BOOK Middle Ages. Rivalry of Scotland and England. linus and other Latin writers, passed from Ireland into the county of, Argyle, and became the original stock of the Scotch Highlanders, who speak an Irish idiom analogous to the Celtic, while the inhabitants of the Lowlands have always preserved the Scandinavian idiom. Subjugated by Agricola in the first century, Scotland was for three hundred years regarded as a Roman conquest, although the submission of the country never was complete. Caledonia was governed by the customs of each of the tribes it contained: the Picti retained the habit of painting their bodies. At the fall of the Roman Empire, the Cimbri and Attacotti united against the Picti, and fought long for the mastery: their bloody struggle was only ended by a treaty of alliance between the chiefs of the two nations, who in 843 were finally conquered by Kenneth II, king of Scotland. After this event the country became, during many years, the prey of the Danes and Norwegians, but the bravery of the inhabitants at length freed the soil from enemies. As late as the beginning of the 11th century, the northern part of the kingdom preserved the name of Pictland; the south retained the appellation of Valencia and Cumbria, which recalled the memory of Roman dominion; the valleys at the foot of the Grampians, peopled by the descendants of the Attacotti, were comprised under the name of Strathclyd. It was not until the time of Malcolm II, that these divisions were confounded in the title of the kingdom of Scotland. William the conqueror invaded the kingdom, but respected its independence. In the 12th century we find sanguinary manifestations of that rivalry of the two kingdoms, cach too small to content the ambition of its sovereign, and striving for aggrandizement at the cost of the other. The aggressions of Henry III of England, were at first repelled in a manner glorious to Scotland, by Alexander II. But Edward I, profiting by the death of Alexander III, destroyed the principal archives of Scotland in order to establish a plausible claim to the sovereignty in favor of England, a sovereignty never in reality possessed: having done this, he bestowed the empty title of king of Scotland upon John Baliol, whom he held in a state of dependence, overwhelmed with humiliations, and obliged to appear six times at the bar of the English parliament to give an account of his pretended misdemeanors, but with the secret view of inciting him to rebellion and gaining a pretext for pronouncing the forfeiture of his rights and the confiscation of the kingdom. Baliol finally disavowed his disgraceful concessions, and proclaimed the independence of his country, when Edward, already master of the chief cities in the kingdom, overran the country which had not time to prepare for defence, and carried the insignificant king to London along with the regalia and the famous stone called Innisfail, the palladium of Scottish independence. The brave William Wallace stirred up his countrymen against their oppressor: in so unequal a strife, their hope of success lay in union, but party jealousies occasioned divisions, and they yielded to the usurper, regretting that they had refused a sovereign authority to the hero who sought nothing but their deliverance, and who was worthy of the dignity. Wallace was betrayed, delivered up to the savage conqueror, and put to death. Finally, under the guidance of the celebrated and persevering Robert Bruce, who was proclaimed king in 1506, Wallace was avenged, and the decisive battle of Bannockburn, won by the Scots eight years afterwards, established the independence of Scotland. BOOK CLIV. ence of Scotland. From this period anarchy and revolt drew the kingdom Independinto a continual series of revolutions. James I, whose long captivity in the Tower of London had soured his temper, attempted, in too precipitate a manner, to allay the troubles, but died by the hand of an assassin. With this prince began that long series of misfortunes, which pursued the Stuarts during four centuries. James II, his son, fell at the siege of Roxburgh by the bursting of a cannon, which he was assisting to prove. James III, abandoned to the influence of worthless favorites, and hated by his subjects, fell by the weapons of conspirators. James IV, the beloved of his people, was never seen after the battle of Flodden Field, the unfortunate result of an expedition which he had undertaken against England to assist the project of invasion meditated by Louis XII. James V, alienated the feelings of his people by favouring the pretensions of the clergy, and died of chagrin after seeing 10,000 Scotchmen refuse to fight for their king, and lay down their arms before 500 English. BOOK CLIV. Union of Scotland and Eug land. Adminis justice. Mary Stuart succeeded him, but her attachment to the Catholic religion was more fatal to her than to her brother, and she abdicated in favour of James VI, her son, who, by the death of Elizabeth, was called in 1603 to the throne of England. This throne he ascended by the name of James I, and united the two crowns upon his head but it was not till 1707 that the two kingdoms were definitively united under the name of Great Britain: at this point only, the interests of Scotland, and the details of its history, become identified with those of England. Scotland is represented in the Imperial Parliament, which tration of has borne this title ever since the suppression of the parliament of Ireland, by 16 peers elected by the nobility at each new parliament, and by 45 commoners, 30 of whom are chosen by the counties, and 15 by the royal boroughs. The Scotch have, notwithstanding, preserved their ancient laws and institutions: justice is administered by a court of session, whose decisions can be reversed only by the high court of parliament: civil and criminal cases also are decided in the court of justiciary, the first criminal tribunal in the kingdom, of which the members make two circuits a year through the different districts: by the court of exchequer, whose prerogatives are the same as in England: by the court of admiralty which pronounces only upon maritime cases; and by the commissary court, composed of four judges, who decide upon questions of marriage, divorce, &c. Each county has its sheriff, an elective magistrate, whose duty it is to secure criminals, institute processes and execute the sentences of justice: the cities and royal boroughs have also inferior magistrates, justices of the peace, and a royal officer called the coroner, charged with the performance of inquests, in cases of violent deaths. Ecclesias tical or ganization. The ecclesiastical organization of Scotland differs from that of England: presbyterianism is the prevailing religion in Scotland, and a perfect religious liberty, the fruit of the long discords of the country, was secured by the act of union the system of presbyterian government is modelled upon the plan of the reformed French communion, and the ministers enjoy the same spiritual authority and temporal advantages. No one of them receives a salary larger than 200 pounds sterling, nor less than 50 pounds. The govern ment of the church lies in a general assembly, in provincial synods, in the presbytery, and in the kirk sessions, or assemblies of an inferior order composed of ministers, elders and deacons from different parishes: these assist the pastor in his functions, pay visits to the rich, and carry consolation and succour to the poor. BOOK CLIV. Scotland holds an honourable rank among the most en- Education. lightened countries of Europe: it contains six universities, and each of its large cities has academies and colleges, in which education is carefully attended to: each parish has also an elementary school. Before the union with England, the imports and exports Industry. of this country were quite unimportant: the industry of the kingdom was then in its infancy. At present, Scotland is distinguished for its manufactures of woollen and cotton, its foundries and establishments of domestic industry; fisheries have increased, and commerce has become one of the chief resources of the inhabitants. After this digression, designed to prepare the reader for the interesting spectacle offered by the progress of civilization, and the beauties of nature in Scotland, we shall be enabled to continue our march through the country, leaving upon our right the Cheviot Hills, so abounding in wild beauty and enchanting landscapes. We shall pass near Roxburgh, a little village giving its name to a county, of which it was formerly the capital: tlie castle at this place, which has witnessed so many battles between the Scotch and English, is now only a heap of ruins. Jedburgh, in a deep valley traversed by the little Jedburgh. river Jed, is at present a royal borough, and the seat of authority: founded at a very remote period, it was for a long time poor and thinly inhabited, but since the end of the last century several manufactories have been established in the place. Not far from the Tweed, and near the industrious town of Kelso, containing 5000 inhabitants, is the village of Eduam, the birth place of the poet Thomson. Proceeding up the stream, we arrive at Melrose, less important than Melrose. Kelso, but famous for its old monastery, of which the gothic remains still excite the spectator's admiration. On viewing this monument of the beginning of the 12th century, we call BOOK Selkirk. East Lothian. Mid Lothian. to mind a passage in the poems of that celebrated novelist, whose writings have made all Europe acquainted with the beauties and manners of ancient Scotland. If thou would'st view fair Melrose aright, Go visit it by the pale moonlight; For the gay beams of the lightsome day When the broken arches are black in night, And each shafted oriel glimmers white : Streams on the ruin'd central tower. When buttress and buttress alternately When silver edges the imagery, And the scrolls that teach thee to live and die. When distant Tweed is heard to rave, And the owlet to hoot o'er the dead man's grave. Then go, but go alone the while, Then view Saint David's ruin'd pile; And home returning, soothly swear Was never scene so sad and fair. Lay of the Last Minstrel. Canto II. We shall find little to detain our attention at Selkirk, a town which gives its name to a county, and stands on the banks of the Ettrick: we shall pass on to the county of Berwick, of which the chief town, at the foot of a mountain near the right bank of the Whitadder, bears the name of Dunse: after crossing the hills of Lammermoor, we reach Haddington, a town giving its name to a county, otherwise called East Lothian. This territory is one of the best cultivated in Scotland, and is the central point from which agricultural improvement has extended into every part of the kingdom: its long extent of coast, and several small harbours, furnish the inhabitants the means of exporting with advantage their surplus production of grain, and their hempen and woollen cloth: the same facilities enable the poorest of the people to obtain a living by taking fish and manufacturing salt. The chief town is well built, and is the birth place of the celebrated Scotch reformer John Knox. In a county washed on the north by the waters of the Forth, and named Mid Lothian, or Edinburghshire, stands Edinburgh. Edinburgh, the celebrated capital of Scotland. It is situated upon three high ridges of land, and divided into two parts, |