Mr. Davies endeavours to account for the notion of Lillo's diftreffed fortune; and here comes the anecdote, as intimated above. The Editor authenticates the ftory on the credit of Mr. Lillo's partner, from whom he learned it, viz. Toward the latter part of his life, Mr. Lillo, whether from judgment or humour, determined to put the fincerity of his friends, who profefled a very high regard for him, to a trial.

In order to carry on this defign, he put in practice an odd kind of ftratagem; he afked one of his intimate acquaintance to lend him a confiderable fum of money, and for this he declared that he would give no bond, nor any other fecurity, except a note of his hand; the person to whom he applied, not liking the terms, civilly refufed him.

Soon after, Lillo met his nephew, Mr. Underwood, with whom he had been at variance for fome time; he put the fame queftion to him, defiring him to lend him money upon the fame terms. His nephew, either from a fagacious apprehension of his uncle's real intention, or from generofity of fpirit, immediately offered to comply with his requeft. Lillo was fo well pleafed with this ready compliance of Mr. Underwood, that he immediately declared that he was fully fatisfied with the love and regard that his nephew bore him; he was convinced that his friendship was entirely difinterefted, and affured him that he fhould reap the benefit fuch generous behaviour deserved. In confequence of this promife, he bequeathed him the bulk of his fortune.

I should have obferved that Lillo was a Diffenter, but not of that four caft which diftinguishes fome of our fectaries.'

Mr. Lillo's dramatic performances were, 1. His celebrated, and very pathetic George Barnwell. 2. Sylvia, a Ballad Opera: this was his first production; and the prefent Editor fays, it was one of the best pieces which had then (1730) appeared in imitation of the Beggar's Opera. 3. The Chriftian Hero, a tragedy; drawn from the Turkish Hiftory: the hero Scanderbeg. 4. The Fatal Curiofity, a tragedy. 5. Marina, a tragedy: an alteration of Shakespeare's Pericles Prince of Tyre. 6. Elmeric, a tragedy. 7. Britannia and Batavia*, a masque; on the marriage of the prince of Orange with the princess royal of England. 8. Arden of Feverfham; not aćted till more than 20 years after the Author's death: fee Review, vol. xxviii. for the year 1762, p. 473.

G

appears that besides the ellate of 601. per annum bequeathed to Under-wood the father, fubject to certain payments to different perfons, he died poffeffed of feveral effects by no means inconfiderable.

The Editor has inadvertently referred the occasion of this mafque to the marriage of the late prince of Wales, with the princefs of Saxe Gotha. A mistake which, we hope, he will have an opportunity of correcting in a future edition. We

We cannot better fum up the merits of this writer as a moralift, than in the Editor's words: A love of truth, innocence and virtue, a firm refignation to the will of Providence, and a deteftation of vice and falfehood, are conftantly infifted upon, and ftrongly inculcated in all the compofitions of honeft Lillo.'

ART. XV. A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland.

Boards. Cadell. 1775.

8vo. 5 S..

COTLAND feems to be daily fo much increasing in confideration with her fifter-kingdom, that tours to the Highlands, and voyages to the ifles, will poffibly become the fashionable routes of our virtuofi, and those who travel for mere amusement. Mr. Pennant has led the way; Dr. Johnfon has followed; and with fuch precurfors, and the fanction of such examples, what man of spirit and curiofity will forbear to explore these remote parts of our island, with her territorial appendages, of which, indeed, and of the public advantages which might be derived from them, we have hitherto been shamefully ignorant.

Dr. Johnfon's book may be regarded as a valuable supplement to Mr. Pennant's two accounts of his northern expeditions, the more properly fupplemental, as it is a very different performance, on the fame fubject; both Writers concurring in the general representation, where the track in which they proceed, and the fubjects they view, happen to be the fame (which is not very frequently the cafe) and difagreeing in no circumstance of importance.

Mr. Pennant travels, chiefly, in the character of the naturalift and antiquary; Dr. Johnfon in that of the moralift and obferver of men and manners. The former describes whatever is remarkable in the face of the country-the extraordinary productions of Nature-the ruins, the relics, and the monuments of past times; the latter gives us his observations on the common appearances and productions of the foil and climate, with the customs and characteristics of the inhabitants, juft as particulars and circumftances chanced to present themselves to his notice. The ingenious Cambrian delights in painting sublime fcenes, and pleasing pictures; while the learned English Rambler feems rather to confine his views to the naked truth,-to moralize on the occurrences of his journey, and to illuftrate the characters and fituation of the people whom he vifited, by the fagacity of remark, and the profundity of reflection.

None of those who have the pleasure of a perfonal acquaintance with Dr. Johnfon, will fuppofe that he fet out with many prejudices in favour of that country. With what opinion of it he returned, will be feen from the extracts we fhall give from his obfervations.

He

He begins with informing us, that he had defired to vifit the Hebrides, fo long, fays he, that I scarcely remember how the with was originally excited; and was, in the autumn of the year 1773, induced to undertake the journey, by finding in Mr. Bofwell a companion, whofe acuteness would help my inquiry, and whofe gaiety of conversation and civility of manners are fufficient to counteract the inconveniences of travel, in countries lefs hofpitable than we have paffed.'

*

The learned Traveller relates no occurrences of his journey from London to Edinburgh. His itinerary, therefore, commences with his departure from the capital of North Britain; which was on the 18th of Auguft; somewhat too late in the feafon, furely, for a tour in that country, and a voyage in those feas, in which no man, we believe, ever thought of taking a journey of pleasure in the winter. In this respect Mr. Pennant, the year before, had greatly the advantage of our Author; for he wifely took his departure in the early and delightful month of May; with the reasonable expectation of having only fairweather difficulties to encounter.

Croffing the Frith of Forth, the curiofity of our Travellers was attracted by Inch Keith; a small island, of which, on examination, Dr. Johnson had little to remark, except,-in his peculiar manner,- that it was not wholly bare of grafs, and very fertile of thiftles."

The first place of note that excited the Doctor's particular attention, was the city and university of St. Andrews; where our Travellers were gratified by every mode of kindness, and entertained with all the elegance of lettered hofpitality.' He gives an ample account of this once flourishing archiepifcopal city; pathetically laments its decay; and quits it with a declaration perfectly in character, from a man of our Author's great fenfibility, and well known zeal for the honours and interefts of religion and learning: the kindness of the profeffors, fays he, did not contribute to abate the uneafy remembrance of an univerfity declining, a college alienated, and a church profaned † and hastening to the ground.' t

Author of a Tour to Corfica, with Memoirs of Paoli, and other ingenious performances: fee Review, vol. xxxix. p. 43.

+ The profanation here alluded to, is that of the chapel of St. Leonard's college. This college (one of three, of which the univerfity formerly confifted) is now diffolved by the sale of its buildings and the appropriation of its revenues to the Profeffors of the two others. The chapel of the alienated college is yet ftanding, and is converted into a greenhouse. Our Author obferves that the plants do not hitherto profper; and we imagine the pious Doctor was at no lofs for the reafon.

From

From St. Andrews we attend our Author along a dreary, defart, tree-less and joyless way, through Dundee, to Aberbrothwick; where was a monaftery of great renown in the hiftory of Scotland: and its ruins afford ample teftimony of its ancient magnificence.' A brief description of them is given, and Dr. Johníon declares, that he fhould fcarcely have regretted his journey, had it afforded nothing more than the fight of Aberbrothwick.

Proceed to Montrose; a well-built town. The English chapel there afforded a two:old curiofity, in Scotland: it was clean, and it had an organ. The Scots, though a very religious people, are faid to be remarkably negligent of their churches, in refpect to cleanliness: of which even Mr. Pennant, if we rightly remember, has taken notice, notwithstanding his general complaifance to the country.

Arrive at Aberdeen. This flourishing city is described; and in its univerfity our travellers met with the fame kind and honourable reception as at St. Andrews: Dr. Johnson was honoured with the freedom of the city.

From Aberdeen they proceeded to Slaines caftle, and visited the famous Bullers of Buchan. This laft is a natural curiofity; and is extremely well defcribed by our Author. There is alfo a defcription of it in Mr. Pennant's first Tour.

Bamf is next vifited; and, in progreffive order, Elgin, Fores, Calder, Fort-George, and Inverness. At this laft mentioned place, the Author emphatically fays, we were now to bid farewell to the luxury of travelling, [the post-chaise] and to enter a country upon which, perhaps, no wheel has ever rolled.' -Here, therefore, they procured horfes and guides; and on the thirteenth of Auguft,' (mifprinted, we fuppofe, for thirtieth,) directed their courfe toward Fort-Auguftus; to which they had a pleasant day's journey, by the fide of Loch-Nefs: the road fine, and the profpect romantic and delightful. Our Author, in defcribing this celebrated piece of water, defcants on its fuppofed extraordinary quality, by which it is faid to enjoy an exemption from freezing; and, as natural history is now one of the favourite ftudies of the Scottish nation,' he recommends Loch Ness to their diligent examination.

Here they met with the firft Highland but they had observed; ' and as our bufinefs, fays the Author, was with life and manners, we were willing to vifit it.' The conftruction of an hut is thus defcribed:

* See a particular defcription of this noble Lough, and the profpects of the country on both fides of it, copied from Mr. Pennant, in our Review, vol. xlvi. p. 150—151.

"A hut

A hut is conftructed with loofe ftones, ranged for the moft part with fome tendency to circularity. It must be placed where the wind cannot act upon it with violence, because it has no cement; and where the water will run eafily away, because it has no floor but the naked ground. The wall, which is commonly about fix feet high, declines from the perpendicular a little inward. Such rafters as can be procured are then raised for a roof, and covered with heath, which makes a strong and warm thatch, kept from flying off by ropes of twisted heath, of which the ends, reaching from the center of the thatch to the top of the wall, are held firm by the weight of a large ftone. No light is admitted but at the entrance, and through a hole in the thatch, which gives vent to the fimoke. This hole is not directly over the fire, left the rain fhould extinguish it; and the smoke therefore naturally fills the place before it escapes. Such is the general structure of the houses in which one of the nations of this opulent and powerful ifland has been hitherto content to live. Huts however are not more uniform than palaces; and this which we were infpecting was very far from one of the meaneft, for it was divided into feveral apartments; and its inhabitants poffeffed fuch property as a paftoral poet might exalt into riches.

When we entered, we found an old woman boiling goatsflesh in a kettle. She fpoke little English, but we had interpreters at hand; and fhe was willing enough to display her whole fyftem of economy. She has five children, of which none are yet gone from her. The eldeft, a boy of thirteen, and her husband, who is eighty years old, were at work in the wood. Her two next fons were gone to Inverness to buy meal, by which oatmeal is always meant. Meal the confidered as expenfive food, and told us, that in fpring, when the goats gave milk, the children could live without it. She is mistress of fixty goats, and I faw many kids in an enclosure at the end of her house. She had also fome poultry. By the lake we saw a potatoe-garden, and a small spot of ground on which stood four fhucks, containing each twelve fheaves of barley. She has all this from the labour of their own hands, and for what is neceffary to be bought, her kids and her chickens are fent to market.

With the true paftoral hofpitality, fhe afked us to fit down and drink whisky. She is religious, and though the kirk is four miles off, probably eight English miles, he goes thither every Sunday. We gave her a fhilling, and the begged fnuff; for fnuff is the luxury of a Highland cottage.'

In another place, in defcribing the islands, with the manners and cuftoms of their inhabitants, our Author gives a farther account of the but, as diftinguifhed from the house.

• The