6 
Among other such zealous, though crude attempts, it is 
related by his sister, *. that in order to procure red, he had 
recourse to his own blood, and when he had so mangled and 
drained his fingers by frequent puncturations that it became 
difficult or too painful to extract more from them, he endea- 
voured, by earnest entreaties, and such bribes as he could 
offer, to persuade her or some one of his companions, to 
suffer him to obtain a temporary supply from theirs. 
This love of observation and experiment, which so far 
overcame bodily comfort, attended Mr. Carmichael through 
life, accompanied with an equally strong mental characteristic, 
that stamped him as an individual who listened principally 
to the voice of experience, and made fact the ground of all 
his reasonings. From a very early age it was remarked of 
him, that he only believed what he could see positive evidence 
for, so that the fireside stories of apparitions and goblins 
that are firmly credited in the Highlands of Scotland, and 
which caused the hair of the aged natives to stand on end, 
only excited his laughter. He had never witnessed these 
appearances, and seeing no use in them, he did not believe 
in their existence. But this incredulity was sometimes not 
comfortable to others; for, acquainted with the spots that 
were famed as the haunts of fairies and other preternatural 
visitants, he would slip out alone in the evening, and carry- 
ing his violin, of which he was very fond, under his arm, and 
concealing himself behind some tree or rock that was cele- 
brated for ghostly appearances, he would there await the 
return of the servants from the fold, and alarm them with 
. sounds, which, being unexpected, induced the belief that they 
proceeded from some unearthly inhabitant of the spot. 
In 1787, Mr. Carmichael was sent by his parents to the 
University of Glasgow, to attend the literary classes, and he 
seems to have made a considerable proficiency in the Greek 
and Latin languages: but it is not surprising if the mysteries 
. of metaphysical science should have but few charms for him, 
* This anecdote was related to me by Mr. Clarke, near Oban, who has 
married the sister of Capt. Carmichael. 
