Letter

Dear Sir

I made a return to your former Letter some weeks ago And the Last remained in the Office for Some ^days Longer than it ought Else you had heard from Me Sooner. I cannot but congratulate with the Public, in your being possessed of a Talent to work up Even small matters into Importance And dress them in the mos agreeable colors — I wish with all my heart, you may Enjoy Long Life & health to do honor And give further Satisfaction to your Countrey.

I am with real Esteem Dr Sir
Your very Obedient And very humble sevt,

Don: Macqueen

Kilmuir May the 4^th
1774.

An Anecdote.

If Tradition is to be credited this Prophecy was banged up And carefully propagated on the Setlement of Columba at his favourite Island of Hi, in order to draw the Religious from Every Neighbourhood to Associate with him in it, "That Seven years before the Conflagration; the western Ocean woud Overflow all Islands in one Nights time, And that over the green And pleasant Isle, the Hi of Columb the Clerk, would Swim on the surface of the Waters.²

This Prophecy which runs in metre soon made it's way And among an Ignorant superstitious people, produced more than the desired Effect, for the Notion Which was Spread of the distinguished Sanctity of the Island was Surely the Cause why Kings, princes & great men made choice of it for their Burial place. It is not to be doubted that this Prophecy might work the better, the Manufacturer of it brought the Conflagration close within View And gave out that this great Catastrophe was to happen in that Generation or in the next; Which is the Less Surprizing that in all Nations as far As our Histories reach, it was a mighty Engine in the hands of Monks, Phylosophers & Poets to work their Purposes into the hearts of Men. The Monks put it So close home to their Votaries, that in Several of the Charters granted to them are these words — adventante Mundi Vespers — the Evening of the world being at hand, I make over these Lands for the Salvation of my own Soul And the Souls of My Relations And if it be so that the Dance called the Conflagration Which I mentioned in my Last³ was Druidical there was a good Enough foundation in the minds of the people of Every denomination for the Reception of the Above Prophecy And it appears from the History of Columba that his mind was well Enough turned for Useing Every Art which tended to Produce the Reformation of Mankind.

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Enclosure

Corrigenda

In stead of three page 295 Line the 11^th. read free. Refer to Torfæus p.37 rather than 36. Ugg may, for ought I know, have some connection with Uggerūs, a poet of whom there is no mention in the 193^dp. of my coppy of Torfaeūs.¹ In our Language however, Uig is a dark hollow and Wick in Suther Land is of the same ^name And Situation. Page 303 Line 20^th. you are right in calling Dun-tuilm, the Castle of the round Grassy Eminence, but you might have Observed that it derived its name from the Rocky Island yoū mention two Lines two Lines [sic] below, properly Holme, which is an Island on the Sea ^near the Coast As well As in a River, of which there are Several Instances in these Islands. If the old name of Durham which the Romans of Your Country Latinized, Musically Enough, into Dunelmūm was to be pronounced in Erse it would be no Other than Dun-tuilm. Page 304 Line 2^d. instead of Chock read cnock.

You will need review the third paragraph of the 306^thp. The Number of Inhabitants within the bounds of the Presbytery of Sky may be something 'twixt twelve and thirteen thousand souls: But the Smaller Islands of Rum, Canna, Egg and Isle of Muck make Up one of the Parishes of that Presbytery, tho the Minister draws more than a third of his stipend from Sky And these Small Islands as they Are called may be supposed to contain at Least two thousand of that Number. When Your Correspondent mentioned Captain Salts having got a List of fifteen thousand Souls, he is apt to believe that the Island of Coll was in the Number of the Small Isles which Joined to Sky contained that number of Inhabitants. When he Also Spoke of the thousand's having crossed the Atlantic, he coud not mean that they all went from Sky, for many of them came from the Opposite Coast of the main Land And from the Neighbouring Islands. It is more proper to be general in this thing than very Precise as to Numbers, for all the Ministers have had public Orders, to make Up Lists of the Emigrants from their Several Parishes And the Proprietors, at Least One of them, hath given Orders to Make Up Lists Upon his Estate And if they Intend to be captious may contradict Any the Smallest deviation from Truth. Page 308 Line the 14^th. the Sentence beginning with the words "the Use of the first &c is not Level to my Understanding. Page 312. Line the 8^th. Bordh-mor-mhicLeod Shoud be called Bordh-mor-mhicDhomnail or Macdonalds great table.

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Editorial notes

1. See Pennant A tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides 1772 (1774), p.345. According to Pennant's note, 'Uggerus' is mentioned in Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum.
2. See Pennant, A tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides 1772 (1774), p.284, and John Stuart's letter of December 31 1773.
3. See MacQueen's letter of April 11, 1774.