faid, "I know not how we fhall get away." It entertained me to obferve him fitting by, while we danced, fometimes in deep meditation,-fometimes fmiling complacently, fometimes looking upon, Hooke's Roman Hiftory,-and fometimes talking a little, amidst the noise of the ball, to Mr. Donald M'Queen, who anxiously gathered knowledge from him. He was pleafed with M'Queen, and faid to me, "This is a critical man, fir. There must be great vigour of mind to make him cultivate learning fo much in the isle of Sky, where he might do without it. It is wonderful how many of the new publications he has. There must be a fnatch of every opportunity." Mr. M'Queen told me that his brother (who is the fourth generation of the family following each other as minifters of the parish of Snizort,) and he joined together, and bought from time to time fuch books as had reputation. Soon after we came in, a black cock and grey hẹn, which had been fhot, were fhewn, with their feathers on, to Dr. Johnson, who had never seen that fpecies of bird before. We had a company of thirty at fupper; and all was good humour and gaiety, without intemperance.

Thursday, 9th September.

At breakfast this morning, among a profufion of other things, there were oat-cakes, made of what is called graddaned meal, that is, meal. made of grain separated from the hufks, and toafted by fire, inftead of being threshed and kiln-dried.—This seems to be bad management, as fo much fodder is confumed by it. Mr. M'Queen however defended it, by faying, that it is doing the thing

much

much quicker, as one operation effects what is otherwise done by two. His chief reafon however was, that the fervants in Sky are, according to him, a faithlefs pack, and fteal what they can; fo that much is faved by the corn paffing but once through their hands, as at each time they pilfer fome. It appears to me, that the gradaning is a ftrong proof of the laziness of the Highlanders, who will rather make fire act for them, at the expence of fodder, than labour themselves. There was also, what I cannot help difliking at breakfast, cheese it is the cuftom over all the Highlands to have it; and it often fmells very strong, and poifons to a certain degree the elegance of an Indian repaft. The day was fhowery; however, Rafay and I took a walk, and had fome cordial conversation.

I conceived a more than ordinary regard for this worthy gentleman. His family has poffeffed this ifland above four hundred years. It is the remains of the estate of Macleod of Lewis, whom he reprefents. When we returned, Dr. Johnson walked with us to fee the old chapel. He was in fine fpirits. He faid, "This is truely the patriarchal life: this is what we came to find.”

After dinner, M'Cruflick, Malcolm, and I, went out with guns, to try if we could find any black-cock; but we had no fport, owing to a heavy rain. I saw here what is called a Danish fort. Our evening was paffed as last night was. One of our company, I was told, had hurt himself by too much study, particularly of infidel metaphyficians, of which he gave a proof; on fecond fight being mentioned. He immediately retailed fome of the fallacious arguments of Voltaire and Hume against

miracles

miracles in general. Infidelity in a Highland gentleman appeared to me peculiarly offenfive. I was forry for him, as he had otherwise a good character. I told Dr. Johnson that he had studied himself into infidelity.-Johnson. "Then he must study himfelf out of it again. That is the way. Drinking largely will fober him again."

Friday, 10th September.

Having refolved to explore the island of Rasay, which could be done only on foot, I last night obtained my fellow-traveller's permiffion to leave him for a day, he being unable to take fo hardy a walk. Old Mr. Malcolm M'Cleod, who had obligingly promised to accompany me, was at my bedfide between five and fix. I fprang up immediately, and he and I, attended by two other gentlemen, traverfed the country during the whole of this day. Though we had paffed over not less than four-andtwenty miles of very rugged ground, and had a Highland dance on the top of Dun Can, the highest mountain in the island, we returned in the evening not at all fatigued, and piqued ourselves at not being outdone at the nightly ball by our lefs active friends, who had remained at home.

My furvey of Rafay did not furnish much which can interest my readers; I fhall therefore put into as short a compafs as I can, the obfervations upon it, which I find registered in my journal. It is about fifteen English miles long, and four broad. On the fouth fide is the laird's family feat, fituated on a pleafing low spot. The old tower of three ftories, mentioned by Martin, was taken down foon after 1746, and a modern house fupplies its place.

There

There are very good grass-fields and corn-lands about it, well-dreffed. I obferved, however, hardly any inclosures, except a good garden plentifully ftocked with vegetables, and ftrawberries, rafpberries, currants, &c.

On one of the rocks juft where we landed, which are not high, there is rudely carved a fquare, with a crucifix in the middle. Here, it is faid, the Lairds of Rafay, in old times, ufed to offer up their devotions. I could not approach the fpot, without a grateful recollection of the event commemorated by this fymbol.

We

A little from the fhore, weftward, is a kind of fubterraneous houfe. There has been a natural fiffure. or feparation of the rock, running towards the fea, which has been roofed over with long ftones, and above them turf has been laid. In that place the inhabitants used to keep their oars. There are a number of trees near the house, which grow well; fome of them of a pretty good fize. They are moftly plane and afh. A little to the weft of the houfe is an old ruinous chapel, unroofed, which never has been very curious. here faw fome human bones of an uncommon fize. There was a heel-bone, in particular, which Dr. Macleod faid was fuch, that if the foot was in proportion, it must have been twenty-feven inches long. Dr. Johnson would not look at the bones. He ftarted back from them with a ftriking appearance of horrour. Mr. M'Queen told us, it was formerly much the custom, in thefe ifles, to have. human bones lying above ground, efpecially in the windows of churches. On the fouth of the chapel is the family burying-place. Above the door, on

the

the east end of it, is a small buft or image of the Virgin Mary, carved upon a ftone which makes part of the wall. There is no church upon the

inland. It is annexed to one of the parishes of Sky; and the minifter comes and preaches either in Rafay's house, or fome other house, on certain Sundays. I could not but value the family feat more, for having even the ruins of a chapel close to it. There was fomething comfortable in the thought of being fo near a piece of confecrated ground. Dr. Johnson faid, "I look with reverence upon every place that has been set apart for religion;" and he kept off his hat while he was within the walls of the chapel.

The eight croffes, which Martin mentions as pyramids for deceased ladies, ftood in a femicircular line, which contained within it the chapel. They marked out the boundaries of the facred territory within which an afylum was to be had. One of them, which we obferved upon our landing, made the first point of the femicircle. There are few of them now remaining. A good way farther north, there is a row of buildings about four feet high: they run from the fhore on the eaft along the top of a pretty high eminence, and fo down to the fhore on the weft, in much the fame direction with the croffes. Rafay took them to be the marks for the asylum; but Malcolm thought them to be false fentinels, a common deception, of which inftances occur in Martin, to make invaders imagine an inland better guarded. Mr. Donald M'Queen, juftly in my opinion, fuppofed the croffes which form the inner circle to be the church's land-marks.