ised facility of plunder; and the state of the country, now so
peaceable and quiet, verified at that time the opinion which Dr. Johnson
heard with doubt and suspicion, that the most disorderly and lawless
districts of the Highlands were those which lay nearest to the Lowland
line. There was, therefore, no difficulty in Rob Roy, descended of a
tribe which was widely dispersed in the country we have described,
collecting any number of followers whom he might be able to keep in
action, and to maintain by his proposed operations.

He himself appears to have been singularly adapted for the profession
which he proposed to exercise. His stature was not of the tallest, but
his person was uncommonly strong and compact. The greatest peculiarities
of his frame were the breadth of his shoulders, and the great and almost
disproportionate length of his arms; so remarkable, indeed, that it was
said he could, without stooping, tie the garters of his Highland hose,
which are placed two inches below the knee. His countenance was open,
manly, stern at periods of danger, but frank and cheerful in his hours of
festivity. His hair was dark red, thick, and frizzled, and curled short
around the face. His fashion of dress showed, of course, the knees and
upper part of the leg, which was described to me, as resembling that of a
Highland bull, hirsute, with red hair, and evincing muscular strength
similar to that animal. To these personal qualifications must be added a
masterly use of the Highland sword, in which his length of arm gave him
great advantage--and a perfect and intimate knowledge of all the recesses
of the wild country in which he harboured, and the character of the
various individuals, whether friendly or hostile, with whom he might come
in contact.

His mental qualities seem to have been no less adapted to the
circumstances in which he was placed. Though the descendant of the
blood-thirsty Ciar Mhor, he inherited none of his ancestor's ferocity. On
the contrary, Rob Roy avoided every appearance of cruelty, and it is not
averred that he was ever the means of unnecessary bloodshed, or the actor
in any deed which could lead the way to it. His schemes of plunder were
contrived and executed with equal boldness and sagacity, and were almost
universally successful, from the skill with which they were laid, and the
secrecy and rapidity with which they were executed. Like Robin Hood of
England, he was a kind and gentle robber,--and, while h