The early inhabitants of the north-west part of Scotland, appear not to have been far advanced in those arts which are commonly reckoned the improvements of polished life.
By careful attention to the language of every people, we may discover by the words, from what nations some customs have been derived, and from particular expressions, we may determine what were the manners of a people when these expressions were first established among them.
Many striking proofs can be taken by Monsieur de Gebelin’s work , the Monde Primitif.
There is no country in the world that exceeds England in breeding plentifully cocks, hens, calves, oxen, sheep, swine, but is very remarkable that no Englishman ever eats one bit of them, he eats French dishes under the Frenchified names of foul, veal, beef, mutton, pork.
This proceeded from the oppression of the Norman conquerors but English language at this point was enlarged and refined by the oppression of their liberties.
Probable, they had any distilled liquors, because we cannot find any mention of such a thing among them till the reign of James V.
Dram is an ordinary word in the Highlands at this day, evidently proceeding from the manner in whichthey first received spirituous liquors, having been only prescribed medicinally and administered by drachms and scruples.
Cyder is the produce of countries where the sun is not vigorous enough to ripen the grape.
Many suppose that the ancient Scots made a liquor by bleeding birch trees but they can give no other reason for believing it was so, that only because it was possible it might be so.
Others think they made a liquor fermented with honey, with which they might have been plentifully supplied by bees breeding in the woods that covered most of their country.
There is indeed a very proper word in their language to express this, Atil-deoch, i.e. Honey-drink but it’s only a modern word, not mentioned in any of their ancient poems.
The word ale is from ol; it may be asked how herdsmen and hunters, sowed no fort of grain, could be provided with ale?
That’s why they got it as we get wine, by importation.
But at this must have been expensive and not what every one could afford to purchase, it would be the business of their Chiefs to provide a sufficient quantity.
Lusadh is another word to express drinking, and is of true Gaelic original, its root being lus, an herb, a plant.
Looking on this word, lusadh we may infer it’s as an undoubted proof that there was some herb or low plant from the infusion of which they made a kind of liquor; but what was the particular plant used for that purpose, we cannot easily determine.
Some think it was the juniper , which grows in plenty on the Highland mountains, and from whose berries and prickly twigs, we doubt not that a fermented liquor might be made.
There’s also a different way, by tradition that is universal in the part of the country which belonged to the Pechts.
It is by this name that we choose to call that people, who were formerly masters of the best part of Scotland.
Latin’s authors called that people Picts.
As this word has a meaning in Latin, an opinion has prevailed that the Picts had their bodies all painted; yet we have no better authority for that conceit, than some here have for believing that the present Sovereign of Rome is an old whore.
If the whole nation had actually painted themselves, they could never have assumed the name of Picti on that account, unless their language had actually been Latin.
In Icelandic the word bi-arg means that to go to the berg or to go to the town were expressions of the same import.
They left the name of berg to the bare hill, and to express the one was inhabited, they varied the word by pronouncing it borg,bourg,burg and some added an h after it.
But, as the found of the aspirated h would stick in the throats of some people, English brought the word through different changes, till they made it borough, leaving mute the g h , in the same manner as in caught, taught,brought.
So that now, through a borough be built in a valley, we may find the radix of the word on the top of a hill.
Now, measg, (from whence the Latin misceo, mixtus, mixtura) signifies mixture, in the language of the people of we are treating.
But everybody knows that mixing liquors is the readiest way to get drunk; so some of the Albanich, of ancient days, not contented with ol or lusadh separately, would mix both together, and when giddy headed, would call it measg.
Afterwards, to distinguish the effects of this dangerous mixture from that of more innocent liquors, they changed the word to meisg or meisge which now express drunkenness.
From thence comes meisgach or meisgeach, a drunkard.
Triumphant Rome might exult in its gold and silver vessels, drawn together from the spoils of many miserable countries, the word Cochleare alone, is a convincing evidence that the parents of that Queen of nations had found the cochlea to be a very convenient piece of household furniture.
The barren mountains of Albion produced nothing that could serve for that purpose, except the hazle-nut, and everyone may easily perceive that a nutshell could not afford a draught sufficient to satisfy the appetite of a thirsty Celt.
Providence, filled the northern seas with scallops.
An Albanic, without ransacking the bowels of the earth for gold and silver or selling his country to slavery, needed only to take a walk on the seaside.
Horns are so suited by nature for containing liquids; not a nation in the world where they are not used for that purpose,
All such things are said to be made of oss, a bone.
The very mention of the true name Corno, is thought such an intolerable affront.
The third utensil for drinking is the cuach, which we now pronounce quech, and from whence is formed the English verb to quaff .
From the composition of cuach , by small pieces of wood being joined together, and united so closely as to contain liquids.
Many think that it has been invented before the Albanic knew the use of the turning loom.
The invention has certainly been owing to the leisure enjoyed by those who had no occupation but to tend their flocks and herds.
The cruach was presumably the first thing that gave the hint that barrels, hogshead; it had two handles, that it might be delivered by one and received by the other.
These handles were in Anglo-Saxon dialect called Lugs, and a large vessel, that contained more than could be taken off at a draught, having larger ears, was thence called a Luggie.
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