which ought to be recorded in a more durable manner than this perishing page will admit

of :

'A Highland regiment, commanded, I think, at that time, by general Macleod, was, during the wars with Tippoo Saib, engaged in an unfortunate rencontre, in which above 200 of them fell into the hands of that remorseless tyrant. They were treated with the most cruel indignity, and fed upon a very sparing portion of unwholesome rice, which operated as a slow poison; assisted by the burning heat of the sun by day, and the unwholesome dews of night, to which they were purposely exposed, to shake their constancy. Daily some of their companions dropped before their eyes, and daily they were offered liberty and plenty, in exchange for their lingering torture, on condition of relinquishing their religion, and taking the turban; yet not one could be prevailed upon to purchase life on these terms. These Highlanders were from the isles, and entirely illiterate. Scarcely one of them could have told the name of any particular sect of Christians; and all the idea they had of the Mahometan religion, was, that it was averse to their own; and that, adopting it, they should renounce Him who had died that they might live, and who loved them, and could support them under all sufferings. The great outlines of their religion, the peculiar tenets which distinguish it from every other, were early and deeply impressed upon their minds, and proved sufficient in the hour of trial. The self-devoted band at Thermopyla have had their fame; they expected, and deserved it. These did not even aspire to such distinction; far from their native land, without even the hope of having their graves beheld by the eyes of mournful regret, they passed away unseen, like the flower in the desert, when its head is heavy with the dews of the night, and the sun arises in its strength, to scatter its leaves on the gale. The voice of applausethe hope of future fame-the sympathy of friendship-all that the heart leans to in the last extremity, was withheld from these victims of principle. It was not theirs to meet death in the field of honor, but the mind, wrought up to fervid eagerness, went forth in search of him. They saw his slow approach; and, though sunk in languid debility, such as quenches the fire of mere temperament, they never once hesitated at the alternative set before them. Their fortitude at least should be applauded, though their faith and the hope that supported them were not taken

into the account.

'Nature never meant Donald for a manufacturer; born to cultivate or defend his native soil, he droops or degenerates in any mechanical calling. He feels it as losing his cast; and, when he begins to be a weaver, he ceases to be a Highlander. Fixing a mountaineer on a loom too much resembles yoking a deer to a plough, and will not in the end suit much better."Essays on the Highlanders.

For the following summary of the antiquities and curiosities of nature and art in Scotland, we are principally indebted to Dr. Myers' able Geography, vol. i.

Druidical monuments are to be found prin

cipally in the northern parts of Scotland, and the adjacent isles. They are easily distinguished by their circular forms; but they are not of equal magnitude with those of the same kind in South Britain. The vestiges of Roman antiquities. such as the stations of their legions, their castella, and their prætentures, or walls, can now only be discovered by critical inspection. Various Roman coins, urns, utensils, and inscriptions, have been found in several parts, and es pecially near the site of the celebrated wal which extended from the Frith of Clyde to tha of Forth. It was marked out by Agricola, but completed by Antoninus Pius, and is still discernible. This wall, which has been traced with great precision by antiquaries and historians, is called Graham's Dyke by the country people. from a tradition that a Scottish warrior of that name was the first who passed it. The remains of several Roman camps are also visible in this part of Scotland. One, near the foot of the Grampian Hills, is perhaps the most striking and best preserved specimen in North Britain. It is situated at Ardoch, in Perthshire, and is generally thought to have been the camp which Agricola occupied before his engagement with the Caledonian king, Galgacus. The vestiges of this camp still present five ditches and six ramparts on the south side; and three of the four gates, which led into the area, may yet be distinctly traced. A Roman temple, in the form of the pantheon at Rome, stood on the banks of the Carron, supposed to have been built by Agricola, or his successors, and dedicated to their god Terminus, as it stood near the confines of the empire. This venerable relic of antiquity was barbarously demolished for the purpose of repairing a mill-pond.

Danish

The monuments ascribed to the Picts are singular buildings. The two principal were hollow columns; the one at Brechin in Angus, and the other at Abernethy, in Perthshire. That at Brechin is the most entire, and is covered with a kind of spiral roof of stone, with three or four windows above the cornice. It consists of regular courses of hewn stone, tapering to the top. In Perthshire is a barrow, which appears to be of British origin, and resembles the hull of a ship with the keel upwards. It is styled Ternay, which some have supposed to be a contraction of Terræ navis, the ship of earth. camps and fortifications are discernible in several northern counties of Scotland, and are distinguished by their square forms and difficult situations. The vestiges of ancient Scottish antiquities are often both curious and instruc tive, as they frequently relate to events in their history; and, from the emblematical figures with which they are ornamented, were evidently erected to commemorate victories. These monuments are chiefly obelisks, and are commonly called Danish stones. Of these, the great stone near Fortrose, in Moray, surpasses all the others. According to Mr. Gordon it is perhaps the only one of that kind in Europe; it rises about twenty-three feet above the ground, and is, I am credibly informed, not less than twelve or fifteen below so that the whole height is at least thirtyfive feet and its breadth nearly five. It is one

entire stone, with a great variety of figures in relievo carved on it, and some of them are still visible; but the injury of the weather has obscured those towards the upper part.' This monument is by some ascribed to the Danes.

The wide-spread fame of Iona will permit an additional account of its relics in this place. In any other situation, and under almost any other circumstances, the architectural ruins of Iona would be consigned to neglect and oblivion. It is not from their magnificence or splendor, from their magnitude or proportions, that they have acquired celebrity, but from their connexion with a barbarous age, and their standing a solitary monument of religion and literature amidst the gloom of ignorance. It is almost impossible for the mind to contemplate the fragments of these venerable structures, now fast mouldering beneath the hand of time, without involuntarily recurring to the period when this little isle was the light of the western world.' Even at a distance,' says Dr. Maccullock, in his Description of the Western Islands, the aspect of the cathedral, insignificant as its dimensions are, produces a strong feeling of delight in him who, long coasting the rugged and barren rocks of Mull, or buffeted by turbulent waves, beholds its tower first rising out of the deep; giving to this desolate region an air of civilisation, and recalling the consciousness of that human society, which, presenting elsewhere no visible traces, seems to have abandoned these rocky shores to the cormorant and the sea-gull.' The following perspicuous delineation of these remains of antiquity is extracted from Dr. Playfair's Statistical Description of Scotland. From the beginning of the seventh century to the reformation, Iona was the seat of the regular clergy of St. Columba. After that period, the learning of ages, the records of nations, and the archives of remote antiquity, were destroyed or removed to Douay College, in France. Some fragments of buildings remain. St. Mary's church, which served as a cathedral of the diocess of the bishops of the Isles, and is almost entire, was built of red granite, 115 feet long, and twenty-three broad, with a transept of seventy feet. Over the centre is a handsome tower. From the south-east corner are two parallel walls, ten feet distant from each other, which reach to the sea. West of the church is a cross of one stone nearly eight feet high, and twenty inches broad, and six thick. From this place to the nunnery there is a causeway 300 yards in length, and fifteen in breadth, intersected at right angles by another of the same kind, that reaches from the shore to the village. On the left hand of it, as you go from the shore to the church, there is a cross of whinstone, ten feet high, ornamented, but without any inscription. The nunnery is a plain square building; and its church, which contains the tombs of ladies of high rank, is fifty-eight feet long, and twenty broad. St. Oran's chapel, which is sixty by twenty-two feet, is surrounded by the burying-ground, where, according to tradition, forty-eight Scots, four Irish, and eight Norwegian chiefs are interred. In 1540 there were three tombs, like little chapels, with an inscription on a broad stone in the gable

of each; but scarcely a vestige of these tombs now exists. North of the monastery are the remains of a small edifice, called the bishop's house. Such is the present state of that illustrious island, which was once the seminary of the Caledonian regions, whence savage clans and roving barbarians derived the benefits of knowledge and the blessings of religion.'

At Sandwich, in Ross-shire, is a curious obelisk, but of a more recent date than those abovementioned. It stands on a basement of flat stones rising like steps, and is enriched with various specimens of carved works more highly finished than those on the obelisk near Fortrose. On one face is a large cross with a figure of St. Andrew on each side, and some uncouth forms of animals beneath. The reverse contains figures of birds and animals. The ruins of Elgin Cathedral present some dignified remains. The west door is highly ornamented, and the whole edifice displays much elaborate workmanship. Among the ancient castles of North Britain that of Kildrummy is most distinguished, and was formerly a place of great strength and magnificence, frequently the asylum of noble families in times of civil war and national distress. The castle of Inverugie is a massy pile, standing on the steep bank of a river, rearing its lofty towers above the aged trees, and appearing majestic even in ruins. At Huntley, also, the remains of a venerable castle attest its former magnificence.

In natural curiosities Scotland is very rich. The picturesque falls of the Clyde, near Lanark, and the beauties of Loch Lomond, have excited much attention, and given rise to many animated descriptions. The rocks on the coast of Aberdeenshire frequently assume singular forms of arches and pillars; while the vast basaltic columns between the castle and harbour of Dunbar resemble the Giant's Causeway in Ireland. Several large caverns in Fifeshire, a petrifying cave at Slains, in Aberdeenshire, and a quantity of sea-shells and white stones, some of them very clear, are to be met with on the top of a mountain in Ross-shire, about twenty miles from the sea. Nor are traces of extinguished volcanoes totally unknown in this country. The hill of Finchaven is one instance, and that of Bergonium, near Dunstaffage Castle is another. Both of these exhibit large quantities of pumice stone, or scoriæ, of the same kind as those thrown out by the volcanoes of Iceland. On the isle of Scalpay, one of the Hebrides, there is a hill which affects the mariner's compass, and causes the needle to deviate 9° from the north towards the west. At Ralphitrisk is the famous ringing stone, about seven feet long, six broad, and four and a half thick. It is of a dull gray color, spotted with black mica. It is very hard, and when struck with a hammer or stone sounds like brass or cast iron.

Between the islands of Jura and Scarba is the noted whirlpool, denominated Cor-y-bhrechan supposed to have derived its name from a Danish prince who perished there. Soon after the flood tide has entered the sound the sea at this place is violently agitated. It boils, foams, and passes away in successive whirls. The commotion increases till near the fourth hour of

flood, when it is most impetuous. The waves are tossed with a great noise, that may be heard twelve miles distant. But from the middle of the fifth to the sixth hour of flood, and in neaptides from the fourth to the sixth hour, the commotion gradually abates, until at length it totally subsides; and, at the approach of the lowest ebb, the same tranquillity is restored as takes place at high water.'

But perhaps the most remarkable natural curiosity in Scotland is the precipitous and columnar island of Staffa The bending pillars and the noted caves of this small island have often been described. The island itself is an irregular oval, faced with nearly perpendicular rocks, in which various caves yawn and receive the restless waves that dash against the shore. The height of these rocky coasts varies from about 112 feet to less than ten above the surface of the sea. The natural pillars in many of these places are inclined in various positions from the perpendicular. In some they are bent so as to resemble the inside timbers of a ship. In others, where the ends present themselves in forming the surface, they have the appearance of a honey-comb. The celebrity of this island, however, is chiefly derived from its various caves. The principal of these are the Boat Cave, Mackinnon's Cave, and Fingal's Cave. The Boat Cave apparently derives its name from its being accessible by sea only. This cave is small, but its entrance is highly picturesque from the symmetry of the columnar surface of the cliff in which it is situated. Its height is about fifteen feet, breadth twelve, and depth 150 feet. It can be entered by means of boats only, as the tide never ebbs quite out.

Mackinnon's Cave presents an aperture of nearly fifty feet square, with a depth of more than 220 feet, which causes it to reflect a deep shadow, that produces a powerful effect. Its dimensions are nearly the same throughout its extent. The roof and sides, being smooth, are deprived of many of those beauties which a more varied appearance, accompanied with a symmetrical arrangement of parts, would present. Fingal's Cave is the most celebrated, and upon it the utmost powers of description have frequently been lavished. It is situated near the eastern ex

tremity of the principal face, and presents two nearly perpendicular sides; with a roof resembling that kind of Gothic arch which is termed the contracted. The height from the surface of the water at mean tide is about sixty-six feet; and from the top of the arch to the summit of the cliff it is thirty feet: the breadth is about forty-two feet. The height of the cave soon diminishes to less than fifty feet, and terminates at forty-four, after running into the rock a depth of 227 feet. These are the dimensions given by Dr. Macculloch, who lately measured it; but those given by Sir Joseph Banks, by whom it was first visited, in his voyage to Ireland, are considerably greater. The sides of the care, like the rock in front, are columnar and nearly perpendicular, and the roof is formed of pillars that have been broken off, which sometimes produce an ornamental effect. The breadth is preserved nearly to the furthest extremity, and the whole cave is lighted from without, so that the end may be distinctly seen. The air is kept in a pure state from the motion occasioned by the flux and reflux of the tide; and, as this never ebbs out, it forms the only flooring to the cave It would be no less presumptuous than useless,' Dr. Macculloch observes, to attempt a description of the picturesque effects of that to which the pencil itself is inadequate. But if this cave were even destitute of that order and symmetry, that richness arising from multiplicity of parts, combined with greatness of dimension and simplicity of style which it possesses, still the prolonged length, the twilight gloom, half concealing the playful and varying effects of reflected light, the echo of the measured surge as it rises and falls, the transparent green of the water, and the profound and fairy solitude of the whole scene, could not fail strongly to impress the mind gifted with any sense of beauty in art or nature."

It is said that by far the greater part of exported British linens are of Scottish manufacture: some estimate of the importance of that manufacture may be formed by the following table of the countries to which these exports were made in 1821 and 1822, ordered to be printed by the House of Commons May 1823:

The quantity of malt made in Scotland from 1786 to 1800 fluctuated from 1,500 000 to 2,000,000 of bushels annually; the ordinary rate of duty being then 77d. per bushel. In 1804, when the duty on malt made from barley was raised to 3s. 8 d., and from bear or bigg to 3s. Ofd., the number of bushels fell to 1,125,482, and never reached 1,500,000 while these duties were gathered. In 1817, 1818, and 1819, when the duty was 1s. 8d., the quantity increased from 1,129,992 to 1,556,586 bushels. But in 1820, when it was raised to 3s. 6d., the number of bushels fell to 1,284,9183. In 1822, under new modifications of the duty, it was 1,347,432

bushels; and for the year ending 5th April 1823 the number had increased to 2,150,795 bushels; of which 1,816,691 were made from barley, and 334,103 from bear or bigg. The beer made in Scotland in 1822 was about 350,000 barrels, or about 3000 barrels less than n 1792. Such is the effect of high war duties on the necessaries of life.

The spirits made in Scotland for home consumption only, from 1813 to 1822, and all from grain or malt (no sugar or molasses being used in those years), appears, from the Report of the Malt Duties of Scotland, May 1821, to stand thus:

10th Nov.

England. As considerable light has been thrown of late by Dr. Cook and Dr. M'Crie on the early progress of the Reformation in Scotland, we shall avail ourselves here of a portion of this information.

In preparing the scheme of future church polity for his country, her great reformer, Knox, adopted the general maxims of Calvin; yet he accommodated them considerably to the peculiar situation of Scotland. While he abolished the episcopal order as by divine right superior to that of presbyters, finding that absolute equality amongst the pastors would not be expedient, he appointed superintendants, who were in some respects similar to bishops, but in others plainly and explicitly distinguished from them. They superintended the parochial ministers, whose labors were confined to their own parishes, and the readers who, from the small number of pastors, were employed to read and explain the Scriptures, where ministers could not be procured. This intermediate system between episcopacy and presbytery, although it was regarded with much partiality by Knox, did not long continue. It had little hold of the minds of the people; and the poverty of the clergy under it rendered them eager that it might be so modified as that their temporal condition should be improved. When, therefore, in 1572, the earl of Mar, who was then regent, was eager, perhaps more from political than religious considerations, to restore the order of bishops, little resistance was made to his wishes; and, with the acquiescence even of Knox, an episcopalian polity supplanted the superintendent scheine, or rather was combined with it. But it soon appeared that the prejudices which had been early formed against the hierarchy had not subsided; and the celebrated Andrew Melville, on his arrival in Scotland from Geneva in 1574, taking advantage of these prejudices, and of every political event that might facilitate his design, was enabled to effect, in 1592, the introduction of that presbyterian polity which he found established in Geneva, and which has finally been fixed in Scotland.

To James VI., although he was occasionally forced to dissemble his real sentiments, this form of church government was most obnoxious. The boldness with which the ministers defended what they believed to be right ill corresponded with the deference which he considered to be due to royalty; and, having been often thwarted by them in what they deemed the unconstitutional exercise of his prerogative, he was desirous that episcopacy, as more consonant to monarchy, should be restored. To effect this he made many efforts, even before his accession to the English throne; and after that event he was enabled to accomplish his object; at the same time gratifying the feelings or the prejudices of his Scottish subjects, by putting restraints upon the bishops, without which he dreaded that he would fail in establishing their authority. His unfortunate son, Charles I., who was attached to episcopacy from sincere religious conviction, as well as from views of political expediency, formed the scheme of assimilating in all respects the churches in England and Scotland. With this view he determined to intro

duce a liturgy, which in Scotland had never been regularly used; and he insisted upon the reception of a set of canons abolishing the control over ecclesiastical measures which the inferior church_judicatories had been permitted to exercise. The violence with which all this was resisted is known to every reader of the history of Scotland. The zeal of the multitude was inflamed to fury: the clergy were insulted, and episcopacy was again contemplated as the engine of popery and of despotism. The dissensions which soon arose in England cherished this state of mind: the discontented in Scotland made a common cause with the disaffected in the southern part of the island: they bound themselves, by the strange deed which they entitled the solemn league and covenant,' to exterminate prelacy as a corruption of the Gospel; and they took an active part in those commotions which terminated in the death of Charles, and the erection of the Commonwealth. Some feeble efforts indeed were made to preserve to Charles II. a shackled sceptre; but he was soon compelled to leave Britain; and under Cromwell the violent presbyterians, who were denominated Protesters, enjoyed the free exercise of the form of worship, and of the power which they had acquired. Upon the restoration of Charles, to which it must be admitted that many attached to presbytery zealously contributed, although at his coronation at Scone he had solemnly sworn to defend that mode of ecclesiastical government, and had, in the prospect of being restored, renewed his protestations that he would do so, he established episcopacy in Scotland, under circumstances little calculated to conciliate the affections and to secure the reverence of the people to that ancient and admirable form of church polity. The desertion of Dr. Sharp from the presbyterians was rewarded by his exaltation to the primacy; and powers were vested in the bishops much more ample than they had possessed at any time before. The discontent that now prevailed among the presbyterians was openly displayed, and the attempts to restrain it were conducted with a severity more calculated to divide than to heal. The presbyterians, undismayed, adhered to their principles; and, upon the abdication of James II., they looked forward with confidence to the triumph of their cause. And, though the prince of Orange was eager to preserve in both parts of the island the same form of ecclesiastical government, the bishops conceived that they could not conscientiously transfer their allegiance to him, whereby the way was opened for that establishment of presbytery which some of his most zealous adherents had pressed upon him, and which was ratified by act of parliament in 1690. Thus, Scotland and England having been separate kingdoms at the time of the Reformation, a difference of circumstances in the two countries led to different sentiments on the subject of religion, and at last to different religious establishments; and when they were incorporated into one kingdom, by the treaty of union in 1707, the same regard to the inclinations of the commonalty of Scotland, to which presbytery owed its first establishment in that country, produced a declaration, to which both kingdoms gave their