The same
neighbourhood gave birth to St Patrick, the apostle of Ireland,
at a place where there is still a church and village, which
retain his name. Hard by are some vestiges of the famous Roman
wall, built in the reign of Antonine, from the Clyde to the
Forth, and fortified with castles, to restrain the incursions of
the Scots or Caledonians, who inhabited the West-Highlands. In a
line parallel to this wall, the merchants of Glasgow have
determined to make a navigable canal betwixt the two Firths which
will be of incredible advantage to their commerce, in
transporting merchandize from one side of the island to the
other.
From Glasgow we travelled along the Clyde, which is a delightful
stream, adorned on both sides with villas, towns, and villages.
Here is no want of groves, and meadows, and corn-fields
interspersed; but on this side of Glasgow, there is little other
grain than oats and barley; the first are much better, the last
much worse, than those of the same species in England. I wonder,
there is so little rye, which is a grain that will thrive in
almost any soil; and it is still more surprising, that the
cultivation of potatoes should be so much neglected in the
Highlands, where the poor people have not meal enough to supply
them with bread through the winter.
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