him that it was rough and low, or looked as if I thought fo. This, faid he, is nothing to another a few miles off. I was ftill lefs delighted to hear that another tree was not to be feen nearer.. Nay, faid a gentleman that stood by, I know but. of this and that tree in the county.. The Lowlands of Scotland had once undoubt edly an equal portion of woods with other coun-tries. Forests are every where gradually dimi-nished, as architecture and cultivation prevail by the increase of people and the introduction of arts. But I believe few regions have been denuded like this, where many centuries must have passed in waste without the least thought of future fupply.. Davies obferves in his account of Ireland, that no Irishman had ever planted an orchard. For that negligence fome excuse might be drawn from an unsettled ftate of life, and the inftability of pro-perty; but in Scotland poffeffion has long been fecure, and inheritance regular, yet it may be doubted whether before the Union any Lowlander between Edinburgh and England had ever set a tree. Of this improvidence no other account can be given than that it probably began in times of tumult, and continued because it had begun. Eftablished custom is not easily broken, till fome great great event shakes the whole fyftem of things, and life feems to re-commence upon new principles. That before the union the Scots had little trade and little money, is no valid apology; for plantation is the least expensive of all methods of improvement. To drop a feed into the ground can coft nothing, and the trouble is not great of protecting the young plant, till it is out of danger; though it must be allowed to have some difficulty' in places like thefe, where they have neither wood for palifadoes, nor thorns for hedges. Our way was over the Firth of Tay, where, though the water was not wide, we paid four fhillings for ferrying the chaife. In Scotland the neceffaries of life are eafily procured, but fuperfluities and elegancies are of the fame price at leaft as in England, and therefore may be confidered as much dearer. We stopped a-while at Dundee, where I remember nothing remarkable, and mounting our chaise again, came about the clofe of the day to Aberbrothick. The monastery of Aberbrothick is of great renown in the history of Scotland. Its ruins afford ample testimony of its ancient magnificence: Its extent might, I fuppofe, easily be found by follow ing ing the walls among the grafs and weeds, and its height is known by some parts yet standing. The arch of one of the gates is entire, and of another only fo far dilapidated as to diversify the appearance. A fquare apartment of great loftinefs is yet standing; its use I could not conjecture, as its elevation was very difproportionate to its area. Two corner towers particularly attracted our attention. Mr. Bofwell, whofe inquifitiveness is feconded by great antiquity, fcrambled in at a high window, but found the stairs within broken, and could not reach the top. Of the other tower we were told that the inhabitants fometimes climbed it, but we did not immediately discern the entrance, and as the night was gathering upon us, thought proper to defift: Men skilled in architecture might do what we did not attempt: They might probably form an exact ground-plot of this venerable edifice.. They may, from fome parts yet ftanding conjecture its general form, and perhaps by comparing it with other buildings of the fame kind and the fame. age, attain an idea very near to truth. I fhould fcarcely have regretted my journey, had it afforded nothing more than the fight of Aberbrothick. MON MONTROSE. Leaving thefe fragments of magnificence, we travelled on to Montrofe, which we furveyed in the morning, and found it well built, airy, and clean. The town-house is a handsome fabric with a portico. We then went to view the Englifh chapel, and found a fmall church, clean to a degree unknown in any other part of Scotland, with commodious galleries, and what was yet less expected, with an organ. At our inn we did not find a reception fuch as we thought proportionate to the commercial opulence of the place; but Mr. Bofwell desired me to observe that the inn-keeper was an Englishman, and I then defended him as well as I could. When I had proceeded thus far, I had opportunities of observing what I had never heard, that there are many beggars in Scotland. In Edinburgh the proportion is, I think, not lefs than in London, and in the smaller places it is far greater than in English towns of the fame extent. It muft, however, be allowed that they are not importunate, nor clamarous. They folicit filently, or very modeftly, and therefore though their behaviour may ftrike with more force the heart of a ftranger, they are certainly in danger of miffing the the attention of their countrymen. Novelty has always fome power, an unaccustomed mode of begging excites an unaccustomed degree of pity. But the force of novelty is by its own nature foon at an end; the efficacy of outcry and perfeverance is permanent and certain. The road from Montrose exhibited a continuation of the fame appearances. The country is ftill naked, the hedges are of ftone, and the fields fo generally plowed that it is hard to imagine where grass is found for the horses that till them. The harvest, which was almost ripe, appeared very plentiful. Early in the afternoon Mr. Bofwell obferved that we were at no great diftance from the house of lord Monboddo. The magnetifm of his converfation easily drew us out of our way, and the. entertainment which we received would have been a fufficient recompence for a much greater deviation. The roads beyond Edinburgh, as they are lessfrequented, must be expected to grow gradually rougher; but they were hitherto by no means incommodious. We travelled on with the gentle pace of a Scotch driver, who having no rivals in expedition, neither gives himself nor his horfes unneceffary trouble. We did not affect the impatience we did not feel, but were satisfied with the |