Ossian Collection > Romance of the Highlands

viii THE ROMANCE OF THE HIGHLANDS.
That sentiment has been more in evidence of late
years. The Scot may be a Scot in his own country, but
when he goes afield he generally finds that Scottish
reunions have a distinctly Highland flavour. The kilt
may not be always in evidence, but the bagpipes are
invariably in the forefront at all important functions.
The numerous clan societies that have been formed in this
country and abroad have as a main purpose the fostering
of the Celtic spirit, and they cast a wide net of very small
mesh.
The Gael never forgets his nationality. Neither
time nor distance can efface from his memory the picture
of his native hills nor that of the Sabbath quiet of the
secluded valleys. The emigrant longs to see the old
land again and those heather-clad slopes that knew him
as a youth. Prosperity or poverty only serve to make
the tie more secure. Medical men may say that home-
sickness is found in all mountain peoples ; but be that
as it may, it is a weakness of which no one need feel
ashamed.
Some of the finer qualities were to be found in the
Gaels of former days, while in them the worst of the sins
of humanity were absent. For some of the vices of
modern days they did not even have names until the
English language supplied them.
" 'Tis wonderful
That an invisible instinct should frame them
To loyalty unlearned : honour untaught :
Civility not seen from others, valour
That wildly grows in them, but yields a crop
As if it had been sowed."