The mid-19^th century was a period of great change in Scottish society, with the state beginning to centralise in a way that had not been seen before, and Anglicised customs and language were being planted among the population at large. For example, in 1845 state inspection of schools was introduced to Scotland for the first time, and, for the first time also, inspectors were instructed to insist that both teachers and pupils conduct all their classes in English. This was unusual because up until this time, classes in the Lowlands were usually done through Scots because that is what the mass of the people spoke and thought in. Despite this trend, it is clear that people from all classes of Scottish society still had great affection for the language and continued to employ it in situations that many today would find surprising.

 Perhaps a good illustration of this culture comes from the life of the Reverend Norman MacLeod (1812-72). MacLeod was a native of Campbeltown in Kintyre, where both Gaelic and Scots had been spoken together since the 17^th century. MacLeod, who is usually cited for his Gaelic, was, in fact, a Scots speaker and an accomplished writer and poet in the language, a fact rarely recognised today. He became minister of Barony parish, Glasgow, in 1851, where his knowledge of Scots would have served him well, it being the language of most Glaswegians. In addition, MacLeod rose to national importance because he became a chaplain to Queen Victoria, was dean of the Chapel Royal, and served as Moderator of the Church of Scotland 1869-70.

 In 1859, when the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns was being celebrated all over Scotland, MacLeod appeared on the public platform in Glasgow and praised the Scots poet. Of Burns he declared: “He has made our Doric for ever poetical.”  In addition to this, he wrote a number of poems in Scots and an interesting text entitled ‘A Crack Aboot The Kirk For Kintra Folk’ which was in the form of a dialogue, mostly in Scots, between several people arguing about problems facing the Church of Scotland.

 Perhaps the most surprising aspect of his use of Scots in high places comes from one of his letters from 1866. In October that year he was summoned to Balmoral by Queen Victoria where he preached, as a royal chaplain, and, after supper, he was asked to join the queen and her daughter in their room where, he says,

 “The Queen sat down to spin, at a nice Scotch wheel, while I read Robert Burns to her; ‘Tam o’ Shanter’, and ‘A man’s a man for a’ that’, her favourite.”

 Evidently Queen Victoria was, indeed, amused, and had taken some time to learn and understand Scots, a language she would have frequently heard spoken during her extensive visits to Scotland. No doubt the Reverend MacLeod played his part in making her familiar with the language.