guished by the same name, and probably dedicated to the same purposes, such as Whitelaw, and Cocklaw, near Wooler, in Northumberland. Some etymologists have conjectured, that this name was given to hills, from the supposed practice of assembling, in ancient times, on their tops, for purposes of legislation; but the situation of all those so named, and the known use of some of them, most evidently point to the derivation, which I have above suggested. The great estuaries, or arms of the sea, formed at the mouths of the Scotch rivers, are called Firths. The Firth of Forth (the Bodotria of Tacitus, Vit. Agric. c. 23.), which we now entered, runs nearly fifty miles inland, and spreads at its opening to a breadth of fifteen; bounded on the south by Tamtallan, and on the north by Fife Ness. It is here studded with several islands, of which the largest is the isle of May, about five miles from the northern shore. An old writer* mentions a curious tradition, which may be worth quoting: By east the isle of May," says he, " twelve miles from all land in the Germayne seas, lyes a great hidden rock, called Inchcape, very dangerous for navigators,

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* See a Brief Description of Scotland, &c. by J. M. (probably Monypenny), A. D. 1633.

because it is overflowed everie tide. It is reported, in old times, upon the said rocke there was a bell, fixed upon a tree or timber, which rang continually, being moved by the sea, giving notice to the saylers of the danger. This bell or clocke was put there and maintained by the Abbot of Aberbrothok, and being taken down by a sea pirate, a yeare thereafter he perished upon the same rocke with ship and goods, in the righteous judgment of God."

Our course led us near the Bass, a vast and almost perpendicular rock, of considerable height, lying about a mile from the southern shore. This dreary spot has been fortified, the remains of some walls being yet visible. It is said to have afforded an asylum to some of the most resolute adherents of James II. who, after the Revolution of 1688, long lived by piratical excursions, until the loss of their only boat obliged them to surrender; nor was it merely rendered impregnable by its situation; but secured from want of water by a fresh spring flowing from its top. At present, it affords a scanty pasture to a few sheep; but its chief inhabitant is the Solan goose, a bird of passage, said to be found in no other part of Britain, except on the rocks of Ailsa, and St. Kilda. We observed them wheeling about in the air, alight

ing on the waves, and returning with their prey to the rock, which they whitened by their numbers, apparently but little disturbed by our approach. Between March and November, which is their time of stay, these birds are common in the Edinburgh markets, where for the last fifty years they have constantly sold at the same price. On our left, the Lothian shore presented the Castle of Tamtallan, a bold ruin, overhanging the sea, and backed by North Berwick Law.

Passing by the harbour of North Berwick, we beheld the opposite coast of Fife, richly gemmed with sea-ports, towns, and villas, and reminding us of King James's comparison of that county to a coarse coat, trimmed with a rich lace. Much as we lamented the want of sunshine to decorate and enli ven so beautiful a view, our regret was increased on entering Leith roads: here the rain allowed us only an outline—but such an outline! The city of Edinburgh appears enthroned in a royal seat. Placed on an eminence, and adorned with her castle, she is backed by the noble range of the Pentland mountains; close at hand, she is supported by Arthur's Seat, Salisbury Craigs, and the Calton Hill, descending in three successive steps; and below her, in front, the port of

Leith stretches far along the shore, its eastern extremity formed by the smoking glass-houses, and its centre by a pier, crowded with shipping. Near us, in the roads, were a number of larger vessels, and about midway across the Firth, we passed the rocky island of Inch Keith, which took its name from, or gave it to the noble family of Keith, created hereditary Earls Marshal of Scotland, A. D. 1010. From whom it passed, through different hands, to the Earl of Cromarty, who procured its annexation to that county, though situated at so great a distance. After taking on board a pilot, and waiting some time for a sufficient depth of water in the harbour of Leith, which is signified by hoisting a flag at the lighthouse, we entered it at three o'clock in the afternoon, and came immediately on shore.

SECTION II.

ARRIVAL IN SCOTLAND.

ON

'N landing at Leith, the novelty of dialect and appearance in the persons around us, though so fully expected, could not but strike us forcibly. The contrast which is presented upon arrival at a place by sea, is generally more powerful than when you travel by land. The boundary is strongly drawn by the hand of nature, and new images present themselves, without that gradual preparation, which must take place, where the limits are merely arbitrary and artificial, depending on human contrivance, and modified by accidental circumstances. All the passions, which such images bring with them, are likely to be heightened; but more especially those of disgust and dissatisfaction; for the painful emotions are nourished by a broken, disjointed state of feeling, as the pleasurable are by continuity and uninterrupted succession. Unfortunate is that traveller, who having his thoughts thus scattered in the outset, is prevented, in the subsequent part of his journey, from reunit