were soon as intimate as of old.

After a short time spent at Mossgiel wandering about, and once, it
would seem, penetrating the West Highlands as far as Inverary, a
journey during which his temper seems to have been far from serene, he
returned in August to Edinburgh. There he encountered, and in time got
rid of, the law troubles already alluded to, and on the 25th of August
he set out, on a longer tour than any he had yet attempted, to the
Northern Highlands.

The travelling companion whom he chose for this tour was a certain Mr.
Nicol, whose acquaintance he seems to have first formed at the Crochallan
club, or some other haunt of boisterous joviality. After many ups and
downs in life Nicol had at last, by dint of some scholastic ability,
settled as a master of the Edinburgh High School. What could have
tempted Burns to select such a man for a fellow-traveller? He was (p. 064)
cast in one of nature's roughest moulds; a man of careless habits,
coarse manners, enormous vanity, of most irascible and violent temper,
which vented itself in cruelties on the poor boys who were the victims
of his care. Burns compared himself with such a companion to "a man
travelling with a loaded blunderbuss at full cock." Two things only
are mentioned in his favour, that he had a warm heart, and an
unbounded admiration of the poet. But the choice of such a man was an
unfortunate one, and in the upshot did not a little to spoil both the
pleasure and the benefit, which might have been gathered from the
tour.

Their journey lay by Stirling and Crieff to Taymouth and Breadalbane,
thence to Athole, on through Badenoch and Strathspey to Inverness. The
return by the east coast was through the counties of Moray and Banff
to Aberdeen. After visiting the county whence his father had come, and
his kindred who were still in Kincardineshire, Burns and his companion
passed by Perth back to Edinburgh, which they reached on the 16th of
September. The journey occupied only two and twenty days, far too
short a time to see so much country, besides making several visits,
with any advantage. During his Border tour Burns had ridden his
Rosinante mare, which he had named Jenny Geddes. As his friend, the
schoolmaster, was no equestrian, Burns was obliged to make his
northern journey in a post-chaise, not the best way of taking in the
varied and ever-changing sights and sounds of Highland scenery.

Such a tour as this, if Burns could have entered on it under