CHAPTER VIII.
Heroes, in your ancestral line,
Hallow the shades of “Auld Langsyne;”
Men who in their country’s story
Shine brightly on the page of glory,
Noo sleep in bonnie Scotland.
ANCIENT HISTORY—882–1660.
As we approach the history of this venerable regiment we cannot help feeling all those sentiments of reverence and respect which are the becoming tribute to an honoured old age—a history which well nigh embraces, as it awakens,
“The stirring memories of a thousand years.”
Consistent with the bold and adventurous spirit of the Scotsman, we find him pushing his fortune in almost every land under the sun; with a brave and manly heart going down to the battle of life; blessing, by his industry and enterprise, many a clime wherein he has settled, and so climbing the loftiest pinnacles of greatness; or, by “diligence in business,” earning the kingdom of a merchant prince. Of all the many and varied departments of life in which the Scotsman has been distinguished, he is most pre-eminent in the honourable profession of a soldier. Driven from his beloved country by the cruel tyrannies which from time to time oppressed her, or exiled by the hard necessities of a pinching poverty—wandering in many lands, the Scotsman nevertheless gratefully retains the recollection of his fatherland, and, in spirit, returns with fondness to the endeared associations of home—