does not follow his Chief. He brings out 150 men.

In Gaelic he is call

ed Macphadrick. His lands hold of the Crown. In armaments he frequently joins with the Laird of Glengarry.

"Chisholms.-Their Chief is Chisholm of Strathglass, in Gaelic called Chisallich. His lands are held of the Crown, and he can bring out 200

men.

"Mackenzies. One of the most considerable clans of one name next to the Campbells in the nation. The Earl of Seaforth is their Chief. In Gaelic he is called Mac Coinich. Out of his countries of Kintail, Lochalsh, Lochbroom, Lochcarron, on the Continent, and in the Isle of Lewis, all in Ross-shire, he can raise 1,000 men. The Earl of Cromarty, with the Lairds of Gairloch, Scatwell, Killcowie, Redcastle, Comric, &c. &c. can raise among them 1,500 men more.

"Monroes.-Sir Henry Monro of Fowlis is their Chief. His lands hold of the Crown. He can raise 300 men.

"Rosses. Lord Ross is their Chief. His lands hold of the Crown, and he can raise 500 men.

"Sutherlands.-The Earl of Sutherland is their Chief. In Gaelic he is called Morar Chatto. He can raise 2,000 men.

"Mackays.-The Lord Reay is their Chief. In Gaelic he is called Macaoi. His estate holds of the Crown, lies in Strathnaver, and brings out

800 men.

"Sinclairs.-The Earl of Caithness is their Chief. He is called in Gaelic Morar Gallu. He could raise 1,000 men, but many of his followers are now under May, Dunbeath, Ulbster, Freswick, &c. &c.'

D. Page 33.

Or the expedients generally adopted by the Chiefs for summoning their friends and followers, it may not be unacceptable to afford the reader some idea. The warlike disposition of the Celtic clans, their jealousy of wrongs, the numerous concurrent causes of irritation and quarrel, and the nature of the country, over a large extent of which they lived scattered and distant from one another, rendered some signal necessary to give the alarm, and assemble the warriors. The principal signal was the Cross Tarie or Fiery Cross, a piece of wood burnt or burning at one end, with a piece of linen or white cloth stained with blood hanging from the other. This symbol served two purposes. It was sent round the country to call the men to arms, and it was meant also to show what were the intentions of the enemy, (that is, to burn and desolate the country,) and what would be their own fate if they did not defend their honour, their lives, and their properties. The cross was sent round the country from hand to hand, each person who bore it running at full speed, shouting as he went along the war-cry of the tribe, and naming the place of rendezvous. At each hamlet a fresh man took it up, so that an alarm was given, and the people assembled with a celerity almost incredible. One of the latest instances of the Fiery Cross being used happened in 1745, when, by the orders of Lord Breadalbane, it was sent round Loch Tay, (a distance of thirty-two miles, in three hours,) to raise his people and prevent their join ing the rebels, but with less effect than in 1715, when it went the same round, and when five hundred men assembled the same evening under the command of the Laird of Glenlyon, acting under the orders of the Earl of Breadalbane, to join the Earl of Mar.

The war-cry served as a watch-word to individuals in the confusion of the combat, in the darkness of the night, or on any sudden alarm,

when assistance was necessary. Each tribe had its own war-cry, (or Slogan, as it is called in Scotch,) to which every clansman answered. The war-cry of the Grants was Craig Eila-chie, from a large rock in the centre of the country of the Grants; that of the Mackenzies, Tullochard; of the Macdonalds, Craig-na-fioch; of the Macphersons, Craigdui; of the Macgregors, Ard-choile; of the Macfarlanes, Loch Sloy; of the Buchanans, Clairinish; and of the Farquharsons, Carn-na-cuin. Some families in the border Lowlands employed their names as Slogans and watch-words. In the case of the Gordons, whenever assistance was necessary, the cry of "A Gordon! a Gordon!" was sure to be effectual. The cry of" A Forbes! a Forbes!" was equally availing with regard to the Forbeses; and as these two warlike families were at feud for more than 200 years, they had frequent occasion for their respective slogans, in their countless strifes and rencounters. Besides these cries, they had other marks by which it could be known to what clan, tribe, or district, individuals belonged. One of these was the particular disposition or set of the different colours of the tartan, in the plaid, kilt, hose, and trews. Another mark of distinction was a tuft of heath, pine, or such plant, stuck in the bonnet, as would not fade or cast the leaf. Thus the Macdonalds wore in their bonnets tufts of heath; the Macgregors and Grants a bunch of pine; the Mackenzies wore the holly; the Mackintoshes the boxwood, and so on; always taking care, whatever the badge or mark was, that it should be permanent, and not affected by the change of the season. This was the practice of all except the Stewarts, who generally wore the oak; which, from losing the leaf and decaying, many regarded as ominous of the decline of the family and name, who also considered the oak emblematical, as the leaves, though withered and decayed, still hang by the branches till forced off by the new leaves in spring,

E. Page 33.

Of such feuds, many instances might be adduced. I shall select only one, which may serve to exemplify the apparently trivial causes from which they sometimes arose, in periods when men could not resort to the laws for protection, and the deadly and often fatal animosity with which they were maintained. After the middle of the fifteenth century a quarrel occurred between Stewart of Garth and a clan named Macivor, who then possessed the greater part of Glenlyon. The Laird of Garth had been nursed by a woman of the clan Macdiarmid, which was then, and is still, pretty numerous in Glenlyon and Breadalbane. This woman had two sons, one of whom, foster-brother to the laird, having been much injured by Macivor in a dispute, threatened to apply for redress to his foster-brother; and the two brothers immediately set out for that purpose to the Castle of Garth, twelve or fourteen miles distant. In those days, a foster-brother was regarded as one of the family; and Macivor, well aware that the quarrel of the Macdiarmids would be espoused by his neighbour, ordered a pursuit. The young men being hard pressed, threw themselves into a deep pool of the river Lyon, where they hoped that their pursuers would not venture to follow them. The foster-brother was, however, desperately wounded with an arrow, and drowned in the pool, which still retains the name of Linne Donnel, or Donald's Pool. The other succeeded in reaching Garth. Resolved to avenge his friend's death, the laird collected his followers and marched to Glenlyon. Macivor mustered his men, and met the in

vaders about the middle of the glen. The chieftains stepped forward between the two bands, in the hope of settling the affair amicably. Garth wore a plaid the one side of which was red, and the other darkcoloured tartan; and, on proceeding to the conference, he told his men, that, if the result was amicable, the darker side of the plaid should remain outward as it was; if otherwise, he would give the signal of attack by turning out the red side. They were still engaged in the conference, when Macivor whistled loud, and a number of armed men started up from the adjoining rocks and bushes, where they had been concealed, while the main body were drawn up in front. "Who are these," said Stewart," and for what purpose are they there?" They are only a herd of my roes that are frisking about the rocks," replied Macivor. "In that case," said the other, "it is time for me to call my hounds." Then turning his plaid he rejoined his men, who were watching his motions, and instantly advanced. Both parties rushed forward to the combat; the Macivors gave way, and were pursued eight miles farther up the glen. Here they turned to make a last effort, but were again driven back with great loss. The survivors fled across the mountains to another part of the country, and were for some time not permitted to return. Macivor's land was, in the meantime, seized by the victors, and law confirmed what the sword had won.

The names of the river and glen still continue memorials of this sanguinary fray. Dhui and Glen Dhui were their former names. When the Stewarts were returning from the last pursuit, they washed their swords in the river, which was discoloured a considerable way down on one side by the blood. "This stream," exclaimed the chieftain, "shall no longer be called Dhui, but Leiven, (leiven is to wipe or lave,) and the glen shall be called Glenleiven." Before the combat commenced, Stewart's men pulled off a kind of sandals, bound round the ancles with thongs, and I called in Gaelic cuaran. These they laid aside close to a small rock, which to this day is called Lech-na-cuaran, the stone or slab of the sandals. The spot where they drew their swords is called Ruskich, to uncover or unsheath; the field where the rencounter commenced, Lagganna-cath, the field of battle, and the spot where the last stand was made, Camus-na-carn, from the cairns or mounds of stones which cover the graves, and which, from their quantity, show the considerable number slain, which, tradition says, amounted to 140 on the part of the Macivors.

In 1816, a sword and battle-axe, now in my possession, were dug up at Laggan-na-cath. The first is in the form of a small sword, and remarkable for its elegance and proportions, being equal to any model of the present day. The blade is long, but, as may be supposed, much destroyed by rust. The axe, more decayed than the sword, is the same as was anciently used by the Highlanders when they closed in the fight. The sword is so far curious, as it shows that the Highlanders of that age had small swords.

F. Page 36.

THE following are the instances given by Martin: "Captain Jackson

*Charters under the Great Seal were passed by James III., dated at Edinburgh, 24th January 1477, and addressed" To John Stewart of Garth and Fothergill, and Neil Stewart, his son and heir, of the lands of Fothergill, Apnadull, Temper, and others in Rannoch, Glenquaich, Wester Strathbrane, and Glenlioun, in the County of Perth."-Records Edinburgh Register Office.

of Whitehaven, about sixteen years ago, was obliged to leave his ship, being leaky, in the bay within Island Glass, alias Scalpa, in the Isle of Harris, with two men only to take care of her, though loaded with goods. The ship was not within three miles of a house, and separated from the dwelling-houses by mountains. Yet when the captain returned twelve months afterwards, he found the vessel and his men quite safe. Captain Lotch lost the Dromedary of London, of 600 tons burthen, with all her rich cargo from the Indies, of which he might have saved a great deal, had he embraced the assistance the natives offered him. The captain and his men were kindly entertained in the Isle of Skye by Sir Norman Macleod, and though, among other valuable goods, they had six boxes of gold dust, there was not the least thing taken from them by the inhabitants.” *

This protection afforded to the lives and property of their fellow creatures in the calamity of shipwreck is honourable to a people among whom the restraints of political institutions were few and feeble. To persons who understand the character of the Highlanders, it would be unnecessary to state facts, to prove how generally feelings of humanity, charity, and probity prevail; but it is by relating a succession of characteristic traits and circumstances of different ages and periods, connected with, and illustrating each other, that prejudices, long entertained, can be subdued, and that a proposition, however true in itself, which militates against general opinion, can be fully established. To deny the truth of a general statement, to which, in all cases, exceptions may be made, is a matter of no difficulty; but it is not so easy to resist a coincident and connected view of the manners and habits of successive generations. I do not mean to apply those observations to the statements which follow, but to the general scope of the whole. I shall have occasion to state facts in opposition to the opinion of many, with regard to the character and dispositions of the Highlanders, as well as with regard to their intelligence and religious and moral principles.

Without referring to Roman authors, Ossian's poems, or the traditional history of the ancient Caledonians, for the firmness and spirit of independence with which they maintained their freedom from a foreign yoke; I shall only notice a few extracts from authors, whose works were printed soon after they were composed. Among the earliest of these is Hollingshed, who wrote previous to 1560, and who thus speaks of the Highlanders: "Hereby, in like sort, it cometh to pass, that they are more hard of constitution and bodie, to beare off the cold blasts, to watch better, and abstaine longer; whereinto also it appeareth, that they are kind, bold, nimble, and thereto more skillfull in the warres. As for their faith and promise, they hold it with great constancie." The author of Certayne Matters concerning Scotland," printed in 1597, describes the Highlanders of his day in the following manner: "Their drink is the broth of sodden flesh; † they love very well the drinks made of whey and certayne yerbs, drinking the same at feasts; but the most part of them only drink water; their custom is to make their bread of oats and barley, which are the only kinds of grain that grow in those parts; experience with tyme hath taught them to make it of such sort that it is not unpleasant to eat ; they take a little of it in the morning, and passing to the hunting or any other busynis, content themselves without any other kind of meat till

* Martin's Description of the Western Isles. London, printed 1703. + This beef-soup has gone out of fashion, as many cannot now indulge in animal food. It was called inerich, and considered so nourishing, that, even in my own time, it was given to delicate persons who required strengthening food.

even." The following extract is from an author of great learning and research, who wrote upwards of a century after the preceding: "But what contributes above all things to their health and longevity, is constant temperance. They rather satisfy than oppress nature. Their meals are two a-day, water being their ordinary drink; they are strangers to many of the distempers, as they are to most of the vices, of other nations, for some of which they have not so much as a name. They owe every thing to nature. They cure all disorders of the body by simples of their own growth, and by proper diet or labour. Hence, they are stout and active, dexterous in all their exercises, as they are withal remarkably sagacious, choleric, but easily appeased, sociable, good natured, ever cheerful, and having a strong inclination to poetry and music. They are hospitable beyond expression, entertaining all strangers of whatever condition gratis. They have no lawyers or attorneys. The men and women plead their own causes, and every decision is made by the proprietor, who is perpetual president in their courts; or by his bailiff as his substitute. In a word, they are equally void of the two chief curses of mankind, luxury and ambition. They are not only rigid observers of justice, but show less propensity than any people to tumult, except what they may be led into by the extraordinary deference they pay to their chiefs and leaders, who are accountable for the mischiefs they sometimes bring on these well-meaning men, by their feuds and quarrels with their neighbours."

A

The next quotation is from a valuable work lately published. The author, although born in the Lowlands, and at a distance from the people he describes, was latterly much among them, and had every opportunity of ascertaining the truth of what he states. "The natives of the Highlands and Isles possess a degree of civilization, that, by those who had never been amongst them, would hardly be believed. Attention to the great laws of morality, as confirmed and supported by religion, is nowhere more complete; in no part of the world is property more secure. stranger in these regions, behaving inoffensively, will not only travel in perfect safety, but be kindly received, and welcomed with affectionate hospitality. On these unknown coasts, shipwrecks must sometimes happen; and, in all cases of that nature, the mariners are not only saved, where it possibly can be done, and kindly entertained, but their property is secured and preserved with a degree of care, that reflects the highest honour on the natives. During the winter of 1784-5, a vessel, navigated by Danish seamen, having struck on a rock west of Icolmkill, the men, afraid of sinking, took to their boat, and made for that island, leaving the vessel, with the sails set, to drive with the wind and tide. Some of the natives, seeing the vessel rolling, without being under proper management, put off to the ship, and, finding nobody on board, took possession of her, and carried her into Loch Scridan in Mull. The mariners, seeing their vessel safely moored, went and claimed her, and, without hesitation or dispute, obtained full possession, without any salvage or other charge being made, save a few shillings to the men who brought her in. The ship and cargo were then entrusted to the farmer of the land adjoining the port in which she lay, who, for a very trifling consideration, insured the whole cargo to the owners, and delivered it over to them some months afterwards, complete, and in good order. Another vessel was put ashore about the same time in the Island of Coll, the cargo of which was, in like manner, saved, by Mr Maclean, the respectable chief and laird of the island.

• Toland's History of the Druids. London, printed 1709.