make them all drink the large horn full, and from that time they should be M'Leods-The captain informed us, he had named his ship the Bonnetta, out of gratitude to Providence; for once, when he was failing to America with a good number of paffengers, the ship in which he then failed was becalmed for five weeks, and during all that time, numbers of the fish Bonnetta fwam close to her, and were caught for food; he refolved therefore, that the ship he should next get, fhould be called the Bonnetta.

M'Quarrie told us a ftrong inftance of the second fight. He had gone to Edinburgh, and taken a man-fervant along with him. An old woman, who was in the house, said one day, "M'Quarrie will be at home to-morrow, and will bring two gentlemen with him ;" and fhe faid, fhe faw his fervant return in red and green. He did come home next day. He had two gentlemen with him; and his fervant had a new red and green livery, which M'Quarrie had bought for him at Edinburgh, upon a fudden thought, not having the leaft intention when he left home to put his fervant in livery; fo that the old woman could not have heard any previous mention of it. This, he affured us, was a true story.

M'Quarrie infifted that the Mercheta Mulierum, mentioned in our old charters, did really mean the privilege which a lord of a manor, or a baron, had, to have the first night of all his vaffal's wives. Dr. Johnson faid, the belief of fuch a custom having exifted was alfo held in England, where there is a tenure called Borough English, by which the eldeft child does not inherit, from a doubt of his being the

fon

fon of the tenant *. M'Quarrie told us, that ftill, on the marriage of each of his tenants, a fheep is due to him; for which the compofition is fixed at five fhillings. I suppose, Ulva is the only place where this custom remains.

Talking of the fale of an eftate of an ancient family, which was said to have been purchased much under its value by the confidential lawyer of that family, and it being mentioned that the fale would probably be fet afide by a fuit in equity, Dr. Johnfon faid, "I am very willing that this fale fhould be fet afide, but I doubt much whether the fuit will be fuccessful, for the argument for avoiding the fale is founded on vague and indeterminate principles, as that the price was too low, and that there was a great degree of confidence placed by the feller in the person who became the purchaser. Now, how low should a price be? or what degree of confidence fhould there be to make a bargain be fet afide? a bargain, which is a wager of skill between man and man.-If, indeed, any fraud can be prov ed, that will do."

When Dr. Johnson and I were by ourselves at night, I observed of our host, afpectum generofum babet;"-" et generofum animum," he added.-For fear of being overheard in the fmall Highland houses, I often talked to him in fuch Latin as I could speak, and with as much of the English accent as I could affume, fo as not to be understood, in case our converfation should be too loud for the space.

We

Sir William Blackftone fays in his COMMENTARIES, that "he cannot find that ever this custom prevailed in England ;" and therefore he is of opinion that it could not have given rife to Borough. English.

We had each an elegant bed in the fame rooti and here it was that a circumftance occurred, as to which he has been strangely misunderstood. From his defcription of his chamber, it has erroneoufly been fuppofed, that his bed being too fhort for him, his feet, during the night, were in the mire; whereas he has only faid, that when he undressed, he felt his feet in the mire: that is, the clay-floor of the room, on which he ftood upon before he went into bed, was wet, in confequence of the windows being broken, which let in the rain.

Sunday, 17th October.

Being informed that there was nothing worthy of obfervation in Ulva, we took boat, and proceeded to Inchkenneth, where we were introduced by our friend Col to Sir Allan M'Lean, the Chief of his clan, and to two young ladies, his daughters. Inchkenneth is a pretty little ifland, a mile long, and about half a mile broad, all good land.

As we walked up from the fhore, Dr. Johnfon's heart was cheered by the fight of a road marked with cart-wheels, as on the main land; a thing which we had not feen for a long time. It gave us a pleasure fimilar to that which a traveller feels, when, whilft wandering on what he fears is a defert ifland, he perceives the print of human feet.

Military men acquire excellent habits of having all conveniencies about them. Sir Allan McLean, who had been long in the army, and had now a leafe of the island, had formed a commodious habitation, though it confifted but of a few small buildings, only one story high. He had, in his little apart

ments,

ments, more things than I could enumerate in a page or two.

Among other agreeable circumftances, it was not the leaft, to find here a parcel of the Caledonian Mercury, published fince we left Edinburgh; which I read with that pleasure which every man feels who has been for fome time fecluded from the animated fcenes of the bufy world."

Dr. Johnfon found books here. He bade me buy Bishop Gaftrell's Chriftian Institutes, which was lying in the room. He said, "I do not like to read any thing on a Sunday, but what is theological; not that I would scrupulously refuse to look at any thing which a friend fhould fhew me in a newspaper; but in general, I would read only what is theological. I read juft now fome of Drummond's Travels, before I perceived what books were here. I then took up Derham's Phyfico-Theology."

Every particular concerning this island having been fo well described by Dr. Johnson, it would be fuperfluous in me to prefent the publick with the observations that I made upon it, in my journal.

I was quite eafy with Sir Allan almost inftantaneously. He knew the great intimacy that had been between my father and his predeceffor, Sir Hector, and was himself of a very frank difpofition.—After dinner, Sir Allan faid he had got Dr. Campbell about an hundred fubfcribers to his Britannia Elucidata, (a work fince published under the title of A Political Survey of Great Britain,) of whom he believed twenty were dead, the publication having been fo long delayed.-Johnson. "Sir, I imagine the delay of publication is owing to this ;-that, after publication, there will be no more fubfcribers, and

few

few will fend the additional guinea to get their books in which they will be wrong; for there will be a great deal of inftruction in the work. I think highly of Campbell. In the first place, he has very good parts. In the fecond place, he has very extenfive reading; not, perhaps, what is properly called learning, but hiftory, politicks, and, in fhort, that popular knowledge which makes a man very useful. In the third place, he has learned much by what is called the vox viva. He talks with a great many people."

Speaking of this gentleman, at Rafay, he told us, that he one day called on him, and they talked of Tull's Husbandry. Dr. Campbell said something. Dr. Johnlon began to dispute it. "Come, faid Dr. Campbell, we do not want to get the better of one another: we want to encrease each other's ideas." Dr. Johnson took it in good part, and the converfation then went on coolly and inftructively.-His candour in relating this anecdote does him much credit, and his conduct on that occafion proves how eafily he could be perfuaded to talk from a better motive than "for victory."

Dr. Johnton here fhewed fo much of the spirit of a Highlander, that he won Sir Allan's heart: indeed, he has fhewn it during the whole of our Tour.-One night, in Col, he ftrutted about the room with a broad fword and target, and made a formidable appearance; and, another night, I took the liberty to put a large blue bonnet on his head. His age, his fize, and his bufhy grey wig, with this covering on it, prefented the image of a venerable Senachi: and, however unfavourable to the Lowland Scots, he feemed much pleated to affume the

appearance