Man, as far as we have hitherto advanced in Scotland, certainly appears sufficiently different from his fellows in the central counties of England, and even in Lancashire, to be considered as a distinct sub-variety; using the word variety in its scientific sense, as indicative of peculiarity of habit induced by accidental circumstances. Speaking of the body, the habit of both sexes, among the lower classes of the Scotch, of passing the years of infancy bare-legged and bare-footed, seems to have communicated a degree of activity of character not found among the same class in any of the lowland counties of England; nor even, as it appears to us, in Derbyshire, or the hilly districts of Cumberland or Westmoreland. The imperfection of the Scotch dwellings, and the necessity which the Scotch people are under, from infancy, of having recourse to expedients, must have an effect in calling forth their inventive powers; but, while this is favourable to ingenuity and perseverance, it must be confessed to be unfavourable to the progress of cleanliness and habits of neatness, which are, unquestionably, not so prevalent among the poorest class in Scotland, as they are among the poorest class in England. These circumstances, the uncertainty of the climate, and their school-education, probably give to the Scotch that sagacity which is generally allowed to be one of the national characteristics. Their attachment to their parents, said to be another characteristic, is in part a remainder of the principle of clanship, and in part the result of the mutual dependence of parents and children upon each other, which necessarily takes place in an agricultural country, and one without poor-rates. Where commerce, manufactures, and high wages have been introduced, children, in consequence of being early forced to earn money, soon become independent of their parents, and filial affection is often found to give way. This tendency is not to be counteracted by recurring to the agricultural state, but by moral and intellectual education; by which, it may be said, the head is called in to assist the heart, and that which originated in feelings of self-preservation is continued through a sense of justice and duty.
