I was sorry that my friend, this 'prosperous
gentleman[374],' was not there. The old tower must be of great
antiquity[375]. There is a draw-bridge--what has been a moat,--and an
ancient court. There is a hawthorn-tree, which rises like a wooden
pillar through the rooms of the castle; for, by a strange conceit, the
walls have been built round it. The thickness of the walls, the small
slaunting windows, and a great iron door at the entrance on the second
story as you ascend the stairs, all indicate the rude times in which
this castle was erected. There were here some large venerable trees.
I was afraid of a quarrel between Dr. Johnson and Mr. M'Aulay, who
talked slightingly of the lower English clergy. The Doctor gave him a
frowning look, and said, 'This is a day of novelties; I have seen old
trees in Scotland, and I have heard the English clergy treated with
disrespect[376].'
I dreaded that a whole evening at Calder manse would be heavy; however,
Mr. Grant, an intelligent and well-bred minister in the neighbourhood,
was there, and assisted us by his conversation. Dr. Johnson, talking of
hereditary occupations in the Highlands, said, 'There is no harm in such
a custom as this; but it is wrong to enforce it, and oblige a man to be
a taylor or a smith, because his father has been one.' This custom,
however, is not peculiar to our Highlands; it is well known that in
India a similar practice prevails.
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