moirs, though less rich in local description and anec- 

 dote than might have been hoped, contain a great 

 deal of interesting matter, concerning the state of 

 Scotland, during the Civil Wars. They appear to 

 have been committed to writing in 1658 ; but cer- 

 tainly not drawn out at length until 1685 ; so that 

 the author's reflections often relate to events which 

 took place long after the term of his own journey. 

 This is the remark of his friend Theophilus, who 

 says, " You writ your book in 58, and spread the 

 net to 85."* There may be reason to think, that 

 the first Dedication to " Mr J. W., merchant in 

 London," was written for the rough draught of the 

 Memoirs, and that the " prudent and valorous 

 prince," who is pointed out as healing the wounds 

 of the Civil Wars, was the Protector Oliver, whose 

 death and its consequences may have prevented the 

 publication of the work. But this supposition, the 

 reader must be aware, rests on the same arguments 

 which were formerly alleged, for supposing the tour 

 was made in 1656, or 1657. If these do not ap- 



* P. 285. 



