Evening star., 1935-08-04

- HhEsMAft, 0COJlhIlu, august o.
- Nimble fingers play the bag
pipes and nimble feet practice
- the highland fling, as Scotland
prepares once more for its annual
highland gatherings and games. All
through August and late into Septem-
ber thousands OF visitors will pour
! into the country, for during these two
/ months Scotland plays host to the
world with skirling bagpipes, marches
of the clansmen In their traditional
tartans and demonstrations OF strength
and sportsmanship.
At Dornock on August 0, at Nairn
and Grief on the l7th. at Fort William
the 27th. Aboyne September 4, Brae-
mar the bth. and Inverness the 10th
and goth. all the land turns out in
traditional highland finery. For days
before clansmen stream into the gath
ering place. some In automobiles. some
In buses. some on trains-all wearing
the tartans. Bagpipes play from early
morn TIL nightfall on the day. OF the
games. I.aAsies in kits dance the
highland ding. the reel and the sword
dance, the medals on their velvet jack
cts glittering In the sun. and giants OF
athletes compete In tossing the caber.
weight throwing, wrestling and leaping.
Most colorful OF the sports Is the
tossing Of the caber. Two men hoist
the enormous tree trunk, the athlete
holding II In his cupped hands. Then
after a short run, he heaves 1t end
over end with all his might, perhaps
10 set q new record In the annals Of
highland sports.
AT BRAEMAR the climax of the
gathering Is the entry OF the royal
procession. The royal party comes in
carriages, several OF its members in
tartans. and watches the games from
a rustic arbor. At signal the massed
clansmen march onto the field, ban
ners waving. kits swinging about
knees, drums rolling a tattoo. More
than !, 900 pipers take part in some Of
these parades, and the sight is a stir
ring one, as the chieftains pass the re-
viewing stand and lift their sword -hilts
to their lips in royal salute.
The Braemar Gathering takes place
in the Princess Royal Park, Balmoral,
just at the time the heather is turning
purple. The highlands form a rolling
background Of great beauty, and the
games are carried out with a certain
auStere dignity. as II the wearing of the
tartan was a very great, solemn ritual
NOT far from Braemar is the Cairn
of Remembrance, heap of stones
where the Clan Farquharson once
gathered in time of war. Each man
brought a stone to lay on the heap,
and when the clan dlbanded once
more, each picked up another rock,
leaving the rest as a memorial 10 those
who died in battle.
Just as the Braemar Gathering has
an added glamor because of the pres
ence of the royal family. so that at
Inverness and that at Cairn gain be-
cause of their historical associations.
Between the two towns lies Culloden
Moor, where Bonnie Prince Charlie was
finally defeated in 1746 and all Scot
land brought under stringent laws. One
Of these was an attempt to break up
the clan system by forbidding the
wearing OF the tartan, and heavy pun
ishments were meted out to those who
disobeyed it.
A few clever Scotchmen who rebelled
at trousers discovered that the law did
not say how the hateful garments were
to be worn. Consequently these men
thought to keep within the bounds OF
the law by carrying pair of pants on
their walking sticks!
A large part of Culloden Moor is now
under cultivation, and road runs
across the old battle field, on which
there are many small mounds which
mark the graves of Scots who fell there,
and great Memorial Cairn.
Inverness, "the capital of the high
lands" is thriving city on the banks
of the River Ness and near the mouth
of Moray Firth. There, travellers will
often hear Gaelic. the ancient language
of Scotland, spoken, and see many
Scots who still wear the kilt as a mat
ter Of course.
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