father of the prefent laird, in defiance of prediction, began the work, but defifted in a little time, and applied his money to worse uses.

As the inhabitants of the Hebrides lived, for many ages, in continual expectation of hoftilities, the chief of every clan refided in a fortrefs. This houfe was acceffible only from the water, till the laft poffeffor opened an entrance by ftairs upon the land.

They had formerly reafon to be afraid, not only of declared wars and authorized invaders, or of roving pirates, which, in the northern feas, must have been very common; but of inroads and infults from rival clans, who, in the plenitude of feudal independence, afked no leave of their fovereign to make war on one another. Sky has been ravaged by a feud between the two mighty powers of Macdonald and Macleod. Macdonald having married a Macleod, upon fome discontent difmiffed her, perhaps because she had brought him no children. Before the reign of Fames the Fifth, a Highland laird made a trial of his wife for a certain time, and if he did not please him, he was then at liberty to fend her away. This however must always have offended, and Macleod refenting the injury, whatever were its circumstances, declared, that the wedding had been folemnized without a bonfire, but that the feparation fhould be better illuminated; and raising a little army, fet fire to the territories of Macdonald, who returned the visit, and prevailed.

Another story may fhow the disorderly state of infular neighbourhood. The inhabitants of the ifle of Egg, meeting a boat manned by Macleods, tied

the crew hand and foot, and fet them a-drift. Mace leod landed upon Egg, and demanded the offenders; but the inhabitants refufing to furrender them, retreated to a cavern, into which they thought their enemies unlikely to follow them. Macleod choked them with smoke, and left them lying dead by families as they stood.

ence.

Here the violence of the weather confined us for fome time, not at all to our difcontent or inconveniWe would indeed very willingly have vifited the islands, which might be feen from the house scattered in the fea, and I was particularly defirous to have viewed Ifay; but the ftorms did not permit us to launch a boat, and we were condemned to liften in idleness to the wind, except when we were better engaged by liftening to the ladies.

We had here more wind than waves, and fuffered the feverity of a tempeft, without enjoying its magnificence. The fea being broken by the multitude of iflands, does not roar with fo much noife, nor beat the ftorm with fuch foamy violence, as I have remarked on the coaft of Suflex. Though, while I was in the Hebrides, the wind was extremely turbulent, I never faw very high billows.

The country about Dunvegan is rough and barren. There are no trees, except in the orchard, which is a low fheltered fpot furrounded with a wall.

When this house was intended to sustain a fiege, a well was made in the court, by boring the rock downwards, till water was found, which, though fo near to the fea, I have not heard mentioned as

brackish,

brackish, though it has some hardness, or other qualities, which make it lefs fit for ufe; and the family is now better supplied from a ftream, which runs by the rock, from two pleafing water-falls,

Here we faw fome traces of former manners, and heard fome standing traditions. In the house is kept an ox's horn, hollowed fo as to hold perhaps two quarts, which the heir of Macleod was expected to fwallow at one draught, as a test of his manhood, before he was permitted to bear arms, or could claim a feat among the men. It is held that the return of the laird to Dunvegan, after any confiderable absence, produces a plentiful capture of herrings; and that, if any woman croffes the water to the oppofite ifland, the herrings will defert the coaft. Boetius tells the fame. of fome other place. This tradition is not uniform, Some hold that no woman may pafs, and others that none may pass but a Macleod.

Among other guefts, which the hofpitality of Dunvegan brought to the table, a vifit was paid by the laird and lady of a small island south of Sky, of which the proper name is Muack, which fignifies fwine. It is commonly called Muck, which the proprietor not liking, has endeavoured, without effect, to change to Monk. It is ufual to call gentlemen in Scotland by the name of their poffeffions, as Raafay, Bernera, Loch Buy, a practice neceffary in countries inhabited by clans, where all that live in the fame territory have one name, and must be therefore difcriminated by fome addition. This gentleman, whofe name, I think, is Maclean, fhould be regularly called Muck; but the appellation, which he thinks too coarse for U 3

his

his ifland, he would like ftill lefs for himself, and he is therefore addreffed by the title of Isle of Muck.

This little ifland, however it be named, is of confiderable value. It is two English miles long, and three quarters of a mile broad, and confequently contains only nine hundred and fixty English acres. It is chiefly arable. Half of this little dominion the laird retains in his own hand, and on the other half, live one hundred and fixty perfons, who pay their rent by exported What rent they pay, we were not told, and could not decently enquire. The proportion of the people to the land is fuch, as the most fertile countries do not commonly maintain.

corn.

The laird having all his people under his immediate view, feems to be very attentive to their hap piness. The devaftation of the fmall-pox, when it vifits places where it comes feldom, is well known. He has difarmed it of its terror at Muack, by inoculating eighty of his people. The expence was two fhillings and fixpence a head. Many trades they cannot have among them, but upon occafion, he fetches a fmith from the ifle of Egg, and has a taylor from the main land, fix times a year. This ifland well de, ferved to be feen, but the laird's abfence left us no opportunity.

Every inhabited ifland has its appendant and fubordinate iflets. Muck, however fmall, has yet others smaller about it, one of which has only ground fufficient to afford pafture for three wethers.

At Dunvegan I had tafted lotus, and was in danger of forgetting that I was ever to depart, till Mr.

Bofwell

Bofwell fagely reproached me with my fluggishnefs and foftnefs. I had no very forcible defence to make; and we agreed to purfue our journey. Macleod accompanied us to Ulinish, where we were entertained by the sheriff of the island.

ULINIS H.

Mr. Macqueen travelled with us, and directed our attention to all that was worthy of obfervation. With him we went to see an ancient building, called a dun or borough. It was a circular inclofure, about fortytwo feet in diameter, walled round with loofe ftones, perhaps to the height of nine feet. The walls are very thick, diminishing a little towards the top, and though in these countries stone is not brought far, must have been raised with much labour. Within the great circle were feveral fmaller rounds of wall, which formed diftinct apartments. Its date and its ufe are unknown. Some fuppofe it the original feat of the chiefs of the Macleods. Mr. Macqueen thought it a Danish fort.

The entrance is covered with flat ftones, and is narrow, because it was neceffary that the ftones which lie over it, fhould reach from one wall to the other; yet, ftrait as the paffage is, they feem heavier than could have been placed where they now lie, by the naked ftrength of as many men as might ftand about them. They were probably raised by putting long pieces of wood under them, to which the action of a long line of lifters might be applied, Savages, in all countries, have patience proportionate to their unskilfulness, and are content to attain their end by very te dious methods.