of the act for
suppressing the garb. The tartan is said to have been known in Flanders;
and the tartan and kilt to have been adopted in the Lowlands before
their adoption among the mountains.[94] Without attempting to meddle in
the dangerous and intricate question of antiquity, it must be
acknowledged that the Highland dress is well adapted to the habits of a
pastoral people, as well as being extremely graceful and picturesque. It
is also admirably fitted to oppose the inclemency of those regions in
which, among the other habits which characterise the peculiar people who
wear it, it is still regarded as a loved and revered badge of national
distinction. In the various campaigns in Holland, the Highlanders
suffered far less than other nations in that damp and chilly climate; in
the retreat to Corunna, under the hero Sir John Moore, their plaids
bound lightly round their bodies, they experienced the convenience of
that simple form of dress in a rapid and protracted march. Light and
free, the mountaineer could pursue, without restraint, the most
laborious occupations; he could traverse the glens, or ascend mountains
which offer a hopeless aspect to the inhabitants of more civilized
spheres. But it was not only as a convenient and durable mode of apparel
that the kilt and philibeg were advantageous. The Highland costume, when
it formed a feature among English or foreign regiments, cemented a
spirit which was felt and feared by foes. It bound those who wore it in
a common bond, not to dishonour the garb which their chiefs and their
forefathers had worn, by an act of cowardice, or by deeds of
cruelty.[95]

Little did the English Government, or the inhabitants of the metropolis,
or probably the country in general, know the character of the brave,
ill-fated band of Highlanders, who were now advancing into the very
heart of the country. It was the custom, especially among those who
wished to gain preferment at Court, or who affected to be fashionable,
to speak of the Highlanders as low, ignorant savages; semi-barbarians,
to whom the vulgar qualities of personal courage and hardihood might be
allowed, but who had neither any urbanity to strangers, nor refined
notions of honour. The word "rebel," was a mild name for those who were
following Prince Charles's standard as it was borne southwards. The
hardened villains, "the desperadoes, rabble, thieves, banditti!"[96] are
the terms usually employed in expressing the sovereign contem