340 Docutnents inhabbitted.' the people are all Scotch and a verry good sort of People they are speaking Mucch better there then the doe att Barwick or new- castle, there is abundce of good ffish to be had there for Dureing six weekes stay that wee made there wee had plenty of all sorts as Large Codlings whiteings Large soules Large fflownders Turbutt haddock and the finest Ling that ever I saw in my Life. I have seene Ling there 6 foott Long and as yellow as gold ; and good Lobsters and Crabs as big as two penny Loafe. wee could buy for 6 pence or seven pence as much of these sort of ffish as would well sattisfie twenty men. I have for a Peice of Tobacco which might whey about a quarter of a Pound had 4 pair of soules 8 Codling a dozen of white and four thorne backs. I once bought for eight pence and a peice of Tobacco a verry large Turbutt 4 paire soules 4 Large Codlins and a dozen of fine fflownders and might have had what Thorne backs I had had a Mind for if I would have taken 'em butt thinking I had enough for Money lett 'em alone. [25] wee Bought excellent French Brandy for twelve Pence a quart there Quarts being much Larger then ours'^ and wee bought also exter- ordinary good French Clarrett Neat from the Grape for Nine Pence the Quart, the Measure as I told you accordingly, which made itt seeme to us mighty Cheepe Considering the goodness which wee offten Laid our harts in soake in; this Hand is very Barren mountanous and Rockey Beareing no Manner of Trees nor fruite. itt Beares no Corne butt a Little poore Barly and when that was fitt to Cutt itt was nott a foot from the ground. Affter itt was thrasht the straw Could nott be above 6 or 7 inches Long; there is not so much as a gooseberry Bush Growes there nor a sprig of Rosemary will nott grow, itt beares a great deale of Catle. there Cows and steeres have no homes, the Beefe is verry good but verry small. I bought a steere of six Yeares old for 12 shillings, the Mutton is verry small butt verry sweete. as for there Porke itt is verry Bad. itt eates fishy for they feed there hogs with fish. I eat a sort of a ffowle there which they call a Puffin a Perfect Lump of fatt butt eats verry fishy. I bought PuUetts for three halfpence a Peice and Chickens for a Penny a Peice and Geese for 3 pence and Ducks for three halfpence a sheepe for two shillings and six pence and a Lamb for eighteen pence, there is the worst Beere that ever I Drank worse then watter and yett there are some [26] Gentlemen that Live upon those Hands that have four or five hundred Pounds a Year Rent and altho the Hands are so very Barren Yett they have great flocks of sheepe and vast flocks of Geese ; affter wee had made about six weekes stay wee sett saile for new- castle and arrived there affter three Dayes saile ; wee saw upon the Coast as wee were sailing betweene Orknes and Newcastle foar or five hundred sail of Dutch Busses fishing for Herrings itt being then the season, att last wee sail'd from New Castle with a ffleete of Laden Colliers under Convey of two small men of war and arived att Graves end the 2^ of Ocf. that Day 12 month that wee sett saile from Plimouth. ' Kirkwall was then the only considerable town in the Orkneys. ■ The Scottish quart was about three times as large as our imperial quart.
