TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7.Dr. Johnson was much pleased with his entertainment here. There weremany good books in the house: _Hector Boethius_ in Latin; Cave's _Livesof the Fathers_; Baker's _Chronicle_; Jeremy Collier's _Church History_;Dr. Johnson's small _Dictionary_; Craufurd's _Officers of State_, andseveral more[473]:--a mezzotinto of Mrs. Brooks the actress (by somestrange chance in Sky[474]), and also a print of Macdonald ofClanranald[475], with a Latin inscription about the cruelties after thebattle of Culloden, which will never be forgotten.It was a very wet stormy day; we were therefore obliged to remain here,it being impossible to cross the sea to Rasay.I employed a part of the forenoon in writing this Journal. The rest ofit was somewhat dreary, from the gloominess of the weather, and theuncertain state which we were in, as we could not tell but it mightclear up every hour. Nothing is more painful to the mind than a state ofsuspence, especially when it depends upon the weather, concerning whichthere can be so little calculation. As Dr. Johnson said of our wearinesson the Monday at Aberdeen, 'Sensation is sensation[476]:'Corrichatachin, which was last night a hospitable house, was, in mymind, changed to-day into a prison. After dinner I read some of Dr.Macpherson's _Dissertations on the Ancient Caledonians_[477]. I wasdisgusted by the unsatisfactory conjectures as to antiquity, before thedays of record. I was happy when tea came. Such, I take it, is the stateof those who live in the country. Meals are wished for from the cravingsof vacuity of mind, as well as from the desire of eating. I was hurt tofind even such a temporary feebleness, and that I was so far from beingthat robust wise man who is sufficient for his own happiness. I felt akind of lethargy of indolence. I did not exert myself to get Dr. Johnsonto talk, that I might not have the labour of writing down hisconversation. He enquired here if there were any remains of the secondsight[478]. Mr. M'Pherson, Minister of Slate, said, he was _resolved_not to believe it, because it was founded on no principle[479]. JOHNSON.'There are many things then, which we are sure are true, that you willnot believe. What principle is there, why a loadstone attracts iron? whyan egg produces a chicken by heat? why a tree grows upwards, when thenatural tendency of all things is downwards? Sir, it depends upon thedegree of evidence that you have.' Young Mr. M'Kinnon mentioned oneM'Kenzie, who is still alive, who had often fainted in his presence, andwhen he recovered, mentioned visions which had been presented to him. Hetold Mr. M'Kinnon, that at such a place he should meet a funeral, andthat such and such people would be the bearers, naming four; and threeweeks afterwards he saw what M'Kenzie had predicted. The naming the veryspot in a country where a funeral comes a long way, and the very peopleas bearers, when there are so many out of whom a choice may be made,seems extraordinary. We should have sent for M'Kenzie, had we not beeninformed that he could speak no English. Besides, the facts were notrelated with sufficient accuracy.Mrs. M'Kinnon, who is a daughter of old Kingsburgh, told us that herfather was one day riding in Sky, and some women, who were at work in afield on the side of the road, said to him they had heard two _taiscks_,(that is, two voices of persons about to die[480],) and what wasremarkable, one of them was an _English taisck_, which they never heardbefore. When he returned, he at that very place met two funerals, andone of them was that of a woman who had come from the main land, andcould speak only English. This, she remarked, made a great impressionupon her father.How all the people here were lodged, I know not. It was partly done byseparating man and wife, and putting a number of men in one room, and ofwomen in another.WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8.When I waked, the rain was much heavier than yesterday; but the wind hadabated. By breakfast, the day was better, and in a little while it wascalm and clear. I felt my spirits much elated. The propriety of theexpression, '_the sunshine of the breast_[481],' now struck me withpeculiar force; for the brilliant rays penetrated into my very soul. Wewere all in better humour than before. Mrs. M'Kinnon, with unaffectedhospitality and politeness, expressed her happiness in having suchcompany in her house, and appeared to understand and relish Dr.Johnson's conversation, as indeed all the company seemed to do. When Iknew she was old Kingsburgh's daughter, I did not wonder at the goodappearance which she made.She talked as if her husband and family would emigrate, rather than beoppressed by their landlord; and said, 'how agreeable would it be, ifthese gentlemen should come in upon us when we are in America.' Somebodyobserved that Sir Alexander Macdonald was always frightened at sea.JOHNSON. '_He_ is frightened at sea; and his tenants are frightened whenhe comes to land.'We resolved to set out directly after breakfast. We had about two milesto ride to the sea-side, and there we expected to get one of the boatsbelonging to the fleet of bounty[482] herring-busses then on the coast,or at least a good country fishing-boat. But while we were preparing toset out, there arrived a man with the following card from the ReverendMr. Donald M'Queen:--'Mr. M'Queen's compliments to Mr. Boswell, and begs leave to acquainthim that, fearing the want of a proper boat, as much as the rain ofyesterday, might have caused a stop, he is now at Skianwden withMacgillichallum's[483] carriage, to convey him and Dr. Johnson to Rasay,where they will meet with a most hearty welcome, and where. Macleod,being on a visit, now attends their motions.' 'Wednesday afternoon.'This card was most agreeable; it was a prologue to that hospitable andtruly polite reception which we found at Rasay. In a little whilearrived Mr. Donald M'Queen himself; a decent minister, an elderly manwith his own black hair, courteous, and rather slow of speech, butcandid, sensible, and well informed, nay learned. Along with him came,as our pilot, a gentleman whom I had a great desire to see, Mr. MalcolmMacleod, one of the Rasay family, celebrated in the year 1745-6. He wasnow sixty-two years of age, hale, and well proportioned,--with a manlycountenance, tanned by the weather, yet having a ruddiness in hischeeks, over a great part of which his rough beard extended. His eye wasquick and lively, yet his look was not fierce, but he appeared at oncefirm and good-humoured. He wore a pair of brogues[484],--Tartan hosewhich came up only near to his knees, and left them bare,--a purplecamblet kilt[485],--a black waistcoat,--a short green cloth coat boundwith gold cord,--a yellowish bushy wig,--a large blue bonnet with a goldthread button. I never saw a figure that gave a more perfectrepresentation of a Highland gentleman. I wished much to have a pictureof him just as he was. I found him frank and _polite_, in the true senseof the word.The good family at Corrichatachin said, they hoped to see us on ourreturn. We rode down to the shore; but Malcolm walked withgraceful agility.We got into Rasay's _carriage_, which was a good strong open boat madein Norway. The wind had now risen pretty high, and was against us; butwe had four stout rowers, particularly a Macleod, a robust black-hairedfellow, half naked, and bare-headed, something between a wild Indian andan English tar. Dr. Johnson sat high, on the stern, like a magnificentTriton. Malcolm sung an Erse song, the chorus of which was '_Hatyin foamfoam eri_', with words of his own[486]. The tune resembled '_Owr themuir amang the heather_'. The boatmen and Mr. M'Queen chorused, and allwent well. At length Malcolm himself took an oar, and rowed vigorously.We sailed along the coast of Scalpa, a rugged island, about four milesin length. Dr. Johnson proposed that he and I should buy it, and found agood school, and an episcopal church, (Malcolm[487] said, he would cometo it,) and have a printing-press, where he would print all the Ersethat could be found. Here I was strongly struck with our longprojected scheme of visiting the Hebrides being realized[488]. I calledto him, 'We are contending with seas;' which I think were the words ofone of his letters to me[489]. 'Not much,' said he; and though the windmade the sea lash considerably upon us, he was not discomposed. After wewere out of the shelter of Scalpa, and in the sound between it andRasay, which extended about a league, the wind made the sea veryrough[490]. I did not like it. JOHNSON. 'This now is the Atlantick. If Ishould tell at a tea table in London, that I have crossed the Atlantickin an open boat, how they'd shudder, and what a fool they'd think me toexpose myself to such danger?' He then repeated Horace's ode,--'Otium Divos rogat in patentiPrensus Aegaeo----[491]'In the confusion and hurry of this boisterous sail, Dr. Johnson's spurs,of which Joseph had charge, were carried over-board into the sea, andlost[492]. This was the first misfortune that had befallen us. Dr.Johnson was a little angry at first, observing that 'there was somethingwild in letting a pair of spurs be carried into the sea out of a boat;'but then he remarked, 'that, as Janes the naturalist had said uponlosing his pocket-book, it was rather an inconvenience than a loss.' Hetold us, he now recollected that he dreamt the night before, that he puthis staff into a river, and chanced to let it go, and it was carrieddown the stream and lost. 'So now you see, (said he,) that I have lostmy spurs; and this story is better than many of those which we haveconcerning second sight and dreams.' Mr. M'Queen said he did not believethe second sight; that he never met with any well attested instances;and if he should, he should impute them to chance; because all whopretend to that quality often fail in their predictions, though theytake a great scope, and sometimes interpret literally, sometimesfiguratively, so as to suit the events. He told us, that, since he cameto be minister of the parish where he now is, the belief of witchcraft,or charms, was very common, insomuch that he had many prosecutionsbefore his _session_ (the parochial ecclesiastical court) against women,for having by these means carried off the milk from people's cows. Hedisregarded them; and there is not now the least vestige of thatsuperstition. He preached against it; and in order to give a strongproof to the people that there was nothing in it, he said from thepulpit that every woman in the parish was welcome to take the milk fromhis cows, provided she did not touch them[493].Dr. Johnson asked him as to _Fingal_. He said he could repeat somepassages in the original, that he heard his grandfather had a copy ofit; but that he could not affirm that Ossian composed all that poem asit is now published. This came pretty much to what Dr. Johnson hadmaintained[494]; though he goes farther, and contends that it is nobetter than such an epick poem as he could make from the song of RobinHood[495]; that is to say, that, except a few passages, there is nothingtruly ancient but the names and some vague traditions. Mr. M'Queenalleged that Homer was made up of detached fragments. Dr. Johnson deniedthis; observing, that it had been one work originally, and that youcould not put a book of the _Iliad_ out of its place; and he believedthe same might be said of the _Odyssey_.The approach to Rasay was very pleasing. We saw before us a beautifulbay, well defended by a rocky coast; a good family mansion; a fineverdure about it,--with a considerable number of trees;--and beyond ithills and mountains in gradation of wildness. Our boatmen sung withgreat spirit. Dr. Johnson observed, that naval musick was very ancient.As we came near the shore, the singing of our rowers was succeeded bythat of reapers, who were busy at work, and who seemed to shout as muchas to sing, while they worked with a bounding activity[496]. Just as welanded, I observed a cross, or rather the ruins of one, upon a rock,which had to me a pleasing vestige of religion. I perceived a largecompany coming out from the house. We met them as we walked up. Therewere Rasay himself; his brother Dr. Macleod; his nephew the Laird ofM'Kinnon; the Laird of Macleod; Colonel Macleod of Talisker, an officerin the Dutch service, a very genteel man, and a faithful branch of thefamily; Mr. Macleod of Muiravenside, best known by the name of SandieMacleod, who was long in exile on account of the part which he took in1745; and several other persons. We were welcomed upon the green, andconducted into the house, where we were introduced to Lady Rasay, whowas surrounded by a numerous family, consisting of three sons and tendaughters. The Laird of Rasay is a sensible, polite, and most hospitablegentleman. I was told that his island of Rasay, and that of Rona, (fromwhich the eldest son of the family has his title,) and a considerableextent of land which he has in Sky, do not altogether yield him a verylarge revenue[497]: and yet he lives in great splendour; and so far ishe from distressing his people, that, in the present rage foremigration, not a man has left his estate. It was past six o'clockwhen we arrived. Some excellent brandy was served round immediately,according to the custom of the Highlands, where a dram is generallytaken every day. They call it a _scalch_[498]. On a side-board wasplaced for us, who had come off the sea, a substantial dinner, and avariety of wines. Then we had coffee and tea. I observed in the roomseveral elegantly bound books, and other marks of improved life. Soonafterwards a fidler appeared, and a little ball began. Rasay himselfdanced with as much spirit as any man, and Malcolm bounded like a roe.Sandie Macleod, who has at times an excessive flow of spirits, and hadit now, was, in his days of absconding, known by the name of_M'Cruslick_[499], which it seems was the designation of a kind ofwild man in the Highlands, something between Proteus and Don Quixote;and so he was called here. He made much jovial noise. Dr. Johnson was sodelighted with this scene, that he said, 'I know not how we shall getaway.' It entertained me to observe him sitting by, while we danced,sometimes in deep meditation,--sometimes smiling complacently,--sometimeslooking upon Hooke's _Roman History_,--and sometimes talking alittle, amidst the noise of the ball, to Mr. Donald M'Queen, whoanxiously gathered knowledge from him. He was pleased with M'Queen, andsaid to me, 'This is a critical man, Sir. There must be great vigour ofmind to make him cultivate learning so much in the isle of Sky, wherehe might do without it. It is wonderful how many of the new publicationshe has. There must be a snatch of every opportunity.' Mr. M'Queen toldme that his brother (who is the fourth generation of the familyfollowing each other as ministers of the parish of Snizort,) and hejoined together, and bought from time to time such books as hadreputation. Soon after we came in, a black cock and grey hen, which hadbeen shot, were shewn, with their feathers on, to Dr. Johnson, who hadnever seen that species of bird before. We had a company of thirty atsupper; and all was good humour and gaiety, without intemperance.THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9.At breakfast this morning, among a profusion of other things, there wereoat-cakes, made of what is called _graddaned_ meal, that is, meal madeof grain separated from the husks, and toasted by fire, instead of beingthreshed and kiln-dried. This seems to be bad management, as so muchfodder is consumed by it. Mr. M'Queen however defended it, by saying,that it is doing the thing much quicker, as one operation effects whatis otherwise done by two. His chief reason however was, that theservants in Sky are, according to him, a faithless pack, and steal whatthey can; so that much is saved by the corn passing but once throughtheir hands, as at each time they pilfer some. It appears to me, thatthe gradaning is a strong proof of the laziness of the Highlanders, whowill rather make fire act for them, at the expence of fodder, thanlabour themselves. There was also, what I cannot help disliking atbreakfast, cheese: it is the custom over all the Highlands to have it;and it often smells very strong, and poisons to a certain degree theelegance of an Indian repast[500]. The day was showery; however, Rasayand I took a walk, and had some cordial conversation. I conceived a morethan ordinary regard for this worthy gentleman. His family has possessedthis island above four hundred years[501]. It is the remains of theestate of Macleod of Lewis, whom he represents. When we returned, Dr.Johnson walked with us to see the old chapel. He was in fine spirits. Hesaid,' This is truly the patriarchal life: this is what we came tofind.' After dinner, M'Cruslick, Malcolm, and I, went out with guns,to try if we could find any black-cock; but we had no sport, owing to aheavy rain. I saw here what is called a Danish fort. Our evening waspassed as last night was. One of our company, I was told, had hurthimself by too much study, particularly of infidel metaphysicians; ofwhich he gave a proof, on second sight being mentioned. He immediatelyretailed some of the fallacious arguments of Voltaire and Hume againstmiracles in general. Infidelity in a Highland gentleman appeared to mepeculiarly offensive. I was sorry for him, as he had otherwise a goodcharacter. I told Dr. Johnson that he had studied himself intoinfidelity. JOHNSON. 'Then he must study himself out of it again. Thatis the way. Drinking largely will sober him again.'FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10.Having resolved to explore the Island of Rasay, which could be done onlyon foot, I last night obtained my fellow-traveller's permission to leavehim for a day, he being unable to take so hardy a walk. Old Mr. MalcolmM'Cleod, who had obligingly promised to accompany me, was at my bed-sidebetween five and six. I sprang up immediately, and he and I, attended bytwo other gentlemen, traversed the country during the whole of this day.Though we had passed over not less than four-and-twenty miles of veryrugged ground, and had a Highland dance on the top of _Dun Can_, thehighest mountain in the island, we returned in the evening not at allfatigued, and piqued ourselves at not being outdone at the nightly ballby our less active friends, who had remained at home.My survey of Rasay did not furnish much which can interest my readers; Ishall therefore put into as short a compass as I can, the observationsupon it, which I find registered in my journal. It is about fifteenEnglish miles long, and four broad. On the south side is the laird'sfamily seat, situated on a pleasing low spot. The old tower of threestories, mentioned by Martin, was taken down soon after 1746, and amodern house supplies its place. There are very good grass-fields andcorn-lands about it, well-dressed. I observed, however, hardly anyinclosures, except a good garden plentifully stocked with vegetables,and strawberries, raspberries, currants, &c.On one of the rocks just where we landed, which are not high, there isrudely carved a square, with a crucifix in the middle. Here, it is said,the Lairds of Rasay, in old times, used to offer up their devotions. Icould not approach the spot, without a grateful recollection of theevent commemorated by this symbol.A little from the shore, westward, is a kind of subterraneous house.There has been a natural fissure, or separation of the rock, runningtowards the sea, which has been roofed over with long stones, and abovethem turf has been laid. In that place the inhabitants used to keeptheir oars. There are a number of trees near the house, which grow well;some of them of a pretty good size. They are mostly plane and ash. Alittle to the west of the house is an old ruinous chapel, unroofed,which never has been very curious. We here saw some human bones of anuncommon size. There was a heel-bone, in particular, which Dr. Macleodsaid was such, that if the foot was in proportion, it must have beentwenty-seven inches long. Dr. Johnson would not look at the bones. Hestarted back from them with a striking appearance of horrour[502]. Mr.M'Queen told us it was formerly much the custom, in these isles, to havehuman bones lying above ground, especially in the windows of churches.On the south of the chapel is the family burying-place. Above the door,on the east end of it, is a small bust or image of the Virgin Mary,carved upon a stone which makes part of the wall. There is no churchupon the island. It is annexed to one of the parishes of Sky; and theminister comes and preaches either in Rasay's house, or some otherhouse, on certain Sundays. I could not but value the family seat more,for having even the ruins of a chapel close to it. There was somethingcomfortable in the thought of being so near a piece of consecratedground.[503] Dr. Johnson said, 'I look with reverence upon every placethat has been set apart for religion;' and he kept off his hat while hewas within the walls of the chapel[504].The eight crosses, which Martin mentions as pyramids for deceasedladies, stood in a semicircular line, which contained within it thechapel. They marked out the boundaries of the sacred territory withinwhich an asylum was to be had. One of them, which we observed upon ourlanding, made the first point of the semicircle. There are few of themnow remaining. A good way farther north, there is a row of buildingsabout four feet high; they run from the shore on the east along the topof a pretty high eminence, and so down to the shore on the west, in muchthe same direction with the crosses. Rasay took them to be the marks forthe asylum; but Malcolm thought them to be false sentinels, a commondeception, of which instances occur in Martin, to make invaders imaginean island better guarded. Mr. Donald M'Queen, justly in my opinion,supposed the crosses which form the inner circle to be the church'sland-marks.The south end of the island is much covered with large stones or rockystrata. The laird has enclosed and planted part of it with firs, and heshewed me a considerable space marked out for additional plantations._Dun Can_ is a mountain three computed miles from the laird's house. Theascent to it is by consecutive risings, if that expression may be usedwhen vallies intervene, so that there is but a short rise at once; butit is certainly very high above the sea. The palm of altitude isdisputed for by the people of Rasay and those of Sky; the formercontending for Dun Can, the latter for the mountains in Sky, overagainst it. We went up the east side of Dun Can pretty easily. It ismostly rocks all around, the points of which hem the summit of it.Sailors, to whom it was a good object as they pass along, call itRasay's cap. Before we reached this mountain, we passed by two lakes. Ofthe first, Malcolm told me a strange fabulous tradition. He said, therewas a wild beast in it, a sea horse, which came and devoured a man'sdaughter; upon which the man lighted a great fire, and had a sow roastedat it, the smell of which attracted the monster. In the fire was put aspit. The man lay concealed behind a low wall of loose stones, and hehad an avenue formed for the monster, with two rows of large flatstones, which extended from the fire over the summit of the hill, tillit reached the side of the loch. The monster came, and the man with thered-hot spit destroyed it. Malcolm shewed me the little hiding-place,and the rows of stones. He did not laugh when he told this story. Irecollect having seen in the _Scots Magazine_, several years ago, a poemupon a similar tale, perhaps the same, translated from the Erse, orIrish, called _Albin and the Daughter of Mey_.There is a large tract of land, possessed as a common, in Rasay. Theyhave no regulations as to the number of cattle. Every man puts upon itas many as he chooses. From Dun Can northward, till you reach the otherend of the island, there is much good natural pasture unincumbered by