The religion of the Highlanders was founded on the simplest principles of Christianity, and cherished by strong feeling. On this, also, was grounded a moral education, without letters, (so far as regarded the lower orders I mean; the middle and higher classes having, for many generations, been well educated,) and transmitted to them from their forefathers, with which was mixed a degree of honourable feeling + which never forsook them in public life, whe

man of the parish of Glenorchy, Mr David Lindsay, was ordered to surrender his charge to a Presbyterian minister then appointed by the Duke of Argyle. When the new clergyman reached the parish to take possession of his living, not an individual would speak to him, and every door was shut against him, except Mr Lindsay's, who received him kindly. On Sunday the new clergyman went to church, accompanied by his predecessor. The whole population of the district were assembled, but they would not enter the church. No person spoke to the new minister, nor was there the least noise or violence, till he attempted to enter the church, when he was surrounded by twelve men fully armed, who told him he must accompany them; and, disregarding all Mr Lindsay's prayers and entreaties, they ordered the piper to play the march of death, and marched away with the minister to the confines of the parish. Here they made him swear on the Bible that he would never return, or attempt to disturb Mr Lindsay. He kept his oath. The synod of Argyle were highly incensed at this violation of their authority, but seeing that the people were determined to resist, no farther attempt was made, and Mr Lindsay lived thirty years afterwards, and died Episcopal minister of Glenorchy, loved and revered by his flock.

• See Appendix, S.

+ One instance of the force of principle, founded on a sense of honour, and its consequent influence, was exhibited in the year 1745, when the rebel army lay at Kirkliston, near the seat of the Earl of Stair, whose grandfather, when Secretary of State for Scotland in 1692, had transmitted to Campbell of Glenlyon, the orders of King William for the massacre of Glenco. Macdonald of Glenco, the immediate descendant of the unfortunate gentleman, who, with all his family, (except a child carried away by his nurse in the dark,) fell a sacrifice to this horrid massacre, had joined the rebels with all his followers, and was then in West Lothian. Prince Charles, anxious to save the house and property of Lord Stair, and to remove from his followers all excitement to revenge, but at the same time not comprehending their true character, proposed that the Glenco men should be marched to a distance from Lord Stair's house and parks,

ther engaged in open rebellion, as in 1745, or as loyal subjects fighting the battles of their country.

"The two principal distinctions in the religion of the Highlanders are the Presbyterian and the Roman Catholic. The latter, with few exceptions, is confined to the county of Inverness, particularly to the districts of Lochaber, Moydart, Arasaik, Morrer, Knoydart, and Strath Glass, and to the islands of Cannay, Eig, South Ouist, and Barra, where the adherents to the religion of their ancestors are equal, if not superior in number, to the disciples of the Reformation. There are likewise a few Episcopalians, chiefly among the gentry.

sive.

"The religion of a Highlander is peaceable and unobtruHe never arms himself with quotations from Scripture to carry on offensive operations. There is no inducement for him to strut about in the garb of piety, in order to attract respect, as his own conduct insures it. Not being perplexed by doubt, he wants no one to corroborate his faith. Upon such a subject, therefore, he is silent, unless invited to the conversation, and then he entertains it with solemnity and reverence. The relationship between him and his Creator is more in his heart than on his tongue. I believe his religious feelings to be as sincere as they are simple and unassuming, and that moral precepts are more congenial to his disposition than mysteries.

"Another circumstance, still more astonishing, is, that Protestants and Papists, so often pronounced to be eternally inimical, live here in charity and brotherhood. On

lest the remembrance of the share which his grandfather had had in the order for extirpating the whole clan should now excite a spirit of revenge. When the proposal was communicated to the Glenco men, they declared, that, if that was the case, they must return home. If they were considered so dishonourable as to take revenge on an innocent man, they were not fit to remain with honourable men, nor to support an honourable cause; and it was not without much explanation, and great persuasion, that they were prevented from marching away the following morning. When education is founded on such principles, the happiest effects are to be expected.

neither side is humanity forgotten in their doctrine of divinity. In Fort William there is the Scotch church, and the Episcopal and the Roman Catholic chapels. The inhabitants of the town, and of the neighbourhood, know no division, except at the doors of their respective places of worship. * On a Sunday morning they may be seen in the street, and approaching by the several roads, conversing together" in unity of spirit and in the bond of peace," till the time arrives for their separation, when each man bends his course according to the dictates of his own conscience, without note or comment from the others; and when the assemblies are dismissed, they meet again as cordially as they parted. The advocate for intolerance will say, such a people must either be lukewarm and indifferent, or the thing is impossible. Not at all. They are truly earnest in their devotion. The same spirit of charity is diffused throughout families. A master does not require his servants to think as he thinks; he merely requires them to do as they are bid. A husband is not offended because his wife loves consubstantiation better than transubstantiation, provided she loves him. As for their children, they easily come to an agreement about them, if they agree in every thing else. I visited a family, where the master of the house and his sons are Roman Catholics, his wife and daughter Episcopalians, and the tutor a Presbyterian. What a mixture! And does it not lead to confusion and wrangling? By no means; quite the contrary. It is a daily lesson of good-will and kind-hearted forbearance, and every one in the house is benefited by it."

This was the state of religion, liberality, and Christian charity among different sects twenty years ago. In more ancient times, the minds and principles of the Highlanders

Pennant, speaking of the island of Canny, says, "The minister and the Popish priest reside in Eig; but, by reason of the turbulent seas that divide these isles, are very seldom able to attend their flocks. I admire the moderation of their congregations, who attend the preaching of either indifferently as they happen to arrive.”

were influenced and guided by their institutions; by their notions, that honour, or disgrace, communicated to a whole family or district; by their chivalry, their poetry, and traditionary tales; in latter periods the labours of the parish ministers have, by their religious and moral instructions, reared an admirable structure on this foundation. No religious order, in modern times, have been more useful and exemplary, by their instructions and practice, than the Scotch parochial clergy. Adding example to precept, they have taught the pure doctrines of Christianity in a manner clear and simple, and easily comprehended by their flock. Thus, the religious tenets of the Highlanders, guided by their clergy, were blended with an impressive, captivating, and, if I may be allowed to call it so, a salutary superstition, inculcating on the minds of all, that an honourable and wellspent life entailed a blessing on descendants, while a curse would descend on the successors of the wicked, the oppressor, and ungodly. These, with a belief in ghosts, dreams,

* The belief that the punishment of the cruelty, oppression, or misconduct of an individual descended as a curse on his children, to the third and fourth generation, was not confined to the common people. All ranks were influenced by it, that if the curse did not fall upon the first or second generation, it would inevitably descend upon the succeeding. The late Colonel Campbell of Glenlyon retained this belief through a course of thirty years' intercourse with the world, as an officer of the 42d regiment, and of Marines. He was grandson of the Laird of Glenlyon, who commanded the military at the massacre of Glenco, and who lived in the Laird of Glenco's house, where he and his men were hospitably entertained during a fortnight prior to the execution of his orders. He was playing at cards with the family when the first shot was fired, and the murderous scene commenced. Colonel Campbell was an additional captain in the 42d regiment in 1748, and was put on half pay. He then entered the Marines, and in 1762 was Major, with the brevet rank of LieutenantColonel, and commanded 800 of his corps at the Havannah. In 1771, he was ordered to superintend the execution of the sentence of a court-martial on a soldier of marines, condemned to be shot. A reprieve was sent, but the whole ceremony of the execution was to proceed until the criminal was upon his knees, with a cap over his eyes, prepared to receive the volley. It was then he was to be informed of his pardon. No person was to be told previously, and Colonel Campbell was directed not to in

and second-sighted visions,* served to tame the turbulent and soothe the afflicted, and differed widely from the gloomy inflexible puritanism of many parts of the south. The demure solemnity and fanaticism of the plains, unluckily offered a ceaseless subject of ridicule and satire to the poetical imaginations of the mountaineers. The truth is, that no two classes of people of the same country, and in such close neighbourhood, could possibly present a greater contrast than "the wild and brilliant picture of the devoted valour, incorruptible fidelity, patriarchal brotherhood, and savage habits of the Celtic clans, on the one hand; and the dark, untractable, domineering bigotry of the Covenanters, on the other." †

Differing so widely in their manners, they heartily despised and hated each other. "The Lowlander considered the Highlander as a fierce and savage depredator, speaking

form even the firing party, who were warned that the signal to fire would be the waving of a white handkerchief by the commanding officer. When all was prepared, and the clergyman had left the prisoner on his knees, in momentary expectation of his fate, and the firing party were looking with intense attention for the signal, Colonel Campbell put his hand into his pocket for the reprieve, and in pulling out the packet, the white handkerchief accompanied it, and catching the eyes of the party, they fired, and the unfortunate prisoner was shot dead.

The paper dropped through Colonel Campbell's fingers, and, clapping his hand to his forehead, he exclaimed, "The curse of God and of Glenco is here; I am an unfortunate ruined man." He desired the soldiers to be sent to the barracks, instantly quitted the parade, and soon afterwards retired from the service. This retirement was not the result of any reflection or reprimand on account of this unfortunate affair, as it was known to be entirely accidental. The impression on his mind, however, was never effaced. Nor is the massacre, and the judgment which the people believe has fallen on the descendants of the principal actors in this tragedy, effaced from their recollection. They carefully note, that, while the family of the unfortunate gentleman who suffered is still entire, and his estate preserved in direct male succession to his posterity, this is not the case with the family, posterity, and estates of the laird of Glenlyon, of and those who were the principals, promoters, and actors in this infamous affair.

• See Appendix, T.

† Edinburgh Review.