It's your Electric Scotland newsletter meaning
the weekend is nearly here :-)
You can view what's new this week on Electric Scotland at
http://www.electricscotland.com/update.html and you can unsubscribe to
this newsletter by clicking on the link at the foot of this newsletter.
See our Calendar of Scottish Events around the world at
http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/calendar_help.htm
CONTENTS
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Electric Scotland News
Scotland on TV
The Flag in the Wind
The Scottish Nation
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1845)
Book of Scottish Story
Good Words - Edited by the Rev Norman MacLeod
Clan Information
Poetry and Stories
History of Ulster
Reminiscences and Reflections of an Octogenarian Highlander
Sketches of The Character, Manners, and Present State of the Highlanders of
Scotland
Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland 1881
Household Encyclopaedia
Scottish Art Trading Cards
Electric Scotland Article Service
Antiquarian Scottish Books in Adobe Reader format
The Scottish Tradition in Canada (New Book)
Boleskine & Dores (Inverness-shire)
ELECTRIC SCOTLAND NEWS
----------------------
Many thanks for so many of you emailing me back with the wee test mailing I
did tonight. Now that I know that is working you should now get this
newsletter when I send it out shortly :-)
I'll be using this system until we get the other program working when I can
get back to sending out both html and text versions.
Many thanks also to the many of you that either filled in the wee survey or
emailed me direct. It's obvious the majority of you would like to continue
the newsletter as is and that's what I'll do :-)
The newsletter folk we used put up a firewall and this prevented us from
adding our newsletter. They were unable to offer any work around so we had
no option but to find another solution. I might add that I am not
complaining about this as they were kind enough to host the newsletter for a
number of years.
I have in fact added an RSS feed to the site on our index page and on our
what's new page. When you go to either of these pages you'll see a wee
orange graphic with RSS on it. Clicking that will get you to our feed. You
can also find this at
http://www.electricscotland.com/rss.xml
I do have a small script that allows you to take our feed and then convert
it to java code which can then be inserted into any web page. Once this is
done you'll get our feed appearing on your own web page. Once we have the
newsletter sorted we'll get this script up and add a page telling you more
about how to use it. The link to this will appear on our "Services" page.
I intend to make use of this script myself to add to our what's new page on
the site. This way I won't need to do double work. The script allows you to
add as many news items as you want but for most folk likely 10 news items
will be sufficient although I've customised it to offer up to 100 news
items. Once you get to the limit you decide on the older news items will be
removed and replaced with the newest items.
I might add that the "Services" page is new and is intended to list all our
interactive services such as our new article and recipe services along with
our Calendar and Postcard programs. In other words services that you can do
something with.
We are working on new forums software which will be a lot different from the
gossamer forums we were using. We have the software but are doing a lot of
customization work on it. We intend to offer both public and private
messaging, blogs, image hosting and likely a calendar service.
What I am trying to do is provide not only a great research site for
Scottish history but also a community that our visitors can use for all
kinds of things. I am also not confining this to just Scottish themes and so
hope to attract people that may have no particular interest in Scotland but
when attracted to some of our services will hopefully become interested in
Scotland :-)
This week also sees us starting a new book, "The Scottish Tradition in
Canada" of which more below.
ABOUT THE STORIES
-----------------
Some of the stories in here are just parts of a larger story so do check out
the site for the full versions. You can always find the link in our "What's
New" section at the link at the top of this newsletter and pick up poems and
stories sent into us during the week from Donna, Margo, Stan, John and
others.
Scotland on TV
--------------
Visit their site at
http://www.scotlandontv.tv
PIPING – it’s cool say Scottish kids
Bagpiping is increasing in popularity amongst Scottish young people and this
week, Vicky Lee set out to find out more.
Vicky met with TNT (The New Tradition), a kilt-wearing group of 3 young guys
in their late teens/early twenties - Keith, Cameron and Alasdair - who are
breaking new ground in upping the profile of pipe music amongst Scottish
young people. The band formed in July 2006 and have gone from strength to
strength, performing in festivals including Glasgow’s Piping Live and Celtic
Connections. The three lads are all studying for degrees in Scottish Music
at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, but also find time to play
with traditional pipe bands when not performing with TNT.
Vicky also visited a group of young pipers from Johnstone, Renfrewshire. The
Johnstone Pipe Band has a youth programme which enabled them, in 2006, to
launch the Johnstone Novice Juvenile Pipe Band where they’ve discovered that
it’s not just the boys who want to be in pipe bands.
It’s actions such as the formation of Johnstone’s juvenile band and emerging
contemporary bands such as TNT that are all helping to make piping so
appealing to Scotland’s young people.
See for yourself how the future of piping is being assured!
http://www.scotlandontv.tv/scotland_on_tv/video.html?Channel=Bagpip%20Piping&vxClipId=1380_SMG1863
THE FLAG IN THE WIND
--------------------
This weeks Flag is compiled by Donald Bain and he's telling about "The man
threatening to
destroy Scotland’s independent courts" which is certainly a matter of
concern.
In Peter's cultural section he tells us...
Carpe diem! Seize the day! Today 29 February 2008 is Leap Day which by
tradition is the one day that women can propose marriage, thus keeping men
safe for the next 1460 days! So ladies go ahead and seize the day.
Supposedly a 1288 law by Margaret, Queen of Scots (then five years old and
in Norway) required that fines be levied if a marriage proposal was refused
by the man, compensation ranged from a kiss, to a £1, to a silk gown to
soften the blow. Thus added to 14 February, St Valentine’s Day, we have
another romantic day this February, which calls for another romantic recipe.
Chocolate Cloud Cake is just the ticket to round off any romantic meal.
Chocolate Cloud Cake
Ingredients:
Cake: 250g dark chocolate minimum 70% cocoa solids; 125g unsalted butter,
softened; 6 eggs: 2 whole, 4 separated; 175g caster sugar: 75g in the cake,
100g in whites; 2 tbspns Cointreau (optional); grated zest of an orange
(optional); 23cm springform cake tin
Cream topping: 500ml double cream; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tbspn Cointreau
(optional); half tsp unsweetened cocoa powder for sprinkling
Method: Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Line the bottom of a 23cm
Springform cake tin with baking parchment. Melt the chocolate either in a
double boiler or a microwave, and then let the butter melt in the warm
chocolate. Beat the 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks with 75g caster sugar, then
gently add the chocolate mixture, the Cointreau and orange zest. In another
bowl, whisk the 4 egg whites until foamy, then gradually add the 100g of
sugar and whisk until the whites are holding their shape but not too stiff.
Lighten the chocolate mixture with a dollop of egg whites, and then fold in
the rest of the whites. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for about 35 to
40 minutes or until the cake is risen and cracked and the centre is no
longer wobbly. Cool the cake in it's tin on a wire rack; the middle will
sink as it cools.
When you are ready to eat, place the still tin-bound cake on a cake stand or
plate for serving and carefully remove the cake from its tin. Don't worry
about cracks or rough edges: it's the crater look we're going for here. Whip
the cream until soft and then add the vanilla and Cointreau and continue
whisking until the cream is firm but not stiff. Fill the crater of the cake
with the whipped cream, easing it out gently towards the edges of the cake,
and dust the top lightly with cocoa powder pushed through a tea-strainer.
You can read the Flag, listen to the Scots Language, enjoy the Scots Wit and
lots more at
http://www.scotsindependent.org
Christina McKelvie MSP's weekly diary has not been received for this week at
the time of completing this newsletter.
The Scottish Nation
-------------------
My thanks to Lora for transcribing these volumes for us.
We are now on the Mac's with MacPhie, MacQuarrie, MacQueen, MacRae and
MacRimmond
Here is how the account of MacQuarrie starts...
MACQUARRIE (Clann Guarie), the name of a minor clan which possessed the
small island of Ulva, one of the Argyleshire Hebrides, with a portion of
mull, and the badge of which was the pine. The Gaelic MS of 1450 deduces
their descent from Guarie of Godfrey, called by the Highland Sennachies, Gor
or Gorbred, said to have been “a brother of Fingon, ancestor of the
Mackinnons, and Anrias or Andrew, ancestor of the Macgregors.” This is the
belief of Mr. Skene, who adds, “The history of the Macquarries resembles
that of the Mackinnons in many respects; like them they had migrated far
from the head-quarters of their race; they became dependent on the lords of
the Isles, and followed them as if they had become a branch of the clan.”
According to a history of the family, by one of its members, in 1249 Cormac
Mhor, then “chief of Ulva’s isle,” joined Alexander II., with his followers
and three galleys of sixteen oars each, in his expedition against the
western islands, and after that monarch’s death in the island of Kerrera,
was attacked by Haco of Norway, defeated and slain. His two sons. Allan and
Gregor, were compelled to take refuge in Ireland, where the latter, surnamed
Carbh or the rough, is said to have founded the powerful tribe of the
MacGuires, the chief of which at one time possessed the title of Lord
Inniskillen. Allan returned to Scotland, and his descendant, Hector
Macquarrie of Ulva, chief in the time of Robert the Bruce, fought with his
clan at Bannockburn.
The first chief of whom there is any notice in the public records was John
Macquarrie of Ulva, who died in 1473. (Reg. of Great Seal, 31, No. 159.) His
son, Dunslaff, was chief when the last lord of the Isles was forfeited
twenty years afterwards. After that event, the Macquarries, like the other
vassal tribes of the Macdonalds, became independent. In war, however, they
followed the banner of their neighbour Maclean of Dowart. With the latter,
Dunslaff supported the claims of Donald Dubh to the lordship of the Isles,
in the beginning of the 16th century, and in 1504, “MacGorry of Ullowaa” was
summoned, with some other chiefs, before the Estates of the kingdom to
answer for his share in Donald Dubh’s rebellion. The submission of Maclean
of Dowart, in the following year, implied also that of Macquarrie, and in
1517, when the former chief obtained his own remission, he stipulated for
that of the chief of Ulva and two other chiefs. Dunslaff married a daughter
of Macneill of Taynish, the bride’s tocher or dower consisting of a piebald
horse, with two men and two women.
You can read the rest of this account at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/macquarrie.htm
You can read the other entries at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/index.htm
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1845)
------------------------------------------
The first volume I am dealing with is the one on Aberdeenshire. There are
some 85 parishes in this volume and a write up on each.
This week have added...
Parish of Insch at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/statistical/insch.htm
Here is a bit from the account...
Name.—The name Insch is generally considered to be of Celtic origin, and to
signify an island. It is not improbable, that the Insch had originally been
confined to the small town or village in which the church stands, or, at all
events, to the spot of ground which forms the site of the village, and which
bears some marks of having been at one time surrounded with water.
Extent, &c.—The parish is of an irregular figure. Were one part of it,
however, taken away, namely, the Daugh of Moreal, which there is reason to
think had not originally belonged to it, but had formed part of another
parish now extinct, called Rathmoreal or Christkirk, the remains of whose
church, surrounded by a burial-ground, are quite adjacent, in the parish of
Kennethmont, the remainder would be pretty nearly an oblong, the greater
sides, from north to south, measuring about 5½ miles, the lesser, from east
to west, about 2½. The superficial extent of the whole parish is about 11
2/3 square miles. It is bounded on the east by the parish of Culsamond; on
the south, by Oyne, Premnay, and Leslie; on the west, by Kennethmont and
Gartly; and on the north, by Drum-blade and Forgue.
Any authentic account of the more remote history of the parish would
undoubtedly be very interesting, as the memorials of long past times, which
still exist in it, are such as shew that it has once been the scene of
important events. No such account, however, is known to the writer of this.
In a genealogical work, now rare, entitled Laurus Lesliana, and which gives
an account of the various branches of the Lesly family, there is some
information to be found respecting the former proprietors of land in the
parish, the chief of whom had belonged to the house of Lesly.
Land-owners.—The principal land-owners, at the present time, are, Count
Lesly of Balquhain, proprietor of the lands termed the Barony of Meikle
Wardhouse, Knockenbaird, &c. in the parish of Insch. Count Lesly's ancestors
had, it would seem, at one time been possessed of the greater part of the
lands in this parish, as also in not a few of the parishes in the Garioch.
The baronies of Balquhain and Meikle Wardhouse, the former in the parish of
Chapel of Garioch, the latter in this parish, had formerly be-longed to
separate branches of the family, and they continued to do so till about the
year 1642, when, according to Spalding, the estates of Wardhouse were "so
much dilapidated, that the heir, Sir John Leslie, (who died in 1645), on
coming home from Germany, on the death of his father, found that there was
nothing left for him to live upon." The greater part of his property, having
probably been mortgaged, had come, about that time, into the hands of the
Balquhain branch, in which it has continued ever since.
A considerable portion, however, including the site of the castle of
Wardhouse, having been otherwise disposed of, and having passed through
various hands, is now in the possession of John David Gordon, Esq. merchant
in Cadiz, who succeeded his father, Charles Gordon, about nine years ago.
The family residence in Scotland is Gordon Hall, Kennethmont. The other
proprietors of land are, Theodore Gordon, Esq. Overhall, who is possessed of
part of the lands of Dunnideer, in this parish.—Robert Abercrombie, Esq. of
Rothney and Drumrossie, who came into possession of the above lands (lying
partly in Insch, partly in Premnay), by purchase, only a few years ago, they
having been sold by the executors of the late Miss Mary Gordon, the last of
her family, which was a branch of the Gordons of Lesmoir, and in whose hands
they had been for some centuries.—Sir Andrew Leith Hay, of Rannes, who is
possessed of the lands of Insch and Netherboddom, and the superiority of the
burgh of Insch. Besides the properties above referred to, there are in the
parish the lands of Boddom, Cairneston, and Johnsleys, which are at present
in the market, having fallen to be disposed of by the executors of the late
Mr Gordon, Newton.
You can read the rest of this account at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/statistical/insch.htm
On the index page of this volume you can see a list of the 85 parishes and
also a map at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/statistical/volume12.htm
Book of Scottish Story
----------------------
Our thanks to John Henderson for sending this in for us.
This week have added 2 stories...
A Night in Duncan M'Gowan's
from Blackwood's Magazine
The Miller and the Freebooter
by Sir Thomas Dick Lauder
As the story of "The Miller and the Freebooter" is quite short here is the
whole story for you to read here...
In Glenquoich, in Aberdeenshire, in the early part of last century, there
was a corn-mill erected for the use of the neighbourhood, and as the
construction and management of such machines were ill understood in that
part of Scotland at the time, a miller was brought from the low country to
superintend it. In this neighbourhood there lived at that lime a certain
Donald Mackenzie, a hero remarkable for his haughty and imperious manner,
and known by the appellation of "Donald Unasach," or Donald the Proud. Being
a native of Glenquoich, he knew as little of the English language as the
miller did of Gaelic. He was an outlaw, addicted to freebooting, and of so
fierce and unruly a temper, that the whole country stood in awe of him. One
circumstance regarding him struck everyone with superstitious awe, and
created much conjecture and speculation among those around him: he was never
known to be without abundance of meal, and yet he was never known to carry
any corn to the mill.
But the sagacious miller of Glenquoich soon discovered that, in order to
bilk him of his proper mill-dues, the caitiff was in the habit of bringing
his grain to the mill in the night, and grinding it, and carrying it off
before morning. To charge him directly with this fraud, was too dangerous an
attempt. But the miller ventured to ask him now and then, quietly, how he
did for meal, as he never brought any corn to the mill; to which the
freebooter never returned any other answer than one in Gaelic, signifying
that "strong is the hand of God!"
Provoked at last, the miller determined to take his own way of curing the
evil; and, having some previous notion of the next nocturnal visit of his
unwelcome customer, he took care, before leaving the mill in the evening, to
remove the bush, or that piece of wood which is driven into the eye of the
nethermillstone, for the purpose of keeping the spindle steady in passing
through the upper stone. He also stopped up the spout through which the meal
discharged itself; and as the mill was one of those old-fashioned machines,
where the water-wheel moved horizontally, and directly under the stones, it
follows that, by this arrangement of things, the corn would fall into the
stream. Having made these preparations, the miller locked his house door,
and went to bed.
About midnight, Donald arrived with his people, and some sacks of dry corn,
and finding everything, as he thought, in good order in the mill, he filled
the hopper, and let on the water. The machinery revolved with more than
ordinary rapidity; the grain sank fast in the hopper; but not a particle of
it came out at the place where he was wont to receive it into his bag as
meal. Donald the Proud and his "gillies" were all aghast. Frantic with rage,
he and they ran up and down; and, in their hurry to do everything, they
succeeded in doing nothing. At length Donald perceived, what even the
obscurity of the night could not hide, a long white line of fair provender
flowing down the middle of the stream, that left not a doubt as to where his
corn was discharging itself. But he could neither guess how this strange
phenomenon was produced, nor how the evil was to be cured. After much
perplexity, he thought of turning off the water. But here the wily miller
had also been prepared for him, having so contrived matters, that the pole,
or handle connecting the sluice with the inside of the mill, had fallen off
as soon as the water was let on the wheel.
Baffled at all points, Donald was compelled at last to run to the miller's
house. Finding the door locked, he knocked and bawled loudly at the window;
and, on the miller demanding to know who was there, he did his best to
explain, in broken English, the whole circumstances of the case. The miller
heard him to an end ; and turning himself in his bed, he coolly replied,
"strong is the hand of God!" Donald Unasach gnashed his teeth, tried the
door again, returned to the window, and, humbled by the circumstances,
repeated his explanation and entreaties for help. "Te meal town te purn to
te teil! hoigh, hoigh!" "I thought ye had been ower weel practeesed in the
business to let ony sic mischanter come ower ye, Donald," replied the
imperturbable lowlander; "but, you know, 'strong is the hand of God!'" The
mountaineer now lost all patience. Drawing his dirk, and driving it through
the window, he began to strike it so violently against the stones on the
outside of the wall, that he illuminated the house with a shower of fire,
that showed the terrified inmates the ferocious countenance of him who
wielded the weapon. "Te meal to te mill, te mutter to te mailler," sputtered
out Donald, in the midst of his wrath, meaning to imply, that if the miller
would only come and help him, he should have all his dues in future. Partly
moved by this promise, but still more by his well-grounded fears, the miller
arose at last, put the mill to rights, and ground the rest of the corn. And
tradition tells us that after this the mill-dues were regularly paid, and
the greatest harmony subsisted between Donald Unasach and the miller of
Glenquoich.
The other much longer story can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/books/story/index.htm
Good Words - 1860 Edition
-------------------------
Edited by Rev. Norman MacLeod
You should note that as this is a weekly publication you'll find larger
articles are continued week by week.
This week have added articles on...
A Summer's Study of Ferns (Pages 345-346)
Aspects of Indian Life During the Rebellion (Pages 347-350)
Isaiah XXXIII 17 (Page 351)
Good Words for Every Day in the Year (Pages 351-352)
Lady Somerville's Maidens (Pages 353-356)
Here is how the account of "Aspects of Indian Life During the Rebellion:
starts...
At Delhi Mr Russell found himself "in the ruined streets of a deserted city,
in which every house bore the marks of cannon or musket shot, or the traces
of the hand of the spoiler. . . . As the gharry (travel cart) rattled along
at the foot of the huge red wall, not a creature was to be seen except a
hungry pariah, (semi-wild dog,) "or an impudent crow. The walls of ruined
houses, covered all over with bullet marks, stared out dully at us with
their Windless eyes of windows." Further on, a few soldiers appeared,
lounging about, while English children looked out of the glassless windows,
and "a few natives of the lower order strut through the wide street."
Received with luxurious hospitality by the Commissioner, Mr Russell
proceeded the same evening to visit the ex-king. The description of this
miserable shadow of royalty, a "dim, wandering-eyed, dreamy old man, with
feeble, hanging nether lip, and toothless gums," has been often quoted, and
is repeated by Mr Russell Himself, from his Times' letters. Yet Mr Russell's
reflections upon his fate deserve our attention:—
"He was called ungrateful for rising against his benefactors. He was, no
doubt, a weak and cruel old man; but to talk of ingratitude on the part of
one who saw that all the dominions of his ancestors had gradually been taken
from him, by force or otherwise, till he was left with an empty title, a
more empty exchequer, and a palace full of penniless princesses and princes
of his own blood, is perfectly preposterous. . . . We, it is true, have had
the same right and the same charter for our dominions in India that the
Mohammedan founders of the house of Delhi had for the sovereignty they
claimed over Hindostan; but we did not come into India as they did, at the
head of great armies, with the avowed intention of subjugating the country.
We crept in as humble barterers, whose existence depended on the bounty and
favour of the lieutenants of the kings of Delhi. . . .
An English lawyer in an English court of justice might shew that it would be
very difficult for our government to draw an indictment against the king of
Delhi for treason, for the laying of war against us as lords paramount, or
even for being directly accessory to the murder of the poor ladies who fell
victims to the brutal ferocity and bloodthirstiness of a Mohammedan mob. . .
. The position of the king was one of the most intolerable misery long ere
the revolt broke out. His palace was in reality a house of bondage; he knew
that the few wretched prerogatives which were left to him, as if in mockery
of the departed power they represented, would be taken away from his
successors; that they would be deprived of even the right to live in their
own palace, and would be exiled to some place outside the walls. We denied
permission to his royal relatives to enter our service ; we condemned them
to a degrading existence, in poverty and debt, inside the purlieus of their
palace; and then we reproached them with their laziness, meanness, and
sensuality. We shut the gates of military preferment upon them—we closed
upon them the paths of every pursuit—we took from them every object of
honourable ambition; and then our papers and our mess-rooms teemed, with
invectives against the lazy, slothful, and sensual princes of his house."
You can read the rest of this account at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/goodwords/goodwords168.htm
You can read the other articles at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/goodwords/index.htm
Clan Information
----------------
Got in the December 2007 Newsletter from the Clan MacKenzie Society in the
Americas at
http://www.electricscotland.com/mackenzie/images/newsDec07.pdf
Poetry and Stories
------------------
Further articles have been added to our Articles Service where the likes of
Donna have been adding poems and recipes at
http://www.electricscotland.com/article/
The History of Ulster
------------------------------
We are now working on Volume 4 being the final volume. Added this week
are...
XIII. The Ulster Volunteers
XIV. The Volunteer Movement
XV. Defeat of the Volunteers
XVI. Coercion and Conciliation
XVII. The Rebellion of 1798
XVIII. The Insurrectionary Counties: Antrim and Down
XIX. Insurrectionary and Legitimate Fights for Independence
This is how "The Ulster Volunteers" starts...
The Opening Years of the Reign of George III—Marked by the Establishment of
Secret Societies—The Hearts of Oak Boys—The Hearts of Steel Boys — The
Comments of Arthur Young on these Secret Societies—The War of American
Independence—The Irish Volunteers—The Movement originates in Ulster—Ulster's
Example followed by all Ireland—The Convention of Dungannon—Influence of the
Volunteers—Free Trade obtained and a Free Parliament demanded.
The opening years of the long reign of George III were, in Ireland, marked
by the establishment of secret societies for the redress of grievances which
lay heavy on the people, and to which the Government displayed great
indifference. The poorer classes, unable to endure any longer the grinding
tyranny under which they were condemned to live, made spasmodic efforts by a
war of outrages, conducted by secret oath-bound associations, to call
attention to their unhappy condition, and to, in some measure, obtain
relief. These organizations were in most cases defensive, but there were
some propagandist or offensive bodies.
In the south this sad condition of things led to the establishment of the
White Boys, so called on account of the members wearing, during their
nocturnal visitations, night-shirts over their clothes. In Ulster the
organizations were formed among the weaving or manufacturing small farmers,
though they included many working men who possessed no land, and some small
farmers not in any way connected with the linen trade.
The Presbyterians, as we have seen, suffered several religious disabilities,
and, like the Roman Catholics, paid excessive rents and oppressive tithes,
though not to the same extent. The scarcity of money, not only as capital,
but also as coin in circulation; the heavy taxation, caused by the war, and
the consequent interruption of trade, and especially the high price of
bread, produced dire misery, nearly always verging on, and sometimes
terminating in famine. Such a state of things is bound to produce
lawlessness and crime, and only requires some act of gross injustice to bear
fruit.
The injustice which led to the formation in 1761 of the Oak Boys was duty
work on roads. Every householder was required to give six days' labour in
making or repairing the public roads, and if he possessed a horse he had to
give six days' labour of his horse. The complaint was that this duty work
was only levied on the poor, and that they were compelled to work on private
job roads and even upon what were the avenues and farm roads of the gentry.
You can read the rest of this chapter at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/ulster/vol4chap13.htm
The rest of the chapters can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/ulster/
Reminiscences and Reflections of an Octogenarian Highlander
-----------------------------------------------------------
By Duncan Campbell (1910)
We have now completed this book by adding the final two chapters...
Chapter LXXXVII.
Presbyterian Divisions
Chapter LXXXVIII.
Some Pleas on behalf of the National Union of Scotch Presbyterians
Here is how "Presbyterian Divisions" starts...
I BELIEVE that eighty per cent, of the native-born population of all
Scotland call themselves Presbyterians, and the proportion exceeds that
figure in the Highlands. It is clear to everyone who has eyes to see, and
intelligence to understand, that our country, and other countries as well,
must pass through the fiery ordeal of a transitional era, which already
exhibits not a few of the dangers it carries in its bosom. The cause of
religion, sound education, wise and firm government and administration,
calls loudly for organised defence and cautious progress on lines which will
lead to safety and save us from plunging into chaos, to find destruction
there instead of the Socialist Golden Age. When proverbially and actually
union is strength, and disunion is weakness, the question which every
Christian possessing commonsense should put to himself is "Why do we not
knock down paltry hedges of partition, and unite into a great host, fit,
should there be need, to repeat the achievements of our ancestors in a new
form?"
In 1860 the Free Church was as yet pervaded by the preaching fervour of
evangelicalism and revivalism, and flourishing on Disruption principles,
from which there could be no lapsing as long as the ruling power remained in
the hands of those who had gone through the excitement of the "Ten Years'
Conflict," and sealed their testimony by leaving the Church of Scotland in
May, 1843. The representatives of Old Secessions that united in 1847 on the
platform of Voluntaryism, and threw aside the testimonies and declarations
of the founders of their little communions, counted for nothing in the High-
lands, but were of consequence in the southern towns, and had a footing in
southern villages and rural districts. They took a lively part in political
and municipal affairs, and were worthy and prosperous people, who, in the
opinion of their less bustling and less self-confident neighbours, had not
the least need to pray the Lord to give them a good conceit of themselves.
Their ministers were orthodox evangelicals, and they kept themselves as much
as they could out of the political and municipal affairs in which their
hearers liked to display their gifts, and from which they often snatched the
prizes of their ambition. In the South the Church of Scotland had, before
1870, in a great measure recovered from the staggering blow of the
Disruption, and the party within her walls who wished to throw Lord
Aberdeen's Act to the dogs and get patronage abolished root and branch, were
gaining power and courage to fight and conquer. In the Highlands the
smashing-up had been too thorough to allow of anything more than very slow
recovery. The majority of Highland Church of Scotland ministers had to put
up for a long time with skeleton congregations, and although a vast
improvement has taken place since the abolition of patronage, some of them
have to do so to this day.
The rest of this chapter can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/octogenarian/chapter87.htm
The other chapters added so far can be read at the index page of the book at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/octogenarian/index.htm
Sketches of The Character, Manners, and Present State of the Highlanders of
Scotland
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
by Major-General David Stewart (1822)
We have now moved on to Volume II and the next several chapters are all
about the various Highland Regiments. When those accounts are complete we'll
be moving onto the Fencible Regiments.
This week we've added...
Forty-second Royal Highland Regiment, second Battalion, now Seventy-third
Regiment, 1780
Seventy-fourth Regiment, 1787
Seventy-fifth Highland Regiment, 1787
Seventy-eighth Regiment, or Ross-shire Highlanders, 1793
Seventy-ninth Regiment, or Cameron Highlanders, 1793
Ninety-seventh, or Strathspey Regiment, 1794
Ninety-eighth, or Argyleshire Highlanders; now the Ninety-first Regiment,
1794
Here is how the account of the Ross-shire Highlanders starts...
n 1793, and the succeeding years, the whole strength and resources of the
United Empire were called into action. In the northern corner of the kingdom
a full proportion of its disposable resources was produced. A people
struggling against the disadvantages of a boisterous climate, and barren
soil, could not be expected to contribute money. But the personal services
of the young and active were ready, when required, for the defence of the
liberty and independence of their country. The men whom these districts sent
forth, in the hour of danger, possessed that vigour and hardihood peculiar
to an agricultural and pastoral life. As a proof of this, in late years,
when typhus and other epidemic diseases were prevalent in the South, it was
so different in the mountains, that, except in cases where infection was
carried from the Low country, few instances of typhus or other contagious
distempers occurred, and where they actually broke out, they did not spread,
as might naturally have been expected, from the confined and small dwellings
of the Highland peasantry,—a fact only to be accounted for from their
habitual temperance, and that robust vigour of constitution produced by
sobriety and exercise.
It may, therefore, be allowed that the effective national defence which the
agricultural population afford the State is to be valued beyond a numerical
force of another description, in so far as a man, whose strength of
constitution enables him to serve his country for a term of years, though
subjected to privations and changes of climate, is more valuable than the
man whose constitution gives way in half the time. This remark applies
forcibly in the present instance. Indeed, where sickness has prevailed among
Highland soldiers, it has in general been occasioned less by fatigue,
privations, or exposure to cold, than from the nature of the provisions,
particularly animal food, and from clothing unnecessarily warm. [In 1805,
the second battalion of the 78th regiment, newly raised, and composed of
nearly 600 boys from the Highlands, was quartered in Kent where many of the
finest looking lads were attacked with inflammatory diseases, preceded by
eruptions on the skin, arising entirely from the quantity of animal food
suddenly introduced into the system, previously accustomed to barley and
oatmeal, or vegetable diet. The stomachs of many rejected the quantity of
animal food supplied, and it was not till the following year that they were
fully seasoned.] In the march through Holland and Westphalia in 1794 and
1795, when the cold was so in-tense that brandy froze in bottles, the
Highlanders, consisting of the 78th, 79th, and the new recruits of the 42d,
(very young soldiers), wore their kilts, and yet the loss was out of all
comparison less than that sustained by some other corps. [During the whole
of that campaign, from the landing at Ostend, in June 1794, till the
embarkation at Bremenlee, in May 1795, the number killed and died of
sickness in the 42d regiment was only twenty-six men.] Producing so many
defenders of the liberty, honour, and independence of the State, as these
mountains have done, and of which an aggregate statement will be given, they
might have been saved from a system which tends ultimately to change the
character, if not altogether to extirpate their hardy inhabitants. We have
heard of the despotic institutions of the Mesta in Spain, which provide that
the lands and pastures shall be cleared for the royal flocks, who are driven
from district to district for subsistence. The monopoly of farms, which
expatriates a numerous and virtuous race, is a species of Mesta, greatly
more ruinous to the ancient inhabitants than that so justly complained of in
Spain. Whether it proceeds from the privileges of an absolute monarch, or
the power of engrossing wealth, we find that monopoly and despotism are
frequently analogous in their ultimate result, although they may differ in
the means to which they may resort for their attainment.
Individual severity as certainly generates disaffection to the commonwealth,
as the political sins and oppressions of the government. However, the
loyalty of Highlanders is not easily alienated; for, although the engrossing
of farms, and removal of the old occupiers, caused such discontent in the
county of Ross, that the people broke out in open violence [See Article 42d
Regiment, vol. I. page 416.] in the year 1792, and the recruiting for the
42d and other regiments was materially affected, yet, whenever the general
welfare and honour of the country were called in question, and war declared,
all complaints seemed to be buried in oblivion. And as the Frasers, who had
been one of the most active, numerous, and efficient clans in the Rebellion
of 1745, were the first, in the year 1756, to come forth in his Majesty's
service, under the very leader who had headed them at Culloden, and, in like
manner, in the American war, when the 71st, or Fraser's Highlanders, was the
first regiment embodied; so now, in the same country, whither, but two years
before, troops had been ordered to repair, by forced marches, to quell the
riotous discontents of the people, the first regiment raised in the late war
was completed in a few months, after letters of service had been granted to
the late Lord Seaforth. When completed it was numbered the 78th (the old
establishment of the army being 77 regiments), the regiment raised by his
predecessor the Earl of Seaforth, in the year 1779, having the same number.
This regiment, however, was not raised with the same expedition as in former
times. Probably some lurking feel-ings of dissatisfaction at the late
proceedings and depopulations still remained. The desolate appearance of the
once populous glens, the seats of happiness and contentment, too strongly
commemorated these hated proceedings; especially as the people were, at the
same time, uncertain whether a similar fate awaited themselves. But,
notwithstanding of these appalling discouragements of patriotic and
chivalrous feeling, the first establishment of the regiment was completed,
and embodied by Lieutenant-General Sir Hector Munro at Fort George on the
10th of July 1793. Five companies were immediately embarked for Guernsey,
where they were brigaded with the other troops under the command of the Earl
of Moira. The other five companies landed in Guernsey in September 1793.
This was an excellent body of men, healthy, vigorous, and efficient;
attached and obedient to their officers, temperate and regular; in short,
possessing those principles of integrity and moral conduct, which constitute
a valuable soldier. The duty of officers was easy with such men, who only
required to be told what duty was expected of them. A young officer, endowed
with sufficient judgment to direct them in the field, possessing energy and
spirit to ensure the respect and confidence of soldiers, and prepared, on
every occasion, to show them the eye of the enemy, need not desire a command
that would sooner, and more permanently, establish his professional
character, if employed on an active campaign, than that of 1000 such men as
composed this regiment.
You can read the rest of this at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/sketches/highlandsketches79.htm
You can read the other chapters at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/sketches/highlandsketchesndx.htm
Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland 1884
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This week have added a large account of The Agriculture of Wigtownshire and
here is how it starts...
Wigtown or West Galloway forms the south-west corner of Scotland, and is
bounded on the west by the Irish Channel, on the north by Ayrshire, on the
east by Kirkcudbrightshire and the Solway Firth, and on the south by the
Irish Sea.
There are sixty-nine landed proprietors, four of whom have incomes exceeding
£10,000, seventeen from £1000 to £9000, the rest being smaller. The average
size of farms, as given by the Board of Trade in 1867, was 104 acres.
The county is deeply indented by two arms of the sea,—Loch Ryan varying in
width from 3 to 6 miles, stretching from the northwest corner southward for
about 9 miles, and Luce Bay, stretching from the south northwards for 18
miles, with a width of about 12 miles, the two inlets at their heads being
only about 6 miles apart.
The peninsula thus formed on the western side is known as the Rhins of
Galloway, extending from the Mull of Galloway on the south to Corsewall
Point on the north, a length of about 28 miles, and varying in width from 1½
to 6 miles; the southeast portion is known as the Machars, extending from
Burrow Head northwards. The general appearance of Wigtownshire is not very
striking from a distance, being rather flat, none of its heights exceeding
800 to 1000 feet. A great portion of it is irreclaimable moor, this being
mostly in the northern and higher part, stretching towards the boundaries of
Ayrshire. The southern and lower district is now mostly arable; it has few
characteristic features; the chief being three rivers or waters, viz., the
Cree, which forms its eastern boundary, the Bladnoch, both falling into
Wigtown Bay, and the Luce falling into Luce Bay, besides a few inland lochs.
Moss enters largely into the composition of the soil of the county, and has
been found a very useful and economical firing; though now in a great many
cases it has been drained and improved, and coals have to be alone depended
on for fuel.
You can read the rest of this chapter at
http://www.electricscotland.com/agriculture/page63.htm
The other articles can be read at
http://www.electricscotland.com/agriculture/index.htm
Household Encyclopaedia
-----------------------
I have added a few more pages to the B's which you can see at
http://www.electricscotland.com/household/b.htm
The index page of this publication can be seen at
http://www.electricscotland.com/household/
Scottish Art Trading Cards
--------------------------
Margo has done some Scottish Art Trading Cards which you can print out on
2.5" x 3.5" cards and build them into a collection. These are great for kids
and also anyone interested in collecting cards. We have the seventh page of
10 cards up at
http://www.electricscotland.com/kids/cards/index.htm
Antiquarian Scottish Books in Adobe Reader format
-------------------------------------------------
I said I'd do my best to add a book each week and so this week I've added...
Henry Drummond
The author of "The Greatest Thing in the World", it went on to sell over 12
million copies and it continues today to influence people to follow God's
two great commandments: to love God and to love each other.
The first two paragraphs are...
IT is now eighteen months since Henry Drummond died time enough for the
fading of those fond extravagances into which fresh grief will weave a dead
friend's qualities. And yet, I suppose, there are hundreds of men and women
who are still sure and will always be sure that his was the most Christlike
life they ever knew. In that belief they are fortified not only by the
record of the great influence which God gave him over men, for such is
sometimes misleading; but by the testimony of those who worked at his side
while he wielded it, and by the evidence of the friends who knew him longest
and who were most intimately acquainted with the growth of his character.
In his brief life we saw him pass through two of the greatest trials to
which character can be exposed. We watched him, our fellow-student and not
yet twenty-three, surprised by a sudden and a fierce fame. Crowds of men and
women, in all the great cities of our land, hung upon his lips; innumerable
lives opened their secrets to him, and made him aware of his power over
them. When his first book was published, he, being then about thirty-three,
found another world at his feet: the great of the land thronged him, his
social opportunities were boundless, and he was urged by the chief statesman
of our time to a political career. This is the kind of trial which one has
seen wither some of the finest characters, and distract others from the
simplicity and resolution of their youth. He passed through it unscathed: it
neither warped his spirit nor turned him from his accepted vocation as a
teacher of religion.
We have made available three books about him. The first is a biography about
him. The second is a much shorter version from the "Famous Scots" series.
The third is his book, "The Greatest Thing in the World".
You can read all this at
http://www.electricscotland.com/books/pdf/henry_drummond.htm
The index page for this section can be reached at
http://www.electricscotland.com/books/pdf/index.htm
The Scottish Tradition in Canada
--------------------------------
Edited by W. Stanford Reid
We have the Editor's Introduction, Introduction and Chapter 1 up for you to
read. I feel it is appropriate to feature the entire "Editor's Introduction"
here to give you the background to this publication...
Canadians, like many other people, have recently been changing their
attitude towards the ethnic dimension in society. Instead of thinking of the
many distinctive heritages and identities to be found among them as
constituting a problem, though one that time would solve, they have begun to
recognize the ethnic diversity of their country as a rich resource. They
have begun to take pride in the fact that people have come and are coming
here from all parts of the world, bringing with them varied outlooks,
knowledge, skills and traditions, to the great benefit of all.
It is for this reason that Book IV of the Report of the Royal Commission on
Bilingualism and Biculturalism dealt with the cultural contributions of the
ethnic groups other than the British, the French and the Native Peoples to
Canada, and that the federal government in its response to Book IV announced
that the Citizenship Branch of the Department of the Secretary of State
would commission "histories specifically directed to the background,
contributions and problems of various cultural groups in Canada." This
series presents the histories that have resulted from that mandate. Although
commissioned by the Government, they are not intended as definitive or
official, but rather as the efforts of scholars to bring together much of
what is known about the ethnic groups studied, to indicate what remains to
be learned, and thus to stimulate further research concerning the ethnic
dimension in Canadian society. The histories are to be objective,
analytical, and readable, and directed towards the general reading public,
as well as students at the senior high school and the college and university
levels, and teachers in the elementary schools.
Most Canadians belong to an ethnic group, since to do so is simply to have
"a sense of identity rooted in a common origin . . . whether this common
origin is real or imaginary." [Report of the Royal Commission on
Bilingualism and Biculturalism.] The Native Peoples, the British and French
(referred to as charter groups because they were the first Europeans to take
possession of the land), the groups such as the Germans and Dutch who have
been established in Canada for over a hundred years and those who began to
arrive only yesterday all have traditions and values that they cherish and
that now are part of the cultural riches that Canadians share. The groups
vary widely in numbers, geographical location and distribution and degree of
social and economic power. The stories of their struggles, failures and
triumphs will be told in this series.
As the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism pointed out this
sense of ethnic origin or identity "is much keener in certain individuals
than in others." [Ibid. Paragraph 8.] In contemporary Canadian society, with
the increasing number of intermarriages across ethnic lines, and hence the
growing diversity of peoples ancestors, many are coming to identify
themselves as simple Canadian, without reference to their ancestral origins.
In focusing on the ethnic dimension of Canadian society, past and present,
the series does not assume that everyone should be categorized into one
particular group, or that ethnicity is always the most important dimension
of people's lives. It is, however, one dimension that needs examination if
we are to understand fully the contours and nature of Canadian society and
identity.
Professional Canadian historians have in the past emphasized political and
economic history, and since the country's economic and political
institutions have been controlled largely by people of British and French
origin, the role of those of other origins in the development of Canada has
been neglected. Also, Canadian historians in the past have been almost
exclusively of British and French origin, and have lacked the interest and
the linguistic skills necessary to explore the history of other ethnic
groups. Indeed, there has rarely ever been an examination of the part played
by specifically British - or, better, specifically English, Irish, Scottish
and Welsh - traditions and values in Canadian development, because of the
lack of recognition of pluralism in the society. The part played by French
traditions and values, and particular varieties of French traditions and
values, has for a number of reasons been more carefully scrutinized.
This series is an indication of growing interest in Canadian social history,
which includes immigration and ethnic history. This may particularly be a
reflection of an increasing number of scholars whose origins and ethnic
identities are other than British or French. Because such trends are recent,
many of the authors of the histories in this series have not had a large
body of published writing to work from. It is true that some histories have
already been written of particular groups other than the British and French;
but these have often been characterized by filio pietism, a narrow
perspective and a dearth of scholarly analysis.
Despite the scarcity of secondary sources, the authors have been asked to be
as comprehensive as possible, and to give balanced coverage to a number of
themes: historical background, settlement patterns, ethnic identity and
assimilation, ethnic associations, population trends, religion, values,
occupations and social class, the family, the ethnic press, language
patterns, political behaviour, education, inter-ethnic relations, the arts
and recreation. They have also been asked to give a sense of the way the
group differs in various parts of the country. Finally, they have been asked
to give, as much as possible, an insider's view of what the immigrant and
ethnic experiences were like at different periods of time, but yet at the
same time to be as objective as possible, and not simply to present the
group as it sees itself, or as it would like to be seen.
The authors have thus been faced with a herculean task. To the extent that
they have succeeded, they provide us with new glimpses into many aspects of
Canadian society of the past and the present. To the extent that they have
fallen short of their goal, they challenge other historians, sociologists
and social anthropologists to continue the work begun here.
Jean Burnet
Howard Palmer
You can read what we have up to date at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/tradition/index.htm
Beth's Newfangled Family Tree
-----------------------------
Produced by Beth Gay
Beth has sent in the March 2008 edition for us to enjoy. You can view both
sections of the publication at
http://www.electricscotland.com/bnft/index.htm
Boleskine & Dores (Inverness-shire)
-----------------------------------
Our thanks to Marie Fraser for sending this into us. It details Place Names
in Parish Registers pre-1800. Always great to get this type of information
in as genealogists sometimes find it hard to trace a place that is no longer
listed on maps.
You can see this at
http://www.electricscotland.com/canada/fraser/boleskine.htm
And that's it for now and I hope you all have a great weekend :-)
Alastair
http://www.electricscotland.com
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