land, I am in no such
haste.' I was amused with his being so easily satisfied; for the truth
was, that the gentleman who was to convey our letters, as I was now
informed, was not to set out for Inverary for some time; so that it was
probable we should be there as soon as he: however, I did not undeceive
my friend, but suffered him to enjoy his fancy.

Dr. Johnson asked, in the evening, to see Dr. M'Lean's books. He took
down Willis _de Anima Brutorum_[850], and pored over it a good deal.

Miss M'Lean produced some Erse poems by John M'Lean, who was a famous
bard in Mull, and had died only a few years ago. He could neither read
nor write. She read and translated two of them; one, a kind of elegy on
Sir John M'Lean's being obliged to fly his country in 1715; another, a
dialogue between two Roman Catholick young ladies, sisters, whether it
was better to be a nun or to marry. I could not perceive much poetical
imagery in the translation. Yet all of our company who understood Erse,
seemed charmed with the original. There may, perhaps, be some choice of
expression, and some excellence of arrangement, that cannot be shewn in
translation.

After we had exhausted the Erse poems, of which Dr. Johnson said
nothing, Miss M'Lean gave us several tunes on a spinnet, which, though
made so long ago as in 1667, was still very well toned. She sung along
with it. Dr. Johnson seemed pleased with the musick, though he owns he
neither likes it, nor has hardly any perception of it. At Mr.
M'Pherson's, in Slate, he told us, that 'he knew a drum from a trumpet,
and a bagpipe from a guittar, which was about the extent of his
knowledge of musick.' To-night he said, that, 'if he had learnt musick,
he should have been afraid he would have done nothing else but play. It
was a method of employing the mind without the labour of thinking at
all, and with some applause from a man's self[851].'

We had the musick of the bagpipe every day, at Armidale, Dunvegan, and
Col. Dr. Johnson appeared fond of it, and used often to stand for some
time with his ear close to the great drone.

The penurious gentleman of our acquaintance, formerly alluded to[852],
afforded us a topick of conversation to-night. Dr. Johnson said, I ought
to write down a collection of the instances of his narrowness, as they
almost exceeded belief. Col told us, that O'Kane, the famous Irish
harper, was once at that gentleman's house. He could not find in his
heart to give him any mone