SCOTLAND (SOCIAL STATE). 



161 



in the early part of the fifteenth century, has left 

 in his " Quair," or Book, a beautiful specimen of 

 his poetical talents. Farther down, we come to 

 Dunbar, undoubtedly the greatest of old Scottish 

 poets; and among his contemporaries we have Hen- 

 ryson, Kennedy, and others of merit. Gavin Dou- 

 glas, Sir David Lindsay, Bellenden, Alexander Scot, 

 Alexander Montgomery, all follow in succession, 

 until we reach king James the VI., himself no mean 

 " prentice" in the art of poetry. 



After king James' accession to the throne of Eng- 

 land, Latin and English verses were chiefly culti- 

 vated in Scotland, until Allan Ramsay arose, and 

 restored to new and vigorous life the muse of his 

 country. Fergusson, Burns, Hector Macneil, and 

 James Hogg, close, for the present, the list of the 

 more prominent names of those who have distin- 

 guished themselves in Scottish verse. But in other 

 strains beyond the vernacular tongue have Scots- 

 men been eminent. In Latin verse Buchanan has 

 found no equal in modern times ; nor has Arthur 

 Johnston been greatly surpassed ; while the publi- 

 cation of the DelicicB Poetarum Scotorum, a collec- 

 tion of Latin poems by various Scottish gentlemen, 

 reflects great credit on the learned taste of Scotland 

 during the early part of the seventeenth century. 

 In English poetry, Scotland can name Drummond 

 of Hawthornden, Thomson, Mallet, Armstrong, Ar- 

 butlmot, Mickle, Beattie, Blair, John Home, Scott, 

 Campbell, and many others of minor note. In his- 

 tory she has a bright galaxy Buchanan, Burnett, 

 Spotiswood, Hume, Robertson, Ferguson, Dr 

 Henry, Stuart, Laing. In philosophical and meta- 

 physical disquisition Hume, Smith, Reid, Beattie, 

 Oswald, Campbell, Lord Kames, Lord Monboddo, 

 Dugald Stewart, Thomas Brown, Sir James Mack- 

 intosh. In mathematical and physical science and 

 the practical arts Napier of Merchiston, the Gre- 

 gories, Maclaurin, Stone, Simson, Black, Hutton, 

 Robison, Playfair, Ivory, Leslie, James Watt, Mur- 

 doch, Rennie, Telford. In medicine and anatomy 

 Pitcairn, Arbuthnot, Munro, Duncan, Cullen.the 

 Hunters, Gregory, Brown, Baillie. In antiquities 

 Innes, Lord Hailes, Geddes, Sibbald, Pinkerton, 

 George Chalmers. In fictitious composition Smol- 

 lett, Moore, Mackenzie, Gait, and " last, not least," 

 but greatest, SIR WALTER SCOTT. 



Such are some of the names that have occurred 

 to us, almost at random, as belonging to Scotland; 

 and merely to name them is all that the limits of this 

 little section afford. But it is sufficient to excite 

 surprise, that so brilliant a list could be produced 

 out of so comparatively small a population a sur- 

 prise which will be increased, when it is considered 

 what a poor, distracted, and most unfortunate coun- 

 try Scofland was for many hundred years, during 

 the whole reign of the Stuarts (her history being 

 almost one continued series of misfortunes) and 

 that it is only from the middle of the last century 

 that she can date the beginning of her prosperity. 



Social State " There is no European nation," 

 says Sir Walter Scott, " which, within the course 

 of half a century, or little more, has undergone so 

 complete a change as the kingdom of Scotland. 

 The effects of the insurrection of 1745, the des- 

 truction of the patriarchal power of the Highland 

 chiefs, the abolition of the heritable jurisdictions 

 of the Lowland nobility and barons, the total 

 eradication of the Jacobite party, which, averse to 

 intermingle with the English, or adopt their cus- 

 toms, long continued to pride themselves upon 

 maintaining ancient Scottish manners and cus.toms, 



VI. 



commenced this innovation. The gradual influx 

 of wealth, and extension of commerce, have since 

 united to render the present people of Scotland a 

 class of beings as different from their grandfathers, 

 as the existing English are from those of Queen 

 Elizabeth's time." It is the common practice to 

 attribute every beneficial change that has taken 

 place in Scotland to its Union with England ; but, 

 a mere union would have been of little avail, had 

 Scotland not possessed in itself the germs of future 

 prosperity in the excellency of many of its native 

 institutions, and the enterprising character of its 

 people. Among the institutions peculiar to the 

 country may be mentioned its Banking establish- 

 ments (see Banks') and its Parochial Schools. To 

 the system of banking adopted in Scotland, parti- 

 cularly cash credit accounts, the country owes much 

 of its commercial success. " Looking back," says 

 an intelligent writer, in a popular miscellany, " on 

 the low condition of this northern kingdom, for 

 many years after the Union, and remembering the 

 character of the soil and climate, it is obvious, that, 

 but for the help thrown out by banks to agricultur- 

 ists and artizans, the country scarcely cheered by 

 English capital must have continued long in a 

 withering and gloomy condition. It required at 

 that period little else than the temporary aid of 

 money loans to commence its career of prosperity, 

 or to give the first impetus towards improvement. 

 In the absence, therefore, of the precious metals, 

 the dissemination of paper as the representative of 

 that species of national wealth, which, from its na- 

 ture, was not susceptible of being put in circula- 

 tion, was one of the most creditable, and eventually 

 the most successful, devices ever fallen upon by 

 any people to better their circumstances. It was 

 not without much trouble and a lapse of many years, 

 that the system put in operation was perfected ; but 

 when the law at length interposed to secure the 

 public, as well as the bankers, from contingent ex- 

 cesses, and defined the powers of lenders and bor- 

 rowers, the triumph of the Scottish bank notes was 

 complete." 



While the banking establishments of Scotland 

 have done much in cherishing and stimulating the 

 commercial spirit of the country, parochial schools 

 have been of still more advantage in placing within 

 the power of the poorest inhabitant the means of 

 instruction. Hence the peasantry and artizans of 

 Scotland are generally distinguished above those of 

 other countries for intelligence and moral deport- 

 ment. It is rare, indeed, to find a native of the Low- 

 lands of Scotland Xat least of Scottish parents) who 

 cannot read, write, and count. But even beyond 

 this humble department of education, Scotland has 

 advantages possessed by few other countries. Her 

 Universities (four in number, St Andrews, Glas- 

 gow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh), are not conducted 

 on the exclusive and expensive scale of those of 

 England, but are so constituted that persons of very 

 moderate means may enter them. Thus a much 

 greater proportion of the people of Scotland receive 

 a college education than in England. 



In their habits and manners, the people of Scot- 

 land are gradually approximating to those of Eng- 

 land. The frequent intercourse that now exists 

 between the two nations, as well as a unity of in- 

 terests and pursuits, necessarily leads to this. The 

 Scotch are still, however, as formerly, more tem- 

 perate in their diet, and less temperate in the use of 

 ardent spirits, than the English. In domestic clean- 

 liness, also, the former have still much to learn 



