CHAPTER XXIV.

MORE STORIES AND A MORAL.

“Pipe of the simple peasant—still Through Caledonia’s proud domains, Thou cheer’st the rustic cottage hearth With thy enlivening strains.

“And in the far, far distant west, Where deep and pathless forests lower, Thou sooth’st the drooping exile’s breast Through many a lonely hour.” —_J. T. Calder._

The Clan Stewart March—Mac Gregor of Ruaro—The Braes of the Mist— Episode at a Dunvegan competition—A Mac Crimmon surpassed—Mac Pherson’s Lament—Burns and the story—Rob Roy’s lament—The Mac Lachlans’ March—_Gille Calum_—The Reel o’ Tulloch—The Periwig Reel— Jenny Dang the Weaver—Mac Donald’s salute—Mac Leod’s Salute— Disappearing lore—Something to be done.

The Royal House of Stuart should perhaps have been mentioned earlier, but, like other names famous in history, they did not leave much to posterity in the way of music or poetry. Enough has been composed and written about them, but that is another matter.

“THE MARCH OF CLAN STEWART”

is known in Perthshire as the “Sherramuir March,” because it was played at that battle by the pipers of the clan. According to tradition this tune was played both when the clan were marching to battle and in honour of a victory. It was played at Pinkie, Inverlochy, Sheriffmuir, and Prestonpans, and it was all along recognised as a tune peculiarly pertaining to the Stewarts. In accordance with Highland custom, the clansmen were in the habit of marching in the intervals of pipe music to improvised singing, and when or how the present words emerged from all previous improvisations and became a song it is impossible to say. At the battle of Pinkie in September, 1547, the clan was commanded by Donald Stewart, of Invernayle, the real chief being an old man. On the march homeward in October, when passing through Menteith, the clan found prepared at the house of one of the tenants a marriage dinner, at which the Earl of Menteith was to be present. Being hungry, Donald and his followers ate up the feast, and when Menteith arrived he was very angry, and instantly pursued the Stewarts. On overtaking them one of his men taunted them thus:—

“Yellow-haired Stewarts of smartest deeds, Who could grab at the kail in your sorest needs,”

to which Stewart replied:—

“If smartness in deeds is ours by descent, Then I draw, and to pierce you this arrow is sent,”

and he shot the man who had taunted his clan. A conflict ensued, in which the Earl and many of his men were killed, and then the Stewarts went off in triumph, their pipers playing the Stewarts’ March. The words now in use are the composition of an _Iain Breac Mac Eanric_ (Henderson), a celebrated piper of the time of Montrose, and a resident in the Glencoe district. There would probably be older words, but those here given are those now associated with the tune:—

“The heath-clad Ben we’ll soon ascend, Through Glen Laoigh we’ll soon descend, Our points of steel we’ll swiftly send Thro’ every loon that bars us.

We will up and march away, We will up and march away, We will up and march away, Daring let of all men.

“O’er the hills we’ll speed along, Thro’ Glencoe the march prolong; Our King the burden of our song, Asking leave of no man.

We will up, etc.

“To Glengarry and Lochiel, Ever with us true and leal, Keppoch, too, who seeks our weal, Is there in spite of all men.

We will up, etc.

“Mac Phersons come, in deeds not small; Mac Kenzies also at our call; Whose battle frenzy will appal And fill our foes with awe then.

We will up, etc.

“Mac Gregors fierce when man to man, Join with the Royal Stuart clan; Blow up the pipes, march in the van, Daring let of all men.

We will up, etc.”

The chorus is sung before the first verse, as well as after each. “Daring let of all men” means “Defying the hindrance of all men.”

One of the most tragic of stories is associated with another Clan Mac Gregor air—

“MAC GREGOR OF RUARO.”

The clan, as is well known, were terribly persecuted by the ruling powers. When, after the ’45, most of the other Highland chiefs accepted Crown charters for their lands, the Mac Gregors refused, their clansmen backing them vigorously in their attitude. For this independence of theirs they were hunted like wild beasts, pursued by bloodhounds, and executed whenever caught. Even so early as 1603 the clan found themselves so persecuted and hemmed in that their chief, Mac Gregor of Glenstrae, considered it necessary to deliver himself and a score of his principal men to the Government, under promise of being allowed to leave the country. This promise was given, but ruthlessly broken, for they were all hanged at Edinburgh. In the group was Gregor Mac Gregor of Ruaro, the subject of the lament and the song. The author of neither is known:—

“There is sorrow, deep sorrow, Heavy sorrow down-weighs me; Sorrow deep, dark, and lonesome, Whence nothing can raise me.

Yes, my heart’s filled with sorrow, Deep sorrow undying, For Mac Gregor of Ruaro, Whose home was Glenlyon.

For the bannered Mac Gregor, So bravely who bore him, With the roar of the war pipe Loud thundering before him.

His emblem the pine tree On mountain side swinging; His trim-tapered arrows The true bird was winging.”

And so on in very much the same strain for other nine verses.

There is another tune of the “Children of the Mist,” as the Clan Mac Gregor were known, that deserves mention. It is a wild and melancholy pibroch, called _Cruachan a’ Cheathaich_, or

“THE BRAES OF THE MIST.”

To it is sung a ballad, and connected with the air and song there is an interesting story. The singer, a Mac Gregor, concealed in her house her husband and two sons when some bitter enemies of the clan were approaching. There was no time for escape, and so she hid her friends in a bed, and, sitting down by the fire, proceeded to sing:—

“I sit here alone by the plain of the highway, For my poor hunted kin, watching mist, watching byeway; I’ve got no sign that they’re near to my dwelling; At Loch Fyne they were last seen—if true be that telling.”

And so on, representing herself as waiting in solitude for her persecuted kindred, and saying that as they had not returned they must either be at Loch Fyne—as when she last heard of them—or far away in the glens of the mist, hunting and fishing, and compelled to pass the night in some poor hut, where she had previously left some things for them. After a prayer for their safety—

“May the King of the Universe save you for ever From the flash of the bullet and the store of the quiver, From the keen-pointed knife, with the life-blood oft streaming, From the edge of the sharp claymore, terribly gleaming,”

she concluded with expressions of her own sadness on account of their dangers. The enemies stopped outside her cottage and listened to the song, and believing it to be from the singer’s heart—as it was, but not in the way they supposed—they passed on without disturbing her, and her husband and sons were saved.

The Gaelic proverb, “The apprentice surpasses his master,” or

“THE APPRENTICE SURPASSES THE MAC CRIMMON,”

is associated with two tunes. There was to be a piping competition at Dunvegan at which pipers from all parts of the country were to be present. The leading Mac Crimmon of the day, the head of the college— “Professor” he would now be called—and a nephew of his had “entered,”—if that formality was necessary in these days—and Mac Crimmon had taught his nephew all he himself knew, with the exception of one tune, which he hoped would give him the lead in the competition. The two of them, man and boy, on their way to Dunvegan, slept one night at a wayside inn, sharing a bed. When the old man slept he dreamed of the morrow, and in his dreams he seized the boy’s arm and fingered on it the notes of the special tune he had reserved for himself. The youth was smart enough to realise that this meant something, and also smart enough to commit the notes to memory as his uncle fingered them on his arm. When the competition began he stepped out first and immediately played his uncle’s tune, and carried off the principal honours of the day. Then, the story goes, the people began to speak of _An gille ‘toirt bàrr air Mac Crimmon_—the lad that surpasses the Mac Crimmon.

But it is the other version of the story that is connected with the origin of a pipe tune. One of the Mac Crimmons, well known as _Padruig Caogach_ or “Winking Peter,” owing to his inveterate habit of winking while playing, once endeavoured to compose a new pipe tune. He managed two measures, which in time became very popular, but he could not for the life of him complete it. Two years elapsed, and still _Padruig’s_ muse had failed to come to his assistance, and the fragment began to be called _Am port leathach_—the half-completed tune. Then a young piper— _Iain Dall_ it was—inspired with the music of the tune, set himself to complete it, naming it _Lasan Phadruig Chaogaich_, and renouncing all share in the honours of authorship. But _Padruig_ did not like being outstripped in this way by Mac Kay, who was but a beardless boy, and, in his anger, he persuaded the other students at the college to make away with his rival. He succeeded the better in his scheme that Mac Kay had previously given great offence to his classmates by his proficiency, of which they were jealous, and with which the master piper taunted them. So one day as they were all walking together at _Dun Bhorraraig_, they came to a rock twenty-four feet in height, over which they pushed the blind “apprentice.” But he alighted on his feet without sustaining much injury, and the spot over which he was thrown was known for a long time after as _Leum an doill_—the leap of the blind. _Iain Dall_ ultimately returned to Gairloch and succeeded his father as family piper to the Mac Kenzies of Gairloch, dying at the age of ninety-eight.

“MAC PHERSON’S LAMENT”

will always be associated with Burns’s song and with the noted Highland freebooter who in 1700, after holding the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, and Moray in fear for a long time, was captured, tried before the Sheriff of Banffshire, along with certain gipsies taken in his company, and executed on the Gallow Hill of Banff. But it is not generally known that Burns’s words can hardly be called original. As a matter of fact, Mac Pherson himself, tradition says, composed both the pibroch and a set of words wonderfully like those afterwards composed by Burns. The pibroch he composed long before his capture, and the words he gave to the world when he was executed, under the name of “Mac Pherson’s Farewell.” Here they are:—

“My father was a gentleman Of fame and lineage high, Oh! mother, would you ne’er had born A wretch so doomed as I! But dantonly and wantonly And rantonly I’ll gae, I’ll play a tune and dance it roun’ Below the gallows tree.

The Laird o’ Grant, with power aboon The royal majesty, He pled fu’ well for Peter Brown, But let Mac Pherson die. But dantonly, etc.

But Braco Duff, in rage enough, He first laid hands on me; If death did not arrest my course, Avenged I should be. But dantonly, etc.

I’ve led a life o’ meikle strife, Sweet peace ne’er smiled on me, It grieves me sair that I maun gae An’ nae avenged be. But dantonly, etc.”

Burns, on his tour through the Highlands, probably learned the air and the tradition of how Mac Pherson, when in prison under sentence of death, wrote the song, sang and played it on the scaffold, and concluded by breaking his violin to pieces because no one would accept it as a present, and promise to play the tune over his body after his execution. Neither the old version nor the words of Burns have much of the ring of a lament about them, but both are in accordance with the notorious character of the man. Burns, by the way, perpetrates a rather curious Irishism in first saying Mac Pherson

“Played a spring and danc’d it round Below the gallows tree;”

and immediately afterwards making him say—

“Untie these bands from off my hands And bring to me my sword.”

How a man could play a spring and dance it round while his hands were tied, he does not take the trouble to explain.

“ROB ROY’S LAMENT.”

Rob Roy himself, the most celebrated of all the clan who had “a name that was nameless by day,” had a lament specially composed by his wife, Helen Mac Gregor, on an occasion when the family were compelled by the law to leave their fastnesses and take refuge in Argyllshire. Helen was a woman of fierce and haughty disposition, and, feeling extreme anguish at being expelled from the banks of Loch Lomond, she gave vent to her feelings in a fine piece of music, still known as “Rob Roy’s Lament.” “I was once so hard put at,” Scott makes Rob say, “by my great enemy, as I may well ca’ him, that I was forced e’en to gie way to the tide and remove myself and my people and my family from our native land, and to withdraw for a time into _Mac Cailein Mòr’s_ country—and Helen made a Lament on our departure, as well as Mac Crimmon himself could hae framed it—and so piteously sad and waesome that our hearts amaist broke as we sat and listened to her—it was like the wailing of one that mourns for the mother that bore him—the tears came down the rough faces of our gillies as they hearkened—and I would not have the same touch of heartbreak again, no, not for all the lands that ever were owned by Mac Gregor.”

“THE MAC LACHLANS’ MARCH.”

A touch of the romantic is found in the story of _Moladh Mairi_, a well- known Mac Lachlan tune. Angus Mac Kay, son of _Iain Dall_, the blind piper of Gairloch, attended a competition in Edinburgh on one occasion, and the other competitors were so jealous of him and afraid of his superior talents that they conspired together to destroy his chances, They obtained possession of his pipes and pierced the bag in several places. When Mac Kay began to practise on the day of the competition he discovered the injury, and was in despair. But he had a fair friend of the name of Mary who quickly procured for him a sheep’s skin, from which, undressed as it was, they between them formed a new bag. With this the piper carried off the first prize, and in gratitude to his helper Mac Kay composed _Moladh Mairi_. He afterwards married a Mary Fraser of Gairloch, but we have nothing to show that this was the same Mary. In a proper story it certainly would have been.

Another, and a more probable, story is associated with this tune. A daughter of Mac Lachlan of Strathlachlan, chief of the clan, made a present of a wether’s skin to the family piper to make a bag for his pipes. He was delighted with the present, and composed the tune in her honour. This story is the more likely, inasmuch as it is well known that pipers always had a high sense of honour, as they still have, and would never think of treating a competitor in the way the first story says Mac Kay was treated.

“_GILLE CALUM_,”

or “The Sword Dance,” is one of the best known of pipe tunes. There is the jocular story to the effect that it made its first appearance in the world after the Deluge, when the Ark had landed on Ararat, and Noah expressed his joy by dancing over two crossed twigs. That the tune, or at anyrate the dance, is an heirloom from the ancients, is highly probable, as the sword dance in a modified form was the special antic of the priests of Mars. The real _Gille Calum_, however, is said to have been _Callum a’ chinn mhoir_—Malcolm Canmore, who incurred the displeasure of the Highlanders by removing the ancient Court from Dunstaffnage Castle, in Argyllshire, to Dunfermline, by marrying the Saxon Princess Margaret, which led to the change of Court language from Gaelic to English, and also by having added to the coinage a very small coin, the bodle, equal in value to one-third of our halfpenny, and so small as to be contemptible in the eyes of his Highland subjects. The translation, by “Fionn,” of the Gaelic associated with the name shows considerable wit and a pretty strain of sarcasm:—

“Gillie-Callum, twa pennies, Gillie-Callum, twa pennies, Twa pennies, twa pennies, Gillie Callum, ae bawbee.

I can get a lass for naething, I can get a lass for naething, Lass for naething, lass for naething, My pick and wale for ae bawbee. Gillie-Callum, etc.

I can get a wife for tuppence, I can get a wife for tuppence, Wife for tuppence, wife for tuppence, A useless ane for ae bawbee. Gillie-Callum, etc.”

“THE REEL O’ TULLOCH”

has two alleged origins, but one at least is discredited by the known character of the people concerned. It was on a wild Sunday in the parish of Tulloch, Aberdeenshire, that the minister, thinking his people would not venture out, stayed at home. His congregation, however, to whom the kirk was a trysting-place, turned up as usual. For a time they waited patiently enough, but by and bye, moved by the stormy weather and their minister’s absence, they proposed refreshments. The collection ladle was sent round, and the proceeds invested in “yill” at the neighbouring change-house. As the liquor took effect the fun grew more furious, and at last a dance was suggested. The enthusiasm rose even to this height, the village cobbler mounted the pulpit, the blacksmith from the precentor’s box roared out the ditty “John, come kiss me now,” and the floor rang with the flying feet of the dancing congregation. The fiddler, impressed for the occasion, allowed his bow to get more and more into the spirit of the gathering; it went madder and madder as the excitement increased, and at last, in a sudden burst of inspiration, he improvised the dance tune of all dance tunes—“Reel o’ Tulloch.” Tradition is silent as to what befel the revellers in so sacred a place, as well it may. It is hardly possible to imagine a company of Scottish Established Church people looking at a fiddler on the Sabbath, much less dancing in church to his music.

Strathspey also claims the tune, and in competition with Deeside, it has a fierce tradition on the subject. The district of Tulloch lies at the back of the Abernethy forest, and here is said to have occurred the incident that inspired the maddest of Highland reels. A certain John Mac Gregor, commonly known as _Iain Dubh Gearr_, was at Killin at a market held somewhere between 1550 and 1580. In the house of call there, known as “Streethouse,” he was set upon by eight men, but being powerful and a splendid swordsman, he discomfited all his adversaries, killing some and wounding others. Then he fled to Strathspey, where he married a woman named Isabel Anderson (one version of the story has it that Mac Gregor got into trouble with some Robertsons through having married this Isabel, who was sought by a Robertson, and that these and not market acquaintances were his enemies). His foes followed him, and one night thirteen of them arrived at his house, determined to take him dead or alive. John was sleeping in the barn when they came, and when he was wakened and told of his danger he determined to fight it out. Isabel and he had a gun and a pistol and plenty of ammunition, and they defended the barn against all comers. John fired the weapons one after the other alternately through crevices in the walls, and Isabel kept them loaded. The thirteen outside, handicapped as they were by the shelter from which the defenders worked, were very soon all wounded, whereupon John sallied out and cut off their heads. Then Isabel in her glee gave him a big draught of beer, which he drank, and seizing his spouse by the waist they improvised and danced those reel steps which have ever since been so popular. The music must have been old, but the words are of the date of this incident:—

“At Streethouse at _Feill Fhaolan_, On him they made an onset dead; And were he not most manly brave, Eight sturdy men had mastered him. From Tullechin to Ballechin, From Ballechin to Tullechin; If beer we don’t in Tullechin, We’ll water get in Ballechin.”

The song then, at considerable length, tells the story until:—

“Says Black John, turning towards his bride, ‘Since I did what I meant to do, Give me a drink of beer to quaff, And we will dance the Tullechin.’ From Tullechin, etc.”

The story has two traditional endings. In the one John became a peaceable and prosperous man, and as his name appears in authoritative documents of date 1568, it is the more likely to be true. The other is tragic. Mac Gregor’s enemies, according to it, still hunted the couple, and Isabel was thrown into prison. Then Mac Gregor himself was shot, and his head brought to Isabel. At the sight she was so struck with sorrow that she suddenly expired.

It may not be inappropriate to conclude these stories of tunes with two which are associated with ministers.

“THE PERIWIG REEL”

can always be depended on to provoke laughter when well played. It is probably the composition of Mr. Fraser of Culduthal. This gentleman was at a baptismal “entertainment” at the house of Fraser of Knockie, where the presence of a very old and venerable minister could not restrain him from exciting mirth. He sat next but one to the minister, and found means over his neighbour’s shoulder to tickle below the parson’s large wig with a long feather or a blade of corn. As the glass went round the old man became uneasy, but suspected nobody. At last he got into a rage, dreading an earwig or spider, and shook out his wig over a blazing fire, which unfortunately got hold of it. It was too greasy to admit of its being saved. Amid great laughter, it simmered in the fire till it had almost suffocated the company. The minister’s bald head produced more laughter at his expense, in which he himself joined, and he enjoyed the joke thoroughly when it was told to him. The real name of the air is “The Fried Periwig.”

The other tune is

“JENNY DANG THE WEAVER,”

and its story is somewhat interesting. Rev. Mr. Gardner, minister of the parish of Birse, in Aberdeenshire, was well known for his musical talents and his wit. One Saturday he was arranging his ideas for next day’s service in his study, which overlooked the courtyard of the manse. Outside his wife was beetling potatoes for supper. To unbend his mind a little, Mr. Gardner took up his fiddle and begun to run over the notes of an air he had previously jotted down, when suddenly an altercation arose between Mrs. Gardner and Jock, the minister’s man, an idle sort of weaver fellow from the neighbouring village of Marywell, who had lately been engaged as man of all work about the manse. “Here, Jock,” cried the mistress as Jock came in from the labours of the field, “gae wipe the minister’s shoon.” “Na,” said Jock, “I’ll dae nae sich thing. I came here to be yir ploo’man, but no yir flunkey, and I’ll nae wipe the minister’s shoon.” “Deil confound yir impudence,” said the enraged Mrs. Gardner, and she sprang at him with a heavy culinary implement, and giving him a hearty beating, compelled him to perform the menial duties required of him. The minister, who viewed the scene from his window, was hugely diverted, and gave the air he had just completed the title of “Jenny Dang the Weaver.” This is supposed to have occurred in 1746. There is a well-known Gaelic song entitled “Trousers for meagre shanks, and bonnets for the bald,” sung to the air.

OF OTHER CLAN TUNES

there are not many stories of general interest. The tunes are there, but whence they came, or when they came, must ever remain a mystery. “Mac Donald’s Salute” and “Mac Leod’s Salute” were composed by Donald _Mòr_ Mac Crimmon on the reconciliation of the Mac Leods and the Mac Donalds after the battle of Bencuillein in Skye, and played when the chiefs met at Dunvegan. There had been a feud between the clans, in the course of which much blood was spilt. This feud at last became so notorious that in 1601 the Privy Council interfered and requested the chiefs concerned to disband their forces and leave Skye. It being known that both intended to “mass togider grit nowmeris and forceis of thair kin and freindschip,” and pursue each other “with fyre and sword and other hostilitie by say and land,” they were required to release peacefully all prisoners, and to observe the King’s peace. Ultimately a reconciliation was effected, on which the chief of the Mac Leods invited the chief of the Mac Donalds to a banquet at Dunvegan Castle. When Donald Gorm _Mòr_ Mac Donald appeared in sight of the castle, he was met by Mac Leod’s famous piper, Donald _Mòr_ Mac Crimmon, who welcomed him by playing “Mac Donald’s Salute,” which he had composed for the occasion. In connection with the same banquet he composed and played for the first time “Mac Leod’s Salute.”

The stories I have given are, after all, but the merest pickings from the wealth of lore which has now almost disappeared from the Highlands. It irritates one considerably to find here and there fragments of what were once fine tales, with perhaps important bearings on social life or current history, and to realise the impossibility of ever obtaining them complete. For this we have to thank the Sassenach over-running of the Highlands, which resulted in the extinction of clan bard and clan piper— who between them took the place of a literature—and did not even try to introduce in their stead the blessings of that wider education which preserves the life of a nation by better means, until after much of what was worth preserving had vanished into a misty past. We have, for instance, the “Lament for the Harp Tree,” connected either with some tree on which the bards were wont to hang their harps, like captives in Babylon of an even earlier age, or with the disappearance of the harp itself, or, as the tune is called _Bean Sith_ in the North, with the fairies in some way or other; _A mhic Iain mhic Sheumais_, which celebrates some battle between the Mac Donalds and the Mac Leods; another on _Blar léine_, or the “Shirt Battle,” fought at Kinloch Lochy between the Frasers of Lovat and the Mac Donalds of Clan Ranald, and so called from the parties having stripped to their shirts; “The Sister’s Lament for her Brothers”; a lament expressive of the aged warrior’s regret that he is no longer able to wield his sword; “Grim Donald’s Sweetheart,” a salute of very ancient origin; _A Ghlas Mheur_, an ancient pibroch composed by _Raonull Mac Ailean Oig_, a Mac Donald of Morar, to which there is supposed to have been a wild story attached; _Cogadh na Sith_, “war or peace,” one of the best known of tunes, and one which, as its composition indicates a determination either to obtain an honourable peace or engage in immediate war, must have had a story; and any number of others, around which stories of love or adventure or war must at one time have clustered. Tunes of later generations have no stories to speak of. They have been composed on special occasions, or in honour of certain people, but that is all. It is the old tunes we would know more about, and the old stories. Several writers, notably Mr. J. F. Campbell, of Islay; Alexander Mac Kenzie, of Inverness; Angus Mac Kay, and Hector Mac Lean, of Ballygrant, Islay, did much good work by gathering at first hand Highland legends and traditions; and in our own day Henry Whyte, (“Fionn”), the _Celtic Monthly_, and others, are doing a great deal to preserve what is left to us of Highland life and story. But there is much yet to do, and to do quickly, for the generation that knows of these things is fast passing away. This volume makes no claim to originality. It is only a gathering together of material that is common to Highland tradition and Highland literature, but if it shows what an amount of such material, even on one side phase of Highland life, really exists, it will have served a good purpose. In every hamlet in the Highlands there is surely some individual patriotic enough to take an interest in its folk-lore, and intelligent enough to see the necessity for saving still more of it, and these people can do more to preserve it, if only by giving it a place in the columns of the weekly papers, than any one collector or writer. And why should there not be a Highland Publishing Society, which would sell every known book on the Highlands, take the financial risk of gathering material for new books, and publishing them, and do the educational and other work now being attempted by various societies? There are already enough of county societies and clan societies working only for their own county or clan. Such distinctions have been broken down by the march of civilisation, and with the intermixing of the clans and the free movement of the people all over the country, the societies have little more than the sentiment of the past, a sound enough reason, no doubt, to justify their existence. But there is the Highlands and the language and the music, the scattered literature and half-Anglicised people, and if Highlanders with a craze for organising will but think on these things and build up some organisation that will become the natural rallying point of everything Highland, it is not yet too late to let the world see that the Scottish Highlands has a history and a literature worthy of a far higher place among the nations of the earth than the earth has yet given them. As to its music:—

“Long may its lays be heard on Scotia’s hills, Which call no more her clans in fray to meet, And dye with kindred blood their native rills; And, as blythe echoes the shrill notes repeat, May Scottish hearts with kindling raptures beat; For valour’s throb no more obeys the call, Than laughs the eye with mirthful jollity When the pipe sounds at village festival. Such power, loved pibroch, has thy magic minstrelsy.

Thee from her hall let heartless fashion spurn, For softer warblings of the Italian string; Let luxury or wantoned dalliance burn, Yet into hearts that round our Scotia cling, With thy dear lays shall patriot raptures spring; And he who can o’er faded glory sigh, Who to oppression’s children gives the tear, Will say, while awful transport lights his eye, No generous soul is theirs, unmoved thy strains who hear.”

APPENDIX.

It was at first intended that the Appendix to this book should contain a tutor to the bagpipe. It was, however, seen that to do this would not only be departing from the avowed character of the undertaking—the production of a thoroughly untechnical book, and one that would appeal to players and non-players alike—but it would also be encroaching on the preserves of the publishers of pipe music, nearly all of whom preface their volumes with a tutor. Other, and it is hoped, equally interesting matter has been substituted.

Appendix.

I.—THE SCALE OF THE PIPES.

BY JOHN MAC NEILL, LANGHOLM.

In making a few observations on the scale of the bagpipe (_Piob-mhorna h-Alba_) it is not necessary to go deeply into the evolution of instrumental music, but it may be well to state shortly that the earliest instruments devised for expressing musical sounds, that is sounds having a definite relation to one another, were of two distinct orders, the first probably being the reed or pipe, made of various materials, such as straw, reeds, bone, wood, or metal, blown by the mouth and giving a single note which varied in pitch according to the diameter and length of the tube or pipe through which the wind escaped. The second order was a stringed instrument wherein cords varied in length and thickness were fixed at both ends upon a suitable frame, and the sound was produced by plucking with the finger and allowing the cord to vibrate freely.

The next stage was to make vents or holes in the pipe, arranged so that they could easily be covered by the fingers, and as the sound always escaped by the hole nearest the reed, it was easy to produce a series of sounds by removing one or more fingers in succession. In a somewhat similar way, a series of sounds were obtained from the vibrations of a single cord by pressing, or merely touching, it at certain points, and thus shortening the portion which was allowed to vibrate.

The primary object of all music is to give pleasure through the ear by imitating, or reproducing, more or less correctly, the sound of the human voice, and other natural sounds, so we find that as early instruments began to be improved they were so constructed as to produce various notes having the same intervals between them as are found between the tones of the human voice. In this way instruments with a fixed scale were obtained, and we know that in course of time various nations improved the instruments they had in use, the ancient Greeks especially bringing the art of music and their favourite stringed instrument, the lyre, to a high degree of perfection.

The great defect of all the more ancient instruments was their limited compass, most of them containing from five to ten notes only, thus rendering it impossible to play anything upon them except by the same series of notes and at the same pitch. This was gradually remedied, both as regards wind and stringed instruments, by adopting various devices whereby their compass was extended, and by introducing, with more or less accuracy, new notes called semi-tones between the original notes. The modern method of tuning musical instruments by “equal temperament” was unknown until the time of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) who, disregarding the custom which had prevailed until his day, of writing in a few keys only, and tuning instruments so as to render these keys nearly perfect at the expense of the rest, himself tuned the instruments on which he played in “equal temperament.” When he first began to play music on the harpsicord, tuned in the old way, in other than the keys in which it was originally composed, the effect was almost unbearable, and it thus became necessary to alter the relation of the notes throughout the whole scale by framing a complete chromatic scale having exactly the same interval between each semi-tone. In this way every note was slightly altered from the true natural scale, but not to such an extent as to seriously offend the ear.

It is obvious that to have a perfect chromatic scale a separate string or pipe is required for each note in such instruments as the organ and pianoforte, while it is obtained in those of the flute and oboe class by making additional holes in the tube at the correct intervals and covering them with close-fitting pads with levers (keys) within convenient reach of the fingers. (Having mentioned the oboe, it may be remarked in passing that its tone has been called “bagpipe music sublimated.”) Various attempts have been made to adapt similar appliances to the chanter of the bagpipe, but the results have not been satisfactory, and its scale remains practically the same as it was two centuries ago. It will be shown, however, with the aid of the table of vibrations appended to this article, that it does not differ so widely from the natural or “equal temperament” scales as the critics allege.

The scale of the bagpipe closely resembles what is known as the Greek scale, having a flat seventh, if we take it as running from A to A^|, with a supplementary note G (the lowest on the instrument). While this is true, a reference to the table of vibrations shows that other scales can be rendered with a fair amount of correctness. A great deal has been written on this subject, much of it tending to show that the bagpipe is hardly, if at all, entitled to be considered a musical instrument. One writer starts with the assumption that the first or lowest note is the keynote of its scale, and thereby, very easily, comes to the conclusion that all the rest of the notes are out of tune. As well might it be asserted that the lowest note in any piece of music is the keynote of such piece; and it is obvious that taking the highest note on the bagpipe for the keynote and descending, quite a different result would be arrived at. There are various other writers who seem unable to distinguish between the Great Highland Bagpipe and the Italian and French bagpipes. With these it has hardly anything in common except the name.

It is pretty certain that the pipe chanter was at first used without a bag, and blown directly from the mouth, as a practising chanter still is, and that its key was D, thus giving an equal number of notes above and below. Afterwards two drones were fitted into the bag along with the chanter, probably in unison with one another, and with the lower A on the chanter, the key of the Greek scale already referred to. The instrument remained in this form for a long period. In the seventeenth century probably a third and longer drone (_dos mor_) was added, tuned an octave below the others. The drones form a fixed bass, and, according to the well-established principle in music that the bass always ends with the keynote, this may furnish very good ground for saying that the true scale is A, with which, indeed, a very large proportion of pipe music ends. But taking the note D on the chanter as the keynote, it is found that the notes _above_ it are nearly in perfect tune, as can be easily observed by playing any well-known air in that key that falls within the compass of the _piob mhor_. Of course, it can be seen at a glance from the table of vibrations annexed that the scale of D is very nearly the same as that of A with a flat seventh. The use of this flat seventh descending is so common in minor scales as to form, after the minor third, one of their chief characteristics; and it does not greatly offend even the critical cultivated modern ear, when not an accented note nor leading directly to the key note. According to the principle mentioned already, that the bass always ends with the key note, it must be assumed that A is really the key note of the bagpipe scale, seeing the drones are tuned to that note; and starting from that point we find that A, C, E, A^| are Do, Mi, So, Do^| of the scale of A. Taking the higher Do of this scale and descending a fifth, we find D (Fa), and taking this as the key of a new scale, we find that D, F, A^|, A are Do, Mi, So, Soˌ of the scale of D. In the same way, taking the fifth below D—that is, G—we find that G, B, D, G^| are Do, Mi, So, Do^| of the scale of G. On referring to the table of vibrations it will be seen that all these notes are very nearly correct in the scales mentioned, whatever their Sol-Fa names, the only differences being that B should be a little sharper in the key of A than in D and G, and that E should be a little flatter in the key of G than in D and A. For comparison there is a column inserted in the table giving the vibrations according to “equal temperament” of the chromatic scale from G to A^| . None of the notes of the bagpipe admit of being sharpened or flattened except the upper G, which can be slightly sharpened by opening the E hole along with G and E. The notes D, C, B can be slightly flattened by lifting one finger only, with all those below it closed, but passages requiring this fingering are hardly met with except in pibrochs (_Ceòl mor_). The scale given in the annexed table is, I venture to submit, the true scale of the bagpipe. It is as perfect as can constructed upon an instrument of such limited compass without the aid of valves, and places it much on a level with the other instruments in use up to the time of Bach, already referred to, whereby the approximate correctness of a few keys was obtained by the sacrifice of all the others. It is possible that pipe chanters may not always be bored with perfect accuracy, and that in the case of very old instruments the holes may get enlarged by wear so as to be more or less out of tune, but I think that the true “bearings” are as I have stated.

Is is to be noted that but very few of the airs of our Gaelic songs can be played on the bagpipe, a fact which we think goes far to prove that the instrument was designed and used for martial purposes in the open air. Indeed the _timbre_ of the instrument renders it unsuitable for playing in concert with the human voice.

It is, I think, a matter of great satisfaction to all Highlanders and to those who love the race, that so many intelligent and praiseworthy efforts are being made at the present time to preserve and cultivate our national music.

The following is the table of vibrations of musical scales forming the foundations of the scale for the bagpipe:—

┌───────┬────────────────────────────────┬────────────┬──────────────────────────┐ │ Notes │Sol-fa Names with Vibrations in │ Equal │ True Pipe Scale. │ │on the │ │Temperament.│ │ │staff. │ │ │ │ ├───────┼───────┬───────┬───────┬────────┼────────────┼──────────────┬───────────┤ │ │ C │ G │ D │ A │ │ Staff. │Vibrations.│ ├───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼────────┼────────────┼──────────────┼───────────┤ │A │l 880 │rˈ 891 │so 891 │doˈ 891 │891 │[Illustration]│891 │ │G sharp│ │ │ │t │841 │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │835⁵⁄₁₅ │ │ │ │ │G │so 792 │doˈ 792│f 792 │ │794 │ │792 │ │F sharp│ │t 742½ │m 742½ │l 742½ │750 │ │742½ │ │F │f 704 │ │ │ │706 │ │ │ │E │m 660 │l 660 │r 666¼ │so 668¼ │666 │ │668¼ │ │D sharp│ │ │ │627 │ │ │ │ │D │r 594 │s 594 │do 594 │f 594 │592 │ │594 │ │C sharp│ │ │tˌ 556⅞│m 556⅞ │559 │ │556⅞ │ │C │do 528 │f 528 │ │ │528 │ │ │ │B │tˌ 495 │m 495 │lˌ 495 │r │499 │ │495 │ │ │ │ │ │501³⁄₁₀ │ │ │ │ │A sharp│ │ │ │ │471 │ │ │ │A │lˌ 440 │r 445½ │soˌ │doˌ 445½│445½ │ │445½ │ │ │ │ │445½ │ │ │ │ │ │G sharp│ │ │ │tˌ │420 │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │417²¹⁄₃₂│ │ │ │ │G │soˌ 396│do 396 │fˌ 396 │ │397 │ │396 │ └───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴────────┴────────────┴──────────────┴───────────┘

NOTE.—These calculations are made assuming that C in the middle of the staff has 528 vibrations, but of course whatever pitch be taken the relative proportion of the notes remains the same. Fractions, except in the case of one note, are omitted in the scale of equal temperament.

II.—PRACTICAL HINTS.

BY PIPE-MAJOR A. D. CAMPBELL, BONAR BRIDGE.

I.—CARRIAGE OF THE PIPES.

If the player is standing the body should be perfectly upright, head erect, and eyes carelessly fixed on some object as high as himself. Great care should be taken that the shoulder on which the big drone rests is not allowed to rise, or yield in any way to the weight or blowing of the pipes; the head must not incline towards the big drone or droop backwards or forwards; the chest must be kept inflated and the shoulders square.

If the player is marching the shoulders should be allowed to swing to and fro, the motion proceeding from the haunches only and not exceeding what will suffice to give a free and easy step. His bearing should be stately and lofty in accordance with the warlike instrument on which he plays. In playing marching tunes the performer should never stand, if possible, and when marching should beware of taking short stilted steps. He should also practise reels in marching time, and play over irregular ground, in order to gain confidence and command over his instrument.

II.—BLOWING THE PIPES.

In blowing the bagpipe, the cheeks must never be inflated nor the face distressed in any way. There is really no hard work required, only a little careful practice, and everything should be done as easily and freely as possible. The bag does not at all times require to be filled to its full extent, a little more than three-fourths being usually sufficient. The player must not expend all his breath without resting, as by so doing he will not only hurt but disable himself. The arm should be pressed lightly on the bag, but allowed to yield gently to the wind as it comes from the mouth, the pressure being gentle and steady and according to the strength of the reeds. The player will at first find some little difficulty in satisfactorily managing the bag, but when he has succeeded he will be able to play in a free and commanding style, and will have surmounted a difficulty which is a great bugbear to all inexperienced players.

III.—TUNING THE PIPES.

When the pipes are first struck in, the big and outer drones should be stopped by placing a finger over the hole of the bell of each. In doing this or at any time when only one hand holds the chanter, the E note should be sounded. The centre drone being nearest to the ear should, as a rule, be tuned first. Should this drone not be in tune with the chanter reed, a discord between them will ensue, and to get a chord the point of the drone must be moved up or down, as the case may require. By carefully listening to the chanter reed and moving the joint at the same time, the player will easily discover whether the sounds are assimilating or the discord increasing, and be able to suit his action accordingly, until the sounds blend into one. The low A must now be sounded, and the drone tuned to that note. (We may, however, tune to E, high G, or in fact any note, providing the chanter reed is true to all the notes, but in order to prove the reed and tune the pipes at the same time, low A is generally preferred.) Afterwards sound high A to prove whether the chanter reed is properly set, and true from low to high A. If it is, the drone also will be in perfect chord with the latter note. But should this not be the case and the drone cannot be brought to the exact pitch with both notes. The discord, however slight, must be divided between the two notes, and not left wholly on either. If the pipe or the reeds are not defective, this should never occur, and the reeds if properly fitted should tune about the centre of the joint. After the centre drone is properly tuned, the outer should be begun by placing the finger on the air-hole of the bell, or suddenly easing the arm. This drone is not tuned to the chanter reed but to the drone already tuned, in the same manner as that was tuned to the chanter reed. The big drone is tuned to the other two in a similar manner.

After the centre drone has been tuned to the chanter reed, raising the others to the same height in the tuning joint or in line with it, does not always put the drones in tune. The reeds may differ materially in tone, and they must be brought to the same pitch by studying the sounds only. When the pipes are in tune all four reeds will chord. One may be stronger or harsher than another, and still chord with it. It is sometimes difficult for the learner to find the tuning mark, as it is very exact. Care and practice makes it easy.

Young pipers should never play with their instruments out of tune, as this will accustom their ears to discords, and they will eventually be unable to tell when their pipes are in tune and when they are not. Suddenly moving the joints up or down to their full extent will be found capital practice for the beginner, as he cannot then fail to distinguish discords. He should then move them cautiously back as if feeling for something, and he will hear the jarring sounds gradually dying away until they blend in chord. In tuning, care must be taken that the pressure of wind on the reeds is exactly the same as when playing, otherwise discord is inevitable.

Beginners should use reeds in the centre and big drones only, as the pipes will then he easier blown, as well as easier tuned. The practice can be discontinued when the player is able to blow freely. The further down the drones are tuned the sharper the sound becomes, and the further up the flatter or deeper. So if the chanter should have a sharp sound the drone must also be made sharp, or _vice versa_. All new reeds are generally sharp, and become flatter the longer they are played on.

IV.—REEDS AND THEIR DEFECTS.

Reeds have many defects, and nothing but experience combined with care will make a piper thoroughly at home in dealing with them.

A new reed before being put into the chanter should be placed in water for a few minutes. If it has lain past for some time it should be left in the water longer, as the wood may have shrunk or the blades become too open or close. New reeds can never be thoroughly depended on, as they alter more or less with use. They should therefore never be cut or interfered with before being tried. They are also, as a rule, harder to blow than reeds which have been in use for some time; and, if after a fair trial, they are still found to be too strong, they may then be weakened at the discretion of the player. When a reed has a “dirling” sound on the low hand (generally A or G), it is either too weak or too lightly built. In the latter case, it will, combined with the “dirling” sound, have a want of fulness of tone, and cannot be readily improved. Should it be only too weak, it can be easily strengthened by being opened carefully and gradually with a specially made implement of some kind until it has a firm sound. This, of course, has to be done with great care, or the reed may be rendered useless. When a reed is too flat, the staple should be lowered into the chanter until the correct sound is produced. If the staple is as far down as it can be got a hairsbreadth may be cut from the point of the reed and the staple raised or depressed as required. If after this the reed becomes too strong, the blades may be slightly reduced with sandpaper. If the blades are already sufficiently thin, but the point of the staple too open, it can be made considerably closer by inserting a tapered instrument into the staple, and giving the latter a slight tap with a small hammer. In this, care must be taken that the instrument used is shaped as like the inside of the staple as possible. In the event of the reed being too sharp, the staple should be raised in the chanter as high as possible, when should it still prove too sharp, it may be opened in the way already described. This, however, should only be done when the staples or blades are too close, as although the tone is rendered flatter by the process the reed is more or less strained, which is apt to give it a sound insufficiently full, and render the playing laborious without any object being gained.

The player should always bear in mind that the longer reeds are in use the flatter they become. In cases where a reed is not very much out, it can be toned down by frequent playing, rather than by experimenting with it. When it is too strong and not too open in staples or blades it may be partly because it contains too much wood, a matter which can be easily rectified with fine sandpaper. A reed that is too strong owing to its being too open in the blades can be made considerably closer and easier to blow by taking a common cork, making a deep cut in the end of it, and inserting the blades of the reed into the cut, then tying a piece of cord round the cork sufficiently tight to close the blades, and leaving it in that position for a few days. The width of the staple should, however, be tested before this is done, as if it is too open making it closer by the process already explained will make the blades closer also, and save the trouble of using the cork.

It should be noticed that when chanter reeds have certain false notes, such as a sharp high A or a flat high G or E, this is caused by the reeds being improperly fitted, the points of the blades being too thin or the sides of the reed being too thick. Care must therefore be taken, when fitting a reed, that all the different notes are true, after which it should never again be touched except when actually requiring attention.

The beginner may find some difficulty in distinguishing the true sound when the chanter reed is in his mouth. He should therefore put it unto the pipe and sound it, when he will be better able to judge, as he will hear the sound from a greater distance. The chanter reed should always have a clear, distinct, shrill sound, accompanied with a full and firm tone in every note.

V.—DRONE REEDS.

The small drone reeds should sound smooth and firm, with a clear humming sound, and the big drone reed deep and bass, and strong enough to bear the pressure of wind required for the chanter reed. New reeds are often hard to “strike in,” and have a rough or sharp tone. This is owing to their newness and dryness, and goes away with playing. They are also frequently inclined to close or stop. This is caused by the steam of the breath swelling the wood, and causing it to fall into its natural set. In this case, the tongue of the reed should be raised as high as it will admit of without straining, and the centre pressed down. Should it after this become too rough or flat, it can be rectified by bringing the tuning string a little towards the point of the tongue. Should this make it too weak for the strength of the chanter reed, the best plan is to raise the tongue and put a hair (out of the head) between the tongue and body of the reed, and as far back as the tuning string will permit.

When a drone tunes too far up, that is when the tuning mark is higher than the joint can be raised, it will be too sharp to admit of its chording with the chanter reed. In that case the reed should be lowered— _i.e._, given a smaller catch in the joint or drone. Should it still prove too sharp, the tuning string should be moved backwards towards the end placed in the joint. This ought to correct any ordinary reed. Should it fail, the reed must be too short and cannot be amended except by altering the chanter reed, which should never be done for such a purpose, the chanter reed being always first set and the others set to it.

When the tuning mark is too far down for the joint, and the tone cannot be rendered sufficiently sharp, the required sound will in most cases be produced by moving the tuning string towards the point of the tongue. Should this fail, the reed may be put further into the joint of the drone, or a very little cut off the end which goes into the joint.

When reeds have a rough, roaring sound they may be rectified by bringing the tuning string nearer the point of the tongue, as before described. A reed may have a burring, squealing, or double tone when blown up to the full pitch of the chanter reed. This may be caused by the tuning string being too tight, or it may be caused by the tongue being too heavy, in which case the proper note may be obtained by cutting one or more notches across the tongue. This will weaken the false sound, and with regular playing it will disappear.

It must be remembered that over-blowing a reed will cause it to “dirl,” and half covering any of the holes will cause the reeds to squeal. In blowing, also, if the regular strength of wind is withheld from the reeds, even for an instant, they will stop, or “hiccough,” as pipers term it. The results of these mistakes must not be attributed to the reeds.

An old reed may be made to wear much longer by putting one or more hairs under the tongue where the tuning string is placed and using a new tuning string.

A reed is said to be “water-locked” when it has become soft through continuous use. Drone reeds only are liable to become water-locked, and should never be over-played. When the mischief is done they must be laid aside until properly dry.

Wet reeds should be taken out before the pipes are laid past, and the water blown out of them. They should then be rolled between the hand and knee and the tongue slightly lifted, after which they should be replaced in the joints. Reeds should not be exposed to the air to dry. A common bottle makes an excellent receptacle for them.

Young pipers should on no account tamper or experiment with their reeds, unless they are perfectly certain of what they are to do, why they are to do it, and what the result will be.

VI.—THE BAG, AND HOW TO KEEP IT.

For making the bag tight a paste composed of resin, beeswax and sweet oil boiled together is here recommended. This, when cool, should be slightly thicker than cream. After the stocks have been inserted a few spoonfuls of this paste should be put in (lukewarm), then the stocks stopped up and a little wind left in the bag to prevent its sides sticking. The skin should be rubbed and wrought until it becomes impregnated with the paste.

When pipes are much used, and the bag draws a good deal of water, the reeds will always be damp. To remedy this, a little salt may be put into the bag, which will cause the damp to be discharged through the skin. This, however, might make an old bag give way altogether. Water should never on any account be put into the bag.

The bag should always be soft and pliable. This can be managed in several ways. After being dried, say half a teacupful of melted brown sugar may be passed into it, and worked with the hands, the skin being then hung up overnight for the surplus sugar to run out.

VII.—KEEPING THE PIPES IN ORDER.

Pipes as a rule should be cleaned thoroughly at least once a month, and if much played on once a week. Cocoa-nut oil will be found to serve the purpose best. When the pipes are to be cleaned the reeds should first be removed, and either placed in a bottle or rolled in a damp rag. The different joints should then be detached and the pieces cleaned outside and inside with an oily rag, a long feather saturated with oil being passed through the joints. If not required immediately, and after the reeds have been reinserted, the instrument should then be laid past in its oily state for a few hours. Before being used, the reeds should be again abstracted and all the parts carefully cleaned. Care must be taken that the warping on the joints is never allowed to get ragged or soaked with water, as this will cause the joints to crack, or swell the hemp, and render them difficult to move. The player cannot be too particular in satisfying himself that none of the joints are too tight. New pipes, especially in hot weather or warm climates, should before being used be laid up for a few days in cocoanut oil and exposed daily to the sun; care, however, being taken that they are not allowed to dry and that they are frequently turned and well wetted with oil. This will season the wood, and lessen the danger of splitting.

* * * * *

The young piper must not forget that it is the practice chanter that makes the piper, and he should never attempt to play a tune on the full set until he can play it thoroughly on the chanter. Quick and careless playing should always be avoided. Also, the player should endeavour to get into the spirit of the music by understanding the circumstances under which each particular tune was composed and the feelings it is meant to express. No man other than a Highlander can fully appreciate the _piobaireachd_ or do justice to the wild, though majestic, strains. The histories of the various tunes, with the words to which they are set, would be invaluable to the player, and it is to be hoped that the present volume will do something towards emphasising all the grand old associations that cling round the Highland Bagpipe, and thus enable the public to appreciate it all the more and pipers to play it all the better.

III.—BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PIPE MUSIC.

The list of books of pipe music is not very long, but the difficulties of making it complete and accurate are more than may at first appear. The principal difficulty is in the matter of dates, publishers, no doubt for good reasons, nearly always refraining from giving on their title page the year in which the book was first issued. Some of the older books, too, are now very rare, and there are not many people who have anything like a complete set. The following list has been compiled with every possible care:—

1784—MAC DONALD—A collection of Highland Vocal Airs with a number of Country Dances or Reels of the North Highlands, a few Bagpipe Strathspeys and Reels set for the Violin, and also four Pibrochs, viz.:—Mac Intosh’s Lament, Mac Crimmon’s Lament, The Finger Lock, and Peace or War. Compiled and published by Rev. Patrick Mac Donald, minister of Kilmore, Argyllshire. Out of print.

1803—MAC DONALD—A Treatise on the Theory, Principles and Practice of the Great Highland Bagpipe, to which is added one pibroch for a beginner; prepared by Joseph Mac Donald, Sutherlandshire, and published by his brother, Rev. Patrick Mac Donald, Kilmore. Out of print.

1818—“AMATEUR”—A Preceptor for the Great Highland Bagpipe, with a few favourite simple airs; written and edited by “An Amateur,” and published by Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh. Price 3s. Out of print.

1822—MAC DONALD—A collection of the Ancient Martial Music of Caledonia, called _Piobaireachd_, consisting of 23 pieces, as performed on the Great Highland Bagpipe. Now also adapted to the pianoforte, violin and violincello; with a few old Highland lilts purposely set for the above modern instruments; to which is prefixed a complete tutor for attaining a thorough knowledge of pipe music. Respectfully dedicated to the Highland Societies of London and Scotland by Donald Mac Donald, and published by Alex. Robertson & Co., Edinburgh. Republished in 1855 by Messrs. J. & R. Glen. Price £1 1s.

1828—MAC LEOD—_Canntaireachd_, a collection of twenty _Piobaireachd_ or pipe tunes, as verbally taught by the Mac Crimmon pipers in the Isle of Skye to their apprentices; published as taken from John Mac Crimmon, piper to the old Laird of Mac Leod and his grandson, the late John Mac Leod of Mac Leod. Edited by Captain Neil Mac Leod of Gesto. Reprinted in 1880 by Messrs. J. & R. Glen, Edinburgh.

1829—MAC DONALD—A collection of Quicksteps, Strathspeys, Reels and Jigs, consisting of 120 tunes, arranged for the Highland Bagpipe. Edited and published by Donald Mac Donald & Son, pipe makers, Edinburgh. Republished by Messrs. J. & R. Glen in 1848 and frequently afterwards. Now in fifth edition. Price 2s.

1838—MAC KAY—A collection of Ancient _Piobaireachd_ or Highland Pipe Music, consisting of sixty-one tunes, many of them adapted to the pianoforte, with instructions for learners of pipe music, sketches of the principal hereditary pipers, and historical and traditional notes respecting the origin of the various pieces. Edited and published by Angus Mac Kay, piper to the Queen. Second Edition published in 1839, also by Mac Kay. Price, £1 15s. Reprinted in 1899 by Logan & Co., Inverness. Price, £1 1s.

1841—MAC KAY—The Complete Tutor for the Great Highland Bagpipe, with a compendious selection of Marches, Quicksteps, Strathspeys, Reels, and Jigs, consisting of 100 tunes. The whole selected and arranged specially for the instrument by William Mac Kay, piper to the Celtic Society of Scotland. Published by Alexander Glen, Edinburgh. Corrected and improved by Angus Mac Kay in 1843 and republished by Mr. Glen. Price 4s. Out of print.

1843—MAC KAY—The Pipers’ Assistant, a collection of Marches, Quicksteps, Strathspeys, Reels, and Jigs, consisting of 155 tunes. Edited by Angus Mac Kay, piper to the Queen. Edinburgh, published by Alexander Glen, bagpipe maker, 30 West Regent Street, London, by Angus Mac Kay. Price 8s. Out of print.

1847—GUNN—The Caledonian Repository of Strathspeys, Reels, Jigs, and Quicksteps, consisting of about 200 pieces. Edited and published by William Gunn, piper, Glasgow. Enlarged by about a dozen tunes in 1867, and republished by Gunn. Republished in 1892 and 1889 by Peter Henderson, Glasgow. Price 6s.

1853—MAC LACHLAN—The Pipers’ Assistant, containing 120 tunes. Compiled by John Mac Lachlan, piper to Neil Malcolm of Poltalloch, and published by Alex. Glen, Edinburgh. Price 6s. Out of print.

1860—GLEN—The Caledonian Repository of Music for the Great Highland Bagpipe, consisting of Marches, Strathspeys, Reels and Quicksteps to the number of 120 tunes. Edited and published by Alexander Glen, Edinburgh. Revised and republished by David Glen in 1882. Price, 6s. Out of print.

1869—ROSS—A collection of Marches, Strathspeys, Reels, and Pibrochs, consisting of 243 pieces. Edited and published by William Ross, piper to the Queen. Several editions since published, and book now contains 41 pibrochs and 437 marches, etc. Republished in 1900 by Mrs. Ross. Price, £1 10s.

1870–1871—GLEN—Parts I., II., and III. of Glen’s collection for the Great Highland Bagpipe, consisting of about 160 tunes. Edited and published by J. & R. Glen, Edinburgh. Price, originally 3s. each part, now 1s.

1876–1901—GLEN—Parts I. to XVII. of a collection of Bagpipe Music, consisting altogether of about 1000 pieces. Edited and published by David Glen. Edinburgh, at different times between 1876 and 1901. Price, each part, 1s; complete volume, with tutor, £1.

1876—MAC PHEE—A selection of Music for the Highland Bagpipe, consisting of about 150 Quicksteps, Marches, Strathspeys, Reels, etc., with a complete tutor. Edited and published by Donald Mac Phee, Glasgow. Price, 6s., in cloth 7s. Republished in 1895 by Messrs. Logan & Co., Inverness, in two volumes, at 2s. each.

1880—MAC PHEE—A collection of Pibrochs, consisting of 37 tunes. Edited and published by Donald Mac Phee, bagpipe maker, Glasgow. Republished in 1885 by Messrs. Logan & Company, Inverness. Price, 8s.

1880–1899—GLEN—Parts I. to IV. of a collection of Ancient _Piobaireachd_ or Highland Pipe Music, consisting altogether of 55 tunes; arranged, revised, and published by David Glen, Edinburgh, at different times between 1880 and 1899. Price 4s. each part.

1881—GLEN—David Glen’s Highland Bagpipe Tutor, with a selection of Quicksteps, Strathspeys, Reels, and Jigs, amounting to 50 tunes. David Glen, Edinburgh. Price, 3s. Now in 13th thousand, price, 1s.

1887—MAC KINNON—A collection of Highland Pipe Music, consisting of Marches, Strathspeys, and Reels to the number of 82 tunes, with a complete Tutor. Edited and published by Robert Mac Kinnon, bagpipe maker, Glasgow. Republished by Mr. Mac Kinnon in 1898. Price 4s.

1888—HENDERSON—Henderson’s Bagpipe Collection of Marches, Strathspeys, and Reels, extending to 138 tunes. Edited and published by Peter Henderson, bagpipe maker, Glasgow. Price 5s.

1891—HENDERSON—Henderson’s Bagpipe Tutor and Collection of Marches, Strathspeys, and Reels, to the extent of 56 pieces. Price 2s.

1899—BETT—A Collection of Pibrochs, Marches, Strathspeys, and Reels, consisting of 198 tunes. Edited and published by James Bett, Strathtay. Price, £1 1s.

1899—LOGAN—A collection of Marches, Quicksteps, Laments, Strathspeys, Reels, and Country Jigs, consisting of sixty pieces. Logan & Co., Inverness. Price 1s.

1900—GLEN—The Music of the Clan Mac Lean, consisting of 25 pieces, compiled under the auspices of the Clan Mac Lean Society of Glasgow. Edited and published by David Glen, Edinburgh. Price, in paper, 5s., in cloth gilt, 7s. 6d.

1900—HENDERSON—Henderson’s Tutor for the Bagpipe and collection of Marches, Strathspeys, Reels, Country Dances, Jigs, etc., consisting of 197 pieces. Peter Henderson, Glasgow. Price 7s. 6d.

1900—THOMASON—A collection of _Piobaireachd_ as played on the Great Highland Bagpipe—_Ceol Mòr_—compiled, edited, and rendered in a new and easily acquired notation by Major-General C. S. Thomason, R.E. (Bengal). Published by C. S. Thomason, c/o S. Sidders & Co., 17 and 19 Ball Street, Kensington, London, W.

IV.—GOLD MEDALISTS OF THE HIGHLAND SOCIETY OF LONDON.

In 1781, the Highland Society of London instituted competitions in pibroch playing. It was not, however, until 1835 that the gold medal now so well known as the highest honour attainable by pipers, was first awarded. The following is a list of the first prize winners and gold medalists so far as it has been found possible to obtain them. Unfortunately for the absolute authenticity of the list, the records of the Highland Society were lost in a fire sometime ago, and the secretary, therefore, could not supply them officially. It has, however, been carefully compiled from Angus Mac Kay’s book of pipe music, the files of the _Glasgow Herald_ and those of the _Inverness Courier_, and it may be relied on as thoroughly accurate:—

1781 —Patrick Mac Gregor, Ardradour, Perthshire.

1782 —John Mac Allister, West Fencible Regiment.

1783 —Neil Mac Lean, Airds.

1784 —John Mac Gregor, senr., Fortingall.

1785 —Donald Mac Intyre, senr., Rannoch.

1786 —Roderick Mac Kay, North Berwick.

1787 —Archibald Mac Gregor, Glenlyon.

1788 —John Mac Gregor, Strathtay.

1789 —Duncan Mac Nab, Lorne.

1790 —Robert Mac Intyre.

1791 —Donald Mac Rae, Applecross.

1792 —John Mac Kay, Raasay.

1793 —John Mac Gregor, Breadalbane Fencibles.

1794 —Angus Cameron.

1795 —Peter Mac Gregor.

1796 —Donald Fisher, Breadalbane.

1797 —Alexander Mac Gregor, Glenlyon.

1798 —Donald Mac Earchar.

1799 —Dugald Mac Intyre.

1800 —George Graham.

1801 —William Forbes.

1802 —John Buchanan, 42nd Highlanders.

1803 —Donald Robertson, Edinburgh Volunteers.

1804 —Malcolm Mac Gregor.

1805 —Duncan Mac Master, Coll.

1806 —John Mac Gregor, London.

1807 —Donald Mac Nab.

1808 —John Mac Gregor, 73rd Regiment.

1809 —Peter Forbes, Foss.

1810 —Allan Mac Lean, Mull.

1811 —John Mac Gregor.

1812 —Donald Mac Gregor.

1813 —Finlay Mac Leod.

1814 —Robert Mac Kay, Sutherlandshire.

1815 —John Mac Kay, Sutherlandshire.

1816 —Donald Mac Kay, Glasgow.

1817 —Donald Mac Donald, Argyllshire.

1818 —Allan Mac Donald.

1819 —John Campbell.

1820 —William Mac Kay, piper to Celtic Society.

1821 —Adam Graham.

1822 —Donald Mac Kay.

1823 —John Mac Kenzie.

1824 —Donald Scrimgeour.

1825 —Donald Stewart.

1826 —John Gordon.

1829 (First triennal competition)—John Mac Nab, 92nd Highlanders.

1832 —Roderick Mac Kay, Abercairney.

1835 (First competition for gold medal)—John Mac Kenzie, piper to the Marquis of Breadalbane.[17]

1838 —John Mac Beth, piper to Highland Society of London.

1841 —Donald Mac Innes, late piper to Colonel Mac Neill of Barra.

1844 —Donald Cameron, piper to Sir James J. R. Mac Kenzie of Scatwell.

Footnote 17:

In Chapter XIX., page 278, the date 1838 is given by mistake instead of 1835, as the year of this competition. Also, on page 284, it is stated that John Bane Mac Kenzie and Donald Cameron were the only players who held the title of “King of Pipers.” That there were at least two others is, however, shown by this list.

There is a blank between 1844 and 1859 which it has not been found possible to bridge. In 1844 we leave the competitions being held triennially at Edinburgh; in 1859 we find the Gold Medal being competed for at the Northern Meeting, Inverness, as “a new feature.” Several other competitions are reported during these fifteen years, and well- known names are given as prize-winners, but there is no mention of the Highland Society’s Gold Medal. It would be interesting to know if the competition was discontinued during these years.

1859 (First competition under auspices of Northern Meeting, Inverness)—Donald Cameron, piper to Seaforth.

1860—Alex. Mac Lennan, pipe-major, Inverness Militia.

1861—D. Mac Kenzie, 25th Borderers, Shorncliffe.

1862—Alex. Cameron, Greenock Rifle Volunteers.

1863—Ronald Mac Kenzie, 78th Highlanders.

1864—Alex. Mac Donald, piper to Mac Pherson of Glentruin.

1865—Colin Cameron, piper to Mr. Malcolm of Glenmarog.

1866—Wm. Mac Kinnon, 74th Highlanders, Limerick.

1867—John Mac Lennan, piper to the Earl of Fife. Donald Cameron, piper to Mr. K. W. S. Mac Kenzie, of Seaforth, was this year “Champion of Champions.”

1868—Andrew Gordon, piper to the Earl of Seafield, Balmacaan, Glen- Urquhart.

1869—Wm. Mac Donald, piper to the Prince of Wales.

1870—Alex. Cameron, piper to the Marquis of Huntly.

1871—Malcolm Mac Pherson, piper to Cluny Mac Pherson.

1872—Donald Mac Kay, piper to Sir George Mac Pherson Grant, Bart., of Ballindalloch.

1873—Duncan Mac Dougall, piper to the Earl of Breadalbane. Champion of Champions, Ronald Mac Kenzie, 78th Highlanders.

1874—John Smith, 93rd Highlanders, Lochgilphead.

1875—Ronald Mac Kenzie, piper to Neil Mac Donald of Dunach.

1876—John Mac Kenzie, Royal Caledonian Asylum, London. Champion of Champions, Duncan Mac Dougall, piper to the Earl of Breadalbane.

1877—John Mac Bean, piper to Lord Middleton.

1878—Lewis Grant, piper to the Earl of Seafield. 1879—William Mac Lennan, Dundee. 1880—John J. Connan, piper to John H. Dixon, Inveran. 1881—Angus Mac Rae, piper to Mr. E. H. Wood of Raasay. 1882—Angus Mac Donald. South Morar. 1883—A. D. Longair, 2nd A. and S. Highlanders. 1884—John Mac Coll, Oban. 1885—Pipe-Major J. Mac Dougall Gillies, Glasgow. 1886—R. Meldrum, 93rd Sutherland Highlanders. 1887—Alex. Fletcher, Invermoriston. 1888—William Boa, piper to Mr. Dixon of Inveran. 1889—John Mac Kay, 4th A. and S. Highlanders. 1890—John Mac Donald, Glentromie Lodge, Kingussie. 1891—Colin Thomson, 3rd Seaforth Highlanders. 1892— John Cameron, 2nd Cameron Highlanders. 1893—Pipe-Major Matheson, 3rd Highland Light Infantry. 1894—Pipe-Major D. Campbell, Scottish Rifles. 1895—Murdo Mac Kenzie, piper to Mr. A. G. Butter of Fascolly. 1896—Alec. Mac Kenzie, Resolis, Invergordon. 1897—Wm. Campbell, second piper to the Queen. 1898—Murdoch Mac Kenzie, Church Street, Inverness. 1899—D. C. Mather, Lochcarron. 1900—W. G. Meldrum, Moy Hall.

The Highland Society of London, have also, since 1875, presented a gold medal at the Argyllshire Gathering, to be competed for under the same conditions as that at the Northern Meeting. The two medals are of about equal value, and, though neither can be won twice by the same competitor, one piper may win both. The following are the prize winners at the Argyllshire Gathering, as kindly supplied by the secretary, Mr. Alexander Sharp, Oban:—

1875, Sept. 8.— John Mac Bean, Culloden.

1876, „ 13.— Malcolm Mac Pherson, Cluny.

1877, „ 12.— John Mac Bean, Culloden.

1878, „ 11.— William Mac Lennan, Inverness.

1879, „ 10.— George Mac Donald, South Morar.

1880, „ 15.— Pipe-Major Robert Mac Kinnon, Skipness.

1886, „ 8.— Pipe-Major Robert Meldrum, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

1887, „ 14.— Pipe-Major John Mac Kay, 4th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Paisley.

1888, „ 12.— Kenneth Mac Donald, Braemar.

1889, „ 11.— John Mac Pherson, Cluny.

1890, „ 10.— Norman Mac Pherson, Loch Lomond.

1891, „ 9.— D. C. Mather, Loch Carron.

1892, „ 14.— A. R. Mac Coll, Oban.

1893, „ 13.— Pipe-Major Wm. Robb, 91st Highlanders.

1894, „ 12.— Pipe-Major George Ross, Black Watch.

1895, „ 11.— John Mac Kenzie, Glasgow.

1896, „ 9.— Gavin C. Mac Dougall, Aberfeldy.

1897, „ 8.— John Mac Donald, Kingussie.

1898, „ 14.— Farquhar Mac Rae, Glasgow.

1899, „ 13.— Murdo M’Kenzie, Inverness.

1900, —— No Gathering.

From 1880 till 1886 no Medal was given.

V.—DIRECTORY OF BAGPIPE MAKERS.

The making of bagpipes is almost, if not quite confined to Scotland. One or two firms in London profess to be makers, but they either make very little or get the instruments from Scotland. There are no makers abroad, but a large trade is done by Scottish makers with colonial customers. The following is a list of all the makers of any professional standing:—

ABERFELDY— Gavin Mac Dougall.

DUNDEE— David Thow, 45 and 47 Gellatly Street.

EDINBURGH— John Centre & Sons, 12 Grove Street. David Glen, 8 Greenside Place. J. & R. Glen, North Bank Street. J. & W. Hutcheon, 3 Niddry Street.

GLASGOW— Peter Henderson, 100 Renfrew Street. Robert Mac Kinnon, 59 Renfrew Street.

VI.—THE LARGEST KNOWN LIST OF PIBROCHS.

The following list of pibrochs, which is the index to Major-General Thomason’s _Ceol Mor_,[18] is the most complete that has ever been published. With the exception of three new tunes included in _The Music of the Clan Mac Lean_, and one or two others, it contains all the pibrochs known to present day players, while the particulars as to composers’ names and dates of origin are more full than anyone else has attempted:—

Footnote 18:

See page 110.

ENGLISH. GAELIC. AUTHOR AND DATE.

Abercairney’s Salute _Fàilte Aberchàrnaig_

Aged Warrior’s Lament, The _Cumha Chlaibh_

Allan, Lament for Young _Cumha Ailein Oig_

Altearn, The Battle of _Blàr Allt-Eire_ 1645.

Anapool, Lament for Lady _Cumha Ban-tighearna Anapuil_

Antrim, Lament for the Earl _Cumha Iarla Antruim_ of

Argyll’s Salute _Fàilte Marcus Earraghaidheal_

Army, The Red Tartaned _An t-arm breac dearg_

Athole, The Battle of _Blàr Athol_

Athol Salute, The _Fàilte Dhiuc Athol_

Away to your tribe, Ewen, or _Gu do bhuidheann Eoghainn_ Lochiel’s Salute

Balladruishaig, The Battle _Blàr Bhaile Dhruisheig_ of

Battle of the Bridge (or _Ceann drochaid Pheairt_ Inch) of Perth, The

Battle of Doirneag, The _Blàr nan Dòirneag_

Battle of Glenshiel, The _Blàr Ghlinn Seile_ J. D. Mac Kay.

Bealach na bròige, The _Blàr Bealach na bròige_ Battle of

Beinn na Greine _Beinn na Gréine_

Bells of Perth, The _Cluig Pheairt_

Beloved Scotland, I leave _Albainn bheadarach’s mise Thee gloomy ’gad fhàgail_

Berisdale Salute, The _Fàilte Morair Bharisdail_ A. Mac Lennan.

Bicker, The _Port a’ Mheàdsair_

Big Spree, The, or You’re _An Daorach mhor (Tha’n drunk and had better sleep daorach ort’s feairrd thu cadal)_

Black Donald of the Isles, _Piobaireachd Dhomhnuill March of Duibh_

Black Watch’s Salute, The _Fàilte an Fhreiceadain J. Mac Duibh_ Donald, 1730.

Blind Piper’s Obstinacy, The _Crosdachd an Doill_ J. D. Mac Kay.

Blue Ribbon, The (the _Riobain Gorm nan Granndach_ Grants)

Blue Ribbon, The (Isle of _Riobain Gorm an Eilein Mull) Mhuilich_

Boat Tune, The _Port a’ Bhàta_

Boisdale Salute, The _Fàilte Fir Bhaosdail_

Borlum’s Salute, The Laird _Fàilte Thighearna Bhorluim_ of

Breadalbane, Lament for Lord _Cumha Morair Braidalbainn_

Brothers’ Lament, The _Cumha nam Bràithrean_

Cameron, Donald, Lament for _Cumha Dhomhnuill Chamaroin_ K. Cameron, 1893.

Camerons’ Gathering, The _Cruinneachadh nan Camaronach_

Campbell, G., of Calder’s _Fàilte Sheòrais òig Salute Tighearna Chaladair_

Campbell of Kintarbet’s _Fàilte Mhic Néill Chinn- J. Mac Kay, Salute, Lachlan Mac Neill tairbeart_ Snr., 1837.

Carles wi’ the Breeks, The _Bodaich nam Briogaisean_

Carles of Sligachin, The _Bodaich Shligeachain_

Catherine’s Lament _Cumha Chatriona_

Catherine’s Salute _Fàilte Chatriona_

Castle Menzie or Fraser’s _Caisteal a’ Mheinneirich— Salute Piobaireachd Uaidh, Fàilte Cloinn Shimidh_

Charich’s, Alastair, March _Spaidsearachd Alastair Charaich_

Cheerful Scotland _Albainn Bheadarach_

Children, The Lament for the _Cumhna na Cloinne_ P.M. Mac Crimmon.

Chisholm’s Salute _Fàilte ’n t-Siosolaich_

Chisholm of Strathglass’s _Fàilte Siosalach Srath- Salute Ghlais_

Choaig, Patrick, A Satire on _Lasan Phadruig Chaoig Mhic D.M. Mac Cruimein_ Crimmon.

Ciar, Lament for John _Cumha Iain Chéir_

Ciar, Salute for John _Fàilte Iain Chéir_

Clan Chattan, The Gathering _Cruinneachadh Chloinn of Chatain_

Clan Ranald’s Salute _Fàilte Chloinn Raonuill_

Claverhouse, Lament for _Cumha Chléibheir_

Cleaver, General, Lament for _Cumha Chléibheir_ 1689. (?) Claverhouse

Comely Tune, The _Ant-Ailteachd_

Company’s Lament, The _Cumha na Cuideachd_

Contullich, Lament for the _Cumha Fir Chontullaich_ 1714. Laird of

Craigellachie, The Grants’ _Creag Ealachaidh_ Gathering

Crun-luath Tune, The _Port a’ Chrunluaith_

Daughter, Lament for the _Cumha na h-ìghne_

Davidson of Tulloch’s Salute _Fàilte Tighearna Thulaich_

Dead, Lament for the _Cumha nam Marbh_

Desperate Battle Cuchulin, _Cath fuasach Chuchulinn_ The

Donald Gruamach’s Lament for _Spaidsearachd Dhomhnuill D. Gruamach. his elder Brother Ghruamaich_

Doyle’s, Lady, Salute _Fàilte Bain-Tighearna J. Mac Kay. Dhoile_

Drizzle on the Stone _Ceob air cloich_ R. Mac Dougal.

Duke of Perth’s March, The _Spaidsearachd Dhiùc Finlay _Dubh_ Pheairt_ Mac Rae, 1715.

Duncan Mac Rae of Kintail’s _Cumha Dhonnachaidh Mhic Lament Iain_

Duntroon’s Salute _Fàilte Dhùntròin_

Duntroon’s Warning _Caismeachd Dhuntroin_

Dunyveg, Lament for the _Cumha Caisteal Dhun- 1647. Castle of Naomhaig_

Earl of Ross’s March, The _Spaidsearachd Iarla Rois_ D. M. Mac Crimmon, 1600.

Earl of Seaforth’s Salute _Fàilte Uilleam Duibh Mhic Finlay _Dubh_ Coinnich_ Mac Rae, 1715.

Elchies Salute, or Mac Nab’s _Fàilte Elchin, na Fàilte Salute, Chloinn an Aba_

End of the Great Bridge, The _Ceann na Drochaide mòire_

End of Isheberry Bridge, The _Ceann Drochaid Iseberri_

End of the Little Bridge _Ceann na Drochaide bige_ 1645.

Ewen of the Battles _Eoghan nan cath_

Extirpation of the Tinkers, _Sgrios nan Ceàird_ The

Fair Honey _A mhil bhraonach_

Fairy Flag, The _A’ bhratach Shìth_

Fare thee well, Donald _Soiridh leat a Dhómhnuill_

Finger Lock, The _A’ Ghlas Mheur_

Finlay’s Lament _Cumha Fhiounlaidh_

Forbes, Lament for Colonel _Cumha Chorneil Forbes_ D. Fraser.

Frenzy of Meeting, The (or _Faoin Bhaile na Coinneimh_ J. Mac Kay, Lament for Brian O’Duff) or Donald Mac Dougal.

Frisky Lover, The _An Suiriche sîogach_

Fuinachair _Fiunnachair_

Glen is mine, The _’S leam fheim an Gleann_

Glengarry, Lament for _Cumha Mhic-Alastair_ A. Munro.

Glengarry’s March _Cille Chriosda_

Gordon’s Salute, The _Fàilte nan Gordonach_

Gower, Lament for Lord Fred _Cumha Morair F. L. Gobhair_ Leveson

Grain in Hides and Corn in _Grain an Seicheannan ’s Sacks siol am pocannan_

Great Supper, Lament for the _Cumha na Suipearach móire_ Mac Dougal.

Groat, The _An Gròta_

Gunn’s Salute _Fàilte nan Guineach_

Hail to my Country _Fàilte do m’ dhùthaich_ Ed. June, 1896.

Half-Finished Piobaireachd, _Am Port leathach_ P. M. Mac The Crimmon and J. D. Mac Kay.

Hamilton, Lament for the _Cumha Dhiùc Hamiltoin_ Duke of

Harp Tree, Lament for the _Cumha Craobh nan teud_

Hen’s March o’er the Midden, _Glocail nan cearc_ John Dall Mac The Kay.

Hey! for the old Pipes _Dastriom gu’n seinnam piob_

Highland Society of London’s _Fàilte Comunn Gaidhealach John Mac Kay. Salute, The Lunainn_

Highland Society of _Fàilte Commun Gaidhealach Prof. Mac Scotland’s Salute, The Albainn_ Arthur, 1796.

I got a kiss of the King’s _Fhuair mi pòg o laimh an D. M. Mac hand Righ_ Crimmon, 1651.

Inveraray, Salute to _Fàilte Ionaraora_

Inverness _Inbhirneis_

Islay, Farewell to the Laird _Soraidh Tighearna Ileath_ A. Mac Kay, of 1840.

Isle of Skye _Eilean a’ Cheo_ a Mac Crimmon

James VI.’s Salute _Cumha Righ Seumas an seathamh_

King George III., Lament for _Cumha Righ Seoras a tri_

King James’ Departure, _Siubhal Sheumais_ 1688. Lament for

King’s Taxes, The _Màl an Righ_

Kinloch Moidart’s Salute _Fàilte Fir Cheannloch- Mùideart_

Kinloch Muideart—Lament for _Fàilte Fir Cheannloch- Mac Donald of Mùideart_

Laggan Salute, The _Fàilte Lagain_ D. Mac Kay, 1871.

Laird of Anapool, Lament for _Cumha Fir Anapuil_ the

Lament for Abercairney _Cumha Aberchàrnaig_

Leaving Kintyre _Fàgail Chinntire_

Leigh, Col., Farewell to _Soraidh Chòirneil Leigh_ C. S. Thomason, 1893.

Little Finger Tune, The _Port na Lùdaig_

Little Spree, The _An Daorach bheag_

Little Supper, Lament for _An t-Suipear bheag_ the

Loch Carron-point, The _Blàr an t-Srian_ 1602. Battle of

Lord Lovat, Lament for _Cumha Mhic Shimidh_

Mac Cruimein, Donald Ban, _Cumha Dhòmhnuill Bhain Mhic Lament for Cruimein_

Mac Cruimein, Patrick Og, _Cumha Phàdruig Oig Mhic J. D. Mac Lament for Cruimein_ Kay.

Mac Cruimein will never _Cha till, cha till, cha D. B. Mac return till mi tuille_ Crimmon, 1746.

Mac Cruimein’s Sweetheart _Mal Dhonn_

Mac Donald of the Isles, _Cumha an Ridire Seumas Mac C. Mac Lament for Sir James Dhomhnuill nan Eilean_ Arthur.

Mac Donald of the Isles, _Cumha an Ridire Seumas Mac W. Mac Donald Lament for Sir James Dhomhnuill nan Eilean_ of Vallay.

Mac Donald of the Isles _Fàilte Mhic Dhòmhnuill nan Salute Eilean_

Mac Donald of the Isles, Sir _Failte an Ridire Seumas Mac James, Salute Dhòmhnuill nan Eilean_

Mac Donald, Lament for Lady _Cumha Bain-tighearna Mhic Angus Mac Dhomhnuill_ Arthur, 1790.

Mac Donald, Lord, Lament for _Cumha Morair Chloinn A. Mac Dhomhnuill_ Arthur, 1796

Mac Donald of Morar, Ronald, _Cumha Raonuill Mhic Ailein Lament for óig_

Mac Donald’s, Angus, Assault _Ionnsaidh Aonghais Bhig Mhic Dhomhnuill_

Mac Donalds are simple, The _Tha Clann Dòmhnuill socharach_

Mac Donalds of Clanranald’s _Cruinneachadh Chloinn 1715. gathering at Sheriffmuir Roonuill (Sliabh an t- Siorra)_

Mac Donalds of Clan Ronald, _Cnocan Ailean Mhic Iain_ The Gathering of the

Mac Donald’s, Lady Margaret, _Fàilte Bain-tighearna Salute Mairearad_

Mac Donalds, March of the _Spaidsearachd Mhic Dhòmhnuill_

Mac Donald’s Salute, Lady _Fàilte Bain-tighearna Mhic Margaret Dhomhnuill_

Mac Donalds’ Salute, The _Fàilte Chloinn Domhnuill_ D. M. Mac Crimmon.

Mac Donalds, The Parading of _Uaill Chloinn Dòmhnuill_ the

Mac Donald’s Tutor _Oide-ionnsachaidh Mhic Dhòmhnuill_

Mac Donell, Alex., of _Cumha Alastair Dheirg_ Glengarry’s Lament

Mac Donell of Laggan’s _Cumha Dhomhnuill an Lagain_ Lament,

Mac Dougall, Lament for _Cumha Chaiptein ’Ic Ronald Mac Captain Dhughaill_ Dougall.

Mac Dougall’s Salute, The _Fàilte Chloinn Dùghaill_ R. Mac Dougall.

Mac Duffs’ Gathering, The _Cruinneachadh Chloinn Duibh_

Mac Farlanes’ Gathering, The _’Thogail nam bò_

Mac Gregors’ Gathering, The _Cruinneachadh nan Griogarach_

Mac Intosh, Lament for _Cumha Mhic an Toisich_

Mac Intoshs’ Banner, The _Bratach Mhic an Toisich_

Mac Intyre’s Salute _Fàilte Mhic an t-saoir_

Mac Kays’ Banner, The _Bratach Chloinn Mhic Aoidh_

Mac Kay’s, Donald Dugal, _Cumha Dhomhnuill Dhughail D. M. Mac Lament, or Lord Reay’s Mhic Aoidh_ Crimmon Lament,

Mac Kays’ March, The _Spaidsearachd Cloinn Mhic Aoidh_

Mac Kenzie of Applecross’s _Fàilte Tighearna na A. Mac Kay. Salute Coimirich_

Mac Kenzie, Donald—his _Cumha Dhòmhnuill Mhic Father’s Lament for Coinnich (le’Athair)_

Mac Kenzie of Gairloch’s _Cumha Tighearna Gheárloch_ J. Mac Kay. Lament,

Mac Kenzie of Gairloch’s _Fàilte Thigearna Gheàrloch_ Salute

Mac Kenzie, Lament for Colin _Cumha Chailein Ruaidh Mhic Roy Coinnich_

Mac Kenzie’s, Capt. D., _Cumha ’Chaiptein D. Mhic Lament Coinnich_

Mac Kenzies’ Gathering, The _Tulloch Ard_

Mac Kenzies’ Gathering, The— _Cruinneachadh Chloinn Tulloch Ard Choinnich (Tulloch Ard)_

Mac Lean, Great John, Lament _Cumha Ian Ghairbh Mhic for Illeathain_

Mac Lean of Coll, Lament for _Cumha Iain Ghairbh Mhic Sir John Garve ’Illeathain_

Mac Lean, Lachlan Mor, _Latha Sron a’ Chlachain_ Lament for

Mac Leans’ Gathering, The _Cruinneachadh Chloinn Ghilleathain_

Mac Leans’ Gathering, The _Spaidsearachd Chloinn Ghilleathain_

Mac Lean’s, Hector, Warning _Caismeachd Eachain Mhic 1579. Ailein nan Sop_

Mac Leans’ March, The _Spaidsearachd Chloinn Ghilleathain_

Mac Lean, Lament for Hector _Cumha Eachainn Ruaidh nan A. Mac Lean, Roy, cath_ 1650.

Mac Leod, A Taunt on _Port Geàrr Mhic Leòid_

Mac Leod of Colbeek, Lament _Cumha Mhic Leòid Cholbec_ J. Mac Kay. for

Mac Leod, dispraise of, _Di-moladh Mhic Leòid_

Mac Leod of Gesto’s Salute _Fàilte Fir Gêosta_

Mac Leod John, Lament for, _Cumha Iain Mhic Iain Ghairbh_

Mac Leod of Mac Leod, Lament _Cumha cinn-cinnidh nan D. M. Mac for Leòdach_ Crimmon, 1626.

Mac Leod of Mac Leod’s _Port Iomram Mhic Leòid, na D. M. Mac Rowing Pibroch or Salute Fàilte nan Leòdach_ Crimmon.

Mac Leod, Mary, Lament for _Cumha Màiri Nic Leòid_

Mac Leod of Raasay, John _Cumha Iain Ghairbh Mhic P. M. Mac Garve, Lament for Gille Chaluim_ Crimmon, 1548 (?)

Mac Leod of Raasay’s lament _Cumha Mhic Gille Chaluim D. M. Mac Rathasadh_ Crimmon, 1648.

Mac Leod of Raasay’s Salute _Fàilte Mhic Gille Chaluim A. Mac Kay, Rathasadh_ Gairloch.

Mac Leod, Roderick More, _’Nann air mhire tha sibh?_ P. M. Mac Salute at Birth of Crimmon, 1715.

Mac Leod of Tallisker’s, _Fàilte Bain Tigearna Mrs., Salute Thailasgear_

Mac Leod of Tallisker’s _Failte Tighearna Salute Thailesgear_

Mac Leod’s Controversy _Iomradh Mhic Leòid_ D. M. Mac Crimmon, 1503.

Mac Neill of Barra’s Lament _Cumha Mhic Nèill Bhara_

Mac Neill of Barra’s March _Spaidsearachd Mhic Nèill Bhara_

Mac Neill of Kintarbert’s _Aon tlachd Mhic Nèill_ Fancy

Mac Phees, The Rout of the _Ruaig air Cloinn a Phi_

Mac Pherson’s March, Cluny _Spaidsearachd Thighearna Chluainidh_

Mac Pherson’s Salute, Cluny _Fàilte Fir Chluainidh_

Mac Raes’ March, The _Spaidsearachd Cloinn Mhic 1491. Rath_

Mac Suain of Roaig, Lament _Cumha Mhic Shuain á Roaig_ for

Maolroy, The Battle of, or _A mhuinntir a cháil chaoil Isabel Mac Kay thugadh am bruthach oirbh_

Mary’s praise for her Gift _Moladli Màiri_

Massacre of Glencoe _Mort Ghlinne Comhann_

Melbank’s Salute _Fàilte Fir Bhlabhne_

Menzies’ Salute, The _Fàilte ’Mhèinneirich_

Men went to drink, The _Chaidh na fir a dh’òl_

Middling Spree, The _An Daorach mheadhonach_

Monros’ Salute, The _Fàilte nan Rothach_

My dearest on earth, give me _Thoir domh pòg, a luaidh mo your kiss chridhe_

My King has landed in _Thàinig mo Righ air tir am Moidart Mùideart_

Old Sword’s Lament, The _Cumha an tseana Chlaidheimh_

Old Woman’s Lullaby, The _Crònain na Cailliche_

Only Son, Lament for the _Cumha an aona mhic_ P. M. Mac Crimmon.

Park, Battle of _Blàr Pairc Shruithleith_ 1477.

Pass of Crieff, Battle of _Cath bealach Chraoibh_ the

Perth, The Desperate Battle _Cath fuathasach, Pheairt_ 1395.

Perth, Lament for the Duke _Cumha Dhuic Pheairt_ of

Piper Samuel, Lament for _Cumha Shomhairle Dhuibh_

Piper’s Farewell to his _Soraidh piobaire da Home, The dhachaidh_

Piper’s Salute to his _Fàilte a’ Phìobaire d’a Master, The Mhaighstir_

Piper’s warning to his _A Cholla mo run_ Master, The

Praise of Marion _Moladh Màiri_

Pretty Dirk, The _A ’Bhiodag bhòidheach_

Prince Charles’ Lament _Cumha Phrionnsa Teàrlach_ Capt. M. Mac Leod, 1746.

Prince’s Salute, The _Fàilte’ Phrionnsa_ J. Mac Intyre, 1715.

Queen Anne, Lament for _Cumha Ban-Righ Anna_

Red Hand in the Mac Donald’s _Lamh dhearg Chloinn Arms, The Domhnuill_

Red Hill, The Battle of the _Fir nam breacan dubha_

Red Ribbon, The _An riobain dearg_

Robertson’s Salute, Strowan _Fàilte Thighearna Struain_

Rout of Glen Fruin, The _Ruaig Ghlinn Fraoine_ 1602.

Rout of the Lowland Captain, _Ruaig a’Chaiptein Ghallda_ The

Sauntering, The _A Chracaireachd_

Scarce of Fishing _Spiocaireachd Iasgaich_

Sheriffmuir, The Battle of _Blár Sliabh an t-Siorra_ J. Mac Intyre, 1715.

Sinclairs’ March, The _Spaidsearachd Mhic na Ceàrda_

Sisters’ Lament, The _Cumha na peathar_

Sobieski’s Salute _Fàilte Shobia-gaidh_

Smith’s, Mrs., Salute _Fàilte Bean a’Ghobha_ J. B. Mac Kenzie.

Strone, The Battle of Castle _Blàr Chaisteal Stroìne_

Stuarts’ White Banner, The _Bratach Bhán nan Stiubhartach_

Sutherlands’ Gathering, The _Cruinneachadh nan Sutharlanach_

Tallisker, The Battle of _Blàr Thailesgear_ Waternish

Thomason’s, Miss Mabel, _Fàilte na h-òighe Mabal nic K. Cameron, Salute Thòmais_ 1894.

Thomason’s Salute, General _Fàilte an t-seanaileir Mhic A. Paterson, Thòmais_ H.L.I., 1893.

Too long in this condition _’Sfada mar so tha sinn_ P. M. Mac Crimmon, 1715.

Tune of Strife, The _Port an Strìth_

Union, Lament for the _An Co-chomunn_

Unjust Carceration, The _An ceapadh eucorach_ J. Dall Mac Kay.

Vaunting, The _A’Bhòilich_ Rd. Mac Donald of Morair.

Waking of the Bridegroom, _Dùsgadh Fir-na-Bainnse_ The

War or Peace _Cogadh na sith_

Waterloo, The Battle of _Blár Bhaterlù_ J. Mac Kay, 1815.

Weighing from Land _Togail bho tìr_

Welcome Johnnie back again _Slàn gu’n till Eoinachan_

Writer, Lament for the _Cumha ’Chleirich_

Young King George III. _Fàilte Sheòrais òig_ 1760. Salute

Young Laird of Dungallon’s _Fàilte Thighearna Oig Salute Dhungallain_

Young Neill’s Salute _Fàilte Neill Oig_

You’re welcome, Ewin Lochiel _Is e do bheatha Eòghain_

With nineteen pibrochs, of which name and date and composers are all alike unknown.

VII.—THE GARB OF OLD GAUL.

(From the _Glasgow Herald_, April 7, 1900).

“Oh first of garbs! garment of happy fate, So long employed, of such an antique date, Look back some thousand years till records fail, And lose themselves in some romantic tale; We’ll find our god-like fathers nobly scorned To be by any other dress adorned.” —_Allan Ramsay._

The “quelt,” as very ancient writers called it, is one of the few things that are left to remind Scotland of its once distinctive nationality. Together with the Gaelic and the pipes, it makes Scottish history peculiar among the histories of countries. In no other land have the distinguishing marks of a nationality that, as a separate kingdom, has ceased to exist been retained in almost all their original purity. Of the three things, the kilt is perhaps the most interesting. The language and the music have been, and are, confined to the people of the Highlands, either in or out of the Highlands; but the kilt, while no longer the everyday wear of Highland people, has found its way into non- Highland circles, and the tartan has become a fashionable dress. But still, and this is a peculiar thing, it remains the Highland garb, and must, wheresoever seen, be associated with a distinctive country and a distinctive people.

The kilt is the most ancient of all garments. It is the development of the fig leaves of our first parents. Primitive man wrapped himself round with a piece of cloth, when he had cloth, caring little about the niceties of cut or fashion. When the cloth didn’t hang properly he, quite naturally, tied it round his waist with a string, and in so doing transformed his wrappings into a belted plaid, the immediate predecessor of the plaid and kilt. It was certainly not a sense of delicacy but a desire for outward show that led primitive man to clothe himself. Cæsar found the Britons with their bodies painted with woad, and they appeared naked in public. Afterwards they clothed themselves with skins of animals and with woollen garments, the latter of which was undoubtedly the string-bound plaid of the well-to-do Highlander.

The earliest bit of evidence regarding the antiquity of the Highland dress in anything like its present form is a piece of sculpture which was dug in 1860 from part of the ruins of the wall of Antoninus, built in A.D. 140. It shows figures representing very clearly the plaid and kilt, presumably in one piece. Another sculptured stone, found at Dull, Perthshire, gives the bonnet and shield of the Highlander; while a third, discovered at St. Andrews, shows the arrangement of the belted plaid or full dress of the ancient Gael. Both the latter, now in the Museum of Antiquaries, Edinburgh, are of unknown antiquity. Then in A.D. 204 we find Herodian, a classical writer, saying that the Caledonians were only partly clad; and in A.D. 296 a Roman writer, in a eulogy of the Emperor Constantinus, calls the Picts _hostilibus seminudis_, half- clad enemies. European historians, as a matter of fact, almost always called the Gael of Alban half-naked. Besides, we have Gildas, the earliest of British writers, saying that the Picts were dressed only with cloth round the loins, a rude form of the plaid evidently. And, while both Cæsar and Tacitus assure us that the Britons were precisely the same people as the Gauls, in manners, religion, appearance, and customs, we also read, in other writings of the same date, that the Gauls “wore coats stained with various colours.” Also as a very ancient writer on Scotland tells us:—

“The other pairt Northerne are full of mountaines, and very rud and hornelie kind of people doeth inhabite, which is called Reid Schankes, or Wyld Scottish. They be clothed with ane mantle, with ane schirt fachioned after the Irish manner, going bare-legged to the knie.”

These things all indicate a people partially clad in cloth which was not all of one colour, and it is not stretching the inference very far to identify the garb with the latter-day dress of the Scottish Highlander.

Let us come now to times of which more or less authentic history treats. The first historical reference we find is contained in the Icelandic Sagas. When the death of Malcolm Canmore plunged Scotland into anarchy, Magnus Olafson, King of Norway, was ravaging the west coast and securing a firm hold of the Hebrides for his own country. On his return from that expedition in 1093, the Sagas relate, he adopted the costume of these western lands, and “his followers went bare-legged, having short kirtles and upper wraps, and so men called him ‘Barelegs.’” The seal of Alexander I., whose reign began in 1107, shows him in Highland dress, and as the same seal was used by David I. (1124) and Malcolm IV. (1153), we are quite justified in concluding that these monarchs actually wore what they were represented on their seal as wearing. Such a dress must certainly have existed at that time.

Then, dating from 1350, we have a sculptured representation of a chief attired finely in Highland dress, and in 1471 John, Bishop of Glasgow, treasurer to King James III., in an account for tartan for the use of the King, gives the following item:—“For a yard and a half, £1 10s. (Scots of course), and the colour blue.” Half a yard of “double tartane” for the Queen cost 8s. James V. made a hunting expedition into the Highlands in 1538, and a Highland dress was provided for the occasion. The account of the King’s treasurer shows that it consisted of “a short Highland coit,” hose of “tertane,” and a “syde Heland sarkis,” all for the “Kingis Grace.” The last article was presumably an unusually long shirt.

John Lesley, Bishop of Ross, writing in 1578, says the garments of his day consisted of a short woollen jacket and a covering of the simplest kind for the thighs, more for decency than for protection from cold. About 1580 a writer with a turn for rhyming described the dress of the Highlanders thus:—

“Their shirtes be very straunge, Not reaching past the thigh, With pleates on pleates they pleated are, As thick as pleates can lie,”

which was a very good and concise description of the plaid as it then was. Another writer, in _Certayne Mattere Concerning Scotland_, published in London in 1603, says the Highlanders “delight in marbled cloths, especially that have long strips of sundrie colours ... with the which, rather coloured than clad, they suffer the most cruel tempests that blow in the open fields, in such sort that, in a night of snow they sleep sound.” From _A Modern Account of Scotland_, printed in 1679, also in London, we learn that “the Highlanders wear slashed doublets, commonly without breeches, only a plad tyed about their wastes, thrown over one shoulder, with short stockings to the gartering place; their knees and part of their thighs being naked; others have breeches and stockings all of a piece of plad ware.” A writer of 1710 supplements this by saying, “they wear striped mantles of divers colours called plaids”; a statement which brings the evidence to a date so recent as to render the calling of further witnesses unnecessary. That the kilt is a pure outgrowth of Scottish life there is no gainsaying. It could have been imported from Ireland only, and that it was not is proved by the two facts, that the colony of Irish Scots who settled in Argyllshire never overran Scotland, and that the checkered plaid was worn in Scotland at dates earlier than it can be proved to have been worn in Ireland.

The complete outfit of a Highland chief in the middle of the eighteenth century makes rather a formidable list. Here it is:—

Full-trimmed bonnet. Tartan jacket, vest, kilt, and cross-belt. Tartan belted plaid. Pair of hose, made up from cloth. Tartan stockings, with yellow garters. Two pairs of brogues. Silver-mounted purse and belt. Target with spear. Broadsword. Pair of pistols and bullet mould. Dirk. Knife and fork.

The garb was completed by a feather, or, in the case of the common people, a tuft of heather, pine, holly, or oak, in the bonnet. Personal decoration was always considered a more important matter than home decoration or even home comforts.

Hair was used for making clothing at one time, for we are told Ossian Fin Mac Coul was “arrayed in Hieland plaidis of hair,” but wool was the general material, and so long as wool was worn, so long—it is said—was rheumatism unknown in the Highlands. In colours green and black predominated, with an occasional stripe of red. The number of colours indicated the rank of the wearer, a King or a Chief having seven, a Druid six, and other nobles four, while the very poor people had their plaids plain. The dyes were got from herbs, and the colours are said to have been so “fast” as to keep for two hundred years. The Celts were proud of the grandeur of their tartans, and an old song makes one of them, when wooing a Lowland lass, say:—

“Bra sall the sett o’ your braid tartan be If ye will gang to the Highlands wi’ me.”

The rigorous Disarming Act, passed in 1747, created what was perhaps the most critical time in the history of the tartan. The pipes and the tartan were banned as treasonable things, and marks of extreme disloyalty to the House of Hanover. The law expressly enacted that “neither man nor boy, except such as are employed as officers and soldiers, shall, on any pretence, wear or put on the clothes commonly called Highland clothes, viz., the plaid, philabeg or little kilt, trowse, shoulder-belts, or any part whatsoever of what peculiarly belongs to the Highland garb, and that no tartan or party-coloured plaid or stuff shall be used for greatcoats, or for upper coats, on pain of imprisonment for six months, without the option of a fine, for the first offence, and transportation for seven years for the second.” This was stringent enough, and it nearly strangled all that was peculiar to the Highlands. But, thanks principally to the patriotic exertions of the then Duke of Montrose, the ban was removed in 1782, and the Highland garb restored to favour. It is now worn by five British regiments. The Gordons wear the Gordon tartan, the Camerons the Erracht-Cameron, the Seaforths the Mac Kenzie, the Argyll and Sutherlands the Sutherland, and the Black Watch a special tartan closely resembling the Sutherland. Both battalions of the Gordons, and one each of the other four regiments, are now in South Africa.

The Highland garb as we have it to-day is a compound of three varieties, all of which were worn in the seventeenth century. There was first the dress worn by the gentry—a shirt died with saffron and a plaid of fine wool tartan, with colours assorted so as to give the best possible effect. Then there was the dress of the common people—a shirt, painted instead of dyed, with a deerskin jacket above it, and the plaid, not always of tartan, worn over the shoulders instead of belted about the body. The third variety was the trews, but this cannot be traced farther back than 1538. It probably came from Ireland, where it was the dress of the gentry from the earliest periods.

The plaid proper consisted of a long piece of tartan carefully plaited in the middle and bound about the waist in large and very particularly- adjusted folds. While the lower part came down from the belt to the knees, the upper, after various wrappings so as to cover the whole body, was fixed to the left shoulder with a brooch, leaving the right arm at liberty. In wet weather the plaid was thrown loose, and formed a complete covering for the body. The headdress, when there was any, was a round, flat bonnet, the stockings were cut from the web of tartan, and the shoes were made of skin shaped in the best possible way to the form of the foot. The original of the sporran was a large piece of goat’s or badger’s skin profusely ornamented, which hung in front, and served as a pocket.

There seems to have been a time, before the dress developed into its present form, when the belted plaid and the trews were worn together. In 1656 a certain Thomas Tucker, who reported on the settlement of the revenues of excise and custom in Scotland, says one of his collectors, in order to avert the antipathy of the natives to an exciseman, “went clad after the mode of the country, with belted playde, trowses, and brogues.” “In sharp winters,” says a writer of 1680, “they wear close trouzes, which cover the thighs, legs, and feet;” while at the Battle of Killiecrankie, in 1715, “there were several of the common men died in the hills, for, having cast away their plaids at going into battle, they had not wherewith to cover them but their shirts; whereas many of the gentlemen that instead of short hose did wear trewis, though they were sorely pinched, did fare better in their short coats and trewis than those that were naked to the belt.”

By and by, however, the belted plaid and the trews gave way to the plaid and the kilt as we now have them. It cannot be said, indeed, that there ever was a period in which the trews held anything like universal sway. The transition was rather from the original form of the loosely wrapped plaid to the present form of the dress. There is a story to the effect that an English tailor named Parkinson or Ralliston invented the kilt in 1715 or 1745—it is a somewhat vague story—and both Pennant and Sir John Sinclair accept it as truth. Pennant, himself an Englishman, may be excused, but the man who edited the _Statistical Account of Scotland_ might have known better. The Earl of Moray of Charles I.’s day wore the kilt, and Lord Archibald Campbell, in _Records of Argyll_, shows two pictures, one of 1672 and one of 1693, in both of which the kilt can be plainly seen. Besides, the Highlanders wore it in the rebellion of 1715. It is carrying conjecture a bit too far to contend that the Saxons, who were able to introduce very few of their customs among the Celts, introduced the national dress. The simple fact seems to be that the change from the belted plaid, with the plaid and trews here and there, to the plaid and kilt, took place when the altering circumstances of the people made continuous labour a necessity, and also, therefore, a convenient and inexpensive working outfit.

It gives one an insight into the habits of the times to read that the managers of the piping competition held in Edinburgh in 1783, apologised to the public for the deficiency in dress. The competitors, they said, having no prospect of appearing “before so magnificent and great a company,” had nothing in view in quitting their distant dwellings but the competition at Falkirk, where their instruments alone were essential. In 1785, however, candidates were warned to appear “in the proper Highland habit,” which has since held good. Pipers’ dress was sometimes stylish enough even in the middle of the eighteenth century, for we read that in a procession of the Royal Company of Archers in Edinburgh in 1734 there was “one Highland piper who was dressed in scarlet richly laced.”

In the present-day dress, as is well known, the upper part of the plaid is disjoined from the lower, and made up so as to resemble the ancient form. The kilt itself is plaited so as to resemble the lower half of the plaid, but as a matter of fact, it is always too well plaited to be more than a far-off imitation. When properly made, the garb is certainly one of the most picturesque in the world. It is not so well adapted for the hillside as the old was, having been “improved” too much, but it is remarkable as showing how closely mankind clings to habits and costumes which experience has proved suitable, and which is entwined into the history and traditions of their particular race. As to its suitability for war, a great deal has been said in connection with the present operations in South Africa, and it has been laid to the charge of the tartan that it not only betrays the presence of the wearer, and makes him a target for the enemy’s sharp-shooters, but also exposes the soldier to all sorts of chills, and the attacks of all the vermin that crawl over the ground on which he has often to sleep. There is no use denying the fact that there is a great deal of truth in this, and if the Government press their proposals for the reform of Army dress, and include in these proposals the abolition of the kilt as a fighting garment, it seems as if there will not be one half the outcry there would have been in the same circumstances before the war begun. The campaign has undoubtedly revealed the shortcomings of the kilt as a part of active service dress, but that is no reason why it should be altogether abolished. Sentiment can be satisfied by retaining the kilt for parade purposes and garrison duty, while common-sense will indicate that sentiment, unless it can be proved to be very strong indeed, must have little voice in deciding what is best in the face of the enemy. It would certainly be bad policy to totally dissociate the Highland regiments from their distinctive tartans. Recruiting in Scotland is not what it might be, and when the Highland regiments cease to be distinctively Highland it will decline still further. If the authorities wish to foster the military enthusiasm of Highlanders they cannot do better than foster all that pertains to their part of the kingdom. Besides, the tartan is not now the badge of a rebellious remnant, but of a race that is loyal to the empire of which it is a worthy part, and considering the high position the kilted regiments hold in the British army, it is not too much to expect that their peculiar dress should be left to them, for use in all possible circumstances.

The war has given a decided impetus to the general trade in tartans. The demand from the regulars remains practically stationary, as the number of men wearing the Highland uniform is always the same. Among Scottish Volunteer regiments, however, the kilt is coming more and more into favour, and quite a number of additional “Highland companies” have been formed recently. The 6th V. B. Gordon Highlanders is the only battalion in the Highland Brigade unprovided with the national garb, the Government having, owing to “financial difficulties,” declined to supply the dress. The honorary colonel, Mr. J. Gordon Smith, has, however, now given the regiment £1500 to enable the men to wear their territorial uniform, and it is almost certain that the Government will supply the regiment with the kilt in the future. But it is from fashionable civil life that the bulk of the increased demand comes. The headquarters of the kilt-making industry—for it is an industry—are in Glasgow, but the principal market is in London. The demand in the Metropolis for the Highland dress is very extensive, and the biggest firm of Glasgow manufacturers are kept continually employed fulfilling orders from the South. The favourite tartans are, naturally, those of the kilted regiments, but the fashionable Highland dress consists of the kilt with an ordinary dinner jacket above it—the full outfit would be too Highland for London drawing-rooms. In Scotland the formation of clan societies has, in the cities, revived interest in the different tartans, but in the real home of the kilt, the fastnesses of the Highlands, the dress is practically extinct. A few old men wear it, as well as some of the better class residents, visitors sometimes wear it, while retainers wear it as a sort of livery; but among the people themselves it is, to all intents and purposes, obsolete. The garb of old Gaul has ceased to be the at-home dress of the Highlander, and become the evening dress of the fashionable who would ape a Highland connection, and the mark of the Highland wanderer, who far from home stands by home customs out of patriotic love for his home land. We may regret the turn of events, but there is no use blinking simple facts.—W. L. M.

Index.

Aberdeen, 171, 226

Aberdeenshire, pipes in, 153

“Abide with me” at Omdurman, 154

_A Cholla mo run_, 92, 307, 311, 312

Africa, engravings found in, 31

_A Ghlas Mheur_, 76, 363

Aiken, William, piper, 162

Airdrie, 285

_Albyn’s Anthology_, 321, 340

Aldershot, 145

Alexander, G. W., 138

Alexandria, a Mac Crimmon in, 261

Alister Mac Cholla Chiotaich, 311

Allan, James, piper, 189

Alloway’s Auld Haunted Kirk, 223

Alma, pipes at, 128

Altimarlach, battle of, 337

American War, pipes in, 133

_A mhic Iain mhic Sheumais_, 363

Amoaful, battle of, 133

_Am port leathach_, 352

Anderson, Wm., 173

Antiquaries, Scottish Society of, 116

Antoninus, the Wall of, 15

Antwerp, pageant in, 225

Applecross, 278

“Apprentice surpasses his master, The,” 351

Arabian instrument, an, 31

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the, 137, 216

Argyllshire, a cave in, 250

Argyllshire Highlanders, the, 136

Argyll, the Earl of, 50

Argyll, the eighth Duke of, 202

Armadale, 263

Armagh, fighting at, 51

Arroyo-de-Molinos, pipes at, 128

Arundel, Richard Earl of, 40

Ashanti War, pipers in, 134, 138

Assaye, battle of, 120, 129

Assynt, 341

Atbara, battle of the, 134

Athenians and pipes, 35

Atholl, excursion into, 20

Atholl, Earl of, 343

_Autobiography of a Scottish Borderer, The_, 179

Awa’, Whigs, awa, 127

Aytoun, Professor, 113

Babylonian instruments, 31

Bacon, Lord, 17

Badenoch, 229; a piper of, 164

Baird, Major William, 133

Balaclava, the 93rd at, 125

Balmoral, 291

Balnaves, Henry, of Ardradour, 289

Balrines, battle of, 50

Bannockburn, battle of, 38, 116, 271

Bannocks o’ Barley Meal, 140

Barbreck, the laird of, 324

Barra, the Mac Neills of, 16

_Bealach na Broige_, battle of, 301

Beauly, 90, 320

_Beauties of Gaelic Poetry, The_, 315

_Bean Sith_, 363

Bellside, 275

Bencuillein, battle of, 362

_Ben Dorain_, 27

Bennet, George, piper, 162

Berwick, 194

Bett, compiler of pipe music, 109

Beverley, carvings at, 44, 156

Biggar, 171

Birse, the parish of, 361

Black Chanter of Chattan, the, 228

Blackie, Professor, 75, 85, 288, 316

Black Watch pipers, 125, 133, 134, 137, 138, 154, 160, 220

Black, William, 201, 288

Blane, Neil, piper, 188

_Blar lèine_ 363

Bodaich nam Briogais, 355

Bo’ness, carving found at, 34; witches burned at, 224

_Bon Gaultier Ballads, The_, 113

_Border Minstrelsy_, 178

Borderers, the, 137

Boreraig, 262, 263

Botanic Gardens, Glasgow, 219

Bothwell Bridge, battle of, 127, 326

Boston, carvings at, 44

Boyne Water, 208

Braes of the Mist, the, 350

Brahan Castle, 283

Brakenrig, James, piper, 162

Breac, Donald, piper, 343

Breadalbane Gathering, the, 335

Breadalbane Fencibles, the, 219

Breadalbane, Marquis of, 278, 279, 291

Bridgeton, the piper of, 188

Britons and pipes, 21

Brose and Butter, 140

Broun, Edmond, piper, 162

Brown, Major-General G., 136

Brussels, pipes in, 46, 340

Buchanan, George, 23, 46

Burchhardt, W., 32

Burns, Robert, 76, 99, 353

Byron, quotation from, 122

Calder, J. T., 255

Cameron, Alexander, 281, 283, 284

Cameron Highlanders, pipers of, 131, 134, 137, 215, 321

Cameronians, the, 137, 219

Cameron, Colin, 281, 283, 285

Cameron, Donald, piper, 104, 277, 280, 284

Cameron, Keith, 283

Cameron of Lochiel, 321, 327, 343

Camerons’ Gathering, 343, 345

Campbell, Alexander, 340

Campbells are Coming, 129, 210, 213, 312

Campbell, Colonel, of the Seaforths, 121

Campbell, Duncan, 285

Campbell, Frederick, of Isla, 275, 277

Campbells, hereditary pipers, 275

Campbell, James C., Royal piper, 154

Campbell, J. F., 16, 59, 105, 106, 107, 238, 364

Campbell, Lord Archibald, 240

Campbell, Lieut.-Col. of Glenlyon, 290

Campbell, Sir Colin, 128, 207

Campbell, Sir John of Glenorchy, 337

_Caber Feidh_, 341

Cairns, Thomas, piper, 162

Cairo, occupation of, 220

Caithness, pipes in, 159, 163, 242, 254, 336, 337, 339

_Cailleach Liath Rarsair_, 246

_Caimbeul, Iain Bàn_, 336

_Caledonian Pocket Companion_, 321

Cambrensis, Giraldus, 35, 62

Candahar, Battle of, 132

Canmore, Malcolm, 13, 356

_Canntaireachd_, 87, 102

Canterbury Tales, the, 40

_Caraid nan Gaidheal_, 56

Carles wi’ the Breeks, 335, 337

Carrick, customs in, 158

Cathkin, Rutherglen and, 256

_Celtic Magazine, The_, 235, 273

_Celtic Monthly, The_, 86, 131, 364

_Ceol Mòr_, 79, 111

_Cha till mi tuille_, 12, 313, 318

Chaldean instruments, 31

Chattan, the Clan, 40, 228, 304

Chaucer, 40, 76

Charlie, Prince, 52, 90, 113, 118, 121, 226, 227, 229, 266

Charles I., King, 117

Charles II., King, 329

Chisholm, the, 228

Cirencester, carvings in, 156

_Clach-na-phiobair_, 128

Clan Ranald’s March, 290

Clarence, Duke of, 159

Clark, George, piper, 129

Clark, James, piper, 163

Claverhouse, General, 127

Club of True Highlanders, the, 283

Cluny Castle, 229

Cluny Mac Pherson, 229

_Cockilby’s Sow_, 155, 161

Cock of the North, the, 139, 140

_Cogadh na Sith_, 76, 131, 132, 363

Coll Kitto, 92, 307, 336

Coll, the Mac Leans of, 274

_Complaynt of Scotland_, 18, 35, 48

Cona, the Glen, 339

Contin, burning chapel at, 302

Coomassie, pipers at, 134, 138

Coventry performance in, 50

Craigellachie, 108

Craignish, 324

Cremona, 258, 264

Crimea, the, 138, 207

Cromdale Hill, 128

_Cruachan a’ Cheathaich_, 350

_Cruinneachadh nan Camaronach_, 344

Crusaders’ March, the, 140

Cuidad Rodrigo, Battle of, 129

Culloden, Battle of, 56, 58, 113, 229

Cumberland, Duke of, 113, 114

_Cumha no Chloinn_, 266

_Cumha Ruaraidh Mhoir_, 330

Cunningham, Allan, 99

Dalkeith, 49, 172

Dalmarnock, 256

Dalry (Ayrshire), 226

Dalziel, Sir John Graham, 36

_Daorach Robbi_, 91

Dargai, pipes at, 123, 127, 128

Davidson, Mr., of Tulloch, 277, 278

Delhi, a camp at, 217

Derby, 227

Desperate Battle of Perth, the, 301

Dingwall, pipes in, 52, 278

Disarming Act, the, 58

Don, the River, 226

Druids, the, 19, 24, 76, 100

Drummossie Moor, 229

Drumouchter, 226

Dunad, Castle of, 310

Duart, Mac Leans of, 274

Dunbar, poet, 154, 158

Dundee, 172

Dunderave, Castle of, 193; ghostly piper of, 251

Dunfermline, 13

Dunivaig, Castle of, 307, 310

Dun Ronald’s Tune, 126

Dunstaffnage, Castle of, 310, 357

Duntroon Castle, 92, 309, 311

Duntroon’s Salute, 311

Duntulm Castle, 269

Dunvegan Castle, 102, 104, 119, 132, 239, 248, 262, 266, 268, 270, 272, 273, 351, 362

Dumbarton, 171

Dumfries, 171, 277

Durer, Albrecht, 32, 46, 225

Durcha, the Hill of, 235

Durinish, 267

Durham, 190

Durness, 253

Edinburgh, 118, 153, 158, 162, 174; the Duke of, 164; the pipers of, 170; competitions in, 270, 355

Edinburgh Castle, 256

_Edinburgh Courant_, 118

Edward II., 38; III., 39; VI., 47; VII., 277

Eglinton, Earl of, 290

Elandslaagte, Battle of, 135

End of the Little Bridge, the, 107

Ettrick, the River, 127

_Fair Maid of Perth, The_, 303

Falkirk, 176, 290; pipers from, 133, 138; Tryste in, 289

Falmouth, 117

_Family Legend, The_, 200

Farquharson, Rev. John, 14

Faust, the Story of, 234

_Fhuair mi pòg o laimh an Righ_, 329

Fife, Earl of, 280

Fife, Duke of, 284

Findlater, Piper, 128, 129

Finlagan Isle and Loch, 240

“Fionn,” translations by, 330, 357, 364

Fisher, Alex, 202

Flodden, Battle of, 27, 46, 180

Flowers of the Forest, the, 143, 154, 160

Follart, Loch, 262

Forbes, John, piper, 162

Forbes, Sir Charles, 285

Fort Rohya, Battle of, 143

Fort Washington, Battle of, 133

France, pipes in, 38

Fraser’s Regiment, 119

Gairloch lairds and pipers, 165, 272

Galbraith, Donald, piper, 284

Galbraith, Robert, piper, 138

Galloway, a well in, 163

Gallowgate Barracks, Glasgow, 218

Gardner, Rev. Mr., 361

Gesto Book, the, 103, 104, 107

Gesto, Capt. Mac Leod of, 103, 104

Gesto Collection of Music, 110

Gilbert, W. S., 74

_Gille Calum_, 30, 91, 356

_Gilliechroist_, 104, 319

Glasgow Cathedral, 224, 256

Glasgow, Court House in, 217

Glasgow Highlanders, the, 294

Glasgow, old piper in, 321

Glen, David, pipe-maker, 53, 110

Glen, J. & R., pipemakers, 41, 104

Glen, Messrs, 109

Glencoe, 93

Glencoe, Massacre of, 338

Glendaruel, 332

Glenelg, 258

Glenesk, 327

Glenfinnan, Prince Charlie at, 121

Glenfruin, rout of, 67

Glengarry, 90

Glengarry, the piper of, 147

Glengarry, war tune of, 319

Glenlivck, Battle of, 116

Glenluce, 171

Glenorchy, Sir J. Campbell of, 337

Glenorchy, the bard of, 26, 199

Glenquoich, story of, 249

Good Hope, Cape of, 141

Gordon Castle, piper at, 135

Gordon, Capt., of the Seaforths, 121

Gordon, Duke of, 81

Gordon, General, 154

Gordon, Highlanders, the, 128, 131, 132, 135, 137, 141, 216, 220

Gordon, Lord Louis, 266

Gourock, 267

Govan Police Band, 294

Grant, Clan, Gathering of, 109

Grant, J. W., of Elchies, 109

Grants of Glenmoriston, 229

Grants of Strathspey, 229

Greek sculpture, 34

Greenock, 267

Grim Donald’s sweetheart, 363

Gunn, John, piper, 163

Gunn, Wm., piper, 109, 188

Habbie Simpson, piper of Kilbarchan, 155, 185

Hal o’ the Wynd, 303

Hamburg, carvings in, 157

Hamilton, Wm., Govan, 294

Hamilton, Wm., of Bangour, 176

Handel, 77

Hanover, the House of, 56

Harlaw, Battle of, 26, 42, 108

Harris, a story of, 236

Haughs o’ Cromdale, the, 82, 128, 140

Hastie, John, piper, 46, 180

Hastie, Robin, piper, 179

Hebrides, Dr. Johnson in, 73

Henderson, Peter, pipe maker, 109

Henry VII., 44

Henry VIII., 46

Heriot, the parish of, 173

Heritable Jurisdiction Abolition Act, 258

Hey Johnnie Cope, 122, 128, 132, 139, 140

_Highland Brigade, The_, 141

Highland Laddie, the, 140

Highland Light Infantry, the, 134, 137

Highland Scottische, the, 213

Highland Society of London, 53, 72, 130, 270, 278, 281, 282, 288

Highland Society of Scotland, 270, 288

_Historical Proofs of the Highlanders_, 54

_History of the Peninsular War_, 129

Hogg, James, 99

Holyrood Palace, 51, 158, 256

Honeyman, James, piper, 138

Honeyman, John, piper, 138

Hope, General, of Pinkie, 143

Houston, Rev. Andrew, 159

Hull, carvings at, 44

Hume, Rev, Alex., 51

Hundred Pipers, the, 9

Hunt, Leigh, 193

Huntly, Marquis of, 283

Hyder Ali defeated, 120

_Iain Dall_, 28, 165, 352

_Iain Lom_, 25

_Iain Odhar_, 258, 263

I have had a Kiss of the King’s Hand, 329

Inveraray, 202, 312

Inverlochy, Battle of, 25, 42, 76, 321, 347

Inverness, 20, 153, 160, 281

Inverurie, battle at, 119, 266

Iona, 13

Ireland, 19, 21

Ireland, the claim of, 54

_Irish Masque, The_, 170

_Irish Sketch Book, The_, 196

_Is fada mar so tha sinn_, 323

Isles, Donald Lord of the, 20

Islay, how it lost the music, 242

Islay, 307

Islay, Hector Mac Lean of, 240

Italy, the pibroch not from, 55

Jacobites, the, 56, 128

Jamaica Street, Glasgow, player in, 72

James I., 20, 40, 51, 158; IV., 170; VI., 21, 49; VII., 118

Jedburgh, 179, 180

Jenny Dang the Weaver, 361

_Jew Exile, The_, 198

Jerome, St., 60

John Garbh of Raasay’s Lament, 332

John o’ Groat’s house, 153, 159

Johnson, Ben, 170

Johnson, Dr., 73, 262, 274

Johnstone, John, piper, 171

Johnstone, Sir Archibald, 195

Keene, Charles, artist, 206

Keill, cave at, 250

Keith, 171

Kempelen, Baron Von, 88

Kent, a Mac Crimmon in, 267

Keppoch, the bard of, 24

Kessock Ferry, 283

_Kidnapped_, 293

Kilbarchan, 155, 184, 195

Kilellan, the hill of, 250

Killychrist, 319

Kinghorn, 173, 175

King of Pipers, the, 284

Kintail, a Mac Crimmon in, 264

Kintail, the Lord of, 265, 266

Kintyre, a cave in, 250

Kircaldy, story of, 52

Kirke, Thomas, 196

Kirriemuir, 173

Kitchener, Lord, 135, 154

Knox, John, a book of, 14

Kourgave Hill, 42nd at, 128

Kyleakin, 276

Lairg, village of, 234

Lament for the Children, the, 266

Lament for the Harp Tree, the, 363

_Lasan Phadruig Chaogaich_, 352

Lauder, 172

Leitch, John, 331

Leith, 191

Leith Roads, warships in, 118

Leslie, General, 127

Lewis, piper from, 135

Linlithgow, 44, 171

Lochaber, the Bard of, 25

Lochaber no More, 93, 153, 207, 216, 327

Lochaber, pipes in, 153

Lochiel, Cameron of, 343

Loch of the Sword, the, 344

Loch Lomond, 331

Londonderry invested, 118

Lothian, Lord, 117

Lords of Session, playing the, 217

Lorimer, Robert, piper, 172

_Lost Pibroch, The_, 227

Louis XIV. and XV., 38

Lovat, Lord, 153

Lucknow, the story of, 121, 128, 133, 138, 313

Mac Arthur, Archibald, 270

Mac Arthur, Charles, 290

Mac Arthur, John and Donald, 27

Mac Arthur, Professor, 290

Mac Arthurs, the, 268

_Mac Cailein Mór_, 326

Mac Codrum, _Iain_, 26, 199

Mac Coll, John, 285

Mac Crimmon, Donald _Bàn_, 315

Mac Crimmon, John _Dubh_, 277, 280

Mac Crimmon, Donald _Dubh_, 317

Mac Crimmons, the, 79, 102, 103, 104, 105, 119, 165, 239, 242, 248, 249, 258

Mac Crimmon, Donald _Mòr_, 323, 362

Mac Crimmon, Patrick, 324, 329, 332

Mac Crimmon’s Lament, 261, 266, 314

Mac Culloch, Dr., 80, 196

Mac Donald, Alex., 14, 24, 284

Mac Donald, A., of Glengarry, 319

Mac Donald (Coll Kitto), 310

Mac Donald, David, 39

Mac Donald, Donald, 108, 109, 110, 277

Mac Donald, Dr. K. N., 110

Mac Donalds, fighting at Contin, 302

Mac Donald, General Hector, 96

Mac Donald, Hugh, 256

Mac Donald, Joseph, 108

Mac Donalds, march of the, 311

Mac Donald, Murdoch, 21, 22

Mac Donald of Clan Ranald, 290

Mac Donalds of Loch Moidart, 271

Mac Donald of the Isles, 240, 242, 268, 290

Mac Donald, Rev. Patrick, 108

Mac Donald’s Salute, 362

Mac Donald, Sir Alex., 311

Mac Donald, William, piper, 164

Mac Donel, Irish piper, 164

Mac Donell, Alice C., 131

Mac Donells of Glengarry, 90, 320

Mac Donells, of Keppoch, the, 330

Mac Dougall Gillies, J., piper, 285, 331

Mac Dougall, of Lorne, 326

Mac Eachern, Duncan, 284

Mac Eanric, _Iain Breac_, 347

Mac Farlane, Andrew, Chief, 330

Mac Farlane, Malcolm, 306

Mac Farlane, Provost, Dumbarton, 331

Mac Gregor, a, 252

Mac Gregors’ Gathering, the, 340

Mac Gregor, John, 290, 358

Mac Gregor, Sir John Murray, 153

Mac Gregor of Ruaro, 349

Mac Gregor of Glenstrae, 349

Mac Gregor pipers, 275

Mac Gregor, Patrick, 289

Mac Ians of Glencoe, 93, 339

Mac Intosh, Alex., 138

Mac Intosh’s Lament, the, 282, 301, 304

Mac Intosh, the, 304

Mac Intyre, Duncan _Bàn_, 26, 199

Mac Intyres, hereditary pipers, 38, 271

Mac Ivor, Findlay, piper, 337

Mac Kay, Angus, 109, 110, 224, 262, 263, 271, 276, 277, 280, 304, 355, 364

Mac Kay, Charles, 130

Mac Kay, Clan Society, 135

Mac Kay, Donald, 277, 332

Mac Kay, James, 135

Mac Kay, John (_Iain Dall_), 352

Mac Kay, John, 276

Mac Kays, hereditary pipers, 272

Mac Kay, Kenneth, 131, 132

Mac Kay, Rev. Dr. George, 160

Mac Kenzie, A. C., 280

Mac Kenzie, Alex., 235, 273, 297, 364

Mac Kenzie, Captain, 278

Mac Kenzies, Clan Song of, 342

Mac Kenzie, Col. K. W. S., 281

Mac Kenzies, the country of, 302, 319

Mac Kenzie, John Bane, 103, 106, 277, 278, 280, 284, 285, 291

Mac Kenzie of Gairloch, 28, 272

Mac Kenzie, Rev. James, 40, 42, 170

Mac Kenzie, John, author, 315

Mac Kenzie, Lady Anne’s Farewell to Rosehaugh, 283

Mac Kenzie, Mr., of Allangrange, 278

Mac Kenzie, Ronald, 135, 285

Mac Kenzie, Mr., of Millbank, 280

Mac Kenzie, Sir J. J. R., 281

Mac Kinnon, Robert, piper, 109

Mac Kinnon, the Clan, 249

Mac Lachlan, John, piper, 109, 129, 285

Mac Lachlans’ March, the, 355

Mac Lean, clan music of, 110

Mac Lean, Hector, of Islay, 240, 364

Mac Lean, John Garve of Coll, 21

_Mac Lean’s History of Celtic Language_, 60

Mac Lean the Clan, pipers of, 274

Mac Lellan, piper of H.L.I., 134

Mac Lennan, Alex., 282, 285

Mac Lennan, Donald, 280

Mac Lennans, the, 284

Mac Lennan, William, 284, 291

Mac Leod, Captain, of Gesto, 103, 104, 321, 340

Mac Leod of Dunvegan, 28, 239, 258, 267, 329

Mac Leod, Dr. Norman, 56

Mac Leod, Fiona, 288

Mac Leod, John Garbh of Raasay, 332, 334

Mac Leod, John, piper, 133

Mac Leod, Kenneth, piper, 135

Mac Leod, Norman, Assynt., 341

Mac Leod of Glenelg, 28

Mac Leod’s Highlanders, 120

Mac Leod of Raasay, 276

Mac Leod, Roderick, of Mac Leod, 329

Mac Leods, 21, 102, 119

Mac Leods’ Salute, 362

Mac Leods, the, of Gesto, 110

Mac Mhurich, Neil, Clan Ranald bard, 24, 26, 27, 224

Mac Naughton, Alex., 116

Mac Neills of Barra, the, 16

Mac Phedran, Donald, 284

Mac Phee, Donald, 109, 284, 285

Mac Pherson, James, 14

Mac Pherson’s Lament, 353

Mac Pherson, Malcolm, 284

Mac Pherson of Cluny, 229, 275, 327

Mac Pherson, Patrick, 86

Mac Rae, Angus, 285

Mac Rae, Duncan, 302

Mac Rae, Farquhar, 285

Mac Rae, John, 284

Mac Raes’ March, the, 301, 302

Mac Ranald, Allan, of Lundie, 319

Magersfontein, Battle of, 94, 122, 134, 135

Maggie Lauder, 179

Malcolm Canmore, 13, 356

March of the Cameron Men, 122, 134, 288

Maryburgh, 277, 281

Matheson, Pipe-Major, 159

Mary Queen of Scots, 21

Mealfourvonie, 320

Meikle Ferry, 272

Melbourne, 296

Melrose Abbey, carvings in, 36

Menteith, Earl of, 347

Menzies, Piper Donald, 219

Menzies, Sir Robert, 271

Menzies, the Clan, 38, 116, 301

Methuen, General Lord, 135

Middleton, Wm., piper, 132

Miserly, Miserable One’s House, the, 324

Mochaster, the Campbells of, 275

_Modern Account of Scotland, A_, 196

_Moladh Mairi_, 355

Monkstad, 248

Montrose, the army of, 127

_Mor Nighean Alasdair Mhic Ruaraidh_, 306

Morton, Earl of, 117

Mozart, 77

_Much Ado About Nothing_, 49

Mull, Harper of, 22

Mull, Island of, 248, 249, 270, 318, 327

Munlochy, 278

Munro, Neil, 89

Munroe, Wm., of Achany, 341

_Music of the Highland Clans_, 267

_Musical Memoirs of Scotland_, 36, 163, 267

Mutiny, the Indian, 125, 138, 141

My Faithful Fair One, 139

Napier, historian, 129

Naples, a musician of, 64

Napoleon, a story of, 140

Nativity, Catholic tradition of, 32

Nero, contorniate of, 33

Nether Lochaber, 324

Neukomm, the Chevalier, 85

Nevis, the River, 248

Newcastle, Scottish army at, 117

New College, Oxford, 39

New Testament in Gaelic, 14

Nineveh, sculptures in, 32

Nith, the River, 277

Noah, the story of, 30

Northampton, Earl of, 196

North British Fusiliers, the, 117

Northern Meeting, the, 282, 284

North Inch of Perth, battle of, 40

Northumberland, Duchess of, 189

Northumberland, the piper of, 189

Norwich, carvings in, 156

Novogorod, Archbishop of, 63

Nubar Pasha and pipes, 220

Ogilvie, Mrs., poem by, 230

_Old Mortality_, quotation from, 188

Olrig, parish of, 242

Omdurman, battle of, 154

Osborne, Queen Victoria’s funeral from, 154

Ossian, 20, 50

Ossianic poetry, 14, 54, 273

Paderewski, 82, 97

_Peblis to the Play_, 41

Peingowen, the farm of, 269

Peninsular War, pipers in, 129

Pennant, references from, 35

Pentland’s, Satanic dance on, 224

Periwig Reel, the, 360

Perth, pipers of, 51, 171

Perth, competition at, 281

Perthshire, expedition into, 20

Peterhead, superstition at, 226

Pesth, piping at, 64

Pibroch o’ Donuil Dhu, 321

Picts, the, 54

Pictou, a Mac Kay died at, 273

Pifferari, the Italian, 64

Philiphaugh, Battle of, 127, 326

Piper’s Pule, the, 127

Piper’s Stone, the, 128

Piper’s Warning, the, 92

Pinkie, Battle of, 347

Pondicherry, fighting at, 121

_Popular Gaelic Songs_, 315

_Popular Tales of the West Highlands_, 105

Port Novo, fighting at, 120

Prestonpans, Battle of, 52, 118, 347

Priesthood, the Celtic, 19

Prince Edward Island, 274

Prince of Wales, the piper to, 164

Prince’s Salute, the, 105

Princess of Thule, the, 165

Procopius, historian, 15, 35

_Provincial Poets_, 173

Puebla Heights, pipes at, 128

_Punch_, a joke from, 205

Quatre Bras, Battle of, 131, 132, 340

Quebec, Battle of, 119

Quhale, the clan, 40, 228

Quinish, in Mull, 22

Quintillianus, Aristides, 35

Ralph, Julian, war correspondent, 93, 96

Ramsay, Allan, 328

Ramsay, P. A., 22

Ranald, the clan, 24, 26, 271

Rankins, hereditary pipers, 275

Rannoch, dispute about, 343; the Menzies of, 271; a school in, 275

_Raonull Mac Ailean Oig_, 363

_Raoghull Odhar_, a cowardly piper, 126

Reay Country, pipers from, 132, 135, 272; college in, 273

_Records of Argyll_, 240

_Redgauntlet_, story from, 252

Reel o’ Tulloch, the, 213, 261, 357

Reformation, the, 42

Reid, James, piper, 118, 121

Reid, Jamie, piper, 172

Retreat, meaning of, 140

Reveille, meaning of, 139

Richard II., 40

Richborough Castle, carvings at, 34

Richmond and Gordon, Duke of, 125, 285

Ripon Cathedral, carvings in, 156

Ritchie, Alexander A., poet, 166

Ritchie, James, piper, 176

Robertson, Hugh, pipe-maker, 52

Rob Roy, 12, 153, 261

Rob Roy’s Lament, 355

Rogart, the parish of, 342

Romans, the, 15; pipes among, 34

Rome, Italian shepherds in, 157

Rory _Mòr’s_ Lament, 330

Rosehall, estate of, 235

Ross, a Breadalbane piper, 165

Ross, Duncan, 103, 107

Rosslyn Chapel, carvings in, 44, 156, 226

Ross, William, piper, 103, 154, 284

Ross-shire Buffs, the, 129

Rout of Moy, the, 266, 315

Royal Highlanders, 125, 133, 134, 137, 138, 154, 160, 220

Royal Scots Fusiliers, the, 117, 137

Royal Scots, the, 137, 159

Rutherglen, tradition of, 256

_Rutherglen and Cathkin_, 256

_Ruaraidh Dall_, 21, 28

Sarasate, 97

Scale of the pipes, peculiarities of, 77, 89

_Scottish Gael_, Logan’s, 267

_Scottish Life and Character_, 221

Scott, Sir Walter, 39, 147, 178, 180, 188, 287, 288, 297, 317, 321, 331

Scots Guards, the, 137

Scripture, pipes in, 31

Seaforth, Colonel Mac Kenzie of, 281, 282

Seaforth Highlanders, 121, 137, 135

Seaforth, Lord, 285

Sheriffmuir, Battle of, 42, 324, 347

Sheriffmuir March, the, 346

Sharpe, Archbishop, 163, 195

Shakespeare, 48, 49, 53, 196

Shirt Battle, the, 363

Shon Mac Lean, Weddin’ of, 150

Sister’s Lament for her Brothers, The, 363

Sinclair, George, Earl of Caithness, 337

Sinclair, George, of Kiess, 337

Sinclair, Sir John, 338

Skye, stories of, 90, 233, 239, 214, 248, 319, 327

Skye, pipers from, 132, 138

Skye, funeral in, 153

Skye, making roads in, 155

Skye, college in, 165, 262

Skye, island of, 267

Smith, Sydney, 193

Snizort, Loch, 248

Somerled’s Lament, 76

South African War, pipes in, 93

Spenser, 48

Staffa, 271

St. Andrews, pipers of, 48, 162

Stewart, Donald, of Invernayle, 347

Stewart, James, piper, 134

Stewart, The March of Clan, 346

Stewart, W., Stirling, 50

Stevenson, R. L., 288, 293

Stirling, a complaint from, 162

Stirling, court case at, 50

St. Giles, honouring, 48

St. James’s Palace, pipes in, 42

St. Patrick, 19

Strathglass, the village of, 198

Strath-Conan, 280

Strathpeffer, 278

Strathspey, tradition of, 358

Stuart, Royal House of, 346

_Suarachan_, story of, 303

Sutherland, Duke of, 71

Sutherland, Earl of, 341

Sutherlandshire, Mac Kays from, 272

Sutherlandshire, stories of, 234, 253

Sutherland, William, piper, 285

Sutherland Rifle Volunteers, 294

Sydney, New South Wales, 296

Sydney Scottish Volunteers, 296

Syme, Geordie, piper, 172

Sysa, the Well of, 242

_Tales of the West Highlands_, 238

Tam o’ Shanter, 201, 223

Tannahill, poet, 22, 99

Tarsus, excavations in, 32

Tattoo, meaning of, 139

Temple, services of the, 32

Thackeray, 196

Theocritus, 32

_Thogail nam bo_, 331

Thomason, Major-General, 109, 110, 111

_Tigh Bhroinein_, 325

Tobermory, a native of, 212

Tomnahurich, 238

Tongue, competition in, 209

Tongue, college at, 132

Tongue, pipers from, 131, 132

Too Long in this Condition, 323

Trotternish, 332

Tullich, Aberdeenshire, 357

Tulloch, Strathspey, 358

Tullochgorum, 73

Tweed, the River, 176

Tyrol, pibroch from the, 55

_Uamh an Oir_, 248

Uist, North, 26

Ulva, the Island of, 270

Up an’ Waur them a’, Willie, 139

Up in the Morning’s no for me, 139

Ure, Duncan, piper, 162

Victoria, Queen, 133, 154, 277, 279, 280, 281

Vimiera, Battle of, 129

Vittoria, Battle of, 128, 129

Wales, harpers of, 21

Wallace, William, piper, 163

Wandering Willie’s Tale, 252

War or Peace, 76, 131, 132, 363

Waterloo, pipers at, 128, 131, 143

Water of Leith, pipers of, 49, 162

Watsone, Richard, piper, 162

Wauchope, General, 94

We Return no More, 261

Whittier, quotation from, 146

_Whistlebinkie_, 166, 202

Whistle ower the lave o’t, 224

Whyte, Henry, 330, 357, 364

Wick, the Water of, 337

Winchester School, arms of, 39

Wigton, 171

Windsor, presentation at, 133

Windsor, Queen’s Funeral at, 154

Wives of this Glen, 335, 338

Women of this Glen, 93

Woo’d an’ Married an’ a’, 141

Woodward, Richard, piper, 47

Worcester, Battle of, 324

Wotherspoon, James, piper, 133, 138

Yarmouth, carvings at, 44

Yha, the clan, 228

York Minster, pipes in, 159

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling. 2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.