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^^^^mw^ 
 
 I 
 
 The SconisH High 
 
 His Origin, Literature, Language and 
 General Characteristics. 
 
 LECTURE 
 
 -DEMVERED BY- 
 
 DUNCAN MACARTHUR, ESQ., 
 
 -UNDER THE AUSPICES OK- 
 
 CLAN STE^VAKT, No. 92, O. S. C, 
 
 Winnipeg, Man. 
 
 M( Inivrk Hrus., Pknikks, Winnii-kc, 
 1 89.^. 
 
HI 
 
 ■ 
 
The Scottish HighlaiKier : 
 
 HIS ORIGIN. LITERATURE. LANGUAGE AND 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 «t e » »o ti 
 
 Worthy Chikf, Ladiks and Gknti.kmen : 
 
 I have been askcil to g-ivc you a short address on the sub- 
 ject of the Scottish Highlander, and I shall consider him 
 briefly as to hisorig-in, language, literature, and general char- 
 acteristics, but before doing so I would like to express the 
 pleasure I feel in being an Honorary member of Clan Stew- 
 art. I am in entire accord with the motives which prompted 
 the organization of those Clans on this continent, and with 
 objects which they all have in view. Our countrymen are 
 celebrated for their tendency to emigrate to different parts of 
 the world ; and they are to be found at the antipodes, under 
 the burning sky of India, amidst the wilds of Africa, in this 
 great Dominion and in the Republic which lies alongside of 
 us — in short, almost everywhere, and as a matter of fact there 
 arc Sct)tsmen residing to-day within the Arctic circle and at 
 certain seasons of the year they are to be found as far north 
 as the shores of the Arctic sea. 
 
 Now some of the principal objects of Clan Stewart, and 
 of similar organizations, is to unite Scotsmen into as close a 
 bond of common brotherhood as possible, to establish a sick 
 fund in case of sickness or accident, to provide a bequeath- 
 mcnt fund in case of death, and to cultivate fond recollections 
 of Scotland, including its history, traditions, customs, and 
 amusements, and it may well be asked what worthier aims 
 than those could any national organization have in view. 
 We have here a number of social, prudential and sentimental 
 elements, the blending of which should form a cement strong 
 enough to bind our scattered countrymen into a common and 
 lasting brotherhood ; and at the same time leave a permanent 
 and beneficial impress upon their minds and lives. In my 
 opinion these organizations supply a want which has long 
 been felt, a want which they are well calculated to meet 
 
adequately, and I hope that Scotsmen in all parts of the Dom- 
 inion, and of the neighbourinjf Republic will rally round the 
 standards which have been recently erected, not as the sym- 
 bols of war and hate, but of peace, prosperity and good will. 
 
 In selecting- the "Scottish Highlander " as the subject of 
 a few remarks this evening, it must not be supposed that 
 there is the least 'intention of ignoring, or underrating, the 
 other great element of the population of Scotland which 
 occupies the Southern part of the Kingdom, but quite the 
 reverse. The population of Scotland is in two parts, having 
 distinct origins, the Celtic and the Saxon, each of which 
 has an illustrious history. It is true that in the course of 
 centuries an extensive mtermixture of the races has taken 
 place, and it is very common to find men with Lowland names 
 — Gladstone for instance — who have Celtic blood in their 
 veins, and on the other hand men with Celtic names whose 
 mothers have been Saxons, — an eminent example of the 
 latter — selecting one of many — was Lord Macaulay. Still the 
 general lines of demarcation, where no interfusion of blood 
 has taken place, between the two races, are almost as distinct 
 as the great (irampian range which intersects the country 
 and which forms the natural boundary between the the High- 
 lands and the Lowlands; and I would have liked very much to be 
 able this evening to discuss the Lowlander at the same length as 
 I shall discuss the Highlander, but as this is impossible I can 
 only hope some other member of this Clan will be induced to 
 give us, at no distant date, an address on the Scottish Low- 
 lander, embracing his distinctive history, and the various 
 phases of his character. 
 
 The descendants of the ancient Britons — who were mainly, 
 if not wholly, of Celtic origin, and about whom wo have 
 heard so much — are now to be found in certain isolated parts 
 of the United Kingdom. We find Celtic populations in Wales 
 and Cornwall ; we also find one in the Isle of Man. Ireland, 
 which is largely Celtic now, was still more so at one time. 
 In Scotland we find the Northern and more extensive part of 
 the Kingdom chiefly occupied by a Celtic race ; we also find 
 the same race occupying the Hebrides or Western Isles — and 
 these communities, along with the people of Brittany ir 
 France, constitute, so far as known, the only representatives 
 of the early inhabitants of the British Isles. 
 
 The Celtic race, which is generally supposed to be of 
 Eastern or Asiatic origin, and which is a branch of the great 
 Aryan family of mankind, is undoubtedly one of the oldest 
 historical races of Europe, and though it has been ascertained 
 that a branch of this race, or more probably two, occupied 
 
 ii 
 
portions of Kn(fland, Scotland and Ireland several centuries 
 before the Christian era, the circumstances which led them 
 westward, the routes which they followed, and the exact 
 time of their arrival in these countries remain, and may al- 
 ways remain, unknown. It is probable, as I have just said, that 
 two distinct branches of the Celtic race reached the shores of 
 Great Britain and Ireland in remote times, i)erhaps at differ- 
 ent times and from different (juarters; one of which included 
 the Cymric or Welsh, and the Cornish people, by the latter of 
 whom Brittany in France was colonized in the fourth century; 
 the other was the Gaelic or Erse people, who occupied North 
 Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man. 
 
 The Scottish Hig-hlanders of the present day, are the 
 descendants of the early Celts, or Caledonians or Picts as they 
 have been variously named, of North Britain, and of the small 
 colony of Dalriadic Scots who settled (m the west coast of 
 Scotland about the fifth century. A j^ood deal has been 
 written by antiquaries and ethnolog-isis to show that the 
 Caledonians came originally from Ireland, but no proof what- 
 ever has been forthcoming to establish this theory; on the 
 contrary, many distinguished Gaelic scholars maintain that 
 the Caledonians came either directly to North Britain or 
 found their way there by passing through England. Nor is 
 the theory, that the original Celtic inhabitants of the United 
 Kingdom were driven to the extremities or more inaccessible 
 parts of the country by foreign invasion, by anv means estab- 
 lished, for we find that when the Romans invaded Great 
 Britain they found the Celtic people occupying nearly the 
 same parts of the country which their descendants occupy at 
 the present day. Doubtless a vast proportion of the Ancient 
 Britons were, in the course of time, absorbed by intermarriage 
 with the various races, Romans, Scandinavians, Danes and 
 Saxons who made successive descents on the .shores of Great 
 Britain ; otherwise the Celtic population of these Islands 
 would at the present time be greater than it is, but it is still 
 sufficiently great to make its influence felt, and acknowledged, 
 in the literature, arts and sciences, in the moral and material 
 progress, in the military achievements and in the Legislative 
 Councils, of the Nation. 
 
 Having thus briefly indicated the origin of the Scottish 
 Highlander, I shall now endeavor to give some account of his 
 language, which is of high antiquity and great scientific 
 interest. The Gaelic language, of which there arc four dia- 
 lects spoken in the United Kingdom at the present day, is 
 one of several tongues which acknowledge the extinct Aryan 
 speech as its parent. It is an extremely interesting and now 
 
well ascertained fact that all the languajfcs spoken to-day in 
 Europe, with the exception of those of the Turks, the Mag-yars 
 in Hung-ary, the Finns in Lapland and probably the Bastiuos 
 on the slopes of the Pyrenees, belonj'- to one family -the 
 Indo-European ; not only so, but many of the lang-uajfes of 
 Asia, includinjj^ those of Armenia, Afg-hanistan, Persia and 
 Northern India, also .belong- to the same great family, the 
 common parent of which, called the Aryan, has for thousands 
 of years ceased to exist, and as an evidence of the high anti- 
 quity of this mother tongue, neither monument, history nor 
 even tradition remains to give us any definite information 
 about the people by whom it was originally spoken, or the 
 geographical position which they occupied ; but notwith- 
 standing many organic differences in structure, the affinities 
 of all the modern languages of Europe, with the exceptions 
 I have mentioned, are such that no other conclusion 
 can be come to than that they are descended from one common 
 Htock, and it is one of the greatest triumphs of science in our 
 time that the philologist has been able, by slow and pains- 
 taking^ processes it is true, but all the more certainly on that 
 account, to discover that nearly all the languages of Europe 
 are in their essence and material structure, traceable to <me 
 great parent, whose original dwelling place is unknown, except 
 that it was probably in Central Asia, and whose venerable form 
 is shrouded by the mists of a primitive antiquity. Compara- 
 tive philology is one of the most interesting- and instructive 
 of all the sciences, and its investigations and discoveries will 
 well repay those who have the requisite time and inclination 
 to study it. The Celtic language was probably the language 
 of all the tribes who occupied Britain at the time of the first 
 Roman invasion, and it is also probable that the two great 
 dialects of it, the Gaelic and Cymric, were characteriEed by 
 great differences even at that early time. There is a wonder- 
 ful intractability, I had almost said clannishness, about the 
 Gaelic language, considering that it is a full sister to the 
 other languages of Europe. Owing to its peculiar organic 
 structure it does not readily assimilate with other languages. 
 During- thirteen or fourteen hundred years the Cymric in 
 Wales and the Gaelic in Scotland existed side by side with 
 the Saxon or Gothic, and during that long period, compara- 
 tively few words have been adopted by the Celtic people from 
 the Saxon vocabulary, and equally as few Celtic words have 
 been adopted b}' the Saxons. As a recent writer on the 
 subjects states, "the two languages have in no sense met 
 and become one ; there has been no chemical combination 
 between the Gothic and Celtic elements but only more or less 
 
t 
 
 of a mechanical intermixture." The tenacity of life which 
 all lang-uagcs possess, is nowhere better shown than by the 
 fact that the Gaelic tongfue, althougfh encroached on year 
 after year by the Kn^^lish, is still spoken by hundreds of 
 thousands of Scottish Hig-hlanders, and by the descendants 
 of a larg'e number of Highlanders who emigrated to various 
 parts of the world in modern times. If it is doomed to extinc- 
 tion, as we must believe, it will die hard, and .the endowment 
 of a Gaelic chair in the University of Edinburgh, a few 
 years ago, under the incumbency of Professor Blackie, him- 
 self an accomplished and enthusiastic Gaelic scholar, will not 
 hasten its dissolution but probably preserve it in existence 
 for many generations to come. 
 
 The transition from the Gaelic language to Gaelic litera- 
 ture is a natural one. The subject is large and most interest- 
 ing. The oldest manuscripts extant in the United Kingdom 
 to-day are Celtic, some of them, it is mantaincd, were written 
 in the second century. A considerable number are in the 
 possession of the Highland Society, including the celebrated 
 Dean of Lisniore's book. A number are in the Advocates 
 Library in Edinburgh, a few are in the Harlein Library and 
 a few are in the Bodelein Library at Oxford. A large number 
 are in Trinity College, Dublin, and a considerable and grow- 
 ing collection is in the British Museum. In addition to this 
 many M.S.S. are still in private hands. Whilst it is doubtful 
 that the claim to such a high antiquity as the second century 
 can be upheld, there is no doubt that the great mass of these 
 Celtic M.S.S. are very old, many of them having been written 
 soon after the arrival of St Columba in Scotland, about the 
 beginning of the sixth century ; and when we consider the 
 rude and warlike times in which they were produced, the 
 absence of suitable depositories, the various mutations, acci- 
 dents, and chances of destruction to which they were exposed, 
 to say nothing of the gnawing and incisive tooth of time, 
 it is a wonder that so many are still left, and we are irresist- 
 ably led to the conclusion that in the palmy days of Gaelic 
 literature, probably from the sixth to the eighth century, when 
 Scotland was a Gaelic Kingdom, ruled by Gaelic kings, the 
 mass of its literature must have been very great, and but for 
 the unfortunate circumstance that Edward I. during one of 
 his raids into Scotland, carried away all national muniments, 
 for which his successor afterwards paid dearly at Bannock- 
 burn, we should probably have a much larger collection at 
 the present day. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the introduction of Christian- 
 ity into Scotland by St. Ninian, about the end of the fourth 
 
8 
 
 century, and its wide-spread propagation by St. Columba 
 about the middle of the sixth century, gave a great and bene- 
 ficial stimulus to Gaelic literature, and it is no wonder that 
 the .little and lonely Isle of lona, "on which St. Columba 
 founded his religious establishments, and which at that time 
 and for some centuries afterwards was the centre, not only of 
 religious zeal and effort, but also of intellectual activity in 
 Scotland, has clai' r:'d the interest of all succeeding ages," 
 and we may well agree with the remarks of a distin^i^uished 
 writer, the late Sir Daniel Wilson, when he says, quoting and 
 improving Dr. Johnson's remarks, that "that illustrious island, 
 which once was the luminary of the Caledonian regions, still 
 awakens feelings in the minds of every thoughtful visitor 
 such as no other Scottish locality can give birth to, unless a 
 Scotsman might be pardoned if he associates with it — not the 
 plain of Marathon — but the field of Bannockburn." 
 
 Although the remains of Celtic literature which have 
 been handed down to us are not so numerous or bulky as the 
 literary remains of many other nations,, they are valuable as 
 showing the sentiments of the people of those ancient times, 
 their culture, their modes of life, their occupations and the 
 civil and ecclesiastical polities under which they lived. They 
 carry us back to a time before the patriarchal system of chiefs 
 and clans existed, before the feudal system was adopted or 
 rather imposed — when Scotland was a Celtic kingdom, with a 
 well organized government which was administered by Kings, 
 Marmors and Toisechs. The subjects treated in them are 
 various — Theology, Metaphysics, Philology, Medicine, Poetry 
 and Astrology ; and as Dr. McLachlan, a distinguished Gaelic 
 scholar, speaking of that period says, "the nation was by no 
 means in such a state of barbarism as some writers would lead us 
 to expect. They had Gaelic terms to express the most ab- 
 stract ideas in mataphysics ; they had legal forms — for we 
 have a formal legal charter of lands, written in Gaelic. They 
 had medical men of skill and acquirements ; they had writers 
 on law and theology, and they had men skilled in architec- 
 ture and sculpture." 
 
 A large proportion of the ancient Gaelic literature was 
 in the form of poetry, much of it, if not most, being of the 
 heroic kind ; and the custodians, and in many instances, the 
 authors of this poetry were the Bards, who were also music- 
 ians ; consequently poetry and music went hand in hand, 
 and from the close connection between these arts it may not 
 be out of place to refer briefly to the music of the Scottish 
 Highlands. Dr. McLachlan, whom I have just quoted, says : 
 " The Gaelic music was peculiarly quaint and pathetic, irre- 
 
9 
 
 
 gular, and moving on with the most sing-ular intervals; 
 the movement is still self-contained and impressive — to the 
 Celt eminently so." It is not generally recognized that 
 Sc«)ttish music has been derived from the Gaelic race. The 
 same writer says further that "the Scottish Lowland music 
 so much and so deservedly admired, is a legacy from the 
 Celtic music thnmghout ; there is nothing in ft which it 
 holds in common with any Saxon race in existence. The airs 
 to which "Scots wha hae," " Auld lang syne," " Roy's wife," 
 and " Ye banks and bra^s," are sung, are airs to which 
 nothing similar can be found in England ; they are Scottish 
 and only Scottish ; and can be recognized as such at once, 
 but airs of a precisely similar character can be found among 
 all Celtic races." 
 
 Much as the scenery of a country has to do in moulding 
 the character of a people, I am inclined to think that its 
 influence is inferit)r to that of a country's songs and that 
 there is much truth in the saying, attributed to Fletcher of 
 Salton — "Give me the making of a nation's songs and I care 
 not who makes its laws." It is a curious fact that the Scottish 
 Highlanders never took kindly to the Psalm tunes which were 
 introduced after the reformation, and which are still in use 
 in Scotland. I do not know that they are much to be blamed 
 for this, for many of them are lugubrious enough. They, 
 however, made a selection of some half dozen tunes and sang 
 them after a fashion of their own. The principal notes of 
 the old tunes are retained, but they are sung with so many 
 variations, that the tune in its new dress can scarcely be 
 recognized. SpeaKing of these tunes a Scottish minister 
 says that " sung on a Communion Sabbath by a crowd of 
 worshippers on the green sward of a Highland valley ' Old 
 Dundee' is incomparable, and exercises over the Highland 
 mind a powerful influence." Of the many elective affinities 
 of the human mind, the one which selects out of a mass of 
 sacred or other music the elemeitswhich are mostin accordance 
 with an inherited or an organic taste, is not the least interest- 
 ing. And now a word about the national musical instrument 
 of Scotland. It is the fashion amongst some people to decry 
 bagpipe music, but it must be remembered that Mendelsshon 
 was not one of these, for when he visited the Highlands he 
 was so impressed with it that he afterwards introduced a 
 portion of" a pibroch into one of his finest compositions. The 
 bagpipe is not merely the national instrument of Scotland. 
 It is said to be the only national instrument in Europe. It is 
 true that it is not adapted for the execution of certain melo- 
 dies, such as "Home, sweet home," or "The last rose of 
 
10 
 
 summer," but for military music it is adapted in the hig-hest 
 degree. To ^uote the words of an able writer, — " Even 
 Highlanders will allow that it is not the quietest of instru- 
 ments ; but when far from their mountain home what sounds 
 however melodious, can thrill round their hearts like one burst 
 of their native pipe. It talks to them of home and of the past, 
 and brings before them, on the burning plains of India or 
 amidst the world renowned snows of Canada, the wild highland 
 glens and oft frequented streams of Caledonia. Need it be 
 said to how many" fields of victory and danger its proud strains 
 have led ; there is not a battle field honorable to Britain on 
 which its war-blast has not sounded. When every other 
 instrument has been hushed by the confusion and carnage of 
 the scene it has been borne into the thick of battle, and far 
 on in advance, its bleeding but devoted bearer, sinking on 
 the earth, has sounded at once encouragement to his country- 
 men and his own coronach." 
 
 I come now to speak of some of the personal characteris- 
 tics of the Highlander. Eminent amongst these are his 
 ardent attachment to his kith and kin, his love for his native 
 land, his courteous manners and hospitality, his manly 
 independence, his honor and fidelity, his courage and coolness 
 in the hour of danger, and his contempt of death. In common 
 with other mountaineers, but perhaps to a greater degree, 
 the Scottish Highlander is imbued, both at home and abroad, 
 with an intense love of his country ; this sentiment never 
 leaves him, never weakens or decays. It is an abiding 
 passion during life, and ends only with his death. It is 
 therefore no wonder that when called to emigrate, either 
 from choice or by necessity, his heart should be rung with throes 
 which never cease to be felt so long as that heart continues 
 to beat. 
 
 The Highlander's spirit of independence is shown through- 
 out the whole course of his history, and is nowhere better 
 exemplified than in his early struggles with the Romans. 
 The speech which Tacitus puts into the mouth of Galcagus 
 on the eve of the momentous battle of the Grampians, and 
 which in substance, if not in form, is no doubt authentic, 
 breathes the very essence of national independence and lib- 
 erty. Galcagus, addressing the Caledonians, says, — "Let us 
 therefore dare like men. We are all summoned by the great 
 call of Nature ; not only those who know the value of liberty, 
 but even such as think life on any terms the dearest blessing ; 
 and shall not we, unconquered and undebased by slavery ; a 
 nation ever free, and struggling now, not to recover but to en- 
 sure our liberties ; shall we not go forth the champions of our 
 
11 
 
 country. Shall we not, by one great effort, show the Romans 
 that we are the people whom Caledcmia has reserved to be 
 assertors of the public weal. All that can inspire the human 
 heart, every mt)tive that can incite us to deeds of valour, is on 
 our side. Let us seek the enemy, and, as we rush upon him, 
 remember the g"lory delivered down to us by our ancestors ; 
 rnd let us, each man, remember that upon his sword depends 
 the fate of all prosperity." 
 
 Galcag-us may be reg^arded as a prototype of Wallace and 
 Bruce, and it would almost seem as if the echo of his address 
 to the Caledonians was in the ears of Burns when he wrote his 
 great national ode. The comparison is close between the 
 sentiments of Galcagus and those expressed in " Scots wha 
 hae wi' Wallace bled." 
 
 The Caledonians according to Tacitus, were defeated in 
 the battle which followed, but they were not conquered ; 
 their haug"hty spirit was unbroken, and notwithstanding the 
 many and vigorous efforts made by the Romans to subdue 
 them during" the remaining 300 years of their occupation of 
 Britain, they signally failed to do so, and hence the occasion 
 of the poet's lines on the Scottish thistle 
 
 Triumphant be the thistle, still unfurled. 
 
 Dear symbol wild, on freedom's hills it g'rows, 
 
 Where Fing-al stemmed the Tyrants of the world 
 And Roman eag^les left unconquered foes. 
 
 The thistle was not, however, at that time or for many cen- 
 turies afterwards the national emblem of Scotland. The 
 legend runs that it was instrumental in betraying to the 
 garrison of Slains, the stealthy approach, under cover of 
 night, of an army of cruel-hearted Danes. The castle moat 
 was dry and over-g"rown with thistles which pierced the naked 
 feet of the g-host-like multitude, whose cries of pain, as they 
 were on the point of effecting an entry, alarmed the garrison 
 and frustrated the execution of their desig-n. The event can- 
 not be better described than in the poet's words : 
 
 '* Each clansman started frotn his couch and armed him for the fig'ht, 
 
 As eajfles on avenfjfin^;^ wini^s from proud lien Lomond's crest 
 
 Swoop fiercely down, and dash to earth the spoilers of their nest ; 
 
 As lions bound upon their prey, or as the burning' tide 
 
 Sweeps onward with resistless might, from some volcano's side, 
 
 So rushed the gallant band of Scots— the garrison of Slains 
 
 Upon the titters of the sea, the carnage loving Danes. 
 
 Claymore and battleaxe, and spear were steeped in slaughter's flood. 
 
 While every thistle in the moat was splashed with crimson blood. 
 
 In memory of that awful night, the thistle's hardy grace, 
 
 Was chosen as the emblem meet of Albion's dauntless race ; 
 
 And never since in battle's storm, by land or on the sea 
 
 Has Scotland's honour tarnished been, God grant it ne'er may be." 
 
12 
 
 It is perhaps worthy of mention that the defeat of the 
 Caledonians at the battle of the Grampians was mainly owing 
 to the tactics of the r.iercenaries in the service of Rome, 
 whose swords were sharpened to a point whilst the swords 
 of the Highlanders were not so sharpened. The former 
 fought with the point, and the latter, with the edge of the 
 sword ; and, by the way, it is a curious fact, not generally 
 known, that the disaster at Culloden was partly owing to the 
 tactics of the Duke of Cumberland, who when lying with his 
 forces at Aberdeen during the winter of 1745, took pains to 
 instruct his troops how to receive the terrible onslaught of 
 the Highlanders, with the point of the bayonet. It was the 
 custom of the Highlander at the commencement of an engage- 
 ment to discharge his firearms, and throwing them away, to 
 rely on his strong right arm and broadsword for victory, and 
 he uniformly followed this course in fighting. Cumberland's 
 men were trained to receive the Highlander's charge with a 
 newly devised thrust of the bayonet, of which they had no 
 previous experience, and for which they were not prepared, 
 and this was one of the causes which lost them the day. 
 
 The deep attachment of the Highlander to his friends 
 and his unrelenting emnity towards his foes are proverbial and 
 are two of his most marked characteristics. As a rule he never 
 turns his back on friend or foe. The well known story of the 
 Highland Chief, who when dying was exhorted to forgive his 
 enemies if he hoped to be forgiven, and could only do so by 
 transferring his deep and hereditary hate to his son, with 
 injunctions to wreak speedy and signal vengeance on his 
 enemy, is a good illustration of the Highlander's hatred. 
 
 There are some phlegmatic races whose passions seem 
 to run on a dead level and seldom rise to exalted and ennobl- 
 ing sentiments on the one hand, or fall much below the line 
 of tame propriety on the other, but the Highlanders are not 
 one of these ; their love is ardent and their hate intense. 
 Their attachment to their relatives and friends, which is 
 nowhere better or more beautifully exemplified that in the 
 devotion of children to their parents, and to each other, and 
 in the respect shown to the aged, is sometimes called "clan- 
 nishness;" it would no*, however, be a bad thing if this spirit 
 were to become more wide-spread, not only amongst the 
 Highlanders but amongst all other races. But, whilst the 
 Highlander is clannish, he is at the same time generous to a 
 fault and hospitable to all. His guests, no matter whether 
 they be acquaintances or strangers, are treated with the 
 utmost cordiality and bounty ; nothing is too good for them. 
 His entire resources are laid under contribution to serve 
 
IS 
 
 them, and the welcome they receive is not the welcome of an 
 hour but of days or weeks if need be. It is in short a wel- 
 come from the heart — a real Highland welcome. 
 
 Speaking" of the honour and fidelity of this race, there 
 is perhaps no higher illustration of these qualities in the 
 history of any people than that shown in the protection which 
 was given to Charles Edward after the battle of Culloden, 
 when he was compelled to wander as an outcast in the High- 
 lands and Islands of Scotland — a protection which was given 
 always at the risk, and sometimes at the expense of life. 
 With a reward of thirty thousand pounds upon his head, 
 this illustrious but ill-fated prince spent months amongst the 
 Highlanders, being personally known to hundreds of them, 
 without ever running the slightest risk of being betrayed. The 
 noble spirit of the Highlander contemned the reward and de- 
 spised the motives which prompted it. If revenge is sweet to the 
 outraged feelings of the mountaineer, the price of blood is an 
 abomination to him. Nor was it men alone, but women also, 
 who evinced these noble feelings ; and there is no greater 
 honour on the head of any woman that which rests on the 
 heroic and self-sacrificing Flora Macdonald, who as is well 
 known, took her life and reputation in hand, when she set 
 forth to guide her prince, through hair-breath escapes, to a 
 place of safety. 
 
 Probably the most distinguished characteristics of thv^ 
 Scottish Highlander, arc his courage, endurance, coolness in 
 the hour of danger, and his contempt of death. History 
 furnishes many instances of these qualities, both in civil and 
 military life ; but I can only in the short time at my disposal, 
 make mention of a few of them. Such of you as remember 
 the Crimean war will recall the thrill of emotion which 
 passed through the entire British nation when the news 
 of the repulse of the Russian cavalry on the heights of 
 Balaclava by the Highland Brigade under the command of 
 Sir Colin Campbell, was announced. The " Times" corres- 
 pondent, who witnessed the action, says, "The Russians in one 
 grand line charge on towards Balaclava; the ground flies be- 
 neath their horses feet ; gathering speed at every stride they 
 dash on toward that thin red streak tipped with the line of steel. 
 As the Russians come within 600 yards down goes that line 
 of steel in front and out rings a volley of minnie musketry ; 
 the distance is too great ; the Russians are not checked but 
 still sweep onwards through the smoke with the whole force 
 of horse and men. With breathless suspense everyone in the 
 valley waits the bursting of that wave on the line of Gaelic 
 rock, but ere they came within 200 yards another deadly 
 
14 
 
 volley flashes from the levelled rifles and carries terror into 
 the Kussians ; they wheel about, open files rig"ht and left, 
 and fly back faster than they came. Brave Hig-hlanders ! 
 Well done ! shout the spectators. But events thicken, the 
 Highlanders and their splendid front are soon forg-otten. 
 Men scarcely have a moment to think of this fact that the 
 93rd never altered their formation to receive that tide of 
 horsemen. "No," said Sir Colin Campbell, "I did not think 
 it worth while to form them even four deep ; the ordinary 
 British line, two deep, was quite sufficient to repel the attack 
 of those Muscovite cavaliers." 
 
 Take another instance, when the mutiny broke out in 
 India, the British forces in that country amounted to a mere 
 handful of men, and it devolved upon Sir Henry Havclock to 
 take such measures as would best protect the British residents 
 and hold the country in subjection until adequate reinforce- 
 ments should arrive. His entire force consisted of a lig"ht field 
 battery, a portion of the 1st Madras Fusileers, the (Aih 
 regiment and the 78th Highlanders ; with this force, num- 
 bering a little over 1800 men, and a few Sikhs, he set out under 
 the most intense heat, and the monsoon having shortly after- 
 wards set in, rain fell in torrents, rendering the whole 
 county one vast morass— to retake Cawnpore and rescue 
 I^ucknow. He encountered and defeated the rebels at Futtch- 
 pore and at Aherwa from which place Havelock wrote in his 
 dispatches to the War office, as follows, — "The opportunity 
 had now arrived for which I had long and ardently waited, 
 of developing the prowess of the 78th Highlanders. The 
 guns of the enemy were strongly posted behind a lofty hamlet 
 well entrenched. I directed this regiment to advance, and 
 have never witnessed conduct more admirable. They were 
 led by Colonel Hamilton and followed him with surpassing 
 steadiness and gallantry under a heavy fire. As they aproach- 
 ed the village they cheered and charged with the bayonet, 
 the bagpipes sounding tbe pibroch. Need I add that the 
 enemy fled; the village was taken ?nd the guns captured. 
 During the course of this action General Havelock exclaimed, 
 " Well done, 78tli ! You shall be my own regiment. Another 
 charge like that will win the day." Another and a 
 bloodier charge followed and the day was won. Addressing 
 the officers of the 78th at the close of this action, General 
 Havelock said, — " Gentlemen, I am glad of having this oppor- 
 tunity of saying a few words to you, which you may repeat 
 to your men. I am now upwards of sixty years old. I have 
 been forty years in the service. I have been engaged in action 
 about seven and twenty times, but in the whole of my career 
 
16 
 
 I have never seen any regiment behave better; nay more, I have 
 never seen any behave so well as the 78th Highlanders this 
 day. I am proud of you, and if ever I have the good luck 
 to be made Major General, the first thing I shall do will be to 
 go to the Duke of Cambridge and request that when my time 
 arrives for the colonelcy of a regiment I may have the 78th 
 Highlanders. And this, gentlemen, you hear from a man 
 who is not in the habit of saying more than he means. I am 
 not a Highlander, but I wish I was one." To come down to 
 the present day, General Lord Roberts was recently, on the 
 occasion of his resigning the Indian command, entertained at 
 a farev/ell dinner, when he paid the following splendid 
 tribute Vo the heroism of the Highlanders. He said, — speak- 
 ing on this occasion and in this company, I think I may 
 venture to express my personal admiration for the kilted warriors 
 of the North. Never shall I forget the 93rd Highlanders at 
 Sikunder Bagh, or the 72nd Highlanders at Piewar Kotul, or 
 92nd Highlanders at Candahar. Nor shall I forget the 
 advance in the line of the 42nd, 75th and 93rd Highlanders 
 going straight for the enemy's battery at Cawnpore. It was 
 a splendid sight — one of the most heart-stirring military 
 spectacles I have ever beheld." It would be an easy matter 
 to nmltiply instances of the courage and endurance of the 
 Scottish Highlanders, and to dwell on many other character- 
 istics which I have not even alluded to, but I have already 
 trespassed too much on your patience, and I shall now draw 
 rapidly to a close. 
 
 The Scottish Highlands, the physical features of which 
 have been epitomised by Sir Walter Scott in his well known 
 lines 
 
 "Land of brown heath and Shag'g'y wood 
 Land of the mountain and the tlood." 
 
 although beautiful and romantic, and eminently adapted to 
 produce a hardy and heroic race, are not extensive in point 
 of geographical area, and they are still less so in point of 
 productive space, such as would sustain a large population, 
 and I am sorry to say that the land which is available for the 
 support of man is still being reduced b}^ the establishment of 
 deer forests for the sport of the rich, thus affording a sad 
 illustration of the poet's complaint, when he speaks of " a 
 country where wealth accumulates and men decay." Hence 
 immigration to foreign lands and dependencies of the empire 
 set in at an early date, and still continues ; and it is not 
 improbable that at the present day, there are many times 
 more Highlanders, or people of Highland descent, abroad 
 than there are at home. The wild independence which they 
 
16 
 
 enjoyed, and the rude warfare in which they were engajjfed 
 in the past, may have been the means of fitttin^ them for the 
 battle of life in the wider spheres in which they are found 
 to-day. 
 
 The characteristics which I have referred to, if preserved 
 in their intej^rity, will be invaluable to them in ever}' land 
 in which they are scattered, and in every occupation in which 
 they are eng-aj^ed. As Crolly says of Edmund Burke, when 
 the latter arose in his mig-ht to combat the destructive spirit 
 of democracy which was awakened by the French Revolution, 
 " Burke arose. His whole life had been an unconsious prepar- 
 ation foi the moment." So should I like to say and believe, 
 that the whole i)ast career of the Scottish Highlander, has 
 been an unconscious, but a ver^- thorough, preparation for the 
 world-wide career which now lies before him ; and it is a 
 matter of gratification that in this comparatively new career 
 the old animosities which prevailed between clan and clan 
 are buried never to be revived, in the remembrance of a 
 common blood, a common nationality and common character- 
 istics. Man}- of the standards around which the Highlanders 
 were called upon to rally in the past, will never again be 
 raised. The liery cross will never again be borne, as a call 
 to arms, from glen *o glen, and the beacon will never again 
 be lighted upon the mountain tops, either as a signal or as a 
 warning of internecine feud, but there maj- still be occasions 
 to rally round new and common standards, and who will 
 venture to limit the i)ossibilities of daring and doing which 
 ma}" lie within the bosom of a grand confederacy of the 
 Highland Clans, scattered though they may be, or the power 
 for good which may be contained within the organization of 
 this new and natural commonwealth. 
 
 I have unbounded faith that the Highlanders' future 
 history will neither belie nor belittle his record in the past. 
 I believe that he will ever be found on the side of civil 
 and religious liberty, on the side of patriotism, on the side of 
 true progress, on the side of all the finer sentiment and aspir- 
 ations of human nature, and that should the occasion again 
 come, as it may, to seal his testimony with his blood, whether 
 at the call of patriotism or at the call of principle or in any 
 other just cause, his courage will be as conspicuous, his sword 
 as keen and his arm as strong as of yore, and that he wilt in 
 such event reflect continued credit on the land which gave 
 him or his forefathers birth ; a land which has long i>cen 
 famous in song and story, and which has been well described 
 in native phrase as " Tir na Beinn na Gleann S'na Gaisgcach." 
 
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