This is described in Stark's
"Picture of Edinburgh" thus:--"Their uniform is 42nd tartan, with green
velvet collar and cuffs, and a Highland bonnet, with feathers; on the
front of the bonnet is the cross of St. Andrew, and a gold arrow on the
collar of the jacket." There is a something in the very idea of an
archer, and in the name of _Robin Hood_, particularly charming to most
bosoms, coming as they do to us fraught with all delicious associations;
the wild, free forest life, the sweet pastime, the adventures of bold
outlaws amid the heaven of sylvan scenery, and the national renown of
British bowmen which mingles with the records of our chivalry in history
and romance; while the revival of _archery_ in England of late years, as
an elegant amusement, sufficiently proves that the high feeling which
seems mysteriously to blend a present age with one long since gone by,
is not totally extinct. Shall I venture to assert, that for this we are
indebted to the charmed light cast around a noble and ancient pastime by
the antiquary, poet, and romance-writer of modern times? But to return,
the Scottish archers were first formed into a company and obtained a
charter, granting them great privileges, under the reign of queen Anne,
for which they were to pay to the crown, annually, a pair of barbed
arrows. One of these allowances was, that they might _meet and go forth
under their officer's conduct, in military form, in manner of
weapon-showing, as often as they should think convenient_.
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