502 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book VIL 



or have run together either by purchafe or by fucceflion ; and the 

 wadfets, which were very numerous fome years ago, are now almoft 

 *11 redeemed. 



This is the flate of the landholders of the lower rank in Scotland, 

 •who are certainly very much dlminilhed in number. Nor is the di- 

 minution of the number of landholders of luperior rank, I mean our 

 nobles and gentry, lefs in proportion to their numbers. As to our 

 nobility, not much above a half of them remain that were exifting at 

 the time of the Union : And as to our gentry, they are fo much 

 diminiihed in number by the families dying out, or by their ef'- 

 tates being carried to other families by heirs female, or by be- 

 ing fold to rich men and great proprietors of other eftates, that if, 

 in the next 60 years, there be the fame deftrudion of them, as in 

 .the laft 60 which have fallen under my obfervation, there will be 

 -very few families of our antient gentry remaining. 



There is a monument preferved in the Tower of London, which 

 fl-iows how much the flate of the gentry of Scotland is altered, and, 

 I muft fuppofe, diminiflied fmce the time of Edward the I. of Eng- 

 land. The monument I mean, is a roll containing the names of our 

 gentry, who fvvore allegiance to Edward, when he conquered Scot- 

 land. This roll is commonly called Ragman s roll -y and the number 

 contained in it is about 2000 landholders, befides the inhabitants of 

 the towns and burghs, of which fome of the principal perfons are nam- 

 ed ; and it is added, Communitas Burgi, But thefe were not all the 

 landholders of Scotland, but only thole on the fouth of the Friths of 

 Tay, Forth, and Clyde, and of the ihires, on the eaftern coaft to Aber- 

 <lcenfliire, inclufive. Of the inhabitants of Argyle and l-^ernefsfliire 

 there are very few ; of Rofsfhire there are only two or three ; and 

 of the fliires of Cromarty, Sutherland, and Caithnefs. there are none, 

 'But even of the other fliires of Scotland, we cannot fuppofe that 



every 



