Antiquities. Dunrobin Castle, which seems to have within its pres Achaistal Castle. cincts several smaller ones, its connections or dependents. But turning from these, if we direct our attention to the north, with a view to explore the Pictish territories in that quarter, we shall find these ancient structures perhaps in greater number, but certainly more entire, of a more curious form, and of much larger dimensions. Those found in Shetland, and known every where in that country by the name of burghs, are much superior, in these respects, to what are here, or even perhaps to any in Scotland. In the south, and on the east coast, there are but few of them now entire; having been demolished, partly from curiosity, to know their structure and contents, and partly to carry off their materials to inclose lands or build farm houses. But among the islands, both on the north and west of Scotland, and along the whole west coast of the Highlands, where there has been no want of materials for these purposes, these curious edifices have been suffered to remain unhurt, in testimony of the respect that the inhabitants have entertained for the works of their ancestors. In the parish of Latheron, towards the western part of the county, are several old castles, as well as Pictish buildings, of the nature now mentioned. The castles are, Berrydale, Dunbeath (still inhabited), Knockinnon, Latheron, Forss, Swingle, and Clyth. These were places of strength in the days of rapine and violence. Most of these castles stood on a high rock above the sea, and cut off from the land by a deep ditch with a drawbridge. Part of the walls of the old castle at Achaistal still remain entire, and human bones are occasionally found in the ruins. The old castle of Achaistal was built and possessed by John Beg, third son to the Earl of Sutherland. In those times, parties of robbers or freebooters used to infest this county. A party of these came to John Beg's house, and insisted that he should pay a certain sum Antiquities in name of tribute, otherwise they would plunder his house and carry away his cattle. John Beg seemed very passive to them, and entertained them very sumptuously, until he got them all intoxicated, by strong ale mixed with the juice of nightshade, when he ordered them to be conveyed to the upper apartments of his castle. He then removed his family and furniture, and put them on board a vessel at the water-mouth of Berrydale; and having collected a great quantity of straw and brushwood into the lower parts of his house, he set fire to it, which soon destroyed the robbers, and consumed all the castle. excepting a part of the walls. John Beg returned with his family to Sutherland. The castle of Berrydale, or Berrudale, is remarkable on account of its last inhabitant, who was a giant, called William More. His history is singular. therland, About the end of the fifteenth century, Hector Suther- Hector Su land, commonly called Hector More, or Meikle Hector, giant. was proprietor of the estate of Langwell. He was descended of the family of Duffus, and resided in a castle on a rock at the water mouth of Berrydale, the ruins of ,which are still visible. He built a house at Langwell for his eldest son William, who married a beautiful woman, and resided there. Some time afterwards William's wife was in childbed of her first child, and Robert Gun, tacksman of Braemore, came over the hills to Langwell, accompanied by some of his clan, on a hunting party. Robert Gun proposed to his friends that they would pay a visit to Hector More's son and his young wife; which they accordingly did. Robert Gun, upon seeing the wo man in bed, fancied her. Upon their way home, Gun declared to his companions that he would have William Su. therland's wife to himself; and that the only means by Antiquities which he could accomplish his design was to take away her husband's life. His friends, whose consciences were not more strait-laced than his own, having approved of his intention, they accompanied him the next day over the hills, and lay in ambush in the woods near William Sutherland's house, until they observed him come out to his garden, when Robert Gun shot him with an arrow from his bow. They went immediately into his house, took his wife out of bed, and carried her and her infant child in a large basket they had prepared for that purpose to Braemore, where Gun resided. As soon as the mother recovered, she was reconciled to Robert Gun, notwithstanding of his murdering her husband. She begged of him to call her infant son William after his deceased father, though she knew, had her husband been alive, he would have named him Hector after his own father, Hector More. Robert Gun held the lands of Braemore from the Earl of Caithness in tack, but he would pay no rent to his Lordship. After being much in arrear to the Earl, his Lordship sent John Sinclair of Stercock, with a patty of men under arms, to compel Gun to make payment; but Gun convened his clan, and they defeated John Sinclair with his party. Several were killed, and John Sin clair was wounded in the engagement. Young William's mother lived the remainder of her life with Robert Gun, and had two sons by him. After these sons had arrived at maturity, young William and they one day went ahunting; and William being more successful than the other two, killed a roe, which he desired his two brothers to carry home. They objected to this drudgery, and said that he might carry home his own prey himself. But William, who by this time had heard of his father's tragical end, told them, with a menacing aspect, that if they would not carry home the roe he would revenge some of their father's actions upon them; which intimidated them greatly (though they were ignorant of the cause of his Antiquities. threatening), as they knew he had more personal strength than them both, he being then about nine feet high, and stout in proportion. They accordingly carried home the roe, and told their mother that William had threatened them in such a manner. She communicated this circumstance to their father Robert Gun, adding, that she suspected William had heard of his father's death. Robert Gun, being afraid of young William's personal strength, wished to be in friendship with him, and proposed that he should marry his (Gun's) sister, who resided with them in the character of a housekeeper. William did not relish the match, and would not accept of her. Soon afterwards Robert Gun made a feast at his house, where he collected several of his friends, and contrived to make young William so much intoxicated that he was carried to bed, and Robert Gun put his sister to bed with him. When William awakened next morning, he was surprised to find Gun's sister in bed with him. She told him he might recollect that the ceremonies of marriage passed betwixt them the preceding evening, and that she was now his lawful spouse. He got up in a passion, and declared that he was imposed upon, and that he would hold no such bargain. Robert Gun flattered him, and said, as he was now married to his sister he would make the match as agreeable to him as possible, by putting him in possession of the estate of Langwell; and in order to accomplish his promise, he, with a few of his connections, concealed themselves near Hector More's castle on the rock until early in the morning. When the drawbridge was let down, they forced their way into the castle, and carried Hector More (who was then an old feeble man) out of his castle, and left him in a cot-house in the neighbourhood, where he remained for some little Antiquities time, and afterwards went to Sutherland, and passed the remainder of his days with one of his relations, Sutherland of Rearchar. Robert Gun then returned in triumph to Braemore, and conducted William Sutherland and his espoused wife to their castle, and gave them all possession of the estate of Langwell. William being very much dissatisfied with Robert Gun's conduct, and not liking the company of his sister as a spouse, went and complained of his grievances to the Earl of Caithness; who promised him redress as soon as he returned from the Orkneys, where he was going to quell a rebellion, along with the Baron of Roslin, and wished that he (William), being a very stout man, would accompany him. William consented to do so, and returned to Berrydale to bid his friends farewel before he would go on so dangerous an expedition. Just as he was parting with them at the burial ground on the braes on the east side of the water of Berrydale, he told his friends that he suspected he never would return from Orkney. He then laid himself down on the heath near the burial ground, and desired his companions to fix two stones in the ground, the one at his head and the other at his feet, in order to show to posterity his uncommon stature; which stones remain there still, and the exact distance between them is nine feet and five inches. Tradition also mentions his height to have been above nine feet. He went with Lord Caithness, &c. to the Orkneys, where he as well as the Earl and his sons were killed. This hap pened in the year 1530. The cause of the rebellion was this: In the year 1530, King James the Fifth granted the islands of Orkney to his natural brother, James Earl of Murray, and his heirs-male. The inhabitants took umbrage that an over-lord should be interposed between them and the sovereign, and rose in arms, under |