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KILT8 AND TARTAN8.
Developed When Highlanders Wore
Only One Garment.
The highly picturesque and distinct
ive costume, of the bold Scottish High
landers is, if we may believe history,
to a large extent the invention of the
tyrannical Southrons.
In the old days the wild Highlander
went about wrapped in a long plaid,
and considered himself sufficiently
clothed. 'When dressing, he stood up
in a state of nature, took a thick wool
len plaid four or Ave yards long, and
about three-quarters of a yard wide,
draped parts of it around hie loins
like a kirtle, and twisted the ends
over Ills back and shoulders and across
his chest. He was thus warmly dress
ed in a costume of one piece. But
when the restless English made their
way into the rocky fastnesses of Uu
Highlanders, and Degan to make the
natives build roads for commercial
and strategical purposes, the road
building generals-some say General
Claverhouse-found the mountaineer's
costume somewhat awkward, so a
piece of the plaid was cut off and fash
ioned into a Ishort skirt, the kilt,
which liung from the waist, and so
left the upper part of the body free,
which was duly covered with a jacket,
the remainder of the plaid being used
as a wrap when work was finished.
Such, we are told, is the true origin of
that manly and graceful national
dress.
Many of these tartans are pretty,
others quaint, and some alarmingly
startling. Among the last we must
mention that of the Macmillans, which
is bright yellow, with, a plaid tartan,
with black pattern and thin red line;
that of the Buchanans is a very com
plicated small -pattern, with all the
colors of the rainbow in it; the Mac
donalds of Sleat sport a terrible thing
in red, with bright green patterns;
the Macphersons have a pretty dress
plaid in black and white, with a thin,
red stripe, their ordinary or hunting
tartan being grey and black, with a
little blue and a thin red stripe.
The Menzies tartan, red and white,
is also picturesque; so are the Stuarts,
of which there are several. The
Royal Stuart is bright red, with a pat
tern of green, black, blue and white
stripes; the dress Stuart, generally
made in silk, has a white ground with
a variegated pattern; the hunting
Stuart 5s green and black, with black
and thin stripes of red and yellow;
pattern in blue, black and red. The
Gordon tartan is green and blue with
black and a thin stripe of yellow. But
the colors alone play a small part in
the tartan; it is the wonderfully com
plicated arrangement of checks and
stripes which give the distinctive pe
culiarities.
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