Scotland/Scots > Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland

i74 A JOURNEY TO THE
We ftaid however fo long at T’alijker, that
a great part of our journey was performed
in the gloom of the evening. In travelling
even thus almofl without light thro’ naked
folitude, when there is a guide whofe con-
dudt may be trufled, a mind not naturally
too much difpofed to fear, may preferve
fome degree of cheerfulnefs ; but what
jnufl be the folicitude of him who fhould
be wandering, among the craggs and hoi*
lows, benighted, ignorant, and alone?
The fictions of the Gothic^ romances were
not fo remote from credibility as they are
now thought. In the full prevalence of
the feudal inftitution, when violence defo*
lated the world, and every baron lived in a
fortrefs, forefts and callles were regularly
fucceeded by each other, and the adventurer
might very fuddenly pafs from the gloom
of woods, or the ruggednefs of moors,
to feats of plenty, gaiety, and magnifi¬
cence. Whatever is imaged in the wildell
tale,