 
 LETTER
 
 243 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 E S I D E S tracking 
 the Cows, as men- 
 tion'd in my laft Let- 
 ter, there was another 
 Means whereby to re- 
 cover them j which 
 was, by fending Per- 
 fons into the Country fufpefted, and by 
 them offering a Reward (which they 
 call Tafcal Money) to any who mould 
 difcover the Cattle, and thofe who ftole 
 them. This, you may be fure, v 
 done as fecretly as poffible. The Temp- 
 tation fometimes, tho' feldom proved 
 too ftrong to be refifted ; and the Cat- 
 tle being thereby difcover 'd, a Reftitu- 
 tion, or other Satisfaction was obtain'd. 
 
 R 2 Bt '
 
 244 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 But to put a Stop to a Practice fo detri- 
 mental to their Intereft, and dangerous 
 to their Perfons, the thievifh Part of the 
 Camerom and others, afterwards by their 
 Example, bound themfelves by Oath 
 never to receive any fuch Reward, or 
 inform one againft another. 
 
 THIS Oath they take upon a drawn 
 Dirk, which they kifs in a folemn Man- 
 ner j confenting, if ever they prove per- 
 jur'd, to be ftabb'd with the fame Wea- 
 pon, or any other of the like Sort. 
 
 HENCE they think no Wickednefs fo 
 great as the Breach of this Oath, fince 
 they hope for Impunity in committing 
 almoft every other Crime, and are fo 
 certainly and feverely punifh'd for this 
 Tranfgreffion. 
 
 AN Inflance of their Severity in this 
 Point happen'd in December ', 1723, when 
 one of the faid Camercm, fufpected of 
 having taken Ttifcal Money, was in the 
 Dead of the Night, called out of his 
 
 Hut,
 
 LETTER XXIV. 245 
 
 Hut, from his Wife and Children ; and 
 under Pretence of fome new Enterprize, 
 allured to fome Diftance out of hearing, 
 and there murdered. And another for 
 the lame Crime (as they call it) was ei- 
 ther thrown down fome Precipice, or 
 otherwife made away with ; for he was 
 never heard of afterwards. 
 
 HAVING mention'd, above, the Man- 
 ner of taking their Oath relating to Taf- 
 cal Money, I mall here give you a Spe- 
 cimen of a Highland Oath upon other 
 Occafions. In taking whereof they do 
 not kifs the Book, as in England j but 
 hold up their right Hand, faying thus, 
 or to this Purpofe: 
 
 " BY God himfelf, and as I (hall an- 
 " fwer to God at the great Day, I mall 
 " fpeak the Truth. If I do not, may 
 " I never thrive while I live ; may I go 
 " to Hell and be damn'd when I die. 
 " May my Land neither bear Grafs or 
 " Corn, may my Wife and Bairns never 
 R 3 profper,
 
 246 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 " profper, may my Cows, Calves, Sheep 
 < c and Lambs all perifh, CSV." 
 
 I SAY to this Purpofe ; for I never 
 heard they had any eftablifhed Form of 
 an Oath among them. Befides, you 
 perceive it mufl necefiarily be varied ac- 
 cording to the Circumftances of the Per- 
 fon who fwears, at the Difcretion of him 
 who adminifters the Oath. 
 
 WHEN the Chief was an Encourager 
 of this Kind of Theft, which I have 
 the Charity to believe was uncommon, 
 and the Robbers fucceeded in their At- 
 tempt, he received two Thirds of the 
 Spoil, or the Produce of it j and the re- 
 maining third Part was divided among 
 the Thieves. 
 
 THE Clans that had among them the 
 moil of Villains addicted to thefe Rob- 
 beries, are faid, by the People border- 
 ing on the Highlands, to be the Came- 
 rcns y Mackenzics, the Broadalbin-men, 
 {he M'Grcgors, and the M* Donalds of 
 
 Keppock
 
 LETTER XXIV. 247 
 
 Keppoch and Glenco. The Chieftain of 
 thefe laft is faid, by his near Neighbours, 
 to have little befides thofe Depredations 
 for his Support ; and the Chief of the 
 firft, whofe Clan has been particularly 
 fligmatiz'd for thofe Violences, has, as 
 I am very well inform'd, ftrictly forbid 
 any fuch vile Practices, which has not 
 at all recommended him to fome of his 
 Followers. 
 
 BESIDES thefe ill-minded People among 
 the Clans, there are fome Stragglers in 
 the Hills, who like our Gypfies, have 
 no certain Habitation ; only they do not 
 {troll about in Numbers like them. 
 Thefe go fmgly, and tho' perfectly un- 
 known, do not beg at the Door, but 
 without Invitation or formal Leave, go 
 into a Hut, and fit themfelves down by 
 the Fire ; expecting to be fupply'd with 
 Oatmeal for their prefent Food. When 
 Bed-time comes, they wrap tliemfelves 
 up in their Plaids, or beg the Ufe of 
 a Blanket, if any to be fpared, for their 
 Covering j and then lay themfelves down 
 
 R 4 upon
 
 248 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 upon the Ground, in fome Corner of 
 the Hut. Thus the Man and his Wife 
 are often depriv'd of the Freedom of 
 their own Habitation, and cannot be alone 
 together. But the Inhabitants are in 
 little Danger of being pilfered by thefe 
 Guefts ; nor, indeed, do they feem to 
 be apprehenfive of it. For not only there 
 is generally little to be flolen, but if 
 they took fome final 1 Matter, it would 
 be of no Ufe to the Thief for want of 
 a Receiver ; and befides, they would be 
 purfued and eadly taken, The People 
 fay themfelvcs, if it were not for this 
 Connivance of theirs, by a Kind of 
 cuftomaiy Hofpitality, thefe Wanderers 
 would foon be flarved, having no Mo- 
 ney wherewith to purchafe Suftenance: 
 
 BUT I have heard great Complaint of 
 this Cufr.om from a Highland Farmer, 
 of more than ordinary Subftanee, at 
 whofe Dwelling I haippened to fee an 
 Inflancc of this Intrufion - } it being very 
 near to the Place where I rciUed for 
 a Time. And he told me he ihould 
 z think
 
 LETTER XXIV. 249 
 
 think himfelf happy, if he was taxed 
 at any Kind of reafonable Rate, to be 
 freed from this great Inconvenience. 
 
 ABOVE, I have given you a Sketch of 
 the Highland Oath ; and here I (hall 
 obferve to you, how nightly a certain 
 Highlander thought of the Lowland 
 Form. 
 
 THIS Man was brought as a Witnefs 
 againfl another, in a fuppofed criminal 
 Cafe. The Magiftrate tendered him the 
 Low Country Oath, and feeing the Fel- 
 low addreffing himfelf confidently to 
 take it, tho' he greatly fufpedted by fe- 
 veral Circumftances the Man was fu- 
 borned, changed his Method, and offered 
 him the Highland Oath. No, fays 
 the Highlander, I cannot do that j for 
 1 will not firfa:ar my f iff to pleafe any 
 Body. 
 
 Tins fingle Example might be fuffici- 
 ent to mew how nccefTary it is to fwecir 
 the common People, in the Method of 
 their ovrn Country ; yet, by Way of 
 
 Chat,
 
 250 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 Chat, I (hall give you another, tho' it 
 be lefs different in the Fadt than the Ex- 
 preflion. 
 
 AT Carlifle Affizes a Highland Man, 
 who had meditated the Ruin of another, 
 profecuted him for Horfe-ftealing ; and 
 fwore politively to the Fad:. 
 
 THIS being done, the fuppofed Cri- 
 minal denied his Profecutor might be 
 fworn in the Highland Manner ; and 
 the Oath being tendered him accordingly, 
 he refufed it, faying, Thar is a Han- 
 tie o Difference betwixt blawing on a 
 Buke and damping one's Saul. 
 
 BUT I have heard of feveral other 
 Examples of the fame Kind, notvvith- 
 ftanding the Oath taken in the Low 
 Country, has the fame Introduction, 
 viz. By God^ and as I foall anfwer y &c. 
 but then the Land, Wife, Children, and 
 Cattle are not concerned ; for there is 
 no Imprecation in it, either upon them, 
 or him that takes the Oath. 
 
 As
 
 LETTER XXIV. 251 
 
 As mod People, when they begin to 
 grow in Years, are unwilling to think 
 themfelves incapable of their former 
 Pleafures, fo fome of the Highland Gen- 
 tlemen feem to imagine they ftill retain 
 that exorbitant Power which they for- 
 merly exercifed over the Lives of their 
 VafTals or Followers j even without le- 
 gal Trial and Examination. Of this 
 Power I have heard feveral of them 
 vaunt, but it might be dftentation. 
 However, I mall mention one in par- 
 ticular. 
 
 I HAPPEN'D to be at the Houfe of a 
 certain Chief, when the Chieftain of a 
 Tribe, belonging to another Clan, came 
 to make a Vifit. 
 
 AFTER talking of indifferent Matters, 
 I told him -I thought fome of his People 
 had not behaved toward me, in a parti- 
 cular Affair, with that Civility I might 
 have expected from the Clan. He ftart- 
 ed j and immediately with an Air of 
 
 Fierce-
 
 252 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 Fiercenefs, clapped his Hand to his 
 broad Sword, and told me, if I required 
 it, he would fend me two or three of 
 their Heads. 
 
 BUT I, really thinking he had been 
 in Jeft, and had acted it well (as jetting 
 .is not their Talent) laughed out, by 
 Way of Approbation of his Capacity for 
 a Joke ; upon which he affumed, if 
 pofiible, a yet more ferious Look, and 
 told me peremptorily, be ivas a Man of 
 his Word y and the Chief, who fat by, 
 made no Manner of Objection to what 
 he had faid. 
 
 THE heretable Power of Pit and Gal- 
 kws y as they call it, which {till is exer- 
 cifed by fome within their proper L/i- 
 ftricls, is, I think, too much for any 
 particular Subject to be intruded withal. 
 But, it is faid, that any Partiality or Re- 
 venge of the Chief, in his own Caufe, 
 is obviated by the Law j which does not' 
 :il low him himfelf to fit judicially j but 
 obliges him to appoint a Substitute as 
 
 Judge
 
 LETTER XXIV. 253 
 judge in his Courts, who is called the 
 
 / o 
 
 Baity cf Regzltfy. 
 
 I FEAR this is but a Shadow of Saf. 
 to the accufed, if it may not appear to 
 increafe the Danger of Injuftice and Op- 
 prefTion. For to the Orders and In- 
 ftrudtions of the Chief may be added 
 the private Refentment of the . 
 which may make up a double Weight 
 againft the fuppofed Criminal. 
 
 I HAVE not, I muft o\vn, been ac- 
 cuftomed to hear Trials in thefe Courts, 
 but have been often told that one of 
 thofe Bailies, in particular, feldom c 
 mines any, but with raging Words and 
 Rancour : And if the Anfwers made 
 are not to his Mind, he contradicts !; 
 by Blows ; and one Time, even 
 knocking down of the poor 
 who was examined. Nay, further, 1 
 have heard fay of him, by a very c; 
 ble Perfon, that a Highlander of a nc 
 bouring Clan, with -whom his own has 
 been long at Variance, being to 
 
 brought
 
 254 LETTER XXIV. 
 brought before him, he declared upon 
 the Accufation, before he had feen the 
 Party accufed, 'That the very Namefoould 
 hang him. 
 
 I HAVE not mentioned this violent and 
 arbitrary Proceeding, as tho' I knew or 
 thought it ufual in thofe Courts, but to 
 mew how little Mankind in general are 
 to be trufted with a lawlefs Power, to 
 which there is no other Check or Comp- 
 trol, but good Senfe and Humanity, 
 which are not common enough to re- 
 ftrain every one who is inverted with 
 fuch Power, as appears by this Ex- 
 ample. 
 
 THE Baily of Regality, in many Ca- 
 fes, takes upon him the fame State as 
 the Chief himfelf would do : As for 
 one fingle Infhnce : 
 
 WHEN he travels in Time of Snow, 
 
 the Inhabitants of one Village muft walk 
 
 before him, to make a Path to the next ; 
 
 and fo on to the End of his Progrefs. 
 
 3 And
 
 LETTER XXIV. 255 
 
 And in a dark Night they light him from 
 one inhabited Place to another, which 
 are moftly far diftant, by carrying bla- 
 zing Sticks of Fir. 
 
 FORMERLY the Power afiumed by the 
 Chief, in remote Parts, was perfectly de- 
 fpotick, of which I mail only mention 
 what was told me by a near Relation of 
 a certain attainted Lord, whofe Eftate 
 (that was) lies in the Northern High- 
 lands : But hold This Moment, up- 
 on Recollection, I have refolved to add 
 to it .an Example of the arbitrary Pro- 
 ceeding of one .much lefs powerful than 
 the Chief, who neverthelefs thought he 
 might difpofe of the Lives of Foreigners 
 at his Pleafure. As to the fir ft j The 
 Father of the late Earl abovefnentioned 
 having a great Defire to get a Fellow 
 apprehended, who was faid to have been 
 guilty of many atrocious Crimes, fet a 
 Price upon his Head of one hundred 
 and twenty Crowns (a Species of Scots 
 Coin in thofe Days) I fuppofe about 
 Fivepence or Sixpence ; and of his own 
 
 Autho-
 
 256 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 Authority gave Orders for taking him 
 alive or dead. That the Purfuers think- 
 ing it dangerous to themfelves to attempt 
 the fecuring him alive, mot him and 
 brought his Head and one of his Hands 
 to the Chief, and immediately received 
 the promifed Reward. The other is as 
 follows, 
 
 I REMEMBER to have heard, a good 
 while ago ; that in the time when Prince 
 George of Denmark was Lord High Ad- 
 miral of England, fome Scots Gentlemen 
 reprefented to him ; that Scotland could 
 furnim the Navy with as good Timber 
 for Mafts and other Ufes as either 'Swe- 
 den or Norway could do, and at a much 
 more reafonable Rate. 
 
 THIS fucceeded fo far, that two Sur- 
 veyors were fent to examine into the Al- 
 legations of their Memorial. 
 
 THOSE Gentlemen came firft to Edin- 
 burgh., v/here they flayed fome time to 
 concert the reft of their Journey, and to 
 
 learn
 
 LETTER XXIV. 57 
 
 learn from the Inhabitants their Opinion 
 concerning the Execution of their Com- 
 miffion, among whom there was one 
 Gentleman that had fome Acquaintance 
 with a certain Chieftain in a very remote 
 Part of thejtHighlands, and he gave them 
 a Letter to him. 
 
 THEY arrived at the Laird's Houfe, 
 declared the Caufe of their coming, and 
 produced their Credentials, which were 
 a Warrant and Inftructions from the 
 Prince ; but the Chieftain, after perufing 
 them, told 'em he knew nothing of any 
 fuch Perfon ; they then told him he was 
 Hufband to Queen Anne ; and he anwfer- 
 ed, he knew nothing of either of them ; 
 but, fays he, there came hither, fome time 
 ago, fuch as you from Ireland^ as Spies upon 
 the Country, and, we hear, they have 
 made their Jefls upon us among the Irijh. 
 
 Now, fays he, you mall have on6 
 
 Hour, and if, in that time, you can give 
 
 me no better Account of yourfelves than 
 
 you have hitherto done, I'll hang you 
 
 VOL. II. S both
 
 258 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 both upon that Tree. Upon which his 
 Attendants {hewed, great Readinefs to 
 execute his Orders ; and in this Per- 
 plexity he abruptly left them, without 
 feeing the Edinburgh Letter, for of that 
 they made but little Account, fince the 
 Authority of the Prince, and even the 
 Queen, were to him of no Confequence : 
 But afterwards, as they were walking; 
 backwards and forwards in the Garden, 
 counting the Minutes, one of them re- 
 folved to try what the Letter might do - t 
 this was agreed to by the other, as the 
 laft Refort ; but in the Hurry and Con- 
 fufion they were in, it was not for fome 
 time to be found, being worked into a 
 Corner of the Bearer's ufual Pocket, and 
 fo he pafled to another, &c. 
 
 Now the Hour is expired, and the 
 haughty Chieftain enters the Garden, 
 and one of them gave him the Letter j 
 this he read, and then turning to them, 
 faid, Why did not you produce this at 
 firfl ? If you had not had it I mould, 
 
 moft 
 2
 
 LETTER XXIV. 259 
 
 moft certainly, have hanged you both 
 immediately. 
 
 THE Scene being thus changed, he 
 took them into his Houfe, gave them 
 Refrethment, and told them, they might 
 take a Survey of his Woods the next 
 Morning, or when they thought fit. 
 
 THERE is one Chief who fticks at no- 
 thing to gratify his Avarice or Revenge. 
 
 THIS OpprefTor, upon the leaft Of- 
 fence or Provocation, mokes no Con- 
 fcience of hiring Villains out of another 
 Clan, as he has done feveral times to 
 execute his diabolical Purpofes by ha 
 of Cattle, burning of Houfes, and even 
 to commit Murder itfelf. Out of many 
 Enormities, I mall only mention two. 
 
 THE firft was, That being offended, 
 though very unreafonably, with a Gen- 
 tleman, even of his own Name and Clan, 
 he, by horrid Commerce with one who 
 S 2 governed
 
 2 6o LETTER XXIV. 
 
 governed another Tribe in the Abfence 
 of his Chief, agreed with him for 
 a Parcel of Aflamns to murder this 
 his VafTal, and bring him, his Head, 
 I fuppofe, as a Voucher. The Perfon 
 devoted to Death happened to be abfent 
 the Night the Murderers came to his 
 Houfe, and therefore the Villains re- 
 folved not to go away empty handed, 
 but to take his Daughter's Head in lieu 
 of his own, which the poor Creature 
 perceiving, was frighted to fuch a De- 
 gree, that me has not recovered her Un- 
 derflanding to this Day. 
 
 THE Servant Maid they abufed with 
 a Dirk in a butcherly Manner too fhame- 
 ful to be defcribed ; to be fhort, the 
 Neighbours, though at fome Diftance, 
 hearing the Cries and Shrieks of the Fa- 
 males, took the Alarm, and the in- 
 human Monfters made their Efcape. 
 
 THE other Violence related to a 
 tleman who lives near this Town, and 
 was appointed Umpire in a litigated Af- 
 
 fair
 
 LETTER XXIV. 261 
 
 fair by the Chief and the other Party ; 
 and becaufe this Laird thought he could 
 not, with any Colour of Juftice, decide 
 in Favour of the Chief, his Cattle, that 
 were not far from his Houfe, were fome 
 hocked, and the reft of them killed; 
 but the Owner of them, as the other, was 
 abfent that Night, in all Probability 
 fufpecling (or having fome private In- 
 telligence of) his Danger ; and when 
 this horrid Butchery was finimed, the 
 Ruffians went to his Houfe and wantonly 
 diverted themfelves in telling the Ser- 
 vants they had done their Mafter a good 
 Piece of Service, for they had faved him 
 the Expence of a Butcher to kill his 
 Cattle j and I have been told, that the 
 next Morning there were feen a Num- 
 ber of Calves fucking at the Dugs of the 
 dead Cows. But two of them were after 
 wards apprehended and executed. 
 
 THESE Men (as is faid of Colcman) 
 were allured to Secrecy while under Con- 
 demnation, though fometimes inclined 
 to confefs their Employer; and thus 
 S 3 they
 
 262 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 they continued to depend upon Promifes 
 till the Knot was tied, and then it was 
 too late, but all manner of Circumlcances 
 were too flagrant to admit a Douht con- 
 cerning the firft Inftigator of their 
 Wickednefs j yet few of the neighbour- 
 ing Inhabitants dare to truft one another 
 with their Sentiments of it. 
 
 BUT here comes the finiming Stroke 
 to the firft of thefe execrable Pieces of 
 Workmanfhip. 
 
 NOT long after the vile Attempt, he 
 who had furnifhed the Murderers, made 
 a Demand on the Chief, of a certain 
 Quantity of Oatmeal, which was to be 
 the Price of the Aflaflination, but in An- 
 fwer, he was told, if he would fend 
 Money, it might be had of a Merchant 
 with whom he (the Chief) had frequent 
 Dealings, and as for himfelf he had but 
 juft enough for his own Family 'till the 
 next Crop. 
 
 THIS
 
 LETTER XXIV. 263 
 
 THIS muffling Refufal occafioned the 
 Threats of a Law-fuit, but the Demander 
 was told ; the Bufinefs had not been ef- 
 fectually performed ; and befides, as he 
 knew the Confederation he might com- 
 mence his Procefs, and declare it in a 
 Court as foon as ever he thought fit. 
 
 THIS laft Circumftance I did not, or 
 perhaps could not, know 'till lately, 
 when I was in that Part of the High- 
 lands from whence the Vilains were 
 hired. 
 
 I MUST again apologize, and fay, I 
 make no Doubt you will take this Ac- 
 count (as it is intended) to be a Piece of 
 hiftorical Juftice done upon one who is 
 lawlefs, and deferves much more ; and 
 not as a Sample of a Highland Chief, 
 or the leaft Imputation on any other of 
 thofe Gentlemen. 
 
 YET Truth obliges me to confefs, that 
 
 In fome Parts there remains among the 
 
 S 4 Natives
 
 264 LETTER XXIV. 
 Natives a kind of Spanifi, or Italian In- 
 clination to revenge themfelves, as it 
 were, by Proxy, of thofe whom they 
 think have injured them, or interfered 
 with their Intereft. This I could not 
 but infer foon after my fir ft Coming to 
 the weftern Part of the Highlands, from 
 the Saying of a Youth, Son of a Laird 
 in the Neighbourhood. 
 
 HE was telling me, his Father's Eftatc 
 had been much embarrafTed, but by a 
 lucky Hit a part of it was redeemed. J 
 was defirous to know by what Means, 
 and he proceeded to tell me, there were 
 two Wadfets upon it, and both of the 
 Mortgagees had been in PoffefTion, each 
 claiming a Right to about half, but one 
 of them being a Native, and the other a 
 Stranger, that is, not of the Clan, the 
 former had taken the latter afide, and 
 told him, if he did not immediately quit 
 the Country he would hang him upon 
 the next Tree. What ! fays a High- 
 lander who was born in the Eaft, and 
 went with me into thofe Parts j that 
 
 would!
 
 LETTER XXIV. 265 
 
 would be the way to be hanged himfelf. 
 Out ! fays the Youth, you talk as if you 
 did not know your own Country ; That 
 would have been done, and no-body know 
 'who did it ; this he fpoke with an Air, 
 as if he had been talking of ordinary 
 Bufinefs, and was angry with the other 
 for being ignorant of it, who afterwards 
 owned, that my Prefence was the Caufe 
 of his Objection. 
 
 BESIDES, what I have recounted in 
 this Letter, which might ferve as an In- 
 dication that fome, at leaft, of the ordi- 
 nary Highlanders are not averfe to the 
 Price of Blood ; I mall here take notice 
 of a Proposal of that kind, which was 
 made to myfelf. 
 
 HAVING given the Preference to a 
 certain Clan in a profitable Bufinefs, it 
 brought upon me the Refentment of the 
 Chieftain of a fmall neighbouring Tribe, 
 fart of a Clan at Enmity with the former. 
 
 THIS
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 THIS Gentleman thought his People 
 had as much Right to my Favour, in that 
 Particular, as the others ; the firft In- 
 flance of his Revenge was a Robbery 
 committed by one of his Tribe, whom 
 I ordered to be hounded cuf, and he was 
 taken. This Fellow I refolved to pro- 
 fecute to the utmoft, which brought the 
 Chieftain to folicit me in his Behalf. 
 
 HE told me, for Introduction, that it 
 was not ufual in the Hills for Gentlemen 
 to carry fuch Matters to Extremity, but 
 rather to accept of a Compofition, and 
 finding their Cuftom of compounding 
 had no Weight with me, he offered a 
 Reftitution, but I was firmly refolved, 
 in terrorem, to punifh the Thief. Seeing 
 this Propofal was likewife ineffectual, he 
 told me the Man's Wife was one of the 
 prettied young Women in the High- 
 lands, and if I would pardon the Huf- 
 band, I fhould have her. 
 
 I TOLD
 
 LETTER XXIV. 267 
 
 I TOLD him, that was an agreeable 
 Bribe, yet it could not prevail over the 
 Reafons I had to refer the Affair to 
 Juftice. 
 
 SOME time after, a Highlander came 
 privately to me, and, by my own Inter- 
 preter, told me he heard I had a Quarrel 
 
 with the Laird of , and if that 
 
 was true, he thought he bad lived long 
 enough ; but not readily apprehending his 
 Intention, I afked the Meaning of that 
 dubious Expreffion, and was anfwered, 
 he would kill him for me if I would 
 encourage it. The Propofal really fur- 
 prized me, but foon recovering myfelf, 
 I ordered him to be told ; that I believed 
 he was a trufcy honeft Man, and if I had 
 Occafion for fuch Service, I fliould employ 
 him before any other ; but it was the 
 Cuftom in my Country, when two Gen- 
 tlemen had a Quarrel, to go into the 
 Field and decide it between themfelves. 
 
 AT
 
 268 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 AT the Interpretation of this laft Part 
 of my Speech, he fhook his Head and 
 faid ; What ajool'fo Cujlom is that ! 
 
 PERHAPS this Narration, as well as 
 fome others that have preceded, may be 
 thought to confifl of too many Circum- 
 ftances, and confequently to be of an 
 unnecefTary Length, but I hope there 
 are none that do not, by that Means, 
 convey the Knowledge of fome Cuftom 
 or Inclination of the People, which other- 
 wife might have been omitted ; belides, 
 I am myfelf, as you know very well, an 
 Enemy to long Stories. 
 
 SOME of the Highland Gentlemen are 
 immoderate Drinkers of Ufky, even three 
 or four Quarts at a Sitting ; and in ge- 
 neral, the People that can pay the Pur- 
 chafe, drink it without Moderation. 
 
 NOT long ago, four Engtijh Officers 
 
 took a Fancy to try their Strength in this 
 
 Bow of U/vfli's, agp.inft a like Number of 
 
 ? the
 
 LETTER XXIV. 269 
 
 the Country Champions, but the Enemy 
 came off victorious ; and one of the Of- 
 ficers was thrown into a Fit of the Gout, 
 without Hopes ; another had a moft dan- 
 gerous Fever, a third loft his Skin and 
 Hair by the Surfeit, and the lail confefTed 
 to me, that when Drunkennefs and De- 
 bate run high, he took feveral Opportu- 
 nities to iham it. 
 
 THEY fay for Excufe, the Country 
 requires a great deal ; but I think they 
 miftake a Habit and Cuftom for Necef- 
 fity. They likewife pretend it does not 
 intoxicate in the Hills as it would do in 
 the low Country, but this alfo I doubt by 
 their own Practice ; for thofe among 
 them who have any Conlideration will 
 hardly care fo much as to refrefh them- 
 felves with it, when they pafs near the 
 Tops of the Mountains j for in thatCir- 
 cumftance, they fay, it renders them 
 carelefs, liftlefs of the Fatigue, and in- 
 clined to fit down, which might invite to 
 Sleep, and then they would be in Danger 
 to perifli with Cold. I have been tempt- 
 ed
 
 270 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 cd to think this Spirit has in it, by In- 
 fufion, the Seeds of Anger, Revenge and 
 Murder (this I confefs is a little too poe- 
 tical) but thofe who drink of it to any 
 Degree of Excefs behave, for the moft 
 Part, like true Barbarians, I think much 
 beyond the Effect of other Liquors. The 
 Collector of the Cuftoms at Stornway 
 in the Ifle of Lewis told me, that about 
 1 20 Families drink yearly 4000 Englifo 
 Gallons of this Spirit, and Brandy to- 
 gether, although many of them are fo 
 poor they cannot afford to pay for much 
 of either, which you know muft en- 
 creafe the Quantity drank by the reft, and 
 that they frequently give to Children of 
 fix or feven Years old, as much at a time 
 as an ordinary Wine-glafs will hold. 
 
 WHEN they chufe to qualify it for 
 Punch they fometimes mix it with Wa- 
 ter and Honey, or with Milk and Honey ; 
 at other times the Mixture is only the 
 Aqua Vit<z, Sugar and Butter, this they 
 burn till the Butter and Sugar are 
 duTolved. 
 
 THE
 
 LETTER XXIV. 2 7 r 
 
 THE Air of the Highlands is pure and 
 confequently Healthy, infomuch that I 
 have known fuch Cures done by it as 
 might be thought next to Miracles, I 
 mean in Diftempers of the Lungs as 
 Coughs, Confumptions, &c. 
 
 AND as I have mentioned the Honey 
 above, I (hall here give that its due Com- 
 mendation ; I think then, it is in every 
 refped: as good as that of Minorca fo- 
 much efteemed, and both, I fuppofe, 
 are, in a great Meafure, produced from 
 the Bloom of the Heath j for which 
 Reafon too our Hampfiire Honey is more 
 valued than any from other Parts near 
 London, becaufe that County is moftly co- 
 vered with Heath. 
 
 As the Lowlanders call their Part of 
 the Country the Land of Cakes, fo the 
 Natives of the Hills fay they inhabit a 
 Land of Milk and Hone.
 
 270 LETTER XXIV, 
 
 P. S. In the Low-Country the Cakes 
 are called Cookies^ and the feveral 
 Species of them, of which there are 
 many, though not much differing in 
 Quality one from another, are digni- 
 fied and diftinguiftied by the Names 
 of the reigning Toafts, or the good 
 Houfewife, who was the Inventor ; 
 as for Example j Lady Cullen's Cookies, 
 &c. 
 
 L E T-
 
 ( 2 73 ) 
 
 yaejt 
 
 ***, 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 N a former Letter, I 
 ventured to give it 
 you as my Opinion, 
 that Mankind in dif- 
 ferent Countries are 
 naturally the fame. I 
 mall now fend you a mort Sketch of 
 what I have obferved in the Converfation 
 of an Rnglif?) Fox-hunter, and that of 
 a Highland Laird, fuppofing neither of 
 them to have had a liberal and poKte 
 Education, or to have been far out of 
 their own Counties. 
 
 THE firft of thefe Characters is, Town, 
 too trite to be given you, but this By- 
 Way of Comparifon. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 THE
 
 274 LETTER XXV. 
 
 THE 'Squire is proud of his Eftatc, 
 and Affluence of Fortune, loud and po- 
 fitive over his Q&oier, impatient of Con- 
 tradiction, or rather will give no Oppor- 
 tunity for it j but Whoops and Hollows 
 at every Interval of his own Talk, as if 
 the Company were to fupply the Ab- 
 fence of his Hounds. 
 
 THE particular Characters of the Pack, 
 the various Occurrences in a Chace, 
 where Jowler is the eternal Hero, make 
 the conftant Topick of his Difcourfe, 
 tho' perhaps none others are interefled in 
 it. And his Favourites the Trencher- 
 Hounds, if they pleafe, may lie undi- 
 flurbed upon Chairs and Counterpanes 
 of Silk j and upon the leaft Cry, tho' 
 not hurt, his Pity is excited more for 
 them, than if one of his Children had 
 broke a Limb, and to that Pity his An- 
 ger fucceeds to the Terror of the whole 
 Family. 
 
 THE Laird is national, vain of the 
 Number of his Followers, and his ab- 
 
 folute
 
 LETTER XXV. 275 
 lute Command over them. In cafe of 
 Contradiction, he is loud and imperious, 
 and even dangerous ; being always at- 
 tended by thofe who are bound to fup- 
 port his arbitrary Sentiments. 
 
 THE great Antiquity of his Family, 
 and the heroick Actions of his Ancef- 
 tors, in their Conquefts upon Enemy 
 Clans, is the inexhauftible Theme of 
 his Converfation ; and, being accuftom- 
 cd to Dominion, he imagines himfelf, 
 in his UJky, to be a fovereign Prince. 
 And, as I faid before, fancies he may 
 difpofe of Heads at his Pleafure. 
 
 THUS, one of them places his Vanity 
 in his Fortune, and his Pleafure in his 
 Hounds. The other's Pride is in his 
 Lineage, and his Delight is Command, 
 both arbitrary in their Way, ; and this 
 the Excefs of Liquor difcovers in both. 
 So that what little Difference there is 
 between them, feems to arife from the 
 Accident of their Birth ; and if the Ex- 
 change of Countries had been made in 
 T 2 their
 
 276 LETTER XXV. 
 
 their Infancy, I make no Doubt but 
 each might have had the other's Place, 
 as they ftand feparately defcribed in this 
 Letter. 
 
 ON the contrary, in like Manner, as we 
 have many Country Gentlemen, merely 
 fuch, of great Humanity and agreeable, if 
 not general, Converfation ; fo in the 
 Highlands I have met with fome Lairds, 
 who furprized me with their good Senfe 
 and polite Behaviour, being fo far re- 
 moved from the more civilized Part of 
 the World, and confidering the Wild- 
 nefs of the Country, which one would 
 think was fufficient, of itfelf, to give a 
 favage Turn to a Mind the moil 
 humane, 
 
 THE Ifles to the North-Weft, and to 
 the North of the main Land (if I may 
 fo fpeak of this our Ifland) may not im- 
 properly be called Highlands ; for they 
 are mountainous, and the Natives fpeak 
 the Language, follow the Cuftoms, and 
 wear the Habit of the Highlanders. 
 
 IN
 
 LETTER XXV. 277 
 
 IN fome of the Weftern lilands (as 
 well as in Part of the Highlands) the 
 People never rub out a greater Quantity 
 of Oats than what is juft neceiTary for 
 Seed, againft the following Year ; the 
 reft they referve in the Sheaves for. their 
 Food. And, as they have Occafion, fet 
 Fire to fome of them j not only to dry 
 the Oats, which, for the moil Part, are 
 wet, but to burn off the Hulk. Then, 
 by winnowing they feparate, as well as 
 they can, the footy Part from the Grain ; 
 but as this cannot be done effectually, 
 the Bonnack or Cake they make of it, is 
 very black. Thus they deprive them- 
 felves of the Ufe of Straw, leaving none 
 to thatch their Huts, make their Beds, 
 or feed their Cattle in the Winter 
 Seafon. 
 
 THEY feldom burn and grind a greater 
 Quantity of thefe Oats, than ferves them 
 for a Day, except on a Saturday ; when 
 fome will prepare a double Portion, that 
 they may have nothing to do on the.. 
 
 T 3 Sunday
 
 278 LETTER XXV. 
 
 Sunday following. This Oatmeal is called 
 Graydon Meal. 
 
 FOR grinding the Oats, they have a 
 Machine they call a Quarn. This is 
 compofed of two Stones ; the undermoft 
 is about a Foot and a Half, or two Feet 
 Diameter. It is round, and five or fix 
 Inches deep in the Hollow, like an 
 earthen Pan. Within this they place 
 another Stone, pretty equal at the Edge 
 to that Hollow. This laft is flat, like a 
 wooden Pot-led, about three or four 
 Inches thick, and in the Centre of it is 
 a pretty large round Hole, which goes 
 quite through, whereby to convey the 
 Oats between the Stones ; there are alfo 
 two or three Holes in different Places, 
 near the extreme Part of the Surface, 
 that go about Half-way through the 
 Thicknefs, which is jufl Depth enough 
 to keep a Stick in its Place, by which, 
 with the Hand, they turn it round and 
 round, till they have finimed the Ope- 
 ration. But: in a wild Part of Argyle- 
 Jkire, there was no Bread of any Kind, 
 
 till
 
 Voi.n. 

 
 LETTER XXV. 279 
 
 till the Difcovery of fome Lead Mines, 
 which brought Strangers among the In- 
 habitants j who before fed upon the 
 Milk of their Cows, Goats, and Sheep. 
 In Summer they ufed to fhake their 
 Milk in a VefTel, till it was very frothy, 
 which puffed them up, and fatisfied 
 them for the prefent ; and their Cheefe 
 ferved them inftead of Bread. The Rea- 
 fon why they had no Bread, was, that 
 there is hardly any arable Land for a 
 great Space, all round about that Part of 
 the Country. 
 
 I HAVE been afTured, that in fomc of 
 the Iflands, the meaner Sort of People 
 ftill retain the Cuftom of boiling their 
 Beef in the Hide j or otherwife (being 
 deftitute of Veffels of Metal or Earth) 
 they put Water into a Block of Wood, 
 made hollow by the Help of the Dirk 
 and burning ; and then with pretty large 
 Stones heated red-hot, and fuccefllvely 
 quenched in that VefTel, they keep the 
 Water boiling, till they have drefled 
 their Food. It is faid, like wife, that 
 
 T 4 they
 
 2 8o LETTER XXV. 
 
 they roaft a Fowl in the Embers, with 
 
 J 
 
 the Guts and Feathers ; and when they 
 think it done enough, they ftrip off the 
 Skin, and then think it fit for the 
 Table. 
 
 A GENTLEMAN of my Acquaintance 
 told me, that in coming from Ireland to 
 the Weftern Highlands, he was reduced 
 by an Ague, to the Neceflity of landing 
 upon the Ifland Macormach ; and arri- 
 ving at the publick Change^ he obferved 
 three Quarters of a Cow to lie in a {hal- 
 low Part of the Salt Water, and the 
 other Quarter hanging up againft the 
 End of the Hut. 
 
 THAT, afking the Reafon of it, he 
 was told they had no Salt ; and it was 
 their Way of preferving their Beef. 
 
 Some Time after, the Woman of the 
 Hut (or the guld Wife) took a Side of 
 a Calf that had been taken out of the 
 Cow, and holding it by the Legs, waved 
 it backward and forward over the Fire, 
 
 till
 
 LETTER XXV. 281 
 
 till Part of it was roafted, as me thought ; 
 and then tore off one of the Limbs, and 
 offered it to him to eat. A tempting 
 Dim ! efpecially for a fick Stomach ! 
 
 IT is often faid, that fome of the 
 Lairds of thofe Iflands take upon them 
 the State of Monarchs ; and thence their 
 Vaffals have a great Opinion of their 
 Power. 
 
 AMONG other Stories told of them, 
 there is one pretty well known in the 
 North of Scotland; but whether true, or 
 feigned as a Ridicule upon them, I do 
 not know. For, notwithstanding the 
 Lowland Scots complain of the Englijh 
 for ridiculing other Nations, yet they 
 themfelves have a great Number of ftand- 
 ing Jokes upon the Highlanders. 
 
 THEY fay a Sfanifo Ship being brand- 
 ed upon the Coaft of Barra (a very 
 fmall Ifland to the South of Lewes) the 
 Chief (M'Neil) called a Council out of 
 his Followers (which I think they fay 
 
 were
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 were about fifty in Number) in order to 
 determine what was to be done with her. 
 That in the Courfe of the Confultation 
 one of the Members propofed, " If me 
 " was laden with Wine and Brandy, me 
 " mould be confifcated as an illicit Tra- 
 " der upon the Coaft ; but if me was 
 " freighted with other Merchandize, 
 " they mould plunder her as a Wreck.'* 
 
 UPON this, one of the Council, more 
 cautious than the reft, objected, that the 
 King of Spain might refent fuch Treat- 
 ment of his Subjects ; but the other re- 
 plied, We have nothing to do with that. 
 M c Neal and the King of Spain will adjuft 
 that Matter between tbemfehes. 
 
 As this is a cold Country, the People 
 endeavour to avail themfelves of the 
 Condition of thofe who live in a more 
 northern Cliriiate. 
 
 THEY tell you, that fome of the Lairds 
 in the Iflands of Scbetland (which are 
 .far North of the Orkneys) hire a Do- 
 
 meftick
 
 LETTER XXV. 283 
 
 meftick by the half Year, or 'by the 
 Quarter, juft as they can agree, whofe 
 Bufinefs it is to put an Inilrument in Or- 
 der, when the Laird has an Inclination 
 to play upon it ; but if he attempts to 
 play a Tune himfelf, he is fure to be 
 difcarded. 
 
 OF this they give you an Inftance in 
 a certain Laird, who obferving his Ser- 
 vant went farther toward an Air^ than 
 he ought to have done by Agreement, 
 (perhaps vainly imagining he could play 
 better than his Mailer) he had Warn- 
 ing given him to provide himfelf with 
 another Service, againft the next Mar- 
 tinmas, which was then about two 
 Months to come. And altho' the Man 
 was not fufpended in the mean Time 
 from the Exercife of his Function, (be- 
 caufe he was to be paid for the whole 
 Time) yet in all that Interval, no Man- 
 ner of InterceiTion could prevail with the 
 Laird to continue him in his Service be- 
 yond that Quarter. No; notwithftand- 
 ing his own Lady ftrongly folicited him 
 
 3 in
 
 284 L EJ T T E R XXV. 
 in Behalf of the poor unhappy Offender 5 
 nor could me obtain fo much as a Certi- 
 ficate in his Favour. 
 
 HERE you will fay, all this muft be 
 a Riddle : And, indeed, fo it is. But 
 your Friend Sir Alexander, or any other 
 of your Scots Acquaintance, can explain 
 it to you much better over a Bottle, or 
 walking in St. James's Park, than I can 
 do upon Paper. They can likewife give 
 you the Title of the Hireling > which I 
 have forgot ; and when all that is done, 
 I dare venture to fay, you will conclude, 
 there is no Occafion for any fuch Officer 
 in any Englijh Family. And for my 
 own Part, I really think there is as little 
 Need of him any where on this Side the 
 Tweed, within the Compafs of the 
 Ocean. 
 
 WE had the other Day, in our Cof- 
 fee-Room an Auction of Books, if fuch 
 Tram, and fo fmall a Number of them 
 may go by that Name. 
 
 ONE
 
 LETTER XXV. 285 
 
 ONE of them I purchafed, which I 
 don't remember to have ever heard of 
 before ; altho' it was published fo long 
 ago as the Year 1703. 
 
 IT is a Defcription of the Weflerrt 
 Iflands of Scotland, and came extremely 
 a fropos y to prevent my faying any Thing 
 further concerning them. 
 
 I HAVE nothing to object againft the 
 Author's (Mr. Martins) Account of 
 thofe Ifles, with Refpect to their Situa- 
 tion, Mountains, Lakes, Rivers, Caves, 
 &c. For I confefs I never was in any 
 one of them, tho' I have feen feveral of 
 them from the main Land. But I muft 
 obferve, that to furnifh out his Book 
 with much of the Wonderful (a Quality 
 necefTary to all Books of Travels, and 
 it would be happy if Hiftory were lefs 
 tainted with it) he recounts a great Va- 
 riety .of ftrange Cufloms ufed by the 
 Natives (if ever in Ufe) in Days of 
 yore, with many other Wonders ; among 
 
 all
 
 286 LETTER XXV. 
 
 all which tbeJecouJ Sight is the fuper- 
 
 lative. 
 
 THIS, he fays, is a Faculty, Gift, or 
 Misfortune (for he mentions it under 
 thofe three Predicaments) whereby all 
 'ihofe who are pofTeffed of it, or by it, 
 fee the perfect Images of abfent Objects, 
 either human, brute, vegetable, artifi- 
 cial, Gfc. And if there be fifty other 
 Perfons in the fame Place, thofe Sights 
 are invifible to them all. Nor even are 
 they feen by any one, who has him- 
 felf at other Times the fecond Sight, un- 
 lefs the Perfon who has the Faculty, at 
 that Inftant, mould touch him with De- 
 fign to communicate it to him. 
 
 IT is not peculiar to adult Perfons, 
 but is fometimes given to young Chil- 
 dren. Women have this fupernatural 
 Sight, and even Horfes and Cows. 'Tis 
 Pity he does not tell us how thofe two 
 Kinds of Cattle diftinguifh between na- 
 tural and preternatural Appearances, fo 
 
 as
 
 LETTER XXV. 287 
 
 as to be fearlefs of the one, and affrignt- 
 cdatthe other ; tho' feemingly the fame, 
 and how all this came to be known. 
 
 UPON this Subject he employs fix and 
 thirty Pages, /. e, a fmall Part of them 
 in recounting what Kind of Appearances 
 forebode Death, which of them are Pre- 
 fages of Marriage, &c. as tho' it were a 
 
 o o * 
 
 fettled Syftem. 
 
 The remaining Leaves are taken up, 
 in Examples of fuch prophetick Appa- 
 ritions, and the Certainty of their 
 Events. 
 
 BUT I mall trouble you no further 
 with fo contemptible a Subject, or my- 
 felf with pointing out the Marks of Im- 
 pofture, except to add one Remark, 
 which is, that this ridiculous Notion has 
 almoft excluded another, altogether as 
 weak and frivolous ; for he mentions 
 only two or three flight Sufpicions of 
 Witchcraft^ but not one Fact of that 
 Nature throughout his whole Book. 
 Yet both this andfecond Sight are fprung 
 
 from
 
 288 LETTER XXV. 
 
 from one and the fame Stock, which 
 I fuppofe to be very ancient, as they are 
 Children of Credulity -, who was begotten 
 by Supcrftition, who was the Offspring of 
 Craft j but you muft make out the next 
 Anceftor yourfelf, for his Name is torn 
 off from the Pedigree, but I believe he 
 was the Founder of the Family. 
 
 IN looking upwards to what I have 
 been writing, I have paufed a while to 
 confider what it was that could induce 
 me to detain you fo long about this tri- 
 fling Matter ; and at laft I have refolved 
 it into a Love of Truth, which is natu- 
 rally communicative, and makes it pain- 
 ful to conceal the Impofitions of Falfe- 
 hood. But thefe Iflands are fo remote 
 and unfrequented, they are a very pro- 
 per Subjedt for Invention j and few, I 
 think, would have the Curiofity to vifit 
 them, in order to difprove any Account 
 of them, however romantick. 
 
 I CAN make no other Apology for the 
 Length of this Detail, becaufe I might 
 
 have
 
 LETTER XXV. 289 
 
 h'ave gone a much fhorter Way, by only 
 mentioning the Book, and hinting its 
 Character ; and fo leaving it to your 
 Choice, whether to take Notice of it, 
 or reject it. 
 
 THIS Letter will bring you the 
 Conclusion of our Correfpondence, fo far 
 as it relates to this Part of our Ifland ; 
 yet if any Thing mould happen hereaf- 
 ter that may be thought qualified to go 
 upon its Travels five hundred Miles 
 Southward, it will be a Pleafure to me 
 to give it the neceflary Difpatch. 
 
 I HAVE called it Correspondence from 
 the Remarks I have received from you, 
 upon fuch PafTages in my Letters as gave 
 you the Occafion ; and I wifh my Sub- 
 ject would have enabled me to give you 
 'Opportunities to increafe their Number. 
 
 WRITERS, you know, for the moft 
 Part have not been contented with any 
 thing lefs than the Characters and Acti- 
 ons of thofe whom Birth or Fortune 
 VOL, II. U had
 
 290 LETTER XXV. 
 
 had fet up to publick View ; or the Po- 
 licy or Weaknefs of publick Councils. 
 The Order and Event of Battles, Sieges, 
 and fu'ch like, in great Meafure drefied 
 up in Habits cut out by themfelveSj but 
 the Genius of a People has been thought 
 beneath their Notice. 
 
 THIS, forfooth, is called fupporting 
 the Dignity of Hiftory. Now in this 
 Cafe, who mall condefcend to give a De- 
 tail of Circumftances, generally efteemed 
 to be low, and therefore of little Con- 
 fequence, and at the fame Time efcape 
 the Character of a Trifler ? 
 
 BUT I am unwarily fallen into an Apo- 
 logy to you, and not as if I was writing 
 en Confidence to a Friend, but openly to 
 the whole Kingdom. 
 
 FOR my own Part (who have already 
 lived too long to be dazzled with glitter- 
 ing Appearances) I ihould be as well 
 pleafed to fee a Shepherd of Arcadia 
 (free from poetical Fiction) in his 
 
 ruflick
 
 LETTER XXV. 291 
 
 ruflick Behaviour and little Oeconomy j 
 or a Burgher of ancient Rome in his 
 Shop, as to know the Character* of a 
 Conful j for in either Cafe, it is the 
 Comparifon of pafs'd Ages, and foreign 
 Countries oppofed to our own, that ex- 
 cites my Curiofity, and gives me Sa- 
 tisfaction. 
 
 As we are now about to fettle our Ac- 
 counts to this Time, I mall acknowledge 
 (as every honeft Man would do) the 
 Value of an Article, which, it is likely 
 you make little Account of, as the 
 Indians are faid to have done of their 
 Gold, when they gave it away for Bau- 
 bles. And that is, the agreeable Amufe- 
 ment you have furnifhed me with from 
 Time to Time, concerning fuch PafTa- 
 ges as could not, for good Reafons, be 
 admitted to the publick Papers. This 
 to one almoft excluded the World may, 
 in fome Meafure, be faid to reftore. him 
 to his native Home. 
 
 U a UPON
 
 292 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 UPON the whole, when all the Arti- 
 cles in your Favour are brought to Ac- 
 count, I think the Balance will be on 
 your Side ; and yet I make no Doubt you 
 would chearfully go on to increafe the 
 Debt, tho' I mould become a Bankrupt, 
 and there did not remain to you the leaft 
 Expectation of Payment from, &c. 
 
 LETTER
 
 LETTER XXVI, 
 
 Concerning the new Roads, 
 
 T is now about eight 
 Years fince I fent you 
 the Conclufion of my 
 rambling Account of 
 the Highlands ; and 
 perhaps you would 
 not have complained, if in this long In- 
 terval, you had been perfectly free of fo 
 barren a Subject. 
 
 MONSIEUR Fontenelle, I remember, in 
 one of his pafloral Dialogues makes a 
 -Shepherd obiect to another, ^uoi ! tcu- 
 
 U 3 jews
 
 294 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 jours de I' Amour ? And I think you may 
 as well afk What? always High- 
 lands ? But in my Situation, without 
 them, I mould be in the forrowful Con- 
 dition of an old Woman in her Coun- 
 try Cottage, by a Winter-Fire ; and no- 
 body would hearken to her Tales of 
 Witches and Spirits ; that is, to have lit- 
 tle or nothing to fay. But now I am a 
 perfect Volunteer, and cannot plead my 
 former Excufes, and really am without 
 any Apprehenfions of being thought of- 
 ficious in giving you fome Account of 
 the Pvoads, which within thefe few 
 Weeks have been compleatly finifhed. 
 
 THESE new Roads were begun in the 
 Year 1726, and -have continued about 
 eleven Years in the Profecution j yet, 
 long as it may be thought, if you were 
 to pafs over the whole Work (for the 
 Borders of it would ihew you what it 
 was) I make no Doubt but that Num- 
 ber of Years would diminim in your 
 Imagination to a much fliorter Tra<5l of 
 3 Time,
 
 LETTER XXVI. 295 
 
 Time, by Comparifon with the Diffi- 
 culties that attended the Execution. 
 
 BUT before I proceed to any particu- 
 lar Defcriptions of them, I mall inform 
 you how they lie, to the End you may 
 trace them out upon a Map of Scotland. 
 And firfl I mall take them as they are 
 made, to enter the Mountains, 'viz. 
 
 ONE of them begins from Crief, which 
 is about fourteen Miles from Sterling. 
 Here the Romans left off their Works, of 
 which fome Parts are vifible to this Day ; 
 particularly the Camp at Ardocb, where 
 the Veftiges of the Fortifications are on 
 a Moor, ib barren, that its whole Form 
 has been fafe from Culture, or other 
 Alteration befides Weather and Time. 
 
 THE other Road enters the Hills at 
 Dimheld in Atbol, which is about ten 
 Miles from Perth. 
 
 THE firft of them, according to my 
 Account, tho' the laft in Execution, 
 proceeds th twgh Glenalmond (which for 
 
 U 4 its
 
 296 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 its Narrownefs and the Height of the 
 Mountains, I remember to have mention- 
 ed formerly) and thence it goes to Aber- 
 faldy. There it crofles the River Tay^ 
 by a Bridge of Free-Stone, confifting of 
 five fpacious Arches j (by the Way, this 
 military Bridge is the only Paffage over 
 that wild and dangerous River) and from 
 thence the Road goes on to Dalna*- 
 chardocb. 
 
 THE other Road from Dwikeld pro- 
 ceeds by the Blair of Athol, to the faid 
 Dalnachardocb . 
 
 HERE the two Roads join in one, and 
 as a fingle Road it leads on to Dalwbinny, 
 where it branches out again into two ; 
 of which one proceeds toward the North- 
 Weft, through Garva-Moor y and over 
 the Coriarach Mountain to Fort Augujlus, 
 at Killichumen^ and the other Branch 
 goes due North to the Barrack of Ruth-* 
 ven in Badenoch, and thence by Dclma- 
 gary to Invernefs. From thence it pro- 
 ceeds fomething to the Southward of 
 the Weft acrofs the Ifland, to the afore- 
 
 faid
 
 LETTER XXVI. 297 
 
 faid Fort Augufkus^ and fo on to Fort- 
 William in Lochabber. 
 
 THE Length of all thefe Roads put 
 together, is about 250 Miles. 
 
 I HAVE fo lately mentioned Glenal- 
 ntond in the Road from Crief Northward, 
 that I cannot forbear a Digreffion, tho' 
 at my firft fetting out, in relation to a 
 Piece of Antiquity, which happened to 
 be difcovered in that Vale, not many 
 Hours before I patted through it, in one 
 of my Journeys Southward. 
 
 A SMALL Part of the Way through 
 this Glen haying been marked out by two 
 Rows of Camp-Colours placed at a 
 <rood Diftance one from another, where- 
 
 o 
 
 by to defcribe the Line of the intended 
 Breadth and Regularity of the Road, by 
 the Eye, there happened to lie diredlly 
 in the Way an exceeding large Stone ; 
 and as it had been made a Rule from the 
 Beginning to carry en the Reads in 
 freight Lines, as far as the Way would 
 
 permit,
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 permit, not only to give them a better 
 Air, but to fhorten the Paffenger's Jour- 
 ney, it was refolved the Stone mould be 
 removed, if poffible, tho' otherwife the 
 Work might have been carried along on 
 cither Side of it. 
 
 THE Soldiers, by vaft Labour, with 
 their Leavers and Jacks, or Haiid-fcrews, 
 tumbled it over and over, till they got 
 it quite out of the Way, altho* it was 
 of fuch an enormous Size, that it might 
 be Matter of great Wonder how it could 
 ever be removed by human Strength and 
 Art; efpecially to fuch who had never 
 feen an Operation of that Kind. And 
 upon their digging a little Way into that 
 Part of the Ground, where the Centre 
 of the Bafe had flood, there was found 
 a fmall Cavity about two Feet fquare, 
 which was guarded from the outward 
 Earth at the Bottom, Top, and Sides, 
 by fquare flat Stones. 
 
 THIS Hollow contained fome Ames, 
 Scraps of Bones, and half- burnt Ends 
 
 of
 
 L E T T E RX XVI. 299 
 
 of Stalks of Heath ; which laft we conclu- 
 ded to be a fmall Remnant of a Funeral- 
 Pile. Upon the whole, I think there is 
 no Room to doubt, but it was the Urn of 
 fome confiderable Roman Officer, and 
 the beft of the Kind that could be pro- 
 vided in their military Circumftance ; 
 and that it was fo, feems plainly to ap- 
 pear from its Vicinity to the Roman 
 Camp, the Engines that muft have 
 been employed to remove that vaft Piece 
 of a Rock, and the Unlikelinefs it mould, 
 or could have ever been done by the Na- 
 tives of the Country. But certainly the 
 Defign was, to preferve thofe Remains 
 from the Injuries of Rains, and melting 
 Snows, and to prevent their being pro- 
 faned by the facrilegious Hands of thofe 
 they called Barbarians, for that reproach- 
 ful Name you know they gave to the 
 People of almofl all Nations but their 
 pwn. 
 
 GIVE me leave to finim this Digref- 
 fion, which is grown already longer 
 than I forefaw, or intended. 
 
 As
 
 300 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 As I returned the fame Way from 
 the Lowlands, I found the Officer with 
 his Party of working Soldiers not far 
 from the Stone, and aflted him what 
 was become of the Urn ? 
 
 To this he anfwered, that he had in- 
 tended to preferve it in the Condition 
 I left it, till the Commander in Chief 
 had feen it as a Curiofity ; but^ that it 
 was not in his Power fo to do, for foon af- 
 ter the Difcovery was known to the High- 
 landers, they afTembled from diftant 
 Parts, and having formed themfelves 
 into a Body, they carefully gathered up 
 the Relics, and marched with them in 
 folemn Proceffion to a new Place of Bu- 
 rial, and there difcharged their Fire- 
 Arms over the Grave, as fuppofing the 
 Deccafed had been a military Officer. 
 
 You will believe the Recital of all 
 this Ceremony led me to afk the Reafon 
 
 J 
 
 of fuch Homage done to the Allies of 
 a Perfon, fuppofed to have been dead al- 
 
 naoft
 
 LETTER XXVI. 301 
 
 moffc two thoufand Years. It did fo j 
 and the Officer, who is himfelf a Na- 
 tive of the Hills, told me, that they 
 (the Highlanders) firmly believe, that 
 if a dead Body mould be known to lie 
 above Ground, or be dilinterred by Ma- 
 lice, or the Accidents of Torrents of 
 Water, &V. and Care was not immedi- 
 ately taken to perform to it the proper 
 Rites, then there would arife fuch Storms 
 and Tempefts as would deflroy their 
 Corn, blow away their Huts, and all 
 Sorts of other Misfortunes would follow, 
 till that Duty was performed. You may 
 here recoiled: what I told you fo long 
 ago o*f the great Regard the Highlan- 
 ders have for the Remains of their Dead j 
 but this Notion is entirely Roman. 
 
 BUT to return to my main Purpofe : 
 In the Summer Seafons, 500 of the Sol- 
 diers from the Barracks, and other Quar- 
 ters about the Highlands, were employ- 
 ed in thofe Works in different Stations, 
 by Detachments from the Regiments 
 and Highland Companies. 
 
 2 THE
 
 302 LETTER XXVL 
 
 THE private Men were allowed Six- 
 pence a Day, over and above their Pay 
 as Soldiers : A Corporal hadEight-pence, 
 and a Serjeant a Shilling ; but this Extra- 
 Pay was only for working Days, which 
 were often interruptd by violent Storms 
 of Wind and Rain, from the Heights 
 and Hollows of the Mountains. 
 
 THESE Parties of Men were under 
 the Command and Direction of proper 
 Officers, who were all Subalterns, and 
 received two Shillings and Sixpence per 
 Diem, to defray their extraordinary Ex- 
 pence in building Huts, making necef- 
 fary Provifion for their Tables from dif- 
 tant Parts ; unavoidable, tho' unwelcome 
 Vifits, and other Incidents arifing from 
 their wild Situation. 
 
 I SHOULD have told you before, that 
 the non-commiffioned Officers were con- 
 flant and immediate Overfeers of the 
 Works. 
 
 THE
 
 LETTER XXVI. 303 
 
 THE Standard-Breadth of thefe Roads, 
 as laid down at the firft Projection, i 
 fixteen Feet ; but in ibme Parts, where 
 there were no very expenfive Difficul- 
 ties, they are wider. 
 
 IN thofe Places (as I have faid before) 
 they are carried on in ftraight Lines, 
 till fome great Neceffity has turned them 
 out of the Way ; the reft which run 
 along upon the Declivities of Hills, you 
 know, muft have their Circuits, Rifings, 
 \ and Defcents accordingly. 
 
 To ftop and take a general View of 
 the Hills before you, from an Eminence, 
 in fome Part where the Eye penetrates 
 far within the void Spaces, the Roads 
 would appear to you in a Kind of vvhim- 
 lical Diforder j and as thofe Parts of 
 them that appear to you, are of a very 
 different Colour from the Heath that 
 chiefly cloaths the Country, they may 
 by that Contraft be traced out to a con- 
 
 fiderable Diftance. 
 
 Now
 
 304 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 Now let us fuppofe, that where you 
 are, the Road is vifible to you for a fhort 
 Space, and is then broke oft to the Sight, 
 by a. Hollow or Winding among the 
 Hills ; beyond that Interruption the Eye 
 catches a fmall Part on the Side of ano- 
 ther Hill, and fome again on the Ridge 
 of it ; in another Place farther off the 
 Road, appears to run Ziczag, in Angles, 
 up a fleep Declivity. In one Place, a 
 fhort horizontal Line mews itfelf below, 
 in another the Marks of the Road feem 
 to be aim oft even with the Clouds, 
 
 IT may here be objected How can 
 you fee any Part of the flat Roof of a 
 Building, when you are below ? The 
 Queftion would be juft, but the Edges 
 of the Roads on a Precipice, and the 
 broken Parts of the Face of the Moun- 
 tain behind, that has been wrought into, 
 to make Room for the Road j thefe ap- 
 pear, and difcover to thofe who are be- 
 low, the Line of which I have been 
 ipeaking. 
 
 THUS
 
 LETTER XXVI. 305 
 
 THUS the Eye catches one Part of the 
 Road here, another there, in different 
 Lengths and Pofitions ; and according 
 to their Diftance they are diminifhed and 
 rendered fainter and fainter, by the lineal 
 and airial Perfpective, till they are en- 
 tirely loft to Sight. And I need not tell 
 you, that as you purfue your Progrefs, 
 the Scene changes to new Appearances. 
 
 THE old Ways (for Roads I fhall not 
 call them) confifted chiefly of ftony 
 Moors, Bogs, rugged rapid Fords^ De- 
 clivities of Hills j entangling Woods and 
 giddy Precipices. You will fay this is a 
 dreadful Catalogue to be read to him that 
 is about to take a Highland Journey. 
 
 I HAVE not mentioned the Valleys, 
 for they are few in Number, far divided 
 afunder j and generally the Roads through 
 them were eafily made. 
 
 MY Purpofe now is to give you fome 
 
 Account of the Nature of the particular 
 
 VOL. II. X Parts
 
 306 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 Parts abovementioned, and the Manner 
 how this extraordinary Work has been 
 executed, and this I mall do in the Or- 
 der I have ranged them as above. 
 
 AND firft, the Stony Moors ; thefe are 
 moftly Tracts of Ground of feveral Miles 
 in Length, and often very high, with 
 frequent leffer Rifings and Defcents, and 
 having for Surface a Mixture of Stones 
 and Heath. The Stones are fixed in the 
 Earth, being very large and unequal, 
 and generally are as deep in the Ground 
 as they appear above it, and where there 
 are any Spaces between the Stones 
 there is a loofe fpungy Sward, perhaps 
 not above five or fix Inches deep, and 
 incapable to produce any thing but Heath, 
 and all beneath it is hard Gravel or Rock. 
 
 I NOW begin to be apprehenfive of 
 your Memory, left it fheuld point out 
 fome Repetitions of Defcriptions contain- 
 ed in my former Letters ; but I have 
 been thus particular, becaufe I know the 
 Extent of your Journeys, and that with 
 
 you
 
 LETTER xxvi. 307 
 
 you a Morafs is called a Moor ; yet Hills 
 that are fomething of this Nature are 
 called Moors in the North of England. 
 
 Here the Workmen firft made room 
 to fix their Inftruments, and then, by 
 Strength, and the Help of thofe two me- 
 chanic Powers, the Screw and the Leaver 
 they raifed out of their ancient Beds thofe 
 maffive Bodies, and then rilling up the 
 Cavities with Gravel, fetthem up moftly 
 endways along the Sides of the Road, as 
 Directions in time of deep Snows, being 
 fome of them, as they now (land, eight 
 or nine Feet high. They ferve likewife 
 as Memorials of the Skill and Labour re- 
 quifite to the Performance of fo difficult 
 a Work. 
 
 IN fome particular Spots where there 
 was a proper Space betide the Stones, 
 the Workmen dug Hollows, and, by 
 undermining, dropt them in, where they 
 lie buried fo fecurely as never more to 
 retard the Traveller's Journey ; but it 
 was thought a moot Point, even where 
 X 2 it
 
 308 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 it was fuccefsful, whether any Time or 
 Labour was faved by this Practice ; for 
 thofe Pits, for the moft part, required to 
 be made very deep and wide, and it 
 could not be forefeen without continual 
 boring whether there might not be 
 Rock above the necefTary Depth, which 
 might be a Difappointment after great 
 Labour. 
 
 THE Roads on thefe Moors are now 
 as fmooth as Conftitvtion Hill, and I have 
 galloped on fome of them for Miles to- 
 gether in great Tranquility, which was 
 heightened by Reflection to my former 
 Fatigue, when, for a great Part of the 
 Way, I had been obliged to quit my 
 Horfe, it being too dangerous, or im- 
 practicable to ride, and even hazardous 
 to pafs on Foot. 
 
 BOGS. 
 
 THERE be two Species of them, 
 viz. Bogs and thofe the Natives call 
 Pecit-Moflbs, which yield them their 
 
 Firing,
 
 LETTER XXVI. 309 
 
 Firing, many of the former are very 
 large, and fometimes fill up the whole 
 Space between the Feet of the Moun- 
 tains : They are moftly not much, 
 if any thing, above the Level of the Sea, 
 but I don't know that any Part of the 
 Road is carried through them, or think 
 it practicable ; yet, as any Defcription of 
 them may be new to you, 1 mall flop a 
 while to give you fome Account of my 
 trotting one of them, which is reckoned 
 about a Mile over. 
 
 MY Affairs engaging me to refide for 
 fome time among the Hills, I refolved, 
 and was preparing to make a diftant 
 Vifit, but was told, that a Hill, at the 
 Foot of which I lived, was, in the De- 
 fcent from it exceeding fteep and ftony ; 
 I was therefore prevailed with to have 
 my Horfes led a round-about Way, and 
 to meet me on the other Side. 
 
 IN lieu of that difficult Way I was to 
 
 be ferried over a Lake, and to traverfe 
 
 y the Bog abovementioned, over which a 
 
 X 3 High-
 
 3:0 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 Highlander undertook to conduct me 5 
 him I followed clofe at the Heels, be- 
 caufe I foon obferved he ufed -a Step urn 
 like to what he did upon firm Ground, 
 and which I could not preiently imitate, 
 and alib that he chofe his Way, here and 
 there, as if he knew where was the 
 leaft Danger, although, at the fame time, 
 the Surface of the Part we were going 
 over feemed to me to be equally indif- 
 ferent in refpect to Safety and Danger. 
 
 OUR Weight and the Spring of Mo- 
 tion in many Parts, caufed a Shaking all 
 round about us, and the Comprefiion 
 made the Water rife through the Sward, 
 which was in fome Parts a kind of fhort 
 flaggy Grafs, and in others a fort of mofiy 
 Heath ; but \vherever any Ru flies grew, 
 I knew, by Experience of the Peat-Mof- 
 fes I had gone over before, that it was 
 not far to the Bottom, 
 
 THIS Riling of Water made me con- 
 clude (for my Guide was not intelligible 
 to me) that we had nothing but a Liquid 
 
 . under
 
 LETTER XXVI. 311 
 
 under us, or at moft, fomething like a 
 Quick-fand, and that the Sward was 
 only a little toughned by the Intwining 
 of the Roots, and was fupportcd, like 
 Ice, only by Water, or fomething near 
 as fluid. 
 
 I SHALL give you no Particulars of my 
 Vifit, further than that the Laird treated 
 me in a very handfome and plentiful 
 manner, and, indeed it was his Intereft 
 fo to do. But poor Poke-pudding was fo 
 fatigued, and fo apprehenfive of Danger 
 on the Bog, that he could not be per- 
 fuaded to go back again the fame Way. 
 
 The MOSSES. 
 
 OF thefe I formerly gave you fome 
 fuperficial Account, but now that I 
 am about to let you know how the 
 Roads were made through them, I 
 mail examine them to the Bottom. 
 When I firft faw them, I imagined they 
 were formerly made when Woods 
 were common in the Hills, but fmce, 
 X 4 by
 
 312 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 by feveral repeated Laws, deftroyed to 
 take away that Shelter which allifted the 
 Highlanders in their Depredations ; I 
 fay, I have fuppofed the Leaves of Trees 
 were driven by Winds and lodged in 
 their PafTage, from time to time in thofe 
 Cavities till they were filled up. One 
 thing among others that induced me to 
 this Belief is, that the muddy Scbftance 
 of them is much like the rotted Leaves 
 In our Woods ; but iince that time I 
 have been told, that when one of them 
 has been quite exhaufted for Fuel, it has 
 grown again, and in the Courie of twenty 
 Years has been as fit to be dug for Firing 
 as before. This I can believe, becaufe 
 I have feen many fmall ones, far from 
 any Inhabitants, Avelled above the Sur- 
 face of the Ground that lies all round 
 about them, and chiefly in the Middle, 
 fo as to become a Protuberance, and 
 therefore by Strangers the lefs fufpefted, 
 though the deeper and more dangerous. 
 
 ALL beneath the Turf is a fpungy 
 Earth interwoven with a llender fibrous 
 
 Vegetable,
 
 LETTER XXVI. 313 
 
 Vegetable, fomething like the fmallcfi 
 Roots of a Shrub, and thefe a little 
 toughen it, and contribute to the mak- 
 ing it good Fewel ; but when they are 
 quite, or near, dug out, the Pit is ge- 
 nerally almoft filled with Water. This, 
 I fuppofe, arifes from Springs which 
 may, for ought I know, have been the 
 firft Occafion of thefe MofTes, which are 
 very deceitful, eipecially to thofe who 
 are not accuftomed to them, being moftly 
 covered with Heath, like the reft of the 
 Country ; and in time of Rains become 
 foft, and fometimes impafTable on Foot. 
 
 Now, that I have no further Occa- 
 fion for any Diftinction, I fhall call every 
 foft Place a Bog, except there be Occafion 
 fometimes to vary the Phrafe. 
 
 WHEN one of thefe Bogs has eroded 
 the Way on a ftony Moor, there the loofe 
 Ground has been dug out down to the 
 Gravel or Rock, and the Hollow filled 
 up in manner following, \ 
 
 FIRST
 
 314 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 FIRST with a Layer of large Stones, 
 then a fmaller Size to fill up the 
 Gaps and raife the Caufey higher, and, 
 laftly, two, three or more Feet of Gra- 
 vel to fill up the Interfaces of the fmall 
 Stones, and form a fmooth and binding 
 Surface. This Part of the Road has a 
 Bank on each Side to feparate it from a 
 Ditch which is made without-fide to re- 
 ceive the Water from the Bog, and, if 
 the Ground will allow it, to convey it by 
 a Trench to a Slope, and thereby in fome 
 meafure drain it. 
 
 IN a rocky Way, where no loofe Stones 
 were to be found, if a Bog intervened, 
 and Trees could be had at any portable 
 Diftance, the Road has been made folid 
 by Timber and Fafcines, crowned with 
 Gravel dug out of the Side of fome Hill. 
 
 THIS is durable, for the Faggots and 
 Trees lying continually in the Moifture 
 of the Bog will, inftead of decaying, be- 
 come extremely hard, as has been for- 
 merly
 
 LETTER XXVI. 315 
 
 merly obferved of Trees that have been 
 plunged into thofe Sloughs and lain there, 
 in all Probability, for many Ages. This 
 Caufey has likewife a Bank and a Ditch 
 for the Purpofes abovementioned. 
 
 THERE is one Bog I pafTed through 
 (literally fpeaking) which is upon the 
 Declivity of a Hill ; there the Mud has 
 been dug away for a proper Space, and 
 thrown upon the Bog on either Side, 
 and a PafTage made at the Foot of the 
 Hill for the Water to run down into a 
 large Cavity, infomuch, that by continual 
 draining, I rode, as it were, in a very 
 fhallow Rivulet running down the Hill 
 upon a Rock (which was made fmooth 
 by the Workmen) with the Sides of the 
 Bog high above me on both Sides, like 
 one of the hollow Ways in England. 
 
 I MUST defire you will confidcr, that 
 the aforegoing Defcriptions, as well as 
 thefe that are to follow arc, and will be, 
 only Specimens of the Work, for it 
 would be almoft without End to give you 
 
 all
 
 316 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 all the Particulars of fo various and ex- 
 tenlive a Performance. 
 
 FORDS. 
 
 No Remedy but Bridges has been 
 found for the Inconveniencies and Ha- 
 zards of thefe rugged and rapid PafTages, 
 for when fome of them, in the Begin- 
 ning, were cleared from the large loofe 
 Stones, the next Inundation brought 
 down others in their Room, which elfe 
 would have been flopped by the Way, 
 and fome of thofe were of a much larger 
 Size than the Stones that had been re- 
 moved. 
 
 THIS was the Cafe (among others) 
 of a fmall River, which, however, was 
 exceeding dangerous to ford, and for 
 that reafon, the firil Bridge was or- 
 dered to be built over it j but it gave me 
 a lively Idea how fhort is human Fore- 
 fight, efpecially in new Projects and un- 
 tried Undertakings. 
 
 . THE
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 3*7 
 
 THE Spring of the Arch was founded 
 upon Rocks, and it was elevated much 
 above the higheft Water that had ever 
 been known by the Country People ; 
 yet, fometime after it was finished, there 
 happened a fudden Torrent from the 
 Mountains, which brought down Trees 
 and Pieces of Rocks, and by its being 
 placed too near the liTue of Water 
 from between two Hills, though firmly 
 built with Stone, it was cropt off not 
 far beneath the Crown of the Arch, as 
 if it had neither Weight nor Solidity. 
 
 DECLIVITIES. 
 
 By thefe I mean the floping Sides of 
 the Hills whereon the new Roads are 
 made. 
 
 THE former Ways along thofe Slopes 
 were only Paths worn by the Feet of 
 the Highlanders and their little Garrons. 
 They ran along upwards and down- 
 wards, one above another, in fuch man- 
 ner
 
 $i8 LETTER XXVL 
 
 ner as was found moft convenient at the 
 firft tracing them out ; this, I think, I 
 have obferved to you formerly. 
 
 To thefe narrow Paths the PafTenger 
 was confined (for there is feldom any 
 Choice of the Way you would take in 
 the Highlands) by the Impaffibility of 
 the Hollows at the Feet of the Moun- 
 tains, becaufe thofe Spaces, in fome Parts 
 are filled up with deep Bogs, or fallen 
 Rocks, of which laft I have feen many 
 as big as a middling Houfe, and looking 
 up, have obferved others at an exceed- 
 ing Height, in fome Meafure parted 
 from the main Rock, and threatening 
 the Crufh of fome of thofe below. 
 In other Parts there . are Lakes be- 
 neath, and fometimes, where there 
 were none, it was only by thefe Paths 
 you could afcend the Hills, ftill proceed- 
 ing round the Sides of them from one 
 to another. 
 
 THERE the new Roads have been 
 carried on in more regular Curves than 
 
 the
 
 LETTER XXVI. 319 
 
 the old Paths, and are dug into the Hills 
 which are Hoped away above them ; and 
 where any Rocks have occurred in the 
 Performance, they have been bored and 
 blown away with Gunpowder. 
 
 ABOVE the Road are Trenches made 
 to receive Rains, melting Snows, 
 and Springs, which laft are in many 
 Places continually hTuing out of the Sides 
 of the Hills, being drained away from 
 large Waters collected in Lakes and 
 other Cavities, above, in the Moun- 
 tains. 
 
 FROM the abovementioned Trenches 
 are proper Channels made to convey the 
 Water down the Hills ; thefe are fecured 
 by firm Pavement from being gulled by 
 the Stream, and in Places that required 
 it, there are Stone Walls built behind the 
 Road to prevent the Fall of Earth or 
 Stones from the broken Part of the 
 Declivity. 
 
 WOODS
 
 320 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 Wo O D S. 
 
 THESE are not only rare in the Way 
 of the new Roads, but I have formerly 
 given you forne Defcription of the In- 
 convenience and Danger of one of them, 
 and therefore, I mall only add in this 
 Place, that the Trees, for the neceffary 
 Space, have been cut down and grub'd 
 up 5 their fibrous Roots that ran about 
 upon the Surface deftroyed, the boggy 
 Part removed j the Rock fmoothed, and 
 the Crannies firmly filled up, and all 
 this in fuch manner as to make of it a 
 very commodious Road. 
 
 STEEP ASCENTS. 
 
 As the Heights, for the moft Part, 
 are attained, as I have been faying, by 
 going round the Sides of the Hills from 
 one to another, the exceeding fteep Af- 
 cents are not very common in the ordi- 
 nary Paflages, but where they are, the 
 Inconvenience and Difficulties of them 
 have been removed. 
 
 I SHALL
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 321 
 
 I SHALL only inftance in one, which, 
 indeed is confeiTed to be the word of 
 them all. This is the Coriarack Moun- 
 tain, beforementioned, which rifts in 
 the Way that leads from Dalwhinny to 
 Fort Augujlus. It is above a Quarter of 
 a Mile of perpendicular Height, and 
 was paffed by few, befides the Soldiery 
 when the Garrifons were changed, as 
 being the nearen: Way from one of the 
 Barracks to another > and had it not 
 been for the Conveniency of that Com- 
 munication, this Part of the new Roads 
 had never been thought of. 
 
 THIS Mountain is fo near the Per- 
 pendicular, in fome Parts, that it was 
 doubtful whether the PafTenger, after 
 great Labour, mould get upwards, or 
 return much quicker than he advanced. 
 
 THE Road over it, not to mention 
 much Roughnefs (which I believe you 
 have had enough of by this time, and 
 
 VOL. II. Y are
 
 322 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 are likely to have more) is carried on 
 upon the South Declivity of the Hill 
 by feventeen Traverfes (like the Courfe 
 of a Ship when fhe is turning to Wind- 
 ward) by Angles ftill advancing higher 
 and higher ; yet little of it is to be feen 
 below, by Reafon of Flats, Hollows 
 and Windings that intercept the Sight, 
 and nothing could give you a general 
 View of it, unlefs one could be fuppofed 
 to be placed high above the Mountain 
 in the Air. This is much unlike your 
 Hills in the South, that in fome con- 
 venient Situation of the Eye are feen 
 in one continued fmooth Slope from the 
 Bottom to the Top. 
 
 EACH of the abovementioned Angles 
 is about feventy or eighty Yards in 
 Length, except in a few Places where 
 the Hill would not admit of all that 
 Extent. 
 
 THESE Traverfes upward, and the 
 Turnings of their Extremities are fup- 
 
 ported
 
 LETTER XXVI. 323 
 
 ported On the Out-fide of the Road by 
 Stone Walls from ten to fifteen Feet in 
 Height. 
 
 THUS that fteep Afcent, which was 
 fo difficult to be attained, even by the 
 Foot-pafTenger, is rendered every where 
 more eafy for Wheel-carriages than High- 
 gate Hill. 
 
 ON the North Side of this Mountain, 
 at a Place named Smigburgb, from its 
 Situation, there is a narrow Pafs be- 
 tween two exceeding high and fteep 
 Hills. Thefe are joined together by 
 two Arches fupported by Walls, to take 
 off the Sharpnefs of the fhort Defcent, 
 which otherwife could not have been 
 practicable for the lighted Wheel- car- 
 riage whatever, for it was difficult even 
 for Horfe or Man. 
 
 Y 2 P R E-
 
 LETTER XXVL 
 
 PRECIPICES. 
 
 I SHALL fay nothing in this Place 
 of fuch of them as are any thing to- 
 lerable to the Mind, in pafling them 
 over, though a falfe Step might ren- 
 der them fatal, as there would be no 
 Hopping till darned againft the Rocks. 
 I fhall only mention two that are the 
 moil terrible, which I have gone over 
 ieveral Times, but always occafionally, 
 not as the morteft Way, or by Choice, 
 but to avoid extenfive Bogs, or fwell- 
 ing Waters in Time of Rain, which I 
 thought more dangerous in the other 
 Way. 
 
 ONE of thefe Precipices is on the 
 North Side of the Murray Frith, where 
 no Roads have been made ; the other 
 is on a Mountain, fouthward of this 
 Town. 
 
 BOTH
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 3 2 5 
 
 BOTH thefe, as I have faid above, 
 were ufeful upon Ocean* on j but the 
 latter is now rendered unnecefTary, as 
 the old round - about Way is made 
 fmooth, and Bridges built over the 
 dangerous Waters, and therefore no- 
 
 O 
 
 thing has been done to this Precipice. 
 Nor indeed was it thought practicable 
 to widen the Path, by Reafon of the 
 Steepnefs of the Side of the Hill that 
 rifes above it. 
 
 I THINK, the ordinary Proverb was 
 never more manifeftly verified, than 
 it now is, in thefe two feveral Ways ; 
 viz. That the fartheft Way about, JV. 
 Yet, I make no Doubt, the Generality 
 of the Highlanders will prefer the Pre- 
 cipice to the Gravel of the Road, and a 
 greater Number of Steps. 
 
 NOT far from this fteep Place, I 
 once baited my Horfes with Oats, car- 
 ried with me, and laid upon the Snow 
 Y 3 in
 
 326 LETTER XXVI t 
 
 in the Month of July. And indeed it 
 is there, inftead of Rain, Snow or Sleet 
 all the Year round. 
 
 THUS far I have, chiefly, in general 
 Terms defcribed the Difficulties that 
 attended the making new Roads, and 
 the Methods taken to furmount them, 
 which was all I at firft intended j but as 
 fome of the greateft Obstacles, which yet 
 remain undefcribed, were met with in 
 the Way between this Town and Fort 
 William. I mall, previous to any Ac- 
 count of them, endeavour to give you 
 fome Idea of this Paffage between the 
 Mountains, wherein lies no fmall Part 
 of the Roads ; and this I mall the ra- 
 ther do, bccaufe that Hollow, for 
 Length and Figure, is unlike any Thing 
 of the Kind I have feen in other Parts 
 of the Highlands ; and I hope to ac- 
 complifh all that I have to fay of it, 
 before I leave this Town, being very 
 fhortly to make a Northern Progrefs 
 fj.nong the Hills, wherein I mall find 
 
 none
 
 LETTER XXVI. 327 
 
 none of thofe Conveniences we now 
 have on this Side the Murray Frith. 
 
 THIS Opening would be a furprizing 
 Profpect to fuch as have never fl^n a 
 high Country, being a Mixture of Moun- 
 tains, Waters, Heath, Rocks, Precipi- 
 ces, and fcattered Trees; and that for 
 fo long an Extent, in which the Eye is 
 confined within the Space. And there- 
 fore, if I fhould p'-etend to give you a 
 full Idea of it, I mould put myfelf in the 
 Place of one that has had a ftrange prepof- 
 terous Dream, and becaufe it has made a 
 {hong IrnpreiTion on him, he fondly 
 thinks he can convey it to others in the 
 fame Likenefs, as it remains painted on 
 his Memory ; and in the End wonders 
 at the Coldnefs with which it was re- 
 ceived. 
 
 THIS Chafm begins about four Miles 
 Weft of InverneJ}) and running acrofs 
 the Ifland, divides the northern from the 
 fouthern Highlands. It is chiefly taken 
 
 Y 4 up
 
 328 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 up by Lakes bounded on both Sides by 
 high Mountains, which almoft every 
 where (being very deep at the Feet) 
 run down exceeding deep into the Wa- 
 ter. The firft of the Lakes, begin- 
 ning from the Eaft, is Locb-Nefs, which 
 I have formerly mentioned. It lies in a 
 Line, along the Middle of it, as direct 
 as an artificial Canal. This I have ob- 
 ferved myfelf from a rifing Ground at 
 the Eaft End, by directing a fmall Te- 
 lefcope to Fort Augiiflu^ at the other 
 Extreme. 
 
 I HAVE faid it is ftraight by the Mid- 
 dle only, becaufe the Sides are irregular, 
 being fo made by the jutting of the Feet 
 of the Hills into the Water on either 
 Side, as well as by the Spaces between 
 them j and the various Breadths of dif- 
 ferent Parts of the Lake. 
 
 THE Depth, the Nature of the Water, 
 and the remarkable Cataracts on the 
 South Side, have been occasionally 
 
 mentioned
 
 LETTER XXVI. 329 
 
 mentioned in former Letters ; and 
 I think I have told you, it is one 
 and twenty Scots Miles in Length, and 
 from one to near two Miles in Breadth. 
 
 IT has hardly any perceptible Cur- 
 rent, notwithftanding it receives a vaft 
 Conflux of Waters from the bordering 
 Mountains, by Rivers and Rivulets that 
 difcharge themfelves into it ; yet all the 
 Water that vifibly runs from it, in the 
 greatefl Rains, is limited in its Courfe 
 by the River Nefs, by which it has its 
 Iffue into the Sea, and that River is 
 not in fome Places above twenty Yards 
 wide, and therefore I think the greateft 
 Part of the Superfluity muft be drained 
 away by fubterraneous PafTages. 
 
 I HAVE told you long ago, that it ne- 
 ver freezes in the calmed and fevereft 
 Froft ; and by its Depth (being in fome 
 Parts 360 Yards) and by its Breadth, 
 and the violent Winds that pafs through 
 
 the
 
 330 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 the Opening, it often has a Swell not 
 much inferior to the Ocean. 
 
 IN feveral Parts on the Sides of the 
 Lake, you fee Rocks of a Kind of 
 coarfe black Marble, and I think as 
 hard as the befl ; thefe rife to a confi- 
 derable Height, which never till lately 
 were trod by human Foot, for the old 
 Way made a conliderable Circuit from 
 this Lake, and did not come to it, but at 
 the Weft-End. In other Places are 
 Woods upon the fteep Declivities, which 
 ferve to abate the Deformity of thofe 
 Parts -, I fay abate, for the Trees 
 being, as I faid above, confufedly 
 fcattered one above another, they do 
 not hide them. All the reft is Heath 
 and Rock. 
 
 SOME Time ago, there was a VefTel of 
 about five and twenty or thirty Tons 
 Burthen build at the Eaft End of this 
 Lake, and called the Highland Ga/iy. 
 
 SHE
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 33 l 
 
 SHE carries fix or eight Pattereroes, 
 and is employed to tranfport Men, Pro- 
 vifion, and Baggage to Fort Auguflits^ 
 at the other End of the Lake. 
 
 THE Mafter has an Appointment from 
 the Government, to navigate this VefTel, 
 and to keep her in Repair. 
 
 WHEN {he made her firft Trip, me was 
 mightily adorned with Colours, and fired 
 her Guns feveral Times, which was a 
 ftrange Sight to the Highlanders, who 
 had never feen the like before - } at leafl, 
 on that in-land Lake. 
 
 FOR my own Part, 1 was not lefs 
 amufed with the Sight of a good Num- 
 ber of Highland Men and Women up- 
 on the hio-heft Part of a Mountain over- 
 
 o 
 
 againft us j I mean the higheft that ap- 
 peared to our View. 
 
 THESE People, I fuppofe, were brought 
 to the Precipice, from fome Flat behind, 
 
 3 b 7
 
 332 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 by the Report of the Guns (for even a 
 iingle Voice is underftood at an incredi- 
 ble Height) And as they ftood, they 
 appeared to the naked Eye, not to be a 
 Foot high in Stature : But by the Af- 
 fiftance of a pretty long Glafs, I could 
 plainly fee their Surprize and Admira- 
 tion. And I muft confefs I wondered, 
 not much lefs, to fee fo many People 
 on fuch a monftrous Height, who could 
 not inhabit there in Winter ; till I re- 
 flected it was the Time of the Year 
 for them to go up to their Sheelings. 
 And I was told that they,- like us, were 
 not far from a fpacious Lake, tho' in 
 that elevated Situation. 
 
 not trouble you with a De- 
 fcription of the other two Waters and 
 their Boundaries, there being but little 
 Difference between them and the former ; 
 only here the old Ways, fuch as they 
 were, ran along upon the- Sides of the 
 Hills, which were in a great Meafure 
 rocky Precipices, and that thefe Lakes 
 
 are
 
 LETTER XXVI. 333 
 
 are not quite fo wide, and incline a lit- 
 tle more to the Southward of the Weft, 
 than the other. 
 
 THE next Lake to Loch-Nefs (which 
 as I have faid is 21 Miles in Length) is 
 Lech Oick ; this is four Miles long, and 
 Lccb Locby, the laft of the three is nine, 
 in all 34 Miles, Part of the 48, which 
 is the whole Length of the Opening, 
 and .at the End thereof is Fort William 
 erf. the Weft Coall, to which the Sea 
 flows, as it does like wife to Irrutrtiefi on 
 the Eaft. Thus the whole Extent of 
 Ground between Sea and Sea, is but 
 fourteen Miles. 
 
 HERE I mull: flop a little to acquaint 
 you with a Spot of Ground, which I 
 take to be Something remarkable. This 
 I had pafTed over feveral Times, with- 
 out obferving any Thing extraordinary 
 in it, and perhaps fhould never have 
 taken Notice of it, if it had not 
 
 been
 
 334 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 been pointed out to me by one of the 
 Natives. 
 
 ABOUT the Middle of the Neck of 
 Land, that divides the Lakes Oick and 
 Locby, (which is but one Mile) not far 
 from the Center of the Opening, there 
 defcends from the Hills, on the South- 
 Side, a Burne or Rivulet, which as it 
 falls upon the Plain, divides into two 
 Streams, without any vifible' Ridge 
 to part them. And one of them 
 runs through the Lakes Oick and Nefs 
 into the Eaft-Sea, and the other takes 
 the quite contrary Courfe, and pafTes 
 through Loch Lochy, into the Weftern 
 Ocean. 
 
 THIS, and the mort Space of Land 
 abovementioned, have given Birth to 
 feveral Projects for making a naviga- 
 ble Communication acrofs the Ifland ; 
 not only to divide, effectually, the 
 Highlands by the Middle,** but to fave 
 the tedious, coftly, and hazardous Voy- 
 ages
 
 LETTER XXVI. 335 
 
 ages through St. George's Channel, or 
 otherwife round by the Ifles of Orkney. 
 
 THIS Spot the Projectors fay is a 
 Level between the two Seas, pointed 
 out as it were by the Hand of Na- 
 ture ; and they pretend the Space of 
 Land to be cut through is practicable. 
 
 BUT it would be an incredible Ex- 
 pence to cut fourteen navigable Miles 
 in fo rocky a Country, and there is 
 yet a ftronger Objection, which is, 
 that the whole Opening lies in fo di- 
 rect a Line, and the Mountains that 
 bound it, are fo high, the Wind is 
 confined in its PalTage as it were in 
 the Nozel of a Pair of Bellows ; fo 
 that, let it blow from what Quarter 
 it will, without the Opening, it never 
 varies much from Eaft or Weft within. 
 
 THIS would render the Navigation 
 fo precarious, that hardly any Body 
 would venture on it, not to mention 
 
 the
 
 336 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 the violent Flurries of Wind that rum 
 upon the Lakes by Squalls from the 
 Spaces between the Hills, and alib the 
 rocky Shores, want of Harbour, and 
 Anchorage ; and perhaps there might 
 appear other unforefeen Inconveniences 
 and Dangers, if it -were poflible the 
 Work could be compleated. 
 
 THERE are three Garrifons in this 
 Line, which reaches from Eaft to 
 Weft, "j/:z. Fort George at Invernefs, 
 Fort Aitguflus at Killicbumen y and Fort 
 William in Lochabber, and every one of 
 them pretty equally diftant from one 
 another 5 and the Line might be made 
 yet more effectual by Redoubts, at 
 proper Diftances between them, to pre- 
 vent the fudden joining of Numbers, 
 ill affected to the Government. 
 
 HAVING given you fome Account 
 of this Chafm, I fhall, in the next 
 Place, fay fomething of the Road that 
 lies quite through it, together with fome 
 
 Dim-
 
 LETTER XXVI. 337 
 
 Difficulties that attended the Work, of 
 which all that Part which runs along 
 near the Edges of the Lakes, is on the 
 South Side ; but as I have already be- 
 flowed fo many Words upon Subjects 
 partly like this, I fhall confine myfelf 
 to very few Particulars, and of the reft 
 which may come under thofe former 
 Defcriptions, I need fay no more, if I 
 have been intelligible. 
 
 I SHALL begin with that Road, which 
 goes along above Loch-Nefs. 
 
 THIS is entirely new, as I have 
 hinted before, and indeed I might fay 
 the fame of every Part, but I mean 
 there was no Way at all along the 
 Edge of this Lake, till this Part of the 
 Road was made. 
 
 IT is, good Part of it, made out of 
 Rocks, but among them all I fhall 
 mention but one, which is of a great 
 Length j and, as I have faid before, as 
 hard as Marble. 
 
 VOL. II. THERE
 
 338 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 THERE the Miners hung by Ropes from 
 the Precipice over the Water (like Shake- 
 fpear's Gatherers of Samphire from 
 Dover Cliffs) to bore the Stone, in order 
 to blow away a neceflary Part from the 
 Face of it, and the reft likewife was chiefly 
 done by Gunpowder j but when any Part 
 was fit to be left as it was, being flat 
 and fmooth, it was brought to a Rough- 
 nefs proper for a Stay to the Feet, 
 and in this Part, and all the reft of 
 the Road, where the Precipices were 
 like to give Horror or Uneafinefs to 
 fuch as might pafs over them in Car- 
 riages, tho' at a good Diftance from them 
 they are fecured to the Lake-fide by 
 Walls, either left in the Working, or 
 built up with Stone, to a Height propor- 
 tioned to the Occafion. 
 
 Now, for the Space of twelve Miles, 
 it is an even Terrafs in every Part, 
 from 'whence the Lake may be feen 
 
 from
 
 LETTER XXVI. 33$ 
 
 from End to End, and from whence 
 the romantick Profpect of the rugged 
 Mountains would, I dare fay, for its 
 Novelty, be more entertaining to you, 
 than it is to me ; I fay it might be 
 agreeable to you, who not having thefe 
 hideous Productions of Nature near 
 you, wantonly procure even bad Imi- 
 tations of them in little artificial Rocks, 
 and diminutive Cataracts of Water. But 
 as fome Painters travel to Italy, in or- 
 der to ftudy or copy the moft admi- 
 rable Performances of the great Maf- 
 ters, for their own Inftruction, fo I 
 would advife your Artifans, in that 
 Way, to vifit this Country for their 
 better Information. 
 
 THE next Part of this Road, which 
 I am about to fpeak of, is that which 
 lies along the Side of the Hills, arifing 
 from the Edge of Locb-Oick. 
 
 THE Dangers of this Part of the 
 
 o 
 
 old Way began at the Top of a fteep 
 Z 2 Afcent,
 
 340 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 Aicent, of about fifty or iixty Yards 
 from the little Plain that parts this 
 Lake and Loch-Nefs ; and not far from 
 the Summit is a Part they call the 
 Maiden's Leap, of which they tell a 
 iirange romantick Story, not worth the 
 Remembrance. There the Rocks pro- 
 ject over the Lake, and the Path was 
 fo rugged and narrow, that the High- 
 landers were obliged, for their Safety, 
 to hold by the Rocks and Shrubs as 
 they patted, with the Profpect of Death 
 beneath them. 
 
 THIS was not the only dangerous 
 Part, but for three Miles together, 
 Part of the four (which I have faid is 
 the Length of this Lake) it was no 
 where fafe, and in many Places more 
 difficult, and as dangerous, as at the 
 Entrance ; for the Rocks were fo fteep 
 and uneven, that the Paflenger was 
 obliged to creep on his Hands and 
 Knees. 
 
 THESE
 
 LETTER XXVI. 341 
 
 THESE Precipices were fo formidable, 
 to forne that they chofe rather to crofs the 
 Plain abovementioned, and wade a Ri- 
 ver on the oppofite Side of the Open- 
 ing, which by others was thought 
 more hazardous in its Kind, than the 
 Way which their Fear excited them 
 to avoid ; and when they had pafTed 
 that Water, they had a wide Circuit to 
 make among fteep and rugged Hills, 
 before they could get again into the 
 Way they were to go. 
 
 THE laft Part of the Road along 
 the Lakes (as I have divided it into three, 
 runs along on the Declivities of Loch 
 Lochy, and reaches the whole Length 
 of that Lake, which, as I have faid 
 before, is nine Miles. 
 
 THIS was much of the fame Nature 
 
 as the laft, exceeding fteep, with Rocks 
 
 in feveral Places, hanging over the 
 
 Water, and required a great Quantity of 
 
 Z 3 Gun-
 
 342 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 Gunpowder ; but both this and the 
 other two, are now as commodious as 
 any other of the Roads in the High- 
 lands, which every where (bating Ups 
 and Downs) are equal in Goodnefs to 
 the beft in England. 
 
 I SHALL fay nothing of the Way 
 from the End of this Lake to Fort 
 William, any more than I have done 
 of the Road from Invernefs to Loch 
 Nefs, or the Spaces between the Lakes ; 
 becaufe they may be comprehended in 
 the ordinary Difficulties already de- 
 fcribed. 
 
 BUT I might acquaint you with many 
 other Obftacles which were thought, 
 at firft, to be infurmountable ; fuch as 
 Slock Moach, between Ruthven and In- 
 vernefs, the rocky Pafs of Killicranky 
 in Atbol* between Dunkeld and the 
 Blair, &c. 
 
 I SHALL
 
 LETTER XXVI. 343 
 
 I SHALL only fay, that I have for- 
 merly given you fome Defcription of 
 the firft, but without a Name, in the 
 Account of an Incurfion I made to the 
 Hills from Invernefi ; but both this 
 and the other, which were very bad, 
 are now made eafily paflable. 
 
 THE Name of Slock Moach is inter- 
 preted by the Natives, a Den of Hogs, 
 having been, as they fay it was for- 
 merly, a noted Harbour for Thieves ; 
 who, in Numbers, lay in wait with- 
 in that narrow and deep Cavity, to 
 commit their Depredations upon Cat- 
 tle and PafTengers. I fuppofe this 
 Name was given to it, when Swine 
 were held in Abomination among the 
 Highlanders. 
 
 THE firft Defign of removing a vaft 
 fallen Piece of a Rock, was entertain- 
 ed by the Country People with great 
 Z 4 Derifion;
 
 344 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 Derifionj of which I f aw one Inflance 
 myfelf. 
 
 A VERY old wrinkled Highland Wo- 
 man, upon fuch an Occafion, ftanding 
 over againft me, when the Soldiers 
 were fixing their Engines, feemed to 
 fneer at it, and faid fomething to an 
 Officer of one of the Highland Com- 
 panies. I imagined me was making a 
 Jeft of the Undertaking, and aiked the 
 Officer what fhe faid ? I will tell you 
 her Words, faid he : 
 
 " What are the Fools a doing ? That 
 Stone will lie there for ever for all 
 '' them." But when fhe faw that vaft 
 Bulk begin to rife, though by flow De- 
 grees, fhe fet up a hideous Irljh Yell, 
 took to her Heels, run up the Side 
 of a Hill juft by, like a young Girl, 
 and never looked behind her, while 
 fhe was within our Sight. I make no 
 Doubt fhe thought it was Magick, and 
 the Workmen Waj-locks. 
 
 THIS,
 
 LETTER XXVI 345 
 
 THIS, indeed, was the Effect of an 
 old Woman's Ignorance and Superfti- 
 tion j but a Gentleman, efteemed for 
 his good Underftanding, when he had 
 feen the Experiment of the firft Rock 
 above Loch Nefs, he faid to the Officer 
 that directed the Work, " When firft 
 " I heard of this Undertaking, I was 
 " ftrangely fcandalized to think how 
 " fhamefully you would come off; 
 c< but now I am convinced there is 
 " nothing can fland before you and 
 " Gunpowder." 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING there may be 
 no Remains of my former Letters, I 
 believe your Memory may help you to 
 reflect what wretched Lodging there was 
 in the Highlands, when thofe Epiftles 
 were written. This Evil is now reme- 
 died, as far as could be done, and in 
 that Road, where there were none but 
 Huts of Turf for a hundred Miles 
 together, there now, are Houfes with 
 
 Chimneys t
 
 346 LETTER XXVI. 
 Chimneys, built with Stone and Lime, 
 at ten or twelve Miles Diftance one 
 from another ; and tho' they are not 
 large, yet are they well enough adapted 
 to the Occafion of Travellers, who 
 are feldom many at a Time in that 
 .Country. But I would not be under- 
 
 . j 
 
 flood, that there is any better Accom- 
 modation than before, befides warm 
 Lodging. Another Thing is, there are 
 Pillars fet up at the End of every five 
 Miles, moftly upon Eminencies, which 
 may not only amufe the PafTenger, and 
 leflen the Tedioufnefs of the Way, but 
 prevent his being deceived in Point of 
 Time, in Rain, Snow, Drift or ap- 
 proaching Night. 
 
 BUT the laft, and I think the great- 
 eft Conveniency, is the Bridges ; which 
 prevent the Dangers of the terrible 
 Fords. 
 
 OF thefe I fliall fay but little,- ^be- 
 caufe to you they are no Novelty. They 
 
 are
 
 LETTER XXVI. 347 
 
 are forty in Nnmber, fome of them 
 fingle Arches of forty or fifty Feet dia- 
 meter, moitly founded upon Rocks, 
 others are compofed of two ; one of 
 three, and one of five Arches. This 
 laft is over the Tay^ and is the only 
 Bridge upon that wild River, as has- 
 been faid before. It is built with Aft- 
 ler-Stone, and is 370 Feet in Length. 
 The middle Arch is 60 Feet Diameter, 
 and it bears the following Infcription, 
 made Latin from the Englifo, as I have 
 been told, by Dr. Friend, Mafter of 
 }Vcjlminjlcr School. 
 
 Mir are 
 
 Viam hanc Militarcm 
 
 Ultra Romano* Terminos 
 
 M. PaJJiium CCL. bac iliac extenfam 
 
 Tefquis G? Paludibus infultantem 
 
 Per Rupes Montefque patefaftam 
 
 Et indignanti Tavo 
 
 Uf cernis injlratam 
 
 Opus hoc arduum fud folertia 
 
 Et decennali Militum Opera 
 
 Anno
 
 348 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 Anno &r.Cbrift<g 17 33, per fecit G. Wade. 
 Copiarum in Scotia Prafi&us. 
 
 Ecc quantum oaleant 
 Regia Georgii Secundi Aufpicia ! 
 
 THE Objections made to thefe new 
 Roads and Bridges, by fome in the 
 feveral Degrees of Condition among the 
 Highlanders, are in Part, as follow, 
 
 viz. 
 
 I. THOSE Chiefs and other Gentle- 
 men complain, that thereby an eafy 
 Paflage is opened into their Country 
 for Strangers, who, in Time, by their 
 Suggeftions of Liberty, will deftroy or 
 weaken that Attachment of their Vaf- 
 fals, which it is fo neceffary for them 
 to fupport and preferve. 
 
 THAT their Faftneffes being laid 
 open, they are deprived of that Secu- 
 rity from Invafion, which they formerly 
 enjoyed. 
 
 THAT
 
 LETTER XXVI. 349 
 
 THAT the Bridges, in particular, will 
 render the ordinary People effeminate, 
 and lefs fit to pafs the Waters in other 
 Places, where there are none. 
 
 AND there is a pecuniary Reafon, 
 concealed, relating to lome foreign 
 Courts., which, to you, I need not ex- 
 plain. 
 
 II. THE middling Order fay, the 
 Roads are to them an Inconvenience, 
 inftead of being ufeful, as they have 
 turned them out of their old Ways; 
 for their Horfes, being never mod, the 
 Gravel would foon whet away their 
 Hoofs, fo as to render them unfervice- 
 able. Whereas the Rocks and Moor- 
 Stones, though together they make a 
 rough Way, yet confidered feparately, 
 they are generally pretty fmooth on 
 the Surface where they tread, and the 
 Heath is always eafy to their Feet. To 
 this I have been inconfiderately afk- 
 
 cd,
 
 350 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 cd, why then do they not fhoe their 
 Horfes ? 
 
 THIS Queftion is eafily put, and 
 cofts nothing but a few various Sounds. 
 But where is the Iron, the Forge, the 
 Farrier, the People within a reafonable 
 Diftance to maintain him ? And laft- 
 ly, where is the principal Requijite, 
 Money ? 
 
 III. THE loweft Clafs, who, many 
 of them, at fome Times, cannot com- 
 pafs a Pair of Shoes for themfelves, 
 they alledge, that the Gravel is into- 
 lerable to their naked Feet ; and the 
 Complaint has extended to their thin 
 Brogues. 
 
 IT is true they do fometimes, for 
 thefe Reafons go without the Road, 
 and ride or walk in very incommodi- 
 ous Ways. This has induced fome of 
 our Countrymen, efpecially fuch as- 
 have been at Minorca (where Roads of 
 
 ' this
 
 LETTER XXVI. 35* 
 
 this Kind have likewife been made) 
 to accufe the Highlanders of Spanifi 
 Obftinacy, in refufing to make Ufe of 
 fo great a Conveniency -, purely, be- 
 caufe it is a Novelty introduced by the 
 Englifo. But why do the black Cat- 
 tle do the fame Thing ? Certainly for 
 the Eafe of their Feet. 
 
 NOR can I believe that either High- 
 landers or Spaniards are fuch Fools as 
 to deprive themfelves of any confidera- 
 ble Benefit, upon a Principle fo ridi- 
 culous. But I fear it is our own 
 Pride that fuggefts fuch contemptuous 
 Thoughts of Strangers ; I have feen 
 a great deal of it, and have often thought 
 of Lccbarfs Accufation in a Book 
 that goes under the Name of his Me- 
 moirs ; where he fays The ErrgJtfi 
 defpife all Nations but their own, for 
 which all the World hates them ; or 
 to that Purpofe. But whether his Ob- 
 fervation be jufl or not, it is in the 
 Breafl of every one to determine for 
 
 himfelf.
 
 352 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 himfelf. For my own Part, ever fince 
 I have known the Highlands, I ne- 
 ver doubted but the Natives had their 
 Share of natural Underftanding, with 
 the reft of Mankind. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING I have finifhed 
 my Account of the Roads, which was 
 all I at firft intended ; and although 
 this Letter is almoft grown into a 
 Volume, yet like other great Talkers, I 
 cannot conclude it with Satisfaction 
 to myfelf, till I have told my Tale 
 quite out. 
 
 Fort Augitftus at Kittichumtn is not 
 only near the Middle of the Opening, 
 of which I have faid fo much, but is 
 likewife reckoned to be the moft cen- 
 trical Point of the habitable Part of 
 the Highlands. 
 
 THE old Barrack was built in the 
 Year 1716 ; I need not tell you upon, 
 what Occafion. It ftands upon a ri-
 
 LETTER XXVI. 353 
 
 fing Ground at about two or three 
 hundred Yards Diftance from the Head 
 of Loch Nefs, and the new Fort is 
 juft upon the Border of that Water. 
 Before there was any great Progrefs 
 made in building that Fortrefs, it was 
 propofed to make a covered Way of 
 Communication between both j and 
 that it fliould be the principal Garri- 
 fon of the Highlands, and the Refi- 
 dence of a Governor, who was like- 
 wife to command the other two in 
 that Line, viz. Fort George at Inver- 
 nefs, and Fort William in Lochabber^ 
 which two laft were to be under the 
 Command of Lieutenant-Governors ; 
 this was the military Scheme. But be- 
 fides, there was a civil Project on Foot, 
 which was, to build a Town after the 
 Englifo Manner, and procure for it all 
 the Privileges and Immunities of a royal 
 Borough in Scotland. 
 
 THESE Advantages, it was faid, would 
 invite Inhabitants to fettle there, not 
 only from the Lowlands, but even from 
 
 VOL. II. A a England,
 
 35 4 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 England, and make it the principal 
 Mart of the Highlands, by which Means 
 the Natives would be drawn thither as 
 to the Center ; and by accuftoming 
 themfelves to Strangers, grow defirous 
 of a more commodious Way of living 
 than their own, and be enabled by 
 Traffick to maintain it. And thus (it 
 was faid) they would be weaned from 
 their barbarous Cuftoms. But furely 
 this Scheme was as wild as the High- 
 landers, whom it was propofed to tame 
 by it, yet it was entertained for fome 
 Months with Fondnefs. But Anger 
 blinds and deceives the Judgment by 
 the promifed Sweets of Revenge, as 
 Avarice does by the pleafing Thoughts 
 of Gain, though unlawful. And I 
 think I may premife to what I arn 
 about to fay, that fuccefsful Revenge 
 is wicked; but an impotent Defire of 
 it is not only wicked, but ridiculous. 
 Perhaps you will fay I moralize, and 
 you do not yet fee the Application, but 
 you will hardly believe, that this Uto- 
 pian Town had no other Foundation 
 
 than
 
 LETTER XXVI. 355 
 
 than a Pique again ft two or three of 
 the Magiftrates of Iwutrnefi j for whofe 
 
 Tranfgreffion their Town was to be 
 humbled by this Contrivance. 
 
 I SHALL wave all Ccnfiderations of 
 the Intent to punifh a whole Commu- 
 nity upon a Prejudice taken againft two 
 or three of them ; and only mew you 
 how improbable the Succefs of fuch 
 an Undertaking would have been. And 
 if it had been likely, how diftant the 
 Profpect of the Pleafure propofed by it. 
 
 A TOWN of any Manner of Confi- 
 deration would take up all, or moft 
 Part of the Country (for fo the High- 
 landers call every little arable Flat that 
 lies between the Mountains) and the 
 Place is not above five and twenty 
 Miles (including the Lake) from /- 
 vemtfs, which is a Sea-port Town, 
 and well fituated for Improvement of 
 foreign Trade, and home Manufactures. 
 But the inner Parts of the Highlands 
 will not admit even of Manufacto- 
 A a 2 ries,
 
 356 LETTER XXVI. 
 ries, for the Inhabitants are few that 
 can be fpared from their Farms, which 
 though they are but fmall, are abfo- 
 lutely neceflary to Life j and they arc 
 fcattered among the Hills at great Dif- 
 tances, and the habitable Spaces are 
 "generally not large enough to contain 
 any conliderable Number of People, 
 or the whole Country within reach all 
 round about, fufficient to furnifh them 
 with neceflary Provifions. And laftly, 
 Strangers will not be admitted among 
 the Clans. 
 
 BY the Way 1 have been told, the 
 Weljh are not much lefs averfe than the 
 Highlanders to any Settlement of Stran- 
 gers among them, though extremely 
 hofpitable to Vifitants ; and fuch as 
 have fome temporary Bufinefs to tranf- 
 adl in their Country. But to return to 
 my Purpofe : 
 
 As to the Corn received by the Lairds 
 from their Tenants, as Rent in Kind^ 
 and the Cattle, when marketable -, the 
 
 firft
 
 LETTER XXVI. 357 
 
 firft has always been fold by Contract 
 to Lowland-Merchants, and the Cat- 
 tle are driven to fuch Fairs and Mar- 
 kets of the Low Country as are near- 
 eft, or otherwife commodious or be- 
 neficial to the Drovers and their Em- 
 ployers. And therefore there is no 
 Manner of Likelihood, that either the 
 one or the other fhould be brought to 
 
 any 
 
 Highland Market. 
 
 I HAVE told you in a former Letter 
 what Kinds and Quantities of Mer- 
 chandife were ufually brought by the 
 Highlanders, to the Fairs at Inner nefs. 
 
 IT was a Suppofition very extraor- 
 dinary to fuppofe, that any Lowlanders 
 who could fubfifl in another Place, 
 would fhut themfelves up in fuch a 
 Prifon, without any reafonable Pro- 
 fpect of Advantage j and I verily be- 
 lieve there is not an Englijkman, when 
 he ijknew the Country, but would think 
 of a Settlement there with me, re Hor- 
 ror than any Ruffian would do of Ba- 
 nilhment to Siberia. 
 
 A a 3 BUT
 
 358 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 BUT laftly, if it were poffible to 
 fuppofe there were none of thefe Ob- 
 ftacles, how long a Time muft have 
 been required to people this new Colony, 
 and to render it capable to rival an old 
 eftablimed Town like Irrvertfrfs ? J 
 need not recite the Proverb of the grow- 
 ing Grafs j it is too obvious. 
 
 YET if the Inhabitants of the new 
 Settlement propofed, could have lived 
 upon Air, I verily believe they would 
 have been fed with better Diet, than at 
 Montpelier. 
 
 THUS am I providing Work for my- 
 felf, but am not fo fure it will be En- 
 tertainment to you ; for now I have 
 happened to fpeak of the Healthfulnefs 
 of the Spot, I muft tell you whereupon 
 I found my Opinion. 
 
 I 
 
 THE Officers and Soldiers garrir- 
 
 foned in that Barrack, for many Suc- 
 ceflions have found it to be fo -, and 
 feyeral of them who were fallen into 
 
 a vale-
 
 LETTER XXVI. 359 
 
 a valetudinary State in other Parts, have 
 there recover'd their Health in a fhort 
 Time. Among other Inftances, I flvall 
 give you only one, which I thought al- 
 moft a Miracle. 
 
 A CERTAIN Officer of the Army, 
 when in London, was advifed by his 
 Phyficians to go into the Country for 
 better Air, as you know is cuftomary 
 with them, when mere Shame deters 
 them from taking further Fees ; and 
 likewife that the Patient may be hid 
 under-ground, out of the Reach of all 
 reflecting Obfervation, within the Cir- 
 cuit of their Practice. But the Corps 
 he belonged to, being then quartered 
 in the Highlands, he refolved by gen- 
 tle Journeys to endeavour to reach it, 
 but expected (as he told me) nothing 
 but Death by the Way ; however he 
 came to that Place, one Evening, un- 
 known to me, though I was then in 
 the Barrack, and the next Morning 
 early, I faw upon the Parade a Stran- 
 ger, which is there an unufual Sight. 
 A a 4 He
 
 360 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 He was in a deep Confumption, fadly 
 emaciated, and with Defpair in his 
 Countenance, furveying the Tops of 
 the Mountains. I went to him, and 
 after a few Words of Welcome, &c. 
 his uppermoft Thoughts became audi- 
 ble in a Moment. Lord ! fays he, to 
 what a Place am I come ? There can 
 nothing but Death be expected here ! 
 I own I had conceived a good Opinion 
 of that Part of the Country, and there- 
 fore, as well as in common Complai- 
 fance, mould in Courfe, have given 
 him fome Encouragement ; but I do 
 not know how it was. I happened at 
 that Inftant to be, as it were, infpired 
 with a Confidence not ordinary with 
 me, and told him peremptorily and 
 pofitively the Country would cure him , 
 and repeated it feveral Times, as if I 
 knew it would be fo. How ready is 
 Hope with her ArMance ! Immedi- 
 ately I obferved his Features to clear 
 up, like the Day, when the Sun begins 
 to peep over the Edge of a Cloud. 
 
 To
 
 LETTER XXVI. 361 
 
 To be mort, he mended daily in 
 his Health, grew perfectly well in a 
 little Time, obtained Leave to return 
 to England, and foon after married a 
 Woman with a connderable Fortune. 
 
 I KNOW fo well your Opinion of the 
 Doctor's Skill that, if I mould tell you, 
 there was not a Phyfician in the Country, 
 you would fay, it was that very Want 
 which made the Air fo healthy, and was 
 tiie Caufe of that wonderful Cure. 
 
 THIS poor, but wholfome Spot re- 
 minds me of a Attack that mounted a 
 Stage in Weftminfier, but was there very 
 unfuccefsful in the Sale of his Packets : 
 At the End of his Harangue he told his 
 Mob-audience (among whom, being but 
 a Boy, myfelf was one) that he mould 
 immediately trufs up his Baggage and be 
 gone, becaufe he found they had no 
 Occafion for Phyfick ; for, fays he, you 
 live in an Air fo healthy, that where one 
 of you dies, there are twenty that run 
 away. 
 
 Bur
 
 362 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 BUT to proceed to a Conclufion, which 
 I forefee is not far off. 
 
 AT Fort William^ which is not above 
 three or four and .twenty Miles Weft- 
 ward of Fort AuguftuS) I have heard the 
 People talk as familiarly of a Shower 
 (as/they call it) of nine or ten Weeks, 
 as they would do of any thing elfe that 
 was not out of the ordinary Courfe ; but 
 the Clouds that are brought over Sea by 
 the Wefterly Winds are there attracted 
 and broke by the exceeding high Moun- 
 tains, and moftly exhaufted before they 
 reach the Middle of the Highlands at 
 Fort Auguftus j and nothing has been 
 more common with us about Invernefs, 
 on the Eaft Coaft, than to ride or walk 
 to recreate ourfelves in Sun-fhine, when 
 we could clearly fee through the Open- 
 ing for Weeks together, the Weft Side 
 of the Ifland involved in thick Clouds. 
 This was often the Occafion of a good- 
 natured Triumph with us to obferve 
 what a Pickle our oppofite Neighbours 
 
 were
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 were in. But I am told the Difference, 
 in that Particular, between the Eaft and 
 Weftern Part of England near the Coaft 
 is much the fame in Proportion to the 
 Height of the Hills. 
 
 I HAVE but one Thing more to take 
 Notice of in relation to the Spot of which 
 I have been fo long a fpeaking ; and 
 that is, I have been fometimes vexed 
 with a little Plague (if I may ufe the 
 Expreflion) but don't you think I am^ 
 too grave upon the Subject ; there are 
 great Swarms of little Flies which the 
 Natives call Malboulakins ; Hudack, s hey 
 tell me, fignifies, in the Country Lan- 
 guage a F/v, and Uoulakm is the Dimi- 
 nutive of that Name. Thefe are fo very 
 fmall, that feperately, they are but jurt 
 perceptable, and that is all, and being of 
 a blackifh Colour, when a Number of 
 them fettles upon the Skin, they make 
 it look as if it was dirty ; there they loon 
 bore with their little Augers into the 
 Pores, and change the Face from 
 black to red. 
 
 THEY
 
 364 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 THEY are only troublefome (I fhould 
 fay intolerable) in Summer, when there 
 is a profound Calm, for the leaft Breath 
 of Wind immediately' difperfes them, 
 and the only Refuge from them is the 
 Houfe, into which I never knew them 
 to enter. Sometimes 'when I have been 
 talking to any one, I have (though with 
 the utmoft Self-denial) endured their 
 Stings to watch his Face, and fee how 
 long they would fuffer him to be quiet, 
 but in three or four Seconds he has flap- 
 ped his Hand upon his Face, and in great 
 Wrath curfed the little Vermin ; but I 
 have found the fame Torment in fome 
 other Parts of the Highlands where 
 Woods were at no great Diflance. 
 
 HERE I might fay, if it did not fome- 
 thing favour of a Pun^ that 1 have re- 
 lated to you the moil minute Circum- 
 ftance of this long and freight Opening 
 of the Mountains. 
 
 As my former Letters relating to this 
 Country were the EfFecl: of your Choice, 
 
 I could
 
 LETTER XXVI. 365 
 
 I could then apologize for them with a 
 tolerable good Grace, but ROW that I 
 have obtruded myfelf upon you, with- 
 out fo much as aiking your Confent, or 
 giving you the leaft Notice, I have di- 
 verted myfelf of that Advantage, and 
 therefore I (hall take the quite contrary 
 Courfe, and boldly juftify myfelf in 
 what I have done. 
 
 You know there is no other Rule to 
 'judge of the Quality of many Things 
 but by Comparifon ; and this being of 
 that Nature, I do affirm with the laft 
 Confidence (for I have not been here fo 
 long for Nothing) that the following 
 Subjects are inferior to mine either for 
 Information or Entertainment, viz. 
 
 ift. THE Genealogy of a particular 
 Family, in which but very few others 
 are interefted. And, by the by (for 
 you know I am apt to digrefs) it muft 
 be great Good -nature and Chriftian Cha- 
 rity to fuppofe it impoffible that any one 
 of the auxiliary Sex mould flep out of 
 
 the
 
 366 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 the Way to the Aid of fome other in the 
 many Succeffions of five hundred Years ; 
 and if that mould happen, I would 
 know what Relation there then is be- 
 tween him that boafts of his Anceftry 
 and the Founder of the Family ; certain- 
 ly none but the Eftate, and if that which 
 is the main Prop, mould fail, the high 
 Family would foon tumble from its Emi- 
 nence, but this is but very little of that 
 juft Ridicule that attends this kind of 
 Vanity. 
 
 WE are told that none are Gentlemen 
 among the Chinefe but fuch as have ren- 
 dered themfelves worthy of the Title. 
 
 2dly. TEDIOUS Collections of the Sen- 
 timents of great Numbers of Authors 
 upon Subjects that, in all Likelyhood 
 had never any Being but this is a Pa- 
 rade of Reading. 
 
 3dly. TRIFLING Antiquities hunted 
 out of their mouldy RecefTes, which 
 ferve to no other Purpofe but to expofe 
 the injudicious Searcher. 
 
 4 thly.
 
 LETTER XXVI. 367 
 
 4thly. TIRESOME Criticifms upon a 
 fmgle Word, when it is not of the leaft 
 Confequence whether there is, or ever 
 was, any fuch Sound. 
 
 5thly. DifTertations upon Butterflies, 
 which would take up almoft as much 
 Time in the Reading as the whole Life 
 of that Infect ; cum multis aliis. 
 
 THIS fmall Scrap of Latin has efcaped 
 me, and I think it is the only Air of 
 Learning (as they call it) that I have 
 given to any of my Letters from the Be- 
 ginning to this Time, and even now I 
 might have expreiTed the Senfe of it in 
 homely Englifo with as few Words, and 
 a Sound as agreeable to the Ear. But 
 fome are as fond of larding with Latin 
 as a French Cook is with Bacon, and 
 each of them makes of his Performance 
 a kind of Linfey-woolfey Compofition. 
 
 As this Letter is grown too bulky 
 for the Pod, it will come to your Hands
 
 368 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 by the Favour of a Gentleman, Major 
 
 , who is to fet out for London 
 
 to-morrow Morning, upon an Affair that 
 requires his Expedition. 
 
 I CAN juftly recommend him to your 
 Acquaintance, as I have already referred 
 him to yours ; and I do afTure you, that 
 by his ingenious and cheerful Converfa- 
 don, he has not a little contributed, for 
 a Twelve-month paiTed to render my 
 Exile more tolerable. It is true, I might 
 have fent the Sheets in Parcels, but I 
 have chofen rather to furprife you with 
 them all at once, and I dare fay, bating 
 Accidents, you will have the laft of 
 them fooner by his Means than by the 
 ordinary Conveyance. 
 
 FINIS.
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed.