P r o p h e c y .
T r a g i c a l s t o r y .
pay, they madly fell themfelves for their paflage, preferrin©' .3!
temporary bondage in a ftrange land, to ftarving for life in theirl
native foil.
Every country has had its prophets : Greece its Cajfandra, R<mA
its Sibyls, England its Nixon, Wales its Robin Ddu, and the Highlands
their Kenneah Oaur. Kenneah long fince predifted the migrations in
thefe terms : ‘ Whenever a Mac-cleane with long hands, a Fraziim
x with- a black fpot on his face, a Mac-gregor with the fame on hi]
‘ knee, and a club-footed Mac-cleod, of Rafa, fliould 'have exiftedl
* whenever there ihould have been fucceffively three Mac-donaUsam
* the name of John, and thrte'Mac-kimons of the fame chriftian name]
* oppreffors would appear in the country, and the people changJ
‘ their own land for a ftrange one.’ The predidtions, fay the goo®
wives, have been fulfilled, and not a fingle breach in the oracular]
effufions of Kenneah Oaur.
In a country where ignorance and poverty prevale it rs le’fs won-]
derful that a tr-agical affair Ihould happen, fimilar to that at fringM
near our poliihed capital. About three years ago lived in this neigh®
borhood, a woman of more than common ftrength of underftanding*
ihe was often confuhed on the ordinary occurrences o f life, and*
obtained a fort of refpeft which excited the envy of another female*
in the fame diffridt. The laft gave out that her neighbor was!
a witch ; that ihe herfelf had a good Genius, and could coun-1
teradt the evils dreaded from the other : at length fhe fo workedl
on the weak minds of the iimple vulgar, that they determined!
on deftroying her rival, and effedted their purpofe by inftigatingl
a parcel of children to ftrangle her. The murder was inquired!
into, but the inciters had fo artfully concealed themfelves, that I
they!
¡hey efcaped their reward, and no puniihment was inflidled,
except what was fuited to the tender years of the deluded
children.
Jffynt pariih contains between three and four thoufand fouls ; and
[ f e n d s out five hundred head of cattle annually ; and about two or
three lafts of falmon are taken every year in the water of Innard, on
¡the coaft.
I I faw here a male and female red-throated diver; which convinces
me of my miftake in fuppofing another to have been of this
Ipecies *.
It was our defign, on leaving the ihip, to have penetrated by
[fend* as- far- as the extremity of the ifland , but we were informed
¡that'the way was impaffable for horfes, and that even an high-
j tod foot-meffenger muff avoid part o f the- hills by croffing an
arm of the fea. Return the fame road through a variety of bog
and hazardous rock, that nothing , but our fhoelefs little fteeds
tould have carried us over. A t length we arrive fafely on board
the ihip,.
A woncProus token
O f heaven’s kind care, with necks unbroken.
Found in our harbour fome buffes, juft anchored, in expefta-
tion of finding the ihoals o f herrings ufually.here at this fe'afon;
but at prefent were- difappointed : a few were taken, fufficient to
convince us of their fupenonty in goodnefs over thole of the South t
they were not larger, but as they had not wafted themfelves- by
J u l y 2 8 .
H e r r in g s .
* Br, Zool, m 41S