St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-12-04
Our Boston Letter.
Correspondence of THE CALIFORNIAN ~


IN fremont Temple, both in the auLite
rum and on the platform was taken an,
many more desired entrance in order I,
near the lecture upon Scottish Life an,
Character" by Ian Maclarcn Of Liver
pool, England. His reputation as tn
author of"Bonnie Bricr Bush" and late
works, naturally made people wish t,
see and hear this popular writer. Tn
chairman in his introduction stated tina
that he was born and named John Wat
son, in Scotland, but not until he came t.
live in England did he blossom out into
Ian Maclaren.
The lecturer replied, that his friend wa.
evidently an Englishman. and the news
papers had been so kind as to assign hin
four places of birth and he expected soor
that some enterprising reporter here
would locate him next in the United
States which OF course would be great
honor. His voice was so clear that il
filled every part of the hall even to the
second balcony and his enunciaton was
so distinct that any one could easily fol
low him during the lecture. He said,
there are two classes of people in Scot
land, one living in the northern and the
other in the southern part of he country,
known as the Celts or Highlanders and
the Lowlanders, who are quite different
IN character. The former are bold, dar.
ing by nature and love a military life.
while the latter are cautious, conserva.
tlveand remarkable for their knowledge Of
the Bible. Gle belongs to the last class J
he illustrated their peculiarities by anec.
dotes. 1t was CeltiSh womans opin-
ion that it was a great mistake that the
Lords twelve apostles were not all
Scotchmen, dressed in the different cos.
tunes of the Scottish clans! Another
wondered that Simon Peter did not slvly
take out his knife aud slip it into the side
OF the traitor Judas At the opening of
the war of Independence in the United
States, Scotchman, loyal to the En-.
glish king, led a colony from New York
state to Canada. Afterwards at ban
quot he was highly complimentcd upon
his being second Moses, who brought
his people out safely from the wilds of
America. The poor man after enduring
the remarks for sometime, rose and de.
cIared that he was not Moses to bring
the lSraelites out Of the wilderness, who
were afterwards scattered, but he
brought a colony Of his own people to
Canada who lived and thrived There
are some railing accusations brought
against the Scotch people by writers
Austerity is characteristic attributed
to the Scotchman. They are physically
large and bony and called angular by
some and even repellent. They have
striking mental characteristics The
traveller notices marked differences be-
tween the various races and nationali-
ties at the railway stations and in the
fields. in various countries. The Italians
stand iii groups, dressed in bright CO.'S
tunes, picturesque even in rags, easy and
graceful i'll bearing and movement, their
speech and accent as soft as the air that
fans their cheeks and they have only to
tickle the ground and it yields abundant
trutage and vegetation, while the
Scotchmen stand in line, with their hands
in their pockets, stiff and straight, but is
il not better to have their hands in their
own pockets, rather than in those Of
their neighbors! (Like the begears in
Italy who thrive at the public expense.) |
In Scotland you look up the hillsides
where there are more stones than earth,
while the chill winds blow through the
Scotch heather and they have to compel |
the soil to yield by hard labor; they are
not artists models but they have solidar-
ity Of character and make nations.
Would YOU not prefer this angular
to the Italian peasant?
Scotland is a country where they keep
The Sabbath. Did not the forefatherS of
New England sacredy keep this day?
May the day be far off when men will
fansack the past to find something to
ridicule rather than to reinforce he Sab
bath, The nation is theological for va
rious reasons. 1t is said that the Scotch
man takes TO religion as a duck does to
water that it affords him an opportu-
1ity for discussion. Writers of fiction
affirm that religious discussion is ma.
-ional enjoyment as much as fox hunting
S in England, They think on deepest
Kings in religion, so that when they pub.
ish books on theology, they do not have
o 90 INTO repairs on account of ortho-
loxy.
Clergymen usually dress in uniforms so
IRE known in pubic as such. Travellers
ire apt to embark in discussion, the
women often leading the debate, and
justification by faith or works is a ia
'orite theme, so you find little weakness
n the outposts oil religion, for the peo-
BE are the practitioners and the clergy
nen the subjects. II peasants of a ma.