Jotham, who has been much in the mountain latterly, being kept there by me and Hiram, has made a discovery, which he will not explain, he says, for he is bound by an oath; but the amount is, that he knows where the ore lies, and he has this day begun to dig.
hair shirt. 1. a garment of coarse haircloth, worn next to the skin as a penance by ascetics and penitents. 2. self-imposed punishment, suffering, sacrifice, or penance. Origin of hair shirt.
In British English, a shirt is more specifically a garment with a collar, sleeves with cuffs, and a full vertical opening with buttons or snaps (North Americans would call that a dress shirt, a specific type of collared shirt). A shirt can also be worn with a necktie under the shirt collar.