glory. History will speak of this characteristic trait, and will enroll it among other instances of detestable policy. LETTER XXIII. Like wand'ring Arabs, shift from place to place ACCORDING to your desire, I will throw into one letter, the observations which I have collected on the Highland manners and character. I will preface by observing that the introduction of arts and industry, and especi ally the general diffusion of knowledge, has within a short period produced such an alteration in the habits of the natives, and the Highland character is so rapidly assimilating itself to that of the southern inhabitants of the country,—that, in a few years, what is now a matter of observation, will be looked on as the fictions of romance, or as the creations of a poetic fancy. In England, the knowledge of the Highlands was, prior to the rebellion of 1745, extremely faint. The natives were regarded by those who happened to mention them, as a race of Vandals. Dean Swift, in his Journal to Stella, talks of a couple of gentlemen from the Highlands, and expresses his surprise at finding them persons of ordinary decorum and civility. For a great length of time, this singular people repelled all attempts at improvement and submission. Separated by their romantic mountains, and divided by a barbarous language from the civilized parts of the country, the Highlanders have continued inaccessible to the arts of polished life, and have preserved the unadulterated remains of the ancient Celts. Tribes of banditti called clans lived together in the strongholds and fastnesses of the country; where they led a rambling licentious life. Each of these tribes was governed by a chieftain, whose authority was never eclipsed or restrained by the presence of a superior. Their habits were incompatible with a life of sobriety and industry; they laid the country under contribution, carried off the cattle of those who would not pay the price which they were pleased to stipulate, and regaled themselves at the expense of the peaceable inhabitants. They went armed on all occasions, and were ready at the command of the chieftain to commit the most horrid depredations. "Never another law hae they, (says Nicol Jarvie,) but the length o' their dirks-the broadsword's pursuer or plaintiff, and the target is defender; the stoutest head bears langest out-and there's a Hieland plea for ye." They followed droves of cattle, plaided, bonneted, belted and brogued, and drove their bullocks, as the Mantuan bard is said to have scattered his manure, with an air of great solemnity and importance! Their language is the Gaelic, a dialect of the ancient Celtic, which is said to have prevailed in former times from the pillars of Hercules to the northern extremity of Scotland; but it is now hastening to extinction, and is giving way rapidly to the language of the rest of the island. The productions of the Celtic muse would induce us to believe that, different from every other people in the early stages of society, their manners displayed a civilization only found in the most polished countries: an undaunted courage and heroism; a gallantry which could only be inspired by the enthusiasm of chivalry; the most noble hospitality; and that they possessed a cultivated taste, a polished diction, and a sublime and beautiful poetry remarkable for its expressive and appropriate imagery. The virtues of a generous hospitality, inviolable attachment to their leaders, and fidelity to each other, they may have possessed like other nations in a primeval state; but with these good qualities, they associated all the vices of barbarians: a merciless and insatiable rapacity, the most sanguinary revenge; an incurable indolence; a perfidious disregard of truth, and the most beastly intemperance. We are informed that a Highlander who made his submission to an enemy, came to his dwelling, and presented his naked sword with the point to his breast, or laid his head on the block disposed for executions: it was thought unworthy to refuse the clemency imploredbut it might be legally done. A famous chief tain, called M'Intosh, committed depredations at Auchintown on the Gordon family. Afterwards he was vanquished, and reduced to such extremities by the Earl of Huntley, that he was forced to make the amende honorable. He came to Strathbogie castle, during Huntley's absence, and surrendered himself to the countess, who said that the Earl would never forgive him, unless he placed his neck on the block. M'Intosh kneeled down and laid his head on the kitchen dresser, where the oxen were cut up; no sooner was his neck in situ, than the cook, who stood behind with his cleaver uplifted, at a signal from the sanguinary virago, severed the chieftain's head from his body at a stroke! The period of their confederation into clans has not been ascertained. It was considered as honourable, among hostile tribes, to commit depredations upon each other; and the animosities which divided the clans, attached them to their chiefs, whose authority was boundless. It appears that their ringleaders were as barbarous as their followers; for, (to use Jarvie's language,)"if they dinna bid them gae rive and harry, the deil a bit they forbid themAnd every ane o' them will mainteen as mony o' his ane name, or his clan, as he can rap and rend means for; or as mony as can in ony fashion, fair or foul, mainteen themsells-and they are wi' gun and pistol, dirk and dourlach, ready to disturb the peace o' the country whenever the laird likes." After the introduction of surnames, when the clans had adopted the name or patronymic assumed by their chieftain, they believed and propagated, (says Laing,) with credulous satisfaction, the story of their common descent from the loins of his progenitors. Thence proceeded an inviolable attachment to his person, cherished on his part by a rude hospitality, and maintained by them in adversity, notwithstanding every temptation to desert their clan. English is now understood by the generality of the Highlanders; and many of them speak that and the Gaelic with equal facility. It has been observed, that those among them who speak English, commonly speak it well, with a few of the words, and little of the tone by which a Scotchman is distinguished; yet it is a difficult matter for an American or Englishman, to convey his meaning to them. I have conversed with them, and have been surprised at their excellent pronunciation of my own language, but I was often at some pains to make them understand me. Possessing two languages, the Highlander is naturally prompted to trace analogies in grammar, to compare in his mind the different modes of expressing the same idea, and to find appropriate denominations, in a manner which might appear the effect of a knowledge of the rudiments of language, and the principles of cultivated diction. Whether it arises from their rugged scenery and cheerless climate, or from their manner of life, the Highlanders are, generally speaking, |