The Highlanders of Scotland

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I surmise that the odd pair of hose with "lines" that Richard pointed out above is a similarly less than accurate portrayal of that particular gent's hose. I know for some this is tantamout to heresy, but I think all artists take a little license now and again.

Actually, I have seen hose knit this way. Now, whether the knitter in this case was inpsired by this historic portrait, or whether the portrait accurately depicts the hose being worn, are entirely seperate matters.

But my point is that it is very possible to knit hose in this style, so there is no reason to assume that the artist was accurately depicting what he saw. After all, you can look at the other portraits and see evidence that MacLeay was certainly capable of accurately depicting tartan and diced hose.