OMNE SOLUM PATRIA. 155 



and never did I witness anything which realised to my 

 mind so completely the state of things in former days, 

 when the chieftain was not only the ruler, but the 

 friend and protector of all in his clan. 



Such was the school in which those habits and 

 feelings were formed which the Highlander of the 

 present day still inherits. And this inborn self-pos- 

 session tends greatly to the advantage of the people 

 who are so constituted. Hence it is that a Scotchman, 

 put him where you will, almost invariably " falls on his 

 legs." Does adversity overtake him ? in the hour of 

 need he can look around him with composure, and, 

 influenced by no feelings of caste, can calmly mould 

 himself to circumstances, turn to any calling which 

 may seem to him best, and, provided it be an honest 

 one, he loses nothing in his own eyes or those of 

 others. The son of a minister may keep sheep upon 

 the hills, and though his flock come of a different race 

 from that of his father, he need not feel out of his 

 element. And scarcely is there a part of the globe 

 where this does not find corroboration. " From sun- 

 burnt south to icy north," the sons of Caledonia are to 

 be found carving out their fortunes, making themselves 

 at home in the midst of difficulties, feathering their 

 nests in the face of hardship, and withal playing no 

 unimportant part in the great game of life. 



" Cceluin, non aniinum mutant, qui trans mare currant," 



was a true saying of Flaccus ; and go where you will, 

 you will find it verified in the Scot, ever conspicuous 

 for the same composed and cautious, yet sagacious, 

 bold, and enterprising nature. 



Sandy Macintosh, the minister's son, had his parallel 



