Chapter 9

The family has been in use to have their arms supported with two Highland men with steel helmets on their heads and cut out short doublets azure, thighs bare, their shirts tied between them, and round targets on their arms, being the dress wherein those of this clan were wont to fight in many battles for the crown being always loyal.[59]

That the dress thus described by Nisbet was intended by him to represent what we know to be the usual dress of the Highlanders at that period, viz., the belted plaid, is proved by another allusion of his to the Cluny arms in a portion of his work not yet published, and preserved in the Lyon Office, in which, treating generally of supporters, he writes:—

McPherson of Clunie two highlandmen in their belted plaids with targets.[60]

An almost contemporary example of the peculiar mode of wearing the dress, described as “shirts tied,” is to be found in the portrait of Sir Stuart Threipland of Fingask, by Delacour, painted about this period.[61]

Without exception the most complete description of the Highlands and the dress worn there, written during the eighteenth century, is that given by Burt. The account has been frequently the subject of criticism, but it is now generally accepted as presenting a faithful picture of the state of the country at the period to which it relates. As it traverses a wide field, a lengthened extract is given, for the purpose of comparison with earlier descriptions of the costume and manners of the people already quoted:—

The plaid is the undress of the ladies [writing of Inverness]; and to a genteelwoman, who adjusts it with a good air, is a becoming veil. But as I am pretty sure you never saw one of them in England, I shall employ a few words to describe it to you. It is made of silk or fine worsted, chequered with various lively colours, two breadths wide, and three yards in length; it is brought over the head, and may hide or discover the face according to the wearer’s fancy or occasion; it reaches to the waist behind; one corner falls as low as the ankle on one side; and the other part, in folds, hangs down from the opposite arm.I have been told, in Edinburgh, that the ladies distinguish their political principles, whether Whig or Tory, by the manner of wearing their plaids;—that is, one of the parties reverses the old fashion, but which of them it is, I do not remember, nor is it material.As I was travelling in a very wild part of the country, and approaching the house of one of those gentlemen, who had notice of my coming, he met me at some distance from his dwelling, with his Arcadian offering of milk and cream, as usual, carried before him by his servants. He afterwards invited me to his hut, which was built like the others, only very long, but without any partition, where the family was at one end, and some cattle at the other. By the way (although the weather was not warm), he was without shoes, stockings, or breeches, in a short coat, with a shirt not much longer, which hung between his thighs, and just hid his nakedness from two daughters, about seventeen or eighteen years old, who sat over against him. After some compliments on either side, and his wishing megood weather, we entered into conversation, in which he seemed to be a man of as good sense as he was well-proportioned. In speaking of the country, he told me he knew I wondered how any body would undergo the inconveniences of a Highland life.The Highland dress consists of a bonnet made of thrum without a brim, a short coat, a waistcoat, longer by five or six inches, short stockings, and brogues, or pumps without heels. By the way, they cut holes in their brogues, though new made, to let out the water, when they have far to go and rivers to pass: this they do to preserve their feet from galling.Few besides gentlemen wear thetrowze,—that is, the breeches and stockings all of one piece, and drawn on together; over this habit they wear a plaid, which is usually three yards long and two breadths wide, and the whole garb is made of chequered tartan, or plaiding: this, with the sword and pistol, is called afull dress, and, to a well-proportioned man, with any tolerable air, it makes an agreeable figure; but this you have seen in London, and it is chiefly their mode of dressing when they are in the Lowlands, or when they make a neighbouring visit, or go anywhere on horseback; but when those among them who travel on foot, and have not attendants to carry them over the waters, they vary it into thequelt[kilt], which is a manner I am about to describe.The common habit of the ordinary Highlanders is far from being acceptable to the eye: with them a small part of the plaid, which is not so large as the former, is set in folds and girt round the waist, to make of it a short petticoat that reaches half way down the thigh, and the rest is brought over the shoulders, and then fastened before, below the neck, often with a fork, and sometimes with a bodkin or sharpened piece of stick, so that they make pretty nearly the appearance of the poor women in London when they bring their gowns over their heads to shelter them from the rain. In this way of wearing theplaid, they have sometimes nothing else to cover them, and are often barefoot; but some I have seen shod with a kind of pumps, made out of a raw cow-hide, with the hair turned outward, which being ill made, the wearer’s foot looked something like those of a rough-footed hen or pigeon: these are calledquarrants, and are not only offensive to the sight, but intolerable to the smell of those who are near them. The stocking rises no higher than the thick of the calf, and from the middle of the thigh to the middle of the leg is a naked space, which, being exposed to all weathers, becomes tanned and freckled, and the joint being mostly infected with the country distemper, the whole is very disagreeable to the eye. This dress is called thequelt; and, for the most part, they wear the petticoat so very short, that in a windy day, going up a hill, or stooping, the indecency of it is plainly discovered....Various reasons are given both for and against the Highland dress. It is urged against it, that it distinguishes the natives as a body of people distinct and separate from the rest of the subjects of Great Britain, and thereby is one cause of their narrow adherence among themselves, to the exclusion of all the rest of the kingdom; but the part of the habit chiefly objected to is the plaid (or mantle), which, they say, is calculated for the encouragement of an idle life, in lying about upon the heath, in the day-time, instead of following some lawful employment; that it serves to cover them in the night when they lie in wait among the mountains, to commit their robberies and depredations; and is composed of such colours as altogether, in the mass, so nearly resemble the heath on which they lie, that it is hardly to be distinguished from it until one is so near them as to be within their power, if they have any evil intention; that it renders them ready, at a moment’s warning, to join in any rebellion, as they carry continually their tents about them: and, lastly, it was thought necessary, in Ireland, to suppress that habit by act of parliament, for the above reasons, and no complaint for the want of it now remains among the mountaineers of that country.On the other hand, it is alleged, the dress is most convenient to those who, with no ill design, are obliged to travel from one part to another upon their lawful occasions, viz.—That they would not be so free to skip over the rocks and bogs with breeches as they are in the short petticoat; that it would be greatly incommodious to those who are frequently to wade through waters, to wear breeches, which must be taken off upon every such occurrence, or would not only gall the wearer, but render it very unhealthful and dangerous to their limbs, to be constantly wet in that part of the body, especially in winter-time, when they might be frozen: and with respect to the plaid in particular, the distance between one place of shelter and another, is often too great to be reached before night comes on; and, being intercepted by sudden floods, or hindered by other impediments, they are frequently obliged to lie all night in the hills, in which case they must perish, were it not for the covering they carry with them. That even if they should be so fortunate as to reach some hospitable hut, they must lie upon the ground uncovered, there being nothing to be spared from the family for that purpose.And to conclude, a few shillings will buy this dress for an ordinary Highlander, who, very probably, might hardly ever be in condition to purchase a Lowland suit, though of the coarsest cloth or stuff, fit to keep him warm in that cold climate.

I have been told, in Edinburgh, that the ladies distinguish their political principles, whether Whig or Tory, by the manner of wearing their plaids;—that is, one of the parties reverses the old fashion, but which of them it is, I do not remember, nor is it material.

As I was travelling in a very wild part of the country, and approaching the house of one of those gentlemen, who had notice of my coming, he met me at some distance from his dwelling, with his Arcadian offering of milk and cream, as usual, carried before him by his servants. He afterwards invited me to his hut, which was built like the others, only very long, but without any partition, where the family was at one end, and some cattle at the other. By the way (although the weather was not warm), he was without shoes, stockings, or breeches, in a short coat, with a shirt not much longer, which hung between his thighs, and just hid his nakedness from two daughters, about seventeen or eighteen years old, who sat over against him. After some compliments on either side, and his wishing megood weather, we entered into conversation, in which he seemed to be a man of as good sense as he was well-proportioned. In speaking of the country, he told me he knew I wondered how any body would undergo the inconveniences of a Highland life.

The Highland dress consists of a bonnet made of thrum without a brim, a short coat, a waistcoat, longer by five or six inches, short stockings, and brogues, or pumps without heels. By the way, they cut holes in their brogues, though new made, to let out the water, when they have far to go and rivers to pass: this they do to preserve their feet from galling.

Few besides gentlemen wear thetrowze,—that is, the breeches and stockings all of one piece, and drawn on together; over this habit they wear a plaid, which is usually three yards long and two breadths wide, and the whole garb is made of chequered tartan, or plaiding: this, with the sword and pistol, is called afull dress, and, to a well-proportioned man, with any tolerable air, it makes an agreeable figure; but this you have seen in London, and it is chiefly their mode of dressing when they are in the Lowlands, or when they make a neighbouring visit, or go anywhere on horseback; but when those among them who travel on foot, and have not attendants to carry them over the waters, they vary it into thequelt[kilt], which is a manner I am about to describe.

The common habit of the ordinary Highlanders is far from being acceptable to the eye: with them a small part of the plaid, which is not so large as the former, is set in folds and girt round the waist, to make of it a short petticoat that reaches half way down the thigh, and the rest is brought over the shoulders, and then fastened before, below the neck, often with a fork, and sometimes with a bodkin or sharpened piece of stick, so that they make pretty nearly the appearance of the poor women in London when they bring their gowns over their heads to shelter them from the rain. In this way of wearing theplaid, they have sometimes nothing else to cover them, and are often barefoot; but some I have seen shod with a kind of pumps, made out of a raw cow-hide, with the hair turned outward, which being ill made, the wearer’s foot looked something like those of a rough-footed hen or pigeon: these are calledquarrants, and are not only offensive to the sight, but intolerable to the smell of those who are near them. The stocking rises no higher than the thick of the calf, and from the middle of the thigh to the middle of the leg is a naked space, which, being exposed to all weathers, becomes tanned and freckled, and the joint being mostly infected with the country distemper, the whole is very disagreeable to the eye. This dress is called thequelt; and, for the most part, they wear the petticoat so very short, that in a windy day, going up a hill, or stooping, the indecency of it is plainly discovered....

Various reasons are given both for and against the Highland dress. It is urged against it, that it distinguishes the natives as a body of people distinct and separate from the rest of the subjects of Great Britain, and thereby is one cause of their narrow adherence among themselves, to the exclusion of all the rest of the kingdom; but the part of the habit chiefly objected to is the plaid (or mantle), which, they say, is calculated for the encouragement of an idle life, in lying about upon the heath, in the day-time, instead of following some lawful employment; that it serves to cover them in the night when they lie in wait among the mountains, to commit their robberies and depredations; and is composed of such colours as altogether, in the mass, so nearly resemble the heath on which they lie, that it is hardly to be distinguished from it until one is so near them as to be within their power, if they have any evil intention; that it renders them ready, at a moment’s warning, to join in any rebellion, as they carry continually their tents about them: and, lastly, it was thought necessary, in Ireland, to suppress that habit by act of parliament, for the above reasons, and no complaint for the want of it now remains among the mountaineers of that country.

On the other hand, it is alleged, the dress is most convenient to those who, with no ill design, are obliged to travel from one part to another upon their lawful occasions, viz.—That they would not be so free to skip over the rocks and bogs with breeches as they are in the short petticoat; that it would be greatly incommodious to those who are frequently to wade through waters, to wear breeches, which must be taken off upon every such occurrence, or would not only gall the wearer, but render it very unhealthful and dangerous to their limbs, to be constantly wet in that part of the body, especially in winter-time, when they might be frozen: and with respect to the plaid in particular, the distance between one place of shelter and another, is often too great to be reached before night comes on; and, being intercepted by sudden floods, or hindered by other impediments, they are frequently obliged to lie all night in the hills, in which case they must perish, were it not for the covering they carry with them. That even if they should be so fortunate as to reach some hospitable hut, they must lie upon the ground uncovered, there being nothing to be spared from the family for that purpose.

And to conclude, a few shillings will buy this dress for an ordinary Highlander, who, very probably, might hardly ever be in condition to purchase a Lowland suit, though of the coarsest cloth or stuff, fit to keep him warm in that cold climate.

I shall determine nothing in this dispute, but leave you to judge which of these two reasonings is the most cogent.The whole people are fond and tenacious of the Highland clothing, as you may believe by what is here to follow.Being, in a wet season, upon one of my peregrinations, accompanied by a Highland gentleman, who was one of the clan through which I was passing, I observed the women to be in great anger with him about something that I did not understand: at length, I asked him wherein he had offended them? Upon this question he laughed, and told me his great-coat was the cause of their wrath; and that their reproach was that he could not be contented with the garb of his ancestors, but was degenerated into a Lowlander, and condescended to follow their unmanly fashions.[62]

I shall determine nothing in this dispute, but leave you to judge which of these two reasonings is the most cogent.

The whole people are fond and tenacious of the Highland clothing, as you may believe by what is here to follow.

Being, in a wet season, upon one of my peregrinations, accompanied by a Highland gentleman, who was one of the clan through which I was passing, I observed the women to be in great anger with him about something that I did not understand: at length, I asked him wherein he had offended them? Upon this question he laughed, and told me his great-coat was the cause of their wrath; and that their reproach was that he could not be contented with the garb of his ancestors, but was degenerated into a Lowlander, and condescended to follow their unmanly fashions.[62]

To the edition of theLettersfrom which the above is quoted the editor appended some notes on the Highland dress, which, though open to criticism on many points, are sufficiently interesting to justify their insertion here:—

The chequered stuff, commonly worn by the Highlanders, by them calledbreacan(parti-coloured), and by the Lowlanderstartan(Fr.tiretaine), is neither peculiar to Celts nor Goths, and is to be found, at this day, although not in such general use, among many of the Sclavonic tribes, who have no connection with either. The wife of every Russian boor, in the north-western provinces at least, who can make her such a present at her marriage (and it is often asine quâ non), has atartan plaid, which she wears just as the Scotish women, in our author’s time, did theirs: it is of massy silk, richly varied, with broad cross-bars of gold and silver tissue, and makes a very splendid appearance.That the Lowlanders had theirtartanfrom theFrench, at a time when it was fashionable in other countries, may be presumed from thename; and to imagine that the manufacture began among the Highlanders would be ridiculous.The Highlandfield-dressof the men was of a coarser texture, and thickened by fulling; it was calledcadda(cath da’, the war colour), and was atartanof such colours as were least likely to betray the wearer, among the woods and heaths, either to the game he was in quest of, or to his enemies. The dyes were mostly extracted from woad, when it could be got, and from heath-tops, the bark and tender twigs of the alder, and other vegetable substances. As to the ancientformof the dress, nothing could be more simple: thegentlemen, having less frequent occasion to use theirfull suitas ablanket, wore a yellow shirt, a vest, trowsers, and mantle, of the same fashion as their neighbours. In Ireland, a few centuries ago, thelower classseldom encumbered themselves with dress of any kind within doors; and there is every reason to suppose that this was also the case among their brethren in Scotland. When they went out, they threw a light blanket round their shoulders, the upper part made tight with skewers, and the lower gathered up into folds, which they secured under the girdle, from which the sword, dagger, purse, &c., were suspended; this they calledfeile, a word of the same origin with the Scotishfell, English,peel; Old English,pilche; German and Northern,peltz,pels, &c.; and the Latin,pellis, allwhich signified anexternal surface,skin, orcoveringof any kind.Skins, in the modern acceptation of the term, were, no doubt, the firstcovering; and the name was afterwards properly enough applied to a covering of cloth. At night they took out the skewers, unbuckled the girdle, and reduced thefeileto its primary form of a blanket, to sleep in. The women wore a petticoat, or trowsers, of skin, cloth, or what they could get, and a cloth thrown round their bodies when they went out. As civilization advanced, a shirt, with a tunic, or short jacket, was introduced; the plaits of thefeilewere rendered permanent by sewing, and theplaid, to be used either as a mantle or blanket, was added. Thekilt,feilebeg(little feile), or petticoat, now worn, has succeeded to the folded-up ends of the original blanket;it is all that remains of the ancient costume, and was reduced to its present form some time in the beginning of the last century. Thebonnet, or flat, blue thrum cap, is of a very modern date, and was introduced from the Lowlands. The gentlemen of the Highlands wore such hats and caps as were worn by gentlemen of their times in neighbouring countries; and, in the days of our grandfathers, the lower class of Highlanders were, by their Lowland neighbours (in the north-east Lowlands, at least), denominatedhumblies, from their wearing no covering on their head but their hair, which, at a more early period, they probably matted and felted, for horror and defence, as the Irish did in Queen Elizabeth’s time. The helmet-looking bonnet, now worn, was introduced within the memory of persons still living.From this simple account of the Highland dress, it will be seen that it has in itself nothing peculiar to one country more than another; as the different improvements upon the manner of girding the loins, and trussing up a blanket, can hardly be called anational costume. The dress of the Romans began in the same manner, and went through nearly the same varieties of form; but, for a long time after the Romans left Britain, it can hardly be imagined, that the inhabitants of the more remote Highlands had either wool or cloth of their own produce. Scattered as their sheep, if they had any, must have been upon the mountains, they had no means of protecting them from the wolves; and they had not then patient industry enough to look after tame animals that could not take care of themselves.The names of the different parts of this dress are all conformable to what has been said above. Thefeilebegis, by the Lowlanders, called akilt, from its having beenkilted,quilted, ortrussed upunder the girdle. The meaning of the Latintogais found in the Gaëlictoga’; in English, totuck up, from the same circumstance; and a squarebody-cloth, still worn round the shoulders by the Highland women, is called atunic, ortonnac.Plaid(which is always misapplied in England), in its primary sense, means simply any thingbroad and flat, and thence, abroad, unformed piece of cloth, and, in its secondary and modern acceptation, ablanket; in which last import alone it is now used by the Highlanders. Thetrews, or trowsers, formerly worn only by the gentry, and by the lower classes, after thephilibegwas proscribed by act of parliament, are so denominated, from the Gaëlictrusa’, totruss up, as they supplied the place of the end of thefeilewhich wastrussedunder the girdle.[63]

That the Lowlanders had theirtartanfrom theFrench, at a time when it was fashionable in other countries, may be presumed from thename; and to imagine that the manufacture began among the Highlanders would be ridiculous.

The Highlandfield-dressof the men was of a coarser texture, and thickened by fulling; it was calledcadda(cath da’, the war colour), and was atartanof such colours as were least likely to betray the wearer, among the woods and heaths, either to the game he was in quest of, or to his enemies. The dyes were mostly extracted from woad, when it could be got, and from heath-tops, the bark and tender twigs of the alder, and other vegetable substances. As to the ancientformof the dress, nothing could be more simple: thegentlemen, having less frequent occasion to use theirfull suitas ablanket, wore a yellow shirt, a vest, trowsers, and mantle, of the same fashion as their neighbours. In Ireland, a few centuries ago, thelower classseldom encumbered themselves with dress of any kind within doors; and there is every reason to suppose that this was also the case among their brethren in Scotland. When they went out, they threw a light blanket round their shoulders, the upper part made tight with skewers, and the lower gathered up into folds, which they secured under the girdle, from which the sword, dagger, purse, &c., were suspended; this they calledfeile, a word of the same origin with the Scotishfell, English,peel; Old English,pilche; German and Northern,peltz,pels, &c.; and the Latin,pellis, allwhich signified anexternal surface,skin, orcoveringof any kind.Skins, in the modern acceptation of the term, were, no doubt, the firstcovering; and the name was afterwards properly enough applied to a covering of cloth. At night they took out the skewers, unbuckled the girdle, and reduced thefeileto its primary form of a blanket, to sleep in. The women wore a petticoat, or trowsers, of skin, cloth, or what they could get, and a cloth thrown round their bodies when they went out. As civilization advanced, a shirt, with a tunic, or short jacket, was introduced; the plaits of thefeilewere rendered permanent by sewing, and theplaid, to be used either as a mantle or blanket, was added. Thekilt,feilebeg(little feile), or petticoat, now worn, has succeeded to the folded-up ends of the original blanket;it is all that remains of the ancient costume, and was reduced to its present form some time in the beginning of the last century. Thebonnet, or flat, blue thrum cap, is of a very modern date, and was introduced from the Lowlands. The gentlemen of the Highlands wore such hats and caps as were worn by gentlemen of their times in neighbouring countries; and, in the days of our grandfathers, the lower class of Highlanders were, by their Lowland neighbours (in the north-east Lowlands, at least), denominatedhumblies, from their wearing no covering on their head but their hair, which, at a more early period, they probably matted and felted, for horror and defence, as the Irish did in Queen Elizabeth’s time. The helmet-looking bonnet, now worn, was introduced within the memory of persons still living.

From this simple account of the Highland dress, it will be seen that it has in itself nothing peculiar to one country more than another; as the different improvements upon the manner of girding the loins, and trussing up a blanket, can hardly be called anational costume. The dress of the Romans began in the same manner, and went through nearly the same varieties of form; but, for a long time after the Romans left Britain, it can hardly be imagined, that the inhabitants of the more remote Highlands had either wool or cloth of their own produce. Scattered as their sheep, if they had any, must have been upon the mountains, they had no means of protecting them from the wolves; and they had not then patient industry enough to look after tame animals that could not take care of themselves.

The names of the different parts of this dress are all conformable to what has been said above. Thefeilebegis, by the Lowlanders, called akilt, from its having beenkilted,quilted, ortrussed upunder the girdle. The meaning of the Latintogais found in the Gaëlictoga’; in English, totuck up, from the same circumstance; and a squarebody-cloth, still worn round the shoulders by the Highland women, is called atunic, ortonnac.Plaid(which is always misapplied in England), in its primary sense, means simply any thingbroad and flat, and thence, abroad, unformed piece of cloth, and, in its secondary and modern acceptation, ablanket; in which last import alone it is now used by the Highlanders. Thetrews, or trowsers, formerly worn only by the gentry, and by the lower classes, after thephilibegwas proscribed by act of parliament, are so denominated, from the Gaëlictrusa’, totruss up, as they supplied the place of the end of thefeilewhich wastrussedunder the girdle.[63]

During the period following the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England (1707), tartan plaids were worn in the Lowlands by all classes. The significance of this universal display of a simple article of dress consisted in the fact that its wear was regarded as a sort of sumptuary protest against the Union and the surrender of Scottish independence. Certain it is that up to the prohibition of the use of tartans and of the Highland dress by the Act of 1747 the tartan plaid continued in general use throughout Scotland. Many references to the prevalence of the habit in the Lowlands as well as in the Highlands might be quoted. One interesting contribution is that of Ramsay of Ochtertyre, who, writing in 1795 of the congregation of the Rev. John Skinner’s church at Linshart, in Buchan, observes:—

In point of mode and plainness their dress reminded me of that of our country-people more than forty years ago, bonnets and parti-coloured plaids being frequent.... In those days every lady in an undress wore a plaid when she went abroad. It was sometimes of one colour, scarlet, crimson, &c., but more commonly tartan or variegated. People fond of finery had silk ones, others wore woollen lined with silk; whilst the lower classes were satisfied with plain worsted.... In 1747, when I first knew Edinburgh, nine-tenths of the ladies still wore plaids, especially at church. By this time, however, silk or velvet cloaks of one form or another were much in request among people of fashion. And so rapidly did the plaid wear out, that when I returned to Edinburgh in 1752 one could hardly see a lady in that piece of dress.[64]

Of the extensive manufacture of tartans in Scotland during the eighteenth century some evidence may be obtained from a reference to the newspapers of the period. For example:—

Last Saturday theAgatha and Jane, Thomas Christie [master] cleared out from Leith for London, having on board the following Scots manufactures, viz., 53,381 yards of Linen, 3006 yards of Tartans.[65]Leith, Feb. 18.—The Edinburgh Merchant, John Dick, cleared out for London with the following Scots manufactures, viz., 41,400 yards of Linen, 6400 yards of Tartan.[66]

Last Saturday theAgatha and Jane, Thomas Christie [master] cleared out from Leith for London, having on board the following Scots manufactures, viz., 53,381 yards of Linen, 3006 yards of Tartans.[65]

Leith, Feb. 18.—The Edinburgh Merchant, John Dick, cleared out for London with the following Scots manufactures, viz., 41,400 yards of Linen, 6400 yards of Tartan.[66]

In the same newspaper, and side by side with the orders issued by Prince Charles Edward, then at Holyrood, appears the following:—

Gairdner and Taylor, in their Warehouse at the Sign of the Golden Key, opposite to Forrester’s Wynd, Lawn-Market, Edinburgh, continue to sell, in Wholesale and Retail, at lowest Prices, all sorts of Woollen Narrow and Broad Cloths of the Manufacture of Scotland, in same manner as was done by the late Andrew Gairdner, who was one of thefirst Introducers of an extensive Manufactory of this Kind, so very beneficial to, and so much wanted in this Country.... At above Warehouse to be sold at lowest Rates, great Choice of Tartans, the newest Patterns, Cotton Checks and Sarges, of which they are also Makers.[67]

This advertisement, it may be urged, is a stumbling-block in the way of those who argue for the antiquity of clan patterns; for it seems peculiar that, when the city was filled with Highlanders of all ranks and many clans, they should be offered, not their ancient setts, but “great choice of the newest patterns.”

A statement which points in exactly the contrary direction appears in the Lockhart Papers to the following effect:—

It was necessary for us [i.e., the troops under the command of the Duke of Perth and the Earl of Cromarty in the Prince’s army], in order to come at him [i.e., Lord Louden, who commanded a detachment in the Duke of Cumberland’s army], to go about by the head of Tyne,[68]through Torendonel, about ten miles’ march, and accordingly Glengary’s, Clanronald’s, Ardsheal’s, Glengyle’s, and Barisdale’s battalions were ordered after them, under the command of the Duke of Perth and Lord Cromarty. Those under Lord Louden’s command were the M’Loads, Sir Alexander M’Donald’s men, the Makays and Monroes, and the Grants—about three thousand in all.... We M’Donalds were much perplex’d, in the event of ane ingagement, how to distinguish ourselves from our bretheren and nighbours the M’Donalds of Sky, seeing we were both Highlanders and both wore heather in our bonnets, only our white cocades made some distinction.[69]

The inference from the passage is, that the opposing battalions being of the same great family, with dress and badge alike, the sole remaining difference between them was the cockade.

One result of the civil war of 1745-6 was the proscription by Act of Parliament of the Highland dress:—

19 George II., Cap. 39, Sec. 17, 1746.

From and after the first day of August one thousand seven hundred and forty-seven, no man or boy within that part of Great Britain called Scotland, other than such as shall be employed as officers and soldiers in his Majesty’s forces, shall, on any pretence whatsoever, wear or put on the clothes commonly called Highland Clothes (that is to say) the Plaid, Philibeg, or little Kilt, Trowse, Shoulder belts, or any part whatsoever of what peculiarly belongs to the Highland garb; and that no Tartan or party-coloured plaid or stuff shall be used for great coats, or for upper coats; and if any such personshall presume, after the said first day of August, to wear or put on the aforesaid garments, or any part of them, every such person so offending, being thereof convicted by the oath of one or more credible witness or witnesses before any court of justiciary, or any one or more justices of the peace for the shire or stewartry, or judge ordinary of the place where such offence shall be committed, shall suffer imprisonment, without bail, during the space of six months, and no longer; and being convicted for a second offence before a court of justiciary, or at the circuits, shall be liable to be transported to any of his Majesty’s plantations beyond the seas, there to remain for the space of seven years.

“It is impossible,” writes General Stewart of Garth, “to read this latter Act without considering it rather as an ignorant wantonness of power than the proceeding of a wise and a beneficent Legislature. To be compelled to wear a new dress has always been found painful. So the Highlanders found; and it certainly was not consistent with the boasted freedom of our country to inflict on a whole people the severest punishment short of death for wearing a particular dress. Had the whole race been decimated, more violent grief, indignation, and shame could not have been excited among them than by being deprived of this long-inherited costume. This was an encroachment on the feelings of a people whose ancient and manly garb had been worn from a period remote beyond all history or even tradition.”[70]The spirit in which the Act was carried out may be gathered from the following extract from theGeneral Orders to the Army in Scotland in 1748:—

By the act passed last session of Parliament, the time for the general abolishing the Highland dress is enlarged to the 1st day of August 1749.But that the wearing and use of such parts thereof as are called the plaid, philibeg, or little kilt, is absolutely prohibited and abolished from and after the 25th day of this instant December, and as to these particulars the law takes place from that day.His grace the Duke of Newcastle has therefore signified to me his majesty’s commands, that the same be punctually observed throughout the Highlands, and that I should give orders to all the troops quartered in those parts to be particularly attentive to this service, and to take all due care that the act be punctually executed and observed, and the offenders brought to punishment according to law.In obedience to these his majesty’s commands, you are to seize all such persons as shall be found offending herein, by wearing the plaid, philibeg, or little kilt, and carry them before a civil magistrate, in the same dress, that he may be convinced with his own eyes of their having offended, in order to their being punished for the same according to law; in the performance of which, let no insult or abuse be offered to the person or persons of those who shall be so taken up and carried before the civil power, who are solely authorised to inflict the punishment as the act directs; but incase the magistrate before whom such offenders are carried shall refuse or neglect putting the law in execution, in that case let me know immediately the name of such magistrate, with the reason of his not doing it, that I may acquaint the Duke of Newcastle with it, who will no doubt send immediately orders to the lord advocate of this country to prosecute him to the utmost for his contempt of the said act, by not putting it in execution.That the people in the Highlands might have no excuse by pleading ignorance, the lord chief justice clerk wrote to the sheriffs depute of the Highland counties, ordering them to give notice at every parish church, that they must quit the plaid, philibeg, or little kilt on Christmas-day, as the act directs, otherwise they would be carried before the civil magistrate and punished for it accordingly.I must likewise desire you will let me know from time to time what obedience the people pay to this act, for they must and shall obey it, with the names of those magistrates who are industrious in putting the laws in execution, that I may take an opportunity of thanking them for performing their duty, and acquainting the Duke of Newcastle with it.You may acquaint the magistrates and justices of the peace in your neighbourhood with the contents of this letter, since it may be the means of inciting them the more readily to perform their duty.P.S.—Let a copy of this letter be sent to the officers commanding the general detachments of your regiment respectively.[71]

By the act passed last session of Parliament, the time for the general abolishing the Highland dress is enlarged to the 1st day of August 1749.

But that the wearing and use of such parts thereof as are called the plaid, philibeg, or little kilt, is absolutely prohibited and abolished from and after the 25th day of this instant December, and as to these particulars the law takes place from that day.

His grace the Duke of Newcastle has therefore signified to me his majesty’s commands, that the same be punctually observed throughout the Highlands, and that I should give orders to all the troops quartered in those parts to be particularly attentive to this service, and to take all due care that the act be punctually executed and observed, and the offenders brought to punishment according to law.

In obedience to these his majesty’s commands, you are to seize all such persons as shall be found offending herein, by wearing the plaid, philibeg, or little kilt, and carry them before a civil magistrate, in the same dress, that he may be convinced with his own eyes of their having offended, in order to their being punished for the same according to law; in the performance of which, let no insult or abuse be offered to the person or persons of those who shall be so taken up and carried before the civil power, who are solely authorised to inflict the punishment as the act directs; but incase the magistrate before whom such offenders are carried shall refuse or neglect putting the law in execution, in that case let me know immediately the name of such magistrate, with the reason of his not doing it, that I may acquaint the Duke of Newcastle with it, who will no doubt send immediately orders to the lord advocate of this country to prosecute him to the utmost for his contempt of the said act, by not putting it in execution.

That the people in the Highlands might have no excuse by pleading ignorance, the lord chief justice clerk wrote to the sheriffs depute of the Highland counties, ordering them to give notice at every parish church, that they must quit the plaid, philibeg, or little kilt on Christmas-day, as the act directs, otherwise they would be carried before the civil magistrate and punished for it accordingly.

I must likewise desire you will let me know from time to time what obedience the people pay to this act, for they must and shall obey it, with the names of those magistrates who are industrious in putting the laws in execution, that I may take an opportunity of thanking them for performing their duty, and acquainting the Duke of Newcastle with it.

You may acquaint the magistrates and justices of the peace in your neighbourhood with the contents of this letter, since it may be the means of inciting them the more readily to perform their duty.

P.S.—Let a copy of this letter be sent to the officers commanding the general detachments of your regiment respectively.[71]

All manner of ingenious evasions were thought of and practised to defeat the law. “The tight breeches,” observes General Stewart, “were particularly obnoxious. Some who were fearful of offending, or wished to render obedience to the law, which had not specified on what part of the body the breeches were to be worn, satisfied themselves with having in their possession this article of legal and loyal dress, which, either as the signal of their submission, or more probably to suit their own convenience when on journeys, they often suspended over their shoulders upon their sticks; others, who were either more wary or less submissive, sewed up the centre of the kilt with a few stitches between the thighs, which gave it something of the form of the trowsers worn by Dutch skippers. At first these evasions of the Act were visited with considerable severity.”[72]It was most probably for conniving at some such breach of the law that a young grenadier of the 20th Foot narrowly escaped a tremendous punishment.

The court-martial has judged the crime of Rigby, the grenadier, to be of so pernicious a nature that they have sentenced him to receive six hundred lashes. His youth and former good behaviour are the only considerations that could induce the lieutenant-colonel to pardon him: but if hereafter any sergeant or corporal is known to receivea bribe from a Highlander, or from any person whatever, found or known to transgress the laws, and does not seize the person or report such transgression, he, the non-commissioned officer guilty of so heinous a crime, will be instantly broke and severely punished: and if any private soldier ever takes money, or a reward of any kind, that may lead him to betray his trust, such soldier will be whipped without mercy.[73]

The harsh and bitter administration of the law continued for many years—for a long enough period, indeed, to stamp out the use of the dress, at least among the lower orders. In the south the wear of tartan does not seem to have been interfered with. For instance, we read:—

There is to be sold by roup in the shop of William Watson in the front of the New Exchange of Edinburgh upon Monday 3rd day of March next the whole goods which belonged to the said William Watson consisting of Tartans of all kinds poplins durants calicoes thick-sets hollands lawns broadcloths stockings handkerchiefs ribbons worsteds and a great variety of other goods too tedious to mention. The goods are all fresh and in good condition and fashionable.[74]James Baillie Merchant in Edinburgh has removed his warehouse to the Exchange fronting the Tron where Tartans or Plaids with other goods are sold as formerly.[75]

James Baillie Merchant in Edinburgh has removed his warehouse to the Exchange fronting the Tron where Tartans or Plaids with other goods are sold as formerly.[75]

At length the enactment was repealed. The Marquis of Graham, afterwards Duke of Montrose, when a Member of the House of Commons in 1782, having brought in a Bill for the purpose, it was, according to General Stewart, passed without a dissentient voice.[76]

22 George III., Cap. 63, 1782.

Whereas by an act made in the nineteenth year of the reign of his late majesty King George the Second, entituled “An act for the more effectual disarming the Highlands in Scotland and for more effectually securing the peace of the said Highlands; and for restraining the use of the Highland dress;” ... it was, among other things, enacted that from and after the first day of August one thousand seven hundred and forty-seven, no man or boy, within that part of Great Britain called Scotland, other than such as shall be employed as officers and soldiers in his Majesty’s forces [&c., as quoted, pp. 36-7]. And whereas it is judged expedient that so much of the acts above mentioned as restrains the use of the Highland dress should be repealed: Be it therefore enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That so much of the acts above mentioned, or any other act or acts of Parliament, as restrains the use of the Highland dress, be, and the same are hereby repealed.

The repeal of the enactment, received so joyously by the Highlanders, was celebrated by the famous poet, Duncan Ban M’Intyre, in the following lines, which are freely adapted from the Gaelic:—

Indulgent laws at last restoreThe noble dress our fathers wore.Exulting, let us then resumeThe bonnet blue and eagle plume;The tartan coat and jaunty vestAnd belted plaid become us best.With limbs unchained and footsteps free,The pleated kilt just shows the knee;In hose and brogues we’ll roam at willO’er purple moor and heather hill.

Indulgent laws at last restore

The noble dress our fathers wore.

Exulting, let us then resume

The bonnet blue and eagle plume;

The tartan coat and jaunty vest

And belted plaid become us best.

With limbs unchained and footsteps free,

The pleated kilt just shows the knee;

In hose and brogues we’ll roam at will

O’er purple moor and heather hill.

How quickly the dress was resumed—at all events in certain portions of the country—is shown by the following testimony. One of the Hebridean missionaries of the Church of Scotland, whose travels among the people extended over the eight years from 1782 to 1790, observes:—

The men wear the short coat, the feilabeg, and the short hose, with bonnets sewed with black ribbons around their rims, and a slit behind with the same ribbon in a knot. Their coats are commonly tartan, striped with black, red, or some other colour, after a pattern made, upon a stick, of the yarn, by themselves, or some other ingenious contriver. Their waistcoats are either of the same, or some such stuff; but the feilabegs are commonly of breacan, or fine Stirling plaids, if their money can afford them.At common work they use either short or long coats and breeches made of striped cloth, and many of them very coarse, according to their work. Their shirts are commonly made of wool; and however coarse they may appear to strangers, they are allowed to conduce much to the health and longevity for which this country is famous; as I have known them eighty, ninety, and some even a hundred years old, in these islands, and able to do their daily work.When they go in quest of the herring, they dress something like the sailors, but of coarser cloth, with hats over their eyes, to mark the fish the better. They are careful about drying their nets, and other fishing tackle.Their brogues (shoes) are made of cow or horse leather, and often of seals skins, that are commonly well tanned by the root of tormintile, which they dig out from the hillocks, and uncultivated lands, about the sea-side. This, properly pounded and prepared, without either lime or bark, is sufficient to make the hides pliant and fit for wearing. It answers their purpose much better than leather tanned with lime or bark, because they seldom grow hard or shrink when dried, even though wet all day; which is not the case with such as are burnt with lime. They never use tan-pits, but bind the hides fast with ropes, and hold them for several days in some remote solitary stream, until the hair begins to come off, of its own accord; and after that, the tormintile roots are applied for bark, as above described. Such of the men as can afford them, wear large forest coats above their other garb, especially on Sundays, or at the public meetings, as weddings, burials, or fairs. Either in this or a coarse breacan (i.e.the plaid) with their best apparel, they appear on these solemn occasions; but many of those who are poor, and cannot afford it, often doand must appear in their tattered clothes and dirty shirts, without either stockings or brogues, quite bare-footed, even in frost and snow, in distress sufficient to extort compassion from every person, but such tyrants as are the cause of so much misery to those starved creatures, who are often creeping along with white or striped petticoats belonging to their wives, or daughters and sisters, about their shoulders.The women wear long or short gowns, with a waistcoat and two petticoats, mostly of the stripes or tartan, as already described, except the lower coat, which is white. The married wives wear linen mutches, or caps, either fastened with ribbons of various colours, or with tape straps, if they cannot afford ribbons. All of them wear a small plaid, a yard broad, calledguilechan, about their shoulders, fastened by a large broach. The broaches are generally round, and of silver, if the wearer be in tolerable circumstances: if poor, the broaches, being either circular or triangular, are of baser metal and modern date. The first kind has been worn time immemorial even by the ladies. Thearrisatsare quite laid aside in all this country, by the different ranks of women; being the most ancient dress used by that class. It consisted of one large piece of flannel, that reached down to the shoe, and fastened with clasps below, and the large silver broach at the breast, while the whole arm was entirely naked. The ladies made use of the finer, while common women used coarser kinds of flannel, or white woollen cloths. The married women bind up their hair with a large pin into a knot on the crown of their heads, below their linens; and the unmarried frequently go bare-headed, with their hair bound up with ribbons, or garters. They often wear linen caps, called mutches, particularly on Sabbaths. Many of the more wealthy appear at church with a profusion of ribbons and head-dresses, with cloaks and high-heeled shoes. Those whose circumstances cannot admit of that, must appear with one of their petticoats, either tartan, or of one colour, around their shoulders, on Sundays, as well as on week days. They seldom travel any where without this appendage; nay, in the house, when at such work as will admit of it; seeing it would be thought naked in a woman to go without it: it also defends them from the inclemency of the weather. Most of them wear napkins, or handkerchiefs, on their necks; and many of the richest of them use silk ones, whether black or spotted, as suits their fancies.Frequently the old women wear littleguilechans, (small plaids) about their shoulders, and woollen hoods about their heads, with very coarse linen under them fastened with a pin below their chins. Thebreeid, or curtah, a fine linen handkerchief fastened about married women’s heads, with a flap hanging behind their backs, above the guilechan, is mostly laid aside.Most of the poorer tenants cannot afford to wear brogues in Summer, unless they are obliged to be treading among the sharp rocks on the shores, at their master’s kelp, when the master must supply them, except they can afford to provide for themselves. It would be too great a luxury for a poor one to use them, unless at the same, or similar rugged employment. Nothing short of extreme necessity obliges them to appear in public meetings in these humiliating garbs; for otherwise their pride would revolt at the very thought of such shabby dresses.[77]

At common work they use either short or long coats and breeches made of striped cloth, and many of them very coarse, according to their work. Their shirts are commonly made of wool; and however coarse they may appear to strangers, they are allowed to conduce much to the health and longevity for which this country is famous; as I have known them eighty, ninety, and some even a hundred years old, in these islands, and able to do their daily work.

When they go in quest of the herring, they dress something like the sailors, but of coarser cloth, with hats over their eyes, to mark the fish the better. They are careful about drying their nets, and other fishing tackle.

Their brogues (shoes) are made of cow or horse leather, and often of seals skins, that are commonly well tanned by the root of tormintile, which they dig out from the hillocks, and uncultivated lands, about the sea-side. This, properly pounded and prepared, without either lime or bark, is sufficient to make the hides pliant and fit for wearing. It answers their purpose much better than leather tanned with lime or bark, because they seldom grow hard or shrink when dried, even though wet all day; which is not the case with such as are burnt with lime. They never use tan-pits, but bind the hides fast with ropes, and hold them for several days in some remote solitary stream, until the hair begins to come off, of its own accord; and after that, the tormintile roots are applied for bark, as above described. Such of the men as can afford them, wear large forest coats above their other garb, especially on Sundays, or at the public meetings, as weddings, burials, or fairs. Either in this or a coarse breacan (i.e.the plaid) with their best apparel, they appear on these solemn occasions; but many of those who are poor, and cannot afford it, often doand must appear in their tattered clothes and dirty shirts, without either stockings or brogues, quite bare-footed, even in frost and snow, in distress sufficient to extort compassion from every person, but such tyrants as are the cause of so much misery to those starved creatures, who are often creeping along with white or striped petticoats belonging to their wives, or daughters and sisters, about their shoulders.

The women wear long or short gowns, with a waistcoat and two petticoats, mostly of the stripes or tartan, as already described, except the lower coat, which is white. The married wives wear linen mutches, or caps, either fastened with ribbons of various colours, or with tape straps, if they cannot afford ribbons. All of them wear a small plaid, a yard broad, calledguilechan, about their shoulders, fastened by a large broach. The broaches are generally round, and of silver, if the wearer be in tolerable circumstances: if poor, the broaches, being either circular or triangular, are of baser metal and modern date. The first kind has been worn time immemorial even by the ladies. Thearrisatsare quite laid aside in all this country, by the different ranks of women; being the most ancient dress used by that class. It consisted of one large piece of flannel, that reached down to the shoe, and fastened with clasps below, and the large silver broach at the breast, while the whole arm was entirely naked. The ladies made use of the finer, while common women used coarser kinds of flannel, or white woollen cloths. The married women bind up their hair with a large pin into a knot on the crown of their heads, below their linens; and the unmarried frequently go bare-headed, with their hair bound up with ribbons, or garters. They often wear linen caps, called mutches, particularly on Sabbaths. Many of the more wealthy appear at church with a profusion of ribbons and head-dresses, with cloaks and high-heeled shoes. Those whose circumstances cannot admit of that, must appear with one of their petticoats, either tartan, or of one colour, around their shoulders, on Sundays, as well as on week days. They seldom travel any where without this appendage; nay, in the house, when at such work as will admit of it; seeing it would be thought naked in a woman to go without it: it also defends them from the inclemency of the weather. Most of them wear napkins, or handkerchiefs, on their necks; and many of the richest of them use silk ones, whether black or spotted, as suits their fancies.

Frequently the old women wear littleguilechans, (small plaids) about their shoulders, and woollen hoods about their heads, with very coarse linen under them fastened with a pin below their chins. Thebreeid, or curtah, a fine linen handkerchief fastened about married women’s heads, with a flap hanging behind their backs, above the guilechan, is mostly laid aside.

Most of the poorer tenants cannot afford to wear brogues in Summer, unless they are obliged to be treading among the sharp rocks on the shores, at their master’s kelp, when the master must supply them, except they can afford to provide for themselves. It would be too great a luxury for a poor one to use them, unless at the same, or similar rugged employment. Nothing short of extreme necessity obliges them to appear in public meetings in these humiliating garbs; for otherwise their pride would revolt at the very thought of such shabby dresses.[77]

Gough thus describes the dress of the Highlanders in the district of Breadalbane about 1789:—

The dress of the men is the brechan or plaid, 12 or 13 yards of narrow stuff wrapped round the middle and reaching to the knees, often girt round the waist, and in cold weather covering the whole body, even on the open hills, all night, and fastened on the shoulders with a broche: short stockings tied below the knee; truish, a genteeler kind of breeches, and stockings of one piece; cuoranen, a laced shoe of skin with the hairy side out, rather disused; kelt or fillebeg, q. d. little plaid or short petticoat, reaching to the knees, substituted of late to the longer end of the plaid: and lastly the pouch of badger or other skins, with tassels hanging before them. The Lochaber axe, used now only by the town guard of Edinburgh, was a tremendous weapon. Bows and arrows were in use in the middle of the last century, now as well as the broadsword and target laid aside since the disarming act, but the dirk, or ancientpugio, is still worn as a dress with the knife and fork.... The women’s dress is thekirch, or white linen pinned round behind like a hood, and over the foreheads of married women, whereas maidens wear only asnoodor ribbon round their heads: thetanacor plaid fastened over their shoulders and drawn over their heads in bad weather: a plaited long stocking, calledossan, is their high dress.[78]

These notes bring us down to the present century, and the account of works written on the subject which follows will give our readers some idea of the present state of the literature relating to tartan. Before concluding, however, it is worth while to make some special references to one of these works, theVestiarium Scoticum.[79]John Sobieski Stuart’s account of the origin of the work is as follows:—

The tract now published in the following volume, is printed from a MS. in my possession, collated with the transcript of another in the Library of the Monastery of St Augustine in Cadiz. It is a small black-letter quarto of the sixteenth century, containing thirty-four pages of vellum, illuminated with small, plain, capitals, such as the ordinary initials of inferior missals. It was once in the possession of the historian and faithful adherent of Queen Mary, John Lesley, bishop of Ross, as appears by his signature in the first leaf—“Jo. Rossen.” Immediately below is noted, in his small neat hand, “Primo Maii, 1571, I tuck my feaver and ageu at ix huris at nyt.”... Some of the many calamities which scattered the adherents of the house of Stuart, and brought together many of their persons and their remains in the Catholic seclusions of the Continent, conveyed theVestiarium Scoticum, and many papers of the Bishop of Ross into the Library of the Scots College at Douay. During the long incognito of the prince Charles Edward, between the years 1749 and 1754, he visited that seminary, for purposes which expired in the obscurity wherein they were planned; and, during hisstay, he received from the fathers many papers which had belonged to Queen Mary, her adherents, and King James the Seventh. Among others, of a very different nature, was found the Bishop of Ross’s copy of theVestiarium Scoticum. This copy, now in my possession, being the oldest and the most perfect, has served as the original to the present publication.The next in value, that which belonged to the Library of the Convent of St Augustine, is a small paper folio, bound in panel, written in the ordinary running hand of the time of James the Sixth. By the signature and date, it had at one time belonged to “ane honerabil man Maister James Dunbarre wtin yeburg of Innernesse, in yeyeir of God ain thousand sax hunder and aucht yeirs.” By a subsequent name upon the cover—“Johan O’Neil, cleric”—it had probably passed into the hands of one of the many expatriated Irish priests, who were driven to the Continent, during the reigns of Elizabeth and James the Sixth; and, in this revolution, probably found its way into the Monastery of St Augustine. Spain was at that time the principal sanctuary for the Irish and Island refugees; and it is not improbable that the possessor of the volume might have been one of the followers of the unfortunate James McDonald of Isla and the Glens, who, on his expulsion from Ulster and the Isles, fled to the Court of Philip the Third. Between this copy and that of the Bishop of Ross there are but very few variations, and almost all, apparently, accidental omissions of the copyist: wherever they occur they have been noted on the margin of this edition.Besides these copies, there is, also, in my possession, a third, of a much lower character and later period, obtained from an old Ross-shire Highlander named John Ross, one of the last of the sword-players, who may yet be remembered by those who recollect the porters of Edinburgh twenty years ago. It is an inferior, modern copy, bearing the stigmats of various barbarous hands, which have inflicted upon its pages divers attempts to transmit to posterity the names of a certain John and Marye Inglis, who have borne testimony to their familiarity with its leaves in the year 1721. It is written with negligence and inaccuracy, in a very ill hand, and with several substitutions, variations, and omissions, which, in some instances, appear to have been the result of carelessness; in others, the attempts of an illiterate transcriber to adapt the work to his ideas of the clans in his own time. It may, indeed, be conjectured that it was transcribed from an original which, in some degree, differed from the copies of the Bishop of Ross and the Library of St Augustine, since the names of several clans and low-country families follow in a succession different from these MSS. This, however, might have been the result of accidental omission and subsequent re-entry.... These last [the three preceding copies] are the only MSS. of that work which have fallen under my observation; but, according to a notice communicated by Lord Lovat, it appears that another was long in possession of the Frasers of Inchberry. Since the removal of that family it is supposed to have been taken to America, and is described as a small quarto MS. in black letter, containing not only a description, but illuminations, of all the clan tartans. If this tract was not theVestiarium Scoticum, it must have been one containing a more elaborate illustration of tartans than the work of Sir Richard Urquhart, and of which I have discovered no other copy.Of the author of theVestiariumI have discovered no illustration, and of his period there is little evidence. In his Envoi, he intimates that he had spent the greater part of his life in military service, and that, at various times, he had composed some works upon heraldry, hunting, and the use of arms; but of these productions I am not aware of any existing notices; and I know of no one of his name who has pursued such studies, except the genealogical knight,Sir Thomas, who deduced the descent of his family from Adam.[80]

The next in value, that which belonged to the Library of the Convent of St Augustine, is a small paper folio, bound in panel, written in the ordinary running hand of the time of James the Sixth. By the signature and date, it had at one time belonged to “ane honerabil man Maister James Dunbarre wtin yeburg of Innernesse, in yeyeir of God ain thousand sax hunder and aucht yeirs.” By a subsequent name upon the cover—“Johan O’Neil, cleric”—it had probably passed into the hands of one of the many expatriated Irish priests, who were driven to the Continent, during the reigns of Elizabeth and James the Sixth; and, in this revolution, probably found its way into the Monastery of St Augustine. Spain was at that time the principal sanctuary for the Irish and Island refugees; and it is not improbable that the possessor of the volume might have been one of the followers of the unfortunate James McDonald of Isla and the Glens, who, on his expulsion from Ulster and the Isles, fled to the Court of Philip the Third. Between this copy and that of the Bishop of Ross there are but very few variations, and almost all, apparently, accidental omissions of the copyist: wherever they occur they have been noted on the margin of this edition.

Besides these copies, there is, also, in my possession, a third, of a much lower character and later period, obtained from an old Ross-shire Highlander named John Ross, one of the last of the sword-players, who may yet be remembered by those who recollect the porters of Edinburgh twenty years ago. It is an inferior, modern copy, bearing the stigmats of various barbarous hands, which have inflicted upon its pages divers attempts to transmit to posterity the names of a certain John and Marye Inglis, who have borne testimony to their familiarity with its leaves in the year 1721. It is written with negligence and inaccuracy, in a very ill hand, and with several substitutions, variations, and omissions, which, in some instances, appear to have been the result of carelessness; in others, the attempts of an illiterate transcriber to adapt the work to his ideas of the clans in his own time. It may, indeed, be conjectured that it was transcribed from an original which, in some degree, differed from the copies of the Bishop of Ross and the Library of St Augustine, since the names of several clans and low-country families follow in a succession different from these MSS. This, however, might have been the result of accidental omission and subsequent re-entry.... These last [the three preceding copies] are the only MSS. of that work which have fallen under my observation; but, according to a notice communicated by Lord Lovat, it appears that another was long in possession of the Frasers of Inchberry. Since the removal of that family it is supposed to have been taken to America, and is described as a small quarto MS. in black letter, containing not only a description, but illuminations, of all the clan tartans. If this tract was not theVestiarium Scoticum, it must have been one containing a more elaborate illustration of tartans than the work of Sir Richard Urquhart, and of which I have discovered no other copy.

Of the author of theVestiariumI have discovered no illustration, and of his period there is little evidence. In his Envoi, he intimates that he had spent the greater part of his life in military service, and that, at various times, he had composed some works upon heraldry, hunting, and the use of arms; but of these productions I am not aware of any existing notices; and I know of no one of his name who has pursued such studies, except the genealogical knight,Sir Thomas, who deduced the descent of his family from Adam.[80]

The contents of theVestiariumare remarkable. In a short introduction the author rebukes his countrymen for their adoption of foreign modes to the neglect of those of their ancestors, and, lest the old Scots fashions should sink into oblivion, as in the case of other nations, “I have taken on hande to compil accordant to my pvir habylitye, a trewe ensample off alle or the maiste parte, the pryncyppul tartanis of Scotlonde sic as I may discerne them.” A short treatise “of the settiss or stryppis and coullouris of terteinis” follows. Then come in succession the tartans of the chief Highland clans, each tartan being described with a technical minuteness which permits of their representation, either by way of illustration or in a fabric, with perfect ease and certainty. The tartans of the clans of the lesser families or houses in the Highlands, and, after them, those of the Low Country or Border clans, are detailed in a similar manner. Short notes on the plaids worn by women, and on hose and trews, with a list of the badges of clans and families, and a poetical conclusion, complete the volume.

As to the dates when the three works on which theVestiariumis based came into his possession, the editor is explicit in reference to only one—that obtained from John Ross, the old swordsman, of which he got possession in 1819.[81]The two others were, however, several years in his possession before publication, and he had apparently no intention of giving their contents to the world until urged to do so by the late Sir Thomas Dick Lauder. In 1829 Sir Thomas was staying at Relugas House in Morayshire, while John Sobieski Stuart and his brother, Charles Edward Stuart, under the name of Hay, or Hay Allan, were occupants of Logie, about a mile from Relugas. Sir Thomas brought the MSS. under Sir Walter Scott’s notice in a letter dated from Relugas 1st June 1829, in which he gives a general account of the only one of the three manuscripts referred to in the introduction to theVestiariumwhich was ever in his possession—viz., John Ross’s copy[82]—from which the transcript now in possession of Miss Dick Lauder was made.[83]It was lent him for the purpose byJohn Sobieski Stuart, and it contains those skits which it was prophesied at the time would cast ridicule on the original.[84]He writes to Sir Walter:—

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