unaccountable that the interior part, where the water must have operated with less force, should be loftier than that which is more immediately exposed to its violence.  The roof of it is all covered with a kind of petrifications formed by drops, which perpetually distil from it.  The first cave has been a place of much safety.  I find a great difficulty in describing visible objects[507].  I must own too that the old castle and cave, like many other things of which one hears much, did not answer my expectations.  People are every where apt to magnify the curiosities of their country.

This island has abundance of black cattle, sheep, and goats;—­a good many horses, which are used for ploughing, carrying out dung, and other works of husbandry.  I believe the people never ride.  There are indeed no roads through the island, unless a few detached beaten tracks deserve that name.  Most of the houses are upon the shore; so that all the people have little boats, and catch fish.  There is great plenty of potatoes here.  There are black-cock in extraordinary abundance, moorfowl, plover and wild pigeons, which seemed to me to be the same as we have in pigeon-houses, in their state of nature.  Rasay has no pigeon-house.  There are no hares nor rabbits in the island, nor was there ever known to be a fox[508], till last year, when one was landed on it by some malicious person, without whose aid he could not have got thither, as that animal is known to be a very bad swimmer.  He has done much mischief.  There is a great deal of fish caught in the sea round Rasay; it is a place where one may live in plenty, and even in luxury.  There are no deer; but Rasay told us he would get some.

They reckon it rains nine months in the year in this island, owing to its being directly opposite to the western[509] coast of Sky, where the watery clouds are broken by high mountains.  The hills here, and indeed all the heathy grounds in general, abound with the sweet-smelling plant which the Highlanders call gaul, and (I think) with dwarf juniper in many places.  There is enough of turf, which is their fuel, and it is thought there is a mine of coal.—­Such are the observations which I made upon the island of Rasay, upon comparing it with the description given by Martin, whose book we had with us.

There has been an ancient league between the families of Macdonald and Rasay.  Whenever the head of either family dies, his sword is given to the head of the other.  The present Rasay has the late Sir James Macdonald’s sword.  Old Rasay joined the Highland army in 1745, but prudently guarded against a forfeiture, by previously conveying his estate to the present gentleman, his eldest son[510].  On that occasion, Sir Alexander, father of the late Sir James Macdonald, was very friendly to his neighbour.  ‘Don’t be afraid, Rasay,’ said he; ’I’ll use all my interest to keep you safe; and if your estate should be taken, I’ll buy it for the family.’—­And he would have done it.