black. There is no tradition of the time when either this structure, or the vitrified walls, were erected; but it is sufficiently apparent that the latter must have been of a date much prior to the former, and built by a nation in a very different state of civil polity; for, at the latter period, the lord of the domain having found, we may suppose, the old vitrified fortification inadequate to the purpose of defence, or inapplicable to the state of his private af fairs, has purposely demolished them, and, with their ruins, erected his own habitation. This is evident from the fragments of the vitrified walls and scorchsed stones, which are every where discoverable in the ruins of the stone and lime building.

This circumstance, in my opinion, deserves to be particularly attended to, as it serves to throw some light upon the ancient state of our civil polity, and its revolutions, where more distinct records are wanting. In the infancy of society, perhaps in all nations, no man afsumed any other authority over others than what was voluntarily yielded on account of his age, experience, or superior abilities, whether mental or corporal. But man could hardly be placed in society before he would discover that, without the afsistance of his fellows, he was a weak defencelefs animal; so that, although each might live independent of another while at peace, when any danger threatened they would find the necefsity of uniting together for mutual defence, and of submitting, for the time, to be directed by the wisdom of some man in whom they in general placed confidence. In this state of society it would exceed the

power of any individual to render his own place of residence sufficiently strong to resist the attacks of any invading power; and, therefore, it would become the interest of the whole community to fortify, in the best fashion they could, some places of strength. to which the whole community could retire for safety, in times of danger. So long So long as they con, tinued to migrate from one region to another, in bordes, this place of strength would be only a tem--porary fortification, of the nature of a camp; and this seems to have been the stage to which the Germans had arrived in the time of Tacitus. But in a more barren country, where grain could only be raised with ease on those spots which had been already cultivated, and in a state of society somewhat more advanced in civilization, when some idea of private property began to take place, the man who, at a great deal of trouble, had cleared a small spot for himself, and erected an habitation that could stand for more than one season, would look out for a place of strength not far from himself, to which he could retire occasionally in cases of danger, which he would fortify in a durable and substantial manner. In this stage of society, have, in all probability, these vitri fied fortifications been reared, which served, not as a place of continued residence to any one, but merely as a place of temporary retreat, when any national danger threatened which individuals were not: able to repel..

But when, at an after period, honours and fiefs became hereditary, when particular families waxed great in power, and each chieftan, at the head of his clan, became a sort of petty sovereign in his own dis

VOL. X.

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trict, and afsumed to himself the charge of protecing his vafsals, and avenging their quarrels, he found it necefsary to have a fixed habitation, proportioned to his own dignity, in which he could reside at all times himself in safety, and to which some of his vafsals might occasionally repair for fhelter. The open fortifications, which could only be defended by a great number of men perpetually upon their guard, were, in that state of perpetual alarm, by no means adapted to his wants, and therefore he had recourse to smaller fortifications of another kind, which, by the strength of their walls and gates, were not liable to be suddenly surprised, even when defended by a few only. This gave rise to those numerous strong holds, of the nature of the stone and lime tower now in question, which superseded the use of the old vitrified open forts, which were then either neglected, and suffered to fall to ruin of themselves, or were pulled to pieces, like that of Dun-odeer, to afford materials for a dwelling better suited to the wants of the owner.

From this cause the ruins of the vitrified walls on the top of this hill, assume a very different appearance from the others already mentioned. Where the vitrified matter has been so ill compacted, as to admit of being broken into small pieces, they have been carried away, and the walls razed to the very foundation; but where these vitrified mafses were too firmly united to admit of being easily broken into small pieces, they have been suffered to remain in their place, where they still exhibit to the eye of the curious traveller, venerable remains of ancient art, now mistaken by the careless for the operations

of nature, some of which assume a beautiful and picturesque appearance, as may be perceived by the faint

RUINS OF VITRIFIED WALLS AT DUN-Q-DEER, IN ABERDEENSHIRE,

representation annexed, which has been perforated by a hole like a natural rock.

These ruins are indeed the firmest masses of the kind I have met with. Here, however, as was to be expected, we in vain look for the large backing of loose stones, to be found in all the other buildings of this kind that I have seen: they have been carried away to the stone and lime tower, and nothing remains but pieces of the vitrified rock, if I may venture that exprefsion, stripped entirely naked, rising up in irregular masses round the hill: yet even here some stones are found with one end firmly immersed in the vitrified matter, while the other end projects considerably beyond it, and is only browned by the heat. This circumstance sufficiently marks that >these walls must have been built after the same general plan with others of this class.

To be continued.

ON VOLTAIRE.

THEY say that if Voltaire were alive he would be of the aristocratic party, because that he loved to sign himself count of Ferney; and though incefsantly reviling courts, he was still a courtier. His writings are, however, an appeal to the revolution which has been brought about, and which he had foretold. A good pamphlet might be made of all his queries and advices on the reformation of abuses in the laws, in the government, in the administration of justice, in the magistracy, in the finance, in the clergy and church. It is he who has exalted the noblenefs of agriculture, and of consequence debased the truly low nobility of knight-errantry, since it was sloth crushed it from the height of its ruined towers.