much difpofed to fear, may preferve fome degree of cheerfulness; but what must be the folicitude of him who fhould be wandering, among the craggs and hollows, benighted, ignorant, and alone?

The fictions of the Gothick romances were not fo remote froin credibility as they are now thought. In the full prevalence of the feudal institution, when violence defolated the world, and every baron lived in a fortress, forests and castles were regularly fucceeded by each other, and the adventurer might very fuddenly pafs from the gloom of woods, or the ruggednefs of moors, to feats of plenty, gaiety, and magnificence. Whatever is imaged in the wildeft tale, if giants, dragons, and enchantment be excepted, would be felt by him, who, wandering in the mountains without a guide, or upon the sea without a pilot, fhould be carried, amidst his terror and uncertainty, to the hospitality and elegance of Raafay or Dunvegan.

To Coriatachan at last we came, and found ourfelves welcomed as before. Here we staid two days, and made fuch inquirics as curiofity fuggefted. The house was filled with company, among whom Mr Macpherson and his fifter distinguished themselves by their politenefs and accomplishments. By him we were invited to Oftig, a house not far from Armidel, where we might eafily hear of a boat, when the weather would fuffer us to leave the island.

OSTIG

OSTIG IN SKY.

At Oftig, of which Mr Macpherson is minister, we were entertained for fome days, then removed to Armidel, where we finifhed our obfervations on the island of Sky.

As this ifland lies in the fifty-feventh degree, the air cannot be fupposed to have much warmth. The long continuance of the fun above the horizon does indeed fometimes produce a great heat in northern latitudes; but this can only happen in fheltered places, where the atmosphere is to a certain degree ftagnant, and the fame mass of air continues to receive for many hours the rays of the sun, and the vapours of the earth. Sky lies open on the weft and north to a vast extent of ocean, and is cooled in the fummer by perpetual ventilation, but by the fame blafts is kept warm in winter. Their weather is not pleating. Half the year is deluged with rain. From the autumnal to the vernal equinox, a dry day is hardly known, except when the fhowers are fufpended by a tempeft. Under fuch skies can be expected no great exuberance of vegetation. Their winter overtakes their fummer, and their harvest lies upon the ground drenched with rain. The autumn ftruggles hard to produce fome of our early fruits. I gathered goofeberries in September; but they were fmall, and the husk was thick.

Their winter is feldom fuch as puts a full stop to the growth of plants, or reduces the cattle to live wholly on the furplufage of the fummer. In 'the year feventy-one they had a fevere feafon, remembered by the name of the Black Spring, from which the island has not yet recovered. The fnow lay long upon the ground, a calamity hardly known before. Part of their cattle died for want, part were unfeasonably fold to buy fuftenance for the owners; and, what I have not read or heard of before, the kine that furvived were fo emaciated and difpirited, that they did not require the male at the usual time. Many of the roebucks perifhed.

The foil, as in other countries, has its diverfities. In fome parts there is only a thin layer of earth fpread upon a rock, which bears nothing but fhort brown heath, and perhaps is not generally capable of any better product. There are many bogs or moffes of greater or less extent, where the foil cannot be fuppofed to want depth, though it is too wet for the plough. But we did not' obferve in thefe any aquatick plants. The vallies and the mountains are alike darkened with heath. Some gráfs, however, grows here and there, and fome happier spots of earth are capable of tillage.

Their agriculture is laborious, and perhaps ra ther feeble than unfkilful. Their chief manure is fea-weed, which, when they lay it to rot upon the field, gives them a better crop than thofe of the

Highlands. They heap fea fhells upon the dunghill, which in time moulder into a fertilifing fubftance. When they find a vein of earth where they cannot use it, they dig it up, and add it to the mould of a more commodious place.

The corn grounds often lie in fuch intricacies that there is no room for the the craggs, among action of a team and plough. The foil is then turn ed up by manual labour, with an instrument called a crooked spade, of a form and weight which to me appeared very incommodious, and would perhaps be foon improved in a country where workmen could be eafily found and eafily paid. It has a narrow blade of iron fixed to a long and heavy piece of wood, which must have, about a foot and a half above, the iron, a knee or flexure with the angle downwards. When the farmer encounters a ftone which is the great impediment of his operations, he drives the blade under it, and bringing the knee or angle to the ground, has in the long handle a very forcible lever.

According to the different mode of tillage, farms are diftinguifhed into leng land and fhort land. Long land is that which affords room for a plough, and short land is turned up by the spade..

The grain which they commit to the furrows thus tediously formed, is either cats or barley. They do not fow barley without very copious manure, and then they expect from it ten for one, an increase equal to that of better countries; but the

.culture

culture is fo operofe that they content themfelves commonly with oats; and who can relate without compaffion, that after all their diligence they are to expect only a triple increafe? It is in vain to hope for plenty, when a third part of the harvest must be referved for feed..

When their grain is arrived at the state which they must confider as ripeness, they do not cit, but pull the barley, to the oats they apply the fickle. Wheel carriages they have none, but make a frame of timber, which is drawn by one horfe with the two points behind prefling on the ground. On this they fometimes drag home their fheaves, but often convey them home in a kind of open panier, or frame of flicks upon the horse's back,

Of that which is obtained with so much difficulty, nothing furely ought to be wafted; yet their method of clearing their oats from the hufk is by parching them in the fraw. Thus with the ge nuine improvidence of favages, they destroy that fodder for want of which their cattle may perish. From this practice they have two petty conveniencies. They dry the grain fo that it is eafily reduced to meal, and they efcape the theft of the thresher. The taste contracted from the fire by the oats, as by every other fcorched fubstance, use must long ago have made grateful. The oats that are not parched muft be dried in a kiln.

The barns of Sky I never faw. That which Macleod of Raafay had erected near his houfe was