574 



SCOTLAND. 



ticoat, either dark blue or red. The sleeves are usually tucked up above the elbow. Some 

 times they have coarse shoes and stockings, but not unfrequently bare feet. On Sundays, they 

 wear bonnets and gowns in imitation of their betters. Although the lowland dress is now 

 adopted in most parts of the highlands, there are still many parts of Scotland, in the neighbor- 

 hood of the Lochs, in the west of Argyleshire, &c., where the ancient costume is preserved, 

 though loose tartan trowsers, called trews, are usually substituted for the kilt. The dress of a 

 Scotch shepherd is a jacket and trews of coarse, gray tartan, a gray tartan plaid, and a flat 



highland bonnet. In the Western Islands, 

 where the inhabitants have necessarily less com- 

 munication with the lowlanders than the high- 

 landers on the main land, the dress is somewhat 

 different. The men wear the highland bonnet, 

 blue jacket, and trowsers, usually manufactured 

 in the island, sometimes composed of tartan, and 

 at other times of a coarse woolen stuff ; the 

 women wear a piece of tartan over their heads, 

 something in the form of a veil ; a piece of tartan 

 round their necks, fastened with a large broach 

 of tarnished silver, in the form of a heart : an 

 ornament which is carefully handed down from 

 one generation to another ; extremely short, 

 woolen pelticoats, with jackets of the same, the 

 sleeves of which are tucked up above the elbow, for convenience in working ; all the drudgery 

 being performed by the women, while the men lie at ease, chewing tobacco. 



The true Highland costume consists of a tartan jacket, a kilt, which is a short petticoat of 

 tartan, plaited all round, and descending within two inches of the knee. Tartan hose are 

 stockings coming near the knees, and gartered with red, worsted riband. A Highlander has a 

 peculiar pride in the manner of tying this garter, which, it is sujiposed, no Lowlander can succeed 

 in doing perfectly. Large, silver buckles are worn in the shoes. Li the dress of a gentleman, 

 the bonnet is of tartan velvet, with a diced border ; the common Highlander's is of tartan 

 worsted. This is surmounted by a large, black plume, fastened with a cairngorm. A chief- 

 tain wears, instead of this plume, a long eagle's feather, which no other has a right to adopt. 

 Round the waist is a leathern belt, to which is attached the sporran, a purse made of long, 

 white goat's hair, intended for holding tobacco. Li the belt, is also stuck a pair of pistols, a 

 snuff-mill, and a dirk. If the wearer is a person of distinction, the handle of the dirk is highly 

 sludden with jewels. A scarf or plaid is wrapped around the waist, and thrown over the 

 shoulder, where it is frequently fastened with a large cairngorm or Scotch pebble. The dress 

 of a Highland Regiment is similar, except that the jackets are red, instead of tartan ; the caps 

 are considerably higher, and the black plume largei-, and there are no ornaments of jewelry. 

 Gentlemen who have property in the Highlands are generally extremely fond of adopting the 

 native costume, upon any occasion which may warrant a similar exhibition ; such as a public 

 assembly, a fancy or Caledonian ball at Almacks, or a dinner given by the Highland Society, 

 whether in Edinburgh or London. Young exquisites, who have probably never visited their 

 barren estates, may be seen walking down Bond street, followed by a gigantic Highland piper 

 in full costume, who seems to look upon the passing multitude with an eye cf sovereign con- 

 tempt. If the laird gives a dinner to a parly of fashionable guests, the piper marches up and 

 down before the winJows or through the apartment, blowing with all his might ; the drone of 

 the bagpipe effectually drowning the hum of conversation. 



10. Language. The language used in the Lowlands is somewhat different from the Eng- 

 lish, but though a stranger is puzzled at the pronunciation, the natives understand whatever is 

 spoken in English. A knowledge of this dialect has been spread wherever English is known, 

 by the novels of Scott and Gait, and the poems of Burns. In the highlands and Hebrides, 

 the general language is the Erse or Gaelic ; and little English is known except by the higher 

 classes. The Gaelic is used by more than 300,000 people. In the Orkney and Shetland 

 Isles the English is universal. 



H. Manner of Building. The private dwellings in Scotland are less elegant and commo- 

 dious than in England. In the ancient towns, which have a dismal appearance, the houses are 

 generally of stone, and many have the ends to the street ; in some, the entrance is in the 



Scotch. 



