GUTH N A BLIADHNA

VOLUME I.

Guth Na Bliadhna.

THE CHURCH AND THE HIGHLANDSIN that general progress of the Catholic Eeligion which is, happily, observable throughout      Great. Britain, the Highlands of Scotland are bearing a proportionate part; and if that progress is comparatively slow, we are entitled to believe that it is, nevertheless, sure. The havoc wrought by the so-called Reformation is not to be repaired, save at the

' cost of infinite labour, and at the expense of considerably more time than was consumed in which to work the ills and mischiefs of which we complain. The iron of discord and heresy

1904.

penetrated too far into the soul of this nation to permit of its being

. quickly withdrawn, or to allow of a rapid recovery from the wounds which it inflicted.

Political influences, too, have been greatly in favour of opportunism in religion ; and place and power in the Highlands have been largely associated with Protestantism. The Church has been too recently freed from the grievous disabilities which she laboured under, to admit of the full effects of her emancipation being seen and felt.      She has scarcelyI yet gathered herself together, as it were; nor are her forces yet sufficiently numerous and disciplined to enable her to effect that great "turning move-ment," which, without doubt, she hopes to conduct.

There is much, however, in the present position of the Church in Scotland which should inspire aCatholic with hope.    Our numbers are increasing, and • bigotry at all events in its more foolish and obnoxious

stages and forms, is disappearing. We have now a fair field; and if favour is lacking, we possess, at least, as much as we have right to expect, on ethical and political grounds. To break down remaining prejudices, to smooth the way for a better appreciation of the religious and political truths of Catholicism, should not cost us much effort. The hostile camp is a prey to dissension and faction. Boundless power, joined to worldly prosperity, have produced their inevitable results, in the shape of

indifference and inaction. A huge rabble, numerous but undisciplined, has frequently been put to rout by a force greatly its inferior in point of numbers, but infinitely superior to it in zeal and management. The Catholic party in Scotland, which it will be our endeavour to strengthen and to unite, is in the position of such a force. We must strive to disabuse the minds of our countrymen of the prejudices and suspicions which many of them labour under, in respect of Catholicism, which, we beg leave to inform them, so far

from being the species of religious and political nightmare which they think it to be, is really everything that is beautiful, virtuous and ennobling on earth.

There are parts of the Highlands, and there are isles in the west, to which the so-called Eeformation has never penetrated. Moreover, the Protestant religion is even yet somewhat of an innovation, in the Highlands in general. At all events, the history of its establishment entitles us to regard it as such. Presbyterianism is not a plant indigenous to Celtic Scotland, but was an importation which had to be forced on the people, in order to make it take root. So late as 1745, the Highlands were Catholic where the people were most numerous, and Anglican where they were not; and had it not been for the assistance which the civil power rendered it, in its endeavours to bring off the Highlanders from their

allegiance to Church and to King, the probability is that Presbyterianism would not have settled in Celtic Scotland, at all events, to the extent to which it obtained.

No Gael, who has the capacity to think, and the inclination and leisure to read, can escape the reflection, however disagreeable it may be, that the position of his race was infinitely better under Catholic than it is under Protestant auspices. In 1746 was dealt the last, and perhaps the most crushing, of that succession oi blows which has staggered the Highlands, and from which they have not yet recovered. There were to be compensating circumstances, no doubt (for such is ever the easy language of the victor), of which, since they could cost nothing, and were a necessary part of government, the Highlands were invited to partake. But who can honestly say that the promises then held out have been fulfilled, or that the

pledges then proffered have been redeemed? Protestantism has been tried and found wanting, even as an excuse for a political system; whilst as a spiritual panacea, its want of success, if not surprising, has been striking. The material condition of the Highlands at the present day shows how entirely unsuited to their genius and character is the application of that system, which is applauded else-where. "An ni an ni an dara h-aba subhach, ni e dubhadh an t-aba eile."

If Protestantism has flourished, it has been at the expense of the people it was introduced to befriend, according to the professions of its advocates. The country is being rapidly depopulated and im-poverished under the nose, as it were, of that very system, political and religious, which was introduced to improve and befriend it, if we are to believe those who were responsible for

its importation. It is singular that results so melancholy should have taken their rise from prospects so numerous and flattering; but what is more singular still is, that there should be so many who have neither the sense to perceive nor the courage to acknowledge where the shoe pinches.In the long life

of the Gael, Protestantism and all that it implies, in a civil as well as in a religious way, has been but an unprofitable and melancholy experiment. He has not prospered under it; neither is it adapted to his spiritual necessities. Is not the proof of the pudding in the eating thereof? A smiling and contented country might furnish some excuse for an institution, which, on other grounds, should be open to serious objection. But, in the case of the Highlands, the failure of Protestantism has been complete. It has not contributed to the material welfare of our people, neither has it assisted

them spiritually; and if you take away the prop of prosperity from Protestantism, you deprive it at once of one of the "great" arguments which are wont to be urged in its support. Protestant countries are apt to forget that our Blessed Eedeemer Himself was the friend of the poor and the downtrodden ; and that the land of His Sacred and Immaculate Birth was an outcast among nations. His Divine Message was addressed rather to the poor and the friendless, than to the rich and tne powerful. Prosperity is no argument for Protestantism ; neither is Catholicism concerned with questions of trade; but in the case of a country which has been de-pressed and despoiled in the interests of Protestantism, we are entitled to speak out when its failure appears. Another reflection which must inevitably occur to every Gael who has leisure and capacity to think is, that the Catholic

period embraces the best of his work.      All his historical roots, as it were, all his best efforts and traditions are in that period ; and he would be but barren and unprofitable clay without it. Pray, what has he done that is worthy to be mentioned since he accepted Protestantism or, rather, since the Teutonic persuasion was forced on him ? He has emigrated, and he has helped to rivet his own political fetters by fighting the battles of his political masters; but he has done little (if anything) else. The best of his traditions antedate Protestantism. His literature, his art and his music have come down from Catholic times.      His greatest known poet was a Catholic and a Nationalist. Protestantism has frowned upon his imagination, and still continues to frown.      She is not even a friend to his language, save in a few laudable cases. Indeed, how is it possible for a system which was the delight

of an alien and a hostile race, and which was imposed on him vi et armis, to be advantageous and pleasing to the Gael ? The idea is preposterous. The gorge of all history rises in protest against so absurd an assumption. The Gael is depressed because he was, numerically, not strong enough to resist his subjection. But are we to understand that he has fallen never to rise ? Is he to be always contented with " what is," so that he may refuse to consider what "might and could be"? Will he never see light? Will the scales never fall from his eyes ? Let him look to his former position, and then ponder his own at the present. His    Catholic blood is surely thicker than his Protestant water.      The glories of the past are surely worth reviving in the future, if only for the satisfaction of being able to say, " I live again and am free!"       In Catholic times his country was considerable,

and his religion was in harmony with his political aspirations. Nowadays, if aspirations he possesses, beyond a bare living wage and a crop of potatoes, who can honestly say that his religion favours them ? Why, at one time its very existence depended on his virtual suppression; and he would be a simpleton, indeed, who should believe that its character has changed, or that in times of peril and temptation it would rise superior to the principles on which it was nourished.

Let every Gael, therefore, who has the interests of his countrymen at heart, keep to his own tent, in the sense, at all events, of pondering on these things. The Catholic religion challenges comparison, which is not odious in her case, save to the competitor, nor has she anything to fear from the strictest investi-gation.      A sober, honest consideration of the facts of history, joined to an impartial examination of her doctrines

and tenets, can but result in the Church's triumph.      How sad and humiliating, therefore, must be the mental condition of that man who, being Protestant, yet sets forth to view the departed glories of his country; and, discovering them, with hardly an exception, to be the product of Catholic times and the fruit of Catholic thought, passes by on the other side.    Is the teaching of history to count for nothing in the manufacture of present day opinion ? We could not think much of that statesman who, in legislating for his country, should take no thought of the lessons and warnings of history.      As in our lives, for our encouragement and refreshment, we turn unhesitatingly to the consideration of those deeds which are brightest and noblest; so in the life-story of our country, which, next to our duty to God, we should hold nearest and dearest, we must turn for

strength and example to the consideration of those times and events which have proved the most glorious and honourable. It is a fault of Protestantism that it is historically barren. It is cold comfort for the Gael, morally and materially. He has not thriven on it: on the contrary, it found him discouraged, and has confirmed his depression. Let him, therefore, look to himself and to his sur-roundings, lest greater ills and mischiefs befall him in the future, than have already encompassed him in the past.

It is said, that at the battle of Sherriffmuir, a gentleman in

the Nationalist ranks, irritated at the want of

military conduct

displayed on the part of the

Jacobite leaders,

exclaimed with indignation, "

Oh, for one hour of

Dundee!" similarly one

who is conversant with

the spiritual state of the

Highlands of to-day might be

tempted to exclaim with

equal warmth, " Oh, for one

hour of St

Columba!" But alas ! the

ejaculation would be

useless.      Zeal of that

imperious and all-absorbing

kind, if not out of date, is

apparently no longer

acceptable. The genius of

our times is hostile to

missionary enterprise,

which, in the case of a civilised

community, it would not

hesitate to stigmatise as Proselytism.

We live in other days, and amongst different

manners, and, to hold the

language of the times, we must

needs adapt ourselves to

altered conditions, if

we do not wish to see

ourselves neglected.

But, though a roving mission,

such as St Columba

inaugurated, may be no

longer possible, yet inactivity

and indifference to

the spiritual needs of those

about us, are still disgraceful.

And, fortunately, there is no

reason why we should be idle. In the Catholic

Truth Society of Scotland, we

have an instrument for

the edification and

enlightenment of our

countrymen, which, were it

properly supported and

vigorouslyconducted, might change the religious aspect of the Highlands.        Would that that useful institution, which has but recently come amongst us, were more generously supported by the Catholic public!      We feel sure, however, that its objects (the principal of which is the conversion of Scotland) and necessities only require to be more generally known and widely advertised, in order to engage the whole-hearted assistance of our people.      It is as yet but a small society, whose operations are necessarily limited by the measure of patronage and encouragement which it receives, but, small and young as it is, it has already done good work, and we gladly embrace this early opportunity of drawing public attention to its merits, in the hope that by so

doing we may encourage and strengthen it.      The literature which it puts forth is aimed at the dissipation of those fables and prejudices which retard the progress of the Catholic religion.      We strongly counsel it to continue in that useful path, always endeavouring to raise the literary standard of its productions, and devoting particular attention to the history of the Celtic people of Scotland, with a view to showing how absurd and illogical is the attitude of many of them with regard to the Church of their forefathers.

Another way to propagate religion in the Highlands would be to increase the number of churches therein. Taken as a whole, Celtic Scotland is but very ill served in this respect, and what with the tendency of our people to go into the towns, it would seem that the omission is not soon to be rectified. No doubt, the great objection

to the building of churches is their great cost; but has not expenditure in this direction rather outrun what is convenient and discreet ? Our churches are, as a rule, too big and too ornate as regards their exteriors.      The Catholic population is being con-stantly called on to contribute to the erection of new churches, often in countries which are very remote from their own; and the strain on their funds is consequently considerable; but if smaller and less ornate edifices were put up, the probability is that as their cost would be less, so the capacity and the inclination to give would be increased. Half of what is generally spent on a new church could much more usefully be devoted to the erection of another, in some country or district where its absence is being seriously felt.      For our part, we see no reason why churches of wood should not be built in the Highlands. The churches of

Ireland and Scotland were constructed of wood at a period when their combined missionaries were evangelising Western Europe ; and in this particular, at all events, what was pleasing to the God of our ancestors is surely good enough for ourselves, who would seem to be much their inferiors, in zeal and taste, learning and godliness.      A church of wood is a durable, and could be made an exceedingly beautiful, structure, at comparatively small cost. We deprecate the erection of large, expensive churches, especially in country districts, as opposed to the interests of religion, and as an unnecessary burden on the faithful. Oratories might well take the place of churches where the population is small and scattered, and these could be built at no very considerable charge.      They would be an inestimable boon to the Highlands, which have been too long neglected in

this respect. The Light of the True Faith must be distributed from a number of places, if the darkness which broods over many parts of Celtic Scotland is to be dispelled.

A further way of assisting the progress of the Church in the Highlands would be to pay more attention to the profane education of priests destined to labour for the conversion of souls in Highland Missions.      At present, our Highland priests receive no particular education qualifying them for work in that field, which, we do not hesitate to say, is a grievous mistake.      The circumstances of the High-lands are peculiar, and they require particular treatment, if the Church is to regain that which she has lost.      A chosen, active body of men, versed in the language and

in the literature of the Gael, and well-qualified to preach the religious and social mission of the Church in accordance with Celtic susceptibilities and Highland traditions, would do more to re-establish religion in the Highlands than is presently realised.      The Gaelic argumentum ad hominem is not sufficiently plied.      Beligious sentiment is, as a rule, strongest where national sentiment runs high. The Irish hierarchy and priesthood are in active sympathy with those who believe in the possibility of a regenerated Ireland, through the medium of the restoration of the country's nationality, and all that it implies.      And why should not the Scottish

hierarchy and priesthood be equally sympathetic, equally solicitous to preserve and to strengthen those great barriers of language    and custom which    are the natural obstacles to infidelity and scepticism ?

Such are a few of the means that might be embraced to assist the progress of religion in the Highlands of Scotland. Others there are, doubtless, which will suggest themselves to our readers, as they have done to ourselves ; but, for the present, the above must suffice. It is very important that the work of the Catholic Truth Society should be more widely known, and more generously supported. We venture to hope, too, that our other suggestions will recommend themselves to those whom they concern.We have published them in all honesty and sincerity of purpose. We have a love for our country, which can not

be gainsaid, and will not be denied. To see it considerable and respected, to see it prosperous and glorious, to see it happy and contented ; but, above all, to see it re-united to the one and true Faith —these are objects we should set ourselves to acquire; these are the blessings we should endeavour to obtain, no matter whether men call us dreamers, or stigmatise our ideals as the nebulous creations of unsound and impractical minds.

THE MORMHAOR AND HIS

FUNCTION

CLOSELY connected with the Pictish question, and in a very particular sense its peculiar offspring, is an interesting group of subsidiary and collateral historical problems, which intimately

concern the social condition of the Pictish people, and their subsequent relations with their conquerors the Scots. These problems are, for the most part, unsolved. The dim uncertainty which characterises early Scottish history, is, of course, the principal cause of this unsatisfactory state of affairs in which, however, the bewildering controversies of historical specialists are undoubtedly aggravating circumstances.

Of this group of inferior questions, one of the most obscure and interesting is the determination of the institution of rank among the Picts, and the infinitely greater and more important one of the character and extent of that institution among theCeltic people in general. In the Scottish kingdom as originally constituted, which was the result of an amalgamation of Scot and Pict, and of a fusion of many of their respective

national institutions and customs, following on conquest, it would appear that the Mormhaor was a personage next in rank to the King, with whom, indeed, he was, especially by the Irish annalists, frequently confused ; an error which may have owed its existence to the fact that in Scotland there was no Ard-Rìgh or High King as there was in Ireland,1 nor any dignity precisely corresponding to the Irish Oir Rìgh or under-king, which was the nearest equivalent to the Scottish Mormhaor.

Robertson in his Scotland under her Early Kings translates the word Mormhaor as meaning "Lord High Steward" ; * but this is a rendering which partakes too much of the spirit of feudalism, and of that learned author's theories respecting the function of a Mormhaor, to be altogether acceptable. Dr MacBain, on the other hand, says the word Mormhaor signifies "Lord"; but perhaps a more correct,

certainly a more literal, translation would be great ruler or officer. The word itself is a hybrid appellation, being composed of two Gaelic words, mòr, meaning "great," and maor signifying an officer or one who, like the Scriptural centurion, has authority.

Dr MacBain accounts for

the absence of this

1 The " Albanic Duan," a composition of doubtful authenticity, applies the epithet of Aird Riaghla to Indulf, the son of Con-stantino II. One or two other Scottish kings affected this title, though they scarcely enjoyed it. Where there were no under or subordinate kings, there could not well be a high king.

2 O'Curry {Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish) also translates the word, " Lord High Steward." Chalmers {Caledonia) gives "Lord." dignity among the Irish on the hypothesis that, being a Pictish title, its existence among them is therefore not to be expected. " For the manners and customs of early Scotland," he says,1

"Skene goes to Ireland, and transfers the whole social system to Pictavia; so, as the latest example, does Mr Andrew

Lang." But surely the Book of Deer ought to have warned them that all this is utterly wrong. The public life outlined there resembles the Irish, but it is not the same. . . . The word Mòrmaor means ' Lord,' but it must be a Gaelic translation of the Pictish word," etc.

Dr MacBain is certainly a respectable authority on the Celtic history of Scotland; but his contention that the word Mormhaor is necessarily the Gaelic rendering of a Pictish appellation, because the former is hybrid, is hardly supportable. It is true, no doubt, that the social system outlined in the Booh of Deer differs considerably from that which obtained in Ireland3 at the time in which the Book was composed, and especially would this appear to be so in respect of nobility, of which three grades only are therein mentioned.4

But it should be borne in mind that the name and office of Maor were common to the whole Celtic people,5 there being

numerous instances of its occurrence in Ireland, Gaul, Wales and Man ; so that the office or dignity of Mormhaor, or great ruler, was more probably a simple develop-

1 Excursus to Skene's Highlanders of Scotland.2 History of Scotland.

3 In Ireland there were nineteen grades of nobility. See Appendix to O'Curry's Customs and Manners of the Ancient Irish, where will be found two interesting tracts dealing with this subject.* Namely—Righ, Mormhaor and Toiseach. 5 For an interesting dissertation on this topic, see O'Curry, Vol. I. (Introduction), p. cxxiv.

ment—peculiar to Scotland, indeed—of a function which was known and practised wherever the Celtic system of government obtained.        Moreover, the fact that the word Mòrmhaor is hybrid does not necessarily point to the conclusion that this appellation is a Gaelic translation and has a Pictish original. What is the word Ard-Rìgh (Ard, high, Rìgh, king), which

was essentially a Gaelic title, but a hybrid word ?      And the same observation is equally true of the Gaelic Oir Thighearna (an under lord), Duirì-uasal (a gentleman or man of noble birth), and of a number of others that could be mentioned.    It is more probable, therefore, since the Scots, though conquerors, may be allowed to have imposed some of their manners and customs on the Picts, that, instead of being a Pictish institution, the Mòrmhaor was indeed a Gaelic development; and this theory, it is here worthy of remark, finds singular confirmation in the Book of Deer itself, wherein the only other two grades of nobility mentioned, namely Righ and Tòiseach,1 are unmistakably Gaelic and, therefore, according to Dr MacBain, non-Pictish titles.    Strange as it may seem, the Celtic system of government attained a greater degree of stability, and reached a

higher stage of development in Scotland than ever it did in Ireland, in spite of the latter country's undoubted superiority in respect of population, laws, art, letters and other concomitants of civilisation; and it is possible that it was during some very early period of comparative peace    and prosperity    in Scotland, that the development we have referred to actually took place.3

1 Irish Taoisach, Manx Tosiaght- Yoarrey.

2 Celtic Ireland was always a sea of trouble. What might have happened in the way of national unification had King Brian Boroimhe survived Cluaintarbh is useless speculation.

It is curious that the author of Scotland under her Early Kings, who, in his day, did so much to dissipate the idle pretensions and to expose the false chronology of feudal writers, should himself have been at so much pains to discover the Mòrmhaor in an almost purely feudal light. " The Maor, indeed," (he says)1 " was an official familiar

to the Gaelic people long before the era of Kenneth and Malcolm; and he probably played an important part in the con-quered provinces annexed by the elder Angus and his successors; but the Mòrmaor—the head of a province ruling as a royal deputy instead of an in-dependent prince—points to a revolution in the tenure of land resembling the changes introduced by Harfager when he cancelled Odal right, whenever he could extend his authority, and levied land-tax by means of his Jarls and Landermen.""The ancient Scottish Mòrmaor" (he continues) " was evidently a Maor placed over a province . . . who often exercised as a royal deputy that authority which he had originally claimed as the independent lord of the district over which he presided. This change was rendered very popular amongst the aristocracy of the North, from the great increase of wealth they

derived through retaining a third of the tribute exacted in the King's name from the classes hitherto untaxed, and similar considerations may have exercised an influence in facilitating the conversion of the semi-independent Gaelic oìr-righ into a dependent, but probably far wealthier, Mòrmaor." Thus it will be seen that whilst assigning something of a feudal function and status to the Mòrmhaor, Robertson is careful to distinguish be-tween the " semi-independent Gaelic òir-righ " and a dependent Mòrmaor. His words leave us no room to 1

Scotland under her Early Kings. "Vol. I. p. 104.

doubt but that he regarded the latter as an official appointed by the sovereign, and absolutely dependent on him.1 His own statement, indeed, is most clear and emphatic. " In some respects " (he says) " the Irish òir-righ, under-king, resembled the Mdr-maor; but he (the former)

was a tributary king, reigning in 'right of blood' ; not a royal official, though in certain cases he appears to have acted as a Maor."Unfortunately for the author of Scotland under her Early Kings, there is no evidence to show that such a revolution as he assumes ever actually took place. At all events, there is no proof of its existence; and the history of the Mormhaor is distinctly opposed to the theory. Robertson was misled by certain functions, suspiciously feudal in their character, which were assigned to the last of the Mormhaor,43 and possibly—though there is no evidence to prove this assertion—to one or two others who, in course of time, had been brought to

1 Robertson seems to have forgotten that the king was Mormhaor as well as sovereign ; just as in Ireland the Ard-Righ was sovereign of his own territory as well as Ard-Righ.

* Vol. I. p. 105.3 " One

example of the peculiar tenure of the Mòrmaor

was still existing in the thirteenth century, in the Earl of Fife; for when the Second Alexander and his ' Parliament' levied fines upon all who had failed in their attendance on the occasion of his expedition against' Donald MacNeil of the Isles,' the earls and their ' serjeants' were strictly prohibited from entering the lands of any tenant ' in capite'—holding directly of the King— to exact the penalty imposed, excepting only the Earl of Fife, who exercised this privilege throughout his district, not as the Earl, but as the Royal Mayor of the county of Fife, to claim his rights, or in other words, to secure his alloted portion of the mulct," Vol. I. p. 105. On grounds so frail and unsatisfactory as these, Robertson constructs his theory of the functions of the " Ancient Scottish Mòrmaor." acknowledge, in a more objective fashion, the power and authority of the King.The fact which weighs most heavily against Robertson's theory touching the functions of a Mormhaor is,

that the most powerful and best known of these princes never became "King's men," nor rendered them obedience as contributaries to their power. The Mormhaor of Murray disputed the sovereignty of Scotland with the King of Alba himself, and their hostility to the crown (when it was not in their family), as their independence of it, did not cease until their actual extinction. The Mormhaor of Murray is, by the Irish annalists, frequently styled " Ri Alban," which shows how uncertain and insecure was the position of the King of Scotland proper in early days ; and it is absurd to suppose that a prince, who wielded so great a power and authority as the Mormhaor of old, would have consented to act as "King's man," or would have recognised crown authority in the territory which he

claimed as his tribes' and his own. It would, perhaps, be wrong to regard the tenure by which an Earl of Fife held a Mòrmhaorachd or Mormaorship, at a time when feudalism was the predominating

11 Bede was the Mormhaor of Buchan (sixth century) who gave Deer to St Columba, as the book of that name expressly states. But in order to "square"this awkward fact with Robertson's theory, Dr Stuart in his Preface to the Book of Deer, published by the Spalding Ciub, has the following, " It would seem probable, on the whole, that Bede, the Pictish ruler of Buchan in the sixth century, was an òir-righ or under-king when he conferred on the Clerics the town of Aberdour and Deer with full freedom, as if they were his own property." Such special pleading is hardly permissible. The Book of Deer mentions Bede the Pict as Mormhaor of Buchan: the theory that he was òir-righ when he gave the grants referred to is, therefore, a contention which, in the circumstances, savours too much of convenience to be acceptable,

B

18 The Mormhaor and his Function

system in Scotland, as peculiar ' to that

Earldom; but the whole history of that ancient institution, its irresponsibility,

contempt of control, and central authority points to the conclusion that the Mormhaor was a practically independent prince, a character which that dignity preserved in the persons of its most famous and powerful representatives, even to the last. Moreover, Robertson's theory of the Mòrmhaor's being a " Lord High Steward," in other words a court or crown official, involves the idea of that dignity's existence being dependable on the King's will and pleasure, a state of affairs which is notoriously at variance with the facts. Robertson's interpretation of a Mormhaor as being an official ruling not " by right of blood," but simply in virtue of his crown appointment, shows us clearly that he regarded this " office " as not hereditary, which, as can easily be proved it certainly was.

Setting aside, therefore, Robertson's definition of a Mormhaor as unsound and untenable, for the reasons given above, it may be inquired at this

conjuncture, what, then, was a Mormhaor, and what was his function? Fortunately for our purpose, enough has come down to us from the past to enable us to return fairly satisfactory answers to these questions. The Mormhaor was head of a great tribe, inhabitating a great district, and was next in power and rank to the King.11 The position of Tàniste, that is, heir to the throne, does not seem to have conferred on its holder the same power and privileges as this dignity was associated with in Ireland. Of course, if the Tàniste was Mormhaor as well as heir, as sometimes happened, his influence would be considerably enhanced by virtue of that circumstance. The elective principle, moreover, seems to have been more firmly established in Ireland than in Scotland : hence, perhaps, the former country's greater troubles and unrest.

The Mormhaor and his Function

The Mormhaor, moreover, were the hereditary rulers of those great districts or provinces1

into which Scotland was divided, under her Celtic

19

system of government. " We always find the title of Mòrmaor" (says Skene),2

"associated or connected with one or other of the great districts into which Scotland was at that time divided ; thus the Annals of Ulster mention the Mòrmaor of Murray ; the Pictish Chronicle the Mòrmaors of Angus, Atholl, etc.; the Annals of Innisfallen the Mòrmaor of Marr; and that connection was apparently so intimate as to enable them at times to wage independent war with the King of Scotland himself." The same author further remarks, "Not only were the Mòrmaors so intimately connected with the great districts of Scotland as to show that they must have possessed in them considerable power and extent of territory, but they also appear as the hereditary leaders of great tribes, as well as the hereditary governors of these districts. For in the year 1020 Tighearnach mentions the death of Finlay MacRuairi,

Mòrmaor of Cian Croeb, or sons of Croeb, by the children of his brother Maolbride. This is a very important fact, for it shows that the Gaelic population of the North of Scotland was divided into great tribes, corresponding to the territorial divisions of the country; and over each of these tribes the Mòrmaor 3 of the district was hereditary lord; and, consequently, it follows from this fact that the

'Moray, Atholl, Marr, Buchan, Fife, Angus, Mearns, Strathearn, Menteith, Argyll, Ross and Lennox.

2 The Highlanders of Scotland, chap. iv. p. 52 and sequitur.3 This title,

besides being a strictly Celtic one, was confined to the country north of the Forth, that is to say, to Scotland proper. It was unknown in Galloway and Strathclyde.

The Mormhaor and his Function

Mòrmaors were of the same race with the people whom they governed.Such, in brief outline, was "the ancient Scottish Mòrmaor," the

20

hereditary ruler of a province,13 whose boundaries were fixed by its population. His relation to the King still remains to be considered ; and as this is a topic involved in some obscurity, it will be necessary to be careful how we proceed.

It is worthy of remark, in the first place, that, according to Skene, before there were Mormhaor, there were Eighean or petty kings of the several great provinces into which Scotland was divided. This statement, however, seems to be conjecture on his part. Certainly, there is no ascertainable evidence pointing to any change of the kind ; and I am inclined to believe that Skene was led astray by the circumstance of the Mormhaor of Murray's frequently being styled " Ei Alban " by the Irish Annalists, instead of by his proper appellation. But whatever

""Although many of the Saxon and Norman Barons and other foreigners obtained extensive territories in Scotland, and

even at an early date not unfrequently succeeded by marriage to the possessions and powers of some of the Mòrmaors, yet we never find them appearing under that title." Ibid., Skene's " not unfrequently," is here a palpable exaggeration. By the time the Anglo-Saxon and Norman adventurers were firmly established in Scotland (under David I.), the title was rapidly ceasing to exist. The ancestor of the Cumyn family who married the daughter of Fearghas, last Mormhaor of Buchan, became Earl, not Mormhaor, of Buchan in right of his wife. It is impossible to state definitely when the title of Mormhaor ceased to be used; but the transition stage, the passing of Celtic into Feudal Scotland, is sufficiently well marked in the Book of Deer; for the Mormhaor of Marr, who, as such, is recorded there, is known to subsequent history by the inferior title of Comes or Earl.

2 Skene divides Celtic Scotland into seven provinces j but it is difficult to determine on what historical basis he made his somewhat arbitrary calculation. He assigns a Mormhaor to each of his seven provinces; but the actual number of provinces, as of Mòrmaor, was greater.

The Mormhaor and his Function

11

was the original connection between Mormhaor and Righ, it is evident that it was always    of the slenderest and frailest description. The title or dignity itself was possibly an early development of the distinguishing feature of Celtic policy, namely— divided responsibility; and from what we know of that system and its manner of working, we are justified in concluding that jealousy of central authority—if no more potent motive—kept Righ and Mormhaor well apart, and rendered them mutually antagonistic. Indeed, it is highly improbable that the king was able to exercise any jurisdiction or authority over the Mormhaor, save the right to a nominal càin, or occasional cuairt, or quartering; and even these slender ties were apt to be avoided or totally disregarded whenever the king was not powerful enough to enforce their observance, which was the ease in many instances, and the normal state of affairs in respect of a number of others.      The power of the Mormhaor was centred in the tribe which he governed; and if the king was

not strong enough to oblige the tribe, it stands to reason that he could    not hope to compel the Mormhaor, who was their ruler and head. The early history of Scotland gives us occasional glimpses of the sanguinary wars which the Mormhaor conducted against one another, and against the king whenever he provoked them, or    they deemed themselves strong enough to    attack him; and from this circumstance, if from no other, we are justified in concluding that the Mormhaor was practically in-dependent of the king, a condition in which he continued until the introduction of the feudal system into Scotland occasioned his extinction.11 David I. was certainly a sagacious prince, according to his own lights; and if he had not feared his Mormhaor, he would hardly have provided for their disappearance.

"Every notice regarding the succession of the Mòrmaors that has reached us" (says Skene), "proves that they observed a rule of succession strictly hereditary. Of this many examples might

be given, but perhaps the strongest will be found in the succession of the Mòrmaors of Murray." Succession to the dignity of Mormhaor, besides being hereditary, was a " strictly male succession," according to Skene. There are cases on record, however, in which the daughter of a Mormhaor con-ferred that dignity on her husband, who, in her right, became Mormhaor ;12 and so transmitted their joint right to their offspring.As a rule, however, succession to the Mòrmhaor-achd was in accordance with the Gaelic law3

regu-'In 1032 died Gilcomgain Mac Maolbride, Mòrmaor of Murray (Annals of Ulster). In 1058, the Annals record the death of Lulac Mac Gilcomgan, and in 1086, the death of Maelsnechtan Mac Lulach, Mòrmaor of Murray (Highlanders of Scotland, p. 53).

2 Colban, Mormhaor of Buchan, was Mormhaor in right of his wife, Eva, daughter of Gartnait, Mormhaor of Buchan. Finella, daughter of Connor, Mormhaor of Angus, inherited her father's rights, and wished to

bequeath them to her son, but the latter's execution at Dunsinnan prevented the fulfilment of her design. Other examples of a woman's conferring, or transmitting, the right to this dignity could be cited. The position of women under the Gaels was favourable to the sex. " It appears," says O'Curry (Introduction, p. clxxii), "that women could inherit . . . . land as well as men. When, in default of male heirs, land passed to women, that is, ' became an inheritance of hand and thigh,' part of the estate went to the Fine (Cian) in payment for the military and other services attached to the lands, which could not be fulfilled by women." It is possible that much the same arrangement existed in Scotland (at all events among the Scots), in the case of a woman, in default of heirs male, succeeding to a Mòrmaorachd or Mormhaorship. The husband of such a woman would be the natural repository of her rights, and leader and protector of her cian.

3 In Ireland the same law of succession was observed (see O'Curry's Introduction, p. ccxxxii.). The Pictish law of succession lating the transmission of hereditary right, by which the brother of a deceased Mormhaor was preferred to his nephew, at all events during

the latter's minority.1 This, of course, was also the case with regard to the crown; and it is not surprising to find repeated attempts on the part of the Mormhaor to break this rule of succession in favour of their sons, just as we can observe a similar tendency on the part of the kings. Succession to the Mòrhmaorachd, therefore, would appear to have been a hybrid one, generally Gaelic, but sometimes Pictish, and in two cases cited by Skene, we have practical illustrations of the working of this double-edged rule of succession.

It only remains to observe in conclusion of this dissertation that, of all the ancient Scottish Mòrmha-orachd, the Peerage of Scotland can produce only awas entirely different. The succession to the throne and to property among these people resided in the females. "This custom is unknown among the Celts; it is, so far as we know " (says Professor MacKinnon, quoted by Dr Mac Bain in his ex-cursus) " non-Ayran."

'In 1130 Angus, son of the

daughter of Lulach, became Mormhaor of Murray " according to the Pictish law of succession," on the death of Lulach's son Maelsnechtan (Celtic Scotland, Vol. I. p. 460). At the beginning of the eleventh century, Malcolm Mac Maelbride, Mormhaor of Murray, was in possession of the throne of Scotland; " and although it appears from the Sajas that Sigurd, Earl of Orkney, married Malcolm's daughter, and that on Malcolm's death Thorfinn, Earl of Orkney, his grandson, was his nearest heir according to feudal principles, yet we find that he was succeeded in Moray by his brother Gilcomgan MacBride, to whose posterity, also, his claim to the throne of Scotland descended." Highlanders of Scotland, p. 53, Skene's allusion to "feudal principles," is here entirely out of place. The latter succession was regulated in accordance with the Gaelic method. Skene sometimes confuses Pictish and Gaelic succession together. In the second of the above-mentioned cases there can be no doubt but Thorfinn would have succeeded had Malcolm had no brother.

24 Mo SgSulsingle existing representative—the Earl of Marr, who i is the direct heir-

at-law, through a long and illustrious ancestry of personages,

who were Mòrmhaor of Marr ab initio, and were never known under any other

MO SGEUL2

*Sgeul leam duibh : beucaidh damh. Geamhrail sneachd, samhradh seach

Gaoth, ard, fhuar, ìosal grian Geàrr a slighe, ruitheach chuan.

Ruadh raineach, cèilte cruth 'Suas gnàth giùra

n guth

Glacaidh fuachd, sgiathan eoin Aimsir eighe—seo mo sgeul.

Sgeul leam duibh.ALASDAIR BEAG.

1 In the words, slightly altered, of Biddell's Peerage and Consistorial Law, p. 169.

2 Air a thionnadh as an t-seann Ghàidhlig gu Gàidhlig nuadh.

G A E L IC

L I T E R AT U R E A N D

PROFESSOR

KUNO MEYER

I AM more than pleased to observe that the trustees of the MacCallum Celtic Lectureship in connection with the University of Glasgow have been able to arrange for a course of six addresses by

Professor Kuno Meyer, whose ripe scholarship, refined taste, and generous enthusiasm in the cause of Gaelic letters are most favourably known and greatly admired this side of the Moyle. Professor Kuno Meyer is an indefatigable worker, who has also know-ledge, learning, a singular honesty of purpose, and fearlessness, which all unite to render him not only convincing but engaging in the highest degree. I venture to predict that his lectures (the publication of which in book form I eagerly look forward to) will be a brilliant success.

Not long ago Professor Kuno Meyer started a school for Irish learning in Dublin, which, I believe, has already more than justified its foundation. Writing towards the close of last year to a friend of the writer's, Professor Kuno Meyer took occasion to remark that " at this

moment Professor Strachan is teaching old Irish to a class of forty students. The success has been far greater than imagined. It shows that the time was ripe for it. Many of these students (who represent the pick of native Irish scholars) have come great distances, from Galway and Waterford, Cork and Belfast. Such being the case, I have no doubt that my object is now permanently secured. The school will be largely self-supporting. But we

2526      Gaelic Literature and Professor Kuno Meyer

still need money for a house of our own and for a library. If you or other kind friends of the cause in Scotland could help us you would do a generous no less than a most useful thing. Next winter I hope to induce Scotland to do something similar. The success of my scheme in

Dublin will, perhaps, open the eyes of people."

"Next winter" has come and Professor Kuno Meyer is now amongst us. Let us hope that his desire to "open the eyes of people" as to the importance and practicability of his scheme will now and here be realised. We sorely need some such school as the Professor has succeeded in establishing at Dublin with so encouraging results. Our national MSS. (a rich and valuable collection) lie untranslated in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh, principally because those who would like to translate tbem are incapable of doing so ; whilst the miserable few who could do so lack either the time or the inclination to translate them.

"Many circumstances," says Professor Kuno Meyer," "still retard the proper appreciation of the value and importance of

early Irish ìiterature."

In its full extent and variety it is known to none as yet. It were rash to attempt to generalise on the merits and demerits of a literature upon which no one can speak with authority. It is indeed sometimes assumed that if not the whole, at least the greater and more important portion of Irish literature is before the public. That this is not so with regard to lyrical poetry I have pointed out in the preface to King and Hermit. As to Irish romance, the facts are shortly these.

1 Preface to Liadain and Curithir, an Irish lore story of the ninth century, published by Mr David Nutt, Long Acre, London.

Gaelic Literature and Professor Kuno Meyer    27" In his

indispensable Essai d'un Catalogue de la Literature Epique de VIrlande, published in 1883, M. d'Arbois de Jubainville has enumerated

the titles of about 550 separate tales and poems. Of these, about 400 have been preserved in MSS., while of the remaining 150 the titles only have come down to us, the tales themselves being lost. But M. d'Arbois's Catalogue is by no means exhaustive. With our in-creased knowledge it would now be easy to add at least another hundred tales1

which we possess in MS. But even this number of 500 separate pieces does not represent the whole wealth of Irish fiction, as quite a number of MSS. still remain unexplored.Now, of these 500 tales and poems, about 150 only have so far been published with translations, and of these again very few in such a form as to appeal to the general reader ; for the public will not take much interest in Irish literature until men arise to do for it what Dasent has done for the Old Norse sacras, or what Bnckert and

Schack did in Germany for Oriental poetry.

Meanwhile, whoever would without a knowledge of Irish obtain some insight into the spirit as well as the form of Irish romance, should turn to such masterly versions as Whitley Stokes's Death of Cuchvhnn* The Voyage of Maelduin* or The Destruction of Da Dergds Hostel,35 or to Standish

1 There are many more of which again we possess the titles only, such as Baile TMmaUe, quoted in LL. 190, c. 22, Gaire Earma, glosses from which are in H. 3, 18, p. 620b, or Gaire Echach quoted in Cormac's Glossary, p. 11, s. v. cermnas.

aIt should also be remembered that this list of 500 tales excludes both purely historical and hagiological literature, though this too abounds with romance.

3 In the Revue Celtique, Vol. III. p. 175.*Ib. Vol. IX. p. 447.s/i. Vol. XXII. p. 9.

28    Gaelic Literature and Professor Kuno Meyer

Hayes O'Grady's Silva Gadelica.      In reading these and other renderings it should be remembered that hardly a single Irish tale of any length has reached us in its original form, i.e., that in which we may assume it to have been current among the people, or to have been recited by Jili or shanachie.  What we have are mostly late redactions patched together from various and different sources, often fragmentary, full of inconsistencies, repetitions or contradictions. Again, some versions give only the outlines of the story, or form a mere string of clues and catchwords which have to be expanded to form an intelligible narrative.      It is therefore not only the right but the duty of the modern translator to recast and restore them to something like their original condition, an easy task where several redactions of the same tale

have come down to us."

Having spoken of some of the difficulties besetting the way to a freer recognition of the value of Irish literature, I cannot refrain from mentioning also the charges levelled against it in a recent notorious campaign against the Irish language.        I refer more particularly to the unfortunate remark which, in the heat of controversy, escaped from the lips of one who has himself done so much to make Irish literature accessible—the remark that Irish literature, when not religious, is either silly or indecent.      To attempt to refute in detail so sweeping and unsupported a statement would be to attach more importance to it than it deserves.      The stream of Irish literature runs deep and broad, and if in its course it carries along with it some earthy matter, such slight

admixture does not affect the general purity of its waters, from

1 Something of the kind has lately been attempted with great felicity by Rudolf Thurneysen in his Sagen aus dem alten Ireland. Berlin, 1901.

Gaelic Literature and Professor Kuno Meyer 29

which none need hesitate to drink deeply. The literature of no nation is free from occasional gross-ness, and considering the great antiquity of Irish literature and the primitive life which it reflects, what will strike an impartial observer most is not its licence or coarseness, but rather the purity, loftiness and tenderness which pervade it. Indeed, it may be truly said that situations and incidents which in the hand of an inferior artist would have become equivocal are nearly always treated with a light and delicate touch which speaks as highly for

the moral standard of the people as for the skill of the poet.

When speaking of our imperfect acquaintance with Old-Irish literature I refer not only to the great mass of material that has been irretrievably lost— whole legendary cycles revealed by casual references only, tales of which nothing but the title, poems of which the initial lines only have been preserved— but also to what is still extant but unexplored in the manuscripts deposited in the British Museum and the Dublin libraries, to mention only the chief storehouses of Irish literature. It is true, of Irish prose a good deal has been published and translated, so that anyone can form an idea of its merits ; but for Irish poetry next to nothing has hitherto been done. The metrical festologies, the topographical,

historial, chronological, geographical, grammatical, lexicographical compositions, which mainly for philological reasons have received the first attention of editors, do not represent Irish poetry. They were written for purposes of instruction or as a memoria technica by learned professors at the monastic schools. In-deed, the true appreciation of the merits of Irish poetry has often been obscured by the fact that metrical productions of this class have been taken as the offspring of the Irish Muse. But Oengus the3<3    Gaelic Literature and Professor Kuno MeyerCuldee, Fiann of Monasterboice, Mac Coisse and Gorman are not the great poets of Ireland. Their works loom large indeed in our manuscripts, but they were copied so busily for the sake of the in-formation which they conveyed in a convenient form. Meanwhile the

genuine poetry of Ireland, which is to be found in such anonymous poems as the one here published, was relegated to the margins and blank spaces of vellum manuscripts, or, written on paper, has the more easily disappeared. What is left of such poetry is rarely to be met with in the great and celebrated tomes ; it has to be searched for.

It may be safely predicted that these anonymous and neglected poems, once properly collected, edited and translated will strongly appeal to all lovers of poetry. There is in them such delicate art, so subtle a charm, so true and deep a note, that, with the exception of the master-pieces of Welsh poetry, I know nothing to place by their side.

For the benefit of the reader of English I appenda verse or two from a poem on A' Bhealltainn or

May-Day, which Professor Kuno Meyer has mostadmirably translated into English. Those who maydesire to read more of this beautiful poem will findthe whole of it (together with the original Irish) inKuno Meyer's Songs of Summer and Winter.1 Imay add that the poem entitled " Mo Sgeul," whichappears in another part of this Review and which Ihave done into modern Scots Gaelic for the benefit ofGaelic readers of Guth Na Bliadhna, is in the sameadmirable collection.

ALASDAIR BEAG.

1

David Nutt, LondonBithibh Faic

illeach

May-day, season surpassing! Splendid is colour then. Blackbirds sing a full lay, If there be a slender shaft of day.

The dust-coloured cuckoo calls aloud : Welcome, splendid summer! The bitter bad weather is past, The boughs of the wood are a thicket.

Summer cuts the river down, The swift herd of horses seeks the pool, The long hair of the heather is outspread, The soft

white wild-cotton blows.

Panic startles the heart of the deer, The smooth sea runs apace, Season when ocean sinks asleep, Blossom covers the world.

BITHIBH FAICILLEAC

H" GABHAIBH mo chomhairle" ars' an seann duine glic!

"Seadh, gu dearbh" ars' 'iadsan, "is fhada bho 'n a chuala sinn ' Tha ceann mor air duine glic agus ceann-circ air amadan'" Cha 'n eil mise a gabhail orm gu bheil mi nas glice na feadhain eile ach dh' fhaodainn a radh mur a thuairt a Ministair coir "bheirear comhairle seachad, ach cha toirear giùlan."

Bha uair ann 'n uair a bha an Sagart "a muirn, 's miad, 's meas" cha 'n e mhain air feadh na Gaidhealtachd, mar a tha 'a chomharradh anns na

B Biseann

"Chaipalean" anns gach seann chladh's an duthaich, agus ann a cainnt air sinnsir; agus a bharrachd air sin, air a Ghalldaehd far an robh eaglaisean mora, briadha agus taighean-crabhaidh tha an diugh nan laraichean.

Ach dh' fhalbh an latha sin bho chionn uime

linn ; air chor's gu d' fhuair an Sagart agus a' dhriachd agus a' chreideamh fior dhroch ainm agus mi-chliu. Cha b' iongantas e.

Thug lagh na rioghachd a h-uile oidheirp air a chreideamh sin a sgrios, ach dh' fhairslich air sin a dhiannadh. Tha giùlan lagh na rioghachd agus oidheirp

43

's innleachd na Ministairean a cuir am chuimhne giùlan na " Caillaiche" an toiseachd an Earraich. Tha i sid gu foghainteach le' slacdhan na' dorn a diannadh a dichioll a cumail a sios fàs an fheoir. Mo dheireadh, chaill a Chailleach a misneach, chaill i greim a' laimhe, is thilg i a slacdhan fada 'laimhe agus thug i beuchd eisde a bheireadh sniomh air cridhe na cloiche, is dh' eigh i ard a' cinn :—

Dh' fhag e shios mi, dh' fhag e shuas m

i Dh' fhag e eadar mo dha chluais mi Dh' fhag e thall mi, dh fhag e bhos mi Dh' fha

g e eadar mo dha chois mi Tilgeam seo' am bun preas cuillinn Far nach fàs fiar no d

uilleach.

Ach mu'n d' thuairt bean Dhomhnuil Ghalld' e " s' e neoni an Saoghal sallach, 's mearg nach gabhadh na neoni e." Tha 'n Sagart agus "Creideamh an t-Shagairt" a fas uidh air n' uidh cho measail agus cho cliuteach agus a bha e riamh. Nach e so a thuairt an t-sheann fheadhainn a bhitheadh a g' innseadh dhuinn, gu'm b' e creideamh an t-Shagairt a bh' ann bho thùs agus gur e a bhiodh ann mu dheireadh. Tha' bhlath's bhuil 'n uair a chi sinn na miltean de dh' iosalean agus de dh' uaislean agus de chleir na h-Eaglais shassanaich a tionndadh ri eaglais na Roimhe a thuileadh air iosalean agus uaislean agus ministairean-sgeirachd Eaglais na h-Alba.

Tha mi cur mo luchd-leughaidh air an earalas. Bithibh

faicilleach, modhail, beusach, turail. Tha mi dol a dh' innseadh dhuibh gu de 'thachair. Bha Sagart Gaidhealach's aithne dhomhsa latha bha sid air a cheum dol do Shassun. Ghabh e an "Train" ann an Dunedin. Thainig da dhuine-uasal gasda stigh, is thoisich a chracaireachd. B'iad, gu dearbh, daoine cho suilbhir 's thachair riamh air. Mu dheireadh thainig crioch air a chomhradh agus thug an Sagairt tarrainn air a leabhar. Ann sin thoisich na gillean air bruidhinn mu' n t-Shagairt ann an Gaidhlig bhinn an eilean Ileaich. Thuirt fear dhiu, gu' n robh e an duil gur Eirionnach a bh' ann ; ach bha am fear eile am beachd nach b' e ach gu'm b' e Spainndeach a bh' ann, a chaidh a thogail agus arach anns an rioghachd so a

chionns gu' n robh rogha's tagha na beurl' a aige.

'S e thug air a leithid so do bheachd a bhi aige, chionns gu robh snuadh iarnaidh-duibh air gnuis an t-Shagairt.

Cha do ghabh an e Sagart air gu' n do thuig e facal gus an do stad an "Train." Chuir e a cheann a mach air an uinneig, 's thug e suil mu' n cuairt, an sin shuidh e far an robh e roimhe, agus le snodha gaire dhur - bheachdaich e air na gillean agus thuirt e ann an Gaidhlig smiorail na h-Apuinn, "tha eagal orm gu bheil coltas an uisge air"! 'S ann a sin bha' n luasgan, an naire agus am masladh air na gillean! Dh' iarr iad mile mathaneas air an t' Shagairt chionns gu' n robh iad cho neofhaicilleach 's bha iad. Ach chuir an Sagairt an sid orre, nuair a thuairt e. Cha 'n 'eil sibh an ion a bhi

c

Bi 3

narach, oir cha d' thuirt sibh ni a bha na chulaidh-naire dhuibh. Bithibh na s faicilleache as a sa suas.

Thuit dha 'n phears-eaglais chiadna dol air sgriob do dh! Challum-Chille. Eader an t-Oban agus I chuir e eolas air teaghlach Frangach a bha air bord, a bha cuideachd air an ceum do 'n Eilean ainmeil. Bha na Frangaich, fior thaingeil chionns gu'n do thacair iad air a h-aon a bha min-eolach air an cainnt agus air an duthaich anns an robh iad. 'N uair a bha iad a gabhail an aisig eader bata mor Mhic Bhrian agus an cladachd chuala'n Sagart an gille a bh'air an ramh-bhraghad ag radh ri chompach. " Eobhain,eisd ris an fhear ad's e b-----do Shagart Frangach ath ann." Cha do ghabh an Sagart air gu'n cual'e dig gus an robh iad faisg air a chlacdach, 'n uair a labhair e ann an Gaidhlig. c <

Buil ann a Dhomhnuil,

dian fodha, Eobhain." Cha 'n eil mi n'ion a radh gu'n robh tamailt gu leoir air na portairean. Lath'eile thuit dha a bhi dol thairis air drochaid mhor Ghlaschu, 'n uair a thug e 'n aire do dhithis ghillean air robh "smuid." Gun teagamh, mur a thuirt iad fhein's ann as an Eilean 'bha iad. Dh'eigh fear dhiu ris an fhear eile. " A Thormaid, gabh beachd air Sagart an diabhol." Thionnaidh an Sagairt air a shail agus thuairt e; "A laocbain gu'n tur, cha'n e mac t-atharse, bu choir a leithid a radh ri mac m 'atharse." 'S e bh'ann gu 'n do dh'iarr na gaisgich mille mathanas air t-Shagairt, a thuile air a sin bha iad air bheachd gu'n d'aithnich e iad, ged nach fhac an Sagairt iad riamh roimhe iad.

Seall, gu de' thacair an la-roimhe. Thainig dithis ghillean a Ile de Ghlaschu's bha iad a dh' amharc ann an iunneier buth a bhuinadh de

57

41

dh' Iudhach araidh. Bha 'n h-uile seorsa de ghnothaicean prised anns an uinneig. Bha uairadearen oir ann, 's fainneachan's cluas-fhailean agus ailbheagan aluinn do gach gnè. Co thainig thun an doruis ach an t-Iudhach e fhein. *N uair a thug na gillean an aire dha thuirt fear dhiuri' charaid, "Seall, 'ille, so agad a am b-e fhein."Rinn an t-Iudhach glag gaire, agus thuirt e; " Thigibh 'stigh 'illean agus ceannaichaibh 'faidhirean' do 'n fheadhainn a dh' fhag sibh aig an tigh." Chaidh na gillean a stigh ga rireamh, agus mun d' fhag iad an t-Iudhach dh' fhag iad corr's tri-puinnd-shassunach anns a bhuth an lath' ad. 'Sann an Ile fhein a dh' ionnsaich an t-Iudhach a ghaidhlig a chiosnaich na gillean. Cha bhi mi ann brath-foille dhuibh. Bithibh daonan air ur 'n earalas. Bithibh faiceallach,

agus na bithibh am feasda 'nar culaidh-naire do Thir nam Beann, na 'n Ghleann's 'na Gaisgeach.

GTT.LEASBA' MAC DHOMHUIL 'IC EOBHAIN.

RUSSIA, ENGLAND

AND JAPAN

FIFTY-TWO years ago Palmerston declared that the peace of Asia was assured whenever England and Russia came to an understanding. That is even truer to-day when the whole north of Asia, from the Urals to the Pacific, is in the hands of the mighty empire founded by Peter the Great. The older domination of the English in India is the only serious rival that a European nation has yet

established, though French aims in the neighbourhood of Indo-China, German intrigues in Asia Minor, and the general clash of national ambitions over the "

partition" of China may at any time introduce a new complication into Asiatic affairs. At present, however, the apparently conflicting interests    of

36

Russia, England and Japan

3

Russia, England and Japan afford the most im-portant considerations on which the general peace of Asia, if not of the world, depends. We say " apparently conflicting " ; for, in spite of the melan-choly prognostics in which alarmists choose to indulge, we do not believe that there is any essential or necessary

conflict. Its appearance is due to a misunderstanding of the real factors in the problem, and it is eminently desirable that not only responsible statesmen, but the people to whom they nave to answer, should do their utmost to obtain a clear outlook on a matter which it is, unfortunately, the interest of

many persons abroad to obscure, and which some across the Border do not scruple to misrepresent for factious and partisan, if not for purely selfish, purposes. The general belief that Russia wishes to modify the agreement of 1873 with reference to Afghanistan makes it highly necessary that the relations of England to Muscovite policy in Asia should be thoroughly considered, as an endeavour of this kind is like to be fraught with possibilities of trouble. Let us remember Penjdeh and Fashoda, though their lesson may be taken to show that much graver dissatisfaction than now exists may be dispelled by firm but judicious handling. In 1873 England and Russia formally agreed upon a self-denying ordinance with regard to Afghanistan. The Ameer's kingdom, one of the very few Asiatic States which

still preserve even nominal independence, stands at the most vulnerable gate of India. Consequently, when Russian expansion threatened the Afghan boundaries, the> English Foreign Office took an early opportunity of making it clear that that Power could tolerate no attempt to bring that wild and dangerous neighbour under Russian influence; and Russia, whose Asiatic empire was still much in need of time for consolidation, agreed to have no dealings with the Ameer's Government. In the troublous times from 1877 to 1880 she made a strong, though unofficial, attempt to upset this agreement, but the military address of Lord Roberts, the wise policy of Lord Lytton, and the rough good sense of the late Ameer com-bined to keep Afghanistan as a " buffer State" between India

and the Russian Empire. For over twenty years it has remained so, and there is no serious likelihood that English statesmen will be foolish enough to depart without reason from an arrangement charged with such obvious military and political advantages.

The late Russian proposal with regard to Afghanistan looks harmless enough in itself. It clearly gave the diplomatic world to understand that the Government of the Tsar maintain their former engagements, and continue to consider Afghanistan as being outside the sphere of Russian influence. All that is asked is that direct relations in regard to frontier matters should be established between Afghanistan and the Empire which is now conter-minous with its northern border. If this

only means that the officials of the Tsar and the Ameer may be permitted to confer directly with one another on questions of police and public works, no objection on the part of England can reasonably be made to such a proposition. It is only just that a criminal who has escaped across the border, or a river which needs to be bridged, or a road which has to be carried from one State to the other, should form the subject of direct consultation between the men on the spot.

From the attitude of the inspired press of Russia it seems impossible to doubt that the question with38

Russia, England and Japan

regard to Afghanistan was first raised some three years ago, when England was deeply involved in the South African war,

and many Continental statesmen thought that the Government of that country could be induced to accede to claims which, at any other season, would probably have aroused her serious re-sentment. At about the time at which the demand we allude to is said to have been made some uneasi-ness was caused by the ostentatious movement of troops along the Transcaspian Kailway towards the Afghan frontier—that is, towards the gates of India. The English Government, encouraged by America, did not yield to the demand, and they deserve what credit they can get for having held both their ground and their peace, though, had they not been supported by America, it is difficult to see how, hampered and distressed as they were, they could have resisted

the Eussian demand.

The real question which is at the root of the Afghan problem, as of all discussions regarding the Persian Gulf, the always threatening trouble in the Balkans, the future of Constantinople, and the situation in China, is that of the English fundamental relation to Kussia. Is England prepared to regard her great rival as a friend and coadjutor in the work of " civilising" Asia, or is she determined to regard Eussia as she has hitherto done, that is to say as a relentless enemy who will not be satisfied until she has done her best to oust her from India, and encouraged France to enter upon the occupation of Egypt? Here, in our opinion, we have in a few words the whole case in a nutshell. In one direction we see nothing but a prospect of such a war as England has

not experienced since, with the assistance of Germany, she overthrew Napoleon. In the other the gratifying prospect of peace and prosperity con-

Russia, England and Japan

fronts us, for with assured friendship between England and Eussia, the greatest naval and military powers in the world, no country will lightly venture to disturb the peace of Europe. The history of the last century shows that it is the English again who must make the choice. From the outbreak of the French Eevolution to the Crimean War, Eussia and England were on terms of steady friendship, and it is to the manoeuvres of Napoleon the Third that Europe owes the antagonism of the last half century. It is

commonly said, indeed, by those who maintain the theory of necessary antagonism, that Eussian policy is directed to the acquisition of India—in which case there is no help for it but that England must fight her sooner or later. But a glance at the map of Asia will show the falsity of this supposition. Eussia has already confiscated more than she can easily assimilate. The addition of India to her already overgrown Asiatic empire would be a fatal strain on her resources, even if the English were to evacuate it to-morrow. What Eussia does want is a warm-water port—an outlet to the ocean, that is to say, which is not blocked by ice for whole months, like St Petersburg and Vladivostock. Ever since Peter the Great imprinted the first tendency to expansion on his empire, Eussia has looked fondly

3

to Constantinople as the ideal centre of her naval power, and the future headquarters of her commerce. It is possible that some such sentiment has even affected her enthusiasm for the liberation of the Christian subjects of the Sultan. But European jealousy has

hitherto been too strong for her to achieve this object. The English have done much to retard her national "mission," especially since the opening of the Suez Canal, the absolute control of which English statesmen regard as of the first necessity to

40

R A Connagkt Love-Song

4their country and its interests. It is highly improbable that Europe will ever willingly agree to Russia's possession of Constantinople, and English interests certainly press strongly against it. For this reason Russia's alleged desire to revive the Treaty of

Unkiar Skelessi, by which in 1833 she endeavoured to obtain control of the Dardanelles, is foredoomed to failure. It would certainly be highly impolitic on the part of England to encourage any such proposition or to countenance

it in any way, unless and until, of course, that country were persuaded by substantial proofs and guarantees that her acquiescence would not be attended by any injury to her own interests. Much the same may be said of the design attributed to Russia to establish herself on the Persian Gulf, where also, as Captain Mahan points out, she would be on the flank of the English communication with India. But undoubtedly it is a hard doctrine that Russia should for ever be debarred from access to an ice-free ocean, or even that she should only obtain it in the Far East.

Moreover, this is hardly a notion that she is likely to relish, much less to tamely submit to. A mighty Empire such as Russia, is not to be dictated to lightly, nor is she likely to suffer her long-cherished designs and

ambitions to be set aside merely in order that a purely academical theory touching the "balance of power" may not be undone, and the doctrinaires of the chancelleries of Europe put to confusion. In the event of a successful war with Japan, Russia will emerge from the conflict doubly strong, and doubly confident, and more than ever determined to have what she considers as necessary to her existence as an Empire. Flushed with a considerable success, and with all the enhanced prestige which a successful termination to a contest with Japan must necessarily give her, pray, who is there that will then say her nay, or will be prepared to oblige her to subordinate her interests and ambitions to the convenience

of Europe? On the contrary, the probability is that in the event we have alluded to, the Russian demands will have so substantial a backing as to be practically irresistible. The probability of a union of European Powers in order to stay the progress of the Russian designs in Europe is so remote a con-tingency that we need not trouble to canvass it. Russia, profiting by her victories and by her experience of the jealousy, weakness and uncertainty which characterise European international relations and professions of friendship and alliance, will know when and where and precisely how to strike with the greatest possible advantage to herself, and with the utmost degree of injury and consternation, so far as her enemies alone are concerned. The much

talked of "Yellow Peril" will become a thing of the past; and in place of it we shall have a new danger and a greater mischief to contend against— the triumph of Russia in Europe, and the gradual absorption of the best and most civilised parts of the globe by the invincible armies of the Tsar.

A CONNAGHT LOVE-SONG

Da mbeith 'aitreabh agam fein, No gabhalta

s a's rèim,Caoirigh breagha bàna Ar àrd—chnoc no slèibh, Slàinte agus m

èin, Agus gràdh ceart d'a rèir,

Beidhinn-se's mo ghràdh geal. Go sàimh insan t sao

ghal.

42

A mh

43

TRANSLATION

Had I place of my own, Had I race and renown,

And sheep with white faces To pace on the down. Had I racers and hounds And gold lace to my crown,

Then I trow on her face I should trac

e not a frown.There's a girl in the land And our flame she has fanned, She's a bright sun at table And a choice one of all, So graceful and tail, Her white palm so small, So lissom and tender, And slender withal.Were I and my love Picking nuts at the tryst, By the liss in the clover, With no cover but mist, I should fire—all men wist— With desire to be kissed, Her soft voice could not tire I'd sit by her and list.Were we away clear To the hills of the deer, Though starving, disheartened, And parted from here, Yet I should not fear, But Christ would us hear, Would hearken, and hearten My darling, and cheer.

Were I and my brideWith no one beside,For a day and a night, onThe brink of the tide,She should know how I sighed,I should coax her with pride,'Twere a heaven of gloryTo go by her side.

AN CRAOIBHI

N AOIBHI

N.

LAMH

DHEARGBHA faileadh giubhais fhlu

ich anns an iarlmailt, agus bha Gleann Aora a briseadh a mach le taladh an earraich.      Lion Paruig Dall am piobaire—mac mhic Iain Mhoir—a chom fharsuing le anail dhithis dhaoine, agus thilg e na duis thar a ghuaileadh.  Bha iad a bogadan car tiota gus an do dh'at am mala a mach, agus sheirm a cheud sgal ann an cluais na maduinne. Neo-bhlnn agus sgreadach, dh' fheuch na ribheidean co a b'airde 'dheanamh fuaim gus an do chum làmh fir-iuil fo smachd iad, agus shnàmh fuaim fhada chiuin na piobaireachd a mach am measg na stioman breacain. Chuala mullach glas Dhruimfearna an ceol; leig a chreag a tha 'deanamh faire air beul Charnuis troimh 'n bhealach e, agus thar a chnoic, agus

sios a dh'ionn-suidh nan eileannan gu h-iosal.      Dh'aom Dun Chorra-bhile agus Dunchu

ach, Cillmuin uaibhreach, Ciochan Shalachari, agus ceud monadh eile mun cuairt a dh'eisdeachd ris na puinc-chiuil bhòsdail a lion an Gleann.      " An Gleann, is leamsa 'n Gleann " sheinn am feadan sunndach, agus air claidheamh Fhinn! cha chliucheadh Macruimean fhein ni b'fhearr e.

'Sann mun d'fhàg Paruig Dall a dhol do'n Leth-Bhaile a bha e, roimh na cogaidhean a dhadh na glinn ; agus chocadh na Caimbeulaich am bonaid ann an aodunn Albainn uile. Bha Paruig sean, agus bha Paruig dall, mar a tha 'n t-ainm aige ag innseadh, ach ghluais e le giulan righ sios as suas air an fheur ghoirid, a chas seasmhach ris gach buille don cheol, 'fheileadh a luasgan bho thaobh gu taobh coltach ri! òran baird, a sporan a leum gu h-aighearach air

^ ghluinnean lachdunn. Da fhichead ceum togarach gu] taobh an uillt, tionndadh reidh air sail bròige, agus] an sin air ais le dearsadh na greine air bucuill a chrios.

Rinn na fir—a tilgeadh a chabair agus a cur na cloich-neirt an aghaidh na greine an taobh thall don pholl mhonadh—moille nan sìnteagan nuair a chual iad uaill an fheadain, thug iad teann - tharraing chabhagach air na breacain mu 'n leasraidh, agus thainig iad a nall a dh'eisdeachd, stad na

mnathan a bha posdadh phloideachan air son na h-airidh a bha am fagus an speirteadh anns an linne bhig, agus rinn iad cronan mar gum bann am bruadar ; bha cuimhn' aig na fir 's aig na mnathan air na laithean a dh'fhalbh, nuair a bha 'n Gleann bog le fuil dhaoine, oir bha na Stiubhardaich thall mun coinneamh bha 'n Apuinn.

" Dealradh Dhia! ach theid aige air cluich cuideachd," arsa mac a phiobaire le cheann a tuainnealaich leis a cheol ghrinn iullagach.

An sin phut Paruig am mala ni b'aide stigh 'na achlais, agus dh'atharraich am fonn. Chluich e 'n t-urlar aig "Bodaich nam Brigis," agus chunnaic uiread 's gam 'b' aithne an naigheachd "bodaich nam brigis " air am briseadh, agus a teicheadh roimh culaidhean iotmhor G-hlinn-urchi, fad mu thuath air a Mharairne,

laithean fada siubhail sgith troimh ghlinn spuinnte.

" Se cluich ghrinn a th'ann, tha mi gabhail ris " arsa mac an duine dhoill, 's e na sheasamh fo chraoibh sheilich, mala na piob' bhratachail ann an lùb a 'ghairdean. Chaith e breacan dorcha nan Diarmad, agus bha faillean do bhalg an domblais aige na 'bhonaid, oir bha e ann an cuideachd Dhonnachaidh Dhuibh.

"A mhic Pharuig

Dhoill"    arsa 'n Ceannard,

seachd bliadhna bho

'n Fheilmàrtuinn

so tighinn, " ma tha thu gu cluich coltach ri t-athair, cha

n'eil air do shon ach

Dunmheangain agus

teagasg Pharuig mhic

Cruimein." Mar so chaidh Tearlach do 'n

Eileann Sgiathanach

— eileann fuar sgeanan agus

uaimhean—agus ann an

oil-thigh Mhic Cruimein

dh'ionnsuidh e 'phiob-mhor. Maduinn as feasgar, as

fad an latha eadar riu,

chluich e'm

feadan no 'phiob iomlan

—tional as siubhal, mort

as ceol tiamhaidh,

agus am furan flathail.      Far

am bheil a ghaoth laidir a tighinn saillte

bho Bhatarnais

tarsuinn Loch

Mheangain, agus tigh'n-

am-fraodhrac gorm-dhearg

Uibhist a briseadh

croinn oir dol-fodha na

greine, sheas e air na

bruthaichean thall mu

choinneamh Bhoraraig,

agus chuir e 'n seol-mara

gearanach fo gheasan.

Agus thainig latha air an do

chluich e "Cumha    na

Craoibh-Chlarsaich,"

leis    na seann

bhliadhnachan    do

chomhraig ghairbh,

agus      do dhaoine

treuna    anns an    fhonn

aig' uile; agus

thubhairt Paruig mac

Cruimean "Na cluich ni 's fhaide, 'ille;

falbh dhachaidh: cha chuala

Lochogha fear eile riamh

coltach ruit." Mar choileach le 'chirein gun

ghearradh thainig an t-

oganach as an Eilein

Sgiathanach."'Athair "

bha e air a radh, " cha chluich sibh gu h'olc air son seann duine, ach tha sibh ag ionndrainn an t-seallaidh air aoduinn nan daoine, agus se sin leth a chiuil.      A bharrachd air sin, tha sibh sean, agus tha bhur meuran mail air na puinc-chiuil mhaise. So bhur fuil agus bhur feoil fhein a dh'fheuchas dhuibh cluich nach robh a 'leithid riamh an àite sany bith sear air na h-Eileannan.

Chual' a mhuime am bosd. "A Pheasain" ars' ise gu crosda, le fuath na h-aodunn tioram odhar le toit na monadh. " Se duine 'th' ann a d'athair, aguB cha' n'eil annadsa ach balach aig nach eil cridhe air son latha fada. Cha'ne aite ann an earbull Dhonnachaidh Dhuibh, cuimhnich, a dh' fhoghnas] air son piobaire 'dheanamh."

Rinn Tearlach gaire na h-aodunn. " Balach no duine " ars'

esan, " seallaibh orm ! tuath, sear, deas, agus siar, càit' am bheil am fear a gheibh buaidh orm ? Tha 'n t-ainm aig Macriumean, ach bha piobairean ann air thoiseach air MacCruimean, agus thig piobairean na dheigh."

" Dh' fhaoidte gu' bheil e mar a tha thu ag radh," arsa Paruig. " Tha 'n stuth annadsa, agus feumaidh an rud a tha 'stigh tighinn a mach; ach thoir dhomhsa Cothrom na Feinne, agus sean 's mar a tha mi, le Cothrom na Feinne, agus se sin ceartas, ma dh' fhaoidte gun d'thoir mi ort goirsinn le n i 's ludha 'thogradh. Am bheil thu air son feuchainn ? "

" Tha mi 'cur an cleachdadh ribheid-feadain uir," arsa Tearlach; "ach bitheadh e 'nuair a thoilicheas sibh."

Shuidhich iad latha, agus chaidh iad a mach a chluich an aghaidh a cheile air son

gloire, agus sann mar so a thachair gun robh air an latha so Paruig Dall a cluich. " Is leamsa 'n Gleann," agus "Bodaich nam Brigis " ann an doigh a chuir gluasad air cridheachan.

Chnag Giossal a' meuran ann an aodunn a'dalta 'nuair a dhùin a 'fear an crùnluath aig a' phiobaireachd.

"An urrainn thu 'dheanamh ni 's fhearr, fhir dhiolainn ? " thuirt i gu dranndanach.

"Tha so an tarruing ris co-dhiu ! " arsa Tearlach, agus thairis air a dhruim chaidh a bhratach le 'ceann tuirc fuaighte air òr.

Gille grinn, air a chrois! glan ghearrte am buill agus eutrom an cois, subailte an leasraidh le luasgan guaille nach robh piobaire eireachdail riamh as eugmhais. 'Leag na mnathan a bha san linne uile an taic air aon a cheile anns an latha bhog giubhas-bholtrach, agus sheall iad air a mach a suilean domhain;

dh'eirich na fir air an fhraoch agus sheas iad ni bu dluithe.

Beagan gleusaidh, agus an sin :—

"Is coma leam's coma leam cogadh no sithe Marbhar sa chogadh no crochar's 'an t-'sith mi."

"Cogadh no sith ! " ghlaoidh Giorsal, a tucadh le feirg, ri a fear—cogadh no sith! am bosdair dubh ! 'se nathair nimhe a tha agad air son mic, fhir-an tighe!"

Dhanns meuran a ghille gu cridheil air an fheadan agus thuit crith rudeiginn a bha ri thighinn air an t-sluagh uile mu'n cuairt. Bha na seann chnoic a deanamh mire leis an fhuaim shùrdagaich; thilg Dun Chorrabhile e gu Druimfearna, agus chuir Druimfearn 'e a leum thar 'reidhleannan Chillmuine gu coireachan uaine Leacnamban. " Gaol, gaol!

an seann duan, thig agus, faigh feoil! " thuirt feannag gu garbh-ghuthach ri companach fad as air a Bheinn Bhric cheothar, agus chrath na sgiathan troma dubha sear. Dhi-chuimhnich a ghaoth chairdeal beadradh a dheanamh ri badan-a-ghuibhais, agus ris an roid shrannraidh, agus bha steall na h-Aora na 'linne dhuinn mar fhuaim fiona ann an cuaich. " Cogadh no sith, cogadh no sith; tha sinne coma codhiu,'' sheinn ribheidean na pioba, agus bha'n tional agus an siubhal ann, dian-ruith theth-chasach thairis air mointeich a bha 'grodadh fo uisge na neul, gliougadh iaruinn, gleadhar sleagha agus sgeithe, ran tachta fuath agus acrais, slachdadh as gearradh as tuiteam, agus air a chul aimhreit shean ris an Apuinn.

Ag aomadh air an aghart, mar

gum b'ann a bruadar, sheas gillean smearail Aora. Dh'fheuch iad air an leasan, far nach robh ach criosan falamh agus thuirt fear dhuibh ri 'leanabh. " A ghaoil ghil, faigh dhomh an sgian fhada ud leis na bearnan inte, agus an ceann-bheart orra, oir tha mi sgith do bhuachailleachd." Thug an leanabh suil air aodunn agus chaidh e dhachaidh a caoineadh.

Agus thaom an ceol fhathast air aghart, " Gun d' thuair mi pog 'o laimh an righ," agus " A Bhiodag bhoidheach," agus gach fonn ni 'b'fhearr na cheile. Cha'd 'rinn piob shith Cnoc nan Daoine Beaga riamh fiabhrus fuaim 'bu mhilse, gidheadh ghoirtich e cluasan nam boirionneach, aig an robh aobhar fios a bhi aca air duais sùrdagan phiobairean.

"Stad! stad, A Thearlaich Oig!" ars iadsan, 's leor mu chogadh! nach eil ruidhle agad

ann ad 'mhaileid?"

Cha robh ruidhle riamh am Boraraig, ars' an gille; agus ghabh e do 'Rabhadh Dunibheag, am fonn a chuala Colla Cìotach ann pìobairr aige 'cluich anns an aird-an-iar air an latha anns an robh a ghalla dhubh 'o Dhunstamhuinnis na sinneadh a plosgail air a shon ; agus chuir am bàta aige 'sron mu'n 'cuairt ann an am air son a chraiceann a shàbhaladh.

"Tha 'n dearbh fhacal fhein ann," arsa Paruig, a di-chuimhneachadh sgeig Giorsail, agus gach ni ach uaill 'athar.'Sann ann am meadhon an 'Rabhaidh a

thainigDonnachadh Dubh, bàr a bhroige anns an stiorap, a nios 'o Chaisteal Ion'araora le gille-cas-fhliuch air a chul-thaobh air a 'rathad gu Lochogha.

" 'Sann shios an sud 'bu choir dhuit a bhith a Shair Phiobaire, agus cha'n'ann a

seideadn an so air son dibhe," ars esan, a bualadh a 'bhrigis le 'chuip, agus a cur gruaim air fo mhaileadhan dubha ris an t-sluagh. "Tha mo bhean sgith do'n' chlàrsaidh, agus tha i 'g iarradh na pioba."

"Cha phiobaire boirionnaich mise, 'Lochogha; faodaidh a bhean agaibh eisdeachd ri cronan na cuidhle-shniomh ma tha i sgith do'n 'chlàrsaidh," ars' an gille : agus air falbh mharcaidh an Ceannard, agus air an ais do'n luba chaidh na boirionnaich agus chaidh na fir a dh'ionnsuidh a chabair agus na cloiche, agus chaidh Tearlach, le ite eile 'bharrachd na 'bhonaid, dhachaidh do dh' Ion'araora a fàgail facal magaidh mar a dh'fhalbh e air son athar.

'Mhionnaich Paruig Dall gu feasgar ris a mhac nach fhac e riamh, agus phuinseanaich a bhean an inntinn aige.

"Tha n' Gleann ri fanaid oirbh, a dhuine, bho Charnus gu Croit-bhile. Se latha dubh loisgeach naire a th'ann dhuibh a Pharuig Dhoill! "

"Thighearna, se latha dubh gu leoir a th'ann dhomhsa aig a chuid as fhearr ! " ars' an duine dall.

" 'S'ann a tha sibh air bhur tàmailteachadh le mac bhur droch dheanadais fhein ; le balach gun fuil air a'bhiodaig, le àrdan gu goirsinn os bhur cionn."

Agus thug Paruig mionnan as ùr, air a Chrois agus Coin Lathurna, agus air miotaig ghil an t'soluis a tha na famhairean a caitheamh, agus air seachd Buidsichean Chothmar. Bha e olc ged a bha e aosda, agus chaidh e air ais gu toiseach tìm air son a 'chainnt. "Ach a Dhia! theid aig a ghille air cluich! " thuirt e mu dheireadh.

D

50 Lamh Dhearg

" 0 amadain dhoill! " ghlaodh a 'bhean ; nam bu mhise sibh, bhiodh ionga bharr a chuilean roimh bheul an latha."

' ' A bhean ghoraich, chluich daoine riomhe so a phiob agus meur dhiubh ; seall air Alasdair Corraig."

"Biodh sin mar sin, ach tha làmh cho furasda 'ghearradh ri meur, do dhuine 'thug grealach a fiadh le sgian-dubh gheur. 'N dean sibh e no 'n duilt sibh ? "

Cha V eisdeadh Paruig an còrr, ghabh e gu 'chluasaig.

Thainig uisge leis an dubh-thrath. 'Reic an Aora, an abhainn oirdhearc, suas an Gleann dorcha bho 'Leum a Bhradain, chruinnich na cnoic gu tiugh agus trom mu'n cuairt air an tuath-bhaile sgaoilte, rinn barran ura uaine a ghiubhais agus duilleagan copair nan craobhan daraich òga fuaim ghearanach anns a ghaoith. 'N sin thainig gaoithean saillte le fuaim reubaidh a nios bho 'n 'fhairge a bleith meoir ri meangan, agus bha smùid as an talamh uile le farum uisge a thainig air fhiaradh air, gu dian agus teth.

Dh'eirich Giorsal, a h-eudach fhathast uimpe, chuir i breacan air a ceann dubh, agus thug an dorus tiugh slacadh air ais air an leabaidh'nuair a leum i do'n ghaillinn. Bha a casan troma bog fluich a dol troimh 'n fheur mhòintèachail, ghreimich am fraoch air earbuill eabarach a 'còtaichean a thoirt orra stad ; ach lion ise 'cridhe le aon smuain, agus be sin fuath; agus feuch! bha i air leathad an Tairbh Dhuibh mu 'n do ghabh a 'fear dall a stigh 'de 'bha i 'ciallachadh. Bha Caisteal Ionbharaora na luidhe aig bonn an duinn choillteich, a dol na chadal le ceol an loch shàile a rinn buairas agus cobhar, a tuath's a deas ann an luig nam beann; an dràsd 's a rithisd thug a ghealach suil air rudan, an dràsd's a rithisd ghoir

Lamh Dhearg

5 1

cailleach-oidhche's a choille bhraonaich mar a bha 'n t-uisge 'bualadh air itean a broilleich; 'leum earba 'mach as an dubhar agus a stigh ann le cruinn-leum gealtach os ceann Charlònain, bhuail tein'-adhair anns an dorcha an aghaidh gualainn Bheinn Ime, agus luaisg e 'n saoghal.

Anns an uair fhionn ar roimh bheul an latha bha 'm boirionnach ann an seomar a phiobaire aig geat' Ionbharaora bharr nach robh dorus riamh air a chrannadh air cheann na h-oidhche cho fhad 's bu 'leir do Chailain Laidir, am fear-dion, bho Ghearasdan Dhunchuach gu Cladach.

Luidh Tearlach, am piobaire, air a dhruim, le boisge na monadh 'leith-mhairbh air 'aodunn 's air a làmhan. " Paruig, Paruig I " ars' a bhean rithe fhein 'nuair a chuir i as gu sàmhach le 'casan an teine-monadh : agus thionndaidh i dh' ionnsuidh na leabadh. Agus feuch! bha e thairis. Rinn sgian bheg dhubh a 'fir grad-shiubhal cabhagach air caol-an-duirne aig an fhear a bha na chadal, agus bha 'n làmh aic'se air a deanadh fluich le fuil theth mic a 'fir.

Leum Tearlach suas le gaoir anns an dorcha, agus dh' fheuch e air son a 'nàmhaid, ach bha 'n tigh falamh, oir bha Giorsal a ruidh coltach ri agh feidh tarauinn reidhlean bog a Chuirnbhain. Bhuail an tein'-adhair aig Gleann-Aora ann am feirg agus mi-riaghailt bhearnaich, bha an tàirneanach a toirt farum fàs air a Chreig Dhuibh : ann an luib anns a cheum aig na Tri-Drochaidean choinnich a bhean ri a fear-posda.

" A nighean ifrinn ! " ars'esan, " am bheil e deanta ? agus am be 'm bàs e ? "

" A Ghaoil nam fear" ars'ise le gaire beadarrach. " Cha robh ann ach làmh isein. Bheir sibhse dhuinn. ' Is leamsa 'n Gleann' anns a mhaduinn."

PlOB-MHOR.

The Kingdom of Dailriada

53

THE KINGDOM OF DAILRIADAOUT of the tangled skein of early Scottish history it is possible to draw a thread or two which, though it will certainly disappoint expectation and induce impatience by returning, sooner or later, to be en-gulfed, as it were, in the confused mass of events relating to those times ; yet is it sufficiently strong, distinct and enduring to serve as guide for a brief period. One of the most substantial of these threads is the Dailriadic occupation, or rather colonisation of a part of what is now Argyllshire, which took place, according to the Irish annalists, circa 160 A.D. under the conduct of Cairbre Eiata; though the erection of the colony into an independent kingdom or Principality was not effected until near three hundred years later.

The vicissitudes of this colony constitute one of the most interesting topics of Scottish history, as well as one of the most confusing and perplexing of all debatable historical questions. In the dim, un-certain light afforded by the chroniclers of times so distant and eventful, it is exceeding hard to discover anything connected with them which is not encrusted with legend, partial to the extreme, or the sport of fable. The many furious controversies that have raged (and still rage) about the early history of Dailriada, as about the various problems based upon its uncertainties, serve but to aggravate the difficulties of a position which needs not art nor extraneous assistance to render it confused and complicated in the highest degree ;      nor      anything empirical or

52designedly misleading to increase that feeling of utter despair which even the youngest of us must experience when brought face to face with that huge mass of tightly interwoven fact, fiction, legend and hyperbole out of which it is necessary to construct the raw material for authentic and well-ordered historical narrative. Moreover, as if the difficulties of the task were not already considerable enough, they have been farther aggravated by a succession or group of subsidiary, or rather collateral, questions of an abstruse and highly debatable character, prominent among which we are to reckon the apparently interminable discussion relating to the Picts and the Scots. The two questions, that touching the authenticity of the early Scottic narrative, and that whose subject is the respective original of Pict and Scot, may be said to dove-tail into one another so closely and effectually that he who would aspire to treat of one without extended reference to the other would propose almost an impossible task to himself, by reason of the fact that here, at all events, the science of history and the science of ethnology are, by common consent, considered as inseparable.Now if, instead of losing ourselves, or allowing others to be lost, in the subtle mist or maze of mingled

conjecture and fable which surrounds these topics to the almost entire exclusion of light, we allow ourselves to assume that which, according to every recognised authority save one,1

1 it is only reasonable to believe, namely, that the Picts were a Celtic people, speaking a Celtic language (whethei Brythonic or Oadelic matters little for historical purposes), it is obvious that by so doing we shall be tending greatly to lighten our own darkness, as well as doing a considerable service to history, which has 1 Professor Rhys.immensely suffered by reason of these vain and un-profitable controversies. For once the ground is well cleared of all the rubbish with which philologists and ethnologists have been pleased to cumber it, not always in the interests of the science of truth (whose end is the good of humanity), it is to be feared, but largely in gratification of their own pride, and in pursuit of their own vexatious and impertinent quarrels; it stands to reason that we shall be infinitely the freer to move, to marshal, our facts (however scanty they may be) in an open and business-like manner, and to draw our deductions therefrom, without superfluous fear or needless alarm that in so doing we may be offending the dogmas or wounding the susceptibilities of someone whose ethnological or philological views are not under proper control, being too headstrong and violent to be subordinated to historical interests.

A striking illustration of what the writer here intends will be found in Dr MacBain's criticism on Vols. I. and III. of Skene's Celtic Scotland, in which the former says, "They are both spoiled by his ethnologic views in regard to the Picts ; " by which it would seem that, in Dr MacBain's opinion, Skene's ethnologic views are of much more importance than his historical discoveries—a singular inversion of the real state of affairs ; for philology and ethnology are the handmaids of history proper rather than the dictators thereof. They are the twin assistant lights, without which no properly-qualified historian would dream of starting on his adventurous and arduous journey ; but that opinions such as Dr MacBain would appear to hold should dominate and control history is absurd, or that mere whim, caprice or partiality for a particular theory, however intelligently conceived or brilliantly set forth, should occupy the whole field of historical inquiry, to the entire exclusion of the purely historical instinct and science, is a proposition to which no one in his senses can reasonably be expected to assent.

It may here be objected that the two principal questions relating to early Scottish history, namely the authenticity of the early Dailriadic narrative and the problem of the Picts and Scots, are so intimately connected that they cannot be separated without risk of serious injury to the proper handling of both. To which I reply, that if it indeed be true that these two topics are so closely connected that they cannot be divided, it is largely owing to the efforts of the philologists and ethnologists that they are so. Many

of these impractical scholars have approached the subjects in a factious spirit, with a desire to make party capital out of them, and apparently more out of a regard and consideration to their own individual prowess in the field of learning than out of love and respect for progress in historical knowledge and research. At all events, whatever their designs or intentions, they have so successfully confused the various issues, which were already complicated enough, that no historian now dares to approach the subject of the early history of Scotland without declaring or discovering himself a furious partisan. Dr MacBain complains that "county histories, cian histories and general Scottish histories, presently in course of publication, accept Skene's views (on the subject of the Picts), either without doubt or with little demur; or even with a jocose gaiety that makes the latest of them ' go one better' ; " but considering the confusion into which the "experts" themselves have fallen, and their various contradictory and antagonistic opinions, it is scarce to be wondered at that the general historian should adopt a course which, however unambitious and well-meaning, is found to leave much to be desired from the point of view of the purely "scientific" writer.

No doubt there is considerable justification for Dr MacBain's complaint. Celtic scholars are not sufficiently consulted by those who undertake to treat of early (and even modern) Scottish history; and only too often is the sorry spectacle presented to us of one setting forth to discuss our national beginnings who is but imperfectly acquainted—or not acquainted at all—with the history of those peculiar institutions and customs which gave rise to them, or who has a foolish sort of contempt of our country's originals, and, being ignorant himself, is too proud or indifferent to learn. The necessity for caution, for careful and supportable narrative, is, seemingly, not generally recognised, so far as those early times are concerned; or, at all events, is not sufficiently practised. Presuming on the inherent ignorance of the public and the scarcity of available evidence of a trustworthy character, many historians appear to take a positive pride and pleasure in being a law unto themselves; and evidently considering this a fair, vacant field, where no favour is, nor necessity, neither, for keeping the ordinary historical terms, they give a loose to their imaginations and endeavour to be "brilliant" at the expense of the truth. Or, failing such a conduct, the historian, who is indifferent, is in haste to pass to more familiar times, or who feels himself incompetent to deal with Celtic Scotland in a convincing and scholarly manner, adopts a course which is equally reprehensible. He embraces the views of those who have gone before him, and who enjoy a credit and reputation, by reason of their investigations, which more often than not are out of all proportion to their true value; or which, respectable enough considering the times in which they were made, have been largely discounted by more recent discoveries.      But although we may sympathise with Dr MacBain in his indignant repudiation of Skene's views, and in his criticism of those who make so bold as to continue to hold them, it should be borne in mind that that author himself has by no means established his case.      He says, "

This very plausible theory (that the Picts were Gaels) has for the last sixty years held the field in Scottish history; indeed, the popular historians know no other.      The county histories of Messrs Blackwood, of course, hold by Skene's theories; and the two latest historians of Scotland (Dr Hume Brown and Mr A. Lang) regard the Picts as purely Gaels, and kill off the Dalriads in the time of the terrible Pictish king, Angus MacFergus (about 740) . . .       Dr Skene has retarded the progress of scientific research into early Scottish history for at least a generation.      This sort of thing, as shown by Lang's case, will go on for many a day yet, let Celtic scholars do what they like."      But the need, the grave necessity, for caution and scrupulous moderation in the presentation of views on the great debatable questions relating to early Scottish history, especially on this, perhaps the greatest of them all, namely, the problem or question of the Picts, is by no means over-past, however confident in themselves those may be who are responsible for the various conflicting opinions which have been imposed on them, ostensibly with a view to their elucidation. Says Professor Mackinnon in an admirable criticism on Dr Skene's position (and incidentally it would seem on that of Dr MacBain also) : " The question cannot, however, be settled on such narrow lines as these [Pictish, if non-Gaelic would have left remains, and an interpreter was only wanted twice]; the question of blood and language must always be kept distinct. Anthropology and archaeology may hereafter yield concrete evidence which will be decisive of this matter.      As things are, the following facts must be kept in the forefront.      Among the Picts, succession was through    the female.      This custom is unknown among the Celts; it is, so far as we know, non-Ayran. Again, Bede regarded Pictish as a separate language.      The Gael of Ireland looked upon the Picts, or Cruithnig, to use the native term, as a people different from themselves. Cormae, the first Gaelic lexicographer, gives one or two Pictish words, quoting them as foreign words, at a time when, presumably, Pictish was still a living language. The Norsemen called the Pentland Firth, Peltland, that is Pictland, Fjord; while the Minch was Skottland Fjord.      Mr Whitley Stokes, after examining all the words in the old records presumably Pictish, says, " The foregoing list of names and words contains much that is still obscure; but on the whole it shows that Pictish, so far as regards its vocabulary, is an indo-European, and especially Celtic, speech.      The phonetics, so far as we can ascertain them, resemble those of Welsh rather than of Irish.' Celtic scholars of the first rank, who have pronounced on the matter, are all agreed that Pictish was not Gaelic, as Skene held."

By this we may see how necessary it is that we should suspend our judgment until such times as all obscure and controversial topics in connection with this controversy have been cleared of the element of uncertainty with which they are presently en-compassed.      But, in the meantime, this much, at all events, may be regarded as established beyond question, namely, that the Picts were a Celtic people, speaking a language akin to the Gaelic. But whether this last was certainly Brythonic or Gadelic,

the present state of our knowledge in regard to this subject does not allow us positively to say.

Another disputed point in connection with the early history of Scotland is the means whereby the kings of Dailriada secured their succession to the Pictish throne. This event has been debated quite as fiercely as the one I have just touched on, and, perhaps, just as unprofitably. All we know for certain is, that the plantation of Dailriada by the Scots or Irish was at first neither resented nor resisted by the Pictish people in general, notwithstanding the displeasure wherewith particular individuals or small bodies of men may have regarded that proceeding. "Assuming, therefore, essential affinities in language and manners between the emigrant Scoti and the native Gael (Celt), we can readily understand how such a race, seeking the shores of Argyle, originally rather as friendly refugees than as invaders, gradually acquired a footing there."Moreover, the Scots were constantly being reinforced, not indeed in large numbers but considerably enough, by their countrymen from Ireland; and no doubt in proportion as their numbers increased their power spread, until at last they would appear to have imposed their name and rule upon the native Picts, by reason of a succession of events whose precise character and succession are very obscure, but whose outstanding feature was undoubtedly possession through the primitive and time-honoured channel of conquest.

11 Anderson's Prehistoric Annals of Scotland, Vol. II. p. 15.

That the Scots sailed from Ireland in the capacity of enemies, as some authors contend, is hardly per-missible to believe, in view of the fact that, so far as is known, the relations subsisting between these two peoples were friendly in the extreme ; for Scot and Pict had fought side by side in their common endeavours against the Roman arms. Neither is the argument by which such as take this view endeavour to support the same at all conformable to fact or agreeable to reason. They pretend that the Scottish occupation of Dailriada was effected at a time when the power of the Picts had been greatly reduced by reason of internal dissension and disunion, and, farther, that the geographical position of the in-truders was adverse to their summary expulsion. With regard to the first of these assertions, there is absolutely no evidence to show that such a state of affairs prevailed in Pictavia at the period indicated, whatever may have been the case in subsequent times. And even supposing that civil warfare had wrought in Pictavia all the evils and mischiefs which commonly attend it, rendering that country power-less to defend, and incompetent to assert, itself, ib is not to be believed for a moment that so gross an insult and wanton an aggression as a forcible seizure of territory by a parcel of colonists would have been suffered to pass unchallenged, or to go unpunished, especially on the part of a fierce and warlike people such as were the Picts, according to all reliable accounts. It is only reasonable to assume, had the circumstances in which the Scots made their appear-ance in Scotland been such as have been described, that the Picts' internal dissensions and private quarrels, however obstinately prosecuted and fiercely pursued at home, would have been

immediately stayed at the invaders' first coming, and the whole force of the nation forthwith directed to the discharge of the one great imperative duty confronting it, namely, the expulsion and chastisement of the intruders.

With regard to the second, upon which undue stress has been laid, it must be a difficult country indeed which the hardy and warlike Picts could not pass over, especially when in quest of an enemy ; and though, no doubt, the mountain chain or ridge known to classic waiters as Dorsum Brittaniae might have offered to the Scots an effectual barrier against invasion for a part of their territory, yet it is not to be supposed for a moment that there were not passes and channels in abundance through which the Picts might pass with ease and in com-parative safety in order to expel the intruders.A tendency to attach undue importance to mountain chains and other physical features, as affording ethnological barriers or asylums of an impregnable sort, is a noticeable fault in many historians. His impracticable views regarding the sufficiency of the Munth or Mounth in this respect, joined to some rather confused reading of a not very respectable authority, caused Skene to blunder sadly when he accepted this range of hills as constituting the dividing line between two imaginary peoples, the Northern and the Southern Picts. And the so-called "highland line," which is but a part of the same fallacy, is still, despite its obvious absurdity, a favourite theme with some writers, noticeably cian historians and the like, who, regardless or ignorant of their country's geography, obstinately cling to the notion of the existence of a physical barrier of well-ascertained limits and formidable dimensions, beyond

11 It is a pity some authors do not keep a map of Scotland before them when they sit down to write Scottish history.which the foot of the Sassenach could not venture to tread, and behind which all the Gaels of the land were crowded together.

But to return to the subject of the Scottish succession to the throne of Pictavia: in whatever precise manner this was achieved (and here it is proper to observe that, to quote Dr MacBain, " the conquest of the Picts cannot be clearly explained from our present materials"), the fact remains that about the year 844 King Kenneth MacAlpin finally subdued the Picts, and completely Gaelicised them —a remarkable achievement indeed, if we are to consider the numerical superiority of the Picts over the Dailriads, the distance of the latter from Ireland, their original home, and the source of all their supplies, and the many other difficulties and disabilities which they must have laboured under as colonists, and as the exponents of a social and political system which in many respects was greatly opposed to that of the Picts.

Of all the varied phenomena that the study of history has to offer us, perhaps none is so extra-ordinary and unaccountable as the almost total dis-appearance of the Picts after their final subjugation by the Scots. History teaches us that conquered peoples, however low their civilisation, humble their extraction, obscure their originals, or contemptible their parts, and however great their natural in-

clination to political servitude or slavery, generally manage to leave some traces of their former ex-istence as a nation behind them when they pass under foreign yoke or become merged in their conquerors. But, excepting a few personal appella-tions and a handful of place-names of dubious import, the Picts would appear to have left absolutely nothing behind them by which their former condition might be ascertained. Indeed, if the map of Pictavia had been a slate, and a wet sponge had been rapidly passed over it, with a view to obliterating all traces of the writing wherewith it was filled, Picts and Pictavia could not have disappeared more swiftly, silently, effectually and suddenly than they actually did pass away by reason of their conquest by the Scots.

Admitting that the civilisation which the Scots brought with them from Ireland was greatly superior to that which obtained among the Picts (which it certainly was), and that the Scots were greatly favoured by time and circumstance in their struggles with the Picts, it is still very difficult to account, even in an approximately reasonable and satisfactory manner, for what would appear to be the phenomenal thoroughness of their conquest. Their numbers are not known to have been legion nor their supplies inexhaustible. Neither are they at all likely to have resorted to indiscriminate slaughter in the prosecution of their engagements with the Picts. On the contrary, as well from a principle of religion as by ties of consanguinity, it is more than likely that they were restrained from carrying out their conquest in a ferocious and barbarous manner, or from imposing those scarcely less destructive and disintegrating disabilities, which, though they may not injure the body yet debauch the mind and depress the soul; which makes this extraordinary event so much the more difficult to account for. Moreover, the natural difficulties of the question, considering the remoteness of those times from these, and a host of other attendant circumstances of an obscure and subsidiary character, are here considerably aggravated by reason of the fact that it is known that the war in which Picts and Scots were simultaneously engaged was by no means a war of mutual extermination.      It would appear to have been rather a leisurely war of succession (such as every student of modern European history is familiar with), a series of armed polemics or dynastic contests for a crown (that of united Dailriada and Pictavia), than a war to the knife, a succession of sanguinary engagements, in which men are discovered killing one another for the mere sake of slaying, and in obedience to some instinct of race-hatred which, for the time being, renders them no better than savages.      Under these circumstances, therefore, our admiration at what we cannot penetrate is bound to be the more acute and our consequent anxiety to set our baffled curiosity at rest the more teasing and

persistent.      But here, again, alas! the limited ex-tent of man's knowledge of the past confronts and confounds us, and we are obliged to seek refuge and consolation in speculation and conjecture, at which, making certain necessary reservations or allowances on account of individual perspicacity and relative scholarship, one man is to be esteemed almost as good as another.      Perhaps, when Gaelic scholarship is a little more advanced, and some of the precious documents now lying in Irish archives, like neglected lumber in some garret, have been translated or prepared for the Press, we may learn something more than the little we now know concerning this surprising revolution.        Meanwhile, however,    we    must perforce remain content with what we possess; or, failing satisfaction, must launch out into vain and unprofitable speculation, whose only possible events must be the bewilderment of the public and the encouragement of empiricism, together with the growth of a false and unsound manner of writing in history.

There is one other topic inviting particular mention in this place, which, if it shall seem some-what speculative, especially in view of what has just been said on that head, the author begs to apologise for introducing, which is, that the conquest of the Picts by the Scots is a circumstance to which we might reasonably look for explanation of the various ethnologic and other differences which close observers cannot fail to have noticed as subsisting between the Scots of the west and those who inhabit what was formerly the country of the Picts. However thorough the victory of the Irish colonists of Dailriada, it could not have been so much so that none of the Picts remained after the Scottish yoke had been imposed.  It is highly probable, therefore, that the greatest number of the Highlanders of to-day is descended from the vanquished Picts.      There are marked and peculiar differences subsisting between Western and Central and Eastern Scots, which it would be difficult to account for on any other hypothesis.      The true Scots of Scotland, if I may be permitted the expression, much more resemble their kinsmen of Ireland, in respect of physical appearance and temperament, than do the so-called Scots of the more central and northern districts.      It is significant, in view of what has been asserted above, that Eeligion and Nationalism (qualities for which the Irish are pre-eminently remarkable) are, in their proper Celtic forms, far stronger in the west than they are in the north, or in the east or in the central countries of Scotland.        And though com-parisons are odious, and, therefore, much    to be deprecated, as tending unnecessarily to divide a people and to keep them estranged one from another, yet the fact itself, as noted above, is interesting and, what is more, may serve to assist the thoughtful

66 The Literary Outlook The Literary Outlook 67

Btudent of history in his endeavours to trace thesprings of actions to their true sources, and toaccount for some things in our story which, withoutit, it might be difficult to explain upon understand-

able grounds, or to find cause for in a plain and

reasonable manner. H. M.-----------

THE LITERARY OUTLOOK(BY A PUBLISHER)

IT is a common observation on the part of those who have much to do with Celtic publications that they very rarely justify the time and money which are spent on them. The mortality among Celtic periodicals is, relatively speaking, prodigious; and but comparatively few of them have lived to enjoy the garrulous distinction of old age. Commercially, they leave much to be desired, as those who have made trial of them can best testify. For a time, they may do well enough; their circulations may temporarily justify the most sanguine estimates formed of them, touching their future ; but after a season they begin to languish ; readers drop off one by one, and presently the melancholy announcement appears, or the news is bruited abroad, that the Gad or the Clansman (of whom such bright things were prognosticated) has incontinently ceased to exist.

It may be inquired, at whose door is the responsi-bility for this unfortunate state of affairs to be laid ? Is it the fault of the " general reader," or is it the fault of those who undertake publications of a Celtic character ? For my part (and I write as one having some authority, for I have published several Celtic works in my time), the responsibility, as the blame, are to be equally divided between reader and publisher. Undoubtedly, the Highland reader does not accord that measure of support to publications, which are sent forth from the press admittedly in his interests and for his entertainment and instruction, which he should give.      On the other hand, the fault is largely the publisher's.      Frequently, he takes no proper measures to have his publications circulated, or worse still, if that be possible, he pursues a line of literary conduct which ends by alienating his readers. It is possible to have too much of even a good thing. The Celtic hobby may, quite conceivably, be ridden to death.      A publication which narrows its views to such a compass that it takes no cognisance of affairs outside the four hills, as it were, of the Highlands, does not deserve to succeed. Celtic people, when all is said and done, are much like other folk—they require variety in their literary provender, just as they exact a reasonable diversity in respect of their daily food.      Besides, to suppose that they are to be always entertained by erudite dissertations touching the Gaelic particle a, or the use of the preposition do is contemptible reasoning, and the abnegation of all common sense.      What they require is a publication which,    admitting a reasonable amount of matter appertaining peculiarly to themselves, yet goes abroad for topics whereby they may be equally amused and instructed.      Let us take the Nineteenth Century or any similar publication of the like standing in England.      The reader will find that its pages are not exclusively devoted to the discussion of topics of English origin.      On    the contrary, it takes a wide view of life and of society.      It discusses the affairs of other countries besides those of England, and endeavours to entertain

The Literary Outlook

and to instruct by the breadth of its views as well as by the variety of its printed matter.      Now what is the case with respect to our Celtic publications ? I dare to say that there is not one of them which, on examination, will be found to answer to this higher conception of what a national publication should be.    Of course, if the aim is to produce a sort of trade periodical, a specialised organ appealing to a limited class, the design may be a good one, whatever there may be to say with regard to the manner of its execution.      But the Highlands should produce at least one publication which is capable of taking a broad view of life; and which, whilst devoting that      attention      to    the language, the literature, and the customs of the Gael, which is necessary in the interests of our people, should yet endeavour to take them out of themselves, as it were, by treating of topics which, from the point of view of their edification, are every whit as important and as requisite.      It is a fault of the Celtic Kenaissance that its leaders and spokesmen take too narrow    a view of life.      They are, apparently, fearful lest the common attention should be diverted from the consideration of their proceedings, and directed into channels which might prove antagonistic to the aims and objects which, no doubt honestly enough, they have in view.      Greater mistake, of course, they could not make.      If the Gaelic language is to die, if the remnants of our nationality are to pass away (which God forbid!), it will not be the spokesmen and leaders of the Celtic Renaissance who will prevent it.  On the contrary, my own view is that their conduct and attitude, if they have any influence at all, tend rather to aggravate than to restrain or to retard the threatened process of decay, if not of actual dissolution.      In other words, they"bore" friend and foe alike by their unseasonable and vehement insistence, by their unpractical management of great issues, and by the ignorance of social and political conditions which they show. They mean well, no doubt, and so far as they go are respectable enough; but by confining and cramping the movement for the preservation of our language and customs, they hamper and distress, not only themselves but others, who, whilst just as zealous as they are to promote the objects which they have in view, have more discretion and a higher and wider conception of the destinies of our ancient race.

As a practical publisher, I am inclined to think that such a periodical as I have glanced at above has a reasonable chance of existence if vigorously con-ducted. On the other hand, I do not attempt to disguise the fact that the Highland reader leaves much to be desired. Often, regrettably so, my ex-perience shows, he is very remiss in respect of the payment of his subscription, which, apparently, he is apt to resent as an unfair demand on the part of the publisher. I regret to say, too, that many Highlanders are bigoted to the point of besotted superstition. If they do not find exactly what suits them, what coincides, that is to say, with their every preconceived opinion and prejudice they will wax indignant, and peremptorily decline all assistance ! They will even take the trouble of writing to the

editor to expostulate or reason with him on account of what they are pleased to consider as his ignorance or waywardness! More fatuous conduct, or one better calculated to defeat their own ends, could not, of course, well be conceived. But few of us can conscientiously say that we read a journal with whose obiter dicta we are in complete harmony, and whose views correspond with ours at every conceivable point of the religious and political compass. We do not, however, read our papers the less on that account, or fly into a passion, or half choke with impotent rage whenever we come across anything that happens to stick in    our literary digestive apparatus.      If we are inclined to be philosophical, we assume a calmness which, perhaps, we do not feel, and pass nonchalantly by on the other page: at all events we do not cut off our noses in order to spite our faces by cancelling our subscription to that paper—much less do we sit down, pen in hand, in order to reduce our indignation to remonstrances. " Live and let live "—this is a maxim hardly yet understood in the Highlands, so far, at least, as periodicals are concerned.      If the editors' cloth is not nicely adapted to the reader's measure, the latter is straightway up in arms in order to call public attention to it, and to cry "shame " upon those who are doing their best to serve him, even although they may not always be able to see eye to his eye, and to give nod to his nod.      A general agreement and a common end are surely deserving of better and more generous treatment than this, especially when it happens, as is certainly the case with regard to the Highlands, that friends are few and scattered, and those who are capable and willing to assist are yet fewer in number.      It is the duty of Highlanders to rally to the support of whatever may tend to advance and to edify them.      When the battle is over and the day is won will be time enough to pick holes in one another, and to dispute as to the wisdom and righteousness of this or that particular principle, which a common endeavour has made us acquainted with.I have been asked to make a few observationstouching publishing prospects in the Highlands ; but of these candour obliges me to acknowledge that I cannot speak very favourably. The literary outlook of Celtic Scotland is, to say truth, insignificant; and what is worse, tends to become more so. Very few Gaelic books are published nowadays, though books in the English language treating of Celtic topics are fairly popular, and moderatively remunerative. For my part, I do not think this is due so much to want of interest in Celtic affairs and to lack of Gaelic readers, as to the want of a central publishing house, from which exclusively Celtic works (Gaelic and English) might emanate. I believe the Gaelic League of

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Ireland does remarkably well with its publications, and the vitality of the language movement among our cousins is strikingly exemplified by the amount of native literature which the various publishing houses in that country have lately issued. In Scotland, however, that movement is, unfortunately (owing to political causes), far less "alive" and advanced, the consequence being that the output of literature is correspondingly smaller. My opinion is, however, that there is room for a small publishing house, which, establishing itself in Glasgow, should undertake to supply the Highlands exclusively with suitable literature. I think that auch a house, with a fair Gaelic scholar for adviser, and a good business man at its head, might do something to remove the standing reproach of Highlanders—that they are a non-reading public, and do not support the little modern literature that they have, as well as to provide themselves with a fairly remunerative undertaking. Professions and employments of all kinds are so crowded nowadays, and profits are shrinking so generally and alarmingly, that it surprises me that no one has yet had the courage to start such a business as I allude to above. No doubt, the experience of those who have dabbled (if I, who must plead guilty to having so dabbled, may use the expression) in publishing Celtic literature is not of a sort calculated to encourage others who may feel tempted to risk time and money in entering that uncertain and ungrateful field. But my contention is that most of us, if not all, who have dabbled, have done so more by way of experiment or entertainment than in course of prosecution of ordinary business; and so the reasons for our failure are not far to seek. But an exclusively Celtic publishing house is quite a possible and conceivable success, on a moderate scale, and I for one should be pleased to see the experiment attempted. Inexpensive books, with clear type and serviceable bindings and paper, are what the Highlands require ; and as to matter there is so much that awaits publication, and that could be published, that I apprehend that not the slightest difficulty need be experienced on that score, nor much expense incurred into the bargain. The editions of our classics are nearly all run out, and the high prices which the rarer of them now command in the second-hand

booksellers' shops tend to show that the republication of the more popular of them would be an adventure attended with considerable prospects of success. It is certainly a disgrace to the Highlands, and a reflection upon the enterprise of our people, that the poems of Alasdair Macdonald, perhaps the greatest of our poets, are presently, to all practical intents and purposes, unprocurable. Nicholson's Proverbs is another book which is scarcely now to be got, save at a very enhanced value, and which might well be re-issued in a cheap and handy form. A good English-Gaelic Dictionary (a companion volume to that recently published by the Highland News of Inverness) is also a want that might be easily and inexpensively supplied by a Celtic publishing house. Indeed, if I mistake not, the most of our Gaelic masterpieces (prose and poetry) are out of print, and not to be obtained save with considerable difficulty and at much expense. I think that inexpensive editions of the more popular of these would repay the cost of their republication, if not handsomely, at all events sufficiently well to justify such an undertaking on the part of a business man.

There is also a considerable quantity of fugitive literature in the Highlands, in the shape of legend, ballad, etc., which might well and profitably be gathered into shape and published at popular prices. Some effort, too, might be made (and I think that experience would justify it) to encourage modern talent, of which there is, perhaps, more in existence than is imagined.      Of course, the difficulty with regard to publishing modern original Gaelic matter is that the profits from its sale in book form are not considerable enough to permit of the payment of the author, at all events, at all adequately, as well as to provide for the cost of production.      This, no doubt, is a serious obstacle to Gaelic publishing; but I imagine that the difficulty might be got over by balancing one book against another—that is to say, by making a reprint (where the copyright has expired, and where there is a profit on the reprint) to pay for the cost of production and the author's honorarium of the modern original matter.        The Highlands, too, are better educated than they were; and the number of persons able to read in Gaelic is fortunately considerably on the increase; so that in a few years' time there should be a sufficient number of persons to render the publication of any suitable

74          Crabhadh do Leanaban Naomh Phrague

original work a fairly "safe" speculation. Besides, if the Highlands are nowadays worth anything, they have surely spirit and common sense enough to support their own authors. Let me assure my countrymen that no one else will; and that if they do not show a little more generosity and patriotism in the future than they have done in the past, they and their language will soon cease to exist. A nation which is without letters is justly held con-temptible by civilised countries, and is not fit to exist.

CRABHADH DO LEANABAN NAOMH PHRAGUE

A Leinibh Naoimh ! Tha mi 'greasadh a d'ionn-suidh. Tha mi 'guidhe ort as leth do Mhathair gun saor thu mi.

Oir, tha mi 'creidsinn gu daingean gum beil do Dhiadhachd g'am dhion.

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The Literary Outlook

Tha dòchas agam gu faidh mi do ghras ro-naomh.

Tha mi 'toirt goal dhut le muile chridhe, 's le m'uile anam.

Tha mi fìor dhuilich air son mo pheacanan, 'us tha mi 'guidhe ort, a Leinibh Naoimh! gun saor thu mi.

Tha mi 'cur romhan gun smachdaichidh mi mi fhèin, 's nach cuiridh mi fearg ort chaoidh t-uile.

Air an aobhar sin, tha mi g'am thairsge fhèin dhut, Ios gach ni fhulang air do shonsa.

A thuile air sin, ni mi seirbheas dhut gu dileas gu bràth ; agus bheir goal dha 'm choimhearsnach mar dhomh fhèin air do sgathsa.

A Leinibh Naoimh !      Tha mi 'toirt aoraidh dhut !Languages and Science

A Leinibh Naoimh! Tha mi 'guidhe ort gun saor thu mi as . . . ; agus deonaich dha* d' sheir-bhisich t'fhàcal èisdeach a chaoidh. 'Us tha mi 'g achanaich Ort3a cuideach t'Aodan fhaicinn maille ri Moire 'Mhathair is Ioseph, agus aoradh a thoirt dhut am measg nan Ainglean uile.      Amen, Amen, Amen.

MORLAMH.

LANGUAGES AND SCIENCEFOR a commercial people — a " nation of shop-keepers," in fact — it must be allowed that the English are remarkably slow to rid themselves of their insular prejudices, one of the most hardy and unintelligent of which is the common prejudice against the acquisition of foreign languages. Surely the day has long since gone by in which the typical Englishman, standing on his own hearthrug in that position which his numerous and industrious caricaturists have rendered familiar to us, was wont to assert his inborn superiority to the rest of mankind, and his fixed determination to impose his language on the universe ? Mr Chamberlain's fiscal proposals have rudely awakened him from his venerable dream of self-sufficiency ; and one is obliged to wonder that that astute politician, in recommending his nostrums to his countrymen, did not take occasion to tell them that their mode of doing business, as well as their policy, was at fault, and likely to prove fatal to them. In Scotland, fortunately, there is less of this insular prejudice against foreign languages than there is across the Border. Moreover, by common consent we are allowed to possess, as a nation, less of that insular conceit which renders the average English-

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man so obnoxious to the average foreigner. Undoubtedly we are readier to adapt ourselves to new conditions and requirements, arising out of the progress of events, than those are who have the misfortune to live beyond the Tweed. It may be said that this is a characteristic which springs from that love of money which our critics attribute to us in no small degree; but, whether this be so or not, the fact remains that, as a people, we are much less inelastic than the English, and that, for good or for evil, the Scot is considerably more " amenable " than the Saxon.

Undoubtedly, one of the best means of improving our chances of success in this world is the acquisition of foreign languages, which, to those engaged in trade, are nowadays essential; whilst to those who are not so engaged, the broadening, strengthening and cultivation of their minds by so agreeable and useful a process must necessarily seem in the highest degree desirable. In the past, however, the obstacles to such a course were considerable. Lan-guages were systematically taught in an unscientific manner, with the inevitable result that they were either not learned at all, or were acquired in so perfunctory and imperfect a manner as to be practically useless. Who does not remember the old

grammars with their verbose instructions and interminable reflexions, their formidable array of " exceptions," their numberless " declensions," their hopeless irregularities, and their absurd " conversa-tions " ? In the benighted times of which we speak, to acquire a language by means of book only was a truly formidable undertaking. Indeed, we doubt if it was not almost an impossible one ; for, however perfect in knowledge of the grammatical construction of a language the student might become by dint of his books, his acquaintance with the living speech was bound to prove insufficient, immediately it was submitted to the practical test of a conversation with one who was born and bred, as it were, in that language.

Fortunately, however, those times are past; and once again we have to thank science for the happy deliverance.      The study of foreign languages has now become "rational" or scientific; and he who wishes to acquire one or more, and fails in the endeavour, has      but himself to blame.      The old grammars and text-books have either gone the way of all such superfluous flesh, or are being rapidly consigned to that limbo which is their only fitting abiding-place.      Even schoolmasters of great public schools—the most conservative, even

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The Literary Outlook

reactionary, of all mortals—are beginning to realise the uselessness of teaching the grammar of languages without first acquainting their    pupils    with the practical    (as opposed to the theoretical) part of the same.      Business men and scholars, however, have long since recognised the value of the new method, and have subordinated it to their purposes with the most gratifying results.      According to Dr Bosenthal, who is one of the best known and most successful of these pioneers and true friends to civilisation and progress, anyone with ordinary intelligence should be able to acquire a foreign language—say German, Spanish or French—in the short space of ten weeks. Dr Rosenthal's observations on the subject of the rational study of foreign languages are distinguished by so much common sense that we shall make no apology to our readers for here reproducing some of them.      "Some years ago," he says, " a celebrated man    delivered a memorable speech before the members of one of the leading Universities.      In avery clear, conclusive and elaborate argument he showed that the study of Latin and Greek, as pursued in our schools and colleges, was practically worthless; that scarcely any of our students could read the ancient classics with ease and enjoyment, and that not even the teachers themselves were able to use these tongues colloquially.    He closed his speech with an eloquent appeal to the University authorities that greater attention should henceforth be paid to the study of modern languages, and many of    our      leading      Universities      have      since      then endeavoured to act upon his advice.      For four, five, frequently seven, years our young men and women study various text-books, manuals and grammars. They learn to parse, to analyse, to decline and conjugate ; they can repeat whole pages of grammatical rules and foreign words by heart; they are capable of taking a piece of classical French or German and rendering it into respectable English ; they frequently know the grammars of these tongues better than the natives themselves, and yet in going abroad they are utterly unable to ask for the common necessities of life in idiomatic French or German, and fail to understand the polite utterances of even a waiter orchambermaid.

" Examine now in the light of these suggestions any of our school methods, and it will at once be apparent why I enter a solemn protest against them. They are one and all merely analytical systems. They give a multiplicity of rules and exceptions, which the student cannot possibly remember, when trying to speak in a foreign language; they teach theory of speech instead of practising

it; they tear apart instead of building up — in a word, they educate philologists and grammarians and never try to impart practical linguistry.      I have in my posses-sion a letter from the renowned explorer of Greek antiquities, the late Dr Heinrich Schliemann whom I had the privilege of knowing intimately, and whose opinion as to the merits of any language system is of unquestionable value, as he was himself a distinguished linguist.

•"Your method,' he writes, 'is the only correct one, because it is a scientific adaptation of Nature's own way, by which all persons, whether children or adults, educated or otherwise, rapidly and correctly acquire the language which they constantly hear, and which they are instinctively compelled to imitate when residing in a foreign country.        Every intelligent observer must have noticed the ease and rapidity with which foreigners master the English language.      They have neither books, teachers nor interpreters;    they may be    Kussians,    Germans, Frenchmen, Spaniards or Swedes; they generally understand nothing about the principles of grammar ; they may be too young or uneducated to even write their own language ; yet, despite it all, they in-variably, within a few months, master sufficient English, not only to make themselves understood, but to speak it grammatically and correctly, provided they have mixed with well educated classes of society, and, of course, faultily and badly, if they have had the misfortune of associating with ignorant people.      From these facts it is obvious that some system must exist which we intuitively follow when we reside abroad, and which always and under all circumstances leads to complete control of a foreign tongue.      The first question before us should therefore be : What is this system which we instinctively follow when residing in a foreign country ?      If you lived, for instance, in Paris, you would invariably pass through the following stages of experience :—

"At first, the mind becomes confused by the multiplicity of foreign sounds which we hear. We try to fathom the ideas which are expressed in this unknown tongue ; failing to do so we naturally get bewildered.

" This state of mental confusion—which, by the way, is exceedingly disagreeable—is generally passed in about three or four weeks.      The ear, by this time, has grown accustomed to some of these sounds, and quite instinctively we begin to imitate that phrase which we have heard most frequently pronounced by the persons surrounding us, and which, at the same time, is most necessary to our wants.     

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Now, what is our greatest necessity ?      Which of the various needs to which humanity is subject is of paramount im-portance to young and old alike ?    It is nourishment, food—eating and drinking.      Consequently, the first sentence which is usually mastered is a phrase like this: ' Please give me something to eat,' or ' Please bring me the bill of fare,' or ' Pray give me a steak and some potatoes.'      Not a very intellectual phrase, but a sentence absolutely needful to everyone; and let me observe that Nature, through the mastery of this first simple phrase, has pointed out the true and only way in which alone languages can be learned. It is through sentences, and never through single isolated words.        Disconnected words are    never language.      But to return to our sentence: ' Please bring me the bill of fare.'      Not knowing any other expressions, we naturally cling to these words and use them again and again for our various necessities. For instance, when you want some matches, or an umbrella, or some towels, instead of saying to the attendant, 'Please bring me the bill of fare,' you will point to the object and address him thuB: 1 Please bring me . . .' The attendants, understanding your abbreviated phrase and gesture, 'Please bring me . .          will give you the words 'some matches,'' an umbrella ' or ' some towels' in Spanish, Chinese or Teloogoo, wherever you may happen to reside; you repeat these new words a number of times until by repetition they become quite natural to you.      In this way we go on from day to day, in fact, from hour to hour, until, finally, at the end of a few months, we are capable of expressing ourselves quite readily and fluently.      This is the process by which sounds become language.      This is the mode in which any language is mastered when we reside abroad.  Now, take any of the ordinary grammars, manuals or vocabularies, and what do we find ?      In the first place, mere grammatical rules and technicalities which, though very important in themselves, teach nothing but the theory or science of language, instead of giving us language itself.      Then glance at the vocabularies.        Do they teach the necessary expressions of common life ?      Or does it not rather seem as if the author had drawn the words at random out of the dictionary, more with the view of giving every word some chance of representation instead of teaching those expressions which we actually need and must know?      A person might learn a whole dictionary by heart and yet would not be able to converse.

" I hold that, instead of beginning our studies with little useless sentences (so often taught), which no commonsense person was ever known to use, and which no one can ever put to a practical purpose, we ought to commence with flowing, connected, rational

sentences, such as we are in the habit of employing in practical life. Instead of teaching phrases whose constructions are the same as those of our native tongue, we ought, on the contrary, to commence with

Fidiomatic sentences, whose formations are utterly foreign to    our    mode    of speaking, thereby dis-accustoming our minds from thinking in English, and becoming familiarised with    the    foreign ways of expression and thought.      For this, after all, is the great difficulty; this is the point of the whole problem.      We must learn to think in the foreign language itself.      We must no longer think about our French or about our German, but in the language itself.      No one can speak a foreign language who does not think in it.      Of course, when we reside abroad it is easily understood how we acquire the power of thinking in a foreign language.      There we are surrounded by Frenchmen, Spaniards, Swedes or Germans; we hear    nothing    but the foreign vernacular, and, being continuously obliged to make use of these strange sounds, we imperceptibly get so accustomed to them that, finally, they come just as readily and unconsciously to our tongues as the sounds of our own native language.      The words become, in fact, so fully our mental and bodily property, that, as the French say, ' we possess them1 and think in them.      How is a language learned? What is the meaning of this phrase, 'To learn a language' ?        It    means to translate our own individuality into comprehensible sounds.      It does not mean to study grammatical peculiarities.      It is not to be attained by the study and translation of the classic works of literature.      It is vain to attempt it by any school system.      It must be accomplished, by a sort of mental reconstruction—of our whole outer and inner life.      We must live over again the various incidents and sentiments of our life and must learn to express them in a foreign tongue.      Life's various scenes have to be represented anew in strange sounds, which, constantly repeated, will soon become secondnature to us.      Again and again we have to hear and repeat these sounds ; again and again we must apply them until at last they become just as familiar to us as the sounds of our native tongue.      There will then no longer be any talk of translation from one language into the other.    The    words will have become so thoroughly impressed upon our memory that they come just as easily, readily and unconsciously to our lips as the sounds of our mother-tongue.        Remember that      we      possess      but one intelligence, and our • thoughts must ever be the same, whether we express them in English, Russian, French or German.      Language appeals, therefore— at first at least—solely to the ear, tongue and memory, and though our intellect superintends and guides the whole initiatory process, it does not and cannot come into real action until the foreign sounds come just as unconsciously to our tongue as the sounds of our native language."

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We make no apology for this lengthy excerpt from Dr Rosenthal's observations on the rational study of foreign languages, for the justness and lucidity of his remarks are beyond question. We hope that they will not be lost sight of by those who have the interests of the Gaelic language at heart, and some of whom may at this time be contemplating some addition to our already superfluous stock of Gaelic grammars. The scientific

aspect of the language is receiving an amount of attention from scholars which, in comparison of past neglect, cannot but be highly gratifying to our national pride; but there is some danger lest the purely antiquarian instincts of the master minds of native and foreign Celtic scholarship should lead to the unmerited neglect of the living language. There is no doubt that a compilation such as Dr Rosenthal has already

84 An Tuil An Tuil 85effected in the interests of those who desire to learn German, Spanish and French, is also desirable from the point of view of those—and their number, if not legion, is, at all events, considerable and increasing— who wish    to acquire    Gaelic—one    of the most idiomatic and flexible of all languages.      Our existing grammars leave much to be desired, if we are to consider those who are not so much concerned with the theoretical as with the practical side of the language.      Indeed, with scarcely an exception, they are antiquated in their methods, and being for the most concerned with obscure questions of purely grammatical import are practically useless from the point of view of the student who desires to write in the language, rather than of or about it.      It is to be hoped that this long-felt want will soon be supplied to the public.

AN TUILRi là gaoith' is uisge, bha abhainn ann a thàinig roimh 'n chamhanaich as an dùthaich ard, gharbh, a tha thar thall a' mhonaidh.

Chaidh i seach air dorus seann duin* a bh' ann. Bha i 'gearan's a' talach mar a dh' fhalbh roimpe.

" Tog ort! " agus ioc dhomh na bheil agam ort!" ars' an abhainn. "'S gailbheach an uair a th' ann. Cha' n fhaca mi riamh a shamhuil air olcas. Tha sgìos orm, agus tha mi sgìth air dol air aineol. Leig a's tigh mi!      Leig a's tigh mi! "

" Ciod tha uaith ? " ars' an seann duine.

"O'n là thàinig mi dhachaidh gus an àm seo, mhothaich mi a' ghaoth fhuar 's an uisge.      Leig leam! Na bi rium! Cha 'n 'eil dad agam air do shon."

Ghabh an abhainn leum mhòr, agus bhuail i an dorus. Bha acras is fearg oirre ; agus bha an duine seann, lag, agus làn eagail.

" Is beag orm fuaim na gaoithe fuaire. Is fuar a' ghaoth à tuath. Is dubhach fuaim nan uisgeachan a tha 'ruith ann. 'S gun aire dhomh uamhann na h-oidhche," ars' an seann duine. " 'Abhainn ! carson a tha sibh ag iarraidh m'aimhleis ? "

Ghabh an abhainn leum mhòr, agus bhuail i a chasan.

" Bithidh mi dol a bhualadh do chridhe an ceann tacain," ars' an abhainn. "Ged a tha thu seann, bochd, is lag, tha thu ann ad dhuine, gun amharus. Tha beatha uam. 'S e feòil duin' a tha mi ag iarraidh."

"Bheir mise dhuit e cho luath 's is urrain domh. Ged is fhearr a bhi marbh na bhi ann," ars' an duine, " is cianail m'aigne ; oir is cruaidh leam do mhiann.      Mo thruaighe !      Mo thruaighe ! "

Ghabh an abhainn leum mhòr, agus bhuail i a leisean.

" Bithidh mi dol a bhualadh do bheul an ceann tacain," ars' an abhainn. "Tha mise is frasan dubh nan stiallan ag iarraidh do bheatha an oidhche seo."

" 'Abhainn gun acarachd ! " ars' an duine."De is àill leat ? Gheibh thu sin is mò, ma

tha e'm chomas; ach caomhain thu mise. Tha mi seann is bochd, ach bithidh agad gach ni a th' agam ma chaoineas thu mi."

Ghabh an abhainn leum mhòr, agus bhuail i a bheul.

" A Dhuine gun inntinn, gun fhoghlum ! " ars ise.      " Is gòrach thu.      An saoil tu gu'n fuasglaidh

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mi ort a nis ? Is iomadh là a bha mi ag iarraidh do beatha. Bha mi beag, agus tha mi mòr a nis ; bha mi lag agus tha mi làidir a nis. Cha' n fhuasgail mi ort," agus bhuail i a cheann.

Cho moch a 's 'g an d'thàinig an là màireach,dh 'fhalbh an abhainn thar a' mhonaidh, agus bha iann mu'n deachaidh a' ghrian fodha. Fhuair iad an

corp ann an poll beaga bh'ann. Cha robh ach gannda throidh uisge ann. Thiodhlaich iad e, agus dh'fhalbh iad dachaidh. AN T-AISLINGICHB.

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ARMS AND THE MANTHE revival of interest in the science of heraldry,

and the increased amount of attention which is nowadays being devoted to the kindred topics is a gratifying sign of the times, even although this re-

appearance of activity should be contemporaneous with much that is calculated to make an aristocrat to despair.      There is no doubt that public opinion on this head has recently undergone a remarkable change, which is the more gratifying and pleasing,

inasmuch as it records a distinct improvement upon what was previously imagined and believed.        The

silly affectation of indifference, and the crass ignorance with respect to heraldry and the cognate topics, which were formerly so fashionable, are now no longer indulged in, at all events in those quarters

from which one is wont to expect the inspiration of leading and of light Even a newspaper editor is presently required to " know something about

heraldry," and although his knowledge need not be very profound, yet it must

be such as will pass muster—as will Batisfy the ordinary, everyday newspaper consumer, or a host of knowing and indignant critics will soon demand the reason why, in no very conciliatory terms.

In a publication devoted to the discussion of heraldic topics, and, in a more especial manner, to the propagation    of what    are    styled    "scientific principles" in connection with the same, there has recently appeared a very interesting and informing paper from the pen of Mr Horace Round, in which that energetic and accomplished antiquary under-takes to show the substantial difference which exists between the English and the Continental theory touching nobility.      Mr Round's remarks are characterised on this occasion by that vigour and adroitness which a consideration of his observations on others have entitled us to expect from him; and certainly if, as Mr Round would lead us to suppose, there were any real danger of his countrymen falling into the error of regarding their nobility from a Continental standpoint, and, furthermore, of basing pretensions upon the same, we are persuaded that his homily is eminently seasonable, and that the vigour of his language is neither misplaced not un-called for.

As Mr Round is very careful to explain, Con-tinental and English nobility are not the same thing. As a matter of fact, they differ considerably; but in no thing, perhaps, more than in respect of the fact that, whilst on the Continent, a titled individual and his immediate relations are equally noble, in England, on the other hand, it is only the nobleman himself (the actual title holder, that is to say) who is lawfully noble. This fundamental difference between the two systems is, of course, a source of con-siderable perplexity to foreigners, who, naturally enough, find it difficult to comprehend the manifold niceties of the English practice, whose    glaring anomalies, indeed—to stigmatise them by no harsher epithet—they not only protest against as contrary to all reason, but ridicule.      Curiously enough, however, Mr Round's philippic against

certain of his countrymen is itself based upon a singular misapprehension of facts, or rather derives its authority, being justified, from one of those singular departures from theory in which English practice abounds. " Any individual" (says Sir James Lawrence in his Nobility of the British Gentry) "who distinguishes himself may be said to ennoble himself.      A prince, judging an individual worthy of notice, gave him patent letters of nobility.      In those letters were blazoned the arms that were to distinguish his shield.      By this shield he was to be known or nobilis.      A plebeian had no blazoning on his shield, because he was ignobilis or unworthy of notice. Hence, arms are the criterion of nobility. Every nobleman must have a shield of arms. Whoever has a shield of arms is a nobleman.      In every country of Europe without exception a grant of arms or letters of nobility are conferred on all the descendants." Thus there would seem to be, theoretically, at all events, ample justification for those who, disregarding English usage, look to the Continent for their ideas      of    nobility;      and although      Mr      Round's strictures in defence of English practice must be commended as much for their learning and spirit as for the wholehearted devotion to    established custom which they show, yet there can be no doubt that, so far as theory alone is concerned, Sir James Lawrence and those who think with him, have much the best of the argument.      Mr Round, of course, has English law on his side, which refuses to recognise a man as noble who is not himself an actual title-holder, agreeable to law; and being a species of lawyer, he is consequently not slow to make the most of that circumstance.      But law and heraldry being two very different sciences—indeed, if we mistake not, the former has frequently expressed itself through the channel of its oracles as consistently acting independently of any such considerations, we doubt if Mr Round was altogether wise or justified in appealing either to the spirit or to the letter of the laws of his country.      He may be right in respect of much that he says; but is he always discreet ? The " new " heraldry which, like many other things that arrogate that attribute to themselves, has come professedly to make us stare and to set us all by the ears, may end, not by converting, but by disgusting us.    The greatest part of Mr Round's onslaughts, it is impossible, with the best intentions in the world, to take in good part; and for ourselves we are disposed to ascribe the impunity he has hitherto enjoyed rather to the weakness and timidity of his adversaries, than to the impregnable nature of his own positions, or to the inherent accuracy or the transparent justness of his remarks.

But these observations can be of but secondary interest to Scotsmen, whose notions on this head necessarily differ considerably from those which obtain across the Border. That which for con-venience may be styled the Continental usage, was formerly (whatever may now be the case) much more regarded in Scotland than in England, which was a resolt of our long and intimate alliance with France, and greater correspondence with the Continent in general. Moreover, our established

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system of heraldry much more resembles the French and Continental than it does the English. For instance, a Scottish coat of arms—unlike an English coat— can only belong to the head of the family (by blood) for the time being; and is descendible to each heir male only, in succession. It cannot be transmitted as a quartering only by the heir of line in cases where the heir of line and heir male are not identical. A younger son or cadet of a family cannot lawfully bear the arms of the head of his house, unless and until such arms have been re-matriculated to him by Lyon Eegister, with distinctions proper to his case. The English method of differing arms at pleasure by the voluntary addition of the crescent, mullet, martlet, etc., is not recognised in Scotland.

These, however, we repeat, can be but secondary considerations      where      the

Celtic      population of Scotland is concerned. It is true that in our secondary capacity as

Scotsmen, we may take a legitimate interest in Scottish heraldry, which, however much

corrupted by foreign influences and arts, must necessarily appeal to us, so long as it

remains a part of the existing system. Among ourselves, however, the institution of

nobility and the formation of a body of heraldic rules or laws can 'be referred to a

period of the highest antiquity.      " I am obliged to mention it as the singular glory of

the Irish nation " (says the Irish historian, Keating) " that their Milesian ancestors had

so great a veneration, and valued themselves so much upon the nobility of their extract,

that they preserved their pedigrees and genealogies with the greatest care; and it is

evident that in former times there were alone 200 principal annalists and historians in the kingdom, who had a handsome revenue, and

a large estate in land assigned them to support themselves in the study of heraldry

and chronology, and to gain a perfect knowledge of those useful professions.

Everynobleman of any quality retained a number of these learned men, on purpose to record the actions of himself and his family, and to transmit them to posterity, besides such as were in constant pay and attendance for the service of the public."

In Ireland and Scotland, as elsewhere, the ownership of land constituted, as it does now, the special characteristic of the noble or Math.      Hereditary nobility, however, could only be obtained by the possession of property held by the family for three generations.      The privileged orders to which the appellation of Aires was given consisted, roughly speaking, of two classes, namely (1) those who possessed property in land, and (2) those who possessed cattle and other chattels.      The first-class comprised

the true nobility or Maths/ whilst the second, which was called Bd-Aire or cow-Aire, represented the lesser aristocracy, who did not hold land of their own, but grazed their cattle upon part of the common land, and upon land held from a Flath.      This latter dignity corresponded to the earl of later Anglo-Saxon times, and the Bà-Aire, who was not originally of noble birth, though a freeman, resembled the English Thane, whose importation into Scotland (after the abolition or suppression of the native titles of nobility, and the extinction of the Celtic system) has occasioned so much confusion to many of those who have treated of our Scottish concerns.

Such being, very briefly, the ancient construction of the institution of nobility among the Celtic people of Ireland and Scotland, there remain one or two points upon which some curiosity may be felt, and whose appropriate information we shall do our best to supply. In the first place, the different classes of ancient Scottish and Irish society, though originally possessing to a certain extent an ethni character, were not castes.      In process of time a family could progress from the lowest to the highest rank, not by virtue of the process of having its blood and that of its descendants " ennobled " by act or grant of the king, but simply by means of the acquisition of land, sufficient in quantity to enable its head to qualify for a Flath.      " The aspirant for the rank of Flath " (says Professor Sullivan in his admirable introduction to O'Curry's Lectures) " was called a Fer Fothlai, or man of wealth, and corresponded to the Greek ir\oUios, or rich member of the commonalty, who did not belong to the house, but was nevertheless a person of influence in the cities.        Their gradual promotion from one grade or rank to another appears to have been frequent enough, and to have materially contributed to mingle the different races which successively entered the country.      In later times, no doubt, when the Celtic and feudal systems flourished side by side, the mere act of the sovereign was deemed sufficient to constitute a Flath; and with the gradual disappearance of the native manners and customs, under the influence of the hostile forces opposed to them, there came gradually into existence a nobility, whose character and attributes differed little from those of that which subsisted wherever the feudal system obtained.

It does not seem probable that our ancestors had much recourse to titular designations or distinctions in the ordinary way of social intercourse. Eobertson adduces cases in the early history of Scotland in which even Tanists and Princes of the Blood appeared without titular distinctions of any

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kind. Early Gaelic literature, moreover, strengthens the impression that the ancient Celts did not make use of titles in referring to persons of noble birth.On the other hand, in formal documents and instruments of a legal kind, the style and character of the noblemen mentioned therein frequently appears. Thus, in the Book of Deer, "Euari, Mormaor of Marr," obtains mention under the head of a gift of land to the monks of that name. We also find mentioned a Leughadair or Eeader, a Britheamh or judge, a Toiseach or subordinate maor, etc. in such circumstances and in such a manner as justify us in concluding that those several appellations were titles in the proper sense of that word, rather than mere verbal expressions used to denote particular functions or callings.

After the introduction of the feudal system, however, we find in Scotland, as in Ireland, an increased tendency shown to make use of titular distinctions in addressing persons of rank.        The simplicity and dignity which characterised the early Celtic usage were largely departed from, and in their place we find springing up a more complex and artificial social code, which the inevitable confusion engendered by the warring of the rival systems of government, served to render still more complex and involved.      For many years, however, after the introduction of that system, the native nobility held their own; and it was not really until the extinction of the Celtic dynasty in the person of Alexander III., that the country may be said to have finally passed beneath the feudal yoke.      Even the later Celtic sovereigns can scarcely be said to have held their courts, if we are to consider in that connection the native nobility alone, who, as  Eobertson justly points out, held aloof from royal courts and hostings ; and so far from desiring and seeking the royal recom-mendation and favour seem to have cultivated an invincible repugnance to the feudal entourage of their

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94 Arms and the Mankings. The ancient Gaelic nobility of Scotland would seem, on the whole, to have deserved well of their Gaelic posterity. Feudal law and custom were infinitely distasteful to them; and much of the early known history of our country is but a record of their bloody endeavours to detach their sovereigns from their fatal attachment to foreign ideas, and to foreign principles of government.

In a future number of this publication we propose to continue our observations on the subject of our native Gaelic nobility, concluding them with some reflections on the present state    of the Scottish aristocracy, with particular reference to those noblemen, etc., who can trace their original to a native source.      In the meantime, we beg to take leave of our readers with an appropriate reference to the topic wherewith we began this paper, which is the subject of arms ; whereon the learned Keating, in his well-known History of Ireland has the following which, for the benefit of the uninformed, is now translated      out      of      the      original      into      English. " In the great assembly at Tara (in the reign of Ollamh Fodhla, 382) it was ordained by a law, that every nobleman and great officer should, by the learned heralds, have a particular coat of arms assigned him, according to his merit and his quality, whereby he should be distinguished from others of the same rank, and be known to any antiquary or person of learning wherever he appeared, whether at sea or on land, in the Court of his Prince, at the place of his own residence, or in the field of battle."

T H E H I G H L A N D G I P S Y:

HIS HAUNTS AND HABITS

ONE of the most picturesque factors in the present-day economy of the Highlands is the olive-skinned, honeyed-mouthed gipsy, who, amid the multifarious changes wrought by the centuries, retains still much of his pristine prestige and distinction.      His peregrinations through the country of the clans are constant and extensive.      One day he may be seen sauntering carelessly along the streets of Inverness, and within a month he may be encountered hawking pails and goblets in a crofting hamlet in Arisaig or Polewe.      Every road and footpath, moor and mountain, strath and corrie between the rugged Grampians and classic John o' Groats are familiar to him; and the state of his exchequer usually determines how his endless journeys are to be performed. When his funds are low he jogs along on foot as best he may, carrying his stock-in-trade and other belongings on his back.      When fortune favours him he buys horses, rigs out a caravan and moves about in semi-state, to the no small envy of his less prosperous brethren.

His home is ever in the flimsy, pervious tent, which he loves to pitch in sheltered, shady groves close to the roadside. Occasionally some noted painter places this lowly " dwelling " on his canvas, and by the exercise of his genius transforms it into a thing of beauty; or some popular and talented writer will, with similar success, transfer it ta the gilded pages of Eomance. The reality is vastly different, however, from these interesting representa-

95

96 The Highland Gipsy The Highland Gipsy 97tions ; and even a moderate degree of comfort and enjoyment can scarcely be associated with the tiny and fragile domicile.

The true-born gipsy, furnished with a long and unbroken line of nomadic ancestors, is well inured to the vagaries of the weather, and extreme cold or heat does not seriously or injuriously affect him. The thermometer may register several degrees of frost, the snowflakes may descend thicker than autumnal leaves in Vallombrosa, or the pitiless rain may pour in torrents, soddening the frail tent and all that it contains, but the direful circumstance conveys no terror to his philosophical mind. The law of " the survival of the fittest in the struggle for existence" against a rigorous climate has operated effectively and thoroughly among his kindred and people.

The genesis of the mysterious, vagabond gipsy race is hidden in the clouds of hoary antiquity; but India is commonly assumed to have been their

original home. The French call them Bohemians and the Italians, Zingari, and they have drifted over the whole of Europe, even to its remotest parts. Those finding their way to the north of Scotland gradually assumed Highland surnames, and among the swarthy host are to be found, in large numbers, exotic MacDonalds, MacGregors, MacAlisters, Johnstons and Stewarts. The last, perhaps, predominate —a fact which gave rise to the old saying, "All Stewarts are no sib to the king." Very severe laws were formerly enacted and enforced against them in Scotland, France and Germany, and thousands of them were arbitrarily slain. When induced to discuss their genealogy they usually asserted that they hailed from "Little Egypt," but that the king of Hungary, after compelling four thousand of them to be baptised, and putting the remainder to death, condemned those that were baptised, and had survived, to seven years' wandering. The jargon spoken by the gipsies is

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designated Romany, and embraces, according to a reliable writer, corrupted Hebraism and many Sanscrit words. The language of Ossian is, however, universally understood and spoken by those making Caledonia the country of their adoption.

They are a pugnacious and, in some respects, a chivalrous class of people ; and, since settling down within these realms,    have consistently identified themselves with    the warlike    enterprises of our country.      The Gaelic proverb—" Is truagh nach be cheaird sinn uile an diugh"      ('Tis pity we were not all tinkers this    day)—is    well-known to    all Highlanders, but the tradition concerning its origin may be new to some readers.      On one occasion Alasdair MacColla      (Alexander      MacDonald),      the valiant Irish partisan of the great Montrose, found himself in rather a tight corner while engaged in an exciting skirmish with    the Covenanters.      At the crucial moment a powerful tinker of the name of Stewart, from the wilds of Atholl, appeared among the harassed MacDonalds.      He plunged promptly into the thick of the fray, and with his claymore cut down his antagonists as a sturdy man brings down the stalks of corn with his sickle.      The Covenanters found it impossible to withstand this terrible onslaught and      incontinently      took      to their heels. MacDonald was much gratified and astonished at the prowess of the Atholl warrior, and, calling him to his presence, inquired what his name and designation were.      The man modestly answered that he was merely a tinker      and      scarcely    deserving to be mentioned among men.      The son of Colla Ciotach turned to his followers and expressed his admiration

Gof the intrepidity and swordsmanship just display in the notable words which I have cited. I have good ground for stating that at the present day several hundred tinkers wear the King's uniform and generally prove themselves smart and well-behaved soldiers.

Claiming the banks of the noble Ganges as the cradle of his race, the modern gipsy, in civil life, is still

endowed, 1 regret to state, with many of the reprehensible characteristics of the canting Indian

fakir.        He      is      much      too      ready      to substitute " romancing " for the unvarnished truth

when that course appears to suit his immediate purpose, and his highest ambition evidently is to make

nis living by      begging,      fortune-telling      and similar    shady practices.      He is not unduly troubled

with qualms of conscience concerning rights of property; and time was when he did not scruple to kidnap little children.      This heinous propensity is

alluded to by Sheridan in his Critic: "Steal! to be sure they may ; and, egad, serve your best thoughts as gipsies do stolen children—disfigure them to make

'em pass for their own."      Infants are, however, regarded no longer as fair game, and the acquisitive

wanderer is obliged to turn his attention to more legitimate forms of trade.

The poacher's wiles he practises with persistency and skill from his boyhood even until death breaks for him the vital chain. Trout, salmon, rabbits, pheasants, partridges and grouse are equally welcome to his larder; and no one needs to advise him as to where,

when and how to catch them. After a heavy fall of rain he unhitches his jaded horse in the vicinity of a well-stocked stream or mountain tarn, and, on making a careful reconnoitre and finding the coast clear, fetches out his angling paraphernalia.His home-made flies are generally very enticing and very effective, and a good basket is speedily secured. The cunningly-contrived net is sometimes brought into requisition when time presses and a large haul is urgently required. His bare-legged boys, meantime, serve their apprenticeship to the "gentle art" with worms and bent pins dangling from a supple hazel wand.

Your cautious tinker rarely carries a gun when invading warren or covert in pursuit of game. For obvious reasons he prefers to use the snare, the drugged food and the other little artifices which he well understands, but which it is not my purpose here to explain. The much-enduring keeper finds him a slippery customer to deal with, for before the depredations are discovered—if it should really happen that they are ever discovered—the watchful and nimble-witted marauder has decamped, leaving not a trace behind him except a heap of cold ashes and dead embers. His method of disposing of telltale feathers is ingenious and effectual. The birds are cooked in their feathers, either by being roasted on a spit before a blazing fire or baked in an oven consisting of a hole dug in the ground and lined and arched with red-hot stones.      The result is obvious.

The farmer is not to be counted among those who admire the gipsy and his doings. This is scarcely to be wondered at. Each of the too-frequent visits of the mender of pots and pans is attended with palpable damage to the hapless farmer's property. The best grazing bits adjoining the public road and not enclosed by a substantial fence are intermittently converted into camping-grounds, and the gipsy's horses, are set to browse all over the place. A denudation of the pasture is not the only serious outcome of these intrusions. The miserable quadrupeds are often suffering from some contagious disease, the germs of which they transmit to the farm horses either by leaving them in the grass or by actual contact. Cases have, more than once, come under my observation in which, on this account, all the horses on a farm have been for weeks rendered unfit for work. In order to support and replenish the fires of a gipsy camp neighbouring fences and palings are constantly laid under contribution, and a continual demand is made on the purse of the owner or occupier of the soil in executing the necessary repairs. In those out-of-the-way districts where peats are still in vogue the fuel problem is greatly simplified for the unprincipled vagrant. Without the slightest compunction and with prodigal extravagance he and his retinue consume in a single night what took days to cut, dry and stack.

To give the fellow his due, it is only on rare and exceptional occasions that he indulges in sheep-stealing ; but to conduct raids on the hen-roost is one of his favourite recreations. In nineteen cases out of twenty he escapes detection, his migratory habits militating against the efforts of the police. And then

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country people are never too ready to invoke the assistance of the authorities in cases of this kind.

The Highland gipsy is subjected to a social ostracism which is absolute and universal. Between him and the humblest and most indigent West Highland cottar a wide and definite gulf exists, and no matter how well-known they may be, the one to the other, they never confabulate at fair or at ferry. Some years ago a regatta took place in a certain district in the West Highlands. The largest neighbouring proprietor acted as commodore, and there was a full muster of local magnates.      Among those who entered a boat in one of the sailing classes was an itinerant tinsmith and rag-gatherer, and to the intense chagrin and annoyance of the committee he won one of the most valuable cups. Then a regrettable incident occurred. The committee peremptorily refused to hand over the cup to the winner, expressly because he was " neither a fisherman nor a gentleman." The tinker promptly served a summons upon the haughtymembers of committee, and the case went before the sheriff. His lordship ridiculed the idea of a competitor being disqualified on account of his trade or occupation, and unhesitatingly ordered the trophy

to be delivered to the now triumphant wielder of the soldering-iron.

The opinion that Parliament should do something to protect dwellers in rural districts from the rather unwelcome attention of tinkers is now beginning to gaiu expression among landowners and farmers. It is held that it should be made a criminal offence for the roving fraternity to camp on any ground without the owner's or the occupier's permission, and that the machinery requisite for enforcing such a measure should be of a simple and expeditious character. Mere proof that the camping had taken place unwarrantably should, it is maintained, be sufficient to convict, and it should be unnecessary to raise the question of ownership or of actual and tangible damage. Legislation on these lines would inflict no real hardship on the gipsies, for they are generally well able to pay their way like other hawkers. The civil law is, of course, always available to farmers, but it has ever been found much too slow and expensive for this particular purpose.

To discourage in any possible way the roaming predilection would facilitate the spread of education among them, and relieve School Boards of a heavy

IO2 The Highland Gipsy

and serious responsibility. The compulsory clauseof the Education (Scotland) Act 1872 has hithertoproduced no appreciable result with respect to theseubiquitary tribes. The illiterates among themamount very probably to ninety-nine per cent., andthere is little prospect that in the immediate futureknowledge will unroll to their eyes her " ample page"—unless some drastic change is effected in then-mode of living. I happened to introduce thissubject recently to an intelligent Highland post-master. His office is visited almost daily by passingtinkers having goods to order or money to remit, andhe assured me that very few, if any of them, could,to save their lives, distinguish between a postalorder for half-a-crown and one for ten shillings.This state of matters is certainly not very creditableto civilised Scotland, but it is difficult to devise aplan by which it can be improved without encroach-ing to a more or less extent on the " freedom of theisubject." To make it inconvenient for them tocontinue their perpetual wanderings seems to be theonly practicable way by which the compulsory officerwould be able to discharge his beneficent duty towardsthe dusky but highly intelligent lads and lassies ofgipsydom. ANGUS HENDERSON.

Guth na BliadhnaLEABHAR I.]          AN T-BAEEACH, 1904. [AIREAMH 2.

THE SCOTTISH CATHOLICS AND SPAININ the struggle of the creeds for political supremacy in the last third of the sixteenth century no phase is more curious than the gradual weakening of the tendency that drew the Scottish Catholics towards France for sympathy and support.      For ages the keystone of the European political system had been the maintenance of a close friendship between Scotland and France, in order to protect the former against England and the latter against a coalition of England and Spain.      So long as no vital religious differences existed to cut athwart the ancient lines of affinity and cleave new political sections, the English attempts, persistent though they were, to undermine the independence of Scotland either by force or craft were always met, and usually frustrated, by counteraction on the part of Scotland's secular ally.      But when the disintegrating influence of religious dissent made itself felt, and France as well as Scotland was split into antagonistic faiths, whilst England and Holland went over almost entirely to the newer ideas, it was inevitable that the Protestants in each country should make common cause, oblivious to ancient national grouping, and that the Catholics of Scotland and England should gradually be driven in mere despair

A

to seek aid from Spain, the only power in Europe where religious dissent had found no footing. Like all national movements rendered necessary by the creation of new circumstances, the drawing together of the Scottish Catholics and Spain was only effected with infinite hesitation and many instinctive efforts on the parts of the actors to revert to the old grooves rendered familiar by centuries of tradition.      They, like men in all ages, were for the most part unable to gauge or understand the mighty forces which moved them, as a glacier moves the pebbles on its breast.      They only knew, or rather felt, that from the day when the

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widowed Queen Mary landed at Leith, half French though she was by training and descent, she could no longer count, as all her forefathers had done, upon national French force, if needed, to maintain the independence of her ancient realm against English aggression.      Her Guise uncles might perchance help her because of her kinship with them, but France was split in twain by Catholics and Huguenots, the Guises themselves would soon be fighting for their own existence, and whilst the wily Italian, Catharine de Medici, depended for her power upon the nice balance of the two religious parties she would never allow French national resources to be used for making either Guise or his Scottish niece inconveniently powerful.      And so it happened that, though Scottish blood ran in the veins of the best French nobles, though Scotsmen went still to Paris for polish and for learning, and though one French envoy after another came to Mary with hollow words of sympathy and to Elizabeth with equally hollow remonstrances in her favour, Mary Stuart had to fight her battle in Scotland and England by meansof her own wit, pitted as it was against some of the craftiest brains in Christendom.      In these circumstances she naturally turned to the King of Spain to support her claims to the English succession in case the efforts of her Anglophil ministers failed to wring from Elizabeth a recognition of her rights.      How the keen war of intrigue was waged for years by England and France to prevent Mary from gaining effectual support from Philip, which would at least have ensured equality of treatment for Catholics in England and Scotland, cannot be told here, for the subject is extensive and intricate.      Suffice to say that the Guises were gradually eliminated from the problem, partly by circumstances in France and partly by Philip's diplomacy, and for years before Mary's martyrdom at Fotheringay she and her adherents looked for rescue alone to Spain.      That part of the story has already been told by me fully elsewhere; but the later efforts of Scottish Catholics and moderate men to secure by the aid of Spain the succession of England for their King when the old Queen Elizabeth should die, and the counter-intrigues of the English Catholic exiles to prevent it, have never hitherto been dealt with as they deserved.      James himself was as desirous as his Catholic subjects that he should succeed to the great inheritance, but he was constitutionally unable to run straight, and bis shifty bad faith made him distrusted with ample reason by every one.      The struggle, indeed, developed at last into the traditional antagonism between Scots and Englishmen rather than a desire on the one side for the personal elevation of James or for his rejection on the other ; and James's tergiversation about his religion was only one of the factors that enabled the English Catholic exilesto turn the King of Spain finally against the proposals of the Scottish nobles, and so to drive the King of Scots into the intrigue with Robert Cecil, which ended in his accession to the English throne under circumstances that allowed him basely to break his promises to his Catholic subjects.

In May, 1586, eight months before Mary's execution, the Catholic Scottish lords, Huntly, Claude Hamilton

and John Earl of Morton, sent to Spain Robert Bruce, of Bemie,1 to ask for aid in Guise's plan to liberate Mary

and James under Catholic auspices.      When Bruce arrived in Spain in September, 1586, Philip had, after

years of hesitation, decided to take the plunge and force England to be friendly with Spain by means of

invasion.      In such an enterprise the co-operation of Guise would have been unwelcome; and Bruce was

sent back to Paris with vague messages of sympathy for Huntly and his colleagues.    The latter had,

however, made one offer which might be useful to Philip's plans, namely, to hand to the Spaniards two

good Scottish ports near the English border; and the Spanish Ambassador in Paris was secretly instructed to

keep Bruce in hand until the opinion of the Duke of Parma, the Spanish governor of Flanders, had been

obtained as to the desirability of accepting the offer of the Scottish lords.      The Ambassador (Mendoza) in

Paris, a devoted adherent of Mary, hotly urged upon Parma the acceptance of the offer.    " Seeing," he says,

" that the Scottish Catholics make this move at the present time, which for many reasons

1 The existence of the signed blanks sent by the lords, to be filled in in Paris, and carried by Bruce, has often been disputed. I have, however, unearthed the documents themselves it Simancas and can answer for their genuineness.is the most favourable that could be, and that they intend to extirpate heresy from their country, it is quite evident that great apprehension will be caused thereby to the Queen of England, who has so large a number of Catholics amongst her subjects whom she oppresses, but upon whom she will have partly to depend whenever she tries to impede the Scottish designs, so many of the northern counties near Scotland being Catholic. . . . The Queen looks upon herself as unsafe the day she has not in her favour the majority of the people of Scotland; and this she has hitherto managed to secure, as the English faction being paramount."    Scotland, urges Mendoza, had fought England again and again without losing a league of land, and with the help now demanded may hold Elizabeth in check until the Catholic cause triumphs; and he prays Parma to send a good answer to the Scots on the receipt of satisfactory replies to certain questions to be asked on matters of detail.      But* Parma was surrounded by English Catholics of the Jesuit faction, who were ceaseless in their assertions that England wanted no Scottish aid and would accept no Scottish sovereign. Parma himself, moreover, was sulky at not being taken more fully into Philip's plans, and he was coolly non-committal in his attitude towards the Scottish scheme.    Simultaneously with the arrival in Paris of Parma's reply Colonel Stuart (afterwards Earl of Arran), captain of James VI.'s bodyguard, came to Mendoza with another message from the Scottish Catholics, telling of their determination to restore Mary to the throne if only a little help came to them from Spain.      In this plan, they said, James VI. himself was a party; and Mendoza wrote to his King a fervent petition that the prayer of theScots should not go unheeded, even if only to furnish Spain with the harbours of refuge so urgently needed for the safety of the projected Armada.      " I cannot help urging Your Majesty to seize the opportunity offered by the Scots; for if it is let slip it can hardly

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The Literary Outlook

come again."      The nobles who joined in the offer were Lennox, Claude Hamilton, Crawford, Rothes, Montrose, Moray, Caithness, Sutherland, Glencairn, Ogilvie, Fleming, Carrington, Seton, Hume, Herries, Lovat, Inver-meith, Don and Ochiltree, a stronger combination than the Catholic party had ever before effected in Scotland.      The English influence in Philip's councils, however, was strong.      Whilst the Welsh and Scottish priests in Rome sought to persuade the Pope of the possibility of James's conversion, in order that a Spanish domination of England and Scotland might be discountenanced, Father Persons, Cardinal Allen, the Duchess of Feria and the rest of the English exiles repeated without cease that they and their countrymen would prefer a thousand times the overlordship of Philip, of his daughter, or of any Spanish nominee, to the accession of a Scot to the throne of England. In the meanwhile the execution of Mary somewhat simplified the issues.      Whilst she lived her right to the succession could not be overlooked by any Catholic interest; but with James it was quite a different matter; and, in view of his proved falsity, some of the Scottish Catholic nobles even came round to the view that he could never be trusted to deal fairly with them or their faith. Bruce, who still remained on the Continent, was instructed to convey this to the Spanish agents, whilst praying for an answer to his mission.    His message made all the difference; and Bruce suddenly found himself made much of by Parma. Aid should be sent at once to the Scots in money: 150,000 crowns more should be sent three months after the muster of the Catholic forces.    The King of Scots was to be converted, if possible; and, above all, a Scottish port must be secured for a Spanish base.      The difficulty, he was told, was the conveyance of the auxiliary force from Flanders to the Scottish coast, as Parma had no boats available; but Bruce made light of this. If money for the purpose were given to him he would undertake to freight thirty vessels in Scotland, ostensibly to load wheat at Dantzig, but really to ship men at Dunkirk.      So Bruce was sent to Scotland in May, 1587, with 10,000 crowns, accompanied by one Captain Foster, who would take charge of the flotilla to be freighted.      Leith was to be secured as a port of debarkation, and all was to be ready for a move in the autumn, at the time when it was hoped the great Armada from Spain would be ready.      It is certain, from the correspondence now accessible, that Philip intended this only as a feint; and that, whatever hopes King James may have entertained that it portended the recognition of his rights to the English succession, on a more or less hesitating acceptance by him of Catholicism, they were mistaken.    James, indeed, was no match, clever as he thought himself, for the Spaniards in diplomacy, and his falsity was seen through from the first. The advantage to the Spaniards in disarming him during the attack upon England, and the obtaining of a port and the admission of Spanish troops in Scotland, were enormous.      But from the first Bruce's mission went awry.      Numberless obstacles delayed him until September when he arrived atLochrian.      It was too late in the season then to freight ships, even if Dantzig was not blocked by ice as it

would be later.      So Bruce was introduced by the lords to a secret interview with James himself.      The King pretended to approve of the coming of Spanish forces, but his confidant, the Justice Clerk Ballenden, soon turned him to another way of thinking; and a cloud of proposals for other arrangements with Spain and Parma were raised by James with the object of embroiling and obscuring the business.      Huntly and the lords made up their minds that with so shifty a colleague as James they could do nothing and determined to act independently of him.      They would, they said, hold themselves ready to seize Leith and receive the Spanish force independently of the King rather than allow the Catholic faith in Scotland to be utterly crushed, as it would be unless a stand was made.      John Earl of Morton went to Flanders from Spain, where he was in exile since July, 1587, personally to confer with Parma; and in March, 1588, returned to Scotland accompanied by Colonel Semple, one of Philip's pensioners, with the project to capture Leith by means of a rising of the Catholic nobles; whilst Semple was to make a last attempt, if it was deemed advisable, to win James to the Spanish cause.      Semple found James as shifty as ever and gave up the task in despair, whilst Morton, imprudently endeavouring to precipitate the rising, was captured for treason.      In vain Huntly clamoured for help and succour from Flanders : none could come, for the North Sea was crowded with enemies who watched Parma's ports as a terrier watches a rat hole.      The great Armada was already under weigh, Morton was in prison, and the Scottish Catholic nobles lurked powerless in their own fastnesses, watching with dismay the crumbling of all their hopes with the scattering of the Armada. Even Robert Bruce began to palter with his faith and sell himself for lucre to the enemy, for the 10,000 Spanish crowns he held could not be used and English paymasters as well were numerous and ready. Semple went back to Flanders in September, 1588, with Bishop Chisholm to urge personally the case of the Scottish Catholics. But, alas! nothing could be done, for Philip, as he said, was determined not to lift a finger to increase the power of James; and the latter made no secret of his opinion that a Spanish conquest of England could only tend to his own advancement. There was still too much talk, more-over, amongst the Scottish Catholics in Rome about the possibility of the conversion of the King of Scots to please Philip, and, with the exception of Huntly and some of James's personal enemies, even the Scottish Catholic nobles were not prepared to throw their King over altogether. All appeals to Philip from Scotland for some time after the Armada were therefore in vain. Father Persons and the English pensioners were all in favour of the " Irish enterprise," of the murder of Elizabeth, of the adoption of an English claimant, of anything to prevent a Scots paramountcy over England. James was as eager as ever with his embassies to Spain and Rome—Ker, Fentry, Pury Ogilvie and the rest of his tools ; but his duplicity was well understood, and it was seen by the Spaniards that his only object was to bring ressure upon Elizabeth to acknowledge him as er heir. The Pope, however, was hoodwinked, and sent money by Father Gordon to James in 1591, and the King of Scots smiled effusively

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The Literary Outlook

upon the Catholics for a time. But in 1593 he: had again fallen under the English influence. Then] it was that the nobles sent to Spain a treacherous priest, an Englishman named John Cecil, to mak| a decided bid for rescue. They wanted, they saidl 3,000 foot soldiers landed at Lochrian in CarricH and 100,000 ducats in money; and if these were] sent they would undertake to capture James, and] "deal with him as His Majesty may desire". Cecil] had been brought up at the English college at Valladolid, of which Father Persons was rectora and he was sure of a welcome from his old master] Persons, as has been said, had previously bitterly opposed all the Scottish plans ; but Cecil's message] quite altered his opinions for a time. If the Scottish nobles were ready to capture James, as they said, " and deal with him as the King of Spairn desired" all his objections would disappear, and Persons was as desirous as Huntly himself that no! time should now be lost in sending the Catholic] lords the aid they demanded. If James was to] be eliminated from the problem, the solution in] favour of Catholicism was easy both in Scotland] and in England. It looked tempting; but the Irish Catholics were more vociferous in their de-1 mands for preference even than the Scots; and] matters hung fire yet another year. Then Walter] Lindsay of Balgarys and Cecil again went to Spain] with fervent letters from Huntly, Angus, Erroll Semple and Herries, praying for aid to restore the] Catholic faith. But James had kept his finger OM the intrigue by pretending to approve of Spanish! help being asked for; and at the given moment] Huntly, Semple and Francis Earl of Bothwelfl were exiled, although James feigned that he exiled] Huntly only temporarily, and for appearance sake.!Huntly went to Flanders, where Angus soon joined him, and there renewed the demands for help from Spain; but, as before, in vain. Gradually, by the duplicity of James, and the wavering of the lords, most of them found their way back to Scotland; but one there was who, more out of enmity to James personally than steadfastness in the Catholic faith, remained in Philip's pay for the rest of his life; weaving plans for the destruction of his enemy the Bang, if not for the restoration of the Church in Scotland, as he pretended. This was Francis Stuart, Earl of Bothwell, Lord Admiral of Scotland, son of John of Coldingham, the base brother of Queen Mary. From being a staunch Protestant in appearance, and a pensioner of England, he had changed now to the other side ; and had fled to Spanish territory after his plot to seize James at Falkland had failed. In 1601, when old Philip was in his grave, and his son ruled as Lerma's puppet, Bothwell wrote from Flanders to tìle King a detailed plan for the raising of Scotland, as a means of securing England to the Catholic side. His plan was to send from Flanders 4,000 troops to Orkney, where his brother the Earl of Orkney would welcome them, and simultaneously another 4,000 to Kirkcudbright, where they would be joined by the English Catholic contingent. Measures would be taken, he said, to secure Broughty, Perth, Stirling and Dumbarton; and the expenses of the war might be defrayed by ithe appropriation of one-third of the Scottish ecclesiastical temporalities. Bothwell, unfortunately, complicated his recommendation and

showed his interested aims, by asking that an embassy should be sent from Spain to demand of James the restitution of his (Bothwell's) estates, on condition that he remained in exile for the rest of his life. He gives a long list of the Scottish nobles, not by any means all Catholics, who had pledged themselves to support such an invasion as that proposed. Colonel Semple,1

another Spanish pensioner, presented a somewhat similar plan in Flanders: but, alas! there was neither money nor energy now in the Spanish councils. Dry rot had set in, and the administration was decadent. A half-hearted attempt to invade Ireland was made; but James Stuart was still an obstacle, and of all people in the world he was the last whom Spaniards, or indeed any Catholics, would aid to elevate. So the Scots prayed in vain to be rescued from the religious dispensation under which they lived. But at least Bothwell, who was almost penniless, was granted his pension of 250 or 300 ducats a month, which, however, was paid with sad irregularity and he was often in poverty. Early in 1603 Bothwell again returned to the charge, and himself went to Spain to see the King. Again he related how eager the Scottish nobles were to welcome a force that should coerce James. The four principal fortresses of the country would, he said, be delivered to him (Bothwell) for the security of the Spaniards. All his kinsmen Stuarts would follow his lead, and what was first needful was a sum of money to raise and equip an armed force, ostensibly as a bodyguard for James, but really for his coercion. Hostages, too, were to be forthcoming, the sons and heirs of himself, Ochiltree

1 There is in the Spanish National Library at Madrid a long memorial from Colonel Semple in 1620 to Philip III., setting forth his services, and saying that if his advice in 1601 had been taken, Scotland and England would have returned to the Catholic faith.and Fernihurst; and later Prince Henry was to be delivered to Bothwell to hold for the King of Spain.    The prayer of Bothwell was seconded by Fernihurst.      Dumbarton, Broughty, Blackness and Hermitage were ready to be handed over, and victory was safe and sure in Scotland, and afterwards in England.      Fernihurst, too, brought from Scotland a fine plan to reconcile Bothwell to his enemy the King.      His heir should marry Huntly's daughter without a dower, the Barony of Colding-ham should be surrendered to Lord Hume, who claimed it; and all feuds should be forgotten, but he must be restored in his estates.      Too late ! Too late!    The Philips had let their opportunities slip one by one.      Elizabeth was on her deathbed ; and before the Committee of the Spanish Council could report on the new proposals of Bothwell and Fernihurst in the name of the Scottish nobles, news came that jubilant James Stuart was speeding south as fast as horses could carry him, to enjoy as he might the heritage for which he had lied and paltered so long.        The cause of Catholicism in Scotland was beaten by the chicanery of King James and Bobert Cecil.      The new grouping of powers following religious division had deprived Scotland of her ancient ally France, whilst the Philips had been too lethargic, and the English Catholic exiles too jealous, to allow of the new combination with Spain desired by the Scottish nobles for the defence of their faith.        For good or for evil the land of the North

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was thus tied for evermore to her more opulent sister, England.

MARTIN HUME.EILEIN NA H-OIGE

NAM biodh agamsa mo raghuinnThaghainn as an Eòrpa Aite tuinidh 'n cois na tuinne'N Eilein grinn na h-Oige. Lom e 'dhuilleach, lom e

'mhuran,Lom e 'churachd eòrna; Air a luimead gur a lurachLeamsa 'h-uile fod dheth.

•Cha'n'eil ionad anns a chruinne'S inntinniche òigridh. Sunndach cridheil fonn nan

nighean'S binne 'sheinneas òran. Ar cuid bhodach's iad 'tha

frogail—Mòr tha 'thogail còmh' riuth': Sùrd na caileig' air a

chaillich,'S mear an aign' 'tha foipe.

Euaim nam feadan feadh nan creagan,Leinibh bheaga 'dannsa; Luchd na mara a' sàr-

tharruingCanabhas ri cranntaibh, Eubh nan gillean shios mu'n

linnidhIad ag iomairt trang ann : Tràigh a's gile, cnuic a's

grinne,Ragha suidhe samhraidh.

Là na gaillinn gur a fallainGaoth na mara greanntaidh ; Gasd an sealladh muir

a' stealladhSad mu mhullach bheanntabh ; Marcan-sìne bharr

na SgrìneNuas 'n a mhill's 'na dheann-ruith ; Muir gach ama

'caochladh greanaEis na meallan geamhraidh.

Gasd am farum aig a bhannal'Th' air an teanal thall ud ; Luachadh daingeann air

na maidean'Chuireas plaid 'an teanndachd ; Trom am buille,

treun an ruighe,Trang a bhuidheann bhaindidh; 'N clò 'n a shiubhal

'dol 'an tighead,'Rann 'cur ruith gun taing air.

Thall mu'n teallach faic a chailleach'Cur 'n a deannabh 'cuibhle. Fear-an-taighe's luath a

lamhan—Dubhan cam 'g a rìghleadh. Tigh a bhealaich's mòr

an tathaich'Th 'ann de dh-fhearabh's nìonag, 'S fear dha'm

b'aithne le sàr-anail'Gabhail rann na Feinne.

Piob 'g a spreigeadh, binn a fead leam,'S cha b'e sgread na fìdhle ; Cridh' 'toirt breab as

' se 'ga freagairtAnn am beadradh inntinn'. Air an fheasgair bhiodh

na fleasgaichA' co-fhreasgairt tìm dhith ; Leam bu ghasda 'bhith

'n am faisge'Dol an teas an rìghlidh.

Fir a' tarraing mach a calaGum b'e 'n sealladh eibhinn ; 'Togail chrannabh, buill

'gan snaimeadhAnn an gramabh gleusta ; Siuil a' crathahd, chluinnt'

am farumGus am faighte rèidh iad; 'S mach air chabhaig thun

na mara,'S cop ri 'darach, deudag.

Na lìn fhada's na lìn sgadainAnn am badaibh rèidh ac'; 'H-uile h-ullachas 'dhìth

culaidh'Bhios a' ruith an eisg ac'. Dia na tuinne gur e'm bun

e :'De 'ni duin' as eugais ? Toradh mar' a cuile Mhoire—'S e 'tha 'cumail èis bhuap'.

Gum bu laghach toiseach foghairCorra thadhal dorghaich, 'Leigeil dhubhan thun a

ghrunnaMuigh air iola eòlaich. Bodaich bheaga 'g 'ich' 'an

graide,Mucan creige 'corbadh, 'S beadag cudaige 'tighinn h-

ugainnDha'n robh 'n criomadh seòlta.

'Tòrachd cobhartaich ri reothartMuigh air oitir treud dhiubh ; Dh' aindeoin crosgag

bhog na rosadGheibhte so-chur eisg ann. Nuas 'nar fochair gun

dad dochuinnThigeadh socair leubag; 'S bioraich mhosach', 'thoill

an crochadh,'S tric 'bha crois dhiubh fhein ann.

Feasgar foghair 'draghadh mhagharGum b' i 'n fhaghaid ghrinn i; Iasg a' riobadh, gun

fhois tiota,'Togail diogal inntinn'; Sliopraich slapraich aig na

slatan'Cumail cath nach tiom riuth'; Beairt 'g a bogadh's

beairt 'g a togail,'S beairt 'g an sgobadh innte.

'N àm na Calluinn' feadh nan carraigBhiodh na feara greòd dhiubh; Là gun dad

aca 'gan ragach','S latha sgaid gu leoir ann. Fear a' pronnahd, 's fear

a' solladh'Tional pobull ghòrag; Tabh 'g a thomadh thun an

tobhair,'Sin 'g a thogail fòpa.

Fir 'nan deannabh 'tarraing eallachStigh '0 'n chala Hanna 'Dh-iasg na mara

'reir an ama'Cumail thall na teanndachd. Smearaich thapaidh

'ruith 'n am feachdabhFeadh nan leac 'an traingead, 'Tìreadh

langa, dhaibh is aithne,Air an sgalaidh's t-samhradh.

Bharr gach bearraidh, stigh gach bealach

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The Literary Outlook

Chithear deannan nìonag, Eallach connaidh 'cùl an droma

Nuas 'o n mhonadh Sgrìne. Bodaich throma 'n cas air sgonnan

Chasa-croma, 'sgios dhiubh ; Struth de'n fhallus air am malaidh

'Toirt air talamh striochdadh.

Luingeas bhioran aig na giullainAir gach linn' an snàmh iad; Fear 'gan ligeadh, fear

'gan tilleadhAir gach iomall bàghain. Sud an iorram

nach dian ciorram,'Chuireas mir'air àite;— Coimhling loinneil

ud na cloinne,Leam bu toil 'bhith'm pàirt riuth.

'H-uile h-eag am bonn nan creaganBothag bheag aig cloinn ann; Streathan

shlige, blaighean phige,Badan riobag, loinn leo: 'Buain nam

bileagan 'bu ghrinneAnn am mire soighneis, 'Togail luinneag air

gach coileig'Leigeil ruith le'n aoibhneas.

Ogain gheala feadh nam bealachGur e 'n teanal grinn iad : Sud iad agaibh

feadh nan lagabhAnn am baidean cruinn iad. Nall am

mullach thar an tulaich,Dhaibh is ullamh sìnteag ; 'Direadh chnoc,

'gearradh bhoc,Saor 'o lochd's o mhìghean.

Ròn le 'chuilean air an t-siubhal,Co nach ludhaig spèis dha, 'S e cho

measail air an iseanMu'n dian clibisd beud air. Ri àm cunnairt,

sud air 'mhuin e,'Falbh an t-sruth gu rèidh leis ; Gum bu

tubaisdeach dha 'n duine'Chuireadh gunn' air ghleus ris.

Sùlair amaiseach, a's t-earrachStigh 'an carabh tìr e, Tigh'nn 'an caise,

'sgiathan paisgte,Fear nach caisgt' a chìocras. Thall's a bhos

iad, cha'n'eil fois ac',Sloistreadh crosd' gun sgìos ac'; 'Cromadh,

'tomadh fo na tonnan,'Lionadh bhronnan shios iad.

Corr chas fhada, stob 'bun cladaich,'Riochd 'bhith ragaicht' reòthta. 'N ann fo

gheasaibh 'tha i 'seasamh ?'M bi i 'feasd's an t-seòl ud ? Cailleach ghlic i,

cha do chleachd iCluich 'an cuideachd ghòraich; 'Ragha

suthainn 'bhith gun duine'N cuid rith' 'grunnach lònain.

An sgarbh odhar, air tha fothail,'Caradh fodha 'n clisgeadh. Dh-eoin na mara

cha'n'eil fear ann'Fhuair a char's an uisge. Aghaidh Staca ris

na leacaibhChithear feachd ri fois diubh : Sud's an uisg'

iad, ma ni mosgaidLosgadh clis 'n am faisge.

'H-uile cinneadh muigh air linnidhA ni imeachd tuinn deth :

Bunabhuachaille a mhuineil,Binn a bhurral ciùil leam ; Crannlach, 's

learga bhraghada dearga,Annlag fairg', eoin-bhùchain, Iall de

lachabh'm fiath a chladaich,Riagh de chearcaill umpa.

Ach b'e m' ulaidh-sa dhiubh uileTè gun lurachd gann dith— Bòdhag chuimir

cheuma grinne'Sheasadh ionad baintighearn'. 'S i 'tha

furachail m'a culaidh,Mu'n toir fliuchadh greann dith ; Coltas silidh

a' bhith tighinnTillidh i 'n a teann-ruith.

122 Knox and the Rascal Multitude Knox and the Rascal Multitude

123'S tric a shuidh mi'm barr na beinne

'G amharc luingeas Ghallda Le'n cuid canabhas ri crannabh,

Gum b'e 'n sealladh greannmhor : Sgoth a' tilleadh, 'n ealta 'mire,

'Cromadh 'sireadh annlainn: Gum b'e 'sonas a'bhith fuireach

Anns an innis sheannsail.

'S minig 'theireadh fear 'an inisgGun robh 'n t-eilein stamhnte, 'H-uile duine,

'bh' ann a thuineadh,Ann an ionad fainge : Ach's e 'chuir air

barrachd lurachd—

Air gach tulach's gleann deth,— Dion na tuinne a' bhith uime

'Cumail 'muigh na h-anntlachd.

KNOX AND THE RASCAL MULTITUDE

THE odour of Presbyterian sanctity will soon be strong in the Lowlands. At all events, there is shortly to be a great to-do about John Knox, and no doubt all the familiar engines of the " Reformed" religion will soon be drawn from their dusty repositories, and paraded for our inspection.

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The Literary Outlook

A few years ago much might have been made of this species of impending religious jollification. But we fear that the engines above-mentioned have become a little rusty by now ; and even in the Lowlands the cult of the disingenuous " Reformer" is not so strong as it was. The zeal of materialism —what Heine called the "brutal materialism"of the northern nations—has somewhat consumed the zeal of the Presbyterian elect; so that the fatted kine of the " True Kirk of God " have mercifully shrivelled to half their original proportions. We live, not in a reign of Presbyterian ecstasy, but in a time of religious backsliding. The "right" of private interpretation has produced its inevitable crop of misunderstandings and misinterpretations, so that where Lowlanders stood in (say) 1560 is now terra incognita to their more inquiring descendants. We should be sorry to say anything to interrupt the harmony of the threatened proceedings; but we venture mildly to remark that, according to report, the Presbyterian Church has " progressed " somewhat since the first " Confession of Faith" was put out. Possibly when our Lowland neighbours who are of the Presbyterian persuasion come to drink a health to honest John Knox, they may discover this fact for themselves, though to be sure the "unco' guid" are not commonly thought to be overburdened with brains, or unduly handicapped by a sense of humour. At all events, admirers of John Knox, and that worthy himself, have this much at least in common, that neither can be said to stand upon any ascertainable religious foundation.We do not suppose that the coming celebrations will be much observed in the Highlands. The hireling of Elizabeth, and the prime Tub-thumper of " the Kirk," was never much of a persona grata with us, however desperate the efforts that have

11 They believe in a superstition called negativism—the negation, that is to say, of the teaching and doctrine of the Catholic Church. Knox cannot be said to have possessed a positive creed: his religion was merely a reflexion of his hostility to Borne, and a cloak and excuse for the same.124                 Knox and the Rascal Multitude

been made to propagate his cult in the glens. The so-called " Eeformation " was not a political process in which the men of our race were much concerned. We had not much stomach for it then; and we doubt if there is much inclination to regard it favourably even now. It is possible that a few panic-stricken individuals, wishing to pass for belated enthusiasts, may seek to create a diversion by bidding us beware of John Knox; but the endeavour to persuade us of his existence by rattling his dry bones in our ears is not like to be attended with any astonishing results. So far as the Highlands are concerned, John Knox can scarcely be said to have lived; and even so far as the Lowlands are concerned, he is as dead (in all senses of the word) as Queen Anne. Why cannot they leave him alone?

"Although the Reformation was undoubtedly one of the most important events in Scottish history,"

says Gregory,1 " yet its progress is to be traced almost exclusively in the history of the Lowlands. At least, the history of the Highlands and Isles presents little that is interesting on this subject. It is not to be supposed, however, that the great Highland barons were slow to follow the example of their Lowland neighbours in seizing the lands and revenues of the Church. On the contrary, the deplorable state in which the Highlands and Isles were found to be, in a religious point of view, at the commencement of the seventeenth century, was evidently owing to this cause. But in such proceedings the bulk of the Highland population, if we except the vassals of the Earl of Argyle, seem to have taken little interest; and

1 History of the Western Highlands of Scotland.Knox and the Rascal Mtdtitude                125

many of them long continued to adhere, as a portion still do, to the worship of their fathers." So much for Gregory, a Protestant, and justly esteemed 1' one of the most level-headed of cian historians ". Hear, also, What another Protestant writer, Skelton, has to say on the same subject. " The new doctrines failed to cross the mountain barrier, and in Highland glen and Western island the people continued to worship as their fathers worshipped before the days of Knox."

Consequently, we feel ourselves the more at liberty to have our say concerning this John Knox, and the approaching celebrations which, in the Lowlands, are to be associated with his name. No doubt there are many Highlanders at the present day who are just as zealous Presbyterians (perhaps more so) as any that are to be found on the wrong side of the hills; but, after all, we need not stand on much ceremony if we venture to make some impression upon their religious understandings. Their defection is infinitely less excusable than the defection of the Gall, blameworthy in the extreme though his may be. The Anglo-Scot or Lowland half-breed naturally took a man like Knox to his psalm-singing bosom; but the Highlander's desertion of the faith of his forefathers is far less comprehensible, and much more inexcusable. The latter, at least, had not the former's excuse of identity of language and of race when he turned his coat and accepted the nostrums of his oppressors, in lieu of the priceless heritage which the Church had left him. Consciences should be respected, no doubt, but a religious debacle of the kind that visited the Highlands during the latter pait of the eighteenth century is a phenomenon which invites plain speaking.

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We have seen that at the time of its making] the so-called Reformation did not affect the Highlands. If any one doubt the truth of this assertion^ he has but to turn to the history of Scotland ana read for himself. Whilst Knox was engaged in tha congenial task of haranguing the rascal multitude! inciting them to violence, and rudely setting tha authority of his sovereign at defiance, the High! landers, regardless of all that was passing among the smug burgesses of the towns and cities, were] killing one another in prosecution of some of those] extravagant and contemptible feuds which renden much of Highland history fit perusal for swash! bucklers only or modern recruiting-peers. Affl isolation so complete, an indifference so profound,] cannot but excite wondering remark.

In truth, whether seduced by Moray, or the] bubble of her own slender political capacity and] foresight, we know not, but one cannot but regret that Queen Mary did not take advantage of so favourable a conjuncture to crush the religious and political insurrection which, unless she was posi-3 tively blind, she must have seen to be actually confronting her. Her failure to do anything of the kind, her vain shifts to pursue a temporising policy,] and to embrace that most foolish and disastrous o| all political subterfuges, the via media, as oppow tunists call it, stamp the Queen as politically incom-j petent. A vigorous attempt to unite the Highlands] at so important, nay vital, a conjuncture could now fail to have been attended with the most gratifying results, more especially as the religion de now was] as yet, even if realised or grasped, an abomination to the Celts, who would readily have flocked to Mary's standard to " ding down " the new-fangled Church, and to return John Knox to his approì priate sphere—the galleys.

We do not know that we are particularly con-cerned with the private character of John Knox. He may have been all that Nau and our established historians tell us concerning him; and touching such an infelicity, there need surely be no great hesitation in believing the worst that can be said of him. But it is by his religious and political fruits •that we judge him ; and as these were of nauseat-ing flavour, rank and abundant, we base our repug-nance to his character on these alone.

Apparently much may be forgiven a " reformer," if he take care to cloak his designs under a show -of piety—that " piety " being, preferably, such as is founded on hatred of "Rome". The charity which covereth a multitude of sins is nowhere more freely rendered or abundantly exercised than where it is exerted to screen a popular scoundrel from the just condemnation which is due to his acts. The treason and treachery of John Knox stand confessed before history, in a form and to a [degree as flagrant and shameless as any that are to be found,1 yet so strong is the popular delusion, so

'The so-called Eeformation soon "ceased to be reform; it grew to be a Eevolution. . . . The congregation

gradually became the foous of political disaffection, as well as of religious animosity. They produced authorities from Holy Writ for sedition and rebellion, as well as for murder. Crude democratic theories were in vogue. A theocracy saturated with socialism was the form of government which the leaders of the movement openly approved." — Maitland of Lethington, vol. L, pp. 216-217. For the shameless details of Knox's treason and treachery, the reader is referred to the Cecil-Eandolph correspondence. They are too large to insert here. " The tortuous intrigues ud political duplicities of the Minister of Eighteousness may be forgiven by those who hold that the end justifies the means ; bu' the inhumanity which Knox occasionally manifested, hardly, from any point of view, admits of palliation. . . . No page is more revolting to the modern student of morals than hardy the gross superstition touching this miserable fanatic, that his crimes and misdemeanours are freely forgiven him, or at all events tacitly ignored.

Knox was a traitor to his Prince and his country : of that there can be no manner of doubt; and the Scots, as a nation, are, fortunately, not tolerant of traitors, of whom, indeed, they would appear to have had rather more than their fair share. Yet in some parts of the country, so enduring is prejudice, and so dense is ignorance, that this shabby adventurer is even yet glorified to the skies! Surely in this fact we have a strange and almost unaccountable phenomenon presented to us. Other traitors, almost if not quite as popular in their times, have paid the debt of Nemesis by being found out, and have been unceremoniously ejected from their respective temples of fame.

But this John Knox, one of the most egregious, and unblushing of the Judas kind, continues in almost unimpaired enjoyment of his original honours, in spite of all that historians can do or say to dislodge him! What is the explanation of this singular conundrum ? The Scots, as a nation, are credited with rather more than average intelli-gence. Cannot they see that their idol has not only feet of clay, but has the heart of a scoundrel as well ? We are afraid that whilst many do see, they are afraid to trust the obvious evidence of their senses; whilst the rest have neither inclination nor capacity to think for themselves, being content to deserve that contemptuous appellation which Knox himself bestowed on them—the rascal multitude.that on which the historian of the Eeformation deliberately, in cold blood, long after the event, registers his indecent triumph." —Maitland of Lethington, vol. i., p. 226.

So strong is prejudice in the Presbyterian camp that we regard it as little short of madness to at-tempt to persuade them. If people will not read, will not be informed or instructed, it is better to leave them alone, since a waste of good breath to cool indifferent porridge cannot be justified, even on the ground of extraordinary expenditure. They have their histories, not the old ones, but the new : why do they not read them ? They have, presumably, their pastors and masters: why do they not listen to them? Perhaps these last, more intent on buttering their bread than imparting instruction, have joined that widespread conspiracy against knowledge, of

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which religious prejudice is the mainstay. If so, the Presbyterians should look to themselves. Surely they are not children to be bubbled in this ridiculous manner.

There are one or two things, however, which, before closing, we should like to say. They are not intended for the rascal multitude, but are addressed to thinking people—to Highlanders especially, whose ears have not been positively deafened by the screams of the Reformation-at-any-price partisans of John Knox. The first consideration we would offer them is this, namely, that all the best modern Protestant writers are now agreed that the abuses in the Church before the so-called Reformation have been "grossly exaggerated".1 The second is this, that the so-called Reformation was a political rather than a religious movement. The third is, that even supposing reformation were necessary and justifiable, it was neither the one nor the other to invite foreign

'Skelton, Maitland of Lethington, vol. i., p. 68.      See also-Home Brown's Knox, etc assistance—to play the traitor, in other words—in] order to that end. The fourth is, that the so-called] Reformation was not followed by the purely intelì lectual results commonly claimed for it. The fifth' is, that the seeds of Scotland's dependence were] sown when the so-called Reformation was endorsed] by the majority of the English-speaking people ml Scotland. And now for a few observations uporij these several heads.

It has been said that the so-called Reformation was a measure of spiritual and intellectual emanctì pation, drafted by Providence in favour of the] northern nations. Let us hear what Skelton ha| to say on that subject. " When we are told," saysa he,1

" that Knox's Reformation was the cause of alll that is ' best and greatest' in the Scottish character! we are tempted to ask whether in point of fact the] Scot since Knox's time has risen to any high moral or spiritual level ? It is probable that under anl| form of religion or government the national caution] and the natural shrewdness would have led to] material success and worldly prosperity. But is it just to assert that the severe and gloomy Puritanism] of the preachers has impressed upon the national] conscience a finer ideal of duty or a higher standard of purity ? If this could be truly asserted, then,] indeed, the narrowness, the fierceness, the bigotry! might be forgiven. That the life led by 'the] Scottish commons' since the Reformation has beenl as a rule, simple, frugal and devout, I would gladly! believe; but that it has been in many respects al maimed and stunted life, wanting in beauty and] attractiveness and the instinctive refinement of] more favoured nations, as well as hard, narrow!

1 Vol. vii., p. 70.and merciless in conduct and judgment, cannot, I am afraid, be denied. Nor do sobriety, purity and cleanliness quite consist with certain unpleasant returns which have been taken to show (rather

unfairly I believe) that among the nations of Europe the countrymen and countrywomen of Knox are the most intemperate and the most unchaste."

It has been said, on what evidence does not ap-pear, that the so-called Reformation was followed by a great outburst of intellectual activity in those countries in which, under "the most favoured nation treatment" we presume—to borrow a modern ex-pression—this religious holocaust occurred. For our own parts, however, we can discover no evidence of extraordinary activity in either England, Germany, (Switzerland, Scandinavia, or the Lowlands of Scotland—no rich harvest of genius, that is to say, that can legitimately be ascribed to the prophets of the Eeformation, and their works. If the Church before the so-called Reformation was master of all, in the sense of being tyrant of all, as is frequently asserted, how came it to pass that the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries were distinguished by so extraordinary an intellectual activity, which began to languish the moment the Protestant heresy arose V If, on the other hand, the Church was too

1 It is perhaps inevitable that Protestants should think that before their heresy " arrived," society, from an intellectual point of view, was a blank. But however much credit so whimsical a notion may do to their simple hearts, it does not say much for their intelligence. It has been well said that, had it not been for (he Catholic Church, their very Bible (touching which they have no agreement, save to differ) would not have been preserved for them! A similar tendency to date the origin of all things from the commencement of events important and interesting only to themselves is observable among savages.indolent, too deeply steeped in vice and sloth, too much busied about her own trifling affairs, to exer-cise her influence for the suppression of genius (as others contend), how came it to pass that, intel-lectually considered, the period of the so-called Reformation is as barren as a sand dune ?    It will be seen at once that the two statements cannot be reconciled.        They amount to a contradiction in terms ; and for that reason are to be regarded with the utmost suspicion by every well-regulated mind. Either the Church was capable of playing the in-famous role so often ascribed to her by ignorant Protestants of seeking to discourage and to sup-press learning and knowledge " in the interests of superstition"—in which case the famous names connected with the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries would not have come down to us ; or she was incapable of doing anything of the kind—in which latter case what is to become of all the frothy language that has been indulged in touching the *' tyranny " of the Church and the state of slavish bondage in which for her own selfish and un-justifiable ends she is supposed to have held the minds of all men, seeing that if she were too idle or indifferent to exercise her influence, men of genius were necessarily free to come and to go, as it were, just as they pleased ?1      " The influence of the Knoxian Reformation . . . upon the intellectual life

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was distinctly disastrous," says Mr. Skelton, in the interesting work we have already quoted from.        " Their first business in Scotland was to construct an exhaustive form of excommunication

1 In point of fact, the license allowed by many of the clergy before the period of the so-called Eeformation was a contributory »cause to the Church's undoing on that occasion, as a reference io the scandalous literature of the time will conclusively prove.

—directly thereafter they succeeded in obtaining an Act from the Estates which punished witchcraft with death. It need not be added that the higher literature (English) of Scotland, the literature which has given Scotland a place among the nations, owes nothing to its Puritanism. Hume, Burns, Scott, each in his own fashion, led the revolt against the Knoxian tradition."

To what depths of prejudice and follya Protestant critic who is at a loss for an argument will descend may be gathered from the following observation which was recently passed on a paper in this Review. "Protestantism has encouraged the Gael to think, and compelled him to learn to read, and he is not likely to regard it as an enemy." To borrow this writer's own language, " comment is needless " !— or rather would be so were it not that we have some charitable hopes of snatching even this brand from the burning — of instilling some reason, honesty and common-sense even into this most unpromising exemplar of the rascal multitude.

We have said it before, and we repeat it, that "in the long life of the Gael, Protestantism, and all that it implies in a civil as well as in a religious way, has been but an unprofitable and melancholy experiment. The best of his traditions antedate Protestantism. His literature, his art, and his music have come down from Catholic times." We of the Celtic race have not a single author to boast of whose works can justly be styled Protestant.1 And we were certainly familiar with letters long

'With the doubtful exception of Buchanan, the hymn-writer, whose gloomy adumbrations suggest a natural comparison between his own productions and the exhalations of a somewhat similar Puritan "mystic"—the English Bunyan, to wit.before the advent of the co-religionists of Joha Knox. To assert that " Protestantism has encouraged the Gael to think and compelled him to learn to read," as a writer in one of the best-known news-papers in Scotland gravely declares, is, to be candid,] a lie, as well as a foolish impertinence; and we make no doubt that Protestant Highlanders will be vastly obliged by this handsome tribute to their own and their forebears' intelligence. Indeed, it is scarcely worth while to refute so transparent a slander—1 even for the satisfaction of reading this ignorant critic a much-needed lesson. Its extravagant terms supply its own refutation. If- Celtic literature began with the so-called Reformation, instead of dating its fall from the political consequences which followed it, there

might be something to say for the observation. There cannot possibly be otherwise.

We have touched already on the political conse-quences of the so-called Reformation in so far as they relate to the Highlanders. We have seen that the religious revolution inaugurated by Knox: remained stationary for some time, and that it was long before it ventured to set foot in the Highlands. But when it did come at last, after much halting and delay, it is interesting to observe in what light the disciples of Knox—and Celtic and kindred societies whose object is " the preservation of the] language and literature of the Gael" should make a joyful note of the circumstance—regarded our literature. Carswell, who was sent in order to teach us how to read and to think—he appears to have been the first "body" "frae Glesga'" or elsewhere charged with so charitable a mission—! though a Gael, was thoroughly imbued with the spirit of John Knox and his illiberal disciples. "Is mortsaothair sin (ars esan) re sgriobhadh do laimh, ag fechain an neithe buailtear sa chlò arai-brisge agas ar aithghiorra bhios gach èn ni dhà mhed da chriochnughadh leis. Agas is mor an doille agas andorchadas peacaidh agas aineolais agasindtleachda do lucht deachtaidh agas sgriobhtha agas chumdaigh na Gaoidheilge, gurab is mò is mian leo agas gurab mò ghnathuidheas siad eachtradha dimhaoineacha buaidheartha bregacha saoghalta do cumadh ar Thuathaibhdè Dhanondagas ar mhacaibh mileadh agas arna curadhaibh agas Fhind mhac Cumhail gona fhianaibh agas ar mhòran eile nach airbhim."The note thus struck by the first " reformers " in their dealings with the Gael of Scotland have set the tune, it is no exaggeration to say, to their successors in the ministerial function of the Presbyterian Church. With few exceptions, indeed, the ministers of that Church are opposed to the cultivation of the language and literature of the Gael, which they appear to regard as an impediment to that worldly prosperity and success which, in view of their doctrinal weakness, and the melancholy state of confusion into which their persuasion has fallen, they no doubt feel themselves presently compelled to preach, in the vain endeavour to justify their existence. The Free Church of Scotland has been, and is, a notorious offender in this

11 That ia to say, being interpreted—" And great is the blindness and sinful darkness and ignorance and evil design of such as teach and write and cultivate the Gaelic language, that with the view of obtaining for themselves the vain rewards of this world, they are more desirous, and more accustomed, to compose rain, tempting, lying, worldly histories, concerning the Tuath de Dannan and concerning warriors and champions and Fingal the son of Camhal, with his heroes, and concerning many others which I will not at present enumerate".—Carswel's Gaelio translation

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of the Confession of Faith, etc. Extract from the Epistle Dedicatory, printed in the year 1567.

0

136 Knox and the Rascal Multitude One of Cian Murray 137respect; and its blighting influence continues tal be felt wherever the Highland people have been] foolish enough to submit to its preposterous and] arbitrary claims. Like their Knoxian forebears! the exponents of this sect would appear to regardj literature, music and art as so many inventions of] the devil, or to give the Destroyer his due, as so] many survivals from " Popish times," which they] must do their best to eradicate, in order that tha unfortunate beings over whom they exercise jurisi diction may be made as dull, narrow, gloomyl illiberal and ignorant as themselves.

John Knox was a traitor to his Queen and country, a pensioner of England, and the apologist] and companion of assassins, if not the actual inl stigator of bloody and nefarious deeds.1    We have]

1 Thè murder of Cardinal Beaton, as also that of Bizsrio, he " cordially approved ". See his own History of the Beformation, L, 99, 235. His share in the events immediately preceding the] former was too close and intimate to admit of the excuse thafi' on that, as on other occasions on which his conduct has been called in question, he acted without a knowledge of the conse-quences which his participation therein was bound to involves " There can be little doubt," says Skelton (Maitland of Lethington, vol. i., p. 188), " that Wishart was aware of Henry's (Vm.] designs upon the cardinal, and that the tragedy in the castle ol St. Andrews had been rehearsed long before. The ferocious jocularity of the Eeformer over the mangled body—'these things we write merily'—is eminently characteristic, but does not impress us with any high sense either of his charity or his sagacity. For the murder was a political blunder, as well as a political crime. Approved by a few stern and bitter fanatics, the death of Beaton scandalised the nation. Henry had devastated the Scottish Border; he had burnt the Scottish capital; now he had murdered the only Scottish statesman of European repute. The patriotic fire flamed up, and the people who had been on the verge of a spiritual revolt went back meekly to the Catholic fold. The Scots fighting at Pinkie reproached the English for having deserted the ancient faith. To be esteemed a heretic was thenceforth for many years nearly as disgraceful as to be esteemed an Englishman." seen in what manner and in what spirit the disciples of this wordy bombastic knave set out to "convert" the Highlands; and we know in what spirit and in what manner the modern successors of the " reformer" wear the mantle which he bequeathed them; and knowing these things we ask if it be discreet or just that the Gael of Scotland should be invited to take part in those proceedings in which the rascal multitude in the Lowlands is about to indulge its characteristic veneration for the memory of so unscrupulous and odious a man—an individual who, in our opinion, neither "feared God nor honoured the King," and who, whether we regard him from a Migious or from a political point of view, was one of the worst enemies that the Gael of Scotland has ever had ?

ONE OF CLAN MURRAY I CONFESS I have no great admiration for the guidebook style of literature ; and this book is one which belongs to

that numerous and flourishing category. It is a debatable point, too, how far an author is at liberty, when treating of a serious and important theme, to seek to disarm criticism by describing his own lucubrations as " popular ". No doubt it JB more desirable that even a little knowledge should be gained, than that the world should continue in darkness.      But great and noble topics

1lThe Literature of the Highlands, by Magnus MacLean, M.A. Blackie & Son, London, Glasgow and Dublin. Books to the Gaelic language will be reviewed in that language. Books in English will be reviewed in English.138 One of Cian Murrayrequire their corresponding treatment; and if thej3 do not get it, we are apt to be disappointed, and! to visit our resentment upon those who presume to] meddle with what is obviously above their capacity.]

In his Literature of the Celts, Professor MacLeanj embarked on a theme which was obviously too big] for him, though, as in the case of the book before] me, he endeavoured to disarm criticism by pleading] that his indiscretion was but a small one, ana designed to be " popular ". Still, it was impossible! npt to feel some little resentment and indignation! on that score—not because the author's motive! was bad, but by reason of his treatment of great] themes. Doubtless there are persons who admire! the literary methods of Mr. T. P. O'Connor, and who discover a genuine satisfaction in perusing his redoubtable " reviews" of the " books of thl weeks," but such appreciation, however "popular'! and well-meant, does not carry much weight with] it. The guide-book style of literature may endura for a day—to give it its due it undoubtedly supplies a want that is felt—but its perfunctory and un-scholarly methods, its baid "succinctness" and errors of judgment and of taste, render it little] short of contemptible to the genuine man of letters!

Still I have not come to bury the Professor just yet—but to praise him. Undoubtedly he is infinitely more at home in the volume which is before me than ever he was in his Literature of thà Celts. He has supplied, on the whole, a somewhafl readable account of Gaelic literature, within the cir! cumscribed bounds which he proposed to himself] and if he is " succinct and popular " to a somewhafl irritating extent, no doubt he will have his reward] at the hands of a public which admires and clamours for that kind of thing.      The Professors

One of Cian Murrayevidently believes in the virtue of the law of supply and demand; and whether in literature or in that other profession which he equally adorns, no doubt

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he does the best he can to meet it. I do not quarrel with him on that score—indeed, I rather admire him for his enterprise and courage. He knows to a T (as the Professor himself would surely be the first to say) the kind of thing that " takes " with the public, and straightway, without any superfluous beating about the bush or any too conscientious preliminary self-preparation, he rushes in to supply it. What if his style is baid and his literary judgments are the crude epitome of other people's stale opinions, he is doing nevertheless a public service—supplying a long-felt want on " succinct and popular " lines ? His breezy and popular style, his manner of interspersing his narrative with wise saws and sayings (drawn from the most approved sources of public opinion), and above all his pathetic trick of ringing down the curtain at the end of each chapter upon the vanishing Gael (whose " rudeness " in times past he pathetically deplores, and whose speedy absorption he would appear to regard as the best thing that can possibly happen to him), are surely admirable and incontestably "popu la rLe t me, then,hasten to give credit where credit is due. Professor MacLean has written an eminently readable book—that is, a book for the public to read; and I venture to prophesy for it a larger circulation—which, I believe, is the principal desideratum—and a harvest of " reviews " yet more discerning and flattering to the author than even those were which rewarded his Literature of the Celts.

So much by way of compliment to Professor MacLean and his enterprising book. It is unfortunate no doubt that I cannot stop here and " round off"—to use an expression much favoured by this author—my review with the customary paean of praise. But in ambitiously—to use no harsher word—styling his book The Literature of the Highlands, I feel bound to point out that the Professor has committed a grievous mistake. A similar tendency to confuse the shadow with the substance was, no doubt, unhappily at work when, in an unguarded hour, Professor MacLean mistook a previous compilation of his for a history of The Literature of the Celts. But with regard to this I have here nothing to say. My concern is with the volume before me; and with as few words as possible, and with as much consideration for the Professor's feelings as may be consistent with plain speaking, I shall proceed to give grounds for thej faith which is in me.

Professor MacLean styles his book The Literature of the Highlands. But it is to be observed that his modest preface hardly justifies his use of this ambitious title, whilst the contents of the work itself supply what I must needs regard as the; flattest possible contradiction to it. How far an author is justified in pleading popularity for his work as an excuse for " succinct" treatment of his theme, is, as I have stated above, a debatable point. Personally, however, I do not think that he is so justified when he deliberately selects a title which would appear to convey a contrary impression. It is observable that whilst

Professor MacLean's book treats only of Highland literature after the '45 {and very perfunctorily during the limited period he has selected), he yet chooses so ambitious and comprehensive a title as that of The Literature of the Highlands for his "popular and succinct" sketches.      What, pray, would be thought of an author who, designing an account of English letters during (say) the Augustan period, should presumptuously style his work The Literature of England f Professor MacLean, indeed, may plead that he has already answered this serious objection in his preface to the present work, wherein he ingenuously refers the reader to his Literature of the Celts " for full information regarding the Highland bards before the Forty-Five, the printed literature of the Scottish Gael, and the gleaners of their poetry". But apart from any objection that we might reason-ably take as to his use of the adjective " full" in connection with so perfunctory and imperfect a sketch as his Literature of the Celts, his use of the title selected by him is, in the circumstances, not to be excused for a moment, being indeed just as absurd and reprehensible as the use of that other would be in the hypothetical case stated above.

A glance at the pages before me should suffice to convince any unprejudiced person of average intelligence that Professor MacLean's use of this title is still further discounted by the contents of his book. Besides being unscholarly, and faultily constructed, it is " scrappy " or rather " succinct" to an almost pitiable degree. Some of the best writers of modern Gaelic are not even mentioned by name. So important a work as Father MacCeachen's translation of the Holy Scriptures, —which for pure and idiomatic Gaelic would be very hard to beat—is passed over in absolute silence; whilst merely English books such as Martin's Western Isles, Burt's Letters, and even MacCulloch's pompous and tiresome effusions are seriously treated as " Highland literature " ! Risum teneatis, amid?

At a glance, it is impossible to say whether Professor MacLean's sins of commission or omission are the more serious and numerous. Here was an excellent opportunity for a sketch "succinct and popular," if you like, of contemporary Gaelic letters, yet, like the Levite of old, he has passed coldly by on the other side. His description of Skene's monumental work is mere child's play, and reads quite fantastically meagre compared with his pane-gyric on MacCulloch, one of whose tedious epistles to " my dear Scott" (who thought his correspondent the greatest bore alive) he unnecessarily quotes in extenso. Indeed, the whole work is so faultily constructed and badly written—with the single ex-ception of the chapter on the Ossianic controversy, which is certainly not ill done for a "popular" writer—that, whether you cry heads or tails, the resulting aspect is bound to be disappointing. Professor MacLean revels in "popular" epithets. Thus, authors who are justly esteemed are always "renowned" or "learned" or "enthusiastic" or " interesting" ; whilst

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the poor Scot who believes in his,race, and has the courage of his convictions, is " perfervid," which, apparently, is a mild term of reproach with him. Evidently Professor MacLean has not much faith in the future of Gaelic as a literary vehicle. "They (the bards)," he says, " have one by one disappeared1—all but those who live in the towns and cities of the South.2    Will

1 Surely he could not expect those who were alive in the '45 to be subsisting at this date ? Here is " Highland longevity " with a vengeance!

2 What South ? The South of Scotland or of England? No doubt it is bad taste on the part of poets to frequent " towns and cities" ; but experience teaches us that environment has but little to do with the exercise of the true poetic faculty.there be a solitary Ossian left—even though last of the Gaelic bardic race—to sing the praises of love and nature, of kin and country, when a new century opens ten decades hence? It is a far-reaching question; but who can answer i t ? 1 One thing, however, cannot have escaped us, and that is that even in bardic effort the tuneful language of our fathers is gradually being supplanted by its rival, English, because the new poets coming up2 prefer the latter as a medium, and know it better." The above affords a fair specimen of this author's style ,•; and of his "popular" way of looking at things which are obviously above and beyond him. As to his absurd remark that the poets now " coming up," as he elegantly expresses it, prefer English to Gaelic as a "medium," pray where and who are they? Personally, I have never met or heard of-one of these singular productions; but apparently the Professor has been more fortunate. Is Neil Munro also among the English-writing bards? And has She-Who-Must-Be-A-Myth—Fiona MacLeod, to wit—forsaken her solitary fog-bound islet in the Serpentine in order to scribble English rhymes? We have heard a great deal touching the "Anglo-Celtic" school of literature—perhaps a good deal too much for some of us—but I have never yet met a genuine Scottish Gael who writes English verse, and is at all well known on account of that circumstance. On the other hand, I have certainly read a quantity of Gaelic verse produced by modern writers, some of which possesses considerable merit, whilst almost all is tolerable.

1 Certainly not Professor MacLean.3 Is thy servant a cabbage or a mushroom that his

literary growth should be likened to that of one of the vegetable kingdom?

mmThe Professor is so " canny " a critic, that it is a

matter of some difficulty to catch him tripping. His literary judgments not being for the most part his own—he is for ever wishing us to " homologate" some other person's opinion regarding some one else; it is somewhat difficult to pin him down, as it were, to any definite statement which, by the

greatest stretch of the imagination, can be allowed to pass for original literary criticism. On the rare occasions, however, on which, emerging from the conduct of his leading strings, he attempts a flight, in that way, of his own, he cannot justly be con-gratulated on the success of the novel and dangerous experiment. Apparently he thinks it quite safe to extol the literary judgment and acumen of the late Professor Blackie who, in spite of his excellent heart, many lovable traits and noble qualities, had about as much idea of literature as Professor MacLean has himself, which, as the intelligent reader may suppose, is not saying much. It is noticeable that Livingstone, who is one of our greatest bards—perhaps even a greater satirist than Iain Lom himself—does not receive half the applause or a quarter the sympathetic consideration which is strictly due to him ; whilst illiterates like Rob Donn and other self-taught rustic votaries of the Muse (whose poems enjoy a vogue out of all proportion to their merit, in my opinion), are praised and treated of at large, presumably simply because they have the merit of being "popular".

Here is another example of the Professor's un-fortunate daring and originality. " More striking, and in some respects more novel," he says, "is the interest taken in nature. It is true that from ancient times, as seen in Pagan poet and Christian Apostle, the Gael manifested no ordinary delight in and sympathy with the objects and phases of outward nature. In him there appeared a feeling of kinship with his environment. Nature was instinct with life reflecting his moods and emotions. Yet it is to the bards that arose towards the middle of the eighteenth century that we must turn for the full expression of this intimate sympathy and keen enjoyment" Surely Professor MacLean's Literature of the Celts, scrappy, perfunctory, unscholarly and imperfect though it is, might have taught him better than this? "Coire a 'Cheathaich" and " Beinn Dorain" are fine poems, no doubt; and I yield to no discriminating critic in my admiration of them, but to assert that we must wait until we come to the poets of the '45 in order to realise " the full expression of this intimate sympathy and keen enjoyment" is, if the author will pardon my candour, sheer nonsense. Remember that ancient Gaelic literature is particularly rich in the poetry of nature; and that whilst much yet remains to be printed, sufficient has been made public to enable us to form a true estimate as to its literary value. " It may be safely predicted," says Professor Kuno Meyer in his preface to the beautiful Liadain and Curithir, "that these anonymous and neglected poems, once properly collected, edited and translated, will strongly appeal to all lovers of poetry. There is in them such delicate art, so subtle a charm, so true and deep a note, that with the exception of the masterpieces of Welsh poetry, I know nothing to place by their side." Indeed, it is precisely on account of this very same " full expression " of "

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intimate sympathy and keen enjoyment" of nature that ancient Gaelic poetry is so remarkable. The moderns may have done well— I do not dispute it—but to assert that " Pagan poet

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(why Pagan?—the best poetry is Christian) and Christian Apostle" knew less about nature and how to sing of it than the poets of the '45 is not only uncritical but ignorant. An eminent French man of letters to whom a translation of one of these beautiful old pieces was recently sent could not believe that it was a fragment of Gaelic literature. He would have it that so exquisite a performance must needs be the product of ancient Greece or Rome.

I could give many other instances in which Professor MacLean has either surrendered at once to indiscretion, or has allowed other people's opinions to run away with whatever little acumen and critical faculty he may possess of his own; but really, to hold popular language, the game is by no-means worth the candle. The Literature of the Highlands, however " succinct and popular " it may be, is not a book calculated to set the Moyle on fire; nor can I conscientiously say that these pages are like to go down to posterity as pearls before swine.

CONAL CKÒBHI.

DITHIS BHRAITHREANANN an cladh Bhaile-chaisteil ann am Braigh-mhairr, faisg air Luchairt Ghaidhealach an Righ, chithear leac-lighidh air an leughair na briathreanso, "Chaith an t-Urramach Iain Mac Fheachair feasgar a laithean mur shagairt-taighe do bhrathar-athair Alaisdir Mac Fheachair Fear InbherAdhe,

11 The Eevs. John and Charles Farquharson, S.J.ngtis shiubhail e ann am Baile-mhorail air darna latha fichead de Mhios Toiseachd an Fhogair anns a

bhliadhna 1782 ". Agus aig iochdar na lice ciadna leughar " Chaoch ail an t- Urramach Tearlach Mac Fheachair air an deicheamh latha f chead de mhios Toiseachd a Gheamraidh anns a bhliadhna 1799, an deigh dha 'bhi na phears-eoglais a measg na Cait-liceach air feadh na Gaidhealtach re ioma bliadna ". Tha na briathrean pongail so a leighadh a thuigsinn dhuinn nach robh e 's an dàn gum biodh an da bhrathair so, bha co-ionnan nan driachd agus nan inbhe, dealaichte, seadh, anns an uaigh. B'iad so clann Luthais Mhic Fheachair, Achadh-an-Dreaghain, agus clann brathar de dh' Fhear Inbher-idhe a dh'eirich Bliadhna Thearlaich. Ao-coltach ri'n sinnsir agus ris a chuid eile dha'n teaghlach, cha robh e orduighte guns biodh an dithis so a lnimhsaichadh a chlaidhamh-mhor. Bha cogadh eile a feitheadh orre agus blair a bu chruadh-dalaiche agus a bha dol a mharsuinn na b-fhaide, no na dh'fhuilig am brathair Uilleam an deigh Latha Chuillodair.

Bughadh Iain, am fear a bu shinne dhiu, air an naoidh-lath-diag do 'n Ghiblin anns a bhliadna 1699. 'X uair nach robh e ach gle og, thug e e fhein a suas agus choisrig e e fhein ann an Comunn Iosa ann an Tournai ann an rioghachd Bhelgium. An deigh dha crioch a chuir air 'oilean, fhuair Ordugh Naomh agus chaidh a chuir air ais do dh' Albainn. Euigh Dunedeinn mu dheireadh an Fhogair anns a bhliadhna 1726. An deigh sin, chaidh e do Shtrathghlais ann an siorruchd Ionarnis far an d'fhuiraich e re ioma bliadhna. 'S ann an so a chuir am feothas a dheadh-eolas air a Ghaidhlic air chor's gu'm bu sgoilear Gaidhlic e nach robh na b'fhearr's an duthaich ri linn.      Cuir e cruinn

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moran de bhardach Oisein a fhuair e bho aithris-bhialean an t-shluaigh. Ach gu mi-fhortanach chaidh a shaothir a dholaidh le cion tuir agus mi-churam feadhnach aig robh eolas air a Ghaidhlic bheannaichte. Gus an latha 'diugh tha tuath Shtrathghlais, le aithris-bhialean na feadhnach a thainig mar a thainig iad a toirt ioma sgialachd dhuinn mu Mhaighstir Iain. Cha robh e air a sharachadh le tuille 's choir do chuid an t-shaoghailsa. Bha gille, no clerach aige a bhiodh gu tric a talach air gainne an teachd-an-tir. Latha bha sid thuit do'n chlerach a bho'n tigh, ach co thainig a thun doruis an t'Shagairt ach diol-deirce bochd. Cha robh sian a stigh ach mias de mhin-choirce. Ach cha leigadh Mr. Iain creutair bochd air falbh bho 'dhorus gun deirc' thoirt dhaibh. Ghlac e a mhias le miann leth a chodach a thoirt do'n diol-deirce. Ach, seall, gu dè a thacair! Thuit a h-uile grainne dhe'n mhin ann am malaid a chreutair thruaigh! 'Nuair a thug Mr. Iain fainear mar a bha' chuis, rinn e glag-gaire, agus thuirt e ris a bhagair, "Tog ort, bi falbh mu'n d'thig an gille dhachaidh, agus thoir taing agus buidheachas do'n Fhreasdal gu'n robh thu cho fortanach ". Thainig an gille dhachaidh, agus mu thainig; bha e sgith, agus air acras agus fior chrosde. Chunnaic Mr. Iain gu'n robh fior dhroch nadur air a ghille. Ciod a thairgeas e dha ? Cha robh sian a stigh! Cha robh uibhir de mhin's dhianadh mias bhrochain do'n chlerach! Chuala'n clerach le corraich mar a thacair do'n mhin agus cha do chaomhain e a mhaighstir. Thuirt e ris nach robh gnothach 's am bi aige a leithid de ni a dhianadh. "Bitheadh foighdinn agad agus cuir d'earbsa's an Fhreasdal" ars' an Sagart, " maith a dh'fhaodte gu faigh sinn deadh-lon mu'n d'theid sinn a laidhe a nochd." Ach cha robh a leithid sid de dh'earbs 'aig a ghille. Shuidh e aig taobh an teine le muig agus gruaim mhor air a ghnuis. Ciod 'tha sid? Bhuail cuideigin aig an dorus. Dh'eirich an gille gu mail agus chaidh e thun an dorus, agus co chunnaic e ach marcaich e a thilg maleid throm air, agus a theab an gille chur thar a chas. Dh'fhalbh am marcaiche as an t'shealladh gun smid a radh agus cha chualeas iomradh riamh tuille air.

Dh'fhosgail iad a mhaleid's fhuair iad innte de gach ni a b'fhearr na cheile, air chor 's gun robh sunnd' agus cridhealas gu leoir air a ghille mu'n do ghabh e tamh an oichdh' ad.

Bha Maighstir Iain, mar a bha Eob Ruadh Mac Ghrigair, na chearnach-coille, 's e sin ri radh, chaidh pris a chuir air a cheann, agus bha e an aghaidh an lagh dha a dhriachd a chleacadh mar phears-eaglais Caitliceach. Chaidh a chuir da thurus am priosan air na Seann Longa bha air Amhuin Lunnain. Uair a bha sid chaidh a bhrath agus a ghlacadh 'n uair a bha e tairgse suas Ard-Iobairt-na-h-Ifrionn. Thug na saighdearan air falbh e direach mar a bha e air eidadh na Chulaidh-Ifrionn. Turas eile chaidh a ghlacadh ann an Gleanncannaich. Thainig am brathadair air chulthaobh agus chuir e a lamh air a ghuailean ag radh.

"'S d'thusa mo phriosanach ann an ainm an Righ."

Thug an Sagart suil thiamhaidh air a bhratha-dair agus dh'aithnich e e agus thuirt e ris " mo thruaighe, Iain, mo thruaighe, gu dianamh d'thusa a leithid so, bithidh an lamh sin na h-aobhar bàis dhut fhathast" agus b'ann mar a b'fhior. Shearg an lamh sin agus a ghairdean.      'S e duine mi-fhortanach truaigh e fhein a dh'innis a sgeula so air leab'a-bhàis ann am Braighmhairr.

Bha fior mheas mor agus cliu aig a h-uile duine air Mr. Iain agus air Mr. Tearlach. Chleachd Maighstir Tearlach a dhriachd ann an Gleann-gairne agus ann am Braighmhairr; agus mar a thacair dha' brathair, chaidh pris a chuir air a cheannsan cuideachd. Latha bha sid, thuit de dh'Fhear Inbhir-chalde le a ghile-coise, a bhi 'gabhail sraide air bruach na h-aimhne, agus co chunnaic iad air an taobh-thall na shuidhe aig bun craige, air chul gaoithe 's air aodun greine, ach Mr. Tearlach gu durachdach a leughaidh a leabhair. Thug an gille-coise duibh leum as, agus ghabh e thar na h-ainmhne. Shnaig mar nathair-nimhne gus an robh e air cul an t'shagairt. Chuir e a lamh air a ghuaille agus ghlac e e ann an ainme an Eigh. Thog an Sagart a cheann agus thuirt e "M'eudail, an d'thusa th'ann, bitheadh foighdinn agad, fhir-chridhe, gus a cuir mi crioch air mo leasan agus falbaidh mi leat do chearna 's am bi do'n t-shaoghal". Chum Mr. Tearlach air a leabhair gus an do chuir e crioch air a chaibidal "ann an Ainm an Athair, agus a Mhic, agus a Spioraid Naoimh, ga chomharrachadh fhein le comharradh na Croise ". Nis, 'ille," ars' an Sagart, "ceana tha sinn a do l ? " as thoiraich e air canntaireachd." Cha'n eil cearn de Rinn-eorpa eadar air traigh is tir mòrAnns nach eil larach mo bhroig's gach ceum dhethBha mi'm Portugal thall, is cha b'e m'fhortan a bh'ann, etc."

" Feumaidh sinn," ars' an spailpeanach, 's e ain bhalbh-chrith leis an eagal, " dol thar na h-ainmhe thun Fear Inbher-chalde."

" Seadh, Seadh! mata," ars' an Sagart, " toga-maid oirne."

Ach, cha rachadh Mr. Tearlach a stigh do'n amhain ach ann aite thogradh e fhein. Cha dianadh an t'aite so, no'n t-aite ad eile an ghnothach. Mu dheireadh thagh e an t-aite bu doimhne do'n amhain. 'N uair a bha iad mu mheadhan na b-aimhne, agus an t-uisge suas ri achlais an t'Shagairt ('s e duine mor a bh'ann a Mr. Tearlach, agus cha robh anns ghile ach creutair crionn leibideach) rug an Sagart air cul cinn a ghille agus air màs a bhriogais agus thum e thar a chinn anns an amhain e. Thug e sin an uachdar e, agus ghabh e beachd air cor a ghille agus chunnaic nach dianaidh aon tumadh eile cron 's am bith dha (oir's e deadh-lighiche bh'ann a Mr. Tearlach) 'sios chaidh an gille rithist thar a chinn. Feadh 's bha so a tachairt, bha Fear Inbher-chalde a gabhail mion-bheachd air na bha dol air aghart, agus cha mhor nach do chaile e a chli a gaireach-daich. Ghiulean Mr. Tearlach an creutair truagh is e leth-mharbh is dh'fhag e air toman

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boidhaich uaine e aig casan a Mhaighstir. Thug Fear Inbher-chalde sanas do Mhaighstir Tearlach, agus mu'n d'thainig an gille dha ionnsuidh fhein thug an Sagart a chasan as.

Mar a thuirt mi cheana, bha cliu mor aig an t shluagh air Mr. Tearlach, agus mar lighiche fhuair e ainm mor air feadh na dutcha gu leir.      Ach bha' dhoigh fhein aige air smior na firinn fhaighinn mu chor na feadhnach e bha easlainteach.      Na biodh amhuras orre nach d'thigeadh an doigd ri Mr. Tearlach, cha ghabhadh ni a chunnaic iad riamh agus so aideachadh, agus is math a bha fios aig Mr. Tearlach air a so.      Latha' bha sid, chaidh a ghairn thun leanabh a bha'n coltas bàis.      So agad a chiad cheist a dh'fhaighnaich e.      "Am bi sibh a toirt gu leoir do bhainne do'n leanabh ? "     Dh'-faighnaich e so, direach mar gum biodh amhuras

Daige gu'n robh iad ri dearmad mor anns an t-sheadh so.      Fhreagair Mathair an leinibh agus thuirt L

" Le'r cead, tha e faighinn gu leoir de bhainne.""Ach," ars' an Lighiche. 'N uair a bhitheas sibh a

dianadh an ime, am bi sibh a toirt fuarag dha as a mhuidhe?"

"Cho fior ris a bhàs, gu cead duibhse, Mhr. Tearlach," ars' a mhathair bhochd, "a h-uile uair a tha mi a dianadh ime tha mi toirt dha deadb fhuarag as a mhuidhe."

"Direach sinn, a bhean-an-taighe," ars' an Lighiche, "faodaidh sibh a nis a leinne-bhàis a cheannach le pris an ime, mhil thu goille an leinibh le'd chuid fhuaragan. Tha mi an earbsa gun gabh thu barrachd curam do'n chor do d' chloinn."

Cha robh comhairle Mhr. Tearlach daonan a cordadh ri cuid do'n t-shluagh. Latha do na laithean sid, thuit dha a bhi gabhail a sios rathad Ghlinn-sithe, is chaidh iarraidh air suil a thoirt a stigh, anns an dol seachad, air bean tuathanaich airidh a bha gu bochd na slainte. Chaidh e stigh agus chuir e failte an latha air an teaghlach. Dh'-fhaighnaichd e ceist no dha air an te a bha tinn. Thionndaidh e ri fear an taighe agus thuirt e. "Fheargais, gabh mo chomhairle agus cuir ealach chlach air a muin agus saodaich i a suas gu mulach Beinn-Ghuilibean." Cha'n eil n'ion a radh nach d'fhuair e taing na buidheachas airson na comhairle so. Goirid an deigh bàs na mnatha so, thacair fear-eolais a mhuinntir Bhraighmhairr air agus dh'fhaighnaich e dheth. " Gu dè sid a chomhairle a thug sibh do dh'Fheargas Mac Fhionlaidh mu dheibhinn a mhnatha—ealach chlach a chuir air a druim agus a saodachadh gu mulach Beinn-Ghuilibeann ? " Fhreagair Mr. Tearlach agus thuirt e. "Na'n do ghabh iad mo chomhairle bhiodh i maireann an diugh, oir bha iongarachadh mor an taobh as stigh dhi, agus a reir coltais, leis a stri, bhristeadh e agus bhiodh i slan fallain an diugh."

'N uair a bhiodh Mr. Tearlach dol mu chuairt feadh na duthcha, mar phears'-eaglais agus mar lighiche bhiodh mi-fhortain gu leoir na luib. Cha robh cuid an t-shaoghail a cuir a bheag do dhragh air. Gu'n bhonne sia ruadh na sheilbh, ghrios e, lath'bha sid, an t-aisig air portair Prostanach. "Cha'n eil sgillinn ruadh agam," ars' esan, "ach a chionns

gur gille og thu, bheir mi dhut comhairle 's fhearr na airgiod no òr, na pos aon-nighean banntrich, no sgoileam, no idir te a chul-chainaidh."

Aig an àm ad, fhuair na Duthaich seilbh air roinn mhor de dh'oighreachd Bhraighmhairr, agus bha iad a toirt e h-uile oidheirp air " poachairachd " a chuir a sios. Latha bha sid dh'fhalbh an t-Iarla e fhein a dh'aon obair a choimhead air Mr. Tearlach, Ios a chuidachadh agus a chomhairle fhaighinn gu crioch a chuir air a " phoachairachd ". Fhuair an t-Iarla an Sagart trang ag obair. Bha e togail dìg Ios gu 'n cumar an amhain a mach as a chroit aige. Chuir an t-Iarla failte an latha air an t-Shagairt, "Ciamar a tha sibh an diugh, a Mhr Tearlach ? "

"Tha mi, gu cead duibhse, ann am breacadh, is tha sibh'gam fhaicinn trang ag obair," arsa Mr. Tearlach.

"Am beil fios agaibh ciod a chuir an so mise an diugh."

" Mata, cha'n eil," fhreagair Mr. Tearlach."Thainig mi," ars' an t-Iarla, "a dh'aon obair Ios

gun d'thugadh sibh dhomh mo dhinneir.""Mata 's e 'ur deadh-bheath' e," arsa Mr.

Tearlach, "ach leigaibh leum falbh agus innseadh do'n bhean-taighe Ios gum bi rudeigin aice deas air arson."

"Cha leig gu dearbh," ars'an t-Iarla, "esana bheir cuiradh dha fhein, bitheadh buidheach le 'chuibhrionn."

Nam biodh fios aig Mr. Tearlach an gnothach a thug an t-Iarla sid an lath'ad, dh'iarradh e air a bhean-taighe ceithramh de shithonn a bh'anns a phot a chuir air leth-taobh. Ach cha fhuair e coth-rom rabhadh a thoirt dh'i.

'N uair a thainig an t-am, chaidh iad a stigh le cheile agus shuidh aig bord. 'S gann a bha iad na'n suidhe, 'n uair a thainig bean-taighe an t-Shagairt a stigh, gu neo-chionntach, le spag an fheidh aice air aisid mhoir. Chuir an t-Iarla gruaim air agus thuirt e " Ciamar, Ciamar a thainig so a dh'ionnsuidh do laimh ? "

Fhreagair Mr. Tearlach agus thuirt, "Le'r cead, agus a dh'innseadh na firinn dhuibh, 'n uair a thig a h-aon agus ultach aige air a ghairdean cha bhi mi cho mi-mhodhail 's gun fhiosraich mi dheth c'aite an d'fhuair e e ".

" Glè cheart," ars' an t-Iarla, " agus an uair bheir a h-aon cuirradh dha fhein gu lòn a ghabhail ann an tigh fir-eile, 's beag a choir a th'aige fhaighnachd ciamar a thainig a leithid de ghnothaiche an matha air a bhialthaobh."

Chaidh an t-Iarla dhachaidh an lath'ad gun ghuth a thoirt air a ghnothach a thug ann e.

Air latha tiodhlachaidh Mhr. Tearlach, 'n uair a bh' an comhlan air an t-shlighe gu cladh Bhaile-] chaisteil, co thacair air a ghiulan ach an t-Iarla e fhein, is e air muin eich. Leum e thar an eich agus ghlac e a cheannadach na laimh agus thuirt e. "Bheirinn rud a chunnaic mi riamh, gu robh mi coltach risan : bhithean deonach air bhi far a bheil esan".

Bha' bharrachd's beachd chiadna agus bha iad mar-an-ciadna am beachd gun robh Mr. Tearlach &

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caitheadh crun a b'aillidh agus a bu ghile na Iarla's am bi ann an Albinn.

Buaidh agus piseach air fear na cathrach ! GILLEASBA'MAC DHOMHNUIL'IC EOBHAIN.

CELTIC RENAISSANCE AND INDUSTRIAL REVIVAL[BY A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL]

COMPLAINT has been made that what is known as the Celtic Renaissance does not pay sufficient atten-tion to the material needs of those whom it seeks to rejuvenate by means of letters. However well

founded this complaint may be, personally I do not see how the fact itself can be otherwise. The Renaissance, I take it, is an intellectual movement, whose principal aim is the revival of native letters amongst the " sea-divided Gaels ". That being so, it is difficult to understand how a purely sentimental agitation of this kind can reasonably be expected to foster manufactures and to improve agriculture. The Celtic Renaissance, it is true, can give the idea, can revive the notion of a lost or languishing nationality, but it cannot (directly) build factories or inaugurate handicrafts. Doubtless if this were a movement likely to appeal to millionaires of the I'.trnegie order something might be done to re-establish dead and gone industries in the Highlands and Isles. But it would appear to have no attrac-D for the man who has made his money in soap or

iron; at all events, none of our commercial Midases has yet manifested his sympathy for it in any practical shape or form. The endeavour, too, to float small " cottage industries " here and there throughout the Highlands and Isles, however praiseworthy the intentions of those who are responsible for them, are in too small a way, and too much in the hands of inexperienced though well-meaning amateurs, to effect much or enduring good. The consequence is that the Renaissance is blamed for a state of affairs for which, it appears to me, it is in no wise responsible. It is not a "rich" movement as yet. It would not appear to possess the faculty of enlisting the sympathies and opening the purse-strings of those wealthy and powerful people who, were they willing, could very well afford to do something practical for the Highlands and Isles in the way of restoring to the Celtic people some part at least of their former pre-eminence as skilled artisans and so forth. But however much this may be the case, and whatever the causes, there can be no doubt, I think, that to brand the Renaissance as "unpractical," simply because it has not ready cut and dried a panacea for every ill to which the Highlands and Isles may at this time be subject, is unjust and absurd. The special work of the Renaissance is the re-creation of a healthy national sentiment, operating within the thought-limits of that Empire to which, whether Gael or Saxon, we all are heirs. The Renaissance cannot, directly, do more than make a present of this idea to the people, and encourage them to work out their salvation on the lines which it sensibly suggests. It is not a limited liability company with a huge capital at its command, and nothing to spend it on save vast undertakings of a purely philanthropic character.      The people must help themselves, if they wish to benefit their condition, and to prove themselves worthy of the race from which they are sprung.

No doubt the purely sentimental aspect of some features of the Celtic Renaissance is too pronounced. There is a regrettable tendency to not a little " posturing," especially amongst Cian societies and the like, whose energies and

resources, apart from their purely philanthropic work, are frittered away in a variety of superfluous and undignified directions. Some of these societies are quite respectably well off, and one wonders why it has never occurred to them to combine their forces and undertake some work of a really useful and practical description, by which alone, it appears to me, they can hope to justify their existence. But as I have said, it is the people themselves who must help themselves, if the present state of affairs is to be remedied. All the Celtic societies in the Kingdom could not set Humpty Dumpty together again, if Humpty Dumpty is in no mind to do what he can to assist himself and his neighbours. Nor can much be expected of Parliament. That is quite certain ; and I do not know that it is even desirable that Government should go out of its way to frame special legislation for such as are incompetent to better themselves, or unwilling to make the effort to improve their surroundings. Artificial legislation of this kind is an unhealthy symptom both on the part of a Government which makes, and on that of a people which clamours for, it. Some improvements in the Acts applying to the crofter classes might undoubtedly be made; and the vexed subject of communications should undoubtedly receive more attention at the hands of Government than it is now in the habit of receiving in Parliament; but I feel sure that most political economists will agree with me when I say that it is neither the part nor the duty of Government to create artificial conditions by any series of legislative enactments which professedly and avowedly partake of that character, however honourable the designs and praiseworthy the intentions of those who are responsible for such legislation. After all, " fair rent and fixity of tenure " is the most that can reasonably be expected of Government. Subsidised undertakings, bounty-fed industries, and artificially inflated concerns of all sorts are neither morally nor politically defensible. As a rule, they are not even commercially successful.

Peace, joined to the existence of a healthy national sentiment, which should imply emulation

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and rivalry in commercial affairs, are the two great mainstays of trade. If your community is apathetic —if, to use homely language, it does not take a pride in itself—your trade will be correspondingly bad. A nation which has no sense of homogeneity —which is all at sixes and sevens, as it were— cannot be a prosperous nation, using that word in the best sense of the term. Now, the reason, in my opinion, why the Highlands and Isles are so much a desert to-day compared with what they once were, is that at present we are a people conspicuously lacking in this sense. We are all at sixes and sevens, mainly no doubt in consequence of that sequence of political events which has transferred the political centre of gravity elsewhere, and partly, I am afraid, through our own supineness, and neglect of the most ordinary precautions to improve such small advantages as we may yet have. You cannot, of course, shift the centre of political gravity from one nation to another without grievously disturbing the balance of trade in that country from which the centre of political gravity is removed. The palmiest days of the Highlands and Isles were undoubtedly those in which our country and nation enjoyed something resembling settled government and trading advantages under the rule of the kings of the Isles. No person at all conversant with our history will venture, I think, to dispute the truth of this assertion. In those days, truly and in a more pathetic sense than is commonly imagined by

those on whose lips the well-known Ossianic phrase is frequently heard—" the days of other years "—arts and industries, trades and callings and professions of all kinds flourished apace and in abundance in the Highlands and Isles. Our civilisation in fact was a reflection of the fine civilisation of contemporary Ireland. I do not say that it was superior to that of that country, concerning which such particular accounts have come down to us ; but this I do say, that it was no bad imitation of it, at its best, and that since those times the Highlands and Isles in everything that stamps a nation as refined, artistic, enterprising, prosperous and resourceful have been neadily declining until, at the present day, so parlous is our condition, nothing now remains to us are peat-hags and grouse-moors and a peasantry, virtuous and deserving if you will, but incapable of sing to the achievement of any sort or kind of art »ve that of thrashing the melancholy seas in open boats in pursuit of fish, or scraping an ungrateful and inhospitable soil in the hopes to obtain a meagre tod precarious subsistence thereby.

It is the misfortune of the Highlands and Isles that they have long been in the hands of the political physician. They are the " sick man " of the West, and every political quack that comes along conceives ktmself at liberty to experiment with his nostrums

i6o      Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival

thereon. Even before the union of the crowns in the person of James VI., legislators were at work, dosing and physicking in their familiar ignorant and improvident manner. At one time it was " education" which was to restore the Highlands and Isles to their former prosperity—the inhabitants were to be brought off from the state of ignorance and barbarity in which the political specialists were pleased to imagine them to be, and were to be made contented, happy and prosperous by means of the introduction of the English language and customs. Then, when these failed, other specifics were recommended, with all the vehemence and confidence that had formerly been employed to urge the application of the preceding " remedies " from the extensive and varied pharmacopoeia of the political quack. But still in spite, or rather, partly in consequence of the plethora of physicians and the superabundance of " remedies," the Highlands and Isles continued to languish. Then came the political upheaval of the year 1745, after which the condition of the Highlands and Isles was so melancholy and desperate in every respect that there were not wanting those to come forward and boldly declare that nothing short of wholesale

expulsion (which, adopting the language of the political casuist, they styled "emigration") could save the Highlands and Isles from the state of

abject bankruptcy and desolation with which they were threatened. But even this desperate remedy, which may be compared to the now discarded medical practice of cupping or blood-letting, failed to improve the impoverished state of the Highlands, which, together with the Isles, continued in so low a condition that before very long the political operators with their injurious paraphernalia were in haste assembled again, when

Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival      161

on this occasion it was confidently declared by the political specialists gathered together to practise their ingenuity on the helpless body of their victim, that sheep-farming on a large scale was the only true remedy for the Highlands and Isles.1      And

1 Here is a pretty contemporary picture of what would happen in thei Highlands and Isles were the oppressive salt laws (1792) taken off and fishing and sheep-farming encouraged. It is drawn, needless to say, by one of the sanguine confraternity of quacks. I oraid produce many such. They possess a certain melancholy interest for one who has attentively studied the economic history of the Highlands and Isles. Their practical value, however, is, of course, nil, though they might possibly serve as a warning and discouragement to similar quacks were they collected andWished in book form. " Had the people been left at perfect edom to catch and cure fish and trade in them either at home or abroad, without restraint, they would naturally of themselves have established

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K

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fishing towns and villages along the coasts, in which they could have provided for themselves a subsistence by industry and traffic. By the money they would thus have acquired they would have become buyers of the natural productions of the internal parts of the country. Boads to these markets would then have become necessary; and would of coarse have been formed. These roads being once made, manufacturers would have gradually sat down in the internal parts of the country to avail themselves of the infinite advantages they could derive from the great falls of many streams of water for taming machinery. These, again, would have consumed in manufactures the wool that ought to be, and inevitably will be in tìme, the chief production of these mountains, and would themselves consume the carcasses. Thus might the country - 4 port ten times the number of inhabitants it has at present, without feeling any superfluity of people. The tenants would be at liberty to stock and manage their farms in the most economical manner, without distressing any individuals. The proprietor would draw a fair and adequate rent for the lands whhout being accused of oppression. And the state would derive an ample revenue without distressing the inhabitants, from a comerous people who at present exhaust instead of augmenting the national treasure." The condition of the inhabitants of the Highlands and Isles has, of course, improved considerably since these lines were written (1792).      But it cannot truthfully be so, in obedience to the mandate of the specialists, sheep-farming on a large scale it was, and, in great measure has continued so to this very day; but the price of wool being no longer what it was in consequence of foreign competition, and some other causes which I need not here specify, the doctrinaires are all at their wits' ends again, and are eagerly casting about for some other means whereby they may justify their existence as political prophets and healers. Meantime, two other " remedies " had been started by a body of quacks who would appear to have regarded the proceed-ings of their compeers with some jealousy, if not with some natural alarm at the prospect of that suc-cess which was confidently prognosticated for the nostrum of their rivals in trade. The first of these remedies was the improvement of the fishings in the Highlands and Isles; the second being the material salvation of the country by means of agriculture.

Now this last has always been a favourite panacea for distressed countries and peoples with the political empiric, or, to use a less harsh term, with the economist who has a soul not above senti-ment. To say the truth, it offers an agreeable, familiar and convenient road out of great difficulties. The prospect of " smiling fields " and a prosperous

said that it has improved in a ratio at all proportionate to that which we can observe elsewhere. The fact that the material condition of the people has improved since 1792 is no sound argument for the continuance of the existing state of affairs. That it has improved so little whilst the population has shrunk so much supplies indeed the strongest possible argument against it. The general poverty of the Highlands and Isles, compared with the prosperity of the Lowlands, is as the prosperity of a millionaire contrasted with the impecuniosity of a poor relation.

and contented peasantry is one well calculated to appeal to the imagination of the average arm-chair politician, more especially, as is generally the case,

where he is not wanting in bowels of compassion. His thoughts on such a subject as he sits at home amongst his books, or dozes in his London office

over the latest agricultural statistics, are naturally of the mildest and most benign description.      He thinks of Arcadia and Polybius its historian.      He remembers to have read of the genial climate of

that favoured land, of the multiplicity of its moun-tains and rivers, the richness of its pastures, the abundance of cattle and flocks, the tranquil and

happy disposition of the people, their abhorrence of war and strife, their love of music and poetry, and so forth: and imagining these things he naturally

(being a bit of a dreamer, in spite of his dry-as-dust trade) falls to wondering why they cannot be per-

petuated elsewhere.      Your political thinker turned economist, or vice versa,- is generally somewhat of

a classical scholar; and the appeal to Arcadia is sure to start a train of agreeable reflections and recol-

lections in his fertile brain.      The character of the Arcadians is eminently delightful to him, as it was to

the ancients before him—to Pindar and Homer, Horace, Ovid, Propertius and others.      Did not Virgil adorn his bucolics with the peculiarities of Arcadia,

and did not the same genius (himself an husbandman) dedicate the greatest part of the

eighth book of the JEneid to the memory of Evander, and the praises of the Arcadians ?    Jacapo

Sannagaro, a more than competent Latin poet of the sixteenth century, composed, under the name of Actius Sincerus, a justly admired and celebrated

work, consisting of eclogues in verse and prose, entitled Arcadia.    Tasso laid the scene of his

Aminta in

164      Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival

Arcadia, and Guarini fixed the scenery of his Pastor Fido in the same delightful country.

But let not any man think that in seeming to ridicule our political quacks—a kind and well-meaning race for the most part—and in speaking somewhat contemptuously of their works, I seek to belittle what has actually been done to assist the Highlands and Isles, mainly, no doubt, through their efforts. The little that has been done in the direction indicated by these observations redounds, I acknowledge, to their credit; and on the principle that even an indiscreet friend is better than no friend at all, I confess it with candour that verily

they are entitled to their reward. But the fault and the weakness of our empirics consists in the circumstance of their regarding either this one remedy or the other as alone capable of restoring jrrosperity to the Highlands and Isles; whereas the fact is (and they would discover it if they would but think a little and read a little, I do not say more learnedly, but more closely and practically) that the state of affairs which they are so laudably desirous to re-establish in the Highlands and Isles was the result of the success, not of any one par-ticular trade or calling, but of a general progress and prosperity, which embraced the people at large. To proceed on the assumption that

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agriculture alone, or the sea-fishings alone, or sheep-farming alone, or carpet-weaving alone are sufficient to repair the ills and mischiefs which all are agreed in deploring is unsound economics and very bad reasoning. Of late years there has been a regrettable tendency abroad to ride the hobby-horse of agriculture to a perfectly preposterous extent. The most of the Highlands and Isles are totally unsuited to this branch of industry, and many of the waste lands

Urnaigh ri Naomh Colum Cille                165

that have been brought into so-called " cultivation," in consequence of this mischievous cry, can furnish evidences of nothing save a prodigious and extra-vagant expenditure of capital and time. " Nothing but a ready and certain market (said a shrewd observer and a sound economist of the last century) for all the productions of a farm can ever induce any man of common-sense to bestow vigorous exertions in agriculture. But in a country where the whole of the people are cultivators of the soil, no market for any of its produce can ever be found. Each person, therefore, finding that he can sell none of that produce, can as little afford to purchase anything else. In that state of society, therefore, a general poverty of the people must prevail, and a listless indolence be very general among them."

(To be continued.)

URNAIGH RI NAOMH COLUM CILLE

IN nomine Patris et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti.    Amen.Beannaichte gu'n robh an Trianaid Naomh agus

neo-dhealichte a nis agus gu siorruidh.      Amen.Tha mi 'coisrigeadh nan tri Chaoil (Caol nan

dùirn, Caol na cuim, agus Caol nan cas) mar chuimhneachan air Naomh Colum Cille.

Tha mi 'coisrigeadh nan tri chaoil, 's gach ni a th'agam an lathair Nh. Cholum Chille, 's nam Naoimh Gàidhealach uile.

Spero in Deo quoniam adhuc confitebor illi; salutare vultus mei et Deus meus. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.

Tha mi 'tort aoraidh is glòire do Dhia an diugh166                Urnaigh ri Naomh Colum Cille

Urnaigh ri Naomh Colum Cille                167

(no an nochd). Glòir do'n Athair, agus do'n Mhac, agus do'n Spiorad Naomh. Mar a bha, 's mar a tha 's mar a bhitheas fad shaoghal nan saoghal. Amen.

Tha mi 'coisrigeadh Caol nan dùirn.A Naoimh Cholum Chille! Guidh gu grad, 's gu

buileach, 's gu dùrachdach; guidh gu tuath, 's gu deas; guidh an ear agus an iar; guidh a nuas agus shuas, a bhos agus thall; guidh air ais, 's air aghaidh, h-uig agus uaithe, agus gu là bràth.

GUIDH MAE &RIGAir Casan Chrìosta cho geal ris a 'bhainne. Air Ghinean Chrìosta cho làidir ri carraig. Air Anart-bàis Chrìosta cho

soilleir ri ceo. Air Uchd Chrìosta cho suaineach ri tonn Air Guaillean Chrìosta cho farsuing ris na beanntain Air Beul Chrìosta cho iomlan ris an fhlùr. Air Suilean Chrìosta cho oaoimhneil ri dealradh na greine dol fodhaAir Falt Chrìosta cho bachlach ris an t-sruth. Air Gàirdeanan Chrìosta cho sùbailte ri bannan Air Meoir Chrìosta cho ceannasach ri na speuraibh

'S air A Cheann Naomh.

Pater noster qui es in coelis. Sanctificatur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Et dimitte nobis

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debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitori-bus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem. Amen.

Tha mi 'coisrigeadh Caol mo chùirn.

GUIDH MAR &RIGAir A Bheus Air A Dhilseachd Air A Charranachd

Air A Gheimnidheachd Air A Chiùineachd Air A Mhàldachd Air A Thrèine Air A Mhisneachd Air A Mheasarachd Air A Fhulangas Air 'Irisleachd 'S airA Bhochdas ro-naomh.

Fàilte dhut A Mhoire! Tha thu làn de na gràsan. Tha an Tighearna maille ruit. Is beannaicht* thu 'measg nan mnài, agus is beannaichte toradh do bhronn, Iosa. A Naomh Mhoire, Mhàthair Dhè, guidh air ar son-ne na peacaich a nis, agus aig uair ar bàis.      Amen.

Tha mi 'coisrigeadh Caol nan cas.

GUIDH AIR SGATHA Bhreith naomh is fhìor-ghlàn. A Leana bas gun ghaoid. A Bhaiste&dhAThraisg dà fhichead latha agus da fhichead oidche, agus a

bhuaireadh. Nan ochd beannachdan. A Thaghadh an dà-fhear-dhìag Naoimh. A Chaochladh cruth air a bheinn A Bhrath le Iudas. A Dhiteadh agus a bhinn eucoraich A Bhàs agus a thiodhlacaidh 'Aisereigh, 's agus dheas-ghabail ghlòrmhor.

Ann an ainm Iosa, Chrìosta ar Tighearna, èiream (no, gabham gu fois).

Na seachd reultan 'gam stuiradh An Dà-fhear-dhìag 'gam sheoladh. Na Còig lotan 'gam dhionadh Na trì sanasan 'nam cluasan Sìth nan seachd Eaglaisean 'gam cuairteachadh. An aon Dia 'gam riaghladh Sgiath ohreidimh os mo cheann BAn claidheamh soluis air m'aghaidh Facal Dè air mo chultaobh M'Aingil ohoimhdich làmh rium An Spioraid Naomh maille rium A nis agus gu sìorraidh.      Amen. Triath nan Triath.      Amen.

'Iosal beannaich, stiùir agus glèidh mi, agus thoir mi gu beatha mhaireannaich. A Cholum Chille! guidh air son na h-Alba, 's air mo shon-sa. Amen.

MORLAMH.

ST. MARGARET AND MALCOLM THE GREAT

FOB a Saint and a woman it must be allowed that Queen Margaret of Scotland has been charged with political indiscretions of some magnitude. By many

she is thought to have inaugurated that policy of "Romanising" the Church of Scotland which her son David I. is commonly supposed to have completed. She is further charged with having influenced her husband to change the language of the court from Gaelic to English. Another serious indiscretion laid at her door is that of marrying Malcolm Caennmòr.

With regard to the last of these indiscretions, it seems to be forgotten by those who repeat them that Queen Margaret was only half a Saxon. Her father Edward married the Princess Agatha, sister to the King of Hungary. From this union sprang a son Edgar, surnamed Atheling, and two daughters, Margaret and Christina. Thus the subject of these observations was English on her father's side andHungarian on her mother's. Her education, too, was by no means exclusively conducted in England, nor by persons of English birth. It was not until the year 1041 that Edward returned with his children to his native country. In 1066 was fought the battle of Hastings, in which the Saxons were vanquished; and shortly afterwards Edgar Atheling fled to Scotland where, together with his sisters Margaret and Christina, he was hospitably received by Malcolm III.

Thus a considerable portion of this Queen's life was passed outside her own country. Her tenderest and most impressionable years were spent beyond its shores. Her married life was entirely passed in Scotland; yet if we are to credit the strictures of some of our historians, she was from first to last, so far as birth, breeding, education and prejudice were concerned, of all contemporary Saxons facile prìnceps.

It seems to be forgotten, too, by these amiable scribes that the King was free to wed whom he chose; that sovereigns are in the habit of seeking their wives outside the boundaries of their own territories; and that, finally, if Queen Margaret was half a Saxon, the circumstance, though no doubt regrettable enough, is not one for which she can reasonably be held personally responsible. Her coming to Scotland was, perchance, a regrettable incident in her career. Personally, I do not think it was so. Queen Margaret was a good woman at a time when good women, rare enough at all seasons, were more than usually scarce. By her example she did much to improve her adopted country. She led, we know, an exemplary life, in her capacity of queen and wife, and in her capacity of mother—a feat, by the way, which very few queens have been able to perform ; and if her political influence has been vastly exaggerated we are not to blame her on that account, but rather those whose partiality has been exercised at the expense of their judgment.

It must be allowed that good Queen Margaret has been rather unfortunate in her biographer. To quote Mr. Burton, her " life" by Turgot " is a rhapsody, rather than a biography ". The style of the period was florid. It abounded in metaphor and hyperbole. It did not stop to measure conceits ;

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and where one man undertook to write of a fellow countryman, it would be a strange thing indeed if he did not so contrive matters as to let you know that he and his were immeasurably superior to these others.

Turgot's biography, however, enjoys a distinc-tion which, amongst books of that class, I am inclined to regard as something remarkable—it has been accepted in the spirit in which it was written almost verbatim et literatim. Burton, it is true, calls it, very properly, a rhapsody—perhaps a panegyric would be a better description; but strange to say he, too, has succumbed to what I suppose are its irresistible fascinations. Or perhaps it is the character of the Queen that he has succumbed to, in the which case his head and his heart are alike to be complimented, though I cannot resist the suspicion that had the Queen been a Gael instead of a Saxon, his praises had not been quite so enthusiastic.

At all events, it is curious that the power and influence of this Queen should have been accepted according to the estimate which her Confessor placed on them. Her political influence is thought to have been great.      According to the historians,Malcolm in her hands was little better than the proverbial wax. The somewhat foolish picture which they, assisted by Turgot, have drawn of him, however flattering to the industry of the latter, is hardly complimentary to the nation which produced him. Malcolm is an uxorious but letterless barbarian—a sort of Gaelic Caliban—whose principal delight is in fondling the books which his pious and talented wife is apparently incapable of teaching him to peruse. Her slightest wish is so much law to him. Her advice in affairs of state is invariably acted on. Her supposed partiality to her countrymen easily persuades the King to fill all the important" offices of state "1 (what precisely these were in a Gaelic kingdom is not stated) with persons hailing from England, to the entire exclu-sion almost of the native nobility. Instigated by her counsel, Malcolm, doubtless feeling his power absolutely consolidated, incontinently changes the language of the court from Gaelic to English, and metaphorically, if not actually, snaps his fingers in the face of a nation which is apparently powerless to resent so gross an insult or to revenge so tactless an usurpation. Encouraged, or instigated, by the artful Queen, Malcolm convenes councils of the clergy, and after haranguing and setting them all by the ears, rings up the curtain and treacherously introduces them (for the first time) to Eome!

These and other absurdities are frequently on the pens of our historians; and even the most intelhgent and sober-minded of them—such as Skene, Robertson and Bellesheim, to say nothing

'This and other purely feudal expressions are constantly on the pens of our historians when treating of Gaelic Scotland. One wonders whence they derived their inspirations.

of such lesser lights as Keith,1 MacKerlie,8 eta-seem incapable of resisting the spells cast by Turgot, and of reading the life of this Queen in accordance with the known facts of history.

Now what are the more important of these known facts of history, so far as they concern King Malcolm and Queen Margaret? The first undoubtedly is, that during this King's long reign of thirty-five years, he held his kingdom as it were by a thread. The second is that he left his kingdom much as he found it. The third is that no invasion of foreigners such as we are accustomed to read of in popular histories took place in his reign. The fourth is that he left the language of his court as he found it—Gaelic. The fifth is that the Queen exercised little or no influence in public affairs. The sixth is that the necessary reforms in the Church, though it is true that they were largely inspired by the Queen, yet were by no means " dictated by Rome,"3 nor were they entirely accomplished in her time.

Now, let us examine these several particulars in some detail. Malcolm ascended the throne of Scotland under circumstances which more than justify the suspicion that his sovereignty was by

1 History of Scotland, by Duncan Keith. This author is responsible for the following monstrous statement. "Devotedly attached to the Eoman ritual and to all the forms and ceremonies attached to it, she (Queen Margaret^ found a secularised clergy with neither the one nor the other ' (vol. ii., p. 288).

2 Galloway, Ancient and Modern.8 It is false to say that "Eome" insisted on even the

momentous and necessary change in respect of the celebration of Easter. The Church expressed her wishes on that head and left it to the good sense of the Scots to subscribe to her universal practice.no means entirely agreeable to the nation at large; and that considerable address was necessary on his part in order to prevent the discordant factions from breaking out into open rebellion against an authority which, in many parts of his kingdom, was not only purely nominal in his own day, but continued to be invested with that character during the reigns of some of his successors. No sooner, however, was Malcolm sufficiently established on his throne than he plunged into war with England; and by this act inaugurated that succession of contests which, either at home or abroad, was destined to pursue him to his dying day. His wars with England and his wars with his own subjects comprise, indeed, the little that we know about him. From the violence1 that characterised the former, we are at least entitled to observe that whatever influence the Queen may have had it would not appear to have been successfully exerted in behalf of her countrymen, thousands of whom were slain by Malcolm, or carried off by him into a degrading captivity,2 conduct which, in a man of his uxorious disposition and supposed partiality to the slightest opinion of his wife, cannot but seem surprising in the extreme; whilst from the frequency and stubbornness of the latter, we are

Dithis Bhraithrean 149

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1 "The English historians, who had mainly to record his frequent invasions of Northumberland, regarded him (Malcolm) u a man of barbarous disposition, and a cruel and pitiless temper, who delighted to ravage and devastate the northern districts of England."—Skene, Celtic Scotland, vol. i., p. 432.

J " Scotland was filled with slaves and handmaids of the English race; so that even to this day, I do not say no little village, but even no cottage can be found without one of them."—Simeon of Durham, de Jest. Beg., ad an. 1070. Perhaps the " invasion " here alluded to is the one erroneously ascribed to Malcolm's love of his wife's erstwhile countrymen.at least entitled to argue that a throne which needed so much bloodshed before it could be " consolidated " must have seemed eminently pre-carious to the person who was called on to occupy it.

Malcolm, during his comparatively long reign, was beset by enemies, even if we except those who hailed from across the Border. His own kingdom of Scotland proper was an insignificant affair com-pared with the Scotland of to-day. From the Spey northwards his authority was more often questioned than recognised. The Western Isles were in the hands of the North men. Galloway was still practically independent. Caithness and Orkney formed part of the Norwegian earldom of Orkney. Argyle was not yet united to the Scottish crown; and even in Alba proper, subjection to the royal authority seems to have been purchased by the device of striking a balance between the foreign population of the Lothians and the native inhabitants of the land. The reign of Malcolm, indeed, would appear to have been a concatenation of favourable circumstances, so far at least as Caennmòr was concerned; and though his address was considerable and his bravery and energy were unquestioned, it seems probable, on the whole, that he kept his throne more by reason of the weakness of his enemies and the peculiar position in which they were placed as regarded himself, than by means of the strength of his own situation, and the loyalty, affection and fidelity of those by whom he was surrounded. Malcolm though a great yet does not appear to have been a lovable man, or one in whom any sentimental weakness of the kind commonly attributed to him was likely to be found. His character seems to me to bear a striking resemblance to that of the first Edward of England, whose familiar soubriquet of " Hammer of the Scots " would seem to discover in the case of the sovereign under consideration, its appropriate historical counterpart in that of the " Hammer of the English ". According to the testimony of St. Berchan (quoted by Skene) Malcolm Caennmòr was

A king the best who possessed Alba;He was a king of kings fortunate.He was a vigilant crusher of enemies.No woman bore or will bring forth in the EastA king whose rule will be greater over Alba !And there shall not be born for everOne who had more fortune and greatness.

Let us now see in what condition Malcolm left his country. It cannot be too strongly emphasised, nor, apparently, too frequently insisted on, that

Caennmòr was essentially a Gaelic king—as Gaelic as the peat, as the common saying goes—and that the kingdom over which he reigned fully shared with him that character. Mr. Burton, whose pro-nounced bias in favour of every one and every-thing Teutonic in Scotland is to be traced in almost every page of his history, maintained the contrary; but Mr. Skene's observations on that historian are so just and apposite that I feel sure I shall be excused for here reproducing them. " Mr. Burton,"1

he says, "introduces under this reign some remarks on the effect of the Norman influences and the feudal system upon Scotland. Excellent as these observations are, they are here out of place, and belong more properly to a later period. It was an old notion that feudalism came into Scotland in the reign of Malcolm (III.); but it will not bear a close examination, and these influences were

1 Celtic Scotland, vol. i., p. 431.in fact very slight in the kingdom of Scotland proper, which still continued essentially in all its characteristics a Celtic kingdom till the reign of David the First, who was the first feudal monarch of Scotland, and when these influences became permanent." Kobertson1 and Chalmers2 were of the same opinion with Skene, and, indeed, nowadays that historian who should cling to the obsolete notions of Burton and others could not be regarded as respectable. Mr. Hume Brown, however, who has done so much to place the history of his country upon a scientific basis, would appear to grudge to the Celtic inhabitants of Scotland even the limited satisfaction I have mentioned above; for in an historical piece which he has recently published entitled The Making of Scotland, he seems to go out of his way to approve the introduction of the feudal system and Norman influences* whose rise he mistakenly dates from the reign of King Malcolm.

There can be no reasonable doubt, however, for all history proves it, that Malcolm and his court were Gaelic to the core;3 and that foreign in-fluences were happily conspicuous by their absence throughout his long and troubled reign. So far as his country was concerned, Caennmòr was a worthy successor to the second Malcolm. He gave to Scotland the southern frontier which she now possesses;4 and had it not been for the curse of

1 Scotland under her Early Kings. 3 Caledonia.3 Malcolm (says Mr. Eobertson) was a Gaelic king to the

last.* The foolish bombast of newspaper writers, who

noisily proclaim that Scotland has " annexed England," will deceive no man of good sense. It is humiliating to read a foreigner's opinion as to our present situation. "The death of Malcolm the Norwegian invasions and for the unhappy overthrow of England by the Normans in 1066, it is possible that Malcolm had aggrandised his kingdom to an extent little imagined by those who treat of historical affairs from a Scots point of view.

When Malcolm died on the banks of the Alner he left his kingdom a prey to dissension and faction \

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but its essentially Gaelic character survived for some years the numerous troubles which a dis-puted succession to the throne entailed on it. " Edgar," says Eobertson,1 " left his kingdom much as he found it"; and even during the reign of the first Alexander (1107-1124) we find the Gaelic Mòrmhaors playing a part which shows us that if the so-called " transition period " was beginning to make itself felt, Gaelic was still the language of the court in Scotland proper, and that the Celtic system of government had not yet been displaced by that polity which was destined to supplant it.

Even after the reign of David I., during whose reign Scotland may be said to have begun to pass beneath the feudal yoke, we find the Gaelic language and the Gaelic nobility asserting themselves in a fashion which proves that " Scotland proper " was by no means yet a negligible factor in the political situation2 Thus at the coronation of Alexander III. (1249-1285) we read, that after some feudal

(says Bellesheim, History of the Catholic Church of Scotland, TOL i., p. 260) left Scotland in possession of the southern frontier which it continued to retain until its final absorption into the English kingdom."

1 Scotland under her Early Kings, vol. i., p. 185.' Scotland under her Early Kings, vol. ii., p. 54. Even

during the reign of the feudalising David the Gaelic nobles witnessed charters before those of foreign extraction.ceremonies had been observed, "an aged and venerable bard made his appearance, robed in scarlet, knelt before the occupant of the throne, and with head lowly bowed, recited the royal genealogy in the ancient language of the country, in token that the child of Alexander, son of William, the descendant and representative of the line of Alban's kings, ruled over the realm of Scotland by the right of long descent".

Norman-French 1 succeeded Gaelic as the lan-guage of the Scottish court; but during the greatest part of this period, the language of the Gael was, so far as Scotland proper was concerned, universally understood. "Not a few of the nobles," says Robertson, "were probably trilingues, using Norman-French in their familiar intercourse, but capable of conversing in 'quaint Inglis' and in Gaelic. French appears to have died out in both countries (Scotland and England) about the same time, the dialect of the Lothians replacing it at the Scottish court, and from its similarity to the dialects spoken amongst the whole body of the civic population, the latter gradually assumed the place"2 of the predominant language.

Thus we see that Gaelic, so far as the Scottish court was concerned, died, as became it, gamely and hard. By the end of the reign of Alexander III. (1285) it had ceased to be the official language at court, though, no doubt, it was still extensively used by the upper classes, and probably exclusively so by those of the nobility and gentry of Scotland who lived at a distance from the seat of govern-

1 The vulgar belief that English succeeded Gaelic as the language of the court is largely owing to the support accorded to that erroneous notion by Sir Walter Soott.

8 Scotland under her Early Kings, vol. ii., p. 143.ment, and who took no share, having neither place nor part, in the more immediate proceedings of the court. The death of the " Maid of Norway," however, and the subsequent troubles to which that melancholy catastrophe gave rise, completed the ruin of Gaelic as a court language. It was hardly to be expected that the hungry Norman adventurers who clamoured for the crown of Scotland when the Celtic line of succession came to an end, and the throne was put up to the highest bidder in the regard and interest of the King of England, should have much concern for the ancient language of the people, or should choose to identify the success of their cause with the ascendency of persons andrinciples with which they could have had butttle, if anything, in common.

Let us now pass to the consideration of Saint Margaret's relations with the Church, and endeavour briefly to estimate the sum of her achievements. According to Robertson, "the principal point which Margaret succeeded in carrying out was connected with Lent, which the Gaelic Church kept from Quadragesima Sunday, instead of from Ash Wednesday. . . . The other practices which Margaret endeavoured to reform were (1) a reluctance to communicate on Easter Sunday ; (2) labour on Sundays; (3) marriage with the widow of a father or brother; and (4) the celebration of the service with barbarous rites."1 It will be observed by the impartial reader that not one of these reforms refers to a question of faith, but is concerned, in every case, with discipline only; and inasmuch as in every case the gravest necessity for their institution undoubtedly existed, one is apt to wonder

ìSootland under her Early Kings, vol. i., p. 149.exceedingly that there should be found a single

historian bold enough to question their utility or to impugn the motives which inspired them.    The lax

state of discipline into which the Church had fallen, owing in great measure to the troubles of

the times, called aloud for redress, as every honest reader, who is at all conversant with the

subject, must admit; and to carp at these reforms, or seek to belittle their importance or the pure

spirit which inspired them, by stigmatising them as the fruit of Romanising tendencies," is to

display not only the grossest ignorance of ecclesiastical affairs, but the greatest jealousy and

malevolence as well.      It is unfortunate for the Presbyterian Church that when -driven into a

corner, as it needs must be on such a subject, its apologists can do nothing save obstinately repeat

their exploded fables or raise the familiar but always serviceable cry of "Rome!" The continuity

of faith, and the unbroken succession of ritual, from the introduction of Christianity into Scotland

down to our own days, which must be apparent to every unprejudiced beholder of the Catholic

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Dithis Bhraithrean

Church, is either entirely wasted on these flimsy apologists, or, being blind, is of a sort which is far too conspicuous for them to see.      They seem to

forget, or rather do not find it convenient to ac-knowledge, that the same Holy Sacrifice of the

Mass which was celebrated in the days of St. Columba, in those of Nechtan, Queen Margaret, David I. and of Robert the Bruce, is to-day being

celebrated in all the Catholic churches throughout the world. Surely this great fact should be sufficient

for those who either ignorantly or impudently mislead their •countrymen by endeavouring to

obscure the issues which I have raised.      It cannot be too often insisted on that the Presbyterian

Church has nothingin common with the Church of our forefathers, which fortunately is that, too, of so many of us to-day. I do not wish to be offensive or to hold unduly provocative language, but really it is impossible to avoid the reflection that if ever there was a thing or institution which merited the popular taunt of having been " made in Germany," that thing or institution is certainly the Presbyterian Church.

"The innovations of Margaret," says Robertson,1

"were confined to the court and the clergy. The laws

and customs of the Gaelic people remained undisturbed in her days." " The reforming energy of the Queen," says the same author in another place,' " was directed to the court and clergy; she scarcely aimed at effecting any radical change in the principles of government." Indeed, there is absolutely nothing to show that the influence of the Saint was ever exercised in any way which could be considered as prejudicial to the interests of his race by the most patriotic Gael alive. On the contrary, the Queen seems to have married Malcolm with the firm determination to do her best by the people amongst whom her lot was cast. Such scandals and abuses as there were, she rightly determined to do her utmost to remove, in those spheres which were legitimately exposed to her influence. Whilst demurring to Robertson's and other historians' statements3 to the effect that she was the first to introduce pomp and ceremonial into the Scottish court, we are at least entitled to believe that the uniform purity of her life, and the singular nobility of her conduct, conspired to set a bright and rare example, at a time when singleness of purpose, honesty and devotion to religion

1 Scotland under her Early Kings, vol. i., p. 185.*Ibid., p. 251. 3 Pounded on Turgot's Life.

182        St. Margaret and Malcolm the Great

and duty were qualities which were, if possible, even less frequently encountered at courts than they are at present. " This distinguished Princess," says Ordericus Vitalis, "descended from a long line of kings, was still more eminent for her great worth and the sanctity of her life." "There is perhaps," says Skene,1 " no more beautiful character recorded in history than that of Queen Margaret. For purity of motives, for an earnest desire to benefit the people among whom her lot was cast, for a deep sense of religion, a great personal piety, for the unselfish performance of whatever duty lay before her, and for entire self-abnegation, she is unsurpassed ; and the chronicles of the time all bear witness to her exalted character."

This Saint's influence was entirely directed to those necessary reforms which constituted her legitimate sphere; and I venture to repeat that she showed no inclination throughout her married life to trespass beyond those limits which her good sense and eminently womanly nature had evidently proposed to her understanding as furnishing the best scope for her energies. Malcolm seems to have been as sensible of this admirable discretion in his wife, as he was of those other beautiful qualities with which she was so abundantly en-dowed and which have endeared her to posterity; and to have rewarded her with his undying confidence and affection. That he himself was the barbarian and ignoramus which it has pleased some historians to represent him

as, the writer for one refuses to believe.      His soubriquet of Caennmòr,'

1 Celtic Scotland, vol. ii., p. 344.2 Surely popular ignorance, as practised by the historian,

oould not go further than by construing this appellation in a physical sense. The writer has seen drawings of this king in which he is represented as having a large head!

Mallachdor great head, that is to say, man of great mental parts, is proof positive that by his subjects, at all events, he was estimated at his true value; whilst the fierce resentment which even the bare mention of his name seems to have aroused in the breasts of his innumerable enemies cannot but be considered as a further testimony to his greatness. As St. Berchan says, who ought to have known,

No woman bore or will bring forth in the EastA king whose rule will be greater over Alba IAnd there shall not be born for everOne who had [? shall have] more fortune and greatness.

H. M.

MALLACHDTHE following is a translation of a curse composed by an Irish poet in the Co. Kerry in Ireland about sixty or seventy years ago. The translation is pretty literal.      The original begins :—

Bruadair Smiot a's Grlin,Amèn a Mhic, an triùr— Nara cian go

rabhaid1 fa leacaibh,Go marbh, faon, fuar san ùir.

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Dithis Bhraithrean

Amèn.Bruadair Smiot a's Glin,

Go fànach, singil, fuar, Amèn a Eigh na n-Aingeal;

A's go trèith-lag truithill truagh.Amèn.

1t.e., nar bhfada gu'n robh iad.F

Mallachd A CUESE

Broder and Smith and Glynn,Amen, dear God 1 I pray May they lie low in waves of woeAnd tortures slow each day.

Amen IBroder and Smith and Glynn,

Helpless and cold, I pray, Amen! I pray 0 King

To see them pine away.Amen I

Broder and Smith and Glynn,May flails of sorrow flay; Cause for lamenting, snares and

caresBe theirs by night and day.

AmenlBlindness come down on Smith,

Palsy on Broder come, Amen, 0 King of Brightness 1 SmiteGlynn in his members numb.

Amen!Smith in the pangs of pain, Stumbling on

Broder's path,King of the elements, Oh, Amen! Let loose on Glynn thy

wrath.

Por Broder gape the grave,Up-shovel for Glynn the mould,

Amen, 0 King of the Sunday 1 Leave Smith in the devil's hold.Amenl

Terrors on Broder rain,And pain upon pain on Glynn, Amen, 0 King of the Stars!

And Smith,May the Devil be linking him.

Amenl

Glynn in a shaking ague,Cancer on Broder's tongue, Amen, 0 King of the Heavens 1

And SmithFor ever stricken dumb.

Amen

Thirst, but no drink, for Glynn,Smith in a oloud of grief, Amen, 0 King of the Saints! And

routBroder without relief.

Amen 1Smith without child or heir,

And Broder bare of store, Amen, O King of the Friday 1 Tear

For Glynn his black heart's core.Amen 1

Broder with nerveless limbs, Hemp strangling Glynn's last breath,

Amen, 0 King of the World's Light! And Smith in grips with death.

Amen!Glynn stiffening for the tomb,

Smith wasting to decay, Amen, 0 King of the Thunder's Gloom t

And Broder sick alway.

Amen ISmith like a sieve of holes,

Broder with throat decay, Amen, 0 King of the Orders! GlynnA Buck-show every day.

Amen tHell-hounds to hunt for Smith,

Glynn led to hang on high, Amen, 0 King of the Judgment Day 1

And Broder rotting by.Amen I

Curses on Glynn, I cry,My curse on Broder be! Amen, 0 King of the Heavens high 1

Let Smith in bondage be.Amenl

Showers of want and blame,Beproaoh and shame of face Smite them all three, and smite

again,Amen, O King of Grace.

Amen IMelt may the three away,

Broder and Smith and Glynn, Fall in a swift and sure decay,And lose,—but never win.

Amenl

Dithis Bhraithrean 149

Amenl

Mallachd

Mallachd The Shield and the Man 187

May pangs pass through thee Smith,(Let the wind not take my

prayer), May I see before the year is out

Thy heart's blood flowing there.Amen!

Leave Smith no place nor land,Let Broder wander wide, May the Devil

stand at Glynn's right handAnd Glynn to him be tied.

Amenl

All ill from every airtGome down upon the three,

And blast them ere the year be out

In blight and misery.Amenl

Glynn let misfortune bruise,Broder lose blood and

brains, Amen, O Jesus I hear my voice,

Let Smith be bent in chains.Amen!

I accuse both Smith and Broder,And Glynn I accuse to God, May a breach

and a gap be upon the three,And the Lord's avenging rod.

Amen!Each one of the wicked three

Who raised against me their hand, May fire from heaven come down and slay

This day their perjured band.Amen!

May none of their race survive,May God destroy them all, Each curse of

the psalms in the Holy BooksOf the prophets upon them fall.

Amen!Blight skull and ear and skin,

Blight hearing and voice and sight,

Amen! Before the year be out Blight, Son of the Virgin, blight!

Amen!May my curse fall hot and red,

And may all 1 have said this day Smite the Blaok Peeler too,

Amen 1 dear God I pray. Amen!AN CRAOIBHIN AOEBHINN.

THE SHIELD AND THE MANWE concluded our first paper on this topic with an extract from Keating's History of Ireland in which the interesting and important statement is made that it was ordained by law (A.D. 382) " that every nobleman and great officer should, by the learned heralds, have a particular coat of arms assigned him, according to his merit and his quality ".

Now this statement is highly interesting, in view of the fact that it is commonly believed that heraldry, as we now understand it, did not come into existence until at least a century after the First Crusade.        "We are still without any definite evidence," says Mr. Fox Davis,1 " that such a thing as a coat of arms, in the sense in which we now understand the term, had any existence whatsoever at the time of the First Crusade."      It is worthy of note, too, that Planchè placed the beginning of armorial bearings a century at least after the conquest of England by William of Normandy; and Mr. Woodward, another eminent genealogist and herald, has recorded his "entire adherence " to Planchè's conclusions.      Mr. Horace Round, whose writings we had occasion to allude to in our last issue, and whose painstaking methods are familiar to all, is likewise of this opinion; and he very properly ridicules Mr. Fox Davis for including in his armorial families a coat of arms whose original we are invited to discover in some very early British king.        "Within the last few

1 Preface to Armorial Families.

188 The Shield and the Man

years," he says,1 "one family (that of Lloyd of Stockton)' has proved and recorded' in the archives of that institution (the English College of Heralds) three hundred and twenty-three quarters to its coat of arms, consisting largely of coats assigned to ' British kings'—in Planchè's words—' as visionary as those in Banquo's glass'. We are indebted for this remarkable information to Mr. Fox Davis' Armorial Families, in which this monstrous shield is depicted as well as described. Among the anns there recognised as authentic by the Heralds College are those of a potentate who died in 318, as well as those of Coel Godebog, that primitive and convivial soul. We further learn that 'the present representative (of the family of Lloyd of Stockton) 'is sixty-seventh in descent, in an unbroken male line, of Belinus the Great (Beli Mawr), King of Britain, as shown by the records fully registered down to the present time in His Majesty's College of Arms'. The arms of Beli himself appear repeatedly in the shield, on the strength, of course, of this pedigree proved by ' Records' to what must be the early days of the Christian era. One is glad to know (Mr. Bound very pertinently observes) what' Records' mean at ' His Majesty's College of Arms'."

Mr. Fox Davis is guilty, of course, of an un-pardonable anachronism in placing the arms of Belinus the Great (whoever he may have been) upon a feudal shield. His blind respect for the College of Arms and all its works has evidently betrayed him ; for it is difficult to understand how it can be otherwise, in view of his very explicit statement which we have quoted above, namely,

1 Studies in Peerage and Family History, p. xii., Preface.

that "we are still without any definite evidence that such a thing as a coat of arms, in the sense in which we now understand the term, had any existence whatsoever at the time of the First Crusade". For our own parts, we can only add, that we should be grateful for an opportunity of inspecting the " Records" (at the English College of Heralds) on which this unique performance is based.Thus far, and no farther for the present, by way of introduction to the topic which we design to discuss in this paper, which is that of the shield among our forefathers. It is unnecessary for our purpose to enter upon any lengthy discussion as to the origin and uses of the shield by primitive peoples. Suffice it to state that the period of its coming is before the advent of authentic history; and that the Celts of old were perfectly familiar with it. In its primitive form the Gaelic shield was made of wicker-work "like the shields of the Homeric heroes, and those of the old Germanic and Scandinavian warriors".1 It was made in two shapes, oblong or oval and round. The latter, however, was by far the more popular. After a time these osier shields were superseded by shields made of wood, which in their turn gave place to shields made of bronze and iron. Wooden shields, however, continued in use long after the introduction of shields made of metal. In Scotland, shields made of wood, covered with hide and

embellished with brass nails, were used in warfare so late as 1745.

'̂Curry's Lectures, Introduction, p. 444. ' It is here worthy of note that when the Earl of Mar drew op his " Scheme for restoring Scotland to its ancient military

In early times, shields were painted in plain colours. The most usual colours were white, crimson-red, brown-red, yellow and black.2

1 Those that were made of wood and covered with leather " were often whitened with lime, or chalk, which was allowed to dry and harden, as soldiers now pipe-clay their belts ".Most shields were embellished with designs of the now familiar zoomorphic type; but it would appear that the nobles and chiefs were more addicted to what would now be termed "heraldic devices ". " The shields of the ancient Irish appear to have been ornamented with devices which seem to have been peculiar, if not to each Tuath (province), at least to each chief."23 According to an ancient legend, quoted by O'Curry, " there was a law made by the Ultonian knights that they should have silver shields (that is, shields ornamented with silver) made for them; and that the carved device of each should be different from those of all the others ". The same author quotes an extract from the Yellow Booh of Lecaàn (a manuscript of about the year 1390, preserved in Trinity College, Dublin) in which it is stated that

spirit" (1723) —a scheme, by the way, which was accepted by James VIII. and would undoubtedly have been carried out had that unfortunate sovereign enjoyed his own—he recommended that the Highlanders be " cloathed in the Highland habit with plaids, west coats and trews in the winter, which may be of different colours, and different marks on their targets, as their chiefs shall think fit, to distinguish what regiment they belong to".

1 O'Curry, Introduction, p. 470. The shields of the nobles were frequently jewelled.

a A Social History of Ancient Ireland. By P. W. Joyce, vol. i., p. 129.

8 O'Curry, Introduction, p. 470." Lumman was a name for every shield; that is, Leoman a lion; because there is no shield without the picture of a lion inscribed on it, in order that its hatefulness and its terror might be the greater; because the lion is a furious, combative, fighting animal; and it was through charms and incantations that this was done". Professor Sullivan, however, in his Introduction to O'Curry throws doubt upon this passage. "The gloss," he says, "quoted by O'Curry on Lumman, one of the names for a shield in Irish, which explains that word to be Leoman a lion may likewise be referred to here. I, however, attach very little value to this gloss written in the year 1390, when the use of armorial devices on shields was universal." It is worthy of note, however, that the information supplied by this extract finds some confirmation in a footnote to Campbell's Tales of the West Highlands (vol. iii., p. 373), wherein that author observes with regard to the story of Manus, "when the old man (his informant) told me the story, he described devices on the shield of Manus, and a lion was one of them. This, probably, is founded on some lion on a flag.1 According to Gaelic poems, Fionn's people had banners with devices on

The Shield and the Man 103

188 The Shield and the Man

them, and Icelandic warriors had devices on their armour in the ninth century, according to the Njal Saga." With respect to the lion on the Scottish royal standard, concerning whose original there has been considerable discussion, some authors have been pleased to regard it as of Norse extraction. It would appear more reasonable to believe, however, especially in

•By no means necessarily so, however, since we know that the ancient Celts, like other nations, were in the habit of decorating their shields with emblems taken from the animal world.view of what is set forth above, that it can boast a Celtic origin. Moreover, it is to be here observed, that the Irish annals would not have been so particular to account for the devices borne by eminent individuals among other nations, if a similar practice had not existed among themselves. "They inform us,1 that Hector, the Trajan hero, bore, sable, two lions combatant, or; that Osiris bore a sceptre royal ensigned on the top with an eye; Hercules bore a lion rampant holding a battle-axe; the arms of the kingdom of Macedon were a wolf; Anubis bore a dog . . . ; the Egyptians bore an ox; the Phrygians, a swine (sic); the Thracians painted the god Mars upon their banners; the Romans an eagle; and the Persians, bows and arrows." Of course, the use of modern heraldic expressions in these descriptions of arms is absurd in the extreme; and though we do not know it for certain, yet we probably have to thank the translator of Keating for this ridiculous anachronism; but the extract itself is sufficiently interesting and important, and taken in conjunction with what we can learn of this topic from other sources, whose reliability is beyond all question, we may safely regard it as certain that the ancient Scots did embellish their shields in the manner already described, and, what is more, that the shield so ornamented was peculiar to the individual, and corresponded, in nearly every particular, to our modern coats of arms.

The great point of difference, however, between these shields and feudal arms is, that the former

1 We quote from O'Connor's translation of Heating's History, which though bad and "dishonest," as Dr. Tod affirmed, sufficiently well here answers our purpose.were not hereditary. " The devices," says Professor Sullivan, " were probably at that time personal, as among the old Norse, and not hereditary as they subsequently became." For our parts, we are disposed to regard Sullivan's " probably " as super-fluous. Certainly, we know of nothing at all confirmatory of the opposite opinion. It is true that shields were handed down from father to son, and that the gift of a shield on the part of a king to a poet or other learned person was by no means-uncommon; but, as Sullivan himself justly observes, these shields were regarded as heirlooms only, and as such were bequeathed through several genera-tions, " or passed from one warrior to another as valuable trophies ".1 Another circumstance which militates against the idea of the existence of hereditary coats of arms among the ancient Celts, is, that the shields of great warriors were personi-fied, and "received often expressive and poetical

names,"8 which could not have happened had the shield been regarded simply as " coat armour ".

We must, however, take exception to Chalmers' assertion that chivalry, as commonly understood, did not exist among the ancient Gaels. It seems to be too often taken for granted that chivalry I came over" with the feudal system; and that the latter sprang into existence as suddenly, and, apparently, as causelessly, as the dragon's teeth of ancient mythology. A more erroneous notion could not exist. The feudal system was the product, the slow growth, of centuries; and if we wish to discover its originals we must needs go back almost to the beginning of time—at all events to the dawn of authentic European history.      We

'Introduction, p. 471.have seen already that the ancient Celts embellished their shields with what would undoubtedly nowadays be styled heraldic devices. Consequently had they made these devices hereditary, instead of personal, they would undoubtedly have taken a very great step in the direction of modern chivalry and all that it implies ; and Mr. Lloyd of Stockton would have been perfectly justified in marshalling the arms of his venerable ancestor (Belinus the Great) alongside his own.1 But though the fact that the ancient Gaels did nothing of the kind "makes all the difference," as a modern writer might say, yet it shows unmistakably how great was the resemblance and how close the analogy between the two systems, which is further emphasised and made clear when we remember that the institution of knighthood was also familiar to the Celts—an institution which is commonly supposed to be one of the most peculiar and distinguishing features of continental feudalism. In Leabhar na h- Uidhre there is a brief account of Cuchulairm's reception into the order of knights, which as given by O'Curry,2 would seem to differ very little from the feudal ceremonies which were wont to take place on a similar occasion at a very much later date, the only substantial difference being, of course, that the religious ceremonies which distinguished the Christian's reception of knightly honours were in the case of the Pagan warrior mentioned above conspicuous by their absence. "Cuchulainn then repaired to the King, and in the proper manner solicited him for the arms of a champion. ' Who in-

xIt should be distinctly understood that the practice of quartering arms, as that of going to professional state-aided heralds for grants of the same, is comparatively modern.

1 Vol. ii., p. 200.

structed you to seek them 1' said Conchobar. ' Cath-badh,' said the youth. ' You shall have them,' said the King, and Conchobar (the King) then presented him with a sword, a shield, and two spears, a form which constituted him thenceforth a knight or champion at arms." Of the various orders of chivalry in ancient Erin, undoubtedly the most famous was that which was styled the "Red Branch Knights," though the Fianna were almost equally celebrated on account of their chivalrous exploits and prowess in arms. In a footnote to his instructive

a Ibid., p. 472.

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chapter on the "Fenian Cycle," Dr. Hyde1 has expressed some doubts as to the propriety of applying the appellation of " knight" to these warriors. "Moore's genius," he says, "has stereotyped amongst us the term Red Branch Knight, which, however, has too much flavour of the mediaeval about it. The Irish is curadh (Scots Gaelic, curaidh), ' hero'. The Irish for ' knight' in the appellations White Knight, Knight of the Glen, etc., is 'Ridire,' which is evidently the mediaeval 'Bitter,' le., Rider." With respect to this objection, it should be observed that whether the warrior who had been admitted into the Red Branch was more properly curaidh than Ridire matters little, since the manner of his reception, and the tasks which that organisation proposed to itself, were eminently " knightly ". The propriety of the word knight in connection with the Red Branch may, indeed, be disputed; but the latter's striking resemblance to one of the best known of the institutions of mediaeval chivalry is beyond all question.

We are inclined to believe, therefore, that the ancient chivalry of the Gaels in Ireland and Scotland

l A Literary History of Ireland, chap, xxix., p. 363.Tesembled very much that which obtained in Eng-land and on the Continent of Europe during the Middle Ages. The essential difference between the two ideas was, seemingly, comparatively slight, though it must be admitted, on a nearer view, that the fact of hereditary grants of arms being a custom not observed by the Celts, constitutes a very serious objection to regarding them as identical The Celtic system of government and the feudal system possess many striking features in common— indeed, they are far more alike than is commonly imagined, as we may have occasion to demonstrate in a future number of this Review; but however much they may be found to agree upon particular points, this matter of arms, and the manner of their descent, is certainly not one of them; and the attempt to treat as hereditary devices which were only bestowed individually and personally is much to be regretted in the interests of " scientific" heraldry. No doubt, when the feudal system came to be thoroughly established, and those who had been living under a Celtic polity found it convenient or necessary to subscribe to the prevailing fashion, many a Celtic device was adopted for arms for feudal shields; but, we repeat, to treat Celtic heraldic devices—the products of purely Celtic times—as amenable to the same laws and regulations as govern the application of modern heraldic principles to coat armour, is both absurd and misleading.

IRELAND AND SCOTLAND

A VERY interesting chapter in the history of inter-national relations would be the narrative of those anciently subsisting between Ireland and Scotland. There exists abundant material for such a compila-tion ; and we are inclined to marvel that no one has

yet undertaken it, at least in a formal and connected way. Nowadays, when authors are everywhere lamenting that they are "hard up" for topics, and that the stream of their invention is well-nigh exhausted, if not actually run dry, it is surely matter of legitimate surprise that no one has yet turned his attention to this interesting, if not fascinating, subject. There must be many who, like ourselves, would gladly welcome any such undertaking, and who would be profoundly grateful to the author who should accomplish it in a thorough and scholarly manner. Perhaps these observations may meet the eye of some one who, like the scriptural lion, is seeking something to devour, in the shape of a suitable " subject" for his pen. We hope so ; and, with our balmiest blessing, heartily recommend this suggestion to his earnest consideration and protection.

We have no intention ourselves to execute any such literary " mission " as we have here indicated. The topic properly belongs to history; and being practically virgin soil, to treat of it in part, or briefly, would be, in our opinion, to spoil it. We are no great believers in history " boiled down " to suit lazy stomachs, or trifling palates. The historical or literary handbook is generally a contemptible performance, and short cuts to knowledge usually end by extending the perambulations of those who set out to acquire learning, if, indeed, they do not serve to confirm the popular impression touching the utility of the blind as leaders thereof.

In passing, therefore, from this branch of our theme, there is one observation which we should like here to register: which is, that we do not believe that the correspondence between the Gaels of Ireland and those of Scotland was much inter-rupted owing to the Norse invasions, in spite of all that our vulgar historians may say to the contrary. That it suffered some interruption, we are prepared to admit; but that the Norse held the seas to the entire exclusion of the native craft is an opinion to which we are by no means prepared to subscribe. Should any one be so bold as to demand chapter and verse for this pious opinion of ours, it is possible that we might condescend to give them. For the present, however, the above-mentioned belief is merely recorded in passing.

The modern or existing relations between Ire-land and Scotland would appear to be of the slenderest capacity. As a nation, we hear little of Ireland; and that which we do hear is obviously " cooked " for our consumption. We know little of the industrial revolution which is rapidly transforming Ireland from a poor country into a prosperous one. If our press had deliberately entered into a conspiracy of silence touching the internal affairs of Ireland, we could not hear less about Hibernian concerns than we actually do gather from the meagre and scanty references in our newspapers. The few allusions that we are treated to are mostly of a political character, being obviously designed to pander to party and faction prejudices.      Even journals which profess to be written in the interests of the Scottish Gael have very little to say about Ireland, and that little is generally copied from Eng-lish or Lowland periodicals. There would appear to

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be, indeed, a singular want of enterprise observable in our press in this respect, which, instead of moving with the times, seems incapable of adapting itself to new conditions, or rather having laboriously digested a particular policy or line of conduct is quite incompetent to assimilate another.

One would think that in view of the fact that Irish and Scots have so much in common, some endeavour would be made by the newspaper press to cultivate friendly relations between the two peoples. Both of us stand in need of mutual encouragement, sympathy and assistance in the arduous undertaking we have embarked on; but instead of doing all that we can to help one another, we selfishly and blindly pursue our own respective ways, without the slightest thought as to the other. Union is strength, and though we are perfectly conscious that the Gael has never acted on that maxim, yet is it not full time that he should at last learn wisdom from the enemy, and do so 1 Nothing is to be gained by a policy of self-isolation, which in our case can certainly never be "splendid," however foolish and unsound it may be. We should endeavour to draw near to one another, to increase and to strengthen those numerous ties which bind the people of Scotland and those of Ireland together. If our press will not take the lead, then the public should see to it that their wishes in this respect are made known and regarded. Newspapers were made for man—not man for the newspapers—and a few vigorous protests on the part of the reading public would soon work a wonderful alteration in

Gthe direction which we have indicated. But so long, of course, as those who are interested sit still, and do absolutely nothing to call the attention of editors and newspaper proprietors to the species of folly which they are guilty of, so long, of course, will they continue to crowd their pages with trifling and irrelevant matter, to the almost entire exclusion of topics which every Gael who is worth his salt cannot but take the liveliest and profoundest interest in. The average editor, as the average newspaper proprietor, is only too anxious to please his readers; and as we all know, both sometimes go absurdly out of their way in order to arrive at that desirable consummation; but conductors of periodicals, after all, are not infallible, and if they err, as they are prone to do, it is the interest of the public to call speedy attention to their mistakes of judgment. Depend on it, they will rarely persist in a thing, or in a course, if it can be proved to them that by so doing they will be alienating their readers, and so injuring the prospects of their periodicals, which they "run " not for mere pleasure, but for gross profit. So that, really, the remedy for the state of affairs of which we complain is largely, if not entirely, in the hands of the public themselves. If they like " that sort of thing," as one of the groundlings might say, then, of course, they doubtless do well to submit to it. If not (as we believe), then the sooner they open their minds on the subject, and that forcibly and frankly,

the sooner we shall all be relieved of a fatuous and altogether discreditable state of affairs.

The movement in Ireland for the preservation of the language, literature and customs of the Gael finds little or no response in the Scottish press. We doubt if the rank and file of our people are aware how lively and general this agitation has become. Certainly, the press does little or nothing to lighten their darkness on that head; and even those who do know it from hearsay, or have travelled in that country in order to see for themselves, are strangely reticent on the subject. Possibly they are too timid to speak out, or belong to that large order of men which believes that everything that happens, good or ill, is for the best, in this best of all possible worlds; and being reluctantly persuaded that the Gaelic is to die, they see no object in endeavouring to prolong its existence. Unfortunately, we have many such melancholy sentimentalists in our midst. You can scarcely open a book treating of Celtic affairs, or take up a newspaper containing reports of our numerous (and superfluous) "Celtic" societies' meetings, or rather polytechnic displays, without encountering their familiar croak. In Ireland, the species is very much less acute, being overawed by the vigour of the language movement, or shamed into silence by the boldness and healthy optimism of those who are at the head of affairs. Among ourselves, how-ever, as we have said, they are noisy and ubiquitous ; and their tedious vapourings, and, we are tempted to believe, in many cases hypocritical utterances, are on every one's lips, especially on those of such as are inimical to the movement, which, to say the least, is significant.

To say truth, Ireland has entered on this struggle for the maintenance of all that a self-respecting nation should hold dear to it, far more seriously and thoroughly than we yet have. It would appear as if the calamity of the '45 had knocked all the spirit out of our people; and that, convinced of the futility of further kicking against the pricks, we were prepared to accept without repining or protest the very worst that fate, seeing our supineness and despising our inactivity, may have in store for us. The difficulty in Scotland is, to persuade the people that this is a serious movement, in which important issues are involved. There is far too prevalent a disposition abroad to regard the language movement as something that may be played with—as a hobby suitable for dull winter evenings, or as an excuse for " social gatherings " at which tea and gossip (for the most part in English) may be indulged in to the weak heart's unbounded content. We do not know if a similar tendency is observable in Ireland, but even supposing that there are some in that country to whom the struggles of a nation to preserve its own appear but in the light of holiday, the thoroughness and deadly earnestness of the movement in general is not to be gainsaid for a moment; and, no doubt, as time goes on, and the agitation gathers yet more headway, these timorous or flighty ones will be either persuaded to alter their conduct, or will be crushed out of existence altogether, by sheer force of an irresistible public opinion.

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Now the great advantage which Ireland has over Scotland in this matter is this, that the rank and file, as the leaders of the movement, being thoroughly persuaded that the agitation is a politi-cal one, consistently act on that belief. We make bold to say that here the Irish are perfectly right; and we appeal to all history for confirmation of this assertion. We do not mean to say that every man who joins the movement joins it in his capacity of Nationalist, Conservative, or Badical, whichever it may be. Party politics have nothing whatever to do with such a question; and theGaelic League is to be congratulated on having hitherto kept the party lunatic at arm's length. But what we do mean most emphatically to say is this, namely, that every man who joins the Irish movement, be he Tory, Nationalist or Whig, be he Catholic or Protestant, does so with a full know-ledge and consciousness of the fact that it is Ireland —his nation—that he is desirous to better. Now, can we truthfully say that such a lofty conception of patriotism exists in Scotland ? No doubt, the Irish have certain elementary advantages in their struggle for existence which we, unfortunately, lack. Ireland is an island, and its people are more homogeneous than ours are. Again, they are numerically much stronger, and considerably richer. Their educated classes are composed for the most part of native-born Irishmen who naturally take a pride and delight in endeavouring to resuscitate the departed glories of their country; whilst our own are mostly composed of individuals of foreign extraction, to whom Gaelic, if not anathema, is at all events a matter of indifference. In Ireland, too, even the nobility and gentry are far more " Irish " in their tastes, inclinations and sympathies than our corresponding classes in Scotland are Scotch. In fine, when you go to Ireland, you recognise at once that you are setting foot in a country which has all the elements necessary to constitute a nation. When you travel through Scotland, you recognise that it is a province ; and save from the tourist's point of view, not a particularly brilliant one at that.

But making every allowance and excuse which it is possible for a lover of his country to make in behalf of Scotland, there undoubtedly remains an immense margin, which, much as we regret to say it, is all to the bad. Whether Celtic Scotland is imitating the tactics of the parrot, who said very little but thought a great deal, we know not, but the fact remains that she is half asleep. There is little or no vitality in her language movement, and even less conduct. The efforts that she puts forth to stay the process of decay are feeble and spasmodic. Greed of gold is working untold mischief in the Celtic population of to-day. It is gradually undermining the Highlander's fine gift of sensi-bility ; so that before very long he will be in all probability as grasping and as avaricious as his neighbour. Moreover, under the influence of those

evil communications which corrupt good manners, he is rapidly becoming indifferent as to his country's past, and careless as to its future. Language and customs, which, after all, comprise a people's all, he is, in ever-increasing numbers, sending by the board, in the vain endeavour to enrich himself at the expense of his nationality, which he would appear to regard as the sole obstacle between himself and a beastly prosperity. To rouse him to enthusiasm, to endeavour to persuade him to cast his bread upon the waters, with the idea of finding it twenty-fold, after many days, is almost an impossibility. He is all for an immediate gain; and so far as posterity is concerned his prevailing sentiment would appear to be

Scabies capeant extremum.

His sense, too, of racial homogeneity is practically nil. He has as yet no idea of making his individuality a factor in his efforts towards material advancement, which is surprising considering how alert he usually is to justify his acquisition of the new-found faith which is in him.      And so deter-mined is he to qualify himself for the " struggle for existence " (as he plausibly styles his lewd scramble for money), that his servility to mammon even exceeds that of the avowed professors thereof, so that, in countless oases, not only is he become an abject, but a laughing-stock as well.

These may seem severe strictures for a fellow-countryman to pass, and no doubt they are so ; but who shall say that they are not thoroughly deserved ? The trusdar, or greedy manipulator of the rake, is far too common a character in the Highlands of to-day. Even the man whose attitude towards his race is one of shamefaced apology is thoroughly contemptible; and this sort of weakling is one of our lesser abominations, as every one can testify who has considered the subject. How then, since this is so, can our movement be expected to succeed? To be perfectly candid, it will not do so until the mass of our countrymen have been brought into line with the few who think strongly, and speak plainly, on this point. Certainly, nothing is to be gained by merely aiming at the continuance of the present state of affairs, with, perhaps, temporary improvements here and there, and wholesale defections a little farther on. The nettle must be grasped firmly, if the hand which lays hold on it is to escape an injury. To hide our light under a bushel, instead of placing it where all men may see—to be for ever apologising and excusing when the time for such postures is long overpast and fearless aggressive work is essential, if the threatened citadel of our nationality (which is our language) is to be saved—is not conduct like this both absurd and unprofitable? Let us take our thought from the Irish, who whether they wish for Empire or eschew it, are quitting themselves

206 Ireland and Scotland

like men, and who have entered upon their present struggle for national existence with the firm deter-

mination that come what may, Ireland at all events shall be uppermost. The inspiring cry is, " Ireland

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for the Irish !"- a new Ireland (intellectually and materially) for a reformed people. Can not we, too, shake off the sloth and indifference of nigh a couple of centuries, and give our kinsmen across the Moyle measure for measure? It is now full time that we ceased junketing -that we put an end for ever to all our sentimental do-nothing twaddle about clans and "Bonnie Prince Charlie"—and seriously addressed ourselves to business.

" ' Tionail thugam mo theaghlach còir'

Tionail sluagh an t-saoghail uile De chlann rìgh, 's de dh'aon duine."

The pages of GUTH NA BLIADHNA will be open to correspondence dealing with subjects within the scope of this Review.

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Guth na BliadhnaLEABHAR I.]          AN SAMHRADH, 1904.            [AIREAMH 3.

FRANCE AND HER FORMER ALLIESTHE grouping of principalities and powers in con-formity with the laws of political coalescence, or the operation of similar considerations tending to bring about their mutual estrangement, supplies one of the most interesting studies that the mind of man can possibly conceive. As a rule, it is policy and not sentiment which draws one nation to another, and finally unites them in alliance, offensive or defensive. At all events, nowadays, it is policy rather than sentiment which plays the nflfe of peace-maker between nations, whatever may have been the case in former times. Not that we are very firm believers in the theory which " ear-marks " certain nations as being those from whom inter-union or coalition might naturally be expected in consequence of a supposed identity of interests or similarity of blood. It seems to us that each nation is pretty well detested by its neighbours all the world over, and that there is none of which it might truthfully be said, " Here is the people that has no enemy ".

Still, undoubtedly, certain nations do tend to coalesce, and, where this tendency is observable, it

is sentiment, rather than policy, which supplies the motive.      History supplies us with not a few

A

2o8 France and her Former Allies

examples in which peoples have made alliances in the teeth of policy, or have refrained from im-proving some political advantage in deference to caprice founded upon sentiment.      The alliances of to-day, however, are rather commercial under-takings than affairs of the heart.        Sentiment admittedly plays a very small part in them, and so far from being the source from which they spring, is treated merely as a kind of histrionic after-thought,  in    which    kings and presidents, after the politicians have concluded the real business, may safely be invited to do the handshaking, the speech-making, and the telegram-writing.          And,  after    all,      no    fault need be found with    " constitutionalism" on this head. Monarchism has been shorn of its power; but the king who can do no wrong is still a convenient political figure-head.    Sometimes he is even a useful ballon d'essai, whose retention is excused by advanced politicians on the ground that, as a social and political figure-head, a king is better than a president.        So that even a king in a constitutional monarchy may have his "mission"; may justify his existence by working for it, and may earn the bread he eats by benefiting the nation which he serves.      How wonderful is the wisdom of our political system!      How great is the humanity, and penetrating the care, of our rulers ! Even kings and princes are not overlooked, but are taught to make themselves useful just like ordinary citizens !

Sometimes, of course, policy unites with senti-ment in dictating alliances, which is the statesman's El Dorado.. Although it would be a mistake to assert that the English enjoy an absolute monopoly of this happy state of affairs, yet any impartial

France and her Former Allies

209

reader of their history cannot fail to be struck with the extraordinary number of occasions in which, according to his spokesmen, the Englishman's heart has had the good taste to be in the very same place in which he happens to keep his money. It may be, of course, that this fortunate, if singular, conjunction is mere coincidence, or is the result of that deference and superabundant measure of regard which Providence pays to the Englishman; but, certainly, whatever the cause, the fact itself cannot fail to impress the reader as an agreeable and highly interesting feature of that history—the more so inasmuch as the histories of other peoples are sadly defective in this respect. That which happens but seldom, or comes unforeseen, is often refreshing and inspiring in proportion to its rarity.The history of Scotland is concerned with one great alliance only, and that alliance, as becomes us, was

almost entirely political/      The agreement with France, which held good in this country for over

four hundred years, was not the result of a union of

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hearts, but was based on the sternest political necessity.        No doubt the alliance with France was

followed by results which were social as well as political.      Many of our nobles married French

wives, and vice versa.      Scotsmen went to Paris to acquire that " polish " which the disturbed state of society at home prevented them from obtaining in

Scotland—at least such is the explanation of the social correspondence with France vouchsafed us

by our historians, and though little flattering to our national vanity, yet possibly it is the correct oner

The commercial advantages of the French Alliance, also, were by no means inconsiderable, for by it

Scotland secured a readyand profitable market for her native exports, receiving in return the wine and other useful] commodities of her rich and powerful neighbour] whose trade was consequently encouraged by tha connexion. Still, on the whole, the policy which] dictated the French Alliance was essentially aj selfish one. Both Scotland and France found] their account in it, which is the reason why iu lasted so long. To Scotland, the countenance and active assistance of France in our numerous] wars with England was a matter of the greatest] importance. To France, it was desirable that tha Scottish connexion should be preserved, in orden that the enemy's flank or rear might be oppor-J tunely attacked whenever a favourable conjuncture] presented itself. In spite, however, of the many] weighty reasons of state favouring the preservation] of this connexion, its essentially interested natura is revealed by history. On more than one occasion the French concluded treaties with England withl out taking the Scots into their confidence, andl if French perfidy was subsequently exposed, ana the injury redressed, we owe it rather to policy] than to sentiment that it was so. Again, when] James VI. ascended the English throne and tha old alliance (which long had been languishing]] came to an end, it is surprising how philosophically both parties accepted the situation, and coolly went their respective ways. Of course, we do not mean to affirm that all effects of the French connexion immediately disappeared. We know that tha tradition of the Great Alliance was a thing to] conjure with, at all events in Jacobite circles, for] many a day thereafter. French arms and French] gold were the constant day-dream of the exiled, adventurers, just as, alas ! they supplied the flimsy!foundation on which the ill-informed heroes at home raised the doomed structure of their hopes and aspirations. Even nowadays the old tradition of the Great Alliance lingers amongst us. Is there not a Franco-Scottish Society in Edinburgh, which has a Scoto-Dutchman as its President ? Authors interested in etymology have written to prove that certain words still in common use among our English-speaking countrymen have French originals. The French Alliance is still a favourite theme with Scottish historical writers, and many a modern " villa-residence " testifies to that enduring imitation which is the most gratifying form of flattery.

Still, in spite of all, the old alliance with France has long been numbered amongst the hoary dead,

and though sentimentalism may posture at the grave-head, yet the vast majority of our countrymen, assimilating the notions and doctrines of their political pastors and masters, recognise in the Frenchman of to-day merely another possible enemy, or, to put a seasonable interpretation upon their attitude, a fellow-labourer in the commercial vineyard, whose acquaintance experience has proved is worth cultivating—for the profit which his friendship may bring. The Grand Alliance is dead together with the principles which inspired it—and sleeps in its historic tomb. He was, perhaps, a soulless individual who saw the last of it unmoved (for grand and great to us it undoubtedly was)—such a one as we read of in history, who, when the palladium of our nationality (our Parliament) was removed to Westminster witnessed the spoliation unaffected, and even testified his shameless indifference in words that have come down to us : " There is the end of an auld sang ". For us, the Gael of Scotland, the true directors of its political destinies, and the true owners of its soil, the Grand Alliance was something more than a mere political connexion based on expediency, in spite of the fact that Edinburgh and the Lowlands supplied the Scottish political centre of its gravity. We clung to it with something more than the calculating tenaci-ousness of Saxon Scotland, and with the warm sympathies of our race, and quixotic attachment to lost causes, mourned for it after it had gone in a manner which was as irritating as it was incom-prehensible to our neighbours. Sentiment dies hard in the Highlands, and properly so. But even sentiment must have its period ; and in the official France of to-day the Highland Catholic will look in vain for those marks of piety and chivalry which endeared it to his ancestors.

To say truth, a great change for the worse has come over France of late. Republicanism may be, and indeed is, a form of government utterly re-pugnant to the Celt, who has never shown either his partiality or his fitness for extreme democratic principles ; but the attitude of official France, and of the vast majority of modern Frenchmen, towards religion is a species of depravity absolutely abhor-rent and incomprehensible to the Gael, who, in spite of all his faults and his often misguided and fantastic manner of worshipping his Maker, is, nevertheless, essentially religious.

We know of what we write, and embrace this opportunity of stating that we place neither credit nor reliance on statements whose obvious design is to excuse the French public to their co-religionists elsewhere. It is a homely saying, but a true one, nevertheless, that the proof of the pudding consists in the eating thereof. It stands to reason, therefore, that if France were still truly, fundamentally and essentially religious, her government would necessarily bear that character, in spite of all the BIQCS and cliques in freemasonry. That her government is not only the reverse of religious, but takes a positive delight in oppressing and insulting religion and the religious, whenever and wherever it can, supplies the strongest possible proof that, morally, France is rotten to the core; whilst the indifference and supineness of thousands of French

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Catholics under the most provoking insults, and the most humiliating disabilities, proves them to be thoroughly contemptible. Either the French government is a monster of folly and iniquity, which exists in spite of the outraged conscience of a nation which has but to exercise the suffrage in order to destroy it, or it is agreeable to the majority of Frenchmen, by reason of whose support and approval it necessarily endures. Which is it to be? So far as France is concerned, we leave it to Frenchmen to decide, and we venture to remark that we do not envy them their choice of

alternatives. For ourselves, however, our position is clear. We think that France has become the bond-servant of Atheism and freemasonry, and that the sooner her dwindling Catholic population convinces itself of that fact, and concerts active measures for its protection and preservation, the better it will be for Christendom at large. Its present condition is a scandal and a disgrace, and threatens to become a by-word among Catholics, and God-fearing people generally, all the world over.

The contempt and resentment of a people who are, numerically and politically, so weak as the

214                 France and her Former Allies

Gaels of Scotland and Ireland may not be a matter of much moment to a callous monster and block-head like Combes. But every self-respecting person feels alarmed and grieved when his respectable neighbour thinks ill of him ; and the anger and contempt of Catholic Scotland and Ireland at the iniquitous measures against religion now being ruthlessly executed in France should strike even that people as alarming and discouraging in the extreme--the more so as both contempt and detestation hail from old friends.

Indeed, the religious persecution in France has completely estranged Scottish and Irish national sentiment. The old feeling for France, in both countries, is either dead or is fast dying, even amongst Protestants who, where rational, have at least the good sense to perceive that by these repressive measures religion in general is threatened and assailed. Protestantism can hope to gain nothing by the penalising of the Catholic religion in France ; for those who conduct this unholy campaign, from the apostate Combes down to the meanest and most insignificant jack-in-office, are professed Atheists, to whom all forms of Christianity are equally obnoxious. The knowledge of this fact should serve, therefore, to unite the Gaels of Scotland and Ireland, whether Catholics or Protestants, in lively detestation of the events now being enacted in France, and in indignant repudiation of any means or measures calculated to foster or encourage the old sentiment of friendship between us. Let the dead past bury its dead. The French nation, judging by its official acts in regard to religion, has forfeited all claim to the respect and consideration of our race, and impelled by the same agency as de-

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stroyed the Gadarene swine, is now rushing blindly and furiously down the steep places of Atheism and freemasonry towards the sea of perdition which yawns to receive it.

SGIALACHD GHARAIDHMA ta bha na boirionnaich a bh' aig na Fian-taichean—na mnathan aca—gu tuiteam as a cheile le blonaig is le saill. Bha na Fiantaichean air ion 's a bhith air thogail. Cha robh fios ciod e *bha 'toirt do na mnathan a bhith cho trom 's cho reamhar, 's iad fhèin a bhith cho lag fann 's a bha iad. Bha na Fiantaichean a' dol do'n tràigh 'o'n chiad tràghadh gu letheach lionaidh -fhad 's a gheibheadh iad maorach ann.

'S i sgeilm-sa 'rinn Garaidh. " Leigidh mi orm gu bheil mi bochd an diugh, 's gheibh mi mach ciod e 'n seol-bidhe a th' aig na boirionnaich a bhith cho reamhar, 's a tha iad is sinne cho caol 's a tha sinn."

Chaidh na Fiantaichean do'n tràigh, is fead-hainn diubh gu tir-mor do Ghleann-Eilge, is feadhainn do'n fhearann 'tha mu choinneamh Chaol-Arcainn.

Bha Garaidh 'so anns an leabaidh 'se bochd. Chruinnich na boirionnaich, is dh'fhalbh iad do'n tràigh. Bha maorach beag anns an tràigh—'se maorach-Moire 'their sinne ris,—is lion iad an sguird leis a mhaorach a bh'ann an sin. Thug iad leotha ultach an sin de'n dubh-stamh, agus sgriob agus ghlan iad carraig an dubh-staimh. Bhruich iad am maorach; thug iad am biadh as; is phronn iad

2l6 Sgialachd Gharaidh

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217

carraig an dubh-staimh. Bhruich iad carraig an dubh-staimh, 's am maorach ann am measg a cheile, 's rinn iad miasan air. Agus 'se sin a nis am biadh a bh' aig na mnathan a bha 'gam fagail cho reamhar.- 'S fhad 'o chuala sibh gun robh smear-conaig an fheidh ann an carraig an dubh-staimh.

'Nuair a dh'ich iad sin, thug Garaidh an so smoisleachadh as, agus sios bha na boirionnaich air a mhuin, 's bha iad ag ràdh nan leigte 'bheo leis gun innste do na Fiantaichean am biadh a bh' acasan, 's nuair a gheibheadh na Fiantaichean a mach sin, cha-n fhàgadh iad maorach air traigh

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188 The Shield and the Man

nan dubh-stamh ri cloich gun a thoirt as 'sa bhith 'ga bhruich. Bug iad an sin air Garaidh, 's rinn iad naoi gadan figheachain air a ghruaig, agus dh'fhuaigh iad ris an ùrlar ceann Gharaidh le naoi deilgnean daraich. Rug iad air a chlaidheamh aige fhèin gus an ceann a thoirt dheth. Thug e cruinn leum as, is lean craicionn a chinn agus a ghruag ris an urlar, agus dh'fhalbh e, 's cha robh mac bothaig' a bh' aig na Fiantaichean ann an Sleibbte nach do chuir e 'na theine.

Bha sneachd òg 'o 'n oidhche ann, 's chunnaic na Fiantaichean na bothagan 'nan teine, 's mach a ghabh Beatha, 's thug e 'n caolas air, 's chuir e 'n t-sleagh fo 'uchd, agus le 'chudthrom fhèin ann am miadhoin a chaolais, bhrist an t-sleagh, agus bhàthadh e, agus riamh 'o latha sin lean Caol-Reatha air a chaolas sin ; agus Caol-Arcainn—bhrist an t-sleagh le Area fo chudthrom, agus 'am miadhoin a chaolais bhàthadh e fhèin, agus 'o 'n latha sin tha Caol-Arcainn air a chaolas sin.

Thainig an so na Fiantaichean dhachaidh, 's cha robh bothag riamh a bh' aca nach robh 'nan teine.

"'Se," osa Fionn, "Garaidh dubh a rinn so."Ach fhuair iad sràbh na fala 'bha 'cheann a' sileadh air an t-sneachd, agus lean iad sràbh na fala riamh gus an d'rainig iad bial uamha.

Bha Garaidh air a dhol a stigh 'an comhair a chàil, 's 'nuair a chaidh e stigh greis thionndaidh e aghaidh air ceann na h-uamha; agus ciod e 'rinn e ach gun d'rug e air calman, agus choisich e stigh astar beag eile, agus rug e air dà chalman eile. Chaidh e fhèin do cheann na h-uamha an sin; 's'nuair a thainig na Fiantaichean thun na h-uamha thuirt Fionn an so ri Aodh mac Gharaid : " Falbh agus thoir a mach d'athair as an uaimh ". Dh'fhalbh Aodh;'s nuair a chrom e thun na tràghad, thill e far an robh Fionn. " Tha lorgan m'athar," os esa, " a' falbh as an uaimh." " O falbh thusa," osa Fionn, '"s gum bu shuarach air miarailtean Gharaidh dhuibh a dhol a stigh 'an comhair a thòin." Chaidh Aodh a stigh, 's air dha 'dhol a stigh leig athair os calman, is thill Aodh an so a mach far an robh Fionn, agus thuirt e ris : " Nam biodh m'athairse 's an uaimh nach biodh calman beo innte." " 0 falbh thusa," osa Fionn, "'s bu shuarach air miarailtean Gharaidh dhuibh breith air calman beò innte." Chaidh Aodh an so a stigh, 's air greis dha 'dhol a stigh leig athair as na dhà còmhla. Thill Aodh gu Fionn, is thuirt e ris : " Ged a bheireadh m'athair air calman cha bheireadh e air a tri bheò."

" Falbh thusa," osa Fionn, " agus thoir a mach d'athair." Dh'fhalbh e sin, is fhuair e athair ann an ceann-shuas na h-uamha.

" Suithad a nis Aoidh," osa Fionn, " is thoir an ceann bhar d'athar le Mac-a'-Luin." " 'Bheil idir," os Aodh, "gin ann a bheir an ceann bhar m'athar ach mise."

" Cha-n 'eil," osa Fionn. " Bheir thusa dheth e, is gheibh thu d'iarrtas."

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"Ma gheibh mise m'iarrtas," os Aodh, "cuirj thusa ceann m'athar air do shliasaid. "'H

Cha do dh-fhàg Mac-a'-Luin fuigheall beuma riamh 'chaidh m'a choinneamh. Nan cuireadh Fionn ceann Gharaidh air a shliasaid reachadh Mac-a'-Luin tromh shliasaid Fhinn, 's bha lionn! bho fheum an uair sin.

"'N ta," os na daoine, " cladhaichidh sinne fad agus liad cas Fhinn anns an tràigh. Cuiridh sinnj tri sailthean daraich air muin cas Fhinn, agus cuiridh sinn ceann Gharaidh air muin nan saill thean." Rinneadh sin, agus rug Aodh mac Ghar-j aidh air Mac-a'-Luin is tharrainn e e, 's chuir e 'ni ceann bhar athar, is chaidh e tromh na tri sailthean] gus na choinnich an tràigh barr Mhic-a'-Luin.j Ghabh Aodh an sin misg-chatha, is dh'fhaigh-1 neachd e de dh-Fhionn: " Co air a dhiùghlas mil mo chath?"

"Diùghlaidh," osa Fionn, "air an làn sin a tighinn a stigh."

Thòisich Aodh an uair sin air an làn air ciad! lionadh gu ciad tràghadh, is thuit a fhèin marbh] an sin air ciad tràghadh.

'S e sin an rud bu duilghe le Fionn a rinn e riamh—an gaisgeach a b'fhearr a bh' aige a churl mu làr.

A. McD.

NORMAN DAVIETHE necessity for grave and cautious narrative in connexion with the early history of our country is nowhere more apparent than with respect to thè] reign of David I., whose long tenure of the regal] authority and whose eventful life mark him out as one of the most interesting and important of our kings. Perhaps no reign has, on the whole, been more " scientifically " treated of, during recent years, than that of the first David. The importance of his reign, from the historical point of view, has been freely admitted, and science has united with letters to place the more prominent of the events associated with this period in as certain and con-spicuous a light as possible. The motives which inspired his conduct, the principles on which, allowing for some inconsiderable deviations—the unmistakable consequences of certain weaknesses and defects in his character—he invariably acted, have been traced with a fidelity, and exposed with a skill, which are highly flattering to science. The vain imaginings, false chronology, and worse reasoning of the earlier historians have been unceremoniously swept aside, and in their place we find ;nothing but well-balanced, well-ordered narrative, sober and eminently truthful in tone—the production of writers who have evidently been at great pains to make themselves thoroughly acquainted with their subject, and to advance nothing that will not stand the tests which modern criticism is in a position to apply to everything designed to pass for history. Authentic Scottish history, indeed, may safely be said to begin

with the reign of David I., for though there is a sufficiency of material before that period out of which to construct a connected and fairly reliable narrative, yet so many of the essential 1 details are lacking, or are hopelessly obscured by collateral events and circumstances (which are in themselves of uncertain origin and debatable tendency), that however learned, sagacious, painstaking, conscientious and intuitive the historian, his historical efforts must necessarily be largely in the nature of guess-work.

But, with the accession of David to the throne of Scotland, our historical doubts and disabilities largely disappear.      The stage is cleared for the first time of the misty and semi-mythical person-ages with which, before that event occurred, it was inconveniently crowded, to the very obvious con-fusion of our senses, and to the marked undoing of our understandings.      Even as Earl of Huntingdon, there is something refreshingly substantial about David; and the inscription on his seal, Sigillum Davit Comitis Anglorum Regine Fris, comes as a veritable ray of light athwart the well-nigh impenetrable gloom of the preceding centuries.      Feudal though he was, Norman though he was, one cannot but be grateful to him for his substance; and though the gratitude may wear off, and resentment and indignation arise in its room, as the drama proceeds and the King's true political character is revealed, yet the weary, disconsolate and baffled historian of the preceding reigns is obliged to allow with a sigh that, even if only on account of his tangibility, posterity certainly owes something to David.

It is unlikely that the sons of St. Margaret and Malcolm the Great would have received their education in England had their parents survived their children's infancy. It will be remembered that at the time of the Scottish Queen's death, Edgar Atheling, the evil genius of his family, "gathered her sons and daughters together, and brought them secretly to England for the purpose of being privately educated by their mother's relatives "? This extremely injudicious step would

1 Skene, vol. i., p. 437.certainly not have been taken had the Queen lived to superintend the education of her children; and its transparent folly and shortsightedness point unmistakably to the dead Queen's brother as its author, even were there no direct evidence to connect him with it.      The King and Queen, we may safely assume, would have been the last to entertain such an idea.      Malcolm, whose throne was ever unstable, and who must have been well aware of the widespread prejudice existing in his dominions against foreigners, especially Normans and Saxons, and everything appertaining thereto, would certainly have resisted such a course—had there been any one in his dominions imprudent enough to propose it to him—as well from motives of policy as from a principle of patriotism ; whilst the saintly Queen,1 whatever her personal opinions

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and predilections might have been, would assuredly have loyally supported her husband in his instant re-jection of so impolitic and dangerous a notion.      It would have been easy for the Queen, had she desired to educate her children in the English fashion, and on Norman principles, to accomplish her object at the Scottish Court, and without exposing herself and her husband to the odium and unpopularity to which they would certainly have been subjected had they lived to send their

1 It would appear that some readers of my paper in the Spring number of this Eeview were of opinion that my reference to Turgot's Life of the Saint as a "panegyric" implied some slight to that work. Nothing, of course, was, or could be, further from my intention than seemingly so to disparage it; and in so far only as the political acts ascribed to the Saint cannot be supported by independent testimony, to that extent alone is he, or any other chronicler, to be considered as untrustworthy.

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222 Norman Davie

children to England in order to be educated.    The action of Edgar Atheling, therefore, in hurriedly

withdrawing the sons and daughters of Malcolm and Margaret from Scottish soil, immediately after the

death of the Saint, must be considered not as part of a settled policy or as done in deliberate and pious

fulfilment of their parents' wishes, but as the action of a man to whom rash and precipitate conduct was

habitual, and flight, this way or that, a species of chronic necessity.      At all events, the political

consequences which followed the disappearance of the children of the dead King and Queen were in the

nature of a foregone conclusion. The Gaelic inhabitants of Scotland flew to arms, and having

expelled the foreign dependants of the late rulers, proceeded to endorse the so-called usurpation of

Donald Ban.        It is true that the late King's brother was so prompt in the assertion of his undoubted

right to the throne that the breath was scarcely out of the Saint's body before he invaded the kingdom at the head of a numerous army, and laid siege to

Edinburgh Castle, where the corpse of the late Queen yet lay unburied.      But making all due

allowances for the nation's dislike and distrust of that principle of succession by virtue of which it was

declared that a son, who was yet a minor, should nevertheless succeed at once to his father's throne ;

for the danger and difficulty of successfully opposing so well-known and deeply-rooted a dislike;

and for the state of alarm and perturbation into which the partisans of the children of Malcolm and

Margaret must have been thrown in consequence of the suddenness of the demise of the King and

Queen, and their knowledge of the repugnance with which the Gaelic inhabitants of Scotland were likely

to regard so novel and revolutionaryNorman Davie

a rule of succession;1 making all due allowances for these and other no doubt weighty considerations, I say, it will yet appear that the best and wisest thing which Edgar Atheling, the children's guardian, could possibly have done would have been to stand his ground, and if his party was not then strong enough to prevent it, to allow "the usurpation" of Donald to spend its force, as, indeed, it subsequently soon did. The flight of the children of Malcolm and Margaret, however, paved the way for a series of misfortunes, whose disastrous and far-reaching effects are plainly apparent throughout Scottish history.        In the first place, its immediate effect was seriously to impair and jeopardise the prospects of the children's succession to the throne of Scotland; for with two formidable rivals2 already in the field against them, and with the sentiments of the majority of the nation totally estranged from them in consequence of their unseasonable flight, it is obvious that, humanly speaking, nothing but the folly and weaknesses of their enemies, some unexpected stroke of good fortune, or their own reliance upon foreign arms, could possibly have restored them.      That, in the event, the last of these agencies should have actually accomplished for them what evidently Providence did not otherwise design, is no tribute to the sagacity of Edgar Atheling, but is rather an additional proof, if any were needed, of his habitual

want of foresight and discretion.        The flight of Edgar with his

'This feeling was general in Scotland. " Woe to the realm that has too young a king," sang Sir David Lindsay, at a much later date.

2 Donald Ban and Duncan the son of Malcolm by his first wife Ingibiorg, who subsequently reigned six months.charges was, indeed, a political blunder of tha first magnitude. Its immediate effect was t<3 plunge the country into anarchy and bloodshed; its more serious and lasting consequence was to] entail upon Scotland a race of kings who drew] all their inspirations, and derived all their govern! ing notions and principles, from abroad. The] first of these results was bad enough, but tha second was infinitely worse, inasmuch as it waa more enduring, and may safely be said to havei changed the whole course of Scottish history] which, from the moment that David ascended] the throne, began to deteriorate, until at last iu paid the inevitable penalty of its downward tendl ency, by ceasing to exist, save occasionally and; spasmodically, and in a completely subordinate and provincial sense and capacity.

When David I. ascended the throne of Scotland it was as a feudal monarch with a pronouncedi English and Norman bias that he proposed to govern a people who were mainly Gaelic. Hil "Scottish rust" had long been rubbed off hiril by " intercourse and familiarity with us," sayl William of Malmsbury,1 who wrote with all the] vulgar freedom and insolence of a Norman. When] he came to Scotland a crowd of Norman and] English adventurers accompanied him. His chosen] standard was not some Gaelic oriflamme, but the] dragon of Saxon Wessex. It is doubtful if he] understood a word of Gaelic, Norman-French] probably being the vehicle by means of which] he communicated, if he communicated at alls with his Gaelic subjects; just as, many hundred years later, an English sovereign, incapable of conversing in the language of that country, was obliged to have recourse to Latin as a channel between himself and his ministers. It is worthy of note, and highly significant of his attitude from the first, that David's charters were addressed to " all the good men of the whole land, Norman, English and Scots," the subordinate position assigned to the last-mentioned, who comprised [the vast majority of his subjects, being highly characteristic of that small measure of regard in which he evidently held them. David, indeed, would not appear to have troubled himself to disguise or conceal his foreign inclinations. As overlord of Galloway, Earl of Northamptonshire, ^and holder of the Huntingdon honour, he had addressed his charters to omnibus atnicis suis Francis et Anglis et Scotis, and when he mounted [the throne of Scotland the same supercilious style of superscription was systematically observed. Jlis charters, as Earl, are numerously witnessed by Norman and English dependants. "In his foundation charter of Selkirk," says Skene,1 "besides Bishop John of Glasgow, his countess Matilda, his son Henry, his nephew William, [and three chaplains, there are eleven Norman witnesses, nine Anglic, and a solitary Gillemichel to represent the Celtic race!" "From these deeds," says the same author, " we not only

223

learn ithe extent of David's possessions, but we also see that he had attached to himself not only his Anglic vassals but a large following of Norman

barons." "The reign of David I.," he continues, " is beyond doubt the true commencement of feudal Scotland, and the term of Celtic Scotland becomes

1Hist. Begum., B. v., § 400.iVol. i., p. 457.

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Ino longer appropriate to it as a kingdom. Under his auspices feudalism rapidly acquired predominance in the country, and its social state and institutions became formally assimilated to Norman forms and ideas, whilst the old Celtic element in her constitutional history gradually retired into the background."

It is surely here unnecessary to further labour the point that David I. was the first feudal King of Scotland who reigned by virtue of his feudal bodyguard. The speech of Robert de Bruce and Bernard de Balliol1 to King David on the eve of the Battle of the Standard, even if apocryphal, throws a lurid light upon the methods which the King had employed in order to enforce his claim upon the Scottish throne. And, as Skene justly observes, "it is well worth quoting" that part of Bruce's speech which discovers the means by which David had mounted the throne and governed his people. " Against whom," says the Norman to the King, "dost thou this day take up arms and lead this countless host? Is it not against the English and Normans? 0 King, are they not those from whom thou hast always obtained profitable counsel and prompt assistance? When, I ask thee, hast thòu ever found such fidelity in the Scots that thou canst so confidently dispense with the advice of the English and the assistance of the Normans, as if Scots sufficed thee even against Scots? . . . With what forces and by what aid did thy brother

1" Names singularly associated as the emissaries of an English army to a Scottish king," says Eobertson (vol. L, p. 203). Why so? Did not the descendants of both submit their claims to the Scottish throne to the decision of an English king?Duncan overthrow the army of Donald and recover the kingdom which the tyrant had usurped? Who restored Edgar thy brother, nay more than brother, to the kingdom? Was it not our army? Thou, too, 0 King, when thou didst demand that part of the kingdom which that same brother bequeathed to thee at his death from thy brother Alexander, was it not from dread of us that thou receivedst it without bloodshed? Recollect, last year when thou didst entreat the aid of the English in opposing Malcolm,1

the heir of a father's hate and persecution, how keenly, how promptly, wi,th what alacrity, Walter Espec and many other English nobles met thee at Carlisle; how many ships they prepared, the armaments they equipped them with, the youths they manned them with; how they struck terror into thy foes till at length they took the traitor Malcolm himself prisoner, and delivered him bound to thee. Thus the fear of us did not only bind his limbs, but still more daunted the spirit of the Scots, and suppressed their tendency to revolt by depriving it of all hope of success. Whatever hatred, therefore, whatever enmity, the Scots have towards us is because of thee and thine, for whom we have so often fought against them, deprived them of all hope in rebelling, and altogether subdued them to thee and to thy will." The King, we are told, was so far affected by these representations that he was on the point of giving way to them—a course which must necessarily have involved the withdrawal of his army from English soil—when William Fitz Duncan angrily

'Wymund, who impersonated a son of the Mòrmhaor of Moray.    He took the name of Malcolm Mac Aodh.

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interposed, and by his expostulations and entreaties so far obliged the King to play the part of a Scottish sovereign that he reluctantly led on his army to Cotton Moor, where, in spite of his Norman bodyguard, he sustained a serious check, if not a positive defeat.

^he best description of the battle is by Ailred, David's friend and panegyrist. Wynton says "the Scotties ware dis-comfyt, and mony . . . in depe lowchys drownyd was". Fordun, Major and Buchanan state that whilst the Scots gained the day at Northallerton, they received a check on Cotton Moor. Boece claims a complete victory for the Scots at the Battle of the Standard—a statement which is on a par with many others indulged in by that frequently romancing historian. It was just before this battle that the historic scene in which Malise, Earl of Strathearn, figures somewhat prominently is said to have occurred. " Why trust you to these Normans ? " cried the Earl, when David was vacillating whether to go forward at the head of his real subjects, the Scots, or beat an ignominious retreat in company with his Normans. " Unprotected as I am, none shall be more forward in the fight," from which the historians have been at pains to conclude that Malise was little better than a painted savage, and totally unacquainted with defensive body armour, which, as a barbarian, he is picturesquely supposed to have despised. The speech which Ailred here puts into the mouth of the Earl is probably apocryphal, and is certainly biassed. Defensive armour was known to the Gaels and used by them in battle many years before the fight on Cotton Moor (1153). See Introduction to O'Curry, p. cccclxxv. Coats of mail were worn by chiefs and chieftains in the Highlands and Isles at a very early period. As to the excesses committed by the men of Galloway before the Battle of the Standard, regrettable and grievous, no doubt, they were; but I have yet to learn that the manners of the so-called " polished Normans " were anything better, if as good. It was the custom of the Normans to burn everything they could neither eat, sell nor carry off; whilst all that they could not drink in their orgies they either spilled, or used to wash their horses' feet. " Quae vero in patresfamilias crudelia, quae in uxores et filias indecentia fecerint, reminisci pudet." "Hence the approach of the Court [note to p. 152, vol. i, Bobertson's Scotland under her Early Kings] was the signal for the wretched

The poKcy and conduct of David throughout his reign show that his governing principles, so far from being the fruit of fortuitous or unforeseen circumstances, were carefully planned, and executed with deliberation. It is evident that he came to Scotland prepared and determined to play the part of a feudal monarch, and where he appeared to spare existing political institutions, it was not sentiment, but policy, that was at the root of his seeming moderation.11 No doubt the seed which he sowed did not, in many cases, immediately strike root, and an interesting article mightinhabitants to fly to the woods, and leave their houses to the mercy of their oppressors." Even the daughters of kings and queens were not safe from the " lawless insolence" of the Norman invaders of England.      Ead Hist. Novell., 7, 3, p. 56.

'Thus the sluagh, or hosting, was retained side by side with feudal service, and the Sheriff, a startling innovation on ancient Celtic custom, was only introduced by degrees. Even charters (which David introduced into Scotland) were but a natural and inevitable outgrowth of the Celtic custom of recording grants of land, etc., in the form of written memoranda, it might plausibly be argued. How often have we read of the " Celtic chief" who disdained to hold his lands by mere " sheepskin," and, when requested to prove his right, pointed proudly to his sword as

supplying the only title he could condescend (0 own! This action on the part of the " Celtic chief" has frequently been referred to as if the hero of the anecdote, in so basing his pretensions, was acting in accordance with prescriptive Celtic right and custom—a belief which is as groundless as it is absurd, as those best know who have given their attention to the subject of Celtic tenures, and are familiar with the very exact and strict terms on which cian lands were held. Our "Celtic chief," if, indeed, such he really was, must have been some unconscious but feudalised imitator of the " polished Normans," for in the 13th century, when Earl Warenne was called upon to produce the title by which he held his lands, he laid his sword upon the table, " nor [says Robertson, note to p. 285, vol. i.] can the few remaining holders of lands, which their ancestors possessed at the date of Domesday, show any other title than that of the great Earl".be written to prove that much of David's handiwork was superficial, and that some of the changes which he affected appear more considerable on paper than they were so in fact. However much an innovator he may have been, however radical his reforms, he was, after all (by blood at least), a Celtic monarch, governing a people who were, and still are, principally Celtic. And though these circumstances are not to be taken as tending in any way to lessen the importance of the changes which he made—much less as conspiring to alter or modify their revolutionary character-yet they deserve to be mentioned, inasmuch as they serve to show the insidious nature of the King's innovations, the often crafty manner in which they were introduced, their comparatively slow growth, the weakness and helplessness of the Celtic people under the species of national betrayal to which they were subjected, and the struggle between principle and a feeling of personal loyalty1 to one of a Celtic race of kings which the people and their leaders must have undergone before these so-called reforms were finally accomplished.

But David's education at a foreign court not only did not spare his age—it did not spare his country and posterity. The mischiefs of Norman rule, of the practical absolutism and tyranny which feudalism favoured, were apparent enough, in their inceptive and rudimentary stages at least

1 Ailred says that David was " beloved by the Scots, and terrible only to the men of Galloway ". Some of the sanguinary events of David's reign hardly bear out this former assertion. Twice had David to fight for his crown and life against his loving Scots, who repeatedly rose against him and his successors in prosecution of their efforts to throw off the feudal yoke.—even in this King's reign; but the full bitterness of the chalice of which he but quaffed a little was reserved for his unfortunate successors upon the throne of Scotland. David, indeed, was the pattern upon which, without an exception, I believe, our royal "makers" of Scotland deliberately formed themselves. The novel principles of government which he introduced were precisely those which his successors sedulously set themselves to extend and to amplify, if not for the mere sake of acquiring that deplorable chimera of absolute power at which undoubtedly they aimed, and which, in the end,

228117Norman Davie

Norman Davie

involved themselves in destruction, and conspired to undo their country as a nation, at least under the mistaken notion that by fostering feudalism and encouraging the plantations at the expense of the Gael they could hope to govern the country independently of the true owners of the soil, and of the highly constitutional and moderate system of government favoured by them. For my own part, I acknowledge myself here no blind admirer of what is known as the "Celtic system" of government; nor am I in any way concerned to show myself a supporter of that people at all costs and at all hazards. Doubtless, many of their institutions were defective, just as many of their actions have been reprehensible. The weakness of the Celtic system lay in its preference—amounting almost to a mania—for divided responsibility, and in its defective machinery for regulating the law of descent, and the acquisition and retention of landed property.1      But these two defects, grave

•The weak spot in the Celtic system of government was its inevitable tendency to shed, much as a snake sheds its skin, such as were unable to claim recognised political rights, by reasonand important though they were, might have been remedied by a sovereign possessing half the ability and a quarter the resolution and courage which David undoubtedly possessed. His coming to Scotland and his accession to the throne were, politically considered, a misfortune

of their inability to establish the necessary degree of relationship between themselves and the Senior of their family. " The distant kinsman," says Eobertson (vol. i., p. 250), "removed beyond the limit of the privileged branches of the family, was ever ready to dedicate his sword to the service of the Senior of his race, and was quartered upon the peasantry of the district as an Amas or Bannach, a member of the Arimannia or Hird; for he was always certain of a welcome in an age in which the numbere of such a following, useless unless for purposes of aggression, were the source and evidence of a chieftain's power. Expansion thus became a vital necessity, the very numbers of a kindred, which entailed the obligation, generally ensuring success in their encroachments on a weaker neighbour; and the same causes that impelled one German tribe on another, or precipitated them in one mighty wave upon the Eoman frontier, ensured a normal state of warfare amongst the Celts." Another weak spot in the Celtic polity was its system of alternate succession to the throne, which, however, was not purely elective, as is frequently supposed, but was subject to that principle in certain circumstances only— surely a truly admirable and statesmanlike provision on the part of a people who had already made considerable progress in the art of governing when, politically speaking, they were prematurely cut off. The object of this law was to guard against minorities, which have proved so disastrous in Scottish history, as well as in those of other countries. The almost feverish anxiety displayed by David on the death of his son to secure the acceptance of his grandson by sending him on tour throughout his Gaelic dominions shows that the King was perfectly conscious of this glaring defect in the feudal system; and much of the blood spilled after his death, in the course of his Scottish subjects' repeated attempts to throw off the feudal yoke, was due to his unfortunate disregard of this excellent principle*. Verily, time brings its revenges. The very moderate form of Socialism, which was the basis of the Celtic system, has long supplied the starting-point from which successive "

Conservative " governments have launched their remedial legislative measures!for his country, which even his patriotism— mistaken though it was—cannot atone for. He was the first feudal sovereign of Scotland; he was the first to grasp at absolute power. He inaugurated the policy, so faithfully, even systematically, followed by his successors, and especially by the disastrous Stuarts, of alternately oppressing and caressing his Gaelic subjects. He deliberately turned his back on what was admittedly good and worthy to be preserved in the old, in order to strike novelty and dismay into a people who despised innovation and hated change. The splendour of his reign, its daring success, have blinded posterity, just as they turned the heads, of his successors upon the throne of Scotland. Beneath all the glory, all the apparent prosperity which attended David's political mission—a mission which has received the unstinted praises of successive generations of historians—will be seen the seeds of decay, the undoubted beginnings of events whose culmination was synchronal with the downfall of the monarchy, and with the disappearance of Scotland as a nation.

David had excellent qualities of heart and head. His genius was bright and penetrating; and his devotion to religion,1 and the many charitable actions recorded of him, reveal his private character in a most engaging and favourable light. It was his political education that was at fault, and for this the unfortunate circumstances of his youth were, no doubt, mainly to blame. It requires an exceptionally strong character—a character certainly many degrees stronger than we know

1 David's relations with the Church will be the subject of my next essay.

228118Norman Davie

Norman DavieDavid's to have been—to surmount the prejudices of youth, and to discard preconceived notions touching the art of government, in order to embrace a line of public conduct to which breeding and education—to say nothing of temperament—are alike opposed. David came to the Scottish throne practically a foreigner ; and if he did not rise superior to the common weakness of regarding as inferior that which is strange and unfamiliar to us, we must blame his early circumstances, and those who were responsible for them, rather than the King himself, especially as David had acquired the throne largely through the agency of those whose favourite principles of government he subsequently introduced and enforced, and whose instrument, if not whose puppet, he certainly was. For the Gael of Scotland, however, it cannot truthfully be said that the reign of this sovereign is likely to be held in grateful remembrance. By aggrandising the Lothians and enriching the southern portions of his dominions at the expense of the native population, he did our race an irreparable injury. He was the first King of Scotland who created the existing distinction between "Highlands " and " Lowlands," thereby laying the foundations of centuries of mutual strife and resentment, of bloody reprisals, confusion, and anarchy. The policy of David was, indeed, disastrous to the Highlands. It checked at once the political growth, and injured, if it did not positively destroy, the civilisation of Celtic Scotland, which, with the reign of David, began to enter upon its downward course. The fearful state of anarchy existing in the Highlands throughout the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is directly attributable

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to the effects of David's mischievous system of rule, and to his own and his successors' unfortunate efforts to force feudalism on their Celtic subjects. Much has been said of late touching the " making of Scotland," by which euphonious phrase I suppose we are to understand the "making" of Lowland Scotland, though even there, despite the evidences of prosperity, there is little to encourage a lover of his country, and an admirer of the Divine maxim that man does not live by bread alone. But if the Highlands also are intended, the pitiable insufficiency, striking inappropriateness, and hollow mockery of the sounding phrase are at once apparent. From the accession of David down to the extinction of the last Jacobite rising in 1746, the history of the Highlands is a history of retrogression—a tale of bloodshed and rapine, anarchy and misrule; and from the defeat at Culloden down to the present day the history of the Highlands is a narrative of despair—a tale of poverty and woe, of blighted hopes and disappointed aspirations, of dwindling populations, and decreasing intelligence, of promises unfulfilled and expectations unrealised.

H. M.

FUADACH AN T-SHLUAIGH" CHA till mi tuille ". Cha'n eil ann port a chluich-eas a phiob cho tiamhaidh ris a phort so, gu sonraichte, n'uair a tha am f ear-ciuil a toirt soraidh dhaimhsan a tha' cuir cùl gu brath ri duthaich an gaoil an aghaidh an toil. 'S ioma sealladh bronach a chunnaic an fheadhainn a thainig mar a thainig

-236 Fuadach an t-Shluaigh

Fuadach an (Shluaigh 237

sinne anns gach cearna do'n Ghaidhealtachd, air tir-mor, cho mhath agus anns na h-Eileannan. Chaidh an sluagh a chuir air falbh as an duthaich ge b'oil leo, le uachdarain ghionach, shanntach, chruaidh-chridheach. Agus cha b'e leasachadh air a chuis gu'n robh Ard-luchd-riaghlaidh na rioghachd, cha'n ann gu dearbh a bacadh a leithid so do ghiulan, ach a brosnachadh nan uachdarain agus a toirt a h-uile cothrum dhaibh gus an aingidheachd so a chuir an ghniomh gu neo-thoirteil. Ach chi sinn ciod a b'aobhar do 'n droch-bheart so.

Mu dheireadh na h-Ochda-Linn-diag, agus aig toiseachd na Linn-so-chaidh, bha Breatunn a cogadh an aghaidh America agus an aghaidh na Frangach anns a Spainnd, agus ann am Flanders, air chor agus deachaidh stad a chuir air malairt eadar Breatunn agus na duthchannan ad. Ciod a thachair? Tha thath 's bhuil! Dheirich prisean bathair anns an duthaich. Mheudaich luach muilt-fheoil agus mart-fheoil agus ioma seorsa de mharsantachd eile. So agad cothrom nan uachdarain! " Cuiridh sinn air falbh an sluagh, ni sinn frith agus fasach dhe'n duthaich, fuadaichidh sinn an sluagh as gach gleann agus strath, as gach eilean agus machair, -agus nan aite cuiridh crodh agus spreidh, meanbh-chrodh agus feudail. Bheir

sinn dachaidh ciobairean gallda, agus caoirich mhora, agus ni sinn ar fortan, oir 'cha'n e h-uile latha 'bhios mòd aig Mac-an-Toisaich,' gheibh sinn a nis prisean mora"

Bha na h-uachdairain dileas do'n droch-bheachdsa. 'S gann gu bheil cearna dhe'n Ghaid-healtachd as nach d'fhuadaich iad an sluagh na' miltean. Chaidh na fogaraich thruaghe so thairis do dh' Astralia, do Chanada, do dh' Alba Nodha, do New Zealand, do Charolina agus do Staidean eile ann an America, agus tha an dachaidhnean aig an tigh an diugh nan lairaichean anns gach cearna do'n duthaich.

Gabhamid a nis dur-bheachd air a ghnothach so. Breithnaichaidhmid air doille, air aineolas agus air dorchadas-inntinn Ard-luchd-riaghlaidh na riog-hachd, a bha 'leasachadh a leithid do dhol a mach. Aig an àm air a bheil sinn bruidhinn, 's gann gu'n robh teaghlach anns a Ghaidhealtachd aig nach robh aona-mhac, agus coir uair dithis no triuir a leanailt an airm mar dhreuchd. Ach an deigh sin 's na dha dheth, 'n uair a bha iad a cogadh ann an armailt Bhreatunn, ann an tir-chein, agus a cogadh gu buadhar cuidachd, 'n uair a bha reisimeidean Gaidhealach a faighinn a leithid de chliu agus do mholadh thar chaidh airson an gaisgeachd, bha'n

234

dachaidhnean ga'n losgadh thun a bhlair, an athair na sheann laitheann agus a mathair gaolach, am peathraichean agus am braithrean ga'n fuadach a duthaich an sinnsireachd, ag eisdeachd ris a phort thiamhaidh "cha till mi tuille" 0! nach b'iad an sluagh gun tur ar luchd-riaghlaidh a bha 'leasachadh a leithid de dhiol a dhianadh air an t-shluagh. Nach math an airidh, gur gann a gheobhar an diugh gille Gaidhealach anns na reisimeidean Gaidhealach a fhuair a leithid de chliu 'n uair a bha gaisgeaich unnda. Cha'n fhaigh gu dearbh ach graisg lebidach nam bailtean mora, a tha tuilleadh's leisg airson cosnadh mur dhaoine onarach eile.

Neo-thaing dhaibhsan, mata, a dh'fhuadaich an sluagh as na glinn, agus as na h-eileannan, oir tha'n fheadhainn a dh'fhag an duthaichna na's cothrom-aiche an diugh, math dh'fhaodte, bhiodh iad, na'n robh fhathast aig an tigh. Ach c'aite bheil iadsan agus an sliochd a dh'fhuadaich an sluagh as an tir ? 'S gann gu bheil oighreachd air fad na Gaidheal-238 Fuadach an t-Shluaigh

Fuadach an t-Shluaìgh 239

tachd ann an sealbh sliochd na feadhnach a chuirJ an sluagh air falbh as an tir. Chithear so anna gach siorramachd anns a Ghaidhealtachd—ann! an siorrachd Kois, Ionarnis, agus Arraghaidhealj Caite bheil sliochd nan uachdarean a bha ann am Muidart, ann an Arisaig, agus ann a Cnodart ann an Sleate, ann an Uibhist-a-chinne-Tuath, agus anm am Benabhaoil, ann an Uibhist-a-chinne-Deas, agus] ann an Erisgaidh, agus ann am Barraidh ? Dh'fhalbh! iad ! Thug iad an casan as ! Caite bheil sliochd! na feadhnach a chaidh fhuadach as Ghaidhealtachd?] Tha iad gu cothromach anns gach cearna de dhi Impireachd Bhreatunn!

Nach math agus nach buidh dhaibhsan gu'n! deachaidh am fuadach as an duthaich so ! Seadh'j ach thachair so mar a their na Romanaich " prseterj intentionem". Cha'n e math an t-shluaigh bha] miann nan uachdarean ach a mach fhein. Bha] iad cearta coma ciod a dh'eireadh ris an tuath! na biodh am pailteas de thiginn-a-stigh aca fhein! Seall, mar a thachair.

'S ann direach mar so a chraoibh-sgaoil Breatunni an Creideamh Catliceach anns gach cearna anns] labhairar a bheurla. Chaidh an sluagh fhuadach] a Eirinn, ach ma chaidh thug iad leo an Creil deamh do gach aite 's an deachaidh iad; ach cha] b'e so miann na feadhnach a chuir air falbh iad! Rach do Staidean America, do Chanada agus do] dh'Astralia fiach a faigh thu aon chreideamh] s'am bith is lionmhore na creideamh nan Eirion-3 nach.

. Feumaidh sinn aideachadh, gu bheil a reir coltais, cor na feadhnach a chaidh fhuadach, moran] na's fhearr, mar a 's tric, na cor na feadhnach a chaidh fhagail aig an tigh. Ged a tha gn leoin de dh'fhearan anns an duthaich so, miltean acaire fearainn fo fheidh agus fo mheanbh-chrodh, tha'n sluagh dol bàs le bochdainn fearainn.

Gus o chionn beagan bhliadhnachan, 's gann gu'n robh tighinn-beo idir aig na croitairean anns a Ghaidhealtachd. Bha mal trom, agus na dianadh a h-aon 's am bith fearas-taighe air croit, agus na'n togadh tigh ùr ^dha fhein, bha e an dara cuid an cunnart barlinn/sw) gu'n reachadh barrachd mail a chuir air. Ach a nis, taing do'n Fhreasdal, thainig atharrachadh mor air cuisean. Faodaidh iad fearas-

taighe a thogaras iad a dhianamh air an criomag-fhearainn, faodaidh iad tighean ur a thogail dhaibh fhein, agus is ioma tigh grinn a chaidh a thogail o'n a fhuaras an t-shocair so, agus cho fad 's dhiolas iad a mal, cha'n eil comas aig uachdaran air thalamh aona chuid pris a mhail a thogail no barlinn a thoirt dhaibh.

Ach, mo thruaighe! Co a chunnaic riamh a leithid de dh'fhearann 's th'aca ri oibreachadh! mur a biodh iad dichioleach, trailleil, ga leasachadh le stamh, agus le rod is beag an toradh a bheireadh iad as an fhearann.

Dh'fhlabh an tuath as an tir. Chaidh a nead a chreach anns an deachaidh na gaisgaich arach a chuir Impireachd Bhreatunn ri cheile. Oir, c'aite am biodh ard-inbhe Bhreatunn an diugh mar a biodh dha' na reisimeidean Gaidhealach ? Co aige a bhiodh Innsean-an-arde-Ear, co aige a bhiodh Canada, co aige a bhiodh taomh deas Africa ?

0! doille agus dorochadas-inntinn ar n' Ard-luchd-riaghlaidh ! Gabhaidh mi dhanadas orm fhein, agus bheir mi comhairle thurail do mhuinntir na Parlamaid, agus their mi riuthe " Ma's miann leibh gu mair ard-inbhe Bhreatunn agus a h-Im-pireachd, thugaibh gu grad fearann dha'n t-shluagh anns a Ghaidhealtachd (oir tha gu leoir ann dheth);

240      Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival

agus araichaibh gaisgeaich a chogas air taomh Bhreatunn anns gach blar buadhach ". Thig an latha 'Q uair a thilgeas na "Colonies" dhiu braighdeanas Bhreatunn direach, mar a rinn America roimh so. Ciod an taobh air am bi sliochd na feadhnach a chaidh fhuadach as an duthaich ? Am bi cuimhne aca air an diol a chaidh a dhianadh air an fheadh-ainn a thainig mar a thainig iadsan? Dh'fhalbh Impireachd na Greuge agus na Roimhe, agus falbh-aidh Impireachd Bhreatunn la air chor-eiginn. GILLEASBA' MAC DHOMHNUIL'IC EOBHAIN.

CELTIC RENAISSANCE AND INDUSTRIAL REVIVAL[BY A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL] II.

THE two great objections to agriculture as a panacea for the Highlands and Isles are climate and distance from profitable markets. No doubt, much might be done to obviate the latter—indeed not a little has already been effected in that direction by Government effort and private enterprise; but it has to be remembered that in proportion as these facilities improve, the corresponding facilities in the Lowlands (which, of course, are in a much more favourable situation as regards the principal markets) will likewise increase; so that whether the Highlands and Isles improve in this respect or not, the relative advantage will always be, as it now is, in the hands of the wealthy and highly trained agri-culturists of the Lowlands, who by reason both of temperament and training, are, as farmers, im-measurably superior to the Gaelic husbandmen of Scotland. But, as a matter of fact, the Highlands and Isles can never hope to compete at all successfully with the farm-bred .inhabitants of the low countries, whose principal industry has been agriculture for centuries past. They are too remotely situated from the great centres of population, too much broken up and intersected by frequent and tempestuous seas, and too poor and sparsely populated ever to make a great agricultural country, be the facilities of communication ever so good, the system of land tenure ever so favourable, and the backing of Government " departments " ever so persevering and lavish.

But there is yet another and perhaps a greater objection to agriculture as a panacea for the High-lands and Isles, which is climate. Now, no one who has not travelled in these countries (as the writer takes occasion to say that he has frequently done) can form any adequate notion as to the wretchedness (from an agricultural point of view, if not from that of mere personal comfort and con-venience and scenic beauty), of the really diabolical wretchedness, of this last. Especially in what is known as the Long Island, the weather, from the farmer's point of view, simply baffles description; and even throughout the Highlands and Isles in general the prevailing climatic conditions are un-favourable to agriculture in the extreme. If, then, to bad climate you add a sparsely populated country,

an absence of capital, indifferent communications, foreign competition, a really deplorable want of elasticity in all the conditions and circumstances relating to an agricultural life, and—to judge of causes by their effects—a seemingly inherent distaste for this branch of industry, if not a positive incapacity for the same, how can you reasonably expect the Highlands and Isles to " enjoy their own again " by means of farming ? The idea is absurd, and it requires a member of Parliament, or one of the well-meaning but impotent and impractical folk mentioned above, to entertain it for a moment. As a judicious observer, writing in one of the public prints, sagaciously remarked: " People dispersed in separate hamlets, in a wide country without market towns of any considerable size or the same expe-ditious means of transport as obtain in the favoured Lowlands, have no means of converting their in-dustry to profit. If they are able to rear a scanty subsistence for themselves from the soil, they can scarcely in any case do more; and where the climate is indifferent, even that scanty subsistence is precarious. They have little or no inducement to rear more than enough in ordinary years, because they cannot hope to find a market for it at all proportionate to the effort required to raise even that little which they are enabled, by immense industry and untold care, to snatch from an inhospit-able climate and a stubborn and unfruitful soil For the same reason they cannot convert their industry in any way to profit. Perpetual poverty, therefore, must be the lot of these people; and, of course, they can neither afford to pay an adequate rent to the proprietor for the land they possess, nor pay any taxes so as to augment the revenue of the state."11 These latter remarks apply, of course, more to the in-habitants of the Outer Hebrides than to the inhabitants of the mainland, whose material condition, however, is in numerous cases very far indeed from being that of the proverbial " bed of roses ".

There is also the moral aspect of agriculture to consider. Its economic aspect holds out little encouragement to the inhabitants of the Highlands and Isles to prosecute it to the extent advocated by some of our well-wishers ; and I venture to think that, from the point of view of the State also, the devotion of larger numbers of our countrymen to this form of employment would be equally mistaken and injurious. I am aware, of course, that the familiar cry of " Back to the land!" is exceedingly fashionable just now ; and that any one who may venture to question its perfect reasonableness and utility is not likely to secure a patient and tolerant hearing, at all events in those quarters from which it most frequently hails. Nevertheless, I venture to question the discretion of this cry, which, it seems to me, has even something more of the unthinking parrot about it than such popular utterances—the current vocal coin of the Vox Populi -usually have. No one can possibly regret more than I do the de-population of the rural districts in favour of the great towns and the consequent deterioration in respect of both the numbers and quality of the Highland population. But to assume that the evil is to be removed by simply damming up the straths and glens, and so creating a purely artificial state of affairs within their circumscribed areas, is a proposition which is not entitled to take high rank even as a means of shirking an admitted difficulty; whilst as a preliminary to preparing the ground for a serious legislative effort it is not worthy to be

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mentioned in the same breath with statesmanship. The depopulation of the Highlands and Isles proceeds on grounds which are altogether apart from mere sentiment, and has nothing to do with facilities for prosecuting agriculture. It is more a social than an economic movement; and were you to raise your parliamentary dams in every strath and glen in the Highlands to-morrow, you would not thereby appreciably diminish the prevailing poverty of those districts, which, I repeat, has nothing whatever to do with facilities (granted or withheld) for practising agriculture, but is the consequence of social tendencies, plus a long series of political ills, which have their origin in the centuries behind us.

Politicians and philanthropists of the popularity-hunting order are fond of patting husbandry on the back. They think that agriculture produces fine men, and that the only conceivable destination for a superfluity of such is the army. A more silly and mischievous notion, and one which our race should more firmly discourage, it would be difficult to discover. If any such ulterior motive really underlies the numerous schemes (all highly visionary and unpractical, it seems to me) whose avowed object is to " fix the peasant to the soil," then, assuredly, the fans et rigo of all this flattering attention on the part of politicians and others would do well to have nothing whatever to do with them.

The Highlands have been too long regarded as a kind of nursery or forcing-house for the army, whose shabby treatment of its own in the past fully justifies the dislike and suspicion with which it is presently regarded by the bulk of the Highland population. As a race, we have had our stomach full of fighting. Thanks to circumstances over which we had no control, our history is little better than a record of perpetual feud and bloodshed; and the " fighting spirit of the Highlands," however well it may sound in romance, on the boards of the music-hall stage or in a war-office hand-bill, is not a possession of which any sensible Highlander has reason to be proud ; nor is it one which any truly patriotic individual will seek to encourage, at all events to the extent which, for purely selfish reasons, is evidently ardently desired by its promoters, with their host of interested aiders and abettors.

But, apart from any such consideration as the above, the undoubted tendency of agriculture to " put on flesh" is not at all a point in its favour. Healthy men are necessary to a state, and, no doubt, the useful breed is deserving of all suitable encouragement; but to devote a whole people to agriculture simply in order that Parliament may be able to pass them physically " sound " does not imply a particularly exalted view of a people who have already proved themselves capable of the highest performances in the crafts and the arts, but whom adverse political conditions have reduced to a state of helpless ignorance, incapacity and poverty. Agricultural people are notoriously slow-witted, and, if statistics may be relied on, their moral status, in Scotland at all events, would appear to be no wise superior to their intellectual

attainments. Overmuch handling of neeps and potatoes would seem to have a singularly crushing and deadening effect on mind, morals and manners, however ennobling to the flesh their traffic may be. The low view of agriculture taken by our ancestors is abundantly justified by experience of agricultural communities, which, for the most part, are neither celebrated for morals, nor remarkable for intelligence; and that even some Highlanders should appear to desire the consummation aimed at by Government of] " fixing the people to the soil" in the interests of] agriculture, and in the hope, presumably, of thereby staying the depopulation of the rural districts, shows how completely even Highlanders themselves have departed from their original] notions, and how completely centuries of neglect and misgovernment have crushed and exhausted the national spirit of our people.

The kings of Scotland (from David I. down-] wards) applauded and encouraged agriculture,] because they knew full well the moral and sociaj effects which it had (and still has) on those who! were engaged in prosecuting it. On pretence that the pastoral life favoured the growth of a restless] spirit (which was inimical to the best interest! of the state) they passed laws compelling the] practice of agriculture, without the slightest rel gard, in many cases, to the suitability of thai employment to their people, or to the fitness on their people to that occupation. The inevitable effect of these laws, where they were observed! was, in many instances, to condemn by Act of Parliament whole communities (which by training] and temperament were fitted for far better thingsl to an agricultural life, which they not only neg3 lected but despised. Especially with regard to] the Highlands and Isles (whenever the government of the day chose to take their " improvement" in] hand, which rarely happened unless they were] more than usually unruly) were our kings and] parliaments particularly forward and aggressive with] their "cure-all" nostrums, of which compulsory! agriculture, plus "education" (as understood in] Fifeshire or Edinburgh), were ever prime favour-] ites. The effect of these drastic measures (it was lan age in which even the honest watch-dog was ■subjected to Act of Parliament!) was to unsettle our people, and reduce them yet further in the political and social scales; for by setting our forefathers' noses to the grindstone of agriculture, land of other compulsory callings—equally unsuitable to climate and distasteful to temperament where the Highlands were concerned—whether Ithey liked it or not, the natural avenues of their capabilities and attainments were cruelly and prematurely cut off, and the whole people, by being familiarised with the notion that they were not, as they imagined, a peculiar people requiring particular handling and treatment and outlets for their genius, brought off from the idea of prosecuting •those callings in which they formerly excelled. The pfolly of the policy of Square Pegs and Round Holes —in other

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words, of treating Scotland as a political whole—a complete national entity, that is to say-— was never more strikingly or forcibly illustrated than in regard to the Highlands and Isles, which, linstead of being made the object of special legislation (were such needed), were ruthlessly condemned to the same species of employment as obtained in &he Lowlands, through the initiative and enterprise ■of our kings. The art of government has made considerable progress since those evil days, in which to hint at the folly of attempting to fatten ithe goose on the self-same food as was designed to produce that effect in the gander would have amounted to a species of economic high treason, v& it did not actually come under the head of contempt of the sovereign authority, punishable % fines and imprisonment or the usual quartering. "But that the spirit of the old Adam is still strong within many of us, at all events, is proved conclusively by the proposals which are made from] time to time and which have for their object the] "patching up" of the Highlands and Isles by] means of this or that "cure-all" industry. Even] Parliament seems strangely reluctant to part witH its belief in the absolute soundness of the " cure-all'l theory, as every one who gives any attention to the] proceedings of that body knows full well. '̂ ^J is still a tendency abroad to prescribe for political diseases the compound remedies in which even tha best and most intelligent of our ancestors believed! Whether or no this tendency is a result of thè] almost universal practice of taking patent medicines] in the shape of " cure-all" nostrums, or whether the] habit alluded to above is merely a reflexion of the] other I have glanced at, I am really unable to say;' but without a doubt the day of the specialists, though it may be dawning, is not yet; and until! that day comes—and surely the Highland^^H any one, should pray for its advent—theiijrauj^H and his remedies will reign, if not supreme, at all] events with a power and authority which are now to be questioned. Meanwhile much might be] done to discourage centralisation, which is the] evil of which the Highlands and Isles have most] cause to complain, for out of centralisation proceed] parliamentary inquiries, Boards of Agriculture,1! "Congested" Districts officials and much other] odious (and useless) excreta exceeding dear to] the " official mind ". No doubt it is but justice] that the system which produces the ills should] send its henchmen out into the world to do some| thing to cure them, though to be sure there is al suggestion of the comic about such justicg^B cannot fail to appeal to the ardent admirer of] Gilbertian opera or Alice in Wonderland.

Centralisation is the enemy of small and struggling communities because it necessarily can take no heed of their individual requirements, which, being complex and many, escape its atten-tion. Centralisation may be the key to success in foreign affairs, but it cannot possibly be so with regard to home questions which require not " plain

business men " (as Lord Rosebery seems to think) but specialists in order to their successful handling—specialists, that is to say, without hobbies to ride, who have the interests of the community, rather than those arising from place and profit, at heart, who are thoroughly in touch and sympathy with the people, know their history and know their capabilities as well as our government departments, crown officials, and so forth now know their limitations and trade on them.

To return, however, I venture to think that agriculture as a panacea or "cure-all" for the Highlands, and Isles stands condemned. As a subsidiary and a collateral industry it may well take rank amongst our people, much in the same manner as Lamb who, if I am not mistaken, was an accountant to trade, classed the noble but, alas ! unprofitable profession of letters—that is to say, by no means as the staff of life, but as a supplement to more profitable means of keeping body and soul together. To seek to elevate agriculture to the position of principal industry in a country which is not only reputably but demonstratedly unsuited to its successful prosecution is not only waste of time, but, by misleading those who can ill afford to be led astray, is cruel and unsound policy as well, and will be sharply resented, if I mistake not, by such as are deceived by this newfound Highland Will-o'-the-Wisp, so soon as they come to their senses and realise that all the promises and pledges held out to them are little better, little more substantial, than the winds which swept through Tara's ruined halls.

(To be continued.)

IONNDRAINN ALBATHE author of the following verses is known in Mabon, Cape Breton, as Iain Mac Dhòmhnuill Mhic Iain, or John MacDonald, son of Donald, son of John. He emigrated from the Braes of Lochaber in the year 1834, and died in his adopted home about fifty years ago. He came out in the ship Janet, which sailed from Tobermory, and landed her passengers at a port formerly known as Ship Harbour, now Hawkesbury, on the Strait of Canso (a narrow strip of water which separates Cape Breton from the mainland of Nova Scotia). So much I gather from a song composed by him shortly after his arrival in this country. It runs in couplets, the first, second, and last of which are:—

An Tobar Moire thog sinn siul, 'S ghabh sinn cùrsa bho'n chors'.

'Fagail Albainn na stùc Bha sinn tùrsach gu leoir.

Dh'fhàg sinn " Seonaid " Ship Harbour 'S càball fo sròine.

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The land to which " Iain Sealgair " came in the early thirties was but newly settled.      Here, as elsewhere, colonial life, in its early days, was marked by a certain freedom from restraint, which verged at times upon lawlessness. It must not, however, be supposed that the scene depicted by the bard in the sixth stanza was one often to be witnessed, even in those early days. The great bulk of those who came hither from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland were simple, frugal, sober people, full of faith and of the holy fear of God. " Led by God's hand," as Father Donald Xavier MacLeod, himself a convert from Presbyterianism, so well says in his History of the Devotion to the Blessed Virgin in North America, "hither they set sail from the shelter of towering Scaur-Eigg, from the shadow of sacred Iona, from Mull and wild Tiree, from Uist and Skye, of gray mists,

Prom TJlva dark and Colonsay, And all the group of islets gay That guard famed Staffa round.

Hither our forefathers came, with their utter impossibility of enduring a spy, with their marrow-bred loathing of informers, with their thousand-year-old incapacity for servility. . . . MacDonald and his ' yellow-stick' disregarded; their beloved mountain land, with its passionate seas, resigned; for God's sake, they crossed the Aiseag Mòr, the 'Great Ferry,' the Atlantic, and sought new homes for themselves; always, however, without asking sympathy, without complaint, still resolute, unsung, unmentioned in speeches, their deep woes known to their God and to them, known and remembered by both."

I leave your readers to judge the merits of "Iain Sealgair's" verses. To me, at least, they seem not unworthy of a place in Guth na Bliadhna.In them the feelings of an exile from Scotland find a voice. They tell of the heart-hunger of our Highland forebears for the old home they loved so well—the hunger that distance did but deepen and time could not allay.

ALEX. MACDONALD, P.P.ST. ANDBEWS, ANTIGONISH CO.,

NOVA SCOTIA.

IONNDRAINN ALBA

Thoir soraidh bhuam a nunn thar chuan'S air chuairt gu bràigh nan gleann,Gu tir na buadh, ged's fhada bhuam iTìr na fuar bheinn àrd ;'S e bhi tàmh an àite Phoor

A dh' fhàg mo shùilean dall'Nuair sheòl mi 'n Niar's a thrial mi 'n tirA Righ ! gur mi bha 'n call.Dh' fhàg mi 'n dùthaich, dh' fhàg mi 'n dùchas, Dh' fhan mo shùgradh thall Dh' fhàg mi 'n t-àite bàidheil, caomh, 'S mo chairdean gaolach ann ; Dh' fhàg mi 'n tlachd, 's an t-àite am faicte Tìr nan glac, 's nan càrn 'S be fàth mo smaointinn, 'nuair nach d'fhaod mi, Fuireach daonan ann.

Dh' fhàg mi cuideachda nam breacan, B' àlainn dreach's tuar Armuinn ghrinne, làidir, inich Gillean bu ghlaine snuadh Fir chalma, reachdach, gharg, 's iad tlachd-mhòr Bu dearg-daite an gruaidh, Luchd-an-èileidh 'nam an fheuma Leis an èireadh buaidh.Bhiodh Dòmhnullaich 'nan èideadh gasda.'S cha cheum air ais bhi o dh annLuchd-fhèileidh's ghartan, 's chota 'n tartanOsain bhreachd nam ball.Le'm boineid ùra dhubh-ghorm, dhait',Air thus am mach 'nan rancB" iad fèin na seòid nach geil's iad beò'S bu treun an comhraig leam.

A nis o'n thrèig gach cuis a bh' ann'S mi seo am fang fo cheò,An tìr an t-sneachda, 's na fir sheacaihdCha b' e 'chleachd mi fèin;S' e' bhi ga faicinn, na fir chairtidhChrainntidh, ghlas, gun bhrìghTriusair farsuinn, sgiùrsair easag.'S cha b' e 'fusan grin.

Chi thu còisreadh aca ag òl'S a 'stòir, ma theid thu annDaoine bòsdail, 's iad ri bòlaichGòrach leis an dramAn àite rapach, poll fo 'n casanStòpan glas ri 'n ceannA rùsgadh dheacaid dhiu, 's ga srachadh'S iad mar phaca chèard.

B' e sud m' aighearsa's mo shòlasCrònanaieh na' fiadh,Mu Fhèill-an-roid, bhi tighinn a chòirAn fhir bu bhòidhche fiamhBhi falbh nam bac, 's ga sealg's na glacanNuair bu daite am bian'S tric a tholl mi mac-na-EildeagSeall ma 'n èireadh grian.

254 Ionndrainn Alba

The Tree and the Man

255

Air maduinn dhriuchd bu mhiannach leam Bhi falbh's mo chù ri m' shàil, Le m' ghunna dubailte nach diult Nuair chuirinn suil ri h-eàrr Luaidh's fudar, chur na smùid B' e cheard dha 'n tug mi gràdh Feadh

lùban cam's aig strath na beann 'S am bi 'n damh seang a fàs.

'S truagh a Righ ! nuair chuir mi cùl Ri m' dhùthaich le m' thoil fèin Bha mi 'n dùil, ma 'n àite as ùr Nach faighte cùis 'gam dhìth Ach còir air

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fearann, òr, 's earras Aig gach fir a bh' innte Bha chùis ad ballach orm a falach Mheall mo bhanail mi.

Thug mi gion nuair bha mi òg, 'S gur e bhi 'n còir nam beann Ach am bliadhna bho 'n a thriall e Dh fhàg sud liath mu cheann Saoilidh cach gu robh mi gòrach Nach robh eòlach ann Thug mise spèis do dhamh na cròic 'S a chaoidh ri m' bheò cha chiall

O 'n chuir gach cùis a bh' ann rium cùlGed thug mi rùn dhaibh riamhCha chluinn mi dùrdan maduinn driùchdAm barran dlùth na sliabhCha loisg mi fudar anns na stucan'S cha chuir mi cù ri fiadh'S tinn dhomh 'bhi na's tric air m' ùrnaigh'S leannachd dluth ri Dia.

THE TREE AND THE MAN

THE same " scientific " spirit which is at the root of the best modern historical inquiries is traceable in the investigations of those who strive to treat of genealogy and the cognate topics from an impartial point of view.      It is highly desirable, of course, that the study of heraldry, which may be said to embrace genealogy, should be cleared of the mass of fiction and legend with which the writers of a less discriminating, more credulous and more partial age than our own, had encumbered it, and that a man's pedigree should be assessed according to its true value, and not in accordance with the fictitious estimate which interested parties were the means of placing on it.      But whilst a spirit of candour and searching criticism is a manifestation much to be encouraged in connection with heraldic studies (inasmuch as it was long conspicuously wanting to them), yet it is no doubt true that the tendency to attach importance to the deed, in contradistinction to tradition? may be carried too high; and that the " comparative method" may overstep the limits of prudence in arrogating to itself a measure of infallibility which experience may easily show that it has not the smallest title to possess.

That the strictures of Mr. Horace Round, and Others of that school, are somewhat in the nature of a mixed blessing—that is to say, are not without

' " Scepticism regarding ancient traditions may be carried too (ar, as well as a too credulous faith in their truth, and is often more dangerous to science. Every legend, every myth, contains a kernel of truth, if we could

only remove the husk of fable which envelops it."—O'Curry, Introduction, p. 61.

Dtheir corresponding disadvantages—is sufficiently proved, we think, by that author's attitude with respect to Welsh pedigrees, which, in a recent number of The Ancestor, were the subject of some interesting remarks by Mr. H. J. T. Wood, and of some somewhat uncomplimentary ones by Mr. Horace Round. The latter antiquary, with a precipitation which contrasts disagreeably with his usual deliberation and carefulness and coolness of statement, objects to Celtic pedigrees on the old familiar but, we should have thought, now suffi-ciently discredited ground that they supply no more satisfactory evidences of authenticity than "a string of meaningless names" can serve to impart to them.

For our parts, we do not know that we should be much concerned with Mr. Horace Round or with his opinions touching Celtic pedigrees, were it not that there would appear to be something extremely infectious about them. Mr. Round is not a Celtic " subject," and his observations (where-soever obtruded) upon Celtic topics are necessarily in the nature of a negligible quantity; but, fortun-ately or unfortunately, Mr. Horace Round is a person of consequence in that world which, like Alexander, he evidently aspires to survey as sole monarch; and, as we have said, his example is apt to be extremely infectious. The " scientific school I of genealogists (of which he is in some degree the industrious protagonist) has evidently " caught on "—and in many respects justly so—with a number of writers who more from love of vogue than regard to knowledge, we suspect, are all agog to prove themselves knowing persons, and who are, by consequence, in that dangerous state of mind in which the dearest compliment they can pay themselves is easily discovered to be but a pale reflection of the attitude of the beloved " master ". That this pious hypothesis of ours is not without substantial foundation is proved, we think, by a paper recently published in one of our daily news-papers, in which the author made what was no doubt intended to be a serious and damaging attack upon the authenticity of Celtic pedigrees, which were impeached as unworthy the slightest consideration and credit. It may seem curious that views so well calculated to appeal to the prejudices of the South, should have found even a temporary asylum—though but in a news sheet— in the North; but, evidently, great is the force of example, and where fashion conspires with vanity to incline a writer to a particular course of literary conduct, there is no saying, of course, where his servility may begin, or his absurdities end.

The old familiar view alluded to above, namely, that Celtic pedigrees consist in " a string of mean-ingless names" was, of course, the accepted view of the literary dark ages; and it is a little dis-appointing to find that, in spite of all their boasted knowledge, their "comparative methods," "scien-

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tific progressiveness," and what not, Mr. Horace Eound and his friends have, in respect of one important particular at least, not yet emerged from that unlovely obscurity. Let us do Mr. Round the justice of saying that he is no Celtic scholar. But even then, his presumption, if not his

ignorance, must strike us as astounding; and our quarrel with him is not so much on account of what he said—better was scarce to be expected of him—as on account of the fact that he should have presumed to say it at all. His so presuming was a signal to others—his disciples—to go and

258 The Tree and the Man The Tree and the Man 259do likewise, and therein lies the aggravation of his original offence. The reviver of a fashion may well be esteemed foolish, but his want of sense becomes irritating and assumes the proportions of a nuisance when it is a cause of folly in others.

Those who are familiar with Celtic pedigrees know that, like those of other European nations, ' they are formed upon the Hebrew plan, which, for the most part, eschews dates, and ignores females. Our Gaelic pedigrees are indeed faithfully modelled upon those which will be found in the Holy Scriptures;1 and one of their characteristic features, the tacking on of the eponymous of the race or family to some Scriptural personage whose descent is traced to Adam shows how religiously minded our ancient genealogists were. It may seem strange to us that this peculiar feature of our pedigrees should excite the resentment and derision of men like Mr. Horace Eound, seeing that it requires but little knowledge and even less discernment to discover the point at which the Scriptural line ends and the Gaelic pedigree begins. No doubt, in a Catholic country, nothing at all untoward would be thought of so laudable a desire to prove a Scriptural original for the beginnings of great families; for where religion enters intimately into the life of a people, tinging and controlling their private actions and public conduct in a manner quite unimaginable to a Protestant community, its resulting manifestations are necessarily as numerous as they are diversified, and as varied as they are frequent.      So that what strikes Mr. Bound as

3 Consult the pedigree of our BleBsed Lady in the Gospel according to St. Matthew i. 1.

absurd, and evidently spurious—as a fit subject for ridicule—will appear to Catholics as eminently natural and appropriate, the more so as we know how deeply indebted our ancestors were to the Church which instructed them, and how much religion entered into their lives. It appears to us, moreover, that the reasoning which seeks to make light of Celtic pedigrees by reason of the circum-stance mentioned above, and which endeavours to impugn their authenticity on that ground, is singu-larly weak, not to say inept. The early histories of most countries are obscured by fable, or are carried to an antiquity which investigation shows cannot be supported by fact. Yet are we at liberty to stigmatise as spurious, and as absolutely devoid of all foundation in truth, the whole of the history of that people or nation, by reason of the vanity or credulity

of its early chroniclers and historians? Obviously, to do so would not only be highly absurd, but it would amount to a positive injustice as well. It is the duty of historians—" scientific " and otherwise—to separate the chaff from the wheat, to show what is fabulous or doubtful in the early histories of countries, and what may be partly, or implicitly, relied on. A precisely similar process should hold good with respect to pedigrees, which are to individuals what the more extended and important forms of historical narrative are to nations and peoples. They should be tested in just the same way, and what is spurious, doubtful, or fabulous about them should be duly noted and commented upon, with a view, of course, to its rejection. The fact that many of our Celtic pedigrees are carried to Adam does not in the least degree take off from their undoubted value and authenticity, strange (and even absurd) as, at first sight, such a proceeding may seem. As we have said, the point at which the Scripture line ends and the Gaelic genealogy begins is easily discovered; and provided the genealogist be honest, unprejudiced, and possesses the requisite learning, the accuracy, or otherwise, of the Celtic "tree" is as much a solvable problem (being every whit as amenable to what is known as the " comparative method") as the pedigrees of any other people or country are likely to be. Indeed, for our parts we are inclined to think that Gaelic genealogies enjoy a decided advantage in this respect—a superiority, by the way, which, in the case of many English pedigrees, would, we imagine, operate somewhat destructively in respect of their claims to antiquity. For, unlike English pedigrees under the feudal system, the Gaelic genealogies were most strictly kept,1 and inasmuch as no title to land could be made out without their assistance, it follows of a consequence from thence that the law itself provided their most effectual check, whilst preserving them from those fantastic and frequently fabulous accretions whose exposure constitutes at once the employment and the delight of the " scientific genealogist". " The genealogies of the principal families were most

1" In considering the genealogies of the Highland clans we must bear in mind that in the early state of the tribal organisation the pedigree of the sept or cian, and of each member of the tribe, had a very important meaning. Their rights were derived through the common ancestor, and their relation to him, and through him to each other, indicated their position in

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the succession, as well as their place in the allocation of the tribe • land. In such a state of society, the pedigree occupied the same position as the title-deed in the feudal system, and the sennachies were as much the custodiers of the rights of families as the mere panegyrists of the cian."—Celtic Scotland, vol. iii., pp. 334-335.faithfully preserved in ancient Ireland.1 There were several reasons for their anxiety to preserve their pedigrees, one very important motive being that in the case of dispute about property, or about election to a chiefship, the decision often hinged on the descent of the disputants; and the written records, certified by a properly qualified historian, were accepted as evidence in the Brehon Law Courts."

As to the charge that Celtic pedigrees consist of "a string of meaningless names," it is obvious that reasoning of this sort is more popular than profound, and reflects little credit on the intelligence of those who employ it. It is surely no mark of a liberal education to affect to despise what is not under-stood, and objections to languages or peoples based on nothing more substantial than mere prejudice and ignorance of the same are apt to provoke our pitying remark.

So far as Scotland is concerned, our Gaelic pedigrees are nearly all derived from Irish sources. The Irish seanachaidh was generally esteemed superior to those of native birth ; and before the correspondence between the two countries was interrupted owing to the downfall of the Lordship of the Isles, Irish poets and genealogists were con-stantly passing and re-passing between Scotland and Ireland for the purpose of perfecting the Scottish bards and seanachaidhean in the manifold mysteries of their art. We have comparatively few pedigrees of native manufacture, for the political convulsions which swept over the Highlands and Isles proved fatal to literature, and insomuch so

1A Social History of Ancient Ireland, by P. W. Joyce, vol. i., p. 528.that of the very considerable collections which we know to have been made, little, indeed, has come down to us.1 The MS. of which Skene made great use in his Highlanders of Scotland and which he styled "MS. 1450" is now known to have been largely "lifted" from the pages of the Book of Ballymote and similar Irish compilations; whilst the purely Scottish portions of that MS. are to be accepted with considerable reserve.

In 1597 a most important Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament. It bore the short but pregnant title, "That the inhabitants of the His and Hielandis shaw their haldings ". The effect of this momentous act on Gaelic pedigrees is now well known, and does not call for extended mention here.2 Suffice it to say that it introduced an entirely novel principle into the construction of Gaelic genealogies, which from this

time forward will be found taking veritable leaps into the dark of fable and romance—a succession of imaginative flights, by the way, of which, judging by the pages of "Douglas," "Burke," "Debrett," etc., they have by no means yet recovered. Previous to 1597 Scottish Gaelic pedigrees, save in a few cases, present features which argue strongly in favour of their general truthfulness and accuracy, in so far as they admit of proofs drawn from historical times.

"The latter portion of these pedigrees (says Skene, vol. iii., p. 339) as far back as the eponymous or common ancestor from which the cian takes its

1 What lies, untranslated, in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, remains to be seen. There cannot be much, however, as Skene printed the greatest part of the Scottish genealogies as appendix to vol. iii. of Celtic Scotland.

2 See Skene, vol. iii., p. 349 et seq.name, are in general tolerably well vouched, and may be held to be authentic."

"The several genealogies (relating to historic times), as well as those scattered portions of them found incidentally in various authors, exhibit marvellous consistency, and have all the marks of truthfulness. Moreover, they receive striking confirmation from incidental references in English writers—as for instance the Venerable Bede. Whenever Bede mentions a Scot or Irishman and says he was the son of so-and-so, it is invariably found that he agrees with the Irish genealogies if they mention the man's name at all.""It may be asked (says Father Shearman in his preface to his learned and highly interesting Lorn Patnciana) what are the claims to credibility possessed by these long-extended genealogies ? What is the source of their authority? The reason of their existence is found in the peculiar state of Celtic society and government. In a country where the tribal system prevailed, with all its consectaries, a registration, as it were, of the claims of the clansman of his tribe required evidence either documentary or oral for establishing such claims and rights. Many of these pedigrees are preserved in MSS. repertories of great antiquity ; they are indeed few in comparison to the great number that once existed when they were copied into what are now our oldest MS., from still older originals, then as ancient and venerable as their representatives are to-day. Their truthfulness may be tested by a comparison with the independent authority of our historic annals, in which dates and events are found to coincide with the genealogies ;

11 Joyce, vol. ii., p. 529.

The Tree and the Man

so that the compilation of the earlier pedigrees is much less difficult than those of more modern times,

when the Annalists had ceased their labours—the past two centuries being the crucial period of the genealogist and family historian."

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" The Irish genealogical tables which are still extant carry intrinsic proofs of their being genuine and authentic, by their chronological accuracy, and consistency with each other, through all the lines, collateral as well as direct; a consistency not to be accounted for in the supposition of their being fabri-cated in a subsequent age of darkness and ignorance, but easily explained if we admit them to have been drawn from the source of real family records and truth."The mythical portions of Gaelic pedigrees should not be allowed to militate against their claims to truth and probability, when such are supportable by proofs drawn from historic sources of undoubted authenticity. To discover the junction between fiction and fact, if a sometimes difficult, yet is by no means an impossible task to accomplish. The Irish annals, which have been put to the severest historical tests, are a valuable source of information touching the early history of Scotland and Ireland —indeed in many instances it has been found that the Gaelic chronicler is much to be preferred to his Saxon or Norman contemporary—though it was once the fashion to decry the Irish annalist, just as now it seems to be the vogue to belittle and discredit our Gaelic genealogists. But the accuracy of the one supplies strong presumptive evidence in favour of the reliability of the other,

11B. I. A. Trans., vol. i., Antiq., p. 27. Eemarks by Bishop Barnard.

Na Gàidheal agus na Cruitkneaich a Rithist      265

which will be found, we think, to amount to positive proof when the pedigrees themselves—stripped and purged of their fabulous accretions—are considered in the light which historical science enables us to bring to bear on them.

NA GÀIDHEAL AGUS NA CRUITH-NEAICH A RITHIST

THA mi gu tur 'am barail, mar a tha Mr. Robertson e-fhèin, an uair a tha e ag ràdh, " much of the mystery and confusion enveloping the subject under discussion may be traced to the names themselves, which are as arbitrary and unreal in their nature as that of German, applied by us alone to the people called Allemands by the French, Schwabe by the Magyars, Niency by the Slavonians, and by themselves Deutch; a name which we again apply to the Hollanders ".A rèir mo bharailsa, bha na Gàidheal agus na (Vuithneaich 'nan aon sliochd ; agus leis a sin gu bheil dà ghinealach Ghàidhealach a mhàin ann am Breatuinn an diugh—'s e sin ri ràdh, na Gàidheal agus na Breatunnaich. 'S i seo is ciall do'n chreideas a chuir seo 'am bheachdsa.

Thug na Romanaich " Picti" mar ainm air Gàidheal thuathach na h-Alba. A rèir cleachdadh na teanga Romanach, cha'n e sliochd idir a tha'm facal seo

ciallachadh, ach luchd-dàthaidh, 's e sin ri ràdh Cruithneaich. A' leanachd a chleachdaidh gu b'uileach am measg nan Gàidheal, chuir na

11 Scotland Under her Early Kings, vol. ii., Appendix L.266      Na Gàidheal agus na Cruithneaich a Rithist

Gàidheal Eirinneaich dath air an colunnan-ne mar an ceudna.

A rèir nan seannachaidhean, thug na Gàidheal Spàindeach1 buaidh air na h-Eireannaich, 's air na h-Albanaich cuideachd, R. C. 1080.Tha e air a ràdh le Tighearnach gun do rìghich ann an Eirinn, nuair a bha Conn air an caithair-rìoghaill, seachd righrean nan Cruithneaich.

Sgrìobh Nh Isidore,23 nuair a bha Alba agus Eirinn 'nan aon dùthaich,

ag ràdh. " Scoti, propria lingua, nomen habent a picto corpore, eo quod aculeis ferreis cum atramento variarum figurarum stigmata annotentur."Rinn na Gàidheal agus na Cruithneaich cairdeas ri a chèile gu tric, 's gu sònraichte nuair a bha iad a' cath an aghaidh an armailt Romanach.

Thàinig crioch air an ainm "Picti" an deigh dhaibh an creideamh fhaighinn ; oir an uair a ghabh

41 Na Milidhean, no luchd-Miledh.

2 " A s to the Milesians or Scots, the whole current of our legends and chronicles bring them from Spain, or perhaps more strictly speaking, from the shores of the Bay of Biscay, between the mouth of the Loire and Galicia. . . . The discovery by Grimm of the Gaedhelic character of the language of Aoquitaine, affords an important support to the Irish traditions " (O'Curry, Boimh-radh, Leabhar i., taobh 66). "That they were a fair race is beyond doubt." A rèir nan seannachaidhean Komanaich, mar sin bha na " Picti" (no Cruithneaich) Albanach.

3 Origines, L. ix., c. 2.4 " There can be no mistake about the people to whom

he .alludes, for elsewhere he says, ' Scotia eadem et Hibernia . . . quod a Scotorum gentibus colitur, appellata' (L. xiv., o. 6). As at the period when Isidore wrote—he died in 636—self-painting was obsolete in Ireland, he must be repeating the statement of some long-forgotten authority of an earlier age; and I cannot see how the inference is to be avoided that the Scoti were once known in their own language by a name derived from the habit of self-painting; in other words, by the name of Cruithnech" (Bobertson, L. ii., t. 363).

Na Gàidheal agus na Cruithneaich a Rithist      267

iad ris, chur iad air chul an cleachdadh a bh' aca a bhi dath an colunn.

Cha'n 'eil dad idir aig na sennachaidhean Eirin-neaich ri ràdh mu'n bhuaidh a thug Gàidheal na h Eil ■inn air na Cruithneaich, a rèir nan sennachaidhean gallda.

Cha'n 'eil e dùilich a thuigsinn ciamar a chuir Gàidheal na h-Eirinn aon dhe'n righrean fèin air cathair-rìoghaill na Cruithneaich, ma robh iad 'nan aon sliochd. Tha e ro dhuilich gu dearbh an gnothach seo a dheanamh so-thuigsinn ann an dòigh's am bith eile.

Mur robh "the social system outlined by the Book of Deer"1 mar a bha e le Gàidheal na h-Eirinn, bha e gu deimhinn ceart choltas ri sin.

Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival      241

240      Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival

Thug Gàidheal na h-Alba uile " Gàidheal"2 mar ainm orra-fèin—ainm a tha beò gus an là diugh.

Cha robh feum aig Nh. Colum Cille air eada-theangair8 ach dà uair, nuair a bha e ann an dùthaich nan Cruithneaich a' teagasg 's a' mhin-icheadh nan Sgrìobturean.

41 The Highlanders of Scotland. Excursus le Mac Bheathainn, t. 400.

- " Albanach," 's e sin ri ràdh " Scotsman ". Tha na Gàidheal Albanach agus Gàidhealach, ged nach 'eil na h-Albanaich uile na Gàidheal.

' Bho'm facal seo, tha Bobertson a deanamh a mach gun robh " interpret" is leughair 'nan aon briathran, mar a tha e ag ràdh mar a leanas. " The ' Interpres' probably melted gradually into the Fear-leiginn or Lector " (L. ii., t. 381).

4" In Adamnan's Life of Golumba the Saint is represented u baptising on one occasion an aged Pict of Skye named Artban frimarius genois cohortis; and on another quidem plebius, after they had respectively 'received the word of God through the interpreter'—verbo Dei per interpretem recepto—and it has therefore been concluded that Columba was ignorant of the Pictish language, which must consequently have differed essen-tially from Gaelic.    As Mr. Skene, however, has justly remarked268      Na Gàidheal agus na Cruithneaich a Rithist

Tha freumhag Gàidhealach (cha'n e Breatun-nach) aig gach ainm-àite, agus aig gach ainm-fhìr Chruithneach a th'ann.

Fhuair, gu coslach, Cruithneaich na h-Alba an laghannan leantuinn-rìoghaill bho na Cinneaich a bh'ann, nuair a thug iad fèin buaidh air an dùthaich seo.

Is cinnteach gu bheil a' mhòir chuid do Ghàid-heal ann an Alba an diugh a bhith tighinn a nuas bho na Chruithneaich—'s e sin ri ràdh bho Ghàid-heal na h-Alba, 's na h-Eirinn, a thug buaidh air na h-Eireannaich's air na h-Albanaich R. C. 1080.

Tha Bede air a ràdh, " haec in praesenti, juxta numerum librorum quibus Lex Divina scripta est,

in his History of the Highlanders, the interpreter is never met with except in connexion with the Verbum Dei—the Scriptures —and in his conferences with Broichan and the Druids, in his interviews with King Bruidi, when he rescued the man imperilled by the marvellous sea-monster in the Ness, and on various other occasions, Columba appears to have had no difficulty in conversing without the intervention of any suoh functionary, and for all ordinary purposes his Gaelic seems to have been sufficiently intelligible. The earlier monasteries, and Ireland afforded no exception to the general rule, often contained vast assemblages of monks, sometimes numbered by thousands, the majority of whom were probably illiterate, and incapable of reading or understanding the Scriptures written in a foreign tongue; and accordingly there was often an official whose especial business was to read the allotted portion of ' the Word of God,' or to translate it, for the edification of the unlearned brethren, and who was generally known as the Interpreter. . . . There are no means of ascertaining the acquirements of Columba, but if he resembled his illustrious predecessor St. Patriok, who laments in his confession his want of familiarity with Latin, he may not have possessed the power of rendering the Latin Scriptures fluently into Gaelic at sight, and for such a purpose he would have required the assistance of his Interpreter, suoh being probably the reason why this personage never appears on ordinary occasions when the

Saint had to speak, or to listen to, Gaelic" (L. ii., t. 380, 381).

Na Gàidheal agus na Cruithneaich a Rithist      269

quinque gentium linguis unam eademque summae veritatis et verae sublimatis scientiam scrutàtur et confitetur, Anglorum, videlicet, Brittonum, Scot-orum, Pictorum, et Latinorum, quae meditatione Scripturarum caeteris omnibus est facta communis "(Eist. Eccles., L. i., c. 1). O na briathran seo tha'n t-Olh. Mac Bheathainn is beagan eile deanamh a mach gun robh teanga nan Chruithnach air a cainnt fèin; ach cha'n'eil seo idir dol eadar sinn agus a bhith a' creidsinn gun robh a' Ghàilig is an teanga Chruithneach 'nan aon cainnt. Tha dithis theangannan Gàidhealach againn an diugh, 's e sin ri radh, beurla na h-Alba is beurla na h-Eireann, araon seo agus sin "a' leasachadh fhoghluim na fìrinne nèamhuidh". Ach gu bheil Ghàilig na h-Alba 's Ghàilig na h-Eireann gu fìor 'nan aon cainnt, ged nach urrain do mhuinntir na h-Eirinn's do mhuinntir na h-Alba daonann a bhith tuigsinn a chèile.

Bha 'pàganachd na h-Alba, 's a 'pàganachd na h-Eirinn 'na h-aon phàganachd.

Mur 'eil an teanga Cruithneach 'na Gàilig, ciamar tha e a tachairt gu bheil moran àiteain-meannan ann an Eirinn ris an abrar " Pictish " leis an Olh. Mac Bheathainn, 's a chàirdean-sa ? Tha moran bhriathran Chruithneach—ainmeannan-àite-achan —ann an Eirinn, agus, a rèir Olh. Mac Bheathainn, tha iad sin far nach robh na Cruithneaich riamh ann.

BARPA.

Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival      241

270        The Affair of the Little Spotted Dog

THE AFFAIR OF THE LITTLE SPOTTED DOG

IT is said that the cackling of geese once upon a time saved Eome by alarming its garrison. It is very certain that a little spotted dog occasioned the banishment of an Anglican bishop. Nowadays the cackling of geese is not apt to be attended by so sensational results; and the vogue of the spotted dog1 has undoubtedly declined.

The plot of the Anglican Bishop Atterbury, and others, to bring in the Prince of Wales, the son of James VII., was very similar in scope and design to the many other similar contrivances for which the Jacobite party was conspicuous. That is to say, whilst a rising was to be fomented in Scotland, a diversion in the shape of Duke Ormond, at the head of a foreign army, was to be made in the South. The Tower of London, that favourite objective of all conspirators, was to be seized, the person of the de facto sovereign taken or otherwise disposed of, and all the leading Whigs clapped into jail.

At all events, leaving the ramifications and subordinate details of the plot entirely out of account, there can be no reasonable doubt but that in 1722 a Jacobite rising in Scotland and England was plainly determined on. Consequently, no surprise need be expressed if the Government of the day, acting on information supplied to them through the channel of one Layer (whom they had arrested for a conspiracy, and afterwards hanged),

1 The kind known as Dalmatians.should have seized on the persons of its ringleaders and organisers, which they did.

Atterbury was arrested on the 24th of August, 1722, and immediately assumed that air of engag-ing candour and injured innocence which he carried with him all through the subsequent legal proceed-ings in which he became involved. He declined " with some dignity " to be tried by the House of Commons, preferring to be judged by his peers, before whom he was accordingly brought on a Bill of Pains and Penalties, after he had endured some months' imprisonment in the Tower.

At his trial Atterbury maintained his innocence of the charge laid at his door with eloquence, if at the expense of his veracity. He stoutly denied the charge, and boldly dared the managers of his prose-cution to prove it. Legal ethics permit that man to urge his innocence who, at the same time, in his own heart, may be and is perfectly aware of the contrary. The Bishop, who was undoubtedly guilty, defied his prosecutors to do their worst; but he was condemned and banished, not so much on the evidence produced at his trial, which was of an exceedingly nebulous character, but because the Government was determined that, evidence or-no evidence, he should be returned guilty.

Now, the evidence on which the Government, supported its claim and founded its hopes con-sisted, in the first place, of a little spotted dog;; and in the second, of sundry letters which, after their manner, they had intercepted. The little dog, it appears, was intended as a gift from the Earl of Mar, then in exile at Paris, to the Bishop of Rochester. Like the letters, it appears to have been intercepted in the post; and from the cir~ cnmstance that such a gift was intended to be made, the Government prosecutors drew their own conclusions.With regard to the letters, three in number, all were dictated by Atterbury (though at his trial he protested in the most solemn manner imaginable that he had never had anything to do with them) were in the handwriting of one George Kelly, the Bishop's amanuensis, and were directed, under cover of cant or fictitious names, to James VIII, Lord Mar, and Colonel Dillon, an Irish officer in the French service, and an active and able Jacobite.

It is to be observed with regard to these letters, that though they were sent from England before the dog was despatched from France, which was the principal circumstance the prosecutors relied on in their endeavour to incriminate Atterbury, yet they contained such positive proofs of the Bishop's complicity as were almost sufficient of themselves to secure his banishment by a Government deter-mined on his conviction.

Let us now return to the dog. The first mention of such a creature's having been sent out of France into England occurs in a letter of Mar to "Hatfield," who is the same with George Kelly. " The little dog," says Mar, "was sent ten days ago, and ordered to be delivered to you." This letter is dated 5th May, 1722, so that the dog was sent from France on the 25th day of the preceding month-five days, that is to say, after the posting of Atter-bury's letters to the King and others. Mar's own letter to the Bishop or to Kelly, in which he informed his correspondent of his desire to make 8 present of the dog to Atterbury, is not to be found.

11 It appears that the managers of the Government prosecution actually believed that the little spotted dog was a cant designation for the dreaded " Pretender " !The probability is, therefore, assuming such a letter was sent, that this letter reached its destination without having been opened and copied at the post-office, since, if it had been intercepted, it would certainly have been printed along with the others in the report of the trial. The production of such a letter would, in the circumstances, greatly have facilitated the Bishop's conviction. Its non-production, therefore, must be regarded as highly favourable to the assumption that it escaped the vigilant eyes of the spies in the post-office.

On the 30th of April Kelly writes to Colonel Dillon's secretary acknowledging receipt of the dog. "Mrs. Jones (that is the Bishop's lady) died last week," says he. " Pray present my compliments to Mr. Musgrave (Mar), and let him know the present

The Affair of the Little Spotted Dog      130

270        The Affair of the Little Spotted Dog

sent by the young lady (this reference will be explained presently) arrived safely, but that he had a leg broken in the journey : however, I will take all the care imaginable of him, and inform Mr. Jones of it, to whom I know anything from that quarter will be acceptable." In the meantime the dog had been sent to Kelly's landlady, one Mrs. Barnes, to be cured of its hurt. Mrs. Barnes stated in her evidence that "a little dog, whose leg was broken, was left with her to be cured, by Mr. Kelly; that the said little dog was not designed for her, but for the Bishop of Rochester; that the dog was called Harlequin (a mistake on Mrs. Barnes's part, as will presently be shown), a very fine spotted dog ; that Kelly promised (Mrs. Barnes) to get the dog for her from the Bishop of Rochester, in case it did not recover of its lameness ".

Whether the dog was or was not ever actually in possession of the Bishop there is no evidence to show. Probably it was not, since, on his own confession, Atterbury did not love dogs; and that being so, it may well be that he took advantage of the animal's lameness to make a present of it to Mrs. Barnes, who certainly did. That the Bishop, however, was kept informed from time to time as to the state of the dog's health is proved by a letter written by Kelly and addressed to Mar'at Paris, in which the former writes, under date 7th May, 1722: " Mr. Illington (the Bishop) is in great tribulation for poor Harlequin, who is in a bad way, having slipped his leg again before it was thoroughly well. However, his obligations to the young lady are as great as if he had come safe, which he desires you to let her know."

8o much, for the present, for the little spotted dog. Let us now proceed to examine the conduct of Kelly and the Bishop when they were questioned upon it at the trial. Kelly at first denied all know-ledge of the dog ; but presently, changing his tune, admitted that he was not without some knowledge of it. "As for the dog," said he, " which has been brought as a circumstance to prove this matter (le., his own and Atterbury's ' treasonable' correspon-dence), I do in the most solemn manner declare he was given me by a surgeon in Paris, whose affidavit has been offered to beproduced,andthat he never was designed for anybody but the person I gave him to (Mrs. Barnes). I do farther affirm that the Bishop of Rochester never saw him, never received any letter or message by me, nor, do I believe, by any other person about him. Neither did I ever know or hear that his Lordship had any intercourse or correspondence with the late Lord Mar or any other disaffected person abroad."

The Bishop's denial was even more categorical and circumstantial. He declared, " upon the faith of a

Christian," that "the true account of that matter (the arrest of the little dog) is, that in a letter to Hatfield,

5th May, from one who signs 918, interpreted Mar, are these words, ' The little dog was sent ten days ago, and ordered to be delivered to you'. But there

is no intimation in this, or in any other letter from

abroad, that the present was intended further. In his other letters from hence, by whom does not yet appear, somebody is mentioned under the different names of Jones and Illington, in such a manner as if the present had been designed for that person, but

with such absurd circumstances as are neither applicable to my wife nor to me. Particularly, 7th

May in a letter from Hatfield, it is said, ' Mrs. Illington is in great tribulation for poor Harlequin,' which, being five days after the burial of my wife,

cannot mean her; but being five days after it can as little mean me, considering the melancholy

circumstances I was then under. . . . The French surgeon and Mr. Kelly, who alone know anything of this matter, clear me. . . . For myself, I can with all

truth and seriousness say, that I never asked, received, or saw this present; nor have I to this day had any letter or message whatever from any one

concerning it."The result of the trial was that Atterbury was

banished;1 and the Bishop withdrew to France, vow-ing vengeance against Mar, who, according to the former, by contriving with Government the affair of the little spotted dog, had basely betrayed him into the hands of his enemies. For a long time the Bishop's violent asseverations of innocence, coupled

1 Atterbury's first impression was that he had been "exchanged " by Government for Bolingbroke.with the fact that the whole proceedings at his trial were wrapped in a good deal of mystery, sufficed to procure him credit for his story. In consequence of his protestations, Mar became a marked man among the Jacobites on the Continent. His sovereign withdrew his countenance from him, and, by an arrangement perhaps not altogether unfore-seen, the Bishop supplanted Mar in the King's favour.

The publication, in 1844, however, of the first volume of the Stuart Papers must be regarded as an event exceedingly damaging to the Bishop's reputation, and as considerably modifying, if not altogether disproving, his story. These papers conclusively prove that at a time when Atterbury was violently protesting his innocence, he was actively engaged in a " treasonable " correspondence with the Jacobites abroad. They prove, moreover, what, "on the faith of a Christian," the Bishop solemnly denied at his trial, namely, that Kelly was no stranger to him, and, what is more, that he was employed by him to write his (the Bishop's) letters. Moreover, and this last circumstance is, perhaps, the most damaging of all, they prove that the little spotted dog was actually sent out of France into England as a gift to the Bishop.

In conclusion, I beg to offer one or two obser-vations upon this highly mysterious affair, which will serve, I hope, to throw some light on it. The Bishop asserted that the object of Mar in writing to him was to betray him to the Government in order

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270        The Affair of the Little Spotted Dog

to ingratiate himself therewith ; but inasmuch as Mar's pension was at this time stopped, and never afterwards renewed, the charge may be dismissed as baseless. It is proved, moreover (which Atterbury indignantly denied), that up to the time of his arrest, Mar was on the friendliest possible terms with the Bishop. It is incredible that a man in Mar's position, and of his well-known kindness of heart, could have been so base as to take advantage of a friend's misfortunes in order to betray him to his enemies for a price ; which, according to Atterbury, was Mar's base and treacherous object in writing to condole with him on the loss of his wife. May we not rather conclude that the episode of the little spotted dog, instead of masking a plot to betray the Bishop, was a perfectly natural circumstance, which had its origin in one of those interchanges of courtesy and kindness which are apt to pass between persons who are on the most intimate terms with one another, and who cherish a mutual regard? The Bishop had christened Lord Mar's daughter; what more natural, therefore, than that the child should wish to testify her affection for her reverend friend by presenting him with something belonging to her ? That this is not an unreasonable view to take is, I think, abundantly proved by the following letter which, written on the 17th of August, 1818, by John Francis Earl of Mar to his grandson John Francis (afterwards Earl of Mar and Kellie), I am now by the kindness of the present Lord Mar and Kellie permitted to make public for the first time.

" I find," writes the Earl (who was a very old man at the time this letter was written), " that my pen by inclining to keep pace with my thoughts runs into confusion. I must, therefore, take time to attend to my handwriting, or my letter will become almost illegible. And there is no trusting to the skill of decipherers: witness Dean Wallis, who was one of them when the Bishop of Rochester was banished for corresponding with my grandfather. The reverend gentleman found that when my grandfather mentioned his having sent the Bishop one of Harlequin's puppies, one of Prince James's sons was intended ; whereas the fact was that my poor mother, then about seven years of age, was standing at her father's knee while he was writing. He asked her, 'Fanny, have you anything to send the Bishop who christened you?' She answered, ' Oh, yes, papa, I'll send him one of Harlequin's puppies !' This was a little favourite dog who then happened to have puppies. I can vouch for the truth of this anecdote, as I had it from my dear mother herself."

Great things often have their springs in small beginnings. It is curious that so trifling a circum-stance as the present of a little spotted dog on the part of a child should have agitated a Government, brought about an Anglican bishop's banishment, and set half Europe by the ears.

A. B. L.

"QUAINT INGLIS"WE know that once upon a time Ireland was called Scotland and that the Scots were the Irish. Why Alba should now be called Scotland, and old Scotland Ireland, does not plainly appear,1 and

1 John Elder, Henry VIII.'a spy, informs his royal patron that Scotland was anciently known as little (beag) Scotland in contradistinction to Scotland proper in Ireland. Skene dismisses this information as " rubbish " ; but it is curious that the learned OTlaerty in his Ogygia states that " other authors since the eleventh century have made a distinction between the two Scotias, to the former of which they have given the name of Scotia major . . . to the latter the name of minor," eto.those who have been accustomed to account for this singular change on the ground of foreign usage must nowadays look further afield if they wish their conclusions to obtain a respectful hearing. The revulsion of feeling in favour of the native annalists, as opposed to Latin or Greek historians who obtained their information from partial sources, and who wrote with a political object in view on information supplied through a number of channels, is too strong to admit of their continued neglect; and he who should set about to construct a narrative of the early history of this country without first consulting the native historians would properly be laughed at for his pains. This may be styled the rational or common-sense view of the matter, in contradistinction to the fanciful or pseudo-classical, which has too long held sway in the historical field, in consequence of a ridiculous prejudice in favour of Greek and Latin authors who were just as lying, credulous and prejudiced, when it suited their purpose to be so, as those of any other nation under the sun.

It is the fashion nowadays to decry the " insig-nificant tribe of Lorn " (the so-called original Scots of Alba); but if their subjugation of the Picts be a myth, as some assert, why should Alba now be called Scotland? If the Picts, as some pretend, were neither conquered by the Scots, nor were of that branch of the Celtic race, surely the latter would not have imposed their name on the country now called Scotland? There cannot be smoke unless there be fire.

The Irish annals have nothing to say touching the alleged conquest of the Picts by the Scots— surely a highly significant omission ! On the other hand, if the Picts were not Gaels, sustained no conquest, and were the more numerous and war-like of the two peoples, what explanation is there to offer of the fact that the name of Alba (save in Gaelic) has totally disappeared—what was formerly Alba now being styled Scotland ?

It will not do to reply, as some have done, that the Gael of Scotland still calls himself, in his own language, Albanach, i.e., a native of Alba, because he does not do anything of the kind. Ask a Gael of Scotland of what nationality he is, and he will reply "Is mise 'nam Gàidheal"—I am a Gael. He will not

The Affair of the Little Spotted Dog      132

270        The Affair of the Little Spotted Dog

tell you that he is a Scotsman or descendant of the Picts, i.e., Albanaich, though if he be inclined to be communicative about details he may possibly say in answer to your question " Is mise 'nam Gàidheal na h-Alba" I am a Gael of Scotland. It seems to me these points have been somewhat overlooked by those to whom the interminable question of Pict and Scot is meat and drink from an historical and antiquarian point of view.

When Scotland became Scotland—Giraldus Cambrensis (circa 1190), "Albany is now abusively called Scotia "—when, that is to say, Pict and Scot became one (they must originally have been very nearly related to have coalesced so noiselessly and effectually), and the whole country benorth the Forth —with the exception of the Scandinavian territories —bore a common appellation, the language of Alba was everywhere known (save in Scotland) as the Scottish language. The Gael still called his language Gàidhlig, though to foreigners it was known as Scotch ; but when, doubtless for our sins, English became the predominant speech, Gaelic ceased to be styled (by foreigners) Scotch—that distinction being transferred to or usurped by English, or rather " quaint Inglis," as it was then called, otherwise broad Scotch—the " Scotch " of Jamieson of " Scotch " dictionary fame, and the " Kailyaird ".

And so, curiously enough, it remains to this very day. Ask a Scotchman if he speaks Scotch, and his thoughts, leisurely girding up their loins, as it were, will contemplate a saunter into the nearest kailyard, wherein if you be a patient seeker after knowledge, and have a mind, undeterred by visions of " Iain Maclaren," Crockett, et hoc genus omne, with their formidable "glossaries," to follow him he will presently discover his traditional caution (and accent) in the purely professional utterance, " Weel, I'm no verra sure ; but, eh, mon, it's keepin' up a fine day this ".

Walter Scott was really the modern " maker" of Scotland, and his ramshackle unscientific cult remains to this day. Scott completely " popularised" Scottish history by means of his novels— that is to say, he gave us the average tourist view of Scotland and Scots events, and what he stereotyped continues to be called blessed. To Scott the tradition of a "Scotch language," apart from the Gaelic, was all in all. In this, of course, he was by no means original; but his genius undoubtedly served to fix a notion which had already obtained ground. Blind Harry, Douglas, and Lindsay, to say nothing of Drummond of Hawthornden, had gone before him—a species of disciple, propagating the gospel of a Scottish language which knew not Gaelic. To Scott we owe, too, the Highlander of the novel, and perhaps the Celt of the stage boards ; for Dugald creature is even nowadays acceptable in the wynds and vennels of provincial unconventionally, wherein he is laboriously acclaimed as the pink of the true (untamed) Caledonian type.

Nowadays, one looks back and wonders. Was Scott—the much-trumpeted " Wizard of the North 9 —the veritable genius that our forefathers noisily proclaimed him to be ? Genius he undoubtedly was—else surely his first editions would not nowadays command their stacks of guineas in the booksellers' catalogues—yet his want of science— for even a novelist may be scientific—is a trifle irritating. Why did not some good charitable soul arise in his day to put his Gaelic in fair going order? He had but to stretch a little finger of time, and he would have touched the later Augustan age of Gaelic letters—the period of far-famed Ossian, when giants arose to do their might and battle for the Gaelic race, and to open incredulous eyes touching a civilisation they knew not of, or, dimly knowing, would not acknowledge. But to Scott all things were (Lowland) Scotch. The bad foreign blood within him bred a pestilence or running sore of prejudice. His Celts were mere exotics—caught red-handed on the moor, as it were, and dragged, armed with dirk and dag and gibbering their barbarous unknown tongue, to gentle Abbotsford—to make a silly British holiday. Of a truth, we owe nothing to Scott, and it is full time we turned and rent him. The burden of his cult is still upon us, weighing us down immeasurably, misunderstanding, and worst of all, victimising us to the devil in a thirty-shilling suit—the tripper! Away with his descriptions of scenery in ten presumptuous volumes! with his white-livered, balancing heroes, with his female prigs, with his preposterous duinewassails and the whole false cian and gamut of so-called "Highland" speech and figure! Away with his absurd punctilios touching religion, with his manifold conceits and fancies respecting politics, with his Macaulay-like style and bottle-neck utterance—but let us spare, for the sake of historical argument, if it please you, his "Scottish" tongue.

Yet, what is this uncouth vehicle when we come to view it nearly—nothing but quaint Inglis —the speech of old Yorkshire and the Lothians, with here and there a dash of foreign—Gaelic or French—to distinguish it from double Dutch and other Teutonic forms of speech and to give it singularity. Though bastard born, its sire is plainly English, and being dead—long since defunct—it was but cruel kindness to conspire its resurrection in the Kailyard novel. Even Protestant Scotland cannot endure its only Bible in the so-called "national tongue," which falls idly and indifferently upon the unsympathetic ears of reviewers and public alike. Has not Lancashire its dialect, and Buchan also ? And what are these but mere local variations of the one great speech, whose name is English? Who speaks "Scotch," who is or is not Scotch, nowadays ? If this quaint English be indeed a language, where are its professors, its "chairs," and grammars? What literary standard has it; for, notoriously, the peasant-English of Buchan differs considerably from that of Galloway or of Lothian?

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But Scott is dead, and so is " Scotch ". Only Gaelic and English survive to mark the living way, not of dialects, but of languages. Old Chaucer, too, has gone the way of innumerable flesh besides Queen Anne; and the world continues, just as

English lives. Even Shakespeare is not spoken nowadays, save in suburban villas and, on rare occasions, in Marconi's "wires". These, just as " Scotch," all have had their day—some gloriously.

and perhaps a trifle fruitlessly, others with less applause, though far more pain. It is not for us to shed the bitter tear of parting and regret—at all events at home. The day of Jamieson is done; and even yon full Kailyard moon is plainly on the wane. Soon the western wave will hide it from our view, and the sun of Gaelic—the real national language of Scotland—will rise again in all his former glory and splendour to cast anevv his warm and kindly beams upon the broadening numbers of our race.

" But the Sun will yet revisit the fair groveWhose boughs shall bloom anew ;And the trees of the young summerShall look up smiling to the Sun of the Sky."

CONAL CROBHI.

THE BOOK OF DEER: ENTRY NO. 2THE contents of the valuable MS. volume entitled The Book of Deer are too well known to require recapitulation in these pages. The MS. in question derives its interest and importance from a double cause, the antiquity of the Gaelic preserved in it, and its references to a bygone social and political system. The purely philological and etymological aspects of the volume have been discussed in con-siderable detail, and from the effective standpoint of modern scholarship. Probably little now remains to be said on these heads; but when we approach the volume from a purely historical point of view, it would appear that our knowledge is as yet by no means as full and as particular as it should, and, perhaps, might be, in order to a proper understanding of the work.

It will doubtless be remembered tbat Gaelic entry No. 1 in The Book of Deer relates to the

traditionary founding of the monastery by St. Columba and by St. Drostan, his pupil. It is here unnecessary to reproduce that brief and affecting narrative. Its substantial accuracy remains un-challenged, though modern scholarship, whose role of iconoclast is never, let us hope, needlessly as-sumed, nor officiously exercised, is resolved to disregard the traditionary theory touching the origin of the name of Deer.

Gaelic entry No. 2, the subject of these present remarks, refers to various grants of lands, made in behalf of the monastery by sundry personages ;

and inasmuch as I propose to discuss these last in some detail, it will be agreeable to my purpose if I give the entry exactly as it stands in The Book of Deer, appending an English translation for the benefit of such as are not proficients in the extremely difficult art of deciphering old Gaelic."Còmgeall mac èda dòrat ùaorti nice fùrenè docolumcille acusdrostàn. Moridac mac morcunn dorat pett mic garnait accusàchàd toche temni. Agusbahè robomormair acusrobothosec. Matain macCaerill dorat cuit mormoir inàlteri,acusculii mac batin dorat cuit toisèg. Domnall mac giric acusmal-brigte mac chathail dorat pett inmulenn dodrostàn. Cathal mac morcunt dorat àchad naglerec dodrostàn. Domnull mac ruàdri acus malcolm mac culeòn dora-stat bidbin do dia acusdòdrostàn. Malcoloum mac

•The Gaelic and translation are both from the late learned Dr. Stuart's Book of Deer, published by the Old Spalding Ciub in 1869.cinathà dorat cuit riig ibbidbin acusinpett mic gobrl ròig acusdàdabig uactair rosàbard. Malcolum mac moilbrigte dorat indeclerc. Màlsnecte mac luloig] dorat pett maldùib do dròstan. Domnall mac meic] dubbacin robaith nahùle edbarta rodrostàn artha-j bàrt àhule do.

Robaith cathal àrachòir chetna acuitid thoisig acusdorat proinn chet cecnolloce acusceccasc doj dia acusdò drostàn. Cainnèch mac meic dobarcon acuscathal doratsat alterin alia ùethè na camonej gonice in beith edarda àlterin. Dorat domnall] acuscathal ètdanin do dia acusdò drostàn. Robaith] cainnec acusdomnall acus cathal nahùle edbarta ri dia acussri drostàn othòsach goderad issàere omor^ Acus othosech culaithi bratha."

Translation of the above.

Comgeall son of Ed gave from Orti to Furene to Columcille and to Drostàn. Moridach son ofì Morcunn gave Pett meic Garnait and Achad tochej temni; and it was he that was mormaer and wasl tosech. Matain son of Caerell gave the mormaer'sj share in Altere, and Culi son of Baten gave (the) toisech's share. Domnall son of Girec, and Mael^ brigte son of Cathal, gave Pett in Mulenn to Drostàn. Cathal son of Morcunt gave Achad naglerich (the cleric's field) to Drostàn. DomnalH son of Ruadri, and Maelcoluim son of Cinaed, gaya the King's share in Bidbin and in Pett meic] Gobroig, and two davochs of Upper RosabardJ Maelcoluim, son of Maelbrigte gave the Delerw

0

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Maelsnechte son of Lulog gave Pett Maelduibj to Drostàn, giving the whole of it to him. Cathal immolated in (the) same way his toisech's share,] and gave a dinner of a hundred every Christmas;and every Easter to God and to Drostàn. Cain-mech son of Mac Dobarcon (otter's son) gave [Alterin alia bhethe na cemone as far as the birch-tree between the two Alterins. Domnall and .Cathal gave Etdanin to God and to Drostàn. ;Cainnech and Domnall and Cathal immolated all tthese offerings to God and to Drostàn from beginning to end in freedom from mormaer and from toisech to (the) day of judgment."

With regard to the place-names mentioned in tthese various grants, some have been identified under their modern (and much corrupted) appella-tions ; others may be classed as doubtful; whilst a [few have hitherto baffled all attempts at their interpretation. It is with the personal names, however, that we are here to be concerned; and as their appearance in tabular form might con-siderably facilitate reference, and free the text of some unnecessary details, I shall now proceed- to set down the names in the order in which they occur in the grants, omitting, however, all mention of the various donations associated with these 'patronymics.

1. Comgeall son of Ed.1 2. Moridach son of Morcunn.I _ 3. Matain son of Caerell.

4. Culi son of Baten.5. Domnall son of Girec.6. Maelbrigte son of Cathal.7. Cathal son of Morcunt.8. Domnall son of Ruadri. I 9.

Malcolm son of Culeon.I 10. Maelcoluim son of Cinaed.

9. Maelcoluim son of Maelbrigte.10.Maelsnechte son of Lulog.11.Domnall son of Mac Dubbacin.12.Cathal (presumably the son of Morcunt

above mentioned).13.Cainnech son of Mac Dobarcon.The remaining grants, etc., are obviously by

persons whose names have already appeared in this list.

The question naturally arises, who were these several personages who testified their devotion to

the Church by giving grants of land, etc., to St. Columcille and St. Drostan?      Unfortunately for our purpose, the entries are managed in such a way as

cannot fail to leave us in considerable doubt and perplexity on that head.      A cursory inspection of

the entries might lead to the opinion that they were all made simultaneously, inasmuch as the

expression "to Columcille and to Drostan" or "to Drostan" alone prevails throughout; but this

conjecture is by no means supported either by the names of the donors themselves (some of whom

have been recognised as historical personages), or by the subsequent entries in The Book of Deer. The monastery of Deer was founded during the lifetime

of Bede the Pict, who " flourished " some time during the sixth century, and the last entry which

its Book or record contains is the copy of a Latin charter by David I.;    so that, roughly speaking, we

have here a period of over five hundred years, within which we are required to determine the

dates of the various grants, as well as to solve the problem of the respective identities of the donors—no easy task, as a reference to the Book itself, and some little consideration of its apparently casual—

if not careless—system of registration will abundantly prove.

In entry No. 2, the first grant recorded is that by Comgeall, son of Ed, who may safely be regarded as a Mormaer of Buchan, on the authority of the text itself, which explicitly states "and it was he that was Mormaer". The absence of a more de-finite statement touching his identity is, of course, regrettable; but inasmuch as Deer was situated almost in the heart of Buchan, we are at liberty to conclude that the place of honour in the entries _ would naturally have been assigned to the rulers of that province, as, of course, the monastery's principal benefactors, and more especially considering the munificence and piety displayed by a former Mormaer of Buchan—Bede the Pict, to wit. Besides, writing for natives of Buchan, and from a monastery situated well within the confines of that province, it probably would not have occurred to the author or authors of the entries that any further specification was necessary. The expression, " and it was he that was Mormaer and Toiseach," undoubtedly sufficiently explains itself, in the sense that it would seemingly necessarily refer to Buchan rulers and to local dignitaries only.

Moridach son of Morcunn was evidently Toiseach of Buchan in the time of the above-mentioned Comgeall, flourishing contemporaneously with him.

What period of time elapsed between this entry and the one following it is impossible to say; but for my part I am inclined to regard Matain son of Caerell—the next mentioned—as another Mormaer of Buchan, more especially as Altere has been identified as Altrie, "about two miles westward from the church of Deer".1

1 Moreover, the reference to "the Mormaer's share in Altere" naturally disposes one to regard this gift as one on the part of a Buchan ruler, especially in the absence of any reference or allusion seeming to justify a different

1 The Booh of Deer.      Spalding Ciub.      Preface, p. 50.opinion. I regard Culi son of Baten as Toiseach of Buchan under the above-mentioned Matain.

The next grants are those by Domnall son of Girec, and Maelbrigte son of Cathal—it will be observed that the entries tend to run in couples— who, also, I am inclined to regard as Mormaer and Toiseach of Buchan, respectively. Pett in Mulenn, signifying the portion of the Mill, was probably a local place-name. There is certainly nothing singu-lar about it, or that calls for particular remark, a mill and its landed appurtenances being a

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common, because deemed a necessary, appanage to Celtic and mediaeval monasteries.

Cathal son of Morcunt (Morcunn—later, Mor-gund) seems to have succeeded (possibly) his father (the above-mentioned Toiseach of Buchan under Comgeall') in the Mormaership of Buchan; for in the next grant we read that " Cathal son of Mor-cunt gave Achad naglerech to Drostàn". This entry, however, is not coupled with another, the explanation of which might be that Cathal son of Morcunt was Toiseach only, as Dr. Stuart evidently thought, though what grounds he had for this opinion I am unable to say. Possibly he regarded the improbability of a son's succeeding to his father, under the Celtic system, as ground enough for the view which he held.

The next grants are those by Domnall son of Ruadri, and Maelcoluim son of Culeon, whom I regard as Mormaer and Toiseach of Buchan, re-spectively.

Dr. MacBain, however, is inclined to think that this Donald or Domnall son of Ruadri was Mormaer of Moray;1 but I think he has been misled by a

1 Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, vol. ri, p. 151.certain similarity in respect of names. I could produce at least a dozen Domnalls sons of Ruadris (and vice versa) from the Irish genealogies of different families ; and was there not a Ruadri Mormaer of Marr,1 who also may possibly have had a Donald for his father? Domnall son of Ruadri was certainly " the first Moravian Mormaer we have record of," if the Irish pedigrees are to be set aside, which, in these days, I am by no means prepared to assent to. But I think the next grant in The Book of Deer (entry No. 2) sufficiently disproves Dr. MacBain's theory; for it is one on the part of Malcolm the son of Kenneth, i.e., Malcolm II.; to be followed by one on the part of an individual who was undoubtedly Mormaer of Moray, viz., Malcolm (Maelcoluim) " son of Maelbrigte," whose death as "King of Alban" in 1029 is recorded by Tighe-arnach. This grant is followed by one on the part of another Moray Mormaer, Malsnectan son of Lulach—"Maelsnechte son of Lulog" -who succeeded MacBeth on the throne of Scotland, and who died in 1085 in possession of the Moray Mormaership.

Thus, after divers grants on the part of the Buchan Mormaers, we find the King of Scotland (Malcolm II.) intervening as superior over the local rulers, and granting " the king's share," as the MS. states, out of the tribal lands. Next in rank to the Kings of Alba we should naturally expect to find the Mormaers of Moray, who wielded so vast a power that they were sometimes confused, especially by the Irish annalists, with the Kings of Scotland proper. The Moray Mormaers even disputed the succession to the throne (of Scotland) with the line

'Ruadri, Mormaer of Marr, appears as witness to a later grant (temp. David I.) to the monastery of Deer.of Atholl; and in the persons of MacBeth and Malsnectan succeeded in making good that claim.

It may be enquired at this conjuncture, "by what right did the Moray Mormaers interfere in the domestic affairs of Buchan?" "If the lands conveyed by them (i.e., the above-mentioned Mormaers) were in the neighbourhood of Deer, as is likely, it is not easy to understand how the Mormaers of Moray, as such, could have any title in a province obviously subject to their rivals, the Kings of Alba. No such local names as the Delerc or Pett Malduib are now to be found in the district, but if the lands consisted of small portions, which afterwards were merged in larger possessions with definite names, this could hardly be expected. It does not seem likely that the lands were isolated fields lying in Moray, and at a distance from the monastery; nor do I think the difficulty is removed by Mr. Robertson's remark,' ' that the grants of Malcolm mac Malbride and of Lulach's son Malsnechtan, would appear to mark the tenacity with which the family of Moray clung to their claim of exercising proprietary rights in that province (Moray) in which both the kings who sprang from their race met their death,' as the province of Moray was always confined within the limits of the Spey as its southern boundary."I have no doubt whatever that the lands gifted by the Moray Mormaers were in Buchan, and in the neighbourhood of the monastery of Deer, as all the other lands so gifted appear to have been. The explanation of the appearance of these Moray names lies, no doubt, in the fact that both the Mormaers mentioned claimed sovereign power, the

2

1 Scotland under her Early Kings, vol. ii., p. 500.2 Dr. Stuart's Preface, p. 52.

last-mentioned being actually King of Scotland for a short period; and it was probably during his reign that the grant alluded to was made. The first-mentioned, Malcolm son of Malbride, was styled "King of Alba" by Tighearnach, who records his death in 1029; and though it is no doubt true that "the province of Moray was always confined within the limits of the Spey," yet as " King of Alba " the Mormaer of Moray would doubtless possess certain rights and privileges (which he could remit, if so inclined) beyond the limits of his proper territory. Indeed, it would be extremely difficult to account for the appearance of these Moray names on any other hypothesis. The idea that the lands gifted by these Mormaers lay outside the confines of the territory of the Buchan rulers is not to be lightly accepted, "especially as the above-mentioned would appear to be the only two Moray names associated with the grants recorded in The Book of Deer. Nor do I think it at all likely that the grants made by the Moray Mormaers constituted some part of their property lying within the marches of Buchan; and any theory based on that presumption would necessarily require to be supported by the strongest evidence, considering the then state of society, and the strict and jealous manner in which

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the tribal possessions were guarded under the Celtic system.

Dr. MacBain says that " ' the King of Scotland grants his share of the same lands'. This may mean that he remits his exactions as Ardri, while the Mormaer and Toiseach at the same time remit theirs, but it may also be a confirmation of the 'King of Moray's grant'." This last statement is hardly supportable, and is in singular contrast to Dr. MacBain's former utterance, viz., " it must be remembered that the Mormaer of Moray was during the eleventh century often called ' King of Moray,'1

that is of the North (West X); he was even called ' King of Alba,' and in the person of MacBeth he was actually such. Hence the Mormaer of Moray may here intervene as superior or king over the Mormaer of Buchan." It is extremely unlikely that the King of Scotland would have been called in to endorse a grant by a Mormaer of Moray, and the whole history of that province, which remained independent until the suppression of the Earldom in the beginning of the reign of David I.,2 is averse from any such theory. The probability rather is that Malcolm son of Malbride (King of Alba)

1 This, however, proves nothing as a basis for constructing a theory of sovereignty; for the petty reguli of the various provinces and districts of Ireland are invariably styled righrean or "kings" by the Irish genealogists, though, of course, they were very far from possessing or even claiming sovereign rights and powers.21 give here for the reader's convenience a short pedigree or "tree" of the Moravian Mormaera, beginning with Euadri son of Donald, the first "recorded" Mormaer of that province. Euadri

I IFinlayd. 1020 Malbride

MacBeth1040-1058        Malcolm

d. 1029      Gilcomgain

Lulach d. 1058

Aodh or Heth MalsnechtanEarl of Moray -- - -—remitted his exactions as sovereign in unsettled times and under a disputed succession to the throne of Scotland; whilst Malsnechtan son of Lulach remitted his as actual occupant of the Scottish throne, after the death of MacBeth.

The rest of the names in entry No. 2 in The Book of Deer do not call for extended remark. I regard Domnall son of MacDubbacin, and Cathal, as Mormaer and Toiseach of Buchan, respectively, t'aiunech son of MacDobarcon (which last name U probably a faulty rendering of the above-men-tioned MacDubbacin) I consider as next—next in order of mention, not of succession, of course— Mormaer of Buchan ; and Cainnech and Domnall as Mormaers in the sentence which brings the grants in entry No. 2 to a conclusion.

The succession to the Buchan Mormaership, from Bede the Pict down to Cainnech, and the names and titles of these who remitted their ex-actions or confirmed the grants of subordinate rulers may be conveniently summarised as follows. It should be borne in mind, however, that the affix of "Pict" to the name of Bede does not imply any racial change in the later succession to this dignity.

Dr. Stuart, however, evidently regarded Bede " the Pict" as of different race to that of the Mor-maers of a later date. " When Columba and Drostan appeared in Buchan," he says,1 "it is probable that the country was governed by an under-king of the Pktish race; and it is not unnatural that one writing at a later period, when the name of Pict had died out, should refer to the fact of his lineage as a distinguishing mark."      But the change from

1 Preface, lxxv.      The Booh of Deer.

Malcolm Mac Aodh or Heth            Angus Earl of Moray"Pict" to Gael is better expressed by Mr. Robertson, who observes, "From the opening of the tenth century, the ancient name of Pict, gradually dying out, was superseded by the more familiar appellation of Scot "}

When St. Columba came to Buchan the natives of that part of the country had evidently not yet discarded their primitive custom of painting their bodies; and it was doubtless the recollection of this circumstance that led to this ruler's being styled "the Pict" by the clerics of a much later age, to whom, of course, this curious practice was unknown, save through the channel of tradition.

" The office of the Mormaer," says Dr. Stuart, " was expressive of a more direct dependence on the Ard-righ than had been the case with the provincial ruler; but as the royal representative in the district

over which he ruled, he naturally combined with his stewardship some of the functions of the earlier rulers, such as the leadership of the provincial subsidies in the King's host. It would be the policy of the supreme King to continue the administration of the provinces in the families of the former rulers, where that was possible ; and the natural tendency of Celtic institutions towards hereditary tenures (as instanced in the case of many of the thanes) would in time practically confine the office to the descendants of the first Mormaers, although, doubtless, with the royal sanction." This theory touching the character of the office of Mormaer finds considerable confirmation in history ; for as Dr. Stuart observes, " it is thus that we can account for the numerous estates throughout Pictland held in demesne by the Kings of Alba, which appear in

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1 Scotland under her early Kin^s, vol. i., p. 23.the records of later times, out of which they founded monasteries and endowed churches ".

It is not a little singular, however, that the history of the most powerful of these Mormaerships, that of Moray, supplies us with evidence which cannot be taken otherwise than as invalidating this theory or at all events considerably obscuring it. The Moray Mormaers could hardly have been King's officials, inasmuch as that province was not annexed to the Scottish crown until the reign of David I. Dr. MacBain is inclined to think1 that the word Mormaer is the Gaelic rendering of a "Pictish" (i.e., previously existing Gaelic) appellation, now lost, like nearly everything else belonging to that mysterious people; and whilst believing that the theory of a separate Pictish nationality cannot be supported by a reference to the ascertained facts of history, I am inclined to think that possibly Dr. MacBain is here right. "Dubucan, Mormaer of Angus"2 (A.D. 939), is the earliest reference that we have to this dignity in a purely Scottish work; though in the well-known Annals of Ulster Mormaers are spoken of as a separate class as early as A.D. 917,3 by which time, as Dr. Stuart very justly observes, considerable progress had been made in the work of consolidating the Kingdom under the rule of a supreme head. " The royal lands," says Dr. Stuart, " appear to have been under the charge of a Maer or Steward, and when a new province was annexed to the crown, it was subjected to the government of an official called

1 See his admirable Excursus and notes to Skene's Scottish Highlanders.

5 Chronicles of the Picts and Scots.3" But neither their King, nor any of the Mormaers,

fell by him."Mormaer or great Steward, coming in place of the ' King' who had formerly been to some extent an independent ruler; and it is only after the period of the national consolidation that the term of Mormaer occurs in the Annals, as applied to provincial rulers; while in Galloway and Lothian, which were not annexed to Alba till after the period of the Mormaers, no such officers appear." It seems probable, therefore, on the whole, that the word Mormaer is a later rendering of a previously existing Gaelic appellation, though its application to the Moray rulers cannot be considered otherwise than as singularly inappropriate and unfortunate inasmuch as they retained their independence to the last; and so much so that perhaps the greatest surprise which history could present us with would be to find these Princes in the capacity of officers or servants to their rivals the Kings of Alba, acting as " royal deputies" in their behalf, and " retaining the third part of the royal revenue and prerogatives". The official character of this dignity is, however, sufficiently apparent from the composition of the word itself, and in spite of the apparent discrepancy presented in the case of the Moray rulers, we may safely infer that the Mormaer

was certainly to some limited extent at least a royal official, and that his title represented some compromise between an earlier independence (under a different appellation) and a partial subjection to the authority of the Ard-righ, brought about by conquest. For my part, I am inclined to believe that the earlier Mormaers were simply provincial (and practically independent) kings, who stood in the same relation to the Ard-righ as the provincial rulers of Ireland did with respect to their own supreme head.    The introduction of the theory of a separate Pictish nationality into the history of Scotland is an unnecessary source of confusion, and as tending greatly to aggravate and multiply the difficulties we already labour under with regard to the earlier problems connected with our race is much to be deprecated. The so-called "Pictish" system of government was a transparent imitation of the Irish, to say the least of it; and the introduction (from Ireland) of the monastic principle of Church government into the Pictland supplies the strongest possible proof that the resemblance was as real as it was apparent. If, as some contend, the Pictish system of government, though resembling the Irish, yet was not the same, is it not a little singular that, when Christianity was introduced into " Pictland," the rulers of that country did not assimilate its constitution to native principles ? The Pietish power was then at its height; and nothing could have been easier than to stamp, as it were, the native Church with the Pictish hall-mark. The neglect of so obvious a precaution is, in the circumstances, highly significant; and is an important addition to the many irrefragable proofs which conspire to prove that the theory of a separate Pictish nationality is little short of myth.

The rule of succession exemplified by these entries is that known as " Pictish";1 but the alternate mode of succession—here very strikingly illustrated —was also observed in Ireland, and indeed universally among the Celts. Continuous succession was practically unknown among the Gaels of Scotland until the introduction of the feudal system,

1The so-called " Pictish " rule or system of succession seems to have been simply Celtic succession plus an overlayer of custom derived from aboriginal sources.

The Affair of the Little Spotted Dog      138

300              The Book of Deer: Entry No. 2

the supremacy or chiefship, in those early times,] being vested in the tribe of the land, and thq chiefship and dignity attached to it was usually confined to the male descendants of the tribe,] although the succession, if refused to a brother or uncle, passed over the more immediate heir to] settle upon a more distant but more powerful agnate. Thus, the apparent discrepancies pre-] sented in the following list, from the point of view' of the feudal system of continuous succession, cam supply no adequate ground on which to base a theory of interrupted or "foreign" succession.

MORMAERS OF BuCHANBede the Pict. Comgeall. Matain.Domnall son of Girec. Cathal.Domnall son of Ruadri. Domnall son of MacDobarcon. Cainnech.

MORMAERS OF MORAY

Malcolm son of Malbride. Malsnectan son of Lulach.

KING OF SCOTLAND (ALBA)Malcolm son of Kenneth

(Malcolm II).F. S. A

Guthan o n Taobh Thall

GUTHAN O'N TAOBH THALL

" FHTR-DHEASAICHE IONMHUINN," Fhuair mi bhur litir maduinn an dè,

agus gu fior thug i mor aoibneas dhomh. 'S [taitneach a sgeul do na cridhichean Gàidhealach a tha 'g aidmheil a chreidimh a fhuair a sinnsreadh bho Chalum-Cille gu'm beil paipeir-naigheachd ac' la nis dhaibh-fhein; paipeir anns a leugh iad a chainnt's an deachaidh an creideamh a theagasg air thus air feadh nan garbhchrioch.

" 'S ged tha sinne air taobh eile a chuain, fada, 'fada 0 Thir an Fhraoich, tha a Ghaidhlig air ar teanganaibh, agus blath nar cridhichean tha an creideamh a fhuair sinn o na gaisgich a chaidh fhuadach bho'n dachaidh ghaoil air aobhar an dleasnas 's an dillseachd. Agus, bheannaich Dia, iad-fhèin's an sliochd Ios gum beil ann an Canada seachd Easbuigean do'n cinneadh; agus ged is sloinneadh Frangach a th'aig fear dhuibh, an t-Ard-Urramach Tearlach Eobhann Gauthier, D.D., Ard-Easbuig Baile'n-Righ, labhraidh e gu finealta a Ghaidhlig, cainnt a mhathar-sa. Anns an sgireachd so fhein, sgireachd Antigonish, tha againn air thùs agus air thoiseach an t-Easbuig Camshron, Gaidheil a dhlùth 's a uachdar, a choisinn cliu dha'-chinnidh's dha chreidimh air feadh na dutha gu leir, agus maille ris ceithear fichead sagart's a tri, 's dhiubh so 's Gaidheil leth-cheud 's a h-ochd, agus bruidhnidh iad so uile gu leir Gaidhlig, ach aon fhear a thainig a Albainn I Bheir so dearbhadh [dhuibh air cho

Gaidhealach 's a tha Albainn Ur, 's air cho laidir's a tha 'n Creideamh Caitliceach n'ar measg.

301

Guthan o'n Taobh Thall 140

" 'S beag an t-ioghnadh ma tha ged a bheirea-maid failte chridheil do Ghuth na Bliadhna, agus cha'n'eil teagamh 'n uair a gheibh sinn a mach ma dheidhinn gun cuir moran a dh-iarraidh a phaipeir mar tha mise 'deanadh an drasda.

" Bhur caraid dileas," DOMHNUILL M. MACEAMUINN.

" CHUKCH OP THE SAOBED HEABT, " SYDNEY, CAPE BEETON, " CANADA.

" Latha Bealltuìnn, 1904."

" FHIR-DHEASACHAIDH,"Tha cabhag orm failte a chuir air Guth

na Bliadhna. Cuiribh sios m'ainm an drasd, agus cuiribh ugam, ma 's urrainn dhuibh, dusan eiseamplair gus a bhith ga fheuchainn do fheobhainn eile, gus an cuir iad eòlas air. Bu choir dhuibh iomad fear-gabhail fhaighinn ann Canada. A rèir chunntas-chuinn 1901, bha 2,228,997 Caitliceaich ann Canada. Dhiu seo, bhuinneadh 129,578 do dh'Alba Ur. De'n thuile seorsa, bha 142,207 ann Alba Ur de Ghàidheil. Tha leth co dhiu de'n aireamh seo 'nan Caitliceaich. Tha Caitliceaich eile gu leòr dhiu ann an Eilean Prionns' Eideard. Tha crathadh math cuideachd anns na mòr-roin-nean eile. Tha mar sin aireamh nach beag anns an tir-àiteachas seo, dha'm bu choir gabhail ri Guth na Bliadhna gu cairdeil. 'S Caitliceaich iad do fhriamh Albannach, agus 'sann gu math an t-sheann Chreideamh anns an t-sheann tìr fhathast a clo-bhualadh, gun teagamh, thig iomad copi thar cuan.

" Slàn leibh an drasd, agus buaidh's piseach air Guth na Bliadhna.

" GÀIDHEAL CAITLIGEACH CANADACH."" DEAR SIR,

"It was with a very lively satisfaction and pleasure that I heard of the recent founding of your periodical in far-away Scotland—the land of glens, and bens, and heroes! Victory and long life to you, and to all who are engaged in the noble task of preserving the Faith, and in spreading the cult of the tongue of our forefathers! I fancy you will have a truly ' warm reception' in Canada, where are so many members of our Faith who know Gaelic and use it habitually. We all like to have news from the old country, even although it is the case with many of us that we have no actual ties connecting us with old Alba. Still the sentiment exists, and that is a powerful thing to conjure with, and one which should stand you in good stead this side of the Aiseag Mòr, as I sincerely hope you will discover before Guth na Bliadhna is many quarters older.

" About four years ago I made a visit to your Scotland—it was the first time that ever I had set foot on Scottish {your Scottish) soil—and right pleased was I with the kindly reception which I everywhere met with. Truly, although you may be a little slow-moving and old-fashioned, yet you have not forgotten your ancient hospitality. I was most kindly received by every one, who seemed to take

a very great pride and pleasure in showing me what there was to be seen, and in satisfying my somewhat exorbitant curiosity respecting things which appeared to me novel or strange.

" And now for a little criticism—not as to your Review, which I think is admirable, but as to the attitude of some of you across the broad Atlantic. In many parts of Scotland which I visited whilst on my grand tour, I was surprised, and not a little

Gdisappointed, to find that most of you were not at all enthusiastic about the Gaelic. To me, of course, this seemed strange, as I had come to Scotland expecting to find you all just as one gathers from reading history—full of fire and enthusiasm, ardent Celts, and, perhaps, if the truth must be confessed, still a trifle Jacobitical at heart! You see, our notions of what Scotland is are derived, not from actual experience, but from books, which, whether mistakenly or not, certainly give a stranger the impression that you have but to cry ' Prince Charlie ! ' to a Highlander and he will forthwith ' rise,' or at all events do something startling! No doubt my notions regarding Scotland were somewhat highly coloured in consequence of my reading; but, making all due allowances for exaggeration, I cannot help thinking that the attitude of many of you in Scotland regarding your language and country leaves a good deal still to be desired. Too many of you are cool, or at all events only lukewarm, upon the most vital and essential points. If it could be proved that the language is a bar to material progress then there would be some excuse for what some of you think and do not hesitate to say. But with uo, as with you and the Irish—those noble fellows who preserve their Faith and nationality at all costs—experience shows that so far from being an obstacle to worldly progress the Gaelic language is a great assistance. If, then, you can make it of use to you whilst at the same time preserving your nationality, why uselessly and needlessly cast it aside? This neglecting—if not despising—of the Gaelic language, for purely selfish purposes, is to us Canadians a species of snobbery incomprehensible and rank.      We are proud to have ourFaith—we are proud to preserve our language. We are a free and independent people—true sons of the Gael who were driven across the Aiseag Mòr to make room for sheep and Saxon herds— and we do not understand the sort of timid, servile attitude of some of you in Scotland. But we have a way of accounting for this which, if not very flattering to some of you, is consolation to ourselves. ' These men, we say, who ignorantly despise the Gaelic and go about to prove themselves Englishmen, are not real Celts at all—they are merely the descendants of the men whom harsh laws and tyrannical landlords imposed on the Highlands when we were driven out.' It is surely true that the best blood has left the Highlands and is now to be found in Canada, where the national sentiment is strong and

Guthan o'n Taobh Thall302

Guthan o'n Taobh Thall 141

the Gaelic is flourishing because we remember the days of our ancestors and follow hard on the heels of their customs,, as our own Gaelic saying urges us to do.

" But this was four years ago, and peradventure by now the weak of your flesh have girded up their loins somewhat, and are less obsequious and timid (and more intelligent, let me hope) than tkey were when I was in old Alba of the Swords. The noble example of Ireland—the Catholic cradle of our race—should surely have done something to stimulate and to quicken your feeble members. We hear a good deal of the Irish efforts, but comparatively little (if anything) of yours; but now that Guth na Bliadhna has come, crying with a loud voice, though but in a wilderness, as it were, at first, without a doubt, in no long space of time, the Celtic Renaissance, thanks to your efforts, will be assured. Let me encourage you by saying that there are eyes, as well as hands, across the AiseagMòr; and that your endeavours will strike a re-sponsive chord in every loyal Canadian's heart The freedom which we enjoy is perhaps incom-prehensible to you, who are hide-bound and tape-bound in a manner calculated to make a Gaelic Canadian more than laugh; but we have warm hearts and open minds. The sympathies of our race are lively within us ; we know your difficulties, and we appreciate them, and where the effort to overcome them is strenuous and continuous, rest assured that Gaelic Canada will be the first to cry ' Well done! '

" Remember, however, that I write, not as one having authority, but merely as one of many scribes who will doubtless not hesitate to welcome you. What I say, however, is generally felt throughout Alba Ur. We want to see Scotland come into this movement, as zealously and as numerously as the Irish have done, and still are doing. We would like to see the ties between Scot and Irishman drawn tighter—too long have we been strangers one to another, and too long have the evils of a want of proper understanding between the two peoples kept us uselessly apart. I am glad to observe that Guth na Bliadhna at least is sensible of the importance of this union, and is already giving expression to the belief which evidently inspires its conductors—namely, that in the coming struggle for national existence Ireland and Scotland should stand side by side. Differences of religion have hitherto to a great extent kept us apart—let us sink them where they conspire to preserve the want of connexion and sympathy between us, and foment and encourage all that tends to draw us together. There are many thousands of Scots Catholics in Canada, between whom and their Irish co-religionists, here at home and abroad, there is a complete understanding and sympathy; and though it may be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a Scots Protestant to become a Nationalist, yet who can doubt but that when the hour comes and things

now only faintly imagined or dreamed of are set in a clear light, being actually put to the test, the Scots Protestant, encouraged and edified by the example of his Catholic countrymen will draw near to the realisation of his dreams and hopes with the same lively feelings of joy, satisfaction and enthusiasm as will undoubtedly fill the breasts of his fellow-labourers under the glorious dispensation which, I trust in God, Providence has in store for them. For is not the key to the whole position the ultimate triumph of Catholicism, which implies the downfall of the existing condition of things %

" I apologise for this lengthy dissertation, whose only excuse is the interest I take in your affairs; and believe me to be (one amongst many) a well-wisher to Guth na Bliadhna, and

" A CANADIAN." CAPE BBETON, "

CANADA, Ist July, 1904."

[The above is a translation of another Gaelic letter received from Canada. We insert it in English for the benefit of our English readers.—ED.]

Guthan o'n Taobh Thall302

Guth na BliadhnaLEABHAR I.]                AM FOGHAE, 1904. [AIREAMH 4.

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SWORD AND PENTHE rumours of war with which the political world was charged in the early spring of this year have given place to the grim reality; and Eussia and Japan are now engaged in a bloody and desperate struggle.      Apart from the momentous character of the drama now being enacted in the far East, the war between these two countries is intensely in-teresting, on account of its tendency to discredit certain popular predictions.    But a few years ago an opinion had gained ground that war between powerful and civilised states was no longer possible, or, at all events, extremely unlikely to happen.      It was " Science," we believe, in the shape of a Russian philosopher, which first ventilated this remarkable theory.    And it was asserted with all that vehemence and dogmatism with which the opinions of " Science " are nowadays wont to be charged.      But the event has proved that the predictions of "Science " have been no more fortunate in this case than experience has shown they have been so in respect to a number of others which we could mention.    War still refuses to bow to the arbitrament of " Science " ; and the game of nation arming against nation goes merrily on.      Individuals engaged in scientific pursuits, and who take themselves

A

Sword and Pen Sword and Pen 3 "more seriously than do other people, may possibly be excused for failing to see the humour and irony of the situation which the indiscreet prophesies of some of these votaries have undoubtedly created. But for persons, like ourselves, who have grown somewhat tired of the hectoring tone and constant newspaper brow-beatings of "Science," and who are inclined to ridicule its pretensions to infallibility, the situation above-spoken is surely not without its element of comedy. We have no quarrel with " Science " per se. No sensible man has ; but when we see it stealing the thunder from Heaven, as it were, and "laying down the law" as though it were infallible, we are not altogether displeased when it receives a well-merited rebuke.

For our own parts, we are disposed to think that the consummation so confidently predicted by " Science " as being near at hand, if not actually at the door, and which Christians of all shades of opinion must necessarily unite in longing for, if they be true to their religious convictions, is just as far off as ever it was—if not farther. The Catholic does not require to be told that war will endure even unto the end of the world; but non-Catholics, in spite of their alleged respect for the letter of the Scripture, are apt to forget what their Bibles could tell them. For them, the prophesies and predictions of " Science," however extravagant and vain, would seem to possess a power and authority which the Word of God does not oonvey. At all events, it is amongst Protestants that the attitude we have spoken of—which, we confess, we find it somewhat difficult to understand, and not less difficult to reconcile with their professions— that the attitude we have spoken of is most fre-quently found.    Perhaps the text of their numerous"revised versions " does not harmonise with that of the Catholic Bible on this head; and they are consequently discharged from yet another obligation, from believing in yet another specification in their catalogue of rapidly diminishing " articles of faith ". We know not; but the fact here spoken of strikes us as singular.

We have said above that the earthly paradise which " Science " has bespoken, and all Christians desire, seems as far off as ever it was—if not farther. It appears to us that the presence of war in our midst tends to familiarise us with the notion of war-waging; and that the susceptibilities of peace are nowadays much less considered than they recently were. There is a certain cynicism observable in the open manner in which nation arms against nation, which does not bode well for the future peace of the world; and contrasts very unfavourably with princes' and statesmen's frequent avowals of their pacific intentions. It may be, of course,

that the raising of the curtain in the far East has but brought upon the stage the spectre which always lurks in the wings, ready to step forth; and that it was not human nature and " progress," so much as appearances only, that were deceptive. Nevertheless, we cannot but feel that peace, of late, has fallen upon somewhat evil days; and that the existence of war is demoralising, as well to those immediately concerned as to such as are merely spectators.

The title we have chosen for this paper is "Sword and Pen". Eespect for popular belief should oblige us to reverse the order in which these two powerful instruments are placed; but here again, we imagine that popular belief is at fault.      It is a common saying that the pen is

T

Sword and Pen

mightier than the sword; but without going so far as to stigmatise that saying as a fallacy, we think it requires considerable modification, especially in view of recent warlike events. Generally speaking, the pen may be mightier than the sword; but the court of final appeal, so far as nations are concerned, is open to such only as are prepared to abide by the verdict of the latter.

Individually, indeed, the pen may be mightier than the sword; but, collectively, it is the sword which prevails. A single pen may rouse a nation to arms; but force, in some shape or form, is the ultimate resource of all nations and of all men. What is law but the application of force by "constitutional " methods, and through " constitutional I channels ? All great political movements are liable to degenerate into displays of violence, if they are baulked in their designs, or reach that point when success becomes dangerous, because charged with temptation.

Small and struggling peoples like ourselves must watch the stirring events now being enacted in the far East with a peculiar interest. When two powerful kingdoms come to blows, the attention of outsiders is immediately arrested. The other great powers watch the conflict with mixed sentiments, according as the States engaged are favourable or hostile to their respective interests ; but all with the determination to profit by it as much as possible. The scientific aspect of war appeals to every one nowadays. The value of practical experience with regard to the conditions applying to modern warfare is recognised, and acted on, to an extent not formerly admitted. Every civilised country sends its attaches to the scene of action, who are required to report on the operations to

Sword and Pen

313

their respective governments; whilst the armies of the combatants are followed by a host of ad-venturers, intent on studying the scientific aspect of modern warfare as near to the actual centres of hostility as possible.

Such, briefly, is the interest of the neutral great powers in a conflict such as that which is now raging in the far East. Smaller peoples—peoples who have not yet obtained autonomy, have just acceded to it, or are mere spokes in the wheel of some great Empire, though struggling for the recognition of their national rights—are not suffered to approach, at all events officially, in the capacity of spectators. They must rest content with watching the struggle from afar. But, nevertheless, the drama now being enacted in the far East is not without its interest and signification for them also. It can teach them a lesson of endurance and self-sacrifice, of courage and perseverance, of patriotism and devotion to national duty under the most discouraging circumstances, and in a cause whose rights and wrongs the mere individual has absolutely no means at his disposal for determining. Moreover, it can teach them discretion and caution, joined to a wholesome respect for the enemy; which are qualities in which some of the " young nations " do not abound. Such a conflict can show them, too, far more effectually than a legion of pens, the absolute hopelessness and folly of kicking against the pricks, when Providence declines to show a way out of them. Above all, it should suffice to demonstrate to reason the absolute futility of what is known as "physical force". No small people can afford to fight a big one, unless the lesser be assisted by the greater; and great powers do not usually condescend to court alliances

312

3*4 Sword and Pen Sword and Pen 315

with small States, unless the benefit they expect to derive from the connexion, counterbalances the inconvenience incurred in allowing it. The cost of the necessary machinery of warfare should be in itself a sufficient deterrent to small peoples. We make bold to say that the Boers would not have gone to war with England had the present struggle in the far East preceded the rising which they effected. Surely regret at their own foolhardiness and want of discretion and foresight in provoking so unequal a contest, and at a time so unpropitious to themselves, must long since have taken the place of any sentiments of pride and satisfaction which they may have felt at the very transitory successes which they obtained.

Some individuals appear to think that when two great nations fall out, small peoples may come by their own. For our own parts, however, we fear that the theory of the balance of power is far too sacred in the eyes of European statesmen to permit of its being thus lightly set aside. The result of the struggle between Russia and Japan can, it seems to us, in nowise effect the disposition of force—the distribution of that power which keeps nations in bondage. The triumph of Russia should establish her preponderance in Asia. That of Japan might possibly result in the resurrection of the East; but what have either of these eventualities to do with the domestic concerns of Ireland and Scotland? We have nothing to hope for from the outside world, even if we wished it, which we do not. We are quite content to remain as we are—or rather we should not be content to remain where a fanatic or two here and there may wish to consign us. Our political salvation we expect neither from the East, nor from the West, nor from the North, nor from the South; which is but another way of saying that we intend to mind, not other people's business, but our own; and that to sell our wares, as it were, in the highest political market is our only immediate object and concern. There is probably nothing essentially and fundamentally obnoxious in the fact of Empire, if one could but dissociate it from its present-day attributes and appurtenances. An Empire of mind—a confederacy of nations pledged to propagate and to preserve the highest principles —is surely the only form of " world-wide " dominion at all tolerable to the Christian. But this is idealism, not politics. And we prefer to be excused from treating of that theme. Both Ireland and Scotland have enough to engage their undivided attentions for many a long year to come. We have to re-create our respective countries, to reform, and to elevate, to consolidate and to renew. The clash of arms in other parts of the world is thus not likely greatly to disturb us— much less to distract us from the absorbing task which lies before us; and which is calculated to call forth the best endeavours and the noblest qualities of the Gaelic race. The lessons that are being learnt in other quarters of the globe are not, however, without their value and significance for us. We should watch these proceedings with an interested eye ; and be prompt to take advantage of any unconsidered trifle in the shape of precept or example which may seem likely to repay its closer inspection. When the ruins of St. Paul's lie smoking beneath the feet of the peripatetic New Zealander will be time enough to concern

ourselves with other affairs; and to raise the question of quo mdimus ?

BOBAN SAOR'S ANN an Eirinn a bha e 'fuireach. 'Se saor geal a bh'ann. 'S bha e 'n a chlachan* a cheart cho] math. 'S ann dha rinneadh a chiad tàl ann an] Eirinn no 'n Albainn. Cha robh tàl aig duine-riamh gus an d'fhuair e fhèin e.

Ghabh na saoir ann an Eirinn gamhlas da's e 'dianamh rudan a dh'fhairtlicheadh orra fhèin.] Chuir iad rompa gun dianadh iad suas arm da a; chuireadh bho fheum e., A h-uile ball-acfhuinnl a bh' aig na saoir—mar a tha 'n locair 'sa ghilb—'si ann a' cur bhuapa a bha iad. Dh'iarr na saoir airj na goibhnean arm a dhianamh a bhiodh a' tighinn' g'a ionnsuidh fhèin 's gun gearradh e e fnei^M gun cuireadh e e fhèin bho fheum. Rinneadh an] so tàl dha, 's bha deagh fhaobhar air. 'Nuair al fhuair Boban 'na dha laimh e, 'sa bhuail e air snaidheadh leis, bha e cho math leis ri aon ann a fhuair e riamh. Cha d'fhuair e arm riamh gu'n] d'fhuair e 'n tàl.

Bha mac diolain aig Boban, 's bha e 'g a chun ann an duiliochd, 's e sin cha robh e 'gabhail ris| Cha do ghabh e ris riamh, gus an robh e suas ri] còig-bliadhna-diag. Bha e mach as an fhoghluma is as an ionnsachadh a bha e 'faotuinn. 'Nuair a] bha Boban 'g a fhaicinn, mar a bha e'm bichiontas,] chòrd e ris mar ghille reachdor tlachdor. Thuirt e] ris fhèin 's an àm sin gun reachadh e air tòir aj ghille. Thuirt a mhàthair ris gum b'e làn dì-aj bheatha, ach e 'phàidheadh air a shon. Thug e leis] dhachaidh e.

Smaointich e 'n sud latha gun cuireadh e air falbh an gille le treud chaorach g' an reic al dh'fhiach ciod e 'n gliocas a bh'ann.      Dh'iarr e air na caoraich a reic, 's na caoraich 's an t-airgiod 'thoirt h-uige-san air ais. Ged a dh'fhalbh an gille "bha 'chuis a' cur ioghnadh air cia mar a ghabhadh ian gnothach dianamh. 'N deaghaidh sin, ghabh an [gille comhairl' athar. 'H-uile duine beò 'choin-.nicheadh e, dh'fhoighnicheadh iad c'àite 'n robh e L'dol leis an treud. Chanadh an gille gun robh e ['dol 'gan creic. " De'n seol creic a th' agad orra ? " —theireadh a h-uile duine ris. " Dh'iarr m'athair orm na caoraich 'san t-airgiod a thoirt leam dhachaidh ;"—os esa. A h-uile duine 'chluinneadh sin, cha robh iad ag gabhail gnothach ris ach 'ga leigeil seachad. Thachair an sin boirion-nach mòr sgafarra ris, is dh'fhoighneachd i c'àite 'n robh e 'dol leis an treud. " Tha mi 'dol 'gan creic," os esa, " ach cha-n 'eil fhios agam cia mar a 'reiceas mi iad: 's gun do dh'iarr m'athair orm na caoraich 's an t-airgiod a thoirt leam dhachaidh." ,"0 seadh, 'ille thapaidh," os ise, "dh'iarr d'athair rud ceart gu leoir. Beir thus' air na caoraich 1 dhomhsa is ceannaichidh mis' iad." Chuir e 'n ^cù mu chuairt air na caoraich, is thug e seasamh orra, is bhuail e air breith orra. Thug ise mach deamhais bho 'crios, is bhuail i air an rùsgadh. 'Nuair a bha i ullamh, cheangail i 'chlòimh suas, 's chuir i ann am pocannan i, is thug i dha 'n t-airgiod, is thill esa 'n taobh bho'n tàinig e.

Bha athair a' coimhead a mach fiach am faiceadh e 'tighinn e. Ghabh e 'n a choinneamh, 's 'nuair a chunnaic e na caoraich, dh'aithnich e gun d' rinn an

gille 'n gnothach. Dh'fhoighneachd e co 'cheannaich na caoraich bhuaithe. Dh'inns' an gille. Dh'fhoighneachd e c'aìte 'n robh.i 'fuireach. Thuirt e nach robh fios aige. " An aithneadh tu'm boir-ionnach nam faiceadh tu i ? " "Dh'aithneadh glè mhath."

"An gabhadh tu gnothach ris a bhoirionnach fad buan do shaoghal nam faigheadh tu i ? "

" Ghabhadh agus taing air son a faighinn.* " 'S fhearr dhuinn tilleadh air falbh ma ta, agus 's-dòcha gum beir sinn oirre air an rathad mum faigh i dhachaidh leis a chloimh." Chuir iad na caoraich a stigh do phairc, 's ghabh iad air aghaidh. Rug iad air a bhoirionnach, is chaidh iad 'na còmhail. Tharrainn iad suas rithe.

Thuirt Boban Saor: " Tha thu 'tarrainn air aghaidh leis a chloimh. Càit' an d'fhuair thu i ? " Thuirt ise: "Fhuair air an rathad mhòr bho leithid so de ghille air ainm's air a shloinneadh." Dh'fhoighneachd e an gabhadh i gnothuch ris a ghille fad buan a saoghal, 's thuirt ise gun gabhadh nam faigheadh i e. Thionndaidh e ris a ghille, is thuirt an gille gun gabhadh es' ise, 's gur a h-esan a dhianadh sin.

Thuirt Boban rithe gum bu bhargan e ma ta, 's-gun robh cho math na h-eich iomain a dh'ionn-suidh a thaighe fhèin.

Ghabh iad an so uile gu tigh Bhobain Shaoir. Fhuair Boban aite dhaibh, is phòs e iad le pears-eaglais.

Bhuail athair an sin air ionnsachadh na ciùirde 'bh' aige fhèin dha. Bhiodh e 'so a' falbh còmhla ris fhèin dha na h-uile cearn. Dè bha ach thàinig fios air a Lochlainn e 'dhol a thogail caisteal. 'N latha a dh'fhalbh iad an so, dh'fhàg iad slàn aig a mhnaoi 'an dùil nach tilleadh iad gus an tilleadh iad aon uair. Thug iad leotha 'n t-eallach air am muin. Cha robh iad fad air falbh uile gu len gus an tuirt Boban ris gun robh 'n t-àm aca cnap a thoirt as an eallach. Thuirt an gille nan tugadh iad sud as an eallach gum biodh e 'dhìth orra fhèin a rithisd.      Thuirt Boban ris mur toireadh iad cnap as an eallach gun tigeadh orra tilleadh dhachaidh. Air dhaibh tilleadh, bha 'bhean a stigh romh 'n ghille.

" Ciod e rud a thill thu ? " os ise." Bha m'athair ag ràdh gum f eumamaid cnap a

thoirt as an eallach, 's bha mise 'g ràdh gum biodh feum againn fhèin air a chnap ud a rithisd." "Cuin a bhios sibh a' falbh fhathasd?" os ise. "Bithidh 'màireach."

Thuirt i ris gun robh e furasda gu leoir dha 'athair a riarachadh anns an dòigh ud. " 'Se'n cnap a thoirt as an eallach do cheann a thoirt as an iris-mhuineil's gun leigeadh sibh ur n-anail."

'Nuair a dh'fhalbh iad an sin an lath-air-na-mhàireach thuirt Boban ri mhac: " Giùlain thusa mise 'n diugh, agus giùlajnidh mis' thus am màireach." " Cha'n urrainn domh," os an gille. " Mur a h-urrainn 's fheudar dhuinn, tilleadh dhachaidh an diugh fhathasd," osa Boban.

'Nuair a ràinig iad an tigh, dh'inns' an gille ciod e 'thug orra tilleadh. Thuirt a bhean ris gun robh e furasda gu leoir dha sud a dhianamh, gun robh athair a' ciallachadh esan a chumail suas seanchas ris air a h-uile rud a chunnaic's a chual' e riamh ; 's gum biodh iad a' faireachduinn an astair na bu ghiorra, 's gum biodh an inntinne na bu toilichte air an t-slighe.

Dh'fhalbh iad an so lath-air-na-mhàireach, 's thug iad leotha beagan acfhiunn is chum an gille bruidhinn ri 'athair mar a bha ise 'g iarraidh : cainnt agus

còmhradh mar a bha e 'g ionnsachadh bho 'oige bha e 'gabhail sin ri' athair. Thoisich Boban lath-air-na-mhàireach air an leithid eile innse dha mhac.

Ràinig iad uidh air n-uidh mar sin Lochlainn. Nochd iad ris an duin' uasal.      Chaidh e ceum'nan coinneamh. Dh'aithnich e taghte gur a h-iad, iad so an fheadhainn a bha e 'g iarraidh. Cha robh fios aige co am mac seach an t-athair. Cha robh tuar orra gun robh mìr acfhuinn' aca. Am beagan -a bh'aca's ann 'nam pocannan a bha e aca. Thuirt e riutha gun robh iad car fadalach, 's gun robh mòran obair ri dhianamh, 's gun robh mòran dhaoine 'g obair air a chaisteal, 's ged a bha fhèin gun robh an cuid fhèin a' feitheamh orrasan. Dh'fhoighnich e dhiubh co bu dhiubh am maighistir, am mac no 'n t-athair. Thuirt Boban gur e 'n gille 'bha 'na mhaighistir, gum b' e fhèin an gille.

'Nuair a ràinig iad bonn a chaisteil, sheall iad os an coinn. Rinn na saoir a bha gu h-àrd glag .gàire, 'nuair a chunnaic iad coltas an dà amadan a bha 'so a' ruighinn gun acfhuinn, gun sian aca.

Dh'iarr Boban Saor air a mhac dìreadh do'n fharadh. Chuir an gille, 'nuair a ràinig e gu h-àrd a làmh 'na phòc, 's thug e mach tora beag, agus òrd beag. Dh'eubh am fear a bha gu h-ìseal ciod e 'chnag a bha dhìth air. Thuirt esa ris gur 'e •cairteal na h-òirlich de dhealg a bha e 'g iarraidh. Rug Boban Saor, an uair sin, air sàbh beag biodach. Thug e h-uige cnag, 's chuir e air ealaig i. Shàbh e rud as a chnaig, agus thòisich e air na dealgan a thilgeadh as leis an tuaigh, 's 'gan tilgeil suas os a chionn lion fear is fear thun a ghille; agus cha robh a h-aon duibh 'dol 'an tasard ('tuiteam seachad no 'dol a null na nall). Bha 'n gille 'cur an ceann anns an toll, is 'bualadh buille de 'n òrd orra 's bha e diante. 'Nuair a bha na saoir eile a' faicinn an dol-air-adhart a bh'aig an •dithis dhaoine, sheas iad, is ghabh iad ioghnadh. Dh'aithnich iad an sin gun robh e cho math dhaibh falbh is fuireach, 's nach reachadh iad faisg air an dithis a thàinig.      Chrom iad as na h-àraidhean, is thog iad an tuarasdal as na rinn iad, is theich iad. Dh'fhàg iad an caisteal mar a bha e aig Boban Saor 's aig a mhac.

Dh'ullaich Boban Saor's a mhac an caisteal air an ceann fhèin leotha fhèin. Thuirt Boban an so gun robh 'n Caisteal gus a bhith uile dheiseal. Ach leis an ùine a bha iadsa 'g obair, bha mòran tuarasdail ri 'thoirt dhaibh, agus b'fheàrr leis an duin' uasal an cur gu bàs na'm pàidheadh a thoirt dhaibh.

Ach ciod e mu'n do dh'fhàg Boban's an gille 'n tigh chomhairlich a bhean do'n ghille leannan a bhith aige 'ga bri àite 'n tàrladh dha 'bhith. Bhuail an gille air suirghe mar gum bitheadh e air nighinn a bha's an tigh mhòr mu'n robh e ca-la-diag'an Lochluinn. Cha robh an nighean a' cur teagamh 's am bith nach pòsadh e i. Fhuair an nighean a mach ann an diomhaireachd an diol a bha 'n duin' uasal a' dol a dhianamh orra, is dh'inns' i dhasan e 'nuair a bha e 'cumail làimh rithe. 'Nuair a fhuair an gille so a mach dh'inns' e dha athair e.

"Tha sin coltach gu leoir," os athair, "ach bheir shin a chur as a sin, 's cha bhi 'n ùine-fada."

Thuirt Boban an so ris an duin' uasal a chiad uair a chunnaic e e, mar a bha daoine ann an cabhaig 'an àm fàgail ah taighe gun do dh'fhàg e acfhuinn aig an tigh a chuireadh air dòigh barr nan stuadhannan, 's gum feumadh e fhèin's a mhac falbh 'ga h-iarraidh air neo mac an duin' uasail fhèin.

" Cha-n 'eil ann am mhacsan," os an duin' uasal,. " ach beadagan gille nach 'eil a' dianamh car obrach, agus cuiridh sinn air falbh e 'nar n-àitesa, agus-fanaidh sibhse gus an criochnaich sibh an obair.""'Nuair a bhitheas    do    mhac deiseal cuir h-ugams' e,

's gun inns' mi dha mar a dh'iarras e 'm ball-acfhuinnsa."

'S e 'n gille 'thog an ùgag air air son falbh do dh'Eirinn, 'nuair a dh'iarradh air. Chaidh e 'stigh far an robh Boban, is thuirt Boban ris.

" 'Nuair a ruigeas tu 'n tigh, iarraidh tu air a bhoirionnach car-mu-char a thoirt dhuit, agus car-an-aghaidh-cuir: is ni sin an gnothach."

Dh'fhalbh an gille, is ràinig e Eirinn ; is fhuair e mach an tigh, is dh'inns' e 'cheann-turuis.

"'S fhior sin, gheibh thu sin gu toilichte," os am boirionnach. " Gabh a nuas mar so, mo ghille math 's gum faigheadh tu e." Ghabh ise sios, agus esan as a deaghaidh. Chaidh i 'stigh leis gu seòmar, is leum i thun an dorius, is thug i dha car-mu-char, is car-an-aghaidh-cuir le car a chur anns an iuchair 's an dorus, is ghlais i an sud e. Chuir i 'n gille 'bha leis air falbh dhachaidh, is thuirt i ris e dh'innse do 'n duin' uasal nach riachadh an acfhuinne bheag a null gus an tigeadh an acfhuinn mhòr a nall. Fhuair Boban 'sa mhac an so an tuarasdal, 's chaidh iad dhachaidh, 's leig iad air falbh mac an duin' uasail.

'S e dh'fhàg bean a ghille cho ro-fhiosrach gun tug i aona-bhliadhn'-diag 'an sgoil-duibh.

IAIN MAC AN TAILLEIR

-------          ITHE CHURCH AND NORMAN DAVIEIN my last contribution to this Review, I promised to treat of the relations between the Church of Scotland and David I.      The subject is surrounded-with not a few difficulties, and can only be ap-proached "per ignes suppositos cinei'i doloso"—a result which is due, not so much to the obscurity which surrounds the subject, considerable though that may be, as to the partisan manner in which it is wont to be canvassed. In the following observations I shall endeavour to be impartial. Whether my efforts in that direction will be crowned with success, I must leave it to my critics and readers to decide. For my own part, I am not particularly concerned whether I succeed or fail. My experience is, that the man who begins by being impartial, ends by pleasing no one. And perhaps, after all, this is the happiest consummation to arrive at.

It seems to me that those who go about to prove that David I. assimilated the constitution of the Scottish Church to that of Rome have been grievously mistaken in their man. Not long ago it was the English Saint Margaret who, with the assistance of her husband, was supposed to have accomplished that reform. That position, however, being proved plainly untenable, the advocates and spokesmen of the Protestant persuasion in Scotland have since endeavoured to entrench themselves behind King Davie. Now, apart altogether from a certain loss of prestige which a retreat of this kind is apt to create, the manoeuvre here spoken of is, I contend, very bad tactics, being calculated to result, if in not a positive

sauve qui peut on the part of those who partake in it, at all events but a repetition of their former uncere-monious retreat. In other and more homely words, the idea of making King David the first 41 Romaniser" in Scotland is untenable, and bodes ill as well for those who are foolish enough to believe in it as for those by whose counsels it was embraced. If the Protestants, as, judging by the uncertainty of their conduct, and the vacillation of their standpoint, would really seem to be the case, are at a loss for a peg on which to expose their arguments, why, in the name of all that is sensible, have they not bethought them of King Nectan? This King of the Picts certainly expelled vast numbers of Columban clergy from his dominions, in obedience, theine is evert/ reason to believe, to the express commands of Rome. The erection of King Nectan into a species of indirect Protestant hero, though, it is true, a trifle belated, might yet serve them a good turn. Another point in King Nectan's favour, from the Protestant point of view, is that he seems to have entertained some scruples about attending Mass—at least, so I was recently gravely informed in a Protestant book—and though at first sight it may seem difficult to reconcile his pusillanimous conduct in connexion with Rome with his alleged distaste for the Mass, yet, undoubtedly, the opportunity here presented of having a fling at the Universal Church, via the person of King Nectan, is far too good for the average Protestant to neglect r more especially as, whatever may have been the case in former and less enlightened times, such opportunities are nowadays exceedingly scarce.

Certainly King Nectan is the first king we read of in Scottish history as " reforming" the Church, or, as we may better express it, as correcting the abuses therein, so far as his sovereign authority applied, and sufficed, for that laudable purpose. He certainly expelled from his dominions great numbers of Columban monks, whose irregular fives and lax " orders" constituted one of the most grievous scandals of the times.      The establishment in their stead of " Romish monks " is an historical fiction which does not yet appear on the scene, though later we shall find it figuring to much apparent effect in many a Protestant tome. King Nectan, however, was certainly the first ruler of Scotland, so far as we know at present, who laid his royal axe to the tree of " Popish superstition and idolatry," if by that expression we are to understand, as history and common-sense tell us we must understand, simply the purging of the Church from certain scandals and abuses, which left absolutely untouched and unimpaired the ritual and faith of the Church, which in the time of King Nectan was as " Romish " in essence and spirit as it now is.

The mantle of King Nectan, after various vicis-situdes, which I need not recapitulate here, de-scended at last on the shoulders of King David. We have already seen in what manner that sovereign laid the foundations of the future feudal kingdom of Scotland. It is now proper for us to inquire in what spirit and by what means he undertook to play the part of reformer touching the Church.

The discussion of this question may be con-veniently discharged under two heads, the first being the condition of the Church when David came to the throne. The second is, how far the constitution of the

Church was affected by the King's partiality, if not positive bias, in favour of the feudal system.

Every one knows that when David mounted the throne of Scotland, he found the Church a monastic institution. The tribal system of government still obtained; and its ecclesiastical counterpart was at the root of the Church's organisation.      Ever since the introduction of Christianity into Scotland this form of Church government had obtained. It is sufficiently established that David was the first monarch to found ecclesiastical Sees, and to break down the monastic in favour of the parochial system.

The monastic system of ecclesiastical organisation was, in theory at all events, admirably adapted to the exigencies of the Celtic polity. It completely dovetailed, as it were, into the political system by. which the country was governed; and being that system under which the unspeakable blessings of Christianity were first made known to us, we have every reason to regard it with affection, and to venerate its memory. It was not, however, in any sense a peculiarly Celtic product, though, doubtless, some of its later features owed their existence to native inspiration. To regard it, therefore, as some seem disposed to regard it, as an integral part of militant Celticism, if I may so put it, seems to me a grievous mistake. The -constitution of the primitive Church necessarily partook of the character of that system of ecclesiastical organisation which was acknowledged elsewhere, at the time that Christianity was introduced. People seem to forget that Christianity was not indigenous to these Isles; but was brought here from abroad—from, pace our Protestant friends, Rome itself. Consequently, this being so—Christianity not being a native product, as it were—we should, under these circumstances, naturally expect to find the constitution of the native Church in harmony with some plan which was recognised

elsewhere; which is, indeed, exactly what we do find. Thus, the monastic Church of Ireland and Scotland, Celtic though it was in some of its unessential details, was, nevertheless, in absolute conformity with models inspired and sanctioned by Rome. How it could be otherwise, the writer, for his part, is unable to see. The Church was certainly introduced from Rome. Rome established it. Rome inspired its founders and authorised, as it blessed, their labours. And in good time and in due season, when the primi-tive organisation of the Church had outgrown, if not outworn, its original usefulness, and failed to respond to the requirements of the times, Rome again stepped in, and changed its organisation.

I do not pretend to say but that the monastic system had obvious advantages, and that its genius was distinctly agreeable to the Celtic polity. But the fact is, that the political growth of the Celtic people failed to keep pace with that of the Church. The consequence was that, after a time, abuses began to appear. The monasteries fell into the hands of lay coarbs, who cared nothing for religion, and were only concerned with the power and the profit which their office might bring. The inevitable tendency of Celtic institutions in the direction of heredity here operated in a manner which was singularly disastrous to all concerned. The monasteries fell from their former high estate; and as a consequence the clergy shared in the general deterioration. The most frightful scandals and abuses prevailed; and even those monasteries which preserved their usefulness and character for religion began to tremble for their existence, by reason of the rapaciousness and lawlessness with which they were surrounded. "Whoever shall come against it," cried St. Columba in a spirit of prophecy, on parting from St. Drostan at Deer, "let him not be many-yeared, victorious."    And

328                The Church and Norman Davie Ithe Gaelic entries in that remarkable compilation] known as the Book of Deer bear ample testimony to] the fears under which the successors of St. Drostam laboured. The struggles of the Celtic peopll against a numerous host of implacable enemies,! joined to their deplorable feuds among themselves,] necessarily retarded their political growth, and] accustomed them to sights and scenes to which, in] happier times, and under different conditions, they] were fortunately strangers.

Such, briefly, was the condition of the Church of Scotland when David came to the throne. Th| monastic organisation had broken down in several] important directions, not on account of its own] inherent weakness, but by reason of the failure of] the political system under the host of difficulties by which it was confronted to cope with the exigencies] of the existing situation. The monastic system of Church government was, under the Celtic polity^ far too intimately connected with the political] system to withstand the shock, when that system] was assailed, and began to decay. Had it not been] for the breakdown of the latter, it is possible that] the monastic system might still be the system ofj ecclesiastical organisation favoured and observed by the Church to this very day. The monastic] system is not an antiquated, discredited

system, as! one might suppose from the observations of many] Protestant writers, who have written on the subject] of the Celtic Church. On the contrary,-it is very] much alive in the world of religion at the present! moment; and its power for good is probably as great as ever it was. The Jesuits, than whom] there are no more pious, zealous and successful J propagators of religion, live under a modified j system of monastic government; and it would be

The Church and Norman Davie              329

easy to show the immense advantages which, in a country like Scotland, the monastic system possesses over the parochial, though it is not the intention of the writer here to treat of that topic. 'But, as I have said, the Celtic Church failed by reason of the inability of the body politic to sur-i mount the difficulties which confronted it. What 'might have happened had the monarch who introduced the change been a second Nectan or a 'Caennmor, instead of the first David, it is impossible, of course, to say. But since it was neither David's wish nor design to reform the system of government which he found in being when he came to the throne, but to supplant it I by another, the monastic system of ecclesiastical [organisation was bound to depart along with the political regime with which it was so closely and intimately connected.

The importance of the changes made by David have, it appears to me, been vastly exaggerated, , so far as

the personnel of the Church was concerned. [Protestant writers have wished to make it appear that the

alterations effected by David and his successors involved the destruction of the native Celtic Church,

which until recently, taking advantage of the popular ignorance on the subject, they were somehow apt to

claim as their own. It cannot, apparently, be too often insisted on, ' especially in view of the vitality which characterises [this error, that the Celtic Church was but a branch of the Catholic Church of the day; and that in Scotland, as in Spain, or France, or Italy, its

supreme act of worship consisted in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.      The points on which it differed from the Churches of those countries— such as the celebration

of Easter, the shape of

the tonsure, etc.—were points of discipline, and were in nowise connected with acts of faith, or articles of dogma, which then, as now, were the same in the Catholic or Universal Church all the world over. The change effected by David was merely a change of external organisation. No sovereign on earth could possibly have achieved more, if he wished to remain within the pale of the Church. Surely no one can pretend that the political changes effected by David altered the racial character of the Celtic people, however much they may have been prejudicial to their just aspirations? Similarly with the Church: David's reforms did not destroy the Celtic Church by changing its organisation from a monastic to a parochial one. Neither did his patronage, if I may so express myself, of Norman and other foreign ecclesiastics affect the personnel of the Celtic clergy. The suppression of the Culdees1 was the inevitable consequence of the change in Church organisation; and was further precipitated by their own lax conduct. The vast majority of the clergy remained, however, absolutely unaffected by the sovereign's reforms. To read some Protestant authors, one might imagine that David flooded the land with Norman and English ec-

1 Much needless sympathy has been expended, perhaps for not very creditable reasons, on the Culdees, who at one time were supposed to have been a sort of confraternity of embryo John Knoxes. Historical science, thanks largely to the labours of the late Dr. Beeves, now knows that they were at first anchorites, who later crystallised into small congregations, when they much degenerated from their pristine usefulness, and their original strict practice of virtue. Por an interesting account of these Culdees, the curious reader is referred to an article by the late Bishop MacDonald in the Scottish Beview, now, unfortunately, defunct.

clesiasties, who, consequently, monopolised all the important offices in the Church, which at once lost its Celtic character, and ceased to be national, by reason of David's innovations. David, no doubt, did introduce a number of foreign churchmen into Scotland—he was particularly prodigal in that re-spect in regard to the Sees which he founded— but his partiality for Normans and English, however reprehensible it may strike us, was scarcely to be exercised at the expense of common-sense, with which, according to his admirers, this prince was so liberally endowed. The same considerations which forced extreme caution and moderation on David with regard to the introduction of the feudal system, inspired and controlled his conduct with respect to the Church. His people were mainly a Gaelic-speaking people, excessively jealous and suspicious of anything having the appearance of novelty, or suggesting foreign interference. Consequently, whatever his private desires and sentiments may have been, he was obliged, by force of circumstances, to proceed with much circumspection, and but slowly. Moreover, he was an extremely religious man, and would assuredly have shrunk from putting his people to the inexpressible spiritual inconvenience of appointing them pastors who knew not a word of their lan-guage, even if the Gaelic population had sanctioned so monstrous a proceeding, which, of course, they would never have done. The introduction of David's own chosen ecclesiastics into the Church of Scotland was, therefore, like his political reforms, but partial; and was probably intended to facilitate the passage of the innovations which he made. He could not have done more had he wished it, his situation as sovereign over a mixed population

332                The Church and Norman Davie

being what, undoubtedly, it was. At any moment the King, whether he liked it or not, might have been obliged to throw himself on the exclusive support and protection of his Gaelic subjects, whose consent to the political measures which he introduced with so much address, with so great an appearance of moderation, and in such specious disguises, he found it so difficult to obtain; and whose resentment and indignation, once thoroughly roused, might have involved himself and his house in irretrievable ruin. The keynote as regards David's policy in Church and State was moderation —or rather caution necessitated by the exigencies of his situation. As Celts, we may well deplore the concatenation of circumstances that called hnri to the throne, seeing that his policy resulted in the introduction of the thin end of that wedge which was ultimately to cleave Scotland in twain. But his relations with the Church are on a totally different footing, and for reasons which are sufficiently apparent. With the system of government which he found in Scotland when he mounted the throne, David was more or less free to

do as he pleased. It was of native growth ; and if it did not find favour in his eyes, we can but deplore or rejoice in the circumstance, just as our respective judgments, or it may be our passions, incline us. But the Celtic Church was not indigenous to the soil. Christianity was introduced amongst us] when the political machinery was already in being. The Celtic Church, so far as its organisation was concerned, was not a native Church; and when the time came, Rome, its author and ruler, changed it, just as Rome may change it again, should circumstances seem to necessitate that measure.      But, whether altered or not, the

Seumas a Ghlinne

Clatholic Church of Scotland will remain substanti-ally the same. She is still largely Celtic.1 She is the true heir of line of the Churches founded by St. Patrick and St. Columba. Look around you, and say if modern political Scotland is the proper representative and true heir of line of the Scotland for which our Gaelic ancestors fought and bled.

H. M.

333

151              The Church and Norman Davie

SEUMAS A GHLINNEAN aithne dhuibh an Apuinn? Ciod an Apuinn 'tha thu ciallachadh : an i Apuinn-a-Mhèinearaich, no Apuinn-Mhic-Iain-Stiubhart ? Gun teagamh, 's i Apuinn-Mhic-Iain-Stiubhart tha'm bheachd ! Matà, 's ann dhomhsa's aithne. Nach ann a rugadh mi, 'thogadh mi agus a chaidh m'àrach. Cha'n 'eil ceum eadar Clach-Tholl, agus an t-Innean air nach 'eil mi glè eòlach. Rachinn, 's mo shùilean dùinte suas Achadh-nan-Conn ann a Gleanna-Comhan nunn •thar Gleann-lic-na-Muidhe, sios Gleann-Creran ra-thad Choire-Mhinn; dh'fhagainnMàm-Mucaidh agus Màm a Staing, agus Sallachail air mo lamh-dheas. Chuminn air mo cheum eadar an Eileirig agus Gleann-Iubhair, gus a faighinn aoidheachd ann a Fas-na-Cloiche. Bheirinn sùil, 's an dol seachad air a Mheinn, agus air Glasdrum mo shinnsearachd. Tha Tarra-Phocain agus Druim-a-Mhuich air taobh thall na h-aimhne, ach fàgaidh sinn a sìd iad. Eachinn ceum thar an rathaid aig Creag-Chuir-railean, suas ri aodan a bhruthaich, agus chuirinn a

'The Catholic College of Maynooth is the most Gaelic place in Ireland, according to Dr. Hyde, President of the Gaelic League.suas urnaigh airson mo luchd-daimh, agus theirinn bho ghrunnd mo chridhe. "Gu'n d'thugadh Dial fois agus tàmh dhaibhsan 'tha'n so fo'n fhoid."j Chuminn air mo cheum. Eachinn seachad air Cridh-eagan, agus air an t-Shithean. Eachinn a suas rathad Chinn-loch-a-Lathaich, dh'fhaginn Ionar-na-h-Aile air an lamh-dheas, agus Port-na hfi^^^M agus Ard-nan-Clach air an lamh-chlith, far any b'àbhaist do na Caimbialaich bheaga 'bhith, sìol] Iain duibh Ghlinne-Feochain.

Bheirinn sùil 's an dol seachad air an Eaglais-nodha, agus air Port-na-Croise. Gheibh thu nis] sealladh air Eilean-Shuinna, Eilean-bhaile-nan-i Gobha, agus air Camus-na-Cùil, far am b'àbhaist! de dheadh iasgach a sgadain a bhith. Sid agad,! a Ruin! Cinne-Ghearloch air an taobh ad thall.

Ach, gu dè stairirich, agus a sgreuch oillteiL tha sid air mo chulthaobh? Nach 'eil, gu cead] duibhse, an "Train". A Dhia beannaich sinn, 'ni ann mar sin a tha' chuis ? So agad, fhir-chridhejl an uamh-bheist a bhiodh iad a faicinn bho shean ll Gabhaidh sinn, mata, an " Train," agus cuiridh sinn] crìoch air ar cuairt. Chaidh sinn air bòrd, agus] thug a bheist sgreuch eile eisde a theap mo chridhe] a chuir as a chochull, agus dh'fhalbh i, 's mu'n robh] fhios againn c'aite an robh sinn, dh'fhàg sinn Tigh4 na-h-Apuinn agus Litir-Shiunna air ar cùl, agus anfl am priobadh na sùla, bha Dail-na-Tràghad air ar] culthaobh cuideachd.

So a Chill, cladh cho sean's tha's an dùthaich. Tha sgrìobhadh air leac-lighe 'tha sid nach 'eil cho] fìrinneach an diugh 's bha i mu'n d'thàinig an t-each-iarruinn an rathad so. Tha i ag ràdh, " Fhin a theid seachad a suas, coimhead a nuas ad dheigh a oir

bha mis' uair is bha mi cho luath riut fhèin". Sid, thall a sid, a Chuil-Uaine air an lamh-chlith.j;So agad Achadh-a-Charra, far a b'àbhaist do dh'-ogha bhrathar-mo-sheannar a bhith, Domhnuil-mac-Iain-Leath, lighiche cho ainmail's a bha anns an dùthaich. So an nis an Innseag. Chi thu thall a sid air do laimh-dheas Achadh-a-Chairn, agus, os a chionn, Achadh-nan-Darrach. A mach shuas braighe Achadh-nan-Darrach, chi thu Gleann-Durar; ach mu'n cuir sinn crìoch air a ghnothach feo, bithidh a bharrachd againn ri'ràdh mu'n ghleann ^H^nn am priobadh na sula, chaidh sinn seachad [air Tigh-nan-Tom, far am b'àbhaist de dh' Fhaidhir-[Dhurar a bhith. So agad Lag-na-h-Ath. Thoir 'sùil a mach, agus chi thu Ceann-an-t-Shailean. [Thall a sid mu'n cuairt an Ruadha beag ad, tha LArd-seile; agus beagan air an taobh thall a rithist-tha Cuil-da-Fhraochain. Tha sinn a nis anns an [Litir-Mhòir; ach cluinnar an cor, mur a thuairt. [sinn cheanna mu'n àite so. Thoir sùil a mach a rithist, agus chi thu an Currachd-Liath, agus Torr-an-Eirionnaich ann a fasgadh na Linne-Sheilaich. Sid agad Leac-na-Beathrach direach air thoisachd ornne, agus Cnap-a-Chaolais, far an d'fhuilig Seumas-a-Ghlinne, agus Pol-na-Gioba aig bun a chnaip. Air taobh na laimhe-dease ann a so, tha Tigh-bhaile-[Chaolais, agus gabh beachd, shuas braighe Ghlinne-Chaolais, air Sgurr-a-Dhòmhnuil. Thainig sinn a nise a dh'ionnsaidh Lagan-a-Bhainne, agus Duthag mam bocainn." Gheobh mi ann ceòl bho eoin na Duthaige Ged a tha 'n t-àm roimh àm na cuthaige Tha smeoraichean ann's annsa guth leam Na piob, no fiodhull, mar cheol." feìd Ruadha-na-Lice air ar culthaobh, agus an .Carnus agus Eilean-Choinnaich air taobh thall an loch.    So agad, Pairc-nan-Reitheachan agus Camus-Ghuisachainn.      Sid agad, thall Eilean-Mhuna

" An t-eilean beag seasgairA Choisrig an t-EasbuigLe òrdagh na-h-eaglaisRoimh eachdraidh na Feinne ". Chi thu

Callart, agus Camus-na-h-Eirbhe air an taobh eile dha'n loch, agus air an taobh so, Ionar-Chomhan, agus fòs a chionn Sgurr-na-Ciche. So an nis an Creagan-Dubh, agus theid sinn seachad air Cnap-an-Tairbh ann an tiotadh. Ràinnig sinn mu dheireadh Dail-an-Eibheadh, agus an t-shràid geal. Tha na Cnoca-Dubha far a robh iad riamh, agus is amhuil sin Ruadha-na-Glaistig.

Gu dè do bharail, a nis, 'ille, 'bheil eòlas agam air an Apuinn ? 'S e mo bheachd, gu cead duibhse nach e mhàin gu bheil eòlas agaibh air Apuinn-Mhic-Iain-Stuibhart; ach gu bheil ur cuimhne, a bharrachd air a sin, direach miarailtach! sin duibhse smior na fireann. Tapadh leat, 'ille. Theid sinn a mach braighe a Ghoirtean-Eòrna, rathad Ghlinn-an-Eibheadh, nunn thar Alt-na-Laraiche-Seilleach, fàgaidh sinn Màm-Mucaidh air ar laimh-chlith, agus gabhaidh sinn a stigh Gleann-Durar mu'n toisich mo sgeul.

The Church and Norman Davie              331

'S ann a so a bha maighdean Ghlinn-Durar ga nochdadh fhèin, mar a chuala sinn 'nuair a bha sinn òg, 'nuair a bhitheadh i a cuideachadh, agus a toirt cobhair do'n fheadhainn a bhiteadh a buain tubha, neo a bhiteadh 'gan sarachaidh anns a choille-chonnaidh agus anns a choille raineach. 'S ann a so cuideachd a bha fàrdach agus dachaidh Sheumais-a-Ghlinne a dh'fhùilig gu tàmailteach, gu maslach, agus gu neo-chionntach, air Cnap-•chaolais-'ic-Pharuig.

'Nuair a bha Prionns Tearlach, Mac Sheumais, oighre Righ Seumas VII., mu dha bhliadhna air fhichead, thug e oidhirp air crùn a shinnsir a ghlacadh. Dh'fhàg e an Fhraing, agus "thainig an Righ air tir a Muideart," anns a bhliadhna14. Bha fùdar agus airm aige airson coig ciad diag Saighdear; ach cha d'thug e leis ach seachd oifigich. Dh'èirich a chuid a bu mhua de na finea-chan Gàidhealach leis toiseach an Fhoghair anns a bhliadhna 1745, agus sgaoil e a bhratach ann an Gleann-Fhionghainn. Dh'iadh timchioll air, Loch-ial, mac-'ic-Alasdair, mac-'ic Eillean, mac-'ic Raonull, Stuibhartich na h-Apunn, agus moran eile do 'n na fineachan Gàidhealach; agus thog iad orra agus air thus's air thaiseachd, ghlac iad baile Pheairt, agus Duneideann, agus chuir iad an ruaig air na saighdeirean-dearga aig Prestonpans. Ghlac iad Carlisle ann an Sassunn, agus ràinig iad mar chiad mile do Lunnainn. Thill iad air ais, agus chuir iad blàr na h-Eaglaise-brice toiseachd bliadhna15. Bha buaidh ag 'eirigh leo gu latha Chuil-fhodair; ach chuir an latha sin crioch air a chuis.

" Chaill e 'n crùn le 'dhioltas sgiorrail'S fuil na fineach dhortar." Ach ma chaill, tha

gaisgeachd agus dilseachd na fineachan Gàidhealach sgriobhte anns gach eachdraidh, agus anns gach canain air feadh na Roinn-Eorpa.

An deigh Lath-Chùil-Fhodair, chaill na Cinn-feadhna an cuid oighreachdan. Chaidh na h-oigh-reachdan so a ghlacadh ann an ainm an Righ, mar chuid agus mar 'sheilbh a chrùin. Theich cuid de na cinn-feadhna thairis do'n Fhraing, agus do dhùthachanan eile. Bha cuid eile dhiu 'ga falach fhèin ann an tuil, ann an eileanan, agus ann an coilltean 's uamhannan na Gàidhealtachd. Bha Fear-Ard-Seile, bràthair Sheumais-a-Ghlinne, fad uine mhòr, am falach fo cloich-mhòr Choire-Mhinn„ ann a Ghleann-Creran, far an robh a chuid iochdar-

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Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Yow, Valerie Raleigh.Recording oral history : a practical guide for social scientists / Valerie Raleigh Yow. p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8039-5578-2 (cloth). — ISBN 0-8039-5579-0 (pbk.) 1. Oral history—Methodology. I. Title. D14.Y69 1994

907.2—dc20 93-41635

00 10 9 8 7

Sage Production Editor: Yvonne Kònneker

Contents

Preface

1. Introduction to the In-Depth Interview Brief History of the Use of Oral History Definition of Oral History Oral History: Still a New Kid on the Block Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research: Comparisons The In-Depth Interview as a Qualitative Research Method Differences in Ways That Disciplines

Approach the In-Depth Interview Uses of the Recorded In-Depth Interview Limitations of the Recorded Life Review Special Strengths of Oral History Summary Notes

Recommended Reading

LEABHARLANNSABhAL MOR

Copyright © 1994 by Sage Publications,

Seumas a Ghlinne

ain, agus a chuid dàimh a frithealadh dha gu dìleas, agus gu bàighail. Cha ghabhadh iad rud a chun-^ naic iad riamh agus a bhrath. Bha 'n sluagh chòi dìleas dha 'n uachdarain agus a bha iad do'n Phriob nns' e fhèin, is ged a bha deich mile fichead pùnndj Sassunach de dh'airgiod-cinn air a thairgse dhaibh,'] b'fheàrr leo ciad uair basachadh leis an acras agus I leis a bhochdain, no aona cuid am Prionnsa no an uachdarain a bràth. Gu'n d'thugadh Dia fois agus! tamh do na Criosdeanan!

'Nuair, matà, a ghlac an Crùn oighreachdan na feadhnach a dh'eirich leis a Phrionnsa, chaidh] maoir (no factaran) ainmachadh a thogadh mal na] tuath a bha air na h-oighreachdan so. 'Nise, b'e Caillean Caimbial Ghlinn-Iubhair, ann a Gleann^ Creran a chaidh ainmachadh airson oighreachdan! Stuibhartaich na h-Apuinn, agus Camashronaich] Challart, Lochabar agus Loch-ial.

Lath' bha sìd, thuit de Cuaillean Ghlinn-Iubhair a bhi air a cheum a dol dachaidh a Blar-mac-Faoill teach an deigh dha màl Righ Seòrus a thogail bha thuath na Camashronach. Ghabh e an t-àisig aig] Caolas-'ic-Phariug. Bha e 'gabhail an rathaid airj a shocair 'sios an Litir-Mhòir, is e air muin eich!] 'N uair a bha e beagan an iar air a Churrachd-Liathl air an t-sheann rathad mhòr, loisgadh air bho chùl cloiche. Ghabh an t-each sgaoim agus theich e ; shlaod e 'marcaiche car tacain as a dheigh, gus an ■do thuit Caillean gu'n deò air an rathad mhòr.J Fhuaradh a sìd e cho marbh ri sgadan, ach thug a^ murtair a chasan as.

Co, mata, a mhill Caillean Ghlinn-Iubhair ? Sim agad, a ghraidh, ceist nach d'fhuair freagairt fhol"-i aisach riamh, ged a bha fios aig muinntir na dùthcha eatorra fhèin, gu'm b'e brathair de dh'Fhear-Bhaile-Chaolais a rinn a ghniomh.        Thuit amharas- airj

Ailean Breachd Stuibhart, gaisgach a bha 'na oifi-gich ann an arm na Frainge, agus a thàinig a nall 'Bliadhna-Thearlaich a chogadh leis a Phrionnsa air taobh nan Ghàidheal. Cha chualas iomradh riamh I tuille air an deigh bàs Chaillean Ghlinn-iubhair. 'Chaidh agairt air Seumas-a-Ghlinne, brathair de 'dh'Fhear-Ard-Seile, gu'n robh fios aige co a rinn an cron; a thuilleadh air a sin, chaidh a chuir as a leth fhèin gu'n d'thuairt e, gu'n robh e deonach air [dol tri mile air a ghliuntean a thilgeadh Chail-'lean-Ghlinn-Iubhair. Chaidh Seumas bochd a ghlacadh, agus chaidh a thoirt do dh'Ionaraora [air bialthaobh na Morairean. B'e am breitheamh [Diùc Earraghaidheal e fhèin. Chaidh a dhiteadh, agus b'i 'bhinn gu'n rachadh a chrochadh, agus gu'n rachadh a chorp fhàgail air a chroic gu's an" [tuiteadh an fheòil thar nan cnaimhan. Chaidh an .Criosdaidh bochd a thoirt air ais do'n Apuinn le freacadan shaighdeirean. Chaidh a chroic a chuir a suas air mullach Cnap-chaolais-'ic-Phàdruig, mu mhile gu leth bho'n àite anns an do mhilleadh Caillean-Ghlinn-Iubhair. Chaidh a chrocadh, agus chaidh a chorp fhàgail air a chroic rè uine mhòr gus an d'thainig fear-cuthaich an rathad a ghlac a [chroic, agus na bha' an crochadh rithe, 's thilg iad a mach air a Chaolas. Theirar Poll-na-Gìoba ris [an ionad sid gus an lath'n diugh.

Bha'n sluagh fìor bhuidheach mar a thachair, [oir, cha robh dh'anam aca fhèin sid a dhiannadh. CUthraSIna tuil anns an robh postachan na croice gus an lath'an diugh.

Sid agad, a ghraidh, an ceartas a fhuair na 'Gàidheal an uair ad. So an taing a chionns gu'n [robh iad cho dileas dha'n uachdairean. Ciod an duais air am b'araidh sluagh a bha cho coimhlionta anns a h-uile dòigh ?      Cha'n e mhàin gu'n do

340      Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival

dhiult iad am Prionnsa 'bhrath agus an uachJ dairean cuideachd. airson airgiod no òr, ach a bharrachd, bha iad a diuladh màil, cha'n mhàin? do mhaor Righ Seòrus, ach cuideachd dha'n uach^ dairean a bha air allaban ann an cèin-thìr bhoj bhinn lagh na rioghachd so. 'S ann direach mart so a ghuilean tuath Loch-ial, agus Ard-seile iad! fhèin. Chuir tuath Thighearna Ghearloch £800] dha ionnsuidh, 'n uair a bha e na fhògarach anns* an Fhraing. Sin agad m'eudail, cùnntas dhuitsa,] air a bhàs sgreataidh, thamailteach, mhaslach a dh'fhuilig Seumas Ghlinn-Durar. Na cuir teagamhj anns na thuairt m i ; oir cha'n 'eil ann ach smior] na fìrinn. 'S ann bho sheann Iain-òg-mac-Colla;| ann am Baile-Chaolais, bho Phàl-Tuathach ann anl Cùl-da-Fhraoichean, bho Dhòmhnul-Brocair ann a Fas-na-Cloiche agus bho Dhòmhnul-Challum anns] a Ghlasdrum a fhuair mi a h-uile smid dhe'n nàj thuairt mi.      Soraidh leat, 'mhic-chridhe

GILLEASBA' MAC DHÒMHNUIL 'IC EOBHAIN.

CELTIC RENAISSANCE AND INDUSTRIAL REVIVAL[BY A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL] III.

I COME now to consider what might be done to] re-establish the Highlands and Isles. We havej already seen that not much can be expected ofj agriculture, though I should be sorry to be under!

Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival      341stood as altogether condemning that industry.      My attitude is, briefly, that agriculture in the Highlands, as elsewhere, doubtless, is susceptible of consider-

able improvement; but that it would be folly to .expect it to do more than partially to benefit our

people.      Some of the many reasons which, it seems to me, unite to justify that opinion, I have [already

given.      It remains for me to make a few [observations touching the means which might be

taken to bring prosperity to our countrymen at [large.

When we consider early Scottish history, that twhich strikes us as most pleasing and significant lin it is, surely, the completeness of the national llife which our ancestors enjoyed. And when we [turn to

Seumas a Ghlinne154339

consider the political and industrial situation lof the Celtic people at the present day, surely their r relative inferiority in this respect is the most dis-couraging circumstance connected with them.

In former times—before the Gael lost his pre-Iponderating influence in the country which he named land colonised—he possessed and cultivated in his [peculiar manner a variety of useful and elegant farts and crafts, which since his subjugation have totally disappeared. To name but a few of these valuable national accomplishments: he was a [successful and highly ingenious architect;1 he was singularly skilful at metal work; he was a graceful and extremely resourceful carver, whether on wood or stone; he knew well the artistic value of gold and silver, and proved himself an admirable

1 Since writing these lines, the author was pleased to read in the Tablet that the patriotic Bishop of Eaphoe intends to build a Seminary on Celtic ground upon a Celtic plan. This is as it should be; but how long will it be before Scotland follows suit?

342      Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival

setter of precious stones ; the manner in which he bound and embellished his sacred and profane books delighted his contemporaries, just as much as it charms and amazes posterity; his striking individuality in respect of decoration, and the use of symbols for that purpose, amounted to genius. Indeed, in respect of all those useful and elegant accomplishments—for such they really are—which stamp a nation as refined, resourceful and artistic, he was in his own way, and in his own day, if not facile princeps, at all events justly celebrated and widely known.

Now, however, what do we find ? What is the present position of this people in this respect—a people whose artistic achievements are not the creation of mere report or tradition, but whose bewildering fertility of invention, genius and refined industry must be patent to every one who will take the trouble to inspect these precious relics in the various national and private repositories where they now lie, lovingly preserved and jealously guarded % These useful and elegant arts and crafts have, so far as the Gael is concerned, totally disappeared. There is not so much as one left to remind him of his former pre-eminence as .an artist and as a craftsman. A valuable national possession, nay more, a most precious gift of God, has thus been suffered to go to apparently irremediable decay. Truly, the iron of a hateful, destructive and iniquitous political and social system has penetrated deep into the soul of this nation and people, turning all it touches to waste and rottenness, and stultifying and degrading every one who comes in contact with it.

Space does not allow me to enumerate all the useful and elegant arts and crafts for which, in the plenitude of their power in these islands, the children of the Gael were justly celebrated. But information on this head is nowadays so readily accessible, that I feel sure the reader will excuse me from descending to further particulars. Every Gael worth his salt already knows what were the achievements of his ancestors in this respect. If, unhappily, there be any who do not answer to this description, my impartial advice to them is to make good the omission as soon as possible. Such a state of ignorance is neither creditable to themselves, nor edifying to others.

My remedy is, therefore, to re-introduce these forgotten arts and crafts among our people.      What once the Gael was capable of, surely he can rise to again?      The taste for arts and crafts—for the refinements and amenities of civilised life—is con-fidently said to have been never so general and insistent as it is at present; and though this may well be a somewhat overdrawn picture, yet, undoubtedly, the demand for luxuries is steady and strong enough to be highly profitable to such as are engaged in the business of supplying them.      The Celtic people have an inborn taste for art — a power and capacity of appreciating beautiful things —which once it were suffered to see light would certainly rapidly develop.  It is the curse of an egregious and hideous political

system, which strips the people of their nation and manhood, I verily believe, which alone prevents them from recognising a good thing when they see it, and from calling down shame upon the trash and the rubbish which —to our disgrace be it said—usurp the place once occupied by the rare productions of their ancestors. Our people must be taught to exercise their own talents.      They must be educated to support one another, to insist on the creation of a native school of arts and crafts. In this noble and useful work every one can and must partake; for it is not by means of governmental "departments" or popularity-hunting millionaires that nations are re-habilitated, and trades revived; but by means of the active and persevering endeavours of the people themselves, who, if they are to achieve any good, and to undo, and make amends for the past, must rely on themselves, and, so relying, work for one another and the common welfare. I have no doubt that my scheme, or rather these suggestions, will be dubbed chimerical by many a trifling scribe. But I fail altogether to see in what respect or in what particular my views are visionary. Is national sentiment so dead amongst us that the mere sug-gestion is to be vetoed as chimerical, even before the ink is dry on the pen which gives publicity to it ? I refuse to believe that my countrymen are so abject, low in the scale of national sentiment though I am apt to think the majority of them has undoubtedly fallen. It needs but a little patience and address, I am convinced, in order to rouse them to a sense of their responsibilities, and to induce them to exert themselves in their own behalf. Certainly, nothing is to be gained by the continuance of the present state of affairs. Perhaps in this fact, after all, lies the best, if not the only, chance of success which those who wish to promote an industrial revival can lay to their charge.

I appeal to the various Celtic societies, whose name is legion in Scotland, to inaugurate the work of revival. Most of these societies have been formed with some such object in view; but my experience is that they do little, if anything, to justify their existence in this respect.      The aim of most of them seems to be merely the accumulation of funds, joined to the gratification of certain social instincts on the part of their conductors and members. Comparatively few of them take the slightest interest in the Gaelic movement, the seriousness and significance of which seem totally to have escaped them. Even An Comunn Gàidhealach—the best of these bodies—is not altogether blameless in this respect, though I observe that its second object is stated to be the advancement of the welfare of the Highlands and Isles by industrial means and methods. Surely this is not a creditable state of affairs ? If the cian societies are honest in their professions, it is incumbent on them to seek out means whereby they may publish their sincerity to the world. Nobody can pretend that this object can be achieved whilst the most important item in their

Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival    343

342      Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival

charters or programmes of activities remains a dead letter. The industrial revival is not less important than the language movement, which, with a few honourable exceptions, they equally neglect. These useless cian societies should be told to set their houses in order, under a threat of publishing their misdemeanours, and publicly branding them as useless and frivolous, if, after fair warning, they fail to answer to the public requirements. Depend upon it, a little wholesome public opinion would speedily work wonders in this respect; and now that An Comunn Gàidhealach has passed the preliminary stage of its existence, and seems in a fair way to become a power in the land, it should at once take the lead of the Celtic societies in Scotland, and after mending its own conduct where imperfect, or wanting in breadth and vigour, purge the camp of idlers and useless encumbrances. A slaughter of the worthless, such as has been advocated ere now, under the milder notion of " union," would be an admirable thing, and could easily be effected at present, when public opinion is ripe for strong measures. A "black" list of societies which refuse to co-operate with An Comunn Gàidhealach in its language campaign might well be a first step towards reducing these useless and troublesome cian societies to something like order, and towards rousing them from the state of inglorious torpor in which most of them, apparently, delight; to be followed by equally drastic measures against all such as refuse to put their hands in their pockets in order to assist the industrial movement. But, as I have said, An Comunn Gàidhealach must first heal itself, before aspiring to the dignity of acting as physician to others. A card of admission to the late Mòd which was shown to me by a member was really an abominable thing. It carried a legend, if I may express it so, of embossed thistles, done in a singu-larly vulgar and barbarous fashion. Is the sense of art, then, on which our ancestors so justly prided themselves, and on account of which they received the well-deserved encomiums of the civilised world, so utterly decayed amongst us that it is mere vanity to expect anything better than this ? Surely the official pronouncements of the Comunn should bear some artistic indication of the source from which they spring, and of its officials' determination to promote good taste, and a knowledge of the beauties of Celtic art. There are not wanting Celtic artists in Ireland, if not in Scotland, who, for a few shillings doubtless, would have been happy to design something suitable to the occasion —something to remind us of the departed glories of the art of our forefathers and to encourage us to hope for the revival of that art in our midst. If a society, professedly Gaelic, gives no encouragement to the things which appertain to us, how can you reasonably expect the stragglers and groundlings to play their part in the struggle before u s ?

Consideration of some figures which I have prepared, persuades me that but very little capital

would be required, at least to make a start, in the work of re-establishing our native arts and crafts. I do not over-estimate the financial power at the back of our various Celtic societies; but at least there are enough of them to justify a corporate and tentative effort in the direction of re-establishing one of our lost callings. Perhaps the trade of smith—of a worker in bronze, iron and other metals of that kind—would be the easiest to revive, as, I am sure, it would be the most profitable. There is always a demand for inexpensive, as for more costly, articles of this nature; and products of the Highlands, stamped with the hall mark of the peculiar artistic genius of our race, would certainly command a large sale. Doubtless, many of my readers have been in the self-same predicament in which the writer has frequently been, namely, that of wishing to purchase something artistic and pleasing to the eye peculiar to the Highlands; and, after long search, has come away completely baffled and disappointed. The shops of Oban and other large centres where strangers and tourists congregate are veritable deserts in this respect. Their wildest anticipations of what is likely to be demanded of them by the educated traveller and stranger within their gates do not seem capable of rising above a tartan tie, or a picture post-card made in Germany. These, with an occasional porridge spoon, or some other trifle, equally unornamental and uncouth, comprise the artistic stock-in-trade of the average Highland "establishment". How often must my readers have experienced those same sensations of disgust and shame which filled the writer's breast, when, engaged in a similar quest, they asked for bread, and received but a stone?

My idea is, that the Celtic societies would find it profitable to open a small booth or shop in some town in the Highlands—Oban, preferably—for the sale of Celtic metal work. The craftsmen would require to be skilful, and their wages should be commensurate with their ability. I believe that some of the "cottage industries" emporiums in London, and other large cities, do a very brisk trade, though the wares that they sell are, generally speaking, of somewhat inferior quality, and commonplace to a degree. What might be done with highly trained craftsmen, and articles of vertu, it is impossible, of course, definitely to say; but I am inclined to think that the experiment would rapidly and abundantly justify the patriotism and enterprise of the promoters. Beautiful objects, however costly, always command their appropriate price, if not at home, at all events abroad, where it would be highly advantageous to carry the trade, so as to secure as wide and profitable a market as possible. I by no means under-estimate the difficulties attending the initial endeavour. It is a vulgar saying, but a true one nevertheless, that in order to enjoy roast hare you must first catch your quadruped. Similarly, before you can start "turning out" Celtic metal-work, you must first find your craftsmen. Now, Celtic craftsmen, as every one knows, do not grow on every

Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival    343

342      Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival

gooseberry bush.      Indeed, I know not, for my part, where that scarce commodity is to be got. Such Celtic metal-work as is done is poor in quality and little in quantity. It is probably but very ill paid. It is certainly totally destitute of originality, the passable designs which one sometimes sees engraved on dirk handles, sgian dubh and the like, being transparent imitations of some more or less well-known design. So that it practically comes to this, your Celtic artist, not being yet born, will have to be made. The finest specimens of Celtic Antiquity will have to be set before him, and when he has sufficiently saturated himself, as it were, with the lore and genius of the past, then, hut not till then, may he be invited to exhibit his skill and ingenuity for the delight and edification of the present. To take an ordinary mechanic, and to bid him, without careful instruction and preparation, to reproduce the masterpieces of

Celtic art, would be, of course, a ridiculous proceeding, and the cause of instant and well-merited disaster. The Celt who is to excel in this way must be most carefully and systematically trained; but after the nucleus has been formed and a begin-ning made, the rest should be comparatively plain sailing. As I have said, beautiful and costly articles are never a drug in the market; and as the taste for such things becomes popular, in the same proportion precisely will the demand keep pace with the supply. Moreover, I am sanguine that the revival of this industry would not only be the cause of its own propagation in a multitude of fields and directions, but would also be the parent of a host of others. Small beginnings are a frequent and fruitful source of great enterprises. However modest and unpretentious the start, the •example is what we require, and once that were

350 Srath Aragaig

worthily conceived and well executed, I feel sure that the industrial revival of the Highlands and Isles for which I here plead would not be long delayed. The picture drawn by history tells us a flattering tale. Our arts and our industries were known throughout the civilised world. What once we have accomplished, are we so degenerate that we have no spirit to endeavour again ?

(Conclusion.)

[By way of sequel to these papers we propose to publish in the next number of this Review an article—to be followed by others on kindred topics— on the subject here so ably and interestingly treated of by our contributor, namely, Celtic metal-work. We should have preferred that the topic should be dealt with by the same accomplished pen; but, unfortunately, being ordered abroad on Govern-ment service, our contributor will be unable to afford our readers that pleasure. The topic will be dealt with, however, by one who has given considerable attention to the subject.—ED.]

SRATH ARAGAIGHEI, hò rò, gur h-èibhinn leam, Carson a bhitheadh m'inntinn trom ? Le mòr aigne's le sunnt Gu'n tog mi fonn gu h-aighearachd,

Srath Aragaig

Togaidh mi gu cridheil fonn Cha 'n ann air tè dhubh no dhonn, Ach do 'n 'chommunn thaineadh leam, A nochd a'bhràigh Shrath Aragaig.

A bràighe Lochabair nam beann àrd,A Gleann a' Garraidh s'Bràighe na h-Airde,Dhe machairichean anns gach àiteTha iad am bràighe Shrath Aragaig.

Chithear ann muinntir shuairce Shiubhail an saoghal m'un cuairt, 'S a gleidheadh nead bhlàth o'n fhuachd, Gu'n d'fhuar iad i an Shrath Aragaig.

Chithear ann a deas's a tuath Urramaich am measg an t-shluaigh, 'S lionar iad tha frasadh luaidhe Suas am bràighe Shrath Aragaig.

Mar dàna dhomhsa bhith ga luaidh Ailleagan 'us rìgh an t-sluaigh, Chiad oidhche dhà air ruaig Bha shuain am bràighe Shrath Aragaig.

Tha am facal o sheann ag ràdh Mu'n dream uallach bha'n Gaig Gu'm b'fhearr dhiubh na deich's a dhà, H-aon a bràighe Shrath Aragaig.

'S dùthaich thorach anns gach ni N' glinn's an glaicean an fheòir mhìn, 'S an sruthanan le'n torman binn Eadar Cillfhinn'us Farralinn.

35

Celtic Renaissance and Industrial Revival    343

The New "Douglas"

Air slat no guna ma tha do dhèidh, Ma's aill leat bhi measg spreidh, Na sireadh or' an cridhe beinn Tha roinn dheth am bràighe Shrath Aragaig.

Ach fada is fheàrr na fear na'n crdc, 'S fheàrr na iomadh buaile bhò 'S fheàrr eadhon na an t-òr, Muinntir chòir Shrath Aragaig.

A. BlSSET.

THE NEW "DOUGLAS"THIS undertaking, the editor informs us in his Preface, is the result of an " ardent aspiration " on the part of the present Lord Lyon King of Arms. " A good many years ago a meeting of persons interested was called by him," when the project of publishing a Peerage of Scotland "was carefully considered. But the difficulties in the way were apparently unsurmountable," and the design, we presume, was in consequence suffered to remain in .abeyance, at least for a time. " Since then, however, the munificence of Sir William Fraser . . . rendered possible a way out of the difficulty. Sir William Fraser left a certain sum of money to his trustees, with directions that it should be spent in printing works which would tend to elucidate the history and antiquities of Scotland. In carrying out his intention, the trustees resolved to devote part of

11 The Scots Peerage: A History of the Noble Families of Scotland. Vol. i. Edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, Lord Lyon King of Arms.      Edinburgh : David Douglas.this sum to making possible a new edition of Douglas's Peerage, though it would far from cover the whole outlay entailed in such an undertaking.""

The late Sir William Fraser could hardly have left his fortune to a better object than the propagation of historical knowledge; and we heartily congratulate the Lord Lyon on the undeniable good fortune he has encountered in making good his claim to benefit under that charitable dispensation. It is much to be hoped that individuals who have brains, and money to leave, will follow the excellent example set by the late Sir William Fraser, himself, as the editor justly observes, " a well-known writer on genealogical subjects, and one whose series of family histories are monuments of patient research". Historical learning is too little cultivated nowadays; and the rewards awaiting those (we speak from painful experience) who devote themselves to this branch of polite knowledge are all too halting and meagre.

The design of this Peerage is, briefly, the repro-duction of Douglas's, with, of course, considerable improvements and additions. The latter Peeraget

though admirable in its way (and in its day), has long been, to use a current colloquialism, "out of date". "Especially of late years," observes Sir James Balfour Paul, " owing to the official publication of several important series of records, such as. the

Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, the Exchequer Rolls, the Register of the Great Seal, the Register of the Privy Council, and the Lord Treasurer's Accounts, it was evident that these in themselves afforded a deep mine from which information might be drawn. Again, many private collections have within the last century seen light.The publications of the Bannatyne, Maitland, and Spalding Clubs have revealed what a rich store of ancient documents remained in Scotland, and the Historical MSS. Commissioners have made acces-sible many most valuable collections, which had lain more or less neglected in the charter-rooms of many a noble house."

So much for the design of the new Peerage, and the circumstances under which it was projected. With regard to the literary conduct of what we have ventured to term (we trust without offence) the new Douglas, the editor has the following observations to make in his Preface: " Modern methods demand a much more thorough treatment of genealogical questions than was desired or even possible a century ago. The day of the one man dictionary or cyclopaedia is over, and it would take the devotion of a lifetime for any individual to write the history of the Scots Peerage as it ought to be written. It was determined, therefore, that the work should be undertaken by a staff of writers under the supervision of an editor, and in many cases this has resulted in a title being treated by an author who had made the history of the family his special study, and had access to sources of information which could not have been readily got by any other. There are no doubt certain drawbacks to this method: a writer is apt to extend the particulars of a family in which he takes an interest to a degree far beyond the limits of a work such as this. The editor's duty is to combat against this tendency, but occasionally circumstances are too much for him, and he is unwilling to reject information which is really valuable and interesting even though it may seem unduly to increase the length of the article. In commencing the preparations for this edition, instructions were given to contributors that, while free latitude in this respect was given them, they might, if they pleased, use the actual words of Douglas or Wood when no correction was necessary as to the facts. While to a certain extent this has been done, it has been found better in many cases to re-write the articles entirely without reference to what the previous editors had done. So many errors had to be corrected, so many facts re-stated in the light of modern research, and so many abbreviations made, that it was found to be the only satisfactory mode of treatment. It has also, it is hoped, conduced to greater clearness in diction, as the somewhat verbose comments of Douglas and Wood, though quite in the style of their own day, hardly commend themselves to the more practical requirements of our times."

The volume before us begins with " Abercorn " and ends with " Balmerino" ; but out of the seventeen dignities treated of four only are Celtic,

The New "Douglas"352353

The New "Douglas"

namely, Airlie, Angus, Argyll, and Atholl. It is true, that Argyll and Airlie are not, strictly speaking, Celtic dignities, inasmuch as they were created in feudal times, and after the abolition, or rather disappearance, of the Celtic system of government. But the founder of the feudal house of Airlie was undoubtedly a Celt, being Gilbert, the son of Gillebride, first Earl of Angus; whilst the claims of the house of Campbell (whose principal title likewise dates from feudal times) to be considered as a Celtic family are of course irresistible. Thus the first volume of the new Douglas does not offer a very wide field for criticism to a Celtic reviewer; for with purely feudal titles and families it is not our intention here to be concerned.      A casual glance, however, at that part of the present undertaking convinces us that the new Douglas is a vast improvement upon the old; and that Sir James Balfour Paul and his staff of writers are to be commended no less for their skill than for their enterprise.        The determination of the editor, however, not to "go outside the bounds of charter evidence in this work," still further limits our labours, and restricts our field.        Whether that intention be well founded or not, it is not for us to say.        Obviously, the Lord Lyon and his assistants are free to choose their own ground ^ and if they prefer to "stick to the charter," far be it from us to object to that decision.        In registering their determination we can but affirm that it seriously restricts the field of our intended operations so far as the new Douglas is concerned; and that, whilst noting it, our state of mind more than ever resembles that in which the disciples of St. John the Baptist approached our Blessed Lord, Who, however, answered the expectations-of those that were sent.

Charter evidence does not begin with us until the reign of Alexander I.; indeed, the reign of his-successor, David I., would be a better period to assign to their introduction; for before the latter ascended the throne, charters in Scotland were few and far between. Comparatively easy, therefore,, is the task of such as would record the successive holders of a great peerage after the introduction of the charter. The difficulty is to make such records before they were introduced. The peerage before us begins, in every case, with a peerage-holder who is also a charter granter or witnesser —as we have said, the Lord Lyon and his assistantswill have nothing to do with any one who did not either grant or witness a charter, though, to be sure, oddly enough, their list of the kings and queens of Scotland is headed by a sad rogue in this respect, King Malcolm Caennmòr, to wit, who, history says, never either witnessed or granted one of these "blessed" documents—consequently, we find ourselves in the pleasant predicament of being able to agree with nearly everything that the compilers of this peerage have to say touching our ancient Celtic dignities, after the introduction , of charter evidence.

The article of Atholl—"the Celtic Earls of Atholl"—extends to nearly nineteen pages, and is a highly

conscientious and painstaking piece of work. The lists of these Earls begins with Madach (here styled "Earl," but who was more properly Mormhaor of Atholl), who, of course, witnessed a charter—in the reign of David I., circa 1116. We are glad to observe, in passing, that Sir Noel Paton's mistake1 of the imposition of a certain "Constantine, Earl of Athole," has been corrected by the writer of this article. We always thought that the entry in the Liber Vitae was a very doubtful quantity ; and were rather surprised that it should have figured as authentic in "G. E. C.'s" Complete Peerage. The notes to this article are highly interesting and suggestive. They reveal great powers of original research on the part of the author; and his nice conduct of a very difficult and complex theme reveals the editor's discretion and judgment in a most favourable light.

The article of "Campbell Duke of Argyll" ignores the early history of that ancient family ;

1 Genealogy of the Celtic Earls of Athole.D

and begins with the apparently inevitable charter granter, who, in fohis case, is Sir Archibald Camp-bell or Cambel, who witnessed in 1266 a charter by Alexander III.      Here, however, we are treated to a little exordium on the origin of the Campbells, which, we think, the editor would have done better to suppress.      " According to the old accounts of the cian now generally known as Cian Campbell," says the writer, "their original appellation was Cian Duibhne or O'Duin, from a certain Diarmid (Diar-maid?) O'Duin, who was the ancestor of a long line of descendants.      The last of these, Paul (Pòl f) an Sporran, or Paul of the Purse, so called because he was the royal treasurer, had an only child, his daughter and heiress, Eva, who gave her hand to a gentleman of Norman lineage named Campbell, and dowered him with her lands.      Cian traditions are no doubt worthy of respect; but in this work it is not proposed to go outside the bounds of charter evidence."      Surely, we might have been spared this introduction, which, even as "cian tradition," is not respectable ?    The nonsense about "Eva" and the "gentleman of Norman lineage of name of Campbell" should not deceive even the most unsophisticated member of a cian society. Eva and her Norman knight are plainly pure inventions, which we owe, with many other similar absurdities, to the famous, or shall we say infamous, Act of 1597.      We protest against this transparent attempt to bring Celtic learning into ridicule.    Its occurrence in so respectable a quarter shows the lengths to which ignorant or designing persons are prepared to go in the direction indicated above; but in this case, fortunately, the manoeuvre is so clumsily conceived and badly executed that it must inevitably recoil upon its projectors.      It would have been easy to epitomise what Celtic scholars have to say on the head of the origin of the Campbell family without wantonly insulting our intelligence, and exciting our resentment by rhodomontade such as this; which, we repeat, can impose on no

The New "Douglas"352353

The New "Douglas"

one— not even the most ignorant admirer of "cian tradition ".

Another protest which we take occasion to utter at this conjuncture is directed against the cruel maiming of Gaelic personal names by English writers. This barbarous treatment is frequently observable throughout the work. If English writers find any difficulty in spelling Gaelic names, why do they not give them in their English equivalents ? " Gillespie, Gillespick" (Archibald), etc., are neither Gaelic nor English, nor even good Double-Dutch. On page 328 (article, Campbell) "Colin Campbell of Lochow, called Ionganlach," contains a misprint. The sentence should read "Colin Campbell of Lochow, called Iongantach ".

We cannot conscientiously congratulate the writer of the article " Lord Balfour of Burleigh " (page 530) on his attempt at a derivation of the place-name " Balfour".      He says: " Among the surnames existing in Scotland in early times that of Balfour is not the least common; the most popular derivation of the word, and that which was unhesitatingly accepted by the older writers, is Bal-Or, the place on the river Or, where the lands of Balfour are situated.      The more likely derivation, however, is the Gaelic Baile fuai%, the cold place, with the accent on the last or qualifying syllable, a mode of pronouncing the name which, until recent years, was universal."    Balfour, of course, could not possibly be derived from " the Gaelic Baile fuar".      In such a conjunction, the word Baile would cause the aspiration of the succeeding one—thus, Baile /%uar—and the resulting pronunciation would be, as nearly as we can render it in English, Baile, or rather, Bal' oor. Dr. MacBain, who has a taste for things " Pictish," is inclined to think that the second syllable of the word Balfour represents yet another of our " Pictish remains ". It is more probable, however, that the unknown word is merely dead Gaelic. The Irish classics contain numerous words which have baffled the most determined and scholarly attempts on the part of modern Gaelic scholars to wrest their secret from them; and we see no reason why this, and many other words which modern " Picts " are apt to lay violent hands on, and dogmatically claim as their own, should not also belong to that category.

Under the head of "Earl of Angus" we find the following: "In the time of Alexander I. the Mormaors were superseded in their various provinces by persons bearing the title of Earl, which was coming into use". We should like to have chapter and verse for this somewhat reckless statement, which, by the way, is here unsupported by a particle of evidence. The author writes as though he were in complete possession of proof touching a momentous social and political revolution which has been withheld from the rest of mankind. We heartily wish this gifted and fortunate individual would allow us the privilege of inspecting his muniments. We write under correction, of course, and with a due sense of the imperfection of our knowledge in this respect; but we always imagined that the revolution he here

speaks of was but very gradually accomplished, and very cautiously introduced. The mormhaoir were certainly mormhaoir as late as the reign ofWilliam the Lion, if not later; and as to having been "superseded in their various provinces," we venture to affirm that Scottish history carries no appearance of so extraordinary a proceeding.      The success of the feudal system in Scotland hung by a thread, as it were, for many a long year; and David and his successors were far too politic to provoke a contest (in which they would assuredly have been discomfited) with the existing regime by expelling the mormhaoir, in order to make room for Norman and Saxon barons.      The essence of the change consisted in the almost imperceptible degrees by which it was accomplished, and in the caution, forbearance and good-humour, if we may be allowed the expression, which characterised its progress.        The timidity of the editor and his associates (provoked, we suspect, by fears of the redoubtable Mr. Horace Round and his disciples), when they come to treat of the connexion between the ancient mormhaoir and their modern suc-cessors,1 is here entirely out of place, and a trifle ludicrous.      Surely their own charters, by which they set so great store, contain evidence enough on this head ì      The many references which they contain to the predecessws of individuals who therein officially figure as Comites or Earls, proves conclusively that in the majority of cases, if not iu all, the later Earls were simply the older mormhaoir under a modern and inferior appellation. The tendency of Celtic dignities in the direction of hereditary descent is well known, and requires no proof in these pages.      And as Dr. Stuart has well observed in his Preface to the Book of Deer, it would doubtless be the policy of the kings to

1" He [Gilbert] may have descended from the ancient Mormaers of the district, but of this there is no proof" (p. 160).

The New "Douglas"352353

362 The Nezv "Douglas" Seachd Mòr-mkaoir na h-Alba

363

continue, and confirm, the Celtic nobles, wherever practicable, in the possession of their hereditary honours. The royal tenure of power, it must be remembered, was extremely precarious; and in an unsettled state of society, such as that which followed the introduction of the feudal system into Scotland, doubtless the least said and done would be, so far as the kings were concerned, the soonest mended. A glance at the names of the witnesses to early charters is sufficient to reveal the essentially Gaelic composition of the kingdom of Scotia proper in those days. However maimed and mutilated by barbarous Norman and Saxon scribes these names may be, they show that the children of Caennmòr had the good fortune to rule over a people who were mainly Celtic. And if with all their admitted art and address, they barely managed to maintain their thrones by taking the "line of least resistance," it follows that any attempt on their part to change the racial complexion of their native nobility by ex-pelling them from their honours in order to make room for foreigners, would have been attended by the most disastrous consequences to themselves.

We are not quite sure that, by reducing " the somewhat verbose comments of Douglas and Wood " to the " more practical requirements of our times," the editor has effected any substantial improvement. A peerage favours a grave style of narrative; and in connexion with such a work as this, we should have thought that the "practical requirements of our times" (whatever they may be) might safely have been left to shift for themselves. We notice one or two expressions which, to say the least of them, are somewhat wanting in dignity.

The use of the word " Popish," etc., for Catholic, and the application of the appellation "rebels" to the men of 1689 and 1715 also strikes us as devoid of good taste, besides being inaccurate and specious. The Hanoverian dispensation was the work of a bare majority. Probably the majority of the people of Scotland were opposed to it at the time; at all events the pros and the cons were very evenly balanced. If the Stuart had enjoyed his own again, and Sir James Balfour Paul had been Lord Lyon under a native instead of under a Hanoverian sovereign, we wonder if he would have had the courage of his political convictions under these somewhat altered circumstances ?

We should like to conclude, however, with the customary psean of praise; which we do very heartily; for this work, on the whole, is a consci-entious and notable performance, although its ap-pearance serves to emphasise the need which exists for such an undertaking as, we understand, is likely to appear from an equally authoritative source.

SEACHD MOR-MHAOIR NA H-ALBA'S NA bliadhnaichean a chaidh seachad, bha fead-hainn am beachd gu 'n robh seachd Mòr-mhaoir ann an Alba. B'e Sir Francis Palgrave a' cheud fhear aig an robh a bharail bhunailteach seo. Fhuair e am

measg mòran sheann dhearbh-sgrìobh-adh a bha 'n tasgadh ann an Cuirt-Ionmhais a' Chruin, gnothaichean àraidh a thaobh na h-Alba. Agus am measg nan seann dearbh-sgrìobhadh seo, bha am fear a leanas.

Seachd Mòr-mhaoir na h-AlbaAPPELLATIONES SEPTEM COMITUM REGNI SCOTIAE.

NO,

AGARTAS SEACHD MÒR-MHAOIR NA H-ALBA.

Cum p mortè nobit memorie dni Alex' q°nd reg Scoc sedes regia regni ej9d jam ad tèp9 vacavfit 1 p leges 1còsuetudines regni Scoc a tempe a quo..............inpfsens ad jus "t pp'etatè T; ad libtates septè comitu regni Scoc % còitatis regn ej9d ptineat regè in eodè regno facje1 in sede regia institue? . . hono.............................ptinetes eidè att'buere quMocùq' pfdca sedes regia de fco T; de jure vacavfit      Ne vos dne Witte epe Sci And? 1 dneJones C..............qui vos geritis.......................regniScoc una cu pticula còitatis regni Scoc vob adherète aliquè regè ad regime regni Scoc optinedù auctoritate vra pp'af&ciatis institu................................T; lesionè libtatu1 juriu septè comitu Scoc T; còitatis ej9dè eis adherètis de quib3 septè gmitib3 filius bone memorie Duncani q°ndcomi? de Fyff est un9................      Epe Sci And? "I dneJohes Cumyn 1 a pticula còitatis Scoc vob adherète *ì eciam a vob dne Johes de Balliolo ne vos in regno Scocaliquod op9 manual..............regimine regni Sooc vosaliquo m° int°mittatis in ^judiciù 1 lesionè juris T. libtatis septè comi? Scoc 1 còitatis ej9dè eis adherètis    Ego talisin p^sentia................I nòie pfcco3 septè cjmitu epojabatu p'o^ comitu baronu T. lifee tenètiù Scoc T. còitatis ej9d eis adherètis ad dnm Edwardu Dei g?a regè Anglieillustrè T,...........psencià "1 ad corona Anglie regiam ppinjuriam eis a vob illatam hiis sc'ptis appello      Et psenciàpdci dni reg Anglie nòie \>dcof comitu %.................subiciens psonas ffclco^ septè 9mitu 1 alio^ omium sup'd . . . T; psonas còitatis regni Scoc eis adherètes et etià òirnnconsanguineo^ T;........................bona sua mobilia Iimmobilia ubicuq, fuerint inventa spali . . . . ptexioni 'I

Seachd Mòr-mhaoir na h-Alba 365

defencoi f>dci dni reg Anglie 1 corone sue regie . . . vos

364

ad p\ìcm.............g*vamè eo^dè aliq0 m° pcedatis seupcedere attemptetis      Ite quia vos dne Witte epe Sci And?1 dne Johes Cumyn qui vos........................dampnis1 g*vaminib3 pdcis septè cjmitibj T; suis supadcis T; òibj eisadherètibj a..........dni Alex q°nd reg Scoc...............cia vram illatis nullas emèdas fecisti . . aBq° m° faceistis......................% dne Johes Cumyn . . . òib3 . . . .

Cum vos dne Witte epe Sci And? $ dne Johes Cumyn quivos geritis T; tenetis j» custody regni Scoc ad manutenèdù1 defendend jura T; libtates T; consuetudines regni . . .appb . . am alios subc9todes vros fecistis autoritate vrapp'a 1 substituistis ad quos substituendos a nobilib31; mag-natib3 T, cjmunitate regni Scoc nulla fuit vob autoritas vel. . . . tas att'buta Qui quidè custodes substituti vri ad?ram Moravie que est inmediate in manu regis Scoc autori-tate % potestate eis a vob 9missa accedentes ?ras..0̂ hòinù dni reg Scoc ibidè destruxerut T; depdaverut ac villas p^dcas 1 horrea plena de blado exarcerut T. bona omia eo^dè hòinu Moravie secìi asportaverut . . viros mulieres 1 pueros pvulos q°t atting potuerut crudeli? interfecerùt Sup quib3 injuriis dampnis T; g*vaminib3 alique emède,p vos vel p substitutos vros aliqu . . no sut fee pp quod ob defectu v?m 1 injuria pdcis hoib3 Moravie p substitutos vros illatà Ego talis in pjsentia v'ra constitut9 vice 1 nòie dni Dovenaldi comitis de Mar? unius de septè 9mitib3 Scoc 1 etiam nòie pjdco^ lifeo^ hòinu Moravie 9sanguineo^ pentu 1 affiniu °t alio^ amico^ suoji % pf dci dni comit de Mar? qui deas injurias dampna I exarsiones passi sut p remedio optinèdo % emèdis 9sequèdis a vob dne Witte epe Sci And? % dne Johes Cumyn % ab om'ib3 vob adherentibus ob defects v?m p eo q' pfdca dampna T; injurias 1 exarsiones fnssire pmissistis impunita T; no correcta ad pjsenciam dniBdwardi reg Anglie T; ad coronam Anglie regià in hiisj sc'ptis appello T; p^sentia ipius dni reg Anglie peto cu effectu] supponès pf dem dnm Dovenald comitè de Marf om'es cò-sanguineos affines % amicos suos T. . . . . s' adherètes 1] eciam homines p^dcos dni reg de Moravia T; om'ia bona sua-T, eo^dè om'ium mobilia 1 immobilia ubiciiq' fuerint inventiuspali p . . . pteccoi.........pdci dni reg Anglie T. coronelsue regie ne eis vel aliquibj eo^dè aliquod dampnu injuriaml vel gavamè ul?ius f aciatis vel in aliquo f a2e jtaumatis . . . I . . . . dne Witte epe Sci And? % dne Johes Cumyn qui voy p c9todib3 regni Scoc tenetis sup omib3 dampnis g"vam-jinib3 T; injuriis j3dco comit de M............amicis suigsupadcis de Moravia s'........obit9 nobil....................

us<k in $sens . . . . T; p ballivos T.................patien-lciam vram ill...............................................« .I . I...............fa?e . . . . vob dne Wifte epe Sci..........Johes Cumyn *l ab omib3 vob.............dnm regè . . 1..................i?ato in hiis sc'ptis appello.

Cum vos dne Wifte epe Sci And? T, dne Jobes Cumyn qui vos geritis 1 tenetis p custodib3 regni Scoc ad manu-tenèd T; defendend leges T; 9suetudines.................................................................appbataqì; ad t'buendu unicuiq, jus suu quod s' de jure deber3 còpecl tere lic5 nos Bobtus de Brus dns Vali Anandie tanq*m heres legitim9 1 ver9 . . . ig . . . . regime regni Scoc SUM jure iiro quod hobem9 in regno Scoc supadco clamiu ind posuim9 T; psecucon juris Sri put tenemr f aciam9 cù effectu] Vos unacu aliquib3 de regno Scoc vob T; volvitati vre còsen-J cientib3 T; adherentib3 in j)judiciu n?m % juris Sri impedij mètu T; etià in pjudiciù T; lesionè juris T; libtatis septè . . -.1 tu . . . . quod 1 q"m habent 1 a tempe a quo no e memorial habuerut de rege f acièdo T; in sede regia instituèdo in regno] Scoc unacù 9munitate regni ej9d eis adher . . . quociens-J eiiq, sedes regia Scoc de jure "\ de fco vacavfit dnm Jonem] de Balliolo regè in regno Scoc face T; jura T. bonores regil minis regni eidè att'buere intenditis 1 pponitis    Ideotfe nos[ob defectu v?m 1 injuria p vos nob T; $dcis septè 9mitib5 lillata p jure iiro quod habem9 in regimine regni Scoc T; pjure pdc*o^ septè 9mit5 psequèdo T; optinèdo

pteencià dni ^Edwardi Dei g?a regis Anglie illustris T; corona Anglieregià in hiis sc'ptis appellam9      Et . . vos in pjudiciù jurisnri % libtatis fJdco^ septè 9mit5 ad aliquè regè faciendu inregno Scoc quousq> sup jure iiro in psencia dni reg

Anglie nia plenu recipiam9 judicium quod a vob nullo modorecipe volum9 aliquo m° pcedatis i?ato ut p'us ad jJdcm [dnm regè Anglie 1 ad corona ipius regiam in hiis sc'ptis (appellamus supponentes nos spal? L septè comites sup"dcoset omes consanguineos affines 1 amicos suos T; iiros spalesnob 'i sup'dcis comitib3 adherentes 1 omes ?ras T; possessi-1 ones firas T; suas T; omia bona iira 1 sua mobilia T; imobilia [ubicunq, fuerint inventa spali paci ptexioni T. defencoi $dci [dni reg Anghe T; corone sue regie ne vos nob vel . . . p\lcisf septè 9mitib3 vel.............lo . . . . vel.........iquod[dampnu injuria . . . . g*vamè . . . . vel aliq0

modo inferrejkumatis Ite q'a vos dne Wfte epe Sci And? rt dne Jones 1 Cumyn qui vos p custody regni tenetis sup omib3 damp-nis . . . minib3 T; injuriis nob T; nris a tempe obit9

nobilis Imemorie dni Alex q°ndà reg nri Scoc usq, in $sens p vos 1ip balhvos 'ì substitutos vros.....emendas fieri fecistis

[vel aliquo modo pp pacienciam vram facere curavistis a tyob dne epe Sci And? 1 dne Johes Cumyn T; ab omib3 . . ..........ad $dcm regè Anglie T; coronam Anglie regiami?ato ut p'us in hiis scriptis appellam51.

Me4' q dns Witts q°ndam rex Scoc habuit unu frem qui |vocabatr David qui fuit com de Hunt . . . . Idè David[habuit unu........T. tres filias % ille filius mortuus fuit[sine nede 1 p'mogenita filia maritata fuit dno Galwadiemui g..................a filiam......................qui mic est[Et media filia maritata fuit dno de Brus qui pcreavit ex eaunu filiu . s . dnm Bob . . . Brus qui.........      Et . . .P. . . . . . . maritata fuit dno de Hastingys de qua illi . . . .ingys pcesseriìt......................Scoc...........in Scociaad temp9 ita q fere ad senile pvenit eta . . . . T; ita q* dis-sperabef de hede de..........pcreando 1 d................sua dissensio oriri deberet in? hòìes Scoc quis heditare deber3 in regno Scoc p9 ejus discessum quiquidem rexAlex dnm de.............est in Morav . . . . meus . . . .ad qua dissensionè sedandà pdcs dfis..............................................................congregarefecit 1 adunare nobiles % magnates regni Scoc epos °t alios cticos T; laicos quot cògregare potuit ad certum die 1 locu quib3 ostendebat statu etatis sue 1 q no habebat hedem de corpe suo pcreatu set comes David awiicts suis habuit tres fllias qua^ p'ma habet unam filia 1 scda habet unu filium et injunxit eis ofiiib3 in fide 1 fidelitate 1 homagio quib3 ei tenebantr q discernerent 1 judiearet in? ipos % judicarent s' quis eo^ heditare deberet utru filia sororis p'mogemte vel filius sororis medie Qui in? se congregati adinvicè dis-cernebant T; judicabant p omes leges suas impiales 1 alias q masculus filius de scda sorore genit9 pocius heditare deberet qam filia sororis p'mogenite T; illud omes pdci tam cìici q*m laici unanimi? T; còcordi? pdco dno regi Alexandra p vero judicio ostenderut Quo quidè judico redito 1 a pdco rege accepto pdcs dfis rex Alex dnm Bofctii de Brus dnm Vatt Anandie qui nùc est p manu accipiens ilium p vero T; legitimo hede suo ad regime regni Scoc pdcis nobilib3 % magnatib3 suis tam cticis qam laicis publice psentavit 1 assignavit Quo fco offies pdci magnates quot-quot ibi in?f uerut eodem die tactis sacroscis ewangeliis ex

to............in psencia pdci dni . . . Alexandri fideli-

tatem pdco dno Bohto de Brus fecerùt      Et istud fcm..................urarie dni reg Scoc fuit intitulatu T; scripts. . . . nessim9 ad quo^ vel cuj9 manus jam pvenit undevidef q, ex . . . defecit...........d............nte a pdco dnoAlexand rege Scoc pdcs dns de Brus est ad psens in eodè statu de jure suo ad regnu Scoc in quo fuit die

quo assig-nat9 fuit T; accept9 p vero T; legitimo hede regni Scoc.

Med' q coin de Holand pcessit de sorore dni reg Witti "I cognitu est p anticos regni Scoc q tot9

gmitat9 de Eos collat9 fuit in maritagio cu pdca sorore dni reg Witti % pucs 9mitat9 elongat9 fuit a pdco comite de Holand sine aliq" racoe % sn forisfacto suo vel antecessor suo^ T; injuste 8icut recognitu est Et est med q simifr recognitu est p anticos regni Scoc q si casu còtingente de hedib? David comit de Huntingtun aliquo modo deficiat ita . . no pos-sunt heditare in Scocia recognitus est pdcs com de Holand p justo hede T; ^pinquiori ad regime regni Scoc optinendu racoe pdce sororis dni reg Witti.

Chaidh an t-agradh seo aideachadh le làmh-sgrìobhaidh Easbuig Stapleton, "Rotulus con-tinens appellationes Septem Comitum Regni Scotise super jure ejusdem Regni ad eosdem Comites pertinente, coram Custodibus dicti Regni per dictos Comites factas et pi'olatas."

Fhuair Sir Francis Palgrave, mar an ceudna, an litir seo. Bha i air a sgrìobhadh, a rèir a bheachd-8an, leis a'Bhruce a bu shine.

"Je ay entendu par mon Pere e par aunciens gentz del tens le Rei Davi' qe il avoit guere entre le Roi de Engleire et le Roi Dam. [E] en eel tens q Northumbei'launde fut pdu' i avoit il une pees fait entre le Rei d Engletre et le Rei d Escoce: Tele' si le Roi d Escoce venist iames encountre le Roi d EngUtre de nule desobeisaunce ou a cuntre sa Corone q les Seet Countes de Escoce feussent tenuz de s'ment . . . au Roi d Engleire e sa Corone . .. . . . en.........................Pus........................des-obeisaunces ont este fetes. Mes pus viut le Roi Richard 1 ||vendi le homage le Roi d Escoce . . . . . . n9 ne entendoms pas q cele vente doit rien valers quar bien est le Roi d Engleire si sages, 1 son consail, q tost se ser'ont aviser, si 1 en poet demenbrer la Corone d un tiel menbre, et pus q 1 en doit tenir la Corone entiere bien li faz a savoir par Elys de ||Hauulle q quele heure ge il voet faire sa demaunde droitureaument q je luy obeieray et il ayderay de mei et de touz mes amis e de tot mon lignage q . . mes amis voillent fere. E vous prie v?e grace de mon droit e de ma verite q je yoilmustrer devaunt vous:' e durement en.....................ay de parler ove les auncienes genz de la terre porenquerre la verite de vos busoignes come............."

Cha d'fhuair Sir Francis Palgrave ni sam bith, eile ann an Cùirt-Ionmhais a' Chrùin a thaobh Seachd Mòr-mhaoir na h-Alba.

Bha Sir Francis Palgrave am beachd gu'n robh Seachd Mòr-mhaoir na h-Alba nan riaghladairean ann an Alba 'ntfair a bha a' chathair-rioghaill falamh (sede vacante-interregnum) ; no 'nuair a bha eiridh-a-mach am measg luchd-leanmh-uinn an Rìgh. Bha e am beachd gu'n robh iad na Comunn reachdail; agus gu'n d'fhuair iad a' chumhachd seo o chionn ioma linn.

B' ann mar seo a bha e a gabhail beachd air a chuis. Bha Alba air a roinn 'na sheachd earrann-ain. Bha Seachd Comites, no Mòr-mhaoir ann, an uair a bha Cruithne 'na Rìgh na h-Alba. Ri linn a'cheathramh Calum a bha 'na Rìgh air Alba, rinn na Seachd Mòr-mhaoir ceannairc an aghaidh an Rìgh ;

agus thug iad oidhirp air cuir as do'n fheadhainn a bha a leantuinn an Rìgh.

Thubhairt Sir Francis, gu'n robh dà Uachdaran deug anns an Fhraing, direach mar a bha seachd Mòr-mhaoir ann an Alba. Bu iad 'nan seachd mhaoir air tus.

Direach mar a bha Seachd Mòr-mhaoir na h-Alba is ann mar sin (thubhairt e) gu'n robh Seachd Taghadairean anns an Iompaireach, aig an robh ard-chumhachd ceannard a chur air a chathair-rioghaill.

Thubhairt e, cuideach, gu'n robh Seachd Barain ann an ceann-deas na Frainge, aig an robh a mhàin coir air dol a stigh do roinnean na dùcha. Cha robh a' choir seo aig neach sam bith eile.

A h-uile air sin, thubhairt e gu'n robh na Mann-aich air an taghadh air an dòigh ciadna le fir-ionaid. Thug iad " Taghadh air comh-chòrdadh " mar ainm air an dòigh seo.

Dh'ainmich Feachd Cogaidh na Croise dà thagh-adairean deug; agus thagh iad Baldwin, Iarla Fhlanders, gu bhi' 'na Iompaire dhoibh-san.

Ged a bha Sir Francis Palgrave 'na dhuine fìor thuigsinnach, agus ged a thaitainn a bharail ri daoine fhoghluimte, bha cuid am beachd gu'n robh de rinn e mearachd. Dh'eirich tiolpadair ("aig nach robh eòlas air Daibh ") anns an Edinburgh Review, agus chuir e ann an teagamh na thuirt Sir Francis Palgrave. Tha e ro dhuilich a thuigsinn, ars' easan, ciod a tha Sir Francis a' ciallachadh leis na briathran seo. B'e gun teagamh cinnteach nach robh rud sam bith ann an Eachdraidh na h-Alba a bha cho neonach ri beachd Shir Francis.

Cha robh an Ceathramh Rìgh Callum riamh ann an cunnart ceannairc le sheachd Mhòr-mhaoir ; ach le shia Mhorairean; agus cha d'thug iad riamh oidhirp air cur as do'n leantuinn-rioghaill, ged a dh'fhiach iad Rìgh a mhàin a ghlacail. Oir bha iad diombach 'ga dh'ghiulan mi-bheusach mhaslach anns an Fhraing, mar a tha Hovenden agus Melrose, dithis eachdraichean a bha maireann aig an àm ud, ag ràdh.

A h-uile air sin, cha robh "Seachd Mòr-mhaoir na h-Alba " a tha air an ainmachadh anns an dearbh-sgrìobhadh a fhuair Sir Francis Palgrave ann an Cùirt-Ionmhais a' Chrùin, 'nan ùghdarras anns a' Ghàidhealtachd. Gun teagamh, tha seachd ann; ach tha triuir dhuibh 'nan ^Iarlan Sasunnaich!

Is iad seo ainmean dhoibh-san.16. Mòr-mhaor Mhàirr.17. Mòr-mhaor Athuill.18. Mòr-mhaor Leamhain.19. Mòr-mhaor Fhìofa (Leanabh còig

bhliad-aichean a dh'aois).20. Iarla nan Cinn-Criche.21. Iarla Mhenteith.22. Iarla Charraig.A nis, bha dream làidir ann an Alba aig an àm ud,

a mhionnaich a chèile a chindachadh an aghaidh an tagradh a rinn Bruce air Cathair-riogh-aill na h-Alba. Am measg nan daoine sud bha na Morairean seo.

Mòr-mhaor AonghaisMòr-mhaor RoisMòr-mhaor Shrath Earn agus mòran

eile.CIARAN MAC CHIAKAIN. (Ri

leantuinn.)

ANCIENT HOLY WELLS IN SCOTLANDIN visiting our ancient abbeys, it is impossible not to be struck by certain features which they invari-

^ost of these facts have been taken from the Statistical Accounts of Scotland, which have been mainly written by ministers of the " Beformed " religion.ably present.      The high state of cultivation which their surroundings exhibit is strong and unmistak-able evidence of the culture and untiring labour of the monks of old.      That bleak and barren moors and wild primeval forests should be converted into rich meadows and fertile fields is a more than sufficient refutation of the gross calumny which represents the inmates of monasteries as lazy drones—a burden to the age in which they lived. There is another circumstance to be noted in connexion with these ancient monasteries, and which displays the prudent sagacity of the religious orders, namely, that their houses were almost always situated on the banks of a river; so that they not only had an abundant supply of water within easy reach, but their tables were well supplied with fish.      If, however, we some-tunes find that monasteries have been raised at a distance from a stream, we may take it for granted that water was not lacking in the neighbourhood. Look around you, and you will soon find that a well is not far distant.      That wells have been, and are, miraculous agents I need not attempt to prove. Very few Catholics would hesitate to believe that St. Winefred's Well in Wales is a wonderful channel through which God deigns to pour His graces in abundance on those who in their simple faith have recourse to Him by its means.

I propose to enumerate some of the holy wells which once existed in Scotland. Traces of the faith in the virtue of holy wells in Scotland are even in these days plainly discernible; and in spite of the " pure " and " unsuperstitious " doctrine which the kirk ministers Sunday after Sunday propound, it would not be a difficult task on many a beautiful Sunday afternoon to take the devout

EPresbyterian by surprise, while quaffing, with a certain amount of reverence and respect, the waters of some one or other of these sacred fountains. I will begin by mentioning some wells which were dedicated to our Lady; such, for instance, as St. Mary's Well, in the parish of Tain, and our Lady's Well, which gave its name to the parish of Tibbermore. Then there is Tobar Mhoire, or Mary's Well, in the parish of Alness, in Eoss and Cromarty. Another Tobar Mhoire, which gives its name to the village of Tobermory, is found in the island of Mull, Argyllshire. Then, again, there is " The Lady's Well," in the parish of Kincardine (Eoss and Cromarty). Besides the foregoing there used to be " Our Lady's Well" not far from St. Mungo's Cathedral in Glasgow. In the parishes of Dalziel and Kirkcolm, in Wigtown-shire, there were wells dedicated to our Lady, and known as Mary's Well.            *

In the parish of Strath, in the Isle of Skye, many excellent springs abound; among these one is considered superior to all, and is called " Tobar Ashig," which is supposed to mean St. Asaph's Well. In the same parish is another famous well known as

"Tobar Chlemen," or St. Clement's Well. In the parish of Nigg (Ross and Cromarty) is a spring known as " Tobar na Slàinte," well of health or salvation. In the centre of the same parish there is another well known as that of St. John the Baptist. St. Cowstair's Well (who St. Cowstair was I do not know), in Garrabost, in the island of Lewis, is said to possess the peculiar quality of never boiling any kind of meat, however long it may be kept on the fire. In Perthshire, in the parish of Muthill, at Straid, in the district of Blairanroan, there is a well once much fre-quented for the cure of whooping-cough.      In the same district is St. Patrick's Well.      Part of the foundation of St. Patrick's Chapel was still to be seen on this spot in 1837.      Some houses had been built there about that time which bear the saint's name. The inhabitants of the district, although Protestants, held the saint's memory in such veneration, that on his feast day " neither was the clap of the mill heard, nor the plough seen to move in the furrow ".      In the parish of Dalziel, in Lanarkshire, there was another well dedicated to St. Patrick.      A third well, dedicated to the same saint, is seen to this day not far from Dunskey Castle, which looks across the sea towards Erin from the shore of Galloway.      In this same locality, in the parish of Kirkcolm in Wigtownshire, is pointed out to strangers a bubbling spring on a grassy bank, which bears the name of Columba's Well.        There is another well dedicated to St. Columba at the opening of Glenmoriston, not far from Fort Augustus.      There was a well in the parish of Kilmory, in the island of Arran, dedicated to God and to St. Molios,11 which was once celebrated for its miraculous cures.    On the hills on the south of the ruins of Lindores, in the parish of Dron, the traveller's attention is still directed to the Monk's Well and the Abbot's Well.      In the parish of Auchtergaven, St. Bride's Well was at one time mùch frequented.        In the parish of Muthill, in Perthshire, there was a celebrated holy well on the side of the Machony, known far and near for its miraculous cures.      It was called the Holy Well of Struthill.      Its waters were considered effectual in curing insanity.      The chapel

1 The tonsured in honour of Jesus.I      ^which stood near this well was ordered to be de-stroyed by the Presbytery of Auchterarder in the year 1650, on account of the superstitions con-nected with it. But even this harsh act did not rob the well of its celebrity; and in 1668 several persons bore witness before the Presbytery of Stirling that they carried a woman thither, and stayed two nights at a house hard by the well. The first night they bound the woman to a stone at the well, but she came into the house to them, having been loosed without any help. The second night they bound her again to the same stone and she again returned, unaided by any living creature. They declared, moreover, that she was very mad before they took her to the well, but since that time "she is working and is sober in her wits". This well was still famous, and votive offerings were cast into it, in the year 1723.

In the parish of Trinity Gask, in Perthshire, there is a well known as Trinity Well, which was widely celebrated in Catholic days for its miraculous cures.

In the flower-garden of Pitfour, in the parish of St. Madoes (Madoc), there is a spring dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity. In olden times it was held in great repute. Another well dedicated to the Holy Trinity, in Midlothian, was celebrated for its cures. It is vulgarly known as Tarnity Well. It was situated near the hospital of Soltre, or Soutra, the ruins of which may still be seen on the east side of the highway leading from Edinburgh to Kelso, and the fountain may still be seen by the traveller as he passes the brook called the " Blackburn of Soutra," and a little before he arrives at the top of the hill where the hospital stood. The well of St. Thomas, in Crieff, Perthshire, was once very famous.      The town has the saint for its patron. In the parish of Weem there is a spring about the middle of the rock of Weem known as the Spring of St. David. Some years ago the spring was cleared out, and votive offerings were thrown into it. Tradition says that St. David was at one time the " laird " of this locality, and that, having become a monk, he built a chapel on a shelf of the rock still called " Craig an Chaib-eail," or the chapel rock. In the parish of Dalziel above mentioned there was another well dedicated to St. Margaret.

Near the ancient abbey of Holyrood was a well called the " Rood Well," but no longer known by that name. But at no great distance from the old abbey there is a St. Margaret's Well, "which is still sometimes visited by pilgrims of the old religion ". This well still flows as clear as in the days of St. David. St. Eunan's1 Well is to be seen to this day not far from Aboyne, on the north side of the Dee. In the Catholic island of Eigg, in the Hebrides, St. Donnan's Well is still in good preservation. St. Kieran's Well, near Campbeltown, in Cantyre, was very famous at one time. There was another holy well in the parish of Weem, dedicated to St. Dabius (or Movean). This well was formerly much resorted to. Another spring, in the province of Moray, at Kenedor, not far from Elgin, known as St. Gervad's Well, was very famous. St. Modan, once a most popular saint in Argyllshire, has several wells still under his patronage. One of these is near the church of Baillie Mhaodin, at Ardchattan, in Argyllshire. In this locality, too, there is a well known in Gaelic as "Tobar bhille nam banna ".      The practice of making votive offer-

1 Eunan is the Celtic form for Adamnan.ings at this well did not fall into complete desuetude even on the change of religion in these parts. St. Modan was also patron saint of Ard-gour, near the ferry of Corran, which separates in' part the counties of Inverness and Argyllshire. The parish of Kilmodan, in Cowal, South Argyllshire, was also dedicated to this saint. St. Modan is said to have frequently interrupted his apostolic labours by retiring among the craggy mountains of Dumbarton, where he usually spent thirty or forty days in contemplation and meditation. The church of Eoseneath, at the mouth of Gairloch, is dedicated to St. Modan; and over among the hills in this district, in Ciochan Glen, in Dumbartonshire, tradition says that there was a miraculous well, formerly much resorted to by pilgrims, which had1 a great reputation for its curative powers. Was this St. Modan's Well ?

Not far from Pittenweem, in the county of Fife, we have "the marble well of St. Fillan". There is another celebrated well or pool dedicated to St.

Fillan in the strath which bears the saint's name, in the Etterick, on the eastern confines of the county of Perth. Strathfillan is well known in Scottish history as the district in which King Robert Bruce founded a priory in honour of St. Fillan, whose miraculous arm was carried into the battle of Bannockburn. In later years this place became still more famous on account of its miraculous holy well. Here there is a deep pool, where in olden times it was the custom to dip persons suffering from rheumatism or insanity. The ceremony was performed after sunset on the first day of the quarter (old style) and before sunrise next morning. The patient was instructed to take three stones from the bottom of the well, and, walking three times round each of three cairns that stood on the bank, to throw a stone into each. He was next conveyed into the ruins of St. Fillan's chapel, and, in a corner called St. Fillan's bed, he had to lie down on his back, and was bound and left there iall night. If, next morning, he was found un-bound, with his fetters lying by his side, thè cure was considered complete, and an act of thanks-, giving followed.

In Glencreran, in Appin, we have the three wells of St. Cyril all in the same locality.1 The first of these

was remarkable for its virtue in curing ailments of the eyes. The second was famous for its power in resetting disjointed elbows. The third was renowned for its efficacy in fractures of the knee. To this day votive offerings may be seen lying at the bottom of these wells. The abbey well of Urquhart is now the only relic of the once famous and ancient abbey of Urquhart.

I will conclude by relating what has been said of a peculiar well which existed near the church of St Winning, in the parish of that name in Ayrshire. Tt seems that many fountains had been blessed by the saint. One of these was believed to give warning of the approach of war by flowing with blood. Hoveden and Benedictus Abbas relate a portent of this kind as having occurred in the year 1184. And the fact was mentioned by Lord Hales in the first volume of his Annals of Scotland. He was of course accused of credulity; and in a subsequent edition of his work he says: " The author must still remain under that imputation, for he cannot submit to acknowledge that he does not believe

1 Tobar nan sùl, Tobar nan ghlùn, agus Tobar nan uileann.

that a fountain near Kilwinning ran blood for eight days and eight nights without intermission".

A. C.[ST. COWSTAIR'S WELL.

In an article entitled " Early Scottish Saints," written by the Eev. Michael Barrett, O.S.B., and which appeared in the Dublin Review for April, 1899, the above well is mentioned.

In writing of St. Constantine, he speaks of St. Cowstan's (not Cowstair's) Well at Garrabost. " Several churches bore this saint's name in Scotland. Kirkconstantine, mentioned in the Re-gistrum of Glasgow, may be identical with Govan. Dunnichen in Forfarshire had his church, where St. Cousland's Flaw still perpetuates his memory, and St. Cousland's Fair is held annually. Kinnoull, near Perth, was also under his patronage, with many other churches. The water from the well of this saint—known there as St. Cowstan—at Garrabost, in the island of Lewis, was reputed never to boil any kind of meat, even though kept over the fire for a whole day."—-ED. G. N. B.~]

URNAIGH AGUS NA SALMCIOD e ùrnaigh? Is e ùrnaigh ar cridhe 'thogail suas ri Dia, a bhi 'còmhradh 's a' labhairt ri Dia. "Is i an ùrnaigh," arsa Naomh Franse, "uisge nam beannachd a bheir blàth is cinneachadh do mheangan nan deagh-bhèus ; a nigheas ar n-anam o 'gnìomhan."

"An neach a ni ùrnaigh gu math," arsa Naomh TJistein, "bidh a chaitheamh-beatha math." Ach, gus na buaidhean seo a bhi aig an ùrnaigh, feumar a deanamh mar is còir ; a chionn tha'n t-Ostal Seumas ag ràdh. "Tha sibh ag iarraidh, agus cha 'n 'eil sibh a' faotainn, do bhrìgh gu bheil sibh ag iarraidh gu h-olc."

Tha Athraichean agus Ollaichean na h-Eaglais a' teagasg nach urrainn duinn ar n-anam a shàbhaladh

gun ùrnaigh; oir tha gràsan Dhè riatanach gus ar sàbhaladh, mar a tha ar Slànaigheir ag ràdh. " Is mise an fhìonain : is sibhse na geugan. Esan a dh'fhanas annamsa, agus mise annsan, giùlainidh e mòran toraidh. Oir as m'eugmhais cha'n urrainn duibh ni air bith a dheanamh." Agus a rithist, "" ma dh'iarras sibh ni air bith air an Athair ann am ainm-sa, bheir e dhuibh e." Ach cha'n fhaigh sinn na gràsan a iarras sinn mur h-iarr sinn air Dia iad le ùrnaigh dhùrachdaich.

Is còir dhuinn ùrnaigh a dheanamh le uigh-eamachadh. Is e sin, smaointean saoghalta fhuadach bhuainn roimh làimh ; sinn fèin a chur an làthair Dhè, agus a chomhnadh iarraidh. Is còir dhuinn ùrnaigh a dheanamh le ùmhlachd. Gus an toill sinn èisdeachd is còir dhuinn sinn-fèin iris-leachadh an làthair Dhè, agus lùbadh sios mar an cìs-mhaor. "Sheall Dia air ùrnaigh nan iriseal, agus cha d' rinn e diù dhe 'n achanaich." Ciod a tha am faidh ag ràdh? "Urnaigh an fhir a dh'ùmhlaicheas e fèin, tollaidh i na neòil." Agus a rithist, " Air cridhe brùite is iriseal, a Dhia, cha dean thu tàire " (Salm i. 19).

Is còir dhuinn urnaigh a dheanamh le earbsa làidir, gu'm faigh sinn an rud a tha sinn a'sireadh. Cha 'n e gur fhiach sinn e, ach as leth Fuil Chrìosta, mathas Dhè, agus a gheallaidh.      " A h-uile ni a dh'iarras sibh ann an ùrnaigh, ma chreideas sibh, gheibh sibh e." Agus a rithist, "iarradh e le creideamh, gun bhi ann an teagamh air bith; oir esan a tha ann an teagamh, tha e cosmhuil ri tonn na mara, a tha air a sèideadh le gaoith, agus air a luasgadh. . . . Na saoileadh an duine sin gu'm faigh e ni air bith o'n Tighearna."

Ma tha Dia 'faicinn gur cron a dheanamh ar n-iarrtas dhuinn, thugamaid fainear nach toin e dhuinn e. Ach bheir e dhuinn ni eile na 'aite a bhios gu stàth dh' ar n-anam. Ma 's àill leinn matà, beannachd saoghalta sa bith fhaighinn, is còir dhuinn 'iarraidh air Dia a' chùmhnanta seo a mhàin, ma tha esan ga 'fhaicinn iomchuidh, agus ma bhios e gu leas ar n-anma.

Is còir dhuinn ùrnaigh a dheanamh le buanas, oir, "deanaibh-se uime sin faire ri ùrnaigh daonnan"; agus, "bithibh ri ùrnaigh gun lasachadh". Agus ged nach grad-fhaigh sinn na bhios sinn ag iarraidh, na cailleamaid ar misneach ; ach lean-amaid samhladh na bantraich a fhuair a guidhe o'n bhreatheamh eucorach le sìor-iarraidh, agus ar dean-achanaich.

A huile air sin, is còir dhuinn ùrnaigh a dheanamh ann an ainm Chrìosta. O'n is ann o fhulangas Chrìosta, agus o dhòrtadh 'Fhala prìseile; a tha gach gràs ri tighinn òirinn, 's ann as an leth! is còir an sireadh. Is ann, uime sin, a tha sinn am. bichiontas ag cur na crìche seo air an ùrnaigh— "troimh Iosa Crìosta ar Tighearna". Cha 'n 'eil ainm air bith eile fo nèamh air a thoirt do dhaoine leis am faod sinn a bhi sàbhailte. (Iul a' Chrìost-aidh, taobh 9-10.)

Is e mar sin an ùrnaigh. Is e ùrnaigh ar cridhe 'thogail suas ri Dia, a bhi 'còmhradh 's a' labhairt ri Dia.      "Eisd, a Dhè, ri m'ghlaodh.      Thoir an aire do m'ùrnaigh. Mo Dhia, mo Shlànaigheir anns an gabh mi tearmunn. Mo sgiath, agus adharc mo shlàinte, mo thùr àrd. Gairmidh mi air Dia a's airidh air cliù; agus o m'naimhdean teasair-gear mi. Chuairtich cùird a'bhàis mi; agus chuir tuiltean mi-dhiadhachd eagal orm. Dh'iadh cùird ifrinne mu'm thiomchioll; choinnich ribeachan a bhàis mi. A' m' theinn ghairm mi air an Tighearna, agus ri m' Dhia ghlaodh mi. Chual' e as a theam-pull naomh mo ghuth ; agus thàinig mo ghlaodh 'na làthair d'a chluasan" (Na Salm le Daibhidh).

Cia ro iongantach na Salm le Daibhidh ! Bha a thlachd ann an lagh Dhè, agus bha e a' smuain-eachadh air a lagh-san a là agus a dh' oidhche. Bha e " mar chraoibh suidhichte làimh ri sruthan uisge," a chuir a mach a toradh 'na h-aimsir. Thug e buidheacheas do Dhia le 'uile chridhe, agus le 'uile anam. Oir, mar a tha e fèin ag ràdh, " le m'uile chridhe dh'iarr mi thu. . . . A' m' chridhe, thaisg mi t'fhacal, o chionn nach peacaichinn a' d' aghaidh. Is beannaichte thusa, a Thighearna r teagaisg dhomh do reachdan."

A bhàrr air a bhi 'na sheirbheiseach taghta le Dia, bha Daibhidh 'na bhàird gu fior. Cia iongantach a dhealbh a thaobh oibrean iongantach, Dhè ! " Beannaich an Tighearna. 0 m'anam I A Thighearna mo Dhia, tha thusa ro mhòr. Le urram agus mòralachd tha thu air do sgeadachadh. Tha thu 'gad chomhdachadh fèin le solus mar trusgan, a' sìneadh a mach nan nèamh mar phàil-liun. Tha e a' leaghadh sailthean a sheomar anns na h-uisgeachan. A' deanamh nan neul 'nan carbad dha' fèin, a' siubhal air sgiathan na gaoithe. A' deanamh 'Ainglean de na h-anmanna, a luchd-frithealaidh de'n teine lasarach. Shuidhich e an talamh air a bhunaitean Ios nach gluaisteadh e gu bràth. Leis an doimhneachd, mar le trusgan, chòmhdaich thu e : sheas na h-uisgeachan os ceann nam beann. O t'achmhasan-sa theich iad : 0 ghuth do thairneanaich ghreas iad rompa. Chaidh na beanntan suas do na nèamhan. Chaidh iad sìos do'n ait a dh'orduich thusa dhoibh. Shuidhich thu crìoch air nach tèid iad thairis, Ios nach pill iad a rithist a chòmhdachadh na talmhainn. Tha e a' cur fhuaran a mach do na glinn: tha iad a' ruith eadar na beanntan. Bheir iad deoch do uile bheathaichean na macharach. Caisgidh na h-asail fhiadhaich an ìotadh. Os ceann doibh còmh-nuichidh eunlaith nan speur. Bidh iad a' seinn am measg nan creagan. Uisgichidh e na beanntan o 'sheòmraichean. Le toradh a

ghnìomharan sàsuichear an talamh. Bheir e air feur fàs do'n sprèidh, agus air luibh chum seirbhis an duine; Ios gu'n aran a thabhairt as an talamh, agus gu'n dean fìon cridhe an duine subhach: chum toirt air a ghnùis dealrachadh le ola; agus gu'n nartaicheadh aran cridhe an duine. Tha craobhan na h-achaidh-ean air an sàsuchadh-seudair Lebanoin a shuidhich e. Far an dean na h-eoin an nid. A' chorra-bhan, 'se an craobh as àirde dhiubh, is tigh dhi. Tha na beanntan àrda do na gabhair fhiadhaich; tha na creagan 'nan tearmunn do na coineanan. Rinn e a' ghealach air son aimsirean : is aithne do'n ghrèin a luidhe. Ni thu dorchadas, agus tha'n oidhche ann, anns an gluais uile bheathaiche na coille mach. Beucaidh na leòmhain òga air son cobhartaich, agus ag iarraidh am bìdh air Dia. Eiridh a' ghrian, bheir iad as orra; agus 'nan àitean-tàimh luidhidh iad. Thèid an duine a mach gu 'obair; agus gu 'shaothair gu feasgar. Cia lionmhor t'oibre a Thighearna ! Ann an gliocas rinn thu iad uile: Tha 'n talamh làn de t'oibrean iongantach. Sud an cuan mòr agus farsuinn, anns am bheil nithe gluasadach gun àireamh, araon beathaichean beaga agus mòra. An sin siubhlaidh na longan. Agus dragon na mara sin a dhealbh thu gu cluich ann : feithidh iad uile ortsa Ios gu'n tabhair thu dhoibh am biadh 'na tràth. Bheir thusa dhoibh, cruinnichidh iadsan : fosgailidh tu ;do làmh, sàsuichear iad le maith. Falaichidh tu do ghnùis, bithidh iad fo amhluadh. Bheir thu uatha an anail, agus gheibh iad bas, agus pillidh iad ri'n uir. Cuiridh tu mach t'anail, agus cruth-aichear iad : ath-nuadhaichidh tu aghaidh na talmhainn. Maireadh glòir Dhè gu bràth : deanadh an Tighearna gairdeachas 'na oibre. A sheallas air an talamh, agus criothnaichidh e : benaidh e ris na beanntan, agus bithidh deatach dhiubh. Seinneam do'n Thighearna an cian is beò mi: deanam ceòl do'm Dhia fhad 's a bhios bith agam."

Is an dàn seo an Salm a's maisiche 'sam Bìoball, ann am bheachd-sa. " Riutsa, a Thighearna, togam tri anam suas." Anns an Salm seo, thog e suas a chridhe ri Dia, agus labhair e ri Dia. Is an Salm seo, air son sin, ùrnaigh gun cron. Bha chridhe a' cur thairis le deadh ni, agus labhair e na nithean a rùin e do'n Righ, a Thighearna. "Mar a chuala sin," ars' esan, " is amhuil a chunnaic sinn ann am baile Tighearna nan slògh : ann am baile ar Dè. Daingnichidh Dia e gu bràth. Smuainich sinn air do chaoimhneas gràidh, A Dhè, ann am meadhon do theampuill. Mar t'ainm, a Dhè, mar sin tha. do chliù gu criochan na talmhainn."

Chuir Daibhidh 'earbsa ann an Dia. " Cha'n eagal leam ciod a dh'fhaodas duine a dheanamh orm," ars' esan. " Ormsa, a Dhè, tha do bhòidean : iocaidh mi tabhartas-buidheachais dhuit. Oir shaor thu m'anam o'n bhàs.      Nach do shaor thu mar an ceudna mo chasan o thuisleadh, Ios gu'n gluaisinn ann ad làthair, a Dhè, ann an solus nam beò ? " Air Dia a mhàin bha 'anam a' feitheamh. " Is esan a mhain" ars' e, " mo charraig agus mo shlàinte," agus a rithist, " a mhàin air Dia feith, O m'anam; oir is ann uaithe-san a tha mo dhòchas. Is esan a mhàin mo charraig, agus mo shlàinte. Mo thùr àrd, cha ghluaisear mi. An Dia tha mo shlàinte, agus mo ghlòir: carraig mo neart, mo thearmunn is e Dia. Cuiridh air gach àm bhur n-earbsa ann O a shluagh. Dòirtibh a mach bhur chridhe 'na làthair. Tha Dia 'na thearmunn duinn." Bha e a smuaintean daonan a taobh a stigh Dhè. "An uair a chuimhnicheas mi ort air mo leabaidh. Beachd-

smuainichidh mi ort ann am fairean na h-oidhche. . . . Tha m'anam a dlùth-leantuinn riut. Cumaidh do dheas làmh suas mi." Agus a rithist, " O cia ionmhuinn leam do lagh-sa. Gach la is e mo smuaineachadh." Agus a rèir mar a tha e ag ràdh mar an ceudna ann an àite eile, " chuimhnich mi t'ainm a Thighearna anns an oidhche, agus ghlèidh mi do lagh." Rinn Daibhidh dìreach mar a tha e sgrìobhta. " Thugaibh an aire: deanaibh faire, agus ùrnaigh ; oir cha'n 'eil fhios agaibh cum a bhitheas an t-àm.' Mar dhuine a dol fad air astar a dh'fhàg a thigh, 'sa thug cumhachd dha sheir-bhisich thairis air gach obair, 'sa dh' àithn' air an dorsair faire dheanamh. Uime sin deanaibh-se faire, oir cha'n 'eil fhios agaibh cuin a thig maighstir an tighe ; an anns an oidhche, no air a' mheadhon-oidhche, no aig gairm-choileach, no anns a' mhadainn ; eagal gun tig e gu h-obann, 's gum faigh e sibh 'nur cadal. Agus an ni a tha mi ag ràdh ruibhse, tha mi ag ràdh ris na h-uile dhaoine: Deanaibh faire " (Naomh Marc xiii. Caib. t. 33-37). Agus mar sin rinn Daibhidh, "tha mo chridhe suidhichte, a Dhè.      Seinnidh mi, agus ni mi ceòl, eadhon le m'ghloir.      Mosgail, a shaltair agus a chlàrsach.      Duisgidh mi fèin a' chamanaich."    Rinn e dìreach mar a bha e a' teagasg.      " Air a' mheadh-on-oidhche, eiridh mi, Ios gum buidheachas a thoùt duit, air son bhreitheanas t'fhireantachd." Molaibh-se ar Dia-ne; oir mar a tha Daibhaidh e fèin ag ràdh " is maith an ni a bhi deanamh ciùil d'ar Dia.      Tha e taitneach, agus tha moladh ciatach.        Gach là beannaichidh    mi thu, agus molaidh mi t'ainm gu saoghal nan saoghal."      Cia bhuin 'fhocail-san ! Cia dhomhain a chreideamh-sa ! "Is sona esan aig am bheil Dia Jacoib mar a chabair; aig am bheil a dhòchas ann an Tighearna a Dhia.      A rinn nèamh agus talamh, a' mhuir, agus gach ni a tha annta.      A choimheadas firinn gu bràth; a chuireas an gnìomh breitheanas dhoibh san a tha fo fhòirneart: A bheir biadh do na h-acraich. Cuiridh an Tighearna na prìosanaich fo sgaoil. Fosgailidh an Tighearna sùilean nan dall.      Togaidh an Tighearna suas iadsan a tha air an cromadh sios.      Is ionmhuinn leis an Tighearna na fìreana. Coimheadaidh an Tighearna na coigrich : togaidh e suas an dìlleachan agus a'bhantrach; ach tionndaidhidh e slighe nan aingidh a thaobh. Rìoghai-chidh an Tighearna gn bràth : do Dhia-sa, a Shion, o linn gu linn."

Mar sin, bu Dhaibhidh : uime sin a mheud agus is urrain dhuinn, bitheadh an inntinn seo againn. Is e ùrnaigh, ar cridhe 'thogail suas ri Dia, a bhi 'còmhradh, 's a' labhairt ri Dia ; eadhon mar a bha Daibhidh a' thogail 'ainm 's a chridhe suas ri Dia. " Cò tha glic, agus a bheir fainear na nithe seo ?    Tuigidh esan coimhneas gràidh Dhè."

IAIN MAC AN ABBA.

LITERATURE AND THE PUBLIC 1IT is satisfactory to observe that the question ol providing the Catholic population of these Islesj with wholesome literature is at last receiving tha attention which it deserves, and that an energetij campaign of reason and protest has been actively set on foot in connection therewith. At tha English Truth Society's Conference at Birmingham this important question gave rise to considerably discussion, and at the Scottish Truth Society'! recent Conference at Edinburgh the subject was ably ventilated in an

interesting paper by a Jesuil Father, the exchange of views which followed il serving to emphasise the necessity which exists fo] some sort of concentrated effort on the part ol Catholics to stem the rising tide of scepticism] indifference and vulgarity which threatens ol through the channel of a cheap and unwholesome press.

For us in Scotland, this question is a pressing one. We live in a countxy the majority of whosi inhabitants unfortunately follow a form of religiH ous belief which, owing to its negative qualities is peculiarly susceptible to irreligious influences* The instability of Protestantism, brought about bi its rapid and remarkable decay in consequence ofl the attacks directed against it by what is euphemj istically styled the " Higher Criticism," has broughl in its train a number of grievous ills, prominent among which we must reckon an alarming growtlf of indifference and vulgarity.      The danger to ourl selves, if not immediate and pressing, is at all events contingent.    A pagan and vulgar press must necessarily constitute a bad example where*ever it is suffered to exist; and is a source by means of which much good manners may become hopelessly corrupted. Scepticism and vulgarity are odious and obnoxious even as neighbours, and where the flesh be weak, nothing but harm can result from their disagreeable propinquity. The force of example is apt to prove more attractive than the power of precept, and a flippant and worldly carriage is sometimes a more fruitful source of mischief than even the most unblushing denunciations of faith and religion.

In England, the fight against irreligion and vulgarity—the two things generally go hand in hand—as typified in the pagan press of that country, has been begun with commendable alacrity, and with a gratifying zeal. The onus of the duty involved has been found to be two-fold, as, indeed, it generally is. It is the duty of Catholics to support their own publications; it is the duty of Catholic writers to produce matter which their constituents can read.

Now, in Scotland we are face to face with a very similar state of affairs. We see around us a vast array of hostile influences—influences, that is to say, which tend to corrupt faith and to undermine manners. It is our duty as Catholics to oppose those influences with such weapons as we have. We cannot, unfortunately, hope to make converts of this nation by a stroke of the pen, as it were ; for the fool who says in his heart, There is no God—the Westminster Confession has banished Him—like the poor, is ever amongst us. But at least we can see to it that our literature is good, is skilfully conceived, and cleverly executed. We can produce creditable newspapers, and deserving reviews.      Hitherto, it cannot justly be said that we have at all distinguished ourselves in this particular direction. Such Catholic literature as we have is meagre in quantity, and poor in quality. The " apologetic " attitude supplies the dominant tone. Much of our controversial literature is childish in tone. Some of the pamphlets and "stories" proposed for Catholic consumption would be laughed out of court by a heretic baby in arms. Our literature lacks virility and wants art. There is a "flabbiness " and femininity about much of it, which, however characteristic of the sex which is mainly responsible for it, renders it worse than useless for serious warfare.

On the other hand, the Catholic public itself is largely to blame. If it would support Catholic periodicals as it should do, it would have no reason to complain of their indifferent quality; and many deserving old women of both sexes would be grate-fully superannuated, or amicably despatched about a yet milder business. Surely the first duty of Catholics is to their own publications, to which theip interest, no less than their allegiance, should be attached. It is by no means fitting or right that Catholics should support non-Catholic or anti-Catholic publications, whilst their own go a-languishing for want of that support which is essential, if they are to compete at all successfully with their rivals. Many Catholics eschew their own periodicals, because they find them to be dull, which, in some cases, they undoubtedly are. But such a state of affairs is hardly an excuse for the sort of desultory reading—to brand it by no harsher epithet—in which many Catholics indulge. The Catholic periodical, however wanting in interest, is not an unimprovable quantity. The influence of the reader on the management is considerable, and, rightly directed, would produce nothing but good. But so long as Catholics stand aloof from their own publications, or take but a secondary interest therein, the standard of our periodical literature will not im-prove. Eeaders are essential to a newspaper, just as they are so to a review. Indeed, it is the reader who " makes " the periodical; for unless the reader takes a

pleasure in his periodical, and promotes its success, then will the labour of those who strive for his amusement and instruction be but in vain.

It is fortunate for us that this question of Catholic literature should have arisen in these days, when so much attention is being devoted to the subject of Gaelic letters, and to that of the re-creation of a healthy national sentiment in our midst.    Gaelic literature presents an admirable bulwark against infidelity and vulgarity—twin rampant evils of our times.      The hierarchy and priests of Ireland, fully alive to the danger of indifferentism and vulgarity, which journeys to that country in the familiar form of non-Catholic English letters, have thrown themselves heartily into the Gaelic movement, which is further fortunate in having secured the blessing and approval of His Holiness the Pope.      The Gaelic movement in Ireland is the happy creation of Catholic Ireland; for though many Protestants belong to it, and have done noble work in connection with it, yet the vast majority of Irish-speaking people, as of people who wish to recover their nationality through the medium of their language, is undoubtedly Catholic. In Scotland a precisely similar state of affairs prevails, so far as we ourselves are concerned.      Apart from the large towns, the strength of the Catholic Church in Scotland is in the Highlands.      Great numbers of our co-religionists are Gaelic speakers ;

392 Literature and the Public

and even in the great cities the Catholic Scottish population is principally Highland.

Any movement, therefore, for the improvement of Catholic letters in Scotland, must necessarily proceed in accordance with these facts, or it will fail; and the

cause of Catholicism and Nationalism will suffer in consequence.      Now, what is being done at the

present moment in Scotland, in order to promote the cause of pure and good literature amongst Celtic

Catholics?      I am ashamed to be obliged to acknowledge it, but next to nothing, if not nothing

itself, is being done to provide the Celtic public with suitable literature in the vernacular speech.      In

Catholic Ireland, on the other hand, great efforts are being made to meet the requirements of the public in

this respect.      The Catholic Truth Society of that country has published a number of religious and

profane works in the Irish language; and there are many other literary agencies at work, whose principal

object is a similar end.      In Scotland, so great is our apathy, so shameless our indifference to the language

of St. Columba, and all that its preservation implies, that we have not even a Catholic Prayer Book in the Gaelic language!      The Scottish Gael who wishes to

worship his Maker in that venerable speech is obliged to send to Canada in order to obtain a manual of

devotion in the Gaelic language! The Catholic Truth Society of Scotland, though I believe it has been

frequently approached on the subject, has hitherto stirred neither hand nor foot in the matter.      A dismal

apathy broods over all. The noise of the battle in Ireland—the glorious din of that noble struggle for

faith and national freedom—has scarce yet reached our somnolent shores.      How long, I ask, is this

discreditable state

Literature and the Public

of affairs to endure ? How long will it be before the language of we Catholic Scottish Celts, who comprise the majority of the membership of the Church in Scotland, secures that abundant recognition which is emphatically due to it ?

The history, religious and civil, of a country is, properly, the school in which the youth of that country should be reared and educated. You cannot influence the present, or attempt to moukl the future, without constant reference to the past. If that history be inspiring, be full of instances of self-sacrifice and noble zeal, of attachment to faith and fatherland in face of the greatest difficulties and discouragements, and in spite of oppression and persecution, the lesson that is learnt will necessarily be good, and its results enduring. If, on the other hand, there be little to offer in these respects—if the national decay, or change of front (call it which you will), be the obvious consequence of a general tendency to discourage resistance for the mere sake of securing a seeming temporary advantage—the lesson which you may design to inculcate starts from the outset seriously handicapped. The history of the Highlands of Scotland, though not so glorious and honourable as that of Catholic Ireland, whether we view it from the standpoint of religion or from that of nationalism, is yet in many respects an inspiring narrative, whose best qualities and precepts the Catholics of this country would do well to strive to perpetuate. But the language of our country—of Celtic Scotland—is, necessarily, the best, if not the only, medium through which the results we aim at can be secured; just as in Ireland the national speech of that country is recognised by clergy and laity alike as the only proper and safe channel by means

393

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The pages of GUTH NA BLIADHNA will be open to correspondence dealing with subjects within the scope of this Review.

Whilst the greatest care will be taken of any MSS. which may be submitted for publication, the editor declines to be responsible for their accidental loss.

MSS. must in all cases be accompanied with stamped and addressed envelopes.

Literary communications should be addressed to—

The Editor of GUTH NA BLIADHNAThe Aberdeen University Press Ltd.,

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the Managers, as above.of which similar advantages and benefits may be secured. The connexion between religion and nationalism is far too close and intimate to permit of their separation, if the safety of the former, which is necessarily the first cause, is to be adequately considered; and it is the general recogni-tion of this principle which has given so great an impetus to the Gaelic movement—the movement for good literature, and racy of

the soil—in Catholic Ireland. I do not remember ever to have seen a more lucid and convincing statement on this important subject than that which, at a meeting at which many of the bishops and priests of Ireland were present, recently fell from the lips of Mr. John Dillon, MP. I make no apology for reproducing his remarks on that occasion at some length. He spoke to the point, and with that force and directness to which

we in Scotland are much less accustomed than we should be.

" I myself have all my political life, and before I entered politics, taken the view that next, perhaps, to the land question itself the most vital question for Ireland is the question of education. Make no mistake about it, we live in an age when the most educated nation will dominate the nation that is less educated. In the struggle of life, whether it be a struggle of individuals against individuals, or a struggle of nation against nation, the uneducated individual or nation will go to the wall, and when I see men now lamenting over the outrageous and, I am sorry to say, the growing pre-dominance of Protestant ascendency in this country, and seeking such remedies as the foundation of so-called Catholic Associations—to my mind bodies which are extremely mischievous and do no good whatever—I see in all that a mistaken reading of the signs of the times. Why is it that Protestant ascendency in Ireland is worse to-day than it was ten years after the emancipation? Because we have allowed this question of the higher

education of our people to sleep. We have allowed the Protestants to steal a march on us. If we had insisted, as I believe we could have insisted, on a proper higher university education, the native genius of the people would have asserted itself, and we would have occupied the position which we ought to occupy in our native land. In my judgment, if we are to save our race and save our people from a position of inferiority which they now in all our struggles still occupy in the land of their fathers, we must seek the means of effecting that salvation by throwing open wide the gates of knowledge to the poorest of our people. What is the class of university which we require ? We want a national university, a university suited to the needs of our people. I think myself—and I make bold to say it in the presence of his lordship —I think we have talked too much about a Catholic university. If a university is started in Ireland which will be open to the people and governed by the people, it must be Catholic, because the people are Catholic. What we want is a national university—a university which will

at the same time cultivate the ancient spirit of Ireland in all its ramifications and developments, which will be racy of the soil, which will give a place of honour to the history—not like Sir Horace Plunkett, who teaches that our first duty is to forget the history of our people—will give a place of honour to the history of our race, the ancient language of our people, and the literature of our people—which will accommodate itself to the wants of a people who are emerging from the night of darkness and sorrow and oppression, which will not be the property or the preserve of a section of gentlemen in Ireland, or men who choose to call themselves gentlemen, but which will be the property of the people of the country, and the only key to admit a man to which will be not the wealth of one's parents, but the intellect which God has granted the child.

" If there be one lesson more deeply impressed on the history of Ireland than another, it is that the religion and nationality of Ireland are indis-solubly bound up together. And, make no mis-take about it, if Sir Horace Plunkett and his friends were to succeed in their

work—I give him credit for good motives, because he is a convinced Unionist, and thinks he is doing the finest thing in the world by turning us into West Britons—if he were to succeed in that work, and induced the rising generation to forget the history of their country and devote their attention solely to creameries and butter -very excellent things in their way, but they are good for the stomach, not for the brain—if he were to succeed in that policy he would strike the deadliest blow ever struck at the religion of Ireland, because in that day in which we forget our history, and obliterate the record of the sacrifices which we have made for ideals and religion in the past, the work which the might of England, the sword of Cromwell and of Elizabeth failed to do would be to a large extent accomplished. Many a nation has resisted persecution, many a body of men which has resisted every form of persecution has succumbed to the mere advance of national prosperity ; and I say, therefore, that in this great struggle which is before us for national education, as in many a struggle in the course of the history of our people, the

nationality and the religion of our people are indissolubly bound up together, and they will fall or will win together."

These are noble words, and, doubtless, exceeding pleasant to our ears. With Mr. Dillon's per-sonal views touching a Catholic university for Ireland we need not here concern ourselves. But the great principle which his speech enforces is surely mental meat and drink for all of us in Scotland—clergy and laity alike. Let us ponder over it, and whilst pondering, set actively in motion those means of deliverance with which God has been pleased to endow us. Has not the Gael slept long enough? Are our faith and nationality to go by the board to please a parcel of Saxon commercial sentimentalists ? Let us put on the armour of the prophesy of our own St. Columba, and so armed let us go forward to the fray, like true Catholics and true Gaels—pledged to do our utmost for faith and nation.

I mo chridhe : I mo ghràidh 'An àite guth Mhannaich bi'dh geum bà Ach mu'n tig an saoghal gu crìch Bi'dh I mar a bha.

1

1 Isle of my heart: Isle of my love Where monks have chanted, kine shall rove. But ere the day of doom shall be Thy glories shall return to thee.

P. E.LÀITHEAN

BHLIADHNAICHEAN EILE

CÀITE no c'uin a thachair an ni 'tha mi 'dol a dh'innse cha dana leam a bhi bruidhinn air anns an sgìreachd so. Thachair e'm bad-eigin deas air Lathurna, agus an iar air fearann cnapach Chòmh-uil. Tha'n àite 'n cois na mara. Tha e eadar dà abhainn, agus fa chomhair na grein-mhaidne— tuilleadh 'us sin cumaidh mi m'òrdag air. 'Nuair a thainig mi 'n toiseach air an àite an deigh mo thurus do'n Fhraing, agus tigh m' athar a cur suas toit chàirdeil am measg na feàrna aig lùib na slighe, mar a mharcaich mi air m' adhart, cha b'ann air fàilte no furan a bha mi 'smaoineachadh ach air sgeula Ealasaid Ghoirid agus an Duin-uasail g'un ainm. Chuir mi mo smig ri athar agus ghàir mi gus na mhag mactalla nan cnoc orm. Is diomhair obair inntinn an duine, gur ann an uair bu chòir a chridhe 'bhi làn molaidh agus taingealachd a thigeadh smaointean faoin na cheann a bheireadh air sìneadh air cireasail

ghàireachdaich coltach ri amadan. An so bha mis' aig àrd-dorus mo thighe fèin (ann an seadh), an deigh sè bliadhna airsnealach a chur seachad am measg thuaighean-cogaidh, agus chlaidh ean coimheach air son na chumadh lite 'us sùgradh rium, an t-seann loch a logradh a steach air na clacha-beaga-muile, agus an dà abhainn a co-chòrdadh le'n crònan àrd os cionn ceileireadh nan eun, agus fàile cùbhraidh nan lusan gorm a cur mo chinn na thuainealaich mar gu'n deanadh deathach buideal darach Nantach, toilichte, toilichte gu cridhe gu robh mi na m' àite fèin, maille ri m' mhuinntir fèin, agus gidheadh se sgeulachd fhaoin agus nithe neo-gheimnidh a b'aon obair do m'inntinn.

'Se chuir mi air an raon mheòraehaidh ud sealladh air balla lios an Duin-uasail aig taobh an rathaid, le riasg tiugh agus tioram air a mhullach, agus a'roineach a tighinn a mach a cuaich eadar na clachan tioram.

"Tha mo Dhuin-uasal air siubhal," thubhairt mi rium fèin ; " làn cleibh a chnamhan fo'n fhòd, le ghaol, 'sa mhacmeamna agus an còrr dhe sin, agus an so cha'n eil ach beagan atharrachaidh, an so tha'n t-seann lionadh

'us tràghadh air cladach fhearainn, an t-uisge-loth a sgaoileadh mu'n cuairt do na craobhan a chuir e, a' raon gorm mathach cho beothail fo'n ladhar agus a bha e 'nuair a bha 'chuaran bonnanta fèin a 'g imeachd air, agus an uair a b'urrainn dha ainmeachadh air fèin na h-uile mart a chitheadh a shùil."

Agus an sin chuimhnich mi air a chluich ri Ealasaid Ghoirid agus ghàir mi fad ceathramh math na h-uaireadair Fhrangach agam, agus mo ghearran a bearradh an fheòir ri fàl na slighe.

Is e m'athair (sith dha) a dhinnis dhomhsa an naigheachd, le uibhir air a chumail air ais dhi agus a bha freagarrach do fhear sgeul' innse aig bruidhinn am measg mhnathan agus chloinne, agus cha b'ann gus an robh mi fada gu leòir o m' àite fèin, agus teine 'champa ga m' chumail na m' dhuisg a thainig mìr an duine do'n sgeula do m' ionnsaidh.

Agus so mar a bha.Uair air latha

'bha sud san Earrach, chaidh mo Dhuin-uasal a ghabhail seallaidh de fhearann, gach achadh-a-steach, achadh-a-mach, tuaith, earrann croit 'us baile. Bu mhac e do mhac an duine a dh'aithnicheadh Albainn gu lèir ainm,

agus nach di-chuimhnich an Sasunnach reamhar ann an cabhaig. Cnuachdaire

stalcanta, e gu math lionta o chùlaibh, agus osan dà-fhillte air calpa cho cuimte

400 Làithean Bhliadhnaichean eile

'sa sgeudaich sgian-dhubh riamh. Bha e car lachd-unn na dhreach, agus beagan a bhreacadh na bric na aodann (agus sin agad iùl dhuit air). Bha mala chorrach, peirceall dur, ach sùil bhlàth mnà air ùr phòsadh aige. Co aca 'b 'ann air son 'ainm no' inbhe, no air son a shùil agus facal aoibheil a bheòil, tha e cruaidh ra innse, ach bha ainm lasgaire aig' anns na tri sgìreachdan, agus mar so 'n uair a rachadh atharaichean gu fèill le'n nigheanan theireadh iad: " Air 'ar casan a nigheanan; gabhaidh sinn an rathad cùil; so agaibh C'ainm-so-e a tighinn."

Air an latha so bha gaoth ùrar fhallain far na mara a seideadh air aodann an Duin-uasail gus na thionndaidh fhuil o bhainne gu mear shal. Dh' fhairich e faileadh na feamainn, agus a chonais, chrath e air ais a ghuailean, agus shaoil leis e fèin mar fear-siubhal-cuain le iùbhrach mar a shaoghal agus 'ailm fo achlais. Air gach taobh thuit a shùil air fhonn fèin, air

gach òb a bha'g itheadh a steach gu domhain an taobh a chnocan fèin, air mointich 'us beinn, air a choille thiugh ghiuthais, agus gach coire lan phreasan, agus ceileireadh nan eun, bailtean agus àitean fàsail, raointean arbhair agus fraoch, an earb a mireag agus an coilleach dubh gu màirn-ealach a crathadh a sgiathan a null an t-slighe. Bha shàilteansan a breabadh an rathaid, a chridhe 'g at 's a seinn, feithean an spàirn aig cruachan, glùin, 'us uilinn, agus mar so shaoil leis e fèin mar Fhionn-Mac-Cholla.

'Se so fonn a tha duine tha na dhuine fo dhà fhichead bliadhna a gabhail an tràth so's a rithist. Ghabh mi fèin e 'nuair a bha bhliadhna òg 's a ghrian soileir. Aon uair bha e agam air latha aig Lutsen, 'nuair a bha slachdadh le deadh chlaidh-eamh-mòr troimh dhùirn 'us uchdeididh mar sgiùrsadh bhuaghallan.

Anns an t-saod so mata, thainig an t-aon sin air am beil mi bruidhinn do'n bhaile, agus direach aig an oir a mach, feuch bha

maighdean òg a stailceadh phlangaidean ann am ballan, a cota crioslaichte oirre mar fhèileadh agus is gann a bha cobhar an t-siabuinn na bu gile na gliùnean. Bha a cùlaibh ri mo Dhuin-uasal, agus bha e fagus dhi mu'n tug i' naire dha. Tharraing e 'bhoineid car a nios air aghaidh 'chum dearsadh na grèine a chumail 0 shùilean, agus sheall e le iongnadh car tiota air cumadh bòidheach na gruagaich chuachach, agus soilse a cuaileain donn clannach mar gu'm bitheadh e air oibreachadh le cìr-òir na gruagaich. Bha i seinn luineag òrain luaidh ann an guth caoin, binn, ann an Gaidhlig bhochd Sgitheanach.

" 'Se so cogireach air ùr thighinn, ge be co i," thubhairt e ris fèin, oir bha uaill air gu'm b'aithne dha gach nighean air fhearann, agus aon diubh cha robh cho àrd no cho eireachdail ris an t-aon so a bha stambadh phlangaidean's a bhallan. An sin thog e fonn an òrain gu cridheil, agus thionndaidh ise mu'n cuairt ann an cabhaig na'n cabhag.

'Nuair a chunnaic i co bh'aice bha i thiota 'mach as a' bhallan, agus chaidh a' casan am fallach.

" Ho, ho ! " thubhairt mo Dhuin-uasal, " Is tusa 'n te ghrinn. Cha'n eil na boireannaich an so cho fior mhàlda riutsa. Cha'n ann de m' chinneadh thu m' eudail." Agus chuir e tolg eile na bhoineid, agus chuir e bhreacan na b'fhaide suas air a' ghualainn, 's theann e suas ri taobh na gruagaich.

" Cha'n ann," ars' ise, car geur, " S dòcha gu bheil mi do shiol na's pongaile. Ann an Dùthaich-Mhic Leòid tha na fir a mach aig an t-sealg sa bheinn 'nuair 'tha na mnathan a nigheadh phlangaidean ".

" Seadh, m' aon sgiambach 's bochd an càil ma tha gach sgliàrach coltach riutsa."

" Sgliùrach! " thubhairt a mhaighdean 'sa h-aghaidh a 'g at. "Sgliùrach a dhuine!"

" Maitheanas, mo ghràdh! Thubhairt mi 'facal mu faca mi sealladh air t-aghaidh. Bheir mi mo mhionnan air stàilinn nach robh sgliùrach riamh's an teaghlach o'm bheil thu mach." Agus thug an lasgaire seòlta dheth a bhoineid mar gu'm bitheadh e na sheasamh fa chomhair maighdean Fhrangach.

"Tha m' aodann," ars' a' mhaighdean, mar a rinn Dia e, ach tha

mi 'm barail gu'n robh 'm Fear-ud-Eile fagus a laimh aig deanamh d'fhirsa." Thoisich i air tarruing a' bhallain le 'leth-laimh gu cùl an tighe, i car duilich gu robh a' briathran a mach a òrdugh. Bha e fabharach nach robh cainnt de'n t-seòrs' ud a riamh na mheadhon air dragh a chur air faoineis mo Dhuin-uasal, agus ghàir e ris an fhreagairt a thug i air.

"Mata, gu fìrinneach is sgoinneil thu fèin co dhiù," thubhairt esan, agus e cur air a' bhoineid. "Agus is mise 'bha gorm 'n uair thubhairt mi na thubhairt mi.      Is mise an Duin-ud-Eile."

" Bha fhios agam air sin."    Ars' ise." Cionnas ? " dh'fheòraich esan."Le d' oilean

Duin-uasail," thubhairt ise. "Ghiùlaineadh duine cumanta am ballan air ais maille riumsa."

" Ach-------""'Se Ach a

b'ainm do'n mhadadh bu bhochd bh'aig Fionn," thubhairt a' mhaighdean, 's i seasamh suas direach gu dual de falt a chur air cùl cluaise 'bh'air chumadh slige.

"Ciod a choire 'bh'air a' mhadadh?" dh' fheòraich mo Dhuin-uasal, 'sa shuilean a ruith eadar lag cùl-a'-h-

amaich agus a' bilean.

" Bu chuilean gu'n oilean e." " Gu de an seadh, a luaidh ?"

"Ann an droch sheadh."

" Geur, geur ! 'S ban-Sgitheanach thu cuinteach gu leòr. Am faod mi fhoighneachd ciod is ainm do'n choigreach shnasail so do m' dhùthaich ? "

"Do dhùthaich-sa, shair, tha iad a toirt cliù dhuit-sa agus do d'chinneadh air son iomadh mìr fearainn nach robh riamh air a chosnadh le claidh-eamh no còmhrag." Agus a steach an tigh ghabh a' mhaighdean gùn tuilleadh suim a ghabhail de.

Sios an rathad ghabh mo Dhuin-uasal ann am breislich ghoirt ach a beachd-smuaineachadh gu cruaidh.

'S e tuathanach a cheud neach a thachair air. "Co tha sud shuas aig tigh na drochaid?" dh'-fheòraich e agus e gabhail grèum air

breacan an tuathanaich.

Tharraing an duine 'nuas a' mhailghean agus sheall e suas an rathad. Bha e faicilleach na nàdur, "An ne freagradh 'tha dhith ort no an fhèrinn ? "

" Freagair gu h-ealamh a dhuine! "" 'S an tigh laimh ris an drochaid ? "" Seadh, seadh a stallachdaire! ""Stad mata, 's e

bantrach Phòil Ruaidh a bhitheas ann."

Bha frionas air mo Dhuin-uasal ris an duine. "Bantrach Phòil Euaidh! Shaoil leam gu'n do chaochail i sin aig a Bhealltainn."

" Tha sin mar sin, tha sin mar sin! Cha b'urrainn mi smaoineachadh air aon eile, oir bhami air mo chur mu'n cuairt mu agh a-----"

"Co i a' mhaighdean, a bhlaomastair? ""M' anam fhin, a

chinn-chinnidh, cha bhruidhinn 'tha dhith ort ach fiosrachadh.      Tha thu ciallachadh an te dhonn le na sùilean, i car caol mu'n mheadhon ? "

" Cha'n eil i o Gallothaobh theid mi'n urras a thaobh a cumaidh, ach tha i stailceadh phlang-aidean ann am ballan, agus na's fheàrr cha'n fhaca mi riamh am measg phlangaidean."

" Ah, ah! bu chòir dhuitsa bhi nad' bhreith-eamh air 'sin, ach tha 'n te so ro fhada tuath air son mo thighearna. Tha i a Dunbheagan. Cha sgliùrach i theid mi 'n urras. 'Se Ealasaid is ainm di, agus tha i so a toirt an aire do Iseabail bheag a bean-chinnidh."

" Ealasaid, Ealasaid, air in' fhìrinn's ainm, mi-thuairmeasach e," thubhairt mo Dhuin-uasal, 's e tionndadh, 'sa gabhail sios gu crois a' bhaill 's e cur char de'n ainm na bheul.

Mar a bha'n naidheachd aig m' athair (sìth dha) air an ath latha, a mach ghabh an Duin-uasal as an tigh le buidheann dhaoine tapaidh aig a shàil. Bhitheadh a ghille-coise ann, a ghille-mòr gu giùlan a chlaidheamh agus a sgèithe, a ghille-cois-fhliuch gu bhi ga thoirt tioram thar aibhnichean, a bhladaire, a phiobaire, 's a bhàird, leis na gillean-ruith a bhuineadh dhoibh. An sin bhitheadh esan 's a mheadhon le bhreacan-seilg air, agus a stàilinn a gliongan. Bha gille a ghille-choise a giùlan ciosan chalman, a tigh nan calman air son tiodhlac do'n mhaighdean Sgitheanach. 'Nuair a ràinig iad oir a' bhaile, chaidh aon do na gillean-ruith a steach do thigh na

drochaid, agus thubhairt e gu robh an Ceann-cinnidh air son briudhinn rithe.

" Seadh," thubhairt a mhaighdean's i bualadh a coise air an ùrlar chriatha, " chuireadh e 'mi-mhodh so 'n gèill dhomhsa, ban-choigreach, nach bu dana leis air a bheatha 'chur an gèill do bhean de

Làithean Bhliadhnaichean eile

405chinneadh fèin. Mucan, mucan, mucan! chuala mi iomradh oirbh. A mach a so a ghille-coise, agus iarr air tadhal far am beil fir a choinnicheas e."

A dh'ionnsaidh mo Dhuin-uasal ghabh an gille le aghaidh dhearg.

" Seadh a dhuine, ciod a thubhairt i ? " dh'feòr-aich am Priomh fhear.

" Nach robh i riomhach gu leòir gu seasamh fa chomhair mo thighearna " fhreagair an gille.

"Ah , ah! bean, bean! so am fear do'n aithne iad, duth, donn, dearg no buidhe. Tha iad uile iomagaineach air son dealbh na truaille 'nuair tha neach a mhain cùramach gu de'n stuth a tà faobhar a' chlaidheamh. Thoir dhomhsa na calmain agus thig thusa leamsa 'bhladaire a chur facal oirre."

Chaidh mo Dhuin-uasal agus a bhlaidire chum an doruis, a fagail chàich air an rathad, agus bhuail an Duin-uasal a chòmhla le gob airgiod na daga 'bha na làimh.

Bha mhaighdean a ceartachadh a gruaige, agus bràisd do dheadh chumadh aig a h-amhaicb.

"Thig 'stigh," ghlaodh i, agus chaidh iad 'a steach. Bha i na h-aonar oir bha a' bhean a bha tinn ann an rùm eile.

" So dhuit, mo leanabh," thubhairt am bladaire 's e cur nan eun air a bhòrd.

" Cha'n eil càil agam do nithe cho solta," thubhairt a nighean car ealamh. "Calmain tighe agus suirghe gealtaire—dà rud is miosa."

" O'n Cheann-chiunidh," ars' am bladaire, ga cur na faireachadh.

"Cha cheann-cinnidh dhomhsa e a bhodaich, tha 'ar Cinn-chinnidh-ne aig an tigh, ach an uair 'tha iad aig cogadh, agus cuiridh iad an cuid ghillean air theachdaireachd."Bha mo Dhuin-uasal

na sheasamh mìr beag 'o

Q'n cùlaibh, a làmh-chlì air a chruachan, a làmh-dheas ri chliathaich le bhoineid's le dhaga.

" Ud-ud, a nighean," thubhairt e, " tha thu car gearrtach le d' theanga air son muinntir Earraghai-dheal. An urrainn duin-uasal càraid no

dhà eun a thoirt dhuit gun an trod so ? "

"Dh ' àraich mnathan Mhicleòid an còmhnuidh an eòin fèin, agus bha mnathan Mhicleòid an còmhnuidh ainmeil air son an sùilean geur air fithich."

" Geur, geur 's ann 'o thaobh an iar an Eileain thu cuinteach gu leòr. Cha robh uam ach pòg, a leannain."

" Da rireadh, tha mi duilich gu bheil mo bhean-chinnidh cho tinn. Tha i sean gu leòr's cha bhi i ro-churamach, oir is aithne dhi cionnas a chumas tu do bheul air son na pòige. Fàg na calmain, ma thogras tu, agus innsidh mise dhi do theachdaireachd."

" Am Fear-ud ! " ghlaodh mo Dhuin-uasal. "Tha thu gàireachdaich rium. 'Smath a dh' fhaodte gu bheil fear 'sa bhaile do'n tug thu gaol. Thoir an aire, a bhean-uasal, c'àite 'us co a phòsas tu, oir faodaidh gu'm bi thu leamsa air na h-uile cor. An aithne dhuit mo sheasamh sa sgìreachd so ? Tha còir priosain, croich, 's na ceud oidhche agam."

"Na'm bithinnsa ann an dùthaich duin-uasail theirinn gu robh còir mnatha agam, agus sin a chum a chuid a bh'fhearr agus urram fir, ach 's e glaodh fad' o fhearann còir Dhùthaich Mhicleòid

e, agus iomadh treubh eadarainn."

Thionndaidh mo Dhuin-uasal mu'n cuairt agus 'dhachaidh ghabh e an dion chorruich, air a rathad cruaidh fèin, thairis air a dhìgean fèin, sa drochaidean fèin; agus dh'òl e fion dearg na cuaiche gu tuiteam na h-oidhche. An sin chaidh e sios leis fèin coltach ri duine cumanta gun ite na bhoineid, agus a bhreacan air a dhruim, ach cha do ghabh Ealasaid, a bhan-Sgitheanach suim de fheadair-eachd.

GAIDHEAL.(Ri leantainn.)

AR RIGH RO CHRIONNA

AN uair a bha an Righ Eideard an Marienbad o chian began mìosan, chaidh e a stigh do'n chathair-easbuig.      B'e air latha-breith na h-Iompaire a rinne seo.

An uair a bha an Sagart a' togail suas na Sàcramaid, rinn an Righ seasamh.

Tha iad ag ràdh a nis gu'n d'rinn e seo gus a bhi thaitneach do na Phrotestanaich ; ach, gu bheil is fearr a bhi thaitneach do Dhia na taitneach do dhaoine.