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Highland borderer and the Lowland borderer along the wholefrontier was the growth of ages, and was kept fresh by constantinjuries. One day many square miles of pasture land wereswept bare by armed plunderers from the hills. Another day ascore of plaids dangled in a row on the gallows of Crieff orStirling. Fairs were indeed held on the debatable land for thenecessary interchange of commodities. But to those fairs bothparties came prepared for battle; and the day often ended inbloodshed. Thus the Highlander was an object of hatred tohis Saxon neighbours; and from his Saxon neighbours thoseSaxons who dwelt far from him learned the very little that theycared to know about his habits. AVhen the English conde-scended to think of him at all, — and it was seldom that theydid so, — they considered him as a filthy abject savage, a slave,a Papist, a cutthroat, and a thief.*

* A striking illustration of the opinion which was entertained of theHighlander by his Lowland neighbours, and which was by them communi-cated to the English, will be found in a volume of Miscellanies publishedby Afra Behn in 1685. One of the most curious pieces in the collection isa coarse and profane Scotch poem entitled, “IIow the first Ilielandman wasmade.” How and of what materials he was made I shall not venture torelate. The dialogue which immediately follows his creation may bequoted, I hope, without much offence.

“Says God to the Hielandman, ‘ Quhair wilt thou now?’

‘I will down to the Lowlands, Lord, and there steal a cow.’

‘Ffy,’ quod St. Peter, ‘thou wilt never do weel,

‘An thou, but new made, so sune gais to steal.’

‘Umff,’ quod the Hielandman, and swore by yon kirk,

'So long as I may geir get to steal, will I nevir work.”’

Another Lowland Scot, the brave Colonel Cleland, about the same time,describes the Highlander in the same manner:

“For a misobliging wordShe'll dirk her neighbour o’er the board.

If any ask her of her drift,

Forsooth, her nainsclf lives by theft.”

Much to the same effect are the very few words which Franck Philanthro-pes (1694) spares to the Highlanders: “They live like lairds and die likeloons, hating to work and no credit to borrow: they make depredations androb their neighbours.” In the History of the Involution in Scotland,printed at Edinburgh in 1690, is the following passage: “ The Highlanders

CIIAP.

XIII.

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