to seek them out, and taking seven Indians, that they might learn Spanish, sailed on the 15th to another island, which he called the Conception, seven leagues from the other. The 16th he proceeded to another island, and called it Fernandina, and so to a fourth, to which he gave the name of Isabella; but finding nothing more in these than in the first, he proceeded on to the island of Cuba, which he called Juana, and entered the port on the east end, called Baracoa; whence, after sending two men to discover without finding what he sought for, he went on to Hispaniola, and anchored on the north side of it. Here the admiral finding there were gold mines, and plenty of cotton, the people simple, and one of their caciques, or princes, shewing all tokens of love and affection, and having lost his own ship, which through carelessness of the sailors in the night run upon a sand, he resolved to build a fort, which, with the assistance of the Indians, was performed in ten days, and called the Nativity. Here he left thirty-nine men, with provisions for a year, seeds to sow, baubles to trade with the natives, all the cannon and arms belonging to his own ship and the boat. This done he departed the port of the Nativity on the 4th of January 1493, steering eastward, and the 6th discovered the caravel Pinta, which had left him some days before, the Captain hoping to get much gold to himself. Columbus having sailed some days along the coast of the island, discovering more of it, and trafficking with the natives, and seeing some other islands at a distance, at length launched out to sea to return for Spain. In the way they struggled with the dreadfullest storms any of them had ever seen, which separated the admiral from the caravel Pinta, so that he saw her no more; but at last it pleased God to bring his shattered caravel into the river of Lisbon, where the people flocked with admiration to see him, and some advised the king of Portugal to murder him; but he, having entertained him, generously dismissed him; and Columbus putting to sea again, arrived safe at Palos, from whence he set out on the 15th of March, having been out six months and a half upon his discovery. The court was then at Barcelona, whither the admiral repaired, carrying with him the Indians he brought, some gold, and other samples of what the discovery afforded. The king and queen received him with all possible demonstrations of honour, making him sit down in their presence, and ordering all the privileges and titles before granted him to be confirmed. After some time spent in these entertainments, the admiral desired to be fitted out as became his dignity, to conquer and plant those new countries, which was granted, and he departed for Seville to set out on his second voyage, which we are to speak of next; we have been very particular in this, because, being the first, it required a more exact account to be given of it, and shall therefore be more succinct in those that follow. Anno 1493. A fleet of seventeen sail of all sorts was fitted out at Seville, well furnished with provisions, ammunition, cannon, corn, seeds, mares, and horses; tools to work in the gold mines, and abundance of commodities to barter with the natives. There were aboard 1500 men, many of them labouring people and artificers, several gen tlemen, and twenty horse. With this fleet Columbus set sail from Seville on the 15th of September, the year aforesaid, and on the 5th of October came to the Gomeru, one of the Canary islands, where he took in wood and water, as also cattle, calves, sheep, goats, and swine, to stock the Indies, besides hens and garden-seeds. Sailing hence more to the southward than the first voyage, on the 3d of November in the morning all the fleet spied an island, which Columbus called Dominica, because discovered on a Sunday, and soon after many others, the first of which he called Marigalante, the name of the ship he was in, the next Guadalupe, then Monseratte, Santa Maria Redonda, Santa Maria el Antigua, St. Martin, Santa Cruz; these are the Caribbee islands. Next he came to the large island, which he called St. John Baptist, but the Indians Borriquen, and it is now known by the name of Puerto Rico. November the 22d, the fleet arrived on the coast of Hispaniola, where they found the fort burnt down, and none of the Spaniards, they being all destroyed either by discord among themselves, or by the Indians. Not liking the place he had chosen the first voyage to plant his colony, he turned back to the eastward, and finding a spot to his mind, landed and built a little town, which he called Isabella, in honour of Isabella then queen of Castile. Then keeping five ships of the fleet with him for his use there, he sent back twelve to Spain, under the command of Antony de Torres, with some quantity of gold, and a full account of what had been done. Thus ended this year 1493: and here it must be observed, that all the actions done ashore must be omitted, as too extensive for this discourse, and, in reality, no way belonging to it, the design of it being only to shew what advantages have been made by sea since the discovery of the magnetical needle. Anno 1494. Columbus sailed from his hew colony of Isabella with one great ship and two caravels on the 24th of April, directing his course westward, and came upon the point of Cuba on the 18th of May, where sailing along the coast he saw an infinite number of small islands; so that it being impossible to give them all names, he in general called them the Queen's Garden. Thus he proceeded as far as the island de Pinos, near the westernmost end of Cuba, having discovered 333 leagues to the westward from his colony of Isabella. He suffered very much in this voyage by the continual storms of rain, wind, thunder, and lightning, and therefore resolved to return, taking his way more to the southward, and on the 22d of July found the island of Jamaica; whence he directed his course to Hispaniola, and coasting about it, arrived at the town of Isabella on the 29th of September, where he found his brother Bartholomew Columbus, who was come with four ships from Spain. The admiral built many forts in the island, and being much offended at the ill behaviour of many of the Spaniards, who began to use him disrepectfully, and sent complaints against him to court, returned into Spain to justify his proceedings, and secure his authority. [To be continued.] ACCOUNT OF JOHN O'GROAT'S HOUSE. [From Sir JOHN SINCLAIR's Statistical Account of the Parish of Canisbay.] TH HIS is the most memorable place in the parish, which has often been visited by travellers from very distant countries, who, it is believed, have rarely been made acquainted with the peculiar circumstance which first gave rise to its celebrity; its fame having been in general erroneously attributed to its mere local situation, at the northern extremity of the island; whereas it originated in an event not unpleasing to relate, and which furnishes a useful lesson of morality. In the reign of JAMES IV. of Scotland, MALCOLM, GAVIN, and JOHN DE GROAT (supposed to have been brothers, and originally from Holland) arrived at Caithness, from the South of Scotland, bringing with them a letter written in Latin by that Prince, recommending them to the countenance and protection of his loving subjects in the county of Caithness. They purchased, or got possession of, the lands of Warse and Dungisbay, lying in the parish of Canisbay, on the side of the Pentland Firth; and each of them obtained an equal share of the property they acquired. In process of time their families increased, and there came to be eight different proprietors of the name of GROAT, who possessed these lands among them; but whether the three original settlers split their property among their children, or whether they purchased for them small possessions from one another, does not appear. These eight families, having lived peaceably and comfortably in their small possessions for a number of years, established an annual meeting to celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of their ancestors on that coast. In the course of their festivity, on one of these occasions, a question arose respecting the right of taking the door, and sitting at the head of the table, and such like points of precedency (each contending for the seniority and chieftainship of the clan), which increased to such a height as would probably have proved fatal in its consequences to some, if not all of them, had not JOHN DE GROAT, who was proprietor of the ferry, interposed. He, having acquired more knowledge of mankind, by his constant intercourse with strangers passing the Pentland Firth, saw the danger of such disputes; and having had address enough to procure silence, he began with expatiating on the comfort and happiness they had hitherto enjoyed since their arrival in that remote corner, owing to the harmony which had subsisted among them. He assured them, that so soon as they appeared to split and quarrel among themselves, their neighbours, who till then had treated them with respect, would fall upon them, and expel them from the country. He therefore conjured them by the ties of blood and their mutual safety, to return quietly that night to their several homes; and he pledged himself that he would satisfy them all with respect to precedency, and prevent the possibility of such disputes among them at their future anniversary meetings. They all acquiesced, and departed in peace.In the mean time JOHN DE GROAT, to fulfil his engagement, built a room distinct by itself, of an octagon shape, with eight doors and windows in it; and having placed in the middle a table of oak of the same shape, when the anniversary meeting took place, he desired each of them to enter at his own door, and to sit at the head of the table, he taking himself the seat that was left unoccupied. By this ingenious contrivance any dispute in regard to rank was prevented, as they all found themselves on a footing of equality, and their former harmony and good humour was restored. This building was then named John O'Groat's House, and though the house is totally gone, the place where it stood still retains the name, and deserves to be remembered as long as good intentions and good sense are estimable in the country *. WHEN MEMOIRS OF THE LATE DR. PAUL HIFFERNAN. (Continued from Page 271.) HEN Hiffernan refused accepting credit for six months for a number of books, which he could very well dispose of amongst his friends, we can very well see the price he set on keeping his lodging a secret. The sale of the books would be a ready-money traffic to him during the time; the translation would likewise gain him some reputation; and as to the payment of his note, that could be settled in his usual way, viz. for some time by promises, and at length by a frank acknowledgement of total incapacity: yet all these advantages were foregone sooner than divulge the secrets of his prison-house”—there he was alike impenetrable to friend and foe. The next thing of any consequence that engaged our Author's attention, was a work called "Dramatic Genius" which he dedicated to Garrick, his friend and patron through life. This work is divided into five books. The first delineates a plan of a permanent temple to be erected to the memory of Shakespeare, with suitable decorations and inscriptions. The second investigates the progress of the human * The particulars above mentioned were communicated to JoHN SUTHERLAND, Esq. of Wester, above fifty years ago, by his father, who was then advanced in life, and who had seen the letter written by JAMES IV. in the possession of GEORGE GROAT of Warse. The remains of the Oak Table have been seen by many now? living, who have inscribed their names on it. mind in inventing the drama, and conducting it to perfection; with a candid disquisition of the rules laid down by critics. The third exhibits a philosophical analysis of the pre-requisites of the art of acting. The fourth displays the criteria of Dramatic Genius in composition, and the beautiful and sublime of acting; and the fifth treats of architecture, painting and other arts, so far as they are necessary to Theatrical representation. There is in this, as in most of Hiffernan's writings, a mixture of science and absurdity. He had not taste sufficient to set off his learning, and his familiar life was such as to shut out all improvement. The characters of the several plays of Shakespeare given in this work are in Latin as well as in English; and as the Doctor piqued himself on his Latinity, the reader will judge for himself what excellence he possessed in that language from the following specimen of the character of Richard the Third. Ricardus Tertius. Imperium obtinuit primorum strage virorum, Ordo gemit populi; juga solvere barbara jurat. The subscriptions he gained by this work were very considerable, as Garrick exerted himself among his friends for the author-and who could refuse Garrick on the subject of the stage? And yet, though these exertions might have done credit to the friendship of our English Roscius, they did not serve his delicacy very much, as the praises so lavishly bestowed on him should have in some respect withheld his personal interference; besides, they were too fulsome in themselves to add any degree of credit to such established abilities. The amount of these subscriptions we do not exactly know, but should suppose to be from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty pounds; a temporary mine to such a man as Hiffernan, who lived so much with the public, and who, in his interior life, there is every |