,transcriber's ,notes    ,because there 
are so many ,footnotes1 these have been 
moved to the end  of the ,introduction  
and renumbered in sequence from #a4     
,variant spelling of ,scots words have  
been left as printed4    ,when the caret
  mark has been used within a word1 this
 indicates that  the letter to the right
 of the mark will be raised in the      
original4    ,the equals sign 77 around 
a word or numbers 7e4g4 #afb7 indicates 
that they will show as bold in the final
 project4    ,changes made are noted at 
the end of the book4          ,,old     
,,and ,,rare    ,,scottish ,,tartans    
,impression limited to ,three ,hundred  
copies3  #bej on ,dutch hand-made paper1
 demy #dto        of which this is      
number #afb and  #ej on ,whatman's      
hand-made paper1 royal #dto             
,illustration              ,,old ,,and  
,,rare        ,,scottish ,,tartans      
,,with        ,,historical              
,,introduction ,,and ,,descriptive      
,,notices        ,,by        ,,donald   

,,william ,,stewart      ,f4,s4,a4      
,,scot4        ,illustration            
,,edinburgh3 ,,george ,p4 ,,johnston    
,,mdcccxciii          ,,edinburgh3      
,,george ,,waterston ,,and ,,sons1      
,,printers4          ,,preface4         
,two main objects have been kept in view
 in the preparation of the  present     
volume4    ,the first was to render     
generally accessible some of those      
beautiful  but comparatively unknown    
examples of old tartans represented in  
family  portraits1 miniatures1 and      
relics1 as well as in the few           
collections  of tartans which exist in  
the country1 and to set forth all that  
could  be definitely ascertained        
regarding their origin and history4 ,to 
carry  this out efficiently1 it was     
necessary to obtain the permission of   
the families possessing representations 
and examples of the tartans  to inspect 
them1 and to visit the different        
localities in ,scotland  in which they  
are preserved1 for the purposes of      

examination and  illustration4 ,by the  
courtesy of the owners every facility   
and aid was  given in the work of       
recording and identifying the setts1 and
 in no  case where permission was asked 
to reproduce a tartan was it refused4   
,this preliminary work extended over a  
period of several years1 in the  course 
of which the ,editor believes he allowed
 few collections to  escape his notice4 
,from the great number of setts now in  
his note-books  he found the utmost     
difficulty in making the selection for  
the present  work1 and the exigencies of
 space alone have compelled him1 to his 
regret1 to omit many rare1 beautiful1   
and historic examples he would          
willingly have included4    ,having     
arranged as to the examples of tartan to
 appear in the volume1  it became       
necessary to decide on the form of      
illustration4 ,hitherto  the modes      
adopted in works of this description    
have been admittedly  unsatisfactory1 it
 being impossible1 by the highest       

exercise of skill  in colour printing1  
to render the shades correctly1         
particularly in  those portions of the  
setts where the colours are crossed4    
,solid  colours are generally rendered  
adequately by lithography1 but when  the
 most important and intricate portion of
 the design--viz41 the  representation  
of the interweaving of different        
shades--is in question1  none of the    
processes of colour printing yet        
invented does justice  to the great     
beauty of the actual fabric4 ,the method
 adopted in the  present work has been  
to weave the tartan to be represented in
 its  proper colours in fine silk4 ,the 
shades required for each specimen       
having been dyed1 the weaving was       
executed by the hand-loom in exact      
proportion to the original4 ,to ensure  
permanency the mounting was  arranged so
 that no portion of the silk forming the
 illustration should  come into contact 
with the adhesive4    ,the second object
 kept in view in the preparation of the 

work was  to examine and present1 in    
something like chronological order1 the 
references in old writers to tartan and 
the ,highland dress4 ,the only  attempt 
of the kind hitherto made was that by   
,donald ,gregory and ,w4  ,f4 ,skene1   
included in the ,transactions of the    
,iona ,club4 ,since that  valuable work 
was published a great deal of           
interesting and original  material has  
been discovered4 ,but what may be termed
 the literature of  the subject is so   
widely diffused1 and contained in works 
so difficult  of access to the general  
reader--many of them being in ,,ms41 and
 others  rare and costly--that it seemed
 to be of importance to present these   
notices in a form which would render    
easy comparison between different  ages 
and authors4 ,something of this kind the
 ,editor has endeavoured  to carry out  
in the ,introduction4 ,particular       
attention has been paid  to the accuracy
 of the extracts1 which have been       
carefully verified  by comparison with  

the authorities4 ,one result has been   
the discovery  of serious errors in     
quotations by previous writers1 and the 
more  important of these are pointed    
out4 ,the ,editor trusts that1          
considering  the importance of the      
objects he had in view1 the length to   
which  several of the extracts have     
unavoidably run will be pardoned by his 
readers4 ,he has omitted many references
 which he regarded as of minor          
consequence1 while several of much      
importance are given for the first      
time4    ,there remains the pleasant    
duty of thanking those by whose aid the 
,editor has been enabled to produce the 
work4    ,her ,majesty the ,queen       
permitted the ,balmoral ,tartan as used 
by the  ,royal ,family to be reproduced1
 and communicated an account of its     
origin4 ,miss ,dick ,lauder placed at   
the disposal of the ,editor the  unique 
copy of the ,vestiarium ,scoticum made  
by her father at  ,relugas in #ahbh-bi  
from the manuscript in possession of the

 ,messrs  ,hay1 and also the            
correspondence between ,sir ,walter     
,scott and ,sir  ,thomas ,dick ,lauder1 
so fully referred to in the             
,introduction4 ,mrs  ,charles           
,elphinstone ,dalrymple kindly supplied 
transcripts of notes on  tartans and the
 ,highland dress made by the late ,mr   
,charles ,elphinstone  ,dalrymple1 and  
lent several paintings and drawings1 as 
well as a  collection of tartans made by
 the ,highland ,society of ,london and  
the  late ,dr4 ,w4 ,f4 ,skene4 ,to ,mr  
,alexander ,donald ,mackenzie1          
,edinburgh1 the  ,editor has been       
indebted for many valuable suggestions  
from the first  inception of his work2  
and the fruits of ,mr ,mackenzie's study
 of ,gaelic  literature and customs were
 freely placed at his disposal4         
,opportunities of inspecting paintings  
and taking notes of the tartans         
depicted were kindly granted by ,his    
,grace the ,duke of ,sutherland1  the   
,right ,hon4 the ,earl of ,eglinton1 the

 ,right ,hon4 the ,earl of  ,ancaster1  
the ,right ,hon4 the ,countess of       
,seafield1 the ,right ,hon4 ,lord       
,macdonald of the ,isles1 the ,right    
,hon4 ,lord ,donington1 ,macleod of     
,macleod1 ,cluny ,macpherson1 ,the      
,mackintosh of ,mackintosh1 the ,hon4   
,mrs  ,r4 ,baillie-,hamilton1 ,mr and   
,mrs ,nisbet-,hamilton-,ogilvy1 ,john   
,alastair  ,erskine ,cunninghame1       
,esquire of ,balgownie1 ,captain ,w4    
,home ,drummond  ,moray of ,abercairney1
 and ,frederick ,granville ,sinclair1   
,esquire of  ,barrogill4    ,the        
collections of tartans preserved by     
several families were also  placed at   
the disposal of the ,editor4            
,information and assistance on various  
points connected with the  subject were 
accorded by the ,most ,hon4 the ,marquis
 of ,ailsa1 the ,most  ,hon4 the        
,marchioness of ,breadalbane1 ,lord     
,archibald ,campbell1 ,sir  ,arthur     
,halkett of ,pitfirrane1 ,bart41 ,miss  
,fraser of ,abertarff1 ,walter  ,douglas

 ,campbell1 ,esquire of ,blythswood1    
,james ,campbell1 ,esquire1             
representative of the ,campbells of     
,craignish1 ,mr ,godwin1 ,librarian to  
the ,marquis of ,bute1 ,mrs ,tilly1     
,london1 and others4    ,to ,dr4 ,thomas
 ,dickson1 ,curator of the ,historical  
,department ,h4,m4  ,register ,house1   
and to ,mr ,andrew ,ross1 ,marchmont    
,herald1 the ,editor is  indebted for   
valuable direction in regard to many    
points contained in  the ,introduction4 
,,donald ,,william ,,stewart4           
,,edinburgh1 ,may #ahic4                
,,contents4          ,,preface ,,pages  
v-viii        ,,historical              
,,introduction #a-ef        ,,notes ,,on
 ,,works ,,treating ,,of ,,tartans      
#eg-fa        ,,tartans3 ,,with         
,,descriptive ,,notices ,,nos4          
#a;a-#de;a     ,the ,figure stamped on  
the cover is from the painting known as 
8,the   ,regent ,moray10 at ,langton1   
formerly at ,taymouth4 ,it is one of the
   oldest pictures in ,scotland showing 

the ,highland dress4     ,the ,vignette 
on the title-page is from a painting in 
,armadale ,castle1   dated about #agej4 
,it represents ,sir ,james ,macdonald of
 ,sleat and his   brother ,alexander1   
afterwards first ,lord ,macdonald of the
 ,isles4          ,illustration         
,,introduction4      ,of the dress of   
the ,highlanders of ,scotland prior to  
the fifteenth  century the descriptions 
available are few and meagre4 ,true1    
there  are many references to a style of
 costume which consisted mainly of  a   
loose outer garment1 but these are      
equally applicable to the wear  of      
neighbouring countries1 and contain no  
account of the distinctive  features    
associated with the ,highland dress4    
,probably the earliest  reference to the
 latter is to be found in the ,saga of  
,magnus ,barefoot1  ,king of ,norway1   
#ajic-aajc1 who led marauding           
expeditions to the west of  ,scotland in
 the first year of his reign and        
subsequently4 ,of his return  from such 

a raid the historian chronicles3--      
,people say that when ,king ,magnus came
 home from his viking cruise to   the   
,western countries1 he and many of his  
people brought with them a   great deal 
of the habits and fashions of clothing  
of those ,western   parts4 ,they went   
about on the streets with bare legs1 and
 had short   kirtles and over-cloaks2   
and therefore his men called him ,magnus
   ,barefoot or ,bareleg4#a    ,the word
 8kyrtlu0 probably indicates a garment  
corresponding somewhat  to the feilebeg 
or kilt1 though it may also indicate one
 which covered  the upper portion of the
 body as well1 and thus formed a species
  of tunic4#b ,still1 the description of
 the distinctive costume of  the        
,western ,islanders at this remote      
period is extremely valuable1           
especially as it is written by one who  
lived so near the time when  the        
incidents narrated took place4 ,in      
accordance with the custom of  fosterage
 then prevalent in ,norway1 and         

continued in ,scotland long  afterwards1
 ,snorro ,sturleson1 the author of the  
,saga1 was reared with  the children of 
the king's daughter1 and so had         
opportunity of hearing  and noting the  
use of the strange costume4    ,the     
chartularies of ,aberdeen attest the use
 not merely of the style of  dress that 
figures in the ,saga1 but also of a     
parti-coloured cloth1  which was        
probably tartan4 ,in these ancient      
records are notes on early  customs of  
the utmost importance to antiquaries4   
,they contain1 besides  the charters of 
the lands belonging to the ,see1 the    
canons of the  ,scottish ,church1 and   
the statutes of the ,church of          
,aberdeen1 framed in  the thirteenth    
century2 it is there provided that 8all 
ecclesiastics  are to be suitably       
apparelled1 avoiding red1 green1 and    
striped  clothing1 and their garments   
shall not be shorter than to the middle 
of the leg40#c ,of course1 it cannot be 
held that this conclusively  proves the 

existence of breacan or tartan1 but     
striped clothing is as  near an approach
 to an accurate description of it as can
 be expected  at so early a period4 ,the
 injunctions indicate a general use of  
parti-coloured garments in the northern 
districts of the country in the         
thirteenth century4    ,the famous clan 
battle on the ,north ,inch of ,perth    
took place in #acif1  but only the      
slightest reference is made to the dress
 of the combatants  in any of the       
accounts now extant4 ,in the narrative  
by ,abbot ,bower1 the  continuator of   
,fordun1 it is recorded that the battle 
was waged     ,by thirty men against    
thirty of the opposite party1 armed only
 with   swords1 bows and arrows1 without
 mantles or other armour except         
axes4#d    ,the mantle is doubtless the 
over-cloak of ,magnus ,barefoot's time1 
and  the prototype of the plaid often so
 designated by writers of later date4   
,borthwick in his ,antiquities#e prints 
the ,accounts for #adgd of ,john1       

,bishop of ,glasgow1 ,treasurer to      
,james ,,iii41 which contain the entry3 
8,halve ane elne of double tartan to    
lyne riding collars to the queen40      
,pinkerton adopts ,borthwick's          
reading4#f ,pitcairn cites entries1     
under  date ,october #adhh1 of a fabric 
called 8tarter10 and he adds 8this is   
evidently tartan40#g ,had the           
conclusions of these antiquaries as  to 
the identity of the words been correct1 
then these would be the  earliest       
specific references to tartan hitherto  
discovered in our  records2 but that    
they are not is pointed out by the      
editor of the  ,treasurer's ,accounts1  
who writes3--     ,tartar1 the name of  
which bespeaks its ,eastern origin1     
though it was   no doubt imitated by the
 weavers of ,italy and ,france1 is      
described as   8single0 or 8double10    
according to texture1 and as 8variant0  
or shot1   the warp and woof being of   
contrasted colours4 ,this not uncommon  
word   has been frequently misread      

8tartan10 and examples of its occurrence
   quoted from the ,treasurer's         
,accounts as illustrative of the early  
use of that material4#h    ,the opinion 
of such eminent antiquaries has misled  
all subsequent  writers of important    
works relating to tartans1 with the     
exception of  ,john ,sobieski ,stuart   
and ,w4 ,f4 ,skene2 even works appearing
 many years  after the issue of the     
,accounts of the ,lord ,high ,treasurer 
continue  to perpetuate the old errors4 
,there is a significant passage in the  
old ,gaelic tale of 8,curio10           
describing the giant ,anteus1 which runs
 thus3--     ,nibidh dono tuighi na     
craibheach1 na pell1 no brotrach1 na    
brecan1 na   crocend anmanna1 fui isin  
leapaidh sin acht a thaoebh fri sin     
talmain4     ,now he had not thatch1 nor
 branches1 nor hide1 nor coverlet1 nor  
breacan i4e41 tartan1 or tartan plaid1  
nor skin under him in that   bed1 but   
his side to the earth4#i    8,brecan10  
literally a speckled or variegated      

cloth1 has been employed  in the ,gaelic
 language as synonymous with tartan and 
the tartan plaid  from earliest times1  
in evident allusion to the checked or   
spotted  appearance of the garment4     
8,breac0 signifies parti-coloured or    
spotted4  ,it is a ,gaelic name of the  
salmon and of the trout1 conferred1 no  
doubt1 on account of their speckled     
aspect4    ,a curious fifteenth century 
reference to 8hewyt10 i4e41 coloured1   
striped1 or variegated clothing1 occurs 
in a sumptuary law of the ,scots        
,parliament3--     ,item it is statut   
that na yeman na comonner to landwarts  
wer hewyt   clathes siddar na the kne na
 yit ragyt clathes bot allenarly        
centynal   yemen in lords housis at rids
 with gentill men thar masters the      
quhilks sal haf narow slewis and litil  
poks4#aj    ,the introduction of        
printing naturally tended to produce and
 to  preserve many descriptions of the  
,highland dress written in the          
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by    

,scottish historians and by  travellers 
from other countries4 ,of the more      
important of these1 the  earliest in    
chronological order is ,john ,major     
7#adfi-aeej71 whose work  was originally
 published in ,latin in #aeba4 ,he      
writes3--     ,just as among the ,scots 
we find two distinct tongues1 so we     
likewise   find two different ways of   
life and conduct4 ,for some are born in 
the forests and mountains of the north1 
and these we call men of the            
,highland1 but the others men of the    
,lowland4 ,by foreigners the former     
are called ,wild ,scots1 the latter     
householding ,scots4 ,the ,irish tongue 
is in use among the former1 the ,english
 tongue among the latter4 ,one   half of
 ,scotland speaks ,irish1 and all these 
as well as the ,islanders   we reckon to
 belong to the ,wild ,scots4 ,in dress1 
in the manner of   their outward life1  
and in good morals1 for example1 these  
come behind   the householding          
,scots4444 ,from the mid-leg to the foot

 they go   uncovered2 their dress is1   
for an over garment1 a loose plaid1 and 
a   shirt saffron-dyed4 ,they are armed 
with bow and arrows1 a broadsword1   and
 a small halbert4 ,they always carry in 
their belt a stout dagger1              
single-edged1 but of the sharpest4 ,in  
time of war they cover the whole   body 
with a coat of mail1 made of iron rings1
 and in it they fight4   ,the common    
folk among the ,wild ,scots go out to   
battle with the whole   body clad in a  
linen garment sewed together in         
patchwork1 well daubed   with wax or    
with pitch1 and with an over-coat of    
deerskin4 ,but the   common people among
 our domestic ,scots and the ,english   
fight in a   woollen garment4#aa        
,from these and other passages in       
,major's work it may be inferred that   
the chiefs and upper classes of the     
,highlands alone wore the plaid1 or  any
 woollen clothing whatever1 and that the
 lower orders were prevented  by poverty
 from obtaining luxuries of this sort4  

,writing of the clan  battle at ,perth  
in #acif1 ,major states3--     ,thirty  
men1 naked but for a doublet that hung  
from one side1 made   for the field of  
battle1 armed with bow and double-axe2  
and these   forthwith met the encounter 
of a like number1 armed in the same     
fashion4444 ,one of the combatants made 
his escape from the fight4444   ,and    
there was not found any man who would   
take the place of the   runaway2 and    
'twas no marvel1 since to fight for your
 life1 naked but   for a plaid1 is no   
trifle4#ab    ,in his account of the    
revolt of ,alexander1 ,lord of the      
,isles1 against  the king1 describing   
the ,wild ,scots1 and particularly ,clan
 ,chattan and  ,clan ,cameron1 ,major   
observes3--     ,they lead a life of    
blissful ease2 from the poor people they
 take   what they want in victual2 bows 
they have1 and quivers1 and they have   
halberts of great sharpness1 for their  
iron ore is good4 ,they carry a   stout 
dirk in their belts2 they are often     

naked from the knee down4 ,in   winter  
for an over garment they wear a         
plaid4#ac    ,perhaps the first         
indisputable reference to the ,highland 
breacan occurs  in the ,accounts of the 
,lord ,high ,treasurer of ,scotland in  
,august  #aech3--    ,,the ,,expensis   
,,on ,,the ,,kingis ,,persoun           
,,deliverit ,,to ,,thomas ,,arthure4    
,item in the first for ij elnis ane     
quarter elne of variant cullorit        
velvet to be the ,kingis ,grace ane     
schort ,heland coit price of the elne   
vjlib summa xiijlib xs4          ,item  
for iij elnis quarter elne of grene     
taffatyis to lyne the said    coit with1
 price of the elne xs summa xxxijs vjd4 
,item for iij elnis of ,heland tertane  
to be hoiss to the ,kingis ,grace1      
price of the elne iiijs iiijd summa     
xiijs4      ,item for xv elnis of       
holland claith to be syde ,heland sarkis
 to the    ,kingis ,grace1 price of the 
elne viijs summa vjlib4      ,item for  
sewing and making of the said thre      

sarkis ixs4      ,item for twa vnce of  
silk to sew thame xs4      ,item for    
iiij elnis of rubeins to the handis of  
thame#ad ijs4    ,the costume thus      
consisted of a short 8variant cullorit0 
,highland coat1  tartan hose--that is1  
trews and stockings combined--and three 
8syde0 or  low-hanging ,highland shirts 
7each of which1 it would appear1        
contained  five ells71 with ties of     
ribbons at the cuffs4 ,the trews1       
described in  the extract as 8hoiss10   
extended from the waist to the foot1 and
 were  tied with a garter below the     
knee4    ,doubts have been cast1 indeed1
 on the possibility of existence in the 
rigours of a northern winter with the   
scanty raiment attributed to  the poorer
 classes1 but these are dispelled by the
 evidence on the  point4 ,preserved in  
the ,british ,museum is a remarkable    
letter written  in #aedb or #aedc by    
,john ,elder1 clerk1 a 8,reddshancke10  
to ,henry ,,viii41  proposing the union 
of ,scotland with ,england4 ,the        

following excerpt  affords positive     
testimony of the hardihood of the       
people1 and of the  title               
8,reddshanckes0 conferred upon them by  
the ,lowlanders3--     ,moreover1       
wherfor they call us in ,scotland       
,reddshanckes1 and in   your ,graces    
dominion of ,england roghefootide       
,scottis1 ,pleas it your   ,maiestie to 
understande1 that we of all people can  
tolleratt1 suffir1   and away best with 
colde1 for boithe somer and wyntir1     
7excepte   whene the froest is mooste   
vehement17 goynge alwaies bair leggide  
and bair footide1 our delite and        
pleasure is not onely in huntynge   of  
redd deir1 wolfes1 foxes1 and graies1   
wherof we abounde1 and have   greate    
plentie1 but also in rynninge1 leapinge1
 swymynge1 shootynge1   and thrawinge of
 dartis3 therfor1 in so moche as we use 
and delite   so to go alwaies1 the      
tendir delicatt gentillmen of ,scotland 
call   us ,reddshanckes4 ,and agayne in 
wyntir1 whene the froest is mooste      

vehement 7as ,i have saide7 which we can
 not suffir bair footide1   so weill as 
snow1 whiche can never hurt us whene it 
cummes to our   girdills1 we go a       
huntynge1 and after that we have slayne 
redd deir1   we flaye of the skyne1 bey 
and bey1 and settinge of our bair foote 
on the insyde therof1 for neide of      
cunnynge shoemakers1 by your   ,graces  
pardon1 we play the sutters2 compasinge 
and mesuringe so moche   therof1 as     
shall retche up to our ancklers1        
pryckynge the upper part   therof also  
with holis1 that the water may repas    
wher it entris1 and   stretchide up with
 a stronge thwange of the same1 meitand 
above our   saide ancklers1 so1 and     
pleas your noble ,grace1 we make our    
schoois3   ,therfor1 we usinge suche    
maner of shoois1 the roghe hairie syde  
outwart1 in your ,graces dominion of    
,england we be callit roghefootide      
,scottis2 which maner of schoois 7and   
pleas your ,highnes7 in ,latyne   be    
callid perones1 wherof the poete        

,virgill makis mencioun1 sayinge1       
,that the olde auncient ,latyns in tyme 
of warrs uside suche maner of   schoos4 
,and althoughe a greate sorte of us     
,reddshanckes go after this   maner in  
our countrethe1 yeit never the les1 and 
pleas your ,grace1   whene we come to   
the courte 7the ,kinges grace our great 
master beinge   alyve7 waitinge on our  
,lordes and maisters1 who also1 for     
velvettis   and silkis be right well    
araide1 we have as good garmentis as    
some of   our fellowis whiche gyve      
attendaunce in the court every daye4#ae 
,that the clothing of the ,highlanders  
at this period was parti-coloured1  or  
tartan1 is evident from a foreign       
traveller's record almost               
contemporaneous with ,john ,elder's     
epistle4 ,jean de ,beaugu1 who          
accompanied the expedition sent in #aedh
 by ,henry ,,ii4 of ,france under       
,montalembert1 ,sieur d',ess1 to aid the
 ,scots against the ,english1  wrote an 
account of his observations1 printed in 

,paris in #aeef4 ,of  the appearance of 
certain ,islanders among the troops at  
the siege of  ,haddington in the latter 
year he observes3--     ,several        
,highlanders or ,wild ,scots followed   
them the ,scottish   army and they were 
naked except their stained shirts1 and a
 certain   light covering made of wool  
of various colours2 carrying large      
bows1 and similar swords and bucklers to
 the others1 i4e4 to the                
,lowlanders4#af    ,proof is thus       
supplied of the continued use of the    
,highland shirt1  generally             
saffron-dyed2 and the 8light covering0  
was doubtless the  mantle or breacan1   
the belted plaid1 for this last is      
either identical  with or a development 
of the over-cloak of ,magnus ,barefoot's
 time4    ,in #aeeb the ,scottish ,privy
 ,council passed an ,act for the        
formation of  8tua ansaingyeis of       
fittmen10 to be raised in the ,highland 
portion of  ,lord ,huntly's lieutenancy1
 for service in ,france4 ,the           

instructions laid  down for their       
equipment afford some idea of the dress 
of the ,highland  soldier of the period1
 since the levy was to be drawn from the
 north  country4 ,it is provided that   
the men are to be     ,substantiouslie  
accomptirit with jack and plait1        
steilbonett1 sword1   bucklair1 new hois
 and new dowblett of cannvus at the     
lest1 and slevis   of plait or          
splenttis1 and ane speir of sax elnes   
lang or thairby4#ag    ,the trews 7hois7
 and doublet are to be of canvas at     
least1 presumably  as a precaution      
against any shortcoming of woollen      
stuff2 while  the kilt or plaid appears 
to form no portion of the outfit on this
  occasion4    ,of the dress of the     
common people another description1      
written about  #aegc1 is given by       
,lindsay of ,pitscottie4 ,it is once    
more obvious  that the belted plaid of  
latter days was then represented by a   
loose  garment1 which was probably      
plaited round the body to some extent4  

,the  chronicle sets forth3--     ,the  
other pairt of ,scotland northerne1 ar  
full of montaines1 and   verie rud and  
homlie kynd of people doeth inhabite1   
which is called   the ,reidschankis1 or 
wyld ,scottis4 ,they be cloathed with   
ane mantle1   with ane schirt fachioned 
7or saffroned7 after the ,irisch maner1 
going   bair legged to the knie4 ,thair 
weapones ar bowis and dartes1 with ane  
verie broad sword and ane dagger scharp 
onlie at the on syd4#ah    ,but the most
 detailed notice of the dress worn by   
the inhabitants of  the ,highlands and  
,islands in the sixteenth century is to 
be found in a  work by ,john ,leslie1   
,bishop of ,ross1 the devoted adherent  
of ,mary ,queen  of ,scots1 originally  
published in ,rome in #aegh4 ,from his  
conspicuous  position1 alike as         
historian and as statesman1 his notes on
 the apparel  of the men and women of   
his age are highly important4 ,it       
appears that  the belted plaid had      
become the wear of both rich and poor1  

through the  extended manufacture of    
woollen fabrics and the increased       
prosperity of  the people4 ,he writes3--
     ,in weiris quhen thay yokit the    
aduersar1 thay invadet athir with ane   
arrow or a lance4 ,thay vsed ane twa    
edged sword lykwyse2 the futmen a   lang
 sword1 the horsmen a schort sword bot  
baith vset a verie braid   sword1 with a
 scheiring sharpe edge that at the first
 straik1 with   little force1 it walde  
scheir a man in twa in the waste or     
midle4 ,thay   war harnest with ,jacks  
al wouen throuch with yrne huikes1      
quhilkes   habbirgeounis thay cal3 ,this
 vpon1 or as we say1 abone a lathir     
cote1   quhilke was na les stark than it
 was elegant1 thay put on4 ,al thair    
harnesse was lycht1 that gif thay fel in
 ony danger1 the lychtlier   thay mycht 
slip out of the handes of thair         
ennimies3 for in swiftnes   of fute1 in 
quhilke thay walde ouirrin the swoftest 
horse1 quhither   the way war lang and  
plane1 or gif it war cumirsum throuch   

hilis or   hopes1 in sik swoftnes1 ,i   
say1 thay obteined gret prais1 athir    
quhen   the ennimie flies to follow1 or 
quhen the ennimie persues to flie1   and
 gif mister be to declyne from          
perrel4444 ,thair cleithing was til     
necessitie1 and nocht till decore1 maist
 conuenient ay to the weiris2   for thay
 al vset mantilis of ane forme1 baith   
the ,nobilitie and the   commone people1
 excepte that the ,nobilitie delyted    
mair in coloured   claith and sindrie   
hewis1 and thir mantilis war baith wyd  
and lang1   notwithstandeng about the   
bosum1 quhair thay walde decentlie      
losin4 ,i   can weil think thir same to 
be the kynd of cleithing quhilke in ald 
times in latin war called ,brach4 ,in   
thir only mantilis in the nyt   seasone1
 thay rowit thame selfes1 and in thame  
sleipit sound3 this   was thair maner1  
and this day the hilande men1 and thay  
of ,irland   weiris even siklyke1 bot   
now thay use ruch couirings1 ane sorte  
to   thair bed1 another sorte to the    

,jornay conuenient4 ,the rest of thair  
claithis1 was a schorte cote of woll1   
with wyde and apne sleiues   that the   
radier quhen thay walde thay myt schote 
or caste a darte1 or   ane arrow1       
breickis thay had verie slichte1 and    
indeid mair to hyd   thair memberis than
 for ony pompe or pryd1 or to defend    
thame frome   the calde was meit4 ,of   
linnine lykwyse thay maid wyd sarkis1   
with   mony bosumis1 and wide sleifes of
 negligence hinging doune evin to       
thair knies4 ,thir sarkis the mair      
potent amang thame vset to smeir   with 
saffronne1 bot vthiris with a certane   
fatnes1 and this thay did   to keip     
thame cleine frome al filthines4        
,nathing thay thocht worthier   of      
counsel than to exercise thame selfes   
continuallie in the sueit of   the      
,barresse1 or in siklyke ane exercise4  
,in makeng thame1 appeirit   na kair or 
trauel neglected athir in arte or       
decore3 as with threid   of silke1      
cheiflie greine1 or rid1 al the partes  

of the sarke maist   artificiouslie thay
 sewit4     ,bot the cleithing of the   
women with thame was maist decent4 ,for 
thair   cotes war syd evin to the       
hanckleth1 wyd mantilis abone1 or       
playdes   all embroudiret               
artificiouslie2 bracelets about thair   
armes1 iewalis   about thair neck1      
broches hinging at thair halse1 baith   
cumlie and   decent1 and mekle to thair 
decore and outsett4#ai    ,the editor in
 his notes to ,book ,i4 observes3--     
,the ,latin bracc is generally          
understood to be equivalent to our      
breeks4 ,there are1 however1 traces of  
the ,latin word being used in   a wider 
sense to mean a loose flowing garment4  
,bishop ,leslie here   applies it to the
 plaid or tartan1 and1 as it would seem1
 on the   ground of the variegated      
colours expressed by the ,gaelic breac4 
,this   is felt even in the use of the  
,latin word4 ,we find bracc described   
as pict and virgat1 coloured and        
striped4 ,perhaps the original   bracc1 

which so took the attention of the      
,romans when they met   the ,gauls1 were
 striped and parti-coloured1 and so gave
 rise to the   name4 ,in ,irish breacan 
still means a plaid4 ,it would seem1    
then1   that the ,latin word is borrowed
 from ,celtic4 ,the modern word breeks  
or breeches is a double plural1 and     
stands for brec1 plural of              
,anglo-,saxon broc4 ,this last reminds  
us of ,celtic brog1 a shoe4   ,broc can 
hardly be derived from either breac or  
brog1 for we   find corresponding forms 
in all the ,teutonic dialects4 ,neither 
can   broc mean speckled1 for we have   
freck1 freckle1 to represent   breac4   
,the ,teutonic words1 together with     
brog1 may thus be cognate   terms       
expressing the sense of cover or        
protect1 perhaps allied to              
,anglo-,saxon beorgan4 ,comp4 bark1 the 
covering of a tree4 ,brock   in modern  
,english and ,scots means a badger2 but 
this is clearly   the ,gaelic broc4 ,the
 animal was so named from its           

colour--pie or   speckle4#bj    ,it has 
been held that this particular account1 
while establishing the  use of tartans  
by the chiefs or nobles1 proves them to 
have been by  no means common wear4     
,but1 taken in conjunction with the     
writings of  ,buchanan1 a few years     
later1 the interpretation seems to be   
that1 while  the leaders preferred the  
more brilliantly coloured patterns1 the 
rank and file had quieter designs1 at   
once more economical and more           
serviceable4    ,george ,buchanan in his
 ,history1 published in #aehb1 furnishes
 a  detailed account of the dress and   
arms of the ,highlanders4 ,he writes3-- 
,they delight in variegated garments1   
especially stripped1 and their          
favourite colours are purple and blue4  
,their ancestors wore plaids of   many  
different colours1 and numbers still    
retain this custom1 but the   majority1 
now1 in their dress1 prefer a dark      
brown1 imitating nearly   the leaves of 
the heather1 that when lying upon the   

heath in the day1   they may not be     
discovered by the appearance of their   
clothes2 in   these1 wrapped rather than
 covered1 they brave the severest storms
   in the open air1 and sometimes lay   
themselves down to sleep even in   the  
midst of snow4 ,in their houses1 also1  
they lie upon the ground2   strewing    
fern1 or heath1 on the floor1 with the  
roots downward and the   leaves turned  
up4 ,in this manner they form a bed so  
pleasant1 that it   may vie in softness 
with the finest down1 while in salubrity
 it far   exceeds it2 for heath1        
naturally possessing the power of       
absorption1   drinks up the superfluous 
moisture1 and restores strength to the  
fatigued nerves1 so that those who lie  
down languid and weary in   the evening1
 arise in the morning vigorous and      
sprightly4 ,they have   all1 not only   
the greatest contempt for pillows1 or   
blankets1 but1   in general1 an         
affectation of uncultivated roughness1  
and hardihood1   so that when choice1 or

 necessity induces them to travel in    
other   countries1 they throw aside the 
pillows1 and blankets of their hosts1   
and wrapping themselves round with their
 own plaids1 thus go to sleep1   afraid 
lest these barbarian luxuries1 as they  
term them1 should   contaminate their   
native simple hardiness4 ,their         
defensive armour   consists of an iron  
headpiece and a coat of mail1 formed of 
small   iron rings1 and frequently      
reaching to the heels4 ,their weapons   
are1   for the most part1 a bow1 and    
arrows barbed with iron1 which cannot   
be extracted without widely enlarging   
the orifice of the wound2 but   a few   
carry swords or ,lochaber axes4 ,instead
 of a trumpet they use   a bagpipe4     
,they are exceedingly fond of music1 and
 employ harps of   a peculiar kind1 some
 of which are strung with brass1 and    
some with   catgut4 ,in playing they    
strike the wires either with a quill1 or
 with   their nails1 suffered to grow   
long for the purpose2 but their grand   

ambition is to adorn their harps with   
great quantities of silver and   gems1  
those who are too poor to afford jewels 
substituting crystals in   their stead4 
,their songs are not inelegant1 and1 in 
general1 celebrate   the praises of     
brave men2 their bards seldom choosing  
any other   subject4#ba    ,in the ,acts
 and ,proceedings of the ,general       
,assembly of the ,kirk of  ,scotland for
 the year #aege the following ordinance 
against the use of  sumptuous clothing  
by ,ministers and ,readers of the       
,church is recorded3--     ,the         
,generall ,assembly haldin and begun the
 #f day of ,august #aege1 in   the ,ovir
 ,tolbuith of ,edenburgh3 wher ther was 
present the ,bischops of   ,galloway1   
,dunkeld1 ,brechine1 ,dumblane1         
,glasgow1 and the ,bischop of   the     
,yles1 ,superintendents of ,angus and   
,lowthiane1 ,commissioners of           
,countreyes and ,townes1 with the       
,ministers4 ,mr ,robert ,pont 7,provest 
of   ,trinity ,college71 ,moderatour4   

99       99       99       99       99  
,the brether appointit to pen thair     
judgement anent the habite of the       
,ministers and thair wyfes1 presentit   
the same to the ,assemblie1 quhilk   was
 found good2 and all the brether serving
 the functioun of the ,kirk1   ordaynes 
to conforme themselves and thair wyves  
therto1 and ordainit   effectuouslie to 
follow the same3 ,quherof the tenor     
followes in thir   wordes4              
,forsameikle as a comely and decent     
apparrell is requisite in all1   namelie
 in the ,ministers and sick as beares   
functioun in the ,kirk3   ,first we     
think all kynd of brodering vnseimlie1  
all bagaries of   velvett on gownes1    
hoses1 or coat1 and all superfluous and 
vaine   cutting out1 steiking with      
silks2 all kynd of costlie sewing on    
pasments1 or sumptuous or large steiking
 with silks2 all kynd of   costlie      
sewing or variant hews in sarks1 all    
kynd of light and variant   hewes in    
cloathing1 as red1 blew1 yellow1 and    

sicklyke1 quhilk   declares the lightnes
 of the mynd2 all wearing of rings1     
bracelets1   buttons of silver1 gold1 or
 vther mettall2 all kynd of superfluitie
   of cloath in makeing of hose2 all    
vsing of plaids in the ,kirk be         
,reidars or ,ministers1 namelie in tyme 
of thair ministry and vsing   thair     
office3 all kynd of gowning1 coating or 
doubliting1 or breiches   of velvett1   
satine1 taffettie1 or sicklyke2 all     
costlie gilting of   whingers and       
knyves1 or sicklyke2 all silk hatts1 or 
hatts of divers   and light collours3   
,bot that thair haill habite be of grave
 collour1   as black1 russet1 sad gray1 
sad broune or searges1 wirssett chamlet1
   growgrame lytes wirssett1 or         
sicklyke3 and to be short1 that the good
   word of ,god be them and thair       
immoderatenes be not slanderit2 and     
thair wifes to be subiect to the same   
ordour4#bb    ,the ,council ,register of
 the ,burgh of ,aberdeen contains       
entries  prohibiting the use of plaids1 

which appear to have attained           
considerable vogue in a district by no  
means ,highland2 and the reason  annexed
 to the second of these seems to        
indicate a praiseworthy  courtesy on the
 part of the city fathers3--     #eth   
,october #aegf4--;,it is statut and     
ordanit be the provest1   baillies1     
consell1 witht consent of the communitie
 present for the   tyme1 being conuenit 
on the gill court day1 and that na      
burges of   gild nor dekin of craft     
quhatsumeuir withtin this burght1 be    
fund   werand ane plaid fra the feist of
 ,sanct ,martein nixt to cum in ony     
time thairefter withtin the burtht1     
under the pain of fourtie s4 to be      
uptakin onforgewin fra the persouns     
apprehendit wering the said plaid       
efter the forsaid feist of ,sanct       
,martein1 and the plaid to be gewin to  
the hospitall to thair support1 that ar 
pleset thairin4     #fth ,june          
#afba4--,the said day the prowest1      
baillies1 and counsall   considdering   

the inciuill forme of behaweour of a    
great manye wemen in   this burght1 of  
gude qualitie1 quha resortis both to    
kirk and mercat   with thair playddis   
about thair headis1 and be thair        
exampill the   meaner sort of wemen vses
 the samen forme of incivilitie1 quhilk 
gewis   offence to strangeris and       
occasioun to thame to speik             
reprochefullie   of all wemen generallie
 within this burght2 for remeid quharof1
 it is   statute and ordanit that na    
wemen within this burght of quhatsumeuir
   rank1 qualitie1 or degrie they be of1
 presvme or tak vpon hand to   resort to
 kirk or mercat with thair playddis     
about their heidis1 vnder   the paines  
following1 to be exactit of the         
contravenar without fauour1   toties    
quoties3 viz4 xiii4 sh4 iiij4 d4 of the 
wyiff of ilk burges   of gild1 and sex  
sh4 aucht d4 of ilk craftisman1 and this
 act to be   intimat out of the pulpit  
of baith the kirkis on ,sonday nixt1 and
   thaireftir to hawe effect and        

executioun in tyme comeing4#bc    ,in   
view of what the old writers point out1 
that the early dress of  the ,irish     
people bore a close resemblance to that 
of the ,scottish  ,highlanders1 the     
description given by ,john ,derricke in 
#aeha is valuable  as attesting the     
prevalence in his time of the two forms 
of the  dress--the kilt and the trews4  
,it runs thus3--      ,,the ,,irishe    
,,karnes ,,apparell ,,moste ,,liuely    
,,set ,,out4        ,with ,jackettes    
long and large1        which shroude    
simplicitie3      ,though spitfull      
dartes which thei do beare              
importe iniquitie4      ,their ,shirts  
be verie straunge1        not reachyng  
paste the thie3      ,with pleates on   
pleates thei pleated are1        as     
thicke as pleates maie lye4      ,whose 
sleues hang trailing doune              
almoste unto the ,shoe3        ,and with
 a ,mantell commonilie1        the      
,irishe ,karne doe goe4      ,now some  
emongest the reste1        doe use an   

other weede3      ,a coate ,i meane of  
strange device1        whiche fancie    
first did breede4      ,his skirtes be  
verie shorte1        with pleates set   
thicke about1      ,and ,irishe trouzes 
more to put        their straunge       
protractours out4#bd    ,sir ,walter    
,scott1 writing of the verse1 makes this
 comment3--     ,this second sort of    
dress1 namely1 a short woollen jacket1  
with   plaited skirts1 and long         
trowsers1 made tight to the body1 and   
chequered with various colours1 was     
precisely that of a ,highland           
gentleman1 the plaid coming in place of 
the mantle4#be    ,of the dress and arms
 of the ,highlanders at the close of the
 sixteenth  century some details are    
furnished by ,m4 ,nicolay d',arfeville1 
,cosmographer to the ,king of ,france1  
in an account of a visit to  ,scotland1 
published at ,paris in #aehc4 ,the      
following is a translation of  a portion
 of his description3--     ,those who   
inhabit ,scotland to the south of the   

,grampian chain1 are   tolerably        
civilized and obedient to the laws1 and 
speak the ,english   language2 but those
 who inhabit the north are more rude1   
homely1 and   unruly1 and for this      
reason are called savages or ,wild      
,scots4 ,they   wear1 like the ,irish1 a
 large and full shirt1 coloured with    
saffron1   and over this a garment      
hanging to the knee1 of thick wool1     
after the   manner of a cassock4 ,they  
go with bare heads1 and allow their hair
 to   grow very long1 and they wear     
neither stockings nor shoes1 except some
   who have buskins made in a very old  
fashion1 which come as high as   their  
knees4     ,their arms are the bow and  
arrow1 and some darts1 which they throw 
with great dexterity1 and a large sword1
 with a single-edged dagger4   ,they are
 very swift of foot1 and there is no    
horse so swift as to   outstrip them1 as
 ,i have seen proved several times1 both
 in ,england   and ,scotland4#bf    ,one
 of the most striking and specific      

references to tartan is to  be found in 
the year #aehg1 and it occurs in        
connection with the  lands of           
,norraboll1 in the island of ,islay4 ,in
 the ,crown charter of  ,novodamus1     
dated #aith ,march #aehg-h1 granted to  
,hector ,makclene1 son and              
heir-apparent of ,lauchlan ,makclene of 
,dowart1 the feu-duty for these  lands  
is specified as3-     ,pro              
,nerrabollsadh #fj ulnas panni1 albi1   
nigri1 et grosei coloris   respective1  
et ulnam panni in augmentationem        
rentalis 7vel #h den pro   qualibet     
ulna74#bg    ,john ,sobieski ,stuart1   
who first drew attention to this        
entry1#bh  quotes the word 8grosei0 as  
8grisei10 and adds 8in this enumeration 
there appears a slight error1 from a    
presumption that the third colour       
should have been green4 ,the word       
undoubtedly in each case is 8grosei10   
and is so printed in the ,record ,issue4
 ,what was meant by 8grosei0  we learn  
from two sources4 ,in the signature upon

 which the ,crown  charter above quoted 
proceeds1 the lands and the feu-duty    
exigible are  thus described3--     ,all
 and haill the foirnamit fyve merk      
landis of ,nerrabolsadh with   the      
pertinentis the sowme of lx ellis claith
 quhite blak and grene   cullouris      
respective or viiid vsuall money of this
 realme for ilk ell   at the optioun of 
the said ,hector and his foirsaidis at  
the termes   foirsaidis be equal        
portiounis and ane el claith or viiid   
for the   price thereof in augmentation 
of the rentale mair nor euir the same   
payit of befor4#bi    ,these lands      
formerly belonged to the 8,abbot of the 
,isle of ,iona40  ,they were annexed to 
the ,crown at the period of the         
alteration of the  ,state religion in   
,scotland in the sixteenth century1 and 
feued out to  ,makclene of ,dowart on   
the conditions referred to1 and they    
appear in  the ,register of             
,temporalities belonging to the ,crown  
in this form3--     ,charge4 ,argile and

 ,tarbart4 ,item1 the comptar charges   
him with the   fewmaillis of the fyve   
merk lands of ,narraboll liand within   
the said   shirefdome set in few to     
,hector ,mc,clane of ,dowart extending  
yeirlie   in claith of quhite blak and  
grene cullouris respective to lx elnis4 
,the eln sauld be infeftment at viiid   
with the new augmentation of   the same 
extending to #a eln of clayth sauld as  
said is ,inde the yeir   comptit in     
money to xls4 viiid4#cj    ,john        
,sobieski ,stuart's transcriber had     
failed to give him the full  reference  
by omitting the words 8et ulnam panni in
 augmentationem  rentalis10 which1 taken
 in connection with the two contemporary
  vernacular readings above given1      
settles that the cloth was not to be  of
 three separate pieces1 each of an      
individual colour1 but cloth in  which  
the dyes specified were interwoven4     
,but more remains to be said about this 
remarkable feu-duty4 ,about  #afag      
,makclene of ,dowart appears to have got

 into difficulties4 ,at all  events1 in 
that year a ,crown charter of the lands 
was granted to ,rorie  ,m',kenzie of    
,cogeauche4 ,the reddendo is identical  
with that in the  charter of #aehg-h    
already quoted1 but the signature is in 
these words3--     ,and lykewise for the
 foirsaid fyve merk land of             
,narrobolsydh with the   pertinentis    
thriescoir ellis of quhyte blak and gray
 claith respective   or viiid money     
foirsaid for euerie elne in the optioun 
of the said   ,rory ,mc,kenzie his airis
 maill and assignais foirsaidis at the  
termes   abone specifiet be equall      
portiones as the auld meill4 ,and       
lykewise   ane elne of claith or aucht  
penneis for the price thairof in yeirlie
   augmentatioun of the rentall gif it  
beis askit4#ca    ,when the lands were  
restored in #afcj to ,makclene of       
,dowart1 while the  ,latin charter      
remains unchanged1 the signature is in  
these words3--     ,for the foirsaid    
fyve merk land of ,morrabulsadtir with  

the   pertinentis1 thriescore elnis of  
claith quhyte blak and gras cullour     
respective or aucht penneis vsuell money
 of the said realme of   ,scotland for  
ilk elne at the will of the said        
,lauchlane his aires male   and         
assignais foirsaidis at twa termes in   
the yeare ,witsounday and   ,mertinmas  
in winter be equall portiounis as the   
auld fewferme4 ,ane   elne of claith or 
aucht penneis for the price thereof in  
augmentatioun   of the yeirlie rent gif 
it beis askit4#cb    ,the explanation is
 simple enough4 ,white and black and    
green are the  only colours in the      
oldest authenticated ,mac ,lean tartan4 
,the evidence of all accounts of the    
costume of the people inhabiting  the   
northern and western portions of        
,scotland in the sixteenth century      
attests the use of the yellow           
saffron-dyed shirt1 and the cloak1      
cassock or plaid1 reaching to about the 
knee1 as the ordinary dress4  ,a        
reference to a yellow coat1 which       

appears to have been a garment  distinct
 from the yellow shirt1 is found at this
 period4 ,it occurs in  a ,history of   
the ,gordons1 preserved in the          
,advocates' ,library1 which  states that
 in #aeij3--     ,angus1 the son of     
,lachlan1 chiefe of the ,clanchattan1   
with a great   party attempts to        
surpryze the ,castle of ,ruthven in     
,badenoch1   belonging to ,huntly1 in   
which there was but a small garrison2   
but   finding this attempt could neither
 by force nor fraude have successe1   he
 retires a little to consult how to     
compasse his intent4 ,in the            
meanetyme1 one creeps out under the     
shelter of some old ruines1 and         
levells with his piece at one of the    
,clanchattan cloathed in a yellow   warr
 coat 7which1 amongst them1 is the badge
 of the cheifetaines or   heads of      
clans74 ,and1 peircing his body with the
 bullet1 stricks him   to the ground1   
and retires with gladness into the      
castle4 ,the man   killed was ,angus    

himselfe1 whom his people carry away1   
and conceill   his death for many years1
 pretending he was gone beyond seas4#cc 
,on account of the proximity of the     
,western ,isles of ,scotland to the     
northern portions of ,ireland there was 
frequent intercourse between  the       
inhabitants1 and aid in seasons of      
disturbance was a mutual  courtesy4     
,during the last years of the sixteenth 
century the ,red ,earl  of ,ulster1     
,hugh ,o',donnell1 was in arms against  
the ,english ,crown2 and  in #aeid a    
body of warriors was despatched from the
 ,western ,isles to  his assistance4    
,peregrine ,o',clery's description of   
these troops1 as  translated from the   
,irish by ,edward ,o',reilly1 is as     
follows3--     ,these 7the auxiliaries  
from the isles7 were afterwards mixed   
with   the ,irish militia1 with the     
diversity of their arms1 their armour1  
their mode1 manners1 and speech4 ,the   
outward clothing they wore was a        
mottled garment with numerous colours   

hanging in folds to the calf of   the   
leg1 with a girdle round the loins over 
the garment4 ,some of them   with       
horn-hafted swords1 large and military1 
over their shoulders4   ,a man when he  
had to strike with them was obliged to  
apply both   his hands to the haft4     
,others with bows1 well polished1 strong
 and   serviceable1 with long twanging  
hempen strings1 and sharp-pointed       
arrows that whizzed in their flight4#cd 
,the tartan belted plaid is undoubtedly 
here described1 since no  other garment 
could have been so disposed as to afford
 the requisite  protection4    ,in #aeif
 ,sir ,duncan ,campbell of ,glenvrquhay 
granted in heritage to his  third son1  
,john ,campbell of ,auchinryre1 the     
lands of ,auchynrere1 ,drumnavoke1 and  
,condolych1 respectively of the old     
extent of six1 four1 and two marks1     
for the yearly payment of #aj ,scots at 
the usual terms1 and one gallon   of    
sufficient aquavite 8et optimam         
chlamidem coloratam1 vulgo ane fyne     

hewed brakane0 i4e41 breacan or tartan  
plaid at ,martinmas4#ce    ,in          
connection with the plantation of       
,ulster by ,scots colonists towards  the
 end of the sixteenth century1 there is 
evidence that tartan was  manufactured  
in ,ireland at that period4 ,concerning 
,lady ,montgomery1  wife of ,sir ,hugh  
,montgomery of the ,eglinton family1 who
 was a daughter  of the ,laird of       
,greenock1 we read3--     ,she set up   
and encouraged linen and woollen        
manufactory which soon   brought down   
the prices of the breakens i4e41 tartans
 and narrow   cloths of both sorts4#cf  
,of seventeenth century writings one of 
the earliest to provide a notice  of the
 ,highland dress is ,camden's           
,britannia1 printed in #afjg1 which     
mentions that3-     ,this country is    
inhabited by a rough1 warlike1 and very 
mischievous   sort of people1 commonly  
called ,highlandmen1 who are the true   
offspring of the ancient ,scotch1 speak 
,irish1 call themselves   ,albinnich1   

are set and tight moulded1 of great     
strength and swiftness1   high spirited1
 bred up in war or rather robbery1 and  
extremely prone   to revenge and deep   
resentment4 ,they wear after the ,irish 
fashion   striped mantles and thick long
 hair1 and live by hunting1 fishing1 and
   plunder4#cg    ,doubtless there was  
greater intercourse between the ,english
 and their  conquered dependants in     
,ireland than between the ,english and  
the ,scots1  and hence the dress in     
,ireland ranks before that in ,scotland 
in the  comparison instituted by the    
writer4    ,peculiar interest attaches  
to the description of ,john ,taylor in  
,the  ,pennyless ,pilgrimage2 for his   
observations1 carefully noted down in   
#afah1 in view of the fact that they    
would come under the cognisance  of the 
king 7,james ,,vi471 are full and       
important1 as this extract              
illustrates3--     ,thus with extreme   
travell1 ascending and descending1      
mounting and   alighting1 ,i came at    

night to the place where ,i would be1 in
 the ,brea   of ,marr1 which is a large 
country1 all composed of such           
mountaines1   that ,shooter's hill1     
,gads hill1 ,highgate hill1 ,hampsted   
hill1 ,birdlip   hill1 or ,malvernes    
hill1 are but mole-hills in comparison1 
or like a   liver1 or a gizzard under a 
capon's wing1 in respect to the altitude
   of their tops1 or perpendicularitie  
of their bottomes4 ,there ,i saw   mount
 ,benawne ,benavon in ,braemar with a   
furr'd mist upon his snowie   head      
instead of a night cap3 for you must    
understand1 that the oldest   man alive 
never saw but the snow was on the top of
 divers of those   hills1 both in       
summer1 as well as in winter4 ,there did
 ,i finde the   truely noble and right  
honourable ,lords ,john ,erskin ,earle  
of ,marr1   ,james ,stuart ,earle of    
,murray1 ,george ,gordon ,earle of      
,engye1 sonne and   heire to the        
,marquesse of ,huntly1 ,james ,erskin   
,earle of ,bughan1 and   ,john ,lord    

,erskin1 sonne and heire to the ,earle  
of ,marr1 and their   ,countesses1 with 
my much honoured1 and my best assured   
and approved   friend1 ,sir ,william    
,murray knight1 of ,abercarny1 and      
hundred of   others knights1 esquires1  
and their followers2 all and every man  
in generall in one habit1 as if         
,licurgus had beene there1 and made     
lawes of equality4 ,for once in the     
yeere1 which is the whole moneth   of   
,august1 and sometimes part of          
,september1 many of the nobility   and  
gentry of the kingdome 7for their       
pleasure7 doe come into these           
high-land countries to hunt1 where they 
doe conforme themselves to the   habite 
of the ,high-land-men1 who for the most 
part1 speake nothing   but ,irish2 and  
in former time were those people which  
were called   the ,red-shankes4 ,their  
habite is shooes with but one sole      
apiece2   stockings 7which they call    
short hose7 made of a warm stuffe of    
divers   colours1 which they call       

,tartane3 as for breeches1 many of them1
 nor   their forefathers1 never wore    
any1 but a jerkin of the same stuffe    
that their hose is of1 their garters    
being bands or wreathes of hay or       
straw1 with a plead about their         
shoulders1 which is a mantle of divers  
colours1 much finer and lighter stuffe  
than their hose1 with blue   flat caps  
on their heads1 a handkerchiefe knit    
with two knots about   their necke2 and 
thus are they attyred4 ,now1 their      
weapons are long   bowes and forked     
arrowes1 swords and targets1            
harquebusses1 muskets1   durks1 and     
,loquhabor-axes4 ,with these armes ,i   
found many of them armed   for the      
hunting4 ,as for their attire1 any man  
of what degree soever   that comes      
amongst them1 must not disdaine to weare
 it3 for if they   doe1 then they will  
disdaine to hunt1 or willingly to bring 
in their   dogges3 but if men be kind   
unto them1 and be in their habit2 then  
are   they conquered with kindnesse1 and

 the sport will be plentifull4 ,this    
was the reason that ,i found so many    
noblemen and gentlemen in those         
shapes4 ,but to proceed to the hunting4 
,my good ,lord of ,marr having put me   
into that shape1 ,i rode with him   from
 his house1 where ,i saw the ruines of  
an old castle1 called the   castle of   
,kindroghit4 ,it was built by ,king     
,malcolm ,canmore 7for a   hunting      
house7 who raigned in ,scotland when    
,edward the ,confessor1   ,harold1 and  
,norman ,william raigned in ,england3 ,i
 speak of it1 because   it was the last 
house ,i saw in those parts2 for ,i was 
the space   of twelve days after1 before
 ,i saw either house1 corne-field1 or   
habitation for any creature1 but deere1 
wilde horses1 wolves1 and   suche like  
creatures1 which made me doubt that ,i  
should never have   seene a house       
againe4#ch    ,the attachment of the    
,highlanders to their distinctive attire
 is  conspicuously evident in this      
account1 which deserves careful study   

in consequence of its profusion of      
detail4 ,trews 7breeches7 were  not     
worn1 but in their stead was a tartan   
8jerkin02 and this had no  connection   
with the plaid1 for the people had a    
8plead about their  shoulders1 which is 
a mantle of divers colours1 much finer  
and lighter  stuffe than their hose40   
,being coarser and thicker than the     
plaid1 the  8jerkin0 could scarcely have
 been the shirt1 and it was most        
probably  the feilebeg1 or little kilt1 
used as a separate garment4    ,that the
 form of the feilebeg was known to the  
,highlanders before the  civil wars of  
the seventeenth century1 and that the   
belted plaid was  thrown occasionally   
into the form of the feilebeg1 is proved
 by the  following extract3--     ,as   
for their ,apparel2 next the skin1 they 
wear a short linnen ,shirt1   which the 
great ,men among them sometimes dye of  
saffron ,colour4   ,they use it short1  
that it may not incumber them1 when     
running or   travelling4 ,major says the

 common ,people among them went out to  
,battle1 having their ,body cover'd with
 ,linnen of many ,folds sewed   together
 and done over with ,wax or ,pitch1 with
 a covering of ,hart's   ,skin2 but that
 the ,english and common lowland ,scots 
fought in ,clokes4   ,in the sharp      
,winter weather the ,highland ,men wear 
close trowzes1 which   cover the        
,thighs1 ,legs1 and ,feet4 ,to fence    
their feet they put on   ,rullions or   
raw leather shoes4 ,above their ,shirt  
they have a single   ,coat1 reaching no 
farther than the ,navel4 ,their         
uppermost ,garment is   a loose ,cloke  
of several ,ells1 striped and party     
colour'd 7the tartan   plaid71 which    
they gird breadth-wise with a ,leathern 
,belt so as it   scarce covers the      
knees1 and that for the above-mention'd 
,reason1 that   it may be no ,lett to   
them1 when on a ,journey or doing any   
,work4 ,far   the greatest part of the  
,plaid covers the uppermost parts of the
 ,body4   ,sometimes it is all folded   

round the ,body about the ,region of the
   ,belt1 for disengaging and leaving   
the ,hands free2 and sometimes 'tis     
wrapped round all that is above the     
,flank4 ,the trowzes are for ,winter    
use2 at other ,times they content       
themselves with short ,hose1 which      
scarce reach to the knees4 ,when they   
compose themselves to ,rest and         
,sleep1 they loose the ,belt1 and roll  
themselves in the ,plaid1 lying   down  
on the bare ,ground1 or putting ,heather
 under them nicely set   together after 
their ,manner2 or1 for want of that1    
they use a little   ,straw or ,hay4#ci  
,it has been already noted that the     
,scottish auxiliaries who went  to      
,france in #aeeb were in trews 78hois071
 and1 similarly1 when the  northern army
 invaded ,england in #afci1 no reference
 is made to the kilt  or to the bare    
legs1 the first peculiarity to impress  
strangers4 ,it  would thus appear that  
the kilt did not at this time form part 
of the  military dress4 ,the following  

description is extracted from ,defoe's  
,memoirs of a ,cavalier1 which evinces  
considerable acquaintance with  military
 habits and equipments3--     ,i        
confess1 the soldiers made a very       
uncouth figure1 especially the          
highlanders3 the oddness and barbarity  
of their garb and arms seemed   to have 
something in it remarkable4 ,they were  
generally tall swinging   fellows2 their
 swords were extravagantly and ,i think 
insignificantly   broad1 and they       
carried great wooden targets1 large     
enough to cover   the upper part of     
their bodies4 ,their dress was as       
antique as the   rest2 a cap on their   
heads1 called by them a bonnet1 long    
hanging   sleeves behind1 and their     
doublet1 breeches1 and stockings1 of a  
stuff   they called plaid1 striped      
across red and yellow1 with short cloaks
   of the same4 ,these fellows looked1  
when drawn out1 like a regiment   of    
merry-andrews1 ready for ,bartholomew   
,fair4 ,they are in companies   all of a

 name and therefore call one another    
only by their christian   names1 444 and
 they scorn to be commanded but by one  
of their own clan   or family4444 ,there
 were three or four thousand of these in
 the ,scots'   army1 armed only with    
swords and targets2 and in their belts  
some of   them had a pistol1 but no     
musquets at that time among them4#dj    
,here again there appears to be evidence
 of the plaid1 under the  designation of
 8short cloak10 as a separate garment1  
which1 taken  in conjunction with       
,taylor's description in #afah1 affords 
a strong  presumption that its use1     
along with1 but detached from1 kilt or  
trews1  was quite common4    ,in the act
 and decreet in favour of ,thomas       
,m',kenzie of ,pluscardin  against a    
band of ,highlanders who had plundered  
him and his tenants  in the month of    
,june #afdi1 there are enumerated as    
among the articles  taken away or       
destroyed3--     ,item ane whyt plaid   
worth eight punds ,with coat and trews  

and shoes   worth four pund scots with  
four pair of lining sheits worth four   
pund the pair1 ane pair of bed plaids   
worth twentie four punds tuo   coverings
 worth four punds the peice ,ten elne of
 new lining worth   twentie shilling the
 elne4 ,item ten elnes of tartan at     
threttie   shilling the elne4#da    ,in 
#affi the ,rev4 ,james ,brome1 ,m4,a41  
,rector of ,cheriton in ,kent1 visited  
,scotland1 and in #agjj he published his
 work4 ,his description of  ,highland   
dress and arms is largely adapted from  
,buchanan1 whose work  is1 indeed1      
appropriated by many other writers4     
,brome's note is as  follows3--     ,the
 ,highlanders1 who inhabit the ,west    
part of the ,country1 in their          
,language ,habit and ,manners agree much
 with the ,customs of the ,wild         
,irish1 and their chief ,city is ,elgin1
 in the ,county of ,murray1   seated    
upon the ,water of ,lossy1 formerly the 
,bishop of ,murray's   ,seat1 with a    
,church sumptuously built1 but now gone 

to decay4 ,they   go habited in ,mantles
 striped1 or streaked with divers       
colours about   their ,shoulders1 which 
they call ,plodden1 with a ,coat girt   
close to   their ,bodies1 and commonly  
are naked upon their ,legs1 but wear    
,sandals   upon the ,soles of their     
,feet1 and their ,women go clad much    
after the   same ,fashion3 ,they get    
their ,living mostly by ,hunting1       
,fishing1 and   ,fowling2 and when they 
go to ,war1 the ,armour wherewith they  
cover   their ,bodies1 is a ,morion or  
,bonnet of ,iron1 and an ,habergeon1    
which   comes down almost to their very 
,heels2 their ,weapons against their    
,enemies are ,bows and ,arrows1 and they
 are generally reputed good             
,marks-,men upon all occasions2 their   
,arrows for the most part are   barbed  
or crooked1 which once entred within the
 ,body cannot well be   drawn out again1
 unless the ,wound be made wider2 some  
of them fight   with broad ,swords and  
,axes1 and in the room of a ,drum make  

use of   a ,bag-pipe4 ,they delight much
 in ,musick1 but chiefly in ,harps and  
,clarishoes of their own ,fashion1 the  
strings of which are made of            
,brass-,wire1 and the strings of their  
,harps with ,sinews1 which strings      
they strike either with their ,nails    
growing long1 or else with an           
,instrument appointed for that use4#db  
,thomas ,kirk1 of ,cookridge1           
,yorkshire1 who made an extensive tour  
in  ,scotland in #afgg1 kept a journal  
of his observations1 and1 thanks to  his
 minute description1 it becomes possible
 to demonstrate that the  story of the  
modern invention of the feilebeg or kilt
 as a separate  article of dress is a   
fabrication4 ,for not only does he      
describe the  kilt precisely1 but he    
notes with great exactness the manner of
 wearing  the plaid1 which corresponds  
in every particular with its use at the 
present time4 ,writing at ,inverness1 he
 says3--     ,here we may note the habit
 of a ,highlander3 their doublets are   

slashed   in the sleeves1 and open on   
the back2 their breeches and stockings  
are either all on a piece1 and straight 
to them1 plaid colour2 or   otherwise1 a
 sort of breeches1 not unlike a         
petticoat1 that reaches   not so low1 by
 far1 as their knees1 and their         
stockings are rolled up   about the     
calves of their legs1 and tied with a   
garter1 their knee   and thigh being    
naked4 ,on their right side they wear a 
dagger1 about   a foot or half-a-yard   
long1 the back filed like a saw1 and    
several   kinnes 78 skeans7 struck in   
the sheath of it2 in either pocket a    
case   of iron or brass pistols1 a sword
 about a handful broad1 and five feet   
long1 on the other side1 and perhaps a  
gun on one shoulder and a sack   of     
luggage on the other4 ,thus accoutred1  
with a plaid over the left   shoulder   
and under the right arm1 and a cap      
a-cock1 he struts like a   peacock1 and 
rather prides in than disdains his      
speckled feet4#dc    ,it is somewhat    

remarkable that this testimony1 which   
decides the vexed  question of the      
separate use of kilt and plaid prior to 
the eighteenth  century1 has hitherto   
escaped the notice of all writers on the
 subject4    ,during the turbulent      
period of the wars of ,montrose and     
,dundee many  bodies of armed           
,highlanders were imported into the     
,lowlands4 ,one of  the largest1 known  
as the ,highland ,host1 consisted of ten
 thousand  men employed in the          
repression of the ,western ,shires4 ,a  
letter in the  ,wodrow ,,mss41          
,advocates' ,library1 ,edinburgh1       
written under date #ast  ,february      
#afgh1 states3--     ,we are now all    
quartered in and about this town 8 ,ayr1
 the   ,highlanders only in free        
quarters4 ,it would be truely a pleasant
   sight1 were it at an ordinary        
weaponshaw1 to see this ,highland crew4 
,you know the fashion of their wild     
apparel1 not one of ten of them   hath  
breaches1 yet hose and shoes are their  

greatest need and most   clever prey1   
and they spare not to take them every   
where3 ,in so much   that the committee 
here1 and the ,counsel with you 7as it  
is said7 have   ordered some thousands  
of pairs of shoes to be made to stanch  
this   great spoil4 ,as for their armes 
and other militarie acoutrements1   it  
is not possible for me to describe them 
in writing2 here you may   see          
head-pieces and steel-bonnets raised    
like pyramides1 and such as   a man     
would affirme they had only found in    
chamber-boxes2 targets   and shields of 
the most odde and anticque forme1 and   
pouder hornes   hung in strings1        
garnished with beaten nails and plates  
of burnished   brass4 ,and truely ,i    
doubt not but a man1 curious in our     
antiquities1   might in this host finde 
explications of the strange pieces of   
armour mentioned in our old lawes1 such 
as bosnet1 iron-hat1 gorget1   pesane1  
wambrassers1 and reerbrassers1 panns1   
leg-splents1 and the   like1 above what 

any occasion in the ,lowlands would have
 afforded for   several hundereds of    
yeers4 ,among their ensignes also1      
besides other   singularities1 the      
,glencow men were very remarkable1 who  
had for their   ensigne a faire bush of 
heath1 wel-spred and displayed on the   
head of   a staff1 such as might have   
affrighted a ,roman eagle4#dd    ,this  
letter is especially noteworthy as      
containing an early reference  to the   
badge or ensign used to distinguish     
particular clans4 ,the  8,glencow0      
men--no doubt the ,mac ,ians of         
,glencoe1 a sept of the ,clan  ,mac     
,donald--8had for their ensign a fair   
bush of heath10 and the badge  of the   
,mac ,donalds is still ,fraoch or heath4
 ,the writer's description  implies that
 the rank and file of the ,highland     
,host wore the kilt or  the belted      
plaid2 those who did not being1 of      
course1 the officers1  who would wear   
the trews4 ,that such was the fact is   
confirmed by what  follows4    ,a       

sarcastic and amusing description of the
 ,highlanders concerned in  the         
expedition of #afgh was written by      
,lieut4-,colonel ,william ,cleland      
7#affa-afhi71 of the ,cameronian or     
,earl of ,angus's ,regiment1 who was    
killed fighting the remnant of ,viscount
 ,dundee's army4 ,not only does  it     
confirm the description in the ,wodrow  
letter1 but it furnishes  information of
 a detailed character as to dress and   
accoutrements1 as  the following        
quotation shows3--      ,but to discrive
 them right surpasses    ,the art of    
nine ,parnassus ,lasses4           99   
99       99       99       99           
,their head1 their neck1 their leggs and
 thighs3    ,are influenced by the      
skies1    ,without a clout to interrupt 
them    ,they need not strip them when  
they whip them2    ,nor loose their     
doublet1 when they're hang'd    ,if they
 be miss'd1 its sure they're wrong'd4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,their durks hang down between their    

leggs    ,where they made many slopes   
and geggs2    ,by rubbing on their naked
 side1    ,and wambling from side to    
side4    ,but those who were their chief
 ,commanders1    ,as such who bore the  
pirnie standarts1    ,who led the van1  
and drove the rear1    ,were right well 
mounted of their gear2    ,with brogues1
 trues1 and pirnie plaides1    ,with    
good blew bonnets on their heads1       
,which on the one side had a flipe      
,adorn'd with a tobacco pipe4    ,with  
durk1 and snap-work1 and snuff-mill1    
,a bagg which they with onions fill1    
,and1 as their strick observers say1    
,a tupe horn fill'd with usquebay2    ,a
 slasht out coat beneath her plaides1   
,a targe of timber1 nails and hides2    
,with a long two handed sword1    ,as   
good's the country can affoord2    ,had 
they not need of bulk and bones1    ,who
 fight with all these arms at once8     
,it's marvelous how in such weather1    
,ov'r hill and hop they came together2  
,how in such stormes they came so farr2 

,the reason is1 they're smear'd with    
tar1    ,which doth defend them heel and
 neck1    ,just as it doth their sheep  
protect2    ,but least ye doubt that    
this is true1    ,they're just the      
colour of tar'd wool4#de    ,here we    
have two distinct forms of dress--that  
of the men1 the kilt or  the belted     
plaid1 and that of the 8chief           
,commanders10 who 8were right  well     
mounted of their gear2 with brogues1    
trues1 and pirnie plaides40    ,but     
perhaps the most striking evidence that 
two forms of dress were in  use in the  
,highlands at this time is that supplied
 by the supporters of  the arms of      
,skene of that ,ilk4 ,the blazon of the 
supporters in the ,lyon  ,register is3--
    ,illustration3     ,on the dexter by
 a highland man in his proper garb      
holding a skene   with his right hand in
 a guarding posture1 and on the sinister
 be   another in a servill habit his    
target on the left arm and the darlach  
by his side4#df      ,in the            

,introduction to the ,nisbet ,plates1#dg
 the work from which the  illustration  
is taken1 it is pointed out that in the 
,nisbet ,,ms4 the  description of the   
supporters runs as follows3--           
,supported on the dexter by a highland  
gentleman in his proper garb1   holding 
a skein with his right hand in a        
guarding posture1 and on the   sinister 
by another highlandman in a servill     
habit1 with his target on   his left    
arme and his dorloch be his side4#dh    
,it is impossible to conceive of        
evidence of a more conclusive and       
satisfactory character than that here   
adduced of the existence of  both modes 
of dress at this period and of the rank 
of the respective  wearers4 ,the        
original illustration is the work of    
,robert ,wood1 an  ,edinburgh engraver1 
and in ,mr ,ross's ,opinion was         
executed1 and  ,alexander ,nisbet's     
description above quoted written1       
#afie-agjd4di    ,the ,grameid1 written 
in #afia1 contains many references to   

the  clothing and uniforms of the       
,highland army serving under ,viscount  
,dundee4 ,from the shoulder of ,keppoch 
8hung the tartan plaid40 ,the           
inhabitants of the ,hebrides are clothed
 8in yellow and blue40 ,dundee1         
addressing the leaders1 bids them 8draw 
out your clans in their  saffron array  
upon the plain10 and speaks of 8the     
plaided race of  ,grampian giants40     
,general ,mackay is represented as      
concluding 8that  he had subdued the    
tartaned bands of ancient ,albion40 ,a  
most explicit  description is that of   
the followers of ,glengarry1 8three     
hundred  illustrious youths in the first
 flower of vigorous manhood1 each of    
whom a tartan garb covers1 woven with   
,phrygian skill in triple stripe1  and  
as a garment clothes their broad chests 
and flanks4 ,a helmet  defends the      
temples of the men4 ,a coloured plaid   
veils their shoulders1  and otherwise   
they are naked4444 ,following him       
closely comes his  brother ,allan1 the  

brave1 with a hundred men all clothed in
 garments  interwoven with the red      
stripe1 their brawny calves bound with  
the  red buskin40 ,of ,locheil1 the poet
 says1 8his tartan hose are gartered    
round his calf40 ,m',martin in          
8variegated array advances with lofty   
mien02 the garter ribbons 8hanging at   
his leg were dyed with ,corycian        
saffron1 and with the tint of the       
,tyrian shell1 as was his plaid40 ,of   
,mac ,lean of ,duart and his brother    
,alexander 8the flowing plaid with      
yellow stripe covers the shoulders of   
both the brothers40 ,mac ,neill of      
,barra 8displays as many colours woven  
into his plaid as the rainbow in  the   
clouds shows in the sunlight40 ,the ,mac
 ,leods of ,raasay advance  8with plumed
 heads erect1 and shoulders covered with
 girded plaid40 ,the  ,dougals of       
,craignish 8all carry the brazen-hilted 
sword1 and wear the  girded plaid40     
8,the whole plaided forces of the       
,highland chiefs1 both  horse and foot1 

the entire body take post40 ,dundee     
beholds his 8bands  gleaming with brass1
 and admires the companies in their     
brilliant  colours1 and is refreshed by 
the sharp note of the pipe40 ,the       
8tartaned  host0 pours itself out upon  
the field4 ,in sight of their opponents 
the  ,highland warriors 8draw their     
swords1 and1 extended on the plain1 they
  move in ordered ranks2 they cast their
 brogues of bull's hide1 and make  a    
pile of their plaids1 and thus stripped1
 prepare for the battle40  ,general     
,mackay takes counsel how he 8will      
overwhelm the tartaned lines  of the    
target-bearing ,scot02 while the poet   
writes of the march of  his opponents1  
8the whole body of the ,highlanders is  
formed into one  column1 and forthwith  
the cavalry mount their horses1 and the 
whole  plaided army1 with floating      
banners1 went forth from the deserted   
camp  into the open plain40#ej    ,it   
appears from various references that the
 trews and the belted plaid  were       

sometimes worn together4 ,on a          
powder-horn which belonged to the  late 
,james ,drummond1 ,r4,s4,a41 and now in 
the ,museum of the ,society of          
,antiquaries in ,edinburgh1 there are   
figures in the ,highland dress1  and one
 of these seems to illustrate this mode4
 ,as to the age of the  relic1 ,mr      
,drummond1 in a communication to the    
,society in ,april #ahgb1  gave various 
reasons for believing it to have been   
the property of ,sir  ,george ,mackenzie
 of ,tarbat1 who was born in #afcj4     
,again1 in an extract  from a ,,ms4     
stated to have been in the possession of
 ,dr4 ,mac ,lean1 ,oban1  giving an     
account of the battle of ,killiecrankie1
 it is stated that  ,john ,macrae of    
,inversheil1 having been struck in the  
thigh by a musket  shot--     ,the ball 
having carried into the wound the cloth 
of his belted plade1   and the trewes   
that he wore under them1 the woolen did 
so wrankle the   flesh1 that with his   
hard travail1 and need of a chirurgeon1 

it was   long after before he got       
cured4#ea    ,in fact1 so late as #agdf1
 when ,prince ,charles ,edward embarked 
on his  return to ,france1 a letter     
written by ,colonel ,warren1 and        
preserved  among the ,stuart papers1    
records that he was dressed in 8a       
threadbare  coat of coarse black frieze1
 tartan trews1 and over them a belted   
plaid40    ,in #afhh ,william           
,sacheverell1 ,governor of the ,isle of 
,man1 visited ,mull  and other ,western 
,islands1 and his account is valuable   
and interesting  because it is fair in  
its criticism and accurate in its       
description2  and it affords evidence of
 the general use of the belted plaid1 to
  the exclusion of the trews1 among the 
common people4 ,sacheverell             
superintended the efforts made to       
recover the guns and other fittings  of 
the ,florida1 one of the scattered      
vessels of the ,spanish ,armada1  blown 
up1 according to the traditions of the  
,mac ,leans1 by ,donald ,glas1  son of  

,mac ,lean of ,morvern1 in ,tobermory   
,bay in #aehh4 ,thus he had ample       
opportunity of noting the costume and   
manners of the natives of ,mull  and    
other ,highlanders1 of whom he writes3--
     ,during my stay ,i generally       
observed the men to be large-bodied1    
stout1 subtle1 active1 patient of cold  
and hunger4 ,there appeared in   all    
their actions a certain generous air of 
freedom1 and contempt of   those        
trifles1 luxury and ambition1 which we  
so servilely creep after4   ,they bound 
their appetites by their necessities1   
and their happiness   consists1 not in  
having much1 but in coveting little4    
,the women seem   to have the same      
sentiments with the men2 though their   
habits were   mean and they had not our 
sort of breeding1 yet in many of them   
there   was a natural beauty and a      
graceful modesty1 which never fails of  
attracting4 ,the usual habit of both    
sexes is the pladd2 the women's   much  
finer1 the colours more lively1 and the 

squares larger than the   men's1 and put
 me in mind of the ancient ,picts4 ,this
 serves them for   a veil1 and covers   
both head and body4 ,the men wear theirs
 after   another manner2 especially when
 designed for ornament1 it is loose and 
flowing1 like the mantles our painters  
give their heroes4 ,their thighs   are  
bare1 with brawny muscles4 ,nature has  
drawn all her strokes bold   and        
masterly2 what is covered is only       
adapted to necessity2 a thin   brogue on
 the foot1 a short buskin of various    
colours on the legg1   tied above the   
calf with a striped pair of garters4    
,what should be   concealed is hid with 
a large shot-pouch1 on each side of     
which hangs   a pistol and a dagger2 as 
if they found it necessary to keep those
   parts well guarded4 ,a round target  
on their backs1 a blew bonnet on   their
 heads1 in one hand a broadsword1 and a 
musquet in the other1   perhaps no      
nation goes better armed2 and ,i assure 
you they will handle   them with bravery

 and dexterity1 especially the sword and
 target1 as   our veteran regiments     
found to their cost at ,gille           
,crankee4#eb    ,in the closing years of
 the seventeenth century the ,western   
,isles of  ,scotland were visited by a  
traveller1 who has left the most        
complete  account of the people and     
their manner of life which had been     
written  up to that date4 ,the author1  
,martin1 undertook the journey with the 
specific purpose of recording           
particulars concerning the people2 and1 
as his work evinces careful observation1
 reliance may be placed on his          
description of their dress at the time  
of his visit4 ,it supplies the  first   
indication1 in any book of travel1 of   
the use of special colours  or setts for
 tartans used in different localities4  
,the first ,habit wore by ,persons of   
,distinction in the ,islands1 was the   
,leni-,croich1 from the ,irish word     
,leni1 which signifies a ,shirt1   and  
,croich ,saffron1 because their ,shirt  

was dyed with that ,herb3 the   ordinary
 number of ,ells us'd to make this      
,robe1 was twenty four2 it   was the    
upper ,garb1 reaching below the ,knees1 
and was tied with a ,belt   round the   
middle3 but the ,islanders have laid it 
aside about a hundred   ,years ago4     
,they now generally use ,coat1          
,wastcoat1 and ,breeches1 as elsewhere2 
and on their ,heads wear ,bonnets made  
of thick ,cloth1 some blue1 some        
black1 and some grey4     ,many of the  
,people wear ,trowis3 some have them    
very fine woven   like ,stockings of    
those made of ,cloth2 some are colour'd1
 and others   striped3 the latter are as
 well shap'd as the former1 lying close 
to the ,body from the middle downwards1 
and tied round with a ,belt   above the 
,haunches4 ,there is a square ,piece of 
,cloth which hangs down   before4 ,the  
,measure for shaping the ,trowis is a   
,stick of ,wood1 whose   ,length is a   
,cubit1 and that divided into the       
,length of a ,finger1 and   half a      

,finger2 so that it requires more ,skill
 to make it than the   ordinary ,habit4 
,the ,shoes antiently wore1 were a piece
 of the ,hide of a ,deer1 ,cow1 or      
,horse1 with the ,hair on1 being tied   
behind and before with a ,point of      
,leather4 ,the generality now wear      
,shoes1 having one thin ,sole only1 and 
shaped after the right and left ,foot2  
so that what is for one ,foot1   will   
not serve the other4     ,but ,persons  
of ,distinction wear the ,garb in       
,fashion in the ,south of   ,scotland4  
,the ,plad wore only by the ,men1 is    
made of fine ,wool1 the ,thred as   fine
 as can be made of that kind2 it        
consists of divers ,colours1 and   there
 is a great deal of ,ingenuity requir'd 
in sorting the ,colours1 so   as to be  
agreeable to the nicest ,fancy4 ,for    
this reason the ,women are   at great   
pains1 first to give an exact ,pattern  
of the ,plad upon a   piece of ,wood1   
having the number of every ,thred of the
 ,stripe on it4   ,the ,length of it is 

commonly seven double ,ells2 the one end
 hangs by   the ,middle over the left   
,arm1 the other going round the ,body1  
hangs by   the end over the left ,arm   
also2 the right ,hand above it is to be 
at   liberty to do any thing upon       
occasion4 ,every ,isle differs from each
   other in their ,fancy of making      
,plads1 as to the ,stripes in ,breadth1 
and ,colours4 ,this ,humour is as       
different thro the main ,land of the    
,highlands1 in-so-far that they who have
 seen those ,places1 are   able1 at the 
first ,view of a ,man's ,plad1 to guess 
the ,place of his   ,residence4         
,when they travel on foot1 the ,plad is 
tied on the ,breast with a   ,bodkin of 
,bone or ,wood 7just as the ,spina wore 
by the ,germans1   according to the     
,description of ,c4 ,tacitus37 the ,plad
 is tied   round the middle with a      
,leather ,belt2 it is pleated from the  
,belt to   the ,knee very nicely3 this  
,dress for ,footmen is found much easier
 and   lighter than ,breeches1 or       

,trowis4     ,the antient ,dress wore by
 the ,women1 and which is yet wore by   
some of   the ,vulgar1 called ,arisad1  
is a white ,plad1 having a few small    
,stripes of black1 blue1 and red2 it    
reach'd from the ,neck to the   ,heels1 
and was tied before on the ,breast with 
a ,buckle of ,silver1 or   ,brass1      
according to the ,quality of the        
,person4 ,i have seen some of the       
former of an hundred ,marks value2 it   
was broad as any ordinary ,pewter       
,plate1 the whole curiously engraven    
with various ,animals1 c4 ,there   was a
 lesser ,buckle1 which was wore in the  
middle of the larger1   and above two   
,ounces weight2 it had in the ,center a 
large piece of   ,chrystal1 or some     
finer ,stone1 and this was set all round
 with several   finer ,stones of a      
lesser size4     ,the ,plad being       
pleated all round1 was tied with a ,belt
 below   the ,breast2 the ,belt was of  
,leather1 and several ,pieces of ,silver
   intermix'd with the ,leather like a  

,chain4 ,the lower end of the ,belt     
has a ,piece of ,plate about eight      
,inches long1 and three in breadth1     
curiously engraven2 the end of which was
 adorned with fine ,stones1 or   ,pieces
 of ,red ,coral4 ,they wore ,sleeves of 
,scarlet ,cloth1 clos'd at the   end as 
,mens ,vests1 with ,gold ,lace round    
'em1 having ,plate ,buttons set   with  
fine ,stones4 ,the ,head-dress was a    
fine ,kerchief of ,linen strait   about 
the ,head1 hanging down the ,back       
taper-wise2 a large ,lock of ,hair      
hangs down their ,cheeks above their    
,breast1 the lower end tied with a      
,knot of ,ribbands4444     ,the antient 
way of ,fighting was by set ,battles2   
and for ,arms some had   broad          
two-handed ,swords and ,head-pieces1 and
 others ,bows and ,arrows4   ,when all  
their ,arrows were spent1 they attack'd 
one another with ,sword   in hand4      
,since the ,invention of ,guns1 they are
 very early accustomed   to use them1   
and carry their ,pieces with them       

where-ever they go3   ,they likewise    
learn to handle the broad ,sword and    
,target4 ,the ,chief   of each ,tribe   
advances with his ,followers within shot
 of the ,enemy1   having first laid     
aside their upper ,garments2 and after  
one general   ,discharge1 they attack   
them with ,sword in hand1 having their  
,target on   their left ,hand 7as they  
did at ,kelicranky7 which soon brings   
the   ,matter to an ,issue1 and verifies
 the ,observation made of 'em by your   
,historians3      ,aut ,mors cito1 aut  
,victoria lta4#ec    ,certainly this is 
evidence of the employment of fixed     
designs and  special colours in the     
tartans1 as well by the ,islanders as by
 the  ,highlanders of the mainland2 and 
many have held it to settle the         
question of their use as clan           
distinctions at that period4 ,at all    
events1 it shows that district tartans  
were in use in ,martin's day1 and  that 
their colourings furnished an indication
 of the localities whence  the wearers  

came4    ,it is out of the question to  
suppose that the tartans described by   
,martin sprang into being in his day4   
,on the contrary1 all the evidence  we  
possess--proving1 as it does1 the       
extremely conservative character  of the
 inhabitants of the ,western            
,islands--points to the conclusion  that
 ,martin was the witness1 at the end of 
the seventeenth century1 of  habits and 
customs in use long previously4    ,of  
the existence of a uniform clan pattern 
at the very commencement of  the        
eighteenth century there is a complete  
chain of evidence4 ,captain  ,hamilton  
writes from ,inverness1 #bcrd ,july     
#agjc1 to ,brigadier-,general           
,maitland1 ,governor of                 
,fort-,william3--     ,i wrote to you   
,tuesday last in answer to your last    
letter to me1 but   ,i neglected to     
acquaint you of our news here4 ,the     
thing is there is a   match of ,hunting 
to be as is said against #bnd of next   
month amongst   several of our great    

folks1 particularly the ,duke of        
,hamilton is to be   there1 the ,marquis
 of ,athole1 and our neighbour the      
,laird of ,grant1   who has ordered #fjj
 of his men in arms1 in good order1 with
 ,tartane   ,coats all of one colour and
 fashion4 ,this is his order to his     
people   in ,straithspey4 ,if it be a   
match at ,hunting only ,i know not1 but 
,i   think it my duty to acquaint you1  
whatever may fall out1 of any such      
body of men in arms1 particularly in our
 ,northern ,parts4#ed    ,the following 
entries in the ,court ,books of the     
,regality of ,grant1  #agjc-agaj1 are   
given in full1 because they are of the  
utmost  importance1 and have never      
hitherto been accurately quoted4 ,among 
others1 ,sir ,william ,fraser1 in his   
,chiefs of ,grant1 refers merely to  the
 second entry1 and that incorrectly3--  
,court of the ,lordship of the parochine
 of ,duthell holden at ,duthell   the   
#bj ,july #agjd be ,duncan ,grant of    
,mullochard bailie constitute be   the  

,right ,honoll ,alexr ,grant of that    
,ilk your bailie principall   of the    
,regalitie of ,grant ,david ,blair notar
 and clerk to the said   ,regalitie     
,court of the ,district of ,duthell4    
,suites called and the   ,court         
lawfullie fenced and affirmed4          
99       99       99       99       99  
,the said day ,ronald ,makdonald of     
,gelloway and ,archibald ,makdonald of  
,tulloch ,crombie wassales of ,lugan in 
,badzenoch to the ,right ,honoll        
,ludovick ,grant of that ,ilk and the   
tennantes and indwellers on these       
landes are ordained to have readie      
tartan short coates trewes and   short  
hose of red and grein set dyce all broad
 springed betuixt and   the eight of    
,august nixt and to be readie upon #dh  
hours advertisement   to rendevouze when
 the ,laird of ,grant shall call them   
for his hosting   or hunteing under the 
failie of fyve pounds sterling4         
7,signed7 ,d4 ,,grant1 ,b4     ,court of
 the ,landes of ,tulchine and           

,skeiradvey1 holdine at ,delay upon     
the #bg ,july #agjd be ,william ,grant  
of ,delay bailie of the saids lands     
constitute be the ,right ,honoll the    
,laird of ,grant heretor of the   saidis
 landis1 ,david ,blair notar and clerk2 
,james ,gedlie officer4   ,suites called
 and the court lawfully fenced and      
affirmed4           99       99       99
       99       99     ,the said day by 
ordor from the ,laird of ,grant younger 
the said   bailie ordanes and enacts    
that the haill tennantes cottars        
malenders   tradesmen and servantes     
within the saidis landis of ,skearadvie 
,tulchine and ,calender that are        
fencible men shall provyd and have   in 
readiness against the eight day of      
,august nixt ilk ane of them            
,heighland coates trewes and short hoes 
of tartane of red and greine   sett     
broad springed and also with gun sword  
pistoll and durk1 and with   these      
present themselves to ane rendewouze    
when called upone #dh hours             

advertisement within the country of     
,strathspey1 for the said ,laird   of   
,grant or his faither their hosting and 
hunteing4 ,and this under   the failie  
of twenty poundes ,scotis ilk ane that  
shall faill in the   premisses4 ,and the
 ,master to outrig the servantes in the 
saids coates   trewes and hose out of   
their fies4#ee    ,a very curious and   
somewhat puzzling state of affairs is   
disclosed  by a minute examination of   
the fine series of family portraits     
preserved at ,castle ,grant4#ef ,of     
these portraits no fewer than ten  were 
painted by ,richard ,waitt1 namely1     
,brigadier ,grant of ,grant and  ,donald
 ,grant of ,glenbeg1 in #agac2 ,patrick 
,grant of ,miltown1 ,mungo ,grant  of   
,mulloch-hard1 ---- ,grant of           
,delbuaick1 ,david ,grant of ,delbuaick1
  ,patrick ,grant of ,tullochgriban1    
,alister ,grant 8,mohr10 and the ,piper 
to the ,laird of ,grant1 in #agad2 and  
,john ,grant of ,burnside1 in #agbe4    
,besides these1 ,waitt painted other    

,grant portraits in tartan attire4 ,by  
permission of the ,countess of          
,seafield1 coloured drawings of these   
have  been made1 and comparison         
discovers a variety of design well-nigh 
as  great as would be the case in an    
equal number of examples selected at    
random from as many different families4 
,in one particular alone do they  agree1
 and that is in the absence of any      
completely dark-coloured sett1  such as 
is usually designated 8uaine0 or green4 
,it is not till after  the '#de that    
there is an instance of any member of   
the clan wearing  the so-called undress 
,grant tartan1 now the familiar         
8,forty-,second0 or  ,black ,watch      
pattern4    ,similar remarks might be   
made concerning other family portraits4 
,for  example1 in the ,mac ,donald      
portraits at ,armadale there are at     
least six  distinct setts of tartan4    
,the ,campbell portraits at ,loudoun    
,castle and  ,langton ,house exhibit    
equal diversity1 while differing at the 

same time  from any of the ,campbell    
setts at present in use4 ,in the same   
way the  pictures of the ,sutherland    
family at ,dunrobin and ,barrogill1 the 
,mac  ,donell portraits at ,balgownie1  
the ,mac ,leod at ,dunvegan1 the        
,drummond  at ,gordon ,castle and       
,drummond ,castle1 the ,macpherson at   
,cluny1 the  ,frasers in                
,inverness-shire1 show remarkable       
variety of arrangement and  colouring4  
,whatever the reason of this1 it        
assuredly did not arise from            
carelessness or ignorance on the part of
 the artists employed4 ,on the          
contrary1 in the great majority of the  
pictures referred to1 painful  attention
 has been paid to minuteness and        
accuracy in details of the  dress1 and  
the sett of a tartan is reproduced in   
different portions of  the costume with 
a faithfulness which leaves no room for 
doubt that the  artists were studiously 
copying distinct patterns4    ,the      
importance of the tartan manufacture to 

,scotland in the beginning  of the      
eighteenth century is evident from the  
following3--     ,in this place it's    
proper to mention their ,plaids1 a      
,manufacture   wherein they exceed all  
,nations1 both as to ,colour and        
,fineness4   ,they have of late been    
pretty much fancy'd in ,england1 and are
 very   ornamental as well as durable   
for ,beds1 ,hangings1 ,window-,curtains 
and ,night-,gowns for ,men and ,women2  
so that ,attempts have been made   in   
,england to resemble them1 at ,norwich  
and elsewhere1 but they fall   much     
short both in ,colour1 ,fineness1 and   
,workmanship1 as is evident   at first  
sight4 ,a good improvement may be made  
of this manufacture   for domestick use 
and export1 now that the prohibition is 
remov'd by   the ,union4 ,the stronger  
sort of those ,plaids is the usual      
,cloathing   for their ,men in the      
,highlands1 where they never alter the  
form of   their ,habit1 which1 to other 
,people1 seems uncouth1 because not us'd

   elsewhere2 yet it must be own'd1 that
 as they are us'd by those of the       
better sort in the ,highlands1 they make
 a manly as well as a decent            
,habit4#eg    ,in ,a ,journey through   
,scotland1 undertaken between #agaf and 
#agbc1  occurs this description of the  
cattle fair at ,crieff and of the dress 
of the ,highland gentlemen and their    
followers1 which confirms in all        
particulars the other accounts of the   
use of tartan at the period1 and  the   
distinction between the dress of the    
upper and lower orders3--     ,the      
,highland ,fair of ,criff happening when
 ,i was at ,stirling1 ,i had the        
,curiosity to go see it4 ,there were at 
least ,thirty ,thousand ,cattle   sold  
there1 most of them to ,english         
,drovers2 who paid down above   ,thirty 
,thousand ,guineas in ready ,money to   
the ,highlanders2 a ,sum they   had     
never seen before1 and proves one good  
,effect of the ,union4 ,the   ,highland 
,gentlemen were mighty civil1 dress'd in

 their slash'd short   ,wastcoats1 a    
,trousing1 7which is1 ,breeches and     
,stockings of one ,piece   of strip'd   
,stuff7 with a ,plaid for a ,cloak1 and 
a blue ,bonnet4 ,they   have a ,ponyard 
,knife and ,fork in one ,sheath1 hanging
 at one side of   their ,belt1 their    
,pistol at the other1 and their         
,snuff-,mill before2   with a great     
broad ,sword by their side4 ,their      
,attendance attendants   were very      
numerous1 all in belted ,plaids1 girt   
like ,womens ,petticoats   down to the  
,knee2 their ,thighs and ,half of the   
,leg all bare4 ,they   had also each    
their broad ,sword and ,ponyard1 and    
spake all ,irish1 an   unintelligible   
,language to the ,english4#eh    ,it    
appears from the regulations issued to  
the retainers of the ,clan  ,grant anent
 the wearing of a uniform tartan that   
distinctive patterns  were in use1 at   
least for military purposes1 or on      
occasions of great  gatherings1 early in
 the eighteenth century4 ,that          

widespread attention  was at that period
 bestowed upon particular arrangements  
of tartan  appears from a letter quoted 
by ,sir ,walter ,scott1 dated from the  
,manse  of ,comrie1 #bnd ,july #agag3-- 
,i give your lady hearty thanks for the 
highland plaid4 ,its good cloath   but  
it does not answer the sett ,i sent some
 time agoe with ,mc,arthur4    ,this    
implies1 at the least1 in a district on 
the southern border of the  ,highlands1 
adhesion to particular patterns1 just as
 in ,martin's account  of the ,western  
,islands1 already quoted1 the existence 
of district setts  is proved by the use 
of the words 8able1 at the first view of
 a man's  plad1 to guess the place of   
his residence40    ,alexander ,nisbet1  
the great herald1 referring to the      
supporters of  ,macpherson of ,cluny1   
writes3--     ,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 azure1 thighs bare1 their      

shirts tied between them1 and round     
targets on their arms1 being the dress  
wherein those of this clan were   wont  
to fight in many battles for the crown  
being always loyal4#ei    ,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 period1 viz41 the 
belted plaid1 is proved by another      
allusion  of his to the ,cluny arms in a
 portion of his work not yet published1 
and preserved in the ,lyon ,office1 in  
which1 treating generally of            
supporters1 he writes3--     ,mc,pherson
 of ,clunie two highlandmen in their    
belted plaids with   targets4#fj    ,an 
almost contemporary example of the      
peculiar mode of wearing the  dress1    
described as 8shirts tied10 is to be    
found in the portrait of  ,sir ,stuart  
,threipland of ,fingask1 by ,delacour1  
painted about this  period4#fa          
,without exception the most complete    
description of the ,highlands  and the  

dress worn there1 written during the    
eighteenth century1 is  that given by   
,burt4 ,the account has been frequently 
the subject of  criticism1 but it is now
 generally accepted as presenting a     
faithful  picture of the state of the   
country at the period to which it       
relates4  ,as it traverses a wide field1
 a lengthened extract is given1 for the 
purpose of comparison with earlier      
descriptions of the costume and  manners
 of the people already quoted3--        
,the plaid is the undress of the ladies 
writing of ,inverness2 and to   a       
genteel woman1 who adjusts it with a    
good air1 is a becoming veil4   ,but as 
,i am pretty sure you never saw one of  
them in ,england1 ,i shall   employ a   
few words to describe it to you4 ,it is 
made of silk or fine   worsted1         
chequered with various lively colours1  
two breadths wide1   and three yards in 
length2 it is brought over the head1 and
 may hide   or discover the face        
according to the wearer's fancy or      

occasion2 it   reaches to the waist     
behind2 one corner falls as low as the  
ankle on   one side2 and the other part1
 in folds1 hangs down from the opposite 
arm4     ,i have been told1 in          
,edinburgh1 that the ladies distinguish 
their   political principles1 whether   
,whig or ,tory1 by the manner of wearing
   their plaids2--that is1 one of the   
parties reverses the old fashion1   but 
which of them it is1 ,i do not remember1
 nor is it material4     ,as ,i was     
travelling in a very wild part of the   
country1 and   approaching the house of 
one of those gentlemen1 who had notice  
of   my coming1 he met me at some       
distance from his dwelling1 with his    
,arcadian offering of milk and cream1 as
 usual1 carried before him by   his     
servants4 ,he afterwards invited me to  
his hut1 which was built   like the     
others1 only very long1 but without any 
partition1 where   the family was at one
 end1 and some cattle at the other4 ,by 
the way   7although the weather was not 

warm71 he was without shoes1 stockings1 
or breeches1 in a short coat1 with a    
shirt not much longer1 which hung       
between his thighs1 and just hid his    
nakedness from two daughters1   about   
seventeen or eighteen years old1 who sat
 over against him4 ,after   some        
compliments on either side1 and his     
wishing me good weather1 we   entered   
into conversation1 in which he seemed to
 be a man of as good   sense as he was  
well-proportioned4 ,in speaking of the  
country1 he told   me he knew ,i        
wondered how any body would undergo the 
inconveniences of   a ,highland life4   
,the ,highland dress consists of a      
bonnet made of thrum without a   brim1 a
 short coat1 a waistcoat1 longer by five
 or six inches1 short   stockings1 and  
brogues1 or pumps without heels4 ,by the
 way1 they cut   holes in their brogues1
 though new made1 to let out the water1 
when   they have far to go and rivers to
 pass3 this they do to preserve their   
feet from galling4     ,few besides     

gentlemen wear the trowze1--that is1 the
 breeches and   stockings all of one    
piece1 and drawn on together2 over this 
habit   they wear a plaid1 which is     
usually three yards long and two        
breadths   wide1 and the whole garb is  
made of chequered tartan1 or plaiding3  
this1 with the sword and pistol1 is     
called a full dress1 and1 to a          
well-proportioned man1 with any         
tolerable air1 it makes an agreeable    
figure2 but this you have seen in       
,london1 and it is chiefly their   mode 
of dressing when they are in the        
,lowlands1 or when they make a          
neighbouring visit1 or go anywhere on   
horseback2 but when those among   them  
who travel on foot1 and have not        
attendants to carry them over   the     
waters1 they vary it into the quelt     
kilt1 which is a manner ,i   am about to
 describe4     ,the common habit of the 
ordinary ,highlanders is far from being 
acceptable to the eye3 with them a small
 part of the plaid1 which   is not so   

large as the former1 is set in folds and
 girt round the   waist1 to make of it a
 short petticoat that reaches half way  
down   the thigh1 and the rest is       
brought over the shoulders1 and then    
fastened before1 below the neck1 often  
with a fork1 and sometimes   with a     
bodkin or sharpened piece of stick1 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 rain4   
,in this   way of wearing the plaid1    
they have sometimes nothing else to     
cover   them1 and are often barefoot2   
but some ,i have seen shod with a kind  
of pumps1 made out of a raw cow-hide1   
with the hair turned outward1   which   
being ill made1 the wearer's foot looked
 something like those   of a            
rough-footed hen or pigeon3 these are   
called quarrants1 and   are not only    
offensive to the sight1 but intolerable 
to the smell of   those who are near    
them4 ,the stocking rises no higher than

 the thick   of the calf1 and from the  
middle of the thigh to the middle of the
 leg   is a naked space1 which1 being   
exposed to all weathers1 becomes tanned 
and freckled1 and the joint being mostly
 infected with the country   distemper1 
the whole is very disagreeable to the   
eye4 ,this dress is   called the quelt2 
and1 for the most part1 they wear the   
petticoat   so very short1 that in a    
windy day1 going up a hill1 or stooping1
 the   indecency of it is plainly       
discovered4444     ,various reasons are 
given both for and against the ,highland
 dress4 ,it   is urged against it1 that 
it distinguishes the natives as a body  
of   people distinct and separate from  
the rest of the subjects of ,great      
,britain1 and thereby is one cause of   
their narrow adherence among            
themselves1 to the exclusion of all the 
rest of the kingdom2 but   the part of  
the habit chiefly objected to is the    
plaid 7or mantle71   which1 they say1 is
 calculated for the encouragement of an 

idle life1   in lying about upon the    
heath1 in the day-time1 instead of      
following   some lawful employment2 that
 it serves to cover them in the night   
when they lie in wait among the         
mountains1 to commit their robberies    
and depredations2 and is composed of    
such colours as altogether1 in   the    
mass1 so nearly resemble the heath on   
which they lie1 that it is   hardly to  
be distinguished from it until one is so
 near them as to be   within their      
power1 if they have any evil intention2 
that it renders   them ready1 at a      
moment's warning1 to join in any        
rebellion1 as they   carry continually  
their tents about them3 and1 lastly1 it 
was thought   necessary1 in ,ireland1 to
 suppress that habit by act of          
parliament1   for the above reasons1 and
 no complaint for the want of it now    
remains   among the mountaineers of that
 country4     ,on the other hand1 it is 
alleged1 the dress is most convenient to
   those who1 with no ill design1 are   

obliged to travel from one part   to    
another upon their lawful occasions1    
viz4--,that they would not be   so free 
to skip over the rocks and bogs with    
breeches as they are in   the short     
petticoat2 that it would be greatly     
incommodious to those   who are         
frequently to wade through waters1 to   
wear breeches1 which   must be taken off
 upon every such occurrence1 or would   
not only gall   the wearer1 but render  
it very unhealthful and dangerous to    
their   limbs1 to be constantly wet in  
that part of the body1 especially in    
winter-time1 when they might be frozen3 
and with respect to the plaid   in      
particular1 the distance between one    
place of shelter and another1   is often
 too great to be reached before night   
comes on2 and1 being   intercepted by   
sudden floods1 or hindered by other     
impediments1 they   are frequently      
obliged to lie all night in the hills1  
in which case   they must perish1 were  
it not for the covering they carry with 

them4   ,that even if they should be so 
fortunate as to reach some hospitable   
hut1 they must lie upon the ground      
uncovered1 there being nothing to   be  
spared from the family for that purpose4
     ,and to conclude1 a few shillings  
will buy this dress for an ordinary     
,highlander1 who1 very probably1 might  
hardly ever be in condition to          
purchase a ,lowland suit1 though of the 
coarsest cloth or stuff1 fit to   keep  
him warm in that cold climate4       ,i 
shall determine nothing in this dispute1
 but leave you to judge   which of these
 two reasonings is the most cogent4     
,the whole people are fond and tenacious
 of the ,highland clothing1 as   you may
 believe by what is here to follow4     
,being1 in a wet season1 upon one of my 
peregrinations1 accompanied   by a      
,highland gentleman1 who was one of the 
clan through which ,i was   passing1 ,i 
observed the women to be in great anger 
with him about   something that ,i did  
not understand3 at length1 ,i asked him 

wherein   he had offended them8 ,upon   
this question he laughed1 and told me   
his   great-coat was the cause of their 
wrath2 and that their reproach was      
that he could not be contented with the 
garb of his ancestors1 but was          
degenerated into a ,lowlander1 and      
condescended to follow their unmanly    
fashions4#fb    ,to the edition of the  
,letters from which the above is quoted 
the  editor appended some notes on the  
,highland dress1 which1 though open to  
criticism on many points1 are           
sufficiently interesting to justify     
their  insertion here3--     ,the       
chequered stuff1 commonly worn by the   
,highlanders1 by them called   breacan  
7parti-coloured71 and by the ,lowlanders
 tartan 7,fr4   tiretaine71 is neither  
peculiar to ,celts nor ,goths1 and is to
 be   found1 at this day1 although not  
in such general use1 among many of   the
 ,sclavonic tribes1 who have no         
connection with either4 ,the wife   of  
every ,russian boor1 in the             

north-western provinces at least1 who   
can make her such a present at her      
marriage 7and it is often a sine   qu   
non71 has a tartan plaid1 which she     
wears just as the ,scotish   women1 in  
our author's time1 did theirs3 it is of 
massy silk1 richly   varied1 with broad 
cross-bars of gold and silver tissue1   
and makes a   very splendid appearance4 
,that the ,lowlanders had their tartan  
from the ,french1 at a time   when it   
was fashionable in other countries1 may 
be presumed from   the name2 and to     
imagine that the manufacture began among
 the   ,highlanders would be ridiculous4
     ,the ,highland field-dress of the  
men was of a coarser texture1 and       
thickened by fulling2 it was called     
cadda 7cath da'1 the war   colour71 and 
was a tartan of such colours as were    
least likely to   betray the wearer1    
among the woods and heaths1 either to   
the game he   was in quest of1 or to his
 enemies4 ,the dyes were mostly         
extracted   from woad1 when it could be 

got1 and from heath-tops1 the bark and  
tender twigs of the alder1 and other    
vegetable substances4 ,as to   the      
ancient form of the dress1 nothing could
 be more simple3 the   gentlemen1 having
 less frequent occasion to use their    
full suit   as a blanket1 wore a yellow 
shirt1 a vest1 trowsers1 and mantle1 of 
the same fashion as their neighbours4   
,in ,ireland1 a few centuries ago1   the
 lower class seldom encumbered          
themselves with dress of any kind       
within doors2 and there is every reason 
to suppose that this was also   the case
 among their brethren in ,scotland4     
,when they went out1 they   threw a     
light blanket round their shoulders1 the
 upper part made tight   with skewers1  
and the lower gathered up into folds1   
which they secured   under the girdle1  
from which the sword1 dagger1 purse1 c41
 were   suspended2 this they called     
feile1 a word of the same origin with   
the ,scotish fell1 ,english1 peel2 ,old 
,english1 pilche2 ,german   and         

,northern1 peltz1 pels1 c42 and the     
,latin1 pellis1 all   which signified an
 external surface1 skin1 or covering of 
any   kind4 ,skins1 in the modern       
acceptation of the term1 were1 no doubt1
   the first covering2 and the name was 
afterwards properly enough   applied to 
a covering of cloth4 ,at night they took
 out the skewers1   unbuckled the       
girdle1 and reduced the feile to its    
primary form of   a blanket1 to sleep   
in4 ,the women wore a petticoat1 or     
trowsers1 of   skin1 cloth1 or what they
 could get1 and a cloth thrown round    
their   bodies when they went out4 ,as  
civilization advanced1 a shirt1 with a  
tunic1 or short jacket1 was introduced2 
the plaits of the feile were   rendered 
permanent by sewing1 and the plaid1 to  
be used either as a   mantle or blanket1
 was added4 ,the kilt1 feilebeg 7little 
feile71   or petticoat1 now worn1 has   
succeeded to the folded-up ends of the  
original blanket2 it is all that remains
 of the ancient costume1 and   was      

reduced to its present form some time in
 the beginning of the last   century4   
,the bonnet1 or flat1 blue thrum cap1 is
 of a very modern   date1 and was       
introduced from the ,lowlands4 ,the     
gentlemen of the   ,highlands wore such 
hats and caps as were worn by gentlemen 
of their   times in neighbouring        
countries2 and1 in the days of our      
grandfathers1   the lower class of      
,highlanders were1 by their ,lowland    
neighbours 7in   the north-east         
,lowlands1 at least71 denominated       
humblies1 from their   wearing no       
covering on their head but their hair1  
which1 at a more   early period1 they   
probably matted and felted1 for horror  
and defence1   as the ,irish did in     
,queen ,elizabeth's time4 ,the          
helmet-looking bonnet1   now worn1 was  
introduced within the memory of persons 
still living4     ,from this simple     
account of the ,highland dress1 it will 
be seen that   it has in itself nothing 
peculiar to one country more than       

another2 as   the different improvements
 upon the manner of girding the loins1  
and   trussing up a blanket1 can hardly 
be called a national costume4 ,the      
dress of the ,romans began in the same  
manner1 and went through nearly   the   
same varieties of form2 but1 for a long 
time after the ,romans   left ,britain1 
it can hardly be imagined1 that the     
inhabitants of the   more remote        
,highlands had either wool or cloth of  
their own produce4   ,scattered as their
 sheep1 if they had any1 must have been 
upon the   mountains1 they had no means 
of protecting them from the wolves2 and 
they had not then patient industry      
enough to look after tame animals   that
 could not take care of themselves4     
,the names of the different parts of    
this dress are all conformable   to what
 has been said above4 ,the feilebeg is1 
by the ,lowlanders1   called a kilt1    
from its having been kilted1 quilted1 or
 trussed   up under the girdle4 ,the    
meaning of the ,latin toga is found in  

the   ,galic toga'2 in ,english1 to tuck
 up1 from the same circumstance2   and a
 square body-cloth1 still worn round the
 shoulders by the   ,highland women1 is 
called a tunic1 or tonnac4 ,plaid 7which
 is   always misapplied in ,england71 in
 its primary sense1 means simply   any  
thing broad and flat1 and thence1 a     
broad1 unformed piece of   cloth1 and1  
in its secondary and modern acceptation1
 a blanket2   in which last import alone
 it is now used by the ,highlanders4    
,the   trews1 or trowsers1 formerly worn
 only by the gentry1 and by   the lower 
classes1 after the philibeg was         
proscribed by act of   parliament1 are  
so denominated1 from the ,galic trusa'1 
to truss   up1 as they supplied the     
place of the end of the feile which was 
trussed under the girdle4#fc    ,during 
the period following the ,union of the  
,kingdoms of ,scotland and  ,england    
7#agjg71 tartan plaids were worn in the 
,lowlands by all classes4  ,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 independence4  ,certain it is 
that up to the prohibition of the use of
 tartans and of  the ,highland dress by 
the ,act of #agdg the tartan plaid      
continued in  general use throughout    
,scotland4 ,many references to the      
prevalence of  the habit in the         
,lowlands as well as in the ,highlands  
might be quoted4  ,one interesting      
contribution is that of ,ramsay of      
,ochtertyre1 who1  writing in #agie of  
the congregation of the ,rev4 ,john     
,skinner's church  at ,linshart1 in     
,buchan1 observes3--     ,in point of   
mode and plainness their dress reminded 
me of that of our   country-people more 
than forty years ago1 bonnets and       
parti-coloured   plaids being           
frequent4444 ,in those days every lady  
in an undress wore   a plaid when she   
went abroad4 ,it was sometimes of one   

colour1 scarlet1   crimson1 c41 but more
 commonly tartan or variegated4 ,people 
fond of   finery had silk ones1 others  
wore woollen lined with silk2 whilst the
   lower classes were satisfied with    
plain worsted4444 ,in #agdg1 when ,i    
first knew ,edinburgh1 nine-tenths of   
the ladies still wore plaids1           
especially at church4 ,by this time1    
however1 silk or velvet cloaks of   one 
form or another were much in request    
among people of fashion4 ,and   so      
rapidly did the plaid wear out1 that    
when ,i returned to ,edinburgh   in     
#ageb one could hardly see a lady in    
that piece of dress4#fd    ,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     
period4 ,for example3--     ,last       
,saturday the ,agatha and ,jane1 ,thomas
 ,christie master cleared   out from    
,leith for ,london1 having on board the 
following ,scots   manufactures1 viz41  

#ec1cha yards of ,linen1 #cjjf yards of 
,tartans4#fe     ,leith1 ,feb4          
#ah4--,the ,edinburgh ,merchant1 ,john  
,dick1 cleared out for   ,london with   
the following ,scots manufactures1 viz41
 #da1djj yards of   ,linen1 #fdjj yards 
of ,tartan4#ff    ,in the same          
newspaper1 and side by side with the    
orders issued by  ,prince ,charles      
,edward1 then at ,holyrood1 appears the 
following3--     ,gairdner and ,taylor1 
in their ,warehouse at the ,sign of the 
,golden   ,key1 opposite to ,forrester's
 ,wynd1 ,lawn-,market1 ,edinburgh1      
continue   to sell1 in ,wholesale and   
,retail1 at lowest ,prices1 all sorts of
   ,woollen ,narrow and ,broad ,cloths  
of the ,manufacture of ,scotland1 in    
same manner as was done by the late     
,andrew ,gairdner1 who was one of   the 
first ,introducers of an extensive      
,manufactory of this ,kind1 so   very   
beneficial to1 and so much wanted in    
this ,country4444 ,at above   ,warehouse
 to be sold at lowest ,rates1 great     

,choice of ,tartans1 the   newest       
,patterns1 ,cotton ,checks and ,sarges1 
of which they are also   ,makers4#fg    
,this advertisement1 it may be urged1 is
 a stumbling-block in the way  of those 
who argue for the antiquity of clan     
patterns2 for it seems  peculiar that1  
when the city was filled with           
,highlanders of all ranks  and many     
clans1 they should be offered1 not their
 ancient setts1 but  8great choice of   
the newest patterns40    ,a statement   
which points in exactly the contrary    
direction appears in  the ,lockhart     
,papers to the following effect3--      
,it was necessary for us i4e41 the      
troops under the command of the   ,duke 
of ,perth and the ,earl of ,cromarty in 
the ,prince's army1 in   order to come  
at him i4e41 ,lord ,louden1 who         
commanded a detachment   in the ,duke of
 ,cumberland's army1 to go about by the 
head of   ,tyne1#fh through ,torendonel1
 about ten miles' march1 and accordingly
   ,glengary's1 ,clanronald's1          

,ardsheal's1 ,glengyle's1 and           
,barisdale's   battalions were ordered  
after them1 under the command of the    
,duke   of ,perth and ,lord ,cromarty4  
,those under ,lord ,louden's command    
were   the ,m',loads1 ,sir ,alexander   
,m',donald's men1 the ,makays and       
,monroes1   and the ,grants--about three
 thousand in all4444 ,we ,m',donalds    
were   much perplex'd1 in the event of  
ane ingagement1 how to distinguish      
ourselves from our bretheren and        
nighbours the ,m',donalds of ,sky1      
seeing we were both ,highlanders and    
both wore heather in our bonnets1   only
 our white cocades made some            
distinction4#fi    ,the inference from  
the passage is1 that the opposing       
battalions  being of the same great     
family1 with dress and badge alike1 the 
sole  remaining difference between them 
was the cockade4    ,one result of the  
civil war of #agde-f was the            
proscription by ,act of  ,parliament of 
the ,highland dress3--      #ai ,,george

 ,,ii41 ,,cap4 #ci1 ,,sec4 #ag1 #agdf4  
,from and after the first day of ,august
 one thousand seven hundred   and       
forty-seven1 no man or boy within that  
part of ,great ,britain   called        
,scotland1 other than such as shall be  
employed as officers and   soldiers in  
his ,majesty's forces1 shall1 on any    
pretence whatsoever1   wear or put on   
the clothes commonly called ,highland   
,clothes 7that is   to say7 the ,plaid1 
,philibeg1 or little ,kilt1 ,trowse1    
,shoulder belts1   or any part          
whatsoever of what peculiarly belongs to
 the ,highland   garb2 and that no      
,tartan or party-coloured plaid or stuff
 shall be   used for great coats1 or for
 upper coats2 and if any such person    
shall presume1 after the said first day 
of ,august1 to wear or put   on the     
aforesaid garments1 or any part of them1
 every such person   so offending1 being
 thereof convicted by the oath of one or
 more   credible witness or witnesses   
before any court of justiciary1 or any  

one or more justices of the peace for   
the shire or stewartry1 or judge        
ordinary of the place where such offence
 shall be committed1 shall   suffer     
imprisonment1 without bail1 during the  
space of six months1 and   no longer2   
and being convicted for a second offence
 before a court of   justiciary1 or at  
the circuits1 shall be liable to be     
transported to   any of his ,majesty's  
plantations beyond the seas1 there to   
remain for   the space of seven years4  
8,it is impossible10 writes ,general    
,stewart of ,garth1 8to read this       
latter ,act without considering it      
rather as an ignorant wantonness of     
power than the proceeding of a wise and 
a beneficent ,legislature4 ,to  be      
compelled to wear a new dress has always
 been found painful4 ,so the            
,highlanders found2 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 

dress4 ,had the  whole race been        
decimated1 more violent grief1          
indignation1 and shame  could not have  
been excited among them than by being   
deprived of this  long-inherited        
costume4 ,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 tradition40#gj ,the spirit in which
 the ,act  was carried out may be       
gathered from the following extract from
 the  ,general ,orders to the ,army in  
,scotland in #agdh3--     ,by the act   
passed last session of ,parliament1 the 
time for the general   abolishing the   
,highland dress is enlarged to the #ast 
day of ,august   #agdi4     ,but that   
the wearing and use of such parts       
thereof as are called   the plaid1      
philibeg1 or little kilt1 is absolutely 
prohibited and   abolished from and     
after the #beth day of this instant     
,december1 and as   to these particulars
 the law takes place from that day4     

,his grace the ,duke of ,newcastle has  
therefore signified to me his           
majesty's commands1 that the same be    
punctually observed throughout   the    
,highlands1 and that ,i should give     
orders to all the troops   quartered in 
those parts to be particularly attentive
 to this service1   and to take all due 
care that the act be punctually executed
 and   observed1 and the offenders      
brought to punishment according to law4 
,in obedience to these his majesty's    
commands1 you are to seize all   such   
persons as shall be found offending     
herein1 by wearing the plaid1           
philibeg1 or little kilt1 and carry them
 before a civil magistrate1   in the    
same dress1 that he may be convinced    
with his own eyes of   their having     
offended1 in order to their being       
punished for the same   according to    
law2 in the performance of which1 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 power1 who are solely authorised  
to   inflict the punishment as the act  
directs2 but in case the magistrate     
before whom such offenders are carried  
shall refuse or neglect putting   the   
law in execution1 in that case let me   
know immediately the name   of such     
magistrate1 with the reason of his not  
doing it1 that ,i   may acquaint the    
,duke of ,newcastle with it1 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 act1 by not putting
 it   in execution4     ,that the people
 in the ,highlands might have no excuse 
by pleading   ignorance1 the lord chief 
justice clerk wrote to the sheriffs     
depute   of the ,highland counties1     
ordering them to give notice at every   
parish   church1 that they must quit the
 plaid1 philibeg1 or little kilt on     
,christmas-day1 as the act directs1     
otherwise they would be carried   before
 the civil magistrate and punished for  

it accordingly4     ,i must likewise    
desire you will let me know from time to
 time what   obedience the people pay to
 this act1 for they must and shall obey 
it1   with the names of those           
magistrates who are industrious in      
putting the   laws in execution1 that ,i
 may take an opportunity of thanking    
them for   performing their duty1 and   
acquainting the ,duke of ,newcastle with
 it4     ,you may acquaint the          
magistrates and justices of the peace in
 your   neighbourhood with the contents 
of this letter1 since it may be the     
means of inciting them the more readily 
to perform their duty4     ,p4,s4--,let 
a copy of this letter be sent to the    
officers commanding   the general       
detachments of your regiment            
respectively4#ga    ,all manner of      
ingenious evasions were thought of and  
practised to  defeat the law4 8,the     
tight breeches10 observes ,general      
,stewart1 8were  particularly obnoxious4
 ,some who were fearful of offending1 or

 wished  to render obedience to the law1
 which had not specified on what part of
  the body the breeches were to be worn1
 satisfied themselves with having  in   
their possession this article of legal  
and loyal dress1 which1  either as the  
signal of their submission1 or more     
probably to suit  their own convenience 
when on journeys1 they often suspended  
over their  shoulders upon their sticks2
 others1 who were either more wary or   
less  submissive1 sewed up the centre of
 the kilt with a few stitches between   
the thighs1 which gave it something of  
the form of the trowsers worn by  ,dutch
 skippers4 ,at first these evasions of  
the ,act were visited with  considerable
 severity40#gb ,it was most probably for
 conniving at some  such breach of the  
law that a young grenadier of the #bjth 
,foot narrowly  escaped a tremendous    
punishment4     ,the court-martial has  
judged the crime of ,rigby1 the         
grenadier1 to   be of so pernicious a   
nature that they have sentenced him to  

receive   six hundred lashes4 ,his youth
 and former good behaviour are the only 
considerations that could induce the    
lieutenant-colonel to pardon   him3 but 
if hereafter any sergeant or corporal is
 known to receive a   bribe from a      
,highlander1 or from any person         
whatever1 found or known   to transgress
 the laws1 and does not seize the person
 or report such   transgression1 he1 the
 non-commissioned officer guilty of so  
heinous   a crime1 will be instantly    
broke and severely punished3 and if any 
private soldier ever takes money1 or a  
reward of any kind1 that may   lead him 
to betray his trust1 such soldier will  
be whipped without   mercy4#gc    ,the  
harsh and bitter administration of the  
law continued for many  years--for a    
long enough period1 indeed1 to stamp out
 the use of the  dress1 at least among  
the lower orders4 ,in the south the wear
 of tartan  does not seem to have been  
interfered with4 ,for instance1 we      
read3--     ,there is to be sold by roup

 in the shop of ,william ,watson in the 
front   of the ,new ,exchange of        
,edinburgh upon ,monday #crd 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 mention4 ,the goods are all  
fresh   and in good condition and       
fashionable4#gd     ,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 formerly4#ge 
,at length the enactment was repealed4  
,the ,marquis of ,graham1 afterwards    
,duke of ,montrose1 when a ,member of   
the ,house of ,commons in #aghb1  having
 brought in a ,bill for the purpose1 it 
was1 according to ,general  ,stewart1   
passed without a dissentient voice4#gf  
#bb ,,george ,,iii41 ,,cap4 #fc1 #aghb4 

,whereas by an act made in the          
nineteenth year of the reign of his     
late majesty ,king ,george the ,second1 
entituled 8,an act for the more         
effectual disarming the ,highlands in   
,scotland and for more effectually      
securing the peace of the said          
,highlands2 and for restraining the     
use of the ,highland dress20 444 it was1
 among other things1 enacted   that from
 and after the first day of ,august one 
thousand seven   hundred and            
forty-seven1 no man or boy1 within that 
part of ,great   ,britain called        
,scotland1 other than such as shall be  
employed as   officers and soldiers in  
his ,majesty's forces c41 as quoted1 pp4
   #cf-g4 ,and whereas it is judged     
expedient that so much of the acts      
above mentioned as restrains the use of 
the ,highland dress should   be         
repealed3 ,be it therefore enacted by   
the ,king's most ,excellent   ,majesty1 
by and with the advice of the ,lords    
,spiritual and ,temporal   and ,commons 

in this present ,parliament assembled1  
and by the authority   of the same1     
,that so much of the acts above         
mentioned1 or any other   act or acts of
 ,parliament1 as restrains the use of   
the ,highland dress1   be1 and the same 
are hereby repealed4    ,the repeal of  
the enactment1 received so joyously by  
the ,highlanders1  was celebrated by the
 famous poet1 ,duncan ,ban ,m',intyre1  
in the  following lines1 which are      
freely adapted from the ,gaelic3--      
,indulgent laws at last restore    ,the 
noble dress our fathers wore4           
,exulting1 let us then resume    ,the   
bonnet blue and eagle plume2    ,the    
tartan coat and jaunty vest    ,and     
belted plaid become us best4    ,with   
limbs unchained and footsteps free1     
,the pleated kilt just shows the knee2  
,in hose and brogues we'll roam at will 
,o'er purple moor and heather hill4     
,how quickly the dress was resumed--at  
all events in certain portions of  the  
country--is shown by the following      

testimony4 ,one of the ,hebridean       
missionaries of the ,church of          
,scotland1 whose travels among the      
people  extended over the eight years   
from #aghb to #agij1 observes3--        
,the men wear the short coat1 the       
feilabeg1 and the short hose1 with      
bonnets sewed with black ribbons around 
their rims1 and a slit behind   with the
 same ribbon in a knot4 ,their coats are
 commonly tartan1   striped with black1 
red1 or some other colour1 after a      
pattern made1   upon a stick1 of the    
yarn1 by themselves1 or some other      
ingenious   contriver4 ,their waistcoats
 are either of the same1 or some such   
stuff2 but the feilabegs are commonly of
 breacan1 or fine ,stirling   plaids1 if
 their money can afford them4     ,at   
common work they use either short or    
long coats and breeches made   of       
striped cloth1 and many of them very    
coarse1 according to their   work4      
,their shirts are commonly made of wool2
 and however coarse   they may appear to

 strangers1 they are allowed to conduce 
much to   the health and longevity for  
which this country is famous2 as ,i have
   known them eighty1 ninety1 and some  
even a hundred years old1 in these      
islands1 and able to do their daily     
work4     ,when they go in quest of the 
herring1 they dress something like the  
sailors1 but of coarser cloth1 with hats
 over their eyes1 to mark the   fish the
 better4 ,they are careful about drying 
their nets1 and other   fishing tackle4 
,their brogues 7shoes7 are made of cow  
or horse leather1 and often of   seals  
skins1 that are commonly well tanned by 
the root of tormintile1   which they dig
 out from the hillocks1 and uncultivated
 lands1 about   the sea-side4 ,this1    
properly pounded and prepared1 without  
either lime   or bark1 is sufficient to 
make the hides pliant and fit for       
wearing4   ,it answers their purpose    
much better than leather tanned with    
lime   or bark1 because they seldom grow
 hard or shrink when dried1 even        

though wet all day2 which is not the    
case with such as are burnt with   lime4
 ,they never use tan-pits1 but bind the 
hides fast with ropes1   and hold them  
for several days in some remote solitary
 stream1 until   the hair begins to come
 off1 of its own accord2 and after that1
 the   tormintile roots are applied for 
bark1 as above described4 ,such of   the
 men as can afford them1 wear large     
forest coats above their other   garb1  
especially on ,sundays1 or at the public
 meetings1 as weddings1   burials1 or   
fairs4 ,either in this or a coarse      
breacan 7i4e4 the   plaid7 with their   
best apparel1 they appear on these      
solemn occasions2   but many of those   
who are poor1 and cannot afford it1     
often do and   must appear in their     
tattered clothes and dirty shirts1      
without either   stockings or brogues1  
quite bare-footed1 even in frost and    
snow1 in   distress sufficient to extort
 compassion from every person1 but such 
tyrants as are the cause of so much     

misery to those starved creatures1   who
 are often creeping along with white or 
striped petticoats   belonging to their 
wives1 or daughters and sisters1 about  
their   shoulders4     ,the women wear  
long or short gowns1 with a waistcoat   
and two   petticoats1 mostly of the     
stripes or tartan1 as already described1
   except the lower coat1 which is      
white4 ,the married wives wear linen    
mutches1 or caps1 either fastened with  
ribbons of various colours1 or   with   
tape straps1 if they cannot afford      
ribbons4 ,all of them wear a   small    
plaid1 a yard broad1 called guilechan1  
about their shoulders1   fastened by a  
large broach4 ,the broaches are         
generally round1 and of   silver1 if the
 wearer be in tolerable circumstances3  
if poor1 the   broaches1 being either   
circular or triangular1 are of baser    
metal and   modern date4 ,the first kind
 has been worn time immemorial even by  
the   ladies4 ,the arrisats are quite   
laid aside in all this country1 by   the

 different ranks of women2 being the    
most ancient dress used by   that class4
 ,it consisted of one large piece of    
flannel1 that reached   down to the     
shoe1 and fastened with clasps below1   
and the large silver   broach at the    
breast1 while the whole arm was entirely
 naked4 ,the   ladies made use of the   
finer1 while common women used coarser  
kinds   of flannel1 or white woollen    
cloths4 ,the married women bind up their
   hair with a large pin into a knot on 
the crown of their heads1 below   their 
linens2 and the unmarried frequently go 
bare-headed1 with their   hair bound up 
with ribbons1 or garters4 ,they often   
wear linen caps1   called mutches1      
particularly on ,sabbaths4 ,many of the 
more wealthy   appear at church with a  
profusion of ribbons and head-dresses1  
with   cloaks and high-heeled shoes4    
,those whose circumstances cannot admit 
of that1 must appear with one of their  
petticoats1 either tartan1   or of one  
colour1 around their shoulders1 on      

,sundays1 as well as on   week days4    
,they seldom travel any where without   
this appendage2 nay1   in the house1    
when at such work as will admit of it2  
seeing it would   be thought naked in a 
woman to go without it3 it also defends 
them   from the inclemency of the       
weather4 ,most of them wear napkins1 or 
handkerchiefs1 on their necks2 and many 
of the richest of them use   silk ones1 
whether black or spotted1 as suits their
 fancies4     ,frequently the old women 
wear little guilechans1 7small plaids7  
about their shoulders1 and woollen hoods
 about their heads1 with very   coarse  
linen under them fastened with a pin    
below their chins4 ,the   breeid1 or    
curtah1 a fine linen handkerchief       
fastened about married   women's heads1 
with a flap hanging behind their backs1 
above the   guilechan1 is mostly laid   
aside4     ,most of the poorer tenants  
cannot afford to wear brogues in        
,summer1   unless they are obliged to be
 treading among the sharp rocks on the  

shores1 at their master's kelp1 when the
 master must supply them1   except they 
can afford to provide for themselves4   
,it would be too   great a luxury for a 
poor one to use them1 unless at the     
same1 or   similar rugged employment4   
,nothing short of extreme necessity     
obliges   them to appear in public      
meetings in these humiliating garbs2 for
   otherwise their pride would revolt at
 the very thought of such shabby        
dresses4#gg    ,gough thus describes the
 dress of the ,highlanders in the       
district of  ,breadalbane about #aghi3--
     ,the dress of the men is the       
brechan or plaid1 #ab or #ac yards of   
narrow   stuff wrapped round the middle 
and reaching to the knees1 often girt   
round the waist1 and in cold weather    
covering the whole body1 even   on the  
open hills1 all night1 and fastened on  
the shoulders with a   broche3 short    
stockings tied below the knee2 truish1 a
 genteeler kind   of breeches1 and      
stockings of one piece2 cuoranen1 a     

laced shoe of   skin with the hairy side
 out1 rather disused2 kelt or fillebeg1 
q4 d4   little plaid or short petticoat1
 reaching to the knees1 substituted of  
late to the longer end of the plaid3 and
 lastly the pouch of badger or   other  
skins1 with tassels hanging before them4
 ,the ,lochaber axe1 used   now only by 
the town guard of ,edinburgh1 was a     
tremendous weapon4 ,bows   and arrows   
were in use in the middle of the last   
century1 now as well   as the broadsword
 and target laid aside since the        
disarming act1 but   the dirk1 or       
ancient pugio1 is still worn as a dress 
with the knife   and fork4444 ,the      
women's dress is the kirch1 or white    
linen pinned   round behind like a hood1
 and over the foreheads of married      
women1   whereas maidens wear only a    
snood or ribbon round their heads3 the  
tanac or plaid fastened over their      
shoulders and drawn over their   heads  
in bad weather3 a plaited long stocking1
 called ossan1 is   their high dress4#gh

    ,these notes bring us down to the   
present century1 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 tartan4 ,before  concluding1
 however1 it is worth while to make some
 special references  to one of these    
works1 the ,vestiarium ,scoticum4#gi    
,john ,sobieski  ,stuart's account of   
the origin of the work is as follows3-- 
,the tract now published in the         
following volume1 is printed from a     
,,ms4 in my possession1 collated with   
the transcript of another in the        
,library of the ,monastery of ,st       
,augustine in ,cadiz4 ,it is a small    
black-letter quarto of the sixteenth    
century1 containing thirty-four   pages 
of vellum1 illuminated with small1      
plain1 capitals1 such as the   ordinary 
initials of inferior missals4 ,it was   
once in the possession   of the         
historian and faithful adherent of      
,queen ,mary1 ,john ,lesley1   bishop of

 ,ross1 as appears by his signature in  
the first leaf--8,jo4   ,rossen40       
,immediately below is noted1 in his     
small neat hand1 8,primo   ,maii1 #aega1
 ,i tuck my feaver and ageu at ix huris 
at nyt40444 ,some   of the many         
calamities which scattered the adherents
 of the house of   ,stuart1 and brought 
together many of their persons and their
 remains   in the ,catholic seclusions  
of the ,continent1 conveyed the         
,vestiarium   ,scoticum1 and many papers
 of the ,bishop of ,ross into the       
,library of   the ,scots ,college at    
,douay4 ,during the long incognito of   
the prince   ,charles ,edward1 between  
the years #agdi and #aged1 he visited   
that   seminary1 for purposes which     
expired in the obscurity wherein they   
were planned2 and1 during his stay1 he  
received from the fathers many   papers 
which had belonged to ,queen ,mary1 her 
adherents1 and ,king ,james   the       
,seventh4 ,among others1 of a very      
different nature1 was found the         

,bishop of ,ross's copy of the          
,vestiarium ,scoticum4 ,this copy1 now  
in   my possession1 being the oldest and
 the most perfect1 has served as   the  
original to the present publication4    
,the next in value1 that which belonged 
to the ,library of the ,convent   of ,st
 ,augustine1 is a small paper folio1    
bound in panel1 written in   the        
ordinary running hand of the time of    
,james the ,sixth4 ,by the   signature  
and date1 it had at one time belonged to
 8ane honerabil man   ,maister ,james   
,dunbarre wtin ye burg of ,innernesse1  
in ye yeir of   ,god ain thousand sax   
hunder and aucht yeirs40 ,by a          
subsequent name   upon the              
cover--8,johan ,o',neil1 cleric0--it had
 probably passed   into the hands of one
 of the many expatriated ,irish priests1
 who   were driven to the ,continent1   
during the reigns of ,elizabeth and     
,james the ,sixth2 and1 in this         
revolution1 probably found its way into 
the ,monastery of ,st ,augustine4 ,spain

 was at that time the principal         
sanctuary for the ,irish and ,island    
refugees2 and it is not improbable      
that the possessor of the volume might  
have been one of the followers   of the 
unfortunate ,james ,mc,donald of ,isla  
and the ,glens1 who1 on his   expulsion 
from ,ulster and the ,isles1 fled to the
 ,court of ,philip the   ,third4        
,between this copy and that of the      
,bishop of ,ross there are but   very   
few variations1 and almost all1         
apparently1 accidental omissions   of   
the copyist3 wherever they occur they   
have been noted on the margin   of this 
edition4     ,besides these copies1     
there is1 also1 in my possession1 a     
third1 of a   much lower character and  
later period1 obtained from an old      
,ross-shire   ,highlander named ,john   
,ross1 one of the last of the           
sword-players1 who   may yet be         
remembered by those who recollect the   
porters of ,edinburgh   twenty years    
ago4 ,it is an inferior1 modern copy1   

bearing the stigmats   of various       
barbarous hands1 which have inflicted   
upon its pages divers   attempts to     
transmit to posterity the names of a    
certain ,john and   ,marye ,inglis1 who 
have borne testimony to their           
familiarity with its   leaves in the    
year #agba4 ,it is written with         
negligence and inaccuracy1   in a very  
ill hand1 and with several              
substitutions1 variations1 and          
omissions1 which1 in some instances1    
appear to have been the result   of     
carelessness2 in others1 the attempts of
 an illiterate transcriber   to adapt   
the work to his ideas of the clans in   
his own time4 ,it may1   indeed1 be     
conjectured that it was transcribed from
 an original which1   in some degree1   
differed from the copies of the ,bishop 
of ,ross and   the ,library of ,st      
,augustine1 since the names of several  
clans and   low-country families follow 
in a succession different from these    
,,mss4   ,this1 however1 might have been

 the result of accidental omission and  
subsequent re-entry4444 ,these last the 
three preceding copies are   the only   
,,mss4 of that work which have fallen   
under my observation2   but1 according  
to a notice communicated by ,lord       
,lovat1 it appears that   another was   
long in possession of the ,frasers of   
,inchberry4 ,since the   removal of that
 family it is supposed to have been     
taken to ,america1   and is described as
 a small quarto ,,ms4 in black letter1  
containing not   only a description1 but
 illuminations1 of all the clan tartans4
 ,if   this tract was not the           
,vestiarium ,scoticum1 it must have been
 one   containing a more elaborate      
illustration of tartans than the work of
   ,sir ,richard ,urquhart1 and of which
 ,i have discovered no other copy4      
,of the author of the ,vestiarium ,i    
have discovered no illustration1   and  
of his period there is little evidence4 
,in his ,envoi1 he intimates   that he  
had spent the greater part of his life  

in military service1   and that1 at     
various times1 he had composed some     
works upon heraldry1   hunting1 and the 
use of arms2 but of these productions ,i
 am not aware   of any existing notices2
 and ,i know of no one of his name who  
has   pursued such studies1 except the  
genealogical knight1 ,sir ,thomas1   who
 deduced the descent of his family from 
,adam4#hj    ,the contents of the       
,vestiarium are remarkable4 ,in a short 
introduction the author rebukes his     
countrymen for their adoption of        
foreign modes to the neglect of those of
 their ancestors1 and1 lest  the old    
,scots fashions should sink into        
oblivion1 as in the case  of other      
nations1 8,i have taken on hande to     
compil accordant to my  pvir habylitye1 
a trewe ensample off alle or the maiste 
parte1 the  pryncyppul tartanis of      
,scotlonde sic as ,i may discerne them40
 ,a short  treatise 8of the settiss or  
stryppis and coullouris of terteinis0   
follows4 ,then come in succession the   

tartans of the chief ,highland  clans1  
each tartan being described with a      
technical minuteness which  permits of  
their representation1 either by way of  
illustration or in a  fabric1 with      
perfect ease and certainty4 ,the tartans
 of the clans of  the lesser families or
 houses in the ,highlands1 and1 after   
them1 those  of the ,low ,country or    
,border clans1 are detailed in a similar
 manner4  ,short notes on the plaids    
worn by women1 and on hose and trews1   
with a  list of the badges of clans and 
families1 and a poetical conclusion1    
complete the volume4    ,as to the dates
 when the three works on which the      
,vestiarium is based  came into his     
possession1 the editor is explicit in   
reference to only  one--that obtained   
from ,john ,ross1 the old swordsman1 of 
which he got  possession in #ahai4ha    
,the two others were1 however1 several  
years in  his possession before         
publication1 and he had apparently no   
intention  of giving their contents to  

the world until urged to do so by the   
late  ,sir ,thomas ,dick ,lauder4 ,in   
#ahbi ,sir ,thomas was staying at       
,relugas ,house  in ,morayshire1 while  
,john ,sobieski ,stuart and his brother1
 ,charles  ,edward ,stuart1 under the   
name of ,hay1 or ,hay ,allan1 were      
occupants of  ,logie1 about a mile from 
,relugas4 ,sir ,thomas brought the      
,,mss4 under  ,sir ,walter ,scott's     
notice in a letter dated from ,relugas  
#ast ,june  #ahbi1 in which he gives a  
general account of the only one of the  
three  manuscripts referred to in the   
introduction to the ,vestiarium which   
was ever in his possession--viz41 ,john 
,ross's copy#hb--;from which the        
transcript now in possession of ,miss   
,dick ,lauder was made4#hc ,it was  lent
 him for the purpose by ,john ,sobieski 
,stuart1 and it contains  those skits   
which it was prophesied at the time     
would cast ridicule on  the original4#hd
 ,he writes to ,sir ,walter3--     ,i   
wish to communicate to you an account of

 a very curious manuscript   which ,i   
have great hope may interest you as much
 as it has done me4   ,it is entitled   
,liber ,vestiarium ,scotia1 otherwise   
clippit the   ,garderope of ,scotland1  
,beand ane ,mirrour to shewe the true   
,tertaynis   of the principal ,scottyshe
 famylies1 be ,schyr ,richarde          
,urquharde   ,knychte4 ,the original    
belongs to ,mr ,allan ,hay1 father to   
the ,messrs   ,hay1 now residing at     
,logie ,house1 within a mile of this    
place4 ,it is   written in beautifully  
clear and distinct black letter1 and    
belonged   to ,lesly1 ,bishop of ,ross1 
the historian1 whose autograph is on it 
in   the shape of a curious memorandum4 
,to give you some idea of the style   of
 the manuscript ,i shall copy the       
following commencement of the   preface1
 in which the time when it was written  
is sufficiently marked   by internal    
evidence3--     ,forasmeikle1 c4 ,the   
remainder of the quotation from the     
introduction   is not written into the  

copy of ,sir ,thomas's letter retained  
by him4     ,after this follows a       
dissertation on the rules for making    
tartan1   which is prefaced thus3--     
,first1 for the manner of making and    
devising of tertennis1 c4 ,here   again 
the quotation stops short4     ,from    
this last quotation we are made aware of
 a fact of which ,i   confess myself to 
have been always very sceptical         
hitherto4 ,i   mean that tartans were   
some centuries ago in use universally   
over   ,scotland1 and accordingly the   
author of the manuscript1 after giving  
us first descriptions of thirty-eight   
different tartans belonging   to the    
principal ,highland families1 and eleven
 of the 8terteinis of   lesser famylies 
or houses1 the quhilk be comand frae the
 cheff houses   and original clannes10  
goes on with 8,here begynnethe off the  
,laich   ,cuntre ,pairtes and ,border   
clannes10 of which families he gives us 
the   description of twenty-nine        
tartans4 ,among these last you may      

believe   the tartan of the illustrious 
family of ,scott is not forgotten4 ,the 
descriptions are all so very particular 
that it is quite impossible   to mistake
 them1 and as ,i wished to possess      
myself of a copy of the   manuscript    
7which ,i wrote out myself71 ,mr        
,charles ,stuart ,hay1 with   very great
 politeness1 agreed to illuminate it for
 me1 with drawings   of all the tartans1
 a work which occupied him unceasingly  
for above   three weeks1 by which labour
 he has made me a most beautiful book4  
,there is no printed copy of the        
manuscript1 but the ,messrs ,hay1       
,junior1 are in possession of a         
manuscript copy which is very old1   and
 ,i have heard of another manuscript    
copy of it which did exist   somewhere  
in ,strathglass1 but which has been     
ineffectually sought for   as yet4 ,the 
original came into the family of ,mr    
,allan ,hay from the   unfortunate      
,prince ,charles ,stuart4 ,so far as ,i 
know it is now the   oldest and best    

authority 7perhaps ,i should say the    
only authority7   on the subject of     
tartans2 and in these times of rage for 
tartans1   when the most uncouth        
spurious modern 8coats of many colours0 
are   every day invented1 manufactured1 
christened after particular names   and 
worn as genuine1 a book of this kind    
containing authority so   invaluable    
must become extremely popular4 ,at      
present a woful want   of knowledge on  
the subject prevails4 ,some of the clans
 are at this   moment ignorantly        
disputing for the right to the same     
tartans1 which1   in fact1 belongs to   
none of them1 but are merely modern     
inventions for   clothing ,regimental   
,highlanders4 ,hardly does one of the   
clans now wear   its tartan with its    
legitimate sets1 stripes1 and spranges  
perfect in   all their parts4 ,the      
,messrs ,hay have already instructed    
several of   the chiefs of clans who    
have had webs of their true tartans     
made2 and   as one instance of this ,i  

may mention that ,cluny ,macpherson     
appeared   at the late fancy ball at    
,edinburgh in his beautiful and genuine 
tartan as taken from the ,,ms43 viz41   
8thre wyde stryppes of black   upon a   
white fielde1 and throuchout the mydward
 black ain yellowe1   and upon the quite
 sett twa spranges of crimsoun of ten   
thredis20   which excited universal     
admiration4 ,macleod has got a sketch of
 his   splendid tartan1 8three black    
stryps upon ain yellow fylde10 c4 ,his  
and ,mac,lauchlane's1 both families of  
,norwegian origin1 being the   only     
yellow fields4 ,comyn1 who was quite    
ignorant of his tartan1 has   now worn  
more than ever at the ,caledonian balls 
in ,london his 8twa   wyd strypis of    
greine upon ain scarlatt field10 c42 and
 so of many   more whom the ,messrs ,hay
 have enlightened as being their        
particular   friends4 ,a curious        
corroboration of the accuracy of the    
manuscript   7if corroboration had been 
wanting7 occurred in the case of ,lovat4

   ,talking of his tartan1 he told the  
,messrs ,hay that1 although the   tartan
 he then wore was that which was always 
worn by the ,clan ,fraser   as their    
clan tartan1 yet some old people of the 
name maintained   that there should be a
 white sprainge through it4 ,the ,messrs
 ,hay1 on   consulting the manuscript1  
found the tartan to be exactly as worn  
by ,lovat1 with the addition of the     
white sprainge1 and described   as      
follows3--8,frizzel hath fovr strippes  
upone ain scarlatt fyeld   quhairoff the
 outerward be of greine1 and the        
innerward of blewe1   and upon the      
scarlatte sette ys ane sprainge of      
quhite of saxteine   threids10 c41 c4 ,i
 need not mention any more but that of  
,scott1   which is as follows3--8,scott 
hathe four stryppis upon ain fyeld10    
c41 c4 ,but to illustrate this perfectly
 to you ,i have begged of   my friend1  
,mr ,charles ,stuart ,hay1 to make for  
you the accompanying   colored drawing1 
on the back of which you have the       

different colors   accurately laid down 
of their proper relative breadths1 and  
the   whole of the proper size for      
weaving1 so that you have only to send  
the sheet to ,messrs ,wilson1 ,carpet   
and ,tartan manufacturers at            
,bannockburn1 who will make you any     
quantity of the tartan1 soft1 hard1   or
 delicately fine merino1 as you may     
specify1 and in every respect           
perfectly correct as to pattern1 they   
having already executed many   orders   
from similar drawings and directions by 
,mr ,hay4 ,so ,i hope   to see both you 
and ,miss ,scott doing honour to the    
ancient garb of   your antecessors      
7sic71 though ladies1 as you will       
afterwards see1   being rather difficult
 to fix1 were left very much to their   
8awin   fauntasyes0 in such matters4    
,that ,i may complete the account of    
this   curious manuscript ,i may add    
that after the tartans have been gone   
through we have a dissertation of       
8womenis quhite plaids clyppit          

,arryssadis1 the quhilk are not orderit 
after their clannes1 but after   their  
awin conceits and as it liketh them40   
,then we have a short   treatise of     
8,hoses and ,trewsis10 and then         
8,hereafter followethe of   senyes of   
divers clannes10 c41 in the list of     
which ,i find 8,scotte1   ,blaeberrye10 
with which ,i hope ,miss ,scott will    
adorn her head at the   next ball she   
honours with her presence1 and so make  
war fairly under   her proper badge4    
,the whole concludes1 as most books of  
those times   were wont to do1 with a   
,l',envoy in the following lines3--     
,dames and ,lordyngis4 ,here the        
quotation ends in ,sir ,thomas's copy4  
,it   has been considered unnecessary to
 reprint the lines with which the       
,vestiarium concludes4     ,what ,sir   
,richard ,urquhart the author was ,i    
have not yet made out1 but   presume    
that he was of the ,cromarty family1    
though ,i confess ,i cannot   find one  
of the name corresponding to the times  

in the celebrated   ,urquhart genealogy1
 which begins with ,adam4 ,i think ,i   
have now told   you enough of this      
curious ,,ms4 to lead you to approve of 
the advice ,i   have given to the       
brothers ,messrs ,hay1 that they ought  
to publish it   without one moment's    
delay1 illustrated with minute specimens
 of all   the tartans described in it1  
with a scale attached to each1 so as to 
make one aware of the proper size the   
cloth should be wrought4 ,this1   ,i am 
happy to say1 ,i have prevailed on them 
to do1 and the plan they   think of is  
to print it at their own expense after  
they shall have   got as many           
subscribers as will ensure their being  
no losers2 and as   engravings would not
 only be deadly as to cost1 but totally 
inadequate   to the purpose of giving   
specimens of the tartans1 and1 indeed1  
useless where the effect cannot be given
 without colouring them with   the same 
trouble that is bestowed on a drawing1  
they have resolved to   get a given     

number of yards of silk ribbon woven of 
each pattern of   the breadth of ladies 
sash ribbons1 whence pieces of perhaps  
four or   six inches in length may be   
cut and neatly laid down with paste on  
drawing paper1 which will make a cheap1 
novel1 very beautiful1 and   most       
satisfactory illustration to the work1  
and render it in every   respect a      
popular as it will be an elegant        
national work for the   drawing-room    
table1 which cannot fail to be much in  
request4#he ,i   mean to write to ,mr   
,cadell and the ,taits to get           
information for the   gentlemen as to   
the expense of printing and publishing  
the work1 and   they have already       
written to ,wilson at ,bannockburn about
 the silk   ribbons4 ,if you should     
happen to see ,mr ,cadell1 your noticing
 the   work to him would be very        
obliging2 and if you find my description
   of it sufficiently interesting to    
induce you to talk of it to your        
friends1 and1 above all1 if you could   

notice it publicly at the ,royal   and  
,antiquarian ,societies1 and at the     
,highland ,society1 and ,celtic         
,society1 ,border ,club1 c41 you would  
do more good in paving the way   for its
 success than a thousand advertisements1
 and would confer a   very great        
obligation on the ,messrs ,hay4#hf      
,sir ,walter's reply is dated #gth ,june
 #ahbi4 ,that portion of it relating  to
 the present subject is here            
transcribed3--     ,i need not say ,i   
have the greatest interest in the ,,ms4 
which you   mention1 in case it shall   
really prove an authentic document4     
,there   would not be the least         
difficulty in getting the ,bannatyne    
,club to   take1 perhaps1 #ajj copies1  
or obtaining support enough so as at the
   least to preclude the possibility of 
loss to the ingenious ,messrs ,hay      
,allans4 ,but ,i think it indispensable 
that the original ,,ms4 should be   sent
 for a month or so to the ,register     
,house1 under the charge of the         

,deputy ,register1 ,mr ,thomson1 that   
its antiquity be closely scrutinised    
by competent persons4 ,the art of       
imitating ancient writing has got   to a
 considerable perfection1 and it has    
been the bane of ,scottish   literature 
and disgrace of her antiquities that we 
have manifested an   eager propensity to
 believe without inquiry and propagate  
the errors   which we adopt too hastily 
ourselves4 ,the general proposition that
   the ,lowlanders ever wore plaids is  
difficult to swallow4 ,they were of     
twenty different races1 and almost all  
distinctly different from the           
,scoto-,irish1 who are the proper       
,scots1 from which the ,royal ,family   
are descended4 ,for instance1 there is  
scarce a great family in the   ,lowlands
 of ,scotland that is not to be traced  
to the ,normans1 the   proudest as well 
as most civilised race in the eleventh  
and twelfth   centuries4 ,is it natural 
to think that1 holding the ,scots in the
   contempt in which they did1 they     

would have adopted their dress8444   ,i 
could shew1 ,i think1 that there is no  
period in ,scottish history   when the  
manners1 language1 or dress of the      
,highlanders were adopted   in the low  
country4 ,they brought them with them   
from ,ireland1 as   you will see from   
the very curious prints in ,derricke's  
picture of   ,ireland1 where you see the
 chief and followers of the wild ,irish 
in   the ordinary ,highland dress       
tempore ,queen ,elizabeth4 ,besides     
this1   where has slept this universal  
custom that nowhere1 unless in this     
,,ms41 is it even heard of8 ,lesley knew
 it not1 though the work had   been in  
his possession1 and his attention must  
have been called to   it when writing   
concerning the three races of ,scots1   
,highlanders1   ,lowlanders1 and        
bordermen1 and treating of their dress  
in particular4   ,andrew ,borde knows   
nothing of it1 nor the ,frenchman who   
published   the geographical work from  
which ,pinkerton copied the prints of   

the   ,highlander and ,lowlander1 the   
former in a frieze plaid or mantle1     
while the ,lowlander strides away in a  
cloak and trunk hose1 like his          
neighbour the ,fleming4 ,i will not     
state other objections1 though so   many
 occur1 that the authenticity of the    
,,ms4 being proved1 ,i would   rather   
suppose the author had been some tartan 
weaver zealous for   his craft1 who     
wished to extend the use of tartan over 
the whole   kingdom4 ,i have been told1 
and believe till now1 that the use of   
tartan was never general in ,scotland   
7,lowlands7 until the ,union1 when   the
 detestation of that measure led it to  
be adopted as the national   colour1 and
 the ladies all affected tartan screens4
    ,to this letter ,sir ,thomas sent a 
reply dated #bjth ,july #ahbi3--        
,the ,messrs ,hay have shewn no         
backwardness to obey your wishes i4e41  
to send the ,,ms4 for inspection4 ,i    
read to them that part of your   letter 
intended for their ears 7keeping1 of    

course1 strictly to   myself all that   
was confidential7 ,sir ,thomas1 no      
doubt1 refers to   the second portion of
 ,sir ,walter's letter relating to the  
descent of   ,john ,sobieski ,stuart and
 his brother ,charles ,edward1 which1 as
 having   no relation to the subject of 
this work1 has not been reproduced1     
when they displayed every possible      
readiness to get the older copy of   the
 ,,ms4 sent from ,london1 where it is in
 their father's possession1   to        
,edinburgh1 as you desire2 and          
accordingly they took an early          
opportunity of writing to their father  
to beg he would send it without   delay4
 ,meanwhile they immediately put into my
 hands the old copy of   the ,,ms4 in   
their possession1#hg with full powers to
 transmit it to   you4 ,in the event of 
their father having any doubt about     
parting with   what he values as the    
apple of his eye1 they suggested the    
alternative   of the ,,ms4 being        
examined in ,london by ,meyrick1 or any 

of the people   about the ,british      
,museum1 or any one else1 in short1 in  
whose judgment   in such matters you    
could have confidence4 ,i may repeat    
again that   there are two copies of the
 ,,ms4 in their family1 viz41 that which
 is   believed to be the original1 which
 is in possession of the father in      
,london1 and that which is presumed to  
be a copy 7though a copy of   above a   
century old74 ,the latter is in my      
custody at this moment1   ready to be   
sent you4 ,but ,i very much regret that 
the father not only   refuses the       
request made to him about sending down  
the ,london ,,ms41#hh   but also        
expresses the strongest objection to its
 publication4 ,i shall   copy for you   
what he says by-and-bye1 but before     
doing so ,i shall   copy for you the    
description of the ,london or original  
,,ms41 which   description was sent down
 some time ago at my request in a letter
 from   the father3--     ,my copy of   
the ,vestiarium ,scoti is written on    

vellum in the   common black letter hand
 of the sixteenth century1 with         
illuminated   capitals at the heads of  
sections of the kind used in ordinary   
missals4 ,there are thirty-four pages in
 the book1 which is a small   quarto1   
bound in white vellum1 and stamped and  
gilt4 ,i never heard   of any other     
,,ms4 copy of the work than that in our 
possession1 but   there was a printed   
copy made by order of the late prince1  
with an   introduction describing the   
book and containing facsimiles of the   
capitals1 and the ,bishop of ,ross's    
date4 ,by the former it appeared   that 
the original had been in the ,library of
 the ,scots ,college at   ,douay1 and   
from it was removed1 with many other of 
the ,,mss4 of that   body1 and presented
 to ,his ,royal ,highness some time     
afterwards4 ,the   printed copy was in  
possession of ,his ,royal ,highness the 
,cardinal of   ,york a short time before
 his death1 and is supposed to have     
fallen   into the hands of the ,english 

,government1 and along with what they   
obtained of the ,stuart papers4     ,in 
addition to this information about the  
,,ms4 7which ,i asked for that   ,i     
might put it as a memorandum on my own  
copy71 ,mr ,hay sent me a   traced      
facsimile of the ,bishop of ,ross's name
 and notandum1 which ,i   read1 8,jo4   
,rossen1 primo ,maii #aega4 ,i tuck my  
feaver and ageu at ix   huris at nyt40  
,this ,i now enclose for your           
inspection1 with a request   that you   
will have the goodness to return it to  
me safely when you   have had leisure to
 satisfy yourself perfectly with it1 as 
,i mean to   paste it on to a blank leaf
 in my copy4 ,it is not impossible that 
you   may know of or hear of some       
signatures of ,john ,leslie's to be     
found   in some of the public           
collections in ,edinburgh4 ,if so1 it   
would be   curious to compare this      
facsimile with it4 ,and now with regard 
to the   father's letter refusing to    
send the original ,,ms4 ,i copy it      

verbatim   from the first half sheet of 
it1 which his son has torn off and sent 
me3--     ,july #eth1 #ahbi4--,,my      
,,dearest ,,ian1--,i have been          
reflecting upon all   which you request 
concerning the ,,ms41 but you know that 
there are   certain things about which  
,i never consult either the feelings or 
the   opinions of others1 but act up to 
previous unalterable determinations2    
therefore ,i feel sorry that you did not
 consult me before you gave any         
acquiescence to the purpose of          
publishing the ,garderope of ,scotland1 
as you ought to have remembered the     
private memorandums written on   the    
blank leaves1 and that it was           
impossible1 coupled with other          
circumstances1 to subject them to common
 curiosity1 which neither   ,i nor you  
can think of for a moment to reclaim the
 whole history   and use of tartan from 
oblivion4 ,as to the opinion of ,sir    
,walter   ,scott1 inasmuch as ,i never  
heard it respected among antiquaries as 

of   the least value1 it is quite       
indifferent to me4#hi ,i wish for no    
connection with the public either for me
 or mine1 or anything in my             
possession2 and if you had kept still   
more retired from observation   the     
relics of which ,i gratified you and    
,charles by the keeping1 it   would have
 been a much better proof of your regard
 for them and   respect to the memory of
 those to whom they belonged4 ,love to  
all1 and   believe me1 my dearest ,ian1 
your affectionate father1      ,j4 ,t4  
,,stuart ,,hay4    ,sir ,thomas ,dick   
,lauder considered this refusal to be   
quixotic2 but  it was absolute4 ,he     
addresses himself at great length to the
 task of  proving the high character for
 veracity of the ,messrs ,hay1 and he   
adds3--     ,i cannot for a moment      
believe that the brothers ,allan ,hay   
could be   guilty of the fraud of       
attempting to foist a forged manuscript 
upon   me4 ,and1 indeed1 for what       
purpose should they attempt so base a   

thing8   ,not1 certainly1 from a thirst 
for publication1 because they never     
entertained the idea of printing it     
until repeatedly urged to do so by      
myself and some other friends who       
happened to see it1 not through any     
ostentation of theirs1 but more as      
matter of accident than anything   else1
 for they did not seem to set any great 
value on their old copy4     ,but       
although you may be very ready to acquit
 the ,allan ,hays of being   the        
impostors1 yet it must be admitted that 
the ,,ms4 may nevertheless   be a       
forgery4 ,but if the ,allan ,hays be    
acquitted and their story be   believed1
 we then establish that1 if there be    
forgery at all1 it must   be a forgery  
of some antiquity4 ,now1 in trying this 
alternative ,i   confess ,i think it    
much more difficult to believe that any 
one could   have undertaken so tedious  
and fruitless a labour in times when    
,,mss4   were much less cared about than
 they are now1 than to believe that the 

,,ms4 in question really is what it     
pretends to be4 ,and ,i do think that   
the internal evidence of the manuscript 
itself is very strongly in   its favour1
 and that it is extremely unlikely that 
any one could have   constructed a cheat
 with so many genuine characters about  
it4 ,with all   this1 ,i must also own  
that the mere circumstance that ,sir    
,walter ,scott   doubts is enough to    
shake the firmest opinion4    ,to ,sir  
,thomas ,dick ,lauder's letter of #bjth 
,july ,sir ,walter ,scott  replied on   
#aith ,november1 and that portion of his
 reply which relates  to the ,vestiarium
 is in the following terms3--     ,as   
for the ,vestiarium1 without pretending 
to know how it may have   been got up1  
it is not1 as ,audrey says1 a true      
thing1 and1 allowing   the ingenuity of 
your arguments1 one is obliged to allow 
so many   extremely improbable          
circumstances and mere possibilities1   
that if   any single one of them is not 
so weighty as to break down the whole   

system1 their combined influence        
certainly will do so4     ,i cannot     
believe there is any copy of such a work
 among the ,cardinal   ,duke of ,york's 
papers4 ,i am one of the commissioners  
for examining   these papers1 which are 
to a certain extent already catalogued4 
,i   will1 however1 keep a look out for 
the work of ,master ,urquhart1   which  
,i think his name is4 ,to suppose       
,lowlanders to be ,highlanders   we must
 suppose that they spoke the ,gaelick1  
and held the system of   clanship4      
,without this there could be no occasion
 for wearing clan   tartans4 ,now1 every
 law or regulation concerning clanship  
is limited   to the ,highlands and to   
the ,borders1 who seem to have it as a  
tie of   communion calculated to bind a 
tribe strongly together4 ,but we are    
now required to believe that there was  
none of that distinction of   dress at  
all1 and if not of dress1 why should    
there have been any   difference of     
language or laws8 ,a nation's dress is  

much more easily   changed than its     
manners and language2 but here the dress
 alone   remains1 the manners and       
language that associated with it are    
totally   gone4 ,the idea of            
distinguishing the clans by their       
tartans is but a   fashion of modern    
date in the ,highlands themselves2 much 
less could   it be supposed to be       
carried to such an extent in the        
,lowlands as the   manuscript pretends4 
,tartan itself is unquestionably a      
,lowland word1   and the stuff          
8tiretain0 fetched from ,flanders1 and  
,i suspect the   ,highlander wore a     
frieze mantle like the ,irish chief1    
without what we   now call the bracken4 
,to this letter ,sir ,thomas replied on 
#bith ,november #ahbi4 ,by that time    
the terrible calamity1 of which he gives
 so vivid a picture in the  ,moray      
,floods1 had happened to ,relugas1 and  
he appears to have had  little heart to 
write about anything else4 ,but he makes
 an allusion to  the ,vestiarium2 and a 

very striking one it is4 ,with all      
deference  to the very distinct         
expressions of opinion by his           
distinguished  correspondent1 he        
observes3--     ,i confess ,i am still a
 believer4 ,what do you think of the    
facsimile of   old ,leslie's            
handwriting8 ,by-the-bye1 ,i will thank 
you to send it me   in ,mr ,hay's       
parcel1#ij to save me from sending to   
,london for another4   ,i have examined 
the old copy of the manuscript in my    
possession1#ia   and find the water-mark
 of the paper to be ante-,union1 the    
supporters   to the arms being two      
unicorns4    ,here closes this          
remarkable correspondence1 and we hear  
no more of the  ,vestiarium until its   
publication by ,tait in #ahdb1 with the 
name of  ,john ,sobieski ,stuart on the 
title-page as editor4 ,so remarkable a  
work  could not fail to attract         
attention4 ,the most striking criticism 
on  the book1 so far as ability and     
bitterness went1 and the only one to    

which any reply was vouchsafed1 is that 
contained in the ,quarterly  ,review for
 ,june #ahdg4ib ,this criticism the     
brothers ,stuart believed  to have been 
written by the late ,mr ,dennistoun1 but
 it was in reality  the work of the late
 ,professor ,george ,skene1 of ,glasgow 
,university1  brother of the late ,dr4  
,william ,forbes ,skene1 from materials 
furnished  chiefly by the late ,dr4     
,mackintosh ,mackay4 ,one half of the   
criticism  consists of an unsparing     
attack on the alleged claims of the     
brothers  to ,royal descent1 and the    
other of an attack upon the authenticity
 of  the ,vestiarium4 ,professor ,skene 
first proposed to discuss the printed   
text for indications of its genuineness1
 or the reverse4 ,had he done  so1 the  
result could hardly have failed to be   
interesting1 the language  of the work  
offering a fair field for criticism4 ,he
 not only did not  do so1 but fell into 
a series of very extraordinary errors   
regarding  facts4 ,he wrote3--     ,we  

cannot find that the actual ,,ms41      
8which belonged to the ,douay           
,college10 and 8contains the signature  
of the ,bishop of ,ross10 has   ever    
been exhibited to any learned society in
 the north1 or even to   any individual 
scholar or antiquary unconnected with   
the present   publication2 but about    
twenty years ago1 a description of the  
,,ms41   with a transcript of part1 at  
least1 if not the whole of it1 was      
sent to the ,society of ,scottish       
,antiquaries1 with a request that they  
would patronise its publication2 and by 
their secretary the specimen   was      
placed in the hands of ,sir ,walter     
,scott1 who kindly undertook   to       
examine it1 and give the society the    
benefit of his opinion as   to its      
authenticity4 ,the secretary1           
accompanied by our informant1   a       
reverend friend deeply versed in        
,highland lore1 waited upon him         
shortly afterwards to ascertain the     
result of the scrutiny4 ,sir ,walter    

assured them that the style and dialect 
of the specimen shewn him   were utterly
 false1 a most feeble and clumsy        
imitation of the genuine   writing of   
the period1 and indignantly declared his
 conviction that   the manuscript itself
 must be an absolute fabrication4#ic    
,to this attack the editor of the       
,vestiarium made the following  reply3--
     ,the reviewer proceeds to proclaim 
an opinion asserted to have been        
delivered by ,sir ,walter ,scott1 that  
the ,,ms4 was a clumsy imitation of     
the genuine writing of its professed    
period1 8and unentitled to any          
credit40 ,the reviewer1 however1 has    
concealed that ,sir ,walter ,scott      
never saw the original ,,ms41 and that  
he died some years before the           
publication of the printed              
edition--consequently that he never had 
any   opportunity of forming a judgment 
even from a careful and formal copy4    
,according to the acknowledgment of the 
reviewer himself1 the asserted   opinion

 of ,sir ,walter was founded upon a     
8description of the ,,ms41   with a     
transcript of a part1 if not the whole40
 ,how far any critic   could presume to 
form a judgment upon any 8transcript10  
especially   an imperfect 8part10 of a  
work1 we leave to the experience of     
those   accustomed to the criticism of  
old writings4 ,but the reviewer has     
farther concealed the nature of the     
8transcript0 said to have been          
exhibited to ,sir ,walter ,scott4 ,after
 the originals of the ,vestiarium   were
 in the possession of its editor1 there 
never was made more than   one          
8transcript10 that alluded to by the    
reviewer as 8a transcript   obtained by 
a gentleman in the north40 ,this copy1  
or1 as admitted by   the reviewer1 8a   
part10 was transmitted by the           
transcriber to some of   his friends in 
,edinburgh1 at which time we believe1 as
 asserted by the   reviewer1 it was     
casually shewn to ,sir ,walter ,scott4  
,the reviewer1   however1 has concealed 

the nature of this transcript1 upon     
which ,sir   ,walter's asserted opinion 
is so maliciously quoted4 ,far from     
being1 as   might have been expected1 a 
critical facsimile1 or even             
matter-of-fact   copy from the original1
 it was a sort of 8,hood's ,comic       
,almanack0 of   tartans1 neatly written1
 not in 8clerks'10 8scriveners'10 or any
 other   ,,ms4 text of the sixteenth    
century1 but in ordinary ,roman letter1 
consequently1 exhibiting no 8imitation0 
of the 8genuine writing0 of   the       
period1 said to have been               
contra-distinguished in ,sir ,walter's  
observation1 and still farther at       
variance with the original1 or any      
object of serious criticism1 by being   
illustrated in vermilion1 with   bizarre
 caricatures in the form of burlesque   
head and tail pieces1   generally       
graphic puns and hieroglyphics for the  
name of each family   whose title they  
adorned4 ,of their description1         
consequently1 of the   serious character

 of the ,,ms4 of which ,sir ,walter     
,scott's criticism is   so gravely      
reported1 a conclusion may be formed by 
a few examples1   such as1 for 8,dundas0
 the sketch of a small 8,dun10 and on   
its summit   an 8ass40 ,for ,brodie     
7pronounced in ,scots ,broadie71 a      
large1 i4e41   a 8,broad0 8eye40 ,and   
for ,montgomery the view of a mount1    
enlivened by   several dancing figures1 
intended to associate the idea of       
8go-merry10   and the like4 ,such is the
 manuscript said to have been exhibited 
to   and condemned by ,sir ,walter      
,scott as 8of no authority whatever40   
,its   removal from authority1 however1 
was farther extended by the fact that   
it was not even a transcript of the     
oldest ,,ms4 on which the reviewer      
sits in judgment1 but of an inferior1   
tattered1 and inaccurate copy1   no     
older than the year #agba1 and which was
 the only one 8in the north0   when the 
amiable and distinguished friend#id of  
the possessor1   designated by the      

reviewer after that borealian locality1 
made the   transcript1 with which he    
amused some idle winter days1 with the  
conceits which1 it was then predicted1  
would extend to the original a          
connection of misconception and         
ridicule4     ,according to this        
expectation1 all those who became       
acquainted with   the tract only through
 the medium of the copy supposed that   
the   illustrations1 as well as the     
text1 were equally facsimiles of the    
original ,,ms42 and if ,sir ,walter     
,scott had no explanation to the        
contrary1 he1 of course1 entertained the
 same conclusion1 and thus   must have  
supposed the tract a greater enormity of
 absurdity than has   even been assumed 
by the reviewer4#ie    ,professor       
,skene1 writing of what happened 8about 
twenty years ago0  concerning an affair 
in which he took no part1 may well have 
fallen  into casual error1 but his      
8reverend friend deeply versed in       
,highland  lore0 ought to have had some 

memory4 ,the correspondence between ,sir
  ,thomas ,dick ,lauder and ,sir ,walter
 ,scott clearly shows that ,john ,ross's
  ,,ms4 was first brought under ,sir    
,walter's notice in ,june #ahbi1 a      
period  fairly enough corresponding in  
#ahdg to 8twenty years ago40 ,but the   
only 8description10 or 8transcript10 of 
the part or whole he ever saw  was that 
contained in ,sir ,thomas's letter of   
#ast ,june #ahbi1 and how  far the      
materials there given enabled ,sir      
,walter to form a judgment of  the      
style1 dialect1 or writing of the       
original may be gathered from  the fact 
that he made no attempt to do so4 ,there
 are ,sir ,walter's own  letters of #gth
 ,june and #aith ,november #ahbi on the 
subject1 in which  his unfavourable     
opinion of the authenticity of the      
,vestiarium is  based1 not upon the     
appearance or language of the           
manuscript1 which he  had no opportunity
 of examining1 but upon its ascription  
of tartans to  the ,lowlanders1 to the  

lack of express notices on the subject  
by early  writers1 and to the use of the
 tartans as distinguishing the clans4   
,sir  ,walter wrote with the knowledge  
of his period1 and how far his views    
are borne out by later investigation may
 be gathered by a study of the  contents
 of the preceding pages4    ,professor  
,skene's statements--first1 that a      
description of the  manuscript1 with a  
transcript of part1 if not the whole of 
it1 was  sent to the ,society of        
,scottish ,antiquaries1 with a request  
that they  would patronise its          
publication2 second1 that the specimen  
was placed  by their secretary in the   
hands of ,sir ,walter ,scott1 who       
undertook to  express an opinion upon   
it2 and1 third1 that the secretary and  
8our  informant0 afterwards waited upon 
,sir ,walter to ascertain what his      
opinion was--are unverified4 ,all that  
has yet been discovered1 indeed1  goes  
to show that nothing of the kind ever   
took place1 and that the  8facts0 stated

 in the ,quarterly ,review had their    
origin only in the  imagination of the  
learned professor's 8reverend friend40  
,the minutes  of the ,society of        
,antiquaries of ,scotland for that      
period are yet in  existence4 ,they are 
kept with a careful1 even a tedious     
minuteness2 and  is it possible to      
suppose that the series of events       
detailed in the  ,quarterly ,review of  
,june #ahdg as having taken place 8about
 twenty  years ago10 involving questions
 of such importance to antiquaries1     
especially to ,scottish antiquaries1    
could have been entirely omitted  from  
them8 ,yet they are4 ,no mention        
whatever of the circumstances  stated by
 ,professor ,skene to have occurred     
8about twenty years ago0  appears4      
,john ,sobieski ,stuart's position in   
the affair is quite plain4 ,we  find    
from the correspondence that all ,sir   
,walter really saw was the  description 
and extracts contained in ,sir ,thomas's
 letter of #ast ,june  #ahbi2 but the   

editor of the ,vestiarium1 aware of the 
fact that ,sir  ,thomas had a transcript
 of the work1 which he had expressly    
offered  to show ,sir ,walter1 and      
confronted with the absolute statement  
by  ,professor ,skene1 on the authority 
of his 8reverend friend10 that ,sir     
,walter had seen a transcript1 arrived  
naturally at the conclusion that  the   
transcript ,sir ,walter was asserted to 
have seen was the only one in           
existence1 that made by ,sir ,thomas    
,dick ,lauder1 and directed his reply   
accordingly4 ,had he been aware of the  
real facts of the case1 his reply  to   
,professor ,skene might have been even  
more crushing than it was4    ,professor
 ,skene made an attack in another       
quarter4 ,he questioned the             
authenticity of the work on the ground  
that there were several and  serious    
errors in the genealogies of the clans  
whose tartans are  described1 and he    
specified particularly ,m',nab1         
,farquharson1 ,clan ,gun1  ,cluny       

,macpherson1 and ,mackintosh1 the       
occurrence of errors in regard  to whose
 genealogies1 he urged1 demonstrated    
that the ,vestiarium was  a forgery4 ,to
 reply to these criticisms ,john        
,sobieski ,stuart seriously  set        
himself1 and with remarkable ability and
 success4#if    ,finally1 ,professor    
,skene fell foul of the ,bishop of      
,ross's signature4     ,it matters      
little to the public who was the        
perpetrator of the present   forgery4   
,it may have been 8the late ,mr ,robert 
,walker10#ig who is   so ready with an  
entry from 8the ,bishop's ,diary0 in its
 support--a   8,diary0 which1 like ,mr  
,sobieski ,stuart's ,,ms4 itself1 formed
 8part of   the ,douay papers40#ih ,it  
may have been the defunct porter of     
,auld   ,reekie1 ,john ,ross1 from whom 
one of the copies is said to have been  
procured4 ,and apropos of this latter   
possibility we would recommend   ,mr    
,sobieski ,stuart to again look at his  
original ,,ms41 and consider   whether  

what he has taken for the signature of  
the well-known bishop1   ,john of ,ross1
 be not in fact a quaint attempt of his 
friend the   sword-player to write his  
own name in an old hand1 after          
practising   upon the fever and ague    
notice which accompanies it4#ii    ,to  
this taunt ,john ,sobieski ,stuart made 
no reply4 ,possibly it was  beyond his  
power to give any example of the        
bishop's signature beyond  the one in   
his possession4 ,and yet the propriety  
of comparing an  authoritative example  
of ,leslie's handwriting with that      
appearing in  the ,vestiarium obviously 
suggests itself1 and did not escape ,sir
  ,thomas ,dick ,lauder's observation4  
,he wrote on #bjth ,july #ahbi1ajj      
enclosing ,sir ,walter ,scott a traced  
facsimile of the signature for  his     
satisfaction1 and adding 8it is not     
impossible you may know of or  hear of  
some signatures of ,john ,leslie's to be
 found in some of the  public           
collections in ,edinburgh4 ,if so1 it   

would be curious to compare  this       
facsimile with it40 ,of this request no 
notice appears to have  been taken by   
,sir ,walter1 and ,sir ,thomas again    
returns to the charge  on #bith         
,november1#aja when he asked ,sir       
,walter for his opinion of  the         
authenticity of the signature1 and      
requesting him to return the  facsimile4
 ,but the day of ,sir ,walter's own     
trouble had come1 and he  contented     
himself with returning the facsimile to 
,sir ,thomas without  any attempt at    
verification4 ,one obvious explanation  
of ,sir ,walter's  proceeding is that   
the public records were not then so     
accessible as  they are now1 and a      
search must have proved both tedious and
 expensive4    ,of ,leslie's signature  
as ,bishop of ,ross 7,jo4 ,rossen47 not 
many examples  are available1 but the   
,editor's attention has been drawn to   
one in the  ,lord ,treasurer's          
,accounts4 ,it is submitted that the    
reader may be  able to form an opinion  

as to whether the facsimile in the      
,vestiarium  is more likely to represent
 the signature of the ,bishop of ,ross  
or the  scrawl of an ,edinburgh street  
porter of #ahai4      ,d4 ,w4 ,s4       
,illustration3 ,signatures #ajb #ajc    
#ajd      ,,footnotes3        ,footnote 
#a3 ,the ,heimskringla1 or ,chronicle of
 the ,kings of ,norway4      ,translated
 from ,icelandic of ,snorro ,sturleson1 
with a preliminary      dissertation1 by
 ,samuel ,laing1 ,esq4 ,london3         
,longmans1 #ahdd4 ,magnus               
,barefoot's ,saga 7written by ,snorro   
,sturleson #aagh-abda71 ,vol4 ,,iii41 p4
      #aci4        ,footnote #b3 ,laing 
translates the word 8kyrtlu0 as         
8kirtles20 ,gregory      and ,skene     
translate it 8tunics40        ,footnote 
#c3 ,registrum ,episcopatus             
,aberdonensis1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #h4      
,spalding ,club4        ,footnote #d3   
,scotichronicon1 ,gregory's translation4
 ,transactions of      the ,iona ,club1 
p4 #bg4        ,footnote #e3            

,borthwick's ,remarks on ,british       
,antiquities4 ,edinburgh1      #aggf1 p4
 #aci4        ,footnote #f3 ,pinkerton's
 ,history of ,scotland from the         
,accession of the      ,house of        
,stuart4 ,london1 #agig1 ,vol4 ,i41 p4  
#dic4        ,footnote #g3 ,pitcairn's  
,criminal ,trials1 ,vol4 ,i41 ,part ,i41
 p4 #aad1      note4        ,footnote   
#h3 ,accounts of the ,lord ,high        
,treasurer of ,scotland1 edited      by 
,thomas ,dickson1 ,curator of the       
,historical ,department of ,h4,m4       
,general      ,register ,house1 ,vol4   
,i41 #adgc-adih1 ,preface1 p4 clxxxv1   
and note2 and      ,glossary1 p4 #dda4  
,footnote #i3 ,scottish ,collection of  
,gaelic ,,mss4 in ,advocates' ,library1 
,no4 ,,xvi41 ,a4,a41 line #b4 ,for the  
correct reading as well as translation  
of this interesting manuscript the      
,editor is indebted to ,professor       
,mackinnon4 ,in the 8,report of the     
,committee of the ,highland ,society    
of ,scotland appointed to inquire into  

the nature and authenticity of      the 
,poems of ,ossian0 7,edinburgh1 #ahje71 
it is1 on the authority of ,mr          
,astle1 stated to be a writing of the   
ninth or tenth century 7,report1 p4     
#cje74 ,in the opinion of ,professor    
,mackinnon the manuscript cannot be     
assigned to an earlier period than about
 #adjj4        ,footnote #aj3 ,acts of  
the ,parliament of ,scotland1 #adbi1    
,record ,issue1      ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4    
#ah4        ,footnote #aa3 ,constable's 
edition of ,major1 published for the    
,scottish      ,history ,society4       
,edinburgh1 #ahib1 pp4 #dh1 #di4        
,footnote #ab3 ,ibid41 p4 #ccc4         
,footnote #ac3 ,ibid41 p4 #cei4         
,footnote #ad3 ,lord ,high ,treasurer's 
,accounts1 #aecg-ch1 fol4 #fc1 ,,ms41   
,h4,m4 ,general ,register ,house4       
,footnote #ae3 ,see letter printed in   
full in ,bannatyne ,miscellany1         
,vol4 ,i41 and also in ,collectanea de  
,rebus ,albanicis4 ,the ,editor      is 
indebted for a correct transcription of 

the above portion to ,mr      ,augustus 
,w4 ,franks1 ,c4,b41 ,british ,museum4  
,footnote #af3 ,histoire de la ,guerre  
d',escosse pendant les ,campagnes1      
#aedh et #aedi4 ,par ,jean de ,beaugu4  
,maitland ,club4 ,the translation is    
that of ,donald ,gregory4 ,see          
,transactions of the ,iona ,club1 p4    
#ca4        ,footnote #ag3 ,register of 
the ,privy ,council1 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #acf4
        ,footnote #ah3 ,the ,chronicles 
of ,scotland1 by ,robert ,lindsay of    
,pitscottie1 ,edition #ahad1 ,vol4 ,i41 
,introduction1 p4 xxiii4                
,footnote #ai3 ,the ,historie of        
,scotland1 wrytten first in ,latin by   
the      most ,reverend and ,worthy     
,jhone ,leslie1 ,bishop of ,rosse1 and  
translated      in ,scottish by ,father 
,james ,dalrymple ,religious in the     
,scottis ,cloister      of ,regensburg  
the zeere of ,god #aeif4 ,edited for the
 ,scottish ,text      ,society by the   
,rev4 ,father ,e4 ,g4 ,cody1 ,o4,s4,b41 
#ahhe1 pp4 #ij-id4 ,this      quaint    

,scots version is given in preference to
 the ordinary one from      the ,latin1 
as it conveys an extremely vivid picture
 of the ancient      dress written by a 
contemporary4        ,footnote #bj3     
,ibid41 p4 #cgg4        ,footnote #ba3  
,aikman's translation of ,buchanan's    
,history of ,scotland1      ,vol4 ,i41  
pp4 #dj1 #da4 ,buchanan's description   
was incorporated in      ,certeine      
,matters concerning the ,realme of      
,scotland1 composed together      as    
they were ,anno ,domini #aeig1 by ,john 
,monipennie1 who also included      it  
in the ,summarie of the ,scots          
,chronicles1 #afab4        ,footnote    
#bb3 ,the ,booke of the ,universall     
,kirk of ,scotland1 ,vol4 ,i41      pp4 
#cca1 #cce4 ,bannatyne ,club4           
,footnote #bc3 ,extracts from the       
,council ,register of the ,burgh of     
,aberdeen1 #aegj-afbe1 as printed by the
 ,spalding ,club1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 pp4      
#bg1 #cgc4        ,footnote #bd3 ,the   
,image of ,irelande1 #aeha4 ,reprinted  

by ,a4  ,c4      ,black1 ,edinburgh1    
#ahhc1 p4 #ej4        ,footnote #be3    
,ibid4 p4 #aje4        ,footnote #bf3   
,la ,navigation du ,roy d',escosse      
,iaques ,cinquiesme du      nom1        
referred to in the ,transactions of the 
,iona ,club1 pp4 #cf1 #cg4              
,footnote #bg3 ,the ,great ,seal        
,register1 #aehj-aeic1 edited by ,john  
,maitland ,thomson1 ,m4,a41 ,advocate1  
,no4 #adia4        ,footnote #bh3       
,vestiarium ,scoticum4 ,william ,tait1  
,edinburgh1 #ahdb1      ,introduction1  
p4 #ei2 and ,a ,reply to the ,quarterly 
,review upon the      ,vestiarium       
,scoticum4 ,william ,blackwood  ,sons1  
,edinburgh1 #ahdh1 p4 #bc4              
,footnote #bi3 ,register of ,signatouris
 in the ,office of ,comptrollerie1      
,vol4 ,,xii41 #aehg-aehi1 fol4 #hb4     
,footnote #cj3 ,charge of the           
,temporalitie of ,kirklandis3 ,north    
,side of      the ,forth4 ,,ms4 in      
,h4,m4 ,general ,register ,house1 fol4  
#id4        ,footnote #ca3 ,register of 

,signatouris in the ,office of          
,comptrollerie1      ,vol4 ,,xxxiv41    
#afag1 fol4 #abj4        ,footnote #cb3 
,ibid41 ,vol4 ,,xlvii41 #afcj1 fol4     
#bjh4        ,footnote #cc3 ,the        
,pourtrait of ,true ,loyalty exposed in 
the ,family of      ,gordon without     
interruption to this present year #afia1
 with a relation      of the ,siege of  
the ,castle of ,edinburgh in the year   
#afhi4 ,,ms4 in      ,advocates'        
,library4 ,it is partially quoted in ,de
 ,rebus ,albanicis4        ,footnote    
#cd3 ,iona ,club ,transactions1 pp4 #cg1
 #ch4        ,footnote #ce3 ,origines   
,parochiales ,scoti1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 i4    
#aef4        ,footnote #cf3 ,the        
,montgomery ,manuscripts1 containing    
,accounts of      the ,colonization of  
the ,ardes in the ,county of ,down in   
the ,reigns      of ,elizabeth and      
,james4 ,printed from the ,original     
,manuscripts and      ,transcripts of   
,,mss41 composed by ,william            
,montgomery1 ,esq41 second son      of  

,sir ,james ,montgomery1 between the    
years #afih and #agjd4 ,belfast1        
#ahcj1 pp4 #ec1 #ed4        ,footnote   
#cg3 ,camden's ,britannia 7,gough's     
,edition1 #aghi71 ,vol4 ,,iii41      p4 
#chi4        ,footnote #ch3 ,the        
,pennyless ,pilgrimage1 or the          
,moneylesse      ,perumbulation of ,john
 ,taylor1 alias the ,kings ,majesties   
,water-,poet3      ,how he travelled on 
,foot from ,london to ,edenborough in   
,scotland1 not      carrying any money  
to or fro1 neither ,begging1 ,borrowing 
or asking      ,meate1 ,drinke1 or      
,lodging4 ,hume ,brown's ,edition4      
,edinburgh3 ,david      ,douglas1 #ahib1
 pp4 #abj1 #aba4        ,footnote #ci3  
,history of ,scots ,affairs from #afcg  
to #afda1 by ,james      ,gordon1       
,parson of ,rothiemay4 ,spalding ,club1 
,vol4 ,,iii41 ,appendix to              
,preface1 pp4 xliii41 xliv4             
,footnote #dj3 ,defoe's ,works3 ,memoirs
 of a ,cavalier1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 pp4       
#aab1 #aac4 ,bohn1 ,london1 #ahed4 ,as  

to the genuine authorship of this       
work1 see ,lee's ,bibliography in his   
edition of ,defoe's ,works4             
,footnote #da3 ,acts of the ,parliament 
of ,scotland1 #affa1 ,vol4 ,,vii41 p4   
#ahf4        ,footnote #db3 ,brome's    
,travels1 ,second ,edition1 ,london1    
#agjg1 pp4 #agi1      #ahj4             
,footnote #dc3 ,tours in ,scotland1     
#afgg and #afha1 by ,thomas ,kirk and   
,ralph ,thoresby1 edited by ,p4 ,hume   
,brown4 ,edinburgh1 ,david ,douglas1    
#ahib1 pp4 #bh1 #bi4        ,footnote   
#dd3 ,see the letter quoted in          
,blackwood's ,magazine1 ,april          
#ahag1 p4 #fi4 ,the present extract has 
been compared with the original      in 
the ,advocates' ,library4 ,in the       
,transactions of the ,iona ,club 8not   
one of ten of them hath breaches0 is    
made to read 8not one of them      hath 
breaches10 and this very serious error  
has been duly copied by      subsequent 
writers on the ,highland dress4         
,footnote #de3 ,a ,collection of        

,several ,poems and ,verses composed    
upon      various occasions1 by ,mr     
,william ,cleland1 ,lieutenant-,colonel 
to my ,lord      ,angus's ,regiment4    
,printed in the year #afig1 pp4 #aa-ac4 
,footnote #df3 ,lyon ,register in ,h4,m4
 ,general ,register ,house1 ,edinburgh4 
,matriculation dated about #afgb4       
,footnote #dg3 ,alexander ,nisbet's     
,heraldic ,plates1 originally intended  
for his ,system of ,heraldry4 ,waterston
 and ,sons1 ,edinburgh1 #ahib4          
,footnote #dh3 ,nisbet ,,ms41           
,advocates' ,library1 pp4 #cc-ce4       
,footnote #di3 ,introduction to         
,nisbet's ,heraldic ,plates1 p4 xlvi4   
,footnote #ej3 ,the ,grameid3 an        
,historic ,poem descriptive of the      
,campaign of ,viscount ,dundee in #afhi1
 by ,james ,philip of ,almerieclose4    
#afia4 ,translated by the ,rev4         
,alexander ,d4 ,murdoch1 ,f4,s4,a4      
,scot41 for      the ,scottish ,history 
,society1 #ahhh4        ,footnote #ea3  
,some ,account of the ,battle of        

,killiecrankie and what      ,followed  
thereupon4 ,the ,,ms4 is cited in ,the  
,costume of the ,clans1 p4      #ajd4   
,footnote #eb3 ,an ,account of the ,isle
 of ,man1 444 with a ,voyage to         
,i-,columb-,kill1 by ,william           
,sacheverell1 ,esq41 late ,governor of  
the ,isle      of ,man4 #hvo4 ,manx     
,society1 #ahei1 p4 #ii4 ,the first     
edition was published      in #agjb4    
,footnote #ec3 ,a ,description of the   
,western ,islands of ,scotland1 by ,m4  
,martin1 ,gent4 ,the first edition of   
this work appeared in #agjc1 and a      
second1 8very much corrected10 in #agaf4
 ,it is from this second edition1       
pp4 #bjf-baj1 that the extract is taken4
        ,footnote #ed3 ,a ,collection of
 ,original ,papers about the ,scots     
,plot4      ,london1 #agjd1 pp4 #c1 #d4 
,footnote #ee3 ,court ,books of the     
,regality of ,grant1 #agjc-agaj4 ,,mss4 
in ,h4,m4 ,general ,register ,house4    
,footnote #ef3 ,by the courtesy of the  
families in possession of the           

portraits referred to in the text1 the  
author1 for the purposes of      the    
present work1 has had repeated          
opportunities of making careful         
examinations of those referred to4      
,footnote #eg3 ,the ,present ,state of  
,scotland1 ,second ,edition1 #agaa4     
,footnote #eh3 ,a ,journey through      
,scotland1 by the author of ,the        
,journey      through ,england 7,john   
,macky74 ,london1 #agbc1 p4 #aid4       
,footnote #ei3 ,system of ,heraldry1    
,edition #ahjd1 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #dae4     
,the original edition of this work was  
published in #agbb1 but was most        
probably written fifteen or twenty years
 before that date4        ,footnote #fj3
 ,,ms41 ,lyon ,office4 ,see facsimile of
 a portion of the page      containing  
the ,cluny reference in the             
,introduction to the ,nisbet            
,plates1 p4 xlii4        ,footnote #fa3 
,the original is at ,fingask4 ,it has   
been engraved as the      frontispiece  
to ,the ,threiplands of ,fingask4       

,footnote #fb3 ,captain ,burt's ,letters
 from a ,gentleman in the ,north      of
 ,scotland1 #ahah1 ,vol4 ,i41 pp4 #hd-e2
 ,vol4 ,,ii41 pp4 #g1 #hd-hf1 #hg-ia4   
,jamieson's ,edition4        ,footnote  
#fc3 ,burt's ,letters1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 pp4 
#ajb-aje4 ,jamieson's      ,edition4    
,footnote #fd3 ,scotland and ,scotsmen  
in the ,eighteenth ,century1 from       
the ,,mss4 of ,john ,ramsay1 ,esq4 of   
,ochtertyre1 edited by ,alex4           
,allardice4      ,blackwood1 ,edinburgh1
 #ahhh4 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #edj2 ,vol4 ,,ii41
 pp4 #hg1 #hh4        ,footnote #fe3    
,caledonian ,mercury1 #adth ,january    
#agdj4        ,footnote #ff3 ,ibid41    
#aith ,february #agdj4        ,footnote 
#fg3 ,caledonian ,mercury1 #dth ,october
 #agde4        ,footnote #fh3 ,a mistake
 of the writer for 8,ness40             
,footnote #fi3 ,a ,journal of the       
,expedition of ,prince ,charles ,edward 
in      #agde1 by a ,highland ,officer4 
,lockhart ,papers1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #eje4
        ,footnote #gj3 ,stewart's       

,sketches1 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #aab1 ,edition 
#ahbb4        ,footnote #ga3 ,general   
,orders to the ,army in ,scotland1 #bbnd
 ,december      #agdh4        ,footnote 
#gb3 ,stewart's ,sketches1 ,vol4 ,i41 p4
 #aac4        ,footnote #gc3 ,orders to 
#bjth ,foot now the ,lancashire         
,fusiliers1      dated ,bamff #ageb4    
,footnote #gd3 ,edinburgh ,evening      
,courant1 ,february #ba1 #bc1 #bf1 #bh1 
#agfj4        ,footnote #ge3 ,ibid41    
,july #i1 #ad1 #agfj4        ,footnote  
#gf3 ,stewart's ,sketches1 ,vol4 ,i41 p4
 #aad4        ,footnote #gg3 ,travels in
 the ,western ,hebrides from #aghb to   
#agij1 by      the ,rev4 ,john ,lane    
,buchanan1 ,missionary ,minister to the 
,isles from the      ,church of         
,scotland4 ,london1 #agic1 pp4 #hd-ij4  
,footnote #gh3 ,camden's ,britannia     
7,gough's ,edition1 #aghi71 ,vol4       
,,iii41      p4 #cij4        ,footnote  
#gi3 ,vestiarium ,scoticum4 ,from the   
,manuscript formerly in      the        
,library of the ,scots ,college at      

,douay1 with an ,introduction and       
,notes by ,john ,sobieski ,stuart4      
,edinburgh1 ,william ,tait1 #ahdb4      
,footnote #hj3 ,preface to ,vestiarium  
,scoticum1 pp4 i4-vii4        ,footnote 
#ha3 ,advertisement annexed to ,a ,reply
 to the ,quarterly ,review      upon the
 ,vestiarium ,scoticum4 ,edinburgh1     
,blackwood1 #ahdh4        ,footnote #hb3
 ,a ,reply to the ,quarterly ,review1 p4
 #f4        ,footnote #hc3 ,see notes on
 p4 #dg4        ,footnote #hd3 ,a ,reply
 to the ,quarterly ,review1 p4 #g4      
,footnote #he3 ,it may be proper to     
point out here that the ,editor         
discussed the idea of issuing a work on 
rare tartans1 to be illustrated      by 
examples of the actual fabrics1 with his
 publisher several years      ago1 and  
it was not until the illustrations for  
the present work were      considerably 
advanced that he became aware of the    
existence of ,miss      ,dick ,lauder's 
copy of the ,vestiarium1 which she has  
so handsomely      placed at his        

disposal1 and which contains the        
statement in the text4        ,footnote 
#hf3 ,copy of original letter in        
possession of ,miss ,dick      ,lauder4 
,copies of ,sir ,thomas ,dick ,lauder's 
letters to ,sir ,walter ,scott1         
along with the originals of the latter's
 replies1 are bound up with the         
copy of the ,vestiarium made by ,sir    
,thomas in #ahbh-i1 referred to on      
page #de4 ,the volume1 now in possession
 of ,miss ,dick ,lauder1 daughter       
of ,sir ,thomas1 also contains the      
cleverly executed water-colours by      
,charles ,edward ,stuart referred to in 
the above letter and the quaint         
illustrations by ,sir ,thomas ,dick     
,lauder subsequently referred to4       
,footnote #hg3 ,this1 it will be        
remembered1 was the copy which belonged 
to ,john ,ross1 the old sword-player4   
,footnote #hh3 i4e41 the ,douay ,,ms4   
,footnote #hi3 ,the words within        
brackets do not occur in ,sir ,thomas's 
letter to ,sir ,walter4 ,they appear1   

however1 in the original letter         
written by the father of the ,messrs    
,hay1 and preserved by ,sir ,thomas in  
the volume now in ,miss ,dick ,lauder's 
possession4        ,footnote #ij3 ,sir  
,walter did so1 and it is reproduced on 
page #ef4        ,footnote #ia3 ,this1  
it will be remembered1 was the copy got 
from ,john      ,ross with the date     
#agba4          ,footnote #ib3          
,quarterly ,review1 ,no4 ,,clxi41 ,june 
#ahdg1 ,art4 ,,ii41 p4      #eg1 8,the  
,heirs of the ,stuarts40                
,footnote #ic3 ,ibid41 pp4 #fc1 #fd4    
,footnote #id3 ,sir ,thomas ,dick       
,lauder4        ,footnote #ie3 ,a ,reply
 to the ,quarterly ,review upon the     
,vestiarium      ,scoticum4 ,william    
,blackwood  ,sons1 ,edinburgh1 #ahdh1   
pp4 #d-g4          ,footnote #if3 ,see  
,reply1 pp4 #h-af4        ,footnote #ig3
 ,an evident misprint for 8,watson0 in  
the ,quarterly      ,review article4    
,footnote #ih3 ,professor ,skene's      
reference here is to a statement in     

the preface to the ,vestiarium1 to the  
effect that the ,bishop of ,ross        
noted his acquisition of ,sir ,richard  
,urquhart's work in his ,diary          
7which he quotes in full7 remaining     
among a portion of the ,douay           
papers1 in the possession of the 8late  
,mr ,robert ,watson1 well known      in 
the history of the ,stuart papers40 ,for
 an account of ,watson's      remarkable
 career see an article by ,andrew ,lang 
in the ,illustrated      ,london ,news  
of #abth ,march #ahib4        ,footnote 
#ii3 ,quarterly ,review article1 p4 #fg4
        ,footnote #ajj3 ,ante1 p4 #di4  
,footnote #aja3 ,ante1 p4 #ea4          
,footnote #ajb3 ,facsimile of ,john     
,leslie's signature as ,bishop of ,ross 
in the ,lord ,treasurer's ,accounts1    
#aefd-f1 ,h4,m4 ,general ,register      
,house1 ,edinburgh4 ,the date of the    
audit1 to which the bishop's            
signature is affixed1 is #bgth ,june    
#aeff4        ,footnote #ajc3 ,facsimile
 of the signature contained in the      

,vestiarium      ,scoticum referred to  
on preceding page4        ,footnote     
#ajd3 ,an example from ,nichols'        
,autographs1 obtained from      the     
bishop's letter to ,lord ,burleigh1     
dated ,paris1 #bhth ,february #aegi1    
preserved in the ,british ,museum4      
,footnote #aje3 ,why the simple red and 
black check receives the title      of  
,rob ,roy is something of a mystery4 ,in
 ,authenticated ,tartans of      the    
,clans and ,families of ,scotland       
7,smith3 ,mauchline1 #ahej7 it is       
asserted1 and the statement is repeated 
in ,the ,tartans of the ,clans      of  
,scotland 7,w4  ,a4 ,k4 ,johnston3      
,edinburgh1 #ahhf7 without attempt at   
verification1 that three genuine        
portraits of ,rob ,roy represent him as 
wearing it2 but these and other         
so-called ,rob ,roy portraits--be their 
value what it may--afford no sanction   
whatever for the design4 ,the           
,editor is not aware on what authority  
the portraits are classed as ,rob       

,roy4 ,he has seen seven paintings1     
including the three above referred      
to1 in which the figure is identical1   
all known as ,rob ,roy1 and in each     
a separate pattern appears1 none of them
 showing the simple red and      black  
check4 ,the tartan is accepted by sound 
authorities as the old      ,macgregor  
clan pattern4 ,there are fine examples  
of it in a collection      of tartans   
made by the ,highland ,society of       
,london in #ahaf-ag1 labelled      and  
sealed 8,the ,mac,gregor ,tartan for    
undress ordinary clothing4 ,the         
,seal of ,arms of ,sir ,john ,mac,gregor
 ,murray of ,mac,gregor1 ,baronet4      
,signed ,john ,m4 ,murray40             
,,notes ,,on ,,works ,,treating ,,of    
,,tartans4     #a4 ,the ,scottish ,gal2 
or1 ,celtic ,manners as preserved among 
the   ,highlanders3 ,being an           
,historical and ,descriptive ,account of
 the   ,inhabitants1 ,antiquities1 and  
,national ,peculiarities of ,scotland2  
more   particularly of the ,northern or 

,galic ,parts of the ,country1 where the
   singular habits of the ,aboriginal   
,celts are most tenaciously retained4   
,by ,james ,logan1 ,fellow of the       
,society of ,antiquaries of ,scotland4  
,london3 ,smith1 ,elder1  ,co41 #fe     
,cornhill4 #ahca4 #b vols4 #hvo4 ,large 
paper in royal #hvo4    ,this work      
contains in an appendix a list of       
fifty-four tartans1 which  ,logan states
 were as many as he could procure and   
authenticate4 ,along  with the name of  
each tartan is a table stating the      
colours and  relative proportions of the
 stripes in eighths of an inch4 ,this   
plan  of measurement1 it appears1 was   
the joint idea of ,logan and ,captain   
,mackenzie of ,gruinard4 ,it is really a
 modification of that of the old        
,highland weavers of winding on a stick 
the correct number of threads of  each  
colour in the proper order4 ,one        
coloured plate 7an illustration  of the 
tartan of the ,earl of ,inverness7 is   
given1 with the object  of explaining   

the system of measurement and colouring 
set forth in  the work4 ,each volume    
contains a coloured frontispiece        
representing  ,highlanders in tartan    
dress4    ,a reprint 7omitting the plate
 of the tartan7 was issued in #ahgf1    
edited1 with memoir and notes1 by the   
,rev4 ,alexander ,stewart1 of           
,ballachulish and ,ardgour1 8,nether    
,lochaber40 ,inverness3 ,hugh           
,mackenzie1  ,bank ,lane4 ,edinburgh3   
,maclachlan and ,stewart1 ,south        
,bridge4       #b4 ,vestiarium          
,scoticum4 ,from the ,manuscript        
formerly in the ,library   of the ,scots
 ,college at ,douay4 ,with an           
,introduction and ,notes by ,john       
,sobieski ,stuart4 ,edinburgh3 ,william 
,tait1 #ajg ,princes ,street4 #ahdb4    
,imperial #dto4    ,the ,vestiarium1    
referred to at some length in the       
,introduction1  was1 if we set aside the
 single plate issued by ,logan in #ahca1
 the  first work published containing   
illustrations of tartans4 ,according to 

,lowndes1 whose information on the point
 was derived from the late ,dr4  ,david 
,laing1 only fifty copies were printed1 
and it is curious that  none of the     
great ,edinburgh libraries is in        
possession of a complete  copy4 ,it     
contains 7a7 a preface giving an account
 of the three ,,ms4  copies of the work 
known to the editor2 7b7 a roll of the  
clans from  the original ,,ms4 of #aega1
 accompanied by the ordinary            
,parliamentary  rolls of #aehg and      
#aeid1 and the one compiled by ,lord    
,president ,forbes  in #agde2 7c7 an    
introduction treating very fully of the 
use of  tartan in early times2 7d7 the  
text of the ,,ms41 wherein are minutely 
described 7#a7 twenty-five tartans of   
the 8chieff ,hieland clannes20  7#b7    
eleven tartans of the 8lesser famylies  
or housis1 the quhilk be  cum frae ye   
chieff housis and oryginale clannes20   
7#c7 thirty tartans  belonging to the   
8low country pairtes and bordovr        
clannes20 7#d7 nine  tartans of the     

8bordovr clannes20 7#e7 a list of clans 
and their badges  of distinction4       
,the illustrations of the book consist  
of one plate containing  reproductions  
of styles of dress from early seals and 
illuminated  manuscripts1 and           
seventy-five coloured plates            
representing tartans4  ,the latter are  
executed by the 8machine painting0      
process introduced  by the ,messrs      
,smith1 of ,mauchline1 for their tartan 
woodwork1 and for  beauty of execution  
and exactness of detail have not been   
excelled by  any method of colour       
printing subsequently invented4 ,the    
wide use made  of the tartan            
illustrations in this work by subsequent
 writers is duly  noted under the       
respective works4       #c4 ,the ,clans 
of the ,scottish ,highlands3            
,illustrated by appropriate   ,figures  
displaying the ,dress1 ,arms1 ,armorial 
,insignia1 and ,social   ,occupations1  
from ,original ,sketches by ,r4 ,r4     
,m',ian1 ,esq41 with   accompanying     

,descriptive and ,historical ,memoranda 
of ,character1 ,mode   of ,life1 c41 c41
 by ,james ,logan1 ,esq41 ,f4,s4,a4     
,sc41 ,cor4 ,mem4 ,soc4   ,ant41        
,normandy1 c41 author of ,the ,scottish 
,gal1 ,introduction to the   8,sar      
,obair nam bard ,gallach10 c4 ,london3  
,ackermann  ,co4 #ahde-dg4 #b   vols4   
,originally issued in parts1 commencing 
in the year #ahdc1 and  terminating in  
#ahdi1 in two sizes1 imperial quarto and
 imperial folio4  ,the quarto edition   
was reprinted by ,willis1 ,sotheran1    
,co4 in #aheg4 ,it  contains seventy-two
 coloured plates of figures illustrating
 various  forms1 ancient and modern1 of 
the ,highland dress1 drawn by ,m',ian4  
,two  coloured frontispieces represent  
the heraldic shields and badges of the  
clans4 ,there is a separate pagination  
for each of the parts1 making the  work 
of reference troublesome4 ,logan        
travelled over a great part of  the     
,highlands and ,islands collecting the  
interesting details relating  to the    

clans here presented4 ,of the           
illustrations1 the greater number  is   
based on authenticated details of dress1
 but many are imaginative1  as no       
records exist covering the period to    
which they are assigned4  ,the tartans  
depicted are partly those in ,logan's   
,scottish ,gal1  while others are       
unacknowledged reproductions from the   
designs in the  ,vestiarium ,scoticum4  
#d4 ,the ,costume of the ,clans1 with   
,observations upon the ,literature1     
,arts1 ,manufactures1 and ,commerce of  
the ,highlands and ,western ,isles      
during the ,middle ,ages2 and on the    
,influence of the ,sixteenth1           
,seventeenth1 and ,eighteenth ,centuries
 upon their present condition4   ,by    
,john ,sobieski ,stolberg and ,charles  
,edward ,stuart4 ,john ,menzies1        
,princes ,street1 ,edinburgh2 ,d4       
,bogue1 ,fleet ,street1 ,london2 ,m4    
,amoyat1   ,paris2 ,leopold ,michelsen1 
,leipzig2 ,gottlieb ,haase ,shne1       
,prague4 #ahde4   ,folio4 ,reprinted    

#ahib1 with a ,biographical             
,introduction4 ,edinburgh3   ,john      
,grant4    ,when projected this         
magnificent and sumptuous work was      
intended to  extend to two volumes1 of  
which only the first appeared1 the cost 
of  production having proved excessive1 
and entailed a heavy loss upon  the     
authors4 ,it contains thirty-five       
plates4 ,of these1 six1 which are       
uncoloured1 consist of representations  
of ,highland dress1 obtained            
principally from sculptured stones4 ,the
 coloured plates contain                
representations of thirty-seven figures1
 obtained from the following  sources3  
,paintings1 #bi2 engravings1 #e2        
drawing1 #a2 illuminated ,,ms41 #a2     
medal die1 #a4 ,the work was also issued
 uncoloured in two states--viz41  with  
,india proofs1 and with plain prints4   
,copies of the original  coloured issue 
are very rare1 no copy being preserved  
in any of the  great ,edinburgh         
libraries4 ,i have compared the         

colouring of the  reprint1 and also the 
original of the plain prints1 with      
twenty of the  figures depicted in the  
paintings from which they are taken1    
scattered  in various family collections
 throughout ,scotland4 ,the remaining   
nine  paintings ,i have hitherto been   
unable to trace4 ,in every instance that
  has come under my observation the     
colouring of the plates turns out to  be
 not only incorrect1 but as a rule      
hopelessly misleading4 ,what makes  this
 all the more extraordinary is that the 
plain outline drawings  representing the
 original work of the authors are       
extremely accurate  in rendering the    
most minute details1 except the         
features1 which are  usually very       
indifferently copied4 ,of the remaining 
eight figures noted  above as in colour1
 seven are represented in tartan1 on    
what authority  as to sett ,i have been 
unable to ascertain4 ,the letterpress   
contains a  treatise on the ,highland   
dress1 which1 considering the period at 

which  it was written1 and the          
difficulty of access to the widely      
scattered  materials of which it is     
composed1 is a perfect marvel of        
industry and  ability4 ,it has been the 
productive quarry of all successive     
writers on  the ,highland dress4        
#e4 ,authenticated ,tartans of the      
,clans and ,families of ,scotland3      
,painted by ,machinery1 with ,map of the
 ,highlands1 showing the   ,territories 
of the ,clans4 ,introductory ,essay on  
,the ,scottish ,gal1   by a ,member of  
the ,society of ,antiquaries of         
,scotland4 ,william and   ,andrew       
,smith1 ,scotch ,snuff-,box ,makers by  
appointment to his late   ,majesty1 and 
by command to ,her ,majesty the ,queen4 
,mauchline1 ,ayrshire1   ,scotland4     
#dto4    ,first issued in parts with the
 title on the wrapper1 ,original        
,tartans  of the ,highland ,clans and   
,lowland ,families of ,scotland1 the    
preface  being dated #ast ,march #ahej4 
,between the issue of the prospectus and

  its accompanying plates and the       
completion of the publication of the    
work several changes were made in the   
illustrations4 ,for example1 ,plate  ,i4
 of the ,stuart tartan was first        
represented as in the ,vestiarium1  but 
was afterwards changed to the present   
more familiar design4 ,for  information 
regarding the tartans the ,messrs ,smith
 relied chiefly  on the manufacturers1  
with whom the work remains the standard 
of  reference4 ,it contains1 however1   
inaccuracies in identification  and     
arrangement1 some of which are referred 
to in the letterpress  accompanying the 
tartans in the present volume4 ,the     
plates1 of which  there are sixty-nine1 
are executed by the publishers' process 
of  8machine painting0 to which         
reference has already been made under   
the  ,vestiarium4    ,a miniature       
edition 7without date1 a want the       
publishers are now unable  to supply7 of
 the plates in the above was issued4    
,the only letterpress  it contains is   

the title-page1 table of contents1 and  
the names of the  tartans4       #f4    
,the ,clans of the ,highlands of        
,scotland3 ,being an ,account of   their
 ,annals1 ,separately and ,collectively1
 with ,delineations of their   ,tartans1
 and ,family ,arms4 ,edited by ,thomas  
,smibert1 ,esq4 ,edinburgh3   ,published
 by ,james ,hogg4 ,glasgow3 ,david      
,robertson4 ,london3 ,r4   ,groombridge 
,sons4 #ahej4 #hvo4    ,in this work1   
which deals entirely with the histories 
of the clans1  there are included       
fifty-five coloured lithographic plates 
of tartans4  ,no individual account of  
these is given1 but in his notice the   
author  states3 8,with respect to the   
,sets of the ,clan-,tartans here given1 
the work of ,mr ,logan has been held1   
after due consideration1 to be          
preferable as a general guide4 ,the     
,vestiarium ,scoticum of ,mr ,stuart  is
 certainly a publication of value in    
various respects1 having  plainly been  
prepared with much elaboration and care1

 and accordingly  it would be unwise to 
reject its indications wholly1 because  
of the  doubts entertained as to its    
claims to antiquity and authenticity4   
,the  parties responsible for the       
present work1 however1 have had recourse
 to  the best original sources of       
information1 and trust by that means to 
maintain accuracy1 without blindly      
following any previous authority40  ,the
 best comment on these observations is  
to be found in the fact that  while the 
bulk of the illustrations are copied    
from ,logan1 and many  others are early 
and genuine examples of tartans never   
before that time  illustrated1 a number 
were adopted from the ,vestiarium4      
#g4 ,a ,history of the ,highlands and of
 the ,highland ,clans3 ,with an         
extensive selection from the hitherto   
inedited ,stuart ,papers4 ,by ,james    
,browne1 ,,ll4,d41 ,advocate4 ,a new    
edition1 with sixty-six illustrative    
engravings and numerous woodcuts4       
,london1 ,edinburgh1 and ,dublin3 ,a4   

,fullarton  ,co4 #ahej4 #d vols4 #hvo4  
,contains twenty-two plates of tartans  
executed in colour lithography1  being  
reproductions1 indifferently executed1  
of designs first published  in the      
,vestiarium ,scoticum4 ,no notes or     
explanations of any kind  accompany the 
plates4       #h4 ,highlanders of       
,scotland3 ,portraits illustrative of   
the ,principal   ,clans and ,followings1
 and the ,retainers of the ,royal       
,household at   ,balmoral1 in the ,reign
 of ,her ,majesty ,queen ,victoria4 ,by 
,kenneth   ,macleay1 ,esq41 ,r4,s4,a4   
,with ,copious ,notices from ,authentic 
,sources4 ,in   ,coloured ,lithographs  
by ,vincent ,brooks4 ,london3 ,mr       
,mitchell1 ,publisher   to ,her         
,majesty1 #cc ,old ,bond ,street1 ,w4   
,edinburgh3 ,blackwood  ,sons4   #ahgj4 
#b vols4 imperial folio4    ,the        
illustrations consist of coloured       
lithographic reproductions of  drawings 
made by command of ,her ,majesty the    
,queen4 ,biographical notes  accompany  

each plate4 ,the figures are represented
 in various styles of  the modern       
,highland dress4    ,there are also two 
quarto uncoloured editions of the       
work--one reduced  from the original    
lithographs1 illustrated with           
lithographic prints2  the other1        
photographed from the original drawings1
 is illustrated by  silver prints4      
#i4 ,clans and ,tartans4 ,andrew        
,elliot1 #ag ,princes ,street1          
,edinburgh4   #dto4    ,published #bhth 
,september #ahgb4 ,a series of tartans  
from the work of  ,messrs ,smith1 and   
executed by their 8machine painting0    
process4 ,no  notes accompany the       
plates4       #aj4 ,a ,history of the   
,scottish ,highlands1 ,highland ,clans1 
and ,highland   ,regiments3 ,with an    
,account of the ,gaelic ,language1      
,literature1 and   ,music4 ,by the ,rev4
 ,thomas ,maclauchlan1 ,,ll4,d41        
,f4,s4,a4 ,scot42 and an   ,essay on    
,highland ,scenery by the late          
,professor ,john ,wilson4 ,edited by    

,john ,s4 ,keltie1 ,f4,s4,a4 ,scot4     
,illustrated with a series of           
,portraits1   ,views1 ,maps1 c41        
engraved on steel1 ,clan ,tartans1 and  
upwards of two   hundred woodcuts1      
including ,armorial ,bearings4 ,a4      
,fullarton  ,co41   ,edinburgh and      
,london4 #ahge4 #b vols4 #hvo4    ,a    
reissue on a larger scale of ,dr4       
,browne's work 7,no4 #g74 ,the          
thirty-one  examples of tartans here    
given are1 unlike those contained in    
,no4 #g1  reproductions of those in     
,messrs ,smith's work1 and the plates   
are  executed by their process4 ,beyond 
including the plates no notice of the   
tartans is taken4 ,the work has been    
frequently reissued4       #aa4         
,sketches of the ,clans of ,scotland3   
,with ,coloured ,plates of   ,tartans4  
,by ,clansmen1 ,j4 ,m4 ,p41-,f4 ,w4 ,s4 
,edinburgh3 ,maclachlan    ,stewart4    
#ahhd4 #hvo4    ,the twenty-two plates  
of tartans contained in this book are   
lithographic reproductions1 poorly      

executed1 of tartans illustrated in  the
 ,vestiarium ,scoticum4 ,a short        
introduction and some notes on the      
clans accompany the plates4       #ab4  
,the ,tartans of the ,clans of          
,scotland2 also an ,introductory        
,account of ,celtic ,scotland1          
,clanship1 ,chiefs1 their ,dress1 ,arms1
 c41   and with ,historical ,notes of   
each ,clan4 ,by ,james ,grant1 author of
 ,the   ,romance of ,war1 ,old and ,new 
,edinburgh1 c4 ,emblazoned arms of the  
chiefs1 and a map of the districts      
occupied by the various clans are       
added4 ,w4  ,a4 ,k4 ,johnston1          
,edinburgh and ,london4 #ahhf4 ,imperial
 #dto4    ,the seventy-one tartans      
illustrated in this beautiful book will1
 with  one exception1 be found to have  
been included in the works previously   
referred to4 ,there is1 as in the case  
of the ,messrs ,smith's book1 a  number 
of errors in identification and         
arrangement4 ,the illustrations  are the
 finest examples of lithographic        

printing as applied to tartan  designs  
which have hitherto appeared1 and they  
show clearly where the  method succeeds 
and where it fails4       #ac4 ,the     
,scottish ,clans and their ,tartans3    
,with ,notes4 ,w4  ,a4 ,k4   ,johnston1 
,edinburgh and ,london4 #ahia4 #afmo4   
,there has never hitherto been brought  
together in such a compact form  so many
 examples of tartans1 the work          
containing ninety-six plates  executed  
by the same process as in the           
publishers' larger work 7,no4  #ab74 ,it
 is necessary1 however1 to point out    
that some of them are  designs invented 
within a few years1 and of no authority 
as clan  tartans4 ,a second edition1    
with additional notes1 was issued in    
#ahib4          ,,tartans3    ,,with    
,,descriptive ,,notices4        ,,austin
 ,,and ,,keith ,,no4 #ab    ,,balmoral  
#de    ,,brodie #c    ,,campbell ,,of   
,,breadalbane #d    ,,davidson #e       
,,drummond ,,of ,,perth #f    ,,drummond
 ,,of ,,strathallan #g    ,,fraser #h   

,,fraser ,,of ,,lovat #i    ,,glenorchy 
,,and ,,mac ,,intyre #ai    ,,grant #aj 
,,huntly #aa    ,,keith ,,and ,,austin  
#ab    ,,kennedy #ac    ,,logan #ad     
,,lord ,,of ,,the ,,isles #a    ,,lord  
,,of ,,the ,,isles3 ,,hunting #b        
,,mac ,,callum #ae    ,,mac ,,donald3   
,,from 8,,the ,,lyon ,,in               
,,mourning0 #af    ,,mac ,,donald ,,of  
,,keppoch #ag    ,,mac ,,donald3 ,,lord 
,,of ,,the ,,isles #a    ,,mac ,,donald3
 ,,lord ,,of ,,the ,,isles3 ,,hunting #b
    ,,mac ,,ian 7,,mackeane7 #bb        
,,mac ,,intyre ,,and ,,glenorchy #ai    
,,mac ,,keane 7,,mac ,,ian7 #bb         
,,mackintosh #ah    ,,mac ,,lachlan #bj 
,,mac ,,laine ,,of ,,lochbuie #ba       
,,mac ,,lean3 ,,hunting #bc    ,,mac    
,,leod #bd    ,,mac ,,neill #be    ,,mac
 ,,pherson #bf    ,,mac ,,rae3 ,,hunting
 #bg    ,,menzies3 ,,hunting #bh        
,,montgomerie #bi    ,,ogilvy #cj       
,,ogilvy3 ,,hunting #ca    ,,robertson  
#cb    ,,stewart #cc    ,,stewart ,,of  
,,appin #cd    ,,stewart ,,of ,,atholl  

#ce    ,,stewart ,,of ,,galloway #cf    
,,stuart ,,of ,,bute #cg    ,,wallace   
#ch    ,,the ,,prince',s ,,own #db      
,,from ,a ,,portrait ,,of ,,the         
,,countess ,,of      ,,lennox #ci       
,,from ,,the ,,cloak ,,of ,,prince      
,,charles      ,,edward ,,at ,,fingask  
#dj    ,,from ,a ,,plaid ,,worn ,,by    
,,prince ,,charles      ,,edward ,,at   
,,holyrood #da    ,,from ,a ,,coat      
,,worn ,,at ,,culloden #dc    ,,from ,a 
,,plaid ,,found ,,at ,,culloden #dd     
,,the ,,lord ,,of ,,the ,,isles4        
,the authority for the accompanying     
example is a portrait of ,sir           
,alexander 7afterwards first ,lord7     
,macdonald of the ,isles1 in the        
collection of ,lord ,macdonald of the   
,isles1 at ,armadale ,castle in  ,skye4 
,of that painting1 executed by an       
unknown artist about #agej1  the        
vignette on the title-page of the       
present work is a reproduction4  ,the   
tartan is represented only in the coat  
of the youth holding  the golf-club1 the

 trews being in red and white check2 and
 a close  inspection reveals an         
important addition to what has long been
 accepted  as the ,lord of the ,isles   
pattern--to wit1 that of the black lines
  intersecting the red squares4 ,the    
omission of these black lines from  the 
modern sett is obviously accidental1 for
 the tartan as now worn  is based on the
 authority of the picture1 which was    
believed to have  been accurately       
copied4 ,the origin of the error cannot 
be ascertained2  but1 probably1 a       
mistake in the reproduction of the      
design when  tartans became the wear    
after the repeal of the prohibitory     
statute  has remained undetected till   
now4 ,on the canvas1 at least1 the      
intersections are clearly depicted2 and1
 moreover1 the tartan thus  conforms to 
the rule of breaking large squares      
generally observed in  old clan         
patterns4 ,the ,costume of the ,clans1  
by ,john ,sobieski ,stuart  and ,charles
 ,edward ,stuart1 contains a presentment

 of the painting  which1 though         
professedly coloured from the original1 
is nevertheless  extremely inaccurate4  
,it may be added that the tartan1 which 
is that  usually worn by ,h4,r4,h4 the  
,prince of ,wales1 who bears the title  
of the  ,lord of the ,isles1 has never  
hitherto been faithfully delineated in  
any  previous work nor properly         
reproduced in any textile fabric of     
modern  manufacture4      ,illustration3
 ,i4 ,,the ,,lord ,,of ,,the ,,isles    
,,the ,,lord ,,of ,,the ,,isles3        
,,hunting4      ,like the preceding     
example1 the present is based on a      
painting in  ,armadale ,castle--a       
life-size representation of the first   
,lord ,macdonald  of the ,isles1 dating 
from about #agfe4 ,on the evidence of   
style the  work is ascribed to ,allan   
,ramsay the younger1 who about this     
period  painted many portraits in tartan
 costumes1 in which1 fortunately for    
our purpose1 he displays as a rule the  
patterns boldly and brilliantly4        

,through the kindness of ,lord and ,lady
 ,macdonald of the ,isles the ,editor   
had last year an excellent opportunity  
of obtaining reproductions of  the      
tartans delineated in their family      
portraits4 ,the painting in  this case  
was photographed to a large scale1 and  
afterwards coloured  from the original  
by an experienced artist 7a similar plan
 being  adopted in the case of ,plate   
,i47 ,from these the silks were woven1  
carefully compared with the paintings1  
and so absolute accuracy of             
reproduction secured4 ,traditionally    
known as the ,lord of the ,isles        
hunting tartan1 the pattern here given  
appears in the coat1 vest1 and  kilt of 
the figure portrayed4 ,the statute      
against the wearing of the  ,highland   
dress1 including tartans1 passed in     
#agdg1 was operative when  the picture  
was painted4 ,it may be1 however1 that  
as the ,macdonalds  of ,sleat were      
adherents of the ,government1 in name at
 least1 special  indulgence was extended

 to them4 ,during the greater part of   
the  present century the design was not 
rendered in textile fabric1 but         
recently ,lord ,macdonald of the ,isles 
had it woven for his use4 ,with         
characteristic inaccuracy of colouring1 
,the ,costume of the ,clans  represents 
the tartan with a predominance of red1  
though the original  contains no trace  
of that colour4    ,illustration3 ,,ii4 
,,the ,,lord ,,of ,,the ,,isles3        
,,hunting          ,,brodie4      ,it is
 not known when this design was         
originally adopted2 but1 though  the    
pattern cannot be traced in early       
paintings1 it nevertheless  possesses   
internal evidence of some antiquity1    
since many of the oldest  tartans are   
variations of the red and black check1  
popularly styled  the ,rob ,roy1#aje    
with the addition of narrower lines of  
various hues1  as in the present        
instance4 ,the beginning of the century 
witnessed  its use1 as it is included in
 several collections of the hard tartans

  produced at the time2 and since then  
it has always figured in the            
pattern-books and the lists both of     
connoisseurs and of manufacturers4      
,certainly1 it has been regarded as the 
true ,brodie by makers as far  back as  
business records or traditions extend4  
,of late a green tartan  has been sold  
as undress or hunting ,brodie1 but it   
seems unsupported by  any remote        
authority4 ,the pattern illustrated as  
the ,huntly district  tartan 7,plate    
,x47 was also known as ,brodie seventy  
years ago2 it was  so called because    
many ,brodies who belonged to the       
districts occupied  by the ,gordons1    
,forbeses1 and others wore it in early  
times as the  district tartan1 and more 
recently in some instances adopted it as
  their family pattern4                 
,illustration3 ,,iii4 ,,brodie          
,,campbell ,,of ,,breadalbane4      ,the
 specimen here presented is a careful   
reproduction of the tartan  of ,campbell
 of ,breadalbane1 as worn by the        

,fencibles of that district  from their 
embodiment in #agic to their disbandment
 in #ahjb4 ,the  authority is a portion 
of the regimental uniform of ,major     
,campbell1  one of the officers1 whose  
descendants now treasure it as a        
precious  relic4 ,wherever the tartan   
occurs in early collections1 dating from
  before #agij down to #ahdj1 the       
pattern agrees with the accompanying    
illustration4 ,the later date1 however1 
witnessed the inception of a  delusion  
that has prevailed even to the present  
day2 for a tartan  similar in some      
respects1 which appears in certain early
 collections  under the simple          
designation of 8fancy10 began about that
 time to usurp  the title of            
,breadalbane ,campbell1 and is now      
received as the correct  design4 ,but   
the existence of this regimental dress  
now a century old1  the uninterrupted   
record of the pattern to #ahdj1 and the 
proved genesis  of the spurious variety1
 afford the amplest justification for   

including  the earlier pattern in the   
present work4 ,it is the only ,campbell 
tartan  included in the collection made 
by the ,highland ,society of ,london in 
#ahaf-ag4 ,it is doubtful if any of the 
so-called ,campbell tartans as  worn at 
the present time were in use earlier    
than the middle of last  century1 while 
several are of more recent introduction4
 ,the early  ,campbell portraits at     
,langton and ,loudoun show designs      
entirely unlike  any ,campbell tartans  
now in use1 being chiefly red4          
,illustration3 ,,iv4 ,,campbell ,,of    
,,breadalbane          ,,davidson4      
,the evidence of the early date of this 
design rests entirely upon  specimens in
 collections of old hard tartans4       
,diligent research reveals  no portrait 
in ,highland costume of a member of the 
clan1 whose leading  representatives1   
moreover1 are without any account of the
 origin either  of this pattern or of   
another bearing the same name and       
differing from  it mainly in the        

omission of the white stripe4 ,from the 
collation of  many authorities and the  
inspection of many samples1 however1 the
  conclusion has been reached that of   
the two the design here represented  is 
the earlier4 ,it is preserved in a      
collection of examples of tartans  made 
by the ,highland ,society of ,london in 
#ahbb2 in that of ,messrs  ,ogilvie     
,co41 ,edinburgh1 dealers in tartan     
about the same period2 in  that of ,the 
,mackintosh at ,moy ,hall1 and in many  
others4    ,illustration3 ,v4 ,,davidson
          ,,drummond ,,of ,,perth4      
,tradition associates this tartan with  
the amiable1 ill-fated ,james           
,drummond1 ,duke of ,perth1 who was     
conspicuous in the '#de1 and who died   
on board a ,french frigate while        
attempting to escape in the succeeding  
year4 ,the early collections nearly all 
contain this pattern1 which is          
variously styled ,drummond of ,perth1   
,drummond1 and ,perth4 ,portraits of    
the ,duke in tartan garb are in the     

possession of the ,duke of ,richmond    
and ,gordon at ,gordon ,castle1 and of  
,lord ,ancaster at ,drummond ,castle1   
but in neither case is the painting     
sufficiently distinct for the           
confirmation of details4 ,the           
,murray-,threipland family preserve at  
,fingask ,castle a cloak said to have   
been left there by ,prince ,charles     
,edward2 and its design1 reproduced in  
,plate ,,xl41 is the ,drummond of       
,perth1 with the exception of a narrow  
line4 ,it is probable either  that the  
garment belonged to the ,duke1 or that  
it was made for the  ,prince from some  
of his tartan4 ,the pattern now commonly
 worn by the  ,drummonds is likewise    
claimed by the ,grants1 the sett of the 
latter  varying only by the shade of a  
blue line2 but there is no proof of the 
early adoption of either by the families
 concerned4 ,the introduction  of the   
two setts last referred to was long     
posterior to the use of the  example    
illustrated1 and they seem variations of

 the ,drummond given by  ,john ,sobieski
 ,stuart in ,vestiarium ,scoticum4 ,in  
the table to ,logan's  ,scottish ,gal   
the ,drummond scheme agrees with the    
present plate2 but  the manufacturers1  
no doubt to avoid a multiplicity of     
patterns of the  same name1 have1       
probably unwittingly1 dropped the older 
of the two  designs4    ,illustration3  
,,vi4 ,,drummond ,,of ,,perth           
,,drummond ,,of ,,strathallan4          
,there is every reason to esteem this   
tartan of early date4 ,possessing  many 
characteristics of old design1 it       
figures as ,strathallan  ,drummond in   
most of the trustworthy collections1    
including those of  ,the ,mackintosh of 
,mackintosh1 the ,campbells of          
,craignish1 and ,messrs  ,romanes       
,paterson1 ,edinburgh4 ,an example of   
undoubted antiquity is  held by the     
,editor4 ,in #ahab ,david1 sixth ,earl  
of ,airlie1 head of the  house of       
,ogilvy1 married ,clementina1 only child
 of ,gavin ,drummond1  ,esq41 the third 

son of ,james ,drummond of ,keltie by   
,clementina1 sister  and co-heiress of  
,alexander ,graham of ,duntrune1 who was
 heir male of  ,john1 ,viscount of      
,dundee4 ,on this event the tartan here 
represented1 up  to that time known as  
,strathallan1 appears to have been      
adopted by the  ,earl and some other    
branches of the family1 and in the      
course of time  the design came to be   
styled the ,ogilvy1 which is now its    
customary  designation2 the ground has  
sometimes been made blue instead of     
green4  ,the appropriation is somewhat  
extraordinary1 because the ,ogilvys     
possess a fine tartan of their own      
7,plate ,,xxx471 which can be traced at 
least as far back as last century4 ,mr  
and ,mrs ,nisbet-,hamilton-,ogilvy  have
 an interesting portrait 7ascribed to   
,allan ,ramsay7 of ,david1 ,lord        
,ogilvy1 afterwards sixth ,earl of      
,airlie 7attainted71 who raised a body  
of cavalry for ,prince ,charles ,edward 
and fought at ,culloden4 ,the coat      

displays a simple check in red and blue1
 and the plaid an effective  tartan     
scheme in these colours4 ,indeed1 the   
picture is supposed to  represent the   
uniform of ,ogilvy's ,horse of #agde-df4
    ,illustration3 ,,vii4 ,,drummond    
,,of ,,strathallan          ,,fraser4   
,the accompanying reproduction is taken 
from a specimen in a collection  formed 
about #agij1 where the pattern is first 
recorded4 ,different  ,fraser families  
appear originally to have had each their
 special  designs1 but for a long time  
every important section 7save that of   
,lovat1 whose tartan forms the next     
plate7 has recognised this as the       
,breacan ,friosalach4 ,collections      
following one another at brief          
intervals from #agij to #ahej1          
comprising those of the ,highland       
,society  of ,london1 the ,campbells of 
,craignish1 the late ,dr4 ,w4 ,f4       
,skene1 and ,the  ,mackintosh of        
,mackintosh1 present it unvaryingly as  
the clan tartan4  ,paintings1 both early

 and important1 of branch               
representatives disclose  variations    
which seem to indicate that certain     
families were wont to  have the details 
slightly altered for their own uses4    
,the pattern  usually offered as        
,fraser1 while bearing some resemblance 
to that  illustrated in ,plate ,,ix4 as 
,fraser of ,lovat1 is most likely an old
  tartan of ,clan ,grant 7see the       
,grant1 ,plate ,x471 and its association
  with the ,clan ,fraser is based on its
 occurrence in the ,vestiarium          
,scoticum4 ,some account of the ,fraser 
and other family portraits  showing     
,highland costume was contributed by the
 ,editor to ,the ,scottish  ,antiquary1 
,vol4 ,,viii4 ,see also the notes on the
 ,fraser of ,lovat  tartan4             
,illustration3 ,,viii4 ,,fraser         
,,fraser ,,of ,,lovat4                  
,confirmation of the supposition that   
various branches of ,clan ,fraser  wore 
tartans similar in scheme but different 
in detail is furnished  by the family   

portraits4 ,in a fine presentment of    
,major ,james ,fraser  of ,castle       
,leather 7whereof a replica hangs in    
,inverness ,town ,hall71  painted about 
#agbc1 a red pattern is shown in the    
plaid1 while the rest  of the dress is a
 simple check in red1 green1 and blue4  
,portraits of  the ,hon4 ,sybella       
,fraser of ,lovat and the ,hon4 ,mrs    
,archibald ,fraser of  ,lovat1 executed 
after the middle of last century1 in the
 collection of  ,sir ,william ,augustus 
,fraser of ,ledclune1 have different red
 setts in  the plaids4 ,miss ,fraser of 
,abertarff possesses an interesting     
likeness  of her father1 dated #ahjh1   
that supplies yet another arrangement in
  red4 ,the present illustration depicts
 the earliest authenticated ,lovat      
pattern1 which is accepted1 moreover1 by
 the leading collectors4 ,in  #ahdi     
,lord ,lovat wrote of the tartan        
generally styled ,fraser 7though1 as    
already mentioned1 it is most probably  
,grant--,plate ,x471 that he had        

ascertained it to be that of his clan   
prior to #agde4 ,it is difficult  to    
accept the statement1 since no trace of 
the design appears in the  ,fraser      
paintings either at or before that      
period4 ,on the other hand1  the pattern
 was undoubtedly in use then by a       
prominent member of ,clan  ,grant1 of   
whom it is said that he continued to    
wear the ,highland dress  for almost a  
century1 as stated in the notes on the  
,grant tartan4    ,illustration3 ,,ix4  
,,fraser ,,of ,,lovat          ,,grant4 
,reproduced from a portrait of ,robert  
,grant of ,lurg 7#afgh-aggg71 in the    
collection at ,troup ,house4 ,this      
example1 as mentioned in the note to    
,plate ,,viii41 is identical with that  
now commonly styled the ,fraser4  ,it   
was accepted by some only of the ,fraser
 families in #ahdb1 because  it was     
illustrated under their name in the     
,vestiarium ,scoticum4  ,of the ,laird  
of ,lurg there is another likeness1 in  
the possession  of ,lady ,seafield at   

,castle ,grant1 which represents him in 
the ,black  ,watch tartan4 ,the         
explanation offered is that he was an   
officer in the  ,clan ,grant ,company of
 the ,black ,watch2 that since his clan 
supported  the ,government the          
prohibition against the national dress  
would not  be enforced in his case2 and 
that it is but reasonable to suppose  he
 wore the tartan of his clan when not in
 military uniform4 ,in  connection with 
the ,grants occurs one of the earliest  
descriptions of  a distinctive clan     
design4 ,it is dated #agjd4 ,it has been
 partially1  though inaccurately1 quoted
 in ,sir ,william ,fraser's ,chiefs of  
,grant  7,edinburgh1 #ahhc71 and on     
account of its interest it is given in  
the  ,introduction to this work4 ,the   
illustration is not in absolute harmony 
with the description1 and appears1      
indeed1 to be a modification of it4     
,attention may again be directed to the 
resemblance between the ,grant  and the 
,fraser tartans4 ,the wide dissimilarity

 in the tartans depicted  in the ,grant 
family portraits preserved at ,castle   
,grant and elsewhere  is referred to in 
the ,introduction4    ,illustration3 ,x4
 ,,grant          ,,huntly4      ,the   
present example is designated ,huntly   
and ,brodie in certain early            
collections1 and1 like those of         
,dunblane1 ,strathearn1 and ,atholl1 it 
appears to belong to a district rather  
than to a family4 ,tradition  shows it  
to have been in use during a            
considerable portion of last  century by
 such families as ,gordon1 ,brodie1 and 
,forbes1 or at least  by members of     
these touched with ,jacobitism1 who     
appear to have  assumed this tartan in  
common1 just as many families of        
different  name adopted a uniform wear  
in various localities4 ,on the raising  
of  the ,gordon ,highlanders in #agid a 
yellow stripe was introduced into  the  
,black ,watch pattern for their         
regimental use2 and since then the      
,gordons have discontinued the use of   

the ,huntly except on full-dress        
occasions4 ,in a beautiful painting of  
,miss ,rebecca ,forbes1 daughter of     
,sir ,william ,forbes of ,pitsligo1     
married in #ahjb to ,alastair ,ranaldson
  ,macdonell1 fifteenth of ,glengarry1  
there is a dress of this tartan  which  
is known to have been used by her family
 in ,aberdeenshire4  ,from information  
supplied by the late ,dr4 ,william      
,forbes ,skene to ,mr  ,elphinstone     
,dalrymple1 it is ascertained that the  
present ,forbes  tartan was designed for
 the ,pitsligo family in #ahbb by       
another ,miss  ,forbes of ,pitsligo4 ,it
 was done by merely adding a white line 
to the  ,forty-second2 the ,gordon was  
similarly obtained by the addition of a 
yellow one1 and this is now the sole    
difference between the wear of  the two 
principal families1 ,forbes and ,gordon1
 who formerly wore the  ,huntly4        
,illustration3 ,,xi4 ,,huntly           
,,keith ,,and ,,austin4      ,despite   
the uncertainty concerning the origin of

 this design1 it is  included in every  
complete early collection1 like that of 
the ,highland  ,society of ,london1 of  
the late ,dr4 ,skene1 of ,messrs        
,ogilvie  ,co41 and  of ,messrs ,romanes
  ,paterson4 ,the last-mentioned firm   
has supplied it  from the early years of
 the present century to various families
 of  ,keiths and ,austins1 including the
 house of ,keith-,falconer1 ,earls of   
,kintore4 ,the ,austins appear first on 
record as allies and supporters  of the 
,keiths4 ,the name was variously spelt1 
though in ancient records  it was       
generally begun with ,ou or ,ow4 ,of    
curious interest as showing  an early   
connection between the families is the  
occurrence in #aehg  of the name of     
,alexander ,ousteane1 burgess of        
,edinburgh1 as one of  the cautioners   
for ,george ,keith1 ,earl ,marshall1 in 
an action raised  against him by        
,margaret ,erskine1 ,lady ,pitcarie4 ,in
 the same year  ,alexander ,oisteane1 no
 doubt the same person1 was a           

,parliamentary  representative of the   
,burgh of ,edinburgh4 ,in #aehi1 ,walter
 ,oustene1 a  tenant in ,lochquhan 7a   
possession of the ,keith family71 was   
one of the  subscribers to a ,bond of   
,caution imposed on a number of the     
landed men  in the shires of ,aberdeen  
and ,kincardine1 binding them to keep   
the  peace in the struggles with the    
,catholic party headed by ,huntly4      
,illustration3 ,,xii4 ,,keith ,,and     
,,austin          ,,kennedy4      ,the  
tartan seems to have been first worn by 
,kennedy families in the  ,lochaber     
district4 ,tradition avers that some    
centuries back ,ulric  ,kennedy1 a scion
 of the ,ayrshire ,kennedys who came    
originally from  ,ireland1 settled in   
,lochaber1 and that all bearing the name
 in this  locality are descended from   
him4 ,in the ,highlands they are known  
as ,mac  ,ulrics or ,clan ,ulric1 and   
are said to have once mustered          
considerable  force4 ,the design has    
been accepted by the ,kennedys in       

,carrick1 many of  whom adopted it last 
century as an emblem of their ,jacobite 
sympathies4  ,several early examples of 
the pattern are in existence1 and one of
  these is here reproduced in the exact 
tints of the original4 ,as will be  seen
 in the plate1 the single red stripe is 
scarlet and the two fine  red lines are 
crimson2 but manufacturers1 to save     
themselves trouble1  have been          
accustomed to vitiate the design by     
failing to mark this  distinction4 ,it  
is noteworthy that the tartan bears     
little resemblance  to any other        
,lochaber design of ancient date1 and   
that the ,kennedys1  while generally    
allied with the ,camerons1 have ever    
maintained their  own colours4 ,they    
regard as their chief the ,marquis of   
,ailsa1 who is  head of the ,kennedys of
 ,ayrshire4    ,illustration3 ,,xiii4   
,,kennedy          ,,logan4      ,the   
pattern here given is included in the   
collection formed by the  ,highland     
,society of ,london1 and it occurs in   

numerous others1 including  that at ,moy
 ,hall1 while it has borne this name for
 many years4 ,great  confusion has      
somehow arisen concerning the tartan of 
the family4  ,james ,logan's table in   
,the ,scottish ,gal furnishes a design  
totally  unlike the one afterwards      
illustrated in his joint work with ,mac 
,ian1  ,the ,clans of the ,scottish     
,highlands4 ,messrs ,smith1 in their    
usually  trustworthy ,authenticated     
,tartans of the ,clans and ,families of 
,scotland1 present the ,logan designated
 as the ,skene1 with the comment3  8,it 
appears in ,mr ,logan's book1 but we    
must confess it is a pattern  about the 
antiquity of which we entertain some    
doubts40 ,in point of  fact1 ,logan     
gives no ,skene tartan in ,the ,scottish
 ,gal1 while the  pattern of ,clan      
,donchadh of ,mar or ,skene supplied in 
the ,logan-,mac ,ian  collaboration is  
entirely different4 ,that it is not     
,skene tartan is  attested by the fact  
that an example which belonged to the   

late ,dr4 ,w4  ,f4 ,skene 7now in the   
possession of the ,editor7 is described 
as 8,logan0  in his own handwriting4    
,its early and general use under that   
name  clearly justifies its inclusion in
 this collection4    ,illustration3     
,,xiv4 ,,logan          ,,mac ,,callum4 
,well-nigh forgotten and rarely         
encountered1 save in the old            
pattern-book or in the tartan           
collector's museum1 this design is      
early1 though its origin cannot be fixed
 with any certainty4 ,it has  been      
supplanted by a comparatively modern    
pattern1 known commonly as  the ,malcolm
 but occasionally as the ,mac ,callum1  
which is the ancient  form of the name4 
,the new scheme has existed some forty  
or fifty years  at least1 as the ,editor
 has received from a lady in ,skye a    
specimen  in a portion of a silk dress  
her family has owned for about that     
period without knowing the name of the  
tartan4 ,in the collection of  the      
,highland ,society of ,london 7#ahbb71  

in that at ,moy ,hall1 and in  every    
other important repository of the kind1 
the ,mac ,callum as here  illustrated is
 ranked1 and the ,malcolm is wanting4   
,it its believed that  the family1      
having lost trace of the old sett fifty 
or sixty years ago1  had the modern     
design prepared from the recollection of
 old people in  ,argyllshire2 but1 as   
has frequently happened in similar      
circumstances1  the recovery of the     
original design shows that considerable 
deviation  had been made4               
,illustration3 ,,xv4 ,,mac ,,callum     
,,macdonald4      ,one of the most      
romantic stories associated with tartans
 is attached to  the fragment now       
reproduced4 ,in the ,advocates'         
,library1 ,edinburgh1 is a  collection  
of ,,mss4 in ten black-edged volumes    
bearing the title of ,the  ,lyon in     
,mourning1 the reference being to the   
misfortunes of the ,house  of ,stuart4  
,fastened to the inner sides of the     
boards are many relics  of the pathetic 

experiences of ,prince ,charles during  
the interval  between his defeat at     
,culloden and his escape to ,france4    
,the documents  were written and the    
mementoes gathered by ,bishop ,robert   
,forbes1 an  enthusiastic ,jacobite4    
,under a scrap of tartan with a bit of  
red lining  he has noted3--     ,the    
above are pieces of the outside and     
inside of that identical   waistcoat    
which ,macdonald of ,kingsburgh gave to 
the ,prince when he   laid aside the    
woman's clothes4 ,the said waistcoat    
being too fine   for a servant the      
,prince exchanged it with ,malcolm      
,macleod4 ,malcolm1   after parting with
 the ,prince1 and finding himself in    
danger of being   seized1 did hide the  
waistcoat in a cleft of a rock1 where1  
upon his   returning home in the        
beginning of ,september #agdg1 he found 
it all   rotten to bits1 except only as 
much as would serve to cover little     
more than one's loof1 and two buttons1  
all of which he was pleased to   send to

 me4 ,the waistcoat had lain more than a
 full year in the cleft   of the rock1  
for ,malcolm ,macleod was made prisoner 
sometime in ,july   #agdf4    ,in the   
,,mss4 a copy of ,macleod's letter is   
given1 and it runs thus3--              
,reverend ,dr4 ,sir1     ,you'l received
 from the bearer all that was to the for
 of the weast   ,coat that the ,p4 gave 
to me1 because no ,body cou'd get it    
where ,i put   it till ,i came home my  
self likwise tow of the ,buttons that   
wor in it4   ,i cou'd get that from     
,kingsborrow you desired me ----4       
,however he has   it4 ,i have more to   
tell you when ,i see ----4 ,writ to me  
by the ,bearer   mind me most kindly to 
,lady ,bruce  all aquantance ,especiall 
,lady   ,balmirina  her sister4         
,i'm your very humble servant1    ,,mal 
,,macleod4      ,rasay1 ,october #ac1   
#agdg4    ,the ,,mss41 sold by the      
bishop's widow to ,sir ,henry ,steuart  
of ,allanton1  were acquired by ,robert 
,chambers1 who presented them to the    

,library4  ,an account of the ,,mss4    
appears in ,chambers's ,jacobite        
,memoirs4  ,edinburgh1 #ahcd4           
,illustration3 ,,xvi4 ,,macdonald       
,,macdonald ,,of ,,keppoch4      ,the   
,macdonalds boast more tartans than any 
other clan1 in consequence  of many     
branches having adopted setts differing 
from the clan pattern4  ,the ,macdonalds
 of ,keppoch1 or ,siol ,mac ,mhic       
,raonuill1 did so4 ,this  sept was not  
numerically strong as compared with     
others1 for in #agde  its fighting men  
were estimated at three hundred4 ,the   
illustration  represents a portion of   
the plaid the ,keppoch of '#de gave     
,prince  ,charles ,edward1 long         
preserved at ,moy ,hall1 but many years 
back divided  among various families4   
,of this chief it is recorded that1 when
 the  ,macdonalds refused to charge the 
,hanoverian army at ,culloden1 and stood
  irresolute1 slashing the turf with    
their claymores1 he exclaimed1 8,my     
,god6 ,have the children of my tribe    

deserted me80 and dashed forward  on the
 enemy1 to be immediately shot down4    
,recently the pattern has  fallen into  
desuetude1 many entitled to wear it     
preferring the quieter  colours of the  
pattern now commonly known as ,clan     
,macdonald4 ,several  variations of the 
,keppoch scheme exist1 and old specimens
 differing  from the illustration are   
held by some to be authentic setts2 but 
this  has always been admitted by       
leading authorities to be the ,keppoch1 
since the plaid presented to the ,prince
 was presumably in the chief's  pattern4
    ,illustration3 ,,xvii4 ,,macdonald  
,,of ,,keppoch          ,,mackintosh4   
,the extensive variations in the tartans
 styled ,mackintosh are  attributable to
 the fact that ,clan ,chattan embraced  
many septs1 more or  less nearly allied1
 who changed the pattern at will4 ,but  
the chief's  and the clan designs are   
now accepted as authoritative examples  
of  the early scheme4 ,to the example   
here illustrated peculiar interest      

attaches1 since it is the sett worn by  
,prince ,charles ,edward in the         
,mackintosh country4 ,the ,rev4 ,a4     
,thomson ,grant1 of the ,rectory1       
,leven1  from whom the specimen was     
obtained1 writes3 8,the piece of tartan 
,i  sent you was given me in ,september 
#ahfj by ,mrs ,christina ,mackintosh or 
,grant1 widow of the ,rev4 ,james       
,grant1 minister of ,cromdale4 ,i was at
  the time on a visit to ,coulnakyle    
,house1 some miles above ,grantown1     
where ,mrs ,grant and her family then   
resided4 ,mrs ,grant produced a piece   
of tartan1 which she confidently assured
 me was a piece of the kilt  worn by    
,prince ,charlie while in the           
,mackintosh country4 ,the kilt1 she     
added1 was religiously divided among the
 then members of the chief's  family and
 near relations1 and the piece she      
possessed had come down  to her by      
regular descent from her ancestors of   
that time4 ,when ,i was  bidding        
good-bye1 ,mrs ,grant halved the piece  

of tartan1 and gave me  that which is   
now in your possession40 ,the           
illustration reproduces the  colours and
 the dimensions in the original1 which1 
though a small1 is  yet a fine specimen 
of old hard tartan4    ,illustration3   
,,xviii4 ,,mackintosh          ,,mac    
,,intyre ,,and ,,glenorchy4             
,wherever authentic records of tartans  
are preserved this design  appears1     
generally as ,mac ,intyre and           
,glenorchy1 though occasionally  as     
,glenorchy alone4 ,it seems to have     
partaken of the nature of a  district   
tartan1 for the locality whence the     
title is taken was only  partly occupied
 by the ,mac ,intyres1 who appear never 
to have attained  the strength of a     
clan4 ,no ,mac ,intyre arms are         
matriculated in the  ,lyon ,register4   
,they are found1 however1 in ,burke's   
,general ,armoury1  and the individual  
contributing them evidently regarded his
 family  as a sept of the ,mac ,donalds4
 ,the pattern in the illustration occurs

  in the collection of the ,highland    
,society of ,london 7#ahbb71 and in     
reproductions made in ,edinburgh about  
#ahbj from examples of ancient  designs 
procured in the ,highlands near that    
time4 ,in a collection  formed in #agij 
there is a scheme differing very        
slightly from the  present illustration4
 ,of the antiquity of the name ,mac     
,intyre in ,lorn  evidence is furnished 
by the traditions of a family who       
8possessed  the farm of ,glenoe1 in     
,nether ,lorn1 from about the year #acjj
 down to  #ahaj4 ,they were originally  
foresters of ,stewart1 ,lord ,lorn1 and 
were  continued in their possession and 
employment after the succession of  the 
,glenorchy and ,breadalbane families to 
this estate1 by a marriage  with a      
co-heiress of the last ,lord ,lorn of   
the ,stewart family in  the year #adce0 
7,stewart's ,highlanders1 third edition1
 ,vol4 ,i4 p4  #hb74 ,general ,stewart1 
writing in #ahbb1 observes3 8,in like   
manner the  ,athole1 ,glenorchy1 and    

other colours of different districts    
were easily  distinguishable40          
,doubtless this statement refers to the 
example here  given1 because it is shown
 in all collections of importance       
gathered at  that date1 when what is now
 commonly known as the ,mac ,intyre     
appears to  have been non-existent4     
,illustration3 ,,xix4 ,,macintyre ,,and 
,,glenorchy          ,,mac ,,lachlan4   
,the accompanying tartan is one of two  
ancient designs bearing the same  name4 
,it figures in all the collections      
formed in the early years of  the       
century1 and an excellent example 7the  
precise date of which1  however1 is     
unknown7 has been procured from ,messrs 
,romanes  ,paterson4  ,the other design1
 to be found in a collection made in    
#agij1 is shown in  an ancient piece of 
hard tartan with a simple check in red  
and green  about five-eighths of an inch
 square in the ,editor's possession4 ,in
  the ,vestiarium ,scoticum the ,mac    
,lachlan is depicted as a brilliant     

combination of yellow and black1 being  
the sett in use by the present  ,mac    
,lachlan of ,mac ,lachlan4 ,the clan    
generally use a red and dark blue       
design1 which cannot be traced further  
back than #ahej to the ,smiths'  and    
,smibert's works4 ,the existence of the 
tartan illustrated appears  to have been
 generally overlooked by the clan1 a    
fact greatly to be  regretted1 as it is 
one of the finest of the old clan setts4
 ,that the  illustration represents an  
early and authentic clan pattern of the 
,mac  ,lachlan cannot be doubted1 for it
 is the only example occurring under    
that name in the collections of the     
,highland ,society1 the ,campbells  of  
,craignish1 ,the ,mackintosh of         
,mackintosh1 and many others4 ,several  
members of a minor sept of the ,mac     
,lachlans1 followers of the ,stewarts   
of ,appin1 were slain in the campaign of
 #agde-df while fighting in the  ,appin 
,regiment4 7,see note under ,stewart of 
,appin47    ,illustration3 ,,xx4 ,,mac  

,,lachlan          ,,mac ,,laine ,,of   
,,lochbuie4      ,one of the few tartans
 concerning whose antiquity no doubt    
appears  ever to have been suggested1   
the ,mac ,laine of ,lochbuie ranks in   
every  extensive collection of old      
patterns1 though till recently it was   
not  represented in any published work4 
,particularly fine examples are         
preserved in the ,willis collection and 
in that of ,the ,mackintosh4 ,the       
design is generally woven in an open    
sett1 which produces an admirable       
effect4 ,it is unique among old         
patterns1 by reason of the quantity  of 
pale blue in its composition1 that      
colour being usually reserved  for      
narrow lines4 ,the date of its          
introduction is unknown1 but its  use in
 the ,western ,isles last century is    
authenticated1 and tradition  points to 
its early origin4 ,despite the fact that
 the clan followed  the ,marquis of     
,montrose and joined the rising of '#ae1
 it took no share  in the '#de2 and it  

may consequently be presumed that the   
members1 like  others in similar cases1 
continued to wear their tartan and dress
 after  these had been formally         
proscribed4 ,the present ,mac ,laine of 
,lochbuie  wears also the hunting ,mac  
,laine of ,lochbuie1 which1 as he       
himself  points out1 is of modern       
invention4    ,illustration3 ,,xxi4     
,,mac ,,laine ,,of ,,lochbuie           
,,mackeane 7,,mac ,,ian74      ,the     
,vestiarium ,scoticum1 already          
acknowledged as the earliest and  the   
most elaborate illustrated publication  
on tartan designs1 was  edited by the   
late ,john ,sobieski ,stuart from a     
,,ms4 stated to belong  to the sixteenth
 century4 ,the ,,ms4 was printed and    
published in #ahdb1  with plates        
executed from drawings by ,charles      
,edward ,stuart1 the  editor's brother4 
,of course the drawings are but a       
development of the  descriptions in the 
,,ms4 ,it need scarcely be added that   
the volume is  now rare and costly4 ,the

 ,,ms4 was transcribed and illuminated  
in #ahbi  by ,sir ,thomas ,dick ,lauder1
 for whom ,charles ,edward ,stuart      
prepared a  series of drawings which    
included several tartans not illustrated
 in  the published work4 ,one of these  
is here reproduced1 and ,sir ,richard   
,urquhart1 ,knycht1 the reputed author  
of the ,,ms41 thus describes it3        
8,mackeane hethe four stryppes of ,blak 
upon ain scarlett feilde1 and  upon the 
scarlett sett ain spraig 7sprainge7 of  
yellowe of saxteen  threidis1 havand    
thereto ain bordure of ,blak of twa     
threidis40 ,the  ,mac ,ians1 whose name 
is variously spelt in the early clan    
rolls and  elsewhere as ,m',kane1 ,mac  
,coin1 ,mac ,eoin1 ,clanayioun1 c41 were
 a branch  of the ,clan ,macdonald4     
,that the use of the design was not     
confined to  this branch is evidenced by
 a contemporary portrait of ,alastair   
,ruadh  of ,glengarry 7who was prominent
 in the '#de71 in which he is depicted  
in  this tartan4 ,the painting is in the

 possession of ,john ,alastair ,erskine 
,cuninghame1 ,esq4 of ,balgownie1       
,perthshire1 the last lineal descendant 
and heir-general of ,alastair ,ronaldson
 ,macdonell of ,glengarry4              
,illustration3 ,,xxii4 ,,mac ,,keane    
,,mac ,,lean3 ,,hunting4      ,the      
traditions1 songs1 and records of the   
,mac ,leans contain references  of a    
much earlier date to this tartan than do
 any authenticated  collection of1 or   
published work on1 particular designs4  
,in a charter  of #aehg-h granting      
,hector ,mac ,lean1 heir of ,duart1     
certain lands in  ,islay1 the feu-duty  
is made payable in the form of sixty    
ells of cloth  of white1 black1 and     
green colours4 ,on the suppression of   
the religious  houses the impost is     
again mentioned in connection with the  
assets of  the churches4 ,this very     
curious feu-duty exigible in tartan is  
dealt  with1 and the references         
contained in the charters printed in    
full1 in  the ,introduction4 ,the old   

,gaelic song1 8,moladh rann do ,shir    
,eachainn  ,mac ,gillian ,trath         
,dhubhairt10 has the following verse3-- 
,bu mhian leam am breacan tlth1         
,breacan uain' 'us dubh 'us geal3       
,datha sar ,mhich-,ghillian am flath--  
,sud an laoch a fhuair mo ghaol4        
,dear to me the tartan plaid1    ,the   
plaid of green and black and white3     
,the colours of the brave ,mac ,lean--  
,the hero of my love4    ,the pattern is
 universally acknowledged by the clan4  
,illustration3 ,,xxiii4 ,,mac ,,lean3   
,,hunting          ,,mac ,,leod4        
,diversity of opinion prevails          
concerning the tartan of the ,mac       
,leods2  and1 unfortunately1 nothing was
 done to settle the dispute when  the   
,clan ,mac ,leod ,society recently      
discussed the claims of rival  patterns4
 ,the inspection of important           
collections from #aghe1 the date  of the
 repeal of the statute against tartans1 
till the present day1  proves that the  
design here given invariably occurs     

under the family  designation4 ,certain 
,mac ,leods claim and wear the          
,mackenzie tartan  as their own1 though 
the appearance of both1 under their     
respective  names1 in old collections   
proves this to be an impropriety4 ,the  
mistake  doubtless arose from the fact  
that when the #gcrd ,regiment was raised
 in  #aggg it was commanded by a son of 
the ,earl of ,cromarty1 whose courtesy  
title was ,lord ,mac ,leod1 though his  
family name was ,mackenzie1 and  whose  
tartan was the dress of the corps4 ,of  
comparatively recent date1  the         
assumption has yet taken considerable   
hold1 in consequence of its  adoption in
 several works relating to clan         
patterns4 ,the ,mac ,leods  of ,raasay  
wore a design in brilliant yellow whose 
authority is the  ,vestiarium ,scoticum4
 ,an examination of the portraits and   
relics at  ,dunvegan ,castle in ,skye1  
the seat of ,mac ,leod of ,mac ,leod1   
has been  made in search of records of  
the tartan of the clan4 ,it has revealed

  the singular circumstance that in the 
only early portrait in tartan  dress1   
that of the chief painted by ,allan     
,ramsay in #agfh1 red is the            
predominant colour of the tartan plaid1 
while coat and trews are in  8,rob ,roy0
 check4 ,logan has stated1 from         
recollection1 that the plaid  is in the 
,fraser pattern2 but here he is in      
error4 ,it is to be hoped  further      
investigation will elucidate the history
 of the tartan in the  painting referred
 to4    ,illustration3 ,,xxiv4 ,,mac    
,,leod          ,,mac ,,neill4      ,to 
establish the antiquity of this pattern 
of the ,mac ,neill it is but  necessary 
to mention that it occurs in many old   
collections1 including  those of        
,craignish1 ,moy ,hall1 the ,highland   
,society of ,london1 and  ,messrs       
,romanes and ,paterson4 ,several        
branches of the clan have other         
designs1 but none is found in the       
ancient repositories either so early  or
 so often as that now illustrated4 ,a   

hitherto unnoticed reference to  what is
 possibly the distinctive tartan of the 
,mac ,neills appears in  ,the ,grameid3 
an ,historic ,poem descriptive of the   
,campaign of ,viscount  ,dundee in      
#afhi1 by ,james ,philip of             
,almerieclose1 #afia1 translated by  the
 ,rev4 ,alexander ,d4 ,murdoch1         
,f4,s4,a4 ,scot41 for the ,scottish     
,history  ,society1 #ahhh4 ,it reads3   
8,the illustrious son of warlike ,mac   
,neill  comes from the winding shore of 
,barra's isle1 around whom1 as their    
chief1 a great company of the youth of  
his name presses on the right  hand and 
on the left4 ,carrying his battle-axe1  
he advances on foot1  panting as he     
goes1 leading his tall clansmen1 himself
 the tallest1  and his shoulders covered
 with a ,tyrian mantle4 ,he displays as 
many  colours woven into his plaid as   
the rainbow in the clouds shows in the  
sunlight40 ,whether or not the tartan   
here presented was that worn by  the    
chief in ,dundee's campaign cannot be   

determined1 but1 at least1  it is the   
sole pattern associated with the name   
having any trace of  red4 ,the writer of
 the poem was a close observer1 and many
 of his  descriptions of dress and arms 
are highly valuable2 while the allusion 
to 8the winding shore of ,barra's isle0 
evinces an intimate knowledge of  the   
peculiarly indented character of that   
island4    ,illustration3 ,,xxv4 ,,mac  
,,neill          ,,macpherson4      ,the
 ,macpherson tartans present unwonted   
difficulty in consequence of  the       
multiplicity of setts1 each having      
claims of its own4 ,these are  7#a7 the 
,chief's1 7#b7 the ,cluny1 or full      
dress1 7#c7 the ,hunting1 and  7#d7 the 
,clan tartans4 ,the first1 though one of
 the oldest designs1 has  often been    
wrongly presented4 ,of the second1 which
 was illustrated in  the ,vestiarium    
,scoticum1 the ,cluny ,macpherson of    
#ahej wrote to ,messrs  ,smith1 then    
compiling a book of tartans1 that3-     
,the design was known as the ,breacan   

,glas' long before ,john ,sobieski      
,stuart was heard of in this country1   
although ,i rather think the   addition 
of the yellow stripe was introduced by  
him1 or rather taken   from his ,,ms41  
but1 at all events1 the tartan is an old
 ,macpherson4    ,the ,vestiarium had   
only been published eight years before  
7#ahdb71  though strenuous efforts had  
been made to issue it in #ahbi4 ,it is  
evident from an unpublished             
correspondence between ,sir ,walter     
,scott  and ,sir ,thomas ,dick ,lauder  
that the chief of ,cluny received his   
first  drawing of the tartan from the   
brothers ,stuart--a fact obviously      
unknown to his successor of #ahej4 ,sir 
,thomas1 writing to ,sir ,walter on     
#ast ,june #ahbi1 observes3--     ,the  
,messrs ,hay the name at first borne by 
the brothers have already   instructed  
several of the chiefs of clans who have 
had webs of the   true tartans made1    
and1 as an instance of this1 ,i may     
mention that   ,cluny ,macpherson       

appeared at the late fancy ball at      
,edinburgh in his   beautiful and       
genuine tartan as taken from the ,,ms4  
444 which excited   universal           
admiration4 ,mac ,leod has got a sketch 
of his splendid tartan4    ,there is no 
evidence of this second pattern having  
been in actual  use prior to #ahbi1 the 
only authority of earlier date being the
 ,,ms4  above referred to4 ,the third   
design is identical with that           
illustrated  here1 except that the      
ground is grey instead of white4 ,in use
 for  many years1 the fourth appears in 
some of the early collections4 ,the     
only ,macpherson 7other than that       
peculiar to the chief7 found in the     
earliest collections is that here given1
 and there is every reason  to believe  
it the pattern worn by the clan from the
 repeal of the  prohibitory statute to  
the middle of the present century1 when 
the  white ground was exchanged for     
grey4 ,it is not known why the          
alteration  was made4    ,illustration3 

,,xxvi4 ,,macpherson          ,,mac     
,,rae3 ,,hunting4      ,the present     
illustration reproduces the pattern of a
 piece of old hard  tartan from a kilt  
believed to have been worn by a member  
of ,clan ,mac  ,rae at the battle of    
,sheriffmuir in #agae4 ,the fragment1   
now in the  author's possession1 bears  
internal evidence of great age1 the     
style  of manufacture attesting its     
connection with the period to which it  
has been assigned4 ,a tartan somewhat   
akin to this1 and having the same  name1
 is supposed to have been founded on an 
imperfect acquaintance  with the pattern
 here given4 ,the design is poorly      
represented in the  ,clans of ,scotland1
 by ,mac ,ian and ,logan4 ,it has been  
styled ,hunting  to distinguish it from 
a red ,mac ,rae1 which agrees exactly   
with the  ,prince's ,own 7,plate        
,,xlii47 ,the ,editor was unable to     
account for the  connection between the 
two latter till he discovered a plaid   
preserved  in a carefully authenticated 

collection in ,inverness-shire1 with the
  description3 8,mac ,rae tartan plaid  
worn by ,prince ,charles ,edward in     
#agde40 ,the plaid being a complicated  
sett1 a large specimen is required  to  
show the complete design1 and1 either   
through inadequate patterns  or         
insistent copying1 the portion          
containing the yellow lines has been    
omitted from all representations of the 
tartan hitherto published4  ,captain    
,john ,mac ,rae of ,kames ,castle has   
furnished the following note  regarding 
a sett of tartan which has been worn in 
his family3--8,when my                  
great-great-grandfather1 ,john ,mac ,ra 
of ,conchra1 ,lochalsh1 was on his  way 
to ,sheriffmuir from ,kintail1 some of  
his followers being without  stockings1 
the occupants of a shieling in which    
some of them lodged  spent the night in 
cutting out stockings for them from a   
web of cloth  which they had in the     
place4 ,a piece of this web was in the  
possession  of my grand-aunt1 ,miss     

,flora ,mac ,ra of ,ardintoul1 from     
which she  knitted the accompanying hose
 when a girl at the end of last century4
  ,unfortunately1 the original piece of 
cloth has been lost40 ,the tartan  may  
be described as consisting of squares of
 sapphire-blue and white1  a line of    
yellow passing through the former and   
one of red through the  latter4         
,illustration3 ,,xxvii4 ,,mac ,,rae     
,,menzies3 ,,hunting4      ,from early  
times the war-cry and motto of the      
,menzies clan has been  8,geal 'us dearg
 a suas10 8,up with the red and white10 
and this has  been held to refer to the 
tartan2 but1 as other hues are found in 
old  specimens1 it is at least probable 
that both phrase and design may be      
traced to the heraldic shield of the    
chief1 which is argent1 a chief  gules1 
the colours of the tartan as commonly   
known4 ,in the hunting  pattern here    
reproduced the only change is the       
substitution of green  for red in the   
ground1 and red for white in the        

stripes4 ,the pattern  of ,menzies      
tartan1 signed and sealed by the chief  
of that day1 in the  collection formed  
by the ,highland ,society of ,london in 
#ahaf-ag1 is an  arrangement of red1    
green1 blue1 and white1 and an example  
of last  century date in the ,editor's  
collection is identical in sett4 ,the   
use  of the red and white ,menzies      
tartan as a design for hose was common  
throughout the ,highlands1 as the       
ancient portraits of various families   
prove1 and this use of the sett is      
probably of earlier date than its       
special adoption as the ,clan ,menzies  
wear4    ,illustration3 ,,xxviii4       
,,menzies3 ,,hunting                    
,,montgomerie4      ,the frequent use of
 tartans by non-,highland families      
during a long  period--certainly        
throughout the eighteenth century--has  
been noted  elsewhere4 ,it is not       
suggested that these wore the dress to  
the same  extent as the inhabitants of  
the ,western ,highlands and ,islands1   

but1  nevertheless1 the use of tartans  
was popular in the ,south of ,scotland  
at the time of the ,union of the        
,kingdoms1 and for long afterwards4     
,about this period1 probably1 the design
 here illustrated came to be  adopted by
 the ,montgomeries of ,ayrshire4 ,a fine
 example in old hard  tartan1 from ,dr4 
,skene's collection1 has been employed  
as a guide in  the reproduction of the  
sett4 ,an examination of the historical 
relics  in the possession of the ,earl  
of ,eglinton1 the head of the           
,montgomerie  family1 at ,eglinton      
,castle has furnished ample evidence of 
the early  use of the tartan as here    
illustrated4 ,in #ageg the ,honourable  
,archibald  ,montgomerie1 son of the    
,earl of ,eglinton1 received letters of 
service  to raise a regiment in the     
,north4 ,it was known as ,montgomerie's 
,highlanders4 ,the uniform1 as appears  
from the ,eglinton portraits  examined  
by the author1 consisted of the         
,highland dress1 but the tartan  worn   

was the ,government or ,black ,watch    
sett1 and not the ,montgomerie  pattern4
    ,an interesting record of the       
encouragement by this family of the     
manufacture of tartans in ,ireland about
 the year #afjj will be found in  the   
,introduction4    ,illustration3 ,,xxix4
 ,,montgomerie          ,,ogilvy4       
,as has been indicated in the notes on  
,drummond of ,strathallan1 that  pattern
 has been generally worn by the ,ogilvys
 since the families  became connected   
through marriage in #ahab4 ,the present 
illustration  shows what was known as   
the ,ogilvy 7see ,drummond of           
,strathallan1 ,plate  ,,vii47 before    
that date1 though it has gradually sunk 
into abeyance4 ,of  its origin nothing  
is known4 ,it was revived as late as    
#ahej in ,the  ,clans of ,scotland1 by  
,thomas ,smibert1 but it was then       
imperfectly  represented4 ,the          
collection of ,mr and ,mrs              
,nisbet-,hamilton-,ogilvy at  ,biel     
contains1 as has been said1 a fine      

portrait of ,david1 the ,lord  ,ogilvy  
of the '#de1 who commanded ,ogilvy's    
,horse4 ,it is a half-length  figure1   
and1 while the coat is in simple red and
 blue check1 the plaid  is more         
elaborate in design4 ,clearly limned is 
an effective arrangement  of red and    
blue1 which are the only colours either 
in coat or plaid4  ,mrs                 
,nisbet-,hamilton-,ogilvy suggests that 
this tartan may have been  a special    
variety provided by ,lord ,ogilvy for   
his regiment4 ,careful  investigation of
 old collections1 however1 reveals no   
earlier pattern  attributed to the      
family than the one here given4         
,illustration3 ,,xxx4 ,,ogilvie         
,,ogilvy3 ,,hunting4      ,generally    
styled the hunting ,ogilvy1 though      
sometimes merely the  ,ogilvy1 this     
example is found in all early           
collections4 ,that of  the ,highland    
,society of ,london 7#ahbb7 contains an 
especially fine  example4 ,in the ,moy  
,hall collection the specimen is        

labelled ,ogilvy of                     
,inverquharitie--its only appearance    
under that name4 ,nothing authentic  has
 been ascertained as to its first       
introduction1 but traditions of  its    
long use are plentiful among the        
families entitled to wear it4  ,an      
ancient legend of the ,ogilvys          
concerning their tartan has been  deemed
 to apply to this pattern1 and to prove 
its antiquity4 ,it is  averred that the 
fairies1 displeased at the appropriation
 of so much  of their favourite colour  
7green7 in the design1 cast their       
influence  against the clan in one of   
its feuds1 and brought about its        
overthrow4  ,hence1 according to the    
legend1 the adoption of the pattern     
shown in  the preceding illustration4   
,the tale has likewise been attributed  
to  the tartan commonly known as the    
,ogilvy1 but restored to its proper     
designation in this volume as           
,strathallan ,drummond1 where the same  
hue  is also predominant4 ,but as that  

design was not adopted by the ,ogilvys  
till #ahab--long after the date of the  
legend--this application is  obviously  
recent4    ,illustration3 ,,xxxi4       
,,ogilvie3 ,,hunting                    
,,robertson4      ,careful and extended 
examination of the various authorities  
establishes  that the example here      
represented illustrates the earliest    
tartan worn  by members of the ,clan    
,donnachie having red as the dominant   
colour4  ,the qualifying clause as to   
colour is introduced because1 since the 
plates for this work were prepared1 the 
author has been indebted to ,mr         
,charles ,robertson of ,kindeace for a  
specimen of the recognised sett  worn by
 his family and other ,robertsons in the
 ,north1 wherein the  colours are mainly
 green and blue1 with red and white     
lines4 ,familiar  enough to             
connoisseurs1 this design was not       
generally esteemed ancient2  but        
,kindeace mentions that his family and  
others have long regarded  it as their  

oldest clan pattern1 and he adds3 8,the 
late ,strowan told  me the red was made 
in ,atholl1 and presented to his father1
 who never  used it4 ,in those days it  
had a white line1 which is never seen   
now40  ,and this confirms the view that 
the illustration given is the earliest  
form of the red tartan4 ,that it is an  
early clan pattern there can be  no     
doubt1 for it is duly recorded as such  
in the ,craignish and ,moy ,hall        
collections1 and in others formed from  
ninety to one hundred years ago  by     
manufacturers and dealers in high       
repute4    ,illustration3 ,,xxxii4      
,,robertson          ,,stewart4         
,the use of this design as ,stewart     
tartan for a period extending back  to  
#agde1 at least1 is vouched by the      
records of manufacturers and  collectors
 alike4 ,specimens gathered about #agij1
 now in the author's  possession1       
include an undated example1 whose       
manufacture indicates  great age4 ,it is
 titled ,clan ,stewart1 and in many     

collections the  design appears as ,old 
,stewart1 so that it was obviously      
recognised as  the clan pattern4        
,probably it was employed1 for the most 
part1 as a  hunting tartan1 by way of   
relief from the brilliancy of other     
designs  of the same name4 ,the strong  
resemblance between this scheme and that
  of the ,atholl district tartan        
7popularly styled the ,atholl-,murray71 
suggests that at one time they were     
identical4 ,it is known that the        
pattern was much worn by the ,stewarts  
of the ,western ,highlands1 and  as     
these1 with the ,stewarts of ,atholl1   
formed the clan1 there is1  at any rate1
 a presumption in favour of a community 
of tartan at an  early date4 ,a         
remarkable example of the old belted    
plaid1 of a design  differing from the  
above in certain particulars but having 
the same  dominant features1 has been   
shown to the ,editor by ,mrs ,stuart of 
,dalness4 ,it is reported to be two     
centuries old1 and to represent the     

original sett of the tartan4            
,illustration3 ,,xxxiii4 ,,stewart      
,,stewart ,,of ,,appin4      ,for the   
source of the present illustration      
reference must be made to  the notes on 
the ,stewart of ,atholl tartan 7,plate  
,,xxxiv47 ,the pattern is  identical    
with the ,royal ,stewart as now worn1   
except that the present  sett has four  
narrow green lines running through the  
large red squares4  ,in the ,grameid    
7pp4 #adb-c7 it is stated1 in connection
 with ,dundee's  gathering at ,lochaber 
in #afhi1 that 8brave ,stewart of       
,appin1 444 with  the whole body of his 
clansmen1 leaves the shores bordering   
,leven1 444  carrying blue banners      
charged with yellow figures1 444 and    
wearing on  their lofty heads fur       
bonnets40 ,the passage1 unlike portions 
dealing  with other clans1 contains no  
mention of the tartan colours4 ,during  
the  '#de the ,appin ,regiment bore     
itself gallantly for the ,prince4 ,the  
roll  of the killed and wounded in the  

campaign supplies interesting evidence  
of the variety of minor septs often     
included in the larger clans4 ,it is    
compiled from memoranda made by ,charles
 ,stewart1 nephew of ,fasnacloich1      
,captain in the ,highland ,army1 and    
sometime ,quartermaster-,general and    
,secretary to ,prince ,charles ,edward4 
,the list is as follows3--              
,,abstract ,,of ,,names ,,in ,,the      
,,appin ,,regiment1 ,,with ,,killed     
,,and ,,wounded1 ,,in  #agde-df4        
,,killed4 ,,wounded4      ,camerons1    
#j       #j    ,carmichaels1         #f 
#b    ,hendersons1          #a       #a 
,macarthurs1          #a       #j       
,maccananichs1        #e       #a       
,maccolls1           #ah      #ae       
,maccombichs1         #e       #c       
,maccorcadills1       #a       #j       
,macdonalds1          #j       #a       
,macilduies1          #a       #j       
,macinishes1          #d       #b       
,macintyres1          #e       #e       
,mackenzies1          #b       #c       

,maclachlans1         #b       #j       
,maclarens1          #ac      #ad       
,macleas1             #d       #a       
,macrankens1          #a       #j       
,macuchkaders1        #j       #a       
,stewarts1           #bb      #be       
----      ----                          
#ia      #gd    ,illustration3 ,,xxxiv4 
,,stewart ,,of ,,appin                  
,,stewart ,,of ,,atholl4      ,five     
tartans described in the ,,ms4 whence   
the ,vestiarium ,scoticum  was derived  
are omitted from that work4 ,the        
illuminated transcript of  the document 
by ,sir ,thomas ,dick ,lauder and the   
drawings of designs  by ,charles ,edward
 ,stuart1 brother of the editor of the  
,vestiarium1  were kindly placed at the 
disposal of the ,editor by ,miss ,dick  
,lauder4  ,in the ,introduction will be 
found a lengthened reference to this    
work1 while some notes regarding it also
 appear in the list of works  hitherto  
published on the subject of tartans4 ,it
 is believed that  the reproduction of  

these patterns will prove of interest2  
and1  accordingly1 they are illustrated 
in ,plates ,,xxii4 and ,,xxxiv4 to      
,,xxxvii4  of the present volume4 ,the  
,vestiarium is enough of a              
bibliographical  rarity to be known to  
comparatively few1 while the original   
,,ms4  is meanwhile quite unavailable4  
,the scheme here represented bears      
considerable resemblance to certain     
early setts of ,royal ,stewart1  but no 
record yet discovered indicates the     
period of its general use  in ,atholl4  
,there is reason to believe1 however1   
that it constituted  the basis of the   
red tartan of ,clan ,donnachie or the   
,robertsons4 ,the  well-nigh universal  
adoption of the ,atholl district pattern
 7commonly  styled the ,atholl-,murray7 
by the various septs in this part of    
,perthshire precluded the extensive wear
 of any other4 ,hence this design  has  
remained almost unknown to the present  
generation4    ,illustration3 ,,xxxv4   
,,stewart ,,of ,,atholl                 

,,stewart ,,of ,,galloway4      ,like   
the preceding design1 this is one of the
 five tartans omitted from  the         
published ,vestiarium ,scoticum2 and it 
differs from the ,stewart  of ,appin    
merely in the number and the tint of the
 lines intersecting  the red squares4   
,in the same respects it differs also   
from the ,royal  ,stewart1 the evolution
 of which is somewhat remarkable4 ,when 
the ,royal  ,company of ,archers adopted
 the ,royal ,stewart as their uniform   
early  last century1 the tartan         
presented an aspect not easily          
reconciled  with its present setting--as
 the relics of the old dress show--but  
the change has been very gradual4 ,the  
wedding coat of ,charles ,,ii41         
preserved in the collection of the ,duke
 of ,st ,albans at ,bestwood1 is  said  
to be adorned with ribbons of ,royal    
,stewart4 ,this example the  author has 
not yet had an opportunity of verifying4
 ,the ,stewart of  ,galloway is a family
 tartan1 restricted in use to the house 

whose name  it bears1 and its more      
immediate connections4 ,it was in       
considerable  favour in the early years 
of the present century among families   
allied  to the ,galloway ,stewarts2 but 
of its earlier use available records    
afford no trace1 though there is reason 
to regard its wear soon after  the      
,union of the ,kingdoms as highly       
probable4    ,illustration3 ,,xxxvi4    
,,stewart ,,of ,,galloway               
,,stuart ,,of ,,bute4      ,of the early
 use of the various setts of the        
,stewarts little can  be gleaned1       
unfortunately1 even from painstaking    
investigation at  the most likely       
sources4 ,the pattern now submitted of  
the ,stuart of  ,bute is a reproduction 
of another of the drawings omitted from 
the  published ,vestiarium ,scoticum4   
,it is clear from the correspondence    
between ,sir ,walter ,scott and ,sir    
,thomas ,dick ,lauder1 already          
mentioned1  that ,charles ,edward       
,stuart executed all the water-colours  

about #ahbi  7although the work edited  
by his brother was not published till   
thirteen years later7 for the transcript
 of the ,,ms4 whereon the book  is      
founded4 ,the records of this1 as of the
 previous design1 point to  its use     
having been confined almost entirely to 
the family from whom it  derives its    
title1 though others1 more or less      
closely related1 have  likewise claimed 
an interest in the wear4 ,whether or not
 the pattern  was employed by the       
,stuarts of ,bute prior to the          
production of the ,,ms4  by the father  
of the ,stuart brothers has not been    
ascertained4    ,illustration3 ,,xxxvii4
 ,,stuart ,,of ,,bute                   
,,wallace4      ,for this design there  
are records extending over a hundred    
years2 and  it is credibly asserted that
 the tartan is of much greater          
antiquity4  ,be this as it may1 the     
pattern is placed under its proper name 
in many  collections formed early in the
 century4 ,somewhat inexplicable is the 

fact that the tartan usually styled ,mac
 ,lean of ,duart was greatly worn  by   
certain ,wallaces down to about twenty  
years ago4 ,it is1 indeed1  frequently  
designated in old books of tartan relics
 as ,mac ,lean and  ,wallace4 ,yet no   
record of either family furnishes any   
explanation of  this singular           
conjunction4 ,the accumulation of       
evidence as to early  use by the        
,wallaces of the example here           
illustrated has now led to  its adoption
 by all bearing that name4 ,it is a     
family tartan1 for  the ,wallaces were  
in no sense a clan2 but its antiquity1  
and its  authenticity1 entitle it to a  
place in this work4    ,illustration3   
,,xxxviii4 ,,wallace          ,,from ,a 
,,portrait ,,of ,,the ,,countess ,,of   
,,lennox4      ,the accompanying        
illustration reproduces a tartan        
depicted in a  sixteenth century        
painting which existed in ,paris between
 forty and  fifty years ago1 and was    
known as a portrait of the ,countess of 

,lennox1  mother of ,lord ,darnley4 ,two
 copies of the work are extant4 ,one    
owned by  the family of the late ,mr    
,charles ,elphinstone ,dalrymple has    
been kindly  lent for the purposes of   
this volume4 ,the other is in the       
collection of  ,mr ,henry ,burnley      
,heath1 ,italian ,consul ,general1      
,london4 ,mr ,heath writes  that he     
searched in vain for the original in    
,paris some years back2  and subsequent 
inquiries have also failed to trace it4 
,it is suggested  by him that the       
painting may be a portrait of ,queen    
,mary in the tartan  of the ,lennox     
district1 to which ,darnley belonged4   
,mr ,elphinstone  ,dalrymple1 an        
authority on portraiture careful as     
eminent1 believed in  the authenticity  
and age of the work2 but1 unfortunately1
 his papers  contain few notes          
concerning it or its history4 ,it is to 
be hoped the  whereabouts of this       
interesting portrait may still be       
ascertained1  especially as it is deemed

 the earliest coloured representation of
  tartan dress4    ,illustration3       
,,xxxix4 ,,from ,a ,,portrait ,,of ,,the
 ,,countess ,,of ,,lennox    ,,of       
#af,,th ,,century ,,date          ,,from
 ,,the ,,cloak ,,of ,,prince ,,charles  
,,edward ,,at ,,fingask4      ,of the   
many valuable relics of the '#de        
treasured by the  ,murray-,threipland   
family at ,fingask1 few possess greater 
interest than  the cloak of ,prince     
,charles ,edward1 whence the present    
representation  is taken4 ,it escaped   
the vandalism of the soldiery engaged in
  suppressing the rising1 and it has    
since been jealously guarded1  so that  
it is an unusually well-preserved       
example of the tartan  manufactured in  
the early and middle portions of last   
century4 ,in the  notes on the ,drummond
 of ,perth1 attention is directed to the
 fact that1  save for one fine line1    
that design is the same as this one4    
,the reason  of the similarity is hard  
to find1 but1 as no heed has hitherto   

been  paid to the matter1 information   
tending to elucidate the mystery may    
yet be forthcoming4    ,illustration3   
,,xl4 ,,from ,,prince ,,charles         
,,edward',s ,,cloak    ,,preserved ,,at 
,,fingask          ,,from ,a ,,plaid    
,,worn ,,by ,,prince ,,charles ,,edward 
,,at ,,holyrood4      ,the fragments    
employed in the preparation of this     
illustration are  portions of a plaid   
worn by ,prince ,charles ,edward during 
his brief  sojourn in ,edinburgh in     
#agde4 ,on his departure he presented   
the garment  to ,susanna1 ,countess of  
,eglinton1 a belle of the day1 at whose 
house  in the ,canongate he was a       
frequent visitor4 ,divided by her among 
her  seven daughters1 a portion was     
given by one of them--,lady ,frances    
,montgomerie--to her grand-niece1 the   
late ,mrs ,erskine of ,torrie1 who      
bequeathed it to the ,rev4 ,henry       
,bruce1 ,dunimarle4 ,mr ,bruce mentions 
that ,mrs ,erskine1 who assured him of  
the genuineness of the relic1  spoke of 

,lady ,frances as having often conversed
 with the ,prince4  ,well-nigh a century
 back the tartan was cut up for slippers
 by the  daughters of ,sir ,william     
,erskine of ,torrie4 ,it was thus       
greatly  mutilated1 but enough remained 
intact to permit the rendering of the   
design here given4 ,sir ,arthur         
,halkett1 ,bart41 in whose collection   
are  some small pieces of the plaid1    
lent these to ensure the reproduction   
of the precise tints of the original4   
,illustration3 ,,xli4 ,,from ,a ,,plaid 
,,worn ,,by ,,prince ,,charles ,,edward1
    ,,at ,,holyrood1 ,,given ,,by ,,him 
,,to ,,the ,,countess ,,of ,,eglinton   
8,,the ,,prince',s ,,own40      ,various
 circumstances tend to enhance the      
interest of this design1  which is      
especially associated by ,jacobite      
enthusiasts with the memory  of ,prince 
,charles ,edward1 and which was named   
during the campaign of  #agde-df from   
his personal use of it4 ,authenticated  
by specimens of  contemporary and       

immediately subsequent dates--invariably
 bearing the  legend of royal           
adoption--the tartan may be ranked      
amongst the earliest  clan patterns     
extant in fabric4 ,it is undoubtedly an 
old pattern of the  ,mac ,raes2 and it  
was certainly worn by the ,prince in    
their territory4  ,but whether it was   
previously used by members of the clan1 
or whether  it was adopted by them as a 
compliment to the wearer1 cannot be     
determined4 ,tradition indicates1       
however1 that the ,prince was wont to   
don the local colours of the various    
clans in his sojournments in their      
respective districts4 ,it is now        
generally known as ,mac ,rae2 but in all
  representations hitherto published the
 omission of the yellow lines has       
produced confusion as to the true sett4 
,illustration3 ,,xlii4 8,,the           
,,prince',s ,,own10 ,,as ,,worn ,,in    
#agde-df              ,,from ,a ,,coat  
,,worn ,,at ,,culloden4      ,sufficient
 interest adheres to certain examples of

 tartan designs in  use a century and a 
half ago to warrant their inclusion in  
the present  work1 even though these are
 associated with no clan or family4 ,the
  present illustration is a reproduction
 of the sett and the colouring in  a    
highly interesting and carefully        
preserved riding or military coat in    
the collection of ,mr ,gourlay ,steell1 
,r4,s4,a41 who kindly lent it for the   
purposes of this volume4 ,it has been   
publicly exhibited several times  both  
in ,scotland and in ,france4 ,in the    
,naval and ,military ,exhibition1       
,edinburgh1 #ahhi1 where it was last    
shown1 it was described as 8,highland   
,tartan ,coat1 worn by one of ,prince   
,charles ,edward's attendants at        
,culloden40 ,it belonged at one time to 
the late ,james ,drummond1 ,r4,s4,a41   
and previously to the late ,w4 ,b4      
,johnston1 ,r4,s4,a4 ,despite an        
uncommon  and daring colour scheme1 the 
general result is pleasing and          
effective4  ,the greater part of the    

tartan is much faded2 but as in certain 
portions the tints are brilliantly      
displayed a faithful copy has been      
obtained4 ,fabric and fashion alike     
testify to the antiquity of the         
garment4    ,illustration3 ,,xliii4     
,,from ,a ,,coat ,,worn ,,at ,,culloden 
,,from ,a ,,plaid ,,found ,,at          
,,culloden4      ,similar in history to 
the preceding illustration is the design
 now  represented2 but the fabric       
contains evidence of earlier manufacture
  than the date of ,culloden4 ,indeed1  
with the exception of two plaids  at    
,dunimarle1 certified as having been at 
,sheriffmuir in #agae1 the  writer knows
 of no example so large in size1 and    
possessing so much  internal evidence of
 great age4 ,it may1 with every         
probability1 be  assigned to the first  
years of last century1 if not           
considerably  earlier4 ,nor is this     
incompatible with its appearance at     
,culloden1  since the long periods such 
things have been1 and still are1        

preserved  in the ,highlands have passed
 into proverb4 ,the plaid1 kindly lent  
by  ,mr ,gourlay ,steell1 ,r4,s4,a41 for
 reproduction1 shows an intricate and   
unusual sett2 and the single check1 as  
here displayed1 represents half  of the 
plaid1 and is merely repeated in the    
other half4 ,when shown in  exhibitions 
it has been catalogued 8,highland       
,plaid1 found on the field  of ,culloden
 the day after the battle40             
,illustration3 ,,xliv4 ,,from ,a ,,plaid
 ,,found ,,on ,,culloden ,,battlefield  
,,balmoral4      ,the object of         
including this beautiful modern yet rare
 design in a  collection of ,old and    
,rare ,tartans is that collectors may   
possess a  pattern greatly desired by   
them4 ,hitherto1 on account of the      
conditions  imposed on ,messrs ,romanes 
,paterson1 ,edinburgh1 the manufacturers
  of tartans to the ,royal ,family1 it  
has been impossible1 even for the       
connoisseur1 to procure an example of   
it4 ,for the purposes of the  present   

work1 however1 ,her ,majesty the ,queen 
has not only granted  permission for its
 publication here1 but has also         
graciously afforded  information        
concerning its inception in the early   
years of the reign1  when the sett was  
designed by the ,prince ,consort4 ,it   
has continued  to occupy a conspicuous  
position in the dress and appointments  
of  the ,royal ,family and its          
retainers1 when these partake of a      
,highland  character4 ,on the occasion  
of a ,royal marriage1 ,her ,majesty's   
gifts to  the bride invariably include  
articles of costume of this tartan4     
,illustration3 ,,xlv4 ,,the ,,balmoral  
,,tartan    ,,designed ,,by ,h4,r4,h4   
,,the ,,late ,,prince ,,consort         
,transcriber's ,notes  ,page            
#a;a--changed copiep to copied  ,page   
#bb--;changed servil to servill  ,page  
#dh--;changed liker to like