26 DECEMBER 1846, Page 1

Occasionally, amid the Irish turmoil, is heard the still voice

of poignant distress in the North and West of Scotland : there the Celtic race is suffering equally with the cognate race in Ire- land, but not like them with forgetfulness of self-esteem or of decorous bearing. It is curious that the same calamity should attack the same race, in different places, with such marked differ- ence in their demeanour. Something, perhaps, is due to the hardier life of the mountaineers and islanders—always familiar with hardship and penury, they are prepared to face even famine with fortitude • something may be ascribed to the fact that the impressible Celtic race is not the predominant race in Scotland ; something possibly to the actual intermixture of Northern Mood; something to the sterner character of the religious training and institutions. From whatsoever cause, the behaviour of the Scot- tish sufferers is in marked contrast with that of the Irish : they do not abandon what work they might have, nor mingle cries of helplessness and threats, nor buy arms, nor shoot those who bring them succour. There is much that commands deep respect in their tranquil endurance ; and it ought not to meet with greater neglect than the noisier agonies of their Western brethren.